Desperation no 49

Resurrection no 6 Ripening in the Sun

September 4, 2016

Brian Kocourek, Pastor

Ephesians 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 4  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,...

Now, the words we just read concerning the adoption of children is actually taken from one Greek word which is spelled "huiothesia" and this word actually means "the placing of a son". So this adoption of sons is all about the placing of sons.

Brother Branham explains this in his sermon, Hear ye Him 56-0611 P:18 where he says, "Now, the picture that I wish to place before you tonight is this: In the Old Testament there was a law called the placing of sons. Or it is said in Ephesians 1:5, I believe, that Christ, God has predestinated us to the adoptions of sons by Jesus Christ. If you'll run your reference on that, you'll find out it comes back into the Old Testament as "placing of a son", "the son being placed". Now, in the Bible we find like John 14, it seems to be very strange to some of us. "In My Father's house is many mansions." That doesn't sound right to us does it? "In My Father's house is many mansions"? There's something that seems to be wrong. I believe it was Moffatt, one of the translators, made it more ridiculous than ever, when he said, "In My Father's apartment house is many apartments," like you're going up there to rent an apartment. That's ridiculous. But the original translation is this, "In My Father's Kingdom is many palaces." Now, the reason the translators translated for King James like that, ought to the day of king of England. A great kingdom was called a house. And the king was the father over this house. That's the reason they put it in "In My Father's house..." It was His Kingdom. It come from the Old Testament teachings.

And then Br. Branham said also in his sermon, At thy word Lord 51-0928 P:3 I believe that we're all baptized with the Holy Spirit and brought into the Body. And then we become sons. But then after sons, there's a placing of sons, or the adoption of sons.

Therefore, this morning I would like to take our subject on the adoption or placing of sons.

I have spoken much on the Spirit of adoption over the years, and in many countries, so we should all know that when you are born again you are in the family of God, but that does not necessarily means that you will be adopted and given inheritance. Brother Branham taught us that we must be the right kind of son for us to receive inheritance.

Now, last night we spoke on Faith, and how our Faith is in a person not in things. And in order to understand the Spirit of Adoption we must understand how we come into that Faith for maturing as sons in order to receive our placement in the Kingdom of our Father.

We've all been given a measure of faith and we know from the Rapture sermon, that "Faith is Revelation", "something that's been revealed to you". Therefore if it has been revealed to you, then how could anyone get puffed up thinking they got it on their own?

We had no more to do with what took place in this hour than nothing. It was a gift of God to us. God came down Himself with a shout, and brought these things to us for our edification.

The Apostle Paul said “what do you have that was not given to you? And if it was given to you, then why do you boast as though you haven’t received it?”

And He also said in Romans 3:27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what, the law? By works? Nay: but by faith. 28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

Now, I hope you can see what I am driving at here. Adoption has to do with coming to maturity and mature people do not brag or boast. If you are justified by Faith and Faith is revelation, then it is something God has revealed to you, and therefore you didn’t get it because you were smarter than the next guy, but you got it because God revealed it to you. Therefore, it is all about Him and what he is doing, and it has nothing to do with you except for the fact that you were given an understanding of what God is doing.

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 14:36 What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only? 37 If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. 38 But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.

Now, Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:11 For what man knows the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knows no man, but the Spirit of God knows. So unless God has given you of His Spirit you have nothing. So what is there to boast about?

So whether you have or whether you do not have, it all goes back to what God has done. And then if you have anything it is because God gave it, so how can anyone be so proud that they would boast when they had nothing to do with it in the first place except being just a vessel that God has chosen to place His Word in.

That would be like someone watching the news, and then boasting as though you made the news happen.

Now, this morning I would like to examine our position in the family of God and our coming to maturity in that family to the place that God can place us positionally in the family. because until we reach the correct maturity we will never be placed positionally in the family of God.

Now, brother Branham said in his sermon, Rising of the sun - 65-0418M 38. "Notice, It was the First Corn of God's wheat that had been raised from the dead: God's First Corn of wheat, by God's Quickening power. God had quickened His life, raised Him up from the dead, and He was the First-fruits of those that slept, the First-fruit. He was that Sheaf; that's why they had to wave that sheaf, for it was the First One that come to maturity. And it was waved as a memorial of thanksgiving to God, believing that the rest of them would come. And it was a sign. And today, because He was the First son of God to come to full maturity to be in God, He was plucked up from the earth and is waved over the people (Oh, what a glorious lesson.) by the Quickening power. 

Now, This is a very important quote from God's prophet because it shows that even Jesus the first born son had to come to maturity before he could be positionally placed in the family. If we examine Ephesians 1:3-5 we see that we were in God's thinking before the foundations of the world, and at that time we were predestined to the adoption of Children, or the placing of sons. Yet at that very same time before the foundations of the world, God had predestined and foreordained his first born son Jesus to become the bleeding dying Lamb of God as we see in Revelations 13:8 where the lamb was slain before the foundations of the world.

Now, that might puzzle some, but if we understand the law of adoption as it was in the Old Testament, we would realize that when the eldest son came to maturity and was found to be always about His Father's business, then he was to be taken by the Father and positionally placed in the family as the heir apparent of the Fathers business, and he was given at that time 50% of his father's estate.

Then when the Father died, the rest of the sons were given the other 50% to share between them. But we have a Father who is the only Immortal King and thus it is impossible for him to die. So Jesus the eldest son was taken up on Mt. Transfiguration and adopted by the Father and was given half the kingdom, and then if you notice he went straight from there to Calvary to die as the lamb that was predestined before the foundations of the world.

So you might ask the question, "why is that?" Jesus had to die because our Father cannot die. And if our Father cannot die, then there would be no inheritance for the rest of the brethren, and the father would always remain with His 50% of the kingdom. Therefore, since the eldest son received already 50% there would be nothing left for the other sons. So the eldest son died willingly in order to give up his claims to 50% and thus we as sons become joint heirs with Christ when God raised him up from the dead as a first-fruit of them which slept..

From his sermon, Spiritual adoption - 56-0923 34 brother Branham said, "Then as the Holy Spirit begins to bring Word, then if the child has not been obedient when it becomes of maturity, the age of maturity, then the child is always a son, certainly, but it loses something.  35. And here's a point that I want to drive home. May the Holy Spirit take it to every heart of you believers. Just because you are a believer... Certainly you have Everlasting Life. God said so. But would you want to just get in as Job said, 'by the skin of your teeth?' Would you just want to come before the Father and the talent that He's give every one of you, as being negligent, you just didn't use it, or you let something else stand in your way? You let little petty things that meant nothing to you, after all little fusses, and stews, and arguments, and church differences take the meekness and gentleness from your life. Would you want to stand before the Father like that? I don't believe you would. I don't believe that you would do it, neither would I.  36. How I want Him to say, "It was well done." Not by the skin of my teeth, but, "It was well done, My good and faithful servant. Enter into the joys of the Lord, for you did well with what you had to do." Maybe you're a housewife, if you are, God made you a teacher of your children. Do a good job out of it. Regardless of what you have to do, do it well. Notice, then if the child did prove to be real worthy of the things that the father had over his kingdom, and had been a real faithful child, then the tutor brought message to the father, "Oh, your son..." Oh, that's the message I want Him to bring for you and I. "Oh, Your son, his whole thoughts is upon You. All he's trying to do is to please You. He's so interested in Your affair till it's hard to hold him down." I'd rather be just a little over zealous about the Father's Kingdom than to have no zeal at all for it. I'd rather overwork.  37. And as the Church of Christ preacher told me some time ago, "Mr. Branham, I'd rather wear out than rust out." And that is a lot of truth. I'd rather wear out and die in the harness, as Brother Neville says, than to refuse to have the harness on. You can't do nothing any worse than to neglect to try. Let us do all we can with what you have to do with. And the Holy Spirit, our Tutor, will bring it to the Father. And now, notice, if the child become a gallant child then it was told to the father, and at... Oh, I just love the Word. At an appointed time set by the father alone, the child was, his glory and honor was manifested before the public. The father taken his own child under a celebration and took him into the public places, after being his own son born in his own house, yet the son was placed positionally in the family to inherit all things the father had. You see it?

Not to speak on politics, but look what Mr. Trump has done with his children. I'm talking about the pre-political trump as an example. Each of his children has been raised up to take over his Business kingdom. Each child has been placed under the best tutors in order to attain the knowledge and understanding of the building trade, and every aspect of the building trade, and then when they reached maturity they each were given certain portions of the business to run as their own. Then he would travel around the world checking up on the progress of whatever building site the children were running as their own to see how well they did. Like when they opened a gold club in Scotland, It was given to son Eric who is 32 years old to control the entire project and Mr. Trump went there for the grand opening to partake in his sons accomplishment. That is very old Testament adoption. And in the Old testament it mattered not if the dad was a carpenter, or whatever trade dad had, because then junior learned the carpentry trade etc. Like Jesus became a carpenter because Joseph was a carpenter. But according to the law of adoption, if the child refused to learn he was never positionally placed in the business, and never given the responsibilities that goes with the placement, yet he was still a son. However he received no inheritance.

In Ephesians 4:11 we are told that God has positionally placed in the church five gifts with the purpose in mind of instructing the church in order to bring the church to full maturity.

11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12  For the perfecting (maturing) of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying (building up) of the body of Christ: 13  Till we all come in the unity of The faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect (teleios) man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

Now, as I mentioned above, that word perfect comes from the Greek word teleios {tel'-i-os} and means of full age, finished; wanting nothing necessary to completeness; perfect; that which is perfect: of men, fully grown, adult, of full age, and means to be mature and complete in your character)

So you see, as Mr. Trump set his children under the finest workers he had in any specific part of the trade, the children learned from the best. And God gave his children five gifts to bring them into a complete fully mature stature and character so that they would be behind in nothing waiting for the adoption.

And Paul continues, 14  "That we henceforth be no more children, (and this word was translated from the Greek word Nepios which means an infant or minor; figuratively, a simple-minded person, an immature Christian:) who might be tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 15  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

So the objective of God's purpose and plan for sending these gifts into the church is to bring the church to a maturity that they might grow up into him in all thing, becoming identified with their headship in Christ. And that is to bring about an effectual working in order to build up the body in love.

16  From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

Now in talking about this maturity in his sermon, Divine Healing - 54-1219M 60. brother Branham said, "We must contend with the weak until they are fully matured in Christ Jesus. Then they're good soldiers. (when will they be good soldiers? When they are fully matured.) Then they've got on the full armor. Talk about them don't hurt them. Laugh at them and make fun of them but they don't pay no attention to it. They got one thing; they're just so big, my, just so full of glory. The only thing they have to drop is this old robe of flesh, and just go right on to glory. See? Somebody say, "You know, somebody said you was a hypocrite, Mrs. Jones?" "Did? Well, God bless them." "Do you know a certain-certain things is going on at that church, oughtn't to be going?" "Well, I'll pray for it." See? Big. Oh, if you're little, then you say, "Oh, it is? Let me get in. Which side must I join?" See? There's where you get in trouble. That's where you can't mature. But when you get big enough, large enough (You see?), swelled out, not only swelled out but growed out, Christ growing in you, growing out malice, taking it out of you, pushing it out... As God comes in, just pushes out. You say, "Oh, how little, how juvenile it is, how much kids it is to argue and fuss." But first thing you know, that just grows on over top of it. Ain't got no more room for it. "Oh, I used to hate to see this and hate that. But you know, I just got so I just don't pay any attention to it no more." You're growing. Yes, sir.  61. You know, when you're young, they claim you have growing pains when you're growing. You know what I mean. It means you're getting bigger, a little. You know, your arms will hurt. And your legs will hurt when you're growing, kids. I had it. I was getting bigger all the time. Oh, my. Sometimes we have growing pains when we get to be men and women when we're born in the Kingdom of God, Christ. But the thing about that, it hurts; the thing about This, It just makes you joyful and happy. It's growing pains. You're going out, getting bigger, getting to be a bigger man now, what you used to be. You can look over things. Not you just got wider shoulders; that don't mean nothing about it. But you're wider in here (See?), not across here. In here, here's where you're supposed to spread out, get bigger, in your heart on the inside. When Christ comes into the heart, then He comes into the mouth, then He comes into the eyes, and He comes into the mind. He comes into the mouth. He makes you talk different. You don't talk like you used to. Christ got in your mouth. Done grown now from your heart, your love you had for Him, till you can bridle your tongue. Brother, that's a great thing. Then the next thing you know, it grows into your eyes. The next thing you know, you find out, that old lustful things you used to look at, you'll turn your head. You're growing. Then the First thing you know, you still turn your head, but you're thinking. See? After while, it grows into your mind; you don't even think about it no more. Then you're just a great big boy then. You're coming into a full matured man living for the Lord. So then you are in Christ then, a new creature.

Now this is one of the most definitive examples I have ever heard laid out concerning how we are to grow and mature in Christ. It begins with our ears. Faith comes by hearing, and then when Christ has our ears, all we want to hear is the Word of God, and the psalms and songs of praise. Then when you have given Christ your eyes, you don't watch things that Christ would not watch. You think he would watch TV on Sunday? You think Christ is interested in Nascar and football on Sunday? If you do then you haven't given him your eyes, and ears. And then when we give him our mouth, o my, we learn to shut it. hmmm. Then finally we give him our mind, and when he has our mind, he has our eyes, and ears and mouth as well. Then the works that I do shall you do also, because all your thoughts are of God.

Now, when you first start off with your tutors and instructors, they begin by teaching you the basics. And then once you've learned your ABC's you can move into deeper subjects like algebra. Well, God in his Word has typed that with nature.

From The Spoken word is the Original Seed - 62-0318E 6. brother Branham explains that progression as follows: "Someone asked me to repeat that Hebrew word again. In Joel the 2nd chapter (Joel 2:28) where he's speaking of the coming of the former and latter rain, the word "former" is the Hebrew word M-o-u-r-e-h, moureh, which means "teaching." In other words, it'll be a teaching rain and a harvest rain. Now, we've had the teaching rain, and we're ready now for the harvest rain. You know the First rain is when you plant the seed. That starts your crop growing.

Notice he said, we have had the teaching rain. So what was the doctrine of the teaching rain?

From his sermon, From that time 62-0713 P:102 brother Branham said, "How many knows there's a difference between the appearing of Christ and the coming of Christ? It's two different words. Now's the appearing, the coming will soon be. He's appearing in the midst of us, doing the works that He once did, in His church. Now, you're a part of that church, and by grace you believe. I am a member of that church. Now, I'm not a preacher. You know I'm not. I have not the education to do it. Sometimes I feel reluctant standing here by men of God, who's called to that office. There are apostles, prophets, teachers, pastors, and evangelists. Not all are apostles, not all are prophets, not all are teachers, not all evangelists. I'm standing here...But my ministry is a different ministry from a pastor or teacher. I'm--I'm not. And if I say things wrong, brethren, forgive me. I don't mean it. But this is my ministry (See?) to declare Him, that He's here.

Now, there are two things he was here to declare, 1) he said to declare Him, God, Godhead, and 2) that He (God) is here, Appearing, presence... So that is the teaching of the former rain. Because he said we have already had it.

And for a witness of two from his sermon, Way to have fellowship 55-1009 P:62 He tells us the same thing. "But my ministry is this: it just declares that God is here. It don't matter whether I pray for you or not in this particular meeting now, it's your faith. It ain't touching me; it's touching Him. See? You touch Him; it'll happen.

Now, we must never forget that God's word likens the rain to doctrine.

Deuteronomy 32:1 Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. 2  My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:

Now, picking up at brother Branham's sermon the Spoken Word is the original Seed he continues by saying, "Then just before it matures, there comes another crop. That's what they call the harvest rain. We know when the spring rains, and then the rains about June, it makes your crop.  7. Now, the rain we found out was the Spirit. And now, we left off at where I gave my thoughts of what the whole thing will be. That is, I believe that the rain has been brought, the rain.

So we are looking at two individual sets of rain, or doctrine that brings the son of God from a seedling to a fully mature planting of the Lord. The first doctrine is the understanding of the season, which includes The Appearing before the Coming, understanding Godhead etc. That is what sets the seed in the proper soil. Then the next rain which must come is called the harvest rain. It is still doctrine but this doctrine brings the seed to full maturity. This is the doctrine concerning the relationship the son had with his father, and this rain, this doctrine will take the sons of God to their full maturity in the character of Christ. Now, they actually both come at the same time, but one comes out from the other, because the same seed that is planted under the Moreh or teaching rain comes to harvest maturity under the latter rain which is the same doctrine but brings forth the fruits or life ready for harvest.

And any farmer knows if you get just the early rain your crop will never fully mature and ripen. It takes the latter rain to bring the crop to a full maturity, and that is what we are under now. I have seen in the natural the early rains bring on the crops like gangbusters, but then it gets dry and if the harvest rain never comes those plants will become very dried out and very prickly in nature like the cactus flower that gets the early April rains but then by summer it curls up into a tight thorn that is so sharp you could just brush by it and it will cut you open like a razor. And that sharp cactus sticker is just a flower all dried out. And I wonder if that is not what has happened to so many who were planted under the former rain, the teaching rain. They have dried up and gotten prickly because they have left off the latter Harvest rain.

So brother Branham continues, "That is the reason we are quietening down, because the ground's already sowed over. You can't find anywhere hardly but what's been sowed. And it's went out through radio, television, tapes, word, everything; it's sowed the country down. It's planted seeds. Now, what seeds was planted, you cannot get nothing else from it but what seeds that was planted. Can you understand now? It'll be the seed that's planted. Now, the Spirit will fall, but It'll bring a harvest of the seed that It falls on.

Now it is interesting that brother Branham refers to the teaching rain and the harvest rain, because the teaching rain or the teaching of doctrine had to come before the harvest rain or Harvest doctrine could come to finish off the maturing of the seed which makes the crop ready for harvest. And we know according to Scripture the rain is God's doctrine, so there had to be a teaching of doctrine before there could be a harvest doctrine come forth. And I certainly believe that we are living in the time of the Harvest doctrine where we are learning to just lay in the presence of the Son of God to ripen.

In fact brother Branham said in his sermon God's only provided place of worship 65-1128M P:20 I believe the church is beginning to hear the message, and beginning to understand. But, friends, listen, we've got to lay in the Presence of the Son; we've got to be ripened. Our faith isn't ripe. Intellectually we're hearing the message that God has give us, and seeing the signs that He showed us, and proving it by the Bible as that; And no one proved it by the Bible any better than brother Vayle did. But that didn't finish off the planting of the Lord. There had to be a latter rain, a harvest rain, a harvest teaching.

In Ecclesiastes 3:1 we read, "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:"

God deals with us in the season for which we are living. And in his dealing with us, he gives us doctrine for the season we live. we do not go back to Noah's message or to Moses Message but we have our message for this day. And when the brethren wanted to know future events, Jesus told them in Acts 1:7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

And the Apostle Paul told the brethren the very same thing. he said in 1 Thessalonians 5:1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.

That is why you won't find me speaking much at all about future events like the Millennium and New Jerusalem. I might give the chronology of them, but that is as far as I can go with it because God interprets His own Word by bringing it to pass.

Brother Vayle did not preach the Harvest Rain because it wasn't in his season to do so. If God had revealed it to him, then he would have preached it and it would have been over by now. But he didn't preach on it because God was ready to bring forth the Harvest yet. Brother Branham illustrates this very well in the following sermon.

Revelation chapter one 60-1204M P:46 Now, the 3rd verse He announces the blessings; listen at this. "Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand". What time is at hand? The time these things take place, when this Revelation of Jesus Christ is completed in each church age. Now, the reason He wrote it like this, if he'd have said... Well, now, if he'd... They was looking for Him to... If it'd been revealed. If it would've been revealed to John that He was going to come as soon as those churches there was finished... That's the way John thought it. But if it was, them churches, as soon as they was finished, they come... If he knew, if it had been revealed to him there was going to be seven long church ages, several thousand years, or several hundreds of years, then there wouldn't be no reason of waiting, they'd just live their church age out. Therefore, God spoke it and it wasn't revealed to them. It wasn't revealed to Martin Luther, the things that John Wesley knew about the Scripture. It isn't revealed to the Baptists what the Pentecostals knows about Scripture. Because it's in a different age; it's a different time, and God reveals His things just in the season. Oh, You can't plant corn in the springtime and reap at the same time. You plant a seed and it grows to maturity. God plants His Word, and then It grows right out, and then we look back and say, "There It was." Why, sure, we see It after It's been revealed.

So brother Branham continues, "but, oh, how the church needs to lay in His Presence till it tenders up, you know, and gets sweet in the Spirit so that it can bathe down. Sometimes in speaking the message, you get harsh, have to break it in like that, because you've got to clinch a nail to make it hold. But when the church once gets it, And this is the point, once she has gotten it through the harsh teaching, then what does she do?

"but, oh, how the church needs to lay in His Presence till it tenders up, you know, and gets sweet in the Spirit so that it can bathe down.

And then he says, "the Elected is called out and separated, then in the Presence of God, I know it'll be something like the people was there when it takes its rapture. And he's talking about those people he saw beyond the curtain of time.

Now, this language of laying in the presence of the son to ripen is the same sort of language brother Branham uses concerning our coming into maturity as sons. Notice he even uses the same sort of descriptive language concerning both this ripening and the maturing of sons. Concerning the ripening he says, "the church needs to lay in His Presence till it tenders up, you know, and gets sweet in the Spirit" and then concerning the maturity of sons he says, Christ growing in you, growing out malice, taking it out of you, pushing it out...

So we see that there is a real need for us to lay in the presence of Christ to get mellow in our soul, and sweet in our spirit.

As brother Branham said in his sermon, Way to have fellowship 55-1009 P:18 I'd rather have a church... Listen, just a moment. I would rather have a church that knows nothing about any spiritual gift, and just be so in love with each other and with Christ, I'd rather have that than every spiritual gift operating in the church. Now, that might sound hard in a Pentecostal group, but I would rather have it. Where there is gifts, they'll fail. Where there is gifts, they'll bring confusion. Where there is gifts, they can be questioned. But where there is love, it is perfect. That's right. And if you had perfect love you'd have perfect gifts. That's right. So work first with love. That brings fellowship, and fellowship brings gifts.

And in the next quote we hear brother Branham speak on how the shuck is beginning to pull away, but that should not affect us, when that happens we just need to lay in the presence of the Son of God to become more mature during that process while they are pulling away.

Man running from presence 65-0217 P:21 I believe we have Truth. I'm satisfied with that. And I believe the wheat is absolutely, the shucks pulling away from it. You know? And to see... I may give a little prelude on that tomorrow night (See?), how the shuck's pulling away from the wheat. But the wheat has to lay in the presence of the sun to ripen. And that's what we're here for, friends. Stay in the Presence of the Son till our little group of people here, till it becomes so ripe to Christ, that it becomes bread on His table. That's what I want it to do.

And in his sermon, Things that are to be 65-1205 P:65 he said, "It's the seed coming, forming under the husk like this. Laying out now, it's got to lay in the presence of the sun to ripen into the glorious grain like the One that went into the first. The real church that went down first, It's coming right back up through the stalk to come out another church. When the combine comes to pick it up, the Life that went down in Luther, the Life that went down in the Methodist, the Life that went down in the Pentecostal will come into the grain; it'll all go right into the grain and go out, forming the perfect Body of Jesus Christ.

And also from The Rapture 65-1204 P:35 This is the end. The wheat's come back to the wheat again. The wheat's come back to its grain. The shuck has pulled away from it. And the wheat must lay in the presence of the sun to be ripened.

And from Invisible union of the bride 65-1125 P:79 Then what happens? When the grain begins to grow and it gets bigger, so it can cover over something, the denomination pulls away from it. "Why ain't we got a denomination out of this?" They never will be. It's the grain. It can't go no farther. We're at the end-time. What does it have to do now? Lay in the presence of the sun to be ripened. That's exactly. The Word to be ripened into your heart to bring forth and live what we're talking about. Yes, sir. Then you'll have no more doubts, if you let the Holy Spirit reveal it to you like the queen said about Daniel.

Trying to do God a service 65-1127B P:111 Pentecost will only sheltered the message, giving it an open door until it gets scattered, and then the shuck will pull away, and the wheat will lay in the Presence of the Son (See?), to ripen.

Questions and answers COD - 64-0830M 45. Now, I've tried my best to tell you people and lead you like a daddy would lead his children. You're my children; I have begotten you to Christ through this Gospel that I preach. See? And I want you to raise up fully matured kids, or children. And I want to present you to Christ that day, as Paul said, "A chaste virgin." There isn't a thing in that Word but what your heart will punctuate "amen" to it. Sin don't have... 'Course you'll do things wrong, but when the other, the very First thing condemns you, "Father, forgive me." 

Now, remember, we are talking about all sons of God, from the first born to the last born. Because after all, this is the Harvest Rain we are in right now. I remember brother Vayle's instruction to me like Israel's instructions to Joseph. He said, "Brian, we have heard the doctrine, and we all know the doctrine pretty well, so preach the Life, because without the Life people aren't going to make it." And he is absolutely right, because without the Harvest Rain the plants becomes dried out and hard, brittle and indifferent, and prickly in its nature."

And those were his dying words to me, a few weeks before he passed over. And that is what we've done. We've turned the corner and been teaching the Harvest Rain, and all we need to do now is to lay in the Presence of the Son of God to ripen, and sweeten up in our spirit so that we will be just like those who already passed over and have a celestial body and are not burdened down by this body which is born in sin, shaped in iniquity and came forth to the world speaking lies. In other words, our bodies are becoming obedient to our confession.

From brother Branham's sermon, Rising of the sun - 65-0418M 41. "As Christ was the First One to raise from all the prophets and so forth (although typed in many places, He was the First-fruits of those that slept), in the Bride coming of Christ, coming out of the church, there'll have to be a Sheaf waved again in the last days. Oh, my. Waving of the sheaf, what was the sheaf? The First one that come to mature, the First one that proved it was a wheat that proved it was a sheaf. Hallelujah. I'm sure you see what I'm talking about. It was waved over the people, and the First time there will come forth for the Bride age, for a resurrection out of dark denominationalism, will be a Message that the full maturity of the Word has turned back again in Its full power and being waved over the people by the same signs and wonders that He did back there. 

The Apostle Paul spells it out for us in 1 Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12  For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. When? At His appearing, when the Harvest rain comes forth and we grow into maturity.

Things that are to be 65-1205 P:28 Now, you grew from your birth... When you was born and presented into this world, God knew that you were going to be here in this earth, and you growed from birth to maturity. Things that seem so strange to you in your young womanhood, young boyhood, as children, now seems very real. You couldn't understand it when you was a child, but now as you become adult, you begin to understand and find out that everything was just set just right. And you... It really means something to you now.

What hearest thou Elijah 59-0609 P:20 Oh, how that we need in this journey that we're in now to find a place of rest and to feast on the Word of God, so that it'll give us strength. Night after night, go to the room and rest, and come back the next morning fresh, and eat more, for there's a great journey and a great battle ahead for the Church. I believe that we have been children long enough. God's going to turn His Church into manhood now. And we played and frolicked as children, but now we're going to have to put away childish things and take on manhood: maturity. I believe it was Paul who said, "When I was a child, I spake as a child..." because he thought as a child. But it's time that we began to think like men and women now, for we've got to get down to business.

Anointed ones at end time 65-0725M P:28 Now, the sun comes across and ripens the grain. Now, it cannot ripen it all at once. As it goes on maturing, it constantly ripens until it comes to a full ear. So is it today with the church. It started in it's infancy back in the dark age where it was under the ground. It's growed now into maturity. And we can see it perfectly, how that God through nature always...You cannot disturb nature. That's what's the matter today. We're flying bombs and out there in that ocean, breaking it and busting it around with atomic bombs. You're just breaking more of that dirt off all the time, dropping into it. You cut down the trees, storms will take you. Dam up the river, it'll overflow. You've got to find God's way of doing things and stay in it. We've denominated people in the churches and organizations; look what we got. Stay in God's provided way of it.

Just lay in the presence of the Son and ripen, learn to let go and let God.

God's provided place of worship 65-0425 P:62 Now, remember, in Christ we are flesh of His flesh, bone of His bones. When God wounded Christ at Calvary, He was wounded for me and you. We are flesh of His flesh, and bone of His bone, body of His body, Name of His Name, Bride of Him. See, we are in Him; we are His flesh and His bones. And God has already raised us up potentially. The Quickening Power that raised us from a life of sin, and changed our being, it has potentially raised us up in Christ Jesus, which the resurrection will bring us forth in the fully maturity.

So the purpose and plan of God is to have us fully mature when we reach the time of the resurrection.

In this next quote we see the order of maturity and why this time God will bring us to our best, to our full maturity and then the resurrection will set in. because what would be the point for the church to get ready for a harvest and then not have that harvest come in. The church would then die in its maturity.

Garnett Peake's funeral 63-1118 P:24 Look out here. Look at the sun. The sun comes up of a morning. It's a baby born. God sent it up. It's to serve God's purpose. And at nine o'clock in the morning it goes to school. It's a teenager. And then at twelve o'clock it becomes fully matured. After twelve o'clock fifty years is passed, it's half done, and it starts going down, gets weaker, older. It's getting stronger until this time. Then it starts getting weaker, just as we do. We start out strong, and get... As we come to our full maturity, we get stronger. Then at a certain age, we're at our best. Then we start weakening, all the time going down. Finally, after while, it sets over the western horizon, a beautiful light. It served God's purpose. It dies. The earth cools off, gets cold over the night. Now, is that the end of that sun? Is that the last time you'll ever see it? No. The next morning she rises up again in the resurrection. God, every day, testifying to us, that there is a life, death, burial, resurrection.

Now, I am not saying that I am the only one who is teaching the Harvest rain. But it is being taught because the Holy Ghost is the teacher. And its got to be taught or there will be no harvest.

Time of decision 59-0611 P:6 So the Church is not in its right state yet. We have to remember that. It's not matured. So we just have to linger and do the best we can. And there's no one can bring it to maturity, only the Holy Spirit, as we listen to Him. I don't believe it'll ever come by man, it'll have to come by God.

Jehovah Jireh 55-1117 P:47 God lets you come up to the age to your very best... might have been... Satan might've afflicted you. You might not have reached that maturity. That's all right. In God's mind, He knows what you was supposed to be. So it got you to that certain picture, when He got you just at the time when you was about twenty-three to twenty-five years old, you're at your best, then He said, "All right, death, here he is, but you can't take him till I call."And you notice. You start finding out after you get over twenty-five years old, you're just not the person you used to be. What is it? You're failing. Yet you're eating, you're going back all the time. After while gray hairs sets in; your muscles go away; but the picture is in God's mind. And every vitamin, and every bit of calcium, and every bit of everything that was in me, when I was my best, and when you was your best, in the resurrection, it don't go nowhere. It come from somewhere, and it is now. It wasn't, then it is; then it is not. It goes back to where it was, 'cause God already drawed in His mind a picture what He's going to make you forever.

Let us pray...