E-1 Sure good to be back and hear the brother, pastor, give the testimony of the grace of God, with his little girl. That’s just like the Lord Jesus, to do things like that. Certainly is.
E-2 Now, we are very happy, tonight, to have with us, one of our guests here at the, as we call it, the prayer service on New Year’s night, a good friend of mine, Brother Ernie Fandler, one of the converts to the Lord Jesus Christ, a trophy of grace. Originating his home in Switzerland, is where he came from. And I believe, a brother with him there, which they’re living in Shawano now, a German by descent, a Brother Waters. We’re happy to have them with us tonight.
E-3 Then we have, also, with us tonight, a—a precious brother of the faith, South Africa, Brother David duPlessis. We’re happy to have him with us, too. And we’re…David and I are—are anticipating, or praying, and the Lord give us some great work together, this coming year, into Africa and different parts of the world. Brother David is here now to talk it over, and pray over with it, between now and Monday, to decide just when and where, in to—to Africa, and different parts of the world to go. As, Brother David has had a very prominent office with the Pentecostal World Convention, and also is well-known with many great religious leaders throughout the entire world. And has been very influential in persuading and causing, as far along as we are now, to help bring the Body of Jesus Christ together, of all denominations of faith. Regardless of what the (they) church they have, or what (they) brand they’re branded. It’s that, the Church, Who Christ died for.
E-4 And I’ve often thought of that. Used to help round up the cattle, many times, out West. We’d go up, Brother David, and sit out there where they drove the cattle up through the drift fence, up into the mountains, to feed them on the…let them graze on the pastures, the…of the forest. While, the meadows was growing in the bottom, wild meadows. Then they cut the meadows, and feed the cattle out through the—through the winter time, when they was too blizzard, up in the mountains.
E-5 And used to sit there on the saddle and watch the ranger bringing those cattle through; and each ranch, in the bottom, that could raise a ton of hay. If they could raise fifty ton of hay, that meant they could put fifty cattle. If they could raise a thousand ton of hay, a thousand head of cattle could go through. Each man, carrying a brand on his cows. They watched the brands, of course, the different ranches, so they wouldn’t get them mixed up. And then when the…
E-6 The ranger, he wasn’t so interested in what kind of brands was going through, because there was all kinds of brands. But there’s one thing that he really had to check, that was the blood tag. They had to be registered Hereford, or they couldn’t get through the gate. They turn them back. See?
E-7 And I think that’s the way it’ll be at the Judgment. It’ll not be what kind of brand we’re wearing, but if the Blood tag is there. That’s the thing that’ll—that’ll count, the Blood tag.
And I’m very happy to have Brother David with us.
E-8 And I see Brother Estle Beeler was here just a moment ago. I seen him raise up back there, from somewhere. And other ministers who we’re wanting to hear from, tonight. And, then, and I guess Brother Ruddell and them will be coming in, ’cause they’re going to stay till midnight.
E-9 However, Brother David can’t stay till midnight. He’s very wanted man, everywhere. And as soon as Brother Rodgers heard that he was over here, why, he’s going to send and have him over there at ten. So that means he’ll be leaving here, pretty short, to get way out there in south Louisville.
E-10 And I thought it would be nice, if it would be all right with Brother David, if—if we’d have him to come up and speak what’s on his heart, preach for us, do whatever the Lord lays. We’d all like to hear Brother David duPlessis, from South Africa.
E-11 Let me say this. That, when I was in, over in Africa, in my great campaign the Lord gave us over there, his brother was my interpreter, Brother Justus. I believe his name is Brother Justus. And a real fine family of people, are these duPlessis brothers. I think there’s…I guess they’re all ministers, as far as I know, and maybe father, too, that was a minister. And they’re from a fine family of people. And Brother David packs a great name amongst all the churches and denominations around the world.
E-12 And Brother David, I’d like for you to come up now and speak for us, or whatever God has put on your heart to say. Come right up. And I’m very happy to introduce to my church, tonight. This is Brother Orman Neville, our pastor. And to the church, this is one of my precious friends, and—and fellow warriors in the service of God, Brother David duPlessis of South Africa. God bless you, Brother David.
E-13 [Brother David duPlessis speaks. Blank spot on tape—Ed.] …talk. Amen. We all did. Brother David, hurry right back and be with us again. That’s very fine. We’re sure happy.
E-14 Brother David said some things there, I just wish I’d a had my pen, I could have jotted them down. But I’ll always remember “grandsons; the grandchildren.”
E-15 Well, we sure appreciate the visit of our brother. And he is… was the…connected with the World Conference of Pentecostal believers, and a great man in the line of his work throughout the whole world. And we’re fortunate, tonight, to have Brother David come speak to us on this New Year’s night. And you can see what great men think about our Lord, think about His great servant.
E-16 Now I believe that, tomorrow, being New Year’s, it’s just a few hours now. And I have to leave early in the morning, so I thought I’d just speak a little bit, if it’s all right with Brother Neville. [Brother Neville says, “Yes. Amen.”—Ed.] Brother Beeler, and the other ministers here. Won’t take much of the time. And I think, if we’d say “Amen,” and go home, it’d be a wonderful message. And we could be thankful to the Lord for what that we have here, tonight.
E-17 And now, but this being New Year’s night, we just entertain each other, by the Kingdom of God, preaching, until it comes the New Year. And I’ve got…get up in the morning, real early, way before day. And I’m not as young as David. Maybe I…Maybe I don’t feel as young as he does. He’s a…Course, David’s a little—little bit older than I am. I think he’s seven or eight years older, maybe ten. But he’s certainly a fireball for God, traveling fifty thousand miles this year, for the Kingdom of God. On his road now over to preach at Brother Rodgers, and tomorrow to be with some, somewhere else, and somewhere else, and somewhere else, and back here again Monday. And I’ve got to meet with him to make arrangements for a world-wide tour coming now.
E-18 And we’re to be in Africa, I understood this afternoon, in March, this—this coming March. I’m to meet Clayton Sondmore, from the Full Gospel Christian Business Men, this week, or this coming week, first part of it, and make arrangements for Jamaica, Haiti’s. I go next week into Kentucky, or down into Georgia, have them meetings there. Come right back and come down through Kentucky, a night here, and night there, catching these churches. And come right straight back home from there, and go to—to—to Atlantic City, for begin at the 27, through the 30th, and leave there the morning of the 1st, and begin in—in Kingston, Jamaica, at the ra-…race track, that night, for a ten-days meeting there. And from there on, in then to the Haiti’s, and wherever. We don’t know where to go from there, just as the Lord will lead us.
E-19 Now, all these are in making. See? I haven’t said yes. David is here, Clayt is coming. Gordon, Brother Gordon Lindsay is coming, for South America. And—and the rest, the Christian Business Men for the Latin-speaking America. And Brother David’s is for Switzerland, Germany, on down. But we don’t know yet. You keep praying. I don’t want to go nowhere until God says go, and the best of my knowledge. Therefore, if I feel led to go, then when I get off the plane, I…And no matter what the opposition is, I can say, “I come in the Name of the Lord Jesus.”
E-20 I was thankful for David, the friendship that we’ve had together, because the man is a very important man, but he—he—he certainly believes this ministry of the Lord. He certainly does. And—and our names has been associated together throughout the entire world now, Brother David and I.
E-21 And I’m so glad to have association with a man like that. But, friends, I appreciate that. But the greatest thing that I can think to be associated with is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, that great One.
E-22 Now, Brother Neville and some of them will be speaking in a few moments, but I want to read just a little something out of the Scripture now.
E-23 And it’s good, I think, on New Year’s night, to see different preachers, and the way they approach a text, and what they say, and so forth. And each man having his own way of preaching. You know, God didn’t make us all alike. He made us different. He made us difference in our statue. He made the world different, and big mountains, the little mountains, prairies, deserts, big white flowers, blue flowers, and all different kinds. He just makes us different. That’s all. He makes red head, and black heads, brown heads, white head; fat, slim, tall, oh, whatevermore. See? He just—He just makes us different. God is a God of variety. And I kind of like that. Don’t you? [Congregation says, “Amen.”—Ed.] But just the same thing all the time? My! My! I like this.
E-24 So let us turn now in our Scriptures, over in the Book of Saint Matthew, Saint Matthew’s Gospel, beginning with the…And the 4th verse, I want to read for a…read us a text, the Lord helping us. Saint Matthew, the 4th chapter.
I believe, before we read, let’s pray.
E-25 Gracious Heavenly Father, it is again with grateful hearts that we approach this new year. And we approach Thee and bring to Thee all of our cares of the past, and ask that You’ll put them in the sea of forgetfulness, and remember our sins against us no more. And may not only we check up with our spiritual being, but in our…may we check our fellowship with Thee. And forgive us of all of our sins. And we ask that Your Spirit will deal with us tonight. And if there be any unclean thing about us, Lord, take it as far as the east is from the west. Cast it into the sea of forgetfulness, to remember it against us no more, that we might enter into this new year, clean, washed by the Blood of the Lamb, and be ready.
E-26 May this 1960 be the greatest year that we’ve ever served You. Give us exceedingly, abundantly. All these meetings that are in progress, Lord, that we’re thinking of with Brother duPlessis, and around the world, into the Asia, and over into Europe, and all—all around. Lord, let it be Your will and Your Power that will lead to these things. And if we should at any time be stepping off of Your Divine ordained path, may the Holy Spirit put a block in the way and stop us, Lord, and turn us back to the right place. Grant it.
E-27 Bless this little church, Lord. About, way close to thirty years, I guess, it’s stood here now, as a memorial of the grace of God, to a humble people. We pray, Father, that You’ll bless Brother Neville, the pastor. Bless all the church. Bless the trustees, the deacons, the song leader, the pianist, and all the laity, every one, the Sunday school teachers, whatever more. Lord, may we be able to grow this year in the grace of God. And may our membership grow into greater numbers, and—and more grace of Yours, that, than this has been in the years gone by. Grant it, Father.
E-28 Now help us as we approach this text that we’re fixing to read, Thy Word. And only You, Lord, can interpret and we pray that You’ll grant it to us, for the Kingdom of God’s sake. In Jesus Christ’s Name. Amen.
E-29 I announcing just now what I have chosen for a text for the next few moments. It’s found in the Scripture here, and I will read it. Its call, I want to call it this, “from that time.”
E-30 I didn’t think, I said the other night, I didn’t suppose I’d get to come down, because that my throat was getting raw. And my wife said to me yesterday, or day before, she said, “Then I suppose you’ll not be going down to the church.”
E-31 And I said, “Honey, I don’t think so. My throat is so sore and raw.”
E-32 And then, no more than that night, when I sit down and picked up the Scripture, I run onto This.
E-33 Brother Sothmann came by. He said, “Will you be going to church tomorrow night?”
I said, “Yeah. I’ll be there.”
E-34 And Meda looked around at me, and she said, “I don’t understand you.”
I said, “I don’t expect you to, see,” I said, “or no one else.”
E-35 No one that’s lead by the Spirit of God can ever be understood.
E-36 Our Lord, they could not understand Him. He looked like He talked one way, one minute; and another way, another minute. And somewhere else He was talking about something else. Sometime it was Jesus speaking, the other times it was God speaking. You see? Even the disciples said there, at last, said, “Lo, now speakest Thou plainly. Now we understand.” See?
E-37 And Jesus said, “Do you un-…And do you now believe?” See, after that.
E-38 You just can’t do it, because you’re led of the Spirit. And you start doing something, you find out that you see you’re…God wants to use you somewhere. You got to stop here and go here, just led of the Spirit. They’re odd, peculiar people that has a life that you want to consecrate to God.
E-39 And then I always say this, “I will do this if the Lord is willing.” See? If I make a promise to anybody, “I’ll do it if the Lord is willing.” See? And therefore, then, if it isn’t the will of the Lord, I’ll be…I’ll speak on this Message if the Lord is willing. He could give me a call, right in this Message, to take off for California. I’d cast aside everything and take off for California, as hard as I could go.
E-40 And I want to live like that. I don’t want nothing tying me down. I don’t want no great big something or another, where it’s worth millions of dollars, and you have to get so much money, every day, to tie me down. I want to be, where, when God says, “I want you go down here to these people. There’s only five of them. But go down there, and stay there till I tell you to leave.” I want to go there. Haven’t got no obligation, just…and if He wants me go overseas.
E-41 Now here it is, just mentioned, going to Germany, or to—to Africa. And some millionaire woman, just the time that the Spirit put it upon me to go to Africa, she said, “I’ll sponsor the trip and pay every bit of it.” See? That’s all. Why should I worry about money and things, when my Father owns all of it? See? He can just speak to this rich man, or that rich man, or this people, or that people, and no need of me have to worry about it. See? God just takes care of it all.
E-42 Brother Roy, that’s the way to live. Just let Him take care of it. It’s so good.
E-43 Now let us turn in our Scriptures, to the 4th chapter. And let’s begin to—to read, about the 12th verse of the 4th chapter of the Gospel according to Saint Matthew.
Now when Jesus had been…And now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed unto Galilee;
…leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon at Nephthalim:
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying,
The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;
The people that sat in darkness saw great light; and to them that which sat in the regions of the shadow of death light is sprung up.
From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
E-44 I want to speak on the subject: And From That Time. You know, as human being, we all think of things from a certain time. Such-and-such a thing taken place, and from that time. And now, many times, you meet an old man or an old woman, and they like to refer back to a time that something taken place, that they can distinctively mark it out and say, “It was at that time.”
E-45 Now, I suppose there’s practically all of us here, tonight, could call to member, remembrance of certain things that taken place at certain time. From that time, something changed. Such-and-such a thing, it happened at that time. And from that time on, it was different. And it’s a good thing that we can. And some of those memories, of things that we think of, is worthy things that changed. And there’s some things that is not so worthy of thinking of.
E-46 For instance, if the woman of an ill-fame, that she said, “There was a time that I was a good, righteous, moral girl. And on a certain night, or a certain place, a certain thing happened.” And since that time, she’s been on the wrong road. Her life has been marred with sin, and blackness and darkness, and only judgment waits her. But she can remember, from that certain time, it happened when she took the wrong road.
E-47 The—the drunk man, tonight, on the streets, that trying to drink his sorrows away. You might pick him up. Like I was down on the bowery here, sometime ago, in New York, the great center of the drunken people. I was walking with a certain minister. And there laid a man, oh, just plenty of men, harmless, helpless, laying there with the front of their clothes all wet, and—and their beards all over their faces, and just in a terrible condition. And they were perfectly harmless.
E-48 And this minister said, “Pick that one up, and just ask him.”
E-49 And I went over to this man which was laying with one foot across a bumper of a car, and his head laying down on the street, and where that he had been unable to—to—to go at times, of to the rest rooms. Oh, he was just in a terrible condition. And I took a hold of him, and I said, “Can you speak?” And he wouldn’t make me no answer.
E-50 So the minister got down. He knowed more about how to deal with him. And he asked him, “Who are you?”
E-51 And finally he got him roused up enough, till he would say, “If you’ll buy me a drink!” And come to find out, he could point his finger to the bank that he used to be president of.
E-52 “Well,” he said, “we are preachers. Could you tell me what took place?”
“If you’ll promise me a drink!”
E-53 Well, we couldn’t do that. I said, “I couldn’t add sorrow to your sorrows. I want to help you.”
E-54 All his story. He come home, one night, and there was a, what he called, a “Dear John” letter on the—the table. Then, his wife had left him. And had…He loved her. And she had taken his children. And he was divorced, and she had run away with another man. And he said, “I didn’t know what to do, to shoot my brains out, or what to do. So I—I went down to the saloon.” And from that time, there he was. That’s all over the world.
E-55 The liar. You might take one, as I said to a man, one day, that I thought was telling jokes. And come to find out, that, he told so many lies till he really believed them, hisself. And I said, “What makes you do that?” And I set down to talk with him. I said, “I want to ask you. Those stories are too wild for people to believe.”
E-56 He said, “The first one I can ever remember telling.” He said, “I was a little boy that was raised in a good home.” And he said, “I went out and smoked corn silk cigarettes, just to be smart. And I eat some coffee, to take it off of my breath.” And he said, “I done it back behind the old chimney, behind the house.” And he said, “I’ll never forget, when mother caught me up, and said to me, ‘Sonny, let me smell your breath.’ And I blowed my breath into her face, and she said, ‘You’ve eat coffee to take something off of your breath. What have you been doing? Have you been smoking cigarettes?’”
E-57 And he said, “Something told me to tell her the truth.” He said, “But I said, ‘No, mama. I cross my heart. I haven’t been smoking cigarettes.’” He said, “And from that time, that started it.”
E-58 We can all find something that—that begin at a certain time. And from then on, things was changed. And there’s other worthy things that we could think of. Men with good intentions has tried to start things anew, to do things at certain time.
E-59 For instance, when electricity was first found by Benjamin Franklin, and they was able to conquer it. They begin to say, “From this time on, there’ll never be no more wars. Because, that, this electricity could be put into fences, with such a high voltage, till no man could cross it.” They meant well.
E-60 And right after the First World War, when—when Kaiser Wilhelm signed the treaty of peace. We were told here in America. I was a boy of about nine years old. But I can remember of the people all saying, “We’ll never have another war. From this time on, it’s settled, forever.” But we had another war.
E-61 And when the great U.N. Or, I would say, before that, they formed what was called the League of Nation. And they said, “Now we’ll have no more wars, because we’ve got a League of Nations that will patrol the world. And if there is an uprise somewhere, these men out of every nation will go there and police the world.” But it was a failure. They went right on having wars. And the U.N. will become the same thing.
E-62 We are told now by a prediction that tomorrow night or Sunday night…The same man that predicted Pearl Harbor, to the exact moment that the—the airplanes would bomb it, said, that, “Sunday night at twelve o’clock, that seventy-five percent of the American people will go into ashes, that Russia will bomb the United States, this coming Sunday night at twelve o’clock.” The same man that predicted Pearl Harbor. They’re not putting it out, ’cause people go frantic. I don’t believe it. See? No. Because, it can’t suffer atomic war. One of theirs pass through the sound barrier, this way, we’ll throw them that way, and the world would go to pieces. Something has got to happen, yet, before Jesus comes. That’s right.
E-63 For instance, the young married couple. There was a certain time that they got married. And they—they put their vows together. And they pledged, one to another, their loyalty. And they said, that, “We will love, honor and cherish each other, as long as we both live.” But there come a time that something happened.
E-64 All these things there, there’s a time when something happened. And maybe all their vows, and all the leagues of nations, and so forth, maybe had good intention, but they all come to an end. All become crumbling, beneath the—the—the feet of man. With all the good intentions we could have, but all must come to an end.
E-65 But there is a time that where man can come to something that’s Eternal. That’s when, a man, the time man meets God. That’s when something happens that’s Eternal.
E-66 We do our mistakes. And we make our vows on New Year’s night, to only break them the next day. We turn new pages, and we assign vows. And we go to priests and…We don’t, but Catholics do. And make confessions, and sign pledges, and we come to the altar and turn new pages, but all in vain. For, the next time somebody crosses our path or something, that old temper will fly right back again. Every time that we get into trouble or something, it’ll happen again.
E-67 But there is a place where a man can come, to a time, that will change him forever, for Eternal. “He that will come to Me, I will in nowise cast out,” said Jesus. A man can come to God, and his whole Eternal destination is changed. And a man can meet God, and he can never be the same anymore. You can’t meet God and ever remain the same person you was. If you turn away from Him, you’ll be a worst person than you ever were. If you receive Him, you got Eternal Life, and He’ll raise you up at the last day, by His promise.
E-68 There was a time when there was a man called Abraham, who come down out of the Chaldeans, and he dwelt in the city of Ur. And he was just a man, a good man. Perhaps, maybe he might have…His father perhaps worshipped idols, ’cause they come from Babylon. And he was just an ordinary man, and he was getting old. He was seventy-five, and his wife was sixty-five.
E-69 And Abraham, one day, when he was perhaps out in the field, hunting or whatever he was doing, picking berries, or whatever his job might have been, he met God. And from that time, he was changed. He could call things that was not, as though they were, because he had met God. He had knowed the minute and the hour that he met God. It changed him. And God called him to be the father of many nations. And believed God and believed His promise, because he had met God. Twenty-five years later, they were discussing, trying to disgust him, tell him that he had believed something was wrong. But the Bible said, “He got stronger all the time, giving praise to God.” Because, he knowed that God had to keep the promise.
E-70 That’s when a man meets God. It changes his make-up. It gives him a super sense. As I was speaking the other night, the natural man only has the five senses. But, the believer, when he meets God, he gets something different. It’s a super sense that lifts him up above the shadows. It makes him believe things that’s impossible to come to pass. He still believes they will come to pass, because God said so. When a man meets God, something takes place.
E-71 There was a time when a man had been trained in all the wisdom, all the theology of the Word of God. He knowed It by the letter. He had been schooled. He had all the degrees. He was so smart until he could teach the Egyptian scholars and their teachers. He knowed it all, by letter. But a coward with it, that was running, went out the back side of the desert and was herding sheep for a stranger. But there come a time that when God met him there, in the burning bush. And from that time on, Moses was changed, because he met God in a burning bush. And face to face with God, he couldn’t be the same anymore.
E-72 When a man or a woman…I don’t care how many vows you make, or how many new pages you turn. Until you meet God, you can’t be changed. But when you once meet God, then you’re changed forever.
E-73 Didn’t only change Moses. It changed Israel. It changed Egypt. It changed the world at that time, because one man met God and took Him at His Word.
E-74 What we need today is somebody to meet God, face to face, and talk to Him, the situation. When men meet God, things are changed. Certainly. That’s the only way that we can have things.
E-75 And from that time on, Moses the coward, Moses the one that was running, had been changed. And from that time, he become the servant of the Lord. It always works that way. When a man meets God, things are changed.
E-76 There was a little girl one time, not over eighteen years old, or maybe not that old, that was on her road to a well one morning, to get a bucket of water, down in Nazareth. She was a nice little girl. She believed. She had faith. But, that morning, she met God. And God told her something, and she believed it. And it changed the whole course of life for the woman, and makes her immortal. Her name was Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus. The little lady was just an ordinary little girl, but she met God. And from that time on, something happened. Certainly.
E-77 There was a man by the name of Peter, an old rugged fisherman, probably just as rough as they could come. And he was probably a great big push of a bully. Because, here sometime ago, I seen the play, called, “The Big Fisherman.” I thought it was a very good description of Peter, because he was such a big old rugged fellow. He didn’t care for nothing. He didn’t believe hardly anything. But, one day, he met God. And from that time, he was changed. From that time, he become an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.
E-78 As Brother David duPlessis was telling us a while ago, about Saul of Tarsus, a murderer, who held the coat of the murderers, that, and witnessed, and give witness to the death of Stephen the martyr. He had letters in his pockets, to go down to the—the head counsels of the churches, and arrest the people that were making too much noise, shouting, and praising God. He was a great man in the sight of the Pharisees. He was a Pharisee of the Pharisees. But, one day, he was on his road to Damascus, and he met God. A Light shined around him. And from that time on, he was no more Saul of Tarsus. But he was Paul, the humble one, the meek one, because he met God, and It changed him.
E-79 There was a leper laying at the gate. All the remedies of the medicine could not heal him. His putrefied sores had gotten so great till his hands was beyond raising up, anymore. And his feet, he could hardly drag them. His case was hopeless. But he met God, one day, coming out the gate. And he fell down and worshipped, and said, “If Thou will, Thou can make me clean.”
E-80 And He said, “I will. Be thou clean.” And from that time, he didn’t have no more leprosy, because he met God.
E-81 There was a blind man setting by the side of the road. And he could not see the daylight from dark. There was nothing could help him. One day, Someone come walking out of the city of Jericho, and when he met God; and from that time, he could see. His sight come to him. The sight of light had broke into his eyes, and he could see again. Because, from that time, when he met Jesus, he was a different man. He had his sight.
When a person meets God, something happens definitely.
E-82 There was a young man, one time; no doubt, a good citizen of the country, but spells come on him. And he was so bad till the prison house couldn’t hold him. And they bound him with chains. And he had a legion of devils, in him, till he could break the chains and free himself. And the devils drove him to a grave yard, where he stayed in there. And took the slabs and, get so mean, he’d cut his own self. Oh, he was a terrible fellow. When those spells would leave him, no doubt he’d think, “What am I doing here?” And about that time, the devils would come to him again, and cut him and tear him. But, one day, he met Jesus. And from that time on, the maniac of Gadara had his right mind, clothed, setting at His feet. He could go back home, as a gentleman. He could return to civilization. He could go back to his loved ones, and could say, “From that time, I’ve been changed.” Yes.
E-83 Was one day, yonder on Calvary, when God and death met, face to face, when Life and death come together. But that’s when Life, Christ, pulled the stinger out of death. And since that time, death hasn’t had no stinger in it. I’m so glad of that. God! Death and God met, together. Death hasn’t been the same. It ain’t got no stinger to it now. The Christian believer can walk right into its face and say, “O death, where is your stinger? Grave, where is your victory?” Why? They both met God. They haven’t been the same since then.
E-84 No man can be the same, nothing can be the same, when it once meets God. You’ll never be the same.
E-85 I can remember laying here on the hospital bed. The doctors give me three minutes to live. My heart beating, seventeen times to the minute. I met God. Since then, I haven’t been the same. Something happened to me. No one could tell me any different. Bill Branham died. I met God, and Something come into me. I’ve never been the same since that minute I met Him. He changed me. He made me something different. It wasn’t taking a New Year’s vow, but I met God.
E-86 Men and women, when you meet God, you’re changed. We make our New Year vows tonight; go back tomorrow morning, to break them; next day, to break them. But what we need to do, is not a New Year vow, but we need to come face to face with God, and have Eternal Life, be born of His Spirit.
E-87 Was an old man, one time, and he couldn’t make up his mind. The devil kept beating him out of it. One day, out in the field, he knelt down to pray. While he was praying, he drove down a stob. He said, “Let this be a memorial. Satan, if you ever come to me again, I’ll point you to this stob. I’ll tell you that right here I met God, and it was settled from here on.” That’s what we need, maybe not a stob in a field, but somewhere, some secret closet, some place. Not a…
E-88 Oh, tonight, there will be hundreds of vows taken, thousands of them taken. And next year we’ll have to take them all, over again. We’ll say, “We’ll quit lying. We’ll quit doing this. And we’ll lay aside our temper. We’ll do more for God. We’ll do this, or that, or the other,” only to find, it’s in vain.
E-89 But what man needs to do, tonight, is come face to face with God. And from then on, he’s a changed creature. Hallelujah! Oh, I wish I could tell it in the way that I believe it. But when a man meets God, he’s changed, from that minute, the rest of his days. He’ll never be the same, because he’s got Eternal Life. He’s a new creature. Old things have passed away, and all things have become new to him. He looks new.
E-90 The sick man can walk in the face of God, when the doctors has said, “He’s going to die.” But he can walk in the face of God, and plead his case. And he’ll come away, a different person, and from that time on.
E-91 Oh, I remember Congressman Upshaw, setting in a wheel chair for sixty-six years. That night, yonder in California, when the Holy Spirit come down, and begin to speak, he met God. And from then on, he could walk without his crutches.
E-92 I’ve seen the time where cancer-eaten people laid, with nothing but a shadow. And the doctors would pass by and said, “They’re gone.” Their loved ones gather in, to say the last words that they could, to them, encouragement. But they met God, and, from that time on, they were changed. They live different.
E-93 I can see the foul woman, yonder on the street. I can see the drunkard, yonder in the alley. I can see the hypocrite, yonder in the church. All those different kinds of people, each New Year, turning a new sheet, and trying to do something different, trying to make restitutions and do so forth. Let them meet God, one time, and from then on.
E-94 Jesus preached to those from then on, that sat in the regions of the shadow of death.
E-95 And I say, tonight, if a man wants to have a real change come on him, let him come face to face with God, and meet Him one time, then he can say, “From then on, from that time on, I was a changed man. I know by experience.”
E-96 In a little while, the church will be gathering here around the altar. You’ll be consecrating your lives, anew. You’ll be giving up things, and laying things on the altar. Brother, let me give you some advice. If you’ve never met God, face to face, let me tell you something. You stay at that altar. Just stay there until you meet God, then you can point your finger back to that New Year night. Not, and say, “I turned a new page. I made a new vow.” But, “From that time on, I met God. And life was changed, and things were different. And everything become new, to me, again, from that time on,” the time that you meet God.
E-97 It ain’t, meet a New Year. We’re going to face it, in a few minutes. After while, about two and a half hours, I suppose. Maybe less than that. We’ll be meeting a New Year, face to face. We’ll meet it with vows. We’ll meet it with pledges. We’ll meet it with good intention. We’ll meet it, saying, “We’ll try to turn a new page. We’ll try to do different.” That’s all good. I appreciate that.
E-98 But brother, it’ll never be Eternal until you meet God, first. When you meet God, first, and, from then on, everything will be different.
Let us pray when we bow our heads.
E-99 Lord Jesus, Son of God, I remember the time when I met You, Lord. I remember, a miserable wretch, living a good moral life, not running around, drinking, or gambling, or smoking, or so forth. But I knowed, Lord, when death come stealing up into that hospital room, some twenty years ago, there was something lacking in my life. There I met God, and from that time. From that time, Lord, I’ve tried to serve You. My life has been changed and everything looks different. I’m so glad that I met You, Lord. And tonight, facing the New Year, I’m glad to say that I can face it with the Spirit of the living God in my heart.
E-100 Give us experiences, Lord. Give us of Thy goodness and mercy. Forgive us of our sins. And let us live through this coming year, O Lord God, with an experience, that we have met You and our lives has been changed. Grant it, Lord. Forgive us of our shortcomings. Place within us Your Holy Ghost. Lead us and guide us.
E-101 Father, God, here is 1960, facing me. And there’s opportunities for a world-wide meeting, where it look like that even tens of thousands times thousands, and thousands and thousands of raw heathen, of pagan, and so forth, might come to You. O Lord God, with Your Spirit in my heart, I face Your altar, tonight, and face You, and say, “Help me, O God. My heart’s a burning with zeal. I love You, Lord. I give myself to You, in service. Lead me anywhere You want to lead me. Send me anywhere You want to send me, Lord. Just speak, and I’ll go.
E-102 Bless my church. Bless Brother Neville. Bless all the people here, the strangers in our gates. And these pastors that’ll be speaking, time by time, on through the evening, I pray, God, that You’ll bless their ministry. Bless Brother Neville. Bless Brother Junie Jackson. Brother Beeler, all these other ministers, bless them, Father. Give us a great year in 1960.
E-103 We, Lord, who know that we have met You, face to face, and know what it means to be born again of Your Spirit, give us of Thy Eternal grace, to serve You. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.
E-104 You love Him? [Congregation says, “Amen.”—Ed.] 1960, don’t let it be, that, “I turned a new page.” Don’t let it be, that, “I try to start a new life.” But let it be, that, “I met God, and from that time, that time on, I had peace that passes understanding. I had joy unspeakable, and full of glory. I had a satisfaction. Even if death should come to me, I’ll be in the arms of God, minute after my last breath is drawed. No matter what comes or goes!”
E-105 Let them blow her up, Sunday night, if they want to. They want to, the bomb will not be through cracking till we’ll be in Glory with Him. Amen. There’s nothing can harm us. Hallelujah!
E-106 I’m so glad I met God. I’m so glad I can say, “From that time.” Pin it down to that spot! “When I met God, something happened to me. I was changed, from that minute. I been changed, ever since.” I’m so glad to be on this road, tonight, as a testimony to the Glory and the Power of God. A little old something out here, and God come down there and give me His grace, and saved me, and healed me, and filled me with His Spirit. And let me preach His Gospel, which is the greatest honor there is in the world. From that time, until this time, I’ve never had one regret. But I been thankful, all these days, and will be, through all Eternity, that I met God.
God bless you. All right, Brother Neville.