Christ is the Mystery no. 89

Repentance and confession

May 26, 2013

Brian Kocourek

 

This morning we will continue in our study of Br. Branham's sermon, Christ is the Mystery of God Revealed, and we will pick up at paragraph 189. Now, brother Branham is reading from 2 Timothy 3 in this paragraph, so before we read what he has to say let's go tot he Scriptures this morning and read it for ourselves so we can get the background for what he will speak to us here in this paragraph 189.

 

Let's open our Bibles to 2 Timothy 4 and begin reading from verse 1.

 

2 Timothy 3:1  This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. Now, contrary to some, last days means last days. Then what Paul is speaking of in this letter here refers to this hour. And God placed those things in there for our edification because later on in this same chapter Paul says in verse 16: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, (that means it is God breathed, or in other Words it has come forth from the mouth of God, therefore it is "Thus Saith the Lord".) and (Paul continues) it is profitable for doctrine", (so first and foremost Paul let's us know that all Scripture is for doctrine, That means for teaching. Therefore, any doctrine or teaching that is contrary to Scripture is not from God, it's just that simple. Because if it hasn't been God breathed, then it is man breathed. And that means it is not "thus Saith the Lord", but thus saith man, so you don't have to pay any attention to it.

 

Then the Apostle Paul goes on to say, Scripture is also "for reproof". Now, what does that means,  for reproof .  That means that scripture is also for proof, or proving the doctrine, because that is what he is talking about here. In other Words, all you need for   evidence is God's Word which is His Scripture. So notice Paul says first of all that ALL Scripture is for doctrine, then he says and it is also for proving the doctrine, or for evidence that the doctrine is God breathed, God spoken.

 

Then Paul adds, it is also "for correction", and for instruction in right-wise-ness: which means it is for instruction in how to be rightly wise.  17 In order that the man of God may be perfect, (that means mature) and thoroughly furnished (or equipped by the Word) unto all good works. So the Scriptures are given to us from God Himself to equip us for "all good works". well, I would assume the works that I do, said Jesus would be considered "good works" wouldn't you? And therefore God has given us His Word, His promise that by utilizing His Word as a tool we will possess whatever equipping that will be necessary to do all good works.

 

Therefore, without knowledge of the Scriptures how in the world do you think you could do anything God wanted done. I mean the Scripture tells us what to do, when to do it, and how to do it.

 

In fact brother Branham had to take every vision he had back to the Scripture to see if it was according to God's Word or not. So the only piece of equipment we need to do all good works is not visions, but God's Scripture, His Word. Because even Jesus said, the son can do nothing but what the Father shows him or tells Him to do. So Jesus was dependant on God's word for his good works, and thus so are we.

 

Now, remember we are talking about the end time here, and in those last days perilous times shall come. The Amplified version  says, But understand this, that in the last days will set in great stress and trouble hard to deal with and hard to bear. So we are not looking at any picnic here. We are looking at the time when as brother Branham put it, the conditions will be seven times worse than in any other age.

 

From his sermon, How can I overcome 63-0825M P:31 As I was talking to someone the other day, said, "They're very careful, even many of the holiness groups, not to call the Holy Ghost, 'Holy Ghost,' 'cause they identify themselves with Pentecostals when they do that." They say, "Holy Spirit." See? Keep from saying Holy Ghost, because the Pentecostal, common people, just call It what the Bible says, "Holy Ghost," which "Holy Spirit" and Holy Ghost" is the same thing. But they're very careful about... They don't want to be identified with them tongues speaking people, and that's the Holy Spirit Itself. See? What happened then? When the enemy that went out under sanctification, that was washed out, returned back and found the house not filled with the Holy Spirit, now the state of the church has joined with the league of churches, with the World Council of Churches; and it's a state now that connects it with Roman Catholicism and all the rest of it; and now it's seven times worse than it was when it come out of the Lutheranism. That's where man takes it.

 

So what brother Branham is saying telling us here is that the church under Wesley had an opportunity to come up through Justification under Luther, and swing right into sanctification under Wesley which would have taken them up to the infilling of the Holy Ghost, but they turned it down, and so instead of holiness bringing them to infilling of God Life, they turned away from holiness, and today the church is seven times worse in this hour than any other hour.

 

Oh, don't you see it. Homosexuality, pedophilia right in the pulpits. You say that's the catholic church, well, brothers and sisters I can show you that it's all pulpits, all tables have become vomit. I can show you every organization that claims to be Christian, has the same thing, because it is that organizational spirit that brings death.

 

Because brother Branham and brother Vayle taught us that the same spirit that brings adultery is the same spirit that brings idolatry. Because it's the same spirit. And in our city of Cincinnati we have had Catholic priests who are pedophiles, and Pentecostal ministers who are pedophiles, and Baptist ministers who are pedophiles, and Cincinnati is a very conservative place, so I would hate to think of what's taking place out there in California and other Liberal areas of this nation.

 

And what About England? They turned down Holiness under Wesley and look at that nation today.  As brother Branham said, you couldn't even walk in the park without having to turn your head from the sexual acts that were taking place in the parks.

 

And you say, well, preacher that may be Catholics and Baptists and Pentecostal preachers, but they don't have this truth we have. we've go the Message, praise God.  To borrow a phrase of brother Vayle's. "Oh fap!!!"  Don't be so naive. There are pedophile ministers right in this Message.

 

A good friend of mine years ago told me about young boys who were molested by so called clergy men right in this Message out there in California, and also in England.  So don't tell me that can't happen in this Message when it already has.  We are living in perilous times brothers and sisters.  It's time to take our stand and avoid such people as that.

 

2 Timothy 3:1  This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. Then Paul goes on to say in verse 2 " For men shall be lovers of their own selves,(in other words, they will be more self centered in the last days than at any other time in history) covetous, (You know what that means? It means to be marked by inordinate desire for wealth or possessions or for another's possessions) and not only that but they will be  boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3  Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,  4  Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5  Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 6  For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 7  Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8  Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.  9  But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was. 10  But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,...

 

Listen, brothers and sisters, the Message Bible version says, 3: 1-5 Don’t be naive. There are difficult times ahead. As the end approaches, people are going to be self-absorbed, money-hungry, self-promoting, stuck-up, profane, contemptuous of parents, crude, coarse, dog-eat-dog, unbending, slanderers, impulsively wild, savage, cynical, treacherous, ruthless, bloated windbags, addicted to lust, and allergic to God. They’ll make a show of religion, but behind the scenes they’re animals. Stay clear of these people. 6-9 These are the kind of people who smooth-talk themselves into the homes of unstable and needy women and take advantage of them; women who, depressed by their sinfulness, take up with every new religious fad that calls itself “truth.” They get exploited every time and never really learn. These men are like those old Egyptian frauds Jannes and Jambres, who challenged Moses. They were rejects from the faith, twisted in their thinking, defying truth itself. But nothing will come of these latest impostors. Everyone will see through them, just as people saw through that Egyptian hoax.

And what I do not understand is that people flock to these churches where the pastors have been caught in adultery, or caught in homosexual activities, right in this Message, and yet Paul said, "Stay away from them". Avoid them, yet the people like dumb driven cattle close their eyes to such vulgarity and plod along like dumb driven cattle. Don't you realize birds of a feather will flock together? 

 

You say, oh, come on preacher, that isn't Bible? Well, it might not be written that way in the Bible but it was good enough for a vindicated prophet to say it, because it's a truism in nature.

 

Separation from unbelief 55-0228 P:42 You know you're kinda judged by your associates. Birds of a feather flock together. Did you ever hear that? That's the truth. That's an old proverb, but it's the truth. You never did see any buzzards and doves having any fellowship with one another. Their diet's different. And just as sure as you get God in you heart, you're diet will be different too. You'll come out from the things. You know why the dove can't eat with the buzzard? The dove is a different make-up; he doesn't have any gall. He can't digest them things. And that's the way it is. The old crow set out there. The old crow though, he can set on a dead carcass, eat half the day, go out eat wheat the other half of the day. But the dove can...?... and eat wheat, but you can't eat the dead carcass.

 

Now, in reading from brother Branham's sermon, Christ is the Mystery of God Revealed, in PP. 189 he said,  "The prophet Paul said, "In the last days the people would be heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, and despisers of those that are good. (Heady, high-minded. See?), having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; from such turn away; for this is the kind that goes from house to house and leads silly women laden away with divers lust (with shorts and bobbed hair, and everything else)--led away with divers lust," and say, "It's all right. Ah, they're crazy out there. Don't pay no..." See? Never able to come to the knowledge of the Truth. And these men resisted it as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses: Able to produce a church and produce a group of people just as... But their folly will be made manifest when Jesus takes His Bride and sets Her up here and says, "This is Her," and away He goes with Her. That's right. Their folly will be made known.


190 Look it. Having the revelation of this secret made known to them by His grace. Look, when this great revelation, revealed mystery is made known to you, then you denounce all the things of the world. Now, I'm going to come back once again. I was not going to say it; I'm pointing to it; the tape's sake. And those that are going across... This tape goes across the world. See? You women that claim you've got the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and not the audacity to let your hair grow out, when the Bible condemns it and said a woman, a man's got a right to put away his wife in divorce if she bobs her hair, honored before God to do so. The Bible says if she cuts her hair, she dishonors her head. And it's a common... just, you know, what any old common thing it is for a woman to even pray with bobbed hair. See? Wearing shorts and these slacks and things. The Bible said any woman that'll... ("Oh..." you say...), that put on a garment that pertains to a man, it's an abomination to God: filthy, dirty, like an old stinking bathroom somewhere. See? Oh, my, the filth in God's nostrils. And then you try to pray or offer up prayers in such a thing as that, God refuses it, turns it away. That's right.

 

And that brings me to the point I would like to focus on this morning. Brother Branham is talking about Holiness here, people professing to have the Holy Ghost but there's no evidence of it in their life.

 

Look brothers and sisters, God Life is Holy Life. That is why it is called the HOLY Spirit, or the HOLY Ghost. Because it is HOLY life, and yet I could name at least a dozen men right in this Message who pastor churches who have been caught in sexual sin while either holding the office of pastor, or are pastors now, who did so while in this message. Sexual sin, adultery, homosexual sin, pedophiles, and yet are leaders? Oh God come Lord Jesus.

 

When men who have been in the world that were living legally as polygamists because their country permitted the practice, when they came to this message, the pastors didn't know what to do, so brother Vayle said, let them come to church but hold no office, and do not sing any specials, or have any form or leadership in the church. Because we do not want the people to think that those sinful ways are permissible in the house of God.  yet we got preachers in this message, married two or three times, preachers swapping wives, preachers, taking the wives of others and living with them as they would their own wife, preachers, committing adultery, homosexuals, pedophiles, and you know what the Bible says?

 

The people love to have it so, for like people like priest. Listen, I believe the Blood of Jesus can truly cleanse a man from sexual sins as good as any other sin, but a man that has committed adultery against his wife? Or worse yet leave off his wife for another man? or worse yet for young boys? Show me one place in the Bible that a man was ever used by God who was a homosexual or pedophile? They were stoned to death. Not appointed and anointed.

 

Now, the real problem that brother Branham is laying out here is that people think they got something when they have nothing.  But Brother Branham said, "I can call the Name of Jesus over you and baptize you; that doesn't make it so. But when once that Holy Spirit really genuine Word comes into you (the Word, Jesus), then, brother, the message is no secret to you then; you know It, brother; It's all lit up before you. Hallelujah. Praise be to God. Amen

 

And he also said, And God will a vindicate every man that'll speak the truth. God will prove it to be so. Man can say anything, that doesn't make it so. But when God speaks, that makes it so.

And he also said, Any man can come here and say this or that. Well, you can say anything you wish to, if you wish to be a false witness. But you saying it doesn't make it so. But when God speaks it, that vindicates it to be so.

And he also said, Just because the people  claim something to be true, that doesn't make it so; it's what God said and proves that it's true. Prove all things. Hold fast to that which is good.

 

And he also said, just because you say you believe it, that doesn't make it so.

 

And he also said,  A unbeliever can carry these denominational credentials, but that isn't what makes him a sent man from God. They walk around here with all kinds of books under their arms around through the country, and this Jehovah's this, and So-and-so, and all this, the other, but that doesn't make it so. No, sir. Jesus said, "You test them by the Word." That's right. The Word: "These signs shall follow...""Do you believe in power of God?" "Oh, but our church teaches that the..." "Our church," that has nothing to do with it. It's what God's Word says. See?...?... "Heavens and earth will pass away but My Word shall not pass away." The living Word spoke by a living God must be in a living being. And how can a man or a woman that claims that they have the baptism of the Holy Spirit deny what God said in His Word? Because it's the very Holy Spirit that wrote the Word is the very Holy Spirit that's speaking through the person. That's right. It's got to be. He cannot--He cannot do it. Yes, sir.
 

Now, listen, I just showed you what a vindicated prophet said concerning people who believe this or that, or who confess this or that, and he said just because you say it doesn't make it so.

 

Now, you might be wondering why I am hitting this so hard this morning. Well, I will tell you. I got an email this week from a brother overseas and he wanted to know if confession and repentance were the same thing. And as I went to studying the Scriptures and Message concerning that it dawned on me that many people confess there sin and think by confessing their sin that it is now under the blood of Jesus Christ, but as brother Branham said, Just saying it doesn't make it so. Let me share what brother Branham said about that.

 

Now, brother Branham taught us that the word confess means to say the same thing. And in fact that is what the Greek word Homologeo says, Home meaning Same and logeo meaning Word.

 

From his sermon Only believe - 61-0427 confess means "say the same thing.

 

And from his sermon, Jesus Christ the same - 58-020718. Now, confess means, "Say the same thing."

 

But the best quote I found was from 59-0628E - "Questions And Answers where he said,  When you accept Christ as your Saviour and are then ready for baptism in water, you have not yet been converted; you're only believing unto repentance. "Conversion" means "to be changed."   

 

But the problem is that many people confess their sin and think it is now under the blood and then they go of and do the same thing or other sin and just keep going back to the alter time and time again.

Like the Catholic who goes to confession. he thinks because he confesses it and gets it off his chest, that he is forgiven by just saying some simple words.  But confession and repentance are two different words and they mean two different things.

 

If just saying mere words of confession absolves you of sin, then Christ died in vain, and his blood is of no effect. Jesus said, "Go and sin no more" That's repentance. Because repentance means a change of the heart. A conversion is made when the heart is changed.

 

Brother Branham said you are not converted yet, you are only believing unto repentance.

 

How many millions of men have been arrested for crimes and even thow they confess their sin, they still get the penalty for that sin. But we have people who think, it's under the blood because I say so, yet they are not changed, they are not converted, because they have not truly repented.

 

In the old testament to rid themselves from their guilt for their sin they would bring an innocent lamb and cut it's throat and felt that warm blood run over their cold hands. In doing so they were confessing their sins openly, brothers and sisters, but the blood of bulls and goats could never take away their sinful nature, and so they had to repeat their confession years after year after year, because they still had the same sinful nature. Because they were born in sin to begin with.

 

Brother Branham said from his sermon, "The Key To The Door"   62-1007 - I believe that repentance, godly sorrow; repent means "turn around, go back," you missed the mark, "start over again." Do that first! And your baptism in water is only an outward profession of something that's been done inside of you, that you have accepted Christ as your Saviour

 

What these quotes tell me is that confession and repentance are two very different things. Confession means you admit to the guilt, but that does not do away with the sin. It only begins a process. It clears the record as guilty, but does not place the sin under the blood. It's like the young child who get's caught with their hand in the cookie jar, and when caught to avoid punishment he says, "I'm sorry" but then the next chance they get it's back to the cookie jar again.

 

As brother Branham remarked about the blood of bulls and goats, it doesn't change the life, or the nature, of the person. Only a death will allow new life to enter, and that is the problem we have in this Message is people are unwilling to totally die to self. So when they confess, they usually try to minimize the quilt, so they confess to a lesser offense, hoping the punishment will be lessened. 

 

But true repentance is a change of the heart, and it leads to conversion. Until the person is converted they still have the same nature and thus they may not do certain kinds of sin for fear of being caught, but it's still in their heart and unless the Holy Ghost has taken over and a conversion has taken place, they still must reflect the nature that is within them.

 

The problem as I see it is that people think if a man confesses his sin he is clear now of that sin. And don't people like to use that phrase? It's under the blood because I confessed it. But is it really under the blood just because you say so?  Only true repentance will bring sin under the blood  and clear the sinner from his sin, because the acts of the flesh whatever they might be are not sin, they are only attributes of unbelief. 

 

The actions of the body are only manifestations of the condition of your heart. To confess when you are caught is not repentance. Confess only means "to say the same thing." In other words, when you make your confession you are only admitting to your guilt. That is all you are doing, admitting your guilt. But the world is replete with criminals who admit to their guilt, and they serve the time, but come out doing the same thing over and over again, because there has been no conversion.

 

Repentance means to change the heart. In Catholicism, many people destroy the lives of others and then they go to the priest and say their "confession" They "confess" their sin, and think the sin  is absolved. That is just Catholic dogma.

 

But sin is unbelief, brother Branham said in, Jehovah Jireh 61-0209 P:53 There is only one sin. There's only one sin; that's unbelief. Smoking cigarettes is not a sin. Committing adultery is not a sin. Taking the Lord's Name in vain is not a sin. That's the attributes of unbelief. That's because you don't believe, the reason you do that. See? Sin is unbelief. "He that believeth not is condemned already." You can't even get to first base unless you believe every word of God and call anything else to It as though it was a lie. Amen.

 

Listen brothers and sisters the Apostle Paul listed a whole lot of fruits of the flesh and everyone of them will place you in hell.

 

Galatians 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 18  But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. 19  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; (1) Adultery, (2) fornication, That's the same act as adultery but before marriage. (3) uncleanness, that means your thoughts are in the gutter, or full of sexual. (4) lasciviousness, Notice how these are all sexual sin. And then he says, 20  (5) Idolatry, because that is the same spirit as adultery. Only it is manifested in chasing after false doctrine. (6) witchcraft, Now, here is one to think about, it comes from the Greek word pharmakeia which we get our word pharmacy from, and it means medication ("pharmacy"), i.e. (by extension) magic (literally or figuratively):--sorcery, witchcraft. In other words altering the natural state through medications. Taking drugs for this and for that. Taking drugs to sleep, or for your nerves, when He said that we have peace in Christ Jesus and Jesus said come unto me and I will give you rest. Listen, if you can't sleep, turn on a tape and listen to the voice of God. Have nervous problems, turn on the tapes. You don't need drugs, you need Christ. he is the God that healeth all thy diseases. And notice we are at the end time and the drug companies are the top money makers because deadly drug are made legal and drug pushers are called MD's.    

(7) hatred, That one is self explanatory, and brother Branham said in his sermon,  55-1110 A Hidden Life In Christ There's where the church is failing in one place: overcoming, overcoming temper, overcoming difference, overcoming church prejudice, overcoming hatred. Many people tonight who shout and speak with tongues and run up-and-down the aisle, and hate their neighbor. That has... Brother, you're lost yet. That's hard to say, but that's the truth. Right. Overcome. You can only overcome when you... You say, "I'm eating manna, glory to God." Yes, but look what happens from one day to the other. You get the miss-meal cramps. Come on in where the manna's fresh all the time. Whether your neighbor treats you right or not, you'll love him anyhow. That's right. Whether he agrees with you or not, you love him anyhow. That's the way you got to do it. That's the hidden life. That's that consecrated life. That's that life that the veils of the worlds... And you're shut off from the things of the world. You only live in Christ. You see what I mean, church?

 

 (8) variance, That means being contentious and quarrelsome. You got to fuss with everyone? Your still in the flesh, brother, sister. You haven't died to self yet. And your life is not hid in God with Christ.  

 

(9) emulations, That's jealousy and malice.  (10) wrath, That's strong vengeful anger, wanting to get even (11) strife, that's violent conflict or dissension  (12) seditions, That's dissension, causing division (13) heresies, That's denial or revealed truth like denying John 14:12 that is so apparent it doesn't even need a revelation, Jesus said it, and as brother Branham said, if there is a promise in the Bible it's for you. 21  (14) Envyings, painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage (15) murders,And we all know what murder is, but brother Branham wrote to my Father in law, and said there are more ways to kill a man than with just a knife or bullet, you can speak against a person and kill his influence and we could add  speaking lies against a brother is nothing less than character assassination.  (16) drunkenness, that's self explanatory (17) revellings, that means carousing looking for trouble  and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24  And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh (that means you have crucified self) with the affections and lusts.  25  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

 

Therefore as we see sin can manifest in the flesh or in self in many various actions but the intent is all the same. The main motive or objective of sin is for self gratification or self preservation and it usually comes through deceit or deception.

Just the same as those who handle the word of God deceitfully, it is sin, because they believe not. when men will knowingly take a quote from God's vindicated prophet and cut off a part of it to make it say the opposite of what he is saying, that shows the person is yet a sinner and is lost.

 

So brothers and sisters, I am afraid many people only think their sin has been covered by the blood when in effect their sin or unbelief still manifests itself in various fruits of the flesh.

 

Like a man who is caught in a homosexual act, and blames it on the other person in order to look like a victim instead of the sinner that he is. Or like the criminal who confesses to one crime to hide another crime that is even worse. And that is typical in law enforcement, and shall we say in parenting as well? And then we find them in this Message saying, "I confessed that, its under the blood".   I asked God to forgive me so I am now clean by the blood f the lamb, hallelujah.

 

Well, that is not what a vindicated prophet said when the woman came for prayer and brother Branham said, "how dare you come for prayer, when you haven't confessed your sin". She said, "yes I have" and he said "no you haven't, you committed adultery against your husband", and she said, "I confessed it to God", and brother Branham said, "you didn't sin against God you sinned against your husband. You have to confess to your husband your sin".  She said, "I can't do that I have children, and he would leave me". Then brother Branham told her, "don't worry sister, he's done the same thing and needs to confess to you."

 

So you see too many people do not understand that when you confess your sin it is not covered until you have truly repented, and that means your heart has changed, and you no longer disbelieve. Sin is unbelief.

 

And so I believe as John 14:12 opened up to us a better understanding of the nature of God and of Christ, and that if we have the same nature we will do the same things, live the same life etc. I believe as we begin to better understand the difference between confession and true repentance which leads to a true conversion, that in the process we are going to see ourselves become more and more consecrated in our life before God and man. And believe me, I do not see a rapture for any who are not consecrated which means completely dedicated to God and His Word.

 

There is yet still too much Tom Foolery going on in the lives of the people. Men still drinking socially when God's prophet said you are not even born again if you do so. Too much picture shows, too much fashion consciousness, too much worldliness, etc. So, we need to look again at these fruits of the flesh and see if there be any of them in our lives and purge them from our lives as we die to self and let Christ live our life for us.

 

The Catholics say I've confessed it and I'm absolved, but saying so doesn't make it so, and Message people say, catch phrases like, "it's under the blood", so they don't have to deal with the repercussions of their sin. But never forget, "what you sow you shall also reap". and you can not undo that brothers and sisters. God may forgive you but you will still have to reap the consequences of the sowing that you have done.  Kill it, brothers and sisters, kill it before it gets any worse.   

 

Let us pray...