<TITLE>18. Par 140-147</TITLE>L-140 People lay on their faces. And some man come to me... I believe I seen one of the boys back here in the building today. A Methodist boy just come in and received the Holy Spirit from up in... And them boys come to me, said, "Now, Brother Branham, now that we have been saved and has received the Holy Ghost, shall we go to seeking gifts?"
I said, "Don't do it. Don't do it."
God gives His gifts sovereignly. Gifts and callings are without repentance. The first thing you know, you go to seeking something, "God, You just make me a preacher; You just do this to me," and what you going to be? A big stuffed shirt, that's all. You'll go to some man's theology and some organization, and there you'll pillar yourself down and canker. Let God do the calling. God will call you; God will sanctify you; God will give you what He has need to give you. Yes, sir.

L-142 You can't bargain for grace. No, sir. You can't be sold; it can't be bargained for; nor it can't be bought, can't be traded for. You can't say, "Well, now, Lord, I'll go join this great big Baptist church, or this big Methodist church, or this big Pentecostal church, or this big Nazarene church. I'll do this if You'll just do this for me." It can't be bargained. No, sir.
"All the Father has given Me will come to Me. No man can come except My Father calls him first."
You just become a church member of that big church; that's all; you won't be saved. Grace has to save you.

L-144 Our talents does not rest, and our talents cannot be our--our... Our talents that we have, we cannot earn grace by talents.
If God made me a preacher, that don't say His grace has been with me. No, no. It's His grace alone that saved me. Not because I preach the Gospel, I'm saved. Not because you speak with tongues, you're saved. Oh, no. Not because you... Because you preach, you're not even saved just because you preach. You're--you're not saved because you speak with tongues. You're not saved because you do any of these things. I Corinthians 13 proves so, "Though I speak with tongue of men and Angels, though I understand all the mysteries of God (a preacher), though I do all this, and have faith to move mountains, I am nothing until charity comes in, which is love." Love is grace. The grace of God that does all.

L-146 Some people, you have talents like some of these rock-and-roll kings. That just makes me sick at my, I don't know, my spiritual gastronomics. I'll tell you, when I hear these rock-and-roll stand up on Saturday night and sing rock-and-roll, and dance all night, and then the next morning come to face the audience and things like that with try to put on a long sanctimonious face, and stand up there before the people and sing some hymn, and think they're going to go to heaven. I could call many names, but I don't have to. This tape's going everywhere. But you all know. A boy here not long ago, in Hollywood, wouldn't kiss a girl because it was against his religion: against his religion? And make rock-and-roll pictures and things that's disgracefully, and things like--like that. Do you think that you could take your thirty pieces of silver and merit something in God's grace, Judas? Won't buy nothing but a place in hell for you.

L-147 God's grace cannot be bargained for, neither be--can be talented into. It's sovereign grace. "Nothing in my arms I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling." Naked, wounded, I just come as I am.
Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy Blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bids me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come!
That's all, it's grace that brought me. Grace did it. Grace is like... Another thing that I'd like to say; sometimes grace is...


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