The Unveiling of God no 30

If they had only Known the Word

June 20, 2018

Brian Kocourek, Pastor

Mark 4:1¶ And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land. 2 And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine, 3 Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: 4 And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.5 And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: 6 But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. 8 And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred. 9 And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 10 And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable. 11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all [these] things are done in parables:12 That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and [their] sins should be forgiven them. 13 And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables? 14 The sower soweth the word. 15 And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. 16 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended. 18 And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, 19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. 20 And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.

Let us bow our heads in Prayer: Dear Gracious and Loving Father, we come to You in thanksgiving this morning knowing You are here in our Midst, for we believe that You have come down with a Message, and that Message is Life to us. We thank Thee Father, for giving us the Promise of Eternal Life through Your Son Jesus, and for making this promise possible through the instrument of Your Word. For we believe that Your Word is a Seed, ad as a Seed it contains Life, Your Seed, Your Life. And we know that every seed must bring forth after it’s kind, for that is the Law of reproduction. And we know “when Christ who is our Life shall Appear, we shall also appear with Him in Glory.” And we know this Glory that we are to appear or openly manifest in, is your “Doxa” which is your opinion, judgment and assessment, which is Your very mind coming into Your Children. So we are a thankful people for all you are doing here in this small congregation and for all that You are doing through this ministry throughout the world. And, therefore Father, we commit ourselves to your great purpose and plan that You have made known to us in Jesus Name we pray, amen. You may be seated.

In nature the life that is in a seed, once it is planted and the light strikes it, the life in a seed begins its journey towards manifestation of itself. In other words, Towards an expression of what Life and Nature is intrinsically in that seed.

Now, we know that until the light strikes the seed, the seed will not manifest the innate nature of the life that lays within it. So it takes the Light to manifest the Life.

In fact the apostle Paul said, in Ephesians chapter 5, “what makes manifest is Light”, and we know that Christ is the Light of the world, and JOHN 1:3 tells us, All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 ¶ And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

Now, picking up at paragraph 61 of brother Branham's sermon  The Unveiling of God I want you to follow his thought here how he shows that the Life in the Word and the people always failed to see that Life in the Word as he kept revealing and manifesting it.

61 You remember He returned then to Paul after that, and to Peter in the prison, as the Pillar of Fire. You remember that? But in the last days He's supposed to return again, but a Pillar of Fire is supposed to come back again to manifest the Son of man (See?), to show the Word, the Light. The traditions that's been will be wiped away. There's nothing going to bother it; it's going to be done anyhow. God just tear them denominations and traditions down. What kind of a Spirit will He do with it? Like He did in the first place. Look what He done in the days of Elijah, in the days of John. "Don't you think to say within yourself you have Abraham to the father, 'cause God's able of these stones to rise children to Abraham." See? Don't you think, "'Cause I belong to this and I belong to that." See? God tearing off the veil (See?) to show Who He is... See, watch the veil when it rents here now. We find out.

62 Now, and one time, and if a man walked through that veil, it was sudden death. Now, it's death not to go through it. Amen. If you can't break that veil of tradition, break through that wall of denomination to see God in His power, it's death. Once where it was death to go in, now it's death to stay out. The whole mercy seat's setting in plain view; anybody can see It; the veil's rent. Glory to God. The whole mercy seat comes into plain view.

63 How God could have mercy on foul sinners as us, when He hid Himself, was a mystery. And now It's in plain view, or in full view, revealed by His Word. It's always the Word, constantly; that is God. It's the Word that opens it up. If those people would've knowed the Word of God that day when Jesus died, they'd have seen the mercy seat, they would've seen Who He was."Who was that then? Why did the veil rent?" Remember, it's death to go into it; nobody could see it. Moses saw It in a form, It was a whirl...

It was a man's back. But here It is, a bleeding back, that same Man. What was It? God wanted to show them the mercy seat; God wanted to show them Who He was. So the veil in the temple, from the hand of God above, was rent from top to the bottom and showed God in plain view. It was Jesus Christ hanging on the cross, the Mercy Seat. And what was it? The people were too blind to see It.

64 Now, it's repeated again. The traditions, Then on the day of Pentecost, the Word came and was in a form of Son of God. And they begin to organize it at Nicaea, Rome. And the first thing, it went to Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Pentecostals, and so forth. It's organized traditions; a man don't know where he stands. But glory to God, He promised in the last days what He would do: He would show His Word in plain view, open before us again (See?), open It up. If they'd have only knowed the Word, they'd have knowed Who Jesus was. If a man only knowed the Word of God, he'd know the hour we're living and what's going on. They just refuse to listen to that Word. Their traditions... What caused those Jews to see that? What caused? Looked like they could've actually seen, because the thing was tore open. It was tore open for a purpose.

65 What's this revival long for now? How could it prosper? How could it be blessed? I don't care how many impersonations it's got, or anything else, that all... When Moses went out, there was a mixed multitude went with him. But what's it done for? It's Jehovah Himself taking the veil off of God to show the difference between right and wrong, which is, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, or who's right? God's Word is right. "Let every man's word be a lie, and Mine the Truth." And God needs no interpreter; He does His Own interpretation. He manifests It and He gives the interpretation. God unveiling Himself (Oh, my.) right in the midst of us; we see His great hand telling these things, doing these...?...I got something on that tonight (See?), of how to watch the hand of God, what it does, how it unfolds itself. See? And people say, "Oh, That's nonsense. That's fanaticism. There's nothing to that. That's nonsense. That's Beelzebub. That's a devil. That's fortunetelling. That's this." See, the same thing they said about Him...

66 Oh church, and if this tape goes out, can't you see, ministers of the Gospel, where you're living? Can't you see the hour that we're in? God, showing Himself, setting aside... Look, He took that temple veil and tore it to pieces that they might see God in plain view, and they was too blind to see It. And He's done the same thing today: putting His Word right out in front, what He promised, every promise in the Word laying right before us, in plain view. You know what the Gentile church does? The same thing the Jewish church did: too blind to see It. That's all. It'll be on their hearts just as it was in that day.

67 Notice, death to stay away from It now. You must go into It through this veil or you won't. How God could have mercy on them... But remember what it was, that God is manifesting what was behind that veil. Watch what was behind the veil: the Word. What did it veil? The Word. What was it? It's in the ark. It was the Word that that veil hid. See? And Jesus was that Word, and He is that Word, and the veil of His flesh hid It. And today the veil of tradition hides the Word again, saying, "It's not so." But It is so. God's testifying of It, blasting Himself right out as bright as the sun before everyone, and they fail to see It. God, be merciful to us.

Now, Notice that he keeps telling us that God's Word is hid from their understanding because of their own traditions. And That Word is Life, God's very own Life and thus His Mercy Seat.

What was it that was placed between the two cherubs in the ark of the covenant? It was the ten commandments, and where did God reside? Between those two cherubs with that Word. God is in His Word, and "He has hid it from the wise and prudent and has rvealed it to babes such as would learn."

And if God is the Word, and you receive that word you have received the mercy seat of God, God life.

And I have proven to you many times by the Scriptures that only a person who has the Holy Spirit will be able to understand the Word. It is not hidden from them. Because it takes the mind of Christ to understand the things of God. And you cannot have the mind of Christ without having the same Spirit, the same Life as Christ.

Now, let's take our thoughts back to what we read a our text today from Mark 4 where Jesus tells the parable of the Son of man who sent forth sowing seeds which he tells us is the Word of God. And he tells us that the seed are children therefore the seed is a carrier of life.

And concerning the life, especially the life in the Word of God which is the seed that the sower went forth sowing, we must understand that when we see that life beginning to come forth into manifestation, it does not yet look like the original grain that was sown. So it must go through different times and seasons while it changes form and manifested shape. But the first stage of life we see is the stalk. When the Light strikes the seed and it begins to grow into a plant of any sort, that first manifestation of life shows itself in the central portion of the plant which is in the trunk or stem in which the Life of the seed begins to move up into and while the Life is in it, the plant is green showing it is full of life.

Now, before it is manifested the Life breaks forth from the seed into the roots. And if it has not roots, it will not survive. I am hoping that you can see the spiritual application of what I am saying here.

Then as the Life in that seed begins to further manifest itself, up through the stem, as it moves further into maturity it begins to grow some shoots off of that central stem. It does not matter whether these offshoots are leaves or flowers, or perhaps as we see in corn or wheat, the ear begins to grow. At first all we see in that "ear" is the "tassle" or the part that looks almost like leaves that surround the outer part of the ear.

Next as the Life moves on in the plant, we see the life go into the husk which is the inside of the tassle, and this husk has a shape to it, but it is only a protector of the seed life that is growing forth within it. It is only there to protect the seed life.

Then finally the Life moves further into manifestation in those little seeds that are being produced in the ear that look just like the original seed that went into the ground. That is what we call the corn itself.

Now, as the Life moves from the seed into the roots and stem, before it can do so the outer shell of the seed must rot and die or the life cannot be released from within.

And Jesus told us the same thing had to take place for the Life of God to move into the church of the Living God.

John 12:23 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. 24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

Jesus told us in John 6:63 That the word of God is Life. And that the Spirit of God quickens that Life in us. It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

In 1 John 1:1 we read, That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life 2 For the life was manifested, and we have seen [it], and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;

Now, the Life is in the Father before it can come into the son. And while it is in the Father it is in seed form.

John 5:26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;

And we know that the Life form in which God brings forth His own Life is in His Word. The Apostle Paul called it the word of Life in Philippians 2: 16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain.

And again in Acts 5: 20 The apostle Peter said, Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.

And it was Peter who taught us that our New Birth comes by the Word of God being sparked off in our being. I Peter 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

Now, notice he told us there are corruptible seeds and there is an incorruptible seed. And he tells us the incorruptible seed is God’s Word, for all other seed have a beginning and an ending of life but there is only one source of Eternal Life for there is only One eternal, and that is God’s own Life. Therefore when you receive eternal Life is when the very life of God comes into you and sparks you to the Life that He ordained for you even before He framed the world into existence. Because you had to be a part of God in order to have eternal Life.

In fact we see the entire plan of God in Ephesians chapter one. So let’s open out Bible to Ephesians chapter one and begin reading at verse 3 ¶ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

Now here we are told that not only is God the Father of Jesus Christ but He is also the God of Jesus Christ. He said, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

Now, in the next verse we see that we were actually in Him before the foundations of the world. 4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him or in His presence..

Then because of His great Love he has for His own He sets in order His great Plan for His Children.

5 in love having predestinated us ...

Now, notice that having predestinated us is speaking in the past tense. This is what He did while we were yet in His mind before He even framed the worlds. Then when God framed the worlds with us in His mind, He framed them for us to enjoy. God existed for an eternity before He even framed the worlds, so He didn’t do it for Himself, he didn’t need it, but He did it for you and I so that we might enjoy the mountains and the sea, and the valleys and the rivers etc.

Therefore we read, 5 in love having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, so it was His good pleasure to predestinate us unto the adoption of Children by Jesus Christ.

Now, in the old testament when a son was born he was raised under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the Father. And when the child, the first born showed Himself to be able and mind full of what His Father wanted, in other words, an obedient son, the Father would take him out and before the public he would adopt his first born son. Then that son would be given 50% of all that the father owned. The rest of the children did not receive a portion until the Father died.

But as long as the father lived the others received no inheritance. And we have a father who is the only immortal King and who cannot die, so it was expedient in the plan of the Father to allow His Son Jesus to die that we might receive His inheritance. And that is what the Apostle Paul is saying here.

5 in love having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; 8 herein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;

Now, in getting back to the seed Life, we see also in John 6: 68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.

And so we see that the Word is a Seed and the Life in that seed is God’s Life, eternal Life. John 5: 24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth (he that understandeth) my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath (echoes) everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

And therefore the attributes of one ordained or predestinated to Life (To God Life) is that they will believe. Acts 13: 48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.

John 6: 63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

The Masterpiece 64-0705 118 But you can't hide a germitized seed. It's got to come forth. Because why? The Great Sculptor is on the job. Going to build again, so the Seed went down, the Word. 119 When we see St. Paul, Peter, James, John, all those who wrote the Word, and the word they wrote become alive and lived. And It lived. And when we find after it begin to get ripe, John begin to write in epistles. He was thrown on the Isle of Patmos after being burnt in oil for twenty-four hours. But the Word must come forth. It's got to be wrote. They couldn't boil the Holy Ghost out of him with oil, so he come forth. His work wasn't finished. He died a natural death.

The seed is a carrier of Life.

1 Corinthians 13: 11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child, : but when I became a man, I put away childish things...

Now, we noticed that the seed which Jesus was talking about that was to fall into the ground was the very Life that was in Him, and that begin to come forth on the day of Pentecost. This Seed that was sown in the first age has come up to a complete body in this last age. When planted, the seed will bring forth a crop that is in the same likeness as the seed that went into the ground.

And if Christ the Word was which is a seed was buried in death and came forth when God raised up His Son from the grave and then on the day of Pentecost that same Life begin to grow up and manifest itself in the Church, the if it was the Word Seed that was buried, then that very Life that was in that Word must also produce the same Life germ back in the church again, at the Harvest Time.

And since we know that the Word was made flesh, and we beheld His Glory, and that Glory that we beheld was the Doxa of God which was His Very opinion, assessment, and Judgment of God in the earth, then as the Apostle Paul said, He is to come again and this time to be glorified in His Church. That is 2 Thessalonians 1 and verse 10.

And that Glorification will be the Word again in human beings, sons of God in which the Apostle Paul told us, “Let this Mind that was in Christ be in you.” So we see that there are an ordained people who will learn to get out of the way and let God and let God.

Years ago I preached a mini-series called the We called “The Garden of your Mind”, and in this mini-series we focused on the mind as it pertains to a garden, because our minds are full of many seeds which are thoughts, of which some are good or righteous, and others are bad, or evil. And we found that as a seed is a carrier of life, our thoughts too are carriers of actions which create an atmosphere, and from this atmosphere reactions occur.

We showed how that as with any garden, we must have a plan if we are to harvest or reap the desired outcome of our garden. For you cannot just let anything else grow in your garden than what you desire for harvest, or the other seeds will sprout forth as well, and they will compete with your planted seeds for life. As you know in any garden, if the weeds crop up, they compete with the good crops, not only for room, but for nutrients from the soil as well. The weeds, if not kept in check and under control will many times crowd out and suffocate the good crops, or the crops in which we desire a harvest, because “many more are the children of the desolate than she which has a husband.” And you should know by experience, that weeds are more plentiful and grow faster than a harvest crop.

Now, Jesus told the parable of the sower several times.

Matthew 13:3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; 4 And when he sowed, some [seeds] fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: 5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: 6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: 8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. 9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Matthew 13:18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. 19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth [it] not, then cometh the wicked [one], and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. 20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; 21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. 22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. 23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth [it]; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

So then in order to eliminate the bad seeds, or at least the effects of the bad seeds, we must learn to cultivate the “gardens of our mind”, in order to prepare for a better harvest of the desired planting. Now we all know that the Lord calls us, His planting, and the type of plant that He likens us to are, “trees of righteousness” as we see in Psalm 61:3 and as we also sing the song, “that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be Glorified.”

And just like any other garden, our garden is planted according to the purposes of the one who plants it, and for the glory or betterment of the planter. If a person wants to harvest certain types of foods, they must plant the seeds of what they want to harvest. You do not plant a fully developed plant. No, that is called transplanting. But what we plant in the ground is seeds, that when they mature, they will reproduce the plant in every detail seeing that the seed contains the life of the plant, then it also carries the genetic code to reproduce that plant in every detail. So you see, the garden is planted with a desired harvest in mind, and it is up to the one who plants it to watch over it until harvest time. And so besides cultivating out the bad seeds, we are also to make sure that we water and fertilize the garden. And since we are the planting of the Lord, He will do His part in the watering and fertilizing of His garden as well. And this garden, the garden of our minds, the planting of the Lord, the trees of righteousness, or whatever metaphor we can use to type the Bride of Christ.

Now in getting back to the Scripture that we read for our text, let’s open our Bibles again to 1 Corinthians 13: 11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child, : but when I became a man, I put away childish things...

Now, here we see Paul speaking of a certain time in life when we are at a certain level in our maturity. He begins by saying, “When I was a child,” and in using the word “When” we can see that Paul was looking back at a specific period or time frame that was part of his growth cycle or growth process. “When I was a child,” see? And then we are not only looking at this period of time, but now that we are focused on this period he wants to further elucidate to us certain attributes that were associated with that period of time in his life. And therefore he continues by say, “during this time when I was a child, there were certain attributes that predominated my life, “I spake as a child, I understood as a child," because he says, "I thought as a child.”

Now, what we may conclude from Paul’s statement here is that the reason we speak as a child is because our understanding is only that of a child, and this is because the way in which we think is only at the stage of that which is only a child. And therefore, our speaking is only a reflection of our thinking, which is an outward manifestation of the condition of our mind. Notice how brother Branham made reference to this when he said that a baby gets what it wants by crying. You can’t expect a baby to ring a bell, or something of that nature. It hasn’t got the functional attributes to do that yet. It is not that the baby doesn’t possess the mental genetics, but those attributes and characteristics have not as yet been exercised to the place of strength and maturity. And so we find Brother Branham pointing to us the simplicity of growth which he types also with our spiritual maturity.

And Jesus told us the same thing in Luke 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

Notice that he is telling us that out of the abundance or overflow of the heart, which is the understanding, the mouth does speak. So what things you say is dependent upon what you know. I could not in any way expect any of the children in here to stand up here and speak to us concerning Einstein’s theory of relativity. No more than I could expect them to get up here and teach us about the Godhead. They may be able to tell us that there is only one God, and this One God had a Son, and that’s all I would expect from them at this stage or process in their spiritual growth. But if Brother Branham were to stand up and that was all he could tell us, then we would not have any higher aspiration to attain unto. Now this is not saying that it would be OK to just stop where we are at. Because the minute you stop, that is the minute you begin to die. God does not expect us to exceed his Prophet either, but as brother Branham has said, I’ll paraphrase, “You are now here and I am up here. One day you too will be up here as far as your understanding is concerned.” Jesus told us the same thing in Luke 6:40 The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master..

And so we are looking at the fact that our words are only a reflector or reflection of what stage of growth we are at. Now the way for any child to grow up, is that they begin to speak the words which they hear their parents speaking. Sometimes, it may come as a shock to some parents when they hear bad or vulgar words come from the babies mouth as their first words. But the baby can only say words which it has heard. A baby, like any person is limited to words which it hears from others. That is why we need to listen to the Voice of God on a regular basis. And just as a baby begins to formulate their little minds to the place where they begin to speak intelligible words, based upon what they hear, so too our minds, spiritually speaking, in order to grow up into the full stature or reflections of our Heavenly Father, must begin to formulate our thoughts into the same Words which He spoke to us.

In John 5:19, 30 Jesus said the son can do nothing in himself but what the Father shows him to do.

Now, I want you to notice that Jesus, just like any child, did not have words of his own. We all began our talking by emulating the words which we heard our fathers of mothers speak, and Jesus was no different.

John 7:16-18 Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. 17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or [whether] I speak of myself. 18 He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.

And to tell what kind of words parents speak around the house one has only to listen to their little children.

If the children talk about Jesus and the things of God then you will know what goes on in that home. But if the child cusses and uses vulgar words, then you will also know what kind of atmosphere is in that home. “By their fruits you shall know them.” And we know that the fruits is what they have been taught. It is the teaching for the season they live.

And so we see that Jesus as our example, said, “I can of mine own self do nothing, What I say, What I do, I have been taught this by my Father. Even the Doctrine I speak is not mine, but His that sent me”.

Jesus told the Pharisees in John 8:38 “I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and you do that which you have seen with your Father.”

And so if we are to grow up into the Image of our Father, we must fist see Him, and then we must recognize what it is that He is doing, that we might conform to this image.

1 John 3:1-3¶ Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

Now this knowing comes as a result of seeing and experiencing the power and Presence of God. And what Paul is speaking of here is in reference to what he said in verse 9. So let’s read from verse 9 "For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known."

Now, I think we would all agree, that Jesus was our elder brother, and he set the example for what we should follow after in our growing into the stature of Sons and Daughters of God. He was our role model and our absolute for the Life that we desire.

Romans 8:29-30 Now the Weymouth translates it like this: “For those whom He has known beforehand He has also predestined to bear the likeness of His Son, that He might be the Eldest in a vast family of brothers,”

Therefore, we can see that Jesus was the role model that God, our Father, set before us. And Paul tells us himself that we are not to be like children in our thinking forever. He went on to say, 1 Corinthians 13:11 But when I became a man, I put away childish things...

Now, I would like to ask some of you younger folks in here this question. Why would a person put away childish things when they become a man? Because the condition of their mind no longer regards those things as important to them. And we have already seen the answer that Paul gave us. Because when we are a child we think and understand as a child and therefore we hold to childish things as well. But when we grow up in our thinking and understanding, then those things that we held to as children don’t have the same impact on us any longer. Therefore we have passed from that stage of life into another as we see in...

Malachi 3: 16-18Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard [it], and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name. 17 And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. 18 Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.

Peter was a pretty practical man and he tells us that when a person has suffered in their body, they no longer have a desire to sin, because their desires are changing with the growth of the spirit.

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;

And this is true. The suffering in the body is but a process that helps us to turn our real affections in the right direction. And we are looking at the process of maturing here tonight.

John 6:44-45 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.

John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

2 Tim 2:2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.

Hebrews 5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.

1 John 2:7 ¶ Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.

Let us pray...