Ewald Frank

1975-11-05 19:30, Krefeld, Germany 

aired on 2025-05-17

Subject: “Order and instructions in the church!”

God has done great things for all of us.

He has helped us in such a marvelous way that there is nothing left for us to do, but praise and glorify Him.

We have a number of prayer requests here, then we have questions and we also have greetings.

Firstly, I would like to give us all the joyful news that the Russian broadcasts can be heard very well in Russia. We have all been worried about the time and Sister Fleck, whom we all know, Siegfried's mother, has written to us about a visit from Russia who has reported how well the broadcasts can be heard there.

So we are very happy about this and grateful to God for the opportunities He has given us by grace.

We are especially grateful for our dear brother Schmidt.

Praise and thanks be to the Lord.

Brother Branham says: "It is better to give a bouquet of flowers during your lifetime than a whole wreath at a funeral." If we spread it out over time, then we can give a few bouquets over the years.

May God help us to love, appreciate, respect and recognize each other with an open heart in the work and service and task that the Lord gives to each individual.

Personally, I have no difficulty at all.

I could rejoice over all of them. If the Lord were to take all my brothers out in turn so that we would only have sisters left and commission them all, then I would be very happy about it, because I would know that this could bring about many things in the kingdom of God and spread many blessings.

And you know my saying: Whoever wants God to bless him, rejoice over those whom God has already blessed, and then the time will come for us to be blessed too.

And so we rejoice in everything that happens by grace.

There are such a number of prayer requests here. I think it was the last radio programs that particularly addressed this area.

And there is very much need among people, more need than we realize, as we sometimes see or hear about in our own families or among our acquaintances. And people have confidence that we are praying in this place and that God will answer our prayers.

Let us stand up and pray.

Heavenly Father, together we come before your holy face, O God.

You have already answered much and will continue to do so. And we not only raise our voices, but call out to you from the depths of our hearts.

You know all the people who call neither an elder nor a brother nor anyone else, who live scattered, where no one understands them. They have no one to turn to. They look to you for help. O God in heaven, may you be close to them now. They also feel that we are praying for them. Turn their fate around, O God.

Set them free, save, heal and reveal the power of your glorious name.

We thank you, O God. You will do it. In Jesus' name. 

Amen.

We have some brief questions here today. And then we will go into the Word a little more.

Then we received greetings from Hungary, from the brothers and sisters who were especially blessed while we were there. And these brothers and sisters write about what they are experiencing there and ask us to pray for them and wish us all God's blessing.

I believe it was the sister who spoke in tongues and interpreted in a way that is rarely heard, under the working of the Holy Spirit. It was so powerful how she was seized by the Spirit of God that I thought to myself that even the chairs standing there lifelessly must be gripped by what was going on here. It was very long and also unusual for our way of doing things.

As far as I remember, it was always one sentence in tongues and then the interpretation in Hungarian and then again in tongues and again in Hungarian and that went on for quite maybe a few minutes, I don't know. The prophecy itself is exactly one DIN A4 sheet of paper written on a typewriter.

What really impresses me here is that in this speaking of tongues she has already predicted the development and course of the work there in Hungary. And then something concerned me here and I didn't understand it, it was translated.

It says here, "I will set my work in motion in your hearts. You will see my glory. But you must walk in this way as my spirit leads you and to you, my child Frank, I say…"

That was very strange.

It says here, "I will continue to confirm you in your ministry and the gates of hell will not prevail and the work of the enemy around you I will destroy with an outstretched arm. I will surround you with a pillar of fire and proclaim my word, for I have put my word in your mouth. Never be afraid of people, for my power over you is mighty."

Sometimes quite simple, but it's a word I got from the prophet Isaiah at some point in a dark hour and the wording is almost the same.

We did not understand anything of what was said, but this much we knew that the Spirit of God had been active in a very powerful way and that this sister was and is also particularly gifted and has also seen some things and in the victory with other brothers and sisters who perhaps do not see and do not recognize leaders or brothers who play a leading role.

But God gives grace to the remnant of his people.

It is probably in this context that the question is related to the things that have happened in this place in the past weeks, if I understand it correctly.

The sum of the whole question or the two questions here that are almost a DIN A4 page long could be summarized in the one sentence.

For some the question arises as to whether no one is allowed to do anything in the kingdom of God until it is revealed accordingly.

Is that so?

No, it is not.

If that were the case, then everyone could sit down and almost nothing would happen in the kingdom of God.

And that is not right.

I am thinking of what brother Branham said. He was waiting for God to give him a new directive and he said, "Lord, I am returning to do the evangelistic ministry until you give me a directive, that's what I am going to do."

I know that the proclamation was accordingly and it had a very specific meaning. But that doesn't mean that all people should now be stopped.

That is not right.

If something happens that is not according to God's will, then he will let us know.

It doesn't always have to be the case.

I say it again: When we have said or proclaimed that the Lord will now give direct instructions and orders in the last days, then no one here has said that everyone should lay their hands in their laps in the meantime.

Or has that been said?

I haven't said it. I don't know if anyone has heard something like that. I didn't say it. I didn't even think it.

"On the contrary," says brother Russ, and that is my sincere conviction.

If I were to tell you where it's being translated, everywhere, into how many languages and dialects, it's incredible. And it has to happen.

I was very happy that brother Leitermann took the time to translate and publish. And I would like to tell him to use every minute he has, day and night, to pass on to the people of his language the precious good that we have received in this place through the revelation of the word. Whether that happens in print or on tape, it doesn't matter at all, depending on the opportunity and however it arises.

But there is a word in the prophet, say it quickly, probably Amos, in the third chapter, in the context where it says 

"The Lord has spoken, who can but prophesy?" [Am 3:8]

If the Lord has spoken, then it is our task to pass these things on. If everyone were waiting for a direct commission from God, what would happen in the meantime?

No.

Neither the proclamation that is given here nor the Lord's speaking through individual brothers who are set apart for service should be understood in this way.

And I would like to ask you the questions:

Have not the two brothers who have been mentioned here by name already stood here in the front year in, year out?

Have they not been involved in the ministry in the church of the Lord?

Did they not read God's Word beforehand?

Have they not shared in what we all have in common?

Of course they have.

And so it can happen that even a brother who is active in the kingdom of God without a special commission but God sees the faithfulness and will reward it.

How many mothers do you think carry the precious word and tell other people and bear witness to it?

Do they have a special commission?

Can you tell me if the woman at the well had a special commission when she went into the city of Samaria and said to all the people: "Listen, now you must come for I have met him of whom Moses and the prophets prophesied. Is this not the Messiah? Come and see for yourselves. He has told me everything and if you come he can tell you too." [Jn 4:29]

And lo and behold she testified.

No one said she had done wrong.

And when we read the holy scriptures we can see that all those who have been pardoned by God, who have been blessed by the Lord have borne witness, whether they were women or men, whether they were old or young, they have told of what the Lord Jesus has done for them.

And I could even show you where the Lord Jesus commissioned sisters. Have you read that in the Bible? Who knows it? How many of you know that the Lord Jesus commissioned sisters? May I have a look?

Yes, of course.

He said to Mary "Go and tell my disciples that I have risen." [Jn 20:17] [Mt 28:7]

He did not instruct her to go behind the pulpit, but to bear witness to what she had seen and what she had heard.

And everyone can do that.

And to brothers who sacrifice themselves, their time and their money and everything possible in the Kingdom of God, we want to assure them of nothing other than the support of our prayers so that they know that we are with them and behind them.

Of course, it will happen that at the beginning of a work a mistake is made here and there.

Has that not happened to you yet? Do you then have to throw everything overboard? Of course not. You learn from your mistakes and then move on.

Brother Leitermann, unless the Lord God shows and reveals something else and speaks here, we wish you God's blessing with all our hearts in the task that has been placed on your heart to translate for your people and to share with them what has become precious and valuable to us all.

In the same way we now think of our Czech brothers and sisters, our Polish brothers and sisters, our Russian brothers and sisters, all of them. And we don't need to tell you first, but it will be translated here, whether into Russian, whether into Polish, and it will all be written in a short time and it will be published and given to the people.

So some things are happening and sisters are involved in the translation work here and we are very grateful for that.

Or can you do it as brothers? Give yourselves the space. All you have to do is come forward. Then you can all do it. You can translate into Russian and Polish.

And if you can't do it, then thank the Lord that we have sisters who can.

God has ordered all things. He knows what it is good for and why it is happening.

We are deeply grateful to the Lord for everything.

And in this context I want to say, if you are completely honest tonight, no one else may know it. This remains so beautiful between us and among us all.

How many of you felt something strange when in the prophecy brother and sister Schmidt was mentioned?

Let me see your hands.

Nobody? 

How is that? How is that? Did it go that easily with all of us? Were you really sincere and honest? Please tell me afterwards, if the shoe pinched somewhere.

You see, the Spirit of God makes no mistakes. He knows how things should be done.

But if you notice, when I talk about it now, I only mention brother Schmidt. Have you noticed that too?

Yes, there are some things that might stand out, if you think about it.

And I know why the Lord did one thing and I know why I do another. God is leading things, even if we don't always talk about it here.

I tell you, the Lord has taken responsibility for us and He watches over us, over what is said and what is done in a way that should make us all feel good.

The Lord God is wonderful, He is glorious, He makes all things well among His people for the glory of His name.

I had another scripture from the book of Acts in which it says and from which it emerges that brothers were even elected by the church.

So there are various possibilities in the church of the living God.

One thing is important, that the Lord comes into His own in everything and that His will is done and that everyone finds their place.

I read in Acts 15 and it says here, you can read the context later, but it says here from verse 25:

(25) It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul.

If we read this verse alone…

Here, of course, it must all be seen in context.

They were men of God who were already active in the church and so on. Later they are both even called prophets, somehow later in this context.

But it says here: that "we made the decision to send two men with Barnabas and Paul."

It was not that the Holy Spirit had also set these two apart, but that the church or whoever the brothers were there decided that these two brothers should go with them and accompany the first two.

When we read later, a dispute even broke out among the brothers who had been personally appointed by the Lord. And I was really pleased that it says "a violent quarrel".

I thought to myself this is how I imagined Paul. When he preaches, he preaches powerfully and when he argues, he argues fiercely. Right?

It is written here. I am not imagining things. It's written in chapter 15 in verse 37:

37) And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark.

38) But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work.

39) And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other.

Isn't it nice that this is also written in the Bible?

Of course, it is beautiful.

And do you think that detracts from the ministry of an apostle?

Not at all.

It just shows that he was a guy, a real man, who stood up for his convictions and defended them.

Barnabas couldn't understand that it was important to Paul that a brother wouldn't travel with them when it suited him and not travel with them when it didn't suit him. He said that the man was unskilled, "We can't use him. He didn't want to go with us then. And now, when it suits him, he wants to travel with us. No, that's out of the question. If you want, take him. I can't use him." 

But first, there was a heated argument between the two of them. Paul was a man who could not tolerate anything in half measures. He would rather get involved in a heated argument than make a lazy compromise. That was not his style. And that's where we fit together very well.

We can't compete with Paul.

But the whole thing is pleasing to God. There is no point in just going along with it when it suits you. If the man wasn't able to go where it didn't suit him, and then suddenly he said, "Hello, I'm back. Now I would like to travel with you." Perhaps he didn't achieve much on his own, then came back and thought, "Now I'm traveling with the apostles again, and I will be in their wake and will also have my say and skim everything that happens on the journey." And Paul saw through it. Barnabas did not.

But both had been called by the Spirit of God to do the Lord's work, right or wrong.

So the fact is, brothers and sisters, we are still here on earth and it can happen that we can disagree about.

To this day, I have not heard of a dispute breaking out in our midst over a difference of opinion or has a dispute broken out?

I have not yet heard or witnessed it.

It is perhaps possible to disagree about this and that, but we do not have apostles here, so in the end we would lack the final judgment.

We believe that our God reaches His goal with everything.

And if you ask me, this was also arranged by God so that the two men of God, again in pairs, one with this one and the other with that one, could then visit the believers here and there to edify them in the Lord.

They did not see this as evil, but like Paul and Peter before them, they reached out to one another and said, "You for the Jews and I for the Gentiles."

And so the gospel was preached everywhere and the blessing of God was with those who kept His word.

You know, a person who is free in his heart must bring out what is troubling him. And if that happens through a heated conversation, then we have already been helped.

These men were helped, their situation was resolved. Each took one, Barnabas took one, Paul took the second and each went his way and all were blessed by God.

This is how we must see things and not stop in the middle.

I only wanted to read this to show that it is possible for the church to say that such and such a brother would be competent for this or that work, but that the Spirit of God can also speak and say, "Set them apart for me for the work to which I have called them."

So, there are these possibilities.

What I just had to say was, and especially last weekend, this doesn't just affect us here, this actually affects the work of God all over the earth.

And we can't go into details, but there are people everywhere who think they know what they are doing and they are convinced that they are doing the right thing.

But the hour will come when everyone who has a task in the Kingdom of God in some way…, and in this case, if there is a divine commission, then the divine instructions will come at the right time, so that what is to happen will happen through and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

This is not to say that each individual will receive a revelation or instruction, but that the Lord will indicate the course to be followed and what is to be done.

After all, we have read that the Lord Jesus told everyone and everywhere what should be done at the beginning and it must be the same at the end.

In the meantime, we will all do what we can for the Lord.

If we may now look back a little and we are among ourselves today. We see and have heard again and again how Brother Branham emphasized the three stages in particular.

And he spoke of the time of the Reformation, he spoke of the Wesley Age of Sanctification and then now of the Pentecostal Age since the turn of the century. And we have seen that each time people have stood still and with their standing still they have become spiritually hardened and have no longer received a share in the further work of God.

If we look at Brother Branham's ministry there were also three stages if we may put it this way.

Firstly the evangelistic ministry and everything that had breath was involved and they were all happy about the work of God. The newspapers wrote pages about what God had done through a simple man.

And just now the thought comes to me about the translations: All of you who are working on the translations, make sure that you do not use an academic vocabulary into the translations, but that it is grammatically correct, but not the language of the high people, but the language of those who are in the middle class.

Please pay attention to this.

And do you know why I say that?

If you want to take the trouble to read the prophecies, have you noticed that they are always in the simplest German we can speak?

And you know that is the way of God. We must not deviate from it. It must be correct, but it must not be the high and lofty, but what every person who reads it can understand.

So please, no academic aim in the translation, but only the language that is clearly understood in the land by every man and woman and all people.

You know what I mean?

For in it is the Spirit of God. And how many times have we heard it? The Lord reveals Himself in simplicity. In simplicity.

It has to be correct. It has to be grammatically correct. And if someone tells us that our punctuation is not quite right, it doesn't matter. I, for example, haven't mastered it at all.

In any case, what we bring should be Spirit and Life. And we don't bring things to ask for them to be judged. Just for them to be read plain and simple and for everyone to be blessed. But we are also happy to accept correction.

Now back to the Word.

What was the thought that we left? It was the thought about Brother Branham's ministry and the developments in his ministry.

When he was working as an evangelist, there were many.

Brother Branham says on one tape, "I am in contact with a good 10 million people all over the world." It wasn't just hundreds of thousands. It was millions who heard of this mighty ministry, who were touched, moved, blessed and carried away.

Then came the time of teaching. And when this came, many stopped and said to themselves, "So far we could follow him, but not anymore." And they stopped. And where they stopped then, they are still standing today, going round in circles.

There were fewer who opened their hearts to the teaching and the biblical classification of the doctrines and everything that goes with it and to being baptized, you know what I mean by that, than those who were initially present in the evangelistic ministry.

But then, in this second stage or development, if you may call it that way, there was again, at first a time, and then there was another step forward. And that was the prophetic revelation of all the things that had been hidden and were then made known.

There are many churches today, not only in America, but in other countries, they baptize in the name of Jesus Christ. They believe in the Godhead as is right. They have heard, seen and accepted some things, but they do not believe the rest of the Word of God that goes with it.

They simply stood still again and said, "The others are wrong, we are right." And again erected a fence around and then stopped.

Then there were those who went forward with this God-given ministry until the end of the year 1965.

But now here comes the thing and you can take it however you want. I am not a prophet, you know that anyway.

But like then, justification, sanctification, baptism in the Spirit. And then Brother Branham says, "Now we are past this age and we are coming into the Bride stage."

We have seen it even in Brother Branham's ministry. Those who went on to the second stage of development, it didn't do any good if they didn't go on to the third.

And when I tell you tonight, and I hope God doesn't have to judge me because I mean it in a bad way, because I mean it well. There are people who have followed this ministry up to this third stage of development through the evangelistic, the teaching and the prophetic part of the ministry that God has given.

And shall I tell you that they have stopped and are going round in circles as if God has gone to sleep since that time and had nothing more to do to speak and to work. Now comes another thing that we all don't like at all, least of all me. Those who have always stood still have taken aim at the others who have gone on. They have shot at them. You all know what I mean. The Catholic Church condemned the Lutherans and who knows what happened to them. Many died a martyr's death. They took out their anger on those who didn't stay with them but who had left. The Lutherans did the same to those who left their midst. They failed to recognize those who had moved on. And so it went on and on.

When I tell you that it could happen to us that people who have been under the blessed ministry of the God-sent prophet in our generation and time, who have been blessed by the evangelistic preaching and what God did in that, by the teaching ministry and what God did through that, by the prophetic ministry and what God did through that, that now there is a danger for them to categorically reject what God continues to do.

And I mentioned that here on Sunday.

There are people who simply say that the work of God has come to an end. And anyone who still claims to be doing something or that God is doing something is a Balaam and all sorts of things. The titles I have been given over the past few years, you don't get the idea. Balaam is just a quiet expression that I was given and everything else lies in between, between devil and something else.

Why?

And I am not angry with anyone. I could hug them all and say to them, "Brothers, come on, here is some eyesalve, put some on your eyes so that you can see."

What good is it, and I have explained it in the circular letter of this time, what good is it to sit on the chair of a prophet if the God of the prophet is not there to reveal the word that was given to the prophet in our hearts.

I am thankful to God for the fact, and I feel this as I stand here in the front, that the same thoughts that are brought out of the word and are revealed by the Spirit are opened up and transfigured by the Holy Spirit to everyone who hears it.

Is it true or not?

After a sermon all know the same thing, they have the same enlightenment, they are all taught by God, they have all been brought forward, not one lags behind, they all hear and understand and receive the same revelation of the word. And that is the best sign that the Holy Spirit leads us into all truth.

You all know that we ourselves did not know the way, and we still do not know it.

But who is the man that God should have mercy on him?

Who are we that God has had mercy on us and has led us on step by step?

There is the possibility of repeating quotes, and there is the possibility of proclaiming the whole counsel of God and not making fanatics but children of God who return to the first love and do the first works, people in whom God comes into his own.

You know, we have to be people who can also speak to unbelievers without getting out of control and somehow think we have to give it to them now.

Sometimes you really have to be able to put yourself in the shoes of unbelievers before you can serve them.

It is of course very difficult. But let us always remember that it is only grace that we have found before the Lord at this time and that he has helped us this far and will continue to help us.

We see there the three stages, we see them again and now we have been told that we will see the end of all things, the preparation, the perfection of the bride and the capstone and everything that goes with it.

We will see that. I believe that with all my heart.

I tell you, you could almost hear the footsteps of the Lord walking up and down here. That's how marvelous his presence is and how he reveals himself in simplicity.

If only we as human beings could grasp that the Lord is present, not just in words, but in deed and in truth. And we don't make a big fuss about it. We rejoice with joy unspeakable. And we see again and again how the anointing of the Holy Spirit descends and how the Lord speaks to us and shows us the way forward, encouraging us.

He lets us know what we need by his grace.

We are grateful for everything that has happened in the past.

But we are grateful to God that we have not stopped at the first, second or third, but that we are allowed to go further.

"As he leads, so will I follow," as the song goes. That is the wish and prayer of us all. And he will lead us until we come from believing unto seeing.

We do not stop at those who allow themselves to be stopped.

"If I am stopped, I will run away. If I am weary, the word calls," as the song goes, "penetrating to the gem."

It is not the conversation about things, but revelation through the Spirit that we must have in this time.

There are many people with whom you can discuss and talk about quotations.

There are few people to talk about the guidance and leading of the Holy Spirit, which is so necessary now, more necessary than ever.

For as long as the prophet of God was here, we all had a certain security and safety, relying on things going well.

Today we no longer have any support.

Today Jesus Christ, our Lord, is our everything, and we constantly ask Him for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and we see that He does everything well, to the praise and honor of His name.

We must not tell anyone what the Spirit of God has done here. Believe me, so that others do not sin against it, I am often forced not to say a word about it, because you are afraid. They have said to my face, "Brother Frank, when a prophecy comes, even if it comes true, I don't believe it, because no one but the prophet has the Thus saith the Lord."

And then you sit there and don't know what's going to happen to you.

Did only one prophet in the Bible have the „Thus saith the Lord“?

Even the four daughters of Philip prophesied to the great prophet and apostle, to Paul, when he was on his way to Jerusalem. [Acts 21:9]

Who wants to tell God what to do?

May the Lord our God bless us all and help us all to have the right understanding at all times and to rejoice that His Spirit is in our midst and that the anointing rests heavenly on us and that He comes to have His right fulfilled in and through us all.

Blessed be His name.

Amen.

Let us stand and pray.

Heavenly Father, we thank You with all our hearts this evening for Your precious and holy Word.

You have not ceased to work.

Faithful Master, it pains us when we look back and see how many evangelists have stood still in the evangelistic ministry and have not gone on through all these years.

We see how many teachers have stood still when the teaching came, O God, and have gone no further.

Then we see those, O Lord, who have stopped at the prophetic revelation of Your Word according to the letter, without now allowing themselves to be led further by the Spirit of God.

Beloved Master, we realize the longer the more that it will only be a small flock that will be allowed to enter into Your glory.

Let us be there, O Lord.

All of us who hear Your Word, who believe, who want to be led by Your Spirit, O Lord, take us anew and bless us.

Lord, we ask You to never let us stand still, otherwise we will become a pillar of salt.

But we want to stand under the pillar of fire, not a pillar of salt.

We want the pillar of fire.

And the pillar of fire rose again and again and it went forward.

Hallelujah to Your marvelous and holy Name.

And You also descend to us with Your glory, with Your light, with Your thoughts, with Your Word, with Your blessings.

We praise You and we worship You.

Hallelujah to Your glorious Name.

Amen.