Christ Revealed in His Own Word #78
Sunday, February 16, 1997
Brian Kocourek,
Pastor Grace Fellowship
[1 Cor 13: 11] When I was a
child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child, : but
when I became a man, I put away childish things... Prayer
This morning I would like to
continue from where we left off Wednesday night in our study of “Christ
Revealed in His Own Word” and this is number 78 in our series. Now
Wednesday night we spoke from paragraph #88 where brother Branham said,
[88] They have never found any better way for a baby to get what it wants
then to cry for it. Now, you
might give it a book of ethics, and set down here, and say, "I want to
teach you theology, son. Now, don't you go to squalling around here like other
kids; you're different. Now, when you want to be fed, you ring this little bell
over here." Just don't work. No, it just don't work. So when you watch nature...
[89]
Now, we see where every age, and it
was directly designed it out that we're in the last age. The shuck has pulled away, and we've
had fifteen years, nearly twenty now, years of the message sweeping across from
nation to nation, and this morning hooked up across this nation (See?), and no
organization. It can't organize. There's nothing ever been like it or will be
hereafter. See? The thing that's the
matter with the message today is, those who obtain it in their hearts
must lay in the presence of the Son to get ripened. See? You can pick up
the message, and then let the Son bake all the greenness out of you (See?), make you matured Christians. You
see what I mean? God's coming soon to receive His church, and we must have that type of Christians for Him to
receive. The wheat's got to get
ripe. All right.
Now as we examined the
Scripture that we read for our text, [1
Cor 13: 11]we find Paul saying, When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood
as a child, I thought as a child, :
but when I became a man, I put away
childish things...
So we see Paul here,
speaking of a certain time in life when we are at a certain level in our
maturity. He begins by saying, “When I was a child,” and in using
the word “When” we can see that Paul was looking at a specific period or time frame that was
part of his growth process. “When I was a child,” see? which is
not only looking at the period of time, but identifying it with certain
attributes or level of understanding. And therefore he continues by say,
“during this period of childhood, there
were certain attributes that were manifested, “I spake as a child, I thought as a child, because I understood as a child.”
In other words, Paul is
telling us something here about growing up, Spiritually Speaking. He is letting
us know that the reason a child speaks and thinks as a child is because our
understanding is only that of a child. And our speaking is only a reflection of
our thinking, which is an outward manifestation of the condition of our
mind.
[Eph 4:11 - 16] Here we find Paul telling us that when we grow up we
will no longer be tossed about by every wind of doctrine that comes our way. He
also tells us that the only way we can and truly grow up, is by speaking the
truth in love. In other words, don’t sugar coat it, just speak the Truth, and
do it with Love. Don’t Hold anything back. And then He says, the Body (of
Christ), will be fitly joined together, for one purpose and that purpose is
Christ.
Now I like that kind of talk
because he is telling us what we need to hear in order to grow up, and mature
into the full stature of a Perfect man. The thing that holds you back from
growing up and being mature is a lack of truth. If we are not really honest
with ourselves, we will never really admit when we are wrong, and therefore we
will only try to hide our error. But a real man will admit his error and will
move forward and try to better himself.
Now, we know that John was
one who was born out of season, for he was born again, he was filled with the
Spirit even before he was born. And John never did stick around those
denominations and carry on like the rest of those religious people. He went out
amongst nature to get away from all that churchy stuff and the politics of the
church and to get alone with God. And when He met God face to face in the
person of His Son, Jesus Christ, John
did not try to tell the world what a
great man He was. He simply stepped aside, and said, “Now He might increase, so
I must decrease.” [John 3:26-36]
Now just as any baby starts
off on milk, we too as Christian’s if we are to grow spiritually must start
somewhere. And we know that you do not give a newborn strong meat or you will
kill it. #1) they would probably choke before they got it down their throat,
and #2) if they could swallow it, it would be to strong for their little
stomachs and they might not be able to digest it, and they may get backed up
and die of toxic poisoning in their little bodies. And so we start off our
natural Life with milk, and when we reach a certain stage in the process of our
growth, we become ready for meat. [Hebrews
5:12-14] Here, we find that milk is for those that are considered
babies. [1 Cor 3:1-3]
Now we read in [1 Peter 2:1-3]that we should lay aside
anything that will bring acid indigestion, and seek to coat our stomachs with the milk of the
word....(read) And so we see that
there is a difference between one stage of life and another. “When I was a
child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a Child because I understood as a
child, But when I become a man, I put away those things, those attributes and
characteristics that held me to my childhood. [1 Cor 14:20] In
order to grow up our minds must do so.
Now Wednesday night I asked
this question of Jeremy, and today I would like to ask it from others. What
does Paul say, When I was a child, I
spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child, : but when I
became a man, I put away childish things... Now, I would like to ask some of you younger folks in here this
question. Why would a person put away
childish things when they become a man?
Because the condition of their mind no longer regards those things as important
to them. When we are a child we think as a child thinks, and we understand
as a child understands, and therefore we hold to childish things. But when we
grow up in our thinking and understanding, then those things that we held to as
children don’t have the same impact on us any longer. Therefore we have passed
from that stage of life into another as we see in...
When a person has suffered
in their body, and they have tasted the pains of death in themselves, or in someone very close to them, they no
longer have a desire to sin, because their desires are changing with the growth
of the spirit.[1 Peter 4:1] And this
is true. The suffering in the body is just a process that helps us to turn our
real affections in the right direction. Now, we are looking at the process of
maturing here this morning.
[Malachi 3: 16-18] And so we
are looking at the fact that our words are only a reflector or reflection of what stage of growth
we are at. Now the way for any
child to grow up, is that they begin to speak the words which they hear their
parents speaking. Sometimes, you hear of parents who are shocked when they hear
the first words out of their babies mouth is something vulgar. But the baby can
only say words which it has heard. They are not born with an innate vocabulary.
They must learn all their behavior from someone else. A baby, like any person
is limited to only those words which it hears from someone else. That is why we
need to listen to God’s Voice, His Vindicated Word. And just as a baby begins to
formulate their little minds to the place where they begin to speak
intelligible words, based upon what they hear, so too our minds, spiritually
speaking, must formulate our thinking into the same thoughts which God
expressed. After all, we all learn our behavior from others, for there is
nothing new under the sun. [Matt 5:48] And how can we become perfect
or mature, and complete like our Heavenly Father? By having and expressing the
same mind. [Phil 3:15]
[John 5:19, 30] Now, I want you to notice that even Jesus, like any other child, did not have words of his
own. We all began our talking by emulating the words which we heard our fathers
of mothers, and Jesus was no different. [John
7:16-18] And to tell what kind of
words parents speak around the house one has only to listen to their little
children. If the children talk about
Jesus and the things of God then you will know what goes on in that home. But
if the child cusses and uses vulgar
words, then you will also know what kind of atmosphere is in that home.
“By their fruits you shall know them.” And we know that the fruits is what they
have been taught. It is the teaching for the season they live. And so we see
that Jesus as our example, said, “I can of mine own self do nothing, What I
say, What I do, I have been taught this by my Father. Even the Doctrine I speak
is not mine, but His that sent me”.
Jesus told the
Pharisees in [John 8:38] “I speak
that which I have seen with my Father: and you do that which you have
seen with your Father.” And so
if we are to grow up into the Image of our Father, we must fist see Him, and
then we must recognize what it is that He is doing, that we might conform to
this image.
[1 Jn 3:1-3] Notice it is not until after we see Him that
we become like Him.
[1 Cor 13:12] Now this knowing comes as a result of seeing and
experiencing the power and Presence of God. And what Paul is speaking of here
is in reference to what he said in verse [9]. So let’s read verses [9-12]. (read) I hope then you can see that our Christian maturity
depends then upon knowing the Father, and the Fathers will. And the more of His
will He allows us to see, the more we can’t help but to become like Him
[2 Cor 3:18] You see the process here? we are changed from Glory to
Glory, ( that’s from assessment to assessment, from judgment to judgment, from
opinion to opinion) God’s vindicated Opinion, judgment and assessment, and
therefore we change from Image to Image.
It is all a process that
begins in the mind. But we must first want that change to take place.
Repentance doesn’t mean shedding crocodile size tears. It means a change of the
mind. If I truly repent of my sin and unbelief, I will truly have a change of
heart and a change of mind. I will realize that I can get no where without His
power in my Life, and then I yield myself to that Power, and That Power then
will take over my being. [Matt 5:48]
And how can we become
perfect and complete like our Heavenly Father? By having and expressing the
same mind. [1 Cor 1:10] & [Phil 2:5].
Now how is it that we can
receive the mind of the Lord? [1 Cor 2:
11-16] In other words, who instructs who? It is not we that instruct the
Lord but it is He that teaches us. He gives us an anointing upon our Soul that
when we hear the Word of Truth, we will respond to it. [1 John 2:20 & 27].
In other words, it is not
man that teaches you the things of God. God gives you a True Five fold ministry
to show You what God has said in His Word, but if the Spirit of that Word does
not anoint you, you will never be able to receive the Truth, and therefore you
will never really be free. Jesus said, “Ye shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall
make you free.” Now, religion does not do that for you. religion just
binds you up and makes you more of a hypocrite than you were before. But the
Truth of Who God is and why He is here, will make you free from yourself and
all others who would have you to become a slave to their notions and opinions.
[2 Cor 11:20] This word suffer here is one which means “you
just seem to put up with it” and this is not good. You’ve got to stand
firm in your faith and not let anyone control you.
[ 2 Peter 2:19] This word overcome is to make inferior. Those who
would make you inferior to them are those who you allow to bring you into
bondage.
We are commanded to stand
fast and to not be entangled in this yoke of bondage. [Gal 5:1] God doesn’t want a bunch of inferiority complexes on his
hands. He wants you to know that you were made in His Image, and you were made
to rule and reign with Him. And in order for you to set yourself free, you must
know just who you are. You are not just a mere human existence, a piece of protoplasm and mass of sulfur and nitrates,
but you are Spiritual beings who have been placed temporarily in this human
vessel for testing, but one day like the caterpillar, you will be set free from
the body of this death and you will fly home and become free at last.
Now the fact of the matter
is this. Jesus promised to send forth His Spirit to make us free, he said by
knowing the Truth you will be made
free. And we know that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life
as He said in [John 14:6] And we have a promise that we shall be
taught by the Father Himself.
[John 6:44-45] [John 8:28]
[Isaiah 54:13-17] This is your inheritance.. & [Eph 1: 17-18] Let’s pray.....