Doing God A Service #3

‘Hour of the Prophets’

Bro. Lee Vayle – December 21, 1986

	Let us pray. Heavenly Father, again we want to invoke Your good wishes
toward us, and Your help, Lord God, that You might help us in the study
of this Word, which we know was delivered by a vindicated prophet.
Therefore we know we must be careful how we speak and how we hear Lord,
and what we say about that which has already been said, in order to be
right with the Word and right with You Lord. So help us this morning
Lord, we pray by the Holy Spirit You’ve given unto us. In Jesus’
Name, we pray. Amen. You may be seated.

	Now we’re at the third message on Doing God A Service Without His
Will or apart from His will, and just in thinking of the title of this
message, one might well ask, “How can anyone do God a service?” So
how can anyone do God a service? Does God need anything done for Him in
the light of Rom 11:34-36? 

(34)	For who hath known the mind of the Lord? who hath been his
counsellor?

(35)	Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto
him again?

	So it lets you know there if you would do God a service, you would have
to know what He wanted done, and then you would have to realize that you
can only do with what He gives you, or the service wouldn’t be of any
value, because he says, 

(35)	Or who hath first given to him…

	When did we ever give God anything? God always gave us everything, and
so therefore this comes back to, can you really do God a service?

	So let’s go to 1 Corinthians 4 and just follow that same thought
through in verse 7:

(7)	…who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast though that
thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou
glory, as if thou hadst not received it?

	So we’re looking at the title here in a very strong light. Is it
possible that anybody can do God a service? Well it is quite evident
then that the subject is not so concerned about conceiving and
performing some service, directed at God personally, but rather acting
in all things, always in accord with God’s desire from us. Considering
especially how He would have us do what He desires. 

	So we just can’t think in terms of doing something special for God,
although I don’t obviate that thought perfectly. But you see the
thrust then of the message would not be somebody really doing something
for God, as though God needed something done. He said, “If I were
hungry I would have told you.” He said, “I’m not only not
hungry,” but He said, “What would you give Me? The cattle upon a
thousand hills are Mine. What could you do for Me?” 

	So when you come to something really personal, you’re not looking at
it that way. You only could look at that obliquely, you could never meet
it head on. You’d have to think of it in terms of God, should He want
something done, it would be a matter of what God should want acted upon,
would have to be perfectly in the Scripture, and particularly as
pertaining to His Kingdom and our part in It, whether it be direct
worship of God, and you can do that, or serving Him in our relationship
to Him and the members of His Kingdom, or even non-members of His
Kingdom, and that must always be done according to certain precepts,
which we’ll talk about.

	So what we’re seeing here then is anybody rendering a service unto
God, so-called service unto God, it would have to be something in
relationship to God’s Kingdom or non-kingdom, the people in It, and
what could be done, if anything, that would be pleasing to God and
glorifying Him and thinking of the welfare of others. Even the Scripture
says, “How can you say you love God and hate your brother, because you
see your brother, and if you hate him, how can you love something you
don’t see?” Although the Scripture says, “Not having seen Him, we
do love Him.” God puts that love in his heart. 

	So there are three little precepts that Bro. Branham laid down here,
and we look at them concerning this service, what if anything is to be
acted on? You would have to know, is it something you should be doing,
something that’s pertinent to you. Secondly, are you authorized to do
it or who is authorized to do it? First of all there has to be something
made clear, then a person authorized, and then the third one: when is it
supposed to be done? 

	Now of course that would obviate such things as well, giving to the
poor, and helping the indigent, but you notice that even that in
Scripture is limited. Because the Bible said if a man doesn’t work,
he’s not going to eat. And you just don’t take care of moochers. Now
you might help them a couple of times over the hump, but they better get
cracking. You know the Didache they claim written about the first two
centuries. This is tough on preachers. But do you know the Didache said,
“If a man comes to your church or your gathering and he expects
welfare more than three days, you brand him as a phony”? I’m sorry,
that’s how it goes. And it says he’s supposed to be content with
just enough to get him to the next place. Even Jesus said, “Don’t
take scrip,” and this and that. 

	So you’re looking at something here in this message Bro. Branham is
preaching that is beyond just normal situations and that which we could
perhaps gather by ourselves, it would take something very pointed to
give us the understanding of this message. To bring this clearly to our
attention, Bro. Branham first used the illustration of David trying to
bring the ark home. 

	Now you’ll notice that this was an intervention for the glory of God
for the sake of the people, in order to bring God and the people
together, because it was the only way it could be done. Now to you and
me that sounds very far out, because we’re used to this freedom, which
we have in Christ by the Holy Spirit, this universal freedom. But
you’re going back to an unchanging God, Whose ways don’t change in
spite of the fact that the geography and the people have changed. So
you’re going to have to stick to a precept here. And you can’t just
say, “This is something that is different from us.” You’re wrong.
It is a hundred percent directed to you. Do you follow? 

	Okay. David trying to bring the ark home. Then he referred to Micaiah
the prophet refusing to act without direct permission from God, even
when it could be said that according to the very commandment and promise
of God it should be done. 

	So as we continue this message, reading it and talking about it, I want
you to realize that Bro. Branham is once more in a veiled manner, not
interposing, but literally showing the truth – call it interposition
if you want. Doesn’t matter to me what you call it. But the actual
truth is he is showing you something in this hour and it is the hour of
prophets. Most of which are false. And if you let your minds go, and
remember the last church age was Pentecostal, and they’re full of
prophets. Everything is prophesy, prophesy, prophesy. Prophesy for me,
over me, with me, to me and… you know set the order straight for God
because He boo-booed. Prophets, prophets, prophets. 

	Jesus himself said in this hour of the Appearing, which is the
Presence, that the great problem would be false prophets arising, and
you know as well as I do that they will be accepted as genuine prophets,
and as always the true prophet is shunted to one side. Now that has to
be. I don’t care what anybody says, show me a true prophet. Now every
church says, “Show me a true prophet, bless God, my church and my
people come.” That’s a lie from the pit of hell and the person that
says it is no longer in the security what he thinks he’s in, but
he’s in danger of the pit of hell. Because Jesus was that Prophet and
they couldn’t wait to kill him. And there hasn’t been a prophet that
hasn’t been mauled or marred somewhere down the road. So anybody says
any different, he’s no friend of mine, tell you right now, I say,
“Goodbye Charlie. It wasn’t even nice knowing you.” I’ve only
thought that of two people, in my seventy years, “I wish I’d never
known you.” But I tell you, I can do without the prophets.

	Now this is what this message is about, so you listen as we read it.
We’re going to recap on page 13. This is about Jehoshaphat, came down
from Jerusalem to meet with king Ahab. Now, 

[Trying To Do God A Service Without Being The Will Of God, 07/18/65M]

[58]	First, Ahab said, "We got a place up here at Ramoth-Gilead that
actually belongs to us." Now, that's THUS SAITH THE LORD. Because Joshua
divided it for the people and gave it to them, but the Philistines had
taken it over.

And he said, "Here our children need bread, and we haven’t got enough
land to raise the bread on. And our enemy, the Philistines, feed their
children, those heathens, off the very ground that Jehovah God gave us."
That's very straight. And he said, "Here, we, the people of God, are
sitting here with our children, so needy, and our enemy feeds their
children on the ground that God called us out of Egypt in order to give
it to us." Now that would raise a theologian, wouldn't it? (Make him
rise up, see?) And he said, "Shall we go up and take our grounds that
God gave us?"

	How many foolish virgin in the end will say, “Let’s go in and get
the Holy Ghost, bless God”? 

	So Pentecost very nicely lays on hands on them, got them all talking in
tongues… and that’s the Holy Ghost? That’s a gift of the Holy
Ghost. And God makes the sun to shine on the just and the unjust and the
rain to fall on the just and unjust, so who’s got what? See?

[59]	Jehoshaphat said, "I'll help you. We’re brothers.” ...Now
Jehoshaphat however was a good man, a king, a righteous man who loved
the Lord. And Ahab was a lukewarm believer. So they brought them down,
and Jehoshaphat said, (that’s brought the prophets down,) "Listen, let
us consult the Lord, first.” 

	Now here’s a very tricky thing. I just read paragraph 58 here, which
is a hundred percent correct. That land belonged to Israel, according to
God it was theirs. Why do you have to bother consulting God to take
what’s yours? 

	Now you see, anybody thinks that’s the way it go, but you go back on
your own spirits if you’re truly born again. Did you consult with God
just because He said, “Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is
given”? And He became the propitiation for our sins? You’d just say,
“Well hallelujah, I’ll take that.” And you know millions are doing
that, and they’ve got what they call proof text salvation and don’t
get anything from God, or never get past justification, if they get
that. Because it’s just joining a church. 

	Now let me ask you a question. Did you consult with God concerning what
God promised and His Book said? Now most of us didn’t, but we did know
that we came to God and asked if He’d do something for us. Now you got
to really consult with God. There’s no way you cannot consult with Him
and get anything, but we’re dealing with a bigger thing than just
this, we’re dealing with the church itself in the crisis of a present
time. Now you’d think, “Well hey, why do we need to consult? Just
take God at His Word.” 

	Now,

[59]	Jehoshaphat said, “…We ought to find out about this." See, if
David would have done what Jehoshaphat did! (But he didn’t.) So
Jehoshaphat said, "Shouldn't we do this?" (Consult the prophets.)

And quickly, an Israelite, Ahab said, "Certainly. I've got four hundred
Hebrews, like we are, Hebrew prophets of our own organization. I'll
consult them. They are prophets." Now…  

[60]	You say, "That stumbles me, Brother Branham. A prophet?" Yeah.
There was one in the time of Jeremiah, who said they would only be down
there two years. And Jeremiah (said), "seventy.” This man put a yoke
around his neck, and the prophet broke it, that’s Hananiah. (He said,
“Thus Israel’s going to break the yoke of the bondage of the
Philistines.”) You know what happened to him. (He got killed, didn’t
he? All right now.) You got the Word, stay with It.

	Now, prophets here are men who are merely foretelling events, and
we’ll see where anybody can do that. And you can go completely wrong
on it. A prophet is more than a foreteller, he is a forth-teller,
telling forth the Word of God, what is given to be written in the
chronicles of the Word as part of the holy Scripture, the canon here, or
he can also tell you what that Word means if he’s been so ordained of
God to do it. 

[60]	So the prophets came up and prophesied, and said, "Go on up! The
Lord is with us." (Now they weren’t vindicated prophets, see? They had
an office, they were prophesying.)

[61]	And one of them, I believe (forget his name now) the chief,
Zedekiah, I believe, he put two iron horns in front of him and said,
"THUS SAITH THE LORD. By this," and the man was very sincere, "you will
push your enemy plumb back into their lands, and take what belongs to
God. It's given to you." I don't believe he was a hypocrite. I believe
he was a good man. I believe all those prophets were.

 

	Now he’s speaking of good people mistaken. Now they’re good people,
they read the Bible, they said, “This is what the Bible says.” Okay.

[62]	You say, "Prophets?" Yes! Remember, the very man that consented to
kill Jesus Christ, prophesied, because it was his office. (What was his
office? High priest.) He was high priest that year. And being that he
had that office, and held that office, the Spirit of God came to him.
That didn't mean he was saved or anything about it. And he prophesied,
because it was his office that did it.

	Now you notice it said it was his office that did it. Now that’s
different language from what you and I are used to hearing. The man was
controlled by an office, whether he knew it or not. Because the Bible
says so. He prophesied not knowing his words were really right, on that
one occasion, but his words all the rest of the time were wrong. He
couldn’t line up the Scripture to the prophecy. But he could line with
that one, because Jesus must be betrayed and destroyed.

	All right, let’s just take a look again at 1 Corinthians 14, where
Paul is speaking about himself and prophets. And he said, 

(37)	If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, (that’s
full of the Holy Ghost,) let him acknowledge that the things that I
write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.

	Now how could they acknowledge that except they have some way of
knowing? Paul was thoroughly vindicated before them. And furthermore,
there’d be a witness in everybody’s heart that this was the true
revelation. Based upon a vindicated prophet of Deuteronomy 18. Now,

[63]	And these prophets, being prophets, of office prophets, prophesied.
And the Spirit of God came on them, men with gifts of the Spirit. (So
they had gifts of the Spirit.)

	Okay, let’s just think of those people. Do you realize though to
begin about that, Paul never called himself a prophet? He called himself
an apostle. But an apostle can’t do what he did. Apostle can only
disseminate, be a front man, a missionary, a man that goes out to
disseminate. He’s a sower. In a very highly complicated, powerful
office. Where did he get the Word? He admits that God gave it to him,
face to face, just like Moses. So unqualifiedly, he would be one of the
great prophets of all history. Moses, then Paul. In our day we saw
William Branham, Pillar of Fire with him, he’d fall in the same
category. 

	Okay, let’s keep a little reading more then. And we’ll talk about
this.

[64]	I realize I'm talking to ninety-nine percent Pentecostals. Many
times, a man, God will deal with him, give them gifts, and the people
will squeeze in on those people. If they're not perfectly called and
sent of God, he'll cause that man or woman to say something that isn't
His will, because the people constrain them to do it.

	Okay, what we’re looking at then are apart from the gift of God to
the Church, which is a five-fold ministry, they are gifts of the spirit
that differ from Ephesians 4. So let’s go to Ephesians 4 and look at
this. Now this is going to deal with a true five-fold ministry. And true
is true. Now let’s understand that. Verse 7:

(7)	But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of
the gift of Christ.

(8)	Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity
captive, and gave gifts unto men.

(9)	(Now he (that) ascended, what is it but he also descended first into
the lower parts of the earth? (Now that’s not the body.)

(10)	He that (hath) descended is the same also that ascended up far
above all heaven, that he might fill all things.) 

	That’s when that spirit took the body with him. Now watch,

(11)	And he gave some, apostles; …prophets; …evangelists;
…pastors; teachers; (a five-fold ministry.) 

	Now that’s the gifts that He gave to the church in order to bring
what?

(12)	…the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for
the edifying of the body of Christ:

(13)	Till we all come in unity of faith, and of the knowledge of the Son
of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the
fulness of Christ: 

	That’s the complete body, completely with every member in, every
member child-trained, every member ready to go off in a Rapture. And
those that preceded us to come up in a Resurrection.

(14)	That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and
carried about with every wind of doctrine… 

	Now that was already happening, in the Ephesian church age, Paul
admitted it was happening in the Corinthian church. He said, “I’ve
got my suspicisions and I believe I’m right, that you are no longer a
virgin of the Word and unto Christ, but you’ve already been
deceived.” In other words, “You are a philanderer concerning the
Word of Almighty God.” 

(14)	…(Not) carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight
of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

(15)	But speaking the truth in love…

	Let’s go to 2 Corinthians, just hold your finger there, and get back
to 2 Corinthians 4.

(1)	Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy,
we faint not; 

	Which is to bring the glory of God to the people. To see the literal
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, which is Acts 3. But notice,

(2)	But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in
craftiness, (not) handling the word of God deceitfully; but by
manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s
conscience in the sight of God.

	He’s telling you that he’s absolutely vindicated and he has not
given anybody anything but the perfect revealed Word of Almighty God. So
therefore this is unique here. 

(15)	But (holding) the truth in love, may grow up (unto) him in all
things, which is the head, even Christ:

(16)	From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by
that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in
the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying
of itself in love.

	Now that’s a true five-fold ministry, that’s what they can do,
that’s what they’re supposed to do, and that’s what they do! Now
you may look around and say, “Well I just don’t think I’m seeing
that done.” Well you’re smarter than God, why don’t you go home
and eat a big feast and drop dead? If you’re going to get killed
anyway. You ain’t got a prayer, because you got your own idea.
You’ve got to put your trust somewhere, and the trust must be in a
vindicated one. Now Paul was vindicated. And the Church started that
way. The Church got off of track. But remember, the oil and the wine was
never lost to the Church. They always had what life was there in the
Church. 

	Now look, you can have a full grown, full developed life, but it comes
from a little tiny cell, hardly see with a microscope. And it’s the
same life that’s in the vast body. So when they had the vast element
of truth in Paul’s day, it didn’t matter if that light went down and
down, as long as they had some life. Because that’s all you need. You
could take a sperm back right now, and you could take and freeze the
sperm, and that sperm may last for a thousand years for all I know,
bring it out under the right conditions, the life never departed from
it. You can take grain that was found in the Pharaoh’s pyramids and
the granaries back there that are in rock, in Egypt, three thousand
years later, what do you find? There’s life in the wheat. So you’re
talking here of a five-fold ministry that is been commissioned and
ordained of God to see the Church through! Not that any man in himself
can do it, but there’s a Word there, and this will bring about the
Rapture.

	Now I’m not going to take time, but you read Romans 12, and you read
especially 1 Corinthians 12, and even 14, you will find there a bunch of
gifts in a bunch of people that destroy the church and they can never
bring the church anywhere! So that’s what he’s talking about. 

	Now, remember, this Scripture quoted here, this is a quoting of
Scripture, “He led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men.” We go
back to Psalms 68 again, because I’m not belaboring this point for the
fun of it. I want to show you these things, what this sermon’s all
about. Verse 18:

(18)	Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou
hast received gifts for men; (notice,) yea, for the rebellious also,
that the LORD might dwell among them.

	And he’s telling you right there that the time of God dwelling
amongst men, there’s a five-fold ministry, and there’s a bunch of
gifts given to people that are in rebellion! What are they in rebellion
to? In rebellion to the Lord! How are they in rebellion to the Lord?
There’s only one way they can be in rebellion, and that’s against
His will! And what is His will? It’s the revealed Word of God. 

	So there you see the whole thing lined up. That’s what Bro. Branham
is talking about here. He’s not talking about a phony five-fold
ministry, though God knows there is a phony five-fold. There’s phony
as false apostles, there’s false prophets, there’s false teachers,
there’s false evangelists, there’s false pastors, there’s false
elders, there’s false deacons. There’s a false church that’s
headed up by this antichrist himself that’s on the scene right now,
denominations have taken over. But this is in particularly he’s
referring to a time of prophets, an hour. 

	Now, he said, “Many a time God will give a man a gift.” Doesn’t
say God gave the church a gift, he said, “God gave a man a gift.” 

	Apostles, prophets, teachers, evangelists, pastors are literal gifts to
the church, and those men will not make mistakes. How can they make
mistakes when It says they’re going to bring you up into Christ? Now
they can have some error, but those errors will be corrected in the
light of what God has in that season. 

	Just like a kid going through high school, going through school to high
school, university. He starts with basic understanding. He takes the
same understanding all the way through, if it’s a true understanding,
only it’s embellished. A little life in the seed. You can’t see
much, but it grows into a giant tree for all we know, a little acorn.
That’s that one little bit of life in there, see what it will do. 

	So, he says here, God will give a gift to a certain person, and:

[64]	If they’re not perfectly called and sent of God… (with this,
they can be in a five-fold ministry.)

	Now if they’re not part of that true ministry, they can blow it, they
can ruin it, the whole thing can go. Now that’s true, you know that,
it starts with the elders and the deacons. Always has and always will.
You see? Okay. Because they’re the ones that rise up. That’s the
congregation, one thing the congregation got to be very careful about
ever rising up, because that’s the first sign that you’re going down
the hill. Now Bro. Branham said if you’re not satisfied with your
pastor, get yourself another one. But it’s very dangerous, very, very
dangerous. Because you may be coming against the will of God in a man
that is absolutely of God and his ministry perfectly of God. But if he
doesn’t agree with you, you say, “Well that’s too bad, I’m going
to fight that.” Well you see what could happen, you’ll be destroyed.
Because there’s something about this that you and I don’t have a
control over. 

	I’ve tried to explain time after time, Bro. Branham tried time after
time and all you do is get in trouble with yourself, with God and the
people. They don’t respect you one ounce more for trying to explain
things. And I’ve done more than my share of trying to explain how a
gift operates, they can’t do it, there’s no way. There’s just no
way. There’s no way under high heaven you can tell anybody how it is,
you just know, something… Well, how does an artist explain how he can
wield a piece of chalk or crayon or a pen or a paintbrush? Now you may
learn to have a tiny bit of skill with it, but you’ll never do what
the artist does, you can’t do it. There’s no way. 

	So when you’re looking at this, you’ve got to divide the two and
understand how it is. As Bro. Branham said, God has set gifts in the
Church, that’s gifts of the Holy Ghost, and there’s many, many of
them, to be complementary to what is given by a five-fold ministry. And
if the Church understood that, it would have been fine, but in Bro.
Branham’s own church, what did they do? He couldn’t make them sit
down and shut-up. They had to jump up every time and disturb every
single service he had. Time of the altar call, the most important, they
jumped up and screamed and ruined an altar call. And finally he finally
set a woman down and everybody got mad. Not everybody, but most of them
got mad. 

	My wife thought she’d be helpful in a meeting in New York one time,
where a black girl got over enthused, and God know what spirit she had,
but she literally threw herself over people sitting in benches and
chairs. Land in the aisles. My wife said, “Now you better quieten
down.” People got mad at her for quieting her down. 

	People got mad at me because I led people out of meetings that
wouldn’t stop talking and gibbering and jabbering. People got mad at
me, and Bro. Branham congratulated me and thanked me. So did God. I was
really doing God a service. Right in His will too. Well you say, “Well
that’s not the will of God.” See? You know, see talking to
Pentecostals, you can’t talk to Pentecostals because you can’t apply
anything to their heads! It’s all feeling, feeling, feeling, feeling,
feeling. Now if that isn’t sex, you tell me what it is. 

	Now I’m hitting it right hard here, because that’s what it’s all
about. If people applied their head, they put their feelings where it
belongs, which is in the marriage ceremony and in a marriage. Not run
around with a bunch of prostitutes. That shows the church is condemned
and a prostitute church. Look there isn’t a type, there’s not one
thing, brother/sister, comes to our attention, in the heavens and this
earth, politics, …?... the church, you name it, but types this hour
perfectly. You tell me I’m wrong. You don’t know what you’re
talking about, I do. You say, “Well I don’t think I like the way you
talk.” That’s fine by me; nobody has to like the way. I don’t care
two cents. When in this pulpit, I get out of the pulpit, then I might
repent. No I won’t. Be right back doing the same thing. 

[64]	If they're not perfectly called and sent of God, (listen,) he'll
cause that man or woman to say something that isn't His will, because
the people push on them... (Pull on them.)

	Now listen, these people he’s talking about are nice people.
They’re good people. They’re not in the bar room, they’re not down
in the gambling joint, they’re not smoking hashish or anything else
like that, they’re trying to be fine citizens, they’re trying to do
something in the Kingdom, some little things been given to them, and
I’ll tell you, pride could have crept in, I don’t know. As well as
just trying to help people. And when you try to help people and you’re
not called to it, then that to me is a type of pride too. Intruding
where they don’t belong, then they try to help the people and do
things. 

	Why we got so bad down in our church, Pentecostal church in Florida, we
had a woman running around, and she said she was really ordained of God,
she knew she had a calling to help preachers. Oh, female holy ghost. God
have pity. Bad enough for a man, but a woman running around. Poor thing
a million miles out of the Word, didn’t even know it. Tried to tell
me, “Well Bro. Vayle, the trouble is the people fuss over the Word. We
just need Jesus, drop the Word.” 

	I said, “That’s where you’re wrong, sister. You drop the Word,
you drop Jesus.” 

	Where did the church go wrong? It went off the Word. See? At the end
time the church is wretched, miserable, blind, naked, and says,
“We’re rich, increased in goods, and don’t lack a thing.” 

	How far offbeat is the church in this hour? You say, “Well that’s
for another age, that’s coming up.” I’m afraid you’re wrong,
it’s for this age. 

[64]	…people push on them…

[65]	How I had to catch our own little pastor on it here. Out in the
woods one morning, three o'clock in the morning, "Go tell Brother
Neville!" I came to you, didn't I, Brother Neville?

[66]	Everybody said, "Brother Neville, prophesy, prophesy over me. Tell
me this or that.” You’d have him saying things that wouldn't come to
pass. (Why? Because he talked out of his heart when you push him. See?
Sure. The secret is:)

"They that wait," to find out what the Lord wants to do. (Then they’re
the ones that have the right to talk.)

	Now dealing with individuals like this is not all there is to being a
prophet. You better have a whole lot more than that. See? 

	Okay, here is where start reading now, this is the new material:

[67]	So these men looked upon it in a natural sense, "It belongs to us."
(Now the natural senses reading says, “Yes, it belongs to us.”) But,
you see, they didn't find the Word and will of God.

	Now what happened? They didn’t read the whole Bible; they just took a
part of it. Had they read the rest of the Word, they would have found
out that God said, “You betray Me in your idolatries.” And Ahab was
a confirmed idolater and married to one. Literally he had hybridized the
Hebrew religion and brought it to a very low ebb, by allowing all kinds
of sacrifices. They even instituted a worship apart from Jerusalem, so
the people wouldn’t go up there three times a year and come back to
truth. They organized. He didn’t read where It says, “Now listen,
you get into idolatry, I’ll desert you and the land will go back.”
No, they didn’t bother reading that. They didn’t bother reading
where It says, like Solomon reached his hand toward heaven, and he
prayed, way before this fellow, and he said, “Now Lord if we depart
from Your Word, bring us back to Your Word. That is help us to repent
and come back so the blessing of God’s upon us.” No, they didn’t
take that part of It. And neither does Pentecost take anything but what
they want, and the churches today, see? No, they wouldn’t do that, no
way, shape and form.

[68]	Then Micaiah come down, and he had a vision. (He’s one of the
good old boys. They didn’t like him though.) And he examined, first,
you notice. He said, "Wait. Give me tonight. Let me find out, and
tomorrow maybe I can answer you." He wasn't right quick, with "THUS
SAITH THE LORD," like, in agreeing with the other prophets. He said,
"I'll only speak what God says."

	In other words, too many people glibly quote the Bible. Listen; never
expect the prophet to glibly quote the Bible. He doesn’t even have to
quote the Bible. The Word of the Lord comes to the prophet and what he
says will be the Bible! Like I told you, this brother there in Canada,
…?... said, “Trouble with you Bro. Rascovy, is that you take…”
he told Bro. Branham’s little… like this here, you know in book
form. He said, “You take this and make it equal this.” 

	Well he said, “Sure I do. What do you expect?” What are you
supposed to do? Do you believe in a prophet? 

	Well come on, that’s the whole thing. That’s what Bro. Branham’s
saying, he said, “You believe in prophets? What are you talking about?
How’s supposed to do here?” He didn’t just say, well, “Hey that
is the Word all right, let’s go ahead and act on It.” No. 

	Now Micaiah was not against the need of the hour. Now let’s
understand that. He accepted the evident fact, with all the other
fundamentalists. He accepted it, it belonged to… God gave it to
Israel. And the Philistines had it. But he didn’t draw any conclusions
by saying, “We’ll just go take it back.”

	You know a doctor looks at you and he’s got all these… you’ve got
all these symptoms. What’s the first thing he does? He says,
“Let’s find out what caused it.” 

	Did these Hebrews prophets? No. What’s behind it? People didn’t ask
Jesus, “What’s behind you, fellow?” Did they ask Bro. Branham,
“What’s behind you fellow?” Did they say to Micaiah, “What’s
behind you fellow?” Now that’s not a bad term because Jesus is
exalted above his fellows so you see, I’m on Bible ground, don’t
think I’m… I’m not being facetious and I’m not being
disrespectful. The Bible used the term. 

	But he could not endorse their scriptural understanding of what was to
be done about it. He examined his own role in that situation lest he sin
against God, or be found trying to annul the will of God, even as Balaam
did. Because Balaam said, “Let’s go curse him, let’s go curse him.
Let’s get it done with.” Then he came back and said, “How can I
curse what God has blessed?” 

	Like Bro. Branham said, “How can I take off you what God could have
put on you?” 

	Wouldn’t that be great? Prophet going by taking… God putting things
on to get people lined up, or letting the devil do it, or something
happened, and then the prophet taking them off. And God would say,
“Who’s running this show? You or Me?” 

	Well who can talk that way to God? Say, “I’m running the show
Lord.” 

	Now come on, examine your own hearts. You know if you had a gift or
something that’s the first thing you’d do. That’s sure the first
thing I did, I can tell you that flat. If I had a gift or not, but I
sure worked hard at helping people get healed and everything else. And
the more I went to the Word, the less people got. Because you know why?
They wouldn’t believe the Word. They’d put their faith in everything
else. You know you can put your faith in a lot of things and you can get
results from God, and the Bible said you get leanness of soul. You talk
about lean people. See? God doesn’t want that.

[68]	And the next day, we find out, God told him what would happen. And
it was absolutely contrary to the others. To the whole school, it was
contrary. And even one of them walked up and smacked him in the face… 


	Good old Cain, you could tell just where he came from. Good old Cain.
Say, “Let’s bless God, we’re worshipping too. Don’t think we
haven’t prophesied. And look we’ve got the Word. How come you come
against this word here, it’s the very word, and you say you’re a
prophet of God?” Do you think people liked Bro. Branham when he downed
women preachers? “Oh my, listen, we can find women, deaconesses, and
everything in the Bible, just look hard enough, oh you can find it all
there, no problem at all. Flaming evangelists, oh yeah, apostles, yeah,
yeah. Prophetesses, oh yeah, you can find them all there, yeah.” You
can find anything you’re looking for, be my guest. I like looking for
this. We look for something vindicated, yeah. 

[68]	But, see, he waited. Then when he did that, (having waited, got a
vision,) he compared his prophecy, his vision, with the written Word,
and it was right with the Word.

	Sure it was right with the Word. How was it right with the Word? Number
one: he knew it was a judgment of God. Number two: he knew that Elijah
had promised the blood of Ahab had to be licked up by the dogs. And he
knew this was the hour. And he said, “If you come again,” he said,
“I am a false prophet.” 

	You know something? Do you know Bro. Branham one day stood – and I
heard him – he said, “If God told me to go beside the grave of
Abraham Lincoln and raise him from the dead, I would challenge the whole
world to come with their guns and shoot me down if I couldn’t do
it.” 

	Do you know that is insane? That is insane unless, unless you are
linked up with omnipotence. That doesn’t take intestinal fortitude to
say a thing like that. It goes beyond courage, it goes beyond strength,
it goes beyond anything. It goes right to God. Do you realize he said
that? Well God didn’t put any man to the test. They’d say, “Well
Bro. Branham, what about the fact you know…” Bro. Branham didn’t
know anything. He just said, “Look.” He said, “If God said it,
I’d stand there, you could shoot me down.” Now what if he got a
hallucination? He’d have stood there and they could have shot him
down. He didn’t get any command to do it, but he put himself where he
could get a commandment.

	Okay: 

 

[69]	When somebody says he’s "got a revelation to baptize people in
the Name of 'Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,'" that's contrary to the Word.
None of the rest of them ever did it. When they say, "Oh, we're going to
stand, this, that, and the other," and so forth, that's contrary to the
Word. When they say they "don't believe in serpent seed," that's
contrary to the Word. All these other things, that's contrary to the
Word. (Now you notice he’s defending his doctrine, and he is proving
to the people like Elijah did.) It must be with the Word and at the
season.

[70]	Now, if David would have only done that. (One:) The ark was coming,
(two:) but not at that time; (three:) there was no place for it.

	Now this is a simple illustration, letting you know how things work.
How it didn’t work. How it’s supposed to work. See? All right,
let’s read.

[71]	Notice no,w when they went down to get the ark, all the dignitaries
said, "That's the thing to do, David. Glory to God! We need a revival."
And that is real Pentecost, today; and Baptist, and Presbyterian.
"David, you're our king! Captain So-and-so, and Major So-and-so, and
General So-and-so, will be at your meeting. Why, they say that's just
the thing to do, David. You got the whole country with you."

That's what's the matter today. I don't want the country. I want God, if
there is nobody else stands.

	Now watch, ecumenism of believers and state and religion will become
one if there is a common cause that is strong enough or urgent enough.
You know people can even get together over the United Fund to help
people that are indigent, everybody gets together. They’ve already got
the groundwork set up. Protestants and Catholics all alike have things
worked out, and the governments got it set up the same way, turning
things over to the church more and more, and if there’s a real common
urgent cause, you can surely get people together. Now that’s human
nature and you’ve got it right here, well meaning people will mistake
what’s going on in the land today, which is ecumenism, which is going
to bring us right to destruction, because God is going to judge that
prostitute church. He said,

[71]	I don’t want the country. I want God, if there is nobody else
stands. (Now standing with his office as a true prophet is what he did.
And he defied ecumenism.)

[72]	David had all the captains. He had co-operation with the military
forces. Co-operation with all the denominations, all the theologians, 
everybody agreeing with him. So did Ahab, and others in the Scripture;
but he didn't have God, because he was out of the will of God.

	Now remember, the cry came out. “Who is on the Lord’s side?” Not
“Who’s side is God on?” That makes …?... I’m going to tell you
whose side God’s on. God’s on the man’s side who’s on His side.
He listened to the Word. Who has gone… 

	Now listen, if our premise is right in this church that we teach. And
this teaching goes many, many places around the world. If our premise is
right, in standing with William Branham, we’re standing against the
world, as it was in the days of Noah, as it was in the days of Lot. And
people can say what they want. It has got to be a minority, for how can
the whole world come to God in a vast revival at the same time the
antichrist takes them there. I’d like to see people in heaven and hell
at the same time. Do you know what they’re really doing? They’re
making God and the devil the same person. Because the devil has told
them this big thing. And God has said small thing. And they’re taking
it from one word that God wrote. So they got God and the devil in the
same person, literally. Then it boils down to where their god is the
devil, because they’re listening to him. Certainly that’s how it’s
going to go. He said, 

[72]	I hope we get this.

	So therefore, there is a right division, there is a wrong division.
Rome did this and people are still doing it right today, all the big
cooperation. Trying to get together as though the world can do something
about it and we’re the speckled bird. [End of side one.] …speckled
bird is of course, it’s that one the blood spattered on, it was
different from all the others. 

[73]	Notice, they did every religious thing they could. 

	Now watch this. See look, I’ve been through this many times as a
minister, watched it from the outside looking in, and thank God I never
was able to join that bunch. Because you see they didn’t think that we
should be able to win souls, because we were little independent
Pentecostals and they were big Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian. Hot
dog. We didn’t have much and they had less than we did.

[73]	…they did every religious thing they could. They probably put out
advertisements and everything, (Oh they always have.) "Great revival!
The ark is going to be brought back. We're going to have a revival.
We're going to do this." (Never changed.)

[74]	Notice, David sent singers. He sent people with harps, with
trumpets, and they did every religious thing they knew how to do; and
still God was not in it.

Somewhat see it repeating again, don't we? (In other words they had
professional talent, very good singers, great composers and that’s
going to draw the crowds.)

	You know, Finney wrote a book, which was fine in his day. But it never
was really right. He wrote a book how that you could have a revival,
period. “Revive thy works in the midst of the years, O Lord,” is
what he said, in the text of his great book. And he laid it out
systematically, being a lawyer theologian, a great expert in his field,
one of the greatest men, I admire him; he’d never fit in this age, he
fit in that age perfectly, face of man. He laid it out in this
masterpiece called Revival, I think I still got a copy or so, and it
will tell you exactly how to go about to get a revival! And the great
secret of course is to pray! Like Moses went down to Egypt and prayed
for Pharaoh. That’s how you do it, get revival. Get the big guys in.
Get them all in. Oh yes, that’s all we need, just a few, and the rest
will follow. Because you see God works in a predestinated manner, he
takes a couple predestinated and they set the key and the tenor, then
the rest come in. Hallelujah, at a hogwash. Everybody’s predestinated
or nobody’s predestinated. Everybody’s foreknown or nobody’s
foreknown. 

	What these fellows don’t realize, that everybody’s foreknown,
elected and predestinated to his exact position, which was before the
foundation of the world. In the mind of Almighty God, and let me tell
you furthermore, it was already in the life of God. And the Church
therefore is the genes of God. And we’re all part of Him in that
respect. Just giving bodies to us. 

	So Finney’s revival wouldn’t go too great. And this would be the
answer to us today when Bro. Branham says, “I don’t pray for America
anymore.” Didn’t say he wouldn’t pray for people. Didn’t pray
for America; she’d gone over the hill.

[75]	They took all the singers. They took the harpists, they took the
trumpeters; they took women, men, whoever it was that sang. They took
them all down there, and they went through every religious motion.

I don't want to say this, but I’ve got to say it. So are these
denominations today, Pentecostal and all, are going through every
religious motion, of singing and shouting. (Instead of waiting on the
Lord to know.)

	Bro. Palberg’s a very good friend of mine, and one of my dearest
friends, and one of my most respected friends. I really think a lot of
him. When it was approached him that he might possibly go to Toronto
from Edmonton, and see what the people thought of him and what he
thought of the people, he already knew he was going there, and whether
they wanted him or not he was going to sit there, because he knew God
wanted him there. He already talked to God and knew the price he should
put on his house. When the real estate man was called, he said,
“Reverend Palberg, you’ll never get that, because houses aren’t
getting that.” 

	He said, “I’ll get it, just put it on the market at that price.”
And he got it. 

	And his wife said, “Well we’re doing these things, what about
it?” 

	He said, “Where are we going to stay? What’s this?” He said,
“I’ll fly to Toronto and get a place.” 

	He was there forty-eight hours and had the exact place, and he’s in a
position right now to double what his house cost, or he could add to it
and sit in one of the best places in all of Ontario in that area, and
have literally a palace, in the sense if he wanted to add to it or not.
What he’s going to do is his business. Whatever he does. But he knew.
And the Church loved him and he’s been there I guess seven years, been
a real wonderful thing. 

	The other day, they’ve been trying to get a church. And they got this
bit of property, felt led that they should get this property. Then they
found out the property was not zoned right. One day in praying, he got
the mind of the Lord, and the Lord seemed to say, “Go on down and
check the people of Milton.” 

	He went down there and the guy said, “Well I’m glad you came,” he
said, “that property has been rezoned.” He said, “We don’t know
what all it could be used for, but I’m quite sure you can have it for
a church.” 

	So now they’re going to look around and they’ll be able to get it.
So he’s just going ahead, you see? And now that’s not the office of
prophet, that’s just those that wait upon the Lord. See? They get
these things.

	But it seems to me that people in this position here that say they want
revival have already made their minds up what they’re going to do,
because they feel from the Word they know what they’re going to do,
they’re determined to do it, and now they say, “Lord, send Your
Spirit, hallelujah,” so they can really do it. 

	You know what that’s like? That’s like you knowing that old John
D’s been dead a long time now, Rockefeller, he’s got all this money.
And people did it to him, they did it to LeTourneau, they’ll do it to
anybody that’s got a buck and they know he’s got a buck and he’s
generous. Well John D was never generous, LeTourneau was generous.
“I’ve got this great plan, Bro. LeTourneau. All I want now is your
money.” 

	He said, “Now, my money? You said my money didn’t you?” 

	“Oh yes, yes, it’s your money.” 

	“Well I think maybe I ought to have an idea what I should do with my
money. Not you.” 

	I guess he told them that too at times. Because he’d be pretty ouchy.
A lady went by one time with her visions of grandeur for his money and
he just about threw her out. And I thought well it wasn’t nice, but
now I’m very hilarious over it, ha-ha-ha, and I get a kick out of it.
He was right! Yeah. Yes, sir. Like people that drink. They can drink any
given quantity. Going through all the religious motions. 

	Now planned revival with every precept found in the Bible won’t do it
in this hour. It won’t do it. I’ll tell you why. Because what’s in
this Bible, God Himself has to do and you go along and enjoy it. Listen
to what it says in the 3rd chapter of the Book of Acts. Read this dozens
of times. Middle of 19th verse. My books there should be a period there.

(19)	…when times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the
Lord; (that’s like a face to face confrontation.)

(20)	And (even) he shall send Jesus Christ, which was (proclaimed in
advance) unto you: 

	He was proclaimed in advance. Who did it? The angel? Yup. And then when
he was there, the shepherds and Simeon and Anna.

(21)	Whom the heaven(s) must (retain) until the (restoration) of all
things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets
since the world began.

	Now it tells you right here that there is going to be a revival come
all right, but it’s going to take the Presence of the Lord to do it,
which is the Appearing, which precedes the coming. That’s your
revival! And they turned it down flat! And that was in the Word as
everything else is in the Word, but God’s got to do it! And things
like this cannot happen unless there be a prophet, because Amos said so.
See? That’s what you’re looking at.

[76]	Notice, David shouted with all of his might, he screamed, he
jumped, he went through every religious motion (that he did too,) that
there could be; and still God was not in it. 

	Now listen, let’s get this flat. This is not just a little
illustration, this is the truth. God wasn’t in it. Everything he was
doing was good motive, good incentive, good everything. His purpose and
all these things was fine, it was right there in the Bible, but it
wasn’t in the Bible. Not that was in the Bible. Not the way he did it.
No sir.

[76]	…his motive, his objective, everything was right; but he went the
wrong way to do it. See? He performed all the religious movements (or
motions); shouted, sang, had special singers, special shouters,
everything else. They danced in the spirit. They did everything that was
religious.

	Now therefore, I’m going to say this, even if it is in the Word and
suits your position, watch out. You’ve got to watch out. Because this
is not page 8, paragraphs 33 and 34. Where Bro. Branham said here, about
Bro. Blair quickly praying for his little boy, because the child got
hurt, and he recovered. Or the little lady, wife of a minister, the
doctors gave her up to die, she’d be paralyzed all her life with a
bursted spine, but they prayed and God healed her. Now you can always do
something quick about those things. You never need to worry. Just jump
right in, do your best to believe God. Because anybody could do that. 

	Now I like what Spurgeon said, he said, “It is my job to believe God
for the impossible, and leave the results up to Him.” And I found that
in any ministry that’s a very successful thing to do. In other words
you’re not trying to lead the cart; you’re just simply standing by
the cart in case God should do something. 

[77]	It's something like our crusades of our time. They wanted to win
the world to Christ. (Now watch, he’s bringing out for this hour.)
There is no such a thing. (As winning the world to Christ in this hour.)
Great landslide revivals, great things happening; if they could only
realize, that day has passed. She’s doomed. But they’re building,
crusades, organizations, and everything. But, the results is just about
like it was in David's time, it didn't work.

	That’s why Billy Graham says the well’s run dry. Bro. Branham beat
him to that – what? – twenty-two solid years, at least. He said,
“I’ve crisscrossed this nation. It’s all seined out.” Maybe one
or two there. Fifty came to the altar, how many got saved? No one has an
idea. What they’re doing is confusing this age with the Wesleyan Age
of the pollen, the scattering of the seed. But there’s no life in it
anymore. 

	Look, when the Word of God is fulfilled, the life moves on. The life
from Philadelphia moved into Laodicea. It died in Laodicea and it went
now to the seed. Its right back to the original form, we’re back to
Ephesus again. We’re back to the perfect ministry of Christ on earth
that started the whole thing. What started this whole thing? The
ministry of Christ! Not his preaching, his ministry! He began to do and
to teach! He explained what he did and why he did it! Now you’re right
back to it! The ministry! See? Proved the Capstone, proved the Headstone
in Spirit form, proving the authenticity of the revelation, the hour in
which we live. You’re right back. You’re past those ages. Nothing
will work but this. Nothing outside this Message will come to life.
People can say what they want. I know we’re not trying to be hard on
anybody. Look, Noah couldn’t help building an ark. What are we
supposed to do? Cut our throats and bleed with the rest of them? I
suppose Noah said, “Now Lord just hold off, hold off, hold off. I will
not build an ark, even if it means saving me and my family. I’ll die
with them.” Well, well, well, well. That wasn’t what Noah said. Noah
just built the ark; he’s supposed to build the ark. Preached a hundred
and twenty years or so. What more do you want from the fellow? You
can’t do more than that. See?

[78]	We go and have a revival. Some of our great evangelists, they say
they have thirty thousand converts, (that’s Billy Graham he’s
talking about) in six week's; (nothing wrong with Billy Graham, he just
doesn’t understand because it’s not his business to understand.) and
a year from there, now they go back, they can't find thirty.
Something’s wrong. What is it, it's just the same thing David did.
Great dignitaries, great men, great preachers, greater schools, great
authority, but still they’re consulting an old denomination instead of
looking in the face of God's Word and seeing when the season's on. You
can't raise certain foods but certain times a year. 

	So you see, evidently there’s nothing in what they’re saying to
promote the health and the welfare! In fact, what they are doing, those
that appear the most sincere are those that will fight this the hardest!
They’ll say, “Don’t tell me, I know.” What do you know from?
Your experience? Hogwash. That’s the flattest thing I ever heard. I
can take a Hindu and knock the spots, every single person here, all of
us put together, rolled in one, will never touch a real consecrated
Hindu and really show you love. You haven’t raised your kids what
where a Hindu raised his kid. A kid comes to his mother, and his mother
said, “Now go down and get a loaf of bread.” 

	The kid, “There’s no money.” So he doesn’t say, “There’s no
money mother, I can’t get bread.” He said, “Mother I will get the
bread when the money comes.” He puts the aspect on knowing the
money’s going to come, he’s going to get a loaf of bread. Everything
is positive over there. Everything is in love.

	You’ve heard a lot of the bad side of them, that’s true.
Everybody’s got a bad side. But you get on the good sides. I can tell
you the truth. I know to a minister, one of my dearest friends went over
to India and another friend of his, an associate, not a minister, but an
associate, a businessman, when they came back they were converted away
from Christianity, both having spoken in tongues and preached the
glorious Gospel of the Blood and everything else. And then flimmed out
of the whole thing, because they couldn’t stand up, when they saw
something. 

	I’m going to tell you brother/sister; you better see what the
Scripture says you’re to see. And have a revelation the Scripture’s
supposed to have. And I’m not championing the lack of love or
anything, God, you people know me better than that. I told you, I tell
everything, I spill my guts, wherever I go I tell you flat, that’s the
greatest thing I’ve longed for all my life, to be gentle, kind, sweet,
to be just what I know Christ would have us to be in that order. But
I’m going to tell you something. It’s not ordained that I’m that
kind of a guy, or I’d never preach like this, no way. My heart can
bleed because I’m not as nice as I should be. But there’s no way I
can change what I am, that’s all there is to it. I’ll die this way.
But I will not die a liar, and you’ll never say I skinned you or did a
thing to you. I might not have helped you too much, but if anything can
help, this Word’s going to help, because I can’t do it. No prophet,
nobody can do it, because I’m going to tell you, the conduit of the
Holy Spirit is that Word, and from thereon you are the conduit. And I
don’t care how you get that Word, brother/sister. People just pick up
a book, it was written, Bro. Branham’s message, they can get it. 

	Certain food for just certain times of the year. So what is the food of
this hour? The food of this hour is Malachi 4. Okay, immortality food is
for this hour. To eat and live forever. To take of the Tree of Life, to
stretch forth your hand, lest he stretch forth his hand and take of the
Tree of Life. What are we going to do today? 

	Let’s go to Philippians. Let’s read it, Philippians 3. Paul says,

That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, 

	You know what? Paul could not know it. He had to die. He will know it
when he’s raised. You and I are different! We’re here to know it.
Right? Ephesians 1, right? 17-23.

(10)	…and the fellowship of his sufferings, (which is rejection!)
being made conformable unto his death; 

	Which shows if you accept his death, for the resurrection go all the
way. Now watch:

If by any means I might attain (to) the (out) resurrection (from among)
the dead. 

	The very hour you and I are in. Now I’m going to show you, he’s
stretching forth his hands to the Tree of Life. How’d he do it?

Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect:
(finished off and ready for it) but I follow after, if that I may
apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ. 

	You’ve been apprehended of God for this hour, set here to be
immortal. A part of the Bride. Now watch:

Brethren, I count myself (not) to have apprehended: but this one thing I
do, forgetting those things which are behind, (what you came out of) and
reaching forth…

	Stretching to the Tree of Life! You cannot stretch forth your hand as
long as there’s these veils upon your minds and your hearts of
denominationals! 2 Corinthians 3.

(17)	Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is,
there is liberty. (A loosing, a jubilee. See? Freedom.)

(18)	But we all, with open face(s) (now that’s jubilee) beholding as
in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from
glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

	[2 Corinthians 4:]

(1)	Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy,
we faint not; 

(2)	But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, (it’s going to
take a man like Paul to do this! See, you follow me now? Let’s
understand what we’re talking about.) not walking in craftiness, [nor]
handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth
(that this is it,) commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in
the sight of God.

	Now he said, [Philippians 3:]

(13)	Brethren, I count not myself to (obtain) apprehended: but this one
thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, (every creed and
dogma, everything he ever taught,) and reaching forth unto those things
which are before (me), 

	Which is what? The Word in season for the hour! See? The stretching
forth is ridding the mind. Getting rid of every creed and dogma. All
unbelief and anything associated with unbelief, all disbelief. 

(13)	…which are before,

(14)	I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God…

	What’s the high calling of God? The top one! What was the top one for
him? Resurrection! Of which he said, “If there’s no resurrection I
am of all men most miserable.” And Bro. Branham says He does all three
in descending: Shout, Voice, Trumpet. The Shout is the Message, the
gathering together unto Christ. So you can press into the Tree of Life
and receive. The stretching forth your hand, the constant stretching
forth is the constant disapplication, the cutting off of what you used
to know, until you can perfectly think with the Word of God as revealed
the Word of God, not what the denominations taught, because there’s
death in it! 

	If I am wrong in my premise of what I teach, I’m a billion times
closer than the rest of them! Because at least I’m not teaching
anything the way they’re teaching it. That gives me that much
consolation; I’m at least somewhere on the road trying to get to
glory. But you teach all this old hogwash about the Appearing and Coming
and all that stuff, you’re no more near this, the Tree of Life than
nothing, from what I read in the Book here, and I’ve got to go by the
Book! Oh sure, I mean I could exercise my senses and jump up and down,
in fact I’ve got a little trampoline in my house here. I could bring
it to church and I could maybe excel all of you by jumping in the air. I
don’t think I’d last as long as the rest of you though. No, it’s
not… Listen, shouting and vim and vigor doesn’t constitute
authority, the authority has been established. See? 

	Okay:

[79]  Let’s see what happened. Though… Their religious emotion and
stuff was great, their intentions great, their crusade great, their
singing great, their dancing great, their shouting great, their music
great, and they had the ark. What good is the ark without God? It's just
a wooden box, couple of tables of stone. 

	What good is the Bible unless It’s revealed? I’ll tell you, it’s
not good, it’s the authority of condemnation. You’re in jeopardy.

[79]	That's like taking Communion, being baptized. What good does it do
to be baptized if you haven’t repented first? What good does it do me
to take Communion, become a hypocrite, if you don't live the life and
believe the rest of God's Word? Take part of It, and not the rest of It,
shows there’s something wrong. (See, that’s what David did. See?)

	Now this sounds as if every age and season had to have a prophet. That
isn’t so. You only had to have a prophet when a prophet’s required.
That’s at this hour. Because a prophet has to open the Seals! Now
people don’t want to even believe that! And they say they’re
fundamentalists. You say, “What about those Seals? What about those
Thunders?” “Oh well, no, oh well, oh well.” Well I tell you one
thing they’re saying, “If anybody’s going to do it, our church is
going to do it.” Or “They’ll come to our church.” Always it’s
the same old gimmick. You know something; I never expect anything to
come to me. I was on the receiving end because I didn’t expect
anything to come, but God helped me to know when I saw him. Same with
you.

[80]	…let us now see what happens when God, and His age at His time,
is not considered; just people's ideas. (When God’s age and His time.
Okay.)

[81]	Many people have said to me, (he’s talking about himself,) "Why
don't you come over and hold a meeting here? Well, we call for you. Sign
this, or that, or the other."

Wait! You might want it, but what does God say about it? Many people
have called me and said... I've had an invitation, I've had interviews,
personal interviews and things, and I’ve even waited for a year for
that. Wait! How will I know what to say until God tells me what to say?
See, got to wait! That's the reason I said, "Write that out. Let me see
what He says." See? Wait! "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew
their strength." Is that right?

	Now in other words the prophet is giving an example of his ministry,
how he has got to operate. And that is not how you and I operate except
in the trickle down economy of God. We must wait on ourselves to receive
leading, but this man is talking of receiving a leading which concerns
vitally the Kingdom of God and the subjects therein. And at that time
also, those who have not yet found their identity, a part of the
Kingdom, and they might come in. 

	So this is very responsible. A very great thing that a person should
do. Like Bro. Branham said, “Look,” he said, “I could go anyplace
and preach.” And he said, “I’ve done that.” And he said,
“Because I preach, God blesses to a degree.” But he said, “Oh,”
he said, “if I go and I know I’m to go, then let the devil do what
he wants! There’s nothing can stop that.” 

	And I tell you I know nothing about those things like I ought to know,
any more than you do. And I know this one thing, when I know that I hear
from God it works every single time. There’s no time it doesn’t
work, it always comes to pass, exactly as He said. You see? 

	Now listen, there’s room for the trickle down ministry in every
single one of us, because every one of us has a ministry whether we
believe it or not. Now I tell you, when you get – the trouble with a
lot of people in the church is they get all mixed up in ministries. They
still will not believe Romans 12. Now we’re taking our time, as we
always do and we’ll get through in forty lessons instead of ten
lessons, like I ought to get through, but we just can’t help
ourselves. I can’t help myself, and you’re stuck because you’re
here with me. 

	Okay, listen to Paul. Romans 12. This is for the whole church.

(3)	For I say, through the grace given unto me, (3rd verse,) to every
man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought
to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man
the measure of faith.

	Now it tells you everybody has a measure of faith. Whether that faith
is the identical measure, I don’t know for sure, but I do know
everybody does have to begin with an identical measure of faith, that
gives us the power of revelation. So okay, this could be a measure to a
ministry.

(4)	For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not
the same office: (My hand is not the same as my foot; my eye is not the
same as my ear.)

(5)	So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one
of another. (We all work together.)

(6)	Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to
us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of
faith;

	So therefore to prophesy will take a whole lot more faith than to speak
in tongues. And to interpret the message in tongues takes a whole lot
more faith than to speak in the tongue. So there’s a difference in
your faith geared, whether it’s a big faith or little faith, or a
little faith used greatly. Because Jesus said, “Though I have the
faith of a grain of mustard seed, I could move a mountain,” and Paul
said, “Though I’ve got all faith I could move a mountain,” so big
faith and little faith is really the same thing in action. But there is
a difference, we see it here. Okay.

Or ministry, let us wait on (his ministry): he that teacheth, on
teaching;

…he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, (now that’s an
absolute ministry,) with simplicity; 

	But don’t stand around waiting for somebody to give you things. Who
in our church has a gift of ministry? “I’s a man that could …?...
that gift.” No, you don’t do that. Nope, you don’t hint. And you
don’t go to someone because you think you’re drowning; get him to
drown with you because he can’t turn you down. That’s right. 

	Let me tell you something, I’m being very sincere and very sober. If
you’ve got a real problem, don’t get anybody else involved. Now if
he wants to get involved, that may be all right, because he wants to
help you. See, I told you thirty years ago I tried to pull a gimmick and
I learned my lesson, you don’t gimmick, period. One nice, easy
lesson… Now how many preachers will tell you that? Outside of me and
Bro. Branham? One or two. Jack Bell, oh yeah, I can name a few. Paul
Burton. They’ll tell you the honest truth. You’re going to know it
on judgment day, I’m beating you to it, so therefore judgment won’t
even come up. My sins are sent on beforehand. …?... watch it. I
preached on Stewardship. I want a lot of questions asked. Write them on
a piece of paper, we’ll deal with them. I haven’t got any questions,
except one or two. And we’ve got the answers; the answer’s always
found in the Word of God. No problem. 

(8)	…giveth, with simplicity; …ruleth, with diligence; (shows)
mercy, (and is cheerful). 

	That’s a tough one right there. Ha-ha-ha, easy to get mad. Say,
“Okay, you’re off the hook this time bird, but don’t ever get on
the hook again. Or wham you go.” How many times Lord? Seventy times
seven. Oh-yi-yi, four hundred and ninety times in one day? I haven’t
shown that in a lifetime, I don’t think. We’re laughing at
ourselves; we’d better be more serious though about these things. 

Let love be without (hypocrisy). Abhor… (the) evil; cleave to (the)
good.

…kindly affectioned… brotherly love; honour preferring… (that’s
a good one.)

Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;

	Now these are ministries and how they are to be performed, your
motivation with the incentive is these good spirits. So it’s a trickle
down economy. Everyone has a ministry. You talk about prophets; you’re
in the highest level of all. See, that’s what he’s dealing with, in
this age of what? Matthew 24. The time of the Presence, the time of the
Appearing, the time of the parallel ministry, not parallel, the very
ministry of Christ returned to this earth, there will be false prophets.
And I tell you, oh, they’ve made themselves known to the whole world,
“We are prophets.” Bro. Branham always took it back and Paul never
mentioned it. …?... says, “I’m a prophet.” Grant says, “I’m
a prophet.” …?... “I’m a prophet.” 

	I’ve got news. Vayle is not a prophet. In fact he is prophetless. And
you can spell it two ways. Bankrupt financially and never had a thing in
the spiritual when it comes to a prophet. Sure I prophesied; I believe I
have a gift of prophecy. But it’s not relevant. I didn’t go out and
use it; I don’t even to go into a room with you. You people want to go
in a room? You get a church with a room, I’ll go in with you, I’m
not afraid to go in. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m
not afraid. I’m a little diffident, but not afraid. Not real afraid.
Diffident, slightly afraid, maybe. In other words, I wouldn’t be too
much at home in the sense that hey, I’ve been out of this thing for
years. But I would go in there. I’m not supposed to even go in there,
but I would go in. Sure. I don’t mind. Bro. Branham said he’d go in,
he didn’t have to go in, nobody was in there. They all left. I’m not
saying we’re going to do that here, but you know, we’re putting the
welcome mat out. If you would like something, look, we can look into all
these things, there’s no problem. 

	Now,

[82]	Notice, they consulted only the priests of that day, the
theologians, the denominations. And, in doing that, consulting the
priests and congregation, consulting the people, they did it wrong.

	You see this is the hour of consulting a prophet. Ha! Did Israel
consult Jesus? They said, “Get rid of that bird.” Do you think
they’d consult Bro. Branham? They never did consult any… Isaiah they
sawed him in two. Jeremiah got thrown in prison. There wasn’t anybody
they had the use for. You know the reason Joseph got along? He got too
big for them. He became the king! Yeah. Back in those days, old Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob and Joseph, they were too bigwigs. You had a job coping
with those fellows, they were it. Abraham was a king in his own right,
so was Isaac, so was Jacob, when you consider their land, what they
owned, everything else. They were top men. 

	But you notice how they even had to bow to God? Old Isaac, when he
blessed Jacob, he couldn’t take the blessing back, because he knew God
spoke through him and it wasn’t Isaac that gave the blessing it was
God that gave the blessing. 

	Do you think, “Why, people wouldn’t consult with William
Branham.” You know the man here is terribly egotistical; he’s
letting everybody know, “Listen, you want to know about revival? You
want to know if there’s going to be something in the land? Do you want
to know something?” 

	Listen, he let the cat out of the bag. Back in the days of… what’s
that fellow’s name from England in the Secret Service? I’ll remember
later on, I’ve used it over the pulpit anyway. The businessman and
different men knew, even government men knew that Bro. Branham had a
gift like Elisha. 

	“What’s going on there with the Assyrians?” 

	Well Elisha says, “Just a minute I’ll tell you. Well there’s
fourteen thousand Assyrians under Captain so and so, and there’s six
thousand Assyrians over here under Captain So and So, and I’ll tell
you how to get behind them and just take them all in tow.” 

	And so they knew that Bro. Branham could, if he so desired, look behind
the Iron Curtain and other places too. And Bro. Branham knew he could do
it too. And so they propositioned him. They were smart. But did the
church come? No. This man in England, he’s got a French name. I’ll
remember it later on. Not Delecore, but it’s a French name. No they
didn’t… He was turned down. And when he prophesied, they turned it
down. Come right against it.

[83]	Notice, the ark was the Word. We know that's right. Because, the
ark is Christ, and Christ is the Word. See? The ark, or the Word, was
not in its first, ordained, original ordained position. Oh, don't fail
to get this, church!

Everything was perfect, everything looked good, like a great revival was
coming; but because they failed to consult the right person about it! 

	I was in Chattanooga with Bro. Branham. Cerullo had just been in Lima.
And he told the Lima people, got them all happy, how that he’d heard
these footsteps, I think it was, and saw the light coming through under
the door, into the room, and the angel of the Lord appeared and told
him, “A great revival is coming.” And he was in Chattanooga, when we
were there, and he got on the platform, prefacing Bro. Branham, and he
made the remark how that this great thing was going to come. 

	And Bro. Branham – I tell you, you talk about fortitude. That little
fellow came on there and he said, “There’s a wrong spirit in this
room, a false spirit. You’ve just been told the great revival’s
coming. There’s no revival coming, it’s all over.” You talk about
lead balloons. 

	But listen, they no more received that than nothing! Oh they just said,
“That’s the curmudgeon, that crank. Who does he think he is?” 

	They must have said something like that, because they turned it down
flatter than a fritter. Nobody had any faith in it. And yet he stood in
the discerning line that night and showed what nobody else could show.
My heavens. 

	Why that man came to me he said, “Bro. Vayle, you and Bro. Branham do
wrong,” he said, “no wonder you’re starving,” he said,
“haven’t got any money.” He said, “What you do,” he said,
“you tell the folk you’re going to pray for everybody, but…” he
said – that’s the days when five bucks was a good offering, it will
be fifty bucks today at least, I wouldn’t settle for less than fifty
or a hundred. He said, “Why to get a good offering,” he said, “you
tell everybody you’re going to pray for them all, but you’ll pray
for those that put in the five dollar bill first.” 

	I said, “Thank you, brother, I’ll tell the prophet.” 

	So we had a good laugh over that one. We still had our hamburgers while
they had T-bone steaks. Ha-ha. I’d sooner have God’s hamburgers than
the devil’s T-bone steaks. Sure. 

	They failed to consult the prophet! Listen; did anybody consult Bro.
Branham concerning this over here in the 3rd chapter of Acts, the
restoration? Did anybody come and say, “Bro. Branham, you’re the one
man, if anybody can tell, you tell us what this is.” Did they? No they
didn’t. They didn’t give a rip. No. No. They didn’t ask the man
who knew all about it, by virtue of the fact he was the man who could do
it. They didn’t care about Restoration and Rapture which could only
come by the prophet. That’s Acts 3. Let’s face it.

[83]	They consulted the priests, consulted the dignitaries, consulted
theologians, consulted singers, got everybody in one accord, great
organization of the military, all the forces of the nation. Everything
in harmony for a great meeting, but they failed to consult God. 

	Now they say, “Well who needs God, we’ve got the Bible.” Oh
it’s not that they don’t need God to be consulted. That’s not a
good way of putting it. Say, “Who needs to get through to God, God’s
got through to us.” Had God got through to them? Well if God had got
through to them, how come they’re in idolatry? 

[84]	Now don't miss this. They failed to get it, because they hadn't
consulted. And by doing that... Watch. By going to the priests, the
theologians, the military forces, not even considering their God-sent
messenger of the hour, Nathan, they did it wrong. They went and picked
up the ark and put it on a new cart, put it on a new cart, or, "a new
denomination is going to start up," and not upon the God-given, ordained
way to pack it. It was supposed to be packed on the shoulders of the
Levites. But, you see, when you start wrong, you'll keep going wrong.

	What’s Bro. Branham preaching here? Church order. Letting you know
this Message will not denominate. Now is this a picture of men outside
the five-fold taken over, ‘Full Gospel Businessmen,’ ‘Fishers of
Men’? Well let’s put it this way too, the Levites were there. The
wrong five-fold ministry took up where they should not have taken up.

	How are you going to get to the Wedding Supper according to Acts 3 and
1 Th 4:16, and who can prove it? You see? Or will we end in the great
tribulation? You’ve got to have somebody in this hour to get us there
because deceit is in the land, you see? Now:

[85]	If a bullet is supposed to be directed to a target, and you jerk
the barrel one thousandths off here, to begin with, at a hundred yards
you're four or five inches off. You start wrong. O God, help us to know
this thing has started wrong, this great crusade of the hour, as they're
so called. 

	If the bullet is the Word and that requires a prophet, where will the
bullet hit? William Branham was God’s spearhead. All right, again,
“When times of refreshing shall come from the Presence of the Lord,”
which is a great revival, the Holy Spirit having breathed. Now what is
that from the Presence? It is without a doubt Matthew 4 and Matthew 12.
Jesus began to do and to teach. The great end time revival for an
exodus. And an end time revival for exodus is not a beginning revival
for a genesis. That’s where people make their big mistake. 

	That’s why Bro. Branham said, “Though you go back to Pentecost, you
cannot go back to Pentecost.” 

	How can you go back to Alpha? You cannot become Alpha. Omega becomes
Alpha, you see the same earmarks. You see like I said if a board is oak
at both ends, it’s oak in the middle! If you see what was back there
now, you know it’s completed! God has brought it through! And the
Bride is His victory! In the face of everything, God’s brought a Bride
through, and you watch her come out of the ground one of these days and
you watch who’s going to be glorified. People think this is just some
kind of a dream, and we’re like on the road to Emmaus, but it’s not
a dream, brother, this is reality! And if we’re not Bride, I say as
Bro. Branham, there’s a Bride out there somewhere that believes right
and she’s going to be in it. And may we not get in her way. Let’s
have enough brains to do that, enough something or other. 

	Bro. Branham was God’s spearhead. Why? The Bible says so. “Elijah
must first come.” End time evangelism, what is it? Closing off, it’s
here. Get ready to meet the Lord, come out to meet Him, come out to meet
Him. Behold the Bridegroom, behold the Bridegroom. Meet your Husband.
Know Who He is. Well which one of the three is the Husband? Father, Son
or Holy Ghost? Father, Son and Holy Ghost is one God. Three
manifestations. Three dispensations. 

	Now he said, 

[86]	God is not consulted about it. (That’s today.) Priests and
religious men are consulted. Organizations consulted. "Well, will you
have such-and-such? I believe, if we could get everybody together!"
(Under those grounds.) Don't get everybody together. Just get God's Word
about it.

	One person. One Word. One Word, one person, because God deals with one,
right?

[87]	Then we find that, when they do that, what happens? They continue
to go right on with their same old religious program, which is out of
the Word of God and the will of God. That thing died, years ago, those
old dried up things of years ago. 

	That’s the life has passed out of the Word. Remember the Bible said,
“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but not one Word till It be
fulfilled.” And when the Word is fulfilled It’s passed away, and
then It becomes what? Example. Example.

[88]	It had dried up in the days of Lord Jesus. They didn't know it. 

	I think our time’s run out. Okay, we’ll get to the place now
where… well we’ll just have to take a recap next week, next
Sunday… no I won’t be preaching next Sunday, Bro. Brian. When we
come back to this, we’ll have a recap to bring you up to date and
we’ll go on from here.

	So the Lord bless you, as usual it’s a great pleasure to be with you,
and as usual I didn’t get my ten pages done, I got two pages done. So
I got what? Two leaves and four pages done, and I’m sorry about that,
but I can’t help it. What can I do? I got to just take my time and the
Lord bless you. Let’s rise shall we at this time? And again, see a
little later on in the week, in the meantime have a good Christmas, have
a nice time with the children, teach them what you can about the things
of the Lord for His Namesake, for their good, and may you all prosper in
Christ.

	Now Heavenly Father, as we go now, we ask You to be with the people
Lord, each and every one that is here or represents a home, and all
those that are not here, the beloved which are a part of this assembly,
which we believe to be a part of Christ. Lord, knowing we welcome
everybody and don’t put anybody out, but we do stand with Your Word,
as we believe It was delivered under vindication in this hour. And so
let the people’s faith stand not in themselves any longer at any
point, no way, shape and form, but in a vindicated Word, this is it, God
has spoken, and this is that of that hour. 

	So Father we commend ourselves to that Message more thoroughly than
ever, believing most considerately and conclusively, having considered
and arrived at the conclusion that this Word in us is the conduit of the
Holy Spirit to bring the life of the Word of this hour, which is
immortality, and by Your grace Lord, we stretch forth our hands and take
of the Tree of Life to live forever. Because we know there’s some here
unto whom it is predestinated. 

	Lord, knowing Your servant here could go off the scene, which is
perfectly fine and good if it for the pleasure of our Lord to do so, but
there will be those who are here, who will not have to molder in the
ground, or come up, although that’s marvelous just even to think
about, what a tremendous, tremendous thing that is. But there’ll be
others standing here with the tremendous, marvelous opportunity and
experience. One day the reaching will have been successfully concluded
and the dead will be standing here, and that quick sweep that Bro.
Branham said will go over them and there’ll just not a wrinkle, no
more blood in those veins, no, nothing that’s mortal any longer, but
immortal, likened unto our blessed Savior Himself to Whom we’ll be
caught up to meet at the Wedding Supper. 

	We cannot praise You enough for this Lord, what a tremendous thing to
know that here is a Christmas that we can honor more than we’ve ever
before of commemorating Your birthday amongst us in flesh, knowing that
You are here now in the form of the Holy Spirit, and You have seen the
travail of Your soul, it’s all but over. You are seeing the triumph of
the Blood and the Spirit. We are Your victory, ready to be caught away
to the eternities. We cannot praise Thee enough. 

	And unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be
all power, and honor and glory through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. The
Lord richly bless you, just take the Name of Jesus with you.

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