Faith no 53
Faith in God's promise concerning
His Five Fold Ministry
September 20, 2017
Brian Kocourek, Pastor
This morning I would like to speak to you concerning the
Five Fold Ministry which God has placed in the church and to show you that there
must be a faith in God's Word to believe what God has said about this gift to
the church in order for this gift to the church to fulfill God' Word concerning
it, and in order for the promise associated with this gift to the church to
fulfill itself in the church itself. For with every Church Age God sends a
Messenger that age and then from that Messenger goes forth the Word from Men
who have been faithfully taught.
From Brother
Branham's book entitled The Seven Church Ages Chapter 4 - The Smyrnaean Church Age P:140 Brother
Branham said, "In
every age we have exactly the same pattern. That is why the light comes
through some God-given messenger in a certain area, and then
from that messenger there spreads the light through the ministry
of others who have been faithfully taught.
Now, I would
like to break down what was said here.
1) The light
of the Gospel in each age comes to a God-Given Messenger to that Age. That is
first and foremost to be etched in our minds to understand.
2) From that
Messenger that same light, that same Gospel is spread through the ministry of
others.
3) Those
others are men who have been faithfully taught.
Therefore as
God said in Amos chapter 3 that When God wishes to make known his plans, he
will first send a prophet.
Amos 3:7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but (or accept) He first reveals His
secret unto His servants the prophets.
So we see that God has made a promise to
man that before he will do anything He will send a prophet to the people. God will
reveal that secret to the prophet and then that Prophet will speak what God has
instructed him to speak. But God is not finished here and neither is the
prophet Amos.
So we see then
that Amos adds to this by saying, 8 The
lion hath roared, who will
not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy?
So we see that
When God roars out His Message like a lion, it is impossible for the prophet
not to say what God told him to say.
Now, from this
we see in Amos 3:7 God will never do
anything until he first reveals what he is going to do via a prophet of His
choosing. And then we are told that when God speaks to that prophet and reveals
his plan, it is as impossible for that prophet to not speak as it is for people
to fear when they hear the voice of the lions roar.
Brother
Branham said in his sermon, Way of a true prophet
63-0119 P:96 "The Bible said, "When God--when a lion roars, who shall not fear? and when God speaks, how can
we keep from prophesying?" How can
we keep from it? When God speaks, the prophet cries out the spoken word.
And if it is the Word of God, and the lion roars, the beetles,
everything hushes, because they're afraid. Their king is speaking. They got the
sense enough, the audacity, and the honor enough to honor their king, when he
speaks. So God speaks by His Word. And let every creature of His
creation take heed. He's speaking in this last days. He's putting forth His
Word. And let every creature that belongs into His Kingdom take heed to what He's
saying. Stop. Check up. He's roaring now, roaring by His a-vindicated Word,
making Himself known. When He roars in these last days, let's take the heed,
and know that there's something fixing to happen, knowing that God never does
that without first He roars forth. When He roars forth, then something follows that roar
(Yes.), because He's coming forth then. He said, "Does a lion roar now without a reason? Does a young lion cry
out of the cave, before he's taken anything?"
See? God's got a reason to roar, because He knows that judgment
is at hand.
So we see that
God promised to send a prophet when he is fixing to do something. But it
doesn't stop there. Brother Branham said that Light comes to a man, a prophet
in a certain area, and then from that prophet that same Word, that same light
will go forth by the ministry of others, and these must be men who have been
faithfully taught.
Then brother
Branham continues by warning us "But of course all those who go out don't
always learn how necessary it is to speak ONLY what the messenger has spoken.
(Remember, Paul warned the people to say only what he said, I Corinthians 14:37, "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. What? came the
Word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?") They add here, or take away there,
and soon the message is no longer pure, and the revival
dies down. How careful we must be to hear ONE voice, for the Spirit has
but one voice which is the voice of God. Paul warned them to say
what he said, even as Peter did likewise. He warned them
that EVEN HE (PAUL) could not change one word of what he had given by
revelation. Oh, how important it is to hear the voice of God by way of
His messengers, and then say what has been given
them to say to the churches.
So we see that there is a pattern for every age. 1) God
sends a prophet with a Message 2)
God raises up other ministers who are
faithfully taught, which means they are faithful to the teaching,
faithful to what has been taught, men who have subjected themselves to that
Messenger his Message, and 3) These men then take that Word and spread
it showing there is One voice, the voice of God, even though there is a
pattern that shows there is more than one person involved in that voice going
out to others.
Now, this is where I think many who claim to follow this
Message have misunderstood. They take it that the voice is the voice of a
certain man, one man, but that is not what the bible tells us. The Bible tells
us it is the Voice of God first to a certain man, and this man who is able to
echo what God said, becomes a messenger with a Message, the same message God
gave to them, and then that same voice (which is the Word of God) moves on
through the ministry of others who have been faithfully taught.
Now to be
faithfully taught there are two requirements.
1) There must be one
who is faithful to teach,
and 2) there must be others who have learned to shut up and
listen to the one who teaches them.
Now, a few weeks ago we showed you from the message and from
the Scriptures that there is but only one Voice of God to every age, but that
voice flows through the lips of many ministers throughout the ages.
From His
sermon Patmos vision 60-1204E P:108 brother
Branham said, "Now,
let's see, we'll soon... down to the end of the page now.:... hair like wool,... and his eyes were... flames of fire; And His feet like
a--feet like a--brass,... burned in a furnace; and his voice... the sound of many waters.
"Voice
of many waters." What does
waters represent? If you want to mark it down, turn to Revelations 17:15, and you'll find that the Bible said, "The waters which thou sawest is thickness, and multitudes,
and people, and tongues." All right. "Voice..." What a horrible thing for a drifting soul on the
sea of life, no pilot to guide him, a-loose, floating with the tides, to hear
the roar of the great cataracts, the falls, what a horrible thing it would be
to a soul drifting."Voice of many waters." What is His voice? It's the judgment; the voice of the ministers
through the Holy Spirit, that's cried out to the people in every age, standing
there. The
voice of many waters cried out, thickness and multitudes.
The voice of those seven stars in His hand to
every church age, preaching the baptism of the Holy Ghost, the baptism
in Jesus' Name, speaking in tongues, the power of God, the resurrection of
Christ, the second coming, Divine judgment. The voice of many
waters coming forth from this One
that looked like the Son of man, many waters.
Notice, this ties in perfectly with what we heard brother
Branham tell us in The Seven Church Age book. P:140 where he said, "In every age we have exactly the same pattern. That is why the light comes
through some God-given messenger in a certain area, and then from that messenger
there spreads the light through the ministry of others who have been
faithfully taught.
So how does the light that was spoken by God's vindicated
prophet spread throughout the world? By the people listening to tapes? No sir,
because there are hundreds of languages in the world, and the voice of William
Branham came speaking English only, and most of the world do not speak English.
Now, I want you to stop here and think. That is the problem
with too many people they do not stop to think about how God does anything. How
can a person who have no clue what the English language says, understand what
the prophet is telling us on those tapes?
You cannot get revelation of the Spoken Word through a
dictionary although many have tried that and failed miserably.
Some
will say, well, that is why we hire translators to translate the words from
English to Spanish or French or a
countless other languages.
Ok,
let's just take that thinking for a minute then. How does that person who is
translating brother Branham's words, say what he means by speaking another
language to do it. No language has perfectly one for one translations of words
from one language to another. I think anyone with any amount of common sense
will admit then, that the translator must understand what is being said and
reword what was said into words that will bring forth the same meaning in their
other language.
Then
why do some have a problem with preachers preaching. As long as they are saying
the same thing, it matters not if they use the same words to say it. Now, look
what the Apostle Paul had to say about being able to understand the things of
God.
In
1 Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written, No Eye hath seen,
nor has any ear heard, neither has entered into the heart (understanding) of any man, the
things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
Now, that is
pretty inclusive what he just said, and "No man" means "no man".
That means "None"
whatsoever. No man has seen, nor has heard, and has been able to understand the
things of God by their hearing and seeing. But then he tells us how that it is
possible for men to understand the things of God but there is only one way that
is possible, 10 But God
hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit:
Notice he is telling us that it takes
the Holy Spirit of God to reveal what God means. We cannot get it on our own no
matter how much we hear it and how much we see it. It is impossible without the
Holy Ghost to give us an understanding of the things of God. God has to reveal
it. That is what he's telling us here.
Then he adds, "for the
Spirit searcheth all things, (and there is only one
"The Spirit" and that is the Spirit of God) "for the
Spirit (God's Spirit) searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. and then Paul says, 11 For what
man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him?
Notice he tells us that if you must be a
man to understand the things of a man. Then he is leading us to understand by
this analogy that unless you have the Spirit of God how can you even expect to
understand the things of God. As brother Branham said, the knot on a tree has
no understanding of the things of a man because he cannot live and move like a
man can.
Brother Branham explains this in his
sermon Return and Jubilee 62-1122 P:39 Before it can be a body of human beings... Before I could act as a
human, before I could walk like a human, before I could talk like
a human, I have to be born a human. How would've knot on a tree know
how I acted? How could he ever say, "I don't act like that." The
only way he could be that would be to be born like me. That's the way
organization is dead, drawed people away, because it went after a creed. But in
order to be a son of God you've got to be born of the Spirit of God, then
you become Christ-like and do the works of Christ; then you're not
funny to them people. A human acting like a human's not funny. And a
Christian acting like a Christian, born of the same Spirit... You see the
Pentecostal group at the beginning, that same Pentecostal group acts the
same way if it's born of the same Spirit, 'cause it's born. That's why,
today, that people doesn't understand the church. And the church
has begin to grow cold and formal, getting after creeds and things and leaving
off the following of the Holy Spirit. All right.
So the Apostle Paul tell us "even so the things of God knoweth no man,
but the Spirit of God knows."
Now, if we believe what the apostle Paul
just told us here, then no man can know the things of God, unless they are born
of the same Spirit of God.
Then he adds, 12 "Now we have received, not the spirit
of the world, but the spirit which is of
God; that we might know the things that
are freely given to us of God.
Now, you cannot say it any plainer than
what the Apostle Paul says here. It is impossible to understand the things of
God unless the same Spirit of God that wrote the word is born into you. then
and only then can you understand the things of God.
13 Which things also we speak, not in the
words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing
spiritual things with spiritual.
Here the apostle Paul tells us if we
have the Holy Spirit then we will compare the things of God with the things of
God, spiritual with spiritual. But in his next verse he tells us that is
impossible for the unregenerate man who is not born again.
He says, 14 "But the natural man (the man that is not born again with the
Spirit of God) receiveth
not the things of the Spirit of God:
for they are foolishness unto him:
neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Notice he says that it is impossible for
the man who is not born again to understand the things of God. he says he
cannot know them if he is not born again.
And
then he says, 15 "But he that is spiritual (he that is spirit filled) judgeth all things,
yet he himself is judged of no man. 16 For who hath known the mind
of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we
have the mind of Christ.
Therefore
if a man has not the same spirit living in him that wrote the Word, how is it
possible for him to understand that same Word.
And
taking this understanding to the next level, how can anyone be a good
translator of the tapes if he is not born again himself? How can a man who is
not spirit filled be able to understand the Word which is given by the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit by one who is filled with the Holy Spirit. It
can't be done, and that is why translation work is so very important and should
be very careful who translates a Spirit Revealed Word. Because if he is not
Spirit filled himself, then he is only guessing what is actually being said.
If
a translator does not have the Holy Ghost they will not be able to translate
what the prophet said into an intelligible understandable context. And that is
why there are so many false doctrines floating around the Message. Men have not
faithfully translated the Message for what the prophet said.
I
have always said you cannot just take a dictionary to translate from one
language to another without first understanding the person who is speaking and
what he is trying to get across. That is what "men
faithfully taught" means.
Br.
Vayle told me personally that what brother Branham meant by what he said there,
is that God comes down via the pillar of fire to a man in a CERTAIN area, and
then that Gospel light which is taught by that prophet whom God vindicates, and
that prophet teaches other men, and then
from there that words goes out through those men who have been personally
taught by that Faithful teacher or prophet.
He
said, "that is why he believes that God doesn't give the revelation to one
man here in America and then another man independently receives it over in
Europe and then someone else independently receives it over in Africa or south
America.
Look
at the pattern for every age. God raised
up Moses and then Joshua came after Moses but not independently from Moses.
Joshua was a minister under Moses tutelage.
Joshua 1:1 Now after the death of Moses the servant
of the LORD it came to pass, that the
LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses'
minister, saying, 2 Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan,
thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.
3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto
Moses.
Notice
the promise was made to Moses and confirmed through another ministry, that of
Joshua, who followed in the footsteps and was a minister of Moses which means
he was taught by Moses.
I
know men who try to translate sermons into their own language who do not
understand a single word of English. But in their heart they want so bad to
translate those sermons and to teach what they know that minister said because
he was a Holy Ghost filled brother. So they had to devise a way to do it. So
the man takes the translated sermons of this Holy Ghost filled brother that
have been translated from English to another language, and then he translates
them still into a third language, and then claims that this third translation
is as pure as the original text.
Now,
unless the first translation is pure the second translation from the first
cannot in any way be pure or error.
Now,
here is where I am getting at. Anyone who understands languages knows first of
all that no language has all words similar to any other language. If that were
the case it would not be another language but the same language. And
furthermore anyone with a knowledge of English and so there is going to be
errors in any translation and the more you translate off of a translation the
errors grow.
Now,
if you can see the importance of having a solid understanding or several
languages, and having the same Holy Spirit in you that spoke the Message
through God's Prophet then perhaps you will understand how that the ministry of
a translator is very similar to that of a five-fold minister.
And
what I do not understand is how men can say "listen to the tapes and only to
the tapes", and claim that the Five-fold ministers duty is to only
play tapes, and yet think it is any different to make and sell tapes that are
translated into hundreds of languages where the translators have to choose
other words than what the prophet did not say in order to try to get across
what the prophet was actually saying.
And even after the fact that these ones selling these tapes themselves
do not speak any of those other languages that the tapes are being translated
into and therefore cannot verify themselves what they are selling are the same
thoughts being brought forth.
Therefore,
you would say that there would have to be a certain trust they must have in the
ability of a translator to say what brother Branham is saying using other words
to say it.
Now,
here is the $100 question. Why then are these same people making tapes
prejudiced against Five-fold ministers for doing the same thing the translator
they hire are doing. Basically is not what the translator does in using his
best knowledge and understanding of the words of his language and the English language
to find the words that best fit the explanation of what is being said by God's
prophet?
So
why would men make allowances for a translator to use other words than what the
prophet actually said in order to translate the sermon and then fuss with a true
Five-Fold minister for doing exactly the same thing, using his own words to say
what the prophet said in order to get the understanding across the best way
they know how to do.
They
say, well brother Branham said, "say what is on the tapes and only what is
on the tapes" And that i no different than what Paul said, "If any man preaches
contrary to what I have preached let him be cursed." But as
Paul never meant for others t say only the exact words he said as if to tell
others they can only read what he said likewise brother Branham was not telling
us we can only use the words he used to say it.
But
then say it is ok for a translator to do it, but not men of God filled with the
Holy Ghost and placed in the church by God Himself.
They
claim they are doing the work of God by sending out tapes that are translated
into multiple languages and I am all for what they are doing. But the real
facts are that to translate from one language to another you must understand
what is being said and then use the words in that other language that best say
what was said. So the translator must choose words in his own language that
best say what the prophet said, so how can we claim then that a Five-fold
minister who preaches the Message using his own words to do it, is not doing
the work of God because he according to them, should only be pushing a button
to play the tape so the people can hear it from brother Branham alone.
We
know there are people who claim to be Jesus only, but now in this late hour we
have people who are "Branham"
only.
So
this morning I wish to begin a miniseries within our series on Faith to delve
into this matter and hopefully we will get some clarity concerning the true
ministry of those who are faithfully taught, those "other ministers" that brother
Branham talked about which are the five ministerial offices that the apostle
Paul spoke of.
And
we will do this because we've read where brother Branham spoke to us about the
pattern God uses in every age. And since
the prophet told us what the pattern for every age is, and if we believe what
he taught us, then we should teach it to others the same way he taught it.
And
what did he teach us? He said, That is why the light comes through
some God-given messenger in a certain area, and then from that messenger
there spreads the light through the ministry of others who have been
faithfully taught.
Now, that is what he
said, and brother Branham meant what he said and he said what he meant.
And if you teach any other way than what
he said then you do not have any clue how God works, and has worked throughout
the ages.
Another thing I want you to understand is this. He said the Light is spread through the ministry
of others who have been faithfully taught.
Now, as I said earlier, how can you claim to be faithfully
taught if you have not subjected yourself to the one who is teaching. There has
to be one who faithfully teaches and others who have been faithful to shut up
and listen. And brother Branham taught us this is the pattern God has used throughout every church age.
Now, in the statement from the church Age book that we read
to begin our messange this morning, we saw where brother Branham said God set a
pattern which is to be followed in every age. He said God sends Light to a
vindicated prophet to echo what God tells him to say, then that same prophet
messenger faithfully teaches other ministers in his area who are then ordained
to take that very same message out in order to spread that light or Message.
And then brother Branham warns us how to spot those who are faithfully taught
from those who have not been faithfully taught.
He says, "But of course
all those who go out don't always learn how necessary it is to speak ONLY what the messenger
has spoken. (Remember, Paul warned the people to say only
what he said, I Corinthians 14:37, "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. What? came the Word of God out from you? or came it unto you
only?") They add here, or take away there,
and soon the message
is no longer pure, and the revival dies down. How careful we must
be to hear ONE voice,
for the Spirit has but one voice which is the voice of God. Paul
warned them to say what he said, even as Peter did likewise.
He warned them that EVEN HE (PAUL) could not change one word of what he had
given by revelation. Oh, how important it is to hear the voice of God by
way of His messengers, and then say what has been
given them to say to the churches.
Ok, so adding to and taking away brings forth an evidence of
the revival fire dying down.
Now, when brother Branham said, they
must learn to say only what the Messenger has spoken, he is not telling us that we must use the same words to do
it. As I mentioned earlier, it is impossible to translate from one language to
another and use the same words. It can't be done. And neither can an Apostle
say it the way a teacher says it or the way an evangelist say it. But each can
teach it clearly using the words that God gives them to say it in order to make
the message clear to the people they are addressing.
Now, no study on
the Five-Fold ministry would be complete without first examining what the
apostle Paul said concerning it and the attributes and characteristics which
concern these five gifts to the church as we see in Ephesians the 4th chapter.
Therefore let's
turn in our bibles to Ephesians 4: and begin our reading from verse 11 And he...
Now, Paul is
talking about God here,) And he (God) gave some,
Now this word some speaks of a considerable number or a number to be considered. Some
does not speak of a large amount, but rather an unspecified number to be
considered which is greater than one.
So we read, And God gave some, so we are looking at something God does. This
which God gives then is a gift from God. so this has nothing to do with the
ones who are given, but rather this is a statement concerning that which God is
doing, and therefore is totally in control of.
And God gave some, to be apostles; and some, to be
prophets; and some, to be evangelists; and some, to be pastors and teachers;
Ok, so now,
let's read from Ephesians
4:11 And
God gave some, to be apostles; and some, to be prophets;
and some, to be evangelists;
and some, to be pastors
and teachers;
Now, in this
next verse we will see what these five gifts are for
12 1) For the
perfecting of the saints, 2) for the work of the ministry, 3) for
the edifying of the body of Christ: And look what it is supposed to produce 13 Till
we all come in 1) the unity of the
faith, and of 2) the knowledge of the Son of God, 3) unto a perfect man, 4) unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 14 5) That
we henceforth be no more children, 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 6) But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in
all things, which is the head, even Christ:
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.
You cannot read Ephesians 4 without seeing the reality that God
has sent to the church a true gift that is ordained to bring a "unity of The Faith," (and always remember and never forget, there is
only one Faith and One Lord and therefore the one faith is the revelation of that one Lord.)
So the true five-fold ministry is ordained by God to bring
this unity concerning the Revelation of Jesus Christ and this comes through
bringing an understanding of the role of the Son of God.
Now, these are
gifts from God to the church. As we read next what the apostle Paul says, we
will see there are various reasons God gives these gifts to the church. But
before we read further what the apostle Paul says about reasons for sending
these gifts into the church, I would like to read from Romans chapter 10 what the Apostle
Paul says about these gifts and the reasons he states over in Romans 10
for God sending these gifts into the church. .
Romans 10:14 How then shall they call on
him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom
they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a
preacher? 15 And how shall they preach, except
they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of
them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord,
who hath believed our report?
17 So then faith cometh by
hearing, and hearing by the word of God. 18 But I say, Have they not
heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto
the ends of the world.
Now, Let me break this down for you and
I will use martin Luther's words to do so, seeing he was the fifth Messenger to
the Church Ages. and he said in his Commentary on Romans 10. "How shall they call
on Him in whom they have not believed? (10:14) Here the apostle meets the arrogance of all
who teach falsely and are a haughty mind. Oh, that the false prophets (or
teachers) only would heed these words! How shall
they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they
hear without a preacher? (10:14)
Martin Luther goes on to say, "Even though they say they hear, they boast in vain,
unless they hear true preachers;
for to hear false prophets means as
much as not to even hear. They
hear and they do not hear; they
have ears, but do not hear, nor do they preach (the Word of God). This
is a striking statement against all conceited hearers and students of the
Bible. How shall they preach, except they be sent? (10:15)
This is directed against conceited teachers and arrogant
instructors. These four statements (10:14-15) follow one another in such a way that one leads to the
other, but so that the last forms the foundation on which the others rest. Thus,
1)
It is impossible that those preach who are not sent. In
other words, what Martin Luther is telling us is that if God didn't send the
gift then the gift is not from God and not only that but then what the person
is teaching is not from God either, it is from their own selves.
2)
It is impossible that those hear who are without
a preacher. In this second statement martin Luther makes
it clear that Paul is teaching that without a preacher those who think they are
hearing from God are not actually hearing anything from God at all.
3)
It is impossible that they believe who do not
hear. And if they are not hearing from someone God
sends then they might as well not even be hearing for what good would it do
them to hear what God has not sent?
4)
It is impossible that they call upon Him who
they do not believe. And since who they are listening to is not
sent from God, then the person they are being pointed to is not the true God
either, and therefore if they are pointed to a false God then they would be
better off not having been pointed to anyone at all.
And then Luther adds, To this add a
last one, namely:
5)
It is impossible that they who do not call upon the name
of the Lord shall be saved.
So then Luther adds, "So then, the entire source and origin of
salvation rests on this, That
God sends out someone, (A true
minister of the Word). If He does not send out any, then they who are preaching are preaching falsely, and their preaching is no preaching at all.
In fact they would be better off had they never preached at all. Then they who hear, would hear error,
and it would be better for them to not
have heard . Then they who
believe, would believe false doctrine, and it would be better for them to not believe. Then also they who call upon Him would be calling
falsely (upon a false Lord), and it
would be better for them not to call. For such preachers
do not preach; such
hearers do not hear; such
believers do not believe, and such
callers do not call; and they will
be damned because they would be saved by falsehood."
"So we read in Proverbs 1:28 "Then shall they call upon Me, but I will not answer, they
shall seek Me early, but they shall not find me: for that they hated knowledge,
and did not choose the fear of the Lord." ... Then only they
can preach with certainty who proclaim the Gospel without error. How beautiful are the
feet of them that preach the Gospel of Peace
(10:15).
By this
quotation the Apostle shows that only
those can preach who
are sent by God. Those cannot preach the Divine Word and be
messengers of God whom He has not sent and to
whom He has not entrusted His Word. So with these same words the
Apostle points out the nature of Spiritual Peace and it's gifts.
These blessings are heard only in the Divine Word and are apprehended only by Faith. They cannot be
presented in visible form..."
Now the words "Beautiful" stands for purity,
and I'd like to add, that according to Strong's concordance it means belonging to the right hour or season (timely) by implementation to
be flourishing.)
Therefore the
true Five-Fold have 3 musts that
vindicates they are a true gift sent by God.
1) They
must be sent by God and if
God sends them god will back them up. Thus all true ministries of God will
be vindicated by God in some form or fashion, and we will cover that later in
this study.
2) If God sends them with a message, then they will not add their own thoughts
concerning God's Message but will be constrained to say only what God
has told them to say through His Word. They
will preach a pure word limited to only God's Word and what God has
said in His Word.
3) They
are sent for a purpose and the vindication that God sent them will be
in the fruits of their ministry.
From Brother
Branham's book entitled The Seven Church Ages Chapter 4 - The Smyrnaean Church Age P:140 Brother
Branham said, "In
every age we have exactly the same pattern. That is why the light comes
through some God-given messenger in a certain area, and then
from that messenger there spreads the light through the ministry
of others who have been faithfully taught. "But of
course all those who go out don't always learn how necessary it
is to speak ONLY
what the messenger has spoken. (Remember, Paul warned the
people to say only what he said, I
Corinthians 14:37, "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. What? came the Word of God
out from you? or came it unto you only?") They
add here, or take away there, and soon the message
is no longer pure, and the revival dies down. How careful
we must be to hear ONE
voice, for the Spirit has but one voice which is the voice
of God. Paul warned them to say what he said, even as Peter
did likewise. He warned them that EVEN HE (PAUL) could not change one
word of what he had given by revelation. Oh, how important it is to hear
the voice of God by way of His messengers, and then say what
has been given them to say to the churches.
Let us pray