Sir, We Would See Jesus

Date: 63-1112 | Duration: 1 hour and 44 minutes
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Marc Ballroom in New York, New York, U.S.A.
Sermon translation in Russian: 63-1112 - VGR
Sermon translation in French: 63-1112 - Shp
E-1 Pray for me.
Only believe;
Only believe, only believe,
All things are possible, only believe.
E-2 As we bow our heads now for a word of prayer, I wonder how many here would like to be remembered, just to raise up your hand, and let your request be known? All right. Let us pray.
E-3 Our Heavenly Father, we are grateful to Thee for this, a great privilege that we have of assembling together again before the Coming of the Lord. And we pray, Father, that this will just not be an ordinary gathering together, but it'd be a gathering unto Thee, in the bonds of Thy love and fellowship. We pray that You'll save everyone that comes to the meeting. Fill those with the Holy Spirit who so long desired It, Father. Heal every sick and afflicted person. May we sit reverently and be quiet, waiting upon Thee, and waiting for the coming of the answer that we've so long prayed for. Bless this pastor, Brother Vick, and Brother Boze and all the other ministers, all of our friends. Now we commit ourselves, with this building, to You. In the Name of the Lord Jesus, that while we're assembled here, You'll use us for Your glory. Amen. Amen. (Be seated.)
E-4 It is such a privilege to be here. I long waited the time the… one of the highlights of… As I said to the pastor, this morning, my pilgrimage was to meet Brother Vick, and to have this time of fellowship with he and you people.
E-5 I don't get to New York too often. Looks like it's… I live in Tucson, Arizona, you know, and I always ministering out in the West there. And we're fixing to go overseas now, right away, for another almost worldwide tour. And so to know that I got to come to New York before going over, I certainly deem it a great privilege and a blessing from God to be here with you.
E-6 Now, I don't come, as you have known before, to represent any certain church or any certain denomination, or any creed. I just love the Lord, and one of you, so we're just here to serve Him. And now, and we serve Him as…
E-7 You say, "Well, as you speak to us, Brother Branham, we are, and it—it serves the Lord." Well, as you believe back, and together we serve the Lord. The two of us together makes the unit.
E-8 You know, I used to work as an electrician. And I find out that you can have a wire that's got plenty of current, but it's not effective until it's grounded. So when it's grounded, then you get the results, the current. So we—we must have both parts of the wire, to—to make it work right.
E-9 And if there would be ever such wonderful speaking, and yet no one to believe It, It would be ineffective. But if there is someone to believe It, then It becomes real effective. [A brother says, "We believe!"—Ed.] And we… Thank you, brother. That's good. I like that, "We believe." That's what we're here for.
E-10 And I truly believe that we are just facing some great event. I—I trust it's the Coming of the Lord. Become… We know something has to give away, the world is under too much tension. And there is something wrong. Everyone knows that. And I—I believe that we are facing some great thing, and I believe, with all my heart, that it's the second Coming of the Lord Jesus. And I trust that He will pour out His Spirit upon us, and will reveal to us the things that we should do to be prepared for His Coming.
E-11 Now, I realize, to come here with Brother Vick, these brethren, I… It's a big job, because there has been many great men in here, great influential speakers. I was hearing Brother William Booth-Clibborn, one time, speaking of having a long meeting with the Rock Church. Did I say that right? It's the Rock Church. And I call it "stone church," all the time. So it's all I… And so, and many other great men who has been here visiting. And I've longed to be with the church myself. And to meet men… Or come in a pulpit where people has listened to such men as that, and your pastor, Brother Boze, Doctor Lee Vayle, and many of those other great ministers, it—it kind of makes me feel pretty small. But I'm here to do my part in this. Maybe the finger feels pretty small to the—to the mind, but yet it—it must remain a finger. See, we—we must have it.
E-12 So now just a little familiar text, so we won't stay too long, a little text that I usually introduce to the meeting, and each time try to get around somewhere different.
E-13 We were going to have a prayer line, tonight, of praying for the sick in a… in a—a prayer line. And my son, which I met the lovely… some of the people of the stone church, this morning, Rock Church, excuse me. Brother Boze told me that that was 'cause I was from the West, the reason I call it a—a stone; out there they call it stone, here they call it rock. So I meeting those fine people, and they… we got everything set in order, I said, "Now I'll go over." And they gave me a bunch of prayer cards, said, "Take these and have my son to give them out, so we can pray for the sick." Well, he didn't know we was going to do it that way, so he and some of the brethren were out and gone, and didn't get in in time to give out those cards. But I suppose they've already announced some way they'd be giving them tomorrow, however it is, how they'd be giving them out tomorrow.
E-14 But I thought then, tonight, with a little introduction of what we want to talk about.
E-15 Now, many people, speaking of—of Divine healing or any other subject in the Bible, the first thing we find, the greatest hindrance, is, people try to build it either way back in the past tense or way over in the future tense, or it's so high that no one can reach it. Now that's just the devil doing that.
E-16 Because, the Bible said, "He's the same yesterday, today, and forever." He ever remains God. And He is just as great with His people, when He finds believers today, as He ever was. And—and I believe the Word to be this Bible, to be the Word of God, just no more and no less. I know that God can do things that He has not written in the Bible, because He is God. But as long as I know that what I see Him doing, He has written in here, that He will do it, then I know I'm right, that way. And so He… Yes, He keeps that much, it'll be enough for me, because I see in there that, "He was wounded for my transgressions, bruised for my iniquity, the chastisement of my peace upon Him, with His stripes I was healed." So that that finishes the journey for me.
E-17 And—and He promised it, that we… He would raise us up at the last day, so we're looking for that time to come. Many precious saints are waiting, of course, for that hour.
E-18 Now, this, God has got to judge the—the people, the world. We believe there is coming a day that when God will judge the world by Jesus Christ. Now there has to be some standard, somewhere, that He has to judge by.
E-19 Well, because so many people today would say, "Well, I'm," even people say they are, "Christ," and, "I am Christ," and, "I am of Christ," and, "this denomination is of Christ, or, this denomination." It would be a bit confusing if there wasn't some standard.
E-20 Now if I go to ask the Catholic people in the building here, tonight, "Do you, what do you think God will judge the world by?"
They would say, "Well, the standard of the Catholic church."
E-21 I might ask about maybe some other denomination. Why, it would say, "Why, the standard of our church." They might not right—right out confess it, but our actions prove that's what we think. But then which church would be right? See, we wouldn't know where to go. And then it isn't by any certain group, any church, any denomination.
E-22 It's going to be by His Word. See, that's the standard. See? For He had said in the 1st, John, Saint John the 1st chapter, "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, the same yesterday, today, and forever." So This is one thing that He can judge the world by, that all of us will have to answer to, this Book. And so I trust that God will open this Book this week, to us, in evangelistic Messages, and in interpretations that He will give, Himself, of His Word, just the way It's written, and interpret It to us, and then show Himself alive here with us, to—to—to do that.
E-23 Now there is many things that we can say. And men can say anything, I guess, they desire to say. But to God to say it, that makes it right. And then if God says it, and then comes back and proves that He did say it, then there is no question there, if it's all alright.
E-24 Now let us, if you want to kind of follow these Scriptural texts; I see, I believe they're taking a tape over here. And I believe now, before we read, there will be also…
E-25 I'm to speak on a Sunday. Is that right, Brother Vick? [Brother Vick says, "Right."—Ed.] On Sunday morning or Sunday—Sunday night? ["Nights, all through the week."] Nights, all through the week. ["Yeah."] And no day services, no day services. All right. Now, and then we'll…
E-26 How many would like to have a healing service, pray for the sick? Let's see your hands, up through. Oh, my! It's in—it's in the majority, by much, I guess ninety-nine hundredths and ninety-nine hundredths. That's about… Well, that's fine. But we're…
E-27 Now, Divine healing is not all the Message. Jesus put, I think they claimed, about eighty percent of His ministry was on Divine healing. But as the—the late Brother Bosworth… Many of you knew Brother F. F. Bosworth, a godly, saintly man. He used to say, that, "Divine healing is just like the bait on the hook. You never show the fish the hook, you show him the bait." And he… And—and so Divine healing is a minor. And you can never major on a minor, but it leads to the major. So, we—we see this.
E-28 And the Bible is true, every Word. And I feel that we can hang our soul on any Word of the Bible. It's God's Word, and I may not have faith enough to make it all act out, but I certainly believe that it can be done, if we have faith enough to believe it. Yes, if they'd believe it.
E-29 Now in the Book of Saint John 12:20. Many of you that's been in the meetings before, this will be a very familiar text, because I use it as an opening text to introduce what I want to say through the week, and what we want to be talking on, and then Hebrews 13:8. In Saint John 12:20.
And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to the feast to worship:
The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sirs, we would see Jesus.
E-30 And I want to take just five words out of that. Sir, We Would See Jesus. And then on Hebrews 13:8.
He is the same yesterday,… to day, and for ever.
E-31 Now if He is the same, and, our hearts tonight, I'm sure that I speak for quite a few in this meeting, that our hearts are just as hungry to see Jesus Christ as those Greeks were. We… No one can ever hear of Him, that would not want to—to see Him. It's been my heart's desire to know the reality.
E-32 And having a—a—a broad experience kind of pays up a little for my lack of education, by having dealings with other religions, such as Buddha, and—and the Mohammedan, and different types of religions. I seen them around and around the world, as I've travel, and looked into them and searched them over. But there is only one True that I believe is right, that's this, Christianity, see, and then it's—it's the only one that can prove that the Founder of this religion is not dead. Now I…
E-33 They carry, have a horse setting at the… or standing, rather, at the tomb of Mohammed, and they believe someday he'll rise and ride the world down in the victory. And, but he's dead. He has been dead several hundreds of years. Buddha died about twenty-three hundred years ago, he was a philosopher in—in Japan, China.
E-34 But now our religion, of Christ, He did die, He had to die in order to save us. But we show an empty tomb. And now His Life, reflected in us, proves that He is not dead, see, and—and His promises.
E-35 Now, of course, if you'd say that in a foreign nation, amongst the Mohammedans, they'd say, "Yeah, he reflects his life in us. But he never made any promise, see, these promises." But he said, "Your Jesus made these promises, now we're waiting to see you teachers perform what He said that He promised." See, that's what the wait is for.
E-36 And that's where they caught our Brother Billy Graham, that Mohammedan teacher, well, about, said, "If this… You just bring so many, and I'll bring so many, and I'll do as much with them as you will."
E-37 Well, that was quite a challenge. But he will challenge that to the wrong person someday and then, see, it'll be. Now, I would—I would believe that—that He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
E-38 Now, according to the Scriptures, we are supposed to be "written epistles" of Him. The Bible says that we are "written epistles." And if, tonight, we would hunger and thirst to see the Lord Jesus Christ, we as Christian believers should reflect His Life, so much, till it would be His entire representative. We should be that. Every Christian should be represent and reflect the Life of Jesus Christ. Do you believe that? [Congregation says, "Amen."—Ed.] And I believe that every Christian should be reflecting the Life of Christ. He said, in Saint John 14:12, "He that believeth on Me, the works I do shall he do also." And then we know that that's true, that we are His representatives. And if we claim that Christ lives in us, and if Christ lives in us, then we should do as Christ did. We should reflect His Life.
E-39 What if I said, tonight, that the—that the life of Shakes-… What if I said Shakespeare lived in me, or you said Shakespeare lived in you? All right, you would write the poems that Shakespeare wrote, because Shakespeare lives in you. What if you said Beethoven lived in you? You would be the great composer that Beethoven was, because Beethoven lives in you. You're not yourself, now you are Beethoven or you're Shakespeare.
E-40 Then if Christ lives in you, there you are, see, the Life of Christ you live. See, it's just that way, if He lives in you. But you can't live in there with Him; He has got to live in you. That's always, He takes your place, and we are supposed to represent Him in every way.
E-41 Now we find that the first church did represent Him, as written epistles, His Life lived through those people. I can't compare our church today. As—as hard as it is to say this, as much as I love people, yet you've got to be honest and tell the Truth. I can't say that we see, in the churches today, reflecting Christ in the way that those people did.
E-42 They, they knowed that they had been with Jesus. We find in saint… No, I believe it is in Acts the 4th chapter, that we find out, that those fishermen, Peter and John, and healing the man at the Gate Beautiful, and was able to answer any question that they—that they… the Sanhedrin asked of them, asked them; yet, they with their ignorance, and unlearned. They could perceive that. They had no education, and they was not trained ministers, they were fishermen. "But they perceived that they had been with Jesus," see, because that they were acting the same way He acted on them.
E-43 You can just live with somebody so long, and around them, until you take up their ways. And it's good for us not to run off and live with the world. But stay with Jesus until we can reflect, His Life be reflected in our life.
E-44 And that's the way those disciples were. They, they knew that they had been around Jesus, because they talked like Him, acted like Him, and healed like Him, and every answer was like Him. They was inspired like Him, and they knowed that He was living in them. That's what we should be all the time, as believers. They acting like Him, 'cause, if you associate with someone so long.
E-45 We find in the Bible, over in the Book of Kings, that there was a man by the name of Jehoshaphat, a righteous man. And there was the son of Ahab, Jehoram, and he was taking up the habits of his father, and then the king of Edom. And then they declared war, the Moabites did, upon Israel at that time. And Jehoram being king, after his father, why, he called on Jehoshaphat. And Jehoshaphat, a righteous man, should never have connected hisself with this unrighteous person. But many times Christians do that, just not thinking.
E-46 And so they took a seven-day compass and went into the—the wilderness, and, come to find out, they had run out of water. And one of them cried, "Alas, because God has brought these kings out here to slay them!"
E-47 But Jehoshaphat, being a righteous man, in the time of trouble, remembered that God still lived. You see, regardless of the… Though we stepped aside and done wrong, yet God is still with us. God still remains the same. And Jehoshaphat, remembering this, cried out, "Isn't there a prophet of the Lord somewhere, that we could consult?"
E-48 And one of the servants of the king of Israel, said back, "Yes, here is Elisha. He poured water on the hands of Elijah."
And Jehoshaphat said, "The Word of the Lord is with him."
E-49 Why? Look at his association. See, he, they knowed this man had associated with a genuine prophet. And they knowed that it had that kind of company. And stay in that kind of company, he had to walk a pretty straight life, and he wouldn't say nothing… because he had been brought up under the tutorship of this great prophet, Elijah.
E-50 Oh, how it would be today if the church could only stay with Christ, under the tutorship of the Holy Spirit, never leave that Word for no creed nor nothing, believe It just the way It's wrote. And men everywhere would know that you had been with Jesus, also. That's how he would know it.
E-51 But, today, it's too bad. We kind of look to a well-trained scholar or something. That's who we think we find Christ in. We go to schools. We send our boys, and off to school, to seminaries; which is all right, but, we find out, they learn how to speak eloquent speeches, and they make great talks. And—and they're fine men, there is no doubt, and thousands of them. And they know how to put the program over. They know how to stand on the platform, they know how to—to introduce Christ to the people. But you come to find out, most of that, a lot of it, too much of it, is just that man; not being exactly a representative of Christ, but a lecturer. See, knows, he is trained to give lecture. You could ask him to give a—a talk that would actually astound the people, from his eloquence of speech and how he could hold himself, and how he could hold the people spellbound. And, but we find out, he learned that in a seminary somewhere, somewhere where they trained him how to do.
E-52 How different it was from Saint Paul, when he said, "I never come to you with the excellency of speech or with wisdom of the world, but in the power of the Holy Spirit; that your faith would not be in the wisdom of man and his culture, but in the—the power of the Holy Spirit."
E-53 Yes, we have another group we kind of, many people, look to, is a fellow that we call the good fellow. He stands up on the platform, he is a good jokester. He can tell a few jokes and get all the people laughing, and people will crowd out everywhere to hear those jokes. And maybe they're not bad jokes, they're just jokes told from the platform, but I—I don't think that's right. Now I—I… this is no place for joking.
E-54 This is the place for the deepest of sincerity. That's what's the matter with the church today, we get away from that deep sincerity. We got to be right down to the bottom, sincere with this, you see. And then, God loves sincerity, and we don't get sincere enough with it.
E-55 But we find out, this person can get everybody laughing and going on, and we kind of look for that man. But, to me, he is called, to me, maybe an "entertainer," or maybe just simply a "pulpit clown," that's all, see, to stand up there and—and just get the people laughing. When, they should be, in—in the Coming of the Lord, in the deepness of sincerity, watching every moment for His appearing, for we don't know just what time He might appear. So, we don't need lecturers, we don't need entertainers, and so forth.
E-56 Then there is another class of people, that looks for God, if they was looking for Him, in the dress of a person. Many people see a man coming down the street with some great… some kind of a religious hat on, and—and religious clothes hanging down, and—and, they, they think that that's very religious, that's Christ-like. And I don't think so. If that would be so, then… Christ didn't dress like that, so it isn't in dress. "The Kingdom of God is not in meat and dress, but it's long-suffering in the Holy Ghost."
E-57 They look for the people, many of them, look for the people, people look for Christ, rather, among their relatives. You say, "My mother, she has been a certain-certain member of a certain-certain church for so many years, or my father come up." And they look for Christ amongst their people like that. "My family raised me up to be such-and-such." But we don't see Christ, see, we don't see It.
E-58 You know, Mary and Joseph made that mistake, one time. They were good people. But they went up to Jerusalem to the feast, and on their road back they missed Jesus among them. And so they sought Him among their people, but He wasn't found. And I think that's a whole lot, today. And they went trying to find where He was at. Did you know where they found Him? Right where they left Him. That's right.
E-59 Well, that's where we'll find Him. That's where the church will find Him. We won't find Him in lectures. We won't find Him in entertainers. We won't find Him in the way we dress, or the denomination we belong to. We'll go back to the Day of Pentecost, where He came into the church, and there is where we'll find Him. Because, that's where the early church left Him, and at the Nicaea Council, and there is where He has been left ever since. So, it's, we have to go back to that time, to get Him. Go back where we left Him, to where we can take His Word; and not add nothing to It, take anything from It. Just believe It the way It is. That's—that's the way It's written, that's what It is. God has watched over It, to keep It this way, and that's the standard that we'll be judged by.
E-60 Now these Greeks were not looking for lecturer, on Jesus Christ. They wasn't looking for pulpit clowns, as I said a few moments ago. They're not looking for that. They're not looking for entertainers. They wanted to see Him, the Person, Jesus Christ. They longed to see Him, because they had heard of Him. "And faith cometh by hearing, hearing the Word." And He is the Word. See, He is the Word. See? And they wanted to see Jesus.
E-61 Now, they never said they wanted to hear Him; they had already heard. They wanted to see. That wasn't the question, "We would like to hear Jesus. Sirs, we would, we," they want, or, "hear Jesus." They wanted to see Jesus. That was their purpose of inquiring, was to see Him.
E-62 Not to have Him explained. Today, with great intellectual messages, we can explain It till you can see the picture. But, that, that isn't what we're looking for tonight. We're—we're not looking for the mechanics, we're looking for the dynamics of It. That's it. So many, see, that's… We've got the mechanics of the religions of the Bible so bottlized, it looks like a great big sixteen- or thirty-five-coach train sitting out here on a track. But if you haven't got any steam in it, then the—the… It takes the dynamic to—to—to perform with the mechanics. And what we need now is to see That. This what we've been taught all these years, is it the Truth or is it not? It's been explained, over and over and over, through different seminaries and churches, and so forth, until we are looking to see Who this Person is.
Now you say, "Brother Branham, how would you do it?"
E-63 Well, did you notice they come to a servant of Christ, who had been trained to know what to do. Not to just say, "Sit down. Say, wait now! You sit down here, I'll explain it." No, he brought them right straight to Him, 'cause that's what they wanted to see. They, they said, "We would see Jesus." Not, "We'd like for you to explain It to us and tell us what It's all about." That wasn't the question. But they wanted to see Jesus. And they… God had someone standing there, Philip, that could take them and show them to the Person, Jesus Christ.
E-64 Now that's what we want to see. We want to see the Person. You say, "Well, Brother Branham, we will see Him when He comes." Yes, but He promised that He, in the Person of the Holy Spirit, would come in the last days and would be with us, even in us, to the end of the world. And the things that He did, we would do also. He said, in Hebrews 13:8, as I have quoted that, "He is the—the same yesterday, today, and forever." Now there would only be one way to know what He is today.
E-65 We find we couldn't find Him in fine lecturers, 'cause we find people who can stand up and can explain the Word in such a way, it's just breathtaking. But when we find it, it's still just a lecture. See, just a lecture, it's the mechanics. And we find the entertainer who can go through all the actions, and so forth, but that still isn't it. We, that isn't what we're looking for. We find the religious type, with their robes on, and so forth, that still isn't what we're looking for. See? No.
E-66 We're looking for the Person, Jesus Christ. See, the Person, Jesus Christ! Now, if the Bible said, "He is the same yesterday, today, and forever," then He must be that, or the Bible said something wrong. Then, I don't believe God would judge the world by anything wrong.
E-67 Then where we at again? See, we're all out in a muddle again, because there is everything, this church says, "we got It," and, "we got It," and, "we got It," and so forth. But if you've got It, you would show It, that's right, see, the Person, Christ Jesus.
E-68 Now the only true way to find out what He is, is find out what He was, see, because He is unchangeable. God can never change. He has never changed. "He is the same yesterday, today, and forever." He must ever remain the same. His Word must remain the same. His plans must ever be the same.
E-69 Now we have tried everything in the world, to get by, away from His plans. But it still remains, His is the only way. Men has tried to make a way to educate men to fellowship; it failed. We've tried to denominate them to fellowship; it failed. God has one place that He meets men, that's under the Blood. And outside of that… There is no failing. That's right. You got, must have, under the Blood.
E-70 Now, if a Catholic priest, an Orthodox Jew, and a Nazarene, and a Pilgrim Holiness, and a Pentecostal, can stand out here in their denominations and fuss with one another, all day long, and claim how greater each is, and so forth; but let them all come beneath that Blood and kneel beneath the cross, they got their arms around one another, and they are brothers because they have—they have things in common. And that's one thing that every born-again believer has in common, is the Blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses them.
E-71 A little story, here not long ago, of a—a family, a lovely little family was breaking up. A man and his wife had come to disagreement, and they were going to have a divorce. And the lawyer told them, said, "Now, if you don't want the courts to kind of take everything you've got, you should go down there, and between you, and divide the—the spoils up, from your family, your union."
E-72 So they go down to the home, and they met on a certain day. They went into the living room, and they fussed and they stewed about everything was in the living room. Then they went into the kitchen, and they fussed and stewed about what was in there, and the different rooms of the house. After a while, they decided to go up into the attic, because they had an old trunk up there. They had some old antique things, that they were laid away, so they went up into the attic to pull out this trunk. And, they, one would say, "This is mine," "this is mine," and they would argue over it.
E-73 In a few moments, they uncovered something, and they both reached for it, and their hands crossed. It was a pair of little baby shoes, that God had give to their union, and had taken away from them. There, who could claim them? It was something they had in common. See? And with tears in each other's eyes, they pulled the little shoes between them. The divorce was annulled. See, they found something that meant something to both of them.
E-74 And I think that Christianity should do the same thing. We can find something that means to both of us, that's Christ. See? That means to all of us, there we can take each other by the hand and stand there as brothers and sisters in Christ. He is Christ. Now is He alive? He certainly is, "Alive for evermore! And because I live, you live also."
E-75 Now we'd have to go back, to watch. We know we wouldn't find Him as—as a—a great educator. We don't even have any record of Him ever going to school. And we… He wouldn't be a different dressed man, because He went in and out men, among men, rather, and never… Why, people didn't know Him, all of them dressed alike. He didn't dress like a priest. He didn't dress like a religious man. He dressed just like an ordinary man. And—and then for His…
E-76 We find out that the Bible wrote in such common language, He must have used the grammar that was used out on the street, just a common people. Because, the Bible said, "The common people heard Him gladly," see, so maybe the intellectuals could not associate themselves in such a common Person that spoke with drawls, and so forth, that perhaps He did. So, it was a little too much for them. It is yet, today.
E-77 And that's the reason the Bible become such a—a problem to people, because, it's, they try to interpret It by the higher type of language, when It was wrote in a street language, you see. The…
E-78 So, God humbles Himself. God is humility. "The man that can humble himself is on his road up. He that exalts himself is on the road down," always. So we must remember that Christianity is not pushing ahead, and trying to get ahead of this fellow, but stepping back and taking the back seat, you see, letting the other fellow go on, that's—that's Christianity. Humble yourself. "If they sue you at the court, and takes your coat, give him the cloak also. If he compels you go a mile, go two. If he smites one cheek, turn the other." He was our example in every way what we should be. And if that Life can reflect in us, people will see Christ in you, you see, when—when they can see that.
E-79 Well, now let's see, there might have been many men. Jesus was different than all men. There might have been many men who could be humble, and go the second mile, or turn the other cheek, but we find that Jesus was a different Person.
E-80 Now, God has always stayed with His Word. Remember, He never changes His Word.
E-81 As I said, a few moments ago, about the blood. In the garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve had sinned, and God had to keep His law because He was just. And the penalty of the law was, well, He had to place upon that family, because, "The wages of sin is death, and you're going to die." But then when they become some kind of a something, He'd have an emancipation proclamation, He—He decided that it took blood. Adam and Eve tried to make a fig leaf apron; it wouldn't work. So, He required blood.
E-82 And He has never changed. He never changes. Now when it come time a person was sick and wanted to be healed by God, God healed him upon the basis of his faith in Him. He has never changed it. It's still the same, just the same.
E-83 And any Word that God says, It can never be changed. Now that's the reason I believe the Bible is just the way It's written. See, It can never be changed. We can't find nothing better; God cannot. He is infinite. We are finite. We make mistakes, and tomorrow we know more than we knowed today. But not God; He is—He is the Eternal, and infinite, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient. He, He just… He is God. If He isn't those things, then He isn't God, see, He is finite like we are. So we must remember that He is God, and His Words are, that's part of Him. You've heard them say, "Every man is just as good as his word." That's true. God is no better than His Word.
E-84 Jesus always referred back to the Father's Word, constantly, all the time. "It is written. It is written." That's how He defeated Satan, on the Word. "It is written." Now we find Him when He was…
E-85 He came in the power of the Scripture, exactly the interpretation of the Scripture. But the people of that day, that was looking for Him to come, missed Him, because they had an interpretation, that they could not go from that interpretation. They must have it their way.
E-86 Now it might come the same way today, again, you see. Wouldn't it be too bad if it would? "And we've got it all drawed out, and we've had so much schooling till we put a chart and tell you almost the hour He is coming, and we tell you whether He's going to be riding on a white horse or in a cloud. We know just how it's going to be." And it might be altogether different when He comes. Yeah. He did. You know, those things are so treacherous when it comes to trying to saying, "This is that." Just—just the way the Scripture is written, that's it.
E-87 Did you notice, one time, I made a statement like this. One time the disciples said to Jesus, in… I believe in Saint Matthew 6:11… or 11:6, I believe it is, pardon me, 11:6, I think it is, that the disciples of John came to Jesus and—and wanted to know that if He really was the One. Now John (had been) introduced Him, and was laying in the prison. And now Jesus said, "Just stay until the service is over, then go back and show John what you saw." Now He never give him a book on how to behave himself in jail, or something like that, or some intellectual speech. He said, "You just stay around till the meeting is over, then go show John what you saw." And as they went, Jesus watched them as they crossed the hill.
E-88 He said, "What did you go out to see when you went to see John? Did you go to see a man dressed in fine soft clothes, and turned collars, and, you know, and so forth?" Said, "That's of kings' palaces. They kiss the babies and bury the dead, and so forth." Said, "But what did you go to see? A man shaken with the—the wind, like a reed?"
E-89 No, not John. You can't tell him, "I'll give you so much if you leave this church and come over here to this one." Not John. He wasn't shaken around, by organizations and things. Not John.
E-90 He said, "What did you go to see? A prophet?" And He said, "I say unto you, and more than a prophet." But he was more than a prophet because he was the—the… he was the—the—the—the arch between the law and grace. He was the messenger of the covenant of that day, a great man.
E-91 And we find out that as He was talking, speaking about John and about what a great person he was, He said, "If you can receive it, this is he who the prophet spoke of, 'I'll send My messenger before My face.'" See?
E-92 And they said, "Well, then, why does Elias say…" One time when He was speaking on it. Said, "Why did Elias say that, that the first thing was…" Or, "Why did the scribes say," pardon me, "that Elias must first come?"
E-93 And He said, "Elias has already come and you didn't know it." See? See? Those trained man watching for that forerunner of Jesus to come, trained in every way of the Bible, scribes who wrote the Bible and knowed It from A to Z, backwards, forwards. Lecturers, my, they were real men, they knowed the Scriptures inside and out, every Word, but yet failed to see that John was the Elias. Even His disciples never saw it.
E-94 Now wouldn't it be too bad, one of these days, if we see the judgment strike the earth, and we say, "Well, why is it? The Rapture is supposed to come."
E-95 And He would say, "Why, it's already come and you didn't know it." See? See? In a moment, in a twinkle of an eye, when no one is thinking about it, and it'll be stoled away. You'll never know when it leaves. I tell you, it pays us to be ready, say, and be ready for this hour.
E-96 Now let's take and see what He was. We find, as soon as He was baptized, God come upon Him, in the form of a dove, and He went into the wilderness for forty days of temptation. And there He defeated Satan, on the Word, first. He defeated Satan, on the Word.
E-97 Then His earthly ministry began. Now we find Him, the first thing, there was a man by the name of Andrew, in Saint John 1. We find that he went out and got his brother, Simon, and brought Simon to the meeting where Jesus was speaking. And when he did, and Jesus saw Simon; quickly, when He saw him, He told him his name was "Simon," and he was "the son of a Jonas." Now, then, that took the starch out of this apostle, and he recognized Him then to be the Christ; and finally become the head of the church at Jerusalem, because he had recognized that That was the Christ.
E-98 Did you ever think what made him recognize this Man to be the Christ, by just saying that? Because that the Christ, according to the Scripture, was to be a prophet. Moses, their guide and teacher, had told them, "The Lord your God shall raise up a Prophet likened unto Me." No matter how many intellectual men had raised up, there had to come a Prophet, and that Prophet had to show the sign of a prophet.
E-99 Now perhaps I'm talking to many Jewish people, tonight. And you know, in the Scripture, the Jew believed his prophet. Because, it was the prophet that the Word of the Lord came to, him, and him only. The Word of the Lord come to the prophets. "God, in sundry times and divers manners spoke to the fathers through the prophets, but in this last day through His Son, Jesus Christ," Hebrews 1. Now, the Jew believed the prophet because the prophet had the Word of the Lord.
E-100 Now, the way they told whether that prophet was right or not, was because they watched the prophet. And if he said anything, prophesied, and it come to pass, God said, "You hear that prophet, for I'm with him. But if it doesn't come to pass, then ignore what he says." That's no more than right, see. "If there be one, a prophet among you, spiritual or a prophet, I the Lord will make Myself known to him in visions, speak to him through dreams. And if what this prophet says comes to pass, then hear him, for I'm with him. But if it doesn't, then don't."
E-101 So, Jesus standing there. And they had not had a prophet for four hundred years, in Israel. And here stood a Man that seen an ordinary fisherman come up, and told him what his name was and what his father's name was. What an astounding thing! What was He doing? He was calling that man. And when that Light flashed upon that predestinated seed, Life come quickly, he recognized what it was.
E-102 This man we're speaking of now, Philip, he saw this performed, so he runs around the mountain, is about fifteen miles, and to a friend that had been a—a—a studier of the Scripture, with him. And, this man, his name was Nathanael. And he must have had a grove, and so he was out in the grove, in prayer, by the time Philip arrived. And they were both Hebrews now, watching for the coming of the Messiah. So when Philip found him, he said, "Come, see Who I have found, Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Joseph."
E-103 And, course, Nathanael being a great man, and knowing that Nazareth was a—a mean town, and—and he said, "Could there be anything good come out of Nazareth?"
He said, "Come, see."
E-104 That's—that's the one of the most astounding statements! So many people will—will set off and criticize anything, instead of coming and taking it to heart, and searching it and seeing whether it's right. If those scribes would have only done that to Jesus Christ, the… you Jewish people wouldn't be in the condition you are now. See? And the world, the churches wouldn't be the way they are now. The people, we wouldn't be the way we are, if we studied the Scriptures and if God raised up something. We know there is a lot of fanaticisms; there has always been, there always will be, until Jesus comes. But then, false prophets and false christs, and everything else, is to rise in the world, showing times of the sign, signs of the times, rather, and so forth. But He said, "Don't you believe it." See? But now notice, in this, they didn't stop to think Who, what He was doing.
E-105 Philip said, "Come, see for yourself." So when Philip and—and—and Nathanael went along the side of the mountain, together, come in to the meeting just about like this, say, where Jesus was speaking.
E-106 Now, I don't know how they come up. He might have been standing out in the audience, he perhaps might have been up here where Jesus had, was praying for the sick. It's, no, we're not told just what position they were in. But as soon as Jesus saw the man, He said, "Behold an Israelite, in whom there is no guile!" Now look at what He is making Himself, identified, when He was here yesterday.
E-107 See, He never made any great intellectual talks. We have no record of Him schooled in seminaries, as I said. He never wrote a book. He never wrote one word. He wrote something on the ground, and then took His hand and erased it out again. Why didn't He write something? Because He was the Word.
E-108 So, see, if they'd only know, He was the Word. He was the Word Itself made flesh. He was God made flesh. God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself.
E-109 Now notice what He did, when Philip bringing this staunch Jew up, He said, "Behold an Israelite, in whom there is no guile."
E-110 Well, some might say, "Sure, they could tell, the way he was dressed." No, all the Eastern people wore turbans, they wore beards, they wore garments. You couldn't have told him from an Assyrian or any other person. He just had on that type of a garment.
E-111 Said, "Behold an Israelite, in whom there is no guile." How did He know that he was that just, honest man that he was? He could have been a—an outlaw. He could have been a thief that had come up there with Philip. He didn't know, but He had a way of knowing.
E-112 And he, it astounded this man so much, that he said, "Rabbi," which means teacher, "when did You ever see me? How do You know me?"
E-113 He said, "Before Philip called you, when you were under that tree, I saw you." See?
E-114 And what did this scholar of the Word know by that? He knew that was that Prophet. He said, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God. You're the King of Israel."
E-115 And Jesus said, "Because I told you these things, you have believed, now you'll see greater than this."
E-116 You see how He was identifying Himself. Not in a certain dress, not in a great… being a great famous lecturer, some doctor's degree from some college.
E-117 Them things are alright. I'm not criticizing. I'm trying to pull out something that should come out of there, see, to show you. Them denominations and colleges, and dressings, as far as I'm concerned, they're alright, but we're not talking about those things now. See? I'd certainly rather see a man in religious garb than see him like some of these women out here on the street, see, or something. Would rather see him, if he's even a fanatic in his religion, I'd rather see him like that than out here drunk somewhere, in a ditch, see, so I have nothing to say about that.
E-118 But what I'm trying to say, we're trying to find that Person, Jesus. That's the Person we're trying to find. What about this Word? That, can that Word lie? No, sir, It can't lie and be God. God can't lie. And this Word is God. The Bible said It was. And so now we're trying to find what He is.
E-119 How could we identify Him? Not in clothes, not in denominations, not in speeches. How we going to find Him? We're going to find Him in the Person what He is, that He is now. Notice, that's the way they knowed Him back there. Not by His dress, not by His education from His school.
E-120 He could declare no school He come from. Said, "Whence cometh Thee? What school did He come from? We know nothing about this Man." Sure, they never had any record of Him anywhere. But He…
E-121 That's the way the prophets come up. They didn't know where they come from. They know nothing about Elijah, about the rest of them. They just come from nowhere, and went away. That's all they know. It's men that God can get a hold of. Men like you, that God can get a hold of and declare Himself, that He might righteously judge a generation, that He might judge a nation, judge a world. Because, the Word has to go forth somewhere, and He sees to it that the Elected gets in to hear That.
E-122 Now we find out, that when Jesus was—was speaking, and He recognizes, there were those… [Blank.spot.on.tape—Ed.].
E-123 There were those who standing there, who had to answer to their congregation. There were those there who had to answer to their denominations, whether Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodian, whatever they might be. And so they stood there, and they said, "This Man does that by Beelzebub. He is a fortuneteller," in other words. "He is a telepathist. He reads their mind."
E-124 "Jesus perceiving their thoughts." They didn't have to say it out loud. He knew what they were thinking. He caught their thoughts.
E-125 He is the same today as He was then. He knows what you're thinking, see. If He is the Word, He has to remain as the Word. Now, in Hebrews 4, the Bible said that, "The Word of God is quicker, more powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, a discerner even of the thoughts of the heart." What is it? The Word, the Word of God can discern the thoughts that's in your heart.
E-126 That's exactly what He was, the Word, and the Word could discern the thoughts that's in the heart. See? Now, that's what the Word was. They should have known that, see, that that's the reason. He perceived their thoughts, looked upon them. And He said, "I'll forgive you for it," for He had not yet been crucified. The Holy Spirit had not yet come.
E-127 "But," He said, "when the Holy Spirit is come," to do the same thing that He was doing, 'cause He promised It would, see, "when the Holy Ghost is come, He'll bring these things to your remembrance, what I've taught you, and will show you things to come." See? "Now when He comes to do this same thing that I'm doing, one word against It will never be forgiven, in this world and in the world that is to come." See, that's how strict it will be in these last days. See? It'll separate, see.
E-128 Then God in His judgment, like He did in Eden, He can justly say, "You saw it. You know it. I proved it, and you didn't believe it." That's it.
E-129 Now, and watch what He did when He did this, what He said. Philip said, "Thou art the Son of God. Thou art the King of Israel." Jesus told him that greater things than this would he say. Now, that was to the Jews.
E-130 Now there is three races of people in the earth, as much as we—we want to believe, that's: Jew, Gentile, and Samaritan. We always… God is perfect in three's. And there is three sons of Noah, and from them three sons brought forth the whole race of people.
E-131 We find now, that, the Holy Spirit. Peter on the day of… before the Day of Pentecost, was given the keys to the Kingdom. We find out that he opened It to the Jews, on the Day of Pentecost. And he went down to Samaria, and opened It to them. Come back to the house of Cornelius, and opened It there. And he never had to do it no more; It was opened to the world, see, like that, the Holy Spirit. But you remember, Philip went down and preached to the Samaritans, and had baptized them in the Name of the Lord Jesus, only the Holy Ghost had not fallen upon any of them as yet; so they sent up for him that had the keys, and he laid his hand upon them, and the Holy Ghost came upon them. That's right. That's Jews, Gen-… them three races of people.
E-132 Now, we Gentiles, we were heathens, Romans, Greeks, and so forth. We worshiped idols. We wasn't looking for no Messiah. We had no time for no Messiah. We had our own gods, our forefathers. But the Jews were looking for a Messiah. And so was the Samaritans, because they were half Jew and Gentile.
E-133 Now, Jesus will appear to those who are looking for Him; only those, that's all. He is not obligated to the unbeliever. But to the believer He is obligated. He is obligated to raise the believer up, see, in the last day, only to the believer.
E-134 Now we find, that Jesus here had made Hisself known to the Jew. Which, we have many others, we could take blind Bartimaeus, but to save time… Were many of the others through the Scripture, exactly proving to them that He was the Messiah, by being a Prophet. "The Lord your God shall raise up a Prophet likened unto Me."
E-135 They had had no prophets. But those who had got away from the idea that He was a Prophet, had to give an answer to them, so they just said, "He was a—a devil, a witch, or, you know, some evil spirit doing that."
E-136 And He said that, "It was unforgiveable sin, calling the work of the Holy Spirit, 'an evil spirit, an evil thing,' that, the Holy Spirit coming and making His Word manifest."
E-137 Why? It had been prophesied that Jesus would do this very thing. When He told the Jews, He said, "Well, which one of you can condemn Me? Which one of you can accuse Me of sin?" Sin is "unbelief." If… He said, "Search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have Eternal Life, and they are the Ones that testify of Me." They should have knowed it. They thought they knowed it; but, they didn't, they'd have knowed He was the Word right there. He could discern the very thoughts in their hearts, and so forth, and do just exactly what the prophets did.
E-138 Because, He was more than a prophet, He was the God of the prophets. He was the head and the—the last of the prophets. This day He speaks, Himself, through His Church.
E-139 Now if we notice in here, that, He identified Himself perfectly with the Jews, that He was the Messiah, by proving He was the Prophet. We know that. There is no other way. Not by His dress, not by His talk, not by nothing else but by being…
And then you say, "Well, He cast out devils."
E-140 He claimed that the Pharisees done the same thing. He said, "If I cast out devils, by the finger of God, who does your children cast them out by?" See? So they were casting out devils, too. See? So, but He was casting them out by the finger of God, said, "Then the Kingdom of God is come nigh to you."
E-141 Now we find out that the thing that identified Him exactly being the—the Messiah, was the prophet, because Messiah means "the anointed One." And anointed with what? The Word. The Word anointed is just like a seed with water on It, in the right ground, It brings forth exactly Its promise. That's the reason He said, "Who can, who can condemn Me? Who can tell Me that I… If I do not the works of My Father, then don't believe Me. And this is the Word. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. If I do not what this Word promised for this generation, then don't believe Me," He said.
E-142 Oh, wouldn't it be wonderful, today, if the church could say that same thing, we could stand there? This, if we do not do the works of God, then it isn't God. And everywhere God is, supernatural takes place, because He is supernatural. See, He is—He is a Spirit. God is a Spirit.
E-143 Now we find out that He is going down to Jericho, but He had need to go by Samaria. Now, Samaria is around the mountain. Jericho is down at the bottom of the hill. But on His road down, instead of going right down to Jericho, He goes around by Samaria. I wonder why? And He comes to a city called Sychar. And they… sent the disciples in to get some victuals, food.
E-144 And while they were in to buy this food, He sat down by the well. And it was a well, like a little panoramic, like, in a public gathering place for the people coming after their water. And it is still there today. And vines growed over the wall, and Jesus was sitting over against the wall.
E-145 And as He set there, there was a young lady come out from the city. We would want to call her, today, a woman of ill fame. And maybe the child was drove to that, and, she, maybe her parents turned her loose on the street. And you know what I mean. And I think the lady, the woman, really something had happened; we're not told in the Scripture, but watch what taken place to that woman's heart. See? She come out to get water, and it must have been along about noon.
E-146 Usually the maids, yet today, go out early of a morning and get their water, and put it up on their heads, in their great earthen vessels, and they pack it to do their drinking water and their housework, and whatever they're going to do.
E-147 And this young woman come out around noon. Why? She couldn't be associated with the rest of the people, the—the good people. She could not be caught among them. They would shun her, and she felt bad about it, so she'd stay back. She knowed what kind of a life that she was living, so she stayed away from the religious people.
E-148 Now we find, as she come out, she perhaps never noticed Who was sitting over against the wall.
E-149 And those pitchers they have, that I call them. They're… Some of them call them buckets. They got handles. They're made out of—of clay. And they have a windle, and just the two hooks that goes in. They let them down into the well. And being… topple them over and they get full of water, and windle it back up. And they pack it on their head, and on their hips, as they walk.
E-150 And this woman was just about to maybe hook the hooks over the—the pitcher, and was just about to let it down, and she heard a Voice, said, "Woman, bring Me a drink." And she looked over to see Who it was. And there sat perhaps, more or less, like a middle-aged Jew sitting there. And He wasn't but about thirty-something years old, thirty-two or thirty-three years old, at the time.
E-151 And, but He must have looked a little older than what He was, because He had been called, Saint John 6, to being fifty. Said, "You're a man that's not over fifty years old, and You say You've seen Abraham? Now we know You're crazy. You are mad," which means crazy. "You got a devil."
He said, "Before Abraham was, I AM." See?
E-152 Now, He must have grayed up a little, or something. He was sitting there, kind of a middle-age-looking man. And He… She said, "Why, it's not customary." See, there was a—a segregation among them. They had no dealings with each other. Said, "It's not customary for you Jews to ask Samaritans favors like that."
He said, "But if you knew Who you were talking with!"
E-153 See, oh, there it is! If we only knew, oh, when we read this, Who we're talking with, see. When you're praying, if you… Jesus said, "When thou prayest, believe that you receive what you ask for." See?
E-154 "If you only knew Who it was you were talking with, you would ask Me for water, and I would bring you water that you don't get from this well."
E-155 And the—the conversation went on a little while. She said, "Well, our father…" See, she being a Samaritan, yet said, "Our father, Jacob, dug this well. And he drank from it, and his children, and water the cattle, and so forth." But He said… "Why, you say, 'worship in Jerusalem,' and—and others, 'worship in this mountain,' and so forth."
E-156 He said, "We… Jews, salvation is of the Jews. We know what we worship. But," said, "hear Me. The time is coming, and now is, when the Father seeks the true worshipers, will be worshiping in Truth and in Spirit." See, Spirit and in Truth!
E-157 And their conversation went on for a—a little while. What was He doing? Now you'll almost have to take my Word for this. See, I think He was trying to find where her trouble was, what was on her mind. Now, remember, the Father had sent Him up there, "I have need to go by Samaria." Now He said… And that's Saint John 4.
E-158 Now in Saint John 5:19, when He had healed the man at the gate called Beautiful, we know He… No, I beg your pardon, He was at the pool of Bethesda. He healed this man, and was questioned why He didn't heal all the rest of them.
E-159 Now, that man. There was people laying there who were lame, halt, withered, blind. And here He come walking through there, walking through this pool, and He went to a man, that, I don't know what he had. He might have had TB, prostate trouble, something. He was retarded, he had had it for thirty-eight years, it wasn't going to kill him. He—he could—he could walk, he'd go down.
E-160 But notice, He come right through that pool of people, where they was all there, multitudes, thousands of them, as they lay at the sheep gate, "watching for the moving of the water." God has always had a way for Divine healing, for the people. And so the one stepping in first would have had enough faith, it taken the virtue from the water, he was healed.
E-161 But notice, this Man Jesus come through there, which was the very God of the creation, and He came through the gate, and mingled among the people, just think, having compassion. Do you believe He had compassion? [Congregation says, "Amen."—Ed.]
E-162 Now just stop just a moment and think of this. There is a lady with a baby with a water head maybe this big around, passed right by. And here was a man that was blind, "Somebody have mercy on me and put me in the pool." The Bible said they were lame, blind, halt, withered. Some poor man laying there, that probably his arms wasn't that big around. Or, a little mother with a bunch of children at home, and a compassionate Jesus passed right by her. That strange? And, yet, full of compassion. But that's the Bible. Anyone… See, now watch. We don't know what compassion means.
E-163 Notice Him. He found a man laying on a pallet, that could walk, and He said to him, "Wilt thou be made whole?" Why that one? See, why that one? Now watch and He'll tell you. Jesus knew this man had been there in this time, you see, all these years. He healed him, told him take up his bed and go home. And he did. They found him packing his bed, and found Jesus and brought Him before the court.
E-164 Listen what He said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, the Son can do nothing in Himself, but what He sees the Father doing." There is the compassion, knowing the will of God and then doing it. See? See? "The Son can do nothing in Himself, but what He sees," not hears. Not… See? "What He sees the Father doing, that doeth the Son likewise."
E-165 So He must have had a—a vision of going up there, "He had need to go by Samaria," and He knew this woman would be there. So knowing it, He just to come up there and be at this gate, send the disciples away. The… Then He didn't know what to do when the woman begin to ask these questions, and so forth, so He just waited for the Father to show Him. And when He found what her trouble was… How many knows what it was? She had too many husbands. And so He told her, said, "Go get your husband and come here."
E-166 "Why," she said, "I don't have any husband." That looked like a straight rebuke. See?
E-167 "Why," He said, "you have told the truth, because you've had five, and the one you're now living with is not your husband. In that now you have said right, you 'have no husband.'"
E-168 Watch that little woman. You know, she could teach ninety percent of the clergy, today, the Gospel. See? Why, why did those priests stand there and call Him "Beelzebub," when their very Bible said that's what He would do? Is that right? And here stands a prostitute, a woman of ill fame, and, as soon as He said that to that woman, she never said, "Well, You're Beelzebub."
E-169 She said, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet." Now watch her quotation. "We perceive, I perceive that You are a prophet. We know that when the Messiah cometh, which is called the Christ; we're looking for Him to come, and, when He comes, He is going to tell us these things. This is what He's going to do."
E-170 That was the sign of Messiah, yesterday. That's the sign of Messiah, today, the same. See?
E-171 "We know when Messiah cometh, He'll tell us these things, but Who are You?" That was the question. "I know You are a prophet. We haven't had one for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years."
"Great-great-great-great-great-grandfather's letter over here said they had a prophet, the last one, Malachi, four hundred and something years ago; we never had a prophet in Israel since, but here stands a Man telling me this."
"You are a prophet. And we are looking for the Messiah."
Jesus said, "I am He, that speaks to you."
E-172 That's His identification. That's how He identified Himself to Israel. Here He is with the Samaritans, identifying Himself.
E-173 "I am He, that speaks with you." And, upon that, she never questioned it. See, Life was foreknown by God.
E-174 And no matter how much those Pharisees tried to be religious, Jesus said, "They, they were blinded." He said, "Well did Isaiah speak of you, 'You got eyes, and can't see. You've got knowledge, and don't understand.' You're a lecturer, and don't know what you're talking about. You're, you see, you have all these things."
E-175 Because, you see, Jesus said, "No man can come to Me except My Father draws him, and all that the Father has given Me will come to Me." And He said that, did He not? [Congregation says, "Amen."—Ed.] See?
E-176 What was it? There was the Bible, said, in Heb-… in the Book of Revelation. In the last days when the "antichrist" raised up on—on the scene, so close like the real thing, "it would deceive the very elected if it was possible." But, and then He said again, "he deceived all upon the earth, whose names were not written on the Lamb's Book of Life, slain before the foundation of the world."
E-177 See, their names were put on the Book of Life, the Book of Redemption. Jesus come to redeem those that had their names in the Book. And when that last name is redeemed, the Lamb takes the Book and walks away; that's all, redemption is over, it's closed. Those!
E-178 And what was she? She was one that had her name There. No matter what kind of a state she was in there, as soon as that true Gospel Light struck that little prostitute, she recognized It. Why? There was something in there to spark it off. See, she recognized It.
E-179 You might pour water in gasoline, it'll only hinder it; but let a little fire hit it one time, and watch what happens, you see. It takes the sparking of faith, to the Word of God. When they know it's the Truth, there is something happens!
E-180 She never asked one more question. She knew that was that Messiah. Why? He had fully identified Himself. Just like Philip said, "Why, You're the Son of God, the King of Israel!"
E-181 There were those there, said, "That's, He is fortunetellers, that's what He is."
E-182 He said, "You cannot be forgiven for that, when the Holy Spirit does it." See? He said.
E-183 But now watch here how He was identified to her. And she ran quickly into the city, and she said to the men.
E-184 Now, really, if there is any Easterner here, you, the Bible is a new book to—to a man from the West, that goes East once, see, because all the customs, they still live it the same way. She had no right to go in the city and talk to the men. She could not do it. They would really wouldn't listen to her.
E-185 But she had a message, that nothing could stop her. See, she had found Life, something that struck. She run into the city and told the men, "Come, see a Man that told me the things I've done. Isn't that the very Messiah? Isn't that what we've been looking for?"
E-186 Identified as the Messiah! And the Bible said that, when Jesus came into the city, He never did that one more time, not to them. But they believed what the woman said, see, and they received Him. He never healed any sick; He knowed Philip was coming down to do that, so, and get them straightened out, after the Holy Spirit come, so He just let them know that He was Messiah.
E-187 Now look, there was the Jews, recognized Jesus. He was identified at the end of their dispensation, as Messiah, and that's how He did it.
E-188 Same way with the Samaritans, they were looking for a Messiah. That's how He identified Himself as Messiah.
E-189 Now it's been two thousand years with the Gentiles, they received the Gospel. Now our dispensation is running out, the church age, we're finishing. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, never changes His plans. And if He stood among us, tonight, He would not be a man with great clerical clothes on, some orator of speech, or lecturer, or something, but He would prove to us that He was the Messiah. See? He said, when He was here on earth, He said, "As it was in the days of Sodom, so shall it be at the Coming of the Son of man."
E-190 Watch this real close. In the days of Sodom, and always, there's been three classes of people.
E-191 Three is a "perfect" number, we know. And seven is the "completion." Forty is the "temptation." Fifty is the "jubilee." You know the mathematics of the Scripture.
E-192 But now notice, at—at Sodom, there was your three classes of people. There was your Sodomites, who were unbelievers. There was Lot and his group, which were lukewarm believers, church natural. There was Abraham, the spiritual, called-out, elected, out into the wilderness away from Sodom.
E-193 Watch, three Angels came down from Heaven, one day. The sins of Sodom got about as bad as it is in the world today. They come down. Now, They were looked like men, They were dressed in clothing like men wear; dust upon Them, and Their feet were dirty from walking. And Abraham, sitting under the oak, saw Them coming at a distance.
E-194 Now we're referring to what Jesus said to take place at the end time, just before His Coming. Now, remember, the Sodomites were Gentiles.
E-195 Notice now, we find that, here They come up, these Men. And Abraham, spiritually, he noticed there was something about those Men were different from ordinary strangers.
E-196 There is just something, when a believer meets a believer, when a believer meets the Word! When, something like that woman, you see, they—they're ordained to That. They just can't help believing It. There is something strikes them, see, they got It.
E-197 And when Abraham saw these Men coming, he went out. And he said, "My Lord, will You come by and let me fetch a little water and wash Your feet? And I'll give you a morsel of bread, in Your hand, and be on Your road, for that's what You come by for." They turned aside.
E-198 Now, in the big master tent, was where Abraham lived. And many of his servants, enough to fight an army, lived out around there. They were herdsmen. So he run in and told Sarah, his wife, to "Go knead some flour, or meal." You know, knead it, sift it, like. "And make some cakes and put it upon the hearth." And—and then, too, he went out into the herd and found a fat calf, and—and killed it, and give it to a servant, and said, "Dress it, and make some—some steaks." And he went out and talked to the Men.
E-199 Quickly, he went back and got the flour and the—the bread, and got some milk and some meat, and come out and set it down before Them. And the Bible said, "They did eat. They eat."
E-200 And you notice, the one Man kept looking towards Sodom. And He said, "I'll not keep this a secret."
Two of Them gets up and goes on. They go down into Sodom.
E-201 A modern Billy Graham and an Oral Roberts, and so They're on Their road down, see, go down into the Sodomites, to blast the Gospel like Billy Graham and them is doing. Did you ever notice? Keep this now. I hope I don't say anything wrong. But, we've had this, spiritually.
E-202 You must—you must never look at things in the natural. Look at the spirit of anything. You want to look at a city, look at the spirit of it. You look at a family, look at the spirits in the family. Look at a man, look at the spirit's in him. See, anything you look at, everything has got to have a motive and objective. See?
E-203 And watch here, did you know, all the great man we've had, Sankey, Finney, Moody—Moody, Knox, Calvin, and so forth, there has never been a man yet, on the field, with a ministry to the nominal church, that ended up with h-a-m, like A-b-r-a-h-a-m, G-r-a-h-a-m. Never before. He is right in the midst of Sodom, that's why. The man is doing a wonderful work. That's where he is supposed to be, see, h-a-m means "father of nations." See?
E-204 Notice now, one of them went down in there to preach to the Sodomites. They went down there.
E-205 One of them stayed back here with Abraham. Notice now, he had been "Abram" a few days before that. And she had been "Sarai," not S-a-r-a-h. See? It's r-a-… And he had been A-b-r-a-h-a-m now. And, notice, He called him by his new name, "Abraham, where is your wife, S-a-r-a-h, Sarah? Where is she at?"
E-206 Women then were a little different they are now, see, they didn't get out in their husband's business. They was back, stay… She was back in the tent. So he said, he said, "She is in the tent, behind You."
E-207 He said, "Abraham, I," personal pronoun, "I am going to visit you according to the promise that I made you." Who was that? See? Who was this Person sitting there with dusty clothes on? "I'm going to visit you according to the promise that I made you."
E-208 And Sarah, being an old woman, she kind of, as we would call it today, kind of snickered, you know, laughed to herself. "Me, an old woman?" She was a hundred years old now, see. Said, "Me, an old woman, old; and my lord," which was her husband, "being old, too, have pleasure?" Now we're a mixed audience, but I… You listen to your doctor; and I'm your brother. See, as certain as—as—as a social affair, it ceased, many, many years, see, and so they—they didn't have any family affair. And he said… "Me have pleasure with my lord, him being old?" She doubted it.
E-209 And the Angel, the Messenger, the Man, the Human, in human flesh, eating the calf of a cow and drinking her milk, and eating bread, said, "Why did Sarah laugh, back behind Me?" See? Think of it.
E-210 Jesus said, "That would repeat again, as it was." What to? Now remember, that One didn't do that down in Sodom. He only manifested that sign up here to the elected group that wasn't going to be in the fire. Remember, that was just before the Gentile known kingdoms was burnt up. And that's exactly what is going to happen now. That's what we're looking for, right now. "God," Jesus said, "will be manifested," otherwise, "in the last days, in human beings. As it was in the days of Sodom, so shall it be at the coming of the Son of man."
E-211 And, remember, the elected never seen any other sign after that. Not one time did God appear to Abraham after that. Nothing else in the world, but Sarah was turned immediately to a young woman, and Abraham to a young man; and they went down, and Abimelech fell in love with her and wanted to marry her, and her a hundred years old. And they brought forth this child. Why? They were looking for a promised son.
E-212 And that's what we're looking for today, a promised Son. And before that promised Son arrives, the elected Church is to see God manifested in the flesh, telling the secrets of the heart, and knowing the things I done. "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever."
E-213 Remember, the one down yonder in Bab-, in Sodom tonight, giving them a message, a noble brother, Billy G-r-a-h-a-m, only six letters, G-r-a-h-a-m, (his was A-b-r-a-h-a-m), the messenger to the church nominal, blasting it out to them, exactly. And what did he? Only one miracle he done, smite them blind. And preaching the Word smites the unbeliever blind. Yes, he believed. Course, he believes this; but he was sent, he said, to those politicians, to smite them. And that's exactly right, so there he is down there in Babylon of the world, down there in the—in a modern Sodom, preaching to those denominations, pounding away.
E-214 And the people are not even accepting it sincerely. The other night, in Los Angeles, at the great rally, seen hundreds times hundreds come up to make decisions. Young people coming up, teen-agers, punching one another, and chewing chewing gum, and pulling one another's hair, and acting, coming up to make a decision. No wonder it's a Babylon! No wonder it's a Sodom! The whole thing is ready to be burned.
E-215 God is here. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His power is just the same today as it ever was. He does not fail. He cannot fail. He is God. He has to remain God. Right! "Sirs, we would see Jesus," not hear the mechanics, "see the dynamics of Him." You believe that? [Congregation says, "Amen."—Ed.] Now this week we're going to look for Him, we're going to look for Him to walk among us and show us that He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
E-216 Look when He was crucified, the old critics, them drunken Roman soldiers come out there and put a rag around His face, and hit Him on the head, said, "Now, if You're a prophet, prophesy and tell us who hit You." See? He didn't clown for the devil. He never opened His mouth and said a word. Course, He knew. They had passed the stick, one to another, said, "You tell us who hit You now, and we'll believe You." See, that's the critics, they didn't believe it. He was a Prophet, but He don't clown for people.
E-217 These are not sideshows. These are not something, a platform show. It's the Presence of Jesus Christ. It's His Power among the people, and we must enter It with deepness of sincerity.
E-218 Satan also, "If Thou be the Son of God! You said You could perform miracles, let me see You do this, or do that."
E-219 He said, "Get behind Me, Satan. See, it's written," that's right, "that you shall serve the Lord, and Him only shall you worship." So we… Or, "Worship the Lord; Him only shall you serve."
E-220 Now we know that He is the same. Now if we come tonight, we find now if… Jesus cannot fail, because He was God. He is the Word. The Word and Christ is the same. Then if the Word promises (the Word) that this is to happen in the last days, the Spirit of Elijah is even to return in the last day, that's right, upon the peoples, and He's to turn the hearts of the fathers' children back to the fathers, the Doctrine, the principles of the Bible. They've got away in denomination, organization. And the great power of God is to come upon the people, with a master of peace that'll send their hearts back to remembering that He still remains God, that He is God. Jesus promised that the things that He did, His believers would do it, "The works that I do."
Some fellow said, "Oh, we do! We do greater works."
E-221 I said, "Just do the works He did. That's what He said, see. Do that first."
E-222 He said, "Well, we got denominational brethren around, that's preaching the Gospel all the way around the world. He couldn't do it."
E-223 I said, "Then do the works He did, first, then we'll talk about that."
E-224 Are you lecturing? But Jesus never said, "Go into all the world and teach this, or teach that." He said, "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel." Preach is to "demonstrate the power of the Holy Spirit." "These signs shall follow them," it don't come by lecture, that's right, see, "that believe." It doesn't come by lectures. It comes by the Presence of the living God moving among, in human flesh, proving Hisself that He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. That's right. He never fails to be the same. It comes so simple. The simplicity of It is what drives the intellectual mind away from It.
E-225 That's what made them disbelieve Jesus. "How could a man… Why, You was borned in sin, how can You come teaching us what to do? We are priests. Our fathers were priests, our grandfathers. We, we know that Bible, inside and out. And You try to come tell us what to do?"
E-226 He said, "You are of your father, the devil, and his works you will do." See? And, well, my, that was a strange thing to say to a bunch of clergymen like that.
But he said, "Well, we have Moses. We are… We know."
E-227 He said, "If you had believed Moses, you would know Me," He said, "because Moses spoke of Me. Moses spoke of My days. And if you can't believe Moses' words, how you going to believe Me?" Sure. Said, "If you can't believe Me, as a man, then believe the works that I do; they testify Who I am."
E-228 Well, that's the same thing. The great Holy Spirit, Messiah, the Anointing, comes upon us today, and It produces exactly His Life.
E-229 Just the same as Beethoven would—would—would produce Beethoven again, if the life of Beethoven lived in me, why, I could compose songs. If the life of John Dillinger lived in me, I would be a criminal. If the life of—of some other person, whatever he was, that would be in me, in my life.
E-230 And if the Life of Jesus Christ is in you, that's just what you'll be. See, that's exactly, you'll do His works. Jesus said so.
E-231 I know that's awful hard for people who doesn't believe in the supernatural, and so forth. And I'm way late, friends, but let me just say this to you, just in closing. Don't, don't close up your heart to it. Come, just be just be reasonable, sensible, see.
E-232 Come, read the Scriptures and see if those things are right, see if that's the way that the world know that He was Messiah, see if that's the way He identified Himself. And if He did it then that way to them two races of people, both Samaritan and Jew 'cause they were looking for Him, now when we are looking for Him. Remember, they had had thousands of years of teaching, over two thousand years, of teaching that He was coming and what He would be. And when He come, that's the way He identified Himself.
E-233 Well, if He comes too at the end of the Gentile age, He has got to identify Himself the same way, or He isn't the same yesterday, today, and forever. He gave them… If He lets this Gentile age go in, under an intellectual conception, then He certainly harmed them, see, because He performed that to show them that He was that Word. And He must do the same thing.
E-234 Even though they were taught, they were great religious leaders, they, far beyond what we got today. They were a nation, a nation governed by the laws of the Bible. They were. We, we're supposed to be, but, oh, mercy, we all know we're a million miles from it. People couldn't live in them days the way they live now. Men with four or five women, and wives, they would be stoned to death. And the—and the things that we do today, and call ourself a religious nation! We cannot do that… or they could not do it, rather. They could… We can, but they can't. Because, and, they had to be taught. Every man had to be circumcised. He had to be that, or he was stoned to death. If he even packed too much weight on the Sabbath day, carried enough ink to make too many letters, he was stoned to death. They had to be religious. And they studied that Bible, day and night, and yet missed knowing their Messiah when He stood right in their midst, when the Bible told them that's exactly what He would be.
E-235 Now, how we know. If I say, "Have I got a hand?" I don't know whether this will make a shadow or not; no, it's too much light. But when you are standing off from the light, you look at your hand, you see what the shadow is. If you've never seen your hand or never seen yourself, if you see what your shadow is then you know what it will be in reality, because it's only reflecting what you are. See?
E-236 Now we know what Christ was, as a shadow, the way He manifested Himself. See? And we know back there what He done, now it must be reflected in us. The Gospel, Christ, the way He reflect It there, the way He reflects It today, that makes Him the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do you believe it? [Congregation says, "Amen."—Ed.]
E-237 Let's bow our heads just a moment for prayer. Now everyone just as reverent as you can be, for just a few moments now.
E-238 I'm sorry that Billy never got to give out prayer cards. I—I'm sorry about that. We will give them out, tomorrow, I guess, at the service, or wait… Do you have a morning service? No. It will be a night service, come tomorrow night about seven, seven-fifteen, and receive your prayer cards. We'll be praying for the sick, the Lord willing.
E-239 Jesus Christ is a healer. Now remember, friends, there is no man that's a healer. No. There is no man that's a Saviour. Jesus Christ, "He was wounded for your transgressions." Every sinner is forgiven from Jesus Christ, but it won't do you no good till you accept it. "By His stripes you were healed." You must believe it now. "You were," not you will be. You already are, but you must accept it. Now you believe it with all your heart.
E-240 Say, I was just thinking. By the way, how many in here really believe it on the first night, raise your hands, believe what I've told you is the Truth? [Congregation says, "Amen."—Ed.]
E-241 Let's pray. We won't wait for any prayer cards. The Holy Spirit is just as great now as He was if you had prayer card. Prayer card don't do nothing but give you… [Blank.spot.on.tape—Ed.]
E-242 Bow your heads. I want to ask you something. One time, Jesus of Nazareth… If you ever catch me doing anything unscripturally, that this Bible doesn't say, you are duty bound to come to me, see, to tell me. Jesus Christ said…
E-243 When He was here on earth, He was going up across the sea, and He stopped. And on His road, there was a man come to Him, by the name of Jairus, and he was… his little girl was very sick, and she was dying. Frankly, she died before He got there.
E-244 And there was a woman, perhaps lived up on the hill, that had heard about Him, and her faith really believed that it was, He was the Messiah.
E-245 So there was many of the scribes and Pharisees standing by, saying, "Don't you listen to that Man. That Man will get you all tore up, you confused. You'll be leaving the synagogue. He—He won't… You, you won't know what to believe. Don't you listen to that Man."
E-246 But that didn't stop this little woman. The Bible said she had had a blood issue for many years. And she had spent all of her living and give it to the doctors. And the doctors no doubt had tried hard to help the little woman, but they couldn't do it. She still had a discharge of blood, and she was pale, perhaps sickly-looking. And all of a sudden, she heard. "What's the noise down there on the bank?"
They said, "That Prophet from Galilee is coming by."
"That Jesus?"
E-247 See, Jesus is just a common Jewish name. I'm acquainted with many people named Jesus. Right where I live there in Arizona, I know three or four men right there, even ministers, named Jesus.
E-248 But this is Jesus the Christ, the anointed One, see, the Son of God; and this Prophet, Jesus, was coming by. She knowed that, that He was a prophet. And she knowed that God was the Word, and He come to His prophets, so she said, "If I can only touch that Man's garment, I'll be made well."
E-249 Are you acquainted with the story? [Congregation says, "Amen."—Ed.] All right. Remember, she pressed through the crowd.
E-250 Now, anyone knows the Palestinian garment, it has an underneath garment and a robe, and it swings free as they walk. All men, women, and all, wore them. And they down low, and they have like a stocking over their—their legs, and things, to keep the dust and stuff from settling on their limbs. And as they walk, course, the garment picks up the dust.
E-251 And so as they passed by, she perhaps had to crawl around them. And everyone was putting their arms around Him, "Rabbi! So-and-so! And some of them saying, "Well, He's… there is nothing to Him." That's the mixed crowds, we always have it everywhere. But this little woman come through and touched the border of His garment.
E-252 That was His outer garment. Now, you, I'd never feel it, or you wouldn't if I touched your coat, or you touched mine, and it laying against you. This loose Palestinian garment, hanging that far from His feet, of course, physically, He never felt it. And she touched His garment, went back, sit down, or whatever she did.
E-253 Jesus stopped, and said, "Who touched Me?" Is that true? [Congregation says, "Amen."—Ed.] All right. Now watch.
E-254 Now, that was Jesus yesterday. And nobody said nothing, and He looked around upon the audience till He found where that faith was, and He revealed it to her. He said, "Thy faith has saved thee. Your blood issue stopped." Is that right? "Thy faith." Now, that was Jesus yesterday. Now it's, now the Bible said…
E-255 Now I know there is many ministers and great able scholars sitting here. Now doesn't the Bible say, in the Book of Hebrews 3, that, "He is right now a High Priest, ever living to make intercessions upon our confession"? Is that right? "A High Priest ever living to make intercession, and can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities." Is that right? Now if you touched Him, how would you know you had touched Him? He would act the same as He did yesterday. Is that right? See?
E-256 Now if you touch Him, Him, not someone else; Him, touch Him. He is the High Priest, and you touch Him by the feeling of your infirmities. "Lord Jesus, I am sick. I must die, the doctors tell me I can't live, but somehow… or I've spent my money. I—I even I can't afford to go to a doctor." And whatever more what your trouble is, or, even, "I haven't been to the doctor," whatever it is. And say, "Lord God, I'm Your servant." And if you're not, say, "I'll be Your servant. I, I believe You. There is something about what has been read tonight, and said to me, that sounds like the Bible. And I've read It and I know that's true. And this man tries to challenge our faith here, challenging our faith, right here in New York City, New York; and telling us that You remain the same, that You right now are High Priest and will act upon the same thing, if I can only touch You. Lord, let me touch Your garment."
E-257 Now how would you know it? Now, the only way you know it, "Now, I know that Brother Branham doesn't know me, and he is just a man, see. He is just a man standing there, that's all. He knows not nothing about me. But if I can touch You, then You speak to him and let him speak to me."
E-258 Cause, God only works through the agency of men. How many knows that? That's exactly. He never does nothing outside of men. No, sir. "Does nothing till first He reveals it to His prophets." Is that what the Bible said? That's His preachers. Yeah.
E-259 Now you believe it with all your heart, and say, "Lord Jesus, let…" Now don't be—don't be nervous, excited, see; you press yourself, you jump over the top of it, you try to make it something. Well, just simple.
E-260 How many in here is a stranger to me, and sick? Let's see you raise up your hand, say, "I—I need healing." Well, all right, practically everyone.
E-261 I don't know anyone here, exactly, to speak to, or know. I know this Brother Anthony sitting here. I… that's about… And now, brother, believe that's Brother Tyler sitting right there, I believe. Isn't that Brother Pat Tyler? Yeah. All right. And I thought that.
E-262 Now just to know anyone else, I might—might have seen you, and you might have seen me, but the Heavenly Father knows I don't recognize anyone at this time back in here. Yes, I know this boy sitting here taking tapes, 'cause he is one of our tape boys. And outside of that… His father must be here somewhere, because I think they're together. Are you here, Brother Sothmann? Where you at? Oh, it's way back in the back. All right.
E-263 Now you yourself, I know we're getting late, and we… I guess we should have been out of here long ago, but just—just a moment.
E-264 There is one thing to say anything, and there is one thing for God to prove it's right. Now if I say that you got a right to dis-… No, you have no right to disbelieve it, because I'm reading it out of the Bible, see. See? But now if God confirms that to be so, then you'll know whether it is or not.
Now just in humility let's bow our heads for prayer.
E-265 Lord Jesus, I know this is a great challenge. It's a challenge that maybe I—I—I should not have made. I don't know. But feeling that many of these people has been in meetings before, they, they know You and they know that You—You are in the earth today. And they know that You—You keep Your Word by representing Yourself through human agency. And, Lord, if You'll just speak to even one person, or two, or maybe three. And It said, "In the mouth of two or three witnesses, let every word be established." Make it at least three people here, Lord, unknown to me, that You will speak to them. And let them touch Your garment, then You let me just see the vision and know what to say. Let the Holy Spirit use my lips, as You have, and so graciously, Lord, such an unworthy person. And there is none of us worthy, none of us; but somebody must do it, so I—I pray, God, that You will do it tonight. Will You? Just that it might be known, this great city which is doomed for judgment, shortly. The whole world, we know, can't stand in this condition. And there may be people here that'll never be again, maybe that's why I'm doing this, saying this. I pray, Father, that You'll make this Word that I have preached, It's Your Word, let It be made known, in Jesus' Name.
E-266 Now just keep your heads bowed, and just pray, say, "Lord Jesus, let me touch Your garment." Now when you are finished praying, then you just look up this a way, so that you might be…
E-267 Now, I'm not saying look to me, you all know that. As Peter and John passed through the gate called Beautiful, and said to the crippled man, "look upon us," that didn't mean… In other words, "pay attention to what I'm telling you."
E-268 Now you pray, and say, "Lord Jesus, Brother Branham doesn't know me, but You know me. You just let me touch Your garment, 'cause he's just told me You're 'a High Priest that can be touched by the feeling' of my infirmities, and told me You're 'the same yesterday, today, and forever,' and that You would react just in the same way You did then when that woman touched Your garment. And it'll certainly take all the doubt away from me, 'cause I—I'll know then that You're the same yesterday, today, and forever."
E-269 And then the Scripture will be fulfilled exactly. We can know Jesus, tonight, as we knowed Him then. "Sirs, we would see Jesus." If I walked in with nail scars in my hand, I'd be… it'd be a hypocrite. You wouldn't know Him by that. You wouldn't know Him by the way He was dressed. You know Him by His Life, that's what identified Him as being God's Servant, Prophet.
Now just pray, and have faith.
E-270 Here is a lady. I don't want to say nothing to her, because you can see what's wrong with her. Lady sitting here, I think it is, she has got a goiter she is praying about. It doesn't show on her neck. But you can look at her neck just in a way, and, when she pulled her skirt back, it does. I don't know you. But if you'll believe with all your heart, that'll go away from you. Yes. I—I—I—I…
E-271 If you will just—just have faith now, just don't doubt. Just pray, and you say, "Lord Jesus, I'm waiting to touch Your garment. Reveal Yourself to me."
E-272 You say, "What are you looking for, Brother Branham?" Vision.
E-273 Now be real reverent. Don't, don't move around, see, see, you interrupt. Just be real reverent.
E-274 Here, watch this, look at here. Here is a lady right in here, praying, sitting, looking right at me. I see dripping of blood. It's in the stomach. She has got a bleeding stomach. If you'll believe! Is that right, lady? Raise your hands up. I'm a stranger to you. I don't know you, but that's true. It just now stopped. Your faith!
E-275 I want to ask you, what did the woman touch? I do not know her. I've never seen her in my life. It's just a woman, is all I know. See?
E-276 Here is a lady up here on the end of the… out here towards the end of the row. Just then I seen it happen, it seemed like it reflected to another lady just now. That's her. She's got back trouble and she… Something wrong with your back.
E-277 Put your hand over on the lady next to you, she has something wrong on her back, too. All right. She can't hardly get up and down.
E-278 The lady sitting next to you is going blind, this other one on this other side, is going blind. I want you to put your hands on her, too. That's right. That's right. Now believe with all your heart, it'll be over. Now watch what happens.
E-279 Do you believe? I see a dark shadow hanging right back here, it's over a poor woman. She is going to die; she's got cancer. See, if God doesn't touch her, she must die. I'm sure she'll… God, help me. Mrs. Katur, if you'll believe with all your heart, Jesus Christ will make you well. Do you believe it. K-a-t-u-r, if you believe with all your heart, Jesus Christ makes you well. Stand up, lady, and give God praise. All right, you can go home and be well. I never seen the woman, in my life. I never seen her, in my life. She is a total stranger to me.
You say, "Well, you called her name."
E-280 Well, that's no more. Jesus called Simon's name, told him his name was Simon, what his father was. Is that right? "Sirs, we would see Jesus."
E-281 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." Don't you believe that? Don't you believe you're right in His Presence now? How many believe that? [Congregation says, "Amen."—Ed.] We would see Jesus now, Jesus Christ! Now, it wasn't me that healed those people. Now here It goes again. See? All right, just have faith.
E-282 Tell you what you do right now. You believers lay your hands over on each other, like this, see, put your hand on someone next to you. Jesus, I'm going to quote the last Words He said when He left earth, "These signs shall follow them that believe." Did you say you believed? "These signs shall follow them that believe."
E-283 Course, we have belief and we have unbelief, mixed. We always have that. There is always three classes of people; believers, make-believers, and unbelievers. And we have that, too. But your prayer now, where you're sitting, have faith for the person you got your hands upon. "Believe," Jesus Christ said this.
E-284 Remember now, if you do not believe, be very careful, 'cause these diseases go from one to another. We know that. We read it in the Bible, where evil spirits went out of one right into another. And we see it all… Many of you has been in the meetings and seen it. If that's right, say, "Amen." [Congregation says, "Amen."—Ed.] Sure, people is paralyzed, and striked dumb, die, right there in the meeting, everything.
E-285 Now in the way that you pray, you don't pray for yourself. You pray for the one you've got your hands on. See, you pray for them.
E-286 And now if there is a person in here, while they're connected like that, that is not a Christian, and want to accept Christ as your Saviour, would you make it known by just standing to your feet, say, "I want to accept Jesus as my Saviour, right now, in His Presence. I want to stand up, to show to this congregation, I'm a testimony to Jesus Christ. I'll accept Him right now, as my Saviour." If you've never did this before, you have your privilege to stand now. He'll… You stand for Him now, He'll stand for you later when you're—you're at the Judgment Bar. If you're not a Christian, accept it now.
E-287 And you that's got your hands on one another now, pray for each other. Now remember, they're praying for you, you pray for them. Now I'm going to pray up here, with you, for all these people.
E-288 God bless you back there, my brother. God of Heaven, be merciful. That's very fine, a gallant thing. Would there be another would stand, say… Jesus knows you. "No man can come…" God bless you, sister. That's fine.
E-289 Just see the Presence of Jesus Christ come into the meeting and do exactly what He did in the Scripture. That's totally impossible for a man to do that. It takes a Spirit to do that.
E-290 Now if you want to call It, like the Pharisees, "an evil spirit," then you'll receive that reward.
E-291 And if you call It, "the Spirit of God," then accept It. Accept It as your Saviour, for He is Jesus Christ, is only Saviour of the world. And He is—He is God's Son, died for you, He is here tonight in the person of the Holy Ghost. He is still Jesus, still Jesus Christ in the person of the Holy Ghost, which is Christ in Spirit form. And if you've never accepted Him as Saviour, would you just stand up, you know, and He'll witness for you if you'll witness for Him.
E-292 Some stood up. If there is another, right quick before we pray; God bless you. God bless you. God bless you, you, you, in His Presence. That's fine. Many, that's fine. God bless you. God bless you, sister. God bless you, way back, the man already stand, raised his hands. God bless you. And God bless you. That's good. God bless you. That's wonderful. That's right. Take Him right now.
E-293 Remember, right now, in the Name of Jesus Christ, there isn't a life in here that could be hid from God right now, but what He could reveal to me just exactly. You know that. You, many of you has been in; all you that's been in meetings before, and just see It take massive turns, say, "Amen." [Congregation says, "Amen."—Ed.] Sure. You know it's true. And right now, I know there is people here that ought to surrender themselves to Christ. Please do it. Please do it now while you—while you got the chance, in His Divine Presence. Oh, check up! We may be later than we think, right now.
E-294 When He, His august Presence, comes in and blesses us, and proves by the Scripture, here He is, a Word confirmed. Eight or ten people right here, healed, sitting right here. And it's more. If you'll take my word, as His servant, that Light that you see in the picture that science has right here in Washington, DC, as, "the only supernatural Being ever taken," that Light is just circling this building, around and around, and around and around. Now, that is right.
E-295 Now you believe. Jesus Christ said, the last Words He said when He left the earth, "These signs shall follow them that believe. If they lay their hands on the sick, they shall recover."
E-296 "And He was received up into Glory. And they went forth everywhere, preaching, the Lord working with them, confirming the Word with signs following."
E-297 Pray for each other now while I pray for you from this pulpit.
E-298 Lord Jesus, the Son of God Who rose from the dead, on the third day, death and hell could not hold Him. He ascended on High, set down at the right hand of the Majesty on High, to where He ever lives to make intercessions upon our confession. And now, and His vital Presence here in the form of the Holy Ghost, that's done the work and perceived the thoughts that's in the people's hearts, told them their diseases, pronounced them healed. O God, to see Your great mighty work; know that in this tangled, mixed day, full of politics, full of church politics, full of all kinds of things, yet the living God is right present with us here tonight. No lecture, no nothing but the evidence, the Holy Ghost, right in our midst, Jesus Christ performing these things as He did when He was here on earth. O God, be merciful!
E-299 And, Satan, you see the hands of these people laid upon each other. You are a defeated being. You cannot no longer hold these people. I charge thee, in the Name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, that you turn this people loose and come out of them. Come out, sickness and affliction, from these people. I adjure thee, in the Name of Jesus Christ, that you leave them.
E-300 Believe it now with all your heart! If you believe it, stand up to your feet now and accept it. Put up your hands to God, say, "I now accept my healing. I believe." Now raise your hands and give Him praise, say, "Thank You, Lord Jesus!"
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