The Masterpiece 103
Being Thankful
December 31st, 2006
Brian Kocourek
This morning I would like to continue with the same
paragraph we read last week as there is more in that paragraph that is worth
looking into. So let’s again turn in our Booklets the Masterpiece and we shall
read from paragraph 200 of Brother Branham’s sermon called The Masterpiece.
THE
MASTERPIECE 64-0705 200 “Oh,
Church of the living God, bow your hearts and yourselves before God. These things are true. I know that it sounds like that as such a great a thing
as that would be, would be so spread out over the nations; it never was. He doesn't change His
way. Just be thankful, Church, be
thankful that you are where you are today if you're in Christ. Because, you
see, now, and remember, all that Life
will be gathered right into the Grain for the resurrection, but the stalk
must be burned, the rest of it. The husk and all must be destroyed, and
it will be. Don't trust in your, them denominations. You stay in the Word, the Life, God and His Masterpiece. Then what
is it in the millennium? Christ and His
Bride, back in the garden of the millennium. Amen.
Now this morning, we will look at several thoughts
here that brother Branham is bringing to our attention.
I would like to take three points from the remaining
thoughts in this paragraph. Notice he says, “I know that it sounds like that as such a great a thing as that would be so spread
out over the nations; it never was.
He doesn't change His way. (So we shall call this point number one
for this message today). Now, you would think that with such a great thing as what
God did in this hour, the very fact that God Himself, the Creator of the heaven
and earth and the entire Universe has come down to visit mankind, and you would
think that the whole world would have wanted to partake of this great event,
and worship the God of Truth in Spirit and Truth. But the fact is that they
were not and are not interested. And the Bible fact is that mankind has never
been interested in God’s Presence. Throughout the history of man, when God Himself
has come down to visit mankind, the people in every generation He has chosen to
visit us, man has always missed Him because they could not accept the way in
which God chose to come, or the way in which God chose to represent Himself.
The apostle Paul told us this in 1 Corinthians 2:6 Howbeit
we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: (now, these perfect
one that Paul is speaking of here are not perfect as though in their flesh they
have reached perfection, but the Greek word speaks of morally and mentally
mature. Morally mature in that they have their bodies under subjection to their
Minds, and mentally mature in that they have submitted their thinking or
thought process to God’s Perfect Revealed Word. Then Paul continues saying, ) yet not the wisdom
of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
(so Paul is distinguishing here
the difference between the wisdom from above and the wisdom of man. Because
after all, God told us in His Word that His Thoughts are not our thoughts.
Isaiah 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, (That means his way of
life or his course of action) and the un-righteous man his thoughts (now,
unrighteous is un-right-wiseness, and a man that is un-rightly wise ought to forsake
his un-rightly wise thoughts because after all they are un-right, or not right
anyway. So he says, let the wicked forsake his wicked way of life, and let the
man who does not think correctly forsake his wrong way of thinking,) and let him return
unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will
abundantly pardon.
You know, Christianity
so called has this very problem, and men in general have this problem. Proverbs 16: 25 tells us, There is a way that seemeth right unto a man,
(There is a course of life that seems right unto men) but the end thereof are the ways of death. And
yet men will not willingly take the course of death. That is what is so strange
about men. They choose death over life because they think they are actually
choosing life. But because of their pride they will turn down Truth when it
presents itself. And pride cometh before
a fall, always. Man has tried to save Himself for countless generations and
always ends up missing the mark. You would think that they would finally get it
and be smart enough to decide to let go and let God, but they won’t, because
they can’t.
8 For my thoughts are
not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,
saith the LORD. 9 For as
the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts. Now, that mean that our ways are pretty low when it
comes down to a comparison between God’s ways and your own thinking.
10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow
from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it
bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 11 So shall my Word be that goeth forth out of
my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I
sent it.
Now, in getting back to 1 Corinthians 2:7 The Apostle Paul says, But
we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the
hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the
world unto our glory: 8 Which none of the princes of
this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But as it
is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the
heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 10 But God hath revealed them
unto us by his Spirit: for The Spirit (God’s Holy Spirit) searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of
God. 11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of
man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit
of God knoweth. 12 Now we have received, not the
spirit of the world, but The Spirit
which is of God (or out
from God); that we might know(Look God gives
us of His spirit for one purpose and that is that we might know) the things that are
freely given to us of God. 13 Which things also we
speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost
teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But
the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are
foolishness unto him: neither can he know them,
because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he
that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 16 For who
hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind
of Christ.
Notice the Apostle Paul is saying here just exactly what Brother Branham
is telling us in paragraph 200 of The
Masterpiece, where he said, “I
know that it sounds like that as such a
great a thing as that would be, would be so spread out over the nations; it never was. He doesn't change His
way.”
So we see that men miss what God does because they are natural and have
not the Spirit of God in them. Then when they miss the Presence of God, the
Appearing before the Coming, when they not only miss it, but reject it when it
is made known to them, it is because they have not the Spirit of God in them,
and if they have not the Spirit of God in them, then they are not born again.
It matters not how much works they do in his name, of Jesus told us that “many shall come in
my name and say, ‘Have we not done many mighty works’ and in thy name cast out
devils?’ and I will say unto them, “depart from me, ye that work iniquity, I
never knew you.” That’s Matthew 7
Now, brother Branham taught us that there are two ways in which man
misses God when He comes. The first way is what he said in his sermon God in simplicity 63-0317M P:72 “Many Miss
Him by the way that He reveals Himself, for He is so great, yet hides Himself
in simplicity to make Hisself known to
the least. See? Don't try to get the great, because he goes over the top of
it; but listen to the simplicity of God,
and then you find God right here in the simple way. High-polished worldly wisdom,
educated, always misses Him. Now, I'm not here... And I know there's school
teachers, two or three that I know of setting in here; and I'm not here to
contradict school and education and try to support illiteracy; I'm not here for
that. But what it is, the people have so placed so much upon that, until
they're... Even in the seminaries and so forth they're missing the very thing
that God has put before them.
So we see that they miss God because of the simple way in which he
reveals Himself. They could not imagine
that the God of Heaven would bring forth a son in a stable, over a manure pile.
God so hides Himself from the wise and prudent and reveals Himself unto babes
such as will learn. We see this in both the Gospel of Matthew and Luke.
Luke 10: 21
In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O
Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto
babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.
Matthew
11: 25 At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father,
Lord of heaven and earth, because thou
hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto
babes.
And from God in simplicity 63-0317M P:65 Brother
Branham tells us the other way in which men fail to recognize when God is on
the scene. “It
is strange to think how that God does such a thing as that. God will hide
Himself in something so simple that'll cause the wise to miss it a million
miles and then turn right back around in that, some simple thing in the
simplicity of His way of working and reveal Hisself right out again. I thought
it made a text that we might study this before we go into the great teachings
of the Seven Seals. Many miss Him by the
way He reveals Himself. Now, man has
their own ideas of what God ought to be and what God is going to do; and as
I have made the old statement many times that man still remains man. Man is
always giving God praise for what He did do, and always looking forward to what
He will do, and ignoring what He's doing. See, see?
So we see that man misses Him because he comes in a
way that they are not looking for him to come. And that is because they are too
proud in their own minds to think that God could come in a way that is not a
way they have chosen for Him to come. So, in other words, man rejects God
because He does not come the way they think He ought to come. Well, that is
because they do not know God’s ways. He said His ways are not our ways, and His
thoughts are higher than our thoughts. So if man would just humble himself and
realize that he doesn’t have it all figured out, then perhaps he would be open
to receive God in whatever way that God chooses to reveal Himself.
Therefore that leads us to point number two, which is
what brother Branham said, so “Just be thankful, Church. Be thankful that you are where you are today if you're in Christ.
Because, you see now, and remember, all
that Life will be gathered right into the Grain for the resurrection,
The Apostle Paul said
the same thing in 2 Thessalonians 2: 13 “But we are bound to give thanks always to God
for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning
chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the
truth:”
Hebrews 13:
15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God
continually, that is, the fruit of our
lips giving thanks to his name.
1
Thessalonians 5: 18 In
every thing give thanks: for this
is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
1
Thessalonians 1: 2 We give thanks to God always for you all,
making mention of you in our prayers;
Colossians
3: 17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of
the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and
the Father by him.
Colossians
1: 12 Giving thanks unto the Father,
which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in
light:
Colossians
1: 3 We give thanks to God and the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
Ephesians
5: 20 Giving thanks always for all
things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
Ephesians
1: 16 Cease not to give thanks for
you, making mention of you in my prayers;
Romans 16:
4 Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I
give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.
Revelation
11: 17 Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art,
and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and
hast reigned.
1 Timothy
2: 1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications,
prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
Ephesians
5: 4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which
are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
1 Corinthians
14: 16 Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that
occupied the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he
understandeth not what thou sayest?
Luke 17: 16 And fell down on his face at
his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.
Revelation
4: 9 And when those beasts give
glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever
and ever,
1
Corinthians 10:25 Whatsoever
is sold in the shambles, that eat, asking no question
for conscience sake: (now, can anyone tell me what this word
shambles means? It was translated from the Greek word Makellum and means the
butchers stall or meat market. So Paul is telling us that offenses may come
because of what you eat. But he said, do not be an in your face type of person.
Be considerate to the conscience of those who are viewing your behavior. And he
is saying, don’t ask questions concerning what you are eating. Because if you
eat meat that was set before idols, and you do not know it, then it is nothing
to worry about, but if others point it out to you concerning the meat you are
eating, and say it is wrong for you to eat it, or they believe it is wrong for
you to eat it, then don’t eat it to avoid conflict. In other words, don’t get
in a spat over what you eat or do not eat. I know of churches who have split
over the use of sugar and honey. Some said you sugar is ok, and others said you
should not eat sugar, and over health issues the church was split. That is
wrong when that happens. When that happens it is because the people are not
prayed up and they have lost some of that anointing oil of God in their life to
keep them sweet and tender in their hearts.
The Apostle Paul goes
on to say) 26 For
the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof. 27 If any of them that believe not bid you to a feast, and ye be disposed to go; whatsoever is set
before you, eat, asking no question for conscience sake. 28 But
if any man say unto you, This is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat not for his sake that shewed it,
and for conscience sake: for the
earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof: 29 Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other: for why is my liberty judged of another man's
conscience? 30 For if I by grace be a partaker, why am I
evil spoken of for that for which I give thanks? 31 Whether
therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Now, here is the key to what the Apostle Paul has
been teaching us…
32 Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor
to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: In other words, if you are focused on God then you won’t be focused on
others, and what they eat or do not eat.
When we begin to judge others for what they eat, we
are loosing our focus on Christ. Some people like fish and others don’t. Some
like food raw and others wouldn’t think of eating food raw. But what we eat has
nothing to do with our position in Christ or our state or status in Christ.
Right now there is brewing a controversy concerning
whether we should eat meats anymore because of what man has done to the feed.
And you know brother Branham addressed that 42 years ago in a sermon called He cares do you
care? Which He preached July 21st, 1963. Beginning at
paragraph 61
he said, Now, what has science
brought to us? Now, you may be shocked just for a moment. Science has brought to us sickness, death, and diseases. Now, you've
only been taught one side of the picture. But there's two sides to it. You say,
"Science has invented this, that, and the other." Well, we're going
to grant you that privilege. But let's look at the other side. Science has
brought us sickness. Science has brought us diseases, death. Look. Scientific hybreeding has brought death to
the generation, of foods and things. It's got the people so soft and so,
until the men and women are made up out of a bunch of muck, and there's no
structure in it. It's become a bunch of soft jellyfish. They can't live without
an air conditioner; they perish. They can't play a baseball game. If one of
them gets tapped somewhere, it kills him in the boxing rings and what more. And
it's so soft till men and women, well, it's perverting them.
62
And they're injecting this hybrid
into cattle which has come back
into mankind now, according to science themselves, and is making perversions
out of them. Because when a cow is
hybrid, or any food is hybrid, that food makes blood cell, and blood cell is
your life. See what it's done? And then,
into meat, they inject these here injections into the meat, and now it's proved
that these injections take effect upon the human race. Scientific...They spray the fields with this DDT, I
seen the other day, and now we got eight hundred sick people in this community
from eating eggs. Do you remember years ago when I first, when we had the
little bitty structure here, and I was prophesying, and said, "It shall
come to pass in the last days, don't live in a valley and don't eat eggs." I've got it on my
book. I thought there was something about that, and I went and looked at it.
"Don't eat eggs." That was
way back in 1933. Eggs has got something
in them now, and I see where science says that a man over fifty years old
should never eat an egg, because it's the hardest thing on a heart that can be
eaten. Diseases...
63 Milk, it used to be our most
balanced diet was milk. The doctors will tell you, "Stay away from
it." It's making sinus and
everything else. It's the same human being that used to drink it and live
for years and never know sinus, but the
interbreeding and so forth has broke down the structure of the human being till
it's nothing but a bunch of muck, a ball of sickness. What done it?
Science. Look. It's caused the genes between the man and the woman to weaken,
the physical weakness of the human
being through the genes, and the increase of spastic children is around thirty percent. Mongoloid is on the great climb. And these weakness of interbreeding of the foods that we are eating for
life, is weakening the body, which
causes cancer, mental troubles, and
all kinds of diseases is setting in upon
the human body because its weakness. Scientific, destroying themselves,
getting away from God's plan... He said, "Let every seed bring forth of
its kind." See where we're at? I could go on and on; our time's getting
away. But notice, what's that's doing it? Science
has brought death, sickness, and destruction.
64
And I seen the other day, I was talking to my good friend, Doctor Vayle setting
here, that where there's a article that people getting killed by penicillin. It
really isn't the penicillin; it's the
filth that they let get into it when they're manufacturing the penicillin. It's a money-making, greed scheme.
Doctors giving it sometime who don't even know the formula of an aspirin, and
their father sends them away to get a specialist in something another, and
don't know even how to cure a tummy-ache for a kid. But what have we got?
Greed, some pull, or a little something. They don't have hardly anymore of the
old fashion country doctor that used to get down and talk to you and console
you and do everything. They leave God right out of the picture, because they went after their own way.
In order to get God out of the picture, they explained Him plumb away. There we
are.
65
That's what we've done by interbreeding.
You see, the body... What makes a healthy plant, a germ can hardly get to it. It's these hotbed plants, these hybrid
plants you have to keep sprayed all the time. And many of you has read my
message on "Hybrid Religion," keep it sprayed and babied and so
forth. Notice, but the real genuine plant don't have to be sprayed; he's the
original.
66
What makes disease come to the human
body? Is the body... As I'm told by a precious doctor friend of mine, that
I wouldn't want to call his name right now, but he's a very fine brother,
reading to me recently out of a medical journal, a book in his office where he
keeps all these fine books and the latest stuff on medicine. It is weakness.
You notice anybody that's real... You say your body's run down, you take a cold
right quick. What is it? It's the
weakness of your body that produces a mucus out of your glands. And in that
the cold germ beds itself and you got a cold. But if that body was strong, it
would throw away that cold germ; it couldn't touch it. So, you see, when God
constructed a man in the first place, he was immune from any disease. See? But
unbelief and science... Science and education was the first thing that took a
man away from God, and it's still taking him.
67
Just look what cigarettes and drinking, and these stripteases and so forth, has
done to the decline of this generation.
Now, we could take anyone of these issues that brother
Branham is saying here and if we are not careful we could do great damage to
the church with anyone of them, because he also spoke of vaccinations, and he
was 100% right with what he said. I know because I have negotiated vaccine
contracts for the past 10 years. I have studied the subject very thoroughly,
and I have talked to some of the leading scientists in the world on this
subject. Personally, I do not like live
virus vaccines, but I do believe the deadened ones, the a-cellular vaccines,
are very efficacious. That means they work. The problem is not the vaccine, but
as brother Branham said, the impurities which our government allows in the
vaccine. Did you know that the FDA allows up to 5% impurities in all vaccines.
That is what causes autism and violent reactions. It
is not the vaccine itself, but the impurities that our government allows in the
vaccine that does the damage. They allow impurities such as thymeracil, which
is mercury. It is used to preserve multi-dose vials, so when the vial is
opened, it will stay fresh longer. But did you also know that there is more
thymericil in a can of tuna than in the entire first year regimen of vaccines
your child will take? So you see, it is
not just the vaccine manufacturers, it is the FDA itself that allows these
things. Why? As brother Branham said, there is money to be made. So for the
love of money people die from these pollutants.
You see, the thymericil allows doctors to keep the
vaccine longer in the refrigerator, and they save money that way. Did you know
that almost every vaccine has a government surcharge for those victims who have
become poisoned or even die as a result of the vaccine. The surcharge is
0.75cents per antigen.
But the process they use to make the vaccine has a lot
to do with the amount of impurities that are found in the vaccines. And it is all to make a dollar or save a
dollar.
Now, just because I do not believe in vaccinating my
own children does not mean that I have a right to stop others from vaccinating
theirs. The Japanese do not believe in vaccinating children until at least 2
years of age when it has developed a good immune system. But American medicine
disagrees. And so does European medicine.
Medicine changes every few generations any how, so hopefully
American medicine will swing into the electronic therapies that are being
discovered more and more. But I am not here to preach on what kind of medicine
is best. What I am trying to say is that we can take any one of these
statements that brother Branham said, and if we are not careful, we will find
that there is no safe food today.
We look at the beef industry and we see they feed the
livestock ground up cow parts, and we now have mad cow disease that is
threatening to become the next pandemic.
So you say, then I will eat chicken. Well, the poultry
industry is doing the same thing. They are feeding chickens ground up feathers
and chicken bones and chicken beaks, until they have made the cattle and poultry
into cannibals. And that is changing the dynamics of their meat. The meat is
becoming laced with animal pryons which have RNA strands that are deadly, and
can not be killed even by high temperatures.
Then what about fish? There is enough mercury
contamination in the sea that in order to find healthy fish you might have to
raise them yourself. Well, then must I become a vegetarian? Listen, we know the
corn is hybrid and most tomatoes, fruits and vegetables are also hybrid as
well. And brother Branham said that is destroying mankind as well. You say,
well, then I will go to seed savers and buy my own seed, and grow my own food.
I will go organic? Let me tell you something, Organic is a money making scheme,
There is not true organic left, and since there is not minerals left in the
soil, there is nothing in organic food that is any better than the other foods.
And what about acid rain, and the pollutants in the air. All the chemicals in
the air. That falls in the rain and goes into your crops as well.
Did you know the government has been testing for mass
inoculations with these “chem.- trails?” And did you know that those “chem.-trails”
have been tested positive for Hepatitis B which is a venereal disease? How did it get there? Ask You government. They’ve
been testing mass inoculation systems in our atmosphere without your
permission.
So then what can we do? Pray the Lord of the harvest to come quickly
and take you from this pest house. That is what we can do. You can’t eat eggs.
You can’t eat meat, you can’t eat poultry, pork, beef, lamb or wild game. Even
the deer in
So what is a person to do? No beef, no meat, no fish,
no poultry, no pork, no vegetables. Corn and wheat is all hybrid in this
country, and eggs are full of pollutants, and even your water is not as pure as
you may think. As brother Branham said, the world is falling apart, so what can
you do? Starve? I don’t think that is
the answer. But what I do believe is that we need to be careful what we place
in our mouths, and pray as we have never prayed before.
You see the whole world is coming to the point that
the only thing left to do is to burn it all over and start all over again. And
that is precisely what God is about to do. Please don’t get caught up into any
debate whether or not you should eat this, that or the other. Focus on getting
your soul ready for the going home.
Harvest
time 64-1212 P:127 How many got "The Future Home Of The
Bride And Groom," on the tape? See, I brought it out in there. The Lord
gave it to me. I give it on to you as He gives it to me. Look, the first thing,
the world was condemned under Adam's fall from the Word. The preaching of Noah
brought justification, and God baptized the earth with water; then along came
the Son and dropped His Blood upon it to sanctify it, to claim it for His own;
then in the final windup, the renovation
will be fire that will burn every germ, every thing; it'll go for thousands of
miles high in the air. And then what? "I saw a new heaven and a new
earth; first heaven and earth was passed away. And I saw the holy City, the New
Jerusalem descending from God, out of heaven, adorned as a Bride for her husband (See?) coming down upon the earth.
Then God and man...
Spiritual
adoption 56-0923 P:5 I'm
so glad there's a way out. I'm
so glad that we don't have to stay here forever too, aren't you? What would
we do if I had to live in this pest house forever? I'm so glad that there's a
open door. And that's all that the earth is, is just a pest house. Just as soon
as you think we're running all right, then here comes something else along, and
get here, here comes something else. But I'm so glad that there's a way out. So
happy that the Lord Jesus has come and made a way for us, a way of escape.
Christ
is identified the same 64-0415 P:4 We all believe in the coming
of the Lord, that His coming is soon at hand. We believe it's at hand now. We
don't know just what time it'll be that He will arrive. And in view of this, we
want to put forth every effort that we know how to further the Kingdom and get
that last person saved into the Kingdom. And when the last one's saved... There
will not be one extra. It'll just be so many. And when that last one's brought
in, the Body of Christ is completed; the rapture will come. And so, we are
longing for that day to get out of this place where we're at here now, for it's
certainly a pest-house. We know that, full of sickness, disease, and
disappointments, and troubles, and... My, who would want to stay here when
there's such a better place to get to?
Shepherd
of the sheepfold 56-0403 P:8 We're here in this old feeble body, pest
house. But just think, after this
earthly tabernacle is dissolved, we're stepping into one right over there just
beyond the veil. We won't be there long. That's right. We wasn't made for
that one. We wasn't made to be Angels. God's got Angels, but we were created
men and women. So that's the way we must be. And when we're up there in that
celestial body, we're not in our right estate. You see? And then when
And that bring us to point number three, but the stalk must
be burned, the rest of it. The husk and all must be destroyed, and
it will be. Don't trust in your, them denominations. You stay in the
Word, the Life, God and His Masterpiece. Then what is it in the
millennium? Christ and His Bride,
back in the garden of the millennium. Amen.
Let’s bow our heads in prayer.
Dear Father we see that the whole world is full of
pollution until the seed is running out. Not only the God seed is running out
but all seeds are running out, and man has so entered into Satan’s