WHO IS THIS MELCHISEDEC #2

Nurturing, cherishing and reverencing  the Promises of God

Brian Kocourek

June 18, 2000

 

Last Sunday we began our examination of Brother Branham's Message, WHO IS THIS MELCHISEDEC. We focused our thoughts on his opening statement which he made in his opening prayer. He said,"Dear heavenly Father, we hear this song of "Only Believe"; it makes us to know that that's all we have to do to inherit any of God's promises, just believe them. For it is written, "All things are possible to them that believe." As we cry as the man who had the epileptic child, "Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief!"...

 

Now, what we hear him say here is if God said it, and we believe it, then it's ours. And notice how he clarified this in quoting the man who had the epileptic child. He wanted so badly to believe for his child's healing that he said, Lord, I believe, help though my unbelief. Even when we seem to have our doubts, it is not your doubts that you must look to, but we must focus upon what God said, and ask God to help us through our doubts.

 

And remember this, in ACTS 13:48b  we read, "and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed."

   

And in Matthew 9:29 Jesus said, "According to your faith be it unto you.". And what is Faith? Brother Branham said, "Faith is a revelation, something that's been revealed to you."

 

Let me read some other things brother Branham said about Faith.

 

ANOINTED ONES AT END TIME 65-0725M  53    What is faith? Faith is something that's revealed to you, that is not yet, but you believe it will be. Faith is a revelation of the will of God.

 

INVISIBLE UNION OF THE BRIDE 65-1125  24-1    What is a revelation? Jesus said, "Upon this Rock I'll build My church, and the gates of hell can't prevail against it." Faith is a revelation, because faith has been revealed to you.

 

WORKS IS FAITH EXPRESSED  65 1126  105    Now, "faith" is a "revelation from God." Now, "faith" is a "revelation." There's where I want to stay there just a moment. It's a revelation. He has revealed it to you by His grace. It's nothing you did. You didn't work yourself up into faith. You never had faith; it's give to you by the grace of God. And God reveals it to you; therefore, faith is a revelation. And the whole Church of God is built upon the revelation….  117    In a audience of people, where a prayer line comes through, you'll find some... And they were all good people, we'll say. There's some that's trying hard to believe it, trying to work themselves into it. Some just can't do it at all. And others, it's just by grace; it's just given to them. Now, there is the difference. See? That does it. That's the real revelation, because faith is a revelation from God. It must be revealed first.

 

 

In looking at brother Branham's opening statement and prayer in Who is this Melchisedec, he said, it makes us to know that that's all we have to do to inherit any of God's promises, just believe them..

 

Now, you can't just believe them until it has been revealed to you or you are just trying to work yourself into some kind of delusion. How can you truly believe unless it is revealed to you. How can you believe if you do not know what you are believing for?

 

In the Message I WILL RESTORE, brother Branham, in talking about the Faith of Abel, said, He believed God, because God had revealed it to him.. The word reveal means, "to pull back the veil, in order to make known". In other words it speaks of something that was not known, being made known.    

 

JOHN 12:35 Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. 36 While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them. 37 ¶  But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: 38 That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? 39 Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, 40 He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart (understanding); that they should not see with [their] eyes, nor understand with [their] heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. 41 These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.

 

MPERSONATION OF CHRISTIANITY 57-0120M E-42    So God had to give you a new heart, not a patched up one, a new heart. That's your intellects that you think with, a new way of thinking. Then when He give you a new way of thinking, "Yes, that's right. The Bible looks to be reasonable. I used to didn't believe that. I believe it now." Now, there's your great revival. See?   E-43   ...Then He said after that, "Then I'll give you a new spirit." What's that? A new desire, "I want to do right."

 

Now, the problem is that most people because they are not elect will never receive this new heart or new understanding, and therefore will never receive this new spirit which is a new desire.  Oh, they might get a new desire but unless they receive the new heart first (which is a new understanding) they will not receive the correct new spirit which is the correct desire. Look, let's face it, if your understanding is wrong you will have a wrong desire. Or let me say it this way. If you understand wrong, your desire will reflect what you understand. And if you understand wrong, then how will you desire the correct way?

 

Let me read to you 2 Scriptures which should help you to see what I am saying.

 

PROVERBS 14:12 ¶  There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof [are] the ways of death.

 

ISAIAH 55:8   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.

 

From the Message GOD IN SIMPLICITY brother Branham said, Let me read it again now, closely. Who has believed our report?... (Question)... and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? In other words, if you have believed our report, then the arm of the Lord has been revealed. See? Who has believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?

 

Therefore, until we understand it, until it has been revealed, we can not really believe it. For to believe with a wrong understand of what you are believing is as though not to believe at all.

 

Romans 10:13   For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

 

Now, here's the key,  He says, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.  In verse 9 & 10 he said, you've got to believe first in your heart that God raised up Jesus from the dead and then you've got to confess it. And now he says,  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

 

Therefore, this believing and confessing is your calling upon the Lord. AT THY WORD LORD 54-1207  E-48    Only by your confession can you be saved. That's the most powerful weapon that God put in the hand of man, is a committal and a confession. It'll do it every time, if you'll believe it, accept it on those basis, and believe it and stay with it. Keep confessing it. When you confess it...

 

But what if you are not sure of what you believe? Can you be saved?

CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH   55-0220E E-66    Jesus said, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom." You can't understand it. It's a mystic, mythical thing until you're born again. There the very Life of God comes in you. Everlasting, Eternal Life, Zoe, God's own Life comes in you, and then you're a part of God. You're a Son of God or a daughter of God. And then you see as God sees. You believe as God believes.

ROMANS 10:14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher (Even though they say they hear, thy boast in vain, unless they hear true preachers; for to hear false preachers means as much as not to hear. They hear and they do not hear; They have ears, but do not hear, nor do they preach the Word of God. ?  15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! ?

 

Remember Jesus Words of warning that he spoke in the Book of Luke.

 

 

 

LUKE 8:17 For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither [any thing] hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.  18    Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.

 

MARK 4:22  For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad.  23    If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.  24    And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. 25 For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which

 

So then, the entire source and origin of salvation rests on this, that God sends out someone, ( A true minister of the Word).

 

1.      If He does not send out any, then they who preach,  preach falsely, and their preaching is no preaching at all. In fact, it would be better for them not to preach.

2.      Then also they who hear, hear error, and it would be better for them not to hear.

3.      Then also they who believe, would believe false doctrine, and it would be better for them not to believe.

4.      Then also they who call upon Him would call falsely (upon a false Lord),  and it would be better for them not to call.

1        For such preachers do not preach,

2        such hearers do not hear;

3        such believers do not believe;

4        such callers do not call;

5        they will be damned because they would be saved by falsehood.

 

Ø      Then we would see what is spoken of in Proverbs 1:28 which says, “Then shall they call upon me, But I ill not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: for that they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord.” 

 

  16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?  17 So then  faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. The true, revealed, and vindicated Word of God.

 

Then can you see the importance this morning of receiving a vindicated Ministry? Because if it is not vindicated, then how do you know what you are hearing is not error? And if it is error, then you would be believing error, and if you believe error, then you would be calling out to a wrong God, and if you call out to a wrong God, then how could you be saved?  Therefore, God has come down to vouch safe His own Presence among us. We know that we are the elect of God because He said so. It is not just something we have read in a book, but God Himself has come down and has spoken through the lips of His Prophet whom He has vindicated and that is what I am standing on this morning.

 

Can you imagine the mess the Mess-Age would be in if all of God's True Five fold ministry were to be called off the scene? It is going to happen one of these days, and when it does, you talk about a famine.

 

UNCERTAIN SOUND 61-0429E   E-51 One day God said, "Now, you prophesied enough against them, come on out of the field, and I'm going to let the judgments of your prophecy rain down on them." So Elijah went up on top the mountain, up there for three and half years, or three years when they was all 'bout gnawing their tongues for pain, but he was setting by a little brook. Little spring, had the spiritual revelation all the time, waters of life pouring up.  The rest of them... And listen, brother, sister, let me tell you. One of these days when God is,  just get enough of this around here, and He will take all the true off the field and then you'll want a revival. It has to come to pass. The prophet said there would be a time in the last days, when there would not be a famine only for bread and water, but for hearing of the Word of God. And the true servants will be taken off. And there'll be a famine in the last days. It sure will be.

 

Therefore it must be revealed before it can be believed. And when God says it we are to receive it in the way He said it. If we put our own interpretation to what God says, then it has not revealed to us. But if we believe it in the way He said it, it is because it has been revealed to us.

 

People today do not believe what Brother Branham said. And the reason they do not believe is because it has not been revealed to them. That is why he said, say what the tapes say, say what the Bibles says. But they can look at the Scriptures that plainly speak of One God who had a Son, and somehow they come up with three persons or one person who is His own Father. 

 

Then what about the Rapture itself?  Brother Branham taught us that the Rapture will be a revelation, something that has been revealed? And what does he mean by that? Is he saying that the rapture will only be a revelation, and nothing more? NO! That is not what he is saying to us. He is telling us that to be a part of the Rapture, it must be revealed to you. Because He tells us also that the rapture is the Shout which is the Message.

 

RAPTURE THE  65-1204  65    But to the church, the Bride, the rapture is a revelation to her. It's revealed to her, that the revelation, the true Bride of Christ will be waiting for that revelation OF the rapture. Now, it is a revelation, for the revelation is faith. You cannot have a revelation without it being faith. Faith is a revelation, because it's something that's revealed to you. Faith is a revelation. Faith is something that has been revealed to you like it was to Abraham, that could call anything contrary to what had been revealed to him as though it wasn't so. Now, faith... That's what faith is, is the revelation of God. The church is built upon a revelation, the whole entire body.

 

Therefore we are speaking of Believing what has been revealed. It doesn't do anyone any good to believe what has not been revealed. Because if it has not been revealed it does not yet belong to us.

WHEN THEIR EYES WERE OPENED  64-0212  100    Listen, brother, sister. The promised Word, to be promised to you, and you can see it's the hour for that; but when God reveals It, interprets It, then it's sinful to turn It away. Don't you never do that. God opened his eyes by showing him the manifested Word that He had promised, that It would take place. Now. Always does that the same way. He does it. He never changes His system in doing it, no, sir, never. Always the same. He promised the Scriptures for each and every age. And when He manifests that Scripture promise for that age, the people who get their eyes open to see It are the one who receives It.

 

And what is Faith? It is a revelation, something that has been revealed to you. And did you know that if it has been revealed to you, then it belongs to you? Certainly does. That's what God Himself said in Deuteronomy 29:29    The secret [things belong] unto the LORD our God: but those [things which are] revealed [belong] unto us and to our children for ever, that [we] may do all the words of this law.

 

Therefore the things which are revealed belong to us, and that is they are meant to produce something in us. He said, "that [we] may do all the words of this law".

 

Now the word "do" used here does not necessitate works, but it speaks rather of observing, or to attend to in order to acquire, and thus to step forward and to act upon, as brother Branham preached the Message, "Hearing, Recognizing and Acting upon the Word of God." And if we truly do "hear", then we will truly "recognize", and if we truly recognize, then we will truly "act upon" what we hear and recognize. And the acting upon shows that we have truly recognized the Word for what it truly is.  And that makes the Word manifested to us in a reality, not just some sort of intellectual conception to debate upon.

 

That is why brother Branham could say, "God interprets His Own Word by bringing it to pass."  And then if you actually see that Word come to pass, and you know it is the word which God had promised in His Word, then when you see it, it is revealed to you and when it is revealed to you, it is yours. Because God promised us that whatsoever is revealed belongs to you and to your children.

 

Now, this morning I would like to move a  little further into the study of this sermon, and to do so, we will take the next thought in brother Branham's opening prayer.

 

WHO IS THIS MELCHISEDEC 65-0221E   1    Let us bow our heads for prayer. Dear heavenly Father, we hear this song of "Only Believe"; it makes us to know that that's all we have to do to inherit any of God's promises, just believe them. For it is written, "All things are possible to them that believe." As we cry as the man who had the epileptic child, "Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief!"... We thank Thee for Thy great power, Thy great revelation of Thyself to us in this last days. It makes our heart most happy and joyful to know that we have come in contact with the living God, Who vindicates it right back in physical, material evidences as He did in the days gone by and as He has promised for this day. We're so grateful to Thee our God. This dark day where no one seems to know which a-way to go, we're so glad that we found the safety zone, the retreat. Now, bless us tonight, Lord, as we speak of Thy Word. And the promises that's given to us, may we (1) nurture them in our heart, (2) cherish them with reverence, and (3) obey them with real godly discipline. For we ask it in Jesus' Name. Amen.

 

He says, "we thank thee for Thy great Power and Thy Great Revelation of Thyself to us in this last days". Then he speaks of the very presence of God in our midst, as he says, " It makes our heart most happy and joyful to know that we have come in contact with the living God, (this speaks of God's Presence, for He must be present to contact with us). to know that we have come in contact with the living God, Who vindicates it right back in physical, material evidences as He did in the days gone by and as He has promised for this day.

 

Now, again we hear brother Branham speak of the Presence in direct correlation or association with Vindication. He speaks of God's contact with us by His Presence, and then that Presence being an a-vindication that swings it right back into physical and material evidence. Then He gives us a little Alpha and Omega Principle, when he says, as He did in the days gone by and as He has promised for this day.. 

 

Notice how brother Branham weaves into this opening prayer the Godhead, the Presence, Vindication and Alpha and Omega.  There is one thing left out, and that is Twins, and yet his next statement speaks of a people who know in contrast to those who have no clue.

 

We're so grateful to Thee our God. This dark day where no one seems to know which a-way to go, we're so glad that we found the safety zone, the retreat. Now, bless us tonight, Lord, as we speak of Thy Word. And the promises that's given to us, may we (1) nurture them in our heart, (2) cherish them with reverence, and (3) obey them with real godly discipline. For we ask it in Jesus' Name. Amen.