Arise

I greet you on this January 3rd of this new year of 2022 in the wonderful saving name of Jesus Christ. I'm Brother Kenneth Carpenter, the General Superintendent of the Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ, and on behalf of myself and the rest of the executive board, we would like to wish all of you a happy new year.

Since the ALJC's founding in March of 1952, we have remained a Oneness Apostolic Pentecostal holiness fellowship. We are a special group of people whose hearts are knit together as the family of God, whose sole purpose of existence is for fellowship with one another of like precious faith and proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We all know that the last few years have been challenging, to say the least, yet by the grace of God and the tenacity of our members we have witnessed record-breaking years in giving and in new works starting around the world. We have also experienced large numbers at our 2021 General Ministry Conference and at our National Youth Convention. All of our departments are reporting growth in giving and in participation.

In just a few weeks from now, January the 28th and 29th, Men's Conference will be held here in Maryville, Tennessee. For more information, you can go to ministry.aljc.org. And then in February — February the 21st through the 24th — at Whitestone Lodge, World Missions will be hosting World Missions University. It is a time of training future world changers and exposing them to our ALJC World Missions program. This is a must-attend for anyone with a burden to work outside of the United States.

We are blessed with several departments in the Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ — several arms that enable us to fulfill the Great Commission: our World Missions with Brother Matthew Ball; our Missions America with Brother Traxel; Apostolic Crusaders, Brother Zach Hammond; Ministry, Brother James Chesser; our Women's Esprit, known as WE — and we are so thankful for Sister Scott, who is doing an excellent job; our Evangelist Department with Brother Garnett; and then next is our Kids Quest with Brother Roberts; our Christian School Department with Brother Nelson Tisdale — excuse me, Brother Tisdale. We are so thankful for that ministry, that is helping us fulfill the Great Commission of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I'd like to introduce you to the Apostolic Prayer Network. Our director is Evangelist Thurman Covey. This initiative is designed to provide us with prayer resources and a platform to make available to our fellowship urgent prayer requests. You can go to aljc.org, go to the tab that is marked "Initiative," and you will find the APN — Apostolic Prayer Network. Brother Thurman Covey and I recently sat down, and we videoed probably an hour of just discussing ways of praying and the purpose of prayer, and that is going to be available very soon. aljc.org.

We're in the month of January now of a new year, and for many of us pastors, it is time for us to cast vision. As your superintendent this evening, I wish to cast the vision of 2022. I wish to cast the vision of prayer. Prayer has been a concern of mine. It has been something that I deeply understand — the vital need, the essentiality — of a praying group of men and women.

We understand, as we study the word "prayer" and we look at Scripture, that we find that the words prayer — prayer and vision — are coupled together. We know that Proverbs tells us, in Proverbs 29:18, "Where there is no vision, the people perish." Where there is no vision, the people perish.

Recently, while reading the book of Daniel, chapter 9 and verse 21, I came across these scriptures that I would like to share. Daniel says: "And while I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. And he informed me and talked with me and said, 'O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.'"

Notice in verse 21 that Daniel says, "While I was in prayer, speaking, this vision came to me." So in this month of vision casting, prayer is coupled with our vision, and prayer helps us to fully develop the vision that we have for our local churches — or, if you're a district superintendent, for your district; a departmental leader, for your department — that your prayer is the fuel and helps you to develop your vision for that department.

We know that in the book of Acts, chapter 9 — I thought this was very intriguing, as I connected these verses together — that when Saul had been converted on the Damascus road, and in Acts chapter 9, verse 10, the Bible said: "And there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias, and to him said the Lord in a vision, 'Ananias.' And he said, 'Behold, I am here, Lord.' And the Lord said unto him, 'Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he prayeth.'" He prayeth — "for behold, he prayeth, and hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight."

So we understand that while Paul was praying, that God gave him a vision of Ananias coming in, laying his hand upon him, to receive the Holy Ghost. So the ministry of prayer and vision goes hand in hand.

It was the Apostle Peter, as he was rehearsing the conversion of Cornelius the Gentile — he says in Acts chapter 11, verse 5, he says: "I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision: a certain vessel descend, as it had been a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners, and it came even to me."

So here we have all of these verses: Daniel was praying and had this vision, and Paul was praying and had the vision, and the Apostle Peter was praying and had this vision. My good brethren, tonight, vision and prayer are the essential ingredients that turn our passion into reality. Vision and prayer turn our burden — our passion to win lost souls, to disciple them, to build churches for the glory of God — it is because prayer and vision are coupled together.

Prayer can be likened to a light turned on in a dark room, revealing the contents of the room. The furniture was there all the time, but the light simply made us aware. God has a room filled with great things in 2022, yet it will require prayer to turn the light of vision on, so that we can see the great things that God will do for us in this upcoming year.

So where do we start? Where do we start? It must start with leadership praying. It must start with leadership — a praying man.

I am currently reading a book entitled Prayer: The Teaching Ministry of [Verbal Being], and in the book [Verbal Being] says this: prayer is talking to God. Daniel said, "While I was speaking in prayer, I was talking to Him." This does not mean you feel all that much. It does not mean you talk in tongues or weeping, or you just — you don't even feel any spirit at all; you're just simply talking to God. When a person prays, they are manifesting their faith in the God who hears and answers those prayers. It is an outward sign of a person's faith. When we disciple — or discipline — ourselves to spend time in prayer, we are asking God to join us in the work.

I recently read a quote from Vesta Mangun on the subject of prayer, and she says, "God doesn't move because we preach or believe in prayer." She said, "God only moves for those who pray."

Step one — and I wish for you to follow me this evening on these simple steps to start praying. Step one: decide in your mind that you are going to place prayer as a number-one priority in your ministry. You're going, in 2022, to see prayer as that essential ingredient that must go into every sermon; it must go into every endeavor that you have to promote the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Step two: decide on a place and a time for daily prayer. And let me say this: as you decide on the place of prayer and the time of prayer, one size doesn't always fit everyone. The example could be my wife and I. She loves — Sister Carpenter loves to pray at home. Home is her favorite place to have prayer. She has a chair there in the bedroom that she prays, and she feels like, as the mother of that home, that it is her responsibility — it is her responsibility to set the atmosphere of the home through prayer. So she loves to pray at home. I love to pray here at the church. She loves to pray later in the day; I love to pray early of the morning. So you decide — you decide in your mind that prayer is essential. It is something that I must do.

And then you decide a time, you decide a place. And please don't be haphazard with the time. If you just leave it open-ended, you may, through the day, not be disciplined enough. But if you purpose in your mind a time — seven o'clock, eight o'clock — that you're — you would be more able to fulfill that, if you had a time.

Step three: study the art of prayer. We know that the disciples came to Jesus and they made a request. They said, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John the Baptist taught his disciples." So we understand that prayer is not something that comes natural. It shouldn't be viewed as just something that someone is given this desire to pray. No, prayer is something that the disciples said, "Lord, would You teach us the art — teach us the art of praying; teach us to pray."

Jesus answered their request and gave them what is called the Lord's Prayer, and it is actually — it is actually the disciples' prayer. And this prayer is built on a relationship. Prayer is a relationship that you have with God. Prayer is the great connector, for we see in prayer that Jesus said, "When you pray, say, 'Our Father who art in heaven.'" So in prayer, we understand that as we have this prayer network, and all across our organization — our fellowship — that we're making prayer a top priority in 2022, that it is affecting all of us, and it is all built around a relationship — a relationship with our Father who is in heaven. A Father that is — this relationship of prayer.

And we know, as this art of praying is broken down, that we go in — we start off our praying based on a fellowship with God, a relationship with God. I know for several years — for several years I felt that the first thing that I needed to do when I went to my knees in prayer was to confess my unworthiness, was to confess any sin that I may have committed, to get everything out of my heart. It wasn't later on, as I began to study the art of prayer, that you do address trespasses — you do address sin — but it is much later in the prayer that you address that. But you go to God as your — you go to God as your heavenly Father. So there is the art of praying, of praying.

And then there's several different types of prayers. There's prayers that we pray for an immediate — for an immediate answer. We have a need, there's an urgent need — someone is rushed to the hospital, there's been a car accident — and there is an immediate need for God to immediately intervene on that prayer. And then I have learned that there is what is referred to as memorial prayers. They told Cornelius that your prayers have come up as a memorial in heaven. Memorial prayers can be prayers for prodigals. Memorial prayers can be prayers laid over a city, that you're praying for your city to be receptive to the gospel. You just pray these memorial prayers of the continual blessings of God upon your life. You're emphasizing the prayer.

And as we're talking about prayer, we must understand that it has to become the culture of our movement. It has to become the culture of our ministry. It has to become the culture of our organization, of our districts — that we are people of prayer. But a culture isn't developed — I pray three days straight or seven days straight. A culture is developed year in and year out, when a church has a prayer room, when a church values prayer to the place to where we don't want to start our service until we have had a good season of prayer. We don't want the musicians to play until we've had a good season of prayer. We don't want the choir to sing, and on and on, until we have first had a good season of prayer.

If your church doesn't currently have a room designated for prayer before service — if it doesn't have a room or a time — I would say some of the greatest blessings and the conditioning of our service has come out of the prayer room, when people have got their minds upon the Lord and they're ready to go right into worship.

Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ, let's cast the vision to those that follow us about prayer. Prayer changes us. Prayer causes our hearts to be tender. When we pray, it's amazing how God can bring things to our remembrance. And when we pray in the presence of our Father, and we come into His presence, there is a humbling effect upon our souls. We seem, when we come into prayer, that if we've allowed any pride to attach itself to our spirits and our souls, that it's in prayer that we can lay these things down. And God will show us — God will show us our needs, and God will begin to minister to us as we lose these things in prayer.

As we pray, the Bible says that if any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not. And this wisdom — and we're living in a time that if there's ever been a day that we need wisdom as leaders, we need wisdom, it is the day that we're living in. It is the day that we're living in now.

It was the young Solomon — King, he finds himself — he finds himself the king over Israel, and he finds himself very humbled, and he refers to himself as a child. And he said these words. He said, "God, I am but a child, and I know not how to go in or come out, and yet You have put me over Your people." As your superintendent and the executive board and our district — our general board, our departmental leaders — that same spirit should capture our hearts: that who are we, that God has placed us over His people? God has placed us over His heritage. And Solomon asked not for long life, and Solomon didn't ask for his enemies to be defeated. He asked for one thing. He said, "God, give me wisdom, that I may lead Your people."

Oh God, give us wisdom in these days, these trying times that we're in. God, give us wisdom as organizational leaders. God, give us wisdom as pastors leading our congregations. God, give us wisdom in the decisions that we make — that this wisdom will be the product of prayer, that God would answer. It's the one prayer that God — it's one of the many prayers that God will answer in the yes. He said, "If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God," and God would give.

Well, I would like to close this evening by telling you about a scripture in the book of Samuel. Samuel is coming to the closing days of his ministry, and he is addressing Israel. And he made a statement that at times it has haunted me; at times it has motivated me to go to prayer. He said, "God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you, but I will teach you the good and the right way."

Samuel wanted us to know that if you're a leader of people and you fail to pray for those that you lead, Samuel informs us that we have sinned against the Lord. As a matter of fact, it's easier, when you have prayed for the people, to teach them that good and that right way.

I pray this evening that this vision casting of prayer — that it will go through our fellowship, that it will affect all of our corporate gatherings, that it will affect all of our departments, all of the arms of the Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And as we do close this evening — as we do close this evening in prayer — I heard today of the passing of someone who is very dear to the Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ. I was informed earlier today of the passing of Bishop — I know him as Hank Cook. And we do extend our love and prayers to the Cook family in this trying time and the loss of a loved one, and we pray for that family tonight.

Would you join me in prayer as we close this webcast? Father, I come to You tonight in the matchless name of Jesus Christ. I ask, God, that You would look down upon the Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ — O God, this organization that has Your name. Father, I pray that You would continue to bless us, You would continue to lead our leaders and guide us, O God; You would continue, Lord, to help us to spread the gospel around the world. I ask You tonight, Father, to touch the Bishop Hank Cook family. I pray this evening, God, that You would be the God of all comfort to them. I ask all of these things in the mighty, matchless name of Jesus we pray. Amen and amen.

And may God keep you, and may God bless you, and may God always, in 2022, cause His face to shine upon you.