Christ Revealed in His Own Word #132

The Power of Revelation #3

Sunday, August 31, 1997

Brian Kocourek, Pastor Grace Fellowship

[Revelation 3: 14-19] be clothed... &[Rev 19:7-8] Prayer This morning I would like to continue with paragraph 159 and our emphasis will not be the first half as we have already spent 9 sermons examining these three attributes of the Laodicean church which are their being #1) naked, #2) blind and #3) not even knowing it which means that they are either mentally deficient or they are devil possessed, or both. And we have also spoken about the power of Revelation which Brother Branham said, they don’t even believe in. Yet we know there is a Bride who will make herself ready. She receives what God says about her and then steps forward to do what He asks of her to do. And with this in mind I would like to read again from paragraph 159 and then speak on a dedicational subject this morning, being that we are going to have a dedication to the Lord this morning of Jessica’s daughter, “ Grace Hannah”.

But before we do, I would like to build toward this dedication, So let’s read on, beginning with the second half of paragraph, [159b]and let’s read through paragraph 161. “Even their mental faculties are gone, their spiritual faculties of mental--spiritual understanding. See? Heady, high-minded,( and look at their focus) => lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God,( and because of this they become) => truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent ( which means they have no self control), and ( Thus out of jealousy, they become) despisers of those that are good, ( because they are) having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof (The power of revelation, they don't even believe in it. See?)..Now, let’s continue with his thoughts here. He says, “They don't believe in such things as prophets, and so... They don't believe in it. They believe that Malachi 4 is to be a certain church or certain organization. (Now, I would like to stop here and say this; although there are many churches who believe in Malachi 4 being fulfilled in this hour and although many of them profess that this was speaking of Brother Branham, yet many of these preach their own words which they ad to God’s Word, and thus pervert or pollute God’s pure stream of Life with their own, making Scriptures like Malachi 4 say things like this; “since the prophet is gone, God is now in His church” and since they believe that God is in His Church, they preach it and thus by what they preach they are admitting that they do not believe that Malachi 4 speaks of a one man ministry. And notice how brother Branham emphasizes here that it is a ONE man ministry, and not a group, and yet you hear them preaching today about a super church, and the church this and the church that, or the Bride this and the Bride that? Now, brother Branham never focused on the Bride, he said, “My ministry is to declare Him, that He is Here!” So we see then that his ministry and message focused on the Groom. Even some of his stories that he would tell which at first glance appeared to be about the Bride, such as his story about the Armour Bride, although much of the story pertains to how the little woman kept herself and made herself ready for the coming of the Groom, yet if it were not for her faith in the integrity of the Groom’s Word, she would never have had that Faith. So the real theme of that story is “how the Groom kept his Promise, and how the Bride responded to that promise.”

But before we look at this, let’s continue with paragraph 159 through 161. “They believe that Malachi 4 is to be a certain church or certain organization. When he come the first time he was a man. When he come the second time with a double portion, he was a man. When he come in the form of John the Baptist, he was a man. See? In the last days when the evening Lights begin to shine, eyes will become open and you'll see where you're going. Then the Body is already formed, standing upon it's feet, taking motion, moving by the Holy Spirit. What? The same One that moved upon the prophets that wrote the Bible, the same Holy Ghost moving in a Body, filled with the Holy Ghost, moved in the Holy Ghost out of every organization and every kindred, tongue, and people. 160 A little lady here, she don't belong in this congregation. She comes from somewhere else, and she come in this morning, got a picture there. She give it to my son, was very much astonished. I don't know whether she ever heard about this or not. I don't know. She had a picture of this Angel of the Lord that was on the Seven Church Ages--Seven Seals opened out there. When it did, said, "looked back through there" and she seen that standing in the sky in a dream. And she looked back through there and seen that--seen somebody in white marching forward and behind it. Said it looked, said, "Brother Branham, it was you." And said marched in there, said, "Behind you was people of different colors packing banners, Georgia, Alabama, all different kinds of places, marching forward coming up into the Headship to where Christ was being revealed into the vision. Oh, hallelujah. We're in the last days, and the last hours of the days.

161 Do you see Him now in His Word and all of His Word made manifest right here before us? Oh, church of the living God, get to your feet; believe Him with all that's in you. Hold to that little Wheel in the middle of the Wheel; let It stabilize every move and every motion that you make. Every thought that you have, may it be controlled by this Power on the inside of you, because God is setting right in His Word of this hour in the evening Light, showing forth the Light.

Now, if you’ll notice, brother Branham shifted gears here from an indictment in paragraph 159 to an appeal tot he Bride to make herself ready in paragraph 161. And he used an illustration of a dream that a young lady had to make the turn in his direction. Brother Branham said from the Message Revelations chapter 4. When a Christian's first saved, his face is turned towards Christ, then He's got something to do himself. He has to, next thing, sanctify himself from all unclean habits, laying aside every weight, making herself ready. The Bride has made Herself ready. Reminds me of a little story. I just must say it 'fore we go on. Out west here sometime ago, many years, there was this great Armour and Swift Packing Company. How they do, they come out there and buy cattle and buy ranches. And they're worth a lot of money, and buy up all the small ranches, and have millions of acres of ranch like that, run these big, fine Hereford cattle in sections...?... Own their own railroads and things that brings them cattle from one pasture to another. And Armour and Swift had a big ranch, and one day they had a foreman there, the--the superintendent, it was, of the ranch, he had about four or five daughters. And they found out that one of the big Armour brothers was--or not brothers, but sons, were going to visit the ranch. And he was a--a young, single man. And all these girls was sure was going to vamp this boy as soon as he--he come. And so they all was getting ready and making everything ready to come. When he got there, they was going to meet him. They put on an old frontier day, with their little dresses on, with their fringe on it, and 44's on each hip, and them hats on the back of their head, you know. And they was going to be regular westerners, and each one of the girls was going to get... One of them was going to get this boy. And they had a little cousin there that her mother was dead and her father was dead. She was a cousin, and she almost was the slave to all that was there. And all the dirty work, she had to do it, washing the dishes and everything. And she had no clothes; she had to take hand-me-downs. And so when the time come that the boy was to arrive, they all got in their buckboards, and away down to the station they went to receive him. And they was shooting the guns, and the horses nickering, and everything. And they brought him out to the ranch. And that night they had a big shindig. And they got out there on the haystack and the corral fence, and they sang, and they danced, and all through the night. He was there for two or three days.

E-37 Sudden Secret Going away of the Church 58-1012 As you all know, I done a little ranching in my life of riding and so forth. One of my calls to God was setting on a pair of old Texas wheel spurs, with a rifle laying on the saddle, and a pistol on my side when I heard them trees blowing: sounded like a Voice said, "Adam, where are you?" As I looked up towards the stars and heard old Slim, an old cowboy from over in Texas, blowing through a comb with a piece of paper: Down at the cross where my Saviour died, It was down there from cleansing from sin I cried; There to my heart was His blood applied; Glory to His name! I pulled the blanket over my face and tried to hide myself, 'cause God was looking down in those hills. It was on one of those ranches where the great packing companies buy their cattle, run them into the mountains, and then bring them out after calves are born in the fall of the year and brand them and sell off some of the old herd and the steers, and so forth. And go ahead and accumulate their great herds of cattle. And on this certain ranch, the owner, or the caretaker, what we call there "the top, the foreman," he had about five daughters. They were all beautiful women, young, single. And there was a little lady there which was a cousin to these girls, that her father and mother had both deceased. And she was brought over there to live with her uncle. And those girls, that they was in those fancy type of frilly frocks, you know, and they just took this poor little girl, and they just treated her like she was some animal, all the hard work poured right on her. She washed the dishes; she cleaned up, she fixed the bunks; she had to do it all. And they just stayed around with polished fingernails and manicure, the stuff on their lips, and all fixed up, you know, just prissy. And especially they did they do this when they heard that from Chicago, the big packing company who owned the outfit, his young single son was coming to visit the ranch. Oh, did they deck out in good clothes. Oh, how they did dress and make ready for his coming.

And each night the conversation would be, they were going to vamp this young man and marry him and Then they would own the ranch themselves, for the son would fall heir to all. So they made themselves ready. So you see, there is a ready to be made. And if You make yourself ready by joining church or something; that ain't all that's required. You've got to have Oil in your lamp. See? Just your dressing, saying, "We'll build a big church. We'll belong to a better denomination. We'll give them a pipe organ to the Lord. We'll make plush seats." That isn't what God requires. Righteousness is what God requires, of His Son, Christ Jesus. That's the garments, for the Bible said, "The white clothes which she is adorned in is the righteousness of the saints." So these girls thought they would make themselves ready for the coming of this young man. 'Course that poor little cousin. That reminds me of an off-cast somewhere. You could appreciate her. She was a beautiful woman. But oh, my, she was a nice little girl, but she was not even considered among them, not as a relative.

Now, that's about the true picture of the real Church today before the denominations: not even considered, a bunch of interdenominationals, a bunch of outcasts. So the poor little fellow just went ahead working. And when the young man arrived, they didn't know it. But he came looking for a wife. He was sick and tired of the city girls who just stayed all dolled up, and, oh, you know, hung around the barrooms, and rode around in the Cadillacs, and the different things. They were just sick and tired of it. He thought, "I'll go out west and hunt me a real girl, that'll be a real mother to my babies, and something who'll not hang out at all the sewing circles, and the societies, and things, but will just be a real mother." But, what did he find when he got there but the same thing that he had condemned in Chicago.

I wonder if the Lord Jesus will find the church just a denomination, just by name, a church, no oil in the lamps, not ready to go? Oh, they got fine frocks; they got the biggest churches, the biggest this and all these things, but God don't want that. He wants you as an individual. They may have the best pastors, they may have the finest deacon board, but He wants you with Oil. He's coming to catch that Oily Bride away. And as he, this boy looked upon, he was disheartened. And that night they were having something on the order of, in them days, it's been long ago, they called the Charleston. Which is just like a rock-and-roll. And they were going to throw one of those big parties. Many of you people remember that old Charleston dance they did back when I was a kid, when I was out there. And so they were all had their little black and white clothes on, you know, to do the... (Oh, I... it was called Charleston and Black Bottom, that's what they were calling it.) And they had them two tone clothes, and they were going to do these dances and...

But this boy was sick of that stuff. He was hunting for a real girl. So he slipped out of their party. He's watching them; he went in to look at them. So is another Son that I know of. Another Son will come to your church, He will, The Son of God, He will come there. He will look around; He will see your fine dress. He will know that you're a good member. But He's looking for something different from just the regular trend of church.

So as he looked around, after while, he was so discouraged, he walked out the door. And going back, walking in the moonlight towards the bunkhouse, he heard somebody kind of humming. And he looked around, and here went this little girl with a great big pan of dishwater, way in the night, bare-footed, to throw the dishwater out. And as soon as he saw her, something another said, "That's her; that's the one." So he put hisself in the way. And when she... Well, when she come back along the corral fence, why, he was standing there. And she almost fainted. He said, "How do you do?" And he said, "What's your name?" And she told him her name. And it was the same name of the boss of the ranch. Said, "Then I can't understand how that this... Is that your father?" Said, "No. I'm just a cousin, you see. My father and he were brothers. I've got the same name, but I... That's the boss."

You might have the name of church, might have the name of Branham Tabernacle, or Methodist, or whatever church you go. That isn't it, friends. See, it's something different; it's your character; that's what God's a looking at. You might be Methodist; you might be Baptist; you might be Presbyterian. It's not that. It's character that God looks at, not just earthly character, but Holy Spirit character. "These signs shall follow them that believe," said Jesus in the 16th chapter of Saint Mark. She was so gotten that he would speak to her even, and she held her little head down and she ran into the house.

He was there for a week or two. And he looked all around everywhere. And he never said no more, but he kept watching her. And the night before he left, (he was to leave the next morning); they was throwing another big party. And he watched for her. He couldn't find her. He knowed she'd had to do the dishes and so forth, the dirty work, and all could that be throwed off on her.

And that's the way the real church of God has to take it sometime, the dirty work, all the scandal names, and all of the things that's mean, to be throwed at it. But she's the great speckled bird. All the other birds gather around and flock at her. That's all right. Her name's on the Lamb's Book of Life. She'll spread Her great wings someday for a flight. She's ready. Them speckles meant the Blood of Christ sprinkled on her. You've read it in your Book, the Bible. And this boy caught the little lady that night coming out. He said, "I've watched you. No one knows it but myself." He said, "I've come out here looking for a wife. And all that I have ever seen, you meet the requirements." How did she feel, the big man's son asking her now, if she would be his wife? Just imagine how those girls must've felt when they looked out the window and saw holding hands with that little despised cousin, the man that they tried to beg with all their big fine frocks and frills and carrying on. And he said, "Will you marry me?" "Oh," she said, "sir, I'm not worthy."

That's the way the real church feels about it. "I'm not worthy, If I can just wash Your dishes, it'll be all right." Are you willing to take that place? Could you wash the dishes from the supper, would you be willing to be called fanatic, or would you be willing to take the way with the Lord's despised few? Are you willing? Are you willing at your work to be marked? "There's a man; he's a religious fanatic, because he won't drink; he won't smoke; he doesn't dance; he doesn't run with women." "There's a woman that keeps her head down, as she walks down through the town; She won't join our circles..." Are you willing to take the way, make yourself ready for the coming of the Lord? If you do, you'll be waiting for Him to come. You'll joy at His coming. It won't be a dreadful thing; it'll be the most gracious moment that you can think of, the coming of the Lord. "All those that love His appearing..."

So when he left, he told her he'd be back at a certain time. Said, "When you begin to see..." There's a winter. Said, "When you begin to see those trees begin to bud yonder, that mesquite and stuff begin to take on new life," said, "then I'll be back about springtime." I understand; I couldn't say it was true, but the girl only got about a dollar and seventy-five cents a week for her labor. But she saved every penny of it. Why? She was getting ready for the wedding that was to be. She was saving her money for her wedding gown, for he said, "We'll be married right here at the ranch when I come again." She saved her money all year. She was happy. She didn't mind washing the dishes. She didn't mind ironing the clothes, or sweeping out the bunkhouse, or whatmore. She was engaged to the boss of the ranch. What do we care what the world says, a real Christian? What do we care if we have to be despised and rejected? "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." The Boss's Son's a coming one day, and we're going to a wedding supper. What difference does it make to us, if you love His appearing?

After it was all... The days passed. The little daughters, the little cousins, made fun of her, danced around her and done everything else. Why, said, "You poor silly kid. Do you not know if he... Why, he was just like all other men. He was just teasing you." But the Son of God doesn't tease. "Except a man be borned again, he will in nowise..." I don't care how good you look, how much church you belong to, what your status is in the country. You might be a politician; you might be in the federal government; you might be in the Catholic, Presbyterian, any church you want to be, but it's "Except a man be borned again, you'll not enter... And these signs shall follow them that believe." I'm only quoting His Word.

Finally, when the hour come, she begin to see the buds begin to come on the trees. She knew he'd be there at any time. And he said, "I'll try to make it just at sundown, so we can be married and hurry off." And every evening at sundown when she'd go and make herself all ready, get her little wedding garment on and wait at the gate. And these little cousins come and laugh at her and make fun of her, and said, "You poor silly ignorant child, to think that the man who is the president of the company, that his boy would marry a dishwasher." But, He was looking for virtue, not clothes. He had enough money to buy all the clothes that's necessary. God don't care how fancy things you have, He owns everything in the world. So He wants virtue. He wants something that's real.

And so finally one evening, while she was standing there... And they were laughing and making fun of her and telling her she was silly, all at once they heard some hoofs a prancing. What happened? Across the hill come a buckboard. Now, a buckboard's a little open top wagon, that’s very popular in the west. And the horses all jingled and everything; coming across the hill come this carriage. And it stopped in front of the gate, and she run. She said, "I knew you would come."

That's to be the Church someday. She threw herself in his arms, and he said, "Darling, I have had a man stationed on this ranch since I left here last year that's brought me a report of everything that you've done." And, God's got a Man stationed in this tabernacle this morning. He's called the Holy Spirit. He knows the secrets of your heart. He knows everything that you've done or what you think. He tells the Father everything that you do. He brings the message back and forth. He said, "And he has told me that you've waited, and you worked, and you've labored patiently, waiting for me to come. Now, you've been a slave for a long time. But now, your slave days are over. I have brought along the minister. Right under this rose trellis you become my wife." He kissed her, put the wedding ring on her finger, and picked her up, and set her in the buckboard with his arm around her, and drove off to find his new big palace on Outer Drive in Chicago, the selected of the nation, where she could live as his bride.

Why? She was ready. She lived and been the kind of a woman that he wanted. It happened just in the spare of a moment. And that sudden secret coming of the Lord; the world don't know it's going to happen, but we do. It's at hand. Don't be like the young lady they stripped the clothes from in Pearl Harbor; you'll go down in disgrace. Be like the one who made herself ready, and kept her virtues, and was waiting for the coming of the Lord, 'cause it'll be secret and sudden.

Now, let’s bring the child up here and if Gary and Judy would accompany Jessica this morning, it would be a good thing because the three of them have called little Grace Hannah a blessed addition to their home and they have set their hearts and lives in such a manner as to bring up this little child in the ways of God.

You know the combination of this child’s name is wonderful, because we know that “we are saved by Grace and that of Faith for it is a Gift of God”. And so the name Grace suggests to us that although we are not deserving, yet by a power which is above us, and outside of our own control, we have still found unmerited favor. And her other name Hannah comes from the wonderful mother of Samuel, who so wanted a child that she made a covenant with God, that if God would find Grace for her and give her a child, she would raise him up to serve the Lord, and in fact when he was of age she brought him to the Priest to be raised in the service of God. And did you know what the name Hannah means? It comes from a Hebrew word, channah, which means Grace.

[Ephesians 4:7] But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. So here we have a little child, who did not ask to come into this world and she had no control over her coming, or the way she came, but now that she has come, she is called by the name of Grace-Grace, which, to me shows a message of “double Grace” or like Elisha received, a double portion. And to say her name, Gracie Grace, should bring to our minds the very fitting message of our need for the Grace of God and the double portion which he gives to his church. We see this also in the dual atonement that James speaks about when he said that when we call for the elders to pray for us we are not only healed, but forgiven as well. [James 5: 14-16] Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Then in verse 16 we are called upon to confess our faults one to another... Confess [your] faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

So when I see this name Grace-Grace, I am called to mind to this great double atonement, of which not only is there a healing for my problems promised by God, but also forgiveness as well. Now, remember, Peter said that Grace and peace are multiplied unto us through the knowledge of God and our Lord Jesus Christ. And since there are two of them, God and His Son we have a double portion representing a double blessing of healing and forgiveness. For if we do not forgive, we can never move forward.

[I Peter 2:1-3] Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord [is] gracious.

Now, this morning we are here not only to dedicate this child, but really, what we are here for is to re-dedicate ourselves to God, and we are here to ask Him for double Grace in our own lives to raise not only this child in His Word, but to keep ourselves in His Grace as well.

Now the same one who promised us life and breathe also promised to protect us and guard us against falling. Paul said, [2 Timothy 1:12] For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

And therefore, it is not a matter of our being capable or not, it is a matter of His being more than able to keep that which we have committed unto Him... Paul’s confidence didn’t come from what abilities he had, but rather his confidence came in that the Very God who began the good work in you will also perform it. [Philippians 1:6] Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform [it] until the day of Jesus Christ:

Therefore we approach this subject not lightly, but rather with all gravity and sincerity because we are talking about Eternal Life and a Soul that is Eternal. [I Corinthians 4:1-2] Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.

Therefore the charge that I lay upon you, as a family this morning is this: “Will you be faithful to watch over this gift which God has given to you, and to keep it and protect it and nurture it in the ways that God’s Word has provided for you to do?” ________ . It doesn’t take a village to raise a child, it takes God fearing parents and family to raise a child in the way that it should go, for if you do so that child shall never depart. Although that child may depart for a season from the Word, the Word will never depart from that child.

[Deuteronomy 6:1-7] “Now, this is the instruction, the statutes and the precepts which the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you might do them in the land to which you go to possess it. And the reason I am teaching you these statutes is that you might learn to reverently fear the Lord your God, you and your children and your children’s children, and keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, all the days of your life; and that your days might be prolonged. Hear therefore, and be watchful to do them, that it may be well with you, and that you may increase exceedingly as the Lord God of your fathers has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey. The Lord our God is One Lord- the Only Lord, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your mind and heart and with your entire being, and with all your might. And these words which I am commanding you this day, shall be first in your own heart, then you shall teach and impress them diligently upon the minds and hearts of your children, and you shall talk of them when sit at home and when you walk along the road, and when you lie down and when you get up. And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house and your gates. “

I believe that what we have seen in the word today is dedicating a child to the Lord is not just a ceremony but it is a commitment. It is not the child who is making that commitment this morning, but it is you Jessica and your parents, who are here to stand before God. It is you who are making a vow before God this morning to raise up little Gracie in a home that is conducive to the presence of God dwelling with you.

He said, [Hebrews 8:10] For this [is] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: [I Peter 4:10] As every man hath received the gift, [even so] minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.