Questions and Answers #29
Brian Kocourek, Pastor
November 4, 2007
Wednesday evening we spoke again on faith but this
time on the Joy which we should have when we are receiving trials based on our
Faith. The subject was “Count it all joy, and took our text from James 1:2-8 My brethren, count
it all joy when you 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.
We looked mostly at verse one and spoke on the subject
of the Joy that we are commended to show when going through our trials. We saw
how this is made possible because we know the trials will work within us a
patience that has the end result that we will be wanting nothing.
We saw how that in Romans 5:3 Paul said, “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.
So we see that
there is a purpose behind our trials, and that is to produce in us a character
that we could never develop without the trials and testing.
By Scripture we are told that Abraham was not tried
until after he had received the promise. And so it is with all sons. God
doesn’t try you or put you to the test and then give you the promise. He makes
the promise first and then placed the trials to see how we are going to do with
them. Hebrews 11:17-19, we read, “By faith, when
Abraham faith was tried when he was told to offer up Isaac: 18 and
he knew the promise Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
19 Accounting that God
was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him
in a figure.
In Hebrews 6:15
concerning Abraham we read: And so, after
he had patiently endured, Then (and only then) he obtained the promise.
Hebrews
10:35 Cast not away therefore your confidence (Confidence in Who? Or In what? In God’s Word, that’s
what.) which hath
great recompense of reward.”(So we see that the Word of God, God’s
Promises have a great recompense of reward. There is reward in believing what
God promises!!!) 36
For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye
might receive the promise. When do you get the promise? After you
are tried and endure.
It says in Heb
5:7-9 concerning Jesus: 7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers
and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save
him from death, and was heard in that he feared (He was not heard because he
cried and sobbed and fasted—he feared); 8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by
the things which he suffered; 9 And being made perfect, (How? By suffering…to
get patience…to get character…and only then) he became the author of eternal
salvation…
Even Jesus Christ had to suffer to
develop character. Now, this morning I will speak on the Subject “The Trial of
Your Faith which we find in 1 Peter chapter 1.
What most people do not understand is that God has
ordained a Faith for us and that faith is to bring us into the very mind of God
to think like God thinks. And therefore when God gives us this Faith, (and we
know Faith is a revelation) we know that most assuredly as He has given us this
revelation, he will also test us in this Revelation. Therefore the Revelation
and thus the trial of that Revelation are for the purpose of bringing about the
very mind of God in us. We speak what God speaks and we do what God shows us to
do, and we have no doctrine but His doctrine and we have no will but His will.
Therefore there are three things we must understand and
about The trial of our Faith or Revelation.
Number One: The Trial of your Faith is predestined for
your glory. In other words where God has predestined “The Faith” because there
is but One Faith, and that is the Faith of the “One Lord,” then that Faith is
the Doctrine of Christ which God had ordained for our Glory. Therefore God has
predestined the Trial of your Faith, in which He has selected out specidic
trials that are ordained to test your Faith in Him.
Number Two: You are ordained to pass the test.
Therefore Number Three: You are tested for the purpose of approval.
Now, let’s see if these statements are not exactly
correct from the Word of God and the Message of the Hour. Now, let’s open our
Bibles to 1 Peter 1 and I want you to notice who Peter is addressing here. He
is addressing the Elect of God.
I
PETER 1:2 Elect
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the
Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto
you, and peace, be multiplied. 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto
a lively hope (that’s a living hope,
or a hope that has been made alive. And How has that hope been made alive?) by the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead, (and where is that hope to lead us? ) 4 To an inheritance
incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for
you,
So we see that this hope keeps us alive and in a
living anticipation of the inheritance. The we se that this hope is not for
just anybody, but only for those who are to receive the inheritance, namely
sons and daughters of God who have the mind of God. That is what we learned about
the spirit of Wisdom and Revelation in the knowledge of Him. That is Ephesians 1:17-18. That the God of
our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of
wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: 18 The
eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope
of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
Notice Paul said the
Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation in the Knowledge of Him, God, is to come to get
us ready and to make know the earnest expectation we have in the inheritance of
the saints. So we see this spirit in our midst is to get us ready to receive
our inheritance. Now there is the promise of
God to us, and last week we established that when God gives us a promise
he will also give us trials or test us whether we believe that promise or not.
Br. Branham said in
his sermon, Seventy
weeks of Daniel 61-0806 P:36 You remember in Daniel 12 He said, "The
wise shall understand in this last days"? It's been given to him. The Spirit of wisdom comes into the church
to make known to the church by the revelation of the Holy Ghost--bringing the
church in and revealing what day that we're 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 that The Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation in
the knowledge of Him is to get us ready for the adoption, because you don’t
receive inheritance unless you are adopted first. And the adoption is for those
who are sons as John said in 1 John 3:2, “Beloved you are already sons, but it does not yet appear what
you shall be, but when He shall Appear, When He shall phaneroo, When He shall
manifest in His true character, then you will also manifest in your true
character because you will see Him as He really is, and in seeing Him as He
really is you will become like Him, and manifest the same charaterter that He
manifests.” Now, notice then what this hope does.
Now. Let’s continue reading in 1 Peter 1:5 And
you who are kept by the power of God and
what is the power of God, it is the Message of Christ according to Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ:
for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the
Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For therein is
the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The
just shall live by faith.
Now, again in reading from 1 Peter 1:5 And
you who are kept by the power of God
through faith
unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (So we see
that there is an end-time salvation that will be revealed in the last time, or
the end-time.) 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 he is speaking of trials that we are ordained
to receive and these trials are associated with our faith, to test our faith to
see where we stand in that faith, or that revelation. And not only are we
ordained to these test, but we are also ordained to pass them.
WUEST
TRANSLATION ....In which last season you are to be
constantly rejoicing with a joy that expresses itself in a triumphant exuberance,
although for a little while at the present time if perchance there is a need
for it, you have been made sorrowful in the midst of many different kinds of
testings in order that the approval of your faith, which faith was examined by
testing for the purpose of being approved, that your approval being much more
precious than the approval of gold which perishes, even though that gold be
approved by fire-testing, may be discovered after scrutiny to result in Praise,
Honor and Glory at the time of the Revelation of Jesus Christ;
So you see our trials and tests come after we receive
the promise from God, in order to see if we are going to hold to the promise,
and you know what? God doesn’t give the promise to just anybody. Peter here
tells us that He gives them to those who are ordained to pass the tests.
Now, 1 Peter 1 speaks of the end-time trial of our Faith that
is ordained to bring forth Glory, which is the very mind of God in the
believer. So the trial is made in such a way as to bring the
thoughts of God into our minds as we are going through them. Thus we are given
a test or tests because of that Word or that promise of God, but then when we
are given trials by the Word we are also Given a Word to pass the Trials. Let
me repeat that. Our trials are because of the Word, and yet God gives us Word
to pass the trials. So it all goes right back to Him Who is the Word.
Now, Peter also says in 1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, think it
not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange
thing happened unto you: Here we see that it should not surprise us
when we face our trials, because these trials are made for the purpose of
testing us. 13 But rejoice,
inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory
(and we know this Glory is His Doxa which is His very mind) shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with
exceeding joy. And
why should we rejoice when God reveals his Doxa to Us? Because Deuteronomy 29:29
tells us, 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. and
that means that as long as it remains unrevealed it is still God’s but once it
has been revealed to us then the title deed is our. It is the earnest of our
possession. but those things revealed belong unto us and to our children
forever.
So we are talking
about a time when the very mind of God is to come into the Elect as Paul said
in 2
Thessalonians 1:7-10 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus
shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, Now, we have already seen and are witnessing the Appearing of the Lord.
Now, remember, Appearing and coming are two different words and they mean two
different things. And we have seen the revelation of the Son of Man coming from
the Heavens in the form a white wig which was to designate Him as the Supreme
Judge, and notice that the white wig was made up of angels. Exactly what Paul
is speaking of here.
Now, Paul continues in verse 8 In flaming fire (the Pillar of Fire) taking vengeance on
them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ (and notice what
happens to those who do not believe or obey) 9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the
presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;(So just like Cain they go out from the presence of
the Lord. But notice what happens to the Elect Saints of God. And remember if
they are saints it is because they are sanctified. So this is not speaking of
those who are borderline Christians. It speaks to those who have been
sanctified which means cleansed and set aside for service.) 10 When he shall come
to be glorified in his saints, (Notice he said, When He, Christ,
shall come to be glorified, endoxa’d in His Sanctified Ones. That means He
comes at this time to place the very mind of God in the sanctified ones.) and to be admired
in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that
day.(So Paul is telling
us that this is the hour that His testimony, his Message will be believed. And
did not Br. Branham say, He was only preaching what Paul Preached?) 11 Wherefore also we
pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling,
So you see to receive
the very mind of God is your calling if God has ordained you to it) and fulfil all the
good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of
faith with power: 12 That
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according
to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, in getting back
to 1 Peter 4:14 He
is talking about the reproach for the Word that you are ordained to be tested
in. If
ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye;
for the spirit of glory (that’s God’s
doxa again) and
of God resteth upon you (So not only is the Spirit of God to rest
upon you, but his very mind will be in you) on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. (In other
words, in them will come cursing, but in you will come forth the very mind of
God, the doxa of God.) 15 Only let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an
evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. 16 Yet
if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be
ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. (Let him reflect the doxa of God during these
trials),
1 Peter 4:17 For
the time is come that judgment must begin at the
house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be
of them that obey not the gospel of God? 18 And if
the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? 19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to
the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him
in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.
Peter tells us that we
should not think it is strange when we are tried and tested. But rather he tells
us to make sure that our trials are because of our stand for God’s Word and not
for doing things that are not right. For if we suffer for those things we have
brought upon ourselves because we have not sowed right, then just bear it
because you deserve it. But when you suffer for taking a stand on God’s then
that is when you should be extremely happy. It’s like those people who get
under a false ministry and they suffer for it. Those false ministries take
advantage of them, and bleed them of all they have, and shear them like sheep.
Now, that suffering is not because of God’s Glory. That suffering is do to
sheer stupidity and not knowing wherein ye now stand.
Job tells us that when God rebukes us we should be
happy. Not when men tell you which is up and down, and call you down, but when
God set’s you in your place because when God does it, it shows He is actively
participating in your way of Life.
Let us turn to Job 5:17-27.
Behold, happy is
the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the
Almighty. 18 For God maketh sore, and God bindeth up: God woundeth, and God’s
hands make whole. 19 He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there
shall no evil touch thee. 20 In famine shall redeem thee from death: and in
war from the power of the sword. 21 Thou
shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: (But it’s going to be there.)
neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh. 22 At destruction
and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the
earth. 23 For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the
beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee. 24 And thou shalt know that
thy tabernacle shall be in peace; and thou shalt visit thy habitation, and
shalt not sin. 25 Thou shalt know also that thy seed [shall be] great, and
thine offspring as the grass of the earth. 26 Thou shalt come to thy grave in a
full age, like as a shock of corn cometh
in his season.
So, when does a shock “come into season?” When it’s
mature. When it has dried out and ready for harvest; it’s not green any longer;
it’s ripe, and it has character. The Life is fully ripe, and ready for harvest.
It is fully grown. It has no more growing that is necessary.
God develops
character in you by suffering.
Psalms
84:4-7, and It says: Blessed are they
that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah. 5 Blessed is
the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them. 6 Who
passing through the
Now, Ps 94:12-13: Blessed [is] the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and
teachest him out of thy law; (13) That thou mayest give him rest…(How
do you get rest? Through your faith in God…the trial of faith. How? By the
trial of your faith.) That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity,
until the pit be digged for the wicked.
Let’s turn to 1 Pet 5:6-11,
and It says: 6
Humble yourselves thyself therefore under the mighty hand of God.
What does It say? 6 Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in
due time. In other words God is going to bring you down by His Own
Hand and, then, lift you up. 7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. See what we are talking about? 8 Be sober, be
vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about,
seeking whom he may devour.
How does he devour them? By the people thinking that
their sorrow is too much for them, and they get swallowed up. Now: 9 Whom resist
stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are (being)
accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. (Not one misses
it.)
(10) But the God
of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that
ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
You say, “I want
that, patience, without suffering, so I won’t mind suffering then.” I’m sorry,
but you get it by suffering. You don’t get it to enable you to suffer; you
suffer in order to get it. You don’t get money in order to go to work; you go
to work in order to get money. Huh? Now, don’t try to change God’s order of
scriptures.
God has never
changed His way, or He Himself would be changed. The way of God is suffering.
I’m sorry. I’m sorry I’ve got to tell you. I wish I could be like the modern
preachers and say, “You don’t want to go to hell.” Well, who does? I told you I
wouldn’t want to get my little finger burnt, let alone my whole body cast into
hell. So, you don’t want to go to hell; you want to go by easy make-believers
‘escapism’. You’re not escaping anything. You never were meant for hell if
you’re in the Bride of Christ. You’re getting ready for heaven, honey. Don’t
bat your eyes; just read your Bible. If
I’m wrong, when I’m finished, you come up here and take over. We’ll go word for
word. I’m ready for any man; I don’t care who he is. Let’s find out. Don’t
twist It, just read It the way it is. He said, “…After ye have suffered a
while, make you perfect…”When do you get perfect? After you have suffered. “Oh, if I could get perfect, then I could
take it.” No, no, no! I’m sorry! Huh?
Revelation 3:19. “As many as I love…” This is said to your day and
mine. In no place in the Laodicean age does it say that we love God. The last
book of the Bible in the Old Testament, Mal 1:1 The burden of the word of the Lord to
Finally, in closing
let’s turn to Hebrews
12:1 Wherefore
seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us
lay aside every weight, (let us lay
aside all those things that are holding you down, or holding you back) and the sin which
doth so easily beset us, and let us run with
patience the race that is set before us, (Now, how can you run the race if you are encumbered
which means you are strapped down with so much weight. Herb Brooks the coach of
the winning 1980 Olympic Gold medal hockey team knew this. So what he did was
to strap ankle weights on his player during practice and then when the time for
the real game came, he took off the weights and boy could those guys fly on the
ice. So it’s time to lay aside everything that can weigh you down and hold you
back from receiving the crown of Glory, and look to the author and finisher of
your faith and get ready because you are going to have to fly one of these
days. Just don’t be weighted down when that time comes.)
Now, verse 2 Looking
unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;
who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider him (in other words, consider him means to set your focus
on him and what he did) that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself,
lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. 4 Ye
have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. 5 And
ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My
son, despise not thou the chastening of
the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. (So
if God really loves you and has received you, then you will get rebuked and
chastened, so when it comes, be happy, and don’t shrink back from him. It means
He truly Loves you and wants to see His own Glory, His own Mind in you.)
Verse 7 If
ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he
whom the father chasteneth not? 8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof
all are partakers, then are ye bastards,
and not sons. 9 Furthermore
we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us,
and we gave them reverence: shall we not much
rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 10 For
they verily for a few days chastened us after
their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. 11 Now
no chastening for the present seemeth to
be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit
of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
Now, what’s that
telling us? He is saying although you might not like what is happening or the
way it is happening get your minds off the circumstances and look at the
promise of what those trials are to do in your because they are to produce the
very nature and character and mind of the Father in you.
Verse 12 Wherefore
lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; 13 And
make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the
way; but let it rather be healed.
14 Follow peace
with all men,
and holiness, without which no man
shall see the Lord (Look, he’s telling us here that without holiness no
man shall see the Lord, so those people
who claim to believe God sent a promise but refuse to believe the message and
Live it, will never see the Lord. They just saw a man that saw the Lord that’s
all, and what good did it do to all those people who saw the man Jesus but did
not see that God was in Him? They died in their sins.)
Therefore we should
be 15 Looking
diligently (not dilatory, but
diligently looking. We should be looking with a pain staking effort. That is
what he is saying. ) lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of
bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby
many be defiled; 16 Lest
there be any fornicator, or profane person, as
Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. 17 For
ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was
rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully
with tears. 18 For
ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with
fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, 19 And
the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice
they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: 20 (For they could not endure that which was
commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or
thrust through with a dart: 21 And so terrible was
the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear
and quake:) 22 But ye are come unto mount Sion,
and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an
innumerable company of angels, 23 To the general
assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God
the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 And to Jesus the mediator
of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better
things than that of Abel. 25 See that ye refuse not him
that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth,
much more shall not we escape,
if we turn away from him that speaketh from
heaven: 26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but
now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but
also heaven. 27 And this word,
Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of
things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Wherefore
we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may
serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: 29 For our God is a consuming fire.