Stewardship
#3
Set in an Office
Heavenly
Father, we thank You for Your Presence and Your guiding life through the Word,
Lord, that You have given to us. And we pray that tonight, when You may
saturate Your Word, or Your Word be saturated in our bodies, Lord, that bring
forth the life that lies within us. Help us to understand the truth as it has
been set before us by the prophet, to know it, Lord, and not just know it in an
understanding way, but to really rely upon it as “THUS SAITH THE LORD,” and the
truth that is here before us this hour.
Help
us to accept responsibility in our lives, as never before, and to realize that
we are responsible to You, even as You are responsible to us, that it’s as we
might say, the road goes in both directions. It’s a two way street. And,
although we travel together arm in arm as it were, there is also the fact that
there is a conduct that we must partake of, and we trust Lord that we shall not
just walk in the light, in the sense of realizing this truth tonight, but as
Paul said, “If you live in the spirit, be sure that you also walk in the
spirit.” Help us to be fully aware of that Lord, and thereby discharge all
those duties incumbent upon us, hopefully and trusting that Your Name might be
glorified. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.
You
may be seated.
1. Now
we’re going to look at “Stewardship” again tonight, and as we do, we’re going
to kind of go back over what we talked about in the first two services, and
then combined with what we brought in, the fact of the two spirits being so
close together, and of course that has to do with the church and the
understanding of that within the church.
Now
we looked the word ‘steward’ or ‘stewardship’, and of course, we have in there
that in looking at the word ‘steward’, we understand that a steward is a person
that is in management actually, and he has to be responsible for and take care
of what somebody else owns. And we found that as we looked in the Scripture,
and we looked in many Scripture the first night, that’s when we studied, we
looked at a lot of the Scripture, in fact, just about all the Scripture
concerning stewardship in the New Testament, and also we looked at the word
‘servant’. And as we looked at the word ‘steward’ and ‘servant’, we found that there
was a great responsibility that devolved upon the servant and the steward. And
we found that not only was there a responsibility, but there were certain goals
that were supposed to be achieved by stewards, who were also called servants,
and if they did not achieve those goals, at least in some measure, there was a
judgment, which was very much against the one who did not achieve anything.
And
we saw the parables concerning the stewards where the lord of the estate called
his servants, and he gave them certain amounts of money to work with. And when
he came back, the one with the largest amount had doubled his, and he said,
“That’s a well, good and faithful servant.” He said, “You’ve been faithful over
a few things, so I’m going to make you ruler and governor over many things.” He
said, “Enter into the joy and the rest of your master.”
2. The
second one did very well also. And he said, “Well done, good and faithful
servant,” or steward, whatever you want to call him. He was a steward actually
in this case, although he’s basically a servant also, which we take a look at.
And he said, “Very well.” And he said, “Now you’re going to be made master over
many things.”
But
the last one, he said, “I knew that you were a very austere person.” And he
said, “you reap where you didn’t sow.” And he said, “so I took the one pound
you gave me,” or dollar, whatever you want to call it, “and I put it in a
napkin, and I hid it.”
And
the master said, “Oh,” he said, “you unfaithful wretched servant.” And he said,
“We’re going to take from you and give it to the one who has the most, and
you’re cast into outer darkness where there’s weeping, and wailing, gnashing of
teeth.”
3. Now
Bro. Branham always took that last part of the casting into outer darkness as
the Great Tribulation. And you can never take any parable, or any Scripture,
that has to do with fire, or the gathering of wheat, or the cutting down,
except at the end time, because it just doesn’t work. You simply cannot have a
harvest till the end time, you can’t have a cutting down, you can’t have a
burning, until it’s the end; it just doesn’t work. And that’s why Bro. Branham
said, “There could have been a Rapture in
the first Church Age.” And sure there could have been as far as the conditions of that little Bride was concerned, but
the Bride wasn’t in. And of course, things begin to creep in and creep in,
until at the end time you find a judgment.
So
every single time you look at the prospect of being a steward, it means that
you have been given something by somebody. In this particular case, the church
has been given things by God, and they are to take those things. And I’m going
to revise that statement shortly; you’ll see more. [They are] to take those
things, and you are to use them, and you are responsible for them, and you are
supposed to use them in such a manner as to glorify God, and actually increase
that field of endeavor in which you have been placed with these particular
gifts that have been given you. You are accountable to God, you are accountable
to use what has been given you in a manner, which will glorify God, and
actually glorify yourself.
Because
the point is, the glorification of yourself is when God says, “Well done, good
and faithful servant. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. You’ve been faithful
over a few things; I’m going to make you master over many things.”
4. Now
remember, the promise in the Garden of Eden was master over everything. And so
therefore, it is not what you might call strange for us to find Jesus on earth
giving these parables, and announcing down the road that which was lost by Adam
can be gained back, so that those in the Millennium--and I don’t understand it
all, and I don’t pretend to--and down further down the road, they will be in
certain positions which are open to them, and favors, and blessings, and glory,
which simply means honor bestowed upon those people.
Now,
when you look at the word ‘servant’, that word is a little different. Actually
it means ‘bond-slave’. It’s a bondservant; it’s a slave. Now a slave really is
somebody that has been taken either in war, mostly in—not mostly. You go back
to your Old Testament, you’re going to find that they were taken in war, and it
should have been mostly in war, but there was also a place where people got
themselves in debt, and they couldn’t pay their debt, so the man to whom was
owed the debt could go to the law, and he could say, “Now this person owes me a
certain amount of money, and he hasn’t got it.”
And
the judge would say, “Well, we’re going to enter him into servitude. So he’s
got to serve you until that has all been paid back by service.”
Now
it may be that that person actually at that time, could also have children. And
it could be that you would find that the children perhaps were already born, or
not yet born, would be born in that time of servitude. Well now, until that
man’s period was exhausted or ran out, the children also would be in bond
slavery to the person who had lent them the money or to whom they were in debt.
5. Now,
also, you will find at that particular time, that there’ll be some people that
found it easier to just live in a place of servitude and as slaves, rather than
try to go out and earn their own living. And the master was—and actually the
Bible laid down laws, where the master was supposed to treat the servants very
well, and to treat the slaves very well. But the laws were there. Whether they
were taken in war, or taken by debt. But we’re looking mostly at the thought of
taken by debt, and born into slavery by grounds of the fact that their
predecessors had, or their—you know, their forbearers, had already got them
into this bondage.
Now
he said, if the slave comes and he says, “I love my master, and I’m very happy
with the conditions there,” the Bible said then that man, instead of being
liberated, because he liked the condition in which he lived, and he doesn’t
want to get away from it, it’s a wonderful relationship. And so he would take
him to the door, against the frame of the door, and he would put the earlobe
against that, and take an awl, and run it through. Now of course it would heal,
and it would hardly be recognizable, but it would be there just the same. And
also they would perhaps mark them. And many cases there was a tattoo mark,
which would usually be upon the wrist or the forehead.
6. You
can tell right there what I’m going to talk about. Bro. Branham talked about
the man that’s an organization, and he loves it so much, he puts his ear
against the door so the priest and the organizational system can punch a hole
in it. And he said, “They’ll never, ever
hear the Word again.”
Why?
Because he simply loves his master. And he sells his children and everybody
into bondage by turning the ear to the word of iniquity, which is a perverted
word. And you’ll never get him to hear the Word of God ever again, when they
turn. Be it in age number one, age number two, age number three, four, five,
six, seven. It does not matter. It doesn’t matter. They can never hear again.
That’s why you have in Hebrews 6, the understanding, when you see the miracles,
you see God’s prophet, you see the very ministry of Jesus Christ returned to
this earth, you see God Himself fully manifested once more in human flesh, you
see this very thing, greater works than were ever done before are now being done
and fully manifested, and that’s all done in order to attract you to the Word.
7. At
that time you can say, “All right. I’m going to be a bond slave to Christ.” You
go to that door, and you can put your…
“Behold
I stand at the door and knock.”
And
there He is. You come out and put the earlobe there. He rams the awl through
with the sword of the living God. You will never ever hear another word of the
devil. You can’t do it. But, if you put your ear with organization, you’ll
never hear the Word of God! You can’t do it, because you’ll notice in Hebrews
6, fire falls on the briars. So it’s an end time revelation we’re talking
about.
8. So,
all right now, you’ve got these slaves. Now every one of us is a slave unto
Jesus Christ. There isn’t one of us that is not a slave. Why? It tells you over
here in Romans 14. And It also tells you in Romans, in other parts, but I’m
going to go to chapter 14, because of course Romans 14 is almost the very end
of the Book. And It says here in verse 7:
(6) For
none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
(7) 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.
(8) For
to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both
of the dead and (the) living.
It
tells you right there, saint or sinner, hog, sheep, or goat, you’ve been bought
by the Lord. And God actually owns you, Jesus Christ owns every single person.
Even as the Scripture said, ““All souls are Mine,” saith the Lord. “The soul of
the father, the soul of the mother, the soul of the children, the soul of the
slaves, bond or free, it doesn’t matter, they’re all Mine.”” And you’ll notice
at the end time, they all get gathered to the antichrist, because they don’t
have the souls, which came from God. See? Remember the Bible also says that
He’s able to destroy body and soul in hell. And we’ll get to that a little
later on.
9. But
the thing is I wanted you to notice here, that you have a complete picture now
of the whole world in servitude and bondage to God, and it’s going to be proven
so, because the Bible tells us there’s a day coming, when every knee shall bow,
and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God
the Father. Now that’s the Father and the Son. And the Son is not the Father,
and the Father is not the Son, and the Son isn’t God! And God is God. I just
don’t understand how people get so mixed up, but oh, yes I do. Oh, yes, really,
if you just let your thinking go. All right.
10. So
what we’re looking at then is this: every single born one, every single one of
us, has been bought from the dead. As in Adam all die, even so in Christ every
one is made alive, that died in Adam. Now if you weren’t in Adam, you aren’t going
to come back to life. That’s wise virgin, and that’s foolish virgin. Because
remember, virgin is virgin. And there’s the whole piece of cloth laid out, and
the Bride pattern is put upon it, and all the rest is the same cloth, because
virgins are virgins. But you see one of them didn’t have oil in the vessel!
Now
you couldn’t possibly not have oil in your vessel, which is the Word, if you
are wise virgin! And that makes the difference! See? The life goes out of the
Word. The goatskin becomes dry and hard. You can’t put new wine in old bottles,
which are goatskins, because the rich fermentation, the rich wine, would
immediately destroy the old bottle. You cannot put a new patch on an old
garment. And, if you do, you’re in trouble, because when you get there, the
garment will fall to pieces, as being old, and the new garment puts you in a
very bad light. They say, “Just a minute, what have you got this patch for? Why
didn’t you come all the way?” You see?
11. So,
we find every single person, bar none, has been bought. But particularly the
children of God have been bought, because the word ‘redeemed’ means ‘to buy
back’. And I don’t go into those words, but you can go into them right here in
the Scofield edition. It’s very good. And it tells you how that when you use
those words in the Greek ‘to buy’, they’re in the marketplace. And they’re
right in there, all bound in there, solid under a barrier, like in the stocks
and in jail. They’re right in there. And so they’re bound in there. The man
goes in the marketplace, and he buys them. Then he takes them out of the
marketplace, and that’s the second thing. And the third step, they’re into
freedom.
And
so, you’re looking at that over here in Romans 6. (My eyesight’s so bad I can’t
see my notes even too good, and if I do it they don’t do much good, because
they’re so messed up I can’t read them.) But anyway, It says here in
(16) Know
ye not, that whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to
whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or obedience unto righteousness?
There
you see, you’re putting your ear to the door. So you’ve got the chance, the
opportunity of being one with the living Word of God, or being one with the
non-living Word of God. I mean that’s all there is to it. And of course,
there’s only one Word, and that is the Word of God.
“Why,”
you say, “there’s only one Word?” Because God’s Word doesn’t fail, and His Word
is forever, and His Word is pure! And His Word has been tried. I’ll explain
that from the Hebrew. So, if you have that Word, you know you’re in good shape.
If you have that Word, you know you’re full of the Holy Ghost. Because there’s
only one conduit of the Holy Ghost, concerning humanity, that’s the human body.
And then, concerning how you get it, because you don’t have a right to it to
begin with, is by that Word.
So
God has bought us out of the marketplace, and He’s set us free, in order now
that we come to the Word, and in that Word we’re going to have all the help
that we have need of.
12.
Now:
(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 obedience unto righteousness?
(17) But
God be thanked, ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart
(now watch,) that form of doctrine which was delivered (unto) you.
So,
freedom comes with the Word of God. I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ, for it’s the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth!
And you’ll notice as I said a while ago, and I’ll be widely criticized around
the world, because I dare to make this statement: I am not here to preach
morals, and stand in the defense of morals. Forget it. I stand here in defense
of the Gospel! And, if you’ve got the Gospel, you will have morals! So don’t
tell me these guys that believe in polygamy and all this sin and degradation,
that they’ve got the Gospel I’ve got! Because my Gospel leads me away from sin,
and I can certainly be away from sin, if I yield myself to the Word of God!
13. I hope
you understand a few things, because Paul, the apostle, did not stand in
defense of morals! He stood in defense of the Gospel. That’s why I quoted a
while ago, and quoted the other Sunday, when Paul said to the Jews, he said,
“Shame on you, you that are children of God and have the law, and don’t obey
it. These fellows out here don’t have the law, and they are obeying it!” He
wasn’t defending morals; he didn’t have to defend morals! He said, “Such were
some of you--abused yourself with mankind. You were this; you were that.” But
he said, “Now in Christ you’re made free.” He didn’t have to defend morals.
It’s
like an old teacher we had many years ago, and he said how when he was a boy,
you know, [becoming a teenager], he began picking up some trashy books. And so
one day his dad just didn’t say one word. He just hitched up the old wagon and
went to town with his boy, and he brought a whole library of excellent books!
Never said a word. The boy got with the excellent books.
14. I’m
going to tell you something; I’ve never heard anybody able to use the art of
elocution, and the power of words, outside of Charles Laughton, as that man
did. How many of you ever heard the Ancient Mariner? Listen, I’m going to tell
you something. You don’t have a clue to the Ancient Mariner, unless Dr. Loux
would recite it for you. And you don’t know If, written by Kipling, (One
is by Collier, other by Kipling.) unless you heard Charles Laughton recite it.
That man’s life was completely transformed by proper literature. No wonder the
kids haven’t got brains today, and they live like dogs and devils. They don’t
have literature. They don’t have language. They have nothing. See? Forget the
moral angle. If that’s all you’ve got to go by, you’ll never get it. Get the
Word of God in your heart. Through the mind and the spirit, down to the soul,
feed the Christ within you. You watch those people’s morals. See? Made free
from the bondage of sin.
Now,
from one bondage slave of the devil, bondage and slavery to Christ. Now
everyone, then, is a bond slave of Jesus, which is a love slave. Because who of
us want to desert Jesus? You go to the world out there, the Fundamentalists…
15. Let
me tell you a cute little trick that’s happening out here. I never knew till
the other day, I listened to the radio coming home, and I like to tune in to
the public radio. And lo and behold there was a man on there, and he was being
asked questions, and he was touting orthodoxy, which broke away from
Catholicism. I did not know that the Orthodox believe more truth in the Godhead
than the Roman Catholic Church. But here’s what dismayed me. There has been a
real resurgence in orthodoxy, and it’s coming by Fundamental believers who were
converted under Billy Graham and his like, are becoming Greek Orthodox Christians.
And they’re saying, “We’ve looked into the faith, and we’ve traced it back
historically. We can’t accept fundamentalism anymore, we are orthodox.” That’s
the situation in the world out there.
See,
they always have been pawns of the devil. They weren’t liberated, although they
talk sweet about Jesus, and they talk all about Him and His love.
Like
I told you this woman in
I
said, “Hogwash! That’s the trouble!” You can talk about Jesus all you want,
but, if you get away from Jesus the Word, you are nothing, because Paul already
knew they had another Jesus, another gospel, another spirit. How in the world
can you go further astray? Already they were turning back to their beggarly
elements. Already they were turning back to a form of worship. Already they
were turning away from the true Gospel, in the day of Paul. We’ll show you
that.
16. Now
all of us then that are truly born again were servants in sin. As Bro. Branham
said, “Come into the world speaking
lies.”
As
David said in Psalm 51, “Shaped in iniquity, conceived in sin, my mother
conceived me in sin.” As far as I know he really wasn’t conceived in sin, as
far as the actual act was concerned, she was the legitimate wife of David’s
father, Jesse. No problem there, the history traces it right through. What was
it? It tells you right there, the Garden of Eden had wrong sex to begin with.
The old serpent got in there, from that time on, the whole thing was defiled
and run down. We came under the thralldom of sin, and now you’re under the
thralldom of Jesus Christ. Which means they’ve completely enthralled and taken
over by one; completely enthralled and taken over by the other.
17. Now
wherein then lies the difference between servants as bond slaves and servants
as stewards? Simply this: both are identical except in one way. Every single
bond slave steps up into a steward by an office that God gives him. And in that
office lie the possibility, and not just the possibility or probability, but
the actual necessities, to make that office a hundred percent functional. You
get what I’m saying? I’ll go over it again. Every single born again Christian… And
I believe [ ] that could extend to the foolish virgin. And then, it goes beyond
that. We’ll show you how it goes to the world church.
But
primarily, basically, every single born again person is a bond slave of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And every single one also has an office. And the office is
what makes you a steward. The first one where you’re bought, and joined back to
God, truly born again, baptized into Jesus Christ, makes you a love slave unto
Christ. That’s why you hear so much about Jesus. But the world has got it in a
perversion. It’s only the true Bride that can really talk about the love
slavery and the love slave that the saints are to Christ.
You’ll
even find that perverted in your filthy magazines where they talk about a movie
star. Movie star my foot; [it’s] movie crud. Don’t put him up there with the
stars and the prostitute woman he’s living with. And what do they do? They call
it a love child, until Madonna has a child, which is… Well, it isn’t a bastard,
I’ve got to admit it, because they’re both free to marry. The parents are
bastards, but not the baby. And then she goes to a priest. Which is fine. [The]
kid doesn’t have any problem. But it’s not going to help the baby to get
baptized with a bit of water. Anymore than nothing. But you see that’s what the
world goes at right there.
18. Now
okay. We have these love slaves through the Word of God. And remember the
“Songs of Solomon” is the love between the Bride and the Groom, and it’s very
specific in its contents. Till Bro. Branham even came to the place where he
said, “Have a sexual spiritual affair at
the end time in order to bring forth the Son manifest in flesh.” Right? All
right. He talked about the conception being in the womb of the mind.
Okay.
These are bond slaves. Everyone. But everyone has an office. Now here’s where
Pentecostals go haywire, as I told you. They go to 1 Corinthians 12. And that’s
a very, very fine chapter, and It tells you here:
(1) Now
concerning spiritual (energies), brethren, I would not have you ignorant.
(2) (You)
know (you) were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols,
In
other words they went into the whipping themselves up, and smoking themselves
up, maybe eating mushrooms that gave them delusions, and dancing and dancing in
a frenzy, until they just get caught up. And don’t think it can’t be done. It
can be done in hypnotism. You can go right into a trance, absolutely caught up
into trances, and don’t try to tell me, because I know all about it. You can
get absolutely caught away in your whirling dervish shenanigans, or anything
else you want to pull off. It can be done.
19. And
then he goes on:
(4) Now
there are diversities of gifts, (but watch: diversities of gifts) but the same
Spirit.
(5) (Different
ways they operate), but the same Lord (doing it).
(6) Diversities
of operations, (I beg your pardon—administrations where they are administered
and utilized. They operate different. It’s one God doing it. But notice,)
(7) The
manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
(8) One
is given by the Spirit (of knowledge—and right down the line, self-same Spirit,
individually giving these offices to people and these gifts.)
(12) For
as the body is one, many members, all members of that one body, being many, are
one body: so also is Christ.
(13) For
by one Spirit baptized into one body, Jew or Gentile…made to drink (of) one
Spirit.
(14) For
the body is not one member, but many.
(15) (And
the) foot (and the ear, and everything else is important to Almighty God.)
In
other words everybody doesn’t have the very same thing. And everybody has need
of each other, every thing that God gives us; we have need of each other.
And
then It says here: [1 Corinthians 12]
(29) Are
all apostles? are all prophets? (No they’re not.) are all teachers? (No way.)
(30) (Do)
all (have) gifts of healing? (No way. No way.)
20. Now
go to Romans 12 and find some more goodies. And It tells you there, verse 3:
[CHECK THIS!)
(3) For
I say, through the grace given (to) me, to every man that is among you, not to
think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly,
according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Now
here’s where Satan fell flat. We’ll show you shortly.
(4) For
as we have many members in one body, all members have not the same office:
(there it is.)
(5) So
we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every member one of another.
(6) Having
then gifts differing (and makes the office, see?) according to the grace given,
prophecy, (we have it by) the proportion of faith;
Now
to each one of these is operated by the proportion of faith, which means your
ability given to you by God. You have everything you need for all of these
gifts, all of these offices. There isn’t one that God has denied anything from,
whatsoever--every single one a member of Christ, member of each other, helping
each other, everyone endued by God, endowed by God. There is no lack, period.
It’s a perfect thing that God has done.
21. Now
just keep reading. Now:
(7) Or
ministry, wait on our ministering: he that teacheth, on teaching; (Now he’s
getting the five-fold caught up in this, see?)
(8) Or
he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that give(s), do with simplicity; he that
rule(s), with diligence; (shows) mercy, with cheerfulness.
(9) (Loving)
without (hypocrisy. And so on.)
So
as Iraneaus said, “There are hundreds of gifts or offices in the body of the
Lord Jesus Christ.”
Now
are you thoroughly saturated [with] what I’ve been telling you? Any questions,
or can you get it? Every single one. Every single one from the blueprint of
God. Even as God said to Moses, “See thou make all things according to the
pattern that I’ve showed thee in the mount.” An absolute pattern. It’s there.
So
none of us lack in anything. And the Bride does not lack in anything.
And
[those] standing around could say, “Well, just a minute. I wonder if the
Bride’s going to make it.”
Don’t
be ridiculous; the Bride is going to make it! Because God’s over the Bride, and
given every single person in that Bride, and even in the foolish virgin, every
single thing requisite to put them in that Kingdom and have God’s complete
fulfillment for that person, for His Bride, and for God Himself, because God
will be completely fulfilled. Don’t you doubt that He won’t be, because He
will. All right.
22. Now,
we got a blackboard here. And I’m not a very good artist. But we’re going to go
right back to where the whole thing started, which is way up in the heavens.
Now,
up in here, we have this area here, and we will call that God. The inscrutable
God, Who is above all, over all, all knowing, and omnipotent. Now, before there
was a speck of stardust, God was there all by Himself. So what we see coming
down from there, we find that as Bro. Branham said, “Before there was an atom, a light formed.” And a light can only
form, if there’s something there to form from it, because that’s what it means
‘to form’: ‘to give a shape to, an outline, to do something with what is
there’. Now this light formed, and, of course, this light came down here, and
we know that that was the Son of God.
23. Now
Bro. Branham tells how that everything, from that point on, there began
creation. Now he doesn’t go into it very strong at that particular time he
talks about all creation, concerning the fact of the worship of things in
heaven. Now it would be my understanding at this time then, that soon as
creation sets in… (This is my own feeling now here, my thinking.) that, if you
are going to have government in heaven, that you are going to have kings, and
retinue, and all those things that are vital to a great Kingdom, you have to
start somewhere. And the first one is the Lord Jesus Christ, and He’s going to
be crowned King of kings and Lord of lords. So, we know, settled right there,
this is that important one in heaven. This is that one that every knee must
bow, and every tongue confess. And this is that one that is set apart for the
great plan of Almighty God. And you’ll notice in there, Bro. Branham calls him
Michael, and at the same time we have over here Satan. And I can bring this red
down here, to show you over here.
24. Now
Satan at that particular time, I believe, was set up in order that there’d be
worship in heaven, the worship of Almighty God. So all right, down through
here, [ ] we have in here, after this then, we will have in here all of these
angelic creation. In here will be cherubs, archangels, angels, whatever you
want to call it. They will be in there. And they are in there. See?
Now
after that has been established… Now my understanding is this would have to precede
the formation of Adam and Eve. Now of course, after this, you find coming down
from here after all this is going on, “Let us make man in our image.” Now this
is coming down through here, see? “Let us make man in our image.” And over here
now, we’re going to have coming down the race, the God race, over here. Which
is fine. Now all of these are just creations.
Now
you will find as we come down here in the human race, all the way down, we’re
going to leave this for the time being, we came down here, and we find down
here, afterward, Jesus takes on flesh. Right? Now, when Jesus takes on flesh
according to the Book of Acts 10, Peter speaking said, “God anointed of Jesus
with the Holy Ghost Who went about doing good and healing all that were
oppressed of the devil.” So here we have an anointing. Now remember the seed is
right in here, of course. So there’s an anointing.
25. Now,
remember the word ‘Christ’ is the same word ‘Messiah’ which means ‘the anointed
One’. So here we have, this is the anointed One. Now what is this anointed One?
He is the prophet, He’s messiah, which he is. He’s the Son of God. He’s God
manifest in flesh. He’s all of these things.
Now
you notice in here, if the anointing was down here… And remember, as He comes
on down, really, He goes up. But I’m talking concerning history, now. What is
He now? He becomes High Priest. Right? Now you can’t be High Priest, unless
you’re anointed for it. Now he didn’t come out of the Aaronic priesthood; He
comes out of
26. Now
let’s look at this. We have over here in the book of Ezekiel: “Thou art the
anointed cherub that covereth.” Okay. Here’s an office; here’s an office.
Michael leading in the service; Satan leading in the service. Now this word
‘anointed’ as I pointed out last time is a strange word, because it comes from
the very root word of ‘this anointing’. But it’s not that. But there’s
something in here, intrinsically from here, that gives this over here. Do you
follow me? Like I mentioned how we look at insulin. You got insulin; [ ] you
can take anything you want to take. That is some type of a compound that you
can change or break down, and yet, it has its root within that very specific
that is here.
Now
let’s look at what we are talking about. When we talk about this anointing. The
Word is the conduit. This Spirit is life. The life is in the Word. The life
also is that same life within all the souls, these genes of God. They’re all in
here. Up here you don’t have that. You got up here creations. Now these
creations up there, this fellow up here created: “Thou was perfect in all thy
ways,” till iniquity was found in him. He was anointed. What then is happening?
The Holy Ghost is giving him an office. That’s what he has; [it]’s an office.
Now
Jesus was that Son of God coming down here with an office. We are sons of God
coming down here with offices. Not just children. Up there, that is not a child
of God. That is not a son of God. That is a creation of God, but he is
anointed. In other words the Holy Ghost has positioned him. Do you follow me
now? But he doesn’t have intrinsically that life to make the complete that you
and I have, or the Son of God has, which we are heir to. Do you follow me so
far? You better, or I’ll lose you, and I don’t want to lose you. I want you to
understand just exactly where I’m coming from, because this is particularly
necessary, and I can’t even follow my notes, because I get ahead of myself, and
back and forth. It doesn’t really matter that much. Okay.
27. Well,
we’ll go to the Bible. And that’s the best place to go. [End of side one of the
first audio tape.]
Ezekiel
28. Now It says here:
(11) Moreover
the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
(12) Son
of man, take up a lamentation (against) the king of Tyrus, and say (to) him,
Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, of wisdom, and perfect in
beauty. (See?)
(13) Thou
hast been in
They
were prepared. In other words, this was a prepared vessel. But not a prepared
vessel as the vessels of God, which are Bride. This is not prepared vessels of
Romans. Remember, in there the vessels were prepared to forerun to glory? They
were the elect ones? This was simply a vessel prepared, but it wasn’t in
Christ; no way, shape and form. Never was in God, a creation of God.
28.
Now:
(14) Thou
art the anointed cherub that covereth;
That
means this anointing was an extension, but it wasn’t the reality, of the
definitive anointing. It was an extension and came out of it. Something that
could be given. See? You follow me? Something that could be given and was
given. Now:
(14) I
have set thee so:
Set
him right up. Are you following me now? Are you referring now as I go along to
the Bride, everyone set in the body? Now you should be able to follow me by
now. I mean this is really quite simple.
(14) Thou
wast upon the holy
(15) Thou
wast perfect in thy ways from the day thou wast created, till iniquity (that is
the perversion of the Word) was found in thee.
So
therefore, this man, this creation, unprogrammed himself from the program of
God. Because the Word was the program. Now there’s nothing that has any value
or sense without Word. That’s why Michener so tremendously said… (And I almost
fell over in my soup to know that man, that Jew writer could say it.) He said,
“When language loses it’s meaning, there is nothing left.” It’s all gone. What
does he think about this age in which we live, when people use language which
no longer has any meaning?
29. (16) By
the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with
violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of
the
(17) Thine
heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by
reason of thy brightness:
Now
in here It says here that “Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty.” In
other words then, God gave him a brightness, an office, that simply overwhelmed
him! He got puffed up. He got egotistical. He got carried away. “Thou hast
corrupted thy wisdom.” In other words, what he had… ‘Corruption’ means ‘to
rot’, because it’s death oriented! Notice where death came in? It came in
through the perverted Word, right up there with Satan.
Well,
come on. What are you going to do about it? You got to find a source someplace.
And the whole thing started in heaven. You got to trace it right back to get
the alpha. Here’s the alpha. Death settled in Satan right there, in creation of
God. Couldn’t settle in Jesus; couldn’t settle in sons. You can’t kill life. Can’t
kill God. Can’t get rid of God. Can’t destroy a part of God. Can’t make a part
of God sin. Can’t make a part of God have unbelief. It’s impossible, because
God’s God. And whether you got a drop of God or ten cubic feet of God, it
doesn’t make any difference; it’s all God. See? How do you think they’re taking
DNA and things like that today and finding things out? Through science …?…
30. Now:
(17) Corrupted
thy wisdom (that’s his ability--his smartness) by reason of thy brightness:
In
other words the office was really too big for him without coming under God. The
minute he decided to move away from God, the Word, he got too big. Just too big
entirely.
(17) …by
reason of thy (splendor, thy) brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, (and)
lay thee before kings,
(18) Thou
hast defiled thy sanctuaries (in) the multitude of thine iniquities, (that’s
his perversion of the Word,) by the iniquity of thy traffic;
He
perverted that too, and that’s in Revelation 18, when the church takes over all
the whole commerce of the world. The whole thing perverted, because he’s not
run by the Word.
(18) …therefore
will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, (and) devour thee, and I will
bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
(19) (And)
they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be
a terror, and never shalt thou be any more. (In other words, he’s a terror at
that time, but he’s not anymore.)
So
what we’re looking at up here, is the fact is here where false worship started,
here’s where all of this stuff that we have right today in the Seventh Church
Age started. It starts right up here. Now, notice. Came from the Holy Spirit.
That’s what it came from. But, what is there is not an evidence that the
creature is of the Holy Spirit. Okay? You follow what I’m saying? Any
questions? Can’t deny it. The anointing comes from the root word of the very
anointing of the Son, right down here. So all right.
31. Let’s
now go to Acts 2. And by the way, I’m on “Stewardship”. He blew his
stewardship. Jesus did not blow his stewardship. His stewardship was what? He
was in a contract and an oath that he agreed upon with his Father, which
contract we are under. So that therefore, what you and I have, and whatever you
and I do, is superceded by the contract of: “All that the Father giveth me will
come to me, and him that cometh I will no wise cast out, and of all that he
giveth me, I will lose none, but raise him up at the last day.” That’s Bride
and non-Bride--of the direct children of Adam. All that died in Adam, through
Eve, and him following Eve. Type of the church--prostitute church. Absolutely,
these are the children which are raised up.
And
remember, when He rose again, that was the surety that there is no way that the
promise of God given to us can fail at any time in any place. That’s why I
preach, not morals, but Gospel; because, in the face of the Gospel, your morals
aren’t worth two bits, because you never have lived it and never will live it.
As Bro. Branham said, “You backslide a
thousand times a day, or sin a thousand times a day,” and I think that’s
mild. By the way I see these starlings fly around, I think that’s a mild, mild
expression.
32. Now
Bro. Peter is talking at Pentecost, when the Holy Ghost came, and they all
began to speak with other tongues. And the people said, “That’s of the devil,
they’re drunk,” and so on.
And
Peter said, “It isn’t.” He said, “This is absolutely a manifestation of the
Holy Ghost.” Now in verse 15: [Acts 2]
(15) These
are not drunken, as (you) suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
(That’s
(16) But
this is that spoken by the prophet Joel;
(17) It
(is) come to pass in the last days, (and there’s two last days of the three.
We’re in the last part. But also it becomes very definitive as to what part of
the last two days.) saith God, I will pour my Spirit upon all flesh: and your
sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men (will) see visions,
and your old men dream dreams:
(18) And
on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out my Spirit (in those days);
and (they’re going to) prophesy (also): (And then what?)
(19) I
will shew wonders in (the) heaven above, and signs in earth beneath; blood, and
fire, and vapour of smoke: (And that’s what? The Great Tribulation.)
So
right to the Great Tribulation, and the great signing off at the end time, is
where you have these two spirits! Right there. So close they’re right before
the throne of God, the cherub that covers… And remember, when he made the ark
and all the pertinences, the accoutrements, from the pattern in the mount was
in heaven. And remember in the mercy seat, the mercy seat is where the angels
spread forth their wings. So this is always a type right here where mercy is
allowed by God. Now you wonder then the devil doesn’t talk mercy, mercy, mercy,
mercy, mercy, mercy, goodie, goodie, goodie, nicey-nicey, nice. Huh? Why, he
was started right with it up there. He knows all about mercy. He’s not going to
have it. He knows all about it. It’s all perverted. Everything he has is
perverted.
33. See,
he exalted himself, raised himself up, because he had this office. And in the
office there was an anointing granted and given by God Who is the Holy Spirit,
and said, “You are that cherub that covers. You’re up there leading in the
worship. I’ve given you this position.” And He made him a tremendous
individual. And the office was one of such great exultation as to be called
glorious and splendorous--full of splendor. And so what happened? He got
carried away by his office! Plain and simple. So what happens? He perverts the
Word. And in the perversion of the Word, he sets in line a whole great big
church coming down here that’s perversion. And Word is the big thing.
So
you cannot doubt that the office was given by God. You cannot doubt whatever
was in there was given by God. The devil didn’t conjure it up. The devil didn’t
make it. “Thou was perfect in all thy ways. Everything was just right. But
until you began perverting the Word, and you began perverting the Word, because
you got puffed up by your office that was granted unto you.” Now what chapter
in the Book of Acts are you beginning to think of? Huh? Somebody tell me. Come
on, you certainly should know by now. Anyway, we’ll get to it, no doubt.
So
therefore, you see here, right at the day of Pentecost, there is absolutely the
definitive anointing of the Holy Ghost upon two groups of people, one of which
is God’s people, and the other is not God’s people. Absolutely not. One are the
true sons of God, the others are not. They are merely sons, what you might
call, by creation, and they claim to have what they do not have; it isn’t real.
34. Now
listen, when Paul came on the scene,
Now
remember, when there was a war in heaven, and Satan began perverting his word
to a bunch of angels, there’s a whole bunch of these angels. Bro. Branham goes
along with
Now,
down here you got a bunch of angels that fell, and when Jesus went to Gadhera,
there was this man in Gadhera, who was bound by about a thousand devils in
there, and he called himself, legion. And the devils were being cast out, and
they said, “Let us go somewhere.”
And
there was a herd of hogs nearby.
“Let
us go into those hogs.”
And
those fallen angels went into the hogs. Now I believe I’m right on this
respect: those are angels positively. They’re called demons now, or devils, but
I believe Bro. Branham did equate them to angelic structure. Okay, what did
they do? They inhabited hogs.
35. Now
let’s read what the Bible says here; this is a more literal translation. And It
said, “Dearly beloved, loved ones, in giving every diligent writing to you
concerning the salvation possessed in common by all of us, I had constraint
laid upon me to write you, beseeching you to contend with intensity and
determination for the faith, once for all entrusted into the safe-keeping of
the saints.”
Now
there you are: they’re stewards. Every single one of us is a steward of the
grace of God, and what measure of Word each one of us has, or any office that
God has given us. We’re stewards, and we’re accountable. And we’ll be judged
according to that.
“For
certain men entered surreptitiously, who were of old, predicted with reference
to this.” (See they’re not predestinated like we are; they’re just referred
to.) “Men destitute of reverential law towards God, perverting the grace of our
God into moral anarchy…”
There
you are. A lack of self-restraint. See, they went off the Word. That’s why
they’re immoral. Off the Word, unbelief. Smoking, drinking, adultery: they’re
not sins. That’s the evidence of sin. The sin is unbelief. See, Bro. Branham
told us the truth.
“And
denying the only absolute master,” (There you are, servants and stewards.)
“even our Lord Jesus Christ. Moreover after mature consideration, I desired to
remind you, though you know all these things once for all, that the Lord,
having saved the people out of the
36. They
had positions, they had offices, and those offices came out of the fact of God
positioning them there, and they were anointed, or dedicated to it.
Now
that’s why Bro. Branham categorically said, “Don’t
you ever dare say tongues, interpretations, and these gifts are of the devil,
they are not! They are gifts of the Holy Ghost, but not the Holy Ghost
Himself!”
Now
there’s a lot of Scripture I could read, but I’m not going to go into it. What
we want to look at here is that this man, this creation, the devil, positively
knowing what he was doing. He perverted the Word of God and brought it to a
place it should not be.
Now
Satan the great perverter was a servant. But he never was a bond slave of God
in the sense that he wanted to serve God and only God, and wanted only the
knowledge of the most High. He had all that sitting right there in front of
him, and he turned the whole thing right down, as we know that he positively
did.
Now
Satan bent, as I said, or perverted the Word of God. [He] took It away from
what It originally was.
37. Now,
let me go over here to Ps 12:6. I think [It’s] what I’m looking at. And It
says:
(6) The
words of the Lord are pure: as silver tried in (the) furnace of earth, purified
seven times.
With
that we want to go to Prov 30:5. See if I can get what I want here.
(5) Every
word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
In
other words every Word of God is pure, and if you believe every Word in its
purity, and [that It is] pure, He’ll be your shield. But don’t count on it if
you don’t, because the Word of God says, “How am I going to hear your prayer,
you that turn away your ear from hearing my Word?” You’ve got to understand
Bro. Branham’s message, and I’m trying to make it very, very clear to you.
38. Now
in Prov 15:26:
(26) The
thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord…
So,
women think that they [can] cut their hair and do this and do that, and their
prayer not an abomination, they’re not an abomination? Men think that
homosexuality is all right, and it’s in the church? Abomination. I can talk
about some of those things. You’d be surprised what I learn by reading the
newspapers and science. You’d be surprised. Science is telling on itself. The
filth that’s in the world, [It’s] jjust telling on itself.
(26) …but
the words of the pure are pleasant words.
Now
what I’m looking at here, are two thoughts on the word ‘pure’. The first word
that we’re looking at, the word ‘pure’ in Ps 12:6 means ‘chemically pure’. It’s
an element. What about that? Wonder where all elements come from? Elements are
what? They’re single feature chemicals, or something. Right? Single feature.
The Word of God is a single solitary unit. Can’t add; can’t take. It’s
chemically pure.
The
next one we read was in Proverbs 30, which means ‘tested’, ‘infused by fire’,
‘can’t change it’. The immutable, tested, proven, vindicated, absolute,
wonderful Word of God, as God Himself. Chemically pure One. Can’t be fooled
with, endures eternal, never changes.
39. Now
what was the last one I read to you?
(26) The
thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord: but the words of the
pure…
Who
are they? Sons of God: chemically perfect; tried by the fire; stand[ing] true;
set for the defense of the Gospel. Bro. Branham said we’re part of the Word.
[The] Bible tells us right here, one hundred percent. See?
Now
the church, or body of Christ, had a great stewardship! Satan had a
stewardship. Christ had a stewardship. Down here there’s a stewardship amongst
the saints. Every one is a bond slave. Every one is a steward. Every one has
something from God. Every one has a position. Nobody [is] bigger than the
other; it just looks as though one person is bigger than another. But Paul
said, “Upon the uncomely greater things are bestowed, so the lesser is as great
as the bigger, or the greater.” And he said, “There’s no great ones amongst
us.” And he stood right there as the hand of God and said: “If the hand does
it, the body does it.” And he was doing it, huh? Absolutely.
Hey,
now I could shout. And you see, if I ran shouting and screaming now, all my
good brethren out there [woul]d say, “Vayle’s really gone crazy. He’s shouting
in the wrong places.” I got news for you: they’re shouting in the wrong places.
I kid you not. I’m serious. [ ] So I mean I feel great, because these things
are so wonderful.
40. Now
these down here, they got a perverted Word, and they’re religious, and they
must worship. Now Satan doesn’t have a word of his own. So he takes every
single thing and perverts it. That’s why you find everybody thinks in religion:
“All the roads lead to
And
that’s the new thing going out now, you know, “Everybody’s got something good.”
Oh well, I’m not going to argue that. Sure they all got hair and teeth until
they lose them. They’re going to lose their souls too.
41. Now
the church or body of Christ had a great stewardship and responsibility to
bring forth children unto God and mature them, [ ] and also remember, to give
great glory to God. So we go to Ephesians 3, to give you my understanding.
[Verse] 21.
(21) Unto
him be glory in the church (that’s God) by Jesus (Christ) throughout all ages,
world without end.
Satan
cut his off! He said, “Forget about worshipping God. I’m going to get worship.”
The
church says, “Forget about worshipping God. We’re going to worship ourselves.
We become the gate, the door, everything else.”
The
Catholic church says, “Come to u. We’ll let you in.”
Hogwash.
[It’ll] let you into hell, then close the door on you! See?
To
give glory to God by Jesus Christ in the church!
The
devil’s object is to take away glory from God through the same Jesus Christ.
And he’s done it! He’s taken away the Word. When you take away the Word, you
take away Jesus. I don’t care what anybody says. Brother/sister, search your
Scripture. You’re going to find that Word is very, very important, as you well
know It is.
42. Now
we go to Ephesians 4. Now in Ephesians 4, I want you to notice something. Verse
4:
(4) There
is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
(5) One
Lord, one faith, one baptism,
(6) One
God and Father of all, who is above all, through all, and in you all.
(7) But
unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of
Christ.
There
you are right there. Every single one has something from God. It even goes to
the false church can get something from God. But it doesn’t mean you got God or
God’s got you, because you got something from God. And it can be genuine and
real. You can heal the sick and raise the dead and cast out devils, and it’s
all done by gifts. It’s done by God’s bequeathing. Now let’s find out more
about it.
(8) He
(said), When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts
unto men.
(9) (Now
he (that) ascended, what is it but he that also descended first into the lower
parts of the earth?
(10) (And)
he that descended is the same also that ascended up far above heaven, that he
might fill all things (in all).)
(11) And
he gave some, apostles; and some, (pastors); and some, evangelists; (and so on,
right down the line, to give the church its ability to grow and to fulfill the
whole Word of God and come right up to Christ.)
43. Now
what I’m looking at is this:
(8) Wherefore
(when) he (said), When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and
(he) gave gifts unto men.
That’s
exactly what He did. He gave gifts unto men. Now, if we go to reading Ephesians
4 a little further, He gives the five-fold ministry.
(12) (To
perfect) the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body
of Christ:
(13) Till
we all come in the unity of the faith, and the knowledge of the Son of God,
(to) a perfect man (and so on.)
(14) That
we henceforth be no more children,
(15) But
(holding) the truth in love, grow up into him…
And
that’s what the church has to do, and giving glory to God by Jesus Christ the
Spirit of God within the church. Now that’s what they were supposed to do. But
look what happened over here in Revelation 3.
(14) And
unto the (messenger) of the (church of the Seventh Church Age) write; These
things saith the Amen, (the finisher upper,) the faithful and true witness, the
beginning of the creation of God;
(15) I
know (your) works, (you’re) neither hot (nor cold): I would (you were) hot (or
cold).
(16) Because
(you are) lukewarm, neither hot (or cold), I will spue thee out of my mouth.
(17) Because
thou sayest, I am rich, increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and
know not (you’re) wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked:
(18) I
counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, (and so on.)
Now
these people in the Laodicean Church Age, which are our age, should have been
white hot in its faith, for the works of God is to believe on him whom He hath
sent. Now remember in here, he said, “I know thy works, that you’re neither
cold nor hot. And I’m going to spew you out of my mouth. You’re lukewarm.”
44. Now,
let’s check it out. So where are we going to go? We’re going to go to John 6,
aren’t we? That’s exactly where we’re going to go. And we’re going to read in
John 6, and where are we? We’re going to read verse 27.
(27) Labour
not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto
everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: (Now notice, Son of
man. That’s prophet. “Give to you.”) for him hath God the Father sealed.
(Vindicated. And the word ‘sealed’ also means ‘put an end to it’. And it means
also ‘the sum total’, ‘the complete summation’.)
(28) Then
said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might (do) the works of God?
(29) (And)
Jesus answered and said, This is the work of God, that (you) believe on him
whom he hath sent.
(30) (And)
they said therefore, What sign (do you show us), that we may see, and believe?
(31) Our
fathers (ate) manna… (And they went right back to a dead issue. They forgot
Deuteronomy 18. They deliberately put it out of their minds.)
In
other words, when it came time for the works of God, which would be brought,
and can be brought, and must be brought, primarily through a vindicated
prophet, then through a true five-fold ministry… Because that’s exactly what
Paul taught in Ephesians 4. The five-fold ministry with the vindicated Word.
Remember, Paul wrote it. The same Paul that said, “If any man thinks he’s a
prophet, or full of the Holy Ghost, he will admit that I have the Word of God,
and nobody else has it.” Now come on, that’s what he said. “He will acknowledge
the things that I say are the commandments of God.” The word ‘acknowledge’
means “He will superimpose my words over everybody else’s word. I’m it.”
“Oh,
bless God, bless God, …?…”
That’s
what crucified Jesus Christ.
“Oh
bless God, bless God, bless God.” …?…. over their unbelieving faith, they’re
glorifying the Lord. “Oh can’t be, oh can’t be, hallelujah, hallelujah. Can’t
be, can’t be, hallelujah, hallelujah.”
That’s
on tape; you should get the video. I’m not kidding. These guys are weird.
They’re devil possessed—not devil possessed, but they’re weird. See?
45. Now
the contents of John 6 that I read over here, of course, are found in 28-40,
which I won’t take time to read, because It is nothing more nor less than
Deuteronomy 18, concerning the true prophet. And Jesus was that prophet! Isn’t
that what Moses prophesied, a prophet? Then all right, call him a prophet. This
was a little different than all the prophets though. This wasn’t one where God
appeared in a Pillar of Fire and talked lip to ear, as the saying goes. This is
where God was in the man right straight. This was the fullness of the Godhead
bodily. We’ll go into that in various angles too.
Now the revealed Word of the Seventh Church Age was: you’re wretched, miserable, blind, and don’t know it. These people said, “We’re rich, increased in goods, have need of nothing.” They thought they knew, but they didn’t know. Their knowledge was a hundred percent opposite to the knowledge of God. Tha