Token no 31
What about you?
October 28, 2015
Brian Kocourek, Pastor
121 Not responsible for one person: one person, no matter who you are, He's
not responsible out from under it. And remember, all the family was
brought together. Oh, my. Oh. Remember, you say, "Well, my
daddy's a preacher. My brother, my pastor, my..."That might be true too.
But what about you? Uh-huh. Remember, only safe when the token was displayed.
If a man under here and his son was
across the street, he was in danger. He would perish. His daddy would be
safe. Or if the son was over here, and his daddy was over there, his daddy
would perish. Only the token... "When I see the token, I'll pass over you." That's the only thing. You say,
"Well, my son's a preacher." You mothers say, "I got the best
boy or the best girl. I tell you, they're the sweetest thing. They've been
filled with the Holy Spirit, and such love... They're obedient; I never
seen..." What about you, mama? You say,
"My mother's the sweetest thing. I know if she dies, she's going to
heaven, 'cause she's really got the Token, Brother Branham." But what about you, sis? The whole family must be brought under it.
What Shall I Do
With Jesus 63-1124M209 If we disbelieve It willfully after the
Truth has been presented to us, there will be no more mercy. No more mercy will be granted. Pastor,
listening to this tape, what about it? Member
of the church, listening to this tape, what about it? What
are you going to do, if we
disbelieve it willfully?
Can't wash it off your hands. You can't pass it on to
the headquarters; it's going to backfire right back to you. You've heard it. What about you?
How are you going to stand in that day? He is either on your hands or in your
heart, one or the other. God help us.
I Corinthians
12:3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no
man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.
Expectation
55-1001 24 Now, God is
not known by intellectual faith. God is known by the experience of new birth,
only alone. Jesus said, "Except a man be born again of the Spirit of God, he cannot even see
the Kingdom of God."
Now, any Bible scholar here knows that the word "see"
there does not mean "look with your
eye." It means "understand." You say, "I... Looking at
something or other, say, "I just
don't see it." You mean; you don't understand it;
you're looking right at it. You look with your eyes, but
understand with your heart. That's right. You can't understand
it. And no man can know nothing of God, until first you're borned
of the Spirit of God. The Bible said, "No man can call Jesus, Christ." Only by the Holy Spirit is the only
thing that... You can say, "Well, I believe He's the Son of God." If you haven't been born again, you're
taking somebody's word for it. You say, "The Bible said so."
That's right; the Bible's right, but what about you?
You say, "The preacher said so." The preacher's right, but what about you? "Mother said
so." Mother's right, but what about you? It's a personal experience of your own that you've got to
be born again or you'll never understand God.
1 Corinthians 2:7 But
we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the
hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the
world unto our glory: 8 Which none of the princes of
this world knew: for had they known it, they
would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But as
it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the
heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that
love him. 10 But God hath revealed them
unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep
things of God. 11 For what man knoweth the things
of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God
knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 12 Now we
have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God;
that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13 Which
things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which
the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of
God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself
is judged of no man. 16 For
who hath known the mind of the Lord,
that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
Then what about you and me? What about
those people who know that they should be living for God and won't do it. They
know we are at the end-time and yet they continue to live any old way they
please. Do you think they will get by with it? I think not. These people are
just storing up wrath against the day of wrath, and their judgment is not far
off, for the days are getting shorter, and the clock is clicking closer and
closer to the great depression that will strike this world. And since they have
not been storing up their treasure in the heaven (the only real safe haven for treasures they will most certainly lose
everything they have worked for. When the banks fail, and the economy fails,
and the supply lines fail, and no man can buy or sell unless he has taken the
mark of the beast, what are you going to do then?
Jesus said, in Luke 12:33 Sell what ye
have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in
the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth
corrupteth.
Notice that the unbelief of the people would not allow this power of
God to work. Have you stopped to ask yourself why? Remember, the reason for this
power of God in the first place is to vindicate God's Word, and to change the
hearts of the people. To cause them to repent. But if they are not capable of
repentance, then why perform the miracles and mighty acts? That would be just
putting on a show. Do you remember when the Angel of the Lord told Brother
Branham that he must never make a show out of the gift? You know the devil
tried to get Jesus to show off the power and he wouldn't do it. The devil said,
"if you jump the angels will bear thee up",
quoting Scripture, and Jesus replied, depart from me, Satan, for it is written,
"Thou Shalt not tempt the Lord thy God."
Notice Jesus kept going back to the Word Himself for His defense. And
If He had to, what about you and me?. So we see that the unbelief of the people
prevented them from seeing the mighty works of God.
God will never exercise His power just to impress someone. He is not a
respecter of persons. He exercises His Power for one reason, and that is to
vindicate His Word which is to change the heart of the people.
What about Abraham: God said "Abraham, Start
walking". Abraham didn't stop and say where do you want me to go
Lord? He just obeyed God and started walking. Don't worry about it, just start
walking. He was ready to burn every bridge at God's command. Even his own son
he was willing to offer back to God, not only his blood, but his ashes too.
And what about Peter: John 21:15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon
Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto
him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. 16 He saith
to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?
He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him,
Feed my sheep. 17 He
saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?
Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest
all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. 18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou
girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be
old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry
thee whither thou
wouldest not. 19 This spake he, signifying
by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto
him, Follow me. 20 Then
Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also
leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? 21 Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall
this man do? 22 Jesus
saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me. 23 Then went this saying abroad among the brethren,
that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not
die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?
2 Timothy 2:2-7 And
the things that thou hast heard of me
among many witnesses, the same commit
thou to faithful men, who shall be
able to teach others also. 3 Thou
therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No
man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this
life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. 5 And
if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully. 6 The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker
of the fruits. 7 Consider
what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.
Romans
15:17 ¶ I have therefore
whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to God.
18 For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not
wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed, 19 Through mighty signs and wonders, by the
power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto
Illyricum, I have fully preached the
gospel of Christ.
20
Yea, so have I strived to preach the
gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's
foundation: 21 But as it is written, To
whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall
understand.
And it took a vindicated prophet like Paul to manifest
Christ the way it was meant to be manifested in that hour the same as Brother
Branham said in his audio letter to br. Vayle, “if they only see it in the hour past, then
there's no hope for the church. The church must see it in the present tense.
And we know God sent His prophet that He (God) might manifest himself in the
present tense, and we've seen, and we believe, it. But we need to be born again
in order to have an understanding of the things of God even if we have seen
them manifested openly.
In Psalms 103:7 we read, "He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts
unto the children of Israel."
Therefore, without receiving the Holy Ghost we can see
the acts of God all day long without ever understanding what they mean, and
what God has purposed in doing them.
Notice that Paul is speaking of his Ministry and He
said, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. 20 Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel,
not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation:
21 But as it is written, To whom he was
not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand.
Now, we know that Paul’s ministry was the pattern of
every true ordained minister of God.
From the 7 Church age book we read, 4-1 Ephesian Church
Age Book "Paul
founded the church at Ephesus about the middle of the first century. This
enables us to set the date of the beginning of the Ephesian Church Age; about
53 A.D.
74-2
His manner of ministering set the pattern that all future messengers were to
aspire to, and actually sets the pattern for every true minister of God, though
he would not attain to such heights in the prophetic realm as did Paul. Paul's
ministry had a threefold quality and was as follows:
74-3 First of all, Paul was absolutely true to the Word. He never deviated from it no matter what
the cost. Galatians
1:8-9, "But though we, or an angel
from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached
unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any
man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be
accursed." Galatians 2:11,14, "But when Peter was come to
Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed."
"But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of
the Gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest
after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the
Gentiles to live as do the Jews?"
74-4I Corinthians 14:36-37,
"What? came the Word of God out from you? or came it unto you
only? If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him
acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the
Lord."
75-1
Notice that Paul was unorganized, but Spirit-led, as when God moved upon
Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt. Jerusalem's council never sent Paul out, nor
did it have any power or jurisdiction over him. God, and God alone, did the
sending and the leading. Paul was not of men, but of God.
Galatians
1:1, "Paul,
an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the
Father, Who raised Him from the dead:)" Galatians 2:3-5, "But neither Titus, who was
with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised: And that because of
false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty
which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: To whom
we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the Gospel
might continue with you."
75-2 Secondly, his ministry was in the power of the Spirit, thereby demonstrating the
spoken and written Word. I
Corinthians 2:1-5, "And I, brethren, when I came
to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the
testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus
Christ, and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in
much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's
wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should
not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God."
Acts
14:8-10, "And there sat a certain man at Lystra,
impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had
walked: The same heard Paul speak: who steadfastly beholding him, and
perceiving that he had faith to be healed, Said with a loud voice, Stand
upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked."
Acts
20:9-12, "And there sat in a window a certain young
man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long
preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was
taken up dead. And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said,
Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him. When he therefore was come up
again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till
break of day, so he departed. And they brought the young man alive, and were
not a little comforted."
Acts
28:7-9 "In the same quarters were possessions of the
chief man of the island, whose name was Publius; who received us, and lodged us
three days courteously. And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay
sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and
laid his hands on him, and healed him. So when this was done, others also,
which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed."
II
Corinthians 12:12,
"Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all
patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds."
76-1 Thirdly, he had the evident fruit of his God-given
ministry. II
Corinthians 12:11, "I am become a fool in
glorying; ye have compelled me: for I ought to have been commended of you: for
in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing." I Corinthians 9:2,
"If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to
you: for the seal of mine apostle-ship are ye in the Lord." II Corinthians 11:2,
"For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have
espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to
Christ." Paul had been the means of bringing in
multitudes of the Gentile sheep; he fed them, and cared for them, until they
brought forth righteous fruit and were prepared to meet the Lord as a part of
the Gentile bride.
76-2
At the time of the giving of the Revelation, according to tradition, Paul had
already died a martyr, but John was
carrying on in his stead exactly as Paul had done in the days of his
ministry.
156-1
Smyrnaean Church Age Now think it not strange that this is the
case, for Paul set this pattern under the hand of God. Paul alone had the full
revelation for his day as evidenced by his confrontation of the other apostles
who admitted that Paul was the Prophet-Messenger to the Gentiles for that day.
And also note by actual illustration in the Word, that when Paul desired to go
to Asia, God forbade him, for the sheep (His children) were in Macedonia and
they (the Macedonians) would hear what the Spirit had to say through Paul,
while the people in Asia would not.
156-2 In every age we have exactly the same
pattern. That is why the light comes
through some God-given messenger in a certain area, and then from that
messenger there spreads the light through the ministry of others who have been
faithfully taught. But of course all those who go out don't always learn
how necessary it is to speak ONLY what the messenger has spoken. (Remember,
Paul warned the people to say only what he said, I
Corinthians 14:37, "If any man think himself to be
a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto
you are the COMMANDMENTS OF THE LORD. What? came the Word of God out from you?
or came it unto you only?") They add here, or take away there,
and soon the message is no longer pure,
and the revival dies down. How careful we must be to hear ONE voice, for
the Spirit has but one voice which is the voice of God. Paul warned them to say
what he said, even as Peter did likewise. He warned them that EVEN HE (PAUL) could
not change one word of what he had given by revelation. Oh, how important it is
to hear the voice of God by way of His messengers, and then say what has been
given them to say to the churches.
Now, this brings us to our thoughts today, and that is
this: Romans
15:20
Yea, so have I strived to preach the
gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's
foundation: Notice the pattern, Paul did not take his ministry
to where others had laid the groundwork, but He took his ministry to where the
circle was not named. He took his ministry to where the people did not know and
where they had not heard, and were not in the CAMP that the other Apostles had
already established. And every true ministry of God must do the same. That does
not mean that they must go to the heathen, but they do not have a ministry that
someone has done all the groundwork for them, and they inherit the church. No,
they must establish their own ministry by God taking them to places others have
not been, and establishing it on their own accord as they are led by the Holy
Ghost and not because someone else sends them. The Apostles did not send Paul,
God sent Him, and that is the pattern.
Paul left the Camp of the Apostles in Jerusalem and
was led by the Spirit of God to go where He went. Don’t try to fix your star to
someone else’s star. That is not Scriptural. You’ve got to have your own
backside of the dessert experience before God can use you. And now, let’s
continue with what Paul is saying in Romans 15…
21 But
as it is written, To whom he was not
spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand.
I really like that because I believe that as many that
are ordained to eternal Life will believe. That is one thing they will all do.
And I believe that, that is the evidence of being born again.
Acts 13:48
And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the
Lord: and as many as were ordained to
eternal life believed.
People are always looking for an “evidence”, for
something they can point to in order to be sure that they are “ok” with God.
People want an “evidence”, and there is only one true evidence that you have
been born again, and that is you have received an ability to understand the
Word of God. Now, I am not talking about some great intellect, but I am talking
about the Bible evidence that you have been born again, and that is an ability
to see and understand the word. It no longer is a mystery to you.
Nicodemus
came to Jesus by night one time, because He knew somehow that this man Jesus
was different from all the rest. And he said to Jesus, “We know that you are a man sent from God, for no man can do the things
that you do unless God is with Him.” And Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be
born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. John 3:3
Now, there are two important things Jesus said here to
Nicodemus. 1st He said, unless a man is “born again”, and the 2nd,
he cannot “see” the kingdom of God.
The first thing is that we must understand what it
means to be born again, and the second is what Jesus means by the phrase “to see the kingdom
of God”. Jesus explained to Nicodemus that to be born
again is not like the first birth which is of the flesh, but it is of the
Spirit.
John
3:4 Nicodemus saith unto
him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into
his mother's womb, and be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto
thee, Except a man be born of water and
of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is
born of the flesh is flesh; and that
which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee,
Ye must be born again. 8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest
the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth:
so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
What He's saying is that Sons of God are led by the
Spirit of God. And we do not always know where God is leading, but we are
obedient and we just follow the leading of the Lord.
9
Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Look, Nicodemus was a bright man but had no clue as to
the workings of God. 10 Jesus answered and
said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? 11
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We
speak that we do know, and testify
that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. Notice that Jesus sis telling Him that those
that are born again do testify of the things they are certain about and that we
do know, and we do understand, and that we can see with spiritual eyes that the
others no nothing of. 12 If I have told you
earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you [of]
heavenly things?
Discerning body of Lord 59-0812 P:16
Jesus said once, "That except a man be born
again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God," or understand. And in other words, you can't discern
the Kingdom of God until you are born again.
Now, I believe the evidence of being born again is the
Word comes alive to you and you receive an ability to understand the Word and
to see it unfolding in your day.
John
1:12 But as many as received
him, (The Greek word for received
here is Lambano and it means to have experienced or to have taken to one’s
self. And it is these that truly experienced Him, they are the ones He says, …
) "to them
gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name": So these are believers. They
Believe on His Name. And to them He gives power to become sons… Now the
word power used here, is not the Greek word dunamis, which speaks of
great miraculous power, but rather the Greek word “exousia”,
which means the power of choice, or the power to make a right decision.
For you see, the Bible also tells us, “Proverbs 14:12 ¶ There is a way which seemeth right unto a
man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
Therefore if a man is left up to his own choosing, he'll
go in the ways of death. But God has given him, or has given him an
ability to know and understand. And this ability to make a right
decision concerning the acceptance of Christ is not for everyone.
For Jesus tells Nicodemus, these … 13 Which were born,
not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
So He's talking about the new birth and the importance of that new
birth is that God gives him an ability to know and to understand the kingdom
of God and what it is all about.
I Corinthians 2:9
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered
into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love
him. 10 But God hath revealed them unto
us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of
God. 11 For what man knoweth the things
of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the
things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God knows. 12
Now we have received, not the spirit
of the world, but the spirit which is of
God; that we might know the things that
are freely given to us of God. 13 Which things also we speak, not in the words
which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth;
comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God:
for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them,
because they are spiritually discerned.
Why
against organized religion 62-1111E P:63 But
if he's born the same way that I'm born,
then he'll know the things that I know. Amen. Oh, my. Yes, sir. You can't
tell a knot on the tree how we move about and be active, it would have to
receive our kind of life to understand it. Same
with the Spirit. The same thing is with the
Spirit, or you can't understand It. There's no need of trying to
figure It all out; just come to Him first. For, "Except
a man be born again, he can't even see the Kingdom,"
He said, that's understand it.
You've got to be born again in order to know It.
Contending
for the faith
55-0220E P:66 Jesus said, "Except a man be born
again, he cannot see the Kingdom." You
can't understand it. It's a mystic, mythical thing until you're born again.
There the very Life of God comes in you.
Everlasting, Eternal Life, Zoe, God's own Life comes in you, and then you're a
part of God. You're a Son of God or a daughter of God. And then you see as God sees. You
believe as God believes. Then you'll be a new creature in Christ Jesus....
In
I Peter 1:23 we
read, Being born
again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. Now,
I want you to understand what this is telling us. In John chapter 1 we read
that the new birth is being born of God… and now we are told here in 1 Peter
that the new birth comes by the Word, being born again by the Word of God…
And
yet does not John 1:1 tell us, “In the
beginning was the Word and the Word was God? And did not Jesus tell
us in John 6:63, My words are
spirit an they are life?”
Therefore, God is a Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in
Spirit and truth. And God being a Spirit, and He is the Word, then that Word
must come into the believer and it is that Word which quickens the Soul of the
Believer to the word of God, and thus to God Himself, for He is the Word. And
Being that God is the Word, and He is Spirit, then when the word comes alive in
the believer it is actually the Life of God in the Believer coming alive.
And
when you are quickened to the Word, that Word comes alive to you and you see it
and know it, and understand it and what it is all about.
In Isaiah 44:18 They have
not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and
their hearts, that they cannot
understand. 19 And none considereth
in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have
burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals
thereof; I have roasted flesh, and eaten [it]: and shall I make the residue
thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree?
And we find Jesus speaking of this in the following
Scriptures: Matthew 13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why
speakest thou unto them in parables? 11 He answered and said unto them, Because
it is given unto you to know the mysteries
of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
12 For whosoever hath, (echoes) to him shall be
given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath (echoes) not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. 13
Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing
they hear not, neither do they understand. 14 And in them is fulfilled the
prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not
understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: 15 For this people's
heart is waxed gross, and their ears are
dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they
should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand
with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see:
and your ears, for they hear. 17 For
verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see
those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things
which ye hear, and have not heard them.
In the message Key to the door 62-1007 P: 68 Brother Branham is speaking of John 16:7 and says, Now,
when He went away, He said, "It's expedient for Me that I
go away. For, if I go not away, the Holy Ghost will not come." See? Then
when He comes, He will reprove the world of sin, and teach righteousness, and
show you things to come; that's visions. "He'll
take the things that I've taught to you, and reveal them to you."
The very Words that He's come... No man
can understand the Word outside the baptism of the Holy Ghost. And when a man says he's got the baptism of the
Holy Ghost, and disputes the Word being right, there's something wrong.
Ephesians
1:15 ¶ Wherefore
I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the
saints, 16 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my
prayers; 17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may
give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: 18 The
eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the
hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the
saints, 19 And what [is] the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who
believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
Calling
of Abraham 55-1116
P:29 That's the way. When God says
so. See? A Christian does not calculate, or does not look at things he sees.
You don't see with your eyes anyhow. You don't. Certainly you don't see with
your eyes. You look with your eyes. You
see with your heart. "See" doesn't mean "look." "See" means "understand."
Jesus said to Nicodemus, "Except the man be born again he cannot see the
Kingdom of God." See what the right translation that is, "cannot understand the Kingdom of God."
Somebody be doing something, showing you. "I just can't see it." You're looking at it, but you don't
understand it. And you'll never know
what the Kingdom of God is until you're born again, then you'll understand what
It is. You'll know what makes people happy, what makes them stand right out
in the midst of difficulty, and say, "It's so," never move. They understand. God said so.
Mark 4:10 And
when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the
parable. 11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know
the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto
them that are without, all these things are done in parables: 12 That
seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not
understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be
forgiven them.
Identified
Masterpiece of God
64-1205 P:67 How
can a man have the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit wrote the Word, and a man have the baptism of the Holy
Spirit and deny the Word? How can
the Holy Spirit in you deny Its own Word that was set forth for you? I
can't understand it. It's got to agree with the Word, and if your spirit in you won't punctuate every one of God's promises with
"Amen." there's something wrong.
Book
of Exodus 1 55-1005
P:8 Jesus said, "Except
a man be borned again, he cannot understand the Kingdom of heaven."
There's no way of understanding it until you are born
again, and then God reveals Himself to you,
and then you know that you've passed from death unto Life, because no man can
call Jesus the Christ, only by the Holy Spirit. See? The only way that you'll ever know that Jesus is the Christ, is when
the Holy Spirit personally witnesses to you that He is the resurrected Lord
Jesus. No matter what He would do, what kind of signs, what kind of
miracles, you'll never know it until
your personal experience with God. You say, "Well, I believe it
because the Bible said so." Well, that's good. The Bible, it's true. It
knows it. "Well, the preacher said so." Perhaps, he knows it.
"Mother said so." She knows it. But what do you
know about it? You'll never know it until it's revealed to you
individually by the Holy Spirit. And then, by accepting it, you
become a new creature in Christ Jesus, born a second time.
I Corinthians
12:3 Wherefore
I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth
Jesus accursed: and [that] no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the
Holy Ghost.
Stand
still 57-0518 P:61 But let me tell you
something, brother. Except a man be born again, you can't understand; there's no way for you understand these spiritual
things until you're born again.
Mark 4:22
For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing
kept secret, but that it should come abroad. 23 If any man have ears to hear,
let him hear. 24 And he said unto them, Take
heed what ye hear: with what measure
ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear (understand)shall more be given. 25 For he that hath, to him shall be
given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.
When Divine
Love is projected
57-0126E P:20 Then
do you understand that the reason that people said, "This was not inspired, and that is not inspired, and this is for
another day," it's because that
they have never become in contact. Oh, no matter how many degrees they can
show, that has nothing to do with it. But they
have never become in contact with God to be born again. Oh, they may have
jumped; and they may have did this; they may be a Ph.D. They may have spoke in
tongues; they may have danced in the Spirit; but Jesus said, "By
their fruit, you shall know them." For where the Spirit of God is, there is love; there's understanding;
there's something that you like to be around. And oh, what a pity in this
hour that we live, that the church of
the living God hasn't met this yet. For if God dwells richly in our hearts,
denomination barriers would never separate us; color lines or nothing else
would ever separate us; for there is nothing present, nothing future, no matter
whether starvation or what it is, can separate us from the love of God that's
in Christ Jesus.
142 Shalom
64-0119 People with a carnal mind will never know It. Seminaries don't teach It. It's a
revelation. Certainly. Fruit of the spirit drops off there, doesn't it? Them
priests had ten times the fruit of the Spirit. How would you know what's right? The manifestation of the spoken Word of
God being made manifest, Light of the hour. Certainly. There is what the
evidence of the Holy Spirit is, believing the Word of God when It's manifested.
He was the Word, manifested. And some of them denied It, laughed at It, made
fun of Him and called Him a--a fortuneteller, some evil spirit; there is
evidence, speaking in tongues, there is evidence of the fruits. The only evidence there is, is when man
believe the written Word. When It's vindicated, walk in the Light of It.
Jesus was the Light of the hour because He was the promised Word of the hour,
and tried to tell them so, but they were
too much in darkness to understand It.
So is it, today, now.
Questions and answers COD 64-0823E P:25 The
same thing repeats. That's the evidence of the Holy Ghost, when God reveals to
you and you see it, THUS
SAITH THE LORD and accept it. Not what you are, what you
was, or nothing about it, it's what God has done for you now. There's the
evidence. Jesus said... He give us the evidence of the Holy Ghost, John
14. He said, "I have many things to tell you. I
haven't got time to do it, but when the
Holy Ghost comes, He will tell you, bring
to your memory the things that I told you about, and will also show you things that is to come."
Don't you see? There's the evidence.
37-4 Christ is the Mystery 63-0728 The new
birth is Christ, is a revelation. God has revealed to you this great
mystery, and that's the new birth. Now, what are you going to do when you
get all that group together, where the revelation is perfectly in harmony, and God expressing it through His Word by
the same actions, the same
things that He did, making
the Word manifest? Oh, if the Church only knew its position. It will one day. Then, the rapture will go
when it knows what it is.
So what about You?
let us pray...