Faith no 59

The Gift of Faith is the ability to yield yourself to God,

The Ability to get self out of the way

January 10, 2018

Rev. Brian Kocourek

 

God promised us that we would be given power through the gift of Faith to yield ourselves to the revelation of Jesus Christ and surrender our own will to the will of the Father just as Jesus laid down his own life to the Fathers will. 

 

Now, what do I mean by this? I mean that God has given every son of God by way of the Holy Spirit in you, to use a very special gift he has given to all sons to be able to get yourself out of the way. That’s what Jesus as the first born son and thus the patter for all sons was able to do. And learning that from the first born Son of God, and knowing we are ordained to come into Hi image, then we must also become like Him and thus in order to do so God has given each of us that same gift to get ourselves out of the way.

 

Now, maybe you don't think so, but that is because you don't know what that gift is. The gift to get yourself out of the way is the gift of God's Holy Spirit living in you. And the more you become aware of the God-Life in you, the easier it is to stand aside and let God be God, and let HIs Spirit have the preeminence in your thoughts, in your speech, and in your Life and actions that stem forth from yielding to His Spirit that lives in you.

 

From His sermon, Spoken word original seed 62-0318M P:101 brother Branham said, "The Bible's got to be in you. The Word is a Seed, and as long as It's laying here it won't do nothing. But when It comes in here, when It comes in the heart, then It begins to manifest by the Holy Spirit, the works of God. Then visions come, power comes, humility comes. All of your know-it-all is gone. You become nothing; Christ becomes alive. You die; He lives. There it is. 'Cause He died, I live. When I die, He, He lives again. And when I die, He promised me Life. And I died out to myself, so in order I can have His Life; and how do I do it? By taking His Word, His Seed, put His Seed in here by faith and believe it, and then it produces exactly what the Bible said.

 

Notice the beautiful wording brother Branham uses here. He says when the Word of God becomes so preeminent in your heart, and when you have died out so much of yourself that you have become nothing in your own eyes, then humility comes, then power comes, then visions come. So don't expect them until you have first died to self.

 

You cannot expect even humility until you come to the place where in your own eyes you are nothing. Any humility you have before you have died to self is a false humility. A put on and a sham.  So the entire key of living the Life of Christ is first you have to die to self totally, and become nothing in your own eyes. Not nothing in the eyes of others. Not dead to self in the eyes of others, but dead to self in your own eyes. 

 

The Pharisees were play actors and they could fool almost everyone into thinking they were righteous and totally yielded to God, but they did not fool Jesus, nor John the Baptist.

 

And let's face it, they will not fool the bride of Christ either.

Let’s examine this true form of humility as seen in the first born Son of God, Jesus as he speaks to us in St. John 5:19 where He said, "Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he (the Father) doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise (which means in the same way or manner).

 

So Jesus told the people, he needed to see a vision of God His Father performing what He then stepped into that vision to do only what he seen the father do first.

 

Now, William Branham like Jesus showed this in his ministry. He told us how the visions would show a scene, but how he had to be real careful to make sure all the elements that were in the vision would also be there in real life.

 

Like when he told us the hat had to be on the chair, and the woman had to be in a certain, certain chair, and the man whose hat was on the chair had to be in a certain chair as well. He told us he waiting many hours for that hat to be on the chair before he could have the assurance the vision was now unfolding, and then of course the laying hands on the person he then could pronounce with certainty "Thus Saith the Lord" for the healing.

 

Again we see Jesus in St. John 5:30 tell us the same thing as he says, " I can of mine own self do nothing: (now listen, that is making himself nothing, that must come first, then comes the vision, and after the vision, then comes the power.) as I hear, (hear what? Faith comes by hearing the Word of God, right?) Therefore he says, "as I hears, I judge: (and what is he using as his standard to judge what he hears? The Word of God. John told us to try every spirit to see if it is from God and we are commanded to try all things by the word of God. There is your standard for judging.) as I hear, I judge: (and then he tells us how he knows his judgment will be right on for he says,) and my judgment is just; (my judgment is right) because I seek not mine own will, (because I am totally in neutral, I have died to myself, I seek not mine own will and thus I have no stake in the game, I have no profit in the outcome, whatever God wills to do I am totally open to the outcome according to his will, and not what I hope the outcome will be. And that is exactly what he is saying when he says) because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

 

In this verse we find out why the Son of God could of  Himself do nothing,  Because he tells us that he does not seek his own will but the will of the Father that sent him.  And so if we could just let our own will go and come to know the will of the father, and learn to do his will, we could then easily get ourselves out of the way, so that God could use us as he used his own son Jesus.

 

Now, the definition of this word "will" means "the mental faculty by which one deliberately chooses or decides upon a course of action; volition." Your will is what you desire, it is your purpose, your determination, and it is your deliberate intention or what you wish:

 

So you can see that if you can die to self, it is because you are able to die to your own ambition. You are able to die to your own purpose and your own wishes. 

 

And when you can do that you have slipped into neutral and your will is not your own any longer, but you have become completely dependent upon God to move and guide you in whatever turn your life will take.

 

We have seen how this worked in the life of William Branham as like in no other person in the history of mankind outside of Jesus Christ. There were more healings done in one of his services than in the entire lifetime of most men who claimed a healing ministry.

 

In fact one historian of the healing revival said that you could place William Branham on one side and all the others combined together on the other side, and William Branham’s ministry would outweigh them all. And so we should ask ourselves why is that? And the answer is simple, because William Branham had a gift from God to get himself out of the way, just as the Son of God, Jesus Christ had the gift to get himself out of the way.

 

In Fact William Branham taught us that the real gift he had from God was not the ability to pray, because we can all pray. He said the real gift was to be able to get William Branham out of the way, so that God could use him for whatever purpose God chose to use him.  He said, "a gift is to get yourself out of the way so God can come in and use your body."

 

From the message God is his own interpreter 64-0205 P: 52 brother Branham said, "What is a gift? Not something you take and chop and turn. No, no. It's knowing how to get yourself out of the way that God can use you. A gift is only getting yourself out, then God uses it.

 

A gift is knowing how to get yourself out of the way, and let God do what He wants to do. See? Brother Branham said in his sermon  "A Paradox"  65-0117 P:65 "A gift of faith is not something you take and do something with. A gift of faith is you just get yourself out of the way. The gift is getting your own self out of the way.

 

So the gift of Faith is having a revelation that God will do it. And then if God will do it, it is not you doing then God doing, but on the contrary it is God doing it first then you just step into what God has just done, and watch the vision unfold from vision to manifested Word.

 

It's knowing how to relax yourself in such a way that God can use your body in the way that He wants to use your body. Just get yourself out of the way and watch.

I wish I could explain it better, but there isn’t any way to make you understand it unless you have been there and actually seen it happen in your own life.

 

The best explanation I can give you  is that It’s just like shifting your car and getting it into a gear. See? And just like the gift God gives you through His Holy Spirit, that gift is just a gift to know how to shift yourself out, and let Him do the talking. See? Shift yourself into neutral, and that way if God wants you to move, your breaks are not on and he can just give you a little push in the right direction. If a car is in neutral then you can push it forward or backward, and it matters not to the car, for the car is just open, and in neutral to be pushed or pulled in either direction.

 

But if the breaks are on, then the car cannot be moves forward nor can it move backwards.

 

That is why brother Branham told us that the five-fold gifts to the church are just the gift to get out of the way so God can use the body to preach, or teach, according to the measure of the gift predestined within. 

 

And from his sermon What is the works of God 59-0404 P:14 brother Branham said, "Now there is the thing, knowing how to yield yourself. And some people is set in the Church; some can yield themselves to preaching. Some can yield themselves easily to teaching. Some can yield themselves to prophesying. Some can yield themselves to other gifts. So all the gifts won't be alike. They wasn't alike then; Paul said they wasn't. But each man is called and placed into the Church for a purpose. And if you'll find out what God can use him best at, and yield hisself to that place, he will be a success.

 

Listen, I haven't had much success as a pastor, although I've tried for 36 years to be as good a pastor as I know how to be. But my temperament is perhaps too hard, too cutting, too critical, and it has caused some hurt along the way.

 

But when I yielded myself to the Holy Spirit and went overseas to teach the ministers this wonderful revelation of Jesus Christ, doing the work of an Apostle, the ministry flourished everywhere and the fruits of the ministry can be seen all over the world in the lives of  ministers who've taken this Revelation of Jesus Christ and they stepped into this revelation and have become living epistles of Christ to their congregations.  

 

We don't have a very large fruit orchard here in Ohio but we have 122 I.P. addresses streaming our services live over to 56 cities in 11 different countries, and that's just live streaming. The sermons in written format have been translated into 11 languages, where brethren may not be able to stream because they do not understand our English language, But others are taking these sermons and preaching them in their own language and believers are watching their streaming services and getting the same message, so the ministry is being echoed and magnified in ways I  never expected would happen. These brethren are seeing results in their own countries, and that's the fruits of the Apostle ministry. Yet the fruits of my pastoral ministry seems to be very minimal, but not so unlike other apostle like John, and Paul whose ministries went into the world but whom they as pastors had around a dozen or so believers to minister to at home.

 

But although Brother Branham's international ministry well exceeded his local ministry, yet the real fruit of his ministry can be found all over the world. Br. Neville pastored the local flock, and his sermons were very pastoral. Then brother Collins for 43 years and his sermons were very pastoral as well. In Br. Vayle ministry we saw the same thing, his ministry had more effect around the world than it did in St. Paris. But he had someone else to pastor as well.  And Paul had Timothy to pastor for him, as his ministry took him to other places as well. And although Paul's ministry was accepted by many around the world, yet locally there were only 12 that could set directly under him. Why? Could be because his preaching was to fiery, and biting, but I would rather say there were only 12 who were ordained to be there.

 

And although you people have put up with my hard and critical preaching and teaching, yet I do not believe it is me that you are hearing and putting up with, but Him who sent me.

 

That is what Brother Branham tells us in his sermon, Jesus Christ the same 56-0426 P:49 It's not the preacher that preaches; it's God preaching through him. It's not the prophet that sees the vision; it's God speaking through him. "I do nothing except the Father shows Me first what to do."

 

Notice after he says, "It's not the preacher that preaches; it's God preaching through him. It's not the prophet that sees the vision; it's God speaking through him. Notice that he then goes right to Scripture to show us the example is Jesus Christ himself, quoting Jesus own words from John 5:19  "I do nothing except the Father shows Me first what to do."

 

If I were just doing the work of a pastor, I would never focus on anything happening outside the walls of this church and its people. But that's not what I was called to do. In 1983 the Holy Spirit spoke to me and told me to write my sermons down word for word and one day they would be read all over the world. I didn't understand what he meant by that but I did what he told me to do, and I had no understanding how God would accomplish what He said, because that was way before the internet was available.

 

Then in 1997 I began to post the doctrinal teachings to the internet because I saw there was nothing on the internet that taught what brother Branham taught. After about a year brothers from Africa began to request my sermons as well. I didn't have the finances to send out my sermons so I figured I could just post them on the internet and people could have them for free. That was 1997, 20 years ago, and God has taken these sermons into 11 languages and into 189 countries since then. More than 1,358 of my sermons have been translated into 11 languages.

 

So what I am trying to say here is what brother Branham was telling us in his sermon, What is the works of God 59-0404 P:14 where he said,  "Now there is the thing, knowing how to yield yourself. And some people is set in the Church; some can yield themselves to preaching. Some can yield themselves easily to teaching. Some can yield themselves to prophesying. Some can yield themselves to other gifts. So all the gifts won't be alike. They wasn't alike then; Paul said they wasn't. But each man is called and placed into the Church for a purpose. And if you'll find out what God can use him best at, and yield hisself to that place, he will be a success.

 

And when I yielded myself to do the work of an Apostle God blessed that in such a way I could never have done that on my own. But that is what he called me to, and that is where I am most comfortable with.

 

So as brother Branham said in his sermon, Influence 63-0112 P:27 Always keep humble, and be little in your own sight. No matter what God does for you, just see how much more humbler you can be all the time. The more God blesses you, just keep getting more humble all the time. He can continue to bless. But when you get to a place that you think, "I've got it," you haven't got it, you're on your road out. That's right. See? You lose your influence. You lose your strength of your testimony.

 

And from Pergamean Church Age 60-1207 P:141 Be little in the sight of God; be little in your own sight; everybody else is above you. "Lets him's the greatest among you be minister to all."Who could be greater than Jesus Christ Who girded Himself and washed the disciples' feet? A foot washing flunky He become. The God of heaven, the Creator of heavens and earth, washing dirty feet for fishermen (Oh.), with manure and stuff, and dust off the roads, where their garments had swept it up, and washing it off; a foot washing flunky, what He was. And then we think we're somebody. We got to be Doctor, Ph.D. So-and-so. Oh, my. That ain't Christ. That don't display the lovely Jesus Christ. He become servant to all. That's right. Taught us an example that we should do to one another as He's did unto us. Oh, that's my Lord. What makes Him big, because He made Himself little. See, that's what made Him be.

 

Then it isn’t you talking; it’s Him. That’s how the gifts of God work in the body of Christ. You first get yourself out of the way so the Holy Spirit can operate within your body to use your body to do His will.

 

From his sermon, Lean not unto thy own understanding 65-0120 P:76 Brother Branham said, "A gift of God is some way you have of getting yourself out of the way. And gifts and callings are the predestination of God. "Gifts and callings are even without repentance." You're born with it, a little gear that you pull yourself over in, but you cannot step on the pedal. See? God has to operate it. You have to get yourself out of the way."

 

Notice, God has to operate it. and that is what he said in the earlier quote we read, where he said, "It's not the preacher that preaches; it's God preaching through him. It's not the prophet that sees the vision; it's God speaking through him."

 

Br. Branham said his worst enemy was himself. And he said God gave him a gift to get himself out of the way so God could take over and use His body for the Glory of God,  and to help God’s children.  Now, I think we can all agree that Jesus Christ had the greatest gift of all from God to get Himself out of the way.

 

Jesus said in John 12:49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.  50 And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.

 

And he also said in John 14:31 But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.

 

And again in John 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.

 

A few weeks ago I showed you the Scripture that spoke of the Son of God as being God’s great servant and that he was blind and deaf to all but God’s Word.

 

We find in Isaiah 42:19 the Scriptures teaches us that the Son of God was blind to everything except God’s Word. And he was deaf to everything but God.

 

KJV Isaiah 42:19 Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the LORD'S servant?

 

The Rotherham Translation puts it this way, "Who is blind if not My servant? Or deaf like my messenger that I send? Who is blind like an intimate friend is blind, or blind like the servant of Yahweh?

 

The Jerusalem Bible says, "Who is so blind as My servant? Who is So deaf as the Messenger that I send?"

 

In other words, it should read "Who in all the world is as blind as my Servant ? Who is designed to be my Messenger of Truth. Who is so blind as My dedicated one, the “servant of the Lord”?

 

So we see here that Jesus Christ was absolutely blind concerning anything that was contrary to God’s Word, God’s Will and God’s purpose.

 

And how do you get there? By focusing only on him. when I played football I would kicj field goals and the opposing fans would throw snowballs or oranges to try to distract my attention so I learned in that to focus only on the placement of the ball when the center would snap the ball back to the quarterback and he would place the ball down for me to kick.

 

The golfer in the natural learns to so focus on that putt that he becomes blind to the audience and deaf to all the noise that would otherwise distract him.

 

The best hitters in baseball are those who are so focused that they can tell you how many rotations the ball takes from the time it leaves the pitchers hand until he swings his bat to hit it.   

 

Now, if that can be done in the natural, how much more should it be in the spiritual.

 

KJV Isaiah 42:19 Who is blind, (so focused unto me that he is focused out of everything else) but my servant? or deaf, (so tuned into me that he is tuned out to everything and everyone else) as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the LORD'S servant?

 

Looking unto Jesus 64-0122 P:65 Many people have the wrong impression about a gift. A gift is not something that God gives you to go out and say, "Here, I'll go over here and pick out this, and I'll take that and I'll do this." That's not gifts. So many people think that, but they're wrongly impressed. A gift of God is just to know how to get yourself out of the way so God can use you; that's all a gift is. See? As long as you're in yourself...Didn't Jesus say, Himself "The Son can do..." Saint John 5:19, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, the Son can do nothing in himself." He passed by that pool where all them cripples was, and healed one man with prostate trouble, or something (disease) retarded. He said, "The Son can do nothing in Himself; but what He sees the Father doing, that doeth the Son likewise. It's not me," He said, "that doeth the works; it's My Father that dwelleth in Me; He doeth the works."

 

Notice, Jesus walked right through the midst of 300 people who were setting there waiting for the stirring of the waters. But He was looking for only one man, and so he focused only on that one man that he had seen in the vision. Blind to everyone else, and deaf to all the cries for help except that one whose voice he heard in the vision.

Perhaps I can make this simpler for the mothers to understand. when you are out shopping and one of your little ones runs off, what do you do? You frantically begin to look for that child filtering out everyone else in your mind but the image of your child. 

 

From his sermon God's provided way 64-0206E P:53 Brother Branham said,  "What is a gift anyhow? Not to take something and use something, say, "I got a gift of healing. I go out and heal this one, heal that one." If I could, I'd certainly do it. Now, it's... But a gift... You misinterpret a gift. A gift is just get yourself out of the way, and let the Holy Spirit use you. See? That's a gift. That’s what a minister is. He don't preach what he wants to preach. He just gets his self out of the way. It's a gift. An inspiration comes, and he speaks through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Any other gift is the same way.

 

That is why you people can be listening to tapes during the week and come to church and find the preacher saying the same thing you heard on those tapers. Because it is not the preacher, it is God confirming what you heard on the tape, and in the mouth or two or three witnesses he established his word.

 

Perseverant 64-0305 P:93 A gift is getting yourself out of the way, so God can come in, see what He shows, what He does. A gift is not, "I got power to do this; I got power." Your power of a gift is get yourself out of the way. And the gift that God has give you, operates through that then (See?) after you're out of the way. See?

 

Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:1 And you hath he quickened, (that means to make alive, you) who were dead in trespasses and sins; And we know that sin is unbelief. The bible tells us they sinned because they believed not. Drinking, smoking, gambling and chasing is not sin, those are just attributes of unbelief. People do those things because they don’t believe God’s Word.  If they believed God’s Word they wouldn't do those things.

 

Notice what the apostle Paul said in Colossians 2:13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

 

When you become born again by the Word of God you die out to the world and the cares of the world, and you become a new creation in Christ Jesus. Old things are passed away and all things have become new.

 

Let’s turn in our Bibles to see how the Apostle Paul describes this process to us.  Romans 6:1  What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2    God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? 3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7 For he that is dead is freed from sin. 8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: 9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.

10  For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 11    Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. 15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. 16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? 17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. 19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. 20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. 21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

And when we are born again we talk another language altogether. We don’t talk like the world, because we don’t think like the world. Paul said in Ephesians 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;  23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

 

And if we are born again, that means we have died out to self and the way we treat others is different than the world will treat them. Paul said in Colossians 3:9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; 10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: Notice that the new man is renewed by knowledge of Him.

 

And the more we know of him the more we bring our own selves and our will under the control of His will for His glory, his doxa. II Corinthians 5:14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; (that means the love of Christ is the motivating factor that restrains you and inhibits you from doing what you want to do) because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead (in other words, if it were not for Him, then I might as well be dead, and there is no hope for me, but since he died for me, then I owe him my life and my being, and my very mind, my soul and my heart. And because he first Loved me I am able to love Him in return.) 15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. (and then because of this we do not live for self any longer, in fact he died to save us from our own self.) 16    Wherefore henceforth know we no man after His flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after His flesh, yet now henceforth know we him so no more.

 

Then how do we know Christ? By His spirit that lives in us.

17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.  18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

 

Now, what is this ministry of reconciliation? It is the doctrine of Christ, teaching others the revelation of Jesus Christ that they might also receive His Spirit thus reconciling them also to God through Christ.  Now, in the next verse Paul is going to explain how that God gave Jesus the ministry of reconciliation, and how we also receive this same ministry of reconciliation. He says,

 

19 To wit, (that means to this end or for this purpose, or accordingly) that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

 

Therefore, if Jesus has committed unto us "the Word of reconciliation", then that Word is to be in us as it was in Christ. Right?

 

Then another point Paul makes here which I just caught last night for the first time is, in order to reconcile, he has to not focus on the sin but on the revelation of sons. Paul said,  "not imputing their trespasses unto them".

 

I just caught this and I admit that I've come up short here, so I need to begin doing this.

 

How do we enter into the ministry of reconciliation? First we have to come to the place where we do not focus on the persons faults or mistakes, but focus only on Christ, not on the sins of the person, and then in pointing the people to Christ and the cross, and the Revelation of Jesus Christ as first born son in a vast family of brothers, then if they are predestinated to it, they will leave behind the old and become new creations in Christ. 

 

20 Now, then we are ambassadors (representatives) for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. 21  For He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

 

So you see, when we are willing to step aside of self and die to self, God is more than willing to come in and live in us. Now, if God comes in and lives His Life out through your mortal body, then it is no more you that is living but Christ is living in you. Then you could no more die, then God can die. Then you have a great assurance of Life eternally with Him, and with those that are in Christ.

 

Colossians 2:12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, (now, that word operation is the Greek word energeia which speaks of the energy of God working in you.

 

Therefore he says, Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the revealing of the energy of God) who hath raised him from the dead. 13 ¶  And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened (that means to be made alive) together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; (and look at the benefit we receive by dying out to self)

14  Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; (then all your sin, all your unbelief, every bad deed you ever did and ever will do has been nailed to his cross and is buried under the blood of the lamb.)

 

I Corinthians 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

 

Then only through Christ can we be made alive. Here we are told that all who lived through Adam, in other words through mere flesh and blood reproduction, since we were born after the flesh we must all die as well. But through Christ we are all made alive, which means that only by Christ is it possible to live forever. Because there is only one form of Eternal life and that is God’s Life. God is the only one that is eternal, and therefore, for us to become eternal beings, it is essential that the very life of God enter into us and take over our mortal being bringing on immortality to us.

 

Galatians 2:19 For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. 20    I am (I am is present tense, I am) crucified with Christ: (If I am is a present tense thing, then I am 24/7 crucified with Christ...) nevertheless I live; yet it is not I that is living, but (now it is) Christ that is living in me: and the life which I now live in this flesh I am living by the faith (the revelation) of the Son of God, (not my faith in the Son of God, but the Faith OF the Son of God, His Faith that He had in God I now am living by that same faith) who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

 

God has got to do something with you before He could place His Holy Spirit in you. And if we now live by the same faith Jesus had, then it is not what you can do nor is it what you cannot do, but rather it is what He has already done for you. Then you learn to rest in His promise to you, and this rest makes you so relaxed in Him, and let’s face it, how could you rest if you don’t have trust in His promise. So as you trust His word, you learn to rest and relax in it, until you just die out to your old way of thinking, and you just become dead to self. Because if you are not willing to die out to self, He will never place His Spirit in your vessel.

 

Life comes from living on dead substance, and out of death comes life. Every fall the earth dies out, the life in the plant go down into the burial chamber of the roots of the plant, but in the Spring, out of that burial chamber of the roots comes up the life into the plant again, and the life begins to manifest itself again. And out of the death of Christ came forth a resurrection out from among the dead, the Resurrection of  Life. And the only way that you can become alive in God, is to die out to yourself and your symptoms, and everything around you, and become alive in Christ the Word: You’ve got to die out to self, you’ve got to die out to your symptoms, you’ve got to die out to circumstances, you’ve got to die out to everything else and become alive in Christ.

 

From his sermon You Must Be Born Again 61-1231M 107 William Branham said,    If you're borne of God, you're washed in the waters of the Word, separated from the things of the world, and believe God. You're dead. You're dead to your own thinking, dead to your own ideas, dead to everything else but God's Word; It lives in you, working back through you, proving that it is God's Word. You say, "I'm dead to the world. I'm dead to the world, Brother Branham." And deny God's Word?

 

And from the sermon Investments 63-0803B 241 he said, Using not our own mind, but just letting His mind, we're prisoners, as Paul, as Moses. No matter what anyone else says, you're imprisoned to that Word. The Holy Spirit leads; He forbids to go places; He forbids to come here; He sends you to places you would not go and keeps you away from places that you would go. Do you want a policy? Do you want to make an investment?

 

From his sermon Forsaking All 62-0123 E-34 brother Branham said, "The Scripture says, "He that loves the world or the things of the world, the love of God is not even in him." That's right. It takes forsaking all. There when you were willing to forsake all and follow Him, then "If ye abide in Me and My word in you, you can ask what you will, and it will be done for you." But you cannot, knowing that those things are wrong. You know they're wrong. The Bible's against them: card playing, cigarette smoking, drinking, wearing immoral clothes, and then claiming to be a Christian. If that spirit in you does not condemn that, then there's something wrong with the spirit that's in you. Because the God Who wrote the Word is the Word, and the Word is in you, and It condemns you. It's got to. And if It doesn't, you're being deceived. How can the Holy Spirit write something, and you turn around and do contrary to it, and say the Holy Spirit is leading you? You can't do it.  E-36 You must forsake your own ideas. You must cope with His Word. And never will the Holy Ghost ever deny any Word It ever spoke, and the Bible is wrote by the Holy Spirit. The Bible said so. And if the Bible Words is God... "In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us." Now, the Word is made Spirit dwelling in us, for "I will be with you, even in you to the end of the world," the consummation.   E-37 Now, if that same God that wrote the Bible is in you, you're not your own. You're dead to the things of the world. You're dead to your own thoughts. And the mind that was in Christ be in you, there then you're forsaking all to follow Him. Not your own thoughts; what He says. "Not my will; thine, Lord." Then you begin to line up with God's Word.

 

Hebrews 10:19  Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 21 And having an high priest over the house of God; 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. 23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promised; 24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. 26 For if we sin willfully (if we disbelieve willfully) after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,

 

Let us pray...