3 CURTAINS

He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

MICAH 6:8

Understanding the Sermon Stature of A Perfect Man.

Posted: 24 April 2013

Categories:

I have been in

travail as to what to write next as I considered the many events that had transpired since my last article. Today, one cannot help but notice people who were once stalwarts of the message, song leaders for years, gave wonderful testimonies of their conversation, now would turn around and deny their faith.

Ever since I was led by the Lord to this message, I have grown in better understanding of it progressively. Though I never got to read John Bunyan’s Pilgrim Progress, I did flip through the pages and kind of get an understanding what prompted him to write that book. He explored the various emotional roller coaster that a pilgrim (a sojourner, such as in Abraham’s looking for the City whose builder and maker is God), went through in this walk with Christ. The many trials, temptaions and troubles, but how each becoming an overcomer by the power of the Holy Spirit. He spoke of depondencies, of doubts and of fears as much as Paul wrote, fighting without and fears within.

Today, we have Pastor Jhun Fermill who will be in Singapore till the 4^th of May. See photo on Visiting Ministers secton. (photo gallery). Each minister brings with them their portion of the Pillar of Fire and we enjoyed the meetings. As all things are now ready we have to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints. The prophet said the next thing to happen is the Rapture. While the world continue to go on, time is fleeting and moments are but memories. We were once young and now old age is coming on but we continue to see the stedfastness of the Word of God fulfilling every promises in the bible. God showering us with many blessings. We have also heard some older stalwarts being afflicted with diseases and we continue to look to the promise of God who heals all our diseases. First forgiving all our iniquities.

Psa 103:3

Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;

On my last visit to the cardiologist, who months ago, told me that I only have two choices, one to have a pacemaker and the other should there be coronary artery blockage, (to be confirmed by an angiography study, an invasive procedure), a HEART BYPASS OPERATION! My own father had the same kind of angiography done when he was about 60 years old and they found he was okay. He lived till he was almost 85 years old when he collapsed with an aortic aneurysm right in front of me when both of us were having a Teochew porridge dinner in Havelock Raod.

I decided not to go for the angiography because if the result is ok, I would have subjected myself to an unnecessary and costly procedure. But if the result is that there are blockages, it would mean a bypass operation, another invasive and costly procedure and at least a two weeks hospitalisation. However the physician did say, my poor ejection ratio of 17% could be due to waterlogged lungs caused by hypothyroidism. How could that happen to me because in 2005, I had hyperthyroidism and now this thyroid flair is reversed? From 2005 till 2011, I was free from any drugs even panadol (equivalent to Tylenol). The problem is that we tended to struggle on instead of going for a full checkup and when we are sick, even the colleagues and bosses thought we are malingering and our sickness became the butt of jokes. Not so, when they themselves were sick, they would sought out the best of the doctors to treat them or get their MC (medical leave) for that period. This was the case with me. They thought I was conniving trying to avoid some responsibilities. I was surprised how little my ex-boss respected my oncoming illnes with such insensitivity and when I was still in hospital, the company gave me a severence letter with one month pay, and the words, "you don't need to report to work" even though I was supposed to be on my annual leave prior to being hospitalised. In fact, the staff were told not to visit me in hospital and none came except for one who had already left the company and his visit was medicine to my soul.

It prompted me to want to write an article about the etiquette of visiting the sick. I was warded two days before the new year of 2012 and I thought I would not live to see the New Year but the visit on the eve of the year by our church brothers and sisters bringing me the communion bread was the turning point in my prayer to the Lord for strength to carry on. Without a regular income, like pilgrim progress I began to rely more on more on the Lord and He kept us, the church and myself going and we were able to meet our financial obligations. Praise be His mighty Name.

I began then to consider the sermon “Stature of a Perfect Man” . Here is how I try to capture the Word into my heart. I know that Brother Branham preached under inspiration from the Holy Spirit and that he himself most times if not everytime had to listen to his own sermon to hear what was preached. He would then continue to comment on the message on the immediate following sermons such as “The Guide” and “Blasphemous Names”. The question often asked was how and when we received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. We go back to the scriptures on No One can call Jesus the Christ except by the Holy Spirit and Paul’s question to the Ephesians “Have you receive the Holy Spirit SINCE you believed”?

1Cor 12:3

Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and [that] no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

Act 19:2

He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.

I too struggled with finding the right answer because the first foundation is FAITH and we can only believe God by faith. Then how is the Capstone, LOVE or Charity to cap the individual with the Holy Spirit again if He had not done so already? In this tape "Blasphemous Names" I found the answer as he was recounting and interpreting the dream of Sister Shepherd, a black sister who fell asleep in the duofold while pondering whether she had the Holy Ghost or not?

Here is the context:- BLASPHEMOUS.NAMES_ JEFF.IN V-3 N-21 SUNDAY_ 62-1104M

10-4    Now, thinking of moving forward, of battle, like a--a battle set in array, ready to go into action, a--a real battle to fight the fight of faith...
Sister Shepherd, here, and Brother Shepherd, who are very gracious friends of ours, and who come to this Tabernacle... And they are precious children of God. And--and this Sister Shepherd... When I was picking up my mail (the kind that Billy can answer, just somebody say, "Send me so many prayer cloths." And I pray over them; he just answers them back. But when it's an individual letter, I have to answer it myself. You see?)... So I picked up my individual mail. And so I was taking it home, and I was reading in there; it said, "From Sister Shepherd." And it was a dream that she had had of--of some months ago. And she never could get it just right until two or three Sundays ago when I taught on this--this seven church ages and--and the--the seven fruits, II Peter, how it takes to (II Peter 1)--to add to our faith. See?

11-1    First: foundationally, is faith. Second: add to your faith, virtue; to your virtue, knowledge; from knowledge, temperance; from temperance, patience; to patience, godliness; and from godliness, brotherly love, brotherly kindness; and then love being the capstone: seven of those things. Seven church ages (See?), and seven stars of the church ages, and all of it is tempered together by the Holy Spirit.
Now, that's what it takes to become a servant of Christ. Christ builds His Church in seven church ages, His Bride, a Person, Woman, Church. Seven church ages constitute and make the Bride: some out of this age, and some out of that age, and some out of that age, and all together, and shaping it like a pyramid.

11-3    Like Enoch who built the pyramids, that we believe... And the capstone never was put on top of them, because the headstone was rejected. And we take it now, not as doctrine, but as to understand, just for the church here, that these...
God makes Hisself perfect in three. He makes Hisself perfect in Father, Son, Holy Ghost, three offices of one God. He makes Hisself perfect in justification, sanctification, baptism of the Holy Ghost; come perfect works of grace. He makes Hisself perfected in three comings: first time to redeem His Bride, second time to receive His Bride, third time in the millennium with His Bride. And everything is perfected in three's. And seven is the worship number of God; God is worshipped in seven, completed. Now perfected and completed...
And the strange thing was (not to bring this in, but just to show you), the last deer that I got had five points on one side and three on the other (See?): grace and perfection.

12-3    Now, but the headstone, they've never found it. You know the Stone of Scone they have in England to ordain the kings--or to--to crown them and so forth? But the headstone...
Notice on the American dollar bill; you'll see it on the American dollar bill. On the one side, the left side, is the American Seal, an eagle with the spears in his hand. On the second side... This is called the Seal of the United States. But on the next side is the pyramid, and above it, a great eye. And under here it says, "The Great Seal." Why would it be the Great Seal in this nation, even above the Seal of our nation? See, no matter what you ever do, God makes it speak just the same. See? He makes the sinner speak of it; He makes the nations speak of it; everything has to speak of Him, whether you--you want to believe it or not. It's right there.
Now notice, there's a eye in that, the eye of God. And because that the cap didn't come off, the Head-seal, because It was rejected, which was the Son of God, the Cornerstone of the building, the Head-seal of the pyramid, and all this.

12-6    Now, now, I'm... I don't like to... Sometimes they tape these things, and it gets out amongst brethren in churches, of other churches. And when they do that, then the brethren sometime gets a wrong impression, that I'm saying something about brethren. But I'm not. I... If you could just listen and understand (See?), I am not speaking against any brother, 'cause that's not becoming to brethren to speak of--against each other. We should speak for one another, not against each other. But when I speak sometime of certain organization like Presbyterian, Methodist, or so forth, they say, "See, he's against it." I'm not against the brother in there or the sister in there. The system that's separating brotherhood is what that I speak against. God's children are one family and not--and not different groups.

14-4    Now, now, our sister in dreaming, she dreamed that she... Well first, she was disturbed: "What's the use of going on and trying to struggle through life if God requires us to receive the Holy Ghost and we don't have it?"
Now, I don't think... They may be taping this, but if they don't--if they do, it's for the church alone. See? Now, and if some brother would get ahold of this, and you hear my voice, brother, on this, remember, I'm just teaching to my church. You always, before your congregation... Examine the--the tapes, and if you don't want your congregation to hear them, don't let them hear them. But I--I'm just trying to say to this little group here that I--that Brother Neville and I, by the Holy Spirit, is trying to--to pastor and to teach them.

15-1    Now, there's some of these things you might miserably disagree with. So if there is, just like I always said about eating fried chicken: When you hit the bone you don't throw the chicken away; you just throw the bone away. So always do that. Eating cherry pie and you run into a seed, you wouldn't throw the pie away; you just throw the seed away. So you do the same thing in listening to this.
Now, I--I believe that--that the--the reason that there's so much confusion today about the Holy Spirit; it's not correctly taught. I believe that the baptism is taught, and just say, "the baptism," but then the... Like you say, "automobile." But now, I've got several mechanics in this church, and I don't know one thing about it, so if I make a mistake, brethren, I'm... Remember I'm not a mechanic.
There has to be coils, and plugs, and points, and valves, and everything else that makes the automobile. And when you talk about the baptism of the Holy Spirit, there's a lot goes with that. Hmm? See? There's a lot goes with that. And here's what I think that God is proving the Holy Spirit is here. See?

15-4    Now, Peter said first, faith. Now, watch it real close now. We're going to teach this for a few minutes. Faith, now, is your first. And add to your faith, virtue; to your virtue, knowledge; to your knowledge, temperance; to your temperance, patience; to your patience, godliness; to your godliness, brotherly love, brotherly kindness, and then love. And anyone knows that love is God. God is love. See?
Now, that's--then from this, and then bringing this into the seven church ages, God is building in seven church ages a Bride for Christ. Through the Philadelphian, Thyatirean, and Pergamos, and Smyrnaean, Ephesus, a church age that Jesus said, "If the--if the Bridegroom come in the first watch or the seventh watch, all these virgins awakened." They were--they awoke, the virgins of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. And did you notice that? It was the seventh age that when He came and woke up those sleeping virgins. That brings them all the way back down to here (See?), for in this, through the years, ages, He has built a Bride, borned a Bride, begotten a Bride on earth for Christ. And the same way that He begets this Bride, He has begot individuals.

16-1    Now, I'm backgrounding this, so that you will see when the sister's dream is being told.
Now, these things here absolutely must be in the Christian before the Holy Ghost ever seals them, before this comes down on top and makes a complete unit.
Now, our sister's dream now. She was worried whether she had the Holy Ghost or not. When she laid down across the Duofold, where her husband was reading a paper (And she's got little ones, as I have, and they're always making a noise and things.), and so in this, she fell asleep for approximately ten minutes or fifteen; and she dreamed. And she never could understand it or get it altogether from a year ago almost, until this message was taught. Then while I was teaching it, it all come back to her.
And she dreamed that she was praying. She was walking the floor first, before she dreamed, and wringing her hands, and thinking, "Lord, have I got the Holy Ghost? Can You prove to me. Some says because that--that I shouted, or some said because I spoke with tongues. (And we believe in all that.) But have I really got It?"

16-5    I believe in all those things, those virtues: speaking in tongues, and shouting, and all kinds of demonstrations. I believe in every bit of it. But if it's there without this, they's something wrong. See? Now. See? You... See, you--you got a shell.
Notice, and she was worried about it, so she just laid down across the Duofold, where her husband was reading, and she went to sleep. And she dreamed she was up on a mountain. And in this mountain... The best... I haven't got the paper before me, but I think it's like this: She dreamed that she saw a--a rock box like, like a framework setting right in top of this mountain. And her husband was just behind her. And she saw a large man standing there with work clothes on, sleeves rolled up, bailing the most pure water that she ever seen and pouring into this box, this rock box setting in top of the mountain. And the rock box would not hold the water; and it rolled right out of there and just boiled up all the trash and sticks and everything in there, and boiled it out, and rolled down the mountain. And it rolled over her feet, and she was standing right in that stuff; only it didn't stick to her. And--and then she asked why the box didn't hold it, and the man said, "That is not water. That's the Holy Ghost," and said, "nothing will hold It."

17-1    And said, "Then he went back and got another big bucket--and it was full of honey--and poured the honey into there and said, 'Now, it'll hold this.'" And she thought that the box was--a rock box was going to burst out and spill the honey, but it didn't. It finally stuck together and held it.
She turned and went down the mountain. Going down the mountain, she stopped at the bottom of the mountain and looked back. She saw five streams of this pure, crystal water, not contaminated by the things that it'd went through, still pure and clear, coming swiftly. Then it slowed up; then almost fading out. And she was wondering would it ever reach the bottom of the mountain--five streams--and she woke up. I think that's just about close to being right, isn't it, Sister Shepherd?

17-3    Now, no more than I picked up the letter and opened it, before I read it, I saw her dream. Now, that's the way dreams are interpreted. Now, many of you has come to me with dreams and--and say things to me about dreams. I say, "Wait a minute. You never told it all" (See?); and go back and pick it up. Then if you can't tell what you dreamed, how do you know the interpretation's right or not? See? You've got to have--you've got to see the dream. A vision has to show the dream. And when you see the dream that the person dreamed, and could tell them before they tell you, then you know the interpretation...

17-4    Well, I believe that's in the Scripture also. Daniel one time (Wasn't that right?) said... Yeah, I believe... I just happened to think of that then. See? But you always see the dream, now, if the interpretation's right. A person start telling you a dream, you can just stop them, say, "Wait a minute. And it was so-and-so, twas so-and-so, plus so-and-so."
And then you say, "That's exactly right." See?
A man the other day was trying to tell me a dream that he dreamed. He said, "Well," he said...
I said, "Now, brother, why did you leave out that other part?"
He said, "What other part?"
I said, "You dreamed that you threw a rock up in the air, and I shot at it and got some in my eye."
He said, "That's exactly the truth, Brother Branham."
And they just picked the last part of it out yesterday. Uh-huh. So there you are. See? You see? Why you don't let... Tell the truth of it. But, you see, it always reveals back what--tells you your dream, what you dreamed. Then you know it's right.

18-3    Now, here's interpretation of her dream. She was bothered about the Holy Spirit. Now, insomuch as she seen the box on top of the mountain was the rock, rock box is "rock confession." Now, like Jesus said in the Scripture, He said... Peter said... Jesus said, "Who does man say I, the Son of man, am?"
One said, "Thou art Elias, and Moses, and so forth."
And He said, "But Who do you say I am?".
He said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."

18-4    Now, some people say... Now, the Catholic church says, the Roman Catholic church says that His--what the rock was that Jesus said, "Upon this rock I'll build My Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against It,"... They said it was upon Peter, and Peter was that rock, because Peter means "little stone." "And upon this little stone I'll build My church." And upon Peter they, apostolic succession, they built the church.
Then the Protestant church says, "That's wrong, that it was upon Himself He built the church."
Now, not to be disagreeable, but I--to my way of seeing it, it's both wrong, because He never built It upon Peter, neither did He build It upon Himself; but it's upon Peter's revelation of Who He was. See? "Who does man say I, the Son of man..."
"Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God,"
"Blessed art thou, Simon, son of Jonas: flesh and blood has not revealed this to you (some seminary. See?); but My Father which is in heaven has revealed to you. Thou art Peter, upon this rock (of confession, upon this revelation) I'll build My Church." And that's been...

19-1    Each church age has had that rock confession on up to this rock confession of the Laodicea. And now, you cannot make a holy church. There's no such a thing as a holy church or holy organization. The Holy Spirit can be preached in it, but in there you find good and bad, renegades, indifferent, and everything else. So a organization will not hold... You can't say, "We got It; none of the rest of them has It." No, sir. The Holy Spirit is poured out on individuals. It's the individual.
So therefore, the rock... This latter day Pentecostal church, which has received the Holy Spirit they did at the first... All down through the ages they received the Holy Spirit, but not in the measure that they have It now; 'cause it's a restoration of the first. As we take the candlesticks, Alpha and Omega, how they lit the first candle: it went higher and higher, and got dimmer and dimmer, and then come back again (See?), first and last and so forth.

19-3    Now, but in this church age the Message is being poured into the church. But the church body itself, in altogether... Like the--this tabernacle, we'll say; that's where she comes to church. This tabernacle is not a Holy Ghost tabernacle. There's no such a thing. Individuals that come into this church is Holy Ghost tabernacles. They are tabernacles that contain the Holy Ghost, but not the church in the body of group. Therefore, It runs out.
But what, this man who was pouring the water, the messenger to the church, pouring the Message into the church... But what was the water doing? It was boiling out all the trash that was in it. That's what the Holy Spirit does: boils it up.
Now, now, the honey represented brotherly love, brotherly kindness, which is this age. I just got through telling you (See?) of brotherly kindness, the age that we live in now.

19-6    Now, you might say, "Look, I--I--I sure don't like Brother Neville," or, "I sure don't like Brother Jones; I don't like Brother So-and-so," and something like that. But just let something happen to him; brother, your heart's broke. It just nearly kills you. See? We can obtain brotherly kindness and feeling for one another. See? But to maintain in a group of people...
Why do you care for that brother? Because you broke bread with him here at the altar, as you will tonight; you fellowship with him; you shook his hands; you worship with him. He's your brother. And he might do something in the flesh that you would disagree with, cause you just kind of stay (which you oughtn't to do but)--shun him a little. But in the bottom of your heart, if something happened to that brother, it would just nearly kill you, or that sister.
I'm--I'm an old man. I was once young and now I'm old. I've seen it down through the age do that. Hear people say, "Well, I just won't have no more to do with him." And something happen to that man, it nearly kills him; he thinks, "Oh, God, I let my precious brother go without making friends with him (You see?) again." See? See, it's brotherly love. It looks like it won't stick, but it does stick. The honey, it sticks.

20-3    Now, insomuch that she come from there, down the hill to the bottom of the hill... Now, this glorious water was gushing over the hills in five streams. Now, five is the number of grace: J-e-s-u-s, f-a-i-t-h, g-r-a-c-e. See? Five is the number of grace. Five streams was pouring from up here at the trough down through here. And each one of these ages had that rock confession. The saints are sleeping, waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting (See?) on till this age, but soon the Holy Ghost, being poured out from Christ, will come and will seal up the Church, then the Church will be raptured. It'll be a complete unit of God, a Bride for Christ, who will be the head of all things. You follow me now?
Now, she was wondering... Now, in her dream she was wondering, would this little stream, would this little stream ever get to the bottom. See? It was drying up. Now, being that she herself... Now, here's what I want you to get to now. She herself was wondering about her own self: Did she have the Holy Ghost?

20-5    Now, I shunned saying this a few days ago, thinking that the church would be spiritual enough to catch it (and maybe I better turn this tape off right now, but--'cause I don't want it to get out amongst brethren.); but you could speak with tongues, you could shout, you could dance, you could cast out devils, do anything you want to, and still not have the Holy Ghost.
Didn't them disciples come back rejoicing and shouting because the devils was subject unto them? And Jesus... Right among them was Judas? Did not Jesus say in that day, when He come, that "Many will come to Me and say, 'Lord have not I cast out devils and in Your Name done mighty works,' and I'll say, 'Depart from Me, you workers of iniquity, I didn't know you.'" Those things are not indications of the Holy Spirit. By their fruit you shall know them.

21-5    Our sister had her feet wet when she got to the bottom. All of us know Sister Shepherd to be a charitable... Her house is open. Her and Brother, I don't care if it's a bum, beggar, or whatever it is, they'll feed him, do anything they can to help him along. Oh, God accepted that, her foundation part. And here's...
Now, get this lesson: Here is what's wrong with the--with the... (I oughtn't to turn on for this.) Here's what's wrong with the Branham Tabernacle. You see? There is two different kinds of faith; there's two different kinds of virtue, as I had it the other day; two different kinds of knowledge; two different kinds of temperance. One thinks it's prohibition. They got... That ain't the kind of temperance that God's talking about. It's that ungodly, uncontrollable temper you got and things of that type--sass back, fuss.

22-1    Patience, and so forth, there's a mockery of it, a pretending to be, a nature given faith, a nature given virtue. There's a nature given temperance. And all these things are nature given.
And the biggest part of our faith is mental faith. [Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.] By hearing the Word it brings us to a mental recognition of God. But if this coming from above, oh, brother, if it ever strikes this, there is a godly, spiritual faith. Then what does that faith do? That faith recognizes only the Word. No matter what anything else says, it only recognizes the Word, because "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (And the Word's still God.) And the Word was made flesh and dwelled among us." And when the word Itself is pouring into our faith, our mental faith becomes a spiritual revelation. "And upon this foundation I'll build My Church," (See?), not upon a mental conception of church joining, a mental conception of that, but upon the revelation. <