Questions and Answers #20
Brian Kocourek, Pastor
September 30, 2007
Romans 12:
1 beseech you therefore,
brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is
your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good,
and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
This morning I would like to continue our thoughts on the resurrection
and change of the body.
Now, in our last two messages we have seen the importance of the new
birth in beginning the process of the body change, for without the. For we saw
that without the new birth you will never understand the
Now, receiving the new
birth is a series of events which begins with receiving a heart which is a new
way of thinking., and then a new spirit comes forth from that new way of
thinking and that new spirit is new desires, and finally you are ready for
God's own Spirit or Life to come into your vessel.
From the sermon, IMPERSONATION OF
CHRISTIANITY 42 But God had to give you a new spirit. Why, the spirit you
had, you couldn't even get along with yourself. So how are you going to get
along with God? 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….... And then
in the next paragraph 43 he says, "Then after that, "Then I'll give
you a new spirit." What's that? A new desire, "I want to do right.."…
But now, that's the new spirit. Then notice the order of the Scripture. After
you get a new heart and a new spirit, He said, "Then I'll put My
Spirit..." See? Oh, what? That's what the Scripture says here. That's the
order, the pneumatics and numerical order of the Scripture: a new heart, a new
spirit, and then My Spirit.
So we found that the new birth begins a process of renewal, first of the
mind and then getting the body ready for the change of the body.
Now, concerning point number 1, Brother Branham said, in his sermon Mary's belief 61-0121 P:30 "Except
a man be born again he cannot even see the
And from IT SHALL BE EVEN
AS IT WAS TOLD ME 50-0818 23 Anyhow, "to see" doesn't mean "to look
at." The word "see" means
"to understand." Jesus said, "Except a man be born of water
and Spirit, he cannot see the
BLASPHEMOUS NAMES 62-1104M 23-4
And then, that was number one. Number one, coming
to you, your mental faith, right here, comes the Holy Spirit, coming down into
your mental faith making it a spiritual faith. Then the spiritual faith
only recognizes the Word. Now, and Number two--three: Then you'll have
spiritual, you'll have the Holy Spirit, and will seal all these things into
you, as that Holy Spirit covers this. From your faith up to the Holy Spirit seals
you in with Christ; then you become one. Amen. You become one. See, you and
Christ live together. "At that day you'll know that I'm in the Father, the
Father in Me, I in you, and you in Me." See? Then that's a sealed unit of
the Lord God. Now, and then they are vindicated and placed. When that time
takes place, they become vindicated sons and daughters of God.
BLASPHEMOUS NAMES 62-1104M 22-1 The biggest part of our faith is mental
faith. By hearing the Word it brings us to a mental recognition of God. But
if this coming from above, oh, brother, if
it ever strikes this, there is a godly, spiritual faith. Then what does
that faith do? That faith recognizes
only the Word. No matter what anything else says, it only recognizes the Word, because "In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (And the Word's still
God.) And the Word was made flesh and dwelled among us." And when the word
Itself is pouring into our faith, our mental faith becomes a spiritual
revelation. "And upon this foundation I'll build My Church," (See?),
not upon a mental conception of church joining, a mental conception of that,
but upon the revelation. When them
streams of grace has poured into that mental faith that you've got, then upon
this, a spiritual revelation, "I'll build My Church and the gates of
hell can't prevail against it." See? That shows they would be against it,
but it'll never prevail. Oh, what a glorious thing.
Now, what are these
streams of Grace that Br. Branham is speaking of here? In 1 Peter 1: 13 We are told
that these streams of Grace will come at the time of the Revelation of Jesus
Christ. Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be
sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the
revelation of Jesus Christ;
Now, this revelation is the apokolupsis which means the disclosure, when Christ
comes down with a Shout to fully reveal Who He is and Why He is here. In Luke 17:30
Jesus speaks of this as the days when the Son of Man shall be revealed, and brother Branham when asked if
he was “The Son of Man” said,
I am not The Son of Man but a
son of Man revealing The Son of Man.
Questions
and answers COD 64-0823E P:52 291. Some say Brother Branham is
the Son of man. I thought the Pillar of Fire was the Son of man. Am I
mistaken?Well, that's a good question, very good. But I am not the Son of man,
but a son of man. There's quite a difference. Jesus Christ was the Son of man…
He also said from From that time 62-0713
P:102 How
many knows there's a difference between the appearing of Christ and the coming
of Christ? It's two different words. Now's the appearing, the coming will soon be. He's appearing in the midst of us, doing
the works that He once did, in His church. Now, you're a part of that church,
and by grace you believe. So we see it is going to take streams of grace for our
eyes to see it.
And then brother
Branham went on to say,…...But my ministry is a different ministry from a pastor or
teacher. I'm not. And if I say things wrong, brethren, forgive me. I don't mean
it. But this is my ministry (See?) to declare Him, that He's here.
So to declare him means that by words he would lead him into view. And
God said that He would come down and do a work in our day, but no one would
believe it.
Acts 13:
41 Behold, ye despisers, and
wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no
wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.
So we see Peter was speaking of this end-time ministry of Christ to the
church is when these streams of Grace are to come.
This is the time when
God Himself shall bring down the Headtsone to cap off the building of the Body
of Christ as prophecied by Zechariah 4: 7 Who art thou, O great mountain? before
Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone
thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.
We see the Apostle
Paul speak of this grace that is to come at the time of the unveiling of
Christ, and it is to come for a purpose. And that purpose is that we come
behind in no spiritual endowment or understanding concerning what is going on
at that time.
CORINTHIANS 1:4 I
thank my God always on your behalf, for The grace of God which is given you by
Jesus Christ;
Now, notice what this
Grace is to do. 5
That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance (Logos), (that
word utterance was translated from the Greek word Logos, which we know as Word,
but also it means doctrine or teaching) and [in] all knowledge; So we see that this Grace
is to enrich us like fertilizer does to the seed planted in the soil, and it is
to enrich the doctrine and knowledge in order to produce a fully manifested
crop of sons and daughters.
Then he tells us why. 6 Even as the
testimony (witness) of Christ was confirmed in you: 7 So that ye come behind in
no gift (Charisma or spiritual endowment); (the word is charisma and
it means endowment as in mental acuity or ability to understand.. So God sends
a special anointing of Grace in order to anoint our minds to the doctrine so
that we come behind in no understanding) waiting for the coming
(apokolupsis, unveiling or revelation ) of our Lord Jesus Christ: 8 Who shall also
confirm (establish) you unto the end, [that ye may be] blameless in the day of
our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God [is] faithful, by whom ye were called unto the
fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. 10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and [that]
there be no divisions among you; but [that] ye be perfectly joined together in
the same mind and in the same judgment. Notice how this grace is to
bring an understanding which brings with it the same mind and judgment. Not
everyman receiving a different measure, but all receiving the same mind, and
the same rule or standard of judgment. I believe that is those streams of Grace
that brother Branham is referring to when he said, When
them streams of grace has poured into that mental faith that you've got, then
upon this, a spiritual revelation…
Notice in particular
what Jesus is saying. He is saying that unless you are born again there is
absolutely no way for you to understand the message. So we see the importance
of the new birth in beginning the process towards recognition of the Angel of
the Covenant, none other than the Lord Jesus Christ in our midst.
We see that the
evidence of being God seed is that you are given an ability to think like God
thinks, and to see as God sees. That is part of your spiritual DNA by the new
birth.
In 1 Peter 1: 23, Peter tells us “Being born again,
not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth
and abideth for ever.” So we see what it means to be born of
corruptible seed, because corruptible seed must produce a corruptible life.
Now, this makes the human being a very complex character, because he is
born with a body that has a spirit allowed by God.
And that is our main problem when we are born into this world. As Paul
said, even after you have received the baptism of the Holy Ghost you still may
struggle in your flesh.
Therefore, the Message
is to do something for those that receive it. It brings a special dispensation
of Grace that is to change our minds first and then our bodies next. And when
our minds are changed then we will see what God sees, because we will think
what God thinks.
Romans 12:2
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of
your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect,
will of God.
So we see there
is a special dispensation of Grace that is to take a hold of our minds and
renew us in the inner man. And without the Shout there will be no change of the
mind which then there could be no change of the body which then there could be
no resurrection of the dead nor could there be a catching away. So the Shout
starts the whole thing in motion. And Jesus said, "As a man thinks in His heart so is He and out
of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." So then if
God Himself comes forth with a shout, this can only be a declaration of
Himself. And that is exactly how we are to receive our change. In 1 John 3: 2
the scripture tells us, " Beloved, now we are the sons of God, but it does not Appear what
we shall be, but we know that when He Appears (At HisAppearing) We shall be like Him
for we shall see Him as He really is.”
So we see here
that we receive our change by seeing Him as He really is.
In fact in
So we see again
that it takes His Appearing to bring out of us who we really are. This
Appearing then is instrumental to our change. Seeing Him changes us. Earlier we
quoted Br. Branham telling us when that which is perfect comes and he told us
He has come. It is God in the form of the Word. Now in 1 Cor 13:12 we are told, " For now we see
through a glass darkly, but then face to face: (When? When God
comes!) Now we
know in part, but then shall we know even as (in the same manner) also we are known."
We also see in 2
Cor 3: 18 that as we look into the mirror of Gods Word we only see
Christ and the more we look upon Him the more we are changed from image to
image and from Glory to Glory.
So we see that
the Word is what brings about our change and if we are to receive a change that
is incorruptible it must come by a Word which also is incorruptible. That is
why it is so important for God Himself to come down. Br. Branham told us that
Christ Himself is our Elijah of today. He said, Christ is the Messenger to this
Age. And as we know he speaks to us through the lips of His Prophets. So God
comes down with a Shout which is a Message which is a declaration of Himself.
As He is, so He speaks. And we are caught up into the Revelation of God
Himself, and this brings about our change. In Ephesians 1: 17 Paul tells us that God will send forth
the Spirit of wisdom and Revelation in the Knowledge of Him, that we might know
what the hope or earnest expectation of this calling from God is.
Br. Branham defines this for us in the Sermon, Seventy Weeks of Daniel pp. 67
where he said, "The Spirit of Wisdom comes into the church by the Revelation
of the Holy Ghost bringing the church in and revealing what day that we are living
in. Just the same as Gabriel come to Daniel, the Holy Spirit comes to the
church in the last days to reveal these great deep secret things. Do you
understand now?"
So we see the whole
picture at this time is God getting us ready first through the baptism of the
Holy Spirit and then God sends down His own Spirit to deliver to elect of God a
Message that will bring on the transformation by the renewing of the mind.
Now, in closing, let’s
read the first chapter of the Book of Ephesians to see if that is not exactly
what Paul said would take place in this hour.
Ephesians 1:1 Paul,
an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at
Therefore the emphasis
is not on the baptism any more but the Baptizer, Himself, for Paul speaks of
this Spirit of wisdom and revelation in Ephesians 1: 15 - 17 that come to ones who were
already prepared by the baptism of the Spirit which he spoke of in verses 13 - 14.
So then we can see the Message brother Branham spoke in this hour takes us
beyond the baptism of the Holy Ghost right into the very Presence of the
Baptizer Himself, Who is the Holy Ghost. In fact that is why there is so much
flack amongst the Pentecostal element in this Message.
30
Br. Branham warned us this would come in Q & A on the Holy Ghost pg. 19
"Now, when the Holy Ghost comes in and reveals the Truth of anything and
proves it by His Own Presence and by His Word, you can't expect the
Pentecostals to agree with it. You've got to stand alone like Luther did, like
Wesley did, like the rest of them did."
31
Now, this mind-change and thus body-change are not for everyone. It is only for
those who are able to receive Him, only for those who are sons.
32
JOHN 1:10
He was in the
world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11 He came
unto his own, and his own received him not.
12 But as many as received (Lambano, to lay hold of, to appropriate
to oneself, to give one access to oneself, to experience. As many as were given
access and thus were able to appropriate what was given to them by) him, to
them He gave power (exousia = authority, right, judicial decision or judgment,
in other words, the ability to make a right decision, a right choice. Thus we
were given an ability to make a right decision. Now contrast that to all other
men. The Bible teaches us there is a way which seemeth right unto man, but the
end thereof is the way of death. So man will always take the way which seems
right but it leads to death. So we must be thankful to God for giving us this
special endowment of Grace to allow us to think as He thinks.) to them He gave
power to become (to ginomai, power to come to fulfillment as) the sons of God,
(now as I already mentioned the word to become was translated from the Greek
word ginomai, which means to become or to come to fulfillment. But another
thing I want you to understand is that this word gino-mai has it's roots in the
word "gino" which is also the root word for "gino-sko"
which means "to learn to know, perceive or understand". Thus the word
to become is a learning process that can only take place by a teaching from the
Holy Spirit, a child training, a Message declaring who He is and why He is
here. HEBREWS
5:8 Though
he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;)
JOHN 6:45 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.
12 to them He gave power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe
on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh,
nor of the will of man, but of God. This
tells you it was not your choosing, neither did you have anything to do with
it, but simply you were chosen and ordained by God to be fulfilled as Son of
God). And further more, we see that those who receive Him are those who are
called sons of God. Therefore unless you are sons you are reprobate and can not
come to an understanding of the truth.
II
CORINTHIANS 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith;
prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in
you, except ye be reprobates? to be of opinion, think, suppose
Notice Paul is
telling us here that if we do not have the spirit of Christ in us we must be
reprobates. Now the word reprobate comes from the Greek word adokimos which has
its root in dokeo which means "to think or suppose, to seem, to think, or
to judge. Thus a reprobate is one that cannot make a right decision, and thus
can not make a correct judgment because there is nothing in Him by which to
judge. He has no discernment of the Word because there is no Word in Him".
Jesus said, JOHN 8:37 I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek
to kill me, because my word hath no place in you. 38 I speak that which I have
seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father. 39
They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them,
If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. 40 But now ye
seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God:
this did not Abraham. 41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him,
We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, [even] God. 42 Jesus said
unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and
came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. 43 Why do ye not understand
my speech? Even because ye cannot hear my word. (and remember hear means to
understand. Therefore Jesus was saying why do you not understand my speech,
even because you can not understand., you are unable to understand because you
are not seed of God.)44 Ye are of [your] father the devil, and the lusts of
your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in
the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he
speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. 45 And because I
tell you the truth, ye believe me not. 46 Which of you convinceth me of sin?
And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? 47 He that is of God heareth
(understands) God's words: ye therefore hear (understand) them not, because ye
are not of God.
So you see it
all comes down to seed. Only the seed of God can receive mind of God. And thus
only the seed of God can understand the thoughts of God.
ISAIAH 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his
thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him;
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 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. 10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from
heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring
forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 11
So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto
me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper [in
the thing] whereto I sent it.
Notice that we
are told that our thoughts are not His thoughts and we are incapable of knowing
His thoughts unless we repent of our own thoughts. But it is not in man to do
this unless God intercedes on our behalf and that will not happen as Jesus said
unless we are seed of God. For unless we are God's seed we have no place for
the Word, and thus we are incapable of understanding the mind of God.
So then who is
Paul speaking to when he says in PHILIPPIANS 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
He is speaking
to the elect, the seed of God, for only the seed of God can receive the Spirit
of God, and thus know the mind of God.
I CORINTHIANS
2:6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: (that
means of full age) yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this
world, that come to nought: 7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery,
[even] the hidden [wisdom], which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
(notice that the Wisdom which was kept hid since before the world was created
was kept safeguarded for our glory.) 8 Which none of the princes of this world
knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered
into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love
him. 10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit
searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
That is why
when you are born again by the spirit of God you can't get enough of the Word
of God. Because the Spirit of God that is in you searches the things of God to
know the things of God and there is such a desire in you to understand the
things of God that you hunger and thirst after right-wise-ness. And then he
tells us that unless you have the spirit of God living in you, you will not
know what to search for.)
11 For what man
knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so
the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
In other words,
the Spirit of God knows the things of God and unless you have the Spirit of God
living in you, you will never know the things of God. That is why so many that
were in Pentecost and came to this message while they were in Pentecost do not
understand the Message, because they thought they had already received the
Spirit of God because of the gifts. They thought the gifts were the evidence of
having His Spirit, and thus they left off seeking the baptism of the Spirit
because they already thought they had it based on gifts. But gifts are not the
giver. And yet if they have the true baptism of the Spirit there is an evidence
which a vindicated Prophet of God came and told us it is to know and understand
the Message for the day in which you live. But if you do not know, and neither
do you understand what that message is, then you had better be praying to
receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, because you don't have it. For only
those with the Baptism of the Holy Spirit are able to receive the Spirit of
Wisdom and Revelation in the Knowledge of Him. That is what Paul tells us in
Ephesians 1: 13-18,
1 Corinthians
2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but The Spirit which is
of God; that we might know (notice the whole purpose of receiving the Spirit of
God is to know. Know what?) the things that are freely given to us of God.
13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth,
but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; (you see the Holy Ghost is the teacher)
comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can
he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. So we see the natural man is not able to receive the
things of God, and neither will understand the things of God, and therefore can
not understand the Message. That is why Ye must be born again. But do you think
you could ever get someone raised up in Pentecost to seek for Holy Ghost
baptism? That is why brother Vayle told me years ago that a person coming into
this message as a rank heathen or catholic has a better chance than those
coming in from Pentecost or Baptist. Because you can't tell those people
anything. They think they already have it and don't realize that they are just
as empty as empty could be.
Unless you are
willing to forget everything you ever knew when you came to this message, you
are not fit for being filled with the Spirit of God, because you are more
interested in self vindication than in true vindication which can only come
from His Presence. Brother Branham taught us that the most treacherous thing is
to think you have it when you don't because as long as the devil can make you
think you have the baptism of the Spirit you will not look for it.
WHAT DOES TAKE
MAKE CHRISTIAN LIFE 57-0113 32 Now, I want you to listen for a few moments
before closing. I want you to notice one thing and watch closely now. Watch the
order of the Scripture, "I will take away the stony heart and give you a
new heart." Now, the heart is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.
"And I will give you a new spirit." I want you to watch the order.
Now, many people get mixed up there. They think they got the Holy Ghost, but
they just get a new spirit. Watch. "I'll give you a new heart, and a new
spirit. And then I will put My spirit..."
Now, the new
Spirit... God had to give you a new spirit, but that's a new spirit God give
you so you could get along with the Holy Ghost. With that old spirit you had,
you couldn't get along with your neighbor; you couldn't get along with
yourself; so you know you couldn't get along with God; so God gives you a new
spirit. And many times under enthusiasm, and if you'll watch the life that it
bears... I hope I'm not hurting, but I hope I'm uncovering. See? A lot of times
you'd think that you'd have the Holy Spirit. "Oh," you said, "I
sung; I spoke in tongues." Certainly. Being that close to it you might do
all of that, but that isn't the Holy Spirit yet. See? The Holy Spirit bears
record of Jesus Christ.
15 But he that
is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we
have the mind of Christ.
49
Why? Because we have been given His Spirit in order to know and to understand
His Mind.
Dear Father we are so grateful that you have been with us to teach us this
morning, to know without a shadow of doubt that the evidence of the new birth
is to receive the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation in the Knowledge of yourself,
for that is what Paul taught and that is what Your prophet has taught us in
this hour. For we must have the new birth if we are to receive your mind and if
we are to be able to know your thoughts and reflect your thoughts.
Therefore, we pray Heavenly Father to be filled with your Spirit that we might
know Thee in the power of your resurrection, for you are the resurrection and
the Life. And this was evidenced to us when you raised up your Son Jesus from
among the dead.
Grant us Father an in-filling that will change our minds, and change our
thinking and then it will begin to build within us that new body which is a
Word Body to get us ready for the catching away, for we ask it in the wonderful
name of your Son Jesus Christ, amen.