Stewardship
#1
Servitude; Bondslaves of God
Shall
we pray. Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your Presence. We know that You are
here. We cannot see You, but You have been thoroughly declared to us again, led
forth by words, even as Jesus himself led forth by words—manifesting, showing,
and proving Your great existence and his fellowship with You, being the
Only-begotten Son of God.
And
again, Lord, today we’ve had that same Pillar of Fire that appeared to Paul
bringing the Word, now revealing it, declaring again the fellowship we have in
Christ at this time—Your Fatherhood and our sonship with You, the born-ones of
God.
And
we pray, Lord, that indeed Your Word, which cannot return unto You void but
must return unto You fulfilled, has its fulfillment in us, tonight—each and
every one of us being children of the Rapture, of the Resurrection, children of
You by children of the Word, coming right to the very end and going home to be
with You, to the great Wedding Supper of the Lamb.
We
pray therefore, tonight, Lord, in faith that You will help us to understand
Your Word better than ever. And help us not to make anything … judgment, or any
statement concerning Your Word that is not exactly true. But we know, Lord,
that is difficult. Yet, You will help us, because You promised to do so, and
the elect shall not be deceived.
So,
in our studies tonight may Your Name be glorified; may we be edified. In Jesus’
Name we pray. Amen.
You
may be seated.
1. Now,
just before we go into the little message tonight, (And [it’s] quite possible I
won’t be able to finish it.) I want to make a little statement to go on the
tape and on the video cassette, concerning the ministry here.
You
know, as well as I do, that I have not been able to take as many services as
formerly, (just a few shorter this year than last year) but even at the rate of
twenty-two messages, that’s forty-two hours of preaching, and better. And then,
roughly, twelve Communions which would be about twenty minutes a-piece at
least, you would have 240 [minutes] which is another four hours in there. So,
we’d have about forty-six hours at least [of] preaching. And you put that over
a period of time where any sensible preacher never goes beyond an hour because
it’s very debilitating (usually it’s very difficult), you’d actually have,
then, about forty-two sermons. Well, that would make me feel a little better to
know that I had been able to take that many services, although that’s kind of
stretching the point, isn’t it?
But,
with that also, the people have been very good at supporting our ministry to
the extent that a goodly portion or sum of money has come in over the years.
And that money, of course, we try to send out, to give away—not all of it, but
a great portion of it. And it may be that as people realize that I’m going off
the scene here, (and I don’t know how long my time is on earth) that they may
decide to support some other minister. That’s perfectly fine by me. Or some
other ministry—receive tapes from somebody else. That’s certainly fine.
2. But
there is one thing that I would request, at this time, is that if anybody is
getting tapes, and they are now attending another church, I would wish that you
would notify your pastor and ask him are you able to get these tapes. Because I
don’t want anybody to receive tapes in another man’s ministry and that pastor
not being fully in agreement with that person getting the tapes, because it
will engender questions. And I speak out very strongly against those things
that I know to be wrong, where I don’t care where the chips fly. If I’m wrong,
I’ve got to stand in judgment. I’m not there to judge any preacher, but when I
find that there are things that are not according to Bro. Branham, I say those
things as warning to people that listen to me and have any confidence in the
ministry.
So,
I don’t like anyone to receive a tape… I don’t want to cut anybody off, but if
anybody is receiving a tape—and I know there are some—and you’re attending some
place else, please feel free to tithe there, to listen to that person. And do
not get my tapes any longer, unless you know that that person, that pastor, is
willing to allow them. And you’re going to find that very very difficult. There
are very few who allow that privilege in their church. It’s a dangerous thing,
anyway, because the pastor is the supreme authority in whatever area he has
been called to minister.
3. However,
for those who have sent in money, along with some help (not a great deal) from
Grace Gospel Church—these are some of the amounts that have been sent out:
$24,000, 24,000, 15,000, 12,000, 16,000, 10,000, 8,000, 7,800, 5,000, 5,000,
5,000, 3,000, 2,000, 500’s, and so on, which [is] well up over $130,000. So,
you can see we’re not trying to put money aside. Those who send money in
support of this ministry, I want you to know that I’m trying to support others
and do everything we can to the extent that widows and orphans… And sometimes
we have sent out as much as $5,000 at one time for widows and orphans and
helping people who don’t have care.
And
so, this is what we’ve been trying to do. And I’m taking a little time in
explaining this before the message because I don’t wish to go into this again.
So, everything we try to make above board as possible. I haven’t mentioned
names where money is sent. If you wish to come down sometime and see the
checks, there’s no problem at all. You can see them all there. They’re all
there—money deposited, and money sent out.
4. And
at this point I’ve been desperately trying to find out where there are orphans
that I know that I can really support. And I believe that I’m on the track of
being able to do something which will amount to several thousand dollars from
my own side of the ledger, which I have put it in over the last year or two,
which is a sizeable amount of money.
So,
we’re just explaining these things to you. And the strange thing is, I’m going
to be talking on “Stewardship” tonight. So that may be a little corner of it.
But the idea is, we try to be faithful with the people who tithe (send their
money in here). We try to do right. And as I say, I know that no one is
critical, and no one is going to say, “Well, show us the checks.” Well, I’m
glad to show you bank statements and everything else. There’s no problem at all
with it. But I feel good about being able to do something for people. I don’t
know how you feel about it. I’m sure you feel just as happy as I do. But I feel
very very happy, almost to the point of being emotional, over what we’re able
to do just to help people, because it’s so wonderful to know that you can help
people; and God blesses you for it.
5. Now
we’re going to talk about “Stewardship” tonight, and I don’t expect to get
finished. I don’t expect to cover it even as I have it in my heart to do so.
But, as we go into this subject, I want you to start to realize that the Bible
is a great deal like a pie. It’s completely round—round signifying God and
infinity, eternity—and in there you have various doctrines that are set forth
in the Word, principles. And [if] you just even follow one, you will notice
that there’s no such thing as one over here, two over here, three over here,
four over here, so that if you could cut the pie and take out a wedge and put
it over here and nicely divide it, you can’t do it. The Word of God is a whole;
it’s an entity. It’s like a life. And though there may be sections to it, you
cannot ever take one section from another. They all blend; they overlap;
they’re all congruent; they’re all part of a whole.
And
so [when] we talk about “Stewardship” tonight, you’re going to find that the
same thing obtains. There’s a similarity you’ll see. There’s something in here
that shows there’s a unity with other branches and other thoughts. So that
‘dividing the Word’ is not throwing it into segments; it’s learning how it all
comes together in its divine purpose.
6. So
now, in our study, then, tonight, on “Stewardship”, my thought is to bring out
the responsibility that man has towards God to use those physical properties
with which God has endowed him by reason of him being a human being, made a
little lower than the angels, and also, because God has entrusted to him
spiritual gifts of offices and ministries for which he is responsible, not only
as to their safe-keeping, but even more so as to their use. We are, therefore,
dealing with accountability toward God, even as stated in 1 Cor 3:9-15, Rom
14:10-12, and 2 Cor 5:9-11.
7. So,
we’ll just start now, then, with 1 Cor 3:9-15, and in there, Paul is saying:
(9) For
we are laborers together with God: (We are in a partnership with God, and we
are God’s field. We are God’s husbandry; we were God’s farm, His field of
sowing, and) ye are God’s building.
So,
Paul is in a partnership with God in order to sow such material as to bring
forth a building, which is God’s building, because Paul, in partnership with
God, is sowing that material. So it’s going to be God’s building. Now that’s
quite a statement Paul has made, here, as to, not only his partnership with
God, but his great responsibility.
Now
he says:
(10) According
to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise master builder …
Now
notice, Paul, here, is talking of an actual gift by the grace of God that is
given to him. It is a ministry. He is the repository … a man is a repository
for that which God has for this building—this people, this Bride, this church.
And now he says, “I am a wise master builder”. Now, he’s not claiming that in
himself; he’s claiming the wisdom of God which he claims already in 1
Corinthians, the first two chapters. And he also claims in Galatians, “I never
learned this from man. I never got it by myself. I’m giving you the wisdom of
Almighty God” (which James also describes, which we won’t mention at this time.
We could turn to it, but we won’t mention it). Now, he has this wisdom, making
him a wise master builder.
7. Now
there was a master builder way back in the time of Moses. And when they were
making the accouterments and the actual tabernacle itself, Bezalel was suddenly
given a gift of God. He was now the repository of fabulous skill from God—how
to actually mold with his hands gold, and silver, iron, and brass. He was, as
it were, a divine engineer stepped into him, and he was able to produce this.
Do
you see what I’m saying now? These men were stewards. These men were receivers
of the abundance of Almighty God. And Paul, here, not elevating himself, but
simply telling the truth… It’s marvelous that a man can come back from God
fully vindicated and lay something out like this, and the people with an ear to
hear (the sheep will hear) and they say, “That’s wonderful! That’s great!” And
the world says, “Oh, boy. That guy thinks he’s somebody. Well, we’ve got to
admit that he’s got the goods, but we should kill him to get him out of our
hair.” Now Paul, of course, was killed, just like Peter was.
9. Now
he said:
(10) I
have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon.
Now
this master builder had everything that was necessary to make this wonderful
building (which would be people). And he had the instruments whereby he could
lay out the foundation—sextants, and all those things so necessary—divine
instruments from God. He would know instantly if the foundation was a bit out.
And it wouldn’t be a billionth of a billionth of a billionth of an inch out.
Couldn’t be; couldn’t be. Infinitesimal. You couldn’t even begin to figure. You
know, it wasn’t long ago until was it Bill Gates’ outfit that turned out a chip
that had a little error in it. And they knew the error was there, and they
said, “Well, it’s such an infinitesimal thing. Hardly anybody would ever use
the chip to this extent; so we’ll just let the error sit there.” Man! He was
caught just like that, wasn’t he? He had to call it in; he had to apologize.
I’m going to tell you: there’s a God Who knows those computer chip errors. He
doesn’t have any errors in His computer chips. Nope! And Paul didn’t have any
error. He laid the foundation.
I’m
never going to get to this sermon, but it’s okay anyway. You just hand me a
Bible, and I can just start feeling so good. All right.
10. (10) …and
another buildeth thereon. (“And another buildeth…” He said, “There’s going to
be people around me, and people follow me. And they’re going to keep this in
perfect Divine Order. It’s going to a hundred percent building,” he said, “You
following me.”)
Now,
let’s just keep watching now, though:
(11) For
other foundation can no man lay than that is laid (and I’ve laid it with
wisdom, grace of God), which is Jesus Christ.
Now:
(12) If
any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay,
stubble:
(13) Every
man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, (absolutely
declare it—that is, to prove what it is) because it shall be revealed by fire;
and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
(14) If
any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
(15) If
any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be
saved; yet so as by fire.
(16) Know
ye not (and so on, down the road there.)
Now
Paul, here, is looking at that which starts out completely infallible. And it
completely is infallible; it’s a hundred percent from God. Right off, here, he
begins to warn you that there is a danger of people who will intrusively come
into a place where the architect of God alone should be. And that person, of
course, is presuming—not called. Then, there are those who also become carnal.
And they could have a call that is genuine, but they are not willing to listen
a hundred percent to the Spirit of God as He reveals that Word. They will be a
little bit convenient with themselves and with others. Now these people, then …
you’ll see the building, then, would not be perfect, but there is a little seed
in there that keeps the building perfect even though the acts of the people themselves
aren’t perfect. But now you’re seeing a building come up; and you’re seeing
individuals, now, that are working within that building.
11. Now
that’s why people have to understand that Bro. Branham said, “A five-fold ministry will bring the Bride
to perfection.” The Blood does the perfecting work in a passive faith. But
there is a faith that comes by way of a five-fold ministry. And that part is
passive; it is also active. And therein you will find that those people who do
not work within the complete framework of the Scripture—we’re going to show you
more and more of this—they will find themselves, actually, disapproved as to
their works.
Now
all this starts here, as it starts in the beginning with ‘lamb-life’. Lamb-life
started in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were absolutely lamb-life because
God breathed into Adam the breath of lives which was the Holy Ghost. The souls
were in there to come down in a physical manifestation from a natural election,
right on down from the supernatural, foreordination, natural election, right on
down to predestination. It was there. But there was an intrusion. See? There
was an intrusion. And that intrusion threw it out.
12. So
there’s Lamb-Life and Book of Life. Now, in the Book of Life, you can have your
name taken out. But Lamb-Life, you could never have your name taken out,
because that’s the Life of God. (See?) There’s an intrusion in there. So, there
can be an intrusion, here, where the Bible warns us that, as Paul laid this
place to perfection, he also knew in the 20th chapter of the Book of
Acts, when the elders were called together, that there were already sitting
there people who would attempt to build upon this foundation—not with gold and
silver and precious stones—the Word of the Living God. That’s like the ephod,
you know, the priesthood coming on down, priesthood transferred to Jesus
Christ; no longer Aaronic but Melchisedec. This thing here, then, there could
be that which would be burnt out. And, thank God, everything that’s in the true
church that’s wrong, it’ll be burnt out. It’s corrected by the Word—completely
taken care of.
Right
today, the church is a purified church by the Pillar of Fire. And our God is a
‘consuming fire’, and everything which has not been of Paul, everything which
has been of man—anything in there, contrary—has been burnt out as it was in the
very beginning. We are specifically an
The
thought we wanted to bring out, here, is that there is a responsibility
devolving upon the people to whom God has given, by grace, ministries or gifts
or whatever. There is a responsibility, and Paul is mentioning this. He's very,
very careful.
13. Now,
with that we’re going to go to 2 Corinthians and see the very same thing here …
[2
Cor] 5:9-11, and It says:
(9) Wherefore
we labor, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.
(10) For
we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may
receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it
be good or bad.
(11) Knowing
therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest
unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.
Paul
is now calling upon his vindication, that he is telling them the truth. See? In
other words there must have been a bunch of wrong ‘eternal security’ believers
there. They must have been believing they could do anything at all, and it
didn’t matter. Well, it does matter! You cannot be given something from God and
not be held accountable. You cannot even be born in this, the human race, and
be a seed of God, and not be held accountable. It has to be there, and it is
there.
14. So,
we read a little further. Now:
(12) For
we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our
behalf…
Look
at what he is saying: These people can glory on behalf of Paul’s vindication.
They can glory in the fact that he can come right there and lay it all on the
line, even telling them, “Look, there’s a responsibility here that you’ve got
to face up to. As Bro. Branham said, “You
say you believe me, then why don’t you obey me?” Nobody could pin anything
on Bro. Branham. The man was just like the apostle Paul with the greatest
ministry in the last two thousand years, distinctly the same ministry that
Jesus Christ had, but even greater, because this was to the Gentiles.
And
in the skies there are two dippers, there are two folds—the little dipper and
the big dipper. They’re the two folds. And the handle of the big dipper points
to the North Star. And the big dipper is the Gentile fold, and the little
dipper is the Israelic fold. So, here we are at the end time. The Gentile
church is now receiving the answers, and the same thing they had back there.
And what is it? It’s vindication.
15. Now:
(12) …that
ye may have somewhat to answer them which glory in appearance, and not in
heart.
(13) For
whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it is for
your cause.
See?
You can have a church meeting, where they’re very sober; and you can have where
the people are beside themselves. But what good is it to be sober sitting
there—a bunch of sober people, drunk with the wisdom of this world, or a bunch
of raucous people drunk with the philosophy and the foolishness and the
emotions of this world? There’s a time to be extremely serious and sober.
There’s a time to be extremely happy. And it’s going to be the same Gospel that
brings it.
So,
Paul is saying, here now, “Look”, he said, as he told the people, “I’m
literally whipping you people,” he said. “But,” he said, “I’m not trying to do
it because I’m trying to exercise some authority over you to make you sad and
show you I’m in control.” He said, “No! I’m trying to get you to see the
truth.” There is a responsibility that the people of God have. (See?) The Word
of God is wide open with promises: “My sheep hear my voice; I will lose none of
them. The Word of God cannot return unto Him void”—right down the line.
You
can go all the way to extreme Calvinism and go all the way to extreme
Armenianism. And Bro. Branham said, “There
is a true Calvinism. There is a true Armenianism. There is a true
middle-of-the-road.” And the fact of the matter is, neither one of those
bunch were ever born-again. But, you see, the true born-again, they walk in the
light. (See?) They’re in there. There is a responsibility.
16. Now,
let’s go to Rom 14:7-12. Now, here he is saying:
(7) For
(no man) liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
(8) For
whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the
Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.
(9) For
to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both
of the dead and living.
(10) But
why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother?
for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
(11) (As)
it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every
tongue shall confess to God.
Now
It tells you, right here, that every single person born into this world has a
moral obligation to fulfill the will of God. Now Paul himself brings out the
fact that many heathen fulfill the law of God from their hearts, not even
knowing the Word of God. Like the centurion… “Why,” he said, “Look, I see
you’re a man of authority. I’m a man of authority. You don’t have to come and
pray for my servant.” He said, “I just speak a word, and I’ve got a hundred men
running, right now, doing anything I want done. Even if it means suicide, they
would kill themselves. If I tell them to kill themselves, they’ve got to kill
themselves. There’s nothing that my word won’t do over those men.” He said,
“Just send your Word.” And Jesus said, “I’ve never seen such faith. Never! Not
amongst the sheep.” Here’s a Gentile… And then Paul says, “They do by nature
the things that God told you to do. You don’t even do them when God told you to
do them.” Where are you standing, then, before God? Responsibility is a keynote
of the Scripture. You cannot get away from it.
17. Now,
as we desire to approach the thought of “Stewardship”, we have no choice
whatsoever than to link stewards with servants. You can’t help it. If you’re
going to teach on stewards, you’re going to have to teach on servants. You
can’t get away from it. I can prove it to you, shortly. So that our subject is
literally “Stewardship and Servitude”. Now the word ‘servitude’ … (Did you get
what I said?) How many know what servitude is? Servitude is slavery. Did you
know that? Doesn’t mean just to be a servant. Servitude doesn’t mean
‘kowtow’—“Oh yes, oh yes, thank you. Oh yes, thank you, I’ll do it; oh yes,
thank you.” No, you’re not some little brow-beaten person that can’t say no.
Stewardship and servitude are set forth in the Bible.
Now
the word ‘servant’, in the Scripture, actually means ‘slave or bond-servant’.
Now, a bond-servant was one whereby he was bonded over because he had been
bought or he had gotten in debt, and now he had to pay it off. (See?) It’s …
actually is slave, then, a bond-servant. So when we speak of servants we are
actually talking of bond-servants or slaves of God, men who are not free to do
as they please or take orders from those other than God but live at the desire
and pleasure of God and for God and by God’s Spirit. This is the ultimate, as
is noted by Paul in 1 Cor 7:32-34.
18. Now,
this is just a little quickie thrown in here to give you an illustration, but
we’re going to put it [1 Cor 7 ]:32-34.
And he says here:
(32) But I
would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things
that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord:
(33) But
he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may
please his wife.
(34) There
is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for
the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but
she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her
husband.
(35) And
this I speak for your own profit; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for
that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction.
Now,
from this verse you could get the Roman Catholic church with their nuns. Forget
it! Any church order that wants people to act against their own conscience and
their own physicalness, which they know they have, and they desire to have. And
it’s perfectly legitimate, because sexual intercourse is a righteous act, (and
don’t think that it’s not) and marriage is not prohibited. It’s simply telling
you, here, that there are people who are freer than other people, because they
have desired to be free purely and simply and a hundred percent to serve God.
But they’re not a bunch of absent-minded kooks, like idiots I’ve known of or
heard of (where my brother-in-law told me of one) where one fellow pretended he
was so enthralled with God, he didn’t even lace up his shoes. Now, listen:
we’re not talking about a stupid God; we’re not talking about idiocy. We’re not
talking about Roman Catholicism or the Greek Catholics—if they have their
conference, or whatever they have. I don’t know what all junk they’ve got along
with the Protestants and the rest of the goofies. We’re not talking about that.
Because you could take this Scripture, and then you could compel anybody’s
conscience or their mind—weak people—to follow some stupid foolishness which is
not in the Bible.
And
Paul said, “This is not for a snare.” But it can become a snare. Then, whoever
is in that church, in whatever ministry, he must explain this and show it
perfectly so this Scripture does not become a snare. Do you follow me?
Responsibility…responsibility. And you don’t dare carry a responsibility that
you don’t have to some place where you can’t put it, because it’s a lie of the
devil. It’s a complete perversion of the Scripture. Most people are the
marrying kind.
As
Paul said, “Some have a gift and some don’t.” He said, “Some are made eunuchs
of men, and others are made eunuchs for God.” He said, “They’re the ones that
simply refrain from those things of matrimonial bonds, and so on.” And he said,
“They do it because they are well able to do it.” And Jesus himself said that
all men cannot take this saying; they’re not qualified for it. And Paul brings
it up, the same thing there, now.
19. Now,
some Scripture relative to stewardship and servitude will help us to see what
we have in mind. Now a steward as a servant is a bond-slave, completely under
the domination of his owner (or should be, if he’s a good one). A steward is a
manager, but he is not a manager of his own personal possessions, but what is
someone else’s possessions. And the word actually describes that man to be a
‘house or a state manager’. [He is] a house or a state manager. Well, isn’t it
true that Paul said, “I’m a steward of a house; I’m building a house. It’s not
my house; it’s God’s house.” The Bible also mentioned Moses was faithful as a
steward, as a servant. Now he’s an overseer, an administrator of the economy or
the well-being of an entire family. His decisions concerning what he is
entrusted with and for which he is responsible is not only an alarming
prospect—he is sort of given ‘carte blanche’ to make sure this man’s fortune is
secure, the family is secure, the future is secure, everything is on time,
everything is in harmony. He’s supposed to do it. He’s got to do it. It’s his
job. That’s an alarming prospect, but it is a compliment of the highest order,
for the owner of the house has judged him competent in administrations and
unimpeachable. As to his character and motive, it’s impeccable. Success or
failure lies in his hands—an entrustment.
20. Here
it is: stewardship. And we’re talking about God and what He has entrusted by
gifts and ministries, attributes, various… You just have to call them gifts
because that’s all you can call them, because that’s all Paul could call them
in 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12: “Some have this gift; some have that gift.
They differ.” One has a gift of being forgiving with cheerfulness (which is
wonderful). One has a gift of giving. As Iraneaus said, “There are hundreds of
gifts in the body of the Lord Jesus Christ.” Not just like the Pentecostals who
try to put nine of them, and the only one they come up with, really, is the
gift of tongues. And nobody knows if that’s a gift of tongues. What a tragic,
tragic thing to say the church here has gifts. Yet Bro. Branham said, “The churches (And I understand he
referred to it locally, by the context of what he was saying.) have a right to all nine gifts.” Well,
man-oh-man, I give up on that one. Personally, I wouldn’t know what to do with
them, even if I had them. But do you know something? If I had them, I’d have to
know what to do with them and do it. And Bro. Branham said, “[If] you’ve got a gift of tongues, here, and
interpretation, a bit of prophecy, you go in that room, there, and there’s
where you operate those gifts, and you write it down, and you bring it into the
church, complementing the pastor’s ministry, you’ve got a vital church in those
areas.” They turned it down flat. He wanted me to help him get a church
established that way. We never could do it.
21. Now
I tell you: the other day I mentioned positively—not as though everybody’s got
to do it—but I said, “Bro. Branham tried for seventeen years, he said, to have
the church people just believe in the Word of God and get healed in their
seats, maybe hold hands (whatever it was) when the prayer is prayed. And they
just take the Word as they sit there and walk out healed and all. He couldn’t
get them to do it. Well, I’m not, by backing Bro. Branham up, trying to do what
Bro. Branham couldn’t do. But then again, who’s to say that we shouldn’t try to
believe as never before? But [it] doesn’t mean every church has got to do it,
and doesn’t mean anybody’s in sin if hands are laid on them. The Bible said,
“Call the elders. They’re anointed with oil.” That’s ‘hands laid on them’. Bro.
Branham never did stop laying on of hands. He never stopped letting people, if
they wanted to, speak in tongues, if they thought they ought to speak in
tongues to have a little more assurance. In fact, he prayed to God for a woman
who needed that kind of assurance to speak in tongues.
But,
here, we’re looking at the fact that God has placed men and everybody in the
body of Christ as responsible members (See?)—responsible to themselves, and God
and each other. Now success or failure lies in his hands. But, alas, though all
stewards should measure up to this standard, there are many who take on the
responsibility only to fail, and usually because of selfish or unconsidered
ends.
22. Now,
let’s read over here, first of all, in Lk 12:36-48. We want to see these
stewards and these servants—what we’re after. Lk
(35) Let
your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;
(36) And
ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from
the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him
immediately.
Now
that’s a little picture there of the return, and the house is supposed to be
ready—everything ready. It’s not like you’ve got today, “I never knew you.”
(37) Blessed
are those servants (notice: there you are … servants), whom the lord when he
cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself,
and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.
(38) And
if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them
so, blessed are those servants.
(39) And
this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would
come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken
(into)…(Now, see, there you’ve got stewardship again—very watchful, very
careful).
(40) Be ye
therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.
(41) Then
Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all?
(42) And
the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward.
Now,
you see ‘steward’ and ‘servant’ is the same thing. There’s no difference,
because he says servant in one place, and then he says steward. So, the
bond-slave and the steward is the same thing. So, steward is a bond-slave, and
a bond-slave is a steward. So, no matter how low a person thinks he is in the
stature of the structure… “Oh, I’m only a bond-slave; I’m not a steward,” he is
entirely wrong; he is a steward.
And, if the steward thinks he is above it all—and he is in a class by himself,
in a sense of the word—his obligation is just the same as though he were a
bond-slave. A hundred percent at the disposal of the master, the master’s
materiality, and he must be accountable; and he is accountable to the master.
23. Now
he said here:
(42) …whom
his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of
meat in due season.
(43) Blessed
is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
(44) Of a
truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he (has).
Now,
you notice in here, along with the responsibility, the performance of the duty
correctly, will elevate that person in the ages to come. Because this has to
do, really, after the Wedding Supper, as far as I can understand this, because
it’s after the Marriage. So, this could well apply to the Millennium.
(45) But,
if that servant say in his heart, my lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin
to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken,
(46) The
lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an
hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his
portion with the (hypocrites).
Well,
that’s very true, but do you notice when that happens? That happens after the
Great Tribulation. You’ve got a picture here. You’ve got left-hand, right-hand.
You’ve got parallelism; you’ve got two vines. See? Very very strange.
24. Now:
(47) And
that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did
according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
(48) But
he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with
few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required:
and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.
So,
here you are, right now, and you understand, then, if we’re back to the first
age which has the full commission and the full authority and Word of Almighty
God, how much more are we required, or is required of us than of others? And
you will notice that God puts Himself in the same position because, “Greater
works than this shall he do, because I go to my Father” (Jn
25. We
go to Luke 16. And I suppose we’ll just have time to read Scripture and not
much more. Lk 16:1-13:
(1) And
he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a
steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.
(2) And
he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an
account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.
(3) Then
the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from
me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.
(4) I am
resolved what (I must) do.
Then,
of course, this is the picture of the story of the steward that learned how to
make great use of materiality. Then God says, here, “You can learn to use
materiality for you instead of against you.” Now materiality almost always is
against us. But there can be a way that the materiality of this world, even
though against us, can be used for us. In other words a wise steward can always
turn the tables. He can always make things come up, because he is a steward.
Now you’re not commended for doing things wrong. And you’re not commended for
turning aside the principles of Christ. Remember, Jesus himself said, “You
[pay] tithe of mint, anise and cummin. These things you ought to have done and
not let the others undone.”[Mt 23:23] He didn’t say, “Look. You’re so
spiritual-minded that you don’t have to deal with these financial things, these
physical things.” That’s not true.
26. In
life you have to deal with life as it’s dealt with you. And at the same time,
remember, we have a ‘vocation’ which is a calling of God, and we have an
‘avocation’ which is a calling of life. And as a minister, or as a teacher, or
as a plumber, or electrician—doesn’t matter what you are—you can live for
Christ. And you can also use the means that God has given you physically in
such a way that it will, actually, amount to something even though,
figuratively speaking, it doesn’t really amount to anything, because we brought
nothing into the world, nothing do we take out, and whatever we have, here,
will be burned. [End of side one of the first audio tape.]
27. Now,
over here in Titus 1:
(7) For
a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God… (So, therefore, when you’re
talking about ministry—five-fold, elders and deacons, or anyone in any position
of trust in the church—he must be blameless as the steward of God because he’s
not serving man, he’s serving God.) …not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given
to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;
(8) But
a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate;
(9) Holding
fast the faithful word as he hath been taught.
Now,
notice in there, he’s not a divisive person who sits around and says, “Well, I
believe my pastor’s teaching wrong, so I’ll just go to all the congregation,
and I’ll teach them what I want to teach.” Get your own church. Be man enough
to get out and get your own church. There’s always someone who wants to do
something like that. A true elder will not do that. If there’s something that’s
wrong, he’ll go to the pastor, because the pastor is the authority. He will go
to that man and talk about it. You see?
(9) Holding
fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound
doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.
In
other words, how in the world can a man be of any use to the world out here, to
the sinners, if he can’t even serve God amongst the saints. And he claims to be
server of God and servant of God and serve the saints, and all the time he’s
trying to pull down the very ministry upon which the church is built. The guy
is a liar and a hypocrite. But you’re going to find him there. Hey! For every
true elder there’s a false one; for every true deacon there’s a false one. For
every true pastor there are a million false ones … I don’t know how many
prophets there are. (See?)
(10) For
there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the
circumcision:
(11) Whose
mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they
ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake.
Now,
notice what you’ve got right there. You say, “Why would these guys do that?”
Well, there’s your answer, right there: money, money, money, money, money.
We’ll talk about that later. (See?) But there it is.
28. Now,
we’ll go to 1 Cor 4:1-2. We’re looking at these people, stewards and servants
of God, written down, here, in the Bible. And Paul said:
(1) Let
a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the
mysteries of God.
In
other words what’s this man, as a minister of Christ, going to do? He’s going
to be faithful, containing and diffusing, disseminating the Word that God has
given him, and that’s all he’s interested in. He’s not interested in anything
else.
(2) Moreover,
it is required in stewards, (That’s plural.) that a man be found faithful.
In
other words this is something that’s going to last a life-time. It’s not
something you pick up and lay down. It’s not something whereby you say, “Well,
I’m called of God to minister, but I don’t think I can stand the hard times. I
don’t think I can stand the pressures.” Then you weren’t called of God.
You
know, Bro. Branham said truly, “If God
calls you, He’ll supply your needs.”
I
learned that the hard way. I didn’t want to go through it the first time. I had
to go through it the second time. But I went through it the second time, and I
found, “Hey! This is wonderful!” A lot of people have an idea God is just
trying to grab you and squeeze you like a lemon, get all the juice out of you,
and then throw the rest in the garbage tin. Don’t be ridiculous. [He is] trying
to get the honey out of you. (See?) Trying to get the attar—the beautiful aromas
that lie within our souls, if we only allow the hand of God to move upon us.
You see?
29. Now,
look at 1 Pet 4:10. We’re getting over here. And there again, I want you to
notice we’re talking about these stewards. And Peter says the same thing as
Paul says. And over here, then:
(10) As
every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another as
good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
In
other words people that have gifts—and we all have something—are to be faithful
to what God has given us, and not fail in that particular area where we have
been designated to stand.
Now,
let’s go back to Matthew 20, and we’re going to read a few verses, beginning at
verse 1, and he says here:
(1) For
the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out
early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.
(2) And
when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his
vineyard.
(3) And
he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the
marketplace.
(4) And
said unto them: Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will
give you. and they went their way.
(5) Again
he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.
(6) And
about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith
unto them, why stand ye here all the day idle?
(7) They
say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into
the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.
(8) So when
even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward …
And
that word ‘steward’, there, means ‘the one with all authority and power’. In
other words this man was over the steward, but the steward was over everything
else. And the steward was going to get instructions from the boss. And whatever
the boss said to do with what the boss had given him, that’s what this steward
had to do. That’s why Bro. Branham would never let anybody trick him.
Remember
the little Evan’s girl? She came, and she said, “Bro. Branham, will you
interpret this dream?”
And
he said, “Honey, I can’t unless God shows
me.” He said, “What good would it do,
now, if I tried to interpret this dream, and the interpretation was wrong
(because, I can’t interpret dreams by myself, anyway) and then later on you had
a real need, how could you come to me in any faith?”
See?
In other words, you can’t fool around. I never could figure why God told Bro.
Branham, “You made a side-show of this ministry.” I thought it was dynamite,
and just right. Of course, you can see how stupid I am—carnal, thinking I’m
spiritual. I’m not. But, listen: that man, he was so perfect and his ways were
so upright, and yet God said, “You made a spectacle of this.”
30. See,
there’s no way that anybody can use anything that God gives him except God
himself operates through the individual. That’s over here in Eph 3:20:
(20) Now
unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or
think, according to the (exercise of his) power… (And He’s doing the exercising
within us.)
In
other words, if there is something God has given an individual, how great will
the operation, the manifestation, the enormity of that gift be, if that person
can learn to get out of the way? And Bro. Branham said, “I’ve got a little gift; it’s to get out of the way.” We’re talking
about true stewardship. I find, myself, that I can get imbued with my own
verbosity. If I feel at times that I’m hitting on all fours… it’s usually I’m
hitting on two instead of four, but I think I’m doing great. But I’ve realized
over the years that it doesn’t matter how I feel about anything. The point is:
am I telling the truth? It doesn’t matter how you respond. The point is: are
you receiving the truth? It doesn’t matter what a manifestation is, because I’m
not in the manifestation business; I’m in the declaring business, the teaching
business.
And
many times you can’t tell a thing about the person sitting there, whether he’s
getting it or not. You can’t do it. What if I was teaching poetry in your
class, and you closed your eyes so you could drift with the poetry, you could
sense it, literally open up like a sweet aroma coming. And I look down and say,
“Hey! Wake up!” Why, I’d be ruining everything. Because the person is not
sleeping at all; the person is reaching out a little further. Now, I don’t
suggest you do that in class, but I’m just saying, “Hey! What if it happened?”
[Laughter] Now, that has to do with your stewards, and they’re the same as
servants.
31. So,
let’s go over here to Mt 18:23, and we’ll get a little closer.
(23) Therefore
is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account
of his servants. (Bond-servants, sold out to him; he had control of them.)
(24) And
when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten
thousand talents.
(25) But
forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his
wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
(26) The
servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience
with me, and I will pay thee all.
(27) Then
the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave
him the debt.
(28) But
the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants, which owed him
an hundred pense: and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying,
Pay me that thou owest.
(29) And
his fellow servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have
patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
(30) And
he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
(Now, that’s a double burden. How are you going to pay a debt when you’re in
prison, see? Or the court says you’ve got to spend so many years for doing
that.)
(31) So
when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and
told unto their lord all that was done.
(32) Then
his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I
forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
(33) Shouldest
not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on
thee?
(34) And
his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all
that was due unto him.
(35) So
likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts
forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
You
know, that’s a great thing right there, because already the Bible has told us;
(Let me go for it, will you?) let me go here in Rom 12:8.
(8) He
that sheweth mercy (That’s one of the gifts.) with cheerfulness.
Now
there you are. What if you have that in your heart, and you’re supposed to be a
very merciful, forgiving person, because that’s your gift? What if you don’t do
that? What if you’re a person that actually has been given a gift of
generosity—you give to people, and you begin clamming up; you don’t do it? Do
you know what? You’re going to pay for it. You’re going to pay for it, because
stewardship and servitude is the same thing. It’s a great responsibility. It’s
a great privilege. First of all, it’s a tremendous privilege that God should
have that kind of faith in us. You talk about, not misplaced trust, but great
trust. And He expects us to be responsible.
32. Now,
over here, in Mt 24:44 (beginning):
(44) Therefore
be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
(45) Who
then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his
household, to give them meat in due season?
Now
this, evidently, has to do with those people that have real outstanding
ministries—we call them that; five-fold, I think is what they would be in
there—of God. And they’re supposed to be faithful.
(45) Who
then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his
household, to give them meat in due season?
Now,
since Bro. Branham used this and referred to himself, it would be very
difficult for me to put a five-fold ministry in here, except under the prophet.
So, once we have a vindicated ministry, like Paul—and Jesus said, “This
faithful man gives the household meat in due season”. Bro. Branham says, “Spiritual food in due season,” speaking
of himself and his ministry. Now he said, “… that man who is charged.” And
remember, many men took upon themselves the charge that weren’t called to do
it. They’re the ones that stood up against Jesus. They stood against Paul. They
stood against Bro. Branham. They’ll stand against any true five-fold minister
or ministry. They can’t help it. And those that are called can’t help it.
They’re going to stand up. There should be no reason for them to run away. They
just stand there and give it.
33. Now
he said:
(46) Blessed
is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find do doing.
(47) Verily
I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
(48) But
if that evil servant (Now, that’s not that servant, but there’s an evil
servant.) shall say in his heart, my lord delayeth his coming;
Now,
who’s an evil servant? Well, the evil that Cain did was perpetrating an act of
worship based upon the Bible according to his own leanings and tendencies and
understanding. That was an evil act. And you get these evil preachers out
there, and they’re worshipping God and everything looks great. They’re giving
alms and tithing. They’re just doing great things. Oh, the people are getting
healed left and right. There can be some valid prophecies and some various
things in there. But you know, the evil servant began to say, “My lord delayeth
his coming”.
(49) And
shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the
drunken.
(50) The
lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not … , and in an hour
that he is not aware of.
(51) And
shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (that’s the Great Tribulation; so,
that’s in this hour. Right in this hour, this is coming to pass.)
Now
Bro. Branham was that faithful steward who gave us the meat in due season. And
anybody who attempts to supercede it or in any way attempts to destroy it, or
any way tries to put himself above that man, or in any way denigrates—take from
any way at all—that man is a wicked drunken individual, and he will go to the
Great Tribulation. He will be cut asunder.
34. Now,
look at Mt 25:14-30; and he says here:
(14) For
the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his
own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
(15) And
unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; (Well,
that’s sure not very much money, is it?) to every man according to his several
ability (That’s individual ability.) and straightway took his journey. (Now, he
knew what each one of those people could do, so he entrusted them with so
much.)
(16) Then
he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made
them other five talents.
(17) And
likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.
(18) But
he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s
money.
(19) After
a long time the lord of those servants cometh and reckoneth with them.
(20) And
so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents,
saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained
beside them five talents more.
(21) His
Lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been
faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou
into the joy of the lord.
(22) He
also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto
me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.
(23) His
lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been
faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou
into the joy of thy lord.
(24) Then
he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou
art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou
hast not strawed:
(25) And I
was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast
(what) is thine.
(26) His
lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful (Now, he called him
‘slothful’—lazy bird.) servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and
gather where I have not strawed:
(27) Thou
oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my
coming I should have received mine own with usury.
(28) Take
therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
(29) For
unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from
him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
(30) And
cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping
and gnashing of teeth. (Great Tribulation, right at this very time. See?)
Now
it has to be a total misunderstanding of sovereignty, a total misunderstanding
of grace, a total misunderstanding of this Message. They simply can’t receive
It.
Now
this last fellow must have been a down and outright legalist: “You’re a tough
God; You’re demanding; You’re a rough character. You gave me this and You gave
me that, and I know that You’re just brutalizing me. I can’t stand Your ways. I
don’t have confidence in You.”
Whereas
these other two people were not of that ilk. They were different. They knew He
was a sovereign God, but they knew that they had the ability given from God to
go ahead and enhance by multiplication what they had. In other words, whatever
they had in ministries would become greater because that’s what they had from
God, and they knew they could use it. They came to the place of submission,
recognition, strength, fortitude, and went ahead.
I’m
going to tell you something: Not many people like that. They don’t like that.
So, you’ve got, here again, we see the utmost demanded in responsibility.
35. Mt
21:34-36. Now this is to our day, [ ] people that are shunning responsibility.
They don’t realize that that goes with the sovereign grace of Almighty God.
That’s that little area in there that is so hard to understand when it comes to
predestination. “Well, if it’s predestination, God knew everything so I must be
forced to do everything.” No, there’s a leeway in here where real
predestination comes in, where you and I realize that we’ve been entrusted with
something from Almighty God, and we are responsible to use whatever He has
given us. (And we’ll go into a lot of that before we’re over it.) [Mt]
21:[33]-36:
(33) Hear
another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and
hedged it round about, and digged a wine press in it, and built a tower, and
let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country.
(34) And
when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen,
that they might receive the fruits of it.
(35) And
the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned
another.
(36) Again,
he sent other servants, more than the first: and they did unto them likewise.
(37) But
last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.
(38) But
when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir;
come, let us kill him and let us seize on his inheritance.
(39) And
they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.
(40) When
the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those
husbandmen?
(41) They
say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his
vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their
seasons.
(42) Jesus
saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, the stone which the
builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner. This is the
Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?
(43) Therefore
say I unto you, The Kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a
nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
(44) And
whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever is shall
fall, it will grind him to powder. (Left-hand, right-hand, right? Right today.
Let’s keep reading.)
(45) And
when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived
that he spake of them.
(46) (And)
when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they
took him for a prophet.
You’ve
got the same thing right today, again. (See?) God gave out… Look, you read
Ephesians 4, and you cannot help but understand (And Bro. Branham declared it
so.) that a five-fold ministry will bring a Bride to perfection. These are the
ones—the ministries are the ones that have been entitled by God to serve, given
gifts. And amongst them are true and amongst them are false, you know. I know
Bro. Branham preached “Anointed Ones at the End Time.”
He
asked Billy Paul, “Did you understand what I preached?”
He
said, “Daddy, I believe I understood.”
He
said, “Not that many understood it.”
I
know I understood it, because we discussed it. It was a thing that really
turned me around and made me know that this was the answer to the great
dilemma: What about it?
36. There
were men, right here, with gifts and everything else, and men over here. And
over here it looks like they’re running a band and a great circus and a great
parade winning the world for God. What is this anyway? False anointed ones.
[They are] anointed to the gifts but not to the Word. So therefore, they were
never under subjection as a steward and a servant are. They were going their
own ways, taking their master’s goods and spending it the way they
wanted—eating, drinking, were merry. See?
Allan
had a great ministry. I don’t want to cast-off on the dead, but the man was a
drunkard; he never got over it [as] far as I know, positively. He fought Bro.
Branham and those around him; [he] fought Bro. Branham. People fought Bro.
Branham. It’s all manifested. Where are they today? They had these great
ministries; there’s not one on the scene left. I don’t know. Well, Benny Hinn,
and they’re falling over like ten pins. That’s an evil spirit. Hey! Bro.
Branham said, “Why settle for anything
unreal when the heavens are full of the real?” How full do you want it?
37. I
remember one guy, years and years ago, I never saw a more puffed up toad in my
life, puffed up like a frog. He billed himself as the world’s great youth
evangelist. He got in an elevator with us there in
Now
you get these people that saw the great end time ministry—spiritual food in due
season—saw the vindication, saw it all; and they become drunk with their own
ideas, exhilarated with their own thoughts. They’re out there not preaching
this simple true Word of God that binds us down to reality, as God wants it.
His Great Tribulation is coming up. So, there you see it.
38. Now,
let’s go to Rom 1:1. Here’s what Paul says:
(1) Paul,
a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel
of God…
“I’m
a bond-servant,” he said. “I’m completely locked out of myself. Any plans, any
purposes, any principles, everything I knew, all I had, what I stood for, is
all gone. It’s shot; it’s lost; it’s finished. I’ve become a servant, a bond-slave.”
In other words, “I’ve been bought, paid for; now, I’ve got to produce what I’m
delivered for.” And he says, right there, “It’s an ear-full, and a mind-full”.
(1) …separated
unto the gospel of God,
(2) (Which
he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)
(3) Concerning
his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to
the flesh; (It was the tribe of
(4) …
declared to be the Son of God with power (he certainly was—God manifesting His
power through him), according to the spirit of holiness (that’s right), by the
resurrection from the dead.
(5) By
whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among
all nations, for his name:
(6) Among
whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:
He
said it, right there—a specific purpose, specific gifts, everything of God and
from God and everything controlled by God. So it is of God, and by God and for
God. And that was his ministry. Everything he had, even himself, it was not a
pawn to God. No, it was not a pawn; it’s a living oracle or a living Word that
Bro. Branham called “a living statue.”
Now,
we can compare this book with Phil 2:7 (talking of Jesus).
(7) (He)
made himself of no reputation, (but) took upon him the form of a (bond-slave)
and was made in the likeness of men:
Now
it doesn’t say he is made in the likeness of men and then became a bond-slave;
he was a bond-slave and became a man—“Lo, a body hast thou prepared for me. I
come to do Thy will, O God”—already completely bought out, sold out, and shut
out … bought out by God, sold out to God, shut out by the world. Same thing; no
difference between the two.
39. But
in this we also go, then, to Hebrews 3, and in there we read:
(1) Wherefore,
holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High
Priest of our profession (confession) Jesus Christ;
(2) Who
was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his
house.
(3) For
this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath
builded the house hath more honour than the house.
(4) For
every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God. (Now,
you see, here’s a man that talked in 1 Corinthians saying this over here in
Hebrews 3.)
(5) And
Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of
those things which were to be spoken after;
Now,
in here, this word ‘servant’ is a little different. It simply means ‘a menial’
… a menial. That’s kind of like a housekeeper that does chores, takes care of
things. Not some manager, now. Not somebody like that, but it means like ‘a
nurse or one that cherishes’.
And
you know that Moses admitted that he “bore them in his bosom.” He took them on
their journey; he was a nursemaid to them—nursed them along. He did get sore a
couple of times, all right. But you understand that Moses had maybe no right,
but I can understand why and how he got provoked to doing it. He had a rough
time out there with those people. He was actually a nursemaid. The Bible speaks
of God being a nursemaid. We’re in His ‘bosom’ which, actually, means ‘a
harbor, a place of shelter, a comfort, and so on, a nourishment.’ All of these
things are in here.
So,
here is another form we’re looking at where the Bible said, “the servants of
God.” And that includes not just the bishops and those things, but everybody
should be meek, and we should be known everywhere for our temperance and our
mildness. It’s too bad that some people are that way and they don’t have the
spirit of God. it’s all a human form. But that’s beside the point.
40. Now,
let’s go a little further and check this out, what these servants are
like—these bond-slaves. And that’s in Romans 6, beginning at verse 14:
(14) For
sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under
grace.
(15) What
then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God
forbid.
(16) Know
ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are
to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
Now,
“There’s a free moral choice in there,” as Bro. Branham would say. God does
not bind us and turn us into robots taking away our wills. He gives us a free
moral will. He gives us a new mind, a new heart, cleansing our souls, setting
our spirits in order. And He wants us to serve Him, because we’ve been set free
from sin.
41. Now
he said:
(17) But
God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the
heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
What
is he talking about? He’s talking about the Gospel of Jesus Christ which
through faith delivers us into perfect justification, unto sanctification,
baptism with the Holy Ghost, right [into] the Body of Jesus Christ. See?
(18) Being
then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. (In other
words you’re in the Word, your worship is according to truth —“in spirit and in
truth”—obedience of the faith.)
(19) I
speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye
have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto
iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto
holiness.
(20) For
when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
(21) What
fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of
those things is death.
(22) But
now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit
unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
(23) For
the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus
Christ our Lord.
Yet
the church and the government are trying to legislate homosexuality into the
churches and ministers and everything else. You could no more have the Holy
Ghost—speak in tongues, and be healed and everything else—claim this
Message—and be a homosexual, and satisfy me that you have anything at all.
Now,
someone will say, “Well, just a minute.”
Don’t
‘just-a-minute’ me. My Bible tells me plain, right here, how you yield your
members is what counts. The woman was made for man—not man for man, and not
woman for woman. So, don’t try to talk to me about anything you think you know,
or you’ve got some sweet spirit of ‘love’. You’ve got a spirit of hell, an
erotic crud within your heart, and nothing to do with the love of God.
This
will be a series like… I’ve got lots and lots of Scripture. I want to show you,
brother/sister: stewardship is bondsman, is servitude. It all carries
responsibility to Almighty God for what God has invested in us for our good to
bring forth praise and glory unto Him, to place us in realms which we never
knew of in the Kingdom to come—not just in this life, but the life which is to
follow. (Yeah …) See, I’m preaching practical faith, now—active.
42. Now
we already took Romans 14, but let’s go over It again, for It says, here, in
verse 7:
(7) For
none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
(8) For
whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the
Lord; whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.
(9) For
to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both
of the dead and living.
That’s
not purgatory, or hell, the grave, and this and that. He’s telling you, here,
that Jesus died and bought every single soul, and He can do whatever He wants
with them, because He said, “All souls are mine, and I bought every one of
them.” Here’s the sovereignty of God, manifested. We are the bond-slaves of God, and the world also [is] a bond-slave of
God. There isn’t anybody that’s not a bond-slave. Even Satan will find out that
he is a bond-slave, because he gets thrown into the
43. 1
Corinthians 6, beginning at [verse] 13:
(13) Meats
for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them.
Now the body is not for fornication, (in other words, the body’s not made for
sex, period—although that’s part of it) but for the Lord; and the Lord for the
body. (And part of that, in there, is to raise children up to the Lord.)
(14) And
God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.
So
therefore, God has raised up Jesus. He is a separate man from God, and he isn’t
God, because only God can raise the dead, and this man was raised. So, he is
not God. Right? My! I can’t understand these people that think God is Jesus and
Jesus is God. They can’t even talk. They can’t even read. They can’t even hear.
They can’t listen. There’s nothing there. Well, tell me, is there something
there? You be the judge, tonight. It said right here, “And God hath both raised
up the Lord, and also raised us.” In other words, God is going to do both to
us.
44. (15) Know
ye not that your bodies are members of Christ? shall I then take the members of
Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. (That’s harlot
church and harlot woman.)
(16) What?
know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith
he, shall be one flesh.
Adam
said, “This is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh”. But Eve didn’t
believe it. She thought she was bone and flesh of the serpent. Oh, come on.
Take a look at it. Didn’t the Bible say, “These two shall be one flesh?” They
were one spirit to begin with. Of course, one was female part, one was male.
God divided the male from the female for the purpose of propagation. That’s
all. The spirits were created; the soul wasn’t created. Part of God. Just like
that light that came forth was a part of God. Lots of little parts came forth
from God. Maybe a million little parts came forth from God. Maybe billions! How
many foolish virgin are there out there surrounding the
45. (17) But
he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.
So
now, if the Spirit of God goes against fornication, adultery, homosexuality and
all this stuff, then don’t tell me that you and I aren’t against it, if we’re
children of God. See?
(18) Flee
fornication. (Now watch…) Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; (Now
watch this one…) but he that (commits) fornication (sins) against his own body.
Which
tells you: if you do it, there’s where you get syphilis, gonorrhea, clamydia,
AIDS, and everything else. Your body will just produce it.
And
they’re going to keep looking at every mummy, five thousand years old … “Where
did syphilis come from? Where did it come from?”
I’m
telling you, because I’m a student of the Word of God. I’m a Bible teacher, and
I’m telling you, “Here it is in the Bible.” Because you’re sinning against your
body. You can steal, you can lie, you can drink and do smoke and every other
thing, but that doesn’t bring that sin. Fornication, illicit sex, vulgarity,
filth—and the body will produce it. Circuitry.
46. (19) What?
Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you,
which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? (Any man full of the Holy Ghost
has no right to live for himself, nor any woman live for herself.)
(20) For
ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your
spirit, which are God’s.
Even
your spirit belongs to God, now. Your soul is of God; your body belongs; your
spirit belongs. Then, what about your mind? Now, if all those things belong to
God, and the mind, now, can take the Word of God, the spirit can bring it down
to the soul, feed the soul, come back in the body and say, “Yes, I admit that
every one of those passions are there. I admit those feelings can be there. I
admit those desires can be there. I admit I’d like to take an easier path. I
admit all of these things, but I’ve got a higher order. I can’t take the low road
any longer, because I’ve been bought. I’m a bond-slave, and my master, the
slave master, tells me, ‘Go here; go there. Do this; do that’.”
Oh,
a lot of Pentecostals, a lot of people want to claim that. Hogwash! They don’t
even have the Word. “Oh,” I say, “I pray!” What about when God said, “He that
turneth his ear from hearing My Word, even his prayer is an abomination.” It
stinks. It’s idolatry. It’s filth. “Oh, I pray.” Oh, I get so tired of that
stupid miserable excuse … “I pray”. I told a guy, one day, when he pulled a
deal on me. He said, “I pray”. I said, “Why didn’t you ask God to help you rob
a bank?” I said, “Ted, you don’t ask God to help you to sin! You seek God so
you don’t sin.” Pssht! He didn’t like it … what do I care!
47. Ephesians.
(We’re going to close, for our time is gone anyway. And we’ll go to the other
things we’ve got written down here. I’ve got pages I haven’t written down yet.
But, don’t worry, I won’t get it all to you.) Paul, here, is giving a
bird’s-eye view, epitomization of eternity-to-eternity. And he ends up with a
phase on earth which inducts us into what we already possess but now are
insured of it in these words [Ephesians 1]:
(12) That
we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
(13) In
whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy
Spirit of promise.
(14) Which
is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession,
unto the praise of his glory.
[End
of the second side of the first audio tape.] Right here he tells you, your body
has been bought by the Holy Ghost, guaranteed and sealed to the day of
redemption. You are not your own. You are God’s. Therefore, glorify God in your
members. There’s an obligation with your stewardship. And stewardship is not
simply, “I have something that I can do what I want to do with it, and I should
be really careful that I do it.” It has nothing to do with that. It is
servitude, which means you and I are stuck. And if we concede—which we do—that
‘weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth’ is the Great Tribulation (because
Bro. Branham pinned it there every time, to my knowledge), they’re a bunch of
people that are faithless. When that which could be known of God, proved and
presented as in this hour , as was in Jesus’ day, they will enter into the
Great Tribulation faithless, …[although?]… they call themselves the stewards,
the bond-slaves of God. You and I are no more a bond-slave of God than nothing,
if we turn down the Word, and we refuse to go by the dictates which are within
it.
48. Now,
let me tell you something: It is very true, that this is against our own old
nature, but by this time we should be smart enough and wise enough in the
concept of God to know that though this may be bitter in our mouth, it will
turn very sweet in our stomach. It will sweeten our lives up. And remember,
when we allow that Word of God to come in here, and confess it not only by our
mouths, but confess it by our lives, it becomes multiplied and more and more
wonderful.
As
old Reynolds once told me, he said, “Bro. Vayle, a preacher gets what he
preaches for.”
And
I want to tell you: you and I have the same opportunity. We don’t have to be
preachers. We just have to realize that there are things which God has given
us, and with that gift is a commission. And as we enter into that commission
and do those things that we know we can do, let me tell you something: There
will be, not only a remuneration—a payment down the road—but there will be a
multiplication, or an aggrandizement, an increase of what we have. And it will
be greater as the day approaches, even as the light today is the greatest light
of the hour, we have within ourselves the gifts and the responsibility to be
exactly what we should be. And that obedience to the faith, brother/sister,
starts in a church.
49. Mrs.
Hillary Clinton can say, “It takes a village to raise a child.” I’m going to
tell you something: That’s a lot of hogwash, in my books. It takes a little
church, a little one, as it were a people with the grace of God to practice the
precepts of God amongst them to go out and gain a village. She’s got the thing
so backwards it is pitiful. But that’s okay. She is a politician.
And
no politician can give a correct assessment or make a correct judgment or
anything at all. We, on the other hand, have the true Word of God and His true
principles.
50. So,
I’ve covered, tonight, this portion of Scripture showing us that stewardship is
no more nor less than servitude, wherein we are the bond-slaves of God, fully
purchased by the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, baptized into His Body showing
and proving we are sons of God. And, therefore, now we are obligated therein to
act as sons of God, which have a manuscript truly and fully revealed—a
road-way, a map—whereby we can abide in the Presence of Almighty God and each
other and go forth as a unified group of people. As Bro. Branham said, “Oh, how you ought to love each other, you
who love this Message!”
In
other words we are looking at that which God expects of us, God demands of us,
and we can get out of the way and give it back to Him. And we can stand
approved. And herein lies the rewards. And herein lies that thing which we call
‘the active faith’. And I believe this, and I have to believe it: If there is a
true, true, true ‘passive’ faith, there has to be, somewhere, an increasing
evidence of the ‘active’. Whereas Bro. Branham said, “At this end-time, it’s going to be like people just living naturally.”
There’ll be no pushing; there’ll be no pulling; there’ll be no
self-aggrandizement; there’ll be no power-plays; there’ll be no wild visions,
wild assertations, vain fantastic dreams. They’ll be like Israel marching into
the Promised Land with the manna come down from Heaven—strength for the day,
spiritual food in due season—and we giving back to God that which He gave us,
and the spirit in which He gave us. And I believe with all my heart,
brother/sister, that’s what God wants. And, I believe, that’s what God is going
to get from a Bride.
And
the sooner we make up our minds to it, the sooner we’ll have peace. I’m not
going to say there won’t be storms, but you know the eye of the greatest storms
in the world is a place of peace. That can either be in the hurricane or the
tornado. There’s movement there, but it’s a different kind of a movement.
That’s what we’re looking for in this end time—this end hour.
Let’s
bow our heads in prayer.
Heavenly
Father, we come to You, now, at this time, the Communion service, the
Foot-washing. May You get honor and glory from everything that’s said and done.
And may, above all, our spirits be lifted with the understanding even as we
take Communion—and we can do it. And we can take it in the right frame of mind,
clearing our hearts of everything that shouldn’t be there.
Even
so, Lord, we can take everything You’ve given us in this hour, which is a great
hour, with multiplied blessings on every hand. And we can show forth the praise
of our God and be true stewards of the Word, the mysteries, the grace and all
of those things which You have put within us in order to glorify Your Name, and
yet at the same time to send us on the journey, ever onward and upward to a
place of exceeding great reward where ‘eye hath not seen’, the mind hasn’t
imagined—they haven’t reasoned it out. There’s no way, Lord, that has entered
into our hearts, those things that lie ahead of us. We only know something is
there of great magnitude. What a time that will be when we enter in and partake,
even as we are partaking now of the Living Word of the Living God, which had
been vindicated and manifested to be so. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.
Communion Service
1. I’m
going to read tonight from John 6…the disciples went … people went to follow
Jesus and to find him; he got in a boat and [had] gone across, and they finally
found him on the other side of the sea. and they said:
(25) …
Rabbi, when camest thou hither?
(26) (And
so) Jesus … said, (Truly, truly) I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw
the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.
(27) (And
he said) Labour not for meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth
unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath
God the Father sealed. (And you know God sealed him with Himself.)
(28) Then
said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
(29) Jesus
answered and said … This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he
hath sent.
And
that’s the work that God was doing, was sending forth the manifested Christ,
the manifested Prophet that was prophesied by Moses and vindicated to be such.
And he said, “This is the work now.” And if you don’t think that’s work, I’ve
got news for you. That’s the kind of work that’s going to make you sweat.
Because, if you’re not a believer and you can’t see and know that something is
there, that’s of the real vitality of God, that God is moving and in there is
something that you must apprehend, because God is not doing it simply to do it,
because he had already done it and He doesn’t have to repeat Himself. Then, you
know, if that isn’t real work—and it is work—if you don’t accept that as the
work that God wants you to work, which is ‘repent’ … and that’s the thing man
has got to do, repent, change his mind. And it’s based on this very exercise
that God brought forth in the Son, and they couldn’t do it. And so, today,
you’ve got the same thing.
2. Now,
watch:
(30) They
said therefore (knowing that this is not a trick, but is something he’s
standing on. and they could think it’s trickery; it doesn’t really matter. They
said), What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what
dost thou work? (What work are you going to do? … in other words)
In
other words, he said, “This is the work.” [They] said, “What shall we do that
we might work the work of God?” (See?) And he said, “This is a work, that you
believe on him.” Now, they’re turning that right around. Their work was to
believe. Now, they want him to work.
Do you know what people do? They throw everything back on God. “Now, Lord, if
You had done this, this would happen. If You had done this … this, this, this …
you would have done. Always putting God on the spot.
3. Now,
they said:
(31) Our
fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from
heaven to eat.
(32) Then
Jesus said unto them, Verily … I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread
from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
(33) For
the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the
world.
Now,
it seems that this point here that they might have been attributing to Moses a
miracle ministry rather than realizing that Moses was under the dominion of God
and Moses could not do anything except what God wanted him to do, or allowed
him to do. Now, we know that in smiting the rock the second time—he should have
spoken—it broke a type. But then again, that goes to the place, now, where they
crucify to themselves the Son of God. So, that was part of the great
predestinated plan of Almighty God, which is very true. And had they not
crucified to themselves the Son of God—this last day people—there would not
have been, then, the great out-pouring of God Himself upon the Bride, because
God Himself is here and He has become our Seal. We’ve been sealed by the
Sealer. Each one of us has a little seal of that Light—Baptism—but we’ve been
sealed by the Sealer, Himself. The Baptizer Himself is here.
4. Now,
so, they’re looking … Moses had this ministry, here, and now … “What do you
have?” Of course, Moses came and he showed them his signs and showed them
various things. And now they go to the desert, they eat the bread, and they
said, “Well now, we want to know signs because Moses did this, and Moses did
that”.
Now,
what I’m looking at here, particularly, is the ‘bread from heaven’ and they
said, “Moses gave us bread from heaven.” (See?) It’s written, he gave them
bread from heaven. But God gave them bread in the ministry of Moses.
Now,
Jesus himself is talking in terms that “I am the bread sent down from heaven.”
And he said, “Now, you are to eat my body … this is my body broken … [unless
you] eat my flesh, drink my blood, you have no life in you.” And so, what I’m
looking at, here, at the end-time is that you and I have the same thing at our
Communion Table. We have the same Word of God, the same One. God Himself came
down. God Himself did the signs and the miracles and wonders. God Himself
revealed the Word to us. Now, it took a prophet—I have no doubt about that but
that was a necessity. And God, working according to His Own Word, He allowed
that prophet to stand there and there by that prophet was able to fully
manifest God to us, and reveal that Word.
5. Now,
that Word—the Bread that came down from Heaven—is what gave them strength for
the journey for the Promised Land. Now, you notice that what happened in this
journey, they got very tired of that manna. They got very tired of it. And they
wanted to go back to the leeks and the garlic which is good spicy food. And
today there’s a counter part in
And
what I’m referring to is this in this Message: This Message is getting pretty
flat to people that want something spiced up. It really is; it’s getting flat.
A lot of them are going back to Pentecost. Some are ditching what they
believed. And the point is this: That manna, though [it] wasn’t very tasty to
the people, it was the food, called ‘angel food’. It was the food that God gave
in order to sustain them. And it wasn’t very exciting to them. And yet, to some
people it was very exciting on the grounds that they knew this was what was
going to nourish them and get them into the Promised Land.
Now,
you’ve got the same thing right today. The Word which has been broken to us …
because they’ve crucified Christ and he was the son of God, he was the image of
Almighty God. And now that same Spirit that came to produce that, is come back
here—which is Elohim Himself come down here—they’ve crucified that to the … and
remember, Bro. Branham mentioned the son of God was in the Book of Romans, the
son of God with power. He said, “That was
the Holy Spirit.” So when they crucify to themselves the son of God, it’s
literally taking the Holy Spirit and either crediting to Satan what that Spirit
is doing or denying Him entirely.
6. So,
therefore, there is no life now, in the Word, except the broken Word which you
and I have. And that broken Word is the only way that you and I are going to be
sustained to get to the Millennium. There’s no other way you’re going to get
it. Because, as for anointing, the world out there can be anointed left, right,
inside-out and up-side down. Manifest everything under high heaven—a beautiful
love which is a false love, because it’s not based on the Word of God. Many
things out there they can produce, but only this Message has life. And this it
that Life that God sent down from Heaven, because God Himself was with Israel
in a Pillar of Fire at night and a cloud by day. And the same God today is here
somewhere with a Bride—scattered though she is—He’s right here having brought
His Word to sustain her right to the Resurrection, right to the Transformation,
then right up to the Rapture, to the Reincarnation.
So,
as we partake of the emblems tonight, remember Jesus said, “Take, eat. This is
emblematic, my body broken for you.” He said, “Search the Scripture and see. In
them you will see that Moses spake of me.” And this same One was given.
7. And
so tonight we have the very same thing. This Message that Bro. Branham brought
us, this prophet that he was is right here in the Word of God—all spoken out,
all spelled out to us. And as we partake of these emblems, let us remember
above everything else, that we are depending upon this Word that has been
broken open to us—the Seal is broken, the Life poured out upon us. We’re
depending upon this to get us here. And I’m going to tell you something,
brother/sister: As time goes on, you’re going to find my statement more and
more accurate, because you’re going to find you’re going to have less of this
and less of that and less of the other thing, and you’re going to find yourself
right face-to-face, “Is this the truth, or is it not? Is this God or is …?… ?
You’re going to find yourself, if the Holy Spirit is not engaged in emotions,
is not engaged in feelings, is not engaged in reasoning. He’s engaged in one
thing and that’s this.
And
if this has been thoroughly manifested, that’s all you and I need to know, and
all we need to have. Because faith is by grace, the free gift of God. We had
nothing to do with it; it’s just given to us tonight. And that’s what we look
at as we take the emblems—strength for the journey, a shadow from the sun (the
heat), heat from the cold of the desert. Food … and the only place we can get
it. There isn’t any other place to get it. Strapped, with no hope of an exit
because there’s a hostile nation behind us; there’s a desert to the left, and
there are mountains to the right. There’s only one place to go and that’s
straight ahead to the Promised Land. There are no detours any more. There are
no little depots where you can stop off and find something else you need. This
is that Manna that came down from heaven. This is Rev 10:1-7. This is Mal
4:5-6. This is 1 Th 4:16, Lk 17:30, Jn 15:23. Take it wherever you want to take
it, this is that hour.
8. So,
may we partake tonight of these emblems with the understanding that very soon
we’ll be drinking it anew in the Kingdom. And it won’t be a different God, you
won’t be a different son, it won’t be a different Word. Nope … it’ll be nothing
different. The only thing different will be you and I, that’s all, in a
different place. It won’t be any different.
You
see, if there is something different, then we’re not going to make it. You
can’t make it because ‘deep calleth to Deep’. If we didn’t have representation
there, we haven’t got it now. So, we’ve got to have now for what’s over there.
And it always was, so there isn’t any difference … there isn’t any difference.
So, I hope we don’t try to make ourselves look like Christmas trees, and try to
act in any way outside of the Word of God. So, let’s rise at this time; the
brethren come forward to serve.
Heavenly
Father, [as] we partake of these emblems tonight we pray Your hand of grace
will be upon us, helping us to forgive, to forget, to enter into [a] new
relationship, Lord, of obedience to Your Word and communication and fellowship
with each other, resisting all temptation to judge or to be in any way, Lord,
out of sorts with anybody. But rather, Lord, to be in sweet Communion with You
and fellowship with each other, the Life of the Word abounding and flowing
through us, and our testimony, Lord, our confession, one with Almighty God.
We
pray, Lord, at this time too, as we come forward that there will be the healing
of the sick and the remembrance also, Lord, of those who are not well, who are
not able to be with us tonight, and perhaps not even tomorrow, Lord, because
illness is in the land. But we know, Lord, even as the death angel stalked
across
So,
all these things, Lord, we look at them and we thank You [that] we can look at
them. And we know, Lord, they’re there for us. Help us, then, to receive those things
which are truly ours. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.
[Closing
prayer follows:]
Again,
Heavenly Father, we approach Thy throne of grace, thanking You for Your love,
mercy and goodness toward us at all times. We pray as we go home You’ll give us
journey mercies, Father. And we pray for a nice rest to refresh …?… and a
better day tomorrow, Lord, especially within our spirits, our minds, and our
souls and our bodies, Lord, asking for Your divine Presence, hoping, Lord that
always you might open ourselves to see Your grace and mercy given to us.
And
so we commend ourselves here tonight, Father, and thank You for Your kindness.
In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen. Take the Name of Jesus with you.
[The Third Generation of
Believers]
(Preamble to Baby Dedication: Amie White)
1. Now,
I want to present the little message this morning just previous to dedication
and I’m taking it from an historical aspect from what was in the First Age
wherein we now have a repeat in the Seventh Age, where we’ve come full circle.
And we’re going to go to 2 Tim 1 (take our reading from there):1-7. Now it
says:
(1) Paul,
an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God …
Now,
‘by the will of God’ you have to realize is … embraces foreknowledge, election
and predestination, because the will of God can never be flaunted. The Word of
God can never return to Him void. And this man was a part of the Living Word of
God made manifest in human flesh for this particular office.
(1) (So)
Paul, an apostle ( a called-one, a missionary sent forth) of Jesus Christ,
(only) by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ
Jesus, (that goes even deeper into predestination, sovereignty)
(2) To
Timothy, my … beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and
Christ Jesus our Lord.
See,
there are two people there. And one is God, and one is the Son. And God is the
God of the Son, and God is also the Father of the Son, but Paul never lets
anybody forget that the Father of Jesus is still the God of Jesus. Okay. (It’s
strange how people can’t even read anymore.)
(3) I
thank God (he’s talking about the Father, now), whom I serve from my
forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of
thee in my prayers night and day;
(4) Greatly
desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with
joy;
(5) When
I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in
thy grandmother, Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee
also.
(6) Wherefore
I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee
by the putting on of my hands,
(7) For
God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a
sound mind.
Now,
the verse in particular, of course, is …
(5) When
I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in
thy grandmother, Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee
also.
2. Now,
Paul mentions, here, the ‘unfeigned faith’. Now, the word ‘unfeigned’ means
‘sincere and without hypocrisy’. And the word ‘faith’ comes from a word that
means ‘convinced by argument as to true or false’. Now, you’ll notice, in
there, there are two—there’s a choice of one or the other, negative or
positive. But there is not a third, as in Catholicism, which has a Heaven, a
Hell, and a Purgatory. And a Purgatory is very very very acceptable, very
subtle, very charming, and endearing so that you don’t have to really make a
choice. You’re in the middle, and if you should just sort of slither on the
wrong side, God just [Bro. Vale makes a noise to indicate being reined in]
whoops you back. And if you’re on the perfect side, well, that’s wonderful; you
really did make it. But there’s no chance you’re really going to lose out. Unh?
that’s right. Faith is the conviction of an argument, which is always Word. And
you say, “Yes” or you say “No”, and there’s no middle ground.
3. All
right. Let’s keep moving … so that this is not like Catholicism which has a
Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory, so that there is neither an agnostic or a gnostic.
Now, a gnostic is one that says, “I don’t know …so I’m free. If there is a God,
so and so.” He doesn’t know. The agnostic says, “There is no God.” The gnostic
says, “ I have a revelation superior to what this revelation that I have been
told is correct. I’m not going to argue”, says he, “with the revelation; I’m
going to just tell you: I have something that supercedes it.” So now, you find,
here, that in the light of the Word of Faith, gnostic and agnostic is all right
if you want to use it, but you won’t get away with it because it boils down to
seed which is true or false —which is serpent seed or the seed of God.
4, Now,
let’s go back to Gen 2:16-17, and it says:
(16) And
the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest
freely eat:
(17) But
of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in
the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
And
don’t make any mistake about it. You do this and you’re gone, and that’s all
there is to it. You do or you don’t. There’s no slippy, no slidey.
So,
all right, we go to Gen 3:1-7:
(1) Now
the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had
made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every
tree of the garden?
(2) And
the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the
garden:
(3) But
of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye
shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
Now,
you’ll notice she left out the Tree of Life in the midst of the garden. And
there was nothing said about the idea that you couldn’t eat it. Now, the Tree
of Life, you could eat it and you would live. She doesn’t say a thing about
that. Now she said, “ … neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.”
(4) And
the serpent said … Ye shall not surely die. (He said, “There’s no way.”)
(5) For
God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened,
and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
(6) And
when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to
the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit
thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
(7) And
the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they
sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Now,
the beast was a gnostic. The beast was a gnostic … he said, “Yes, I understand
that you’ve been told even by God Himself that you shouldn’t eat of that tree
or you could die.” “Now”, he said, “That revelation is just partly right.
There’s a modicum of truth in it, but it’s not really right because I’ve got a
higher and more definitive revelation. And I can point you to a place where the
revelation I give you will hold against the Revelation which God Himself has
given.” Do you follow what I am saying? (See?) This is where it all started.
He’s a gnostic. Now, at the same time, he is a hypocrite. And he gave Eve a
third choice. God said two choices, “Go here, go there; do, don’t” “Ahh”, he
[the beast] said, “I’ve got a third way. I can show you something superior.” So
he gave Eve a third choice which was enticing because it held out a Purgatory,
as it were. “Choose you this day whom you will serve—Life or death?”
Now,
everything I’m saying is referring to the present hour and this present
Message. So you listen carefully, and you take heed to what I am saying.
Because, whether you know it or not, you’re on dangerous grounds. And the
higher up you are, the harder you fall. And the lower down you are, the harder
it is to scramble up. There’s one place of safety.
5. Now,
let’s go reading then. Now we notice Gen 2:5:
(5) And
every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the
field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the
earth, and there was not a man to till (that) ground.
Now,
Gen 2:25 … he says over here:
(25) And
they were both naked, the man and his wife, and (they) were not ashamed. (So,
he has them in the garden, there, to till the ground—physical form, they’re
naked; in the spiritual form they were not naked. They were in the form, you
know, of a spirit-being.)
And
then over here again, in Gen 3:7-11:
(7) And
the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they
sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
(8) And
they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the
day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God
amongst the trees of the garden.
(9) And
the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? (He said,
“Where are you, now?” Now, don’t you think that’s a little like Rev 3:20 …
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. And if any man open the door” … Unh?
Okay.)
(10) And
he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was
naked; and I hid myself.
(11) And
he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree,
whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
Now,
notice there in [Genesis] 3:7-b: “… and they sewed fig leaves together and made
themselves aprons.” Now, what they did was useless because this was their third
choice. (See?) Turned down ‘Yes, No’. Something will prevail just the same. God
is a good God. He wouldn’t condemn anybody. Do you mean to tell me God would
make man and then condemn him? (See?) It’s like Bro. Branham said, “Do you mean to tell me that God would lose
a man just in order to find him?” It wouldn’t make sense. So, they’ve got
this false hope, here—this fig-leaf situation. So they had a third choice, as
it was, with Gen 3:4, when he said, “God said you shall not surely die.”
There’s a third element in here that sounds very very good. So I can actually
afford not to be in complete compliance with as to my acceptation or denial. I
can just work one end against the middle and so on. I can make out, because I
have this third choice going, there, for me.
6. So
today, millions believe the Bible to be the incorruptible living Word of the
Living God, but they can’t see the true faith revealed in Rom 15:18-19, [in]
which Paul declared his revelation was vindicated by God. They cannot see 1 Cor
14:36-37, that when a prophet, vindicated, comes on the scene, his message
superimposes itself upon every single thing. So there’s nothing left of any
previous Word or judgment or declaration or anything that anybody ever had.
That only lies there as a superimposition—which you take or don’t take—because
Paul said, “Let a man acknowledge ( use the superimposition) that what I write
you are the commandments of the Lord.” Now, you make a choice: Is this it, or
is it not it? Now, it doesn’t matter, then, in between what you think you do.
You can make your fig leaves—you can have your women’s society, your missionary
society, you can have a lot of things going for it. It’s all right by …
nobody’s going to say those things are wrong—building hospitals [and]
everything else— but it won’t work … it won’t work. You’ve got a choice: yes,
no … live, die … sink, swim. (See?) Right down the line. Okay.
7. Now,
here’s my point taken from 2 Tim 1:5: We find a third generation, today, of
believers—a third generation. This happens because, as we see in 2 Tim 1:5, the
grandmother, the mother and then, finally, the child born, the child living,
the child accepting that particular Word—the same original Word—and it’s the
third generation. Now, we know God, Who is the Word, is perfect in three; there
is no doubt about it. So we have the three generations. The two generations are
women. The third generation is a male , but our type still holds good for what
we’re talking about this morning previous to dedication, and getting our type.
Luther
and Wesley went into churches, having come out of churches and taking with them
everything but a little reformation, a little further light. But then
God—male—comes on the scene in the third generation. God, perfect in threes,
comes on the scene at the end-time. Now, we’re not saying Luther and Wesley and
what they had were unacceptable. They were acceptable because they built on
what light they had—a little previous light going on to a higher light. As Bro. Branham said, “It was glorious, but the glory we have today will never fade away.”
8. So
today, after two reformers, God Himself with His Prophet brings us 1 Thess
4:16, Rev 10:1-7, Mal 4:1-6 … and you all know those Scripture. Now, as Bro.
Branham said, “There could have been a
rapture before Ephesus fell, but the Body was incomplete;” and that is very
true. And this is seen in 2 Timothy, the first chapter (those seven verses that
we read). They had the once-for-all perfect faith vindicated, where you made a
choice between two things: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the Tree
of Life. Now, one is the true and living vindicated Word of God—God Himself
manifesting Himself, proving Himself, showing this to be true. Satan, on the
other hand, says, “We’re not going to cast doubt on that Word as though it is
not a word, but we have a revelation. We have something to add to it; we have
something to modify it. We have something that makes it more pleasant for you
to live by. Because, after all, you can
have your cake and eat it. You can
do this and it is okay. Everything will work out, and you will see this is so,
but you don’t have to make the ultimate decision.”
9. Now,
let’s watch my point: We had the grandmother, we had the mother, and we had the
child—three generations at one time under a perfect marvelous vindicated Word
of Almighty God. We took those two women as churches and showed you the
end-time. We have the grace of God manifested in the perfect revealed Word
under Bro. Branham who is here under God, as you see the picture there. I bring
it down to these generations as what we’re looking at in this particular case.
We
have come full circle, therefore, in the Book of Ephesians. And the full circle
is the plan of God Almighty in this hour up to the point of where there’s a
return of God Himself to this earth according to Matthew 12, and so on, and 1
Thessalonians 4. And we read in there that the baptism with the Holy Ghost was
given until the Baptizer Himself came back, which He did come back, As it was, as Bro. Branham said, “The same Pillar of Fire that brought the
Word is here revealing It.” So therefore, now, we have returned perfectly
to Ephesus. And that is my point. And when you come back to Ephesus, you can
have a Rapture … you can have a
Rapture.
We
have sitting in this church today actually three generations under a perfect
living Word of God. How far, then, do we have to go? I cannot see that we have
to go very much further. Now, we have the perfect picture before us of Ann
Klaussen, Angela White, and Amie White. Actually, they have four children. Each
one is a third generation. You start with the mother (which is what Paul did in
this particular instance). And we go through to that generation which is that
third generation where we see the perfection of God in the Word—third
generation.
10. Now,
Leah is age nine. How many years will it be before she can marry and bear
children? Well, girls marry young. Even if she marries at nineteen and has a
fourth child in the Message, it will be ten years to go—eleven years to go,
twelve years to go, thirteen years to go … and why am I saying that? Because
four is deliverance. And God said, “You will go down to Israel … you will go
down to Egypt and there you’ll abide for four generations, and in the fourth
generation I’ll bring you forth into the land of plenty which I have designed
and given to you.” Even as He instituted the Garden of Eden ready for Adam and
Eve, He instituted the beautiful land of Palestine. We’ll never know what it
was really like unless it could be restored. [End of side one of the second audio
tape.]
11. There
are no pictures; there’s nothing we would know. I know there were mountains; I
know there were deserts. I know they were barren, but there were oases. There
were places in there, they were just like a heaven … just like a paradise. The
fruit was so great when they overtook the land of Jericho (in through that
whole place), the bunches of grapes—think of it—they took one bunch of grapes
and it took two men to carry … just picking up part of a vine. What a fabulous
place it was! Fourth generation, God had prepared. How many years? Ten years …
see, I don’t believe it’s going to be ten years; but I want you to notice
something: That church was ready for Rapture in the third generation.
I
don’t believe we’re going to have to wait for a fourth under any consideration
whatsoever because, even as God is made perfect … [of] Bro. Branham, they asked
the question, “What does it mean in the Book of 1 Corinthians 13, ‘that which
is perfect is come?’” And he said, “Who
is perfect but God? And what is God, but His Word? And by His grace we have the
perfect Revelation of this hour.” Now, one place you have a perfection,
which means we’re looking at Almighty God Himself. The other perfection means,
it is a finished, complete product. And in this hour we have a complete finish.
12. And
so, I wanted to show you this morning, here—and I like to refer everything back
to Biblical history, and I like to take it from our own people—it is amazing to
me that we have in this hour, we have family, a third generation, coming up
under the actual Living Word of Almighty God as demonstrated. And I say, “How
long?” I don’t know how long, but I can tell you, it is not very long. Thirty
years has gone by like a flash in the sky. Ten more years will go the same way,
even faster. But I doubt very much it’s going to take ten years. (See?)
It’s
going to take a crash—an economic crash—which is at the door. If in 1987 when
the market fell 800 points it caused a panic, what’s going to happen? I’ll tell
you what’s going to happen: They’ve got the computer set so the people will not
…[read]?…; they will try to stop the people [from] knowing what’s going on. It
could drop 2000 points in one night, and the computers just stick right there
at 500. The next day it drops again. And I’m going to tell you something: They
say, New York, when the tickers showed the market was gone, they were jumping
out of the windows of skyscrapers—even two and three stories (or four, I think
it was)—you had to kind of be careful unless someone fall on you and you might
get killed. I’m going to tell you: What’s it going to be like when a crash
comes? I don’t know and I don’t even want to know. But I can know, from being
in this pulpit and reading my Bible, we have come right back to a third
generation.
I
was talking just the other day to Steve Applegate (he’s not here) and he was
telling me how it is. He said to his little girls …
He
said, “Tell me, who came down?”
Right
away they said, “Jehovah-Elohim came down.”
“Where
is Jesus, the son of God?”
“He’s
right on the Throne, sitting on his Father’s Throne.”
…
not even six years old. Third generation. Can’t be too long. I don’t want it
too long.
It’s
a pleasure, therefore, to dedicate little Amie White, daughter of Chris and
Angela White; and granddaughter of brother and sister White, and brother and
sister Klaussen.
[Bro.
Vayle proceeds with the dedication service.]