23-0929A_INVESTMENTS PT-2 (Policy Of LIFE)

Mat 19:16  And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 

Mat 19:17  And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. 

Mat 19:18  He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, 

Mat 19:19  Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 

Mat 19:20  The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? 

Mat 19:21  Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. 

Mat 19:22  But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. 

Mat 19:23  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. 

Mat 19:24  And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. 

Mat 19:25  When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? 

Mat 19:26  But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

*THE POLICY OF LIFE. "COME, FOLLOW ME. TAKE UP YOUR CROSS

INVESTMENTS_  CHICAGO.IL  V-21 N-5  SATURDAY_  63-0803B

214      That, now, I'm not asking you to invest your money. That's up to you, what you do with that, to some missionary society, or whatever it is, to send missionaries. I don't know about that. God will take care of that.

215    I'm talking to you about the policy of Life. "Come, follow Me. Take up your cross. Let everybody call you what they will; but you--you come, follow Me." Now he wasn't quite willing to do this. He made a very rashel thing, just exactly like the people of the Laodicean Age today, in the policy. They are not willing. They don't want to.

NICODEMUS, HE CAME TO MAKE AN INVESTMENT.

INVESTMENTS_  NY.NY  V-18 N-11  SATURDAY_  63-1116B

... Because you're hungering, this morning, because that people are thirsting, it shows there is a fountain of Life open somewhere, see, for you to respond to That. There has to be a Deep first, to respond to the deep that's calling, see, or that call wouldn't be there.

 173      That's the reason people go join church and just put their name on the book, instead of being borned again, taking out the policy of Life. Then they go right out and try to hush that holy calls, by smoking, drinking, and--and gambling, and running out, immorally. See there? How dare you to try to hush that holy call of God, that God put in there to thirst after Him! You have no right.

176      The policy is right, friends. So, Nicodemus, he came to make an investment. He came by night, but he found the bank is always open. So it might be late, but it's still open. It's open, He, always, the--the bank is open to do business. And so he--he found Eternal Life, by coming to Jesus.

*AND THAT'S WHAT THIS RICH FELLOW SEEN, THAT THIS JESUS COULD STAND THERE AND HE IDENTIFIED THE SCRIPTURES.

145    But look here. This is first, of course, the Word of God. Now let us examine some of the policy holders of this Eternal Life and see what it cost them, holders of the Eternal Word.

146    Now, "Brother Branham, you said, 'Eternal Word.'" Yes, sir.

147    Eternal never did begin. Eternal has no end. And a word is a thought expressed. That was God's thinking before there was a world, or a star, a moon, or anything. That was God's thinking, what He would do. And when He spoke the Word, it's Eternal, because He can produce nothing but something Eternal. That's the only way we have Eternal Life, is when we get rid of this perverted life and get Eternal Life. That's God, Zoe, the Word right in you. And then the Word comes right through you and manifests Itself.

148    And that's what this rich fellow seen, that this Jesus could stand there and He identified the Scriptures.

149    Jesus said, Himself, "If I do not the works of My Father, then don't believe Me. Search the Scriptures, for in Them you think you have Eternal Life, and They are They what say Who I am. They're the One that testify of Me." See? But they had it so creeded up, like we have today, till they couldn't see It.

NOAH WAS CALLED BY THE WORD OF GOD, AND HE TOOK OUT AN INVESTMENT IN GOD, GOD'S WORD OF PROMISE.

INVESTMENTS_  PHOENIX.AZ  SATURDAY_  63-0126

  150      Now watch. Noah was called by the Word of God, and he took out an investment in God, God's Word of promise. He purposed, no matter how--how bad it looked, and how much the rest the world didn't believe it, Noah made that investment. He invested in God, though it was contrary to science. We could stay there a long time.

151    Lord willing, I want to preach on "the countdown," Sunday afternoon, see where we're living. All right.

152    Notice, he, it contrary to their religious belief. It was contrary in the scientific research of that day, that there was any rain in the skies. It never had rained. So, therefore, he had to--to--to take a stand, and to make an investment. And he did so, in the promise of God. Satan tried him in every way that he could, yet he held onto his investment. And it paid off, at the end time, by saving his life.

WELL, WHAT GOOD IS OUR BIG THINGS GOING TO DO?

INVESTMENTS_  PHOENIX.AZ  SATURDAY_  63-0126

  153      Now businessmen, what better investment could you make than that, at the end time where we are? And even science itself now comes around, is with us, and tells us that it's right, "midnight hour is fixing to strike." Well, what good is our big things going to do? What good is our great denomination, a million more, and so forth like this, and build them like that, when Eternal Life is waiting out yonder? And we have the opportunity, and we're invited to receive this Christ, that--that God could take you and position you in His Word in such a place, till when you speak, the things that--that it's foresaw, and foretold, and so forth, could work right through you, every time exactly right. Never fails. Can't fail.

154    Oh, you say, "I seen that tried." Yes. I know. And you see it fail, where there's impersonation.

155    But when you see something genuine, it cannot fail, 'cause it's God. And God sets these things for an example, that others might see.

156    "How," you say, "how does it come? By all night fasting?" That's good. "All night prayer meeting?" That's still good.

157    But obedience to the Word is where it comes, obeying the Word. See? All right.

Now, it paid off, by saving his life.

WHAT YOU NEED IS A RETURN BACK TO THE PRINCIPLES AND THE SINCERITY OF THE GOSPEL, BACK TO THE REAL PENTECOSTAL THING THAT PRODUCES CHRIST IN THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE."

165    And they got to making doctors, and Ph.D. and LL.D., and what is it but a bunch of a million dollars' worth of sand, and white elephant on their hand? What you need is a return back to the principles and the sincerity of the Gospel, back to the real pentecostal thing that produces Christ in the life of the people." That's right. See? We, we get away from those real things.

…IF THEY'RE CONSECRATED TO GOD, IN A SINCERE LIFE, 'CAUSE GOD WILL MOVE HIS WORD THROUGH THERE AND VINDICATE THAT TO BE TRUTH.

169    Your life will shine a lot louder than your testimony you could ever give. Your life is so--so loud till the people don't even understand your testimony. That's, where, sincerity and sacredness. Five good people, really filled with the Spirit, will do more in Phoenix than all the members we got, if they're consecrated to God, in a sincere life, 'cause God will move His Word through there and vindicate That to be Truth. And the first thing you know, things are happening. So you just... You can't hold it down.

IF YOU COULD ONLY WORK TO THAT END, THAT ACHIEVEMENT, THAT YOU'LL NOT DEFILE THIS INVESTMENT THAT YOU'VE MADE IN CHRIST

INVESTMENTS_  PHOENIX.AZ  SATURDAY_  63-0126

  172      Daniel, knowing that the world was going to come into the church, and it did. But watch. He took out one of these Eternal Life policies with God, and he purposed in his heart that he would not mar his investment. Amen. That church, of that Business Men, if you people could only take that attitude, if you could only work to that end, that achievement, that you'll not defile this investment that you've made in Christ, with the things of the world, and the glamour.

173    Why, anything can shine and glow, and what reaches for it? A monkey. That's right. Monkeys always reaching after something that's shiny. See? That's right. Notice, we are. That's what I mean. See? [Congregation applauds--Ed.] The Devil will make monkeys out of you, if he can. He's trying to make you think that you come from one, anyhow, so, with their educational systems and things of this day. But it's not so. That's right.

INVESTMENTS_  PHOENIX.AZ  SATURDAY_  63-0126

  174      Daniel purposed in his heart that he wouldn't defile himself with the world. He was going to keep the tradition that God had laid down, the commandments of God.

*LOOK AT THE END OF THE ROAD.

INVESTMENTS_  CHICAGO.IL  V-21 N-5  SATURDAY_  63-0803B

216      That's like the rich young man. What if I could follow him just a few minutes? Let's do just for a minute, watch. A few, just a little bit later on, we find this rich young fellow. Let's watch his end, and then we'll close. Look at him. We follow him, and he was a businessman. And did his business prosper!

217    So, businessmen, remember, prosperity don't always mean that you're a Christian. The devil... You know, David, I believe, one time said, "I seen the wicked spread forth like a green bay tree, but God said, 'Did you ever behold him at the end?'" That's the difference. Look at the end of the road.

…..INVESTMENT IN JESUS CHRIST.

61    See, the Word of God, when Jesus speaks, It's--It's all Truth. It doesn't have to be explained. God just speaks the Truth, and He don't have to go around like we do, try to explain It. It, It's That. That's all there is to it. He said, "Follow Me." That's all. He didn't have to tell him why, explain It all like I do, and other people do. But His Words are all Truth. We don't have to go around with It. Just say It. He said, "Follow Me," and that settles it.

62    He had the invitation to make an investment in Jesus Christ. And that's the Person I'm speaking about this morning, the investment that I want you to make, if you haven't made it.

*THERE'S JUST A LOT MORE THINGS THAT WE HOLD TO US JUST AS MUCH AS A IDOL

70    But it don't altogether mean money. There's just a lot more things that we hold to us, just as much as a idol, as that young man held to that money; popularity, denominational difference, fashions, lust of the world, idols, everything. There is so many things that--that men, today, instead of being rich, holding to things, they of money, they--they hold to different things like that, just as tight as that young man, because they're not interested in the investment that Christ is offering them.

71    It might mean that Christ would call you out of the group that you're in. Christ might call you out from the card party that you have in your church, the bunko game, the society that you belong to. As you hold to that, you're--you're just as much making a rashal mistake as this young rich man did. See? You're holding to something more of a treasure than investing your life's journey in Jesus Christ.

May we invest our time, our talent, and all that we got, to the praises of God, knowing this, that no matter if the--we gained the whole world, we lose our souls, what good did it do us? What good does the praise of a man do when atomic fire is burning the earth? What good will it be today, maybe when our tombstones will be floated up in some sands; when the howling winds... when this world is swept into the sun yonder, throwed out of its place, like it was before the antediluvian destruction; and throwed... instead of being thrown from the sun, throwed into the sun? No more water, but fire this time... The sands howl across the earth before the great millennium, and our tombstones come up, "Dr. So-and-so, Brother So-and-so, or Bishop So-and-so." What good will that do us when our souls are yonder somewhere in eternity?

I have very little, Lord, that I can offer: no ability, no personality, no nothing. But I just got my soul, Lord, my voice. And it's all Yours. And I'm sure that speaks for this whole audience. Use it, Lord. If I had money, it was Yours. What time I have belongs to You; everything, my all in all... Help me, Lord, and help us all. We want to make an investment this morning in the Kingdom of God.