Questions And Answers – Pastors Series #09

Shall we pray.

Heavenly Father, we’re again grateful that You’ve allowed us to come together, to worship and praise Thy Name, to hear Your Word of instruction, Lord, wherein there is Life and health, immortality.

But, Lord, as we sing this song so many times, “Now That You’re Here,” it’s something like Brother Branham mentioned when the people see discernment become so commonplace that just sort of becomes not to them what It should be.

We pray that this will never be that way with us, Lord, though perhaps we’ve already come to that place, it’s too commonplace, Lord, the fact of Your Presence.

Help us, Lord, to be as the prophet was so sincere, and so grateful at all times, so in awe of It, that we might have the same atmosphere in our lives, and project the same spirit of reverence and devotion and love and understanding.

Help us in our studies, Lord. We carefully give you the praise.

In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.

You may be seated.

Now, we’re at number 9 in “Question and Answers”, and we’re still answering some thoughts that come up due to questions, especially that’s been raised in the minds of the people, due to some of the things that Brother Branham has said concerning the church and the pastor, the ministers.

Now, last Sunday we examined the context of Brother Branham’s remarks wherein he said, “Spiritually speaking, the pastor is the husband of the church.”

That statement came forth as he spoke of Mrs. Lot wondering if her husband’s revelation to her was true, and that it would actually be fulfilled. For she was thinking that they’re fine people with noble aspirations down in Sodom.

And it just might be the judgment would not fall, at least at that time, and especially according to that prophecy that was given by her husband.

And continuing with those thoughts she soon felt it was too difficult to give up her way of life, so she turned back and died in her unbelief.

Now, in my thinking, as I mentioned that, Brother Branham is speaking of himself in the Exodus out of Babylon, Revelation 18:4, where it is said that, “Come out of her my people, and be not partakers of her sins.”

And he has done all that a faithful, loving husband would do to make his wife trust him and go with him as her advisor and head.

Now, the church followed Brother Branham in the great healing revival, but like Mrs. Lot they turned back to die in their creeds and dogma and their false worship.

They did not believe that like Elijah, Brother Branham was literally Jezebel’s pastor. In fact they didn’t even know that Elijah was Jezebel’s pastor.

They could not accept Brother Branham to be their head, but since the Message ministers, seemingly a majority, have either usurped or arrogated this saying to themselves, which is “the pastor is the spiritual husband,” I feel it is good to check it out so as not to take it too far in one direction and bring the people into bondage to a man instead of obedience to the Word.

And this is what we’ve seen happened. And we want to make this statement very clear that no man can fulfill the promises of God. That goes to me and to every pastor. I can’t fulfill one promise of God. If you’re looking to me, you’re sunk.

There are ministers who like to think that you’ve got to look to them.

I’ve got news for you: you better look through them and over them because, if you preach yourself, or you put yourself any way in any position of intercession, or you become an intermediary other than God stipulated, don’t talk about the Roman Catholics, you’ve got the same Catholic spirit on you.

And that’s where Nicolaitans really got going in that fifth century there. Faithful men may repeat those promises, but God alone fulfills them.

So hear this: to apply the principle of pastor-husband in just one area alone would give the pastor the right to refuse the church to vote him out.

The church as a whole, or any member, could not leave him because there is no place in Moses’ law that allows the woman to put away her husband.

Since God allowed a covenant of polygamy, which types Christ and His Bride of one husband with many-membered Bride, which Bride in turn is a many-membered church, neither the church nor the individual could ever leave the husband-pastor, though he, the pastor, could put one or all away. Hogwash.

That is my intellectual concept of their intellectual concept. I’m a past master of the art of derision. So is God. I’m not at all outside of His image.

I hope you heard what I said there. God gave a covenant of polygamy. One husband, many women. It’s a type of Christ in the Bride. If the pastor is indeed the husband, he can put away one or all.

Brother Branham talking of the woman said, “He can put me away,” [That’s the church.] “but don’t let anyone of us ever try to put Him away.”

Now, that’s fine in the spiritual realm of Christ, but you try to apply that to a pastor, an ordinary human being, which I’m afraid too many preachers are arrogating to themselves that privilege, and I say it is violently wrong.

It does despite to the spirit of grace. I repeat: there is no law that granted the woman power to divorce, yet Christ acknowledged that women have done it and were doing it.

In,

Now, I say there are ministers who hold to this in the face of the fact that Brother Branham categorically said, “If you have no confidence in your pastor, get yourself another one.”

So, if you don’t like your husband, phttt, jump over the traces. There might be a guy around the corner you like. You see, you’ve got to be careful what’s being said.

He also said that “If a pastor is off the Word, get away from him.” Certainly he would have to say that in the light of his screaming very loudly,

“Stay away from that stuff!” as he spoke of the false anointed with their great gifts, but with a prostituted word.

And yet many of us would like to be healed. Little sister Craig that died with cancer in Jack Bell’s church, she said, “I’ll die first before I let a false anointed preacher pray for me.”

We recall Brother Branham also admonished a pastor to be subject to the church even as he called the church to be subject to the pastor.

This hardly fortifies the views some are taking about the pastor-husband’s principle for no Scripture ever put the man subject to the woman.

But notice what It says in 1 Timothy 2:11-13, which we read different times.

So, there’s something in her makeup due to the fact of the second forming, which Brother Branham described and told us in ‘Marriage and Divorce’, that unqualifiedly disqualifies her to a leading position.

This is not against her, this is for her, because she types the Bride. The Bride of Christ never leads Christ the Groom, nor does she do anything by way of provision.

She merely works with that which God has provided her, giving her a place of rest and ease and sustenance. It’s a wonderful type and figure.

See where you take that if you put the pastor-husband principle all the way, as some would like to do, and say, “Well, look; you better listen to me because I’ve got it; you’re going to make it by me.”

You think you’re going to make it by me? Look; I’m not giving reverse psychology here. You know me better than that. I’ve been on the road too long. I’ve preached the truth too long.

I stand for It, and I stood with It too long to think that I would try to foist something upon you; neither will you foist anything upon me.

This is exactly where we stand with the Word. If I’m wrong, I must be appraised of it. If you’re wrong, you get the teaching up here to correct you.

Now then, in studying how far one goes in the ‘pastor-husband principle’, we looked at 1 Corinthians 1:10-13 and 1 Corinthians 7:10-11 to study what Paul said about marriages that must remain and those that can be dissolved and are dissolved.

So, let’s go back… and I didn’t get this as clear as I wanted last Sunday, so we’ll see if I can do a little better. I won’t guarantee anything. We’ll just look at it.

Now, with that we might as well read right away 1 Corinthians 7:10-11 to begin with, and we’ll go down further as we go on.

Now, 1 Corinthians 1:10, notice:

Now, you’ll notice here, that this is a legal contract which be known as ‘the merging of the minds’.

There is no legal contract without the merging of the minds which means ‘an understanding which is basic to the people entering into a contract’, which in this case we are looking at the pastor-husband relationship to the church.

So, there is a contract within the church that everybody understand what is being said, and stand for it. This is what you’re looking at: a very good marriage. This is the perfect marriage.

The man and woman have repeated their vows of fidelity. “I take you, so and so, and so and so.” “You take me, so and so, and so and so,” with the exact understanding of the purpose and the position in the formulation of the contract which each are to do.

That makes a perfect marriage. Marriage is not worked out by emotions, flying off the handle, get violently in love and all those things. It is when the mind settles on what was predetermined.

And this is what you’re looking at. You’re looking at a perfect marriage from verse 10. The man and woman have repeated their vows of fidelity.

They believe from the heart a single message of the way of life. And remember; there’s no life outside of this Message.

The apostle-father-husband… You notice I’m using a triple terminology here. The apostle-father-husband is Paul the apostle.

We see that in,

Now, the wife that he was speaking of and to is in 2 Corinthians 11:2.

Notice what It says:

Now, in the case of a husband being designated spiritually, you’ll notice we’re down to what you call ‘the trickle down economy’, or vicarship again. The true husband of the Bride is the Lord Jesus Christ.

You do not answer to me here as a minister, whether I be pastor, teacher, or what in any way, shape, or form as the way you answer to Jesus Christ, because He is the only One who can help you.

I cannot help you. I could say many things and help you perhaps psychologically. I could help you in many ways that may give you better understanding of certain things.

But there is only One Who can give you eternal Life, and the Life of the Spirit wherein is the power of God, as It says, “He has not given us the spirit of fear, but of courage and of love, and of a sound mind.”

So you see, we’ve got to be very careful how far we go.

Now, Paul was doing a good job.

And he said:

Brother Branham is the great father-husband, like he said concerning Mede. “She is my wife, but she is my daughter in the Gospel, because I have brought her to Christ.”

The same thing that we’re looking at here, and not so much a father relationship in the church, although that is true, and it’s very good, but we’re looking at the fact, again, of the mind.

And so therefore, as Brother Branham had the single mind of God, as Paul said, “We have the mind of Christ.” He was speaking editorially concerning himself, so Brother Branham had the mind of Christ.

And those who wish or desire and seek to have the mind of Christ must come to Him either through the tapes or the ministers or some book or something, because that is the only way it is.

You can see the perfect marriage there of the apostle Paul bringing forth what he understood to be that great union and how a church could survive, and only that way could it survive by having a union together in the Word.

Notice where it was: it was a community revelation. It was not a community revelation as Latter Rain and many churches want and say, “I will have an input. You will have an input. Together we will decide what the input is.” That is not true!

We are all receptacles of the input from Almighty God in the ordained way that God demands His input be received. So we see that.

Now, notice: this woman was already betraying her husband. Notice how she was doing it over here in 1 Corinthians 1: following verse 10.

Notice, first of all here, that Paul laid out what was wrong with these people. They were divided. They did not have a true understanding of leadership.

The leadership actually lay in Paul, but he didn’t give a rap as long as those in the church were teaching exactly what he said. He wasn’t fussing with Peter or anybody else.

Yet they were trying to divide the five-fold ministry against themselves. You know five-fold ministry can be just as divided as the church can be divided.

Don’t think for one minute because God has gifted men that these men are such solid soldiers of the Cross that there aren’t divisions.

Let me assure you, I have more divisions with the ‘five-fold ministry’ so-called or whatever, than I have with people, because I really don’t much care what people think. I’m going to go on my merry way.

But it’s those preachers that you’ve got to watch. Now, that’s what Paul was having trouble with here.

Now, notice how he corrected the situation.

Watch what he says:

Now, I want you to notice something here that I don’t remember Brother Branham ever used this Scripture concerning water baptism, but watch; It says here:

Now, watch; He’s putting baptism with crucifixion. Who was crucified? Lord Jesus Christ. Then whose name do you use? The one that was crucified.

That knocks Matthew 28:19 right into a cocked hat. They tell me actually it’s not in the original Scripture.

So now, if you believe in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and you know His Name, tell me Whose Name are you going to get baptized in? Did William Branham die for those people? Was he crucified that they used his name?

I remember the day that I told him. I said, “Brother Branham do you know that these people are calling you the Lord Jesus Christ?”

He said, “Yes I do, Brother Vayle. I know it. And further more they will strike a medal with my name on it saying I’m the Lord Jesus Christ and baptize in my name.”

Scripture. Did William Branham die for them? Specifically William Branham would have to be crucified for them. That’s a cross up here.

So, Who was crucified for you? Then you better get baptized in His Name. Don’t fish around and fool around. The thing to do is… Let’s get the job.

Go on with the Holy Ghost and the power of Almighty God. Now, baptized in Father, Son and Holy Ghost, not three gods; It’s a name of them.

This, what Paul did, is exactly what he told those in Hebrews 13. And I’ll read this so many times you’ll really know exactly where it is. It’s verses 7 and 17.

What if they’re not speaking the Word of God as delivered by the apostle Paul, and confirmed fourteen years later by all the apostles that he was right, never having been in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ or at Pentecost, and I mean presence physically in the body?

So, who preached the Word of God? Only the Word that was vindicated and given there by the prophet:

Now, Brother Paul said, “Be you followers of me as I am of Christ.” Have the same mind. He invited the people into the same union that John invited them in.

1 John. Now, he said, “You’ll be walking in the light, you’ll have fellowship one with another, with the Lord Jesus Christ, and the blood of Christ will cleanse you.”

What more does anybody want, but the Word of God spiritually revealed? Now, I know we’re very dead to most churches.

You can have anything you want here. I’ll be just happy to give it to you, and walk out and leave you sit. I’ve done it already… church way back years ago in Missouri. They couldn’t take it.

When the Lord showed me that I had done one hundred percent wrong by taking away their toys, I gave them back their toys.

Now, do you want to eat watered down soup that’s thinner than the broth of a shadow… made of a shadow of a chicken that’s starved to death? Or do you want the deep things of God as Brother Branham told us?

Then down here It says:

Who’s got the rule over you? Those that teach to you the Word of God. But what if it’s not the Word of God? Don’t let them bamboozle you. See? No way.

Listen; a man of God won’t do that.

Submit yourselves to what? The Word that you’re taught. You submit to Lee Vayle, you’ll be doing something stupid after that. Let’s all go on submitting to the Word.

It says, “Follow them whose behavior you see is aligned with the Word.”

You don’t follow somebody whose behavior doesn’t line with the Word. Why should you? You’ve got to be grossly, spiritually ignorant.

And I must come and conk you one to wake you up. Now, you’re not that kind of people; I know that. I just tease you a bit.

Listen; so that you’ll see the Scripture more clearly, presented in a way that you’ll see that everything else is ridiculous, right! when everything else is ridiculous but the Reality… why, you’re just like God; you laugh in derision. You’re supposed to be Godlike.

One of the fruits of the end time is godliness, being Godlike. You don’t laugh foolishly. You laugh in a correct derision that somebody tried to fool you.

Not that you think you’re so smart you can’t be fooled, but you know you’re anchored in the Word of God. There’s a difference, brother/sister, what I’m talking about, not some puffed up arrogance.

There’s no man or woman hardly like can’t be taken for a tumble, either by the wenches that want you, like you see in the Swaggerts and Bakkers, or trapped by your own foolishness, your own pornographic instincts.

I mean, I’m not boasting at anything, I’m just telling you what is in Christ, my brother/sister.

We saw it in Reverend William Branham, prophet-apostle, servant of Almighty God, the dwelling place of the Most High. They watch for you souls, not your pocket books. They watch for your souls.

A lot of preachers go haywire in their pocket books. Haven’t they got enough brains to know that when the souls are well taken care of, the pocket books flourish?

“I wish above else that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers.” Some people can’t stand much money. That’s good. Don’t let them get it, Lord. Those that do right by it, God will do it.

They must give account. Now, a preacher said he must give account.

“Well,” said God to the preacher on that great day, “Where’s so and so?”

Do you know years ago Brother Branham told me I was not a good pastor, and this has been used against me, but I care less, because it’s not there anymore.

He said, “Lee,” he said, “you were too tough.” He said, “You’ve rooted up some wheat with the tares.”

I got a laugh at that, because I knew just when that happened. It had to be down in Florida. When I was down there, some people came in and they were seeing lights and everything else.

And it suddenly struck me one day, and I said, “You people say that you have lights, how can you have light without Life? Because It says, “In Him was Life and that Life was the Light of men.”

Whooo, man! I got rid of my congru-gation I didn’t mean to. But if I did mean to, I didn’t know what I was doing. I know better now. I’m highly criticized, because I let anybody come in this congregation sit there.

I would maybe refuse you Communion or Foot-washing. You could sit there, and I’d treat you with love and consideration hoping that the Word of God would get to you.

I don’t buy this stuff, see, because I’ve got to give an account for men’s souls. This is why the authority lying in the pulpit is so strict and so severe, and I preach it so hard.

These men must give account whether they want to or not. Souls, that’s exactly right. They better teach the Word of God correctly.

Hebrews 13:

All right. Now, that’s the Scripture Paul was using and notice he used it beautifully. All right, we then went to 1 Corinthians 7:10-16.

So now, we’ll read beyond 1 Corinthians 10:11, we’ll go right into 16 and we’ll talk about that.

And I’m going to do my best to type It the best I can to show you some things, because this… Brother Branham made the statement, and I’m going to do everything I can about it, because we want to know that we are taking the right stand in this church.

Like Brother Branham said, “Is there a difference between annulment and divorce?”

He said, “No way.”

Now, so we went to 1 Corinthians 7:10-16 to see some things about marriages that continued on as they’re supposed to, or they ended up in a divorce.

Now, verses 10 and 11, let’s read It again.

All right. Verses 10-11 very evidently refer to the man and woman who claim they have like faith as in 1 Corinthians 1:10 because It says they are not supposed to divorce.

Now, if they come to the place where they do divorce, which is not legal, there cannot be a remarriage.

You’ve got to watch this carefully, and that particularly speaks concerning the woman more than the man.

But let’s not be overzealous for the man or overzealous for the woman. Let’s try to put it in its right place.

“Unto married I say,” [‘Married’, that’s a man and woman, because woman can’t marry a woman, man can’t marry man. They’re doing it today, but you see, that’s a bunch of hogwash.] “let not the wife depart from the husband.”

Now, she goes away, she cannot possibly remarry. There’s no way. And the husband, on the other hand, cannot put away his wife.

It doesn’t say he can’t remarry, but you’ve got to watch the situation. I would never say the person is allowed to marry according as I see the Scripture. That would be up to him or somebody else.

Let us say that the pastor in church, now, we’re typing, typing husband and wife are firm believers in the prophet’s Message. Differences arise as they do in any house, because they’re different homes, different personalities.

The wife or church disagrees with the way the pastor teaches or otherwise conducts himself.

Now, remember; this is supposed to be Message people. See? Evidently, she is to bear and forbear on all issues until a decision even under duress is made, and she might be forced to leave.

If she does leave, she is not to leave her faith because the Bible says, “Do not leave your husband.” Under no consideration is she to leave her faith. She is not to go back like Lot’s wife.

In other words, I say to the people that come to this church and other churches like us: never go back to Pentecost, though I’m afraid that a lot of people in our churches are still in Pentecost. They’ve never got Pentecost out of their system.

They must not go back to any denomination, but stay away from another husband religion. That’s what you’re looking at right here, if I’m typing correctly.

Now, she is to get under another pastor of Brother Branham’s Message, or keep trying through the proper channels, which are five-fold ministers and elders, or anybody of repute and influence in the church, to clear up their differences and be back with each other as husband and wife, pastor and church reconciled.

Now, a lot of people don’t believe that, even amongst us. I’ve seen it go off in a huff; they’re both believers. Like Brother Branham one day said concerning a woman…

She said, “I divorced my husband.”

“Well,” he said, “You married a Catholic, and you’re a Protestant?”

“Oh no, we’re both Pentecostals.”

He said, “What?”

Yeah, they’re both Pentecostals. Some little difference. They’re right in adultery. You cannot leave, just pull out of the same faith—anybody saying he really believes this Word.

That’s why I said a long time ago, you ever leave this church, you’ll come back crawling to get in. You’ll come right up here and apologize to everybody.

Because there’s only one reason you’ll ever leave, and that’s because of the Word, because no one in this church ever treats anybody rotten, nor do people in this church live in sin.

So you see, there’s a very strong Scripture here, if we’re going to type the pastor and the church. The pastors had better realize it’s up to them to see that reconciliation has to be worked out on the grounds of the community mind.

If I say I believe this Message, and you people say you believe this Message, unless I put you under some great bondage, maybe something you’re doing, something I’m doing, there has to be a staying together until a break comes.

And at that break it doesn’t mean that either the pastor or the people or the person, or persons, have changed their mind about the Word, nor can the pastor or the persons influence anybody to change your mind about the Word.

Now, you hear what I’m saying?

That’s exactly what happened to some of our friends not too far from here. Now, I’m going to take my stand right here. Come on.

We welcomed them here on the grounds hoping that they would receive enough strength to go back and make a reconciliation. From what has happened, there is no reconciliation until the pastor makes a move.

You can say what you want. I care not that that pastor hears this. Just send him a video or anything else. I’m taking my stand right here.

It says right here, she cannot marry somebody else. She cannot dare leave this Word like Mrs. Lot left It.

Nor must any influence under any consideration ever be pushed toward any congregation or anybody to leave the Word on a mutual testimony of the vows made, which the marriage is based on in this church.

We believe one Word, and we’re obligated to stand with that Word and every due consideration given to help the pulpit, and the pew to stay with that Word and live continently.

I don’t care what other churches do; I’m just putting myself here what I believe when I know what the Word of God says, because I’m not exactly stupid.

In other words, It says any problems, and there’s been a true revelation in that church, that church is going to have to come back. To turn back to another husband puts you right in hell. Shows you what you had in the first place.

So, we’re looking at these things in the light of what I understand to be the truth, and I’m going to stand until someone changes my mind, which I’m afraid they can’t, because I’ve studied this thing out here.

We’ll talk more about this as time goes on… in this Message here.

All right. The differences must be cleaned up to a reconciliation. And this is the hour of reconciliation and restoration. How, then, can a church defy it?

Then It goes on to say that the husband must not divorce or put out his wife, and since they both believe the same revelation, it is up to both to seek a solution. And God is not pleased, and God cannot bless until they do.

Now, if you’re forced out, what do you do? You lost all confidence in your pastor, get another one. But no pastor stands and says, “I’m your husband, and you bow to me if I put you in or I put you out.” Hogwash!

I’ve never heard such insanity in my life. Well, pardon me, I have heard it. As far as I know I did. I’ll take it back if I’m wrong on that.

When a preacher tells a man to convince his wife to turn on this Word so he can live with her as an unbeliever, or not come back to the church, I want to say that man is not controlled by the Holy Ghost.

Now, come on. Go ahead blink your eyes, or anything. I don’t care if you agree or not. I’m telling you: reconciliation, brother/sister. I’ll reconcile with anybody. But you better reconcile with me.

Don’t bite me once and expect me to not watch you. I won’t bite you either. If I bit you, then you watch me. Well, let’s come together.

There’re people left under my ministry over the years. I didn’t have much to do with it, because I wasn’t around like I’m doing right now. But I want to tell you it’s dangerous.

It’s very dangerous, because God said, “You reconcile.” It’s too easy to just think that we can smart off with God. I’m not trying to do that tonight.

Now, if you’re getting my thought here, you can see it dovetails with 1 Corinthians 1:10, and what I teach a Word-based church is all about, and that is the merging of the minds… the understanding that we are one in this Word as Brother Branham brought it and It is taught here to the best of my knowledge. I preach It Word for Word.

We stand together there one hundred percent; otherwise, they’ll be adrift. And if we don’t stand one hundred percent, you will see a drift come in, because you can’t simply sit here and take this teaching and not take it to heart and not be open target for the devil.

If a woman is not one hundred percent sold on her husband, and the husband on the wife, any floozy can come by, and any hot-shot can come by and make inroads. Read your magazines, and you’ll see what’s going on, what women are doing, absolutely horrendous.

Pulpit and pew need one mind with a spirit of teaching in the pastor, and a spirit to be taught in the pew, the church, that can bring us and keep us together. And that’s what does it.

I teach and you love teaching. You come here expecting it, and I can be as dry as an old board, I feel like a lubricated wagon wheel in five minutes just standing up here. Spirit gets on each other. It’s a spirit of God. It’s a good thing to have.

This takes sincerity and application to the point of exhaustion if necessary. Right! No stone unturned. And the first sign of anybody wanting to make an amend, say, “Praise God, not a thing in the wind to hurt you; everything is right.”

Now, verse 12 proves that those spoken of in verse 10 and 11 are of one mind by being in Christ.

Watch: now let me tell you that again. Verse 12, “But to the rest I speak…” So, if he’s speaking to the rest, he’s not speaking to the group above in 10 and 11. Right?

So, let’s read It.

That’s a truly revealed marriage. And Brother Branham said, “That’s revealed to you that’s your husband, and that’s revealed to you that’s your wife, you confessed out to each other…” He said, “That’s it.”

“Now don’t depart. But if you’re thin-skinned and you can’t take the trials of life, you get fooling around like Mrs. Lot, if she departs, she cannot marry. She’s got to come back to her husband.”

“And don’t let the husband dare put away his wife. Now he’s supposed to be stronger, sterling character. It’s is going to be, therefore, up to the woman to make the dirty move, the same as Eve did.”

Ha! Not too many women move. It’s the men doing all the moving now that the women got their bellies full. Now they’re moving around, too.

Most men think the stronger vessels of macho man who thinks he’s a pipeline, stud horse or something, God’s gift to women, especially in a bed. Phffft! Hogwash, never heard such crud in my life. No, uh-uh.

You know something, I tell you, rough preaching up here; let’s have it right from the barrel head.

I know a couple, they’re quite old now; maybe their days of youth are past. She was with child. She went to a Catholic surgeon, doctor in a Catholic hospital. She was so small she could not literally have the baby.

But they only allowed so many caesareans, so they wouldn’t operate. They’d literally tore her to pieces. Almost killed the baby.

Because of her condition, he was so frightened that she might get pregnant, he did not touch her sexually for years and lived with her continently as a true husband.

We talked to Brother Branham, and when Brother Branham finished, he said, “That’s the way it should be.”

Not that men should remain continent when they’re burning in the first place and they marry to get away from their burning, but I’m letting you know, the man is supposed to be a strong vessel, not a macho man looking around sniffing the breeze like the wild ass. And we’re not!

You say, “Brother Vayle, at your age you can talk.”

That’s true. I’m sorry. I never knew what I know now to teach my others and teach my children and be what I should have been. I was taught the same crud that you’re taught, and what you see everywhere.

And there have been so many lies talked about the sexuality of women and of men, and people love to remain in that realm of lying and stupidity. And remember; the tree is inclined the way the twig is bent.

Now, listen. It says right here, in this case right here, this is a different group of people from down here.

Now, here’s a permission granted of God. Like Moses allowed a bill of divorcement. Remember; Moses never initiated divorce. God made Moses initiate it.

You can’t find one place where Moses said, “Now Lord, these people got a hard heart, and I want you to let me tell them these things.” Uh-uh.

God spoke from Sinai and gave him the whole Word. Now, this is the same thing you’re seeing here. God is leading this man.

And He’s letting this man know, ‘Look, I’m dealing with a perfect Bride. I’m dealing with a perfect revelation, with a true five-fold ministry. But I know stuff creeps in, so we’ve got some others sitting here to the rest.’

It doesn’t say, “Here now woman, you better tow the line, bless God, and don’t you dare put on slacks.”

Now, I don’t want her putting on slacks either.

“Now, don’t you dare cut your hair. I’m going to divorce you.”

It’s grounds for a divorce. If she’s pleased to be a wife to him, take care of his clothes, slop the hogs, and slop the kids and everything else, it doesn’t really stand in his way, that’s just a little old trial he’s going through.

He can’t put her away, and he cannot abuse her to where she will walk out.

And how many do we know that sad, tragic case amongst the macho boys that ran around, “Bless God, get your wife under control.”

And the same man that preached that crud had better got his boys under control.

1 Corinthians 7:

We had a case of that just not long ago: very dear sister, sweet girl. Her husband was abusing her all the time, so finally she walked out. He begged her to come on back.

When she said, “Okay, we’ll come back. We’ll try to make things work again,” and he got her by the back of the neck, so to speak, not physically, but spiritually, he said, “And now you’re going to cut your hair, and we’re going to price slacks, and we’re going to do so and so.”

She said, “Okay boy, it’s all over, and I mean, ‘it is all over.’”

He said, “Just a minute, just a minute,” he said, “Look, I know you’re real and what you’ve got is of God. I just don’t have it. But look, you stay with me, you don’t need to cut your hair; you don’t need to put on slacks. You can go to church. You can read your Bible. You can do anything you want. I know you’re a good person.”

Well, they’re content to stay together now, because he doesn’t get in her way. He doesn’t stop her reading the Word, going to church, and praying. He doesn’t get in her way. Now, that’s a way a man could be. That’s the way to be.

I know a fellow, and he’s a nice guy, and his story is, I can’t vouch because I wasn’t there, but I believe the man was telling the truth, she couldn’t stand Brother Branham; he’d love to go to meetings.

And every time he’d go to meetings, she’d say, “I’m not going. You’re not going. We’re not going, period. No way to it. No way.”

And finally he said, “Look,” he said, “I’m going, and you just don’t.”

Last minute she said, “I’m going, too.”

As soon as she got there, “I’m going right back home; can’t stand the stuff, and you’re going.”

He said, “No, no, we’re staying right here.”

Finally he went to Brother Branham, said, “Brother Branham can I divorce her?”

He said, “Yup, you can divorce her and marry another woman. But you know what? You’ll get one just like her. That’s your destiny. You know what you’ve got now. Stick to what you’ve got.” 

Here it is right in the Bible. If you can get along at all, get along.

Now, you put that into a pastor-church relationship. You know something? Most church fights in this rough stuff going on is not of the Lord Jesus Christ.

So, 12 and 14 speak of harmony in the degree that though revealed faith is not in both of them, but one does not interfere with the other, but rather defers to the Word of God. See, it’s okay.

Then we notice in 1 Corinthians 7:15-16, It says:

Notice, in 10 and 11, you are in bondage. Okay, sit on that and think it over.

Oh, I love this nice quiet type of meeting where I’ve got you right on the hot seat. I’m not being mean. Come on.

It says right here, “The unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife. The unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; else, were your children unclean, now they’re holy.”

You can actually be married to a sinner that’s a real good egg, man or woman, have a good marriage; nothing you can do about it, live happy, go on your way.

You’ve got a good, legitimate marriage in the sense it’s a union; God acknowledges it. The kids aren’t born out of wedlock. Thing’s fine. Don’t fuss and don’t fume. Stay together.

1 Corinthians 7:

You’re not under bondage, because you belong in a class of a marriage that has one real and one unreal. Up here they’re both real. And if you’re both real, you can’t divorce.

Man can’t put away his wife; wife can’t put away the husband. What if it takes place? You watch what happens. Don’t you worry about turning that person over to the devil. Devil’s already got him.

Maybe that person’s a make-believer. I’m not going to argue that point. I’ve got nothing to do with it.

I’m just talking about a profession, [Brother Vayle taps on his Bible.] a contract you made, publicly married—woman, man—the same contract you made by confessing William Branham was a prophet of the Most High God and his Message precedes the literal, physical coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

All right. So, in a church like ours where all claim to be of one mind, and try to be of one mind, there is no divorce even thought of amongst the members in the physical sense.

That’s why I say here to the young people: you blow it, you’ve had it. You can never remarry. You better be careful.

I know young people don’t want to hear this. You’ll go out, and you’ll blaspheme the Word of God. That’s your business.

“Well, my sister did it. My cousin did it, my so and so did it.” Sure, that’s it. Sure you see it right around everywhere, so you’re going to do it, too. You shot your wad.

What if a man is running around on his wife? She’s a believer. Divorce him. He’ll bring AIDS home. Stick it out? “Get out, get out,” Brother Branham said so.

Can’t remarry. Too bad, but you blew it. You let some slick guy talk you into it because you’re pretty or something—had a nice figure or something.

“I want you.”

“Oh, he’ll serve God,” …and he’ll talk like a saint and pray like an angel. Didn’t wait to find out. Not just girls make mistakes. Boys make mistakes.

Let me tell you something: I stand here as a witness before Almighty God, this Bible open.

It says, “There are people that are in bondage,” you’re stuck. She better get stuck with someone awful nice, because it sure is nice.

A good marriage is the greatest thing this side of heaven, types the union of Christ and the Bride. Don’t you ever mess up thinking it’s simply a sexual affair. It’s that, but it’s a whole lot more. You’ve got the physical sense.

All right. And God will not tolerate that we turn into a church that pulls apart. We’ve never had this teaching until this hour. I’ve never looked into it in this hour.

But I’ve been teaching about six solid years now, and I will shun nothing. As I told you, before it’s over, you may want to fire me and get another preacher. Good!

It’s your prerogative, because we’re all in a spot. There’s no pulling apart. We must stay as one, because we are one in the Word.

Brother Branham said, “Love one another.” He said, “You’re all nice and friendly good right now, but they’re will come a day when the enemy will send in somebody amongst you.” He said, “You just stick together.”

How do you stick together except by the Word, because everyone of us has a personality diverse from the other? How do you stick together in your body?

There’s a central intelligence called ‘life’ that animates it. How do you get that life in the church? Through the Word of God. So therefore, you must adhere to what we believe to be the revealed Word of God.

And remember; I don’t push any of you. Get that flat! I don’t push you in, or push you out. I won’t lead you around or any other thing. We preach this Word here exactly, the best we know, according to the Word of God.

Now, let’s go to Galatians 5: and we’ll just try to get this covered tonight nicely, and by the grace of God we will. We’ll close with just the right time, hopefully.

All right. We’ll take the whole chapter, I think, or at least part of It anyway.

Paul said, “I’ve got confidence you’ll not listen to anybody but what the revealed Word of God is… not leave It.”

Galatians 5:

I know a man in California, he kind of considered himself a preacher. His brother did, one of the two, I don’t know which now… kind of elders or something, and had a Seventh Day Adventist guy come in there acting as though he believed the Message and took him right to seventh day worship.

They became ‘Saturdarians’. Oh, come on.

In other words, that the seed bearing properties were destroyed, so they wouldn’t put their rotten seed there.

Now, watch:

Now, It tells you right there, that you can get fussing amongst yourself in the Word, and with the Word, until you become an entire mess, and the whole church goes down the drain.

That’s why there must be a centralized understanding of the Word. And nobody is going to poke It from this pulpit down anybody’s throat.

It’s just that no other teaching is going to stand up against this teaching which I take Word by Word from Brother Branham.

And you can see, I’ve spent a lot of time in tracing down just this one thought that ‘The pastor is the spiritual husband.”

Now, I’m not trying to feed you a bunch of nonsense. I’m trying to take it Word by Word to let you know, don’t get euchred by somebody. Don’t get fooled by somebody. Get with this Word! It’s not going to lead you astray.

Now, we can fuss at each other’s personality and things that people are doing. And people can rebel and say, “I’m going to do it anyway.”

Go ahead and do it! You’ll pay the price. You’ll bring the shame upon the church, but we won’t back you. I can tell you right now, there’s no way I’ll back sin in the church.

And after so long, I’ll not come to bat for anybody that determines to go his way against the revealed Word of Almighty God—because I’m not trying to hurt anybody.

I’m not trying to take your living from you. I’m not trying to disrupt your homes. I’m not trying to do one thing but show you what the truth is in Christ Jesus. You do what you want with it.

Now, if you keep that proper attitude, there’d be no fussing and fuming in the church. There’d be no pulling aside. That’s why I say, we are Word built here. We follow 1 Cor 1:10. We follow the Scripture.

Now, let’s begin to simmer down and understand: biting and devouring is out. It can be done and is done. And they were doing it in the Galatian Church.

He said, “Listen, if you keep doing it, you better watch out, you may eat each other up. Ever see one snake trying to eat another snake? There’s a picture of it. The bigger old snake gets it. It’s not good.

Now, let’s go to Romans 7:1-4. Brother Branham read this to us. This is on marriage and divorce situation here.

It’s all gone. The only trick… And I use the term trick. It’s a loose word. The only trick of it all is: Learn to put your theology to one side and do not interpret what the prophet is saying by your former theology. It won’t work. It won’t work.

I’m living witness up here. I’ve spent days with Brother Branham on these very points. Not when I’m preaching now, but the very thing I’m telling you about. You’ve got to put your thinking aside.

All right. Now, if we’re married indeed to Christ, having put aside what we claimed we once had, what if we go back to it? You can’t make Christ married to a harlot. It won’t work.

Now then, if the woman or church simply will not believe the Word and tries to fight the headship of the pastor, because it is against the Message, give her a bill of divorcement.

In other words, she fights the pastor because he’s in the Message… You know; why would a preacher have a church that doesn’t want to believe the Message? Let her go. Let her go. You can’t push them.

Also, the preacher, though a good man, he may be a believer in God, and may not take the Message as the congregation does take It, the people can vote him out. Why should the people suffer under a man because he’s just a good man and all?

Listen, brother/sister, don’t you understand that morals is a great thing, but Brother Branham has already told us and has conclusively proven that there are some people who worship Buddha who have far greater morals than we do.

And Brother Branham said, “The people in the Chonyi tribe have a moral that the Americans don’t know of.” They’re a lot cleaner. “And that Christian Science can produce more love than we’ll ever produce.”

But you see, it’s not coming out of the life that’s in the Word. And you’ve got to have a conduit. Do we want to get out of here glorified? Then there’s got to be a conduit. See?

“Your Message precedes the Second Coming of Christ.” What is that, the Coming of Christ? A Resurrection, and an immortalization of the people standing here. The Message then encompasses that.

We’re not sitting here tonight, I hope, just to learn a little bit about a Word of God and smart off like the rest of people do. We’re here because there’s life in this Message we hear.

Now, this man doesn’t believe, but he’s a fine man. He’s got good morals and all. That’s very, very good, but it’s not the answer. You need the Word.

We might just well, then look at,

Now, you can see right here a woman, when her husband dies, she’s one hundred percent free to marry in the Lord. Now this poor woman, it may be that she’s been under a husband that doesn’t want a thing to do with her.

And so he won’t have a thing to do with her, so he puts her away. But she loves the Lord, she loves the Word of God here, what can she do?

If her husband dies, she can actually marry a real believer. If she’s in a church where the preacher doesn’t believe the Word of God, she moves out somewhere, he’s dead to her, period. It’s all gone. She can now sit under somebody else and enjoy the Word of Almighty God.

Now, listen. We are bound by this Word. This Word is everything.

Now, let’s look at It, and if you don’t believe It, we’re going to prove It by Hebrews 12, which Brother Branham said his Bible blew open several times in a row and each time to Hebrews 6. And when he read It, a vision came.

And in the vision he saw the world as a circle and a man going forth sowing seed, and behind him crept a man in black sowing a false seed. Now, this is at the time of the burning, because It says, they’re going to burn after this.

So, at the end time this is the rain falling, the teaching rain, at the time of the latter rain that brings the people into perfection.

And this is the time that the grain is separated from the chaff and the wheat from the tares. So, that’s what you’re looking at.

So now, according to Brother Branham, the old husband is dead if you want to get rid of him. Lock, stock, and barrel you can come out of Babylon and cast your lot with the one and only true God.

Now, we better not try to get charismatic preachers and swinging congregations in this Message. We’ve already seen Jimmy Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart.

Now it’s Jimmy Jones, like Brother Jack Bell phoned and he said, “What’s with that name ‘Jimmy’?

I said, “It’s very bad. That’s why I changed my name to George.

Three Jimmies right there. One murdered about eight hundred people, cyanide. How many did the other two murder? And one called the kettle black, and the pot was just as bad. That was the bigger pot; he was six foot.

Now the paper’s got another hay-day. They’ve got a crocodile in the Dayton Herald down there crying Swaggart tears. See, that’s the stuff, brother/sister, we came out of.

Now, let’s stay out of it. And let’s stay clear. We’re not pointing fingers. The fact is, all of these things are manifested. It’s spiritual wickedness in high places. They are deceiving the people. Now they are being defrocked by God Himself.

What they blamed the Roman Catholic Church for, for years and years, they have been doing themselves. Why? Because it is in the roots of the whole, organized church system.

Now, the independents aren’t perfect either. You’ve got to come to this Message and in the hope and power of God the life released in this Word will take us through without sin, predestinated unto righteousness.

No pastor can make an entire congregation Bride by preaching this perfect Message. The Bride is foreknown and called and predestinated and will be one with the Word.

We cannot escape the mixed multitude principle of three kinds of believers in the church—our church or any church. This is one of the toughest things I’ve got to face and even talk to you about.

I like to just sort of put my head in the sand and pretend every single one of us are great, virtuous children of God, although we cannot prove anything, nor will we be able to prove anything. Neither can we say that there is one amongst us who is not. That’s up to God.

Now, no one can prove anything. We only believe and only try to believe a vindicated Message. It humbles us all to read in,

…no matter what happens to any church. If they devour each other, or come near it, the church splits and everything becomes an entire mess, everybody’s kicked out, the government despoils us, God knows His Own.

2 Timothy 2:

Brother Branham said, “Everybody is not a silver dollar like Abraham. You can be a little, ten-cent piece like Lot and still make it.”

Now, that’s what a pastor is supposed to be like. If the congregation is in error, he is supposed to help them.

What if some people are taken captive by the devil? It’s not just throw him out; it’s try to help the individual. And remember the Scripture tells us very, very distinctly:

So therefore, in an hour when we know that we’re in the Exodus, which there is a triunity, or a trinity of people: a believer, a make-believer, and unbeliever…

Now, the believer, make-believer, and unbeliever are just the one. But they’ve got two different kinds of humps like camels.

One’s got a one hump, one’s got two humps, so to speak. The make-believer, he doesn’t believe to begin with, but he pretends he does. The unbeliever, he doesn’t believe period.

Brother Branham says, “He just gets up and walks off.” The other fellow sticks around. So, in the Exodus they had them.

Now, here’s the point: we must come to this place in this church to make the progress that we desire, and that is in spite of the conduct of anybody…

Now, let that sink in. I’m talking to myself, and I’m talking to you. We’re talking to each other.

In spite of the conduct of anybody, as long as that person shows even a semblance of attempting to walk with Christ in the Word by revelation and by conduct…

And you can see I’m limiting it, and I better, because I’m not going to see you come in here and attempt to seduce the women. We’ll throw you out lock, stock and barrel, young man. And we’ll kick you on the way going down, because that’s out. Women being licentious, that is out.

I’ve used my language correctly that we are attempting within our own scope and sphere to be what God wants us to be. And we may be under an indelible pen of the devil.

He scored us hard where we simply cannot jar certain things of our hearts and our minds that we should jar out and get rid of them. But we’re trying; we’re hoping.

Then we must as individuals accept each other in love on the testimony of the person and work in that capacity of showing every consideration and kindness.

Not that we allow ourselves to be taken advantage of, because rebuke and admonition is a part of the church in every one of you. But you see what I’m saying?

As long as there’s a mark of any sincerity and of submitting one to another, and not disobedient of deliberately flaunting or coming contrary to the church or the laws of the land, we’ve got to watch these things.

Then I say, we can progress in this love and affection, and fellowship we’re talking about, as Brother Branham said, “There comes a time when the gifts, as it were, are put on a shelf and the sweet Spirit of Christ coming into the Church and all people being healed.”

We must strive now, not simply to be part of the Word intellectually, but we must now accept each other on the grounds of that same intellectual and passive revelation watching carefully the dynamics of faith, which causes the people to walk correctly.

You hear what I’m saying?

We do not tolerate insubordination to the Word of God and think we can be adulterous and fornicating and lying and cheating and flaunting the law.

When we’re forbidden to do a thing, (“I’m going to do it anyway,”) you have no right to do it, nor have I a right to do it! Those things will not be tolerated. They cannot be.

But listen; even if I were a Hindu, I would know that much. If I was nothing but spiritist, I would know that much. If I had any concept of God at all, any faith in God, I would know that much.

But we know something the rest don’t know. We have a Word of God which becomes a conduit.

And Brother Branham said, “You take a properly fertilized ground” (And we are God’s husbandry.) and you place in it the properly germatized Word, it takes merely the Son and the Rain.

And the sun and the rain, my brother/sister, between you and me, our Son and our Rain is merely smiling benevolently and cheerfully and helpfully and hopefully and kindly and persuasively upon each other, accepting each other in Christ.

Now, this is going to be a job. Me simply saying it, is not going to do it. It means the erosion of all the old things that were once there, they must go and by the grace of God they certainly can go.

So, the whole church must come together staunchly and become 1 Corinthians 1:10, striving for the same mind. We might not have all the same understanding; ask your questions and I’ll do my best to help them.

Strive for love, a manifestation. Whether it be by the Spirit enlivened Word, or by our own spirits, let us strive for love. Each believe he’s a true believer. Stand on it. We’re part of each other. We’re all part of each other.

Each believe for the other, though it might even be obvious that the person is not in the Word. That’s to you it might be. To him he is not obvious. Believe with him and for him.

If one fails to do a job, jump in and get the job done. If one fails to pay, someone else pay. Be all of a willing spirit, and make up for the unwilling.

Follow Christ. Love each other. Sacrifice, look out for each other.

Galatians 6:10 tells you that:

Look; you may have a job and the position to help somebody in the church. Don’t let some outsider sinner take that job. Help that person in the church get a job.

You say, “I just don’t think he might be so and so.” Find out.

I like Brother Brian Kocourek’s spirit. He certainly tries to help every brother. You need a resume, he’ll help you make one.

I see people in the church. Rich does the same thing. I know Dave helps out. Gene, Joe, anybody here. Lloyd. All try to help.

That’s the right spirit! Don’t be Pentecost like I went through, where they cut your throat for a nickel, and though you are a brother, pick up a sinner. They did that on me once.

And the guy cut their throats. I had the last laugh, although it was no laughing matter. If you can help somebody, don’t stand back and say, “Well, I just don’t know.”

That’s the same as saying, “Be you warm and fed,” and don’t do a thing about it; see somebody naked and hungry, and your heart doesn’t open up. Now, you can’t feed everybody.

My heavens, a billionaire go to Africa, trillionaire go to India, he’d be bankrupt in Madras or Bombay, just a couple of cities with all the beggars hanging out there.

Now, I have put the heaviest burden on the pastor.

But never forget, then, in,

In other words, people know when you’re on the ball and doing right and good things. You can’t hide it all.

But there is sometimes you do things nobody knows about. The left hand doesn’t know what the right hand does, and God blesses you.

So, you see what we’re striving at in this church here, my brother/sister. Not some pastor like myself trying to take you over and try to get you under some certain kind of control. That’s not it at all. I’m not interested in that.

I’m interested in us going ahead according to the Word of God, because It is one Spirit that instituted true Church order with the true things of God to bring us to perfection and right up to the Headship Who is here now in the form of the Holy Ghost just waiting for a Bride to be in position so the dead can come out of the ground, and we can all be caught away in a Rapture.

This is not some pipe dream. This is true, and we are to look at It, examine It, believe It, and work at It. That’s the secret.

Let’s rise and be dismissed.

Heavenly Father, we want to thank You again for Your love and Your mercy and Your grace, Your goodness, Your kindness, helping us, Lord, to see these things we know so that no man will take advantage over us, for, Lord, we know that there are those who would take advantage absolutely and make a show in our flesh. We know that.

Then there are others, Lord, who trust the arm of flesh. And we know both are wrong, Father. It’s got to be where there’s a Bride with a true five-fold ministry, where they are all centered on Jesus Christ in the love of God by the living Word that lives within us, Lord.

And then we, Lord, we know that we are to discipline ourselves as Paul said, “I die daily. I have been crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet no I, but Christ lives in me. And the life that I live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God Who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

We can see, Lord, here there is a great and wonderful intertwine until as Brother Branham said, “The last hour, ‘I and my Father are one’, that would be in the Bride.”

The Bride will be one with the Word, and the Word will be one with the Bride on to this great, divine plan of God. Lord, we know it seems like we’re millions of miles off, but we know we’re not.

We’re nigh unto it, because actually, Father, we believe the Word has been given according to Hebrews 6, and now the nigh unto burning and the nigh unto gathering. It is right at the door, just the same as James said.

He said, “The Judge standeth at the door.”

We see all these things, Lord. We know all these things, and we know they’re real. And we know, Lord, that the devil is doing the same thing he did to Eve.

He’s trying to blind our minds. He’s trying to dull our minds. He’s trying to thicken our thoughts and get them away. But, Father, we know that Your foundation stands sure.

There is a seal; You know Your children, and we believe we’re Your children. By the grace of God we’re going to stand with the prophet who never put anybody in or out, but we stand with each other in the Word and the great God, Who puts everybody in, and who He puts in, He never puts out.

He saves from the uttermost to the uttermost. Help me, Lord, and everybody that tries to minister to Your people to be of that frame of mind.

We know, Lord, at this point we are anything but, I believe, Father, it seems like a million miles away, and yet, one Word from You, O God, changes the whole thing.

Put that Word of Life within our hearts and in our mouths continuously, O God, that we might be to the people what the people need, and we together glorify Your Name, O God. We pray in the Name of Jesus Christ.

And unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be all power and honor and glory through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

The Lord bless you.

“Take the Name of Jesus with You.”