Token
no 34
John
14:12 God's Character
Expressed
November 8, 2015
Brian
Kocourek, pastor
This morning before we go to the Scriptures for our study, we
will have the dedication of Little Thea
Audrey Jager. Therefore at this time will the parents of Little Thea
come forward.
As you know The Word of God teaches in Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go:
and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
There are many examples in Scripture where a Godly mother raised
up her child or her children to serve the Lord. First we see Jochebed the mother of Moses. Where would that man be if it had not
been for the godly instruction she gave him while raising him for the Pharaohs
sister. Then we can look at Hannah, how she
raised up Samuel until he was old enough to serve in the
Temple. Look at the impression she left him with before she turned him over to
Eli the high priest.
Then look at King Lemuel, who was raised up by His mother with
the following words.
Proverbs 31:1 The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that
his mother taught him. 2 What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and
what, the son of my vows? 3 Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy
ways to that which destroyeth kings. 4 [It is] not for kings, O Lemuel,
[it is] not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: 5 Lest
they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the
afflicted. 6 Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine
unto those that be of heavy hearts. 7 Let him drink, and forget his
poverty, and remember his misery no more. 8 Open thy mouth for the dumb
in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. 9 Open thy
mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy. 10
Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price [is] far above rubies. 11
The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no
need of spoil. 12 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her
life. 13 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her
hands. 14 She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from
afar. 15 She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her
household, and a portion to her maidens. 16 She considereth a field, and
buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. 17 She
girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms. 18 She
perceiveth that her merchandise [is] good: her candle goeth not out by
night. 19 She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the
distaff. 20 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth
forth her hands to the needy. 21 She is not afraid of the snow for her
household: for all her household [are] clothed with scarlet. 22 She
maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing [is] silk and purple.
23 Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the
land. 24 She maketh fine linen, and selleth [it]; and delivereth girdles
unto the merchant. 25 Strength and honour [are] her clothing; and she shall
rejoice in time to come. 26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and
in her tongue [is] the law of kindness. 27 She looketh well to the ways
of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. 28 Her children
arise up, and call her blessed; her husband [also], and he praiseth her.
29 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. 30
Favour [is] deceitful, and beauty [is] vain: [but] a woman [that] feareth the
LORD, she shall be praised. 31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and
let her own works praise her in the gates. Now, when the scripture tells us to train up
your child in the way he will go, it is telling you that your role to the life
you brought forth is one of training, and guiding them along the right path in
life. And unless you are walking in that right path, your child will not walk
it alone. Therefore, you are not only to instruct them, but your very actions
and the way you live yourself becomes a way of life to them. Your children will do what they
see you do, and they
will say what they hear you say. Therefore, Train up your child in the way you
want him to go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Matthew 18:1 At the same time came the disciples unto
Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? 2And Jesus called
a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,3And said, Verily I
say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall
not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 4Whosoever therefore shall humble himself
as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5And whoso
shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. 6But whoso shall
offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him
that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the
depth of the sea. 7Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be
that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! 8Wherefore
if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it
is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two
hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. 9And if thine eye offend
thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into
life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.
10Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you,
That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.
11For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. 12How think ye? if a
man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave
the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is
gone astray? 13And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he
rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not
astray. 14Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that
one of these little ones should perish.
And for the parents and family and friends of this little child Thea,
we have a promise from Jesus for you in Matthew 10:42
And whosoever
shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in
the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his
reward.
Let us pray… Dear father we now lay hands upon your
little daughter Thea Audrey
Jager and her parents are here this morning to offer her back to you from whence she came, and we ask
you to bless Br. Josh and Sister Alisha
for doing so, and we ask that you give them wisdom to raise up little Thea to
become a genuine daughter of
God. May she learn to Love you Lord with all her heart, and
may she learn to find comfort in
Your Presence always, and whenever little Thea has any
trial, we pray that Your
Presence would be there to lift
her up into heavenly places in Christ Jesus. For we ask this in Jesus Christ’s
name, Your beloved son. Amen.
Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a
workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly
dividing the word of truth. 16 But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will
increase unto more ungodliness. 17 And their word will eat as doth a canker: of
whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; 18 Who concerning the truth have erred,
saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the
faith of some.
19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord
knoweth them that are his. And, Let everyone that names the name of Christ depart from
iniquity.
Peter 2: 1 But there were false prophets also among the
people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, whoprivily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord
that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2 But there were false prophets also among the
people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall
bring in damnable heresies,…
Now the Wuest Translations says, "These men will be of such a character as to bring
in alongside of true Doctrine destructive heresies."
And that is exactly what the King James version says if you read it correctly. It says
these false teachers will bring in, bring in to where? And if it is brought in, then
it really wasn't meant to be there in the first place. So if we are talking about the
Word of God which is the thoughts of God, then what they bring in is not God's
Thoughts but their own thinking which is death in the pot. And look what it says
these destructive heresies will produce, "even denying the Lord that bought them", and who is the Lord that Bought
them? Jesus Bought us with his own blood. So they must deny the Son of
God, and in doing so they deny that God is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ. So they will not understand the Godhead, and so they will fabricate
their own version of Godhead, such as saying the fullness of the godhead bodily
is in the church or Bride as we brought out Wednesday night.
Now, this morning we'll continue with our study of brother Branham’s
sermon, The Token, and
we'll pick up at paragraph 137 and
read again because last night we had a beautiful understanding come as a result
of what he says here, and the thoughts of God's energy being expressed has a
beautiful outcome to it, and that is that the expression itself shows the very
character of Christ in the Believer.
138 And it displays His power. John, 14:12,
says, "He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also."
New Testament is new covenant, new life. Shows Jesus has met every requirement for us that God
required to make us back truly sons and daughters of God, under the Blood where
"there is no more condemnation". Romans 8:1, "There
is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in (not those who
are believing it), those who are in Christ Jesus, that
walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."
"And My Word is Spirit and life?." Oh, couldn't
I take a text from that, and stay about a couple more hours, but we'll hurry
over it. You see? No more condemnation; free from sin; free from
the cares of the world. No condemn... Why? To
them that have been by one Spirit baptized into one Body,
there the Blood of the Lamb has been applied. The God of heaven has accepted you. And
your... His life is in
you, and you are sons and daughters of God. Your character is God's
character. What is it? A little pushover? No, sir. God's a God of
judgment. He's a God of correct. It must be on the line. Nothing else will do. That's the kind of character you
are, because you're the character of your Father. See? Watch.
God identifying Himself
64-0320 P:33 The pouring out of the Holy
Ghost in the last days upon the common people has identified God's characteristic with the people.
He promised it. It's the Word. He said He'd do it. Nobody can take it back. He
said He would do it. So all these things that He's promised, that's what He
does. It identifies His characteristic.
Yes, sir. "Don't believe it, don't believe My claims, if My characteristic isn't that of God."
Now, notice in John 14:12,
"He that believeth on Me," He said, "has My identification, My characteristic.
He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also."
That identifies that the character of
Christ is in him, displaying the characteristics of Him. Amen.
Life 58-0512 P:8 Now, the Christian church should have
real character then. And if the Life of
Christ is in the church of Christ, then it's got to have the character of Christ. It'll
produce the Life of Christ. It's just a no more than just what we call
in the south, common sense. If the Life of the Spirit of
Christ is in the church, it has to produce that Life, because the life that's
in you, makes your character. And what kind of characters ought
we to be, who have solemnly promised that we would serve the Lord Jesus as long
as we live, and we have been baptized to His death, burial, and resurrection,
and have put our names upon the church rolls, take out place in Sunday school,
and then go out, and live something different. Oh, it's more... It's more of an
detriment to the cause of Christ, than all the bootleg joints we have in
America. God grant the day, that when
men will live just what they are. And you can always tell them by
their nature, their make-up.
Identified Christ of all ages
64-0401 P:11 And so Divine healing, the main thing is Divine healing of the soul.
The Body of Christ, it needs healing worse than anything that I know of, is the
Body of Christ. It's been so broken up by man's theology and denominational
differences until it's a sick body. And I tell you, it needs healing, great
healing. So I trust that the Lord will do a great thing towards the healing of
His part of the Body that's in here. We believe that there is one church. And
we never join it. Next Monday I'll be fifty-five years old, and the Branham
family never did ask me to join their family; I was born a Branham, and that's
how I am in Him. Now, that's how we're Christians; we're born a Christian. And
you don't join it; you're born into it. Then
you take the character
of Christ.
Choosing
of a bride 65-0429E P:69 I
remember one time a prophet went up to--to take a king, to make a king out of
Jesse's sons to take another king's place: Saul. And so Jesse brought him out,
and he was a great, big, fine boy and said, "The crown will look right on
his head." And the prophet went to pour the oil on him; he said,
"God's refused him." And He refused every one of them till he come to
a little old stoop-shouldered, ruddy looking fellow, and he poured the oil upon
him, and he said, "God chose him." See, we choose by sight. God
choose by character. Character, there
never was a Character like Jesus Christ. It lives in Him, manifests in. We see it true. It's not worldly
beauty of Him that attracts His Bride; it is His character, the
character of the church that Jesus looks for; not whether it's big buildings;
whether it's great denominations; whether it's big membership. He promised to
meet with wherever two or three are gathered together. Truly. That's where the
true believer rests his hopes, is upon that Word of God being vindicated in
truth, what it is. Choose by His Word. Not a worldly loving group, they hate
that. No wonder she is divorced from
Him, because she's missed His revelation, and she don't have it. He
cares not for her, the way she acts and does, and how much of this worldly
stuff she has; He's looking for her
character, the character of Christ.
Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein
we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And
not only so, but we glory in tribulations also:
knowing that tribulation works patience; 4 And
patience, experience(character); and experience (character), hope:
5 And hope makes not ashamed; because the love of God is shed
abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
Notice now that the Apostle Paul speaks
to us that what trials we go through teaches us patience and in patience we
develop what he calls experience, and this experience gives us hope which is an
earnest expectation. Therefore if we earnestly expect, then we are not ashamed,
because it is the Love of God that is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy
Ghost.
Now, this morning I would like to focus
our thought on this experience which leads us to patience and earnestly
expecting. Because this word although translated as the English word experience
actually has another better translation.
The Greek word "Dokime" that was
translated into the English word "experience" is only translated once as "evidence" but three
times it is translated as the word "proof" as we see in the following Scriptures.
2 Corinthians 13:3 Since ye seek a proof of Christ
speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you.
2 Corinthians 2:9 For to this end also did I write, that I
might know the proof of
you, whether ye be obedient in all things.
Philippians 2:22 But ye
know the proof of him,
that, as a son with the father, he hath served with me in the gospel.
Now, when we use the word "experience" in our
daily dialogue, we use it in terms of experiences we have been through. But
when we refer to someone who has been there and done that, so to speak we say
they are experienced. Now the word takes on a further character of its own
because we are no longer talking about the instances of something happening in
the life that one has gone through, but now we are talking about the
cumulative knowledge on how to deal with
those instances. This changes the word the meaning of the word experience to
knowledge based on experience.
In Romans 5:1-5 we found three words of
significance, The first word is Patience translated from the Greek word hupomone meaning steadfastness under trials, patienlty enduring, so it speaks
of a certain endurance we receive from learning to wait.
The next word we see is Experience which was
translated from the Greek word dokime' which means a tried character, a specimen of tried worth, or proof.
And
the third word he uses is Hope which was translated from the Greek word elpice' and it simply means an earnest expectation.
Now
from the Church Age Book, The
Smyrnaean Church Age Chptr.
4 Brother Branham said, "3 If there was
tribulation in the first age,
there is now predicted an intensified
tribulation throughout the second age. There is no doubt but what the following
words of Paul applied to the mass of Christians wherever they were in the world
and in every age.
Hebrews 10:32-38
"But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were
illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions; Partly, whilst ye were
made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye
became companions of them that were so used. For ye had compassion of me in my
bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that
ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance. Cast not away therefore
your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of
patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and He That
shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith: but
if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him."
So what is this promise that we receive
by patient waiting? It is the proof
that we have received the promise. And what is that proof? It is His character, because that is what we receive when we
patiently wait. Because we wait because we believe, and we patiently wait
because we truly believe. And our Belief then produces in us the very same
character it produced in all believers, from the original Believer in the
promise of God which was Abraham, to Jesus Christ The royal Seed of Abraham
down through the ages to all royal seed of Abraham.
NIV Romans 5:1 Therefore, since
we have been justified through faith, we[a] have peace with
God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we
have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we[b] boast in the
hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we[c] also glory in
our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance,
character; and character, hope. 5 And
hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our
hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
And Paul tells us that it is this
Character that every son of Abraham will have in common.
From his sermon, Identifications 63-0123, 40 Brother Branham said, "Now, Jesus gave us the Example of what we ought to be
looking at, when He reflected His Life
to us through the Word, what we should see. When we look into God's mirror, we should see ourself identified with Him. That is a perfect
Example. 41 Now, but we find out that, as we go along through life, that our character molds the image
that we are. Each
one knows that. You, as
you live, so is your character, molds you to what you are. Now, you have seen
people that you just love to be around, yet they might not exactly be in your
bracket of society. And, again, they might be of a different race, the colored,
or the brown, or the yellow. But there just something about that character,
that you just love to be in their presence. Because each person is a little
dynamo of their own, and you put out an atmosphere. 42 And then you see
people that were noble people, but yet you were always glad to get away from
them. It's just they create such an atmosphere around where you are. Nothing
against them, they're nice people, but you just don't like that atmosphere,
they, they're… they're in. And their character creates whatever they are, makes them what they are.
58 You cannot, no way, ever produce a Character like that; only, accepting that Character in you.
A church cannot do that. A creed cannot do that. A denomination cannot do that.
An education cannot do that. It must be a Birth. It's got to be a dying out, and let God in, by the grace of Christ, mold this type of
character in you, that you become Him, and your life and His is the same, then
you are sons and daughters of God.
In
the very next paragraph brother Branham tells us of an identifiable
characteristic of that Character in you. In other words as the
Greek word is translated as the word "proof",
he is going to tell us of a "proof"
that His
character is reflected in your life. He says in
pp. "70 Now, with our Message, can we stand by the looking
glass of God's Word and see Christ reflect in our own lives then?"
Notice he is asking us a question, can
we look into the mirror of God's Word, and see the same character of Christ
reflected in our life?
"Can we bear such, and
the reproach of the Message that we're standing for here?
Notice he is asking the question, what
character is reflecting from us when we are under trial, or testing? Then he
gives us the absolute example. he says...
"Someone can say
something about It, (say
something about what? He's talking about you bearing up under slander and
libel, saying things against the Message and against you. And he says, can they
say something about what you believe) and yet
you just don't open your mouth and say nothing about it. He was example,
because God was reflecting His
character in Him. And then if
we're sons and daughters of God, God reflects His character in us, then we
become like Him. That's my heart's desire. I think that's every
believer's desire, is to become more like Him.
So we are given an insight into the
very character of Jesus Christ when he was put to the test. You know he
stood on trial, and they ripped the beard right off his face, and they took the
whip and tore out his flesh, and yet he answered them not a Word. He didn't
give them anger for anger, or wrath for wrath. He answered them not a word.
John
23:1 And the whole multitude of
them arose, and led him unto Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse him, saying, We
found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding
to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a King. 3 And
Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answered him and said, Thou sayest it. 4 Then said Pilate
to the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this man. 5 And they
were the more fierce, saying, He
stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from
Galilee to this place.
So Jesus said in John 15:20 Remember
the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also
persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
Well I can say that there is at least
one Scripture that is manifested in my life. And I am thankful for it. Aren't
you?
And if Jesus
Christ is the same yesterday today and forever. Then that explains
why Brother Branham is still attacked even 50 years after he's gone off the
scene, and that explains why brother Vayle is still attacked more than a three
years since he's gone off the scene.
So in getting
back to "John 23:6 When Pilate heard of
Galilee, he asked whether the man were a Galilaean. 7 And
as soon as he knew that he belonged unto Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to
Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem at that time.
8 And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was
desirous to see him of a long season, because he
had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him. 9 Then he questioned with him in many words; but he answered him nothing.
10 And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused him.
11 And Herod with his
men of war set him at nought, and mocked him, and
arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate. 12 And the
same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together: for before they were at
enmity between themselves. 13 And Pilate,
when he had called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, 14 Said unto them, Ye have brought this man
unto me, as one that perverteth the
people: and, behold, I, having
examined him before you, have found no fault in
this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him:
15 No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him; and, lo, nothing
worthy of death is done unto him. 16 I will
therefore chastise him, and release him. 17 (For of necessity he must release one unto them
at the feast.) 18 And they cried out all at once,
saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas: 19 (Who for a certain sedition made in the
city, and for murder, was cast into prison.) 20 Pilate
therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them.
21 But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. 22 And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause
of death in him: I will therefore chastise him, and let him go. 23 And they were instant with loud voices, requiring
that he might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief
priests prevailed. 24 And Pilate gave sentence
that it should be as they required.
Now, listen to brother Branham describes this character that could be beaten, this
character that could be and mocked,
this character that could even be
sentenced to death for no other
reason than for His relationship with God His Father.
"106 Oh, no other nature could do this. No.
Cause, He was the molded
perfect character of God. 107 For, it was a fallen character that
all nature had. All men had a fallen character. Even everything that was under
man fell. Everything has got a dying
character. 108 And He
had a living character, so He expressed it in Christ, and He paid the price.
And then because of His obedience, He
raised Him up on the third day. See? 109 And then He gives to us. That gives to us the proof. It gives to us the assurance, that, as
long as we're in Him, we're already risen with Him.
Look at the use of that word "proof" and "assurance". And
look how it is tied to the character of Christ. and that character is our proof
that we are already raised with Him. It's not being able to recite a creed or
dogma or doctrine as good as it is to know the doctrine right. But what does
your nature do when you go through the same trials he went through? Does your
nature, project the same results His nature did?
Brother Branham continues, "We won't raise with Christ; we're
already raised with Christ. That's right. We are in Christ now. And if Christ be
risen from the dead, aren't we raised from the dead with Him? Amen. "Now we're setting together in Heavenly places in Him." Oh, my! That ought to make you Presbyterians shout.
Uh-huh. Yeah. Certainly. Expressed
images of God, molded after the fashion of Christ, that the world can see Him in you. That's
the looking glass to look at. 110 No
other nature could do it; it was fallen. And God identified. Look. God
identified Himself as a Man, and took upon Him the form of sin. Now, well, not
sin, but the form of sin, that in order that He might take the sin of the
sinner, see, and pay the penalty for it, and give the sinner back the Life that
he had before the fall. Oh, my! What love God has expressed to us! See? Think
of it.
That's what Paul said in Colossians 3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek
those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Colossians 2:12 Buried
with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath
raised him from the dead.
Romans 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by
baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the
glory of the Father, even so we also
should walk in newness of life.
Now, as we continue with what brother
Branham was telling us, in pp:
111 brother Branham said, "And now remember, after Jesus doing this, when
nobody else could do it, we are invited. Now, church, think of this just a
minute. We are invited to shape our own
character to His, by His grace. We are invited, think of it, to become
characters like His. If we are ready to lay our character down,
and the molding that we had, "Heady,
high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, false accusers, and
incontinent, despisers of those that are trying to do right, having a form of
godliness and denying the power of the Word."
How can God come into a place like
that, when they deny the Word? When, He watches over His Word, to
vindicate It, to make It come to pass. And the Word is pushed out, how can He
identify Himself with something like that?
112 We've got to take the
entire, full Gospel. We must. And now, being that we have identified ourselves
as full Gospel people, let's mold our character.
Why is he saying, "full Gospel people?"
Because he is saying, "now that we have the doctrine of Christ correct, let's mold our character to His character".
Now, just to make sure we have our
balance on these things, I think beginning tomorrow, I am going to begin
alternating our study of the Christian Life sermons with sermons showing the
importance of Doctrine, because without having the correct doctrine, how can
you really have the right spirit. Brother Branham never said "I would rather you be wrong in your doctrine and right in
your spirit". He said "I would
rather your doctrine be wrong and right in your heart". Why?
because how can you be wrong in your Spirit if you have the Holy Spirit. But
the fact is you can have right doctrine and not have the Holy Spirit just like
the Pharisees did. And Jesus made an example of the Pharisees who walked who
had there doctrines all right and still missed God's presence among them in the
form of His Son. And Jesus told the parable of the man that had been beaten and
laid to die along the road, and in it he exonerated the good Samaritan and said
that is what we should be like, but he excoriated the Pharisee whose doctrine
was right while the Samaritan was all messed up in his doctrine but his heart
was right and so he stopped to help the poor broken man, and even paid all the
expenses to help the man get well.
As a Word prophet you've got to know
that is where brother Branham is taking his statement from.
Pergamean church age 60-1207
P:31 The life of Saint
Martin is one of the greatest miracle filled lives of anybody in the church
ages. From all the way from Saint Paul out, he was one of the most spiritual
men. He was. One of his first miracles was, He was a soldier to begin with, I
believe. And then one day he was coming by and there was someone, a man laying
cold and shivering, and all the people that not willing, but was able to help
the man, they just passed him by like the priest and the Levites did in the
Good Samaritan. But when Saint Martin come by, realizing his duty as a
Christian believer, he had one coat, a cloak over his shoulders; he cut it in
two with his sword and gave half of it to the beggar; he took the other half.
And that night begin his career, for Jesus Christ appeared to him in a vision,
wrapped in that same robe that he cut half in two; which fulfilled the
Scripture, "Insomuch as you have done unto these, you have did it unto
Me."
Now, brother Branham continues by saying
here, "We're invited to be molded in His
Image, that we might reflect His
Presence. "And
the works that I do, shall you do also. The Life that I live, so shall you." We're invited, by God, to take Him as an Example, and let our character be molded like His. What a thing! My!
113 Then, when we let His character be in us,
then we have become sons, by having the mind of Christ, mind, which is
His character. Your mind makes your character.
Now, notice then, how can you have the
real character of Christ by having wrong doctrine and thus a wrong mind? You
see, it's not the kind old priest sort of kindness, it's the God directed
kindness, that always looks to the Word of God to direct us in how to be kind.
I think that is why I will go back and forth between Doctrine and Character in
our study of the Christian Life, because if I do not some may think we have
left the doctrine and turned to a life of works, when we have done no such
thing. But to understand this: That the doctrine of Christ is supposed to
produce in you the very Life of Christ. And if it isn't producing in you the
very Life of Christ, then you do not have the correct Doctrine of Christ.
Brother
Branham said from his sermon, Rising of the sun 65-0418M P:31 Now, the very essence of the Message that
was sent that, "He is
risen from the dead,"
we, His beneficiaries, we, who share the resurrection with Him, draw benefits
from this by proving to the world that He is alive. We cannot do it by word
only; we cannot do it by some tradition of man; we only reflect exactly
what we're pointing to. I'm afraid today that too many of us are not getting
people to Christ. We're getting them to a church, to a theory,
but we must get them to Christ. He is the only One, and the only One that has
Life. "He
that has the Son, has Life."
And if the life of a man that's dead be
projected in you, you will live the same life he
lived. If the blood of a man was a certain type, and you took the
blood from one man and changed the blood of the one man into another, he'd
absolutely be that typed blood. And if your spirit that's in you is reckoned
dead, and you are anointed with the Life that was in Christ is upon you... Romans 8:11 says, "If the
Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in you, It'll also quickens your
mortal bodies,"
that same Life, them same powers, them same beneficiaries that He had here on
earth from God. He redeemed you, a seed that was foreknown by God, whose names
was put on the Lamb's Book of Life before the foundation of the world. And that
Gospel Light of the resurrection, the confirmation of the Word... How did we
know He was the Christ? Because He proved what He talked about. How will I know
the Message of the hour? God proves what He promised and He talks about it.
Brother Branham continues in his sermon,
Identifications 63-0123, 40 "Let the mind," Paul
said, "of Christ, this mind that was in
Christ, be in you." Let that mind of Christ be in you. It
molds the character of a son of God.
Now, how?… 114 Just listen a minute. How can we have the mind of Christ
that was in Him, and then deny the things that He commissioned us to do? How can we place miracles in the past, when
the very Christ Himself was God, and God in you. In the Presence of God, there's always miracles. He said, "You call Me 'Lord.' Why call ye Me 'Lord,' and do not the
things that I have commanded you to do, I laid out for you to do?" Don't you see where we've gotten to, where the church
is drifting? And I find it a whole lot among our Pentecostals, too. We're
drifting too far from that Lifeline. We must come back to that, friend, come
back, because we're getting big now. 115 I see where the Business Men's
publication is the greatest one, as much maybe as what Oral Roberts has got.
And I find out that when we go to getting big, then we go to acting big, see,
just like Israel did. And we go to acting like we're just compare with the rest
of them. Remember, "You are a different
people. You are a holy nation, a royal priesthood, a peculiar people." Why, we Pentecostals got so we ain't any more
peculiar than any the rest the world. We just dress, act, talk, go do the
things they do; run home, watch television, instead of staying for church; and
just the same things they do, about. We're trying to compete, trying to be like
the Joneses. See? We don't want to do that. 116 We want to make this Bible our
looking glass, and let ourselves be
molded by His character; having His character, His mind, letting the mind that was in Christ be in us. His mind
was always… 117 What was His mind to do,
the
mind that was in Christ? Always to
stay with the Father's Word.
No matter what looked glossy, and what looked this way, it didn't make any
difference to Him. The Father's Word is what counted. Everywhere, when He met the devil, He never even used His power to defeat
him. He used the Word, because that was Him. 118 Did you ever
think? He never wrote a book when He was on earth. As far as we know, He never
wrote but one time. That was in the sand. Then erased it out, probably,
afterwards. Why didn't He write a word?
Because He was the Word. See? He lived the Word. We don't need so many
books, when you become a written
epistle of God. See? See? That's what God wants you to be, images of Him.
Now, in closing
I would like to read several quotes from brother Branham showing how your works
are really an expression of your character.
57-0623
Believe From The Heart "A man's work declares his
character. Christ was God's
work. And Christ declared God's character, His feeling for
the sick, His longing for saving of souls, till even He gave His own life.
God's work... God's character was declared in Christ. And if you
can just empty your own intellectual thoughts out and give God the right of
way, He can declare His character through the work of your yielding.
Empty out; get the world, get your doubts out of the way. If you come to the
altar to be prayed for, say, "I'll go up and see if I get healed," God can never declare His works. You've got to
get your own thoughts out of the way and let Him fill you."
Isn't that beautiful? If we could just
empty out and die out to our own thinking and Let God fill us with his
Thoughts, His Word, then our character would reflect His character.
From his sermon, Faith once delivered to the saints 57-0610 P:38 Brother Branham said, "But when that real, genuine faith that God spoke the
truth, it's settled in the person's heart. It's eternal. Feeling has nothing to
do with it no more. God said so. Then that
faith is stabled. No matter what
takes place, how you feel, whether you get sick or whether you do or not.
That has nothing to do with it. It's that faith that was once delivered to the
saints that they believe. They seen the
works of God. They knowed it was God. It was a vindicated to them. Jesus
said, "If I do
not the works of God, then don't believe Me."
But He did the works of God. And
He said, "I
do not do nothing in Myself, till I see the
Father do it first. Whatever I see the Father doing, then the Son does likewise." He said, "He
that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also." That was
the Church. Christ left this
that His Church would have His Spirit. And the Spirit of
Christ will perform, and act, and live like Christ. Amen. How can we segregate ourselves, when
Christ taught brotherly love, "By this all
men will know you're My Church," when you've got love one for another."
And from We
would see Jesus 57-0226 P:21 brother Branham said, ""Then
if His Spirit is with us, He will act
just exactly like He act when He was here on earth. It'll make you act the same way,
because it's not your spirit any more;
it's His Spirit in you, Christ's Spirit in you." The things that I do... He that believeth on Me (Saint John 14:12.), the works that I
do, shall ye do also." See? We'll do
the same works, think the same thoughts, live the same type of
life. If the Spirit of God is in you, it makes you live like Christ,
Christ-like. Then you become a written epistle, read of all men, Christ in you, reflecting His
Light out of you, as God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, and reflecting God from His own body.
No man has seen God at any time, but the only begotten of the Father has
declared Him. God was
in Christ. And what Christ's attitude was, was God's attitude, 'cause the two
work together, the Spirit and flesh united together. Got a sermon on that:
"The Dove And The Lamb." Want to get on it one night, one of these
weeks.
And in closing from What shall I do with Jesus 63-1124M P:95 Brother Branham said,
"As I said, if the life of Beethoven was in
you, you'd live like Beethoven. If the life of Hitler was in you, you'd live
like Hitler. And when the Life of Christ
is in you, you'll live like Christ.
And the works of Christ you do.
And that'll be... If Christ lived today He'd do exactly what the Word said He'd
do today. And if the Word said that, "He is
the same yesterday, today, and forever,"
why can't this blind ecclesiastical world see the time that they're living.
See?"
Let us pray.