The Spoken Word no . 37
The Vision, the
Pattern, and the Fulfillment
August 17th,
2008
Pastor, Brian Kocourek
This morning I would like to continue in our study of
Brother Branham’s sermon on “The Spoken Word is the Original Seed” paragraph 21 but before we do let’s reads from…
Genesis
1:11 And
God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, and herbs... and seed, and the fruit
tree yielding fruit after his kind,
whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought
forth grass, and herbs and yielded seed
after his kind, and the trees yielded fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his
kind: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were
the third day.
John 5: 26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so
hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
Let u spray… Dear Father we come to you this morning
as our God, and as our Father who is the very author of Life, and we know that
Thou art the giver of every good gift. Grant to us a refreshing this morning
from your presence, O Lord, and give to us the Spiritual Meat that is in due
season. Help us to know that we have Life, and not just life, but God-Life,
Your very Own Life that is eternal and living and abiding in us. For you told us in Your word, “when Christ Who is our Life shall
appear, then shall we also appear with Him in Glory or in the same opinion,
values and judgment that are your. That is also how Jesus your Son told us that
we are to become one with you Dear father, and we ask that your thoughts become
our thoughts, and your ways become our ways, for we ask it in Jesus Christ’s
name, thy beloved firstborn. Amen!
Now, this morning I would like to continue from the
sermon The
Spoken Word is
the original Seed and reading from pp. 21 Now, I want to begin this morning
with my text to use this: "The Spoken Word Is the Original Seed." Now, that's what I wish to lay the text
on--"The Spoken Word Is the Original
Seed." Now, if you'll notice, God said, "Let it bring forth
in his kind." Whatever it was it must be brought forth of its kind.
Now, I want you to notice that brother
Branham is taking his text from Genesis 1:11 that says
every seed must bring forth after its kind or nature. Then he says the spoken
word is the original seed, so in essence this sermon is to be focused on the
original Seed and the life that is in this original Word Seed. So let’s
continue with paragraph 21.
Now,
this Word of God is eternal.
Again let me stop for a moment and make another
comment. Now, he is talking about every
seed bringing forth after its kind. Then he speaks of the Spoken Word of God as
the original seed. Now, he adds that this Word of God which is a Seed is
eternal, or the Life in it is eternal. So whatever comes forth after its image
must also then possess this life that is eternal. Then if the life that came
forth in that original seed is eternal because the Father is the fountain of
Life, then every seed that comes forth out from that original seed will also be
a carrier of this eternal life. That is the law of reproduction in Genesis
1:11.
Now, let’s continue reading brother Branham’s sermon
at where we left off in paragraph 21. “God, being infinite, cannot speak one thing and then later
on change it to something else, to a better decision, because every decision of
God is perfect. He cannot... Once His
Word is once spoken, It can never die. It lives
on, on, on, and can never die, because It is God. His
Word can no more die than He can die. That's the reason we read in I John... or
In other words, God is life, and
the form of Life that is in God is Eternal Life. Then if God is to have a son
and sons, then the form of Life that will be in them by this reproduction will
also have to be the same life as in the original, Eternal Life. Then His sons
can never die. So you see, He God, gave life to His son, and that Life was God
Life, so it was eternal Life. Now, our bodies are not eternal. They were
created. But our souls came forth from God so they are eternal and the Life in
them is eternal once it has been quickened by the Breathe of God which is His
Word.
Paul said in Ephesians 2: 1 And
you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Now, since we are talking about
the God-Life in sons, then let’s talk about this God-Life in his firstborn son.
So let’s read about the first born son when he was given birth as recorded in
Scripture.
Hebrews 1:
5 For unto which of the angels said
he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I
will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?
Acts 13:
33 God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that
he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written
in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.
Colossians
1: 15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every
creature:
Psalms 2:
7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath
said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
Now, notice how the firstborn son came forth in the image of the Father,
because every seed must bring forth after the image of the one whom the seed
came forth from. And if Jesus Christ is the first born son, then there must be
other sons as well.
And we find just that in Romans 8: 29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did
predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
So then if Jesus is
the first born, then there must be other born ones, and we read in John 20:17 Jesus saith unto
her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father:
but go to my brethren, and say unto
them, I ascend unto my Father, who is your
Father; and to my God, who is your God.
And if Jesus Christ
has brethren, then he is not ashamed to call them what they are.
Hebrews 2:
11 For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for
which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,
Now, let’s look at the birth of
this first born son in Scripture. We have already seen where God said, You are
my son, this day I have begotten thee, and we see in Proverbs 8:22 just when this son was given
birth. "The
LORD brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old; 23 I was appointed from
eternity, from the beginning, before the
world began. 24 When
there were no oceans, I was given birth,
when there were no springs abounding with water; 25 before the mountains were settled in place, before
the hills, I was given birth, 26 before he made the earth
or its fields or any of the dust of the world. 27 I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he
marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, 28 when he established the clouds above and fixed
securely the fountains of the deep, 29
when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters would no overstep his command,
and when he marked out the foundations of the earth. 30 Then I was the
craftsman at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, 31 rejoicing in his whole
world and delighting in mankind. 32
"Now then, my sons, listen to me; blessed are
those who keep my ways. 33
Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not ignore
it. 34 Blessed is the man
who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. 35 For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the LORD. 36 But whoever fails to find
me harms himself; all who hate me love death."
Now, notice he said, whosoever finds me finds
life. And that to me sounds a lot like what John quotes in the following
scriptures. The first time John quotes this is in His Gospel, and the next time
in his first epistle.
John 3:
36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he
that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
1 John 5:
11 And this is the record, that God
hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He that hath the Son hath life;
and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
Now, I would like to compare what brother Branham was
speaking about, every seed coming forth after it’s kind to what he said in the THE MASTERPIECE 34 when
he was speaking of Christ being the pattern. “You
have to start off right at the beginning, and you have to follow the pattern. See? You can't get a little piece
to start off: "We'll make it this way. No, I believe..." No, he's got to have a
exact pattern. And in his mind he's
got that pattern. And he cannot vary
from that pattern. Now, in order to do this he had to draw in his mind. Because we have no real pictures of
Moses, but he had to get a mental
picture in his mind of exactly what Moses was.
Now, notice how brother Branham is speaking in The
Masterpiece of Michelangelo
having the pattern of Moses in his mind first before he could
express it onto the marble slab. First he says, that
the sculptor had to have a vision in his mind, and then he tells us that this
vision in his mind was the pattern by which he would sculpt out his statue. And
then he said that the sculptor can not deviate from that pattern. So then let’s
break down these thought into three points.
Number 1. The sculptor had a Vision in His Mind.
Number 2. The Vision was the pattern of what he wanted the
statue to look like.
Number 3. The Sculptor then is bound to sculpt only what the
pattern is.
Now, why is point number 1 so important?
If the sculptor doesn’t have a vision in his mind, then where is he going to
begin? He must know its shape, and height, and depth and width, and other
critical dimensions. before he even begins to touch
that piece of stone, or his blows could render the stone useless. And the
sculptor must know what material to make the sculpture from, and where the
chipping should begin at and where the chipping will end. All these questions and more must first be
reconciled in his mind before he ever begins or else, he will not know when he
begins where to begin and why he is to begin at that place. So every stroke is
predestinated to take place one after the other. The first cut must take place
before the second deeper cut can take place.
Now, a true artist doesn’t just slop paint
on a canvas and call it art. Oh, I know they do it, and they call it modern
art, but that is the world which is insane as brother Branham predicted they
would be. And then there are men who were known to be mentally-ill like Picasso
that would paint strange looking caricatures on their canvas, but that just
expressed what was inside of his head, which was mental illness. He saw the
world in a distorted way because he was nuts.
But a true artist has a vision projecting
forth from his mind, and he then begins to meticulously bring onto a canvas or
carve out of a rock what he sees in his mind. And in doing so, he is projecting
the image onto the canvas.
Now what if He, God is here but no one
knows it. You see God is invisible, and unless there is something that strikes
the vision the vision will continue to be unseen. That is enmorphe.
It means something strikes the vision, making the vision visible.
In fact that is what
brother Branham said in My Redeemer liveth
55-0410S P:13 Did you ever stop to think this morning, as far as
returning, that is, to become visible? He's already here with us now. He... We
someday... Now, today just imagine that His Presence being here today. The Lord
Jesus is in another world, or another dimension, right here today in form of
Spirit. His Spirit is blending in with our spirit. Our eyes can't see Him, because
that they're physical yet, unless there would something happen that we could
see vision. But He is here just as visible, just as real as He was the day that
He spoke to Mary at the grave, or He met Cleopas on
his road to Emmaus. His Presence is here. It can be feeled
with that, felt with that inner charge that's on the inside of the human body,
called the new birth. The soul has been magnetized unto Him.And
once in a while, when you let your mind be concentrated on Him, believing on
Him, after while something, a reality, you can feel something sweep over your
being. That's the vindication of His resurrection. It's not a "guess
so." It's not "I hope so." But to every person that's borned again, it's a "know so." It's... You know
it. It's right there. And when you become contact with Him...I've seen saints
say, "Oh, can you... The Presence of the Lord is near."You
say, "Why, there's something..." Why, certainly. He's right there,
right up... He's rose from the dead, and He's standing right by you.
EXPLAINING HEALING AND JAIRUS 54-0216 37
What you are here is a reflection of what you are somewhere else. "Those
who He called, He justifies." Is that right? "Those who He justified,
He has glorified." Already in the Presence of the Father, we have a
glorified body. Whew! Wasn't that deep? All right.
We'll find out whether it's right or not. "If this earthly tabernacle be
dissolved, we have one already waiting." Is that right? That's right. So
right now, and what we are here, is a reflection of what we are somewhere else.
So if your deeds are evil, you know where it comes from. You know where your
other body's a waiting.
So the vision in the mind of the Sculptor
is the most important thing, for Where there is no vision, the people perish: Proverbs 29:18 .
1 John Chapter 1 Verse 7 But if we walk in the light,
as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of
Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
2 Corinthians 3:18 But
we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are
changed into the same image from glory to glory, even
as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Now, according
to the Hebrew definition of the Hebrew word that was translated for the word
perish, it actually means come to nothing. So in reading this: with the
translation honed, it would say, Where
there is no vision, the people come to nothing. And where there is no
vision, there is no art that would amount to a hill of beans.
And the sculptor without a vision can not
sculpt anything. What’s he going to sculpt? And a sculptor is not a whittler. A
whittler does not necessarily know what he is whittling when he begins. He just
knows that he has a knife and some time on his hands, and he begins to just cut
off piece after piece of the wood, until he either gets an idea or the piece
begins to look like something and strikes an idea or mental vision.
Therefore we see
that the Sculptor must first have a vision in his mind of what he’s going to
produce. Then we can see how God Himself also had a vision in His Mind even
before the foundations of the world according to Ephesians 1:3-4, and this
vision was of you and me.
Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God who
is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
4 According as he hath chosen
us in him before the foundation of the world, (notice that even before the foundations of the world
he chose what we should be like) that we should be holy and without blame, before him (or
in His presence.) Then in love 5 He predestinated us unto the
adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure
of his will,
So we see that God had in His Mind in a
vision even before he framed the worlds that His Sons would be adopted. But in
order to get us to the point of being adopted or placed as sons, he had a plan
and in Love he set forth that plan to bring us to the place of receiving his
very mind, his very opinion, his very values, and his very judgments.
And so God set forth a plan and purposed
in His own Heart to bring that vision and plan into manifestation.
Ephesians 1:5 Having
predestinated us (notice it is
already a done deal, because he has already made up his mind and has set forth
the plan through predestination to get there. Where?) unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself,
(and notice it is his good pleasure to do this for you and
So here we see the Vision in God’s mind
was before the worlds were even framed and yet the manifestation of that vision
will not take place until this very hour.
And Jesus
Himself said, John 17: 24 Father,
I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that
they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of
the world.
Jesus could not
have run from what God had ordained for him even if he had tried, and you can
not run either if you are a son or daughter of God.
Notice, if God envisioned it before the
foundations of the world, then it is up to Him to bring to pass the fulfillment
of that vision. The artist doesn’t get
the concept or vision and then try to tell someone else what he is envisioning
so they can paint it for him. He gets the vision and then he projects that
vision himself. Even before a lamb was
created by God, God had already envisioned His Own son to come into the world
like a lamb comes into the world, and even before the Levitical
Law was set in order by God, God had already envisioned the slaying of the lamb
to atone for the sins of His people.
Where there is a deep calling, there is a
deep to respond. And before you were even brought forth into this world, God
had already made the way for you to be freed from your sinful birth and had
made the way for you to receive the new birth.
Its one thing to
have the vision of what the art is going to look like, but then there must be a
plan to bring that vision into reality. And that is what God’s purpose
and plan is all about, how to project the vision into reality.
In Ephesians 1: 4 The Apostle Paul said, According
as he hath chosen us in him before the
foundation of the world, (Now,
watch what He envisioned before the world was framed) that we
should be holy and without blame (Now, that is the
pattern and that is the condition, but notice what else the apostle says,) before… That
means in His presence. And then Paul says, Ephesians 1: 5 Having
(that’s past tense, that means This is what He has already done) Having predestinated us
unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good
pleasure of his will, (Now, look, if God has already predestinated
us to the adoption of children according to his own good will, and if he has
also foreordained that we should be holy and without blame in His Presence,
then it’s a done deal. What are you worried about. Just let go and let God. Get
out of God’s way so he can finish the work in you that he’s already begun
before you were even born into this world with your sinful nature. But it says, that we were past tense predestined to the adoption of
children. So if God had a pattern in His mind for you, then there is nothing
you need to do to become that pattern. You already are in the process of
becoming what God ordained for you to become. So just get out of His way. Let
God and let God.
Brother Branham said “the greatest gift is to get yourself
out of the way”. Now, brother Branham established here that the
pattern is what the vision is. So the pattern for Jesus was to become the lamb
slain. He was ordained for that purpose.
John 12: 27 Now
is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but
for this cause came I unto this hour. Now the word Jesus used when he said for this cause
was translated from the Greek word “dia” which not
only means “cause or occasion” but more
specifically it means “the channel of an
act”. In other words, the act actually falls within the conduit
and therefore there is no getting out of that act for it is the sole purpose of
existence. When you have reached that conduit, you can not go backwards and you
can not go forwards. But you are destined for that position in that spot at
that appointed time. Oh, hallelujah!!! I love this Word.
And Jesus said, but
for this very channel of the act
came I unto this hour. In other words,
His life in predestination led him to that very hour, and for that very
purpose. The only way he could have gotten out of it was for God to not have
envisioned it to begin with. There was nothing that Jesus could have done to
change the fact that He was there at that very moment waiting for the final act
in His short life to take place. Jesus could not have changed the purpose and
plan for Himself any more than you can change the purpose and plan that God has
for you. And there is no way that God is not going to have a bride that is
spotless and white and dressed in the Robe of His Word, reflecting His very
image, nature and character.
God appeared
unto Paul at the exact right moment in Paul’s life for one purpose, and that
was that Paul would become a witness of His Appearing. Acts 26: 16 But
rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I
have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a
witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
William Branham
could no more have gotten away from His calling to be a Witness of the glorious
Appearing of Jesus Christ in this hour than Jesus could have gotten away from
his own calling to be the Lamb slain which was in the mind of God before the
foundations of the world.
From his sermon,
Anointed ones at end time 65-0725M P:193 he said, Now, I want you to know this
is sure. And you that listen to this tape, you might have thought today that I
was trying to say that about myself, being that I was packing this Message. I
have no more to do with it than nothing, no more than just a voice. And my voice, even against
my better judgment... I
wanted to be a trapper. But it's the will of my Father that I declare to
do, and determined to do. I wasn't the One that appeared down on the river; I
was only standing there when He appeared. I'm not the One that performs these
things and foretells these things that happens as perfect as they are; I'm only
one that's near when He does it. I was only a voice that He used to say it. It
wasn't what I knew; it's what I just surrendered myself to,
that He spoke through. It isn't me. It wasn't the seventh angel, oh, no;
it was a manifestation of the Son of man. It wasn't the angel, his Message; it
was the mystery that God unfolded. It's not a man; it's God. The angel was not
the Son of man; he was a messenger from the Son of man. The Son of man is
Christ. He's the One that you're feeding on. You're not feeding on a man. A
man, his words will fail, but you're feeding on the unfailing Body-Word of the
Son of man .If you haven't fed fully on every Word to give yourself strength to
fly above all these denominations and things of the world, will you at this
time do it, while we pray?
Now, what made William Branham change his mind. He said I wanted to be a trapper. What changed his
mind from being a trapper to being a witness to that great Light of His
Glorious Appearing? Well, he tells us in the series he preached on the book of
Hebrews.
Hebrews Chapter 7 part 1 P:59 Then what difference does it make here,
whether we have anything or whether we don't? Whether we're young or whether
we're old, what difference does it make? The main thing, are you ready to meet
Him? Do you love Him? Can you serve Him? Have you sold out to the things of the world? Have you met
Melchisedec since the battle was over? Bless God. About twenty-one years old I
was, and one day I had a battle with this, that, and the other; I couldn't make out whether I wanted to be
a fighter, or whether I wanted to be a trapper, or a hunter, what I wanted
to be. But I met Melchisedec, and He give me communion, and since then it was settled forever.
Hallelujah. I've went on His side. I've been rejoicing on the road. And when it
comes to the end of the road, and death stares me in the face, the way I feel
now, I'll never dread it. I want to know--walk into the face of it, knowing
this, that I know Him Who's
made the promise (That's right.), that I
know Him in the power of His resurrection. When He calls from among the
dead, I'll come out from among them (That's right.), knowing Him in the power
of His resurrection.
What difference does it make whether I'm old or whether I'm young? whether I'm little or whether I'm big? whether
I'm full or whether I'm hungry? whether I got a place
to lay down or whether I haven't? "The birds has the nests, and the fox
have dens, but the Son of man has not a place to lay His head," but He was
the King of glory.
And notice that he said,
I couldn’t make up my mind what I wanted to be. I thought I wanted to be a
trapper, and I also thought I wanted to be a fighter, and I also thought I
wanted to be a hunter, but I really didn’t know what I wanted to be. And then I
met Him and it was settled forever. Why? Because God ordained before he even
brought forth the world into existence, that William Branham would be the
witness to the Great Light of God’s glorious Appearing in this hour. Just as he
ordained Jesus to be the lamb slain, and Paul to be the witness in Alpha of His
Glorious Appearing, so too in this hour, He ordained William Branham to be the
witness of the Omega Appearing of Jesus Christ.
God spoke to Jeremiah
and said Jeremiah 1: 5 Before I
formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before
thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified
thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Notice God
said before I formed thee, and before thou came forth, I knew thee and ordained
thee. When? Before the foundations of the world, that’s when.
And what then about you? He said through the Apostle Paul, Ephesians 1: 11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance,
being predestinated according to the
purpose of him who worketh all things after the
counsel of his own will:
And in Romans 8: 28 we are assured, “And
we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them
who are the called according to his purpose.”
So it is to the
purpose of Him who envisioned you in your role even before the foundations of
the world. Like brother Branham said, “in
order for there to be a fish with a fin, God had to ordain water for him to
swim in”. Then in order for there to be an adoption of Children, God
had to ordain who would be His children, and who He would adopt, and give
inheritance to. And if He said, “in love he predestinated us,” then it is all
because of His great Love for us. That is why Jesus had to come and die for us.
For God so
loved the world He gave us His only begotten son. So the Lamb
slain was an expression of the love of God and so is your adoption as children.
In Love He
predestinated us unto the adoption of Children unto Himself, and He did so
according to the good pleasure of His own will.
Its
nothing you asked for. Its what he ordained before the
world was even framed. Look, it wasn’t your asking God to send a prophet to
help you understand the Scriptures. It was God sending a prophet because He
knew you would have a need to understand His Word in order for you to
understand your roles as obedient Sons and daughters of Him. It’s nothing you did, it’s what He ordained for you from before the
foundations of the world. Its “not him that willeth, nor even him that runneth or puts
forth an effort, but it s God that shows Mercy.”
Romans 9: 11 (For
the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the
purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that
calleth;)
Therefore its just knowing your place in the scriptures. You see
Christ was ordained as the lamb slain, and He was sent to redeem you in order
to bring you back to your rightful position. Therefore he is the center of it
all. Everything in the family of God then revolves around the Uniquely born, first born son. Then your role is understanding how your life revolves around His Life. Colossians 3:4 For when Christ who is our Life shall Appear,
then we shall also Appear with Him in doxa,
in the same mindset..
Ephesians 3: 10 To
the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might
be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, 11 According to the eternal
purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
And notice that
it is not only all done according to God’s will and good pleasure, but He works
it to His will and good pleasure. Ephesians 1: 11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance,
being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh
all things after the counsel of his own will: That’s why all things work together for your good, because
God is the one working it out for your good.
Now, where you
and I have got to arrive at, is to believe that God is
in supreme control of your destiny, because God is in charge of the destiny of
all men. Paul told us in Romans 9: 17 For the scripture saith unto
Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared
throughout all the earth. Notice, God
did not raise up pharaoh to exalt pharaoh.
He raised up
pharaoh to exalt Himself. And that is the key for us to be happy.
I remember years ago reading where Brother
Branham said, “If
it would please God to send me to hell, then I would be happy to go there.” Now, that’s
a tremendous statement because it shows a complete understanding of the
sovereignty of God, and that brings us to point number three. The Sculptor then
is bound to sculpt only what the pattern is.
Notice; if God saw you before the
foundation of the world a certain way, then God is obligated to bring you to
that place where he envisioned you to be at, because if he doesn’t, then his
own thinking would have to be changed, and God can not change his mind about
anything. Because if he could then he would not be omniscient, now would He?
Brother Branham always said, “the visions
never fail”. And neither can the mind of God fail either. Now,
you might say, “then why am I not in that perfect place of perfection yet? And
the answer is found in the book of Ecclesiastes.
Ecclesiastes 3: 1 To every thing there is a season, and a time
to every purpose under the heaven:
Now, the vision
of God can not fail. What God envisioned before the foundations of the world is
more sure than the world itself.
Lamb's book of life 56-0603
P:51 The 12th chapter of I Corinthians said,
"By one Spirit we're all baptized into one body and become
members of that body." And then it's not what I've done, what I am, who I was, or nothing about
it; it's what God has done for me in Christ. And we are perfected with our
Sacrifice. He makes no mistakes. He
wouldn't bring you in, if you wasn't worthy. He
knows your heart. That's right. He knows what you are. He knows your motives. He knows what you are. There's traps all along the road. Sure. The devil
will cause you to stumble, and you say, "God, I didn't mean to do that. God, You know
it." You're
still perfect, because there's a perfect Blood offered for you everyday,
and a bleeding Sacrifice hanging before the throne of Almighty God. That's
right. Now, how did you get in there? God, by foreknowledge... Now, God said
that Jesus... Now, put on your caps. Get open your heart. Look. The Bible said
Jesus was the Lamb slain from the, where? Foundation of the world He was slain.
Why? God, the Father, when He looked down and seen how... Jesus never come just to die a haphazard death. He never come, say, "Well, maybe somebody would have pity when
they see the way I die and everything." No, it wasn't. God don't run His
business like that. God runs His business perfect. That's right. He knew
exactly what was going to take place. That's where He could fore say. He knows
exactly what He... He's not willing that any should perish. He's not willing.
But if He's infinite, He knows who will and who won't. Therefore, you can rest
assure. If you have received God and been filled with the Holy Ghost, you're
anchored to your eternal destination. Correctly. See,
He foreknows.
Wisdom verses faith 62-0401
P:182 Satan
knew it; he knew the Word. Now, he could quote that Scripture, boy, just like a
walking Bible, he could just quote It like that. See? [Brother Branham
repeatedly snaps his fingers--Ed.] But Jesus just stood still, for He knew
where He was standing. He knew that He
was predestinated, was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world; He
knew He was that Person. Oh, brother! "He that has an ear let him
hear." He knew that He was predestinated for that, and that's the way He
knew the Word. See? And It worked. Sure! Satan knew It by wisdom; it failed. He quoted the same Word Jesus
quoted, same Bible. He quoted from Psalms. "He'll give... It's
written," Satan said, "He'll give his Angels charge concerning you,
lest any time you dash your foot against a stone; they bear thee up." He
said, "And it's also written." See?
How the angel came to me 55-0117 P:8 And
I believe that God knew before the foundation of the world, chose His church in
Christ, and slayed Christ before the foundation of
the world. The Scripture said so, "He was the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world."
See? And Jesus said that He knew us
before the foundation of the world. Paul said that, "He
knew us and predestinated us unto the adoption of the children by Jesus Christ
before the world was ever formed." That's God. That's our Father. See? So don't worry, the wheels are
turning just right, everything's coming just in time. The only thing is, get in
the turn. And that's the good part about it, then you
know how to work when you're getting in the turn. Now, notice now, "The
gifts and calling without repentance," that's the only way
that I could Scripturally place my calling in the
Lord. And trusting that I'm with friends tonight who will surely understand
this and not think it's personal, but that you might have an understanding and
know just what the Lord has said that He would do, and find something moving,
and then follow in it.
Abraham's seed 59-0423 P:20 Well,
that's the way it is with us. We're imperfect, no good, born
in sin, shaped in iniquity, come to the world speaking lies.
We're no good to begin with. But God
don't look at you; He looks at the sacrifice. He looks at the Lamb. He doesn't see you, because He sees Christ.
Jesus died for you. Now, if you can find some fault with Jesus, then your
healing might not be right. But if you don't find no
fault with Him, it's perfect. Sure. God called you by His grace, not that you
would, but if God would. The Scripture said He was
the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. That was God's Word. When God speaks, it's as good as
finished right then. So how you going to stamp out
the baptism of the Holy Ghost? How you going to stamp out the gifts? How
you going to stamp out the Church? You can't do it. God spoke it, and it's going to be. That settles it. Certainly. It'll
materialize somewhere.
Now, notice in
all that I have read to you, point number three is so important because the
sculptor is bound to sculpt only what the pattern is. And God is obligated to
His own Word. God is not obligated to your word, or your desires. He is
obligated to what He envisioned before the foundations of the world. We read about the false prophets in the old testament, and we hear what God says about them in the
book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah 23: 16 Thus saith the LORD of hosts,
Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make
you vain: they speak a vision of
their own heart, and not out of
the mouth of the LORD. Notice he
said, they make you vain. That means that by listening to them that prophecy
their own words, that what they say does absolutely nothing for you. They make
you vain he said. And the word vain means of no use. So their words are of no
use to you. And their words will add nothing to you. They can’t help you, so
why would you listen to someone false. It’s a waste of your time.
Jeremiah 14: 14 Then
the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in
my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto
them: they prophesy unto you a false
vision and divination, and a thing
of nought, and the deceit of their heart. Again
we see that God says, what they say is naught, it is nothing, and means
nothing.
And in the Book
of Isaiah 29: 11 we read, And the vision of all is become unto you as the
words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned,
saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: And what use is there to try to read something that is
sealed. You could guess all day long, but if it’s sealed then what is the use
of guessing? You can’t judge a book by its cover, and to try to understand the
Bible when it is sealed. If you were
not envisioned by God before the world was framed, then you will never be
there. As brother Branham said, “if you did not have
representation before the foundations of the world, you never will have it”.
And let me say this. If you were not
inside of His mind to begin with, then you will never know what is inside of
His mind. Only those who were in His mind before the worlds were framed will
ever know what is in the mind of God.
Thus we see that
the Vision was in the Mind of God, and the
Vision was the pattern of what He wanted you to become, and thus God being obligated
to only His own Word will and must keep His own word. So we see that we can
only be what we were ordained to be.
Therefore, if God envisioned you, and set
forth the pattern for you to come, and predestinated your path to ensure that
you fulfill that Pattern, then what are you worried about. If
God is for us, who can be against us.
Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for
good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29 For whom he did foreknow,
he also did predestinate to be conformed to the
image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
30 Moreover
whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also
justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. 31 What
shall we then say to these things? If God be for
us, who can be against us? 32 He that
spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with
him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall lay any thing to
the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that
died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at
the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. 35 Who shall
separate us from the love of Christ? shall
tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or
sword? 36 As
it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as
sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we
are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am
persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor
powers, nor things present, nor things to come,39 Nor
height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from
the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Therefore as Paul
said in, Philippians 1: 6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath
begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Let
us pray…