Token no 30
We are not commanded to talk it, But Live it
October 25, 2015
Brian Kocourek, pastor
Ecclesiastes
10:12 The
words of a wise man's mouth are gracious; but the
lips of a fool will swallow up himself. 13 The
beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness: and the end of his talk is
mischievous madness.
Proverbs
14:23 In all labor there is profit: but the
talk of the lips tends only to extreme poverty.
Ecclesiastes
5:2 Be not rash with thy mouth, (in other word, don't speak before you
think what it is you are saying, don't be hasty to speak.) and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any
thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.
Let us bow our heads in
prayer...
112 You should love one
another. Believers should separate
themselves from the world. Don't just take it now, lightly. And then, you
people that's listening to this on tape, you women, you men, you listen a
minute. If you ever believed me, you
believe it now. It's time to quit fussing with
one another. Believe
the message of the Bible. Believe
Jesus Christ; and love, and honor, and respect one
another. Men respect your
wives; you respect your home. Bring your home together,
because, you remember, this Lamb was for the home, not
just one. The whole home too
had to be brought; everything had to
be brought in. We should love
each other, and believers should separate themselves from the world.
113 Notice, they were not
just yet come together to talk about the message. They come together to apply the blood, to
apply the token.
We find this same thing is Matthew 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth
them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon
that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
Now, if we want to apply the symbols in this parable
we must know what they mean first to understand what this is all about.
Now, he said the rain would descend, and we know
according to Deuteronomy
32:2 God said his Doctrine would fall as the rain. So we see
here that the rain must come before the floods.
Now, we know that satan comes in like a flood, but we
also know that a flood represents judgment by the Word, as it was in the days
of Noah so shall it be when the Son of Man is Revealed. And as
the doctrine begins to pour forth upon the face of the earth, then the
judgments that the doctrine bring with it begin to take apart every house that
is not founded in the rock which is revelation.
You see the flood is the
waters of separation, and we know the
waters of separation is the Word itself. Notice the rains come
first, then the flood which is the waters of separation which will take away
any house that has not been build upon a rock which Is Revelation. And not just
any revelation will do for Christ is that Rock. And therefore there is one Faith or one Revelation and that
is the revelation of Jesus Christ. And building
your house upon that rock which is Christ will weather any storms that will
come.
So he says the rains will come, that's
the doctrine, and then the floods will rise which is the
waters of separation that will come as a result of that word, and then the
winds will blow, which speaks of false doctrine, or "every wind of doctrine"
as the Bible says, "and cunning
craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive". And will
beat upon that house, and if it was not founded upon the Rock of the Revelation
of Jesus Christ, then it will not last.
If you just come to church because you know you
should, watch out? The rain is falling, and the next thing will come
is the waters of separation! Then you will find out where your home was
built upon. If you have received the revelation of Jesus Christ you
will be tested to see whether you actually have it or not. because you are not
just to hear it, but you are also supposed to recognize it and if you recognise
it you will also act uupon it. Hearing,
recognizing and acting upon the Word of God as brother Branham's
sermon title indicated.
And the recognizing and acting upon it is the trial of your faith, which is the trial of your revelation. God gave Noah a vision of the rain, then the
flood and Noah recognized it, and acted upon it to the saving of His home.
26
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be
likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27 And the
rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that
house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. 28 And it came to pass, when
Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: 29
For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
Now the King James version uses the word astonished
here but the word astonished is not a good translation of the word ekplesso that Jesus uses here, because it
gives you a wrong idea of what was taking place. The Greek word used here is ekplesso and it means to strike
out, to expel by a blow, to drive out or away; to cast off by a blow, or to
drive out.
In others words, they didn't want His doctrine. They
wanted to expel him to get him to go away, for his doctrine was too hard for
them to hear. And they didn't want it. Why? Because they
all liked to talk about the Lord and to talk about the Word but he said
with their mouth
they draw near but in actuality their hearts were far from God.
Isaiah 29:13 Wherefore the Lord
said, Forasmuch as this people draw near [me] with their mouth, and with their
lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear
toward me is taught by the precept of
men: and the hebrew word for precept was mitsvah which means a command, whether human or
divine (collectively, the Law):--(which was) commanded(-ment), law, ordinance,
precept.
And in this case it tells us it is the laws or
precepts of man.
And that is what Jesus quoted to them in Matthew 15:7
Ye hypocrites,
well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, 8 This people draweth nigh unto me
with their mouth, and honoureth me with [their] lips; but their heart is far
from me. 9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching [for] doctrines the
commandments of men.
From brother Branham's sermon, Jehovah Jireh
PT 1 62-0705 23 He said, "See, you can't go by emotions. See, your life that you
live testifies what you are. See? No matter what kind of a
sensation, you cannot base Christianity
on any sensation. It's a life.
Jesus said, "By their fruit you shall know them." Not by
their profession, not by what
they say. And Jesus also said, "You
draw nigh unto Me with your lips, but your heart is far from Me." That's
their profession. See, your life tells what.
And if a man says that he believes God, and denies one Word of this Bible, or
changes It in any way, why it's got to be wrong."
Jesus tells us in Luke 6:47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is
like: 48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the
foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon
that house, and could not shake it: for
it was founded upon a rock. 49 But he
that heareth, and doeth
not, is like a man that without
a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream
did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was
great.
So the hearing without the doing shows there is no
foundation to what they think they heard. Listen!!! You hear and do not do, you
have no foundation. But hearing and then doing shows you have recognized what
you have heard and now you are acting upon what you heard. That shows you are
founded upon the revelation.
NIV
Luke 21: 34-36 34 "Be careful, or
your hearts will be weighed down with (1) dissipation, (2)drunkenness and (3)
the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.
35 For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth.36
Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is
about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."
Now, let's stop here for a moment to see just exactly
what this means. He told us to be careful about three things that could weigh
and close in on us like a trap.
Dissipation: which means Wasteful
expenditure or consumption. 3. Dissolute indulgence in sensual pleasure;
intemperance. 4. An amusement; a diversion. So we are warned to be
careful not to become too weighed down by these things which are rampant in our
society today. That's
Laodicea full speed ahead. And then he said,
Drunkeness: which implies a
losing of ones ability to rightly reason. And to be resolute in our minds.
Anxieties of this Life: And we are told to be anxious for nothing. You see, God is not
pushy, and he does not want us to get pushy about anything. Brother Branham
taught us in his sermon, "God's Only provided Place of Worship" that
the bride must "lay in the presence of the Son to ripen".
He did not say for us to "run, run, run", but to "lay in the presence
of the Son of God" until "we get mellow in our spirit and ripe in our
soul".
Now, this scripture tells us that if we are not
focused on Christ when that day comes, we are going to miss Him, and yet these
three things are what the entire world are focused on and they have missed Him
altogether.
Notice Jesus said, if you are caught up in these
things, that day will close on you unexpectedly like a
trap. 35 For it will come upon all those who live on the face of
the whole earth.36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to
escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before
the Son of Man."
So brother Branham continues by saying, That's what you must do. Pastor Neville, and to this
congregation, trustees, deacons, to you brethren, it's time that we laid aside all the foolishness of the world, time we
laid aside everything else. We've
seen enough now, that we're positive, sure, and the Token must be applied. Without it, you're going to
perish; you must perish. That is the only thing. Oh, don't come together, say, "I believe
it." Get beneath
it. Get into it.
How to do it? "By one Spirit we're baptized
into the Body of Jesus Christ". Everybody
believe with all your heart. See? He was not responsible for any out from
beneath it.
Notice he did not
say, "how
do you get into it? By talking about it". No he never said
that. He said you get into it, by being baptized into the Body of Christ by the Spirit of
Christ.
Then to just be able to talk about it is not
eternal life, and to be able to memorize quotes or even entire
sermons is not eternal Life. Nor is it living a good life. But eternal
Life is to Know God and to Know His Son. So you see why the Doctrine of
Christ is so important to us, for without it you cannot be born again to
eternal life.
Let's continue in the
Token, and pick up at pp. 115 But you believe. Get beneath it.
Israel didn't come together to say, "Let's all go over to
Concerning the unbelievers view
which we know to be the social view, they look to the social benefits and
fruits that spring forth from identifying themselves with the Message and the
Doctrine of Christ. And just like those who saw the passion of Christ, Message
people will talk about the Message and they will even talk about the
suffering and rejection that brother Branham went through as though by
doing so they are understanding that suffering, because by hearing of it they
are identifying with it, or they will do things such as getting together to
talk the Word, as though their own superficial views and ideas of what the Word
means will somehow isolate them from having to actually enter into the
sufferings of Christ, the same sufferings and rejection that Br. Branham also
went through.
For they seek in their own actions, and in their own talk only their own
selfish interest, and self promotion of their ideas above those of God's ideas given
to us by "Thus Saith the Lord".
Therefore they load themselves up with pictures, and artifacts, and mementoes,
and other such paraphernalia, and they think by being identified with the
books, and tapes, or some piece of Brother Branham's clothing, just like
centuries before the Catholics believed in possessing one of the nails, or a
piece of the cross, that when they had in their possession, like today, a piece
of the rock from Arizona, or a piece of the floor from brother Branham's study,
that they thus imagine these things somehow will protect them from peril, and
suffering, and rejection, or in some way they might become closer to the cross
of Christ, and make the rapture because they identify with the Message. And in
this way, their hope is that the suffering of Christ might work in them an
absence of suffering, which is contrary to its nature and character.
These are they who so sympathize with Christ that
they weep and lament for him because he was so innocent. And we see that in the
very Message itself. And I've heard this comment from those who have seen the
Passion of Christ. They all look with the wrong view, and come out weeping, and
they are no different than the women who followed Jesus Christ from Jerusalem, and
whom he rebuked, saying, "don't weep for me, you had better weep for yourselves and for
your children."
So then brother Branham
says in pp, 116 It's a token. No matter how much you believed, or how much
you are circumcised; that's a covenant God gave to Abraham, and so forth;
that is the covenant; but you've got to get beneath the
blood. That's a token. For He said, "When I see the Blood, I'll pass..." Israelite or any, that's
denomination or not denomination; either one, you must come beneath the Blood: Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian,
Pentecostal, Undenomination, whatever you are, it's for an individual; you've
got to come beneath the Blood. Now, just don't talk about it;
receive it. Hear me;
hear me; in the Name of the Lord, hear me.
See? Got to come beneath the Blood. He
was not responsible for any person from beneath the Blood. God made it clear, that all from under that
blood would perish. May I use His Words? "All outside of
Christ will perish."
So in pp117 he says, "How do you get in Christ? I Corinthians 12: By
One Spirit (not by one
handshake, by one membership, by one denomination. That's what they're trying
to make it. They may do that,)--but by one Spirit, we are all baptized into one body.""If an angel from heaven teaches anything else," Paul said, "let him be cursed." That's the message. Come into
Christ.
"Look, any persons
outside of the token, God was not responsible. And God is not responsible for
any person, big or small, popular or unpopular, rich or poor, bond or free,
male or female; He is not responsible
for anybody that's from under the Token covenant. He's not responsible.
118 You say, "Oh, Lord, I
did this; I cast out devils. Lord, I
did this; I preached the Gospel.""Depart from Me, ye that work iniquity. I
never even knew you."
He only recognizes the Token. Do you hear it? Say, Amen. Now, so,
it's upon you. Setting down there in that woods the other day, and the boys,
one of them said, "Here's two days, you ain't..." I didn't even shoot
a squirrel. Say, "What was the matter?" See? That's what it was. See?
Said, "Place it upon them: upon them." Said, "You have talked to me about it. Now,
it's in your lap. It's in yours."
119 He
won't recognize nothing but that covenant of the Holy Spirit. And you cannot receive that covenant, unless you are saved,
sanctified, and then baptized into the Body. He will not... You
might have an impersonation; you might feel good; and jump up-and-down, and
speak in tongues, and dance in the Spirit. That
don't have one thing to do with it. Hear it, in the Name of the Lord. God don't recognize that.
Heathens do that. Witches do that. You say, "I'm a scholar. I do this, that, or the other." He don't care how much scholar you are.
The devil is too. See? He only recognizes the Token. That's the message of the
hour. That's the message of this day. That's the message of
this time. In the Name of
Jesus Christ, receive it.
Listen, if anyone has taught the doctrine, I have taught it to more
than any man living. I don't say that to boast. I can say that because it is
the truth. I've gone to 56 countries and many of them 5 and 6 times, and I've
spoken to more that 3,500 ministers, so I ought to know what I'm talking about
concerning the doctrine of Christ, or God would not have opened so many doors
for me to speak. And yet I know that God will not open the doors to eternal
Life because you know more than the next fellow. He's not going to judge you
because of your doctrine, he is going to judge
you for the deeds you have done in this body. That is what the Bible
teaches.
In the Patmos Vision Brother
Branham said, 2 John 1:48,
60-1
"Nathanael saith unto Him, Whence knowest
Thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when
thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee."
There it is. When He comes, that Word will come against all nations and all
men. And none will be able to stand against it. It will reveal what was in
every heart as He did with Nathanael. The Word of God will show who
did the will of God and who didn't. It will make known the secret works of every man and why he did them.
It will divide asunder. That is what it says in Romans 2:3, "And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest
them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the
judgment of God?" Then it goes on
to say how God is going to judge men. Here it is in verses 5 to 17. The hard impenitent heart will
be judged. The works will be judged. The motives will be judged.
There won't be any respect before God; but
all will be judged by that Word, no one escaping it. Those who heard
and wouldn't listen will be judged by what they heard. Those that rested in it saying they believed it, but
didn't live it, will be judged. Every secret will come out in
the open and be shouted from the housetops. Oh, we will really understand
history then. There won't be a mystery left from all the ages.
Revelation
22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my
reward is with me, to give every man
according as his work shall be.
1
Corinthians 3:8 Now he that planteth and he
that watereth are one: and every man
shall receive his own reward according to his own labor.
Romans
2:6 Who will
render to every man according to his deeds:
Matthew
16:27 For the
Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to
his works.
Jeremiah
17:10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the
reins, even to give every man according
to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
Proverbs
24:12 If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart
consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not
he render to every man according to his works?
Psalms
62:12 Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy: for thou renderest to every man according
to his work.
Job
34:11 For the
work of a man shall he render unto him, and cause every man to find
according to his ways.
1
Kings 8:39 Then hear thou in heaven thy
dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give
to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of
all the children of men;)
Church choosing law for grace 61-0316 P:51 Watch just a minute. They stayed there; they married wives; they raised
children; they had good crops; they were blessed, yeah. And they had a great
time. They was in there... They stayed there how long? The Bible said,
"Until all the old fighters was dead." That's right. All those said,
"Glory to God; we are the Assemblies." "Well, glory to God, we
are the so and so." "God, we are the Oneness, hallelujah, the rest of them's wrong."
"Bless God, we're the Church of God of Prophecy." "Hallelujah,
we're so and so." All right, go ahead. What'd they do? They kept arguing their doctrine till they stayed there
till they died. And that's what's happened right now.
They're dead. Dead with their
organization. I'll bring any theologian to
call this. A historian, I know of two good ones setting right here now,
as good as there is in the nation. I ask any historian to tell me that any time that God ever moved in a revival, supernatural
signs followed. When did
He ever move that supernatural didn't follow? And when did they ever
organize that to an organization but what it died and never did raise again?
Show me one time that a organization ever raised to its beginning again. It
died as soon as it organized. So did the Pentecostals. You old fighters out
there, that wants to say, "Hallelujah,
we have nothing to do with that old new issue. Glory to God, it's give to
us by prophecy. Hallelujah, we'll have
nothing to do with the Assemblies or the Oneness, either one. Hallelujah,
we're different." They're dead.
That's not pulling any punch. And they're dead, marked out:
X. He stayed there and let them die until they were all the
way dead.
Doctor Moses 55-0114 P:11 Jesus, talking to this
mighty ruler who did not understand, and He was giving him the Old Testament as Scriptural proof of what He was talking
about. Jesus was very fundamental in His
doctrine. But it was against their
theology of that doctrine. Although
in their theology they were very orthodox. They believed and very much of believers in what they did
believe. But they didn't have it, the Truth.
The Scripture says there
is a way that seemeth right unto a man.
It may seem every bit right. But
the end are the ways of death.
So we must be sure that we're right. How God knew in all ages that whether it
was right or wrong. He vindicated it. He proved it.
Restoration of bride tree 62-0422 P:139 Notice.
How can you call them wrong, when you
take manmade creeds that's contrary to the Bible: dogma,
just the same as they did? Why? You're in a organization that's a daughter to
the old prostitute. What is a prostitute? Some woman that lives untrue to her
husband, claiming to be a Christian church and giving out wrong doctrine, her
own stuff, instead of taking God's holy Word. Just like Eve did, listened to
the devil and caused all death and sorrow that ever struck the earth--come
through Eve, because she committed a spiritual fornication against God by
disbelieving His Word, and that's exactly what the churches are doing today, committing spiritual fornications against
God's Word. And they won't even have you in the
church if you don't agree with their doctrine. Well, they sign me
letters: "If you'll believe in this, and if you'll say this is right, and
you'll..."I said, "I just
won't come." No, sir. I'll
preach just what this Bible says, or none at all. See? That's right.
Notice the title of this next quote. True vine and the false vine 55-0607 P:43 In this
sermon brother Branham is showing the difference between the true Vine and the
false vine, and it wasn't their doctrine. he tells us they both had the same
doctrine. "Down here in the valley they had seven
altars, seven bullocks, and seven rams. This
group was just as fundamental as this group. If God only
required fundamental doctrine, then why did He except this one and refuse that
one? And all their dignitaries stayed around, and raised their
hands, and glorified God, while the prophet went forth to prophesy. And if God only requires fundamental teaching, He's honor
bound to this group, 'cause there's seven bullocks, seven
altars, seven rams, speaking of the coming of the Lord, just as fundamental in every way as this church was See? But what was the difference? What was the
difference? They only had the letter, only had the Word, and
these people had signs and wonders following them; they had a
smitten rock where they could drink from. They had a brass serpent for healing.
They had signs and wonders, going before them,
performing signs; they had a Pillar of Fire hanging over
them. I knowed they done all the things wrong, but they for... Balak
forgot to look and see that there was a smitten rock before them; their was an
atonement made. And God was vindicating
them with signs and wonders. He was saying, "That's My people."
Hebrews Chapter 5 and 6 57-0908M P:8 Now,
for a little background, till we go back... Now, the Book of Hebrews was
written by Saint Paul to the Hebrews. He wrote one to the Ephesians; that was
the people at Ephesus, the Christian Church, one to the Romans at Rome, and one
to the Galatians, and one to the Hebrews. Now, we notice that Paul, being a
Bible teacher to begin with... That's what we learned, that he set under the great teacher, one of the
greatest of his days, Gamaliel. And he was well versed in the Old Testament;
he knew it well, but became a persecutor
of the way that was Christ's way, because he'd been trained in the Old Testament under teachers. But the
teachers, usually carnal... (I hope I don't say anything wrong.)But usually, if a man has just the teaching and the way
of the schools, it's usually manmade. See, it isn't inspired,
because it becomes a doctrine of a school. We have it today: Presbyterian, Lutheran,
Pentecostal, all. These schools have their theory
and they just wind the Scriptures into this.
So there is no getting around, it. God
will not judge you for whether you have the right doctrine of not, but He will
judge you if you reject the right doctrine when it is presented to you, and he
will judge you for what you did with the Light God gave you. So what if you got
the right doctrine but didn't let that doctrine bring you into Christ's very
life? Then you will be judged no different than the person who turned down the
doctrine itself. Therefore the Doctrine is not something that will put you in
or take you out, but rather it is a tool that God has given us, and
understanding that we may Know Him better.
From his sermon, Blind
Bartimaeus 56-0414 P:10 Brother Branham said, "Now, God will never judge you for being a sinner. He can't judge you,
'cause sin was paid for at Calvary. And you're
not a sinner, you are a
rejecter. See? He judges
you for rejecting salvation when it's been offered to you., the penalty of
sin. So you see, it was all paid for at Calvary.
Why are we not a denomination? 58-0927 P:54 Listen, you young people today. I don't know whether you come to this
church, or where you come, you young boys and girls. Did you realize, the things that you're doing, if there is another
generation, your children will be judged for what you do?
Haven't you no respect or decency? You girls that's out here wearing these
little old shorts and things around, you know, that's reflecting on your daughter. Did you know your
grandmammy was a flapper, and your mammy a chorus girl, and that's the reason
you're a striptease today? It's certainly. What
will your children be? Yes, sir. God said He'd visit the iniquity of the
parents upon the children and their children, to three and four generations.
So brothers and sisters, God does not judge you for
having the wrong doctrine, he judges you because you rejected the correct Bible
doctrine.
Remember last week we spoke where the Apostle Paul said, "The
Spirit will bear witness with your spirit, that you are the children of God.". And in order to bear witness to
anything, it means there must be a confirmation of something that you have
witnessed.
But what if there is nothing to witness? If there are no fruits,
what is there to witness? He said, "by their fruits you shall know
them". and God has to abide by His own laws.
You say, "Well, I've
got the right doctrine so that is my proof?" But, God's prophet said
you could have the wrong doctrine and a right heart. In fact he said,
From
his sermon, Getting
in the spirit 61-0428 P:47 Brother Branham said, "I don't care if the man's wrong. If he's wrong
and sincere in his heart and you're right in your belief and you're wrong in the way you're acting. I'd rather be in his place than be in yours.
That's right. I'd rather be
wrong in my doctrine and right in my heart. God will respect it more.
So if a man is wrong, what of it? Help him. He needs help.
Love him. If you can't love your enemy the same as you love those who love you,
you're no better off than the
publicans. That's right. That's
what the Church has failed to get. I hope you get it tonight. I hope you
see what I'm talking about."
And
from his sermon, Godhead explained 61-0425B P:40
Now, ..."To answer your question," I said, "now, I do
not take either sides with you brethren, and I know, as long as you
fuss, you're both wrong (See?), because I would rather be wrong in my doctrine and right in my heart, than to
be right in my doctrine and wrong in my heart." See? I said, "After all, it's your heart's condition."
And I made that a practice to know this, that if a man, no
matter what he does and how much he differs, and what he says about me, if in
my heart, not from just a duty, but from my heart I can't love that man as well
as I love anyone else, then I know there's something wrong in here.
See?
Oh, brother have we got a ways to go.
And again brother Branham said in his sermon, Shalom
64-0119 P:34 Your
life proves whether Jesus is with you or
not. Your life shows whether He's occupied here,
or whether He's still in His heavens or not, whatever you are. "The
works that I do shall you do also." How could you have Christ in you, and then
the very Spirit in you deny His Word, take up a creed instead? It can't do
it. He would defeat Himself by denying
His Own Word. Just because somebody put a wrong interpretation to It? You got a Bible, you can read like anybody else.
So it all boils down to this brothers and sisters, get your hearts right with God. Don't worry if you make mistakes, you're still in the body of this
death, and there will be no perfection this side of the resurrection.
In fact brother Branham said in his sermon, As
I was with Moses 60-0911M P:14 One time it was said that the Ballard
and Ballard Flour Company hired a man, and he was going to sign his name, and
the man had no eraser on the end of his pencil. And Mr. Ballard said to him,
said, "Why haven't you got an eraser?" He said, "I don't make
mistakes." He said, "Then I
can't use you. Because if you don't make mistakes, you won't do nothing."
That's true. God don't hold
you responsible for your mistakes. He holds you responsible for your willful sin. "He
that sins willfully, after he has received the knowledge of the truth..."
But a man that's going to do something
is going to blunder; he's going to fall. He's going to make mistakes. But if he's really Divinely called, and God in his heart, he'll rise again.
The
Apostle Paul told us in 2 Timothy 3 16 All scripture is given by
inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness:
For instruction in right wise-ness.
Why? 17 That
the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
"All good works". And Jesus said "call no man Good but God". Then Good
works would be the works of God or the Works of Christ. That's John 14:12.
And for that to happen it would have to be "for
it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do His Good pleasure".
Philippians 2:13
So the whole purpose behind
Doctrine is to
reprove, which means to show us where we are coming up short, and for correction
when we do come up short, and for instruction in right-wise-ness. In other
words, God has given us His Word and doctrine not for knowledge sake, but for instructing
us how to live righteously before him. He has given us the
knowledge of the Doctrine of Christ not for doctrine sake, and not for proving
you are somebody because you have a head knowledge. but for instructing us how to live like Christ,
and to walk like Christ, and to speak like Christ and to act like Christ and to
do the works of Christ so that we all might be Christ like.
Doctrine was never given for us to argue about it. That's theology and
theology is man's "ology" or "study of" or knowledge
of" and "Theo" comes from the Greek word "theos"
meaning "God".
In other words, "Theology" is man's understanding of God, but
God said in Isaiah
55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9 For
as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are
my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
And in Ezekiel 44:23 we
read, And they
shall teach my people [the difference] between the holy and profane, and cause
them to discern between the unclean and the clean. 24 And in controversy they
shall stand in judgment; [and] they shall judge it according to my judgments:
and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine assemblies; and they
shall hallow my sabbaths.
And in 1 SAMUEL 12:23
we read, "Moreover
as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for
you: but I will teach you the good and
the right way: 24 Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath
done for you.
And in Deuteronomy 4:5 we
hear Moses say, "Behold, I have
taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye
go to possess it." for what reason? That you might do what
I taught you to do. That's it. Not so you can argue for hours over a doctrinal
difference, but i taught you so you will do...
Our dictionary tells us the word Theology is a noun, and it means:
1.the field of study and analysis that treats of God and of God'sattributes and relations to
the universe; study of divine things orreligious truth; divinity.
2. a particular form, system, branch, or course of study
concerning God.
So you cannot tell me that
just because you have the right doctrine, you will be judged to be righteous.
And do not try to tell me because you have the right doctrine you are going to
make it. Your Theology, is your own doctrinal understanding of God whether it's
right or wrong and it doesn't put you in or put you out. Doctrine itself does
not place you as a son. Brother Branham told us what places us as sons is our
obedience to God's will.
Doctrine is simply supposed
to help you to understand how to live like a son or daughter of God. That's it's
whole purpose. And brother Branham said there is no substitute for having the
Holy Spirit of God living your life for you. None period.
120 Not a substitute,
something the devil can place over on you; like a phony love to make a man love
some other woman besides his wife; or a wife, some other beside her, some of
this here, something dishonorable thing. That's not real love. That's the
devil. That's his work. It's something he's tried to hand instead, a joy to
drink, and feel good about it. Say, "I got the blues; I'll go out and get
me a quart of liquor and forget about it."That's the death. God is your Joy. God is your Strength. Knowing
the message, knowing the truth, that's our sufficiency. He's my all sufficiency. In Him, all things I have need of is in Him. That's our Strength. My help cometh from the Lord. You Christians, look to Him for your joy; look to Him for your strength; look for Him for your happiness; He is my Peace; He is my Joy; He is my Love;
He is my Life. That's the
covenant, the Token upon the door.
24 "When I see the Blood, I'll pass over you." It's the only thing that He'll recognize. Nothing else that can take its place: no denomination, no nothing else; it takes that. God
said, "That alone will I see." No matter how righteous they was, how good they was, how much education
they had, how they dressed, the
Token was the only thing. "When I see the token, I'll pass over you." The Blood was a Token that the
requirement of Jehovah had been met, that it had been done. The Blood stood for
the Token. The Blood was the Token. See?
And in paragraph 84 he said, "Don't,
don't take no substitute. Don't, don't, don't, don't do that. See? Don't just
imagine it. You stay there until you
know that the Token is applied, until your whole, "the mind that was
in Christ is in you"; until all the
nonsense of the world is gone, until the whole heart's desire is Him.
See? Then you know something's happening. Jesus said, "These signs shall
follow them that believe," not
make-believers, but believers. See?
Will I find faith when I return 51-0508 P:43 And if there's anybody that I didn't like, why, I would try to make it
right with them. And I'd try to be as
sincere and act like a Christian as much as I can, be at my home or
anywhere. Everywhere I go I've always tried to do what was right, and try to live what I speak about and talk
about. And I'd rather any man would
live me a sermon than preach me one. For
we're written epistles, read of all men.
I'd rather live right, and have my name up clear, where my Master could say,
"He's a Christian," and the people say, "He's a Christian. I
don't know one thing I ever seen him do wrong." And or something on that
order...
Lets bow our heads in
prayer