Questions and Answers #26
Brian Kocourek, Pastor
October 27, 2007
II Cor 5:1 For we
know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a
building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to
be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: 3 If so be that being
clothed we shall not be found naked. 4
For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we
would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of
life. 5 Now he that hath wrought us for
the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the
Spirit. 6 Therefore we are always
confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from
the Lord: 7 (For we walk by faith, not
by sight:) 8 We are confident, I say,
and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the
Lord. 9 Wherefore we labor, that,
whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.
ROMANS
12:1 I 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.
Let us pray, Dear Father we are thankful
once again to be assembled together in one place to dine from Thy Word. It is
This Word, which You have brought down to us in the form of the Shout or
Message, that we are so thankful to receive. Because we realize that through
the instrument of Your Word, You are bringing forth our body change as we are
being transformed by the renewing of our minds. We thank You, Father for this
is the fulfillment of Your Great Plan. And we ask Your guidance once again as
we look further into your Word concerning this Great plan, for we ask it in
Jesus Christ's Name.
This evening I
would like to address the thoughts of the Faith that is necessary for a change
of the body. And you should know by now, that there is an order to the
resurrection, how that the dead come forth first, and then we assemble or
gather together with them for a period of time, perhaps a month or so, and
sometime during this time, we receive our Body change, and then we go up to
meet the Lord halfway between Heaven and Earth, somewhere in an elevated place,
or dimension that is greater than the three that we are now living in.
SEVEN CHURCH AGES 54-0512 97
His great, glorious Presence shall strike the earth. "He cometh in
clouds." Oh, I love that. "Clouds," there will be wave after
wave of His glory will come across the earth, and the resurrection of the
saints shall come….
LETTING OFF THE PRESSURE
62-0518 112 See where we're living, friends. What's
the matter with people? Can't you see we're at the end time? It's all over. The
next thing will be a sweep will...?... that little group together. In a month
or so she'll be gone, as soon as she's gathered together. Well, we're at the
end. There's no hope left nowhere. Run to Christ, people.
SEVEN CHURCH
AGES 54-0512 97 "He that was last will be first, and
he that was first will be last." How can it be that way? That's the order
of the resurrection. I won't know nobody in the generation before me or the
generation after me. I'll know those in the generation of this. And every
generation will come successfully, right as it went down. "They which were
last will be first." Sure, it has to be. See? I'll know my people. The
next fellow, my dad will know his people; his grandfather, his people, on down
like that. Wave after wave, after wave, after wave, and the saints arising from
everywhere, won't that be wonderful
So we are looking forward to a wonderful time
ahead, when the time of the Resurrection sets in an we which are alive and
remain will be caught up together with them, and then we will go to meet the
Lord in the air. We get our change first and then we go to meet the Lord in the
air. That is what we have been speaking of for the past few weeks.
Now, as we found in our study that the
apostle Paul said, and brother Branham taught as well, that we have already
been spiritually resurrected from the dead. That is why we all do not have to
die first. There is a group who will be living, and we that are alive and
remain to the Parousia of the Lord will be changed in the moment, in the
Twinkling of an eye, when the Trumpet sounds.
I CORINTHIANS
15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we
shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in
the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and
the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal [must] put on
immortality. 54 So when this corruptible
shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality,
then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up
in victory. 55 O death, where [is] thy
sting? O grave, where [is] thy victory?
56 The sting of death [is] sin; and the strength of sin [is] the
law. 57 But thanks [be] to God, which
giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding
in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain
in the Lord.
I THESSALONIANS
4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we
which are alive [and] remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them
which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a
shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead
in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them
in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the
Lord.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
And what comfort these words bring to us
who are tired of this old pest house. But, the thing of it is, is that the
Shout has already begun. The Lord has already descended with a Shout. And that
Shout is a Message quickly gathering His people. Then the next thing is the Voice
which if you will remember in the Alpha Ministry of Jesus Christ, when He cried
with a Loud Voice, the graves were opened and many of the sleeping saints arose
and came out of there graves after He was resurrected. Therefore the Voice, the
Loud Voice is to waken the sleeping virgins as we also saw in Matthew 25, the Wise are awakened out of there sleep,
and as Paul said in Hebrews 11:40 that they must have this ministry
for they without us can not be made perfect.
Now, this evening
we are going to look at this process of the body change. We know a loud voice
is a shout, therefore, I believe that the resurrection has already began. It is
a process that happens over a period. The living are spiritually resurrected or
awakened from a deep sleep, and then those that sleep in the grave. But the
Living are quickened first, then the dead come froth in Life.
EPHESIANS 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in
trespasses and sins;
Now the word quicken means to make alive
again. The God life that we had in Him before the foundations of the world is
made alive, quickened, or re-animated. Animation coming into these bodies, the
Soul being quickened begins the process of our returning to the way God planned
before the foundations of the earth for us to dwell in His presence for all
eternity.
Questions &
Answers - 64-0823 1M Now, the first thing happens when we're
resurrected ... The ones which are a-living will just still remain ... The
resurrection will set in first, the resurrection of those that are asleep.
There'll be a wakening time, and those which are asleep in the dust now, will
be awakened first, and they'll - these corruptible bodies will put on
incorruption in the rapturing grace of the Lord. And then we'll all get
together. And when they begin to get together, then we which are alive and
remain shall be changed. These mortal bodies will not see death, but just of a
sudden, there'll be like a sweep go over us, and you're changed. You're turned
back like Abraham was, from an old man to a young man, from an old woman to a
young woman. What's this sudden change? And after while you're traveling like a
thought, and you can see those then who are already resurrected. Oh, what a
hour! Then we'll gather with them and then be caught up with them to meet the
Lord in the air. Yes, the Church will all be together, but after, after the
resurrection and the rapture has set in.
Easter Seal - 65-0410 And now, if that same Spirit that was upon
Him to be the Redeemer in that age, that we have accepted... Now, the promise
of in this last days what would take place, if you become part of that Word,
you are redeemed with Him, because the same Spirit that dwelt in Christ is
dwelling in you, quickening your life to this age. And it will also in the end
time quicken your mortal bodies, resurrect them, bring them up again. That
takes the gloom away when we look at it in that, and that's the truth.
Romans here, Paul has proved it to us. See? "If the Spirit that raised up
Jesus from the dead dwells in you, it will also quicken your mortal
bodies." This is the same Spirit that raised Him up that quickened the
true believer to Eternal Life. The Spirit that raised up Jesus from the dead
dwells into the believer, quickens the believer to Eternal Life.
Rising of the
Sun - 65-0418 1M 50-6 And
now (see?), now you are already resurrected. When God raised Him up, He raised
you; the Son is just now on you. And now you're growing into a blossom Life
like He was, to be resurrected completely in that last day. Your potentials you
have now. Why do you know? Your soul changed, didn't it? Your body come in
obedience to It, didn't it? Into obedience to what? A Church? The Word, which
is the Life. Then you are now resurrected from the dead. You potentially have
the Earnest, the waiting. Now, when you get the Dynamics, you have been
quickened from mortal to immortality. It makes the whole body come subject to
the Word. It'll make you act different, look different, live different; It'll
just make you different.
Then notice, it's just like a little seed
laying in the ground. Now, potentially, you are resurrected. You're resurrected
when you receive the Holy Spirit in you; you're resurrected right then. Your
body's potentially resurrected.
II CORINTHIANS
4:16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man
perish, yet the inward [man] is renewed day by day. And this renewal comes by the
Word of God living and abiding is us, adding cell upon cell to our glorified
bodies.
EPHESIANS 4:21 If so be that ye have heard him, and have
been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:
22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which
is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the
new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
EXPLAINING HEALING AND JAIRUS 54-0216 37
The devil's just trying to scare you out of something. He's trying to put
something off somewhere else, say, "Some of these days you'll be
this." You are now. Now, we're sons of God. Now, we're seated together in
heavenly places. Now, we have all powers in heavens and the earth. See? Now, we
have it. Not in the millennium, we won't need it then. We got it now. We're...
Right now we are the sons of God. "It does not appear what we shall be,
but we know we'll be like Him." What you are here is a reflection of what
you are somewhere else. "Those who He called, He justifies." Is that
right? "Those who He justified, He has glorified." Already in the
Presence of the Father, we have a glorified body. Whew! Wasn't that deep? All
right. We'll find out whether it's right or not. "If this earthly
tabernacle be dissolved, we have one already waiting." Is that right?
That's right. So right now, and what we are there, is a reflection. Here, what
we are here, is a reflection of what we are somewhere else. So if your deeds
are evil, you know where it comes from. You know where your other body's a
waiting.
EPHESIANS 1:11 In
whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the
purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: 12 That we should be to the praise of his
glory, who first trusted in Christ. 13
In whom ye also [trusted], after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of
your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that
holy Spirit of promise,
14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the
purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
FUTURE HOME 64-0802 34-3
"You wasn't saved on any day. You was always saved. Amen. Jesus just come
to redeem that, but you was saved from the beginning, because you had Eternal
Life to begin with."
JAMES 1:2 My
brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3 Knowing
this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4 But let patience have
[her] perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
The Entombment - 57-0420 Our own life is just a pattern. It's
just a shadow, and not the real thing. It's the negative side. It takes
death to develop the picture, to put us back in the theophany we come from.
Then in the resurrection we come in His likeness, a resurrected body, what a
beautiful, not only beautiful but it's the real, solemn truth of God's eternal
Word, that we'll be like Him.
Q & A
54-0103E 143-191 What you are here... Get this in your mind
now. I'm going to close. But what you are here is a sign that you are something
else somewhere. You've always wanted to be in perfection, you Christians. There
is a perfection, and that perfection is
not in this life. But every man and woman here that is a Christian, every
person that is a Christian here now is
already glorified in the Presence of Jesus Christ. And you've got another body.
You won't have some other time; you have
right now. Right now there's another body waiting for you if this one
should perish. Could you think of that. Study that just a minute.
ROMANS 8:29 For whom he did (already a done deal)
foreknow, he also did (another done deal) predestinate to be conformed to the
image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30
Moreover whom he did (done deal) predestinate, them he also called (again it is in the past tense) : and whom he called
(past tense), them
he also justified (past tense): and whom he justified (past tense), them he also
glorified (past tense). Therefore it is finished. It's a done deal.
You can't change the outcome, no matter how hard you try.
Now this word
conformed comes from the Greek Word, summorphos {soom-mor-fos'} and means
conformed to -- fashioned like unto having the same form as another, similar,
to describes what is the essence in character and thus complete or durable, not
merely a form or outline.
I JOHN 3:2 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. Notice he said, now we
are. Not in the future, but already are sons of God.
God Rich In
Mercy 65-0119 42 Now, if you've got Eternal Life tonight,
if we have Eternal Life, then we always were, because there's only one form of
Eternal Life. We always were. And the reason we were, because we are a part of
God.
Now, we are still talking about the order
of the resurrection, but what I want you to see is that you have already been
quickened. You have already received a spiritual resurrection which is an
earnest of a body change. Them without us can not be made perfect. They've got
to have what we have, and that is this message of the Revelation of Jesus
Christ.
Now, the thing I want to focus our
thoughts upon this morning is that brother Branham said what we are here is a
reflection of where we are going.
EXPLAINING
HEALING AND JAIRUS 54-0216 37 What you are here is a reflection of what
you are somewhere else. "Those who He called, He justifies." Is that
right? "Those who He justified, He has glorified." Already in the
Presence of the Father, we have a glorified body. Whew! Wasn't that deep? All
right. We'll find out whether it's right or not. "If this earthly
tabernacle be dissolved, we have one already waiting." Is that right?
That's right. So right now, and what we are there, is a reflection. Here, what
we are here, is a reflection of what we are somewhere else. So if your deeds
are evil, you know where it comes from. You know where your other body's a
waiting.
Then what is it we have here that is the
same over there? Notice, he said what we are here. So we need to know what this
means. What we are here is a reflection of what we are over there. I do not
believe what he is saying is that our body here reflects that body over there,
but he is saying our nature or character here is reflecting what nature or
character we have over there.
LAODICEAN
CHURCH.AGE - CHURCH.AGE.BOOK CPT.9 351-3 Listen to me, "Naked
(physically) we came into the world, but naked (spiritually) we will NOT leave
it." Oh no, we are going to take something with us. What that something
is, is ALL we can take with us, nothing less and nothing more. So we had better
be real careful now to see that we take something that will make us right
before God. So, then, what will we take with us? We will take our CHARACTER,
brother, that is what we will take with us. Now what kind of character will you
take with you? Will it be like HIS Whose character was molded by suffering in
the fiery furnace of affliction, or will it be the softness of this
character-less Laodicean people? It is up to each one of us, for in that day
every man will bear his own burden.
What a tremendous question that he lays
before us this morning. What are we going to take with us. There is only one
answer and that is our character. And what we are here is what we will be over
there. Not the body, but the character. Our Character. Therefore we want to
find out about this character, and our character, and what character is fit to
enter into the presence of God. And then we must answer the great question, how
do we get or develop this character? And our answer is simple. Character is a
reflection of your nature. And if you are never born again, you will never
develop the character of God's only begotten Son. As children in this world,
our parents work with us to develop our character. They mold us and fashion us.
They child train us, and teach us what is right and what is wrong. When we err,
they correct us in a way that we will remember. And yet today we live in a time
of Laodicea which is a characterless time, when the emphasis is getting
material things, and no focus is placed on developing character which is the
only thing you can ever hold onto throughout life and into the grace and over
onto the other side. Then how do we develop that character? The same way we
develop our bodies. In fact the word develop tells us it is already there but
needs to come froth and mature. I develop a picture, it is already there on the
negative. It just needs to be placed in the washing of water and then exposed
to the light.
SMYRNAEAN CHURCH
AGE - CHURCH AGE BOOK CPT 4 117-1 Romans 8:17-18, "And if
children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that
we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together. 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." Unless we suffer with Him we
cannot reign with Him. You have to suffer to reign. The reason for this is that
character simply is never made without suffering. Character is a VICTORY, not a
gift. A man without character can't reign because power apart from character is
Satanic. But power with character is fit to rule. And since He wants us to
share even His throne on the same basis that He overcame and is set down in His
Father's throne, then we have to overcome to sit with Him. And the little
temporary suffering we go through now is not worthy to be compared to the
tremendous glory that will be revealed in us when He comes. Oh, what treasures
are laid up for those who are willing to enter into His kingdom through much
tribulation.
ROMANS 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand,
and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
3 And not only [so], but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that
tribulation worketh patience; 4 And patience,
experience; and experience, hope: 5 And
hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts
by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. dokime tried character
I PETER 1:6
Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in
heaviness through manifold temptations: 7
That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that
perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour
and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
Notice Peter speaks to us of the Trial of
your faith or the testing of your faith. That is how God develops the picture
in us! Through the trials and testings, and those trials and testings are for
the purpose of approving us. You don't do all that work with the negative just
to wash it clean. You do all that washing and follow the process to develop
that image that is in the negative with the purpose of bringing it into a
positive.
In the Church
age Book brother Branham quotes again from Pweter concerning this development
of character. SMYRNAEAN
CHURCH AGE - CHURCH AGE BOOK CPT 4 117-2
"Think it not strange concerning the fiery trials that are to try
you." That is what Peter said. Is it strange that God wants us to develop
a Christ-like character that comes through suffering? No sir. And we all have
trials. We are all tried and chastened as sons. Not one but goes through that.
The church that is not suffering, and is not being tried, hasn't got it--it
isn't of God. Heb. 12:6, "For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and
scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. But if ye be without chastisement,
whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons."
THYATIREAN CHURCH
AGE - CHURCH AGE BOOK CPT 6 224-1
"I know your faith." Now he does not say here as He did to the church
in Pergamos, "you hold MY faith". He is not talking about His faith
now, but He is commending them for their faithfulness. And as He does He also
mentions their 'patience.' Now faithfulness and patience go together. In fact
patience is the outcome of faithfulness, for it says in James 1:3, "The
trying of your faith worketh patience." There is absolutely no other way
in which to gain patience. It has to come by the trial of our faith. Romans
5:3, "Tribulation worketh patience." How highly God regards this
outworking of our patience is seen in James 1:4, "But let patience have
her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire lacking nothing."
God's will for us is Perfection. And that perfection is patience--waiting on
God and waiting for God. This is the process of character development. How
highly God has commended these saints of the Dark Ages. Patient as lambs led to
the slaughter, lovingly, faithfully they served God. That is all they wanted
out of life, just service to their Lord. How great was to be their reward.
In this next quote we hear brother
Branham refer to the resurrection Power of the Holy Spirit in our midst is to
do one thing, and that is to bring forth a quickening that will begin the
process of character development.
QUEEN OF THE
SOUTH 60-1127E 80
God, I pray that in this prayer line somewhere, or somewhere in the meeting,
that You'll show that sign of the resurrection that You promised through Jonah.
And may that hour, or that moment, may the power of God seal them in their
heart with the Holy Spirit and make them sons and daughters of God, that their
character would be changed, their desires, and their objectives, and motives,
and everything in their life would be changed. Grant it, Lord. We're waiting
farther on You; the service is Yours. It's in Your Name. And we're waiting to
see what You will do. Save these Lord; don't let them leave this building,
tonight without salvation. Grant it, Lord.
LUKE 21:19 In your patience possess ye your souls.
ROMANS 2:6 Who will render to every man according to
his deeds: 7 To them who by patient
continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal
life: 8 But unto them that are
contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation
and wrath,
II CORINTHIANS 2:8 Wherefore I beseech you that ye would
confirm your love toward him. 9 For to this end also did I write, that I might
know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things.
23
LUKE 8:11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the
word of God. 12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the
devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe
and be saved. 13 They on the rock [are
they], which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no
root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. 14 And that which fell among thorns are they,
which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and
pleasures of [this] life, and bring no fruit to perfection. 15 But that on the good ground are they,
which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep [it], and bring
forth fruit with patience. 16 No man,
when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth [it] under
a bed; but setteth [it] on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the
light. 17For 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.
CHOOSING OF A
BRIDE 65-0429E 10-2
So you must make the right choice. Again, the kind of a woman that a man would
choose will reflect his ambition and his character. If a man chooses the wrong
woman, it reflects his character. And what he ties himself to shows truly
what's in him. A woman reflects what's in the man when he chooses her for wife.
It shows what's down in him. No matter what he says outside, watch what he
marries. I go to a man's office and he says he's a Christian, pinups all around
on the walls, that old boogie-woogie music going on, I don't care what he says;
I don't believe his testimony; because his spirit's feeding on them things of
the world. What say if he would marry a chorus girl, or what if he'd marry a
sex queen, or just a pretty modern Ricketta? It reflects; it shows what he has
in his mind of what his future home's going to be, because he took her to raise
his children by, and whatever she is, that's the way she'll raise those
children. So it reflects what's in the man. A man that takes a woman like that
shows just what he is thinking of the future. Could you imagine a Christian
doing a thing like that? No, sir, I could not. A true Christian will not look
for such beauty queens, and chorus girls, and sex queens. He'll look for
Christian character.
CHOOSING OF A
BRIDE 65-0429E 28-2
God choose by character. Character, there never was a Character like Jesus
Christ. It lives in Him, manifests in. We see it true. It's not worldly beauty
of Him that attracts His Bride; it is His character, the character of the
church that Jesus looks for; not whether it's big buildings; whether it's great
denominations; whether it's big membership. He promised to meet with wherever
two or three are gathered together. Truly. That's where the true believer rests
his hopes, is upon that Word of God being vindicated in truth, what it is.
Choose by His Word.
HEAR YE HIM 56-1215 53 So notice, this fellow, he
just wanted to be smart. And every time he'd see a little fawn, he'd shoot it.
And I said, "You cruel hearted man." And he said, "Aw, you
chickenhearted preacher." See? He said, "That's the way with you
fellows; you're a little sissy." I said, "No, Burt, that's not it.
There's such a thing..." Man is not measured by how much muscle he's got;
that's beast. I've seen men that weighed two hundred pounds and didn't have an
ounce of man in them: throw a baby out of a mother's arms and ravish her.
That's not a man; that's a brute. Man's measured by character. There never was
a man like Christ Jesus, never was a character like that. Man's measured by
character. And I said, "Man's not measured by his big arms, but by the
bags of the knees in his pants, whether he's been praying or not." That's
right. And he said, "Aw, you preachers, you'll get next to yourself."
And he...
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. 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 God's words: ye therefore hear [them] not, because ye are not of
God.
MATTHEW 23:31
Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them
which killed the prophets. 32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. 33
[Ye] serpents, [ye] generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of
hell?
PERGAMEAN CHURCH AGE - CHURCH AGE BOOK CPT 5 199-1
Now it is a well known historical fact that when this error crept into the
church, men began to vie for the office of bishop with the result that this
position was being given to the more educated and materially-progressive and
politically-minded men. Human knowledge and program began to take over Divine
wisdom's place and the Holy Spirit no longer controlled. This was indeed a
tragic evil, for the bishops began to maintain that it no longer required a
transparent Christian character to minister either the Word or the rites in the
church for it was the elements and the ceremony that counted. This allowed evil
men (seducers) to rend the flock.
I CORINTHIANS
9:24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one
receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. 25 And every man that striveth
for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they [do it] to obtain a
corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. 26 I therefore so run, not as
uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:27 But I keep under my
body, and bring [it] into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have
preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
PHILIPPIANS 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have
apprehended: but [this] one thing [I do], forgetting those things which are
behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press
toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 15
Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye
be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.
HEAR YE HIM
58-0301E 57 God's searching for real man. I don't mean how
big his muscles are. Man is never judged by his muscle. That's brute. Man is
judged by character. I've seen man that weighed two hundred pounds and solid
muscle, and didn't have a ounce of man in him; will throw a baby from a
mother's arms and ravish her. That's a brute. But man is measured by character.
There never was a man like Jesus Christ. And the Bible said there was no beauty
we should desire Him, but a character like it has never been molded. That's
right. "Hear ye Him."
IDENTIFICATION 63-0123 28 You cannot no way ever
produce a Character like that, only accepting that Character in you. A church
cannot do that. A creed cannot do that. A denomination cannot do that. An education
cannot do that. It must be a birth. It's got to be a dying out, and let God in
it. By the grace of Christ, mold this type of character in you, that you become
Him. And your life and His is the same. Then you are sons and daughters of God.
MARRIAGE AND
DIVORCE 65-0221M 22-7 Not pretty, but character, God looks at
character. Man looks at natural beauty. It's deceiving. And that's why a woman
was given that beauty for deception, to deceive. A beautiful woman, if she
don't use it in the right way, it's a curse to her. … 22-7 Notice now, but God
is featured in character. There was no beauty we should desire Jesus, but there
never was a character like Him on the earth. Now, we find out today that the
church character, Satan and his group, look after big beautiful churches,
beautiful things. That's what the world looks at today. Oh, if the pastor, the
great So-and-so times So-and-so, so priestly and Godly, walking out in these
big robes and things like that; they call that beauty. But the real saints of
God looks for the character of the vindicated Word. That's what the saints did
in that day when they seen Jesus. He wasn't nothing to look at, but they seen
God was in Him; they seen God was with Him.
CURTAIN OF TIME 55-0302 He said, "My sheep know
My voice." See, they were spiritual inside, and when they seen Him, they
recognized that He was different from them priests, and teachers, and so forth.
So they followed Him wherever He went. They loved Him. They couldn't understand
Him. He was a mystery, even to the Apostles. No one could understand Him,
because there was two people talking all the time. The Person Jesus Christ was
talking, and God was talking in Him, also. Sometimes it was Christ himself;
sometimes it was the Father that dwelt in Him.