Spoken Word no. 88
Watering
the Seed thoughts in Your Mind pt 2.
Brian Kocourek, Pastor
Sunday, April 15, 2009
We
began a week ago speaking on the watering of the seed thoughts that are in your
mind, and tonight I would like to continue where we left off.
Now to further understand how our mind is like
a garden, we shall look further to the book of Proverbs
23:7 Here we read, "For as a man
thinketh in his heart so is he." Therefore, a man is
what he thinks in his heart. Now, we already have shown that our thoughts are
likened to the life in a seed. Therefore, we 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.
That is why brother Branham said, the mark of the
beast is not a mark on the hand or on the forehead, but rather in the forehead,
or in his thoughts, and in his hands therefore in his actions. What he thinks
and what he does, therefore identifies that he is a beast. That is your mark.
Mark of the beast 54-0513 P:74 Now,
you see what the mark of the beast is?
It's the mark of apostasy. It's a person who just thinks that, "Well, I belong to church, and I'm just as
good as the next fellow. Am not I belonging to this church?" And you
realize where your church organization that you're depending on, where it come
from? Do your realize? The Bible said, "He that worships the beast,
receives his mark, or the letter of his name (Now, watch.) in forehead or hand." That's
knowledge or deed. That don't mean you got a big tattoo on your face. It
don't have to be that. It's not talking
of the outward. It's talking of spiritual. You watch him and see what he knows about the Scripture. Listen to him
and see where he goes to. "If any man don't have this
doctrine, there's no Light in him," the Bible said. See?
See? Watch where it goes to. Watch what he does. You say, "Well, I belong.
I'm Protestant. Yes, sir. I belong to this certain church. Yes, sir." And
on Sunday you just have about enough respect for it to come in out of the rain.
He goes down, instead of going to prayer meeting, you'll close up the church
and set and watch television. He goes out here and he drinks and carries on and
acts like the rest of the world, yet he belongs to the church. Remember, that's
the mark of sin.
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.
In
Gen 1:11 We saw the law of reproduction, that every seed must
bring forth after it’s own kind or nature.
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. Prov
12:5 The
thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are
deceit.
Therefore,
what distinguishes a righteous man from a wicked man? His thoughts first, and
then his actions following. 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 think 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
The
anger of the LORD shall not return,
until he has executed, and till he has performed the thoughts of his heart:
in the latter days ye shall consider it
perfectly. Well, this is the
latter days and we are considering this.
Your mind then is likened
to a garden which will grow forth fruit,
whether good or bad depending on what we do with it.
In
a natural garden we plant the seeds that we want to bring to harvest. We
cultivate our garden so that no weeds will grow in it. It takes work, hard
work, but if we sow we shall also reap. The problem is that there is another
who also wishes to sow in our minds as well. Jesus tells the parable of the two
sowers who went forth sowing seeds. The First was the Son of Man and the other
one was the devil. The Son of Man sowed forth good seed which was the Word of
God. But the devil sowed his own word seed which brought forth tares or weeds.
Now we are likened as to the husbandmen who are responsible for this garden. We
are supposed to act as good stewards of the good seed which is the Word of God.
But if we are not really interested in what kind of harvest we shall reap, then
we do not cultivate the good seed. We just let whatever grows to grow. And this
results in weeds taking over the garden every time, and then it is a real mess to straighten up.
Why? because weeds always outgrow the
True planting of the Lord because after all they are wild. And we know that “many more are the children of the harlot than she which has
a husband."
Therefore,
we see every deed is first committed in the heart, or mind before it is
committed by the hand or mouth.
In Matthew 12:35 Jesus said, 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.
And again in Matthew 15:19
Jesus said, For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries,
fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies
And also in Mark 7:21
Jesus said, For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries,
fornications, murders,…
The
Bible tells us, "As a ma thinks in his
heart, so is he." Therefore
we are the product of our thoughts just as any fruit is the 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 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
we are told to bring every thought into obedience to the Word of God.
In Matthew 12:33 Jesus said, 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.
And again in Luke 3:8-9 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. You claim to be a
believer in the End-Time Vindicated Message of God, and yet where are the
fruits that show it?
If
we are righteous it is because we think righteous thoughts. If you have your source from God then you will not
be able to help but to think God 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.
In
Fact John tells us in 1 John 3:2 we are already Sons of God, but that at this point we just
don’t look like it, and therefore we may not know it.
Therefore,
this morning, I want to show you how the garden of your mind affects every
thing about you, 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.
In 1 Peter 4:12 we read, Beloved,
think it not strange concerning the
fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But
rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory (His doxa, his values, his opinion, his judgments, his
mind) shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. 14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth
upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. 15 But
let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a
thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in
other men's matters.
In other words, if you suffer because of
stupid things you have done, don’t be surprised either. But regardless if you
are tested and suffer whether as a Christian or for your own shortcomings, all
things still are working to shape and mold your character. And that is the
glorious thing about being his son of daughter. He will not leave you nor
forsake you. And all things are working together for your good, and in all
testing’s whether you deserve it or not, you are getting it to shape your
character to be like his.)
16 Yet
if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be
ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. 17 For the time is come
that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it
first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the
ungodly and the sinner appear? 19 Wherefore let them
that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.
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 forth from the garden of your own mind. Remember, what
Paul told us in the book of
Romans 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 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 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." 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 And not only so, but we glory
in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5 And
hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts
by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
Notice
he says we should glory in our tribulations, or testings.
Now the word testing is translated from 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, because he went on to say, "knowing that tribulation works 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 can see how God uses circumstances to bring forth His Character and Grace in
us, and we need to understand that since our character development is dependent
upon receiving every outside stimuli that will produce in our thinking, the thoughts of God, thus we can see the
dependence upon these stimuli in order 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 is an outward indication as to where we
stand in our development toward the end-product of our being.
How
we handle each circumstance will depend upon what stage we are in, in our
progression toward our ultimate character. 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 schooling, would not even appear to be a test
after twelve years of schooling. The further on in our progressive state that
we move toward the image of the Son 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.
Don’t
ever forget that Jesus who came forth in the image of the Father the bible tells us, “he learned obedience
by the things that he suffered.” Therefore every
circumstance that we face in life is ordained to come forth because it is there
to bring forth growth within our own mind or thoughts into the very mind of
Christ.
Circumstances grow out of thought our thoughts. And we are only buffeted by those circumstances so
long as we perceive them to be an outside influence upon our lives.
But
when we come to the place where we
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.
You
see, as Sons of God we have both a status and a state. Our status is that we
are children of God, but our state is where we are at in our growth into the
image of the first born son.
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
a man purposely and earnestly makes an effort to remedy their personal
character defects, and makes a swift and marked progress toward bettering
themselves in those areas of weakness, they pass swiftly through a succession
of unpredictable changes.
Therefore,
the 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-chastened
desires, and circumstances are the means by which the soul receives what it
longs for.
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 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.
But if we are to be conformed to the image of the eldest son, then we
should have the right mental attitude towards our suffering.
1 Peter 4:1 Forasmuch
then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with
the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;
1 Peter 2:
20-22 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:
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, you thoughts are seeds that must by their nature of
being a seed, bring forth into manifestation the nature that is in the seed.
1 Peter 5:10 But
the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ
Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish,
strengthen, settle you. You see the testing and suffering are only for a
season, or until we come to the image of the first born son.
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 own actions cause 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.
We all are aware of the
principal in physics that says, For
every action there is a reaction.
Therefore, it behooves us to be careful how we do things. If we really believe
that everything we sow will result in a reaping, then when we sow hateful speech, or
criticisms, we should not be surprised when the hateful speech and criticisms come
back our way.
Therefore
I hope you can now see how the outer
world of circumstances actually shape themselves to our inner world of thought.
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 stimuli helps to further our growth toward that image of Christ that we
so long to be in our souls. Therefore we should be able to see that 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 that 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.
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. 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 the Garden of our Mind.
We
so often wish to improve upon our circumstances, but yet we are so unwilling to
improve ourselves. And that is why our circumstances remain the same. 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. 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. 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.
Matthew 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.
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 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 they sow defeat.
From brother Branham’s sermon E-17 Hour Is Come 51-0415E He said, “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,
Thoughts of Grace and kindness will crystallize into habits of Grace and
kindness, which solidify into friendly and cheerful
circumstances:
Pure thoughts filtered through God’s Word will 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;
From brother Branham’s sermon Serpent
Seed 58-0928E he said, The Bible said that we were predestinated to
the sons and adoption of the sons of God before the foundation of the world.
Then when God slayed the Lamb in His own thinking before the foundation of the
world to prove out His attributes, what He was, when the Lamb was slain, we
were slain with It. When the blood of the Lamb was caught in His Own mind back
there before the foundation of the world, mine and your names were written on
the Book then. All in His great thinking. He's infinite. If He didn't, why did
He permit it? 41 Which is
the strongest, as I said, the Saviour or sinner? Which has got the most
strength?
Then
the stronger had to permit the lesser. And He only does it for His glory. When
He made Lucifer, He knowed he would be the devil. And He had to let it be there
to show that He was the Saviour, the Christ. He had to let it happen that way.
Now, don't the Bible say all things work together for good to them that love
God? So what are you scared about? Let us be up and doing with a heart for any
strife. Be not like dumb driven cattle, had to be begged and persuaded. Be a
hero. I like that. Stand up. 42
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
energetic thoughts will crystallize into habits of cleanliness and industry,
which will solidify into circumstances
of courteousness: Gentle and forgiving thoughts will solidify into protective
and preservative circumstances. Loving and unselfish thoughts will crystallize
into habits of self-forgetfulness for others which solidify into circumstances
of sure and abiding prosperity and true riches.
The
Bible says, "To have friends you must show yourself friendly"
and in order to show it you must first think it. 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 water s
fail not.”
Jeremiah 31:12b “Their Soul shall
be as a watered Garden”
Therefore,
everything you are, even your Character comes
forth from the Garden of thought that is in your heart, making you what
you really are. And the Garden of your thoughts affects every thing that is
already in you, 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 of your
character into it’s final product that He has predestined for you.
Therefore, every trial you endure, every test God puts you through,
comes 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 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.
Paul
spoke of our Love which is our outward manifestation of our revelation as
something which is reflective of your character inside. 1 Thessalonians 1: 4 Wuest "Remembering unceasingly your works produced and characterized by the Faith which is yours,
and your toil which is motivated and
characterized by your divine and self sacrificial Love, and your patient endurance under trials which
finds it's source in your hope which rests in our Lord Jesus Christ in the
presence of God, even the father."
Therefore, if we look at what motivates us, it is
our faith which is our Revelation, or the Revelation of Jesus Christ. Paul said
it motivated his works and toil, and his patient endurance. And when that Faith
is expressed it produced an outward work we call love.