Christ Revealed in His Own Word #138
Purpose
Saturday,
September 27, 1997
Brian Kocourek,
Pastor Grace Fellowship
II Chronicles 20:20b Believe in
the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall
ye prosper. Prayer.
This Evening I would like to
continue from where we left off last Sunday when we read from paragraph 161 of Christ is Revealed in His Own Word.
Now, I did not know why I just could not seem to get beyond paragraph 161, but
I think I now know why. In paragraph [161],
Brother Branham said, “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 #1) every move and #2) every motion
that you make. #3) Every thought that you have, may it be controlled
(Stabilized) 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. Then
he went on to say,
Therefore This evening I
would like to look at this thought of what it means to stabilize every move,
motion and thought.
In order tot do this we must
first understand what it means to stabilize something. Can any one tell me what
the word stabilize means? __________
According to Webster, the
word stabilize means: To make stable, to keep from changing or
fluctuating. and we find that the word stable means : Not
easily moved or thrown off balance, firm; steady. Not likely to break down,
fall apart, or give way; fixed. Firm in character, purpose, resolution;
steadfast. Not likely to change or be affected adversely; lasting, enduring.
Capable of returning to an equilibrium (balance), or original position after having been displaced.
Now, what I see in these
definitions is a person is resolute, with a fixed purpose in mind and not wavering
to far from that purpose.
Therefore, in order to be
fixed and firm or stabilized as brother Branham is telling us here we must know
to what we are and should be fixed. We must have an absolute, and that absolute
is our control tower as we hear brother Branham so many times tell us, and once
we have our focus clear as to the purpose in Life then this purpose and being
fixed to that purpose is what will govern our ship, or our vessel through the
sea’s of life.
The first time in the
scriptures that we hear the word stable, or a derivative of it used is when God
gave Noah a Token and He promised that He would establish this token between
Himself and man forever.
[Gen 9:17] And God said unto
Noah, This [is] the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that [is] upon the earth. Now, the word established that is used
here is the Hebrew word, quwm pronounced (koom) and it means: to
raise up or bring on the scene, and it
also means to constitute, establish, confirm, or fix in order to fulfill
Our own constitution is what
governs this nation and it is a fixed and firm document that is supposed to
give purpose to this nation and it’s form of government. But as with man it has
seen many changes and interpretations which have altered the true meaning and
purpose for which it was written. In fact when the purpose is not known then
the wording has little or no effect any more. And that is why we have seen so
many changes to our constitution over the last few decades, just as the church
has altered their actions and doctrines because they have failed to understand
the purpose behind the word of God.
Therefore we are looking at
a very important principle this evening if we are going to be able to be
stabilized as Brother Branham is speaking here. First of all, we must come to
an understanding that our stability rests in one thing and one thing only, and
that is purpose. If we have the
right purpose, then we will have the
right stability, because we will have our stabilizer on. Brother Branham said, let
It stabilize #1) every move and #2) every motion that you
make. #3) Every thought that you have, may it be controlled
(Stabilized) 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.
Therefore we can see that
there must be something that controls and stabilizes and that is PURPOSE. If our purpose is God’s
purpose then we will do what that purpose points us to.
Webster PURPOSE : something that one intends, intention or
aim, 2. resolution or determination. 3. The object for which something
exists, or is done. And this third definition is the one I want
to focus on this evening. What is our purpose of being, or our purpose for living?
Psalm 112:1-10 Praise ye the LORD. Blessed [is] the man [that] feareth the LORD,
[that] delighteth greatly in his commandments. His seed shall be mighty upon
earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed. Wealth and riches [shall
be] in his house: and his righteousness endureth for ever. Unto the upright
there ariseth light in the darkness: [he is] gracious, and full of compassion,
and righteous. A good man sheweth favor, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs
with discretion. Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in
everlasting remembrance. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.
His heart [is] established, he shall not be afraid, until he see [his
desire] upon his enemies. He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his
righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour. The
wicked shall see [it], and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt
away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.
Now, this Psalm that we just
read sounds almost identical to what Brother Branham was saying, telling us that we need to be unmoved, fixed
and established. And the only one who is capable of establishing anything is
God through His Word.
Job 22:28 Thou (
He’s Speaking to God) Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and
the light shall shine upon thy ways.
Psalms 40:2 He brought me up also out of
an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, [and]
established my goings. Again here we see that David had his beginnings in a not so suitable
place, but it was the Lord that took Him and established Him.
Proverbs 3:19 The LORD by wisdom hath
founded the earth; by understanding hath
he established the heavens. So we see here that it was through His, the Lords,
understanding that He set forth His plan and established the world.
Psalm 96:10 Say among the heathen [that] the LORD reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall not be
moved: he shall judge the people righteously.
Proverbs 24:3 Through wisdom is an house
builded; and by understanding it is
established: Therefore any stabilizing that will be must come forth not as an
afterthought, but as a pre-planned purpose. It is planned out and then through
council it is worked out through many different paths that it could take and
finally it is set forth and established.
Proverbs 4:26 Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. The word ponder here is a
word which means to way out and take into balance. So we see that the feet will
stumble unless the path is first taken into consideration, and weighed out.
This then deals with making the right judgments, and decisions based upon what
that path will lead to. We should never walk down the path of life just
blindly. But we should fully weigh out what it is that we are here for and we
should walk in the light of that decision. [1 John 1:7] if we walk in the Light as He is in the
Light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ
cleanses us from all sin. But walking is not just something that we do
that we take no thought of our doing. There is a certain path here that is
spoken of, it says if we walk in the light, as he is in the light. So we must
be walking in the same path where the Light is because when we do this, then we
know we have fellowship not only with Him, but with those who are also on the
same path.
Proverbs 12:3 A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the
righteous shall not be moved. And if it is not moved then it is established. And
what establishes it is Righteousness which is right-wise-ness.
Proverbs 20:18 [Every] purpose is
established by counsel: and with good advice make war. And Proverbs 15:22 Without
counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counselors they are
established. Now, this is not to say that any council will do, but we know
that He is called the Mighty God, the wonderful Councilor {Isa 9:6].
Therefore if we would just commit ourselves to Him, and our work to Him, he
will make sure that our thoughts will follow His Purpose.
Proverbs 16:3 Commit thy works unto the
LORD, and thy thoughts shall be
established. And remember, He promised if we be any otherwise minded, He would
reveal it to us. [Phil 3:15]
Proverbs 30:4 Who hath ascended up into
heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound
the waters in a garment? who hath established
all the ends of the earth? what [is] his name, and what [is] his son's
name, if thou canst tell? Therefore, nothing can be
established without the Lords doing it. And all He requests from us is this, if
we want to be unmovable, if we want to be stabilized in our actions and in our
thinking, then we must use the same thing that God Himself uses and that is His
Word. Then if we just believe His Word, we will not be moved. [Psalms 121:3] He will not suffer thy
foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
Isaiah 7:9b If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established. Therefore, unless you
believe you can not help but to be
shaken and moved, and driven like the wind, vascillating back and forth.
[II Thess 2:1] Now we beseech you,
brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and [by] our gathering
together unto him, That ye be not soon
shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter
as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not
come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed,
the son of perdition;
[Heb 12:25-2] See that ye
refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that
spake on earth, much more [shall not] we [escape], if we turn away from him
that [speaketh] from heaven: Whose
voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I
shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
And this [word], Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things
that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be
shaken may remain. Wherefore we
receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may
serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
Isaiah 45:18 For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that
formed the earth and made it; he hath
established it, he created it not in
vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I [am] the LORD; and [there is] none
else. Jer 10:12
He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his
wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion. Jer 51:15 He hath made the earth by
his power, he hath established the world
by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heaven by his understanding.
Isaiah 54:14 In righteousness ( in right-wise-ness) shalt thou
be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear:
and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.
Notice in the Alpha, Acts 16:5
And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased
in number daily. II Cor 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his
heart, [so let him give]; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a
cheerful giver.
Hebrews 8:6b he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
Hebrews 13:9 Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For [it is] a
good thing that the heart be established
with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been
occupied therein.
II Peter 1:12 Wherefore I will not be
negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know
[them], and be established in the present
truth.
God wants us to check our
motives, and our purpose. [Isaiah 1:11-]
To what purpose [is] the multitude of
your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams,
and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of
lambs, or of he goats. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this
at your hand, to tread my courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an
abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I
cannot away with; [it is] iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and
your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to
bear [them]. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from
you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of
blood. Wash you, make you clean; put
away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to
do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for
the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your
sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like
crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the
good of the land:
[Romans 8:28] And we know that all things work together
for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose.
So therefore, His purpose is the only one which will work everything
out for our benefit and for our good. Then what would I want my own purpose
for?
Romans 9:11 (For [the children] being not
yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of
works, but of him that calleth;) 17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my
power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
II Tim 1:9 Who hath saved us, and
called [us] with an holy calling, not
according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which
was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
II Tim 3:10 But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose,
faith, long-suffering, charity, patience, So Paul tells us here that He had a set
purpose and we find that answer in [Acts
26:13-19]
Daniel 1:8 But Daniel purposed in his
heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat,
nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the
eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
I John 3:8 He that committeth sin is of
the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy
the works of the devil.
Isaiah 14:24 The LORD of hosts hath
sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I
have purposed, [so] shall it stand:
Isaiah 46:11 Calling a ravenous bird from
the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have
spoken [it], I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed [it], I will also do
it.
Jeremiah 4:28b because I have spoken [it], I have purposed [it], and will not
repent, neither will I turn back from it.
Ephesians 1:9 Having made known unto us
the mystery of his will, according to
his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather
together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are
on earth; [even] in him: 1:11 In whom also we have
obtained an inheritance, being
predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the
counsel of his own will:
Ephesians 3:11 According to the eternal purpose
which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: