Christ Revealed in
His Own Word #27
“Neurosis #3 Complusion”
Wednesday Evening, July 10, 1996
Brian Kocourek, Pastor Grace Fellowship
[ 2 Timothy 3: 1] AMPLIFIED: But understand this, that in the last days
there will set in perilous times of great
stress and trouble - hard to deal
with and hard to bear
·
[ Isaiah 9:2]
·
[ Isaiah 59: 19 - 60: 3]
·
[ Joel 2: 1-2] . ( let's bow our heads in
prayer!)
Gracious Father, we
certainly come to Thee tonight knowing the hour that we live in has been
completely thrown into a chaotic condition where the people have completely
lost their abilities to reason with any semblance of righteous thinking. And
knowing this we seek Thy Guidance in our own lives and in our minds as well,
for Gross darkness has certainly come upon the earth and men's hearts are
failing for fear. This is truly a terrible hour to be living for the
unbeliever, and yet it is the hour of the Greatest Light to ever strike the
earth. Complete darkness and yet supreme Light. What a contrast. And so dear
Father, we want to thank you and tell you how greatly we appreciate the things
you have revealed to us through your vindicated channel. And we would ask that
you would continue to see us through all the way into your Divine Presence, for
we ask this humbly in Jesus Christ's name.
This is truly a
dark and dismal day we live in and yet when we see the nations completely going
insane, yet we have the greatest Message to strike the earth. But what good is
this Message doing us if we do not take it to heart. We must take it to heart,
or we shall certainly perish. And how are men perishing? They are first losing
their ability to think with Godly thoughts and they are fast becoming filled
with every kind of evil thoughts as it was in the days of Noah.
[ Genesis 6: 5, 11-12] [Amplified ] And God saw that the purpose and intentions of man's thinking brought
forth only evil and wicked inventions. ...11- the people of the earth had
become depraved and actually putrid in God's sight, (to the point that God
wanted to spew them out of His mouth) Doesn't that remind you of Rev 3,
the Laodicean condition? and
the land was filled with violence, desecration, outrage, assault and lust for
power). 12- and God looked upon the
world and saw how degenerate, debased and vicious man had become; for all
humanity had corrupted their way upon the earth and lost their true direction. And so then we find that God sent forth a
Message of warning to come into the ark and be saved. But just as it was then,
many people heard the Midnight cry, but only a very few people took it to
heart.
Now, with this in
mind, this evening I would like to continue where we left off on Sunday, from
pp. 20 & 21 of "Christ Revealed In His Own Word"
where Brother Branham said, (20) Men now and people today are in such a
neurotic condition, the whole world... (21) The whole human race is rotten. Well, if them physical beings of
our body is tearing down like that from eating hybrid foods, tensions, that rotten it, does not that also rot the
brain cell? It's come to a place
where the whole nation, the whole world, not only this nation, but everywhere,
mentally gone.
Sunday Morning we
focused our attention on Brother Branham's statement that the whole world is
neurotic. And according to Webster
Now if you caught what Brother Branham was telling us, he said it is the
hybrid foods and the tensions that are rotting the bodies and the minds of the
people. So tensions or stress are a
very critical thing in the undoing of the human race. And you will notice that the Amplified Translation of [2
Tim 3:1] tells us these times of great tension and stress will be hard to
deal with and hard to bear. On Sunday we examined this neurotic condition that Brother Branham is speaking of that has
certainly and evidently taken over the entire world. Neurosis according to Webster
is defined as: Any of various Psychic, or mental, functional disorders characterized
by one or several of the following reactions:
ANXIETY, COMPULSIONS and OBSESSIONS, PHOBIAS, DEPRESSION, and
DISASSOCIATION.
On Sunday we
examined the first attribute which is
anxiety and we found out that anxiety is defined by Webster as being a
state of being uneasy or apprehensive,
or worried about what may
happen; concern about a possible
future event. The Psychological effects of anxiety are worry and nervous
tensions. So we see that it has
nothing to do with today, but what might happen tomorrow.
[ Mark
4: 18 - 20] Notice that it is the
cares of this life which creep in and choke off the Life that is in the Word.
And so this is a warning to us to be careful not to get so caught up into the
things of this world as to allow them to take over sole dominance of our lives.
Now the Greek word used here for CARES
is the word Merimna which means the anxieties of this Life. And I want you to notice that the word
anxieties is defined by Webster as being a state of being uneasy or
apprehensive, or worried about what may
happen; concern about a possible future event. The Psychological effects of
anxiety are worry and nervous tensions.
[ Luke 21: 31 - 36] Notice, this
condition is to come upon every one who dwells upon the face of the earth. So
it is a world wide condition, and it has to do with our focus. If our focus is on the things of this world,
then we will be caught up into these anxieties which are a snare to us. But if
our focus is upon Christ and His Promises that He has for us at this end-time
hour, then we will be able to overcome
this snare or trap. Did not Jesus tell
us "if the man of the house had know what hour the thief was coming, he
would have prepared his home and he would not have suffered the thief to break
in." Our focus should be on standing in the presence of the Son of
Man as Jesus tells us here. We should not be concerned with the cares of this
life, because they are considered a snare to the real things that God has in
store for us.
[Matt 6: 24-34] we are actually
commanded to take no thought for tomorrow, pertaining to what she shall eat or
wear Don't worry about tomorrow,
because after all each day their is enough to think about? And if you worry
about tomorrow, then you only compound your troubles. Because not only do you
have today's troubles, but tomorrow's as well.
·
Q & A COD
64-0823M] If you worry, it'll
break your health down, and that's what Satan wants to do. So you see worry
will only tear your health down and that is what Satan wants to do. He wants to
distract you from where we should really be focused, and that is in
Christ. So just commit yourself and
your family to Christ and keep moving on.
[ Eccl 11: 9-10] Be happy young man while you are
young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the
ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these
things God will bring you to judgment ( so, in other words, just keep
your life lined up with His Word) So then, banish anxiety from your heart,
and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are
meaningless.
·
[ 1 Peter 5: 6 - 10]
"Casting all your cares (or
anxieties) upon Him for He careth for you."
·
[ Proverbs 12: 25 ]
"An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up."
·
[ Phil 4: 6-7] Do not
be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace which transcends all
understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Now, tonight I
would like to focus on the 2nd
attribute of neurosis that Webster speaks of and it is COMPULSION. Compulsion is a compelling or
being compelled; ( And the word compel
has to do with a forcing of the issue, an "in your face attitude").
We hear so much today the expression, "with an attitude!" But did you know that this was spoken of by
the Word of God to be this way? Webster
goes on to describe COMPULSION as being an
"irresistible, repeated, irrational impulse to perform some
act."
Now we are warned
that men will be this way in [ 2 Tim 3:
: But
understand this, that in the last days there will set in perilous times of
great stress and trouble - hard to deal with and hard to bear. For people will
be lovers of self and utterly self-centered,... Now, I want you to notice verse [ 3 ] it tells us that they will be incontinent. This word incontinent
means they are without self control
which is why they are compulsive. They have no self control and therefore they
are out of control.
Now, I want you
to notice how this attribute is picked up in [ Rev 3: 14 - 19 ] (read) They have a mindset that is fixed on
material things and they don't even know that these things has blinded them the
reality of the hour. It's not uncommon
today to hear the expression, "He's a compulsive gambler." In
fact there was a time that gambling was not only considered sinful, but even
those who were not Christians, but were just average citizens considered
gambling to be a sickness that needed to be treated medically or
psychologically. It was considered an illegal, immoral blight upon society that
only the low moral societal misfits would get involved in. The Crooks and
lowlifes. Yet today just about every state has gone to gambling to fill up
their coffers. Casino's flourish and
state lotteries are even pushed upon the people. There was a time that the common folks in America would not go
near a gambling hall, now the papers are full of stories about how many people
are being employed by these casino's, and how the waiting lists are filled with
people wanting to go to work for them.
The ME
generation. The, "I want it and I
want it now, generation!" The people no longer have the patience to
wait for anything. They have got to have it now, now, now. Years ago a couple
would get married and work hard to save what they could so that one day they
would be able to afford to own a home. Then their first home would usually be a
starter home with a couple bed rooms and pretty small in general without much
of the trappings as they call it. Eventually, after they have worked hard for
twenty years or so they would move up into a larger home and use the equity
they had built up to do so. But today, the kids get married and they have to
have a Palace and two new cars and a
race boat and what ever else their minds can think of and yet they don't have
the money to really afford these things. So what happens is they go way into
debt. And as a result the tension between them is so great you can cut the air
with a knife and their marriages are dissolving at a 50% clip. In fact I heard
just the other day that the latest statistic is that young people getting
married today have only a 30% chance of their marriage lasting for the duration
of their life. And what is causing much
of it. The Me first generation of spoiled rotten kids. And who is to blame? The
parents are to blame. Brother Branham said, it isn't child delinquency, it's
parent delinquency. I heard another
survey on the radio the other day where they had interviewed parents who had
children in their forty's and fifty's who were still asking mom and dad to help
them out financially. One man who retired as a painter, has already helped his
son to buy his third house, this one laying out $55,000. Another Father, gave his 42 year old
daughter $4,500 to buy a large screen TV because they didn't have the money
because they had just spent $2,000 on a stereo set, and this couple made good
wages, but they take two skiing vacations every year, and two cruises. And yet
they have no shame in going to mom and dad for help. Their dad said, he still
drives his 1979 Buick while the kids are living high of the hog and have the
gaul to ask for his help, and yet he complains, but still dishes out the bucks.
It's incredible
what is happening today. The kids are used to living high off the hog and they
do not know what it means to do without. And so they can't wait to have it all
and even more than their parents have and after they get to the place of
insolvency, and bankruptcy, they are left with nothing.
Huge houses
standing empty with no furniture because they can't afford the house and that
too. Homes with no children, maybe just a mutt or cat so they can mother
something. That is what compulsion has
brought. Kids murdering their parents because they want the inheritance now.
Kids killing kids for their tennis shoes, because mama says she can't afford to
buy them now and junior will have to wait for Christmas, but he can't wait. COMPULSION.... and Brother Branham
called it NEUROTICS!
So we see that
self constraint is a very important thing which will be hardly found in the
end-time. Just look at our President. He can hardly constrain himself when it
comes to money, women and popularity. He's not satisfied with adultery, but he
is a breaker of every one of the ten commandments. And not just once in a great
while. It seems that he repeatedly
breaks them day by day. Compulsion is a compelling or being
compelled; irresistible, repeated, irrational impulse to perform some act. Which is basically a losing control
of oneself. Now there is nothing wrong
with having desires for things. But when the desires become overwhelming and
they take control and the person loses control of their ability to constrain
themselves, then something is definitely out of kilter somewhere.
Now, there is
another part of this COMPULSION that I want you to take note. It is the thought
that COMPULSION
is a compelling or being compelled. So this is not only an attribute of neurosis here that may be self
inflicted, but it can also be inflicted by others, as in being compelled. This
shows an outside influence upon another. Now, I am going to read you a few
scriptures where we shall see this in action and I want you to look for a
common thread that will be easily spotted throughout these scriptures.
·
[ 2 Chron 21: 5 - 15] I want you to notice that it was politics
that compelled these people to do what they did not want to do.
·
[ Acts 26: 9 - 11] Saul had been in with the IN crowd, and therefore
had the power or authority to get away with murder.
[ Gal 2: 1-14] Now if you noticed, the common thread is politics. Being
Politically correct. You are compelled by law to do certain things and to think
certain ways and if you don't, they will shut you down or turn you out. The
devil rules the nations and he is inserting laws into every nation that wants
to control what you think and say. But
God wants to control our thoughts as well, but with Him He doesn't force it on
you. As you know this is the hour that
[ 2Thes 1: 10] is to take place. He
has come to be Glorified IN His Saints. And yet He does not force Himself upon
us, but He is patiently waiting for us to hunger and thirst after His
Right-wise-ness. But with politics it
is always different. Through Politics,
we have lost more personal freedoms in this nation alone since Mr. Clinton took
over control than in any other period in the history of this nation. Teddy Kennedy's car's have killed more
people than my guns have, yet they want to outlaw my guns and not his driving.
It's all this in your face stuff to try and influence you by force if need be
to kowtow to the mind control police. Today, If they heard Brother Branham say,
"when a woman gets out of the
kitchen she's out of her place," They would try and send him out to some
culture diversity training or mind control police to set his thinking straight
or they would take his church away from Him. They are trying to pass laws that
will take away our freedom of expression and freedom of speech, and they call it hate just because
we oppose the devilish lifestyles of their gay constituency, and yet the gays have been given unlimited
freedom of expression. Poor old Marge Schott, she can't seem to say anything
that would please this big bunch of mush headed, media loving, sissified, Greedy baseball commission. The funny thing is, the NOW gang won't stand
in her court because she doesn't support their organization. She is one woman
in a man's world and they look for any old excuse to get rid of her. She has
lost her freedom of speech. It's
terrible when you own a company and you can't even run it. We are talking about
an attribute of neurosis called, COMPULSION. And we have found whether we
search the scriptures or individual examples in every day life, that COMPULSION
has to do with a forcing of the mind into a certain condition or mental mind
set. Why do you think that education is compulsory in this Country. So they can
force their way of thinking into the young minds of your children. I have a
book called ROMANISM A MENACE TO THIS NATION that was printed around 1902 and
in it Cardinal Martinelli, the Prelate of Chicago, and who was Jesuit trained,
was quoted as saying, "the goal of the Catholic church was to
destroy the educational system in America." And I think they have been very successful
in doing so by corrupting the teachers unions and forcing their liberal
agenda's in the schools, the people have lost confidence in a system that at
one time was very Bible based and actually held the Catholic church at bay
because of the kind of text that was used. Today the text, even history itself
has been rewritten blotting out any acknowledgment of God and His Influence
upon the history of the nations.
[ Mat 23: 13] & [ Romans 1: 16] And how do they suppress the Truth? By holding
it back from the people. Not just the churches, look at our Media today. They
will not print anything that would expose their way of thinking and it's error.
Even the Europeans have more in their papers about the Clintons escapades than
we do in our press here. The devils way has always be misinformation because
after all it works. Brother Branham said a lie that is 99 % true is the most
powerful lie because it tells almost all of the story true but then puts a spin
on it to make it a lie. Well, what then are the spin doctors but liars who take
the truth and twist it to fit their political objective. Now, I want you to
notice how they force or compel others to follow them. In the beginning to eat
caused death, but now, not to eat is
death. And I want you to notice that
back there, Satan didn't rape Eve, He
seduced her through the serpent. These men do not beat up their congregations
in order to force or compel them not to eat. They seduce them away from the truth
by telling lies about it.
[ Proverbs 7: 7-27] I want you to notice verse 21 again ( read) Notice by her flattery
she forces him with her fair speeches.
[ 1 Tim 4: 1] Seducing Spirit's and Doctrines of Devil's. The People being seduced into believing The
Lie and then they are damned by it. Why, Because you can't turn them away from
it. They love a lie and will be damned by the thing they love. [ 2 Thess 2: 10 - 12] Now the Wuest
Translation says that this deception is geared tot he gullibility of those who
are perishing and that this gullibility is caused by the fact that they did not
have a love for the Truth.
[ John
3: 19 - 20] & [ 2 Tim 3: 7 ] They can't come to the
understanding of the Truth because they will not give up their own thinking.