One Thing Is Needful by Joseph Prince

One Thing Is Needful by Joseph Prince

Proverbs 4:20–21
20My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. 21Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart;

George Müller, who lived in the 1800s, cared for more than 2,000 orphans in his five large orphanages. But he never allowed his huge responsibility to take him away from the Word of God. He said that every day, he would set aside time to study the scriptures until his inner man was happy in the Lord.

Once, Müller met a man who worked between 14 and 16 hours every day. He told the man, “You are destroying your health. You don’t have time for your family and, most importantly, you don’t have time to nourish your inner man with the Word of God.”

The man replied, “I hear you, but I can’t see how I can cut down my working hours and spend time in the Word because even with the 14 to 16 hours I put in each day, I still can’t put enough bread on the table for my family.”

As the man walked away, Müller said, “He doesn’t believe that if he gives time to God’s Word first, God will take care of all his needs.”

Likewise, do you really believe that every day, only one thing is needful? Even if the bills don’t get paid, the children are not making any headway in their studies and the office work is not completed, all these things can wait. Only one thing is needful — that you spend time in the Word of God.

When Martha complained to Jesus that her sister Mary had left her to serve alone (Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet and hearing His Word), Jesus defended Mary by saying, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41–42)

My friend, you will not lose out when you take time to sit down and listen to God’s Word. Even your health and well-being will be blessed. (Proverbs 4:22) So take time today to meditate on His Word. It will make your way prosperous (Joshua 1:8–9), and give you divine health and good success!






© Copyright Joseph Prince, 2006. All rights reserved.
No part of this document or any related files may be modified, adapted, reproduced, distributed
and/or converted in any form and by any means (electronic, photocopying or otherwise)
without express written consent of the copyright holder.

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version ®.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006–2011 New Creation Church


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Be Anxious For Nothing

Be Anxious For Nothing


Philippians 4:6–7
6Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

When faced with a challenge or crisis, our tendency is to get all anxious about it. But God does not want us to react this way. He does not want us to be anxious about anything. Instead, whatever the problem is, He wants us to go to Him in prayer and supplication, telling Him what we need and thanking Him for the answer. When we do that, His peace, which surpasses all understanding, will guard our hearts and minds from all worries, anxieties and fears.

“Pastor Prince, it is easy for you to say, ‘Be anxious for nothing.’ Try living with my husband for one day. Try disciplining that wayward teenager of mine. Look at the balance in my bank account! How can I not be anxious?”

Hold it! I am not the one who said, “Be anxious for nothing.” The apostle Paul said it. Yet, it was not him — he was prompted by the Holy Spirit. And when Paul wrote that, he was a prisoner under house arrest in Rome. He had been sent to Rome because he had appealed to Caesar regarding his death sentence. The Jews in Jerusalem wanted him to be put to death. (Acts 28:16–20)

Yet, under those trying conditions, he wrote these words: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”

My friend, if you are anxious or worried about something, remember those words. Let’s say that you are anxious about a huge debt. Go to the Lord and pray, “Lord Jesus, I no longer want to be anxious about this problem. I hand it over to You and ask for supernatural cancellation of this debt. It is in Your care now. You are in charge. I thank You for taking care of it.”

God is true to His Word. As you pray this prayer and cast your care to Him, you will find His peace setting your heart and mind at rest. So be anxious for nothing — let the One with whom nothing is impossible take care of it for you!

‘Lord, I Cannot, But You Can!’

‘Lord, I Cannot, But You Can!’


Philippians 2:13
13for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

Have you ever tried to break a bad habit on your own? You probably found that when you tried to stop it by sheer willpower, you saw improvement for a while, and then bounced back to square one. Worse, you found yourself binging on the very thing that you were trying not to do. And your condition is worse than before you started your “I’m going to quit” program!

The changes were temporary because it was you doing it.

A church member who had been a chain-smoker used to believe that with willpower, he could quit smoking. He would tell himself, “If there is a will, there is a way!” But he discovered that with willpower, he could stop smoking for a week or two, and then he would succumb to the pull of nicotine again.

When he turned his life over to God and learnt about God’s grace, he told God, “I realize that I cannot stop smoking. I cannot, but You can break my habit, Lord.” And every time he lit up, he would say, “Lord, I am trying to stop smoking, but I cannot. I am trusting You.” He would even say, “I am still righteous because of Jesus’ blood.”

Well, in the very same year, all his cravings to smoke vanished! When asked how he succeeded, he would say, “It is entirely God and none of me! It is all by His grace.” This man lost all the desire to smoke. That is true transformation.

When you receive the grace of God to do for you what you cannot do, you will experience effortless and permanent change on the inside, which in turn changes your actions on the outside. The Bible tells us that God works in us to give us both the will and ability to perform what He desires. It is God who removes the old want to’s and gives us new ones. And He even gives us the power to carry them out!

Beloved, look to His grace to do what you cannot do. Say, “Lord, I cannot, but You can!” Then, what you experience will not merely be behavior modification, but true and lasting inward transformation!

Know And Believe God’s Love For You

Know And Believe God’s Love For You


1 John 4:16
16And we have known and believed the love that God has for us…

You may know that God cares for you and loves you, and that He demonstrated His love for you by dying on the cross for you, but do you believe it? It is one thing to know about the love that God has for you, but another thing to actually believe it in your heart.

It is one thing to know that the sun shines on us during the day. But it is another thing to believe that the sun is still shining even though we don’t feel its warmth and all we see are dark clouds. Sometimes we are slow in believing God’s love for us when we are going through a tough time. But God wants you to know and believe that He loves you in the midst of the deal falling through, when that job is slow in coming, when the boss is fault-finding or when your child still refuses to come home.

In the midst of the pain, He wants you to know and believe that He is wholly on your side defending and taking care of you. And if God, the most powerful being in the universe, is for you, can anyone or anything come against you successfully?

Perhaps you feel like you have messed up big time. God wants you to know and believe that though others may be angry with you, He will never be angry with you. Neither will He condemn you. The sum total of His anger against your sins fell upon Jesus at the cross. So He wants you to know and believe that He will never punish you because Jesus was punished in your place.

When you feel unworthy because you have just blown it for the umpteenth time, know and believe that your heavenly Father still offers you the gift of no condemnation. So come boldly to His throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace. (Hebrews 4:16)

My friend, know and believe that since He loved you and died for you while you were still a sinner (Romans 5:8) at your worst and ugliest, how much more is His love for you now that you are His beloved child and the righteousness of God in Christ! (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Believing Is Receiving

Mark 5:28–29
28For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” 29Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.

You have heard people of the world say, “I will only believe it when I see it.” Generally, that is the way the world thinks. But God’s ways are not like the ways of the world. The world says, “If I can’t feel it or see it, I cannot believe the miracle is here.” God says, “If you believe it before you feel it or see it, you will see your miracle.”

Believing first before seeing the evidence of what we are believing for is called faith. Faith is like a spark and Jesus is the dynamite powder. When He was on earth, there were many people who touched Him, but only those who touched Him in faith received their miracle. For example, when the woman with the issue of blood came to Him in faith and touched Him, it sparked off an explosion of healing in her body.

Hearing about how good, kind and loving Jesus was fired her faith to believe that He could and would heal her. So convinced was she (even when the condition in her body was still evident) that she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” Did she experience her healing first before she believed? No, she believed first in Jesus’ goodness and power, acted in faith and only then felt the healing in her body.

In the same way, God wants you to believe in His goodness and love towards you. He wants you to know how willing He is to act on your behalf to bless you, and how, with Christ, He has already given you every good thing. (Romans 8:32)

He wants you to declare by faith that all is and shall be well with you, and expect to see just that. And then, no matter how long you have had the problem, no matter how bad the experts say it is, an explosion of healing and restoration will take place, and you will see your miracle!

God Says ‘I Will’ In The New Covenant

Hebrews 8:10,12
10… I will put My laws in their mind… I will be their God… 12… I will be merciful to their unrighteousness… their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

You may be feeling stressed at work today because your boss just gave you a list of things to do. Maybe he told you, “You have to type this letter. You have to meet this client. You have to write this report. You have to…” Wouldn’t it be nice if your boss had, instead, said, “I will type this letter for you. I will meet this client for you. I will write this report for you. I will…”?

Well, your boss may not be that gracious, but your Father in heaven is! When He found fault with the old covenant and established the new covenant (Hebrews 8:7–8) in His Son’s blood, His “Thou shalls” became “I wills”.

You see, under the old covenant, the focus is on you — Thou shall not… Thou shall not… Thou shall not… It is about your performance, your obedience, your works. But under the new covenant, God says, “I will put My laws in their mind… I will be their God… I will be merciful to their unrighteousness… their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” It is no longer you working for God, but God working for you, in you and through you!

“Isn’t there something for me to do?” you may ask.

My friend, the only thing for you to do is to believe God’s “I wills”. The more you believe His “I wills” or promises, the more you will see His heart for you and the more your faith will grow.

It is foolish for me to just tell you, “Come on, man, have faith!” You will still not have faith because I am not giving you anything to build faith in you. But if I were to tell you all about what God says He will do for you, faith will arise in your heart. Faith is a response to knowing what God says He will do for you.

So the best thing you can “do” under the new covenant is to not focus on what you must do for God, but what God says He will do for you!

Lord, I Cannot, But You Can!'

Philippians 2:13
13For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

Have you ever tried to break a bad habit on your own? You probably found that when you tried to stop it by sheer will power, you saw improvements for a while, and then bounced back to square one. Worse, you found yourself binging on the very thing that you were trying not to do. And your condition is worse than before you started your “I’m going to quit” programme!

The changes were temporary because it was you doing it.

A church member who had been a chain-smoker used to believe that with will power, he could quit smoking. He would tell himself, “If there is a will, there is a way!” But he discovered that with will power, he could stop smoking for a week or two, and then he would succumb to the pull of nicotine again.

When he turned his life over to God and learnt about God’s grace, he told God, “I realise that I cannot stop smoking. I cannot, but You can, Lord.” And every time he lit up, he would say, “Lord, I am trying to stop smoking, but I cannot. I am trusting You.” He would even say, “I am still righteous because of Jesus’ blood.”

Well, in the same year, all his cravings to smoke vanished! When asked how he succeeded, he would say, “It is entirely God, none of me! It is all by His grace.” This man completely lost all desire to smoke. That is true transformation.

When you receive the grace of God to do for you what you cannot do, you will experience effortless and permanent change on the inside, which in turn changes your actions on the outside. The Bible tells us that God works in us to give us both the will and ability to perform what He desires. God removes the old want to’s and gives us new ones. And He even gives us the power to carry them out!

So look to His grace to do what you cannot do. Say, “Lord, I cannot, but You can!” Then, what you experience will not just merely be behaviour modification, but true and lasting inward transformation!

Believe And Act On The New Covenant

1 Samuel 17:45
45Then David said to the Philistine, “… I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.”

Ever wonder why two people can hear the same thing and yet have very different responses? For one, what is heard makes him afraid and discouraged. For the other, his heart is so filled with faith that he dares to come against the devil and what he is doing.

In the Valley of Elah, Goliath the Philistine giant taunted the armies of Israel for 40 days. When David came on the scene, he heard the same mockings of Goliath the rest of the Israelites heard. But somehow, those same words which caused fear in the soldiers angered David. What did David know or see which the others failed to see?

David knew that he had a covenant with God. Now, King Saul and all the soldiers with him that day also had the same covenant, but only David believed the covenant. And he was the only one who acted on his belief. So God caused his giant to come tumbling down.

If David had such a great victory even though he was under the old covenant, how much more you and I who are under the new covenant! Today, God is asking, “Where are my Davids who will believe the new covenant?”

What is the new covenant? It is the covenant of grace. And grace means unmerited, undeserved, unearned favour. God wants us to know that He has cut this covenant with us. And according to the covenant, we have undeserved favour. We are blessed because Jesus took our beating. Because of what Jesus has doneon the cross, we have victory over every giant.

Isn’t that good news? Today, God wants you to stand before your “giant” and declare that in spite of what you are going through, in spite of what is happening, you believe that God is for you because of what Jesus has done for you. And then, before your very eyes, you will see the giants of accusation, intimidation, condemnation, disease and debt fall flat before you!

Working Out Of Rest

Hebrews 4:3
3For we who have believed do enter that rest…

Naturally speaking, when we rest, we don’t work. So what does working out of rest mean? Well, let me share with you what the Lord had taught me.

Many years ago, when I first started preaching, I would prepare diligently for all my sermons. All my points were really fine-tuned and I made sure that everything was in place. I would think to myself, “Man, I am going to share this... and that…”

But when I preached, I would forget to mention certain points. Because of that, I would get angry with myself. I would tell myself, “That was such a good point. Why didn’t I share it? How could I forget?”

Then, God began to speak to me. He said, “Son, your preaching is not out of rest. It is out of your memory.” What He said next changed my life, not just in the area of preaching, but also in every other area of my life, and I pray that it will bless you too. He said, “Prepare what you need to prepare. But when you stand in front of the people, whatever you need to say, I will give it to you.”

Yes, there must be preparation, whether it is your sermon or sales presentation. I am not telling you to be lazy and just do nothing. You need to prepare and do your homework, but don’t depend on it. Just trust God and tell yourself that whatever you forget, God wants it forgotten. And whatever you didn’t plan to say but said, it is because God wanted it said. Don’t be stressed out and brought out of your rest by thinking, “I must know everything, I must remember everything and deliver everything I have prepared!”

No, believe God and be at rest. When the time comes, whatever you need to know, there and then, God will let you know. Whatever you don’t need to know, you don’t need to know. And don’t worry about what you didn’t say — believe that God didn’t want it said.

My friend, when you live life like that — trusting God and resting in His love for you — you become cool and collected. And when you are peaceful and at rest in Him, what you do prospers!

God Helps The Helpless

Psalm 63:7
7Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.

I have had people tell me, “Pastor Prince, please pray for me. I can’t see a way out of the mess I am in. I know this whole thing is my fault. Right now, I don’t even know whether God will hear my prayers.”

If you think about it, a whole lot of our troubles are of our own making. But it is when we deserve the punishment and not the blessing that we can receive grace — the undeserved favour and unmerited help of God!

When we stop trying to be deserving of God’s help, we find God more than willing to be our saviour. But when we continue to try to work things out, we are our own saviours. God will say, “Save yourself because I can’t help you when you don’t need My help.”

You might be thinking, “But Pastor Prince, don’t you know, God helps those who help themselves?”

Contrary to popular belief, this saying that “God helps those who help themselves” is not in the Bible! God does not help those who help themselves. God helps those who are helpless and dependant on Him. He helps those who look to Him as their only source of help for their problem.

If you say, “My problem is that I am so weak.” God says, “That is not a problem. I am your strength.”

If you say, “Lord, my face is the problem. I am ugly.” God says, “My face will shine on yours. I am your glory.”

If you say, “Lord, I am the problem. I am a nobody.” God says, “I will make you a somebody.”

Unfortunately, many of us are still trying to help ourselves, thinking that for certain matters, we don’t really need God. But God says, “Without Me, you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) Do we really believe that? Or do we believe that without Him, we still can do some things to help ourselves?

Only when we realise that we can do nothing, and are nothing in and of ourselves, can we do all things through Christ who strengthens us! (Philippians 4:13) Then, we will see the undeserved, unmerited help and favour of God deliver us from every evil!

Neil Diamond sings "Amazing Grace" on American Idol

This is what God's Grace can do..Halleluyah!
Praise God!

'God, What's The Hurry?'

Luke 15:22
22“But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.’”

If you are a believer, you are probably familiar with the story of the prodigal son that Jesus shared. Who do you think represents the father in the story? Jesus’ Father in heaven, of course. Jesus was giving us a picture of His Father, who is also our Father.

In the story, the father was seen running towards his son, who was returning home. (Luke 15:20) Do you realise that God is never described as being in a hurry in the Bible? God is always cool and composed. The only time He is portrayed as being in a hurry is in this story. The father held up his robe and ran. Where was he running to? And why was he in such a hurry?

The father was in a hurry because he had seen his son, who was still a long way from home. He was running towards His child. He could not wait to hold His child tight in His arms and to kiss him. (Luke 15:20)

The father was in a hurry to clothe him with the best robe. Once, a prince named Jonathan gave his princely robe to David, bestowing on him his princely position. (1 Samuel 18:4) God has put the best robe on us, and in doing so, He was not bestowing but reinstating our positions, which we had lost when Adam fell, as kings of the Most High God. (Revelation 1:6)

The father was in a hurry to put a ring on his hand. Like the authority held by the signet ring of a rich man’s son, God is eager to put back into our hands the authority to invoke His name so that we can walk in dominion every day.

The father was in a hurry to put sandals on his feet to assure him that he was still his son — only servants went about barefoot. God never wants us to feel like outcasts. We are always His sons and daughters.

Beloved, if God appears to be in a hurry, it is because He is in a hurry to assure you of your position as His precious child!

The Mind Of Christ Doesn't Grow Old

1 Corinthians 2:16
16... we have the mind of Christ.

“Oh dear, my memory is not as good as it used to be. I must be getting old.”

Have you heard that before? Maybe you have even said it yourself a couple of times!

But who says that as you grow older, you are supposed to forget things?

When the late Reverend Kenneth E Hagin was in his eighties, he was still healthy and strong. This amazing man of God would run around the platform as he preached. And if you have ever heard him preach, you would have heard him say things like, “In 1936, on September 13 at 3.30pm, it was a Wednesday…” Even at that age, the man’s memory was superb!

But he shared one time about how he had started to forget things when he was in his fifties. He had read a medical journal which said that every day millions of cells in our brains die. He didn’t realise it, but those words got into his spirit and he started to forget things.

So he asked the Lord, “What is happening to me?” And the Lord said, “You read that article and you believed it.” He repented and asked the Lord what he should do. The Lord said, “Confess My Word. My Word says that you have the mind of Christ, and the mind of Christ never forgets.” He started to confess that he had the mind of Christ and that was how his memory remained sharp for the rest of his life.

My friend, the Word of God says that you have the mind of Christ. The mind of Christ is not forgetful, slow or old! I don’t care how old you get. You don’t have to become forgetful. Don’t believe and confess what medical science or your friends say. Believe and confess the Word of God which brings life.

The power of life and death is in your tongue. (Proverbs 18:21) So use your tongue for life. Don’t sit around saying, “I am getting old and forgetful.” Say, “I have the mind of Christ. My mind is sharp and quick because it is the mind of Christ!” Believe it, confess it, and see your thinking and memory live up to it!

God Will Surely Show You Kindness

2 Samuel 9:7
7So David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually.”

When the people in the palace heard that King Saul and his son Jonathan had died in battle, they panicked. Fearful that David was coming to seize the throne, and kill all the sons and grandsons of Saul, they ran for their lives. A nurse took Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son, and ran. But as she fled, the five-year-old boy fell and became lame in both feet. (2 Samuel 4:4)

The poor boy would not have been crippled if they had known that David actually loved Jonathan and Saul, and would have looked after Jonathan’s boy because he had made a covenant with Jonathan. (1 Samuel 18:3)

In this story, King Saul represents the human race. He is like Adam who sinned against God and forfeited all that God gave to man. He had the position, but not the power anymore because of sin. Jonathan, who came from Saul, represents Jesus, who came as a human. Jonathan was not like Saul — he was good, just as Jesus is not like Adam — He is the perfect Man. David represents God. So Jonathan’s covenant with David speaks of Jesus’ covenant with God. Mephibosheth represents believers today who are “lame” in some way — sick, depressed, fearful, poor and so on.

Now, Mephibosheth became lame because of bad news that was based on a lie. Many believers today are suffering needlessly because they believe the wrong things about God. They think, “My sin has found me out! God is coming after me!”

Well, I have good news for all Mephibosheths: David is not after your life! When David looked for Mephibosheth, it was to show him kindness, to take care of him and restore to him the land that belonged to Saul his grandfather.

Likewise, God is not out to get you. He knows all about your sins and still loves you. That is why He sent Jesus as the payment for your sins. And because of Jesus’ covenant with Him, He says to you, “Don’t be afraid, I will surely show you kindness. I will restore all to you and you shall always eat at My table!”

The Mind Of Christ Doesn't Grow Old

1 Corinthians 2:16
16... we have the mind of Christ.

“Oh dear, my memory is not as good as it used to be. I must be getting old.”

Have you heard that before? Maybe you have even said it yourself a couple of times!

But who says that as you grow older, you are supposed to forget things?

When the late Reverend Kenneth E Hagin was in his eighties, he was still healthy and strong. This amazing man of God would run around the platform as he preached. And if you have ever heard him preach, you would have heard him say things like, “In 1936, on September 13 at 3.30pm, it was a Wednesday…” Even at that age, the man’s memory was superb!

But he shared one time about how he had started to forget things when he was in his fifties. He had read a medical journal which said that every day millions of cells in our brains die. He didn’t realise it, but those words got into his spirit and he started to forget things.

So he asked the Lord, “What is happening to me?” And the Lord said, “You read that article and you believed it.” He repented and asked the Lord what he should do. The Lord said, “Confess My Word. My Word says that you have the mind of Christ, and the mind of Christ never forgets.” He started to confess that he had the mind of Christ and that was how his memory remained sharp for the rest of his life.

My friend, the Word of God says that you have the mind of Christ. The mind of Christ is not forgetful, slow or old! I don’t care how old you get. You don’t have to become forgetful. Don’t believe and confess what medical science or your friends say. Believe and confess the Word of God which brings life.

The power of life and death is in your tongue. (Proverbs 18:21) So use your tongue for life. Don’t sit around saying, “I am getting old and forgetful.” Say, “I have the mind of Christ. My mind is sharp and quick because it is the mind of Christ!” Believe it, confess it, and see your thinking and memory live up to it!

Discerning The Lord's Body

1 Corinthians 11:24
24and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

Have you ever taken a close look at the Matzah bread that the Jews eat during their Passover meal? The bread, which is unleavened, is pierced with rows of little holes forming stripes. It is also slightly burnt. Many churches today use this bread for the Holy Communion.

Do you know why the bread is pierced, striped and burnt? If you ask a non-believing Jew why it has to be prepared this way, he may not know why.

My friend, the bread that you hold in your hands when you partake of the Lord’s Supper speaks of the body of our Lord Jesus Christ when He bore our sins and sicknesses on the cross.

Like the bread, He was pierced in His brow by the crown of thorns as well as in His hands and feet by the nails. He was also pierced in His side by a soldier’s spear. The prophet Isaiah says, “He was pierced for our transgressions…” (Isaiah 53:5, NIV)

Like the bread, He was scourged on His back until His flesh was all torn and bloody, and His bones were exposed, so that today, you can say, “By His stripes, I am healed!” (Isaiah 53:5)

What about the burnt marks? The full fire of God’s wrath fell on Jesus, burning up our sins into ashes, and at the same time, bringing out the fragrance of the offering of Jesus. Today, your sins and lawless deeds are but ashes, and your Father in heaven remembers them no more! (Hebrews 8:12, 10:17)

So the next time you partake of the bread during the Holy Communion, know that Jesus was pierced for your sins and scourged for your healing. He bore God’s fiery judgment so that you will never be judged for your sins! He also bore your diseases and carried your pains so that you can walk in divine health all the days of your life!

When you discern these precious truths about our Lord’s body, you are partaking of the Holy Communion in a worthy manner. And you will not be weak and sickly, or die before your time (1 Corinthians 11:27–30), but you will be strong, healthy and live long!

Shepherd and Sheep By Pastor Joseph Prince

God wants us to rest in Him...

Jesus Bore Your Diseases!

Isaiah 53:4
4Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows…

Imagine the dreadful disease leprosy eating a man alive. The poor leper in Matthew 8:2 could stand his suffering no longer, so he came out into the open to look for Jesus. He needed to know if Jesus was willing to heal him. So when he saw Jesus, he fell at His feet and said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” (Matthew 8:2) The Son of God looked at the outcast with love in His eyes, reached out His hand, touched him and said, “I am willing; be cleansed.” (Matthew 8:3)

Perhaps you are suffering from some disease and wondering if God is willing to heal you? And you are not sure if He is willing because just as you have seen people get healed, you have also seen people not get healed. My friend, don’t look to people’s experiences, look to the cross! As surely as Jesus bore away your sins, He also bore away your diseases!

I want to give you a solid foundation today for believing this truth. In Isaiah 53, the chapter on our Lord’s crucifixion, it says in verse four: “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows”. Now, let’s learn a little Hebrew. The words “griefs” and “sorrows” here mean “sicknesses” and “pains” in the original Hebrew text. So Isaiah is referring to physical healing.

Once, I asked a Jewish friend to read this verse in his Hebrew Bible and tell me what it means. He told me that his Bible says clearly that Jesus has borne our sicknesses and carried our pains.

If that is not enough, look at Matthew 8:16–17: “… they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: ‘He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.’” Matthew quotes Isaiah 53:4, saying that Jesus took our “infirmities” and bore our “sicknesses”. And the context is physical healing.

Beloved, if you will just believe this report, your days of sickness will be over. You will walk in greater health because the One who has surely borne your sicknesses and carried your pains says to you, “I am willing, be cleansed!”

What Have You Been Saying?

Psalm 91:2
2I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.”

When a great storm arose as Jesus and His disciples were in a boat on the Sea of Galilee, He did not say to His disciples, “The storm is here to teach us courage.” Instead, He took authority over the storm and said, “Peace, be still!” And there was a perfect calm. (Mark 4:39)

When He met the widow of Nain whose only son had died, and on another occasion, the two sisters whose brother Lazarus had died, He didn’t tell them, “God wanted to take him home.” No, He spoke to the dead son: “Young man, I say to you, arise.” (Luke 7:14) And standing outside Lazarus’ tomb, He said, “Lazarus, come forth!” (John 11:43) And both men came back to life.

What have you been saying about your situation?

When you feel the pain in your body, do not say of the Lord, “God wants me sick to teach me to trust Him more.” Instead, say, “Lord Jesus, I thank You that by Your stripes I am healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)

While trying to make ends meet, do not say of the Lord, “The Lord keeps me poor to keep me humble.” Instead, say, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” (Psalm 23:1)

And if you have an intimidating boss at work, do not say, “The Lord is my patience, I will endure.” Instead, say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6)

We are living in the last days where there are terrorist bombings and new diseases being discovered, and the world is afraid. But we will not speak negative words and be fearful like the people of the world. Instead, we will speak God’s Word and reign over these things. Like the psalmist, we will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.”

So find out what God’s Word says, believe it and say it to your situation. And because God’s Word cannot return to Him void (Isaiah 55:11), you will see what you believe and confess come to pass!

You Matter To God!

John 10:3
3… he calls his own sheep by name…

Do you sometimes feel like you are just a face in a crowd or a number in a system? You are identified by your identity card number or passport number. Even when you see the doctor, you are called by your queue number. If you feel depersonalised and dehumanised, that is exactly how the devil wants you to feel — that you do not matter much to anyone, especially to God.

But you do matter to God! He calls you by name. He knows what you are going through and where you are hurting. He sees you and cares for you, just as He cared for the people when He first walked on earth.

On one occasion, Jesus crossed all the way to the other side of the lake, even defying the devil’s attempt to drown Him (Luke 8:22–39), because a man who was demonised was calling out to Him for help. Jesus heard him and crossed an entire lake just to go to him. My friend, Jesus came a long way from heaven to come to you. You certainly matter to Him!

Even now, if you have problems in your life, Jesus sees you and He will not pass you by. He will do for you what He did for the woman at Samaria. There was a shorter route from Judea to Galilee, but the Bible said, “He needed to go through Samaria.” (John 4:4) Jesus purposely took a longer route because He wanted to stop by Samaria to speak to the woman who had been searching for things to satisfy her in her life. Now, Jesus has come to offer you the more abundant life too. (John 10:10)

In Luke 5:12–13, Jesus touched the leper and healed him. Although He could heal from afar, which He did for the 10 lepers in Luke 17:12–14, Jesus chose to heal this leper by touching him. The leper had been dehumanised, after being cut off from society for such a long time. Jesus’ personal touch gave him more than a new lease in life — it made him whole.

In the same way, Jesus has a personal love for you because you matter to Him. He calls you by name, sees beyond your every fault and wants to meet your every need!