Spoken Word no 79
The
New birth is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit
Brian Kocourek, Pastor
Let’s remain standing as we open our Bibles this morning to 1 Peter and
we will read for our text from chapter 1:
and verse 1 Peter 1;23 Being
born again, There’s that term that is used only by Jesus, Peter
and John in the Scriptures, Being born again,
not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth
and abideth for ever.
Now let’s turn in our Bibles to John and Chapter 3 and begin reading at verse 1. John 3: 1 There
was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 The
same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou
doest, except God be with him.
Let us pray… Dear
father we come this morning in reverent and Godly fear knowing that one Word
off is Satan’s kingdom. So we would ask thee this morning to allow us to come
under the Blood of Your Son Jesus that we might truly have fellowship with thee
as we walk in the Light. Grant to us a refreshing from Your presence o Lord, as
we talk about this great light in which you have given to us and have allowed
us to walk in it. Open the eyes of those who would hear or read this sermon
this morning, in Jesus Christ’s name we pray, amen! You may be seated…
Now, this guy Nicodemus
comes to Jesus by night because I am sure that he was afraid of the peer
pressure that would hit him if he was seen openly talking to Jesus. Now, I know
this to be true because I see the same thing on display concerning those who
teach the True Message Doctrine. I get emails all the time from brothers who
say that ministers come to them the same way, secretly acknowledging the
doctrine is right, but outwardly they are cowards and afraid to be confronted
for preaching it.
Let me confirm this
with an email I received last night. Dear Bro. Brian, Shalom.
Last weekend, while I was preaching in Kyeizoba Girls' Sec. School, in Bushenyi District, I got an SMS
message from a minister in the same district inviting me for a
convention to take place this weekend. This minister has been the chief of
those who were fighing the doctrine in the South
So we see the same
thing in Nicodemus by his own words he acknowledges the vindication of God’s
presence in the ministry of Jesus, yet because he was not himself born again,
he did not understand what Jesus was teaching. Yet on the other hand, he knew
this man had to be from God but his teaching was so un-orthodox that they could
not understand what he was saying. He said, “we know that no man can do what you are doing
unless God is doing it and standing behind your words, but what in the world
are you talking about?”. So in verse 3 we hear Jesus reply to this man who
understands vindication, but does not understand the Doctrine of Christ. “Jesus answered and
said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee”, (now this word
verily that Jesus uses twice to bring home his point means “of a truth” or with
full assurance and full certainty I am saying this to you,) “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the
kingdom of God”.
Now, what does that
mean? “Except a
man be born again, he cannot see… see what? See the
Therefore, Jesus according to the Greek definition of
the word “see”, is telling Nicodemus that unless
a man is born again he can not “know” nor can he “perceive” nor can he “understand”
what the kingdom of God is all about.
Now, let’s continue on…4 Nicodemus
saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second
time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5 Jesus
answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the
Now, then what does it mean to enter into the
Matthew
25:1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened
unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
Notice that there were ten of them, and if you recall when we took the series on the Parables of the Lord, we found that the number ten always represents that the whole cycle is now complete.
2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 They that were
foolish took their lamps, They had their Bibles but they took no
oil with them: And
we know that “oil represents the Holy Spirit, always”. Seven church ages 54-0512 P:68
4 But the
wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. Now, notice
this speaks of two things here. It says the Wise took oil in Their vessels WITH
their lamps. Now, we know the lamp represent sht e Word of God as we see in Psalms 119: 105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
But here we are told
that the oil was not in the lamps but in their vessels…and the Aposte Paul said
that our being is referred to as our vessel in 1
Thessalonians 4: 4 That every one of
you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor;
Now, back to the
parable in verse
5. While the bridegroom tarried, they all
slumbered and slept. 6 And
at midnight (that’s at the very end
of the day which represents at the very end of time) there was a cry made, (now the word cry was translated from a Greek
word which means an outcry or a very loud tumult or clamor was made. And what
was that Shout?)
Behold, (you know what behold means? It’s the same word that Jesus
said to Nicodemus, Idou, instead of eido. But means the same thing. Look, see,
perceice, understand, know. So we are told that this shout was to get the
attention of the Wise virgins who had the Holy Spirit while the foolish virgins
who did not have the Holy Spirit just could not understand what was happening.
They heard the Shout but because of no anointing oil in their vessels, they had
no way of understanding the Message that was given.) Behold, (look, see, understand,
know, and perceive that the) the bridegroom is here. come out to meet him.
NIV At midnight the cry rang out:
'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'
Message 6"In the middle of the
night someone yelled out, 'He's here! The bridegroom's here!
Not go out to meet
him, the voice came from outside the church. He was knocking trying to get in
according to Revelations chapter 3, so the voice
was outside the church, saying come out to meet him.
7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. Now, what do you do when you trim a lamp? You must
look it over completely to see where it is defiled, or dirty and then you clean
it and you must cut off the sooty smoke stained top of the wick, so it will
burn brighter, and then you must clean the lamps glass so it will shine more
brightly. And if the lamp is the Word of God? You are cleansed by the washing
of water by the Word.
8 And the foolish said unto the wise, (oh, oh… we have been
so busy with the cares of this life that we haven’t made sure we had any oil in
our vessel. Oh, oh, the preacher told us over and over again that we need to make
sure we are born again and filled with the Spirit of God, and we have been so
busy that we have forgotten to take the time to clean our lamps, to search the
Word to see if their be any wicked way in me as David said in Psalms 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me,
and know my thoughts:
24 And see if there be any
wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
But the foolish virgin was way too busy to ask god to
cleanse her and search her to make sure that she would be ready for meeting the
Bride-Groom. So she said to the Wise Virgin, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone
out. Look, we
had anointing on the Word at one time, but something has happened and we are
empty, and we are not filled in our vessel with His Spirit, but we are run out.
9 But the wise
answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not
enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 10 And while they went to buy, the
bridegroom came; and they that were
ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door (the Word) was shut. (the Word was closed off to all others but those who were filled with
the Holy Spirit and had entered into the
Isaiah 29:10For the LORD hath poured out
upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and
your rulers, the seers hath he covered. 11And
the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed,
which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and
he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: 12And
the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray
thee: and he saith, I am not learned. 13Wherefore the Lord
said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their
lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear
toward me is taught by the precept of men:
Matthew 25:11 After ward came also the other virgins, (the foolish virgins) saying, Lord, Lord,
open to us. 12 But he answered and said, Verily I
say unto you, I know you not. (Doctor Hoyer one of the greatest Greek scholars
said the literal translation here is “I used to know you as my wife but I know
you not as my wife any longer…In other words, she is put away into judgment. So
we see that the foolish virgins will have to go through the judgments.) 13 Watch therefore, for
ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
Notice, then that when they heard the Midnight cry….”He is here, come out to meet Him”, they began
to trim their lamps but they could not find any light coming from the lamp or
the Word that they did have, because there was no oil in their vessel.
Now, in getting back to what Jesus was telling
Nicodemus, in John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto
thee, Ye must be born again. 8 The wind blows where it listeth, and thou
hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it
goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
Now, brother Branham said from this sermon The Spoken word is
the Original Seed pp 64 brother Branham said, My mission, that I believe that God has
called me for... I have to say some personal things today, because that's what
I told you I'd do. See? and tell the world. My mission, I believe, to the earth
is what?, Is to forerun the coming Word (See?) the coming Word which is Christ.
And Christ in Him has the millennium and has everything right there because He
is the Word. See?
65 All right, Jesus said in John 3:5... Now, if you want to mark
that down, John
3:5. We all know it or either I'll turn; maybe somebody on the
tapes would might not be able to turn just at that time, and I'll read here in
Jesus answered, Verily,... I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and
of Spirit, he cannot enter into the
66 Is that a seed? Every
spoken Word of God is a Seed. That's right. I'm going to prove that just in
a minute, where Jesus said so. Every
spoken Word of God is a Seed. Then
except a man be born again, why must he be born again? He's dead in the fashion
he's in. He's a hybrid. He's got to be born again. Why? He was born in sin
from Eve's sin, shaped in iniquity, come to the world speaking lies. He's a liar to begin with. No matter how
smart, educated, what more he is, he's a liar; the Bible says he is. How
holy his parents was or anything about, he's a liar to begin with. And the only way he can tell Truth is say what
Truth is through his own lips. That's the only way Truth can come. Anything contrary to that Word, he's a liar
yet. That's pretty flat, but that's what God says. "Let every man's word be a lie and Mine be
true." See? Anything that comes from his lips contrary to deny this Word, or put It
in some other race, or some other generation, or whatever it is, he's a liar.
That's exactly. He's got to be born
again, and then he sees every word. The
only way he can be born again is that Life of God in him to produce that Life.
Now, I want you to hear what Brother Branham is
telling us here. He is saying, no matter how nice a man or woman is they are
liars unless they are saying what God said. And the only way they can know and
understand what God said is that they are born again.
Notice the word “that”
which is used here. It ties the two thoughts together and basically tells you
that there is no way for you to know and understand the things of God unless
you have the Spirit of God in you, and so God gives you His Spirit “THAT”, or
for the purpose of knowing and understanding the things of God.
It’s so simple.) that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13
Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but
which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with
spiritual. 14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of
God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them,
because they are spiritually discerned. (In other words it takes the Spirit of God in you to discern them. And
discernment means to recognize and comprehend. Now, what does it mean they are spiritually discerned? That
means it takes the Spirit to discern them.) 15 But he that is spiritual judgeth
all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 16 For who hath known the mind
of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
Now, this is contrary to every denominational thinking
outside this message and even contrary to many who claim to believe the Message
or at least claim to believe it, but they don’t believe it because they do not
know what it is that they are believing.
All those who oppose the Church Age Book as being
authored by William Branham seem to come against the very Doctrines that
William Branham taught concerning the evidence of the new Birth. In fact they
deny that the New Birth and the baptism of the Holy Ghost are the same thing.
Why? Because they don’t understand the Word of God because they are not born
again.
Look, I do not say that to be mean spirited. I say
that to shock them out of their deep sleep. They believe they are born again
because they want to believe they are born again. But the very evidence that
the Scriptures make so clear and that which William Branham was so clear on
they do not want to believe. It makes no difference tome whether they believe
William Branham or not. But I know that the Elect will believe the doctrine,
and that is God’s business not mine. Now, I don’t treat those people any
different than I treat the Elect, unless they are just so rotten in their
character that the speak nasty words to me. And if they do that, I just let
them because I know that if I fight, then God won’t. And every man is going to
be held accountable their words before God, so we will see them at the white
throne judgment, that’s all. And that is a fact, not a threat.
Let’s face it, no man can threaten another with white
throne judgment. But we shall all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
and that is a fact, not a threat. So watch what you say and how you say it to
people and about people, because it is all being recorded, and you won’t be
able to get away with your sharp tongue over there. You will be very, very
embarrassed for what you have said, and how you have said it.
Jesus said, let your yea be yea and your nay be
nay.
Now, what are the benefits of being born again and filled with his
Spirit?
1 John 2:
29 If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born
of him. Every one who does what
is right is born of Him. So are you
doing what is right?
1 John 3:
7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness
is righteous, even as he is righteous. 8 He that
committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For
this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of
the devil. 9 Whosoever
is born of God doth not commit sin; (does not initiate sin) for His (God’s) seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin,
because he is born of God. O, we might all backslide daily, but we do
not plot and plan to do it.
But like David, who looked down on Bathsheba taking her bath, what he saw
with his eyes, turned to lust and then when sin conceives it brings forth
death.
In the Book of James we read, James 1: 15 Then
when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished,
bringeth forth death.
In 1 John 4: 7 we read, Beloved,
let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. So if you can
not love one another, then either you are not born of God or you do not know
God.
1 John 5:
1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and
every one that loveth him that begat
loveth him also that is begotten of him.
5: 4 For
whatsoever is born of God overcometh the
world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 5: 18 We know that whosoever is born of God disbleives
not; but he that is begotten of God
keepeth himself, Or more
accurately, watches guard over himself, he makes a constant inventory of his
unbelief so he can deal with it… and that wicked one toucheth him not.
The NIV says, 18We know that anyone born of God does not
continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one
cannot harm him.
Amplified
translation 18We know [absolutely] that
anyone born of God does not [deliberately and knowingly] practice committing
sin, but the One Who was begotten of God carefully watches over and protects
him [Christ's divine presence within him preserves him against the evil], and
the wicked one does not lay hold (get a grip) on him or touch [him].
Message 18-21We know that
none of the God-begotten makes a
practice of sin—fatal sin. The
God-begotten are also the God-protected. The Evil One can't lay a hand on
them. We know that we are held firm by God; it's only the people of the world
who continue in the grip of the Evil One.
In the Book of Peter we also see him use this term born again as coming
from the Word of God. 1 Peter 1: 23 Being
born again, not of corruptible seed,
but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
And so we see that there are those who are born after the flesh and those
who are born of the Spirit. And we know that those born after the flresh always
must persecute those born after the Spirit, That is the law of life, for every
seed must come forth after its nature. Galatians 4:
29 But as then he that was born after the
flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.
So what is the evidence that you are born again? Let
me read you some things brother Branham said concerning the new birth. Church Age Book
(C.A.B.): 141-1 And to every age
we hear the same truth. "He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit
saith to the churches." But only a
Spirit-filled man can “hear” the
revelation for that age. None other
can. No sir. They cannot because that is exactly what Paul said in I
Corinthians 2:6-16. (
Church
Age Book: 143-1 If the Spirit wasn't inside, you wouldn't “hear” the truth and receive it
by revelation if you heard it every
moment of the day. That was the sign of the indwelling Spirit in the days of
Paul. Those who were filled with the Holy Ghost “heard” the Word, received
it and lived by it. Those who did
not have the Spirit heard it only as
carnal men, put a wrong interpretation on it and went into sin.
Church
Age Book: 164-3 …The
Word always comes to the truly Spirit-filled. That is the evidence of being filled with the Holy Ghost.
Church
Age Book: 165-2 In every church age we hear these words,
"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the
churches." The Spirit gives the
Word. If you have the Spirit you will “hear” the Word for your age,
as those true Christians took the Word for their age.
Key to the door 62-1007 P: 68 No man can understand
the Word outside the baptism of the Holy Ghost. And when a man says he's got
the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and disputes the Word being right, there's
something wrong.
Identified masterpiece of God 64-1205 P:67 How
can a man have the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit wrote the
Word, and a man have the baptism of the Holy Spirit and deny the Word? How can the Holy Spirit in you deny Its own
Word that was set forth for you? I can't understand it. It's got to agree
with the Word, and if your spirit in you won't punctuate every one of God's
promises with "Amen." there's something wrong.
Discerning body of Lord 59-0812 P:16 he said, “Jesus said once, "That
except a man be born again, he cannot see the
Calling of Abraham 55-1116 P:29 Jesus
said to Nicodemus, "Except the man be born again he cannot see the
Mary's belief 61-0121 P:30 "Except
a man be born again he cannot even see the
It Shall Be Even As It Was Told Me 50-0818
23
Anyhow,
"to see" doesn't mean "to look at." The word "see" means "to understand." Jesus
said, "Except a man be born of water and Spirit, he cannot see the
Questions And Answers COD 59-1223 60
Now, Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be born
again he cannot see the
Questions
and answers COD 64-0823E P:106 317. 1040-Q-318 318. What is the evidence that a person is
really filled with the Holy Ghost? John 14:26: He will... "When
the Holy Ghost is come (See?), He will show you things to come."
See? He'll be a... He'll perfect it; man made won't do it; and He is the Word. When He the Holy Ghost is come, He will
identify Himself in you with the
Scripture. And that is the true
sign that the Holy Spirit is in you, because It is the Word.
Hear Recognize Act On Word 60-0221 30
First, faith cometh by hearing, hearing of the Word of God. Then
the believer hears It, recognizes It, and acts on It. The carnal man will hear
It, the sound of It, but never... "Hear"
means to "understand It".
Look at, is looking at something; but to see it, is to "understand it". "Except a man be born again, he cannot see
or understand the Kingdom of God."
Christ
is the mystery 63-0728 P:120 Look, Christ
in you makes Him the center of Life of the revelation. See? Christ's Life in you makes Him the center
of the revelation. Christ in the Bible, makes the Bible a complete
revelation of Christ. Christ in you
makes you the complete revelation of the whole thing. See, what God's
trying to do? What is the new birth then? You say, "Well, Brother Branham,
what is the new birth?"
It is the revelation of Jesus Christ
personally to you. Amen. See? Not you joined a church, you shook a
hand; you done something different; you said a creed; you promised to live by a
code of rules; but Christ, the Bible... He
is the Word that was revealed to you. And no matter what anybody says,
what takes place, it's Christ. Pastor, priest, whatever it might be... It's
Christ in you. That is the revelation that the Church was built upon.
Blasphemous
names 62-1104M P:53 And the biggest part of our faith is mental
faith. By hearing the Word it brings us to a mental recognition of God. But if
this coming from above, oh, brother, if it ever strikes this, there is a Godly,
spiritual faith. Then what does that faith do? That faith recognizes only the Word. No matter what anything else
says, it only recognizes the Word,
because “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. (And the Word’s still God.) And
the Word was made flesh and dwelled among us.” And when the word Itself is pouring into our faith, our mental faith
becomes a spiritual revelation. “And upon this foundation I’ll build My
Church,” (See?), not upon a mental conception of church joining, a mental
conception of that, but upon the revelation. When them streams of grace has poured into that mental faith that you’ve
got, then upon this, a spiritual revelation, “I’ll build My Church and the
gates of hell can’t prevail against it.” See? That shows they would be against
it, but it’ll never prevail. Oh, what a glorious thing.
Blasphemous names 62-1104M P:56 … Number
one, coming to you, your mental faith, right here, comes the Holy Spirit, coming down into your mental faith making it a
spiritual faith. Then the spiritual faith only recognizes the Word. Now,
and number two: Then you'll have the
Holy Spirit, and will seal all these things into you, as that Holy Spirit
covers this. From your faith up to the Holy Spirit seals you in with Christ; then you become one. Amen. (Get this
thing out of my way. It's hard on your arms.) You become one. See, you and
Christ live together. "At that day you'll know that I'm in the Father, the
Father in Me, I in you, and you in Me." See? Then that's a sealed unit of
the Lord God. Now, and then they are vindicated and placed. When that time takes
place, they become vindicated sons and daughters of God.
Hear recognize act on word
60-0221 P:6 When they were born again, they were filled with the Holy
Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the new birth, we know that. You're begotten of the Spirit; I'll admit
that. But until you're born...
Token the 63-1128E P:74 …When God has give you the true baptism of the Holy Spirit, then the Life of Jesus Christ is
within you. Now, that's true; every theologian will have to admit that to be
the truth; it's
the new birth. You're born anew, of the Holy Ghost…
Earnestly contending for the faith 53-0614A
P:82 Why brother, it's by faith you're saved. Is
that right? But listen. In accepting of your faith, God confirms your faith by the baptism of the Holy Ghost. If you
say you believe, and you don't get the baptism of the Holy Ghost, then you do
not, it, your faith isn't accepted in the sight of God. You've got a mental faith and in the stead of a heart faith. That's
right. When you truly believe God, God's
under obligation to pour the Holy Ghost on you. And then if He does pour
the Holy Ghost on you... You say, "Well, I've got the Holy Ghost
too." Well, if you do, you're bound to believe in the supernatural signs
and wonders, because you're added to it. That's the faith.
Witnesses
54-0303 P:21 You believe God and say you believe God,
and haven't received the Holy Spirit, there's
something wrong with your faith. 'Cause God's under obligation to give every believer that repents and is
baptized, is under obligation to give you the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
And He's more willing to give it to you, than you are to receive it. That's
right. So there's something wrong somewhere. You just got a mental faith and instead of a heart faith. For God's
under obligation to keep His Word. He said, "Repent, every one of you, and
be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and you
shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and your
children, to them that's far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall
call." That's true. And God's got to keep that promise. Yes, sir.
Spiritual inspiration
56-0128 P:75 If you don't understand what I mean by
being born again, I mean someone without the baptism of the Holy Ghost. That's the new birth. Would you
raise your hand and say, "I now believe; I want to receive the Holy
Ghost…