The War for Worship Pt.2
MATTHEW 15:8-9
8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. (They were saying the right words with their lips, but they lacked the revelation of God in their hearts – this is why in denominational worship singing, they can sing all the right words of worship with their mouths, but if in their hearts they have received a false doctrine of man’s ideas and teachings, then their worship is not accepted by God – This is what Jesus is teaching.)
9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
So God refuses to accept a man’s worship if that man has received a false teaching into his heart that is contrary to the light of the truth revealed by God for the age.
JOHN 4:23-24 (Jesus speaking to the woman at the well)
23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
**This is why Satan can in effect block God from receiving worship from man by simply causing a man to believe in something false, and so this is what Satan’s war against God looks like, and it’s a war for worship.
**Satan can literally block God from being worshiped by simply injecting the doctrines and commandments of men, and when he does this, he is then able to direct all the worship that is meant for God to himself.
II THESSALONIANS 2:4
4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
REVELATION 13:8
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him (People don’t know that they are worshiping Satan, but they are, because any form of false teaching or deception makes a way for Satan to receive worshiped), whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
*So this war of Satan against God has been a War for Worship.
The War for Worship Pt.2
We are now living in a time of when the whole world has become deceived into a fully blown worship of Satan as saith the prophecy of scripture, and the paradox is that even many who claim to be Christians are also worshiping Satan – not consciously, but unconsciously.
*From a single woman (Eve) who was deceived by Satan at the beginning in Genesis by a false teaching that resulted in a false worship, to the entire world being deceived by the same devil at the end of the world at harvest time.
*And this is such a paradox that is hard for many to grasp, because it almost seems impossible, but yet it’s true. And this was actually one of the great revelations that the message of the hour made clear to us in that there has been a war for worship that has been going on since pride was found in Lucifers heart.
**Lucifer’s motivation for worship was his pride, while God’s motivation for worship is a natural response from man to the revealing of Himself.
SATAN'S.EDEN_ JEFF.IN V-2 N-20 SUNDAY_ 65-0829
27 That deceitfulness of the church of today! See, "the son of perdition," the devil. "The son of perdition," the devil. Then, people worshiping Satan in this day, thinking they're worshiping God. But they're worshiping him through a creed, a man-made denominations and creeds that's brought the people right down to the greatest deception that the world has ever knowed of. No matter how much the Word of God promised for this day, is preached and vindicated, they still won't believe It.
*From last week we noted how that in the last year of Brother Branham earthly ministry (1965), God began to open up this revelation to him of the only place that God would receive worship from, and so he began to preach sermons like “The God of the Evil Age”, and “Satan’s Eden”, and “God’s Only Provided Place of Worship”.
** In Jeffersonville on the 20th of February 1965 He starts off with the message “God’s Chosen Place of Worship” then on the 25th of April in Los Angeles he preaches “God’s Provided Place of Worship”. Then again in Jeffersonville on the 1st of August 1965 he preaches “The God of This Evil Age”, then he preaches “Satan’s Eden” on the 29th of August in Jeffersonville, then he preaches “God’s Only Provided Place of Worship” in Shreveport on the morning of the 28th on November 1965 – so then it’s God Chosen, Provided, and Only place of Worship.
These five sermons opened up to us a true understanding of the deception of this age of how God refuses all worship that comes from within a denominational church concept of God, because that is not His chosen place of worship of where He has placed his name.
GOD'S.CHOSEN.PLACE.OF.WORSHIP_ JEFF.IN V-5 N-7 SATURDAY_ 65-0220
38 …Then we see, by these, that every creed, church, and denomination is left far behind. It's not even in the race, at all. Every creed, every church, every denomination, is completely left out. There is no place for them at all.
39 Nothing is typed in the Old Testament, or anywhere in the Bible, of the church, but the forced unity of Babel tower. That's the only thing that types the unity... (He is speaking about denominational unity)
40 God has not chosen to put His Name in any denomination.
So in the last year of Brother Branham’s ministry, God had revealed and made clear an understanding to him about this age that was so incredible that it would seem almost unbelievable to the average thinking man, in that God refuses to receive worship from within denominational circles.
*All these sermons (“The God of the Evil Age”, “Satan’s Eden”, and “God’s Only Provided Place of Worship”) were being preached out of this revelation that God had made clear to him. And so the purpose that God revealed this to His prophet was so that we would also come into the full understanding of this very powerful truth and not be caught up in the deception of what the rest of the world is caught up in.
MALACHI 1:10-11
10 Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought (A people who were not willing to sacrifice without remuneration). I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand.
11 For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same (Seven Church Ages from sunrise to sunset) my name shall be great among the Gentiles (His Name was placed in the word revealed by God for each church age); and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts.
**For Seven Church Ages, the word for each age was lived out greatly and mightily in every age by the elect for each age.
GOD'S.CHOSEN.PLACE.OF.WORSHIP_ JEFF.IN V-5 N-7 SATURDAY_ 65-0220
51 …We've just went through the Seven Church Ages, going to show that God keep all Seven Church Ages in the Word, for each church age produced a part of the Word, and whenever they produced it and they saw the Light.
…You couldn't keep the feast in any other place. But them seven, place... The seven feasts of the year must be kept in one place. Therefore, the Seven Church Ages had to come from the one single place, that was Christ speaking in all Seven Church Ages.
MALACHI 4:2
2 But unto you that fear my name (Those that have respect to the light of the word of truth given by God for their age) shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings (a healing ministry of a 1st and 2nd pull); and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. (You shall be fed on a special diet of truth that is different from what the rest of the world is feeding on)
MALACHI 4:5-6
5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
*Notice how the Old Testament ends with the prophecy of the total destruction of the world if God would fail to send this end time Elijah prophet.
**So in this last age, Satan is attracting and receiving worship to himself by and through many different channels of deception.
*He is receiving worship from within the denominational churches because of the teaching of their traditions of man and false doctrines of the word of which God said that he would not receive worship to Himself from such a place.
*Then Satan is also receiving worship from the non-religious world through the channel of worldly beauty, and science, and intellectual reasoning, of which all of that is contrary to the truth of the word of God also.
*So this is how the whole world has ended up in this condition of worshiping Satan. He has become the god of this evil age; he has become the object of what is being worship by the people of the world through the channel of His deception.
ECCLESIASTES 3:4-5a
4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; (In this life, we all get to experience this law of contrast, but in the life that is to come, there will be no negatives, but only the positive of an eternity that is full of life and joy and piece. So it is only in this life that we get to experience the negative side to all of these things)
5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
Stones are little rocks, and little rocks are like little revelations. Jesus said that “upon this rock, I will build my church”, and a rock is a revelation of truth. So when someone knows something of God that is true, then that is symbolized as a rock - metaphorically.
*So there are seasons and times in our lives where we are to cast away all of our false denominational teachings of revelations and cultural ideas that are contrary to the thoughts of God, and then gather to ourselves the trues stones of the revelations of the revealed word of God for our age, because when the Son of Man comes, He is not looking for religious people who are trying to fix all the wrongs that are going on in the world, but He is looking for the revelation of His word that he has sent in this age through His seventh angel prophet to be in the hearts of a people.
LUKE 18:7-8
7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh (that is this time now that we are living in), shall he find faith on the earth?
Notice how they were looking for a Justise that would right all the wrongs that were being committed on the earth – that was their focus, but when the Son of Man comes (and that is the time we are living in now, of Luke 17:30), then He is looking for a revelation of the mighty God that has been unveiled in this hour to be in their hearts of the elect for this age.
Opening scripture:
MATTHEW 15:8-9
8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
**It is impossible for God to be admired and worshiped by a person in the correct way if their revelation of Him is not a true revelation according to the truth of His word revealed for this hour.
This is why that when the seven seals were opened, it unveiled that true God to us – this is the place of where true worship comes from.
And so God sent us a message so that we would be able to understand the truth of these things in these last days.
DEUTERONOMY 16:5-6 - Brother Branham reads this portion of scripture as the text for his sermon “God’s Only Provided Place of Worship”
5 Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates (Man made denominations), which the LORD thy God giveth thee:
6 But at the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun (that is the season we are living in now – evening time), at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt. (Egypt represents the denominations – and we have been led out of denominations by an end time third Exodus Prophet)
Brother Branham clearly explains here that God will not receive worship from within a denominational religious gate, but only from the place of where He has placed His name in – and we know that His name is placed where the word of God is being interpreted into flesh for the day that you are living in – lets read that...
GOD'S.ONLY.PROVIDED.PLACE.OF.WORSHIP_ SHP.LA V-7 N-4 SUNDAY_ 65-1128M
48 Now, the pla-... The thing I want to speak about this morning is that God has only one place that the worshipper can meet God, only one place. Through the ages many has sought for this secret place of God, through all the ages. Even Job wanted to know where He lived at, "If I could only go to His house and knock at His door." Job wanted to find God's dwelling place, 'cause there God and His family is worshipped together.
206 God did not put His name then in Babylon. Closely now. He cannot put His Name in Babylon, the churches. Oh, they, they put His Name in there, but He never. No.
*Last week we spoke a little about the name of a person being the manifestation of their life. Because when you think of a person with a famous name, you don’t see the letters of their name spelt out in your mind’s eye, you see and think of their life and the deeds of their life.
GOD'S.ONLY.PROVIDED.PLACE.OF.WORSHIP_ SHP.LA V-7 N-4 SUNDAY_ 65-1128M
214 And the Name is in the Word because He is the Word. Amen! What is He then? The Word interpreted is the manifestation of the Name of God.
***God has raised up a people in this hour that have received the revelation of truth that God has sent through the ministry of Malichi 4, and so this is the place of where God has chosen to place His name (in the revelation of His word for this day), not in a denomination, they put His name in their church, but God doesn’t, but He has placed His name in the hearts of an elected group of people by the revealing of His word to them for their age.