Election
Spiritual Building-Stone No. 124

St.John 15:16, "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and or-dained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you."

Oh, I hope that God gets this to your hearts. It's nothing you can educate yourself to; it's nothing you can read yourself into. It's what God, by election, does for you. "Not him that runneth or him that... It's just God that showeth mercy" (Romans 9:14-16). That's what the Prophet of God tells us.

It's by faith, by grace, by the power of God, by something that met God's re-quirement and He called you and changed your life before you even could do any-thing about it.

Why, there's nothing in you. You're a sinner to begin with (Rom. 3:9-12). And there's nothing there to change. So God by His grace, foreknow you, and called you to His ministry and to His wedding supper (Eph. 2:8-9). You see, it's nothing you can do about it all. God's grace altogether, God did it by grace. "He that heareth My Words, and believeth on Him that sent Me (not make believeth), but believeth on Him that sent Me, hath (present tense) Everlasting Life and shall not come into the judg-ment, but's passed from death unto Life" (John 5:24). Amen.

How we going to get around that? There's so much make-believe going on sensa-tions and different things like that. But when in your heart you believe it, when some-thing has happened to you, it's God did it, and God's the only One that can do it. So God by grace and election put that in your heart to believe it. It wasn't there to begin with, and you had no way of putting it there. God placed it there and you answered the call.

Listen to this. Election looks back to foreknowledge, and predestination looks to destiny. Don't forget that, that election looks back here, here it is, "I was a cocklebur. I was borned in sin, shaped in iniquity, come to the world speaking lies, born amongst sinners (Isaiah 64:5). Father and mother and all my whole family, sin-ners. I was a cocklebur. But all of a sudden I become a wheat grain. How did it hap-pen?" That, what is that? Election. God, before the foundation of the world, elected that the cocklebur was to become a grain of wheat. "Now, I know I'm a grain of wheat, because I'm saved. How do I do it?" Look back and see that He predestinated it, long time ago. By foreknowledge He seen that I would love Him, so He made a propitiation through His Own Son, that through Him I might become from a cock-lebur to a grain of wheat. "Now, where am I at now?" I'm saved; I'm walking in the grace of God. "What does predestination look?" To destiny. "Where will He take me to, and where am I going?" That's got you.
Now, I want you to notice, that is the beginning of Christianity, of the church. And I want you to notice: It wasn't because Abraham was a good man; it was be-cause God elected and chose Abraham (Gen. 12:1-8). It wasn't Abraham choos-ing God; it was God choosing Abraham. Can you see it? And now watch. Now, as it was then, so is it today. It isn't you choosing God; it's God choosing you.

Now, this may be very strong, and I want you to notice. Immediately after choice, election, it's separation from everything else, as soon as He calls. He elects, calls; then when He calls, He separates you from everything that hangs on to you. That proves that it isn't a denomination. It isn't two or three people to-gether. He expects every individual. Amen. It's an individual affair with every person.

It isn't because my mother there is saved, that I'm saved. It's because God chose me in Christ (II Tim. 1:9-10). I want you to see it. Not you choosing yourself, not your choice, how much you prayed, when you turned a new page. You had noth-ing to do with it. God... Oh, my, when you get to see what's Truth... You say, "You mean that I didn't turn to the Lord?" No, sir. You had no way at all of turning to the Lord. Your whole nature, your whole makeup was against God (Rom. 3:21-24). God called you (Acts 2:39). It's always been that way.

In the garden of Eden when man sinned, first, look at the nature of a sinner: hiding. But it should have been Adam calling God; it was Adam hiding, and God call-ing Adam (Gen. 3:8-10). You see it? That's the nature of a sinner, hide, run away, get behind something. But God calling... Oh, my. Grace, amazing grace, God calling.

And now notice, you say, "Oh, that was Adam and Eve."
It's always, through the Bible, the same. Jesus said, "No man can come to Me except My Father draws him" (John 6:44). Is that right? Now, that's the Word. And that's the way we want it, the Word, then you know where you're standing.

How many in here are Christians tonight, know that you're Christians, there's something in you says you are a Christian? All right. You see? Why, you should be the happiest people in the world. You should just believe that. My, that's easy, take God's Word for it.

Now, before you can become a Christian, God called you, not you calling God; God called you. Now, He called Abraham, and he's the father of us all, the faith. Notice now, He said, "Abraham!"

Now, it's election. I want to get on that election, strong, 'cause it's the truth. Now, you didn't become a Christian just coincidence, because you become a Christian before you was in this world (Eph. 1:3-6). Before you were born God ordained you to be a Christian, from the garden of Eden, from before the founda-tion of the world. "Oh," you say, "is that right, brother?" That's the Truth. God, be-fore there was ever you knowed anything...

Now, but the word, when I use it, "predestinated," don't think that I'm... That's the only word I know how to make... It's God's foreknowledge, that He know. He can't say... He died that all might be saved (I Tim. 2:4); He did; but by His fore-knowledge He knowed who would and who would not. See? That's what He knows; I don't know it; you don't know it, so we work out our own salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12-13).

Now, but God has His Word set, and has in all ages. His foreknowledge has caused Him to set in the church, and in the people, certain things that He did from the beginning. And then the Gospel that's being preached to that age is only revealed to that certain people; the rest of them don't see it. See? "Thank Thee, Father, Thou has hid these things from the eyes of the wise and prudent, and reveal it to babes such as would learn" (Matthew 11:25-27). That's predestination. Not that He did it by, you say, "I'll choose you, and don't choose you." By His fore-knowledge He knowed what you would do.

Now, watch what taken place here. "And all He foreknew, He called. All He called, He has justified. All that He has justified, He hath glorified" (Rom. 8:28-30). Your journey's finished; you're living out your part. Grace is what God did for you. Works is what you do in appreciation.

Look here, you are a outside person. You have five senses that contacts that outside body. God gave you five senses; not to contact Him, your earthly home: see, taste, feel, smell, and hear.

Then you have a spirit on the inside of that, and it has five outlets: con-science, and love (affections), and so forth (imagination, memory, reason). Five outlets that you contact the spirit world with that, but with your spirit.
Your physical contacts the physical. Your spiritual contacts the spiritual. But inside of that you've got a soul, and that soul is that gene that come from God.

And when a man has been borned again by the Word of God (I Peter 1:23), predestinated to Eternal Life, called the Elected, it'll be Word of God on top of Word, Word on Word. Not a denominational creed and then a Word, and a creed; and it won't work. You can't have that leaven in It. Only one Eternal Life, Jesus Christ the Word.

There is a Bride, and She is elected, and he will be called according to the election. Notice, this all types the Church perfectly, the elected believers; others do not believe. You can just tell it. You tell a man a truth and let it be proven by the Word and then vindicated, "I don't believe it."

You can just... Don't fool with it no more. Jesus said not to. Said, "It's just like casting pearls before swine." (Mat. 7:6). See? Said, "Just leave them alone. They'll turn and tramp you under their feet." They'll make fun of you. Just walk away and leave them if the blind leads the blind (Mat. 15:13-14).
I went to some of them. "The first day you're there, they'll approach you: 'Join our church.' If you don't do it, you're not welcome." See, see? It's a forced thing; it's forced upon you, and that's Babylon. But in Christ, you come in by election, not by force; your heart pulls you in.

God calls by election. Aren't you happy that you're one of them? Aren't you people here tonight, knowing that something in your heart tugging, "I want that Holy Spirit. I want you, Lord, in my heart"? That's because God put your name on the Lamb's Book of Life before the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8). He said that. "No man can come to Me," said Jesus, "except My Father has drawed him first. And all that comes to Me, I'll give them Eternal Life." What is Eternal Life? The Holy Spirit, Eternal Life. Take that word and run it in the Greek, and it said "Zoe"; Zoe is the Holy Spirit. "All that the Father's given Me will come to Me. And all that comes to Me, I'll give him the Holy Ghost, and I'll raise him up at the last day (John 6:37-40). I will do it," He said. Not no "if" and "ands" about it, "I will." All that comes... And I'll give Eternal Life. He will have to raise, 'cause he's got Eternal Life. He has to come. Can't die no more than God can die...

And just as sure as you're hungering tonight for the Holy Spirit, it's something in you pulling you, that a purpose of God in your life has got to be fulfilled.

Now, think how able He is to prepare us a body to live like His own glorious body. If we want to live... There's something in us calls to live. And there's some-thing in us that calls to do right. Then God will call somebody on the platform or a pulpit that'll preach the absolute Truth. Why? See? It shows you, then if you're a real child of God, you begin to cry out, "God take it away from me; circumcise me from this; take these things away from me." Why? It's needed for your heavenly home that you're going to, where He's gone to prepare (John 14:1-3). You've got to be a real Word Bride of Christ.
Many of the questions here on: "Well, will the Bride... Will this? The church and..." See? You can't divide what they are. The Bride is the elected of God. The church goes through... That's the ones It says, "Whosoever will, let him come" (Rev. 22:17). But the Bride is the elected of God.

Reference:
"Hearing, Recognizing, Acting On The Word" (60-0221), par. 57 / "Abraham And His Seed After Him" (61-0423), par. 65-67 / "Ephesians Parallels Joshua, Adoption Pt. I", par. 106 / "Israel In Egypt", par. 42-49 / "Trying To Do God A Service" (65-1127B), par. 132-133 / "Questions & Answers" (64-0823E), COD-Book pg. 1005, par. 53 / "God's Only Provided Place Of Worship", par. 205 / "Proving His Word", par. 213 / "Leadership" (65-1207), par. 163-167 / "The Seventh Seal", Seal's Book pg. 546 / "What The Holy Ghost Was Given For", par. 27,56 / "Things That Are To Be", par.78

Spiritual Building-Stone No. 124 from the Revealed Word of this hour, compiled by: Gerd Rodewald, Friedenstr. 69, D-75328 Schömberg, Germany
0Phone: (+49) 72 35 76 13, Fax: (+49) 72 35 33 06

There's coming one with a Message that's straight on the Bible, and quick work will circle the earth. The seeds will go in newspapers, reading material, until every predestinated Seed of God has heard It.
[Bro. Branham in "Conduct-Order-Doctrine", pg. 724]