God Perfects in Three's
March
3, 2002
This morning we are going to read from paragraph 115 of brother Branham's sermon on "Who is this Melchisedec". I am only going to read the first half of the paragraph because it speaks of one specific thought and the thought then is expanded in the second half of the paragraph. In fact the person who transcribed this should have broken this paragraph into two because there are two distinct thoughts laid out in it. But to keep the continuity of thought, we will only read from the first half of this paragraph, and we will move onto the second half in another sermon to come Lord Willing next week.
WHO IS THIS
MELCHISEDEC 65-0221E 115 Everything's in three. The
natural birth's in three. What's the first thing happens to the woman
having a baby? What breaks first? Water. What breaks next? Blood. What's the
next process? Life: Water, blood, spirit. What happens to the plant? Rots.
What's the first thing? Stalk. What's the next? Tassel. What's the next? Shuck.
Then the grain comes out of that, just the three stages of it till it
gets to the grain. That's exactly. God vindicates that. That's always been
right; God vindicates it to be true.
I hope you have picked up on this tremendous thought brother Branham is laying out here for us. Notice he is speaking of Life, and how God does everything in three's including the stages of Life. The natural birth's in three. Then Brother Branham goes on to say, What's the next process? Life, and finally we hear him speak of these three as stages, "just the three stages of it." Therefore, in putting these thoughts together I believe he is speaking of the Three stages of Life, and therefore, I would like to subtitle the Message this Morning, Three Stages of Life.
LUKE
23: 29 For, behold, the days are
coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed [are] the barren, and the wombs
that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck.
If that isn't the condition of the world today, they would rather have a dog or cat, than to mother a child. And remember, a woman in the bible always typed the church.
Notice, Jesus said, "They will say, blessed is the womb that is barren, not "we shall say", but "they will say". They don't want the responsibility that goes with childbearing.
I
JOHN 5:7-8 For there are three that bear
record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are
one. 8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the
water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.
Notice the Scripture speaks of water, blood, and spirit, three stages of life. This is what brother Branham was referring to when he spoke of three stages of life. And notice he also said, everything is in three's and we know that God is Perfected in three's. The Father, The Word, and the Holy Ghost. These are not three, but it says they are one.
Notice there are three comings, not just two like everyone thinks. From the Message Blasphemous Names, brother Branham said, God makes Hisself perfect in three. He makes Hisself perfect in Father, Son, Holy Ghost, three offices of one God. He makes Hisself perfect in justification, sanctification, baptism of the Holy Ghost; come perfect works of grace. He makes Hisself perfected in three comings: first time to redeem His Bride, second time to receive His Bride, third time in the millennium with His Bride. And everything is perfected in three's.
The Fourth Seal 63-0321 308-5 209 Christ's first coming, a mortal. He comes three times. Christ is in three. See? And then in the next paragraph he says, Watch Christ. First coming, He come a mortal to bleed and die. Is that right? That's His first coming. The second coming is the rapture. We meet Him in the skies, immortal. His third coming, He's the incarnate God (Amen. Yeah.), God Emmanuel to reign on earth. That's right. Only three...
We also know there's been three Exoduses where the Pillar of Fire has come down to deliver man out from a government system into the Glorious Presence of The King of Kings and yet men have always desired to go back into what they came out from.
THE INDICTMENT 63-0707 9-2 Now, we would appreciate, if you--if you like to--to hear the message. The Third Exodus... Now, we've had many exodus, but we can definitely put our hand on the place, time of three exodus that God in the form of a Pillar of Fire has come down to call and separate people. And now, it's separating a people. 9-5 In the first exodus He was a Pillar of Fire. Then when He came on earth in the Lamb, to where He led them... What a beautiful type it'll be in the millennium, where He's leading the church now. We shall see Him as He is. We'll have a body like His own glorious body. And today, by the Light of the Gospel reflecting from a Light, a Pillar of Fire visibly among us... Science has seen It; It's in the magazines and across the world; and It's both scientifically and spiritually recognized as the same Pillar of Fire, by the same signs and same things It did always.
And we know concerning brother
Branham's ministry, as in the ministry of Jesus Christ, it had three pulls.
When you hear brother Branham describe those pulls you should then be able to
identify these same three pulls in every true Ministry where the minister is
fully obedient to the Leading of the Holy Spirit. In fact I believe that the three pulls are an
identification that the ministry has come to a perfection or completion. For
that is what perfection is, is a capping off and a completion. Now, listen to
how brother Branham explains these three pulls in the ministry of Jesus and he
identifies His own ministry with those three pulls as well.
SOULS
IN PRISON NOW 63-1110M 41-3
Jesus' ministry consisted of three pulls. Did you know that? Notice. Be sincere
if you ever was in your life now for a minute, few minutes. His First Pull was
healing the sick. He become a very popular Man. Everybody believed Him, seemed
like. Is that right? When He went forth healing the sick, everybody wanted Him
in their church, but one day He turned around and started prophesying, for He
was the Word. And He was the Prophet that Moses spoke of. And when He went to
tell them, and telling how they was living and the things they were doing, He
become very unpopular. That was His Second Pull. I wonder if it has typed right
back again? Just think a minute. Could it be? The first, healing everybody, the
second... Oh, "It could be Jesus Only. It could be Beelzebub; it could
be..." That's the same thing they did there. See? Same spirits living in
the same kind of people, condemned people that could never be saved because
they were condemned before...
41-5
Like Judas Iscariot, born of the son of perdition. You say,
"Judas?" Sure. Remember, he was very religious. But he couldn't go
all the way with the message. He could take part of it; but the rest of it, he
couldn't stomach. They can take healing and things like that, but when it comes
to God speaking squirrels into existence, then that's too deep for them:
"Can't be." That was Judas. His spirit can live right up to that
spot. He can't go it after that. See?
They could take Moses all right when he opened the Red Sea
and so forth like that, but when it come down to telling they wasn't--all the
rest of them wasn't to do this, or that, or the other, "He makes himself a
God over us." See? They couldn't go that--Korah and them; so they had to
have an organization, so God just swallowed them up.
42-1
Jesus' ministry, when He was healing the sick, He was so wonderful.
"That young Prophet of Galilee, why, He makes the blind to see. He's even
raised the dead. We got three cases of it. He actually raised the dead."
But
one day He turned around; He said, "You generation of vipers. You make the
outside of the platter clean. You appear to be holy, but the inside of you,
you're nothing but a bunch of snakes." Oh, when that prophecy went forth,
condemning that organization, then it changed. They turned against Him. That's
right. And finally, by rejecting Him, they crucified Him. But you can't kill
the ministry; it lives on. You can put the messenger to sleep, but you can't
put the message. That's right. He lived on.
42-3
And notice, when the Third Pull of His ministry come, the First was
healing the sick, the Second was rebuking their organizations and prophesying
what they had done, what they were, and what was coming: what is, what is--will
come, what was--what is and will come. That's what He done. Is that right? But
His Third Pull was when He preached to the lost that couldn't be saved no more.
They were down there where them big painted eyes was. Preached to the souls in
hell that did not accept mercy, but were eternally separated from the Presence
of God; yet they had to recognize it; what He was, because God made Him there.
Wonder if His ministry climbs out the same way in the last days. As it was,
"As the Father sent Me, so send I you. The works that I do shall you
also."
42-4 Lost, could never be saved, they had rejected mercy. That was His Third Pull. Now, is there any question? His First Pull, He healed the sick. Is that right? His Second Ministry, He was prophesying. His Third Ministry was preaching to the eternal lost.
Now, notice the first pull is God performing wonderful healings through that ministry. That's the first identification or the first pull. Then watch what happens. The next phase of that ministry is also a testing time for that ministry, to see if it will stay with God or with the popularity brought on by the first pull that everyone wanted. In the second pull, now that the true minister of God has the ear of the people, God places on his heart to say certain things using His two edged sword of the Word, and it not only stings, but it cuts deeply even to the marrow of the bone, and begins to expose what is no longer skin deep but is deep within the listener, even exposing what is in their heart. It exposes the unbelief of those who are listening. God's word goes forth straight and sure as an arrow, calling for a correction, but this s3econd pull is the one that is rejected. The people always reject this second pull, and therefore, I believe the second pull is the one that brings with it the real test of who we really are. It is the pull that separates the true believer from the make believer. That's that second pull. Then finally the third pull is that voice or that witness against those people, and therefore it is to the totally lost.
Is it later than we think?
God perfects in three's. Last week we spoke on the three stages of perfection in the believer, which are, Justification, Sanctification, and finally the Baptism of The Holy Spirit. we also showed how the earth is cleansed three times. The first by water, the second by the blood of the lamb, and the third will be by the Holy Fire of God.
Then we also find another set of three's mentioned in the Scripture.
In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul speaks of these three. (Faith, Hope, and Love, and notice how the Apostle Paul speaks of these three) I CORINTHIANS 13:10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 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. 13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these [is] charity.
So here we find Paul speaking
of "These Three" but he let's us know that all three are summed up
into the big One, because faith is a revelation, but a revelation is still an
inward or passive thing. Then out of that inward revelation, springs froth hope
which is an earnest expectation. And this earnest expectation has been created
by the inward revelation. This hope begins a movement within the inner man
which springs forth into an earnestly expecting what the revelation says will
happen. It creates such an abundant desire that it can not be contained in the
inner man any longer and bubbles forth in an expression outwardly which is
called Love. Therefore, Love is an outward expression of the inner revelation.
Love is the active faith which has come forth from the passive faith. And Love
compels you. It constrains you. Paul
also said in 2nd Corinthians, 5:14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; and if it
constraineth us, then it actually causes something to happen. It actually
builds up pressure, like steam and forces the engines to engage.
As you can see there are so
many perfections in three's throughout the scriptures. Let's look at
another. In I
Peter chapter 1, we hear the Apostle Peter speak of another
combination of three's. I PETER 1:7 That the trial
of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it
be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the
appearing of Jesus Christ:
Notice he is speaking of three things that are tied to a certain time called the Appearing of Jesus Christ. Therefore he is speaking of a sequence of events in the Life of the believer, or a sequence of steps, or stages of Grace that the believer comes through at the Appearing of Jesus Christ. I believe these three things are three stages in the perfection of the believer at the appearing of Jesus Christ. He list's them in the order that we must come through them. First he mentions Praise, then Honor, and finally Glory, which are three stages of our Growth process into Sons. You have as the Scripture says here, "water, blood and spirit." Three stages of Life.
Now the first stage of course
is Praise, and we find the definition of what praise is in the book of Hebrews Chapter 13: 15
By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that
is, the fruit of [our] lips giving thanks to his name. Notice it is
called the sacrifice of praise, and it all begins with our thankful attitude
and the expression from our lips in thanksgiving for what God has taught us at
this Great Appearing. He says, it is the fruit of our lips, and the
fruit would suggest it is an offering or a sacrifice to God. It is therefore a
sort of first fruit offering, but from our lips. And remember, this must first
come forth from the heart first before it can come forth from the lips, for
Jesus told us so in the book of Matthew. He said, MATTHEW
12:33 Either make the tree good, and
his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for
the tree is known by [his] fruit.
And Brother Branham told us in his sermon Anointed Ones at the end-Time that the fruit is the teaching of the season. ANOINTED ONES AT END TIME 65-0725M. 59 Notice, But it's what they produce that tells you the difference. "By their fruit," Jesus said, "you shall know them." Man does not gather grapes off of a thistle even though the thistle be right in the grapevine. That could be possible, but the fruit will tell it. What is the fruit? The Word for, the fruit for the season; that's what it is, their teaching. The teaching of what? The teaching of the seasons, what time it is, man's doctrine, denominational doctrine, or God's Word for the season.) Now watch what Jesus says when he continues, 34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
He is telling us that before we can speak it, it must first come forth from the recesses of the heart. From the message JEHOVAH JIREH, 56-0429 E-18, brother Branham said, Here sometime ago science said, "Oh, my. Isn't that awful. That Bible says that God said, 'As a man thinketh in his heart.' There's no mental facilities in his heart to think by." But you know what? Last year they found out God was right. The soul lives in the heart and not in the mind. That's right. So God was right. "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." Not as his intellectuals introduced to him, but as his soul tells him. It can't fail there.
Now, therefore, as he thinks, he speaks, and since this speaking is the sacrifice of the lips which is the fruit offering to God, then it has to be the teaching of the season being given back to God in a thankful manner. And that leads to honor, which is being called up. And this honor can not come until the praise has gone forth. Jesus said, JOHN 6:45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
And notice, you can not come to God until first you have first been taught, and then when you have been taught, you must also have learned, and that is the key. So many children today are not learning because there is no discipline in the schools, nor in their home. The same thing holds true within the message. The people have had the greatest teaching ministry since the Apostle Paul in this hour, and the same Holy Spirit in the same form of the Pillar of Fire has come to instruct, and yet the people would not listen. And therefore if they do not learn they cannot come to God. He said they have to not only be taught, but they also must learn what is taught.
Therefore it is very important here to consider who is doing the teaching. As the Apostle Paul said in Romans chapter 10, that you cannot call upon the name of the Lord and be saved if you did not hear, and you could not hear if there were no preacher sent. And if a preacher comes to you but was not sent by God then he most certainly will not be preaching a correct Gospel. And if he is not preaching a correct Gospel, then those who would here it would hear error, then their calling would be in error to a false God who can not help them.
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
Now, Martin Luther reworded
those great thoughts, as he said, (Even though they
say they hear, thy boast in vain, unless they hear true preachers; for to hear
false prophets means as much as not to hear. They hear and they do not hear;
They have ears, but do not hear, nor do they preach the Word of God.
Romans 10:15 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! ? Martin Luther said, This is directed against all conceited teachers and arrogant
instructors. Notice in verse
14-15 there is four statements Paul makes that follow together in such a way
that one leads to the other, but so that the last forms the foundation on which
the others rest.
So
then, the entire source and origin of salvation rests in this, "that God
sends out someone, (A true minister of the Word)."
1.
If He does not send out any, then they who
preach, preach falsely, and
their preaching is no preaching at all. In fact, it would be better for them
not to preach.
2.
Then also they who hear, hear error,
and it would be better for them not to hear.
3.
Then also they who believe, would believe
false doctrine, and it would be better for them not to believe.
4.
Then also they who call upon Him would call
falsely (upon a false Lord), and it
would be better for them not to call.
1
For such preachers do not preach,
2
such hearers do not hear;
3
such believers do not believe;
4
such callers do not call;
5
they will be damned because they would be saved
by falsehood.
Now, then we must be able by now to se that the Great Appearing in this hour is to bring forth a praise from the elect. This praise is the fruit of the lips which comes forth from the abundance of the heart. Since it is the fruit of the lips it is the teaching of the season, and therefore we are actually giving back to God what he has given to us in the form of revelation of revealed truth. Then peter tells us that it moves from praise to honor which is being called forth, and we found that we can not be called forth until we have been taught and have shown that we have learned. Finally it all results in Glory. Raise honor, and then glory, and we found that the word Glory here is a Greek Word Doxa which means the opinion, assessment and judgment of God. The opinion is what a judge hands down. It is his interpretation of the Law. The assessment is the value that is placed upon such opinion, and the judgment is the execution of placing into action that opinion.
Therefore at the Appearing of Jesus Christ, we are taught, we learn, we form an opinion which is the same opinion as the one who wrote the Law or the Word, and then we give back that opinion showing we have an understanding of the law, or the Word, and have the same mindset as the lawgiver himself. Then we put into action our opinion, showing that we assess it to be the highest opinion. This shows the value we place in the word for the Hour, the teaching, which is the doctrine, is the same value as the one Who gave it. Therefore, what is important to Him is important to us. And we have the right translation of the Word.