29. 12. 1986, 10:00, Krefeld, Germany
broadcasted on 20. 10. 2021

Theme:
Correct classification of the so-called contradictions Nr. 1

We can be grateful for what we have just sung for it does apply. We just have to recognise our fortune. We must understand that from God's side really everything was done. God cannot do more than He did. He did everything. On the cross our Lord cried out, "It is finished!" [Jn 19:30]

No more could be done, the letter of requirement is torn, sin is forgiven, all damage was made well [Col 2:14]. It is now only up to us whether we accept it thankfully and then also what we do with it, that we protect it, keep what God has given us, that we can live it out and pass it on. Especially we, as God's children, must be vigilant, attentive, for the enemy wants to harm us. He wants to stop us; he even wants us to become a curse to one another. But God wants to bless, so that we can be a blessing.

So it is necessary to have thoughts and words under control. Just as we read it sometime ago, that the whole body, every member of the body is struck by the light of God and thus is submitted to the Word of God [Mt 6:22-24]. Only then, if we have submitted to God, then the enemy with his power will submit to us. For he has absolutely no respect for us, but before God he must have respect. And if we have submitted to God, then the enemy must of necessity also submit to us. That is why the Lord said even then:

"Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy." [Lk 10:19]

Why was he able to say this? Because he conquered and defeated all the power of the enemy. By this He gave us power over the enemy who is already defeated.

I have also said this here before. At such gatherings we must all be careful. The enemy will try to disturb the atmosphere in every way. Let us please be careful that he does not succeed in doing anything in us or through us. After all, we are here to meet the Lord, to have an experience with God. And I am sure that we will have some very powerful hours. 

However, it's not just about teaching, it's about that each individual finds his place in the kingdom of God, taking his position in Christ, recognising what we have become by grace. We mainly speak about the message of the end-time. But this may not only be a doctrine or teaching, it must also become a reality. Also, here we must be aware of that God pursues a meaning and purpose with what He has done. 

So may the days which lay ahead of us, serve for a purpose that we get deeper into that what God has prepared for us.

Let's come now to our peculiar Word observation this morning. You all know, we shall let the Word of Christ dwell richly in us [Col 3:16] and this is what we want to do. 

Can you hear me properly? I have the impression that the amplifier doesn’t work. 

First, I read from Jeremiah, the 31st chapter, from verse 33, a Word that Brother Kupfler read last night:

"But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." [Jer 31:33-34]

A wonderful Word that became true when God in Christ made the New Covenant [Jr 31:31, Heb 8:8, Mt 26:28]. He wanted to be our God and He became our God. He has always been God. But now he wanted to become our God, my God, your God. You know the difference. Everyone speaks of God, but this is personal relationship God established with us in Christ, because He personally became man in Christ [Jn 1:14, 2Cor 5:19]. And it is about this personal relationship with God which we as sons and daughters of God received [2Cor 6:18]. A son does not need to establish his relationship to his Father, it is there from the very beginning, through the birth, it is there. In the same way, our relationship to our heavenly Father must be there, if we have been born of God. Then all that is needed is just the spark that strikes the germ of the Word, which was laid into us, so that new life can come forth.

And when this happens, at that moment we too can cry out "Our Father…", not just "Father", but "Our Father, my Father…" The personal relationship to God was established because God has revealed Himself personally in human form as Saviour and thus we were made sons and daughters of God. So no one needs to teach the other about it, God has given us the teaching in advance and through the covenant which He has made, He let come true what He had promised.

Today I would like to read a number of scriptures to show us how differently certain terms are said in the Bible and then show us how they can and must be rightly classified by God's grace and help. I will start with 2nd Peter, chapter 3. 

And for those of you who are waiting for questions to be answered concerning the message, you will all get your chance.

But first we want to have the Word observation, and then we will come to the message for our time. We will have questions and answers about everything that matters. 2nd Peter, chapter 3, here we read from verse 14: 

"Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen."

What a wonderful Word of admonition! The apostles were also shepherds, and as shepherds they had the welfare of the Church on their hearts. There is no man of God who was placed in the kingdom of God with a ministry who is not concerned, who has not a worry or trouble on his heart, for the overall Church. Elsewhere Peter writes that we are not to rule but to serve with the gift God has given us [1Pt 4:10-11]. This is what all men of God did. And thereby it can be seen whether a man was sent from God or not. 

In the days of Solomon, this divine love was actually demonstrated openly by an earthly example. There two women claimed one child. Both said, "The child is mine." [1Kng 2:23-27] And then Solomon was called, he was to pronounce the verdict as to which woman the child should be given. You all know the story. He sits down and says, "Bring me a sword." Nice judgement: "Bring me a big sword. "  And then he said, "Now I'm going to divide this child into two pieces and give each of the woman half of it." And the woman who was the mother cried out at the top of her voice: "No don't do it, give the child to the woman! But don't divide it." And it was easy for Solomon, and he could say: "This is the mother. This woman with the cry of her heart, who did not want that the child is divided, that is the mother." The other one said: "Divide it." The matter was settled. 

Today there are many who want to divide, they always want to split, always want to divide. And these are the ones who have not suffered birth pains, who have come along later, who set themselves in a well feathered nest and later on made it dirty.

Men of God who have been ordained to carry the divine seed so that children of God are being born like the dew from the dawn, they do not come to divide, to split, they come to build up, they come to bring together, to comfort and so forth. 

But now we're going to move on to a very difficult part, a very difficult part, we’ll contrast some things with one another. We start with Luke 2, with a well-known Word that has been emphasized in a special way in the last few days. Luke, chapter 2, verse 14, it says: 

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

First of all, the word "peace". Later on we will still about the other terms, but here we are talking about peace. Whoever reads this word might have the impression that from that moment on there would be no more war, all things would be in order again, joy and peace in all the countries on earth. For thus it is written: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, and goodwill towards men."

I read from Revelation chapter 6 verse 3 and 4: 

"And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword."

Both of these are written in the Bible. "Peace on earth and goodwill towards men." And in the same way it says: "to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another."  The unbeliever reads the Bible and then goes mad and asks himself, "My goodness, what shall this be, what is this?" So we have to distinguish which peace we are talking about. Is it earthly peace or divine peace? Peace that is in the heart or peace that is just declared?

I read on purpose a large number of such scriptures that seem to contradict each other, just to show us that we must be spiritually minded being able to place everything divinely. Therefore, Paul writes: 

"But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him." [1Cor 2:14] 

To him, everything seems to be full of contradictions. And at the end he says, "This is a paradox, what can I do with it?"

The spiritually minded person has then the grace from God to place, to recognise of what does it speak here and of what is it about there? Everything at its time, everything at its place. In Isaiah chapter 9, verse 6, the well-known Word is written of the announcement of our Lord when He would become Man. Isaiah chapter 9, here it says in verse 6: 

"Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this." 

To me it’s especially about the first part here, "Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David." Do you see what it is about here? The throne of David (this we mentioned already yesterday) is the King’s throne, when the Lord as the Son of David will commence the millennium reign – then of course there will be peace all over the earth. 

What did we say here recently? In many Old Testament prophecies the first and the second coming of Christ and what happens in connection with them has been spoken of in one breath.

So it must be discerned of what it is about, and we have to recognise in which time that what we read belongs. If we expected that at the first coming of Christ there would be peace on earth and the lamb and the lion would feed with one another [Is 11:6-7], then we did not place the matter correctly. 

Let's read again from Zechariah's prayer, Luke chapter 1 from verse 79: 

"To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."

We could look up many scriptures in which it is written of the peace which God made with us. It is about the covenant of peace that God made with us. And it starts with the inner peace, with the peace of the soul in you and in me, before then peace can be all over the earth. 

We read on from Daniel, chapter 9, verse 26. Here again a statement is made which seems to contradict that, what was announced about peace: 

"And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined."

The announcement was, "Peace on earth, and goodwill toward men." [Lk 2:14] "of peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David." [Isa 9:6] Here it says, "… and unto the end of the war desolations are determined." And then we come to the words that Paul wrote in 1st Thessalonians 5, very familiar to all of us, we don't even need to read verse 2 and 3: 

"For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them." [1Ths 5:2-3]

Let us take Jesus' words from Matthew 24: 

"And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars…and there shall be famines…" etc. [Mt 24:6-7]

We see that it must be properly placed. Jesus brought peace, to those who were afar off, and to them that were nigh [Eph 2:16-17], peace with God. Not earthly peace – that comes too, but it is not yet here. The epoch of the Millennial reign is still ahead of us. But we live in the time period in which we found peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ [Rm 5:1] and we can sing: When peace like a river attendeth my way, then my heart rejoiceth. 

So we distinguish between the earthly from the spiritual realm, the human from the divine, and see very clearly where the one and the other scripture belongs. We will still come to other things that will be much more difficult. Let us read Luke chapter 12. Here we read from verse 51: 

"Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division." 

Uh Uh! Oh, yes, what shall this be? For this, the Lord doesn't need to come. There's already enough division without him, so he really doesn't need to come. But here it is written:

"Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother-in-law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother-in-law."

And then it goes on and on. In the prophet Micah, in the 7th chapter, everything foretold. How shall we place this now? 

"Peace on earth and goodwill towards men." [Lk 2:14] 

"He is our peace …" [Eph 2:14], 

"His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace…" [Isa 9:5] 

And the Prince of Peace says, 

"Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division."

How does discord arise? When are two against three or three against two? When two choose the Lord and three do not! Is that right? That's when it starts. Then the trouble is in the house. If the whole house is saved, then the house is blessed. But that is not always the case. So it can happen that some in the house are saved, and the others are not. Yes, it happens all the time, Brother Russ, that's true.

And what is then? Then, the house blessing is gone. Then there is no more understanding for each other. Then one lives apart from one another. And then it gets to the point where one is a stranger to one another. And one can look at the other and could ask himself the question: Do we actually belong together? Are we a family? From an earthly point of view, yes, but now two or three, to keep this example in mind, have left this earthly family spiritually and have been placed and set in the divine family. And already some do not understand it. Those who remained in unbelief say: "Do you have to go to the meeting? Is that so important? You can also serve God here." You all know the arguments and one thing leads to another – there is division in the house that the Lord caused.

But this division only came about because there were some who consecrated their lives to the Lord. A division was made, a separation, some follow the Lord, others do not, and so there is no common way anymore. It is written in the prophet Amos, chapter 3: 

"Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" [Am 3:3]

One must agree. But that what is not today may be tomorrow. But we can discern very well and know how we have to place these words. It is correct that the Lord came to bring peace. Peace to those who would come to the cross where God made peace with mankind.

There is no false peace for believers. There is only genuine peace with God. And the genuine peace with God was called into existence there where the enmity was abolished and where the middle wall of partition was taken away. There God has made peace with us.

A person who received this divine peace in himself, on him it is fulfilled: "… and peace on earth to the people of God’s well pleasing" [Lk 2:14], that is how the correct translation exactly says it. Not just general "and peace on earth and goodwill towards men". They don't care about God's peace, nor about God's well pleasing. 

"And peace on earth to the people of God’s well pleasing." 

Hallelujah! That is the great mystery. The people in whom God is well pleased, they have peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Let's quickly go to another subject, perhaps in the same direction, but in a other aspect. Micah chapter 4, you all know we are living in a time where in all the world, the slogan is published "Swords into plowshares." You all know this term; one can hear it in East and in West alike – all over the world. Now I will read to you from the Bible two contradictions that unbelievers probably cannot cope with. Micah, chapter 4, verse 3, here it says: 

"And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore."

Here it’s mainly about, that we see the connection. "Then…" when is this then? You can read it in the first verses, to which time this word refers. This time is not here yet. I'll tell you in a moment in which time we are living in. Let us turn to Joel chapter 3 and then we will see in what time we are living in now. Joel chapter 3, you know one of the most powerful words of God is here in Joel, here it speaks of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, many things are dealt with here. Joel chapter 3, verse 10: 

"Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong."

Let's not read any further. You all know the connection. It says, "Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruninghooks into spears." The prophet Micah says the exact opposite, right? One hundred percent the opposite. Yes, which one is correct now? Both. Hallelujah, amen! Hallelujah, amen! Both are correct. Everything is right. Every Word of God is absolute truth. But now the placing, so, whoever reads Joel chapter 3, notices that it is about the day of the Lord that will come upon the whole earth, a day as it was not here before. He sees that it will be about the final battle, about the decisive battle. In this context you can read with me Joel chapter 3 from verse 11: 

"Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about."

I don't want to read any further because if I were to read on, here the next verse, I would have to come right to Revelation 14. And here are a number of scriptures here: 

"Put on the sickle, for the harvest is ripe." 

Read Revelation 14, there it is written precisely the same. Maybe I should read it, so you know it's written exactly. Revelation chapter 14, it's written here in verse 16. You can also read 14, 15, I'll read verse 16: 

"And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped." 

This is quite late, and you can read how it goes on later. We can perhaps read it and see it the best in verse 19. Revelation 14, verse 19, for there it speaks of: 

"And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God." 

There are two harvests. There is a harvest of the wheat that is taken up into the heavenly garner. There is then a harvest of those who rejected God, a judgment that will come upon all nations.

You see the context, we come back to Joel, chapter 3. In connection with the sixth seal quite clearly, it says here in verse 15: 

"The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel."

This is the day on which God will fight for Israel. We could go to Ezekiel 38 here and include many other scriptures. To me it was just about emphasizing a few things to show us how difficult it is for people to place things correctly, when they read God's Word.

Do we then marvel if they read the same Bible as we read it and do not recognise the day and the time in which we live – not the messenger, not the message, not the promises, not what God has promised? Why? Simply because it is not given to them to have spiritual insight into the Word, and to rightly divide the Scriptures and put everything in the right context, in the right time period. 

He who for instance read the gospels, must also distinguish what is for Israel, what is for the Church, what is it about here, what is it about there? When the Lord says, "Pray that your flight does not fall on the Sabbath or in winter time…" [Mt 24:20], then I have nothing to do with that. This was fulfilled in 70 A.D. when Titus destroyed the city. And Josephus one of the historians of that time, he set forth in his works that not one of the true believers had stayed behind in Jerusalem for the Lord had told them, "And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains." [Lk 21:20-21] And this they did – obeying the voice of the Lord. Not one true believer perished when the city was destroyed. There were people who recognised, on the basis of things that were happening around them, what time it was, and they did not return to their house to fetch their belongings, but they went on their way.

It is the same now. Who then is informed about the divine things, about what is going on? Only people who have heard the prophetic message of this time. You may not always agree with it, but it is still written: 

"We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place." [2Pt 1:19] 

It is not the word of an evangelist preaching today. Namely, one evangelist says this, the other evangelist says that, and the third comes up with a completely different interpretation, and the fourth mixes everything and brings his own. That is not what is it all about, also not about own prophecies. It is about the Word of prophecy. Many operated the gift of prophecy and are still operating it today and spurn the prophetic Word that is being fulfilled before our eyes! Today we are in a prophetic age, today it is not about the patch work of your and my prophecy! Today it is about the perfect prophecy of the Word of God, namely about the Word of prophecy! 

I know many, including myself unfortunately, who got into big trouble in spirit, soul, and body, by prophecies which came thru people. 

But I have never met one who was harmed by hearing the Word of prophecy. Just the contrary, they were helped by God, and that is why we attach great importance to the Word of prophecy. And if you read in Revelation 19, there it is written of the spirit of prophecy and the testimony of Jesus Christ. And the testimony of Jesus Christ is the spirit of prophecy [Rev 19:10]. The spirit, not the gift of prophecy. The spirit of prophecy, this is a big difference. We come out from the patchwork into the perfection. Even in the ministry of Brother Branham we notice, we feel, how it went from clarity to clarity, from knowledge to knowledge, from enlightenment to enlightenment. He too was only able to bring things as they were shown and revealed to him by God. 

You all know, also therein God took precautions on which a person would not have thought. What did I know of a plan of salvation? What did I know in 1955 of all that is going on today? What could I know at that time? What could I know in 1958 when all of a sudden on a Wednesday I went to two of these brothers, Leo and Jean, and said, "I see that there is a big difference between Branham and all the other evangelists? Can you send me his sermons?" That’s how it started.

Who took the precautions? Who has laid the decision suddenly into the heart? Why did I have to say it? Since that time I received all the sermons. I was allowed to grow with it. I didn't jump into something, but I just went along in the kingdom of God, spiritually with it, growing with it. Three to four weeks after the sermon was preached over there, it landed here in Krefeld. And I didn't listen to it once, I listened to it many times. And here we come to a point which I would like to touch only briefly. Many of those who pretend to preach the message of the hour would not preach what they preach in my physical presence. I know two things too well – the Bible and the sermons of Brother Branham. How many things are attributed to Brother Branham, so many interpretations which have nothing to do with Branham at all. And the audience is listening nicely when it is being said there, "This is something which Brother Frank didn’t publish yet." And this draws then, oh! it's such a bait. You can imagine. Make up a thing mysteriously, wrap it in nicely with gift-wrapped paper and then you can sell it well. There are many babblers and swindlers who have not heard anything of a divine calling and responsibility at all, let alone having received one.

But it simply has to be this way because it is part of the end-time. I believe that God has given us grace and this not of us, but because he watches over his Word and also over his people who received his Word. Therefore, he does not let us fall from one error into the other error but leads us from clarity to clarity.

But this too will always be true, that people who leave the straight way, they walk in the way of Balaam. There is no other way left for them. And then some things come to light in them and then they manifest their true nature, which they had previously kept hidden.

Let us come back to this Word or to these two scriptures. In the one it is written, "Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruninghooks into spears." And then the last battle is described to us, the battle of Armageddon, in the valley of Megiddo, in the valley of Jehoshaphat, thru which we drove a couple of times. There, the last battle of decision will be. When this is then over and the Lord returns to establish the millennial reign, then all the equipment of war can be nicely reforged so that it can be worked again in the vineyard. Everything at its time in the right context. Also here, we could go to Isaiah 65 and many other scriptures to show us how it will be done.

I would like to emphasize one thought here from Micah 4, verse 3, and then read it again from the New Testament, as we did last night or yesterday afternoon. Micah 4, verse 3: 

"And he shall judge among many people."

Now I'm going to read Matthew, please open it with me! Matthew 25, verse 31: 

"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another…"

Do you see how precise the words fit together? Let me read to you from the prophet Isaiah, so that you know that it belongs there. Isaiah chapter 2, here it is written in a similar way as we have just read it, namely from verse 4: 

"And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks."

If we now consider when these prophets lived, the one, Isaiah for example 810 years before the coming of Christ, all the others at quite different times, and they wrote down by the Holy Spirit in divine harmony what was given to them by divine inspiration. If somebody today is inspired by the same Spirit of God, then he will establish the same harmony in the Word, for there is no contradiction, it cannot exist.

Outwardly it may seem like it, but in fact it cannot be. But if you read in Isaiah 2 verse 2, there it speaks of the end time: 

"And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains…", and so forth. And it says, … Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob."   

What is it? Here it already shows us the transition to the Millennial reign. 

Who wants us to make two or three more comparisons that are on a totally different level? Open with me John 17. We have to make use of the time to look at as much of God's Word as possible, with the one thought that we are helped – to better understand the various contexts of God's Word. John 17:21, very well-known to us all: 

"That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me."

There is a lot of talk about unity everywhere. But there are two unities – one divine and one non-divine, one unity with and through and under Christ as the head of the Church and then there is a unity under the Antichrist. At the end there will only be two things, spiritually speaking. It says: "That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me." When can we be one with Christ? Jesus in the shape of a man as the Son of Man said, "As thou Father art in me." [Jn 17:21]

Because God in this case as Father was in the Son, there was a total unity. If the Son is in you and in me, then this unity is brought back to God – God in Christ, Christ in us and the unity has become perfect! Not a unity under some kind of a spiritual head, but what does Paul write to the Galatians in the first letter?

"But when it pleased God…To reveal his Son in me." [Gal 1:15-16]

"Christ in us the hope of glory." [Col 1:27] 

There is only one connection with God, and this is through Christ in Christ – with you, with me, with all of us.

In a club, people can unify. There the regulations are put in writing, the statutes are all there and then everyone says "yes". But that's not how it works here with us. There must be a spiritual unity. It is said of the first believers: 

"… they were of one heart and of one soul…" [Acts 4:32] 

They were in one accord, one courage, one spirit, one mind, one purpose, one Church, one truth, one love – everything coming from God, manifested in the Church because Christ took dwelling by the Spirit in the hearts of the individuals. So, unity among the believers with Jesus Christ, Christ in you, Christ in me, you and I, having the connection to him, one with him, one with his Word, one with one another through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Not, "Do you see it this way?" or "Do you see it that way?" but "Do you see it as God sees it, through Jesus Christ our Lord?" How often there are brethren who still go around saying, "Do you see it this way?" Stop your seeing! He who has become able to see, he should thank God and walk his way.

We have emphasised it again and again – we are being taught by God through the Word and Spirit [Jn 14:26]. But now we come concerning the unity, to a special Word in Luke, chapter 12 from verse 52. We have already read one part. Now read these verses again and then compare it with a "peace" and with "being one". The Lord has come to bring peace. To whom? To him who accepts it, who believes it, who lets himself be taken out. And such a person will have peace in his heart.

We have already read in Luke 12, namely the 51st verse: 

"Suppose ye that I am come to give peace." 

We emphasised it. Both run parallel. One is fulfilled in the divine seed in the children of God who suddenly become a foreign body in the family, in the society, in the country, no matter where we may be on earth. In the moment where following Jesus Christ became serious, we have to take up our cross and follow Him [Mk 10:21]. There will be no appreciation on earth. I can read it to you from the Gospel of John, the 17th chapter, because here the Lord says of us as His own that we are not of this world, just as He was not of this world. I read from John 17 from verse 6: 

"I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me."

Here it speaks of the name and of the Word. If the name in which God has revealed Himself has been made known to us, then we will also hear His Word. Not only with the ears, but with the heart. 

Actually, I am still looking for the passage where it is written: "you are not of this world, just as I am not of this world." John 17, verse 11, it says: 

"And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are." 

Verse 15 is suggested, indeed we could read the whole chapter.

Let us read verse 14 and 15: 

"I have given them thy Word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil."

So, He was not OF this world and neither are we OF this world. We are IN this world. He was also IN this world, but not OF this world.

People who are born of God, their citizenship is in heaven. We have here some kind of passport, some identity card and it has only to do with our earthly nationality. Our citizenship is in heaven [Php 3:20, Eph 2:19]. God has called out a multitude from every tongue, people, and nation. We have to come to terms with the fact that the world does not to have us, that it expels us, that we are misconceived. Is that so? We have to come to terms with it. Blessed is he who then does not even complain about it, but says: "Lord, that's fine like this, for thereby I recognise that I am detached from this earth, that my roots have been plucked out, that I am born again and that I would like to go home."

Our home is there on high. Abraham looked for the city to come. He dwelt in tents. And do you know what he said: "I look for the city which has foundations and whose Builder and Maker is God." [Heb 11:9-10] And Paul writes in Galatians 4: 

"The Jerusalem above is the mother of us all." [Gal 4:26]

That is where we belong. We are born from above.

Depending on the translation, John 3:5 states "born again" or "born from above". Born again means to be born again by the Spirit and the Word. Let us thank the Lord from the bottom of our hearts knowing that we as believers fulfil the Lord's commandment by loving one another with the divine love that was manifested on the cross of Calvary.

Many people speak about love of God, and they do not know what they are talking about. For them, love then goes as far as one goes on their way, and at the moment when perhaps a small disagreement arises, that's when love ends. And that is not how it works. The love of God is unlimited, and it was manifested on Calvary. "For God so much loved the world…" [Jn 3:16]. This is the practice, the proved love of God, manifested in reconciliation, redemption, forgiveness, grace, salvation, and everything that goes with it. If we are part of the redeemed, then there is reconciliation, there is forgiveness for you and for me and for one another. It is a divine matter, of course. Whoever still has a hard time to forgive someone, let him ask himself whether his forgiveness was revealed to him by God, or whether he believes one day and tomorrow no more, on and off. Today yes, tomorrow, no, the day after tomorrow in doubt and then again yes and then again no. Shall I still remind you of 2nd Corinthians chapter 1, 20:21: 

"For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen."

2 Corinthians 5, verse 19: 

"God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself."

Colossians 1:19-21 – He is our reconciliation. He is our peace. He is our salvation. He is all in all.

Let us receive it once for all as a perfect gift from God and let us no longer doubt it. And then we will also be able to put John 13 into practice. John 13:34 and 35, it says: 

"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." 

May it be a divine love that overcomes everything, that endures everything. We know that it is not easy. Sometimes we have to stand trials, things that go totally against the grain. But let us esteem the grace of God higher than everything else, holding to the bond of peace. One has to hold fast to it. One has to have the will for it.

There are two kinds of talents: Some have a direct talent to have with one sentence started a quarrel. With one single sentence it could have happened. 

And the others have the talent to make with one sentence that what has happened well again. People of peace are led by God in peace and he who is led in peace does not get upset. And he who is not upset is not quick to speak. He who remains calm has time to think before he says something, even to consider what that, what he says, might cause. 

So let us ask God to keep us calm and in peace, for the anger of man does not do what is right in the sight of God [Jas 1:20]. A little bit of anger and we may be sorry for what we have said. So to be led by the Spirit of God into peace and perhaps think twice before speaking once. That's what I say to myself as well as to all of us. God will give grace that even with words and with works we may serve the Lord and become a blessing to one another and so maintain unity in the Spirit through the bond of peace [Eph 4:3].

Sometimes it is little things that have a great impact, and here may God give us grace to be on His side and to really be peacemakers [Eph 2:14-15]. For thus it is written: "He united both in one and made one new man as a peacemaker." The new man in you and in me can be nothing else than that what He is, who has begotten us. And he who is born of God must have the nature of Christ. And when he has it, it will be manifested. May the Lord succeed by His grace.

Do we have the will for it? Do we want it to happen? Because we have to want it. And God gives the will. He gives the longing. And then he lets us know "I have already prepared everything. Come and take from my fullness grace for grace." God bless us all. Amen.