Respects Pt.2
JOSHUA 1:1-3
1 ¶ Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying,
2 Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.
3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.
Respects Pt.2
Recap from last week –
Last week we were trying to show the younger adult people of what we in the message had wished we had known a little more of back when we were younger people, and one of those things is that we need to learn to always be respectful to the ministry that God sends to us, and we need to also teach our children to be respectful to the ministry that God sends among us.
***We saw how that in the time of Elisha, two she bears killed 42 innocent children all because of the disrespectful talk of their parents around the kitchen table concerning Elisha. And remember this, that Elisha in the bible represents the 5 fold ministry of this day who came after the Elijah ministry of this day – so it’s the same thing today, so if we as parents talk disrespectfully in our homes about our local church ministries, then our children will also pick up on that, and they will learn by osmosis to have no respect for that ministry, and then what you’ve done is that you have undermined the future ability for that minister to help your children to bring them to Christ, and not only that, but according to the bible it can actually bring a curse on them, and then also later on when they get into problems in their lives, how is that ministry going to be able to help them if you have taught them not to respect that ministry by your own disrespect that has rubbed off onto them.
RESPECTS_ JEFF.IN V-13 N-4 SUNDAY_ 61-1015E
131 If they'd have been taught reverence and respect, they'd have walked out there before that prophet of God and have asked for prayer for themselves. But they had been taught to snicker and laugh and to make fun about like the children of today. No, too many of them today would make fun at a street meeting; they'd make fun at the preaching of the Gospel.
So Elijah cursed them in the Name of the Lord. Not because of the children, but because of the irreverent parents that'd brought the children up that way to disrespect God. Two she bears come out and killed forty-two of them. Now, that's irreverence. God demands respect. When they disrespected His prophet, they disrespected Him; no matter if they didn't believe, they ought to kept their mouth shut, stay away from it. But no, they had to put in their nickel's worth. They had to say something that they ought not have said. And what happened to them?
***Last week we also showed the example of 3 women in the bible who were in a state of calamity and distress of what happens when you show respect to the ministry of God.
1. The gentile woman of Canaan - her daughter was vexed with a devil and when she asked Jesus for help he called her a dog, yet even under such a rebuke, she still showed respects to him, and because of her showing respect to God, her daughter was healed.
How many of us would have still shown respects to God after being spoken to in this manner?
2. Then there was the Shunammite woman that her son had died, and by her showing respects to the ministry of God, her son was restored to life again.
3. Then Martha
**For Martha and Mary, their greatest hour of need was at the death of their brother Lazarus, but right at that time it looked like this man Jesus whom they had believed in so much had let them down, but then we see the response of Martha under those conditions and her respect to the ministry that had appeared to have miserably failed her, but then we saw what the outcome was of her showing respects to the ministry under those conditions – she received the life of her loved one back again.
***So notice carefully what all these woman had in common, they were in desperate need of the restoration of a loved one, and so the bible is giving us the answer to this of how to also have our love ones restored, and that is to show respects to God and to the ministry that he sends you even if you think that that ministry has let you down, so this is giving us scriptural answers of what to do when we also find ourselves in these same circumstances and with the same need.
**If it worked for all these women in the bible, then God is obligated to make it work for us also if we follow the same pattern of example.
***You show respects to God by showing respect to the ministries that he sends you, and that is what brings you salvation and healing to your loved ones in times of trouble.
I CHRONICLES 16:22
22 Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.
I SAMUEL 24:3-6
3 And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet: and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave.
4 And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the LORD said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe privily. (King Saul was hunting David to kill him without a cause, but remember that Saul had been anointed by Samuel the prophet as king. And that is why if a ministry that has been truly anointed by the prophet’s message and by the word of this hour, and then that ministry goes a little crazy and starts doing things that seem wrong against other people, then we are allowed by God to disagree with that ministry and to even separate ourselves from that man, but we are to leave it up to God to bring about His own judgement upon that man, it is not for us to try to do that.)
5 And it came to pass afterward, that David's heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul's skirt.
6 And he said unto his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the LORD'S anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD.
Look at his respect to the anointed of the Lord.
I SAMUEL 8:7
7 And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.
Notice: Their attitude to Samuel was directly their attitude to God.
Opening scripture:
JOSHUA 1:1-3
1 ¶ Now after the death of Moses (If we were to update this for this day we would not say Moses, because we are not living in Moses’s time today, but we would have to say “after the death of William Branham”) the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, (The ministry that followed William Branham’s ministry is not a one man ministry but a many membered 5 fold ministry that the same Holy spirit that was in William Branham is now working in the continuation of the local ministries under the head ministry for the age)
2 Moses (Branham) my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.
3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses (William Branham).
***Everything that was promised under this message by the messenger, God has given to us to go forward and possess in this hour. But why is it that some are advancing in the word and possessing the promises, while others are not advancing in the word and possessing the same land like they should be.
JOSHUA 3:15
15 And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)
The bible is placing this important fact in here that it was at harvest time when these people were coming into their inheritance of the promise of God under the ministry that followed after Moses, and we see that there were many battles that they were about to engage in in order to possess what God had given them by promise under the ministry of Moses which had led them out of Egypt which is what we have also experienced in this day because we have also been led out of the denominations and have come through the wilderness and are now coming into the promises of our inheritance of this hour.
We are also at harvest time, so this story is about Israel, but it is also a direct prophecy concerning us in this day because this history is repeating itself again concerning the people of God at this harvest time.
***So the book of Joshua is the story of how the people of God possessed their land of what God had promised to them after the death of Moses their prophet, so this exactly parallels us today after the death of our prophet William Branham who led us out of spiritual Egypt.
JOSHUA 2:1
1 ¶ And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly (notice that it doesn’t name these two men, they were just common men that Joshua used to carry the message and to spy out the land), saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged there.
**So in the book of Joshua, one of the first things that we come across at the outset of this story is of a gentile woman named Rahab and the respect that she showed to these two messengers that had been sent out from under the ministry of Joshua – Notice, she did not show respects to Joshua directly, but by showing respects to these two low ranking messengers she was in fact directly showing respects to Joshua and to God.
JOSHUA 2:2-12
2 And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to night of the children of Israel to search out the country.
3 And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house: for they be come to search out all the country.
4 And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were:
5 And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them.
6 But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof.
7 And the men pursued after them the way to Jordan unto the fords: and as soon as they which pursued after them were gone out, they shut the gate.
8 ¶ And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof;
9 And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.
10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed.
11 And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.
12 Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father's house, and give me a true token:
***Her respect to these men and their message was recognized all the way through the ranks so that even God himself honoured what these messengers had covenanted with this woman Rahab. Yet some people in the message can treat their local ministries that are trying to tell them about an even greater message of deliverance for us and our families in this day, and will treat them with such disrespect like they are the most untrusting people on earth, and then wonder why there is no token for their families.
JOSHUA 6:15-17
15 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times: only on that day they compassed the city seven times.
16 And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city.
17 ¶ And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.
JOSHUA 6:21-22
21 And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword.
22 But Joshua had said unto the two men that had spied out the country, Go into the harlot's house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye sware unto her.
23 And the young men that were spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel.
24 And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD.
25 And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father's household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
While Rahab and her family were being saved during this time of judgement, and because of her respect to the ministry, the bible is contrasting this story with another man who at this exact same time is showing disrespect to the message of the hour, and that was Achan.
***So again we see that the bible is giving us two examples of two people placed right together showing us that just before the judgement hour strikes the earth, there would also be these two types of people in the message of the hour at this harvest time.
Rahab showed respect to the messengers and their message, but Achan who had also heard the message of the hour did not show respect and obedience to the message, and so we can see the outcome of what happened to both of these people and to their families with them.
**Look at the contrast of these two families and how the story ended for these families just by their respect to the ministry that God had sent them - it either brought salvation or destruction upon their entire families.
JOSHUA 7:1-2
1 ¶ But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel.
2 And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Bethaven, on the east side of Bethel, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai.
We know that Israel is defeated before Ai, and so Joshua rents his clothes and cries before the Lord and the Lord reveals to him what has taken place and that there is the accursed thing among them and Achan is in turn found out and confesses his sin.
JOSHUA 7:20-26
20 And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done:
21 When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.
22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it.
23 And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD.
24 And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor.
25 And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones.
Another translation says: Then Joshua said, "Why did you bring this disaster on us? The LORD will bring disaster on you today!" And all Israel stoned Achan and his family to death. Then they burned the bodies and piled stones over them.
So much for Achan’s little business venture that he thought would help bring financial blessing to him and his family in the new world.
**When (in your mind) you place business ventures at a greater value than that of obedience and respect to the word of God, then the bible is showing us where that pathway leads to.
**The outcome of respect to God and to the ministries that He sends to us (regardless of how low ranked those ministries may seem) is life, and life to your offspring.
But the outcome of disrespect is death.
MAKE.THE.VALLEY.FULL.OF.DITCHES_ CONNERSVILLE.IN TUESDAY_ 53-0609E
E-3 A lady in my church... Brother Beeler, a Mrs. Weber. She was dying with TB. She was in the sanatorium at the last stages. They sent her home to die: said there's nothing could be done for her. Mrs. Grace Webber, in Jeffersonville. She lived just beyond the Tabernacle, and she had a got five or six little children. So the Angel of the Lord come to me that night and said, "Go, tell Mrs. Webber and tell Mr. Webber, rather, to get things ready; for he's going to be left with those children on his hands; for his wife's going." Well, I went and told Mr. Webber. I told his little girl, little Jean Rose, which is a nurse now. She was a little bitty fellow then. She's a young lady now. It's been seven years ago or more.
I said, "Now, Jeanie, your mother's going to die. She can't live but a little while longer."
E-4 And two days after that, or three days, there was some ladies from the government depot there, where she worked, come in. And she--and Grace, Mrs. Webber, said, "If--if I could only have Brother Bill to pray for me once more," she said, "I seen when my cousin Opal was healed with that cancer, and the doctor just give her 'till morning to live," and her daughter's a nurse also.
Said--and that--the girls from out at the government where she worked with her, said, "There ain't nothing to that guy." Said, "He isn't nothing but a hypocrite." Said, "That's all that religion is, is just a bunch of fake fanaticism."
And so Miss Webber said, "Look, I'm a dying. And I know that, but I just won't stand still for that." She said, "I know better than that." She said, "I been--lived right here around this city, around that man all the time. I seen him from a child, growed up." She said, "I know." Said, "You can call it fake if you want to," she said, "but I've seen it just as--so much, and seen God heal the people." She said, "And I know the man's life and I know it's the truth."
E-5 And it happened to be the Angel of the Lord heard that. And that very night, setting on the side of my chair, in the room, after I got up and went and got a drink of water, about three o'clock in the morning, and setting on a chair, I seen Him come walking through the door. He said, "Tomorrow (Sunday), that they're going to pick Miss Webber up and bring her down. She'll be setting on the right hand side, far back in the Tabernacle." Said, "I heard her, and tell her I heard her, what she said. And tell her, THUS SAITH THE LORD, she'll live and not die." She...?... There you are. You can go down and see her if you'd like to: been about seven years ago. All right. See? His Presence was there when she was taking up for what was right. See? His Presence was there, and He--He found her. So He come and told me what she had said--what she said to these women, and said... And He had respect to her because she had respect unto what was representing God. So God will do the same thing for you. Not to respect to me, but to respect to Him, to Christ, the One Who died for your healing. If you'll just give respects to Him and His Word, God will do the work for you. Amen. That is right.