Christ Revealed in His Own Word #21
What is our Focus
Sunday Morning,
June 16, 1996
Brian Kocourek,
Pastor Grace Fellowship
Good morning,
everyone. It's so good to be home. Last weekend I kind of felt like little
Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz where she was told that if she would
stand still and just focus all her thoughts on being home, and click her heels
together and say, "there's no place like home, there's no place like
home, there's no place like home," then she would somehow be taken
to her home. Well, last week I felt that way myself. I thought, wouldn't it be
nice if I could do that, but I knew it wouldn't work, because that was just a
fairy tale. But I thought there's no place Like home, there's no place like
home, there's no place like home and after 2,000 miles and three days of
driving I arrived home.
And the pollen
followed me here as well. And yesterday our car broke down, the alternator
didn't work and I was abandoned with my family under the bridge near Dwayne's
exit on 471. A good Samaritan came along and gave us a lift to Dwayne's house
but no one was home. The neighbor was kind and let me call from her house, but
every one I tried to call were not home either. Every one seemed to be on
vacation this last week. I finally got
a hold of brother Howard and brother Steve. I had thought Steve might still be
on vacation, but I need help and the Lord provided. I just want to thank you
brothers openly for your wonderful help. We eventually got home about 11:00
after the car stalled again on the highway and we had to wait for a tow truck
to come. Brother Steve stayed right with us and my family and I appreciate your
efforts more than words can express. I
had wanted to get home because I really missed you all and I guess the Lord let
me know that as much as I love you all, this still is not home. He has a better
place for all of us than here in this pest house where moth doth destroy and
rust doth corrupt.
[ Matt 6: 19 -
21 ] And that is the key, where
your treasure is there your heart will be also because watch what Jesus says
next, [ Matt 6: 22 ] He's not
talking about a Cyclops, nor is he talking about a person with only one eye.
But He is speaking of FOCUS. IF our FOCUS be single-minded, if we FOCUS on ONE thing
and that ONE thing Only, then our light, our understanding of all things, will
be great. We'll know the reasons why thing happen the way they do, because we
know that He has all things under His control and He is working all things
together for the Good of those who are The Called and Who love Him.
[ Romans 8: 26
- 31 ] And when at first I couldn't
get a hold of any one home, that song we sing came to my head, "LIVING ALONE IN THIS OLD
SINFUL WORLD, HARDLY A COMFORT CAN AFFORD, STRIVING ALONE TO FACE
TEMPTATIONS SORE, WHERE COULD I GO BUT TO THE LORD." And I realized how alone we would be without
each other, in this old world. I guess I know just how Adam must have felt.
Empty without fellowship and companionship. And that is the whole reason behind
the redemption story. Our God and Father, alone for an eternity with only a
desire to have fellowship with His Own Offspring. And so He established a plan
to bring us forth from the very recesses of His mind. He had a need, a desire
for fellowship and so he thought of You and I. He then set forth His great plan
to bring us into His Presence that we might walk with Him and talk with Him.
And as I stood
there all alone outside that McDonald's
waiting to see my brothers, the
seed for this message begin to move within me. Eventually we had the car
running and we got about halfway to the Tri-county dealership and it stopped
again. This time on a dangerous curve where we could not jump start it. Another Good Samaritan was sent by My Father who called a Tow truck for us, and as Steve and I sat
there for more than an hour waiting for the truck to come, we talked about how it is - when we seem to become settled into this world, that
our Father will allow something to come up that will bring our focus back to
where it should be. And I think that maybe
some day our focus will be correct and our mindset will be correct and as
Dorothy was saying over and over,
"there's no place like home, there's no place like home,"
we'll actually be thinking about our heavenly home which brother Branham told
us is not out there somewhere, but right here in another dimension. That's the
real home where I want to spend my eternity together with all of you. [ Cor 1: 9 - 10] Read. He wants us
to be of the same mind and same judgment.
I always thought
that someday I would like to live in the mountains but I found out on this trip
out West that my place is not in the mountains. I love the mountains, but the
mountains don't love me. At least those in Idaho. The sage brush pollen was so
bad my eyes swelled shut and I couldn't even enjoy the beautiful mountain lake
I was fishing in.
Vacations are fun
and we get to see places and things we don't ordinarily see, but when it all
boils down to it, there has got to be a place we can call home and that is a
place where we can really kick our feet back and know that we have brethren of
Like minds and like faith that we can share our lives with. Home is not a
place, but it's a relationship. Many people live in houses but not all houses can
be called a home. A home is really an atmosphere where love and sharing and
friendship and caring dwell. A place where we come and know that there are
people who care about us, and despite some of our little imperfections and
differences in this flesh we still can love one another. That's home.
In [ Matt 6: 19 - 22 ] we see the
importance of keeping our focus right and on the right things. But let's see
what happens when we don't. [ Matt 6:
22 - 26 ] Now the last couple verses of this scripture will tie in
with the next few paragraphs we read from brother Branham's Message on Christ
Revealed in His Own Word. And notice it
warns us that just having a single-mindedness in our outlook is not necessarily
good. Our focus must be a right focus. Jesus was talking about treasure. Laying
up treasure in heaven, not being focused here on earth. Too much of our
thoughts are focused wrong because we are focusing on the things of this world
and laying up an earthly treasure for what? For rust to corrupt? We should be focusing on our future home, as
brother Branham preached of the future home and as Jesus told us about it.
[ John 14: 1 -
4] In My Fathers family will be
many homes. That word house is actually a Greek word oikia which means a place
of inhabitance, a household or family, and the word mansion is a Greek word,
mone which means a place of abode, or a place which excerpts a most blessed
influence. So we see that in His
Father's Family will be many homes which are so Christ centered that His very
Presence will be abiding in each of them. [ John 14: 23] ( read) The
same Presence, the same atmosphere in each of these homes. And I believe that this is what we all truly
want deep down in our souls. "As the heart panteth after the water
brook, so panteth my soul after Thee Oh, Lord." Jesus hung on the
cross and said I thirst. Why? The Roman Guard thought he thirsted for water,
but I don't believe it was water but God's Spirit He thirsted for. God's
Presence had left Him in Gethsemane and He longed for and thirsted after God's
Divine Presence. The atmosphere of God's Presence. When the Father entered into
Him at His Baptism, He said, " This is My beloved Son IN Whom I am well
pleased", and Brother Branham brought to our attention that when The
Father said, IN WHOM he was saying I am pleased to dwell in HIM.
[ John 14: 16 ]
tells us how this Presence of God will come into us and abide with us.
[ John 15: 4,
7, 10] If ye abide in me and My Word abides in you, then ask what you will
and it shall be given to you. Why? Because then it is no longer you asking but
His Word asking through you.
Now I don't have
much to comment on here because after all, it's not what I think but what he
says that counts, and remember, he said, "I'm not the one who speaks
these things as perfect as they are, I'm only standing there when He says it.
I'm not the one who appeared down on the river, I was only standing there when
He appeared. It's not me, I'm just a voice that He speaks through. It's not me,
it's not a man, It's God. You're not feeding on a man, a man his words will
fail. You're feeding on the unfailing body Word of the Son of Man".
But I love how
brother Branham tells his wife that he is dressed OK, but the people can't see
that behind the pulpit he doesn't have on matching clothes. Now what do you
think Meda was thinking when she heard that over the telephone hookup? She was probably thinking, now you did it
Bill. Now every one knows. But He really didn't care. It doesn't matter if your
pants match your socks or your coat. What really matters is that your spirit
matches His Spirit. And if your Spirit matches His Spirit, it is only because
your Thoughts matches His Word. Jesus Said, "My Words are Spirit and
they are Life." And that is
what really counts. That's why Jesus
said if your eye be single minded and it is focused on the light, it will be
all light. In other words, all your thoughts will be pleasing to God. But if
your focus is not on the light then it
is on darkness.