SERMON NOTES
The Year Of Rest And Acceleration
Click here to download our theme of the year wallpapers as a reminder of God’s promises!
These are notes on the sermon, The Year of Rest and Acceleration, preached by Pastor Joseph Prince on Sunday, 2 January 2022, at The Star Performing Arts Centre, Singapore. We hope these sermon notes will be an encouragement to you!
Overview
- Introduction: 2022 is the Year of Rest and Acceleration
- In this prophetic season, God is restoring the new covenant of grace that brings rest
- This year, value and seek the presence of Jesus
- The more you see Jesus and His finished work, the more you enter His rest
- Your priority this year: spend time in His presence
- Don’t trust in your own effort, but trust the ways of God
- This year, expect to see an acceleration of the harvest you’ve been waiting for
- Expect your days of mourning to turn to joy
- Lean in to receive the gifts of the Spirit—healings, wisdom, and more
- Come boldly and freely into the presence of God to enjoy His healing, wholeness, and life
- Rest in His grace and receive abundant blessings, provision, joy, and accelerated breakthroughs
- Salvation Prayer
- Closing Prayer
- OWN THE WORD (life application)
Introduction: 2022 is the Year of Rest and Acceleration
This year, 2022, God has even more beautiful and exciting days for us.
Every year, the Lord gives our church a theme—a word in season for us to focus on—so that we are aware of what He is doing in that year. As we see Him bring the theme to fruition during the year, we are always encouraged in knowing He is in control no matter what happens, and we are assured as we continue on the path He has called us on. For example, at the beginning of 2020, God gave us the theme that He is “the Lord of Time and Space.” We saw this unfold in an unprecedented way later in the year when COVID-19 hit the world in a big way, church services went online, and the gospel transcended time and space to reach many precious lives all around the globe.
Whenever God gives us the theme of the year, which is a prophetic word for our future, He always fills our hearts with hope. It is always His desire to give us a future and a hope (Jer. 29:11) and never to make us afraid.
This year, the theme of the 2022 is Rest and Acceleration!
VIDEO OF THE THEME OF THE YEAR IS SCREENED.
Pastor Prince shares how God gave him this theme in a dream. In his dream, he saw he saw himself in an airport on a travelator. He saw people running for their flights while he was calm and restful. He was restful not because he had no burdens to carry (he had 2 heavy bags with him), but he was restful because he was simply letting the travelator bring him to where he needed to be. While he was resting, he was accelerating.
We live in a world where most people think that when we rest, we are not accelerating. But God’s way is not like the world’s way.
WHEN YOU REST, YOU WILL SEE GOD ACCELERATE AND BRING TO PASS BLESSINGS AND BREAKTHROUGHS IN YOUR LIFE.
What would ordinarily take you months or years to accomplish, you will see God manifest in your life in 2022.
In this prophetic season, God is restoring the new covenant of grace that brings rest
This theme of Rest and Acceleration has everything to do with God restoring and repairing the “Tabernacle of David” to the church.
THE THEME OF THE YEAR KEY VERSE: AMOS 9:11–13
“In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:
That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the Lord that doeth this.
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.”
— Amos 9:11–13 KJV
We are in a prophetic season in these last days before Jesus returns. We know we are in the last days because there have been many signs that our redemption draws near, including the worldwide pandemic (Luke 21:25–28). At this time, especially this year, God is rebuilding the Tabernacle of David.
The Tabernacle of David is a picture of the church that is under the new covenant of grace.
This rebuilding of the Tabernacle of David began when the early church was born.
On the day of the feast of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit filled the disciples and the early church was born. At that time, the church was young and they were still holding on to the law even though they were saved by grace and received the gifts of the Spirit, so there was conflict about whether believers still needed to keep the law in order to be saved. Some of the Jewish believers insisted that the Gentiles who were saved needed to keep the law.
This important matter was discussed with the Jerusalem council in Acts 15. During this meeting, the apostle Peter, who was the first apostle to preach to the Gentiles, stood up and said:
“Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?”
— Acts 15:10 NKJV
“a yoke . . . which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear” — When Peter spoke of this yoke, he was not only referring to circumcision (which was the specific topic they had been discussing earlier in the chapter). This is clear because circumcision was something the Jews had lived with for generations. So when Peter talked about a yoke that “neither our fathers nor we were able to bear,” he was referring to the whole law, the Ten Commandments given on Mount Sinai, that the Jews had not been able to keep. Peter was against putting the burden of the law on the Gentile believers.
Then Peter made this humble statement:
“But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.”
— Acts 15:11 KJV
“we shall be saved, even as they” — Peter said that it is a good thing for the Jews to follow the Gentiles’ example of being saved by grace, not by keeping the law.
Then James, the brother of Jesus, stood up and quoted the prophet Amos, saying that the new covenant of grace is a fulfillment of the prophecy of Amos:
“And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written:
‘After this I will return
And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down;
I will rebuild its ruins,
And I will set it up;
So that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord,
Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name,
Says the Lord who does all these things.’”
— Acts 15:15–17 NKJV
Some people think that the rebuilding of the Tabernacle of David will only happen in the Millennium, but from here we can see that it actually already started in the early church.
In these last days, God is still rebuilding the Tabernacle of David—a picture of the church under the new covenant of grace!
This year, value and seek the presence of Jesus
In these last days, in this year of Rest and Acceleration, more people will seek the person of Jesus. That is one of the key characteristics of the Tabernacle of David.
When the Tabernacle of David was at first set up, it was an empty tent created to house the ark of the covenant. David had always had the desire to bring the ark back to the center of God’s people, which was in Jerusalem (Mount Zion).
In the Bible, David is known as the man after God’s own heart. In Acts 13:22, the apostle Paul records that God Himself called David a man after His own heart, and in 1 Samuel 13:14, the prophet Samuel calls David the same thing.
When God was looking for a king over Israel, He was looking for a man who was after His own heart—who knew what He liked, who did what pleased Him, and whom He enjoyed being with.
God liked David. He was fond of him.
“Howbeit the Lord God of Israel chose me before all the house of my father to be king over Israel for ever: for he hath chosen Judah to be the ruler; and of the house of Judah, the house of my father; and among the sons of my father he liked me to make me king over all Israel:”
— 1 Chronicles 28:4 KJV
“he liked me” — David knew he was liked by God. Not just loved, but liked. God liked him to make him king over Israel.
Why did God call David a man after His own heart?
Some people say David was a man after God’s heart because he was quick to repent when he had sinned. But there were others in the Bible who were also quick to repent, yet only David is given this title of being a man after God’s own heart. So the reason for this must be specific to David.
David was the one person who had an intense desire to bring the ark (the throne of the presence of God) from Kirjath Jearim (1 Sam. 7:2a) to its proper place on Mount Zion.
King Saul, the first king of Israel, had no heart to seek the presence of God or to bring the ark to Jerusalem. But David did.
How you treat God’s beloved Son is how God will treat you.
Honor Jesus, and God will honor you. Promote Jesus, and God will promote you. Reject Jesus, and God will reject you. But accept Jesus, and God will accept you!
That is what salvation is all about—accepting His Son. It is not just about believing in God, but accepting Jesus, who is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).
God meant for the ark of the covenant to be the clearest expression of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ.
God gave instructions for the building of the ark on Mount Sinai. Even though that was the mountain where God also gave the Ten Commandments, His heart was not full of the law but full of His Son. When Moses spent 40 days with God up on the mountain, God did not spend those 40 days talking about the law. He spent it talking about the tabernacle, where everything in it utters His glory (Psalm 29), and at the heart of it is the ark of the covenant—a picture of Jesus.
The ark of the covenant is the most important piece of the tabernacle. This year, the way we can value the ark of the covenant the way David did is to value and seek Jesus.
The more you see Jesus and His finished work, the more you enter His rest
As you begin to see Jesus afresh this year, you will enter His rest.
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
— Matthew 11:28 NKJV
“Come to Me . . . and I will give you rest” — The Lord wants you to come to Him. You are not coming to a formula, a technique, or a form of counseling. You are coming to Him, His person. In the Greek, this verse says, “Come to Me . . . and I will rest you.”
When you come to Jesus, He Himself puts you at rest.
To see Jesus is to enjoy every blessing God has for you (Col. 2:3, John 1:3, John 1:1, 14).
When God gave instructions for how to build the ark of the covenant, His heart was full of His Son. While God gave the law to show man that they are sinners, He gave the ark to show them Jesus.
Seeing Jesus in the ark of the covenant
The ark is made of durable acacia wood, which speaks of Jesus’ incorruptible humanity. It is overlaid with gold, which represents His deity. Jesus is the God-man, completely God and completely man.
Covering the box is the mercy seat. When blood from the animal sacrifice is sprinkled on the mercy seat, the ark can then fulfill its purpose. When there is no blood on the mercy seat, the ark does not function the way it is meant to.
When the ark is brought to the battlefield, blood must be on the mercy seat for there to be victory. In ancient Israel, the practice of sprinkling blood was done once a year on the Day of Atonement.
But now, we have Jesus’ blood that was shed at the cross and did away with our sins once and for all. Because of His blood, we can receive blessings and breakthroughs, and even death is conquered by His blood.
“being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth to be a propitiation (mercy seat) . . .”
— Romans 3:24–25 ASV
Jesus Himself is our mercy seat.
In the ark of the covenant, the mercy seat covers the contents of the ark. Each of the 3 items in the ark represents the people’s sins:
- The golden pot of manna represents the people’s rejection of God’s provision.
- Aaron’s rod that budded with almond flowers represents the people’s rejection of God’s appointed leadership.
- The Ten Commandments represent the people’s rejection of God’s standard of holiness.
These 3 items depict man’s rebellion and disobedience. They are inside the ark and covered by the mercy seat. When there is blood on the mercy seat, God’s eyes see the blood instead of the people’s sins, and He sends blessing instead of punishment.
There is a tragic story of how the men of Beth Shemesh wrongfully removed the mercy seat and looked into the ark, and God struck them dead (1 Sam. 6:19). Death always follows when there is no blood to cover sin.
Today, there are many in the church who still commit the sin of Beth Shemesh by putting greater emphasis on people’s sin than on the atoning work of Jesus on the cross. When you try to secure your salvation by keeping the law, you fall from grace (Gal 5:4). This shows us that grace is higher than the law. Don’t fall from grace by trying to keep the law in order to earn salvation or God’s blessings.
There is only one person who can keep the law perfectly, and His name is Jesus. Psalm 40:8 tells us that God’s law is within His heart.
Today as believers, when we believe we are saved by grace alone through faith alone (not by our effort or works), the Spirit then leads us to live holy lives. However, this is a byproduct of being under grace; it is not something we strive for with our own effort.
Your priority this year: spend time in His presence
This year, let’s give Jesus the center place in our lives.
When David was a youth, he already wanted to bring the ark to the center of God’s people (Ps. 132).
It is a sign of wisdom to want to be occupied with the person of Jesus Christ.
After Solomon received wisdom from God after asking God for a hearing heart, he woke up and immediately sought to worship God at the Tabernacle of David where the ark of the covenant was. Before this, he had worshiped God at Gibeon, which is where all the religious practices were held but where the ark was absent. Gibeon is a picture of form (traditional practices) without substance (the actual presence of God).
Once you have a desire to be more occupied with the presence of Jesus, your life will be transformed. Your entire being will be radiant, and health will spring forth speedily.
It’s a sign of wisdom when someone seeks Jesus. Wise men still seek Him.
In the book of Revelation, our Lord Jesus delivers different messages to the seven churches. When it came to the church of Ephesus who had left their first love (Himself), the Lord appeared to them as one who “walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands” (Rev. 2:1). He appeared to them in this specific way to show them that the reason they had left their first love was that they had forgotten that He was meant to be “in the midst,” that is, center place. Instead, they had given themselves (their works, their labor, and their patience) center place.
Jesus appeared to each of the seven churches differently to show them the revelation of Him that they lacked. It is because they lacked that specific revelation that they were struggling with that specific problem.
When it came to the church of Philadelphia, which received only praise from the Lord, He appeared to them as the one who “has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens.” This was to encourage them that He would open the right doors and close the wrong doors for them.
This year, we will be studying the life of David extensively as there are many insights, revelations, and spiritual gems to discover.
David is a picture of Christ when He was rejected (David was rejected as the true king of Israel for a long time, which he spent wandering in the wilderness). Today, we still follow a rejected Christ.
David’s son Solomon is a picture of Jesus during the Millennium Rule, after His second coming. Solomon’s rule was the golden era of Israel—it is a picture of what the world will be like when Jesus comes back to rule over all the earth.
This year, we want to study the life of David and the Tabernacle of David because it is a picture of the church of Jesus Christ in our present time.
Don’t trust in your own effort, but trust the ways of God
This year, the Lord is repairing the breaches (broken parts) of the Tabernacle of David (the church).
David was not without mistakes, and one of the mistakes he made was to attempt to bring the ark to Jerusalem by transporting it on an oxen cart. This was not God’s ordained way. God’s way was for the ark to be carried on the shoulders of the Levites (the priests). Transporting the ark via oxen cart was actually the way the Philistines (Israel’s enemies) moved the ark (1 Sam. 6:10–12).
As a result of David using the oxen cart to transport the ark, the oxen stumbled, and one of David’s men named Uzzah put out his hand to steady the ark and was struck dead (2 Sam. 6:6–7).
“And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God. And David became angry because of the Lord’s outbreak against Uzzah; and he called the name of the place Perez Uzzah to this day.”
— 2 Samuel 6:6–8 NKJV
“Perez Uzzah” — The word “Perez” in Hebrew means “breach.”
Today, we are in the final stages of the breaches of the tabernacle being restored.
Frightened by Uzzah’s death, David took the ark aside into the house of Obed-Edom for 3 months, and during that time, the Lord blessed Obed-Edom and all his household.
“David was afraid of the Lord that day; and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” So David would not move the ark of the Lord with him into the City of David; but David took it aside into the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite three months. And the Lord blessed Obed-Edom and all his household. Now it was told King David, saying, “The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with gladness.”
— 2 Samuel 6:9–12 NKJV
When David saw that the ark brought blessings to Obed-Edom, he brought it to Jerusalem.
Before David brought the ark back into the midst of God’s people (in Jerusalem), the ark had been at Kirjath Jearim for 20 years. During that time, people were worshiping God in the Tabernacle of Moses at Gibeon (6 miles away)—where there was no ark.
THE ARK, WHICH REPRESENTS JESUS, MUST ALWAYS BE CENTER PLACE.
The Tabernacle of David was on Mount Zion, a picture of grace. It is on Mount Zion that the Holy Spirit fell on the disciples on the day of Pentecost, and 3,000 people were saved. In contrast, on Mount Sinai, the law was given and 3,000 people died at the foot of the mountain. This goes to show that the letter (the law) kills, but the Spirit (grace) gives life (2 Cor. 3:6).
For 20 years, people worshiped in the Tabernacle of Moses in Gibeon while the ark was at Kirjath Jearim. This is a picture of how the church today has chosen the form of religious practices over the person of Jesus Christ.
In the Tabernacle of Moses, there are many steps needed to get close to God and there is always the chance of death because people are judged by their performance/behavior.
However, in the Tabernacle of David, people have free access to God. They worship directly before the ark of the covenant (the presence of God) and enjoy fellowship with Him.
God’s way is for the ark to be carried on the shoulders of the priests. David’s mistake was to put it on an oxen cart. This is a picture of how man can think up many ways (based on human effort) to improve the church or improve his spiritual life, but these ways all lead to futility.
During the 40-year journey from Mount Sinai to the promised land, the ark was carried on the shoulders of the Levites, and there was no stumbling and no death. But when the ark was put on the oxen cart, there was stumbling and death.
In the last 2 years, we have seen a great humbling of the pride of man. The world has seen a lot of shaking because man’s own strength, wisdom, and abilities can always be shaken. God did not send the pandemic, but the pandemic has shown the limitations of man’s efforts.
This year, let’s do things God’s way, be led by His Spirit, follow after His presence, and not depend on our own intellect or strength to try to make progress. When we trust Him and follow His ways, we will be at rest and see an acceleration of good things in our lives.
This year, expect to see an acceleration of the harvest you’ve been waiting for
In this coming year, God will cause us to experience an acceleration of healing. Pastor Prince encourages people who have received a bad report from the doctors and been told that they will take many years to recover. Believe that your healing will manifest quickly—this year!
“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.”
— Amos 9:13 KJV
Normally, the plowman (who tills the ground in preparation to sow seed) and the reaper (who collects the harvest) never meet because the time of plowing and reaping are months apart. Similarly, the treader of grapes never meets the sower.
This imagery of the plowman overtaking the reaper and the treader of grapes overtaking the sower is a picture of accelerated and abundant harvest.
This is a faith picture of good things taking place so quickly that even as the plowman is plowing the ground, the harvest comes. It is also a picture of abundance—that the harvest goes on and on until it is sowing time again!
Expect your days of mourning to turn to joy
“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.”
— Amos 9:13 KJV
“the mountains shall drop sweet wine” — Wine in the Bible is a picture of joy. There will be so much joy that will swallow up all the sighing and groaning of the last few years.
This prophecy also appears in Joel 3:
“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk”
— Joel 3:18 KJV
“the mountains shall drop down new wine” — This is a picture of vineyard terraces all over the mountains, and the harvest is so plentiful that it is as if the mountains are dropping sweet wine. Generally, wine planted on terraces on slopes yield better quality wine than the flat ground. This speaks of abundance in both quantity and quality!
Lean in to receive the gifts of the Spirit—healings, wisdom, and more
New wine also speaks of the power of the Spirit. This year, we not only want to see the fruits of the Spirit but also the gifts of the Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:31 KJV tells us to “covet earnestly the best gifts” of the Holy Spirit. So let us lean in and ask God for the gifts of healings to manifest more and more this year! Let us also covet the word of wisdom, where the Spirit helps us see what we need to know in the future. Let us covet the word of knowledge, where the Spirit gives us insight so that we can immediately understand the answers for the situations we are in.
God wants us to flow in these gifts, so this year, let’s believe that we will flow in these gifts in an accelerated fashion.
“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk”
— Joel 3:18 KJV
“the hills will flow with milk” — For this to happen, the cattle have an abundance of food so much so that they produce a large quantity of milk. Once again, this is a picture of abundance.
Come boldly and freely into the presence of God to enjoy His healing, wholeness, and life
When will we see all these blessings (harvest of breakthroughs, gifts of the Spirit, provision) manifest in abundance and acceleration this year? When the Tabernacle of David is restored.
At the core of the Tabernacle of David is intimacy with God. We can have this intimacy because we are under God’s grace—our sins have been removed by the blood of Jesus. Now we can come boldly into the presence of God and enjoy fellowship with Him.
So this year, let’s have a heart for God like David did.
David said that when he was a young boy, he already wanted to bring the ark to Mount Zion. God saw this desire in David’s heart and He marked David.
“Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house,
Or go up to the comfort of my bed;
I will not give sleep to my eyes
Or slumber to my eyelids,
Until I find a place for the Lord,
A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah;
We found it in the fields of the woods.”
— Psalm 132:3–6 NKJV
“Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah” — David first heard of the ark when he was still a young boy in Bethlehem Ephrathah.
“We found it in the fields of the woods” — The woods here actually refer to Kirjath Jearim, which means “the city of the woods” (1 Sam 7:2).
“Let us go into His tabernacle;
Let us worship at His footstool.
Arise, O Lord, to Your resting place,
You and the ark of Your strength.
— Psalm 132:7–8 NKJV
“Your resting place” — When you enter the Tabernacle of David, you enter the Lord’s rest. This is the Holy of Holies, and when you enter, you experience a new and living way.
“Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh,”
— Hebrews 10:19–20 NKJV
“enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way” — We have a new and living way because of the blood of Jesus. The more you come to God this year, the more you live!
This is the opposite of the Old Testament, where the more you come to God, the more chances you have of being struck down because you are judged on your behavior and performance.
But today, the more you come to God, the more you live!
THE MORE YOU COME TO GOD, THE MORE THAT DISEASE DIES, THE MORE THAT DEPRESSION DISSIPATES, THE MORE THAT ADDICTION FALLS AWAY.
The more you come to God, the more you experience a new and living way.
Rest in His grace and receive abundant blessings, provision, joy, and accelerated breakthroughs
Don’t let man-made religion come in and put you back under the law so that you become self-conscious. Instead, focus on what Christ has done. Look away from yourself and look to Jesus! He is all-together lovely.
“Arise, O Lord, to Your resting place,
You and the ark of Your strength.
Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness,
And let Your saints shout for joy.”
— Psalm 132:8–9 NKJV
The more you treasure the precious person of Jesus, the more you enter His rest.
“For the Lord has chosen Zion;
He has desired it for His dwelling place:”
— Psalm 132:13 NKJV
“the Lord has chosen Zion; He has desired it” — The word “desired” means “intense craving.” Mount Zion speaks of grace; Mount Sinai speaks of the law. The Lord intensely craves for you to be on Mount Zion, under His grace where you can enjoy closeness with Him.
Grace supplies; the law demands. This year, be conscious of the Lord’s supply toward you and see all that He is doing in your life.
Pastor Prince encourages all of us to tune in to the next few Sunday services as he will unpack more on the theme of the year. As we hear this prophetic theme, God will also reveal to us what He is doing for us personally in our own lives. In His light, we see light (Ps. 36:9).
“For the Lord has chosen Zion;
He has desired it for His dwelling place:
“This is My resting place forever;
Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
I will abundantly bless her provision;
I will satisfy her poor with bread.
I will also clothe her priests with salvation,
And her saints shall shout aloud for joy.”
— Psalm 132:13–16 NKJV
All these blessings happen on Mount Zion: you are greatly and abundantly blessed, provided for, and filled with joy.
Pastor Prince shares a testimony of a woman who was delivered from a 30-year eating disorder when she received a revelation of resting in her identity in Christ. She decided to stop using her own strength to struggle and instead focused on Jesus—that as He is, so is she in this world (1 John 4:17). The very next day, she was delivered from her eating disorder and could have a meal in peace for the first time in 30 years. She has been free ever since!
This is a testimony of rest and acceleration.
This 2022, the Lord will bring you into His rest and cause you to see great acceleration in your life.
In the world, we will see many people try to accelerate and make progress on their own (e.g. they chase after money because they are hasty to be rich). However, child of God, you can simply enjoy the Lord’s presence this year, follow after Him and do as He leads you, and you will see yourself accelerate more than everyone else. Those without the Lord only have their own resources and ways to rely on, but you have God Almighty!
In this year of rest, enter His rest.
Salvation Prayer
“Father God, I thank You that you sent Jesus Christ to die for my sins. I believe His precious blood washed away all my sins. Thank You, Father, that You raised Him from the dead and He is alive today at your right hand, after the power of an endless life. Thank You, Father, that this same Jesus Christ is my Lord and my Savior now and forever. I thank You, Father, that the ark of the covenant—the person of the Lord Jesus Christ—is now in my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Closing Prayer
“I thank You, Lord, that You answer our prayers. Not just answer our prayers, but you answer them exceedingly and over in abundance. Thank You, Father. And Father, I pray for everyone under the sound of my voice, first and foremost, that You’ll give to each and every one of them, the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they’ll be excited to see more and more of Jesus in every preaching and in every teaching. That they’ll desire to see more and more of our Lord Jesus, that they will be engrossed and occupied with the wonderful, adorable person of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And I pray, Father, in the name of Jesus, for those who are struggling with depression. Those who have cried out to You but have not yet seen the manifestation of healing. Those who are sick in their bodies and see themselves seemingly getting worse. Those who are waiting for the harvest of healing. Lord, I pray in the name of Jesus that this year, healing will spring forth speedily in an accelerated way and that the harvest will be plentiful—like the mountains dropping sweet wine and the hills flowing with milk.
I pray, Lord, that You’ll keep everyone under the sound of my voice under the shelter of the Most High, in the secret of Your pavilion—completely protected from depression, from greed, from lust, from everything that would tear them apart.
Lord, I pray You protect them from every sickness and from every disease and protect them from untimely death throughout this year.
And Father, I ask that you prosper them, Lord, even as their souls are prospering. Cause them to be in health, even as their inner man is in health.
In the name of Jesus, I pray that You will lead us throughout this year, not into trials or testings, but deliver us all from the power of the evil one. For Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.”
Own the Word
We often start the New Year with resolutions—what lifestyle changes we hope to make, what new opportunities we hope to step into, and how we hope to see our lives get better in the new year. But don’t forget to seek the Lord about what He has prepared for you in 2022, the year of Rest and Acceleration! His plans are always greater than ours and far exceed our expectations.
This week, take time to listen to this sermon again, meditate on the verses that stand out to you, and ask the Lord what the theme of Rest and Acceleration means for you personally. Allow Him to show you what your focus should be this year, what to prioritize, and ask Him to lead you in His ways.
As you intentionally seek and spend time in the presence of Jesus, in His light, you will see light (wisdom, revelation, and answers) for your own life (Ps. 36:9)!
We hope these sermon notes blessed you! If they did, we encourage you to get the sermon and allow the Lord to speak to you personally as you watch or listen to it.
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These sermon notes were taken by volunteers during the service. They are not a verbatim representation of the sermon.