These are notes on the sermon, Actively Own Your Double Portion, preached by Pastor Joseph Prince on Sunday, 27 September 2020, at The Star Performing Arts Centre, Singapore. We hope these sermon notes will be an encouragement to you!
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Pastor Prince begins the sermon by giving thanks to the Lord for all the healing testimonies that we have been receiving since we started streaming our services online. These healing miracles are miracles of God transcending space for us (many of these healing miracles happened as the Word was being preached and people were tuning in from different locations).
At the beginning of the year, when Pastor Prince first shared about “Time and Space” being the theme for this year, he talked about the first two miracles Jesus performed at the beginning of His ministry as recorded in the gospel of John. These two miracles happened in Cana of Galilee:
As we listen and believe the Word that is being preached, we will receive our healing. We don’t need Jesus to come down to be with us physically to heal us or touch our situation. God’s Word transcends both time and space. The Lord wants us to believe Him like the nobleman believed Jesus’ word concerning the healing of his son.
When Pastor Prince first shared the theme of the year, no one knew this was how the year would pan out. But even as we move online, without hands being physically laid on anyone, healing is happening all around and we are receiving many healing testimonies every week.
Before the pandemic even happened, our God already shared with us through the first sermon of the year that He is not bound by physical limitations. His healing can happen across space, regardless of location or distance.
A similar incident happened in Matthew 8. A Centurion soldier in Capernaum had a servant who was sick, but he recognized that Jesus had all authority and power to heal his servant even without being physically present to heal him. This Centurion believed Jesus only had to speak the word and his servant would be healed. Jesus marveled and called this “great faith” (see Matt. 8:10 KJV).
If you believe that as the Word goes forth, you will receive your healing, the Lord calls that great faith. Faith pleases the Lord. It pleases Him when His people have faith.
Pastor Prince encourages us to check out the countless testimonies available online at JosephPrince.com and newcreation.org and allow these real-life stories to build faith in you.
Expect to receive your healing even as you are listening to the preached Word today!
Pastor Prince believes that what God wants for His people in this unprecedented time is prophetic preaching—a rhema (the timely word in season) word for His people. As a minister of God’s Word, he continuously seeks the Lord for the rhema word for the congregation every Sunday.
A prophetic word is not limited to time and space. A rhema Word from the Lord can be found even when we watch an old sermon that may have been preached some time ago. When it is anointed by the Lord, it will be the word in season for God’s people.
“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word (rhema) of God.”
— Romans 10:17 NKJV
“rhema” — A quickened word that the Holy Spirit brings out from the scriptures that will help us, strengthen us, and deliver us.
“But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter. What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, "You shall not covet . . . ”
— Romans 7:6–11 NKJV
As people who believe in God’s grace, we are not against the law. We are for the law for the reason God gave the law. God did not give the law for us to become holy by or for us to get closer to Him. On the contrary, the law increases our knowledge of sin (see Rom. 3:20).
The law can only produce behavior modification but it cannot produce heart transformation. Every true transformation happens through the preaching of the gospel, through the preaching of grace. Heart transformation causes lasting change from the inside out.
Pastor Prince is for the law for the reason God gave the law, and God did not give the law to justify man by, but He gave it to show man that he needs the grace of God.
“. . . Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.”
— Galatians 3:10 KJV
“For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.”
— James 2:10 NIV
The law doesn’t understand “do your best.” There is no leeway given to the one who breaks even one part of the law. The moment you try to focus on the law to become holy, you end up doing the very thing you don’t want to—sinning.
“But now we have been delivered from the law” — In this context, “the law” refers to the moral law, i.e. the Ten Commandments. To be delivered from the moral law does not mean you become immoral. For born-again believers, the stone of the law is a hindrance to our resurrected life. When you remove the law, it is like removing the stone for Lazarus to come forth from his tomb.
As believers, we are meant to live life led by the Spirit. If we are being led by the Spirit, we cannot be under the law because they are mutually exclusive.
“But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”
— Galatians 5:18 NKJV
The holiness that comes from being led by the Spirit is greater than any kind of holiness that comes from keeping the law. The law says, “Thou shalt not steal,” but the Spirit of grace gives you not only the power to refrain from stealing, but also the desire and ability to be a blessing to others (see Eph. 4:28). The law says, “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” but the Spirit of grace causes you to love your spouse as Christ first loved you (see Eph. 5:25).
“ . . . But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me.
— Romans 7:6–11 NKJV
“sin, taking opportunity by the commandment” — This is how sin manifests in our lives. The word “opportunity” is the word “aphorme” in Greek, which is the word used for a place or a base of operations from which one launches an attack. In other words, the law is the launchpad for sin. Those who are focused on the law cannot be Jesus-conscious and cannot be led by the Spirit. The law is holy, just, and good but here, Paul says that the more he tried to keep the law, the more he failed to do so, and the more it produced in him all manner of evil desire. The strength of sin is the law (see 1 Cor. 15:56).
“apart from the law sin was dead” — The moment the first man, Adam, sinned, sin came into the nature of man. But it was as though sin remained dormant in man until the law was given. Sin is dormant in us until we try to keep the law.
“when the commandment came” — This is how sin is revived: when the commandment (the law) comes into the picture. The moment you try to keep the law, you activate the flesh and when the flesh is activated, it produces the works of the flesh, which is death (see 2 Cor. 3:7). The only part of the law that was engraved on stones was the Ten Commandments and it is called the ministry of death.
“taking occasion by the commandment” — The word “occasion” is the same Greek word “aphorme.” Sin cannot deceive you without the commandment. The devil is never more subtle than when he comes as a religious spirit. The law came from God, but He did not give it to justify man by. He gave it so that “every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God” (see Rom. 3:19) and see the need for His grace.
“. . . Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,”
— Romans 3:19–24 NKJV
Many believers are sincere in trying to keep the law in a bid to remain close to God. There are those who are losing their minds trying to keep the law because they are full of self-condemnation. By preaching the law, we are not helping them. Jesus has already brought us out from under the law so we are no longer under it.
“now the righteousness of God apart from the law” — God wants us to receive a new righteousness, a righteousness that is apart from the law, a righteousness that is of God and comes as a gift from Him.
“witnessed by the Law and the Prophets” — The righteousness of God was witnessed and sanctioned by the law and the prophets. This brings to mind what happened when Jesus was transfigured on the Mount of Transfiguration. Elijah (who represented the prophets) and Moses (who represented the law) both appeared to witness His glorious transfiguration. When Peter tried to put Jesus (grace) on the same level as the prophets and the law, God the Father spoke up, saying, “This is my beloved Son, hear Him” (Luke 9:35). God wants us to hear only Jesus, the voice of grace.
“to all and on all who believe” — Because all have sinned, all can avail themselves to this gift of righteousness because of what Jesus has done at the cross. This gift of righteousness is ours judicially and legally—it cannot be disputed because it has been fully paid for by the blood of Jesus. This gift of righteousness is a legal transaction that’s waiting for you to receive. However, while this gift of righteousness is available to all, it only comes on those who believe. If you believe in Jesus, this gift comes on you, and you are clothed with the righteousness of God as a gift. So this is not referring to universalism, which is a false teaching that is not according to the Scriptures.
“being justified freely” — The word “justified” is the Greek word “dikaioo,” which means “made righteous,” and it is in the present tense in Greek. Once you believe and confess Jesus as the Lord over your life, you are saved and you receive His righteousness. There is a popular saying that goes, “If Christ is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all.” We want Christ to be Lord over every area of our lives but that takes time and process. It does not mean that we lose our salvation until in our heart of hearts we have fully made Him Lord of all in our lives. There are times in your life when you fail in thought or deed, but you always have the gift of God’s righteousness even in those moments. The word “freely” is the Greek word “dorean,” which means “a gift.” It is unearned.
To be born again is to believe Jesus and what He has done for us at the cross. That alone saves us. It is a gift that you cannot “sin away.” Those who are truly born again don’t live in sin. They may fall into sin but their default mode is holiness.
Knowing this gives you true security. When you are secure and you know that you are unconditionally loved by the Father, you cannot help but love Him and others in return.
This is a word that God gave Pastor Prince this week: “I want My people to really believe that they are righteous and to behave like they are righteous.”
God does not want us to have the spirit of a pauper but to have the spirit of a son because we are all His sons today.
In the story of the prodigal son, the Father treats the prodigal son as if he did no wrong—a picture of our heavenly Father seeing us blameless because we are clothed in Jesus’ righteousness. The prodigal son had no righteousness in him to boast of and so he could only depend on the father’s love for him. On the other hand, the older son boasted in his own righteousness and so the father treated him based on his righteousness since that is what he wanted. In this situation, it was the prodigal son who could receive all the father’s blessings that he did not deserve. As believers, we are in the same position as the prodigal son today.
In the story, the Father’s lavished His goodness and grace on his prodigal son even before the boy repented fully. It is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance. Under the law, you have to repent first before the goodness of God can come on you. But under grace, the goodness of God leads the worst sinner to repentance.
God wants His people to take their rightful place as the righteousness of God in Christ, knowing that they can come to Him with a sense of peace and not fear.
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:”
— Romans 5:1 KJV
God wants us to come to Him in no hurry to run off. He wants us to feel at peace and at home when we come to Him, just like we do with our friends.
God doesn’t want us to be constantly fearful when we are in His presence, afraid that one wrong thought will cause Him to be angry with us.
Today, many believers are not receiving from God because they don’t really believe that they have been made righteous because of Jesus. Or they might know it in their heads, but in their hearts, they still believe God's treatment of them is based on their actions, they still believe God might not want to help them or bless them because of a mistake they made in the past.
“He who justifies the wicked (‘rasha’) and he who condemns (‘rasha’) the righteous are both alike an abomination to the Lord.”
— Proverbs 17:15 ESV
“wicked” — This is the Hebrew word “rasha,” which is used to describe something evil or an immoral person or sinner.
“abomination” — Abomination is the worst kind of sin. All sin is bad but there are degrees of sin (see John 19:11 KJV). Abomination is the worst kind of sin. When a sinner justifies himself saying he is righteous, God sees it as an abomination. In the same way, when a righteous person condemns himself, God also sees it as an abomination.
It is not humility to treat yourself as a sinner when you have already been made righteous by the finished work of Jesus Christ. It is hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is pretending to be who or what you are not. If you’re a sinner but you pretend to be righteous, that is hypocrisy. If you have been born again and made righteous but you act and treat yourself like a sinner, that is hypocrisy too. If you are a believer who condemns other believers or yourself, what you are doing is an abominable thing.
“condemns” — It is also the Hebrew word “rasha,” made up of the same three Hebrew letters. The pronunciation is different but the letters that make up both words are exactly the same. In the Lord’s eyes, condemnation is wicked.
The first occurrence of the word “rasha” is found in Exodus 22:
“For every breach of trust, whether it is for an ox, for a donkey, for a sheep, for a cloak, or for any kind of lost thing, of which one says, ‘This is it,’ the case of both parties shall come before God. The one whom God condemns (‘rasha’) shall pay double to his neighbor.”
— Exodus 22:9 ESV
The context of this verse refers to physical items or properties that were lost or stolen. But for us today, it concerns whatever we have lost—whether it is our health, our peace of mind, our finances, or a relationship with a loved one. The Lord does not want us to sit back and accept it. He wants us to say, “No, this is not acceptable. This thing that I have lost—it is mine.”
“For every matter of trespass, whether it be for ox, for donkey, for sheep, for clothing, or for any kind of lost thing, whereof one says, 'This is mine,' the cause of both parties shall come before God. He whom God condemns (‘rasha’) shall pay double to his neighbor.”
— Exodus 22:9 HNV
“This is mine” — The Lord wants us to come to Him and say with boldness and conviction, “This healing is mine. This provision for my family, for my children, is mine. This restoration for this family relationship is mine.” But if we are constantly listening to preaching that tells us healing or prosperity is not something God wants us to receive, then we will not be able to come to God and say, “This is mine.”
That is why we need to hear scriptural preaching, e.g. preaching on Isaiah 53 that says Jesus took our diseases on the cross. In the same way He took our sin, He also took our sicknesses. When we hear it, then we can believe it. And when we believe it, then we receive it. We can come before God and say, “I’ve lost my health in this area, but healing is mine. I am the righteousness of God in Christ and by His stripes I am healed. Healing is mine!”
“The one whom God condemns (‘rasha’) shall pay double to his neighbor” — The word “condemns” is the Hebrew word “rasha.”
When you condemn yourself, you put yourself in the place of the one who has stolen. The truth is, God doesn’t condemn you because you are righteous in Christ. God condemns the thief in your life, the devil (John 10:10). If the devil has stolen something in your life, you need to know that is not acceptable.
But if you do not really believe these blessings are rightfully yours—health, wholeness, peace of mind, family blessings, financial and practical provisions—how can you say with conviction that they are yours? God wants you to fully believe you are righteous in Christ and boldly claim these things the devil has stolen from you.
There are Christians who say that regardless of whether they believe or not believe, God will bless them if He really wants to. That cannot be further from the truth. You’ve got to believe it! Take receiving salvation as a principle. God did His part by sending His Son to die for our sins but we have to believe and receive Him as our Savior.
When it comes to your health being stolen, the Lord wants you to say, “Healing is mine!”
The devil may be attacking your health or the health of your child, but you can come before God, tell Him that the enemy is attacking you in this area, and boldly say, “Healing is mine!” When you do that, God condemns the devil and He restores double to you—double the health, double the peace.
God is setting more and more people free. God wants to set free those who are experiencing depression and other mental conditions. He wants to give you double peace, double shalom. Pastor Prince prays for those who are taking medication for their mental conditions. He shares that it is important to continue taking your medication even as you believe on the Lord to set you free from your condition. A double portion of peace is yours to claim today. Say, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ, and peace is mine.”
If you’ve experienced a loss in your finances, say this, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ. The Lord is my Shepherd and I lack nothing. Prosperity is mine.”
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.”
— 2 Corinthians 8:9 NKJV
Regardless of the financial or employment situation in your country, God supplies you according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus and not according to your natural circumstances (see Eph. 1:7).
Today, God declares you righteous and your part is to be in agreement with Him! If He has declared you righteous, why are you saying otherwise of yourself? To condemn yourself is to make yourself wicked. Speak in line with who God says you are—the righteousness of God in Christ!
This is the second reference of the word “rasha” in the Bible:
“If there is a dispute between men and they go to court, and the judges decide their case, and they justify (‘sadaq’) the righteous (‘saddiyq’) and condemn (‘rasha’) the wicked (‘rasha’), then it shall be if the wicked man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall then make him lie down and be beaten in his presence with the number of stripes according to his guilt. He may beat him forty times but no more, so that he does not beat him with many more stripes (‘makkah’) than these and your brother is not degraded in your eyes.”
— Deuteronomy 25:1–3 NASB
“He may beat him forty times but no more” — The Jewish practice of scourging is less severe than the Roman practice. The Jewish custom involves 39 lashes at most but Jesus was not scourged under the Jewish law, He was scourged under the Roman law. It is most likely that Jesus was scourged far beyond 39 times because the Scripture records in Isaiah 52:14 NIV that Jesus was so terribly scourged that His visage was marred more than any man and His form marred beyond human likeness.
Jesus took our place as the wicked one. We were the sinners—the “rasha,” the wicked ones who deserved the scourging—but He took our place at the cross.
“many more stripes” — The word “stripes” is the Hebrew word “makkah.” According to Brown-Driver-Briggs, the word “makkah” is defined as:
Jesus took the blows, the scourging, and the plagues at the cross for us so that today, we can believe and boldly say, “By His stripes, we are healed!”
In Deuteronomy 28, we find a long list of curses that would come upon those who broke the law. These are the curses we are redeemed from:
“then the Lord will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary plagues (‘makkah’)—great and prolonged plagues (‘makkah’) —and serious and prolonged sicknesses.”
— Deuteronomy 28:59 NKJV
Jesus has delivered us from every sickness and every plague, which includes COVID-19.
“Also every sickness and every plague (‘makkah’), which is not written in this Book of the Law, will the Lord bring upon you until you are destroyed.”
— Deuteronomy 28:61 NKJV
When you choose to put yourself under the law, you are also choosing to put yourself under all the curses and plagues that come when you are unable to fulfill the law.
“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”
— Galatians 3:13–14 NKJV
Jesus has already borne all the curses at the cross for us. The word “redeemed” is the Greek word “exagorazo,” which means “by payment of a price to recover from the power of another” or “to buy off.” Jesus Christ has bought us out from the curse of the law!
Why is the list of curses for those who break the law so long and elaborate in Deuteronomy 28? Because God wants us to look at the curses in detail so that when we see such “curses” manifesting in our lives, we will know we don’t need to accept it. We don’t need to accept any curse as a “blessing” from God. The Lord wants us to know what curses we should not own and what blessings we can boldly claim.
The last curse in Deuteronomy 28 is this:
“...and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.”
— Deuteronomy 28:68 KJV
For the one who breaks the law, a very sad curse upon him is that he will be sold as a slave and no man will buy him. But at the cross, in all His grace and mercy, Jesus bought us out at the greatest price so that we would not be under the law but be under His grace. He bought us out from every sickness and plague when He Himself became a curse for us.
It is vital that you take your rightful place as the righteousness of God in Christ and to boldly own what God has given you, saying, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ, and healing, provision, blessings are rightfully mine!”
Pastor Prince prays for these conditions and situations:
Pastor Prince asks those whom he prayed over to go back to their doctors to verify their healing and to write in to share their testimony so that we can rejoice and celebrate with them.
Do you need healing in your body right now? Say, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ, and healing is mine!”
If you need wisdom, say, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ, Christ is my wisdom, and wisdom is mine!”
If you are trying to stop a bad habit, say, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ, Christ is my righteousness, He is my holiness, and I have holiness and sanctification from this bad habit or these destructive thoughts.”
Say, “I am the righteousness of God, and Christ has redeemed me. He has bought me out of the slave market of disease, sickness, poverty, depression, and death. Christ has bought me out from under the curse and into His blessings!”
“The Lord bless you and the Lord keep you. The Lord, bless you with the blessings of Abraham because all the blessings of Deuteronomy 28 are yours. You are no longer under the curse. You've been bought out of the curse and are now under His blessings.
The Lord keep you, preserve you and your loved ones throughout this week. He gives His angels charge over you to keep you, to protect you and your loved ones from the COVID-19 virus, to place you at the right place at the right time, to protect you and your families from every disease, from every danger, harm, accident, and from all the power of the evil one, Amen.
The Lord make His face to shine on you, be favorable to you and to grant to you and your families His wonderful shalom-peace. Amen.
Remember church, He is with you always.”
We hope these sermon notes blessed you! If they did, we encourage you to get the sermon and allow the Lord to speak to you personally as you watch or listen to it.
© Copyright JosephPrince.com 2020
These sermon notes were taken by volunteers during the service. They are not a verbatim representation of the sermon.
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