Joseph Prince - His Strength Flows In Our Weaknesses
Greetings, church. Welcome back to the study of God’s Word. The most exciting study that you can ever be involved in. You know, I want all of you to become like people like revelation addicts, you know, you are looking for fresh revelations from God’s Word, especially pertaining to Christ, the wonderful person of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because very soon, He’ll be the center of this earth. The whole world’s government will all revolve around the Lord Jesus Christ. He’s gonna come back and rule from Jerusalem. And we’re looking forward for the rapture, Amen. It can happen anytime. He’ll rapture us first, and then seven years of tribulation on earth, at the end of which He’ll return. And we’ll come with Him, to rule with Him. Praise the Lord.
And friends, Bible prophesies about the coming of the Lord, and the millennial rule of Jesus Christ is abundant throughout the Old Testament. And we know that every other prophecy of His first coming have all been fulfilled. Everything, to the very location where He’ll be born, the tribe from which He will come. The nature of His birth, the virgin birth. And the manner of His death. All that is prophesied in detail, even the fact that He’ll be pierced and crucified, at that time prophesied when they did not practice that. You know, the Jewish means of execution at that time was by stoning, alright. It was a later-on invention of the Romans…the Phoenicians and then the Romans that came later. Yet, the prophet who lived before crucifixion was invented, prophesied that Jesus would be pierced. And all that has come to pass.
So we know that there are also prophesies of His second coming. And some people confuse the two. No, there’s the first coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He came to bring grace, Amen, forgiveness of sins. And He died on the cross for that perfect work to remove all our sins. And to cause us to stand before God; holy, blameless, in the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, Amen. That’s the first coming of our Lord. You know when Jesus preached that His first coming in the synagogue, in His hometown Nazareth, He came to the part where He says, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me". And He said, "…to preach the acceptable year of the Lord". And then He closed the book. Now where He closed, actually, in our Bibles, is a comma. The following words is, "…the day of vengeance of our God".
But you see, He closed the book on, "the acceptable year of the Lord," because His first coming is to bring grace, Amen, not judgement, Amen. It’s to bring grace. And He died on the cross, Amen, to give us that forgiveness of sins, and salvation, and right standing with God. So that has been accomplished, He has come. We are still in the acceptable year of the Lord. We are still in this dispensation of grace, the acceptable year of the Lord. And the Bible says that He said, "the acceptable year". "Year" is longer than the day. Thank God it’s only the "day" of vengeance. "Day" is limited. So, we know there is going to be seven years of tribulation. And during that time is the day of judgement, the day of the Lord. And we know He’s going to come and execute judgement at the end of it. And upon all the ungodly, and upon all the people who have rebelled against Him. We know that He will do a clean sweep. But the day of judgement is coming at the end of the seven years of tribulation. But praise God, we are still in the dispensation of grace and God is still reaching out to people that are lost. And that’s what Amos was prophesying in Amos 9:11.
Once again, let’s look at the Scripture verse. "In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old. That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen," or in the Hebrew, Gentiles goyim, "which are called by My name, saith the LORD that doeth this". Notice that when God raises the tabernacle of David, and repairs all its breaches, all its damages, God says, "In that day, I will also cause My people to possess the remnant of Edom". But notice that in the Hebrew, He uses the word, "Edom," right? The word "Edom" is used. And that tells us also of the truth about Obed-Edom, and the blessing on Obed-Edom. Because Obed-Edom…his name is Obed-Edom. And here we have the remnant of Edom.
So I think there is a suggestion here; divine hint, if you would, of the story of Obed-Edom. Just like Obed-Edom is a Gentile…he’s actually a Philistine. He’s a Gittite, the Bible tells us, and a Gentile. And he actually enjoyed the blessings of God during the dispensation of the law that was given to Israel. And yet he enjoyed the blessings of God upon himself, upon all that he had, and upon his household. And the Bible says that when God raises a tabernacle of David; which He is doing right now all over the world, especially throughout this year. He has given us this specific Word that He is repairing all the breaches and all the damaged areas of the tabernacle of David. And the tabernacle of David is actually a picture of the church of Jesus Christ that God is building, the house of God in these last days, of which you and I are members of, okay.
And then He says that, when He raises up the tabernacle of David, He’s gonna repair all the broken places. And right after the first breach…and the word breach here is the same word used in the story of Uzzah, when he put forth his hand to touch, to steady the ark; and he fell dead. The Lord stuck him dead, the Bible tells us that. And David was afraid, and he called that place Perez, which is "breached". Uzzah, Peraz-Uzzah; or you can say "the breaking of strength". Because Uzzah; his name means "strength". And God is breaking human strength. Because human strength is man’s pride. And man does not know that he’s not able. Man does not know that, as a sinner, he cannot. Jesus says, "Without Me, you can do nothing". And yet we say, "No, I don’t really believe that. I believe that there are some things I can’t do. Maybe the big stuff, like the miracles and all that. But I’m sure I can do something, not nothing"? But no, Jesus says, "Without Me, you can do nothing".
And yet, the life even of believers, is like, we are always putting forth, you know, even in the area of living a life glorifying God. If we are using Uzzah, we are using strength, alright. Then, we are sure doomed to fail. Just like Israel boasted at the foot of Mount Sinai, even before God gave them the Ten Commandments; they boasted and said, "All that God says, we are able to do it. And we will do it". Na'aseh, right, in the Hebrew. "We can do it, we will do it". And man presume on his own strength, which he had none. The Bible says Christ died for all of us who are without strength. And yet man presume on his own strength, on his own righteousness which he had none. And at the foot of Mount Sinai, the moment man boasted in his strength, the very next thing you see is the golden calf. Which is what, the Ten Commandments, the very first commandment is "You shall have no other gods before Me". And man worshipped that golden calf.
So you see, just putting your strength to want to keep the law produces the opposite. And that’s the very thing about not being under law. We’re not saying, become lawless. Become without morality in your life. Without holiness…no, no of course not. But we are saying that the moment you try to keep the law, then you’re destined to fail. You’re destined to produce the opposite. Not the law is giving you strength to sin. But the law is revealing that you cannot. So when you try to keep it, it’s like the mirror. Nothing wrong with the mirror. If you look at the mirror and you see ugly, the mirror did not make you ugly, okay. The mirror is just a reflection of revealing who you are. So if you go to the law, and you try to keep the law, it’s going to reveal who you are. And what you are is a sinner. And you cannot but sin. And that, even for the believer, if you try to keep the law, the law is designed… the strength of sin is the law. And God tells the believer, "You are not under the law. But you are under grace".
And what’s going to happen when that happens? When you are truly under grace, sin will have no dominion over you. It is amazing that, for David, he actually allowed the tabernacle of Moses to exist on Mount Gibeon at the same time, together with…on Mount Zion; his tabernacle, the tabernacle of David, where he brought the ark to. You know, when David brought back the ark to Mount Zion, alright, at the same time, over at Mount Gibeon, six miles away, the tabernacle of Moses was there, with all it’s furnitures, with all it’s holy furnitures. The bronze altar, the lever. And everything to do with the tabernacle of Moses was there. Here we have a picture of the tabernacle of Moses, and we can see all these was brought to Mount Gibeon, just about six miles away from Jerusalem, from Mount Zion. And if you look into the holy place, let’s step into the holy place; this is what you see, in the tabernacle of Moses. And there is a veil. A veil means…it speaks of…there is a separation between God, a holy God, a thrice-holy God and sinful man.
So man can only go in, the high priest can only go in once a year. And that, with the blood of another, Amen. Innocent blood, the blood of a lamb, the blood of the bulls and goats, is the only reflection of the blood of Jesus. And only by that means can he enter the Holy of Holies. Whereas for the tabernacle of David, if you look at the tabernacle of David; there is no veil, right? There’s just open worship, worshipping God, Amen. Coming before God boldly. None of them afraid of dying, because the Bible says that having therefore boldness to enter the Holy of Holies, the holiest, by the blood of Jesus, in a new and living way. A new and living way. It’s as if to say, whereas the old way… The tabernacle of Moses; the more you come, chances of you committing a sin in thought, word or deed is great, therefore chances of you dying is great, okay. So the more you come, chances are you may die.
And hence the phrase used a lot in the tabernacle of Moses; God says, "Don’t do this, lest you die. Don’t come near, lest you die. Don’t do that, lest you die". Whereas, in the new approach, praise the Lord; shed by the blood of Jesus Christ, inaugurated by His flesh, praise the Lord, at the cross; God has opened up. In the moment Jesus died, at the moment Jesus gave up the Spirit, the Bible says God tore the veil in the temple, Amen. Indicating what? The separation between sinful man and a holy God is no longer there. It’s as if God stepped out. I believe it’s not so much for us to step in, it’s God stepping out and welcoming sinful man into His arms. Because right now God has a righteous foundation to receive sinners into His holy presence. And man can come in. in fact, the more you come, the Bible says, "Today we come in a new and living way".
Living way means it’s a new and living way, as opposed to the old and dying way. New and living way means the more you come, the more you come alive. The more you come alive. So if there are areas in your life where death has set in. For example, death setting into the emotions, into the mind is reflected in a state of depression. It’s a form of death. When a marriage breaks down, it’s a form of death. We think of death as only the ultimate when your heart stops beating. But for God, when God talks about death, it is areas of death. Not just the cessation of physical human life, but death to God…even after the first death, there is also a second death; the lake of fire in hell. So God talks about death in its different forms, and Jesus came… listen… Jesus came to release us from sin, as well as also from death. Because death is a consequence of sin. Hallelujah. And God sees death as an enemy. The Bible says the last enemy to be put under His feet is death. That is physical death. But meanwhile there are forms of death that try to come in.
So in the story of David bringing back the ark, right, there was a death in Uzzah. Uzzah experienced death because of what his name implies, alright. God hides truths and all that, especially in the Old Testament in names. You can see in names that there are truths that God wants to reveal to us, Amen. And we see that Uzzah; his name means "strength". So man puts forth his strength and the result is death. It is always, today, when you put forth your strength, you experience death in that area. When you try to save something with your own strength, the result is the opposite of what you want to see, okay. Death comes in. And death in relationships means, you know, you are no more on good terms. You are no more flowing in a good relationship with that person. That means death has come in, okay. So death can come in any area of our life. And there is an offering called the offering of the red heifer, the ashes of the red heifer, in the book of Numbers.
Very interesting, it is not numbered among the offerings of Leviticus, but in the book of Numbers. Why? Because the book of Numbers is the book of wandering. And when Israel is wandering in the wilderness, they might touch a dead carcass. They might touch a bone. And God says all these are tokens of death. So today…you know I remember one time, I picked up a book in a book shop. And it’s all about the occult, you know, it tells you about visualization and things like that. But the author knows how to drop a few verses here and there, you know, talking about, "as a man thinks in his heart, so is he", "if he can believe all things are possible"; just to make it sound Christian. And I thought it was a Christian book at first…this was many years ago. And I picked it up, and I sort of read through it and all that. And then when I realized it was occultic actually, with some Scripture verses, I closed the book.
I remember Pastor Mark was with me in that bookstore and I closed the book. But after I closed the book, I was walking around in the store with him and our families were elsewhere, they were shopping and I was spending time with Pastor Mark. I felt like there was a headache. I had a heavy headache, you know, it was very strong headache and it's not normal. And I went to the restroom and I prayed and asked God for healing. And I heard God's voice telling me, "Son, this headache is because you touch death". I say, "How, how did I touch death"? And that's the very word that God used, "You touched death". I said, "How did I touch death? You read that book". And I, I wasn't listening to His Spirit telling me, put the book down. There was no green light. There was no, in fact there was an inner forbidding, not to touch the book.
So, there are things like this, friends. And you know something? You know, I told the Lord, "Lord I receive Lord anew, the cleansing blood of Jesus. And I receive Lord right now, the liberation Lord, that come from the law of the Spirit of life in Christ, Jesus, I thank You, Lord Jesus, that, that there, you know, the ashes of the red heifer is actually a picture of the blood of Jesus", and, you know, the final form of a being in this case, the cow, the female cow is actually ashes. When you burn it up, it becomes ashes. Ashes means finished work. So, you need to apply the work of Jesus upon the situation. So, I applied the work of Jesus and you know, what happened? Just like that, the headache left, the headache just gone. Amen. And there's a restoration of life. I went back to God in a new and living way. Amen. And I received that life. The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death. Amen! And that's exactly what happened.
So, we can touch death unknowingly. So, there was death in the story of Uzzah and David call it the breach of Uzzah, or literally you put the meaning of the name and all that together, the breaking of human strength, the breaking of strength. So, you look at what is happening around the world today for the past two years. Alright, I believe the Lord is allowing, you know, He has no sickness or disease to send, you know, Jesus says, "He, that has seen Me, has seen the Father". And what do you see Jesus doing in the gospels? Always going about doing good, healing all that were oppress of the devil. But when man become so proud and man does not see their need of God, God can just lift one finger of His protection. And friend, that's a breaking of strength. Whose strength? Man's strength that man might see his need of God's strength, God's power in his life. You see friend, for us, we should rejoice. When we see areas in our life where God is breaking our strength, it is because these are the areas He wants to manifest His strength. The apostle Paul says it like this. When he prayed to the Lord, because there was an area that he doesn't seem to find victory over.
There was an area in his life that he does not see a breakthrough. And he prayed to the Lord three times, that this area, this, this thorn in the flesh, and it's not a disease by the way, all right. I can prove that to you where the Bible must interpret Bible. And when Bible talks about thorns in your sides and all that in the Old Testament, is referring to the enemies, physical enemies. And Paul said in that story, in that passage, that a messenger of Satan was assigned to him to frustrate his ministry to frustrate his areas of service to God. And he plead with God that this might be removed out of his life, that this messenger of Satan will be bound completely. But God said this to him, God said "My grace is sufficient for you for My strength…" And that word strength there is dunamis in the Greek by which we get our word, dynamo, dynamite. God says My dynamite strength is made perfect in your weakness, not in your strength, in your weakness. So actually, we should celebrate all the areas of our lives that are weak.
You know, human nature is such that we always want to show our strong side to people. We always want to show our good side to people. And that's why, if you're always hooked on social media, you look at other people's Instagram, where it's specially curated to present their best self, the best part of their life. And it's all, it's all done in such a way, they'll never show you their areas of weakness. They’ll only show you their good parts and it’s especially curated to present that. But friend, you know, if you're into that, let me just tell you, don't waste your time. Okay. It's all the same story. Don't waste your time. Your time is too precious. Your life is too precious. Time is passing by. Let's use it for the glory of God. Hallelujah. Amen. Redeem time. Be wise. Amen. Buy back time. Redeem time means, buy back the time. And one area I see people involve in is social media. They're really addicted to it. Free yourself today in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ! Amen!
As sons and daughters of God, we can always rejoice that it is in the areas of our weakness that God's strength, God's dynamite power can be manifested, can be released. So if that's so, let's look at all the areas of our weakness and you know what Paul said right after that? Rather, I will glory, most gladly, I will rather boast, the word "glory" there is "I will boast in my infirmities, in my weaknesses for when I am weak, then I am strong". So, look at the areas of your life that you are weak in. Amen and rejoice. Not for that weakness, but because rejoice, because that area of weakness allows God's power to flow in that area. Praise the Lord!
You know, I grew up even in a secondary school, in high school, right, with a stuttering problem. I could not string a sentence together without stuttering. The same teacher, I still remember will come in and make me stand up just for the sheer fun of seeing me stammer. I felt embarrassed because in a co-ed school, you know, you have girls there and you are very sensitive. And at that age, you know, to what the opposite sex thinks about you and the girls will be laughing and that really hurts. My ears would turn red. And I tried all kinds of device. I read different psychological books, you know, to how to overcome this stammering. And the more I tried, listen, the more I tried, the worse I got, the more I tried to not stammer, I stammered. Until one day, after I became a believer, the Lord said to me this, "Son give me your area of weakness". And I realized that the most glaring and the most prominent weakness in my life was this stammering.
And I said to the Lord, "Lord, if You'll have this stammering, right? Whatever, you know, if You can remove this stammering from my life, I will gladly serve You". And I felt honestly, I felt pity for the Lord because I felt like He didn't get a good deal, Amen, to have me it's not a good deal. But I said, "Lord, if You can do something with this stammering, I give you this stammering". Now God, listen is not as if God removed that stammering. But what happened is that in the very area of stammering, God actually released His power. And when God released His power is not something that you are always physically conscious of it. You can feel it. In fact, I felt my weakness. I felt my stammering, but after I gave it to the Lord, it was amazing that I can say a few words and that word, those words are words that, that carried impact with others. I would think that I gave a speech in class or before a crowd, and I felt like I did not do a good job, but later on they'll come back and say, well, that really impacted us, that really spoke to us.
And then I was asked to preach in a youth service. And I preached my first message. I still remember, I preach on the power of the name of Jesus. That was my first sermon. Of course, before that I was asked to preach in a Sunday school and my audience were children. I would preach to them and I'll find that they were listening attentively, even children that were, you know, naturally mischievous and active, over kind of hyperactive. They would sit down and listen. And I realized that something is happening to my words. It seems like God is putting His power, His dunamis on my words. And then when I was asked to preach to the youth service and talked about the power of the name of Jesus, and there was a release of God's power to heal bodies even. And I was amazed because I don't feel in and of myself, I don't feel the strength what I felt physically and emotionally was weakness. But what was released was the power of God.
So that sort of gave me a new mindset, about areas of weaknesses in our life. And that's the same for you. If you have a lot of weaknesses, then a lot of God's power can be released in your life. A lot more of that power can be released because you've got more weaknesses. So, rejoice in all your areas of weakness, in all your areas of breaking, God's going to rebuilt, not in other areas, but in the very area of your weakness. In the very area where there's a breaking of strength. Amen. There'll be the blessing of Obed Edom, which happened right after the story of the Perez Uzzah, Uzzah died. The blessing of God came on Obed Edom because David moved the ark to Obed Edom. So, it seems like, you know, God's heart is always into blessing, but we must do it God's way. If we put human strength into the whole thing, God will not give His glory to another. If God allows you to have the victory because of your strength, who gets the glory? You know, you will get the glory.
You might say, "oh, it's all God", and all that. But inwardly, you know, you put in the strength. You'll want to share the glory. That's human nature. So, God will give His glory to no other but Himself. Amen. Amen to God be all the glory. I always say it like this, and I'm saying this reverently, if God wants to get all the glory, let Him do all the work. Amen. Let Him do all the work, in me, through me, for me. Amen. So, it doesn't mean that your life become a life of passivity, a life of laziness. No. In fact, just like Jesus, He was so active in three and a half years. He finished all the work, the Father assigned Him. Amen! And at the cross He cried, "It is finished". So likewise, we can be restful and yet everything that we do. Amen, like in this year of rest and acceleration, everything that we do is accelerated. We are resting. Amen, the more you rest and rest there means, rest from your human strength and trusting the Lord.
So rest is not inactivity. Rest is Spirit directed activity, because when the Spirit of God leads you usually in those areas that He leads you, are areas whereby you can only do it by Him. Amen. You can only do it by His strength. When He leads you to do something, that means His strength accompanies that leading. You cannot put forth your strength because you are following His leading, but in other areas where you are not led like David, he was not led in the area of carrying the ark. The ark is supposed to be carried on the shoulders of the, of the priests. And yet he allowed it to be done the Philistines’ way, the world's way and what happened? Death. So likewise, when you follow the Spirit, you will always have the strength of God accompanying your tasks. But whenever you do it your way, your strength, Amen, deviating from the path of the leading of God's Spirit, you will find that the result is death.
You see when David came to take the ark from Obed Edom's house, the Bible tells us that the Levites were carrying now that they got it right. Amen, they would carry on their shoulders. And the Bible says, "God helped the Levites". Now for Uzzah, because it's on the oxcart, there's no record of God helping the oxen, because it wasn't God's way, it wasn't, God's leading, but here you have the phrase, "God helped the Levites". Now in the Jewish writings, they say that the moment the ark touched the shoulders of the priests and it’s a very heavy ark, alright the ark of the Covenant is very heavy, about 288 pounds. And the moment it touched the shoulders of the priests is as if it lifted them, they felt light and easy. Does that remind you of what Jesus said? "My yoke is easy. Take My yoke upon you. My yoke is easy and My burden is light". Amen.
You know, people think that to serve the Lord is hard. That's what the devil wants you to think. Actually, the Bible says the way of the transgressors, is hard, is hard! If you are addicted to gambling or you are addicted to alcoholism and all that. Is hard, it's a hard life. Though, your way is hard. You cannot sleep properly. You don't have the peace. You are stressed all the time. You know, you're throwing up. You're not conscious. You don't have the full use of the faculties of your mind. It’s hard. It's a hard life and your relationship with your family is hard. Everything becomes hard. The way of the transgressors, the way of the sinners is hard. Don't think for one moment they are enjoying their life. Amen. They are finding it a hard life. But to serve the Lord, the devil wants to put the whole thing.
You know, sin is fun. Sin is easy, you know, there is such a thing as pleasure of sin for a season. It doesn't last, but joy unspeakable, is for all eternity. That joy you experience, whenever you do things the way God wants you to and you're led by the Spirit, you find there's a joy and there's a peace. In fact, the Bible says it like this, "That David brought the Ark out right from the house of Obed Edom, he brought it out with gladness". Hallelujah! You don't find that phrase, okay of gladness where earlier, before Uzzah story. Right, but here you find there's gladness. For the first time you see the word "gladness". Why? Because he's doing it God's way. I'm sure you've experienced that so many times. Amen. When you are led by the Lord and you do things the way God wants you to do it. Amen. There’s a joy, there’s a gladness and I’m telling you, my friend, all the billions in the world cannot buy you that. "My yoke is easy and My burden is light".
Don’t let the devil brainwash you into thinking that the Christian life is a hard life, okay, the sinner’s life is an enjoyable, fun-filled life. It’s the opposite. The way of the transgressors is hard, Amen, the way of the Lord Jesus, and He says, "I come, that you might have life and have it more abundantly, joy unspeakable, full of glory". "My yoke is easy and My burden is light". Is there responsibilities for us to fulfill? Is there a service for us to execute in the kingdom of God? Yes, there is. But His yoke is easy, and His responsibilities, His burden, is light. Amen. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. It’s like, you know, driving a car without power steering. Remember those days when those cars without power steering? You really got to turn around just to make a right turn, and you’ve got to use a lot of effort. But with power steering, you just have to steer the direction and the power takes over.
That’s how I like to describe flowing with the Spirit. The moment you take the direction the Holy Spirit is leading you to, Amen, or certain actions He wants you to execute, the moment you obey Him on that, you follow His flow, Bang! The power steering sets in, Amen. His dunamis sets in, and you are borne along. It’s as if the yoke and the responsibilities become light, easy. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. So, when we look at the Lord Jesus, and we meditate, and we’re conscious of His love for us, we end up loving Him, and that love propels us to love other people. The Bible use this word, "The love of Christ constraints us". You know, if you’re swimming up a river, and all of a sudden there’s like a sudden gush of flood waters coming towards you. I don’t care how strong you are, you may have biceps like Pastor Lawrence, you know, but the more you try to swim upstream, you’ll be borne along by the currents, by the strong waters, right, that’s the word "constrain". It is like, it constraints you.
The love of Christ constraints us. We don’t do things in the Christian life obligingly, alright, in a hard way. No, no. we do things in a constrained way. And what’s the thing that constraints us? The love of Christ – that becomes the motivating force behind everything that we do when we’re conscious of His love for us, we love our wives as Christ loves the church. We love our children, we love those around us, and that’s why the Bible says, "We love because He first loved us". Amen. He is the first cause, and the effect is that we love everyone around us, Amen. But if the first cause has been removed, the devil has successfully caused you to lose sight of Jesus and His love for you, then it will cut off all these areas as well. Okay? So, in the last days, as God rebuild all the breaches, and notice the word there is plural, not just one area of break like the breaking of human strength. But every other area that is broken and needs repair, needs rebuilding in our lives.
This year, this year, the Lord is going to do that in your life, Amen. As He rebuilds the church as a whole all over the world, I believe that God is right now in the process of rebuilding. And let me just say something about God’s rebuilding and God’s restoring. When God rebuilds it is always greater in quality or quantity. That’s His nature. Throughout the Bible, it’s always, the restoration of God is always greater than what you have lost. Praise the Lord. Even though, the Bible says, "I restored that which I took not away". God is not the one who took away from you. The Lord Jesus said, "The devil, the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy, but I’ve come that you might have life, and have it more abundantly". So, friend, I just want to encourage you, right, this year, let’s endeavor, okay, to enter into rest.
Notice, when I say, "Let’s endeavor". Some people say, "I’ll do my best. Okay, I’m going to exert". What? Human strength? No, that’s not the way. The Bible use the word, it’s an oxymoron, that sentence is really a contradiction, it seems, in terms, but it says, "Let us labor, therefore, to enter the rest". There’s a labor to enter the rest. So, we work at resting. We labor for what? Resting. So, our problem, if we know that our flesh is the problem, for example, let’s say you have an area, anger is your problem, okay. So, watch out for the first reaction. If someone says something and then your first reaction is always to hit back or to say something or to react, don’t be a person that just reacts, okay. Don’t let people push your button so easily. Don’t be so easily manipulated or controlled. You know, people say, "Watch this, I can push this button and he’ll get angry". Don’t become someone, easily manipulated, okay, be independent, in a healthy way in the Lord. Amen. Let the Lord be the one to lead you and guide you.
So, in your reaction, for example, if you’re angry, what do you do? Inwardly rest, say, "Lord, You’ve got this. Rest. Amen. Just rest. Praise the Lord". The moment you feel like saying, just rest, rest in the Lord. And you’ll be surprised, when you stop trying to be a Christian in that area, you end up with the life of Christ flowing in you. The more you try to love someone, for example, you’ve got a problem with a colleague, you know, at work, and you know, he always seems to say something that provokes you, or he will say something that rubs you the wrong way, what do you do? "I’ll do my best to love him. Tomorrow I’ll say something nice to him. I’ll purposely say something nice to him". No, that’s not the way. The way of the Lord is, don’t even try. Say, "Lord, You’ve got this. Thank You for Your love flowing in my heart. Thank You, Lord, I will just follow Your Spirit". Don’t even try to love him. And guess what? The very next day, you’ll be loving him even without trying to. In fact, you will be loving him sometimes unconsciously, only to find that at the end of the day, "Wow, I didn’t lose temper, I didn’t lose my cool. It seems like the Lord took over".
And that’s exactly what happens. That, my friend, is the Christian life. So, we have to look at areas of our weakness. Already your weakness is helping you to break down that strength, right? That’s the idea of weakness. A weakness means breaking down of strength. So, your areas of weakness actually is helping you. So, the more you see those areas. But none of us are so free from our own strength as we think we are. You know, it’s like a drowning person. You cannot save him until he’s completely void, destitute of strength. As long as he has strength still, he will pull you down with him. He will struggle against your help. So, we’re not as weak as we think we are. We need God’s intervention in our lives. So, the more we rest, the more we say, "I’m not going to put in the strength". It is not a life of laziness. It is not a life of passivity. It’s a most active life, because now, the power that energizes you is not your own. It’s like the burning bush. It is burning and burning, yet, it’s not consumed. You’re not burnt out. You’re burning all the time. Burn up, my friend. And people will come and watch you burn. Amen. Burn up for the glory of God, but not burnt out. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord.
Now, the Obed-Edom’s blessing. The Bible tells us, we learnt last week the secret found in his name, as well as what David did. One of the first things David did that he didn’t do before Uzzah’s death, when he brought the ark from Gilead-Yarim, was to offer blood sacrifice, right, which he did, which means, the name ‘Obed-Edom’, the servant of Edom. Edom can also mean mankind, like I said just now, when the Lord restores the tabernacle of David, the name of Obed-Edom is there, "That they may possess the remnant of Edom," right. And here, Acts 15 tells us, in Acts 15 when James quoted Amos, he says that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord. So, it’s the same verse, it’s the same quotation. But notice that where it says "Edom", James says "mankind", because Edom is also the word where you get the word "Adam". Adam. But notice, "Edom" is left there in Amos’ prophecy, to remind us of Obed-Edom and his blessings. Which means, when God restores the tabernacle of David in these last days, He’s also going to restore family blessings. Receive that in your life, in your family’s life. Amen.
If there are areas that are broken, right now, rejoice because, boy, God’s strength, God’s blessings are going to flow in those very areas. Amen. If you’ll not give up, if you’ll believe God and start rejoicing, not in those broken areas alone, but in the fact that His strength and His blessing can flow in all the broken places. It’s the broken places that invites His repairing, His rebuilding that He has promised. Praise the Lord. Thank You, Jesus. 2 Samuel 6 tells us, "The ark of the Lord remain in Obed-Edom the Gittite three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-Edom and all his household". Now, if you look carefully in the Hebrew, here is something very interesting in the Hebrew, I’m going to extract the part of the same verse just now and show you the Hebrew. Hebrew reads from right to left. It says, "And blessed the Lord, alef tav, at Obed-Edom".
Notice that alef tav is not translated? It’s as if it’s a signature there. Alef tav. The first letter of the Hebrew alphabet is alef, the very last one is tav. When you put them together, it’s like saying, "I am the A and Z". Or Jesus says, "I am the alpha and omega". Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet, and the last one is omega. So, the first letter is alpha, and the last one is omega. When Jesus appeared to John, His disciple John, Jesus actually in His resurrected form says, "I am the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end," says the Lord, "who is, who was and who is to come, the Almighty". Notice He says, "I am the alpha and omega". Now, this is Greek, alright, because our new testament is translated from Greek. But Jesus would not have spoken Greek to His fellow Jewish disciple, John. He would have spoken Hebrew, right, He would have said this, "I am alef and I am tav".
The first letter, and the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, which is actually the alef tav of this word here, the Lord, who is this Lord? Alef tav. Jesus blessed Obed-Edom. When Jesus is in the center of your life, the blessings of God flows. Praise the Lord. Thank You, Jesus. And if you look at the very first verse, Genesis 1:1, the very first verse of the entire Bible, Genesis chapter 1, verse 1, it says, "Bereshit", in the beginning, "bara elohim et ha’Shamayin v’et ha’aretz". In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. "Bereshit bara Elohim et", notice alef, tav? "ha’Shamayin v’et ha’aretz". So, God is saying here, very clearly, in the beginning created God, alef tav, is untranslated, the heavens and the earth. This is how it appears in the Hebrew Bible, and it’s the very first verse of the entire Bible. And notice, that right in the center, there are seven words, exactly seven words.
By the way, this is the inspiration of Scripture. All Scripture is God-breathed, and number seven in the Scripture is the number of perfection. If you look at the number of words here, not in the English, but in the Hebrew, the original, the Hebrew, there are exactly even words, alright, bereshit, one, created, all the way to the end of the earth, exactly seven words, okay? Now, the center word is alef tav, that is Jesus’ signature. It is untranslated. It’s like, you know, who is the one that created the heavens and the earth? Our Lord Jesus, the alef tav, the alpha omega, the first and the last. He is the One. Praise God. And by the way, if He is the alpha, and He is the omega. Jesus has the last word. Amen! Praise the Lord! He is the first and He is the last. Hallelujah.
So, here, we see seven words. If you look exactly at the Hebrew letters, if you count each of the letters, it’s exactly 28. And what is 28? Seven, again multiples of seven. Seven times four. Seven, seven, seven, seven. So, you’ll find, seven, by the way, seven, by the way, seven is all over the first verse of the Bible. There are about 30 seven multiples and things to do with seven, alright, in the very first verse of the Bible. Which goes to show, friend, that the Scripture is all inspired of God. Amen. And the very fact the Bible puts alef tav, His Son’s name, His Son’s signature right in the center, that tells us that the Lord wants our lives to center around Jesus Christ, our family life, to center around Jesus Christ. Amen. In everything that we do, Jesus is in the center. The Bible says, "All things were made by Him". So, when He says, "In the beginning God created". Who created? Who is this God who created? Alef tav. Because the Bible says about Jesus, all things were made by Him and without Him, nothing was made that was made. Amen. He is the creator of all things. Praise the Lord. Thank You, Lord Jesus. Amen.
And when He is in the center, another verse in the Bible says, "In Him, all things consist or all things are held together". You know, you look at the atom. Right at the core of every matter is the atom. Right but when you look at the atom, they are supposed to split apart. You know, all the protons, neutrons and all that. You look carefully. There is a force that man is not able to pin-point. It is beyond them. They can come right down to the atom, but they cannot tell you what is the force that holds the atom together. Because naturally, based on all scientific laws, they are supposed to repel each other. Yet there is a force that holds them together. The Bible says, "In Christ, all things are held together". Literally, in Him, all things are held together. He made all things and for Him, all things are made.
So, when you live your life for Him, you surrender your family life to Him, you give your whole life to Him, what happens? He holds everything in your life together. Whatever area of your life. You give your health to Him. You give your career, your ministry to Him. You give your whole being to Him. All these areas are held together. Now, it is no more based on your strength holding them together. Whether it is your marriage, your business, your career, your life, your ministry, your parenting. Now, you are no more dependent on your strength. Because why? Christ has come in. You have invited Jesus right in the center of that area. And you know what? He holds all things together. Amen. When you invite Him into your life, He holds everything together. It is when He is no longer the center, everything disintegrates. Like the hub, the center of the wheel. When there is no more hub, all the spokes will all fall out of place. Because it is the center of the wheel that holds the spoke in place so that there is acceleration.
Put Him in the center, friend. The center of your marriage. The center of your parenting. The center of your career. The center of your ministry. The center of all that you are dreaming about the future. Make sure the Lord is in your future. Amen. And the Lord wants us to have this consciousness that all things were made by Him. And without Him was nothing made. And all things were made for Him, for His glory. So, when you flow with God’s pattern, everything is flowing for you, and not against you. Amen. You will be resourced. You will be charismatised. Amen. You will be gifted. You will be anointed. Because everything that you do is for His glory. You are now in the pattern of God. Just like the ark. Put on the shoulders of the priests is the proper order. Amen. The pattern of God. When you follow God’s pattern, everything flows in your life. For you. Not against you. Praise the Lord. Thank You, Jesus. Hallelujah.
Look at another verse on parenting. And this is from the law. God says, "Therefore, shall you lay up these, My words, in your heart and in your soul. And you shall teach My words to your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when you walk by the way, when you lie down, when you rise up. And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gates; that your days may be (what?) multiplied, and the days of your children". So, God is saying, "When you are speaking My words, to your children…" God says. And notice that it is not like a, there is a proper time of teaching the Bible to my kids. Now I set aside time. No. I mean it is good to have those times. But God is saying just in your every day life, alright just follow the flow of the Spirit.
The Bible says when you rise up, when you lie down, take the opportunity, as the Lord leads you, to say something about Jesus. How do I know it’s about Jesus and these words about Jesus, and not about the law? Even though superficial reading at that time refers to the law, but God hides something here. And if you look carefully. Let me finish off first. "That your days (the result is) your days may be multiplied". Notice that if you do that, God says your days will be multiplied and the days of your children. So, you will have long life and so will your children. Not only quantity of life. But look at this. "… as the days of heaven upon the earth". As the days of heaven upon the earth. So, not only will you have quantity of life, you will have long life. Your days will be multiplied and the days of your children. But they will be days… What is the point of having a long life, right, it’s a bad life, it’s full of evil days, full of bad days? But God promises that you will have long life and your children as well as those, that life will be filled with like days of heaven upon the earth.
So, God tells us that in your parenting lies also that long life, that longevity as well as also the quality of life. Amen. And let’s delve into the secrets of this. If you look carefully, what kind of words is it? I was saying just now that it is not just the law, friend. Here it says in Deuteronomy. "Therefore, you shall lay up My words..". But notice that aleph tav is there. So, these are words of Christ. It is not words of the law. Even though back then, they will teach the law to their children. But God ordained that, for us today in the new covenant, His Son is there, you speak words about Christ. When you spend time with your children, let’s talk about Jesus, the King of kings is He. The Lord of lords supreme, through all eternity. Just talk about Jesus. What you learn. From my sermons, what you learn. From your personal study, what God is showing you about His Son. Talk to your children about Him. Amen. Tell your children about Genesis 1:1, that He is the creator of all things. Amen. God is the source but God uses Him to create all things. The Bible says He is the creator. Amen.
Tell your children that. And tell your children how this creator came to earth in human form and died on the cross. Whatever God shows you about Jesus, share with them. It can be when you are lying down and they are near you. It can be when you are rising up, when you are walking by the way. Just in the every day life. Amen. This is not talking about a set time. And these are words about Jesus. Let’s go on. And the next verse tells us. "And you shall teach them, teach them My words". Right. But here God puts in the signature of His Son, aleph tav. "You shall teach aleph tav to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house when you stand up, when you walk by the way". So, notice what is the key in the teaching, in the sharing with your children? We talk about a lot of things. But nothing will avail as much as talking about Jesus. You will have an impartation when you talk about Jesus. Even though they seem like sometimes they are not interested, or they would rather talk about their favorite Pokémon, or character or some other game stuff, or avatar figure, or whatever. But you know what? Just keep on talking about Jesus in the normal affairs of life.
The Holy Spirit is the one that gives the power and to stick it in their hearts. The Holy Spirit is the one to give your words weight with them. Amen. And you will be surprised that they are listening sometimes even though they appear like they are not listening. Amen. Share with them about Jesus. Talk about what the Lord has shown you to them. Amen. And it’s all about Jesus. Praise the Lord. Amen. Just a little word here and there will have a power to bless your children like nothing you can dream of. And God promises that your days will be multiplied and the days of your children. And the quality. Like days of heaven upon the earth. Praise the Lord. I hope you are getting all these, my friend. And it is very interesting that the one that bless the house of Obed-Edom, we saw just now is actually the Lord Jesus, aleph tav. But when David heard about how God bless Obed-Edom, David felt a bit of jealousy. "Hey, I don’t want to confine this blessing to just one man’s house. I want this to be in my city. The entire Israel will be blessed".
So, David came to take the ark from Obed-Edom’s house. But then this is what it says here in the verse. "It was told King David saying, ‘The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him because of the ark of God.’ So, David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the city of David with gladness". Can you see the gladness there? But notice when David went and brought up the ark of God, see what it says in the Hebrew. "When it came, David brought up aleph tav, the ark of God". Jesus is there. Every time you want to bring up from a lower place to a higher place. You want to bring up Jesus in your life, you want to exalt, Amen, God’s blessing is there. There will be a joy. There will be a gladness in your heart. Hallelujah. Amen. If your heart’s desire… The whole world is talking about self, self. How I can profit myself? How I can profit me and my and mine?
In fact, if you look at David’s words before Uzza’s death, you will find, and during Uzza’s death as well, you will find him saying ‘we’, ‘I’, ‘me’, ‘my’. He consulted thousands of people instead of consulting God, Amen, with his captains and all that. And all his leaders. Instead of consulting God. It’s all about ‘we’, ‘me’, ‘I’, ‘my’. How shall the ark of God come to me? You know, It’s all about ‘me’, ‘I’, ‘my’. But when it comes to the Jesus in the center, the ark now is in the center, there is joy in David’s heart. There is gladness. And every time you think of bringing up the Lord Jesus, Jesus is right there in the center of that. Amen. And the Holy Spirit has come to glorify Jesus. No other name but the name of Jesus. Hallelujah.
If you do that, my friend, all the resources of heaven will come to you. Amen. How about this year? Find some areas of ministry. Ask the Lord for an area of ministry you can serve His Son in. Because Jesus said, "If any man serve Me, him will My Father honor". Will you find that? Amen. Or else you can consult your care leader and leaders who are in the church and ask them for advice. How can I serve the Lord? Amen, I want to get involved in ministry. I want to get involved in serving the Lord. And when you serve, you are not looking to please man so that they will put your hand on your shoulders. Or to please some leaders so that they can approve of you. No, no, no. You are looking to serve Jesus. Whether people recognize it or not, it is from Jesus you receive the reward of the inheritance. Amen, friend. Praise the Lord. Thank You, Jesus.
Something happened to the house of Potiphar when he put Joseph in the center. Remember Joseph came as a slave? But then he put Joseph in charge of everything in his house. Let’s look at that verse. It says, "From the time", notice from the time, "that he made Joseph overseer of his house and all that he has, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in the house and the field". The blessing of the Lord was on all that he had. So, when was the time that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house and all that he had? From the time Potiphar made Joseph overseer the center of his house and all that he had. The Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake. And the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in the house and in the field.
And of all the characters in the Old Testament, Joseph’s life is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. Loved by his father, rejected by his brothers, became the bread of life for the entire world. It’s all about Jesus. Jesus, loved by the Father. Rejected by His Jewish brothers. Became the bread of life to the Gentile world. And friend, it is all about Jesus. When you put Jesus in the center, the overseer, the centrality of your life, all heaven, all the power of God, will start to assist you. You will be like the Levites. God help the Levites. And you will find the help of God in every area of your life. Praise the Lord. And you are not left to your own strength, which will always frustrate you. Amen. To God be all the glory and the praise, friend. Thank You, Lord Jesus.
Someone has been diagnosed with cancer recently. And it seems like in the area of your stomach area or somewhere there. It could be the liver. I am seeing an area right around there. And God is healing you right now. You feel the warmth of God, friend. Go back to the doc… Receive it in Jesus’ name. Go back to your doctor. Verify with them. Amen. And share with us this testimony. Mark this day. Amen. And share with us this testimony. Praise the name of Jesus. Thank You, Lord Jesus.
There is someone. It seems like both your hands, you cannot. It’s like when you lift your hands above your shoulders, there is pain and your movement has been restricted. Oh friend, right now, in that very area, God’s power is flowing. And God is adjusting. God is restoring. God is healing, Amen, all that stiffness, in Jesus’ name, goes, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. All the pain goes in the name of the Lord Jesus. To God be all the glory. Praise the name of Jesus. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank You, Lord Jesus.
Someone’s heart is being healed. I see like a golden oil being poured all over your heart. You have been diagnosed with a heart condition. And right now, you feel the warmth of God. Literally you feel the warmth of God. And now, you feel strength reinvigorating your body. Literally you can feel the strength. Amen. Friend, you are the one. Go back to the doctor and verify your healing. And share with us. Amen. Let us know what God has done. And you know who is doing all these, friend? Aleph tav, The Lord Jesus Christ. He is doing it all right now. Already, I standby some testimonies just now to share with you that happened from the words of knowledge that the Lord Jesus gave last week. And it is all coming in this week. And total healing. Total healing. Some of them, right after they hear the Word, the healing happened. Okay, friend, that is you right now, you are receiving it in Jesus’ name. Thank You, Lord Jesus. Amen. Praise the Lord.
There is someone who is having a lot more like floaters in your eyes and now it is clearing up. You are seeing like floaters and now it is clearing up. The Lord is healing your eyes. Thank You, Lord Jesus. Thank You, Lord Jesus.
Someone just… You had migraine. You had headache just now when you were watching this. And, but yet you persevered watching. And right now, you feel that the headache is just dissipating. It is just… And now it’s gone. Praise the name of Jesus. Hallelujah. Thank You, Lord Jesus.
And for the rest of you, whatever affliction you have right now, just place your hand on that afflicted area. If you are suffering depression, place your hand on your mind right now. And right now, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I speak the restoration of God in all the areas of your body that needs healing. In the name of Jesus, let health spring forth speedily in your bodies right now. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not by might, not by power, but by Your Spirit, Father, effect a cure in that very area, Lord, that they are believing you for. In Jesus’ name. There it is right now. You are feeling like a warmth come on your body. Receive it. And in the name of Jesus, I command that spirit of heaviness that oppresses your mind. In the name of the Lord Jesus, to be lifted off you. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And let the peace of God, the shalom of God, reign in your mind. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Praise the Lord.
Friend, if you have never received Jesus as your Savior and Lord, this is the best time to put Him in the center of your life and see everything in your life working together for his glory. Amen. Praise the Lord. You know, it’s not all about us, friend. It is all about Him. And when we get that perspective right, we are back to where true life is. Jesus says, "He that loses his life for My sake will find it". It is not to lose it permanently. When you lose your low life, the Amplified Bible says, you lose your low life, you will find the high life in Jesus Christ. You are about to find the high life in Jesus. Pray this prayer with me right now. Say:
Lord Jesus, I thank You that You died on that cross for my sins. I thank You, You rose from the dead, conquering death for me. Jesus, I confess Jesus Christ is my Lord, my Savior. And Father God, You are now my Father. I am your child. And I am greatly blessed, highly favored and I am so loved by You. Thank You, Father God. In Jesus’ name.
Congratulations, child of God. You are now in the family of God. Get ready for the blessings that came upon Obed-Edom to come on you and on your families as well. Praise the name of Jesus. And for the rest of you, stand to your feet. I want to pray that prayer. For the blessings of Obed-Edom, Amen, to come on your life. Even this week, Amen, let it manifest. Praise the Lord. Especially in all the weak areas of your life.
Father, I thank You, Lord, for everyone under the sound of my voice. And I ask in the name of the Lord Jesus, this coming week, Lord, I pray that they will see, Lord, the blessing that you blessed Obed-Edom with, rest upon them, upon all that they have, and upon their entire household this week. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And let it be said of them, Lord, that they are so blessed because of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let it be a testimony to many far and wide. In Jesus’ name. Amen.