Vol. 54 No. 1 January 2022
Preached on July 4, 2020 – am
Our flag is taking a beating at this time across this country, and even around the world. It has an effect, to be able to see “Old Glory” wave. You wonder how much longer we will have that opportunity the way things are going. This nation may have already seen its best days. The flag still waves in the hearts and minds of a lot of people today. I have scriptures to read this morning, scriptures that have something I never thought I would deal with, especially at this time. But I have a responsibility to truth. Today there is no excuse for not being here today because of the things that have gone on. We have gathered with just ten or a few people here for weeks, finally it opened up to where anyone can come that
feels they would like to. I thank the Lord for this opportunity to be able to be with you. God be praised for His wonderful love and grace. I praise the Lord for the grace He has shown unto me. I have some scriptures that does not connect to my message, but it is the scriptures of the time we are living in now, as we see the nation stooped in all the filth and everything that is going on. We see how they are trying to push their way over on us, like it was said in a certain ad concerning someone running for senator, he was talking about the different statues of men, George Washington, they poured paint on it and pulled it over. Jefferson was pulled over, half of his nose broken off. Grant, who liberated the black people, his statue was pulled over too. That same person running for senate showed Vladimir Lenin, his statue was still standing. He was a Marxist. They do not want to bother something like that because they have made gods out of different things. Washington was not a god, Lincoln was not a god, but they did have principals about them that taught this nation right from wrong. Now they want to destroy all those
statues, take it all out. Our country today is feeling the effects of all this. This virus, as it took over a few months back, and the marches that are going on today, the last four or five months have had things happen so quick. We are in that time when we are looking for Israel to get her land back. Sooner or later, as Bro. Jackson said, our troops will have to come home to this country. You can see that happening today, to bring them back, because our shores will sooner or later have to be defended. The streets of America, with what is happening now, I did not realize the things that have been spoken about for so long, was going to be as it is now. But here we are in that time that the Bible talked about, perilous times will come. We are in the perilous time. Paul talked about perils, how he was in different perils, perils of water, perils of his own countrymen, all of that. Now it looks as though a certain party gets to be president, then very soon after that, the religious places of worship are going to be closed, or people will be marching at your doors, and churches will be vandalized, and people will be in danger. Am I saying that to scare somebody? I am saying it as a fact this morning. If a certain party gets to be president, they have no regard for the constitution of the United States. They have no regard for morals, because their moral value is zero. You see them marching on the streets today with their compass at zero. In New York and different places, they have closed the churches, but the marches go on. They do not care how close together they are, they do not care whether they wear a mask or not, most of them are not wearing masks. That is alright for them, but they close the churches. Preachers have
been afraid to say anything, now they are suffering the consequences because their church buildings are closed. In many states the church buildings are closed or can only gather with ten people at a time. That is the way it is in New Jersey with Bro. Jonathan Cahn, just a few people can come for a service. That is the way it is all over this morning at different places. They have closed down again, the places that had opened up. But I thank God that here in Indiana, pray for us, pray the Lord will help us to stay open, that things can be as they should be at all times. I will start reading today in Romans 1. This is a very sobering thing this morning. Let us start with the 16th verse. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” The message went to the Jews first, then to the Gentiles. That is what he is talking about. “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: (from faith to faith) as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” The justified people shall live by faith. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness, and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.” Who hold the truth in unrighteousness, in other words, they know better. “Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.” Do not throw it up to God because of
what is happening. Because this was promised, we are in the days of the beginning of sorrows. “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” In other words, clouded over with cares and things of the world. “Professing themselves to be wise, (That is where we are at today, they think they know it all.) they became fools.” We have that running the country today. Many people in the government think they are smart, or wise, actually they are fools. They fool themselves. Here he is saying, there is no excuse for it. “And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.” Here he is talking about the gods that were in those days. People had gods of different things. There are gods of sports. This nation has been cut off from sports that it has once enjoyed, and many of the things that people have lived for. They spend their time enjoying those things that God is really not concerned about. God is not concerned about sports. He is not concerned about basketball, He is not concerned about football, He is not concerned about baseball. He has cut it all off. The hockey, or whatever, it has all been cut off. “Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness (uncleanness, what a word. God just gave them up to uncleanness, let them live their lives the way they want to. Paul spoke this almost two thousand years ago, but it is happening today. This is more or less a prophecy for the day and time in which we live. The Bible speaks in
Luke 21, and Matthew 24 tells you as it was in the days of Noah. What was it like in the days of Noah? It was pleasure filled, but it had an abrupt end. It said it was filled with violence. Look at the streets of America today, they are filled with violence. In Luke it said, as it was in the days of Noah, as it was in the days of Sodom. That Sodomite condition today is rampant in America. LGBT, whatever they want to call it, they are such words that is better to abbreviate it, than to go on trying to say what all it is. Little children five years old in kindergarten are being taught the ways of uncleanness, the ways homosexuality. These things are things that God is going to judge the world over. I am being honest with you today, because no matter how religious a person gets, I do not care how religious they get, you cannot live that lifestyle and be a Christian person. It will not work, it never will. “Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature (the creature, the man. There are different sports figures, their names are blasted out as being someone who is a spokesman, when their lives are filled with filth that is in the world today. They worshipped and served the creature…) more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.” I say Amen also. We have a great privilege and a great responsibility. We have a responsibility in this hour. “For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature.” You know what that is, I do not have to spell it out. I do not have to name it; you know what is going on today. God just gave them up to their vile affections. “And likewise
also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.” Or which was worthy. “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.” These things are not convenient. You have to give yourself over to that and to other things. “Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents.” It just goes on and on and on, without stopping. Man has invented things for the wrong purpose. God gave man and woman to be husband and wife. He did not give man with man to be husband and wife. He did not make women husband and wife. No matter how you try to justify it, it will not work. It is just an evil disease that has gripped the hearts and minds of people, whether it be family members, whoever it would be. It is wrong. It is wrong. “Without understanding, (They are in the pulpits today. They are in the ministry today claiming that everything is alright. We are the minority. We are the minority because we are true believers. You can never justify wrong; it will not work. We have to have a standard in our lives to where we know how to resist evil. The thing about it is, if you do, it will always be before you to resist whenever things are wrong. It will be in front of your eyes. Disobedient to parents. A lot
of these young people today that are marching, I am talking about people in their late teens and twenties, on into their thirties, all they are saying now is, we listened to you when we were young, but you were wrong. Our parents were not wrong. I remember something my mother told me when I was a young boy. She said all the sins you do you get something out of them, but you get nothing out of cursing. I always remembered that, and I listened to that. The thing about it is, as Bro. Branham said, if you embrace another man’s wife, then that imprint is on your body. Let’s wake up brothers and sisters. These things are knocking at the door. Are we listening to this? This will speak to our hearts, to our minds. Without understanding…) covenant breakers, (Just tear down all these old statues of Washington. This morning on television it showed all these people cheering and jeering because they threw Columbus in the Boston harbor. Such ignorance, such evil. That is why I wanted that song sung with the flat waving this morning. We can rehearse something that has been so precious through the years that now has come down to where it is despised. Washington thrown on the ground, and the flag being burned. You are a bunch of devils. That is plain talk, I know it is. But it is going on in America today and we are watching it. We know it. I am telling about it this morning. I am talking to my brothers and sisters here and around the world. It is time that we wake up as families. What are we talking about to our children? What are we showing to our children in our daily lives? Is it showing pleasure? Is it showing things that maybe we missed out on when we were young? I did not miss anything. I was sixteen years
old before I ever saw a high school football game. Do I miss that? Do I say my parents were mean to me? No. I was a country boy that grew up in the sticks. I was thinking back about things that went on in my time. People were poor. My dad said it will not hurt you to be poor, but sometimes it is inconvenient. Without understanding, these people do not even understand what they are doing. Their minds are seared. The Bible said with a hot iron. Do you know what that is? That is a stamp just like they put on cattle. You cannot remove it. No hair will grow on it. Without understanding, covenant breakers…) without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful.” What is paying for all this sit-down stuff? They are killing one another and do not say anything about that. Look at Chicago, California, Los Angeles, what is it? Since all this stuff is happening, the rate of crime has gone up 400-500 percent. Some of the trucks will not even make deliveries in Los Angeles unless they have a police escort, because they are afraid that will not make it out alive, or that they will be robbed. Without understanding, they do not want to understand. They would rather listen to the squad, that bunch of evil women. “Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, (Here you come down to these last words. Some people never commit stuff like that. But what does this say. Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy death…) not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” Today is the day of pleasure. I have other scripture I want to read, Romans 2. This is continuing on. “Therefore thou art
inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering: not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life. (That is a good thing.) But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, (That is the answer to that.) Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; (Because the Jews heard it first.) But glory, and honour, (Listen, the right things, listen to this, But glory, and honour…) and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: For there is no respect of persons with God.” Now I want to go to 1st Corinthians 6, starting with verse 9. “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor
idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, not extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” That gives a list of who is not going to make it. You cannot justify these things; they are not going to make it. Not thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, not extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God. But here is an answer to it. There is an answer to your wrongdoing. It must be adhered to. “And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, (He is talking about someone cleaning their lives up from these things.) but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, (You cannot think, well He really did not mean for us to live that way. He meant us to live that way, because He speaks about it, without reproach, living a life without reproach. That is not for old fogeys, it is the same for young people, for children. Such were some of you, but ye are washed, sanctified, justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ…) and by the Spirit of our God. All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” It is there, Paul is saying it is there, but by the grace of God I am not going to be caught under the power of any of these things, I am going to live my life right. This is a great lesson. Let us go to 1st John 2, verse 15. “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” If you see these things and you see what is going on, ungodly movies. If you just love sports and you hate to see them go
away, let them go, that is not going to bring you righteousness. That is not going to get you close to the kingdom of heaven. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, (That is what the world is, the lust of the flesh, just cannot get enough pleasure.) and the lust of the eyes, (Sometimes we think if we see something, oh, that is beautiful, I have to have that. I am not saying go to some cave somewhere, I would not want to live in a cave. Some of the old prophets had to. I do not know what is coming next. I do not know what is coming the rest of this year. By this time next year, you may wish you had this place. This morning we are getting ready for the rapture, we are getting ready for Israel to see her land come back to her. According to George Washington’s vision, whatever comes to this nation, somewhere the standard is going to stand. This old devilish thing that is going on right now, it is going to be defeated. When I say something about one party, there are others that are in the other party just as bad. The Republican party is not my God. All that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes…) and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” That is what I want. I have one more scripture this morning, which is in the book of John, 17th chapter, start with verse 1. This is a prayer before He goes to the cross. It is encouraging. He encourages His disciples all the way to the cross. Because these are people that He has chosen for a purpose. Peter, who was going to deny Him, but He chose him. You see that in the
book of Acts. “These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, (He is praying now.) Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.” That He may give eternal life to as many as is given Him, not everybody. “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” The only true God. He did not say there were not gods. There are many gods. But there is only one true God. This is life eternal, that they may know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. “I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.” He said that on the cross, it is finished. He had not built a building. He has not built anything in heaven. He has been sitting on the right hand of God all that time, except as I read earlier, the 7th chapter of Acts where Stephen was stones. I remember Bro. Jackson saying something about it. He said that is the only place you ever see that Jesus is standing on the right hand of God, when Stephen was stoned. It is the only place that He is standing. That is the truth. “And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.” In other words, He is not saying I was there. But whenever God’s plan came into effect, then that life that was in God that was going to be given to Christ, it comes back and praises the Father. Jesus is not saying that He was created at that time. But it was the glory of the Father that was shown through that life that would come to where it glorified the
Father to see what He would do. Remember that. “I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: (Out of the world. They are still in the world, but they are out of the world.) thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. I pray for them: (See? His prayer is, I pray for them. Remember the words He says here.) I pray not for the world, (He is not sending up a prayer for the world. He is praying for those that God has given Him out of the world only. You are not going to change the world. I do not care how much you pray for the world. I do not care how much Jim Baker prays for the world, oh, we are going to have a great revival. When is it going to start? What they are expecting is not coming. It is not. I pray for them; I pray not for the world…) “but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.” He is including us in a union with the Father, that we may be able to have a relationship with the Father, through Jesus Christ. Our life is from the Father. When you receive the Holy Ghost, you receive a part of God. The different parts of the body are explained in the 12th chapter of 1st Corinthians. As the body is made up, that body on earth is supposed to be equal to Jesus Christ, because we are His Bride, taken out of His side. When they put a spear into His side, then there came forth water and blood,
which represents baptism and the Holy Ghost, which represents a new birth. “And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. (In other words, He has surrendered himself unto the Father, and this is His last prayer before He goes to the garden. It is an encouraging prayer to the disciples because they do not even know why He is saying this.) Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.” That they may be one as we are. He is talking about the church, one, one in thought, one in desire, one in ambition. I am going to close this out now. I want to pray at this time.
Preached on July 4, 2020 – pm
I am going back to my scriptures again. I felt the way things are going in the country and in our own lives, if we do not watch, because the Bible does not say to watch and pray unless there was something needed to be watching and praying about. God gives us ample room. He really has given us ample room to be able to contact Him and to be able to live for Him. Most of us at this time, even young people, have either matured or are maturing in the Lord Jesus Christ. It has to be that way before the rapture comes. My thoughts and my ideas are not going to change the rapture. It is going to come no matter what anybody feels about it. Whenever that time comes, there will be nothing to hinder it. Jesus said, you do not know the day nor the hour, but it is evident that we are
seeing the things happening just before that time. We know that Israel has to have her land back. There is turmoil over there, they were even showing it today. Hamas is planning on things and Iran is interfering in the middle east, with Israel and other
countries that she is trying to put a foothold in. But we know there is a time coming for Iran, there is a time coming for Russia, for Turkey, and the different nations that will be in that war that will come against Israel, which will come against Saudi Arabia and so on. You can see some of the friendships that are happening between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is by no means a nation that is to be desired right now. But God is going to take care of that because there is coming a war in Israel. It is very close at hand. We see this nation and all that is going on. I know the National Cemetery was going to be invaded by people burning the flags yesterday, but the militia showed up with guns. So there was nobody that came to burn flags. This is getting to a boiling point right now in America. They are dismembering the statues, pulling Columbus off into the Boston harbor. This is a chance for President Trump to put some of the leverage on them that. He said some would be getting ten years of sentencing for that. This was a statue that President Reagan put up. But now they are just taking whatever they want. They think they are going to get by with it. Because “All
Lives Matter.” Not just certain groups of people, and not just the gays and lesbians, which are joining in with the Black Lives Matter movement. They feel they can gain leverage by joining together so that nobody will be able to do anything with it. As Bro. Jackson said, the red blooded American, they are beginning to wake up now. It is not going to be pretty by the time it is over. Whenever the cities which they are talking about, that are going to be burned, the one who had the switchblade, he talked about how he saw in a vision New York City burning, a thousand buildings at one time. Whenever this thing happened in Minnesota, they burned seven hundred and fifty buildings. Bro. Darrell was telling me that, I believe it was seven hundred and fifty, something like that. Bro. Darrell was talking about that when he was here last week. I pray every day for all our brothers and sisters, wherever they are around this country, those that are in like faith, I pray that the Lord will help you and take care of you in this time of need. It is time we as Faith Assembly, respect the word of the Lord to where we are going to do exactly what the word says for us to do. I have something to go along with what I have already been on, I had Ephesians 6, which I will go to right now. I feel that we are in need of what the word says at this time. Ephesians 6 sure does give us hope if we look at it in the right way. He has gone through all these things that are really uplifting to the church, he goes through the Bride part, as he talks about man and woman, comparing that to Christ, or I should say husband and wife, not just man and woman, husband and wife, compared to the Bride and the Groom, as he talks about it. He has talked about the Jews and Gentiles
in the earlier chapters, about them coming together as one. God made it to be that way. Then he goes ahead to talk about the ministry and what God is expecting out of the ministry in the hour in which we live. Then he sums it up here, verse 10, “Finally, my brethren, (after he has spoken of the unity and everything, he has talked about in chapters 4 and 5, he goes ahead to say finally, my brethren. This would include both male and female. When God looks upon the scene, He is not looking at what He is doing in the lives of people as man only, because it said of men and women both, let Him be the hidden man of our heart. Finally, my brethren…) be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, not in our might. Not in our thinking, not in our hopes, not in our desires, but be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” We see it in the time that we are living in, there is pressure that is put upon the saints of God that is coming on gradually, slowly to a certain point, then all at once at some time before too long. I talked this morning about the things that are happening now, what they are planning on, to be outside the churches and desecrate the churches, to throw paint and other things on them, I have said before, I am glad we have this fence row out here with all the trees to where Faith Assembly is not recognized too much as a church, because of it being hid. I have hated those trees, but I am loving them right now, because it is a guard to us. “For we wrestle not (We are not in a wrestling match against the things of the world because that will not work for us to take up things on our
own. But it is important that we protect ourselves and our families, I believe that, by whatever means God has given us to do so. Because the devil is on a rampage tonight to try to affect people’s lives. I hope you understand what I am saying. We wrestle not…) against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” That is America today. We are not wrestling against it because if we do, we are losers. But we are looking out
for our own. He tells us here just what to do. “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Stand, we are not giving in, we are not giving up. Whatever is placed before us that we have to deal with, we must deal with it. We are not out trying to hurt people or cause commotion. We are just out to serve the Lord. But we know what happened to people in Bible days that did serve the Lord. I am not saying that because this is going to happen, but
we know that sooner or later it will happen to foolish virgins because it said so. And about people who are trying to do the right thing. We are the minority today among religious denominations and organizations. But on the other hand, as Bro. Branham said, one and God is a majority. We are depending on it to be that way within our lives. Having done all to stand, He said stand. “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, (girt your loins with truth, not with error, not with our own ideas. Because the word of God covers everything. It covers everything in our life, and it covers everything that we need to stand for. Because God is with us. I have to say that tonight, because God is with us, as a people not only of Faith Assembly, but wherever this message is preached by the ministry that God has raised up in the hour we are living in.) and having on the breastplate of righteousness.” Everything he is talking about here; he is looking at a soldier. He has seen the Roman army, how they dressed, he is looking at that and dressing us down with the same thing, but it is all spiritual. It has nothing to do with fleshly getting out here and protesting, showing what we are by our protests. I protest evil, but it is in my heart, it is not in my fist. Because I would be a loser that way. It is in my heart that I protest the evil that is going on here tonight. I am not talking about in Faith Assembly, but I am talking about here in the world we are living in, wickedness in high places. That is what is going on. Tonight it is going on in Washington, it is going on in the state houses, it is going on in the cities, it is going on in the country towns and everywhere else. These things are working against the
things that are right. Because people want to compromise. They do not want to stand for things that are right. Some are. I am not talking about everybody. I am not just talking about Bride people. But I am talking about how some people cannot stand what they are seeing in the streets today in America, even though they are not Christians. But we see and understand it. He is speaking of our day and hour, where he is talking here, because it has never fit another time. It has to individuals. It has to countries, but not like it is now around the world. This thing is on fire now around the world. I even saw signs where it talked about the Black Lives Matter, even in Australia. It is hitting every country, here and far away. Something is happening in the world to bring about something to let us know what is going on. It is not just in America. This thing is a spreading disease. I know when it first started it was covid. But it has gone from that to other things. Of course there are certain people that are talking about it a lot, but it is not being talked about among the ones that are spreading it. Because they do not care for other people. Young people have said, I am going to go here, and I am going to do this, it makes no matter what my old man and old woman say, even though they are only in their forties or fifties. To a young generation they are still an old man and old woman. Anybody that would think that way toward their parents is not thinking right. I remember a fellow at work years ago. He was talking about his old lady. I thought he was talking about his wife. Oh, no, I am not married, I am just talking about the person I am living with. He called her his old lady. The thing about it is our parents are not our
problems today. It is the people that have come along and do not want to obey the law. They have learned it in these colleges and universities. Even Sesame Street, something children have watched, has a gay thing going on in it now. So we have even had to watch what our children watch. They are promoting something from within, they are trying to make it look as though this is a right way of living. It is not a right way of living. It never was and never will be. It started out in the Old Testament. In Solomon’s time it was going on then. We know that before that Sodom was burned because of that lifestyle. “And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” The preparation of the gospel of peace. Young people, our only hope in this hour is Jesus Christ. The better days are gone, when you could even play out in your yard. These things are gone. I know there are some places that is O.K. But in the cities, a seven-year-old girl was shot in Chicago just playing in her grandmother’s yard. There were thirteen people killed in Chicago this weekend. It is just happening. I am preaching here about taking the whole armor of God because we have an enemy tonight. The devil is our enemy, but he is using a lot of people. This may seem to be a doom and gloom message. But wait, it is going to be needed as time goes on. Because the devil is not playing. At one time in America he was haltered. The halter is off now. As the Bible talks about men and women being violent, it is not just men. That politician in Minnesota, a Democrat, came out to talk to some of these protesters. A couple women ran in on him and caused him to have a concussion. They did not even want to hear it
because I guess they did not know who he was. But he was a Democrat. Maybe you think I should not talk like that because I am scaring you. I do not mean to scare you, but if you see a red light, you say something. I remember when I moved to Indiana. The first night I heard Bro. Branham preach, after my family moved here, he preached on the flashing red light. Tonight it is flashing. The red light is flashing. What hope do we have? We have the hope of getting out of here. This world is not our home, we are just passing through. This is a dressing place, where we must dress for the world to come. If there was no opposition, then there would be no reason for this scripture to be here. If we did not have opposition, he is talking about the Christian life here, he is not talking about the physical life. He is talking about the Christian life. If we did not have opposition then the scripture would not have been written in this way. Here he says, “Above all, taking the shield of faith, (This is what our defense is, taking the shield of faith. This defeats the enemy. As I said this morning, Jesus prayed for those that God had given him out of the world. He did not pray for the world. He knew the world would never receive it. John saw it. As I read this morning from 1st John, chapter 2, as he talked about the world and the things of the world. How these things should not be something in our lives to affect our Christian walk.) wherewith ye shall be able to quench (to quench, the arrows will come. I am sure he was looking at that, and as you look at countries that do not have arrows, they had poisonous darts that they threw. All these things are quenched by our faith. Ye shall be able to quench…) all the fiery darts of the
wicked.” All of them. That is not part of them, but it is all the fiery darts. That shield of faith, as he expresses it, he is making it as though you are in a battle. We are tonight, we are in a battle against our faith, against the word for which we stand. You might say, well I do not feel it. You will. I am not making an advertisement. We are people that God has put His word here for us to enjoy, to exercise our faith. The whole program of God is wrapped up in this as far as our protection. The apostle Paul wrote this. In two more years he would be assassinated. But he still had this armor even though he was assassinated. People are being killed in their own bedrooms. Gangs are shooting into people’s houses, never to be caught. “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Why does it say the sword of the Spirit? Because there are things that we need to cut loose of. Now I want to go to Acts 3. The revival has just started. I do not want you to think that I am just a doom and gloom preacher. The day of Pentecost has fully come. Jesus has been with the disciples for forty days, off and on, not all the time, but off and on, He has been with them for forty days. It says when the day of Pentecost has fully come. It did not happen a day before. It did not happen the day after. That is the reason I have talked about the fall of the year as I have, in past messages. Because I believe according to the scriptures, according to the way the scriptures are laid out in the 23rd chapter of Leviticus, that the happenings that will come will be in the fall of the year. Because the others worked out that way. As I said, God has given three feasts for the children of Israel to go to Jerusalem. That third one has not yet
happened. It begins with the feast of the trumpets. It goes on for twenty three days. As it does then we find that it finally stops after that period of time. It is all in the fall of the year, the seventh month, which ends in November. This is part of the first message that Peter ever preached, that we know about. Of course Jesus sent the disciples out, two by two. He sent the twelve disciples out. At another time He sent out seventy. They are a part of that also. I think Peter has preached a pretty good message. Because it said the eleven stood with him. That was Matthias, the last one. The eleven was standing with him and he began to preach, these men are not drunk as you suppose. They thought because they were speaking in tongues, which was different languages, there is something wrong with these men because they are all Galileans. They are just mumbling. To the crowd, which is all they were doing of Jews that had turned Jesus away. They were saying, these men are just drunk. They tried to dismiss it. They are trying to dismiss this message tonight. I am not talking about what I am preaching. I am talking about the truth, the word of God. They are trying to dismiss it as though it is nothing. But after Peter has preached, then they interrupt his message and said, men and brethren, what must we do? Because they had fallen under conviction. He did not say be baptized. He said, repent, every one of you, AND be baptized. He did not put the cart before the horse. He knew exactly what he was saying. God had inspired him. He is preaching by the Holy Ghost. So they were baptized. There was a miracle that took place. A man that had been sitting there for years, begging alms, because his
legs would not work. God has given Peter a privilege to be able to speak something for him, as he does this. The miracles were to draw people unto the message. That was not all they were for. It was for healing of bodies, but those bodies are going to die sooner or later. It is something that cannot be disputed. Because all of them had seen him sitting there in Solomon’s porch, day by day, year by year, for many years. He had been sitting there, begging. Peter looked steadfastly on him and said, silver and gold have I none, but such as I have. He had something. He did not have gold, he did not have silver, but he had something more precious than gold or silver, more precious that a doctor’s office. Such as I have, in the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk. The man walked. He did not only walk, but he also leaped. He went into the temple area leaping. Here was all these Pharisees and Sadducees, all that did not believe in Jesus, which had crucified Him. He is walking, leaping, praising God in front of all of them. But they cannot understand. Then Peter began to preach. This opens the way for him to preach. Verse 11, “And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, (He is not holding them to be able to walk.) all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.” What is this? What is going on? This opened up an avenue for Peter to be able to preach. When I was young the healing ministry was going on in tent meetings and all. Some of these tent meetings were very small, two or three poles were all they had. Country preachers would put a sign out, come and see healing. They would put their ad out. But Peter did not do that, he
proved the word of God. “And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? Or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?” Why are you looking on us? They were not drawing attention to themselves; they were drawing attention to Jesus Christ. But preachers have drawn attention to themselves by sweeping congregations off their feet. Listen to Peter. “The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.” Peter is getting right to the heart of this thing. He is telling those Jews as they are standing there, ready to criticize, he is telling them exactly what they have done. “But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer (Barabbas) to be granted unto you.” Now they are having to face what they have done. This nation and this world are going to have to face what they have done. These people that want to remove every remembrance of Jesus Christ, it is not going to work. They think they know something. They are fools. “And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.” For forty days they witnessed it. Then they went into the upper room. The Holy Ghost was not going to come until that fiftieth day, after the sabbath. Jesus laid in the grave on the sabbath, came forth on the first day of the week. “And his name (This is the good part about it, and his name…) through faith in his name hath made this man strong, (It still works
today. God is still a healer. He is.) whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.” He could call them brethren because they were Jews, but that is as far as it went. “But those things, which God before had showed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.” Now they know it. Now I am getting down to the part that I want you to understand. “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing (the times of refreshing) shall come from the presence of the Lord.” This is a refreshing time for us in a way. But he is talking also about the time when the Bride will be called away. “And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you.” They had nothing that they could bring against Him. So they set up false witnesses. If you are concerned about your soul, take heed to the word of God for this hour. If you have anything in your life, any feeling toward your brother or sister, get rid of it. If you have to apologize, do so. Let us make things right. This is an evil hour. Why am I talking like this? It is because I do not desire to see anyone fail in this hour. You are my brothers and sisters. You are my family. I am just amazed at some of the young people, how they are taking hold and learning how to play the piano, to sing. Whatever you do, do it for the Lord. It is not to impress people; it is to impress Him. “Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of his
holy prophets since the world began.” Since the ages began. We read that Noah was a preacher of righteousness. He warned the people. “For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; (Because he was going to be a law giver. That is what it is talking about here. Not the old law, the new law.) Him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.” He was more than a prophet. He was more than Moses. Moses gave the people a way out until the time of refreshing that was to come. The thing about it is, He washes us every day. He is getting our garments as we are. There are certain things we have to do. We have to get the spots out. I am amazed that they have stuff that will cause spots to disappear. If you get it on your tie, which I have done that, they have stuff that you just rub on it and the spot will disappear. The blood of Jesus Christ just takes it all away, it does not leave a spot or anything of that nature. All you have to do is apply it. You have to apply it. You have to apply the blood. You have got to ask the One that shed the blood to come in, because He took our place. “Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.” Peter, an unlearned man, who was what they thought he was, he is preaching a good sermon to be an unlearned man. He did know scripture because he went all the way back to Abraham, to bring in Abraham as the one who was
the father of the faithful. “Unto you first God, (Unto the Jew, which is what he is talking about, unto the Jew first. Unto you first God…) having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.” That is the way out. That is the only way out. Going back up to verse 20, “And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you.” He is giving them a way out. He is telling them to listen. “Whom the heaven must receive (He is there now.) until the times of restitution (or restoration, as I said a while ago, when Jesus died on the cross, He did not go to build buildings. He went to sit beside the Father, to make reconciliation for us. From the very beginning, from the foundation of the earth, the Bride already had her place. She just had not occupied it yet. Whenever God got through, whenever He finished it, whenever Jesus died, He said, it is finished. He is just waiting for that new Jerusalem, which is the saints of God. I remember when Bro. Jackson first preached that. A sister in Canada, she called Bro. Jackson and said, you tore up my streets of gold. She was not complaining about it, she believed it. Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution …) of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” Peter is preaching a great message here, for the second time out. Why? How did he do it? By the Holy Ghost which he had just received days before that. He received the Holy Ghost on the first day of the week. This might have been the second day, or the third day, but it was not long because the revival had just started. On the day of Pentecost, the revival, or the refreshing, has
just started. Now this is drawing all these people in from these different nations, who wondered what was going on. How is it that we hear everyone in our own language from whatever nation we are from? Some were saying, oh, they are just drunk. I remember having a meeting down in Knifley Kentucky. Two of the sisters that come here received the Holy Ghost. They still live down there. Someone said, oh, I have seen this before, it will pass. I saw one of those sisters this morning, she could not contain herself, she was shouting. As the world might say, she is just going wild. But with God, it is not wild. There are different things that I could be going into, which I will later, the Lord willing. But a lot of it would not fit with tonight’s message.
So I am going to close for now. Prayer
To be continued in next issue…