Spoken
Word no. 157
Brian Kocourek, Pastor
April 25,
2010
Galatians
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.
Colossians
3:1 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, (appear
is to phaneroo which is to manifest in his true character) then shall ye also appear (phaneroo
then shall ye also manifest in your true character) with him in glory. And just remember, this glory is the Greek
word “doxa” which is his opinions, values and judgments. Thus when he
comes to manifest in his true character which he did in this hour, we shall
also manifest in our true character (which is the character that He Ordained to
be manifest through us before the foundations of the world to express his
opinions, values and judgments. So that is our true character and
This Morning I would like to read just one thought
from paragraph 174
of The Spoken
Word is the Original Seed where brother Branham said, …
174 Now,
others will go by and say, "Well, you
know what, I believe I'll try it a while."
You'll choke. That's right. See? But when you really empty out, say, "Lord Jesus, no more of me, but You from this on," (See?) then it's going to bring forth a
hundredfold. You believe that? I believe it too.
Now,
this morning I would like to look at this one hundredfold that brother Branham
tells us will come if we die to self and allow Christ to take over our life.
That’s what we read last night from Galatians 2:20 where Paul said,
Now,
in order to better understand how it is that we could receive a one hundred
fold in our very beings, let us first understand what it means to be one
hundredfold.
Now,
one hundred fold is not one hundred percent. One hundred fold means one hundred
times more than what is now. One hundred percent will only double, but one
hundred fold means one hundreds times more. And we find Jesus speak of this in
the parable of the Sower.
4) Matthew 13, verses 3 – 9 3: And he spake many things
unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; 4:
And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came
and devoured them up: 5: Some fell upon stony places,
where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because
they had no deepness of earth: 6: And when the sun was
up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they
withered away. 7: And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung
up, and choked them. 8: But other fell into good ground,
and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixty-fold,
some thirty-fold. 9: Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Matthew 13:18
- 23 18: Hear ye therefore the
parable of the sower. 19: When any one heareth the word of the
kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and
catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed
by the way side. 20: But he that received the seed into stony
places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy
receiveth it; 21: Yet hath he not root in himself, but
dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the
word, by and by he is offended. 22: He also that received seed
among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this
world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he
becometh unfruitful. 23: But he that received seed into the
good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also
beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some
thirty.
Now,
there are some things about this parable that we should understand before we
look at this one-hundredfold. And first is that he says “some fell by the wayside”. Now, the term “fall by the wayside” is an idiom which means “To
fail to continue; to give up. To be set aside or discarded because of other
considerations”. These are they who because they do not place a correct importance to the Word, they lay it
aside for other things, or let other things get in the way and thus, bye and
bye they loose that which they thought they had. In actuality it is because
they just do not understand the Word and it’s significance for this day, and
thus when the wicked one comes along, they get caught off guard and are
snatched away from the Truth.
Others
are said to have fallen on Stony Ground. The term
Stony Ground, is a phrase that means “if a request, or a warning, or advice comes to them and
they ignore just it”, that is what is
called falling on stony ground, people ignore it. There is a hardness to that
place where the Word seed was sown, and it just sits there and the sun bakes
down upon it, causing it to dry up and wither away because it is not planted in
good soil. And the Bible says that they hear the word and receive it
with joy for a while, or for a season, and how many so called believers have
you seen who seem to embrace the Message when they first hear it, but do
nothing about it, and because they do not plant it into their hearts and water
it by the washing of water by the Word, it just dries up and they wither away
from it altogether. The Bible says it is because they have no
roots. In other words, they never planted firmly the Word which
they heard. These are shallow Christians, they endure for a while, which means
they seem to put up with boundaries the Word sets for a season but when trials
and testing comes because of the Word, bye and bye or time after time they
become offended. Now, this word offended means to become stumbled, or to
cause to sin. And we know that sin is disbelief. They stop believing. They did
believe for a while, but they have stopped believing.
The
New International Version translated this parable in these words. NIV 18"Listen
then to what the parable of the sower means: 19When anyone hears the Message and does not
understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his
heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20The one who
received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word (The
Message of the hour) and at once receives it with joy. 21But
since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls
away. 22The one who received the seed that fell among the
thorns is the man who hears the word, but the
worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it
unfruitful. 23But the one who received the seed that fell
on good soil is the man who hears the
word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or
thirty times what was sown." So we see in this parable that
Jesus tells us it is very important not only to hear it because all types of
believers heard it, but there is only one type that understood what they heard,
and that is the one that actually produces a crop from what they heard. Now,
remember we are speaking from the Spoken Word is the original Seed, and Christ
Jesus our Elder brother was that original Seed, therefore he is the first
fruit.
And
Paul says in Romans
11: 16 For if the first-fruit
be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches. So
those without root can not be holy, for those with roots back to Ephesians one
before the foundations of the world being in Him are the only ones with rots
back to the original seed.
Now, the third group we saw that fell away are those
who are called Thorny Ground, are those who hear the Word but the cares
of this life and the deceitfulness of riches chokes the Word, and thus that
person bears no fruit. Those are the ones that Brother Branham worried about,
because those are the ones who are Good Christians people but they get so tied
up in making money and getting ahead that they do not give the proper emphasis
to their spiritual needs, and spend all their time doting about their material
needs, and so the Message does not take a hold up-on them as it ought to
do.
Now the fourth group we see where the Word was sown
is called “Good Ground” and Jesus
described this group as “he that heareth the word, understand it, beareth fruit many
fold”. Notice this is the only group that
actually understood what they heard, and thus they are the only ones who
actually bore much fruit from what they heard. You see there are a lot of
people who might have heard it but because they do not understand it, then what
they did hear did nothing for them. O, they might get together and even talk
about it, but what are they talking about? If it’s theology, they are still
missing the mark. And the Scripture defines “to miss the mark is sin”, and sin
is unbelief. So although they get together to talk the Word, my question is
what is their focus. You can hear it and if your focus is wrong on what you
hear you are still ignorant of what you heard.
Again we see this parable spoken of by Mark in
chapter 4 of His Gospel.
Mark 4: 3 - 9 3:
Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: 4: And it came
to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the
air came and devoured It up. 5: And some fell on stony
ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because
it had no depth of earth: 6: But when the sun was up, it was
scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. 7: And some fell among
thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no
fruit. 8: And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit
that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty,
and some an hundred. 9: And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear,
let him hear.
Mark 4:
14 - 20 14: The sower
soweth the word. 15: And these are they by the way side, where
the Word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh
away the Word that was sown in their hearts. (This is an aborted life because satan does this to
the life of the word in this person)
16: And these are they likewise which are sown on
stony ground; who, when they have heard the Word, immediately
receive it with gladness; 17: And have no root in themselves,
and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth
for the Word's sake, immediately they are offended.
This is the miscarriage,
because it is not the power of another exorcized over them as in abortion,
where the child has no control over it, but these are they who hear and receive
with joy but then when the Word is preached that calls forth for them to bear
the cross of the Word, they get offended, they stumble at that Word. They have
no root IN themselves, and as the egg that can not hold onto the uterine wall
becomes flushed away, they become a miscarriage. There is a weakness in them,
and they can’t hold onto the lifeline, and because they have no root, no true
tie down to the uterine wall, they never do come to maturity, and in that weak
condition they die.
Mark 4:18: And these are
they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, 19:
And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of
other things entering in, choke the word, and it (The Word) becometh unfruitful.
These are they which still birth. (This is the Laodicean bunch who love the
cares of this world more than they love God's Word which calls for a total
separation from unbelief and the things of this world.) And as the umbilical
wraps itself around the unborn child and strangles it, so too do the cares of
this life wraps itself around the child of God that has not yet come full
maturity and chokes the life of the Word right out from them. This is the bunch
that brother Branham was the most worried about. This is what he tried so
diligently to shake the church because he saw that she was being affected by
the choke hold of the world. That is why he cried out with a loud Voice in the
vision as he stood watching the bride go by, and he cried out, “Stay in line”.
20: And these are they which
are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirty-fold, some
sixty, and some an hundred. (This is the Elect seed Gene of God who are ordained
to receive the change in the body) These
are the Bride who bring forth Life in the Image of the Father.
Now, where there is a birth, something has to
die. There is movement and change that takes place
in the body. Your body doesn't do what it used to do. There's a transforming power that has taken over. It's bringing forth
a manifestation in your flesh that at first is not so noticeable, but
as the development comes forth more and more, it becomes apparent to
everyone just what is happening.
The apostle Paul said in the book of Galatians 4:19
My little
children, of whom I travail in birth again until
Christ be formed in you,
He never said it would be painless. The pain is until
when? I have actually heard women say that a good reason for having an
abortion was that they did not want stretch marks. Others abort because
the transformation is more than they can bear. But let's see what Paul
said about that.
II
Corinthians 4: 8 10. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are
perplexed, but not in despair; 9
Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; 10 Always bearing about in the body the dying
of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our
body.
Others don't want to be inconvenienced.
Others think it will cramp there lifestyle. In the natural we
find women aborting their little babies because they don’t want the
inconvenience of that Life coming forth, and in the so called Christian we find
the same mindset. They don’t want the inconvenience that comes with the
transforming power of another life within them taking a hold upon their life, and
so they abort their Christian walk. They want a religion of convenience. One
which won't cramp their lifestyle. One which won't cause too much pain.
One which will let them live any old way they choose. But you
know abortions not only kill the Life that is
being brought forth, it also places a mark upon the one allowing
it to happen.
Luke 8: 5
- 8 5: A sower went
out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was
trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. 6:
And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it
withered away, (this is attrition, it is a falling away from the Truth, a wearing down
and finally dying off. They had oil in their lamp at one time, but that oil was
not kept up and they had no oil to light their lamp to see the bride groom when
he stood there outside their camp.) And it withered away, the Bible says Because it lacked
moisture. 7: And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang
up with it, and choked it. 8: And other fell on good ground,
and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these
things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Again in Luke 8:
11 - 15 we see this parable spoken of as follows: “Now the parable is
this: The seed is the word of God. 12: Those by the
way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the
word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be
saved. 13: They on the rock are they, which, when they
hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a
while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. 14:
And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard,
go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life,
and bring no fruit to perfection. 15: But that on the good
ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word,
keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.”
So we see a this third group are those who for a
season come into the light of the hour, they hear it, and are happy with what
they hear, but they allow other things to take priority in their lives, and we
are told the cares of this life and seeking after wealth creeps in and chokes
off the life of the Word, and it becomes just a theology, just a churchianity,
and they are left with a church spirit and not the Holy Spirit.
In I John 5:7-8 we read, For there are three that bear record in heaven,
the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
And I want you to notice that there are three
principle factors in the bringing forth of God-Life.
Number one is The Father who is the giver of Life,
(and the word Father means one who begets life.) That’s John 5:26For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath
he given to the Son to have life in himself;
1 John 1: 2 (For
the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto
you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)
Romans 6: 4 Therefore
we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up
from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in
newness of life.
John 12: 50 And
I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore,
even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.
Matthew 19: 29
And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or
father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall
receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
The second factor of Life mentioned by John here is
“The Word” which is the Seed of Life.
Philippians 2:
16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day
of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.
John 6: 68 Then
Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of
eternal life.
John 6: 63 It
is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I
speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
John 5: 24 Verily,
verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent
me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed
from death unto life.
And
we see in the next Scripture that the Word is so important for our Life that
any who would take from it will cut themselves off from the Life of the Word.
Revelation 22:
19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of
this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of
the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
We also se this in Ephesians chapter four.
Ephesians
4:17 This
I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other
Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Notice he is dealing
with the mind here, and he says, 18 Having the understanding darkened,
That means they loose what light they
had on the Word, thus they become alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is
in them, because of the blindness of their heart: So in cutting off
the light upon the Word they actually cut off the life of the Word, and begin
their downfall, or their withering away process. of decay and death.
The third factor of Life that John mentions here is
the “Holy Ghost” which is the Life.
Remember, Jesus Himself said, My words are Spirit and they are Life”
Romans 8: 10 And
if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life
because of righteousness.
Romans 8: 2 For
the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of
sin and death.
Galatians 6: 8
For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption;
but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
2 Corinthians
3: 6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament;
not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit
giveth life.
John 6: 63 It
is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I
speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
Now, there are three stages of our growth in Christ,
(it begins with Faith, and then moves into Hope, and finally into Love which is
an outward expression of Faith. And John said, and the greatest of these is
love… And in I Peter,
He speaks of three stages that the Bride of Christ will come through at the
time of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. And those three stages are
Praise, Honor and Glory which is three stages of our Growth process
into Sons. And then we have as the Scripture says here, "water,
blood and spirit." Three stages of Life.
Now in order for Life to come forth, in the natural,
the woman must receive the seed first. Then the process
begins, then the life comes forth. Conception, Transformation, and
Identification. Again three stages of life.
CONCEPTION: means to take in or receive, to begin life. A seed being planted.
Now there are a few things about this
Conception that we must understand, if we are to understand this
process of Life.
1. The seed that is sewn is not the same as what comes
up. I COR 15:35
- 39 ¶ But
some [man] will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they
come? 36 Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: 37
And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare
grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: 38 But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased
him, and to every seed his own body. 39
2. There has got to be an order or law that governs
reproduction in all life. Otherwise, conception would bring total chaos. GEN 1: 11 - 12. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass,
the herb yielding seed, [and] the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind,
whose seed [is] in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. 12 And the earth
brought forth grass, [and] herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree
yielding fruit, whose seed [was] in itself, after his kind: and God saw that
[it was] good.
Notice, God says it then He performs it. The law of God is only God in action. Word
and Power. And Brother Branham said, "he Who gave the Word is here to
perform it."
3. The seed
must bring forth after it's kind. If there is Life in the seed, then what life is in that seed
is the same life that will manifest
itself. JOHN 1:
1 In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God., 14. And the Word was
made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the
only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. I JOHN 1: 1 - 3. That which was from the beginning, which we
have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and
our hands have handled, of the Word of life; 2 (For the life was manifested,
and we have seen [it], and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life,
which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) 3 That which we have seen and heard declare
we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship
[is] with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
Now the Three stages of Life is most important
because if you just have the first
two stages, conception and transformation, you could still end up with a still
born. And if you have just come up
through justification and then onto sanctification, but do not come all the way
into the baptism of the Holy Spirit, you are still lost.
JOHN
14: 16 - 17 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give
you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit
of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither
knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
But this is not complete yet. There must be a further fulfillment
in order to bring forth the Life into manifestation. JOHN 17: 20 - 22. ¶
Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on
me through their word; 21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, [art] in
me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe
that thou hast sent me. 22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given
them; that they may be one, even as we are one: 23 I in them, and thou in me,
that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou
hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
Now notice Jesus prayed to the Father, that the Glory
which is the Doxa was necessary to bring on this special
identification. "That they may be One even as we are One".
And
how is it that we might be One “even as.” which means in the same manner that
Jesus and His Father were One? Jesus said, JOHN 17:14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them,
because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Jesus
tells us we become One with God through the same Word that He became One With God.
JOHN 17:20
¶ Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe
on me through their word; 21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father,
[art] in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world
may believe that thou hast sent me. 22 And the glory which thou gavest me I
have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
Therefore
it is very apparent that we are one by receiving the same Word which bring us
into the same Glory or same mind as the Father. And the
glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we
are one:
HARVEST
TIME 641212 87 034 Jesus said, "That they might be one, Father, as You and I
are one." Not for
some man to be over something, it never will work; one denomination wants to
take over the other, and one man over the other. But that you might be
one with God, like Christ and God was one; that's what the prayer is. He
was the Word, and Jesus prayed that we might be the Word, reflecting Him.
That's His prayer to be answered. See how Satan scruples it up in the carnal
mind? But that wasn't Jesus' prayer, at all, that we might all congregate
together and all have a certain creed and so forth. Every time they do it, they
go further and further from God. He wants us to be one with God, and God is the Word. Each individual in his heart must be that one with God.
Brother Branham said, the threefold
mystery was "Christ with you, Christ in You, and Christ
through you”.
Colossians
3:4 When
Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in
glory.
I
JOHN 3: 1 – 3 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath
bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world
knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God,
and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall
appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone
that has this hope in him, purifies himself even as He is pure.
I
PETER 1:3 Tells us that it is God
that begets us. Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant
mercy hath begotten us again unto a living hope,
It takes the Lord Himself to bring the new birth.
JUSTIFICATION made a way for Sanctification which mad a way for the
Baptism of the Holy Ghost, which made a way for the Baptizer himself
to become identified among us.
And in Abraham’s day, it was the appearing of God in a
body of flesh that made a way for the arrival of the promised son.
II
COR 3: 18 And we who with unveiled faces, all reflect the
Lords glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever increasing
Glory, which comes from the Lord, Who is the Spirit.
JOHN
3: 1 – 7 There was a man of the Pharisees, named
Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 2 The
same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a
teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except
God be with him. 3 Jesus answered and
said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he
cannot see the
If you sow to the flesh you shall reap from the flesh.
If you sow to the Spirit you shall reap from the Spirit.
We move from the second stage of Life into
the third which is IDENTIFICATION.
I
COR 13: 12 -13 Moving more and more
into the face, Love himself.
I
PET 1:3 Let the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ be
eulogized, who impelled by his abundant mercy caused us to be born again so
that we have a hope which is made alive. This living hope having been made
actual through the intermediate instrumentality of the resurrection of Jesus
Christ out from among those whoa re dead, resulting in an inheritance,
imperishable and undefiled, and that does not fade away…
ROMANS
8: 18 - 25 The whole creation travaileth and even you
are.
Brother Branham said, "Nothing outside the revealed word can
come to life."
I PETER 1: 22 -23
Having purified your souls by means of your obedience to the Truth, resulting
in not an assumed but a genuine affection for the brethren, an affection and
fondness that springs from your hearts by reason of the pleasure you take in
them, from the heart love one another with an intense reciprocal love that
springs forth from your hearts because of your estimation of the preciousness of
the brethren, and which is divinely self sacrificial in its essence, having
been begotten again not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the
Word of God which lives and abides.”
It
takes the Lord Himself to bring the new birth. JUSTIFICATION made a
way for SANCTIFICATION which MADE A WAY FOR THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY
GHOST, which made a way for the BAPTIZER HIMSELF to
become identified among us.
ABRAHAM:
God's appearing made a way for the arrival of the promised son.
Now
let's examine what takes place after CONCEPTION. The next stage is
transformation. This is the part that woman really hate. They don't
mind the conception part. But they do not like the transformation part
because it calls for sacrifice on her part. Our
I JOHN 3: 3 And everyone that has this hope in him,
purifies himself even as He is pure. Now, what hope is this? Well,
just like the woman, at first she is not aware that she has
conceived: She feels lousy, she looks in the mirror, looks lousy,
feels sick. I thought when I was born again, I would become sinless. I
see more now that I hate about myself than ever before. A time of
inner turmoil takes place. Look at
Now, the thing of it is, is that in order to receive
the physical change in her body, the woman must first accept in her mind that
she is going to enter into a conception mode in her mind. And thus she creates
an atmosphere in which to receive the seed.
II COR 3:17 - 18. Now the Lord is that
Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord [is], there [is] liberty. 18 But we
all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed
into the same image from glory to glory, [even] as by the Spirit of the Lord.
And we see in ROM 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the
mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed
to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may
prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. The
transformation begins by the renewing of the mind.
ROMANS 8: 5-6 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things
of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 6
For to be carnally minded [is] death; but to be spiritually minded [is] life
and peace.
She
conceives, then she goes through a transitional period where she feels
lousy. But there is something happening inside of her. I remember one
time brother Vayle came to
Why?
Because something is about to take place. Something is coming alive
in you and it's displacing other parts of you. It's pushing out the old man.
She
who is aware of the birth prepares herself. A
woman who smokes and drinks when she finds out she is expecting,
she stops her smoking, her drinking, she prepares herself. She
brings her whole body to nurture that. The very camel that Rebecca
watered is the very thing that packed her home. In the 3rd or 4th seal
Brother Branham said, "the very seed
she is watering will take her on out of here." If
the woman has any motherhood in her, her whole life becomes
dedicated to bringing forth that life that is in her. I JN 3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is
pure.
When
the conception occurs, the first thing that forms is
the head and the spinal cord. Then later on, the body and the
limbs. Then as cell is added upon cell, the fingers and toes
begin to appear. The characteristics of the father are
beginning to come forth in finer detail as the life within you grows. It
comes more into the image of The Father as IT comes closer to the birth.
AS THE NEGATIVE COMES CLOSER TO THE POSITIVE , THE MORE
LIKE THE POSITIVE IT BECOMES. (the shadow). I JOHN 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet
appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be
like him; for we shall see him as he is.
When
people see her coming they don't know what is happening to her,
until she becomes to a place that it shows in her flesh. When the woman doesn't
understand what she is going through, she doesn't feel comfortable with
anybody else, and she doesn't feel
comfortable with herself either.
When
she finally understands what is happening, then she should be
able to deal with it. Oh, you may still have your
mourning sickness. You may still go through the pains and
uneasiness,
I
won't deny that you may feel lousy, but just remember, Life is coming
forth. You may feel like you are the lousiest Christian that
ever walked the earth, but just remember, Life is coming
forth. Stick with it. Don't abort.
II COR 3: 18 NIV And
we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s Glory, are being transformed
into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord who is
The Spirit.
We
move from the second stage of Life into the third which
is IDENTIFICATION.
I COR 13: 12 -13 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then
face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am
known13 And now abideth faith, hope,
charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
Moving
more and more into the face, which is Love, for God Himself is Love. That
transformation brings us into an identification. We shall
know as we are known.
Let’s
just bow our heads and our hearts in prayer and thankfulness.