Discernment 2

ROMANS 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.

COD 64-0823E 1000-36 I'm not scolding you to be mean; I'm only so happy for you. I just don't want Satan to get a foot in anywhere. I want you to move upward, not backward. Don't never let no man deceive you by some enchantments, or something another like that, or something saying, "Oh well, it don't..." See? That's the way Satan interpreted the Word to Eve. You believe just what the Word says.

Discernment: To perceive; distinguish; discover; penetrate, discriminate; To see or understand the difference; to make distinction; as between good and evil, truth and falsehood.

DISCERNING.BODY.OF.LORD 59-0812 14-6 Let's discern the Body of the Lord, discern the times that we're living in. We'll die spiritually if we don't do that.

I CORINTHIANS 14:15 What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also. 16 Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest? 17 For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified.

UNDERSTANDING: (Gr.) the faculties of perceiving and understanding and those of feeling, judging, determining; reason in the narrower sense, as the capacity for spiritual truth, the higher powers of the soul, the faculty of perceiving divine things, of recognising goodness and of hating evil; the power of considering and judging soberly, calmly and impartially

Examples: LUKE 24:45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

II TIMOTHY 3:8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.

GOD.HIDING.HIMSELF.IN.SIMPLICITY ALBQ.NM 63-0412E E-71 All the way from the garden of Eden the Messiah was prophesied that would come…. But the theologians had it all figured out their way, and they missed Him a hundred miles. But He never come contrary to the Word. He came according to the Word. But why didn't they receive Him? Because He didn't come the way they thought He ought to come. That's exactly the way they missed Noah. Moses.

GETTING.IN.THE.SPIRIT 61-0428 E-47 …I don't care if the man's wrong. If he's wrong and sincere in his heart and you're right in your belief and you're wrong in acting the way you're acting. I'd rather be in his place than be in yours. I'd rather be wrong in my doctrine and right in my heart. God will respect it more. So if a man is wrong, what of it? Help him. He needs help. Love him. If you can't love your enemy the same as you love those who love you, you're no better off than the publicans. That's what the Church has failed to get.

Observations & Warnings:

Bro. Branham made observations about the times God placed him in, and beyond, or where the current trends would lead.

Same as in Shalom) JESUS.CHRIST.THE.SAME 53-0212 E-6 It is to my humble belief, that we're living near the end time. Or may I make it a little more personal than that, saying: we're living in the end time. And if... I believe it's time for restoration of the church that was promised that God would send in the last day. And I believe that this is the day that when the Word has been preached so much, and the day's getting so dark and so evil, till according to God's Word, He was to restore all that the caterpillar had eaten, the palmerworm had eaten, will be restored back again. And this is the day of the restoration of the spiritual gifts given into the church. Now, along in that, we're bound to find false things. Satan is a shrewd person, and he works day and night in the children of disobedience. He can impersonate, but a true Spirit of God will always give honor and praise to the Lord Jesus Christ.

HE.CARES.DO.YOU.CARE? 63-0721 107 (Weaknesses of our bodies) Just look what cigarettes and drinking, and these stripteases and so forth, has done to the decline of this generation… "Brother Branham, what makes you always picking on things like that? ... why, I can take my women folks and they can't even set in comfort where you're speaking. You're always bawling them out, well, about their short hair, and about wearing clothes pertains to men, and all these things like that…why do you do it?"

109 …I want to tell you. Here it is. It's the Spirit of discernment for this last days, that knows that that's a cursed thing before God. I just wonder some time a minister's got any discernment of the last days? The very God that tells on the platform here the conditions of you and what you've done… that same Spirit within you looks out and can discern the signs of time, and It can't keep from crying out. It's the Spirit of discernment, 'cause the Holy Spirit Himself says that thing is sin, and whoever partakes of it will perish… I still must call out against it. It's discernment. Sometimes they different in the Word and so forth; it's lack of discernment. Come face it down by the Word… It's the discernment of the last days.

Wave of Sin

THAT.DAY.ON.CALVARY 60-0925 9-1 There is not a person here in this visible audience this morning, or in the audience of the magnetic tape, where it'll go around the world; there's no one here or anywhere, but what seeks for that perfection. You get your bills paid; you think that'll settle it. When you got your bills paid, then there's somebody sick in your family. When the sickness gets all right, then you got more bills to pay. The first thing you know your hair's turning gray, and then you want to be back young. And there's something all the time, constantly, because of that wave of sin. But in your heart, because that you seek for that, it shows that there is a perfection somewhere. Somewhere there's something.

JEZEBEL.RELIGION 61-0319 62 Oh, when Ahab was on the throne... You say, "He's on the throne." That's right, but Jezebel was the head behind that throne. She was the one that done the leading. Look how she took the very laws of the land and twisted them around, and for her own gain and for greed, and made Ahab do it because she was married to him. And that's the way with our leader today. I don't say he isn't a nice man, but look what's behind him: the harlot, the very thing that we run here, to be America for; the very principles that America's built upon... We, by our own free choosing, elected a thing like that. Now, you see why my voice is going to be stopped pretty soon, somebody's going to know… You just watch the wave of sin happen now. You watch go plumb to the core. You watch modernistic; watch ungodly things happen in the churches. "And, finally, there'll come a persecution," the Bible says so, THUS SAITH THE LORD. Certainly there will be.

Discerning Enticing Spirits (2)

ACTS 12:1 Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. 2 And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. 3 And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.) 4 And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers (16) to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.

DISCERNING.BODY.OF.LORD 59-0812 11-2 ... (Pulling back from HG action in the Church) "Oh, that's holy-rollers." You haven't got spiritual discernment, for everything the Holy Ghost does is written in the Bible. Judge all things by the Scripture. That's how we discern to see if our discernment is right.

ANOINTED.ONES.AT.END.TIME 65-0725M 26 Now, it's a Sunday school lesson; we want to try to bring this to a real showdown by the Scriptures, not by what someone else has said about it, but just reading the Scriptures. You may say, "How can this be? Christs: c-h-r-i-s-t-s, anointed christs and false prophets: anointed ones, but false prophets. Jesus said that the rain falls on the just and the unjust. Now, someone might say to me, "Do you believe that that anointing on those people means that it's anointing of the Holy Spirit?" Yes, sir, the genuine Holy Spirit of God upon a person, and yet they are false. Now, listen close and see what He said: "And they shall show signs and wonders, insomuch that it would deceive the very elected if it were possible." And they are anointed with the genuine Holy Spirit. I know this sounds very foolish, but we're going to take time and explain it by the Word that that's absolutely THUS SAITH THE LORD, the Truth.

SECOND.SEAL 63-0319 186-2 …speaking with a priest, he said, "God is in His church." I said, "Sir, God is in His Word, and He is the Word." "The church is infallible." I said, "He don't say that, but He said the Word's infallible." He said, "Well, we used to teach that baptism that way and so forth." I said, "When?" Said, "Back in the early days." I said, "Do you allow that to be the Catholic church?" He said, "Yes." I said, "Then I'm Catholic, old fashion Catholic. I believe the old fashion way. You guys today has got it all messed up. There's hardly anything in the Scripture you teach: intercession {by Mary} and dead people, and all non-meat-eating… I said, "You find that in the Scripture for me." He said, "It don't have to be there. As long as the church says so, that's it. Don't make any difference what that says, it's the church." I said, "The Bible said that whosoever shall add one word to it or take one away, his part will be taken from the Book of Life."

What a spirit to make people (millions) believe that it doesn’t matter what the Bible say, it just matters what the Church says. The same spirit makes people convinced that it doesn’t matter what Bro. Branham said, it only matters what the Church says. Those are enticing spirits!

LEADERSHIP 65-1207 124 .... You see, if you don't go according to the will of God, and the way that God has give us to go, they always get it messed up and take it off in some organization, denomination, some message, and there you go. It's always been done that way.

Need to watch here because of the way God does things:

ACTS 11:2 And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him…

This was something new, different than what we expect. But God is not obligated to do what you expect! He only obligates Himself to His Word and its principles. He is no respecter of persons. So Peter explains the testimony of the HG falling among the Gentiles at Cornelius’ house and by its fruits they knew this had to be of God because they had experienced the same thing and they held their piece (vs. 18).

ACTS 11:12 And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man's house:13 And he shewed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter; 14 Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved. 15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. 16 Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. 17 Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God? 18 When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.

Acts 11:19 Scattered and persecuted;

Acts 11:21 The hand of the Lord was with them…

Acts 11:27 …Prophets! (Minor) whom God spoke to about the future. Under correct inspiration. How about today? I believe it is possible!

Acts 12 After The “high” of seeing God do such a great thing, here’s Peter now in jail! Still in the will of God, hasn’t done a thing wrong. Persecution was common among the Church, they were not alone, the Lord was with them. They had His abiding presence with them. People were dying for what they believed. But when they needed it most, God reached into the natural realm and caused supernatural things to be done. He does not always do this, but there was more for Peter to do. God didn’t reach down and pull Peter off the cross upside down.

I.KNOW.MY.REDEEMER.LIVETH 58-0406S E-10 …there is not one thing that can destroy us until the purpose of He Who created us has been fulfilled. There could be nothing. We’re made for a purpose.

41 Satan could not take them. He could not drown Noah in the flood, until the purpose of God had been finished. He could not burn up the Hebrew children until the purpose of God had been finished. He could not kill Job with boils and troubles until the purpose of God had been finished. Neither could the lions eat Daniel until God's purpose had been finished. Neither could death and old age take Abraham until the purpose of God had been finished. And neither can it take you, or can it take me until the purpose of God of our life is finished. So we gather from their consolation.

INFLUENCE.OF.ANOTHER 62-1013 32 Every spirit-filled man of the Bible died or was persecuted under the federal government. Moses, the Hebrew children, and Daniel, and Isaiah. Isaiah was sawed to pieces with a saw. And on down, John the Baptist, every one of the apostles, Jesus Himself, all died under capital punishment or punishment from the federal government. And according the way things are heaping up, there's going to be more testimonies added to theirs one of these days. And if there ever was a time that we must stick together, it's now.

Enticing Spirits Pg. 69:38-55; 68-72; 75:82-84

The social spirit- once the demon that ripped off his clothes, now in a milder form.

ABSOLUTE.A 63-0304 E-43 Yes, we've got to have an absolute. I'm thinking of… George Washington. When America was young and we were fighting for life, the life of this great nation that we have, George Washington was a Christian. He was a believer. And down at Valley Forge… What did he do? He goes out in the nighttime and kneels down in the snow, and prays until he was wet with snow water up around his waistline. And he stayed there and prayed until he got the absolute, the answer from God, that God was going to give him the victory… He was trusting in the absolute of an answered prayer. Amen. The very backgrounds of our nation based upon such a thing.

E-44 What's the matter with people today who claim to be Christians? …Let's be soldiers… He'd had a prayer meeting. He got the answer.

E-45 How well it was one night when apostle Peter was in the jail and they were going to kill him the next morning. He was going to die under capital punishment, as this little Jew's going to do now. But what did they do? They did the same thing that we here in Houston are trying to do. They formed a prayer meeting at John Mark's house. While they were praying, the Angel of the Lord went to the prison, and opened up the prison bars, and opened the gates and beyond that, and led Peter out, and come right down to the prayer meeting. I believe tonight that that same God lives. If He isn't the same God then there's something wrong.

EVER.PRESENT.WATER 61-0723M 149 We are now in heavenly places. We are now in the power of the resurrection. If there wasn't a law to that, sons and daughters of God would create them a world out here and go live a private life on it. You have the power in you to do it. …That's what power is in the Church now, but it is controlled by a law. And that law is not keeping a bunch of commandments. It's a law of faith. Jesus said, "All things are possible to them that believe." And if you can believe it, whatever God will lead your soul to believe, that is yours. Every place the soles of your foot can set upon by faith, God gives it to you. It's yours; you possess it, if you can find the key to this law of faith that opens it to you... If you are a son of God, you are a daughter of God, that never leaves you. It's with you all the time. But your faith gets away from It, but It's still there.

152 When you are saved, God gives you faith to rise from the muck of the earth. Your faith overcomes the things of the world. As much as your faith will be released, that's how much power you can have, because in you dwells the power to make heavens and earth. God dwells in you, and you are sons and daughters of God. There you are. But it's your faith. Jesus said, "According to your faith, be it unto you. If thou canst believe, all things are possible. Verily, I say unto you, if you say unto this mountain, 'Be moved,' and don't doubt, but believe that what you have said..."