Christ Revealed in His Own Word #73
“The Garden of the Mind” #3
Wednesday, January 26, 1997
Brian Kocourek,
Pastor Grace Fellowship
[Isaiah 58:11] “And the Lord shall guide thee
continually, and satisfy thy soul in
drought, and make fat thy bones: and
thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose
water s fail not. “
[Jer 31:12b] “Their Soul shall be as a watered
Garden” Let’s pray
Sunday morning we
spoke on the subject of the “Garden of your mind”. Tonight, again
I wish to speak on this subject so that you might be able to better understand
what we are talking about when we speak of your mind as “being like a garden”. we
read from PP. [77]where Brother
Branham said, “See, down through the age we
started off from the foundation,
from the first church age when the Seed
went in the ground, the complete Seed..... Then the complete Body of Christ is revealed in the form of a Bride. And
so we hear him tell us that we started off from this Complete Seed that went
into the Ground. And if this Seed is
the Word, which has the life of the thoughts in it, then we too must be the sum
of the thoughts, for a s a man thinketh in his heart so, is he. Therefore we
are, and our character is, the sum of
what thoughts we have within our minds. Therefore our minds are like a garden
full of seeds, and hopefully not weeds.
Last weekend we
showed you how that everything you are, even your Character comes forth from the garden
of thought that is in your heart, making you what you really are. Brother
Branham told us that when we are born again, we receive everything that we will
ever have need of to bring forth the image of God in us. And the garden of your
thoughts affects every thing that is already in you, not only affecting your character, and molding your
character, but even to the
circumstances that you enter into daily, and the way you handle those
circumstances. And God uses those circumstances in shaping of your character into it’s final product that
God has predestined for you. Therefore, every trial you must endure, every test
that God puts you through, comes about only as a result of the Seed Thoughts
that lay within your heart.
Therefore, every
thought seed that is sown, or that we
allow to fall into the fertile soil of our minds, to take root there, will
produce it’s own, after it’s own likeness or nature. Sooner or later each
thought seed we have sown in our hearts will have to take blossom and become
manifested in our lives as an action or deed. And each action or deed will bear
it’s own fruit in terms of opportunity or circumstances. As the Scripture tells
us, good thoughts will bear good fruit and bad thoughts will bear bad fruit.
Beautiful thoughts of all kinds crystallize
into habits of Grace and kindness, which solidify into friendly and cheerful
circumstances: pure thoughts crystallize into habits of holiness and self
control, which further solidify into circumstances of rest and peace. If you
sow thoughts of self reliance, courage
and decisiveness, they will bring forth circumstances of success, plenty and freedom; energetic
thoughts crystallize into habits of cleanliness and industry, which solidify
into circumstances of pleasantness:
gentle and forgiving thoughts solidify into protective and preservative
circumstances: loving and unselfish thoughts crystallize into habits of self-forgetfulness for other which solidify
into circumstances sure and abiding prosperity and true riches.
If you keep sowing the same particular train
of thoughts, be it good or bad, it cannot help but to produce its results on
the character and circumstances in which you live.
Now a garden is a
place or a plot of ground that you specifically set aside for growing things
that you like, whether for food or for the beauty of just looking at it, such as flowers and roses, etc. A garden is a
place where you sow seeds, and you come to water and cultivate those seeds,
because you have a purpose in mind. And as we emphasized Sunday morning, if we
do not cultivate our garden, then any other seed that happens to fall in our
garden will compete with the specific things which we want to harvest.
Therefore, we must cultivate the seeds which we want and root out those things
we do not wish to come to harvest.
Now we do not go
through all the work that is necessary in taking care of a garden just for the
shear enjoyment of work. If that were the case, you would not waste money on
seed. You could get as much enjoyment out of turning over soil and breaking up
rocks.
But we must have
a PURPOSE in mind in putting
together our garden. A garden has to be plotted out, and there must be a PLAN in your mind as to how you would
like to see your garden turn out.
Christ Revealed in His Own Word #73
“The Garden of the Mind”
#3
For if there is
no plan, you will have an awful time
trying to harvest what you sowed. Could
you image planting a garden where you go out and grab a handful of carrot seeds
and you just toss them up in the air, not really caring where they land. Then
you grab a bag of corn seeds and toss them out onto the ground and then you
repeat the same process with watermelon seeds, radishes, cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes, beans, peas,
and whatever else you would like to harvest. I image the sowing might be pretty
easy, but come harvest time, you are
going to have a real mess trying to sort out just what you sowed.
And yet this is the
way many of us go about our daily lives and especially our spiritual lives. Can
you imagine someone trying to store up earthly treasures without a plan. And
yet that is exactly what we do with storing up Heavenly treasure. [Matt 6:19-20] Many of us struggle because we have not learned this first
principle of sowing and reaping. We too often look at the man who is wealthy
and we say, “he’s a crook and that is why he is wealthy”. Now, that may be true
in part, but the reason that man is wealthy is because he has applied a
principle of sowing and reaping which many of us are not willing to do. He had
a plan to gain wealth and he was dedicated to that plan and so his whole life
became structured around that that plan, and therefore he reaped what he sowed.
I have no
jealousy for one minute of those who have worked very hard for what they have.
They deserve it. But, I do feel sorry for them in the same way in which I feel
sorry for the poor farmer who loses his crops to hail tornado. Many of them, if
not the majority of them who are very wealthy, have stored up their treasure in
the wrong place. Because they will only be able to enjoy what they have sown
for only a few years while they are here on earth. Therefore, I want what will
not become rusted, and moth eaten. I want that which will truly stay with me
all throughout Eternity. And Jesus told us what that is.
In fact, we have
a promise from the Creator of all things, Himself, and we know that “it is
impossible for Him to lie”, and He has told us that if we “seek
ye first the Kingdom of God, then all these things shall be added us.”
Now what things was He talking about? Well, let’s turn in our Bibles to [Matt 6:25 - 34].
Now, I want you
to notice that we are told to take no thought concerning certain things. Now He
is not telling us that these things are not important to us, but that our
thought pertaining to these things needs to be directed, not at those things,
but at the Kingdom of God from whence cometh all good things. In other words, Jesus is telling them that
their focus needs to be on the right thing.
This is the same principle we see in dealing with the poor in very
backward countries. The people are starving to death, and we feel sorry for
them, but if we just feed them, then they will always be dependent upon us.
But if we teach them how to sow and reap,
then they will learn how to provide for themselves. If only we would do this
with our own welfare system. And so, what we are looking at here, is having the
right focus. He said take no thought for these specific things. Take no thought
with just the eating, or just the specific piece of clothing that you need, but focus on where those things come
from and then you will always have plenty. Learn to sew and you shall also
reap.
[2 Cor 7:7-10 ] Every man according as he purposeth
in his heart, [so let him give]{so let him sow}; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. {This
reminds me here of the man whose family had a poor crop, and they were facing a
harsh winter. They had just a bag of grain left over from the poor harvest and
the children cried out to eat it. The father said, no for if we do then surely
we shall die. They made it through the winter, but it was a real struggle, but
when the spring came forth the father planted his seeds and they brought forth
a bountiful harvest. }Now, Paul continues, And God [is] able to make all grace abound
toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all [things], may abound
to every good work: (As it is written,
He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness
remaineth for ever. Now he that
ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for [your] food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)
Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us
thanksgiving to God. For the administration of this service not only supplieth
the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgiving’s unto God;
Christ Revealed in His Own Word #73
“The Garden of the Mind”
#3
[Amplified] And God who provides seed for
the sower and bread for eating will
also provide and multiply your resources for sewing, and increase the fruits of your righteousness
which manifests itself in active goodness, kindness and charity, and thus you
will be enriched in all things and in every way, so that you can be generous,
and your generosity as it is administered by us will bring forth thanksgiving
to God.
And so, you see, we
must have the proper focus and the proper plan if we are to bring forth out of
the garden of our mind, a harvest of Eternal blessing. We are promised that
God, who gave us the seed to begin with will also multiply that seed as we sow
properly. [NIV] Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your
store of seed and will enlarge the
harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that
you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will
result in thanksgiving to God.
We know the seed
came forth from Him and therefore it already has in it everything that we will
ever need for living and for bringing forth a Character that is in His Image. [2 Peter 1: 2-4]
[Isaiah 60:21] “Thy people shall be all
righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, that I may be
glorified.” Can you see God’s purpose in His planting?
[Isaiah 61:3] “ To appoint unto them that
mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning,
the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD,
that he might be glorified.. The purpose being the planting of God’s Garden
is to bring forth His Glory. And we are likened to a planting of the Lord.
In [Eph 1: 2-5] We see that we were in
Christ before the world was framed, therefore we are a seed, that was in Him.
And are told here that while we were still in Him we were “Blessed with all Spiritual
Blessings in Heavenly Places in Christ.” And then he goes on to tell us that in order to bring forth
these seeds that were in Him, He had to have a plan. In verse 5 we are told that
He pre-planned for us to come forth to the adoption of children to Himself.
And this was to
be according to His Will or plan, which He further elucidates in verses [10-11] where he tells us that it will
happen according to His Purpose which is His Plan.
And So I hope you
can see the importance of having a purpose or plan for every seed thought that
we want to bring forth to harvest. Therefore, in order to reap we must not only
sow, but we must learn how to sow as well. Because you can not sow just any
which way and expect to reap a harvest that is orderly.
[Isaiah 61:11] “For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord will cause
righteousness to spring forth before {in the presence of} all nations.” Now the garden is laid out with an order to
it. As we see in [Genesis 1:11]
Everything will bring forth after it’s own kind, or nature. But even before we
see God laying out this law of reproduction, he first brought together
everything that was of like kind, and then the law of reproduction was given.
Notice in [Gen 1:9-10] that everything was
gathered together with like kind before the law of reproduction was introduced
into His Creation. Therefore, if we are to be able to bring forth from the
garden of our mind in the same way that God has brought froth from His own
mind, we must also follow his Example. Therefore, we must have a purpose and
plan to the things which we wish to sow and harvest. Our gardens must have an
order to it if we expect to reap a good and profitable harvest. Otherwise you
will spend all of your time just trying to sort out what it is that you have in
your garden to begin with. As long as
out thoughts are not without purpose, they are wallowed to just drift aimlessly
and will never bring forth any fruit.
Thoughts which
have no purpose fall easily to the anxieties of life, and pleasure seeking and
other things which so easily rob you of victory, Peace and Grace, and lead you
to a life of weakness and self pity.
Therefore, we need to have purpose for our thoughts, and once we have
purposeful thinking, we should set out to accomplish what we purpose.
Christ Revealed in His Own Word #73
“The Garden of the Mind”
#3
In order to do
this, our purpose should be that which brings together our thoughts with our
actions, and therefore tying together our body, soul and spirit into one
energized being with one focus. We should make this purpose our supreme duty,
and we should devote ourselves to the fulfillment of this purpose, not allowing
our thoughts to wander away into ephemeral fancies, longings, and imaginings.
“This is the
Royal road to self control and true concentration of thought. And even if you
fail again and again to accomplish your purpose, as you surely will until your
weakness is overcome, the strength of character gained from this will be the
real measure of success, and this will form a new starting point for future
power and triumph. Just look at Thomas Edison, He tried nearly 10,000 times to
invent a workable light bulb, and finally he did it. But what if he had stopped
after 9,000 tries? Edison might have been [dis]
couraged, at the ending of each day, but every time he got back up, the [dis]
just flew away.
The word discourage
comes from two words which means to loose your courage. Don’t be discouraged,
be brave, be thoughtful and have a purpose in your heart that whatsoever you
set your mind to do, so shall you finish.
after all, are we not made in our Fathers image? And is not He the
Author and Finisher or our Faith. Did not He say, “That which I have began in
you I will perform it even unto the end”?
[2 Tim 1:12]“For I know whom, I have believed,
and am persuaded, that He is Able, to keep that which I’ve committed, unto Him
against that Day.
[Serpents seed] A little poem, that used to help me so much when I was a kid, goes
something like this:
There was a noble Roman,
In the Roman Emperor's days; Who heard a coward croaker, Before the
castle say: Oh, it's safe in such a
Fir tree, There's no one who can shake
it. 'Oh, no,' said the hero, 'I'll find a way or make it.'
[Jehovah Jireh] When you begin to seek the
flower bed of ease, you're on your road out. I like that old poem: Must I be carried home to heaven on a flower
bed of ease, While others fought to
win the prize, And sailed through bloody seas?
No, I must fight, if I must reign,
Increase my courage, Lord.
And again another
Poem he told us goes like this, A man of words and not of deed, Is like a
garden full of weeds.
And that is
exactly what I have been trying to bring to us in these message of the garden
of the mind. What do we have in our garden tonight, thoughts that have Purpose
or weeds.
[Mighty Conqueror] Standing sometime ago, I was in
the Westminster Abbey at London, England, and I seen the form of the poet that
wrote the Psalm of Life, Longfellow, and I thought of his poem, Tell me not in mournful numbers, Life is just an empty dream! (Just eat,
drink and be merry.) And the soul is
dead that slumbers, And things are not what they seem. Life is real! And life is earnest! And the grave is not it's goal; Dust thou art, and to dust returnest, Was not spoken of the soul. Lives of great men all remind us, that we can make our life sublime, With partings they have left behind us, Footprints on the sands of time. Footprints, that perhaps another, Sailing over life's solemn main,
For forlong and shipwreck brother,
Deeds shall take heart again.
Let us be up then and doing, With a heart wherein we strive, Be not like dumb driven cattle, be a hero
in this your life. .... and from [Go Wake Jesus] That's what I'd... Be not like
dumb, driven cattle, have to be drove into anything. Let's believe, be a hero
in the strife, "Psalm of Life," Longfellow's poem of "Psalm of
Life." I love it. It tells something; it manifests something; it's got a
real something into it, some meanings. I like something that's got color in it,
got meaning: music, poem, or whatever it might be, I love it if it's real.