Sunday, July 4th, 2021
No matter what happens, God has always seen to it that what He has announced is always accomplished in the time He has determined. We are a people that God has brought into the reality of His plan. He is not the God of the past. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8) We must live in our today.
Those who lived in the past, lived their today. So let us also live in the reality of our time. Our God is not of history but He is Present. He is Faithful. God has opened our eyes so that we can see. It is a firm assurance within us. Faith without works is useless. "You believe that there is one God, you do well; the demons also believe, and they tremble." (James 2:19)
Faith without works is dead. When people see you, they should see that you are a son of Abraham. "If you were children of Abraham, you would do the works of Abraham." (John 8:39) We must know what time we are in. We are in Laodicea. Those in Ephesus have made Ephesian history. Each one made history in his own age. In each age there were men who did not live in the past but in the present. Always to overcome. We are not to be historians but followers of Jesus Christ.
"... I live forever and ever. (Revelation 1:18) "And behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:20) It is not a prophet who said this but your Lord. If He gave victory to those in the past, He will also give you victory. "I am the Lord" (Isaiah 42:8) For Him there is no time. You must meet the one Peter, Paul and all the others have met!
We think we know God, but we only know Him as far as He is willing to let us know. God only accepts what He does. "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8) David wanted to build a temple to the Lord. David was a man after God's own heart. We still need to be taught. We could never know. We think we know God and we make rules. Many will be surprised! "Many will say to me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied by your name? Have we not cast out demons by your name? And have we not done many miracles in your name? Then I will say to them openly, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you who commit iniquity. (Matthew 7:22-23) Solomon said, "But will God indeed dwell on earth? Behold, the heavens and the heavens of heavens cannot contain thee: how much less this house which I have built thee! (1 Kings 8:27) "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:9) We can only know what God desires us to know!
"All things were created by him and for him." (Colossians 1:16) "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God; but to the rest it is spoken in parables, that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand." (Luke 8:10) God reveals Himself to you so that you can recognize the portion He wants you to know. Aaron did not know how to enter the Most Holy Place, God taught him. Aaron could not dress as he wanted, but according to what God had said. "Speak, for your servant is listening." (1 Samuel 3:10)
David wanted to build a temple for God. We never get used to God, we must have fear. Peter was always taught not to eat unclean animals, but now God said to him, "Get up, kill and eat"! This is not your Heaven but God's Heaven. We must submit to His Will. God brought Peter into another dispensation. We cannot imagine the richness that is in this God. We follow the Jesus Christ of the Bible because He is alive. No matter the Pharisees, the Sadducees, God is still in His Word. God has not finished his work yet because you are still on earth. He has not finished yet. We must allow ourselves to be instructed by God, for it is He who knows the future. "Shall any evil befall a city, but the LORD be the author of it? (Amos 3:6) There is nothing that does happen on earth that can escape God! If God lives, then you too must live. May our eyes be opened so that we can see our God at work. God does all things through His Word.
"Go and tell my servant David, 'Thus says the Lord, Will you build me a house to make my dwelling place? (2 Samuel 7:5) Through the lion and the bear, David was able to understand and know the power of God. That's why he never trembled before Goliath. God does not want you to be a historian anymore but He wants you to be a witness. "We are witnesses of all that He did in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed Him, hanging Him on a tree. God raised Him up on the third day and allowed Him to appear, not to all the people, but to the witnesses chosen beforehand by God, to us who ate and drank with Him after he rose from the dead. And Jesus commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that He is the one appointed by God to judge the living and the dead. (Acts 10:39-42) Those to whom one testifies must see that God is with you. Even when you are alone, you are not alone because God is with you. God does not bring religion but He brings Truth, reality. When you talk about Him, you must also be true and therefore you must have known Him. If you have heard the Voice that told you to come out, then He cannot lose you. This is important.
When Israel came out of Egypt, there was a lot of hodgepodges because there were a lot of people who were empty inside. Moses never wavered because He knew who called him. When God called Moses, He changed Moses' staff into a snake because He knew what was waiting for him later in Egypt. Moses was chosen of God, but God had to break him first so that he could trust Him 100%. When you are a chosen one, you will face adversity because God wants you to trust Him 100%. When Moses came before Pharaoh and turned the staff into a serpent, Pharaoh did not tremble because he had his demons. To fight with the Gospel, one must be equipped. Jannes and Jambres did the same thing as Moses. If Moses had not met God, he would have run away: "If God is for us, who will be against us? (Romans 8:31) Be still, God is there! It is necessary to meet this God. Moses did not move, certain of his God. "The Lord said to Moses, "Behold, I will make you a God for Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet. (Exodus 7:1) If you are god, just speak! It is when you are sure of your God that God acts. You do not consider the power and authority you have. "Behold, I have given you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt you." (Luke 10:19) The devil comes to confuse you, to make you doubt. "The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son" (John 5:22). Satan wants to pin you down and tell you that you have sinned, but who is your advocate? "Who will accuse God's elects? It is God who justifies!" (Romans 8:33) Satan's goal is to set traps in your path to make you doubt, but God wants you to be sure of your God.
There are many who are teachers but they are not of God. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; you yourselves do not enter it, nor do you let in those who wish to enter. (Matthew 23:13) God has not made us judges, let us not condemn the other. Always have love for others. We must be merciful.
Jannes and Jambres did the same thing as Moses but it was not exactly the same. Be what you are, you are a son of God. Do not tremble, the demons are afraid of you. It's not up to you to run away from the snake but God gave you the authority. Despite the situation, Moses remained calm. He trusted in his God. It is this confidence that Satan fights. When you lose your confidence, then you fall prey to demons. "We will obey you completely, as we obeyed Moses. Only let the Lord your God be with you, as he was with Moses! (Joshua 1:17) May God be with you always in your life! Even when you fall, get up and pick yourself up. Grace is still there. Repentance is God's way of reaching you. We too must have this sensitivity for others. Banish selfishness! Moses did not run away. Suddenly, against all odds, Moses' snake did not flee. The snakes of Jannes and Jambres approach, the snake of Moses eats the first. The second one does not leave but waits for its turn. The serpent of Moses did the work. The snake was the image of the power of Egypt and God showed that He had taken the authority. Moses took the staff back in hand, Moses took control of Egypt.
We need to know God and His way. Let God act, let Him do it in His element. Moses did not send himself but God chose him. Before leaving, let us wait for God's call. To preach the Word of God, one must be sent by God. Too much emphasis is placed on the ministry. "And he gave some as ..." (Ephesians 4:11) It is God who gives the gifts. Satan has the knowledge. "Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies." (1 Corinthians 8:1) This knowledge there is from Satan because the knowledge of God brings you to humility.
"... preach the word, insist on every occasion, whether favorable or not, rebuke, censure, exhort, with all gentleness and instruction. For the time will come when men will not endure sound doctrine, but, itching to hear pleasant things, will give themselves many teachers according to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will be turned to fables." (2 Timothy 4:2-4) If it is God who has given them, you will not be able to stand these sent men. "Therefore, behold, I send you prophets, wise men and scribes. Some you will kill and crucify, and some you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city" (Matthew 23:34) "If I still pleased men, I would not be a servant of Christ." (Galatians 1:10) Not everyone who comes from God can be loved. "She came to her own, and her own received her not." (John 1:11) To endure a man sent from God, one must truly be a chosen one of God. Satan will always seek to destroy the influence of a man of God. A man of God belongs to God, that is why you cannot control him.
When God takes control then it is over. If you don't take control, the enemy will have the upper hand. From that day on, when the snakes were eaten, it was over for Pharaoh. The exit from Egypt could have been much quicker but it was God who hardened Pharaoh's heart. When God does something, there is always a purpose. God had promised Abraham to judge the nation to which his people would be subjected.
David had a desire to build a temple for God. God told him that it would be Solomon who would build the temple. Solomon was the person God Himself had chosen. It was not David's choice or the people's choice but God's. You don't vote for a pastor but God chooses. If you vote for a pastor, he becomes yours because you chose him. "I have left you in Crete, that you may set in order the things that remain to be set in order, and according to my instructions you may establish elders in every city" (Titus 1:5) When we say establish, we are not choosing. It is not a choice of man but a choice of God.
Solomon could have built the temple anywhere. When Abraham had to make the sacrifice by offering his son, it was God who showed him the place: the mountain of Moriah. It was to this place that God led Solomon to build the temple. There was already a consecrated place. When Solomon built the temple where God had chosen it, when he finished, it was impossible that God could not come down to sanctify that temple. It was God's chosen place and God confirmed it. Solomon was called and chosen by God, and he did what God wanted. Where God has not placed his hand, God has no pleasure in it.
John 5:37-45
When you have love for God, you have love for His Word. There are very few believers but there are many idolaters still today. People put their trust in Branham and not in God.
Jeremiah 23: 31-32
They are of no use to the people of God. We do not need what "Branham said" but what Jesus said. Bro. Branham is the messenger. "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. (Revelation 3:6) We need what the Spirit says. The Spirit is Jesus. We need to preach the Word. Jesus is the Word. We must come back to the Word of God. The branhamists are the pharisees of today. We need men sent from God who preach the Word of God. The people of God must trust the Lord. There is only one Bridegroom. The Bride has only one Bridegroom. The only Apostle, the only Prophet, the only true Shepherd is Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 4:7-12
We need men sent from God to bring us to perfection. Stay where God has placed you. When you are holy, it is because God has cleansed you, so you can no longer be a fanatic of a man. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees who are hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; you yourselves do not enter it, nor do you let those who wish to enter enter." (Matthew 23:13) In the age of Laodicea, Jesus is not in but He has been put out. If you are told that this is the Gospel and you are forced to do something, God is not in it. God does not force anyone. He wants people to come to the knowledge of the truth.
The only one who should have the preeminence in your heart is Jesus Christ. It is the Holy Spirit who preaches, the Holy Spirit in man. That is the Message.
1 Peter 5:6-10
It is Jesus who perfects. So you need men whom God has sent so that your perfection may be perfected. A prophet is only useful if Jesus Christ is in his life. We do not need prophets but the God of prophets. Bro. Branham died, but the Holy Spirit cannot die. We must follow the pillar of fire. If there is no Word of God, how can you become steadfast? "...that he may present the church glorious before him, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but holy and without blemish." (Ephesians 5:27)
Ephesians 1:1-5
If we are blessed like this, who can curse us? You can't be attached to anyone else. Your attachment is to Jesus Christ. It is in Him that God has chosen you to be perfect. We need this Jesus because He is the one who continues to preach His Word to this day. "Who has believed in what was announced to us? Who has known the arm of the Lord? ... After He has given His life as a sacrifice for sin, He will see a seed and prolong His days" (Isaiah 53:1 and 10). It is Jesus who must continue His work in you. God must still speak so that His sheep can hear His Voice. We do not follow a man but we follow the One who leads the man. If you know Jesus, you will preach Jesus. "We do not preach ourselves; it is Jesus Christ the Lord whom we preach, and we call ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake." (2 Corinthians 4:5) There is only one foundation, Jesus Christ. He Himself is the cornerstone.