about the prayer life of our Lord Jesus Christ tonight. John chapter 17 and verse number five. Scripture says, and now, oh, Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which, note carefully, I had with thee before the world was. Verse 24, Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me, for thou lovest me before the foundation of the world. Father, bless your word now. In your holy name, amen. It'd be amazing to do a little study on what all was done before the foundation of the world. Amen. You'd be surprised. The Lord Jesus Christ, my folks, is the second person of Trinity. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. He has forever existed, folks. There was never, ever a beginning of time with him. But the God-man started 2,000 years ago when God ordained and incarnated himself into human flesh. The Lord Jesus Christ had full communion with the Father before he ever was brought into this world and incarnate in flesh. There was full communion. He's what he's talking about. The glory that I had with thee before the world was. I want you to think about this for a moment now. The Lord Jesus Christ was a sinless person, sinless. Never did he ever sin. from the moment that he came into this world until he left it, no sin. And yet he prayed and wanted fellowship with the Father. Now think about that. Think about that. That's something to think about. There are those who think that the only reason to pray and have fellowship with the Father is to get forgiveness of sin. Well, that's part of it, but that's not necessarily the point. The point is that you have fellowship, sustenance from the Father. The Lord Jesus depended upon the Father. He was in complete and total dependence upon him. He would find a time and a place to get away from the people. He had to get away from them. He couldn't stay with them all the time. There had to be a time when he got alone with God. And there's nothing that can replace that. There's nothing that can take its place. Every one of us tonight, we need a time when we get alone with God. He got alone in prayer. The Lord Jesus Christ prayed, folks, sometimes all night long. Here's some of the things in scripture that record when he prayed. Luke chapter number three and verse 21, he prayed before his baptism. When all the people baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also being baptized and praying, the heaven was opened. He's praying, all right? Now this is communication of a man with God. Remember, there's not a word in that Bible from Genesis to Revelation that ever says an angel or a cherubim or a seraphim, any of these creatures, watchers or what have you, ever pray, but the man has that great privilege and blessing. And the Lord Jesus Christ never prayed until he became a man. Then once he became a man, prayer started, communication with God. In Luke chapter number six and verse 12, before the election of the 12, he prayed. The Bible says, it came to pass in those days, he went out into a mountain to pray and continued all night in prayer to God. Now that takes some discipline and it takes some grace to be able to do that. That's quite a thing, it's been done in the past and I'm sure probably right now. There are people that are doing that and you have to have the physical stamina and the spiritual desire to be able to pray all night long. But I'll tell you one thing, it happens and there is a reward for it. But make no mistake about it, he would pray all night in prayer. Now if a sinless, perfect man needed to pray all night long to find the will of God in his life. Who am I tonight? I mean, good night, I am not sinless and I am not perfect. So he prayed before he elected, chose the 12. Now consider this, he said, of the 12 that I've chosen, one of you is a devil. And he prayed all night and still he chose Judas Iscariot, which is an enigma, folks. Judas is not easy to figure out. I know he's a thief, I know he carried the bag, I know he fulfilled the prophecy in the Old Testament, but there's still an element about Judas Iscariot that's not easy to get ahold of. At the discourse in the synagogue at Capernaum, Matthew chapter 14, he prayed. The scripture says, when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray. And when the evening was come, he was there alone. But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves, for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea, walking on the water. And he had been praying. You suppose he might've known what was coming? I think he did. I think he did. I believe he got it from the power of the Holy Spirit of God. Anytime he needed to make a decision, a choice, some kind of a thing that's so very important about his life, he prayed. Luke chapter five, verse 15, but so much the more went there a fame abroad of him and great multitudes came together to hear and to be healed by him of their infirmities. And he withdrew himself into the wilderness and prayed. Now you have to look a little deeper into this. A lot of people today think he's a miracle worker. They think he's a great prophet. They think he was a man who came and fulfilled his ministry 2,000 years ago and we should have great respect and honor for him. And that's all they know. And this was the problem 2,000 years ago. He wanted them to understand that there's far more to him than a miracle worker. Amen. Far more, far more. They say he was a prophet. Absolutely, he was a prophet, fulfilling the prophecy that Moses gave, but he's far more than just a prophet. The Lord Jesus Christ, my dear friend, has an identity that only the Father can put in your soul. Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? Some Moses, some Elias, some Jeremiah, one of the prophets, but who do you say that I am? This is what's going on here. And the Apostle Peter said, thou art the Christ, the Mashiach, the Son of the Living God. Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed that to you, but my Father which is in heaven. Do you know him tonight as God Almighty manifest in the flesh? If you really know him in that identity, you didn't get that from men, you got that from God, and that's what's important. In the book of Luke chapter number nine, He told his disciples what he was about to do. He told them what was gonna happen. Luke chapter nine, verse 18, it came to pass, he was alone praying. See the praying? His disciples were with him and he asked them saying, whom say the people that I am? They answered and said, John the Baptist, some say Elias, others say that one of the prophets has risen again. He said to them, but whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, the Christ of God. He straightly charged them. Now watch this. and commanded them to tell no man that thing saying, the son of man must suffer many things and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes and be slain and be raised the third day. This is the hardest thing for the Jews to accept is how he was taken and crucified. How could the Messiah die on a cross, you see? And I've told you many times that the Jewish sages, those who, the Jewish teachers, teach that there are two messiahs. There's a suffering messiah and a reigning messiah. Mashiach ben David, which is messiah, the son of David, and Mashiach ben Joseph, the son of Joseph. Which one of those two would you think would be the suffering messiah, the son of Joseph or the son of David? Joseph, of course. That's how they reconcile the sufferings of Christ with his messianic credentials. You see, you hear it taught, and I had it taught to me in Sunday school as I grew up, that the Jews were looking for someone who could deliver them from Roman bondage, right? A deliverer, for someone who could restore the kingdom to Israel. Without this time restore the kingdom, Acts chapter one, that's what they were looking for, and they leave it at that. Well, that's only partially true. It is true, but it's only partially true. There's a whole lot more going on than simply that. Who is this man? It's not about a kingdom, it's about the man. You see, in order for him to suffer and die, not Christ, to suffer and then rise again the third day, that's what he said to the two on the road to Emmaus, who there, at that time, contemporaries with the history, didn't have it right. And he explained it to them. He must suffer. Well, that's Moshiach ben Joseph. And then he comes back as Messiah, the son of David, because David is the only king that Israel ever had that pulled all the tribes together. And God says he will have one sitting on his throne in perpetuity. And I will give him the sure mercies of David. David was different, unlike any other king. He called him from the sheep coat and made him the king of Israel. Now in the book of Luke chapter number nine, before his transfiguration came to pass about eight days after these sayings. What's the number eight in the Bible? A lot of folks, they don't like gematria, they run it down. They say you're getting off into witchcraft or something of that nature. Now my dear friend, why is the Bible so certain about certain days? 40 days, 40 days, 40 days. See, 40 days. 40 days he was in the field. 40 years they wandered in the wilderness. 40 is the number of testing, right? Seven's completion, completion, completion. What's the number eight? New beginning, new beginning, new beginning. You take the name of Jesus, which we get Jesus from. The gematria of that name is 888. That's not a coincidence. That's by design. And notice carefully what it says here. It says, and it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered. His raiment was white and glistening. And behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias." Now, how would they have known that it was Moses and Elias? How would they have known the identity? They had no photographs, and they certainly didn't have any graven images carving their image. Who appeared in glory and spake of his decease, which he should accomplish at Jerusalem? So he prayed before this transfiguration. And what's happening here? This is God beginning to mark his son out as infinitely superior to anything that had ever walked this earth before. You don't compare Christ to Moses. You don't compare Christ to Enoch. You don't compare Christ with any man. Why? The man is not big enough to be compared with him. You compare Christ with God if you want to compare him with someone. And so he prayed before his transfiguration. In the book of Luke chapter 22, as he approached the cross at Gethsemane, here's what it says, Luke 22 verse 44. And being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly. His sweat were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And when he rose up from prayer and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow and said unto them, why sleep ye? Rise and pray. lest ye enter into temptation. You see, Peter put more trust in his sword strapped to his side than he did prayer, which was the true weapon. There may be a time you need a sword, but my dear friend, prayer cannot be substituted. There's no substitute for it. Prayer is a blessing and a gift that's given to us, folks. It's ours. We're men, mankind. And prayer is one of the great blessings from God that allows us, through prayer, to be able to approach to the Almighty. Now on three occasions, there was a voice that came from heaven, the father speaking about his son. Three times, God spoke from heaven. In the book of Matthew, chapter number three, verse 16, Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water, and, lo, the heavens were opened to him. And he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon him, and, lo, a voice from heaven saying, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Here is the Trinity, right here at the Jordan River. you have the Trinity in unity. In plainter words, this is how the work is done. It originates from the Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit of God, with Christ doing it, all right? From the Father through the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit of God. The scripture says that God did not give the Spirit by measure to him, all right? But he does us. because I'm only capable of having so much of fullness of the Godhead, only so much of it. But here, note carefully now, at his baptism, the Spirit of God comes down. So what happens to Christ at his baptism? What's so important about the baptism? Well, when the Holy Ghost came down, God anointed him. All right, now let me show you how important that anointing is. Look at the book of Exodus, chapter number 31, and verse one. Exodus chapter 31 in verse one. And here I'm afraid a lot of my good Baptist brethren, they get real nervous when you get around something like this. But folks, this is scripture. In Exodus chapter 31 verse one, the Lord spake to Moses saying, see, I have called by name, Bezalel, all right, Bezalel. the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God and wisdom, understanding, and knowledge in all manner of workmanship." So what are we talking about here? You'll see as we continue to read. to devise cunning works, to work in gold and silver and brass, in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship. And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahishamach, of the tribe of Dan. And in the hearts of all that are wise-hearted, I have put wisdom." Now look at this carefully. That they may make all that I have commanded thee. Make what, verse seven, the tabernacle to the congregation, the ark of the testimony, the mercy seat that is thereupon, and all the furniture of the tabernacle. table, the furniture, the pure candlestick with all his furniture, altar of incense, altar of burnt offerings with all his furniture, the labor in his foot, the cloths of service, the holy garments of air in the priest, the garments of his son, sons to minister in the priest's office, and the anointing oil and sweet incense for the holy place according to all that I have commanded thee shall they do. That's heavy-duty stuff I just read for you, okay? Because what we are making are the most holy objects on the face of the earth at that time. So holy that when that ark began to shake, Uzzah put his hand up. What happened to him? So what is the difference between Uzzah, who touched the ark and died instantly, and Bezaliel, who made it? See? I'm forcing you to think tonight. What's the difference? Same ark. One dies when he touches it. The other one made it. Both were men. What happened? Well, what happened is this. Once that ark was anointed, then it became holy. What does that mean? Separate unto God. That's what holiness is. Righteousness, morality, and all that is associated and attached to it. That's fine and well and good, but that's not the basic meaning. The meaning is that that ark is so separated under God that to touch it is to approach into the presence of God and to offend His holiness. That's what that means. That's what that means. Now, I've told you a thousand times that light is a very important thing. Light is a very powerful thing. Do you remember when the Ark of the Covenant was taken by the Philistines? Do you remember that? They carried it off into their cities, and poor Dagon set the Ark of God before this idol, and Dagon didn't do too well, did he? Well, here's the bottom line. They put that on a cart, got rid of it. They said, we don't want this thing. This is causing us too much trouble, and sent it back. And the ark was on a cart. God didn't tell them to move it like that, but they didn't know that. They're ignorant. They're ignorant pagans. They are not sinning against light. They have no knowledge. The ark is still holy unto God, all right? Once you are introduced to the holiness of God and understand what that holiness is and what it means, then you're accountable. You follow me? So the ark comes back and it crosses the line and Beth Shemesh, House of the Son. Israelis went down and they looked into it and they died by the tens of thousands. Why? Because they were violating the light and the holiness that they knew, okay? That ark was anointed. It was anointed unto God. And so a principle begins to develop before us tonight. And what is that? The Lord Jesus Christ was a sinless man grew up in the home of a carpenter. But when the Holy Ghost came down upon him and anointed him, it didn't make him sinless, he was already sinless. It didn't have anything to do with sin. It had to do with anointing. It had to do with separating him into the holiness of God. To defile him is to defile God. To refuse to accept the knowledge of who he is is to reject every revelation that God ever gave about Christ. That's what that means. That means that we are in a place tonight, and I especially as a minister, as a bishop of a church, am accountable. Why? Because I've got the light. I'm accountable because I know what holiness is. I'm accountable because I know what the Bible is. I know what the gospel of Christ is. I'm accountable unto God, folks. It's not like jerking wheels off of a car and doing a brake job, jerk a motor out and do a valve job. It's not building a house and nailing boards together, shaping concrete or anything like that, teaching a class. No. I deal with the souls of men. I'm accountable to God. He says, take the oversight thereof. Right? Right. Take that oversight, Acts chapter number 20. That's not a simple thing. In order for you to step into this and to dare to do that, you better get a call from God. And that's what the call is about. That's why I firmly believe in it. I believe in the call to preach. When God saved me in 1973, I didn't think about preaching. Good night, man, that's the last thing in my mind. Preaching. But then something began to move in my soul. Something began to move and that was a long time ago. I answered the call, God's blessed it. God has blessed me greatly. For 47 years, God has taken care of me and he has blessed me. And this is because of the call. This man's sitting on the front row. You've been called. You've been anointed. You've been separated. an ordained bishop, minister of the gospel of Christ. Right now, he's not so much a bishop as he is an ordained minister. He's an elder. Peter called himself an elder. But a bishop is one who has to do with his relationship to a church. It doesn't make him any more of a minister or an elder, but that's the bishop. The bishop is the one who's the overseer of the church, accountable to God. This is why Paul said in the book of Hebrews, I must give an account. Now think about this tonight. Are you Uzzah? Are you Bezalel? Or are you the ignorant Philistine? Have you ever noticed how that the unbeliever a lot of times gets away with things? He does it because he's ignorant. He's not violating his light. He's not violating the light. He's not grieving the Holy Spirit. He's not committing the sin unto death. And he is not blaspheming the Holy Ghost. This is the kind of stuff here that, you take this stuff I'm giving you tonight, take it home and think over what I'm saying to you. But, if you've been in the church of God, and you know, yeah, and you know, and you know, and you know that you know, and you've seen it, you've experienced it, and you know the power of God, and you know the power of the Holy Spirit, you know the presence of the Lord, you know what's holy unto God, and all these things, then you better be careful. you better be careful because you're accountable then. And this is what it's about. When God spoke from heaven, he said, this is my son. And the Holy ghost came down. And the apostle says, and we know that Jesus of Nazareth was anointed with the Holy ghost of God. And he was set apart under the work of the Lord. This is why it says in the old Testament, touch not mine anointed and do my prophets no harm. And it's a great blessing. when the church understands that and accepts that responsibility. And it's a great blessing for the people and for the individual. So a man made it, but if he had touched that later, he would have died in his tracks. Bezalel, who made that ark, would have dropped dead after it was anointed. Now there was a group that could handle the ark. How many of you know enough of your Bible history to know somebody had to take the tent down, put it together, prepare it, and to move it? Who was that? That's the Levi and Kohath and Merari, right? Those two tribes were responsible. That's what they did. They moved the ark. And then the others were the priest. They were the ones who ministered in the temple. And of course, at this time, it's the tabernacle. And then, of course, Aaron and his successor would be the high priest who could go one time a year into the Holy of Holies, into the very presence of God. And I suspect, I strongly suspect that when Aaron went back into that Holy of Holies, he walked softly. Oh yeah, I do. I believe he walked softly. You remember he lost two sons. How many of you remember that? Do you remember their names? I know you didn't think you were going to get a quiz tonight, but he had two sons. What were their names? That's right. Somebody said it, Nadab and Abihu. And that's tough, wasn't it? He lost his two sons, Nadab and Abihu. If that did not drive home to him the importance of the holiness of God, holy unto the Lord, separate unto God, then nothing, nothing could. And so, of course, it did. And so Aaron lived out his days. Now we read in the book of Exodus, chapter number 30, verse 26, thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith and the ark of the testimony. And then, of course, all the other things along with Aaron, he was anointed and his sons were anointed. And you remember what it says in the book of Isaiah, chapter number six, a king, folks, Uzziah, a king, the king of Israel, a king. went into the holy place and burned incense. And they told him, they said, don't you do this. You may be the King, but there's one bigger than you. There is the King of kings and Lord of lords, don't do it. And he pushed them aside and went in there. And the Bible says that the leprosy filled his face right in front of them immediately. And he lived out as leper for the rest of his life. And then he died. And the year that King Uzziah died, it says in the book of Isaiah chapter number six, that Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up and his train did fill the temple. What's that? That's comparing the holiness and glory of God to a leprous king who rejected the holiness of Almighty God. So Matthew chapter 17, the transfiguration, while he yet spake, a bright cloud overshadowed them and a voice said, this is my beloved son. I am well pleased in whom I am well pleased. And the third time that God spoke from heaven, about the Lord Jesus is found in John chapter number 12, verse 27. The Lord says, now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour, but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven saying, I have both glorified it and will glorify it again. And the glory of God, a lot of people think it's just a cloud, folks. That cloud is just a very small part of the glory of God. The glory of God goes much deeper than something you can see with your natural eyes. And they could see the cloud with their natural eyes in the daytime. And they could see the fire at night with a natural eye. But the glory of God goes much, much deeper than that. So he prayed, he was anointed, he was set apart, And when they nailed him to the cross, here's what he had to say about these tormentors and those that nailed him. He said, Father, forgive them. Based on what? What'd he say? For they what? They don't know what they're doing. They're not sinning against knowledge. They're not sinning against the Holy Spirit. They're not blaspheming the Holy Ghost. They're ignorant. They don't know what they're doing. And the Apostle Paul says, I received forgiveness. I was forgiven because what I did, he said, I did it ignorantly in what? Unbelief. Unbelief. Even though he was set at the feet of Gamaliel, well-versed in his religion. In other words, well-educated. He knew far more than Peter did. Peter was a fisherman. The Apostle Paul was trained, yet he said, Having said at the feet of Gamaliel all that I'd been through, he said, I still did it ignorantly in unbelief. But on the road to Damascus, when the Holy Ghost came to him and said, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? Who art thou? Lord, I am who? I'm Jesus, whom you persecute. And he astonished and trembling, And I would have been too, wouldn't you? Yes, he was. Astonished and trembling. So when I go home tonight, I will always remember, until I draw the last breath in this body, that I am not allowed to go to some of the places you can go to. I am not allowed to read some of the things that you read. I am not allowed to see some of the things that you see. I am not allowed to do that, and I know I'm not. I have a barrier about me that most other people don't have. It's not a grievance to me, not one bit. It's not a grievance at all. Serving the Lord is a blessing. It always has been. Until I leave this world, it will be, and that's my greatest prayer that God allows me to have my faculties, my mental faculties, my mind. If I can just think, I'll be happy. You may have to roll me around on a gurney or whatever, but if I can think, I'll be happy. But if I lose my mind, I won't be out of here. I don't want to sit around as a vegetable somewhere. I want God to use me until my time's up, amen. And that would be the greatest blessing in the world. So I know whom I have believed, and I know who laid his hand upon me and called me to preach. I know the anointing that God puts upon our soul. And any of you brethren out there, and you may be watching me online right now, and you identify fully with what I just said, and you know it. and you may have been discouraged, and you may have quit and gone off somewhere, and you said to yourself, well, I tried. No, there's no trying to it. The gifts and callings of God are without repentance. If he called you, he called you. Yeah, right? You may not be qualified to pastor, but you certainly can preach. And as the old timer used to say one time, and I've heard it said, and I thought it was real good, he said, preach the word. Preach it. And if you have to, use words. The pastor lives in a fishbowl and a pressure cooker. And I'm used to it. That's my calling. That's who I am. And I am blessed tonight. I am not complaining. Father, bless your word. Thank you for what you've done for us. I need to pray more, Lord. I confess that freely to you in a heartbeat. I need to pray more. I need to pray more. I can't pray too much. I know that. I cannot pray too much. and I need to pray more. Thank you, Lord. You've been good to me. In your holy name I pray, amen.