Christ
is the Mystery no. 82
As a man thinks in his heart
April 21, 2013
Brian Kocourek
Let's begin our Message this morning by reading from
the following Scriptures:
Matt 13:24-30 ¶ Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven
is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: 25 But while men
slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. 26 But
when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares
also. 27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst
not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? 28 He said
unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then
that we go and gather them up? 29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the
tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the
harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye
together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the
wheat into my barn.
Mark 4:4 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.
Genesis 1:11 And God said, Let the earth
bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, [and] the fruit tree yielding fruit
after his kind, whose seed [is] in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
Let’s pray,
Dear gracious and loving Father, you gave us a principle to think about in
these last days, which even your Son Jesus, our brother spoke to us when He
said, "Out from the abundance of the heart the
mouth speaketh". And we find in your Word these words which tells
us, "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he."
And we realize dear Father, that this speaks of all men. For we realize we are
the product of our mind, and this is the reason you have come down in this
hour, to change our mind, to renew
our mind, that we might receive a bodily transformation. For the Apostle Paul
told us that, "we are transformed by the renewing of our minds." And
so Father, we approach Thy Word with reverence this evening as we seek to have
our own minds changed, and as Paul said, "Let this mind be in you which was
also in Christ Jesus." With these thoughts in mind, we graciously ask your
transforming power to touch us in our minds that our hearts might become
regenerated with Thy Life, for we ask it in Jesus Name Amen.
As we examine these scriptures this morning I want you
to see that there are three things we should notice.
#1) Jesus is speaking of a Seed
that was sewn or planted into the ground, and we know by definition that a seed is a carrier
of Life.
#2)
This life that is within the seed must come forth in a
manifestation and bring forth an expression
of what Life lays within it, and it can
not express anything outside of what life is within itself.
#3) By
viewing that life expression you will know what Life it is, which
is identification.
Now, let’s begin by looking at point #1). The Seed that is
sewn is the Word.
Mark 4:4 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.
In John 1:1-4 we
read, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3
All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was
made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
Notice that in Him was Life, and that is why
all things were made by Him. Because It takes Life to bring forth Life.
And He is the Word. So this Life is in the Word.
Luke 8:4-15 4
¶ And when much people were gathered
together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable: 5 A
sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and
it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as
it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. 7 And some fell
among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. 8 And other fell
on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had
said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 9 And his
disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? 10 And he said, Unto
you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in
parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not
understand. 11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those by the way side are they that hear;
then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they
should believe and be saved 13 They on the rock [are they], which, when they
hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while
believe, and in time of temptation fall away. 14 And that which fell among
thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with
cares and riches and pleasures of [this] life, and bring no fruit to
perfection. 15 But that on the good
ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep
[it], and bring forth fruit with patience.
Now notice that the seed that was sown is the Word of
God, and yet we see that unless this Word or Seed is sown in the proper place
it will not produce Life.
1 Peter 1:23 Being
born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God,
which liveth and abideth for ever.
Here we see that the Word is again called a seed, and yet
we see here that there are two types of seed, or Word which are sown. A
corruptible word and an incorruptible word.
The evidence we have received an incorruptible Word,
is that we shall live and abide forever. Now let’s take this thought one step
further. If Peter tells us there are 2 different types of seeds, one which is
corruptible and another which is not corruptible, and if one is called the Word
of God, then the other must be words of one who is not God. Therefore, if a
seed must manifest, then one life will manifest attributes which are eternal
while the other will manifest attributes which shall surely perish.
In the message
Blasphemous Names 62, 22-1 brother Branham said, "The biggest part of our faith is mental faith. By hearing the Word it brings us to a mental recognition
of God. But if this coming from above, oh, brother, if it ever strikes this,
there is a godly, spiritual faith. Then what does that faith do? That faith
recognizes only the Word. No matter what anything else says, it only recognizes
the Word, because "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God. (And the Word's still God.) And the Word was made
flesh and dwelled among us." And when the word Itself is pouring into our
faith, our mental faith becomes a spiritual revelation. "And upon this
foundation I'll build My Church," (See?), not upon a mental conception
of church joining, a mental conception of that, but upon the revelation. When
them streams of grace has poured into that mental faith that you've got, then
upon this, a spiritual revelation, "I'll build My Church and the gates of
hell can't prevail against it." See?"
Point #2, This life within the seed must come forth in a manifestation
and bring forth an expression of the Life that lays within it, and it
can not express anything outside of what life is within itself. Therefore,
every seed must bring forth after it’s kind. And that is what this series
Christ is the Mystery of God is all about. Brother Branham is speaking mostly
of the second fold purpose of God which is that as He manifested Himself in the
body of His Son, now Christ is manifesting Himself in the Body of Christ.
E-39 God Revealing Himself to His People
50-0813E. The right
mental attitude towards any promise of God will bring it to pass. Do you
believe that? The Word is a Seed (Is that right?) that a Sower sowed in the
ground. And every Seed will bring forth of its kind. If you need
salvation, the Seed's here. If you need healing, here's the Seed in the Word.
The Word of God is a Seed. Put it in your heart. Don't dig it up every morning
to see if it's sprouted, put it in there and leave it there. It's God's
business to bring forth the harvest. You just leave it there; water it by
faith and praise every day thanking God for it. All right.
E-50 At Thy Word 53-1204 I don't know how I'm going to do it, but
at Thy Word, Lord." That's it. Take God at His Word, and God's spoken
Word must--will materialize and produce just exactly what It says It will.
Listen. The right mental attitude towards any Divine promise of God will bring
it to pass. I don't care what it is. If you want corn, you plant corn, water
corn, leave corn alone. It'll produce corn. Is that right? Wheat will
produce wheat. The promise of salvation will produce a Christian. The
promise of the Holy Ghost will bring It to you. The promise of Divine healing
will make you well. Any Divine promise of God... And the Bible said that the
Word of God is a Seed. Is that right?
E-8 What Think Ye of Christ 53-1213M And if the right mental attitude, you just
take the right mental attitude towards any Divine promise, watch it
materialize. See? No matter how it looks, if it looks impossible, if God
said so He makes it possible.
175 Word Became Flesh India Trip 54-1003M Every Word in the Bible is God's thoughts
laid in seed form, that if received into the human being, and spoke
by the same thought that materialized the Bible, brings the thing to pass. See
what I mean? How powerful could the Church be? The Bible said, "Let this
mind that was in Christ be in you. As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he."
Now, your thoughts, if they become expression... Like, God said,
"Let there be a world." Before it could be a word, it had to be a
thought. So God in the creation, created the world by His thought first,
then spoke it, and the thought, expressed became material. See what I
mean? 180 Now,
you can express it by mental conception, but if it becomes a real revelation of
God, that you see it before it happened, and express it in word form, that
word takes a hold and becomes material: a thought expressed.
Oh, my, how God could... See? If your heart and your mind is so, and
infilled with God's Spirit, until your thoughts become His thoughts...
Amen. There you are. When your mind, and your leading, and your guiding,
becomes a direct place, or a direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit that's
moving your mortal being... Oh, my. What kind of people should we be? If the
very Holy Spirit has you so embodied or empowered, that you don't use your
own thoughts, you don't use your own mind, you don't use your own opinion;
but the Holy Spirit has you so built, until your thoughts and your being is
God's Spirit expressing Itself through you, what kind of a church would we be?
What kind of a people would it be, this morning, if this Branham Tabernacle,
this morning, was so filled with the Presence of God, why, when you didn't even
use your own mind, didn't even use your own thoughts, didn't even have no
alternative of your own, but just to be led by the Spirit...? 212 "As
a man thinketh..."It has to become a thought before it can become a
word. And a word expressed, materializes. I believe in my heart
that I am a Christian, because I have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ; if I
don't cry, if I don't move, if I don't do a thing. In my heart first, I
believe that Christ died for me in my stead. Amen. I accept it as a
Christian; I believe it as a Christian; then it's in my heart. Then I
express it in a word, "I am a Christian." Hallelujah. Then
I start walking as a Christian, talking as a Christian, living
as a Christian, being as a Christian. And by my
fruits I'm recognized by the world as a Christian. Hallelujah.
John 12:24 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.
Now in looking at these three thoughts here we see
that
#1) The seed is a carrier of Life, That’s 2 Peter 1:3-4 According as his
divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain
unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to
glory and virtue: 4 Whereby
are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: (and
what is a promise? it's giving your word.
And Who gives us His Word? God and what did the sower
Sow? Word, Seed Word.) that by these (Word
Seed promises) ye might be partakers of the divine
nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
#2) The same Life that was sown in the Original Seed,
which is the very Life that was in Christ Jesus, shall
#3) return in this hour, not only among the people, but
It shall enter into the people as well. That’s Colossians
3:4 When Christ, who is our life, shall
appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
He said "The Complete Seed,"
comes forth in It’s Complete Body (which is the complete Life that was in the
Seed has got to come back into human flesh in a Bride) in this hour. So we are
speaking of the Original Seed, the original Word-Life back in human flesh
again. And that is why we are told our New Birth comes by a seed which is the
incorruptible Word of God.
In fact Jesus said in John
6:63 "My Words are Spirit and they are
Life."
And, so we see that the Word is a Seed carrier of
Eternal Life. Now, this morning I would like to look at this thought of the
Word being a Seed in a little different way than perhaps you have heard before.
Since we are talking about the Word as a Seed, I would like to break this down
to our own personal level for a few minutes. And we shall subtitle this Message
"The Garden of your mind."
Now, we know that the Word is a Seed, right? Then if
the Word is a Seed, there is a life that is in that seed. Every seed is a
carrier of life. We know this by definition. But what
is in a Word? The answer is thoughts. Before
there were any words there were thoughts. Then the word is an expression
of the thoughts. So in essence the
thoughts within the word are the life of the Word, right? In other words, if I said to you, Salge, you
might not understand what I am saying, because that word is Norwegian for Sale.
But if I speak to you in Words that you understand, then when I say the Word
SALE, it brings up many things to your mind. Immediately your mind goes into gear and
you begin to think of other things which are associated with a sale. If you are
in real estate, you think of a house that is on the market.
If you are just a common ordinary person, you
immediately think, sale of what? So you can see that a word is not just a
guttural sound, but it really has some significance.
1 Corinthians 14:6-11 ¶ Now, brethren, if I
come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall
speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by
doctrine? 7 And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp,
except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is
piped or harped? 8 For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare
himself to the battle? 9 So likewise ye,
except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be
known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air. 10 There are, it may be,
so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without
signification.
11 Therefore if I know not the meaning of
the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh
shall be a barbarian unto me.
What Paul is saying here is that every sound has some
significance in some language. Just to
speak words which have no meaning does not do anything for any one. But when we
speak in words which can be understood, then those words can and will bring
forth fruit.
Jeremiah 6:19 Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because
they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it. Notice here
Jeremiah tells us our thoughts actually will produce fruit.
And we know that man is likened to a tree, as we see
in Psalm 1:1-3 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the
counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the
seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he
meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a
tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his
season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall
prosper.
Here we see that a righteous man is likened to a tree
that is planted by the rivers of water. And we are told that his fruit will
be in the proper season and his leaf shall
never wither.
Now what does God mean by this metaphor? We know God
likens His Word to Water and Eternal Life to the River of Life that
flows from the Throne of God as we see in
Revelations 22:1 ¶ And he showed me a pure
river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God
and of the Lamb.
Next we see that this man, is planted. That
means he will not move, but that he is fixed in this place which means that he
is rooted in, and his roots are reaching out for the waters of Life, and
he is living off of the Waters of Eternal Life. And of course we know what the Waters of Life
are. It is the Word, for we are told by Paul in Ephesians 5:26 that we are
washed by the washing of water by the word.
And since this tree, or righteous man has a good water
supply, his leaf will never wither, as Peter said, we are born again of a Seedthat will not perish, the Word of
God that Liveth and abideth forever.
And so we see this speaks of Eternal Life, for the
Life in this Tree will never wither. But I want you to also see that the
greatest thing about this tree is that it is constant, and It will always bring
forth it’s fruit in the proper season. And so we see that the fruit is
tied to a season. It is a seasonal fruit.
Now we hear Jesus speak of knowing a man by his
fruits, in the book of Matthew 7:15-20. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's
clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye
shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth
good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit,
neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good
fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.20 Wherefore
by their fruits ye shall know them.
Now, what does He mean by this? You will know Him by his fruits?
Closer examination of this scripture, allows us to see
that you will be able to tell who and what a man is by his fruit.
Then it is the fruit that identifies and declares the man. Now remember, he begins by warning us about false
prophets. And he calls them wolves in sheep’s clothing, but then talks about
fruit. He is using metaphors to get a point across.
But what are these fruits that he is speaking about?
Some would have you to think these fruits are the fruits of the spirit or the
fruits of the flesh, but brother Branham told us the fruit is the
teaching of the season. And we must ask ourselves what is a teaching
but the very thoughts of this person made known through words. Therefore if we
break down this thought of what a man’s fruit is, we find that it is his
thoughts, what he is thinking. And we find a righteous man will have righteous
thoughts, which are rightly wise thoughts or correct thoughts for the season he
lives in. Or better said, A righteous man will have thoughts that are a correct
match for the season.
And that is why John 14:12
is so important for this season of adoption. Not like those others think John 14:12
is the Messiac sign. No, I disagree with that.
Hebrews 4:12 is the Messiac sign. The
Word of God is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Visions are not the sign of Messiah, because God
promised us through the prophet Joel that He would pour out His spirit upon all
flesh, and the young men would see visions and the old men would dream dreams.
So visions are not Messiac sign. And healing is not the sign of Messiah, for
even Judas went forth with a healing ministry. And miracles are not the sign of
Messiah, because 1 Corinthians 12 tells
us that miracles are gifts to the church.
1 Corinthians 12:4 Now there are diversities
of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are
differences of administrations, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of
operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. 7 But
the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to
another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 9 To
another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing
by the same Spirit; 10 To another the working
of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of
spirits; to another divers kinds of
tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: 11 But all these worketh that
one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. 12 For as the body is one, and hath many
members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so
also is Christ. 13 For
by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we
be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. 14 For the body is not one
member, but many.
So we see, miracles, and healing, and even Word of
Knowledge, and discerning of spirits are not the Messiac Sign. And Hebrews 4:12 is not discerning of spirits, it is
discerning the very thoughts and intentions of the heart. That is much greater
than to discern a persons spirit whether they are Christian or not. Hebrews 4:12 is the Word of God made manifest.
In fact brother Branham said, "I can
talk to a man for three minutes and tell whether He has the Holy ghost or not,
and you can too." So we are not talking about reading the
thoughts and intents of the hearts, we are talking about what spirit is motivates a person.
But Hebrews 4:12
is talking about knowing the very thoughts and intents of the heart.
But John 14:12
is not Hebrews 4:12 because for one, it
is not a work, and John 14:12 is a work, an action, something that is done. Hebrews 4:12 is the Word of God Itself.
John 14:12 however is essentially being so full of the same Life that was in Christ
that you think His thoughts, and thinking his thoughts, you say what he says and you do what he does.
That is it in a nutshell. If the Spirit of Jesus Christ is in you, it will
quicken your mortal body and that is this body that you are now living in.
And if we are to be conformed to the image of the
first born son in this hour, we must have his mind in order to think his
thoughts in order to say what he says, in order to do what he does. Other wise
we are not conformed to His image, but we are doing and saying and acting
according to our own mind, our own thoughts. And that will get you nowhere with
God real quick.
Those who were Elect in Moses day did not look
to Noah’s Message for the bread of life in their day. They received Moses
Message in Moses day.
In Jesus day,
those who were looking to Moses Missed Him When He came. And so we see that the
Righteous Man is like a tree that is planted and rooted in the Waters or Word
of Eternal Life, and their thoughts will be in season for their day and
therefore they shall never wither.
Now to further understand how our mind is like a
garden, we shall look further to the book of Proverbs
23:7. Here we read, "For as a man
thinketh in his heart so is he."
And so we see that a man is what he thinks in his
heart. And we have already shown that our thoughts are likened to the life that
is in a seed. Therefore, we can conclude that a man is literally what he
thinks, and therefore his character is the sum of all of his
thoughts." As every plant springs
forth from a seed that was hidden in the earth, and could not have began
without a seed, so too every action that we do, springs forth from a seed
that was planted in our minds as a thought."
Therefore our actions can only manifest what thoughts are
planted in our heart.
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.
Now, notice, Jesus tells us that the
words we speak come forth from the abundance of our heart. And the word heart as we know, means
the understanding which is the compilation of all of our thoughts. Therefore
our actions and speech are only the fruitage which comes forth to manifest the
seed-life that is within our hearts.
In Genesis 1:11 which
tells us "every seed will bring forth after
it's kind", And in this
law of Life or law of reproduction, we see that every seed must bring forth
after it’s own kind or nature. If the nature is in the seed it will manifest
that same nature in fruits.
Therefore, the life that is in the seed must
become manifest. And therefore, whatsoever life is in the seed
will come forth in an outward manifestation in due season. And that is
what Romans 8:15 is all about, the manifestation of the sons of God. Or shall we say, the manifestation of the
seeds of God.
Look, if a righteous man will bring forth His fruit in
His season, then he must know what fruit must come in his season, right? So
what fruit is supposed to be produced in the Elect or righteous in this season?
What season are we living in and what are the promises
given for this season? That's what we want to know.
And we know that this is the hour of Romans 8:15 the day
when the sons of God will manifest as sons of God.
And this is the hour for Romans
8:29 the hour when we are ordained to be
conformed to the Image of the first born son, and the only way we
can be conformed to the Image of the first born son is if we are born of the
same Spirit He was born with. Then that same Life will bear record in our
bodies the very same Life that bore record in His body.
And this is the hour for Ephesians
1:5, the hour of our being adopted and positionally
placed in the family of God.
That is why Psalm 1:3
tells us that a righteous man will brings forth
his fruit in his season; his leaf
shall not wither; and whatsoever he does will prosper.
Therefore as I said, if we are righteous, then we will
bring forth the fruit for the promises for the hour in which we live. We can
see then that our thoughts are the seeds for our actions. And therefore if a
man is righteous, it is because he has righteous thoughts.
The Scripture tells us a man is righteous and
therefore what he does is righteous. His thoughts are righteous before his
actions are righteous.
1 John 3: 7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he
that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as He (God) is righteous. So the righteous thought produces righteous actions.
And you can not do what is righteous unless your
thoughts are righteous first. That is why Solomon said in, Proverbs 12:5 "The thoughts of the righteous are
right: but the counsels of the wicked are
deceit."
Therefore, what distinguishes a righteous man from a
wicked man? His thoughts first and then his actions following. Psalms 10:4 The wicked, through the
pride of his countenance, will not seek after God:
God is not in all his thoughts. 5 His ways
are always grievous; thy judgments are far
above out of his sight:
Brother Branham taught us the simple principle that before you can actually do the act of sin in your flesh, you must first have
to think of it in your mind. Therefore the Greatest battle ever
fought is in the mind.
Since we know that God created man in his own image,
then we must consider that as God brings forth into manifestation His thoughts
and desires of His heart, so does man do the same.
Jeremiah 23:20 The anger of the LORD shall not return,
until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart:
in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.
Therefore, your mind then is likened to a garden which
will grow forth fruit, whether good or bad and it just depends on what we do
with it. In a natural garden we plant the seeds that we want to bring to
harvest. We cultivate our garden so that no weeds will grow in it. It takes
work, but if we sow we shall also reap. The problem is that there is another
who also wishes to sow in our minds as well. Jesus tells the parable of the two
sowers who went forth sowing seeds. The First was the Son of Man and the other
one was the devil. The Son of Man sowed
forth good seed which was the Word of God and it brought forth fruit, wheat.
But the devil sowed his own word seed which brought forth tares or weeds.
Now we are likened to the husbandmen who are
responsible for our own garden. We are supposed to act as good stewards of the
good seed which is the Word of God. But if we are not really interested in what
kind of harvest we shall reap, then we do not cultivate the good seed. We just
let whatever grows, grow. And this will result in the weeds overtaking the
seeds every time.
Weeds will always outgrow the True planting of the
Lord because after all they are wild. And we know that "many more are the children of the harlot than she which
has a husband."
And so we see that every deed is first committed in
the heart, or mind.
Matthew 12:35 A
good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and
an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
Matthew 15:19 For out of the heart
proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false
witness, blasphemies:
Mark 7:21 Beware of false prophets, which come to you
in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall
know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt
tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth
evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring
forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit
is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits
ye shall know them. 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord,
shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father
which is in heaven.
The Bible tells us, "As he thinketh in his heart, so is he." Therefore we are the product of our
thoughts just as any fruit is product of the seed that was planted in the
ground.
That is why we are told to cast down any thought that
would exalt itself against the Word of God.
2 Corinthians 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high
thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into
captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
Notice that we are told to bring every thought into
obedience to the Word of God.
Matthew 12:33 Either make the
tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his
fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.
Luke 3:8-9 Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of
repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of
these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 9 And now also the axe is laid
unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth
good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
If we are righteous it is because we think righteous
thought. And if you have your source from God then you will not be able to help
but to think God’s thoughts. Remember the parable of the two sowers. They both
sowed seeds, but the Seed from the Son of Man was called the good seed. And we
see that a good plant will only produce a good fruit.
Explaining
healing and Jairus 54-0216 37 What you are here is a reflection of what
you are somewhere else. "Those who He called, He justifies." Is that right? "Those who He
justified, He has glorified." Already in the Presence of the Father, we
have a glorified body. Whew! Wasn't that deep? All right. We'll find out
whether it's right or not. "If this earthly tabernacle be dissolved, we
have one already waiting." Is that right? That's right. So right now,
and what we are here, is a reflection of what we are somewhere else. So
if your deeds are evil, you know where it comes from. You know where your other
body's a waiting.
And listen, it all starts in the mind which is in the
heart.
Therefore, I
believe that everything you are, even your Character comes forth
from the garden of thought that is in your heart, making you what you really
are. Brother Branham told us that when we are born again, we receive everything
that we will ever have need of to bring forth the image of God in us.
In Fact we hear John tell us this in 1 John 3:2 where we find that Beloved, now are we
the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that,
when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3 And every man that hath this hope in him
purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
Therefore this thought we are looking at this morning
should show you how the garden of your mind affects every thing about you, not
only does it affect your character, and the molding of your character,
but it will even affect the circumstances that you enter into daily, which
circumstances are used by God in the shaping of your character into it’s final
product that God has predestined for you. Therefore, every trial you
endure, every test that God puts you through, comes about as a result of the
Seed thoughts that lay within your heart.
That is what Peter tells us in 1 Peter 4:12 Beloved,
think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as
though some strange thing happened unto you:
Here we see that it should not surprise us when we
face our trials, because these trials are made for the purpose of testing us.
In fact we see in 1 Peter
1:7 that not only are we ordained to these tests, but we are also
ordained to pass them. Wuest Translation "in which last season you are to be
constantly rejoicing with a joy that expresses itself in a triumphant
exuberance, although for a little while at the present time if perchance
there is a need for it, you have been made sorrowful in the midst of many
different kinds of testings in order that the approval of your faith,
which faith was examined by testing for the purpose of being
approved, that your approval being much more precious than the approval
of gold which perishes, even though that gold be approved by fire-testing, may
be discovered after scrutiny to result in Praise, Honor and Glory at the time
of the Revelation of Jesus Christ;
Therefore, we can say that every trial that you go
through and ever time you are put to a test by God and you can not see beyond
the circumstance which surround your life, just remember one thing: that all
those tests are all the result of the seeds of your own thinking and they have
spawned forth from the garden of your own mind.
Remember, what Paul told us in the book of Romans 8:28-31 28 And
we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them
who are the called according to his purpose.
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. 30 Moreover
whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also
justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. 31 What
shall we then say to these things? If God be for
us, who can be against us?
And so if everything about us is already predestined
from God, then the very thoughts we think, He knew before the
foundations of the World, and He knows not only what you have thought,
but what thoughts you will think too. And don't forget, He also knows
how to get you to think His thoughts as well. Then we can see the relationship
of these thoughts that we have and how they influence our growth into the image
of His Son.