Rising of the Son no 35
Whose sins you remit
January 22, 2017
Brian Kocourek, Pastor
Matthew 16:14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and
others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 15 He saith unto them, But
whom say ye that I am? 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou
art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not
revealed it unto
thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18 And I say also unto
thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the
gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19
And I will give unto thee the keys
of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on
earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall
be loosed in heaven.
Lets bow our heads and our hearts in a word of prayer...
Notice Jesus tells Peter based upon the revelation of Jesus Christ, we
are given the ability to bind and to loose. This is what we want to speak on
today.
This morning as we continue to study brother Branham's sermon, "The rising of the Sun (Son), and I would like to focus our thoughts on
paragraphs 65 and 66 where he speaks to us concerning these words of Jesus in John 20:23.
Notice he says in paragraph 65 As in the
marriage and divorce case the other day, when the Holy Spirit had told me that,
I come said it just the way He told me. Some minister lady give me a right
sharp, little bawling out. She said, "I guess you take the place of
God."I said, "No, ma'am." Said, "Well, you told them their
sins forgiven." Said, "Well," said, "only God has power to
say"... Another Pharisee. See? And said...?... I said, "You
see, that you might know that Jesus told Peter and the apostles, after
he had the revelation of Who He was and told Him, 'Thou art Christ, the Son of God,' He said, 'Blessed art
thou (See?), son of Jonas, flesh and blood never revealed this to you, but
My Father which is in heaven has revealed It. Upon this Rock I'll build My
church; the gates of hell can't prevail against It. And I give unto thee the
keys. Whatever you bind on earth, I'll bind it in heaven; what you loose on
earth...'" That's that Divine
revelation of the Word made flesh. If it was flesh in that day by the Son, the
Groom, it's of flesh today by the Bride.
66 "Whosoever sins you remit, to them they are remitted; whosoever sins
you retain, to them they are retained." Now, the Catholic church picked
that up and taken it to their priests, but that's carnal. Watch. It was the
spiritual, revealed Word that did it. That's the reason He told them to go
baptize in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. He knowed they knew Who
He was.
John 20:22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive
ye the Holy Ghost: 23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are
remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
In the scene of our text we see Jesus having risen from the dead,
returning to his disciples who were huddled in the upper room, and having
breathed upon them the breath of Lives as God did with Adam, his first words he
speak to them was verse 23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose
soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
Again we read
from the Gospel of Matthew 18:14 Even so it is not the will of your Father
which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish. 15 Moreover
if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between
thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. 16 But if he will not hear
thee,
then take
with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every
word may be established. 17 And if
he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him
be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
And how do you
treat a heathen and a publican? You just leave them alone. After two
admonitions we are to reject as a heathen. That doesn't mean you go talk about
them, it simply means that you just leave them be.
Jesus
continues, 18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be
bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in
heaven. 19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth
as touching anything that they shall ask, it
shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together
in my name, there am I in the midst of them. 21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me,
and I forgive him? till seven times? 22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. 2
Notice
that this binding and loosing is not about someone doing something to you and
you want to get even. If you have that as an attitude then you are not right
with God.
Jesus
Christ the same yesterday 52-0810E P:29 Here sometime ago, a certain man, is well-known in
this congregation, well-known everywhere. A newspaper give a real bad
write-up about me, some things that wasn't right. He said, "Brother
Branham," said, "call fire of heaven down and burn that place
up."I said, "Oh, brother, my." I said, Jesus said, "You
don't know what spirit you are."
See?
Now,
brother Branham took this from John 9 where we read, John 9:46 Then
there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest.
47 And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a
child, and set him by him, 48 And said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and
whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least
among you all, the same shall be great. 49 And
John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and
we forbad him, because he followeth not with us. 50 And
Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us. 51 And it came to pass, when the time was come that
he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,
52 And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and
entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him. 53 And
they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. 54 And when his disciples James and John
saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume
them, even as Elias did? 55 But
he turned, and rebuked them, and
said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. 56 For
the Son of man is not come to destroy
men's lives, but to save them. And they went to
another village.
Look,
these brothers had not received yet the Holy Spirit and there minds had not yet
been purged and so they still possessed hate in their hearts for any who would
oppose them. This is the evil that must be put away from the bride of Christ,
for only perfect love will enter that place.
And
then Jesus tells us a parable and likens it unto the Kingdom of heaven.
3 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. 24 And when he had begun
to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his
lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had,
and payment to be made. 26 The servant therefore
fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 27 Then the lord of that servant was moved
with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. 28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants,
which owed him an hundred pence: and
he laid hands on him, and took him by
the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. 29 And his fellowservant fell down at his
feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 30 And he
would not: but went and cast him
into prison, till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellowservants saw what was
done, they were very sorry, and came and told
unto their lord all that was done. 32 Then his lord, after that he had called
him, said unto him, O thou wicked
servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: 33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant,
even as I had pity on thee? 34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till
he should pay all that was due unto him. 35 So
likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their
trespasses.18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in
heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Now, look this parable is about you and me, we are His servants. we are
the ones whom He has forgiven all our sins, and yet if we are not willing to
forgive those who have sinned against us, how can we expect the same from our
Lord. Too many people hold grudges and it is too late to do that. we are warned
by James we should not grudge against one another.
James 5:9 Grudge
not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge
standeth before the door.
Now, we are looking at loosing and binding on earth what God has already
done in the heavens. And what we should do here on earth is what He has already
done in heaven. He is our example, and what he does is what we ought to be
doing as well.
Brother Branham gives us a good example of this in his sermon That day on Calvary 60-0925 P:53 Now, watch, Jesus said... Watch how He stated it. "The works that I do (He's doing them right now.) the
works that I'm doing now, healing the sick, raising the
dead, opening the eyes of the blind, these
works shall you do also. You'll do these if you believe in Me. You do these works, and
then a greater than this shall you do, for I go to My Father.
Notice he speaks of works and then the greater works making a
distinction between the two.
Then brother Branham quotes Jesus "A
little while and the world won't see Me no more. Yet you'll see Me. I'll be
with you, even in you to the end of the world. I will not leave you
comfortless. I'll pray the Father. He'll send you another Comforter, which is
the Holy Ghost, Whom the world cannot receive, yet you can receive Him."
54 Now, notice,
the
greater works was to have the power in the church, not only to heal the sick by
prayer, cast out devils by prayer, but to impart Eternal Life to
believers. The Holy Ghost was coming and given
into the hands of the church to
impart life. Oh, that's what Calvary meant. It
took stooped, degraded men and women and lifted them into a place to be sons and daughters of God to heal
the sick and to impart Eternal Life. By giving the Holy Ghost to obedient
believers, men
who were once unbelievers be made believers and impart spiritual Eternal Life.55 How much greater is it to
say to this sick woman laying here, "I can
pray a prayer of faith," and
she'll be healed. That's a great thing. That's what He was doing then, but
said, "Greater
than this shall you do. I'm going to give you power, not only to raise him up
for a while, but to give him Eternal Life, which will be eternal forever." Poor, blind, wretched people, how do you
miss that?
Look at the
attitude of God's prophet. He saw how men vied for position and churches vied
against churches instead of all coming together for God' purpose and plan.
Again in his
sermon, QA on the Seals 63-0324M P:91 Before there was an
atom, or electrons, or before there was even cosmic light, electrons, or
anything, He was God. He's the Creator. And that's the only way you can be
eternal, is to receive Eternal Life; that Greek word there, I think, is Zoe. Isn't that
right? Zoe, Zoe. And then that Life God imparts to you, as the father, your father imparts his life to
you through the marriage vow with mother, and he, by that,
imparts the joy of imparting (Catch me?), of the imparting life for a son. And that's
the way God does: a joy in imparting His Life to a son. See? And then you
become part of Him which is Zoe, God's Own Life. "I give
unto them Eternal Life, raise them up at the last day."
That's the only thing... He got Eternal Life; and that Eternal Life knows
its body, and it must have to come forth. It's impossible for it to lay
there.
And from his
sermon, Path of life 62-0621B P:40 A man might look
like a Christian, impersonate a Christian, or walk like a Christian, or so
forth. But unless
that germ of life is there, he cannot rise again. Jesus said,
"I come that they might have
Life," Zoe, God's own life in them. And there's...
Everything that had a beginning has an end. It's those things which had not a
beginning that has no end. There's only one thing that never had a beginning;
that was God. And we
become His children, part of Him, then Zoe, God's own Life, Eternal Life, is
imparted to us. And that's the only way that we can live. And that's the only way that our lost friends out here, even
church members, can ever live again, is because Zoe has been imparted to
them, and we become a part.
So we are looking at whatsoever you bind here on earth will be bound in
heaven...Binding together in love.
BIND US
TOGETHER, Lord, Bind us together
With cords that cannot be broken.
Bind us together, Lord,
Bind us together, Lord
Bind us together with love.
There is only one God,
There is only one King;
There is only one Body,
That is why we sing:
BIND US TOGETHER, Lord, Bind us together
With cords that cannot be broken.
Bind us together, Lord,
Bind us together, Lord
Bind us together with love.
Made to
echo God's glory,
Made to manifest His Zoe;
Born to live a life that is holy,
Born to impart His life to you
BIND US TOGETHER, Lord, Bind us together
With cords that cannot be broken.
Bind us together, Lord,
Bind us together, Lord
Bind us together with love.
You are
the family of God,
You are the promise divine;
You are God’s chosen desire,
You are the glorious new wine.
BIND US
TOGETHER, Lord, Bind us together
With cords that cannot be broken.
Bind us together, Lord,
Bind us together, Lord
Bind us together with love.
Now, let's read from 1 John
1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we
have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled,
of the Word of life; He
calls it the Word of Life because he goes on to say in verse 2 For the life was manifested,
(How was it manifested? In the body of God's Only begotten son, that's how.) And we have seen it,
and bear witness, and shew unto you
that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested
unto us; (How was it manifested unto us? he tells us through His Son. How will it be manifested
unto you? Through
sons). So we see the Word
is Life, It is God-Life, and every seed must bring
forth after its kind, or nature. When that Word of God-Life
manifests itself, it manifests the God-Life that is in it.
from his sermon, Man that can Turn on the
Light 63-1229M 74 So life is only by the Word of God made manifest. Life comes only by the Word of God made manifest.
As long as it is just in the Book like
this, it still can be questioned; but when it's made manifest, then you see the product of what
It spoke of being manifested; then that is Light on the Word. See? That's what
brings... The Word said so, and then when it comes to pass, that is Life in Light, Light bringing
Life. Light
brings life. Plant the wheat out here, it'll... You put it in a
basement, cover it all over, and it'll never bring forth anything, because it
can't; there's no light there. But as soon as light strikes it, then it'll bring forth life if it's
a germitized seed.
That's the same thing it is in the Word. See, the Word is God, and when the
Light strikes It, it brings the Word to life again. Every age has always been
that.
And from his
sermon, That day on Calvary 60-0925 P:56 What is Eternal Life? The Life that He lived, the Life
that was in Him: impart that to others. Can a man do that? A Son of God can.
Jesus said, "Whosoever
sins you remit to them they are remitted.
Whosoever sins you retain, to them they are retained."
Now, here's where the Catholic church and many of the others made their big
mistake. They go out and say, "I forgive your sins." That wasn't it.
How did they get sins forgiven in the Bible? Peter answered that question on
the day of Pentecost. They said, "What can we do to be saved? How can we get this that you all got?"
He laid down the prescription. He told
them what to do. He said, "Repent, every one of you towards God,
and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ."
What for? "The
remission of your sins."
There's the greater works.
Now, let's just stop here for a minute
because brother Branham is giving us the key here to a life without sin. Jesus
never said "whose
sins you forgive they are forgiven". He said "whose sins you remit they are remitted". There is a difference between remit and forgive.
The word remit means: to lay
aside or desist.
To cancel out, or refrain from doing, to give relief from. to restore
or consign to a former status or condition and thus to release from the guilt or penalty of sin or
unbelief.
Now contrast that to the word forgive
and what it means. to stop feeling anger toward
(someone who has done something wrong) : to stop blaming (someone).
Notice the difference between the two
words. To Borrow a common phrase from brother Branham, but "these
are two different words and they mean two different things altogether."
Forgive means you come to the place
where you are willing to forgive, or not be angry with someone who
does things to you even though they keep on doing them.
Notice forgiveness has
nothing to do with the person who is doing the wrong. It doesn't
change his nature, it only changes your response to the
way you view that person.
In other words, as brother Vayle used to
say, "dog bite me once shame on dog, but dog bite me twice shame on me".
In other words, "I can forgive you but that's not going to
change you." That only changes my response to what you do. I just
learn to accept that you are what you are and no one can change you unless you
want to be changed. So you will continue doing what you do best until you have
died to self and God comes in to live your life for you.
But to remit your sin (or unbelief) is to do something to you that changes you forever,
and changes the way you live your
life. To remit your sin is to do away with you sin or unbelief altogether.
And just saying it won't make it happen.
brother Branham often said, "Just because you say it doesn't make it so".
Something has to happen to change your life that you don't want to sin any
more. That's the real meaning of the remitting of
sin. You don't do it anymore because you can't do it anymore.
There's another life living in you and you can't sin.
1 John 3:9 Whosoever
is born of God doth not commit sin; (Does not initiate sin) for his (God's)
seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he
is born of God. because if you are born of God then you will have
God's nature, for every seed must bring forth after its kind.
The sin question has been canceled out
in you. And the word Remit means: To cancel out. To lay aside altogether, to desist. And
you cannot do that until "you are dead and your
life is hid together with Christ in God."
No0tice the
very first thing Jesus tells His Disciples when He gave them the Holy Ghost.
John 20:22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them,
and saith unto them, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost": 23 Whose so ever sins ye remit,
they are remitted unto them; and
whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
Now, the Greek word for "Remit" that Jesus
used was "apheimi",
which is made up of two Greek Words, The first "apo",
used as a prefix which "denotes separation",
and it means: "to depart" and "cessation". Which means to "stop altogether". And the main
word "heimi" which
means: "to go, or to send away".
So when Jesus
breathed on them and imparted the Holy Ghost to them, he told
them that with receiving the Holy Ghost you now have power to give the same to others, and
in doing so it will cause sin (unbelief) to depart from them.
John 20:22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, "Receive
ye the Holy Ghost": 23 Whose
so ever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose
soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
Now, let's look
at this laying on of hands, because in this we see a great mystery, in that the
Believers were commissioned to do the same works that Jesus did.
Acts
8:14 Now
when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the
word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: 15 Who,
when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy
Ghost: 16 (For
as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name
of the Lord Jesus.)
17 Then
laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. 18 And
when Simon saw that
through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given,
he offered them money, 19 Saying, Give me also this power, that on
whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. 20 But Peter said unto him, Thy
money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be
purchased with money. 21 Thou hast neither part nor
lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.
22 Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if
perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.
From his
sermon, Thy seed shall possess the gates 59-1121 P:6 brother Branham said, "Great
Author of Life, the Writer of the sacred Scriptures that's given to us,
inspired by the Holy Spirit, and can only be interpreted by the Holy Spirit...
And I pray that You'll send Him tonight, the Divine Interpreter of this
Scripture and place It into our hearts, each one of us, so that we can receive
faith for everything we have need of tonight. If there are those here who
does not know You as Saviour, may the Scripture be imparted to their heart tonight by the Holy Spirit,
that Christ died for their sins according to the Scriptures. And grant, if they
haven't received the Holy Ghost as yet, may this be the night, that when
this part of the Scripture will be imparted to them; and may they receive the blessed
Holy Spirit to work in their lives the will of God.
The Apostle
Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 2:8 So
being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you,
not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye
were dear unto us.
Now, the word "impart"
means: to convey, to give, to bestow or to grant. And
how can you give someone something you
do not own yourself. So when you receive The Holy Ghost (Which is Eternal
Life) you in fact own it and are expected to give it to others.
That is why the doctrine of receiving the Holy Ghost was taught that you
receive it by the laying on of the hands from one who has it to one who does
not.
Notice the Greek word for imparted
here is metadidomi and it means: to give over, i.e. share: give, impart, to bestow.
In the book of Luke we read, Luke 3:11 He answereth and saith unto
them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and
he that hath meat, let him do likewise.
And brother
Branham said in his sermon That day on Calvary 60-0925 P:55 How much greater is it
to say to this sick woman laying here, "I can pray a prayer of faith,"
and she'll be healed. That's a great thing. That's what He was doing then, but
said, "Greater than this shall you do. I'm
going to give you power, not
only to raise him up for a while, but to give him Eternal Life,
which will be eternal forever." Poor, blind,
wretched people, how do you miss that? Don't you see what the greater thing is?
That's the greatest
thing that could ever happen was to impart Eternal Life to people.
Brother, that is John 14:12. And that is the third pull. That's
what sister Hattie Wright wanted
for her sons, and she was given power to do whatsoever she asked for. And she
asked for her sons to be given Eternal Life. That's the third pull, and every
instance, every example of the third pull presented to us was all about Life.
And we saw it when The Spoken Word dissolved the tumor in Sister Meda remitting
her sin and restoring her life.
First we see the squirrels were given
Life on two different occasions. Next we see a little fish was given back its life,
and then Sister Hattie Wrights sons were given eternal life.
Brother Vayle also taught us in his
sermon on Adoption that the creative
word will be in the bride before the end which is the manifestation of the sons
of God and which is John 14:12.
O, brothers and sisters, do you realize where we are at in this
hour? Brother Branham said when we get
this revelation we are not far from the Kingdom right then.
Lee Vayle
Adoption Number 2, Macon Ga.
1972 So we see according to the Word of God given to us by a vindicated prophet that the creative
Word will be in the very bride at the end time. Now this great
capstone ministry of the bride it's called the manifestation of the sons of God or the adoption or placing of the sons,
and to me, and I emphasize to me, it is also the manifestation of what brother Branham
called the third pull in the bride.
Again in his
sermon. Revelation Chapter One 60-1204M P:56 Brother Branham said in quoting
Jesus, "He that believeth in Me..."
Saint John 14:12, "He
that believeth in Me, the works that I do shall he also. Do the same works, and
greater than this..." Because Christ cannot preach the
baptism of the Holy Ghost would be greater. He could not bring it to them,
because the Holy Ghost hadn't yet been given. But when Jesus came and
sacrificed His Life, and the Holy Ghost returned, then they could
impart Eternal Life to the people. That's the greater.
But the signs and wonders, Jesus plainly said in Mark
16, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the
Gospel to every creature." How far? All
the world. How many? Every creature.
Long as the Gospel's being preached, these signs shall
follow them that believe. And when that becomes a revelation, brother, you're near the
Kingdom then. "On this rock I'll build My
church, and the gates of hell can't prevail against it."
Because the man or the woman that's ever been in that back desert alone like
Moses was, and the
revelation of God be made manifest to him through the Holy Ghost, there's
nothing can shake him. He's just as sound and solid as he can be.
Satan hates revelation. He don't like it at all: upsets his plans.
Hebrews Chapter 7 part 1
57-0915E P:106 It's God. Blessed be the Name of the
Lord. "It's God that worketh; not him that willeth or him that runneth, but
God showeth mercy." If Jesus was slain before the foundation of the world, it
taken four thousand years before it actually happened. But when God spoke it
back here, every Word of God is steadfast. It's immutable; It's impartable;
It cannot fail. And when God slayed the Son before the foundation of the world,
He was just as much slain then as He was at Calvary. It's a finished product
when God says so. And remember, when the Lamb was slain, your salvation was
included in the Sacrifice, because the Bible said that your name was written on the Lamb's
Book of Life before the foundation of the world. What about that? Then
what are we going to do? It's God that showeth mercy. It's God that called
you. It's God that chose you in Christ before the foundation of the
world. Jesus said, "You never chose Me; I chose
you. And I knew you before the foundation of the world."
There you are. So, see, that takes the scare out of you. "Oh, I wonder; if
I could keep holding on, I'll make it. Bless God, if I'll just keep holding
on..." It's not whether I hold on or not; it's whether He held on or not.
It's what--what He done. Not what I done; it's what He did. Is it under
the redemption law? This is a little thing I want to say before closing.
That day on Calvary
60-0925 P:54 Now, notice,
the greater works was to have the power in the church, not only to heal
the sick by prayer, cast out devils by prayer, but to impart Eternal Life to
believers. The Holy Ghost was coming and given into the
hands of the church to
impart life. Oh, that's what Calvary meant. It took stooped,
degraded men and women and lifted them into a place to be sons and daughters
of God to heal the sick and to impart Eternal Life. By giving the Holy Ghost to
obedient believers, men who were once unbelievers be made believers and impart
spiritual Eternal Life.
And that is what
receiving the Holy Ghost is all about. It's not so you can know more than the
next guy concerning doctrine. It's not to make you smarter, or more
knowledgeable about God. It comes to allow God to live your life for
you. But you have to die first. That is what it's all about. You
die, so that Christ can live again in you.
And then when you receive the Holy Ghost
then God expects you to live in such a way that others will be drawn to the
life you live. And you are given power by the law of Life to impart that
same Life to others. But never forget, the power is
sovereignly given. Therefore, Jesus never went about doing just what he wanted
to do, but did only what was pleasing to His father.
Again we read
from brother Branham's sermon The Token 64-0308
P:53 where he said, "Look, then when we realize
and present the Token, the Life it took for the Token, the Blood speaks for us. Remember, the covenant Blood was
recognized with the Token, and the Word assures us of the promise. The Token
is the sign that the purchase is made for us. Now, if you're not included
in that, well, of course, you'll never get nothing; you're just walking through
a prayer line, walking back out, walking up to the altar, and looking up,
walking back out. But, oh, brother, when that Token's once placed in your
heart, and you know it's the resurrection of Jesus Christ in you,
something's happening. There isn't nothing going to turn you. You know where
you belong. Full
obedience to the whole Word of God entitles you to the Token, and nothing else.
"Blessed is he that does all
of His Commandments, he might have right to the Tree of Life."
Then when we pray, we must have the Token to present with our prayers. Now,
don't fail to get that. When
you pray, you must have the Token to hold over your prayer; if
you're not, you pray until the Token comes, 'cause you're not promised to
receive it. See, you've got to have this Token first; that's the paying price,
your faith to believe it.
again he said
in his sermon, The Token 64-0308 P:13 The Life,
the Life that was in the Blood was the Token now.
I'll prove it to you, just in a minute by the Bible. It is the Token that's to come upon each of us to show
that we have been identified with our Sacrifice and have carried out
Jehovah's request.
And again he
said in The Token 63-0901M P:89 The
blood's not the Token now, the Life is the Token. The Life could not be there,
'cause it was an animal. The chemistry was the Token. You'd have to have
literal blood applied on the door; but now, it's the Holy Spirit. We're
coming to it just in a moment to prove that. See? It's the Life that is the Token. Your
life is gone, and you are dead, and your life is dead. You are hid in God through Christ, and
sealed in there by the Holy Spirit. The mind that was in Christ is in you, and
Christ, and the Bible, and the Word is the same."
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
Then you, and the Word,
and God, and Christ are the same. "And if
ye abide in Me and My word, you ask what you will, and it'll be done."
See?
Again from The Token 64-0208 P:73 "He expects us now to display
the Token over our faith, to Satan's group, the
unbelievers, and cults, and so forth, that don't believe in it, that we,
believing what He has said of His promises, and that Jesus Christ has raised up
from the dead, showing Himself alive... And that is the badge, the Token of identification,
because it's Christ's own Life in you identifying the Word.
It doesn't need anything else. That's the Token. Without the Token...Shows
the fare is paid, shows that you're a subject for the resurrection, that
God, that same power that raised up Jesus from the grave, you're holding within
yourself as a Token. The
Holy Ghost in you is the Token that brings you from the grave, because the
Token is God, the Holy Spirit, which is Eternal Life, coming from the Greek
word "Zoe," which means "God's own Life," in you.
That's the only thing that paid the price. If that Token isn't there, how are
you going to raise?"
From The Token 64-0208 P:65 again he said, "Not
the Blood chemistry, but the Token, the Holy Ghost, the Life out of the
Blood that comes... What does that Life do? Comes and confirms what the
Token has been purchased for. The Token confirms what the Blood bought for
you. The Blood purchased your redemption. The Token is an evidence of it.
The Blood... He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities,
chastisement of our peace was upon Him. With His stripes we were healed. See?
All Blood, Blood, Blood. Then when the Token come, it shows that you've been identified with that
sacrifice.
Amen. The devil can't keep you from it."
The Token 63-0901M P:54 "It's yourself gone. You're no more...
You're--reckon yourself dead, and the Token is what lives in you, and it's not your life;
it's Him. Paul said, "The life that I now
live..." He lived a different life from what he once did. "It's
not me, but Christ liveth in me." There is the
identified Token that God required. Identified with our--identification with
our sacrifice. The Life of our Saviour in us, the Holy Spirit..."
And again from
his sermon The Token 64-0308 P:61 "God once
gave a rainbow sign for a token (I'm closing.), gave a rainbow sign for a token.
I've just got about ten minutes and then have my prayer line. He ever remained true to that
token. Did He? He does yet. All these thousands of years, He has never once, one time,
failed to display it. He was true to that token, shows us that He never will
fail to honor His tokens. I don't care if Jesus don't come for ten thousand
years, you have the Token; He's still got to honor It. No matter how many
things changes, and what ever more, He's got to honor that Token. He
said He would. All right. He
expects us now to display His Token over our God-given faith, to every
unbelieving cult in the nation and in the world, that believes that signs
and wonders don't follow the believers. And be true to this
Token, and It shows
that the fare has been paid and we've been accepted for the resurrection,
having the Token Life inside of us."
And in closing
from The Token
63-1128E P:76 "Now, when you want Eternal
Life, you receive a Token, showing that the price has been paid. It isn't
the Blood, but it's the Token of the Blood. It's the Life Itself. Amen. Full obedience to the whole Word
of God, to God's entire Word, will entitle you to this Token.
How do you do it? Peter said, on the day of Pentecost, "Repent,
every one of you, and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission
of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, the Token. For the
promise is unto you, and to your children, to them that's far off, even as many
as the Lord our God shall call."
In closing,
brother Branham said in his sermon, That day on
Calvary 60-0925 P:57 How many of you preachers this morning, how many of you
listening to my word on magnetic tape, are willing to go to Calvary this
morning and look what God did there for you, and forsake your denominational
creeds, and preach the Gospel? Hallelujah. It's in your lap now. What
are you going to do with it? Why? Repentance
and remission of sins must be preached in His Name to all the world beginning
at Jerusalem. Hallelujah, there you are. What
does Calvary mean to you? What'd that day do to you? Did it stuff you out with some
theology? Did it make you a stuffed shirt, or did it make you a Christian,
sold out (Hallelujah.), sins remitted? Greater works than this shall you do. You see where the ye's are, don't you? Greater works than this, remitting sins in the Name of
Jesus Christ. But through creeds, and denominations, and so forth,
it's bound you down to a place you're still flirting the world. Let
us pray...