E-1 We're thinking of the boy, the father, who came for his son who had epilepsy. He said, "Lord, I believe, help Thou my unbelief." That's our sincere prayer tonight, that You'll help our unbelief. And may all of our doubts be driven from us now, that the Holy Spirit will have pre-eminence in every heart, and every mind, every soul, and may He get glory out of the service, for we ask it in Jesus' Name. Amen. May be seated.
We are indeed happy to be here again this evening to minister in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, God's Son, that He so loved that He sent to the world, that we who were once aliens and away from God, we might be brought close to Him and made sons of God.

E-2 Tonight being prayer for the sick, it's a different service than what we've been having, we--preaching services is what have been carrying on. And tonight we give out that we would pray for the sick. And trusting that God will give us the exceedingly, abundantly, great service tonight, for the sake of His poor, sick suffering children.
And maybe, through, if the Gospel message didn't catch into the hearts of some of the people, or maybe that if our Lord Jesus will come close and minister, and we shall see His great blessing as He ministers to us, well then, maybe that will catch the ones that the Gospel, or the preaching of the Word didn't catch.

E-3 One more night, and then we must go somewhere else, perhaps, have to leave tomorrow night. And I've got to hurry; I've got many services lined up, of these preaching services, before we start in the big tent. I got to go into Mexico and back into Alaska before we get started into the tent.
And in the tent then, we'll go out again for the healing services. And it seems like wherever I go, no matter... I can announce; I'll say, "I'm not going to do nothing but preach the Word." But just as soon as you get there, then the call. Makes me feel grateful to God to know that He does do such things, and see many times how He sends even dumb animals in to be prayed for. [Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.]... His doing, and that's what I find.

E-4 Now tonight, we won't--won't preach, just read some of the Word and--and maybe talk just a little while. And then tomorrow morning, Sunday school... Now, you visitors that's here, maybe from out of the city, maybe staying for awhile. Here's a mighty nice church to come to here, it's a... You ought to make yourself welcome here tomorrow, I know you will be, and Brother Der--Durkes; I want to call him Curtz all the time; and Brother Durkes, I've certainly learned to love him and respect him as a real Christian gentleman, a brother. I met his wife this morning, and many fine men of the city, in the Christian Businessmen's Breakfast this--this morning.
I come up one overcoat short. I left my overcoat, and I got someone else's. And I didn't know what happened to mine, so [Someone speaks about the coat--Ed.] and... Is that so? That's good; that's fine. So I sent his back, and we hung it up. And I guess he got his and now mine's in the hotel waiting. So that's fine.

E-5 And reminds me of one time down in the south, Brother Moore and I, we were going down to have a meeting down in, I believe it's Sweetsie, Louisiana, and we had about two or three hundred miles to go from Shreveport, and I had my suitcase laying on top of his big suburban car. And on the road down, I got there, and we'd lost the suitcase. All the clothes I had, Bible and everything, was in the suitcase. Well, Brother Moore said, "Oh, we probably lost it up there in the colored district." Said, "Brother Branham, you sure lost that suitcase."
Some friends had just give it to me in California, paid around a hundred dollars for it. Someone give me a new blue suit; it's seventy dollars, was in there. And I had the suit on; that was all I had. And so then, we--and everything was in there. Said, "Well," he said, "Brother Branham, you're--you're bound to lose." Said, "You--you--you've lost that." So, he said, "We'll report it to the police."

E-6 And a little policeman come up and said, "Say, preacher lost his suitcase up the road there."
He said, "I'll just tell it--wire right on back and watch--have the other boys to watch along the road." Down through the swamps...?... He said, "No, you never found it."
He said, "You're losing, Brother Branham." He said, "Because, first thing, if the Christian finds it," said, "they'll cut that suit all to pieces to send to one another for prayer cloths." He said, "If the--if some of those rough colored folks find it," said, "I tell you what," said, "you just... They'd just keep the suit and take what's in it (and little money I had in my pocket, about twenty dollars)," and said, "and everything. So you just--you can't win any way you go."
I said, "Oh, no. Now, that's all right."
So it went on, we on went back, preached the service there; they couldn't find it anywhere. About three days had passed and I'm still wearing that same shirt. So, Brother Moore said, "Brother Branham, you just got to get you some clothes."
And I said, "No, now, that's all right." I said, "It'll--it'll come in."
Said, "Oh, no, just can't."

E-7 So on the--that day he just kindy got, said, "You just can't do this any more, Brother Branham; we're going to get you some clothes; that's all. I lost it; I oughtened to have tied it down there... I ought to have tied it down." So we went over to Brother Brown's, and I was still arguing out of it. And he and Brother Brown was going to make me go anyhow. So just as they started to pull away, and me protesting it, someone called, said, "Wanted on the phone."
It was an old colored fellow down there; he said, "Is--is--is you Mr. Branham?"
I said, "Yes, yes, yes."
"Brother Branham, I sure got your suitcase; I done found it over the swamp," said, "I's was on my road with it."
So I got the suitcase after all, after all that time. So, you just have to have a little faith, don't you. that's right. It works any way. You just believe it. Jesus said, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible."

E-8 Brother Goad, I glad to see you tonight, I just seen Henry last night. I guess he isn't here. I don't know anybody around here hardly, but the Groat, and I see Mrs. Stadsklev setting right here too, from over at Minneapolis there. Brother Julius, her husband is one of my bosom friends, that wrote the book "Prophet Visits Africa." And he's a chaplain up somewhere in Greenland, or somewhere up there now.
Brother Groat is Brother Henry's father. I have a little something on Brother Groat, I--I won't tell it tonight though. So, something that he done at Jeffersonville, but I'll tell you; we... I was real sick. And he and his boy, his daughter-in-law and them, was there staying with me, and lovely friends they were.
And he went out one day and we went to the cornfield to pray, you remember that, Brother Groat? I never will forget; he put his arm around me and said, "Now, papa God," said, "you help Brother Branham." "Papa God..." So well, He did Brother Groat, and here we are. Amen. He is our Papa and our Mama too, isn't He. We love Him with all of our hearts...?...

E-9 So now, tonight we just going to read some of the Scripture here. And a text I want tonight is this, for just a little while of talking, 'cause we want to get out early so you can go to Sunday school tomorrow. And I'm sure you have a welcome here if you don't have a Sunday school.
And tomorrow night we'll also--being that we started it, we'll just have a healing service again tomorrow night, if the Lord willing. And so the one's maybe that don't get in to be prayed for tonight, will be also tomorrow night.
Now, my text is the--is the theme text of my campaign: Hebrews 13:8: Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever.
And for a context for this, I want to read some Scripture out of Jude, that I many often times have read it, for a context; so that you would see and know what we are trying to strive for.

E-10 Now, I... Perhaps setting here, there's... If I'd say, how many Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Catholic, Pentecostal, Church of God, whatevermore; they probably in here from many different denominations. But I want you to feel real at home now, no matter what denomination you belong to. And I don't think God would turn around for the difference in denomination. It would just be His children that's in those denominations. And--and every one of us love our churches, and we... I love every one of your churches.
Here some time ago, long years ago, I was in Little Rock one time, and I had a service there. And there was lots of people on the meeting, so they just blocked the streetcars and everything else in Little Rock.

E-11 There was an old fellow there was a Nazarene; he was on crutches. And the Lord healed him that night. And the next day he had a great big sign hanging on the back of his crutches, going down the street screaming to the top of his voice, "Hey [Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.]...?... need it, you know. He was having him a time.
So the next night--he was just so elated and so filled with God's goodness and happiness about his healing. I was preaching away, and he raised right up in the service; he said, "Just a moment, Brother Branham."
I said, "All right, brother."
And he said, "I--I want to ask you a question."
I said, "All right."
He said, "Now, when I come here a couple nights ago," said, "I--I heard you preaching, and" said, "I sure thought you was a Nazarene." That's what he was (See?), a Nazarene. And he said, "And now, I notice pretty near most of your crowd is Pentecostal; and somebody told me you were Pentecostal." And said, "Then I heard you say at the platform that was you was carrying fellowship cards in the Baptist church." Said, "I--I--I just don't get that."
"Oh," I said, "That's easy." I said, "I'm a Pentecostal, Nazarene, Baptist." So that--so that... I--I'm still the same tonight. Ha, ha, ha, ha.

E-12 So if anybody says, "What does Brother Branham belong to? You tell them a Pentecostal, Nazarene, Baptist." Believe they're Methodist, and Presbyterian, and I--I--I belong to you all of them. That's right. Because I belong to Christ, Who is the Owner of them all, Who has His children in all of them. And they're all my brothers and sisters, and I love them.
Now, I want to read just a little bit out of the Book of Jude, which was written thirty-three years after the--after Pentecost. And we'd like to read and get some context for here for what I want to say.
Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and the brother of James, and to them that are sanctified by God the Father... preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:
Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.
Beloved... I give all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith that was once delivered to the saints.
May the Lord add His blessing to the Word.

E-13 Now, as we understand after about three nights of speaking, just our grounds, and we're not strangers to each other no more; we're fellow citizens of the Kingdom of God, pilgrims and strangers to this earth, seeking a city Whose Builder and Maker is God. And we're not here to be a deceiver; we are here to help one another.
You have come tonight, maybe you're not sick; but you've come to support the cause, that somebody else through your faith--might--your faith blended with mine and the rest of them, might help our poor brother and sister who is sick and needy to be well. If I had any other motive besides that, I'd certainly excuse myself and walk off the platform.

E-14 I never want to be found a hypocrite; I never want to be found a deceiver. I'd rather be home with my wife and children tonight, working as a game warden in Indiana, my old job, then to be back--out here trying to deceive people. For I realize, that no matter what I'd ever do, at the end of the road I'd be a castaway. So what good would it do me?
And anyone knows that I don't take money, and I'm not--I'm not... You know I shun people too much from abstaining from popularity, and I--I have no motives at all to be out here at all tonight, only for one thing: that's to help you find Jesus Christ, the only thing; God knows that. Trying my best to help you...

E-15 I believe that God has set in the Church, apostles, prophets, teachers, evangelists, and all those gifts and callings are without repentance. God has set in the Church. God does that by His sovereign will, His foreordination by foreknowledge. God knew before the foundation of the world just who would be who; so therefore, He could set that in order, and say, and make it work to His good.
Now, now, there's--now there's nine spiritual gifts in I Corinthians 12, that goes into the church. Now, they're just apt to be in anyone. See? They're just over the church. This man here may prophesy tonight, and--and that'd be exactly the truth, but that don't make him a prophet. A prophet and a pro--and a gift of prophecy is two different things altogether. A--a gift of prophecy has--can't even be spiritual; it's got to be judged before three judges, spiritually.
A message of tongues has to be, before the church receives it. Paul said, "Let's leave two or three judge (See?), with discernment of Spirit, before it can be accepted to the church." And this fellow might prophesy tonight and never prophesy again the rest of his life. Tomorrow night it might be on this woman setting here, that man back there. See, it's in the body of believers, and all nine spiritual gifts should be in every local body, operating, and manifest the church.

E-16 But God, and for the perfecting of the Church, has set in the church, apostles. You say, "Apostles?" Yes, sir. Now, how would people ever want to change their name and call themselves missionaries instead of apostles, I don't know. A missionary and a apostle is exactly the same thing, same word: "one sent", that's right. A missionary is an apostle.
So they a--apostle is a missionary. It's one that's been sent. And when a man feels led of God, and sent of God, to go to Africa, India, that makes him an apostle, and--or a missionary, whichever way you want to call it.
So there's apostles, prophets, teachers, evangelist, and so forth. Them are selected by God alone. No matter how much you go to school, how well you're educated, how well--what you want to preach, if God hasn't called you to be a preacher, you'll never make it. That's right. You'll just be a stumbling block in a real preacher's way. That's exactly. "Gifts and callings are without repentance." Correctly.
I'd rather my boy be a preacher than anything I know of, but God will have to do that. I--no one else can do it. That's right, God will have to do it.

E-17 And so now, in this, Jesus raised the... I want to know tonight before I start. How many in here really believe the...?... Jesus Christ did raise from the dead, let's see your hands, you believe it? All right. If He has risen from the dead, then He's got to be the same yesterday, today, and forever, is that right? Then He's got to be the same in principle, the same in power, and everything that He was, outside of a--of a--a corporal body, He is tonight. Don't you believe that? And He came from God. He's been here on earth. And He came from Spirit. He was with the Father before the foundation of the world. And He was the Logos that went out of God.
And then, when He... Then He was made flesh and dwelled among us. And then we could touch Him with our hands. Then He turned back to God again. He said, "I come from God and went to God."
Did you ever think of that, how God condescending down to love man? If you'd ever get the real picture of it in your heart, brethren, I'd tell you, it would rend your heart.

E-18 God in the beginning, in the--the Christ, in the Pillar of Fire, He settled on top of the mountain. And even when His Presence so close, that even the--a beast would touch that mountain it'd have to be killed with a--with a dart. Yes, sir, no one could touch Him.
Now watch, first He could not be seen; then here He comes in a mystic Light, and they could see Him. But no one could get close to Him. Then He reveals Himself, and comes down, and puts on human flesh, though borned a virgin birth, different from man, ordinary man. No one was ever born like that before. That was that same One was on the--and to Moses in the bush. He was a Rock that was with Moses in the wilderness. He was the Angel that was at the burning bush; He was the I AM. And so, here He was here in a human body then, manifesting Hisself in a body of flesh. He came down into this virgin body, because He's pure and holy, and He couldn't come in anything that was defiled.

E-19 So then He did that in order to give this human blood... Now, as some people said, "Oh, I was saved by Jewish--I... Jewish blood saved me." No, Jewish blood didn't save you. God's Blood saved you. He wasn't either Jew nor Gentile; He was God. And so, if it was a Jew, why--why then He--He had a... If His Blood was--was Jewish, then He had a earthly father. But His Blood was a creative Blood, which Jehovah God, His Father created a Blood cell in the womb of Mary, and it brought forth a Son, Christ Jesus, which was a Tabernacle place for Almighty God to live in when He was here on earth. And the Body was given at Calvary for a sacrifice to redeem you and I, un--under unconditional terms that God made with Abraham, that He Himself, might come back and live in us and love us, and we worship Him, and woo us to Him. That's exact...

E-20 That's the story, God coming making a way. Something that we could not do, He did for us. That's the whole story. That lays right in there, that God came down in His Son, Christ Jesus; died for your sins, that you unworthy, and nothing you can do about it... Yet through God's love and grace, He calls you to Him. As you accept it, then you're still not right. But God don't see you, nothing but right. See? Because He looks through the red Blood of His Son. And as I said the other night, red through red, looks white. And you are--you are redeemed by the precious Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And the Lord Jesus, He's... He in the form of the Holy Ghost, the third Person, is here tonight in His resurrection, doing the same thing in His Church, that He did when He was here to carry on the work until the last enemy is put under His feet. That's as clear as I know the Gospel. It's very simple; there's nothing complicated about it.

E-21 Now, Jude said here, after about thirty-three years after Pentecost; he said, "I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation. It was needful for me to write unto you, and to exhort you, that you should earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the saints."
Now, I say, "Methodist brethren, does your church contend for that faith?"
"Amen, Brother Branham." Baptist brethren, do your church?
"Yes, sir, Brother Branham." Pentecost, does yours?
"Yes, sir, Brother Branham." Catholic, does yours?
"Yes, sir, Mr. Branham." See? Everyone say, "My church is contending for that faith today."
Well, I want to say, "That's right." But do you contend for the whole faith? You see, that's what I'm wondering.

E-22 Now there's... Let's just... Now remember, I've expressed to you about different denominations, but let's just... There's got to be somebody right and somebody wrong. There just can't be too much mixed up. And I tell you where the wrong's at, mainly, where God would be in everyone of the churches, but the little bridge that we draw between one another, separates us. If we would all... If the Methodist could say to the Baptist, "Brother," and all of them put their hands together and say, "We're onward Christian soldiers," then the little barriers would just fade away like that; we'd just move right on. And God would just do wonders in His Church. And He would reveal Hisself to everyone.
But now, in the way we stand tonight, and the way--way it must have been standing in the day of Jude, he said, "Now, I want you to earnestly contend for the faith."
Now, long ago, someone said to me, said, "Brother Branham, that's against my faith."
I said, "What kind of faith do you have? There's only one faith." One faith, one Lord, one baptism, that right? See, there's only one faith, and that's Christian faith. That's right. There ain't no Methodist faith and Baptist faith, and Pentecostal faith, and Catholic faith being different; it's just one faith. And that's faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, that should be simple enough the children could understand it.

E-23 Now watch, now they're... In a way we're standing tonight, we've got--we are commanded by God's Word to earnestly contend; that's the only place in the Bible, that I can find, that we're supposed to contend. We're not supposed to have contention, like when we contend for the wrong thing. We contend that the Methodist church, the Pentecostal church is right; and the rest of them's wrong. See? That's wrong contention. See? But we should contend for the faith that was once delivered unto the saints, the faith that was once delivered.
Well then, if each one of us claimed that that's the faith of our church... Now, there's only one way to rightly settle it in our hearts and minds. And if you'll bear with me (I'm watching the clock.) for the next twenty minutes, we'll try to start the prayer line exactly nine o'clock so we can be out by nine-thirty. That'll give you plenty of time to be home.
Now, I don't want to preach, because I--I've been praying all the afternoon and so forth, for the anointing of the Holy Spirit. You all know it's a different anointing, and it's something that's... I can't explain.

E-24 Now, right now, if we're going to find out what faith we're to contend for, and that faith is the one that was once delivered unto the saints, we'll have to go back to that time and find out what kind of a faith they had. And then, we can tell whether we're really contending for that faith, is that fair enough? We go back in the Bible. And now remember, I'm a Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Pentecostal, all, I--I--that's all me. See?
Now, let's go back and find out what's right and what's wrong. The Bible ought to be the solid foundation. Don't you believe that? And I believe with all my heart, that this is the unadulterated Word of God. And I believe that's anything that's contrary to This, is in error. Everyone understand that? I do not believe that there's any person in earth today that has power to heal the sick. I do not believe it. I do not believe there's a person on earth today can forgive sin as God would.
And God doesn't forgive your sins now. And God doesn't heal you now. He has already done it; it's a finished work at Calvary. And our faith rests in what God has already done for us.

E-25 Now, Jesus healeth, He said, "By His stripes," said the apostle, "we were..." And were is a past tense. We were already healed there.
You say, "Brother Branham, I got saved a year ago." No, you got saved nineteen hundred years ago; you accepted it one year ago. See?
And you were, every one of you here tonight that's sick, is every one healed back yonder, nineteen hundred years ago when Jesus died at Calvary. The only way that--thing you can do tonight, is to accept what Jesus has already done. And if Jesus has already paid the price, what good would it do--what could I do about paying price?
Now, we're living in the day when there's much fanaticism hooked to the Bible, both in spiritually for your soul and healing for the body. There's many fanatics. But fanatics only prove that there's a real one. If I picked up a dollar and it was a bogus dollar, then I know if it's bogus, there's got to be a real one it was made off of. See? So a fanatic only proves that there is a real genuine somewhere. That's true.

E-26 Now, let's go back to the beginning. Now, when they were first called saints, was in the New Testament. We're speaking in the New Testament, I believe, Luke 16:16 said, that, "The law and prophets were until John: and since then the Kingdom of God's been preached."
Now, we will have to find out John was just the arch, or the breach between law and grace, when he came to breach the way. And he done no miracles at all; he was a great preacher of--of repentance. Did you know them spirits still return? You believe that? Sure, certainly they do. Don't you know of a minister today in the land that's got a great message of repentance above anybody I ever heard of since Charles Finney; that's Billy Graham. Your boy's in this country in here, certainly. I never heard a man that had such a message on repentance as Billy Graham has. There's that spirit. And it forerun the coming of the Lord Jesus. That's right.

E-27 And Jesus come; He wasn't much of a preacher, as we would call preacher, 'cause said He never lifted His voice in the streets and so forth. Is John the one, with big, raw, go get it and tear it down and break it out, "It's not lawful for you to have her." But Jesus was a quiet sort of Person. But God was with Him, and He was performing miracles and doing things, and signs and wonders, coming right behind John's ministry, backing it up.

E-28 Now, notice then, when John was the greatest of all the prophets, Jesus said. Because all the prophets looked forward to the coming of the Lord Jesus, though they done many miracles, John did no miracles at all, but he was the one who introduced Jesus to the world. That made him the greatest. All of them looked forward to His coming; all of them looked forward to this great time, and John had the privilege of saying, "Behold, the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world." That was him.

E-29 And then John's ministry ceased right there, and Jesus started off. He went into the wilderness, was tempted forty days of the devil, on a fast. Come back out, and immediately... Let's watch Him now, 'cause He was the One who introduced the Christian faith. Are you all ready to agree with that, that Jesus introduced it. If we can see what He gave to the Church, then that surely is the faith that Jude was talking about, that was once delivered to the saints, or the sanctified ones. All right.
Notice Him now, the first thing He begin, when He come out of the wilderness, begin to preach, and to pray, and heal the sick. That's right. He begin with a great ministry of healing, and not just healing the sick. And many people begin to come to Him. And He would pray and lay hands on them, and they'd get well. Great things was accomplished in His ministry.

E-30 Now, we're going to start, by memory. I would call it out; you can mark it down on paper if you wish to, these Scriptures that I wish to read. We can start in Luke or John, either one, on the first chapter. And John might be good or--and to start with. And we find Him into a place now to where He's--He's got some disciples. And there's one of them by the name of Philip. And he was really converted, because as soon as he got faith, he wanted to find somebody else to get saved. That's a good sign he--he was saved, when he wants to tell somebody else about it.
And so he goes off around the hill... I think the measurement of the place is about, maybe, I'd say, any--why, ten, twenty, miles or more, around from where Jesus was preaching at the time. And he goes to find a fine friend of his by the name of Nathanael, a righteous, religious man. So when he finds Nathanael, Nathanael was under a tree praying. And so Philip said to Nathanael; he said, "Come and see Who I have found: Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Joseph."
And now, this man was a good man; he was very orthodox. So he said, "Could there be any good thing come out of Nazareth?"
And I think Nathanael gave him the best answer that--that--Philip, rather, give him the best answer that could be given; he said, "Come and see." That's the best way to do, come and see. Said, "You come and see."

E-31 So down the road they went. And when they finally located Jesus... We wouldn't know, he might've just walked up in the audience, like you'd be setting. Or he might come into the prayer line. Let's think that he just walked up in the audience, or stand in the audience. Jesus standing there praying for the sick, and the Pharisees, and doctors and religious men standing around watching, seeing what He was doing, in their hearts criticize Him, because He just told them they was a bunch of snakes in the grass. And He said, "Oh, you generation of vipers," and so--or snakes. And so then when we... He said, "They got eyes and they can't see; they got ears, and they can't hear." And yet they were just as orthodox as they could be. No one could put a hand on their life, holy men, good men, renown men, Bible scholars, far beyond what we got today.
They had to come not just an ordinary men like we are; they had to come out of the lineage to be a priest. They had to come out of the levitical priesthood, out of Levi. If it wasn't borned by this holy man, his whole lineage coming down like this, of being perfectly good priests, and coming through... And even one little jot, or anything wrong, they'd stone them to death. They had to walk the line. They had to be orthodox, gun barrel straight. They had to be real men. Yes, sir. And they had to know that law. And all of that, Jesus said, "they was of the devil."

E-32 Wouldn't that big a big mouthful for someone to say today about a man that's a Ph.D. and a LL.D., Doctor of Divinity? And somebody would say he's of the--his father is the devil. Why, they'd take the same kind of a spasm they did back there about it. They wouldn't... Why, no, sir. Why...
And here they all stood up there, coming around calling Him a Rabbi, and so forth. They wanted to see what His theology was. And so they was drawing their opinion. And so while He was a preaching away, or praying for the sick, up come Nathanael, walking down there, him and Philip together. Jesus turns and looks straight at Nathanael and said, "Behold, an Israelite in whom there is no guile."
Why, it startled this fellow. "Why," he said, "I never se