Joseph Prince - The Health-Giving Power Of A Relaxed Heart

All right, you ready for the Word? John chapter 14, verse 26 and 27. We touched on this last week. I wanted to show you this again because this is amazing. It is at a time of Jesus, closing of his ministry and Jesus has come to a place where he knows in the same night, even as he's speaking these words, he's being betrayed by Judas, all right? But yet he said this, "But the helper, the Holy Spirit". Remember this, the Holy Spirit is not a nagger. He's not an accuser. The Bible calls the devil the accuser, all right, God is not an accuser, okay? Many a times you hear some sermons that make you feel like God is out to say, "Oh, this is wrong. That is wrong. Hey, you should do this right. You should do that. Hey, you didn't say that right. You didn't say this right". You know, God is not a God who comes and dwells in you to point out your faults.

In fact, many a times, all right, God is the one that is pointing to you your good points, amen? The good points that come from Christ. God is the one that's encouraging you. God is the warm, friendly voice on the inside. Whenever you find a voice that condemns you, that hits you and all that, that's the accuser of the brethren. All right, that's another term used for the devil, amen. He's the prosecutor. So, the Holy Spirit here, Jesus describes him, express him as helper. Say, "helper". What does a helper do? He helps you, amen. They help you and they help you, sometimes they help you by showing you the truth of the matter. All right, they help you, sometimes they help you by showing you something about yourself that you don't like, all right, but he will show you the answer as well, amen. He's not just out to talk about the problem. He's out to show you the answer. "When the Holy Spirit comes whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things". He will teach you all things. I believe when Jesus says, "all," means all. "And he shall bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you".

Thank God for the Holy Spirit memory. The Holy Spirit memory is something that all of us must have, especially those of us who are teachers and preachers of God's Word, all right? The Holy Spirit will bring to your remembrance things that you have forgotten, that you read somewhere, all right, some Scriptures that you know you need to share at that moment. The Holy Spirit will bring to your remembrance. Some of you are discouraged. You're sad. And then all of a sudden, you remember a verse, all right? It's not just all of a sudden, you remembered. It was the Holy Spirit bringing that verse to your remembrance, rescuing you from depression, from fear, from anxiety, amen? I'm sure all of you have had the experience of the Holy Spirit bringing to your mind verses that came just in time, amen? Praise the Lord. Sometimes it bring back a Word from a sermon you heard. That's also the Holy Spirit.

Whatever Jesus said, I said to you. Even right now as I'm teaching you, please understand this is not Pastor Prince teaching. It is Pastor Prince teaching, you won't get much. It is the Holy Spirit in the teacher. All right, he's the teacher 'cause God ordained teachers in the body of Christ. God ordained pastors. And when God ordained pastors, all right, the pastors are to flow with God's Spirit and still is the Holy Spirit teaching you. Can I have a good amen? All right, now when the Holy Spirit teaches, the result will be peace. The next verse says, "Peace, I leave with you". Like a man about to leave this earth, all right, he bequeaths his estate, his mansion, his house, his Lamborghini to you, all right? In the same way our Lord Jesus of all the things that he could bequeath to us, he bequeathed peace. Of all the things that he had, and my, my, my, my, we cannot even begin to count the riches of his grace. Yet, in the multitudinous riches of his grace, innumerable mercies of our God, the one thing that he said he bequeathed to us is peace.

And because we know that our Lord spoke in Aramaic and Hebrew, he wouldn't have spoken Greek with his own Jewish disciples. He said these words in Hebrew, "Shalom. Shalom, I leave with you. My shalom". Not somebody's shalom. "My shalom I give to you". Not as the world gives do I give to you. It's not like what the world gives you, you know, the world give you sunset, actually it's God who gives you sunset, but it's all outward. You know, the world may say, go for a nice spa and all that. I got no problem with this, you know, in fact, if you're on holiday, please go for it. It's very relaxing. It's fun, all right? But those things cannot give you permanent peace. They're not resilient. They are not strong. They are not aggressive. They are not what Jesus gives. "Not as the world gives," Jesus said, "do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid".

So, "I've given you my shalom," all right? What is shalom? Shalom according to Strong's Concordance is completeness, welfare, health, prosperity, peace. You say it now. Completeness... peace. So, it's not just peace where you have a tranquil mind. It is more than that. It is health. In Hebrew, shalom is completeness, completeness. And the word "shalom," you know, Hebrew words is very interesting. They have an etymology which means a root word. Sometimes the root word can be two root words go further back. You know what I'm saying? But shalom comes from shalem. Shalem means pay, to pay, all right, to pay. Why is it that the word "payment" is the root of shalom, which is completeness, welfare, health, prosperity and peace? Why is payment the foundation of wholeness? Because it goes back to what Jesus did for you and I at the cross. Many a times when Jesus gives people peace, all right, in their hearts they are going like this, "Yeah, but you don't know what I did. You don't know what I did last night, pastor. You don't know what I did this morning on my way to church. You do not know what I've done. You do not know where I have been, pastor. You do not know my thoughts, pastor".

All right, it's almost like "I don't deserve shalom. I don't deserve peace. I don't deserve health. I don't deserve prosperity". No, it's not a matter of you deserving it. It's not a matter of you meriting it. It's not a matter of you earning that shalom. It's a matter of Jesus paid for it! Amen, Jesus paid for it! If Jesus paid for it, it's yours! It's yours! And that's why you need to know the foundation of shalom is that it's paid for. You see, you are supposed to be punished you. You're supposed to be cursed. You're supposed to fall under that disaster. You're supposed to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. But because Jesus paid for your sins, all right, Jesus is outside time. God is outside time. And God so loved you, the world, God sent his Son and God saw your entire life of sins. God is outside time so God can be in your past. God can be in your future. God knows all about the sins you have committed even before you were born. Because all of us, when Jesus carried our sins, we're not even born, nor were we a figment of anyone's idea, amen? And long before we were born, God saw all of us in the future 'cause God lives outside time. He is the "I was, I am and I am to come," amen?

That's Yahweh, by the way. The name of God Yahweh comes from, I was, I am and I am to come, all right, different Hebrew words there. Now, God said, all right, that all our sins are forgiven, Colossians, amen? Ephesians 1 says we have forgiveness of sins. We are not trying to get forgiveness of sins. We have it. We possess it. Can I have a good amen? If that is so, then your entire life from the day you were born and the day you meet Jesus face to face, God has taken all your sins and because God is an accurate God, nothing misses his eyes. All right, there's not one sin in your life that is not punished. You see, we are not forgiven because our sins escaped. We are forgiven because our sins were punished but in the body of God's Son, the Messiah, Jesus Christ, at the cross. So, today we are forgiven righteously. We are forgiven because it's paid. Shalom is yours because it is paid. Prosperity is yours and your family's because it's paid, amen?

I mean, any self-respecting, true Singaporean, if they paid for a dress and they leave that place and they forgot the dress, let me tell you this, they'll be back, in Jesus's name. And if they're single, they might even bring home the salesman. This is a true-blooded, self-respecting Singaporean, amen, if something's paid. The thing is this, Jesus paid for your shalom. He paid for your wholeness, all right, your prosperity. So, he wants you to know it's yours. So, right now put your hand on your heart say, "Father, I received what Jesus gives, shalom, peace, wholeness, prosperity, and health in every cell, every organ, every function of my body from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet. In Jesus's name, so be it, amen". Do you feel that? Do you feel that? That is true prosperity. There are poor people with plenty of money, four cars, five homes, but they are poor because they don't have what you're feeling and sensing right now.

Shalom. When Jesus rose from the dead, his first words to the disciples were, "shalom aleikhem," all right, which means peace, shalom, be upon you. And then straightaway he showed his hands. All right, why? Because they're the receipt payments. The nail-pierced hands of Jesus, his side are the receipt that what I said to you just now, Jesus told his disciples, shalom, all right, receive it. It's paid. Shalom aleikhem. Then he showed his hands. Cool, huh, amen? And they were glad. Because when he appeared, they were frightened. When he says, "Shalom, then he showed them his hands," all right, they had peace, amen? In fact, the first time that name, that compound name of God is used, Jehovah shalom, it's in the life of Gideon. And it's because God told Gideon, Gideon said, "Oh, no, oh, no. I have seen the angel, the messenger of the Lord". And it wasn't an angel, angel. It was actually Jesus in his pre-incarnate appearance. "Oh, no, I'm gonna die. I have seen the messenger of the Lord". And the Lord says, "You will not die. Be at peace. You will not die".

The next thing he did, he built God and altar and called that place Jehovah shalom. Yahweh, shalom. Shalom, Yahweh shalom means what? Don't worry, fear not, you will not die. Turn to your neighbor and say, "Don't be worried. Fear not, you will not die". "You don't understand, my wife just bought this big roller". Don't worry. You will not die, amen? Amen, my brother? Praise God, hallelujah. Maybe it's for her hair. All right, I want to share with you something. Last week we touched on how the peace that Jesus leaves behind, Jesus said the only thing he wants us to do is that he says in John 27, the last line, "Let not your heart be troubled," remember that? Okay, he says to tell all of you this, don't worry about the outside. You guard your heart. You guard the inside. If you guard the inside, I will guard the outside. You guard your heart from being troubled. You guard your heart from being afraid". Actually, troubled is the first stage before you are afraid, all right? If your heart is not troubled, you can never be afraid. When it come to the afraid stage, usually it's a matter of life and death or some great loss or something that's major. But trouble can be small, small things. You can be troubled about small, small, things actually, amen?

So, don't even allow your heart to be troubled. Don't even allow troubled heart to come in. All right, so your duty, your part, your responsibility, all right, it is imperative, you let not your heart be troubled. Now, what troubles you may not trouble me. What troubles me, may not trouble you. So, let not your heart be troubled. If you are troubled by some small thing, let not your heart be troubled. And how many have tried that last week? Have you tried it? Man, I'll tell you, I tried it, man. And it was so good. I tell you, Monday came and again for some reason, they have an uncanny ability, these inconsiderate drivers on the road, have this antenna about them. Of all the people, they'll find me, all right, and they'll come right in front of me. Of all the multitudes of cars that are on the road, they will find me, all right. Instinctively they'll find me and they'll be in front of me. But this time I said it's a test, ha, ha. God bless this man, hallelujah.

I was so considerate. I passed by, I signaled like crazy. I waved. I let people go in first. Hallelujah. You know, I intend to pass the test. I was doing so good until, yesterday. My wife was in the car with me and there was this taxi driver, I mean he was inconsiderate. You know, he will cut through in front of people, obviously he's in a hurry to go somewhere or whatever, but doesn't give you an excuse not to signal, isn't it? Obviously, he doesn't know the 11th commandment is thou shall signal, you know? He went in and out, you know, and I told my wife, I'm not gonna let him get in front of me. So, I just, you know, refused to let him cut in front of me. And so, he got aggravated, you know? I'm aggravated and I hear this sweet voice beside me saying, "Darling, it's as test". So, then I just slowed down a little bit. "But would you agree," I told my wife, "that he's inconsiderate? Would you agree that he's inconsiderate"? You see, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Then she turn again and say, "It's a test".

Okay, your response, and let me say it slow, response-ability, your ability to respond to God's Word, to God's shalom is, "Let not your heart be troubled". And many a times just quoting that verse helps. "Let not your heart be troubled. Let not your heart be troubled". Have you taught your children that? Have you taught your children that many times they feel depressed, they feel down, it's because thoughts in their mind have changed. Tell them that the devil's technique in their life it's not the devil doesn't come with a pitchfork and red underwear, all right, that's Superman. All right, the devil comes, many a times, in thought form. He will throw thoughts in your mind. And tell your children, guard this. You know how you can tell you start thinking bad thoughts? You know how you can tell? Your feelings. Once you start feeling blah, lousy, you feel down, you feel rejected, you feel fearful, know this, the devil has put bad thoughts in your mind.

Do you know how to overcome that? All right, teach them to memorize a verse, you know, like for Jessica just let her memorize, "Peace, I leave with you," and then jump straight to "Let not your heart be troubled". So, now she knows, "Peace I leave with you. Let not your heart be troubled". And she will say it. Whenever you feel lousy, what do you do? "Peace I leave with you. Let not your heart be troubled". And she got very joyful to the point of almost irritating, you know, because the Word of God has a power to really, you know, bring you out of your doldrums, out into the place of joy, amen, amen? So, we gotta make sure that it's a sad thing, isn't it? It's a very sad thing when whatever revelation you have received, ever since you attended New Creation Church, it's not passed on to the next generation. And then in your mind you are thinking, hey, you should be, you should be, you should be. You are putting them under law, when you are what you are and you are blessed where you're blessed because of revelation, not because of law. Yet, the way you are demanding from them is you should. No, we need to take time to reign God's teachings upon our children. When they are down, when they are sad, we need to sit down and teach them at their level whatever age they are, all right, the portion, the morsel of food they need.

Share the revelation. Don't assume, all right, that they know by osmosis, okay, or by diffusion. No, revelation is not diffused. Revelation is shared. I want to show you why this message is so vital and so supernatural because today I really planned to share with you some more things about health, all right, stress, shalom, how they all work together. And I was preparing my message yesterday and I had verses that God gave me already. I put down my verses and all that. And it was so interesting, one of the verse that God gave me was this verse in Proverbs 14, verse 30, "A sound heart is life to the body. A sound heart is life to the body". Doctors know about immune system, all right? They know about immune system. Obviously, God created immune system in Adam, the first man. What is interesting sometimes I like to think thoughts like, why would God create immune system in Adam, all right, before there was a fall, before there was sickness and disease? Did God create immune system in Adam? Obviously, God did.

So, God foresaw and God prepared. God forearmed long before the tragedy came. Can I have a good amen, church? Okay, so when that happened, the immune system, after Adam sinned, the immune system came alive. Again, that shows the mercy of God to swallow up all the bacteria, viruses and germs, disease, you know, causing bacteria and virus and germs. But what really causes our immune system to work? What really releases life to our body? How many want life in your body? All right, it's not talking about spirit here. It's life to the body, a sound heart. "But envy is rottenness to the bones". All right, this is the New King James version. The word "sound," a sound heart in Hebrew is marpe, marpe. This is how it looks like in Hebrew, reading from right to left, all right? Marpe. Hebrew reads from right to left. If you remove the first letter, which makes the whole thing a noun, the mem makes the entire thing a noun. Remove the first letter, you have rapha, which is heal. You heard Jehovah Rapha? All right this is the Lord who heals. So, rapha comes from marpe. So, it's a healing heart, actually that's the life of the body.

So, by the way, if you go deeper into the etymology, all right, the root of rapha, the root of heal is raphah with a hei. And raphah means relack bro, relax. It means let go. Relax. Let go, all right? Relax. Let go. Raphah, say, like breathing out, raphah. All right, raphah is the root of raphah heal, to sow, to mend. All right, marpe is just the mem, the letter mem added to raphah to make it a noun, all right? So, here we have an amazing revelation of the sound heart. Go back to the verse again. Let's look at a few versions to help us understand clearly what the Holy Spirit means, okay? I'm gonna show you right now the other translations of the Bible. The next translation New International Version. Let's all read it. "A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones". A heart at peace does, what? Gives life to the body. It gives life to the body when your heart is at peace. That's the New International Version. Let's look at the New Living Translation. I like this one. "A relaxed attitude lengthens life". "Pastor, you're too relaxed". "I know. I'm being healed while you're too stiff. You produce arthritis and finally, rigor mortis".

You know what's rigor mortis? It's a state of unbending. You know, when people die, they go into rigor mortis, cannot move already, completely stiff. That tells you what a far cry it is from relaxed, amen? So, have a relaxed attitude towards life. I'm gonna read to you something right now. I'll tell you something that happened in an amazing way. You know, those of you who have been with me for a number of years, you know that God really confirms this ministry with signs and wonders. All right, yesterday, I was preparing all this. I got all these verses, Proverbs 14:30 and all that on standby. And all the verses that I, you know, all my verses were already there. My wife calls me from the living room where the TV was and she says, "Darling, come over here and see this". Of course, I was studying, you see? "Watch this, watch this," she said. And as I was watching, it was actually a documentary called, "How To Live To Be 101 Without Trying". All right, you're nodding your head. You saw that? "How To Live To Be 101 Without Trying".

How many of you saw that? Okay, a few of you. Very interesting. So, I didn't know it was on. I didn't even know such a documentary existed. So, my wife called me so I sat down there. I mean, it's amazing. You know, 85% of what is shared they're talking about stress, all right? Genetics only feature a small number in that documentary. So, because she was recording it, I went back to it and I rewind and I wrote down some very interesting things. All right, would you like to hear it, amen? Okay, listen, in the city of Okinawa in Japan, they have a population of one million people, only one million, but they have over 900 centenarians, 900 people that are a hundred years old and above, okay? So, they said, you know the documentary showed them dancing, singing karaoke, all the old people, you know? Don't know it's the girlfriend or the wife, I do not. But all of them were elderly and they were dancing and they were drinking green tea. Obviously, diet plays a part, plus one of things is that they never eat completely full.

All right, they have this policy of 80% full, then they move away from the table, all right? They eat until they are 80% full. So, that could be part of it in terms of diet. So, this guy was saying that if you listen to those who are above a hundred, the healthy centenarians, when you listen to those healthy centenarians talk, they love to use this phase, and he quoted it in Japanese which I tried to write it down but I don't understand especially when a Caucasian guy speak Japanese, I cannot write down. You don't understand what he's trying to say, all right? So, I was trying to write down that Japanese word but he say that you will hear this phrase often among the healthy centenarians and it means: don't worry, it will all work out. They love to say this to themself and to one another, "Don't worry, it will work out. Don't worry, it will work out". Peace, let not your heart be troubled. A relaxed attitude lengthens life, amen? "Well, Pastor Prince, I believe that genes play an important role, not just".

Now, I want to report to you something from that documentary as well. And this man, Dr. Clemency Mitchell from Berkshire indicates that genetics only account for approximately 20% of longevity. Another guy said this, "Faulty genes load the gun, but lifestyle pulls the trigger". And in the documentary, there was this 102-year-old lady, a Christian lady. She's 102 years old. Before she had her breakfast, they showed her on her stationery bike and every morning she will go for six miles before she has her breakfast on a stationery bike. And she walks with the agility of a younger person. I mean you talk to her, the interview was talking her, she could be listening, right? I mean it's not a hearing problem. They interview, they asked her for her secret. She says that "you must always remember your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit," she said that, "The Holy Spirit," she said. And be careful of what you put inside so they don't smoke, they don't drink, all right, and they're trusting God. They showed them going to church.

Now this is a powerful statement you're about to hear. Listen, all right, this is from that documentary. "It has been known for 20 to 30 years now that people that go to church regularly live longer". Here you are. Here you are, amen? The operative word, "regularly," not just for Christmas, all right, regularly. Those who go to church, and this study spent 20 to 30 years already, all right, that those people who go to church regularly live longer. Then from yesterday's documentary, when I paused it and wrote this down, "From samples of their blood and saliva". Their here is regular churchgoers. "From samples of their blood and saliva, regular churchgoers have significantly lower levels of stress hormones such as cortisol. "It is a sign that they may be better able to cope with the challenges in life". Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you, not as the world gives, I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

They showed one guy who is a believer, a regular churchgoer who is a heart specialist, and he does about average four open heart surgery every week. You saw the guy? And how old is he? Ninety-two years old, and he does heart surgery. Some people, so much younger than him have Alzheimer's already. I mean, he does heart surgery, amen. And they all attend church. This man, that lady, regular church attendance. They even showed the church that they attend, amen. Something is happening, folks, when you prioritize God's Word? Why? God's Word tells you, Proverbs 4 look at Proverbs 4, verse 20 to 22 it says, "My son". Is that addressing you or the world when it says, "my son"? Is God talking to the world or to you? To you, yeah, "My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart". Let not you heart be troubled, why? God's words, they are life to those that find them. Did not say God's words, they are life to those that have it on their shelf, those who have it beside their toilet bowl, those who have it in their car. They know it's somewhere there, lah, but in the car. All right, doesn't say that. Says, they are life, God's words are life to those that find them, amen.

Now you're finding it in God's house and you're getting it. You got peace I leave with you, now you got a sound heart, a tranquil heart, hallelujah. So, when you find it, what's gonna happen? They are life to those that find them and health to all their flesh. And by the way, the word "health" here is marpe, healing to all their flesh, all their flesh, all. In other words, not one part of your body will not be touched by the healing of God's Word. You see, medicines of the world, man cannot duplicate what only God can. Man look at the bats and bats are blind. So, one day some smart fellow look at the bats and say, "Why in the world they don't collide into one another? How come they don't hit into walls and they're able". Oh, they have a sonar, when they study the sonar enhance, now we have the sonar. They learn it from the bats, amen. A lot of things, they learn it from animals. But do you know something? Planes still crash. You can go into a cave full of bats and they never knock into one another. And they don't have a, you know, a control tower. They never fall. But when man comes in, there's mistake, there's error, even Batman falls. Spiderman also can fall, but when God creates something, ooh, la, la, no one can improve on it. No one can improve on it.

This is not in the Bible but there are some apocryphal, apocryphal writings about King Solomon. When Queen of Sheba came to visit him, she actually tried to test him with creation from her own country, Egypt. They created a flower that was so real looking, all right, the only thing is that the king, all right, when he touched both of them, all right, the real and the fake, he can't tell the difference. They were so real. So, his mouth, King Solomon's mouth, because Queen of Sheba was trying his wisdom, he says, "Don't worry, let's just stop". All right, he put the two pots at the window and they talked and time passed. Soon enough, a bee came, and the bee went to the other pot. He says, "I can tell you now which one is the real one. That's the real one". Because even a bee can tell the difference. You see, the thing is that no one can improve on what God has done. God created air and by air we breathe and have our life. By air we can have pneumatic drills using air power. Air power can push great, heavy, steamships, boats have games with air. One creation, many users.

When man create one thing like iPod, you must maintain. Charge here, you must have this, Download here, make sure, you know, a lot of things. Man create a thing and it create a lot of things to maintain the one thing they create and then a lot of things to maintain the things to maintain this one thing. Oh, the wisdom of our God. So, the Bible says, "God's words are life to those who find them and health to all their flesh". When you read God's words, all right, whether it's David killing Goliath, you're getting excited. That excitement, all right, that story, it is tailormade to meet your heart. And even though you're reading the story of David and Goliath, something is happening to your body, all right? If you spend some time, there is a certain kind of atmosphere of the Word that you need to get yourself into. When you get into that Word, all of a sudden you find that health, your body feels relaxed. And isn't marpe, I told you the word there is "marpe," which the root is what? Heal and the root for the root is what? Relax.

When you read God's Word, there comes like you feel relaxed. You get away from it feeling sanctified. How many of you feel this when you listen to a sermon and then when you walk away, you feel like you are different, you are more relaxed, you are joyful, you are peaceful? That's marpe. You are experiencing healing to all your flesh. I know a story of a man, true story. He was diagnosed with cancer. All right, he went back home and he got into the Bible. He's not really a strong, committed believer, all right, not an atheist either, but he went back and just got his Bible and just read his Bible. After some length of time reading his Bible, he say that, he had a certain kind of sensation on his body. He felt warmed. And then later on when he put his Bible aside, he don't feel that anymore. Then he come back to his Bible, he read as the days pass. Whenever he reads it, there's certain kind of feeling on his body, he said. Cut a long story short, went back to the doctor, the doctor cannot find any trace of cancer, just by reading the Word. I'm telling you, this is not a novel. It is not a magazine.

All right, those things sometimes are filled with trash. They are filled with things that cannot give you life, but God's words are life and healing to all your flesh. To all your flesh means it will not heal your liver, but give you high blood pressure. Some medicine will, you know, heal your gastritis or whatever, but cause another problem, you know, dry lips or whatever. Another problem can cause you gastric infection, the opposite will happen. So, God's medicine is healing to all, your eyeballs, your nose, all right, your skin, your hair, your lungs, your prostate, every part of you, your bones. Health to all their flesh! "Oh, Pastor Prince, I think this healing is only talking about spiritual healing". All their flesh, lah! You know how to read or not? Flesh, not spirit, flesh. Come here, I'll bite your hand. You'll know what's flesh. Flesh, not spirit, okay?

I'm gonna read to you one of my heroes from the 1800s. Until today he's still my hero and he's a well-known man of faith called George Muller. George Muller single-handedly, with faith in God, raised five large orphanages and housed orphans. In those days orphans in England were running around, you know, and many of them died young. Many of them were brought into prostitution and all that. And he felt a call from God to house them. Finally, he built five large orphanages and he housed to 2,000 orphans annually. All the money that came in, he never asked for it. He prayed them in. Literally, millions of dollars throughout his life came in by prayer alone. He never let anyone know. Sometimes they come to a place there's no food to eat in the orphanage and he would get all the children to hold hands together. He would pray and there'd be a knock on the door. And he opened the door, no one was there and all the flour was there, the sugar, you know, everything was there, the provisions, sometimes at the very last moment, all right?

He was, his famous story when he was traveling around the world to preach, you know, he was on a steamship and they went into a fog. And the steamship stopped, so George Muller went out to seek the captain and told the captain what happened. The captain says, "We can't go through because there's a fog," all right, and they went through a river, I think. So, they say it's dangerous. He says, "Sir, I've never been late for my father's appointment," George Muller says, "And I'm not about to be". And then he says, "Let's bow down here and let's pray, all right"? He said, "Let's bow down here and acknowledge God". So, he bowed down and he prayed, "Father, you know, I've never missed an appointment. Clear the fog and give us a clear day". Simple prayer, something to that effect. Then the captain of the ship started praying, "Oh, Father God," then he touched him. Says, "No, don't pray. Number one, you don't believe. And number two, I prayed, God answered already". Then he said, "Sir," he said this, it's documented in his story. "Sir, if you stand up, look outside your window, you'll find the fog is gone". The captain got up, looked out, completely gone. The fog is gone. And by that day before his speaking appointment, his preaching appointment, he was there where he's supposed to be.

Let me read to you a bit about George Muller. He lived to a good old age of 93, 93 years old, and he wasn't sick when he passed on to be with Jesus. First, let me read to you some things about his life and this was in the Times newspaper, all right? In 1871 an article, this story, by the way, took place in Bristol in England. "In 1871 an article in the Times stated that since 1836, 23,000 children had been educated in the schools and very many thousands had been educated in other schools at the expense of the orphanage. The article also states that since its origins, they have given 64,000 Bibles, 85,000 testaments, and 29 million religious books having issued and distributed. Other expenses include the support of 150 missionaries". Think about of the number of missionaries that George Muller supported. One of them, by the way is Hudson Taylor in China. "Now listen, at the age of 70, 7-0, Muller began a 17-year period of missionary travel". He started traveling for 17 years after he turned 70.

And this is where he traveled. "In that time, he preached in the United States, India, Australia, Japan, China and nearly 40 other countries. He traveled over 200,000 miles, an incredible achievement for pre-aviation times. His language abilities, he preached in English, French, German". Amazing, huh? "He preached without an interpreter. He was well versed in both Hebrew and Greek". When he was 93, two of his friends came to visit him and they were much younger than him. I think one was in the 70s, I think the other one was in the 60s, all right, they were much younger than him. It was his final year, the year that he went on to be with Jesus, 93 years old. When we went on, there was no sickness, no nothing. They opened up one day, they found him on the ground, all right, in his study. He took off to be with Jesus, no sickness, nothing. And at the age of 93 in his own words, he was sharing this with another friend how two of his old friends came to visit him much younger than him and this is what he said.

He said this, he playfully, this guy was recollecting, Mr. Perry talking about George Muller. "He playfully said with a bright smile, "I came away from both these beloved brethren feeling that I was quite young by comparison as to strength, though so much older. Oh, how very kind and good my heavenly Father has been to me. I have no aches or pains, no rheumatism and now in my ninety-third year, I can do a day's work at the orphan houses with as much ease and comfort to myself.'" No rheumatism, no aches, no pain, 93 years old. Felt younger than the young 60s and, how how many want me to tell you the secret? In his own words: okay, I lost the page already so nevermind. Next time, lah. Okay, there are three secrets, okay? This is from his own mouth. "First," he says, "the exercising of himself". He was asked the question, "How you preserve your life and your faculties, and all that? You know, you're amazing. You're like Caleb". Someone told him, "You're like Caleb". At the age of 85 Caleb says, "Give me this mountain, all right? He says, "I'm as strong as I was," when he was 40 years old. Isn't it amazing? And this is what George Muller said, "Three reasons why God has preserved him. First, the exercising of himself to have always a conscience void of offense both towards God and towards man".

Guard your heart, amen? Make sure there's no bitterness or resentment against anyone. If there is, forgive the person, amen? Praise God. Forgiving a person doesn't mean you must go to business with the person, go into business with the person, okay? It just means you forgive. You're not trying to exact payment from the person anymore. Secondly, now this is the one that really taught me years ago about the value of God's Word in giving you life. "Secondly to the love he felt for the Scriptures and the constant recuperative power they exercised upon his whole being". You know what's the quotation? Proverbs 4, verse 22, "They are life and health to all their flesh," okay? He quoted this verse. I repeat, "Secondly to the love he felt for the Scriptures and the constant recuperative power they exercised upon his whole being". Suffice to say that the more you read the Bible, the longer you will live. I didn't say keep the Bible at home, all right, I said read. Thirdly, to that happiness he felt in God and his work, which relieved him of all anxiety and needless wear and tear in his labors. I love this one also. Thirdly, to that happiness he felt in God and his work.

Some people don't find excitement in God's work. Some people don't find excitement that they're ushering for Jesus, amen. They are leading for God's glory but he, he said he as happiness. Thirdly, to the happiness he felt in God and his work which relieved him of all anxiety and needless wear and tear in his labors, amen? Let me read this last portion and then we'll close. Look up here, Isaiah 55, this is what God wants every time you leave a church service, you must experience this. If you have encountered the anointed Word of God, this is what you will experience. For you shall go out with? And be let out with? "The mountains and the hills Shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands". Trees of field here refers to the people of the world, all right, they're likened to trees of the field, and they will rejoice when you come out. They'll rejoice. They'll clap their hands. All right, you are a blessing everywhere you go. Wherever you go, people thank God you passed by, you stepped into their life, you came to their boutique, you went to their restaurant. They are glad. They'll be clapping their hands because you will go out with joy. Obviously, you were somewhere before you went out. And then you were led out, you see? Go out, led out.

So, every time you leave church, you must have this experience, joy and peace, and peace will lead you. Led out with peace. I'm telling you, church, God doesn't speak so many times with voices, all right, it's that peace or the absence of peace that will lead you. You find there's no peace about doing something, all right, watch it. Don't do it. Somebody's nice, oozing charm, but there's no peace about this person, guard him. He could be a con artist. Step back. Check him out. Ask more questions. You find that there's peace to do something, go for it, do it, amen? You feel like calling Pastor Lian, all right, there's peace, do it. Do it in Jesus' name, amen? Or else it might be too late, all right? I think there are two guys after her now. So, follow the peace, amen, follow the peace. All right, follow the peace and you won't go wrong, amen? Praise the Lord. I think many a times even in marriages, when there's a quarrel, when there's a fight going on, all right, sometimes, girls, let me just share with you something about us guys, okay?

You know, guys when they are scared, they don't want to say they are scared. They are afraid about their finances, about their health or whatever. You ask them what's wrong and they will never tell you what's wrong. "Just got a bit of pressure, lah, and the boss is too much. Deadline, I just", They won't tell you what's wrong. At least Pastor Mark cry behind the door but most guys are not like that. I scold Pastor Mark, he will cry, one, no. He's very tender and I felt so bad when that happened. But most guys are not like that, they don't cry. And the wife says, you know? Most guys are they find a quarrel and the thing is when they are not at rest and they are worried and their heart is troubled, many a times when you talk to you, all right, you can detect it. If you are smart, all right, you can detect it. And when there's a quarrel, all right, many a times it's not the subject per se that is the subject that's evoking the quarrel. Many a times it's the guy's restlessness, the fear. He quarreled because he's fearful about something. Wise is the woman that can minister to the fear, amen. And later on he feels bad. Because you're the closest person, he unleash on you, amen?

"Pastor Prince, you don't know my wife. I tell you my wife". Okay, but your self-effort can never change your wife. You know how God made your wife? You know how God made woman? God put man to sleep. And then from man's side, God created a woman from a rib from Adam's side. A picture of Jesus, when he died at the cross, he was pierced with a spear. Blood and water came out and that's how the church, his bride, came forth. So, Paul says Adam and Eve is a mystery of Christ and the church. But notice for God to create the most beautiful thing on planet earth, and all the women said? And the guys agreed. "Amen, amen". By the "amen," you can tell all right, not married yet, not married yet. Ten years married. Twenty years married. You can tell by the how the "amen" is said. All right, anyway, it's true. All right, when God made Adam, God says, "Everything is yours". Then Adam looked around and he went like this, "Huh". So, God says not good. So, God put him to sleep and God brought out the intelligent one, all right, to help, to help Adam. And all the men said? Not to nag at him, not to burden him, but to help, amen.

Like my wife says, "Darling, watch this TV show". She's helping me without realizing it. And God used her flow. It's not hard, watching TV. No, she doesn't watch TV all the time, okay? The thing is this, if God created the most beautiful thing on planet earth, and we all agree, when man was sleeping, what makes you think by your efforts when you're awake you can change that beautiful thing? You can't handle her, go to sleep. "Okay, okay, enough. All right, I'm going to bed. All right, okay, sorry. It's getting to pressurizing already. I'm going to bed, amen. All right. ECP, all right, I'm going to bed, all right. All right". And before you sleep, tell God, "Lord, you did it once, do it again," amen, amen? And feel free to take anymore, no, no, I'm just teasing. No, I'm just teasing. Okay, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. No, forget the last part, okay? If one you cannot handle already, okay? One cause you to fall asleep, I tell you more than one, huh, cause you to sleep deeper, under ground.

So really, I think that many a times we put so much effort in our marriage. I know that people say marriage is spelled W-O-R-K. All right, yes and no. Okay, because sometimes when you try too much, you do too much, instead of trusting God and having a relaxed attitude towards your partner and your partner with you, taking life in a relaxed way. But if you try to work, work, work, all right, like, you know, Pastor Mathews would say, "I always kiss Rachel at the door before I leave for work," during his marriage seminar. Now, he didn't preach this, I'm just saying for example. And then later on the wife says, "Wah, you don't do that to me". Then every day when he goes down there, the wife says, "Why"? Say, "I think I forget something," and then he went off and she's very angry. She waits until he comes back. He comes back, you know, that it's very quiet meal then, all the food, but there's no talking in the dinner, all right? Then he ask the wife the question, what's wrong? And her answer is "nothing". I tell you, the "nothing" is so loud you better find out, all right, before you get killed.

All right, whenever a woman says "nothing," believe me, it's everything! So, once you hear "nothing," all right, you better pray or run away. No, I'm, all right, there's something major, you need to find out what's happening. When they say, "Nothing, nothing," you better find out, okay? And you find out that "Oh, you know yesterday only last week, I thought you learned. You went with me to the marriage seminar, the speaker says must kiss your wife at the door, all right". "But darling, all the while we kiss at other times, what. We don't kiss at the door. Maybe, the speaker doesn't kiss, you know, in the toilet, we do". But, you know, so laws, and rules, and regulations, and reading about other people's marriage, and all that can burden yours. Law kills. You gotta learn to follow the spirit. What works for one couple may not work for another. Can I have a good amen? All right, let rest be your guide.

So, let's close with this. How do you find this joy and peace? Where do you find it? How do you go out with joy and be led out with peace? Look at the context here. Go to the verses before that. "As the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it". In other words, God is saying to you, listen, listen, "My wisdom is so condensed that if I release it all at once, you can't take it. You cannot take it". So what I will do is like the rain comes down, you know how the rain comes down? If God released all the clouds at one time, hundreds of thousands of tons of water come down, it will smash your car to smithereens. It will smash homes and houses. It will smash all the vegetation.

But God says, "That's not what I do. What I do is that as the rain comes down and the snow comes down, that's how my Word comes down. It doesn't come in condensed form. It comes like droplets of snow, droplets of rain that cannot even harm the petal of a rose but instead, nourish it, cleanses it, beautifies it. So this is how my Word comes down. It's bite-sized". And then you come to God's house, God's Word comes down. When you spend time in the Word, God's Word comes down. You listen to your iPod to a sermon, God's Word comes down. You read a book, Christian, Christ-filled book, God's Word comes down. You close the book, you walk out from the service, you step away from your Bible study time, you go out with joy and you're led with peace. And the Bible says, next verse, all right, you go out with this. "And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands".

What's gonna happen? "Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree". Instead of the thorn, a picture of the curse, there'll be blessing. Cypress tree is one tree that's used so many times in the Tabernacle or the Temple of Solomon besides the cedar. Both are used often. In other words, instead of the curse, there'll be people who have become building blocks for God's kingdom. "And instead of the briar," another thorny bush, "shall come up the myrtle tree". Myrtle, by the way, is the name of Esther in Hebrew, Hadasa, hadas. "And it shall be to the LORD for a name, For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off," amen, amen? When you spend time in the Word, all right, even your marriage gets better. All right, you can tell the marriage tension sometimes is because of not spending time in the Word, not listening to sermons.

Some of you say, "But Pastor, when I read the Bible, I don't understand". Then get a Bible teacher to teach you, okay? Don't listen to people that say, "I just read the Bible". 'Cause all of us, at one point in our life, we had teachers teaching us. We had good books. We had good guide books, Bible study books, amen, before we come to a place we can receive directly from the Word, and that's why God placed you in this church. Can I have a good amen? And remember, ladies, Christ is the head of the church. Man is the head of families. And all the men said? But ladies, you are the neck that turns the head. All right, so please, your husband is not here or whatever, don't go back, all right, and make fun of him or whatever. Make him think he's the head, but don't tell him you are the neck. All right, let him decide or you turn him this way, say, "Let's go this way". Then you turn him this way, you say, "Let's go this way". He says, "Yes, dear, you are the boss," Then you turn his neck. All right, you got influence, amen, amen? Learn to minister to that fear. You know, one guy was saying to his friend, "Tell you last night, my wife was begging me on her knees". So the friend says, "Whoa, man, what did she say"? "She was saying, come out from under the bed and fight like a man".

All right, folks, my time is up. I pray that not only your health will experience restful increase, but your married life, the greatest relationship you have on earth. Even before your children, please, please, please understand your children should never be prioritized above your spouse. All right, you and your spouse, your relationship is number one, then come your children. Of course, Jesus is the first, needless to say. But in terms of human relationship, you and your spouse, may your marriage experience restful increase as well, amen? Praise the Lord. Every head bowed, every eye closed. Every one of you in the different services, every head bowed, every eye closed. Those watching via the screen, just at this moment reverence God's presence that's so mightily evident. You can sense him even in your room right where you are. At every venue that you're watching this, God's presence is there. His peace that passes all understanding, hallelujah. Jesus said, "Let not your heart be troubled". There is so much grace in that Word from him. You only have to act on it and you'll find the grace is there already.

Right now, ask yourself, "What is burdening my heart? What is weighing heavy on my heart, on my mind? What am I concerned about"? Is it a bodily system? Is it a financial debt or adversity? Is it a person, a relationship that's gone wrong? Is it just a feeling, just a general feeling that it's hopeless, useless? What is it? And just give that to Jesus right now. Just give that to Jesus. Say, "Lord Jesus, I give you this". Whatever this is, you know what this is. Give it to Jesus. Say, "Lord, I release it into your nail-pierced hands". See that divine transaction taking place right now. Take that bodily system. You do not know what's the bodily system but your heart is troubled. Let not your heart be troubled. Take it right now and say, "Lord, Jesus, I release it to you. I take this need, I release it to you". And see it release into his hands. Thank him for it. Lord, I receive your peace. "My peace I give unto you".

And now with every head bowed all across this place and also all those watching in the screen, I want you right now if you have never made this wonderful, adorable person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ your own personal Savior and Lord, Jesus said he did not come to condemn, but to save. Jesus said, for God so loved you, God gave him up to be your substitute at the cross so that God can righteously condemn and punish all your sins so that God can declare you justified today because your sins have been punished, you are totally forgiven. You are made righteous as if you have never sinned. That's how God sees you when you receive the gift of his Son Jesus Christ and you have believed in the perfection of his work. Are you ready? If you are, then say this prayer with me right now from your heart. Close your eyes and say this from your heart.

Heavenly Father, I thank you for the gift of your Son, my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He left heaven's glory, came down to earth to die for me in my place, as my substitute and he has done a perfect work in his own body. My sins, all my curses, all my diseases have all been wiped out by his blood. You raised him from the dead as a testimony that all my sins are effectively put away. Jesus Christ is my Lord and my Savior. Thank you, Father, I am greatly blessed. I'm filled with your Spirit, your love, your joy, and your peace. In Jesus's name, amen.

Lift your hands all across this place. Every one of you watching via the screen, lift your hands. And even if you're watching this at another date, another time, wherever you may be, this blessing is for you. This is how God told the high priest of Israel to bless the nation of Israel. The Lord bless you with the blessings of Abraham, the blessings of Deuteronomy 28. The Lord bless you with riches. The Lord bless you with favor. The Lord bless you with more than enough. The Lord bless you with good health and longevity for you and your loved ones. And the Lord keep you, preserve you from all sickness and disease, from dangers, from harm, from accidents, from all the powers of the enemy. The Lord preserve you from the H1N1 virus. Throughout this coming week, you'll be found at the right place at the right time for the Lord keeps you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you, be favorable towards you. Doors of opportunities will open to you. Doors that are no good for you will shut tight. The Lord will favor you and shine upon your pathway and go ahead of you and prepare you way. He will lead you beside the still waters and you shall not lack. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and your loved ones and grant to you and your families his shalom, amen.