The Doctrine of Christ no 55
“He that believeth no 9”
Shall not be Ashamed
Brian Kocourek
This morning we will look at the ninth promise of
God to the believer for believing in the son of God, and that is that we shall
not be ashamed of Him and His Word.
Romans 9:33 As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a
stumblingstone and rock of offence: and “whosoever
believeth” (ὁ πιστεύων)
on
him shall not be ashamed.
Romans 10:11 For the scripture saith, “Whosoever believeth” (ὁ
πιστεύων) on him shall not
be ashamed.
Now, this not being ashamed, you might think it is
not much of a promise, but oh, let me tell you, when you see the way churches
are acting today when you speak about things like John 14:12 ands Mark 16, and
believing in God to do exceedingly and abundantly above all we would ask or think.
In the book of Joel 2: 23-27 Be glad then, ye
children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the
former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the
former rain, and the latter rain as in the first..(in other
words, as it was in Alpha it will repeat in Omega) 24 And the floors
shall be full of wheat, (when is this? At the harvest time) and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil. 25 And I will
restore to you (I will, not
someone else, but I personally will restore to you) the years that the
locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my
great army which I sent among you. 26 And ye shall eat in plenty, and be
satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously
with you: and my people shall never
be ashamed. 27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Thee, and
that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed. And it shall come to pass
afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and
your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men
shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those
days will I pour out my spirit
So we see according to the book of Joel, God promised us, the
Believers that we shall never be ashamed. Now it is interesting that he speaks
of not being ashamed before he makes us the promise of pouring out his spirit
upon all flesh. So if God made a promise that we shall never be ashamed, then
that means there is going to be something to try to make us ashamed, whether it
be a person, a spirit, or an organization who will try to make you to feel
ashamed. And we know that the word
ashamed, according to Webster’s means to feel guilt. And we know that in
religious societies, there is often used a pressure to render all into a
conformity and so they use shame on certain people who don’t seem bent on bowing
down to the petty rules and regulations or politically correct mandates that
are placed upon the people as a result of trying to bring about a conformity to
their societal standards. And so they try to make you feel guilty, and to do so
they try to make you feel like you are an awful person because you are not
conforming to their set of politically correct rules and mandates.
In Luke 9:24–26 we read, For whosoever will
save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. (In
other words if you try to spare yourself pain by hiding in the group, you will
loose everything you hoped to gain. But if you are willing to die to self, and
stand with God despite all opposition of man, then you will gain all.) 25 For what is a man
advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? 26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and
of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in
his own glory, (His own Doxa, His own values, His own Opinions,
His own judgments, His own things that he says) and in his Father's, and of the holy angels.
So
you see, those who stand with Christ and His Word will save their life, but
those who bow to peer pressure will loose it all.
From
his sermon MARK
OF CHRIST 55-0312 54 brother Branham is reading from revelations chapter 7
and says, Now, notice this if you will for a minute.
Notice. When these people come up, and after this, no certain time... After this I behold... a great multitude, which no man could
number, of all the nations, kindreds, tongues, stood before the Lamb, clothed
with white robes on... palms in their hand; And crying with a loud voice,
Salvation to our God that setteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb. And all the
angels stood around about... the twenty-four elders, and fell down to worship
God, Saying: Blessings, wisdom, glory, might, power, be unto our God for ever and
ever. Amen.
55 If that ain't a old fashion Holy Ghost
meeting, I never seen one in my life. Right! Who are this great multitude?
Between the times of the Jews being sealed, foreseen, John see them... But
between this time (no time set where they were sealed), the Holy Ghost begin to
fall fifty years ago here in Azusa street, and scattered all over the world
with the old fashion apostolic blessings of God upon them. And that's where those white robed saints come
from, out of that great revival that swept the land not long ago. And now we've got lukewarm and run out,
and God's going to turn to the Jews, as certain as I'm standing on this
platform. The people has rejected the
Holy Ghost; they're laughing, making fun of It. And the people going along,
pretending to have It. And the church
has got patterned after the worldly church. They go out, and they used to, they dressed different.
Now days, I tell you, you can't hardly
get people to come to the altar. Used to be people come to church...
"56 Here not long ago a little old girl was going to sing in a choir for
me. And she said she wouldn't come because she couldn't get one of them kinky
manicures for her hair. And she had to sing in a choir. And when I heard that,
I said, "You couldn't sing if you
wanted to now." That's right. Brother, I'm an old fashion preacher that believes this: that a man's got to be
proved before he walks behind my pulpit. You take some of these guys our
here in a roadhouse playing their guitar tonight, and tomorrow night come to
the altar, and the next night preaching the Gospel; it's a disgrace to the Holy
Spirit. Amen. John said, "Bring forth fruit meet for repentance."
We need some more Baptist preachers like
John, that'll lay the hewing line to the Gospel, let the chips fall wherever it
may be. Amen. We've got
57 And women out there with your painted
up fingernails, a fifty dollar coat wrapped around you, and a hundred dollar
dress on; you can't kneel down. You won't even have children, practice
birth control and pack some little snotty-nosed dog around, calling it
something, giving it the love of a baby. Then
call yourself the Holy Ghost church! You
need to be ashamed of yourself and repent! Amen! That's the truth. What we
need tonight is this bunch of impersonating the Holy Ghost, this bunch of
people impersonating the Pentecostal church, ought to hit the sawdust trail down here and mourn under that until
God comes down and gives you the Holy Ghost. Hallelujah! Amen! That's what
we need tonight. The blessed Pentecostal impersonators, the altar's open, the sawdust trail is ready. Amen. If you want a revival, start it in your own
soul. Amen. The shame impersonating, acting like the rest of the churches,
went out after the
Now, the promise from God to the believer we read
this morning is Romans 9:33 As
it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumbling stone and rock of offence: and
“whosoever believeth” (ὁ
πιστεύων) on him shall not be
ashamed.
Romans 10:11 For the scripture saith, “Whosoever believeth” (ὁ
πιστεύων) on him shall not
be ashamed.
Now,
in understanding what Paul is telling not only the early Roman Believers, but
ourselves in this hour as well, we must first know what it means to be ashamed.
Therefore if we are to know what it is to be ashamed, then we must know what
the word itself means. Now, our best source for this is our friend Noah
Webster. And he tells us that the word ashamed simply means to be shamed, or to
put to shame. And the word ashamed
means: 1. Feeling shame or guilt: 2. Feeling
inferior, inadequate, or embarrassed: 3.
Reluctant through fear of humiliation or shame:
Therefore if Paul tells us that he is not ashamed, it
is because he does not want us to be ashamed either. For to allow yourself to
feel shame is to allow within you a painful feeling of having lost the respect
of others, because of some improper behavior or incompetence on your part.
Because after all, Shame is a feeling of dishonor or disgrace and is associated
with guilt. And guilt is associated with knowingly doing wrong.
But
how can we then feel guilt or shame because of the Gospel? When you are walking
in the Light as He is in the Light how could you feel guilt?
Jesus
Said, “I am the
way, the Truth and the Life." And since guilt is fear of
condemnation, how can you have this fear when God tells us in His Word that
"there is no
condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus." In Romans 8:1
we read, there is
therefore now no condemnation to
them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the
Spirit. So I there is no condemnation, then who cares what they call
you, or what words they use to destroy your good reputation, If you are walking
hand in hand with Jesus then feel honored to walk where he walked, take the
abuse he took, and the name calling he bore, for you are privileged and Matthew 5:11 Jesus said you are blessed, yes, he said, “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you,
and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. And who is He? He is the Word…
Ashamed of Him 65-0711 P:46 You notice there's so much of
that today, especially on the subject that I'm speaking of, "ashamed of the Word." Now, He and the Word are the same. "In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelled among us: the same yesterday, today,
and forever" So "Whosoever is
ashamed of Me and My Word," and He and His Word are One, so being
ashamed of His Word in this sinful present generation, "I'll be ashamed of
him."
Ashamed of Him 65-0711 P:45I
want to take a little text from there, if it'd be called that, called:
"Ashamed." You know, I like that. "Whosoever is ashamed of Me and of My Word, I'll be ashamed of him."
Now, the word "ashamed" could
be also translated "embarrassed." You know, something that
you're... You're faced with something that you're embarrassed about, being
ashamed. That another thing being ashamed does, it shows that you are not sure
of what you're talking about. If you know what you're talking about, and have
the assurance that you know what you're talking about, you can tell anybody
that; you're not ashamed. But if you feel put out, out of place, it shows
you're not sure.
Now, we are promised that there will be those who
will try to embarrass you and make you ashamed, but the promise is that you
will not succumb to there terror, but you shall not be so fixated on Christ
that you will not be ashamed. 1 John 2:28 And
now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have
confidence, and not be ashamed
before him at his coming.
And peter told us that if we suffer as a Christian
we should not be ashamed. 1 Peter 4:16 Yet
if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not
be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
And in 1 Peter 3:16 He
tells us that we will be spoken of as though we are evil doers when we are
doing nothing but trying to get people to Christ. Having a good conscience;
that, whereas they speak evil of you,
as of evildoers, they may be ashamed
that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.
In reality although they will try to bring shame on
you, they will be the ones who end in shame. Titus 2:8 Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that
he that is of the contrary part may be
ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.
Ashamed of Him 65-0711 P:83 Don't be ashamed of Him in this generation; sinful, perplexed, the last
generation that'll ever be on the earth, this sinful, adulterous, and full of
all putrefied sores. All, everything
that's been decent has become indecent. National politics, filth, Nations
are broke up.
Then if the entire world cosmos is corrupted, how
can we come to the place where we will not be ashamed. Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 2:15 Study
to shew thyself approved unto God, a
workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
And Paul tells us that although you will suffer for
Christ yet in the suffering you will never succumb to being ashamed of Christ
and His Word.
2 Timothy 1:12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I
have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have
committed unto him against that day.
2 Timothy 1:8 Be
not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his
prisoner: but be thou partaker of the
afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
Now, shame is something that can be brought upon men
through the society called the church. Even Paul used shame to bring about
repentance. But today men use shame to cut away, to make room only for
themselves and their kind. 2 Thessalonians 3:14 And if any man obey not our word by this
epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.
Hebrews 2:11 For both he that sanctifieth and they who
are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, So we see that Jesus Himself is not embarrassed or
ashamed to call us his brothers.
Now, in order to not be ashamed there must be a
certain boldness on our part, and that boldness comes from knowing. Not head
knowledge, but as brother Branham said, knowing the author.
Philippians 1:20 According to my earnest expectation and my
hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed,
but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in
my body, whether it be by life, or by death.
2 Corinthians 10:8 For though I should boast somewhat more of our authority,
which the Lord hath given us for edification, and not for your destruction, I
should not be ashamed: You see, God has given certain authority to His five
fold ministry and greater authority to his messenger prophets. But the greatest
problem I see in this message are people who think staying at home is an all right
thing. They don’t want to submit themselves to any authority, not even the One
God set in the church for their sake.
We
are commanded in Hebrews 10 where Paul said, : Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves
together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting
one another: and so much the more, as ye see the
day approaching. Therefore,
get together with some one, He promised where two or three are gathered together,
there He would be in their midst and
when you are earnestly expecting from God not based on your desire but on what
he said, it gives you a certain “parrhesia”,
a certain boldness to come to Him to receive His promises.
Romans 5:5 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.
Before
we go any further, what is this hope? What does the word hope mean? It means to
earnestly expect. It is an earnest expectation. That is what hope is. The if I
am earnestly, which means that I am deadly sincere about this expectation, then
I will not waver one jot or tittle concerning what I expect to happen.
Therefore, if I am certain then how could I be ashamed. The Scripture tells us,
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 . And how is the Love of God
poured out into our hearts?
But we are in
Listen
to the condition of this age that brother Branham says the people have sunk to.
89-1 EPHESIAN CHURCH AGE -
CHURCH AGE BOOK CPT 3 That cycle of revival and death has never
failed. All you have to do is recall this last move of God in the Spirit when
men and women dressed like Christians, went to church, prayed all night, took
to street corners and weren't ashamed of the manifestations of the Spirit. They
left their old dead churches and worshipped in homes or old store buildings.
They had reality. But it wasn't too long a time until they began to get enough
money to build fine new churches. They put in a choir instead of singing unto
God for themselves. They put gowns on the choir. They organized a movement and
ran it by man. They soon began to read books that weren't fit to read. They let
down the bars and goats came in and took over. The cry of joy was gone. The freedom of the Spirit was gone. Oh, they
kept on with a form; but the fire had died down and the blackness of ashes is
about all that is left.
89-2
A few moments ago I mentioned that John understood what it was to love God.
That great apostle of love would certainly see it when the church began to lose
that first love of God. In I John 5:3, he says, "For
this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments (His Word)."
One little deviation from that Word was a step away from Christ. People say
they love God, they go to church, they even shout and rejoice and sing and have
a great emotional time. But when it is all over, watch and see if they are in
that WORD, walking in it, living in it. If they go through all the other and
then don't walk in that Word, they
can say they love God but their lives tell another story. I wonder if John
didn't see a lot of that before he died; people saying they loved God but not
obeying His Word. Oh,
89-3
But as usual people don't heed God's warning. That revival fire built upon the
sacred Word is so wonderful, and the manifestation of the Spirit so blessed,
that a little fear creeps in and a whisper in the heart says, "How can we
protect this truth we have? What can we do to see this revival goes on?"
That is when the "antichrist spirit" comes in and whispers, "Look, you have the truth now, see that it
doesn't get lost. Organize and set up your creed of what you believe. Put it
all in a church manual." And
they do it. They organize.
They add to the Word. And they die just like Eve did for taking One wrong word.
It's God's Word that brings life. And it's not what we say about the Word that counts,
but it's what God said. Now, back to our parable…14 And the Pharisees also, who
were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him. 15 And he said
unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth
your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the
sight (or Presence) of God. Don't ever
forget those words church. for that which is highly esteemed among men is
abomination in the sight (or Presence)
of God.
Paul said he was not ashamed of the Gospel, but
today people are afraid to speak up and let their voices be heard. And that is
why this nation has been taken over by the criminals. Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of
God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to
the Greek.
Therefore what we should be gaining in our
understanding here is that the Gospel of Christ is an actual power that through
the release of this power, or the exercise of this power we have been given
promises of strength for our earthly journey, health for our bodies,
preservation of our souls, deliverance for our minds, and over all protection
and safety for our Body, soul and Spirit. In other words, everything we have
need of pertaining to life comes from and out from this Word. Then how in the
world could we ever find ourselves feeling guilty or ashamed of that?
In ROMANS 1:16, we read that "The Word of GOD is
the power of GOD," and the DOXA is His own great OPINION or
JUDGMENT of HIMSELF. The world will only despise and reject Him as they always
have. They do not want His OPINION, nor do they understand the POWER of HIS
Word. Brother Branham said, the cloud that Christ came down in was His white
wig, showing that He is here as Judge. And "the Word shall judge in the
last day." The people miss Him because He didn't come according to their
own expectations, but He came according to His own Word.
MARK 8:38 "Whosoever therefore
shall be ashamed of me and my Words in this adulterous and sinful generation;
of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when He cometh in the DOXA of His
Father with the Holy angels." He tells us here that they will
be ashamed of His Word which will come in the OPINION of His Father. Ashamed is
a condition of disgrace or dishonor, a great disappointment. Their
disappointment comes because, even though they have looked for Him to come, He
didn't come according to their expectations and therefore they not only missed
the day of their visitation, but they crucified The very One who they claimed
to be looking for. Hebrews 6 tells us that this will repeat again at His Great
Appearing when they once again reject Him, as the Word made manifest once
again.
II Peter 1:3-4 According as his
divine power hath given unto us all things that [pertain] unto life and
godliness, ( and how does it come?) through the knowledge of him that hath called
us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious
promises: that by these (That by these what? Precious Promises, and what will
these precious promises produce in you?) ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped
the corruption that is in the world through lust".
1 John 2: 28 And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall
appear, we may have confidence, and not
be ashamed before him at his coming. And this word confidence
was translated from the Greek word Parrhesia which means a certain boldness in
the very presence of God because we know and understand our relationship with
the Father because we understand the relationship that He had with His first born
Son, Jesus. And if Jesus was God's firstborn son then that tells us that there
are other sons in this family as well. And John said we are already sons, but
it just doesn't appear to us to be so, but When God will appear, when He shall
Phaneroo, when he shall declare Himself in His trueness of Character, then
something happens to us that we shall not only see Him, but we shall also see
or understand who we are as His sons.
Luke 9:26 For whosoever
shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be
ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the
holy angels.
The
only thing we should be ashamed of is if we hold back teaching the people to
step out and receive what is promise them. That is what brother Branham said in
his sermon,
HEAR YE HIM 57-0519A 20
he said, Some of we ministers, we should
be ashamed of ourselves, as we keep our congregation way below their privileges.
The whole Christian church today is living thousands of miles below their
God-given privilege, because of just so half asleep, dismal like... Take the promise; believe it. God said
so; that settles it forever. No matter
how long it takes to materialize, Time doesn't mean nothing to God. It's
His Word that we take and we believe. Abraham waited twenty-five years for that
child to come. But it arrived. Certainly. We believe it, because God said so.
Mark 8:38 Whosoever
therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in
this adulterous and sinful generation; of
him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of
his Father with the holy angels.
Romans
1:16-17 For I am not ashamed
of the gospel of Christ: for it is
the power of God unto salvation to
every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For
therein is the right-wise-ness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is
written, The just shall live by faith.
Romans 5:1-5 Therefore being justified by faith, we have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith
into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And
not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation
worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 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.
We can not be ashamed of what we hope for, and
therefore our actions show forth that commitment we have and we do not get
embarrassed for what we stand for and are longing for. because the love of God
is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
Now
what does this mean, “Hope maketh not ashamed,” and why does Paul tell
us that this hope maketh not ashamed because the Love of God is shed abroad in
our hearts by the Holy Ghost?" What is this hope any way? Well, as we have
already stated, this word hope itself comes from a Greek word that means to earnestly expect
or to have anticipation for. In other words, because that something
has been revealed to you, you come to a
place where you genuinely anticipate or earnestly expect something else to take
place. Not just an expectation, but an earnest
expectation. And the reason we are not ashamed is because we have been
justified which came by Faith which is a revelation. This revelation opened up
to us and gave access to us of the Grace of God, which then brings us into a
peaceful relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ who is the Judge. This Peace
with God then brings us into a life which is dedicated and consecrated and is
sanctified which then opens the door for the indwelling of God's Spirit which
is Holy. And so in order to understand this Love of God that is shed abroad in
our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which maketh u snot ashamed, it takes a Holy
Ghost experience in our hearts and lives that opens our hearts and our lives
into a relationship with God. Look, when you know God personally as your own
Father, and Jesus Christ as your eldest brother, you are ashamed of His Word,
but rather His Word becomes your Power and maketh you not ashamed.
Then
when me become of certain Scriptures, like Mark 16 and John 14:12 it is because
they have not this same relationship, and they have not the love of God shed
abroad in their hearts by the Holy Ghost. Then church to them is no longer a
time when you come to till up that relationship with your father, but to them
church becomes a gathering of like minded people who come to reinforce their
own mindset. Ands they do that because they have not the mind of God, they have
not a relationship with God whereby they hold to God’s Word regardless of what
the circumstances are.
So
we see that Patience works into us experience which shapes our character and
produces in us an earnest expectation that is never ashamed because of the Love
of God which the Holy Ghost has placed within us.
In Romans chapter 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the
gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth;
Why against organized religion 62-1111E P:35 That's
what the organization is good for: bring in every riffraff there is and call it
Christianity. Send a boy to school that knows no more about God than a
Hottentot would know about an Egyptian knight, send him over there and give him
an education and learn him psychology, and give him a Ph.D., and a doctor
degree or bachelor of art, or something or another like that, and send him away
to preach the Gospel, that's never even been saved, that will deny the virgin
birth and the resurrection, deny Divine healing, deny the power of God, deny the very principles that Jesus died
for, deny Mark 16 to being inspired, deny "these signs shall follow them that believe" when Jesus said the Words Himself, deny Acts 2:38, deny any of the rest of the Scriptures that's inspired; and try to
take a tradition of man that they know nothing about and harp on it. And when
you tell them the Truth and show them the Truth, they're ashamed to move, because
their organization.
Show us the father 63-0606 P:45 God can't use a coward. If
you are too much of a coward to testify before your boss, before anybody else,
and ashamed of Jesus Christ, He can't use you. If you're ashamed of the Gospel
of Jesus Christ... I think, like Paul said, "I'm
not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for it's the power of God unto
salvation to every one that believes." Some people can carry on in church, but when they get outside they're
deflated. Now, that kind of religion's no good. That's just to make a show.
It's got to be lived.
You come to church in to this room, or whatever room
you are in right now watching, and that room should be a set apart room just
like the sanctuary is set aside for a purpose..
God in simplicity 63-0317M P:21 The old piano, I believe, set
back in this corner the best of my remembrance. And she would play softly,
"Down at the cross where my Saviour died," some real sweet soft
music, and then until it come time for the service, and the song leader got up
and led a couple of congregational songs, and then if they had some outstanding
solo, they sang it, but never just a
bunch of carrying on. And then the music continually played, and then when
I heard that, I knew it was my time to come out. When a minister walks into a congregation of people praying in the
anointing of the Spirit, you're bound to hear from heaven. That's just all.
There's no way to keep from it. But if you walk into confusion, then you're so
confused, the Spirit's grieved. We don't want that, no. We want to come here to
worship. We have lovely homes that I'm going to speak about just in a minute and
so forth at home, where we visit our friends and take them. This is the house
of the Lord.