Masterpiece 64
The Five-Fold
Ministry of a Righteous Mother
May 14th, 2006
Pastor, Brian Kocourek
Good morning everyone, and especially you mothers. As
you are all aware this is Mothers day, and therefore instead of taking a Message
from brother Branham’s Sermon on the Masterpiece, I thought it would be a nice
change to look at what it means to be a mother in honor of this day and the
Mothers in our midst.
Of course the best Scripture we have concerning what
it means to be a Real Mother is from Proverbs 31 that speaks of her as a
virtuous woman. So let’s take that Scripture for our text this morning.
PROVERBS
31:10 ¶ Who can find a virtuous woman?
Now, that is quite a
question he is asking here. Who can find a virtuous woman. You know, I used to think this Scripture was speaking
of a woman of virtue like the English Word virtuous means: 1. Having or showing
virtue, especially moral excellence: led
a virtuous life. 2. Possessing or characterized by chastity; pure.
And so in my ignorance I looked at this Scripture and got a totally
different outlook than what Solomon was talking about. Brother Branham taught
us that virtue in the Bible refers to strength. Jesus said in Mark 5:30 And Jesus,
immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him
about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?
And again in Luke 8: 46 we read, And Jesus said,
Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.
And in Luke Chapter6 and verse 19 we read, And
the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and
healed them all.
In all thee cases the word Dunamis was translated as
virtue and yet this same word is also translated as power and strength. So we
see that what left Jesus was power. Power to heal the sick went from him to
those in need.
And in the Old Testament the word that was translated
for virtuous in speaking of this woman in the book of Proverbs is the Hebrew
word chayil, and it means valor, strength ability,
and power. So we are looking at a woman who is able and strong, not some woman
who is so fragile that she must be attended to herself.
This woman that Solomon asks the question, “who can
find her?” is not some sissified little girl, but she is a warrior, she is full
of valor, which means strong and full of courage. And when you see al of what Solomon ascribes
to her you will see that this woman is not some sickly woman who sits around
all day long sulking and feeling sorry for herself. This is a real woman,
strong, and bold and ready to take on the day.
She is what the women’s liberation can only dream of.
And notice what Solomon says of her. for her price is far above rubies.
And why is that? Because she is multi talented. She
can do so many things, that if she were to be paid for all she does it would be
far greater than the price of rubies.
11
The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no
need of spoil. This man’s got a secure marriage. He doesn’t
have to wonder if she will stay with him, he knows she is faithful and true.
And he safely trusts her, There’s security in this woman, notice it says, The heart of her
husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. This word spoil here means booty or plunder.
In other words he is not afraid that there will be no return on investment with
her. She will always we a treasure.
12
She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. In other words, she has only his best interest at
heart and she will not cause him hurt or distress or misery. Now, that in
itself is worth all the money that rubies could buy. To have a help mate that
is a help mate. One who is there to help, not hinder. Work with not against.
Have his best interests as her best interests. Not self serving, but self-less.
13
She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. And the key word here is not work but willingly,
because willingly shows that her will is to do just that. To work from her own
will.
14
She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar. What does that mean? The merchant ship goes to where
others can not go in order to bring back things of value that others have a
need for. And that is what the Mother who is also a virtuous Lady will do. She
shops till she drops. Now, I know some of you girls might think, “hey that’s
great, I shop till I drop, that must mean I am a virtuous woman. But just hold
on for a moment. Her shopping is not for herself but for those in her household
that are in need.
15
She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a
portion to her maidens. She’s early
to bed and early to rise. And she rises not for private time for self, but
rather in preparing the food for her household for the days meals.
16
She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she
planteth a vineyard. Notice that she knows the value of a dollar,
and she buys the land not for personal gain, but because it will bring forth
more food for her household. And then she herself works that field to produce
for her family. She does the work herself. She’s an energetic woman, a strong
woman, a virtuous woman.
17
She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms. Now, that does not mean that she lifts weights to
strengthen her arms. Nor does it mean that she actually girds her loins as we
would think loins. The word loins was translated from the Hebrew word mothen and speaks of the
waste or small of the back. In other words, she knows that the
work she is doing is very strenuous so she braces herself in the small of her
back to add strength to herself for the work she is to do (In other words, she
thinks ahead for safety because she has a responsibility to her family, and if
she gets hurt she will not be able to care for them as they need her care.) And
so she also strengtheneth
her arms by all the work she does. She does not worry about being a
size three, because she has no time for self-centeredness. She has a family to
take care of and with all the work she does her arms become strong, and she
loses that size three figure.
18
She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night. These two are self explanatory, she stays up late
working on things that need to be done around the home, and she knows that what
she is doing is valuable.
19
She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff. She sews for her family.
20
She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to
the needy. And she is not only concerned
for her own children, but she has an eye for others as well, and she is
concerned for the welfare of al she comes in contact with.
21
She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are
clothed with scarlet. She prepares
her family for all kinds of weather, so she is not afraid even of the snow and
cold.
22
She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; (this means she makes her own bedspreads, and) her clothing is silk and purple. So
she doesn’t wear moomoos and gunny sacks, but she dresses with dignity and she
knows the value of material, and the value of sewing and she even makes her own
clothing that looks elegant and fashionable.
23
Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the
land. This woman who is quite a
leader in her home with her children, is no slouch when it comes to marrying
the right guy. She doesn’t marry just anyone. She marries a leader, a man of
dignity and as an elder he is looked up to and respected.
24
She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; (she
not only makes those things her family has need of but she is also crafty and
understands the market, and even does some merchandizing of her own) and delivereth
girdles (These are belted garments) unto the merchant.
25
Strength and honor are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. She is an optimist, not a pessimist. She looks forward
to the next day, she does not fear tomorrow.
26
She openeth her mouth with wisdom; (She
is skillful in her choice of words) and in her tongue is the law of kindness. (and she
knows how to control her tongue and she makes sure that her words are spiced
with grace and not condemnation. She looks for the good in everyone, and not
the bad. She looks to bring out the best
in everyone and not the worst.)
27
She looketh well to the ways of her household, She looks for the well being of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. She is not lazy, she is not idle.
She has something going on at almost all times.
28
Her children arise up, and call her blessed;(Now this word that blessed was translated from also means happy, so we
see that blessed and happy are synonymous.) her husband also, (her husband also calls her
happy and blessed) and he praiseth her.
29
Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
30
Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she
shall be praised.
31
Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the
gates.
Now, we could stop here and say that we have had a
wonderful talk about a righteous Mother. But this morning I would like to speak
also on the role of a mother. Now, most people do not understand what the role
of a mother is, nor do they appreciate the amount of preparation that goes into
being a good mother.
A mother is the prime molder of every child that comes
into this world. Some take there job seriously while others are total
delinquents when it comes to performing up to their job description.
The qualifications for a real mother, is greater than
the qualifications to be President of the
Did you know that a genuine Mother has a five fold
ministry to her children?
The Apostle Paul said
that in the church there are five Gifts that God has given to the church. And
remember, the church represents a woman. That is what brother Branham said. Recognizing your day 64-0726M P:72 The church represents, is by the woman? The church is a
woman, spiritually speaking. So is the Bride a woman, spiritually speaking.
Second coming of the Lord 57-0417 P:34 If
you want to look it up, look in Galatians 5. You'll find out that that woman
represented the Church, and the Church is an espoused Wife to Christ. And the
tablet that the Church is supposed to wear is found in Galatians 5, which is
love, joy, peace, long-suffering, goodness, meekness, gentleness, patience.
That is the tablet that's supposed to be wore in the Church: brotherly love,
kindness, fellowship. And this woman, when it... It must have been along about
dark that she realized that she had lost one of those coins.
Now, in getting back to our thought that a mother is a
type of the church, we also see that as the church was given a five fold gift
to it, so to the righteous mother has been given a five-fold gift to minister
to her family. The apostle Paul spoke of this five-fold gift of God to the
church and said, first there are Apostles, then prophets, then Evangelists,
Pastors and Teachers. That is the five fold ministry to the Church. And in many
countries throughout the world we see that the Evangelist is also a deacon in a
local church. Why that is so, I do not know, but this is what I have seen
throughout my trips overseas.
Now, the main purpose of the mothers being given a five-fold gift to her family
is to bring the children up to a place of maturity even as the five-fold gift
to the church is to do the same for the family of God.
The Apostle Paul told us the role of the five-fold ministry will do just
that.
EPHESIANS
4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and
some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For
the perfecting of the saints, (The word perfecting means the finishing off or
maturing of the saints) for the work of the ministry, (that’s ) for the edifying (building
up) of the body
of Christ: (And for how long
are we supposed to do this? )13 Until we all come in the unity of the faith, (now,
he did not say until we all come into a unity of faith, but he said until we
all come into the Unity of THE FAITH, because this same Apostle just a few
verses earlier said there is only ONE FAITH and that ONE FAITH is in the ONE
LORD, the Lord Jesus Christ.)
13 Until we all
come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
So you see the purpose of the five-fold gift to the
church is to bring the church into maturity and unity of The Faith, and the
knowledge of the Son of God. So how are they going to become mature and have a
unity of The Faith if they have no knowledge of the Son of God? And to the
family the mother expresses those five-fold gifts to her little flock for the
same purpose. For unity and for maturity, and for their understanding of what
son-ship is all about. How are they going to mature and have unity if they do
not know what their son-ship is all about?
Therefore we see that the mother, the righteous Virtuous
mother, is given a five-fold gift to her family, and she is given a stewardship
over that gift, so she will be held accountable for how she uses that gift to
her family, and God will hold her responsible.
Therefore, Number One, she is an Apostle to her
children. Now, what is an Apostle? Brother Branham said an Apostle is one that
is sent. Therefore the mother is one that is sent.
Baptism
of the holy spirit 58-0928M P:109 And He set some in the Church
what? In the Church, in the Body, set some there here what? A, first apostles;
that's missionaries. … That's the first highest call, a missionary. You say,
"An apostle is a missionary?" Absolutely. Go look in the dictionary
and find out what "apostle" means; means "one sent." Go
look in the--what a "missionary" means: "One sent." Same
thing. The highest order is a missionary who travels the seas for the Lord
Jesus.
Warning
then judgment 63-0724 P:51 And then we find out the apostle is a
special man. He's a setter-in-order. He's a man that's sent from God to set the
things in order.
So first of all we see that a mother is an Apostle to
her children. She focuses her total energies on her mission which is her
household. And she is first of all the “setter in order” person in the
household as brother Branham said the role of the Apostle is to do, to set the
church in order, and the mother also has as her first role as an Apostle to her
family, her first of her five-fold roles to her family. And this first role of
motherhood is to set her household in order.
Now, she is not to set her Husband in order, no more than an Apostle to
the church would try to set Jesus Christ in order, for the husband is the head
of the family even as Jesus Christ is the head of the church.
But notice the apostle is the setter in order and so is mother. Brother
Branham said from his sermon Thou son of David
have mercy on me 61-0215 P:19 I hear them talk about the
illiteracy of the
Ok, so that’s the
first of her five-fold gifts to her family. She’s the apostle, the setter in
order for the family.
Now, the Apostle Paul said, first Apostles secondarily
prophets, so we see that number Two, Our righteous mother is a prophet to her
children. Now a prophet is an expounder of the word of God, and a forth teller
of that Word. And our Mother is the first Bible teacher and preacher to her
children.
Elisha
the prophet 56-1002E P:15 Every
mother is a preacher. Sure. And God gives her a little
congregation at home to preach to.
Super
sign 63-1129 P:30 Now, we might speak here just a minute,
what is a prophet. Now, in the English terms, according to the English terms of
it, it means a preacher.
Return
and Jubilee 62-1122 P:57 Say what God puts in your mouth. He'll
never say nothing but His Word. A
prophet is a teller forth the same as a forth teller. True. So he said,
"I'll say what God says."
Christ
is the mystery 63-0728 P:105 The word prophet means a revealer of the
Divine written Word, as same as it does a forth-teller (See?), a seer.
And we know that the
first understanding of the Scriptures comes from mother, who reads the Bible
stories to her little children even before they can begin to speak. For she is
given to her children to instruct them in the Knowledge of the Son of God and
in the knowledge that these little children are sons of God, for the purpose of
bringing them to maturity in Christ, even in the same manner that a true
five-fold prophet will tell forth the revelation of Jesus Christ and bring the
church to the Knowledge of the Son of God.
The next of the
five-fold gifts to the church according to the Apostle Paul is the Evangelist.
Now, brother Branham told us what the role of an evangelist is in the
sermon Warning then judgment 63-0724 P:51 The
evangelist is a special man. He's a man that's burning like a fireball. He runs
into a city and preaches his message, and gets out of there somewhere else.
See, he's a special man
So we see that mother is given a special gift to light the fire under her
children, in a way that no one else could do.
Next we have the pastor. That’s the fourth gift to the church and the
fourth gift given to mother for her children as well. In her role as Pastor to her children, she must be
able to guide her children into a relationship with their heavenly father as
well as their earthly father and to know and understand their roles as sons and
daughters in both. This gift is a
special gift because it bring out of her that nature that is so attractive to
her children, and allows for her to use all the gifts of the spirit, wisdom,
and love and so forth to minister to the needs of her children. She is the burden
bearer, and is able to put up with all the fussing of the children that no man
or woman who is not a mother could ever do.
From his sermon, Warning then judgment
63-0724 P:51 brother Branham said, But, you see, in the church
there is the pastor, and that pastor is a special person. He's built to where he
can put up with the fusses of the people. He's a burden-bearer; he's the ox of
the team. He's a man that can set down when somebody's got something against
somebody else, and set down with them two families, and take neither side, and
reason it out, and bring it right back into sweetness. See? He's a pastor; he
knows how to take care of things.
And so does a righteous Mother. She knows how to take care of things.
Now, finally the last gift or her five fold gifts is that of teacher.
Mother is the first teacher the children ever have. From teaching them to potty
train, to becoming young Christian
Ladies and young Christian Gentlemen, mother is the finest teacher, and
uses this gift more than any other.
Brother Branham in speaking of the teach said in his sermon, Warning then judgment 63-0724 P:51 The
teacher is a special man. He sets back under the anointing of the Spirit and is
able to take the Words and put them together by the Holy Spirit, that the
pastor or evangelist either one could not compare with him.
So the righteous mother is
given this gift from God who is The teacher, and in this role of teacher, she teach her children everything
that they will ever need to bring them forth into maturity as young Christian
Ladies and Young Christian Gentlemen.
In order to teach her children, she must be qualified
herself to teach those subjects that her children will need to learn. So she
sets them on their course towards self learning, but in order to do so she must
be confident in her role as teacher more so than in any other role she plays
out. Just think of all the subjects that
she introduces to her children. First as their little Pastor, she teaches them
theology. The study of God, and the relationship we have with Him as our
Father.
Then of course there are other Christian Virtues that
they must learn so it is up to Mother to teach them to her children in the way
she wants them to learn. John Wesley’s mother Susanne Wesley, said that you mold
a child by three, and by that age you have placed within that child everything
they will ever have in life concerning character, righteousness, integrity,
humility, morality, ethics, Love and relationship, courtesy and respect. All these subjects a Righteous mother will
indoctrinate her young child by the age of three years old.
Now, those are not the only subjects she will teach
them by that age. Others subjects she must know in order to teach are Self Discipline, basic hygiene, basic nutrition,
how to love and be loved, manners, and social graces, Grammar, basic mathematics,
basic biology, basic zoology, basic botany, basic astronomy, etc. Now, I know I
have not listed them all, but I hope you get the point of this Sermon. To be a
Righteous Mother is a Sacred Trust that we are held accountable for how our
children turn out. An when we see children raised up and serving God we should
know that there was a virtuous mother somewhere that trained up that child in
the way it should go that when it got older it did not depart.
Let’s bow our heads in word of prayer.