Do We Have The Right Motive and Objective in Our Actions?
Spiritual Building-Stone No. 88

We read in Romans 14:7-8,
"For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's."
For something or somebody you are living for. The question only is, what for or whom for? - It depends from which life, or from which nature, we are being led. Let us listen what the Prophet of God has said:

You know, God has made man to achieve; that's what man was made for. And all down through life he has tried to achieve something. And his achievements, the reason he tries that, is because he was so designed to do so. God made him that way. But the trouble of it is, in his achievement he tries to do something within himself. And there's where he makes his mistake and he gets in trouble.

Now, in the beginning, Genesis, which is the seed chapter of the Bible, we find in there that when God made a man, He made him in the way that He knew that he was to be. And he could never be any greater design than what he is. When He begin to make life, He made it from the lowest life, which is, more or less, the polliwog, the frog; and on to the highest life is man, which is in the image of God.

And then, in this life, man begin to achieve things. But when he did, he begin to leave God out of the picture. He begin to have selfish motives. And when he did that, he begin to think of something for himself. And we find that it isn't long until he had corrupted the very planet that God had put him on. He had got it in such a condition till even His Creator, grieved Him at His heart, that He'd ever made a man. And you can imagine how God felt when He seen the very creature that He made in His image, and give him dominion, and how that He made him to do something for Him, and yet he turned all of his strengths and his power over to selfish desires and achievements (Col. 1:16-17; Rom. 11:36).

As we read already in Philippians 2:20-21,
"For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's."
And then we find, it isn't too long after this great lesson that God taught the man during that time, by destroying the entire world with water, as the Bible tells us that He flooded the earth, and destroyed everything but a rem-nant that He left, which was Noah and his family (Gen. 6+7). And just imme-diately after he come out from that great lesson... It just seems like that man can't learn, only through the hard way. We find that even in our children; we have to punish them, many times, severely, to make them understand. It just seems like that a man is just in himself a total failure to begin with. When he lost his relationship with God, he become a unit of his own; he didn't depend on God no more. And when God had taught him the lesson of what it was to try to do something within himself, that his works would all come to naught, immediately we find them again going right down to achieve again. And the Bible said that they built them a tower, and they were going to climb up into the heavens to get up into heaven without coming the way God had planned for them to come (Gen. 11:1-9).

And man can achieve better when they're united together. Now you take one man by himself, his power is limited to one man. Two men makes him twice his strength. Four men makes him four times his strength. And God wants us to be one. God made man that we should be one, and our motives should be one, and our objectives should be one, and our achievements should be one. He's just designed that way.

And we find out that immediately after the antediluvian destruction, that man began to try to take over again, himself.

And all the time these things are going on, the Spirit of the living God is striving with flesh, trying to get man away from his own achievement, trying to get man away from his own selfish motives and objectives, to a plan which God has laid down. And as long as man works in his own plan, he will be a failure. And a man can only achieve right when he comes back with the right objective and the right motive, and that is ac-cording to God's plan for him. Any other foundation is on sinking sands (Hebrews 3:18-19; 4:1-11; I Cor. 3:11-15).

So shall every man's work be made manifest, for the day shall declare it, because it shall revealed by fire (I Cor. 3:11-15; II Cor. 5:9-11).

Does not the Bible say:
"For we are his workmanship..." (Ephesians 2:10), and further in Isaiah 26:12, "... for thou also hast wrought all our works in us."

Brother Branham spoke about a very interesting event:

Someone come not long ago, a group of man, some of them listening in tonight, and I kept telling them, "Go to Kentucky, oil's down there." I knew it was, I seen it in a vision.
Well, Brother Demas and them didn't go for a long time. After while, fi-nally, they said... (after Texas had moved in)... and they said, "Now, we're going down."
I said, "You ought to have went a long time ago." But they didn't do it.
Demas said, "I made a great mistake in that, by not doing that, Brother Branham." I said, "If you'd have went down there, you'd have had it all."
Well, they wouldn't listen to it. Then 'fore we left that night (the place where we were having lunch) the Holy Spirit showed me a great crack in the earth, and in that was full of oil, and these overflows in Kentucky was just little beds of oil that they were pumping from, but this one come from the main stream. And I said, "Brother Demas, it's there."
So they went to searching for it. Said, "Go down and tell us where the oil well is."
I said, "Oh, no! No! No!"
See, we don't use the gift of God for commercial. No! No! He could tell me where it was at, but I don't have any need of it. I wouldn't even have faith enough to ask Him. If I had a need of it, I believe if I'd ask Him, He'd tell me. But first, you see, your motives and objectives has to be right. You have to have reasons for this. God don't give you those things just because you ask. And you cannot ask in faith unless there's a real objective to that, to be in the will of God. See, if you want to be well, what do you want to be well for? See, if you want to be healed, what's the reason you want to be healed? What are you telling God? What do you want to do with you life when you get healed? See, you've got to have a motive and objective, and they have to be right according to the will of God. And then's when the faith is revealed to you, and God by His sovereign grace places that faith in there, then it's over.

Now, to make that Word true, when the brethren got down there, one fel-low went over and bought a bunch of stuff, and sold leases, and cheated the other one this way. I said, "You see, it won't work." Now, just to make the prophecy sure, within a hundred yards of where these men were digging their well, some man struck the big gusher. And it's there, eleven hundred barrels of oil in a half a day, or something or other like that; still putting it out, right in that main stream. But just to make the prophecy, the Word that had been said that it was there, it was there. The rest of them nearly's all dried up, eve-rywhere through Kentucky. Little ponds, they pump them a little while, and they go. It's only the overflow from this.
But because of the selfishness got among them, the objectives was wrong, signing up a bunch of stuff "it would be this way," when they promised they would do it for the Kingdom of God, but looked like it was for themselves.
And it won't work, no selfish thing will work. Your motives and objec-tives has to be exactly, perfectly right, then you have faith there. "If our hearts condemn us not, then we have confidence" (I John 3:21). See, we've got to have confidence. "I want this to the honor and glory of God." Then faith has a channel to move into; if it doesn't, then you got mental, intellectual faith, and not genuine faith from God. That intellectual faith will get you no-where. Might get you emotional, but it won't get you the healing that you're looking for.

So Job, checking himself with the genuine faith that God had give to him that he was "just," that he had done everything that God required him to do. Now, when we're going to be prayed for, for our sickness, I wonder if we have done everything that God requires us to do. Have we followed every iota of the Scripture? Have we give Him our hearts and lives to service? What's the reason you want to be healed? That's the reason you can't get faith enough, see, because you haven't maybe made this thing to God sincerely from your heart. Like Hezekiah did, give God the reason, he wanted to set his kingdom in order (Isaiah 38:1-8; II Kings 20:1-11; II Chron. 32:24-33). And God sent His prophet back and told him, and he'd be healed. But, you have to have those things made right, first.

So then as soon as you get to these places and know that it's been re-vealed to you by the Word of God, by the revelation, by the Word that God requires you to do, then you have faith, genuine faith.

1) Our motive (consideration, the reason we act and react in a certain way) should be:

a) to please my Heavenly Father in the things that I do, speak and think (Heb. 11:5-6; Gen. 5:24), in keeping His Word (John 14:23) - and we have only His favour in Christ Jesus (Mat. 3:17; Mat. 17:5; Prov. 8:35).

b) whatever we do or experience, should be for the honour and glory of God, in order to glorify and exalt Him - Jesus Christ (John 16:13-14; John 3:30; Prov. 29:23).
"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God" (I Corinthians 10:31).
We are created for His glory and should live for the glory and praise of God (Phil. 1:9-11; Isaiah 43:6-7; Rom. 11:36; I Cor. 11:7; Eph. 5:27). We should never have a selfish motive, as our own honour, acknow-legdement, fame, own benefits, own rights, or seek the glory of men; but we should seek the glory which is only of God and with God (John 5:41-44; John 7:18; John 12:41-43; Gal. 5:26; Phil. 2:1-3; Phil. 3:18-19; I Thess. 2:3-8).

c) Our motive should be divine love, to help somebody (Gal. 5:13; Rom. 14:7-8,19; Rom. 15:1-3), to please our neighbour for his good and edi-fication, and that the saints will be refreshed, for the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost (Rom. 5:5).

d) to serve Jesus Christ by His Word, while we are doing the revealed will of God (I Cor. 4:2; Rom. 14:17-18; II Cor. 6:1-10; Col. 3:23-24).

2) Our objective (goal, what we want to achieve, to aim, or to see) should be:
a) that more people find Jesus Christ, and meet Him personally (John 17:3; II Chron. 15:15; Jer. 29:13; Prov. 8:35), yes that still more lost souls will be saved (Col. 4:5-6; Prov. 14:25; Prov. 11:30; Prov. 24:11-12), by getting right with God in their hearts, and secondly will be healed. Therefore we testify or preach (Ps. 107:20).

b) the extention of the Kingdom of God - and the Kingdom of God is the Holy Spirit, and is being made visible through the quickened Word of God and is lifted up in His people (Luke 17:20-21; I Cor. 4:20).

c) to receive everything, that we can receive from Him of His grace to His glory - that is our promised inheritance now in life (Rom. 5:17-21) - in becoming one with the Word groom, and manifesting personally the promised Word of God for our time. This happens when we remain in the right atmosphere of worship, of faith, for the right atmos-phere brings forth signs and wonders and the power among the people.

d) that His will shall be done in our life, and that the divine purpose for that we are here for, His intention, His plan, will be fulfilled (Mat. 12:50; Mat. 7:21-23; Luke 6:46-49; John 5:30; John 6:37-40; I John 2:17). Our goal is to be positionally placed in the will (Word) of God (Phil. 3:7-14; Gal. 4:1-7).

How important it is that our motive and objective is right and corresponds with the perfect will of God (Rom. 12:1-3). It should not be like with King David who had the desire to take the ark of the covenant back to Jerusalem. His motive was very good, the objective 'to Jerusalem' was right, but the way how he choose it to do with his people was not according to the Word. The way of God would have been to consult the prophet in the land, Nathan. For the ark of God had to be carried on the left shoulder of the Levites, and not taken on a new ox cart (I Chron. 13).

Our motive and objective has to correspond with the will of God - and His will is the Word for this hour which is quickened for us by the Holy Spirit. Then the Lord has promised success, His divine confirmation, His divine manifestation, power, victory, joy, signs and wonders, and glory.

Therefore the first thing you ought to do is, to find out if it is God's will to do a certain thing. The Holy Spirit, His leading, is always in correspondance with the Word of God which is given for our day, and this therefore is the will of God for us - and also the objective which we should strive for. We want to do, as we are led by the Spirit of God (Rom. 8:14). And faith is a revelation of the will of God (Heb. 11:1).

Then check your motive to do something. When I have no selfishness, and I know that it is God's will, and I do therefore knowing that it is God's will, He will never leave nor forsake me, and will not let it fail (Joshua 1:8-9; Heb. 13:5-6).

But if it is His will and you have a selfish motive connected with it, then it is just the same as it would be not His will, because it will not work. If your motive and objective corresponds with God's will, however, you can experience with joy that "whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith." What things soever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them (Mark 11:23-24).

Some more quotes about this great subject by Brother Branham:

I think of the father of our nation, which is called George Washington. I always had a lot of respect for Mr. Washington because he was a Christian. And before Valley Forge, when he prayed all night long in the snow until he was wet above his waist, and his soldiers, two-thirds of them didn't even have on shoes... They had their feet wrapped with anything they could wrap them with, and it zero weather, and the river froze over.

That night he prayed until he was wet plumb up around his waist. He caught the vision from God. And the next day, he was very persistent. He crossed the river regardless of the... The ice gorges didn't stop him. And three musket bullets was shot through his coat, and he walked on to victory. Why? He was persistent. He prayed until he caught a hold of God, and knowed what God had said. That's it. He could be persistent for the achievement.

And the first thing, your achievement is only by your motive and your ob-jective. Your motive has got to be right and your objective has got to be right. If your objective is right, and your motive is wrong, then it won't happen. You've got to have the right objective and you've got to have the right motive. And then take it upon the leading of the Holy Spirit in your heart and stay with it. God will bring it to pass.

When you plead anything to God, you got to be a reason for it. It's just like this Scripture that I so often refer to, "If you say to this mountain, `Be moved,' and don't doubt, but believe that what you've said will come to pass, you can have what you said." Now, that's altogether controlled on motive and objective, see, or it won't happen.

That's where many of us makes a many mistakes, is going out and say, "Now, I'll show you I got faith to do this." Now, you're wrong to begin with. God don't give you gifts just to play with it. As I was saying awhile ago, He don't show you visions just to play with. That's nothing to play with, that's sacred. Just use it as the Lord will let you. Be a prisoner to Him. No matter how much you want to tell that guy he's wrong, and what this, that, or the other, you hold still till God says so. Then when God says so, then you can come with THUS SAITH THE LORD! Until that, just forget about him.
And then we feel that we have a right to ask something if our objective is right, and then our motive to it.

Now, when Jesus said, "If you ask the Father anything in My Name, I'll do it," now that's just right straight down off of the shoulder. "I will do it." (John 14:13-14; John 16:23-24). Now, it's on conditions: if you'll believe when you ask. Now, in Mark 11:22-24 we find out that Jesus said, "If you say to this mountain, `Be thou plucked up and cast into the sea,' and don't doubt, but believe that what you have said will come to pass; you can have what you've said."

Now, you just couldn't get out here and say, "Mountain, move down." You've got to have a motive and objective to that. You see? You've got to find out first if it's the will of God, and then your motive and objective to the will of God, and then, speak to it, and stand there; it'll come down, if you get the conditions right. But you've got to have the conditions right.

God acts today just as in the beginning:
He took that great chaos of darkness, the earth which was without form and void, and transformed it into a garden of Eden by His Word. That's how we're transformed: by God's Word. When God said, "Let there be light," and that mass of creation out there come over in around the sun, and begin to revolve around the sun, and became a garden of Eden because it obeyed the Word of God. It done the perfect will of God, for it was transformed from chaos into a garden of Eden by the Word of God (Genesis 1).

Now, that's what we are here for. That's my message, has been all along, is the Word of God. We must hold to That regardless of what other things take place. Always stay with that Word. Always check out your motives and objectives, if it is according to the Word of God. If it isn't, leave it alone. See? But if it's with the Word of God, and lines up with the Word of God, then that, you hold to that.

Now, God sometimes... Just like your little group here this morning, He lets it not happen just overnight; ... We're the one that gets in a hurry. God's never in a hurry. He just says it, and--that it's going to be. For when He says anything, it's got to be. It's just going to be. He lets it take its time.

Brother Branham said further:

I'm not a preacher. Anybody knows that. I'm not a preacher. But it (my ministry) is made up in a spiritual form, of watching things and seeing things move, and forewarning people of things that's coming to pass. And it's just that's my makeup. I can't help that, no more than you can help your makeup. But God has put us, each one, in the Body, to do certain things. And I watch every little move, every objective, every motive, 'cause everything is governed by spirit.

This church was put here for a purpose. There is a spirit behind this church. Certainly. Spirit behind your home, behind every building. Behind everything there is a spirit, motive, and objective. This church comes here to greatly exalt some human system or something, then its motives is not right; but if it's put here to try to achieve something for the Kingdom of God, then the motive and objective, both, is right, if the motives is directed that way.

Reference:
"The Unity Of One God in The One Church" (Vol.16 No.8), par. 17-24
"I Have Heard But Now I See" (Vol.7 No.3), par. 58-71
"Perseverant" (62-0729, Victoria/BC), par. 67-69
"Warning Then Judgement" (Vol.3 No.8), par. 43-45,50
"Unchangeable God" (62-0120, Phoenix), par. 36-37
"The Power Of Transformation" (Vol.17 No.1), par. 51-53
"Testimony" (63-1128, Vol.17 No.5), par. 25-26

Spiritual Building-Stone No. 88 from the Revealed Word of this hour, com-piled by: Gerd Rodewald Friedenstr. 69 D-75328 Schömberg Germany
Phone: (0) 7235 7613 Fax: (0) 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]