35 Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the c.o.c.k-crowing, or in the morning.

This scripture says, "... the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey...." Here Jesus is talking about Himself when He uses the expression "the Son of man." In the New Testament, Jesus is called both the Son of G.o.d and the Son of man. From the divine standpoint He is the Son of G.o.d. From the human standpoint He is the Son of man.

There is something in this verse for the believer too. Verse 34 says that Jesus gave to every man his "work," and that He commanded the porter to watch. It may be your work just to watch and pray. If it is, be faithful in it and G.o.d will reward you.

Notice that the Bible says the Son of man gave "authority to His servants." That means as born-again sons of G.o.d, we have the authority on the earth to carry out the Great Commission. Jesus said, "... the Son of man... left his house, and GAVE AUTHORITY TO HIS SERVANTS...." That's referring to us and to the authority G.o.d has given us.

There is another verse which relates to the authority or anointing upon believers to carry out the Great Commission. Remember in Matthew chapter 28, after Jesus rose from the dead, He said that all power or authority was given unto Him. The Greek word translated "power" here also means authority. Then in the next verse He immediately authorized the Church to go tell the good news to every nation.

MATTHEW 28:18-20.

18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, ALL POWER IS GIVEN UNTO ME in heaven and in earth.

19 GO YE THEREFORE, and teach ALL NATIONS, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

When Jesus said, "Go ye, " He was authorizing or commissioning the Church, the Body of Christ, to go tell others about Him. As we've said, Jesus not only said, "Go" to the disciples, He's saying it to all His disciples everywhere - He's saying it to the whole Church - the entire Body of Christ. In other words, everywhere we go, we are to tell the story of Jesus and His redeeming power.

G.o.d not only wants us to go tell the good news, but He wants us to be witnesses endued with power from on High before we go.

LUKE 24:49.

49 ... behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with POWER from on high.

ACTS 1:8.

8 But ye shall receive POWER, after that the HOLY GHOST is come upon you: and ye shall be WITNESSES unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Believers are to be endued with power from on High, just as Jesus was endued with power from on High. However, as we saw, Jesus had the Spirit without measure, and believers receive the Holy Spirit in a measure.

JOHN 3:34.

34 For he whom G.o.d hath sent speaketh the words of G.o.d: for G.o.d giveth NOT THE SPIRIT BY MEASURE unto him.

ROMANS 12:3.

3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as G.o.d hath dealt to every man THE MEASURE of faith.

So we understand that Jesus told believers to be endued with power from on High so they could be witnesses unto Him, and believers were also authorized or anointed to fulfill the "Go ye" of the Great Commission. Every one of us in the Body of Christ is to be a witness!

We know this isn't just referring to the disciples because it wasn't just the 12 disciples who were in the upper room when the anointing came and the Holy Spirit was poured out. The Bible says 120 believers were gathered together in that upper room.

ACTS 1:13-15.

13 And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.

14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.

15 And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about AN HUNDRED AND TWENTY.)

Therefore, all believers are supposed to tell others about Jesus. Does that mean everyone in the Body of Christ is supposed to be a preacher? Emphatically, yes! I didn't say everyone is called to one of the fivefold ministry gifts in the Church (Eph. 4:11). But every Christian is supposed to be a preacher in one sense, because "to preach" means to proclaim or to tell the good news of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. So in that sense, yes, everyone in the Body of Christ is to be a preacher!

As we've seen, Jesus is also anointing people in the Body of Christ today to stand in the fivefold ministry offices of the apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, or teacher. However, not everyone in the Body of Christ is called and anointed to stand in one of these offices. But no matter what G.o.d calls you to do in life, He will equip you and anoint you to do it.

Chapter 3 New Testament Kings and Priests G.o.d is still anointing prophets and preachers, and He's also still anointing all His people to witness about Him. And G.o.d is still anointing kings and priests - New Testament kings and priests.When the word "priests" is mentioned, most people think about the ministry of intercession, because a priest intercedes to G.o.d on the behalf of the people.Under the Old Covenant, the people did not go directly to G.o.d for themselves. Every male thirty years of age and older had to present himself in Jerusalem every year. G.o.d's Presence was kept shut up in the Holy of Holies in the Temple. Everyone could not go into the Presence of G.o.d; only the priests could, and the priests went only with great precaution.The priest made sacrifice for his sins and for the sins of the people. The blood of innocent animals was shed which was a type of the blood of the sinless, spotless Lamb of G.o.d who would one day come and shed His blood for the sins of all people.The priest entered into that earthly Holy of Holies with the blood of a sacrificial animal, and his sins and the sins of the people were atoned for or "covered" for another year. However, the shedding of the blood of that sacrificial animal did not cleanse the sins of the people; it could only cover their sins. Then the people could breathe a sigh of relief and go away with their sins atoned for or covered for another year until the next year when again the priest had to present himself in the Holy of Holies for his sins and the sins of the people.But blessed be G.o.d, Jesus our High Priest came and after He died on Calvary and shed His own blood and was raised from the dead, He ascended on High. The Book of Hebrews tells us that He entered into the heavenly Holy of Holies with His own blood to obtain an eternal redemption for us! Now every born-again believer can go into the heavenly Holy of Holies and present himself before G.o.d anytime he wants to!A Better Covenant We can see what a better Covenant we have under the New Testament.REVELATION 1:1-5.1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which G.o.d gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pa.s.s; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: 2 Who bare record of the word of G.o.d, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; 5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and WASHED US FROM OUR SINS IN HIS OWN BLOOD.Under the New Covenant, when we confess our sins, the blood of Jesus actually washes away, remits, or cleanses our sins. Thank G.o.d, we've been washed from our sins in His own blood! (For further study of this subject, see Rev. Kenneth E. Hagin's minibook ent.i.tled, Three Big Words.) People ask, "Do you understand how that takes place?" No, and you don't either. But I'm rejoicing in it anyway and enjoying the reality of it!Blood Washed Jesus washed our sins with His own blood. After our sins were washed in His blood, then as born-again Christians we are made kings and priests unto our G.o.d.REVELATION 1:5,6.5 ... Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, 6 And hath made us KINGS and PRIESTS unto G.o.d and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.In the Book of Revelation, the Bible tells us that a special millennial reign is coming upon the earth, and that we will reign with Jesus for a thousand years (Rev. 20:7). However, we are already made kings and priests unto G.o.d now in this life.REVELATION 5:10.10 And hast made us unto our G.o.d KINGS and PRIESTS: and we shall reign on the earth.Romans 5:17 tells us that we already reign and rule in this life as kings and priests.ROMANS 5:17.17 For if by one man's offence death [that refers to spiritual death] reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall REIGN IN LIFE by one, Jesus Christ.When shall we reign? In the sweet by and by? No! In this life! Another translation reads, "We shall reign as KINGS in life by one, Christ Jesus."G.o.d is still anointing priests and He's still anointing kings. G.o.d has anointed you and me - the Body of Christ - to rule and reign as kings and priests unto our G.o.d! G.o.d also anoints some people to stand in the fivefold ministry, but He has anointed every one of us to preach or to witness about Him.Every Believer Is Anointed To Be a Priest Unto G.o.d A priest is a go-between - a man or a woman who speaks to G.o.d on behalf of others. You don't pray the prayer of intercession for yourself. When you are walking in your rights and privileges in Christ, you know that you can go into the Presence of G.o.d. The Word of G.o.d says that we are to come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Heb. 4:16). An intercessor is one who intercedes on behalf of unbelievers - those who have no rights or privileges to go into the Presence of G.o.d for themselves. Some might wonder about praying for other Christians. Isn't that intercession? No, that is supplication. We are exhorted in Scripture to exercise both intercession and supplication.G.o.d has anointed every Christian to be a priest.The Bible doesn't say that only a few in the Body of Christ are made priests unto our G.o.d, or that only a few Christians are made kings. No, it says, "... Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, " and He ". .. hath made us kings and priests..." (Rev. 1:5,6). Also, the Bible doesn't say that He is going to make us kings and priests, but that He has already made us kings and priests unto our G.o.d.G.o.d is still anointing His people! He is still anointing kings and priests! G.o.d has anointed His people to be priests. A priest speaks to G.o.d on behalf of other people. Some people say, "G.o.d has called me to be an intercessor!" But G.o.d has called every one of us to be intercessors. He didn't just call you. Intercession is not a special calling. Every Christian is supposed to offer intercession and supplication. Some Christians may not have entered into it yet, but they are supposed to. Some have responded more readily to the Holy Spirit than others have, but G.o.d has anointed every one of us to be priests unto our G.o.d.The devil thrives on ignorance, and because some people don't know what the Bible says about being priests unto our G.o.d, when they do begin to enter into prayer and the anointing comes, then they get lifted up in pride and they think, I'm somebody! I'm special because I operate in the anointing!That's exactly what the devil wants them to think. That's the same way Lucifer sinned. He was lifted up in pride thinking, I'm special. He said, ". .. I will exalt my throne above the stars of G.o.d... 7 will be like the most High" (Isa. 14:13,14). He was lifted up in spiritual pride.But G.o.d has anointed all of His people to be priests unto their G.o.d. Instead of thinking they're "special" when they pray, people should just say, "Praise G.o.d, we're all anointed to be priests; let's just get after it and pray!"However, often it seems people - especially those who are not rooted and grounded in the Word of G.o.d - tend to get an elevated opinion of themselves and they think they have a special "ministry" or "calling" no one else in the Body of Christ has. They get lifted up in pride and get off into error, thinking they're a special "cla.s.s" of people, and that no one else in the Body of Christ is like them.Let's see what the Bible says about the whole Body of Christ being priests unto our G.o.d.1 PETER 2:5,9.5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, AN HOLY PRIESTHOOD [That's all of us - the whole Body of Christ!] to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to G.o.d by Jesus Christ....9 But ye are a chosen generation, A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the PRAISES of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.We are all special in the Body of Christ! You see how people can get off into wrong thinking. We are all called to be kings and priests unto our G.o.d! Certain ones may be taking advantage of what belongs to them more than others, but our inheritance as kings and priests belongs to all believers.Another error many Christians have fallen into is that because they think they have a special "calling" or "ministry" to be an intercessor, then they think they've got to perform and work something up in the flesh when they pray. Instead of praying in line with the Word of G.o.d, and following the leading of the Holy Spirit and praying by the unction and the anointing of the Holy Spirit, they try to perform and work up something in the flesh, and they get off into error. People need to pray in line with the Word of G.o.d and by the anointing and unction of the Holy Spirit.If people do not put the Word of G.o.d first - if they do not pray in line with the Word of G.o.d - they can go off following what they call the "spirit" apart from the Word of G.o.d and be misled. You can't follow the Spirit apart from the Word of G.o.d because the Spirit and the Word agree (for additional teaching on this subject, see Brother Hagin's book, The Art of Intercession).Every Christian is to be a priest! The Bible says, "... ye [the whole Body of Christ] are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light" (1 Peter 2:9).That verse is talking about every one of us in the Body of Christ - not just a few especially "chosen" ones. Every one of us, if we are born again, have been called out of darkness into light, not just a few. You can readily see the error of thinking that only a few special members of the Body of Christ are part of this royal priesthood. Some people may not be taking advantage of it, but every one of us is a part of that royal priesthood! G.o.d is still anointing priests!