Honey, We Need to Talk
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We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.
For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp.
Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.
Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.
For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.
By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
Introduction
Introduction
Bro Solomon and Bro. Seth
Wedding yesterday
There are no words more dreaded by a man than to hear his wife say “Honey, we need to talk.” Yet, nothing good happens in any relationship, be it a church, business partnership or marriage, without communication.
In fact, the world were framed by God communicating His thoughts. Faith is not built by the thoughts of God but by the expression of those thoughts.
Paul tells the people to do two things: Do good and communicate.
Lexham Theological Wordbook κοινωνία
κοινωνία (koinōnia). n. fem. fellowship, communion, sharing, participation. A term that conveys a sense of commonality, solidarity, and shared responsibility among households or individuals.
The most general sense of this term refers to a shared conviction that manifests itself as mutual responsibility and status. Most often, koinōnia refers to the sharing of resources, monetary or otherwise (e.g., Acts 2:42; Rom 15:26; 2 Cor 8:4; 9:13; Phlm 1:6; Heb 13:16). For example, in Rom 15:26 Christian assemblies in Macedonia and Achaia make a “donation” (koinōnia) for the poor in Jerusalem. In this text, the term koinōnia reflects the willingness of the assemblies to share their resources as a way of expressing solidarity with and responsibility for the saints in Jerusalem. Those who choose to willing engage in mutual responsibility are described as having “partnership” (koinōnia) with the body of Christ (1 Cor 10:16), the gospel (Phil 1:5), the Spirit (Phil 2:1), the sufferings of the Messiah (Phil 3:10), or, negatively, unbelievers (2 Cor 6:14). The NT also teaches that believers enjoy “fellowship” (koinōnia) with Jesus (e.g., 1 Cor 1:9; 1 John 1:3, 6).
Paul writes to the Philippian believers from prison because they communicated with him in this way.
But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity.
Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction.
Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.
For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.
Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.
They were in communion with him, so when they saw he had a need they communicated by giving to that need.
When God made Adam, he was alone. He had the perfect setup for a single man, but he had no one to communicate with.
And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.
And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.
He was able to speak and things would appear, what did he need help with? He didn’t have any laundry. There were no dishes to wash.
Before He made man, He called Himself “El,” E-l, El; E-l-h, “Elah,” “Elohim.” The word means, in the Hebrew, “the self-existence,” all by Himself.
Nothing existed before Him, He was all the existence there ever was, self-existence One! El, Elah, Elohim, means the “all-sufficient, all-powerful, Almighty, self-existence One.” Oh!
But in Genesis 2, when He made man, He said, “I am,” Y-a-h-u, J-u-v-u-h, Yahweh, “Jehovah.” What did it mean? “I am the all-existence One Who has created something off of Myself, to be a son of Mine, or a temporary, or an amateur, little one of Mine.” Glory! Why?
He gave man…Jehovah means that “He gave man to be an amateur god.” Because He is Father God, and He made a man an amateur god, so He isn’t self-existence anymore, He exists with His family. Elah, Elah, Elohim. Now, now He is Jehovah. Jehovah, meaning, the “One Who exists with His family.”
Now, God made man to be the predominate over all the earth, he had dominion. And the earth was man’s dominion. Is that Scripture? Then if that’s his domain, he was god over the earth. He could speak, and it would be so. He could speak this, and it would be so. 60-0515E - Adoption #1
Why then was he lonely? The same reason elohim was. What did he need help with? Communication. Partnership. Fulfillment.
If the only reason you get married is to satisfy lust, or to have someone to do chores around the house, or to have someone to protect you from danger or make you better off financially, it will end in divorce.
Why did Adam not put away his wife when she fell? We know what he did, but why?
And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
They had complete Koinonia with on another. Nothing was hidden, everything was right.
And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him.
And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you?
And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away.
And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.
But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.
For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;
And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.
What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
Don’t you see what Jesus did for us? He participated, communicated with our sufferings, He became us, so we could become Him. What God joined together, no man could separate.
What can separate us from the love of God? Nothing.
(Story about the couple fighting, and finding a baby shoe)
Marriage needs communication. You must have things in common.
The amazing thing about Adam and Eve is not that they fell apart in the Garden, but that they stayed together outside the garden. Now they were dependent on one another, and they had separate covenants, hers was childbearing, his was work.
If they were going to get along, they had to learn to communicate with one another. For the first time, she had to ask him to take out the trash. He had to tell her what he liked to eat. She had to tell him how she wanted the home fixed.
He couldn’t just go off and do his own thing, neither could she, they were married by God, each played their part.
There are two types of people you should never marry.
You should never marry an unbeliever.
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
And no believer should ever marry an unbeliever, under no circumstances. Should always marry believers. 59-0125 - Be Certain Of God
You should wait until that believer has been sealed by the Holy Ghost.
Bro. Branham allowed George Smith to get engaged to Rebekah, but he would not allow them to marry until he received the Holy Ghost.
Why?
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Until the sanctuary has been cleansed, the idols removed, and the Holy Spirit in residence,
the temple will continue to be pagan.
We will be the product of the nature and nurture of our genes until the Holy Spirit begins to rule in our life. When He is in residence, He overrides those parts of our nature that would destroy communion with our spouse.
This nature is called carnality.
And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
You must receive the Spirit and walk in it.
This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Now, people today, a lot of modernists, believe that the days of miracles are past. They don’t believe there is such a thing as a miracle. But, yet, I believe that the world is full of miracles. I believe the paradox is constantly.
For instance, I believe that every born-again member of the Body of Christ is a paradox in themselves. I believe each one of you Methodist and Presbyterian and Lutheran, that never had experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit, was in some formal church that did not believe in the genuine new Birth,
and has now received the baptism of the Holy Ghost, is a perfect example of a paradox. Because, something happened to you, that changed your whole being, and anyone could look at that and know what a paradox is: a miracle.
Unless that happens, you cannot be a Christian. There must be a paradox, for you to become a Christian. Cause, no one can change a spirit in a man, and give him new Birth, outside of God.
God alone is the only One can do it. And it’s a miracle how that God can take a man’s thinking, and his ways, and his life, and everything, and change it from what it was, to what it can be, what He can make it.
For instance, a few days ago, I was called in on a scene, or on a little something going on. There was a fine young man, very fine boy, he was going with a little girl, very fine little girl out of a fine family. And this boy, all of a sudden, came up with some kind of an idea, and he just walked away.
(He failed to communicate with her why he broke off a date. He went to church with a different girl)
He did something wrong to the little girl, and much as promised her to do a certain thing and then didn’t do it. And instead of coming to the girl and apologizing, like a gentleman should do, he, it just wasn’t in him to do it.
And the father and mother called me to the scene, and said, “We would desire to know what is wrong with our boy.”
Now, it’s not easy to do sometime, but you must be truthful and honest. Therefore, the boy was a Christian, as far as a believer. He had repented and had been baptized, and had his position among the believers, but yet had not received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, no matter how much he thought he had.
You thinking you have, and having It, is two different things. You might be able to try to say you have, and you might be able to show some evidence of some emotion; but unless your life is vindicating what you’re professing to have, you still haven’t got It.
No matter how many emotions, how much you jump, run, sensations, speaking in tongues, or shouting, or whatever you might lay it upon; which is all right, I believe in all that, too; but unless your life copes with your testimony, then you haven’t got It.
Cause, the fruit of the Spirit vindicates what you are, just like the fruit of any tree tells what it is. Jesus said, “By their fruit you shall know them.”
Now, this young fellow’s parents. His mother is German. No reflection on the German, but there is a strain in that family.
(This is Bro. Branham’s brother and sister-in-law. The boy would be his nephew)
And, that is, they’ll just sit, and you can talk to them, and they’ll just stare you right in the face. They got…This girl’s sister, the mother of this boy, her sister. I have come down the street, many morning, and this young lady be setting out in the yard, and I’d say, “Good morning, to you.”
She’d just look at me. And I’d stop, and I’d say, “Sure a fine morning.” She would just stand, look right at you; an intelligent woman. And I’d say, “Come up to see us sometime.” She’d just stand and look. Well, her brothers are that way, father and mother is that way.
Now the father of the boy, is strictly an Irishman, moody, and high-tempered, high-strung. That’s his whole family like that, except one other out of the family, converted.
This father and mother, both are Christians, filled with the Holy Ghost, and they have brought this young man up in the way of the Lord. And now the young man is about seventeen or eighteen years old, something along there, very fine kid, and he’s been a real model boy at home, nice kid. And he’s got a brother that’s just vice versa.
But the girls, the mother’s family, lives close to the…a fine church. But do you think they’d ever come over there? No. And they know It’s right, but it’s just not in them to ask forgiveness or ask pardoning. They just won’t do it. It’s just not in them.
Now the genes in the father and the mother of this boy, no matter how much they are converted, still remains the flesh that’s been interbred out to this boy. Therefore, the boy has got a complex in him, just like from his mother’s family, and they are not forgiving, they will not apologize, and that’s where that boy stands.
(He would never communicate with a wife in a way that will allow them to have a Christian home. He might never hit her, he might be a good provider, but he will never say “I’m sorry”. He cannot make that sacrifice.
Some people have difficulty communicating. Especially men. But there is a difference in having difficulty communicating, and refusing to communicate. We aren’t all as eloquent as David, but we can all say I’m sorry, or I forgive you.)
Now, I said to the father, “No matter how much you’ve raised him up…” I said, “Now look at you, out of your family: all of them, drunks, and fighting, and shooting, and cutting, and so forth.”
“Now look at your family,” to the mother. “They’re a bunch of people, just set there and won’t speak, very independent, and so forth, irreverent to religion. But,” I said, “it’s not you. You’re the only one of all your sisters and brothers, and you are sweet, kind, and forgiving.
What does that? And you’re tree, part of that family tree, yet you have received the Holy Ghost. That’s the thing that made you tender and sweet. It’s not your people anymore, it’s your Christ that lives in you.”
I said to the boy, “Look at your family, practically all of them are drunks, and so forth.” I said, “And how moody, and high-tempered and high-strung, but you’re not. You’re kind, forgiving. What is it? The Holy Spirit. You’re no more what you are; it’s Christ in you.” I said, “Now that same thing has to happen to your son.”
And the father raised up and said, “My son went to the altar. He was baptized correctly, in the Name of Jesus Christ, and water baptism in the pool.” Said, “I know my son has come to Christ.”
I said, “That may be all right, all the outward motions. He might be identified as a believer with the believers. But until he is regenerated, born again, I’d advise that young man to never marry a woman.
He’ll make Hell on earth for her, until that gentle, sweet, forgiving Spirit of Christ comes in. Then that will be a paradox in itself, to take the very nature of a boy that’s bred between father and mother.
And yet, in his intellectuals, he is trying his best to overcome it. He can’t do it. He’ll never overcome it. Christ will have to overcome it. When he lets Christ in, then he’s already overcome then. It’ll be a perfect paradox, when a man is born of the Spirit of God.
I’ve seen critics stand off and make fun, and carry on, of a Holy Ghost revival. And after a while, God get a hold of that same man and change him, and here he stands right in the pulpit preaching the same thing that he once hated. It’s a paradox, how that God can take the unbeliever and make a believer out of him.
Now I wonder, if a man thinks that miracles is passed, I wonder what kind of a scientific medicine you could give such a person to change that disposition in them, to take that hatred and malice and strife, out?
There is no one can explain it. But it’s a paradox, because it’s a miracle of God. When a man is changed from the person that he is, to a new creature in Christ Jesus, he becomes a new creation. He is no more what he used to be. He is absolutely a new creation in Christ. 63-0801 - A Paradox
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Conclusion.
Conclusion.
Honey, We need to talk. If you can’t communicate with your husband or wife, your marriage will suffer. You can’t continue like that. If you can’t communicate with our Lord, your spiritual walk will suffer. Quit treating symptoms, go to the root of the problem.
His primary method of communication is by the Word and Prayer. Gifts are good. Meetings are good, but he wants to communicate with us every day. Honey, lets have a talk.