Shadows, Clouds, Idolatry, Traditions, Substance and Reality - Part 6

Below is but a small measure of revelation that my father had received from the Lord. I hope this will be a blessing to you. All that is written below are the words of my father.

Shadows, Clouds, Idolatry, Traditions, Substance and Reality - Part 6 

In loving memory of my father
Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett
July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023

5/4

Before I start with today's message, I want to share with you what our son recently received concerning the coronavirus pandemic. I quote,

So what is the purpose of the time and season we are at now with the coronavirus? One thing that I believe that the Lord impressed upon me is how millions of people around the world are now covering their faces. Therefore I did a search of Scripture on that subject and here are a couple of verses that jumped out:

Genesis 38:15, "When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face."

Psalm 69:7, "Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face." 

So have we played the harlot? Have we borne reproach and shame to the Lord? Yet why have we refused to cover our faces?

We did not willingly cover our faces so I believe the Lord allowed the coronavirus. (end quote)

David, a man after God's own heart, said, in 

Psalm 69:7, which our son quoted, "Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face."

Isaiah 57:15, "For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." 

In our previous message we shared a few thoughts about substance and reality. We continue in this message sharing about substance and reality. Let us first consider songs to the Lord. In Old Testament times, the Israelites sang many songs to the Lord. About 1975 a word of prophecy came forth in one of our gatherings, as follows: "Why do My people sing about Me but do not sing to Me?"

Back in the 1940's and 1950's (and perhaps later years as well) the Lord raised up a true prophet named William Branham, who is recognized by some Christian historians as the "principal architect of restorationist thought" for charismatic Christians. He had an unusual gift of healing in that he had complete dominion over every form of cancer. Branham was NOT perfect (NO man is perfect); a part of his teaching in the last few years of his life was somewhat flawed, probably because he tried to function as a teacher, a ministry to which he had never been called. However, a man named Clayt Sonmore, who gave me a draft copy of his book titled "Who Was William Branham?" relates some things about Branham that Brother Sonmore knew from personal, first-hand knowledge. Sonmore was one of the original founders of the FGBMFI. He was in our home in 1969 and my wife and I stayed in his home in 1994. Sonmore stated, on page 63 of his draft:

"Current happenings (both religious, political and economic) reveal he [Branham] erred not one iota in his prophetic insight of coming events, including the roles that many various national, denominational and organizational bodies would play. He was able as well to accurately foretell the conspiratorial arrangements (privately identified by name to Jeanne and me on that electrifying day in 1958) that would be allowed by God in the future in order to prove and test the body of Christ's commitment to "Truth and Divine Order." He [Branham] was particularly sharp in his insight and understanding of future events as well as of those personalities and organizations that would bring terrible confusion, mixture and impurity to the body of Christ through religious programming, networking, television, Christian entertainment and music with a contemporary beat."

PLEASE ponder that last sentence again and again. ALL of those five characteristics (and more) exist in abundance in charismatic circles in the United States today. Christians have become so vaccinated, inoculated, and anesthetized with and by the ways of the world that we can no longer separate the precious from the vile. Christians have grown up in an environment where the Church has been infiltrated with all of the ways of the world. Christians assume that such a vile mixture must be right because everyone else is doing it (perpetuating the mixture). People caught up in the mixture have little discernment and few are seeking the Lord for His truth because they see no need for such effort. The status quo is just fine to far too many believers. Branham named specific names who would in the future contribute to the growing apostasy in the Church. Most of those names would surprise you.

To repeat, "He [Branham] was particularly sharp in his insight and understanding of future events as well as of those personalities and organizations that would bring terrible confusion, mixture and impurity to the body of Christ through religious programming, networking, television, Christian entertainment and music with a contemporary beat."

For a few of my personal experiences related to Branham's insight and foresight ... I have seen and heard, in person, some "Christian sermons" that would rival a Broadway production. Many long years ago I knew a young Christian man who received a number of spiritual songs from the Lord. His songs were distinctly oriented to soft, worshipful melody to the Lord. I probably spent at least 200 hours with him personally back in the early 1970's, sharing with him the things of the Lord. His gift of music was so good that I seriously considered asking him to accompany me to churches where I was invited. A number of years later, through his involvement with some other young men that we knew, he slipped a bit in his walk. Ever since then he still receives melodies to accompany scripture, but they are almost exclusively with a be-bop or contemporary beat, just as Branham prophesied about in 1958. The Christian music industry today is big business, undoubtedly grossing a billion dollars a year.

Now let us consider what the Bible has to say about songs. There may well be 100 verses in the Bible which speak of songs to the Lord. For example,

Colossians 3:16, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord."

Ephesians 5:18-21, "And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God."

Those verses sum up our proper relationship with the Lord and with each other. Be not drunk with wine, where is excess ... there is NO excess to being filled with the Spirit. Charismatic churches do not sing too many hymns; denominational churches do not sing too many spiritual songs. Who sings psalms?

Exodus 15:1-2, "Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea. The LORD is my strength and song, and He is become my salvation: He is my God, and I will prepare Him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt Him."

Those verses likewise sum up our proper relationship with the Lord. Note that the LORD Himself is our song. The Lord said to Joshua,

Deuteronomy 31:19-21, "Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach it the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for Me against the children of Israel.

For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxen fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and provoke Me, and break My covenant.

And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are befallen them, that this song shall testify against them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed: for I know their imagination which they go about, even now, before I have brought them into the land which I sware."

Those verses clearly speak of the foreknowledge of God. They apply to the Christian community today.

Revelation 14:1-5, "And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with Him an hundred forty and four thousand, having His Father's name written in their foreheads.

And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:

And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.

These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God."

The new song in Verse 3 speaks of new as to quality, not new as to time. Those verses speak of the firstfruits (or the overcomers) unto God and to the Lamb. The fact that there are firstfruits implies there will be secondfruits. Revelation, Chapter 12, confirms that truth.

Now have you ever really thought about the words of the psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs that we commonly sing in our church services today? Many of the words, particularly in our spiritual songs, are just not scriptural, but we sing them anyway. Most of the words to the old hymns are fine, but hymns are seldom sung in charismatic circles. Perhaps more importantly, we Christians don't ever lie ... we just SING lies ... for example, "I Surrender All," "Take My Life and Let it Be, Consecrated Lord to Thee," "All to Jesus I Surrender," "Change My Heart, Oh God," and many more. Far too many Christians sing the words but their heart is far from the Lord.

Leonard Ravenhill, a highly respected 20th century English evangelist and preacher once said:

"I'm sick to death of the so-called Christianity of our day. What's supernatural about it? When do people come out of the sanctuary awed and can't speak for an hour because God has been in glory there? Dear God, as soon as they get out, they're talking football, or sports or something or there's going to be a big sale downtown or somewhere. We are not caught up into eternity!

When did you last tip-toe out of the sanctuary? When you couldn't say a word to anybody because you were so overwhelmed with the glory of God?

God wants to bring us into a glory we know nothing about.

If you know a church on fire for God, tell me and I'll go. A church where (after) you've gone in, you don't come out the same, believing that God is there (and) you've been in His holy presence!" (end of his quotes)

In Genesis, Chapter 1, when the Lord was creating everything, six times He said, "it was good." Then, from Genesis 1:31, after God had made everything, which included creating man on the sixth day, He said it was "very good." The word '"good" can be translated as "beautiful." In reality, in both the Old and New Testaments, the word "good" can be translated as "beautiful."

Ecclesiastes 3:11, "He hath made every thing beautiful in His time: also He hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end." 

The word, "world" can be translated as "eternity." So He has set eternity in our heart. We Christians should be more eternity-minded than temporal-minded.

One of my favorite spiritual songs is titled, "In His Time." That song comes from Ecclesiastes 3:11, which I just read. If you google "Maranatha In His Time" you can listen to an excellent version of that song. "Maranatha" means "the Lord is coming." The words are:

In His time, in His time, He makes all things beautiful in His time.
Lord please show me every day as You're teaching me Your way, 

That You mean just what you say, in Your time.
In Your time, in Your time, You make everything beautiful in Your time.
Lord my life to you I bring, may each song I have to sing 

Be to You a lovely thing, in Your time.

But please don't sing that song unless you really mean what the words say. In the rest of this message I want to look at the words of that song and how they are designed to apply to every believer.

"In His time." We must always remember that the Lord has His own timetable for everything. We can hear correctly a word from the Lord and interpret that word correctly, but we still have to wait for the Lord's time to see the fulfillment of that word. See, for example Isaiah 30:18 and Isaiah 40:31. Moses had to wait 40 years for the fulfillment of his call. I have experienced that many times in my life. I have seen a few words from the Lord fulfilled in minutes, several words took 2 years, another word took 11 years, and one major word I heard took about 48 years before it was fulfilled. Waiting on the Lord requires patience on our part. Patience is a quality that we need much more of. We should never run ahead or behind the Lord. We are called to walk with Him daily.

He makes all things beautiful in His time. When God originally made the angel Lucifer, even Lucifer was "perfect in beauty" (Ezekiel 28:12). Of course Lucifer rebelled and became Satan, the devil. The phrase "all things" occurs in 203 verses of the Bible, of which 152 occurrences are in the New Testament.

John 1:1-3, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made."

I found this blog on the internet: "Time, force, action, space, and matter are the five manifestations of all scientific phenomena. This truth-fundamental to understanding science - was articulated by an agnostic in the 19th century, and yet these fundamental principles were articulated in the very first verse of the Bible millennia ago. "In the beginning [time], God [force] created [action] the heavens [space] and the Earth [matter]." 

John 3:35, "The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hand."

Romans 11:36, "For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen."

Ephesians 1:21-23, "Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all." 

Colossians 1:14-20, "In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him:

And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.

And He is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence.

For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell;

And, having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven." 

Hebrews 1:1-3, "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds;

Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;"

Revelation 4:11, "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."

Hebrews 2:10, "For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings."

Hebrews 3:4, "For every house is builded by some man; but He that built all things is God." 

All of those last sets of verses tell us that the Lord Jesus Christ is the creator of all things, the owner of all things, the heir of all things, the sustainer of all things, the substance of all things, the redeemer of all things. Although there were no seats in the temple, Christ Jesus sits as the ruler of all things. He is the great I am and He is God speaking, the Word of God. He does everything by the word of His power. He speaks and His word does not return unto Him void but accomplishes that for which it is sent. All of those verses speak of the centrality, the preeminence, the supremacy, and the sovereignty of the Lord. Further, the Holy Spirit is the revealer of all things.

John 14:26, "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."

Then, for those who are "in" Christ, those who abide in Him accrue wonderful things.

Acts 24:14, "But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:" 

Romans 8:28, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose."

1 Corinthians 3:21, "Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;"

1 Corinthians 8:6, "But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him."

2 Corinthians 5:17-18, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;"

Ephesians 3:8-11, "Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; 

And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: 

That in the dispensation of the fulness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him:

In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will:"

Ephesians 4:15, "But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:"

Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through [in] Christ which strengtheneth me."

1 Peter 4:7, "But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.

2 Peter 1:3-4, "According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."

1 John 2:27, "But the anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you; but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him."

Hebrews 8:1-6, "Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;

A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.

For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.

For if He were on earth, He should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:

Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith He, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

But now hath He obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also He is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises."

Revelation 21:4-7, "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

And He said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be My son."

 

Returning to the song, "In His Time" ...

"Lord please show me every day as You're teaching me Your way, 

that You mean just what you say."

Those words reflect a true humility, and a desire for Him to teach us His ways, a desire to be His disciple. They also acknowledge that all of His word is true. Back to the song, 

"Lord my life to you I bring, may each song I have to sing be to You a lovely thing."

Those words reflect a desire to be an overcomer, knowing for a certainty that the Lord is able to guide our every step far better than we ever could. They also show a desire to please Him in all things.

By the grace of God and the power of the Holy Ghost, may each one of us desire to allow the Lord to work within us all the reality of the words to that lovely song, In His Time. Amen.