Spoken Word no. 205
“Conceived in the mind, manifested in the
flesh”
Brian Kocourek, Pastor
November 21st, 2010
Matthew 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of
old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28 But I
say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath
committed adultery with her already in his heart.
Notice that Jesus tells
us that to even look upon a woman with the motive to lust after her is no
different in God’s eyes than if the deed has already been done. Notice his
words, whosoever
looketh on a woman to lust after her
hath committed adultery with her already
in his heart. This then ought to tell us that we are not only
responsible for our actions, and we will have to give an account not only for
those actions which we do but for the very intentions we have in our heart even
before any action is at all committed. Therefore with this in mind, let us go
to our Father this morning in prayer and speak to Our God who is also a
merciful Father.
Let us pray, Dear
Merciful heavenly Father, we have heard the words of your dear Son Jesus, and
we know that He told us that all He said, He was commanded by you to say, so
these were your Words, o God and Father,
and we know that these are words in which we shall be judged by. So we
come at this time, and ask you Father to forgive us first of all for our short
comings, for all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God. And secondly
we ask your love and mercy be upon is because we know we are not at this time
ready for the rapture, and we know that you have been very patient with us, and
so we humbly ask you to be patient still with us a bit longer and not only
patient but we ask that you watch over us with a loving eye, knowing that love
covers a multitude of our sin. We see
here how we ought to walk in this hour when not only our deeds we will have to
give account for but our very thoughts and intentions are considered no
different than if we did the very act. So we ask that You help us as we walk in
the Light knowing as we do the blood of Jesus Christ our son purges us from all
our sin. For we ask it in Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.
Now, in picking up
where we left off in the Spoken Word is the original seed, let us read from
paragraph 81. Notice what brother
Branham says here…81 Did not Jesus say, "Whosoever
looketh upon a woman has committed adultery with her already in his heart. Looketh upon a woman to lust after her
has committed adultery with her already"? (Now, notice here
brother Branham asks us the question, he says…) Why? (Then he tells us the answer why the man has already
committed adultery in his heart.) He let it come into his mind. That's the womb; it
starts the things moving. Satan come in. We was sowed with the Word:
"Someday I'll bring the life into
the earth and replenish the earth." What Eve failed to do, Mary did. She took the Word. Eve took Satan's lie. Mary took God's Word. And
through Mary's seed replenishes the earth again through His Bride, through the
Word, and will bring up the millennium. Through that goes forth the Word, and
the Word is planted into every predestinated heart, and the Spirit comes down
and waters it, and they cannot die. "I'll
raise him up again at the last days." Oh,
brother and sister, that's real.
82 What is it? The mind is the womb for the spirit.
What? To take in or let out. That's how they commit adultery, is taking, let
some Satan devil spirit put in them something against the Word of God; then
she's committed adultery. Eve received
(Listen to this.) wrong seed word,
Satan's lie, against Jehovah's Word: results
was death.
83 Now, we'll get
off of this subject in a few minutes, but I want to get it pounded out real
good before it gets down to the place I have to stop. I'm going to skip a page
here about in a minute.
84 Now, look, Eve
what? What did she do? She received the
wrong seed. How did she do it? believing
Satan's lie. How many says that's right? Why, sure it's right, sure. She
received Satan's lie. What did she bring forth by doing it? Satan said, "You know this is glorious. This is a
wonderful thing. Do you know you were made for that? Why, you were actually
made for this purpose."
"Oh, was I?" "Oh,
it is pleasant to the eye. It's good. You should, you should try it." "But the Lord God said,
'not--not--not--not that, not yet.' We mustn't. No, no." "But you know" "Oh, if we do, we're..." "Oh, you surely won't die." That slick-tongued devil, he ain't
got hoofs and a forked tail, no, like they try to make you believe. He's a slicker behind the pulpit.
That's right. Or some little "Ricky" with his hair combed down like a
duck, setting on his back out there to harm some mother's daughter. That's the
guy: come around with the little cute like little... Oh, I'll let that go.
85 Now, the womb...
Eve, received the wrong seed word.
Now, listen real close now. We're going to drive this right down, if the Lord
willing. She received the wrong word.
What did it do? It was Satan's lie: said she'd be wise; why, she could belong
to the big church; she'd be well thought of in the city; why, she'd be like the
rest of the people. Sure, that's exactly what Jehovah's bride believed. That's
exactly. That's exactly what Satan would've tried to have said when the Word
come to Mary, but she shook him away. Said, "How can this be?" Said,
"The Holy Ghost will overshadow you. It's the Word of God."
Said, "Be it unto me according to Thy Word." That brought the Life. There you are. Well, did you know Satan said,
"They'll all laugh at you." That little rosy cheeked girl didn't pay
any attention to that. Right up in Judaea she went and, "You know, I'm
going to have a baby"; before she felt anything, because the Word had
already been set there. That was all. She didn't have to go through the prayer
line the second time. No...?... Yes, sir; she
believed it. She didn't have any sign of life; she never had no sign of
pregnancy at all; she never felt nothing; she--her--everything had been just
like it was, but she went telling everybody, "I'm going to have a baby."
Why? God said so. What's that? The Royal
seed of Abraham.
86 "Going to
have a baby, Abraham, by that woman?" "God said so." "Well,
you told me that twenty-five years ago." "I know, but God said
so." That's it. There you are. That's the same thing. What do you say
today? "Why, you know the denomination will kick you out." "But God said so; God said so." "Well,
you know, if you get baptized like that..." "Well, God said so. That's it. That's it." There's your virgin;
there she is. Not only to baptism, but anything else, the rest of the Word.
See? So watch.
87 This was both physical and spiritual with
Eve. First and any time... Now, I've told you and ask you this morning,
sisters, to forgive me so I can make sure that... Any time that a woman takes
the wrong step... I'm talking about Christ and Bride now. But anytime a woman takes a wrong step, she has
to first receive it in her mind. That's right. Some slicker has to persuade her, and she listens to it against her own
better judgment. Then the act's
committed. So first, it hit... Satan hit Eve's mind, and in the womb of
her mind she doubted God's Word; then come the actual act.
I wish I could get this across to everyone, that this
is why we do what we do and say in life. Because first we think it then we do
it. Look, I’ve preaches so many times about the Garden of your mind, that it
ought to be implanted in our minds for sure by now. You think it, then water it
and it grows into a real live thing. The seeds in your mind must produce the
life that gave them conception.
Brother Branham said in his
sermon, Word Became Flesh India Trip 54-1003M 175 Every
Word in the Bible is God's thoughts laid in seed form, that if
received into the human being, and spoke by the same thought that materialized
the Bible, brings the thing to pass. See what I mean? How powerful could the Church
be? The Bible said, "Let this mind that was in Christ be in you. As a
man thinketh in his heart, so is he." Now, your thoughts, if they
become expression... Like, God said, "Let there be a world."
Before it could be a word, it had to be a thought. So God in the creation,
created the world by His thought first, then spoke it, and the thought,
expressed became material. See what I mean? 180 Now,
you can express it by mental conception, but if it becomes a real revelation of
God, that you see it before it happened, and express it in word form, that
word takes a hold and becomes material: a thought expressed. Oh, my,
how God could... See? If your heart and your mind is so, and in-filled with
God's Spirit, until your thoughts become His thoughts... Amen. There you
are. When your mind, and your leading, and your guiding, becomes a direct
place, or a direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit that's moving your mortal
being... Oh, my. What kind of people should we be? If the very Holy Spirit
has you so embodied or empowered, that you don't use your own thoughts, you
don't use your own mind, you don't use your own opinion; but the Holy Spirit
has you so built, until your thoughts and your being is God's Spirit expressing
Itself through you, what kind of a church would we be? What kind of a
people would it be, this morning, if this Branham Tabernacle, this morning, was
so filled with the Presence of God, why, when you didn't even use your own
mind, didn't even use your own thoughts, didn't even have no alternative of your
own, but just to be led by the Spirit...? 212 "As a man
thinketh..."It has to become a thought
before it can become a word. And a word expressed, materializes. I
believe in my heart that I am a Christian, because I have accepted the Lord
Jesus Christ; if I don't cry, if I don't move, if I don't do a thing. In my
heart first, I believe that Christ died for me in my stead. Amen. I accept
it as a Christian; I believe it as a Christian; then it's in my heart. Then
I express it in a word, "I am a Christian." Hallelujah. Then I
start walking as a Christian, talking as a Christian, living as a
Christian, being as a Christian. And by my fruits I'm recognized by
the world as a Christian. Hallelujah.
Now to further understand how our mind is like a
garden, we shall look further to the book of Proverbs
23:7 where we read, "For as a man thinketh in his heart so is he." And so we see that a man is what he thinks in
his heart. And we have already shown that our thoughts are likened to the life
that is in a seed. Therefore, we can conclude that a man is literally
what he thinks, and therefore his character is the sum of all of
his thoughts. "As every plant springs forth from a seed that was
hidden in the earth, and could not have began without a seed, so too
every action that we do, springs forth from a seed that was planted in our
minds as a thought." Therefore our actions manifest what thoughts
lay in our heart.
In Luke 6:45
Jesus tells us that the words we speak all come
forth from the abundance of the heart.
And the word heart as we know, means the understanding which is
the compilation of all of our thoughts. Therefore our actions and speech are
only the fruitage which comes forth to manifest the seed-life within.
So therefore, what we
are in our minds is what we actually are in our spirit and our character will
reflect just what we are.
Therefore, the life that is in the seed must become
manifest. And therefore, whatsoever life is in the seed will come forth in an
outward manifestation in due season. Our thoughts then are the seeds of our
actions. And therefore if a man is righteous, it is because he has righteous
thoughts.
Proverbs 12:5 tells us
“The thoughts of
the righteous are right: but
the counsels of the wicked are deceit.”
Therefore what distinguishes the difference between a
righteous man from a wicked man are his thoughts. It is his thoughts first, and
then his actions that follow.
Ps 10:4 “The wicked, through the pride of his
countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.”
Brother Branham taught us the simple principle that
before you can actually do the sin-act in your flesh, you must first have to
think of it in your mind. Therefore the Greatest battle ever fought is in the
mind. Since we know that God created man
in his own image, then we must consider that as God brings forth into
manifestation His thoughts and desires of His heart, so does man do the same.
Jeremiah 23:20 20 The anger of the
LORD shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the
thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.
And so we see that every deed we do is first done in
our heart, for it is first committed to in the heart and mind.
Matthew 12:35 35 A good man out of the good treasure of the
heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure
bringeth forth evil things.
Matthew 15:19 19 For out of the heart
proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false
witness, blasphemies: 20 These are the things
which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.
Mark 7:21 21 For from within, out of the heart of men,
proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 Thefts,
covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy,
pride, foolishness: 23 All
these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
The Bible tells us, "As
he thinketh in his heart, so is he." Therefore we are the
product of our thoughts just as any fruit is product of the seed that was
planted in the ground. That is why we are told to cast down any thought that
would exalt itself against the Word of God.
2 Corinthians 10:5 5 Casting down
imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge
of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
Notice that we are told to bring every thought into
obedience to the Word of God.
Matthew 12:33 33 Either make the tree
good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt:
for the tree is known by his fruit.
Luke 3:8-9 8 Bring forth
therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves,
We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these
stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 9 And now
also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which
bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
If we are righteous it is because we think righteous
thought. And if you have your seed source from God then you will not be able to
help but to think God’s thoughts. Remember the parable of the two sowers. They
both sowed seed, but the Seed from the Son of Man was called he good seed. And
we see that a good plant will only produce a good fruit.
Now I believe that everything
you are, even your Character
comes forth from the garden of thought that is in your heart, making you what
you really are. Brother Branham told us that when we are born again, we receive
everything that we will ever have need of to bring forth the image of God in
us.
Your mind affects every thing about you, and not only
does it affect your character, and the molding of your character, but it will
even affect the circumstances that you enter into daily, which circumstances
are used by God in the shaping of your character into it’s final product that
God has predestined for you. Therefore, every trial you endure, every
test that God puts you through, comes about as a result of the Seed thoughts
that lay within your heart.
1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the
fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of
Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad
also with exceeding joy. Here we see that it should not surprise us when we
face our trials, because these trials are made for the purpose of testing us.
In fact we see in 1 Peter
1:7 that not only are we ordained to these tests, but we are also
ordained to pass them. Wuest Translation ....In
which last season you are to be constantly rejoicing with a joy that expresses
itself in a triumphant exuberance, although for a little while at the present
time if perchance there is a need for it, you have been made sorrowful in the
midst of many different kinds of testings in order that the approval of your
faith, which faith was examined by testing for the purpose of being
approved, that your approval being much more precious than the approval of gold
which perishes, even though that gold be approved by fire-testing, may be
discovered after scrutiny to result in Praise, Honor and Glory at the time of
the Revelation of Jesus Christ;
Therefore, we can say that every trial that you go
through and ever time you are put to a test by God and you can not see beyond
the circumstance which surround your life, just remember that these are all a
result of the seeds of your thinking and they have spawned from your own mind.
Remember, what Paul told us in the book of
Rom 8:28-31 And we know that all things work together
for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29 For whom he
did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be
conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them
he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he
justified, them he also glorified. 31 What shall we
then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
And so if everything about us is already predestined
from God, then the very thoughts we think, He knew we would think them before
the foundations of the World, and He knows not only what you have thought, but
what thoughts you will think too. Then we can see the relationship of these
thoughts that we have and how they influence our growth into the image of His
Son.
Our minds are always in a constant flux of change.
When we were children we had certain thoughts that filled our minds. Then
through life experiences we begin to further develop our thoughts. And as we
receive each and every new experience, our minds begin to examine the
circumstances in our lives with a more mature understanding.
The Apostle Paul said in 1
Corinthians 13:11 "When I was a child, I spoke as a child,
because I understood as a child understands, because I thought as a child
thinks, but now that I have become a man, I put away from my mind childish
thinking."
Therefore
we should be able to see that our mind is in a constant growth pattern, in
which our garden or thoughts are constantly being upgraded so to speak, or
renewed by what life experiences we go through on our journey of becoming.
The Apostle Paul also told us in Romans 5:3-5 that we
should glory in our tribulations, which
are the tests we go through. Now this word here is a Greek word which means
those things that seem to bring forth pressure upon us. We always think of
these trials as coming from an outward source, but we are told by Paul that we
should glory in these things, he told us that these tests actually are given to
us to work in us character.
Notice how he goes on to say, …Romans 5:3b-5 "knowing that tribulation worketh within you patience;
and patience; experience which is character, and character brings forth an
earnest expectation, and having an earnest expectation makes us to be not ashamed, because we know that
the Love of God is shed abroad in our hearts or understanding by the Holy Ghost
which God has given to us by the receiving of His Word.”
Therefore we see how God uses circumstances to bring
forth His Character and Grace in us.
Therefore we must understand that since our character
development is dependent upon receiving every outside stimulus that will
produce in our thinking, the thoughts of God,
thus we can see our dependence upon these stimuli to bring us into fulfillment
toward the ultimate goal of receiving the very mind of God.
Therefore, our reactions that we show toward
these circumstances are an outward indication as to where we stand in our
development toward the end-product of our being.
How we handle each circumstance we enter in this life will
depend upon what stage we are in, in our progression towards our ultimate
character, the very nature of the first born son.
Then what appears to be a test at one stage in
our progression will not appear to be so at a further stage in our character
development.
Circumstances are just like taking a test in school.
What would appear to be a very difficult thing for us in the first year of
school would not even appear to be a test after twelve years of schooling. The
further on in our progressive state that we move into toward the image of first
born Son of God that we are being conformed to, the further developed will be
our response mechanism that we harbor in our mind or mind-set.
Therefore every circumstance that we face in life is a
growth from our own mind or thoughts. Circumstances
grow out of thought.
Now, here is where I want for you to be thinking this
morning. Now, listen closely to what I am going to tell you here.
You are only buffeted by circumstances so long as you
perceive those circumstances Are the result of an outside influence upon our
lives. Now, did you get that? You are only buffeted by
circumstances in your life so long as you perceive that those circumstances in
your life are the result of an outside influence upon our lives.
Does everyone here understand what I am saying? What
do I mean by you are only buffeted by circumstances you think are a result of
outside influence upon your life? Well, what I am trying to say is that as long
as you have this idea that what you are going through is someone else’s fault
and not your own then you will be tossed to and fro by those circumstances that
you are going through. In other words, it is easy to blame others for your
trials and tribulations, but when it boils right down to it, you get what you
sow for. You have trouble on the job because of several reasons.
1) You are too quick to speak and don’t think how your
words will be received?
2) You do not adequately think out the consequences of
your actions.
But when you come to the place where you realize that all the circumstances you
are coming across, come forth in your lives as a direct result of your own mental
state, then you will begin to appreciate those circumstances and you will see
how they are molding and shaping your own character and you will see their purpose
in your growth toward the finished product that God has destined for each one
of you.
Proverbs 17:10 A
reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool.
Proverbs
15:2 The tongue of the wise uses knowledge a-right:
but the mouth of fools pours out foolishness.
Proverbs 10:8 The wise in heart will receive commandments:
but a chattering fool shall fall.
Proverbs
29:11 A fool utters all his mind:
but a wise man keeps it in till afterwards.
Proverbs 17:28 Even a fool, when he holds his peace, is counted
wise: and he that shuts his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.
Proverbs
Chapter 12 Verse 15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes:
but he that hearkens unto counsel is wise.
So you see, a fool doesn’t observe himself in a
discussion, and he is not listening to learn, but he is speaking to show everyone
just how little he actually does know.
1 Peter 2: 20-22 20 For what glory is
it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but
if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is
acceptable with God. 21 For
even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us
an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22 Who did no sin, neither was
guile found in his mouth:
Here
we find Peter tells us that if we suffer for Christ sake it is acceptable with
God, but if we suffer for what we have caused, then we should take the
consequences patiently, knowing that all things are working together for our
own good. As you can see, your thoughts are seeds that must by their nature as
a seed, bring forth into manifestation the nature that is in the seed.
Since
the life in the seed will make itself known, then when the seed thought does
give way to a life experience in the form of an action or a deed, it will then
cause other things to happen in response. Therefore as Peter said, don’t be so
shocked and surprised if your actions cause other circumstances to happen which
you may feel you can not control. You really can control them by not causing
them to happen in the first place. The law of physics tells is that, “For every
action there is a reaction”. Therefore, it behooves us to be
careful how we do things. In fact brother Branham preached a message about God
testing for our reactions in
a message called, “A Reaction to an action preached in August 10,
of 1959.”
From Be certain of God 59-0412A P:20 One
morning there was some Hebrew children was going to be burnt up. And they knew
that they had done God's will. And they said, "We're not afraid of the
king's commandments. Our God is able to deliver us from this fiery furnace.
Nevertheless, we'll not bow to his image." Now, God was going to give them a test to see what their reaction to
their action would be. And He let them walk right straight to the fiery
furnace before He ever moved. But when
all of God's requirements has been met, and you're certain of God, that God
will do it, stand still then, and God will do it. If you set in these
meetings, and you seen the Lord God move out over the audience, healing the
sick and afflicted, and yet, you seem to still have your disease... And when I
ask for them to put hands on each other, and you've made your wrongs right
before Him; you've accepted Him, and you've been baptized in Christian faith,
and your heart's clean before Him, then sometime
when God delays His answer He's only wanting to see what you'll react by.
Just be sure that you believe that it's God and then hold on to it. Don't you
move.
Therefore
if we really believe that everything we sow will result in our reaping, then
when we sow hateful speech, or criticisms, we should not be surprised when the
criticisms come back our way. Then we
should be able to see how the outer
world of circumstances actually shapes themselves to our inner thoughts.
Therefore,
both pleasant and unpleasant external conditions
are factors which make for our ultimate good, or work
together for our good. That is why we learn by both
suffering
and receiving
blessings. Each of these outward circumstances are stimuli that help us to
further our growth toward that image of Christ that we so long to be in our
souls.
Let
me just ask this question: How many in here can bring to your remembrance a
time in your life when you were under quite a heavy trial and that trial
brought you closer to God?
Well,
then how many in here can also remember a time or times when God just seemed to
be showering you with blessing after blessing, and it also brought you to a
humbling and greater awareness of God your Father?
Now,
if you can see that blessings mold and shape you, and if you see that the trials you have also
mold and shape your relationship towards God, then I hope that you can see that
no matter what the circumstances in your life you are going through now, they
are designed specifically by your loving Father to mold you and shape you into
your pre-destined likeness to the first born son.
Therefore
you should be able to see by now that your actions are only an expression of your
own thoughts, and those thoughts directly affect what circumstances you will go
through in life.
Therefore, Circumstances do not just happen, they grow out of the
conditions of our own heart.
Just
as your spiritual lives are progressive to where you pile Word upon Word to
bring forth the Glorified mindset and then body, so too do our circumstances add to your suffering in order to help your
character to grow and develop.
Every situation we face
in life is like the piece of a large puzzle that once fitted together gives
purpose and meaning to each of them. Now, listen up,
because I am going to tell you something that will make you to have a
victorious life, if you apply what I am going to say.
The
circumstances and conditions you face each and every day are only reflectors
which help you to know how far along in your development you have come.
Therefore,
you may not always receive what you pray for, but know one thing for sure, you
will always receive what you have sown for.
Therefore
our desires and prayers are only gratifying to us when they are in harmony with
what we are actually sowing in the recesses of our mind. When we fight
circumstances, we are only revolting against the effect of what we have been
sowing.
When
we see the circumstances that are without, and we may not like what we see, yet
if we understand that they are only there because we keep nourishing them in
our minds, and we keep feeding them, then we will do something about them. And
we will then progress closer to that image of the first born son that we are
ordained to be conformed to.
When
Jesus the first born son lay there on his knees all night in
Brother
Branham said that was his greatest victory, and I believe it was the last step
in his character development until he completed the Image that God was molding
Him to be.
Just
as Jesus wished that the cup be taken from Him, we too often wish to improve
upon our circumstances in a way that perhaps God has not ordained for us.
Unlike
Christ, we wish to change our circumstance, yet we are so unwilling to change
ourselves. Yet, Christ recognized his role, and He recognized why He was there
in
We are taught in
scripture that if we be any otherwise minded, we have a promise that God will
reveal it to us. Philippians 3: 15 Let us therefore, as
many as be perfect, (that means mature and finished off) be thus minded: (in
other words, let those who are mature and finished off be of the same mindset
as Christ. And then we have this promise also,) and if in
any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.
So there you are. When
you can come to the place that you have the mind of Christ you will think as
Christ thought, and if perchance you are not thinking as God would have you to
think he will bring those wrong thoughts aright by revealing to you where you
missed the mark.
And
how does He do that? By his law of sowing and reaping, allowing your wrongly
sown thoughts to come into manifestation in the form of circumstances that will
smack you right in the face so you would have to be blind not to see it. O, how
I love the ay God has set all things in order for our benefit.
And
if we do what He shows us, then we are on our way towards the necessary self
awareness of our position in Christ, that we can grow into His very image.
But
when we are not aware of our inner self, and if we are not aware of our
position in the family of God, and our progress towards our ultimate goal of
being conformed to the image of the first born son, then that is why our
circumstances remain the same.
As I have said before, if
you keep failing the same test over and over again, and if your circumstances
stay the same and you can’t seem to get out of the rut you are in, then it’s
about time you change the answers you are giving in your test you are taking.
Anyone with just a
dusting of intelligence, even a dumb cow or horse can tell that if he get’s
zapped when he touched the electric fence that he should stay away from it.
Pavlov experimented with chickens and dogs and they could learn that certain
things they did they received a reward and other things they did they got
punished for. And those are just dumb animals. Then if you are going through
the same trial over and over again, then smarten up. Even a dumb dog isn’t that
stupid.
And I want you to know this. God’s tests are
all multiple choice. And you have your whole life to get the answer right. And each time you get through a certain set
of circumstances, he takes you higher and higher into being conformed to the
Image of His eldest son. So do not be afraid of the test, just be willing to take
it over and over unto you master it. But if you are afraid of the test, you
never will pass it. And what is there to be afraid of, did not Peter tell us
that we are ordained to pass the test? Did not the Apostle Paul tell us that
God would not test us above what we are able to take?
1
Corinthians 10: 13 No
test that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face.
All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let
you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through
it.
Now, we have seen how
that Jesus received his greatest victory when he adjusted his mental state and
Faith to the circumstances that He was ordained to come through, and he rose up
victorious over death hell and the grave as a result of first getting victory
over self..
Therefore, If we
shrink from crucifixion of self, we shall never achieve our hearts desire. A man who wishes to have a better life style, must
be willing to work for what he wants.
Too
many people live at the poverty level and wish daily that they could rise above
it, and yet they are personally unwilling to do something about their condition
other than gripe and complain about it. You are the reason you are what you are
and where you are. What you have sown is what you are reaping in your life.
Good thoughts and actions can never produce bad results. Jesus told us that a good tree can not produce bad
fruit. Therefore if we think good thoughts, we will have good actions which
will produce good results.
Matt 7:17-19 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good
fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A
good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth
good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth
good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore
by their fruits ye shall know them.
You
reap only what you sow. Therefore if you delight in the Lord, you will receive
the things that you have need of.
Psalms 37:4-5 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he
shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 5 Commit
thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
Proverbs 16:3 Commit
thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.
You make the commitment; you are the one who must sow,
and then God simply honors the Law or Reproduction of Genesis 1:11 that says, every seed will bring forth after it’s own kind. You will not have victory unless you sow victory.
Brother Branham use to quote the poem by Longfellow
which said, “Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
That life is just an empty dream! For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem. Life is real! Life is earnest! And the grave
is not its goal; For dust thou art, to dust returnest, Was not spoken of the
soul. Not enjoyment and not sorrow, is our destined end or way; but to act, that each tomorrow, finds us further than today.”
Another
poem he quoted was from John G Saxe
that said, “There was a noble Roman, In
Brother Branham said in his sermon, E-17 Hour Is
Come 51-0415E Your right mental attitude towards God's Divine promise will
bring any promise to pass. Now, maybe you
don't believe that. You say, "Well, my faith is weak." I wouldn't
confess it. See? Don't let the devil know that. Always say, "I have good faith. I believe God with all my heart." See? Don't
testify nothing of the devil. And when you accept Him as your Healer, don't
never act like you're sick or crippled any more. Believe that you're healed.
Take Him at His Word. Then it's all over on God then and not on you. See? As
long as you take God at His Word, then the Word will produce what It promised
to do.
Therefore,
everything you are, even your Character comes
forth from the thoughts that are in your heart, making you what you really are.
And as we hear brother Branham tell us in paragraphs 80 and 81, your thoughts
affects that you will ever do and say therefore not only affecting your
character, and molding your character, but even to the circumstances that you
enter into daily, and the way you handle those circumstances. And God uses those
circumstances in shaping your character to its final product that He predestined
for you.
Therefore
in closing let me say, every trial you endure, every test you go through, all come
about as a result of the seed thoughts that lay within your heart. Therefore,
every thought seed that is sown, or that we allow to fall into the fertile soil
of our minds, to take root there, will produce it’s own, after it’s own
likeness or nature. Sooner or later each thought seed we have sown in our hearts
will have to take blossom and become manifested in our lives as an action or
deed. And each action or deed will bear its own fruit in terms of opportunity
or circumstances. As the Scripture tells us, good thoughts will bear good fruit
and bad thoughts will bear bad fruit, as Martin Luther said, “the devil will come
to your mind like a bird to a tree. You can not help him coming, but you do not
have to let him stay there and make a nest.”
Let
us bow our heads in prayer