Romans 43
Brian Kocourek
Last Sunday and then again
on Wednesday night, we spoke using Romans
7: 6 as out text where The
Apostle Paul said, But now we are
delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit,
and not [in] the oldness of the letter.
In the Message, Jezebel
religion preached right up in Middletown, brother Branham tells us about the
judgments that are coming because this nation has turned down God’s prophet.
Then a few minutes into this explanation of what is in store for those who
reject, he also let’s us know how the Elect made it through a time that was
similar in nature.
Now, at this point he tells us what happened in this
alpha example that we might understand what is to happen in our Omega hour.
106 066 Then
after the days of his prophecy, what happened? The church languished, the great terror of Jezebel; she took
them all in herself, gobbles them all up, took them in herself, and build
groves and everything else. But one
day, God called him out again. Here he come out. Listen close now, and don't
get angry with me. I'm saying, THUS SAITH THE LORD. When he come out, what did
God do? He sent him to a widow woman.
Then Brother Branham tells us the nature of this woman’s spirit, and why God sent
Elijah back to meet with this widow woman.
111 068 Now,
it looked like that he was sent to take what little she had, but it was vice
versa. When she was willing to give what she had in
support of the Word, God fed her. And if
you're willing to give what Spirit you do have, what Spirit that God's give you
to support of the Word, then God will keep you alive. Hallelujah.
O glory to God. Do you see it, church? Don't think I'm beside myself; I'm not.
But what you have got, what little you do believe in God, what faith you have
got, place it on the Word, not on organization. Put it in God's Word; He'll
keep you alive. She was ready then, 'cause
she couldn't before, 'cause they wouldn't let her. But now she's ready. Will
she receive it? God sent a prophet her way. Will she receive his Word? Will she
receive this prophet? Yes, she did.
And he told
her, said, "Now, what little life you have got, place it in here, bring it
to me first." And what happened? When the rest of the world was languishing
and dying in hunger, her and her children and her household all eat three good
meals a day: Divine revelation on the Word. I hope you see it, friend. What
went on? He stayed there until the famine was over, living with this woman,
this Church, that received him and believed his Word. And he kept her alive,
kept the Church alive by the Word of the Lord, because he said, "THUS
SAITH THE LORD.
Now, I believe that the only difference between us
and the world is that we have a revelation which they do not have. God has sent
His Elijah to us and we are now living off the Bread of Life when the world is
receiving the last plague of spiritual death. The scriptures tell us that there will be a famine in the land,
not just for bread and water, but for hearing the Word of God.
AMOS 8:11 ¶ Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD,
that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for
water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: 12
And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the
east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not
find [it].
The scripture also tell us that what is coming on
this world in the form of judgment, will affect everyone who lives on the face
of this planet.
LUKE 21:25 And there
shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the
earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; 26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and
for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the
powers of heaven shall be shaken. 27
And then shall they see the Son
of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 And when these things begin to come to
pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. 29 ¶ And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig
tree, and all the trees; 30 When they now shoot
forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. 31 So likewise ye, when ye see these things
come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. 32
Verily I say unto you, This
generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. 33 Heaven and earth shall
pass away: but my words shall not pass away. 34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time
your hearts be overcharged ( weighed down)
with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of
this life, and [so] that day come upon you unawares. 35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that
dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that
ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass,
and to stand before the Son of man.
Luke 21:34-35 (NIV) 34 "Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed
down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will
close on you unexpectedly like a trap. 35 For it will come upon
all those who live on the face of the whole earth.
MATTHEW 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth
these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which
built his house upon a rock: 25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew,
and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26 And every one that heareth
these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man,
which built his house upon the sand: 27 And the rain descended, and the floods came,
and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the
fall of it.
Now, in getting back to the Book of Romans, we shall
pick up our study in chapter 7. From verse 7 through the rest of this chapter
we will be dealing with the Struggle of sin. Now, remember, Paul had just
spoken to us in verse 6 about living in a newness of the Spirit. He said, But now we are delivered from the law, that
being dead wherein we were held; that we
should serve in newness of spirit, and not [in] the oldness of the letter. And
we read about the widow woman who also yielded her spirit tot he things of God.
When she was willing to give what she had in support of the
Word, God fed her. And if you're willing to give what Spirit you do have, what
Spirit that God's give you to support of the Word, then God will keep you
alive. The support we give to this Word is what God looks at,
because that support is a reflector of our heart and shows what spirit
motivates our life.
Romans 7:7-25 (NIV) 7 What shall we say,
then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was
except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if
the law had not said, "Do not covet." 8 But sin, seizing the
opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous
desire. For apart from law, sin is dead. 9 Once I was alive apart from law; but when the
commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died.
10 I found that the very
commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. 11 For sin, seizing the
opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment
put me to death. 12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment
is holy, righteous and good. 13 Did that which is good, then, become death to
me? By no means! But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced
death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might
become utterly sinful. 14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am
un-spiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want
to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if
I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no
longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.18 I know that nothing
good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do
what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For what I do is not the good I want to do;
no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who
do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23 but
I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my
mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me
from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our
Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful
nature a slave to the law of sin.
The
Weymouth translation puts
it this way… 7:20 But if I do that which I desire not to do,
it can no longer be said that it is I who do it, but
the sin which has its home within me does it. 7:21 I find therefore the law
of my nature to be that when I desire to do what is right, evil is lying in
ambush for me.
7:22 For in my inmost self all my sympathy is with the Law of God; 7:23 but I discover within me a
different Law at war with the Law of my
understanding, and leading me captive to the Law which is everywhere at
work in my body — the Law of sin. 7:24 (Unhappy man that I am!
who will rescue me from this death-burdened body? 7:25 Thanks be to God through
Jesus Christ our Lord!) To sum up then, with
my understanding, I — my true self — am in servitude to the Law of God, but
with my lower nature I am in servitude to the Law of sin.
Now, in understanding the two natures that dwell
within, we must first understand that although we have two natures, we do not
have two souls. What Paul is speaking
of here is the nature of the Spirit or soul, verse the nature of your
flesh. It is you flesh that was sown in
sin, and came forth to the world speaking lies, but not your Soul. That is the
Life that God breathed into you. Now, I realize that the Scripture tells us the
soul that sinneth, that soul shall die. And this is true. But that speaks of
the life that sins that life is what must die. And here Paul is telling us that
we have two natures warring within us. The nature of God by the Spirit and the nature
of the flesh by the natural act of procreation. Now the miracle of the whole
thing is that God could bring together the two to make one vessel.
From Q &
A August 30, 1964 brother Branham
said, you can't be in two bodies at one
time, but there can be two natures in you at one time. Now, the nature of the
Spirit of the Lord... When you're borned again, you're not borned of physical,
like the baby was; but what's happened, the spiritual birth has come to you.
And while this spiritual birth is growing into your heart, of God, there is a
physical or a celestial body growing to receive that spirit. And when the life
leaves this body, it goes to that body. Just as when the body is presented to
the earth, the spirit comes in, and when the spirit goes out of the body, there
is a body waiting. "For we know that after this earthly tabernacle be
dissolved, we have one already waiting." See? That's it, the spiritual
body of the people.
Communion
December 12, 1965 I was born of Charles and Ella Branham. In their nature I was a
sinner; I came to the world, a liar, and all the habits of the world laid right
in me. But down in there too, was another nature present (See?), predestinated,
was in there by God. In this same body (See?) two natures in there. Well, I only
catered to one. As it growed, I gooed as a baby, "Da-da." First thing
you know, I become a liar, become everything else that's a sinner, because I
raised up that way. But down in there was a little speck of Life all the time.
EXPERIENCES
47-1221Are you two people in one?
You're soul... Your soul, that's the nature of the spirit 'course. But now,
you're body and spirit. Is that right? You are a body, flesh, and you're
inside, then, spirit. Is that true? All right.
CRUELTY OF SIN
53-0403 55 020 Made him out of the dust of the earth, now,
not in His Own image. He had already made the man. Then He breathed into him
the breath of life, and he became a living soul. So the soul of man is the nature of the spirit. Now, when you're reborn, you don't get a new
spirit. You get a new nature of that spirit. It's the same spirit, but a
new nature of it. You take two men, stand them together, both look alike; and
one of them is a sinner, and one of them is a Christian. One man say, "I
got a spirit the same as you have." See? But one of them is a different,
his soul, his nature's different. He's been changed.
WORD BECAME
FLESH 54-1003M 083 We are a threefold being: soul, body, spirit. We know that what
this flesh is; we realize that; it's here. We know what the spirit is; it
controls the flesh. But what is the soul? The soul is the nature of the spirit.
Now, where some have gone off in looking at what
Brother Branham is telling us here is they teach that since the soul is the
nature of the spirit, and since we are born with one nature, and then when we
are born again we receive another nature, then it must be that we have two
souls. The first soul is the one we are born with, and the scripture tells us
that “the soul that sinneth, that soul
shall surely die.” But what they
don’t quote you is the next verse of that Scripture which says, “But,
if that soul shall repent, it shall surely live.” EZEKIEL 18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the
iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son:
the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the
wicked shall be upon him. 21
¶ But if the wicked will turn from all
his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is
lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
22 All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not
be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.
THIRSTING FOR
LIFE 58-0611 A soul is the nature of the
spirit. And when a man is converted, he doesn't get another spirit. He gets a
spirit change, a conversion means to change his thinking, change his way of
living and so forth.
Therefore, in getting back to what Paul is telling
us, as long as we are living in the body of this death, we will have a struggle
with this body to bring it into submission to God’s Word. Because, the body was
created from the wrong seed or the wrong desire. Therefore it will always
manifest wrong desire. But when our Soul is quickened to Life it will seek
first the kingdom of God. The key to
understanding this is in Ephesians chapter 2.
EPHESIANS 2:1 ¶ And you [hath he quickened], who were dead in trespasses and
sins; 2 Wherein in time past ye walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of
the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts
of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by
nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4¶ But God, who is rich in
mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5Even when we
were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are
saved;) 6 And hath raised [us] up together, and made [us] sit together in
heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his
grace in [his] kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace are ye saved
through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man
should boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Martin Luther in His Preface to the Book of Romans
said, “God judges according to what is at
the bottom of the heart, and for this reason, His law makes its demands on the
inmost heart and cannot be satisfied with works, but rather punishes works that
are done otherwise than from the bottom of the heart, as hypocrisy and lies.
… “The law is spiritual,” For if the law were made for the body, it could
be satisfied with works; but since it is spiritual, no one can satisfy it, unless
all that you do is done from the bottom of the heart. But such a heart is given
only by God’s Spirit, who makes a man equal to the law, so that he acquires a
desire for the law in his heart, and henceforth does nothing out of fear and
compulsion,
but everything
out of a willing heart. That law then is spiritual which will be loved and
fulfilled with such a spiritual heart, and requires such a spirit. Where that
spirit is not in the heart, there sin remains, and displeasure with the law,
and enmity toward it, though the law is good and jut and holy.
Sin, in the
scripture, means not only the outward works of the body, but all the activities
that move men to outward works, namely
the inmost heart, with all its powers.
Faith on the
other hand is a living, daring confidence in God’s Grace, so sure and certain
that a man would stake his life on it a thousand times. Faith is not that human
notion and dream that some hold for faith. Faith, however, is a divine work in
us. It changes us and makes altogether different men, in heart and spirit and
mind and powers, and it brings with it the Holy Ghost.
Ezekiel 36:26 A new heart also will I give
you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony
heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and
cause you to walk in my statutes, and you shall keep my judgments, and do them.
IMPERSONATION
OF CHRISTIANITY 57-0120M 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.
043 Then He said after that, "Then I'll give you a new spirit." What's that? A new desire, "I want to
do right."
E-6 Looking At The Unseen 59-0410 About four years ago up in Chicago, I was reading a great headline in a
paper where that the medical science had found a little compartment in the
heart of a human being that did not even have a cell in it. It was not found in
the animal life; it was only found in the human body, the human heart. And they
said, "It must been the dwelling
place of the soul." So then man does think with his heart. You look with
your eyes, but you understand with your heart.
Therefore, if you heart is
right with God you will want to have the right thinking which are His thoughts,
and if He has given you a new spirit, then you will have a desire to think His
thoughts. And not until your desire changes can He place His Holy Spirit which
comes to you in the form of His Holy word in you. Jesus said, “My Words are Spirit and they are Life.” Therefore,
God would not place His Holy Word in a vessel that had not the right
understanding nor the right desire to have the right understanding. That is why
I have said all along that the only thing the Five-fold ministry can do for you
is to teach you the doctrine that God might anoint it to your heart, and bring
forth the life of His Word abiding in your life.