Desperation
no 48
Resurrection
no 5 Transforming faith
September 3,
2016
Brian
Kocourek, Pastor
Genesis
18:1 And
the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: (alright, so we are looking at the alpha event here,
and we see it begins with the presence of the Lord or the Appearing of the
Lord.) and he (The
scripture is speaking of Abraham here) and he (Abraham) sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; 2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo,
three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he
ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,
3 And said, My Lord,
if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy
servant:
Now, this is important here because he saw three
vessels but only acknowledged one to be Lord. Abraham saw One Lord, not two,
not three, but one and this is the pattern for all sons of Abraham. So Abraham
says, My Lord,.. Abraham acknowledges
only one Lord.
And of course we know that we are Abraham's children if we have the same
nature and do the same things as Abraham as we hear Jesus say in John 8:39 They answered and said unto
him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's
children, ye would do the works of
Abraham.
4 "Let a little water, I
pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort
ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your
servant. And they said, So do, as thou
hast said. 6 And
Abraham hastened into the tent unto
Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth. 7 And Abraham ran unto the
herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it
unto a young man; and he hastened to
dress it. Notice, Abraham was
not a sluggard. It says, Abraham hastened into the tent, and Abraham ran unto
the heard, and Abraham hastened to prepare the calf ready for their meal. So he
was not a laid back sluggard of a person in any measure of the word.
8 And
he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree,
and they did eat. 9 And they said unto him, Where is
Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. 10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life;
and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent
door, which was behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and
it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. (in other words, Abraham was 99 years old and Sarah
was 89 years old, and she was an old lady.)
12 Therefore
Sarah laughed within herself,
saying, (notice she did not laugh out
loud, but she said within herself, in her heart) After I am waxed old shall I have
pleasure, my lord being old also? 13 And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall
"I of a surety bear a child, which am old?"
In other words, Sarah, when she heard the promise said
in her heart, "how can this thing be, me being an old woman and all dried up
concerning reproduction." "How can I at 90 years old, and my womb is
all dried up, and I am way past the years of fertility, How can it be possible
for me to have a son."
But notice the sign of Messiah right there. And there
is only One Messiah, and that is God. And the sign of the Messiah is the Sign
of God, that His Presence is on the scene.
And God, Who is
the only Messiah, is also the Word, and in Hebrews 4:12 we read, "For the
word of God is quick, and powerful, and
sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of
soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of
the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight:
but all things are
naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
So what we call it the sign of Messiah which is
actually the sign of God who is the Messiah, It is the sign of His Presence
with us.
1
Corinthians 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the time,
until the Lord arrives, who both will bring to light the hidden
things of darkness, and will
make manifest the
counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of
God.
And of course after reading the very thoughts of
Sarah's heart, God said to Sarah 14 Is anything too hard for the
LORD? At the time appointed
I will return unto thee, according to
the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.
Now, God is not saying I will return unto thee, as though
God is going to visit them again, and when he does visit them again, He will
bring forth a son. No, that is not what it says here. It says, "I will return thee unto, according to the time of life, or according
to the season of life when you are able to have a child, and Sarah shall have a son.
So we are dealing
with a promise that God made to Abraham and Sarah that they would be brought to
the place of a body change bringing them back to that season of life where they
were full of life and in order to do that he promised them that He would have
to change their bodies back to bodies that were full of life, as they were at
the season of life, the season when they are able to produce offspring.
So we are looking at
two promises from God here. 1) A promised son, and 2) a change of the body in
order to receive that promised son. And we as the seed of Abraham have the same
promises given to us, for God said,
For we read in Acts 3:39 For
the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
Now, in getting back to our story in Genesis 18
we will pick up at verse 15 Then Sarah denied, saying, I
laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou
didst laugh. 16 And
the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with
them to bring them on the way. 17 And the LORD
said, Shall I hide from Abraham that
thing which I do; 18 Seeing
that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations
of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they
shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.
Notice, God knew
Abraham would be able to receive the promise that God had made to him and
Sarah, and that promise was for a body change in order to receive their
promised son.
And the apostle Paul tells us in Galatians 3:7
Know ye therefore that they which are of faith,
the same are the children of Abraham.
And in verse 29 Paul tells us And if
ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
And the promise God gave to Abraham was concerning a promised son, and
then God had to make a way for Abraham to receive that promised son, and that
was a body change. Therefore if we are the seed of Abraham, then we have the
same promise today that was given to our Father Abraham. For the Scripture
tells us, Acts 3:39 For the promise is unto you, and to your
children, and to all that are afar off, even as
many as the Lord our God shall call.
And of course we know that we are Abraham's children if we have the same
nature and do the same things as Abraham as we hear Jesus say in John 8:39 They answered and said unto
him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children,
ye would do the works of Abraham.
And if ye are the children of God ye will do the works
of God. For God gave us the law of life in Genesis 1:11 that "every seed will bring forth after its kind".
Therefore don't even bother to tell me you are a son of God unless you have the
same life as the son of God. "for every see must
bring forth after its kind." That is the law of life.
In his sermon Countdown 64-0209 P:40 Brother Branham is praying
and says, "Our
heavenly Father, You see their hands. I'm only responsible for preaching the Word. They
are Yours. I give them to You. They are Yours. Let the Holy Spirit now...And may
they see that these achievements... They see it in the natural. Then if we look back, we see
it in the spiritual. You're here, Lord. You promised just
before the end time come, that as it was in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah. And
we'd look back and see those days, look then and see where two ministers,
outstanding, angelic, anointed men went down in Sodom and preached in the days
of Abraham, calling out Lot. Then there was One stayed with Abraham, and
that was the One Who done a sign to Abraham.
(And we know
that sign that was done to Abraham was the Sign of Messiah, where the Lord
spoke of the very thoughts and intents of Sarah's heart and called her out in
front of Abraham.)
He continues,
"The others
in Sodom did their sign. (And what was their sign? It was to blind
the people by the preaching of the Gospel.)
So let us return to the Alpha in order to see what that sign was. Genesis 19:1 And
there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and
Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he
bowed himself with his face toward the ground; Now
let's skip to verse 11 And they smote the men
that were at the door of the house with blindness,
both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.
Now, brother
Branham tells us how they smote the men with blindness in his sermon, Modern events made clear by prophecy 65-1206 P:86 Now, notice, there was two people that went
down into Sodom with a message, and they preached to the Sodomites. They
didn't perform nothing, but blinded them; which, preaching the Gospel does blind the unbeliever.
But watch what kind of a sign the Abraham group received. Now, we are supposed to be the royal
seed of Abraham; Isaac was the natural seed. But the faith
seed, the faith
in the promised Word, the promised Word (Don't miss it.) was that royal Seed;
that was the seed, Abraham's faith. "We be
dead in Christ, we're Abraham's seed, heirs with him according to the promise."Notice when all that was taking place, down in Sodom
there was two ministers down there preaching with a great message.
Now, from his sermon,
Why cry speak 63-0714M P:21 Brother
Branham said, "Now, hundreds and hundreds of years before God
had said that Israel would sojourn and be mistreated in a strange country and
would stay there four hundred years, but God, with a mighty hand, would bring
them out. So you see with this burning bush, Moses knowed this intellectually,
and the seed that was born in him was laying in his heart. And he
tried through his intellectual experience with the Word to try to bring them
out, to deliver them, because he knowed he was born for that purpose. He
knowed that the time the Scriptures all said that they'd already been there
four hundred years...Just as we know now, as a man asked me a few moments ago
about the coming and the rapture. We know we've lived the time out. The
time of the rapture is at hand. And we're looking for a rapturing faith that can pull the
churches together and give it some supernatural strength that can change these
bodies that we live in. We see a God that can raise the dead off the
floor, or out in the yard, and bring him back to life again, and present him
before us. When we see a God who can take a cancer that's eat a man to a
shadow, and raise him up to a strong healthy man, that ought to give rapturing faith to the people.
That when that Light flashes from the sky, and the trumpet sounds, the Body of Christ will be
quickly gathered together, and changed in a moment, and taken
into the heavens. Yes, there's got to be something like that happen, and our
schools of theology can never produce that, yet they intellectually are all
right; but you've got to meet that Light. You've got to find that
something.
Now, with that
in mind, what he is telling us here is that we have seen what God can do. The
God who can speak the word and bring eyeballs into a child's head that had been
born without them, and the God who can speak and Squirrels will appear where
there were no squirrels, is the same God that can take a gutted fish and give
it back its life, and rearrange its body again to swim off like nothing had
ever happened.
That is the
same God that with a loud Voice will bring forth the resurrection and a change
of the body for the living.
So it is not
about how much power we can muster up, nor about how much faith we can build
up, but simply knowing that God is able to fulfill His word in its season.
Israel at Kadesh Barnea
53-0328 P:41 And I believe we're on the borderland tonight.
I was wondering about all my meetings and things, how I had to cancel them out.
I truly believe,
before the church can have the rapture, it's got to have rapturing faith.
We can't even have faith for Divine healing, let alone rapturing faith. Got to have a faith that'll
change and quicken this body, and be taken away. I believe
there's a church on its road tonight, a power of the living God, that men
will speak the Word here and there, and it'll flash like lightning. And a
church is coming out, not a psychologist, not some of this put-on, make-belief;
but a real, true, genuine, anointed Holy Ghost, called-out church. Amen.
42
Here they are standing at Kadesh-barnea. They said, "Go over. The land was
given to us hundreds of years ago by God, through our father. We are the seed
of Abraham. God has led us safely this forty-some-odd miles from Egypt, up to
the borderland at Kadesh." They had got up there in a few days, but,
remember, because of their unbelief, made them wander for forty years. Unbelief...
Notice, the church I'm speaking of, parabolic speaking. What the Old was,
the New is in a more magnified way. What the natural was, the spiritual is.
So we are dealing with Faith and unbelief. Faith in the promise vs faith
in what can be seen. Faith in
the invisible God and the invisible God's Word vs, Faith in circumstances and the visible world
you live in. That is what we have come to just as the children of
Israel came up to the land of Promise.
One group saw
only the physical insurmountable giants in the land, while just two, Joshua and
Caleb saw the promise only.
So what are
you focused on? What you see? Or what you see through the eyes of God?
From his
sermon, Easter seal 65-0410 P:53 Let somebody try to put you off the land and
say he belongs, and you with the abstract in your hands. Let him try to do it.
There ain't a law in the land can do it. Because you hold the abstract, and there's
no devil, no church, or any
theology that can overstep the boundaries of God's proof and
abstract that the baptism of the Holy Ghost has recognized us in Jesus Christ.
We're just as sure
to raise as He raised, because potentially we have already
raised in Him. Amen. The whole thing... What does it do to our mortal
bodies? It turns our opinion, changes our notions. It sets our affections on things which are above, and the smoking, drinking, gambling, the things that you
used to do is dead. It's beneath you, and you are quickened, and this quickening power
brings your body into a raptured condition
already.
Now, this
evening we are going to look at this Faith that is necessary to receive a
change in our body. And this Faith we must have is not different than the faith
Abraham had to have in order to receive a change in his body and the body of
his wife.
For the Apostle
Paul said, "For Abraham believed God and it was imputed unto
him for righteousness," and you can not have righteousness
without a right doing.
1 John 3:7 Little children,
let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous,
even as he (God) is righteous.
And of course
we know Jesus taught us that "By their fruits you
shall know them."
And in 1 John 2:29 we read, "If ye know that he is righteous, ye know
that every one that doeth
righteousness is born of him.
Therefore, When
God told him I am going to change your mortally dying old body back to a young and healthy body
again so you can receive your promised son, Abraham believed God and God imputed it unto
him for righteousness and God changed His body from old to young
again. In other words, His believing God was imputed unto him for the actual
work in the body. because righteousness comes
by doing what is right, therefore when Abraham believed God but
could not perform the physical act Himself to change his Body, God took his
belief and did the work of a body change for him.
Now, that is not
to say that the cart comes before the horse, because you cannot do right unless
you think right in your heart, and therefore the actions of righteousness is
doing what they know to be what is right.
Therefore, the apostle Paul
said in Galatians 2: 20 I am crucified with Christ:
nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I
now live in the flesh I
live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave
himself for me.
So you see it is by His
Faith that we are to live. For our Faith means nothing to God.
The scripture says, "what man by taking thought can add one
cubit to his stature." And we know in Zechariah
4:6 we are told, that "it is not by power nor by might, but by My Spirit saith the Lord." And the Apostle Paul said in Romans
9:16 So
then it is not of him that willeth,
nor of him that runneth, but of God
that sheweth mercy.
And we also read
in John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave
he power (to
them gave he exusia, to them gave he an ability to make a right decision) to become the sons
of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which
were born, not of blood, nor of the will
of the flesh, nor of the will of man,
but of God.
So Paul told us we are to
live, not by our own faith but by the faith of the son of God, and therefore if
we are to receive a change in the body it will not be by our faith but by the
same Faith Jesus had to be raised from the dead.
Never forget, brother
Branham said that the cross was not Jesus victory, but the battle in Gethsemane
is where Jesus received the victory. For had it not been for the Faith He
received from the Father, there could very well have not been a Calvary
experience. For after wrestling with his own mind, and his own will that night,
he obediently declared, Father
it is my will that you take this cup from me, but nevertheless, not my will,
but Thy
will be done.” And that is the Victory right there. When Jesus gave over his
own will to the will of the Father.
Communion 57-0418 P:14 Now,
if God did not spare His Own Son from
the cruel testing, then He will not spare you or I
from the cruel testing. And Jesus was here confronting the
greatest test that He had ever had. Gethsemane
laid just before Him, where that once and final all-sufficient test must
come, when the burdens of the entire
world laid upon His
blessed shoulder. There was no one in all heavens or earth could
ever stood it but Him. And
to know that all of the sins, of past sins, and present sins, and future sins,
rested upon this decision. And it was one of the most greatest victories
that Christ ever won or
proved His great Messiahship, as when He said to God, "Not My
will; Thine be done." That was the greatest victory He had ever won. All the demons of
torment was around to tempt Him and try Him. And when we get right with God, when our hearts become pure and the Holy
Spirit has taken Its place in our heart, it's the most glorious thing to
have testing. The Bible tells us that our testings and trials
are more precious to us than silver and gold of this world.
So we should be thankful.
Therefore, The Faith of the
Son of God is a Mystery to most, but to the seed of Abraham is a mystery that
is revealed to them.
Brother Branham taught us
that "Faith
is a Revelation, it is something that has been revealed." It comes
by hearing the Word of God. Therefore Faith is God’s Word revealed to
us. And if it is God’s Word revealed to us then it is no longer a
mysterious thing, but rather it is something that has been revealed and opened
up to us.
In Deuteronomy 29:29 we have a promise that says, "The
secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed
belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do
all the words of this law."
Now, if it is revealed to us
then it becomes ours. For as long as it remains hidden or secret it belongs
unto God, but once God reveals it to us, then it becomes ours. So once it
becomes yours, then God wants to know what you are going to do with it.
Conference 60-1125 P:43 Now,
Moses cried to the Lord and the Lord said, "Rise
up and go forward." And when Moses went right straight and stepped his foot into the water, when that taken place,
the Red Sea opened back, and Israel crossed over to a great victory. They had a
conference. That's the way we always have to do, is have conferences. Now, I
want to speak of another one right quick. There was a conference. There's many
of them we could speak of, but let's just not pass this one by. There was a
Gethsemane conference one time. When it had to be brought after a victorious
life had defeated sickness, defeated everything in the world, He came to
Gethsemane, and Father
had to check up to see if He really wanted to go through it or not.
And from his
sermon, Rising of the sun 65-0418M P:88 brother
Branham said, "Now, notice this Quickening Power, "Zoe,"
bringing the Word, the mind that was in
Christ was in you then. I'm trying to show you, that you, when God raised Jesus from the dead, He raised up you also,
and also quickened to Life with Him (You are now quickened to Life.),
although then you were but an attribute in His thoughts, but God had saw all in
Him at the finish. See? When God looked down upon the body... (The Spirit left
Him in the Garden of Gethsemane; He had to die a man.) Remember friends, He
didn't have to do that. That was God. God
anointed that flesh, which was human flesh, and He didn't have... If He'd
went up there as God, He'd have never died that kind of death; can't kill God.
But... He didn't have to do it, but remember, He went there with you in Him. See? God had never separated the Bride from the Groom yet. So when God
looked down upon the Body of Christ, He saw both male and female. It was all redeemed in that one Body.
See? They are one, the same, same Word.
the same Word spoke of the Groom speaks of the Bride.
Notice, Brother Branham lets
us know that God had revealed it first to Moses, but Moses was expected to move on it
or step into the vision before the vision could become into
materialization.
For without him moving
forward and putting his foot into the water, that portion of the Word could not
have become materialized. So Faith has to do with the unseen being
seen by that sixth sense we call Faith. And that sense can see what your
physical eyes cannot see. And God revealed it to Jesus what he must do, but until
Jesus acted upon it, it could not become a reality. It
could not have become manifested Word. So Faith has to do with the unseen Word, being revealed and
then acted upon
which then the action becomes
the revelation expressed and when that Happens, the Word is
dressed or clothed for all to see.
Therefore, Faith does not
come by seeing in the physical, but Faith comes by hearing, not by seeing, because
after it has been heard then it may be seen once we act upon it. And once it is seen it is no longer
Faith but has become manifested Word, or the interpretation of
the Word of God. And that is what the Scriptures teach us.
Galatians
3: 2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works
of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 5 He therefore that
ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by
the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
Romans 10:17 So
then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
So then it is not just
hearing, but hearing the Word of God that brings faith or releases
the Faith of God to us.
Why cry speak 63-0714M P:65 Moses chose
what God said. Now, notice, faith sees what God wants you to see. See? Faith
sees what God sees, and reasoning and senses see what the world wants you
to see.
2
Corinthians 4: 13 We having the same spirit
of faith, according as it is written, I
believed, and therefore
have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;
So when God believed in
Himself, His plan, He spoke and then His Faith
became manifested into materiality or reality. Now,
if Faith is something that was hidden, but has been revealed, then Faith is
like setting out on a journey not knowing where you are going, but
knowing who you are going with.
Hebrews 11: 8 tells
us By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place
which he should after receive
for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
And if you walk in the light as He is in that
Light, then you are walking with Him, and
it should not make any
difference where you're going. That's what Faith is all about. Walking with Him, and trusting
Him. In fact the very evidence that you are believing what He's
revealed to you is that you are walking in that revelation. Especially when no
one else knows that you're obeying the hidden voice of God to you. Not hidden
to you, but revealed to you what is hidden to them.
And we know that there's
only One Faith, because there is only One Lord. That’s Ephesians
4:5 tells us "One Lord, one faith, one baptism,"
And if One
Faith, it is because there is only One Lord.
And that ought to tell you that Faith is not in something, but rather in One
Person, because our Faith is in that one Lord. Therefore as the Apostle
Paul taught us in Hebrews 11, Faith
is the Substance of Someone, and
it is not a substance of some thing.
We see in Hebrews
11: 1 Now faith is The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of
things not seen. So we see that Faith is both a substance and an evidence.
Now, The substance is
not The evidence, no more than having an experience and
having an evidence are the same thing. When brother Vayle and brother Branham
discussed the evidence of the Baptism of the Holy Ghost brother Vayle kept
bringing up experiences such as brother Branham's experiencing a rain like
experience in the shed. But brother Branham kept going back to the evidence,
because they were discussing evidence and not individual experiences that one
may have.
And so Brother Branham said,
"br Lee,
"we don't go by experience
we go by the Word of God." Now, that does not do away with
the fact that everyone should have an experience with God, but evidence and
experience are two different words and they mean
two different things. And since they were discussing evidence
brother Branham was sticking with the topic and brother Vayle was not, so
brother Branham had to tell brother Vayle the evidence is
a genuine belief in the Word for the Hour. But many have taken that and ran
with it and misinterpret that to mean that a person doesn't need an experience
as long as they believe in the Word for the hour. Nut brother Branham's
quote here makes it very evident because the children believed the message but he
said they also need an experience with
God.
Brother Branham never taught
that you do not need an experience. He said after the book was written that you
must have an experience with God.
From his Questions and answers COD 64-0830M P:120 354. which if you notice the
date, this was after the writing of the Church Age book, brother Branham was
asked the question, "Do your
children have to have an experience to have the Holy Spirit? If they see the end-time
Message, do they have the Holy Spirit? And notice
brother Branham's reply. Everyone must have an
experience. Your children cannot go in on
no other way but the same way you do. See? They've got to be born again.
There's no grandchildren in the Kingdom of God; they're all children. They must
have it, must have an experience with God to go in, just the same as
you.
And we know
that the experience must be a Biblical or Word experience as well.
From his
sermon Witnesses
54-0303 P:41 All of you that's
got the Holy Ghost say, "Amen." [Congregation says,
"Amen"--Ed.] All right. You're a witness God will keep His Word.
Is that right? Well, if He will keep His Word there, why don't He keep His
Word in healing? He will heal if you'll believe it. Amen. Take it, believe
it. Be His witness. That's what He wants. A God-called witness, must have an experience, Word
experience. Yes, sir.
Now, that brings us back to Hebrews 11,
where the Apostle Paul tells us that Faith is both The Substance and
The Evidence.
"For
faith is The Substance of things hoped for, and The Evidence of things not seen."
And I want to show you that
Faith is not the substance of something but it is the person of God Himself.
Faith is the revelation of God Himself who has revealed
to you His plan for you, and the evidence is your stepping forward into that plan,
that which God has revealed to you by His Personal Presence.
Notice that Paul said Faith
is not a substance but Faith is The Substance.
And that word the is the article the which changes it from a
thing to a person, God Himself. In Scripture when it speaks of The
Spirit it is speaking of the person of God Himself, but when it speaks of
spirit it speaks of the essence or life. SO the article The is very important
in understanding what or who it is speaking of. So Paul is not speaking
of faith as a substance but THE SUBSTANCE.
And this word substance was
translated from the Greek word hupostasis which
was also translated in Hebrews 1:3 as
the very person of
God. 3 Who
being the brightness of his glory, and the express
image of his person, (person, hupostasis, the
very substance which is God) and upholding all things by
the word of his power, when he had by himself
purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
And again we see this word hupostasis
translated as the word confidence.
Not confidence as an adverb but confidence as a person. Hebrews
3:14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning
of our confidence steadfast unto the end;
Not hold our own confidence
in ourselves, or in things but our confidence in Him and what he has promised.
That is the confidence this is speaking of. Confidence in a person, Christ.
Now as I said before, Faith
then is having a confidence in The person, not a thing. Abraham
by faith started walking because God told him to
walk. We walk in the light from day to day and from
week to week not knowing exactly where we are going but knowing with Whom we
are going. And that is what Abraham did, and that is what Enoch did. He walked
with God. And does it really matter where He is leading you if you fully trust
Him? I do not think so.
Jesus said we must be like
little children to enter into the Kingdom of God. And little Children have
complete trust in their Parents as long as their parents are with them.
Now, another thing about
this Faith we’re talking about tonight, is that there is but “One
Faith” because there is but “One Lord”.
And that Faith is “The
Faith of that One Lord”.
In the beginning there was
only God, and in Him were many thoughts of how He wanted for things to be. Now,
God had to have Faith in Himself to bring to pass His entire plan. And so that
Faith He expressed in bringing to pass His thoughts is the same Faith Jesus had
to have in order to step forth into the role of The Sacrificial Lamb. And Jesus
expressed Faith in the Father’s plan when he left Gethsemane determined
to fulfill God’s will.
So, although Faith is an
invisible thing, yet when it becomes active, that active expression is Faith
materialized. Therefore, Faith is like electricity in a way. The same
electricity that operates this microphone is the same electricity that operates
these lights so we can see, and is the same electricity that operates the boiler
to give us heat, and the air conditioner to cool us down. Now, the electricity is not
different from one power receptacle to the next in this room, but the operation
or manifestation of that electricity may be different from one to the other
depending on the vessel that is plugged into it.
Therefore, the same Faith
that is needed to heal the sick is
the same faith that is need to forgive sins.
Jesus shows us
this principal in Mark 2:5 " When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto
the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. 6 But there were certain of the scribes sitting there,
and reasoning in their hearts, 7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but
God only? 8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in
his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these
things in your hearts? 9 Whether is it easier to
say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise,
and take up thy bed, and walk? 10 But that ye may know
that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to
the sick of the palsy,) 11 I
say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. 12 And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and
went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified
God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.
Notice Jesus shows us here that
the same faith to forgive sins is the same faith to heal the sick. And he says,
what is easier to do? It's the same.
James 5:13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray.
Is any merry? let him sing psalms. 14 Is any sick
among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over
him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15 And
the prayer of faith shall save the sick,
and the Lord shall raise him up; and if
he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. 16 Confess
your faults one to another, and pray one for another,
that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth
much.
And then James goes on to show that the
same faith for healing and for forgiving sins is the same faith to change the
weather.
17 Elias was a man subject to like passions
as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on
the earth by the space of three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought
forth her fruit. 19 Brethren, if any of you do err
from the truth, and one convert him; 20 Let him
know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save
a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.
And my question to you is
this: Do you think it took any more faith to call for rain than it took to call
for healing?
I can tell you from my own
experience because I have seen God heal the sick and I have seen God stop a
storm and also change the temperature by 30 degrees in a matter of minutes, and
the atomic power to do that is more than man can understand, yet the same God
that changed the weather by 30 degrees is the same God that grew back a man's
heal that had been cut off. And it is the same God who allowed a couple to have
four children after being prayed for who could not have children for more than
8 years of marriage before they were prayed for.
And I can tell you, it felt
no different in my soul when I experienced the power of answered prayer and seeing the results.
And Jesus told us the same
Faith you have for healing is the same Faith needed to move a mountain, or as
brother Branham demonstrated in creating squirrels. It is not a different
Faith, because never forget, "There is only One Faith". Therefore
the difference is not in the Faith, but in the vessel that operates that Faith.
In other words, like with
the electricity, it is the same electricity that operates all the fixtures we
spoke of, and yet each fixture or vessel has its own way of manifesting that
power. And the same thing with God. The same dynamics of God works in each
vessel according to the gift that lays within that vessel. Therefore, the same
Faith that we have for healing is the same faith we have for our finances, and our
safety, etc.
Paul makes this clear when
he writes to the Colossians 2: 12 Buried with him in baptism,
wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God,
who hath raised him from the dead.
The Apostle Paul makes this
even more clear in 1 Corinthians 12: 6 And there are diversities
of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
Colossians 2: 12 Buried
with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of
the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
Now, this word operations
was translated from the Greek word energeia meaning ("energy"):--operation, (effectual) and working.
The Apostle Paul also speaks
of this in Ephesians 1:19 And
what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according
to the working of
his mighty power, The energea
of His mighty power.
And again in Ephesians 3:7 Whereof
I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given
unto me by the effectual
working of his power. Notice, The
energea of His Power.
So we see that the operation
of God’s power operates through gifts, and with a different gift there are
different manifestations of the same energies of
God.
And with each gift there is a different measure of
how this energy of God works, just as there is a different amperage of electricity
being pulled through or channeled through each fixture that is utilizing the
same electricity running through the same
Again we see the same thing in Ephesians
4:16 From whom the whole body fitly joined
together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the
effectual working
in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the
edifying of itself in love.
But Paul tells us that God operates through the measure of our faith, Romans 12:3 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 6 Having then gifts differing according to the
grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the
proportion of faith;
Now, what does this mean, "not to think of himself more highly than
he ought to think;" It means just
this, No son can do anything except what the father shows him to do. Because it
is not you doing anyway, but God doing through or for you. I know of three to four
brothers overseas who were handed a dead child and they did not know what to do, so they just bowed
their heads and prayed for the child and gdo raised up those children from the
dead. Now, that is a very humbling experience to be used by God to be the
vessel that he Channeled his energy through. And if you have truly experienced
that you do not think anymore of yourself for having been used, than you would
if he had used someone else. But you realize that you were just a conduit that
God used.
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 So
we see this faith working in us in whatever measure we’ve been given, works to
the total benefit of the body of Christ. Like each fixture here makes life a
little better for us to come and worship in this building. The microphone makes
it possible to pick up the sound and transfer it to the computer which then
uses the same electricity to record the sermon, and the lights use the same
electricity to give us light and a little heat, and the furnace uses the same
electricity to give us more heat or to cool us down so we can stay more
comfortable so we can devote our human energies to hearing the Word of God.
Now, as I said, the same
Faith that operates each gift is the same faith that heals, that saves, that
creates body parts, and that can create squirrels, or multiply fishes and
loaves. And therefore I want to get across to you this evening that It is not a
different faith you need for the change of your body, but it is simply a
yielding of your body to that One Faith, to that Faith of God, to that Faith of
Christ to have preeminence over your body.
Romans
4:16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed;
not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of
Abraham; who is the father of us all,
I know that we talk about
not having enough faith to receive our healing much less receive a change of
the body, but it is not the amount of faith we have, nor is it another Faith
because there is but One Faith, and Jesus victory in Gethsemane was not getting
Faith, but stepping aside and allowing the Faith of God to operate in His body.
And that is what the Apostle
Paul said in Philippians 3: 21 Who
shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body,
according to the
working (the
energea) whereby He is able even
to subdue all things unto himself.
You see, it is not you
subduing your body, but the subduing of your body is God’s doing by His Faith. And
if you have a God who does not have enough Faith to change
your body then you do not
have the God of Abraham because God changed his body back to youth again in
order to bring forth Isaac. And the same God that could change his body to
bring forth his own promised son, is the same God that change your body to meet
His Promised Son.
Colossians
1: 29 Whereunto I also labor, striving according to his working,
which worketh (energizes) in me mightily. Notice
Paul says, my striving is to allow his Energies to work in
me. Then what we are lacking is not Faith, for we have enough faith to move
Mountains if we have the Faith of Christ, His Faith. But what we are lacking is
a vessel that is so plugged into or focused upon the Faith of Christ that we
will let Him do whatsoever He wishes to do with our vessel.
Colossians
2: 12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through
the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
You see, it is God who
operates His Faith in Us. So just let go and let God, or just get
out of the way and let God
take over your vessel. You see it is not our faith, but His Faith for there is
but one faith, and that Faith is God’s Faith that Jesus received and that God
was waiting on Him to acknowledge in the Garden of Gethsemane. And through his
great struggle he finally let go and Let God, and said, “Not My will be done,
but Thy Will be Done.”
Galatians 2: 16 Knowing
that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of
Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified
by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works
of the law shall no flesh be justified.
Now, think of what Paul said
here. Our justification does not come via what we do, but via His Faith. Then
it is not our faith but His faith that justifies us. Then justification is a
work of Grace, something that is totally out of your hands, and is a gift from
God. For that is what Faith is. It is something that is revealed.
Romans 4: 16 Therefore
it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might
be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also
which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,
Philippians 3: 9 And be
found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that
which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by
faith
Romans 3: 22 Even the
righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon
all them that believe: for there is no difference:
Now, the problem we have
with Faith is not that we do not have it, nor access to it, but that we do not
recognize what it is that we do have. Basically Faith is the Revelation of God’s Word and His Will.
And it is in black and white if we would just read our Bibles. And the second
thing that limits our faith is that we do not believe what God has said about
us. We are told that by the Faith of Jesus we have been given access to God.
Romans
10: 8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in
thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
Look what Paul said in Ephesians
3:12. In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. So
what more can be said than we have access to God
through Jesus Faith in God.
And this access is not something you have control over. It's already a done
deal.
So your
unbelief is not going to stop the plan of God. Paul said in Romans 3: 3 For
what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God
without effect?
Even our righteousness comes
through His Faith. Romans 4: 13 For the promise, that
he should be the heir of the
world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the
righteousness of faith. And we know that we are
heirs not because of what we do but what we were in Him before the foundations of the
world.
Romans
10:6 But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this
wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall
ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) In other words, don't give into asking stupid questions, just let go and
let God.
Galatians 3: 22 But
the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of
Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
So as you can see our
Righteousness comes from His Faith.
Hebrews
10: 22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith,
having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with
pure water.
Romans 1: 17 For
therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is
written, The just shall live by faith.
Show us the Father 59-0419E
P:71 The thing to do is know that you're coming to fulfill a promise that God made you. ... You
have done something that God give you a promise what would happen. He that
believeth and is baptized shall be saved. You go right out of this building
testifying that you're saved. What if you go out of the building saying that,
"Well, I don't know." Then you're not saved. But God will make your body obey
your confession. See? And He's the High Priest of our confession. Before you
can be healed, you have to confess it first. You have to believe that you
are healed. And then
when you believe you're healed, God makes your body obey your confession.
So now when you come by here, just let it be settled; say, "God, this
is Your command. I believe I'm healed," walked off the platform say...
Attitude and who is God?
50-0815 P:35 And when the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is here
to inspire you, remember, God will make your body come into your confession. If
you say you're a drunkard, and want a drink. Don't worry, you'll soon be one.
If you say you're a sinner, and want to sin, you'll be right into it. If you
say you're a Christian and believe it all along, God will bring... Your testimony will bring you
right into it. If you believe in healing, and believe that God has
healed you, confess it, and God will make your body obey your confession, for He's the High
Priest of your confession; setting at the right-hand of the Father now with
His own Blood to make intercessions for any confession upon anything that He
died for. And He died to rid sin. And sickness is the result of sin. "He was wounded
for our transgressions, with His stripes we are healed."
Remember that. Have faith. Don't waiver. Stand on it.
And now God promised
you John 14:12,
he promised you Mark
16, he promised you Adoption in Ephesians 1, and manifestation of sons in Romans 8,
he promised you a change of the body in 1 Corinthians 15 and that you will be conformed to
the image of the eldest son in Romans 8:29, so just believe it, and confess it like Abraham did, and watch
God's power of transformation take a hold of your body.
Let us pray.