Christ Revealed in His Own Word #83

“God’s Book”

Wednesday, March 5 1997

Brian Kocourek, Pastor Grace Fellowship

This Evening I would like to continue with our series in Christ Revealed in His Own Word, this is #83 in our series. I would like to look again at Paragraph 97 where Brother Branham said, ...

[97] "Oh," you say, "Brother Jones or Brother So-and-so, he's a great man. He'll see it." Oh, no. He reveals It to whom He will. Say, "My wife don't see it, and she's a Christian woman." He reveals Himself to whom He will. See? "Well, my pastor's a great man." That's right, but He reveals Himself to whom He will. Now, check with what's been revealed to what's happening, then you can quite understand. Now, here is the key... Brother Branham said, Check with what has been revealed against what you see happening. In other words, there have got to be at least two pieces to the puzzle. The written Word and the Revealed or manifested Word. And the two have got to dovetail or your understanding of the Word is not correct. From Anointed Ones at the End-time, Brother Branham said, ... PP.[233]

"For it is impossible for those which were once enlightened and didn't move on with the Word as it come to pass..." They're dead, gone.’

So we see that those who can not recognize the Word as it comes to pass, are considered dead and gone. That is why it is so important to hear, recognize and act upon the Word of God. Anyone can pick up this Bible and read it. Any one can say after reading it that they believe everything in it. Most of your So called Christian denominations will tell you they believe this Bible to be the Word of God. But when you can prove to them that the way in which they believe it is wrong, they will put you out of their church. And let’s face it, I can take scripture and really can’t prove a thing by it. It would be my understanding against your understanding. And we would certainly get no where.

Why do you think we have over two thousand denominations today? If words could settle the issues, then why is there so much fussing over the interpretation of the constitution of the United States which is only 200 hundred years old? If by words you could prove anything, then you would never need vindication, nor would you need the Presence of God to make ready a prepared people. If words could settle the issue, then anyone who could read would be able to understand the Word, and God would never have to vindicate and prove it to be as He said it. If man could understand this Word, just by reading it, then he would never need the Holy Spirit to teach them. And what about the Five-fold ministry. Who would need it. And who would need a Prophet? But we are thankful that Jesus said it is hidden to some and revealed to those He has ordained to see it, and notice the emphasis is on seeing it.

In His Audio Letter to Lee Vayle Brother Branham said, “God then, in order to proclaim this, has to send a prophet in order to inject this, make this real again, show the people the hour we're living in? Because if they only see it in the hour past, then there's no hope for the church. The church must see it in the present tense. So God sends His prophet to manifest, present tense of it. You see? And then, after it's over, then history is. And from the Message, [The Oddball PP 138] Now, the same Holy Spirit that can predict exactly, without missing one time, all these years and through His Word, has tried to uncover to you today that God isn't some object way off or some historical something; He's a living, present tense, His Word made manifest....... God sent me for the purpose. You believe it, and there it happens. That's exactly (See?), confirmed perfectly.

219 Anointed Ones at the End-time Moses said, "Now, the Lord God will speak to me, and show me, and has told me what to do, and I'll tell you." Said, "I AM sent me." I AM, not I was, or will be, I AM, present tense, the Word now. Not the Word that was, the Word that will come, the Word that's now. See? You get it? "I AM..." I AM is the Word. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God." Is that right? "I AM..." "God sent me as His prophet to vindicate this to be true: 'I AM the answer to this Word.' Told me to come down here and do this." And when he did it, Pharaoh said, "Well, we got plenty of boys in our group can do that too": impersonators. Jesus said, "Now, that's going to repeat again in the last days (see?), claiming the same thing..." Watch who come down first. Watch who stayed with the Word. See? That's it. That's how it's known.

264 God’s Only Provided Place of Worship 65-1128M No leaven among you, that brings the entire Fullness of the Godhead bodily among you. Couldn't do it in Luther's age, couldn't do it in Wesley's age, couldn't do it in the Pentecostal age; but in the day when the Son of man will be manifested, revealed, brought back the church together with the entire Deity of God amongst His people, showing the same visible signs, manifesting Himself like He did at the beginning when He was manifested on earth in a form of a Prophet God (Oh, Glory.) promised by Malachi 4, promised by the rest of the Scriptures. Where you worship at? The house of God, seated, in present tense.

1004-48 Q &A COD 64-0823E So being a well trained theologian had nothing to do with it. Being meek and gentle had nothing to do with it. What made Him different? He was the Word made flesh, not the Word for the day of Moses; Moses was that day--Word; not the Word for the days of Noah, Noah was the Word for that day; not the day--the Word for the day of Elijah, Elijah was that Word for that day; but He was the present tense Word, and they were living in the back.

Why couldn’t those Pharisees see that Christ had come amongst them? Because they loved the praises of men more that the praises of God. They loved their own organizational thinking than the Word of God.

[John 12:37 - 40] But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: [38]“That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with [their] eyes, nor understand with [their] heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. [41] These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him. ( Now, John is gives us the clue to what is wrong with those who will not receive the Manifested Word. He tells us that the Manifested Word which we know is the interpretation of God’s Word is the Doxa or the Glory of God which is God’s very opinion, judgment and assessment ). And it is this assessment that they turn down. [42-48] Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess [him], lest they should be put out of the synagogue: For they loved the praise (Doxa) of men more than the praise of God. Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. And he that seeth me, (the manifested Word), seeth him that sent me. I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

So then what we see hear is Jesus Himself taking no credit for what He said and did. Then it wasn’t His Word, It was God’s Word. Then if He could not even take credit for the Words that He spake, how could we even think that this is a Book of Man. It’s not! It’s God’s Book. God spoke It and man wrote down what He said. And that leads us to the next thought that Brother Branham teaches us... So let’s read on in this wonderful Message as we pick up at PP. 98.

98 Now, we notice then, it makes It a Book of God and not a book of man. If It was of man... Now, let us look how It would express Itself. Look how It exposes sin of the men who wrote It. Notice the men who lived in It's day, Abraham for instance. He's called the father of the faithful. Notice how that... Do you think Abraham would've wrote this Book on himself of his own cowardliness? How do you think that he would've wrote that he lied to the king that morning and said that was his sister when it was his wife? Would It write of his cowardly deeds that he done? Sure, never done that. How about Jacob in his deceit, a little deceiver that Jacob was? Would a man, a Hebrew writing of his Hebrew brother that in him that all of Israel was called, would he dare to write the deceit of the very father of the whole nation? In Jacob come forth the patriarchs; from the patriarchs come forth the tribes. And the foundation stone of all of it, the Bible exposes him as a deceiver. That right? You think man would wrote that? No, sir.

I hope you can see what Brother Branham is driving at here. If this was a book written by man it would never contain the things that showed the humanity and error of the ones that they wanted you to follow.

Just look among us today. The President of the United State. He lies, he cheats, he commits adultery, he uses the government property for his own monetary gain, and yet do you think the Liberal press will print anything about it? If you do, then your as gullible as the rest of the people in this nation.

[2 Thessalonians 2: 10-12] Now the Wuest Translations calls these people gullible, “deception geared tot he gullibility of those who are perishing, this gullibility being caused by the fact that they did not accept the love for the Truth tot he end that they might be saved.” Do the people want the Truth today? Absolutely not. The Bible tells that they don’t.

Remember, brother Branham said for you to watch what is happening and compare it with what has been revealed. Then you will know the Truth. Now in the Book of Romans Paul tells us the condition of those who would turn away from the Truth and believe a lie.

[Romans 1:25-32] Now if this is not the main condition of the people today, what is? And the reason they possess all of these deplorable attributes is because they have turned the Truth into a Lie, and they are receiving the just reward for their actions. They have become reprobate concerning the Truth. There is no way that they will ever listen again and turn to God. This nation is doomed for destruction, and if God does not destroy it, then He is obligated to raise up Sodom and Gomorah and apologize to them.

100 How about a man writing of the greatest king they ever had here on earth, as crowned king David and his committing adultery? Would those Jews ever wrote of their most noble king being an adulternous? Oh, we have history like George Washington never told a lie, things like that. We say--call that history, but this is a man--a Bible that calls David an adulternous, and he was the king of Israel, an adulternous who was to be the son... Jesus to be the Son of David, the very Headstone, and His father according to flesh was an adulternous. Jews would never wrote a Book like that. Would man write this of his own self? Certainly not.

101 How would that proud nation of Israel (You know how proud they were.)--proud nation of Israel, went and wrote about their own idolatry, wrote about their rebellion against their God, wrote against the dirty, filthy things that they did, wrote out in a Book? They'd have sure hid that. They'd just showed the good things. But this Bible that--tells what's right and what's wrong. It's... Anyone knows that the Jews would've never wrote a Book like that about their own uncleanness, and idolatry, and failure, and everything they had. They'd have never wrote that. Oh, no. Then who wrote It? The Bible said in Hebrews 1:1: "God in sundry times in divers manners spake to the fathers through the prophets." Then it wasn't the prophets. It wasn't mortal. God, not prophets in sundry time, but, "God in sundry time in divers manners spoke to the fathers through the prophets." I got a Scripture wrote down here. I don't know what It is; I can't refer to It. Usually when these thing I'm referring to, I'm looking at a Scripture. I'm going to look it up just for a minute; you excuse me. It's II Timothy 3:16. I--I--I thought I would remember that, but I'm sorry. I'll just stop a minute to find out what it is.

102 "God in sundry times and divers manners spake to the fathers through the prophets." Now, II Timothy 3--3:16. Let's see what it says in 3:16. All Scripture... (Yeah.)... is given by inspiration of... (Prophets? No. Inspiration of what?)... God, and is profitable for doctrine, and reproof, and correction, and instruction in righteousness. That the man of God may stand perfect, thoroughly furnished to all good works. All right then, all Scripture is wrote by inspiration. Jesus here on the earth said that heavens and earth would pass away but His Word wouldn't. He said all Scripture must be fulfilled. So then, the Book is not a book of man's writings; It's a Books of God's writings.

104 Now, we know God chose by predestination His church, His place, His prophets, and all about it. By foreknowledge He predestinated His prophet. And when the age arrived, He had His prophet arrive at the same time and inspired him as He wrote the Bible by him. Now, God wrote the Bible only using the prophet, because that's His way of doing it. So see, it is not the word... So see, It is the Word of God and not the word of man.

I love these words of comfort and assurance that we hear in this last paragraph. God’s predestination.

Because if my salvation depended upon my own righteousness, or how well I can keep the Laws of God, then I’m already lost and on my road to hell. But He never said our salvation depended on how nice we are, or what lovely spirit we seem to have, or how well we can get along with others. No! He said in [Ephesians 2:8-9] “For by Grace are ye saved, through Faith; and that not of yourselves : It is the gift of God: not of works lest any man should boast.

God doesn’t leave it up to us because he knows we will never be able to live up to His standard of righteousness. [Romans 4:14-16] “For if they which are of the law be heirs, then faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect. Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is , there is no transgression. Therefor it is of Faith, that it might be by Grace; to the end that the promise might be sure to all the seed.; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the Faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all”

So what we are looking at here is this. He said that in order for the fulfillment of the promise to be by Grace, it had to come in such a way as to totally have nothing to do with our abilities. I like that, because although sometimes we seem to live a victorious life, we can even go a few days or a few months or even a few years living in what would be considered a victorious living, but all it takes is one bad day, or one bad moment when our tempers flair and we would completely loose everything we strove for in terms of earthly perfection, if our perfection came by the flesh. [Romans 11:6]”And if by Grace, then it is no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But, if it be of works, then it would not be of Grace, : otherwise, work is no more work.” And believe me, what we have been hearing here tonight from Brother Branham is that God wrote this Book, and God is the One Who has made the Covenant of Grace with us. And had it not been for Him, no one would have been saved, because no one could live in this flesh without falling some time. Had it been merely a book written by man, then who would really know and therefore be certain that it is true. But knowing that God has not only written it, but He has personally come down to vindicate his Word, then we can have assurance.

[Romans 5: 1-6] Our access to the Grace of God comes through Revelation of His Word, and we know that Revelation comes from Him. He told Peter that flesh and blood can not reveal, but His Father which is in Heaven is the One Who reveals.

That is why in [Romans 12:1-3] we read that we are to present our bodies to God as a living sacrifice, yet if we read on, we see that we are not to get puffed up just because we do offer back to God our bodies in service to Him and His family. And the sacrifice is nothing to be ashamed of. Neither is the Gospel that He has given to us. We should never be made to feel ashamed of the Shout. It is our ticket out of this pest-house. Those who do not understand it, are the ones who should be ashamed. Because they have missed the very Appearing of the Lord in this hour.

[2 Timothy 1:8-10] “Be thou not therefore, ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partakers of the affliction s of the Gospel according to the power of God; who has 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, but is now made manifest by the Appearing of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, Who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel.

As we see hear by this verse, that the Appearing is the evident token of His Love for us. And a confirmation of His promise to us. He said, “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, but is now made manifest by the Appearing of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” and then Paul goes on to say, that this Appearing and confirmation of His promise is what brings Life and immortality to Light. How can we be sure then of our own immortality? By the fact that He that raised up from the death shall also quicken our mortal bodies. And the One who raised up Christ from the grave has come to do the same with us. And so if He is here, then it does not matter if we die or live, for He is here to ensure that we shall be raised up incorruptible just as He did for Jesus His only begotten Son.