Faith no 12 - Norway

Why Faith works for some and it doesn’t for others

Saturday June 24, 2017 Norway

Brian Kocourek, Pastor

This morning we want to answer the question, why does Faith seem to work in some while it doesn’t in others? Well, The Bible tells us we all are given a measure of Faith. But we know since there is only one faith, then that measure of faith no matter what the measure it is a perfect faith, but the problem is that this perfect Faith is in an imperfect vessel.

It’s like when we have a light go out. The same current still works in the other bulbs but just one seems to go out. That is because that bulb was weaker than the others. But the current doesn’t change, and neither does the faith. It’s the weak vessel that causes the current to not do what it is ordained to do. So we need to look into this problem because we all have weakness in our vessel. That is why we came to earth in these vessels is for testing. So the vessel is what causes your faith to waver.

When brother Branham spoke on the token he said that a token is an evidence that the price has been paid. Therefore it is the assurance of having that thing which has been paid for. And Faith is the assurance of things hoped for the evidence of things not yet seen. So your measure of faith is your God given assurance that you can have every promise in the Bible which is extended to you.

Now, The reason most people are impoverished concerning the blessings of God is either because of their imperfections in the vessel, or just their unawareness of what they really have within their grasp, or else it is just their inability to use what God has given them.

To begin our study this morning let’s turn in our Bibles to, Gen 25:27-34 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. (Now, the word plain is a mistranslation there because the Hebrew word is ‘tam’ which does not mean “plain”, but rather it means “complete”, or “perfect” as in “undefiled”. Thus we see that Jacob was an undefiled man suggesting that Esau was not.)

And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob. 29 And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: 30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom. 31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. 32 And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? 33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.

Now, here is an example of a confession of unbelief. In order to better understand what was going on in the mind of Esau we must understand that in Chapter 26:1 we are told that there was famine in the land and that is what caused Esau to speak the way he did. Esau was not just a careless man who could care less about his birth right. If that were the case then he would not have been so angry with Jacob for taking it and the blessings that went with it.

No, Esau was raised in the same faith as Jacob, and he wanted that birthright, but he was at the point of starvation and in his mind he reasoned that it was better to eat and live than to hold onto his birthright since it would not do him any good if he were dead.

God had given Esau a “Trial of His Faith”, and his reaction was in response to some very grim and desperate conditions he was going through. Now, a famine meant that there was no rain, and if no rain then very little if any vegetation would be growing. Now, you might say, yes but Esau was not a farmer he was a hunter. Yes, that is true, and when there is no rain there is no vegetation for the animals as well, and the animals must migrate further and further in order to find whatever little vegetation that can be found.

So Esau had traveled a great distance and for days without food and perhaps very little water, and the body can not do well without food and water. In fact the body becomes very weak at this point and that is the picture we see in Genesis 25 where Esau came into camp and the Bible says he was “faint” which means he was in very thirsty, and weakened and somewhat delirious condition when he came into the camp. He was dehydrated and weak, and when he smelled the food that Jacob was cooking for himself, he was perhaps half beside himself with hunger and thirst.

Now, what we see here is the picture of a man that is desperate to eat or in his mind he believed he would perish. However, he had a promise of the birthright, and God had made promise to Abraham that his seed would be multiplied as the stars of the sky. So Esau instead of looking at what God had to say about his trial, looked at the circumstances that he could see, taste, feel, smell and hear.”

Esau was a man of the earth, very earthy, and he was in very fine tune with his flesh, but

there were some promises that God had made that he was overlooking because he was focused on the circumstances around him and not on the promise. And so Esau focused on the circumstances of the trial set before him said, what profit shall this birthright do for me? In other words, what good is it doing me, I am about to die! What am I getting out of it? And that is when he died spiritually right there. That is when he proved what seed he is right there. And that is why God hated Esau and loved Jacob.

When a person says, “What good is it for me to give and give and give, what am I getting out of it, that is when they fail right there.

Brother Branham said our motive must be right in order for our faith to work. From his sermon Queen of Sheba 61-0219 P:8 he said, “Always remember this, church; God's Words are true. I believe the right mental attitude towards any Divine promise of God will bring it to pass, if you can look at it in the right way. But remember, here's been my standard in life. I have tried to do this. The first thing, I want to find out whether it's the will of God or not. Then I know it's God's will. The next thing, is my objective to it and my motive in doing it. Then if it's the will of God, and my objective is right, and my motive is right, I have faith that it'll be done. Because, first, it's the will of God and my objective is to glorify Him, and my motive is to give Him all the glory. See? So there's no selfish motives about it. If you have a selfish motive it won't work. If your objective is to make money for yourself or something, why, you'll never succeed. And then try to do something outside of the will of the Lord, then it won't work to begin with. So there is genuine faith, but you must come into the real channel of God to have that genuine faith. There's human faith, then there's faith of God. And you must have a godly faith to believe. Now, then to have godly faith, you must have the mind of Christ in you. Then that's how God projects to you visions, revelations, and all these things comes by the mind of Christ being in you. You get it? "Let the mind that was in Christ be in you."

But Esau showed his motive for the birthright was totally for self, and not to please God. Nor was his motive to stay with the birthright because it meant fulfilling the role of tribal leader with all the responsibilities of leadership for many other lives in the tribe. No, all he could see was his own situation. All he could see were his own trials. All he could see were the circumstances surrounding him at that point and because his focus was wrong he failed.

Godhead explained 61-0425B P:33 And you must test your motive and objective first. First, find the will of God, and then find your objective, and then test your motive and see if your motive is right. Then as Jesus said in Mark 11:24, "If you say to this mountain, 'Be moved,' and don't doubt in your heart..." But as long as you got doubt in a heart whether it's the will of God, or your motive or objective is wrong, how is it going to move? But when you know that your motive is right, and it's the will of God, and your objective is right, it's got to move. That's all, or God told something wrong.

Hebrews 12: 15-17 tells us, Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; 16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person,(the word profane means contempt or irreverence towards that which is sacred, and that is what God considered) as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. Look, we are told he sought it carefully with tears, but it mattered not with God.

Now, people try to say that Esau was just indifferent towards the birth right, but that is not what the Bible tells us. The man cried crocodile tears and he tried carefully to and with an great effort to gain back that birthright but it was no longer his to have. He had given it away. And later on when he realized what he had done, it was already too late by then.

God had a great blessing and not a curse for that man, and he cast it away. And the apostle Paul warns us in Hebrews 10: 35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward.

So many people are like the parable that Jesus tells us in Mark 4:5 And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: 6 But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.

And he tells us the meaning in verses 14 The sower soweth the word. And in verse 16 he tells us about those sown on stony ground. 16 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended. (and this word offended comes from a Greek word which means enticed to sin or disbelieve).

So we see there are those whose flesh is weak and they say they believe but when they are tested concerning their belief they fall short and can’t hold out until the end. So we see the reward has to do with your confidence. And Paul tells us that unless we hold fast our confidence in the promise unto the end, we will not receive the reward.

Hebrews 10: 36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.37 For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.

Now, look, that is a promise from God. He said he will not tarry, he will bring the reward but he says you must have patience, and the person who is not patient enough to wait will not receive the reward.

Then Paul goes on to say,) 38 Now the just shall live by faith (And Faith is a Revelation, something that has been revealed to you) but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. 39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

If you are going to make it in God’s game, you will either have patience to wait, or you will lose out in the end. God is not interested in mamby - pamby little children who cry constantly and have to have it now. He makes you wait for the promise. That is how he tests your faith in the promise. To see if you are willing to wait for it.

Now, most Christians are just too smug when it comes to what Esau did. They say, I would have waited. I would have believed God would do something for this tribe that he promised would be numbered as the stars in the sky. Well, one day many Christians are going to face this same seen as Esau, and they will be confronted with a very similar trial.

God already has promised in the Book of Revelations chapter 13 that there will be a boycott and you will not be able to buy or sell, so you won’t be able to eat unless you

take the mark of the beast. Then what? What are they going to do then? Yeah, the trial will prove what they are right then, that’s for sure. And how many for a morsel of meat will trade their soul to the denominational system.

Well, most message believers say, I will be in the rapture so that won’t affect me? How do you know you will be in the Rapture? And how do you know that when the squeeze comes down that you won’t go through something very similar at that time?

People do strange things under pressure. Look how many millions of Jews were killed in Germany while the good so-called Christian nation turned it’s eyes to look the other way. They sold their birth right that Luther had won for them for two chickens in the pot and a car in every garage.

America did the same. After the depression, when Roosevelt offered them a way out they American people broke with the constitution and elected the man to four terms and they sold their birth right as a nation for a mess of pottage.

We haven’t even a clue as to what is coming upon this earth. Brother Branham said there is coming something so horrible that he could not even speak about it because the people couldn’t handle it if they knew. So be prepared, for that thing he couldn’t speak of is on its way.

So what does it mean to confess unbelief in God? In order to confess unbelief in God, you must first of all admit to a condition. It means that you admit to a condition and to the natural conclusion of that condition, instead of what God has already said about the conclusion of that condition.

Esau said there was a famine, and there was a famine! He said, I have hunted and there is no food, and he was absolutely correct. He said, I am faint and I am going to die, and that was also absolutely correct in view of the circumstances. All his thinking was so rational because if you don’t eat you will starve, and if you starve you will eventually die, and then if you die then what good is the promise to you anyway. And that is the reasonable way to think if you do not think like God thinks. But God does not want for us to think like man thinks.

God said in Proverbs 16: 25 There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. And he also said in Isaiah 55:7 we read, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the un-rightly-wise man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”

So God has promised us that his Words will bring forth exactly what He sent them to

bring forth.

We see in Genesis 15: 1-6 that God had made a promise to Abraham to be not only His provider but also his protector as well, because what good does it do if you receive the reward but can’t hold onto it, or loose it.

1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. (I am thy protector and thy provider, believe me…) 2 And Abram said, Lord GOD, (if you are my protector and my provider,) what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? 3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. 4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,…

Notice, God didn’t give him an action, God gave him His Word. Abraham said, I am getting old Lord, and you promised me a seed, and I have nothing yet but this man here that is my servant, and if I don’t get what you promised, he will become my heir because I haven’t yet received what you promised. Abraham was looking for action from God, but God just gave Him His Word, but told Abraham that His Word was still for the future.)

This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall (future tense,) be thine heir. 5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall (future tense) thy seed be. 6 And he believed in the LORD;

What did he believe in? He believed in God’s Word to Him, that what he believed in… and he counted it to him for righteousness.

So we see that the promise to Esau was through Abraham and that was that through Abraham’s seed the lineage would become as many as the stars in the sky. Therefore he had a promise that he would not die, for God said, this promise is unto you and your seed after you, and I am your protector, I am present to watch over you to see that you get your reward. And you will not die, but you will live, and your seed will be as the sand of the sea. And Esau lived to regret that he didn’t believe God. And God hated Esau.

But what about Jacob. He faced the same famine that Esau was facing. We are not told how much food he had left but it could not have been much being that they were all facing the same famine. But he chose to get that birthright, even if he had to give up his last bit of food. Just like the woman of Zarephath who was down to her last bit of meal and she and her son were preparing to make their last meal cake and then die for there was also a famine in the land, and then Elijah appeared on the scene.

1 Kings 17:1 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. 2 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, 3 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. 4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. 5 So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. 6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook. 7 And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. 8 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, 9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. 11 And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. 12 And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. 13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. 14 For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth. 15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. 16 And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD,

which he spake by Elijah.

Now, what if this woman had been like Esau and said, there isn’t enough to share with you, so get lost young man. She would have eaten her last cake and died. But she had faith in the Word of the Lord that was given her by the prophet of God. And her meal and oil sustained her and her son for many days and through out the drought.

But what about Eve? She turned down God’s Word for what appeared to be good food to eat to make one wise. And then what About Moses? He turned down the treasures of Egypt to keep God’s Word. And what about God does not want us to talk about and evaluate the conditions of life and look at their end. He wants us to look at one thing and that is His Word. He wants us to only look to His promises and to where they will lead.

We are not to be negative in our confession but positive giving God praise for what He has promised.

The problem is that we just don’t take God seriously enough. If he gave you a promise then he will come through with what He promised. But we are Laodicea, and we think we have rights to think anything we want to think and say whatever we want to say, but I am here to tell you this morning you do just that and you won’t make the rapture. “That is Thus Saith the Lord” because it is Thus Saith His Scriptures.

God said in Proverbs 16: 25 There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

So go right ahead and complain about not getting the promise when you think you should get it, but I’m here to tell you this morning, They that are willing to wait on the promise are the ones who will receive the reward.

I can just imagine Sarah saying to Abraham, how much longer do we have to wait honey? We’ve already waited 2o years? And so what did she do? She said take my made and have a baby by her and we can say this is the promise that God gave you. You think God was pleased with that? Huh!!

You think God was pleased with Abraham’s wife saying that? I tell you what. It angered God so much that he told Abraham to go ahead with her plan and Abraham’s Seed by Sarah have been battling for their lives against Abraham’s seed by Hagar for more than 4,000 years now. And will that negative attitude that produced that Ishmael finally find peace? Not until the New Jerusalem because that seed will not be there.

And then after waiting 25 years to receive the promise God tested him and asked him to offer up his son. What would you do in that situation. But Abraham didn’t look at the circumstances, he just looked at God’s word. What God promised. And so he said, the lad and I are going up to do sacrifice and WE shall return. He had a testimony just like Job did, “though He slay me, yeti’ll trust Him, and in my flesh I shall see God.”

Abraham knew that if God allowed him to slay his son, God was obligated to raise him up again.

Thy seed shall possess gate 62-0121M P:55 When you receive the promise, how are you going to stop the thing? How you going to ever expect to be a father of nations, and here you are a hundred and fifteen years old now? Little Isaac about fourteen or fifteen years old. How are you going to be a father of nations when you're a hundred and fifteen years old, and here's your only child, and you're destroying your only evidence that you have? Amen." How am I going to make it if I get out of an organization? How am I going to make it if I do this?" Oh, listen to that still small voice that comes with the Word. The Word...You say, "I heard a voice tell me this." If it's contrary to the Word, it wasn't God's voice. God's voice comes with the Word.

Faith 56-0815 P:80 And then, when you receive the promise, call anything contrary to that promise as though it was not, and God will bring it to pass.

And what About Noah, He preached his message for 120 years and built the ark over that time frame, and what if he said, “You know, I have been building on this ark for 100 years and still no sign of rain, so I think I will just stop? You think that would have stopped the rain from coming? And what about Israel. God promise them Messiah would come and they waited over 4,000 years for him to come, but I truly believe that many of them no longer believed in the promise because they waited so long for it and that is why many rejected Him when He did come. And the church today, do you think the Christian Church really believes the Lord is Coming back? They proved they don’t by rejecting His Appearing before the coming. And why don’t they believe? Because they have had to wait a very long time for the fulfillment of God’s promise.

Influence 64-0315 P:57 Jesus promised them that He would send the promise of the Father upon them (Luke 24:49), "Behold I send the promise of My Father upon you. But tarry ye..." "Tarry" don't mean pray; it just means "wait." "Tarry" means wait. "Wait up there at the city of Jerusalem until you're endued with power from on high." And what if they would have walked out after ten or twenty days? No they had to wait 50 days. One day less and they would have missed it.

Shalom 64-0119 P:52 Some people says, "But, Brother Branham, I have tried and I have tried." But wait a minute. Patience is virtue. Patience is Holy Spirit virtue. "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength." You say, "How can I wait any longer?" Just keep on waiting. When you've done all you can do to stand, then stand (See?); just stand. "How am I going to do it?" Stand. He said it's the Truth, and it's the Truth. He said it'll happen. How, I don't know; but it'll happen. He said so. He promised it. If He promised it, it's going to happen. That's all. It can't wait. So now just remember, God took thousands of years to fulfill His promise of a coming Saviour. Four thousand years God took to fulfill that promise. But He knew from the beginning just when it was going to happen. He knew; no one else did. He just said it would happen. And when it happened, the people was in such a delusion, till they didn't know how to accept it. If that same thing hasn't repeated again. It always does, never fails, both sides always.

God of this evil age 65-0801M P:90 But in obedience this little faith woman, that lives by faith, the Bride, the person here, there, here, off somewhere else, some other church, some other denomination, whatever it is, and some...?... believes the Word of God, obedient, waiting in love for the promise of the age to be confirmed. She's watching for it. She is part of that Word, and she's watching for Her life to manifest that Word. Brethren, can't you see that? I hope that didn't go over you. The Body is waiting for, which is the Word, waiting for the Life, which is the Spirit, to confirm or make It alive. That's what she's waiting for. No other life will work in her. She can't come to life any other way, yet she feels it out there, and she knows it's going to happen; then here it happens, then she wakes up. God said, "Let there be," and She came forth like the first one come forth.

Who is this 59-1122 P:18 What if Abraham would've took what it looked like, twenty-five years waiting for a promise that God gave him? Why, he'd have never had the baby. He'd never been the father of little Isaac. But he believed God's Word and wouldn't turn It loose. But he watered it day and night, strong, giving praise unto God. Oh, when Sarah would say, "Honey, it's been twenty-five years ago since the promise was made, here I am nearly a hundred." He'd say, "Praise God, we're going to have it anyhow, 'cause God said so, and that settles it." That's right. He knew the nature of God because he was a friend of God. He knew how to take Him, because he knew that His promises, no matter how foolish they looked, or how simple they looked, or how unreasonable they looked, they were true because God said so, and that settled it forever. That's the way every seed of Abraham does today. That's the way the born again Christian does today. No matter what the world says, what science says, what they say, this, that, or the other, God's Word stands above it all. And they're looking at His Word and what He said to be the truth. It doesn't matter if they say today the world can't be burned up, and the dead, or them bodies can't rise again. God said so, and that's the truth; that settles it forever. God said so, and we keep our eyes on what He said.

Led by the spirit 59-0407 P:10 If you make a promise to anybody, you're obligated to that promise. And if you're a man or woman of honor, you'll do everything you can to keep that promise. But it could be that something might happen that you could not keep it. But did you know God's more obligated to keep His promise that you are? When God makes a promise, He's got to keep it in order to be God. Every promise He makes is true. And He's obligated to that promise. If you'll keep that in mind while you're crossing through this prayer line tonight, something will happen to you, to know that God cannot make a promise and not stick to it. He's got to. And He knows all things, so He's infinite. We're finite and can make a promise and have to take it back. But He can't, because He's perfect. He knows everything, the end from the beginning. So He has to keep His promise. And He's always got somebody who will believe that. God, let me be one of those. No matter how much you have to be criticized and laughed at, let me believe God's promise and stay with it.