Ewald Frank

1985-07-10 19:30, Krefeld, Germany

Subject: Heb. 12:12-26: See that ye refuse not him that speaketh to you!”

broadcasted on 2025-01-19

Br. Schmidt

Praise God for his grace, also for this evening hour and the moment that we can come to him.

As we have just sung, "In the silent hours of the night, behold it knocks, it knocks." And we know what is knocking, because God has given us grace to recognize that it was him.

May he show us grace, so that we may receive him, the only true one, into ourselves, so that he can remain in us and take the first place in us, that we can glorify and praise his name.

Now I would like to read a word that we all know very well and yet it should be a blessing to us. I would like to read from Hebrews chapter 12, verse 12. Hebrews chapter 12, from verse 12:

Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;

And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.

And then from verse 25:

See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:

Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.

And this Word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.

Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:

For our God is a consuming fire.

Up to here this precious and holy Word.

We note and read, that the Holy Spirit, through the Apostle Paul, addressed the words to his contemporaries, or the believers of that time, calling them and pointing out to them, that they should not grow weary, that "they should make straight paths to their feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way."

And we know, that if the Lord, our God, had need to say this at that time, and the Holy Spirit had need to say it, how much more is it necessary in our day, that we should be instructed to take heed, that our feet keep on the straight paths, that we do not become lame, that we do not stray from the way, but are healed.

(14) Follow peace with all men and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.

And if it was so in those days, it is certainly so in our days, in this time in which we live, the same God, the same Word, and the same demand addressed to us.

And then he says:

(25) See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:

(26) Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.

And we know we are on the verge of this, he is standing on the threshold, there is not much time left, there is only one thing left, that he speaks his Word, just as he has spoken it through his servants, through the apostles, through the prophets, so it will be fulfilled.

May God give us grace to set our weary hands, our feeble knees, our feet on straight paths, and walk in holiness, yes, for his honor, and praise, that his name may be glorified.

Let us stand up and pray.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for your grace and faithfulness. We thank you also for tonight, even this hour, O God.

You know our hearts, you know why we come here, O God. We want more of what you have prepared, O God, for those who love you, and who love your appearance, Lord.

We want sanctification, Lord Jesus Christ. We want your Holy Spirit, Lord, to be filled with it, O God. That our knees, O Lord, our hands, and all that is about us, Lord. That it may not be weary or faint, but that we may hasten onward, O God.

Give us grace that we may hear, O Lord, the voice which you have spoken, even in our time, Lord, as we have heard.

It shook the world then, O God, in heaven. I ask you, Jesus, if you will appear now, Lord, what all will be shaken, O God, in heaven?

Shake our hearts today, O Lord. Let us, Lord Jesus Christ, come before you in reverence, honor and praise you, and exalt your name.

Amen.

You may be seated.

Br.Frank

Praise the Lord for the privilege of being here again, as usual, to worship. The house of God should be a house of prayer, not a house where only preaching and singing takes place, but a house of prayer, so it is written. [Matthew 21:13]

Every time we think of how faithful God is, in what a way he speaks to us and reveals his Word, takes away the inner resistance and bends us under his mighty hand, makes us willing to serve him, to obey him, to walk in his ways, then we must become grateful anew, grateful anew for this indescribable grace that really only very few people actually have.

There are perhaps millions who sing about grace, but only a few who have experienced it, who stand in it, who know what it means to be pardoned.

It is just as true that all evangelists talk about the end times, all preachers who deal with Bible prophecy, they talk about the signs of the times and do it very well. But what really matters, namely what God promised the church, they do not see, they do not hear, they do not accept. And in this we see again the indescribable grace of God, which no human being can fathom.

Recently I heard that Billy Graham showed clips of Brother Branham's meetings on US television, in his own program, clips of how Brother Branham prays for the sick through the gift of revelation.

And it touched me very deeply. A world famous man, a man who always has to weigh up where he can say what and yet it haunts these men. They will not be able to wash the blood off their hands like this, at least not in innocence, because they are aware that God has made a beginning in this generation. When there was no talk of any great or small evangelist, God took the simplest man he could find, this hillbilly. In America this is how those who come from remote places without a complete education with no correct grammar are described. A man who knows nature better than he knows his own language, but he knew the language of God and that is very important. It's more important than anyone knowing exactly where the comma, full stop, end and beginning are.

When God speaks and he finds someone who can pass on this speaking in this way, then that is an indescribable grace.

When we talk about the grace of God, we must also see it. We have said it often enough here. Moses asked the Lord, saying, "If indeed I have found grace in thy sight, let me know thy ways."

Here, in this Word, we have read that we are to "make straight paths for our feet."

That is up to us. God has actually paved the way for us. Now it is up to us to make straight paths for our feet.

If we take verse 12 and the connection to the Old Testament, then it is written, Isaiah 35, 3, and there we can see that the beginning of the New Testament, namely the ministry of Jesus, is connected to these words. I would like to read this for the sake of context.

Isaiah 35, verse 3:

Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.

Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.

This verse is connected with the ministry of Jesus Christ, with the revelation of God in human form, with what the prophets in the Old Testament prophesied by the Spirit of God.

In connection with the fact that God himself will come and give us salvation, and that then the eyes of the blind will be opened, the ears of the deaf will hear, the lame will leap like a deer, in this connection is the word ""Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees."

With reference to the work of God. No matter how much comfort we want to give each other, true comfort, true strengthening comes in connection with the work of God. Just as at that time the hands were to be strengthened, the knees made firm, and the promise was connected with this strengthening.

It was a promise, "Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come."

A real comfort, and where strength is to come in hands and feet, we must count on the work of God. We must be able to distinguish between what we can bring, what we have done ourselves, and what God wants to do.

Here we have been shown the characteristics of what would happen when the Lord comes.

And did it happen? It happened. And because it happened, the people were able to stand up. It was not only the lame who leaped, but all those who wavered and staggered, who were despondent in heart, but waited for the consolation of God in Israel, they revived. For them, what happened then was what they had been waiting for. It was God's answer, the confirmation of His word, the fulfillment of His promises. Their weak hands became strong, their discouraged became courageous, their feeble knees were strengthened, and their fearful hearts were comforted.

Behold, fear not, your God will come. He will come and save you.

Therein lies all the comfort.

He will come and save you.

And when that happens, the blind will see, the lame will walk, and the deaf will hear.

We have to deal with the fact that this still applies today.

We have said it: The Lord's ministry has began, but it has not ended.

The Apostolic Age has began, but it has not ended.

The New Testament Church has began, but it has not yet ended.

We all know that the work of the Spirit has began, we even know how it began, but it has not yet ended.

And if we believe these promises with all our heart, then God will also fulfill them by grace.

Here, the Old Testament Word is called out to us in the New Testament.

Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees.

This means that once there was a state that was healthy, and now a weariness had set in, the hands were hanging down, a certain despondency was there, hence the word again.

Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees.

Before, they were steadfast, they were firm, they were strong, and have somehow become weak, weary, and feeble.

Here it says, "Wherefore, lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees."

At the beginning, and I'm coming now, I didn't want to talk about this text. I didn't know it was going to be read, but I want you to see what is happening here.

When the Lord began His ministry, all those who were waiting for the consolation of Israel were encouraged and raised up. They dragged the whole world together, the sick and the blind and the lame, to the Lord, and He healed them.

There was joy, there was comfort, there was strengthening, there was salvation, there was forgiveness, there was healing, there was everything. Where Jesus was, nothing was missing. Where Jesus was, nothing was missing. Everyone, no matter how they came, no matter what they came with, when they came to Jesus and got through to Him and touched Him in some way, that's when it happened.

Where Jesus is…, and we have realized one thing, where He is, His Word must be first.

He is inseparable from His Word, because in the beginning was the Word. [John 1:1]

But where His Word is, there He must be, for without Him His Word is not, for you would not hear me speak if I were not here, and my words are my voice, and my voice is my words.

So it is with the Lord.

If He were not in our midst, He could not speak to us in such a close, living, tangible and understandable way for all of us. He is present. He has promised to be with us until the end of the world. [Matthew 28:20]

But here the Apostle is certainly writing about the last days, for you see, this is quite clear from the context, for it says here in verse 25, without me reading everything, it says, "See that ye refuse not Him that speaketh," and so forth, and then, "whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.".

At that time His voice from heaven shook the earth, and that was quite wonderful. But now heaven and earth are to be shaken.

"Yet once more," here is a promise, all things that are made shall be shaken.

Listen to what it says here in verse 27:

And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.

In what context are we now reading?

It strikes me for the first time in my life, and it goes through my heart and soul.

At the time when God is getting ready to fulfill this "once more," namely to shake heaven and earth, when he sets out to replace what is perishable with imperishability, as it says here, "And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken."

And we all know that a tremendous transformation is coming, with everything. We know that our transformation is coming, we know that anyway. This earth will also experience many things.

It's a good thing that I read chapter 33 of the prophet Isaiah. Because we are reading here, in chapter 35, we read both. We read about vengeance and the recompense of God, and then "He will come and save you," second part, verse 4.

Chapter 34, it says, from verse 4:

And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.

And then verse 8:

For it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.

And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch.

Do we see what this is about?

In chapter 35 we read, "Vengeance is coming, the vengeance of God is coming." [Isaiah 35:4] And here we are shown how it will come. We read it here, "For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance and the year of recompenses."

And if I just go with one thought in the direction where it is written here, Edom, we have been there, we have almost seen it, there is enough dust, and when all the dust turns to brimstone, I don't know what else won't burn. And pitch and brimstone stick together like glue, as a saying goes. Both burn incredibly well. One provides tinder and the other brightens things up, but both burn enormously.

And when you read here, "For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion, and the streams of Edom…"

Yes, all the streams, the water, will suddenly freeze and become pitch, will be turned to pitch, and what is now a desert of sand and dust will suddenly become brimstone.

Yes, what will happen then?

"The day of the Lord will come," 2 Peter 3, verse 10, and will burn like an oven.

The elements shall melt with fervent heat.

I tell you, pitch does not burn so well, but brimstone burns all the faster. Brimstone would only burn in one go, but pitch gives the heat and the glow, and then all those who are left behind are really unlucky, then they are trapped in the terrible judgment of God.

And then it says, "It shall not be quenched, night nor day," and so forth, until it is over, of course, until everything is created anew.

And now in verse 16 it says:

Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.

Of course, they will come together and are all beautifully described, and the Lord will see to it.

What did we look at over the weekend? Everything has its time, everything happens in its own time, and we realize that we have been born into a very special time. This is an extraordinary generation with an extraordinary grace from God.

We are searching the same Bible today, and I see Brother Schmidt underlines, God bless you, and we are reading the same Bible today that our brothers read 100, 200, 300, 400 years ago, aren't we? Or did someone add something to it or write new chapters?

No, we are reading the same Bible today as great men of God read it before us. And we, the poorest bunglers, just because it's God's hour and God's time and God has given us grace, we see what we get to see now and hear what we get to hear.

Why?

Because it is God's hour. Through the prophet Daniel God said very clearly, chapter 12, verse 4, "Shut up the words and seal the book even to the time of the end," not forever, just until the end times.

And because it is the end time, the things have been revealed. If it were not yet the end times, they would not have been revealed. But God has said, "until the end times." God's mouth said that and that is why it is so. That is why these things could not have been revealed before.

People have tried, they have searched. Yes, they have searched. But because the time was not come yet, they have not been able to penetrate this deep revelation of the will and the Word of God.

And if you want to be honest about it, it was not Brother Branham who would have dug up there and knew where all these treasures are. He gave the Lord the honor and said, "I didn't know it myself." They were revelations from God that came to him in the same way as they did to the prophets when they wrote down this Word.

And now it was the same inspiration by the same Holy Spirit who sought out these passages, who found them, who revealed them, who illuminated them.

And so from the written word we have received the spoken word. I would almost say from the hidden word we received a revealed word by grace.

Not because we are better than others, because it is the time of God, because it is the end time of which God has spoken.

And now, as if decreed and given to us by the Lord, this passage comes to us today. It simply falls into our laps. Yes, it falls into our hearts.

(12) Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.

And then the context:

(26) Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.

And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.

Many things will collapse, there will be a great shaking, and when we read in Revelation there will be an earthquake and the third part of the city will fall [Revelation 11:13] and so forth, there will be much, much shaking at that time.

After the rapture, possibly after the ministry of the two witnesses, when the last three and a half years have began, that will be a time of judgment and the downfall of ungodly mankind.

But this Word "once more" moves us for the time being. For before these judgments of God can come upon the earth, the church must be taken away, and before that happens, it must be called out, prepared, must be one heart and one soul.

There must be a state in the church of the living God at the end as it was at the very beginning.

Let me put it like this: In the end, there must only be Abel, and no Cain anymore, who has the nature of the enemy, but truly people who are born of God.

And what did brother Schmidt tell us here yesterday? We had a brief conversation in the open air. I'll try to repeat it, if I can't, do it, please. Whoever is born of God… And further? What did you say, brother Schmidt? That was so precious to me. That was a wonderful statement. Whoever is born of God… Do any of those who were there know? I no longer know either.

But in any case, whoever is born of God, has the nature of God, he has the mind of Jesus Christ, and only those who are born of God will indeed be able to receive the true Word of God.

I think that was it. That's kind of where it was going. Yes.

But it's an all-encompassing thing that somehow wants to place every area that God addresses under the care of God.

And when we are told here, "See that ye refuse not him that speaketh."

God spoke then, but now, "See that ye refuse not him that speaketh" to you.

And then the promise, "Yet once more. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken."

And we know full well that before the day of the Lord comes, before all these things come to pass, God will speak. And God has spoken. And therefore we must beware.

That is a marvelous context. I am seeing it for the first time today.

God wanted to speak and has spoken before the end of time. And this admonition is addressed to us:

Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet.

Why has God given us all this instruction? That we always stumble and fall? No, but that we actually see a paved path before us, a path leveled by God.

Take up the stumblingblock out of the way of My people. [Jes 57:14]

Will we succeed?

Because we believe Him.

We do not trust ourselves. We trust our God. We have received His Word and His Word becomes reality in us, divine reality. And we didn't refuse Him. And therein lies the whole secret.

See that ye refuse not Him that speaketh to you.

And I say to you, the Word is for us, whether you believe it or not. This Word is indeed for us, because God has promised that His voice will once more shake heaven and earth. [Hebrews 12:26]

And here the Apostle gives us the explanation.

And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, because it is something created, for something lasting shall remain.

We could go back to the prophet Daniel. I mentioned it at the weekend. [Dan 2:44]

And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed.

It's just the time.

And now these connections are simply marvelous. What a grace. Sometimes you think, "Lord, I've preached Your Word and the Bible through and through all these years." And you no longer know what can still be said, where you could still read, without it all being known.

But old things become new.

I'm overwhelmed by this Word.

And because we have not refused Him who has spoken to us from heaven, who has revealed His Word, who has made known His will, let us call out to one another.

Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; and make straight paths for your feet.

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.

This too is a commandment that is particularly appropriate for the last days, precisely because we are waiting to see the Lord.

And the Holy Scriptures also say it:

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall inherit the earth.

Promises have been given that will all be fulfilled.

Here, "Follow peace…"

There is another scripture, "Seek peace and ensue it."

A person who has peace with God, and please believe me on this once and for all, he will make peace wherever he goes, wherever he comes, there is no other way.

The peace of God. When we enter a house, we should bring this peace of God with us and say to the house, "The peace of God be with you."

Yes, and the Bible says that if it is a house of peace, then the peace will remain there. If not, it will come back to you and then you will take it with you again. [Luke 10:5-6]

Yes, we have something that we can pass on.

Or is it thin air? What do we have? Do we have God's Word? Do we have the promises in the word or what do we have that we can give?

Of course, we also know that there are people who are not meant to accept peace or who cannot keep peace. Even with our Lord, people did not like it and they always sought to quarrel with him and it always went round and round.

But he himself was and is our peace. [Ephesians 2:14]

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you.

For then people can fall short of the grace, even though they have experienced it.

If this root of bitterness grows up and causes disaster, where there is salvation, there is also peace, but where there is disaster, there is also discord.

And then there is a root, as it says here in brackets, "lest a poisonous root springing up."

It is an evil thing in any case, and has its roots somewhere. If it's just a superficial thing, then it's easy. But if it has roots, unless it's pulled out together with the root, otherwise it's no use. We can't just cover a plant like that with a bit of 20th century spray. It won't do any good. No, the whole thing must be pulled out along with the root that has taken a root in people's hearts. And only God can do this through a very direct operation by taking away the old heart and giving us a new one.

The old heart has been smitten and we cannot trust it ourselves.

But God has promised us a new heart and a new spirit. [Ezekiel 36:26]

It goes on to say, "Lest there be any fornicator or profane person as Esau."

You are all good Bible students. Even those in the third row, doesn't matter.

I have a question about this verse. Verse 16, a very specific question. It's Bible study tonight.

It says here, "Lest there be any fornicator or profane person as Esau."

I didn't look this up, but do you ever remember Esau committing adultery? Are you aware of this in any way? Who is aware of it?

No, I'm just asking. We have Bible study tonight. I'm not the only one who has read the Bible. There may be some who don't have it with them today. Those who don't want to answer, put it next to you.

Yes, we are getting here to the point.

I'm only reading from the Holy Scriptures here. There are admonitions that have been addressed to us. And I would like to read it out loud from the Bible to show everyone from the Word of God what adultery is.

Deuteronomy 22, verse 22.

If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away evil from Israel.

I say nothing about this.

God's Word is clear enough.

Now we have here in verse 16, "lest there be any adulterous or depraved person like Esau."

As I said, I think I know the Bible, but I am not aware that Esau took another man's wife as his wife. Well, I haven't read that in the Bible, not to this day.

And when we read about David, you all know that. We read about David, he took the wife of Uriah. [2 Samuel 11:4] And I ask you this evening, it's a Bible study tonight, and you have to know the ABC: How often did David commit adultery?

Once, that's it. And God told him that very clearly and let him know.

All right, now let's come to our Bible passage.

Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.

And here we come to the point, we could go straight to Revelation now, with Jezebel, with whom they committed adultery and so on. [Revelation 2:20] She was holier than all the others.

But here we come to the spiritual realm. But that's not what we wanted tonight. Where is all this going?

"But let it come," says brother Russ, if I heard correctly.

No, we are grateful to God, from the bottom of our hearts, that we have recognized the importance of the birthright, that we have received it and that we are entitled to it.

Who among us would sell it? Never ever.

For Esau the birthright was nothing. For Jacob it was everything.

And Jacob was a rascal, we all know that. Jacob moved things left and right to get to the center. Yes, sir, that's how he did it.

But then he got the blessing. We all know that his mother helped him. It was God's providence to show us that the firstborn blessing that was intended for Israel, as God said, "You are my firstborn son."

Now the church is the church of the firstborn. [Hebrews 12:23] Let me read it to you. Must be in the same chapter. It must be here, in chapter 12, probably verse 23.

To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all.

There is a multitude of believers on earth, who have received the divine birthright. And this is the multitude that will see the face of God. This is the multitude that will inherit all things, because the blessing came with the birthright.

It is connected to the inheritance and to the promise.

When Esau later…, as we read on here, "for ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears."

You can find repentance for everything in life. You can repent of everything, really everything.

But a person who gives up his birthright can never get it back. That was the case here with Esau.

He thought at that moment that he could do it and then get it back again, but he couldn’t. He couldn't do it with tears and he couldn't do it with words. He couldn't do it at all.

The birthright is the greatest.

Jesus is the firstborn among many brethren. [Romans 8:29]

If we are born of God, we have received the divine birthright and therefore also the connection to the Word of God.

Hence our submission to the Word of God.

Hence the agreement with the Word of God. Inner agreement with the Word of God in every way and in every respect. No one can give that to themselves. There is no such thing. It is a gift from God that has been given to you and me.

Because I know that the enemy is also sometimes present in the meetings of the saints as in the time of Job, let me tell you, this Word or the thought of the birthright is a comparison between Israel and the church of the firstborn.

Israel had the birthright, as Paul explains in Romans chapter 8 or 9. You have the promises, the law, the covenants and so on [Romans 9:4], but have not made this calling or election your own.

And then salvation passed to the gentile nations, and so some gave up their birthright, and others received it.

Not that anyone is sitting here thinking, "Huh, maybe I can lose it too." No, the Jews lost it, so that we could find it. They dropped it, so that we might receive it. Yes, so that we might have been received. They were broken off as natural branches, so that we, as the wild branches, could be grafted into the original olive tree [Romans 11:17], which is right there with the root.

These are wonderful thoughts, that we find here today in the Word of God.

And I only hope one thing, that something breaks open in us, even if it's just a "Thank you".

When people can't speak, that happens too. There are people who can't speak well. We all understand that.

But if we just say, "Lord, I am overwhelmed. You have spoken to me. I thank you for it. Amen."

Does God demand a sermon from you in prayer? Does he ask you to recite scriptures or teach others in prayer? Certainly not. That happens through preaching.

But in prayer, a "Thank you" to the Lord, a praise, a short worship.

I am reminded of the story of Brother Branham when this opossum came into his courtyard and I was there, I know for a fact that it is unusual in America for people to fence in their yards.

But Brother Branham had a nice white wooden picket fence and the neighboring property were open fields. And that's why it's so overwhelming when he says this opossum came this way from the forest. I know that path well, I walked there.

It came from the forest and then went past all the detached properties and goes there where only one gate is open, where everything else is closed with a fence. There this animal goes, up to the entrance steps and lies down.

Yes, tell me that God does not care who feeds the ravens and the birds of the air. They do not sow, they do not reap, but they are quite at ease. [Matthew 6:26]

And what was it, Brother Branham says, to make a long story short, when it was healed and had put her young ones back in the bag nicely, she went on her way and just as she was in the middle of the gate, this mother looked around, bowed her head, Brother Branham says, as if to say, thank you very much.

Yes, well, think about it, an animal that has only been helped physically is on its way after God has shown mercy and turns around and says thank you.

What about us?

The greatest man of God despairs when the church is not seized, not overwhelmed, not penetrated by the mighty Word and the mighty Spirit of God.

And I say it again, we are not here in the closet to offer long prayers before the Lord, but it would be best if everyone, from the first to the last, everyone, really very briefly, then continue in silence, but very briefly out loud, and then continue in silence, and then very briefly out loud, and you will see, you will see what a stream of blessing will pour out.

We are living in the days when these promises will also be fulfilled, and we can encourage one another.

As it says here, "lift up the hands which hang down and the feeble knees," just as this Word was fulfilled at the time of the Lord's first coming.

So once again, once more, as we read, once more, so now, before the Lord's return, we will once again be in a state where we, as believers, will have straight paths, our knees will have become strong again, our hands, everything will be good, and perhaps the sword of the Spirit will also be in a good hand of faith, so that we can wield it well with the help of the Lord.

These are precious promises for the last days, for the last period of time, before everything that has been created is shaken and collapses, and something lasting comes into being, namely, as it says here in verse 28, "Wherefore, we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us be thankful, whereby we may serve God," yes, being thankful, "thereby serving God, acceptably with reverence and godly fear."

I am thankful to the Lord for today's word, very grateful.

It applies to us, it strengthens us, it comforts us, it lifts us up, and I am sure that we have also sensed that God has spoken to us.

Praise be to His holy name.

Amen.