God’s Only Provided Place of Worship # 109

Brian Kocourek, January 14, 1996

The Love of God

Wednesday Evening, we read from pp. 273 where Brother Branham said, water Baptism just brings you into a fellowship of a body of believers But what really matters is Spirit baptism." Just because you have been baptized in water does not make you a believer, nor does it mean that you have been baptized with the Holy Spirit, But when once that Holy Spirit really... genuine Word comes into you (the Word, Jesus), then, brother, the Message is no secret to you then; you know It, brother, It's all lit up before you. Now we examined this in light of the Rich young Ruler who ended up in hell although he faithfully did all the commandments. We found that this type of a Christian is what is called an almost Christian as we find in [ Acts 26: 27-29]Here we find Paul speaking to king Agrippa and after telling Him of the Pillar of Fire coming down among the people in that hour, Paul says to him, "King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that Thou believest". Then Agrippa said unto Paul, "almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian". And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds."

We compared the almost Christian to the altogether Christian Paul speaks of in the light of [Matthew 25] which speaks of ten virgins which we know by vindication is a type of the Church in the last days.. All ten were virgins which means they were not inoculated by man's creeds and dogmas, and we also see that they all carried lamps which according to [Psalm 119:105] is the Word of God. "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." Only five were considered wise which means practical and the other five were considered foolish which means they were not practical. Now this word "wise" that Jesus uses here is a Greek word Phronimos which means to be prudent or sensible in a practical sense. In [ Matthew 7:24-27] Jesus says, "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. In this parable we see that the Wise are those who not only hear but put into action what they hear. This is considered the prudent or sensible thing to do. And of course we see the Foolish are those who hear but do not do, and because they do not put into action what they hear, they are not considered wise or prudent, but foolish, because they could have taken action and saved their home but they did not and therefore their home was destroyed. Oh, how many believers today are watching their own children going down the wrong road and are headed for destruction only because they did not apply the Token. Brother Branham said it must be applied, and that means it has got to be put into use or it won't do you any good.

In [ Matthew 24: 42 - 51] we see Jesus use this word "wise" again in which He is trying to illustrate the importance of applying what we know for our own benefit.. [42] Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. [43] But know this, that if the Goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. [44] Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. [45] Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? [46] Blessed [is] that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. [47] Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. [48] But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; [49] And shall begin to smite [his] fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; [50] The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for [him], and in an hour that he is not aware of, [51] And shall cut him asunder, and appoint [him] his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Now, it is very apparent by this parable that Jesus is letting us know that He expects us to be busy applying what we know rather than being lax, uncaring, unsuspecting and like fools, not ready when He comes. He says, those that are not ready when I come will be placed outside with the hypocrites where there is weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth which we know is tribulation.

We find that right after Jesus tells us this parable, He then tells the parable of the five wise Virgins and the Five who are foolish. So we see in [Matthew 25] the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. ( the Word was anointed to them which makes all the difference in the world, because to those whom the Word is anointed, it is a living Word, whereas to the others it is just religion, and a set of rules and regulations in which they must follow.) That is why in [1 John 2: 19] John tells us we have an anointing that allows us to know all things. In contrast to [ Isaiah 28: 9-13] NIV we see what happens to those who hear this Message but understand it not. "Who is He trying to teach? To whom is He explaining His Message? To children weaned from their milk, to those just taken from the breast? For to such it is: Do and do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule; a little here, a little there. Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues ( how about Kentucky English?) God will speak to this people, to whom He said, "This is the resting place, let the weary rest" ; and "This is the place of repose" but they would not listen. So then, because they would not listen, the Word of the Lord to them will become: Do and do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule; as little here, and a little there- so then they will go and fall backward, ( I guess into Pentecostal works programs) and be injured and snared and captured." And so we see the foolish virgin whom the Word of God was not anointed to them, when they realized how late the hour really was, they went to those who did understand the Midnight Shout and they began to seek the anointing or understanding of what was happening pertaining to this Shout, but by then it was too late. And so when they realized they did not have it, they went into works programs and tried everything they could to work themselves up into a condition of anointing but to no avail. Let's read what happens to them.

[ Luke 22: 34] Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with spending too much time and energy on indulging yourself with pleasure, drunkenness, and the anxieties of life which is (worry and apprehension about what may happen), and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap or snare. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand in the Presence of the Son of Man." And then in [ Luke 14: 33] Jesus Said, "Whosoever be of you who is not willing to forsake all that he has, he has cannot be my disciple." Now, those are pretty strong words from our Lord, but 99% commitment just won't cut it with Him. It's either all or nothing. Either you're in or your out. He said, "He that is not with me is against me." "And because they are neither cold nor hot I will spew thee out of My mouth."

Now, the Rich young Ruler did all the commandments of God, yet when it came time to surrender all that he had in a final gesture of total commitment to Christ, he could not depart from his material possessions. He almost made it. The Bible even tells us that Jesus loved him much, but later Jesus tells us the story of how this Rich young Ruler had died and was burning in hell, and cried out for a drop of water to quench his thirst. It was King Agrippa who said to Paul, "Thou almost persuaded me to be a Christian." How many almost Christians will there be in that day. How many almost Christians do we have hanging around the Message today? How many almost Christians will go through the Tribulation only because they were almost Christians. Almost won't count when the Rapture takes place "Thou almost persuaded me", they'll say. "Thou almost persuaded me." And what good will Agrippa's words be when he lifts up his eyes from hell and his words echo over and over in his ears , "Paul, Thou almost persuadest me to be a Christian."

And yet we must ask ourselves, "What is an Almost Christian?" And if I were to tell you the answer many of you would fall to your knees in shear horror because we would seem to come up so short if we were to know what an almost Christian is. Jesus defined an almost Christians when he asked the Rich young ruler if he obeyed the Ten Commandments and he replied that he believed and practiced them all. An Almost Christian Believes in One God and has no other gods in his life, no idols, or toys that he worships, nothing but the One True God. Secondly the Almost Christian Honors God by honoring His Sabbath. He doesn't work on the Sabbath. He honors God's day. The almost Christian will not speak God's name in vain, He honors his father and mother, and he does not lie, nor does he steal, nor does he kill, or commit adultery, or bear false witness against his neighbor, or desires his neighbors goods.

Paul Tel's us this Almost Christian, has a form of godliness, yet denies the transforming power of the Word", and John Wesley said, "The Almost Christian does nothing which the Gospel forbids. He taketh not the name of God in vain; he blesses and curses not; he swareth not at all, but his communication is, yea, yea; nay, nay. He profanes not the day of the Lord, nor suffers it to be profaned, even by the stranger that is within his gates. He not only avoids all adultery and fornication and uncleanness, but every word, or look, that either directly or indirectly tends thereto such as movies and television. Even all idle words are watched and he abstains from backbiting, tale-bearing, evil speaking, and from all foolish talking and jesting and from all conversation that is not "good to the edifying" and that consequently grieves the Holy Spirit of God whereby ye are sealed until the day of redemption. The almost Christian abstains from strong drink, from reveling and gluttony. He avoids as much as in him lies, all strife and contention, continually endeavoring to live peaceably with all men. If he suffers wrong, he avengeth not himself, neither returns evil for evil. He is no railer, no brawler, no scoffer, either at the faults or infirmities of his neighbor. He will not willingly wrong, hurt, or grieve any man: but in all things acts and speaks by the Golden rule, " Whatsoever thou wouldest not he should do unto thee, that thou doest to another." And in doing good, he does not confine himself to cheap and easy offers of kindness, but actually labors and suffers for the profit of many, that by all means he may help some. In Spite of toil and pain, "whatsoever his hand findeth to do, he doeth it with all his might." Whether it be for his friends or his enemies, for the evil or for the good. He is not slothful in this or any business, as he "hath opportunity" he doeth all manner of good, to all men." He reproves the ignorant, comforts the afflicted, labors to awaken those who sleep, and he constantly frequents the house of God, as well as stirs up those who are saved through faith. And when he approaches the table of the Lord it is not with light heartedness, nor is it with a careless behavior, but with an air, gesture and deportment which speaks nothing else but "God be merciful to me a sinner. And to this add family devotions, and prayer and a setting apart time to worship God as a family. Now with all these things we have spoken which are the attributes of an Almost Christian we have but one more and that is sincerity. By Sincerity I mean a real, inward principle of religion from whence these outward actions flow. And indeed, if we have not this we have not even a heathen honesty. For even the most wretched heathen will abstain from doing evil in order to avoid punishment. If then a man does all these things to avoid punishment or to avoid loss of friends, or his reputation or even his gain, and if you do ever so much good and show ever so much Grace to others, and yet we could not say this man is never so much as an almost Christian if his motive if his motives are thus. Sincerity therefore, is necessarily implied in being almost a Christian; a real design to serve God, a hearty desire to do His Will. A desire to please God in all things; in all his conversation; in al his actions; in all he does; or leaves undone. This design if any man be almost a Christian, runs through the tenor of his life. This is the moving principle, both in his doing, his abstaining from evil, and his using the ordinances of God."

"Yet you might ask, How could it be possible that any man living could go this far and nevertheless be considered by Jesus Christ, as only Almost a Christian? What more than this can be implied in being a Christian altogether? And I must answer, Yes, It is possible that a person do all these things and yet be only an almost Christian. For to be an altogether Christian, First, you must have the Love of God in your Life. For thus Saith His Word, " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength." Such a love as this engrosses the whole heart, and takes up all the affection, and fills the entire capacity of the soul, and employs the utmost extent of all it's faculties. He that thus Loves the Lord His God, his spirit continually rejoices in the God of His Salvation. His heart is ever crying out, " Whom have I in heaven but Thee? And there is none upon the earth that I desire beside Thee!" And indeed what can the altogether Christian desire beside God? Nothing of this world or the things of this world, for we are crucified to the world, and the world is crucified to me. The Second thing implied in being altogether a Christian, is the love of God that is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. True Christian Love which knows no boundaries. For Jesus told us, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor even as thyself."

Thirdly we can not leave out Faith which is Revelation. For without it no man can know the Lord, and thus without Revelation we would be only an almost Christian, no better than the kind old priest or the liberal bleeding hearts. For Revelation is what separates the sheep from the goats and the wise Virgins from the foolish. Revelation is the key that was given to Peter, and that which Brother Branham said is what is opened up to you as a result of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, pp. 275 "But when once that Holy Spirit really... genuine Word comes into you (the Word, Jesus), then, brother, the Message is no secret to you then; you know It, brother, It's all lit up before you.

Now, this morning I want to focus the rest of our time on this Love of God which is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost and I want you to see how it ties together with Revelation. Because after all these three principles which are necessary for the Christian to be altogether a Christian are actually a Love that stems forth from Revelation. You all remember our message about Faith, Hope and Love. How that Paul said that there were three things and the greatest of them is Love which actually comes forth from Faith which is Revelation. For Faith is the foundation and no other foundation can any man lay than that which has been laid and that is Jesus Christ. And since the first stone in the Pyramid is faith, then we see that Faith is something that is revealed. And if it is truly revealed to you, then it brings with it an earnest expectation or anticipation. And hence you will truly be looking forward to what the Revelation speaks of. And once this anticipation or earnest expectation begins to work in you, it brings forth a response which is Love. And that is why 2 of the 3 principles which will be in the life of an altogether Christian have to do with Love. To love the Lord with all your hearts, and all your soul, and all of your strength. The Love of God's Word as Brother Branham said will take full pre-eminence in your life. And the 3rd principle is Revelation or faith which without it, you won't know what God's Word says and therefore won't have the proper direction for your Love. And actually it is the most important since without it you would not have a correct earnest expectation and therefore with a wrong earnest expectation your whole focus and works will be wrongly misguided and in vain altogether.

Just because the Scripture says "And now abideth Faith, Hope and Love and the greatest of these is love" does not mean that Love is the most important thing. It simply means it is the greatest of these. The Greek word for greatest that is used in [1 Corinthians 13] comes from a root word which speaks of intensity, and certainly Revelation on it's own can be very passive and low in intensity, but regardless of how intense the Revelation is, if it truly comes forth from God's Word, then it has been given Life from that Word, and the fact that it is revealed shows Life in itself. This Life then begins to build up intensity and moves into an expectation which is earnest, and in the process of moving into this earnest expectation it takes on movement and emotion and qualities of Life that may have lied in a condition of passivity before. Then when the Revelation is truly in a full fledge state of earnest expectation, it then begins to show movement and motion and thus Love which is benevolent and expressive in nature.

And that is implied in being altogether a Christian, "The love of God that is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost". True Christian Love which knows no boundaries. You love your brothers and sisters. You love your neighbor as yourself. And in order to reflect back to God your sincere love for Him you begin to show acts of benevolence and kindness and generosity toward one another. Just as God shown His love to us by giving us His Son to take our place and suffer for us, that we might not have to bear our own sin and guilt. We too begin to show signs of this same nature in our own actions which simply is a reflection of the God-Life that is within us and is building up Word Cell upon Word Cell in our bodies. In a new born, the brain cells are the first to develop and the head is the main focus of development all the way through. And it is the Mind of God that must begin first in us in order to develop Word Cell upon Word Cell. Our minds must be renewed first, and so When Word is piled upon Word, it is the Mind or brain cells that are being renewed first. Now, I did not plan to get into a Spiritual/Biology lesson this morning so, I think we shall have to look at this Word-Body growth pattern in another Message. But just so you understand this building up from a passive into active or from Revelation into Manifestation, let's open our Bibles to [ 1 Thessalonians 1: 3] and read for ourselves this building up from foundation to a living Word in action. Remembering without ceasing your work of Faith, and Labor of Love, and patience of Hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father; Now we have shown you many times before how that the word O.F. OF means having it's source from. And so when we see that Paul speaks of a Work of Faith he is telling us that this work has it's source from Faith. And when he speaks of a labor or Love he is speaking of labor which has it's source from Love, and when he speaks of a patience of Hope, he is speaking of patience which has it's source from your earnest expectation, because if you did not earnestly expect it you would not be willing to wait for it. And so we see the NIV reads this way, We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by Faith, and your labor prompted by Love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. And let's face it, isn't that what keeps us going year after year after year? Our hope in our Lord Jesus Christ? And isn't it our Faith that drives our actions and our efforts in the Gospel, and isn't it this same Revelation which has overtaken us that motivates our labor toward one another. This is what I mean when I am speaking of an action and a building up of cell upon cell until every fiber of our being is taken over by the Revealed Word of God.

Now in order to understand this Love of God better, let's move ahead to PP. [ 277] where Brother Branham said, "God is Love. "He that loveth is of God," divine, holy love, not dirty love; clean, pure, holy love, love of God the Word. "Thy laws have I hid in my heart, that I sin not against Thee," oh, my, that David crying out. Isn't He wonderful? Don't you love Him? [278] Now, there is a Way, a pure, holy Way, a only meeting place that God will meet you. Not because you say, "God, now, I'm a good Methodist. I'm a good Baptist. I'm a good Pentecostal." No! Because that you are in Jesus the Word, the part of the Word that's being manifested to today, this day's Message; not Luther, Wesley, Pentecostal; but your Jesus, the reflection, that has come up into this. You can't go back to that, that's adding leaven to your holy Bread, that, "Man shall live by every Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, in Its season."

So many people do not understand this Love of God Who is The Word and because of this they mis-apply the Love of God to what it is not. So this morning we will examine what this Love of God is that is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. First of all we find this quotation in [ Romans 5: 5] where Paul says, "And hope maketh not ashamed, because the Love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost." Now what does this mean, "Hope maketh not ashamed, and why does Paul tell us that this hope maketh not ashamed because the Love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost?" What is this hope any way? Well, as we have already stated, this word hope itself comes from a Greek word that means to earnestly expect or to have anticipation for. In other words, because that something has been revealed to you, you come to a place where you genuinely anticipate or earnestly expect something else to take place. Not just an expectation, but an earnest expectation. And so in order to understand this Love of God that is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, and the hope that results from this Holy Ghost experience in our hearts, we need to go back a few verses to look at the full picture that Paul is endeavoring to teach us.

[ Romans 5: 1 - 11 ] Therefore, being justified by Faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By Whom we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the Glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed. Now, Why does hope maketh not ashamed? Because the Love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts by His Holy Spirit

Now in order to break this down so that you may better understand what Paul is saying here, let me read it to you from the AMPLIFIED TRANSLATION

[ Romans 5: 1 - 11 ] Therefore, Since we are justified or acquitted and declared righteous through no effort of our own and we are thus given a right standing with God through Faith which is Revelation, let us therefore grasp the fact that we have been given the peace of reconciliation with our Father in order that we might enjoy our peace with God which peace came as a result of our Lord Jesus Christ and what He has procured for us. Through Him also we have our access and entrance and introduction through Revelation into the Grace of God which is totally unmerited of anything we could offer in return, a state of Favor with God our Father in which Christ our brother helped us to gain access into, and in which we can now firmly and safely stand. So then, let us rejoice and exult in our anticipation of experiencing and let us be enjoying the Glory of God which is the very Mind of God in us. Moreover - let us also be full of joy now! Let us also exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings as well, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship are meant to produce a patient and unswerving endurance. And endurance which is fortitude develops maturity of character - that is, approved Faith and tried integrity.

So let us not look beyond what God is doing in our Lives today by His Holy Spirit through His Word, and let us be thankful and full of joy when we see Spiritual growth and maturity taking over in these earthen vessels because what we are seeing is the Word of God actually living itself out in our very Presence and we as a result of actually seeing God's Word living and moving in our presence, transforming our very minds first and thus our brain cells are becoming more and more like His own, and our entire being is becoming thus better accustomed to the workings of His Spirit and we are adapting more and more to the nature that God had in store for us since before the very worlds were framed while we were yet in His very thoughts and while still in His mind. That is why in [ 2 Peter 1: 2-4] we find that even Grace and peace are multiplied in our lives by receiving Knowledge of Him and all things that pertain unto Life, Godlikeness, come forth in us as a result of piling Word upon Word even to the place where His Divine nature takes over our mortal beings. That is what I mean by a living and active Word. And that is why the almost Christian is living in such a miserable state. Because his actions in his body are not based upon Revelation which is alive, but fear which has a torment and penalty. In [ 1 John 4: 16-18] we read, God is love. Whosoever lives in love lives in God, and God in Him. ( and don't ever forget that He is the Word.) In this way, love is made complete and mature among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because as He is, so are we in this world! There is no fear in Love, but perfect and complete love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The One who fears has not been made mature through love.

Martin Luther said in His Preface to the Book of Romans, God judges according to what is at the bottom of the heart, and for this reason, His law makes its demands on the inmost heart and cannot be satisfied with works, but rather punishes works that are done otherwise than from the bottom of the heart, as hypocrisy and lies. No one in his works is a doer of the law, for even though you might keep the law outwardly, with works, from fear of punishment or love or reward, nevertheless, you do all this without willingness and pleasure, and without love for the law, but rather with unwillingness, under compulsion: and you would rather do otherwise, if the law were not there. The conclusion is that at the bottom of your heart you hate the law. What matter, then, that you teach others not to steal, if you are a thief at heart, and would gladly be one outwardly, if you dared? For this reason he Paul says in Romans 7 that the law is spiritual, For if the law were for the body, it could be satisfied with works; but since it is spiritual, no one can satisfy it, unless all that you do is done from the bottom of your heart. But such a heart is given only by God's Spirit, so that he acquires a desire for the law in his heart, and henceforth does nothing out of fear and compulsion, but everything out of a willing heart. Where that spirit is not in the heart, there sin remains, and displeasure with the law, and enmity toward it; though the law is good and just and holy.

To fulfill the law, however is to do it's works with pleasure and love, and to live a godly and good life of one's own accord, without compulsion of the law. This pleasure and love for the law is put into the heart by the Holy Ghost through Faith in the work of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Faith is not that human notion and dream that some hold for faith, where because they simply say "I believe" that they hold true faith. Faith, however, is a Divine work in us. It changes us and makes us to be born anew of God. It kills the old Adam and makes us altogether different men, in heart and spirit and mind and powers, and it brings with it the Holy Spirit. Oh, it is a living, busy, active, mighty thing, this faith; and so it is impossible for it not to do good works incessantly. It does not ask whether there are good works to do, but before the question rises; it has already done them, and is always at the doing of them. Faith is a living, daring confidence in God's Grace, so sure and certain that a man would stake his life on it a thousand times. It fills a man's heart with joy and makes a man happy in dealing with God and all His Creation.

Let's bow our heads in prayer.