Masterpiece 68
The Life of the
Word
June 11th, 2006
Pastor, Brian Kocourek
Let us stand to our feet and open our Bibles to Mark
Chapter 4 and we shall read from verses 1 though 20 for our text this morning.
MARK
4:1¶ And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was
gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in
the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land. 2 And he taught
them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine, 3 Hearken;
Behold, there went out a sower to sow: 4
And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the
fowls of the air came and devoured it up.5 And some fell on stony ground, where
it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of
earth: 6 But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root,
it withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and
choked it, and it yielded no fruit. 8 And other fell on good ground, and did
yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and
some sixty, and some an hundred. 9 And he said unto them, He that hath ears to
hear, let him hear. 10 And when he was alone, they that were about him with the
twelve asked of him the parable. 11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given
to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all
[these] things are done in parables:12 That seeing they may see, and not
perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they
should be converted, and [their] sins should be forgiven them. 13 And he said
unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables? 14
The sower soweth the word. 15 And these are they by the way side, where the
word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh
away the word that was sown in their hearts. 16 And these are they likewise
which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately
receive it with gladness; 17 And have no root in themselves, and so endure but
for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's
sake, immediately they are offended. 18 And these are they which are sown among
thorns; such as hear the word, 19 And the cares of this world, and the
deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the
word, and it becometh unfruitful. 20 And these are they which are sown on good
ground; such as hear the word, and receive [it], and bring forth fruit, some
thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.
Let us bow our heads in Prayer: Dear Gracious and
Loving Father, we come to You in thanksgiving this morning knowing You are here
in our Midst, for we believe that You have come down with a Message, and that
Message is Life to us. We thank Thee Father, for giving us the Promise of
Eternal Life through Your Son Jesus, and for making this promise possible
through the instrument of Your Word. For we believe that Your Word is a Seed,
ad as a Seed it contains Life, Your Seed, Your Life. And we know that every
seed must bring forth after it’s kind, for that is the Law of reproduction. And
we know “when
Christ who is our Life shall Appear, we shall also appear with Him in Glory.”
And we know this Glory that we are to appear or openly manifest in, is your
“Doxa” which is your opinion, judgment and assessment, which is Your very mind
coming into Your Children. So we are a thankful people for all you are doing
here in this small congregation and for all that You are doing through this
ministry throughout the world. And, therefore Father, we commit ourselves to
your great purpose and plan that You have made known to us in Jesus Name we
pray, amen. You may be seated.
Last week we spoke from several paragraphs of brother
Branham’s sermon on the Masterpiece, and our subject was “The Life in the Seed
must move on”.
We showed that in nature the life that is in a seed,
once it is planted and the light strikes it, the life in a seed begins its
journey towards manifestation of itself. In other words, Towards an expression
of what Life and Nature is intrinsically in that seed.
Now, we know that until the light strikes the seed,
the seed will not manifest the innate nature of the life that lays within it.
So it takes the Light to manifest the Life.
In fact the apostle Paul said, in Ephesians chapter 5,
“what makes manifest is Light”, and we know
that Christ is the Light of the world, and JOHN 1:3 tells us, All
things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life; and the life was the
light of men. 5 ¶ And the light shineth
in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
Now, in concerning life, especially the life in a
seed, we must understand that the first
stage of life we see is the stalk. When the Light strikes the seed and it
begins to grow into a plant of any sort, that first manifestation of life shows
itself in the central portion of the plant which is in the trunk or stem in
which the Life of the seed begins to move up into and while the Life is in it,
the plant is green showing it is full of life.
Now, before it is manifested the Life breaks forth from the seed into
the roots. And if it has not roots, it will not survive. I am hoping that you
can see the spiritual application of what I am saying here.
Then as the Life in that seed begins to further manifest
itself, up through the stem, as it moves further into maturity it begins to
grow some shoots off of that central stem. It does not matter whether these offshoots
are leaves or flowers, or perhaps as we see in corn or wheat, the ear begins to grow. At first all we see
in that ear is the tassle or the part
that looks almost like leaves that surround the out part of the ear.
Next as the Life moves on in the plant, we see the
life go into the husk which is the inside of the tassle, and this husk has a
shape to it, but it is just a protector of the seed life that is growing forth
within it. It is there only to protect the seed life. Then finally the Life moves
further into manifestation in those little seeds that are being produced in the
ear that look just like the original seed that went into the ground. That is
what we call the corn itself.
Now, as the Life moves from the seed into the roots
and stem, before it can do so the outer shell of the seed must rot and die or
the life can not be released from within.
And Jesus told us the same thing had to take place for
the Life of God to move into the church of the Living God.
JOHN
12:23 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the
Son of man should be glorified. 24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground
and die, it abideth alone: but if it
die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Jesus told us in JOHN 6:63 That the word of God is Life. And that
the Spirit of God quickens that Life in
us. It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth
nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [they] are spirit, and [they] are
life.
In 1 John 1:1 we read, That
which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our
eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of
life 2 (For the life was manifested, and
we have seen [it], and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which
was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)
Now, the Life is in the Father before it can come into the son. And while
it is in the Father it is in seed form.
JOHN 5:26
For as the Father hath life in himself; so
hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
And we know that the Life form in which God brings forth His own Life is
in His Word. The Apostle Paul called it
the word of Life in Philippians 2: 16 Holding
forth the word of life; that I may
rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in
vain.
And again in Acts 5: 20 The apostle
Peter said, Go, stand and speak in the temple to the
people all the words of this life.
And it was Peter who taught us that our New Birth comes by the Word of
God being sparked off in our being. I PETER 1:23 Being born again,
not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God,
which liveth and abideth for ever.
Now, notice he told us there are corruptible seeds and incorruptible. And
he tells us the incorruptible seed is God’s Word, for all other seed have a
beginning and an ending of Life but there is only one source of Eternal Life
for there is only One eternal, and that is God’s own Life. Therefore when you
receive eternal Life is when the very life of God comes into you and sparks you
to the Life that He ordained for you even before He framed the world into
existence. Because you had to be a part of God in order to have eternal Life.
In fact we see the entire plan of God in EPHESIANS
chapter one. So let’s open out Bible to Ephesians chapter one and
begin reading at verse 3 ¶
Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath
blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Now here we are told that not only is God the Father of Jesus Christ but
He is also the God of Jesus Christ. He said, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ
Now, in the next verse we see that we were actually in Him before the
foundations of the world. 4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him or
in His presence..
Then because of His great Love he has for His own He sets in order His
great Plan for His Children.
5 in love having
predestinated us (now, notice that having predestinated us is speaking in the past tense.
This is what He did while we were yet in His mind before He even framed the
worlds. Then when God framed the worlds with us in His mind, He framed them for
us to enjoy. God existed for an eternity before He even framed the worlds, so
He didn’t do it for Himself, he didn’t need it, but He did it for you and I so
that we might enjoy the mountains and the sea, and the valleys and the rivers
etc. Therefore we read, ) 5 in love having predestinated us unto the adoption of
children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his
will, so it was His good pleasure to predestinate us unto the
adoption of Children by Jesus Christ.
Now, in the old testament when a son was born he was raised under tutors
and governors until the time appointed of the Father. And when the child, the
first born showed Himself to be able and mind full of what His Father wanted,
in other words, an obedient son, the Father would take him out and before the
public he would adopt his first born son.
Then that son would be given 50% of all that the father owned. The rest
of the children did not receive a portion until the Father died.
But as long as the father lived the others received no inheritance. And
we have a father who is the only immortal King and who can not die, so it was
expedient in the plan of the Father to allow His Son Jesus to die that we might
receive His inheritance. And that is what the Apostle Paul is saying here. 5 in love having predestinated
us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the
good pleasure of his will.6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he
hath made us accepted in the beloved. 7 In whom we have redemption through his
blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; 8 herein he hath abounded toward us in all
wisdom and prudence;
Now, in getting back to the seed Life, we see also in John 6: 68 Then Simon Peter answered him,
Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the
words of eternal life.
And so we see that the Word is a Seed and the Life in that seed is God’s
Life, eternal Life. John 5: 24 Verily,
verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not
come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
And therefore the attributes fo one ordained or predestinated to Life (To
God Life) is that they will believe. Acts 13: 48 And
when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the
Lord: and as many as were ordained to
eternal life believed.
John 6:
63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth
nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
THE
MASTERPIECE 64-0705 118 But you can't hide a germitized seed. It's
got to come forth. Because why? The Great Sculptor is on the job. Going to
build again, so the Seed went down, the Word. 119 When we see
The seed is a carrier of Life.
1
Cor 13: 11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I
understood as a child, I thought as a child, : but when I became a man, I put
away childish things...
Now, we noticed that the seed which Jesus was talking
about that was to fall into the ground was the very Life that was in Him, and
that begin to come forth on the day of Pentecost. This Seed that was sown in
the first age has come up to a complete body in this last age. When planted, the
seed will bring forth a crop that is in the same likeness as the seed that went
into the ground.
And if Christ the Word was which is a seed was buried
in death and came forth when God raised up His Son from the grave and then on
the day of Pentecost that same Life begin to grow up and manifest itself in the
Church, the if it was the Word Seed that
was buried, then that very Life that was in that Word must also produce the
same Life germ back in the church again, at the Harvest Time.
And since we know that the Word was made flesh, and we
beheld His Glory, and that Glory that we beheld was the Doxa of God which was
His Very opinion, assessment, and Judgment in the earth, then as the Apostle
Paul said, He is to come again and this time to be glorified in His Church.
That is 2 Thessalonians 1 and verse 10.
And that Glorification will be the Word again in human
beings, sons of God in which the Apostle Paul told us, “Let this Mind that was
in Christ be in you.” So we see that there are an ordained people who will
learn to get out of the way and let God and let God.
Several years ago I preached a mini series called the We
called “The Garden of your Mind”, and in this mini series we
focused on the mind as it pertains to a garden, because our minds are full of
many seeds which are thoughts, of which some are good or righteous, and others
are bad, or evil. And we found that as a seed is a carrier of life, our
thoughts too are carriers of actions which create an atmosphere, and from this
atmosphere reactions occur.
We showed how that as with any garden, we must have a
plan if we are to harvest or reap the desired outcome of our garden. For you
can not just let anything else grow in your garden than what you desire for
harvest, or the other seeds will sprout forth as well, and they will compete
with your planted seeds for life. As you know in any garden, if the weeds crop
up, they compete with the good crops, not only for room, but for nutrients from
the soil as well. The weeds, if not kept in check and under control will many
times crowd out and suffocate the good crops, or the crops in which we desire a
harvest, because “many more are the children of the desolate than she which has a
husband.” And you should know by experience, that weeds are more
plentiful and grow faster than a harvest
crop.
Now, Jesus told the parable of the sower several
times.
MATTHEW
13:3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying,
Behold, a sower went forth to sow; 4 And when he sowed, some [seeds] fell by
the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: 5 Some fell upon stony
places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because
they had no deepness of earth: 6 And
when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they
withered away. 7And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and
choked them: 8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some
an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. 9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
MATTHEW
13:18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. 19 When any one
heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth [it] not, then cometh the
wicked [one], and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he
which received seed by the way side. 20 But he that received the seed into
stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth
it; 21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when
tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is
offended. 22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the
word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the
word, and he becometh unfruitful. 23 But he that received seed into the good
ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth [it]; which also beareth
fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
So then in order to eliminate the bad seeds, or at
least the effects of the bad seeds, we must learn to cultivate the “gardens
of our mind”, in order to prepare for a better harvest of the desired
planting. Now we all know that the Lord calls us, His planting, and the type
of plant that He likens us to are, “trees of righteousness” as we see
in [Psalm 61:3] and as we also sing
the song, “that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the
Lord, that He might be Glorified.”
And just like any other garden, our garden is planted according to the purposes of the
one who plants it, and for the glory or betterment of the planter. If a person
wants to harvest certain types of foods, they must plant the seeds of what they
want to harvest. You do not plant a fully developed plant. No, that is called
transplanting. But what we plant in the ground is seeds, that when they mature,
they will reproduce the plant in every detail seeing that the seed contains the
life of the plant, then it also carries the genetic code to reproduce that
plant in every detail. So you see, the garden is planted with a desired harvest
in mind, and it is up to the one who plants it to watch over it until harvest
time. And so besides cultivating out the bad seeds, we are also to make sure that
we water and fertilize the garden. And since we are the planting of the Lord,
He will do His part in the watering and fertilizing of His garden as well. And this garden, the garden of our minds, the
planting of the Lord, the trees of righteousness, or whatever metaphor
we can use to type the Bride of Christ.
Now in getting back to the Scripture that we read for
our text, let’s open our Bibles again to 1 Cor 13: 11 When I was a child, I spake as a
child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child, : but when I became
a man, I put away childish
things...
Now, here we see Paul speaking of a certain time in
life when we are at a certain level in our maturity. He begins by saying, “When
I was a child,” and in using the word “When” we can see that
Paul was looking back at a specific period or time frame that was part of his
growth cycle or growth process. “When I was a child,” see? And then
we are not only looking at this period of time, but now that we are focused on
this period he wants to further elucidate to us certain attributes that were
associated with that period of time in his life. And therefore he continues by
say, “during this time when I was a child, there were certain attributes that
predominated my life, “I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child.”
Now, what we may conclude from Paul’s statement here
is that the reason we speak as a child is because our understanding is only
that of a child, and this is because the way in which we think is only at the
stage of that which is only a
child. And therefore, our speaking is only a reflection of our thinking,
which is an outward manifestation of the condition of our mind. Notice how
brother Branham made reference to this when he said that a baby gets what it
wants by crying. You can’t expect a baby to ring a bell, or something of that
nature. It hasn’t got the functional attributes to do that yet. It is not that
the baby doesn’t possess the mental genetics, but those attributes and
characteristics have not as yet been exercised to the place of strength and
maturity. And so we find Brother Branham pointing to us the simplicity of
growth which he types also with our spiritual maturity.
And Jesus told us the same thing in Luke 6:45 A good man out of
the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil
man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil:
for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
Notice that he is telling us that out of the abundance
or overflow of the heart, which is the understanding, the mouth does speak. So
what things you say is dependent upon what you know. I could not in any way
expect any of the children in here to stand up here and speak to us concerning
Einstein’s theory of relativity. No more than I could expect them to get up
here and teach us about the Godhead. They may be able to tell us that there is
only one God, and this One God had a Son, and that’s all I would expect from them at this stage or
process in their spiritual growth. But if Brother Branham were to stand up and that was all he could
tell us, then we would not have any higher aspiration to attain unto. Now this
is not saying that it would be OK to just stop where we are at. Because the
minute you stop, that is the minute you begin to die. God does not expect us to
exceed his Prophet either, but as brother Branham has said, I’ll paraphrase, “You are now here and I am up here. One day
you too will be up here as far as your understanding is concerned.” Jesus told us the same thing in Luke 6:40 The
disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his
master..
And so we are looking at the fact that our words are
only a reflector or reflection of what
stage of growth we are at.
Now the way for any child to grow up, is that they begin to speak the
words which they hear their parents speaking. Sometimes, it may come as a shock
to some parents when they hear bad or vulgar words come from the babies mouth
as their first words. But the baby can only say words which it has heard. A
baby, like any person is limited to words which it hears from others. That is
why we need to listen to the Voice
of God on a regular basis.
And just as a baby begins to formulate their little minds to the place
where they begin to speak intelligible words, based upon what they hear, so too
our minds, spiritually speaking, in order to grow up into the full stature or
reflections of our Heavenly Father, must begin to formulate our thoughts into
the same Words which He spoke to us.
In John 5:19, 30 Jesus said the son can do
nothing in himself but what gthe Father shows him to do. Now, I want
you to notice that Jesus, just like any
child, did not have words of his own. We all began our talking by emulating the
words which we heard our fathers of mothers speak, and Jesus was no different. John 7:16-18
Jesus
answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. 17 If
any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God,
or [whether] I speak of myself. 18 He
that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory
that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.
And to tell what kind of words parents speak around the house one has
only to listen to their little children.
If the children talk about Jesus and the things of God
then you will know what goes on in that home. But if the child cusses and uses
vulgar words, then you will also know
what kind of atmosphere is in that home. “By their fruits you shall know them.”
And we know that the fruits is what they have been taught. It is the teaching
for the season they live. And so we see that Jesus as our example, said, “I
can of mine own self do nothing, What I say, What I do, I have been taught this
by my Father. Even the Doctrine I speak is not mine, but His that sent me”.
Jesus told the Pharisees in John 8:38 “I speak
that which I have seen with my Father: and you do that which you have
seen with your Father.” And so if we are to grow up into the Image of
our Father, we must fist see Him, and then we must recognize what it is that He
is doing, that we might conform to this image. 1 Jn 3:1-3¶
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should
be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew
him not. 2 Beloved, now are we the sons
of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he
shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3 And every
man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
1 Cor 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but
then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am
known.
Now this knowing comes as a result of
seeing and experiencing the power and Presence of God. And what Paul is
speaking of here is in reference to what he said in verse 9. So let’s read
verses 9-12.
(read) For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
10
But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be
done away. 11 When I was a child, I
spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I
became a man, I put away childish things. 12
For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I
know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
Now, I think we would all agree, that Jesus was our
elder brother, and he set the example for what we should follow after in our
growing into the stature of Sons and
Daughters of God. He was our role model
and our absolute for the Life that we desire. Romans 8:29-30 Now the Weymouth
translates it like this: “For those whom He has known beforehand He has also
predestined to bear the likeness of His Son, that He might be the Eldest in a
vast family of brothers,”
Therefore, we can see that Jesus was the role model
that God, our Father, set before us. And Paul tells us himself that we are not
to be like children in our thinking forever. He went on to say, [1 Cor 13: 11]
But when I became
a man, I put away childish things...
Now, I would like to ask some of you younger folks in
here this question. Why would a person
put away childish things when they become a man? Because the condition of their
mind no longer regards those things as important to them. And we have already seen the answer that Paul
gave us. Because when we are a child we think and understand as a child and
therefore we hold to childish things as well. But when we grow up in our
thinking and understanding, then those things that we held to as children don’t
have the same impact on us any longer. Therefore we have passed from that stage
of life into another as we see in... Malachi 3: 16-18Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another:
and the LORD hearkened, and heard [it], and a book of remembrance was written
before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name. 17 And
they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my
jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
18 Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked,
between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.
Peter was a pretty practical man and he tells us that
when a person has suffered in their body, they no longer have a desire to sin,
because their desires are changing with the growth of the spirit. 1 Peter 4:1
¶ Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us
in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath
suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; And this is true. The
suffering in the body is but a process that helps us to turn our real
affections in the right direction. And we are looking at the process of
maturing here tonight.
John
6:44-45 No man
can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise
him up at the last day. 45 It is
written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man
therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
John
14:26 But the Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father
will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to
your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
2
Tim 2:2 And the things that thou hast heard of me
among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able
to teach others also.
Hebrews
5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need
that one teach you again which [be] the first principles of the oracles of God;
and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
1
John 2:7 ¶ Brethren,
I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from
the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the
beginning.