Desperation no 38
And men press into it
July 13, 2016
Brian Kocourek, Pastor
Sunday we spoke concerning the Church and the
choking off of the Word.
We brought out about the squeeze that brother Branham
saw coming, that would take place at the time when the Council of Churches
begins to tighten up. And we brought out how that squeeze is nothing compared
the Word that is being choked off in the believer today by the cares of this
Life, the deceitfulness of riches and other things coming in and choking off
the word, that the word might not produce any fruit.
And the reason this choking off of the Word is
worse than the literal squeeze is because the Very Life in the Word is far more
precious than these bodies that could receive some problems in a literal
squeeze that is ordained to come.
The Word being choked from producing fruit in
the believer is a far worse squeeze spiritually than the shutting down or
persecution of the church, because without the Holy Ghost in the believer, we
are dead yet while we are living.
Now, that doesn't mean we shouldn't be concerned
with the Squeeze brother Branham talked about, but to have the Life of the Word
choked so much to the point that it produces nothing is far worse than
persecution for your faith.
In this next quote tonight I want us to see that
brother Branham believed that our squeeze is ordained by God to squeeze the
self, out of yourself, in order for you to come to the place where you can let
go and let God.
From His sermon, I know 60-0417S P:47 Brother Branham said, There was too much of you in you, till God had to squeeze it out through trials. And while that squeezing was coming on, it's hard. But after while the skies clear back and you see the
purpose of God. Then you cry, "I know my Redeemer liveth, and at the last days He'll stand on the
earth. Though the skin worms destroys this body, yet in my flesh shall I see
God." These little trials and things are just for a
moment, and they fade and pass
away. But they're
only done for your good; let us remember that, that God would get glory.
Notice he said "there's too much you in
you." So God uses
trials to squeeze you until some of that you in you let’s go, and let’s God. And that is the way God does it.
As the Scripture says, "it
is God working in you to will and to do."
Sometimes we get too full of self and God has to
squeeze the self out of us in order to make room for His own image to come forth
in us.
We read Sunday in paragraph 119 of brother Branham’s sermon The
Masterpiece where he said, "The Word is right," the church trying
to squeeze It out.
Notice in this quote that He's pointing us to the
Word, and He says it is right, and then he adds that "the church is trying to Squeeze the Word out of the church."
Now that is an outstanding thought concerning
the “Squeeze”
that brother Branham mentions here, because the other quote mentions the world
council of churches, and this one also has to do with the church and the Word.
He said The Word is right," but the church trying to squeeze It out. Therefore, the squeeze has to do with the Word of God
being rejected by the church.
Actually it doesn’t have anything to do with you
or I except that we are the vessels in which that Word is coming alive, and
therefore in order for the church to maintain its control it must expel, cast
out, or somehow nullify the work of God in us.
Because the Word of God is a Seed, that the
Sower planted and when it is planted in good soil that is tilled and made
ready, it will bear fruit and "that fruit for the season is what the church
is against". Because the fruit is the teaching of the
season.
Now, brother Branham used the word squeeze 65
times throughout his ministry, and in most of them he is talking about
something being squeezed, like the Life that was in Jesus Christ being squeezed
out at Calvary in order for it to come back upon the believer.
But several times he speaks of the effects of the Word being squeezed out by the church religious
system. The one quote everyone refers to when talking
about the squeeze that is to come is taken from Look away to Jesus that brother Branham preached in December 1963.
From this sermon, Look away to Jesus 63-1229E P:16 he said, So now, I am going to say
something to you now, that I haven't said all along. And that is, the thing that
we have looked forward to for so long, or at least many years, four or five
years or maybe longer, the
third pull has now been vindicated, and I'm
sure you all know what it is. Now, remember, there'll never be any impersonation of that,
'cause it can't be. It cannot be. Now, it's in existence, and I am
warned of this, that soon, right at this time now, it's just happened, so it
could identify its presence among you. See? But it will not be used in a great way, until this
council begins to tighten up. And when it does, when that does... The Pentecostals and so forth
can almost impersonate anything could be done, but when that time comes, when the
squeeze comes down,
then you'll see what you have seen temporarily, be
manifested in the fullness of its power. See..?
So here we see him speaking of the council of
churches tightening up, and he calls this tightening up a squeeze. Now, let’s continue with what he is saying in
this sermon.
P:17 Now, I must continue in evangelism, just as I was commissioned
first; I must continue on. Therefore, you've had the Word, and you
know what to look for, how to
stand. I must continue on in evangelism. And friends of
mine, keep still and just keep moving on, for the
hour is approaching swiftly (See?), that when something is going to be done. Now, you might
see some little odd things happen from me, nothing sinful, I don't mean that,
but I mean something odd to what the regular trend, because what I have reached
to now in the ministry, I'm
dropping back here, watching that spot and waiting for the time to
use it. But it's going
to be used. And everyone knows that
for as certain as the first was identified, so has the second been identified;
and if you'll think real closely, you who are spiritual (as the Bible said,
"Here's to him who has wisdom.") the third is properly identified. See?
We know where it is. So the third pull is here.
P:18 It is so sacred that I must not say much about it, as He told me in
the beginning. Said, "This, say nothing of it." You remember that
years ago? It speaks for Itself. See? But I've tried to explain the others, and
I made a mistake. This will be the thing that, to my opinion (I don't say the
Lord tells me this.)--this
will be the thing that will start the rapturing faith for the going away.
See, see? Now, and that... I must lay quiet for just a little while. Now,
remember (and who's listening to this tape) you might see such a change in my
ministry right away, dropping back... Not going up, dropping back... We're
right at the age now, and it can't go any further. We have to
wait here just a minute until this happens over here to catch up, then the time comes. But it's thoroughly
identified.
P:19 There's coming a time upon, in this nation, to where this nation is
going to exercise all the power that the beast had before (which
was pagan Rome, when it become papal Rome. See?) that this nation will do that.
Revelations 13 plainly explains it. The lamb came up out of the earth. The other beast
came up out of water, thickness and multitudes of people. This lamb came up
where there was no people. A lamb represents religion--the
Lamb of God. And remember, it spoke like a lamb;
it was a lamb, and then after while it received
power and spoke like a dragon, and exercised all the power the dragon had
before him; and the dragon is Rome always. So don't you see,
Roman denomination, a marked Protestant denomination, an image unto the beast, making a power that'll force all Protestants
like a union. You'll
have to be into this council of churches, or you won't be able to have
fellowship or to... Well, it's practically that way now. You can't go to a church and preach, 'less
you have a fellowship card or some identification.
P:20 And now, on persons like ourselves, we're
going to be cut out of all that altogether. That's exactly,
because they won't be able to do it. It's tightening; and then
when that time comes, and the press comes to a place to where you're pressed
out, then watch (what I am fixing to tell
you in a few minutes) watch the third pull then. It'll be absolutely to the
total lost, but it will be for the Bride and the church. Now, we're closer
than it seems to be. I don't know when, but it's real, real, close.
Notice he is using words that are expressive but
yet do not clearly define what is going to happen. He calls this tightening a squeeze and a press and all pressed out. These are the words he
used to tell us of a condition that he says is now on its way concerning our
freedom to assemble and worship.
Now, Sunday we talked about the cares of this Life and the deceitfulness of
riches and other things come in and choke out the life of the Word. Brother Branham said that those things have come upon the church and
pressed down upon the church until there is nothing left but a worldly church.
Shalom 64-0112 P:43 The hour is upon us, darkness, gross darkness,
gross darkness on the people now, that's what it is. What does it all mean?
Where we standing? What hour are we in? How close are we to the coming? Why,
you say, "When all they have a revival...""Fear not, little flock, it's your Father's good
will to give you the Kingdom." All right. What does it mean? God has
begin to separate the Light from the darkness (See?), pressing it behind, like He did in the beginning to show the dawn of a new day. The church ages are fading out. Pardon me.
The church ages are fading out. God is pressing the darkness into a place; it has to do it to fade out the church organizations, fade out the
world. The world is
covering the thing over, and worldlyism has took the whole thing. Then isn't God right? By worldly
things, and worldly dressing, and worldly acting, and worldly living, it's the
world. Ye are not of the world, little children. You are of heaven. This is not your home. Why
should I look to, us older people try to look back and get young again? We
can't do that. But we're looking forward, not looking back. Looking here, what
has been, and we want to know what's going to be. And we're looking for that hour, pressing for it.
So we see that this press is the world and
worldliness upon the church and God is allowing it to separate the Light from darkness
just as He did in the beginning to show that a New Day is approaching.
From
his sermon, Shalom 64-0119 P:31 Brother Branham said, "God, at the beginning, separated the light from
the darkness. He's always done that. What does He do? He presses the... By the
coming light He presses the darkness to the other side of the earth. And that's exactly what's coming
to pass now. It's just before day. The morning star has come
out to hail the day coming, and the Holy Spirit showing Its Light. It's coming
a time when the Light and darkness will have to be separated, one from the
other. Church and its order
will take the order of the day; and Christ and His Light Word
promise will go in the rapture. That's the only thing that's
left for them to do. It's a day. Today is the dawn of a new day, for many who
are looking for His coming.
And
from his sermon Shalom 64-0112 P:19 brother
Branham said, "The difference is just like it was in the beginning, when there was
gross darkness upon the earth. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the
water and said, "Let there be light." And
God separated the light from the darkness. And I believe that we
are now living in that hour again, that when God is separating Light from
darkness, and He's pressing it to the other side of the world, that the Light might be made
manifest.
And we are...Then the church, the reason I'd say "Shalom"
to them, is because that it's God's
Peace. That's what I want to bring to you this morning for the new year's,
not looking back, but we're looking forward to the breaking of a new day, until
there is something great laying ahead of us, where the years has been the joy
that we've looked forward to, the
pressing, coming of the great Light. And now we can see it breaking over
the horizon, horizontal realm, but breaking between mortal and immortality. We
see it breaking between heavens and earth, from an earthbound sickness and
troubled world unto a bright shining day of an immortal Life and an immortal
body and an immortal earth that can never pass away. It's "Shalom,"
unto the church. Now, it's Light time
coming for the believers, but a gross darkness for the people.
So we see that this is the Lord’s doing and it is marvelous in our eyes. God is pressing the darkness away by the
Light, and the church must respond to what God is doing and that
is where the squeeze comes forth. They must do it to save their own kingdoms,
and so they cast out the word, they squeeze down on the Word.
Now, he did not say the Catholic church is
solely responsible for the squeeze, but he said when the council begins to tighten up, and that council brother Branham called the
federation of churches. But what we know of the squeeze is that it is a
tightening and he also called it a press and He said God is doing it, so what
are we afraid of.
There is a purpose for everything God does. So shalom, peace. There's relaxation under the seventh seal.
And in the message we've been studying called Desperation 63-0901E Brother Branham said in P:31 "Now, I'm going to give you my text while you're turning. My text
tonight is "Desperation." Desperation. And now, you know what desperations is? And now we're
going to read from Jeremiah the 29th ,
the 10th :: For thus saith the LORD,
That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and
perform my good word toward you, in causing you to turn to this place. For I
know the thoughts that I think toward you,... (Isn't that sweet?)... saith the
LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you the accepted end. Then
shall you call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken
unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with
all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn
away your captivity, and I will gather you from all nations, and from all the
places where I have drove you, saith the LORD; and will bring you again unto
the place which I caused you to be carried away captive. (Back to Pentecost... I put that in myself; It
doesn't say that. That's what I was meaning to the church.) Luke 16, begin at the 16th :: The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presses into it--every
man presses into it. (Not just simply walks
into it easily, but it's got to be pressed into. See?)
So you see there is a need for a squeeze to come
that the people might become desperate concerning the Kingdom of God. Every man must not just
come to it, but must press into
it.
Remember
what brother Branham quoted here in Luke 16:16 The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presses into it...Notice Jesus said, every man presses into it.
Greater than Solomon 64-0306 P:63 Anybody who drives, looking through a rearview
mirror has a wreck. That's what's the
matter with the church today, it's looking through a rearview mirror to what it
was. No wonder it's wrecked up. Don't never...Paul said, "Pressing to the mark of the high
calling, I go forth. I go
forward." I know Mr. Moody
was a great man, Mr. Wesley was a great man, the Pentecostal move, the Baptist
move, were great, but let's press towards the mark of the high calling
in Christ. Don't look through a
rearview mirror, forty years ago. Look
what is tonight. Look what the
Scripture promises tonight. He did promise them in that day, but we're
living on above there now. We're going on.
Again from his sermon Desperation 63-0901E
P:102 brother
Branham is quoting Scripture and says, “Desperation. "When thou seekest Me with all thine heart,
then I'll hear you." See? The
Kingdom... The law and the prophets were
until John. Since then, the Kingdom of heaven's been preached, and men press into It. You don't just stand around and say, "Pick
me up by the collar, Lord, push me in." You press into
it. You get desperate,
between life and death.”
And from Modern events made clear by prophecy
65-1206 P:108 he said, "But let me tell you, I'm not trying to tell
people to leave church or... My, I want you to go to church, "Don't forsake to assemble yourself together." But what I'm trying to tell you to do is press into the Kingdom of God. Get these things, the world,
church...Pentecostals, you people are getting too worldly. You're getting too
much after the world. It's just easy; you keep watching televisions and all these
things, and the way they're doing, and all this, and the first thing you
know... The seminaries, the schools are beginning to compromise here and there,
and this, that, and the other, and the first thing you know... It's got to come
that way. The Pentecostal church, it's been my greatest support; I can't say
nothing against it. But that's what I cry out, "My brethren, get
out." Call... You don't have the meetings that you used to have. The
people are not like they used to be. But Jesus Christ is the same; let's move
into Him.
Now, I like this next quote because in it we see
that Jesus
also went through a squeeze in order for the Holy Ghost to be squeezed out of
Him, so that it could come back upon you and I much like
sweet perfume is squeezed from the Lilly and the rose in order to create a
beautiful smelling perfume.
Church dedication 59-0708M P:37 And the great beautiful life that our Lord lived
was instrumental in God's hand. But it could never be a perfume until He was
crushed, and mashed, and spit on, and squeeze
the very life out of Him at Calvary. That made the anointing for us.
He was the Lily of the Valley. What do you get out of lilies? Opium. What does
opium do? It soothes pain. It puts you to sleep in a dream land. What does the Holy
Spirit do? The opium of the Holy Spirit eases every pain, takes away every
tear, mends every heartache. The Lily of the Valley...
Now, notice he said that Christ Jesus went through a
squeeze too, and notice that his squeeze was also brought on by the
church of his day coming against Him.
The Apostle Paul said in, Philippians 3: 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling
of God in Christ Jesus.
And this word press is also used in 2 Corinthians 1: 8 For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of
our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of
measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of
life:
The word press was translated from the Greek
Word “dioko”, and it means to bear down upon by pressure, to exert, to press forward, or to
persecute, and we find it used in
more than 70 Scriptures of which I
will read several in closing.
Matthew 10: 23 But when they persecute you in this
city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone
over the cities of Israel, till the Son of
man be come.
Matthew 23: 34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and
wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of
them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute
them from city to city:
Matthew 5: 10 Blessed are they which are persecuted
for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5: 11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you
falsely, for my sake.
Matthew 5: 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your
reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the
prophets which were before you.
Matthew 5: 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them
that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which
despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Luke 21: 12 But before all these, they shall lay their hands
on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the
synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my
name's sake.
John 15: 20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The
servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted
me, they will also persecute you; if
they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
John 5: 16 And therefore did the Jews persecute
Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath
day.
Acts 22: 4 And I persecuted this way
unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.
Acts 22: 7 And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice
saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Acts 7: 52 Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of
the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and
murderers:
Romans 12: 14 Bless them which persecute
you: bless, and curse not.
1 Corinthians 4: 12 And labour, working with our own hands: being
reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer
it:
2 Corinthians 4: 9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
Galatians 4: 29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is
now.
Galatians 5: 11 And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why
do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the
cross ceased.
Galatians 6: 12 As many as desire to make a fair shew in the
flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.
Philippians 3: 14 I press toward the mark
for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
2 Timothy 3: 12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus
shall suffer persecution.
Revelation 12: 13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the
earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the
man child.
Notice that the majority of the time Dioko is translated as persecute or persecution, which is what one does to the other, but only a few times it is
translated as press which is what we do to selves to press into the Word.
In other words it is a live, die, sink or swim
attitude that we must have as brother Vayle used to say so often.
Now, the word press
means:
to compress or squeeze,:
to weigh heavily upon ; subject to pressure.
And the word persecute means: to pursue with harassing or oppressive treatment, especially because of religious or political
beliefs, ethnic or racial origin. 2. to annoy or trouble persistently.
Let us pray