Spoken Word #05
If
I be Lifted Up
Resurrection
Power
Brian Kocourek
February 3rd, 2008
John 3: 14
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must
the Son of man be lifted up:
Let us bow our hearts
and our heads in a word of prayer.
Dear gracious and
loving Father, we come before Thy throne of Mercy this morning believing that
you are still the same yesterday, today and forever, and that you are the
Sovereign God, the self existing God and the author and finisher of our Faith.
Father, as we approach
this sermon of Brother Branham’s called, “The Spoken Word is the original
Seed,” help us to understand the words which you spoke through the mouth of
Your Prophet, Dear God, knowing that this Message is only for Your Elect who
were in your mind before the foundations of the world were laid.
Grant us a refreshing
from Your presence this morning Lord, for we ask it in Jesus Christ’s name and
for your Glory and that Your Word may be Glorified in Your Saints, Amen.
Now, this Morning after
a month of studying this great sermon of Brother Branham’s, we will finally
reach his opening prayer and believe me when I tell you, his opening prayer is
very rich with many thoughts to ponder.
You know, I’ve always
said that brother Branham would say more in his prayer than most ministers will
say in their entire sermons. Therefore let us begin reading his opening prayer
as we read from paragraph number 7 of the Spoken word is the Original Seed.
7.
Our heavenly Father, You said in Your Word: "If
I be lifted up from the earth I will draw all men unto Me."
And, that is our purpose in life, is to
lift up before a dying generation of people, that Jesus Christ is still the Son
of God, the Saviour of the world. And I'm so happy to know that I live
where there is people who believe that, and along with the thousands that has
accepted Him as their Saviour. And knowing
that after this life is finished, there will be a life on the other side
that'll be so glorious that this toils and few hours that we're passing
through these shades and shadows of life here in the testing ground, that we are merely entering into the orbit now,
waiting for the countdown, for soon
there will come a time that when God's time is fulfilled. The great arm, that's held back the time so long, will
finally let go, and His church will move off from this earth in space out
yonder into a land where there'll be no
sickness, sorrow, old age, death. That's why we are gathered today, Lord,
is to express our feeling about these things.
8. We're so
glad to know that this is just not bringing the people together for something
in vain; that it has been proven the
greatest reality the world has ever known, that the Son of God is not dead,
Who made the promises, but is alive
among us forevermore. And we're so happy this morning, Lord, above all
things, though we own the world and could be young for hundreds of years to
enjoy it, but it would only be a season
compared with what's the time that's laid up for those who love Him. So we
are trying to point our brother and sister to this great hour that's
approaching us. And as we see that time coming, Lord, our hearts burn. We want
to make ready.
9. And
one by one we go down the lane. We just got through burying one from our midst.
Our Sister Bell, going quickly (according to her request), so quick we couldn't
get to her to pray with her, but it was her request to go to see how good that
You are to provide all the things that we desire in our hearts. You leave none of them. You promised it.
Now, we pray that You'll bring hearts to
understand You today, those who do not understand You. Bring sinners to
repentance; bring sick people to the healing knowledge of God. O God, bless Your saints and bind their hearts together. And as
these tapes goes out to the cities and the churches all out through the nations
around the world, may ministering
brethren who has maybe once misunderstood understand now that Thy church might
be prepared.
10. And now, O
Lord, Who separated me from my mother, Who's fed me all the days of my life and
has brought me to this hour, by Thy grace, feeling it was Thy will that I
should explain to the people why that I have acted and did the way I have done;
may it be in such a way that people will have a better understanding, Lord, of the peculiarity of Thy servants. Grant
these things, Father, these Scriptures and a text and words that we have
written here through the week, praying and studying. May they fall on good
ground everywhere they are heard, a ground that can hold them and nourish them,
and then all praise shall be given to Thee, for we ask it in Jesus' Name. Amen.
Now, there are so many
thoughts that I would love to speak on here this morning but we just do not
have enough time to focus our thoughts on all of them. So let’s begin with the
first sentence of this opening prayer and reflect upon what God’s prophet was
speaking to God in this prayer concerning this lost and dying generation that
we are living in.
7. Our heavenly
Father, You said in Your Word: "If I be lifted up from the earth I
will draw all men unto Me." And, that
is our purpose in life, is to lift up before a dying generation of people, that
Jesus Christ is still the Son of God, the Saviour of the world.
Now, there are two
thoughts that I would like to take this morning concerning this opening
sentence of this opening prayer.
First of all we hear brother
Branham quote Jesus from John 12:32 If I be lifted up from
the earth I will draw all men unto Me.
Secondly we hear him
say that our purpose in Life should be to tell others that Jesus Christ is
still the Son of God and Saviour of the World.
Now, let’s examine
this first thought here. When brother Branham quotes the words of our Lord there
is a double meaning that is laid out here for us to understand. One is that as
the serpent was lifted up on a pole for all
But this also speaks
of his resurrection from the dead in which God took him up beyond all pulls of
the earth where he sits on the right hand of the Majesty on high.
The Words Jesus is
quoting here are very specific. He said, “When I be lifted up FROM the earth I will draw all men unto
me.”
Notice Jesus, said, “FROM the earth,”
and that is the key here in understanding how it would draw all me unto him. Jesus
death without resurrection would have been no different than all other men.
What set’s Jesus supreme above all men, is that God did not suffer his body to
see corruption. God raised up Jesus from the dead before corruption could set
in. He was uncorrupt in life, and even in death he never saw corruption in his
flesh. This was prophesied of Him by David in the Psalms.
Psalms 16: 10 For
thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to
see corruption.
Peter quoted this on the day of Pentecost in the book of Acts. Acts 2:
25 For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw
the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not
be moved: 26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my
tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: 27 Because
thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to
see corruption. 28 Thou hast made known to me the
ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.
29 Men and brethren, let me freely
speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his
sepulchre is with us unto this day. 30 Therefore
being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of
the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit
on his throne; 31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of
Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. 33 Therefore
being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the
promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. 34 For
David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said
unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, 35 Until I make thy foes
thy footstool. 36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know
assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both
Lord and Christ. 37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto
Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and
brethren, what shall we do? 38 Then Peter said unto
them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for
the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all
that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our
God shall call. 40 And with many other words did he
testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
Paul also quoted these words of David in Acts
13: 35 Wherefore
he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see
corruption.
Now, I want you to notice that David, Peter and Paul all said the same
thing here, and three is a witness. David spoke of what was to come and Peter
and Paul spoke of what had taken place. And All three spoke that there would be
One who would not suffer Thine holy one to se corruption.
God raised up Jesus
from the dead. Jesus did not raise himself. He said “IF I be lifted up.” Now
the word IF was taken from the Greek word “ean” and is a conditional particle often used in connection with other particles to
denote indefiniteness or uncertainty. In other words it is a word that is
dependent upon another, and that is what Jesus was saying here that he was
dependent upon another, and that other was God Himself.
Now, it is not the
lifting up on the pole or cross like the serpent was lifted on the pole that
would draw all men unto Christ, but his being lifted from the grave by the
power of God’s resurrection and Life that would draw all men unto Him.
When Jesus said, If I
be lifted up FROM the earth the literal
translation as seen in the Wuest translation is “when I be lifted up out from underneath the
earth, all men will draw to myself.”
The Word FROM is: Used to indicate separation, removal, or
exclusion.
Therefore it is not
talking about being lifted up above the earth as if to be erected on a pole,
although that is the method in which they killed him. But rather, it means to
be lifted up and away from this earth and all that this earth holds in it’s
power. Lifted up beyond the pulls of the earth. Lifted up beyond it’s gravity,
and thus refers to His resurrection. So Jesus
was speaking of His resurrection. His being lifted up from or away from the
earth as in resurrection.
After all, when Jesus
was lifted up on the cross, it did not draw all men to him, but rather away
from him. His crucifixion caused the men who had followed him everywhere to
disperse and hide. No men came to him at hour of need with the exception of one,
and he was just a young man who had not yet arrived at manhood, and that was
John who was still in his teens at the time. I believe he was only 16 when he
began to follow Jesus. All the others that stood by him were women. It was only
women that stood by him when He died.
So we see that it is the resurrection that will draw all men unto Him,
and that resurrection was performed by God Himself.
Now, there are twenty times that brother Branham says that John 12:32 speaks of the resurrection of Jesus
Christ.
From his sermon Life is the healer 57-0611
P:54 brother Branham said, “Jesus said, "If
I be lifted up, I'll draw all men unto Me." The Gospel yet in its
simplicity has the greatest drawing card the world has ever known. It was the
power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Amen.
And from End time the 54-0307A P:55 he
said, What It needs is a good old-time
Now, we know that the
Son of God ascended up on High after God raised Him from the dead. In fact
there are 18 times in the New Testament which specifically speaks of God
raising up His Son. And it is this Son which is allowed to set down at the
right hand of the majesty on High. Paul quotes this in I CORINTHIANS 15:25 For he must reign,
till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be
destroyed is death. 27 For He (God) hath put all things
under his (The Son of God’s) feet. But when He (God) saith all things are put under him, (The Son of God) it is manifest that He (God) is excepted, which did put all things under him (The Son of God). 28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him (The Son of God), then shall the Son also himself be subject unto Him (God)
that put all things under him (The Son of God), that God may be
all in all.
So we see that God
places all things under the feet of His son except of course Himself, that He
God may be all in all. Therefore, we are looking at the resurrected Lord Jesus
which will draw all men unto him. And just after brother Branham quotes the
Lord Jesus in his opening prayer here, he says, And, that
is our purpose in life, is to lift up before a dying generation of people,
that Jesus Christ is still the Son of God, the Saviour of the world.
Now, these words that
brother Branham said we should reflect upon in our daily walk. He said, that is our
purpose in life, is to lift up before a
dying generation of people, that Jesus Christ is still the Son of God,.
Now, you wouldn’t
think that those words would not be fighting words, but they are. It boggles my
mind to see that most everyone you speak to concerning the relationship of Jesus
Christ to His Father want to reject the fact that Jesus was the Son of God.
In fact that is why
they crucified Him, for saying he was the son of God. John 19: 7 The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought
to die, because he made himself the Son of God.
Now, it was apparent that the religious people of His day could not
receive that Jesus was God’s Son, and in
John 10:29 My Father, which gave them
me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. 30 I
and my Father are one. 31 Then
the Jews took up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus
answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my
Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? 33 The
Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for
blasphemy; and because that thou, being
a man, makest thyself God.
34 Jesus answered them, Is it not
written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? 35 If he called them
gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; 36 Say
ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou
blasphemest; because I said, I am the
Son of God? 37 If I do not the works of
my Father, believe me not. 38 But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that
ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him. 39 Therefore
they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand,
Today the majority of
the world’s so called Christians are either Trinitarian or Oneness. There are
only a few who correctly understand that there is one God and He had a uniquely
born son. But hardly any will call Jesus what he was, and that is the SON of
God. The Trinitarians want to make him one in a committee which makes up God,
which is so ridiculous that it makes my head spin. And then the Oneness or “Jesus
Only” want to make Jesus his own father. But none understand that he was the
Son of God. He was a SON. And it boggles their mind to think that God had a
SON. And we see that it was this proclamation that they wanted to kill Jesus
for.
Matthew 22:41 While
the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them,
42 Saying, What think ye of
Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The
Son of David. 43 He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying,
44 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I
make thine enemies thy footstool? 45 If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? 46 And no man was able to answer him a word, neither
durst any man from that day forth ask him any
more questions.
Acts 2:29 Men and
brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both
dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. 30 Therefore being a prophet,
and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his
loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; 31 He seeing this before spake of the
resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh
did see corruption. 32 This Jesus hath God raised up, (who raised up Jesus? God did.) whereof we all are witnesses. 33 Therefore
being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the
promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. 34 For David is not ascended into the heavens:
but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, 35 Until I make thy foes thy footstool.
36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that
God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
John 8:
28 Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of
man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as
my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.
1 John 4: 15 Whosoever shall confess that
Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.
Now, many people do
not understand just what it means to confess that Jesus is the Son of God. The
fundamentalist bases his whole salvation on his own confession and that is why
the fundamental churches are full of people who have not been born again. They
have made a confession, but not according to the Scripture.
They think this simply means they that
declare Jesus to be the Son of God, and so just to say it to them is in answer
to this scripture and thus they believe they have fulfilled this scripture. And
I am afraid the message is also full of this sort of thinking. People will
quote Br. Branham and say the evidence of being filled with the Spirit of God
is to believe the message for your hour. And that is true, but just what does
it mean to believe the message for your hour? And so we have some questions
here that need answering, because many have not sought after the new birth
because they think they are ok since they believe that God sent a prophet. But
that is not what the Message of the hour is.
No message of any hour was ever God sent a prophet. If a prophet even came
forth on the scene declaring self he could only be a false prophet and we
should not believe him. Jesus Himself said in John Chapter 5 Verse 31 If I bear
witness of myself, my witness is not true. And if a prophet, any prophet comes
on the scene declaring himself, then he is a false witness of God, because the
job of a prophet, any prophet is to declare the things of God. As a messenger,
his first obedience is to the Message God gives him to deliver to the people.
And that message is never to point the people to Himself, but to the One that
sent him.
So that is the first
mistake people do when they say, "The evidence of being born again is to
believe the Message of the hour, because they more likely than not do not
understand what the message is. And so we see the same mistake made among the
fundamentalists, whether they be Baptist, Evangelical, Pentecostal or whatever their
brand of organization. They place the full evidence of their new birth in their
own confession.
They go to ROMANS 10: 9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the
Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the
dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto
righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Now the fundamentalist
will take this scripture and combine it with 1 John 4: 15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son
of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God, and they place there
salvation and belief that they are filled with the Holy Ghost in their own
understanding of these two scriptures, and because they misunderstand what
these two scriptures says, they stop moving forward with God and think they got
it.
They think, "If I just tell people
that God raised up Jesus from the dead, and if I confess that Jesus is the Son
of God, then I am saved and filled with the Holy Ghost. And if you question
whether they are even born again or not, they say, you do not believe the
Bible.
Well, just because I
do not believe it your way, does not mean I do not believe it.
Look, the Jews claimed to believe every word of the Bible, and yet it is very
evident that when the very One the Bible speaks of came to them, they rejected
Him. Why? Because He did not come the way they had interpreted the Bible to say
he would come.
Yet He came exactly as
the Bible said He would come. So you see, they believed the Bible, and yet they
believed it in their own way of thinking and thus missed the King of Glory when
he came. And they think because I confess Jesus to be the Son of God, I've got
it, and yet they make that son a third part of a trinity and coexistent and
co-equal with the Father and with another being they call the Holy Spirit.
To prove that you can
confess that Jesus is the Son of God and not be filled with the Holy Spirit
just take for example the man that is spoken of in the Scriptures that was
actually filled with many devils, and yet that man identified Jesus as the Son
of God, and was afraid that Jesus had come to torment him. We find this story
told three times in the Scriptures.
The 1st time this
story is told we find it in Matthew 8: 29 and in this version it actually speaks
of two men. And,
behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son
of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?
The 2nd time we see it
told in Mark 5: 7
And cried with a
loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most
high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.
And the 3rd time for a
witness we see the story in Luke 8: 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him,
and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God
most high? I beseech thee, torment me not.
Now, in getting back
to Romans chapter 10, the error of the fundamentalist in believing that he only
has to say some mystical magical words and he will be saved, is in how they
interpret Romans 10: verse 9 and 10. 9 That if thou shalt confess with thy
mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him
from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto
righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
But in order to fully
understand verses 9 & 10, you must begin reading at least in verse 8.
ROMANS 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth,
and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; Now, just any
word will not do, but Paul says the Word which we preach, and in the book of
Galatians, he warned us that if we preach any other Gospel than what He
preached we are cursed with a curse.
GALATIANS 1:6 ¶ I marvel that ye are so
soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another
gospel:
Notice here that Paul
is telling us that these people had become removed from the Gospel as he had
taught it unto another Gospel. Now this word another was translated from the
Greek word “heteros”, which means of a different nature. Now, to know the
nature of anything is very important because every seed will bring forth after
its nature. And what Paul is saying is that although you might be using my words
to say what you are saying, yet a very different nature is coming forth and it
is affecting the way you believe. Because, notice in the very next verse he
says, 7 Which is not another; and the Greek word that this word another was
translated from is the Greek word “allos,” and not heteros. The word allos
means a totally different one altogether. And Paul says you have been removed
to one of a different nature, yet not a totally different one, and then he
continues by saying, but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the
gospel of Christ.
Now he also said the
same thing in 2
Corinthians 11: 1-4 where he speaks of the people receiving another
spirit. That word is also heteros, speaking of a spirit which has a different
nature.
2 Corinthians 11: 4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have
not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or
another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.
Now, in this case they are preaching an allos
Jesus and thus receiving a heteros spirit because their Gospel
has become a heteros Gospel. In plain English they are preaching a different
Jesus, not just one of a different nature, but a totally different one
altogether, and because they are preaching this different Jesus the spirit
which they receive is of a different nature, and thus the Gospel although they
use the sane terms becomes one of a different nature altogether.
So we see that Paul
was warning the people that it was not a different message altogether they were
being removed to, but it was the same message, only it had a different nature
because it had been perverted from the message he had first presented to them.
And if Alpha has become Omega as Brother Branham warned us it would, then the
same thing has taken place in this hour. The message has become perverted, and
it no longer has the same pure nature as it was taught by William Branham, but
there is a perverted nature that has taken over the Message where most of the
people are Oneness in their thinking. Now, you can't lay that on William
Branham because he flatly denied he was oneness as they are teaching it today.
He said Jesus was not his own Father, and he said he was a dual being because
God indwelt the Son of God.
Before Brother Branham
left the scene he told a brother I know that there are already 17 different
versions of the Message being preached. And that was almost 40 years ago. So in
getting back to what the Apostle Paul said, 8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other
gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
Then to make sure he was fully understood, he says again in verse 9,
As we said
before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that
ye have received, let him be accursed.
Notice here that the
Apostle Paul is making it pretty clear that any other gospel is a perverted
gospel if it is not presenting the same nature as what he already preached. And
then he tells us why in verse 10 ¶ For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please
men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
Now, that is a pretty
important statement he is making here, because it flies in the face of all
those who would use the pulpit to make gain for themselves and try to attract
men to themselves rather than to God. He says, If I please men, then I should
not be the servant of Christ.
Now, he is not saying “I should not be a servant of Christ if I please
men”, as though it is up to him whether he should be or should not
be. No, that is a bad translation. Rather what Paul is saying is that If I please men
rather than God, then I would not be the servant of Christ, because
you can not serve both God and man. Because it is not our message to begin
with. It's either God's message you are preaching and believing or it’s a man's
message. Take your pick. Because in verse 11 he says, But I certify you, brethren, (that means I have
made you fully aware brethren ) that the gospel which was preached of me (or out
from me) is not
after man. 12 For I neither received it of man, (out from man) neither was I taught
it, (by man) but by the revelation (that word is apocalypses
which is the appearing) of Jesus Christ.
So Paul tells us that the Gospel he was
preaching was made known to Him not by reading his Bible, and not from some man
somewhere, but by Jesus Christ personally appearing to Him. It was the personal
Presence of God making Himself known to Paul just as it was to William Branham
in this hour. And so it is a vindicated understanding that Paul was bringing to
the people. Now, that brings us to Romans 10 again. Remember, the fundamentalist
believes all he has to do is make an oral confession that Jesus is the son of
God and he's in, he’s saved and he’s filled with the Holy Ghost. But notice
that they will read Romans 10: 9 -10 but do not go back to verse 8 which
speaks of the word which Paul preached that has a curse placed upon it that
whosoever deviates one iota from it and produces another nature in the way they
present it, there is a curse placed upon him or her.
And so we pick up at verse 9 now with
that understanding. So let's read it again. ROMANS 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the
Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the
dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto
righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Ok,
now, if we really want to understand what Paul is saying here, we need to
continue reading.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever
believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12 ¶ For there is no difference between
the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call
upon him. 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
You see this is where the fundamentalist
stops reading. Because he believes that the calling upon the Lord is the
confession that is being made. But Paul clarifies to us that just not any
calling will do. For in the next verse he says, 14 How then shall they call on him in whom they
have not believed? (now, this is a good question, because he is
telling us that they could be calling and yet not really be believing.) and how shall they
believe in him of whom they have not heard?
Now, what if they have
heard that other Gospel that Paul was speaking about in the book of Galatians?
If they believed in that other Gospel of that different nature, then what
nature do you suppose they would be receiving? The correct nature which is the
nature of God? I don't think so. And so he asks the next question, and how shall they
hear without a preacher?
Now, that is a very good question. How
can they hear if there be not a preacher to speak the Word with the right
nature. But Paul is not finished here, for he asks yet another question,
15 And how shall they preach, except they be
sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the
gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
So we see Paul ask the
question, and how shall they preach, except they be sent? and this is the most
important question of all, because what if they were not sent and they went
anyway? Then whose message are they preaching? If it is not God that sent them,
then who sent them? Because the one who sends them it is their message they
will be preaching. And If they were not sent by God and went on their own
accord, then it will be their own message they will be preaching.
So you see how
important it is that God sends out somebody? Because if he does not send out a
man, then the man the people are listening to is preaching a message which is
not God's message, but a message which is his own understanding and if so, then
it is of another nature, and if so then, the people that will believe it, are
believing a perverted Gospel, and if so then they will be calling out to a
false one, and thus believing in a false hope, and thus when they call upon God
to save them, He will not hear them.
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel.
For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? 17 So then faith cometh
by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. 18 But I say, Have they not heard?
Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends
of the world.
But the question still remains, did they
actually hear what was being said, or just the sounds that were made.
And so we see in this verse of scripture
that we have taken for our text this morning, that we must first look at this
word confession that is spoken of here, for in this Scripture we are told
Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and in this is made a
promise that there is a certain benefit that we shall receive. And in this case
it happens to be that God will dwell in him, and he in God.
So we must examine
what it means to confess that Jesus is the Son of God, for in knowing what this
confession is all about, we will also understand why God will come into them
that make this confession, and we will also avoid the trap that has beset so
many fundamentalists into believing that the confession is merely some magical
words that are said by the believer.
Now, the word confess
was translated from the Greek word Homo-Logeo or Homo-logos, and just about all
Christians know the word Logos speaks of The Word of God.
We know that in the beginning was The Logos and The Logos was God. So we see
that this word for confession is made from two Greek words, of which one is the
word Logos which speaks of The Word.
Now, the first part of
this two part word, "Homo-Logeo" is the Greek word "Homo",
and it does not mean homosexual. It simply means "the same". We use
it in the English language as a prefix with many words. We say homo-centric
which means having the same center, or homo-gamous which is used in botany and
means having one kind of flower on the same plant, or homo-genous which means
having a similar nature and comes from the two words homo meaning the same and
genous which speaks of the genes. So it speaks of having the same genes.
So you see the word
homo Logeo or logos means "having the same Word". So if we are to
read this verse of Scripture correctly we must read it as follows: Whosoever
shall have the same words and say the same Words that Jesus is the Son of God,
God will dwell in him, and he in God.
Now, it says,
whosoever will say the same words, and we must know who first said those same
words, and then we have a clue as to the author of those words, and thus whose
Life is expressed through those words. For Jesus told us "as a man thinketh
in his heart so is he, and out of the abundance of the heart the mouth
speaketh".
Then really what we
are essentially and intrinsically is what we think in our minds or our hearts.
And what we do must first come from what we think, and then when we do what we
think it brings our thoughts into some form of expression. So when we read the
statement, Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, we are thus
saying, Whosoever shall think and thus say the same Word, and what is that Word
we must think and thus say? "that Jesus is the Son of God".
William Branham taught
us that confession means to say the same thing. And the reason he could tell us
that is not because he was a prophet, nor is it because he just arbitrarily
decided to call it that and we must believe it because he was vindicated. But
the reason he could say that is because that is what the Greek word homologeo
means. It means the "Same-Homo, Word-Logeo".
Now in the sermon Christ 55-0221
P:49 William Branham said, You're not using your own thoughts; you're using His
thoughts. "Let the mind that was in Christ be in you." See? Think His
way of thinking; say what He says. "Confession" means "to say
the same thing." Confess is to confess the same thing, say the same thing.
Then don't confess your own mental conception. Be borned again and confess His
Word, confess what He said. That's confession. Say, "By His stripes, I was
healed." By His stripes, I have a right--by His wounds, right now, I have
a right for salvation. I have a right for the Holy Spirit. He promised it to
me. Said, 'It's in you and your children, and them that is far off, and as many
as the Lord our God shall call.'" I believe it. It's for any generation.
"Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world." He died
that He might raise again and be with His church all the way to the end of the
world, to confirm the Word with signs following. How far was that to be?
"Go ye..." Did it end it with the apostles? Mark 16 said, "Go ye
into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature." It's never
met there yet, just about one third of it. God's depending on us.
And again from the
sermon Be not
afraid it is I 62-0629 P:9 William Branham told us how to just say
the same Word. He said, "I just believe the Word and just stay right with the
Word. And any level thinker will know that that Word is right. It's just got to
be right. See? And I don't put any interpretation to it. I try to just read it
the way it reads, then say the same thing. That's confessing. "Confess"
means the same thing, like, "He's the High Priest of our..." Well,
King James puts it "profession." But "profess" and
"confess" is the same thing. See? So then "to confess,"
that means "to say the same thing He did." "By His stripes I am
healed." I'm confessing. See? I am confessing the same thing that He said.
See? I'm making a confession. That's what it is in court. You have to say the
same thing. Now, I am... To my great High Priest, for He sits at the right hand
of the Majesty to make intercessions upon my confession."
So we are looking at a
promise of God that is promised to us, that if we have the same confession that
God gave to us, then He promises to come into us and indwell us.
In the book of Luke
12: 8, and Matthew 10: 32 we read, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him
shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: Here we
find Jesus telling us if we say the same Word about Jesus before men, then He
will say the same Word before His Father about us.
And in 1 John 1: 9
If we confess our
sins, (if we say the same Word that God says about our sins,) He is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. But
how many people would rather deny what the Father says, and try to justify
there own actions instead of repudiating their own actions as God has
repudiated them.
How many times over my
30 years in this Message have I met people who have had two sets of rules for
conduct. They have one set for themselves and another set of rules for everyone
else. But Jesus said we must say the same thing God says of us and of our sins.
Thus as Brother Branham said, we do not try to interpret the Word for
ourselves, we just simply say what God said, and that means we are to repeat
His words, just like an echo. And if you hear an echo it sounds just like the
original, only it repeats it over and over again. And when you echo you must
have the same expression in the echo as was in the original Word.
The Apostle Paul tells
us in the Book of Romans, chapter 10, that our confession is most important if
we are to place into action what we actually do believe.
Romans 10: 9 That if thou shalt
confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that
God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
So we see our
salvation is not just dependent upon the act that the Son of God performed in
dying on that cross, but it is co-dependent upon your confession of that act,
and to what God has done, in raising him from among the dead.
That if thou shalt say the same word with
thy mouth about the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath
raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
And to do so you can not believe, nor can you confess that he raised himself
from the dead. For if you believe that Jesus raised himself from the dead, then
you do not believe that God raised Him from the dead as God said it in His
Word.
There are 18 different
verses of Scripture (God's Words to us) that speak of God raising up Jesus His
Son from among the dead.
1) Acts Chapter 2 Verse 24 Whom God hath
raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that
he should be holden of it.
2) Acts Chapter 2 Verse 32 This Jesus hath
God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
3) Acts Chapter 3 Verse 26 Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus,
sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.
4) Acts Chapter 4 Verse 10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of
Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom
God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you
whole.
5) Acts Chapter 5 Verse 30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew
and hanged on a tree.
6) Acts Chapter 10 Verse 40 Him God raised
up the third day, and shewed him openly;
7) Acts Chapter 13 Verse 33 God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children,
in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second
psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.
8) Romans Chapter 4 Verse 24 But for us
also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus
our Lord from the dead;
9) Romans Chapter 8 Verse 11 But if the
Spirit of him 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.
10) Romans Chapter 10 Verse 9 That if thou
shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart
that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
11) 1 Corinthians Chapter 15 Verse 15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of
God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised
not up, if so be that the dead rise not.
12) 1 Corinthians Chapter 6 Verse 14 And God
hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.
13) 2 Corinthians Chapter 4 Verse 14 Knowing
that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and
shall present us with you.
14) Galatians Chapter 1 Verse 1 Paul, an
apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father,
who raised him from the dead;)
15) Ephesians Chapter 2 Verse 6 And hath
raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus:
16) 1 Peter Chapter 1 Verse 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 by the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead,
17) 1 Peter Chapter 1 Verse 21 Who by him do
believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your
faith and hope might be in God.
18) Hebrews Chapter 13 Verse 20 Now the God
of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd
of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
Now, we have just read 18 verses from
God's own Word that speak of God raising up His Son Jesus from among the dead.
And if you can not say it like God Himself says it in His own Word, then you
are denying God. And to deny Him you make Him a liar.
In 1 John 5: 10
we read, He that
believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth
not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave
of his Son.
So God has a record, and that record
declares to us that God raised up His Son. And if you do not believe there are
two involved here, One being the Son of God who needed to be raised from the
dead, and the other being God Himself who did the raising up of His Son, then
you do not believe "The Record" and I have shown you "The
Record" where there are 18 individual Scriptures that speaks of God
raising up His Son. And if you do not believe God's record, you are making Him
a liar in your own eyes. Paul said, "he that believeth not God hath made
him a liar."
And we are warned by
the Apostle John in 2 John 1: 7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess
not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
So we see the deceiver is the one that will not confess, and
remember to confess means to say the same thing God said. So these are those
who will not say the same thing God said. So what are they saying If they are
not saying the same thing God said? They have to be saying their own words, and
not God's Word.
So you can see how important it is to
make a right confession, and that right confession is to say the same thing
about the Son of God, that God Himself says about Him.
Romans Chapter 10 Verse 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness
(which is right-wise-ness. Now, that 's what you do with the heart); and with
the mouth confession is made unto salvation. And that is because the mouth can
only say what is in the heart to begin with, "for out of the abundance of
the heart the mouth speaketh".
Now, that we have established that the confession is an all important act of
faith towards God in believing His report concerning His Son, let's look now at
the second half of our text where we are told that if we have the right
confession concerning the Son of God, we will receive a promise from God that
He will come into us and we into Him.
1 John Chapter
4:15 Whosoever
shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.
Now, notice the
promise is, "that if we make this right confession, if we say what God
Himself says concerning His Son, then God Himself will come into us, and
indwell us".
Now, this takes us to John 17 where we find Jesus praying in the garden
before he is taken to finish the work that He was sent to do on the cross.
JOHN 17:1 ¶ These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his
eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy
Son also may glorify thee: (Now, if Jesus and God were one like your finger is
one, then this prayer is pretty ridiculous, because why would he ask for
something he already had, and why would he ask to begin with. Why ask if you
already have what you ask for? And why ask if you are talking to yourself?) 2
As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life
to as many as thou hast given him. 3. And this is life eternal, that they might
know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent
Now, if Jesus is declaring here that God
has given him power, then he did not have it before God gave it. And notice
here that he shows us what eternal life is, to know God and to know His Son.
4. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work
which thou gavest me to do. Now, why
would God give him a work to do if He and the Father were one like your finger
is one.
5. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with
thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. 6. ¶
I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world:
thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. Now,
notice here that He does not say they have kept my word, but they have kept Thy
Word.
Showing that God is
the Word, and it is His Word that Jesus came and spoke to them, not his own
word.
7. Now they have known that all things
whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. 8. For I have given unto them the
words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely
that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
(Now, if you believe that Jesus and God
are one like your finger is one, or if you believe that the son of God is
actually His own Father, then you can not believe that God sent Him. Then
surely you have not received the Words which Jesus gave us which words also
were given to Jesus by His Father.)
9. I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which
thou hast given me; for they are thine. 10. And all mine are thine, and thine
are mine; and I am glorified in them. 11. ¶ And now I am no more in the world,
but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine
own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
Now, again we see here
that Jesus is asking the Father to make us one with the Father in the same
manner as he and the Father are one. So if you are not a hypocrite, then you
must believe that God has made us One with Himself in the same manner as He
made Himself and His Son Jesus one. And if you believe it in any other way, you
are not confessing the same thing Jesus confessed here.
12. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name:
those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of
perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. 13. And now come I to thee;
and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in
themselves. 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. 15. I pray
not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest
keep them from the evil. 16. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the
world. 17. ¶ Sanctify them through thy truth: thy Word is truth.
Therefore he is saying here that the Word
is what sanctifies the believer.
18. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent
them into the world. 19. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also
might be sanctified through the truth.
Remember Thy Word is Truth, so the Word of God is what sanctifies us.
20. ¶ Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on
me through their word;
That is you and me who have believed the
Word of God that was written for our admonition.
Now, here is the jest
of what confession is all about. It is entering into the same mind set that we
might become one through that same mind set. Now, listen to what Jesus is
petitioning the Father for. 21. That they all may be one; as (and the word as means in
the same manner or in like manner) 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.
Now, notice the context of the prayer is
that God may grant to us oneness as he did with His Son and in the very same
manner as He did with His Son. And the4 next verse tells us how this is made
possible.
22. And the glory which thou gavest me I
have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
Now, I want you to pay close attention to
the Words of Jesus here. He says, the glory which thou gavest me I have given
them…Ok, so there is something about this glory that we should know about
because the same Glory God gave to Him He has given to us, and what is there
about this glory? Notice he continues, that they may be one, even as we are
one:
So we see that it is
the glory that was given to Jesus from God that made Him One with God, and in
the same Manner he has given us this glory that we might also be One with God
and one with Him.
And the glory which
thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
Therefore in order to make the same confession or to say the same thing, we
must know what this glory is that we al share together having received it from
Jesus and He from His own Father, God. And once we know what this glory is,
then we should be able to see how it is that we become one with God even as the
Son of God was One with God.
Now, the Greek word
that this word glory was translated from is the Greek word Doxa which means the
opinion, judgment or assessment of… And the word assessment means the judgment
of the value. Therefore, if we are to receive the same opinion Jesus has and He
received the same opinion God had, this is what makes us one. Thus we receive
not only the same opinion, but the same judgment, and the same assessment or
values that God possesses, and the same values, opinions, and judgments that He
gave to His Son and Jesus here in this prayer tells the Father that He has
passed these along to us that we might become one with the Father even as He
and the Father were One. Thus the very mind of God coming into the believer
makes us one with the Father in the same way that Jesus was one with the Father.
From the sermon HARVEST TIME 641212 87
034 William Branham said, 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. That... 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.
So we se here in brother Branham's own
words that the Oneness that Jesus had with the Father and that he prayed that
we would have is that we might be one with the Word even as Jesus was One with
God's Word, for God is the Word. And that is how God will come into us when we
say the same thing. When our confession is His confession. When our thoughts
are His thoughts, "let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus."
What more can a man
ask of his wife than to have the same mind-set concerning the family and the
raising of the children. What grater oneness than to share the same values,
opinions, and judgments. And what more could a Father ask of his children than
for them to share His values, opinions, and judgments. And that is what Jesus
prayed for.
GIFTS 56-1207
E-30 Now, notice closely. Now, God dwelling in
Christ used His voice to speak by. Jesus said in His miracle, "Verily,
verily, I say unto you, the Son can do nothing in Himself, but what He sees the
Father doing, that doeth the Son likewise." Is that right?
And why do you think
we have had to wait almost 40 years since God took home His prophet. He's
waiting for us to get ourselves out of the way, that God might have the
pre-eminence, and that we might think God's thoughts, and do His actions, and
speak only His words. That's what He's waiting for. And adoption can not come
until the son has the mind of the father.
From the sermon, SHOW US THE FATHER
AND IT WILL SATISFY 60-0731 E-15 Brother Branham said, "The works that I do, shall you
also." And seeing the same results by human beings so submitted to God,
until the Holy Spirit can work through those human beings just like the Holy
Spirit worked through Jesus, Who just has confessed that, "I and My Father
are One. My Father dwelleth in Me. He doeth the works. It's not My words; it's
His words."... See? He was so submitted to God.
And from the sermon, UNVEILING OF GOD 64-0614M 257 Brother Branham
said, Jesus once said, "When you see Me, you see the Father." See?
God and His Word is One. Now you understand? When the Word is manifested, what
is It? Right. See? 260 Jesus said, "Search
the Scriptures, you think you have... You believe in God, believe also in Me.
If I do not the works of My Father, then don't believe Me. But if I do do the
works, I and My Father are One. When you see Me, you have seen the Father." And when you see the Word made manifest, you see the
Father God, because the Word is the Father; the Word is God. And the Word made
manifest is God Himself taking His Own Word and manifesting It among believers.
Nothing can make It live but believers, just believers.
Now, in getting back
to
And so He has given us
the same mind that he might give us the same Love.
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Let's just bow our heads in a word of
prayer.
And now, heavenly Father now, that we understand what our confession is, that
it is the same confession your son had, and that His confession was the same as
your confession, your words in Him and now in us, therefore, we come with that
same confession that you placed on the lips of your Beloved Son Jesus, that the
confession he confessed might be our confession, and that the Glory which you
gave to Him that he might manifest to the World your Opinion, Your Judgment and
Your Values, so too Father we thank Thee for having come in this hour in answer
to the prayer of Your Son Jesus, and have given us Your Glory in that you have
given us Your Opinion, Your Judgment, and Your Values that we might become One
with thee as Thou hast manifested Your son Jesus to be One with Thee. Grant
this to us as we ask it in the name of your Beloved son Jesus, Amen!