God’s Only Provided Place of Worship # 115

Brian Kocourek, February 4, 1996

He That Knoweth God Heareth Us

Wednesday night we spoke from PP. [288] of God's Only Provided Place of Worship where brother Branham said, ...

[288] Dear God, we thank You that we have had our spiritual diet. We thank You, Lord, that the vitamin of the Word grows sons of God. It does not affect on any other type of character, only on sons and daughters of God. So we thank You for It. And we pray, God, that we will profit therewith, that we will not only thank Thee. We thank You for It, but may we use the strength to try to (by Love) persuade people to believe in our God; the wayward, the sinners, the women, the man, the boys, the girls, in this age.

We focused our thoughts on this statement here that the Word of God is only meant to have a certain effect upon certain types of people. Brother Branham was just paraphrasing Jesus when he says, "the vitamin of the Word grows sons of God. It does not affect on any other type of character, only on sons and daughters of God." So then we should be thankful that the Word of God is having an affect upon us and is changing us, for if we sit under this Word and see no change taking place then it is obvious that this Word is not for us and it is doing us no good. In fact, brother Branham said, if you are not going forward then you are going backward, because you can not stay in the same condition under this Word. If you are sitting under a true Five Fold Ministry that is truly reflecting this Message correctly, then you can't help but move forward in this Word. Now, I know people who have sat under other ministries in this Message and they have felt like they were not moving on with the Word. It is because they are not being fed the Bread of Life. For the Word of the Hour, The True Word of the Hour can't help but lead you further into a heart felt love and desire for more of the Word. But if you don't feel like eating, there is one of two reasons for it. Either you are being fed stale bread which is the bread for another day, or else you are not meant to hear and so as Jesus said in [ Matthew 13: 10-17] In seeing you will not se and in hearing you will not hear nor will you understand and perceive. And if this is the case then I feel real sorry for you., because the Seed of God will be filled. Jesus said, He that hungers and thirsts for Righteousness (which is Right-wise-ness, or correct Truth), shall be filled! As we said Wednesday night, the Word is a light unto our path, and we must walk in it. It is not an option that we have. Either we are of the Truth or we are not.

In [John 3: 21] we read, He that doeth Truth cometh to the Light, that his deeds may be made manifest that they have their source in God." In [ Ephesians 5: 13] we also read, But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever make manifest is Light. Now this word reproved is a word that means chastened. The light is what brings rebuke and correction. That reminds me of the story I told Wednesday night in closing. There was a Navy vessel that that was headed in a certain course and they saw another light headed right in the same path. The Navy Captain got on the radio and said, This is a navy Ship you are in our path, turn out of the way. And the reply came back , you turn out of the way. Then the Captain got angry and said, This is the U.S. Navy, you are in our path, turn out of the way! And the voice replied you turn out of the way! Then the Captain got very angry and said, This is a U.S. Aircraft Carrier, unless you wish to be destroyed, turn out of the way now! And the Voice replied, This is the Light house, you had better turn out of the way yourself.

In [ John 16:8] this word reprove speaks of exposing. It is speaking of the Holy Spirit as the Comforter, when He comes into a person He will expose their sin which is their unbelief, [7-8] Nevertheless, I tell you the Truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you. And when He is come, He will reprove or convict or expose the world of sin which is unbelief, and of right-wise-ness, and of judgment:" so here we se this word for reprove is to expose and rebuke and convict.

We also see in [ 1 Corinthians 14: 24 ] that it is translated for the word convinced. If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad? But if all prophecy, ( if discernment is going forth and future events are being declared) and one that believeth not, or one that is unlearned come sin, he is convinced of all, and he is judged of all: and thus are the secrets of His heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a Truth. So we see by this illustration that this word also means to convince or to bring conviction.

So we see then, that this reproving by the Light which we see in Ephesians is an exposing and showing the error to those who come into the light. But what about those who turn down the Light. What about them? If they don't come to the Light, then does this mean they will never be shown the error of their way? But, Oh contraire! The reason they do not come to the Light is because they do not want to be shown that they are wrong in their thinking. And so they avoid the Light in order to avoid this conviction that comes from coming to the truth.

Þ If we go back to [John 3: 20] we see that those who are unbelievers will not come to the Light, and we find out why! For every one that doeth evil hateth the Light, neither will come to the Light, lest his deeds should be reproved. ( That is lest his deeds or his works, should be exposed for what they are, and that is rotten in the eyes of God). Oh, they don't like that kind of talk, but that is exactly what this scripture is telling us here. So we see the motive of those who will not come to the Light is because they are quite content with what they have. They might say they are searching, but when you show them the Truth and they do not come to it, it is because they really deep down inside do not want the truth, because they do not want to know what filthy rotten scum they really are.

Þ Hey! Let's face it, [ Isaiah 64:6 ] we read, "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags," ( And that's not just some old cloth either, look it up in the Hebrew, that's menstrual rags). And that is what God thinks of our own righteousness. It stinks! Period, and no pun intended.

Þ But getting back to [John 3: 20] we see that those who are considered evil do not want to be convinced that they are wrong, and so they will not come around to where the Light is because they know that it's right. That's why John could be so bold as to say in [ 1 John 4: 6] we are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of error." How then do we know the Spirit of Truth verses the Spirit of error? Because those who are of the truth cometh to the Light and will hear those who are preaching the Truth.

That's why I just sit back and watch, because there is only a handful of us that have been preaching Christ's Presence since the very beginning. Brother Vayle and brother Neville were the only ones that understood the difference between the Appearing and the Coming back in the Sixties beside brother Branham of course. And some of us who have been teaching His Presence since the seventies, were mocked and scorned and considered way out in left field among the mainstream Message people, but look at what is happening. They are claiming to believe it to a degree now, because they know it is the truth and they can no longer hold out because their people are going for the oil with or without them. But now they say that they have the right spirit to go along with the doctrine and we do not. That's the same argument they used of John the Baptist and Jesus and Paul and Peter and John and Irenaeus and Polycarp and Justin Martyr and Martin Luther and even Wesley.

They would not let Wesley preach in their churches because he condemned them for holding to their own unbelief instead of repenting and changing their minds and receiving the mind of Christ. Every Man of God whether prophet or wise man or simply a sage, was considered a crank and a hard nosed, hook nosed Jew for their strong stand for God's Word. And if you do not take a strong stand for this Word it shows that your spirit is not the same as every other person in Scripture who was filled with the Word and Spirit of God. And so, of course when Brother Branham tells us in PP. [288] that there is a certain Spiritual diet we are to eat and that this Word contains certain Spiritual vitamins that are meant to bring forth a certain effect in the Sons and Daughters of God. He also let's us know that these Spiritual vitamins will only have this effect upon God's true Sons and Daughters, and no one else.

Þ In [ Isaiah 65:2 ] God said, " I have spread out My hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts. And So we see God using an illustration of how He held out His hands like one nailed to the cross, and they would not accept His way of salvation because they had a better way, they thought, one which was simply a works program which God said I hate. He said, they walk in a way that is not good, after their own thoughts. So this let's you know that we could never please God with our own thinking.

Þ [ Isaiah 55: 6-8] Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near, ( that's His Presence). Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him turn unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, Saith the Lord. For as the Heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. 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: 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."

Þ [288] Dear God, we thank You that we have had our spiritual diet. We thank You, Lord, that the vitamin of the Word grows sons of God. It does not affect on any other type of character, only on sons and daughters of God. So we thank You for It. And we pray, God, that we will profit therewith, that we will not only thank Thee. We thank You for It, but may we use the strength to try to (by Love) persuade people to believe in our God; the wayward, the sinners, the women, the man, the boys, the girls, in this age.

Now, I want you to notice that the Word of God is only meant to have a certain effect upon certain types of people. Brother Branham is just paraphrasing Jesus when he says, "the vitamin of the Word grows sons of God. It does not affect on any other type of character, only on sons and daughters of God." So then we must be a thankful people that the Word of God is having an affect upon us and is changing us, for if we can sit under this Word and have no change take place then it is obvious that this Word is not for us and it is doing us no good. In fact, as brother Branham so many times says, if you are not going forward then you are going backward, because you can not stay in the same condition under this Word. Now let's examine this thought of the Word of God and it's affect on only certain kinds of people.

Þ [ Matt 13: 10 ] (Read) And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. Now, who is this them that He is speaking of here?

Þ [ Mark 4: 11] And He said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the Mystery if the Kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables. And the word here for without is the Greek word EXO which we get our word exit from. Those out side the door. As we see in [Rev 3: 20] Jesus Himself standing outside of the Church in this case. But I don't want to be outside of where He is, do you? And if His Presence is here, then I want to be in Him, and He is The Word for the hour.

Þ [ Matt 13: 11-17 ] For whosoever hath to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he { thinks he hath]. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which Saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people's heart is waxed gross, and [their] ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed;

(It says, they closed their own eyes to the truth. So then this is a willful ignorance) lest at any time they should see with [their] eyes, and hear with [their] ears, and should understand with [their] heart, and should be converted,( so we see to understand with the heart brings conversion) and I should heal them. But blessed [are] your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. ( so we can see that we are made in a very special way as to be able to see and hear and understand with our hearts). Now I want you to notice that this closing of the eyes is what they have done. They can't blame this on God. This is what they done to themselves because they refuse to be brought to the Light in order to receive a change of the mind. You can't even get them to admit that they were ever wrong in what they believed. I guess they press so hard to believe in their own vindication, that they will never admit that they have been in error and did not understand the Message until Brother Vayle brought out the finer points of it to them. They secretly listen to his tapes and steal his thoughts and preach them as though it is their own at the same time denying to their own people that they have anything to do with Brother Vayle and those associated with him. But that's OK. Years ago I had a brother visit me because he wanted to know about the Parousia of Christ. I had put together a booklet of about 100 pages or so on things brother Branham had said about it, and this brother called me and asked if he could come and visit me to discuss this. A year or two later he wrote a book about this Presence of Christ among us and in it he claimed that he received this revelation while out in the wilderness alone with God. Now I will admit that our home was set back from the road and my back yard looked like a wilderness, but I am not God. Now there are people in this message that believe they are God. I heard one boy when he was asked what the bride is after hearing one minister preach that the Fullness of the Godhead was now in the Bride, the young man responded by saying that the Bride is God. Since when is the lesser, the greater. Since when does the wife become the husband just because she receives his seed. Since when has a spoonful become the whole ocean. They don't even understand what brother Branham was talking about.

Þ We see this Willful ignorance is a characteristic of the people at the time of the Parousia of Christ. In [ 2 peter 3: 1-5] we find the text that Brother Branham used for his Message on the Rapture. "This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in [both] which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as [they were] from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:

Now, I want you to notice that Peter was dealing with the minds of the people when he wrote this Epistle. He wanted to stir up the minds of the people by bringing to their remembrance what the prophets had spoken pertaining to the Parousia or Presence of Christ. He was aiming at bringing forth in the people a certain mind set. But notice the scoffers. And what were they scoffing at? The Parousia of Christ? To them it was just a doctrine, something to be made light of. But Peter tells us that this is a willful ignorance because they should know that God does all things by His Word, and if so, then the Presence of Christ, His Parousia has to do with His Word. Peter says they are so caught up into their own lusts which means their own thoughts about how it should be, that they will completely miss Him when he does come. And hasn't this come to pass exactly in this hour? Men have called this Presence of God Puke, and garbage and all manner of terrible names and yet they say we have the wrong spirit? It shows that they are liberal in their thinking because the liberal can call the conservative all manner of names and say the conservative is hard hearted but yet they can blatantly lie and steal and cheat on their wives and swindle the people out of millions, but praise God, they have feelings for the people. I'll say they do, they feel for their money, and their women and anything else they can get their hands on. I guess you can say they do have feelings.