Benefits of the Son of God to us no. 12
The Ability to die to self
Rev.
Brian Kocourek
10) The tenth benefit or promise of God to us concerning the Son of God is
that you are given power to lay down your life even as the Son of God surrendered
his own life to the will of the Father for the Glory of God.
Now, what do we mean by
this? I mean that God gives you a special gift to be able to get yourself out
of the way. That’s what Jesus was able to do, and that is what we learned from
the Son of God that we must also be willing to
do.
Let’s examine the Son of
God himself first. In St. John 5:19 he
said, John 5:19 Then answered
Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily,
I say unto you, The Son can do nothing
of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth,
these also doeth the Son likewise.
Again in
In this verse we find out why the Son of
God could of Himself do nothing, because he tells us that he does not seek his
own will but the will of the Father that sent him. And so if we could just let our own will go
and come to know the will of the father, and learn to do his will, we could
then easily get ourselves out of the way, so that God could use us as he used
his own son Jesus.
Now, the definition of
the word will means the mental faculty by which
one deliberately chooses or decides upon a course of action; volition. Your will is what you desire,
it is your purpose, or determination, and it is your deliberate intention or what
you wish:
So you can see if you can
die to self, then you are able to die to your own ambition, your own purpose,
your own wishes, etc. And when you can
do that you have slipped into neutral and your will is not your own any longer,
but you have become completely dependent upon God to move and guide you in
whatever turn your life will take.
Look, in this day we have
seen God work through a man named William Branham like no one else in history
outside of Jesus Christ. There were more healings done in one of his services
than in the entire lifetime of most men who claimed a healing ministry.
In fact one historian of
the healing revival said that you could place William Branham on one side and
all the others combined together on the other side, and William Branham’s
ministry would outweigh them all. And so we should ask ourselves why is that?
And the answer is simple, because William Branham had a gift from God to get
himself out of the way, just as the Son of God, Jesus Christ had the gift to
get himself out of the way.
In Fact William Branham taught
us that the real gift he had from God was to be able to get William Branham out
of the way, so that God could use him for whatever purpose God chose to use
him. He said, a gift is to get yourself
out of the way so God can come in and use your body.
From the message God is his own
interpreter 64-0205 P: 52 What is a gift? Not something you take and chop and turn. No, no.
It's knowing how to get yourself out of the way that God can use you. A gift is
only getting yourself out, then God uses it.
A gift is knowing how to get yourself out
of the way, and let God do what He wants to do. See? Brother Branham said Paradox a 65-0117
P:65 A gift of faith is not something you take and do something
with. A gift of faith is you just get yourself out of the way. The gift is getting your own self out of
the way.
It's knowing how to relax yourself that
God can use you in the way that He wants to. Just get yourself out of the way.
I wish I could explain it but there isn’t any way to make you understand it
unless you have been there. The best explanation I can give you is that It’s just like shifting your car and
getting it into a gear. See? And just like the gift God gives you through His Holy
Spirit, that gift is just a gift to know how to shift yourself out, and let Him
do the talking. See? Shift yourself out, then it isn’t you talking; it’s Him.
That’s how the gifts of God work in the body of Christ. You first get yourself
out of the way so the Holy Spirit can operate within your body to use your body
to do His will.
From the
sermon, Lean
not unto thy own understanding 65-0120 P:76 Brother Branham
said, A
gift of God is some way you have of getting yourself out of the way. And gifts
and callings are the predestination of God. "Gifts and callings are even
without repentance." You're born with it, a little gear that you pull
yourself over in, but you cannot step on the pedal. See? God has to operate it.
You have to get yourself out of the way.
Br. Branham said his
worst enemy was himself. And he said God gave him a gift to get himself out of
the way so God could take over and use His body for the Glory of God, and to help God’s children. Now, I think we can all agree that Jesus
Christ had the greatest gift of all from God to get Himself out of the way.
John 12:49 For I have not
spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what
I should say, and what I should speak.
John 12:50 And I know that
his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the
Father said unto me, so I speak.
John 14:31 But that the
world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment,
even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.
John 15:10 If ye keep my
commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's
commandments, and abide in his love.
A few weeks ago I showed
you the Scripture that spoke of the Son of god as being God’s great servant and
that he was blind and deaf to all but God’s Word.
We find in Isaiah 42:19 that the Scriptures
teach us that the Son of God was blind to everything except God’s Word. And he
was deaf to everything but God.
KJV Isaiah 42:19 Who is blind,
but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that
is perfect, and blind as the LORD'S servant?
Rothetham Translation Who is blind if not My
servant? Or deaf like my messenger that I send? Who is blind like an intimate friend is blind, or blind like the
servant of Yahweh?
JERUSALEM BIBLE Who so blind as My servant?
So deaf as the Messenger that I send?
In other words, it should read Who in all the world
is as blind as my Servant ? Who is designed to be my Messenger of Truth. Who is
so blind as My dedicated one, the
“servant of the Lord”?
So we see here that Jesus Christ was
absolutely blind concerning anything that was contrary to God’s Word, God’s
Will and God’s purpose.
Looking unto Jesus 64-0122 P:65 Many people have the wrong impression about a
gift. A gift is not something that God gives you to go out and say, "Here,
I'll go over here and pick out this, and I'll take that and I'll do this."
That's not gifts. So many people think that, but they're wrongly impressed. A gift of God is just to know how to get
yourself out of the way so God can use you; that's all a gift is. See? As
long as you're in yourself...Didn't Jesus say, Himself "The Son can
do..." Saint John 5:19,
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, the Son can do nothing in himself."
He passed by that pool where all them cripples was, and healed one man with
prostate trouble, or something (disease) retarded. He said, "The Son can
do nothing in Himself; but what He sees the Father doing, that doeth the Son
likewise. It's not me," He said, "that doeth the works; it's My
Father that dwelleth in Me; He doeth the works."
God's provided way 64-0206E P:53 What is a gift
anyhow? Not to take something and use something, say, "I got a gift of
healing. I go out and heal this one, heal that one." If I could, I'd
certainly do it. Now, it's... But a gift... You misinterpret a gift. A gift is
just get yourself out of the way, and let the Holy Spirit use you. See? That's
a gift. That’s what a minister is. He don't preach what he wants to preach. He
just gets his self out of the way. It's a gift. An inspiration comes, and he
speaks through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Any other gift is the same
way. Now, ministerial gifts, and so forth, has been. There's first of God-given
gifts is first, apostles, prophets, teachers, pastors, and evangelists. That's
the offices. That's their gifts.
Perseverant 64-0305 P:93 A gift is getting yourself out of the way, so God
can come in, see what He shows, what He does. A gift is not, "I got power
to do this; I got power." Your power of a gift is get yourself out of the
way. And the gift that God has give you, operates through that then (See?)
after you're out of the way. See?
Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:1 And you hath he quickened, (that means
to make alive, you) who were dead in trespasses and sins; And we know
that sin is unbelief. The bible tells us they sinned because they believed not.
Look, drinking and smoking and gambling, and chasing and illicit sex is not
sin, those are just attributes of sin. People do those things because they
don’t believe God’s Word. If they
believed God’s Word they would not do those things.
And again Paul
said in Colossians
When you become born
again by the Word of God you die out to the world and the cares of the world,
and you become a new creation in Christ Jesus. Old things are passed away and
all things have become new.
Let’s turn in our Bibles to see how the Apostle Paul describes
this process to us. ROMANS 6:1 ¶ What shall we say then? Shall we continue in
sin, that grace may abound? 2 God
forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? 3 Know ye
not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into
his death? 4 Therefore we are buried
with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the
dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of
life. 5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we
shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 6 Knowing this, that our old
man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that
henceforth we should not serve sin. 7 For he that is dead is freed from sin. 8
Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: 9
Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no
more dominion over him. 10 For in that
he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves
to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your
mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 13 Neither yield ye
your members [as] instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves
unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members [as]
instruments of righteousness unto God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over
you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. 15 What then? shall we sin,
because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. 16 Know ye not,
that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom
ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? 17 But
God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the
heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18 Being then made free from sin, ye became
the servants of righteousness. 19 I speak after the manner of men because of
the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to
uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members
servants to righteousness unto holiness. 20 For when ye were the servants of
sin, ye were free from righteousness. 21 What fruit had ye then in those things
whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things [is] death. 22 But now
being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto
holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23
For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
And when we are born
again we talk another language altogether. We don’t talk like the world,
because we don’t think like the world. Paul said in EPHESIANS
4:22 That
ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt
according to the deceitful lusts; 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
And if we are born again,
that means we have died out to self and the way we treat others is different
than the world will treat them. Paul said in COLOSSIANS
3:9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put
off the old man with his deeds; 10 And have put on the new man, which is
renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: notice
that the new man is renewed by knowledge of Him.
And the more we know of
him the more we bring our own selves and our will under the control of his will
for His glory. II CORINTHIANS 5:14 For the love of
Christ constraineth us; (that means the love of Christ is the
motivating factor that restrains you or inhibits you from doing what you want
to do) because we
thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead(in other
words, if it were not for Him, then I might as well be dead, and there is no
hope for me, but since he died for me, then I owe him my life and my being, and
my very mind and soul and heart. And because he first Loved me I am able to
love in return.)
15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live
unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. (and
then because of this we do not live after the flesh any longer, and in fact we
do not know any man after the flesh, for he died to save us from our flesh.) 16 ¶
Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have
known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him so no more. 17
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed
away; behold, all things are become new. 18 And all things are of God, who hath
reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of
reconciliation; (now, in the next verse he is going to explain how
that God gave Jesus the ministry of reconciliation, and how we also receive the
ministry of reconciliation. He says, )19 To wit, (that means to this end or for this
purpose, or accordingly) that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto
himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us
the word of reconciliation. So if He has committed unto us the word
of reconciliation, then that Word is to be in us as it was in Christ. 20 Now, then we are ambassadors for Christ,
as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye
reconciled to God. 21 For he hath made
him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him.
So you see, when we are
willing to step aside of self and die to self, God is more than willing to come
in and live in us. Now, if God comes in and lives His Life out through your
mortal body, then it is no more you that is living but Christ is living in you.
Then you could not more die, than God can die. Then you have a great assurance
of Life eternally with Him, and with those that are in Christ.
COLOSSIANS
I CORINTHIANS
Then only through Christ can we be made alive. Here we are told
that all who lived through Adam, in other words through mere flesh and blood reproduction,
since we were born after the flesh we must all die. But through Christ we are
all made alive, which means that only by Christ is it possible to live forever.
Because there is only one form of eternal life and that is God’s life. God is
the only one that is eternal, and therefore, for us to become eternal beings,
it is essential that the very life of God enter into us and take over our
mortal being bringing on immortality to us.
GALATIANS 2:19 For I through
the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. 20 I am (I am is
present tense, I am) crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but (now)
Christ liveth in
me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son
of God, (not my faith in the Son of God, but the Faith OF the Son of God, His Faith
that He had in God I now am living by that same faith) who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if
righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
God has got to do something with you before He could place His Holy
Spirit in you. And if we now live by the same faith Jesus had, then it is not
what you can do nor is it what you cannot do, but rather it is what He has
already done for you. Then you learn to rest in His promise to you, and this
rest makes you so relaxed in Him, and let’s face it, how could you rest if you
don’t have trust in His promise. So as you trust His word, you learn to rest
and relax in it, until you just die out to your old way of thinking, and you
just become dead to self. Because if you are not willing to die out to self, He
will never place His Spirit in your vessel.
Look, have you ever noticed that life can only come out of death. The
life in the seed can only live itself out and come into manifestation when the
seed dies and rots to itself first. To live you must live off of dead
substance. All the food you buy in the
store is dead. Well, you might say, I buy live lobster in the store. Ok, but
you don’t eat it when it is alive.
Life comes from living on dead substance, and out of death comes
life. Every fall the earth dies out, the life in the plant goes down into the
burial chamber of he roots of the plant, but in the Spring, out of that burial
chamber of he roots comes up the life into the plant again, and life begins to
manifest itself again. And out of the death of Christ came forth a resurrection
out from among the dead, the Resurrection of Life. And
the only way that you can become alive in God, is to die out to yourself and your
symptoms, and everything around you, and become alive in Christ the Word: You’ve
got to die out to self, you’ve got to die out to your symptoms, you’ve got to die
out to circumstances, you’ve got to die out to everything else and become alive
in Christ.
From the sermon You Must Be Born Again 61-1231M 107 William
Branham said, If you're borne of God, you're washed in the
waters of the Word, separated from the things of the world, and believe God.
You're dead. You're dead to your own
thinking, dead to your own ideas, dead to everything else but God's Word; It
lives in you, working back through you, proving that it is God's Word. You
say, "I'm dead to the world. I'm dead to the world, Brother Branham."
And deny God's Word?
And from the sermon INVESTMENTS 63-0803B 241 he said, “Oh, businessmen, this morning, I am offering
to you, as an agent of Jesus Christ, an Eternal Life, a policy of Eternal Life,
that Christ my Lord, and my supreme Boss, for I am dead to the things of the
world to live only to Him. Using not our
own mind, but just letting His mind, we're prisoners, as Paul, as Moses. No
matter what anyone else says, you're
prisoned to that Word. The Holy Spirit leads; He forbids to go places; He
forbids to come here; He sends you to places you would not go and keeps you
away from places that you would go. Do you want a policy? Do you want to make
an investment?
FORSAKING ALL
62-0123 E-34 The Scripture
says, "He that loves the
world or the things of the world, the love of God is not even in him." That's right. It takes forsaking all. There when
you were willing to forsake all and follow Him, then "If ye abide in Me and My word in you, you can ask what
you will, and it will be done for you." But you
cannot, knowing that those things are wrong. You know they're wrong. The Bible's
against them: card playing, cigarette smoking, drinking, wearing immoral
clothes, and then claiming to be a Christian. If that spirit in you does not
condemn that, then there's something wrong with the spirit that's in you.
Because the God Who wrote the Word is the Word, and the Word is in you, and It
condemns you. It's got to. And if It doesn't, you're being deceived. How can
the Holy Spirit write something, and you turn around and do contrary to it, and
say the Holy Spirit is leading you? You can't do it.
E-35 So smoking cigarettes, drinking whiskey,
playing cards, cutting hair, wearing shorts, all these other things are wrong,
sinful wrong, and you'll never get anywhere until you quit it. It's creeping
into our Pentecostal move. Shame on you. You ought to be ashamed. No wonder we
can't have a worldwide revival. No wonder we can't have a Pentecostal revival.
Something's happened. That's right. We've let down the bars and things are
taking place that should not take place. Therefore, you must forsake all to
follow Christ. E-36 You
must forsake your own ideas. You must cope with His Word. And never will
the Holy Ghost ever deny any Word It ever spoke, and the Bible is wrote by the
Holy Spirit. The Bible said so. And if the Bible Words is God... "In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us." Now, the
Word is made Spirit dwelling in us, for "I will be with you, even in you
to the end of the world," the consummation. E-37
Now, if that same God that wrote the Bible is in you, you're not your
own. You're dead to the things of the world. You're dead to your own thoughts. And the mind that was in Christ
be in you, there then you're forsaking all to follow Him. Not your own
thoughts; what He says. "Not my will;
thine, Lord." Then you begin to line up with God's Word.
Could stay there a long time, but I'll just run on a little farther. But you
say, "What do I get then, forsaking all? Forsaking all, what do I
get?" E-38 You can expect the world to make fun of
you. You can expect the world to call you all kinds of dishonorable names.
They'll call you anything that they can call you. You'll be despised and
rejected. Jesus, because of Him being Emmanuel, God dwelling in Him, it made
Him so odd to His own church till His own church excommunicated Him as soon as
He come in. They was the one who hung Him on the cross. They was the one who
condemned Him. He loved people. His whole heart was for people. But He had to
forsake everything in order to follow God. And so do we have to forsake
everything in order to follow God.
E-39
Now. What do I get in return? Sometimes I think we ministers make it a
little too much flowers for the convert. "Oh, come to Christ. Everything
is lovely." But you see, it isn't like that in the way that, saying that
everything's a flowery bed of ease, because no Christian...The Bible said,
"All that live godly in Christ
Jesus shall suffer persecution." So if you're not suffering persecutions for Christ's sake, then there's
something wrong. If the devil ain't after you, he's got you. That's
all, because as long as he's after you, that's a sign he hasn't got you yet.
But if he isn't after you, it's a sign he has got you yet. So just remember, as
long as he's blasting at you, you're a few jumps ahead of him yet, and just
keep on going.
E-40
But all that live
godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. He said,
"Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad for so persecuted they
the prophets which was before you." That's right. Don't go with a hang-down face and
say, "Well, I oughtn't to have done it, I guess I just can't stand for
somebody to talk about me, and say I'm old fashion, I'm this, that, or the
other." Oh, you all should be exceedingly glad, happy because of it,
because you can bear the reproach of His Name. And by keeping His commandments,
it caused you to do that.
E-41
But I want to say this too, God will not, in no wise, be in debt to any
man. God won't be indebted to any man. If you have done that for God, if you
have forsaken all, God will repay you a thousand fold. That's right. God will
pay it back. You forsake the things of the world, and God will repay you so
many times. How many are witness of that here tonight? Why, we all know that
God will repay.
HEBREWS 10:19 ¶ Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter
into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 By
a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil,
that is to say, his flesh; 21 And having an high priest over the house of God;
22 Let us draw near with a true heart in
full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil
conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the
profession of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promised; 24
And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25 Not
forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but
exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. 26
For if we sin willfully (if we disbelieve willfully) after that we have
received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,