Be Careful How You Hear
John 1: 1
- 4, ¶ In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2
The same was in the beginning with God. 3 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. 14
And the Word was made flesh, and
dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of
the Father,) full of grace and truth.
and 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.
33 Christ Revealed
in His Own Word 65-0822 "Christ and the Word is the same. ...We should never pray to change God's mind; we
should pray to change our mind. God's mind don't need any changing"
[Deut 6: 4-9] KJV
{7}NIV Impress them on your children. Talk of them when you sit in
your home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get
up. {7} Amplified And these words which I am commanding you this day shall be
first in your mind heart; then you shall whet and sharpen them, so to make them
penetrate, and teach and impress them diligently upon the minds and hearts of
your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you
walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up." And
so we see that to do so they were to place pictures and Scriptures and all
sorts of things that the children will actually see with their eyes and when
they see with their eyes it will have an influence in their minds and in their
hearts.
Brother Branham
preached a Message "Christ Revealed in HIS Own Word."
Now that is an absolute. If Christ is Revealed in
HIS OWN Word, then the Word of Christ is the only way in which He is or
will be Revealed. So then if we are to get to know Christ, if He is to
become revealed to us, it must come only one way and that is through His Own
Word. So then His Word is the Absolute or ultimate if we are to get to know
Him.
We
should never pray to change God's mind; we should pray to change our mind.
God's mind don't need any changing.
[Mal 3: 6] "For I am the Lord and I change not"
Also we read from
[Hebrews 13:8] "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today,
and forever."
Now let me first
explain what this means that God is the Word. In [Proverbs
23:7] we are told, "as a man thinketh
in His Heart, so is he." This
body is not you nor any part of it. Brother Branham
said it is like an old coat that we wear. Well, my coat is not me. So what you
are is what your thoughts are.
Matt
John 1: 1 that tells us "In the beginning was the Word and the Word
was with God and the Word was God." To get to know God,
it must come through His Word, and since He can not change, then we can
establish the point and that Christ is
Revealed in His Own Word, because
after all, Christ and the Word is the same. Now if You are revealed
by your own words, then Christ is Revealed in the same manner. Therefore, to
get to know Christ we must get to know His Word. And that is why God has given
us His Word. Could you imagine God wanting for us to know Him and not telling
us anything about Himself? Then our knowledge of Him would be left up to our
own imagination.
Let me put it to you
this way. When a young man sees a young girl and he likes what he sees, what
doe she do? He tries to get to know her. But what if he never talks to her? Can
he get to know her? Not really. He may say that he has fallen in love with her
without ever talking to her, but how does he know that it is her that he is in
love with? It might just be his own imagination that he is in love with. He
imagines what she is like and so he thinks on these thoughts and then he falls
in love with his ideals of what she should be like. But what happens if he
dates her and they never talk? He will go on thinking she is what his mind
imagines her to be. And what if they get married and they have never really
talked and communicated to each other. Then he will be in for the shock of his
life when he marries her and then finds out later that she is not what he
thought she was.
So you see, we express ourselves by what we say and what we do. That is the real person in us doing those things and
saying those things. This shell of a body is only a housing in which the real
person in us lives. You do not no me by what I look like but by what I say and
do. My expression reveals to you the real me. And how often people marry
thinking that they will be able to change the one they are married to. It does
not work that way.
And so we see that not only is God revealed by His own Word, but we
are also revealed by our own words. But
what if those words are not true? Or what if we were told words that were not
true? Or what if we only hear what we want to hear? Then the description of the
One being revealed will be wrong. Then that one will
not be truly revealed will he? Ex: Man looking for wife, given wrong picture
and wrong description. Eve was seduced. By what? A
lie! Early church left the One who bough them for another. How? By deception.
Galatians
1: 6-9 ¶ I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him
that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7 Which is not
another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of
Christ. 8 But
though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that
which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9 As
we said before, so say I now again, If any [man] preach any other gospel unto
you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
2 Cor 11: 1-4, ¶ Would to God ye could
bear with me a little in [my] folly: and indeed bear with me. 2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have
espoused you to one husband, that I may present [you as] a chaste virgin to
Christ. 3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the
serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your
minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 4 For if he that cometh preacheth
another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or [if] ye receive another spirit,
which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye
might well bear with [him]. (you put up with it so easily). 5 ¶ For I suppose I was not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles. And
now, let’s read 13-15 For such [are] false
apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of
Christ. 14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of
light. 15 Therefore [it is] no great thing if his ministers also be transformed
as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
The great falling away
happens because of the gullibility of those people who are perishing.
[2Thess 2: 5-12] KJV
then Wuest speaking
of Satan in this hour he says, "whose
coming and presence is in the sphere of every kind of wicked deception that is
geared to the gullibility of those who are perishing, this gullibility being
caused by the fact that they did not accept the love for the truth tot he end
that they might be saved. And because of this God sends them a deluding
influence resulting in their believing THE lie, in order that they all might be
judged who did not believe the truth but took delight in wickedness."
So you see, God knows who already believes and who
does not. And so the purpose of the wrong influence is to give those who do not
believe an opportunity to expose their unbelief.
John 3:
16-21 For God so loved the
world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into
the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is
condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only
begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into
the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were
evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth
the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
21 But he that
doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they
are wrought in God.
They are already
condemned. But notice those who have their source in God,
they can not help but to come to the Truth. Most people have not a clue as to who or what God is? What they have is based solely upon
their own imagination, or the imagination of another
whether it be a churches position, or the opinion of a priest, rabbi or some
minister.
CHAP.
VIII.--How the Valentinians pervert the Scriptures to
support their own pious opinions.
1. Such, then, is their
system, which neither the prophets announced, nor the Lord taught, nor the
apostles delivered, but of which they boast that beyond all others they have a
perfect knowledge. They gather their views from other sources than the
Scriptures;(4) and, to use a common proverb, they strive to weave ropes of
sand, while they endeavor to adapt with an air of probability to their own
peculiar assertions the parables of the Lord, the sayings of the prophets, and
the words of the apostles, in order that their scheme may not seem altogether
without support. In doing so, however, they disregard the order and the
connection of the Scriptures, and so far as in them lies, dismember and destroy
the truth. By transferring passages, and dressing them up anew, and making one
thing out of another, they succeed in deluding many through their wicked art in
adapting the oracles of the Lord to their opinions. Their manner of acting is
just as if one, when a beautiful image of a king has been constructed by some
skilful artist out of precious jewels, should then take this likeness of the man
all to pieces, should rearrange the gems, and so fit them together as to make
them into the form of a dog or of a fox, and even that but poorly executed; and
should then maintain and declare that this was the beautiful image of the king
which the skilful artist constructed, pointing to the jewels which had been
admirably fitted together by the first artist to form the image of the king,
but have been with bad effect transferred by the latter one to the shape of a
dog, and by thus exhibiting the jewels, should deceive the ignorant who had no
conception what a king's form was like, and persuade them that that miserable
likeness of the fox was, in fact, the beautiful image of the king. In like
manner do these persons patch together old wives' fables, and then endeavor, by
violently drawing away from their proper connection, words, expressions, and
parables whenever found, to adapt the oracles of God to their baseless
fictions.
Mark
what was being said, to give an ear to a teaching or
teacher with a view toward understanding.
Matt
Notice he said we do
not hear with our ears nor do we see with our eyes. These are only outer senses
that send stimulus to our mind. But what we hear with and what we see only
brings a stimulus that enter into our mind or spirit
where we have five other senses.
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Body |
Spirit |
Soul |
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FiveOuterSenses
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Five Inner Senses |
Choice |
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1) See |
1) Memory |
Believe or disbelieve |
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2) Taste |
2) Imagination |
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3) Feel |
3) Reasoning |
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4) Smell |
4) Conscience |
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5) Hear |
5) Affection |
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|
1) Memory = the ability to retain or revive in the mind past thoughts, images, ideas, etc. |
|
2) Imagination = the power to form( conceive or picture ) mental images of what is not actually present. |
|
3) Reasoning = The ability to draw conclusions or inference from assumed facts. |
|
4) Conscience = The moral sense. Knowledge from within. Inner thoughts and feelings. |
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5) Affection = The emotional state of being, disposition. The prevailing aspects of our true nature. |
Now that we have the
description of these five Outer and Five Inner senses,
I want you to be able to see how it is that the Outer actually Govern and
control the Five Inner senses. And so with this in mind, let’s look at each of
these, but let’s start with the Outer sense of Sight because after all, brother
Branham said, from the message [Blind Bartimaeus
And so with this in
mind let’s begin to learn for ourselves how the sense of sight not only in can
govern the other outer senses, but how it also controls the inner senses as
well. What we want to do is to see for ourselves the correlation between these senses
and how the outer governs even the inner. We really do not have enough time to
study how each of the Five outer senses controls the
five inner senses, but if I can establish for you the control of sight over the
inner senses then you can use the same laws and principals for sight and apply
them to the other outer senses as well.
Now, Sight,... What is it? Simply put, sight is what wee see. There
are three types of sight. Outer, inner and a sixth sense
which has to do with the soul.
1). We have Physical sight which is visual and one of the
five outer senses.
2). We also possess Intuitive sight which we call Insight
because it has to do with the inner senses which come from the spirit and which
is a mental sight. This Insight is a mental awareness of the inner nature of
things.
1 Cor 2: 11a For
what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit
of man which is in him?
3). We have Spiritual Sight which is Revelatory and is
possessed only within the soul of the Believer who alone has this Spiritual
sight which is also called Faith. This Comes only from God .
Matt 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed [it] unto
thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
1 Cor 2: 10-13 But
God hath revealed [them] unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knoweth the things of
a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so
the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of
God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which
is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13
Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth;
comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
Now let’s go to the
Scriptures this evening and see how that Physical Sight (
which is an outer sense) can have an effect on the inner senses.
Genesis 3:
6-7 ¶ And
when the woman saw that the tree [was] good for food, and that it [was]
pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make [one] wise, she took of
the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he
did eat. 7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they
[were] naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Here we see that
something happened to them and they now knew that they were naked. something physical happened to them that caused them to see
things in a different perspective than they had seen those things before.
Deut 6:
6-9 7 NIV Impress them on
your children. Talk of them when you sit in your home and when you walk along
the road, when you lie down and when you get up. {7} Amplified And these words which I am commanding you this day shall be
first in your mind heart; then you shall whet and sharpen them, so to make them
penetrate, and teach and impress them diligently upon the minds and hearts of
your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you
walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up."
To do so they were to
place visual stimuli (Scriptures) and things that the children would actually
see with their eyes, and when they see with their eyes it will have an
influence in their minds and in their hearts. So here we see a positive picture
of using and controlling the five senses in a way which will control and guide
the minds of the children and actually bring about an inner desire in them for
the things of God. We see how then that sight can control the inner senses...
In other words we begin to superimpose the Revealed Word upon everything we
see, taste feel smell and hear.
|
1) Memory = the ability to retain or revive in the mind past thoughts, images, ideas, etc. |
|
2) Imagination = the power to form( conceive or picture ) mental images of what is not actually present. |
|
3) Reasoning = The ability to draw conclusions or inference from assumed facts. |
|
4) Conscience = The moral sense. Knowledge from within. Inner thoughts and feelings. |
|
5) Affection = The emotional state of being, disposition. The prevailing aspects of our true nature. |
Now let’s look to the
scripture for some other illustrations of how sight will control these five
inner senses.
Numbers
15: 38-40 Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them
that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their
generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: 39
And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and
remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not
after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring:
40 That ye may remember, and do all my
commandments, and be holy unto your God.
Here we see that the
sight is used to control our memory so that we do not prostitute ourselves to
other things.
NIV "You will have the tassels to look at and so you will remember all
the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves
by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. Then you will remember to
obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God. "
Here we see God
employing the use of sight to control the heart and minds by charging our
memories with stimulus that in turn causes us to reflect within ourselves what
our journey is all about. Proverbs 17: 24
NIV A
discerning man keeps wisdom in view, but a fools eyes wander to the ends of the
earth
Now what I am trying to
establish here is that you see and hear with your mind, and we read in Mark
Mark
Luke
1 Timothy 4:15-16 Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may
appear to all. 16Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; Doctrine : Didoskalia : Doctrine, teaching, instruction...continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt
both save thyself, and them that hear thee. Notice
that we are told that it will save both you and those who will hear you.
Proverbs 22:6 ¶ Train up a child in the way he should go: and
when he is old, he will not depart from it. And so a child will always revert back to the
way he or she was trained. The filter we have, the measuring stick we have is
based upon what information we filter it through. And so we see that every
thing we know we were taught by someone. Every fact we use to make our
decisions with is based upon what we were told. And the world is under such
delusions today that people take what is only theory and believe it for Gospel.
Ex: Darwin and evolution, Landing on the moon, Brother Branham said, they’ll never
do it. Videos show heavy gravity. No booster rockets to get them back, etc.
What about star wars, It was a bluff to bankrupt
Russia. etc.
I used this
illustration in a church who had sat under false teaching for so many years
that the people did not know what truth was. I hid a Lamb under a blanket and
told them that The Gentiles worship what they know not, as Jesus has said. I
told them to guess what was under the blanket because that is what most people
do concerning faith. It is only a guess to them. I then read to them 7
attributes which described what I had hid under the blanket. Before I did,
though, I told one group that what was under the blanket was a Bunny Rabbit.
Another Group I told it was a Collie dog. Both Groups then thinking they knew
what I had under the blanket, were actually blinding themselves to the
attributes which were expressed because they read into them what they wanted to
hear. That attributes were: 1) Four legs 2) beautiful outer coat 3)
Gentle nature 4) it’s nature is to follow 5) It can jump small fences 6)
it is sacrificial in it’s nature 7) A Shepherd
boys best friend . When each
attribute was read each group reinforced their error with the hearing of the
attribute. Finally a group that I had told to be completely open until they
heard all the attributes, said it was a Lamb and they
alone were right. You should have seen the faces of those others. They were mad
when they found out they had been duped. But I told them I purposely duped them
in this illustration that they may never be duped again.
John 8: 37
– 47 I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to
kill me, because my word hath no place in you. 38 ¶ I speak that which I have seen with my
Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father. 39 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is
our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were
Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. 40 But
now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard
of God: this did not Abraham. 41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they
to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one
Father, [even] God. 42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would
love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but
he sent me. 43 Why do ye not
understand my speech? [even] because ye cannot hear my
word. 44 Ye are of [your] father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye
will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth,
because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a
lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and
the father of it. 45 And because I tell [you] the truth, ye believe me not. 46 ¶ Which of you convinceth
me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? 47 He that is of
God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear [them]
not, because ye are not of God.
Matt
Now, if God were to
come in this day and walk down the street, there is no way that you would know
it was Him unless he began to open his mouth and talk to you and by words He
would declare Himself to you. Because, you can only know someone by their mind
- what they think and what they say. Even the things they do are a
manifestation of what they are thinking. Brother Branham said,
Eve had to first think adultery before she could perform it. You must first
think of lying before you do it.
If you hear a false
description you will be looking for a false person. That is why Paul told us in
2 Cor 11:1-4
that the people had become seduced to believe another Jesus, because they
received so openly another Gospel.
And yet it was not an
altogether different Godpel, only one that had become
perverted.
Galatians
1: 6-9 ¶ I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him
that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7 Which is not
another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of
Christ. And a perverted Gospel is one of a different nature 8 But
though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that
which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9 As we said before, so say I now again,
If any [man] preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let
him be accursed.
3). Therefore how do we know what is the Correct Word of
God? VINDICATION is the only way. And how does
God VINDICATE His Word? God interprets His Own Word by bringing it to pass.
Brother Branham spoke of vindication well over 2,270 times and the word comes
from a Latin word vindicatius. This
word comes from two Latin words, vim or vin which
means to use force and the word discrere’ which comes
from the root word diction which means to express by words. The words
together form the word as we know it vindicate which means to clear from
criticism or suspicion, in other words, to prove and back up. Therefore we see
that the very presence of God on the seen is to back up the message that He
gave His Prophet.