God's Provided Way Of Healing
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
Sermon translation in French: 54-0719A - Shp, 54-0719E - Shp
E-1 Good evening, friends. You may be seated. It's indeed a privilege to be here this afternoon, to serve again in the Name of our Lord. And just before we begin the service, I see some of my brethren setting in the recording pit here, with recorders, and Billy Paul, my son, has ask Brother Wood, a friend, if he will meet him in the front of the building, just as quick as possible out in front, concerning the books and pictures for the services.
And to have this introduction so nicely given, as I... What kind of a person... I'd have to live a pretty good life to live up to that, wouldn't I? But that's because Brother Mattsson loves me. He's my bosom friend.
And so, we're very happy for this privilege of being here, and I begin things in Chicago, looks like. Of all my years of ministry, this is the first time in all my ministry, that I ever had a afternoon service. In all the time of my ministry, that I can remember, that I ever had an--an instruction meeting in the afternoon. And now, this is about nine years, I think, I have been in the services. And so, I begin anew in Chicago again, Brother Joseph. And so, I know no better place to start or begin things.
[Brother Joseph speaks to the congregation concerning Brother Branham--Ed.] Thank you. Thank you, Brother Joseph. Thank you, dear Christian friends.
E-2 I have often thought that someday, God would give us a revival in Chicago like the days of Moody, when the whole city would be moved for God. And you haven't had one since that day, and I--I believe that it's near at hand.
And the only thing has been in my ministry, Christian friends, and I know these recorders are picking these things up, and they'll be scattered in the papers everywhere. So I have to watch the words that I say, and weigh them out, because the--the--once an article is published, and once your voice is caught on a recorder, that's it. See? It's that.
And so they pick it up in order to pick up for the people, many times, that's in the line. If you'll watch some people come through and say, "Well now, the Lord said, certain, certain, things." Well now, if we've only got the people's word, well that's all we have. But the recorder settles it. See? When--when said, why, when... You watch He tells you to do, watch your destination, watch what He told you in the time, what you have done, and then let... Watch what He tells you in the time that's going to happen. And you find out, not one time will you ever find a flaw, that God, but what He will do just exactly what He says He will do every time. See? He will do it.
E-3 I am forty-five years old, April, and I have seen visions since the... One of the first things I can remember, it seems strange, but I remember when I was yet crawling. In my days when baby was crawling, they had long dresses. And I remember mother had a little ribbon worked in my dress. And I was crawling on an old cabin floor, way in the mountains of Kentucky where I was born. And I was eating snow off of some man's foot. That was the first thing I can remember. And the next thing I remember was God speaking to me in a vision, and telling me that I'd spend a bigger part of my life near a city called New Albany. And the last forty years, I have lived within a few miles of New Albany, Indiana, which is two or three hundred miles away from the place it was. And none of our people as this far--has been out the state of Kentucky, as far as I know. But always, and every time... See?
Gifts and callings are without repentance. Those things are first given of God. Them offices is set in the church by God. And in my opinion, there's where so many of this day, has made a mistake. When we say, "Now, I'll go over and seek for God to make me this, that." You cannot do that. See? You are what you are by grace, nothing that you can do within yourself. God gives. God has set in the church apostles, teachers, and prophets. Is that right? God has set in the church for the perfecting... So not the bishop has them, or the elder has, or someone else, but God has. And they--they are... Those offices has put in the church.
E-4 Now, I do know that gifts, such as the nine spiritual gifts; they are gifts that work in the entire church. For instance, tonight this one may prophesy and never prophesy again. Maybe the spirit of prophecy will be on someone else the next night. Paul said, "You all may prophesy, one by one." That's the gift of prophecy, not a prophet. See?
There's quite a difference between gift of prophecy and a prophet. The gift of prophecy has to be judged by three good spiritual judges, before the church can receive it, according to Paul's writing in Corinthians. The judges has to judge this, has to judge the interpretations of tongues, 'fore the church receives it, because they wouldn't know wh... But now, you take a person that would a prophet like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Moses. No one stood before them to judge whether it was right or not. They were borned in this world prophets. The Word of God was with them. "God, in sundry times and in divers manners, spoke to the Fathers through the prophets, in this last day through His Son, Jesus Christ." And He is the Prophet of the Church of this last day is Jesus Christ. And the Bible said in, over in the Book of Revelations, that the spirit or the testimony of Jesus Christ is the spirit of prophecy.
E-5 And so, in these things, all these great things, to see the church set together... When I first seen the Pentecostal people, and heard them speak with tongues, I'd been taught as a Baptist that that was of the devil. So I thought, "Now, looky here..." And I--I thought, "Well, the one thing... I don't care what the church says, the Bible said, 'They shall speak with new tongues.'" Now, the first thing, I had to either take the church or take the Bible. I said, "What am I going to do?"
He said, "Let every man's word be a lie (whether it's bishop, archbishop, or whoever he is), and My Word be the truth." And that's the vast difference between Catholicism and Protestantism. See? Catholicism, you can't argue with a Catholic on the Bible. Because after all, if the church says something contrary to the Bible, it's the church. They say, "God is in His church."
The Protestant says, "God is in His Word." See? Now, there's the difference. So you can't argue, because if the church says a certain thing... Ask them where they get not eating meat on Friday and all these other things. They can... Why, they say the church said so.
E-6 And a few days ago, I have an interview with a priest; the priest said... I was asking him some questions, as my people before me were Catholic. And I said, "I--I want to ask you some questions Scripturally."
And a--a he said, "Just a minute, Mr. Branham." He said, "See, we Catholics, go to church and worship. You Protestants stay home and read the Bible, but we go to church and worship."
I said, "But what?" That's the next thing. But what?"
Now, he said, "See, we don't notice what... What the Bible says is all right, but if the church says contrary, then the church is right, because Peter was the pope, and the pope succeeds Peter; and whatever the church has set together that is the order. That's what it is goes. God still move...
"Well," I said, "of course, it's all right. Every fellow... That's what makes this America: every fellow to his own belief." But I believe that whatever God has said... God's Word does not alter. God's Word does not change: "One jot or a tittle will no wise pass from it, until every bit of it's fulfilled."
And I believe that Paul said, 'If a Angel from heaven would come and teach any other thing, than what you'd already been taught in this Scripture, let him be unto you accursed." Galatians 1:8.
So I am a fundamental believer in the Bible. What the Bible says, I believe it. And I believe it's the truth, and ready to hang my soul on any phase of the Bible, or any--any sentence, comma, whatever it might be, that God's Word is everlasting truth. It's inspired and written, and we stay with it.
E-7 In the Old Testament, there was three ways that they could get a message. That was by a prophet, by a dreamer, or by the law. And now, if a prophet prophesied... And on the breast of Aaron-- Aaron was the Urim Thummim. And if the lights flashed on the Urim Thummim, that prophet was telling the truth. But if the lights didn't flash on that Urim Thummim, then it was wrong. If a dreamer dreamed a dream and told that dream, and--and it didn't flash on the Urim Thummim, it was wrong. The prophet if he prophesied and the lights didn't flash, he was wrong.
And the Urim Thummim from that priesthood was taken away, but here is the Urim Thummim of the priesthood today, the Word of God. If a dreamer, or a prophet, or a preacher, or anything teaches contrary to this Bible, it's wrong. Let him be accursed. But it must be built solidly upon this Word, as THUS SAITH THE LORD. And if this Word is correctly set in order, and taught by the minister, God's solemnly under obligation to His Son to answer that Word and fulfill it. Now, that's the way I believe the Bible. I believe every word of It.
Now, there may be times that I may not be able to set it together. I don't believe there's any mortal in the world can correctly set every word together, but we only can as the Holy Spirit inspires us to do. Many times, it's contrary to our teaching.
E-8 My wife happened to be standing outside last night. "Just soon as the--" She said, "two or three passed the platform," said, "a group of people got up and walked out." Said, "One of them looked over at the other one, said, 'What do you think about it?' said, 'Aw, punk, there's nothing to that.' And another one walked out in a few minutes, said, 'Well, it was a pretty good show, wasn't it, not to have to pay to get in?'"
And that's the opinion of the starchy people of this world. See? That's their opinion. It's always been their opinion. It was there opinion... Their fathers had the same opinion and is in hell today. And remember, what if this would've been the truth they was listening at last night? Then they have blasphemed the Holy Ghost, which there's never forgiveness in this world or the world to come. Is that right? That's right. Best to keep still if you're not sure. So the Lord bless you.
E-9 Now, this afternoon, as we've gathered here for one purpose: that's to instruct for healing services tonight.
On the return back from overseas, God willing, I want to start my services different. I was just speaking to one of the managers just a few moments ago, our dear Brother Moore, and I was telling him what God is placing on my heart: to come to a place like Chicago, or somewhere, and not just run away, just have to come in for a few nights, and--and get... You... Weakens me down in such a way, they got to take me out. But come there where I just bring the prayer line up, and just keep praying for the people one after the other, until the Holy Spirit takes a hold of that gift to operate it Itself (You see?), in the way if a sinner or something pass over the platform without repenting, It would call his attention. See? But this way, by this Divine gift and His Presence, just a few times and I'm about finished. It just makes me so weak; I can't out of the building hardly. Sometimes do pass completely out under It. And one time was out eight months and better. So you remember that time, many of you.
E-10 But on returning, God willing (as I say this recordings are being made), I am going to try to set up a--a meetings for a year after returning, and come to a place like Chicago, and just stay right there in Chicago, wherever it may be, until Christ says, "Now, I want you to go somewhere else." And then, in that, don't have every night just a--a every time... Just bring my--preach the gospel, make altar calls, get people saved filled with the Holy Spirit, and then have my line, pray for the sick after that's over. And give out prayer cards, and then ever where it leaves off this night, the next night start from the same one like that, and then you'll be--you'll have plenty of time. This way we can't do that, because we're only here a few nights, and we got to catch just what comes in. That way, ever person, if they're there and seen their prayer cards way back, they go way four or five nights, and come back again to the meeting or a week or two or whatever it would be. See? And we could catch everybody that way. And that's my vision for when I come back from overseas. And we hope that God is in it, and to help us, and have a great meeting in America.
E-11 I think for almost nine years now, I've been operating this a way, when the Lord has confirmed that the--it's truth, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over again, we see it back and forth, back and forth. And so, I think now the time is to preach the Gospel. I'm not much of a preacher; I'm--don't study on what I'm going to talk about. I just preach by inspiration. I just look around till I find it, and reach out and get it, and hand it out. Sometimes it's pretty rough, but that's the way I get it; it's rough. So I just like to have it that way, because after all, who are we? We're not a bunch of aristocratic, starched-necked people. We're a pentecostal people that's been borned again and filled with the Holy Ghost. Our fathers was borned under this inspiration. They were borned illiterate preachers.
Our fathers, who was that? Peter, James, and John. That's right? When they went up through the gate called Beautiful, healed a man setting there was crippled from his mother's womb. Why, they was poor people, he said, "Silver and gold, have I none." And then, the people had to take notice that they were ignorant and unlearned people, but they had been with Jesus. That's one thing they know. So that's what we are. That's the kind of a people we are.
Now, the Lord bless you, and when we go into the instructions now... And if Brother Joseph, you let me know what time it gets along here so I... What time do you usually close these kind of services? About four o'clock? All right, that'll be fine. All that, that'll be fine. I didn't... Can you hear all right out there, back in the back? That's fine. That's... Thank you.
E-12 Now, before we open this Book... There's no man can open this Book. I might turn the pages back, and say "We'll read a chapter from here." But God is the only One can open this Book. You remember in the heaven, the Book was laying sealed with seven seals on the backside. You remember that? And did you ever think that we have come through Luther's justification, through Wesley's sanctification, through Pentecostal Holy Ghost, and still we're kindly muddling along? There's something else to be revealed. It's not written in here; it's in the seals.
We're going to teach on those things, the Lord willing, when I come back.
Remember, Daniel heard those seven voices, uttered their voices, and he started writing; He said, "Don't--don't write it." See? "It'll be revealed in the last days." Is that right?
E-13 John saw the same thing, and when he saw it on--on there, this Book on the backside, after it was done been taught all the way through, on the backside had seven seals. And these was to be loosened when the mystery of God would be fulfilled. We're at that time, for the seven mysteries to be opened up to the church.
Oh, what rich teaching this Bible produces. But no one--no one was able to even take the book, look thereon, or to loose the seals. And there was a Lamb, that had been slain from the foundation of the world, come took the hand out of the--the Book out of the hand of Him that set upon the throne, and opened the Book, and loosed the seals thereof. So let us speak to Him Who can do this, now, while we bow our heads.
E-14 Our dear, loving, heavenly Father, we approach Thee today, humbly in the Name of Thy dear Son the Lord Jesus Christ. And we thank Thee that He was ever mindful of us, to include us back there before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without blame in His Presence at that day. Then where could be brag? Nothing we've done, nothing we can do, but by grace are we saved through faith. For before the foundation of the world He chose us in Christ Jesus. And now, He's given us the Holy Spirit, a Seal until the day of our redemption when we shall be presented to the Father, faultless, standing washed in His Blood.
And now, may He, that taken the Book from the right hand, come and take the Book this afternoon and open it to us as we speak on it.
Father, I pray that You'll give instructions to these poor sick, needy people. Many's drove several miles to come here to be prayed for. And I ask Thee, Father, to give Spirit to Thy servant, and knowledge, not for self, but for these poor, sick, needy people, that's setting in this auditorium today. And may You give them such instruction, that they'll know perfectly how to take a hold, and how to believe Thy promises, and how to defeat the enemy which is given to us a--that's word of defeat right here in the Bible. And we pray that You'll help us today, to explain it to Your children and get glory out of the services. For we ask it in His lovely Name, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
E-15 As a little Scripture reading, I want to read out of the Psalms. The Psalms a 103, 1 to 3.
Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all of his benefits:
Who forgiveth all of thine iniquity: who healeth all of thy diseases;
And by closing the Book, I say this Scripture is fulfilled this day in your presence, the Lord to be blessed, because He forgives all of our iniquity, and heals all of our diseases today. The Word is made manifest today: how that God has made a provision, and I would speak it in this way, "God's Provided Way Of Healing."
E-16 So many people seek healing in the wrong attitude, the wrong motive of coming. The first thing a Christian should do, or any persons coming to healing, should be sure that their heart is pure and clean before God. And then, if this sickness still remains, then you should have help from somewhere.
Now, I'm going to say something that I have never said publicly in my ministry. But being it just come to my mind then, I want to speak it. And I have shunned it, but the--only this afternoon, as I see this afternoon, there's just a little handful of us setting here. And let's just, as it were, take off our coats now and get right down to talk heart to heart to each other.
Now, I have very much been perplexed at people saying, that oh, "The healers of the... These Divine healers..." And frankly, that's what they are. That's exactly what they are, Biblical terms. They are Divine healers, just as much as they are preachers, just as much as they are--was apostles, and anything else. It's a Divine gift given to a person to minister.
E-17 Now, we would like to place--say, well, like preaching. Well, let John Doe or anybody preach... If John Doe wasn't absolutely called of God to be a preacher, he will never make a successful preacher. His mother might've told him, he should be a preacher, and his dad might have sent him off to a seminary, and he might have the degrees and so forth; but he will never be able to lead people to God till the Holy Spirit has moved into that man's life and give him something that... He may not be able to speak his words right; he may not have the right grammar; he might not be able to use the right psychology; but if he's the power of God in his life, the people will know it. That's right. God will be with him.
Well, the same thing, John Doe might be an educated man, with psychology and everything else, but he can't produce the message, that that poor illiterate fellow that's called by the Lord.
Now, we know that. You just might as well admit it, because our greatest ministers that's been has been men of that type. For instance, the last revival in Chicago was by--a--great revival, was by Dwight Moody, who was a very much of an unlearned man. His grammar was so poor, it was awful. Nothing but a little, old shoe cobbler. Oh, you read his books, but yes them were written by someone else, and his sermons polished up a whole lot. Dwight Moody was an unlearned man.
E-18 And Peter, one of the greatest speakers of all times, outside of Jesus Christ, one of the greatest writers, wouldn't even knowed his own name if it was written before him. John, ignorant and unlearned, and so forth like that, but they had been with Jesus Christ, and they had a message that had power.
Peter quoting Joel, a few times, won three thousand souls to Jesus Christ at one time. Think of that: ignorant, unlearned.
So you don't have to go to great educations and extremes of those things. What you have to do is know Jesus, and Christ giving you the ability, by the Holy Spirit, to do such.
E-19 Now, Divine healing is on the same basis. There's some people who can actually believe in Divine healing, and pray for Divine healing, but never be able to touch Divine healing, because they just can't do it. It's not given to them. Now, there's such a... I notice the people on the platform. Many times before the Spirit catches me away till the anointing so great, till they'd have to lead me out...
Now, when I'm looking at the person, some of them come, and there's many times that I see things I don't say nothing about. I try to just say enough to get the people's faith; I see I've caught their attention like that, and then pray for them, in order to get a hold of another. More you talk, why, more it would come, just constantly it just... You're just in that channel then, and it just keeps rolling down.
And so then, in teaching Divine healing and seeing people come, they say, "Oh yes, brother, I have faith." Now, they imagine they have faith. See? They don't have faith.
E-20 Faith is just as positive as your eyesight or my feelings to know this desk is here. You don't have to be educated. Frankly, it'd be good if you're just a little more simple about it than what you really are. That's right. Just you... You... It's just something that you know it's going to be. That's all. It just the positive... Why, there couldn't nothing move it out of your way. You know it's going to happen. You just...
Nothing can take it out. If the doctors stand, say you're going to die the next hour, and you knew that you was going to get well... He might tell you had for--covered all over with cancer and leprosy eaten through you. That wouldn't scare you one bit. No, sir. Now, that's faith.
E-21 Look at when Paul was shipwrecked out there. Why, he'd lost hopes too. All hopes they could be saved, Paul said, was gone. The little old ship was water-logged, and fourteen days and nights no moon, stars, or nothing, the little boat tossed about in the waters and everything, and Paul said, "Well, I guess all hopes gone." So he didn't know.
But standing down in the gallery that night, praying, a vision come before him. And he saw the Angel of the Lord come, said, "Don't fear, Paul, for you're going to be brought before Caesar." That's right. "And lo, God give... All these that sail with you, is given to you. So therefore, you be of a good courage. And you go on out and have a good courage."
E-22 And little old Paul, right in the middle of the storm, run on the outside, shaking his hands and screaming top of his voice, saying, "Be of a good courage, brother, for there stood the Angel of God before me last night, saying not to be scared. We was going to come right on in before Caesar." Said, "Now, I tell you there's not one of you going to die. Not one hair of your head is going to perish, but we're going... The ship's going to be wrecked somewhere. In the vision I seen it setting on the shore wrecked somewhere, but there's nothing going to harm us." Said, "Let's take something and eat."
And they... Oh, they was afraid to do it. And Paul went and got the sandwich, and made it, and started eating. Why, he wasn't scared. Why? God done said so. Anchored in Paul's heart...
I don't care; the ship was a pitching just as hard as it could. No stars, no moon, days passed on by, didn't worry Paul a bit. I imagine one sandwich after the other one, walking up and down the deck saying, "Glory to God, we're not far from land, brothers."
E-23 There you are, no matter how dark it got. The whale might've come up to turn the ship over, the sharks following them by the hundreds, that wouldn't phase Paul. No, sir. He knew what God had said. He believed what God had said. Said, "Wherefore, brethren, be of a good courage, for I believe God, that it'll be just as He showed it to me." There's faith.
Got out on the isle out there, and he picked up a bunch of sticks to throw on the fire, and the heat got in the sticks, and a big, old snake, that when it bit you, you only live just a couple of seconds after it hits you. Must've been a--like the African mamba. I think you live about two or three minutes after one bites you. It's about as long you can live, serum or no serum. And it grabbed him on the hand. Paul looked at it and said, "The Lord said I must be brought before Caesar. Why, you couldn't hurt me." Shook him off in the fire, and went over and got some more sticks, and turned around and got warm, as if nothing had ever happened. See what I mean?
God told Paul, "You're going to be brought before Caesar." And Paul hadn't yet been brought before Caesar, so nothing phased Paul. He knew he was going on. Now, that's faith. You got your course set. You know exactly where you're standing. Now, when an individual can pray till you strike that place, brother, there isn't enough doctors in Chicago to tell you was going to remain sick. That's right.
E-24 I was looking around to find a crippled person. I don't... I believe, here's a crutch setting here, of some crippled lady perhaps. If the Holy Spirit would reveal to you just now, sister, that you're going out of here this afternoon to throw that crutch out yonder in the middle of the street, and walk down home not using it any more, and it would be so directly delivered to you, you'd probably kiss the old crutch good-bye before you even raised up from there. You'd just turn to the people and say, "Maybe, I haven't walked for so-and-so or so much, but watch me go out of here." See? You'd know it. There's nothing could stop it.
If the Holy Spirit would speak to me now, and say, "That woman," I see her, by vision, going walking out of that door, I wouldn't be a bit more afraid to say, if there's a hundred million people here, "That woman has been crippled so long, or she might...?... I know what was wrong with her. Whatever it is, she's going out of here," I'd say, "without out that walking stick or that crutch she's got under her arm; she's going out normally." And you'd see it happen that way. Why, there would be no fear, none whatever. See? That's faith.
E-25 But now, when you come say, "Oh, I believe God's a Healer." You see, there's two men living in you, did you know that? One time we had a Indian converted in the meeting and asked him how he was getting along, after he'd received the Holy Ghost.
Said, "Well," he said, "there's been two dogs in me." Said, "One of them is a--a evil dog, and one of them is a good dog." And said, "They just fuss and fight all the time."
And he said, "Why, chief," said, "which one overcomes?"
He, chief said, "Well, it depends on which one the chief feeds the most."
Well, that's not giving any comparison to the devil and the Holy Spirit comparing it to dogs, but look, there is good in you, and there's evil in you. And there's belief and unbelief. It depends on which one you feed the most (That's all.), which one you feed the most.
E-26 Now, in you, up here, every person here this afternoon, I want to believe, believes in Divine healing, every one of you. You say, "Sure, Brother Branham, I believe in Divine healing."
Now, maybe you mean that with all the intelligence you know how to speak it. You believe it. That's in your head. But remember, there's a subconscious down there, that's got to say the same thing. If it doesn't, you'll never get nowhere. You might read the Bible, say, "Well, here Brother Branham, the Bible says this."
That's true. That's exactly right. There's where people say today, "Well, I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and I'm saved."
"How do you know He's the Son of God?"
"The Bible said so." See?
And I say, "Well, how do you know He's the Son of God."
"Mother said so. The preacher said so."
Well, they're right. But how do you know? The Bible said that you cannot know it until you have received the Holy Ghost. You're only taking somebody else's word. Did you know that? That didn't go very good. But that's the truth. Quote it, "No man can say Jesus is the Christ, only by the Holy Ghost." That right? The Holy Ghost in you has to bear record to the resurrection and Jesus being the Son of God, or you're only taking somebody else's word for it. You're only taking what the Bible says. The Bible's right. Or you're only taking what the minister says. The minister's right. Or what other--some other good person said. They're right. But you, as an individual doesn't know that Jesus is the Christ until the Holy Ghost has brought it to you. That's right.
E-27 Now notice, and no man can have faith for healing until it's revealed to him by the Holy Spirit, that he's going to get well. You might stumble at it. You might go through life living a--a good Christian life. You might belong to some church. You might have a fine membership. You might be a moral character, and all of that, but brother, that still isn't Christianity. Christianity is when the Holy Ghost has taken full possession of you and you're led by the Holy Spirit. No matter how good, how moral, how good a church member... Cain was just as good as any church member. So was Esau, fine cultured gentlemen. So was Cain, very religious, believed in God, made sacrifice, built a church altar, made--done all the things that's religious, and God refused him. No man can say Jesus is the Christ, only by the Holy Ghost.
Peter has been justified and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. He'd even preached the Gospel, but Jesus told him, "After you are converted, then strengthen your brothers." See? "After you are converted..."
Conversion is the Holy Spirit that moves the old nature out, and the new nature comes in which is the Holy Ghost. And when a man has truly been borned of the Spirit of God, he has Everlasting Life. Jesus said so. "He that heareth My Words, and believeth on Him that sent Me (No man can say it, except by the Holy Ghost.)... He that heareth My Words, believeth on Him that sent Me, hath Everlasting Life, and shall not come into condemnation or judgment, but has passed from death unto Life." That's what He said. I believe Him, don't you?
E-28 So someone said not long ago, said, "Brother Branham, I believe that we have the Holy Ghost. I believe that--that I am saved and so forth." Well, how can you believe unless you have the Holy Spirit? You can't correctly believe. Now, there's the flaw. There's the thing that the Christian don't climb over. There's the thing the sick person don't climb over. See? There's a vast difference in looking at God's Word, and receiving God's Word. When you... Them that receive the Word, not them that examined It, but them that received It, God added to the church, such as be saved. Three thousand souls received the Word.
Now, you can hear the Word preached. You can look at It and admit that it's right. Cain did; all the others did. But just where the word fell, brought forth. Them that received it, gladly was baptized. See? Receiving the Word...
E-29 Now, when you receive the inspiration that Jesus Christ died for your sickness, it's that very hour that you're healing has come. That's right. When you receive from heaven, that Jesus died for your sins and you have accepted it, you don't need any prayer for you then. You've already accepted it. It's settled.
Now, we can preach the Word, explain the Word. But you have to receive the Word. Oh, hallelujah. That's what sets it afire, brother. When you receive it, the revelation, something slips out of the unseen world yonder, comes rolling down through a mystical channel somewhere into your soul, that says, "Now I see it." Your eyes brighten; your lips that hung down, straighten up and smile. Every muscle in your body seems to rejoice. Something's going to happen. Something... You don't need to be in a prayer line then. You've got it then.
E-30 Now, that's where... If everybody in this building, at this time, would get in that kind of an attitude, every person would be perfectly healed. Now, how do we get people that way? Some can receive it. Some cannot receive it. But those who can receive it, they look at it, and accept it, believe it. Others, maybe in other meeting. Now, that's one way of preaching it by the Word. Another way is to, maybe, somebody speak with tongues, and they give an interpretation and--and reveal the secrets of their heart. Or maybe, there'd be someone was a prophet would stand, and do something in the supernatural that you'd look up and say, "Oh, there it is. There it is." Then something happens to you. But you set there and say, "Uhm, that's mental telepathy. Oh, I know, Dr. Jones said so." Brother, you're in a dangerous place. You're in a terrible place. You might say it's all punk, and so forth like that. But you'll answer at the day of judgment for it. That's right.
And remember, when God is making His revelation, revealing Himself to His people... Now, that's the benefit of the meetings. That's what God gave the gifts for, was to magnify Him, and to unify the people, and to bring the body together, and to help us to unite our efforts and our prayers.
A person setting in a group of people like this, where faith is gathered on every side, it'll help you to get well. There'll be people who listens at the Word being taught, that'll never be in a prayer line, yet they'll get well. For something happens subconsciously, maybe, that they don't even realize what it's about. They'll get well. Somebody setting and watch one of the signs of the Lord appear, and [Brother Branham snaps his fingers--Ed.] they'll get well. See? It's when faith, anything that can stimulate that faith...
E-31 Now, I can look at wheat, here laying on my hand; I recognize it's wheat. I can say that it's wheat. I can show it to the ground, and if the ground could look, it'd say, "Yep, that's wheat. I believe it's wheat, every word of it." But that wheat can never produce wheat, until this wheat falls into the ground and dies itself. Is that right?
That's the man looking, fundamentally, saying, "Yes, I believe healing. I believe it's right. I believe it's the Word of God. I believe it's for the believer. And I believe that I got faith to receive it." But until you receive it... Get what I mean? Then when you receive it, you rejoice. The Word's in there; it's settled; all doubts is dead; all the husk is dropped off; and new life has sprung up, growing into healing for yourself. That's when you really get your healing. That's where healing comes from. Faith cometh by hearing, hearing of the Word.
E-32 Now, faith is not healing. Faith produces healing. See? By faith, are you saved. Now look, if here was a loaf of bread that cost a quarter. I believe that's about the price of it. And I had twenty-five cents. Now, twenty-five cents is the purchasing price of the bread, but I've got the twenty-five cents, but haven't got the bread.
Now, you can have faith for healing, and I believe many of you have. But you can't receive healing until you purchase healing, by the faith that you have. You say, "Oh, Brother Branham, I wished I had the Holy Ghost. I got faith that I'll get it." Well then, just swap your faith for the Holy Ghost. See? That's all you have to do. When you got that faith, nothing can take it away from you. Now, if you're just making believe, you're--if you impersonating, if you're putting on, it won't work for you. But if it's real faith, it's--it's over. God will do it right then. You believe that? And when you say, "Oh, yes, Brother Branham, I believe in Divine healing." All right, if you believe in Divine healing, then take that same faith that you got in Divine healing and purchase your healing. See? And you that receive it by the faith... Sure.
E-33 Someone said, we was talking about receiving the Holy Ghost. 'Course, being raised up in, nurtured in my young days of my ministry in a Baptist church, and teaching that you receive the Holy Ghost when you believe, according to the Baptist church... But according to the Bible, you receive the Holy Ghost after you believed, after you believe. You believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, accept Him as your personal Saviour, and then receive the Holy Ghost. And until you have received the Holy Ghost, God has never recognized your faith. That's right.
Abraham, the father of faith, believed God, in a case of healing and salvation. Through the healing brought salvation, 'cause it brought Isaac, and through Isaac come salvation.
E-34 Now notice, that Abraham believed God. Was that right? And it was imputed to him for righteousness, and God give him a sign that He has received his faith. Amen. Do you get it?
Look. See? Abraham said, "Lord, I believe You." No voice come back. I don't know. Well, he said, "Lord, I believe You." When no voice come back, Abraham didn't know.
But God spoke back and give Abraham a sign that He had received his faith. He give him circumcision as a sign. Is that right? In other words, it was a confirmation of Abraham's faith. Then when he got the confirmation, he said, "Praise God, it's finished." He said, "I got faith, and God recognized it."
When you say, "I've got faith," and God gives you the baptism of the Holy Ghost, it's a confirmation that God has received your faith. Amen.
Well, you say, "Is--is the Holy Ghost circumcision?" Yes, sir. Amen. It is right. The Holy Ghost is the Seal of the living God. It is the Seal of God's approval of your faith. For Ephesians 4:30, said, "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed until the day of your redemption." Hallelujah.
Now, when you say you've got faith for Divine healing, and something strikes you and says, "Move out." That's the confirmation that God has received your faith for Divine healing. That's right. When you got courage to put your faith in action. But when you say you got faith and afraid to let it go, your faith is dead. See? But when you got faith and willing to let it go, then God's confirming it with the signs following and you'll see your healing. That's true. When you've got faith...
E-35 Now, these meetings and people gathering, that's what it's for; is to encourage faith, to bring faith up. We couldn't heal. Certainly not. But we have a part in doing it. That's preaching the Gospel; that's one part in doing it. Another part would be speaking with tongues. That's an in part, if it's by revelation. And a--a gift of prophecy, that's another of that. Then signs and wonders, and everything is gifts and everything in the church to stimulate the church, to keep the church together, for every attribute of Jesus' life, until He returns again in glory. Amen.
Now, your enemy is the devil. And God has in every way, in every age, always tried to keep people well. Do you believe that? God has never left the people anytime, without a provided way of healing. You name it in the Scriptures, when He did. No matter how blacked out, how far away the people got, God had a provided way of healing. He's always had it. And He's had someone who believed it too.
Look, way back in the early days, He had a provided way. Then He had a brass serpent; that was God's provided way for the children of Israel, plumb back, coming out the land of Egypt. When they started their march, He knowed there would be sickness, so He just a--said, well--He provided a way.
E-36 I was preaching here sometime ago, somewhere, on the--Moses was a doctor, Doctor Moses. I don't know whether you believe it or not, but he was a doctor. The Bible said, "He was taught in all the wisdom of the Egyptians." Is that right? So they were boasting physicians. Oh, my. And so, Doctor Moses... And I'd imagine a lot of medics here of Chicago, would like to know how Moses kept two million people healthy and strong for forty years, and marched them out of the wilderness without a feeble one among them. Wouldn't that be wonderful? I'd like to have some of those remedies he had wouldn't you? I wonder how many fig poultices and things he used back there? How many herbs and penicillin shots he had (See?) back...
Doctor Moses, he had two million people that he brought out of Egypt, approximately, and brought them out of Egypt, taking them over to Palestine. And in there, how many babies would be borned in one night? Doctor Moses had to do the visiting. How many people got the stomach ache and through the--the day eating what they could find along the road? How many calls would Doctor Moses have to make every night? Did you ever think of that? And how many people over them rocks and things, fell and skinned their legs, and maybe, broke a leg or something or other like that every day? 'Cause they were murmuring and backsliding and everything else, so they got in trouble. And Doctor Moses...
E-37 Would you like to look at his medicine chest and see what all he had? The Bible gives it. Did you know the Bible gives every speck of medicine Moses had with him? Did you know that? I'll show it to you, just in a moment.
Now, we're just going to look over here in his medicine chest, and see what Moses had now. Exodus, all right. Let's look, here it is. It's open up. "I am the Lord thy God, that healeth thee." That's every prescription he had. So when somebody says a baby was going to be borned, the mother was in trouble, "I'm the Lord, thy God, that healeth thee." If they had a man with--something would happen, put one of his eyes out, "I'm the Lord, thy God, that healeth thee." And when a man fell and broke his leg, "I'm the Lord, thy God, that healeth thee." If one of the children had pneumonia, "I'm the Lord, thy God, that healeth thee."
"Doctor Moses, what have you got on the menu tonight? What's on the way tonight. What's on the--the charter tonight? We've got a sick baby down here."
Moses said, "I'm the Lord, thy God, that healeth thee."
"Thank you, Doctor Moses, we'll go use it. Lord, You said You was the Lord, thy God, that healeth the baby. Amen. We believe you, Lord." The next morning the baby was playing. That's it. "I'm the Lord, that healeth thee." The only prescription that Moses had, and brought two million through the wilderness forty years, and there wasn't a feeble, or a crippled, or a blind that come out of the wilderness with them. Hallelujah.
Excuse me, that--that just had to blow out; that's all. It'd been a holding back there for about a half hour. All right.
E-38 "I'm the Lord, that healeth thee." That's the only prescription they knowed. And that worked very good. Give me a doctor today, that'll keep two million well for forty years, he will certainly have some practice. He will make himself a reputation.
Well, I'll tell you, the same prescription that Moses used, is open to every person in the world today. Amen. "Whosoever will, let him come and drink from the waters of the foun--the waters of life freely. Whosoever will, let him come." Amen.
E-39 Now, that's where we're getting down to home line, now. I feel religious now. My. That's the prescription. That's the one we're trying to introduce to the world today. If you can believe, Jesus said, "I can, if you can."
"Lord, have mercy on me," said the blind man.
"Does thou believe that I can do this?"
"Yea, Lord, we believe."
"I can, if ye believe that I can."
He touched their eyes. That's what they wanted, His hands laid on. Said, "Now, according to your faith, be it unto you." And they had what they said they had. Their eyes come open, and they glorified God. There it was.
E-40 One day, He was setting in a house teaching. And the first thing you know, stuff begin to fall around on the floor. I can imagine see Him looking. "Wonder, what's climbing up there." In a few minutes something else begin to fall, and they was taking the roof off the house. They had some fellow there; they was going to bring him over to get him before the Lord. And now, this fellow that come might not have had very much faith. So they let him down. Jesus looking at the man, knowed that he had sinned and done wrong. But perceiving their faith, He believed their faith. Hallelujah. He looked at the man, knowing the thoughts of his heart; He said, "Your sins is forgiven you now. Get up and go on." Hallelujah. That's the thing we're needing in Chicago and everywhere else today, a revelation of the power of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, that through speaking His Word, has Life.
Jesus coming by the tree one day, looked upon the tree, and said, "No fruit will grow on you. No man eat from you from henceforth." Went on up, nothing happened. The next day, they was coming back about eleven o'clock. They'd run them out of there at the temple, the Pharisees and Sadducees mocking and making fun of Him. He passed on by, and Peter, you know, always walking along, you know, looking at everything. He looked over there and that tree begin to wither.
He said, "Lord, look a there, that tree that Thou did curse yesterday, it's already withered."
Jesus turned and said, "Have faith in God. For what's... Everythings you desire, when you pray, believe you receive it, and you shall have it." Is that right? "When you pray, believe you receive it."
E-41 Now, what happened to that tree? Jesus... How many knows that a tree has a germ of life? Everybody does. If it didn't, it wouldn't live. Now, there was... Now watch, the tree died from where? The roots. The Bible was said it was withered from the roots. Now, in the root was the tree's life. Jesus didn't speak to the leaves, neither did He speak to the branches. He never spoke to the roots, but He spoke to the life. And the life left the tree. The tree was left standing without life. It was withering. Is that right? Now, would it be any harder for Jesus to speak to a cancer, than it would be the tree? is that right? speak to a tumor, a cataract? any other germ? any other life? He said, "No man eateth from thee henceforth." And the tree begin to wither the next day. It didn't have any life. If He'd say, "Bother this man no more." And He said, "When you say," not Me, not what I say, what you say... Believe that it'll come to pass, and the life will leave it.
E-42 What is a cancer? What is a tu--what is a disease? We'll deal on that for the next five minutes now. What is a cancer? What caused that thing? Let's take a cancer, or anything you wish to take: tubercular, pneumonia, whatever you wish to, any disease. Diseases are germs.
Let me pass something, here quickly, as our time's a going. Listen, did you know the Bible predicts that in the last days, that they'll be a germ warfare? That diseases will break out upon the people, and will fall on everyone without the baptism of the Holy Spirit? But with the Angel or who had charge over these plagues was given orders to touch no one on whom the mark was. Why, how much, kind of teachers have we got to be, brethren, to get the church in order to be in that condition? Immune.
My arms are sore now, from where the doctors has punched needles to try to inoculate me from yellow fever and so forth. I told them I didn't need it. But they wouldn't listen to me. But I'll tell you what God's going to do. God's got a serum, and it's called the Holy Ghost. And when that serum goes in, it'll inoculate you. Hallelujah. In the last days...
E-43 I remember one time during the '37 flood; everybody had to take typhoid shots. And so, I was escaping mine. I was a lineman, so I was out and gone. Some fellow walked up and he said, "Have you got your shots yet?"
I said, "Oh, yes. I got my shot."
He said, "You did." Said, "Did it make you sick?"
I said, "Oh, no." I said, "No, it sure didn't."
He said, "When did you get your shot?"
I said, "Oh, about three years ago."
"Three years?" He said, "Well, you ought to take another one."
I said, "I get one about every hour." Brother I... All right. I was going on to him.
E-44 But look, friend, the time is coming, that when there is rising up a church. If we can't have faith for Divine healing, how are we going to have for the rapture? We've got to move out, friend. We've got to get out of this old, slow, church condition that we're in. Step out. Launch out. Cut the shorelines, and get out into somewhere, where you lose all senses of fear and doubt, out there where all things are possible, brother, just as free as it can be. You've got your sail set towards heaven, and nothing can stir you no way. You're gone that way; that's all. Nothing can harm you.
Now, that's the kind of a church it's going to be, one of these days, according to the Bible. Where the Angel poured our His wrath and diseases broke out, and men even rotted in their flesh where they were standing. And the fowl of the air come down and eat off of the shoulders, and eat the flesh of chief-captains, and great mans, and presidents, and warriors, and diplomats, and potentates, and everything. Eat... But the Angel was given charge, "Don't you come near anyone that's got the seal of God in their forehead." It's going to be a... One of these days Divine healing's going to be a great thing among the people. So let's get in condition. God wants us...
You say, "Well, Brother Branham, you say, 'Let us.'" That's what God's a waiting on. God... We're waiting on Jesus to return, and Jesus is waiting on us. You say, "Well, how--what can we do about it."
The Bible said the hour has come, and His Bride has made herself ready (Hallelujah.), made herself ready.
E-45 Diseases, cancer, growths, what are they? We'll take, for instance, here stands a young lady, look like in the very best of health, strong, healthy looking. And maybe, in a few weeks we begin to notice her health failing. Well, they wonder why. They'll--they'll go to a doctor, maybe. And they'll--a doctor will look her over; he will say, "Well." The first thing you ought to check her blood or something or another, or give her an examination and find out there's a cancer.
Now, for eighteen or twenty years, she was in perfect health. But in her comes another growth. A--a growth, before it's a growing, it's a life. Now, here's what diseases are. Listen close, some of them don't take body forms, some goes other wise. Just like there's a demon of that, and there's a sp--one of epilepsy, and there's different ones. Some of them takes on body forms.
E-46 Now notice, there was one time when you wasn't nothing or anywhere, but there'll never be a time but what you'll be something or somewhere. Now, if you'll notice this, just a moment. Now, when you first started out in this world, you were just about the size... Well, you were smaller than anything the human eye can see. And that was a germ coming from the male, the father. The mother is the incubator. In there come this little germ. And the first thing happened, after that little germ taken it's position, in the womb, then a cell in this little teeny cell swelled and it popped a little place out, like a little swolled place in a thread.
The germ of life, I've noticed it through glasses, through doctor friends, it looks like a little thread like, little fuzz, little hair of a thing, so teeny. But in there then, come out a little--one little gland out of this gland, begins to swell. And then another one swells on top of that, and another one on top of that starts in the spine. And it moves out; the last is the navel cord. Notice, then as it begins to feed through this cord...
Now, first it's about the size of a grape, then about a lemon, then an orange, then begin to take on form. And at nine months, the baby is born. It keeps on multiplying cells. And it comes on, if nothing interrupts it, till maybe it's a man of hundred and seventy or eighty pounds, two hundred pounds, or a woman or so forth, whatever is determined by the Lord. And there is that baby in...
E-47 Let's take it down now again. Let's take it down cell by cell. The arm comes off, the head comes off, the body comes off, on down until it's one little cell. That's where it started from. Then that little cell drops down to a germ. Well, what is that one germ? That one germ is a teeny, little, visible cell, the smallest of all cells. Now, what's beyond that? His spirit, the life. The life is in itself, supernatural, as it comes out of the--out of the supernatural, and the cosmotics, and the so forth, and the petroleums that make up the body swells and produces itself, moving out, but the first thing is a life.
Now, let's think about a cancer. What is a cancer then? A cancer is another life. How many knows that's true? Tumor, cataract, any of those things, or germs are another life. Now, here comes in you somewhere, another little life. Usually a cancer comes from a bruise. And all the things of the natural type the spiritual. Such as in the natural birth...
E-48 Now, there's... I don't see people but what's old enough to understand this, and I--I got a mixed congregation. This would be a doctor's talk, and I'm your brother, so listen. In the life, the first thing in a baby, when it's borned a natural birth, the first thing is water (Is that right?), blood, then spirit. It's got twitching of muscles, but not till it's born has it life. Now notice, but I mean breathing life, you know what I... Now look, so is it in the spiritual birth. The first thing, the things that come out of Jesus' body wa--the elements that came from His body is what makes up the spiritual body. When Jesus died what came from Him--what did come out of His body? Water, Blood, and Spirit. Is that right. Now, that's the things that makes up the supernatural birth. The... When a man is borned again, he's--three elements that he has to go through: Water, Blood, Spirit: justification by faith, believing on the Lord; sanctification, that life being cleansed up; And the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Not three works of grace, one grace...
Notice, justification by faith, sanctification through the Blood, and the baptism of the Holy Ghost. When a baby is born water, blood, and spirit. When a baby's born, new born baby in heaven, he comes through water, Blood, and Spirit. The natural types the spiritual. Every thing on the earth. That was my first Bible, to watch nature. You get nature typed up with God, and you find out you got the same thing.
E-49 Notice, in here. Now, we see where you come from. Your father and mother was married, through a holy union, promised God that they'd live together and so forth, and through holy wedlock... And then by the pollen brought forth children, "Go multiply and replenish the earth was God's plan," and that's where you come from. But now, here you are growing up, and here's another life comes into you, called cancer. Now, where'd he come from? He wasn't there in the beginning, but here he is there now. Now, what happened?
Now, a cancer in the natural realms would be a scavenger, buzzard, eats dead things. A cancer comes from a bruise. A bruised cell, usually is where it's comes from. The cell is bruised. All mashed up. And that cau--it's otherwise, the cell is backslidden. If something happens in there that fails to get the function of blood to it right. And through there Satan, the author of death, which God is the Author of Life, Satan, the author of death, puts a demon in there, called a devil, demon, called cancer. Cancer is not it's name. Medical science just give it a cancer. The word cancer come the word crab. And then, it means with legs and things that runs out. And like other diseases, they're given medical terms. Then that little cancer comes in there, first it is a spirit. Then it gets into a backslidden cell, or a bruised cell, or a cell that's not operating right.
E-50 Oh, I'd like to preach the Gospel, now for five minutes, if I had the time. That's what happens in the church. When he gets someone failing to operate with the church, someone failing, and pulling off, and getting indifferent, that's a cancer in the church. It's a devil in that person. That's right. And that causes the whole church to be sick over it. The best thing to do is to have a spiritual operation.
Now, but in this, this little cell backslid, and the cancer come in. The cancer, then it lays there. First it's a--it's a spirit. Then it forms a teeny little cell of it's own. And this little cell becomes it's first... I couldn't call the big words for it, but the first form of life, is the cancer, painless. No one knows it's happening.
And now, this little cell is born; it must feed. In order to feed, it has to feed on your blood stream. Just like you fed on the blood stream in the--when in the mother's womb. You fed on the substance that she eat and so forth. So does this cancer feed on the substance of your body. It's one little cell. Then it grows; it's begins to feed. Another cell breaks out; another cell breaks out; another cell breaks out, and after while, cell on cell, cell on cell, tumor, cataract, whatever it may be, grows bigger, bigger, bigger, bigger, larger, spreading out, more cells, more cells.
The first thing you know, it begins to sap so much blood, till this young lady begins to feel sick. See? What is it? It's also poison; it's death. It runs into every little fiber of the body that it can, down in the tissues, stretching its legs down, weeding out like the roots of a tree, going all around, wrapping through the intestines, up through the spine. The doctor comes along, opens up; there's nothing can be done. The man, to the best of his knowledge, is saying everything he knows. There it is. Sew the patient back up; it's finished. It's all. There's nothing can be done. You can't take the person all apart. We couldn't find it all anyhow. There it is. The patient's hopelessly, helplessly, and gone then, as far as the doctor's concerned.
E-51 Now, here is Divine healing. Oh, I'm past time. Now, wait a minute. I oughtn't to have said that. Notice, let this soak in now, real good. Here's a patients coming. They comes moving up, here stands the Healer, as we call it in the terms, 'cause I imagine we're all Christians here this afternoon. Here stand the one that's like the preacher, the healer, the prophet, whatever it may be. Here he stands. He's just a man, but here comes the Holy Ghost down and anoints this person. Then he's not his own; he's--he's got a secret in his own heart that only him and God knows. He submits himself into the Spirit. Like a preacher going to the pulpit, submits himself. He's got a text all here, "Oh, this is what I'm going to preach on." But the first thing he knows, it don't work. A real spirit filled preacher will follow the spirit every time. If he tries that old dry sermon, he will make his congregation go to sleep. But if he goes ahead and follows the Spirit, God will lead him right out into deep waters with it. You know that's right. God's trying to get a message forth.
Well, here's the man standing with healing now. He's anointed. Now, the first thing you know, here comes a patient walking up. Truly faith, here stand the man anointed. As the patient begins to move up, the anointed man, not the man now, he's just human, but the Spirit that's on him... Jesus said, "Not Me, but My Father that dwelleth in Me."
E-52 Here comes the patient walking up. Now, the healer's standing. He's watching the patient as he comes. His heart must be for the patient. He must love the patient. He must be willing to do anything to see that patient get well. His whole human soul has to go to that patient in Divine love, because he's knowing he's standing in the stead of the Lord Jesus Christ. And knowing at the day of judgment, he will have to answer for every word. You must realize what you're doing.
The patient walks up. The first thing you know, that cancer in that patient begins to move. What's the matter? It's recognizing, not that man; it's recognizing that Spirit on the man. I've had them to come when they be in straight jackets, and holler, screaming, didn't even know their own name, say, "William Branham, you've got nothing to do with me."
And the people say, "Why, they don't even know their own name."
It wasn't them, it was that devil that had them so controlled like that, that he knowed it was. "You have nothing to do with me."
And here they come up now, there you see your patient. It's moving up. What are you going to do? You're helpless. You turn to the audience. A critic spirit come in here; one coming from here; one coming from up here. You're anointed; you can feel it. Like--just like going whew, whew, whew. [Brother Branham makes a noise like wind blowing--Ed.] You can feel that. Then, you can feel and know that this spirit here... If you'll watch your anointing, feel for the Holy Spirit, you'll hear another one over here crying. It's this one here, crying to that one there for help, to try to create an unbelief amongst the people, anything that he can do.
Here's an old demon possessed person setting there, saying, "Now, look, he's just reading their mind." If he can get that same spirit on the next to him, the one next to him, the one next to him, they build up a chain. You see? Jesus, He took Peter, James, and John, He put the unbelievers outside.
E-53 When Jesus went to heal a blind man, them standing around criticizing, He took him by the hands, took him out of the city. When Peter went into raise Dorcas, they was all screaming and crying and going on. He took them every one out. That's right. Get to yourself.
Here's the patient, but you're standing here like a public show almost. Oh, what'll take place. What will be the decision of this woman standing here? I see you... Then the first thing you know, the Spirit begins to anoint. She's coming with good faith, coming believing with all of her heart. Here you are standing here the same way. Here's these demon powers then working, all out through there, trying to get cooperation wherever it can. That's the reason you say--hear me say sometime, "This woman here has certain, certain things. That woman there has the same thing. That one over there has the same thing. That one over there..." It's every time the truth. Is that right? What is it? It's that channel there, them demons screaming. Why, in vision, you can almost a dark streak. That's right. And it's just, gives us a pull. You can feel it. I don't know how to tell you, you do it. But you do it.
E-54 Now, what the thing is, you're trying to help the patient. Now, here's the patient. What are you going to do? I'll say, "Oh, my. Now, Lord, You said, 'That if you'd be sincere, and get the people to believe you, and when you prayed, nothing would stand before the prayer.'"
I said, "Lord, they won't believe me."
He said, "There will be given to you two--two gifts like was given unto Moses, and you'll perform these things. And by this, they will believe."
The first thing, that... The main thing is not nothing... That don't nothing to do with the healing of the people. He told me that I was born in this world to pray for sick people, and if I could get the people to believe me, and be sincere when I prayed, nothing would stand before the prayer. That's what He told me. And it's the truth. That's right. It's not... See, this is not the healing. This is only to accumulate a faith to believe in healing.
E-55 There's the patient standing there. Now, I'm wondering what to do. I feel myself swaying and going. Looks like something is going from you. It's a battle going on. Here's the Holy Spirit standing here holding It's grounds. God's Word's right. There's man and women setting there, anointed with the devil, saying, "It's hypnotism; it's psychology. It's all this or that. It's wrong, it's wrong." Trying to anoint the rest of the crowd. And here's the Holy Spirit trying to get them to believe. Them that's gathered one unit. That's right. Gathered together, bind theirselves...
Then, when I can feel that spirit settling on the people, something's fixing to take place. I look around, I think, "Now, Holy Spirit, You told me that I'd know the secrets of their heart. And by this, they would believe me." I say, "Now, Lord, in my heart, let me know what this woman's done, or what's--what's wrong with her." And the first thing you know, I break into another world. And I hear my voice, yet I don't know that I'm speaking. Yet, I'm talking to this woman, telling her what she done. She was at a doctor's office; she did a certain thing. He said she had cancer. When she certain, certain done this. And where she by... I see her come out of a house; I look up and see the house number. I look at a street, and maybe I recognize the city, or see a sign, or--or something. She's got something in her hand. Or where she's kneeling praying, or something like that. Then the first thing you know, it fades from me. And when it does, I say, "You believe? Is that true, sister?"
"That's the truth. That's every bit the truth."
E-56 Then, I look back, and I feel that battle still going on. Then, what am I going to do? I don't know. I say, "Well, have faith in God." I pray, and let them go on. Nine times out of ten, the life's still beating right there. But here comes another one just like her, the same thing's done. As soon as she walks there, and that's reveal to her. Brother, something happens down in here. What happens? Then, I feel that the spirits is right, I say, "Satan, come out of her in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The same God that spoke and brought life out of that tree, the same Holy Spirit's speaking, bringing the life out of that cancer that's eating that woman up... Right?
She hurries off, and she goes home, telling people, "Oh, God healed me."
Her husband said, "Now, now, you're getting all worked up."
She goes and tell her self-styled pastor. "Why the days of miracles is past. Go and ask your doctor."
Doctor, "Why the growth's still there. Don't you believe that holy-roller."
Why sure, the tree was still standing there. But the life was out of it. Hallelujah. Let her go on saying, "Yes, I believe it. I don't care how many times my husband says no, if there's a growth that big around, I still--something in my heart told me, I'm healed."
E-57 Sometimes a vision will break forth; I'll see her years later. I'll say, "THUS SAITH THE LORD." Brother, watch that then. It's already happened. "THUS SAITH THE LORD, you are healed in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. You're going to be well." There ain't enough devils out of hell can break it then. That's right. That woman will go home. She'll feel good for a few days; the life's gone out. There's the cancer still there. She'll feel good for few days, and she'll go on rejoicing; and the first thing you know, that corruption that (The wither begin from the root.)... What was it? That tiny little germ that went in there, first, that caused that cancer, that life has gone out. Casting out devils. Hallelujah. That devil is gone. And when it's gone the believer believes it. And it wasn't my faith; it was the operation of the Holy Ghost through me, that give her faith. Her own faith is what made her well. Then she's healed. There she goes about. And no matter how sick she gets, she still believes that there's nothing can change her. She's solid; she believes it with all of her heart.
She's bound to get sick. That old thing begins to swell. First thing you know, it gets worse; she gets sick. She gets a fever; she gets down. Sure, it's dying, rotting right away. The patient gets well. Sometimes there's a miracle performed; it just vanishes away. But, what is it? Casting out devils.
E-58 Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, not only this tree, but if you'll say to that mountain, 'Be removed,' and don't doubt in your heart. But believe that you said will come to pass..."
Oh, glory. Oh, my. I like these afternoon meetings, when we just get together like this. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Oh, "In My Name, they shall cast out devils." Hallelujah. That's what He said. That's what I believe. That's THUS SAITH THE LORD. "In My Name, they shall cast out devils, and they'll lay their hands on the sick, they shall recover." There's a devil exposed. Your cancer with a little pet name called cancer; he's a devil. That little old fever that's been bothering you. It's a devil. Yes, indeedy.
E-59 Used to be a long time ago, when prohibition was in, they had the old whiskey jug called "John Barleycorn," with a great, big old straw hat on it, and a big funny looking eyes. And he was a horrible looking thing. You know what? They took old John Barleycorn down, and they put him in little tin bumpers, in little cans. People set them all in their ice box, all polished up and in society. But, brother, at the bottom of it is still the same old, damnable, rotten liquor drink that ever was in the first place. He's still the same. If he's in bumpers or whatever he's in, it's still the same old devil. And you might call him, in this other medical realm, you might call it cancer, you might call it tumor, cataract, or fungus, or whatever you want to. But it's still the same old devil that Jesus said, "Come out of the man." Hallelujah. "I'm the Lord, thy God, that forgiveth all of thine iniquities, Who healeth all of thy diseases." Do you believe it?
E-60 Our heavenly Father, we thank Thee, this afternoon for the gathering. As the Word has been all chopped up, Lord, but may the Holy Spirit someway divide it out straightly and give it to every heart. May when these people come to this meeting tonight, may they come with such a stern determination that nothing's going to bother them no more. May faith be instilled in their heart, till the devils of hell can't shake them no way.
And may this be a time of revival, moving among the people. Lord, may the lame walk, the blind see, the cancers be healed, devils cast out. May this week produce such a revival, that Chicago will long remember it. And make this meeting so salty. Now, You said, "You're the salt of the earth. But if the salt has only got a look, and not a saviour, it is henceforth good for nothing but to be laughed at."
And Father, we pray, that every Christian will take his post of duty, get on the telephone call others. Do everything he can. Go out in the country, dragging them from the hedges, and highways, and byways. The lame, halt, blind, which was the last call that Jesus said would be before the coming, the great supper...
Grant it, Father, and we'll praise Thee in eternity when the battle's all over, the hot sun is finished, and we set down under the shade of the evergreen tree, there to rest when the old, war, the implements of war is stacked together. The last sermon's preached; the devil's defeated, and chained up, and sent into hell. All the demons are bound (Hallelujah.), no more cancer, no more diseases. Everything is whipped out, and Christ is King, and God is back, and the saints live and reign with Him forever. Till then, may the Holy Ghost guide the church and bless us in Jesus' Name. Amen. God bless you, and I'll see you tonight
And to have this introduction so nicely given, as I... What kind of a person... I'd have to live a pretty good life to live up to that, wouldn't I? But that's because Brother Mattsson loves me. He's my bosom friend.
And so, we're very happy for this privilege of being here, and I begin things in Chicago, looks like. Of all my years of ministry, this is the first time in all my ministry, that I ever had a afternoon service. In all the time of my ministry, that I can remember, that I ever had an--an instruction meeting in the afternoon. And now, this is about nine years, I think, I have been in the services. And so, I begin anew in Chicago again, Brother Joseph. And so, I know no better place to start or begin things.
[Brother Joseph speaks to the congregation concerning Brother Branham--Ed.] Thank you. Thank you, Brother Joseph. Thank you, dear Christian friends.
E-2 I have often thought that someday, God would give us a revival in Chicago like the days of Moody, when the whole city would be moved for God. And you haven't had one since that day, and I--I believe that it's near at hand.
And the only thing has been in my ministry, Christian friends, and I know these recorders are picking these things up, and they'll be scattered in the papers everywhere. So I have to watch the words that I say, and weigh them out, because the--the--once an article is published, and once your voice is caught on a recorder, that's it. See? It's that.
And so they pick it up in order to pick up for the people, many times, that's in the line. If you'll watch some people come through and say, "Well now, the Lord said, certain, certain, things." Well now, if we've only got the people's word, well that's all we have. But the recorder settles it. See? When--when said, why, when... You watch He tells you to do, watch your destination, watch what He told you in the time, what you have done, and then let... Watch what He tells you in the time that's going to happen. And you find out, not one time will you ever find a flaw, that God, but what He will do just exactly what He says He will do every time. See? He will do it.
E-3 I am forty-five years old, April, and I have seen visions since the... One of the first things I can remember, it seems strange, but I remember when I was yet crawling. In my days when baby was crawling, they had long dresses. And I remember mother had a little ribbon worked in my dress. And I was crawling on an old cabin floor, way in the mountains of Kentucky where I was born. And I was eating snow off of some man's foot. That was the first thing I can remember. And the next thing I remember was God speaking to me in a vision, and telling me that I'd spend a bigger part of my life near a city called New Albany. And the last forty years, I have lived within a few miles of New Albany, Indiana, which is two or three hundred miles away from the place it was. And none of our people as this far--has been out the state of Kentucky, as far as I know. But always, and every time... See?
Gifts and callings are without repentance. Those things are first given of God. Them offices is set in the church by God. And in my opinion, there's where so many of this day, has made a mistake. When we say, "Now, I'll go over and seek for God to make me this, that." You cannot do that. See? You are what you are by grace, nothing that you can do within yourself. God gives. God has set in the church apostles, teachers, and prophets. Is that right? God has set in the church for the perfecting... So not the bishop has them, or the elder has, or someone else, but God has. And they--they are... Those offices has put in the church.
E-4 Now, I do know that gifts, such as the nine spiritual gifts; they are gifts that work in the entire church. For instance, tonight this one may prophesy and never prophesy again. Maybe the spirit of prophecy will be on someone else the next night. Paul said, "You all may prophesy, one by one." That's the gift of prophecy, not a prophet. See?
There's quite a difference between gift of prophecy and a prophet. The gift of prophecy has to be judged by three good spiritual judges, before the church can receive it, according to Paul's writing in Corinthians. The judges has to judge this, has to judge the interpretations of tongues, 'fore the church receives it, because they wouldn't know wh... But now, you take a person that would a prophet like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Moses. No one stood before them to judge whether it was right or not. They were borned in this world prophets. The Word of God was with them. "God, in sundry times and in divers manners, spoke to the Fathers through the prophets, in this last day through His Son, Jesus Christ." And He is the Prophet of the Church of this last day is Jesus Christ. And the Bible said in, over in the Book of Revelations, that the spirit or the testimony of Jesus Christ is the spirit of prophecy.
E-5 And so, in these things, all these great things, to see the church set together... When I first seen the Pentecostal people, and heard them speak with tongues, I'd been taught as a Baptist that that was of the devil. So I thought, "Now, looky here..." And I--I thought, "Well, the one thing... I don't care what the church says, the Bible said, 'They shall speak with new tongues.'" Now, the first thing, I had to either take the church or take the Bible. I said, "What am I going to do?"
He said, "Let every man's word be a lie (whether it's bishop, archbishop, or whoever he is), and My Word be the truth." And that's the vast difference between Catholicism and Protestantism. See? Catholicism, you can't argue with a Catholic on the Bible. Because after all, if the church says something contrary to the Bible, it's the church. They say, "God is in His church."
The Protestant says, "God is in His Word." See? Now, there's the difference. So you can't argue, because if the church says a certain thing... Ask them where they get not eating meat on Friday and all these other things. They can... Why, they say the church said so.
E-6 And a few days ago, I have an interview with a priest; the priest said... I was asking him some questions, as my people before me were Catholic. And I said, "I--I want to ask you some questions Scripturally."
And a--a he said, "Just a minute, Mr. Branham." He said, "See, we Catholics, go to church and worship. You Protestants stay home and read the Bible, but we go to church and worship."
I said, "But what?" That's the next thing. But what?"
Now, he said, "See, we don't notice what... What the Bible says is all right, but if the church says contrary, then the church is right, because Peter was the pope, and the pope succeeds Peter; and whatever the church has set together that is the order. That's what it is goes. God still move...
"Well," I said, "of course, it's all right. Every fellow... That's what makes this America: every fellow to his own belief." But I believe that whatever God has said... God's Word does not alter. God's Word does not change: "One jot or a tittle will no wise pass from it, until every bit of it's fulfilled."
And I believe that Paul said, 'If a Angel from heaven would come and teach any other thing, than what you'd already been taught in this Scripture, let him be unto you accursed." Galatians 1:8.
So I am a fundamental believer in the Bible. What the Bible says, I believe it. And I believe it's the truth, and ready to hang my soul on any phase of the Bible, or any--any sentence, comma, whatever it might be, that God's Word is everlasting truth. It's inspired and written, and we stay with it.
E-7 In the Old Testament, there was three ways that they could get a message. That was by a prophet, by a dreamer, or by the law. And now, if a prophet prophesied... And on the breast of Aaron-- Aaron was the Urim Thummim. And if the lights flashed on the Urim Thummim, that prophet was telling the truth. But if the lights didn't flash on that Urim Thummim, then it was wrong. If a dreamer dreamed a dream and told that dream, and--and it didn't flash on the Urim Thummim, it was wrong. The prophet if he prophesied and the lights didn't flash, he was wrong.
And the Urim Thummim from that priesthood was taken away, but here is the Urim Thummim of the priesthood today, the Word of God. If a dreamer, or a prophet, or a preacher, or anything teaches contrary to this Bible, it's wrong. Let him be accursed. But it must be built solidly upon this Word, as THUS SAITH THE LORD. And if this Word is correctly set in order, and taught by the minister, God's solemnly under obligation to His Son to answer that Word and fulfill it. Now, that's the way I believe the Bible. I believe every word of It.
Now, there may be times that I may not be able to set it together. I don't believe there's any mortal in the world can correctly set every word together, but we only can as the Holy Spirit inspires us to do. Many times, it's contrary to our teaching.
E-8 My wife happened to be standing outside last night. "Just soon as the--" She said, "two or three passed the platform," said, "a group of people got up and walked out." Said, "One of them looked over at the other one, said, 'What do you think about it?' said, 'Aw, punk, there's nothing to that.' And another one walked out in a few minutes, said, 'Well, it was a pretty good show, wasn't it, not to have to pay to get in?'"
And that's the opinion of the starchy people of this world. See? That's their opinion. It's always been their opinion. It was there opinion... Their fathers had the same opinion and is in hell today. And remember, what if this would've been the truth they was listening at last night? Then they have blasphemed the Holy Ghost, which there's never forgiveness in this world or the world to come. Is that right? That's right. Best to keep still if you're not sure. So the Lord bless you.
E-9 Now, this afternoon, as we've gathered here for one purpose: that's to instruct for healing services tonight.
On the return back from overseas, God willing, I want to start my services different. I was just speaking to one of the managers just a few moments ago, our dear Brother Moore, and I was telling him what God is placing on my heart: to come to a place like Chicago, or somewhere, and not just run away, just have to come in for a few nights, and--and get... You... Weakens me down in such a way, they got to take me out. But come there where I just bring the prayer line up, and just keep praying for the people one after the other, until the Holy Spirit takes a hold of that gift to operate it Itself (You see?), in the way if a sinner or something pass over the platform without repenting, It would call his attention. See? But this way, by this Divine gift and His Presence, just a few times and I'm about finished. It just makes me so weak; I can't out of the building hardly. Sometimes do pass completely out under It. And one time was out eight months and better. So you remember that time, many of you.
E-10 But on returning, God willing (as I say this recordings are being made), I am going to try to set up a--a meetings for a year after returning, and come to a place like Chicago, and just stay right there in Chicago, wherever it may be, until Christ says, "Now, I want you to go somewhere else." And then, in that, don't have every night just a--a every time... Just bring my--preach the gospel, make altar calls, get people saved filled with the Holy Spirit, and then have my line, pray for the sick after that's over. And give out prayer cards, and then ever where it leaves off this night, the next night start from the same one like that, and then you'll be--you'll have plenty of time. This way we can't do that, because we're only here a few nights, and we got to catch just what comes in. That way, ever person, if they're there and seen their prayer cards way back, they go way four or five nights, and come back again to the meeting or a week or two or whatever it would be. See? And we could catch everybody that way. And that's my vision for when I come back from overseas. And we hope that God is in it, and to help us, and have a great meeting in America.
E-11 I think for almost nine years now, I've been operating this a way, when the Lord has confirmed that the--it's truth, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over again, we see it back and forth, back and forth. And so, I think now the time is to preach the Gospel. I'm not much of a preacher; I'm--don't study on what I'm going to talk about. I just preach by inspiration. I just look around till I find it, and reach out and get it, and hand it out. Sometimes it's pretty rough, but that's the way I get it; it's rough. So I just like to have it that way, because after all, who are we? We're not a bunch of aristocratic, starched-necked people. We're a pentecostal people that's been borned again and filled with the Holy Ghost. Our fathers was borned under this inspiration. They were borned illiterate preachers.
Our fathers, who was that? Peter, James, and John. That's right? When they went up through the gate called Beautiful, healed a man setting there was crippled from his mother's womb. Why, they was poor people, he said, "Silver and gold, have I none." And then, the people had to take notice that they were ignorant and unlearned people, but they had been with Jesus. That's one thing they know. So that's what we are. That's the kind of a people we are.
Now, the Lord bless you, and when we go into the instructions now... And if Brother Joseph, you let me know what time it gets along here so I... What time do you usually close these kind of services? About four o'clock? All right, that'll be fine. All that, that'll be fine. I didn't... Can you hear all right out there, back in the back? That's fine. That's... Thank you.
E-12 Now, before we open this Book... There's no man can open this Book. I might turn the pages back, and say "We'll read a chapter from here." But God is the only One can open this Book. You remember in the heaven, the Book was laying sealed with seven seals on the backside. You remember that? And did you ever think that we have come through Luther's justification, through Wesley's sanctification, through Pentecostal Holy Ghost, and still we're kindly muddling along? There's something else to be revealed. It's not written in here; it's in the seals.
We're going to teach on those things, the Lord willing, when I come back.
Remember, Daniel heard those seven voices, uttered their voices, and he started writing; He said, "Don't--don't write it." See? "It'll be revealed in the last days." Is that right?
E-13 John saw the same thing, and when he saw it on--on there, this Book on the backside, after it was done been taught all the way through, on the backside had seven seals. And these was to be loosened when the mystery of God would be fulfilled. We're at that time, for the seven mysteries to be opened up to the church.
Oh, what rich teaching this Bible produces. But no one--no one was able to even take the book, look thereon, or to loose the seals. And there was a Lamb, that had been slain from the foundation of the world, come took the hand out of the--the Book out of the hand of Him that set upon the throne, and opened the Book, and loosed the seals thereof. So let us speak to Him Who can do this, now, while we bow our heads.
E-14 Our dear, loving, heavenly Father, we approach Thee today, humbly in the Name of Thy dear Son the Lord Jesus Christ. And we thank Thee that He was ever mindful of us, to include us back there before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without blame in His Presence at that day. Then where could be brag? Nothing we've done, nothing we can do, but by grace are we saved through faith. For before the foundation of the world He chose us in Christ Jesus. And now, He's given us the Holy Spirit, a Seal until the day of our redemption when we shall be presented to the Father, faultless, standing washed in His Blood.
And now, may He, that taken the Book from the right hand, come and take the Book this afternoon and open it to us as we speak on it.
Father, I pray that You'll give instructions to these poor sick, needy people. Many's drove several miles to come here to be prayed for. And I ask Thee, Father, to give Spirit to Thy servant, and knowledge, not for self, but for these poor, sick, needy people, that's setting in this auditorium today. And may You give them such instruction, that they'll know perfectly how to take a hold, and how to believe Thy promises, and how to defeat the enemy which is given to us a--that's word of defeat right here in the Bible. And we pray that You'll help us today, to explain it to Your children and get glory out of the services. For we ask it in His lovely Name, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
E-15 As a little Scripture reading, I want to read out of the Psalms. The Psalms a 103, 1 to 3.
Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all of his benefits:
Who forgiveth all of thine iniquity: who healeth all of thy diseases;
And by closing the Book, I say this Scripture is fulfilled this day in your presence, the Lord to be blessed, because He forgives all of our iniquity, and heals all of our diseases today. The Word is made manifest today: how that God has made a provision, and I would speak it in this way, "God's Provided Way Of Healing."
E-16 So many people seek healing in the wrong attitude, the wrong motive of coming. The first thing a Christian should do, or any persons coming to healing, should be sure that their heart is pure and clean before God. And then, if this sickness still remains, then you should have help from somewhere.
Now, I'm going to say something that I have never said publicly in my ministry. But being it just come to my mind then, I want to speak it. And I have shunned it, but the--only this afternoon, as I see this afternoon, there's just a little handful of us setting here. And let's just, as it were, take off our coats now and get right down to talk heart to heart to each other.
Now, I have very much been perplexed at people saying, that oh, "The healers of the... These Divine healers..." And frankly, that's what they are. That's exactly what they are, Biblical terms. They are Divine healers, just as much as they are preachers, just as much as they are--was apostles, and anything else. It's a Divine gift given to a person to minister.
E-17 Now, we would like to place--say, well, like preaching. Well, let John Doe or anybody preach... If John Doe wasn't absolutely called of God to be a preacher, he will never make a successful preacher. His mother might've told him, he should be a preacher, and his dad might have sent him off to a seminary, and he might have the degrees and so forth; but he will never be able to lead people to God till the Holy Spirit has moved into that man's life and give him something that... He may not be able to speak his words right; he may not have the right grammar; he might not be able to use the right psychology; but if he's the power of God in his life, the people will know it. That's right. God will be with him.
Well, the same thing, John Doe might be an educated man, with psychology and everything else, but he can't produce the message, that that poor illiterate fellow that's called by the Lord.
Now, we know that. You just might as well admit it, because our greatest ministers that's been has been men of that type. For instance, the last revival in Chicago was by--a--great revival, was by Dwight Moody, who was a very much of an unlearned man. His grammar was so poor, it was awful. Nothing but a little, old shoe cobbler. Oh, you read his books, but yes them were written by someone else, and his sermons polished up a whole lot. Dwight Moody was an unlearned man.
E-18 And Peter, one of the greatest speakers of all times, outside of Jesus Christ, one of the greatest writers, wouldn't even knowed his own name if it was written before him. John, ignorant and unlearned, and so forth like that, but they had been with Jesus Christ, and they had a message that had power.
Peter quoting Joel, a few times, won three thousand souls to Jesus Christ at one time. Think of that: ignorant, unlearned.
So you don't have to go to great educations and extremes of those things. What you have to do is know Jesus, and Christ giving you the ability, by the Holy Spirit, to do such.
E-19 Now, Divine healing is on the same basis. There's some people who can actually believe in Divine healing, and pray for Divine healing, but never be able to touch Divine healing, because they just can't do it. It's not given to them. Now, there's such a... I notice the people on the platform. Many times before the Spirit catches me away till the anointing so great, till they'd have to lead me out...
Now, when I'm looking at the person, some of them come, and there's many times that I see things I don't say nothing about. I try to just say enough to get the people's faith; I see I've caught their attention like that, and then pray for them, in order to get a hold of another. More you talk, why, more it would come, just constantly it just... You're just in that channel then, and it just keeps rolling down.
And so then, in teaching Divine healing and seeing people come, they say, "Oh yes, brother, I have faith." Now, they imagine they have faith. See? They don't have faith.
E-20 Faith is just as positive as your eyesight or my feelings to know this desk is here. You don't have to be educated. Frankly, it'd be good if you're just a little more simple about it than what you really are. That's right. Just you... You... It's just something that you know it's going to be. That's all. It just the positive... Why, there couldn't nothing move it out of your way. You know it's going to happen. You just...
Nothing can take it out. If the doctors stand, say you're going to die the next hour, and you knew that you was going to get well... He might tell you had for--covered all over with cancer and leprosy eaten through you. That wouldn't scare you one bit. No, sir. Now, that's faith.
E-21 Look at when Paul was shipwrecked out there. Why, he'd lost hopes too. All hopes they could be saved, Paul said, was gone. The little old ship was water-logged, and fourteen days and nights no moon, stars, or nothing, the little boat tossed about in the waters and everything, and Paul said, "Well, I guess all hopes gone." So he didn't know.
But standing down in the gallery that night, praying, a vision come before him. And he saw the Angel of the Lord come, said, "Don't fear, Paul, for you're going to be brought before Caesar." That's right. "And lo, God give... All these that sail with you, is given to you. So therefore, you be of a good courage. And you go on out and have a good courage."
E-22 And little old Paul, right in the middle of the storm, run on the outside, shaking his hands and screaming top of his voice, saying, "Be of a good courage, brother, for there stood the Angel of God before me last night, saying not to be scared. We was going to come right on in before Caesar." Said, "Now, I tell you there's not one of you going to die. Not one hair of your head is going to perish, but we're going... The ship's going to be wrecked somewhere. In the vision I seen it setting on the shore wrecked somewhere, but there's nothing going to harm us." Said, "Let's take something and eat."
And they... Oh, they was afraid to do it. And Paul went and got the sandwich, and made it, and started eating. Why, he wasn't scared. Why? God done said so. Anchored in Paul's heart...
I don't care; the ship was a pitching just as hard as it could. No stars, no moon, days passed on by, didn't worry Paul a bit. I imagine one sandwich after the other one, walking up and down the deck saying, "Glory to God, we're not far from land, brothers."
E-23 There you are, no matter how dark it got. The whale might've come up to turn the ship over, the sharks following them by the hundreds, that wouldn't phase Paul. No, sir. He knew what God had said. He believed what God had said. Said, "Wherefore, brethren, be of a good courage, for I believe God, that it'll be just as He showed it to me." There's faith.
Got out on the isle out there, and he picked up a bunch of sticks to throw on the fire, and the heat got in the sticks, and a big, old snake, that when it bit you, you only live just a couple of seconds after it hits you. Must've been a--like the African mamba. I think you live about two or three minutes after one bites you. It's about as long you can live, serum or no serum. And it grabbed him on the hand. Paul looked at it and said, "The Lord said I must be brought before Caesar. Why, you couldn't hurt me." Shook him off in the fire, and went over and got some more sticks, and turned around and got warm, as if nothing had ever happened. See what I mean?
God told Paul, "You're going to be brought before Caesar." And Paul hadn't yet been brought before Caesar, so nothing phased Paul. He knew he was going on. Now, that's faith. You got your course set. You know exactly where you're standing. Now, when an individual can pray till you strike that place, brother, there isn't enough doctors in Chicago to tell you was going to remain sick. That's right.
E-24 I was looking around to find a crippled person. I don't... I believe, here's a crutch setting here, of some crippled lady perhaps. If the Holy Spirit would reveal to you just now, sister, that you're going out of here this afternoon to throw that crutch out yonder in the middle of the street, and walk down home not using it any more, and it would be so directly delivered to you, you'd probably kiss the old crutch good-bye before you even raised up from there. You'd just turn to the people and say, "Maybe, I haven't walked for so-and-so or so much, but watch me go out of here." See? You'd know it. There's nothing could stop it.
If the Holy Spirit would speak to me now, and say, "That woman," I see her, by vision, going walking out of that door, I wouldn't be a bit more afraid to say, if there's a hundred million people here, "That woman has been crippled so long, or she might...?... I know what was wrong with her. Whatever it is, she's going out of here," I'd say, "without out that walking stick or that crutch she's got under her arm; she's going out normally." And you'd see it happen that way. Why, there would be no fear, none whatever. See? That's faith.
E-25 But now, when you come say, "Oh, I believe God's a Healer." You see, there's two men living in you, did you know that? One time we had a Indian converted in the meeting and asked him how he was getting along, after he'd received the Holy Ghost.
Said, "Well," he said, "there's been two dogs in me." Said, "One of them is a--a evil dog, and one of them is a good dog." And said, "They just fuss and fight all the time."
And he said, "Why, chief," said, "which one overcomes?"
He, chief said, "Well, it depends on which one the chief feeds the most."
Well, that's not giving any comparison to the devil and the Holy Spirit comparing it to dogs, but look, there is good in you, and there's evil in you. And there's belief and unbelief. It depends on which one you feed the most (That's all.), which one you feed the most.
E-26 Now, in you, up here, every person here this afternoon, I want to believe, believes in Divine healing, every one of you. You say, "Sure, Brother Branham, I believe in Divine healing."
Now, maybe you mean that with all the intelligence you know how to speak it. You believe it. That's in your head. But remember, there's a subconscious down there, that's got to say the same thing. If it doesn't, you'll never get nowhere. You might read the Bible, say, "Well, here Brother Branham, the Bible says this."
That's true. That's exactly right. There's where people say today, "Well, I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and I'm saved."
"How do you know He's the Son of God?"
"The Bible said so." See?
And I say, "Well, how do you know He's the Son of God."
"Mother said so. The preacher said so."
Well, they're right. But how do you know? The Bible said that you cannot know it until you have received the Holy Ghost. You're only taking somebody else's word. Did you know that? That didn't go very good. But that's the truth. Quote it, "No man can say Jesus is the Christ, only by the Holy Ghost." That right? The Holy Ghost in you has to bear record to the resurrection and Jesus being the Son of God, or you're only taking somebody else's word for it. You're only taking what the Bible says. The Bible's right. Or you're only taking what the minister says. The minister's right. Or what other--some other good person said. They're right. But you, as an individual doesn't know that Jesus is the Christ until the Holy Ghost has brought it to you. That's right.
E-27 Now notice, and no man can have faith for healing until it's revealed to him by the Holy Spirit, that he's going to get well. You might stumble at it. You might go through life living a--a good Christian life. You might belong to some church. You might have a fine membership. You might be a moral character, and all of that, but brother, that still isn't Christianity. Christianity is when the Holy Ghost has taken full possession of you and you're led by the Holy Spirit. No matter how good, how moral, how good a church member... Cain was just as good as any church member. So was Esau, fine cultured gentlemen. So was Cain, very religious, believed in God, made sacrifice, built a church altar, made--done all the things that's religious, and God refused him. No man can say Jesus is the Christ, only by the Holy Ghost.
Peter has been justified and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. He'd even preached the Gospel, but Jesus told him, "After you are converted, then strengthen your brothers." See? "After you are converted..."
Conversion is the Holy Spirit that moves the old nature out, and the new nature comes in which is the Holy Ghost. And when a man has truly been borned of the Spirit of God, he has Everlasting Life. Jesus said so. "He that heareth My Words, and believeth on Him that sent Me (No man can say it, except by the Holy Ghost.)... He that heareth My Words, believeth on Him that sent Me, hath Everlasting Life, and shall not come into condemnation or judgment, but has passed from death unto Life." That's what He said. I believe Him, don't you?
E-28 So someone said not long ago, said, "Brother Branham, I believe that we have the Holy Ghost. I believe that--that I am saved and so forth." Well, how can you believe unless you have the Holy Spirit? You can't correctly believe. Now, there's the flaw. There's the thing that the Christian don't climb over. There's the thing the sick person don't climb over. See? There's a vast difference in looking at God's Word, and receiving God's Word. When you... Them that receive the Word, not them that examined It, but them that received It, God added to the church, such as be saved. Three thousand souls received the Word.
Now, you can hear the Word preached. You can look at It and admit that it's right. Cain did; all the others did. But just where the word fell, brought forth. Them that received it, gladly was baptized. See? Receiving the Word...
E-29 Now, when you receive the inspiration that Jesus Christ died for your sickness, it's that very hour that you're healing has come. That's right. When you receive from heaven, that Jesus died for your sins and you have accepted it, you don't need any prayer for you then. You've already accepted it. It's settled.
Now, we can preach the Word, explain the Word. But you have to receive the Word. Oh, hallelujah. That's what sets it afire, brother. When you receive it, the revelation, something slips out of the unseen world yonder, comes rolling down through a mystical channel somewhere into your soul, that says, "Now I see it." Your eyes brighten; your lips that hung down, straighten up and smile. Every muscle in your body seems to rejoice. Something's going to happen. Something... You don't need to be in a prayer line then. You've got it then.
E-30 Now, that's where... If everybody in this building, at this time, would get in that kind of an attitude, every person would be perfectly healed. Now, how do we get people that way? Some can receive it. Some cannot receive it. But those who can receive it, they look at it, and accept it, believe it. Others, maybe in other meeting. Now, that's one way of preaching it by the Word. Another way is to, maybe, somebody speak with tongues, and they give an interpretation and--and reveal the secrets of their heart. Or maybe, there'd be someone was a prophet would stand, and do something in the supernatural that you'd look up and say, "Oh, there it is. There it is." Then something happens to you. But you set there and say, "Uhm, that's mental telepathy. Oh, I know, Dr. Jones said so." Brother, you're in a dangerous place. You're in a terrible place. You might say it's all punk, and so forth like that. But you'll answer at the day of judgment for it. That's right.
And remember, when God is making His revelation, revealing Himself to His people... Now, that's the benefit of the meetings. That's what God gave the gifts for, was to magnify Him, and to unify the people, and to bring the body together, and to help us to unite our efforts and our prayers.
A person setting in a group of people like this, where faith is gathered on every side, it'll help you to get well. There'll be people who listens at the Word being taught, that'll never be in a prayer line, yet they'll get well. For something happens subconsciously, maybe, that they don't even realize what it's about. They'll get well. Somebody setting and watch one of the signs of the Lord appear, and [Brother Branham snaps his fingers--Ed.] they'll get well. See? It's when faith, anything that can stimulate that faith...
E-31 Now, I can look at wheat, here laying on my hand; I recognize it's wheat. I can say that it's wheat. I can show it to the ground, and if the ground could look, it'd say, "Yep, that's wheat. I believe it's wheat, every word of it." But that wheat can never produce wheat, until this wheat falls into the ground and dies itself. Is that right?
That's the man looking, fundamentally, saying, "Yes, I believe healing. I believe it's right. I believe it's the Word of God. I believe it's for the believer. And I believe that I got faith to receive it." But until you receive it... Get what I mean? Then when you receive it, you rejoice. The Word's in there; it's settled; all doubts is dead; all the husk is dropped off; and new life has sprung up, growing into healing for yourself. That's when you really get your healing. That's where healing comes from. Faith cometh by hearing, hearing of the Word.
E-32 Now, faith is not healing. Faith produces healing. See? By faith, are you saved. Now look, if here was a loaf of bread that cost a quarter. I believe that's about the price of it. And I had twenty-five cents. Now, twenty-five cents is the purchasing price of the bread, but I've got the twenty-five cents, but haven't got the bread.
Now, you can have faith for healing, and I believe many of you have. But you can't receive healing until you purchase healing, by the faith that you have. You say, "Oh, Brother Branham, I wished I had the Holy Ghost. I got faith that I'll get it." Well then, just swap your faith for the Holy Ghost. See? That's all you have to do. When you got that faith, nothing can take it away from you. Now, if you're just making believe, you're--if you impersonating, if you're putting on, it won't work for you. But if it's real faith, it's--it's over. God will do it right then. You believe that? And when you say, "Oh, yes, Brother Branham, I believe in Divine healing." All right, if you believe in Divine healing, then take that same faith that you got in Divine healing and purchase your healing. See? And you that receive it by the faith... Sure.
E-33 Someone said, we was talking about receiving the Holy Ghost. 'Course, being raised up in, nurtured in my young days of my ministry in a Baptist church, and teaching that you receive the Holy Ghost when you believe, according to the Baptist church... But according to the Bible, you receive the Holy Ghost after you believed, after you believe. You believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, accept Him as your personal Saviour, and then receive the Holy Ghost. And until you have received the Holy Ghost, God has never recognized your faith. That's right.
Abraham, the father of faith, believed God, in a case of healing and salvation. Through the healing brought salvation, 'cause it brought Isaac, and through Isaac come salvation.
E-34 Now notice, that Abraham believed God. Was that right? And it was imputed to him for righteousness, and God give him a sign that He has received his faith. Amen. Do you get it?
Look. See? Abraham said, "Lord, I believe You." No voice come back. I don't know. Well, he said, "Lord, I believe You." When no voice come back, Abraham didn't know.
But God spoke back and give Abraham a sign that He had received his faith. He give him circumcision as a sign. Is that right? In other words, it was a confirmation of Abraham's faith. Then when he got the confirmation, he said, "Praise God, it's finished." He said, "I got faith, and God recognized it."
When you say, "I've got faith," and God gives you the baptism of the Holy Ghost, it's a confirmation that God has received your faith. Amen.
Well, you say, "Is--is the Holy Ghost circumcision?" Yes, sir. Amen. It is right. The Holy Ghost is the Seal of the living God. It is the Seal of God's approval of your faith. For Ephesians 4:30, said, "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed until the day of your redemption." Hallelujah.
Now, when you say you've got faith for Divine healing, and something strikes you and says, "Move out." That's the confirmation that God has received your faith for Divine healing. That's right. When you got courage to put your faith in action. But when you say you got faith and afraid to let it go, your faith is dead. See? But when you got faith and willing to let it go, then God's confirming it with the signs following and you'll see your healing. That's true. When you've got faith...
E-35 Now, these meetings and people gathering, that's what it's for; is to encourage faith, to bring faith up. We couldn't heal. Certainly not. But we have a part in doing it. That's preaching the Gospel; that's one part in doing it. Another part would be speaking with tongues. That's an in part, if it's by revelation. And a--a gift of prophecy, that's another of that. Then signs and wonders, and everything is gifts and everything in the church to stimulate the church, to keep the church together, for every attribute of Jesus' life, until He returns again in glory. Amen.
Now, your enemy is the devil. And God has in every way, in every age, always tried to keep people well. Do you believe that? God has never left the people anytime, without a provided way of healing. You name it in the Scriptures, when He did. No matter how blacked out, how far away the people got, God had a provided way of healing. He's always had it. And He's had someone who believed it too.
Look, way back in the early days, He had a provided way. Then He had a brass serpent; that was God's provided way for the children of Israel, plumb back, coming out the land of Egypt. When they started their march, He knowed there would be sickness, so He just a--said, well--He provided a way.
E-36 I was preaching here sometime ago, somewhere, on the--Moses was a doctor, Doctor Moses. I don't know whether you believe it or not, but he was a doctor. The Bible said, "He was taught in all the wisdom of the Egyptians." Is that right? So they were boasting physicians. Oh, my. And so, Doctor Moses... And I'd imagine a lot of medics here of Chicago, would like to know how Moses kept two million people healthy and strong for forty years, and marched them out of the wilderness without a feeble one among them. Wouldn't that be wonderful? I'd like to have some of those remedies he had wouldn't you? I wonder how many fig poultices and things he used back there? How many herbs and penicillin shots he had (See?) back...
Doctor Moses, he had two million people that he brought out of Egypt, approximately, and brought them out of Egypt, taking them over to Palestine. And in there, how many babies would be borned in one night? Doctor Moses had to do the visiting. How many people got the stomach ache and through the--the day eating what they could find along the road? How many calls would Doctor Moses have to make every night? Did you ever think of that? And how many people over them rocks and things, fell and skinned their legs, and maybe, broke a leg or something or other like that every day? 'Cause they were murmuring and backsliding and everything else, so they got in trouble. And Doctor Moses...
E-37 Would you like to look at his medicine chest and see what all he had? The Bible gives it. Did you know the Bible gives every speck of medicine Moses had with him? Did you know that? I'll show it to you, just in a moment.
Now, we're just going to look over here in his medicine chest, and see what Moses had now. Exodus, all right. Let's look, here it is. It's open up. "I am the Lord thy God, that healeth thee." That's every prescription he had. So when somebody says a baby was going to be borned, the mother was in trouble, "I'm the Lord, thy God, that healeth thee." If they had a man with--something would happen, put one of his eyes out, "I'm the Lord, thy God, that healeth thee." And when a man fell and broke his leg, "I'm the Lord, thy God, that healeth thee." If one of the children had pneumonia, "I'm the Lord, thy God, that healeth thee."
"Doctor Moses, what have you got on the menu tonight? What's on the way tonight. What's on the--the charter tonight? We've got a sick baby down here."
Moses said, "I'm the Lord, thy God, that healeth thee."
"Thank you, Doctor Moses, we'll go use it. Lord, You said You was the Lord, thy God, that healeth the baby. Amen. We believe you, Lord." The next morning the baby was playing. That's it. "I'm the Lord, that healeth thee." The only prescription that Moses had, and brought two million through the wilderness forty years, and there wasn't a feeble, or a crippled, or a blind that come out of the wilderness with them. Hallelujah.
Excuse me, that--that just had to blow out; that's all. It'd been a holding back there for about a half hour. All right.
E-38 "I'm the Lord, that healeth thee." That's the only prescription they knowed. And that worked very good. Give me a doctor today, that'll keep two million well for forty years, he will certainly have some practice. He will make himself a reputation.
Well, I'll tell you, the same prescription that Moses used, is open to every person in the world today. Amen. "Whosoever will, let him come and drink from the waters of the foun--the waters of life freely. Whosoever will, let him come." Amen.
E-39 Now, that's where we're getting down to home line, now. I feel religious now. My. That's the prescription. That's the one we're trying to introduce to the world today. If you can believe, Jesus said, "I can, if you can."
"Lord, have mercy on me," said the blind man.
"Does thou believe that I can do this?"
"Yea, Lord, we believe."
"I can, if ye believe that I can."
He touched their eyes. That's what they wanted, His hands laid on. Said, "Now, according to your faith, be it unto you." And they had what they said they had. Their eyes come open, and they glorified God. There it was.
E-40 One day, He was setting in a house teaching. And the first thing you know, stuff begin to fall around on the floor. I can imagine see Him looking. "Wonder, what's climbing up there." In a few minutes something else begin to fall, and they was taking the roof off the house. They had some fellow there; they was going to bring him over to get him before the Lord. And now, this fellow that come might not have had very much faith. So they let him down. Jesus looking at the man, knowed that he had sinned and done wrong. But perceiving their faith, He believed their faith. Hallelujah. He looked at the man, knowing the thoughts of his heart; He said, "Your sins is forgiven you now. Get up and go on." Hallelujah. That's the thing we're needing in Chicago and everywhere else today, a revelation of the power of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, that through speaking His Word, has Life.
Jesus coming by the tree one day, looked upon the tree, and said, "No fruit will grow on you. No man eat from you from henceforth." Went on up, nothing happened. The next day, they was coming back about eleven o'clock. They'd run them out of there at the temple, the Pharisees and Sadducees mocking and making fun of Him. He passed on by, and Peter, you know, always walking along, you know, looking at everything. He looked over there and that tree begin to wither.
He said, "Lord, look a there, that tree that Thou did curse yesterday, it's already withered."
Jesus turned and said, "Have faith in God. For what's... Everythings you desire, when you pray, believe you receive it, and you shall have it." Is that right? "When you pray, believe you receive it."
E-41 Now, what happened to that tree? Jesus... How many knows that a tree has a germ of life? Everybody does. If it didn't, it wouldn't live. Now, there was... Now watch, the tree died from where? The roots. The Bible was said it was withered from the roots. Now, in the root was the tree's life. Jesus didn't speak to the leaves, neither did He speak to the branches. He never spoke to the roots, but He spoke to the life. And the life left the tree. The tree was left standing without life. It was withering. Is that right? Now, would it be any harder for Jesus to speak to a cancer, than it would be the tree? is that right? speak to a tumor, a cataract? any other germ? any other life? He said, "No man eateth from thee henceforth." And the tree begin to wither the next day. It didn't have any life. If He'd say, "Bother this man no more." And He said, "When you say," not Me, not what I say, what you say... Believe that it'll come to pass, and the life will leave it.
E-42 What is a cancer? What is a tu--what is a disease? We'll deal on that for the next five minutes now. What is a cancer? What caused that thing? Let's take a cancer, or anything you wish to take: tubercular, pneumonia, whatever you wish to, any disease. Diseases are germs.
Let me pass something, here quickly, as our time's a going. Listen, did you know the Bible predicts that in the last days, that they'll be a germ warfare? That diseases will break out upon the people, and will fall on everyone without the baptism of the Holy Spirit? But with the Angel or who had charge over these plagues was given orders to touch no one on whom the mark was. Why, how much, kind of teachers have we got to be, brethren, to get the church in order to be in that condition? Immune.
My arms are sore now, from where the doctors has punched needles to try to inoculate me from yellow fever and so forth. I told them I didn't need it. But they wouldn't listen to me. But I'll tell you what God's going to do. God's got a serum, and it's called the Holy Ghost. And when that serum goes in, it'll inoculate you. Hallelujah. In the last days...
E-43 I remember one time during the '37 flood; everybody had to take typhoid shots. And so, I was escaping mine. I was a lineman, so I was out and gone. Some fellow walked up and he said, "Have you got your shots yet?"
I said, "Oh, yes. I got my shot."
He said, "You did." Said, "Did it make you sick?"
I said, "Oh, no." I said, "No, it sure didn't."
He said, "When did you get your shot?"
I said, "Oh, about three years ago."
"Three years?" He said, "Well, you ought to take another one."
I said, "I get one about every hour." Brother I... All right. I was going on to him.
E-44 But look, friend, the time is coming, that when there is rising up a church. If we can't have faith for Divine healing, how are we going to have for the rapture? We've got to move out, friend. We've got to get out of this old, slow, church condition that we're in. Step out. Launch out. Cut the shorelines, and get out into somewhere, where you lose all senses of fear and doubt, out there where all things are possible, brother, just as free as it can be. You've got your sail set towards heaven, and nothing can stir you no way. You're gone that way; that's all. Nothing can harm you.
Now, that's the kind of a church it's going to be, one of these days, according to the Bible. Where the Angel poured our His wrath and diseases broke out, and men even rotted in their flesh where they were standing. And the fowl of the air come down and eat off of the shoulders, and eat the flesh of chief-captains, and great mans, and presidents, and warriors, and diplomats, and potentates, and everything. Eat... But the Angel was given charge, "Don't you come near anyone that's got the seal of God in their forehead." It's going to be a... One of these days Divine healing's going to be a great thing among the people. So let's get in condition. God wants us...
You say, "Well, Brother Branham, you say, 'Let us.'" That's what God's a waiting on. God... We're waiting on Jesus to return, and Jesus is waiting on us. You say, "Well, how--what can we do about it."
The Bible said the hour has come, and His Bride has made herself ready (Hallelujah.), made herself ready.
E-45 Diseases, cancer, growths, what are they? We'll take, for instance, here stands a young lady, look like in the very best of health, strong, healthy looking. And maybe, in a few weeks we begin to notice her health failing. Well, they wonder why. They'll--they'll go to a doctor, maybe. And they'll--a doctor will look her over; he will say, "Well." The first thing you ought to check her blood or something or another, or give her an examination and find out there's a cancer.
Now, for eighteen or twenty years, she was in perfect health. But in her comes another growth. A--a growth, before it's a growing, it's a life. Now, here's what diseases are. Listen close, some of them don't take body forms, some goes other wise. Just like there's a demon of that, and there's a sp--one of epilepsy, and there's different ones. Some of them takes on body forms.
E-46 Now notice, there was one time when you wasn't nothing or anywhere, but there'll never be a time but what you'll be something or somewhere. Now, if you'll notice this, just a moment. Now, when you first started out in this world, you were just about the size... Well, you were smaller than anything the human eye can see. And that was a germ coming from the male, the father. The mother is the incubator. In there come this little germ. And the first thing happened, after that little germ taken it's position, in the womb, then a cell in this little teeny cell swelled and it popped a little place out, like a little swolled place in a thread.
The germ of life, I've noticed it through glasses, through doctor friends, it looks like a little thread like, little fuzz, little hair of a thing, so teeny. But in there then, come out a little--one little gland out of this gland, begins to swell. And then another one swells on top of that, and another one on top of that starts in the spine. And it moves out; the last is the navel cord. Notice, then as it begins to feed through this cord...
Now, first it's about the size of a grape, then about a lemon, then an orange, then begin to take on form. And at nine months, the baby is born. It keeps on multiplying cells. And it comes on, if nothing interrupts it, till maybe it's a man of hundred and seventy or eighty pounds, two hundred pounds, or a woman or so forth, whatever is determined by the Lord. And there is that baby in...
E-47 Let's take it down now again. Let's take it down cell by cell. The arm comes off, the head comes off, the body comes off, on down until it's one little cell. That's where it started from. Then that little cell drops down to a germ. Well, what is that one germ? That one germ is a teeny, little, visible cell, the smallest of all cells. Now, what's beyond that? His spirit, the life. The life is in itself, supernatural, as it comes out of the--out of the supernatural, and the cosmotics, and the so forth, and the petroleums that make up the body swells and produces itself, moving out, but the first thing is a life.
Now, let's think about a cancer. What is a cancer then? A cancer is another life. How many knows that's true? Tumor, cataract, any of those things, or germs are another life. Now, here comes in you somewhere, another little life. Usually a cancer comes from a bruise. And all the things of the natural type the spiritual. Such as in the natural birth...
E-48 Now, there's... I don't see people but what's old enough to understand this, and I--I got a mixed congregation. This would be a doctor's talk, and I'm your brother, so listen. In the life, the first thing in a baby, when it's borned a natural birth, the first thing is water (Is that right?), blood, then spirit. It's got twitching of muscles, but not till it's born has it life. Now notice, but I mean breathing life, you know what I... Now look, so is it in the spiritual birth. The first thing, the things that come out of Jesus' body wa--the elements that came from His body is what makes up the spiritual body. When Jesus died what came from Him--what did come out of His body? Water, Blood, and Spirit. Is that right. Now, that's the things that makes up the supernatural birth. The... When a man is borned again, he's--three elements that he has to go through: Water, Blood, Spirit: justification by faith, believing on the Lord; sanctification, that life being cleansed up; And the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Not three works of grace, one grace...
Notice, justification by faith, sanctification through the Blood, and the baptism of the Holy Ghost. When a baby is born water, blood, and spirit. When a baby's born, new born baby in heaven, he comes through water, Blood, and Spirit. The natural types the spiritual. Every thing on the earth. That was my first Bible, to watch nature. You get nature typed up with God, and you find out you got the same thing.
E-49 Notice, in here. Now, we see where you come from. Your father and mother was married, through a holy union, promised God that they'd live together and so forth, and through holy wedlock... And then by the pollen brought forth children, "Go multiply and replenish the earth was God's plan," and that's where you come from. But now, here you are growing up, and here's another life comes into you, called cancer. Now, where'd he come from? He wasn't there in the beginning, but here he is there now. Now, what happened?
Now, a cancer in the natural realms would be a scavenger, buzzard, eats dead things. A cancer comes from a bruise. A bruised cell, usually is where it's comes from. The cell is bruised. All mashed up. And that cau--it's otherwise, the cell is backslidden. If something happens in there that fails to get the function of blood to it right. And through there Satan, the author of death, which God is the Author of Life, Satan, the author of death, puts a demon in there, called a devil, demon, called cancer. Cancer is not it's name. Medical science just give it a cancer. The word cancer come the word crab. And then, it means with legs and things that runs out. And like other diseases, they're given medical terms. Then that little cancer comes in there, first it is a spirit. Then it gets into a backslidden cell, or a bruised cell, or a cell that's not operating right.
E-50 Oh, I'd like to preach the Gospel, now for five minutes, if I had the time. That's what happens in the church. When he gets someone failing to operate with the church, someone failing, and pulling off, and getting indifferent, that's a cancer in the church. It's a devil in that person. That's right. And that causes the whole church to be sick over it. The best thing to do is to have a spiritual operation.
Now, but in this, this little cell backslid, and the cancer come in. The cancer, then it lays there. First it's a--it's a spirit. Then it forms a teeny little cell of it's own. And this little cell becomes it's first... I couldn't call the big words for it, but the first form of life, is the cancer, painless. No one knows it's happening.
And now, this little cell is born; it must feed. In order to feed, it has to feed on your blood stream. Just like you fed on the blood stream in the--when in the mother's womb. You fed on the substance that she eat and so forth. So does this cancer feed on the substance of your body. It's one little cell. Then it grows; it's begins to feed. Another cell breaks out; another cell breaks out; another cell breaks out, and after while, cell on cell, cell on cell, tumor, cataract, whatever it may be, grows bigger, bigger, bigger, bigger, larger, spreading out, more cells, more cells.
The first thing you know, it begins to sap so much blood, till this young lady begins to feel sick. See? What is it? It's also poison; it's death. It runs into every little fiber of the body that it can, down in the tissues, stretching its legs down, weeding out like the roots of a tree, going all around, wrapping through the intestines, up through the spine. The doctor comes along, opens up; there's nothing can be done. The man, to the best of his knowledge, is saying everything he knows. There it is. Sew the patient back up; it's finished. It's all. There's nothing can be done. You can't take the person all apart. We couldn't find it all anyhow. There it is. The patient's hopelessly, helplessly, and gone then, as far as the doctor's concerned.
E-51 Now, here is Divine healing. Oh, I'm past time. Now, wait a minute. I oughtn't to have said that. Notice, let this soak in now, real good. Here's a patients coming. They comes moving up, here stands the Healer, as we call it in the terms, 'cause I imagine we're all Christians here this afternoon. Here stand the one that's like the preacher, the healer, the prophet, whatever it may be. Here he stands. He's just a man, but here comes the Holy Ghost down and anoints this person. Then he's not his own; he's--he's got a secret in his own heart that only him and God knows. He submits himself into the Spirit. Like a preacher going to the pulpit, submits himself. He's got a text all here, "Oh, this is what I'm going to preach on." But the first thing he knows, it don't work. A real spirit filled preacher will follow the spirit every time. If he tries that old dry sermon, he will make his congregation go to sleep. But if he goes ahead and follows the Spirit, God will lead him right out into deep waters with it. You know that's right. God's trying to get a message forth.
Well, here's the man standing with healing now. He's anointed. Now, the first thing you know, here comes a patient walking up. Truly faith, here stand the man anointed. As the patient begins to move up, the anointed man, not the man now, he's just human, but the Spirit that's on him... Jesus said, "Not Me, but My Father that dwelleth in Me."
E-52 Here comes the patient walking up. Now, the healer's standing. He's watching the patient as he comes. His heart must be for the patient. He must love the patient. He must be willing to do anything to see that patient get well. His whole human soul has to go to that patient in Divine love, because he's knowing he's standing in the stead of the Lord Jesus Christ. And knowing at the day of judgment, he will have to answer for every word. You must realize what you're doing.
The patient walks up. The first thing you know, that cancer in that patient begins to move. What's the matter? It's recognizing, not that man; it's recognizing that Spirit on the man. I've had them to come when they be in straight jackets, and holler, screaming, didn't even know their own name, say, "William Branham, you've got nothing to do with me."
And the people say, "Why, they don't even know their own name."
It wasn't them, it was that devil that had them so controlled like that, that he knowed it was. "You have nothing to do with me."
And here they come up now, there you see your patient. It's moving up. What are you going to do? You're helpless. You turn to the audience. A critic spirit come in here; one coming from here; one coming from up here. You're anointed; you can feel it. Like--just like going whew, whew, whew. [Brother Branham makes a noise like wind blowing--Ed.] You can feel that. Then, you can feel and know that this spirit here... If you'll watch your anointing, feel for the Holy Spirit, you'll hear another one over here crying. It's this one here, crying to that one there for help, to try to create an unbelief amongst the people, anything that he can do.
Here's an old demon possessed person setting there, saying, "Now, look, he's just reading their mind." If he can get that same spirit on the next to him, the one next to him, the one next to him, they build up a chain. You see? Jesus, He took Peter, James, and John, He put the unbelievers outside.
E-53 When Jesus went to heal a blind man, them standing around criticizing, He took him by the hands, took him out of the city. When Peter went into raise Dorcas, they was all screaming and crying and going on. He took them every one out. That's right. Get to yourself.
Here's the patient, but you're standing here like a public show almost. Oh, what'll take place. What will be the decision of this woman standing here? I see you... Then the first thing you know, the Spirit begins to anoint. She's coming with good faith, coming believing with all of her heart. Here you are standing here the same way. Here's these demon powers then working, all out through there, trying to get cooperation wherever it can. That's the reason you say--hear me say sometime, "This woman here has certain, certain things. That woman there has the same thing. That one over there has the same thing. That one over there..." It's every time the truth. Is that right? What is it? It's that channel there, them demons screaming. Why, in vision, you can almost a dark streak. That's right. And it's just, gives us a pull. You can feel it. I don't know how to tell you, you do it. But you do it.
E-54 Now, what the thing is, you're trying to help the patient. Now, here's the patient. What are you going to do? I'll say, "Oh, my. Now, Lord, You said, 'That if you'd be sincere, and get the people to believe you, and when you prayed, nothing would stand before the prayer.'"
I said, "Lord, they won't believe me."
He said, "There will be given to you two--two gifts like was given unto Moses, and you'll perform these things. And by this, they will believe."
The first thing, that... The main thing is not nothing... That don't nothing to do with the healing of the people. He told me that I was born in this world to pray for sick people, and if I could get the people to believe me, and be sincere when I prayed, nothing would stand before the prayer. That's what He told me. And it's the truth. That's right. It's not... See, this is not the healing. This is only to accumulate a faith to believe in healing.
E-55 There's the patient standing there. Now, I'm wondering what to do. I feel myself swaying and going. Looks like something is going from you. It's a battle going on. Here's the Holy Spirit standing here holding It's grounds. God's Word's right. There's man and women setting there, anointed with the devil, saying, "It's hypnotism; it's psychology. It's all this or that. It's wrong, it's wrong." Trying to anoint the rest of the crowd. And here's the Holy Spirit trying to get them to believe. Them that's gathered one unit. That's right. Gathered together, bind theirselves...
Then, when I can feel that spirit settling on the people, something's fixing to take place. I look around, I think, "Now, Holy Spirit, You told me that I'd know the secrets of their heart. And by this, they would believe me." I say, "Now, Lord, in my heart, let me know what this woman's done, or what's--what's wrong with her." And the first thing you know, I break into another world. And I hear my voice, yet I don't know that I'm speaking. Yet, I'm talking to this woman, telling her what she done. She was at a doctor's office; she did a certain thing. He said she had cancer. When she certain, certain done this. And where she by... I see her come out of a house; I look up and see the house number. I look at a street, and maybe I recognize the city, or see a sign, or--or something. She's got something in her hand. Or where she's kneeling praying, or something like that. Then the first thing you know, it fades from me. And when it does, I say, "You believe? Is that true, sister?"
"That's the truth. That's every bit the truth."
E-56 Then, I look back, and I feel that battle still going on. Then, what am I going to do? I don't know. I say, "Well, have faith in God." I pray, and let them go on. Nine times out of ten, the life's still beating right there. But here comes another one just like her, the same thing's done. As soon as she walks there, and that's reveal to her. Brother, something happens down in here. What happens? Then, I feel that the spirits is right, I say, "Satan, come out of her in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The same God that spoke and brought life out of that tree, the same Holy Spirit's speaking, bringing the life out of that cancer that's eating that woman up... Right?
She hurries off, and she goes home, telling people, "Oh, God healed me."
Her husband said, "Now, now, you're getting all worked up."
She goes and tell her self-styled pastor. "Why the days of miracles is past. Go and ask your doctor."
Doctor, "Why the growth's still there. Don't you believe that holy-roller."
Why sure, the tree was still standing there. But the life was out of it. Hallelujah. Let her go on saying, "Yes, I believe it. I don't care how many times my husband says no, if there's a growth that big around, I still--something in my heart told me, I'm healed."
E-57 Sometimes a vision will break forth; I'll see her years later. I'll say, "THUS SAITH THE LORD." Brother, watch that then. It's already happened. "THUS SAITH THE LORD, you are healed in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. You're going to be well." There ain't enough devils out of hell can break it then. That's right. That woman will go home. She'll feel good for a few days; the life's gone out. There's the cancer still there. She'll feel good for few days, and she'll go on rejoicing; and the first thing you know, that corruption that (The wither begin from the root.)... What was it? That tiny little germ that went in there, first, that caused that cancer, that life has gone out. Casting out devils. Hallelujah. That devil is gone. And when it's gone the believer believes it. And it wasn't my faith; it was the operation of the Holy Ghost through me, that give her faith. Her own faith is what made her well. Then she's healed. There she goes about. And no matter how sick she gets, she still believes that there's nothing can change her. She's solid; she believes it with all of her heart.
She's bound to get sick. That old thing begins to swell. First thing you know, it gets worse; she gets sick. She gets a fever; she gets down. Sure, it's dying, rotting right away. The patient gets well. Sometimes there's a miracle performed; it just vanishes away. But, what is it? Casting out devils.
E-58 Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, not only this tree, but if you'll say to that mountain, 'Be removed,' and don't doubt in your heart. But believe that you said will come to pass..."
Oh, glory. Oh, my. I like these afternoon meetings, when we just get together like this. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Oh, "In My Name, they shall cast out devils." Hallelujah. That's what He said. That's what I believe. That's THUS SAITH THE LORD. "In My Name, they shall cast out devils, and they'll lay their hands on the sick, they shall recover." There's a devil exposed. Your cancer with a little pet name called cancer; he's a devil. That little old fever that's been bothering you. It's a devil. Yes, indeedy.
E-59 Used to be a long time ago, when prohibition was in, they had the old whiskey jug called "John Barleycorn," with a great, big old straw hat on it, and a big funny looking eyes. And he was a horrible looking thing. You know what? They took old John Barleycorn down, and they put him in little tin bumpers, in little cans. People set them all in their ice box, all polished up and in society. But, brother, at the bottom of it is still the same old, damnable, rotten liquor drink that ever was in the first place. He's still the same. If he's in bumpers or whatever he's in, it's still the same old devil. And you might call him, in this other medical realm, you might call it cancer, you might call it tumor, cataract, or fungus, or whatever you want to. But it's still the same old devil that Jesus said, "Come out of the man." Hallelujah. "I'm the Lord, thy God, that forgiveth all of thine iniquities, Who healeth all of thy diseases." Do you believe it?
E-60 Our heavenly Father, we thank Thee, this afternoon for the gathering. As the Word has been all chopped up, Lord, but may the Holy Spirit someway divide it out straightly and give it to every heart. May when these people come to this meeting tonight, may they come with such a stern determination that nothing's going to bother them no more. May faith be instilled in their heart, till the devils of hell can't shake them no way.
And may this be a time of revival, moving among the people. Lord, may the lame walk, the blind see, the cancers be healed, devils cast out. May this week produce such a revival, that Chicago will long remember it. And make this meeting so salty. Now, You said, "You're the salt of the earth. But if the salt has only got a look, and not a saviour, it is henceforth good for nothing but to be laughed at."
And Father, we pray, that every Christian will take his post of duty, get on the telephone call others. Do everything he can. Go out in the country, dragging them from the hedges, and highways, and byways. The lame, halt, blind, which was the last call that Jesus said would be before the coming, the great supper...
Grant it, Father, and we'll praise Thee in eternity when the battle's all over, the hot sun is finished, and we set down under the shade of the evergreen tree, there to rest when the old, war, the implements of war is stacked together. The last sermon's preached; the devil's defeated, and chained up, and sent into hell. All the demons are bound (Hallelujah.), no more cancer, no more diseases. Everything is whipped out, and Christ is King, and God is back, and the saints live and reign with Him forever. Till then, may the Holy Ghost guide the church and bless us in Jesus' Name. Amen. God bless you, and I'll see you tonight