Christ is the Mystery no 132
Christian Life no 13
The Life of the Word Expressed
Brian Kocourek, Pastor
This evening I would like
to speak again from paragraphs number 208 and 209, just a portion of each, and then
bring these two thoughts together to show us what God has in store for each of
us that were in Him before the foundations of the world.
208 Now,
notice, God making Himself known. We're not suppose to make converts to Christianity by a government,
but by the revelation of Christ in you as God was in Christ.
As God was in Christ, Christ in you. What God did in Christ,
Christ does in you. What signs did God in Christ, Christ does in
you.
Then let's go to paragraph 209 and let's read the first
part as well. "As (in the same way) Jesus
was the Word of God, He vindicated the same. If He wasn't the
Word, He wouldn't have made manifest the Word."
Now, notice he says, As (in the same way) Jesus was the Word of God, He
vindicated the same.
Now then, we've got to ask
the question, how was Jesus the word? Because what Br. Branham's saying here is
"in
the same way Jesus was the Word of God, he was vindicated the same". The same what? He
was vindicated the same? What does he mean by that?
He says, "As
(or in
the same way, or in the same manner that) Jesus was the Word of God, He
vindicated the same.
Now, let's first see how
Jesus was the Word of God, because we know the Scripture tells us that God is
the Word. And I know the Oneness believe since God is the Word and the Word
became flesh, then God became flesh, so they say "there really
is no son",
except they say,
"God is the Son Himself", and that's pure
hogwash.
We read in John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God.
Notice it can't be any planer than
that, right? then we read on in verse 2 The same was in the beginning with God.
So the Oneness believe that God and Jesus are one like
you finger is one. But I want to show you the hypocritical nature of that teaching
and we can do it simply by reading the simple prayer that Jesus prayed to His
Father.
In John
Ok,
keep them through Thine own name. So what name is that name? It's Jesus! Jesus
said, in John
And
the Apostle Paul told us that He received that name via his inheritance. Hebrews 1:4 Being made so
much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more
excellent name than they. 5 For unto which of the angels
said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And
again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?
Therefore in getting back to Jesus Prayer in John
17 we read, " And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world,
and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine
own name those whom thou hast given me,...that they
may be one, as we are.
So we see the purpose of this prayer is that we might
be one with God as our Father as or (in the
same way or manner that) Jesus and God were one. And
how is it that we might be One as Jesus and His Father
were One?
Jesus said, John
Therefore it is very apparent that we are made one in
God and in Christ by receiving the same Glory which brings us into the same
mind as the Father. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as
we are one:
Now, from his sermon, Harvest
Time 641212 87 034 Brother
Branham said, "Jesus said, "That they might be one, Father, as You and I are one."
Not for some man to be over something, it never will
work; one denomination wants to take over the other, and one man over the
other. But that you might be one with God, like Christ and God was one;
that's what the prayer is. That... He was the Word, and Jesus prayed that we
might be the Word, reflecting Him. That's His prayer to
be answered. See how Satan scruples it up in the carnal mind? But that wasn't
Jesus' prayer, at all, that we might all congregate together and all have a
certain creed and so forth. Every time they do it, they go further and further
from God. He wants us to be one
with God, and God is the Word. Each
individual in his heart must be that one with God.
And notice he said it isn't being one by a certain
creed which is a belief system, or doctrine, but to have the Word in it's
entirety and as he said in Christ is the Mystery of
God Revealed paragraph 208 We're not suppose
to make converts to Christianity by a government, but by the revelation of
Christ in you as God was in Christ. As God was in Christ,
Christ in you. What God
did in Christ, Christ does in you. What signs did God in Christ,
Christ does in you.
Then he said in paragraph
209, . "As (in the same way) Jesus
was the Word of God, He vindicated the same. If He wasn't the
Word, He wouldn't have made manifest the Word."
And if you were not meant
to be that One with God it will never happen, because it
comes by a birth that man can not give himself. John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become
the sons of God, even to them that
believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, (you didn't get this new birth because of your
parents) nor of the will of the flesh, (You
didn't get this new birth because of some effort on the part of others) nor of the will of man, (you didn't get this new
birth because of any effort on your part) but of God.
(In other words, it was a sovereign act of God and we
know according to the Scriptures, it was God's doing and planning even before
the world was even framed.)14 And the Word was
made flesh, and dwelt among us,
And if you are a part of God's thinking you are a part
of that Word which i God, as Jesus was a part of
God's thinking, and if that Word became flesh, then the Word which you are is
also to become flesh or manifested in flesh, your flesh.
Christ is the mystery 63-0728 P:124 The new birth is Christ, is a
revelation. And remember the
definition of the word revelation means "manifested truth".
So
if the new birth in you is a revelation or manifested truth, then it is not
mental at all. It is experiential. In other words, Christ the anointing has
anointed you, your inner man in such a way that your inner man has yielded to
that anointing and the outer man is obeying your confession.
Now,
we see this same theme all the way through this sermon, Christ is the Mystery of God Revealed 63-0728 as
we see in Paragraph:124 The new birth is Christ, is a revelation. God
has revealed to you this great mystery, (God has expressed in you
this great mystery) and that's the new birth. Now,
what are you going to do when you get all that group
together, where the revelation (the manifestation or expression)
is perfectly in harmony, and God expressing it through His Word by the same
actions, the same things that He did, making the Word manifest?
Oh, if the Church only knew its position. It will one day. Then, the rapture
will go when it knows what it is. Now, notice. You say, "Brother Branham,
but that ain't..." Oh, yes, it is, too. It is
the Truth.
Again
in Christ is the Mystery of God Revealed 63-0728
Paragraph:120 brother Branham says, "Look, Christ in you makes Him the center of Life
of the revelation."
Now,
what's he saying? Remember if the definition of revelation is a manifestation
of Divine truth, then let's change the wording here just for our understand of
what brother Branham is telling us, because too many people think of revelation
as something that is brain power, or something that is mental when it is not.
It is a living expression of something or some one that you know, Christ.
So
he says here, "Look, Christ in you makes
Him the center of Life of the manifestation of Divine truth. Notice,
Christ in you, the Person of Christ, the Life of Christ being in you, makes him
the very center, the very focus of the Life in manifestation within in
expressing itself out from
you.
I
just wish we could get that, and express that, and that it would be our Focus,
because if we ever come to this expression and the expression is the central
focus of our Lives, we will be ready for the rapture.
"Look, Christ
in you makes Him the center of Life of the revelation. See? Now,
listen how carefully brother Branham words this next.
"Christ's Life in you makes Him the center of
the revelation, (of the
expression of the Divine Life in you.)
In
other words, if God is really Living in you as He did in Jesus, then you won't
be thinking about who this body is, in fact you won't
be giving too much thought to this body, but you will be thinking about God
Himself who is living in you. That's when he has the preeminence in you.
As we read last
Sunday from Romans 8:9-11 But if God himself has
taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of
yourself than of him. Anyone, of course, who has not welcomed this invisible
but clearly present God, the Spirit of Christ, won’t know what we’re talking
about. But for you who welcome him, in whom he dwells, even though you still
experience all the limitations of sin, you yourself experience life on God’s
terms. It stands to reason, doesn’t it, that if the alive-and-present God
who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, he’ll do the same thing in
you that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to himself? When God lives
and breathes in you (and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus), you
are delivered from that dead life. With his Spirit living in you, your body
will be as alive as Christ’s own body was with God Living in
Him!
"Look, Christ in you makes Him the center of Life
of the revelation. See? Christ's Life in you makes Him the center of the revelation, Christ in
the Bible, makes the Bible a complete revelation of Christ. Christ
in you makes you the complete revelation (or expression) of the whole thing. See, what God's trying to do? What is the new birth
then? You say, "Well, Brother Branham, what is the new birth?" It
is the revelation of Jesus Christ personally to you. Amen. See? Not you
joined a church, you shook a hand; you done something different; you said a
creed; you promised to live by a code of rules; but Christ, the Bible... He
is the Word that was revealed (manifested or expressed) to you. And no matter what anybody says,
what takes place, it's Christ. Pastor, priest, whatever it might be... It's
Christ in you. That is the revelation that the Church was built upon.
Then
we hear brother Branham say again in Christ is the
mystery of God Revealed 63-0728 P:147 Notice, God holds this key alone. No theologian can tell
you. It's not known; it's hid from them. They know nothing about it. So
the schools... "Well," you say, "I got a Ph. LL.D." You
only make... To me and I believe unto God and to any real, true believer, that
means you're just that much farther away; you just backed off. God is not
known by education; He's not known by how to explain it. God is
known by simplicity and of revelation of Jesus Christ in the
most illiterate person.
Notice,
he is not saying it is something that is revealed to you, but something that is
revealed in you. Now, there's a big difference in that. It's not a passive
faith, it's an active faith. Now, that doesn't do away with the fact you sat
passively by as God expressed Himself in His prophet. But there comes a time
when that expression must come internally and become expressed in you or you
really have no part in this great imparting of Life that began when God
released the Divine Life that was in Hi Son Jesus and came down in this hour
with a shout to manifest that God-Life in His prophet. But if it only remains a
passive faith to you, then you are none of his.
Look,
that's what Paul tells us in Romans 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if
so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
Now, listen to how Paul clarifies this. he says in verse 10 And if Christ be
in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the
Spirit is life because of righteousness. Because of what? because of Right-wise-ness.
You have the mind of Christ, therefore your thoughts
are all of Christ. He has the preeminence in you.
Now, verse 11 "But if" (and
this is a big if here,) "if the Spirit of him
that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised
up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by
his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
So
a quickening takes place and you can't get around it. He is Life and His KLife in your gives you Life, and when you have truly been
made alive, you can't think of hardly any thing else but him.
12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to
the flesh, to live after the flesh. 13 For if ye live after the
flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the
body, ye shall live. 14 For as many as
are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For ye
have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the
Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
16 The Spirit (not
your spirit but The Spirit, That's God's Spirit) "Itself beareth witness with our
spirit", that we are the
children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs;
heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
Now,
how does God's Spirit in us bear witness with our spirit that we are the sons
of God?
Well,
the word bear witness means
"to corroborate via a joint witness, to bear evidence".
In other words, "If God is working in you to will and to do", then
their will be evidence in your life that God is working in you. So therefore
the works of God will be in you, and outwardly expressed through you, or he's
not in you working to will and to do.
The
first witness or evidence will be your willing then your doing. I believe the
Bride in understanding the doctrine has come up through the God is working in you
to will. Because in accepting the doctrine you have turned over your will to
His will. But now with John
Oh,
how can I make this more understood. Let me explain
further, God is here, we all know that. Not only was He here with the prophet
but He lived the Life for the prophet. I don't think anyone would disagree that
the prophet was helpless until He (God) arrived. He would say, "You know who I'm waiting for, I'm helpless until He comes.
Then he would wait, until we heard him say, "He's
here".
Then
God would begin to operate that gift, and he would see visions and simply he
would tell what God was showing him in the vision. The waiting was the willing,
he was willing to wait on God. Then when God did something in the vision, and
he performed outright what he saw in the vision, that
was the working. But he had to learn to will and then to do. And until he
learned that the hat had to be on the chair he made mistakes in his actions. He
would pray and nothing would happen. Then when he learned to wait, that was
learning to submit his will to God's will. God in him working to will first and
then to do.
So
too we have learned to subject our wills to God's will as we sat under a
teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit that he placed in the church. We sat and
learned to let our thinking go and accept "thus saith the Lord". And
the will portion is the passive portion. Brother Vayle preached passive faith a
lot, because we were in the will portion of God working in us. But now, we have
turned a corned and we are learning that all passive faith eventually must
become active faith, or it wasn't true faith to begin with. And as we are
having our eyes opened to John 14:12 we are entering into the passive faith
portion of John 14:12 first. Then that will, will yield to the doing.
God
is in us working to will and to do. But notice it is not us doing but God who
is working in us to will and it is God working in us to do. So it is God
working period. And the doing is also him, but the doing is as Jesus said,
"The son can do nothing, but what he sees the Father do, that doeth the
son likewise. So God works into us His will and then His
actions, and works which is the doing of what He shows us to do.
Then
brother Branham makes this plain by saying, "See?
Not your theology; it's a revelation of Jesus Christ. (It's
the manifestation of The Life of Jesus Christ in you). "Upon this rock, I'll build My Church." No other
rock's accepted; no other thing's accepted; no other Roman rock; no other
Protestant rock; no other school; no other nothing; but on exactly the
revelation of Jesus Christ in a new birth.
Now,
notice how specific brother Branham's wording is, and how plain it is. He says,
"He is born in there and injects His own Life, and your
life is gone, and the Life of Christ is projecting Itself through
you with the preeminences to the people that they
see the very Life, and works, and signs and wonders that He did is doing the
same thing through you. Outside of that, the rest of it's not even called
to at all.
Outside
of that what else is there. Listen do you know what he is trying to tell the
people here. It's time to die to self, it's time we get our focus off
everything and every one and get them on what God is working in you to will and
to do. Then you will see the expression of God life in the people as never on
that scale before.
Notice
the next time we see this theme in Christ is the
mystery 63-0728 P:142 brother Branham says,
"Even Paul before Agrippa said, "In the
way that's called heresy (which means crazy), that's the way I worship the God
of our Father." That great intellectual scholar had to come to that place
in the way that's called heresy. Why? It was revealed to him. That Pillar of
Fire hanging before said, "I'm Jesus, the
great God that was in the wilderness yonder with Moses; I am He. And it's hard
for you to kick against the pricks." Then
Paul standing there know that the life was laying
at stake, he said, "The way that's
called heresy, that's the way I worship the God of our fathers." It was called that, because to him what the great
truth of Christ was. And today people say, "It's a denomination."
It's Jesus Christ, the new birth revealed in you that He has the preeminences, that He might express His Words.
And anything that He's promised in this last days, He
can bring it to pass through His Body as He's working. Amen. It's just
exactly the Word of God made manifest.
There
you go. he's saying exactly here what I've been trying
to get across. Now, let's go to Christ is the
mystery of God Revealed 63-0728 P:122 That's Christ's idea. That's God's idea. The new birth
reveals this. And if a man says he's born again and try to place these
promises of Christ in this last day to some other age, making Him Christ
yesterday, but not today, then that man or that person has been in a delusion
by Satan. And if that man says that he believes that, and it doesn't
manifest itself through him... Jesus said in Mark 16, "These signs shall follow them that believe... into all the world and to every age." Casting out devils, and speaking with tongues, and
all of these great manifestations of gifts that would follow, that they shall, not that they
maybe, they ought to; they will. And heavens and earth will pass
away, but His Word won't.
So
what if we have brothers placing all this in another age? He said that's no
good, you're missing it yourself. So what if we have brothers placing all this
in just one man? That's no good, they are missing it. But brother Branham said,
"And if that man says that he believes that,
and it doesn't manifest itself through him...then he shows us
Mark 16 and names specifically certain manifestations of the supernatural.
What Holy Ghost was given for 59-1217 P:48 So Jesus knowed that there'd be a great
intellectual move just like there was in His days, intellect--washing of pots
and pans, and wearing of clothes, and turned-around collars, and everything as
they did, all these different things that they would do. He knowed they'd do
that. So He said, "Now,
just wait a minute. I'm going to not leave you comfortless; I'm coming again to
be with you. Therefore," He said, "the works that I do, you'll do also." The purpose of sending the
Holy Ghost was for God to continue through a bunch of people, to continually
manifest God to the world (That's exactly.), not by a creed, not by a
denomination, but by the power of His resurrection, by making His Word real,
by taking His promise and standing on the side of the minority and believing
God; and watch the black skies move back and the power of God move in and take
over. Amen. That's what He wants. That's what the Holy Ghost was sent for.
That's what purpose He sent It for. We know what It is now. And that's why He sent It.
What Holy Ghost was given for 59-1217 P:42Now, notice, Here's another thing I'd like
to say right here. "As"
Jesus said, "as
the Father has sent Me... As (Now, watch.)--as the Father has sent Me, so send I
you." As the Father... How did the Father send Him? The
Father that sent Him come down from heaven and dwelt in Him. He went forth;
He said, "I always
do that which pleases My Father." See? He went about doing the things that the Father
was showing Him to do. "I do nothing except My Father shows Me
first." The
God that sent Him, was on the inside of Him. "And as the Father sent Me (the same way the Father sent Me), so I send you." What is it? God in
you. Carrying on what? The same works, the
same... Jesus said, "He that believeth (He
that has Me on the inside of him, the Holy Spirit)--he
that believeth (that's already witnessed My
resurrection), and know that I'm in him... He that's in Me; if
ye abide in Me, My words abide in you..."
Notice
he's speaking of both Mark 16 and John
What Holy Ghost was given for 59-1217 P:11You know, in the same chapter of John 14
Philip said, "Lord,
show us the Father and it will satisfy us."Jesus said, "I've been so long with you, Philip, and you
don't know Me. When you have seen Me,
you have seen the Father. And why sayest thou unto Me, 'Show us the Father'?" God was made flesh. Now, here it
is. The Father was God over you. We're saying... We've been since Adam,
God the Father was over Moses and the children of Israel in a Pillar of Fire, then
God with us in Christ, walked with us, talked with us, eat
with us, slept with us. God over us, God with us,
and now, it's God in us. All God was,
come into Christ; all Christ was, come into the church. What is it? God working in you. Anywhere in the world, if He'd want to
call on you, you're right there: working in you to do His good will. How we ought to thank God for that. God the Holy Spirit is sent for the purpose
of God living in His church, moving through each age, working out His Divine
will.
Notice
when it was God in us he said, he walked with us, he talked with us, he eat
with us, he lived with us. So what is it now? God in us, God
eating, God sleeping, God walking and talking, where? In
us. we are written epistles known and read of
all men.
That's
what he said in What Holy Ghost was given for
59-1217 P:16 And
in the cool of the evening He'd come down and commune with them. And there He
lost that fellowship, because sin would not let Him do it. And then He was made
flesh and dwelt among us in order that He could come back again to man, and
live in man, and restore man to a state of communion with Him again, and give
him back his God given right. That's what He did. That's the purpose of the
Holy Ghost: It's the Father again, God the Father dwelling in you, working
out His plans to finish His plan of redemption, working through you, making you
a co-worker with Him, giving you a place, giving you a part for your fallen
lost brother and sister, giving you His Spirit and His love to go hunt the lost
as He did in the garden of Eden. "Adam, Adam, where art thou?"
That's what the Holy Spirit does to a man or a woman. When It strikes into their heart and takes Its abode, there's a
thirst and a hungering for lost souls. That's what's
the matter with the meetings today; there's not enough Spirit touch in
it to go for the souls of the lost and the dying. It's more to make a name,
or a church, or a building, or a denomination, instead of a soul winning
program. How pitiful.
In
closing let me read the last paragraph in Christ is the Mystery of God where
brother Branham speaks of this theme. Christ is the
mystery of God Revealed 63-0728 P:233 (503-504) "Notice, All right. But all this mystery is
revealed only as He promised to His Bride". (it's only revealed to His bride, no one else is privy to
this great revelation). "Hell is against this
truth of the revelation of this mystery. But the Bride is standing on it.
That's Her stand. Why do you hunger, Church? Why do
you thirst? It's the Father trying to reveal this hidden secret to you, but you
let so many things get it out of you."
Now,
he's saying that our focus is so wrong. We have this great mystery revealed to
us, and God is waiting for us to catch on and let go and let God working in us
to will and to do, but he says we let so many things get in our way. So this is
a warning to us. "It's the Father trying to
reveal this hidden secret to you, but you let so many things get it out of
you".
And
what are those things we let get in the way? Now, listen, he's going to tell su what is getting in our way of this great revelation
expressing itself from us.
He
says, "You let your job", He
lists your job as first. So many people compromise that Life of Christ because
of demands on their job. And when you consider the job demand before what God
is working in you to do, right their you let slip your
portion in this great unfolding. Will that keep you from being saved? I
couldn't tell you, but it will keep you from being a manifested son. It will
keep you from manifesting God life, because you have placed your job ahead of
His Word of Life expressing itself in you.
Then
he says, "you let your wife, you let your husband, you let your
children," So we see here he is telling us that we let our
relationships with others get between us ad our relationship with God. You
know, brother Branham warned us about our anger and our holding grudges. he said they could keep you from making it. They could be
what keeps you out of the rapture. So you better think
about that before you pop off your moth the next time. It's all being recorded
and you will have to give an account one day. I would just hate to see that as
a reason we do not receive a body change, because we couldn't die to self when
family members are pressing you to react. Don't we realize that God allows
those things to see how we will react? Don't you think God knew what he was
doing when He brought Moses to Zephora? Brother
Branham said she had a temper like a buzz saw, and God used that to humble down
the big man Moses who wouldn't take it from the guard and killed him with one
blow, but he couldn't kill his wife like tat, and she knew it and she needled
him until he went out with the herds of sheep.
Next
brother Branham says, you let the cares of the
world, and I am afraid that is where so many have lost a sense of
the priorities of a Christian life. They don't come to church when they should.
They go shopping, or do other things, and place other things as priorities
ahead of their life coming into conformity to God's Word. And that is the
danger of having good jobs. Sometimes I wonder if the bride were all poor and
out of work if they would put God first. Maybe that is why there will be such a
financial squeeze that will place the people in a position financially that
they will have to be dependant on God to provide their daily bread. Because
they were not focused when the had opportunity to stay
focused.
And
then he goes up the food chain so to speak and says, "you let some
pastor, you let somebody else get that out of you, when you know that way down
in your heart you're a-thirsting, hungry. It's God trying to reveal it to you
(See?), the revelation. The last day is here. Now, we could get more
into this but I hope by now you are understanding what
brother Branham is trying to tell us.
Let
us pray...