Masterpiece 35
Holding to the Vision
Pastor, Brian
Kocourek
3. And notice how he says
that Michelangelo stayed right with the vision until it was completed, until it
stood before him in reality. Now, remember, brother Branham has emphasized
several times how that Michelangelo had to work to the Vision, and he
emphasized how that he held to the Vision and kept working to the Vision for
many, many years.
4.
Therefore, let’s top and think about this for a moment. Here we have a man,
Michelangelo who had a vision in his mind of what Moses looked like. Then he
found the material in which to make this image come forth into reality.
5.
They say that Michelangelo turned down many, many blocks of Marble until he
found the block that he could see this vision of Moses in that huge block of
marble. Michelangelo had to plan
beforehand, just where to begin his work on that image, and he had to plan out
where each stroke of his chisel would hit that piece of marble, to fashion it,
and shape it without destroying it altogether.
6. Now, God
promised us in 1 Corinthians 10: 13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is
common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be put to the test
above that which you are able to bear; but will with the being put to the test,
also He will make a way for you to escape, that you may be able to bear it.
7.
Chip by chip God chisels away at this hardened clay of ours until the image of
His vision becomes a reality in it. Just as Michelangelo had to control the
amount of power he used each time he struck that great block of Marble, so too
God has promised that he would not put us to the test any more than we are able
to bear.
Why?
Because, if Michelangelo hit that Marble with too much power, it could ruin the
entire piece of Marble and thus destroy any prospects of the image he had in
his mind from becoming a reality in that stone.
8.
Thus we find that God too, must not place upon His elect any burden greater
than what that person is able to bear. Otherwise it might destroy the material
in which He is sculpturing out his own Masterpiece.
9.
Identified masterpiece of God 64-1205 P:84 He's making a bride. Yes, sir. He's hewing the chips now, chopping
off the world. Oh, church joining, and creeds, and denominations, and dogmas
all has to be cut away from the church, their formal ideas, their indifference,
their doctrines and things. Come back and let the Master pick up the bow. Let
the Master pick you up in His hands, strike the Word, say, "Jesus Christ
is the same yesterday, today, and forever." Say, "Amen, Lord. Make
me, mold me, make me, Lord, what I should be." Then there'll be a
different thing. Then, "If I be lifted up from the earth, I'll draw all
men unto Me." Yes, sir. He's cutting you out now, cutting you down to His
Word only, cutting all the creeds and dogmas and everything away from you,
trying to get back to a bride for the Son, another masterpiece part of the
Word.
10.
Now, let’s look at those chips that come off that old block of Stone. Each chip
is made from the same material, but it was not seen in the Vision as being a
part of the finished work.
11
Resurrection the 53-1205 P:35
Now,
that is truth. And that's where our world is--our churches are failing today.
We're trying to get into our pulpit... You people who are electing your
pastors, you're trying to get the very smartest, newest, freshest thing out of
the seminary, that you can find; and sometimes that's the worst thing you could
have. Right. What we need today is a man with an experience of God who'll lay
the axe to the root of the tree and let the chips fall where away and preach
the unadulterated Gospel if the church turns him out.
12.
Faith once delivered to saints 53-1129A P:86 He preached the Gospel uncompromised. He throwed, like John, the
axe to the root of the tree, let the chips fall where they wanted to. What we
need today is an old preacher like John the Baptist. (Amen.), that'll lay the
ax to the root of the tree, and lay it on the line. Line up with God's Word or
line out. Amen.
13.
I like the way brother Branham is using this illustration of Michelangelo and
all his hard work keeping in his mind all the time the vision, and all his
efforts going into bringing forth the reality to the Vision. And if the Five Fold ministry would keep in
mind the Vision that was given to us by God through His Prophet, we would use
the sharp two edged Sword to chip here and chip there until we see the image of
the Bride of Jesus Christ in the local assembly.
14.
Influences 64-0215 P:10 Many times
then, they got a board there. If that pastor would happen to hit a little wire
that was kind of little contrary, or say something about it, that board would
have him up. His name would go up to headquarters, and he'd be excommunicated.
So, you see, it's become a meal ticket, and instead of anointed servant to
preach the Gospel. See? That's right. It becomes a thing that they want a...
it's a meal ticket. They got to stay there, get good pay. Listen, brother. God
have mercy upon a man that would sell his birthright for that...?...We need men
that'll handle the Gospel barehanded, not with any kind of a denominational
glove on. Just lay it out there the way it's wrote, and let the chips fall
wherever they want. "If the shoe fits," Mama used to say, "wear
it. If it don't trim your corn." Now, so we have those things that we
ought to be listening to.
15.
Hearing receiving and acting 60-0607 P:16 So we find out, that in every revival that's ever been born in the world, it produces twins. That's
right. Every revival has twins. They have a bunch in there that's carnal
believers and a bunch of spiritual believers. Every revival produces that: an
Esau and Jacob. And as they go along, first thing you know, the carnal begins
to think, "Well, these guys are getting off of the deep end. I better
separate myself from them." They go back to the intellectual part. They
want a pastor that'll speak to them of pleasant things. They don't want that
Spirit-filled pastor, that'll obey the Holy Spirit from the platform, just
preach the Word just like It is. As John said, "Lay the axe to the root of
the tree and let the chips fall where it will." Most of the churches today
will vote that out of their pulpit. That's right. It'll come a separation,
always does that. It did it in the Methodist age; it did it in the Baptist age;
it did it in the Pentecostal age; it'll do it in every age.
16.
We should keep in mind what the apostle Paul told us in Philippians 1: 6 “Being confident
of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it
until the day of Jesus Christ:”
17.
Therefore when we hear the Apostle Paul warn us that the
evidence that we are at the end is that there shall be a falling away, we
should not be surprised, Because if there were no chips leaving the block of
marble, the statue of a perfect man would never come into view.
18.
Shalom 64-0112 P:98 And sometime it
takes hard trials to break the bands of the world off of us. Sometimes God lets
us have a little trial, you know, to see what we'll do, to take you out of the
world.
19.Therefore
when the Apostle Paul tells us In 2 Thessalonians 2:
3 Let
no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come
a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
20.
What I like about what Brother
Branham has said here is that the hard and determined work of the sculptor is
done so with the vision in mind, and therefore there must be chips falling away
because if they did not, then the statue would not be progressing toward the
reality of the vision, or completion. Therefore when the True Five Fold
ministry sees people leaving their churches for whatever reason the people may
claim, it does not matter what their excuse is, for that has nothing to do with
their leaving. John told us in 1 John 2 that,
they went
out from us because they were not of us, for had they been of us they would no
doubt have stayed with us, therefore they went out to manifest that they were
not of us.
21.
In other words those chips that
leave the block were not meant to be there for the fulfillment of the statue.
That does not mean they were not good people. They just were not in the vision
of the end product to begin with. So it is necessary that those chips be
removed one by one until the statue of a perfect man can come into
manifestation.
22.
Hebrews Chapter 1 57-0821 P:45
Now
look, Christ is the Head of all things. And He's the Head of the Church. And
did you ever see a big diamond? A great big diamond that is chipped right, it's
got little chips knocked off of it, chipped off of it. That makes a correct
diamond. What's the chips for? The real diamond way it comes out, it's been
bruised.
23.
Believest thou this? 50-0115 P:41 God, give us men who'll stand for the truth
(Amen.), regardless of who's setting close or who it is. Let the chips fall
where they want to, and lay the Gospel to the hewing line. That's right. Call
black black, and white's white. Right's right and wrong's wrong. If you're not
right, then get right. It'll straighten you up, make you look different, act
different, live different, be different. The Holy Ghost is good for you. It'll
straighten you out.
24.
Perseverant 62-0729 P:71 If we had
preachers in the pulpit would take them gloves off of the ecclesiastic, and
throw that Word out there, and tell them the truth, and cut the chips, and let
them fall where they want to... The thing of it is, we... That is right.
25.
Now, that is how I see it from what
Brother Branham has illustrated here for us in this sermon the Masterpiece.
26.
Abraham's grace covenant 61-0317 P:56 Go back in Galatians the 4th chapter and pick it up there. Paul
talking there. He placed that son. What did He do. He had a ceremony of
adoption placing that son. And then after he seen that son was going to do it,
he's going to keep the promise, nobody's going to keep him from it, he's just
like his daddy, he going to stay right with it (Cut and let the chips fall
wherever they want to.), he pulls no punches... And he says, "I can put
trust in that boy." So he performs adoption. And what does he do? After he
performed the adoption, that child is a placed son then in the father's kingdom
and has full, equal rights to it. In otherwise, if he wrote a check, his name
is just as good on the check, as his daddy's was. Then he's adopted, or placed.
God did the same thing to Jesus upon
27.
Therefore, as we see the exodus from
the local congregation in this late hour, we should picture in our minds the
chips coming off the block one by one until the block, or the local church has
become more defined in its representation of the vision God had in His Mind. So
it really does not matter what takes them out, the fact that they are out means
that they are not in the finished Statue.
28.
Smyrnaean church age 60-1206 P:41 The poor church
has got so many societies that it can't even preach the Gospel no more. Pastor
can't have but twenty minutes, and he has to talk about something else then.
See? If it don't, the deacon board will meet him. Yes, sir. O brother, what
does a good pastor have to do today? Just do the best he can to stand out and
cut the limbs where they want to, and let the chips fall in where they want to;
and sling it out there. That's all. Yes, sir. That's right. Don't spare nobody;
just preach the Word and stay right with It, just hammer right on away. They
throw you in jail, preach it in jail. They put you on out...?... Wherever you
go, just keep on going, preaching. That's right. Now, that's what's happened.
See, they're smothering it out.
29.
1 Timothy 4: 1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the
latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits,
and doctrines of devils;
30.
Therefore this falling away from The Faith, that we have seen
for the past dozen years or so should not be a discouragement to us who have
not fallen away, but rather it should be a sign of encouragement to us because, we know in our minds and we see the
evidence that those pieces that are falling away from the church are simply
chips that were not ordained to be a part of the whole stature of a perfect man
that was seen in the vision to begin with, and have come forth into full
manifestation of the reality of the vision becoming alive.
31.
Matthew 7: 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall
enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which
is in heaven.
32.
And the Apostle Paul said in, Galatians
5: 7 Ye did run well; who did hinder
you that ye should not obey the truth? Now, it is interesting to
note that the word hinder was translated as such from the Greek word anakopto
and the word “ana” means a “apiece”, and the word kopto means to chop or cut
into. Therefore Paul is saying who has chopped into you, or who has cut in on you,
leaving you to fall behind or fall away from the race.
33.
Greatest news flash in history 61-0424 P:45 Lord Jesus,
sometimes I wonder if I'm not beside myself, when I think of seeing the
horrible curse that's coming on this world, when I think of the churches that's
trying to be entertainers, trying to copy after the world. Lord God, oh, You
said, "Father, I pray that you take them out of the world." Take the
world out of them, keep them from the world. You prayed that they might keep
Your disciples from the world, and here they are going right back to the world,
trying to compare with the world. God,
grant, help Lord; somebody will catch the message; surely, they'll know.
You're the same yesterday, today, and forever. You're not dead but alive
forevermore. We believe You, Lord. And how can a man believe unless You call
him? Jesus said, "No man can come to Me, except My Father calls him first.
And all My Father has called, will come." And we know that's right. They
will come. And it's just our duty to preach it and let the chips fall wherever
they wish to, and the sheep hear the voice.
34.
Expectation 61-0205M P:32 So Simeon... of
a great reputation... Don't make any difference about reputation. That's what...
too much is getting to our churches today, even to our Pentecostal churches.
Too much fashions, too much rep... stuff, like we have great reputations, you
know, in the society, and things. What we need is an old fashioned, back woods,
sky blue, sin killing religion. What we need is gun-barrel straight, something
that'll preach the gospel without compromise, and let the chips fall wherever
they wish to, and chop into it. We need men of God, stand with power, get the church back into the place where it ought to
be. Something's wrong. We realize that. We all know it. We're aware of it. Our churches is falling away, getting weak. What we need is not
a new organization to spring up, what we need is not another latter rain; what
we need is back to faith in God's Word and God's Bible. A soul-shaking
experience back in the church, that's what we need. A
cleanup, a straighten-up, all through our churches and our organizations.
Quit drawing those boundary lines, just this and that.
35.
Thirsting for life 58-0611 P:55
That's
what's been the matter with the church: not on the guard. Something's wrong.
Oh, Brother Caddie used to sing a song: "We let down the bars. We
compromise with sin. We let down the bars. The sheep got out, but how did the
goats get in?" Let down the bars, that was all, begin to compromise. The
congregation, voting for their pastor, would take some little slicker, in the
stead of some man that was really an old fashion, hell-fire and brimstone
preacher, that'd handle the gospel with his bare hands instead of
36.
Mark of Christ 55-0312 P:56
Here
not long ago a little old girl was going to sing in a choir for me. And she
said she wouldn't come because she couldn't get one of them kinky manicures for
her hair. And she had to sing in a choir. And when I heard that, I said,
"You couldn't sing if you wanted to now." That's right. Brother, I'm
an old fashion preacher that believes this: that a man's got to be proved
before he walks behind my pulpit. You take some of these guys our here in a
roadhouse playing their guitar tonight, and tomorrow night come to the altar,
and the next night preaching the Gospel; it's a disgrace to the Holy Spirit.
Amen. John said, "Bring forth fruit meet for repentance." We need
some more Baptist preachers like John, that'll lay the hewing line to the
Gospel, let the chips fall wherever it may be. Amen. We've got