Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.
Matthew 7:6
God shares His secrets with His friends. Psalm 25:14.
What if God didn’t want to share certain things with some people? Would that make Him mean, just because He withheld certain details about His Kingdom?
It was not until after he had start preaching in 1933 that the Lord informed him of “the importance” of the ministry he would fulfill. While baptising converts in the Ohio River, the Pillar Of Fire descended from the skies and hovering over Brother Branham, a Voice spoke and said, “As John the Baptist was sent to forerun the First Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, even so, you are sent with a Message to forerun His Second Coming.” Still, there was no indication of the “type” of ministry it would be or “how” it would climax.
On the Life of William Branham
One thing we must remember when dealing with God’s servants is that they are men. They always have been men, and they always will be men. Legitimate men and women of God were used, some with substantial flaws, all throughout the Bible. And, while some ended well, some did not. Of those that ended well, most of them also had serious issues along the way. Of all the notable persons of the Bible, there are only a small handful of which very little negative was said.
1 Kings 13 tells of a true prophet of God who was deceived by an old prophet. Why the old prophet lied to the young prophet leading him to get killed is not indicated in scripture, but it does call both of them prophets. Yet, the young prophet, who was told not to eat nor drink on his mission from God, listened to the deception of the old, and was killed by a lion as a result. He was a prophet; he delivered a right word from God correctly but got side-tracked and lost his life prematurely because of it.
When all is stripped away, and nothing else remains, you can trust in His love. His love remains, when everything else is shaken (Romans 8:37-39), and by it, we live without fear (1 John 4:18).
Into His love we commend ourselves each day. Further into His glory, His goodness, His mercy.
All we need is His love. Our only true possession in this life is this place of union.
The life of the flesh doesn’t matter in the end. What matters is Eternity. According to Isaiah 40, all of man’s pomp and pride fall away into the dust and ashes they came from, and all that remains is faith, hope, and love (1 Corinthians 13:13).
The people of Israel called the bread manna.
Exodus 16:31
“Manna”, the name given by the Israelites to the bread which came out of heaven, means “What is it?” Though the bread fell on the ground every morning, and the Israelites ate it for 40 years in the wilderness, the name they gave it is the name that stuck. When they saw it, they wondered what this thing was, as Moses commanded them to gather it to eat it.
They didn’t know what it was, but it was their bread. Scripture calls it in other places the “bread of angels”. Jesus later said that He was the true bread that came down from heaven (John 6:41), that whoever ate this bread, His flesh, and this wine, His blood, that they would live forever.
A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.
Luke 6:40
There is exactly one reason why we do not see miracles on the order of Jesus. We have not understood and applied His teachings.
This is not to question anyone’s authenticity in the Gospel, nor their sincerity, but the truth remains, that we as a church as a whole have fallen far short of the Gospel Jesus preached.
Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Matthew 14:31
John wrote in his first epistle that perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment (1 John 4:18). John explained that it is when we abide in love that we abide in God.
Nearly all of the gospel, and hence life, revolves around fear in some way in another. From the first time in the garden, when Adam and Eve knew they were naked, covered themselves, and hid from the presence of Almighty God. To the first murder, when Cain offered an unacceptable sacrifice, God warned him, and slew Abel out of jealousy.
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.
Romans 13:14
Every step forward in the gospel is important. Every lesson learned, every difficulty overcome. Peter referenced this proverb in his first epistle.
If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?
1 Peter 4:18 (portion)
The higher we go in the Gospel, the deeper in His love, the more opportunities we could have to step off the narrow road.
So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
Matthew 7:12
As someone points out, if you were fully doing love, loving God with everything and loving your neighbor as Jesus loves us, we would be fulfilling the Law and the Prophets. Said another way, if we could do that, we would be fulfill the Old Covenant, the Mosaic law.
This really is a startling proposition, and yet, like the Jews surrounding the woman caught in the act of adultery, we all turn away as we realize we have all fallen short in love. It remains, however, that love was the sum total of the law and prophets.
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6
Jesus is the same yesterday. He is the first and the last.
The Gospel brought God into the earth, the Divine clothed with flesh. The Holy One, the creator of Heaven and Earth, stepped into His creation, and became a servant. His own people, His own nation missed Him, and didn’t recognize Him. They couldn’t see the man standing in front of them.
The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:5
The light is real. It shines with a glory that the natural eye cannot see.
As the people around Jesus’ baptism, some heard the voice, and some say, “It only thundered”.
The things of the Kingdom cannot be seen by those who do not believe. You could hear the principles of the Kingdom expounded for years and years but it is only when Faith comes that the light finally comes on.
As with parables, the purpose was the hide the obvious. Yet, for the person who sees beyond the veil, they become a little more clear every day. The parable meant to conceal becomes the best setting to display the jewel.
Subscribe to David Hogan Podcast
Or try here...
