Desperation
no 23
A time
of Shaking
May 11, 2016
Brian
Kocourek, Pastor
Let
us remain standing as we read our text from Psalm 105:beginning at verse 1 "O give thanks unto the LORD; call
upon his name: make known his deeds among the people.
2 Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his
wondrous works. 3 Glory ye in his holy name: let
the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD. 4 Seek
the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore. 5 Remember
his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth; 6 O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye
children of Jacob his chosen. 7 He is the LORD our God: his judgments are in all the earth. 8 He
hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which
he commanded to a thousand generations. 9 Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac; 10 And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a
law, and to Israel for
an everlasting covenant: 11 Saying, Unto thee
will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance: 12 When they were but a few men in number; yea, very few, and strangers in it. 13 When they went from one nation
to another, from one kingdom to another people; 14 He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea,
he reproved kings for their sakes; 15 Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm. 16 Moreover he called for a famine upon the
land: he brake the whole staff of bread. 17 He
sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant:
18 Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron: 19 Until
the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him.
20 The king sent and loosed him; even
the ruler of the people, and let him go free. 21 He
made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his substance: 22 To bind his princes at his
pleasure; and teach his senators wisdom. 23 Israel
also came into Egypt; and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
24 And he increased his people greatly; and made them stronger
than their enemies. 25 He turned their heart to
hate his people, to deal subtilly with his servants.
26 He sent Moses his servant; and
Aaron whom he had chosen. 27 They shewed his
signs among them, and wonders in the land of Ham. 28 He sent darkness, and made
it dark; and they rebelled not against his word. 29 He
turned their waters into blood, and slew their fish.
30 Their land brought forth frogs in abundance, in the chambers
of their kings. 31 He spake, and there came
divers sorts of flies, and lice in all their coasts. 32 He gave them hail for rain, and flaming fire in their land. 33 He smote their vines also
and their fig trees; and brake the trees of their coasts.
34 He spake, and the locusts came, and caterpillers, and that
without number, 35 And did eat up all the herbs
in their land, and devoured the fruit of their ground.
36 He smote also all the firstborn in their land, the chief of
all their strength. 37 He brought them forth also
with silver and gold: and there was not one
feeble person among their tribes.
38 Egypt was glad when they departed: for the fear of them fell upon them. 39 He spread a cloud for a covering; and
fire to give light in the night. 40 The people asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied
them with the bread of heaven. 41 He opened the
rock, and the waters gushed out; they ran in the dry places like a river. 42 For he
remembered his holy promise, and Abraham his servant. 43 And he brought forth his people with
joy, and his chosen with gladness: 44 And gave them the lands of
the heathen: and they inherited the labour of the people;
45 That they might observe his statutes, and keep his laws.
Praise ye the LORD."
The
Apostle Paul said in Hebrews 12:6 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised,
saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only,
but also heaven.
Let us pray,...
It is important to understand what David meant by this because we see the same thing has repeated again in this hour.
Now, there are two Doctrinal principals that William Branham
was opposed by the naysayers more than any others, and that was:
Principal
#1) Vindication. Which is
this, "God is here to back up one man,
so "be still
and know." Or in other words, "shut up and
listen."
We see in Psalm 103: 7 David teaches us the importance of
vindication when he says, "He made known His
ways unto Moses, His acts unto the children of Israel."
Here we see that
although the people actually saw the vindication in operation, they did not
understand it because God's ways were still not visible to them. It took Faith
which is the Sixth sense to know the ways of God and the people, although they
could see the pillar of Cloud and the Pillar of Fire, yet they were not seeing
with the inner sense called faith what God was doing, but they were just seeing
with their eyes and hearing with their ears, but not understanding with their
hearts.
First we hear
Moses tell us this was the condition of the people at the first Exodus in Deuteronomy 29:4 Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to
see, and ears to hear, unto this day.
Then we hear
Isaiah repeat this in Isaiah 6:10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make
their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear
with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
And again in Isaiah
32:3 And
the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear
shall hearken.
Then Jeremiah
the prophet again repeats this in Jeremiah 5:21 Hear now this, O foolish people, and
without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear
not:
And then Jesus
speaks of this same condition in Matthew 13:10-17:
10 And the disciples came, and said unto him,
Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 11 He
answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you
to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 12 For
whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but
whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. 13 Therefore
speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear
not, neither do they understand. 14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By
hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and
shall not perceive: 15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing,
and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand
with their heart, and
should be converted, and I should heal them. 16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and
your ears, for they hear. 17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and
have not seen them;
and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
And then we
hear the Apostle Paul echo this same thought in Romans
11:8 (According
as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they
should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.
Acts 28:25 And when they agreed not among themselves,
they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost
by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, 26 Saying,
Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand;
and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: 27 For
the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing,
and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their
ears, and understand with their heart, and should
be converted, and I should heal them. 28 Be it
known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles,
and that they will hear it.
29 And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had
great reasoning among themselves. 30 And Paul
dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in
unto him, 31 Preaching the kingdom of God, and
teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence,
no man forbidding him.
Now, we hear William Branham warn us in
this sermon that this phenomenon will repeat in this day. And frankly we have
seen the fulfillment of this when we speak to those people who have left the
Message and now believe in a Trinity and all forms of ungodly doctrine.
And why is this?
Because they did not receive God's prophets that He personally vindicated that
He was with them. God said, when you see Him you see me. But they did not have
the Faith to believe this and so although they saw with their eyes, but in
their hearts they were still blinded to the reality of His Presence among us.
And in Psalm 95 we see that because the people did not know God's ways,
they erred in their hearts concerning what God was doing.
Psalm
95: 8-11 "Harden not your heart, as in the provocation,
and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted Me, proved Me, and saw My work.
Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people
that do err in their heart, and they have not known My ways: So I swore
in My wrath that they shall not enter into My rest."
But never forget that Moses knew God's ways, but the people
did not. They only saw His acts, but they could not put it together like Moses
could. Because they were not ordained to it.
Isaiah
55:8 For my thoughts are not your
thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the
earth, so are my ways higher than your
ways, and my thoughts than your
thoughts.
David told us that Moses, God's prophet
understood the ways of God, but the people only saw the acts but did not
understand the why's and wherefore's behind those actions of God. But God
reveals His mind to His Prophets first. It is always that way, and then the
prophet reveals God's ways to the people if the peole will believe all that the
prophets have spoken.
Amos
3:7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret
unto his servants the prophets.
Brother Branham said in Desperation pp. 36 They
had seen the great hand of God. They'd
saw all of His miracles, and then they come under the sign of the token.
And while they were under the sign of the token, they taken the Communion in desperation, for they knew at
that time God was fixing to strike with judgment. And it was a shaking time. It was a time where every man was
examining himself, because the Word of the prophet had not failed one time.
It had been proven to be true. Whatever he said, it
happened just exactly the way he said it. The Pillar of Fire was still there. And then, the prophet had announced that God would
only pass over when He
saw the token at the door. And it was a desperation.
37 I'd
imagine the children when they saw those big,
black wings drop down from the sky like a smoke settling over the city, the
screams coming from every house, the children might've went to their daddy
and said, "Daddy,
are you sure that we're under that token."And
he could go to the door, look upon the post and the lintel and say, "Son, that's according to His Word." "Remember, I'm your
oldest child. Daddy, are you positive?" "I am positive. That's
according to what the prophet told us, and he has the Word of the Lord. Said, 'When
I see the blood, I'll pass over you. Take a lamb for the house.' I've brought all you children in.
You're my oldest, but my firstborn; that's the one that's dying all out in
there. But there is the blood. That's what THUS
SAITH THE LORD was. So rest, my son, rest at ease
because God made the promise." See? "Well, daddy, why you
got your shoes on? Why you got the staff in your hand? Why have you got a piece
of bread in one hand and a lamb in the other hand? Why is them bitter herbs and
things? What are you eating it? What's the sweat running off your face
about?" "Son, death's fixing to strike." See, it was in a
time of desperation.
38 Now,
I believe that we're living in the days that we're... Or otherwise, the days that we're living in should cause the church to go completely
into desperation.
I believe since the message this morning from God, not me, I believe it ought to throw this entire congregation into desperation, that we have played long enough. We've went to church long
enough. We got to do something. How is it that we can see other
great signs and wonders done on others, and what about us? It should
cause an estate of desperation, that we are determined, before God... The signs of His coming should bring this entire congregation, when
we've read it from the Word... And the Holy Spirit has told us, "Go at a
certain place; such-and-such a thing will happen," not tell us what it
was, but it would happen. We go there; it happens that way. The newspapers pack
it. The magazines pack it, show the picture of it. Come back here and see those
great mysteries hidden in the Bible, opened up to us on a new field that we
never knowed before, and perfectly blends in to the coming of the Lord Jesus.
And we find
David telling us in Psalm 103: 1-22 A Psalm of David. Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is
within me, bless his holy name. 2 Bless
the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all
his benefits: 3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy
diseases;
And so Brother
Branham said in Only
One True Living Church 51-0727 45 Psalms 103:3 said, "I'm the Lord
Who forgives all of thine iniquity (Do you
believe that?), Who heals all of thy diseases." Now, you might come and confess your sins to me,
and ask me to pray for you, but I cannot
forgive you. If you sinned against me, I can forgive you. But if you sinned against God, He is the only
one that can forgive. And He has forgiven every person in the world, and
ever will be in the world. They're
already forgiven, but it will never
help them until they accept it by faith and then confess it. And He's
healed all the sick people, but it will never help them, until they confess it
by faith, and believe it, and act upon
their confession. "For as the body is
dead without the Spirit," says James,
"so is faith without works." You've got
to believe it and act like it. When
you accept Him as your Saviour, you've got to believe it and act like Him.
Lets read on... 4 Who redeemeth thy
life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender
mercies; 5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with
good [things; so that] thy youth is renewed like the eagle's. 6 The LORD executeth righteousness and
judgment for all that are oppressed. 7 He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts
unto the children of Israel. 8 The
LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. 9 He will not always chide: neither will he
keep his anger for ever. 10 He hath not
dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. 11 For as the heaven is high above the earth,
so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. 12 As far as the east is from the west, so
far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that
fear him. 14 For he knoweth our frame;
he remembereth that we are dust. 15 As
for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he
flourisheth. 16 For the wind passeth
over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more. 17 But the mercy of the LORD is from
everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto
children's children; 18 To such as keep
his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them. 19 The LORD hath prepared his throne in the
heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.
20 Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his
commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. 21 Bless ye the LORD, all [ye] his hosts;
[ye] ministers of his, that do his pleasure.
22 Bless the LORD, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless
the LORD, O my soul.
Again we see brother Branham tells us in Desperation pp. 39 Then at the end of the messages, see the
action of the great Holy Spirit; see Him come down visible before people,
even take pictures of It; see It working and showing that it's not a man; it's
not just a preacher; it's not
a certain congregation; It's
the Holy Spirit showing the same thing It did when It was embodied in the body
of Jesus Christ. Now, It's
embodied in the Body of His Bride. It should throw us into
desperation.
40 Those people had seen the hand of God.
And that night of the Communion, they took it in desperation, because they
knowed that something was fixing to happen. And we know something's fixing to happen. And remember, the coming of the Lord will be a sudden, secret
going away. He will come and take Her like a thief in the night. And to think that if somebody... All of a sudden, there's members of our
family gone, and you're left behind, it should throw us into desperation that, by the grace, of God, we'll
not be left back behind. If there's anything I don't want... Don't leave me, Lord. A
few days ago I was hearing Mel Johnson sing that song: Remember me when tears
are falling down. (Yes!) Remember me
when friends are not around. When I cross over this river Jordan, When
You're calling the roll, remember me.
Now, God is more willing than we are to get us
rapture ready. He has come down in this hour with a Message to make ready a
prepared people. That is what he promised us in His Word, and he
that gave the promise is here to perform it.
Yet the people want to fuss with it. God came down with healing in his
wings, and we see more supernatural vindication of His Divine presence in this
end time ministry of William Branham than we saw in the entire 3-1/2 year
ministry of the firstborn son of God, and yet the people have looked upon the
acts of God, and even have claimed to "believe the sign", yet why do they question the sign
God has given us? And the prophet of God is always the sign that God is on the
earth, yet the people always reject the voice of that sign.
The
people saw the acts of God but only Moses understood the ways of God. And so we hear God's prophet
warn us in these last few paragraphs concerning the destructions that are to
come, and these last few paragraphs are very sobering when we know the coming
of the Lord is so close at hand, and yet people are showing their lack of
understanding which reveals their lack of interest in the actual Second Coming
of Christ, and they show it by their preoccupation with the cares of this life.
And because of that they are not even aware what God is doing in the hearts of
His elect right now, creating in them a hunger and thirst for righteousness
that grows stronger and stronger each day.
Now, we are
warned that there must come a falling away first.
Luke 8:13 They on the rock are they, which, when
they hear, receive the word with joy;
and these have no root, which for a
while believe, and in time of
temptation fall away.
Hebrews 6:6 If they shall fall away, it is impossible for
them to renew themselves again unto repentance (a change of the
mind); seeing
fell away when they crucified to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him
to an open shame.
And we know that the day where the
falling away will be earmarked by the people being deceived first.
2 Thessalonians 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for
that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man
of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2 Peter 3:17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know
these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the
wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.
And we know the
falling away has already begun. 1 John 2: 19 they went out from us because they were not of us. And it comes via a great deception and turning away
from the truth.
Ephesians 4: 14 let no man deceive you, that we be not
deceived. They lie in wait to deceive.
Ephesians 5: 6 let no man deceive you
2 Thessalonians 2: 1-3 let no man deceive you by any means, there
must be a falling away, a letter, by word or spirit.
1 John 3: 7 let no man deceive you, he that doeth
right-wise-ness is rightly wise.
In Matthew 22:29 Jesus
tells us how they fall into error when he says, "you err by not knowing the scripture nor the
power of God."
And
again Paul tells us the same in Hebrews 3:10 ye do err not knowing my ways.
James 5:19 19 Brethren,
if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
20 Let him know, that he which converteth the
sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a
multitude of sins. And
to err from the truth is the same as to go astray or to fall away.
1 Peter 2: 25 as sheep going astray that Greek word
is planao
and means: to wander, to go
astray, to err or be out of the way
Psalm 95:10 a people who do not know my ways, that is
why they err in their hearts
Hebrews 10: 29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he
be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted
the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and
hath done despite unto the Spirit of
grace? Now, that
word despite was translated from a Greek word which means to insult, and that
is exactly what most of these people have done that have left the Message. They
go away insulting rather than just going away and at most saying I just made a
mistake and I am moving on with my life. No they go away and begin to do battle
against the very thing they came out from.
Psalm 103: 7 He made known His ways to Moses, His acts
unto the children of Israel. Notice now, that this promise from God concerns those that have
done one of three things, and in fact by doing one of these three things, they
are guilty of doing despite to all three.
Number 1) they
have trodden under foot
the Son of God. They have not shown proper respect toward the Son of God, and have taken Him for
granted.
Number 2) they
have counted the blood of the covenant an unholy thing. In other words they count the blood of the covenant
as a common thing. They do not count the blood of the covenant as something
that is precious and special, or highly esteemed and of great value to them.
And therefore,
Number 3) they
have done despite unto the Spirit of Grace.
Now what does it means "to trod under foot the Son of God." What does it mean to be “trodden under foot”.
Now, in order to understand this we must look at
the first example of when man was permitted to come into the presence of God
since after being expelled from God’s presence in the garden.
In the Book of Exodus we see the story of Moses
when God called Him to come into His presence. When this took place, the very
first command given to Moses by God as he began to approach the very presence
of God was to take off his shoes.
Exodus 3:5 And he said, Draw
not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place where
on thou standest is holy ground.
Now, Moses was approaching that burning bush which
was not consumed. The Pillar of Fire had anointing that bush to get Moses
attention that deliverance was on its way. God is not the Pillar of Fire but
the Pillar of Fire represents the Shekinah Presence of God.
John tells us in 1 John 1:7 “If we walk in the light
as He is IN the light, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us
from all sins.”
It appeared to Moses that He must walk into the
presence of that Pillar of fire to be able to talk with God, so too today we
must walk in the light as He is in the Light in order to have fellowship with
Him. So we are talking about a walk. He never said talk it, he said walk it.
And so we are looking at the way in which we are to enter into His Presence.
Again when Joshua came before the presence of
God when the Lord appeared to Joshua as the Captain of the Lord of Host, Joshua
was told as we see in Joshua 5:15 And the captain of the LORD'S host said unto
Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest
is holy. And Joshua did so.
There is an old proverb that says, “Fools will walk with hobnailed shoes where angels
fear to trod.”
Brother Branham makes reference to this in the sermon God Hiding in Simplicity.
God hiding Himself in simplicity 63-0412E
P:65 Could you imagine a man
like Moses, an ordinary man doing the things that he did? Could you imagine
that Elijah, an old, woolly-looking fellow with hairs all over his body and a
piece of sheepskin draped around him, could you imagine God taking a thing like
that, when there stood priests, and clergymen that was robed, and polished in
their theology, just as smooth as they could be? But God bypassed every one of
them. He always does. Tell me one time He ever did it. Never. No, sir. He
bypassed the whole thing to come down to some simple form. He reveals
Himself, and works in simplicity, real simple so that everybody will understand
it. That's what makes Him great. He comes simple, simplifying it. And
now, He bypassed... 66 Although the world was
full of great scholars in that day, but not a one of them did He use. He found
a simple sort of a fellow. But remember, this kind was in that age. But you
see, the spirit that he come in was too simple for their education.
They already had it figured out what could come. They was so highly
polished until they missed the simplicity of it, and sometimes walk
over the top of it, make fun of it. It reminds me of the old proverb,
"Fools will walk with hobnailed shoes where angels fear to trod."
A man will see the works of God going on, and know that it's the works of God,
and stand and call it the works of the devil. Jesus said that's blasphemy.
"If you say a word against I, the Son of man, it shall be forgiven you.
But whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost will not be forgiven them in this
world, neither in the world that is to come." See? But we walk with
hob-nailed shoes where Angels fear to trod. We’re so smart, we're so polished,
that that's what's becoming of our America. We're too smart. We're educating
ourselves away from God.
Notice he said, "they was so highly polished until they missed the
simplicity of it,
and sometimes walk over the top of it, make fun of it."
So you see the Apostle Paul is speaking of the attitude
in which they come to the Son of God, and the attitude they have towards the
blood of the covenant. And we see when he speaks of them trampling under foot, he is
speaking of an attitude in which they approach the very presence of God,
and by using the phrase “trampling
underfoot” he is showing the
disrespectful attitude they have towards the Son of God and the
blood of the covenant. As brother Branham said, “they walk all over it." Now if you hold something of great value
you do not walk over it and you are very careful how you walk around it.
I remember the first time I went to the state
capital in Minnesota as a child, and in the center of the rotunda, they
had the seal of the state of Minnesota laid out in Marble in the
floor. You were not permitted to walk on it or over it, but you had to walk
around it, because it demanded respect because it represented all the blood,
sweat and tears of our forefathers who made it possible for that land to become
a state.
We read in Hebrews 10: 29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be
thought worthy, who hath trodden under
foot the Son of God, and hath
counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy
thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
Notice now, that this promise of punishment from
God concerns those that have done one of three things, and in fact by doing one
of these three things they are guilty of showing disrespect to all three of
them.
Number
1) they have trodden under foot the Son of God. In other words, they have shown him so little
respect that they feel free to walk all over him. To take advantage of Him.
Number
2) In so
doing they have counted the
blood of the covenant an unholy thing. They can talk about the blood all they want to but they show by
their attitude towards the Son of God what they really feel about the blood of
the covenant.
Number
3) They thus have done despite unto the Spirit of
Grace. The word despite means
to
insult, and by their actions and attitude towards the Son of God they have insulted
the Grace of God. Thus when they turn down the Son of God they turn
down the Blood of the Covenant and when they turn down the Blood of the
Covenant they have turned down Grace. And when Grace is turned down they will
revert to works, and we see it happen every time that way.
Therefore, We know the feet are significant in the Scriptures
because they represent our ability to walk and carry the body from one place to
another. And they signify our being prepared, or our preparedness.
Ephesians 6:15 And
your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
John says, “If we walk in the
light as He is in the Light, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all
sin”. Paul tells
us that "they have trodden under
foot the Son of God, they have counted the blood of the covenant an unholy
thing, and They thus have done despite unto the Spirit of Grace.
In referring to this scripture William Branham
said in his sermon, Redemption
By Power 54-0329 73 Paul dressing up a man for the battlefield,
for the march. God, in beginning of delivering of Israel, He said, "Now,
you ought to get ready for the march. When you come under the
blood, put on your shoes. Gird up your loins. Get your staff in
your hand and get ready for the call." I like that. A man now, when he
comes into Christ, he gets his Gospel shoes on to preach the Gospel, …
And from his sermon, Greatest Battle Ever
Fought 62-0311 45-3 And your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace; (Go anywhere, any place, any time: feet shod
with the Gospel. See?
Notice when Moses came into God’s Presence,
God told Him to take off the shoes he had been wearing. This was a command for
Moses to show respect, and taking your shoes off at the door of the home you
visit shows respect for the homeowner that you respect their home. Then Joshua
was told to do the same.
In the North where I grew up it was a customary
thing for us to do to take off our shoes when we entered someone’s home. When
you go to Norway or Sweden or many other countries I
have visited, it is also customary to take off your shoes before entering into
the home. Especially if that home has rugs on the floor.
Brother Branham said the same thing in his
sermon PRIDE
55-0807A E-38 You know, the custom in the Palestine country,
the first thing happens when you're invited to a royal entertainment like that,
when you come to the door you're all dirty, you stink; you're not a fit subject
then for entertainment. You'd be embarrassed to walk in those lovely homes with
all that on your feet and everything, and the way you look and sweaty and
everything. What's the first thing? When a guest arrives, they got a flunky,
the poorest paid man on the job. When
I think that my Lord girded Himself and washed people's feet, He took the
lowest place, when He deserved the highest place. But He took the lowest place, to wash the dung and dirt from their
feet, become the humblest of servants. There's not another servant
got as humble a job as the flunky that washes the feet. But when you come to a home of that type in the eastern country,
Palestine, the flunky meets you at the door, goes to one of the wells and draws
him a great basin of good clear water, and he removes your sandal, or your
shoe, sets your feet up across his knee, and he washes all this dirt, and dust,
and dung, and stuff off of your body. And then he takes another towel and wipes
your feet, and he washes them, sets them down. And then he takes your sandals and sets them up on a little mantle
like, sets them along like this at the door of entrance. Then he goes over, and
he finds a pair of fine satin, silk slippers; they're soft. That's the
complements of the host. He does that; he has them setting there; he put them
upon your feet until he finds one that fits you comfortably.
Now, they do that for respect. The shoes that
are prepared with the Gospel of Peace are those shoes that take you into the
presence of the Holiest of Holies.
Now that means that there are three things here that will bring upon a person the wrath of
God. And in order to understand what these three things are, we must first
understand to whom they will come upon. And to better understand why the Apostle
lists three things, we must back up and begin reading from Hebrews
10:19 through verse 31.
Hebrews 10:19 ¶ Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the
blood of Jesus,
Now, we know that God is the Holiest of Holies.
In other words Paul is telling us here the way in which we are allowed to come into the
Presence of God is by the Blood of Jesus. In the previous verses Paul
tells us that at one time the High Priest was allowed into the presence of God
by the sprinkling of the blood of an innocent lamb.
Hebrews 10:1 ¶ For the law having a shadow of good things to
come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices
which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the
worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. 3 But in
those [sacrifices there is] a remembrance again [made] of sins every year. 4
For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away
sins. 5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice
and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: 6 In burnt
offerings and [sacrifices] for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
Paul tells us here that although God allowed the
sinner to show or acknowledge his sin via the sacrifice of a substitute blood,
yet that substitute blood of a dumb animal could never bring the sinner to a
new mind and one free from guilt.
Then he tells us there was only one sacrifice
that could take away the remembrance of sin, and that was the sacrifice of the
Lamb of God.
Hebrews 10:7 ¶ Then said I, Lo, I come in the volume
of the book it is written of me, to do thy will, O God. 8 Above when he said, Sacrifice
and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not,
neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; 9 Then said
he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may
establish the second. 10 By the which will we are sanctified through
the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 And every priest
standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which
can never take away sins:
Now, here is the key in this next verse… 12 But this man, (Notice, this Man, not this badger skin, not a
spirit he is talking about, but THIS MAN) after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for
ever, sat down on the right hand of God; 13 From henceforth
expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. 14 For by one offering he
hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. 15 [Whereof] the Holy Ghost
also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, 16 This [is] the
covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will
put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. 18 Now
where remission of these [is, there is] no more offering for sin. 20 By a new
and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil,
that is to say, his flesh; And [having] an high priest
over the house of God; 22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance
of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies
washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the profession of [our]
faith without wavering; (for he [is] faithful that promised;) 24 And let us
consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25 Not
forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some [is]; but
exhorting [one another]: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
26 For if we sin willfully (that means if we disbelieve willfully) after that we have received the knowledge of
the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
And what is the Truth? Jesus said “John 14:6 "Jesus saith
unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father,
but by me". So
the Truth is that He is the Son of God and no man can come to the Father unless
he acknowledges that the Father has a son.
1 John 2: 23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same
hath (echoes) not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath (echoes) the Father
also.
1 John 5: 12 He that hath
(echoes) the Son hath (echoes) life; and he that hath
(echoes) not the Son of God hath (echoes) not life.
1 John 5: 10 He that believeth on the Son of God hath (echoes) the witness in
himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth
not the record that God gave of his Son.
John 3: 36 He that believeth on the Son hath (echoes) everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall
not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
2 John 1: 9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the
doctrine of Christ, hath (echoes) not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath (echoes) both the Father and the Son.
John 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he
that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the
name of the only begotten Son of God.
John 5: 23 That all men should honor the Son, even as they
honor the Father. He that honors not the Son honors not the Father which hath
sent him.
Acts 13: 33 God hath fulfilled the same unto us their
children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also
written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.
Now, in getting back to Hebrews 10: let’s pick up at verse 27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment
and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. 28He that
despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses.
Now here is where we pick up on the two or three
witnesses allowing all things to be established. And then Paul tells us in the
next verse three things which will cause the punishment of God to be severe.
Hebrews 10:29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought
worthy, who hath (1) trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath (2) counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was
sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath (3) done despite unto the
Spirit of grace?
Notice those are the three witness in a man that
shows he is the one Paul is peaking of here that are ordained to receive the
sever punishments of God, for in the mouth of two or three let all things be
established.
30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance [belongeth] unto me, I
will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
31 [It is] a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
The Apostle Paul begins here by saying, “Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought
worthy”, and so we must know just
what this means. Of how much sorer punishment suppose ye. What does that mean…
NIV Anyone who rejected the
law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.29 How
much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has (1) trampled
the Son of God under foot, (that mean to disrespect
the Son of God) (2) who has treated as
an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him,...
Now notice this is one
who had come up through sanctification, but as it tells us in Hebrews 6, they have turned down the Blood of the
covenant by turning down the once for all enlightenment) and (3) and
who has insulted the Spirit of grace? And remember we have
shown you in several sermons over the years that the spirit of Grace comes to
us at the time of the Apokolupsis which is the revealing of Christ, which is
this Great Message we have of the Mighty God unveiled before us, declaring Him that He is Here!
30 For we know him who
said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord
will judge his people." 31 It is a dreadful thing to fall
into the hands of the living God.
Let us pray.