In this sermon, Bob begins by recounting the story of Jacob's dream of a ladder reaching to heaven. He emphasizes that being a child of God is not simply about being a member of a church or participating in religious rituals. Bob passionately calls for believers to exercise their kingdom authority and make a difference in society. He highlights the importance of prayer and the role of the Holy Spirit in deepening our understanding of sin and the need for revival. The sermon concludes with a reference to Isaiah 54:2, encouraging believers to enlarge their spiritual influence and strengthen their faith.

I forgot to turn my mic on. Oh my. That's a wonderful hymn. Fifty-four years ago, about now, I was planning to get married. And I was trying to think what songs I wanted sung at our wedding. And when I shared them with my wife, she didn't think they were quite the appropriate thing for a wedding. One of the songs I thought was, It Is Well With My Soul. And another was, It Pays to Serve Jesus. I had prayed for so long I knew I was called to be a missionary to India. And I didn't know it was going to be as easy as it was. I could picture myself living out in a mud house with a thatched roof. And I remember I was sitting on the platform of the service while a male quartet sang, My Home Sweet Home. I don't know whether you know that. I see the lights of that city so fair. My Home Sweet Home. And I just wept. I thought, I won't be able to give my wife a decent house to live in. But I'll have a home for her one day. The Lord was so good, we lived in a brick house. But you know, a naive person. I'd read a book or two about missionaries who lived out in the jungles. And they were telling about the place where they were. And I thought all the missionaries lived in places like that across India. And I thought, here I can't even offer my wife a proper house. And they were going to get married. Oh, thank you for the offering. My, that was wonderful. And it will all go into my ministry. Before we got married I said to Betty, Will you be willing to ride with me in a $5 car? Because I knew another Bible college student. Believe it or not. I knew Bible cars back in the 30's. For $5. Bought an old Model T that had a battery. And it had tires and could still run. And I was so poor, I thought I might have to buy that kind of a car. And so I asked Betty, Will you be willing to ride in a $5 car with me? And she said, If the Lord's willing, I'll do it. Oh my. How well it is. And I prayed so long. Because the Lord called me when I was just a little boy about 6. And I always knew what God's will was. I always knew after that. But I felt that I was going to need a wife. And where would I find a wife? And I had prayed and prayed. And several times I made slight moves. And then realized that I was a little foolish. So when I finally had God's will. And I told this, I believe at the table Sunday was it Bob? About, where did someone ask me this? Maybe in a car or somewhere. Recently. Someone told me. On our first date with my wife. On the first date. We had our Bibles. And after we walked around, we went into a room and opened our Bibles. And I don't know yet who spoke first. But we discovered we both had the same life verse. Isaiah 54-2. You know what that verse is? Enlarge the place of thy tent. And stretch forth the cords of thy inhabitation. Spare not. Lengthen thy cords. And strengthen thy stakes. For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left. We both, without realizing it, had the same life verse. Later I found that that was the life verse of Charles Cowman, the founder of OMS. And a little later, ignorant soul that I was, I discovered that that was the life verse of William Caron. The founder of modern missions. And he was a missionary to India. And I saw the church in Calcutta where he preached and over the pulpit it said, Sacred to the memory. Sacred to the memory. Of William Caron. Whose motto ever was, Expect great things from God. And attempt great things for God. And he got that motto from that verse of Scripture. Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God. So, I want to sing, here I was getting married in the will of God. I want to sing it as well with my soul. I want to sing it. Pay us to serve Jesus. Well, they had other songs in mind for the wedding. And I agreed to their choice. But I still would have been pleased to have served. So when you sang that tonight, that really stirred up memories in my mind. One other comment. One book that maybe if I live long enough, and maybe not, I might write a book someday on delighting in Jesus. On the communion aspect of prayer. I've never felt myself worthy of writing that book. I've been collecting thoughts and quotations in a file for a number of years. But I've never felt that it's time yet. I've bought several books hoping that this person or that person has written the book that I envisage. And I haven't found it yet. Maybe I will one of these days. But just a suggestion to you that I would put in that book. That once in a while I give in a message on communion with Jesus. And that is to personalize the songs. There are so many of the songs which we sing. If you want to sing them to Jesus. If you want to make love to Jesus. Sing them personalized. Your name is wonderful. Your name is wonderful. Instead of His name is wonderful. Your name is wonderful. Jesus my Lord. You are the mighty king. Master of kings. Or Jesus is the sweetest name I know. Jesus you're the sweetest one I know. And you're just the same as your lovely name. And that's the reason why I love you so. For you are, for Jesus you're the sweetest one I know. Or oh come let us adore him. You can sing Lord Jesus I adore you. Lord Jesus I adore you. Lord Jesus I adore you. In the name of Jesus. So many things I get mixed up before I get into my message. This last message may be a flop. Some of you have heard me give it before. But it's on my heart again and again. Because I don't believe God's people understand it. And I've never been able to tell it like it is. And I tried just this weekend. Oh yes. You were so interested today in Duncan Campbell. Brother Charlie asked me a few questions about that. On October 20, 1958. At Faith Mission Bible College Edinburgh. Says in my notation. After talk with Reverend Duncan Campbell. And that afternoon I had asked him. Would you tell me just a bit. Of how the revival began. And he told me of one of the. There were several surges of revival in the Hebrides. And he told me of one. That I haven't seen written up. And I don't have a lot of details. I said Brother Duncan. Where did that revival begin? He said right here in New York City. He said it was the end of school. And two young ladies. Our students. Were going out for the summer. And they were going to hold children's meetings. And go house to house. And they came to me. And we sat here together. And they said Brother Ken. Will you covenant with us. That God will give revival this summer. And he said right here in New York City. We kneeled down. I kneeled in the middle of those two lady students. And he said they just simply. Claimed the promise of God. And he said they began their children's work. And God sent revival. And they had to send for me to come. To do the preaching. And to be used of the Holy Spirit. So he had told me that. A few minutes before. And then I wrote these words. Give us a greater hunger Lord. Than we have ever known. Help us to wait in one accord. Until your power is shown. Keep us your children on our knees. Beseeching you with mighty pleas. Till floods of blessing. Like the seeds. Sweep over all your own. Give us a sense of urgency. That will not be denied. Give us such desire. Thy work to see. Till ease we cast aside. Give us soul hunger. And soul thirst. Till hearts with longing. Almost burst. Till we could wish ourselves accursed. If souls but reach thy side. This is tied in with several of my messages that I gave this week. This was written long before I prepared those messages. But it was the same hunger burning in my heart as I tried to express this. Lord, now begin thy mighty work. Make bare thy holy arm. O God, forbid that we should shirk. Or to this age conform. Reveal thy spirit's mighty power. O come upon thy church this hour. By thine own working, Lord, empower. Till Satan's forts we storm. On the offensive for God. Help each of us to do our part. O Lord, may we not fail. Give clearest guidance to each heart. Till highest mounts we scale. Use us however thou dost choose. We would no burden, Lord, refuse. But get us, Lord, where you can use. And mightily prevail. O send the promised Holy Ghost. Upon us as we kneel. We need his holy working most. Till men conviction feel. Lord, this is still the day of grace. Have mercy on our dying race. Revival send to every place. Your miracle revealed. Now, I will not probably speak much of revival in this service, but it's all related in a sense to it. The message that I long to tell to God's people everywhere, but I've never yet been able to tell, is on reigning with Christ through prayer, or the Trinity of intercession. Brother Bob and his people heard me attempt to talk about it Sunday, about 28 or 30 years ago, when British government was planning for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth to come to India. Of course, preparations for a state visit are made long in advance. And a year in advance we knew that she would spend one Sunday in India, and that that Sunday would be in the city of Varanasi, the old Hindu Benares, which was just 90 miles from us in Allahabad. And there was only one church of England there, so we knew exactly where she would be worshiping. And the pastor of that church was our dear friend, a spirit-filled Anglican minister of the Keswick movement background in Britain, Bob Harlan. And it just so happened that his assistant or associate minister was a graduate of our OMS seminary. He had been sent to us for training. We had trained him. Now he had gone back to be an assistant in this church. And it just so happened that the choir in that church consisted almost entirely from missionaries, because there was a Keswick Anglican Missionary Society a few miles out in the country operating a hospital. Now you may not know it, but the Church of England has 36 official missionary societies. And they range all the way from the extremely liberal to the out-and-out fundamental. And the Church of England is really like a commonwealth of churches. And you can have your own seminary and your own Sunday school literature and your own church literature and your own missionary society if you support them. And one of the men who became the Bishop of Sydney said to me, and if they ever try to change that, we'll leave the Church of England. This way they can run their own evangelical outreach just exactly as they want to. And they said to me, no bishop has access to come in our pulpit unless we invite him. So I had never known that before in the Anglican church. So this was one of those Anglican churches that had a bunch of spirit-filled missionaries in the choir, nurses and doctors from this hospital, and some Indian people, too. And we knew that the Queen was coming there. So we were praying that God would use this occasion. The bishop came to me one day. We were together on various committees of the Bible Society and others. And he said, Wesley, I wish that I could invite you to come to the St. Mary's Church in Varanasi to worship with the Queen. But he said there's only 330 seats in the church, and every third person has to be a secret police. And he said there are so many British officials in India that are insisting that they be permitted to worship with the Queen. But he said the Maharaja of Benares, Indira Gandhi, other Indian officials, they all want to worship with the Queen. He said I could never permit an American inside the church because there are so many Britishers that can't get inside. I said that's all right, Bishop. I said I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll pitch a tent like an awning, shamiana we call it there, right in front of the church, and I'll give you a ticket. You can come to the church grounds. You can sit in the tent. And he said the Queen is a very gracious lady, and I'll suggest after the service that you just step a few steps toward the tent, and then you folks can see her a little bit. I said thank you, Bishop. That's fine. And so the time came. We went to Varanasi the night before. We saw the Queen on several occasions. Very interesting. Unplanned by us. But anyway, that isn't my subject. So we went early Sunday morning, and I showed my pass and was permitted into the grounds. I was going to take moving pictures. I set up my tripod. In those days you had a separate exposure meter. I got that out, and I made about every motion I could think I would make while the Queen was there so that the secret police would not be concerned with any move that I might make. So as I was working, adjusting my camera, while the Bishop came up in his robes, you know, we chatted and talked, and he smiled. I said, Bishop, when the Queen talks to me, what do I say? He looked at me. You don't talk to royalty until royalty speaks to you. And you don't ask royalty one thing. You answer royalty. You don't ask royalty anything. And besides, he said, the first time she speaks, you have to say, Your Majesty. And then he looked and smiled, and I smiled. It was our private joke. So I was all set on the front row, right toward the center, and the time came, and here came the motorcade and the entourage, and the Queen got out, and so I was taking a picture of her getting out the car, met by the Bishop, and then the pastor. The Bishop escorted the Queen. The pastor was right beside Philip, and then behind came my former student. The group went up the aisle in the church, and it was a good service, as Anglican services go, and then the Prince, Philip, read the Scripture lesson, and my former student and graduate led in the prayers, and then the sermon. Now, we knew that just about a month before the Queen got there, the Bishop was planning to bring the message. The Queen sent word, I want no special service. I want to attend just the ordinary service of the church. So the Bishop was out, and Bob Harland, our friend, became the one who would preach to the Queen. Then we were praying, Oh Lord, use Bob. Give him the right message. Oh Lord, anoint him. Help him to get preached to the Queen and all these unsaved people. And then just one week before the service, word came from the British officials. The sermon is to be 12 minutes in length. Oh, we said, what's Bob going to do? But anyway, we prayed. Bob started out. He said, Jacob had a vision at night, a dream of a ladder that reached to heaven. He said, there is a way to contact God. He said, what does it mean to be a child of God? It doesn't mean that you are a member of the Church of England. He said, it's not enough to have been baptized into the church. It's not enough to take Holy Communion. It's not enough to be regular in your attendance and support the church. You have to be born again. He said, it takes repentance. He described repentance, saving faith. He went down. And I said, thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Praise the Lord. I was sitting out in the tent, you know. And I could hear it because the PA system was out there. And I said, help him, Jesus. Help him, Jesus. Praise the Lord. Oh, I thought the Lord really gave him the message. Here's Indira Gandhi hearing exactly how to be born again. Here's a Maharaja Banaras. Here's all these government officials. Here's every third person is a non-Christian secret police. Hindu Sikhs, Mohammedans, they're all getting this message. Praise the Lord. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you. I was so excited. And before I realized it, the message was over. And here came the benediction. And here came, I saw the entourage get to the church. So I stood up real quick and got to my camera. But I was still praying. Oh, thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Lord. Thank you. Thank you, Jesus. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Oh, I thought, her face is getting awfully big in here. I suddenly realized that the queen was right in front of me. That wasn't on the program. She said, are you a missionary? I said, yes. I forgot about your majesty. I said, yes. She said, what society are you with? I told her, OMS International. She said, what is your ministry? I said, I'm the principal of a theological seminary, training Indian Christian young men who felt the call of God to be pastors. And about that time, the police were coming by her side. This wasn't on the schedule. They had a tight schedule for her. Everything timed, you know, to the minute this would be done. So they couldn't stand in front of her, but they were trying to get beside her and trying to catch her attention. Come on, come on. So I said, your majesty. That just suddenly occurred to me that I hadn't said your majesty yet. And she just had a cute little dimpled smile in her cheek. She knew that I was one of these stupid Americans. Didn't know the protocol. So then she started and went toward the car, and I got her getting in the car. And an hour later, I was out at the airport, and we weren't supposed to be there. But we decided to go and watch her pass by on the road. And I didn't think about that the police would be all along. Every hundred yards, there were police on both sides of the road. So there's no place we could see we're going to stop and see her go. There's no place we could stop. So they saw us Europeans. They thought we were part of the royal party. So they kept winding us on like this. And so here we got clear out to the airport, and they called pass. And I just held up the pass in front of the yard of the church, and they waved me on in the airport. So I finally got her waving goodbye, and I saw her as she left India, as the plane took off. Her hand waving in the window from the plane. Now, I've told you that story for a reason. Did you hear what I said? You don't speak to royalty until royalty speaks to you. And you don't ask royalty anything, but you answer royalty. And you always have to say the right thing. And do you know that Queen Elizabeth's king, the sovereign of the universe, says, ask, and it will be given you. He doesn't say, wait until you're spoken to. He says, come, all ye who labor in a heavy labor. He bids us come at any time, at any place. If this is true, why do we do so little with prayer? Do we realize the privilege that is ours? I don't think we do. I don't think we do. Now, I could talk on, that's another message I could get into, but I won't. Because there's something more wonderful than being able to speak to heaven's throne room at any moment, at any time, day or night, wherever you are, and having full liberty to say anything you want to say, to open your heart. Some have even spoken crossly to God. You'll read it in the Bible. They almost argued with God. But God is so loving and gracious, he understood, and he forgave them. He bids us come. He loves us. He waits for us to come. There's something more wonderful than all of that, and that's what I'm preaching about in this last session. Reigning with Christ on heaven's throne. The role that God has for us today. Mystery of mysteries. There are many mysteries about prayer and about God. We can't begin to understand them all until we get to heaven. Even then, I don't know whether we will understand everything. God is so great and so wonderful. Why God not only saved us, but caused us to be a part of his family, not only caused us to be a part of his family, chose us to be a part of his army, not only chose us to be a part of his army, but chose us to be the bride of Christ. What does that mean? Is any angel of heaven in the bride? Is any archangel, or the cherubim, or the seraphim? No. The Bible talks of in the tomorrows, in the new heavens, in the new earth, the generations of the saved. What will those be? Will they be in the bride? No. That's reserved for us. In this period of grace, spiritual warfare, this dispensation of conflict, this dispensation of grace, this dispensation of intercession, which will, as far as we can tell, cease when Jesus comes again. We are in the privileged group that have a chance, an invitation to be a part of the bride of Jesus. Now, another mystery is that God has ordained that his work on earth be done through man. And, mystery of mysteries, to some holy extent, depend upon man. Why does God depend on us? Do you know your heart? Do you know how easy it is for you to make a mistake? To fail? How can God trust us to choose to work through us? Now, I want us to see in this session the amazing grace of God. Why did God set his love on us to choose us for this role? A role for today and a role throughout eternity. We are the privileged of all creation. God has chosen to work through what I call the Trinity of intercession. We have no record that God the Father prays. Why should he? He is the God who hears and answers prayer. But it is amazing that Jesus should pray. And it is amazing that his priority work today is intercession. It is amazing that he is the great high priest. How long will that last? At least until this age concludes. We know nothing about beyond. I see no scriptural reason why he would beyond. He is high priest for who? For angels? No. For seraphim? No. Who is he high priest for? For us. And when we conclude this age of grace, we at least will not need a high priest. And as far as we can understand in the ages to come, on the new heavens and the new earth, there will be no sin. Satan will not be there to tempt. And there will not need to be the kind of salvation that you and I need today. So you see, he is the high priest until the end of this dispensation. And he is the high priest who reigns. Never such a priest in the history of the universe. So, I want to point out what the Bible says so clearly 13 times. And anything which the scripture says 13 times is exceedingly important. Not in exactly the same words, but very nearly. Just slight alteration, 13 times. It's emphasis upon the fact that Jesus is one seated, two, at the right hand of God the Father, three, on the throne of the universe. That ought to be extremely clear to us. Listen. When Jesus Christ was on trial before Pilate, what did he say? He was silent. When Jesus was on trial before Herod, what did he say? He was silent. When Jesus was on trial before the high priest and the Sanhedrin, what did he say? He was silent until the high priest put him on oath. It is the exact words used by the Jewish people in those days to put a person on oath in court. And Jesus was standing at the most solemn moment of his earthly life before the Sanhedrin. He was the fulfillment of all the Old Testament, but they did not realize it. He was bringing that dispensation to an end, but they did not realize it. Now he was put on oath to answer to the nation. And the high priest said, I adjure you by the living God that you tell us whether you be the son of God or not. That's as clear a question as could be asked. So what did Jesus say? What do you think? No, Jesus said in all the full dignity of his son of manhood, I am. Do you realize that word? Who talked to Moses on Mount Sinai? I am. Jesus said, I am. And you will see, he's on oath now, before the high priest and the whole nation. And you will see, I'm quoting from Mark 14, 62. You will see the son of man sitting at the right hand of a mighty one and coming on the clouds of heaven. Three-fold oath. Number one, I am the son of God, the deity of Christ. Sworn on oath, I am the son of God. Second, you will see me seated at the right hand of God the Father, the sovereignty of Jesus Christ. Sworn to by Jesus. One more thing, and what? And coming on the clouds of heaven. The second return of Jesus Christ. These three great truths. Jesus, he wasn't asked for all of them. He was asked to say whether he was Messiah, the son of God, the Christ. He said, I am. And you will see, and not only the high priest, but every human being who has ever lived, will see Jesus seated at the right hand of God the Father doing what? The judge of the universe. Every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess. The high priest will see, the Sanhedrin will see, the people of this generation today, 1993, will see him seated. And third, you will see me, high priest, you will see me, Sanhedrin, and all the world will see me coming on the clouds of heaven. Every eye will see him, the Bible says. What a solemn affirmation. Luke says it this way, from now on. Luke 22, 69. From now on, the son of man will be seated at the right hand of the majesty of God. There he is again. Seated, right hand of God. Notice, from now on. He's still there today. Did he sit down? Mark says he did. Mark 16, 19. He was taken up to heaven and he sat down at the right hand of God. There it is another time. Hebrews 1, 3. After he provided purification for sins, Jesus, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty in heaven. There it is again. Remember, there are other scriptures, I won't give them all. Remember Hebrews 12, 2. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. There it is again. In Ephesians 1, we are told. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him, here we are, at the right hand in the heavenly realms. Far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be the head. Jesus Christ over all. You know what the next words are? For the church. He will be above all, over all, to him all will be subject, for the church. Who is this church that is so important to God? Do you realize that Jesus is sovereign for the church? Today he is sovereign for the church. He is seated now at the right hand of the throne of God. For the church. Think about it. That word isn't placed there carelessly. That's put there by divine inspiration. Jesus is reigning in sovereign glory today at the right hand of God the Father. High above all, far above all, for the church. Now talking about mysteries, why does Jesus pray? Do you realize what Jesus has already done? Read John chapter 1. What does John 1 say? He is the creator of all things. Without him nothing was made that ever was made. Who spoke and the world leaped into existence? Jehovah Jesus. Who met with Moses at the burning bush? Jehovah Jesus. What does Micah 5 say? Oh little Bethlehem, I'll paraphrase it. Don't think you're such a little town. Despise that you're nothing. Out of you will come he whose Hebrew going forth have been from the days of eternity. The only God that ever came to earth in any recognizable form is Jesus. He is a Jehovah. And when they called him Lord, that was the word used for Jehovah. And when after the resurrection Peter proclaimed Jesus Lord, that meant we count Jesus Jehovah, the Lord of the universe. What a daring proclamation before the Jews and the whole world. They were suddenly made to realize who Jesus was. And so that's why the early church tells it in the book over and over and over. Jesus Christ is Lord. And that was the earliest Christian confession. Jesus Christ is Lord. We don't know what the word Lord means nowadays. But the early church knew what the word Lord meant. To say that Jesus was Lord was to say that Caesar was not Lord. To say that Jesus was Lord was to say that nobody else was Lord. And many a Christian died by the lions or burned at the stake because they insisted Jesus is Lord. Now what's Jesus doing as he sits in Lordship at the right hand of God the Father? I had a dear brother that's in my Sunday school class and was buried yesterday. Was Jesus there to welcome him when he got to heaven? I believe he was. Is that Jesus' priority, welcoming people to heaven? I don't think so. He's glad to welcome. But that's not the main thing he's doing today, welcoming saints to heaven. Of course he welcomes them. But what is Jesus' priority? He's sitting on the throne of the universe. I suppose he's giving orders to the angels. Are they not all spirits who are to do what? Minister those who shall be the heirs of salvation. So Jesus can send one or a thousand to help you or me whenever he sees we need it. So what is Jesus' priority occupation today? Sending angels on their errands? No. What is Jesus' priority occupation? He is the high priest sovereign. And what does the high priest do? The high priest does two things. He sacrifices and he intercedes. Now he may pray for himself occasionally. Intercession is never for yourself. Petition is for yourself. Intercession is for someone else. When we're talking about intercession, we're not saying there are other forms of prayer. But we're saying that this is the ministry of the church. Now Jesus is the high priest. How many sacrifices is Jesus offering today? None. On the cross Jesus said it is finished. The Jews want to establish a temple. But how can they have sacrifices in their temple? Maybe they build a temple. But how did the fire start? Fire came from heaven. Did you know that Israel lost the fire 600 years before Jesus came? When they went to Babylon they never had more of the fire. The fire was gone. Remember Jesus said your house is left to you empty. You've got an empty house. The presence of God, the Shekinah of God, the glory of God isn't there anymore. Your house is left to you empty. So there are no more sacrifices. No more priesthood of the old Judaic type. So what does the high priest do today if he doesn't offer sacrifices? He intercedes. Now why does Jesus intercede? If he spoke and all the stars leaped into existence. If he spoke and there was light. If he spoke and created animals and birds and fish. If he spoke while on earth and leprosy was cured. If he spoke while on earth and the sick were well. If he spoke while on earth and a servant miles away was instantly healed. What does Jesus need to pray for? To speak, that's all it takes. That's all it would take. But that's not Jesus' role today. Amazing thing. Why? Do you remember that in the Old Testament there were what they call Messianic Psalms. Those were Psalms that described the Messiah or his work. And the first such Psalm is Psalm number 2. And do you know what Psalm number 2 says? Messiah is speaking and he's telling us what instructions he had. Now Psalm number 2 you know begins. Why do the nations conspire in the people's plot and thing? What do the kings of this earth think they can do against God? Why do they think they can withstand God's will? The one who sits in heaven laughs. They can't do anything unless God permits them. He terrifies them in his anger. He says, I've installed my king upon my holy hill. Then Messiah speaks. He's the king. Listen. I will proclaim the decree of the Lord. He said to me. He, God the father, said to me, God the son, you are my son. Today I have become your father. Ask of me and I will make the nations your inheritance. The ends of the earth your possession. So how is Jesus going to inherit the earth? By a rod of iron? No. A rod of iron is coming when Jesus comes again. And it's spoken of in verse 9. But how is Jesus inheriting the earth today? The decree of the Lord is what? Ask and it will be given. Jesus was told, ask and it will be given. What did Jesus say to you and me in the Sermon on the Mount? Ask and it will be given. This is a dispensation of asking. When Simon was with Jesus and the other disciples were standing around just before the cross, Jesus turned to them and what did he say? Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you like wheat. And the you is in the plural. Peter represented all the disciples. He represented you and me. Satan has asked. Satan wants as much as he can until the Lord stops him. He wants to test you and me. He wants to sift us. He wants to defeat us. Then what did Jesus say? Don't worry, Peter. I'll grab him and hold him. Is that what he said? No, that's not what he said. Don't you worry, I won't let him touch you. Is that what he said? It's an amazing thing, but he didn't say that. He said, but I have prayed for you. Prayed for us, Lord? What do you mean, prayed for us? Is that all you can do, pray for us? Wait a minute, you don't know what it means when the Son of God is praying for you. This is the dispensation of intercession. Jesus says, one day he's going to have Satan seized and have him cast into the lake of fire forever and ever and ever. But that's not today. Today he's ruling by intercession. So that's why Jesus, seated at the right hand of God, is ruling sovereignly over all by what? Intercession. Because what does it say? Romans 8.34, Christ Jesus is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Hebrews 7.25, he always lives to intercede. Now the emphasis is not on always lives. Jesus cannot help living. He is life. He's life. He can never die. It's impossible. His human body died. But Jesus is life. He's the author of life. He's the giver of life. The amazing thing is, he lives to intercede. Now I've heard of people who live for God. I've heard of people who live to eat. I have heard people who live for their family. What does that mean when you live to do this or do that? That means that's your joy, that's your priority, that's the first thing you think about. Every chance you get you do something more. And that's a great priority, is to intercede. Oh, he'll welcome the saints. He'll issue the orders and commands as they are needed. But Jesus is living to intercede at the right hand of God the Father. So praise God. In this dispensation of intercession, things are happening because Jesus prays. That must be sufficient. We're not praying. Who is the second person in the great trinity of intercession? Jesus intercedes. The second is God the Holy Spirit. He is our guide, our helper, our counselor, our enabler in intercession, in prayer. Romans 8, 26. The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for. Do you realize that often you don't know what to pray? Do you realize how many times you say, Lord, I don't quite know how to pray about this. You've got awesome power in your hands when you pray. How should you pray? The Spirit knows our weakness. So he is here to help us in our weakness, showing us what to pray for, how to pray, calling us to prayer, alerting us when there is an instant emergency prayer burden that we were talking about today. That's the role of the Holy Spirit, to help us in our praying, to give an assignment. Here, you pray, you pray, you join in the prayer here. That's the Holy Spirit's role. He's coordinating the intercession of God's people to bring it in line with the intercession of God the Son. He is a great helper in prayer. So the second great intercessor is the Holy Spirit. He helps us in our weakness. He is our counselor in prayer. Jesus said, I will send you another comforter. Greek, I will send you another perikletos. Who is a perikletos? He is a multiple figure. That word in Greek is one word, but there is no English word that covers it. And so some translations say he is another comforter. And he does comfort. And the word also means helper. And that's what this verse said. The Spirit is our helper in our weakness in prayer. Praise God. We have the great helper God, the Holy Spirit. But he's not more than that. He is our counselor. Another translation is he is comfort. And that's perfectly accurate. He is counselor. You see, Jesus was the wonderful counselor. His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. He is a wonderful counselor. But he said, I'm going to be leaving you. And I'll give you another counselor, another helper, another comforter. I'm going to give you someone that will be with you. He will abide with you forever. God, the Holy Spirit, our great helper. So, praise God, the Spirit is praying. But that isn't all it says in verse 26 of Romans 8. It says, the Spirit himself intercedes for us. Oh, praise God. Jesus is interceding for us. The Holy Spirit is interceding for us. But that isn't all. How does he do it? Now, Martin, help Bill. And Charlie. Bless Terry. Is that the way the Holy Spirit is praying today? Look what it says here. The Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. I illustrated this earlier this week. Yesterday. Not that far earlier. I illustrated this yesterday. And the Holy Spirit says, Oh, God, help Terry as he goes back to Harvest Baptist Church. Oh, give him the message. The Holy Spirit says, Oh, help Terry. Help him to make it plain today. Oh, bless Charlie as he evangelizes. As he goes to that new place. Oh, oh, help Charlie. Groaning for Charlie's ministry. Oh, help this brother. Help that one. Help this church. Help that place. The Holy Spirit is praying with such deep longing that no human word can express the depth of the longing. It's beyond human words. Now, some of our dear friends think that means we should always groan when we pray. No, not necessarily. Sometimes we do groan. You may have such a heavy burden on your heart that you groan out to God. Oh, God, help us. You may have such a heavy burden that you cry to God. Oh, with tears. Lord, help us. We need you. But what this is saying is that the Holy Spirit is doing the groaning for you. And when you groan, it is because you are catching a little bit of the Spirit of the Holy Spirit. And he's giving you the Spirit of God. The Spirit of the Son of God is interceding for you. So the Holy Spirit is interceding for you with groans which cannot be uttered. And the great thing is he never makes a mistake in his praying. I have made many mistakes in praying. And you know what? The Lord loved me too much that he interpreted what my intent was and he adjusted the answer to what my need was and not to what I said. God is good that way. God does those things. Praise the Lord, Brother Bob. Amen. That is a wonderful God we have. He hears our heart louder than our words. And when we make a mistake, he makes an adjustment. Praise God. The Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will, it says in verse 27, the next verse. So that's wonderful. Verse 26, the Spirit himself is interceding for us. 27, he always prays according to God's will and therefore a great thing is going to happen. What? Romans 8, 28. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him. That's a part of this prayer package. Did you realize that? The Holy Spirit is interceding with groans according to the will of God and therefore all things are going to work together for good for those who love God who are thee called according to his purpose. You are called of God. Every layman here tonight is as much called as I am called. You're called of God. You're called for many things. You're called out of darkness into light. You're called to be a son of God. You are called to be militant for Jesus. You are called to be an intercessor. And you are called to do what I'm going to describe next. Now how does the Spirit help us? I must tell you. He increases your desire to pray. He brings Scripture to your memory when you pray. What is Scripture? The sword of the Spirit. You're going to have to fight the devil. You're going to need that sword. Who puts it in your hand? Who brings the Scripture to your memory? If you have saturated your soul with the word of God then the Holy Spirit will bring it to your memory. You may have memorized it or you may just have read it over and over and something you had forgotten and just at the moment the Holy Spirit brings to your memory an example. He brings a promise. He brings a statement from the Word. He applies it and praise God it strengthens your prayer and you go forward victorious in interceding for God. Number three. He brings goals to your attention. We ought to pray. We ought to have revival. He brings goals to your attention. Fourth. He brings needs to your attention. Oh, you never know how tragic is the need of the world until the Holy Spirit shows you. You never know how dark sin is until the Holy Spirit shows you. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. We pray so shallowly because the Holy Spirit works in us so shallowly. But when the Holy Spirit fills us He will show us the ghastliness of sin. He will show us the tragedy of a life outside God. He will show us the awfulness of an eternity out from God. He will put a cry in our soul and tears in our eyes. He will help us to see things from God's perspective. And then we're going to intercede like people who are partners with God. And fifth. The Holy Spirit places prayer burdens on us. We had that earlier this afternoon. And sixth. The Holy Spirit calls us to crisis moments to intercede. And we had that this afternoon. And seventh. The Holy Spirit adds special depth of power and faith to your prayer. And eighth. The Holy Spirit may call you to fast. We had that this morning. And ninth. The Holy Spirit does this because He wants you to fill your full role and He wants to reward you throughout all eternity for being partners with Jesus down here now. And that brings us to number three. God the Son. God the Holy Spirit. But sometimes, often, usually, perhaps, that is not sufficient. Why? Because God has ordained one more partner in the Trinity of intercession. It's not enough for God the Son and God the Spirit to pray. God has ordained that some Christian, some work, join in the intercession. And we have not, not because Jesus isn't interceding, we have not, not because the Holy Spirit is not groaning with others, but we have not because we ask not. You have not because you ask not. Or you ask amiss. You don't ask properly. So, we are to be prayers also with Jesus. You see, Jesus is a great high priest. And what are you and I? Priests of God. We're called to be priests of God. You are a chosen generation, a what? Royal priesthood. How do you show forth the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light? By being a priest. And how do you be a priest? What sacrifices do you offer? Well, symbolically, you offer the sacrifice of praise, the sacrifice of thanksgiving. A gift may be a sacrifice to God. But that's not the primary. Primary, we are called not so much to sacrifice but to intercede. We are called to be involved in what Jesus is involved in. Do you know that there is no angel, as far as the Bible tells us, there is no angel in heaven interceding today? You do not see one place in the Word of God with an angel praying. It is too high and holy a calling for an angel. It is reserved for the Bride of Christ to be. In fact, we are in the Bride already but we haven't realized our full Bridehood. Do you see that intercession is so divine? It's God the Son, God the Spirit, and God's son and daughter down here. Amazing grace. Not only to save us. Revelation, what does it say? 1, verses 5 and 6, that Jesus, who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood and has made us to be what? Kings and priests. How can you be a king to God? By ruling for him. How can you rule for him? How could you rule for God? Only if he delegates that role to you. Has he delegated that role to you? Let's look back at Ephesians 2, 6. God raised us up with Christ. How often we glory in the fact that we are crucified with Christ. We're buried with Christ in baptism. We're raised by the power of the Son of God. But that is not all. And God raised us up with Christ and, wait a minute, seated us with him in the heavenly realms. Listen, listen. That would make Old Testament people tremble. Nobody sits when the sovereign sits. Very few stand. But the chosen few, his chief ministers, are permitted to enter the presence of the emperor of Persia or Rome or whatever. And what do they do? They stand. Never do they sit in the presence of the emperor. They are not royalty. There is one sovereign. But do you realize that the sovereign of the universe has seated us with Jesus? And where is Jesus sitting? On the throne. It says it 13 times at the right hand. He is seated there. He's not just running around all over the place. He is seated on the throne. Now, brothers and sisters, if you are seated on the throne, what are you doing? Twiddling your thumbs? This is pretty nice angel music, isn't it? Had you ever heard any harps on earth like these harps in heaven? Well, we'll have the heaven's music. We'll have all those joys. Maybe a few people have caught a little inkling down here. My mother told me one time when she was in the kitchen at home, she says, Oh, Wesley, one time I suddenly heard such beautiful music. And before I realized it, I was standing leaning over the kitchen sink just looking up to the sky. And I could hear beautiful choirs singing. Well, I don't know whether my mother was that mystical or what, but you know when Duncan Campbell and his believers were at the end of a service one night, about 2 o'clock in the morning, just ready to go home, and here came some messengers across the field. Revival's broken out over there in the church. Come and help them. So Duncan Campbell and about 200 people from the revival in Barvis, they started to walk across the fields. And as they walked across the fields, suddenly, up over their heads in the heavens, they heard the angels singing. And all 200 fell on their knees in the field, overhushed by the glory of God. That's not the only time when you read Christian history. Several times, very rarely, but several times, people have heard the heavenly choirs. There are heavenly choirs. But that's not what we're doing on the throne listening to the heavenly choirs. That would be great. But we have work to do, brothers and sisters. When we're sitting on the throne, now, if you're sitting on the throne, Wesley Dougal shouldn't say, Lord, I don't know whether it's arthritis or bursitis. There's a kind of a stiffness and something up here in my shoulder. Lord, you remember I'm 76 1⁄2 years old now, and I guess it's catching up on me. There's a little bit that's kind of uncomfortable, Lord. Look, if I'm seated on the throne of the universe, God can help that. But I'm supposed to be doing kingdom business. That's what you're on the throne for. Now, do you know what happened this afternoon? I heard it. Beautiful sounds of kingdom business in this room. Do you know people were seated on the throne in this room today? Do you realize that we were transacting heaven's business today? I don't know all the things that were prayed, but I'm sure that some of that was transacting heaven's business. What do you do on the throne? You pray openings for the kingdom to advance. What do you do on the throne? You take the authority of Jesus Christ and his mighty name and the blood of the cross, and you push back the powers of darkness, and you resist Satan. And what does he do? He goes running out from you. So many people have the idea that the Bible says resist the devil and run. No, that's not what the Bible says. Resist the devil, and he will run from you. Why? He's afraid of you. How do you resist Satan? Well, of course, you can resist Satan by not yielding to temptation. That's a negative resistance. You can do more than that. You can storm the gates of hell. You can resist Satan by causing him all kinds of problems. You can serve and notice that he is to stop and advance no further. You see, we don't have any authority. You know what Gabriel said? The Lord rebuke you. And you know what we say? Get behind me, Satan. Do you realize you have kingdom authority? We sing about majesty, majesty, kingdom authority. Yes, thank God, Jesus has kingdom authority. But do you realize amazing grace, amazing wonder that he has given us kingdom authority. But brothers and sisters, we use it so little. We are so feeble. We use it so little. What was Martin Luther doing? Insulting God when he went up beside Melanchthon's cot and, as it were, said, Death, get out of here. You're not going to die, Philip. We need you. The kingdom of God needs you. He was exerting kingdom authority. Our words may be a little bit crude sometimes. We may mean well and not say it in the most perfect way. You don't have to say your majesty every time you say it. That's what you do to the queen. But you don't need to do that. You take your role and any Christian can pray with authority. Little boys, little girls can pray with authority. When revival came to Ramabai Mukti's area in India, those girls, those thin, slender Indian girls, prayed the power down. They would ask permission to go to another mission station. They would go and ask for a room. Just give us a room. They didn't hold meetings. They didn't conduct revival campaigns. They asked for a room. They would go in the room and begin to intercede. Hour after hour. They would see lights in the night time sometimes. Those girls in that room still praying. They had prayer lists that they would make. And what happened? Revival came to those places. Revival leaped from where it was to another place when the girls came and prayed. Just young Indian girls. Timid. Timid. But bold in Christ. They were given kingdom authority. I sometimes tell the story. It's time for me to quit. Brothers, this is such an amazing reality. I don't know how to tell it. Really. If this could soak in the church of Jesus Christ, it ought to transform our praying. What is the kingdom waiting for? For Christ to accumulate more power? No. What is the kingdom waiting for? The Holy Spirit to find a perfect time? Not primarily. The kingdom is waiting for the church to wake up and be the church. You are Peter. And on this rock of confession, I will build my church. And the gates of Hades, of hell, of Sheol, the gates of the unseen, hidden world of evil, shall not prevail against you. And Greek scholars say a possible translation of that verse is this. And the gates of hell will not be able to hold out against you. I tell you, when the church goes on the march for God, they march on their knees. And when the church goes on the march for God, the gates of hell tremble. What's the old little couplet that you've heard since childhood? The devil trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees. Because there's nothing that Satan needs to fear as much as the prayer of God's children. And the story comes out of China of a little boy. I have to look back at my records whether he was 11 or something like that, years of age. And in the evening here came a Chinese villager galloping on a horse. I want the Jesus man. The little boy was just home from school. He said the Jesus man is not here. But I have to have the Jesus man. The Jesus man is not here. But I have to have the Jesus man. There's a woman back in our village that's possessed by demons. I need the Jesus man. He said, I have told you, the Jesus man is not here. He said, look. He said, you're a Jesus man. And the little boy, how could he dodge it? Because he belonged to Jesus. What would you do? There's a woman out here, demon possessed. She is struggling and it takes five or six adults trying to hold her down, and they want you to come because you're the Jesus man. And he took that little boy and lifted him up and put him on the saddle behind him and galloped off out toward the villages. And the little boy prayed. And he tried to remember, what did Jesus do when he cast out the demons? What would my daddy do if he were here? And before he got to the village, the demon possessed person suddenly began, let me go, let me go, the Jesus man is coming. Let me go, let me go, the Jesus man is coming. Who was the Jesus man? A little boy about 11. And the little boy came. It didn't take him two hours. The little boy came and the demon was cast out because a little boy possessed the authority of the kingdom and the right to use the name of Jesus, the name which is above every name. Oh, my brothers, how can we teach our people to reign as kings, to reign with Jesus today? Yes, reigning is for tomorrow's glory of glories, but glory of glories, we're to reign today with Jesus. We are raised with Jesus. We are seated with Jesus. We're to be busy reigning with Jesus, making a difference in the devil's kingdom. Oh, if we could wake up the church to this reality. As far as I know, I'm not exaggerating, my brothers and sisters. I believe this is New Testament truth, but I believe the eyes of most of the churches are blind to it. And I want it told. I want to tell it. I say every time I'm to give this message, most of my messages, I say, oh, Lord, help me to tell it like it is. It's too great for Wesley Newell to tell. I tell you, what human words can I use to explain your role in Christ Jesus today? Oh, God, what a difference could come in the United States if every born-again believer began to exercise kingdom authority. I tell you, we would make the pornographers tremble in their boots. We would make the homosexuals turn and hide. We would make a difference in the halls of justice of this country. We would make a difference in the legislative halls. If the church could be the church of God created by God to be the church. Oh, I don't know how to tell it. And I want to close tonight like we closed one other night. Like I closed our prayer conferences in India a year and a half ago. Teach us to pray. Shall we join together? Shall we pray those words that the disciples prayed to Jesus? Let's unite in unison. Lord, teach us to pray. Now let's emphasize that teach. Oh, we need to get this burned deeper in.