These are notes on the sermon, You Have A Destiny, preached by Pastor Joseph Prince on Sunday, 29 December 2019, at The Star Performing Arts Centre, Singapore. We hope these sermon notes will be an encouragement to you!
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God is a generous giver whose heart is always out to bless us. Instead of subtracting, He always wants to add more and more goodness into our lives.
Whatever need you have today, God wants to provide above and beyond for you and your family.
You don’t need to plead for your blessing—simply receive your portion of blessings from Him!
In fact, God does not only want you to take what you need, He wants to give you every good thing in abundance.
God wants you to take, and take, and take more from Him.
In the economy of God, the lesser is always blessed by the greater. The one in the superior position always blesses the one in the inferior position (see Heb. 7:7). God, who is superior to us (man), is always in the position of being the blesser. Not the other way around.
How do we enlarge our capacity to receive from Him? By having faith.
Love gives. Faith takes.
Faith is like a window.
The window doesn’t create light; it lets light in. Big windows allow more light into a house. Small windows allow less light into a house.
God wants to flood your life with light, so have faith to let more of His light and blessings in!
Let’s pray for the capacity to receive more from Him this 2020.
Short and simple prayers are effective.
In the Bible, there are many instances of God answering short prayers:
The most important thing to know when it comes to prayer is this: God answers prayer.
Today, we can pray knowing that God will answer because Jesus’ finished work at the cross has brought us into a covenant relationship with God (see James 5:16).
That’s why we can pray simply, without needing big words to impress Him or plead with Him. He already hears us!
You have not because you ask not.
In the story of the prodigal son, the father showed grace to his son who had squandered away his inheritance on sinful living.
When the son finally decided to go home because he had lost everything and found himself in the pits, he prepared a speech to plead with his father to take him back as a servant. He never got the chance to recite his speech, because before he reached home, his father saw him from a distance and came running to him. Instead of rebuking him for going astray and spending all his money, the father embraced him and called his servants to put royal robes on him.
The father in this story is a picture of our Heavenly Father, who lavishes us with His grace, goodness, and love.
Especially when you feel like you are unworthy to receive His love because you have sinned, you need to know that it is where sin abounds that grace superabounds.
Grace is undeserved, unmerited favor.
Because of grace, we have been justified. But one day, we will also have a glorified body, just like our Lord Jesus.
In our glorified bodies, we will have an assignment that God destined us to fulfil that spans eternity. We have a greater purpose that outlasts the life we have on earth right now.
This year, you need to understand your destiny. You need to know where you fit in.
Your career, marriage, and children—they are all part of a bigger picture. There’s more to life than just going through the motions of going to work every day to get a salary, then trying to find some time every year to go on a holiday. There’s nothing wrong with that, but your life has a much greater purpose than that.
You have a calling in life that only you can fulfill.
You are precious and unique. You have a destiny.
To help us understand our destiny and purpose, God has provided us with visual aids in the Bible like the Tabernacle of Moses and Temple of Solomon.
The Tabernacle of Moses, in Old Testament times, was a picture of what was to come: Grace. Every part of the tabernacle was meant to teach us about God’s grace.
The Temple of Solomon, which came after the Tabernacle of Moses and is the first temple built in the Bible, represents glory.
Even though the temple was built by Solomon, all its design and dimensions were written by David, Solomon’s father, under the anointing and inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
It was built to look magnificent, so much so that the inner parts of the temple were all overlaid with gold. If you had walked into the temple back then, you would have been walking on gold.
Every part of the temple was built to utter God’s glory.
Today, we are God’s temple. He lives in us.
The living stones used to build the Temple of Solomon are pictures of us.
“You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
— 1 Peter 2:5 NKJV
“living stones” — Living stones represent you and me.
“built up a spiritual house” — Everything we do (our parenting, marriage, career, and ministry) has the purpose of building the spiritual house of God.
The spiritual house of God will go on forever. It is far more lasting and important than this life on earth. It has to do with our divine, eternal purpose.
God has a greater purpose in mind for you that extends beyond your daily routine.
God will do great things through you and for you.
What is a living stone? It is a stone that was specifically chosen for the purpose of building the temple (God’s house).
That is why we are called “living stones.” Once, we were “dead stones,” but the moment we were chosen, given a purpose, and set in God’s house, we became “living stones.”
“And the king commanded them to quarry large stones, costly stones, and hewn stones, to lay the foundation of the temple. So Solomon’s builders, Hiram’s builders, and the Gebalites quarried them; and they prepared timber and stones to build the temple.”
— 1 Kings 5:17–18 NKJV
“large stones, costly stones, and hewn stones” — These stones were carved out from the dark limestone quarries of Israel. This is a picture of us being called out from the pit of darkness and sin. God called us, designed us, and brought us out of darkness to be living stones of His temple.
“And the temple, when it was being built, was built with stone finished at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.”
— 1 Kings 6:7 NKJV
“no hammer or chisel or any iron tool was heard” — Usually, when buildings are built, there is a lot of noise. However, no sound could be heard when the temple was being built, because all the stones were chiselled and hammered at the quarry. God builds His temple quietly, which is a picture of rest.
Solomon’s name in Hebrew is “shalom.” The word “shalom” means peace and rest.
That’s why God chose Solomon to build his temple and not David, who was a man of war.
To God, when you rest, you progress.
When you learn to eliminate the “hurrying” mindset, you will live restfully.
Everything great that is coming your way is going to happen when you are at rest—not when you’re rushing to the finishing line.
“The foundation was of costly stones, large stones, some ten cubits and some eight cubits.”
— 1 Kings 7:10 NKJV
“costly stones” — The stones were costly because they were made out of precious limestone and marble. These stones were also a picture of the high cost that God would ever have to pay—His Son. To go into pitch darkness to bring us out of our sin, it cost God His precious Son, Jesus.
“large stones, some ten cubits and some eight cubits” — Temple stones are massive. A cubit is approximately the length from your elbow to your middle finger.
Pastor Prince shows pictures from Israel that help the congregation to visualize the stones of Solomon’s temple (see slides).
“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”
— 1 Peter 2:9 NKJV
“a royal priesthood” — The moment you received Christ, you were born again, and became royalty. The demeanor of royalty is not carrying a holier-than-thou attitude, but being forgiving, generous, and big-hearted.
“proclaim the praises of Him” — God wants the world to know how good He is. We do that by proclaiming His praises in our married life, our children, our ministry, and our careers.
“called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” — Stones cannot come out of the quarry on their own. In fact, they can’t do anything. Similarly, based on our own merits, we can’t climb out of the pit of darkness. It is only because Jesus came into the darkness where we were and drew us out that we could become living stones.
We are now sons and daughters of light, delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of His Son.
The only hope for the world is the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Pastor Prince shares a beautiful testimony from a sister in the church who was set free from chain-smoking and drinking addictions, and now lives in peace and enjoys restored relationships.
Many people, like our colleagues and relatives, are still in darkness, and still do not recognize their need for Jesus and the hope to be found in Him.
In order to save the world, God sends evangelists to bring people out of their pit of darkness.
“And he made for the house windows with beveled frames. Against the wall of the temple he built chambers all around, against the walls of the temple, all around the sanctuary and the inner sanctuary. Thus he made side chambers all around it.”
— 1 Kings 6:4–5 NKJV
“house windows with beveled frames” — These windows were made wide on the inside, but narrow outside. Its purpose was for all the bad to go out, and for all the good (light) to come into the temple.
“built chambers all around” — The chambers were where the priests lived. It was also where the treasures were kept. The priests are a picture of us. God ordained us to live in a place of treasure.
“The lowest chamber was five cubits wide, the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide; for he made narrow ledges around the outside of the temple, so that the support beams would not be fastened into the walls of the temple.”
— 1 Kings 6:6 NKJV
“lowest chamber was five cubits wide, middle was six cubits wide, third was seven cubits wide” — This means that the higher the chamber, the more treasures there were. In that same manner, God beckons us to come up higher and discover more treasures He has for us!
“The doorway for the middle story was on the right side of the temple. They went up by stairs to the middle story, and from the middle to the third. So he built the temple and finished it, and he paneled the temple with beams and boards of cedar.”
— 1 Kings 6:8–9 NKJV
“boards of cedar” — Cedar wood is known to be incorruptible. Unlike other trees that get killed by parasites, the cedar tree kills parasites. The cedar tree is a picture of Jesus, who is incorruptible. He touched the leper and instead of contracting the leprosy, removed it from the man’s body and healed him!
God is the One who has hewn us out of darkness and put us into His temple. Our purpose as living stones is to bring forth His praises for people to see His glory.
“The inside of the temple was cedar, carved with ornamental buds and open flowers. All was cedar; there was no stone to be seen.”
— 1 Kings 6:18 NKJV
“buds” — The bud of a flower is its first form, which is a picture of Jesus’ life on earth.
“open flowers” — Open flowers are a picture of Jesus’ resurrection.
All the beauty of Jesus is placed on you today.
“All was cedar; there was no stone to be seen” — God does not look at you in the natural anymore, but overlaid with cedar (His Son) and gold (the righteousness of His Son). None of your faults or sins are seen by the Lord.
In the same manner, let us also see one another this way—glorious, in Christ, and built together. Be someone who is slow to find fault, and to find out the facts first before taking the next step.
The world cannot see the beauty and glory, it is for God and fellow believers to see, for it is internal. The stones are visible only on the outside.
Pastor Prince shows a visual reference of the internal cross-section of Solomon’s Temple.
As stones in darkness, there was nothing that we could have done to save ourselves.
God sent Jesus to bring us out, build us into His temple, and overlay us with cedar and gold.
Like the prodigal son who didn’t have to do anything to experience overwhelming, extravagant love from his father despite his failures (his father was the one who called for the ring, the robe, and the shoes to be put on his son—it was all ready for him, at no cost of his own), we also have received such grace from the Lord.
Just like the father clothed his son in the best robes, we are robed in righteousness. Our heavenly Father sees us righteous through the finished work of His Son, Jesus.
“And raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
— Ephesians 2:6–7 NKJV
“made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” — Your present position is seated in Christ in heavenly places.
“show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” — God is going to show the exceeding riches of His grace to the entire universe through you and I.
“Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”
— Ephesians 2:19–22 NKJV
“Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone” — This is the picture of Jesus Christ as our foundation stone in our lives. The foundation stone is massive, being approximately 570 tonnes in weight and spanning 45 feet in length.
“a dwelling place of God in the Spirit” — God fills His house with shekinah glory, and His glory will be seen in you.
We need to have light (revelation, wisdom) before we can go to another level of life. If something is yours but you don’t know about it, you can’t experience it or enjoy it.
For years and years, a group of vikings lived beside a huge waterfall that had immense hydropower, yet they used torches for light because they didn’t know about hydroelectricity.
Don’t go through life not knowing how much God has and wants to bless you with—ask God for the wisdom to see what God has in store for you.
Pastor Prince closes the service by telling the congregation to ask God for wisdom to redeem the time, for the days are evil. Don’t pursue things that cannot satisfy, but pursue His wisdom.
Others around you will see the glory of God shining through you and your family.
“This coming week, and this coming year, in the name of Jesus, Father, keep your people in your sozo strength and health. Deliver every one of them, Lord, and their families from every harm, danger, terror, sickness, accident and from the evil day. Lead us Lord, throughout this week, not into testings, but deliver us all from the power of the evil one.
Let your people so shine, Lord, with the truth that you have shared with us by Your spirit today, Lord, that they will show forth excellencies of our God to a world that's crying for Him. Thank You, Father. Let this be one of the best weeks ever for them. And all the people said, Amen! And so it shall be, in Jesus’ name.
God bless you all. I'll see you all next year. Bring a friend!”
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 2019
These sermon notes were taken by volunteers during the service. They are not a verbatim representation of the sermon.
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