Christ
is the Mystery no. 30
A
life transformed by God’s Word
September 30,
2012
Brian
Kocourek
This morning we have the dedication of Little Levi
John Roeper and as I have always asked the parents to come up here and for the
purpose of dedication, it is not so much that the child itself is dedicated, we
do pray for this child and commit him into God’s care, but the real purpose of
the dedication is for the parents to make a public stand that they will raise
this young child up in the admonition of God.
After all the scripture tells us in Proverbs 22:6“Train up a child in
the way it shall go and when it is old it will not depart”. So you see, discipline is
used to produce in the child a pre-ordained outcome. And without discipline
that child will never come to that pre-ordained outcome. Now, Proverbs 22:6
is a promise from God and God keeps all of his promises. But if you don’t do
your part as a parent then your child has no direction in which to go. It say, Train up a child in
the way it shall go... And so if you have a way
which means a course of life, that you wish for your child to go, then you must
use discipline to get your child to that goal. Then if the child does not get
their whose fault is it?
Brother Branham taught us there is no such a thing as
juvenile delinquency, he said it is parent delinquency.
Now, we see how this training up our child is to be
done in God’s Book of Two laws.
If you will open your Bibles with me to Deuteronomy chapter
6 we
will begin reading from verse :1 Now these [are] the commandments, the statutes, and the
judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do
[them] in the land whither ye go to possess it: 2That thou mightest fear the
LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command
thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that
thy days may be prolonged. 3 Hear therefore, O
The problem we have today is that the word needs to be
first in your heart before it can enter the heart of your children. The
Amplified version says, "And these words which I am commanding you this
day, shall be first and foremost in your own minds and hearts, then you shall
whet and sharpen them, so as to make them penetrate, and teach and impress them
diligently upon the minds and hearts of your children, and you shall talk of
them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie
down, and when you rise up. And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand,
and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. And you shall write them upon
the door posts of your home and on your gates…
Now, when Samuel was born we find in the Scriptures
that his Mother Hannah brought him to the Priest and left him with the priest
to be raised in the service of God. Now, I am not expecting you to leave little
Levi John with me this morning, but I am expecting both of you to live such a
life before Little Levi John that he will know for certain that he is being
raised by God fearing, God loving parents who have both surrendered their wills
to God’s will, and as Jesus said, “For this purpose have I come into this world, not to do my own will,
but the will of him that sent me.”
Therefore, let us pray as I lay hands on both of you
and on this little child. (prayer)
This morning I would like to continue in our study of
Christ is the Mystery of God revealed, and this is number 30 in our series, and
we will be examining paragraph number 65 this morning where brother Branham
said, 65
“Now, here He says, "Search the Scriptures;
they testify of Me. In them you think
you have Eternal Life (and that's true), and they are the one that bear record of Me, and I'm bearing record of them. And if I do not the
works that's promised that I would do, then don't hear Me. But if I do the
works and you can't believe Me, believe the works," because they testify that He is the Word. Oh, it
looks like it couldn't be any plainer. See? All right. Now, search the
Scriptures. He said Moses and all the
laws and so forth, and the prophets, and Psalms spoke of Him, and again He said
the Scriptures testify of Him.
Now, brother Branham is talking about Jesus here but
we could also say that since God is the Word and he changes not, then anything
in the Word that God speaks of it must come to pass. Because that is what Jesus
is saying here.
Brother Branham is
quoting Jesus here in John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal
life: and they are they which testify of me.
And in John 10:37 he quotes Jesus
saying, If I do not the works of my
Father, believe me not. 38 But
if I do, though ye believe not me, believe
the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I
in him.
Now, we are living in the hour that we are to be conformed to the image
of the first born son. Some people put that off to the Millennium, but I do not
believe that is to be put off until then. Because Brother Branham said it is to
be now.
Romans 8:29
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed
to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
In his message TheToken 63-1128E P:95 brother
Branham said, “Now, tonight, why don't you
accept, not that natural life which has to go back with the dead substance to
the earth, but why don't you accept the Eternal Life, where He gave something,
raised it up, His Own Son, that you
could be conformed unto His Own image by the renewing of your spirit, to take
away yours and to receive His, which
is the Token that you have Life. And He'll pass over you and will raise you
up at the day of the resurrection.
Now notice what
brother Branham tells us here that this being conformed to the image of the
first born son is now, it comes by the renewing of the mind which is (your
spirit). And he calls this the Token, and this is what the Token is all about.
And notice it is to raise you up. Now, if we have to wait until the other side
to have this we will miss the rapture and the change of the body.
In ROMANS 12:1 The
Apostle Paul said, ¶ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,
that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice,
And what kind of a
sacrifice are we supposed to present our bodies to God? He goes on to say one
that is “holy”, (and one that is what?) acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable
service.
And the NIV translation
says, “this is
your spiritual act of worship”. Now, notice verse two. And how do we
perform this holy and acceptable sacrifice to God? Paul tells us in verse two. 2 And be not
conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you,
not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think
soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
The Wuest translation says, "I therefore beg of you, please brethren,
through the instrumentality of the aforementioned Mercies of God, by a once for
all presentation to place your bodies at the disposal of God, a sacrifice, a
living one, a holy one, well pleasing, your rational sacred service, [rational
in that this service is performed by the exercise of the mind]. And stop
assuming an outward expression that does not come from within you and is not
representative of what you are in your inner being but is patterned after this
age; but change your outward expression to one that comes from within and is
representative of your inner being, by the renewing of the mind, resulting to
your putting to the test what is the will of God, the good and well pleasing
and complete will, and having found that it meets specifications, place your
approval upon it."
Now, there are 10 things that the apostle
Paul mentions here in these first 2 verses of chapter 12.
ROMANS 12:1 ¶ I beseech you
therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye
#1-present your bodies -this speaks of how important
the presentation is.
#2- a living sacrifice, - this speaks of a sacrifice
that has been made alive, by God's very life in us, and that the presentation
of our bodies is to be
#3- holy, and we must understand what this holy is if
we are to know what is
#4- acceptable unto God, and the Apostle Paul said,
#5- which is your reasonable service. Therefore if it
is a reasonable thing, then it is most certainly attainable, or God would not
require it. and if reasonable it comes by reason or the mind that produces it.
As I taught you years ago, your mind is like a garden, and it is full of seeds
which are thoughts, and if the wrong seeds are manifesting themselves then you
must cut off the water supply. Brother Branham asked an Indian Chief who was
baptized with the Holy Ghost how things were going since He was born again, and
he said, "Two
dogs war within me since I was born again." And brother Branham
said, who is winning chief, and the chief responded, "the one I feed the most."
#6- And be not conformed
to this world: - and this tells us that this holy condition of this
holy sacrifice comes by a separation from the world and the things of the
world. A consecration to God.
#7- but be ye transformed - And we know that the
transformation speaks of a change from one state to another state. And this
comes by
#8- by the renewing of your mind, and that in order
#9- that ye may prove - And so your sacrifice in your
flesh, and the fact that your mind brings forth the change in the body is proof
of
#10 what [is]
that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
So we see that God calls us to bring
forth in our bodies a holy sacrifice. In Romans 12:1-2 Paul is telling us how we are to
present our bodies as a living sacrifice and it is by the renewing of our
minds. And then he tells us in verse 2 And be not
conformed to this world: but be ye transformed.
How are we to be
transformed? by
the renewing of your mind, And what will that do for us? He says, that ye may prove
what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
It's all about the
Will of God. Jesus said, It is written in the volume of the Book, I have come to do thy
will O God.
Jesus, said Father, not my will but thy
will be done. And Paul said in Colossians "Let this mind (that’s the very attitude
as we brought out as few weeks ago)
Let this attitude which was in Christ be in You.
Now, for the next few
minutes I would like to focus our attention on Paul's view of how we are to
present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God. And we will look at what it
means to be Holy. He said this living sacrifice is one that is Holy, and so we
want to know what it means to be a living sacrifice that is holy.
Notice, point # 3, He said, Holy. We are to present to God not only a living
sacrifice but a Holy sacrifice. And how is this possible, for there is none
holy but the Lord.
Now, Paul told us our living sacrifice is
to be Holy, and the word he used here is the Greek word, hagios
pronounced, (hag'-ee-os) and it is made up
from two root words, hagnos
which means pure, chaste, clear, sacred, pure from
carnality, modest, immaculate and clean. The other root word is Thaipo and it means, to cherish with tender love. Or tender care.
So we see that bringing these two words
together we have a purity that comes as a result of tender love and care.
Therefore, we have purity out from the motive of true tender care, and we see
modesty that comes from tender love, and we see sacredness out from and in
response to pure love. As brother Branham preached the message "Convinced and
Concerned", our being convinced brings about a true concern, and we have
a life pure from carnality one that is modest, immaculate and clean, not from a
fear of retribution, nor from a fear of penalty, but as a result of an inner
motive of Tender Love and Tender Care for our Savior. This holiness
Paul is speaking of is not the result of a rigid and disciplined life style,
but a result of true caring and tender love for God.
How contrary this is to the disciplined
and rigid life of the legalist. Those are people who through fear of
retribution from a Holy God live in fear and walk in fear and tremble at the
thought of eternal separation from God and Heaven. These are people who do
right not because it is the right thing to do, but they do right because of
fear of penalty for doing wrong.
But Paul said this sacrifice is a Holy
one, and it comes from a different kind of motive. A motive that is stimulated
by tender Love and tender care for the One Who gave them new birth. Oh, how
different the two motives are. One binds you while the other sets you free, and
yet they both will produce the same works, and the same outward acts. But Paul
began with the thoughts of how we are to present our bodies as a living
sacrifice, and so he is setting our minds on the importance of the
presentation.
The man who comes home after a hard days
work to the aroma of an apple pie baking in the oven, and fresh baked bread
sitting out on the counter and the aroma of a nice cooked meal, has a much
better presentation that the man who comes home to a note on the refrigerator
that “says there is a frozen TV dinner in
the freezer, put it in the oven at 325 and I'll see you in an hour after I get
home from shopping."
The presentation of
the one tells the man that he is loved, and his wife has a tenderness towards
him, while the letter tells the man a totally different motive from his wife.
The one shows love and warmth while the other shows coldness, and calculation.
So we see in the one instance, the
atmosphere has been set to give a wonderful presentation of this gift of supper
to him, while on the other hand we see the man who came home and his wife has a
note taped to the refrigerator with instructions how he should prepare his own
meal.
In both instances,
both men receive a gift of a supper from their wife, but what a difference in
the presentation of that gift. And that is the same way God looks upon what we
do. Your Holiness ads nothing to God, but if you present your gift with tender
love and care to Him, He looks upon your motive, He looks to the very recesses
of your heart, and He knows your presentation, if it is motivated by Love or by
fear.
Leviticus 20:7 Sanctify yourselves
therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God. 8 And ye shall keep my
statutes, and do them: I [am] the LORD which sanctify you.
Our Holiness is a result of a cleansing
act which can only come from God's Word. It is not an act in our flesh,
produced by our disciplines life, but it is an expression which begins in our
mind, and is conveyed outwardly through the actions of our bodies.
In Psalms 119:9
we read, ¶ Wherewithal
shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy
word.
Then how can a young man cleanse himself
if he doesn't take heed to the Word of God? So we see that it is the taking
heed to the Word that brings cleansing in our Life. So your attitude and the
motive behind your sacrifice is more important to God than the sacrifice
itself. Jesus told a story about the two different ways of approaching God in Luke 18:10
Luke 18:10 Two men went up into the
temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11 The Pharisee
stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other
men [are], extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I
fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 13 And the
publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as [his] eyes unto
heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 14 I
tell you, this man went down to his house justified [rather] than the other:
for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth
himself shall be exalted.
It's the approach that counts. One man
approached God with a broken and contrite heart and God openly accepted his
prayer while the other man had lived no doubt a much more disciplined life, but
look at his approach. He wasn't looking for forgiveness! He was proud, and
gloating how much better he was than the sinner next to him. And look at Jesus
words concerning that man. Jesus said he was not even justified, whereas the
man who approached God in contrition went away justified, cleansed, and free from
all guilt and stain in the eyes of God.
We are told by the Apostle Paul that we
should examine ourselves I Corinthians 11:28 and we have read it perhaps
hundreds of times before taking communion and yet has it really sank into our
hearts that every day we should begin with this same self examination, and each
night before we go to bed, we should as David said, Psalms 63:6 “When I remember thee upon my
bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.”
Now, the Apostle Paul
said in I Corinthians
11:28 But
let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that
cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh
damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. 30 For this cause many
are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge
ourselves, we should not be judged. And how do you judge yourself? John said
try the spirit to see whether it be of God. And so you give yourself the Word
test.
Jesus said in Luke chapter 7, them whose
sins, are many, and are forgiven; loveth much: but to whom little is forgiven,
[the same] loveth little.
Luke 7:40 ¶ And Jesus answering
said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master,
say on. 41 There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed
five hundred pence, and the other fifty. 42 And when they had nothing to pay,
he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him
most? 43 Simon answered and said, I suppose that [he], to whom he forgave most.
And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.
Notice then that forgiveness produces
much more love in the individual than all the doing will ever produce. Jesus is
letting us know that when we have a willing heart, ready to forgive, we will be
loved more. And in the same illustration he tells us that if we are perfect in
our actions but have a rigid and stony attitude toward others we can love only
little.
Notice how the Word of God shows us that
our cleansing brings forth two things, holiness and Love. And it is these two
things together that merit with God. We are not clean and therefore holy. We
are cleansed by the Love of God and the tender mercy of God and therefore, have
become holy unto to. Set aside for service because we have a right heart, and
our heart first has become holy. Our heart first has been cleansed, and because
we can see our own condition is as filthy rags, and we have been made clean by
the blood of the lamb, we then have a tender heart for others and a forgiving
heart for others and as we love, and tenderly care we are made holy.
Therefore our holiness is not a state of
our actions, but a condition of the heart. And if it is true holiness it will
bubble over with Love.
Ephesians 525 Husbands, love your
wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That
he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That
he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle,
or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Notice Paul is saying Love that you may
sanctify. Love that you might cleanse. Love that you might make holy. Titus 3:5
Not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by
the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
It seems we so
overlook the simple things, and yet that is where God hides, is in simplicity.
Everyone wants the challenge to do the big things, and yet it is in those
simple acts of love that cleansing and therefore holiness are born.
Psalms 51:7 ¶ Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be
clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Holiness and cleansing is born
out of Love. JOHN 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the
world; but that the world through him might be saved.
And our Love comes from being loved
first. I John
4:10 Herein
is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son [to be]
the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to
love one another. 12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another,
God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
Now, brother Branham said in his message It wasn’t so
from the beginning 54 “He Sent His Holy Spirit down here to come into our flesh,
which He has sanctified with His own blood... You believe in sanctification?
"Be ye holy, for I am holy." Now, you cannot be holy. I'm not
depending on my holiness. I have none. But I'm depending on His holiness. It's
His holiness that I'm looking at. Not what... Well, not what I was, but what He
is. That's it. Go back to the beginning. There it is: Jesus Christ the same
yesterday”...
Notice then our holiness is not what we
do for Him, but what He has done for us.
I Samuel 2:2 There is none holy as the LORD: for there
is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.
There is none that is Holy but the Lord,
and when He cleans you up and fills you with His HOLY Spirit, then having the
same Spirit and same Life in you as in Him, you are now made a Holy people.
Leviticus 20:7 Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye
holy: for I am the LORD your God. The cleansing comes first and then Holiness
follows. But it all begins because of Love, for He first Loved us, and then
gave of Himself, a part of Himself to us to live through us.
I Thessalonians 4:7 For God hath not called us unto uncleanness,
but unto holiness. 8 He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God,
who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit. 9 ¶ But as touching brotherly love
ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love
one another.
Notice how you cannot separate Holiness
in the scripture from Love for that is what it is. It is Hagios,
it is a Tender Loving Care. That's what Holiness is. And that is what is
expressed through holiness.
I Peter 1:15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so
be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16 Because it is written, Be ye holy;
for I am holy. And then in verse 22 we read Seeing ye have purified your souls
in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see
that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
Oh, my Peter begins by speaking on being
holy even as God is Holy, and then he swings right into showing how we express
this holiness, and that is by loving the brethren.
Deuteronomy 7:7 The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor
choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye [were] the
fewest of all people: 8 But because the LORD loved you,
Because He loves us we are made Holy.
Then let's take that attitude and do the same. Let this mind which was in
Christ be in you. Let this attitude which was in Christ be in you.
Philippians 2:1 ¶ If [there be] therefore any consolation
in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any
bowels and mercies, 2 Fulfill ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same
love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through strife or
vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than
themselves. 4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the
things of others. 5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Let us pray. Dear Gracious Father we are so thankful that you first loved us and
have shown us the way, and expressed your love to us through the death of your
only begotten so, that the very Life that you placed in Him might come back
into us, and that through that act of love, we have been freed from our own
self righteousness and have become Holy, by a Holy God, whose Holy Spirit has
come through Your Holy Word to live your Holy Life full of Love and compassion
and Loving tender care through our own vessels, that we might become the very
Holiness of God. And we thank you Father for what you are continuing to do
through your Word in this hour. Amen.