But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.”
(John 4:32)
When people make demands on you or keep depending on you, you may end up stressed, tired and irritable. But this is not the case with Jesus. When people draw from Him, He is strengthened and refreshed!
Jesus is, after all, God. And you honor God when you take your place as man and let God be God by drawing from Him. The One who said, “I did not come to be served, but to serve,” (Matthew 20:28) loves it when you allow Him to minister to you.
The Bible tells us that when Jesus arrived at Sychar, He was wearied from the journey and rested at a well. A sinful Samaritan woman then came to the well to draw water. Jesus ministered to her and she left rejoicing with the promise of living water. The disciples, having returned with food for Jesus, found Him already strengthened and refreshed. When they wondered who had given Him food while they were away, He told them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” (John 4:1–42)
Today, when you draw from Jesus and let Him minister to you, it is “food” for Him that “refreshes” and “strengthens” Him.
But it takes humility for us to allow Jesus to minister to us. We take pride in doing things for the Lord. We want to build our businesses, families and ministries for Him. All that is good, but without Jesus, we are spiritually bankrupt! We really have nothing to give to the Lord and His work. What we need to do first is to receive from Him because when we freely receive from Him, we are able to freely give. (Matthew 10:8)
My friend, Jesus wants to minister to you. Don’t try to minister to yourself. That is pride and self-righteousness. The Pharisees of Jesus’ day, who felt that they did not need Him and that they could provide for themselves, were the ones who could not receive from Him. So bring to Him your needs and say, “Lord, I need to draw from You. I present my needs to You. Minister to me and meet my needs. I cannot, but You can. Thank you, Lord.”
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A founding member of New Creation Church, Joseph initially served as an elder and associate pastor. However, his unanimous appointment as senior pastor in 1990 marked a turning point in the history of the church, which started experiencing phenomenal growth. Under Joseph's leadership, the church congregation has grown by more than a hundredfold—from about 150 to more than 31,000 attendees.
Having built and established the leadership and congregation of New Creation Church on the sure foundation of Jesus Christ, Joseph is now actively fulfilling, around the world, the mandate that God has given him to preach God's unmerited favor without compromise. He heads Joseph Prince Ministries, Inc., an international, non-profit organization that seeks to build, encourage, and inspire people with the gospel of Jesus Christ through television broadcasting as well as a new media technology. Joseph's ministry as a pastor, teacher, conference speaker, and author continues to transform many lives, setting people free from the heavy yoke of the law, guilt, and condemnation by pointing them to Jesus and His finished work at Calvary.
Joseph believes the best in people and is committed to helping them discover how they can reign in life through the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness. His desire is to help this generation of believers understand the new covenant of grace and realize how greatly blessed, highly favored, and deeply loved they are by their heavenly Father.
In addition, both Joseph and Wendy are moved by the plight of less fortunate children, especially in Asia, and consider it a calling and an urgent priority to provide practical help through Joseph Prince Ministries, Inc.'s missions initiative and humanitarian projects.