Spoken
Word no 40
Faith
in a Vindicated Word
Brian Kocourek
Last Sunday we ended our message from paragraph 32
of Brother Branham’s sermon the Spoken Word is the original Seed, where he
said, “See, you've got to have somewhere that faith can
take its resting place. And to me, I don't know how you feel about it, but
to me the Bible is the infallible Word of God. And I believe that God has
watched over His Word that there's not one punctuation out of place.”
Now, I would like to stop
here for a moment to reflect upon these words we just read. You see, I do not
believe in just rushing through our studies of Br. Branham’s sermons, because
this Message is our Absolute. And I do not care what Donnie Reagan or any other
minister says, this Message is our Absolute., because it is the Word of God
from “this Bible” made manifested in this day.
You see, brother Branham said the entire New Testament
speaks of this hour. Therefore, this Message and this Bible are the same, and
there is no difference, because the Message is this Bible revealed to us in 20th
century Americaneze. And for anyone to fuss with that it shows the word of God
has not been revealed to them.
Wednesday night we examined what Paul said in
Galatians chapter 1 and we saw where Paul said, Galatians 1:6 I marvel that you are so soon removed (and that
means they changed sides. They removed themselves) from him that called you into the grace of
Christ unto another gospel
(that’s a heteros Gospel, one
with a different nature, because notice he then says): 7 Which is not another; (notice Paul says they are turned to another
gospel, but then he says it is not another Gospel )but there be some that trouble you, and would
pervert the gospel of Christ.
So you see it is the perverting of the Gospel that Paul
was concerned about. And the word “pervert”
that we see Paul use hear was translated from the Greek word “metastrepho”
which means to transmute, or “to change from one nature to another”.
That is why the word “pervert” was chosen as the English
equivalent in the translation. Because the word “pervert” means not only
to change from one nature to another, but from good to worse. In other words,
the change is not for the better but for the worse. The word pervert means: To
interpret incorrectly; misconstrue or distort.
Now, the Word Paul brought was vindicated, and so was
the message that William Branham brought to us. And in fact that is the same as
the Message that Jesus brought because Jesus himself said, “if you don’t believe
me, at least believe for the works sake”. He said, I didn’t heal the
man, but God shows me what to do and then I only do what I see my father doing
in a vision, and then I do what he does. My father works and I work hitherto. He said the
words, I teach my
father commanded me what to say. He said, “the son can do nothing but what the father
shows him to do”. He said, “my doctrine Is not mine but the father’s that sent me”.
He said, I don’t even do my own will, but “my meat is to do the will of Him that sent me”.
Therefore, if Jesus pointed
to vindication, when he said in John 14: 11 Believe
me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the
very works' sake.
Again we see in John 10: 38 But
if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and
believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.
John 10:
37 If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.
We also see the Apostle Paul tell us the same thing in
Galatians chapter one as we read last week. William Branham pointed to vindication as
well. So it matters not how religious the person can be. It maters not how
righteous and holy they seem to be. What matters is whether God backs up what
that person says or not. Because any word that is not his own he is not
obligated to back up. And unless you
understand what it means to be vindicated, you might find yourself following a
lot of phonies in this hour.
From God's only provided place of worship
65-1128M P:40 Brother Branham
said, “Cain was just as religious as Abel was. They both built
altars. They both loved God. They both made sacrifices. They both worshipped.
They both paid tithe. They both done everything just alike. But Abel, by faith,
which is the revelation, the Word of God revealed, made plain, showed out, and
vindicated... Glory! Cain made an offering, but God didn't vindicate it. God
required worship, and Cain made the offering; but God didn't vindicate it. But
by the true channel...You say, "Well, my church is It. My..."Wait
just a minute. God interprets His Own Word by Its terms that Its spoke in. See?
Cain said, "I am religious. I am a lover of my Maker. I offer to Thee this
fine altar. I offer to You this sacrifice. I built all these things up, Lord,
because I love You." Abel said the same thing. Now, it's the one that's
vindicated, the one that's proven. And God come down and received Abel's
sacrifice, because by revelation he had struck the true channel of God that was
accepted.
O, I love that. Now, look, God is not obligated to
anything but His own Word. You are obligated to your word, and I am obligated
to my word, but I am not obligated to your word. No way shape or form. I won’t
do it. My kids make a mistake and make an obligation to someone or something,
and then expect me to pay for their mistake? No way.
Look, God even backs up the man and gives him
authority over his house and in a way that helps to get them off the hook for
making bad decisions. In Numbers 30: 1 And Moses spake unto the heads of the tribes concerning the
children of
So you see the importance of headship in the home.
That is why I tell my daughters, “as much sometimes as you might wish to get a
place of your own, it is not scriptural to do so”. You must have a head, and
your head is your father until you choose another head.
Now, it doesn’t say that for sons. When a son comes of
age he’s on his own, and he is responsible for all his actions and vows. The
Father is not responsible for his son. And When Billy Paul decided to move out
from home, and he chose the way of sin, then God put him on his back in the
hospital, and he was so sick he thought he was going to die for sure. So he tried to get a hold of his father, who
was with the family on vacation out west. He tried desperately to get a hold o
his father, but his father couldn’t be found anywhere.
So finally one morning as he lay there in that
hospital bed, he opened his eyes, and behold his father was standing over his
bed just looking down at him. He said, “O, daddy, I am so glad you are here. I know that if you just
lay your hands on me I will be healed. Will you pray for me daddy?”
And to his chagrin brother Branham said to him, “the way of the transgressor is hard son, you
did the sinning, you do the praying”.
And this isn’t something unusual with brother Branham. In his sermon, Church and its condition 56-0805 P:106 he said, The
Holy Spirit speaking again now. Repentance, just cry right out to God; just
pray your own prayer. You're the one's
done the sinning; now you're the one do the praying. Tell God you're sorry
what you done. Don't pay any attention to who's around you. Just say,
"God, forgive me; I didn't mean to be like that.
So we must understand that God is only obligated to
back up his own Word, and if that be so, then surely there is something about
vindication that we must need to understand. Therefore I believe that understanding
vindication is perhaps one of the most important things we can do as a Believer
in God and His Word.
It seems today that even in this Message we are living
in a time where every man does what he thinks is right in his own eyes. And if
you know me, you know that I like to ask questions. And so I ask myself, “why
is it that everyone seems to do what they think is right, and yet many times
they know it isn’t right?” You see, God is not going to ask you on judgment day
if you did what you thought is right, because He has already told us that we
have no thought coming. He said,
It doesn’t
matter to God what you think, because your thoughts are not His thoughts. He is
concerned only with his own Thoughts and thus His own Word.
He said in, Isaiah
Chapter 55: 7 Let the wicked forsake
his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the
LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly
pardon. 8 For my thoughts are
not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,
saith the LORD. 9 For as
the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from
heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth
and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it
shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and
it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
So it doesn’t matter who you are, if He didn’t say it,
then your opinion means nothing to God. So then what is
Vindication. Why is it so important to us? From br. Branham’s sermon, SIGN OF HIS COMING 62-0407 32 he said, But to the believer,
it's a vindication of the truth of God's Word that speaks of the coming sign.
Amen. It vindicates God's Word to be the truth. That's to the believer. Amen.
The unbeliever, he's worried, dismayed, discouraged. "Oh, such a
outfit," he will say. "You don't mean you belong to a thing like
that." See? He's just discouraged with it. But to the believer, it's, oh,
it's honey in the rock. It's a vindication.”
Now, what does brother
Branham mean when he uses the term vindication? Brother Branham used the term
Vindication to explain: "God has a One man Message and He deals with One man only".
But men do not like this, for they seem to want to have their own say as to how
God is going to do things.
From WHO DO YOU
SAY THIS IS? 64-1227 128 he
said, That one-man message,
they didn't want it. No, they didn't want It. And God never did deal but with one person at a time. It's always a
one-man message. When did ever He deal with the people, outside of just one
person? It's an individual. It ain't a group.
Vindication is
the real issue concerning our faith. Not so much that it was God backing up William
Branham's Message, but more importantly that God Himself was on the scene and
he is the author of that Message. It’s not William Branham’s Word, it’s God’s
Word.
A close study of this principle of
vindication will help us to understand better that when it comes to the program
of God, we have absolutely no say as to what will happen. All God requires from
you and me is to get ourselves out of the way and allow God to work through his
chosen channel, which according to Amos 3:7 is always a prophet.
AMOS 3:6
Shall a trumpet
be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a
city, and the LORD hath not done [it]? 7 Surely
the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the
prophets. 8 The lion hath roared, who will not
fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy?
Again we find
in the book of Deuteronomy God's Law concerning how he will deal with His
People. And since He is the same and changes not, then we cannot say that
prophets are relegated to the Old Testament only, for there are references to
prophets in the New Testament as well.
DEUTERONOMY
18:15 The
LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy
brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; 16 According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in
Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of
the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.
17 And the LORD said unto me, They have well spoken
that which they have spoken. 18 I will raise
them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my
words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not
hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of
him. 20 But the prophet, which shall presume to
speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall
speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. 21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word
which the LORD hath not spoken? 22 When a prophet speaks in the name of the
LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which
the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou
shalt not be afraid of him.
Now, God set
forth an order that has very strict consequences for those who will not adhere
to it. He said, I will require it from you. You will pay for your unbelief.
Notice the question came forth from God's own mouth. He said, how will you know
what is right and what is not right? And then He tells us, the one that is not
right will not be vindicated. I will not bring his words to pass, because they
are not my words. They are not “thus Saith the Lord.”
And we know God
is very protective of His own Words. ISAIAH 55:10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and
returns not thither, but waters the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud,
that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 11 So shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth: it
shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and
it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
And again we see in JOHN
10:23 And Jesus walked
in the temple in Solomon's porch. 24 Then came
the Jews round about him, and said unto him, how long dost thou make us to
doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Now, do you really think they wanted to know? Do you really
think they would have believed him if he told them he was the Son of God? All
you have to do is read on to know that they didn’t believe him, they just
wanted him to say it so they could hold it against him. They only came to his
meetings to find fault. And so is it today. People don’t change, the same
spirits of unbelief just go from one body to the next, to the next and on and
on.
25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works
that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. 26 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I
said unto you. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I
know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give
unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any [man]
pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which
gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my
Father's hand. 30 I and my Father are one.
31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.
32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shown
you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? 33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee
not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, make thyself God.
34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your
law, I said, Ye are gods? 35 If he called
them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;
36 Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and
sent into the world, Thou blasphemed; because I said, I am the Son of God?
37 If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.
38 But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know,
and believe, that the Father [is] in me, and I in him. 39 Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out
of their hand,
Brother Branham said
in his sermon, Jesus Christ
the Same 55-0603 15 But Jesus come
by not preaching so forceful as John, but there were signs and wonders
accompanying Him. He said, "If you can't believe Me believe the works that I do. If you can't
believe Me believe the a vindication
that the Father has given of Me, for the works that I do, the same testify that
the Father has sent Me." What a statement. Think of it. "The
works that I do testify that the Father has sent Me." Man can make any kind
of a statement, but if God don't back that statement up, you've got a right to
say it's wrong. But when God comes around and confirms that statement to be the
truth then it's sin to disbelieve it. For what is sin? Sin is one thing:
"unbelief." That's right. You couldn't say how much of that is night.
It's all night. And in the daytime you couldn't say just this much is day. It's
all day. Jesus said, "He that believeth not is condemned already."
Faith in God and unbelief that's the two things. One is sin and the other one
is salvation.
JOHN 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them,
Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he
seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son
likewise. 20 For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things
that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may
marvel.
What Hearest
Thou Elijah 59-0412E 32 Listen, brother, you might have a lot of noise, but I wonder
how much spirit's behind it, is what I'm a wondering. It isn't noise that makes
spirit. I've seen people that could jump, and run, and shout, and play bands,
and run up and down the platform, and didn't have enough real true faith to
stop a toothache. That's right. It's
that still small voice of God that operates the power of God, that makes things real and brings Life to
the church. That's what I'm speaking of. It ain't noise that counts; it's the vindication, the Spirit of God
that makes the difference. It's been here each night performing signs, and
wonders, and miracles among the people. It's true. I don't see how Pentecostal
people, who claim to have kissed the cup of the golden blessings of Jesus
Christ, can set still hardly when the Holy Ghost is a moving in such things.
But it's because it ain't got a noise behind it. The noise went first, then the
still small voice come.
Having
Conferences 60-0608 78 And while we have
our heads bowed, is there a sinners--any sinners here, would like to walk up
here just a minute. Maybe this might not help you, but I want to be sure of
this. I've told you the honest truth, so help me. God knows that. I want to be
sure that there's not a sinner on the ground. Let me say this, THUS SAITH THE HOLY SPIRIT:
"Except a man be born again, he cannot enter into the Kingdom." And
if you're here tonight, and THUS
SAITH THE SPIRIT OF GOD that's within me, I tell the truth; I lie
not. The very thing that vindicates it
is a returning of that prophetic Spirit that discerns the thoughts, tells you
what you've done, what you will do, what'll happen to you, every predicament,
every time perfectly for year after year. That's the vindication that I have
told you the truth…
Be not
Afraid 60-0609 71 You believe on
the Lord Jesus? Have faith in God. It's all over, brother. Just believe it now.
We are strangers to one another. Now, that ought to settle it for the whole
group of you. Does that confirm that I'm preaching the truth? How would God let
me tell something wrong, and stand up with my very message. These things are only to indicate a Divine
a vindication that my theology is right. That's exactly right. The Word of
the Lord came to the prophets. You believe that with all your heart? I don't
know you; Jesus knows you. You're a very fine person, and you're not here for
yourself. You're here for someone else. It's your daughter. You believe God can
tell me what her trouble is? It's in her spine. That's true. If that's right,
raise up your hand. Now, you believe with all your heart?
BLIND
BARTIMAEUS 60-0713 24 And in Praying for
the sick, tonight as we pray for the sick, the Lord may come to us and give the
visions. And if He does, remember the vision does not heal people. The vision
is only a vindication that the Word is right. How many knows what the word
"prophet" means? Sure you do. A "prophet" means "a one
that foretells or forth tells." And it is a Divine sign from God that this
person that's speaking has the right interpretation of the Divine Word, because
the Word of the Lord came unto the prophets. And the prophet foretold and done
those signs, which is a vindication that he had the interpretation of the
divine Word.
JOHN 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I
hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but
the will of the Father which hath sent me. 31 If I bear witness of myself, my witness is
not true. 32 There is another that beareth
witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true.
This let's us
know that there will be a showdown. God speaks of this in Deuteronomy chapter
13.
DEUTERONOMY 13:1 If there arise
among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a
wonder, 2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass,
whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast
not known, and let us serve them; 3 Thou shalt
not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the
LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all
your heart and with all your soul. 4 Ye shall
walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him,
and cleave unto him. 5 And that prophet, or
that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn
you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt,
and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way
which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil
away from the midst of thee.
So you see there is no “Thus Saith the Lord” here. It’s just dreams and visions, but no “Thus Saith the Lord.” So who needs it.
I’m sorry, but dreams and visions may be a nice thing, and may even come from
the Lord, but they are not an absolute. You know, even brother Branham had to
check all his visions by the Absolute. By the Word, so that tells you that
satan can give you dreams and visions just the same as God can. And further
more who can interpret dreams and visions without God doing it through a
prophet He has thoroughly vindicated.
HEBREWS 2:1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the
things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. 2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every
transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; 3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which
at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them
that heard him; 4 God also bearing them
witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of
the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?
From his sermon,. SIGN OF HIS
COMING 62-0407 brother
Branham said, 36 A vindication of God's Word being true, God
bears record of His Word by His signs. God's Word is a Seed, and that Seed has
to bring forth of Its kind (Genesis 1:11), every seed of its kind. And Jesus
said that the Word of God was a Seed that a “Sower” sowed. So then, every
promise in the Bible has to produce its kind. Amen. 37 Now, the signs are a
vindication of the true Word. God in all ages has said that. Now, some of you
might want to take down some of these Scriptures. If you do, put Hebrews 2:4 there. You see that God has vindicated His messengers. "God in
sundry times and divers manners," Hebrews starts out, "spoke unto the
fathers by the prophets, in this last days through His Son, Christ Jesus."
See? And seeing that, them had the Gospel preached to them way back long ago,
and had signs and wonders to vindicate that; then how much more should we hold
on after God with divers signs and wonders and gifts of the Holy Ghost? Oh,
divers of signs, the signs that Jesus Christ showed that He was here on earth,
Who He was, and what He was, and the purpose He was here from.
HEBREWS 1:1 God, who at sundry
times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the
prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto
us by [his] Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he
made the worlds; 3 Who being the brightness of
[his] glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by
the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the
right hand of the Majesty on high;
GUIDE A
62-1014E 41 It was a vindication there, that there was a
living God inside of Him. What He testified, "It's not Me that doeth the
works; it's My Father that dwelleth in Me. Verily I say unto you, the Son can
do nothing in Himself, but what He sees the Father doing, that doeth the Son
likewise. The Father worketh, and I worketh hitherto." In other words, God showed Him what to do,
and He went and just acted it out; He didn't do anything until God told Him to
do it. Amen. That's the real frank facts of it. If we'd just move and wait
till the Spirit moved us to do it... That's it. And then be so completely lost
in Christ that He don't have to shove you around like He does me, but the first
little nod of His head, you're ready and nothing's going to stop you, because
you know that it's the will of God
Why Cry
Speak 63-0714M 23-5 Now, Moses' great
eye, his eagle eye looked beyond the glamour of
Desperation
63-0901E 23 The Token, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, is among us. We
should reverence that. We can't humble
ourselves enough. Taking off your shoes or getting on your knees wouldn't
expel it, it wouldn't satisfy; it wouldn't suffice us, but a life that brings
forth the fruit of the Spirit... Now, what is the fruit of the Spirit? See?
Love, joy, peace... Remember this morning? Preparation, sent the messenger with
the message. Next thing He done after He sent the messenger with the message, He sent the Pillar of Fire for a
vindication. Next thing was after that, was consolation. See? You knew that
it was right; you was at peace. We have peace with God through the Lord Jesus
Christ. See?
Now, we are
told in the New testament that God will once again send forth another prophet
and those who do not hear him will be cut off. God does not play games with us.
He says what He means and He means what He says.
ACTS 3:19 Repent ye therefore,
and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing
shall come from the presence of the Lord; 20 And
he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: 21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution
of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets
since the world began. 22 For Moses truly said
unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your
brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say
unto you. 23 And it shall come to pass, [that]
every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the
people.
Notice the
requirement at the hands of an angry God, destruction. Destroyed from amongst
the people. This is exactly what we see in 2 Thessalonians 1: 8-9. This speaks
of those who are cut off from the presence of the Lord, and they will be left
for the burning.
EVENTS MADE
CLEAR BY PROPHECY 65-0801E 101 How he knowed where he was standing. He knowed exactly. He'd
heard from God, and it was exactly with the Word, so he didn't care what people
said. He preached It and prophesied It anyhow. And watch, when a man stands for
what is Truth, then God's obligated to vindicate that man the truth.