We are still on the same message, so let me say again, With the voice together shall they sing. This is referring to the God Called Ministry, but as I am talking, I am talking about all of us singing together, We sing together, and when we do, we lift up our voices together, that is the beauty of it, but that is not the nuts and bolts of what he is talking about here. He is talking about watchmen, which always refers to the ministry. for they shall see eye to eye. When all the ministry see the same thing, (He, God) can take a Methodist, a Baptist and a Catholic, and when he gets through, they are all one. Any former division is all licked. I could not tell you what Bro. Phil was before he came to the true revelation of God’s Word. I have heard him tell about his grandfather that he had a lot of respect for, being a Baptist, but that is the blending of the true saints together. Chapter 13, of 1 Corinthians, will blend us. For they shall see eye to eye. When shall that be?) Isaiah 52:8 says,when the Lord shall bring again Zion.” That is right at the end, but it is not talking about waiting until that time to see eye to eye. He is talking about getting differences out of our way. When you look at your brother or sister, reflect back on yourself and let me reflect back on myself. God does not just WANT unity, He is going to have unity. All that will not join in unity, will be cast aside. We all live in this flesh, but Paul said, I am crucified daily. Being crucified daily, refers to putting off, or getting rid of things the Spirit of God convicts us of. Our minds, our thoughts are constantly changing according to the way we obey the Word of God. I gave that illustration last week, the Word is here, the Spirit is here, we need to elevate ourselves to that same plateau by obeying the Word. They shall see eye to eye when the Lord shall bring again Zion, and that is getting close. I see in the Middle East, that there is fighting now around Israel. They have stopped the passages between Jordan and Syria, but when they say that the fighting is so close that you can hear it in Israel, that is getting too close for the Israeli government. I have said this before, but these preachers that are saying the temple can be built on the same ground as the mosque and the Dome of the Rock, are far off base. I cannot be in unity with anything like that, because the Word of God is not in unity with it. I am wondering, just wondering, when this thing begins to shape up, what are these prophecy preachers going to do or say? I know, they are like a politician, they will just change it a little bit and go on changing it until they find themselves in the tribulation. I have been over this, 2nd Corinthians 5:19-20, but like I said last Sunday, Paul had to be preaching to more than just the people he was looking at, because there was much carnality in Corinth. “To wit, (or witness) that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, (Do you believe there was unity between God and Christ, God and His Son? Jesus said, in the 17th chapter of John, I and my Father are one. That was one in spirit, total unity, in spirit, but there had to be some things happen in Jesus’ life before He could receive the Holy Ghost. He did not receive the Holy Ghost when He was twelve years old. Neither did He when He was twenty nine years old. The Bible said He was about thirty years of age, and when He went to John to be baptized. He had to be baptized in order to fulfill His ministry. We have to be baptized to fulfill our salvation experience and purpose in the plan of God. There are no shortcuts in this life we have been called into. We read in 2 Corinthians 5:19, “To wit, God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.” (In other words, when you are forgiven, God does not hold your former life against you. If you have been forgiven of your sins, and you still feel guilty, you are letting the devil do that to you. Not imputing your former sins unto you, is what makes it so good to be able to sleep at night, and to be able at times, just to worship God and rejoice. When Bro. Bud was talking this morning, about the eagle, while he talked about that, I had tears in my eyes. I just thought, that is so real. God is a great eagle watching over His flock.) and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.” So what God was, was in Christ, and what Christ was, was placed into the Church. Do you get the picture? Everything that Christ was, He desires, and purposes it to be in His body. The head makes the decision for the rest of the body, but the head without the body would not be complete. So Jesus Christ’s Church is not complete without a body. Now we are the body of Christ. Now we are ambassadors. What are we representing? We are representing Him in our actions and our motives and our decisions. If I go anywhere, I am an ambassador for Christ, but I am also telling what I believe this church of Faith Assembly is. Young people, listen to me today, the Bible says desire spiritual gifts. Desire them. I guess I have had more input from young people during this message than I have any other message I have been on. I know the difference. They have made themselves more acceptable. From the testimonies and things I have received, I know it is affecting people. It is not me. I am not the message, I am just the messenger. I am just a mouthpiece for what God wants to do among us, not me only, it is a ministry. There is a message here, that we have to be willing to receive. I desire to see God work in the lives of His people; and I know these things are for you. We do not want to go too far on chapter 12, nor do we want to go too far on chapter 14, we want to get in the middle where the meat is, which is chapter 13. Without the love of God which is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, all else is in vain. “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: (See the importance of it, the importance of the message? It is the same thing as if God did beseech you. If I am standing here speaking in the Spirit of Christ, as He would desire to speak, it is the same thing as if He were here speaking it. That is not making me anything, as I said awhile ago, I am just a mouthpiece. You are the important ones; because you are the ones to receive it. You are the recipients. Would you not rather have Him than that little push button thing you carry around? Well, I have to talk to my friends. What about Him, the most important friend anyone could ever have? I would rather have Him as a friend. I like friendship as much as anyone: I like my brothers and sisters, I don’t just like my brothers and sisters: I love my brothers and sisters. I am not like these TV preachers: I cannot start on a message just because somebody wants to hear a certain thing. They get up in the mornings and test the wind, what is the wind of doctrine today? They get every wind of doctrine. Remember what we just read: As though God did beseech you by us. That gets personal. It is personal enough, that I am absolutely not going to be leading anybody astray. As He is, so are we. He is the head and we are the body. We are the heart, the lungs, and all those things inside, that make the outside look better, but what is inside is what causes life. David said, I was wonderfully made. When we look at it, God said in chapter 1 of Genesis, we were made in the image of God. That does not refer to our body: God is a Spirit. Some people do not understand that. They cannot understand that God is a Sovereign Spirit; and that He did all these things we read about in the Bible. He was not a human being, because a human being would be limited. In the Millennium, it talks about Jesus being the head of all the earth, but that is just the earth, God is still in heaven, ruling. I laugh at these smart, dumb scientists, we are going to Mars in 2030, or 2040. I say to them, You are so dumb. It will be us in those heavenly places, not them, and we do not have to built a platform, except for the Word of God. We are going to launch on the Word of God. That is our launching pad.) we pray you in Christ’s stead, (I beg you in Christ’s stead.) be ye reconciled to God.” Paul, when he preached the message in the 2nd chapter, he said I would like to talk to you about heavenly things and all, but you are carnal. When you should be eating the inside of the sandwich, you are still drinking milk. He was not just speaking necessarily to them, he was speaking to us as well. We are going to be the finished product. If we are going to be the finished product, it takes the message in order to prepare us. Don’t you think that I am getting something out of what I am saying? Much of it comes while I am preaching to you, and I am enjoying every minute of it, not necessarily what I am saying, but what He is doing inside of me concerning this. Do you get the picture? If I need to explain it three times, I will. I want all of us to grow together, because in Matthew 13, thirty, sixty, and a hundred fold were all growing together. Some people cannot understand, why their friend cannot get it. Why can my loved one not get it? Jesus said, I speak in parables that they may not understand, because they have ears, but not ears to hear, or to understand. He has amplified, you know what it is to amplify something. He has amplified the message of the hour for our hearing. The gifts of the Spirit, what does it say? Gifts, something I did not have, something the Methodist Church could not give me. I am glad I had already been called to preach before I got into this message of true revelation. Why do I say that? So that nobody can say it was because of Bro. William Branham, or because of Bro. Jackson, no, it was because of God. That is not lessening what I have received of them, I have gone over that. Some people think when they read or hear what Bro. William Branham said, they are discouraged because of the way he spoke. I guess I have that inbred in me, being where I am from, I have no trouble. I know that we are fifty years down the road. Some people do not realize that. Some people do not even believe it is 1977 yet. Some people do not believe it is 2004 ½ yet. They keep moving the calendar, but that does not work. What has come and gone, is just exactly that. You cannot change it. I am not mad at you who want to stop, but I am going to keep going. I am not mad at Bro. William Branham because of what he preached. I am not mad at Bro. Jackson because of what he preached. In their day and hour, it was not yet time for some of what I now preach. The thing about it is, God is completing a picture, not because of me, not because of some other preacher, but because of His own great plan, and because Revelation 4 expresses it as a flying eagle, not one on a perch. That is talking of you, where it speaks of the eagles gathered together, I am flying with eagles. I am glad of that. Just to see one of those eagles from a mile away, how it knows exactly when that certain fish is going to hit the surface. It comes down, swoops down all that distance, at a hundred and fifty or two hundred mile an hour speed, it swoops down with one talon. If that talon got hold of your arm it would break it. Listen to what I say, take what I mean, don’t take what you think I mean. The eagles are eating up to date. If you think we are not to go on and get further along, get on your knees. Romans 12, says the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. We beseech you in Christ’s stead, He is not here in person. In the 13th chapter of 1st Corinthians, and what it says in the 12th chapter and the 14th chapter, this is up to date stuff. In the last days, your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams. Some people say, well that is all they can do. No, that is just showing that both will mix with both of them. Go back to the 4th chapter of 1st Corinthians. Verse 1, “Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.” I would not suggest anybody should start preaching just because somebody said they should. I say you ought not, because somebody said so, but if God has put a calling in your life, you will not get away from that until you submit to it. That goes for gifts too. If God has a gift for your life, you seek the Lord for it and use that gift for the right purpose. Remember that a gift of the Spirit, is a gift, something you did not have. It was something that was there at the beginning, but God had to fertilize it. Just like the calling, as I have been on, the gifts and calling of God, you had to be called. Otherwise, if God had not called me, I would have been somewhere spitting tobacco juice or smoking a cigarette, but most likely I would be six foot under. I remember when I was in the Methodist Church, those churches always had two doors. I found out what those two doors were for the last place I pastored. I would always stand at the door and shake hands with people as they went out, as they would go through this one door. Of course I was in a tobacco area. I had read a little article in the Methodist paper, I thought, I am going to say something about it, sometimes we become fools for Christ. I preached after I had read that article, smoking may not keep me out of heaven, but I will go there with a bitter taste in my mouth. That was all I said about it. This friend of mine, when I said that is why the two doors were there, he did not go through my door, and he had been a friend of mine. He went out the other door. He went out there, and a man that was a lost sinner, said, what did you think about what he said about cigarettes. That man said, if I had been preaching, I would have preached the same thing. A man that was not even a Christian, said I would have had to preach the same thing. So the other man wound up quitting for three months. You know, the scripture, in the 13th chapter of Matthew, that talks about how some fall by the wayside, birds get to feast on them. There is a field between here and Jeffersonville, that has a pond there. The geese get in there. When they plant soy beans, around that pond in that area, the geese have every bit of it as soon as they plant it. The birds come and get it. Others fall among thorns in this parable, which speaks of cares of this life, and the deceitfulness of riches choking it. It is easy to get into that state. When we begin to care for someone’s feelings, like, when I preached last Sunday concerning church order and all, I knew why part of it was put in there, because those deacons, and please do not think I am saying anything against our deacons of Faith Assembly, I appreciate my brothers, but those deacons down there at the Tabernacle ran the show. One came to me and said, well, I talked to Bro. William Branham and told him, to hear these people speak in tongues and all, half of it never comes to pass, and if I bring my Methodist family here, and somebody speaks in tongues, that just runs them off. You poor miserable creature, that would think like that. No doubt they died thinking that. That is against the Word of God. They just all huddled around and got to Bro. William Branham. I said the other day, according to Sis. Hattie Wright, Bro. William Branham had called her and said he was coming back to take church order out of the Tabernacle, and he was killed on his way back there. One brother told me this morning, he knew Bro. Wright, and said he told him many times, Bro. William Branham was coming back to take church order out. Do you think they are going to believe anything like that? They were the ones that wanted it. God will give us what we want, but is it always truth? I am going back to the 13th chapter of 1st Corinthians. As I read there, we are stewards of the mysteries of Christ. If we are stewards, we are responsible. There is a responsibility upon the ministry that is not upon you. “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, (People have cheapened that to make it look like it is something like building hospitals, or giving to some organization. That is not what charity is. In the scripture, charity is love, the love of God that is shown to us through Jesus Christ, through His death, burial, and resurrection, and the Holy Ghost coming back to dwell within us. Without that love…) I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.” He is saying, if that is all we have got, which my message is the gifts and calling of God are without repentance, if this is all we have got is the gift, it is nothing. It is a gift of God, but that alone is not going to help us, because we have to have it operating with love. That is why I said it is the meat between the bread. Listen to me. All of you, listen to me, here, as well as in other countries, other lands, other states, or wherever. Love worketh no ill to his neighbor. During a time like this, with the loss of our loved one (Bro. David North) I have had young people come and tell me they loved me: I know what that means, it is not vulgar. I know the difference. “And though I have the gift of prophecy, (See? He is measuring it out.) and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge.” I know you all have the same thought, we want to go home, I am illustrating, sit down by that river. I know it is a spiritual river, that was spiritual water that Bro. David saw, that he told us about last Sunday. It will not get you wet like water will, so to speak, it represents annointing, but if you get into it, it will bathe you and me and we will feel the refreshing. How many want to be refreshed? Thank God for Christ, that one day He came, which had been promised. He came. Very few expect Him, but He is coming again, and we are expecting Him. We know He is coming again, because He promised. That promise He gave, that He would send the Holy Ghost, we are witnesses of it here. Glory to God. Thank God for Christ. If I am going to be an ambassador, I want to be a good one. If I am going to be a steward, I want to take care of that promise, that is what it is all about. It talks about the gifts that are less seen. We do not always see helps, but they are in our midst. We do not always see governments, but they are in place. It is happening. I remember the preacher, you all know about it, grabbed some woman by the arm and would start them around the church, on and on, getting them excited. That is not what we want. I am not against running, I am not against dancing, but I am against self willed stuff that is not by inspiration of the Spirit of God. This message is too important to allow vulgarity. I am talking about what Paul said, let everything be done decently and in order. If it is not decent, then it is vulgarity. He saw it all. I have never seen half as much as Paul saw. Don’t you love Him today? Worship Him! Praise His name, He is wonderful, and worthy to be praised. To be continued after the Godhead message.
THE GIFTS AND CALLING OF GOD ARE WITHOUT REPENTANCE
6-29-14 PM
CONTINUING ON AFTER GODHEAD MESSAGE
I appreciate the Lord, He is so good to us to give us light in this dark hour of time, because He said, that we are children of light. We are not of the darkness, we are not of the night. We have a privilege and opportunity to be able to see the hand of God work in our lives. That is what this message on the gifts is all about, for God’s working in the midst of His people. We have five fingers on each hand, all of them are necessary. The gifts are necessary to the body of Christ: the same as the ministry is necessary, because we are living in the day and hour when perfection is coming about. We are living to be the proof of that. As Bro. Bud read Thursday night in Matthew 13, we are going to shine. We are going to shine before we leave this world. It is not something that is going to catch on throughout this world, but still before the Bride leaves here, somebody is going to know that God has a people, that God has a family. As we see unity come about, then we will see each one is doing their part in that body. Whatever the gift is, whatever the calling is, I believe we are going to see something soon, sooner than some may think. It is not going to be something for the world. It is not going to be something the church world would receive, because they don’t even receive baptism in the name of Jesus Christ. If we do not see that and accept it, then the rest of it is darkness to us. Paul, when he preached before Agrippa, he said these things were not done in a corner. He knew it was not to be a secret. I am responsible for truth, but I am not responsible for who hears it. That responsibility goes into God’s hand and it goes all the way back to creation, before creation. God had this all planned out before there was a twinkling little star. That is amazing. You might ask, did He see me? Absolutely. I am talking about you. He saw our reaction to truth, to the message He was presenting. Jesus said all that the Father hath given me will come. Then He said that none would be lost. God is not waiting for the final out to see who makes it. This is not a nine inning game, nor is it just until the whistle blows. It is until the trumpet blows. Just before us, you people who are here, I feel most of you are going to be living when that trumpet blows. That is the final roundup. Just to know that I was in His knowledge, a worm of the dust. In my eyes I am not much, but in God’s eyes, He sees something more. He sees something in you, and in me that the world does not see. Well I just sit here in Faith Assembly, I don’t have anything to do, I don’t say much, but the thing about it is, you are here and you are important. It is kind of like it was with King David. When the prophet came to David, or rather when he came to Jesse, he began to point out the reason he was there. You have a son that I am going to anoint king. Let us start at the eldest. He brings the eldest in. No. The next, the next, it comes on down to seven of them. The Spirit of the Lord was not on any of them. Don’t you have another one? I have one out tending the sheep. He was just a young fellow. Bring him in. Here he comes in before the prophet. I am illustrating. All backward, kind of red haired, ruddy, with a face about the same color of his hair. He was standing before the prophet of God. This is something he had not done before. This was worse than killing the lion and bear. He is standing before the prophet of God. Back then, they had respect. Here came David. Samuel has the horn of oil, bring him to me. David tip-toed up to him, after all; this is the prophet of God. As I said awhile ago, they had respect. He pours that oil on him and from that time on, the Spirit of God was upon him. If you are ever anointed for a purpose, give in to it. Don’t shun your responsibility, because you will pay the a price if you do. As I said awhile ago, there is going to be some surprises around Faith Assembly. I will leave that at that. I have scriptures here, that I have not gotten to. Let us go to 1st John 2. I may skip back and forth a little bit, but this is the way I have it copied down. Starting with verse 3. “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep His commandments.” Is he talking about the ten commandments? Absolutely not. John had already gotten beyond that point. You can keep every commandment, it is not going to help you. The Seven Day Adventists, they say, if you don’t keep Saturday, then Sunday is the mark of the beast. That is so shallow you could not even wade into it. “He that said, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (Now listen to what he said. This is the answer to it all in the next verse.) But whoso keepeth His word, (That is what he is talking about.) in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him. He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked.” That is not an impossibility, or why would he say it? If it is an impossibility, why would he say it? Bro. William Branham said one time, if I am ever permitted to get old, I don’t want to be an old grouch. He said I have seen men; when they get old, they are old grouches. “Brethren, (Now he is talking to us for sure, brethren or sisters.) I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the Word which ye have heard from the beginning.” He puts emphasis upon the Word. John here, was in his upper 80’s, he was not a young man. This was around 90 A.D. He certainly was not a young man, but listen to his expression. He still had that love of God inside him. “Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in Him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.” He is talking about in the olden days under the old covenant. As far as the will of God was concerned, it was unseen. They just got up in the morning, looked at their doorpost every day. Thou shalt not. Paul put it this way, the only commandment with promise is children obey your parents that your days may be long on the earth. “He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, (Well, I like them a little bit. You know the Bible says not to hate our brothers and sisters, so I like them that much. Like I said before, Bro. William Branham said the love of God will make a tuxedo hug bib overalls. He was talking about people that could not afford anything but bib overalls, then others that had the tuxedo. Then he said a certain thing that has been hard for me, he said that you can chew one another’s chewing gum. That is fine with me if you chew it after me. He that saith he is in the light and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.He loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. True saints of God must love one another: That is a command. This is not a suggestion book. America, the United States, they brought the nation back together. It was divided, when they brought it back together, there were some of them that still hold hate today between the north and the south. Why can they not, as the old Indians used to say, bury the hatchet? When the Bible tells us to love our neighbor as our self, that is getting down to the nitty-gritty in our lives. He says he that hateth his brother…) is in darkness, even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in light, (That is a good illustration, from darkness to light.) and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.” In other words, what he is saying is, you don’t happen up on something suddenly that a brother or sister would come to you and want something of you. Well I don’t know about that. That is talking about the inside, I don’t know about that. Or take on the other side and say, that is a brother, because the Bible says to love your brother. I am saying to all ofyou; open up your heart. “But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, (Don’t’ jump on me, jump on the apostle John, and I will take up for John. John and I stand side by side on this.) and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, (There are people that are blind that have to memorize how many steps they take to a certain place, whether it be in the home or wherever it is. But right now, if I should close my eyes where I could not see, I would not know when I come to the edge unless I shuffle my feet along, because I am used to light. Those who are blind have had to get used to the steps they take. I am not speaking against blind people. Because somebody is blind, it does not mean they are walking in darkness. He that walks in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goes is…) because that darkness hath blinded his eyes. I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.” I say unto you tonight, little children, your sins are forgiven, confess them, get them under the blood and they won’t ever be remembered against you again. I now want to go to Jude, the 17th verse. “But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit. But ye, beloved (but you. People used to say ye, but it really means you.) building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost.” A gift there. We were at Sister Carmen’s house; they were going to the cemetery to see where they would bury Bro. David. She came in and met us, all she could do was groan. It made me think of that scripture. There are things that cannot be uttered. We can get so troubled sometimes that our words do not fit. All you can do is groan, thinking about things. It is then; that the Holy Ghost comes in and says I will bear this for you. Jesus said come unto me all ye that labor and are heaven laden and I will give you rest in your souls. That is the Holy Ghost speaking. Jesus sent another Comforter. He was a Comforter to those apostles. He said another Comforter will I give unto you, be not troubled, be not afraid. The thing about it is, when the burdens get so heavy; and the load is so heavy we cannot bear it, then He comes along to lighten it. Peace in the time of trouble. Verse 21 says, “Keep yourselves (Well I thought God kept me. He will if we do our part. Keep yourselves…) in the love of God, (Don’t let it slip, don’t let it pass by you. Just keep on plugging. They used to talk about the old Model A. It would do seventy five down hill and thirty five up hill. But it just chugged along and got the job done. They said as it goes up a hill it was, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can. Get to the top, I knew it could, I knew I could, I knew I could. Sometimes we are like that Model A. Did you ever get to the place that you sought an answer, and you did not get an answer. You sought comfort, but it seemed as if it was far away. What he is saying here is, keep yourselves in the love of God, don’t let anything sway you. Every day is not the same. There are times that at the moment, there are things that happen in our lives that is as bad as death. Always remember though; there is a Comforter. These things do not last forever. I am trying to talk where we live. We are not out of the body yet. We have not graduated; we are still in this pest house. Keep yourselves in the love of God…) looking for the mercy (See? The first thing you do is keep yourself in the love of God, then look for the mercy) of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” Just another grade to climb. One trial comes, we get over that, then another one comes, we get over that, one of these days we will be over the last one. Don’t you think we who minister to you have trials? No, I slip through every day like greased lightning. Do you believe that? I don’t. “And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; (James said something like that also. I don’t want to see my brother or sister burned. That is what he is talking about.) hating even the garment (The garment is what Revelation 19 speaks of, but it is our final one. I get beside myself sometimes. I get a little loud or a little low, but I tell you one thing, I don’t memorize these things. You cannot memorize the Spirit of God. It has got to be that unction within. Hating even the garment…) spotted by the flesh.” Get out of the way flesh, because I want a clean garment, a white garment, the white robe of righteousness. You say, but that is an impossibility. Why is it written? It was written for our learning. “Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, (What a promise.) and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.” That is where we are headed, young and old. You are headed before His presence. We will walk in the light, the beautiful light, shine where the dew drops of mercy are bright. Shine all around us by day and by night, Jesus the Light of the world. Don’t you feel His presence tonight? To present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. My, there will not be a person resurrected, nor a person raptured without joy. Joy unspeakable and full of glory. What a day that will be, when my Savior I shall see. When we look upon His face, the One that saved us by His grace, what a day! As it says, He will take us by the hand and lead us through that promised land. Now we see through a glass darkly, but then, face to face. The mirror is no longer there, it is not a mirror, it is a face to face recognition. “To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” How each one of these men that were filled with the Holy Ghost could preach the same message, they did not have a New Testament to go by. They had a life that had been presented unto them, a life that was put inside them that is going to help them, as the Bible says, to speak the same thing. As I preached this morning, eye to eye shall they sing together. Let us go to 1st Peter 3:8-17. “Finally, (After he had said all these other things, he said finally. In other words, this is the sum of it all.) be ye all of one mind, (I believe we are getting there. I see everybody that is paying attention.) having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous.” Hi brother, hi sister, nice day isn’t it? I am going to be careful not to walk up to somebody and say, hi brother, this has been a bad day. He might think, where did this come from, this was not the day I had: You are trying to make it that way for me. “Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing: knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.” I want the blessing. I am going to be courteous to you because I want something out of this also. I want something out of this fellowship when I speak to you and you speak to me. “For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, (Sometimes people say too much; just zip it up.) and his lips that they speak no guile. Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. (Follow after it, or get a hold of it.) For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, (That is over you, even when you are on the job. When I was on my job, I did not say anything back, but I always knew when somebody spoke a bad word or a curse word, it did not cause me to.) and his ears are open unto their prayers: (He hears. It may seem like He is a million miles away, but He is not.) but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But and if ye suffer for righteousness sake, happy are ye: (You say, I am trying to get that way. There are some things you just have to grow into. The Bible said to grow in grace. People come to me often and say something about what somebody has said, but I have not gone out to cause trouble. If the Word of God causes trouble, I will stand by the Word.) and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.” There are more scriptures, but I want to read one more in 1st Peter 4, starting in verse 7. “But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. And above all things have fervent charity (love) among yourselves: (That is the sandwich meat between the two pieces of bread. You can add whatever you want to, to that, if it was in the natural you could add tomatoes, lettuce, or onions. Regardless of what you add, it is the meat that sustains you.) for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.” That is what that love of God will do. I want it; I want it to cover all my sins. I am not talking about daily sinning because there are past things that people need to get over. The devil is a reminder. He will beat you up, ifyou let him. Talk about Mike Tyson biting off an ear, the devil will bite off both, if you let him. “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; (That is our duty.) that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye, for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part He is evil spoken of, but on your part He is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.” Busybody in other men’s matters, It does not list that with very good company, does it? “Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. For the time is come that judgment (I meant to express something on that, but I will not take the time tonight.) must begin at the house of God: (It must begin at the house of God. That deserves some expression, but I will get into it some other time.) and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? (That is not talking about the world, that is talking about people that know better.) And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.” That is plain talk, and it is speaking to believers.
THE GIFTS AND CALLING OF GOD ARE WITHOUT REPENTANCE
7-6-14 AM
It is good to see everyone this morning. I want to thank the brother and sister that let the Lord use them this morning, because, as the gifts have been ministered to the body, I did not encourage it to pump up people, and cause someone to do something without having a gift for it, but those that do have the gifts, I want to encourage them, because of the hour we are living in. I have some important things to say this morning; so I want to get into those things at this time. I know; last Sunday night I had read one place, or started to, in 1st Peter chapter 4, starting in verse 7. I want to go back there noow; because there is no way I could do it justice with just a few minutes of time. We are living in such an hour, that the only thing it can be, is the coming of the Lord: It is right before us. God is giving us understanding of the hour we are living in and the time and purpose we have. I want to honor that. I know it speaks in the scripture of something I have not yet gone over, which is 1st Corinthians 9, but you do not have to go there yet, to verses 6 thru 18. Paul said woe is me if I preach not the gospel. I don’t want that woe put upon me, because it is too important to the gospel. We find that in Ezekiel chapter 3 and chapter 33, where he is speaking of being a watchman; the watchman on the wall. It is important that we be led of the Lord into the things we say, and that we know where to apply them. I have other scriptures I have been into, that I want to refer to in this. I hope to get to a certain point this morning. That is why I am getting into the scripture as early as I am. I always feel for that anointing before I work my way into very much of the Word, because without the anointing, it is just words. We know there is an anointing for the ministry if they wait on it. I want to start in verse 7, of the 4th chapter. “But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.” He is very adamant on what he is talking about. “And above all things have fervent charity (meaning love.That is a word we have emphasized, at least spent one message on, found in the 13th chapter of 1st Corinthians.) among yourselves: (That is not talking about the world, it says among yourselves.) for charity (true love)shall cover the multitude of sins.” That love of God will cover a multitude of sins. When he is talking about that, he is talking about certain things, about grudges, different things of the flesh that we would hold one toward another. He said among yourselves, that would be desiring certain things of another, or lusts, whatever it would be, whatever it would pertain to.) Use hospitality one to another without grudging.” He said use it, it is there. All we have to do is use it. The thing about using it, is that it don’t wear out. It is not like a used car. “As every man hath received the gift, (The gift of the Holy Ghost.) even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” A steward is someone that keeps someone else’s treasures, and they are treasures, the treasures of the Word of God. We are not here to promote ourselves or to promote good speech, or to refine words. I remember a Methodist preacher; when I was in the Methodist church. It was said, that you had to have a dictionary to follow him; because he could not speak with the common man’s language. “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: (We cannot go beyond the abilitythat God has given us without getting into trouble. There is a stopping place. We do not everyone have the same ability. If I got out here, (I am not saying that I will never do this, because I may sometime.) and run the aisles and stomped the floor, that is not in me to do so in ministering, but I am not saying anything about somebody else that does that. We are everyone answerable to God for what we do; or maybe refuse to do. What I am really talking about, is that we everyone are responsible for finding our own level of behavior in ministering the Word of God. My level is not the same level as Bro. Bud’s. I am not trying to copy Bro. Bud, and I am not trying to copy Brother Jackson; though I am accused of it. No doubt; Brother Jackson was accused of trying to copy Brother Branham. I will say this; whenever I heard the Word of God from either of them, I heard it different. It was not a different message, but it was a different presentation, a different thing within them, of how they presented truth. Both of them were loyal to the Word.) that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.” What we go through, most of the world goes through, but they do not give glory to God, and enjoy the benefits of trusting God for His provision. It is just a burden to them, but a stepping stone for a true saint. It is just something that is in their way, but notice what Paul says about it. “But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” When His glory is revealed, that is when you are going to be revealed. “If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; (Is it a bad thing for people to talk about you because you go to Faith Assembly, down there at that place where many walked away from truth? I don’t feel that way, but there are a lot of people that feel that way. They say Brother Bud and I are just two ministers that had an ambition before Bro. Jackson died; that we could hardly wait. I say, You who believe that are stupid.) for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part He is evil spoken of, but on your part He is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.” That does not put anyone who falls nto that category with very good company. “Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God.” That is where I got to Sunday. That is where I stopped, because it was about five minute until tje time when I usually stop when I got there, so I was not going to go into Judgment must begin at the house of God,when I did not have time to deal with it. Of course they say Bro. Jackson called this the Jerusalem of this day. He called this church the Jerusalem of this day: He also called it the lighthouse where true revelation is preached. There are those who say the lighthouse is anywhere, out in a field. No, brothers and sisters; this is the area where God’s visitation has rested. It started out down on the bank of the Ohio River. That is when the expression of the Angel of the Lord in 1933, as the light came down over the river, after the 17th person had been baptized, and said to Bro. William Branham, As John the Baptist forerun the first coming of Christ, you will have a message that will forerun the second coming. Therefore I understand this morning; that we just go so far with this being a lighthouse. I understand that; and trust that all of you do. We cannot just fool around with that: It has got to be something inside of us. It has got to be a message inside us; that can, without criticizing, defeat that spirit of criticism. God has given us a message that we carry forward to all who will receive it. What message do you fault-finders have? I have not heard it. It has been said y some, that we do not have enough preachers for seven thunders. Well I confess right now, that I do not have any preachers. The Spirit of a Mighty God is what will send forth those seven Thunders. I do not have to know who they are. I will say this though; do not ever cut God short; because He will fool you every time. It said that judgement must begin at the house of God. In other words, this is where it is all started. I am not talking about just here, I am talking about here, there, and in other places where preachers are preaching the true revelation of the Word of God. I just read; where we are doers of the mysteries of God, it tells in 2nd Corinthians chapter 4, and in chapter 5 we are ambassadors. A steward is someone close by, an ambassador is somebody that carries the message some place else. It is the same message. It is the same truth. “And if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” My, where is disobedience, where does it come in? If you walk away, you are in disobedience. Where does that judgment end? God, this morning, is looking down on each one of us to carry a truth. When we depart this place, we are still carriers. “And if the righteous scarcely be saved, (In other words, the righteous will be saved, but it says that they scarcely be saved, that takes out the world. That takes out evil, evil thoughts, desires. This world will rob you. It will rob me of the blessings of God. This vessel that the Holy Ghost is in, I am responsible for that vessel. I am not responsible for your vessel, you are not responsible for my vessel. We have our own responsibility for the life that we live.The Bible says, if we would judge ourselves, then we should not be judged. I could go over into the 3rd chapter of the book of James and talk about the tongue. I am not ready to do that. The Bible says it is unruly, evil. This is the gospel, this is not something I am pulling out that does not belong in the message. If the righteous scarcely be saved…) where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?” There are two different categories there, the ungodly and the sinner. That is that man that has never made a profession and that man that has made a profession, or a woman. Ungodly, where shall they appear? It is not good. “Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator.” NowI want to go to a very familiar scripture, Acts 2:38. I will start in verse 37. This is the first message Peter ever preached. I wish we had some way to transfer that to us. You may say, well I would have liked to have been there. If you had been there, you would be dead now. In order to have been there, you as a Gentile, you would have had to have been a proselyte, because there were a few proselytes there. I have some pointers here I want to use. “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Here comes the key that Jesus has given to Peter. Like I said, this is Peter’s first message. It was something else. He goes back in the scriptures, back in the book of Joel, brings that in, which is prevalent for the time we are living in. He said, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord’s coming, the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall be turned to blood.That is today, the hour we are living in, because there are two things there, before the great and then the dreadful. “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” There are three things there that are demanded. We always look at the Holy Ghost in that. But this is the final result of what he is talking about. First of all there must be conviction of sins. The Word of God will bring that conviction. He said, repent, that is being sorry for the life you have lived. He does not leave anyone out; he said every one of you. Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. I want to talk to you, young people. Some of you come up often for salvation. That is not necessary. If you are seeking salvation, repent of your sins, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. You can be saved anywhere you may be: just repent and commit your life to God. Then the Holy Ghost will come, but there is a misunderstanding about that because, when you have repented and been baptized, then that is the time you go to God and seek Him for the Holy Ghost, because you are already sorry for your sins. When you are baptized, your sins are remitted. You are a candidate for the Holy Ghost. Do you understand what I am saying? Do not ever degrade the grace of God. Don’t make salvation look like a cheap thing. The thing about it is; if we do not follow these instructions to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, there is no way we can get into that body of believers. We may be a part of being in Faith Assembly, but we are not a part of the body of Christ, and if we are not a part of that body, we will never make it. Some may say, you are too hard. I am no harder than Peter was that day. I am giving you the Word of God; not my ideas. I am sure Peter got excited that day. I am also sure they were excited when they came out of that upper room. The Holy Ghost had refreshed them, they were fresh on the Holy Ghost. I am not hollering like this because I am mad: I am hollering because I am excited and glad for this precious Word of God. These things I am talking about are necessary for all who would be a part of this body of Christ. These preachers that get on television and say, all you have to do is repeat after me; now you have the Holy Ghost. That is not true. All you have to do to know that is not right, is study your Bible. I read in chapter 10 of Acts where they received the Holy Ghostbefore they were baptized, the thing about it is, Peter and all the rest of them needed some kind of evidence that they had what they had. There was a reason for it, but that is not the scriptural pattern we must go by. Chapter 19 of Acts says Paul went to Ephesus. When he got to Ephesus he found twelve men; which were referred to as certain disciples. He said to them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. Then he asked them, how were you baptized? When he realized they did not have the Holy Ghost, he asked them, how were you baptized? Their answer was; unto John’s baptism. He went on to express about John being a great man and everything, but he went ahead and said John truly baptized in water unto repentance, but you need to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. When they did that, he laid hands on them and they received the Holy Ghost. Brothers and sisters, do not cheat on the grace of God. You repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. When you repent and are baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, then that takes care of the sin deeds that you have done in this body of flesh away. The blood of Jesus Christ takes care of your old sins that you have committed and that which you were born with. You were born in sin and shapen in iniquity. I was too. Are you beginning to understand this? Young people, the Holy Ghost is something you definitely need to be in the bride of Christ, but if you have repented and been baptized, you are a candidate to receive the Holy Ghost. You must seek God for that. I remember Bro. Jerry Mattox talking about his testimony. He was saved. He came here one night and sat back there three or four rows up. He did not go up front for prayer, but right there in his seat, he received something. It is not where you are: It is where your heart is. Everyone must have their own experience. Not everyone receives the Holy Ghost the same way.That experience makes some people run, it makes some people shout, it makes some people jump up and down, but I remember when David North came to church that night; I don’t know if he had been here before, but it was when that great move of the Lord was on: he came up to the altar and fell right there and laid there for two hours, just like a dead man. He could not get up. I remember, in a little Methodist Church; I had heard this message, and it was real to me. I was standing before the pulpit of that Methodist Church when the Spirit of God got hold of me; I spun around, and there was nothing I could do about it, and I fell right into a bench. You don’t have to get it that way, just get it however God chooses to give it to you; but, Get it! It may come to you easy, you may not shout, you may not move a limb, just praise the Lord and here it comes, tears maay fall from your eyes and you say, thank you Lord. Don’t let the devil beat you up: You do not have to have anyone else’s experience, but when you receive your experience, you will know what it is; you will not have to be told that you have the Holy Ghost. I don’t care how you get it: just get it! Is that plain enough? I cannot make it any plainer than that. If you don’t repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, you are not a part of the body of Christ:no matter what kind of feelings you may experience. God’s way is the only acceptable way into His family. Well I know a lot of good people that have never had that experience. I do too, but what about the scripture? What are we going to do about that? Are we going to be allowed to devise our own way getting into this body Of Jesus Christ? David said, “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.” Brother Branham said it like this, before a fish could ever be, there had to be water.Before a fish could ever have a fin, there had to be water. I go down the road, and every once in awhile I see where a buzzard has been run over, simply because it did not know to pull the carcase out of the road before making a meal of it. But an eagle, when they kill, they take it with them; because they are going to feast on that thing until it is all gone. We are not buzzards, we are eagles. I want to go to Matthew 22, verse 1. “And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, (Remember, this is a parable. Do not try to make it literal.) The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son.” He is talking about the heavenly Father that made a marriage for His Son. I don’t say these things to try to hurt. I say these things this morning to try to give someone an understanding of what the will of the Lord is. As I said awhile ago, without following scripture, no matter how good a life we may live, we still have to come into the body of Jesus Christ the scriptural way. This church world of religion is getting to be something else other than what they claim to be. The pope said you could be homosexual, you can be married one to another of the same sex and you can go to heaven, like, you can be an atheist, and if you are a good atheist; you will go to heaven, because he said; there is no hell. Chapters 19 and 20 of Revelation is waiting on him. He will see what happens to those who ignore the Word of God. The kingdom of heaven is like unto a king which made a marriage for his son. “And sent forth his servants (that is talking of the prophets) to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. Again he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of it, (Jeremiah preached, then he was put in the dungeon, a hole of water, muck and mire, fed the bread and water of affliction. Isaiah was sawn asunder. You have all these things the Jewish people did unto the prophets that God sent unto them. He said come unto the marriage, come, that is how God is. I can feel what Jesus was saying there, come. What I say unto one, I say unto all, come. They made light of it…) one to his farm, another t his merchandise.” Judgement is hanging over them and they reject mercy. “And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them.” I am reminded this morning of what is going on in Israel at this time. Watching the News, there was a Palestinian from Florida, an American citizen, went over to Israel and got among the rock throwers. He was sixteen years old. The Israeli soldiers beat him up pretty bad. They show that over and over and over, but they don’t show those three Israeli boys with their burned bodies and rocks piled on them. No, it is those mean old Israelis they like to harp on. They are going to see something in the Middle East in a short while, that is going to shame them all, because God is a warrior. Yes He is! God is a warrior. “But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: (God is getting ready to express His anger toward those who spurn His Word. It did not say he was angry, he was wroth, beyond just plain anger.) and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.” Some may say, would God do that? In 70 A.D. this happened. My, what it talks about there in Matthew 24, it talked about the tribulation of that time, prophecy preachers want to say that is in this time. Telling the Jews to flee to the mountains, my, that has already happened. It happened almost two thousand years ago. To those that heard the words of Jesus, it was scary, but to others, they fell with the city, either starved to death, or was slain. That is what he is talking about right here. “Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.” That is speaking of that hour. Now we come into the Gentile age. “Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.” Go to the highways and byways and bid them to come. “So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.” That is not speaking of them being bad after they came to Christ. That was that old sinner, maybe down at a bar some place, just living his life his own way, but God convicted him. When he said, here am I, then he made his way to an altar of prayer, I does not matter if it was in his bedroom. It could have been out in a corn field, or anywhere. It is not where you are at, it is where your heart is. They went out into the highways and gathered as many as they found. They found those that would listen, both bad and good and the wedding was furnished with guests. That is speaking of how they were when they came. It would not say that, after they had done that the wedding was furnished with guests, unless there had been a change. Revelation 19 says the Bride hath, past tense, before the rapture, made herself ready. That is why we are here today, to get ready, and I want young people to get ready; as well as adults. You do not have to repent nine hundred times, if you understand what you are doing. You don’t have to be baptized over and over and over if you understand why you were baptized. When God forgives, He does nt remember your past sinful nature. The devil comes along and says to you: You need to do this again. If you go to God, He says, I do not remember your past; forget it. “And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment.” He had not on a wedding garment. He did not listen to and heed the message. He did not listen to repentance; he did not listen to the be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. You might say, well you are putting a lot of emphasis upon that; I believe if you just live a good life you would make it. Oh, No, no, no: You are deceived. Listen carefully to this; “And he saith unto him, Friend, (It may be among you today. I want to be more than just a friend, I want to be a family member.) how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.” This all happens before the rapture. If you don’t receive the message, you will not be here at the end. “Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.” Friend, do not let that catch you, do something about it while you have time; because the door is going to close before the rapture. The door is going to close because there has to be some preparation before we can be in the Bride of Christ, you have to bear that fruit that the Word of God is so specific about. You might say, well I liked you up until this time. I hope you like me afterwards because I have told you the truth. Some might think the truth never hurts, and it does until you totally surrender to God’s provision. It has hurt a lot of people. You have the tares; then you have the chaff, and this chaff is the last thing to go. This is the last thing before the rapture. Continue Next Issue.