Masterpiece 58
The Chinese
laundry ticket
April 9th, 2006
Pastor, Brian Kocourek
1. This morning we will read
the next paragraph number 81 of
brother Branham’s sermon on THE MASTERPIECE
64-0705
81 God,
down through the age, hewing away by the patriarchs, and made His platform, and
brought them up from the different things that He'd lay this foundation upon.
Upon this He begin to build His Word (the prophets), and then finally come out
to the perfect Prophet, the perfect Foundation, the perfect vision God had. 82 And
now, in order for this to speak (He is
the Word.)(now, remember he is
talking about God here.)--and for the Word to speak He (GOD) must come into the Image. And then for the image to speak, it's got to be
smitten. He comes into the
Image. And then in order to speak, the perfect Redeemer... All the types of
the Old Testament was met in Him. 83 As I said the other day, Jehovah of the
Old Testament is Jesus of the New. Yes!
84 Like many of you men, women my age, we used to have around the country
a lot of Chinese laundries. When the Chinese first started in, they come from
the west coast, moving eastward, coming over from the eastern country, moving
this way. And as they did, they were people who were not acquainted with our
language and our ways, but they were fine laundryman. And they couldn't write
the ticket so you could get your right laundry back. But the Chinaman, he got
himself a bunch of little cards with nothing on it at all. So when you come for
your laundry, he would take this card and tear it in a certain way and hand you
one piece, and he kept the other piece. And now, it's a little better than what
we have now, because when you come back to claim what was your own, those two pieces must dovetail. You
couldn't impersonate it if you had to. There's no way of doing it. You could
make copies of letters, but you can't
impersonate that tear. It's got to
fit exactly with the other piece. Therefore, your dirty clothes that you
brought in, you could redeem them by this ticket, because it matched the ticket
that was turned in. 85 And when God, by
the prophets and under the law, condemned us to sin... And the law has no
grace; it only tells you that you are a sinner. But when Jesus came on the
scene, He was the fulfillment. He was
the fulfillment of everything God had promised. He was the perfect,
identical image of the promise. Therefore, all
promises of the Old Testament was met in Jesus Christ. It couldn't be met
in Moses. It couldn't be met in any of the prophets, but it was met in the Masterpiece.
It matched all that It said It was going to be. So will the Church have to be a match to everything God has promised.
It must be that piece that's smitten off
of It. So if the original is the
Word, so will the subjects that's been taken from It be the Word to match Its
side. 86 Therefore, the Chinaman... You could claim... Where the law
condemns you and said you were dirty, and you were guilty, and could put you in
the prison; but when He came, He was the Match piece for it that could take you
out, and bring you back too, to be the complete ticket: the redemption that God
had promised back in the garden of Eden: "Thy Seed shall bruise the
serpent's head, but His heel shall bruise its head."
This morning I would like to address this thought
about this Chinese laundry ticket because some use this illustration to the
detriment of their soul. There is much misunderstanding concerning this
illustration that brother Branham used. And always remember an illustration is
a good tool if you know the doctrine but if you do not it can lead you off into
a great deception.
Some teach that this Chinese laundry ticket
illustration was meant to tell us that God split himself in two pieces. A masculine
part which was the part that remained in God and a feminine part of God that
became the Bride. But to do this, they then begin to identify these two parts
of God as two spirits, and not one spirit, and thus they sway from Truth.
Let me quote what is taught by some concerning this illustration
that brother Branham used to illustrate here.
Now, what I am going to read to you is an actual quote
from one of the brethren who have taken the illustration of the Chinese laundry
ticket and have made it not one ticket representing one spirit but they have
made it two spirits. ”the TWO spirits were in
Adam, the first Bridegroom in Genesis One until God separated them in Genesis
Two. These TWO spirits were also in the second Adam, and He too was a Bride
Groom.”
Now we know that Adam did not have two spirits in Him
and neither did God. If God did, then which One is the Holy Spirit and what is
the name of the other spirit? What those who teach this way don’t understand,
is that “God is
Spirit (Singular) and they that
worship HIM must worship HIM in Spirit and Truth!” The scripture tells us, “by ONE spirit we are all baptized into one Body.”
One Spirit, not two spirits.
In fact in the following quote brother Branham tells
us that there was but One Spirit, so in effect we are dealing with One Life,
God’s Own Life. The Life of the male human is no different than the life in the
female human. It is human life. Bovine Life is the same life whether in the cow
or in the bull, it is Bovine life. Hog life is hog life whether in the sow or
the bore.
From the message [Ye must be
Born again, 58-06-19] Brother Branham said, "Where Adam is more the burly type, for he was the man, the
masculine type. The woman was feminish, but it's the same Spirit, for He
took her from Adam.
So we se it is not another spirit but the same spirit. But to teach such
things these men are venturing without authority. They are only presuming to
have a truth but in reality this so called truth is nothing but error.
The illustration that brother Branham was using concerning the Chinese
laundry ticket is that our spirit must match perfectly God’ Spirit if we are
truly born again of the Spirit of God, because “By One Spirit we are all baptized into one
Body”, and that body is speaking of the body of Christ.
In 1 Peter 1:23 we read, Being born again, not of
corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and
abideth for ever.
23. And then in John 3:3 Jesus said, Jesus answered and said unto
him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see
the
24. And we know that to see the
25. It shall
be even as it was told me 50-0818 P:23 Anyhow, "to see" doesn't mean
"to look at." The word "see"
means "to understand."
Jesus said, "Except a man be born of water and Spirit, he cannot see the
26. Questions
and answers COD 59-1223 P:60 Now, Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you,
except a man be born again he cannot see the
27. Therefore, from
these quotes we see Brother Branham showing us that when a person is born again
something enters into that person. The very Life of God comes into them and
they begin to see what others can not see. In John
1:12 we are told, But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even
to them that believe on his name: Now,
the word power was translated from the Greek word Exousia which means “an ability, power or ability to become or manifest oneself”
And we see what that manifestation is to entail. We are to come into
manifestation as Sons of God. This does not read “as many as received him to
them gave he the ability to change from what they are not to what they would
like to be.” But it reads, “as many as were of such a nature as to be able to
receive Him and hold onto Him who is the Word, the same gave He an innate
ability or authority to exercise what they were ordained to be, and that is
sons of God. That is why this same apostle later wrote, “Beloved, You are
already sons but you just don’t see it manifested in yourselves that you are
sons, but when He shall Appear, then you will see Him as He truly is, and when
you see Him as He truly is, then you too will manifest what you truly are.” So
we are dealing with something that is in your nature deep in the recesses of
your soul to begin with, what Paul calls the inner man.
28. Brother
Branham also said from his sermon called, Mary's
belief 61-0121 P:30 "Except a man be born again he cannot
even see the
Notice that
Brother Branham said there are a lot of people who believe they are born again
when they are not, and that is what I want to address this morning.
Brother Branham
in talking about this predestinated germ of Life in you used a story of the
eagle in the chicken yard to describe how it works. In speaking of this
predestinated germ of Life he said in his sermon, INVISIBLE
UNION OF THE BRIDE 65-1125 33-4 "The
anointed Word of God being vindicated before any man that's born to be a son of
God with the predestinated germ into him for this hour, he'll see God's
message as sure as there's a God in heaven.
But, what if he doesn’t really see the Message of God? I mean what if he
only thinks that he sees it but in fact doesn’t really understand the Message
as it was meant to be understood? Brother Branham said, those two pieces must dovetail.
You couldn't impersonate it if you had to. There's no way of doing it. You
could make copies of letters, but you
can't impersonate
that tear. It's got to fit exactly with the other piece.
Now, the reason that the two pieces must dovetail is because they came
from one piece. By One Spirit we are all baptized into One Body. Therefore the two pieces came from one piece
because the one piece was torn free from the original piece and the tear or the
suffering had to match up to the original. 2 Timothy
3: 12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ
Jesus shall suffer persecution. And
again we see in 2 Timothy 2: 12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him,
he also will deny us:
And here is the key. The tear in the paper must dovetail with each other.
The two pieces must be so much alike that they fit perfectly when brought
together, because they both came from the same piece. By ONE Spirit we are
baptized into one body. That is why the Apostle John said, 1 John 4:17 Herein
is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment:
because as he is, so are we in this
world.
And again he said, 1 John 3: 2 Beloved,
now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we
know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as
he is.
So
we are speaking of knowing verses presuming that we are born again.
And as brother
Branham said, INVISIBLE UNION OF THE BRIDE 65-1125 33-4 "The anointed Word of God being
vindicated before any man that's born to be a son of God with the predestinated
germ into him for this hour, he'll see God's message as sure as there's
a God in heaven. The word sure means
to be certain. It means without wavering or doubt, without question. But what if they don’t see it for what it is?
But so many people have no scriptural foundation for their belief that
they are born again. They believe they
are born again because someone told them they are. I don’t want to know because
someone told me so, I want to know because I have scriptural proof that I am.
Why take anyone’s word for it when we can have God’s word for it. And to hang your
salvation on a false presumption is spiritually fatal.
From the message Presuming 62-0117 P:29 Brother
Branham said, Someone said, "Just let your mind go
blank now. Just look right straight up towards the skies. Let your mind go
blank; you'll get an experience." And no doubt but what you do. That's
right. But you get an experience, but what an experience. You see, when you do
that, you just open your soul to Satan. He'll give you something; that's true.
But I think a person coming to Christ
should come with all the intelligence they've got, and quoting in their mind when they come to Him every promise in the
Scripture. Keep your mind alert when
you come to Christ. Don't let it go blank. The devil will make you do
anything. See? They'll give you a sensation. He can do that too. But you want
an experience, something that the Bible teaches, something that's real.
You know
most of the world believes they are saved. And most of those who follow the Message
believe they are in the Election, and will make the Rapture. But there will be
very few in that Rapture, and like salvation many think they have it when in
fact they are only presuming to have it.
SALVATION in fact, like the Message, may be viewed or even
contemplated from many different points of view, but from whatever side we look
at it we must always remember that "Salvation is of the Lord." Salvation was planned by the Father for His
elect before the foundation of the world. It was purchased for them by the
holy life and vicarious death of His incarnate Son. It is applied to and
wrought in them by God’s Holy Spirit. It
is known and enjoyed through the study of the Scriptures, through the exercise of faith, and
through communion with the Spirit of God living in the individual.
Most of the multitudes who profess Christianity sincerely
believe that they are among the saved, yet they are total strangers to a
work of God’s grace in their hearts.
·
It
is one thing to have a clear intellectual conceptions of God's truth, it is
quite another matter to have a personal, real heart acquaintance with
it.
·
It
is one thing to believe that sin is the awful thing that the Bible says it is,
but it is quite another matter to have a holy horror and hatred of it in your
soul.
·
It
is one thing to know that God requires repentance, it is quite another matter
to change the way you think, to change your mind, and to admit you were wrong
in the way you believed.
·
It
is one thing to believe that Christ is the only Savior, it is quite another
matter to really trust Him from the heart for your salvation.
·
It
is one thing to believe that God is the only sovereign King, it is quite
another matter to LOVE HIM above all others.
·
It
is one thing to believe that God is the great and holy One, it is quite another
matter to truly reverence and fear Him.
·
It
is one thing to believe that salvation is of the Lord, it is quite another
matter to become an actual partaker of it through His gracious working in your
own soul.
While it is true that Holy Scripture is firm concerning man's
responsibility for his own sin, and all through the scriptures God deals with
the sinner as an some one who is accountable for their own actions; yet it is
also true that the Bible plainly and constantly shows that no son of Adam has
ever measured up to his responsibility, that every one has miserably failed to set
himself free from his accountability. Remember, a pardon is only a pardon if it
is accepted as a pardon. But if you do not believe that you are guilty then you
do not believe you should have to accept a pardon. And if you say you have no
sin, you are deceiving only yourself. But,
It is this need to acknowledge God’s pardon allows God’s Word to work in your
sinful soul, and to do for you what you are unable to do for yourself. The Bile
tells us that it
is God working in you to do and to will.
But for you to be able to work out God’s will on your own it
is impossible. "They that
are in the flesh cannot please God" (Rom 8:8). The sinner is "without strength" (Rom 5:6). Apart from the Lord, we "can do nothing" (John 15:5).
While it is true that the Gospel issues a call and a command
to all who hear it, it is also true that ALL disregard that call and
disobey that command - "They all with one consent began to make
excuse" (Luke 14:18). This is where the sinner commits his greatest sin
and most manifests his awful enmity against God and His Christ: that when a
Savior, suited to his needs, is presented to him, he "despises and
rejects" Him (Isa 53:3).
Now this bestowal of salvation is far more than a mere
proclamation that salvation is to be found in the Lord Jesus: it is very much
more than an invitation for sinners to receive Christ as their Savior. It is
God actually saving His people. It is His own sovereignty and
all-powerful work of grace toward and in those who are entirely destitute of
merit, and who are so depraved in themselves that they will not and cannot take
one step to the obtaining of salvation. Those who have been actually saved owe
far more to divine grace than most of them realize. It is not only that Christ
died to put away their sins, but also the Holy Spirit has wrought a work in
them - a work which applies to them the virtues of Christ's atoning death.
It is just at this point that so many preachers fail in their
exposition of the Truth. While many of them affirm that Christ is the only
Savior for sinners, they also teach that He actually became ours only by our
consent. While they allow that conviction of sin is the Holy Spirit's work
and that He alone shows us our lost condition and need of Christ, yet they also
insist that the decisive factor in salvation is man's own will. But the Holy
Scriptures teach that "salvation is of the LORD" (Jonah 2:9), and
that nothing of the creature enters into it at any point. Only that can satisfy
God which has been produced by God Himself. Though it be true that salvation
does not become personal to the sinner
until he has, from the heart, believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, yet that very
BELIEVING is worked into the sinner by the Holy Spirit: "By grace are ye
saved through faith, and that NOT OF YOURSELVES; it is the gift of God"
(Eph 2:8).
It is sad to say that there is a "believing" in
Christ by the natural man, which is NOT a believing unto salvation. Just as the
Buddhists believe in Buddha, so in Christendom there are multitudes who believe
in Christ. And this "believing" is something more than an
intellectual one. Often there is emotion and feelings connected with wrong
belief systems as we see very readily with the believers in Islam who kill in
the name of their prophet. And yes, to do so they are very emotionally tied to
their belief, yet though they trust in the Words of their Koran, yet they kill
and commit offenses contrary to God’s Holy Word. As brother Branham said about
those who sacrifice their children to false god’s, “They may be sincere, but they are sincerely
wrong.”
Christ taught in the Parable of the Sower that there is a
class of people who hear the Word and with joy receive it, yet have they no
root in themselves (Matt 13:20,21). This is fearfully solemn, for it still
occurs daily in this hour. Scripture also tells us that Herod heard John "gladly
" Thus, the mere fact that the reader of these pages enjoys listening
to some sound gospel preacher is no proof at all that he is born again. The
Lord Jesus said to the Pharisees concerning John the Baptist, "Ye were
willing for a season to rejoice in his light," yet the sequel shows
clearly that no real work of grace had been wrought in them. And these things
are recorded in Scripture as solemn warnings!
Then what would make this hour any different when God came
down and worked through the man William Branham and many followed because of
what they saw, but there is no real change in their nature even though they
claim to be followers of his Message. In Mark 6:20: we read "For Herod
feared John (not 'God'!), knowing that he as a just man and an holy, and
observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and
heard him gladly." It was the personality of John which attracted
Herod, just as it was the personality and obedient nature of William Branham
that has attracted so many to the Message of the hour.
And we find the same true with any minister used by God who
has a strong personality and ministry. People are charmed by the personality of
the preacher: they are carried away by his style and won by his earnestness for
souls. But if there is nothing more than this, there will one day be a rude
awakening for them. That which is vital is a "love for the truth," not for the one who presents it. This is what distinguishes
the true people of God from the "mixed multitude" who ever associate
with them.
Paul said, “because they loved
no the truth God will turn them over to believe the lie, and they will be
damned by it.” So you have
got to live the Truth. Our salvation is
based on our love for the truth, not our love for those who present the truth.
2 Thessalonians 2: 10 And
with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they
received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
So in John 5:35 Christ said to the Pharisees concerning His
forerunner: "Ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light," not
"in the light"! In
like manner, there are many today who listen to one whom God enables to open up
some of the mysteries and wonders of His Word and they rejoice "in his light" while in the dark
themselves.
These have never personally received "an
unction from the Holy One” themselves.
Those who do "love
the truth" are
they in whom a divine work of grace has been wrought. They have something more
than a clear, intellectual understanding of the Scripture: it is the food of
their souls, the joy of their hearts Jeremiah 15:16. They love the truth, and
because they do so, they hate error and shun it as deadly poison. They are
jealous for the glory of the Author of the Word, and will not sit under a
minister whose teaching dishonors Him; they will not listen to preaching which
exalts man into the place of supremacy, so that he is the decider of his own
destiny.
"LORD, Thou wilt ordain peace for us: for Thou also hast
wrought all our works in us" Isaiah 26:12. Here is the heart and
unqualified confession of the true people of God. Note the preposition:
"Thou also hast wrought all our works in us." This speaks of a divine
work of grace wrought in the heart of the saint. Nor is this text alone. Weigh
carefully the following: "It pleased God, who separated me from my
mother's womb, and called me by His grace, to reveal His Son in me" Galatians
1:15-16.
"Unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above
all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us" (Eph
3:20). "Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a
good work in you will perform it" (Phil 1:6). "It is God which
worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure" (Phil 2:13).
"I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write
them" (Heb 10:16). "Now the God of peace... make you perfect in every
good work to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His
sight" (Heb 13:20). Here are seven passages which speak of the inward workings
of God's grace; or in other words of experimental salvation.
"LORD, Thou wilt ordain peace for us: for Thou also hast
wrought all our works in us" Isaiah 26:12. Is there an echoing response in
our heart to this, my reader? Is your repentance something deeper than the
remorse and tears of the natural man? Does it have its root in a divine work of
grace which the Holy Spirit hath wrought in your soul? Is your believing in
Christ something more than an intellectual one? Is your relation to Him
something more vital than what some act of yours has brought about, having been
made one with Him by the power and operation of the Spirit? Is your love for
Christ something more than a pious sentiment, like that of the Romanist who
sings of the "gentle" and "sweet" Jesus? Does your love for
Him proceed from a new nature that God has created within you? Can you really
say with
Is your profession accompanied by true meekness and lowliness
of heart? It is easy to call yourself names, and say, "I am an unworthy
and unprofitable creature." But do you realize yourself to be such?
Do you feel yourself to be "less than the least of all saints?" Paul
did! If you do not; if instead, you deem yourself superior to the rank and file
of Christians, who bemoan their failures, confess their weakness, and cry, "O
wretched man that I am!"
- there is grave reason to conclude that you are a stranger to God!
That which distinguishes genuine godliness from human
religiousness is this: the one is external, the other internal. Christ
complained of the Pharisees, "Ye make clean the outside of the cup and of
the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess" (Matt
23:25). A carnal religion is all on the surface. It is at the heart God
looks and with the heart God deals. Concerning His people He says: "I will
put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write
them" (Heb10:16).
"Lord, Thou wilt ordain peace for us: for Thou also hast
wrought all our works in us." How humbling is this to the pride of man! It
makes everything of God and nothing of the creature! The tendency of human
nature the world over, is to be self-sufficient and self-satisfied; to say with
the Laodiceans, "I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of
nothing" (Rev 3:17). But here is something to humble us, and empty us of pride.
Since God has wrought all our works in us, then we have no ground for
boasting. "What hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now if thou didst
receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?"
(1 Cor 4:7).
And who are the ones in whom God thus works? From the divine
side; His favored, chosen, redeemed people. From the human side: those who, in
themselves have no claim whatever on His notice; who are destitute of any
merit; who have everything in them to provoke His holy wrath; those who are miserable
failures in their lives, and utterly depraved and corrupt in their persons. But
where sin abounded, grace did much more abound, and did for them and in
them what they would not and could not do for themselves.
And what is it God "works" in His people? - All their
works. First, He quickens them: "It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the
flesh profiteth nothing" (John 6:63). "Of His own will begat He us
with the word of truth" (James 1:18). Second, He bestows repentance:
"Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for
to give repentance to
Why has God thus "wrought all our works in us?"
First, because unless He had done so, all had eternally perished (Rom 9:29). We
were "without strength," unable to meet God's righteous demands.
Therefore, in sovereign grace, He did for us what we ought but could not do for
ourselves. Second, that all the glory might be His. God is a jealous God. He
says so. His honour He will not share with another. By this means He secures
all the praise, and we have no ground for boasting. Third, that our salvation
might be effectually and securely accomplished. Were any part of our salvation
left to us it would be neither effectual nor secure. Whatever man touches he
spoils: failure is written across everything he attempts. But what God does is
perfect and lasts for ever: "I know that whatsoever God doeth, it shall be
for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth
it, that men should fear before Him" (Eccl 3:14).
But how may I be sure that my works have been "wrought
in me" by God?
Mainly by their effects. If you have been born again, you have a new nature
within. This new nature is spiritual and contrary to the flesh - contrary in
its desires and aspirations. Because the old and new natures are contrary to
each other, there is a continual war between them. Are you conscious of this
inward conflict?
If your repentance be a God-wrought one, then you abhor
yourself If your repentance be a genuine and spiritual one, then you marvel
that God did not long ago cast you into hell. If your repentance be the gift of
Christ, then you daily mourn the wretched return which you make to God's
wondrous grace; you hate sin, you sorrow in secret before God for your manifold
transgressions. Not simply do you do so at conversion, but daily do so now.
If your faith be a God-communicated one, it is evidenced by
your turning away from all creature confidences, by a renunciation of your own
self-righteousness, by a repudiation of all your own works. If your faith be
"the faith of God's elect" (Titus 1:1), then you are resting alone on
Christ as the ground of your acceptance before God. If your faith be the result
of "the operation of God," then you implicitly believe His Word, you
receive it with meekness, you crucify reason, and accept all He has said with
childlike simplicity.
If your love for Christ be the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:25),
then it evidences itself by constantly seeking to please Him, and by
abstaining from what you know is displeasing to Him: in a word, by an obedient
walk. If your love for Christ be the love of "the new man," then you
pant after Him, you yearn for communion with Him above everything else. If your
love for Christ be the same in kind (though not in degree) as His love for you,
then you are eagerly looking forward to His glorious appearing, when He shall
come again to receive His people unto Himself, that they maybe forever with the
Lord. May the grace of spiritual discernment be given the reader to see whether
his Christian profession be real or a sham whether his hope is built upon the
Rock of Ages or the quick sand of human resolutions, efforts, decisions, or
feelings; whether, in short, his salvation is "OF THE LORD" or the
vain imagination of his own deceitful heart.