These are notes on the sermon, Renew Your Strength God’s Way, preached by Pastor Joseph Prince on Sunday, October 5, 2025, at The Star Performing Arts Centre, Singapore. We hope these sermon notes will be an encouragement to you!
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Pastor Prince began by sharing how the Lord had placed Isaiah 40:31 (KJV) strongly on his heart for this message:
This verse is not just a general encouragement but also a timely word in season for us. Many today, regardless of age, feel tired and worn out. Even the young, who should be full of energy, often find themselves weary and easily fatigued.
Why? Because we live in an age of constant stimulation and distraction. Our phones, screens, and endless streams of information keep us scrolling and reacting. Our minds are always active, but our souls are rarely at rest. The result? Restlessness, anxiety, and fatigue.
But that is not God’s heart for you. His desire is for you to walk in strength, wholeness, and vitality. His best for you is not to be able to merely recharge your energy when you feel drained. He wants you to exchange your limited, natural strength for His limitless, supernatural strength.
And how do we experience this divine exchange? Let’s look at what happened when Jesus met the lame man at the Pool of Bethesda.
John 5 tells us of an incident that happened at the Pool of Bethesda. Now, Bethesda in Hebrew means “house of grace,” and around this pool would gather a great multitude of people who were sick, blind, and paralyzed, waiting for their miracle. From time to time, an angel would come down and stir the water in the pool, and the first person to step into the pool would be healed.
The pool is a picture of the law. To receive a miracle from it would require perfect timing and presumed on human strength. And only one person could be healed each time. That’s how the law works. It tells you what to do and has high standards, but gives you no strength to achieve what it has set out.
Among the many gathered, there was a man who had been paralyzed for thirty-eight years, the same number of years Israel wandered in the wilderness. His condition represents man under the law—stuck, powerless, unable to move forward.
When Jesus saw him, He asked, “Do you want to be made well?” The man replied, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred.” His eyes were still on his own inability and a system that could never help him, even though the very answer to his need—our Lord Jesus Himself—stood before him.
But Jesus didn’t tell him to wait for the next stirring of the water or to try harder. He simply said, “Rise, take up your bed, and walk.” Immediately, strength entered the man’s body. That’s what grace does. It lifts you where your efforts fail.
Yet, instead of rejoicing, the religious leaders criticized the man for carrying his bed on the Sabbath. They were focused on keeping the rules instead of celebrating the miracle that had just taken place. Likewise, we can miss what God is doing when we’re more conscious of our performance than His grace.
Beloved, don’t let self-effort rob you of what God is doing in your life. Your breakthrough doesn’t come from trying harder, like those waiting around the pool, but from turning your eyes to our Lord Jesus. If you’ve been bound by a condition, know that the same Jesus who healed that lame man is present to heal and free you today. And as He told the man to take up his bed, He invites you to take up your authority in Christ and walk free from what has held you down.
Now, you might wonder—why was only one man healed that day when the Bible tells us Jesus healed multitudes elsewhere? Friend, make no mistake: God’s heart has always been to heal, restore, and make us whole. But in this story, many were still looking to the law for healing. Only the one who responded to Jesus received his miracle.
Likewise, today, we don’t receive our breakthroughs through our striving or obedience to the law, but by beholding Jesus and His finished work at the cross.
After this miracle, the religious leaders persecuted Jesus for healing the man on the Sabbath. And He answered them, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working” (John 5:17).
What does He mean?
When God finished creation, He rested, not because He was weary, but because His work was complete. But when man fell, sin, sickness, and death entered the world. And from that moment, God began His work of redemption to restore man to wholeness and peace. That’s what Jesus was doing when He healed the man at Bethesda. He was restoring the man who had been bound for thirty-eight years.
Jesus then went on to say, “The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do” (John 5:19). Even though He is fully God, the Lord chose to come as man. And He lived completely dependent on the Father and led by the Holy Spirit. He wasn’t driven by logic or human need but moved in rhythm with the Spirit.
This is how we are called to live, too—not driven by worry, performance, or pressure but dependent on the Father and led by His Spirit. When we depend on ourselves, worry sets in. When we depend on others, disappointment follows. But when we depend on our heavenly Father, peace comes, and everything begins to flow.
So how does God lead us today? The primary way is always through His Word, but He also leads through the pictures and impressions He paints on our hearts.
In the Old Testament, prophets were called seers because they saw what God was showing them. Today, under the new covenant, the Holy Spirit dwells in us and still leads us in the same way—by painting pictures on our hearts.
Perhaps you’ve experienced this before. Sometimes, a picture or impression comes to mind, perhaps a prompting to bless someone or the thought of reaching out to a friend. We often dismiss these as random thoughts, but they may be gentle promptings from the Holy Spirit. The truth is, God is always speaking. We’re just not always alert to what He’s showing us.
Why does the Lord show you these pictures? Because He loves you. He might even show you an image of your family—not to make you anxious, but to prompt you to pray or speak a blessing over them. The Spirit always leads in love and peace, never fear or confusion.
This loving guidance is part of the new covenant reality we now live in. God no longer writes His laws on stone tablets, but on our hearts. As He says, “I will put My laws in their minds and write them on their hearts” (Heb. 8:10). The word for “mind” here is “dianoia” in Greek, which means “imagination” or “inner vision.” This tells us the Holy Spirit paints divine pictures within us, leading us from within. And when we act on what the Lord shows us, His grace will flow. There’s an ease when you respond to His prompting.
That said, not every inner picture comes from God. The enemy also tries to distract us through the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. But these images are self-centered and do not edify us. The pictures from the Holy Spirit are filled with His love and peace. And they don’t just bless us; they also bless others and glorify Jesus.
To live a life dependent on the Father, we have to keep our eyes on Him. And it is through this act of beholding Him that we receive strength and renewal today.
Let’s look once again at Isaiah 40:31 KJV:
The Hebrew word for “renew” means “to exchange.” In this context, it speaks of a divine exchange, where our natural, limited strength is exchanged for the Lord’s supernatural strength.
The verse continues into Isaiah 41:1, which says,
Here we see that renewal happens in moments of stillness before the Lord. But waiting on the Lord doesn’t mean doing nothing. It means quieting your heart and turning your eyes to Jesus.
Second Corinthians 3:18 says:
As you behold Jesus, the Holy Spirit works within you, renewing, transforming, and empowering you to carry out the works that glorify Him.
This stillness is especially needed in our distracted world. Many, especially the young, find it difficult to be quiet. Constant entertainment and stimulation make the mind restless and weary. But those who wait on the Lord find true rest and renewal.
Practically, this could be taking time each day to sit before the Lord and behold Him. You can do so by closing your eyes and picturing our Lord Jesus. When you behold Jesus—when you picture His kindness, His compassion, His finished work—the Holy Spirit will begin to form that picture more clearly in your heart.
During this time, you don’t have to say much. Simply behold the Lord. As you sit before Him in stillness with your heart and mind focused on Him, you are allowing Him to impart His peace and strength to you.
Then comes what He promises in Isaiah 40:31: You’ll mount up with wings like eagles, you’ll run and be not weary, and you’ll walk and not faint.
Beloved, this is how to renew your strength God’s way, by simply beholding Jesus. So take time this week to wait on Him. Step away from the noise, put your phone aside, and just sit before the Lord. As you behold Him, His strength, peace, and vitality will flow through every part of you.
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 2025
These sermon notes were taken by volunteers during the service. They are not a verbatim representation of the sermon.
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