QUESTIONS.AND.ANSWERS.3_ JEFF.IN COD SUNDAY_ 64-0830M
1086-Q-330 Brother Branham, how am I supposed to show my wife that I really care for her and yet play–or stay with the Word (That’s)–stay–stay with the word, but still having a question like this said: “Why don’t you practice what you preach or believe?”
Well then, if the wife, if the wife is saying this to you when she’s–has a right to say it, you better get right. See, see? Then if she, if–if she is saying it just to be evil, remember, the Bible said, “It was better that a millstone was hanged at your neck and drowned in the depths of the sea than even to offend the least of these, My little ones.” Now, that just your question.
And may be that this wife is not that type of person. Maybe she’s a different–maybe, she’s a good person. Maybe she’s just testing you to see what you’ll do.
1086-116 Now, stay in love with her and let her see Jesus in you. You do that. See? You just go on. Some… I give a little illustration this morning about a person that… One time this little woman had–had received the Holy Ghost. And she was a very sweet little person. They… She said… Well, she’d had a hard life, and her husband was an alcoholic. And so, she just kept on; she bore with him. He says, “You want to go to church, honey, take off. But I just go down to the saloon, down at the old Brown Derby, down here. Go and–on.” So they hung out down there all the time, used to be Bonifers. Many of you old-timers here remember when Bonifer had there on the corner of… It’s called Brown Derby now, I believe it is.
1086-117 So, hanging around down there, and the first thing you know, one night come up a question about church and about Christians. One of the old drunks setting there said, “There ain’t no such a thing as Christians any more.” Said, “There is no such a thing. All this bunch of hypocrites,” said, “you see them out here smoking, drinking, doing the same thing that we do,” and said, “call themselves Christians. There is no such.”
This one drunk raised up and said, “Just a minute. There’s one that I know about. ”
Said, “Who is it?”
Said, “It’s my wife.” See? She’d become salty. He was catching it all the time.
He said, “I bet if she was put to a squeeze…”
He said, “No, she’s still a Christian; I’ll prove it to you.” Said, “I tell you what let’s do; let’s go up home, and I’ll show you whether she’s a Christian or not.” Said, “Let’s go up home, and now, let’s really be drunk. We’re going to act like we’re really drunk.” Knocked at the door, come in staggering over everything and–and… “Why don’t you set around this a-way,” and everything. And she set them all a chair and (his guests, you know)–and tried to make them just as welcome as could be. Said, “I want you to fix us some supper.” And so they–she went out and fixed some. Said, “we want ham and eggs.” He knowed they had it, so they fixed the ham and eggs. When he got there at the table, he looked at them like that, picked up his plate, and slammed the stuff on the floor, said, “You know, I don’t like my eggs like that. Come on boys let’s get out of here anyhow,” like that–like that.
1087-119 They went out and set down like that, you know. And she come out; she said, “Dear, I’m–I’m sorry I didn’t get them fixed; I’ll fix some more for you.”
“Oh, nonsense, you knowed I didn’t want them that way in the first place,” just carrying on like that. They went out there, and set down, and act like they was drunk. They heard her in there kind of snubbing to herself, singing real low voice:
Must Jesus bear the cross alone,
All the world go free?
There’s a cross for every one,
And there’s a cross for me.
This consecrated cross I’ll bear,
Till death shall set me free,
One drunk looked at the other one, said, “She’s a Christian; she’s got it.” And that little woman led her husband, plus these others to Christ that night. See? Why? See? Just be real sweet. Just remember, He knows all about it.
So, sister, or brother, whoever it might be, or brother, it is here, ’cause he asked about his wife, you just be salty; she’ll get thirsty if there’s anything in her to thirst for. If it isn’t, remember, if you got the wrong person, you’ll get the right one in the millennium. You just keep on going; all wrongs will be made right there.
What did they recognize in her? I believe it was the lack of concern for herself that only God could place in a person. The same selfless love God displayed in Jesus when He walked to the cross all those years ago. She wasn’t concerned that her husband was treating her bad in front of the others. She didn’t have a self image to uphold. She wasn’t concerned even that she wasn’t being treated with decent respect one human should have for another. She wasn’t grumbling that this was her lot. She wasn’t going and talking bad about her husband to somebody. She wasn’t carrying grudges and stewing to argue with him or somebody else. She wasn’t taking it out on somebody else. All the things that come when we are concerned so much about ourselves.
Where’s my time?
Where’s respect for me?
That’s my money and my ’stuff’!
Where’s my worldly goals and accomplishments?
What have you done for me?
Any of those statements or feelings sound familiar? Reminds me of a song the Cockman Family sings:
Somebody told a lie about you;
Said you did something you did not do.
Somebody made others lose trust in you;
Made you so bitter and made you so blue.
Somebody spoke to you harsh and bluntly;
They think you’re not what you ought to be.
Somebody feels you have done them great wrong;
Caused you to cry and feel all alone.
What if they nailed your flesh to a tree,
Scourged you and mocked you mercilessly,
Thorns on your brow, spear in your side,
Hanging in shame alone to die?
All this and more they did to my Lord.
Still He could pray, still He could say,
“Father Forgive”.
I thought on this for awhile. Would I pass this test? What about you?
Could a drunkard look at me and see my doctrine living in me or would I be all full of mental understanding for him and shrivel up at the first time some trial comes along.
Would I be able to preach “a woman should be in subjection to her husband” if my own life on display shows I’m not in subjection to Christ? Would I be that hypocrite?
Would I be able to preach God’s peace and joy to my children or would I be constantly fussing and being disrespectful to them in frustration. Would I be that hypocrite?
Would I be able to preach, sin is sin and God isn’t pleased with it, to my coworkers or would I be mister so called “peace keeper” so nothing would go wrong for my paycheck? Would I be that hypocrite?
If the message of today is not living in us we will be all of these hypocrites and more. God proves His Word by bringing it to pass, not by arguing and fussing about it. Arguing and fussing and stewing proves only ourselves and we are nothing without Him.
God has promised me I would be like the little woman in the story and much much more. Like Simeon who was promised to see the salvation of the Lord so will I see the total preeminence of God in my life. It’s a promise for this hour to His endtime people. They are expecting it. Praise be to His Name!