Christ is the Mystery no 132
Christian Life no 12
The Life of the Word
Brian Kocourek
Let us stand to our feet
and open our Bibles to Mark Chapter 4 and we shall read from verses 1 through 20
for our text this morning.
Mark 4:1¶ And
he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a
great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the
whole multitude was by the sea on the land. 2 And he taught them many things by
parables, and said unto them in his doctrine, 3 Hearken; Behold, there went out
a sower to sow: 4
And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the
fowls of the air came and devoured it up.5 And some fell on stony ground, where
it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of
earth: 6 But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root,
it withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and
choked it, and it yielded no fruit. 8 And other fell on good ground, and did
yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and
some sixty, and some an hundred. 9 And he said unto them, He that hath ears to
hear, let him hear. 10 And when he was alone, they that were about him with the
twelve asked of him the parable. 11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given
to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all
[these] things are done in parables:12 That seeing
they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand;
lest at any time they should be converted, and [their] sins should be forgiven
them. 13 And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and
how then will ye know all parables? 14 The sower soweth the word. 15 And these are they by the way side,
where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and
taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.
16 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they
have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 And have no root
in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or
persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately
they are offended. 18 And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as
hear the word, 19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches,
and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. 20 And these are they which are sown
on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive [it], and bring forth fruit,
some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.
Let us bow our heads in Prayer: Dear Gracious and
Loving Father, we come to You in who are the Author of Eternal Life, the great
fountain of Life, and
we come to you knowing we have received Eternal Life through Your Son Jesus,
and we are thankful for your promises to us concerning that Life living itself
out in and through us. We believe Father that Your Word is a Seed, and it
contains Life, and because it is your Your Seed, it contains Your Life.
And we know that every seed must bring forth after it’s kind, for that is the
Law of reproduction. And that is the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
And, therefore Father, we commit ourselves to your great purpose and plan for
our Life in the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen. You may be seated.
This morning we will look
at paragraph 208 of Christ is the Mystery of God Revealed where brother Branham
says, "209
As Jesus was the Word of God, He vindicated the same. If
He wasn't the Word, He wouldn't have made manifest the Word.
Notice that he
is speaking something that is pure common sense and Bible sense as well. He
says how in the world can one manifest the Word if that one i not the Word in the
first place to manifest. And coupling that with what we spoke on last night wehn we read several quotes where brother Branham said, "what you are is what you are inside and you can only manifest outwardly
what you are inwardly."
For we read in Genesis
1 John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we
have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and
our hands have handled, of the Word of life; 2 (For
the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and
bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life,
which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) 3 That
which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have
fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is
with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
Now, concerning the Word that John Speaks of here, we
see that it is Life and that Life was manifested in His Son Jesus.
Now, life, especially the life in a seed, when the
Light strikes the seed and it begins to grow into a plant of any sort, that first
manifestation of life shows itself in the central portion of the plant which is
in the trunk or stem in which the Life of the seed begins to move up into and
while the Life is in it, the plant is green showing it is full of life. Now, before it is manifested the Life breaks
forth from the seed into the roots. And if it has not roots, it will not
survive. I am hoping that you can see the spiritual application of what I am
saying here.
Then as the Life in that seed begins to further
manifest itself, up through the stem, as it moves further into maturity it
begins to grow some shoots off of that central stem. It does not matter whether
these offshoots are leaves or flowers, or perhaps as we see in corn or wheat, the ear begins to
grow. At first all we see in that ear is the tassle
or the part
that looks almost like leaves that surround the out part of the ear.
Next as the Life moves on in the plant, we see the
life go into the husk which is the inside of the tassle,
and this husk has a shape to it, but it is just a protector of the seed life
that is growing forth within it. It is there only to protect the seed life.
Then finally the Life moves further into manifestation in those little seeds
that are being produced in the ear that look just like the original seed that
went into the ground. That is what we call the corn itself.
Now, as the Life moves from the seed into the roots
and stem, before it can do so the outer shell of the seed must rot and die or
the life can not be released from within.
And Jesus told us the same thing had to take place for
the Life of God to move into the church of the Living God.
JOHN
12:23 And Jesus answered them, saying,
The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. 24 Verily, verily, I
say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and
die, it abideth alone: but if it
die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Jesus told us in JOHN 6:63 That the word
of God is Life. And that the Spirit of God quickens that Life in us. "It is the spirit that quickeneth;
the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak
unto you, [they] are spirit, and [they] are life."
Now, the Life had to be in the Father before it can
come into the son. And while it is in the Father it is in seed form.
JOHN 5:26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he
given to the Son to have life in himself;
And we know that the Life form in which God brings
forth His own Life is in His Word. The
Apostle Paul called it the Word of Life in Philippians
2: 16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I
have not run in vain, neither labored in vain.
And again in Acts
As we read the quotes last night where brother
Branham said the sole purpose of our receiving the Holy Ghost is to manifest
Holy Ghost. Then why would brothers fear about sons of God manifesting as sons
of God. If we manifest the Holy Ghost Life then aren't we manifesting God tot
he world? And isn't that just what brother Branham said we are to do and didn't
he tells us in our sermon last night that God wants us to be co workers with
him to manifest God-Life to the world.
So what would you rather me call it, the
manifestation of the sons of God or the manifestation of God?
After all, if God is the Word and we are born of the
Word, then won't we manifest Word to the World? Didn't the apostle Peter teach
us that our New Birth comes by the Word of God being sparked off in our being. I PETER
Now, notice he told us there are corruptible seeds
and there is an incorruptible seed. And he tells us the incorruptible seed is the
Word of God, for all other seed have a beginning and an ending of Life but
there is only one source of Eternal Life, for there is only One Eternal, and
that is God’s own Life. Therefore when you receive Eternal Life is when the
very life of God comes into you and sparks you to the Life that He ordained for
you even before He framed the world into existence. Because you had to be a
part of God in order to have eternal Life.
In fact we see the entire plan of God in Ephesians chapter One. So let’s open out Bible to
Ephesians chapter One and begin reading at verse 3 ¶
Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Now here we are told that not only is God the Father
of Jesus Christ but He is also the God of Jesus Christ. He said, "Blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,"
Now, in the next verse we see that we were actually
in Him before the foundations of the world. 4 "According as he hath chosen us in him before the
foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him"
or in His presence..
Then because of His great Love he has for His own He
sets in order His great Plan for His Children.
5 "in
love having predestinated us" (now, notice that having predestinated us is
speaking in the past tense. This is what He did while we were yet in His mind
before He even framed the worlds. Then when God framed the worlds with us in
His mind, He framed them for us to enjoy. God existed for an eternity before He
even framed the worlds, so He didn’t do it for Himself, he didn’t need it, but
He did it for you and I so that we might enjoy the
mountains and the sea, and the valleys and the rivers etc. Therefore we read, ) 5 "in love having predestinated us unto the adoption of
children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his
will," so it was His good pleasure to predestinate us unto the
adoption of Children by Jesus Christ.
Now, in the old testament
when a son was born he was raised under tutors and governors until the time
appointed of the Father. And when the child, the first born showed Himself to
be able and mindful of what His Father wanted, in other words, an obedient son,
the Father would take him out and before the public he would adopt his first
born son. Then that son would be given
50% of all that the father owned. The rest of the children did not receive a
portion until the Father died.
But as long as the father lived the others received
no inheritance. And we have a Father who is the only immortal King and who can not die, so it
was expedient in the plan of the Father to allow His Son Jesus to die that we
might receive His inheritance. And that is what the Apostle Paul is saying
here. 5 "in
love having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.6 To the praise of the
glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 7 In whom
we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the
riches of his grace; 8
herein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;"
Now, in getting back to the seed Life, we see also
in John 6: 68 Then Simon Peter answered him,
Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast "the words of eternal life".
And so we see that the Word is a Seed and the Life
in that seed is God’s Life, Eternal Life. John 5: 24
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth
on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into
condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."
And therefore the attributes of one ordained or
predestinated to Life (To God Life) is that they will believe. Acts
John 6: 63 "It is the spirit that quickeneth;
the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak
unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."
The
Masterpiece 64-0705 118 "But you can't hide a germitized seed. It's got to come forth. Because why? The
Great Sculptor is on the job. Going to build again, so the
Seed went down, the Word. 119
When we see
The seed is a carrier of Life.
1 Corinthians
Now, we noticed that the
seed which Jesus was talking about that was to fall into the ground was the
very Life that was in Him, and that begin to come forth on the day of
Pentecost. This Seed that was sown in the first age has come up to a complete
body in this last age. When planted, the seed will bring forth a crop that is
in the same likeness as the seed that went into the ground.
And if Christ the Word was
which is a seed was buried in death and came forth when God raised up His Son
from the grave and then on the day of Pentecost that same Life begin to grow up
and manifest itself in the Church, the if it was the Word Seed that was
buried, then that very Life that was in that Word must also produce the same
Life germ back in the church again, at the Harvest Time.
And since we know that the
Word was made flesh, and we beheld His Glory, and that Glory that we beheld was
the Doxa of God which was His Very opinion,
assessment, and Judgment in the earth, then as the Apostle Paul said, He is to
come again and this time to be glorified in His Church. That is 2 Thessalonians 1 and verse 10.
And that Glorification will
be the Word again in human beings, sons of God
in which the Apostle Paul told us, “Let this Mind
that was in Christ be in you.” So we see that there are an ordained
people who will learn to get out of the way and let God and let God.
Several years ago I
preached a mini series called the We called “The Garden of your Mind”,
and in this mini series we focused on the mind as it pertains to a garden,
because our minds are full of many seeds which are thoughts, of which some are
good or righteous, and others are bad, or evil. And we found that as a seed is
a carrier of life, our thoughts too are carriers of actions which create an
atmosphere, and from this atmosphere reactions occur.
We showed how that as with
any garden, we must have a plan if we are to harvest or reap the desired
outcome of our garden. For you can not just let anything else grow in your
garden than what you desire for harvest, or the other seeds will sprout forth
as well, and they will compete with your planted seeds for life. As you know in
any garden, if the weeds crop up, they compete with the good crops, not only
for room, but for nutrients from the soil as well. The weeds,
if not kept in check and under control will many times crowd out and suffocate
the good crops, or the crops in which we desire a harvest, because “many
more are the children of the desolate than she which has a husband.” And
you should know by experience, that weeds are more plentiful and grow faster than a harvest
crop.
Now, Jesus told the parable
of the Sower several times.
Mathhew
13:3 And he spake many things unto them
in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to
sow; 4 And when he sowed, some [seeds] fell by the way side, and the fowls came
and devoured them up: 5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much
earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
6 And when the sun was up, they were
scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7And some fell
among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: 8 But
other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some
sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Matthew 13:18 Hear
ye therefore the parable of the sower. 19 When any
one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth [it] not, then cometh the wicked [one], and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he
which received seed by the way side. 20 But he that
received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth
the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; 21 Yet hath
he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for
when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of
the word, by and by he is offended. 22 He also that received seed among the
thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of
this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. 23 But he that received seed into the
good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth [it]; which also beareth
fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some
sixty, some thirty.
So then in order to
eliminate the bad seeds, or at least the effects of the bad seeds, we must
learn to cultivate the “gardens of our mind”, in order to
prepare for a better harvest of the desired planting. Now we all know that the
Lord calls us, His planting, and the type of plant that He likens us to are, “trees
of righteousness” as we see in Psalm 61:3 and as we also sing the song, “that they might be called trees of righteousness, the
planting of the Lord, that He might be Glorified.”
And just like any other
garden, our garden is
planted according to the purposes of the one who plants it, and for the glory
or betterment of the planter. If a person wants to harvest certain types of
foods, they must plant the seeds of what they want to harvest. You do not plant
a fully developed plant. No, that is called transplanting. But what we plant in
the ground is seeds, that when they mature, they will reproduce the plant in
every detail seeing that the seed contains the life of the plant, then it also carries the genetic code to reproduce that
plant in every detail. So you see, the garden is planted with a desired harvest
in mind, and it is up to the one who plants it to watch over it until harvest
time. And so besides cultivating out the bad seeds, we are also to make sure
that we water and fertilize the garden. And since we are the planting of the
Lord, He will do His part in the watering and fertilizing of His garden as
well. And this garden, the garden of our minds, the planting of the Lord, the trees of righteousness, or
whatever metaphor we can use to type the Bride of Christ.
Now in getting back to the
Scripture that we read for our text, let’s open our Bibles again to 1 Corinthians
Now, here we see Paul
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 back at a specific period or time frame that was
part of his growth cycle or growth process. “When I
was a child,” see? And then we are not only looking at this
period of time, but now that we are focused on this period he wants to further
elucidate to us certain attributes that were associated with that period of
time in his life. And therefore he continues by say, “during this time when I was a child, there were certain attributes that
predominated my life, “I spake as a child, I understood
as a child, because I thought as a
child.”
Now, what we may conclude
from Paul’s statement here is that the reason we speak as a child is because
our understanding is only that of a child, and this is because the way in which
we think is only at the stage of that which is only a
child. And therefore, our speaking is only a reflection of our thinking,
which is an outward manifestation of the condition of our mind. Notice how
brother Branham made reference to this when he said that a baby gets what it
wants by crying. You can’t expect a baby to ring a bell, or something of that
nature. It hasn’t got the functional attributes to do that yet. It is not that
the baby doesn’t possess the mental genetics, but those attributes and
characteristics have not as yet been exercised to the place of strength and
maturity. And so we find Brother Branham pointing to us the simplicity of
growth which he types also with our spiritual maturity.
And Jesus told us the same
thing in Luke 6:45 "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of
the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that
which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh."
Notice that he is telling
us that out of the abundance or overflow of the heart, which is the
understanding, the mouth does speak. So what things you say is dependent upon
what you know. I could not in any way expect any of the children in here to
stand up here and speak to us concerning Einstein’s theory of relativity. No
more than I could expect them to get up here and teach us about the Godhead.
They may be able to tell us that there is only one God, and this One God had a
Son, and that’s all I
would expect from them at this stage or process in their
spiritual growth. But if Brother Branham were to stand up and that was all he
could tell us, then we would not have any higher aspiration to attain unto. Now
this is not saying that it would be OK to just stop where we are at. Because
the minute you stop, that is the minute you begin to die. God does not expect
us to exceed his Prophet either, but as brother Branham said to Br. Hickerson, let me paraphrase his words. “You are now here
and I am up here. One day you too will be up here as far as your understanding
is concerned.”
Jesus told us the same
thing in Luke
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, it may come as a shock to some parents when they
hear bad or vulgar words come from the babies mouth as
their first words. But the baby can only say words which it has heard. A baby,
like any person is limited to words which it hears from others. That is why we
need to listen to the Voice
of God on a regular basis. 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, in order to grow
up into the full stature or reflections of our Heavenly Father, must begin to
formulate our thoughts into the same Words which He spoke to us.
In John 5:19, 30 Jesus said "the son can do
nothing in himself but what gthe Father shows him to
do." Now, I want you to notice that Jesus, just like any child, did
not have words of his own. We all began our talking by emulating the words
which we heard our fathers of mothers speak, and Jesus was no different. John 7:16-18
"Jesus
answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but
his that sent me. 17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the
doctrine, whether it be of God, or [whether] I speak
of myself. 18 He that speaketh of himself seeketh his
own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent
him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him."
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
1 Corinthians
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) "For we know in part, and we prophesy in
part. 10 But
when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done
away. 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. 12 For
now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part;
but then shall I know even as also I am known".
Now, I think we would all
understand that Jesus was our elder brother, and he set the example for how we
should talk and act in our growing into the stature of Sons and Daughters of God. He was our role model and our absolute for
the Life that we desire.
Romans 8:29-30 Now the Weymouth translation
says it like this: “For those whom He has known beforehand He has also
predestined to bear the likeness of His Son, that He might be the Eldest in a
vast family of brothers,”
Therefore, we can see that
Jesus was the role model that God, our Father, set before us. And Paul tells us
himself that we are not to be like children in our thinking forever.
He went on to say, 1 Corinthians 13: 11
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. And we have already seen the answer that Paul
gave us. Because when we are a child we think and understand as a child and
therefore we hold to childish things as well. 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...
Malachi 3: 16-18Then
they that feared the LORD spake
often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard [it], and a book of
remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that
thought upon his name. 17 And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in
that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth
him. 18 Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked,
between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.
Peter was a pretty
practical man and he tells us that when a person has suffered in their body,
they no longer have a desire to sin, because their desires are changing with
the growth of the spirit.
1 Peter 4:1 ¶ Forasmuch then as
Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same
mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;
And this is true. The
suffering in the body is but a process that helps us to turn our real
affections in the right direction. And we are looking at the process of
maturing here this morning.
Therefore
when Jesus said in John 6:44-45 No
man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will
raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, And they
shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and
hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. It is then apparent that
you can hear but unless you understand you will never come to Him. And the only
way you can understand is by having the Holy Ghost, because John also said in...
John 14:26 But
the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he
shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance,
whatsoever I have said unto you.
1
John
Matthew 13: 13 Therefore speak I
to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not,
neither do they understand. So we see
that there are people who hear with their ears but are not really paying any
attention to what they are hearing and because they do not pay attention to
what they are hearing they actually miss what was being said. The world is full
of people that way.
Notice what Jesus tells us here. They hear but are not capable of understanding.
Then what are they hearing? Not what is being said! But what they want to hear.
Notice in the following quote that Brother Branham tells us the same thing. To
hear means to understand, and to see means to
understand, but just because you look with your eyes does not mean that you
understand what you are looking at.
Hearing Recognizing and
Acting upon the Word
60-0221 30 First, faith cometh by hearing, hearing of
the Word of God. Then the believer hears It,
recognizes It, and acts on It. The carnal man will hear It, the sound of It,
but never... "Hear" means to "understand It".
Look at, is looking at something; but to see it, is to "understand
it". "Except a man be born again, he cannot see or understand the
John
Therefore, to them that experience
Him and openly receive Him, to them are given an ability to make a right decision
to become what they were to ordained to be in the beginning.
Paul said in , Galatians 4: 6 And
because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your
hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
Therefore if a man is left up to his own
choosing, he will go in the ways of death. But God has given him, or has
granted, given him or granted him the ability to know and to understand. And
this ability to make a right decision concerning the doctrine of Christ is not
for everyone. For Jesus told Nicodemus, these … 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh,
nor of the will of man, but of God. So He is talking about the new
birth and the importance of that new birth is that God gives him an ability to
know and to understand the
Let us pray...