Spoken Word #28
“The
Examination of our Faith”
Brian Kocourek
June 8th, 2008
1 Peter 4:12 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.
Let’s pray, Dear Father we approach thy Word this morning because we know
by Your Word you created the heavens and the earth. And we know according to
your own Word in Hebrews 11 that You created the worlds by Your own Faith in
Your own Word, and so we know that without Faith in Your Word it is impossible
to please you. Help us Father to have the Faith that was in Your Son, Your own
Faith in Your Own Word that He held onto as He was tested to the point of
Death, even as Abraham held to Your Faith even up to the point of death for his
own son. And we ask these things in the
lovely name of your obedient son, Jesus Christ. Amen!
Now, this morning I want to examine our faith and in
fact I wish to talk about the examination of our Faith, because it is going to
take faith to receive a body change. But let me say this, It isn’t working
yourself up into something called faith. For Faith is a Revelation and if a
revelation, then it isn’t a mental cognition, but it is something that has been
revealed to you that it is.
Faith isn’t something that might happen. Faith is
something that is already, but just needs skin on it. Faith is the Evidence of
those things which are not yet visible, and it is substance.
And we know that word for substance speaks of God
Himself. So Faith is God, and He is the Word. And as a man thinks in his heart that is what he is.
So What God thinks in His heart is His Word, and that is what He is. And the
substance of that thinking is an expression called the Word.
Now, this may be a little bit deeper than you would
like, but let me lay this out so simple that you could not miss it.
When you and I think of something, our thoughts take
on an identification process. In others words, if I ask you to close your eyes,
and think of a black stallion, running across a green grassy hill, and now as
you are following this stallion as he runs across the green grassy hill, you
see over the horizon of the hill an ocean way off in the distance.
Now, what I described to you is something I thought
up in my mind, but if you closed your eyes as I spoke those words then you saw
in your own mind what I am seeing in my own mind. Now, this is how God could
say let there be horse and there was horse. First God had to think it, and then
when he spoke it, it became substance. Well, in God’s mind it was as real when
it was still in His mind as when it became manifested.
Now, that is the Power of His Word. By Faith or
Revelation you see it in the invisible pre-incarnate state, but then when you
apply His Word to it, it puts on a reality in the 3 dimensions in which you
live. I kind of believe the Resurrection will be that way. We know the saints
that are to come forth are already in another dimension. Only you can’t see
them but they are there already.
Brother Branham saw them there waiting on you and me
to get ourselves lined up with the Word for this hour and that is what they are
waiting on. He saw them there. He described what he saw, and when he spoke it,
in my own mind I caught a glimpse of what he was seeing.
Now, to bring it to these three dimensions that we
are now living takes something more than an ability to see it in your mind. It
takes Faith or revelation in God to perform His own Word.
You and I do not have that yet because we still think
there is something down the road for us to come to in order for the
resurrection to happen. But you see, those people are already just as alive as
you and I are. Brother Branham saw them and they spoke to him and he spoke to
them. And they are just waiting on you to see what they already are
seeing.
So we are dealing with Faith which is an evidence of
what we can not see with natural site, but what we can see with supernatural
eyes, the eyes of your heart. And faith is a substance, so it is as real as you
and I are.
Now, we read from 1 Peter
4:12 for our text where Peter said, Beloved, think it not strange
concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing
happened unto you:
And
we must ask ourselves, what are the trials for? And we get our answer in verse
13 where he says, “when
His glory (His Doxa, His Opinion, His Values, and His Judgments) shall be revealed,
ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.”
So you see the trials are to test our faith in His
Word. We also see in 1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the
God who is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant
mercy hath begotten us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ out from among the dead, 4 To an inheritance…
Now,
listen, he’s talking about adoption here, because inheritance is for sons and
daughters. So let’s see what he says about this inheritance.
First
of all it’s) incorruptible,
(then he says it’s) undefiled, (so you
see we are to receive an inheritance that is incorruptible and undefiled, and
notice then, “if it is incorruptible and undefiled”, then he adds,) and that fadeth not
away,…
Therefore,
if it can never
fade away, and it is incorruptible, then it can’t be broken, it
can’t be bent nor can it be distorted in any way shape or form. So it is pure.
And if it can not fade away you will have it forever. And then he says, and
it’s) reserved in
heaven for you,…
Now,
this is pretty good, it’s being safeguarded in Heaven for us. And do you know
what that inheritance is, that is being stored in Heaven for us? It is God’s
own Word which is He said in Romans 1:16 is “the Power of God”, and Wisdom,
and therefore it is what God intrinsically is.
In
Verse 23
of this very same Chapter of 1 Peter, we are told that the Word of God in incorruptible and that
fadeth not away. So our inheritance has to be God’s own Word.
Well,
you might be thinking, “great I thought it would be great treasures and riches
and things like that”. But listen, those things fade away, but this can never
fade away. Now, the reason that may not excite some is because they do not
understand what God’s Word is? But God created the World’s by His Word. That’s
Hebrews 11. and it took God having faith in His own word to do it.
And so we read on in 1st Peter, 1:5 And
you, who are kept by the power of God…(notice
this tells us that God keeps us by His Own Word, because the Word of God is the
Power of God…And Peter goes on to say, ) through faith (through revelation that brings us) unto salvation
(And this Faith or Revelation is) ready to be revealed in the last time.
So
what is this Faith or Revelation that is to be revealed to us and I might add,
in us at the end-time? It is the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
Look,
how many remember my sermon called the Faith of Jesus from
From
his sermon Will
I find faith when I return 51-0508 P:33 Brother Branham said, And the very God, back
there in the beginning that rolled the world, the moon, the stars, and made
them from things which do not appear, or made them out of things that do
appear. Out of things... And where did He get the material to make it? He spoke
it into existence by His Word. He said, "Let
there be." And it was so: Deity. And that,
a portion of that deity dwells in the
heart of every borned again Christian. Hallelujah. Then what did He say,
"Ask
what you will, and it'll be given to you."
There you are. Deity, it fell on the day of Pentecost. It's still falling.
And
again from his sermon Word become flesh
From his sermon, Identification
63-0123 P:46 Look to Him, all the ends of the world, and live. And the
only way you can... His sinful--sinless nature expressed the Word of God so
much that He and the Word was One. He said so. "I and My Father are One. I
do always that what pleases the... I and My Father are just One." He was so perfect in the image of God until
He and God was the expressed same thing. He was the flesh, the Son, that
expressed the deity of God. So that made Him deity in a man, in order to redeem a man. See? He and the Word was One. "In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was God. And the Word was made
flesh..." So He and the Word became
one, that the Word could express, and could show to the world that Example of
what man should be.
And Again from his
sermon Pergamean
church age 60-1207 P:46 Now, if He is the living Word, then this wrote on the Bible
is part of Him; then if you can receive
this into Him, which is the Word, this Word comes into you by faith makes It
alive, because the... Oh, catch That.
The Word comes into you, if the Holy Spirit's in there, It's alive as soon as
It comes in, and every promise is true. Nothing... "Therefore, if you say to this mountain 'Be moved,' and don't doubt in
your heart." Because what? You are Deity speaking.
You believe it? The Bible said so. And whatever
you say shall come to pass if you'll not doubt, if you can get all of the
world bred out of you, let the Holy Spirit make you a full son or daughter of
God (no world, no condemnation, no doubt). What
is it then? It's no more you; it's God in you. Then you take His Word; It's
a promise, and say, "Father, it's Your promise." "Satan..."
Something's got to move.
Now, in getting back to 1 Peter 1 we shall pick up at verse 6 Wherein
ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness
through manifold temptations: (Notice he says we will have manifold t4estings if we need it. So as
Peter said in our text, Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial
which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
And why should we think it not strange? Because he said you will be tested if
you need it. That’s the key. Lord, why all these tests? Because you have need
of them, that’s why. And why is that? Because you have not yet let go of your
own desires and worldy ambitions, and you have not yet let Christ take over
your being. So he says, ) 7 That the trial of your faith,
being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with
fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus
Christ:
So
you see we are to have the trials of our faith. So the testing is not to see
how great you are, and how much you know, and how holy you can make yourself.
But the trials are the trials of your Faith. In other words, the Faith or
revelation in you is set forth to be tested and tried to make sure it brings
forth what is ordained for it to bring forth.
Now,
let me just read to the end of the chapter and then I will again comment.
1 Peter 1:8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom,
though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye
rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 9 Receiving
the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. 10 Of which
salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of
the grace that should come unto you:
11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ
which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of
Christ, and the glory that should follow. 12 Unto
whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister
the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the
gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the
angels desire to look into. 13 Wherefore gird up
the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to
be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
And we know that in 1st
Corinthians 1: 4-10 we are told that this Grace that is to come is for
the purpose of bringing us into a maturity that we might have the mind of
Christ in us, and that we might all say the speak the same concerning the
Doctrine)
14 As obedient children, not fashioning
yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:
15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all
manner of conversation; 16 Because it is written,
Be ye holy; for I am holy.
Now,
in getting back to verse 7 we are promised that these trials of our Faith or
revelation are to produce in us Praise, Honor and Glory. You see, we do not test things just for the
sake of testing them. We test for approval. We test the 1st graders
after they are ready to be proved that they have what it takes to pass the 1st
grade and be promoted into 2nd Grade. So with each test passed we
are promoted up one rung of the latter so to speak.
Now,
what I am driving at is that this revelation of Jesus Christ, if you have truly
received it into your mind, and soul, then as Brother Branham said, you are
deity expressed to this world.
Deity of
Jesus Christ the 49-1225 P:38 And that same power, that same Christ...
Hallelujah. Let the fundamentalists, let them people who deny the power of God
say it's wrong; but that same power that
spoke the world into existence is in those people that's got the Holy Ghost.
That's right. Men and women, it's time
that we found out who you are. The devil's trying to hide you back, tell you
that you're some little trod-down something. You're not. You're sons and daughters of God. The Deity is not in heaven; it's in you. Hallelujah. I know you
think I'm crazy, but let me tell you something, brother. When you realize that
Almighty God lives in you, it's all right. "My Life, I give Zoe," the
Life of God is in the human being.
So
what you are in your mind and soul is what you are. And Jesus said, “whatsoever a man thinketh, so is he.” Therefore,
if The revelation of Jesus Christ is in You, then it will not only affect your
character, but it will mold His Character into your character, And whatever He
reveals in your heart, 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.
Look,
we all know in Matthew 13 the Parable of the Son
of Man as he went forth sowing seeds, and we also know those seeds were the
word of God, and we also know the Word is Life, so those seeds as carriers of
God-Life, are the children of God. We all know that. Well, then those thoughts
in your mind are seeds also. And as seeds they contain life. 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.
Then
as Peter said 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 every 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 forth from the heart.
Remember,
what Paul told us in the book of Romans 8:28-31 28 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?
Therefore,
if everything about us is already predestined from God, then the very thoughts
we think, He knew we would have 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. Paul said in [1 Cor 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." And so we 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.
Paul
tells us in [Romans 5:3-5] that we should glory in our tribulations, or testings. Now this word here is a Greek word
which means those things that seem to bring forth pressure upon us.
Why
do we always think of our trials come as a result of someone else bringing
them, when we are told by Paul that we should glory in these things, because he
went on to say, "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 God uses circumstances
in our lives to bring forth His character & grace in us.
Then
our character development is dependent upon receiving outside stimuli and how
we react to those trials because God is trying to produce in our thinking, His
very words. Thus these stimuli bring us into fulfillment toward the ultimate
goal of receiving the very mind of God. Because after all, God wants us to do
what His son did, and with every temptation that came his way, he went right
straight to the Word. And that is what Eve Failed to do.
When
that young slicker comes along and tries to get your kids to do something that
they were taught by dad that isn’t right, when he says, o, c’mon, it’s ok,
let’s go do this or that. And in your mind, your child training pops up in your
mind and says, but dad said I shouldn’t do it. Or Mom said that this thing is
wrong.
Well,
that is the same way with God and His word. He’s trying to fill our little
minds full of His Word, so that as Jesus said under the same tests you have, He
said, “It is written, or it is also written, etc. Therefore, our
reactions that we show toward these circumstances is an outward indication as
to where we stand in our development as sons of God. How we handle each circumstance will depend upon
what stage of our development we are in, in our progression toward our ultimate
character as obedient sons. Then what appears to
be a test at one stage in our progression, will not appear to be so at a later
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 schooling, 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 God that we are conforming to, the further developed
will be our response mechanism that we harbor in our mind set or seed garden of
our thinking.
Therefore every circumstance that we face in life is a
growth from our own mind or thoughts. Circumstances grow out of thought. We are only buffeted by circumstances so long as we
perceive these to be an outside influence upon our lives.
When
we finally realize that circumstances
that come forth in our lives are a direct result of our own mental state, we
will begin to appreciate their use and purpose in our growth toward the
finished product that God has destined for each one of us.
Anyone
who has for any length of time, been a practicing Christian, and who has
practiced self control and self purification or sanctification, will have
noticed that the alteration in their circumstances have been in a direct ratio
to the alteration in their mental state.
When you purposely and earnestly make an effort to
remedy your personal character defects, and make swift and marked progress toward
bettering yourself in areas where you are weak, you will pass swiftly through a
succession of unpredictable changes.
Therefore, your
soul attracts that which it secretly desires, and also that which it fears the most.
It not only reaches the heights of it’s desired aspirations, but it also falls
to the level of it’s un disciplined desires, and circumstances are the means by
which your soul receives what it longs for.
Therefore,
every
thought seed that we allow to fall into
the fertile soil of our minds, to take root there, will produce it’s own kind,
after it’s own likeness or nature. Yes, your thoughts will produce
fruits of what is there.
Sooner
or later each thought seed we have sown
in our hearts will have to blossom and become manifested in our lives as an
action or deed. And each action or deed will bear it’s 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. That is why we must come to the place where we begin to monitor and control what we
think and believe.
Peter
tells us in 1 Peter 1: 20-22 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 as
Paul taught in Romans 8, that all things are working together for our own good.
As you can see, you thoughts are seeds that must 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 physic’s tells
us “For every action there is a reaction.” And in his sermon Testing for reactions, Brother Branham
taught us that God uses actions or circumstances in our life to test our
reactions to them. Therefore, it behooves us to be careful how we do things. If
we really believe that everything we sow will result in reaping, then when we
sow hateful speech, we should not be surprised when criticisms come back our
way. Therefore we can see how
circumstances can actually shape themselves around our inner thoughts.
The we can see that God uses both pleasant and unpleasant external happenings
in our life to work together for our good. That is why we learn from suffering and from blessings.
Each of these helps further our growth toward the image of Christ that we so
long to be in our souls.
Therefore
we should be able to see how our actions are only an expression of our
thoughts. Circumstances
do not just happen, they grow out of the conditions of our heart.
Just
as our spiritual lives are progressive where Word must be piled upon Word to
bring forth our Glorified body, so too do
our circumstances add to our suffering in order to help our 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. The
circumstances and conditions we face each day are only reflectors which help us
to know how far along in our development we 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.
Then
our desires and prayers are only beneficial 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. We see the circumstances that are without and we may not like what we
see, yet they are there only because we keep nourishing them in our minds, and
we keep feeding and thus preserving them in our mind.
You
can not improve your circumstances without improving your self. And that is why
our circumstances remain the same. If we are not willing to die to 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 in
poverty and yet only wish that they could rise above it, but what are they
doing about it, what are they sowing toward changing their situation? Griping never will never get you anywhere, so
why do it.
If you want change you
must be willing to change. You must be an agent of change. It reminds me of a
poem I heard brother Branham tell. From his sermon Serpent's
seed 58-0928E P:42 he said, A little poem, that
used to help me so much when I was a kid, goes something like this: There was a
noble Roman, In the Roman Emperor's days; Who heard a coward croaker, Before
the castle say: Oh, it's safe in such a Fir tree, There's no one can shake it.'
Oh, no,' said the hero,' I'll find a way or make it.' There you are. That's
right.
43 If this Bible teaches
that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever... It wasn't a easy
thing, when I stepped out of this Tabernacle that day, and everybody was
telling me this would happen and that would happen. "You'd be considered a
fanatic and thrown into jail. And all of the medical association would get
against you." But God said do it. The Bible said He was, and now a revival
fire burns in every nation under the heavens. That's right. Stand up to it. How
do you tackle your work each day? Are you scared of the job that you find? Can
you stand right up to the work ahead of you? Have you got a tired and empty
mind? (I hate that stuff.) Or do you stand right up to the work ahead of you,
Or is fear ever running through it? If so, tackle the next you find, By thinking
you're going to do it. Stay with it. Certainly. Purpose in your heart like
Daniel. Stay with God.
So
quit your griping because it will never get you anywhere. It reminds me of an
young man that wanted to be a monk. So he enters into the monastery and after
he is ordained he is told, This Monastery is dedicated to silence, and you will
only be permitted to speak two word after you have been here 10 years. So ten
years goes by and the young monk is asked what his two words are, and he
replies. Bed hard. The head monk said we will consider that. Another ten years
passes by and the young monk is permitted to speak another 2 words, and he
says, Food Bad. The elder monk says we will consider that. Finally at the end
of the next 10 years, the young monk is asked what two words he would like to
speak, and he said “I quit”. The elder monk replies, “well, that figures, the
only words out of your mouth for the past 30 years were complaints anyway.”
So
gripe and complain if you wish, but no one really cares. You get what you sow
for. You are the reason you are what you are. What you have sown is what you
are reaping in your life. You don’t get
a close knit family by the luck of some draw, but you get a close knit family
by hard work and constant communication. Good
thoughts and actions can never produce bad results.
In
fact Jesus told us in Matthew 7:17-19 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. 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 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he
shall give thee the desires of thine heart
Proverbs 16:3 says,
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 that says, every seed will bring forth after it’s own kind. I have seen too many people complain about their
lack of victory, yet they do not sow victory, but defeat.
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.
A friend of mine told me that he heard a man that
claims to be a minister but has no church, said, “You know I can do what
brother Brian is doing, and in fact I’ve always wanted to do just that. And my
friend replied, “but your not doing it”. And that was a good answer. A lot of
arm chair quarter backs think they would have called a better play than the
professional they are watching, but they are only puffed up in their own minds,
and in most cases their bellies are swollen with beer as they slouch on their
easy chair. If they could do better they would be the one out their.
Therefore,
Beautiful thoughts of all kinds will crystallize
into habits of Grace and kindness,
which solidify into friendly and cheerful circumstances: pure thoughts
crystallize into habits of holiness and self control, which further
solidify into circumstances of rest and peace. If you sow thoughts
of self reliance, courage and decisiveness, they will
bring forth circumstances of success, plenty and freedom;
energetic thoughts crystallize into habits of cleanliness and industry, which
solidify into circumstances of courteousness: gentle and forgiving thoughts
solidify into protective and preservative circumstances.
Loving
and unselfish thoughts crystallize into habits of self-forgetfulness, which
solidify into circumstances of abiding prosperity and true riches. "To have friends you must show yourself friendly"
If you keep sowing the same particular train of thoughts, be it good or bad, it
cannot help but to produce its results on the character and circumstances in
which you live.
Isaiah 58:11 "And the Lord shall guide thee continually,
and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou
shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail
not.”
Jeremiah 31:12b "Their Soul shall be as a watered Garden" Therefore, everything you are, even your Character comes
forth from the thoughts that is
in your heart, making you what you really are. And your thoughts affect
everything that is already in you, not only affecting your character, and
molding your character, but even affect your daily circumstances, and the way
you handle those circumstances. And God uses those circumstances in shaping of
your character to its final goal that He predestined for you. Therefore, every
trial you endure, every test you go through, comes as a result of the thoughts
that lay within your heart. Therefore, every thought seed that we allow to fall
into the fertile soil of our minds, to take root there, will produce it’s own
kind, 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 it’s 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.
Therefore
Loving
thoughts create an atmosphere of help, and trust, which crystallize into habits
of Grace, kindness, and charity, which creates further circumstances of
friendliness and cheerful benevolence, and reciprocity on the behalf of those
who are the recipients of your loving thoughts. We will pick up on
Wednesday evening from where we leave off this morning.
Let
us pray…