<TITLE>08. Par 30-35</TITLE>L-30 Now, I was talking to... There may be some precious Baptist brethren setting here. And everyone knows that I come out of a Baptist church. Now, I was talking to my Baptist brother, and he said to me, "Brother Branham..." He was a Doctor of Divinity, a fine man, real Christian. He said, "But Brother Branham, where do you get that baptism of the Holy Spirit being anything different than faith in Christ Jesus?"
I said, "It is different, my precious brother."
He said, "Don't you think that when you receive Christ, you receive the Holy Spirit?"
I said, "Correctly." But I said, "You see, you're only professing that you have received Christ until He recognizes it."
He said, "Brother Branham, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness."
I said, "Yes, but God gave him a sign that He had received his faith when He give him the seal of circumcision, that He had recognized his faith." Amen.

L-31 Now, when we receive Christ as our Saviour, then if we're sincere in that, then God gives us a sign that He has received our faith in Christ, by giving us the seal of circumcision, which is the Holy Ghost. That's the seal of circumcision. "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby you're sealed to the day of your redemption," not to the next meeting, but to the day of your redemption. That's right, Ephesians 4:30. Now, that's how we receive the Holy Ghost.

L-32 And now, if you say, "Oh, I'm a believer," and God's never give you the Holy Ghost yet, He's never recognized it. You're just confessing that you believe. But when all the doubt...
I'm not saying you're not a believer now; in a certain portion you are a believer. But when God has found favor, you found favor with Him, rather, and He recognizes you to be His child, and He knows your heart, and He sees your sincerity, He knows all things are cut away from you; then He seals you into the Kingdom of God by the Holy Ghost, proving to the world that He has accepted what faith you profess to have in Him. Get it now?

L-33 Now, immediately after that comes the temptation. Every son that cometh to God must first be chastened, tried. Jesus, as soon as He received the Fulness of the Spirit on the river when John baptized Him, immediately the devil took Him into the wilderness to go through a time of temptation. But when He took the Word of God and overcome the devil, "It is written. It is written," He came back out then ready for His ministry.

L-34 And that's the way God did Abraham. Now, God, after calling him out of his land, and he separated himself from his land, his people, and then God give him the seal of circumcision, then give him the son, then he went down to that final test, right down to the time he had to offer his own son Isaac for a sacrifice. And He said, "Seeing that you spared not your only son, I know that you love Me." He give him that test.
Then immediately after that, the battle was won then, He said, "And your seed shall possess the gate of his enemy." Amen. I like that. Shall possess the gate of his enemy... We'll get to that final point just in a few moments, the Lord willing. Now, He's found the--this Abraham faithful. After He found Abraham faithful, then He gave him the promise of possessing the gate of the enemy.
Now, there are times where many of us Pentecostals has made a mistake in saying, "Well, the Holy Ghost's poured out on me. Glory to God that's all I have to have." No, sir, you're just then getting started. You... It's not then; it's your test and your trial.

L-35 Just like we find in--in--over in the--the--the Old Testament; testing, trying, and then placing a son: adoption, placing the son after he's already a son, been borned into the family, he's a son. Then he would be tested and tried and raised up by tutors and see how he comes out. And then he's placed positionally equal, almost to his father.


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