Spoken
Word no. 147
The
Witness of our Spirit
Brian Kocourek, Pastor
February
27, 2010
Now, this evening I would like to read from brother
Branham’s sermon The Spoken Word is the Original Seed and we will read from paragraph 155-6 155 And you
say, "Well, Brother Branham, wait a minute. Bless God, I've seen them go out there and heal the
sick." Oh, sure; so have
156 Oh, yes.
You say, "Well, Brother Branham, don't you believe the Holy Ghost speaks
in tongues?" Yes, sir, but give it
the Word test. See, Jannes and
Jambres worked miracles. That's right, didn't they? Yes, sir. Jannes and
Jambres... When Moses went down to Egypt, everything that Moses done in the way
of a sign, Jannes and Jambres, them two
witches, could produce the same thing:
two devils. Moses would say, "Fleas." They said,
"Fleas." Moses said, "A stick on the ground." They said,
"A stick on the ground." "A serpent." "A
serpent." That's right. They could work miracles. The Bible said that in the last days that devils would rise working
miracles and would deceive the people. Awful hard, brother, but you must
know the Truth.
Now, what the Pentecostal people are looking for is
some sort of evidence or witness to the fact that they have been baptized with
the Holy Spirit and are indeed sons and daughters of God. Now, that is not a
bad motive, because everyone looks for some form of marker in their live to
tell them whether they are or whether they are not filled with God’s Spirit. So
the Pentecostals decided it would be speaking in tongues, because after all on
the day of Pentecost the believers spoke in tongues. Today, they have taken
this thought and added their own thoughts and they teach that the evidence of
the Holy Spirit is for you to speak in an unknown tongue. But what happened on
the day of Pentecost is contrary to what they teach. They did not speak in
unknown tongues, the real miracle on the day of Pentecost was that every man
heard them in their own language.
Acts
2:1 And
when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as
of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues
like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And
they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other
tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 And
there were dwelling at
So you see there was a witness on that day that the
Holy Spirit fell on the believers, and it was that every man who heard them
could understand what was being said in their own language.
Now, the Apostle Paul spoke of the Witness of God’s Spirit
to the believer in Romans 8 13 For if ye live after
the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14 For as many as are
led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For
ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received
the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The
Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the
children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God,
and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 18 For I reckon that
the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the
glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the
earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons
of God.
Notice Paul tells us that it is “The Spirit” that
bears witness with “our Spirit” that we are the sons of God. Brother Branham
said, "Just
because you were Baptized correctly doesn't mean you are born again".
He said, "you
must be baptized with the Holy Ghost."
God's
provided place of worship 65-0425 P:40 Let's find out what the Bible
says now. We find in I Corinthians the 12th chapter,
the Bible said, "By one Spirit are we all baptized into one
Body." We're baptized into the Body of Christ by one Holy
Spirit. We're not shook in; we're not joined in; we're not baptized with water in. We are baptized with the Holy
Ghost into the Body of Jesus Christ. How long does it last when you get in
There, until you misbehave yourself? Ephesians 4:30 says, "Grieve
not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you're sealed until the day of your
redemption." Argue with Him, not me. That's what
It says. I'm reading It. All right. "You're sealed until the day of your
redemption," until the day that Jesus comes for you. Then think of it.
God's
provided place of worship 65-0425 P:70 See, you can't die; you're
done quickened. Oh, if the church could only see that, that it's not what
you're going to be; you already are.
It's the Devil trying to rob you from that." Well," say, "now
I'll tell you. I belong to this." Don't care what you belong to. You've got to be born, regenerated,
baptized with the Holy Ghost into Jesus Christ, quickened to every Word.
Your Spirit in you will punctuate "amen" to every Word of the Bible.
Outside of that, if it shakes its head on one, you get rid of that spirit. It's
not the Spirit of God that would dispute the Word of God. It'll keep the Word
of God. Not only does it believe It, but It makes It live. It manifests the
Word of God. Yes, sir.
Now, notice he said, “You are already” so what does
that mean? Well, let me say this, a few weeks ago I made a statement that if
you were not listening you might have not understood what I was trying to say.
I said it is not your actions that are predestined, it is the person that is
predestined. Now, I know we can see some actions that are spoken of in
scripture as being predestined, and that is correct. But the person is Who God
predestinates. He has a picture of you from the very beginning in His mind, and
you are ordained to that picture. But you start out here, and He has ordained
you to end up here. See, by foreknowledge He knew you, and planned your
destiny, that is like this. In the beginning in His mind, He knew you, and
ordained you to a certain status and state. Sons of God in the image of the
first born son, right?
Ok, but you are here now, and not there. Yet you are
on your way there. So According to Psalms 1:6 The Lord watches over the way of the right with an
active participation, so when you are in trouble, He is there as your buckler
and shield. When you are in need He is there as your Jehovah Jireh, your
provider. When you are sick he is there as Your healer. You see, He ordained
you to a certain place, a certain role in the family, and He is there every
step of the way. Now, that doesn’t mean that He pushes you through a tube and
says blessed is he that overcomes. No way,
but He is there to make sure you do not do too much damage to yourself.
He said if you be any other wise minded, He would
reveal it to you. So that means He is there as that still small voice to lead
and guide, if only you will let Him. But He doesn’t make your choice for you,
he let’s you make it yourself. So if I am here in this state right now, but I
am ordained to that state He saw me in before the foundations of the world,
then I know I am going to be there. I do not know what turns I might take on my
journey to that state, but I know who does know, and I know that He will place
in front of me whatever it takes me to make the right decision.
It’s like curling, you know that Olympic winter sport.
They throw the clay jar down the ice toward the target, and then the two people
go before it preparing the path. They brush here or there and by the way they
brush the ice it makes the clay vessel turn right or left, but they lead it to
its final destination. And so too a man may choose his way but the Lord directs
His footsteps.
Psalms 17:5
Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.
Proverbs
15:19 The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns: but the
way of the righteous is made plain.
Proverbs
10: 3 The LORD will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish:
but he casteth away the substance of the wicked.
Psalms 1:
6 For the LORD knoweth (yada the Lord watches over) the way of the righteous: but the way of the
ungodly shall perish. (aw-bad
that means he is left to himself).
So then we had to ask the question... Then how do we
know we have been born again by the Spirit of God? By what means do we have
confidence that we have been born again? What is our evidence or our assurance
- or witness that we are born again and have been baptized with the Holy
Spirit? And so we must ask ourselves this question. By what witness do we have
confirmation that we have been truly born again? And then I would like to say,
First of all we know that the Holy Spirit is a down payment or earnest of our
inheritance. We find this in Ephesians 1: 13 - 14 And secondly, we know that
the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is our hope of Glory, or the earnest expectation
that God's mind coming in and taking over our mind as we find in Colossians 1: 27
To
whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among
the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
And 2 Thess 1: 10 When he shall come
to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe
(because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.
And again in 1 John 2: 19-21 where John said, "we have an anointing
which makes us to know all things", and You'll notice that when
we receive this anointing upon our minds and our soul we are quickened to the
Word of God as John said, We know all things. And this is exactly what Brother
Branham said when He said the Word for the hour becomes all lit up before us.
God's only provided place of worship
65-1128M P:114 You see Who the door is? Where did God put
His Name? In Jesus. How do you get in His Name? How do you get in there? By
being baptized in there. How by? Water? By Spirit: one Lord, one faith, one
baptism, that's Holy Ghost baptism. The
water baptism just put you in fellowship with the people, that you
recognized that you have accepted Christ. That's the True. But it's Spirit baptism. I can call the
Name of Jesus over you and baptize you; that doesn't make it so. But when once
that Holy Spirit really genuine Word
comes into you (the Word, Jesus), then,
brother, the message is no secret to you then; you know It, brother; It's all
lit up before you.
Thirdly we know
that we are truly looking at a birth, a genuine birth of a genuine Life that is
coming forth into existence as we see in Colossians 3: 1-4 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those
things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For ye
are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our
life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
Gal
2: 20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I
live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the
flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for
me.
and Eph 2: 1And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and
sins;
and it comes by the Word according to 1 Pet 1: 23
Being born again,
not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth
and abideth for ever.
Here we see that there are actually two different
types of being born again. One which is a denominational type of being born
again by a corruptible seed or word and the other is God's Provided Way of
being born again by the Word of God which is incorruptible in it's nature. Now
notice, it speaks of seed and Word and so if the incorruptible Seed is the Word
of God then the other seed must be a different sort of word or some others
word. And so when the Son of Man went forth sowing Good Seed or Good Word, we
know it is God's Word since Jesus said we should call no man good but God. And
this Seed was called the Good Seed so it then must be the God Seed which is the
Word of God a carrier of God Life. Then the man in black (which we know is the
devil) followed behind, sowing forth bad seed or bad word, and then we see both
seeds growing up together until the time of the harvest.
Now, knowing then
that this new life or new birth comes by means of the Word of God, then we must
ask ourselves, "What witness do we have that we are truly
born again?"
In John 8: 12-19 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am
the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but
shall have the light of life. 13 The Pharisees therefore said unto
him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true. 14 Jesus
answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is
true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I
come, and whither I go. 15 Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man.
16 And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but
I and the Father that sent me. 17 It is also written in your law,
that the testimony of two men is true. 18 I am one that bear witness
of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me. 19 Then
said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me,
nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also.
Here we find Jesus Himself telling us in the mouth of
two or three witnesses we are to establish a thing. If we read John 5: 30-32
we see that we can not be our own witness for our witness does not count
without that of another. I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my
judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father
which hath sent me. 31 If I bear witness of myself,
my witness is not true. 32 There is another that
beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is
true.
So we see here that it is not just a matter of you
having a good conscience about the matter, or a good witness within yourself
because every denomination that teaches the new birth look to their own
experience and to their own conscience to tell them if they have this or not.
Jesus Himself said, "You can't go by your own words or your own
testimony" because, let's face it, if this were true, then everyone who
claimed to have it would have it based upon their own testimony. And as Brother
Branham said, "Just because you say it doesn't make it so." Jesus
said, "God is My witness".
John 10:25 Notice, Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that
I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.
Acts
15:8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them
witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as [he did] unto us; Jesus
Himself said we had to have a witness outside of our own selves. Then He said,
God was His witness. Then He said that God through His Vindication was His
witness. So we see then the Word we serve, must be a manifested Word for the
Hour and it must have been vindicated, and then this vindication becomes our
witness.
So it all comes
down to this, ... Brother Branham said when we are Baptized with the Holy Spirit the Word becomes
alive to us and becomes all lit up before us. God's only provided
place of worship 65-1128M P:114 But when once that Holy Spirit really...
genuine Word comes into you (the Word, Jesus), then, brother, the Message is no
secret to you then; you know It, brother, It's all lit up before you.
Hebrews 11:4 By faith Abel
offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained
witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being
dead yet speaketh. So we see that His Faith which is revelation was
his witness, because only the Father can give us revelation but it must come
through the right channel which is His Prophets.
So I hope you
can see just what this witness is and we shall see how all others continue to
look for a witness, something they can identify with in order to bring an
assurance to them. But in their own human efforts they leave the light for the
hour and go back to what is popular and what has already been proven as a
witness in ages gone by. But let me assure you of one thing, the witness of another age is not the
witness of this age unless you go all the way back to the beginning for
Alpha has got to become Omega. And yet it is not the fruit of Alpha that we
look for but the Seed that was planted in Alpha is what sprouts forth in Omega.
So I hope and trust the Seed that was sown by the Son
of Man is indeed bringing forth fruit in your life which identifies where its
life comes from by reflecting the same life that was in the original Seed.
Let’s bow our heads and heart in a word of prayer.