Discern Your Thoughts
Spiritual Building-Stone No. 108

Hebrews 4:12-13, "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do."

"Brother Branham, please explain how a person knows if he is thinking his own thoughts, or if the devil is placing thoughts in his mind to make him think wrong, especially, if you know you do not want to think them.”

Then, if it's contrary to the Word, it's the devil's thinking. If it's with the Word, it's God thinking. If it's the wrong thoughts, it's the devil. If it's good thoughts of the Word and of God, it's God's thinking.

The Prophet for our day was asked further: "If the case may be that the devil is placing thoughts in your mind about a certain thing, how may it be overcome or got rid of?”

Take the very vice versa from it. If the devil makes you think that you are... If you know you're a Christian, and he tries to make you think you're not a Christian, just take the versa, say, "I am a Christian." As long as your ex-perience matches in God's Word say, "I'm a Christian." Anything else, the same way.

Christ is the King of king and Lord of lords, the anointed Messiah. The believer holds to that Word. God and His Word is One. I and my word are one. You and your word are one. Then don't lean, use your own thoughts; use His thought, then you're a part of God because His Word and you be-came the same. See? Then you're in the Kingdom.

Then we are God's Word made manifest. That's how God wants His church: is to manifest Himself. How can He manifest Himself unless His Own Seed is in that person? How can you use your own thoughts and God mani-fest Himself through you?

But that's exactly what God requires: forsake all and follow Him. That's God's requirement. We've got to do it too. Sometime we've got to forsake our very thoughts. If our thoughts about anything is contrary to God's Word, we've got to forsake our own thinking and follow Him. And the only way we can follow Him is follow His Word, obey It. And God's request, and God's requirement is that we forsake all and follow Him.

Now, if that same God that wrote the Bible is in you, you're not your own. You're dead to the things of the world. You're dead to your own thoughts. And the mind that was in Christ be in you, there then you're forsaking all to follow Him. Not your own thoughts; what He says. "Not my will; thine, Lord." Then you begin to line up with God's Word.

You have to die. You have to die before you can be reborn. Any seed has to die before it's regenerated again. Unless it dies, it abides alone (John 12:24). A man's got to die to his own thinking. He's got to die to the thinking of anything but God's Word, and come His way. That's God's ground. We don't meet Him on our thoughts. We meet Him on what He said do. That's God's provided way for us. People dodge it; they don't want it. But it's true just the same. It produces death, and you have to die, die to your thinking.

"Well, I know the Bible says it, but I can't understand it." Then stay there till God reveals it. That's right. It's got... That's the new birth.

And they have to have a crucifixion before you can have a resurrection. And before the church will ever be able to see a resurrected power, before I can ever see a new ministry take place myself, before you can ever enter into a new fellowship with God, there's got to be a self-crucifixion so that there can come a resurrection. We've got to die out to our own thoughts, die out to our own ways, die out to everything that's around us, go through the trials and tribulations, that we might see a new resurrection, a new Life. Before a sinner can ever become a Christian, there has to come a death, then a resurrection.

Now, if we could throw ourself completely to God and to His will and be lost to our own thoughts, and just let the mind of Christ be in us (Phil. 2:5), them same operations of the Spirit would work through us just as the natural things does, just the same thing. Because we were first created for that pur-pose to control, to rule, and to praise God and to live for God.
Now, Jesus said, "If ye abide in Me and My Words abide in you, you can ask what you will and it shall be given unto you. If ye abide in Me and My Word abide in you..." (John 15:1-7).

Now, the Father and His Word is inseparable, 'cause the Word is His Son. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh and dwelled among us" (John 1:1+14). God and His Word is inseparable. You cannot have God without having His Word, and when you have His Word, you have God.

Now, the first thing you must do, is surrender yourself entirely to Christ, and surrender your mind to His Word. „Lord, I won't act upon my own feel-ings, upon my own thoughts. I will only act upon Your Word. I'll have no control of my own thoughts concerning it.”

All right. So believers of the Word and Spirit must be One. You get it? Believers, the Word, and the Spirit are absolutely One. You don't do your own thinking; you don't use your own mind. Isn't that wonderful? The mind that's in Christ is in you (Phil. 2:5). See? The mind's in Christ in you will take the Word just like He did, 'cause He was the Word. And the mind of Christ in you, you are the Word. You're God's living Word, representatives of Him here on earth (That's right.), continuing the work. The church should be that way.

And when so, the Bible is manifested again like in the early days of the disciples, just like the disciples. The Bible is living again in you.

Now, you know, I'm so glad to know that there is a provided way. See, there's only two ways of anything: that's the right way and the wrong way. And that's your way and God's way. You can't have your own way and be in God's way; and you can't be in God's way and have your own way. See? So it's one or the other. It's either your way or God's way. It's your thoughts or God's Word. See? You have to accept one. You can't take your own thinking. So man was borned a failure, and he's always been a failure. So why try to rely upon your own understanding? Why not take God's way of it, 'cause He always brings you out right.

'Cause remember. You can't have the mind of Christ and the mind of the world at the same time. You can't be in your way and God's way at the same time. You have to get out of your own way to let God have His way. That's the only way you're ever going to do anything. You got to get away from your own thoughts, your own reasons (Prov. 3:5-6). Don't try to reason; just believe (II Cor. 10:3-6).

What if Mary tried to reason about the new birth, or, not the new birth, but the virgin birth. Pardon me. What if she tried to say, "Now, wait a minute. Now, look. I don't know no man. There's never been anyone like that. How would I ever have a child? Oh, you can't tell me that." She never waited for anything. She just took God at His Word and started thanking God for the baby. Before she felt any life, before she felt anything, before one sign was given to her, she just took the Angel's Word and went rejoicing and prais-ing God, telling everybody she was going to have a baby, knowing no man. God give us some more Marys around Phoenix here, that can take God at His Word and start rejoicing before anything happens. That's what you need. That's all. For she was overshadowed by the Holy Ghost (Luke 1:26-56). And when the Holy Ghost truly overshadows a person, they take God at His Word. That settles it, what the Holy Ghost said.

Now, when that Light struck little Rebekah, she knew something within her, that that brought her to Isaac. She veiled her face. She wanted no more to do with her own thinking. Isaac was her thinking from then on (Gen. 24). And the church itself, when it strikes that power of God, the baptism of the Holy Ghost, out of the denominational churches, out of the Catholic church, wher-ever it is, when that baptism of the Holy Ghost is made real to people, them that's predestinated (like you people here) to Eternal Life, sees It and walks in It. What is it? A super sign.

Then you're not using your own thoughts; you're using His thoughts. „Let the mind that was in Christ be in you” (Phil. 2:5). See? Think His way of thinking; say what He says. "Confession" means "to say the same thing." Confess is to confess the same thing, say the same thing. Then don't confess your own mental conception. Be borned again and confess His Word, confess what He said. That's confession. Say, "By His stripes, I was healed” (Isaiah 53:5). By His stripes, I have a right--by His wounds, right now, I have a right for salvation. I have a right for the Holy Spirit. He promised it to me. Said, "It's in you and your children, and them that is far off, and as many as the Lord our God shall call” (Acts 2:38-39).

Reference: " Questions & Answers” (64-0830E), Q-No. 387+388, COD-Book pg.1158-1159 / „Falling Apart Of The World” (62-1216), par. 118 / „The Spoken Word Is The Original Seed”, pg. 28+42 / „Forsak-ing All” (62-0123), par. E32,E37 / „God’s Provided Way” (64-0206E), par. 32 / „I Know”, par. 61 / „Fundamental Foundation For Faith” (55-0113), par. E14 / „To Whom Is The Arm Of The Lord Re-vealed?” (50-0824), par. E42 / „God Has A Provided Way” (62-0728), par. E11 / „Witnesses” (54-0303), par. E27-E28 / „Super Sign” (62-0708), par. 140 / „Christ” (55-0221), par. E49

Spiritual Building-Stone No. 108 from the revealed Word of this hour, compiled by: Gerd Rodewald; Friedenstr. 69; D-75328 Schömberg; Germany
Phone: (0049) 7235 7613, Fax: (0049) 7235 3306

There's coming one with a Message that's straight on the Bible, and quick work will circle the earth. The seeds will go in newspapers, reading material, until every predestinated Seed of God has heard It.
[Bro. Branham in "Conduct-Order-Doctrine", pg. 724]