These words that Jesus spake and lifted up his
eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour is
come. And you know immediately that I'm reading
from the 17th chapter of John, the prayer that
Jesus prayed, his communion with the Father.
To me, this is something that's very sacred.
Whenever I talk about this wonderful communion
that Jesus was having with the Father, somehow
I feel like I'm talking about something that's
extremely sacred. And to think that he permitted
human beings to get a glimpse into that communion,
to... Hear the words, the audible words. Do you
know that those were with him that day? Literally
were hearing the audible words spoken from the
lips of Jesus to God the Father. That's mighty
sacred. It's a great privilege for you and I
to read. those words again to know what the words
were that Jesus spoke when he spoke to the Father.
In the first five verses, two desires were expressed.
And this is what they were. Father, the hour
is come. Now, all through John, we have found
references to that hour. It began way back. there
when he said at the married supper at Cana, mine
hour is not yet come. Now finally he's saying,
this is it. The hour is come. And to this hour
he had been looking forward to from the very
beginning. He had been preparing in all of his
teaching, in all of his deeds, everything that
he did, underlying every action. all of his passion,
everything, was leading up to that all -important
hour. And now he says, Father, that hour is come.
The hour is now here. Glorify thy son. He didn't
say glorify me. Glorify thy son. that the Son
may glorify thee, even as thou gavest him authority
over all flesh, that whatsoever thou hast given
him, to them he should give eternal life. And
this is eternal life, that they should know thee
the only true God, and him whom thou didst send,
even Jesus Christ, through all... This. He used
a very impersonal attitude. Always. Mm -hmm.
The sun. That the sun might glorify you. To me,
that's vitally important. Continues. I glorified
thee on earth. Now comes the personal part. He
did not say, the Son of God glorified thee on
earth. He said, I glorified thee on earth. Having
accomplished the work which thou hast given me
to do, I hope someday I can stand in the wonderful
presence of Jesus. I long for that day when,
after I will have preached my last sermon, my
last day's working. I hope I can say when I see
him face to face, I have glorified thee on the
earth. It's been my whole life's work. It has
been the purpose for my living, the ambition
of my life. to glorify thee on earth, having
accomplished the work which thou hast given me
to do. Jesus, before he ever left the presence
of the Father, knew that he had come to fulfill
a definite work. He had a job to do, in other
words. He had a work to do. He had a mission
to carry out. And he came in the form of man
because that was the only way he could carry
out that mission, the only way he could carry
out that work. There was a perfect plan to the
whole thing. And remember something, I still
want to remind you that God has a perfect will
and a perfect plan for every human being. I don't
care who that one is. When that baby takes his
first breath, and makes his first cry. There's
more than just a little body. There's more than
just two little eyes, two little legs. There's
a soul, there's a life, and there's nothing more
important in the whole world than human life.
Oh, we've gotten to the place where human life
is so cheap. There never was a time when human
life was as cheap as it is this hour. But remember,
in the sight of God, a human life is the most
important thing there is in the world. In that
body is a soul. And along with that soul, a soul
that will live throughout all of eternity forever
and ever. Death never destroys that soul. And
with that light, there comes a plan, a perfect
plan. and each human being must decide whether
or not they'll accept or reject that plan we
talk about it in terms of living in the perfect
will of god along with that soul along with that
breath of light that has been given a will, separate
and apart from the will of God. And we use that
will to either accept that plan, to either live
in that plan, to either accept the things of
God or reject God's word, God's plan, and God
as a person. It's just that simple. Jesus Christ
knew that he came and with his coming there was
a plan. The will of God. And in that plan was
man's salvation, man's redemption. And now he
was coming face to face with his crucifixion.
The hour is come. That great hour when he would
lay down his own life, he would dismiss his own
spirit. And he looks up and said, I glorified
thee on earth. Never once did he glorify himself.
Read the pages of the word. Read it. You and
I talk about the great miracles. You and I talk
about the power of the Christ. But read it very
carefully. Never once did Jesus ever glorify
himself. He did say of the Holy Spirit that when
the Holy Spirit would come, that the Holy Spirit
would glorify him. And wherever you find the
Holy Spirit, you'll always find the Holy Spirit
glorifying Jesus. But Jesus... himself, never
glorified himself once. And that's the reason
he could look up. Had in communion with the fathers,
he said, I glorified thee on the earth. He will
not even glorify himself in this position of
great high priest or in this great position that
he has this very moment. He is there not glorifying
himself. He's there making intercession for you
and for me. I glorified thee on the earth, having
accomplished the work which thou hast given me
to do. I came. I had a job to do. there was a
purpose, I have fulfilled that purpose. What
if he had yielded to temptation? What way back
there when Satan came to him and offered him
the title deed to this planet if he'd only bow
down and serve him? Go back again and read those
temptations. What if Jesus... As much man as
though he were not God had yielded even for an
instant to one of those temptations. He could
not now have said, I have accomplished the work
which thou hast given me to do. This is deep.
This is thrilling. What is the desire? Glorify
thy sun, that the sun may glorify thee. It's
still that the sun may glorify thee. That's a
reason to be very careful when men glorify themselves.
Be very careful when you see one of God's children
trying to glorify themselves. Even the Son of
God did not seek to glorify himself. He sought
only to glorify God. He did not say, glorify
me that I may glorify thee. He didn't say that.
Of course, that is what it meant, but the very
method of statement is significant. It was not
personal, but relative. He was thinking of his
self in his intimate relationship with his father.
Thy son. The son. Whereas the prayer is personal.
As we've said before, the first expressed desire
maintains his sense of relationship and all which
that meant at that hour. The hour is come. Glorify
thy son that the sun may glorify me. The only
reason, Jesus said. that I want any glory whatsoever
is that I might use that glory to glorify thee.
He was expressing his desire that the Son might
be glorified for only one purpose, that the Son
may glorify the Father. The deepest passion of
his heart was the glory of God. The deepest passion
of the heart of Jesus was not the saving of men,
but the glory of God. And then the saving of
men, because that is for the glory of God. Uh
-huh. We talk about willing souls. And that's
marvelous. You've heard me say it a thousand
times that the greatest miracle in the world
is the transformation of a life. There is no
greater miracle than that. And when we talk about
the burden for souls, and there is no greater
success in the life of any human being than the
success of winning somebody, the Lord Jesus Christ.
But please understand exactly the way I'm saying
it to you. The winning of souls is marvelous.
The saving of men and women is glorious. But
why? Because it's for the glory of God. And every
time a man is snatched from the pit of hell,
every time an individual is snatched from Satan,
every time, there has been an experience of regeneration,
of salvation. God gets the glory. It's for the
glory of God. Every time there's a miracle of
healing. Oh, we thrill to these wonderful miracles
of healing of the sick body. That's marvelous.
I, too. And we say, isn't it wonderful? And we
think of those who are relieved of their suffering.
That someone has been healed of cancer. And we
think of the individual. And I, too, have said,
I'm so grateful to God because I appreciate it
too. I'm so thankful for you. And I stand there
so filled with emotion because I think that one
no longer has to suffer. And I think of that
one and I place myself in that one's position.
But there's more than just that. Every time there's
a... Physical healing, every time there's a cancer
that's healed, every time that a body is released
from pain and suffering, it's for the glory of
God. Do you understand? What are you doing with
that with which God has blessed you? Are you
using it for His glory? Is my life as an individual
being used for his glory? Is this ministry that
he's given to us being used for his glory? It
dare not be used for the glory of Catherine Kuhlman.
It dare not, God forbid, that any part of this
ministry should be used for the glory of Catherine
Kuhlman. All but anything that I might do or
anything that happens. in an individual's life
or in a service should be used for the glory
of Katharine Kuhlman. For the glory of God. For
his glory. How that applied to himself is discovered
as we read on. Two little words, even as. That
phrase introduces us to interpretation. even
as thou gavest him authority over all flesh,
that whatsoever thou hast given him, to them
he should give eternal life. In other words,
glorify thy son, that he may glorify thee, even
as thou hast given him authority to give eternal
life. How had God given him that authority? What
does he mean by that as, that little word? In
the 10th chapter, we hear him say, Therefore
doth the Father love me, because I lay down my
life, that I may take it again. No one taketh
it away from me, but I lay it down of myself.
I have authority to lay it down. I have authority
to take it again. This commandment received I
from my Father. He's saying the... authority
to lay down his life, that he might take it again,
was in order to place it at the disposal of the
men. Now, he said, Father, the hour is come.
Glorify thy Son, that the Son may glorify thee,
even as thou gavest him authority to give eternal
life. He was praying for the cross, the glory
of the cross. Here we miss the whole thinking
in the heart of Jesus. If we imagine that at
that moment he was first of all desiring the
glory of which he had invested himself when he
came into time and human condition. He was desiring
the cross because by the cross and by the way
of the cross alone he would put life at the disposal.
humanity according to the purpose of his father.
And that was the desire of a great consent. Going
to the cross that the father might be glorified.