Unfortunately
many homes, yes even so-called Christian homes, are like the one in
which the little girl pointed to the Bible on the mantle that was never
opened, and said to her mother, "Whose book is that?"
Her mother quite startled by her daughters question replied, "Why honey, don't you know? That is God's book!"
The child demonstrating that she had a very practical turn to
her mind said, "Don't you think that we had better give it back to him?
No one around here ever reads it."
Monday, 13 June 2016
Wednesday, 8 June 2016
Why? Because He said so ...
So if God did, in fact, send a prophet, shouldn’t we believe all that he says?
The serpent’s objective was to get Adam’s wife to doubt just one word of God’s instructions. He knew that once the seed was planted in her mind, he could have his way with her. And we all know what happened next.
Eve believed God, but instead of standing firm, she stopped for a moment to listen to the serpent’s argument. He reasoned with her, getting her to disbelieve one thing: “thou shalt surely die,” and added a little to it to make the Message more acceptable to reasoning: “thou shalt not surely die.” Then he had her under his control, and her doubt exploded into sin, death, and destruction. That old serpent’s approach in the Garden of Eden has been successful for 6,000 years, and he’s become a master at planting the seed of doubt. He learned a long time ago that he doesn’t need to tackle the entire Bible; all he needs to do is cause his victim to disbelieve one word. Then doubt has an open door to spread from Genesis to Revelation. True to form, he is doing the same thing with the Gospel today.
You’ve probably heard about the recent attacks on Brother Branham’s Message through various websites and forums. Their tactics use the vast information that is so readily available through the internet to seduce believers into doubting. What they are not saying is that there are thousands of websites, books, and other publications by atheists that use the exact same methods to discredit the Bible. It’s the old trick from the Garden that has taken on a new form.
What is the tactics of Satan? Reasoning. “It’s just reasonable.” And when you hear anything that reasons against the Word, get away from it. It’s the devil. Don’t care how old fashion it is, how strange it looks, when God said so, that settles it eternally. Get away from anything that reasons against the Word.
62-0713 FROM THAT TIME
Another fiercely contested testimony is Paul on his road to Damascus and his experience with the Lord Jesus.
In Acts 9, the men with him “stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.” In Acts 22, Paul retells the story and says the men “saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.”
This seems like a direct contradiction, but the skeptics don’t stop there. The same story is told three times, and every time the Lord’s instructions to Paul are told slightly different. Acts 9 is brief:
“Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.”
Acts 22, when Paul is talking to the Jews, he goes into a little more depth: “Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do.” Then, when he was speaking to Agrippa in Acts 26, he went into even more detail:
“But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.”
The critic would argue that some 30 years after the experience, when his life is on the line, Paul “embellishes” to justify his ministry, and says that Jesus, Himself, commissioned him to preach to the Gentiles, even though there was no mention of this in the previous accounts.
So which account of Paul’s experience is true? They all are. The natural eye would think that the telling of this story is different decades after it took place, so it must be false. In reality, the Book of Acts is written exactly the way God wanted it. There are many who claim to believe the Bible but are critics of Brother Branham’s Message because Brother Branham described the seven visions from 1933 or his commission from the Angel of the Lord slightly different at times. The “inconsistency” is not in the Message, but in the way they judge the Message.
Were Paul’s different testimonies false because they were told slightly different? Of course not. Further, if they judge the Message by the Bible, then they will see that it is precisely in line with the way the prophets spoke. That is why we listen to so many tapes and read the entire Bible. We don’t read Matthew, and leave out the other three Gospels, and neither do we listen to the Seven Seals and leave out Daniel’s Seventy Weeks.
We take it all because it ALL is the inspired Word of God.
Get Brother Branham's downloadable sermons at http://branham.org/en/MessageAudio
What? Who is William Branham? Here: http://branham.org/en/williambranham and http://themessage.com/messenger.
God bless you.
The serpent’s objective was to get Adam’s wife to doubt just one word of God’s instructions. He knew that once the seed was planted in her mind, he could have his way with her. And we all know what happened next.
Eve believed God, but instead of standing firm, she stopped for a moment to listen to the serpent’s argument. He reasoned with her, getting her to disbelieve one thing: “thou shalt surely die,” and added a little to it to make the Message more acceptable to reasoning: “thou shalt not surely die.” Then he had her under his control, and her doubt exploded into sin, death, and destruction. That old serpent’s approach in the Garden of Eden has been successful for 6,000 years, and he’s become a master at planting the seed of doubt. He learned a long time ago that he doesn’t need to tackle the entire Bible; all he needs to do is cause his victim to disbelieve one word. Then doubt has an open door to spread from Genesis to Revelation. True to form, he is doing the same thing with the Gospel today.
You’ve probably heard about the recent attacks on Brother Branham’s Message through various websites and forums. Their tactics use the vast information that is so readily available through the internet to seduce believers into doubting. What they are not saying is that there are thousands of websites, books, and other publications by atheists that use the exact same methods to discredit the Bible. It’s the old trick from the Garden that has taken on a new form.
What is the tactics of Satan? Reasoning. “It’s just reasonable.” And when you hear anything that reasons against the Word, get away from it. It’s the devil. Don’t care how old fashion it is, how strange it looks, when God said so, that settles it eternally. Get away from anything that reasons against the Word.
62-0713 FROM THAT TIME
Another fiercely contested testimony is Paul on his road to Damascus and his experience with the Lord Jesus.
In Acts 9, the men with him “stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.” In Acts 22, Paul retells the story and says the men “saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.”
This seems like a direct contradiction, but the skeptics don’t stop there. The same story is told three times, and every time the Lord’s instructions to Paul are told slightly different. Acts 9 is brief:
“Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.”
Acts 22, when Paul is talking to the Jews, he goes into a little more depth: “Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do.” Then, when he was speaking to Agrippa in Acts 26, he went into even more detail:
“But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.”
The critic would argue that some 30 years after the experience, when his life is on the line, Paul “embellishes” to justify his ministry, and says that Jesus, Himself, commissioned him to preach to the Gentiles, even though there was no mention of this in the previous accounts.
So which account of Paul’s experience is true? They all are. The natural eye would think that the telling of this story is different decades after it took place, so it must be false. In reality, the Book of Acts is written exactly the way God wanted it. There are many who claim to believe the Bible but are critics of Brother Branham’s Message because Brother Branham described the seven visions from 1933 or his commission from the Angel of the Lord slightly different at times. The “inconsistency” is not in the Message, but in the way they judge the Message.
Were Paul’s different testimonies false because they were told slightly different? Of course not. Further, if they judge the Message by the Bible, then they will see that it is precisely in line with the way the prophets spoke. That is why we listen to so many tapes and read the entire Bible. We don’t read Matthew, and leave out the other three Gospels, and neither do we listen to the Seven Seals and leave out Daniel’s Seventy Weeks.
We take it all because it ALL is the inspired Word of God.
Get Brother Branham's downloadable sermons at http://branham.org/en/MessageAudio
What? Who is William Branham? Here: http://branham.org/en/williambranham and http://themessage.com/messenger.
God bless you.
Message Of Deliverance
63 Now, we would notice that it was a message of deliverance. He went down and tried to deliver the people, and they refused to hear Him. And today, it's the same thing in our nation, among our people. I've had the privilege of seeing our Lord Jesus in the meetings, do signs, and wonders, and great things. And the people will actually stand at the platform and know beyond a shadow of doubt, that the—that the great, immortal, infinite God, is present and performing the same kind of a miracle, and they'll stand there and chew chewing gum, and walk off the platform, unconcerned; they don't care.
65 It looks to me like if a man had any kind of a spirituality about him, or the Spirit of God in him, and when he seen the Lord Jesus do just what He said He would do, it would thrill his heart in such a way, that he couldn't hold his peace any longer. He would set the nation afire with the message. "As it was in them days," He said, "so will it be." That message went forth, and they merely laughed at it, and mocked at it, as someone who was telling some kind of a idle tale. But it was of mercy, and it was of grace, and it was of deliverance. Oh, my. And the Angel said, that morning, to Lot, after He'd give the message, He said, "Hasten, come hither, for I can do nothing till thou hast come hither."
67 I want you to notice this now, 'cause we have to cut short here on account of the prayer line. Did you notice what the Angel said, "I can't do nothing till you come hither." What was it? Was a message of deliverance. And before one speck of fire could fall from heaven, Lot had to get out of Sodom. And before one drop of rain fell from heaven, Noah went into the ark. And before the atom bomb can strike this nation, the church will go in the rapture to meet the Lord Jesus. And if the sputniks, and the missiles are set, and the hammers are pulled back, the Angels are all standing in order. Hallelujah. The great corridors of heaven is crowded full. The harps are all in tune. The great bands are already practiced up. There's a homecoming time pretty soon, for the church of the living God, who's been waiting His coming. Everything's in order. I'm so glad.
58-0309E - Will The Church Go Before The Tribulation?
Rev. William Marrion Branham
http://table.branham.org
63 Now, we would
notice that it was a message of deliverance. He went down and tried to
deliver the people, and they refused to hear Him. And today, it's the
same thing in our nation, among our people. I've had the privilege of
seeing our Lord Jesus in the meetings, do signs, and wonders, and great
things. And the people will actually stand at the platform and know
beyond a shadow of doubt, that the—that the great, immortal, infinite
God, is present and performing the same kind of a miracle, and they'll
stand there and chew chewing gum, and walk off the platform,
unconcerned; they don't care.
65 It looks to me like if a man had any kind of a spirituality about
him, or the Spirit of God in him, and when he seen the Lord Jesus do
just what He said He would do, it would thrill his heart in such a way,
that he couldn't hold his peace any longer. He would set the nation
afire with the message.
"As it was in them days," He said, "so will it be." That message went
forth, and they merely laughed at it, and mocked at it, as someone who
was telling some kind of a idle tale. But it was of mercy, and it was of
grace, and it was of deliverance. Oh, my. And the Angel said, that
morning, to Lot, after He'd give the message, He said, "Hasten, come
hither, for I can do nothing till thou hast come hither."
67 I want you to notice this now, 'cause we have to cut short here on
account of the prayer line. Did you notice what the Angel said, "I can't
do nothing till you come hither." What was it? Was a message of
deliverance. And before one speck of fire could fall from heaven, Lot
had to get out of Sodom. And before one drop of rain fell from heaven,
Noah went into the ark. And before the atom bomb can strike this nation,
the church will go in the rapture to meet the Lord Jesus. And if the
sputniks, and the missiles are set, and the hammers are pulled back, the
Angels are all standing in order. Hallelujah. The great corridors of
heaven is crowded full. The harps are all in tune. The great bands are
already practiced up. There's a homecoming time pretty soon, for the
church of the living God, who's been waiting His coming.
Everything's in order. I'm so glad.
58-0309E - Will The Church Go Before The Tribulation?
Rev. William Marrion Branham
http://table.branham.org
58-0309E - Will The Church Go Before The Tribulation?
Rev. William Marrion Branham
http://table.branham.org
63 Now, we would
notice that it was a message of deliverance. He went down and tried to
deliver the people, and they refused to hear Him. And today, it's the
same thing in our nation, among our people. I've had the privilege of
seeing our Lord Jesus in the meetings, do signs, and wonders, and great
things. And the people will actually stand at the platform and know
beyond a shadow of doubt, that the—that the great, immortal, infinite
God, is present and performing the same kind of a miracle, and they'll
stand there and chew chewing gum, and walk off the platform,
unconcerned; they don't care.
65 It looks to me like if a man had any kind of a spirituality about
him, or the Spirit of God in him, and when he seen the Lord Jesus do
just what He said He would do, it would thrill his heart in such a way,
that he couldn't hold his peace any longer. He would set the nation
afire with the message.
"As it was in them days," He said, "so will it be." That message went
forth, and they merely laughed at it, and mocked at it, as someone who
was telling some kind of a idle tale. But it was of mercy, and it was of
grace, and it was of deliverance. Oh, my. And the Angel said, that
morning, to Lot, after He'd give the message, He said, "Hasten, come
hither, for I can do nothing till thou hast come hither."
67 I want you to notice this now, 'cause we have to cut short here on
account of the prayer line. Did you notice what the Angel said, "I can't
do nothing till you come hither." What was it? Was a message of
deliverance. And before one speck of fire could fall from heaven, Lot
had to get out of Sodom. And before one drop of rain fell from heaven,
Noah went into the ark. And before the atom bomb can strike this nation,
the church will go in the rapture to meet the Lord Jesus. And if the
sputniks, and the missiles are set, and the hammers are pulled back, the
Angels are all standing in order. Hallelujah. The great corridors of
heaven is crowded full. The harps are all in tune. The great bands are
already practiced up. There's a homecoming time pretty soon, for the
church of the living God, who's been waiting His coming.
Everything's in order. I'm so glad.
58-0309E - Will The Church Go Before The Tribulation?
Rev. William Marrion Branham
http://table.branham.org
58-0309E - Will The Church Go Before The Tribulation?
Rev. William Marrion Branham
http://table.branham.org
Monday, 1 February 2016
Hearken today to God's Prophet
381-3
Not for one moment do I bring a message to the people that they may follow me, or join my church, or start some fellowship and organization. I have never done that and will not do that now. I have no interest in those things, but I do have an interest in the things of God and people, and if I can accomplish just one thing I will be satisfied. That one thing is to see established a true spiritual relationship between God and men, wherein men become new creations in Christ, filled with His Spirit and live according to His Word. I would invite, plead and warn all to hear His voice at this time, and yield your lives completely to Him, even as I trust in my heart that I have given my all to Him. God bless you, and may His coming rejoice your heart.
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
Chapter Ten - A Resume Of The Ages
Rev. William Marrion Branham
http://table.branham.org
Wednesday, 27 January 2016
Don't make any decisions too harshly or too quickly ...
54-0723
The Prophet Elisha
Sometimes we go off on a tantrum somewhere and not think about God, not pray over it, ask the Lord whether we should do it or not, and we find out that our supply of blessings is cut off. Then we wonder sometime, "Well, wonder why I can't have no more blessings." You don't watch, you let down in your prayer life. You say, "Well, I'm a Christian." Well, that's the more sign you should pray, more than ever. Read the Bible every day. Pray every day. Don't make any decisions too harshly or too quickly, without first considering God about them. Ask Him, "Shall I do this, Father?" Ask Him, "Is it Your will for me to do this?" Then see what the Holy Spirit will speak to you. He might not give you a vision, but He will speak in some way to you, to let you know, if you'll be sincere and ask Him.
The Prophet Elisha
Sometimes we go off on a tantrum somewhere and not think about God, not pray over it, ask the Lord whether we should do it or not, and we find out that our supply of blessings is cut off. Then we wonder sometime, "Well, wonder why I can't have no more blessings." You don't watch, you let down in your prayer life. You say, "Well, I'm a Christian." Well, that's the more sign you should pray, more than ever. Read the Bible every day. Pray every day. Don't make any decisions too harshly or too quickly, without first considering God about them. Ask Him, "Shall I do this, Father?" Ask Him, "Is it Your will for me to do this?" Then see what the Holy Spirit will speak to you. He might not give you a vision, but He will speak in some way to you, to let you know, if you'll be sincere and ask Him.
Wednesday, 9 December 2015
Check your motives ...
107. Brother Branham,
if these questions are out of line then just disregard them, and I won't
feel bad about it, for I will know it was not the hand of the Lord.
Question number one: Brother Branham, I have heard you… that it
should—should be back in the… I—I—I have heard you say I should be back
in the ministry, and I have thought upon it myself, but have waited upon
some definitely word from Him about it. Up to date it hasn't come. Now,
since I know the end is so near, should I still wait for the Lord Jesus
to—to speak to me? Or, would He be pleased to tell you what to tell me,
since I know you are His spokesman for this day?
Well now, brother, I'd… I got wrote down here my answer to it. God
calling this brother, a call in life… Now, there's one great thing we
could just take that as a text and preach all night on it (See?), that
one thing, "a calling." "Make your calling and election sure." See? We
don't want to be just wondering if we're called. You must be called or
you'll be defeated; we're fighting a battle. See? And if you are
positive sure, brother, that your calling is of God, and you've been
called of God to do a work…
Now, there's a great trick there that the enemy can play on you. He can
make you think you're not called when you are called, then he turn right
back around make you think you're not called; or make you think
you're—you are called when you're not called, vice versa, either way.
And you have to watch it.
29 Now, here's the way to do it. Find out first… Well now, this is advice; only thing I can give on this is advice. See? But make sure that your calling comes from God, and then check your motives and objectives. See? Now, you know what I mean by that. What is your motive for preaching? Was it just… You think it was a easier job than what you have? Then you'd better forget it; it wasn't a call. A call of God burns so in your heart you can't rest day and night for it. You just can't get away from it; it's just constantly grinding at you.
31 And—and if you had to preach… You say, well now, another objective, "I believe at the job I've got, if I could be a successful evangelist or a pastor, have a good set salary, have a home that I could go into and so forth, and live, then I—I believe that would be a good thing, much easier than what I'm doing now. And really I think it would be…" Now, see, your objective is wrong to begin with. See, it's not right. See? You—you're wrong there on that. Then you'd say, "Well, maybe because that I am a—think maybe that I'd be more popular amongst the people." See, you'll find out you're just ready for a big flop (See?), really. See? But now, if your objective is that "I don't care if I have to eat soda crackers and branch—drink branch water, I'll preach the Gospel anyhow." Something just tearing into you, "I'll either preach the Gospel or die." See? Then you'll—you'll go somewhere, because it's God dealing with you. God is making Hisself known to you, because it is God just won't let you rest. And usually, a God-called man never wants to do it. Did you ever think of that? Any man…
34 Just recently it was asked of me by some very precious brethren that said, "Now, that we have come into the way, Brother Branham, now that we found the Lord and received the Holy Ghost, shall we seek gifts for our ministry that we should do?" I said, "Don't never do it." See? Don't never advise people to do something like that, 'cause usually a guy that wants to do it is a guy that—that can't do it. It's the guy that's trying to run from it is the one that God uses. See? If he's trying to get away from it, "Oh, brother, I tell you, I… The calling's in me but I… Whew. Man, I'd hate to try that." Well, there you are. You see? That—that's trying to run. If he's—if he wants to do it so bad, the first thing you know he finds himself a stuffed shirt. Like you say, "God, you give me power to move mountains; I tell You; I'll do something for You if You let me move mountains." No, he wouldn't; he can't even move hisself to the right attitude (See?), so he'd never move mountains for God.
38 Just take, for instance, like Paul. You think Paul could've got away from his calling? Oh, brother. He couldn't do it. It was just grinding at him day and night till he left his church, he left everything and—and went down into… I believe it was Asia, wasn't it? And stayed three years down there, studying the Scriptures, to find out whether It was right or not (See?) to find out whether God had really called him. So if God is calling you, brother, and it keeps digging at your heart, then I'd say, "Lay aside every weight, and the sin that does so easily beset you." You see? If… But if it's not digging at you, and then I—I—I wouldn't think too much about it then. Just let it come to its place.
61-0112 - Questions And Answers
Rev. William Marrion Branham
http://table.branham.org
29 Now, here's the way to do it. Find out first… Well now, this is advice; only thing I can give on this is advice. See? But make sure that your calling comes from God, and then check your motives and objectives. See? Now, you know what I mean by that. What is your motive for preaching? Was it just… You think it was a easier job than what you have? Then you'd better forget it; it wasn't a call. A call of God burns so in your heart you can't rest day and night for it. You just can't get away from it; it's just constantly grinding at you.
31 And—and if you had to preach… You say, well now, another objective, "I believe at the job I've got, if I could be a successful evangelist or a pastor, have a good set salary, have a home that I could go into and so forth, and live, then I—I believe that would be a good thing, much easier than what I'm doing now. And really I think it would be…" Now, see, your objective is wrong to begin with. See, it's not right. See? You—you're wrong there on that. Then you'd say, "Well, maybe because that I am a—think maybe that I'd be more popular amongst the people." See, you'll find out you're just ready for a big flop (See?), really. See? But now, if your objective is that "I don't care if I have to eat soda crackers and branch—drink branch water, I'll preach the Gospel anyhow." Something just tearing into you, "I'll either preach the Gospel or die." See? Then you'll—you'll go somewhere, because it's God dealing with you. God is making Hisself known to you, because it is God just won't let you rest. And usually, a God-called man never wants to do it. Did you ever think of that? Any man…
34 Just recently it was asked of me by some very precious brethren that said, "Now, that we have come into the way, Brother Branham, now that we found the Lord and received the Holy Ghost, shall we seek gifts for our ministry that we should do?" I said, "Don't never do it." See? Don't never advise people to do something like that, 'cause usually a guy that wants to do it is a guy that—that can't do it. It's the guy that's trying to run from it is the one that God uses. See? If he's trying to get away from it, "Oh, brother, I tell you, I… The calling's in me but I… Whew. Man, I'd hate to try that." Well, there you are. You see? That—that's trying to run. If he's—if he wants to do it so bad, the first thing you know he finds himself a stuffed shirt. Like you say, "God, you give me power to move mountains; I tell You; I'll do something for You if You let me move mountains." No, he wouldn't; he can't even move hisself to the right attitude (See?), so he'd never move mountains for God.
38 Just take, for instance, like Paul. You think Paul could've got away from his calling? Oh, brother. He couldn't do it. It was just grinding at him day and night till he left his church, he left everything and—and went down into… I believe it was Asia, wasn't it? And stayed three years down there, studying the Scriptures, to find out whether It was right or not (See?) to find out whether God had really called him. So if God is calling you, brother, and it keeps digging at your heart, then I'd say, "Lay aside every weight, and the sin that does so easily beset you." You see? If… But if it's not digging at you, and then I—I—I wouldn't think too much about it then. Just let it come to its place.
61-0112 - Questions And Answers
Rev. William Marrion Branham
http://table.branham.org
61-0112 - Questions And Answers
Rev. William Marrion Branham
http://table.branham.org
Rev. William Marrion Branham
http://table.branham.org
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