Transcription
If you got your Bibles, tell me the Book of Matthew, chapter 25. Now, I was born. The Lord had been messing me up all day today at, uh, what I was going to preach in the first service. Uh, I was going to preach tonight. And well, and what I preached, what I was going to preach in the first, I was going to preach tonight. And the Lord changed that. And maybe, uh, Lisa was saying something about what she was receiving the tithe and offerings for the church, and God began to quicken me. And Sister Dodie got up and spoke a few things and used that same word, and it hit me again. And the Lord said, "Are you going to listen to me?" I said, "Looks like I am." So I just preached out of my spirit in the first service. And then this sermon that I was going to minister, that the Lord gave me this yesterday, before yesterday, I just wrote it down, and I was going to do that in the, uh, and, uh, in another service. And the Lord said, "Go back there and get this." I said, "Why did I even study?" He said, "Because you needed everything you studied." So, Matthew chapter 25, excuse me, Matthew, yeah, chapter 25.
I want to start reading with verse 1. "Then shall the Kingdom of Heaven be likened to ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were wise, and five were foolish." Now, why were they foolish and why were they wiser? He'll tell us in just a minute. "They that were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them: but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps." In other words, it took a little extra. "While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered so all of them fell asleep. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, a look, the bridegroom cometh to go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps." So, not, you gotta understand, they'd come out of a slumber. They've been sleeping. They hear this cry. Now, watch this. Night. What they fail to realize, their lamps are still burning when they fell asleep. Verse 8: "And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us your oil; for our lamps are going out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so, lest it be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves." And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came. And they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterwards came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not."
"Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour when the Son of Man cometh." Ladies and gentlemen, people write my office and call our offices all the time. And, uh, I do have access to God. I serve the most high God, and I'm part of the most high family. And I want you to understand this, and so are you, if you're born again. That when God looks at man, he is amazed at the creation of man, because he says it in Psalms 8: "What is man, that I will mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visiteth him?" So notice that man and the son of man are in the same verse. "Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels." Now, the translators translated that word "angel" because they didn't want to get, they didn't want people to kill him. Because in the original text, "thou hast made him a little lower than God." That doesn't mean you are the Son of God. None of us are. We'll never be the Son of God. But we are sons of God. And the difference between me and you, and I had to correct the man the other day. He said, "Just your parents introduced me." One of the greatest servants of God. I got up and said, "Excuse me, I'm not a servant of God. Don't you lower my status. Angels are servants of God." Now, I'm shocking some of you right now. Some of you, I tell them, I already cut the television off. Get your hand off the remote control. I ain't finished yet. Before you just judge me, hang on. Let me finish. Who do you think you are? I'm trying to tell you. You got to notice something about angels. Gabriel, Michael, the Archangel, have to stand at attention in the presence of God. No one sits down in God's presence except you, because he made us sit in heavenly places with him. Do you understand? Angels are servants of God. Me and you are sons of God that serve. We're in the family. We are family. Get that little move. Come on. You see what I'm saying? That means the only people that can sit in the presence of God is you. That we're the family of God. We are family. We are sons and daughters that serve. Angels are serving or ministering spirits sent forth to minister to who? Us. I want to establish that right away. You got to understand something. When you got, if you don't know who you are, then when you, when you meet yourself, you won't know who you're talking to. You see, the devil's always tried to take opposition and put it lower. And he don't like it because he, he was an angel that fell. So he's the most low. And we serve the most high. Do you get that? I'm just preparing you here. So notice this. No one can sit in the presence of a king unless they're another king. Notice when kings sit down, buddy, ain't nobody sitting with him unless they're other kings sitting. And the Bible has made us kings and priests. So when you get to heaven, you're going to see God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost, and then man. Because the only people sitting at the very throne of God are men. Are the 24 elders as they sit. When God sits, every angel standing at attention. Do you understand that? So angels are more interested in you than you are in them. A lot of people don't think that, but that is simply true. They're amazed at how God has created such a wonderful person in His image.
Now, these 10 girls came down there to go to a wedding. But then it's at night. A lot of people getting married at night for some reason, you know. And they had to have some lamps. They didn't have electricity. Some brought a lamp, and some brought a vessel with the lamp. And then naturally, they got tired because weddings are always late. And, and women are not on time. And that's not a shop, that's just truth. I have to wait on Kathy all the time. No, my point simply is this. Weddings usually never start on time, you know. And that's okay, I guess. But this was the bridegroom. So now, ladies, before you go, "Oh, the bridegroom was late." See, the girls were already there. It was the bridegroom. So why aren't we walking down the aisle? How come the woman always got to walk down there? How come the man can't just walk down? [Applause] I thought it was normal. Now watch this. When you see this, naturally, they hear a cry and they come out of a sleep because sometimes weddings are noisy. You know, people cry at weddings. Some people laugh at weddings. You know, I'll never forget when I got married. We had 22 people standing on the altar. You should have seen this wedding. Oh, I mean, it was something, man. I mean, we had 22. There were 18 bride grooms, what they call them, the, you know, the people that walk down there and all that stuff. And then the ring bearers. And by the time I got down there, I almost changed my mind. I mean, it took the best. I thought, "My God, man, when I'm gonna get down there?" And because my mother-in-law was going like that. [Applause] I said, "God, if you feel like killing anybody, you can kill her." I didn't like her. She didn't like me. Boy, I mean, we knew. When y'all heard me say that last time I was here, but now she loved me and I love her because we both saved. Well, that's true. We didn't love each other. We would say.
But notice, they began to ask for other oil so they wouldn't run out. Top of this message today is, God doesn't give big oil to foolish people. Notice there's foolish people. God doesn't give big oil. You have to have more than just what's in your depository. You have to have more because, you see, because you never know when the Lord will come. Now, a lot of people ask me, "Do you think Jesus is coming in your lifetime?" That's what I'm believing for. But if he don't come, get me. I'll go get him. Either way, we're going. I mean, the end result's the same. I'm going to the same place. People worry about all this terrorist stuff. I, I don't let no terrorists just disrupt my life by no means. Never will I ever. I would never do anything of that. No, not me. I had a guy say, "Suppose you got on a plane and they hijacked and kill you." I said, "I go to heaven." [Applause] Well, either way, when I go by the rapture, and some people don't believe in a rapture, so stay here. You do whatever you want. Or whether I go in another way, but I'm still going. You see, people ask me about my mother all the time. "Did your mother pass away in 1982?" I said, "No, my mama's not in my past. My mama's in my future." Can I give you an understanding? Do you know your husband is not in your past? He is in your future. If you know somebody that went home to be with the Lord, ladies and gentlemen, if you're born again, you're going to see them. Because they're not in your past. They are in your future. That's why you don't grieve. You don't grieve because they're not in your past. They are in your future. And when you understand that, it comforts you. See, I'm gonna see my mama like my daddy. So, mama, I ain't never seen my mama like my daddy. So he saw when she was 15 years old. I saw when she was fat, her big arms, you know, and all kinds of stuff like that. I can only say that because she's dead. Because she'd kill me if she's here. [Applause] So I never seen it like I had my dad. You should have seen your mama. But see, when I remember my mama, she kind of had them little hog jaws, gray hair, big fat arms, you know, mama. But that's true. But Daddy saw it when she was 15. He saw the way she really looked. One day I'm going to heaven, and I'm gonna see Mama like Daddy. So I'm gonna say, "Oh, get down with your bad self, mama!" [Applause] In that one. My daughter never seen me like Kathy saw me. My daughter made 30 years old, not longer. She hadn't seen me like they saw me. I was so good looking. You should have saved me. Kathy says, "I'm a legend in my own mind." Somebody got to believe in me. I was good looking. You got to see it by faith, but it's the truth. [Applause] We'd go to a beach, and Kathy would tell me to put a shirt on because I had muscles. [Applause] Now, when we go to the beach, she says, "Don't take that shirt off, Jesse." I said, "Okay." So Jody, my daughter, gonna see me like Kathy saw me when I was 18 years old. When you're 18, you gotta give it a little walk, you know. And then girls, as you get older, now you walk. Okay. Come on. You have to buy things to fix yourself up. Like you don't control top pantyhose, just stuff it in there, you know, make things tight. [Applause] And the control tops are powerful. They'll pull a car. Boy, I know exactly what a lot of you ladies gonna do after this service. I know you got to. I can tell you got the control tops on. You're like, "Yes!" [Applause] I know it's gone when you get home. You're gonna get home. [Applause] Now look at these young people. Now, oh no, your day is coming. It's gonna happen, buddy. One day. Now, let me go on before somebody kill me. Yeah. Uh, ten virgins, five foolish, five wise. What makes people foolish? You are today. Write this down. You are today what yesterday's choices have made you. Write that down. You are today what yesterday's choices have made you. See, if you don't create a future, you'll never have a present. Let me say that again. You are today. I am today what I decided yesterday. Did you get that? Now, see, this is the problem with these girls. They all were destined to go into that marriage. They're all were virgins. They all fell asleep. So the ones sleeping, I mean, the ones that had more oil than the other, there wasn't that they were better. They just made a choice the day before to carry some extra. You are today what yesterday's choices have made you. You see, I never tell you what I, I never tell you what I, I don't show you what I have. You already see that. Tell you what I want. I don't tell you where I am. You already know that. I'll tell you where I'm going. He said, "I'm always ahead. I'm never behind." He made me the what? The head and not the tail. So listen to it. You are today what yesterday's choices have made you. Faith will be given, will be given great moments to show itself. Faith is patience with the lamp lit. You see, these girls didn't have enough patience to go get some extra oil in their vessels so that if the lamp would run out, they would have enough. They don't mean to do. The Lord don't mind you falling asleep as long as you have what you're supposed to have when you wake up. You understand? And I want you to see this. So, yeah, let me say this point again. You are today what yesterday's choices have made you. Faith will give you moments to show to show itself. God will give you an opportunity today through faith for faith to show itself. It's all up to you to receive that. You see, every day I look for a way to enhance and to make my faith grow. I do it spiritually, I do it physically, I do it financially. I will not give to God what I gave him last year. Why? Already done that. Not gonna do that no more. Did that, been there, done that. I am gonna do better than that. In that recession, and we don't participate. Now, why? Because we're rich? No. It's because we don't live by the economy of this in the United States or the states or the county. We live by our giving. See, I quit making a living long time ago because making the living is tough. That's called making ends meet. And you know, you just can't seem to do it. That's why you're looking for a job for your wife. You're trying to find a job for your dog. The Taco Bell's higher in Chihuahuas. You might want to go down there. Anything to try to make some money. That's a tough way to live. That's making a living. God never told you to make a living. You said that the world said. God told you to make a giving and live off the seeds you sowed by the harvest that grows from it. So you are today what yesterday's choices have made you. Faith will be given great moments to show itself. So what is faith? Faith is patience with that lamp lit. I made up my mind. That doesn't mean the devil don't attack me. I've had the devil attack me financially. And what I immediately do is confuse him. And he's very easily confused because he's the author of confusion. You can confuse the devil real quick. He's an idiot. I mean, why would you cause a revolution in heaven? Are you crazy? And no angel can whip God. Why? Because God made the angel. So notice this. I have an opportunity for faith to show itself. These girls had an opportunity by the decision they made yesterday to be what they should have been today. So you see, a habit of faith always produces a habit of action. Write that down. If you're understanding something. By faith, God doesn't give big oil to foolish people. A habit of faith always produces a habit of action. Faith without works is dead. You can talk this stuff all day long, but if you don't do nothing about it, it won't work. See, the reason why I tell people to give and expect the harvest because I did it when I had money, and I did it when I didn't have money. It didn't have anything to do with my possession. It had to do with my action. You know, because God will honor anything I give him. Because on your best day, you're not, you, you cannot impress God with your wealth. This is El Shaddai. This ain't our chief. Oh, you understand? This is God. You understand? He owns the universe. And do you think he needs what you have? No. But you need everything he has. Now, how do we get his stuff? How do we get what he has? By sowing seed. Seed is the principle that God used to create the earth. He's the principal God used to create. You think about that. That's exactly how that works. So a habit of faith always produces a habit of action. So see, these girls had faith, but they didn't have enough action to go get enough oil to complete what their destiny so they could reach their destination, which made them foolish. Now, God doesn't give big oil to foolish people. I've had people say, "Why does God bless you? You don't seem to struggle." And can I be honest? I don't mean this actually. I do not struggle. Do I look like I struggle? I don't struggle at all. I'm not broke. I tried broke. I didn't like it. And broke don't help nobody. Broke it broke. You ever seen two poor people talk to each other? Have you ever seen that? And much said, "Well, how you doing?" Or without. Now, it's not ashamed. You shouldn't be ashamed to be poor. Don't misunderstand what I'm saying. Is, but God gives you the ability to get out of poverty, whether that's spiritual, physical, or financial. See, poverty is not just money. I see poverty of spirit a lot. I see poverty of mind quite often. He said, "I see a lack." Poverty simply means one word, and it's a four-letter word: lack. See, Christians use too many four-letter words. Poor. Saying lack. Think about that. You understand what I'm saying? When you ought to be using what the word of God has for you today. So when you see, never first things first. You never trust another oil supply to keep you burning. Write that down. Never trust another's oil supply to keep you burning. Let me just say this. Whether Brother Hagin would ever been born, a Brother Copeland, or anybody you see me, I mean, I love those men. I love those women. Bless God. But I'll tell you what, I don't trust that supply of oil to keep me burning. Do you understand what I'm saying? I don't go to a, a someone's ministry to stir me up. I stir myself up. In fact, I keep stirring. I'm a Cajun. If you want a good gumbo, it's the secrets in the root. Now, what's the root? Well, it can be a lot of different things, but you've got to get that thing just right, and you got to keep stirring. And you better. And if it just, if it's two seconds too long, it don't taste like it's burnt. See, I just stirred myself up. I do. God is my witness. I look at myself in the mirror. You've heard me say it. And I just preached to myself. And then I interpret, and I give an offering, and I receive an offering. I mean, I do it all for myself. That may sound nuts to you, but that's not nuts to me. Because you see, I do not rely on others people's oil supply to keep me burning. And that's the problem with a lot of Christians. Less good. The only thing they understand about faith is a Brother Hagin book. Great book. Let me just say something about my books. Dodie's books, whatever we write. Great books. Or watch it. What's the difference between my book and this book? Man's books are fossilized human thoughts, frozen on a page. They're good. They're fossilized lies. This book is living, breathing, depriving the Oracle of God. Now, my books are good, though. This are good. You ought to get them. But they see, man, when we write, they fossilized human thoughts put up on a page. But this book, because in the beginning was the word, in the beginning is the word. This is Jesus in written form, breathing, beating. So I love what they asked President Reagan in his 10 years president. He says, they said, "If you were stranded upon an island and you had all the libraries of the world to go to, what book, and you only could take one book, what would you take?" And President Reagan said this, "Oh, without a shadow, without, take the Bible." They said, "Well, why?" He said, "Because you can read it over and over and always get something new out of it." Oh, you understand. So what I'm saying is, is that my books are good. So is Brother Hagen. You want to get them. Nobody says nothing. But we fossilized human thoughts like this book. How many times you've read a verse, "In the beginning God created"? You might have read it a thousand times. All of a sudden, you go, "It explodes revelation." All right. Why? Because it's breathing and living. Well, you see, in that oil, I don't rely on someone else's oil supply to keep me burning. That's the problem with the foolish people. God doesn't give big oil to foolish people because most of the time they're going to rely on something. Now, see, I tell my daughter this. I have taken care of you, but you're not going to get it till I'm finished with me and I'm finished with your mama. I have made an inheritance for my children. I only have one daughter, Julie. Now, if I got a little water or something, get a little dry here, what is that? I mean, well, this is my cup. Or that is a classic. And a jack got a cup here. Lord Jesus, excuse me. I got to put that little finger out. That's nice. Now, I made an inheritance for her. And I thought, "Well, that's good." And the Lord said, "You ain't finished." I said, "I thought I was." He said, "You make an inheritance for your children's children." I said, "We don't have no kids. I'm not a grand, I look like a grandpa, but I'm not one." He said, "That doesn't make any difference. You leave an inheritance for your children's children." So I told Jody, my daughter, I said, "Jody, when she has a cat, she loves this cat. I'm waiting for this cat to die. It's a beautiful cat, but it don't look like we ever go get any babies. If we don't get to God up, they love that cat. The cat's name Mia. Mia just walk up to you. You know, she don't like sugar. Just slap you like, 'Move over, excuse me.'" I told Jody the other day, I said, "Jody, if you do not give me an heir that's going to be the richest cat in the City of New Orleans, we don't want to leave it to the cat." And I have to make an inheritance for my children's church. Now, I've already done that. I have completed that. I have done that. Now it's up to Jody to give me a little Jesse [Applause] or a little Kathy, or both. No pressure. Just worldwide television. Because I'm not a foolish man. I've watched my life not to be foolish. I don't get angry at anybody because it clouds your reasoning. You start making emotional decisions instead of what I call established or thought out decisions. So when somebody's mad at me, I keep my enemies close to me. Oh, I got some people don't like me. And I get right in their face. Why? Because they gonna tell me what they're gonna do. You see, because when you begin to get angry, then you cloud your reasoning, and you can't think properly. See, God made a rational decision when he put Jesus on the cross. The Father, if he'd made an emotional decision when Jesus said, "Why hast thou forsaken me?" He to pull that man off that cross and kill everybody. Now, but he knew the only way he could get to me was for Jesus to stay on that cross. See, so, you know, most people go to the bottom of the cross, the foot of the cross. It's a great place. But what you need to do is climb the cross, get up where Jesus is, so you see what he sees. Then you'll understand the vision and the dream that God had for mankind. And that's why Jesus was put upon the cross. Do you see what I'm saying? That was a yes to the decision that made Jesus today be our Lord and savior. So let me say it again. You are today what yesterday's choices have made you. Faith will be given great moments to show itself. So what is faith? Faith is patience with that lamp lit. A habit of faith always produces a habit of action. See, the light does not burn without the oil. But never trust another person's oil supply to meet your need, or never trust another oil to keep you burning, to keep you going. So I love revival. Oh, my God. But I'm not going there to get revived. I'm going there to be a part of revival. You see, have you ever seen me discouraged? Have you ever seen me depressed? Many of people know me for a long time. You know, I've had many opportunities. I just don't take any opportunities to get down, get discouraged. I said, "No." See, my own family doesn't understand me. That's okay. Because they say, "I don't grieve enough." Somebody passed away in my family. I go, "Well, praise God, they're in heaven." Well, nickel. Well, see, the difference between me and them, they've lost somebody. I haven't lost anyone. Why? Because they're not in my past. They're in my future. I'm gonna see them again. That doesn't mean I don't miss people. I think sometimes I think they misunderstand that. But they don't understand. I have a responsibility to have a merry heart. It's been given to me. I mean, do you know any other preacher with as much joy as me? [Applause] I have that responsibility. Keep that smile there. That ain't easy. That's not easy. But I have to. Because the face is the index of the condition of your heart. The most important part of your body is your face. Because I don't care how, I'm a good-looking. The rest of it is, if you ain't got a face, it's a blind date. You know it, and I know it. You have been on a blind date. Is she pretty? Was she nice? No. I don't care. Is she nice? Is she pretty? Was she sweet? Sweet? We ain't talking about sweet night. Is she pretty? Well, no, your Gaga maggot. But blessing God, she's a nice person. [Applause] And what does a plastic surgeon? What's the first part of anyone's body they have a lifted? It's amazing me about people get face lifts. I don't know why. I didn't want nobody to know. [Applause] You already know. It looks like you've been in a hurricane. You're like this. Can you tell? Ah, yeah. I'll tell everybody. I'm thinking about getting one myself. I got one of these chicken necks. Look at that. It's here. Just kind of sagging. So maybe next time y'all see me, I ain't saying I'm gonna hurt it. It hurts. That's why I haven't done it yet. I don't want to put no paint on me, you know. But if you see me next year and I'm like this, don't say nothing. [Applause] But Kathy said, Cat says, "Jesse ain't embarrassed about nothing." I'm not. I would tell you, man. Look at my Virginia. You know, I, I don't have a problem with that glow. I mean, I thought about getting liposuction. I, I want to suck out this part right here. I hate that. Why diet? When you get to just suck it out, wouldn't that be wonderful? I didn't have that when Kathy met me. Had him, but his twin brother lived over here now. Whole family is right here now. People say, "Are you worried about getting old?" No. I look up at 58 because my hair's so white. I'm 52. But I don't care. That don't bother me whatsoever. They're always telling me to exfoliate myself. I didn't even know what that word was. Expo, I don't want myself to say, "You need to be expert." I should say that you need to be exfoliated. I said, "Yo, mama." I had no idea what that meant. [Applause] I didn't know what that was. Most men, most men never understand that word. Kathy wanted to give me lotions on my face. She said, "You gotta, your skin's skin, you need to put lotions on." I like leather. You care about all that kind of stuff. As long as I can breathe and walk, you know, I'm all right. As long as I keep going, glory to God. You know, you know, but I know, I guess you could look nothing wrong looking better. I'll say that. Someone tell them. I told Jan and Paul, I said, "If a hurricane ever hit TV, and there'd be enough chocolate water and toupees flying by the pie, Lord, look at it." I was preaching with a guy one time, he had fake, he had fake sideburns. They were sliding down. I went [Applause] Right. This point down. Never miscalculate the strain of the enterprise you have been given. Nothing is easy, but it's doable. Never miscalculate the strain of the enterprise you have been given. The secret of Christian wisdom is to keep the oil stores replenished. I stir myself up daily, not just Sunday, but I never miscalculate the strain of the enterprise. People think preaching's easy. Let me tell you, the easiest part is this here, but the hard part is getting to this. I don't doubt when Pastor John Osteen said, "Joel, why don't you preach?" Joel figured, "Oh, Lord." Now, he ain't told me this, but I don't know. Let me, I'll do the television because you got to come up with something after every week. You come to receive. Do you know how much study, how much you understanding, and how much you gotta think to get it? Because you're gonna remember what we said. I like what one preacher that he preached the same sermon 21 days in a row, 21 straight nights. Now, I wouldn't mind doing that myself. And finally, they said, "Are you going to preach something different?" He said, "When you get this one, then we'll go to another one." That makes a lot of sense. But you have to constantly dig out the word of the Lord God. So it is a strain at times. How many times somebody might take, you might be in a meeting, maybe they did Pastor John. It when you and Pastor Olson would come to me, they'd say, "Uh, Pastor John, why don't y'all just come, come out and receive the offer for us?" Now, John was just coming to sit down and enjoy. Oh, Lord. What I'm going to say, what I'm going to do is, everybody looking at you. That is not an easy thing. Do you understand what I'm saying? See, you have to cast the video. So don't miscalculate the strain of the enterprise that's been given to you. Christian ignorance is neglecting personal soul culture. See, life is full of emergencies, but I've prepared for everyone. You say, "I do have an emergency room in my spirit." I've prepared myself to, in case I didn't suck up on enough faith that day. Let me tell you why you should never miss church. And it's not because I'm saying it because I'm a preacher, because you're going to need everything you hear. See, people, you may not need it the next day. You may not need it on Tuesday. You may not need it on Wednesday. But come Friday, you're gonna be saying, "Thank God it's Friday." You see, you need, you need to constantly refill your oil stores or refuel your spirit. Because the reason why some people do not get healed, it's not because they have a lack of faith, an abundance of unbelief. And that can happen. Usually, you might have used all the faith you had for that last sickness, and you have to restore and replenish yourself. See, I have to constantly do that. I do that in my own spirit. I have to keep my joy level up. How do I do that? By speaking the word of God, by challenging myself so I can grow further. I, all I'm constantly keeping a record on myself. I'm keeping a record on what I give, and I'm always increasing my faith, constantly doing that. Because God don't give big oil to foolish people. I have to be ready in the event someone else delays me. A delay is not a denial. See, God is not trying to stop you. Sometimes God is never late, but he ain't never early neither. He's always on time. But there are a lot of people that you'll be maybe walking with that are dragging their feet, and you better have a little extra just in case something happens. So I keep an emergency room in my spirit. What does that mean? Well, so, but I can give you a prime example. The Lord used that global for the Lord. I said, "Lord Jesus, I start off today. This is the day the Lord hath made. We're going to rejoice and be glad in it. Today is my receiving day. Everything I touch prosperous. I'm blessed in the city, blessed in the field. All the benefits of God belong to me." I quote scripture to myself. My body, if he took my infirmity, I don't want it. If he bore my sickness, I don't need any. I will not bear grief because he bore my grief. I will not carry sorrow because he carried my sorrow. That doesn't mean I don't cry. That doesn't mean I don't laugh. Don't misunderstand me, but I don't carry it. So then I fill myself up with the word of God. And you know what? Every time when I haven't done that, I got in trouble. I'll tell you a story that I'm a little embarrassed about. Don't tell nobody. Keep it to yourself. I got up. A pastor wanted to take me around. This was in Dallas, Texas. A pastor wanted to take me around, show me around. This was years ago now. When I got up, I normally would go pray, get myself prepared. Sister, go to, you know, pray and ask, "Thank you, Lord." But I didn't. Man, I got, I slept a little later than I thought I would. He was going to be there in about 25 minutes. But I mean, all I had to do was just pray a little bit. I said, "Well, let me get dressed." And I could. And the Lord don't urge you. He just kind of touch you, you know. I said, "I don't worry about it. I said, I just pray when I get back." God's not a second best God. So sure enough, Pastor picked me up. Man, I ran out the room. We went all over Dallas. We enjoyed ourselves. All this kind of stuff. Not supposed to preach that night at seven o'clock. I got back about five o'clock in the afternoon. Actually, I was a little tired from doing. I had a wonderful day. It was great. But I put God last. Night. So I come walking. I get my key. It's one of those Key hotel. It's not a key, it's one of those card things sticking in there. And it don't work. You know what I'm talking about? What is the problem? And then I noticed something hanging on a doorknob. "Would you please come to the front desk?" So I said, "Okay." So I go to the front desk. I said, "Excuse me, I'm in room 216. My card doesn't work." And also, there was a note that was put on the doorknob. "Police come to the front desk." Now, watch this. I was feeling good. I was in a good mood. And that was this gentleman. He goes, "Wow." So I'm just looking at him. I said, "Do I have a message?" "Yes, I want to let you know that your credit card has expired, and we need another method of payment before we can let you back in the room." I said, "My credit card expired?" I said, "I didn't put down my credit card." "Well, whoever put this credit card down on this room, it's expired." I said, "Well, could I look at it?" Turn out it was the church's American Express, and it expired just one day. Just, you know, that happens sometimes. They didn't notice it. I said, "Now, watch." When I ran out all my money, my wallet, everything was in the room because we was going out jogging and being there, swimming, and all this kind of stuff. I said, "So I said, young man, as I tell you what, if you'll open up the room, I said, I will give you my credit card. I'm, you know, and you can just put it on, just take care of that." He said, "I will not open up that door unless I have another method of payment." I said, "Excuse me. I said, "Listen, I even have cash. I will just pay it." I said, "All you gotta do is open up the door, and I'll just pay him. We'll take care of that." "I will not open up that door unless we have another payment." I said, "I don't think you understand what I'm saying. I'm not trying, it's just a mistake. When they put the, you know, they didn't realize, they didn't look at the expiration date." He said, "Well, I just tell you one thing. I will not open up that door unless I have another method to pay." I said, "I'm gonna tell you one more time, and listen to me. Open up the door." "Hey, you, and we won't have this conversation anymore." "You don't need to raise your voice." [Applause] "I will not open up that door unless I have another method of payment." And I heard this voice. Treat it. I heard it. It was audible. It was a foolish voice. Hit him. And I thought, "I got enough money to get out of jail. I'm gonna hit this sucker right now." [Applause] And I reached over the counter and grabbed. Now, this kind of hotel lobby had those kind of like at a bank where you have cello wind, you know. And I pulled him through that. His feet are in the window, and he's going, "Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no." I said, "I'm gonna beat your stinking brain on your head." And I saw this phone. I picked it up. I said, "You see it says ATT? I'ma print that on your forehead." My life was out. My oil leaked. I was in trouble. And this thing's going, "Oh, please hold on." I am not exaggerating. [Applause] I said, "I'ma break your stinking door down too, you understand? But I'm gonna put you in the hospital." Because see, the old Jessica, I'm gonna make you an offer. [Applause] True story. Here come the manager of the hotel. "Oh, sir, don't hit him." I am ran back to busted. I said, "This stupid whip food. I got money in this room." And he warmed up the door. He said, "I'm, whoa, good. Let's control yourself, sir. I, I said, "I'm gonna bust this." He said, "I'll help you. I'm the manager. What's the problem?" I said, "The credit card's expired. I got money in the room. I got another card in a rope. And the food won't open up." "What are your heart?" He's whipping. Do you know how he is? [Applause] God is my witness. He says, "You do for a living?" [Applause] I wanted to tell him, "I work for Amway." [Applause] "I'm a motivational speaker." [Applause] I'm thinking, "God, I want to kill a man in the lobby." I lost it. He said, "You didn't pray. You didn't put me first. You would have needed me. You needed me today. Put your lamps out. You're foolish. What do you do for a living?" I set up. I said, "Listen." I said, "I'm a preacher." He said, "I can tell. That's exactly what he said. He said, 'I thought so.'" I said, "Sir." He said, "You're the fourth preacher that this front desk gentleman has done this to. He hates preachers." He said, "I'm gonna have to fire him." I told him, "If he'd do it again, I'm gonna fire him." But he saw cut the credit card, and it was from a church. Figured he was a preacher. He just is going to harass you. He said, "But I thought for a minute, I wouldn't have to fire him. I thought we'd, we would bury him instead." I said, "Sir, I'm sorry. I did wrong. God forgive me. And I ask you to forgive me." He said, "Oh, that's all right. I never did like the guy." He thought I said, "I said, 'No, I'm a minister of the Gospel.'" Now, this was years ago. I've grown a little bit. I said, "I apologize." He said, "Oh, he said, he doesn't, he just doesn't matter." So when I, I said, "I gotta apologize to him." So I come back. And then I say, "Young man." "Oh, don't hit me." [Applause] "I said, listen. I apologize. I should not have done that. I'm a man of God. Yes." I said, "I apologize. I should not." "What you did was wrong, but I apologize for acting the way I acted. I ask you to forgive me." "I will not forgive you." Now, I heard the other voice. "Okay, since he won't kill him, I first told you to hit him. I can't." I said, "Shut up, devil. I bind you in Jesus' name." Now, I was wrong to do that. But let me tell you why I couldn't control that because I didn't have my daily breakfast of faith with God. I missed my opportunity for faith to work greatly in my life that day, and my lamp went out. I had no one to draw oil from. But even I couldn't even rely on them, even if someone would have been there. And I'll prove this. So I called the pastor. And the pastor said, he said, "Yes." I said, "I'm gonna come pick you up a little bit earlier." I thought, "Oh, Lord, I just got in the room." So I told him what happened. He said, "What do you mean? What, what do you mean? He wouldn't let you in a room?" I said, "No. Listen, listen. You know, I can't believe I'm coming down." I said, "Oh, Lord, here come the pastor." "Well, I want to tell y'all something. I put all my guest speakers in this room, and you don't let my guests speak any some basement to me in my church, and I'll not use any of you people." I said, "Control you. You need to learn to control that temple." I told him that. He went, "Oh, I'm sorry." I said, "Man, what's the matter with you? Don't you know how to control yourself? Let me pray for you." That's a true story. Then I told him, I said, "Man, I want to hit the guy over the telephone." But you see what he said? You know what, Jesse? I had the same thing. I wanted to make sure you'd have a great day, but I ran out. I didn't do what I normally do with the Lord. Yeah. God don't get big oil to foolish people. See, Christian ignorance is neglecting personal soul culture. Now, let me say this. It is wrong to worry over tomorrow. It's wrong. But it is right to anticipate and to prepare for it. You should never worry over tomorrow, but you should prepare for tomorrow. See, the virgin girls, they're not prepared for tomorrow, just in case somebody may be late. But now, it's wrong to worry about it because the Bible says, "Take no thought for your life." But it's nothing wrong with anticipating and preparing for tomorrow. See, we cannot transfer grace. Time will always reveal shallowness. See, when you miss your opportunity, that time will reveal the shallowness that's in your life, whether it's at one time or whether it's for a year that you haven't been operating and functioning in the word of God. If there's no grace on earth, there can be no grace in heaven. One thing, what's good about Oasis of Love, had this great church, they give.
You, Grace, why? Because they plant. Grace would be harvested greatly, not only here but also in heaven. Because if there is no Grace on Earth, there is no Grace in heaven. You see, let me say it again: If you don't create a future, you will never have a present. Or, in other words, you are today with yesterday's choices. Have made you. You see, now all of them were virgins. All of them fell asleep. But the difference is one. One prepared for a delay. One it wasn't believing for it. It just carried an extra vessel of oil.
Now, if I would have done what I normally do, I would not have lost my temper at that gentleman in that hotel. If the pastor would have done what he normally does, he would not have done it. We're all human beings. We do make mistakes. You see what I'm saying? But there are a lot of mistakes that can be avoided if we prepare ourselves that when the bridegroom comes, we're ready. Give the Lord. Oh, you understand. They're gonna be a lot of people at the Rapture Church. They're gonna hear this sound. But they better talk fast. Oh, that's gambling with your future. You don't want to do that. So I prepare myself. I don't worry about nothing. Ladies and gentlemen, God doesn't know what no. Don't worry about nothing. But I, I don't worry about tomorrow. But I prepare myself for tomorrow. I prepare myself. I get ready. Because, you know, tell me what God asked me to do, and it didn't, no telling what I'm liable to ask God to do to do something for me. Sometimes I just do something off the top of my head. And though I've had the Lord, one time I couldn't get an answer to prayer. I prayed and prayed and prayed. And I said, Lord, what's the problem? I want you to answer me. He says, well, if you're not getting an answer, Jesse, what does that tell you? Let the elevator go to the top. I said, now, what does that mean? He said, that means that whatever you decide, I'll back. And you ought to write that down because that's a revelation. If you're not quite getting an answer, you don't know what to do, and you've been praying and praying and praying, you've done everything you know. Maybe the Lord's saying, whatever you do, I'll back it. I'll honor it. Now, there'll be some things you may do. Tell you specifically, do this, do that. But there's some things like that was the other day, not long ago. I, I gave someone something, and the Lord said, Jesse, I didn't tell you to do that. I said, I know, but I know you would do that if you'd have been standing here. He said, now, that's growth. I don't have to come down to you. How you doing, babe? In other words, he expects you to grow up and make some decisions. And sometimes he will let you make some decisions. And sometimes you wonder, maybe I did wrong. He's not answering my prayer. But evidently, he totally trusts you enough to handle that situation, and he will back what you do. Now, if, now, if you don't have that, then you better stay before God, find out what's going on.
Let me say this in closing. My Lord, I get hurt. People ask a pastor friend of mine, pastor of our church. We have a church in my ministry called Covenant Church. I don't pastor because I'm not a pastor. I don't know how to do that. And I tell you something about this field. So I got enough sense to know to do what God calls me to do. And we work together very well. He's such a blessing. But they asked him not long ago, they said, uh, why does it seem like everything Jesse does prospers? What is it? And he said this to him: He said, Jesse never goes do something and asks God to bless him. Jesse says, God, what's your blessing? I'm blessing this. That's what I want to do. See, God is the author and finisher of our faith. But he's under no responsibility to finish something he has not authored. Write that down. God doesn't have a responsibility to you to finish something you authored. He has a responsibility to finish what he authored. Now, he also trusts you to make decisions as you grow in the spirit that he may not tell you what to do concerning those things. And you're wondering why not God? And he thought, he says, well, whatever you decide will be totally fine. Can I say one more thing? In our first office that we purchased was years ago, I have to give, I always joke about my wife, but she's a brilliant lady. When I say we gonna do this, her name is We. I get the idea and I tell her, go do this. I told her to find me a building. We were starting to grow when this was '89, something like that. 1989. I mentioned it was starting to explode on. I said, I need a building. Find me a building. And so she went all over the place looking for a building. And the Lord gave her a statement: "I haven't hidden the building from you. I've hidden the building for you." And so she came and she showed me this building. It was a million-dollar building. I thought, Lord. She said, Jesse, wouldn't that be something if we could buy this building for $250,000? I say, woman, Walmart, you can't even buy the first floor for $250,000. Then I had to slap myself. Shut up, stupid. God can do something. Well, anyway, we found out we did some negotiating on this building. So Catherine was really, she said, yes, I believe this is the building the Lord would have us there. I said, okay. So she asked me something. She said, I want you to go in this study because you can hear God better than me. This is years ago, not today. She said, because the Lord speaks to me. I don't mean that. Angie, just do just do that, okay? She said, you go pray and ask God about that $250,000 we were offering for that building. That's all right. So I walked in. I said, Lord. He said, what? I said, listen, we want to offer these people $250,000 for your building. What do you think? He said, you can offer 250, but I'm gonna pay 240. I said, fine. So I come out. I say, Kathy. She said, what? The Lord said, just what the Lord say? I said, the Lord said that we could offer 250, but he gonna pay 240. She said, get your ugly self back in there. You ain't heard from God, man. God don't talk like that. I said, look, woman, let me tell you something. I know the voice of God. That's what he told me. That don't, that don't make any sense to me at all. But he said that we could offer 250, but he gonna pay 240. Now, that's it. That's all I'm gonna talk about. That's the end of that. She said, okay. So, sure enough, we offered 250. Now, this building was occupied by doctors. We had a gynecologist, we had a, uh, I don't have a dentist, a pediatrician, all kinds of, I mean, kind of doctors in it. Doctors sign long-term leases. You wanna, you wanna lease the doctors because they're gonna be there a good while. You understand? Nice built, beautiful building. Well, anyway, we went to the bank. Uh, we went to the people that owned it. We offered them 250. They took it. We shouted. Now, watch this. I have afraid. So I forgot about we could offer 250 and God would pay 240. So we went to the doctors and told them we would not renew their leases. Well, all of them were gone. They were, there was two of the doctors that were leaving that month anyway because they knew their own self-ability. The other person, the other doctor, we had to honor his lease until December, right? Am I correct? To the end of the year. And I think we were negotiating in October, September. Ladies and gentlemen, so we never thought nothing about it. He finished out his lease and he left. He was the gynecologist. Guy, real nice fellow. Watch this. When God, when we got to looking at the paperwork, they paid us $10,000. We paid 250. We offered 250, but God paid $240,000. Do you see that? We never thought about the lease payments would come to us because we thought maybe they would just kind of work it out and give it to the, you know, people they signed the lease with. But they said, no, why don't you go ahead and give it to, uh, to the minister that bought this thing? So, in actuality, the Lord paid 240, even though we offered 250. And then when we start growing some more, I bought a piece of property. They wanted $2.2 million for it. Now, I'm in Detroit. I'm at Cobo Hall doing a city right here. Said, I rent big buildings like this, do my own convention. So I'm going to pray to find out what I'm gonna preach that night. And the spirit of God suggested, I want you to go home. When you get home, he said, I want your lawyer to call you. You know that piece of property? I said, yeah. He said, he said, I want you to offer them $335,000. Tell them you're going to close on Thursday. You got it? Do it Monday. Oh, I heard that. Okay. So I called my lawyer. I said, I want you to call the people that own this property. Tell them to go off from $335,000 cash. We'll be at Delta Title on Thursday morning at 11 o'clock with a cashier's check for $335,000. And, uh, we'll just pay for the property. He said, Jesse, you can't buy that for 300. That's a two-million-dollar piece of property. I said, the Lord told me to offer them $335,000 to be at Delta Title at 11 o'clock on Thursday and when a cashier's check. You just tell them I'll be waiting for him when they get there. So my lawyer gets on the phone. He says, uh, sir, I represent Jesse Duplantis. Yes. We've heard of him. Seen him on television. Seemed like a really nice man. He wants to purchase your property. Oh, and he will pay cash. That's even better. And he told me to tell you, I'm instructed to tell you, he'll pay $335,000 and he will be at Delta Title on Thursday at 11 o'clock to close. They said, excuse me, that ain't gonna happen. Since it's going to a church organization, but we'll give it to him for 1.7. He said, I'm instructed by Mr. Duplantis to offer you $335,000. He'll be at Delta Title at 11 o'clock, uh, on Thursday morning to, with a cashier's check for $335,000. And the property be his. And you all take your money and you go home. They said, I don't think you heard what we said. He said, sir, I'm just telling you who I, what the man told me, and God told him. And what do you want me to do? That sounds crazy, but when you hear the voice of God. They said, well, that's, that's not going to happen. Well, let me just say this. Mr. Duplantis will be at Delta Title at 11 o'clock, but a cashier's check for $335,000 to buy your property. Thank you very much. Bye-bye. Hung the phone up. That was Monday. Tuesday, they called back. How about $1.2 million? Mr. Duplantis will be at Delta Title Thursday, Thursday morning at 11 o'clock with a cashier's check for 300. I heard that like I hear you. You hearing me? I hung the phone. I told Kathy, I told my financer, get me a check for $335,000. Make it out to these people. They're just looking at me. You've got to be killed. I will be at Delta. I called Delta Title. The lady's name, Abby. I said, Abby, I'm going to do a closing at 11 o'clock. She said, oh, I'm booked for that. I said, no, you're not. I said, I talked to the Lord. He told me to be at Delta Title at 11 o'clock, but the cashier's check for $335,000. She said, who, who said that? I said, God said that. She said, well, if God said that, we'll be here 11 o'clock. That's what we want to do. That's what Abby did. We fixed it. Ladies and gentlemen, God is my witness. Me and Kathy and the board of directors, I'm just an apprentice minister. Walked into that place. And then people came in at 10 minutes to 11. And at 11 o'clock, they accepted $335,000 for that two-million-dollar piece of property. Now, that's not God, I don't know what it is. Now, why Thursday at 11 o'clock? Because at 1 o'clock Thursday afternoon, the federal government was going to seize all the property from them. They would have got nothing. We are family. Hey, hey, hey. God don't give big oil to foolish people. And we bought that piece of property for $335,000. You're nine acres of land. Lord, I mean. And the doctors were freaking. Yeah, I can't. Can you do that? River, the voice of God. But you see, you got to depend upon yourself to keep your house supplied because you can't rely on someone else's supply. I'm not saying they won't help you, but when push comes to shove, when they're running out, they're going. And they deserve to keep theirs. And if there's ever a delay, you are always prepared. I had a fear letter. The Lord, there ain't nothing in the world can stop y'all from getting that Rocket's place if you set your mind and put the crosshairs on that baby. He says, God will do what he said. If you know, you can tell Pastor Jonas. If you know that you know that you know, I don't care if the people that wanted got billions and billions, it don't make any difference. One day you'll walk down there, bless God, and just let, and you can do it cash up front and not have to worry about nothing. And I'm telling you, I know what I'm talking about because if I can do it, you can do it. I'm no better than you are. If I can do it, you can. If God will do it for me, he'll do it for you. We are totally debt-free. We owe nobody nothing but to love them. Why? Because what we decided yesterday gave us a future today. See my point? Do you see that? I'll tell you what, stand your feet. I'm holding you along here. Let me just say this quickly. I feel this so strong in my spirit. If this church can be debt-free when you go into your new place, it can be debt-free. Every one of your people's homes can be debt-free. But you're not gonna do it by your job. And don't ever criticize your job. Your job has been given for you to sow seed. If you'll live by your giving, my God, listen to me. If you'll live by your giving, my total television mission is paid for a year in advance, in advance, in advance. I'm bragging on I give God to grow. Listen to me. If you, if you do with that books that you'll have many opportune people will try to change your mind because of religious experiences which may be true, but you're not living their experience. You heard the voice of God. Do you understand? You heard the voice. I heard the voice. And buddy, when I hear the voice of God, ain't nobody gonna change my mind. Now, sometimes people think that's arrogance. That's God. No, no. I'm on a mission, man. I will not allow anything to deter me from what God said because if I did, I'd be in disobedience. And sometimes God asks you for things you never thought he would ask you for. I mean, when God asked me for a hundred dollars, I thought, surely, he ain't gonna ask me for more than that. Lord Jesus, on a book. Cause I was a Catholic giver, which is a dollar. And I don't mean that critically, but you know what I'm talking about. You just pass the value, put a dollar. But you know, and they asked me for a hundred dollars. That's all I got. He said, that's all I asked for because I didn't ask anything you didn't have. I never thought, sister daughter, he would ever ask me for any more. He asked me for a thousand dollars. I like to fell out. I thought, tonight. He says, then he asked me for ten thousand dollars one time.
Okay. Then he asked me for a hundred thousand. I thought about Jesus. Okay. And you were there when I gave that hundred thousand dollars. That's all I had. Is it? Is over. That's it. I gave it. Lisa. And God said, Jesse. He said, there's no ties. Now I'm gonna bless your 104. I say, God, I don't know what 100-fold is. He said, it's 10 million. I said, how much? 10 million. Did you get it, brother? Just, yes, I did. I got 10 million dollars. I thought, God, when are you going to ask me for a billion?
When you grow to those levels? Nah, I'm not there. Don't mess up. But he asked me for a million. I've done that. But I'll tell you what, for one day, one day, one day. Oh, I didn't tell you this. When he did ask me for that $100,000, man, million, he suggested, you notice you have more than that. For the first time, I have more than that. Yeah. And yesterday I prayed and I said, he interrupted me. He said, what are we going to do today? I said, you don't know what you're going to do. He said, you're my hands. You're my representative. How are we going to do today? I said, man, Lord, you mean you're gonna let me decide what happens today? I said, yeah. As Trust Joel Osteen. Trust me. I talked to him a while ago. He said, Jesse, I wouldn't. I'd be there, but I just wouldn't. I'm always there, but I trust you. I said, thank you, Pastor. I appreciate that. I thought, what an hour. You see, I came here for one reason, that you might know my friend Jesus.
I know this man. His name is Jesus. He will not lie to me. Yeah, I made that decision years ago. I didn't know what I was saying. I said, God, if you ever asked me to do anything, I'll do it. I had no idea what that meant. That was Labor Day weekend, 1974. I do it. I didn't know what that meant. I didn't know the test would come. And I think, you know, those things. But God has honored me, and he wants to honor you. But he can't honor you unless you let him come into your life. I'm gonna ask you to meet my friend. I know I've held you along. Didn't mean to apologize, but you got to meet my friend. This Jesus is my friend. I don't have a relationship. I have a fellowship. We talk. We have fun. We laugh.
I'm gonna ask you to meet him. Every head bowed, every eye closed. If you don't know Jesus today and you'd like to get saved for the very first time, would you give me the honor of walking to the throne of God with you? Maybe you know about God, but I ask you, do you know God? You see, I knew about God as a child growing up in church. You know, I went to church, but I didn't know God. I just knew about him. Would you give me the honor of saying, Lord, here's a person. They know about you, but they don't know you. And I'd like to introduce them to this man, to this woman, to this young person. They want to meet you, Jesus. And I used to stop there because that's the way I was trained as a minister until the Lord arrested my mind and said, take it further. Maybe you're in this building today, and no, you're not backslid. Hell, by no means, but you're not living the way you should live. And you need to come back to God. Some people call it rededicate. I don't call it that at all. I call it selling out, burning all the bridges behind you. Maybe a Christian hurt you. Maybe a preacher hurt you. Maybe I hurt you. If I did, I apologize. Would you give me the honor of going to the throne and say, Lord, here's a person that's had some tough times, but tough times don't last. Tough people do. If that's you today, it would be such an honor. So, whatever he had about, and every eye closed. If you don't know Jesus and you'd like to get saved for the very first time, or be honest with yourself, you're not what you should be with God, and you need to drop closer to him, come back to him, rededicate. Would you lift your hand up? Hold your hand up when I see it and acknowledge it. You may put your hand down. Yes, I see those hands. Yes, I see those hands. Ushers, help me. If you see a hand, I don't see. Yes, I see your hand. Could I see others quickly? By the lifting of a hand. Thank you. I see that hand. Yes, ma'am. I see your hand up in the balcony. That. Thank you. I see those hands way up back there. I see your hand by the Olympic. Yes, way, way back there by the wall. I see that doing that. Yes, I see your hand by the lifting of a hand. You're saying, I want to get saved. Or you said, but Jesse, I got to be honest. I'm not where I should be. Yes, ma'am. I see your hand. Could I see another quick clip? Don't worry about the time. It's never too late. Thank you. I see your hand. Yes, I do. Yes, I see your hand. Could I see others quickly? Thank you. I see your hand. Yes, I do. Yes, I see your hand. Yes, I do. Thank you. I see your hand. Yes, ma'am. I do. Thank you, Lord. Look at the people. I'm gonna ask all of you to look at me. As I said in the first service, I'll say today, I will never lie to you people. I've had so many people lie to me. Many of you lifted your hand like this. I took integrity into that. That wasn't easy. I'm gonna ask you to do something hard on this. I'm gonna ask every one of you, not some of you, because see, you're a person of integrity. You've lifted your hand. I'm gonna ask every one of you that lifted your hand to get out of your seat and come stand here in front of everybody. What's wrong with that? Jesus hung across in front of everybody. He's not asking you to do that. I want to pray for you. And I'm going to ask you to pray with us. I'm going to ask you to pray a prayer with me. I'm going to ask you to repeat this prayer with me. My wife's going to say it with your heart, confess it with your mouth. When we finish this prayer, you'll be in God's kingdom, whether it's a first-time salvation or whether it's a selling out for Jesus. Now, let me say this. This is not a prayer of feeling. This is a prayer of faith. See, I used to think if I didn't feel God, he was mad at me, or I'd done something wrong. And I thought, man, what's the news? I can't live like this. And the Lord suggested, you don't pray about feeling. You pray about faith. But you know what I said? I said, okay, Lord, I understand that. But God, I've always been honest. I need to feel. I don't know about you people, but I need a Jesus with skin on it. I don't need a God way over there. I'm not over there. I'm here. I need to say, Jesus. And he said, Jesse, I need that. And because I asked that, that's how the Lord speaks to me. He literally called my name. Some people say, I don't believe that. I didn't ask you to. It's just the truth. I mean, I've heard some talk about my heaven and vision. The only time I've talked about was here and Lakewood Church. And you'll notice that if I run it on television, I use the same one. Why? Because the anointing was so strong on that day on it. I had very said I'd never talk about that. I could make millions and millions of dollars. I've had so many people asking me about this. I had one man want to do a movie on it. I've had people and talk to her. I said, no, that wasn't given to me for that. That was given to be just simply a blessing to people. And we honor that. We will not touch us too holy. This prayer you're going to pray is the holiest prayer you'll ever pray. Are you ready? You people watching by television, faith destroys all distance between God and man. I'm looking at a television camera. You're looking at a television set, but God is looking at both of us together. If you'll pray this prayer with us as these people here doing today, the spirit of God will touch your life. I did what you about ready to do years ago in 1974. Billy Graham led me to the Lord Jesus Christ, just as I'm about ready to lead you to the Lord Jesus Christ with a prayer, a very easy prayer. Prayer. Are you ready? Are you ready? It's gonna be wonderful, great time. Jesus will love you if you just let it. I'm gonna ask everybody in this audience to pray this prayer with us. Let's pray it together. Lord Jesus, if I ask you to forgive me of all my sins, I confess my sin before you this day. I denounce Satan and all his works. I confess Jesus as the Lord of my life. Thank you for saving me, for bringing me back to where I once was. I believe with my heart, I confess in my mouth that Jesus rose from the dead. I am saved. Write my name in the Lamb's Book of Life. And today is my God day with the Lord Jesus. I pray this prayer to the Father in the name of Jesus. Amen. Stand right there for just a minute. Give him a hand clap. You made it. You made it.