God Assuming Total Responsibility

April 17, 1992

	Shall we pray. Heavenly Father, we pray that You will help us tonight
to be very calm and quiet within our souls. Lord, and though expecting,
we realize that that is always a spirit amongst us, and we’re grateful
for it, Lord, because it draws on the Word. But we pray that it might
even go much deeper, that expectancy of Word may turn into the reception
of the Word, the understanding, the true revelation and knowledge of the
Lord that gives us the life that our soul desires, to place It high
above the things of this world, giving priority to that which is not of
this world, but is a part of a duty or grace and Your mercy. 

	Help us to be one, Lord, with the Author and with the message of the
Author and one with each other in love. Even as the prophet said, “How
can we not help but love each other?” And that goes, of course, right
back to You. Also, how can we not also help loving You when we also love
the Word? And Lord, we see that makes us all Word together and our love
all right, permeating through it all. 

	Help us to come to that place tonight, Lord, that just simply receive
It, to believe It, and know that It’s true, not according to reasoning
or any physical evidence that we want to put our trust in, but the
actual reality of the Word of this hour vindicated to us. In Jesus’
Name we pray, Amen. 

	You may be seated.

1.	I want to bring a little message tonight on “God Assuming Total
Responsibility”, on Calvary. Now, it is a fact that the words
‘responsible’ and ‘responsibility’ are not mentioned in the King
James version. If you’ve got a Strong’s Concordance, you’ll find
that to be true. Search as you may, you will not find the word
‘responsible’ or ‘responsibility’ mentioned in the King James
version. But it is also a fact that they are more than implied;
they’re emphatically referred to, though not by name, when we refer to
both God and man. 

	That Jehovah is a very responsible God, cannot be denied by reason of
His immutability and both His essentiality and purposes. You know, of
course, that, when one can not change his mind or his very being, there
is no way that he can not be responsible by virtue of the fact, if he
can not change it, then there is no way he is not responsible. Because
what you see, then, you’re running absolutely true to kind. So, God is
responsible by His very nature of being, and how He actually
demonstrates that being. 

2.	Now, we just recently finished a series, showing extensively and
conclusively that God can not change His mind about His Word. And even
demands that we put aside all notions of we, ourselves, changing that
Word by even one word, comma, jot, or tittle, proving that we also are
required to be responsible and must respond to that responsibility or
face the consequences, which are not punitive as though God were
vindictively angry at us and demanding upon the flesh, but that there is
no way a broken word of responsibility can function to achieve the
desired purposes or promises of God for us. 

3.	You can see now that man is held responsible. There is no way that he
is allowed a dubious privilege—if you want to call it that—of not
responding to the word of responsibility. And it’s not that God is
angry with that person per se. It is simply that there is no way the
promises of God can actually be given to the person who would change one
word of It. So, there’s no way a broken word of responsibility can
function to achieve the desired purpose, which are the promises of God. 

	And thereby, it is not that we can make God faithless or change, that
is, we could change the Word or try to do something about it, but you
can’t make God faithless, or change, or irresponsible concerning His
Word, but that we, ourselves, are hurting ourselves, and some even end
up destroying themselves, because the Bible says, “That you take one
Word away, your name goes off the Book of Life; you add a word, you get
the plagues.” 

	And, as It says, also, in the book of 1 Corinthians 11, which we’ll
go into tonight on the basis of communion, that there are people who
deny their responsibility to the God Who’s responsible—especially to
His own Word, to Himself—and they reap a havoc. 

4.	Now, Mal 3:6, God says:

(6)	For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore you sons of Jacob are not
consumed. 

	So, if God were to suddenly become irresponsible, if at any time God
did not maintain His integrity, His responsibility, it is said here that
the sons of Jacob, which are Israel, (which, of course, in Israel you
get all your types of relationship to Almighty God) they would be
consumed. 

	And in Jer 1:12, He says:

(12)	(I watch over) my Word to perform it.

	Now, to watch over His Word is simply what It says, to keep an eye on
It. God keeps an eye on His Word; It goes out; It’s to accomplish
whereunto It was sent; and He keeps His eye on It to see that there is
no interference of any consequence that could stop that Word from coming
to Its full fruition. 

5.	Now, over in Heb 6:13-14, It says here:

(13)	For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no
greater, he swore by himself. 

	 Now, God did not place a responsibility for His Word upon somebody. He
placed the responsibility upon Himself and He swore by Himself, because
He could swear by nothing greater.

(14)	Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will
multiply thee. 

	And then in 16-18.

 (16)	For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation
is to them an end to all strife. 

	Now, what He’s saying there in plain English is that this person here
entering into a covenant, or pact, or oath, with somebody else, is
assuming the absolute responsibility of keeping that covenant and
carrying out the act, his life depending upon it. He puts his life and
everything he has upon the line, because of His Word. 

(17)	 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of
promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:

 	Now, God can not change or His Word change, and that should be
sufficient. 

6.	You know, if you take a piece of gold, and you know the atomic
structure of gold, and it’s different from silver, and there’s no
alchemist or any genius who can turn the gold into silver, or vice
versa, you can look at that thing and say, “This is static, this is
foundational, this is rock solid, this can’t change.” Now, that in
itself is sufficient. The Bible doesn’t say it is. God now takes that
which is absolutely sufficient, that can never change, and then He adds
Himself to it: two immutable things, and He gives it to the heirs of
promise. And it’s absolutely impossible, therefore, for God to lie,
for God to change; there’s no way now that God can dodge this.
Understand what I’m saying? 

	Now, we really don’t, because we’re just a bunch of pikers. Ever
since our parents were born, and we were born, we’ve broken our word
to our kids and beyond. As far as integrity is concerned, we don’t
even know the meaning of it. Let’s be honest. Let our hair down. We
are looking at something here that is absolutely foreign to us, unless
God gives us some revelation. 

7.	 And yet it is so simple, just the same as, (Here’s the chemist;
call him an alchemist if you want to.) back to the old days, when they
thought they could turn base metals into rare metals. And let’s say
the fellow had the power to do it, and he stood there, and he gave you
the authority, and you were a very strong, temperamental, hot-headed
type of a bruiser, kinda built like a Sumo wrestler and the strength of
Goliath, and he said, “If I change this tin into gold, you can just
take your sword to lop my head off.” You’d say, “I’ll be glad
to.” That could be done. 

	But you see, we’re not dealing with those things which can be done as
though any thing can be done to undo, or to negate this responsibility.
He says, “I’m taking It.” Nothing will change It. So, wherein God,
willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of His promise, He
overdid it. He said, “I’m placing myself on the line with my Word,
and if that Word fails, I’m gone. You do with me what you want; you
take over.” 

8.	Now, come on. I’m telling you the truth tonight. Do you think God
would actually talk that way to us? 

	You say, “I don’t believe it, Bro. Vayle.” 

	Then you don’t believe the Scripture. You’re not following the
Bible. God put Himself on the blocks. 

	You say, “Ho my, wouldn’t I wish Uncle Sam was like that…” or
the hotshot Magulahen up there in Canada—Brian Mulroney, wasn’t he,
huh? Or just one guy in the IRS, or the preacher. Oh yeah, got a
response on that one. 

9.	(18)	(Now,) That by two immutable things, in which it is absolutely
impossible for God to lie or change, we might have strong consolation. 

	“Strong consolation.” That means, an utter consolation. How do you
console people? You console them because there is something awry or
amiss. There’s something grievous. There’s something there which is
not good. 

10.	Now, that reminds me of 2 Thessalonians, when in the end time,
“You that are troubled, rest with us when the Lord Jesus Christ shall
be revealed from heaven with His mighty messengers, in flames of fire
taking judgment.” You that are fleeing for a refuge at this hour
within the presence of Christ that some people, who say they believe
this message, make it merely a doctrine and say, “He’s here, so
what?” 

	He’s here, having sworn by Himself, He would come and console us. And
the two immutable things, God and His Word, making Him the responsible
God, He’s on the scene. 

	You say, “Different from Abraham?” 

	You are kidding yourself. When are we going to wake up and realize the
truth? This is no different from Abraham. This is Genesis 19 again,
which is Heb 13:8, which was proclaimed by him, the vindicated prophet
of God, surrounded by the mighty messengers. 

11.	I’m not just yelling and saying these things because they’re
nice to say. I’m saying the truth. I’ve got no axe to grind with
anybody. If they’ve got one to grind with me, forget it. We just throw
them and their axe out because they’re of no consequence. 

12.	[Hebrews 6] 

(18)	Two immutable things, in which it was impossible, (therefore making
it absolutely impossible for this to go awry, giving us) …strong
consolation, we who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set
before us: 

(19)	Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and
stedfast, which entereth that within the veil; 

(20)	Whither the forerunner…for us entered, even Jesus, made an high
priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

	Now, It says all of this thing in here is now centered in the fact of
Good Friday, and Easter morning. Right? Absolutely. God responsible. God
responsible—the responsible God. “I am taking full responsibility,
said God. It is out of your hands.” So, might not be in the King James
version, but it sure is here. 

13.	All right. It is very evident that responsibility is actually
faithfulness. He is the faithful God. Not as faithful to us, though that
is true, but faithful and true to himself, and therefore to us.
Understand what I am saying? Well it’s simple as A-B-C. If He’s not
a responsible God, what does it mean? 

	Well, I’m not a responsible person. I can come along and say,
“Well, now, here’s Bro. Gael down here, I’m going to give you a
million dollars tomorrow, you know. I’m ‘new loony in the boony’
up here.” And I say, “Now I know that some of you folk here don’t
have it too easy, and I’m going to give you all cars, because I know
some of your cars are, you know, going,
putt-putt-putt-putt-putt-putt-putt-putt.” I’m not a responsible
person. I’m a nut. 

	A ‘responsible person’ means that ‘he is going to do what he
said. He is responsible. He takes it in his hands and he sees that it is
done and you are the beneficiary’. Uh, that’s what we’re looking
at. 

14.	Now, over here in Psalm 89. And as usual, we don’t finish things
as quick as we want, because I promise I’ll read my notes and not
comment, but you see, I’m not a responsible person. Read my notes and
comment, might as well, you know. 

(1)	I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will
I make known thy faithfulness to all generations. 

(2)	For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever; thy faithfulness
shalt thou establish in the very heavens. 

(3)	I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my
servant. 

(4)	Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all
generations. 

(5)	And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O LORD: thy faithfulness
also in the congregation of the saints.

	And then It says here:

(6)	For who in the heaven can be compared unto the LORD? who among the
sons of the mighty can be likened to the LORD? (And so on and so forth.)

	You see right here, you understand there is responsibility. 

15.	 And then, in Isaiah 11.

(1)	And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, …a
Branch (brought) of his roots:

(2)	And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon (us,) the spirit of
wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of
knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;

(3)	And shall make him quick of understanding in the fear of the LORD:
and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove
after the hearing of his ears.

	Now, you see. Notice now, this is a prophecy concerning Emmanuel, God
in flesh. Now, knowing what is said about Him, could He ever say any
thing different from this? No, because He is the responsible God. See,
if you ever understand the phonetic structure of the Bible and
understand the doctrine, you will never make a mistake. All right. He
can not change.

(4)	But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with
equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the
rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the
wicked.

(5)	And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness
the girdle of his reins.

(6)	The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, …the leopard shall lie
down with the kid; …the calf and the young lion and the fatling
together; (the) little child shall lead them.

(7)	The cow and the bear shall feed (together;) their young…shall lie
down together: …the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

(8)	…the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the
weaned child put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.

(9)	They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the
earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover
the sea.

	Now you see, there, what He’s doing there. And that’s the covenant;
it’s not going to change. 

16.	 Let’s go back to Deuteronomy. We want to read these as quick as I
can, of course, because we just continue along the idea we have in mind.
And It says in Dt 7:7-9.

(7)	The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye
were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all
people:

(8)	But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep his oath
which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with
a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of the bondmen, from
the house of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

(9)	Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, (and) faithful     
  God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him         
and keep his commandments to a thousand generations. (And right on down
the line.) 

	Okay, with that, we go to 1 Corinthians. We’re just going to see the
faithful God here. See? He doesn’t have to give reasons. He’s just
faithful. And then, whatever comes out is it. See, we should learn to
come to the place where we just believe this Word because He said
so—you know, like little children: that’s what you’ve got to do to
inherit the Kingdom of God. A little child believes his parents. At
least until he gets wise to them, which is a sad, sad commentary on
life. That’s what happens when you tell kids about Santa Claus and all
that stuff, you know. Never lie to a child. 

17.	All right. In 1 Cor 1:4.

(4)	I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is
given you by Jesus Christ;

(5)	That in every thing you are enriched by him, in all utterance, and
in all knowledge;

(6)	Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:

(7)	So you come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ:

(8)	Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that you may be blameless
in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

(9)	God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his
Son Jesus Christ our (God. Look: our) Lord. 

	So, you can see, what I’m showing you is the responsibility that
absolutely lies here. Now in 2 Thessalonians, notice, God is
responsible. He’s not just making a promise. “And now you glom onto
to it, you glom onto it, now come on, come on.” He is not doing that.
He’s the responsible God, the Father to His children. That’s how you
get predestination. Responsibility. Bringing a child in the world, just
bringing him in, is irresponsible. Responsibility is bringing the child
in, knowing the child must be reared according to truth. And remember;
there’s no child of God that doesn’t get reared according to truth.
So, you’ve got to watch these things.

18.	Okay, where did I say? All right. 2 Thessalonians 3:3:

(3)	 But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you and keep you from
evil.” 

	Doesn’t say He’s going to keep evil from you; He’s going to keep
you from evil. 

	Then, over here in 1 Peter, more Scripture, just quickly, and it’s 1
Pet 4:19, and It says:

(19)	Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit
the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful
Creator.

 	What’s he saying? God made you; God’s going to take care of you.
That’s exactly what the Bible says in Colossians, “Who creates all
things and sustains all things.” It says, “He’s your creator.” 	

	What have you got to worry about? Why do you think He made you? To
throw you, spin you off in space? See what we’re looking at? 

19.	Okay. Let’s go a little further. I just quoted Colossians, about
that one on the Creator, but let’s go back to Colossians so you know
just where it is. It’s Col 1:16-17.

(16)	For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that
are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or
dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him,
and for him:

(17)	And he is before all things, and by him all things consist (or are
maintained.)

	Responsibility. He took it. Now, with that we go to Rev 3:14. We know
that one.

(14)	Unto the (messenger) of the church (which is in Laodicea) write;   
     These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the    
  beginning of the creation of God; the faithful and true witness,      
 the beginning of the creation of God.

	Now, with that, we go plumb over here, we go to, let’s see,
Revelation 19, and look what we find out in verse 11.

(11)	And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat
upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth
judge and make war. (And the Bride is with Him, coming down to take the
earth over.)

	Now, this shows you very, very sternly and correctly in Scripture that
God is faithful, which means He is responsible. A responsible person is
a faithful person, and an irresponsible person is a faithless person. A
faithful person is responsible, a faithless person is irresponsible.
Understand? That’s perfectly right. All right.

20.	From just these few verses of Scripture, it’s clearly seen that
the essence of all life, past, present, future, depends upon the fact
that Jehovah is a responsible God and, thereby, faithful to us. Not only
is Jehovah responsible, but man was created to be a responsible person.
He was made to be a responding, a responding, responsible, responsive
person to respond to God and, thereby, become truly responsible.

	See where reasoning came in? When you bring in reasoning like Cain,
you’re no longer responsible to God. You’re irresponsible. You’re
not responsible to God, you’ve left Him. See, you understand
faithfulness, responsibility, the very same word. You know, now, he was
made to be a responding, responsive, responsible person, to respond to
God and thereby become truly responsible, and thereby, he would become
happy and one with God. 

	Didn’t Bro. Branham say, this was the hour of becoming one with God
by His Word? And that day you’ll know, I’m in the Father and you in
me and I in you; he said that took place at Pentecost, takes place now
and under the White Throne. Right, that’s what he said. 

21.	Every son of God is a Joshua in his own right and to his own degree,
as we find over here in the Book of Joshua, Josh 1:2-9.

(2)	Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan,
thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even
to the children of Israel.

(3)	Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I
given unto you, as I said unto Moses.

(4)	Even from the wilderness of Lebanon to the great river, the river
Euphrates, the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the
going down of the sun, shall be your coast.

(5)	There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of
thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail
thee, nor forsake thee.

(6)	Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou
divide for an inheritance the land which I sware unto their fathers to
give them.

(7)	Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to
do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn
not from it to the right, …to the left, that thou mayest prosper
whithersoever thou goest.

(8)	This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; for thou
shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do
according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy
way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

(9)	Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not
afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee
whithersoever thou goest.

	And what everybody says, “O my God, O my God, oh, how am I going to
do it; how am I going to do it, how am I... O God, O God, O God.” 

	Well, shut up. Just do it. A willing mind is all there is to it,
because He said, “I will make it effective.” He never said for you
and me to make it effective. This is the biggest perpetration of hell
upon us we’ve got, even this very hour. We think we’re supposed to
put something to it, and Bro. Branham said, “That’s where man has
always failed, he always wants to put something into it.” Stand back.
He, himself said, “The greatest gift I’ve got is to get out of the
way.” Oh boy, if I could just get what I’m talking about, I would
ask God to shoot me by sunrise; I would be the happiest person out of
body you ever saw. I would do a jig faster than any angel. 

22.	So, let us consider some Scripture concerning the responsibility of
man to God, to God’s Word. And notice, that by correctly responding to
it, fulfills his obligation of responsibility, and thereby, he is truly
faithful and makes straight paths for his future, like you see right in
here concerning Joshua. There was nothing that Joshua was obligated of
himself. God just said, “Listen, you keep that Word in your mouth,
keep it in your mind, and you go right down the line knowing I am
faithful.” And he said, “You watch how I bring it to pass.” See,
God is not a God of vicissitudes!

	It is sorry to say that in most instances, if not all, man has failed
to respond, for no man ever lived that Word and was truly one hundred
per cent responsive to his responsibility, save Jesus Christ our Lord.
He’s the only man ever lived it—the only man that took the
responsibility. 

23.	Now, we go back to the very beginning, to the dawn of creation of
man. And there in Genesis we find God said, “We’re going to make man
in our image, and he will have dominion over the fish of the sea and
everything else.” He’s going to replenish the land, all of those
things; then He puts man in a body. Then He puts a woman in a body. And
here they are now in the Garden of Eden. And what happens? Well, all
right. There’s a fall takes place. And after the fall we see (they
having failed God), we see in Genesis 4, which is maybe the better place
to go, then go back to Genesis 1, which I briefly mentioned. But in Gen
4:3-5, It says here:

(3)	And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the    
    fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.

(4)	And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the 
      fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his
offering:

(5)	But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain      
  was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

	Now, here’s one of them…took on the full responsibility of simply
taking the little lamb and killing it and offering the sacrifice and
sprinkling the blood. And the other fellow would not do it. He refused
to respond. He was not responsive; so therefore, he was an irresponsible
person. And right today you can see some of the most responsible people
in this world are irresponsive to the revelation. And yet they say,
“Well, my God, look at their works, look at their love, look at this,
look at that; they must be right.” 

	They are not right because, like Cain, they have wrongly divided. So,
let’s get an understanding, who’s responsible, who’s not. The
responsible person is the responsive; you’re responding to It.
You’re saying yes to the Word of God. See? He would not do it; he
refused to respond. 

24.	Then, notice 6 and 7. 

(6)	The Lord said to Cain, Why are you (angry?) …Why is your
countenance fallen? (“Hey what’s with you anyway?”)

 	See? Now, this fellow says to God, he said:

(7)	(I want to put something into it. Why should you call all the shots?
I’ve got something to say about this thing, too.) 

	Well, God said, “Okay, admit it you do. You have offered well, no
doubt about it, but you have not rightly divided; therefore, your sin
remains.” Now you come to the place where you rightly divide. In other
words, you have an understanding of the true doctrines of the Bible. 

	This fellow was offering what would actually be tantamount to a
firstfruit offering if there was a firstfruit offering at that time,
which, no doubt there was something like a firstfruit offering. And he
was bringing the fruits which could be considered only after the blood
sacrifice where the responsible God had done the one thing that was
going to clear the man, so now he could start on his path. 

25.	Now, this fellow wants to be a Christian. He hasn’t even started;
he’s not even born into Christianity. Can’t say he’s not born and
can’t say he’s not worshiping, but he’s completely... 

	Now listen, God is not against the guy. He said, “Listen, why are you
angry? Come now and let us reason together saith the Lord. Don’t you
know, Cain, that you’re hurting yourself?” Did God take a club and
club Adam, because they took the forbidden fruit? No, he clubbed
himself. There’s no vindictive anger here. 

	It’s like the days of Noah, they had the atomic bomb and blew it all
up. They’re going do the same thing today. Every paper you pick up,
“Don’t eat this; don’t eat that.” I get a kick out of the fact
they say that, that you take your... How many like charbroiled steaks
outside of me? Ho yes, and the smokier the better. Oh; they say, “Now
you better watch that, because that’s a carcinogen in there. Give you
cancer.” 

	Ha! Let ‘em tell the truth. The only way you will ever get cancer,
eating charbroiled steak, is to eat three tons in three months. But the
fact is, your immune system is down because of the rotten conditions in
this world. So, let your government clean our act up, instead of putting
more pollutions out there, more and more pollutions. 

26.	So, I’m just trying to show you something: God’s not a
vindictive God. His laws are here to help us; He stands behind his laws.
We’re the ones that are in violation, and this fellow right here, at
the front, Cain, said, “I’m not going to accept that.” And God
said, “Hey listen,” he said, “you can have some input, but at this
point you don’t have input.” Let’s get the thing settled where
your input can start. You know grace and law, grace and works: grace is
what God does for you and your works is what you do in return for Him
because you love Him. In other words you don’t go back in the old ways
of sin and hogwash you used to have. 

	All right. Then watch down here, verse 8. 

(8)	And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when
they were in the field, that Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and
slew him.

 See? Because he refused to respond. Now, he didn’t respond to God’s
Word. He took his own reasoning. 

27.	Let’s go to Deuteronomy. My, I wish time didn’t go fast. But
it’s all right. I’ll talk fast and try to catch up. Deuteronomy 4,
oh my, whole twenty verses. I don’t think we’ve got time to read all
that. 

(1)	Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the
judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that you may live, and go
in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you.
(He said I’m giving you the props; I’m giving you all the things
that... In your hands now.)

(2)	You shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither
diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD
your God which I command you. 

	What’s he saying there? He’s saying, “Hey, if you change the
Word, it’s gone—no longer my Word. Hey, see, you really want this
thing to run right? Then just stick with my Word.” That’s all He’s
telling you there. He’s not trying to hit you over the head with a
club.

28.	(3)	Your eyes have seen what the LORD did because of Baal-peor: for
all the men that followed Baal-peor, (That was a sex act, a sex worship,
phallic worship, fertility rights.) the LORD thy God hath destroyed them
from among you.

(4)	But ye that did cleave unto the LORD your God are alive every one of
you this day. 

	Now, that’s a good one to bring to these homosexuals. Yeah, you think
they’re not dying? What from? AIDS. Baalpeor. And the church says,
“Oh, it’s okay to have homosexual preachers, and homosexual this and
that in the congregation.” 

	Is that a fact? If I find out you’re one here, you better repent or
do something about yourself, buddy. Or let God do it. The homosexual can
be saved, don’t worry, but they don’t come to practice. Yeah. Yeah.
You said, “you did cleave.” 

29.	Now, He said:

(5)	Behold, I taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God
commanded me, that you should do in the land whither ye go to possess
it.

(6)	Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your
understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these
statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding
people.

(7)	For what nation is there so great, (that) God hath so nigh unto
them, as the LORD our God…in all things that we call upon him for?

(8)	And what nation is…so great, that hath statutes and judgments so
righteous as…this law, which I have set before you this day?

(9)	Only take heed to yourself, (and so on).

	Now, what I’m trying to show you here is the fact that God Almighty
put a Word out here that we should respond to and, thereby, be
responsible. Now you notice what I’m doing here. I am not taking, say
“Do this, or else. Do that, or else.” As Bro Branham said the
legalist said, “Ho, I’ll give him a piece of my mind, if I weren’t
a Christian.” Oh, go ahead and give it. 

30.	Now, this is not some tyrannical rule we’re talking about. This is
the great sovereign of nutrition. And he said, “Listen, you better
balance your diet.” You need a complex carbohydrate. So, quit eating
that refined, white flour, and all that candy, and all that grease and
junk. Get it out of your system. Why are you jittery? Too many cups of
coffee. Nobody’s trying to take a club and open your mouth say [words
to the effect: ‘You better take this or else’.] They give you the
laws and say, “Listen, here are the rules; here’s what it’s all
about. This pertains to life. Thy Word is life. The words I speak are
spirit and life.” And if a man has that seed in him, then there will
be a response. See? 

	So therefore, we’re talking about responsibility in the sense of
being responsive. And in being responsive, you are a responsible person.
Yeah. That’s where the angel with the inkhorn goes by and puts a mark
on people. Yeah. Absolutely. 

31.	Okay, in Proverbs, only we haven’t got... Proverbs… It tells
you, “Train a child up in the way he ought to go, he’ll not depart
there from.” And over in Exodus 21, we’re just showing you these
things here. How do people respond? Exodus 21:12-16. 

(12)	(He… Now, watch.) he that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be
surely put to death.

(13)	And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand;
then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee.

(14)	But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbor, to slay him
with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die. 

	In other words, premeditated murder, you will have to die for it. If
it’s not premeditated and in the heat of anger, you don’t die for
it, unless the relative catches you and kills you. There’s a city of
refuge.

(15)	…he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put
to death. 

	What do you think of that? Yet that is the funniest thing in the world,
to see a little child smack, smack his parents. “Oh, that’s okay.
Ha, ha, ha.” 

	Bring ‘em up little devils. You think they’ll turn into little
gods. You got a mistake in your head right there. I don’t say beat a
child. It says, just respond right; don’t let him do these things.
Say, “Ho, no, no, no, hold it. Hold it.” See, bring ‘em up the way
he ought to go, here, he won’t depart.

32.	(16)	And he that steals a man, and sells him, or be found in his
hand, ..shall…be put to death.

	Ha, ha! Why was there trouble in America here, the south and the north?
Because the people had slaves in the south. 	

	Oh, you say, “Oh, how they fought, and oh, listen; the slavery is
okay. I can prove it by the Bible. I can do this and that.” 

	But I can tell you by the same Bible, “He that steals a man shall be
put to death.” And those black people were stolen. That’s why
America is paying its price and will continue to pay its price. [Bro.
Vayle directs to have another ‘tape’ put on.]

	Look what they did to the Indians. Don’t you fool with the Bible,
brother/sister. “If a man strive”, and so on. It tells you right
here, there are certain things.

33.	(20)	…if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he
die under his hand; he shall be surely punished.

(21)	Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be
punished: (and so on).

	Right down… Verses 24-36. It says:

(24)	Eye for an eye, (and a) tooth for tooth, (and a) hand for hand,
(and a) foot for foot,

(25)	Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

(26)	If a man smite the eye of his servant, …the eye of his maid, (to)
perish; (just) let him go free for his eye’s sake.

(27)	…(a man) smite out his servant’s tooth, or maidservant’s
tooth; he’ll go free for (the) tooth’s sake.

34.	Now, listen.

(28)	If an ox gore a man or a woman, (and that person dies) then the ox
shall be surely stoned, his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of
the ox shall be…

(29)	But if the ox were wont to push with his horn in time past, and it
hath been testified to his owner, and he hath not kept him in, but that
he hath killed a man or a woman; the ox shall be stoned, and his owner
also shall be put to death.

	What about these guys that have pitbull dogs? See, I want to show you
something here, brother/sister. How would you feel if your dog killed
somebody? Oh, well, it’s just a dog killed somebody. Shows what you
are. We’re responsible, not to hurt us, but to keep us from getting
hurt. That’s why a soft answer turns away the wrath. As one person
said, “There’s never a fight until the second blow is struck.” 

	You’re seeing right here, and I’m just trying to show you: there is
responsibility. And you can read Exodus 22 all by yourself, the whole
chapter. 

35.	And let’s go a little further now, and see this responsibility. In
other words, we must respond to the Word of God, which makes us to be
responsible. Then what happens? God Himself brings that Word to pass,
because He is responsible as the Giver for that Word, and He says, “My
Word will never return void.” You want a sure way? There’s only one
sure way, and that’s the Word of God. 

	All right. Luke 19:11-24. We don’t have time to read the whole thing,
but the idea is this:

(11)	…as they heard these things, he added…a parable, because he was
nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God
should immediately appear. 

	That’s what they thought over there in Matthew 24. “When’s the
Kingdom of God going to appear? When are you going to come?” They
never knew of a second coming. People don’t understand the Parousia.
It’s all over the Bible. Oh…my, my, my.

36.	(12)	He said, … A certain nobleman went into a far country to
receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.

(13)	…called ten servants, (gave them) ten pounds (apiece),
…said…, Occupy till I come.

(14)	But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying,
we will not have this man to reign over us.

(15)	And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the
kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom
he had given the money, (and see what they) gained...

(16)	…the first, said, Lord, (I’ve got) ten pounds.

(17)	(He said, wonderful.)

(18)	…the second (one) came, said, (I’ve got) five pounds.

(19)	(He said, wonderful.)

(20)	(And then down here, the third one came, he said,) I kept your
pound in a napkin:

(21)	(But) I feared…, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up
that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow.

(22)	And he said, out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked
servant.

	Now, just a minute. What kind of a bird is this anyway? These two guys
up here went right out and got ten and five. He said, “Wonderful, take
ten cities, take five cities.” In the face of vindicated
manifestation, this guy like Cain, said, “Hey, I think you are an
awful, unfair person.” Didn’t Cain say that? Sure did. “He got no
right to treat me like this,” he said. “Put a mark on me, this and
that. How dare you?” If that’s not the spirit of the devil, I
don’t know what I’m talking about. And here this fellow bypassed the
truth of God, that laid it on the line, if I give you something, don’t
you worry, it will produce. Step out with it. 

37.	What I’m showing you is responsibility, which is responsiveness.
One guy responded. Look what happened. A second guy responded. Look what
happened. The third guy responded, negatively. What happened? It
didn’t change the original. But nothing came out of it; it was just
dead seed. And the Word of God is always dead seed, unless there’s a
heart to respond. And if the heart isn’t there to respond, it means
there is nothing in the heart to respond, because that’s what Jesus
said to the Pharisees. “Oh,” he said, “The reason you can’t take
my Word is, there’s nothing in there to take It.” My goodness me,
that’s just simple as A-B-C. You can’t pour water through a rock,
unless you broke it down to millions of a little particles and use it as
a bit of a sieve. We’re not talking about that. 

38.	Now, look at Matthew 28. Now, we all know Matthew 28 (shouldn’t
even bother reading it) has to do with the fact, the missionary call out
there. And in 18 and 20, Jesus said:

(18)	(All power in heaven and earth is given unto me. Go you therefore,
and preach and teach all nations.) 

	 “Well,” you say, “That’s all right, Rockefeller has got a
billion dollars, how am I going to go out and spend it?” 

	 Jesus is different. He said, “I’ve got it, and now you go ahead
and use it.” 

	And what do they do with it? They use it for self-aggrandizement. They
use it to make money. They use it to make popularity. Use it to get
women. They use it for everything. Look what they did to this message
and what they’re doing with it! You can get God for nothing, sell Him
for billions; but one day He wants His money back with interest, just
like I read about. Why? Because there’s a principle to It. 

	Are you going to have the faithful God standing by and, then, just
suddenly forgive and pass on? He wouldn’t be faithful. There’s got
to be unchanging attributes in God, or forget it. So, He said, “All
power is mine; therefore, you go and do so and so, teaching them to
observe all of these things.” People didn’t do it. Mark 16 is the
same thing; they said it is not in the original Word. 

39.	Now, look over here in Romans13, we’ve taken that different times,
because it has to do with the law of the land. And here’s one place we
should be careful, and we’re not nearly careful enough. We’re
absolutely too careless with the law of the land. It says in Rom 13:1-5:

(5)	(Therefore) you must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also
for conscience sake.

 	It tells you. The Word of God… The Word of the Land is the Word of
God.

(6)	For this cause pay ye tribute also: (Pay your taxes.) for they are
God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. 

	Now then, what about the people that take your taxes and spend them
contrary to God’s Word? Shows you where the land is. As soon as we
say, okay raise the taxes, more and bigger pork barrels. Congress has
never decreased the deficit, through increased taxes, nor will they do
it. Because they don’t believe the Word of God. They are not faithful
stewards. So, now the day is, the prophet said, “There is not one
politician can make a correct decision.” And they never will. 

40.	So, you thought we won the war, Desert Storm? Didn’t you? We
didn’t. We never won it. It’s on a tape where Bro. Branham told
somebody privately, went around, he said, “America will never win
another war.” They can’t. Looks good in paper. Looks good if
you’ve got the press behind you. Let them yap…poodle dogs. 

	You say, “I don’t have much use for them.” 

	I thought you might have guessed it. 

41.	What about 1 Corinthians 11? They messed up the Lord ’s Table.
Where did God say to have a feast? Have a big supper and, then, have the
foot-washing and communion? Now it’s not on a tape. I don’t know if
Bro. Branham said or not. They tell me he said it. He said, “He never
even ate after a communion service, to keep the solemnity.” Well, if
that’s the case, we shouldn’t eat, maybe after dinner here either at
any time, because it keeps the solemnity. If there’s no tape for it, I
can’t do anything about it. 

	But we’re looking at something here. You must not desecrate the table
of the Lord, because It says right here, if you do, God’s not going to
club you down, but something happens to you. Why? Because you’re
outside the word of responsibility. And, if there’s no response, and
even a change, then it’s no longer God’s Word, and God is not in
that word. Like Bro. Branham said, “You exceed the speed limit, the
Holy Spirit leaves you.” Doesn’t mean the Holy Spirit’s going to
leave you as a person. No. You’re no longer under His protection. It
gets a lot of us in trouble. 

42.	Let’s go to 2 Timothy, and see another Scripture here. And I’ll
bring it all together very shortly. Now, don’t worry, because you may
be wondering what I’m talking about. 2 Timothy 1:8-14. 

(8)	Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of
me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel
according to the power of God; 

	Now, notice. It says, “According to the power of God, you partake of
the afflictions.” You don’t do it otherwise.

(9)	Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according
to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was
given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. 

	And Bro. Branham said he’s going to deal with mysteries that were not
known from before the world began. Now, come on. If this grace was
before the world began, and Bro. Branham said he’s going to deal with
mysteries, it meant he was going to go right back and deal with grace
before the world began. Did he do it? You better believe he did. Just
start reading and finding out.

43.	(10)	(For) it is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour
Jesus Christ, (and right today the same thing) who hath abolished death,
and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:

(11)	Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher
of the Gentiles.

(12)	For…which cause also I suffer these things: nevertheless I am not
ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is
able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
(Now, look. He’s faithful. See?)

(13)	Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in
faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 

	See? It’s not outside of Him. How are you going to have that faith
and love and being outside of Jesus Christ? Something’s missing in
here. See? If it isn’t in here, you’ll never get the other.

(14)	(And) that good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the
Holy Ghost which dwelleth in (me).

	See? There’s a response again. And that response shows that you are a
responsible person. Now, it would take years of preaching or teaching to
set forth our responsibilities, as pertaining to this day, in an
everyday walk, so we’re going to just keep on moving along. 

44.	As we move along we go to Romans 9. And we’ll be coming more and
more into what I want to deal with. At verse 9-24. 

(9)	For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sarah
shall have a son.

(10)	And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even
by our father Isaac;

(11)	For the children not being yet born, neither having done any good
or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not
of works, but of him that calleth.

	And not only of him that calleth, but of him that brings him to birth
from himself, because that which is born of God are the children of God,
and their source all one father, Jesus in you and me. 

	So, all right. What’s he saying here? According to the purpose of God
might stand according to election, not of works but of him that calleth:
“My sheep only know my voice and I call them.” 

45.	(12)	It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.

(13)	As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

(14)	What shall we say (to these things)? Is there unrighteousness with
God? God forbid.

(15)	For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

(16)	So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but
of God that sheweth mercy.

(17)	For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, even for this same purpose
have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my
name might be declared throughout all the earth.

(18)	Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he
will he hardeneth.

(19)	Thou wilt say then unto me, why doth he yet find fault? For who
hath resisted his will?

(20)	Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the
thing formed say to him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus?
(See? you got to be careful.)

(21)	Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make
one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor? (That’s the flesh
now.)

(22)	What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power
known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to
destruction:

(23)	And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels
of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,

	Now, right in the Greek, It let’s you know that the vessels of wrath
fitted themselves. Yep. The others were fitted by God of the same lump,
some serpent seed and some isn’t. Now, notice in here you have two
vines; you have two groups of people. You’re right back to Cain and
Abel and you see that one group went right to the Word, the other one
does not go to the Word. One disputes with God, the other does not
dispute with God. One goes to God to learn, the other tries to teach God
something. Like a Sanhedrin said, “When God gets in trouble, He call
on us.” Ho, ho. If God listened there really would be trouble. 

46.	Now, I’m telling you something here. This is all predestination,
and this is all the work of God; and this is the responsible God,
responsible to Himself and responsible to us; and He is doing it. And
man does not have a say in it, because now we’re talking sovereignty,
because God has to get tough. And in getting tough he says, “Shut up
and sit down and listen, because I’m boss.” And as Bro. Branham
said, “You don’t only don’t have a word coming; you don’t have a
think coming.” 

47.	Now, let’s go and find out something else. We’re going right
back to Ezekiel. And, as we do, we go back to Ezek 28:11-15.

(11)	Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

(12)	Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say
unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of
wisdom, and perfect in beauty.

(13)	Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was
thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx,
and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold:
and the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee
in the day that thou wast created.

(14)	Thou art the anointed cherub that coverth; and I have set thee so:
thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in
the midst of the stones of fire.

(15)	And thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast
created, till iniquity was found in thee.

	He knew to do right and wouldn’t do it, because Bro. Branham said,
“At one time Satan was equal with God.” He led in the worship right
there with Michael who Jesus was—Jesus in the form of Michael,
that’s what he said, so just don’t say, “Well, Bro. Vayle, I
don’t think I can take it.” 

	Go out. There’s the door. Good bye. 

	Even the fan closed down on that one, didn’t it? Got mighty quiet.
I’m calling your bluff. I’ve had my bluff called by God, under the
rapture. [Bro. Vayle referring to time spent with prophet discussing the
topic.] Prophet said it is right. Sometimes you’ve got to work around
a while to see just exactly the context and why he is saying it. But
those are direct statements. 

48.	Now, he said here that Satan was created. All right. Let’s go to
Revelation 13. Now, watch this created being that starts way back at the
time of Cain. And in Rev 13:14-18:

(14)	And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those
miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to
them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the
beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.

(15)	And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the
image of the beast should both speak, and cause as many as would not
worship the image of the beast (to) be killed.

(16)	And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and
bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, (and) in their foreheads:

(17)	And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or
the name of the beast, or the number of (the beast).

(18)	Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of
the beast: for (he) is the number of a man; Six…(sixty)-six (which is
the Pope.)

49.	All right. Chapter 20, and we go to Rev 20:7-10.

(7)	And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out
of his prison,

(8)	And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four
quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle:
and number (them)…as the sands of the sea.

	Now, all the wicked [the word following ‘wicked’ sounds like
‘gathers’.] up there with the righteous. The foolish virgin have
been separated, because remember; at the time of the Seventh Seal, Rev
22:10-14, the Bride is gone, and the foolish virgin are now counted
(because they didn’t believe) as wicked and unrighteous and filthy.
And they are completely destroyed in the Great Tribulation. Now,
they’re all up there. And so now, all of those people that are on the
right hand, which is a blessing of God, are in contradistinction to
those on the left hand. And those on the left hand are many, many more
than those on the right hand. For they said, “Hey, our last chance;
let’s mob this bunch and get rid of them.” Now, you talk about a
colossal gall. 

	What if I knocked you down and knocked your brains out? Then I
resurrected you and gave you a chance to put your stupid, stinkin’
brains back in your skull? Do you think you would have learned a lesson?
No. Because you got the same stupid, stinkin’ brains. [Laughter] You
don’t change because you go somewhere. You don’t change. When you
die, it’s your geography that’s changed, not you. “He that is
righteous is righteous still, and he that is filthy is filthy still.”
So, they tried to destroy these wonderful people. Fire comes down out of
heaven and destroys them.

50.	Now, what I want to ask is this: Who is responsible for every Word
and every jot and tittle in the Bible? Well, God is. Even His scribes
can not make mistakes. It is His Word and vindicated to be so. 

	(a)	He created the devil. 

	(b) 	He put those two trees in the Garden of Eden. 

 	(c) 	He created the serpent. 

 	(d) 	God has taken full responsibility for all creation and has even
written its history. 

	Huh? Well, come on. “I’m the Lord, I change not. All these things
I’ve made” So, God’s on the spot. Who said He wasn’t?

51.	Now then, we go to Gen 9:6. And in Genesis 9, we find that it is
appointed unto the person who murders and sheds somebody’s blood, that
he himself be destroyed. 

(6)	Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in
the image of God made he man.

	 It tells you here distinctly, now the life is in the blood, so God is
calling for capital punishment for all who shed blood and, consequently,
life. His blood is to be shed. 

	Now, be very careful here for I am not trying to make a doctrine. I’m
just trying to show you that God has taken full responsibility for all
that He is and says and does and all that has happened. Now, He can not
take responsibility for some things in the sense where the Word has gone
entirely awry. But He takes entire responsibility for all of His Word
and, therefore, if there is any consequence that comes from what He has
done by creation, then God Himself is responsible, because He is the One
who creates. Now, you take carefully what I’m saying, because I’m
not making a doctrine. I’m just trying to show you something here. God
knew what Satan would do. 

52.	It is certainly true the prophet Irenaeus said, “God being a
Saviour, was necessary to predestinate a man who would be a sinner, in
order to give God reason and purpose of being. God being a Healer is
necessary to predestinate a man to be sick to give Him purpose and
reason of being.” And Bro Branham by vindication corroborated that one
hundred per cent perfect. His original saying was, “Deep calleth unto
deep.” If there’s something in there calling, there’s something
out there to answer. My own saying was a Christian Science thing.
There’s nothing lost; it’s only mislaid. But when I saw what
Irenaeus said, that solved it, because he said it exactly right. 

	And here I see from Genesis 9:6, I see the principle of the shedding of
blood, where if a man has shed another man’s blood, and this is the
truth, because the first blood shed was by another man. And God, being
what He was, had to interject a serpent seed, even as Eve had to be out
of the original creation, “Because it wasn’t becoming to God,”
said Bro. Branham, vindicated, “that a Son of God should fall.” So,
she was out of the original creation. And this individual, the serpent,
the beast, was so close to a human being, so utterly beautiful and
masculine, he out-machoed, without a doubt, Adam. Bro. Branham went so
far as to make certain statements I won’t make tonight, but you can
read them in “Marriage and Divorce” for yourself. 

53.	But my point is this: that God Almighty, knew exactly what would
transpire. He knew exactly everything He had in mind and how it was
going to be done. So, therefore, in the requiring of the shedding of
blood by man’s hand, God sheds His own life, as He takes full
responsibility as Creator and Maintainer of all created things and,
thereby, becomes the perfect Saviour of mankind. For there on the cross
we see the human form of God. And remember, Jesus is absolutely,
unqualifiedly in the Book of Acts, called ‘the Blood of God’. 

	There on the cross we see the human form of God, and that’s found in
Rev 3:14. “The beginning of the creation of God;” where God begins
to create Himself in a human form. And you’ve heard me talk on “The
Becoming God”, three hours, down there in Houston. Time after time up
here in the ‘becoming God’, showing step by step how God did
it—the great Patriarch, the great God, multi-faceted; we’d never
understand, even eternity will not declare it all. But there on the
cross we see the human form of God and here His Son. 

54.	Now, remember; that Son is identical to God, except in time, for
Jesus had a beginning. And remember; life brings itself a form. And that
life formed the form in the beginning, which was perfectly commensurate
with what came from God, because it was from God it was formed. And you
read what Paul says in Hebrews, and what Bro. Branham said, there’s no
difference between Jesus and God, except Jesus had a beginning; you will
see the perfect revelation of God and His Son. 

	Now, it’s not a second God. It’s as little Jehovah compared to big
Jehovah; like little panda compared to big panda; little bear compared
to big bear. And we’re mighty, little Jehovahs. If we ain’t,
there’s something wrong with the Bible. 

	You say, “Bro. Vayle, you believe for one minute you’re the Elohim
of God?” 

	No, I’m a son of God. Don’t get your goofy, pentecostal, universal,
stupid ideas directed my way. Not that you have. We don’t tolerate
that nonsense, because we’ve got a Bible to go by that’s vindicated.


	Bro. Branham said, “Jesus didn’t bypass that form that you and I
bypassed.” No, we’ll talk about that Sunday, but not tonight. 

55.	Now, listen; then, there on the cross, we see the human form of God
and hear the Son’s voice by the life of God. He was that Son, the
spirit of God. And what did that voice say? “Father, forgive them they
know not what they do.” Now, listen. If it was God in Him doing the
work, the works, and it was God in him that was saying the words, then
tell me, will these words be the words of Jesus, on this consideration
and this momentous occasion, or will they be the words of God Himself? I
choose to believe they’re the words of God Himself. 

	 These are the words given to the Son to say, that human body there, in
the human body, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do.”
They didn’t know in the beginning, and they don’t know now.
“I’ll take full responsibility, because I remember the glory that I
had with You, the knowledge that I had then, and which has kept me from
being tempted unto loss.”

	 They did not have a Word body, so they fell. They could not remember,
so they fell, because there was nothing from the previous life that they
could compare with this life. In other words, the eye could not see the
true reality that was theirs, and so they took a second best and a third
and a fourth and a fifth and a sixth, until a son of God can be as
thoroughly degraded in the flesh as any Genghis Khan, or any Mohammedan
Turk, who said the way to Paradise is to get rid of the Christians. 

56.	The same life that tempted Paul, which he shuck because he was a son
of God, down deep in the flesh, those same people never had. And Jesus
said, “Now, I am here for them.” God taking complete responsibility.
Didn’t I read to you concerning Abraham? Didn’t I read the same
Scripture that said, “Out of that came the priesthood Melchisedec?”
Didn’t I read in that same Scripture, of Hebrews 6, “Whither the
forerunner, Jesus has entered in?” 

57.	Now, I want to ask you a question. On this Good Friday, in spite of
the fact the question comes up, “Who killed Jesus, the Jews or the
Romans?” I got news for you. He said, “Nobody can take my life. I
give it, I’m giving it. I’m taking full responsibility. Then, if
there’s full responsibility, brother/sister, there isn’t any
responsibility left.

	You say, “Bro. Vayle, I should be a better person.” 

	That hasn’t got a thing to do with it. Not a thing to do with it. You
are trying to lay eggs before you’re old enough to be a chicken that
lays eggs. You’re trying to sow some seed before you’ve got any seed
to sow. You’re trying to eat potatoes before there’s any on your
plate or anybody to give you any potatoes. 

	When the atonement is spoken of in eternal life, it becomes of
necessity a singular subject in each case, of which nothing can be added
to or taken from. Nor do you dare to express anything whatsoever, but
the simplistic, one hundred percent, elemental—which means it’s
pure, every element is pure and stays that way; that’s what you
express. And God is one hundred percent responsible, and He said, “I
will lose none.” And He won’t. 

58.	As in our day he gave us a vindicated prophet to show every single
Word of God has been brought to pass concerning this hour, even as it
was brought to pass in the time of Jesus, when He said, “Which of you
convinceth me of sin?” which means, ‘which of you can confute one
word’? which means, ‘what word have I not fulfilled or left void or
unexplained’? (And they couldn’t do it.), so in this hour, on this
Good Friday night, we look back to the cross and see the responsible
God. We see the shed Blood, which is the bleaching Blood that bleaches
all stains and perfects the Bride. Bro. Branham said, “The blood of
Christ perfects the Bride.” Well, does it or doesn’t it? 

	“Well, it does in this condition, Bro. Vayle, that I certainly
receive the Holy Ghost and I begin to walk in the spirit. Like Paul
said, `If you live in the spirit, walk in the spirit.’ And I do so and
so and so and so...” 

	Oh, why don’t you shut up and listen? You’re telling me that you
said to your father and mother, “Bring me to birth!” when you just
told me, my God, I wish I’d have enough brains so I wouldn’t have
been born. Kinda stupid, aren’t we? 

59.	I’m not proud of my preaching. But I only know one way to preach
and that’s to preach hard and hit hard. Our ears are so full of wax,
we need them cuffed, so the wax comes out. Our hearts are so layered
with unbelief, we need the layers cut away. 

60.	We see the shed Blood which is the bleaching Blood that bleaches all
stains and perfects the Bride. We see the one in Revelation 5 come in
Revelation 10 and in Rev 4:16, and in…1 Th 4:16, and in 2 Th 1:7-10,
and appears in Eph 1:17, and takes full authority and responsibility to
head the church in 1 Corinthians 15, putting all things under the feet
of Jesus, until the Son hands the Kingdom back to the Father, and God
becomes ‘All and in All’. I’m asking you a question, Who’s doing
it? The One that came down. The One that came down. 

 	The preachers aren’t doing it. If you want a mess-up, just leave it
to the preachers. And if you want a bigger mess-up, leave it to the
congregation. Because at least the preachers think they’ve got a
calling; and the congregation surely ain’t; sure they have and they
haven’t. But the preachers, you just might have a chance of someone
speaking up and getting it right. But that’s not the congregation’s
job. I’m not trying to take any authority. I’m just telling you what
the Bible says. 

 	…Putting all things under the feet of Jesus, where God becomes
‘All and in All’. And we become the all things of God, according to
the spirit that’s now revealed, according to Eph 1:17, wherein the
knowledge of Him brings about the Resurrection, that brings about our
change, that brings about the Rapture, that brings about the
reincarnation, that puts every single thing under the feet of Jesus, who
is now crowned; that spirit in the midst now becoming incarnate. He’s
King of Kings, and Lord of Lords; that will be the Son of man, the Son
of God, the Son of David, the Altogether Lovely. 

61.	Yes, Jehovah is a responsible God. Even His Name suggests a
responsibility that transcends every responsibility to the extent of the
guarantee that we come forth in the perfect image. And that image is His
Son. You can’t bypass that, brother/sister. He said, Jesus said, “He
won’t lose one.” As Bro. Branham quoted so many times, “God hath
planted and God hath watered and no man can pluck it out of His hand,”
and publicly declared that we are the true Bride; that we did not even
sin: the virtuous, sinless one, the spotless one of the Lord Jesus
Christ. 

	We were tricked into it. How was that allowed? Then, who took
responsibility and said, “Look, I’m going to take it right back to
where I want it.” 

	Do you see what I’m trying to show you? Calvary took everything out
of our hands. And just like Cain, we’re still trying to weave
something around; like organization, we’re still trying to weave
something around. You can’t weave it around. The only thing anybody
can do by weaving anything around is weaving his own self around in the
sight of God with His help to let God have His way—like prayer. Bro.
Branham said, “Prayer is not trying to change God’s mind; prayer is
getting God to help you change your mind.” See? 

62.	Okay, finally, this God wrote a book by prophets and, at the end of
time, vindicated His Word that He Himself is here and responsible now to
raise the dead and change the living and take us all into the New
Jerusalem. That He came to Eden when the first chips were down, when the
son and daughter had fallen, showed His responsibility. He didn’t send
somebody else. He Himself came, and Bro. Branham said it’s the same
today. He never sent an Archangel. What about the fact that it’s a
voice of the Archangel? That is merely an appellation. It’s only God
who can raise the dead. Let’s face it. 

63.	And so, therefore, Jesus does all three in descending. Not that
Jesus in the body, but the one that Paul met on the road to Damascus and
the Pillar of Fire. That same one, he said, in the Desert of Arabia,
gave him the revelation. He said, “Listen, that same One is here,
because there wasn’t anybody else he could trust.” That’s what He
said in Hebrews 6: could not trust anybody but Himself. 

	“Well, doesn’t God trust me?” 

	Well, you better answer that question yourself. If you were God, would
you trust me? [Laughter] No. 

64.	So, what about the apostle Paul? He got mad and lost his cool. Peter
got scared and walked out. John got so enamored with love, he forgot
until Diotrephes rose up against him, then he suddenly found there
wasn’t so much love as he thought he had. He said, “I’ll show you
who’s boss when I get there.” 

	I’m not fussing at these guys. I’m just telling you something. Hey,
God never trusted anybody except with his Word of grace. Take it out
there, and see what happens. 

	“You’re fallible. I’m not. You miss it. I won’t. Just
believe.” 

	See, that’s where real faith comes in. I’m not responsible, but He
is. God is a responsible God. And He’s going to respond to His Word,
which He gave us by grace. We are His responsibility, and He is proving
it over and over again. 

65.	Psalm 121. Nice little Psalm. 

(1)	 I will lift up mine eyes unto to the hills, from whence cometh my
help?

	 Now, they tell me the way to read that is, this is like the heathen;
they look to the hills, but God’s not in the hills. 

(1)	 I will lift up my eyes ..to the hills, from whence cometh my help?

	 There isn’t any help there. You’ve looked up where the gods are.
There isn’t any. “Whence cometh my help? Who’s going to answer
back? 

(2)	My help cometh from the LORD, (There it is.) which made heaven and
earth. (Ah, ha, Creator.) 

(3)	He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will
not slumber. 

(4)	Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. 

(5)	The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. 

(6)	The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. (Great
Tribulation’s coming.) 

(7)	The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy
soul. 

(8)	And the LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in       
from this time forth, …even for evermore.

66.	Now, what is communion all about tonight? We’re celebrating
communion on this wonderful Good Friday night, when he shed His Blood,
and this is the appropriate time to do it. When he died, that is His
body, the flesh did. We celebrate it tonight, showing and believing that
our very lives from the genes which were in God, our Father, in the
beginning, to the very end of its fulfillment and its full value and
full glorification before the Throne in New Jerusalem, is God’s
responsibility and our great joy, our relaxation, our peace, even as
Paul said, “I’m living, but I’m living by the faith of the Son of
God;” not even His own faith. Who said, “I’ve been crucified with
Christ (everybody dies) nevertheless I live; and yet not I, but Christ
lives in me: and the life that I now live in the flesh, I’m going to
tell you something about it. It’s not even my faith, it’s His.
It’s His responsibility. 

	And though I understand the Psalmist said, “A righteous man can fall
seven times, the Lord will pick him up.” Paul, himself said, “Who
art thou O man that judge another man’s servant by his own mastery,
stands or falleth, therefore, leave him alone.” 

67.	And Bro. Branham said, “Lot, he wasn’t a silver dollar that
Abraham was,” but he said, there are many people who can’t be silver
dollars, but they range maybe a penny, a nickel, a dime, a quarter,
fifty cents.

	You know the old saying, “Two bits, four bits, six bits, eight
bits…nickel, dimes.” And do you know how it is, that nickel and
dimers, they nickel and dime you to death. He laid it out cold and he
said, “Look, he said, “They’re all in the economy of God, don’t
despise them.” As the Scripture said, “Don’t despise the day of
small mercies.” You’re looking for something so big, it may never
happen. As Bro. Branham himself said, “It’s the little things,” he
said, “not the big things that really count.” 

68.	So, we get a look at this whole picture and say, “Hey, listen; if
anything can inspire me to the reality of a life that I can pour out
toward God, it has to be the fact of His great responsibility. How can I
not respond on this great and wonderful Good Friday, when He took the
full responsibility for you and me, brother/sister? And we believe.

	Let’s pray.

	Heavenly Father, we want to thank You tonight. We know all along that
you became flesh in order to shed Your Blood, and the Life was in the
Blood, and the Life made a tabernacle, and it was the Life of God, the
very Blood of God that flowed out there. There’s no two ways about it.
And there we saw the full responsibility taken. And you never told man
one thing that You Yourself haven’t already fulfilled or would
fulfill…when all this life’s blood has been shed upon the earth even
at this very hour You accepted lambs and rams and sacrifice of bulls,
oxen, and turtle doves as they looked forward to the precious blood of
Jesus Christ as the Lamb without spot and blemish, and we look back
tonight, Lord, and we see that You allowed men to take that precious
life, that precious Blood and shed it, and took full responsibility for
every one of Your children. Yes, Lord, really, we can say the truth of
the Scripture that “God so loved the world that He gave His
Only-begotten Son, whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have
everlasting life” and that Blood could cover the whole earth like a
circle like Bro. Branham saw in that vision, but unto whom was
condemnation pardoned, it was those who came to the light, and like
Abel, they saw the Blood, and they knew that responsibility now lay in
Your hands, and that responsibility cleared them.

	We ask you, Lord, to help us tonight as we partake of the emblem of
Your shed Blood, the bread which signifies the broken Body. Lord, could
it just be, not my preaching because I admit, Lord, it’s almost void
of spirit... I don’t even know if I could claim any of that, spiritual
understanding, intelligence, or anything in myself. I know I cannot do
it. But Lord, if there’d be, and I believe there is, truth in what was
said, we ask Your help, tonight, Lord, to help us get out of the way,
giving our minds over to You. There’s no longer a battle now, but
heavenly Father, by Your Spirit, wield Your Sword and crack open these
repelsive skulls of ours, spiritually-speaking, hard-headedness, layers
of unbelief, might all dissolve tonight and we see that when You took
responsibility, You took responsibility, and we don’t have anything to
do with it except leave it in Your hand, the One who’s responsible.

	And, Lord, all the time we know we don’t want to be responsible…we
can’t be anyway, so we’re asking You forgive us where we’ve taken
things out of Your hands, which we have, and respond with a true
responsibility that we must come to as a basic, honest basis: if
You’re responsible, we’re not; we leave it in Your hands. And then,
Lord, the life that we can live, again we know, it’s only going to be
lived by the life that You gave us and shed down upon us.

	Help us tonight to trust that. We’re not looking for some little
Houdini trick as Bro. Branham would say, or some little formula tonight,
oh God, as we partake of these elements, but we know in partaking
there’s certainly could be, in Your love and in Your grace and mercy,
a fulfillment of what we desire tonight to get all of this out of our
hearts and let the responsibility, Lord, that’s Yours, be Yours, and
our responsiveness, which you want us to demonstrate, flow forth,
because that’s what You want, and that’s what we want. May it be
merged tonight, oh God, as You and I and this people here, seek this
desire in the kingdom of heaven when You said, Lord, if two be agreed,
it should be done. May it be done tonight, and we give you the praise in
the name of Jesus Christ, our Saviour. Amen.

	Shall we rise at this time. [Communion and Foot-washing services
begin.]

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