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E-1 I certainly deem
this a grand privilege to be here tonight. It's my first time ever being here
in this fine city of Birmingham, though I've wanted to come many times. But
it just seems like it works around, and the Lord has His own set times for things.
So that's how He's worked it out. We're grateful for this time, and for these
fine sponsors. And now tonight is kind of... We always have kind of a get-acquainted
night.
And you know, when you're in a building like this, where there's--hasn't been
used for church services, I don't suppose... I understand it's a armory; it's
probably just probably drill and play games, and so forth. It isn't like coming
into a church, where you... I believe that in church you have the Spirit of
God is there, and it seems like it's a sacred feeling. But when you come into
a place where there's amusements, and sometimes some carrying on, then it seems
like it's hard to get started for awhile, until we get acquainted with each
other.
And then all of us being strange, one to another, it makes it kind of... Well,
we look and wonder. But if we just try to get that away just as quick as possible,
and--and just remember we're here to serve the Lord Jesus. We're here to do
what we can, everything that we can to further His Kingdom. And I'm putting
my efforts forth, and I--I can't do it alone. It'll take your help, with my
help, and with God's help. And with Him we'll be able to see the glory of God
come down and visit us. And that's what we're wanting. That's what we're here
for, is a visitation from God.
E-2 Now, we're not many
in number, and we don't have too big of crowds. We don't stay very long. And
another thing, I--my message is mostly to the full Gospel people. It's on them
basis, although everybody comes.
We pray for the sick. We don't claim to be a healer, or somebody that can heal
someone. We believe that there's only one Healer, that's God. But we believe
that He ordained men to pray for the sick, and we do that. We pray for the sick.
And the Lord has been gracious to us, to answer our prayers so many times. And
we... Around the world we've seen, well, just multiplied thousand times thousands
of people crippled, afflicted, blind, lame, halt, a healed.
And we're just believe that we just--that He was wounded for our transgressions,
with His stripes we were healed, and we believe that that's a benefit; that's
a privilege of--to believers. Now, it isn't to unbelievers. People say, "Well,
I--I don't believe that can happen." Well, it'll never happen to you. Just...
You can just settle that. It'll never happen to you. But it will to those who
believe, for it's only to believers.
Now, that doesn't make us a healer no more than preaching salvation makes us
a Saviour. We--we know that there's one Healer and one Saviour and that's the
self-same Person, Jesus Christ. We're here to glorify Him to the people.
E-3 Now, a revival isn't
exactly adding new members to the church. A revival is reviving that what you've
already got. And sometimes I've wondered what a revival is for. This may sound
a little strange for a stranger to you to say this, but I was standing by the
lake shore one day, in Lake Michigan. I was watching the waves how they come
in, and went out, and they'd leap, oh, heavy winds a-blowing. And--and the waves
would dash way in the air, and churn up and down, and roll in, and come back
out, and roll in again. I thought, "My, what a revival."
But you know, there's no more water in that lake than it is when it's perfectly
normal and quiet. That's right. It's just got the same amount of water. See?
Then I wondered, "Why is that lake all stirred up?" Just the same as we get
stirred up in a revival; we churn around. You know what it always does to the
lake though? It cleans it. It washes all the trash out on the bank.
So that's all we have to have a revival for, get all the unbelief and things
away from us, so we can see more clear what God wants for us. That's what we're
anticipating this time, is a revival among the people.
E-4 Now, my sponsor,
Brother Ershimer, these brothers here, and probably some setting out in there,
now, they're ministers of God just the same as I, or all other ministers. And
the... Jesus said one time, "The Kingdom of heaven is liken to a man that took
a net and went to the lake. And when he cast the net in, he drew it out, and
in there he had all kinds." The Gospel net catches all kinds, now, all kinds
of fish. See? There were... Probably some of them were, say, was water dogs.
Some of them were serpents, some of them spiders, some turtles, and--and so
forth. And some of them were real fish. So we don't know what we catch in the
net. We're just seining.
And now, I come... Two seines will reach farther than one seine. And I come
to put my net... It's a seine, we call it up farther in the north, a seine.
And I come to--to weave my net with their nets, your nets. And let's cast away
out as far as we can, and put our nets together, and our hearts together, and
our efforts together. And let's pull in to see if there's some fish that the
Master could use. And He's the One Who judges that. We don't know. They all
look the same to us. They're just caught in the net. But God knows who they
are, and knowed them from the beginning. So we're just seiners. We're not judges
to judge who is, or who isn't, we're just seining. So I'm here to help you.
E-5 And now this week
pray, get on the phone, call someone and invite them over to the church, over
to the armory here. We just got a short time. Nervous... Makes the people nervous
when you... just about time you get acquainted and the people get settled down,
then you have to go somewhere else.
I've often wondered sometimes if--if I couldn't, one of these days, have a tent
and come in around a big city like this, and set it up so we could stay several
weeks, and have a ministerial meeting of a morning, and meet all the ministers,
and discuss the things.
And I trust that the Lord will bless our efforts this week. I trust that there
won't be one cot or wheelchair, whatever it is, left here, or one sick person
with a heart trouble, TB, cancer, but what the Lord Jesus will heal. I'll be
praying.
I don't visit very much because you know, in this type of ministry... It's not
as I don't want to visit. But it is that I--I can't serve God, and then man
at the same time. I have to stay to myself and pray. Now, I'll be doing that
for you, and you be doing the other part, getting together, and getting the
people in, and so forth, and bring the sick and afflicted, and praying for me.
Each one pray for me. That's how we win the victory.
E-6 Now, just to kind
of lay the foundation of what we are trying to do, we... First place, we don't
represent any denomination, not against any denomination, but just don't represent
any. We stand... I was ordained a missionary Baptist, and then I gave up my
fellowship card, not fellowship with my brethren, just so that I wouldn't be
represented among any group.
I come over into Pentecostal when I went to praying for the sick, and was commissioned
to do so. I come over among the Pentecostal and I find out... Thought there
was just one group of them. I find out there's as many groups there as there
is in the Baptist, different ones. So I--I seen they were fussing. And they
were fussing in the Baptists, about this, that, and the other. So I just let
them fuss. And I try to put our arms around everybody, and say, "We're all brethren.
Let's just serve the Lord." And what little influence I can have, I don't place
it upon any certain denomination, just on Christ. And there we... And we try
to serve Him that way.
Everybody's invited, no matter. Everybody's welcome. As long as you behave and
be orderly, why, you're just as welcome as you can be.
E-7 Now, another thing
is our system of praying for the sick. I... Each day Brother Borders, or Pearry,
or Brother Sothmann, or Billy Paul or... Usually it's Billy Paul. That's his
job. And if he can't get here, it'll be one of these other men will be giving
out prayer cards each day. They do that. Come down, take the prayer cards, a
hundred of them, and mix them all up right before your eyes, and then give the
people a card who wants one. Now each day they do that, so that...
When we first started, we found out that you had to have prayer cards. It's
not an arena, you know, pushing over each other. It's a... You got to have it
in order. And then we found someone trying to sell prayer cards, and guaranteeing
people to get up to the platform. And so then had to stop that. And then I put
my own son on that, 'cause I knowed he wouldn't sell one.
E-8 Then the thought
come up, "Give me a certain prayer card. Where you going to start praying from
tonight? And then, I'm--I'm going to pray... I want that prayer card." Well,
to make that boy sure that no--he don't know where that prayer line's going
to start, he mixes the cards up and hands you... He don't know which one he's
handing you. He just hands you a prayer card. One might get number 1, another
get 50, and--and then so forth.
And then to double that back, I come down of a night and nobody... And I don't
know myself where I start calling them prayer cards from. I might start from
1. I might start from 25, might start from 75 or a 100, and work backwards,
16 and go forward, and then backward. Anybody's ever been in a meeting knows
we do it that way, just back and forth anywhere.
E-9 And then, every
day... First, we go down and give all the prayer cards out the first day. Then
any newcomers come in, they failed to get a prayer card. That settled it; they
didn't get prayed for during the meeting. But now, we give them out every day,
so that every--anyone that wants a prayer card can have one. Maybe one night
we don't get to all of them. But hold your card. We'll get to it before leaving.
Now, but there's many, many healed out in the audience, many more than there
is healed than when you're here on the platform. It's your faith that does the
healing; it isn't our prayer. Our prayer will help, there's no doubt. We all
get together and pray for you, it'll help. And if... And then, on Sunday afternoon,
the Lord willing, we'll be praying for everyone, taking up their prayer cards,
and praying for all. Or maybe Saturday night, one. Depends on which one the
brethren want us to do it...?...
E-10 And now, we want
to say this, so that you'll understand. The reason I put that prayer line off
to meet every person, is because my principle, my--my objective, is this, that
people will receive Christ as their Healer without anybody laying hands on them.
Usually, you take an evangelist comes to the city, well, he's--he's everything
in the church. When he leaves, sometimes the congregation looks at their pastor
and say, "Well, what about my pastor?" I want you to know that your pastor's
a godly man. And I want you to have respects, and know that that man's just
as ordained to pray for the sick as anybody else is ordained.
And we--we want you... And--and by the way, our objective mainly is for you
to see the Presence of Jesus Christ, and know that He's here. And then, while
you're in His Presence, just accept Him as your Saviour and your Healer. If
you're not saved, accept Him as Saviour. If you're saved and not healed, then
accept Him as your Healer. Then no one can say, "Brother So-and-So laid hands
on me." No. You laid hands on Him. Then that's the main thing.
Now I want you to bear that in mind all the time. It's you laying your--touching
Him. And the Bible said that He's a High Priest that can be touched by the feeling
of our infirmities. And now, remember that. It's you touching Him, not...
The pastor's got a right to lay hands on... lay... Not only the pastor, "These
signs shall follow them that believe." Just believers, anybody, lay hands on
the sick, have a right to do that. It's identifying yourself with the person
in prayer, just like you lay your hands by faith upon Christ, and identify yourself
with your Sacrifice. So remember that now as the--as the week goes on, and pray
sincerely.
E-11 Now, I think that
just about covers it now. And then, each night we try to get out early, just
as early as we possibly can. Now, we're starting out at twenty-five minutes
till nine by my watch. And if the Lord willing, we want to be out every night
at nine-thirty, or maybe before, so that you can have ample time go to your
homes, and come back.
Now, if you're not prayed for, don't catch it the first night... My ministry
may be a little strange to you. But if it's strange, don't just throw it off
to one side. Set down and consider it. Take the Bible.
Now, I believe that God can do things He never wrote here in the Bible. But
I want Him just... If He'll just keep what He wrote here, I'll be satisfied
by it, 'cause we're living in the days of all kinds of strange things, isms,
that's unscriptural.
E-12 But, you know,
in the days of Noah... Jesus said, "As it was in the days of Noah..." You know,
people perhaps built boats in them days, whether they were God-constructed or
not. But they didn't float when the time come for it to float. So I like the
message to be God-constructed with the Scriptures, a Scriptural message. And
right there with it, everything with the Scripture, it's THUS SAITH THE LORD,
then. And it's got to stand because it isn't my word that's in question, it'd
be His Word that's in question. Bring it from the Scripture.
And we're in a changing dispensation. We're changing now. And every change is
like building a building. You come to the corner, you have to make that bend.
It's--it's strange, everybody wants to run right straight on down. You'd have
just one big wall. But we're building a building, and we're coming to corners,
and you've got to change those corners. As Brother Don Price so well he--and
so well stated it, not long ago, "Those changes is where the trouble comes,
where the... It's hard on that corner to make--cut that corner, and make it
just right."
E-13 Now, just before
we read the Word... Each night, Brother Borders is the field manager, and he
also speaks at the platform. And Dr. Lee Vayle is here somewhere. I guess he
got here. He met me in Kentucky, driving thirty miles an hour, breaking in another
Ford. And so... Coming down, and I met him. He's the public relation man. He'll
be speaking, I guess, somewhere at the meetings, some every day. So if there's
any questions, or anything, why, ask Brother Vayle. He'll be able to help you
in these questions.
All right. Now, as we... Before we read the Word, I have a custom that we stand
as we read God's Word. We stand when we play the Star Spangled Banner and pledge
allegiance, why not stand while we read the Word of God?
E-14 I'm going to read
tonight from Hebrews the 13th chapter, beginning with the 1st verse:
E-15 Our heavenly Father,
as we approach Thy Divine throne in the all-sufficient Name of the Lord Jesus
Who said, "If you ask the Father anything in My Name, it'll be granted," we're
so grateful for that promise, knowing this, that our faith presses right out
now, beyond all shadows of doubt, knowing that we by faith are talking personally
with Almighty God, for it's a promise.
And again it's said, "Wherever two or three are gathered in My Name, there I
am in their midst." Now, each of us has a request, Lord, as we raised our hands
to Thee. Thou knowest what's in our hearts beneath our hand. And we pray that
You'll answer us, Lord. Not that we're worthy of the answer, but because You
promised to answer. You said You would grant it, and I know You'll do it, for
You are... You're the great God that made the heavens and earth, and the Judge
of all heavens and earth. And would You say something that You would not make
it right? Far be it from God of doing such as that. What is lacking is our faith
to believe it. And we pray, Lord, that this night will--will so spur our faith,
and push it out, in a such a place that we'll walk with it, Lord, beyond the
understandings, that we won't try to understand, we'll just believe.
E-16 And faith is the
substance of things that we hope for, and the evidence of things that we cannot
see or prove. We just believe it, and God makes it happen. And we pray, Father,
that their--that the Angels of God will stand at every door, and every line
of seats, and--and at every seat, and would convict sinners that--that they
are--they are--they're wrong. And may they accept the Lord Jesus then.
And those without the baptism with the Spirit, may the Holy Ghost fall while
we're speaking, and while the--the Presence of Christ is so real. Grant it,
Lord. We pray that there'll not be a feeble one among us. May every person that
enters these doors, Lord, be so inspired with faith that they'll be healed,
every one.
Bless these ministers, Lord, these churches throughout the country. May, by
the cause of this great effort that these people has put forth... A small people
we are, but yet, Lord, a people that's sincere, and trying to--to hold that
faith that was once delivered to the saints in the midst of darkness.
E-17 May there come
an old fashion revival that just break out through the churches everywhere,
and hungry saints begin to cry out, and sinners born into the Kingdom of God
as saints. Grant it, Lord. That's our purpose. That's what's in our hearts.
We're trying to do this for Your honor, Lord, for we know that we haven't too
much longer to stay.
We see the earth quivering and shaking again on a Good Friday, like it did nineteen
hundred years ago on a Good Friday. You said there'd be earthquakes in divers
places. We see all the signs appearing, and we know the time is close. So, Lord,
we want to work while we can, for when life is over we work no more.
And we pray, heavenly Father, that we'll put forth our efforts at this time.
And when the meeting goes to history, may we feel that we have done the best
that we can. Grant it, Lord. Bless my brethren everywhere. Bless all now that
will come into the meeting, and those that'll hear, for we ask it in Jesus'
Name. Amen. You may be seated. Thank you, brother.
E-18 I want to take
a text tonight, just if I call it a text, a little formal talk, and call Jesus--or
the Christ, rather, is identified in all ages. In other words, "The Identification
of Christ In All Ages," because Hebrews 13:8 said, "He's the same yesterday,
today, and forever." And we want to--to see how in past times what He was. Now,
we talk so much about Him, and that's what we're here to do now, is talk about
Him.
And now, if He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and--and if He was
seen, and knowed in the yesterdays, then why not today? If He was seen, and
knowed, and identified, in days gone by, then why not we do the same thing today?
We find this great Person... No one could ever hear of Him without they--they
want to find out more about Him. There's something about Him, that Name of Jesus
Christ. There's just not another name nowhere that attracts the people like
that. It's something about it.
A man is--knows he comes from the beyond in a dark shadowy curtain, that hangs
between him and where he was before he come here. He knows he must go behind
that curtain. And he's always wanting to know where he come from, what he is,
and where he's going.
E-19 We have millions
of volumes that's been wrote, I suppose, on the subject. But there's only one
Book, and that's a--that's sixty-six volumes in itself, that can tell you where
you come from, who you are, and where you're going. And that is this Bible.
It's the Word that tells you where you come from, who you are, and where you're
going.
So many people have so many different ideas about Christ, and especially in
this day that we have now. We have some of them that regard Him just as a great
teacher, and He was. But He was more than a great teacher. See? He was... There
never was a man that spake like Him.
But He was more than just a great teacher. But that seems to be more like a
great philosophy among many of the churches today, just to regard Him as a teacher
that never taught like Him before. He's just a great, marvelous, ancient historian,
or teacher rather, from days gone by. His teaching's fine. You can believe part
of it, and part of it you can't. But He was quite a philosopher. In other words
they regard Him something like Confucius, a Chinese philosopher of many hundreds
of years ago. Now, He was more than a teacher. He's--He's more than that.
Then some of them think of Him being just a good Man. Well, He--He was a good
Man. He was the only good Man that we really ever had, was Him. There had to
be one good Man to die for us bad men to--to make us good, not by our merits,
but what one good Man done redeemed the whole bunch of us. See?
E-20 How foolish it would be, after the only one way of redemption, and only one plan made, and then turn that down. That would be a rashal thing to do, to turn down the only way, the only plan. That's God, God's plan. There's many other plans, but God has a plan, and that plan is through Jesus Christ, and Him alone. It's not through any system, any educational system, or any denominational system, or anything. It's through Jesus Christ and Him alone. That's God's eternal plan, through Him. God always does things in one way. He never changes His way of doing it.
E-21 Now, we find out
that some say He was a prophet, and a Prophet He was. But He was more than a
prophet. He was a prophet plus. And they had many prophets. All prophets died
at the gate of death.
But this Man took the keys, death, hell, grave like Samson did the gates of
Gaza, and took it out took the sting and death itself, and swallowed it up in
victory, and rose up on the third day triumph, makes His believers more than
conquerors. It's already conquered. There's nothing left to do but walk right
straight in with the victors' song in our hearts. He is the great triumph One.
And this great One was more than a prophet.
Now, prophets were great men. We--we know that. The Word of the Lord came to
the prophet, and it comes to them and them only. And we find out that that's
the Scripture, what it says. He does nothing 'less He tells His servants the
prophets first. And they were great men. But this Man was more than a prophet.
E-22 Now, we find out
then... Many people think that He was an organizer of church, made--was a great
Man with a great mind, and organized churches, knowed how to put them together.
I heard a priest speaking not long ago, said, "Jesus Christ organized the first
Roman church, and He ought to know how to do it."
Now, the church never was organized, and it never did begin in Rome. It begin
in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, and not in Nicaea, Rome, at... And Jesus
never organized nothing. He, only thing He did was call. You never... You're
not organized to Christ; you're borned into the Kingdom of God.
E-23 I--I just passed my birthday last Monday, and I was fifty-five years old. And you know, the Branham family never did ask me to join the family. I--I was borned a Branham. And that's how we're Christians. We're just borned a Christian by the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and we are Christians by birth. That--that makes us new creatures. In our old nature we could never be Christians. That's the reason today we have so many calling themselves Christians, and living any kind of a life. They've never--never experienced that borned again, that something that changes you, that takes the life out, like pulling the blood out of a man that's got a certain type of blood, and putting another type in him. It's pulling the old life out of the man, and injecting the Life of Christ in the believer. Then he becomes a new creation. He's a new creature.
E-24 Now, the only way
that we'll ever know and could make all peoples be satisfied... If I'd ask the--the
Pentecostals tonight, "What do you think He should be?" they'd have Him a Pentecostal.
If I'd ask a United Brethren what He should... "Why, He was a United Brethren."
If I'd ask the Methodists, "Why, He was a Methodist," the Baptists, and so forth.
But now, there's only one way to--to satisfy that, and do it Scripturally. Now,
we want to always in this platform be exactly with the Scripture. If it isn't,
you're duty bound to come to me and--and correct me.
Now, it wants to be with the Scripture. So the only way to know what He is today
is find out what He was. See? They said He's the same yesterday, today, and
forever. And if we can find what He was, then He's got to be the same today,
because He can't change. The Bible said He's the same, s-a-m-e, same yesterday,
today, and forever.
E-25 Now, in 1st John,
or St. John the 1st chapter, we find out... Here's what the writer said. Being
inspired by the Holy Spirit, he wrote this, "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." May I break it down? In the beginning was the Eternal.
He wasn't even God. "God," our English word "God," is a--is an object of worship.
But He... There wasn't nothing to worship Him. He was just the Eternal.
In Him was attributes. Anyone knows what an attribute is. In others words, in
Him was His thoughts, just thoughts. That's His attributes. Then His Word, and
a thought expressed is a word. "In the beginning was the Word." Before It was
even expressed, It was a thought, attribute. In this thinking He was to be God.
Probably created angels first, then He was worshipped, He was God.
And then, in Him was attributes to be Father, be Son, be Saviour. Nothing lost,
something had to be lost, so there had to be a way made for that. To be Healer.
Nothing sick, so He had--something had to get sick so He could heal it. It's
only displaying His attributes.
E-26 And now, remember, if you ever did, or ever will have Eternal Life, you had it with Him then. See? You had it with Him because Jesus came, and Jesus was the Redeemer. To "redeem" anything is "bring it back from where it's fallen from, or went from," redeem it, bring it back. And you, the way you look, or who you are, or what--who--what your name is, that was God's thinking before the foundation of the world. And Jesus came not to save the whole thing. He wanted to, but He come to redeem, bring back them that was in His thoughts before the beginning. That's the reason He was the Word made flesh. God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. The Word, God's thinking of how He would do it, He expressed Himself in Jesus Christ. It was God becoming material.
E-27 Now, where you
are now, you have to die, because you're yet... Just like snapping a picture,
you're the negative. Any negative has to go into the dark room, through acids,
to develop the picture to make you see what it is. We're now in the express
image of Him. It's the negative. It's been taken. We're human life. But we must
go in the dark room, down into the grave, to go through the developing to come
back forth in the image.
Oh, my. Young forever, all the old age and all the defects and everything will
be taken away. Then we are redeemed, God's attributes right back, God, material
with Christ and the church, just like man and his wife. That's right. Christ
and the Bride, 'cause it redeems back His thinking, and His thinking is expressed
out.
E-28 Now, you say, "That
took a long time." Not to God. We're finite. We just have to hurry. I was thinking,
when I left Jeffersonville and driving thirty miles an hour, I drove down to
Birmingham in one day, and a little bit of the night. And I thought, that didn't
mean so much to me, but what if a little ant tried to run that. What would it
mean to him? See, he couldn't make it in thousands of life times. But it didn't
mean nothing much to me. What about a airplane, what about a jet, then an astronaut?
Then what about God?
See, Jesus was only crucified yesterday afternoon in God's time, if He had time.
A thousand years is only one day with God, as it was. It ain't even that, only,
as it was one day. So this hasn't been just hardly a week, if you want to count
time, between the whole, since the beginning of creation, just developing it
out. God with His thoughts becoming material, and then that brings us with Eternal
Life. And Eternal Life, there's only one form of it; that's God.
And then, it's God expressed in His church, like God expressed in His Son. It's
the same God all the time: God above us, God with us, God in us, just bringing
the whole thing right back. Now. In the beginning was the Word.
E-29 Now, if we was
going to talk about who's going to judge the world, why, you'd... Somebody'd
say... I heard a Catholic person said, "God will judge the world by the Catholic
church." If He does, which Catholic church? See, they got so many different
ones of them, the Orthodox, the Greek, or the Roman, or what? See, what Catholic
church will He judge the world by?
Well, if He judges it by the Catholic church, then the Protestant's out. If
He judges it by the Protestant church, then the Catholic is out. If He judges
it by the Methodist, the Baptist is out. Well, you say, "Wait a minute. They're
all..."
E-30 Oh, no. Remember, in the beginning the one, the only fortified that--that God gave Adam and Eve was to stay behind His Word, and just not to... Satan didn't misbel--didn't tell her it wasn't so. He just misquoted one little phase of It. And if one little phase caused all of this, troubles, sickness, and heartaches, and sorrows, one little phase will keep us out of it. God will judge the world, not by any certain group; He'll judge the world by Jesus Christ. And Christ is the Word. He is the Word. "In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh and dwelled among us." So He is the expressed Word of God in every age. He makes Him the same yesterday, today, and forever.
E-31 Identified Himself
in the beginning with the prophets. Now, remember, the prophets is who the Lord
speaks through. And--and now notice. He identified Himself in human beings from
the very beginning.
From the very start of time, He always has a way of doing things, and He never
changes His way. That's the reason I can believe His Word. If God was ever called
on the scene to make an act, and... The decision that God made when He was called
on the scene, He has to act the same way every time He's called on the scene,
or He acted wrong at the first place. Otherwise, if He was called to save a
man, He saved him on a certain basis. And if He's ever called to save another
man, He's got to do the same way He did the first time, or He did wrong when
He did it the first way.
If He was ever called on the scene to heal a man and He healed Him on the basis
of some certain thing, if He's ever called again to heal, He's got to heal on
them same basis or He acted wrong. And He's infinite, omnipresent, omniscient,
and He's--He's infinite God, so He doesn't change.
E-32 Now, we're finite.
We can say this is right today; tomorrow we can find something different. We
can be better. We got a better--build better houses than we did a hundred years
ago. We got better cars than we had twenty years ago. And we got better transportation,
and whatevermore you want to go into. We're better because we're learning. But
God hasn't, because He's perfect to begin with. Therefore, He and His Word is
the same. So His Word is perfect.
If you don't believe that, don't never come in the prayer line, 'cause that's
the only basis that you can accept anything. Faith can only take its rest upon
something that it's sure of. And a real genuine faith rests itself on the eternal
Rock of God's eternal Word. It doesn't shift. It stays right there, regardless.
Talk about rock of Gibraltar, that's the Rock of Ages it stands on. The Word
never can change, and faith rests upon that.
He said, "Heavens and earth will pass away, but My Word shall never fail." Men
and women who ever amounted to anything were men and women who believed that
to be the truth. And that is the truth. He... The Word is the truth.
E-33 Now, we find out
that He--in the beginning God 'lotted so much Word to each age, to each--each
age. And then as that Word become time for It to be revealed... Don't miss this.
When it come time for that Word to be revealed, usually men had it so messed
up till He appeared to a prophet. Search the Scriptures. See? Now, remember,
the unchanging God, He cannot change His ways. He must every time do it the
same, unchanging.
Let me just give you one example. When man fell, sinned, and God was called
on either to throw him into judgment, or to make a way of escape for him...
Now, God in the garden of Eden made one plan to save man, one way, and that
was through the shed blood of an innocent subject. He's never changed it. We've
tried to build cities, towers, educate, denominate. But it's all failed. God
can only meet men under the shed blood of the innocent. He did that in the garden
of Eden, and He's never changed it. God never changes His ways. He... If He
does then He's finite, like I am, you are.
We say, "Well, I was wrong there, but I--I'll be right this time." Not God,
He's right in the first place. He don't have to change nothing. He made the
promise, and He's got... He stays by it.
E-34 As Abraham, he was persuaded that God was able to keep anything that He promised, so he called anything contrary to the Word as though it wasn't. He just went right on just the same against scientific--the scientific proofs, and against reasons, against hope, against everything there was. God's Word come first. Abraham said, "Let everything else be wrong." He's going to have the baby anyhow. And so he had it (See?) because he believed it. Now, we find then that the unchanging God always does the same.
E-35 Now, notice, just
briefly in the history of time; go with me now just for the next few minutes.
Let's go back and find out. In the beginning He spoke to the prophets, and the
Word of the Lord came to the prophet. And the prophet being able to foretell
Divine things and it happened just like that, was His identification. A "prophet,
seer," means "one who foretells, or tells forth," and also is a Divine interpreter
of the written Word. Anybody knows that, that knows what a prophet means.
Now, the English word "prophet," p-r-o-p-h-e-t, means a preacher, just anybody
that preaches. But a seer of the Old Testament, which was referred to as a prophet,
he was the one that foresaw things. He said, "If there be one among you who's
spiritual or a prophet, I, the Lord, will make Myself known unto him. And if
what he says comes to pass, then hear him. But if it doesn't come to pass, don't
hear that prophet (See?), 'cause he's prophesying falsely. But if I have sent
him, that'll be My identification. What he says will come to pass." He's borned
in the world, ordained, foreordained of God to do that, 'cause all gifts and
callings are without repentance. They are foreordained of God.
E-36 Before the world
ever begun He knowed all about it. He knowed every flea, every fly, and how
much tallow it would make, and how many times it'd bat its eyes. That's--that's
infinite (See?), infinite. That's just... If it isn't, then He isn't infinite.
He knowed everything, and He's--He's omniscient because He's omnipresent. That
makes... Omniscient makes Him omnipresent. He knows everything, knowed it before
the world begin.
He knowed before the world begin we'd sit here. He knowed how many times I'd
raise my hands up and down. He knowed the words I'd say. He knowed how many
times you'd bat your eyes, what you'd think, before the world ever started.
What are we afraid about? God is our Father. That's right. He's our Father.
We have no worry. People's just lost their faith and confidence in Him.
E-37 And we find that
that goes for a seasons, and then there's words that God has spoken to come
to pass. And then they all get mixed up, and then God sends a prophet on the
scene. And that prophet vindicates that Word for that age always. Go through
the church ages, what we're supposed to have. See if you don't picture out those
men down through the church ages, as we see them since the--the apostles.
Now, notice this again. God spoke to Noah, and he was a prophet, told Him about
what was coming. He prophesied, and it happened.
E-38 Now, along come
Joseph. Joseph, a perfect example, that was Christ in Joseph. Why, you notice
he was loved of his father, despised of his brothers because he was a seer.
They hated him without a cause. The man couldn't help what he was; he was. And
the other brothers hated him, a very good type of all ages. Always when a seer
comes on the scene, the rest of them hate him for the same cause as they did
Joseph.
He couldn't help it. He re--He could interpret their dreams. Never was He wrong.
He--he foretold things. Never was he wrong. And his brothers hated him without
a cause.
And notice, his life portrayed Christ to us exactly, even sold almost for thirty
pieces of silver, taken up out of the ditch, and set at the right hand of Pharaoh,
the ruler of the world at that day. And every time he left the palace, they
sounded a trumpet and said, "Every knee bow, 'cause Joseph is coming," a perfect
type of Christ in the millennium when the trumpet sounds, and the--He'll come
forth, and every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess to Him.
Notice, in his prison he was a prophet. That's when he was sold, and--and put
into prison on account of Potiphar's wife. Then we find that in there the butcher
and the baker, they both had a dream. And he interpreted the dream, and one
was lost and one was saved. So did Jesus on the cross exactly. One was lost,
one was saved, when He was in His prison, tacked to the cross. Just a perfect
example.
E-39 We find out that
when Moses come on the scene now... Now, Moses could have not come in the same
spirit, or the same way, with the same message that--that Noah had. It was another
age, to fulfill another Word. God said, "Your seed will sojourn in a strange
land, be a--and serve them for four hundred years. And then I'll bring them
out with a mighty hand." But when Moses was called... Took forty years of schooling,
then forty years to get it all out of Him again. Then God called Him by the
supernatural Light, a Pillar of Fire laying back in a burning bush. He knowed
more about God in five minutes than he learned in forty years, because he was
in His Presence. That's what I...
When a man is in the Presence of God, then he knows something. He knows something...
Not he can't learn it in books. You can't learn God by books, education. Say...
You say, "He's D.D., Ph.D." That just takes him that much farther from God to
me. You don't know God by education; you know God by faith. You believe Him;
that's how you know God.
And now, that's why I think our meetings in the Divine Presence of God ought
to spur the peoples' faith to know, that no matter what science says, what the
unbeliever says, Christ was sent to you, the believers. You have a right to
enjoy His fellowship, and His blessings, and everything that He died for. There
you are.
E-40 No man has a right
to preach the Gospel until he's knelt on those sacred sands back there in the
Presence of that Pillar of Fire and heard the voice of God speak to Him.
You know, the religions today can explain it all away. "This happened, and that's
gone." And "This was for another age. And this..." But a man that's ever met
God face-to-face and talked to Him, there's no scientist, or no devil, or nothing
else can come on that sacred ground; He was there where he met God, and he knows
what he's talking about. And no need of anybody else trying to tell him.
E-41 God, speaking in
the ages through His prophets, identifying Himself each time to the age that
come on... Now, along came Jesus of Nazareth. He was a prophet too. The Bible
said He would. Deuteronomy 18:15, Moses said, "The Lord your God shall raise
up a prophet liken unto me, and to Him shall the people hear."
Now, notice. Every age, all Israel, all the people believed that the prophets,
when they were identified prophets. Hebrews--Hebrews the 1st chapter said, "God
in sundry times and divers manners spake to the fathers through the prophets;
in this last days through His Son, Jesus Christ," (See?), through His Son, Jesus
Christ. Notice, never changes His way, the same thing, always the continuity
of God's Word.
E-42 God never did use
a system, never did use a organization, never did use groups. He uses one single
person. If you're Methodist, Baptist, that's all right, Presbyterian, Pentecostal,
that's good. But God deals with you as an individual. It's you, not your church.
You are the one that's responsible, not what your church says.
What God said to you, it must be with the Word. God deals with individuals.
He's always did. The prophets is not a school of prophets. They tried that one
time and failed. So they find out... Ahab had a bunch of them down there. But
God had one too, by the name of Micaiah, that all the rest of them hated. But
he had the truth then. He had the truth of the Word, because His prophecy was
according to the Word. It's always got to be, the prophet is sent to vindicate
the Word promised for that day. Now, there's exactly how they failed to see
Jesus. That's exactly.
Look at those men, those Pharisees and Sadducees, scholars that we don't have
today. They must be born a certain--of a certain tribe: Levi. Their great-great-great-great-great-grandfathers
were priests. All the way through, they studied that Word day and night, day
and night. But when the Word was vindicated, they didn't know It. See, they
had traditions. Jesus said, "You with your traditions has made the Word of God
of no effect."
E-43 Now, He come just
exactly the way the prophet said He would come. But you see, they had a tradition.
And they couldn't see that. This Baby born down there, illegitimate birth, and
in a cow stable. How could that be? And this Guy didn't go to any school. He
had no credentials; He had no fellowship card; He didn't belong to any organization.
They knowed no school He went to. How could this be anything? But it was. They
failed to see.
He said, "The works that I do testify of Me. Search the Scriptures, for in Them
you think you have Eternal Life: and They are They that testify, tell you Who
I am. They are my testimony, the Scriptures. But if you don't believe Me, believe
the works I do. They tell you Who I am."
They said, "We have Moses. We believe Moses."
Said, "If you'd believe Moses, you'd believe Me. He wrote of Me." See? It was
so dark, and still they couldn't see it. Wonder if that could repeat. It's prophesied
to, you know. It was prophesied to there.
You say, "In this day?"
Oh, yes. "Heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; trucebreakers,
false accusers, incontinent, despisers of those that are good; having a form
of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." It's prophesied,
and all prophecy must be fulfilled. I wonder if we're close to that time. I
just wonder if we are. Let's look around just a little bit, and see how at ease
we are in Zion.
E-44 Now, we find out,
let's see what Jesus was when He come. He was the Word. He was absolutely the
Word. And the Word is always corrective. It corrects the error, although the
error don't believe it sometimes. But the Word corrects the error.
Look at Jesus at just twelve years old, a little Boy about like this little
fellow sitting here asleep with the braces on his legs. Jesus was a little Boy
about twelve years old, no record where He ever went to school. But they went
up to the feast of the Passover, and when they--or the feast of Pentecost, rather.
And they went up to the feast, Joseph and Mary, and all the congregation from
down in the city. They went up to Jerusalem. And three day's journey, they presuming
He was around with the people and some of the kinfolks there, but they missed
Him. They went to looking, and He wasn't there. They went back to Jerusalem
and found Him in the temple disputing with the priests, disputing with those
men.
E-45 Notice here. Not
to hurt you Catholic people, but you who take Mary for a goddess, or an intercessor,
looky here. She'd give a testimony; watch her condemn her own testimony. She
said, "Your father and I have sought You with tears." Look what she did. She
condemned her own testimony. She was calling Joseph His father.
But watch. Just a Kid, just a little Boy, but the Word always corrects the error.
Said, "Know You not that I must be about My Father's business?" The Word spontaneously
(See?) corrected the error.
She said, "Your father and I..." Joseph... Right before those priests, who she'd
already told that she was conceived by the Holy Ghost. And here she testifies,
and identifies Joseph being His father, condemning her own testimony.
E-46 But watch the Word
pick it up. He was the Word. "In the beginning was the Word; the Word was with
God; and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh and dwelled among us."
The Word picked it up to correct the error. "Know ye not that I must be about
My Father's business?"
If Joseph had been His father, He'd been down in the carpenter shop in His business.
But His Father's business was condemning those organizations and things, that
He was condemning them up there, where He--where He belonged. He was having
a time there, where they couldn't even understand how this Boy would know such
as that. But He was the Word. Never a man spoke like Him. What He said, He had
the authority to make it work.
Those prophets did too, 'cause they lived in the hour. He was--He--He was all
the prophets made in One, plus even that, 'cause He was the Fullness of the
Word. He was all the Word. The prophets was just the Word to that age. But He
was the Word to all ages. He was God Himself coming down and manifested in a
body of flesh, the Word made flesh and dwelt among us.
E-47 Let's watch how
He identified Himself. As first, after He came out of the wilderness from being
baptized with the Holy Spirit, baptized with John... Here's another little thought
that you might catch, just before you think of it. You know, the Bible says
the Word comes to the prophet. If there's a prophet in the land, the Word has
to come to him. Look at. John was a prophet, the first one they'd had. See?
And he was a Word prophet. And while he was standing there prophesying, the
Word came to Him in the water. Jesus was the Word, walked right out in the water.
And John said, "I have need to be baptized of Thee. Why comest Thou unto me?"
He said, "Suffer that to be so: for thus it's becoming to us that we fulfill
all righteousness." Why? Then John being a prophet, and Him being the Word,
knowed that He was the Sacrifice, so the sacrifice has to be washed before it
was presented. So he baptized Jesus, washing the Word before It was presented.
You see?
So He--He said, "Suffer it to be so now: for thus it is becoming to us to fulfill
all righteousness." Then when he suffered Him, "Jesus went straightway out of
the water: and lo, the heavens was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God like
a dove, descending down upon Him." And He went into the wilderness and was tempted
for forty days, and He came out.
E-48 Let's follow His
ministry now. We're in St. John 1. Let's watch what takes place, and see what
He was then. Then we can find out what He was now, then. Look at Him in the
back ages. Now, we're up to the time of Jesus. Then we'll close, maybe pick
it up tomorrow night there. We just got a few minutes left.
Here He comes out of the wilderness. The first thing, there was a man by the
name of--of Andrew. He'd been going to attend John's message, and John begin
to say... John knew that he was going to--to be the introducer of the Messiah,
because he'd done said... You know, his father was a priest, but he never followed
his father. His job was too important to go to any of the theological schools.
So he went to the wilderness at nine years old.
He knowed he had to identify--had to see the sign that would prove Who that--that
the Messiah was. And he knowed it so sure. He knowed his calling. He was so
sure of it, he was standing among a bunch of people like this; he said, "He's
right among you now. There's One standing among you Who you don't know. He'll
baptize with the Holy Ghost and fire." Said, "I'm not even worthy to loose His
shoes."
And then, first thing, Jesus walked out and he saw that sign. He said, "I saw
the sign, and I'm sure that that was Him." And he baptized Him. Now, when Jesus...
E-49 And no doubt that--that Andrew had told his brother. And now, his brother was kind of a... Simon, he was kind of a--one of these hard guys, that didn't want to believe anything. He said, "I remember what my father told me. He said, 'Son, one day...' He said, 'You know, we've fished, and we trusted God to--to give us fish for pay our debts, and get something to eat.' He said, 'Many times we've had to pray, way before mother died and all, to give us a good catch of fish so we could have food for the day. And I've always looked, as any good Hebrew would, for the coming Messiah.' Said, 'Now, I'm getting old, and I suppose I won't see Him. But I want you boys to know, just before He appears on the scene there'll be all kinds of false things rise up. See? But I want you to know: we must trust the Word. Moses, our prophet, told us that the Lord God would raise up a prophet. Now, we haven't had a prophet for hundreds and hundreds of years. But when the Messiah cometh, He'll be identified Prophet. Now, you'll know Him, 'cause He'll be a prophet."
E-50 And then, this
fellow was preaching, doing nothing else but preaching, John, so he... Simon
couldn't go for that. So he told him that this One he was speaking of had come,
so that identified Him as a Prophet (See?) that he, what had--what had happened.
So Andrew and Simon went down one day, and washing their nets, and they were--went
down to see Jesus. And when Simon come, run up into His Presence, Jesus looked
at him, and said, "Your name is Simon, and you are the son of Jonas." That did
it. He knowed right then that that was that Word made flesh. See? He knew it.
Why? Hebrews the 4th chapter, 12th verse, which is known through all scholars,
that the Word of God is sharper than a two-edged sword, and is a Discerner of
the thoughts and intents of the heart. How many readers know that? See? Hebrews
4, 4:12.
Now, when he saw that, he knowed that He'd not only knowed who he was, He knowed
that godly old daddy of his too. He knew right then that was the Messiah. He
was given the keys to the Kingdom later.
E-51 Then, there was
a fellow standing there by the name of Philip. So he had a fellow had been studying
the Bible with him, oh, for many years, and that was a fellow named Nathanael.
He lived about fifteen miles, if you'll cheek it on the map, where he went around
the hill to find Nathanael. And when he found him, he was... He was a grove
man. He raised olives. And he was out there in the grove praying. And, of course,
Nathanael after--or Philip... (Pardon me.) Philip, after seeing Nathanael praying...
He was a gentleman. He waited till he got finished praying. He... When he stood
up, he said, "Say, come see Who we found: Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Joseph.
This is--this is the Messiah we were talking about."
"Aw." Then listen at this fellow, said, "Now, could there be any good thing
come out of a bunch of people like that, out of..."
And I think he gave him the best answer anybody could, said, "Come and see."
Don't--don't stay home and criticize. Come find out for yourself. Bring your
Word along with you, and let's search It, and find out what it is. You know
what the Word says that this Messiah's going to be. What He was yesterday, He
is today. Search the Word; find out what He is, whether He's an organization,
whether He's a group of people. What is He? See?
E-52 So we find out
there, that they've come around the hill. And no doubt that Philip related to
him what He had said. "Why, that old fisherman, that didn't have enough education
to sign that receipt, that--when you got that fish, He told him who he was,
and told him who his daddy was. Wouldn't surprise me if He don't tell who you
are when you get there."
"Aw, go on. I'll have to see it," he said.
Walked right up into His Presence, maybe like this, prayer line, wherever it
was. Jesus was praying for the sick. And when Jesus looked upon him, the first
time He'd ever saw him, He said, "behold an Israelite in whom there's no guile."
He said, "Rabbi (which means teacher), when did You ever see me? This is the
first time I ever saw You. When did You ever see me?"
He said, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the tree I saw you."
What eyes. Watch the--watch the after-effects, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God.
You are the King of Israel."
E-53 That man know...
Look at the difference between Him and them priests standing out there. Them
priests didn't believe it. And they know it happened, so they had to give a
answer to their congregation. so you know what they said? They said, "He does...
He's a fortuneteller. He's Beelzebub, the devil. He's a devil."
And Jesus said, "I'll forgive you for that. (The atonement wasn't yet made.)
But when the Holy Ghost comes (now) and does the same thing, one word against
It will never be forgiven in this world or the world to come." So you see where
it would throw us, if we seen the same thing.
E-54 Now, we go just
a little bit further. We find out then, that there's only three classes of people
on earth, three races. We know that: Ham, Shem, and Japheth's people. That's
the Jew, and the Samaritan, and the Gentiles. Now, the Samaritan's half-Jew
and Gentile. Now, we know that the Jews was looking for a Messiah. So was the
Samaritans. But we Gentiles were Anglo-Saxon. We--we worshipped idols, carried
clubs on our backs and was heathens. We wasn't looking for no Messiah, and no
Messiah was showed to us either, not His sign. We seen a man walking, but not
a Messiahic sign.
But there was Samaria. So Jesus, one time on His road down to Jericho, went
around the mountain, had need to go by Samaria. And He come to a city named
Sychar. It was along about noontime, maybe a place something on the order of
this here. And he went to the well, and set down, and--and sent the disciples
out to get vittles: food.
E-55 And while they
were there, a woman, a young lady of the city, of kind of a bad reputation,
she'd had too many husbands. She came out to the well, 'cause she couldn't come
with the rest of the women, 'cause... That's still a custom. They can't mix
together. So she come out to get water.
And when she started to let down the--the water pot by the windle to get the
water, she heard a Man say, a voice say, "Woman, bring Me a drink."
And she looked around, and there was a Jew. And sh--He must've looked a little
old for His age. He might've looked a little older than what He was. You know,
he said in St. John 6 there, that "You're a man not over fifty years old, and
said you seen Abraham. We know now that you've got a devil."
He said, "Before Abraham was, I AM." So, but His--His work must have made Him
look a little, maybe grayed a little, or something. He was only about thirty-three,
but He looked a little older.
Said, "You say... You being a Jew, and ask me, a woman of Samaria, we have segregation.
There's nothing... We just can't do that. You can't--supposed to do that."
He said, "But if you knew Who you were talking to, you'd ask Me for a drink."
E-56 What was He doing?
Carrying a conversation. The Father had sent Him up there, but He had... Here
was a woman; that must be the time. So He said... He talked to her till He caught
her spirit. See? See, the Word discerns the thought that's in the heart, and
He was the Word. How many believes He was the Word? Sure. See? And the Word
discerns the thoughts in the heart. See?
He said... Find out what her trouble was. We all know what that was: too many
husbands. He said, "Go get your husband and come here."
She said, "I don't have any husband."
Said, "You've told the truth. You've had five, and the one you're living with
now is not yours."
E-57 Look at that little
woman. See? She had fallen from God's thoughts. She could be redeemed. She was
a subject. She had representation in heaven. She turned around. Look at the
difference between her and them preachers or priests. Them preachers, when they
saw it they said, "Why, this man's a fortuneteller." They didn't know the Word.
Look what she said. "We know, Sir, You must be a prophet. We haven't had one
for hundreds of years. And we know when the Messiah cometh, that's what He's
going to do."
Oh, my. She could--she could teach Birmingham something. She could teach the
rest of the world something. Yes, sir. She could teach these theological seminaries
something. See? "Same yesterday, today, and forever."
Look. "We... Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet." See? He read the thoughts
that was in her heart. She said, "You must be a prophet. We know, we Samaritans,
we're looking for it. There'll come a Messiah. We haven't had a prophet for
four hundred years. Malachi was our last prophet, and he said there'd be a forerunner.
We've heard of him, a man down on the--on the Jordan there. 'I'll send My messenger
before My face to prepare the way.' I've heard of it, and we're looking for
a Messiah to come right away."
He said, "I'm He that speaks to you." That settled it.
Into the city she went and said, "Come see a Man Who told me the things that
I have done. Isn't that the very Messiah?"
E-58 My friends, we
haven't got time to go further, but if that was Messiah yesterday, it's Messiah
today, for He is the same yesterday, today. He died in order to make an atonement
to make these things come to pass, to give you the privileges of drawing from
what He done for you.
Now, remember, if you're a sinner, you were actually saved when Jesus died at
the cross. But you have to believe it and accept it as your own--your own personal
salvation. And if you're sick, you were healed when Jesus was wounded for our
transgressions. With His stripes, you were healed.
Now, if He was standing here tonight with this suit on, that He gave me, there
could not be... If you'd say, "Heal me, Lord," He could not do it; He's already
done it. See?
E-59 But now, what if
somebody, you'd say, "Could Jesus be in Birmingham then tonight?" Yes, sir.
He promised He would.
"Well, how would He be here? In the form of what?" The Holy Spirit. That's what
He is, same yesterday, today, and forever. He's in the form of the Holy Spirit.
Now, I wish I had time to inject one more thought here, but I probably won't.
Let--let me get it just right quick. Will you--will you suffer with me a few
minutes? I don't want to keep you too late and miss your buses. Jesus said in
St. Luke the 16th chapter, or 17th chapter, "As it was in the days of Lot, so
shall it be in the coming of the Son of man." Did He say that? Now, watch what
it was.
He was reading the same Bible we was reading, Genesis 22, or 19, 20, right along
in there. Notice, He was reading the same Bible. Watch the setting of Lot. Oh,
what a sinful nation it was, what a sinful place. Look what we're in today.
Look what He said. "A--a sinful and adulterous, wicked and adulterous generation
seeks after a sign, and they'll get it," the sign of Jonah, raised from the
dead, or raised from the--being as good as dead in the belly of the whale for
three days and nights, the Son of man, the resurrection sign. This adulterous
generation would receive the resurrection sign.
E-60 Now, Jesus said,
"As it was in the days of Lot..." Notice the setting. There was two Angels down
there amongst the Sodomites, preaching, two great Messengers. There was One
stayed with Abraham. And them that went down with Sodom down there, they done
signs by... What did they do? Preach the Gospel, and smote them blind. Their
own preaching made the people blind.
If that wasn't a modern Billy Graham, I never seen one. Never had a messenger
yet in all the ages, that his name ever ended with h-a-m to the church. Remember,
we've--we've had a Moody, Sankey, Finney, Knox, Calvin, so forth, Billy Sunday.
But never a h-a-m until this time. H-a-m, father to the nations, there now (See?)
down there. Look at Sodom's setting.
And remember, there was a Man stayed up with them up there, which Abraham called
Elohim, God. Watch what he--how he knowed He was Elohim. He said, "Abraham,
where is your wife, Sarah?"
Said, "She's in the tent behind You."
A hundred years old... Said, "I'm going to visit you, according to the promise
I give you at the time of life, the other twenty-eight days. You've been looking
for twenty-five years now. (Sarah's ninety, and he's a hundred.) I'm going to
visit you according to the time of life."
And Sarah went "Hmmph" to herself in the tent.
He said, "Why did Sarah laugh?" in the tent behind Him.
Abraham called Him Elohim, God manifested in that human flesh, eating a--a calf,
drinking the milk from the cow, and eating bread, corn cakes, and God manifested
in human flesh.
E-61 Jesus said, "As
it was in the days of Sodom, so shall it be at the coming of the Son of man,"
when God would again manifest Hisself in human flesh. And remember, that was
the last sign. Abraham had seen sign after sign after sign. But here was God,
this time manifested in flesh, and could tell what Sarah was thinking about
behind Him. That knowed it was the Word, because the Word discerns the thoughts
that's in the hearts. See? Get it? Raise your hands if you do. All right. See?
Now, that was the last sign.
Now, remember, Abraham and his group was not in Sodom. They were out of Sodom,
not out there in that denominational world, out of there, out there. You see
what sign they got of great intellectual messages? But watch what a sign the
elected church got. Abraham... G-r-a-h-a-m is six letters: world, man's number.
Man was created on the sixth day. He is six. But A-b-r-a-h-a-m is seven letters
(See?), the elected church, standing out. Notice, they got that sign, God manifested
in flesh.
E-62 And Jesus said,
now watch, Luke the 17th chapter, "In the... As it--as it was in the days of
Sodom, so shall it be at the coming of the Son of man, when the Son of man is
being revealed." And remember, when the Son of man in this last days is being
made manifest to His people, through Himself working among the people... John,
as it was in 14:12, said, "The works that I do shall he also."
And we're promised that to restore. Every voice has a message behind it. And
the message was restore the faith back to the original faith, Malachi 4. Restore
back the faith to the--of the fathers to the people. They've got off in all
kinds of everything, but restore back again that faith. The message of the hour
is, "Return back to the Word." God, the...
E-63 Remember, we're
looking for a promised Son. And we are the seed of Abraham (Is that right?),
royal seed through Christ. And they were looking for a promised son, Isaac.
And the royal seed today, we're looking for a promised sign (Is that right?),
a promised Son of God to return. And the... They'd had all kinds of messages,
and all kinds of things Abraham had seen. But just before the promised son,
the last sign before the Gentile world was destroyed, was this God manifested
in the flesh that knew the secrets of the heart.
Now, that's the last sign that the church in the spiritual church gets. That's
the last sign that the natural church gets, and the Gentile world will be destroyed.
And she's ready for it right now, the earth shaking all over with earthquakes.
Why?
E-64 The first time
the earthquake ever shook the whole earth was on Good Friday. The last time
it shook it was another Good Friday. What did it shake for? Because they had
rejected their Messiah. Why did it shake again? They've done the same thing.
See? Laodicea church age, any scholar knows that He was on the outside knocking,
try, "Lo, I stand at the door and knock." The only church age that ever completely
put Him out.
And the ecumenical council, that's just exactly what you've done to form the
mark of the beast, and taking in there... Well, what's... How can two walk together
unless they be agreed? And by doing that, they've rejected the Word again. It's
on the outside. Can't even get cooperation nowhere. That's exactly right. O
God, have mercy, Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever. Let us
bow our heads.
E-65 Lord God, You identify
Yourself in all ages, God. You was God, in sundry times Who spoke to the fathers
through the prophets, in this last days through Your Son, Jesus Christ, Who
we love and believe, and know that He's the same yesterday, today, and forever,
as He has promised.
Now, Father, such a wonderful crowd and fine faith. It's easy to speak to them.
But, O Lord, may that faith just move up now, just into another cycle now, step
right outside of the human thinking. They have heard this. They've been taught
that by their pastors. They--they've looked for it for years and years to come.
And now, we pray, Father, that You'll make it known to us tonight, that You
are not dead, but You are alive forevermore, and living among Your people as
a Lily in the valley amongst all the other flowers, the Fairest of ten thousand.
Now, we pray, O Lily of the Valley, that You'll come to us tonight. Make Yourself
known among us to identify Yourself in this age, for it's promised. I've just
told them the Word, that in the last days as Sodom and Gomorrah, so would the
Son of man reveal Himself as He did at Sodom and Gomorrah before the promised
son come to the elected, and destruction came to the rejected. So I pray, Father,
that they'll understand this, and may You come and keep Your Word, which I know
You will, in Jesus' Name. Amen.
E-66 Now, I believe
Billy said he give out some cards. Is that right? Raise up your hands, if there's
cards give out. What is the letter on them? B? All right, B. Let's right quick,
now... I'm going to ask you one thing. If you'll just set real still now, don't
move around, just give us ten minutes. Will you do that? Just ten minutes...
If everybody will set just perfectly quiet for ten minutes, don't move around...
All right.
Let's start from number 1. Who has B-number-1? Right quick now. Raise your hand
if you can't... The man was moving on the cot. See what his prayer card number
is. If it... See? You got a prayer card? You--you don't have one. All right,
now. All right.
Number 1, did I miss it? Or maybe we start from somewhere else, then. All right.
Oh, I'm sorry. All right. Number 1, number 2, 3. Number 2, raise up, 'cause--stand
up when you--I call your number. 1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 5. Watch your card now. 5? Come
right over here, and form a little line. 5, 6, 6, 7, 7?
If you can't get up now, let somebody raise your hand. We'll pick them up. All
right. 7, 8, 8, 8, 7, 8? Now, we just... We're really running overtime now.
All right. That's all right, just let her set there till we get ready to call
her and just put her right in the line where she belongs then. All right. 9,
9, 10, 10, 11, 11, 11? Stop there then. All right.
E-67 How many here doesn't
have a prayer card, and you're sick? Raise up your hands. Well... Raise up your
hands. How many here that doesn't know me, raise up your hand, knows that I
know nothing about you, raise up your hand. All right, now you look this-a-way,
and believe now. Everybody real reverent.
Now, just remember, one Word from Him will mean more than I could speak in a
hundred lifetimes. See? I could preach just... How many believes that that's
the truth? All right. Now, if it's the truth, God's obligated. If that's His
Word, that's His promise, He's obligated to do it. He's obligated to confirm
His Word. Is that right? And if He does do it, will you believe it? Then all
right, you believe it.
Now, you can say, "Jesus? I don't look around, see Him anywhere." Look. What
if some man walked in here with nail scars in his hands, and stuff all over
his face, and blood, and so forth? Any hypocrite could do that. And remember,
Jesus won't come like that. When He comes like that, time will be no more. There'd
be no more time when He comes like that. But why would you know that it was
Him then, if He come? Because He would identify Himself by His--by His Spirit,
His sign, His Life in you. "I am the Vine; ye are the branches." Now, you just
remember, and believe that with all your heart now.
E-68 Now, this your
prayer line? All of them there? I--I don't know. Eight or ten? All right. That's
all right. Come here. Tomorrow night we'll try to pick up more. Everybody real
reverent. Now, just let them come one by one, as they come.
Now, first place, I want all that's in that prayer line that knows that I don't
know you... The little prayer line here, that knows that I don't know you, raise
up your hands, know that I don't know nothing about you, know nothing of you,
know not what's wrong with you, have no idea? All right. Now, real reverent.
Now, just remember where we're standing. The Word has been read. Now, remember.
I cannot heal no one; no other man can heal no one. But your faith in what is
Christ is what does the healing. Now, if He'll make Hisself known here, like
He did, identify Himself like this, as He did in other days, would you know
Him by that? That's the only way He said He'd identify Himself. That's the only
way He ever did identify Himself. And He's the same yesterday, today, and forever.
E-69 So now, here's
a woman, just like St. John 4. Jesus met a woman at the well. I just referred
to her a few minutes ago. Here's a man and a woman. I've never seen the woman.
She just raised her hand that I never seen her, and she never seen me. So we
are totally strangers. She just got a prayer card and her number happened to
be called.
Are you... [The woman speaks to Brother Branham--Ed.]
She said one time in Hammond, Indiana, I prayed for her. But said for her personal
life, I know nothing about her, know nothing. Don't know what you're here for
or now. Of course, there's hundreds of people in prayer lines, and I might have
been in meetings, and so forth like that. But I mean, that I know... I don't...
God in heaven knows, this Bible over my heart, I'd never remember that, somebody
in the distance like that, somebody that been prayed for maybe years ago. Hammond,
Indiana, that was a long time ago, many years ago, when I was in Hammond, Indiana,
eight or ten years ago.
E-70 So now just...
Now, if the Lord Jesus will reveal to me what you're here for now, that would
make St. John 4 exactly right. Whatever was in your heart, then the Word discerns
the thought that's in the heart, just like Jesus did the woman at the well.
Would you believe that to be true then? You would? Would the audience believe
it to be true?
Now, here's my hand on the Bible, that I never remember the woman, wouldn't
have no idea. And she raised her hand too, I wouldn't know what she was here
for. Said she saw me in Hammond, Indiana. That'd be... You, every one might've
been there, for all I know. I wouldn't know, just at the meeting. But now, may
the Lord Jesus grant this, if He will. I don't say that He will.
E-71 Now, I take every
spirit in here under my control, in the Name of Jesus Christ. Now, be real reverent.
If you're not a believer, I wouldn't advise you to stay in the building, 'cause
diseases go one to another. We know that. So does afflictions. Many has been
in meetings before and seen that happen.
Now, I just want to talk to you like our Lord did that woman. Now, see, you're
standing there needy. And you're--you're--you're probably a Christian. I don't
know. If you are, He'll tell me if you are. And then, I'm a Christian.
Now, it's two together, man and woman, and then the Spirit of God here, with
a gift to let you know what you're talking to Him about, what you're saying.
It might be financial. It might be domestic. I don't have any idea. But whatever
it is, you'll know whether it's the truth or not, if He reveals it. It's a tumor.
If that's right, raise up your hand. Now, you believe? Now, watch. You want
me to tell you where the tumor's at? It's in your throat. If that's right, wave
your hand like this. Now, you believe? All right. Go on your road, just thanking
the Lord that you--that you believe...?...
E-72 We are strangers
to each other I suppose, lady? We don't know each other. God knows both of us.
You believe God can reveal to me your trouble? Would it help you, cause you
to believe? Be real reverent, real reverent.
Now, remember. There was a woman one time that didn't get any prayer card, we'll
say. She went to the--touched the border of His garment. And when she did, Jesus
turned around and said, "Who touched Me?" Is that right?
She had a blood issue. She said within herself, "If I can touch that Man, I'll
be made well," and she touched Him.
And He said, "Who touched Me?"
And why even Peter rebuked Him, said, "That would sound like You was a mental
case or something." He said, "My, why everybody's touching You."
He said, "Yeah, but I got weak. I perceive that virtue went from Me." He turned
around and looked over the audience till He found that woman. And He told her
what her blood issue was. It was healed. You remember that?
Now, the Bible says today (Let the ministers answer this for us.) that He's
a High Priest right now that can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities.
Is that right?
You just take it to Him, say, "Lord God, that preacher don't know me. And let
me touch Your garment. Would You speak through Him?" If He's the same yesterday,
today, and forever, He'll act the same way. He's in human flesh now, acting
out, redeeming His people. Now, just pray now. Believe with all your heart.
Don't doubt. Don't doubt one thing. Believe all things. Just believe with everything
that's within you, believe.
E-73 Now, I want to
just--just to contact your spirit, lady, just to talk to you. Do you believe
that these things are true? You believe that the Lord Jesus could reveal to
me what you're here for? You also have tumor. That's right. You believe He could
reveal to me where it's at? It's in the female glands. And what gland it's in?
It's in the womb. That's right. All right, believe now. Go with all your heart.
Have faith.
Now, here's a man. A man once came to the Lord Jesus, and his name was Simon,
now, and he was called Peter. And Jesus told him who he was, and where he come
from, or what about it. Now, if the Lord Jesus can reveal to me what you're
here for, will you believe that... You'd know it would have to be the truth,
if--if you know whether it's the truth or not. You--you believe me to be His
servant? You do? Thank you, sir, thank you. May the Lord help you now to believe
that with all your heart. It's this little thing here. I'm just trying to get
it wound up all right.
Now, as you look this way again... Yes, sir, you should be facing an operation
for a rupture. That's right. And also hernia, you have a hernia. You believe
I can tell you who you are? You believe it? You are a reverend. You're--you're
a minister, 'cause I see you at the pulpit. And your name is Wallace. Believe
with all your heart. God bless you...?... Well, my, my. Have faith now. Don't
doubt. Just have faith. Believe now.
E-74 Now, we are strangers
to each other. God knows us both. Do you believe that the Lord God can tell
me something about you, what you're here for or something? I'm kind of rushing
because the people are--are crowded up, you know. You believe that He can reveal
to me something wrong with you? You do. And you know that feeling that struck
you just then couldn't be from me. That's Him. Makes you feel real, like sweetness,
humbleness. That's... Did you ever see the picture of that Light? Why, it's
exactly what's around you right now.
Now, the lady's moving back from me. She's suffering. I see her; she's kind
of crippling up. And she's got arthritis. So... That's right. If that's right,
raise up your hand. That's right. Then you also have a thyroid trouble. You're
suffering with thyroid. That's true. And then you have a heart trouble, smothering
from your heart. That is true too.
You're not from here. You're from some other kind of a country, where there's
a lot of... You're from a way away. You're from Pennsylvania. That's right,
come down here. Now, go home and be well...?... heals you, make you well. Have
faith now. Don't doubt.
E-75 Now, don't, don't
move. Please don't. Just a little bit now, we'll... If you'll just give me one
more... Give me this case, and then we'll stop if you'll just let me have this
case; don't move. Please don't. I know I've held you real long. But see, your
spirit... I'm just in contact with each one of you now. See? Now, have faith.
I'm--I'm a stranger to you. I don't know you. Christ knows you. There's a man
keeps coming. Oh, it's this gray-headed man setting here, suffering with trouble
in his knees. You believe that God will make you well, sir, and heal you with
that knee trouble? And you believe that He'll make you well? That man right
behind the--the wheelchair there, if you'll believe, with all... You're suffering
with knee trouble. Raise up your hand. All right. You touched something, didn't
you? You touched Him. That's right.
Say, by the way, the lady setting there next to you, the--the wife, do you believe
me, sister? So that they'll know it comes from God, you believe me to be His
prophet? You believe me? That rebound on that. You're suffering with a blood
pressure. If that's right, raise up your hand. All right, lay your hands over
on him too, 'cause he never got it too well. And then you believe with all your
heart, and you'll both get well. What did they touch?
E-76 Here, a lady just
caught that then. She's setting right back here, got her head down praying.
She's praying for the Lord to heal her. What she's... She's suffering, setting
right on the end of the row there. She's got a ruptured stomach that she's praying
about. And you believe that God will heal you, lady? Raise up your hand, the
little dark-headed woman, wearing glasses, that was praying for God to heal
her.
I don't know her, never seen her in my life. God knows that. If I'm a stranger
to you, wave your hand, lady. That's right. I know nothing about you. Now, you
know that that's true, isn't it? All right. Jesus Christ heals you, if you'll
believe it.
Say, setting right behind her, that lady setting there, setting right in behind
her there, she's praying too. Just follow that Light. Just... Don't you see
that Light hanging right there?
Now, look, the lady's had an operation. But what she really wants Christ to
do for her, is take growths off of her arm. You believe now He'll do it? Raise...
Yes, raise up your hand. All right. If you believe it, you can have it. Just
have faith and don't doubt. Believe.
E-77 I... No, it's two
different men. I thought this man... It's this man setting here. You believe,
sir, setting right here? You believe with all your heart? You believe God's
going to heal you of that prostate trouble? Make you well? You got prostate
trouble. Wave your hand if that's right. That's right. Your faith makes you
well, sir. Jesus Christ heals you. I never seen the man in my life.
Don't you see He's here? Don't you believe Him? Don't you see that's Him?
Now, wait just a minute, just wait. I don't believe He told you nothing about
yourself, did He? You believe that He can do it? You believe that I can do it,
through His grace and power, would it be His promise? You're suffering with
something wrong with your neck. You had a fall, and that's what did it. That's
right. Go back now. You're going to be well. Jesus Christ make you well.
E-78 Do you believe?
Everybody believes now with all your heart? Now, how many believers is there
here? Raise up your hand. All over the building, up. All right. You believe.
Now, right quick. We're really about pretty near a half-hour overtime. You do
this right now. Jesus said... Do you believe He's the same yesterday, today,
and forever? You believe He promised to do this in this day? You believe that's
the last sign that this church is going to see now before the coming of the
Lord appears? You believe we're right at the end, all the Scriptures was fulfilled,
ready for the coming of the Son?
Now, Jesus said, "These signs shall follow them that believe." Now, you lay
your hand over on somebody right next to you. Now, you're a believer. "These
signs shall follow them that believe." Now, if He keeps His Word to do this,
He'll keep His Word to do that too. Now, you pray for the person next to you;
they're praying for you. See? Now, don't you pray for yourself; you pray for
the person. They're praying for you. Now, let's all bow our heads while we pray.
E-79 Heavenly Father,
we are grateful to see the risen Messiah. Nineteen hundred years of all kinds
of theology and movements, but still in the darkness of all of it, You promised
that You would appear here in the last days in this Sodom day, and You'd make
yourself known to the children of Abraham, the called, the elected. And here
You are tonight after nineteen hundred years, You're just as much alive tonight,
as You was when You talked to the woman at the well. It's God manifested in
flesh, now in the flesh of His Bride. For the Bride and the Husband is the same-self
flesh. These two are One. And the church is becoming the Bride all the time
by believing the Word, so that the Word and the Church becomes the same, the
Word in the Church making it the Bride, the last sign, God identifying Himself,
the Word in the church.
O God, these people who say they believe have their hands laid on one another.
They're praying. Look down from Your glory, Lord. Watch, confirm Your Word.
You said, "These signs shall follow them that believe. If they lay their hands
on the sick they shall recover."
O God, may Satan lose his hold in their faith tonight. May God come in, and
let them know that He's identified Himself right here among us. And Jesus Christ,
the Son of God, is here with us now, the identified, resurrected Jesus Christ
making Himself known, first time He's done this since nineteen hundred years
ago. And here He is tonight.
May Satan lose his power, his unbelief fade out, and may the power of the resurrected
Christ come into these people and heal every one of them. And we cast out Satan
in the Name of Jesus Christ. May he go from this people right now, that they
all may be well, while they're praying one for the other with their hands laid
upon each other. Grant it, in Jesus Christ's Name.
E-80 Now, just keep
your hands on one another. Believe now. Keep your heads bowed, your eyes closed.
Believe. I don't care where you're at, what's wrong with you. That doesn't have
one thing to do.
If God, after nineteen hundred years ago, stands right here, identifying Himself
raised from the dead, and taking mortal people and showing Himself the Messiah
in all ages, same Messiah, doing the same thing by the same sign, He's raised
from the dead. Promised He would do it just before His second coming, and the
destruction of the Gentile world. Here He is.
We'll go deeper into it this week as we go along. But you, why suffer the rest
of the week, when you can be healed right now? Somebody's got their hands laid
on you. You... A believer has their hands laid on you. He said these words;
"These signs shall follow them that believe. If they lay their hands on the
sick they shall recover. They'll get well." Do you believe it with all your
heart now?
If you believe it with all your heart, and believe that Jesus Christ, the resurrected
Son of God, the One that'll judge you at the judgment bar, is here tonight in
the form and Person of the Holy Ghost, and's making Hisself known by His same
Scriptural sign that He promised to show you, and--that He was alive... Here
He is. If you believe that with all your heart and accept Him as your Healer,
I charge you by His Name, and through His Name, that you stand on your feet
now, and accept your healing in the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Stand
up, if you believe. Stand up. That's fine. People come from cots, raised up
out of wheelchairs. That--that's wonderful.
Now, just give Him praise, everybody. Raise up your hands. Now's the time to
shout and give Him praise. There's people out of the wheelchairs, out of the
cots, and everywhere raised up. Let's give Him praise, everybody, as you raise
your hands to Him.