Joseph Prince - God's Comeback Plan for You Starts Now (01/26/2026)
God calls believers to stay in the "upper chamber" (third floor realm) of the Spirit—heavenly places in Christ—where miracles, blessings, and angelic help abound. Through the story of Tabitha (Dorcas) raised in Joppa ("beautiful"), God reveals how to experience many beautiful days: by double hearing (Simon Peter with Simon the tanner) the Word in faith, dealing with the flesh, and staying positioned in the Spirit rather than the natural. Even in death-like situations, declare "it shall be well" and expect resurrection power.
Stay in the Upper Chamber – The Realm of the Spirit
No, not well now, but it shall be. Go to God's Word in Acts chapter 9, the passage that God gave it to me. And God said to me, I want you to study this passage because there are nuggets of gold I'm going to give you in this upper chamber.
I little realized that there is that word chamber. I was studying from my King James Bible. And the King James Bible that I was studying actually unveiled the word chamber. In this story.
The Upper Chamber: Place of Blessings and Miracles
And God is saying, that's where you are and that's where you're going to stay. Tell the people, stay in that place of the upper chamber, the third floor. Stay there where all the blessings are, where miracles happen, where the Spirit of God can lead you. Amen.
Where the angels of God, an innumerable company of angels. You will need this. Amen. In these last days. And the Lord says that, stay in that realm. Stay in the Spirit. That's the Spirit realm. The heavenly places in Christ. Amen.
Position-wise, we are in Christ. Experiential-wise, we are in the Spirit on earth here. And every time you are in the Spirit, every time you touch the Spirit, every time you allow yourself to be led by the Spirit, you're actually effectively and practically living in the third heaven, in the heavenly places in that upper chamber. Amen.
Tabitha (Dorcas): A Disciple Full of Good Works
So let's look at this story here. At Joppa, there was a certain disciple named Tabitha, which is translated Dorcas. Whenever the Bible emphasises things like, her name is Tabitha, which is translated Dorcas. Tabitha is Aramaic. Dorcas is Greek. Same name.
God wants us to pay attention to names in this story. Okay? So, this lady is called Tabitha, which is, the name means gazelle in Aramaic, in Hebrew as well. It is Sebiah, which is actually the word used in Song of Songs more than one time. And Dorcas in the Greek.
This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds which she did. But it happened in those days that she became sick and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room.
Joppa: The Place Called Beautiful
By the way, in verse 36, at Joppa, Joppa, there was a certain disciple. Notice this place, Joppa, which is present-day Jaffa. And death to someone that we esteem not deserving of death. Yet, we know, even today, ever since Adam sinned, death has spread down. Now, all men, the Bible says, die. Amen.
All men die, except for the generation that will see Jesus come for them. But the Christian posture, the Bible tells us that we don't look to the grave. We look to the heavens. We look for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Looking for the return of His Son.
And the Bible says that in more than one place in the New Testament, to look for Jesus' return for us. We don't look to the grave. We don't keep on saying things like, you know, stop saying things like, one day we're all going to die. No, no.
In fact, that's not a Christian posture. The Christian posture is that we are looking for the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Keep on looking up, not looking down. Okay?
How to Have Many Beautiful Days This Year
So, but in the place of beauty, there came death. And when God gave me this passage, this is what I heard Him say. How to have beautiful days in this coming year. Okay? He's going to show us how to have beautiful days.
Now, I don't like to give titles to my sermons, you know. I'm not one of those that give titles to the sermons. But this is what I heard. How to have beautiful days this coming year. Amen?
God did not say every day is going to be beautiful days or good days. He says that many good days. You know how He gave it to me? As I read this passage, right at the last part of the passage. In fact, this verse here finishes the entire chapter 9.
And it ends with this verse. It says, So it was that He, Simon Peter, stayed many days in Joppa with Simon Atena. It was that He stayed many days in Joppa. So many beautiful days.
Names as Types: Tabitha/Dorcas and Joppa
God said, Don't forget, this whole passage here, God gave us an inkling to study the names. Right? Tabitha, who is also named Dorcas. God wants us to study this. Because there are also types in the New Testament.
For example, in the book of Acts, another place, Paul was sailing. And there was a storm. And then finally, they refused to listen to Paul. And there was a shipwreck. And where did they end up in? What island was the name of the island? Malta. Malta means honey.
So the land of milk and honey. How to reach there. So Christendom, the ship is the ship of Christendom. Doesn't mean, Christendom doesn't mean that everyone is a true born again believer. However, it means that once you call yourself a Christian, you are part of Christendom.
Okay, that ship did not listen to Paul. Paul's preaching. As a result, there was shipwreck. They should have listened to Paul. And Paul finally stood up and said, Sirs, you should have harkened unto me. Okay, and not suffer this loss. But nonetheless, they were all saved.
Those that listened to Paul, they were all saved. And they ended up in an island called Malta. The land of milk and honey. Amen. And praise the Lord.
So there's a picture of the church. So even stories in the book of Acts can be types. So back to this story again, in Dorcas' story in Joppa, a place called Beautiful.
Dorcas as a Type of the Church
So we have established that there are types, even in New Testament. And what is the type here? This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds which she did. You know, the church of Jesus Christ. She's a picture of the church.
The church is usually typified by the woman. Amen. And the church is known or should be known for her almsgiving, her good deeds, her charitable deeds. And also, the Bible says she was a woman that a lot of people love, as you will see later on. Many people love her. She had favor. Amen.
That's the church of Jesus Christ. The church of Jesus Christ that God is raising, even in these last days. Amen. We need to see what God is doing. Amen.
So here, we have Dorcas who died, and they laid her in an upper room. An upper room. Now, there are people who dispute. Well, you know, Christians on this side of heaven should not have dreams about good days. You know, we are called to suffer for Jesus.
And that's so. The Bible says it is given unto you on behalf of Christ to suffer for His name's sake. When we suffer for His name's sake, the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
Suffering for Christ vs. Suffering What He Bore
The only suffering I see in the Bible, in the New Testament, that a believer, you know, I mean, you don't have the belief for it, it's going to happen. You will suffer for the name of Jesus. You will suffer as a believer.
But I don't see anywhere else that we suffer the things that Jesus carried at the cross. And the Bible says in Isaiah 52 very clearly, and in Matthew chapter 8 and all that, that not only He carried our sins, He carried our diseases, He carried our pains, Himself took our infirmities in Matthew 8, 17. And with His stripes, we are healed.
Not only that, the Scriptures tell us, you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ at the cross, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor. When did Jesus become poor? Not before the cross, right? Every time there was a need, He could supply that need with 12 basketful left over.
But He became poor at the cross. Why did He become poor? The last thing He saw, one of the last things He saw were the soldiers gambling for His clothes. And He became poor that you and I, the Bible says, that you through His poverty might become rich.
Now, rich doesn't mean become, you know, greedy and just have avarice in your heart. No, no, I'm talking about being blessed to be a blessing. So, part of it, and we cannot deny it, the Bible says that He became poor.
Now, Jesus didn't become poor spiritually, right? So that we can become rich spiritually. The context there is not referring to that at all. Read the context. He's talking about giving, finances, and the whole way you find God loves a cheerful giver, the churches of Macedonia, giving to the poor saints in Jerusalem.
That whole context is there when this verse appears that through His poverty you might become rich. He's talking to the church about you can afford to be generous because you have become rich, lavishly supplied. Amen. Because of what Christ did at the cross. Hallelujah.
Resurrection Power in the Upper Room
Some of you are experiencing like financial death because you've just been retrenched. You feel like, you know, a form of death. That's a form of death. Or breakdown of marriage or relationships. It's a form of death.
Can God resurrect it? Can God turn your days of death and darkness into beautiful days? Oh, that's like a song. Into beautiful days. Someone write a song. Beautiful days in Christ. Amen.
So, here we go. And they laid her in the upper room. There was another body, a corpse that was laid in an upper room. Does it ring a bell? In 2 Kings chapter 4, there's a story whereby there was a wealthy woman of Shunam. Alright? A Shunamite.
And she told her husband this. In 2 Kings 4, she said to her husband, Behold now, I know that this is a holy man of God who is continually passing our way. And that was Elisha.
The Shunammite Woman: Faith in the Upper Chamber
Let us make a small room on the roof. Now, traditionally, their house is two floors. But if you make a small room on the roof with walls, what does that make that room? The third chamber. Amen? The third floor room.
And put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp so that whenever he comes to us, he can go in there. One day he came there and he turned into the chamber and rested there. Alright?
So, actually, she provided a place for the man of God. And the man of God was very grateful. And the man of God told his servant, Gehazi, go ask her what she wants us to do for her. Amen? For all the good that you have done to us, tell me. Tell me. What do you need?
And she says, you know what? I'm just happy to be where I am. Then Gehazi whispered in Elisha's ears and says, she's without a child. And her husband is very old.
So, Elisha called her and says, at this time next year, you will have a son. And true enough, she had a son. And one day, the son was out with the father, out there in the field. And all of a sudden, he shouted, my head, my head.
And I think it was a heat stroke. And the Bible says, the boy was brought to the mother. And this is what happened. When the father lifted the boy and brought him to his mother, the child sat on her lap till noon, and then he died.
Now, this Shunomite woman, the mother went up and laid the boy on the bed of the man of God. She went up to the third chamber, to the third floor, and she laid the boy on the bed of the man of God and shut the door behind him and went out.
So she laid him... What a thing for a mother to do when her son has just died. The son that she dearly loved, the son that she's been longing for all the past years, has finally arrived and the boy died.
And she... But what did she do? She laid him on in the upper chamber, just like they laid Tabitha in the upper chamber, and she closed the door behind her. All this has meaning and I just want you to see this first.
And she shut the door behind the boy and went out. Now, she went to look for Elisha. And you all know the story. Elisha was away at the time and she found Elisha.
Elisha asked her, asked her this question, is it shalom with you? And she says, shalom. Now, in our English Bible, it says, is it well with you? She says, it is well.
That's where the wonderful hymn, the beautiful hymn, it is well with my soul came from, from this story. Instead of saying that, no, my son just died, she says, shalom.
Shalom: It Shall Be Well – Faith Declaration
She didn't lie. Shalom means what? Even though there's death right now, amen, God will turn the whole thing around. Hallelujah. Shalom means, it shall be well. Amen. It shall be, no, not well now, but it shall be.
Amen. I'm going to say this prophetically to many of you that are watching right now. I know the situation looks bleak and dark. It shall be well for you. Amen. This coming year, you will see wellness. You will see wholeness. You will see shalom in every area of your life if you will just apply what God wants us to learn from this story here.
And shut the door behind Him and went up. When Elisha came in, you'll know the story. Elisha prayed for the boy. He went on top of the boy and prayed for the boy.
Now the boy is sandwiched between the anointing upon, anointing below, on the bed. Amen. And the boy was raised from the dead. Surround that child. Amen. With the anointing of God.
Inundate the child with anointing of God. Play godly music. Amen. If they are in your car, don't come on, allowing them to say, I want to hear this worldly music. I want to hear that. You know, listen. Let them hear what you want to hear. Amen.
Surround them with anointing of God. And here and there, The Holy Spirit will find a way, a crevice in their hearts here and there, and the light will shine in and will turn them around. Amen?
That's what happened to you and I. Amen? God had mercy on us. Why not our children? Praise the Lord. Thank you, Jesus.
From Strife to Beauty: Lydia Near Joppa
Okay, let's go back to Tabitha's story. Verse 38, Since Lida was near Joppa, very quickly, Lida means travail or strife. Joppa is beautiful.
So whenever, you know, the devil is trying to bring strife near the place of beauty, the place of beauty is your beautiful days, right? I was saying just now that some believers don't believe that Jesus carried also, alright, the evil, you know, you know that the cross for Jesus, amen, in terms of all that's happening, is an evil day.
Yet, God turned it into the most beautiful day. Amen? Through the cross, we are saved. Through the cross, we are blessed. Through the cross, we are redeemed. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord.
God wants you to have beautiful days, good days. Is that scriptural? Is it, is it biblical for a believer to believe God for beautiful days, for good days in this coming year? Is it?
Well, let's look at what the Bible says. We must always go by what the Bible says. The Bible says in 1 Peter 3, He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil.
The very first area, refrain your tongue from evil. Notice, love life. Is it wrong to love life? Then why is God's, God's Spirit encouraging us through His Word to love life and to see good days?
Do you want to love life and see good days? He's telling you about your future. The first area, watch your tongue. Watch your tongue. Amen?
Peter Raises Tabitha: Resurrection and Salvation
Then, watch this, then turning to the body. And the Bible says, she opened her eyes and when she saw Peter, she sat up. Then He gave her his hand and lifted her up. And when He had called the saints and widows, He presented her alive.
And it became known throughout all Joppa. And many believed on the Lord. I'm also reminded when David was told by his brother, you know, he brought some cheeses and bread and all that to the battlefield and where Goliath was challenging the army of Israel.
Remember that? And how his brother Eliab saw him and says, what are you doing here? What are you doing here? And remember what David says, is there not a cause?
His brother was questioning his motives. This is what the brother said, actually. I have the passage here. Now, Eliab, his oldest brother, heard when he spoke to the man and Eliab's anger was aroused against David.
He says, why do you come here? With whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.
Look at what David did. David says, what have I done now? Is there not a cause? Then he turned from him. Say, turn from him. Turn from him.
Learn to turn from all your naysayers, from your critics. Turn away from all the negative bombardment of the social media. Amen? Yeah, I'm not saying, I'm not one of those that is against social media, okay? I'm not.
But, you know, don't get entangled in the web of negativism and pessimism and fear and unbelief. You don't even know. Sometimes, some of the dramas you're watching, if it's negative throughout, amen, just move on. Forget it. Amen?
Otherwise, you start thinking like, this can happen to my family. This can happen to my husband, my wife. This can happen to me. Once the mentality happens, the devil's got here.
You can't see good days when you are uttering things like this. You are watching things like this. Hmm? Okay. Became known throughout all Joppa and many believe on the Lord.
Look at this. Salvation. Many believe on the Lord. Became known throughout all this place of beauty. Amen. Joppa means beautiful. And many believe in the Lord.
That's what the Lord wants. Salvation. The reason He does all these miracles for us. The reason He blesses us is so that others can be provoked. Amen. To jealousy.
The Bible says God wants to bless you in such a way in the book of Romans that others will be provoked to jealousy. In that case, Israel will be provoked to jealousy. God wants you so blessed that people want to know your God. Amen. And be drawn to your God. Amen.
The purpose is that many will believe in the Lord.
Many Days in Joppa – The Key of Double Hearing
And the last verse of the passage. So it was that Simon Peter stayed many days in Joppa. With Simon Atena. This is the very last verse of the entire chapter.
And there's something so good here. When I first read it under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, when God was just opening up this passage to me and telling me, tell the people how to have many beautiful days.
But then He says this. There are two Simons in this verse. There are two Simons in this verse. Simon Peter. There's a first he who stayed many days is Simon Peter. And he stayed with Simon Atena.
So there are two Simons here. Simon Atena. Atena is someone who they treat heights and skins of animals and turn them into leather. Okay? That's Atena. Atena usually stays by the seaside. In this case, in Jaffa even.
And by the way, I have been to that house, that place. There's a house there. And it's based on the house of Simon Atena. Okay? It's near the seaside. So because you need that for water. Alright? To treat the skin of animals, to turn them into leather.
So He stayed with Simon. Now what is God saying? If you want to see many beautiful days in this verse, He stayed many days. Or you can say He stayed in many beautiful days with Simon Atena.
Atena treats the flesh. Watch it now. Praise God. He deals with the flesh. Amen. He turns the flesh into leather. The flesh is no more vital in your life.
Double Simon: Hearing and Hearing by Faith
And how do you do it? Simon and Simon. Simon means what? Hearing. And there's a double hearing here. Simon and Simon. Simon Peter and Simon the Tenor. There's double hearing here.
Remember when I taught before in the book of Deuteronomy 28, as well as many other places, when God says, you shall diligently hearken. You shall diligently hearken. Our English Bible says, diligently hearken.
In the Hebrew, it is the word Shema repeated twice. Listen, listen. Or in the Hebrew, they say like, Shema b'enishma. Alright? Listen, listen. Amen? Shema b'enishma. Listen, listen. Listen, listen.
So how do you have many beautiful days? Keep on listening, and listening, and listening to the Word. And this listening is a listening, not of the flesh. Come on.
The tenor here is talking about the flesh, the height. So it's not a listening of the flesh. It is a listening of the Spirit. Amen. It is hearing by faith.
It's not just physical hearing, and then it goes in, it goes out. Like you're watching this right now. Are you hearing with faith? Yes. Say amen in your heart. Say, this is for me. This is what I believe. This is what I'm going to do.
The Bible says, the word preach did not profit the children of Israel in the wilderness. Not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. They heard it, but like Joshua and Caleb, they say that this God's Word, this is God's Word.
This Word is for me. I believe it. But the rest says, they heard God's Word. They all heard God's Word, but the rest did not mix it with faith. Amen.
So mix it with faith. It's not, Simon the Tanner means what? You deal with your flesh. You deal with your flesh. It's not a hearing of the flesh. Amen.
It is a man who treats the flesh. Amen. Turn it into leather. A leather means dead, gone. The final produce is now used in, now it's profitable for what? Amen. For beauty.
Hallelujah. Praise God. So it's come by hearing and hearing the Word of God. My friend, may you have many beautiful days. Amen. Through what? Through hearing and hearing the Word of God.