God who is rich in Mercy.

William Branham.

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God who is rich in Mercy.

Now, if many of you like to just mark down Scriptures that a minister reads... And I would like for you to tonight, if you would, to turn to Ephesians. And I was speaking last Sunday on the Ephesians, how that the Book of Joshua was the Ephesians of the Old Testament, and how it was a Book of redemption. And redemption has two different parts: "come out of" and "entering into." First, you have to come out. Some people wants to bring the world in with them; but you got to come out of the world to enter into Christ. You have to come out of unbelief to enter into faith. There cannot be one thing in your way. To really have genuine faith, you must absolutely leave everything that's contrary to the Word of God behind to enter into faith. And that was the Book of the Ephesians of the Old Testament: Joshua. Where, Moses represented the law, could not save no one, but grace could, and here "Joshua" is the same word like Jesus, "Jehovah-Saviour." And now then, we find out that we have come to another Ephesians, another Ephesus now. Where that in our intellectual denominations and so forth, and all of our educational programs has come to its--its Jordan, then we must have an--an Ephesians again. We must have an exodus we--to "come out" and to "go into," for the rapture.

Now, we're going to read tonight from the 2nd chapter of Ephesians. I was just saying that so you could get to the--the spot, or turn to the chapter.

You--and you has he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sin: Wherein in times past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedient: Among whom also we all had our conversations in times past in the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the desire of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sin, has He quickened us together with Him,... (or)... quickened us together with Christ, (by grace are ye saved;)   [Ephesians 2:1-5]
I want to take from there a few, or part of the verse, "but God... The God Who Is Rich In Mercy."

I want you to notice here of the prophet, apostle, rather, Paul, who--who, how he made mention of this, how, "You has He quickened, who were once dead. You hath He quickened, who were once dead, dead in sin and trespasses, walking after the things of the world, the desire of the flesh, and fulfilling the desire of the mind. Has..." What caused this change? you see? And what caused it from one time being dead, to quicken? "Quicken" means "made alive." There was a change from death unto Life. There's no other--there's no other thing that could happen to any person, so great, as to change him from death to Life. A man, if he was dying, physically, and could be healed physically, that would be a great thing, but nothing so great as when he is spiritually dead and God has quickened him to Life.

You once in times past, dead... You were dead. Even many here tonight, one time can look back and know that you were dead. But now why aren't you dead tonight as you were then? You deserve to be that way, because you was a sinner, but God Who is rich in mercy. That's the--that's the thing: God Who was rich. All these things that we were, but God. That made the change right there: God Who is rich in mercy. Oh, I'm so glad for that, that He being rich in mercy. If He was just rich in money, if He was just rich in materials, which He is, but yet the greatest thing is being rich in mercy. Oh, what a great word that is, how that we were once dead.

And we was speaking the other night on how the seed must die. And everything around that germ of life must not only die, but rot. If it doesn't rot, it cannot live. And rot is "completely done away with; it's finished." And until we get to the place that our own ideas and our own thinking is completely gone and it's rotted away from us, then the germ of life can begin to live. Now, now, we might, I might inject just a little bit of doctrine here that I don't... If you don't believe it, all right. That's just okay. I do believe it. I believe that--that a man, when he's born in this world, that when you're a little baby, born into the world, you could not have been here without being the foreknowledge of God, because He is infinite and He knows all things. And when that little baby is born into the world, there's something in that baby. If he's ever going to have Life, there's a little something in there, in that child then, that he comes to sooner or later. That little seed is in him. Now, if you'll take... The Scriptures plainly declare that.

Now, if you've got Eternal Life tonight, if we have Eternal Life, then we always were, because there's only one form of Eternal Life. We always were. And the reason we were, because we are a part of God. And God is the only thing that's eternal. And like Melchisedec received tithes from Abraham, and it was 'lotted to his great-grandson, Levi, who was yet in the loins of Abraham; paid tithes, for he was yet in the loins of Abraham when he met Melchisedec. I want to speak on that over at the other place, one morning: Who Is This Melchisedec? Now, notice that. Way back, God knew this boy coming down. He knowed all things. Now, we are a part of God. You always was. You don't remember it, because you were only an attribute in God. You were only in His thinking. Your very name, if it ever was on the Book of Life, it was put there before the foundation of the world. He knew what you were.

I'm only saying this, not to mix up doctrine, but to straighten it out, that we might get away from this fear and scare: you don't know who you are. You are not going to be, but now you are the sons of God. See, you always were the sons of God. See? For when God had you in His thinking at the beginning, you have to be, some part of you, your Life that's in you now, had to be with God before there... Well, when you--before you even become material here on earth, before there was anything, but God, you were one of His attributes. He knowed what your name would be. He knowed the color of hair you'd have. He knowed all about you. The only thing happened is when you, being a sinner...

Many of you can--can fellowship with me on this thought. When you was a little boy, or a little girl, you'd walk around and there would be certain things that would just, where it wouldn't bother the other kids, it seemed like there was something in you that cried out. There was God somewhere, yet you were a sinner. You remember that? Certainly. Now, what was that? That was that little form of Life in you then. And then after while, you heard the Gospel. Maybe you went to church; you picked out this and that, and went from denomination to denomination. But one day, you being part of God, you had to be part of the Word. And when you heard the Word, you know where you come from, you knowed what was the Truth. You were always, the seed was in you always. The Word seen the Word that was in you, that was before the foundation of the world, saw the Word and you come to It.

Like my little eagle story, of how the little eagle was hatched out under a hen. And the little fellow walked with the chickens, he, the hen clucked, and he didn't understand her clucking. And--and the little chickens, their diet they had in the barnyard, he--he didn't understand that, how that they did that. But there was something in him, seemed to be different from what that chicken was, because at the beginning he was a eagle. That's right. One day his mama come hunting him, and, when he heard that scream of the eagle, it was different from the cluck of the hen. And that's the way it is with every born again believer. You can hear all the theology you want to and all the manmade discrepancy; but when that Word flashes out there, then there's something takes ahold, you come to It. "You who were once dead in sin; that life has He quickened." There has to be a Life there to quicken to, first. God by His foreknowledge knowed all things. And we were predestinated to be sons and daughters of God. "Ye who were once dead in sin and trespasses, wherein we all had our times past, but hath He quickened."

Look at Paul, when Paul was a great theologian. But when he come face to face with that Word, Jesus, it quickened. He come to Life right quick, because he was ordained to be that. The... He was part of the Word; and when the Word saw the Word, it was his nature. All the clucking of the hens in the orthodox churches, didn't have no effect upon him; he had saw the Word. It was part of him. He was an eagle. He wasn't a chicken; he was just in the barnyard with them. But he was a eagle to begin with.

You can talk to people sometime on the streets, talk to them about the Lord; they laugh right in your face. Well, we're supposed to do it anyhow. But listen, "There's no man can come to Me except My Father draws him first." God has to do the drawing. There has to be a Life. "And all that He has given Me, will come to Me." He made a provision for those who wants to be redeemed. He made a provision for those who wants to be healed. And then because that He did this, makes Him rich in mercy, as He's always been rich in mercy. It must be, if you refuse This, there's nothing left but the judgment, because sin must be judged. Pharaoh, when he went into the--the sea, as an impersonator, seeing that he could go in like Moses did... Moses with his army, and Pharaoh with his army, both of them should've perished in the sea, looked like. But God rich in mercy, made a way of escape for the Hebrew children (Why?), because they were following in the line of duty; they were following in the Word. Now, that's the only way to obtain mercy, is to follow the instructions that God has give us to follow in. That's the only way He can show mercy, is when we follow what He said do.

As the little debate not long ago with a minister that said that I was teaching an apostolic doctrine in this day. I believe I spoke of it a night or two ago, or sometime, about how he said, "You're trying to inject into this age, an apostolic doctrine." He said, "The apostolic age ceased with the apostles." And I asked him, "Well, do you believe the Word?" He said, "Yes." I said, "Revelations 22:18 says, that, 'Whosoever shall take one Word out of This, or add one word to It...' not just two words; one Word, take one Word out... Said, "I believe that." I said, "Then I can tell you where the apostolic age was given, the apostolic blessings was given to the church; now you tell me where God taken it out of the church by the Word. You can't do it; it's not there." I said, "Now, remember, that Peter on the day of Pentecost, he was the--the introducer of the apostolic age. And he told them all to, 'Repent, and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to them that's far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.'"

Now, if you want to listen to the clucking of some denominational hen, and live back out there in the things of the world, then it goes to show that there's something wrong. Because that is the Word. "Whosoever will, may come." And if you've got a will, you should come. But if you haven't no will, then you're in a sad condition. But if you've got a will to come, come follow God's formula. And He never fails to fulfill what He promised. I once was young, and now I'm old; I've never seen Him fail in His Word. Because He can do anything but fail. He cannot fail. God cannot. It's impossible for God to fail, and remain God.

Read the full account in...
God who is rich in Mercy.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

John 3:16-18