Rising of the Sun (Son) no 32
One
Hundred Fold
January 11, 2017
Brian Kocourek, pastor
Tonight as we continue to study brother Branham's sermon The Rising of the Son, we will begin reading from
paragraph 51 where we left off on Sunday.
51 When God made His
first bridegroom, He made the bridegroom first, and he was both man and woman in
spirit, formed him in the dust of the earth to make him
material. And notice, when He made Eve from Adam, He took not another piece
of clay, He took from the same piece of clay, the same Word;
for Adam was a spoken Word. See? He took from him and then taken the... He had
masculine and feminish spirit, and He took the feminish spirit away from Adam
and placed it in Eve, so it's still part of Adam's spirit. It's Adam's flesh.
Then, it was Adam's spirit, the dynamics, that quickened the mechanics of his
body. So the Bride must
also be flesh of His flesh, and bone of His bone. Now, how is this
mortal flesh going to become His flesh? We'll get to it in a minute. See? How
is it done? How... What
is this great transformation? Notice. Now, if the Spirit of him... (God)... that
raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the
dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
52 Oh, my. The predestinated One, of course, like
the seed laid upon the earth, the One that had Life in them. Many of them were
dead. They were just rotten seeds; the waters and things burn them out. But you
know, there was a
seed laying there ready for life. God knowed it was laying
there. Now, the
predestinated Ones are the first to be quickened by the Holy Spirit, for the
Holy Spirit comes to claim Its Own. Now, this is deep now and be
sure to catch this good.
53 Now, as the sun was sent across the earth, not to bring rocks
(which was dirt also) to
life, it was not to bring all the dirt to life, but was to bring the part of the dirt
which was enclosed around a life. Not all men will receive
Christ (oh, no.), but those
which God foreordained Life is housed around some of the dirt of the earth.
That's the one He comes to quicken. They're the Ones that...Now, that dirt
would lay there in the sun and say, "Oh, this old sun's so hot"; that
rock, say, "This old sun's so hot"; but that little seed said,
"That's what I'm looking for." And it began to
spring forth to life. It quickened that part of the dirt, because the sun
was sent, not to quicken the rock, not to quicken the dirt, but to quicken the
life of the seed.
54 Now, the Holy
Spirit comes now. Of course, It wasn't sent... Why won't all the people receive It?
It wasn't sent to
them. A guy told me, "I don't believe... I don't care what
you say. If you could raise up the dead, or anything, and heal the sick and
prove it anyway, I still don't believe it." I said, "Certainly not, you're unbeliever.
It don't mean a thing to you; it wasn't even sent to you. It's sent to
those who will believe." The Message is to the believer. To them
that perish It's foolishness, but to them that are in Christ and part of
that Seed, It's Life.
All
of these things that brother Branham said in the past 4 paragraphs can be
summed up in a parable Jesus told in Matthew 13.
Matthew
13:3 And he
spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; 4 And
when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side,
and the fowls came and devoured them up: 5 Some fell upon stony places, where they
had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness
of earth: 6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they
had no root, they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns;
and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: 8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth
fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some
thirtyfold. 9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Notice
Jesus tells us when the Gospel Seed is
scattered forth by the Son of Man ministry, some of it will fall by the way side, some of it will fall on stony ground, and some of it will fall among
thorns. In all three of these cases, the Word that was sown didn't amount to
much as far as life is concerned. It did not produce anything. But then he says,
but there was some Seed that will fall on "good ground" and it is this Seed in th3e
right kind of soil, predestined soil, that is ordained to bring forth even as
much as one hundred times what was sown in the believer who hears it.
Beginning
at verse 10 Jesus then goes into more detail
letting us know what these categories mean.
10 And the disciples came, and said unto him,
"Why speakest thou unto them in parables?"
Notice,
" Why speakest thou unto them " showing
that they knew that Jesus was speaking to a mixed multitude, a people they
themselves did not consider all to be one with Christ and His Message.
When
this same parable is told in the book of Mark, the disciples go to Jesus and
ask that same question but the words are more definitive.
Mark
4:10 And when he was alone, they that were
about him with the twelve asked of him the parable. 11 And he said unto them,
Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom
of God: but unto them that are without,
all these things are done in parables:
12 That seeing they may see, and not perceive;
and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be
converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.
Here
we have Jesus telling us that He purposely spoke to the people in parables for
the sole purpose of saying things ordained to be received only by those on the
inside, but seeing others on the outside would also hear, then he had to say
them in such a way as only certain ones would understand and receive the
benefits that understanding will bring. But He also speaks in such as way as those
on the outside might not be able to understand the hidden meaning of his words.
These things pertain to our glory, they are given for our Glory and not for
others. And we know what the word glory means. Therefore it was God's intent
for us to receive His Mindset and not for everyone. Brother Branham used the same illustration
when he told the story about the man who said br. Branham didn't know his
Bible, and he answered the man, and said, but I sure know the author real well.
Then brother Branham said it was like a love letter, and when his wife writes
to him when he is overseas she might mention something to him that others who
do not know their personal relationship might read it and miss completely the
entire meaning.
Thus
we see How God hides Himself from the wise and prudent and
reveals himself unto babes such as will learn.
Matthew
13:11 He
answered and said unto them, Because it is given
unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Now,
these verses tell us everything we have to know. These tell us that the same
Word is given for some while it is not given to others.
12 For whosoever hath(is
of such a nature as to be able to echo, which means is able to give it back the
same way he received it), to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath (echoes) not, from him shall
be taken away even that he thinks he hath (is echoing).
13 Therefore speak I to them in parables:
because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they
understand. 14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of
Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall
hear, and shall not
understand; and seeing ye
shall see, and shall
not perceive: 15 For this people's heart
(understanding) is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes
(prophets) they have closed; lest at any time they should
see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand
with their heart, and should
be converted, and I should heal them. 16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and
your ears, for they hear. 17 For verily I say unto
you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have
not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and
have not heard them. 18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
Now,
we see in this parable a very clear understanding that the Word is not for
everyone. Only certain people are ordained to listen and actually hear and
understand what they hear.
19 When any one heareth the word of the
kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the
wicked one, and catches away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. 20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he
that hears the word, and anon with joy receives it; 21 Yet hath he has no root
in himself, but endures for a while: for when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, by and by he is offended. 22 He also that received
seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world,
and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the Word,
and the Word becomes unfruitful in him. 23 But he that received
seed into the good ground is he that heares the word, and
understandeth it; which also beareth fruit,
and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
From his sermon The Spoken Word is the
Original Seed brother
Branham said, … 174 Now,
others will go by and say, "Well, you
know what, I believe I'll try it a while."
You'll choke. That's right. See? But when
you really empty out, say, "Lord
Jesus, no more of me, but You from
this on," (See?) then it's
going to bring forth a hundredfold. You believe that? I believe it too.
Now,
this evening I would like to look at this one hundredfold that brother Branham tells us will come if we die to
self and allow Christ to take over our life. That’s what Paul told us in Galatians 2:20
where Paul said, "I am crucified with Christ: (I've died out to men,
Paul) nevertheless
I am living; yet it is not me that is living, but Christ is living in me: and
the life which I now am living in this flesh I am living by the faith of the Son
of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."
Now,
in order to better understand how it is that we could receive a one hundred
fold in our very beings, let us first understand what it means to be one
hundredfold.
Now,
one hundred fold is not one hundred percent. One hundred fold means one hundred
times more than what is now. One hundred percent will only double, but one
hundred fold means one hundred times more. And we find Jesus speak of this in
this parable of the Sower.
Now,
there are some things about this parable that we should understand before we
look at this one-hundredfold. And first is
that he says “some fell by the wayside”. Now, the term “fall by the wayside” is an idiom which means “To fail
to continue; to give up. To be set aside or discarded because of other
considerations”.
These
are they who because they do not place a correct importance to the Word, they lay it
aside for other things, or let other things get in the way and thus, bye and
bye they lose that which they thought they had. In actuality it is because they
just do not understand the Word and its significance for this day, and thus when
the wicked one comes along, they get caught off guard and are snatched away
from the Truth.
Others
are said to have fallen on Stony Ground. The term
Stony Ground, is a phrase that means “if a
request, or a warning, or advice comes to them they ignore just it”, that is what is called falling
on stony ground. It means they just
ignore it. There is a hardness in that
place where the Word seed was sown, and it just
sits there and the sun bakes down upon it, causing it to dry up and wither away because it is not
planted in good soil.
And the Bible says that "they hear the word and receive it with joy for a while, or for a
season," and how many so
called believers have you seen who seem to embrace the Message when they first
hear it, but do nothing about it, and because they do not plant it into their
hearts and water it day and night by the washing of
water by the Word, it just dries up and they wither away from it
altogether.
The
Bible says it is because they have no roots. In other words, they
never planted themselves firmly the Word which they heard. These are shallow
Christians and they endure for a while, which means they seem to put up with
boundaries the Word sets for a season but when trials and
testing comes because of the Word, bye and bye or time after time they become
offended.
Now,
this word offended means to become stumbled, or to cause
to sin. And we know that sin is unbelief. They stop believing.
They did believe for a while, but they have stopped believing.
The New International
Version translated this parable in these words. NIV 18"Listen then
to what the parable of the sower means: 19When anyone hears the Message and does not understand it,
the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.
This is the seed sown along the path. 20The one who
received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word (The
Message of the hour) and at once receives it with joy. 21But
since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls
away.
This
is the sloppy agape Christian. The person who just can't stand confrontation
over the Word. This person just melts into conformity with the masses and hides
himself in obscurity and compromises the truth just to get along.
22The
one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the Word,
but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness
of wealth chokes it, making it unfruitful.
This
is the group that William Branham feared most for the church, because the
church has gotten soft and the cares of this life creeps in and becomes the
pre-eminent thing in their life, and the cares of this life then chokes off the
life of the Word, and it cannot produce fruit in those who are entangled in
Laodicea.
God
himself said, "I
would rather you were cold or hot, but because you are lukewarm I will spew you
out of my mouth." Now that is quite an indite-ment. Brother Branham said of this in his sermon, Why 61-0128
P:85 "I would you were either cold or hot," see. If you're going to believe God, believe Him.
If He's God, believe Him. If He isn't, why just walk away and leave it alone.
See, you're trying to act like something that you're not, then.
23But
the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was
sown."
So we see
in this parable is that it is very important not only to hear the Word, because all types of believers heard it, but there is only one type of person
that understood what they heard, and that is the one that
actually produces a crop from what they heard.
And
Paul says in Romans
11: 16 For if the first-fruit
be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches. So
those without root cannot be holy, for those with roots back to Ephesians one, before the
foundations of the world being in Him are the only ones with roots
back to the original seed. Because they were in Him before the foundations of
the world proving they have roots.
Now, the third group we saw that fell away are those
who are called Thorny Ground, these are those who hear the Word
but the cares of this life and the deceitfulness of riches chokes the Word,
and thus that
person bears no fruit. Those are the ones that Brother Branham
worried about, because those are the ones who are good Christians people but
they get so tied up in making money and getting ahead that they do not give the
proper emphasis to their spiritual needs, and spend all their time doting about
their material needs, and so the Message does not take a hold up-on them as it
ought to do.
Now the fourth group we see where the Word was
sown is called “Good Ground” and Jesus described this group as
“he that heareth the word, understand it, beareth fruit many
fold”.
Notice this is the only group that
actually understood what they heard, and thus they are the
only ones who can actually bare much fruit from what they heard, because they
not only hear it, but they understood it, and then they acted upon what they
heard.
There are a lot of people who hear it but because
they do not understand it, then what they did hear did nothing for them. Produced
nothing in them.
They might be religious as all get-out, and they
might even get together and talk about what they heard, but if they don't
understand it, then what are they talking about when they talk it?
If their talk is just theology, then they are still
missing the mark altogether. And the Scripture defines “to miss the mark is sin”, and "sin is unbelief".
So although they get together to talk the Word, my question is what is their
focus. You can hear it and if your focus is wrong on what you hear you are
still ignorant of what you heard.
Again we see this parable spoken of by Mark in chapter 4
of His Gospel.
Mark 4:
3-9 Hearken; Behold, there
went out a sower to sow: 4:And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the
fowls of the air came and devoured It up. 5: And some fell on stony ground,
where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no
depth of earth: 6: But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and
because it had no root, it withered away. 7: And some fell among thorns, and the
thorns grew up, and choked
it, and it
yielded no fruit. 8: And other fell on good ground, and did
yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and
some sixty, and some an hundred. 9: And he said unto them, He that hath
ears to hear, let him hear.
Mark 4:14-20 The
sower soweth the word. 15:And these are they by the way side, where
the Word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the Word that was
sown in their hearts. (This is an aborted life because Satan does this to
the life of the word in this person)
16: And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who,
when they have heard the Word, immediately receive it with
gladness; 17:And have no root in themselves, (they were not ordained to
it) and so endure
but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the
Word's sake, immediately they are offended.
This is the miscarriage,
because it is not the power of another exorcized over them as in abortion,
where the child has no control over it, but these are they who hear and receive
with joy but then when the Word is preached that calls forth for them to bear
the cross of the Word, they get offended, they stumble at that Word. They have
no root IN themselves, and as the egg that cannot hold onto the uterine wall
becomes flushed away, they become a miscarriage. There is a weakness in them,
and they can’t hold onto the lifeline, and because they have no root, no true
tie down to the uterine wall, they never do come to maturity, and in that weak
condition they die.
Mark 4:18: And these are
they which are sown
among thorns; such as hear the word, 19: And
the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of
other things entering in, choke
the word, and it
(The Word) becometh unfruitful.
These are they which are a still birth. This is the Laodicean bunch who love the
cares of this world more than they love God's Word which calls for a total
separation from unbelief and the things of this world. And as the umbilical
wraps itself around the unborn child and strangles it, so too do the cares of
this life wraps itself around the child of God that has not yet come to full
maturity and those cares of life actually chokes off the life of the Word right
out from them. This is the bunch that brother Branham was the most worried
about. This is what he tried so diligently to shake the church because he saw
that she was being affected by the choke hold of the world. That is why he
cried out with a loud Voice in the vision as he stood watching the bride go by,
and he cried out, “Stay in line”.
20: And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear
the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirty-fold, some sixty, and some an hundred.
This is the Elect seed Gene of God who are ordained
to receive the change in the body, which comes as a result of receiving first
the Word of God. These are the Bride who
bring forth Life in the Image of the Father.
Now, where there is a birth, something has to
die. There is movement and change that takes place
in the body. Your body doesn't do what it used to do. There's a transforming power that has taken over. It's bringing forth
a manifestation in your flesh that at first is not so noticeable, but
as the development comes forth more and more, it becomes apparent to
everyone just what is happening.
The apostle Paul said in the book of Galatians 4:19
My little
children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,
He never said it would be painless. The pain is until
when? I have actually heard women say that a good reason for having an
abortion was that they did not want stretch marks. Others abort because
the transformation is more than they can bear. But let's see what Paul
said about that.
II
Corinthians 4:8-10. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are
perplexed, but not in despair; 9
Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; 10 Always bearing about in the body the dying
of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our
body.
Others don't want to be inconvenienced.
Others think it will cramp there lifestyle. In the natural we
find women aborting their little babies because they don’t want the
inconvenience of that Life coming forth, and in the so called Christian we find
the same mindset. They don’t want the inconvenience that comes with the
transforming power of another life within them taking a hold upon their life, and
so they abort their Christian walk. They want a religion of convenience. One
which won't cramp their lifestyle. One which won't cause too much pain.
One which will let them live any old way they choose. But you
know abortions not only kill the Life that is
being brought forth, it also places a mark upon the one allowing
it to happen.
Now, this parable must be very important because we
see again this parable spoken of in Luke 8:5-8 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he
sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the
fowls of the air devoured it. 6: And some fell upon
a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away,...
This is the attrition brother Vayle warned us about,
it is a falling away from the Truth, it comes by a wearing down and finally
dying off. They had oil in their lamp at one time, but that oil was not kept up
and therefore they had no oil to light their lamp to see the bride groom when
he stood outside their camp. And it withered away, the Bible says Because it lacked moisture. (and
moisture represent the Holy Ghost.)
7: And some fell among
thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. 8: And other fell
on good ground, and sprang up, (notice the energy) and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had
said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Again in Luke 8:11-15 we see this
parable spoken of as follows: “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.”
So we see a this third group are those who for a
season come into the light of the hour, they hear it, and are happy with what
they hear, but they allow other things to take priority in their lives, and we
are told the cares of this life and seeking after wealth creeps in and chokes
off the life of the Word, and it becomes just a theology, just a churchianity,
and they are left with a church spirit and not the Holy Spirit.
John
14: 16 - 17 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give
you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit
of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither
knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
But this is not complete yet. There must
be a further fulfillment in order to bring forth the Life into
manifestation.
John
17: 20 - 22. ¶ Neither pray I for these alone, but for them
also which shall believe on me through their word; 21 That they all may be one;
as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us:
that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 22 And the glory which thou
gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: 23 I in
them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world
may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
Now notice Jesus prayed to the Father, that the Glory
which is the Doxa was necessary to bring on this special
identification. "That they may be One even as we are One".
And
how is it that we might be One “even as.” which means in the same manner that
Jesus and His Father were One? Jesus said, John
17:14 I have given them thy word; and the
world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of
the world.
Jesus
tells us we become One with God through the same Word that He became One With
God. John 17:20 ¶ Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall
believe on me through their word; 21 That they all may be one; as thou,
Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the
world may believe that thou hast sent me. 22 And the glory which thou gavest
me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
Therefore
it is very apparent that we are one by receiving the same Word which bring us
into the same Glory or same mind as the Father. And the
glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we
are one:
HARVEST
TIME 641212 87 034 Jesus said, "That they might be one, Father, as You and I
are one." Not for
some man to be over something, it never will work; one denomination wants to
take over the other, and one man over the other. But that you might be
one with God, like Christ and God was one; that's what the prayer is. He
was the Word, and Jesus prayed that we might be the Word, reflecting Him.
That's His prayer to be answered. See how Satan scruples it up in the carnal
mind? But that wasn't Jesus' prayer, at all, that we might all congregate
together and all have a certain creed and so forth. Every time they do it, they
go further and further from God. He wants us to be one with God, and God is the Word. Each individual in his heart must be that one with God.
Brother Branham said, the threefold
mystery was "Christ with you, Christ in You, and Christ
through you”.
It takes the Lord Himself to bring the new birth.
Justification made a way for Sanctification,
and sanctification made a way for the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, and the
Baptism of the Holy Ghost made a way for the Holy Ghost Himself to come down in
perfection.
Colossians
3:4 When
Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him
in glory.
I
John 3: 1 – 3 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath
bestowed upon us, that we should be
called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew
him not. 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. 3 And everyone
that has this hope in him, purifies himself even as He is pure.
I
Peter 1:3 Tells us that it is God
that begets us. Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant
mercy hath begotten us again unto a living hope,
Let us pray...