A Greater Than Solomon Is Here

Date: 63-0628E | Duration: 2 hours and 17 minutes
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Associated Brotherhood of Christians Campground in Hot Sprin
Sermon translation in Russian: 63-0628A - VGR, 63-0628E - VGR, 63-0628M - VGR
Sermon translation in French: 63-0628E - SHP, 63-0628M - Shp
E-1 Thank you, very much. Good evening, friends. Happy to be here tonight, just enjoying a little handshake and a fellowship with my old friend, Brother G. H. Brown. I haven't seen in years. He is one of my—my first colleagues, of Arkansas, when we was at 505 Victor Street there.
E-2 I remember, Brother Brown, the night that the lady down in the basement, on her back, crawling on her back, with her… Lost her mind, and she very bad condition. Later on, I found her over around Jonesboro somewhere, in her right mind, with her husband, and just as normal as she could be.
E-3 A brother just met me here, just shook his hand. He was talking about being in a certain place, his wife had a goiter, I believe, on her throat. She was healed in the meeting. She is still healed.
E-4 God is wonderful, isn't He? [Congregation says, "Amen."—Ed.] We're so thankful for that. We should be, which we are, the most happy people in the earth, God's people, carefree, in the way that we're not afraid of death. You know, Christ conquered everything, even death, even the fear of death. Yeah. "O death, where is your sting? Grave, where is your victory? But thanks be to God Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." How we love Him for that!
E-5 This little sister from Florida, I believe, he said, or somewhere here, that sang that song: Down From His Glory. That's my favorite song, wrote by our friend, Brother Booth-Clibborn. I think it really expresses His supreme Deity today, in the day that people try to make Him just a prophet or—or some leader. And I think that expresses what He is, and I really like that song.
E-6 Now, you know, and so the bad part about these things, these meetings are not long enough. We just get to meet each other, and say "hello," and then have to leave again. But I have certainly looked forward to coming down.
E-7 I'll tell you a little something. I didn't say that for a hint the other night, about me having that bucket of sorghum molasses that that little bear got into. But somebody tonight paid me back, they sent me a jar of sorghum molasses. Thank you, and I'll see that the bear don't get that. I'll have my wife bake me a pan of biscuits, and I'll get right into them. Yes, sir, I sure like sorghum.
E-8 Billy, my son, just told me, said, "Daddy, they taken for you a love offering."
E-9 I told this preacher that I didn't want that. See, I didn't come for that, people. I come to help you, to try to. But there is no way of me giving it back. And if anybody knows anybody here is real bad off, somebody, widow woman or something, they got it. So thank you very much. You know, the Bible said, "Insomuch as you have done to the least," that's me, "of these little ones, you have did. it to Me." And I pray that God will bless you for that, and that He will—He will. I'll tell you, if no person is bad off, takes it, I'll put it to the mission work for the foreign fields. I go over, myself, so I know it's used right.
E-10 And so then try to bring this wonderful Message of—of the grace of God that's been brought to us in these last days, the Message, the best that I know how to bring It, and it's the same Message I preached many years ago. I haven't varied from it one inch, because you can't. If I would, I'd have to get out of the Bible. See? So it's from the Bible. And I believe that, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us." And Hebrews 13:8 says, "He is the same yesterday, today, and forever." I believe that.
E-11 Now, I was speaking to you today, at noon, on a Gospel Message. I was glad to see Brother Tracy Boutliere here, and that brother over here. And, I, and you know how I feel to stand up here? I—I kind of squeeze away from that preaching tonight, on account of all these fine ministers being here. So I'm just going to talk a little about the Lord Jesus, on His, the great revelation of Him today, and about His power to heal the sick.
E-12 And my son came over, a while ago, and he give out some prayer cards, and we want to pray for the sick tonight. And you've got man here that can preach the Gospel; they have, all this week. And I'm here to try to do my part, to show my appreciations of your loyalty to Jesus Christ, by praying for the sick.
E-13 And now before we open the Book, let's speak to the Author of the Book.
E-14 Sometime ago, there was a man said to me. I was talking about a certain subject in the Bible, and it was a very deep subject which there's a lot of dispute about, and on the Logos, and so forth. And he—he looked over at me. And I was with Brother Jack Moore, and we was coming down Cross Lake, in Shreveport, Louisiana. And this man looked over to me, and he said, "You just don't know your Bible."
E-15 I said, "But I know the Author real well. And I'm sure, if I love Him and know Him real well, He'll reveal His Word to me."
E-16 So let's speak to the Author now, as we bow our heads. Now while we get quiet. And, remember, in our hearts now, is there a request tonight among us, that you would want God to remember, that you are praying for this certain thing, maybe a loved one to come to Christ, tonight, maybe somebody to be healed, or some other request? Hold it in your mind, and raise up your hands to God, say, "Lord, remember my request." It's all, everywhere. What a needy world this is!
E-17 Lord Jesus, we come approaching Thee in that all-sufficient Name, knowing this, that we have been promised that our prayers will be heard. Said, "What you ask in My Name, it shall be given." And we bring all these requests, tonight, up before the great pearly White Throne where the Bloody Sacrifice lays, Who forgives all of our sins, and heals all of our sickness. And we are most grateful to Thee, tonight, for this grand privilege that we have, and with the Word of God, which cannot fail. Though Heavens and earth pass away, the Word can never fail. And the Word is God. And He has promised that He would hear and would answer our requests. Now we are sure that we get what we ask for. And my hand is up, too, Lord. Answer, tonight, our requests.
E-18 We want to thank You for what You have been to us, in this convention, back down through life. And we also thank You for what You are to us, to be in the future. And in the hour of our death, if You tarry, we know You'll be the—the old ship of Zion, You'll be the glossy Wings, You'll be the Morning Star that lights up the valley of the shadow of death, You'll be the One that will pack us over the river, into that great promised Land. We are satisfied of that, Lord.
E-19 Tonight, sitting in our midst are man, gray and stooped with age, and many years ago when I was a sinner boy, was standing on the street corners and fighting the good fight of faith, for this very Message that we're trying to contend for tonight. Father, God, we're grateful these man are still a living, as testimonies of this great faith that was once delivered to the saints. May we ever contend for it and be loyal to our post of duty, until Jesus comes.
E-20 Now we ask You to bless the Words that we read, and what we say tonight. May It fall into fertile ground that will bring forth a service, that there will not be one sinner in this building, that'll leave here, that will not be saved. May every sick person be healed. May there not be one feeble person among us at the end of the service. I know that's a great mountain that stands before us. But You said in Your Gospel, according to Saint Mark 11:22, "If you say to this mountain, 'Be moved,' and don't doubt in your heart, but believe that what you've said will come to pass, you shall have what you've said." Now we believe that.
E-21 You said, "When you stand praying, believe, forgive." And we pray that You would forgive us our trespasses, as we have forgive those that trespassed against us, that there be nothing to hinder our prayers from being answered.
E-22 And, Lord, may, if it so happens that we never meet again like this in another meeting, maybe a year from now or whenever it will be, we know there is coming one great meeting we're all going to be there, and that's the Wedding Supper. O God, may there not be one of us missing on that time. Until then, keep us healthy and happy, to serve You. In Jesus Christ's Name we ask it. Amen.
E-23 Now, to pray for the sick, I—I don't get off to preaching. As I've said, it's—it's a different anointing; same Spirit, just a different channel you are traveling through.
E-24 And now I want to read a familiar passage of Scripture, and a few Scriptures here I'd like to refer to, just before we call the prayer line. And I know it's hot, and I don't want to keep you long.
E-25 And I know the closing of the meeting, a great week, and how you're all filled up to the capacity now, and going home to have a great time. Don't want to go home just to have a great time to enjoy the blessings of God, but go home to take what you have learned and pass it on to somebody else. And may the children of this meeting, that was born again, in this meeting, next year bring great-great-great-grandchildren with them; meaning that you have won somebody else, and they won somebody else, and they won somebody else over to the Lord.
E-26 Now let's turn tonight to Saint Mark, the 12th chapter. And I want to start reading from the 38th verse of Saint… of Saint Mark 12, reading down with the 42nd verse, inclusive. And, usually, as it's a custom many times, we stand when we read the Word of God, but being that you're so packed in tonight, we'll omit that, and just sit reverently and listen to the Word. If you have a Bible, follow me as I read.
Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.
But he answered and said unto them, An evil and an adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall be no sign… given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
The men of Nineveh shall rise in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.
The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
E-27 I might use this for a text: A Greater Than Solomon Is Here. If we read the back parts of the Scripture, preceding this, we find that it kind of links in with what we were saying last evening.
E-28 When Christ came on earth, He came to His Own, and His Own received Him not. And those Jews were instructed by the Scriptures, of what kind of a character that the Messiah would be. And the Messiah was to be a prophet, according to their laws. Moses said, "The Lord your God shall raise a Prophet up, like me, and to Him the people shall cling; and if won't hear Him, they'll be cut off from the people."
E-29 See, the Scripture never leaves any age without a clear-cut identification, that we might know what hour we're living in.
E-30 Even in Saint Matthew 24, Jesus speaking of the end time, He said, "Now learn a parable of the fig tree."
E-31 And He said what would be the sign of the three questions. "What time will these not be one stone left upon the other, of the building? What is the sign of Your Coming, and the end of the world?" And He answered all three questions. Many times, people put them all three as one question, but they asked Him three questions. He answered them three questions. But He give, along there, a sign, because, the Jews seek after sign. And why do they seek signs? Is because they were bidden to do so. The Jew always believed in the supernatural.
E-32 Even under the law, that when there was a dreamer, or a prophet, that give a message that was a little bit misunderstanding, or they wasn't too sure of it, they had a way of finding out whether that message was right or not. They taken this dreamer, or the prophet, down to the temple where the—the Urim Thummim, it was the breastplate that hung, or was over Aaron's breast, that represented all of the tribes of Israel. And this prophet prophesied, or the—the dreamer told his dream.
E-33 And no matter how real it seemed, if that dream or that prophecy did not reflect a supernatural light, kind of a conglomeration like a rainbow across that, which was called the Urim Thummim, the message was turned down. The natural must answer by the supernatural, and the supernatural must answer by the natural. Therefore, in the Old Testament, the Urim Thummim was the test, whether the words were true or not. That was under the Levitical priesthood.
E-34 But God never left us without a Urim Thummim, because His Word tonight is the Urim Thummim. No matter how nice the message sounds, or how well the dream sounds, yet, if it doesn't flash across the Urim Thummim, God's Word, in my advice, leave it alone, because God doesn't testify. Because, this Book is the complete revelation of Jesus Christ.
E-35 Now, Jesus had come and had performed just exactly like the Scriptures said He would do.
E-36 And when the apostle Peter, as we spoke last evening, being instructed by his father, by the teachers, that there would be a rising of the Messiah, and that this Messiah would be a Prophet. Now for four hundred years, since Malachi, they had had no prophets. And here was a Man that when He walked up, not dressed any different, not like some well-renown priest or a clergyman, but just an ordinary man. And he wouldn't know this Messiah by how He dressed, but they would know Him by the—the Life that was in Him. And when Jesus looked at him and said, "Your name is Simon and you are the son of Jonas," then the apostle was ready to surrender, because that he knew that Jesus did not know him. Not only did He know him, but He knowed his father also, so he knew that was the sign of the Messiah.
E-37 We followed also Philip, to get Nathanael. Brought him over, which was a—a staunch man, great learned in the Scripture. We find that perhaps Philip instructed him, on the road over, what had happened. But when he come to Him, He called him, said, "Behold an Israelite, in whom there is no guile."
He said, "When did You know me, Rabbi?"
E-38 Said, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the tree, I saw you."
And he said, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God, the King of Israel."
E-39 And then to the nation of the Samaritan, there this little woman at Sychar. How that her in her condition as an ill-famed woman; but when that Gospel Light spread across her path, and He told her of her sin and what she had done, she said, "Sir, You are, must be a prophet. And we are instructed, and we know that when Messiah cometh, He'll tell us things." That was the sign of the Messiah.
E-40 Then we learned that He did not do that sign before the Gentiles, but prophesied that it would be done here in the last days, by the Holy Spirit. And, to blaspheme It, would be unforgivable.
E-41 As He said it would be like it was at the days of Sodom, when we found out that the representation of God in a man, a human being, that eat flesh of a cow, or a calf, rather, and drank the milk from the cow, and eat bread, and he called Him, "Elohim," the great God, the Creator.
E-42 God was made flesh in the form of Jesus Christ.
E-43 And today He is in His church, in the form of the Holy Spirit, still God. And that man in flesh, represented at the end time before the Gentile world was burnt by fire, that God would be in human flesh, doing the same thing, to vindicate Himself to the Gentiles. And we saw Him come among us, last night, and do that thing.
E-44 So now Jesus was upbraiding these people, tonight, because of their unbelief, because they should been Scripturally taught. But the traditions of the day had drawed the people from the Bible, the Scripture. Jesus said, "You with your traditions has made the Commandments of God of none effect."
E-45 And I wonder tonight, if He would stand upon this soil of the United States, if He wouldn't say the same thing to many tonight. With the traditions of man, you've took the Commandments of God and have made them of no effect, by preaching that, "just the days of miracles is passed," and so forth, as they do. "Having the form of godliness," that the prophet said would be in the last days, "but denying the Power thereof."
E-46 We find, in this, that He was upbraiding them, because they were constrained to look at signs and believe signs. Noah give them a sign. God always in every age dealt with man through signs, because He is supernatural. And where supernatural God is, there is bound to be supernatural things going on.
E-47 Then we find, in the days of Noah, those who believed his message and come in, was saved, and those that rejected his message perished. He give them a sign of building an ark.
E-48 In the days of Moses, God's speaking through human lips could call flies, fleas, frogs, close the heavens, make it dark, by a prophet that was thoroughly a vindicated. Those who believed and come out of Egypt, across the dividing line of the Red Sea, was saved. Those who was on the other side, perished.
E-49 And Jesus was telling them. They called Him, "Beelzebub," claiming that He was reading the people's mind." Or some today, they would have said, "It's a mental telepathy." But any intelligent person who knows any iota of mental telepathy, knows that the things that we see cannot be mental telepathy.
E-50 The other day, in Tucson, there was a little Baptist brother, and he was went out, bringing my little Rebekah home from school, packing her books. And he went to the meeting. He calls his father, a missionary down in Mexico, a fine man, a colleague of Billy Graham; and he said, "Daddy, hurry home right quick, we have seen the power of the Lord Jesus made manifest."
E-51 He said, "Son, what's the matter with you?" Called him on long distance. And he told what happened. He said, "That can be seen in any cheap carnival."
E-52 And the young man sit there a minute. He said, "Daddy, I love you. You've been my daddy, and you've tried to raise me right. But I wonder if we could switch the switch back to the time that Jesus of Nazareth done the same thing on the shores of Galilee, if you would be willing to call it a cheap carnival?" The man left his post of duty, and came and was convinced.
E-53 You see, Jesus was trying to tell them, "If I do not the works of My Father, then don't believe Me. Who of you can condemn Me of sin, which is unbelief? If I haven't fulfilled all the words that was written of Me, then you can point your finger at Me; but I've done just exactly what the Scripture said I would do."
E-54 Oh, if the church could only take that stand, tonight, as a representative of Jesus Christ, and say, "Where are we short? God, I want to live to see the day that the church of Jesus Christ can be one in purpose and heart and body, standing in the full anointed power of the Holy Spirit, to perform and work like Jesus Christ did, with God in them, too."
E-55 Now He begin to go back and upbraid them. They knew that God, in all generations, sends gifts. And when God sends a gift to the earth, and it's rejected, that nation or that generation goes into judgment. And if God sends a gift and it's received, that generation is blessed.
E-56 I was thinking tonight, as I was coming over, thinking on this, that, "What would it be if all America, tonight, believed the gift of God that we have received?"
E-57 Jesus here refers to the time of—of Jonas, or Jonah is really what it really is. And many people condemn Jonah, and they say that Jonah was a… You say, "He was a Jonah. He did this, that," because Jonah, we think, got out of the will of the Lord."
E-58 But let me try to justify that, tonight. The Bible said, "The footsteps of the righteous are ordered of the Lord." Sometimes, He makes us do things very contrary to what we think; but we're always, if we are following the leading of the Spirit, we are always in His will. God does what He wants to. He raised Pharaoh up for the same purpose; and called, said He loved Jacob and He hated Esau, before they was ever born. Now God's purpose must be fulfilled. Can the potter… or the clay say to the potter, as we find in Romans 8 and 9.
E-59 Watch, we find here that Jonah was commanded of God to go down to Nineveh, to preach, and to say that within forty days that city would perish, because Nineveh was a great city full of sin, a heathen country. They worshiped idols. They were, their occupation mainly was the fishing, because they were beside the seashore. And their—their occupant was to… occupations, was to fish. And Jonah, instead of taking a ship… And perhaps the ship wasn't going out just at that time. But he took a ship to Tarshish. And we find and understand the trouble that Jonah got into, out there on the sea. I believe that all that was ordained of God. The sea got troubled, and Jonah said, "Tie my hands and throw me overboard." And God had a fish prepared, as we call "whale," and to swallow the prophet up.
E-60 Few years ago, I was in Louisville, Kentucky, they—they had a whale on… the bones of one, upon a—upon a flatcar. And this little Ricky standing there, with his glasses over his nose, and seemed to have more education than he had intelligence to control, he was trying to explain about this whale. He said, "You know, the old legend of the Bible, that a whale swallowed Jonah." He said, "That's just a legend." Said, "Because, you see, you could hardly throw a ball through his swallow, it was so small, and he could not have swallowed up a man."
E-61 That was just too much for me to stand. I—I said to him, I said, "Sir, I—I want to correct that."
He said, "What's that?"
E-62 And I said, "You see, he might… That whale might not have been able to swallow him, but the Bible said, that, 'God prepared a fish.' It was a special built. God made him big enough to swallow him." See? I—I just felt I'd been a traitor to the Bible if I hadn't a-give my testimony, show the colors, 'cause people stand there laughing. I tell you, it was a different thing when that was said, see, it wasn't so funny, when I said, "You don't know the Scriptures. The Scripture said, 'God prepared a fish.' He made this one special."
E-63 Like a little girl one time, going from church, said she was happy. Her little hair combed back, and she was having a great time, singing the praises of God. The infidel on the corner said, "What you so happy about, little lady?"
She said, "I just got saved, going to Heaven."
E-64 He said, "What's that you got under your arm, that thing they call the Bible?"
She said, "Yes, sir, it is."
Said, "You don't believe that?"
Said, "Every Word of it."
E-65 Said, "Well, I guess you believe that story about the whale swallowing up Jonah?"
E-66 She said, "Yes, sir, I believe it. If the Bible said that Jonah swallowed the whale, I would believe it."
E-67 And he said, "Now how are you going to prove that—that the whale swallowed Jonah, any other way but by faith?"
She said, "When I get to Heaven, I'll ask Jonah."
He said, "Then what if Jonah isn't there?"
E-68 Said, "Then you'll have to ask him." So it just went to show what was going to happen, he went the other way. And that about expresses it.
E-69 But I believe that the whale swallowed Jonah. Now, with the hands tied, in the belly of the whale, way out upon the sea, about forty fathoms deep.
E-70 Now you women know, by your little goldfishes. A fish prowls through the water, to find its food. And after it finds its food, it fills its little belly up, he goes down to the bottom of the bowl and rests his little swimmer there. See, he is resting. His swimmers holds him up. And now he is relaxed because he is tired from prowling.
E-71 Let's think this big fish did the same thing. When he swallowed the prophet, he goes down to the bottom, his great heavy weight of many tons, lays down on the bottom now, with the prophet in his belly. And the prophet was still alive. He swallowed him up. And Jonah must have turned over, down in the belly of the whale. And, you know, everywhere he looked, he could see the whale's belly.
E-72 And I have often thought of people, say, "I was prayed for last night, but my hand is no better. I was prayed for, and I don't hear any better." Well, you're looking at symptoms, as long as you look at that. If your pastor prayed for you, anointed you with oil, or whatever system he uses of God's Bible, you must believe it. You got to believe it.
E-73 Now I don't think that any of us ever had as much symptoms as Jonah had, for, every which way he looked, it was the whale's belly. But you know what he said? He said, "They are lying vanities." He is not going to believe it. He said, "Once more will I look to Your holy temple."
E-74 Now Jonah knew that when Solomon dedicated the temple, God a vindicated His Presence at the temple, by coming in as the Pillar of the cloud, and went in and went over behind the Holy Place, upon the Mercy Seat and over the ark, and settled down. And Solomon prayed, "Lord, if Thy people be in trouble, anywhere, and will look to this holy place, and pray, then You hear them from Heaven."
E-75 Now, if Jonah, under those circumstances, could have faith in a prayer of a man, a human being, that later backslid; and over a temple that was built by the hands of man, that God came into; and was delivered from such, such symptoms as that; how much more ought we, tonight, under our little circumstance, right in the midst of the Presence of the great God Himself, where we see people healed, saved, and filled with the Holy Ghost! Don't look towards a natural temple; but look to the temple in Heaven, where Christ sits at the right hand of the Majesty, and the power, with His Own Blood, to make intercession upon our confession. We should be ashamed of our weakness. Now, until you can have better faith than Jonah had, don't criticize him.
E-76 Notice, then we find that God, under that prayer and that faith… He could have put an oxygen tent there; I don't know what He did. But he stayed, according to Christ's Own Word, three days and nights in the belly of that whale. And then let's think of it, about, might have been about eleven o'clock in the day, all the fishermen was just about ready to go in for their midday lunch, and they was about taking up their nets. And these heathens worshiped animals, and the god of the sea was a whale. And just about a middle of the day, here come the sea-god coming in, the whale, licked out his tongue, and the prophet walked right out of his mouth. No wonder they repented, sure, because the god spit out the prophet. And he went through the streets, saying, "Within forty days this place shall be destroyed." See, God knows how to do things.
E-77 Now, they asked Jesus for a sign, and He told them that, "A—a wicked and adulterous generation seeks after signs." And, now, I know there is an interpretation that He was meaning them. That's true. But I'm going to just carry it on, having a compound meaning.
E-78 When did we ever have a more wicked and adulterous generation than we have right now? A wicked and adulterous generation! They will say to you, go out on the street, say, "Are you a Divine healer?"
"No. Christ is."
E-79 Well, if you're a healer, or you believe, you say you're a healer; I know a guy is down here sick, come heal him. I know you say you raised the dead; a man died and you raised him up? We got a graveyard full of them down here; prove it to us."
E-80 Remember, that's that same old devil that said, "If Thou be the Son of God, command these stones to be bread."
E-81 It's the same old devil that put a rag over our Lord's eyes, in the palace that morning, covered up His eyes, and they took a stick, those drunken, brawling soldiers, and hit Him on the head with it, and then passed the stick, one to another, and said, "We understand that You know the secrets of heart. We understand that You're a prophet. If You're a prophet, prophesy and tell us who hit You. We'll believe it then." See, that's that same old devil. See? God don't clown for nobody.
E-82 It's the same old devil that said, "Come off the cross. Let's see You perform a miracle." That devil lives today.
E-83 And Jesus said, that, "A wicked, weak, adulterous generation would seek after a sign, and they would get it. For as Jonas was in the belly of the whale, for three days and three nights, so will the Son of man be in the heart of the earth." Then what kind of a sign was He speaking of? A sign of the resurrection. And after two thousand years of Gospel preaching, two thousand years of criticism, the Bible has rode through all of it. And, tonight, Jesus Christ is in our midst, in the power of His resurrection, doing the same things He did when He was here on earth. This is that weak and adulterous generation.
E-84 Saint John 14:12, Jesus said, "He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also." See? "Yet a little while and the world, kosmos order, will not see Me anymore, yet ye shall see Me. That's the unbeliever, world, world order, order of church, won't see Me no more. Yet ye shall see Me, the believer, for I will be with you, even in you, to the end of the world."
E-85 And this wicked and adulterous generation that we've got on earth, of making fun of the original Word of God, making fun of the—of the church, he receives tonight a sign of the resurrection. Because, the things that Jesus Christ is doing today, in the church, there is not a person in the world can do it outside of Jesus Christ. And it's a sign that He is alive tonight. He raised from the dead, two thousand years ago, and is just as alive tonight as He was when He walked in Galilee. Amen. Sign of the resurrection!
E-86 Then we notice, on down, He refers to Solomon's time. He said, "The men of Nineveh repented at the preaching of Jonas, and there is a greater than Jonas here." He said, "And as in the days of Solomon, how the queen of the South come from the uttermost parts of the world, to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and a greater than Solomon is here."
E-87 See, they couldn't understand it. They were dense. Isaiah said, "They got eyes and can't see, ears and can't hear."
E-88 I'm going to say this with love. Pentecost, it's almost getting the same way. The thing that God promised, passes right over us, and we just let it go. What's the matter with the Pentecostal people, is this, they've seen so much of God…
E-89 It reminds me of an old proverb, or a story I read once of an author who had wrote about the sea, and he said he never had seen it. Like we understand that Stephen Foster, the beloved folk writer, wrote about the "Swanee" River, and never seen the Suwannee River. And this writer had wrote about the sea, and had never seen the sea. One time he took a trip to the sea. And on his road he met an old sailor, old salt, coming up, with the gray whiskers on his face, and his corncob pipe in his mouth. He said, "Where goest thou, my good man?"
E-90 He said, "I go to the sea." He said, "I'm a—I'm a poet." He said, "I—I just want to see it. I want to see its white waves as the briny waves bounce upon the blue. I want to see a reflection of the sky in the blue water, smell the salt in the air. I want to hear the gulls as they holler and scream, as they go back and forth across the water."
E-91 The old salt took his corncob pipe from his mouth, and spit. He said, "I was born on it, sixty years ago. I don't see nothing so charming about it." Why? He had seen so much of it, it become common to him.
E-92 And that's what's the matter with you Pentecostals. You see so much of the praises and blessings of God, till it slips right through you. We must be reverent with these things, and respect everything that God gives to us.
E-93 Now, the days of Solomon, as any theologian, Scriptural man knows that that was the golden age of the Hebrews. They had no wars. They, it was almost like a Millennium to them. Great day! They built the temple. All nations feared them. They was afraid to do anything, because they know that the people was with one heart and one accord. God gave them a gift, and they believed it. They accepted it, and with one heart and one accord they work with it.
E-94 Oh, if we, the people of America can, tonight, of all the Presbyterians, and Methodists, and Baptists, and Pentecostals, tear down your tradition that your denomination has built around you, separating brotherhood, "seemingly not having the faith." If we could get out of that old shell that we're in, and could come together and accept the gift of God, upon the basis that He gave it to us, it would be the best bomb shelter that I know of. I would rather stand behind that, the promises of God, than all the bomb shelters that they could build. How, what a nation, what a revival there would be, how the others nations would be scared to do anything about it. God has give us a gift, but we make light of it.
E-95 We try to bring it over in one little bunch, and say, "We got it, and you ain't got nothing else to do with it, because you don't see through my glasses." We mustn't do that. It's not right. As long as the devil can make you fight one another, he don't have to fight.
E-96 But when you see that uniting of the powers of God, gathering His church together from the four winds of the earth, then you're going to see something take place.
E-97 We find that, in the days of Solomon, God gave him a gift of discernment. It was a great gift, a gift to discern the thoughts, and so forth, of wisdom. And the people rallied around it. They made him king. And, you know, he become the talk of the world. Everybody talked about Israel. Now, they didn't have telephones and televisions, and things, then, they carried news from lip to ear. And every people coming through would see this great gift of God, working, and people would, why, they'd—they'd tell everybody. And his fame went world-wide. And all of them had no wars, no trouble, because they accepted the gift that God give them.
E-98 We all, tonight, we Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Pentecostal section, could all just throw away our ideas, and come back and see what God said about It, and how He said It was supposed to be given. He can't change It. The way It fell on the Day of Pentecost, that's the way It fell at the house of Cornelius. And every time It ever fell, It fell the same way, under the same prescription that Peter wrote out, in Acts. And that's still the way it stands. It's got to stay that way. Any other way… There is not another place in the Bible where they ever received It any other way than carrying out that prescription of Acts 2. That's exactly. That's, and we get It today, that's the way it's got to come.
E-99 But in sincerity, man do receive God and believe Him, but if they would just… Then they pull theirselves off, and, "That, we got this and that's all there is to It." Then they separate themself. Then they won't take no new revelation. They organize it. "This is it. This is our doctrine," end with a—a period. If you'd have a denomination that will end your doctrine with a comma, "We believe this, plus as much as God will show us," then that's all right, I'll go for that; but never with a period. Cause, God is God, and time is moving on.
E-100 We are always trying to look back and see what Moody said, what Sankey said, what Finney said, what Wesley said, what Luther said. Them were man of that day.
E-101 Science don't look back and see what science said. Why, three hundred years ago, a French scientist proved that if a man would ever go the terrific speed of thirty miles an hour, gravitation would take him off the earth. Would you imagine the modern science saying that? Today he is going about two thousand miles an hour, trying to find something to keep from melting steel so he can go four thousand miles an hour. They don't look back and refer to him. They look forward.
E-102 But the church is always looking back. Let's look up! For, their powers are limited. And we have unlimited power, "For all things are possible to them that believe in God." Real genuine faith will punctuate every Word that God give, with an "amen." Not, "Well, it was for another generation." He is the same yesterday, today, and forever!
E-103 Now we find that Solomon, the news spread so great till it went all the way down into Sheba. And they had a queen down there, she must have been a nice little lady. She would govern over her people. And, you know, they begin to tell her that there was a—a great God up in Israel, and He had anointed a human being with a gift of discernment that was super human, that no man could have wisdom like that. It had to come from a god. And, you know, "Faith cometh by hearing, hearing the Word." And it struck her heart, like it did the little immoral woman at the well last night. It struck her heart, and she begin to desire to find out about this.
E-104 I think it behooves any of us, when we find out where Eternal Life laid, 'cause we're trying to live.
E-105 Well, every caravan came through, she would probably stop and bring them into the palace. "Did you pass through Palestine?"
E-106 "Yes, we have some ointments, and some jewels and things from there."
"Well, is it true about that great gift of their God?"
E-107 "It's the truth. I seen it in operation." See, faith cometh by hearing.
E-108 And then she begin to, begin to thirst. She wanted to see it, herself.
E-109 Now she had a lot of difficult to go through. The first thing, she was a pagan. Another thing, she was the queen. And no doubt, to do this, she would have to go to her own priest, to get permission to go up to hear this. So I can imagine… If I sound sacrilegious, I don't mean this now. I'm just going to give a little drama here. I can imagine her going down to the priest, and saying, "Holy father?"
"Yes, my daughter," said the priest.
E-110 "I have been hearing news that up in Israel they've got a God up there, that's anointed a man with His Own discernment and power."
E-111 "Now listen, daughter. If, if the great gods would ever move, it would move among us." You know, they don't have to all be pagan priests, to believe that. See? "If they'd ever move, they'd do anything in our organization. They wouldn't be amongst them others, see. After all, they're a bunch of holy-roller." Well, I didn't want to said that, see, but you know. "They—they—they, they're not very much. That's just a bunch of fanatics. They tell all kinds of stories about crossing Red Sea's, which is nothing but legends. So you can't believe that bunch up there, because they're—they're just a bunch of radic's. Now if there is any power, it's in the great god, Dagon, or some of these here."
E-112 I can hear the little woman, spake a minute, she said, "But, you know, they tell me that this God that they got up there is a real God."
"Why," he said, "daughter, that's a real god."
"But, they, they tell me that this God up there has got life."
E-113 See, when—when—when something is really gripping at the heart, God will talk with you if you'll just keep talking. See, "Take no thought what you'll say; it'll be given to you in that hour."
E-114 Then said, "They say this God up here is a God that loves His people, then He comes down and He making Hisself known through His people."
"Ah, there is nothing to that. Listen."
Oh, what you say? "Now just a minute. I'm going up."
E-115 "If you go up, you, why, you'll bring disgrace. Don't you attend that revival. Because, we're not cooperating, you know, so you mustn't do that." See?
E-116 "And you know," she said, he said, "my great-grandmother served that idol, that statue, or my grandmother and my mother, all my people served them statues, and there hasn't one of them showed one speck of life. They're just… I don't care how many scrolls you can read, and what more, they haven't showed one speck of life. And they say, 'This is Life.' And this is… I am concerned about it."
E-117 Well, I can hear him say, "Now, look, if you go up there, I am going to have to excommunicate you. I'm going to take your… You're a charter member here, you know. And if I… And you've got some dignity, and you'll lower your prestige if you go amongst a group like that." See?
"Well, let it be prestige, or not!"
E-118 You know, when God goes to gripping at somebody's heart, there is nothing going to stand in their way. They're going to get there, anyhow, and God is going to see to it; I don't care if it's husband, wife, child, preacher, pastor, whoever it is, when hunger comes for God.
E-119 Now we find the little lady, when she got ready, she said, "Well, I'm—I'm going, anyhow."
E-120 "But we'll excommunicate you. Your name will not be on here."
"Well, you just might as well take it off, because I'm going."
E-121 So now then, she had to pay a price. So many of us don't want to pay the price. We would rather hold onto some creed.
E-122 Now, the woman no doubt had studied the scrolls of this religion. She had seen that that was the nature of God; and that God, the all wisdom God, was gifted to a man, that God Himself was expressing Himself, not through some dumb idol, but through a man.
E-123 How that paganism is a perfect type, or an anti-, or a type of Christianity, how that the pagan worshiper will fall before an idol and prostrate himself, in such a way, that he—he believes that that idol talks back to him.
E-124 Like the—the—the Navajo Indian. They had the turtle for a rain god, with the mud on his back, and they made that an idol. And make an empty shell, and they would call out, and they could hear their own voice echo, and they thought that was the rain god talking back to them.
E-125 What a difference it is to Christianity, though. We prostrate ourself before a supernatural God that's not an idol, and we are filled with Him and become His idol, His living image of Him, working, walking on the earth as a living representation of the God that we serve. God in a human being! It's contrary to paganism; they fall before a Mary or a Joseph, or some saint, or something another like that, that's been dead for years. And, but, you see, the Holy Spirit comes into the living being, not into a dead idol; but into the living being, and works through that living being, not through an idol. "Ye are the temples of God." See?
E-126 So we see that God doesn't change, He does the same thing tonight as He was doing in the days of Solomon. He give Solomon this gift.
E-127 And we find out, now the little woman has to get ready. Now, she had many things to confront her. She had a lot of circumstance and a lot of hindrance, but not her faith. Her faith didn't have any.
E-128 Now she thought this, "I'm going up there. And if I go, and if the thing is right, I'm going to support it. If it isn't right, I can bring my gifts back home."
E-129 You know, she ought to talk to some Pentecostal people. That's right. Uh-huh. That's right. Go out here and call yourself Pentecost, and support radio programs that make fun of the thing you believe in? And it belongs among your own people, to help support the program of God. See?
E-130 Now, but she took the money, gold and frankincense, and so forth, and she loaded some camels.
E-131 Now, another thing, she had a—a dangerous journey. Remember, the children of Ishmael was in the desert, and they were robbers. And how easy for that bunch of robbers to fall in upon this little queen, with a few eunuchs along as guards, and slay those and take all this treasure.
E-132 But, you know, when you are hungering and thirsting for God, you don't see any danger, you don't see nothing. You are trying to get to God, and God always sees that you arrive there.
E-133 She wanted to get there. That's her heart's desire, so God was going to see that she got there. Now, she never thought about the danger.
E-134 You don't think about the danger. You don't think about the criticism. You don't care what somebody else says. If your heart is so hungry for God, the only objective you have is get to Him. Don't make any difference how you have to get there. Just get there! Now, she had that same objective.
E-135 And now, no doubt, she got all the scrolls and was reading up, as she went along. They must have traveled at nighttime, because, that Sahara Desert, that direct rays of the heat is very, very hot.
E-136 Now just think, she had how long a distance she had to go, to see the wisdom of Solomon. If you measure it on your map, it's a long ways down there, about three hundred miles. And you know how long it took her? Now, she didn't go in an air-conditioned Cadillac, but she went on the back of a camel. And it took her ninety days, three months, to get there.
E-137 No wonder Jesus said, "She will stand with this generation and condemn it." Some of the people live across the street, won't even darken the door where the same thing goes on. That's right. Amen. No wonder she will stand in the Judgment with the generation now, and condemn it. No, when we got air-conditioned Cadillacs, and trains and planes, and every way, God just put it right in your hands and still we won't do it. And she come all that distance to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and a greater than Solomon is here, the Lord God Himself! Notice!
E-138 Then we find out that she started across the desert, reading those scrolls, finally she pressed on until she got there.
E-139 She probably come up into the yard, the palace yard or wherever it was, and pitched her tents, which was customary in them days, with her little maids and her eunuchs, pitched.
E-140 And then let's just think, the next morning, the bell rung and—and all of the trumpets sounded, the singing went on, and she got in and got her a seat way back in the back. She come to find out what it was, truth or not. She wanted to find out for herself. She wasn't willing to sit way down there. If she heard this great thing, she wouldn't take what somebody else said about it. She wanted to find out for herself.
E-141 Like Philip told Nathanael, in our lesson last night, said, "Could anything good come out of Nazareth?" Or come out of… I'll think of the place in a minute, where he come from. Said, "Could anything good come out of Nazareth?"
E-142 Said, "Come and see. Don't stay there and criticize. Come, find out for yourself."
E-143 If we could only do the same thing tonight. Come, see! Take your Bible, check what you see going on. "Search the Scripture," Jesus said, "for They are They that testify of Me." He is the Word. And the Scriptures Itself is the Word, so It testifies of Him when the Scripture becomes Life to you, when It's made manifest in you.
E-144 Now we find out that she had read the scrolls, and she knowed the nature of what Jehovah was: all wisdom. And when she pitched her little tents, tucked her gifts back in the corner, find out whether it was right or not. If it's right, it's worth everything she has got. If it isn't right, take it back.
E-145 And I think the same thing tonight. If this plan of salvation that we're contending for is right, we owe everything that we got, our life, our time, our everything else. If it isn't right, then find out what is right; 'cause you've just got this one life, and it'll soon be over. Search the Scriptures, first, and see if it compares with the Scripture.
E-146 Then we find this little woman gets her a seat way back in the back, like all newcomers try to do sometime. And after the trumpet sounded. Pastor Solomon came in, sat down. The meeting started. The prayer cards was called. That sounds bad, but I'm trying to make a point. And she found out now. She said, "I'll see where this wisdom is." So when the first patient, however it come, or whatever the question was, come before Solomon, he revealed it. She said, "Say, that's right."
E-147 Now, she didn't want to say, "You know, that man has telepathy, I believe." Her heart begin to hunger. She begin to believe, day by day.
E-148 Finally it come her time to stand before him. She had some secrets, too. And when she come up before Solomon, the Bible said, that, "There was nothing in her heart withheld from Solomon." He revealed every secret in her heart.
E-149 And when it was done on her, she stood as a pagan before the people, and she said, "All that I heard is true, and more." She said, "Blessed are the men that's here to see this thing going on every day." Amen. Oh, she—she had no more breath in her, hardly. When she seen that others had it performed on them, and she had it performed on her, and she believed God.
E-150 No wonder, no wonder that Jesus said that, "She will stand with this generation." When, there He was standing there, doing the very same thing, only more of it, and more powerful signs; and they were standing there, "Show," saying, "show us a sign from Heaven." Oh, how blind can people be! He said, "She'll stand in the Judgment, with this generation, and condemn it."
E-151 And then after two thousand years of Gospel preaching, and the Holy Spirit pouring out in this last days, upon the people, the gifts of the Holy Ghost, and promised that this great discernment would come back into the church again; what would she do to this generation when she stands there, after her time plus two thousand years of Gospel preaching, in this last days to see gifts, not gift, but gifts of the Holy Spirit? She surrendered her life to Christ. Why?
E-152 I have to close, 'cause I don't… I want—I want to pray for you.
Friends, see, they said, "Show us a sign. We want…"
E-153 That's what's the matter with the Pentecostals. You are looking for something, and one of these days it's going to be too far. It passed right by you, and you didn't know it.
Remember, in the days of Elijah, they didn't know him.
E-154 In the days of John the Baptist, they didn't know him. And he was spoke of, in the Scripture, that he would be, "I send My messenger before My face, to prepare the way."
E-155 And even the disciples come to Him, said, "Why must Elias come?"
He said, "He has already come, and you didn't know it."
E-156 They didn't know Jesus was the Christ, until He was dead and buried.
They didn't know that Irenaeus belonged or…
E-157 I'll say this, that all people will know. They didn't know Joan of Arc was a saint of God, till they killed her. The Catholic church burnt Joan of Arc, for a witch, because she seen visions and prayed for the sick, brought the dead back to life. And the Catholic church called her a witch, and burnt that woman to the stake. And about two hundred years later, they woke up and found out that she was a saint. Course, they done great penance, they dug up them priests body and throwed them in the river. Nonsense!
E-158 But watch out, it might happen among us, that the thing might come and be clearly identified by God in the Scripture, and by science and everything else, and it would pass us and we'd know it not. Then stand in the last day, clearly identified.
E-159 Man is still the same. Man is always praising God for what He has done, and they're talking about what He will do, and ignoring what He is doing. That's the nature of man.
E-160 Let's look at Him, what He is doing now. He is Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever, the same Jehovah God that was made manifest in Him. "At that day you'll know that I was in the Father, and the Father in Me; I in you, and you in Me." God condescending from a Pillar of Fire, to a Man; and from that Man's sacrificed life, the Blood that cleansed us and come down into us, to fellowship again, to pull out a church for an Eden again.
E-161 Why? Now quiet just a minute. What did this to that woman? She was a professed religionist, but her heart was hungering to see something real. She wanted something real.
E-162 If you're hungering to see something real, God will show it to you. You'll always find what you're looking for.
E-163 It reminds me, as all you people know that I… I was talking to my friend back here, Brother Brown, a while ago. I remember Sister Brown is here somewhere, he said; bless her. How I lived with them people down there in them first days of my ministry! And Brother Brown is kind of a full-fledged brother to me, 'cause he likes to hunt. Sister Brown bought him a new Browning automatic shotgun. I asked him if he still had it. He said, "Yes." I'm going to convert him to a rifle, one of these days, get away from that old splatter thing.
E-164 Now notice. But in hunting, I used to go up in the north woods to hunt deer, way up, New Hampshire and Maine, and it's the home of the white-tailed deer. And I had a partner up there, I hunted with. And he was a fine hunter, about a quarter-blood Indian. And you didn't have to worry about him; you ain't going to lose him, he knows where to go to. And he was a fine hunter. We would separate, and places we'd meet across them white mountains and great jungles, but we'd find one another. And we wasn't trailwalkers; we hunted. I loved to hunt with Bert.
E-165 He was a dandy hunter, but he was the meanest man I ever seen. That man had a heart in him like stone. He was cruel. He had eyes looked like a lizard, and he—he—he was just mean, just simply mean. And he used to like to shoot fawns, that's the little baby deer, just to make me feel bad. He would kill these little fawns, and I'd say, "Bert, aren't you ashamed to do that?"
E-166 And he would say, "That's just the way with you preachers, you're too chicken-hearted."
I said, "Bert, that's not chicken-hearted. That's being cruel."
E-167 Now, it's all right, the—the—the sex of the deer or the size. If the law says you can kill a fawn, go ahead and kill it. Well, Abraham killed a calf and fed it to God. Wasn't nothing wrong with the baby deer.
E-168 But just to kill them and leave them lay there, just to be mean, that's murder. And I don't like that, and I would tell him. I would say, "Bert, you are my friend, and I like you, and you're a good hunter. You're a good gunman, good shot, dead shot." I said, "I love you, but—but you're—you're—you're cruel."
E-169 And he would say, "Oh, Billy, if you wasn't a preacher, you would be a good hunter."
E-170 And I said, "Listen, Bert, you can be human about this." I said, "That's wrong."
E-171 He said, "You…" I was a game warden for years, you know. And he said, "You, you stayed in conservation too long."
I said, "No, I never."
E-172 And so one day I went up there to go hunting. It was a little late in the season. I had been holding some meetings. And the snow had already come, about six inches, a good tracking snow. And I met Bert, and he said, "Say, Billy, I got something new for you.
And I said, "What?"
E-173 He pulled out of his shirt a little whistle, and he blowed this little whistle. And it sounded like the little baby deer calling for its mammy, you know, just a little fawn, that little bleat they give.
E-174 And I said, "Bert, you don't mean to tell me that you would—you would do that?"
He said, "Oh, get next to yourself, preacher."
E-175 So the next day we went hunting. And we usually take a sandwich, and—and take a little bottle of—of hot chocolate, 'cause it's got sugar in it, you know, and kept us warm. Yeah, it gets awful cold up there, along that time of year. So we…
E-176 The season was in. And—and when you fire a couple of guns, you talk about Houdini being an escape artist, he was an amateur aside of them deers. Cause, they would get away right now, crawl under brush piles or anything, and then feed at night if the moon was shining. Then, if they didn't, they would starve, before they'd come out, 'cause they knowed it was death to get out there. And so the season had been in, people had been hunting for a couple weeks.
E-177 And we walked all morning long, and didn't even see one track. Along about noontime, he was walking ahead of me. We was going up to the top of the notch, and then separate and come back two different ways, and come to the camp that night, maybe get in at nine, ten o'clock. If we killed a deer, we'd hang it up, so both of us go back the next day and help get it in. So we was going up, to separate, and we had not got to above the timber line yet.
E-178 And about eleven-thirty or twelve o'clock, Bert kind of stooped down. The snow was getting pretty deep, up high on the mountain. And he kind of stooped down, and I thought he had reached back… He didn't say very much. And he reached back there, I thought he was going to get his lunch; and I went to get my lunch. I thought, "Well, we'll eat. Here is where we separate, and he'll go around this a way, and I'll go the other way."
E-179 And he sat down. There was a little clearing, about twice the size of this building, just a little, what we call, a little park-like of grass. Never seen a track all morning. And he sat down there beside this, under, by some trees, kind of a little snowbank; reached down like this, like he was going to get his—his thermos bottle or his sandwich, started to pull it out. And I reached for mine. And he pulled out this little whistle. And he looked up at me, with them lizard eyes.
E-180 And he blew this whistle. And when he blew this whistle, he could really make it work, it sounded just like a little fawn. And when he did, to my surprise, right across that clearing, a great big mother deer stood up. That's the doe, the female; beautiful animal, big brown eyes, and them ears sticking up. And he looked up at me, like that, and kind of that silly grin. Looked up to me like that, put his whistle back. I thought, "Bert, you won't do that."
E-181 He said, "Sh." And I seen the… He blowed it again, real little, light.
E-182 And, now, that's unusual for that deer. That time of day, eleven o'clock in the day, come out? No. What was it? Her baby was in trouble. She raised up. I watched her, behind this bush.
E-183 And he blew it again. She made two or three steps forward, coming right out into the open.
E-184 That's altogether unusual. Yes, sir, she wouldn't do that. No, sir. But what was it? Her baby was in trouble.
E-185 And she walked a few steps farther, them big ears, she turned sideways. And old Bert looked up to me. And I thought, "Uh-oh." I seen him put that shell up in the barrel of that .30-06, and let the lever down.
E-186 Raised up, and that cross hair of that scope come right across her heart. And when he raised his gun, the deer saw the hunter. She turned.
And he blowed that whistle again.
E-187 You know, usually that deer would be gone. But not her. Why? She was a mother. She wasn't putting on something. On the inside of her, she was born a mother. Her baby was in trouble. Though she knowed it would cost her life, she didn't care. She was a mother. She wasn't putting on some kind of an act. It was genuine, her life. She was mother.
E-188 And I seen the hunter pull his rifle; and he was a dead shot. And I turned my head. I couldn't look at it. I thought, "How can that cruel-hearted man blow the heart plumb through that precious loyal heart beating for her baby? How can he blow her heart out of her?" And I knowed that that big hundred-and-eighty-grain mushroom bullet would swept her heart plumb through her, at that distance. I thought, "How can he do it?" And I turned my back, to keep from looking at it.
E-189 And I started praying. I said, "Heavenly Father, how can that man be so cruel? That precious mother, she can't help that. She isn't putting on a show. She is genuine. And she is—and she is a mother, and she is called, trying to find her baby. Though it cost life, her baby is in trouble." And I was praying, to myself, listening at anytime to hear that hammer fire, fall, and that gun blow. And I was just standing there holding myself like this, praying.
E-190 I waited, waited. The gun didn't go off. I waited just a moment. And I turned around to look, and he was going like this. He couldn't hold the gun still. I looked around at him.
E-191 He looked up to me. His expression was changed. Them lizard eyes had dropped to something else. Tears was dropping off his cheeks. He throwed the gun on the ground. He said, "Billy, I've had enough of it. Lead me to that Jesus you're talking about."
E-192 There on that snowbank, that afternoon, I led that cruel-hearted man to Jesus Christ. Why? Because he seen something real, something that wasn't put on, something that was genuine.
E-193 Oh, this hungering world is looking for something real, something that's not put on, something that's genuine, that's born of God, that comes from the Bible. Wouldn't you, this afternoon, mother, brother; wouldn't you, Christian, like to have Jesus Christ so in your heart, as much of the Spirit of God in your heart, that would drive you to do such loyal things as that deer did her baby? Wouldn't you like to be that kind of a Christian? Would you like to have that type of salvation that would… you… death or nothing else, and just the—the love of God in your heart, like she had the love of her baby?
E-194 Now the only way it can be. You can't do it by joining a church. You can't do it by putting your name on a book. It's got to be real. It's got to be genuine. It's. got to be a birth. It's got to change you, from just a make-belief, to a genuine Christian.
E-195 You said, "Do you think the love could be that great? Do you think He could love me?"
E-196 He said, "A mother might forget her suckling babe, but I can never forget you. Your names are engraved on the palms of My hand."
E-197 God came to the earth, in the form of Man, and—and—and unfolded Himself, stretched His tent; from being Jehovah God, to become Man, to stand the shame and curse. Little Jehovah God in a manger, under a pile of manure, down there crying in a manger; God, the Creator of Heavens and earth, standing there in human flesh, to take the death of your sins upon Himself, that He might free you to be a more of a Christian than what that deer was a mother. How can you reject such matchless love? Then, besides that, He wrote His Word. That's enough. You couldn't take my word, you have to… it'd be all right, but not Him. He ascended on High and give gifts back to man. He come back in the form of the Holy Spirit, same God, to open your heart, by the atoning Blood.
E-198 "Be ye therefore perfect, even as Your Father in Heaven is perfect." None of us can be that. I don't look at what I am. I, I'm not worthy. You're not worthy. Who is worthy? I don't look at what I am; I look to what He is. He is the One that was looked at. He is my Sacrifice. I'm not worthy to stand here as a minister. If I counted my worthiness, I'd—I'd be in Hell, so would you. But we don't look to what we are.
E-199 You say, "I couldn't do that. I couldn't call. I couldn't touch God's garment. I couldn't do this."
E-200 Oh, you can! Look what happened? He died, in order that you could do it, that you could be saved. That's genuine. Would you like to be like that, and like to be remembered in prayer? Raise your hand, say, "I would, Brother Branham."
Let us bow our heads.
E-201 With our heads bowed, come sweetly, humbly now. We haven't room here for an altar call. There is no even an altar. But the Bible said, "As many as believed, was baptized." Altar call, come in the Methodist day, which is all right. But in the time of our Lord and the apostles, they "believed unto Life." You were "saved by faith, through grace." If you haven't got that experience tonight, brother, sister!
E-202 Women, if you haven't got enough grace in your heart, tonight, to know that the Bible teaches that you should stop bobbing your hair, wearing shorts and make-up! If you haven't got that much grace in your heart, tonight! And you know the Bible teaches you should. He can't change. You say, "I don't wear shorts. I wear slacks." That's worse.
E-203 God said, "A woman that'll wear a garment pertains to a man, it's an abomination to God."
E-204 And you man that can't stop gawking and looking at women immorally dressed, the idols of the day! You man that hasn't got enough real grace in your heart to make your wife and kids quit doing such a thing as that, the love of God isn't anchored in your heart; don't be called a son of God. You're still in Sodom, a man that can't take over his own house; God ordained him to do.
E-205 And you deacons that's married two or three times! And you man that run out on your wives, and try to hold your profession! You women that crossed the other way! You people that hide behind the cloak of the church! Your denomination won't have nothing to do with the next fellow, let him be Christian or not; if he don't belong to your crew, you'll have nothing to do with him. Shame on you!
E-206 May God display real, tonight, to you. May you come to Him, sweetly now, and say, "Lord, forgive me for my sins. From this night, henceforth, I'll serve You."
E-207 You that love television program, that you'll stay home to see some immoral movie star like We Love Sucy or what of some of that other stuff that they have, stay home on Wednesday night to watch television instead of coming to the prayer room, the love of God is gone from your heart. You do that, and still you hold your membership? The love of God would drive you from that, and drive you to your church, to your—your brother and sister; to come together, sit in Heavenly places and listen at your pastor preach. And the—the revival, or the camp, is ending now. If that still remains in your heart, let us pray together now that God will remove it.
E-208 Lord Jesus, we come with humble contrition, we come with penitent hearts, Lord. We are all guilty. We've trespassed against Thy Commandments. We've transgressed the laws of Thy love that saved us. The church itself has went off on tantrums and building programs, and all kinds of stuff; and left the prayer meeting and—and the Holy Spirit for something on once or twice a week, when it should be in our hearts and mind constantly. Forgive us, Lord.
E-209 Forgive our ministers, Lord, who will stand in the pulpit and be ashamed to proclaim the full Gospel of Christ. How that many of them today… The whole world has become a Sodom. Many ministers sitting in their parish, tonight and tomorrow, or in their study, trying to find words; and run across the Word of God, and see the sins, but are afraid to say anything about it, because they'd be excommunicated. The deacon board will have them up, and they'll be turned into headquarters and be taken out, when they know they ought to preach against sin. It's a Lot, again, "The sins of Sodom vexed his righteous soul." But man hasn't got the courage. Just like Lot, he didn't have the courage to stand up.
E-210 I pray, God, You'd forgive us for such things like that. May we be as Paul of old, "I've not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God." Forgive us all, Father.
E-211 As this simple little story, of that cold November day, on top of that mountain there; how that man, tonight, a deacon in the church up there, a loyal Christian, because a mother deer come forth and displayed something so real. You said, "If—if they hold their peace, the rocks will cry out."
E-212 I pray, Father, that You will give us something so real, tonight, that will attract our attention to Christ, to let us know that He is in the midst of us, tonight.
E-213 Penitent hands went up, hundreds of them. Forgive them, Lord. Now I'm reminding You, Lord, of the Scripture that You said, "No man can come to Me except My Father draws him first." How could they raise their hands unless You drawed them? When they raise their hands, they break every scientific rule. Gravitation holds their hands down. But there was a spirit in them, and of the Spirit by them, that said, "You're wrong. Raise up your hands." And it defied the laws of gravitation, and raised their hands towards the Creator, "Have mercy on me, God."
E-214 And You said, "All the Father has given Me will come to Me. I will in no wise cast them out. I'll give them Eternal Life, and raise them up at the last day." You said, "He that heareth My Words and believeth on Him that sent Me, has everlasting Life, and shall never come to the Judgment, but has already passed from death unto Life."
E-215 [Blank.spot.on.tape—Ed.]… to the Kingdom of God, to make loyal members of the Body of Christ. And their churches, of these ministers, may grow and grow with members, born again, in the Kingdom of God. Bless my brethren, that whoever they pray for be healed; the Gospel they preach, not fall upon hard, rocky ground, but upon tender hearts.
E-216 Grant it, Lord, that the Kingdom of God will soon be established in the earth. You are coming for Your delegates. One day the Lamb is going to leave the sanctuary, come forth to take the Book out of the hand of Him Who is the deed Owner of it. When man transgressed, and the Book of Life went back to its original Owner. Man, all life was lost; and there was no man, in Heaven or on earth, that was worthy. But a—a Lamb come forth, a Bloody Lamb that had been slain since the foundation of the world, that come and took the Book of Redemption and opened It. God, may my name be there. May every name here be written There, Lord, that's been redeemed in this great plan of redemption. Grant it, Father.
E-217 And now we give them to You. I commit them to You. And if there is any here that's never been baptized in Christian baptism, may they come forward, by the act of faith, and confess that they're wrong, and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of their sins, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. Grant it, Father.
E-218 Will You hear us, Father, on this prayer, as we humbly present it to You, in the Name, the all-sufficient Name that all Heavens and earth is named, Jesus Christ. Amen.
There is a Fountain filled with Blood,
Drawn from Immanuel's veins,
And sinners plunged beneath the flood,
Lose all their guilty stain.
Lose all their guilty stain,
Lose all their guilty stain;
And sinners plunged beneath the flood,
Lose all their guilty stain.
E-219 Don't you love those old songs? Continue on. Aren't they wonderful? Penned by the Holy Spirit. I just love them. I think jubilee songs are fine, but I like this old songs of the Blood, songs of the Faith. Let's sing it, another verse, the old-fashion, country way, the way we sang it back on the hills years ago.
The dying thief rejoiced to see (his last chance)
That Fountain in his day;
There may I, though vile as he,
Washed all my sins away.
E-220 Let's close our eyes and sweetly sing it to Christ.
The dying thief rejoiced to see
That Fountain in his day;
And there may I, though vile as he,
Wash all my sins away.
Wash all my sins away,
Wash all my sins away;
And there may I, though vile as he,
Wash all my sins away.
E-221 Oh, don't it make you feel all scrubbed out inside, just feel the sweetness of the Presence of God? "Now ye are the sons of God. Now we're lifted up in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus," with all authority, Heavens and earth given to us. Did you ever think of that?
Somebody says, "Have you got any power?"
"No, but I got authority."
E-222 It's like the little policeman standing out here in the street, little fellow with the cap pulled down over his ears, weigh about a hundred pounds, a badge sticking on him. And here comes a bunch of cars down the road, doing a hundred miles an hour; each one of them, four or five hundred horsepower. He couldn't stop a one of them. But let him hold up that hand. Uh-huh. He has got authority. That's what makes the brakes squeak. It ain't his power. It's his authority.
E-223 And we've got authority, by Jesus Christ. That's the reason devils scream. See? Not because we have power, but we have authority. The Holy Spirit is here, God's authority. "The works that I do, shall ye do also." "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever." I believe Him.
E-224 Now we're sitting in Heavenly places, in the Presence of Christ, lifted up above the cares of the world, into a realm of faith. What could happen here tonight? There could be another Pentecost. There could be such a thing happen right here, tonight, like it was in Acts 2. That's right.
E-225 Christ is here. If we could get the hardness of our hearts away! Is He with us? Is it true? Is Christ in our midst? He promised to be. How would you know Him? Not by the way He looked, but by the works He done. That's what He promised, and He said He would do it.
E-226 God, help us tonight, that when we leave here, my prayer is… And I'll just say it with my eyes open, to you people. I pray that you will see something so real, that God will do something so real, tonight, until you will say like those who came from Emmaus, as you go to your homes, "Did not our hearts burn within us?" See, they were…
E-227 Jesus had been crucified, and dead, buried, a rumor had been He had raised again, and He walked with them all day and they didn't know Him. He has walked with many people, they didn't know it. That's Who kept him from having that wreck coming over here; that's what heals your baby; Christ, and maybe you didn't recognize it.
E-228 But one night He got them at Emmaus, Cleopas and his friend, and they shut the doors, then He done something just the way He did it before His crucifixion. They know it was Him, in His resurrection. Quickly they went to tell others.
E-229 May He do something tonight, like He did before His crucifixion, to us; that we, when we go from Emmaus, that we might tell the others, "Our hearts burned within us." May we see something real, not so much of some new doctrine or something; but the doctrine, that we know, made manifest by the power of God.
E-230 Last night I called a prayer line, come up, crippled lady and so forth, healed. Testimonies! Just amateur; we just got to be here a little bit, not enough hardly to know you. In there I could catch feelings of people, saying, "He is reading their mind." I tried to turn my back to the people and show you it wasn't reading mind.
E-231 Many of you old-timers here in Arkansas remember when I used to take hold of a person's hand, how He told me, "It'll come to pass then, that if you'll be sincere, you'll know the very secret of their heart." You remember that, all of you? [Congregation says, "Amen."—Ed.] And the things that He has done, world around, everywhere!
E-232 Don't forget Life's magazine now, last month. To see where He predicted what would happen, and there standing there, witnesses here tonight that was in there. Even science knows nothing about it. They're wondering why it could be; but it is.
E-233 Now, look, I'm going to take a new Scripture tonight. The Bible said, that, "Jesus Christ is the High Priest that can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities." Is that right, brethren? [The ministers say, "That's right. Amen."—Ed.] That's the Scripture. Now, if He is the High Priest that can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities, now if you touched Him, He would act, if He is the same as He was, He would act as He did then. Cause you can't… That's the only way you would ever know Him, is by His action. See?
E-234 Any hypocrite can put scars in his hand, and blood or what more, but a life is what tells it. See? I could take a tree and tie leaves on it, out here, of a different tree, but what kind of fruit does it put forth? See?
E-235 Now, Christ's Life live in you, then if that first Life that come out of that branch… Now He has no hands now but yours and mine. He has no voice but mine and yours. See, the vine doesn't bear fruit. The branch bears fruit. And if the branch that bore in the first limb that come out of that grapevine, as I said, they wrote a Book of Acts behind it. If it ever puts forth another original vine, you'll write another Book of Acts behind it. It'll be the same Spirit, 'cause it's the same Life in the entire vine. Every branch that bears will be There.
E-236 Now I want you to notice something, as we sit here. How many of you believe that Christ is here? [Congregation says, "Amen."—Ed.] How many of you is sick, raise your hand. How many of you believe that you have faith enough, that you would touch His garment, He would act in the same way?
E-237 I ain't going to call no prayer line. Just call it, just let it come from here. That's quite a challenge. But you got a lot of faith, and I believe that God will honor it.
E-238 Now I'm going to look over the audience, and I want to see if there is somebody that I know in the audience. I know Brother Tracy Boutliere sitting there. This brother here, I'm not acquainted with these ministers right along here. One minister back in the back there that I know of him. Outside of that, upon the authority of my Bible, and It over my heart… I don't swear, 'cause the Bible said not to do it; but by my Bible over my heart, I lie not. I don't see one more person that I know, outside of Jim Maguire.
E-239 And if I'm not sure, that's a brother that I met at the Tabernacle the other day. I just met him. I forget what his name is. He does work at the Tabernacle at Jeffersonville. Is that right? Now, that's the only person that I know, that I can see that I know.
E-240 Now, if Jesus was here, and you wanted to be healed, and you would ask Him, "Lord, will You heal me?"
E-241 Here is what. If He was standing here with this suit on that He give me, He couldn't heal you. He has already done it. See, it was finished at Calvary. And the whole world was saved, the whole world was forgiven, everything happened at Calvary. See, "He was wounded for our transgressions, with His stripes we were healed," past tense. See?
E-242 Now the only thing you have to do. It'll never do you no good unless you believe it; not feel it. Jesus never did say, "Did you feel it?" He said, "Did you believe it?"
E-243 I've seen people put up their hand, say, "Feel it! Feel it! Feel it!" He never did say that.
He said, "Did you believe it?" Faith, see.
E-244 Notice, now. If He is that same High Priest, He would have to act in the same way. No matter how much He would anoint me, He has got to anoint you, too.
E-245 Say, I do see a man that I know. There is Mr. Way, the man that dropped dead in the church the other day, that God brought back to life, sitting right there. And a minister sitting by him, that I know, sitting right there by him. But otherwise, this… Yes, I believe I see this brother, this is his brother that I met down there with the Blackwell family today, praying in the home.
E-246 But you people who believe Him, and believe that you can touch Him, I'm going to ask you something. Now, I'm your brother, just a—a—a man, just like your husband, or your brother, or your pastor, just a man. And now, there, it's not out in some dark room, like some devil. And, the devil don't do that, anyhow. Did you ever hear a devil preach the Gospel, get souls saved and healed? "If Satan can cast out Satan, then his kingdom is divided against himself," Jesus said. No.
E-247 But right here, you look and believe that Jesus still remains that same High Priest that He was, and you say, "Lord Jesus, I am sick. Or, I got a sick mother sitting here, or a brother in a home. Lord, I—I—I can't pay my debt. Help me. I'll—I'll confess all my sins. I—I—I'm a sinner; I—I want to get right with God." Something another, ask Him. Touch Him, as the High Priest, and see if He doesn't act today like He did then. That shows He is with us.
E-248 Now, I believe He will do it. I don't… He has never failed me yet, in all these years. I—I believe Him. But you can understand what a challenge that is. But it ain't…
Somebody said, "Aren't you afraid?" No, sir.
E-249 How can I be afraid, and Him right here by me? He, it's His Word; it's not mine. I'm just saying what He said, that's my confession. Confess means "say the same thing." The Scripture, which is God, God in letter form. "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us." And the Word still is God. And the Word said, "He is the same yesterday, today, and forever." It's up to Him to confirm It. It's worth me to believe It. Now you believe It.
E-250 Now I want each one of you then, quietly, silently, to offer a prayer to God, and say, "Lord God, help me. I know that little old stoop-shouldered man standing up there don't know nothing about me, but You know me. And if You will just do, and repeat a Scripture for me tonight."
E-251 Like the woman touched His garment. He didn't actually feel the touch of the hand, because, as I told you, the Palestinian garment is loose; underneath garment, thick. Big heavy robes, He didn't feel it. And He said, "Who touched Me?"
E-252 And Peter rebuked Him, saying, "Lord!" Why, he took Him and rebuked Him for it. In other words, "It sounds insane for You to say it. Everybody has got their arms around You, patting You on the back. 'Who touched Me?'"
E-253 He said, "But virtue gone from Me. Somebody touched Me with a different touch."
Can you make that touch tonight?
E-254 I surrender myself. Now remember, I am a total mute to these things, outside the Kingdom of God. It's just like this microphone. This microphone can't speak; it can only speak when something speaks through it. And we are just like that microphone, to this. I don't know you, but it takes something to speak through here.
E-255 And you believe it, and have faith in God, and God will grant it. Do you believe it? [Congregation says, "Amen."—Ed.] Now just believe. Have faith, and don't doubt. Believe on the Lord God. Now just pray, be real reverent, and just see.
E-256 Now, Heavenly Father, I've been speaking at length. There is people sitting here who are Eternity-bound people, every one of us. Our heads are bowed to the dust, where You took us from; and if You tarry, we will return to that dust. These spirits and souls that's in us, must return to You for the Judgment.
E-257 Now, Heavenly Father, we pray that You will honor Your Word tonight. I have spoke of You, now speak that I have said the Truth, Lord. I am Your servant. I commit myself to You. And if there be someone in here, Lord, that has that type of faith, that could bring forth the manifestation of Jesus Christ; to show that the sign that He promised, the last sign to the Gentile church, it would take place; the elect church, like Abraham's group, called out. We see Billy Graham and those man down there in Sodom, calling them out; but we remember the One that stayed with Abraham give them another sign, that the coming son was at hand. Lord, let us see that sign, tonight, as the Man had His back turned to the tent, and said, "Why did Sarah laugh?" Jesus said it will repeat again, just before the coming of the Son of man; God manifested in the flesh, in human flesh, through the power of the Holy Spirit and the Blood of Jesus Christ. Grant it, Lord. I commit this, myself, to You for Your service. Speak, Lord. Your servants are listening.
E-258 Now, in the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, I take every spirit in here under my control, for the Kingdom of God's sake, for the works of It.
E-259 [Someone begins speaking in another tongue. Blank.spot.on.tape—Ed.]…?…
E-260 Now let the Holy Spirit act. Now is the things that I have said right, or are they not right? Does He remain Christ? Did He keep His promise, of, "Wherever two or three are gathered together, I'll be in their midst"? [Congregation says, "Amen."] "A little while, and the world out yonder will see Me no more, yet you will see Me, for I" (the personal pronoun) "will be with you, even in you. The works that I do, shall you also; more than this, for I go to the Father." Is it true? ["Amen."]
E-261 I see that Light hanging over the little, colored girl there. She is improving. Just remember, she is going to be well. You come from way away from here. You have to sacrifice to get here each night, but don't fear about the child. You have found grace with God. She was called, the other night. Just believe.
E-262 Here, has anybody ever seen that Light? Raise your hand if you have. You've seen a picture of It. Don't you see It? Look here. Look here. That Light, emerald color, standing right here. Don't you see That? Moving, right here.
E-263 It's over a woman. She is suffering with diabetes. She has prayed. She believes. God, don't let It leave her. She is going to miss It, as sure… Mrs. Davis, believe with all your heart. There you are.
E-264 I never seen the woman, in my life. Here is my hands before God. Ask her if those things… Is that true, lady? Wave your hands, like this, if that's true. Now Who did she touch? Not me, she is twenty yards from me. But she touched the High Priest, Jesus Christ. Just have faith. Don't doubt. Do you believe?
E-265 Here, look here again, right here. Some woman praying. She is suffering with stomach trouble, something wrong with her legs. O God! Mrs. Cotton, believe with all your heart. Receive your healing, Jesus Christ makes you whole.
E-266 God in Heaven knows I never seen the woman in my life. What did she touch? Isn't that the same High Priest? Why are you suspicious? Don't doubt. Have faith in God.
E-267 Somebody back in this district. You pray. Believe. He is God, all over.
E-268 There is a lady sitting here praying. She is not praying for herself. She is praying for her son. He has stomach trouble. He is not here. He is in another state. He is from a city called Pontiac, Michigan. [The sister cries out, "Oh!''—Ed.] Don't fear. He had an ulcerated stomach, from a nervous condition. It's left him. Amen. Your faith touched Him.
E-269 That you might know. Here sits a man here, the one that plays this guitar, ever what it is here, suffering with a stomach trouble, too. The devil thought he got by with that, but he didn't. You are healed, sir. Jesus Christ makes you well.
E-270 Do you believe with all your heart? "If thou canst believe, all things are possible."
Do you believe it? [Congregation says, "Amen."—Ed.]
E-271 Little fellow here sitting, praying for his wife, with his hands up. She is suffering with an asthmatic condition. If you believe that God will heal her, brother, she'll be healed. Amen.
E-272 "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever." Ask them people, I never seen them in my life.
E-273 Way back over here sits another woman. She has got tumor on the breast. Oh, may she not miss it! Mrs. Patterson, accept your healing. Rise to your feet, give glory to God. All right. I never seen the woman, in my life; God in Heaven knows that.
E-274 What about on them stretchers down there? How about the woman there? Hold your head down, the woman. There sits a woman sitting there, she is on a cot. Do you believe me to be His prophet, His servant? There is a Light hanging over that lady. She is suffering with a heart trouble. If you lay there, you'll die. Rise up, in the Name of Jesus Christ. Take up your bed and go home, and you'll get over your heart trouble.
E-275 Do you believe God? How many of you believe Him? [Congregation rejoices—Ed.] Listen, my friend. A greater than Solomon is here, the High Priest that can be touched by the feeling of our infirmity. Do you believe Him? ["Amen."] If that isn't the work that Jesus Christ proved Himself to be Messiah by! Is that what the Scripture says? Say, "Amen." ["Amen."]
E-276 And by the way, you, you're facing a nervous breakdown. Get away from it. Flee for your life. Run quickly. Lay the things that's in the past in the past, and look to God. You're a minister of the Gospel. You, I talked to you this morning. You didn't know what it was, and I didn't know what it was, but I see it now. You are coming to a breakdown. The devil is putting everything in your mind, trying to get you to turn against, even against me. That's right. That's THUS SAITH THE LORD. Forget it. Tell him he's a liar. Accept it right now, and that will leave you and it'll never come back again. You'll be a free man.
E-277 I challenge you to believe these things! The man come to me this morning, asking. I didn't know, but I see it. Right here it is before him, look at that dark shadow just moving in and out. But now the thing has left him. That's right. Hallelujah. "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever."
E-278 While the Holy Spirit is here, here is handkerchiefs. Let's pray, while you hold in prayer.
E-279 Heavenly Father, we are taught in the Bible, that they taken from the body of Saint Paul, handkerchiefs and aprons, unclean spirits went out of people, and they were healed. And while we are conscious of Your Presence here, we realize that we're not Saint Paul, but You're still Jesus. And it wasn't him, in the beginning, it was You; the faith in the people, when they seen him prophesy and knowed that God was with Him. Lord, You honor the people's prayers again today, by the same means.
E-280 One writer said, "When Israel was on its road to the promised land, that the Red Sea cut them off, right in the path of duty, to the promised land. And God looked down through that Pillar of Fire, with angry eyes; the Red Sea got scared, moved back, and Israel went on to the promised land."
E-281 God, tonight, the people wants that promise, "I would above all things that you would prosper in good health." And sickness has cut them off. May You look down tonight through the Blood of Jesus Christ, and as these handkerchiefs are laid upon the sick, in commemoration of this great anointing of the Holy Spirit, of Christ manifesting Himself here beyond a shadow of doubt, the same Jesus showing us that He is still alive and raised from the dead. May the sickness get scared when these tokens are laid upon the sick, may he run back and move away, and the people be healed, through Jesus Christ's Name.
E-282 Quietly. The Bible is right. And if Jesus is willing to come here and make this so manifested to you, so perfectly, beyond any realm of psychology, beyond any realm of emotion, a perfect miracle! A miracle is something that cannot be explained. I can see where a man could be a—a little lame in his foot, and could jump up, and under an emotion. Right. But who could tell him what he has done, and where he has come from, and what's happened, and what will be? And I challenge you; it's never missed a time, in the tens of thousands times thousands, around the world. Not a…
E-283 We got a lot of impersonations, I know that. That has to come, carnal impersonations. But that don't… That just makes the real Thing shine better; that makes Jesus Christ real.
E-284 Here He is tonight! He is in our midst, the same Holy Spirit that you received, and He lets you speak with tongues and do the things that you've done. That same Holy Spirit giving you that Sodom sign, to get out of that kind of stuff, the hour of burning of this world is at hand. A bomb lays yonder with a number on it. Flee to Christ, quickly.
E-285 He also said, in the Scriptures, the last words that fell from His lips, "These signs shall follow them that believe. If they lay hands on the sick, they shall recover." Do you believe that? [Congregation says, "Amen."—Ed.]
E-286 I'm going to see if you believe it? I wonder if we could run a good, old-fashion, Arkansas fast line here, for a minute. Would you believe it? Would you like to see that, hands laid on you? Would you like to have that? [Congregation says, "Amen."—Ed.]
E-287 I don't know how we'll govern it. I doubt if we could do it. Do you doubt it? Do you think we could? [Brother Samuel Johnson says, "I believe we can. Amen."—Ed.] I don't know how we will. But we can try, if you'll be reverent.
E-288 Let those that's in there… What? Section by section. All right, let those that are in the back there, that's holding those prayer cards, step right out front in that line there. Right section.
E-289 Now I want you to know, my brethren, sisters, that you don't have to wait for some special evangelist to come by. No, no. Your pastor has the same. Now, he—he—he may not be able to—to have that prophetic gift; that comes one in a generation. But, look, he has the same rights to pray for you that I would. That discernment doesn't heal you; it only brings you God conscious, that you're in the Presence of God.
E-290 But evangelist goes in town, does all the praying, all the baptizing; then the people, when he leaves, the pastor is… Well, the people think their pastor is nothing. Your pastor is a man of God. He has led you safe this far; he can take you on. He is an instructed man of God.
E-291 And I want you, each one of you, if you come through this prayer line and you don't believe this, stay out of it; you'll get worse. But if you'll really believe it, when you pass under anointed hands of God, I want you to go home testifying to the power of God; leave out of here, shouting and praising God, that it's all over. I want you to do it.
E-292 I want these pastors to help me. Oh, Brother Moore, and Brother Hooper, and many of these brothers here that I know, and these fine bunch of pastors here, just stand and just form me a little line right along here. This is the way we did it. I haven't done this for years. But while the Holy Spirit is still on me, (I just seen something happen just then), while He is still here, and while I can, and while… They have the same anointing and the same authority. That's all. We're going to lay hands on the sick. And the Bible said, "They lay hands on the sick, they shall recover." The Bible said so. That's God's Word. Come out here, brethren, come out here and form you a line right along here. I'm going to stand with these brothers.
E-293 Now, when you come out, you people in this place, as you go out, go right out around the building, come right back in again. And now I'm going to ask someone to stand here, maybe that little brother here, the little… Come here, and you check these lines, if you will, or some brother that can stand here and call them by sections.
E-294 Let the ministers now, the ministers, anointed servants of Jesus Christ, just stand right along here.
[Someone says, "Brother Jackson and Brother Ruddell."]
E-295 I've got a couple of brothers here that's from Jeffersonville, some of my associates from little sister churches from the Tabernacle. Brother Don Ruddell, great success in praying for the sick. Don, are you here? Brother Junior Jackson, a Methodist preacher I just baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ. He received the Holy Ghost. This other was a church of God minister. I want you brethren that prays for the sick, around the Tabernacle, come, stand in this line with these brothers.
E-296 That's all right, isn't it, brother? That's okay, isn't it? Sure. [The brethren say, "Sure!"] Yeah. All right, come, stand around.
E-297 Where is Brother Wilbur Collins at? Another minister, Methodist minister, just received the Holy Ghost, and baptized. I'd like for him to come.
E-298 His little boy, the other day, was dying with—with a rheumatic fever, and the doctor said don't even let him to raise his head high enough to put a tube in his mouth. I come from Tucson, to preach The Seven Seals. And when he did, he picked that baby up out of the bed and brought it over there. And no more than got in, and the Holy Spirit said, "THUS SAITH THE LORD. Take the baby home, he is healed. He will play with my little boy." Here is the brother standing right here now. His wife is in here.
E-299 I guess Mike is sitting here, himself. Right. Where you at, Mikey, where you at? And the doctors… There he is; a mystery. The doctor said bring… The health authorities run that child in. The doctor went and examined him; he scratched his head, said, "There ain't one speck of it in him."
E-300 What is it? Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever!
E-301 Friends, the reason I called these man. They are ministers. They are pastors. They are man that's called to pray for the sick, the same as I am or any other man. And I want you to know that your pastor has authority to do this. You don't have to wait for Oral Roberts, or Jack Jones, or me, or nobody else. Jesus Christ is omnipresent; you believe Him. Your pastor is called to do that. If you never been baptized; after this meeting, consult your pastor, get right with God. If you ain't received the Holy Ghost; go to his church, he'll instruct you on what to do.
E-302 Now as you pass through, pray. And I want each person in here, each individual, I want you to pray. I want you to just march through the line. I'm going to stand right here with this bunch of man, laying hands on these people. This pastor is going to stand here and call the rows. And when you pass by, and these anointed hands… I'm going to pray for you now, and they're going to pray for you.
E-303 And when they lay their hands upon you, remember, it's, you are just as healed as you would be saved. The Bible, It said, "Repent, and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for remission of sin, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." That's God's promise. He will do it if you believe it. But if you don't believe it, it won't work. And He said, "These signs shall follow them that believe if they lay their hands on the sick, they shall recover." It's done, when they lay their hands on you, if you believe it.
E-304 Do you believe it? [Congregation says, "Amen."—Ed.] Do you believe, tonight, that you've seen just as much real as that mother deer could produce, to see Jesus Christ manifest Himself among us? If you believe He is here, say, "Amen." ["Amen."] Then, here He is.
E-305 Let us bow our heads now. Now here is my prayer for you, with all my heart.
E-306 Heavenly Father, I love You. You're my Life. You're my hopes, my God, my King, my Healer, my Keeper. Not only that, but I express the feelings of every believing Christian in here, that's what You are.
E-307 Here stands man, some of them standing here themselves, sick. I know they are. I seen Your Spirit hanging over them, a few moments ago. Knowing them sick ministers, but their heart goes for their congregation, the people; forfeiting their own place, to stand here in the prayer line, to pray for their sheep. God, bless that man, bless each one of them.
E-308 As we stand here as Your representative, tonight, of this Truth, Bible Truth, may each one of these man be so anointed, and the Holy Spirit will… When they lay their hands upon the people, that there be such faith strike that person until they will accept the God-given gift of healing that You've promised them, Lord. And may each one come through, be so charged with expectation, that they will know that they're passing beneath the shadow of the cross, where the Blood of Jesus Christ atones for their confession, and His great august Presence here with us now, that proves that He is not dead, He has raised from the dead, and a living among us. Then our hearts will burn as we go to our different homes, tonight, saying, "Did not our hearts burn within us, as He spoke to us along the way?" I ask that Your Power will give such faith in these next few minutes, to these sick people, that there will not be a feeble person in our midst.
E-309 I challenge every devil that has these people bound, upon the authority of God's Word, and the Presence of Jesus Christ Who shed His Blood, to make every Word a reality to every person that would believe. Satan, you are defeated, your time is at hand, leave these people, in the Name of Jesus Christ. Come out from them! We move the act of God, by laying hands upon the sick, and they shall recover.
E-310 Samuel, sing Only Believe. Start the prayer line. [Brother Samuel Johnson begins singing Only Believe—Ed.] Everybody in prayer now. Everybody, prayer.
E-311 [Brother Branham and the ministers pray and lay their hands on the people as they walk through the prayer line, while Brother Johnson continues to lead the congregation in singing Only Believe many times. Blank.spot.on.tape—Ed.]
Our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred mind
Is like to that Above.
When we asunder part,
It gives us inward pain;
But we shall still be joined in heart,
And hope to meet again.
E-312 Heavenly Father, in the Name of the Lord Jesus, may this, these contact with each others hands, ministering brothers, that the Word of God. Grant that the virtue that raised up Christ from the dead, and has kept Him with us for these two thousand years, may it bind… [Blank.spot.on.tape—Ed.]… souls for Eternity, and may It heal the sickness in our midst, And may the Name of Jesus Christ…?… These handkerchiefs and these parcels, may the power of God rest on them, through Jesus Christ's Name. Amen.
E-313 Now let the entire congregation, that believes with all your heart, that Jesus Christ has, will keep His Word… If He kept His Word for two thousand years, and said this would happen at the end time, and here it's happened, He will keep His Word that said, "If they lay their hands on the sick, they shall recover." Do you believe it? Do you accept it? Then let's raise our hands together and give God praise. [Brother Branham and congregation praise God—Ed.]
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