God’s Only Provided Place of Worship # 116

Brian Kocourek, February 7, 1996

The Conditions of the Mind

Sunday morning 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.

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. when he said, "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."

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 [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. Lest his works be exposed for what they are.

People do not turn down the Truth because they don't know what it says, they turn down because of what the Word shows them about themselves. Look, in [John 10:32] Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. These men didn't complain about the works of God, but it was His Doctrine that they could not take. So it is not that they turn it down from an ignorance of what it says, for they must know what it says in order to turn it down. The thing of it is, although they know what it says, they do not really understand what it says. So this knowledge that they have is not a complete knowledge, as thought they know, but it is a knowledge based upon misconception and wrong understanding.

'A DECEIVED CHURCH' "But as Israel was bound by their Kings that they could not follow the real King; and the real King, when He came, they didn't recognize Him. So is it today, oh, Lord. The King of Glory has appeared in the form of the Holy Ghost and Lord, They don't know it. They don't recognize it. They're so organized so tight, that they do not understand it, because It's not in their organization. Lord this is a work of the devil that's done this to the people. May the Samson of God, may the True in heart, Those who are longing and crying and pleading and holding on, may they stay with It, Lord, until this new crop grows out. Until there comes forth a joy in Zion, and there comes forth a group that can recognize and understand. That can see the Messiah and the hidden power that's hid from the world, that they will not understand now. Grant, Lord, that they'll see this, for we ask It in Jesus name, a-man."

So you see back when he was preaching this Message the people were blinded by their organizations. But we are promised that it will not always be so. That one day there will rise up a new crop that will believe and understand that God has come down. And when this new crop grows up there will come forth a joy in Zion and the hidden power of God that is hid from the world will take over the Bride and as she is changed in her thinking first, she will then be changed in her body, and readied for the going home.

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.

[ 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."

Now, as you see we are dealing with the condition of the mind here. God is speaking about a people who will have His mind and He knows their mind, even to the point that before we even open our mouth and move our lips to speak, He will already be in the process of bringing to pass the desires of our heart. That is why we read in [ 2 Thess 1: 10] that the very mind of God will come into the Elect at the end-time. God wants us to see Him as He really is and there is know way we can do this without seeing Him in His Word.

In [ 1 John 3: 2] we are told that it is not a matter of us becoming what we aren't. We are already Sons, and because we are Sons we are to be like our Father, even to the point that the same world order that did not receive Him will not receive you as well, so you might as well get used to it. But notice, we are told that when we see Him at His Appearing, we shall be like Him, for in the seeing Him, something happens to us that brings us into the same image.

In [ 1 Cor 13: 12] We read that one day we shall see Him face to face and when we do we shall know even as we are known. Now the thing of it is, is that we are also told that we do not know Him after the flesh. [ 2 Cor 5: 16] here we find that it is not the flesh that we really know any one, although there was a time when we knew Christ after the flesh, but from henceforth we know Him not in that capacity anymore. So then in what way will we know Him. And if we can't see Him in the Flesh, then how do we see Him in order to know Him? [ 2 Cor 3: 18] Tells us that when we look into the mirror of the Word, it is here that we will see Him. And then when we see Him in the Word, we shall become like Him and be changed from Glory to Glory and from Image to Image. Now, remember this Glory is the Greek Word Doxa which is the opinion, Assessment and Judgment of God Himself. So what we are seeing is the very thoughts of God in His Word. And when we look into this Word, we are staring into the face of God Himself. For a man's thoughts are expressed through His mouth and His mouth is part of His face. So when you are looking into the Word of God, you are actually looking into the face of God even though you can't see Him. And remember this, know man has ever seen the Face of God because He is a Spirit, but Jesus said, "when you see me, you see the Father."

And so what we are looking at is a mental condition or revelation that comes into the Elect by the Holy Ghost Himself. In [Ephesians 1: 17] it is called the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation in the Knowledge of Him. In [ 1 John 2: 19 - 21] we see that God has anointed us to understand His Word. Again, in verse 27 that it is this anointing that teaches us. Now what is this anointing that has so much to do with the mind? The word here is Chrisma and comes from the root word Chrio, which is used on God's own Spirit in the form of an anointing which we find was even upon Christ Himself as we see in [ Luke 4: 18 & Acts 10: 38]. In [ 2 Cor 1: 21] We are told that only God Himself can give us this Anointing, and in [Hebrews 1: 19] we see that it is this Same God Who is our Father as well as Jesus Father Who actually anointed Jesus as well. That is why we are told in [ 1 Peter 1: 13] that we are to gird up the loins of our mind at the Revelation of Jesus Christ. And in [ 1 Cor 1: 8] we are told that the reason for this is so we do not come behind in any spiritual understanding at the Revelation or Unveiling of Christ.

Paul said in [ 1 Thess 4: 13] That he would not want us to be ignorant as others are who have no hope.

So, we see that it is ignorance that breeds despair and a lack of Hope. Because, as Paul said, in [ 1 Cor 13: 13] that hope comes out of Revelation and brings forth Love which is an outward manifestation of the hope we have due to the Revelation we possess. But it all starts in the mind. Brother Branham said it starts with a mental faith which is the Word of God presented to our minds. Then when it moves down into our soul it becomes a Spiritual Revelation which can never be moved. Then you know that you have it. That is why brother Branham began this great sermon by saying,

Þ GOD'S.PROVIDED.PLACE.WORSHIP - SHP.LA - V-7 N-4 - 65-1128.1M I believe the church is beginning to hear the Message, and beginning to understand. But friends, listen, we've got to lay in the Presence of the Son, we've got to be ripened. Our--our faith isn't ripe. Intellectually we're hearing the Message that God has give us, and seeing the signs that He showed us, and proving it by the Bible as that; but, oh, how the church needs to lay in His Presence till it tenders up in the heart, gets sweet in the Spirit so that it can bathe down. Sometimes in speaking the Message, you get harsh, have to break it in like that, because you've got to clinch a nail to make it hold. But when the Church once gets It, the Elected is called out and separated (then in the Presence of God), I know it'll be something like the people was there when it takes its Rapture.

So we see that it must first come to our intellect first and then it will move on down into our heart and soul and take over the very ambitions and desires of your heart. That's why the scripture tells us, "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." In [ Luke 6: 45] we find the Scripture tell us that our hearts will only reflect the real treasure that lays inside and it will show in what we talk about, and as the Indian Chief said, "the things that I feed the most is what's a winning." And thus will also with God's Elect and also the world as well. What you are feeding upon will reflect your Eternal destination. God's Elect will hold His Word as their treasure, and the church world will hold their Creeds as their treasure. Now let's read the next PP. Of Brother Branham's Message here and see how this all ties together.

Þ [ 289] Seeing, Lord, that the mental conditions, the nervous age that the people's living in, is driving them out of their minds; to exactly fulfill what the Scripture said and promised, the great hideous things would come upon the earth; like locusts, to haunt the women that cut their hair, they'll have long hair like a woman. And different hideous sights that they'll be able to see, Lord, in that mental, deluded condition they're in, and then screaming for the rocks and the mountains. Women who would mother dogs and cats, and not raise children to honor You. Those that You did give children to and they did conceive them, turn them loose on the streets to do as they want. No wonder You said, Lord, when You were going to the cross, "Then they'll begin to cry for the rocks and the mountains to fall on them."

Now, as we have been stating here tonight, God is here dealing with the mind. But if the mind reject what He is here to do for our mind in the realm of a change of the mind, then there is nothing left but for Him to turn us over to a reprobate mind concering the truth and this will open the peoples minds to the blast that is coming. In [Acts 3: 19-23] we see that it is repentance that is to bring us to the place of conversion. Now this conversion is in response to the Repentance which is a change of the mind. Also we saw in [ Mark 4: 12] That if the people could hear and understand with their mind, then Gos would be obligated to have to convert them which means to bring them back. But if they did not have their source in God then how can hHe bring them back to Himself? And that is what redemption is all about. Redeem means to buy back, or to bring back to it's original condition. [ John 12: 35 - 41]

Þ [Isaiah 44: 22]

Þ [ Isaiah 55: 11]

Þ [ Jer 24: 7]

Þ [ Mal 3: 7a] Let's bow our hearts in prayer.