Masterpiece 82
The Power of the
Token and back to Eden
Pastor, Brian Kocourek
Last night we spoke from paragraph 157 where brother Branham talked about
the Family of God back in
Now, if God gave us over 800 promises in His Word, and He also told us
that we must ask if we wish to receive any of those promises, then he has also
given us a way for us to ask.
We read from the Book of James that we desire but we have not, and He
said we have not because we ask not or we ask amiss, which means we do not ask
according to His Will which is His Word. So if you are desirous of any of His 800
promises that are laying in His Word, then all you have to do is go to God and
give Him His own Words back to Him.
We see Elijah, a man of God who knew that God heard his prayers and he
asked God that it might not rain and it didn’t rain. He asked God that it might
rain again and it did.
James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray
one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.17 Elias
was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it
might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and
six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave
rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
Now, when you know the creator of the heavens and earth is on the scene
it ought to cause you to pray like you have never prayed before. And we have
the words of a vindicated prophet of God who said, in his sermon Presence of God Unrecognized 64-0618 P:31
If we could only realize that He's appearing to us in these meetings for one purpose, that's to
release our desires that we have in Him, to us. But we've got to recognize His
Presence. And now, how you recognize His Presence, is when the promised
Word for this age is made manifest, not the promised Word of Moses' age or any
other ages, the promise of the Word for this age.
We
also read last night where Jesus promised us that we could go directly to the Father
with our petitions and He would give us whatsoever we ask in Jesus name.
John
We heard brother Branham speak about Elisha and how he asked for a double
portion of the spirit that was on Elijah and god gave it to him.
Elijah
and Elisha 54-0304 P:32 Now,
when they got down to the
God
commissioning Moses the prophet 53-0508 P:37 When
they crossed over, got over on the other side, he said, "Now, you've
asked. Ask what you will, and I will give it to you." Perfect
type of the Church. "All right," he said, "I want a double portion of your
spirit." Amen. Don't be scared to ask. Ask abundantly. "You have
not, because you ask not. You ask not, because you believe not." That's
right. Ask, ask a whole lot. God
will give you a whole lot. Have a lot of
faith. A fellow told me the other day; he said, "He was riding an old
model-T Ford, yet." Said, "One day he happened to get some good faith
and God give him a Buick." Said, "I got a Buick faith, I'm--I'm praying
for Cadillac faith." All right. That's good.
That's right. Keep on. What you believe, hold on to it.
God will give it. He's got Ford faith, so just stay with the Ford then, that's
all right. And so... Let's get a little more faith. All right.
And what good would it be for God to give us a promise of the Token if it
had no power behind that promise. And what good would it be to bring children
into this world only to loose them. But just think, you will have them for an
eternity with you to be with you and share with you an eternity of love in the
presence of the God of Love. Now, that’s a reality that I’m looking for. That’s
what I’m living for. That’s what keeps me pressing ahead and going to all these
countries around the world. We have a promise that is so real I can taste it. I
can feel it, I can see it, because God said it, it’s a done deal for me. And not only will I see my offspring, but we
will have joint ownership with my God and my older brother. I’m talking about
the inheritance.
Romans 8:11 But
if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that
raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his
Spirit that dwelleth in you. 12 Therefore, brethren, we are
debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 13 For if ye
live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the
deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14 For as many as are led by
the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For ye
have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the
Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit Itself (God’s
Holy Spirit)
beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And
if children, then heirs; heirs of God,
and joint-heirs with Christ;
(that is because Christ is our older brother, and we are joint heirs with him) if so be that we
suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 18 For
I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are
not worthy to be compared with the glory which
shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation
of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
And the manifestation of the sons of God will be no
different than the manifestation of The Son of God. And How
did Jesus manifest His sonship? By His obedience to His
Father. And that is the way any son will manifest their sonship. It’s
not going out there and doing supernatural feats. That is to the Jews. The
manifestation of the sons of God is when we come into full obedience to the
Word of our Father God.
20 For
the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him
who hath subjected the same in hope,
21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage
of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we
know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of
the Spirit, even we ourselves groan
within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit,
the redemption of our body. 24 For we are saved by hope:
but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? 25 But
if we hope for that we see not, then do we with
patience wait for it. 26 Likewise
The Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know
not what we should pray for as we ought: but The Spirit itself maketh
intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 And
he that searcheth the hearts (and we
know the Word of God searches the hearts) knoweth what is the mind of
the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that all things
work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called
according to his purpose. 29 For whom
he did foreknow, he also did predestinate
to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn in a large
family of brethren. 30 Moreover whom he
did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also
justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. 31 What
shall we then say to these things? If God be for
us, who can be against us? 32 He that
spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with
him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall lay any thing to
the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 34 Who
is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also
maketh intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from
the love of Christ? shall
tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or
sword? 36 As
it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as
sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we
are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For
I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor
height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from
the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Brother Branham said from his sermon, Does
God change His mind 65-0418E P:75 God never changed His mind or His Word, but
He will give you the desire of your
heart. He promised that. You know that? He promised to give you the desire of your heart. And let your desire be the Word of God. Let your desire be His will, never your own
will, His will. If you ask Him for something, He don't
give it to you, say, "Thank You, Lord. You know what's good."
We read in the book of Psalms. Psalms 84:11:
the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them
that walk uprightly.
Look, if we can just come to the place where we put God first in all out
thoughts, you will never be lacking for anything. That is what Jesus prayed, that we would be one as He and the father were one.
And he said it comes by the same Word that the Father gave Him, and that he has
given us that same Word. And Look, if the Word of God
is the power of God, and God has given you the full Word in this Hour then He
has given you the full power and authority as well. Then say to this mountain
be moved and don’t doubt in your heart and it will happen.
From the Spoken Word is the Original Seed 62-0318E P:175 Brother
Branham said, Notice, what harmony. Jesus
never did anything until seen of the Father or the Father showed Him first:
(Harmony between God and Christ. See? John 5:19) So will the Bride, and He shows Her His Word of Life (He shows Her), and she receives It.
She never doubts it. Nothing can harm Her, not even
death; for if the Seed be planted, the water will raise it up again. Amen.
(Now, I got a great big "Hallelujah.") Here is the secret: the Word is in the Bride and the mind of
Christ to know what He wants done with the Word, and She
does it in His Name. She has THUS SAITH THE LORD. Then it is germitized; so the
Holy Spirit waters it until it is grown and serves its purpose. They do only His will. (Amen. I'll
believe that.) No one can persuade them different. They have THUS SAITH THE LORD, or they keep still. Then they will
do the works of God. For
it is Himself in them, continuing His Word to fulfill as He did complete in
His day. All things when He was here, He did not complete all when He
was here, for it was not time yet.
So you see, if we have the mind of the Father and we know to have His
mind we must have His spirit, and we know that by One
spirit we are all baptized into one body, the body of Christ. So it’s already a
done deal.
I have shown you many times from 1 Peter
Notice how He begins quoting from John
Again, let me read it
to you. Notice, what harmony. Jesus never did anything until seen of the
Father or the Father showed Him first: (Harmony between God and Christ. See? John 5:19) So will the Bride, and He shows Her
His Word of Life (He shows Her), and she receives It. She never doubts it. Nothing
can harm Her, not even death; for if the Seed be
planted, the water will raise it up again. Amen. (Now, I got a great big
"Hallelujah.")
Notice he calls that harmony between God and Christ. Harmony
between the Father and His Son. Harmony is agreement between two persons. It
is Oneness between two persons. And that is what Jesus said in
In JOHN
Therefore it is very
apparent that we are one by receiving the same Word which bring
us into the same Glory or same mind as the Father. And
the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even
as we are one:
And remember this glory is the doxa of God which is
his opinion, His assessment, and his judgment, which is His very mind, or way
of thinking. And in 1 Corinthians we are told that no man can know the mind of
God unless the Spirit of God is in Him. So we have the assurance that by One spirit we have been baptized into one body.
So we see that Jesus and God were one because Jesus received God’s Word
and Jesus said Himself that because we have received the Word which the Father
gave Him, that would make us one with the Father as he was One
with the Father.
HARVEST TIME 641212 87 034 Jesus said, "That they might be one, Father, as You and I are one." Not for some man to be over something,
it never will work; one denomination wants to take over the other, and one man
over the other. But that you might be one with God, like Christ and God
was one; that's what the prayer is. That... He
was the Word, and Jesus prayed that we might be the Word, reflecting Him.
That's His prayer to be answered. See how Satan scruples it up in the carnal
mind? But that wasn't Jesus' prayer, at all, that we might all congregate
together and all have a certain creed and so forth. Every time they do it, they
go further and further from God. He wants us to be one with God, and God is the Word. Each individual in his heart must be that one with God.
After explaining how
that god and Christ and the bride will all be one, brother Branham continued, Here is the secret: the Word is in the Bride and the
mind of Christ to know what He wants
done with the Word, and She does it in His Name.
So the Bride not only
has His Word, but she knows what to do with it. That means then she has to have
his mind, which he says she does, because if she does not have his mind, then
how is she going to know what to do with his Word. That is what he said, the Word is in the
Bride and the mind
of Christ…
So not only does she
have His word but she also has His mind to know what to do with His word). the Word is
in the Bride and the mind
of Christ,to
know what He wants done with the Word,
and She does it in His Name
Then he continued, She has THUS SAITH
THE LORD. Now, that does not mean she goes around saying “Thus saith
the Lord”. But He said she has “Thus Saith the Lord. In other words, she has
what the Lord has already said thus. And that is no different than what Jesus
said in, JOHN 17:14 I have given them thy word; and he also said, in 22 And the
glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we
are one: so when brother Branham says, “they have
thus saith the Lord, then they have what the Lord has already said thus. And
they have the mind of the Father to know what to do with His Word.
Then brother Branham
said, Then it is germitized; so the
Holy Spirit waters it until it is grown and serves its purpose. They do only His will. (Amen. I'll
believe that.) No one can persuade them different. They have THUS SAITH THE LORD, or they keep still. Then they will
do the works of God. For
it is Himself in them, continuing His Word to fulfill as He did complete in
His day. All things when He was here, He did not complete all when He
was here, for it was not time yet.
So we see then that now is the time for the complete fulfillment to take
place of God in His Family.
Token the 64-0208 P:79
I believe Jesus is here. "Now, hold your Token right over that desire. Now, let me tell you
by His Word, and He cannot go contrary to that Word: He has already purchased
your desire, if it's according to His will. And His will is to heal. His will
is to give you your desire. He with-hold no good thing from
them that walk upright before Him, presenting that Token.
Spiritual inspiration 56-0128 P:2 The Lord has give us this promise,
"Ask the Father anything in My Name, I'll do it." Yeah. That's our
promise. It isn't our faith in our prayer then. It's just our faith in doing
what He said do. "Ask the Father in My Name, you shall have it; it'll be
given. Whatever you ask the Father in My
Name, you shall have." Isn't that a wonderful promise? Just makes us
feel wonderful to think that, that our kind heavenly Father in His kindness has
give us this privilege of having what we would want or
desire, as long as it's in His will, of course. And we know when it's His will,
if it's according to His Word. Then we know it's His will.
And we are talking about the Token here this morning. And It must be applied, and to apply it shows your
identification with it, and the Token is the Presence of God in our midst. Look, we take too lightly what God has done
for us in this hour. He Himself has come down to make the way open for us to
enter back into eternal fellowship with Him. And He has made a way for you to
have your children with you for ever as well.
From his sermon called Fellowship 60-0611B P:23 Brother Branham said, Now,
God begin to restore back to Job. He restored his stock, his animals
(livestock), and everything, double. But did you notice about his children: God
restored back Job's children. Didn't say He doubled them, but He restored them to him.
Wonder where they were at? Did you ever
take a thought of that and read the book of Job? They were in glory, waiting for him, because he had offered a
sacrifice under the shed blood, and he knowed where they were waiting for him
at, under the shed blood... Now, He never said He give
him back another bunch of children, but He
restored Job's children to him, because they were waiting for him under the
shed blood of the sacrifice.
Thy House
61-0808 P:22 Now,
I know we all think our kids is renegades and things like that. But we must
stop that. I believe that we must remember that these kids are the best kids in
the world, because they're our children, and we claim them for God. Now, your salvation will not save that
child. But now, Paul said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thy and thy house shall be
saved." Now, what did he mean by that? He didn't mean that because they were
saved, that their house would be saved with it. He meant this: that If he had enough faith to be saved himself, his same amount
of faith that he had for himself would work for his children. See what I mean?
Thy
House 61-0808 P:25
Job said, when he seen everything was just in good order,
like your homes are now; he said, "You know, my children is married and
gone off." But said, "Maybe, Peradventure one of them might've sinned. "Now, there's one requirement God had: That was a
burnt offering. He said, "Now, I don't..." He didn't believe his children sinned. "But" said, "peradventure they
might sin. Because they're visiting one another, and going to the parties
at one another's homes, and so forth, and mixing up, I guess, and so
forth." He said, "If one of them has sinned... So, Lord, I will bring
a burnt offering and offer this burnt offering for my child." See? And
that's all he knowed to do. That's all God required, a burnt offering. That's all
He required. Well, then when the great
Thy house
61-0808 P:29 God restored back to Job
what? He restored back to him his... Where he had ten thousand cattle, He give him twenty thousand cattle. Where he had forty-thousand
sheep, He give him eighty-thousand sheep. See? And He
restored everything back to him that he ever had. And you notice, it said,
"And He restored his seven
children." See? He gave Job his
seven children. Not, didn't give him
seven other children, but He gave Job his seven children. Now, what was it? His house, "Thy
and thy house." Because he was righteous, because he was standing
on everything that God gave us to be righteous, or gave him, was to offer that
burnt offering. And he knowed that that was God's Word,
and it could not fail. So, did you ever think where them children was? They was in heaven
waiting for him. See? He's with them
today. And God saved Job's children.
They were in heaven waiting for him. See?
Thy house 61-0808 P:39
Friends, a conversion, outside of the same thing, won't last
either. It won't. When you go to church, and you say,
"Well, I'm going to join church, and I'm going to be baptized." If that isn't coming from a heart of love
to God yonder, it'll never go no where. All you'll
do is join church and be baptized. But when you're converted to Christ, a love to Christ, then you accumulate a
faith in Christ, like you would to your wife, or to your husband. You accumulate a faith that you walk in
that faith. I don't know, something about you, you just got something that
anchors you there. You see? Well, that's the same way it is about Christ. And what Christ says, you believe it. And you
just stay right with it. And that's the way... It just raises you right up
above it, and God brings it to pass and fulfills His promise, "If thou will believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, thy and thy house shall be saved.
Thy house 61-0808 P:44
But you understand what I mean now to believe? "Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thy and thy house shall be saved." Believe for yourself, and believe for your
house, and you shall have it. Say, "Well, the doctor said I can't get
well." Well, if thou can believe on the Lord, you can get well.
"Well, I'm out of work." But if you'll believe on
the Lord (See?), and you shall have work. "And I don't know what to
do about this situation." Believe on the Lord.
Acts
ACTS
TOKEN
pp. 171 But the True Token of the blood, speaking out, speaks of a
living, resurrected Presence, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and
forever; right, living right among us. Amen. "It speaks better." Not from dead forms and
creeds, but a living token of a living
Christ that lives in us. No, they deny there is such a thing, but we know
it's true. But we who believe the Word, know that God promised it and He keeps
His promise, know it is His living presence, for He does as He did.
ACTS
Token
the 63-0901M P:113 Notice, they were not just yet come together to talk about the message. They
come together to apply the blood, to apply the token. That's what you must do. Pastor Neville, and to this congregation,
trustees, deacons, to you brethren, it's time that we laid aside all the
foolishness of the world, time we laid
aside everything else. We've seen enough now, that we're positive, sure,
and the Token must be applied. Without
it, you're going to perish; you must perish. That is the only thing. Oh, don't come
together, say, "I believe it." Get beneath it. Get into it. How
to do it? By one Spirit we're baptized
into the Body of Jesus Christ. Everybody believe
with all your heart. See? He was not responsible for any out from beneath it.
Token
the 64-0208 P:9 That's what He was requiring
that night to separate the believers from the unbelievers. The believer
worshipper was identified with his sacrifice. He must apply the blood. It
wasn't take and kill the lamb, set the blood out there
somewhere, or keep it in a charger, take it down to the neighbors. He had to
apply the blood. That's the way it is tonight. We could come and sympathize with everything God does, that isn't what
He requires. You've got to apply it. It's
not sufficient until you apply it. The blood must be applied. That shows that you are identified. The
worshipper laid his hand upon the lamb and then killed it, identify himself with the sacrifice.
23
Desperation 63-0901E The
Token, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, is among us. We should reverence that.
We can't humble ourselves enough. Taking off your shoes or getting on your
knees wouldn't expel it, it wouldn't satisfy; it wouldn't suffice us, but a
life that brings forth the fruit of the Spirit... Remember this morning? Preparation, sent the messenger with the message. Next
thing He done after He sent the messenger with the message, He sent the Pillar of Fire for a
vindication. Next thing was after that, was consolation. See? You knew that
it was right; you was at peace. We have peace with God
through the Lord Jesus Christ. See?
Now,
if we believe what we just heard brother Branham tell us, the Token is Christ
Himself. His presence is here with us bringing the word into a reality. And if
Christ is the Token then we must understand what it means to apply that
understanding in our lives. Therefore in the next few quotes I want for you to
see how the Token is to be applied and what our part is in applying the token.
Now,
before we apply this token we must ask ourselves what is it supposed to do for us? And
brother Branham answers that in his sermon called 18 Desperation 63-0901E Now,
now, there's just not... No certain evidence. See? You say, "Brother
Branham (I feel it in your minds. You see?), why will I know?" Look. What
were you? And what are you? There's how you know. See? What was
you before this Token was applied? What are you after It's
applied? What was your
desires before, and what is your desires after? Then you know
whether the Token's applied or not. And these other things just automatically
go with that. See?
In
the next quote we will see how the token is to be applied. And if the Token is the
very presence of Christ Himself then how do we apply that in our homes? And he
answers that question in his sermon called, 48-5 The Token 63-0901M Believe
the Lord Jesus Christ for you house. Apply
the Token to your house. Then what do you do when you apply It to your house? Move
all the trash out. Get all the short
skirts, and the shorts, and the cards, and the cigarettes, and televisions, and
whatevermore, and kick them out the door. You're
going to apply the Token, won't stand still for it. Yes, sir. Take it all out. All the dances and the
parties, and rock-and-roll, and old
vulgar newspapers, and the stuff that's of the world, kick it out the door.
Say, "We're cleaning out this place around here."
Now, if you truly
believed that the Presence of God was coming to visit your home, you would get
rid of everything that you knew was offensive to Him. You would burn it and
throw it out, and you would do a real good house cleaning to make sure your
house reflected that you truly believed The Judge of all the earth was coming
to visit your home. That is why I like to have a picture in each room of my
house with a reminder of why I am here in this world and what God is doing in
this hour.
In the message 49-5 The Token
63-0901M he said, Apply it,(and
how do you applu it?) create
that atmosphere around you, that
they'll just drop right into it. See? Oh, if you've got the Token, you create a spirit around you of power,
that when you walk, people know that you're a Christian. They love for you to say something to them.
They believe your word; what you say, they hold on to it. See? That is it. Apply the
Token; then walk with it. Claim
your household. You must do it now. This is evening time. Now, you've been listening a long time; now
this is evening time. It's applying time now. The wrath will strike one of
these days; it might be too late then. See, see? Apply the Token with confidence.
And from his sermon 134 The Token 64-0208 he said, “Yes. Clean
out the cupboard; clean out the
house. Oh, we have a good old fashion house-cleaning. Let the Blood be
applied. Then the Token will come in. Clean it out. Sanctify it. Then apply the Token in prayer, with
confidence, when you've cleaned yourself up. You've got away from the
things of the world. You dumped all the unbelief out. "I don't care what
the people says. If
the Word of God says it and promised it, I believe it. If the Word says it,
that settles it. I don't care what anybody else says." See? Then when you got all that done, you've applied
the Blood, and you believe every word, then take your Token in prayer, be
fully convinced.”
And again from 138 The Token 64-0308 he said, “Associations and ministers have let the
people do anything and get by, and just put their name on a book and call them
this, that, and the other, when it's a disgrace. And it's got so that faith is
something that's not even, don't even, very seldom ever
know what even it is. They got a hope,
but no faith. You've got to get
back to everything's combed out and clean. Then take your Token, that you know
that it's Jesus Christ in you, then apply it. If something don't happen, there's
something wrong; go back again, got the wrong thing in your hand. He promised it. He was the One Who promised it. Apply It
Finally in closing I’d like to read one last quote from Brother Branham’s
sermon called, Presence of God unrecognized 64-0618
P:1 working for this one purpose,
for you to recognize the Presence of Jesus Christ. See? If He is present, then,
why, everything is settled. He made the
Word. He is here to confirm It. He proves that He'll
confirm It.
Let’s bow our heads in prayer