Masterpiece 34
Inspiration
Pastor, Brian
Kocourek
1. THE MASTERPIECE 64-0705 35 Now,
a genuine sculptor is inspired, like a genuine poet or any genuine singer,
musician, whatever it might be. All real has to come by inspiration.
Michelangelo must've had the inspiration of what Moses really looked like, and
he caught it in his mind what Moses must've been. So he set forth on this great
piece of marble to cutting to the pattern, and bringing down, and honing down,
until he got to the real picture of what it must have been in his mind.
3.
So what does this word inspiration mean?
Well, the word inspiration simply means, “Stimulation
of the mind or emotions to a high level of feeling or activity.” Now, that is what it means in lay men’s
terms. But in theology, or in the Christian world it means something totally
different. The word inspiration in theological terms means, “Divine guidance or influence exerted directly on the mind
and soul of humankind.”
4.
Now, we know that the word inspiration comes from the root word inspire and the
very first definition in our American heritage dictionary for the word inspire
is, To affect, guide, or arouse by divine influence.
5.
So you see then that we are dealing with a subject that has its very source in
God. And since the word means to affect, guide, or arouse by Divine Influence,
then we are talking about the affect that God’s Spirit has upon man to guide
him, to affect him to action, or to simply influence him in the right
direction.
6.
In fact the Scriptures themselves which any Bible believer considers to be an absolute
concerning right and wrong and in general the way of life, they tell us that they were inspired by God.
In other words, they are God breathed.
7.
2 Timothy 3: 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness:
8.
Several other translation say, 2 Timothy 3: 16 All scripture is God breathed, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
9.
Now, the reason why it is God
breathed is because it is the Spoken Word of God, and to speak you must breathe
through your mouth. We breathe in and we breathe out, and you talk by breathing
out. So we are dealing with the essence and influence of God when we are
talking about inspiration as brother Branham is speaking of concerning music,
art, and poetry that is genuine and real.
10.
Now, then it would suffice for us to
say that, that which is not genuine and that which is not real is not inspired by God. For God is
“The Author” and “God is the Creator”. He does not pervert, nor does He copy,
for He is the Author and Finisher and besides Him there is no other.
You see when we
truly understand the sovereignty of God, then we will know with assurance that
God is The Author, and He is The Creator, and His first thought was His Best
Thought, and His First Words could not contradict His Final Words.
11. “He is God and He changes
not.” “God is the same yesterday, today
and forever”.
12.
Therefore in order to understand
this thought that brother Branham so beautifully presented to us, we must look
at it from two different angles.
13.
Number One, anything that is genuine
and real had its source in God.
14.
Number Two, anything that is not
genuine and real has been influenced by other than God.
15.
That’s John
3: 19-21 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.
16.
Now, the Apostle Paul told us in his
letter to the Galatians, the following.
17.
GALATIANS 1:1 ¶ Paul, an apostle
(now, the word apostle means one
that is sent, and then he tells us who sent him.), (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus
Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) (so we
are told that Jesus Christ sent Paul and not only Jesus Christ but God who
raised Jesus from the Dead sent him.) 2
And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of
18.
Then after his eulogy to God and His
Son, the Apostle begins to admonish the Galatians for their lack of holding to
the Faith.
19.
He says, 6 ¶ I
marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of
Christ unto another gospel: (Now, the one that called them into the
Grace of Christ is God himself. And Paul tells the Galatians that they have
left this Grace that God gave us through Christ, and then he tells us how they
left this grace. He says by another Gospel. Now this word another was
translated from the Greek word heteros which means of a different nature.
20.
Therefore, Paul is not telling them
that the other Gospel was one altogether different, but it simply had a
different nature to it. They were not believing a Gospel of some heathen sect,
or a Gospel of some other God, but simply the Gospel that they were believing
had a different nature to it than the Gospel he had brought to them. That is why he says, ) 7 Which is not another;(and
although this English translation chose the same word another, it does not mean
the same thing because it was translated from a different word altogether. The
Greek word here was the word allos, which means different altogether. And
notice Paul said the Gospel they were believing was different from the Gospel
he had preached in its nature although it was not an altogether different
Gospel. In other words, they were using
the same words that Paul used, but when they said it, the meaning was not the
same, and the nature behind what was being taught was not the same, and
therefore it was leading them away from the Message that Paul taught rather than
reinforcing that same Message.)
21.
Now, we find the same thing holds
true for today. They use the same words: Token, holy spirit,
Jesus Christ, etc. but their message is very different from the message that
William Branham brought to us. Although they use his very words in their
preaching, yet the nature of what they are saying is very different from what
he taught.
23.
That is why the Apostle Paul continues with, but there be some
that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. So we see
then what Paul is alluding to is that there are those who are teaching the same
Gospel but with a twist that in effect is perverting what he taught. And this
word pervert was taken from a Greek word metastrepho which means to turn
around, twist or pervert. Now the word meta strepho comes from two words, meta
which means to come behind, and the word strepho which means to turn from ones
course. Therefore the combination of the word was used by the Apostle Paul to
warn us of those that would come behind and turn the course of those who had
been following after Paul’s teaching to another course or nature than to what
Paul had been directing them towards.
24.
Now, we have also seen this in this
Message. William Branham came teaching a correct understanding of the Godhead
that there is One God and this One God had a Son, and that the Son was not God
Himself, but that God indwelt that Son, and the Body itself then was not Deity,
But Deity, (God Himself) indwelt that body, and he told us that the Son of God
could not be His Own Father, but had in fact become a dual being, because God
had entered him at the river Jordan and remained in Him until he left him in
Gethsemane.
25.
But men have come in, as the Apostle
Paul warned that men would either rise up from our midst or would enter in,
(from the outside) not sparing the flock, and would pervert the Gospel that He
was trying to get them to believe and understand.
26. ACTS
20:27 For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. 28 Take heed
therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost
hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased
with his own blood. 29 For I know this, that after my
departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
30 Also of your own selves shall men
arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. 31
Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to
warn every one night and day with tears.
27.
And thus the warning was given to
the Galatians in which he said, 8 But though we, or an angel from heaven,
preach any 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 gospel unto you than that ye have received,
let him be accursed. (Now, Paul is telling them that any Gospel that
is not the Gospel that He preached is a perverted Gospel. Then if Alpha has
become Omega, then William Branham would have had to come preaching the same
Gospel that the Apostle Paul preached and we know that He did.)
28. Then the
Apostle says, 10 ¶ For do I now
persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I
should not be the servant of Christ. (Now, what the Apostle Paul is
telling us here is that He preached what he preached because it was what God
told Him to preach. He did not preach to please men, but to please God. And any
man that preaches to please men is not a servant of God.)
29.
11 But I certify you, brethren,
that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. 12 For I
neither received it of man, neither was I taught [it], but by the revelation of
Jesus Christ.
31.
Therefore, we see then, that which
is genuine and real is from God, but that which is not
genuine nor real, must then be from another source. Now, in the Sermon
the greatest battle ever fought, brother Branham told us that the mind is where
the greatest battle between God and satan is taking place. And a person
literally can be used by both God and the Devil if they are not careful.
32.
David was a good example of that. He
wrote the Psalms which were inspired by the Spirit of the Living God. And yet
this same man got caught up into his flesh and sinned in his flesh against God
and against Uriah the husband of Bathsheba. And David became anointed in his
flesh by the devil.
33.
So here we have a man that was
anointed by God one moment and by satan another.
34.
The same thing happened with Peter.
In one instance we hear Jesus tell Him that flesh and blood had not revealed to Him that He
was the Christ, the Son of the Living God, but it was revealed to Him by God Himself, and
then in another moment, Jesus tells Him, “get thee behind me satan”, and right to his face.
So you see Peter himself was a complex man that was anointed one minute by God
and then the next by satan. And any vessel that God so chooses to use had
better be careful or satan will try to anoint him just
as sure as he had been anointed by God.
35.
Why, because satan in a perverter of the truth. Satan has no word
of his own, so he takes the word of God and twists it for his own benefit.
Man is a
spiritual being, and receives inspiration from God, but can also if not careful
be influenced by the devil. Now, some will say, “oh, no, a man that is used by
God could never be used by satan. And to say that you just don’t understand the
workings of the devil. When Jesus was filled with the very spirit and presence
of God in the river
36.
Now to be tempted, means that it had
to be attractive or inviting, and that is what sin is all about. It is
attractive and inviting, yet God sends us His Spirit to train us to resist that
which seems attractive but that we know is just wrong to do it. And we know
that Jesus was filled with the fullness of the Godhood and therefore did not
fall. But it still was temptation or the scripture told us an error. In the
Proverbs we are told, there is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the
end thereof is the way of death. So sin appears attractive or it would not be
inviting. Yet God gives us His Spirit and His Wisdom to be able to overcome
those inviting attractions that lead to death spiritually and physically. David
was inspired to do things that he thought the inspiration came from God but it
didn’t because had it come from God, God would have given the inspiration first
to His servant Nathan because he was God’s Prophet. Cain had a right sacrifice but it was out of
season and for the wrong purpose.
37.
From His sermon, I have heard but now I see 65-1127E P:40
Brother Branham said, There's David, just as inspired as he could be, all the people
shouting and glorifying God, for a reason that seemed exactly Scripture, but he was the wrong person. That inspiration should have come to
Nathan, not David. See? He never even consulted Nathan. You see what
happened? See? God said He does nothing till He reveals It to His servants the
prophets. And Job was His prophet in this day. Now, only thing God had done to
Job: What always give him wisdom and His Word and inspiration, he could get no
inspiration. But he knowed all of his mechanics... He had offered the
burnt-offering; he had done everything
he knowed to do was right, but he couldn't get a word from God. But the Devil
couldn't move him. There you are. Now, there you are when you're prayed
for. You don't have to run back through a line, or go let somebody else pray
for you. When you know you've done
exactly what God told you to do (See?), then wait for that channel of
inspiration to open up to you and "Now, I'm healed." When it drops in there, then it's all over.
Oh, you don't need no prayer lines, nothing else; it's over. It's been revealed
to you. See?
38.
Now, that is the problem we have so
many times in the Christian Faith, and let’s face it the same problem is in
many faiths. The Muslim gets inspiration and thinks it’s from God, and so he
kills those who oppose him. The Pentecostal Believer many times confuses his or
her own inspiration with being inspired from God, and because they can not tell
the difference they think it’s from God and so then in many cases we find them
doing just the opposite from what God’s word tells them to do. How many people
have fallen under lust and yet believe that was the spirit of God telling them
to love that person.
39.
Remember how brother Branham told
the story of the man who would travel with a woman from his church to different
places. He thought God had ordained for it to happen, but what did happen is
that he ended up leaving his wife and children for this woman, and then wanted
to say it was God’s will to do so.
40. . Look, the Holy
Spirit will never influence you away from His own Word. In the Book of Job 32: 8 we read, “But there is a
spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding”. And
we showed you a few weeks ago that sin is a result of not understanding.
41. Even Jesus
told us in JOHN
42. And the
Apostle John told us how to discern whether the spirit that is trying to
influence you is from God or not. He said, Give it the word test. He said, “try the Spirit”
but how often do people test the spirit that is influencing them, or better
yet, the spirit that is inspiring them. Because when we are inspired we feel
good about it. No one feels bad when they are inspired. Therefore, why would
you try the spirit that is inspiring you. Yet that is
just exactly what God said we must do.
Did not God tell us that he would allow men to rise up who will be dreamers
of dreams and things just to try us and test us to see whether we will stick
with his word or not?
43. As a pastor for nearly
24 years I have personally seen many a shipwreck among men and women who
thought they were justified in some action they did because they thought that
God was leading them to do the thing that they did, and yet in every instance
it was so far from the Word of God that they just could not see it. They
thought it was ok with God because they felt it was ok. And by going on their feelings
they left the Word of God that was very apparent that what they were going to
do was against His Word. But just like
Eve in the garden, satan whispers, “God would not punish you for that. Surely
you won’t die? And yet they do. They run the red light and then the next red
light is a bit easier to run through and finally they think nothing of
disobeying the Word of God.
44. There is a
way that seemeth right unto a man, but the way thereof is the way of death. Yet
it seems right, but it isn’t. It may seem
right to the little teenager that they have a right to back talk mother because
after all this is
45. Brother
Branham said in his sermon Hear ye Him 56-0930
P:14 Brother Branham said, Now, when a man is inspired and he reads the
inspired Word, the two inspirations together gives a result. Now, you can
never... No matter how well you study the
Word, It'll never do you no good till you're inspired yourself. It takes
your inspiration with... The Word's
already inspired. So what we need today is an inspiration over us, God
sweeping down with a new inspiration and breathing over us His power, and His
love, and Himself, that it might inspire us to quicken us and waken us to His
Word. And then the Word being brought
into that spirit of inspiration, then you'll see miracles happen, and things
take place, because the two just comes together.
46. But we must
make sure that the source of our inspiration is God Himself or else we could
fall for the inspiration of the devil. For brother Branham told us that if it
is genuine an real it is inspired from God, but then if it isn’t the
inspiration comes from the devil. That is why there is genuine inspired music
to worship God and then the radio eaves are full of the devil’s inspiration
upon music as well. So how do we tell if our inspiration is from God or the
devil? Give it the Word test.
Jesus said, “Not everyone who saith Lord, Lord shall enter in, but he
that doeth the will of my Father. And the Apostle Paul taught us
that the Just shall live by Faith, and he also taught us there is but One Faith
and that is the Faith of the Son of God. His Faith that He had in His Father.
That’s the One and only Faith that we can go by.
47. By faith Moses 58-0720M P:17 Now, we lose
our glory, if we lose faith. Now, if we get away from
faith, then we take the church into an intellectual realm. And many
times, it's been thought amongst people, that because a congregation was large,
and they had great churches, great steeples, and a great lot of well-dressed
and groomed people, and a lot of finances, that they could afford such things,
we many times, thought that was inspiring--that this certain church must be
inspired. Or we've often referred to different ministers, who get out on the
field and have great gatherings of crowds, and we think, sometimes, that they
are the signs of inspiration. But that's not altogether the truth. That's human
inspiration. But the real inspiration
comes by doing the will of God (See?), whether it is a one or just a
handful. Whether it is a big church or a small church, it matters not. Whether
he is a great eloquent speaker or just a man that hardly knows his ABC's, it
doesn't matter. It depends on the
message that he brings, whether it is inspired by the Word of God or is it
inspired by intellectuals conceptions of human inspiration. Some people can
be inspired because of an eloquent speaker. That doesn't make it right.
Sometimes they're inspired, because the man is so trained, till he could put
his point over. That doesn't mean that it's of God. See? It's only through
God's everlasting, eternal, blessed Word can we receive inspiration, and that's
given by the Holy Ghost. By faith we receive it.