Sometimes God lets the things get so dark that you can’t see up, around, or anywhere else

"Israel, at the river when they'd possessed the land, went over. How they going to do it? It's the month of April; the floods are coming down, because the snow is melting up in Judaea. Oh, what a poor general it seemed like that God was to bring His people there in the month of April when the Jordan was higher backed than it ever was.Sometimes... I might could stop here if I had time to give you just a little tip. Sometimes you may be setting out there with cancer; you might be setting with a disease. You think, "Why, me being a Christian would be in this a-way? Why would I be setting like this if I'm a Christian?"

Sometimes God lets the things get so dark that you can't see up, around, or anywhere else, and then He comes and makes a way through it for you, that you might say, "This day this Scripture is being fulfilled, that He promised to do."
 

 He let the Hebrew children walk right into the fiery furnace. They said, "Our God is able to deliver us from this fiery furnace, but nevertheless, we'll not bow down to your image." When they walked out of there with the smell of the furnace upon them--no smell of the furnace, rather, upon them, they could've said, "This day is this Scripture fulfilled."When Daniel come from the lions' den, he could've said the same thing. John the Baptist, after four hundred years of ecclesiastical teaching... No wonder that church was in a mess at that time. When he appeared in the wilderness, the Jordan, he could've stood right there on the bank, as he did, and say, "This day this Scripture (Isaiah 40) is fulfilled."

 

Exerpts from the sermon 'This Day This Scripture Is Fullfilled' by William Marrion Branham

February 19, 1965

DO YOU KNOW GRACE?

It was said one time... I was reading it when I was writing a note for this. I--I could not exactly remember the book that it's in, but I'm sure this is right: that one of the books I read on Mr. Moody, Dwight Moody, in Chicago. (We have a great listening church in Chicago also tonight.) That Mr. Moody after reading Romans 7, ran into the street, and the first man he met, he said to him, "Do you know grace?    "And the man replied, "Grace who?"     Mr. Moody said, "The grace of God."  So it so thrilled him when he seen that what--how grace had separated us from the law, and how that--what part grace played. When I... Anything that I want to do is when I... Always told the people when I crossed the line on the other side, I'd like to stand up and sing: "Amazing grace! how sweet the sound, That saved a wretch like me!" Grace, precious grace, more of grace to know. For it is by grace we are saved; not by what we can do, what we can... Whatever we do is not counted to us; grace is what saves us. "By grace are ye saved through faith;"

Invisible union of the bride  65-1125

So it's not you that keeps yourself; it's the grace of God that keeps you. You didn't save yourself, or nothing you've done to deserve being saved; it's God's grace that saved you. God's grace called you. God's foreknowledge knew you. He knew that you'd be in this church this night before the foundation of the world was ever laid. He's infinite. If He isn't, He isn't God. If He did know all things, He was God. If He didn't know all things, He wasn't God. If He's Almighty God, He can do all things; if He cannot do all things, He's not Almighty God. There you are.

Hebrews Chapter 7 part 1   [57-0915E]

  Think of it. Love and grace is sisters, twin sisters. You can't have grace without having love. They're twin sisters. That's exactly right. Before you can have grace, you have to have love. Before you can actually show somebody a favor, you love them; right or wrong, you have to love them anyhow, or you can't. See? So love and grace is the same thing. They're just twin sisters (That's all.), love and grace. They were... We can't see one without the other. "God so loved the world, gave His only begotten Son." He shed His grace abroad in our hearts through the Holy Ghost. See? There's just nothing you can do without working one with the other. Grace, grace of God this is what saves us.

 Message of grace   [61-0827]

 Abraham spoke of us. God take--God took Abraham by grace and saved him. And that's how He takes you: by grace. And how do we test His patience? Today we're up; tomorrow we're down. One day we believe; the next day we're wondering. Today we're a Methodist; tomorrow we're a Baptist. Today we believe in Divine healing; tomorrow the tummy ache comes and we don't know whether we believe it or not. But yet in the midst of all of that, God wants us to stay put. But He saves us anyhow. If it wasn't the grace of God, we'd all be gone. Sure. God saves us by His grace.

 Message of grace   [61-0827]

 Now, He called Jacob, not--called Abraham, pardon me, by election and by grace, and give him Eternal Life, and told him He'd come to him in an old age. He didn't have to do one thing about it. Only thing, it was by grace, and that's exactly the way the church is called today. Is by grace are you saved through faith. And we know that's right. God calls the church by His grace. If it wasn't today for the grace of God, you'd be out here in the rain watching the ball game somewhere. You'd be out here on the highways running around. You'd be in a barroom somewhere, be out with some man's wife, or some woman's husband. You'd be a--out in the world. But it's by the calling and grace of God, that He's changed your minds, and made you new creatures in Christ Jesus, and our soul looks up to Him today with expectations of His coming.

Abraham and his seed after him   [61-0423]

  Now, that was David's passions. He had five hundred wives, but when he seen Uriah's wife, instead of taking one of his five hundred wives to appease or satisfy his passions, he went took this other man's wife, then he killed Uriah when she become a mother. David didn't know what he was doing, why, David was ready to pronounce judgment. That's the way we are. We can always judge the other fellow, but when it comes to us, oh, that's different. David said, "The man will pay with his life."

That old prophet, them eyes narrowed down; he said, "David, surely you'll not die." Watch grace then go to work right quick. The Spirit struck the prophet, saved David's life. Grace, "Surely you'll not die, but the sword will not leave your house till it's thoroughly purged your heart, for you are that rich man." Oh, it was different then, wasn't it?

What saved David when his own judgment said, "The man will die. He'll pay to the uttermost, and he'll pay for it with his life"?

And the prophet said, "Surely (grace) you'll not die. You'll not die, David. Grace has saved you." It was grace to David that saved him. Oh, my. If it hadn't been for grace, where would we all be? Is that right? Certainly.

 Message of grace   [61-0827]

Now, man has always tried to save himself, and do different things to be saved by, but it's never has been in the New Testament by any works of our own; it's "by grace are you saved, through faith." That's the only thing that can save you is grace.

 Israel in Egypt  [53-0325]

 Now, "faith" is a "revelation from God." Now, "faith" is a "revelation." There's where I want to stay there just a moment. It's a revelation. He has revealed it to you by His grace. It's nothing you did. You didn't work yourself up into faith. You never had faith; it's give to you by the grace of God. And God reveals it to you; therefore, faith is a revelation. And the whole Church of God is built upon the revelation.

 Works is faith expressed   [65-1126]

God's grace cannot be bargained for!

God's grace cannot be bargained for, neither be--can be talented into. It's sovereign grace. "Nothing in my arms I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling." Naked, wounded, I just come as I am.Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy Blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bids me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come!
That's all, it's grace that brought me. Grace did it. Grace is like... Another thing that I'd like to say; sometimes grace is...

These big churches, they think that you can go down there, they think, "Well, we built the biggest church in the city. We got a ladies aid society here that makes poor--clothes for the poor, and sends them overseas. We feed the poor. We do all this."Paul said, "I can do the same thing, and nothing."
They say, "Well, we, we're an old organization. We've been here for two thousand years. We're five hundred years old. John Wesley, Alexander Campbell, these great founders back there, they founded our church. Hallelujah."
Well, Jesus Christ founded this Church, the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and told them to go up to Pentecost and wait till they received the power from on high.

And still you can belong to the Pentecostal church and be lost. Pentecostal church is no more than any other church. That's right.The thing of it is, there's only one church; that's the church that you're born into by the baptism of the Holy Spirit, "For by one Spirit we're all baptized into one body," I Corinthians 12:13; that's right: I--I Corinthians 12. Now, we are baptized into that church.

But people think that they can merit it. "Why, we... I--I went to school and I learned to do this, and I went to seminaries and I done..." That don't mean one thing. You can't buy God's grace.God's grace is like this. Let me tell you a story in ending. God's grace is like this. One time there was a mighty king, and this mighty king had a son, and it was his only son. And one day a murderer killed that boy. And through that kingdom went the delegates hunting for that murderer. They finally found that murderer. And when they found him, they brought him back and imprisoned him. And when they did, a trial was set and a sentence was made. Oh, it was a terrible thing. He had murdered the king's son, and he knowed what was coming to him.

They put him into the inner cells; they locked the doors; they put pads on it so no one--and guards around it, 'cause we know what kind of a horrible punishment this boy was going to receive, because he killed the king's son, the royal king's son. Guards was placed all around the doors. He was put in inner cells. Stripped, with nothing but a--a loincloth on. And there he was, set there in that condition, starving, wouldn't give him nothing to eat. He was setting in that condition.Then they brought him out to a trial. He was found guilty and proven guilty. A sentence was made, that he was to be executed under horrible capital punishment; he was to be killed by inches until his mortal life was gone. Sentenced by the judge, he was to die. And he begged and he cried, and he said, "Though I am guilty, though I am guilty, I'm sorry that I did that. I wished I had've never done it. I'm sorry that I did it. In a moment, in a rage of temper, I did it. I didn't mean to do it that way."

One day the king went down to the place to visit the boy, to tell him, talk to him and tell him about killing his own son, the only son he had. He'd killed that boy. He said, "I'm going down to talk to him."And when he went down there, he looked back in that cage, like a caged-in animal. He saw his little skinny body laying back there in a corner, crying, his face all sunk in, his jaws sank back, his eyes way back; matter was all in his eyes; and his mouth was all whited over: no water, thirsty, laying back there on his face, crying. The king said, "Stand up." He come up to him; he looked at him. He said, "Why did you kill my son? What did my son do to you? What did he do to merit such a death as you killed him, stabbing him to death with a spear?"
He said, "Nothing, my lord, not one thing. Just my own impudence, just my own ways. I killed him because I was jealous of him, and I got in a temper fit, and I killed him." Said, "I'm to die under your justice, sir. I realize that, and I deserve to do it. Only thing I'm crying for, that I'm just sorry that I killed that royal man like that, without a cause."

The king turned on his heels and walked out, went out to the desk, and said, "Destroy all the records (You know, put them in the sea of forgetfulness.) Destroy all the records. Wash him up, and bring him up. I'll send down a robe for him."After while, a great big limousine drove up to the door. When it did, a carpet was spread out to the prison cell. The king stood at the end of limousine, said, "Come, my son, and ride home with me to the palace," put the king's robe around his shoulder. He said, "From henceforth you are my son." Because he had pity. That's grace.
That was me, that was you. We killed the Son of God with our sins. We were alien, dirty, filthy, laying in the cells of the world. God washed us by the Blood of His Own Son, and cleansed us, put on the robe of the Holy Spirit. And now the great chariot of God will back up to the door someday, and we'll go home to live with Him. All records are destroyed; we can't be judged no more; burn them up, He put them in the sea of forgiveness and remembers about it no more. No wonder we can sing,
Amazing grace! how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now I'm found,
And was blind, but now I see.
It was grace that taught my heart to fear,
Grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!

WMB ~Message of grace

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