The Queen Of Sheba
Municipal Auditorium in Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.A.
E-1 Lord, I believe, Lord, I believe
All things are possible, Lord, I believe.
Let us remain standing just a moment. We're going to bow for prayer. Is there any here would like to be remembered in prayer before God, before--when we take you to the throne of grace, now. The Lord grant your request while we pray.
Our heavenly Father, we are approaching Thy throne of mercy in the all sufficient Name of the Lord Jesus, Thy Son. We confess that we are weak, Lord, and need Thy help. Our great adversary and Thy adversary, the enemy, is going about like a roaring lion, devouring what he can. But Thou hast promised, "I'll never leave thee nor forsake thee." And we so solemnly believe that, Lord, knowing that "Wherever two or three are gathered in My Name, there I'll be in the midst of them." And we believe that with all of our heart.
E-2 People has sent in letters, here, Father. And in these letters are handkerchiefs and pieces of cloth, that goes to the sick and needy. And O Father God, we're taught in the Scriptures, that they taken from the body of Saint Paul, handkerchiefs or aprons. Evil spirits left the people, and diseases was healed. As we have said before, we know we're not Saint Paul, but You still remain Jesus, the Son of God.
And we do not believe that it was Paul that did this. It was Your Spirit, Lord, answering the faith of the people. And today there is the same need, and the same cry, and You're the same God. May the same results come, for we commit them to Thee for that purpose. Thou did see the hands of this audience. You know the heart of everyone. May they receive just what they've ask for. Grant it, Lord. Hear us now.
E-3 And as we read the Word, impart the Word to us by Thy Holy Spirit.
And when service is finished tonight, and we start to our different homes, may we be able to say like those coming from Emmaus, "Did not our hearts burn within us?" Do something tonight among us, just like You did before the crucifixion, that the world might know that You have risen from the dead, and You're no longer dead, but a living Lord, forevermore. In Jesus' Name we ask it. Amen. You may be seated.
E-4 I have been thinking today, that they misnamed Chicago being windy city. I think it should have been Tulsa. I could hardly sleep last night; the wind was so hard. And I thought, "Many times have I been in Chicago, but never such a wind, as I--we had last evening." And then the service, it was so hard, the wind blowing and making a noise. It was rather a bit of confusion.
But it all paid up today, to get to meet some precious people. I had the privilege of meeting Dr. Lamsa, today, the translator of the Lamsa translation of the Bible. And such a privilege... You know, I would rather you'd give me a little rose bud, right now, than a whole wreath after I'm gone. I think maybe he'd think the same thing. I certainly can prescribe to his translation, for meeting him and finding such a lovely spirit of a real true Christian believer. God bless his gallant soul. I don't know as I've ever met any more spiritual man than Dr. Lamsa. May the Lord richly bless Him.
E-5 Then I had the privilege, today, of--in the private interviews and so forth, meeting many other fine people. You got lovely people here in Oklahoma. I certainly appreciate them.
I have just a--a little bit of kindred of Oklahoma; my--I think my mother lived here for a few years, right near Tulsa, here.
And so I'm--then they moved on down to a place in Texas called Paris, Texas. Then from that, they went to Kentucky, moved out to Indiana, and then back to the West. And my father was a rider. And mother and dad were married then. So then they kindy settled down in Kentucky, and moved then, after my birth, to Indiana. And there we have been since. So it's a great people in this United States, a great world, a great people everywhere: where you find God's people, no matter what color or where--what country they're from, they're always the same.
Way down in Ceylon, and many different places, you take those people which hardly know right hand from left; when they receive the Holy Spirit they act just the same as you do when you receive It--not knowing what is right or left hand, some of them. And they act the same way you do when you receive the Holy Spirit. So we're thankful for that.
E-6 Now, we must get right along, because tonight we promised to run a--a little line of prayer for the sick. I do not claim to heal people. I don't believe there's anybody would do that. We just claim that we pray for them, and someone said, "Are you a Divine Healer, Brother Branham?"
I said, "No, sir. I'm not a Divine healer, but I certainly had some great answers to prayer. So, thank the Lord for that. But anything that we can do to help, some... What I'm here for, is to try to make the burdens of life just a little bit lighter for you. That's... It's kind of a struggle any way you take it. We all know that. And if we can lighten up each other's load, just a little bit, I think it shows such a real brotherly love and care for each other.
E-7 Now, I want to read from the Scriptures tonight, in Saint Matthew the 12th chapter, if anyone is a--a keeping the Scriptures down, and the 42nd verse of the 12th chapter.
The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
Jesus had been kindly upbraiding the cities and the people, because they had not believed on Him. And He had showed to them all the works of God. But they had become so ecclesiastically like, until they had their own ways and their own ideas, just like today: many of us has got drawed up, just how the Lord will come. And sometimes they break off and make a denomination out of it, because one believes He will come on a white horse, the other one on a white cloud. What difference does it make, as long as He comes? That's the main thing: be ready. So, I--I believe that when He comes, it will probably be altogether different than what we've got figured out, anyhow. So I haven't got any set way. I'm just wanting to see Him come; that's all; and just be ready when He gets here.
E-8 And so, they had their ways fixed, and their theology had been upset a little bit, and they had denied Him, even had called Him that low name of Beelzebub, which was the prince of the devils.
When Jesus came to the earth, He was given the lowest Name that could be given. He went to the lowest city that could be, had the--no place to lay His head. And when God exalted Him, He taken Him higher than the heavens, till heavens; He has to look down to see it. He give Him a Name above every name, that everything in heaven and earth is named Jesus Christ. What God did for Him, and what we did for him: we mistreated Him, but God exalted Him.
E-9 And now, He had been telling them how He had done, and what the miracles and signs that He had done, and said, "If these things would have been done in other generations, why, it'd been yet standing, the cities."
And it's strange, some good theologian could tell you the cities that He cursed is not there today. The cities that He blessed, remains till this day. It's very striking, and I've heard real good Bible scholars speak of it.
But Jesus had come in every form of the Messiah that the Bible predicted Him to come in. He'd come as a--the God prophet. He had come just exactly the way the Bible said he would come, and yet they missed seeing Him. Oh, may that not be our attitude when He comes the second time.
E-10 Now, they was failing to see His supernatural work. The people, the churches, had gotten so far away from the supernatural, until they could not give a answer to their congregation for the supernatural that was being done; so they just had to class it something. 'Stead of figuring it out, laying aside their thoughts, and--and going to the Scriptures, why, instead of doing that, they just answered their congregations, said, "Why, He's the devil. That's all. He's just a fortuneteller or something. There's nothing to Him."
But then, when He did that supernatural, it usually blinds those who are blinded to those things. It makes them worse. But in every generation, God has always had His agents. It's got down sometime to merely one, but God always had somebody in every generation that He could lay His finger on, some people that He could put His finger on, and say, "This is My people, and they'll do as I tell them to do."
E-11 And Jesus had been referring back. The 41st verse of this same chapter, He'd spo--spoke about the days of Jonah and Nineveh. Many people... I like to speak just a moment before I get to my text, on Jonah.
So many people condemn that prophet. He should not be condemned. He--the--the steps of the righteous is ordered of the Lord. And He makes everything work just exactly right.
Now, I believe God had a purpose in sending Jonah to Tarshish instead of Nineveh. I believe that was God's purpose to confirm His Word to the Ninevites. Then when Jonah, on his road to Tarshish, a great storm came up, as we know, and he told the captain of the ship that he was in fault. And they tied his hands and feet, throwed him over the--the ship sides into the water. The Scripture says that this great fish swallowed him.
E-12 I never forget, sometime ago, a man said to me (who knowed a lot about science, he said), said, "That story cannot be true, Brother Branham."
I said, "Why?"
He said, "The swallow of a whale isn't big enough to swallow a man."
I said, "But sir, you just don't read the Scriptures right. This is a special prepared fish. God fixed this one just right. God had a fish prepared for it. He enlarged his swallow so Jonah could get in. God can do whatever He wants to." The Bible said that God had a fish prepared for him and--that could swallow him. He was a special one.
E-13 And then when the fish, prowling through the water, hunting something to eat... And when a fish has fed... If you'll feed your little gold fish, watch them, they'll go right down to the bottom of the bowl and rest their little swimmers on the bottom, after they have fed.
Then after, perhaps, this big fish had swallowed Jonah, and had went down then, to the bottom of the sea... I wouldn't know how many fathoms deep it would be out there from Nineveh, but could you imagine the condition this poor prophet being in?
E-14 You know, I think, if anybody had a right to claim symptoms, it would've been Jonah. You know. Look at him. We want to think he was backslid, though he wasn't. And he was on a stormy sea in the belly of a whale, hands and feet tied, seaweeds all around his head, in the vomit of the whale, laying in the bottom of the sea. Now, there's nobody here, that bad off. I'm just sure of that. But just to show that you can't hide a real believer from God...
Now, I can just imagine seeing Jonah turn over on his back... And talk about a good case of symptoms: he looked this a way, it was whale's belly. Back this-a-way was whale's belly. Everywhere he looked was whale's belly. He was in an awful condition, lot of symptoms. But you know what he said? "They are lying vanities." He said, "Once more will I look towards Your holy temple, Lord." For Jonah remembered that when Solomon dedicated that temple, he prayed and said something like this in his prayer, 'Lord, if Thy people be in trouble anywhere, and then look towards this holy temple, and pray, then hear from heaven.'" And Jonah had faith in God, and faith in the prayer of Solomon, and God delivered him from the whale's belly.
E-15 Now, there's no one here in that bad a condition. We're not in a whale's belly, and we're here seeing the hand of God move every night. And if Jonah could place that kind of faith, in the condition that he was in, in the belly of a whale in the bottom of the sea, and refuse to see anything contrary to the answer to his prayer, when he looked to a temple where a earthly man prayed, and a earthly people built the temple, how much more ought we to have faith to look to heaven where Jesus sets at the right-hand of God to make intercessions upon our confessions. Why, certainly. Nothing should be able to stand in our way.
E-16 Jesus, the Son of God Who was crucified, dead, rose again on the third day, ascended into heaven, sent back the Holy Spirit that bears record night after night, that He's here; then how much we keep looking, saying, "Oh, look at my hand. Look at my finger. I'm still sick at my stomach." Oh, my, that's terrible. "Once more will I look to Your holy temple, Lord," where He's setting there tonight, with His own Bloody garments wrapped around Him, making intercessions upon our confession...
Oh, how it would... Depends on what you're looking at. If you're looking at your symptom, you can't get well. But refuse to see your symptom: look at what God said. It depends on what you're looking at. And the Christian always looks at the unseen.
E-17 That's the only way you can be saved, is by faith. You've got to look at the unseen. And a whole armor of Christianity is supernatural. The people... How that a man can say that he believes in God, and preaches in a church, and says he does not believe in the supernatural, when the full armor of God, the full armor of Christianity, is supernatural?
What is the armor of Christianity? Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, goodness, meekness, patience, faith, Holy Spirit: all those things are supernatural. What is love? What is joy? Go down to the drug store and buy me a quarter's worth of it; I need it right now. See? You can't buy love, joy, peace, long-suffering, goodness, patience, gentleness, faith. You can't buy it; it's supernatural. And the whole armor of the Christian is supernatural, and we're bidden by the Scriptures to put on the whole armor of God. Be girded about--the whole armor.
E-18 Jonah turned over in that whale's belly, looked away towards the temple, the best that he knowed, towards the top of the whale, and begin to pray. And God turned that big fish around, took him right straight to Nineveh for a purpose.
Now, we believe that most of the Ninevites must a been backslidden and have went off... I read a story one time, where many of them had turned to heathenism, and they were worshipping idols. And they believed that the whale was the god of the sea. And while their occupation was fishing, here comes the whale swimming into the shore. The god of the sea, opens up his mouth and spits the prophet out on the bank. No wonder they heard him. God knows how to work things. He knows how to make things. You could take that version of it if you like. That might be all right.
E-19 But watch. The main thing was this: that they asked Jesus, "Show us a sign." And Jesus said, "A weak and an adulternous generation seeks after a sign." And they'll get a sign. What kind of a sign? A resurrection sign. And I believe that we are now living in the time of a weak and an evil generation of mixed up, confused theologians and churches all bundled together, till people don't know what to believe. But Jesus said that that weak generation would receive a sign of the resurrection. And I believe we receive it now. Jesus Christ is not dead; He's alive in here tonight, to live in us, and perform, and do just exactly what He promised to do.
"Oh," He said, "if Nineveh, if the generation then would've been like Nineveh..." Then He goes on to the days of Solomon. And He said, "In the days of Solomon..."
E-20 Now anyone knows, that any time that God sends a gift to the earth, and the people turns that gift down, it's always chaos to that nation and that people, that turns down the gift of God.
Jesus was the greatest Gift God ever give to the world. And the Jewish people turned it down, and is scattered throughout the world from that time since. And when God sends a gift, and the people refuses to see it, and refuses to take it, then it's scattered, the people is, and they--like sheep having no shepherd.
E-21 And I think of--if we, tonight, would only do as they did in the days of Solomon... God sent a gift of discernment to Israel, and He put it upon Solomon. And as soon as the people saw that this great power of God of discernment was upon Solomon, they cherished the gift, honored the man, made him king. And any Bible scholar knows that that was the golden age for Israel in the days of Solomon. It was called the golden age. Israel prospered. They built the temple. Hardly any wars at all, all nations feared them because that they had honored what God sent to them. Oh, if tonight...
You talk about a bomb shelter... They're trying to dig so many hundred feet beneath the earth to find a place to make steel places, so that you can escape the atomic bomb. Well, anyone knows that that bomb would hit the earth and blow a hundred feet deep. If you were five hundred foot below it, it would break every bone in your body. But there is no shelter here on earth, but One. There is a shelter, and It's not made out of steel. It's made out of feathers: under His wings, is the place to stay, is the best shelter that I know of, is beneath His protecting wings.
E-22 Now, in the days of Solomon, all gathered around and rallied around that great gift of God that was sent to the church and to the people.
Now, what if America today, would rally around the Gift that's been sent them? What if we would all of the American people, where this great Gift has been poured out in these last days, the Gift of the Holy Ghost...? What if all the ministers, all the laity, all the churches together, would rally around the Holy Ghost, the Gift of God, that's been sent to us to guide us, and direct us, and set us in order? But we got so many bishops, and archbishops, and men.
God intends the Holy Spirit to lead the church. That's our Leader. That's the One that was sent to us, and we're to be dominated by Him and Him alone, that directs us. Then we stay in the Word, level in the Word. The Holy Spirit feeds you Sheep-food. And Sheep-food is the Bible. And it feeds on the Holy Spirit. The soul that's hungering for God, feeds on the Word of God. Now, if we'd all rally around that, it--we wouldn't have to dig one foot under the ground. We wouldn't have to fear any atomic attack, because we'd already be in the safety.
E-23 There wouldn't be any confusion among us. We'd all be rallying around. And nations, Russia... Oh, Russia is just as hungry for it as we are. And Finland, when that little boy was raised from the dead that night, being killed in that automobile accident, as you all know, and... In the books it's printed. And the little boy, I'd seen him two or three years before, in a vision. Wrote, I had the people to write it in their Bibles, that it would come to pass.
When that little boy was raised from the dead that afternoon, that night when I went down to the "Messuhalli," there were thousands of Russians standing there. And them soldiers standing there with that Russian salute, the tears running off their cheeks, said, "We will receive a God like that." Sure. They come to find God, and you give them a bunch of creeds. They want something real that they can take a hold of. I don't blame them.
E-24 That's what started communism: when the church let down and let people feed out of trash cans. A hungry child will eat from a garbage can. The only reason he does, is because he's not invited to a clean table. It's the church's fault. Absolutely, it's the church's fault. God didn't intend such as that. But they find the weakness, and just no more than belonging to a lodge, when you belong to the church. Shame on us. When people come to the church, we ought to have all the spiritual gifts, and the power of God operating that would make them people thirst.
Did not Jesus say, "Ye are the salt of the earth. But if the salt has lost its savour, it's henceforth good for nothing but to be trod under the foot of man."? That's exactly what they've done with it. When the salt lost its contact of strength, when the church lost its power, it becomes no more than any other lodge. It's true.
E-25 But salt is the savour if it contacts, if it's got any strength in it. If you got meat here and salt here, you've got to get them together (It's exactly right.) to save the meat. It's the salt saves if it contacts. But if the salt's lost its strength, you could pour it all over the meat and it would ruin anyhow. That's what's been the matter: people joining church: putting their name on the book, without knowing Christ as their Saviour, without being filled with the Holy Spirit. Men hungering for God, coming into the church and finding nothing, just the bare, a little intellectual talk about some star, moon, or something like that, or who's going to be the next president. Those things are all right, but not in the pulpit. The pulpit is the judgment seat; it's where God's power ought to be preached in His power and His... It's exactly right.
E-26 But, in the days of Solomon, how different. They all rallied around. Oh, that was just wonderful. And when they all rallied around this gift, what happened? His fame, and the fame of God begin to spread out through all different nations.
Now, them days they didn't have televisions, and--and telegrams, and--and telephones, and so forth. The only way they sent message was from lip to ear. And everybody passing through... All Israel... Could you just imagine, Israel's heart burning. When some stranger would pass through, "Oh, you should go up to the temple. The Lord our God has sent a gift. It's abiding upon our brother Solomon. God has made him a king before us, and that gift is upon him. You should come and see the wisdom of discernment that that man has."
Why the people would pass by, their hearts would be happy. They'd go tell somebody else. And the fame of Israel spread worldwide until it come to the utmost parts of the earth, way down in Sheba. Now, that, at that time, I suppose, was the far ends of the earth, of the civilized known world at that time.
E-27 There was a little queen down there. And let's think that she was a pagan. And every time a camel caravan would come through, somebody'd--coming from up around in Palestine (That's all the way across the Sahara desert now.), would come down in there and say, "Say, you know what? You should go up into Palestine. Those people up there has got a God. They call Him Jehovah. And He's not a dead God; He's a living God. He isn't an idol. Why, He's living right in a man called Solomon. Why, you never seen such in your life. Why, his power of discernment is far beyond anything a human could think of. They got something that you can lay a hold of and say that their God lives."
You know, "Faith cometh by hearing." So many people testifying, it come to a place that the little queen's heart begin to come alarmed. Well, after while she, hearing so many testimonies (and faith cometh by hearing), no discord about it at all: "You should go see. One hundred per cent right, every person comes up. You should look at it. It's a wonderful gift from God. And they got a great God."
E-28 Well, this little queen (Let's just think it this way.), one day she set down and she read her pagan scriptures. Well, it's promising about a great god that lived in this idol or something another. And grandmother had knowed it, and grandfather had thought of it and so forth. But after while she come to hear these testimonies, that wasn't some written theology; it was a living reality. And I'll tell you, if... There's not a person in the world that ever come from behind the curtain into this Light that we live in, called Life, but what wonders where he goes when he goes beyond here. It's just the instinct in a man to do that. We all seek. We want to know what's beyond the curtain. We're searching for that.
The little queen begin to hunger; thought, "Oh, if I... I believe I'll go. And after while she made up her mind, "I'm getting tired of listening to others telling me about that. I don't know whether it's right or not, but I'm going to see for myself." That's the way to do it. Go, find out for yourself. Don't stand home and criticize.
E-29 When Philip found Nathanael he said, "Come, see Who we found: Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Joseph."
He said, "Now, could there be any good thing come from Nazareth?"
He said, "Come, see." That's the best thing to convince yourself. "Come, find out." Philip give Nathanael the best answer any man could give, "Come, be convinced yourself."
E-30 Well, the little woman thought she'd go and be convinced whether it was right or not. But now, she had a lot of things to face her, a lot more than you and I have, to try to find out truth.
First thing, before she could go... She was a queen. And she was in great authority. And no doubt that her name on the great church book there, was pretty heavy. So the first thing she ought to do, would be go talk to her pagan priest and ask him permission if she could leave the church and go up and find out about this other religion.
E-31 Why, you could just imagine what kind of an answer she got. Why, I can just see that pagan priest, you know, standing there, and say, "Now, wait a minute, daughter. You know, you don't want to follow vain philosophies like that, because I tell you; if there was any god alive, it would be our god."
You know, we may not have pagans, but we've got the same kind of priests, all right. Yes, sir. "If God was going to do anything supernatural, He'd do it here in our church. He wouldn't go over there and do it. He'd do it here." But you know, the thing of it is, God does it where He wants to and how He wants to. And it's not up to us to question God.
E-32 Then we find out, a... I can see the priest say, "Now, look, daughter, your grandmother, your great grandmother, and way behind her, all worshipped this great idol here. It's a great god."
She said, "Yes, sir, that's probably true. I've got all the scrolls on it, but I've heard all this scroll over, and over, and over, and over, what he would do, what he would do, but I haven't seen him make one move." That's a good answer. "I haven't seen one thing. All I see is a chunk of stone setting there."
And if that's all you got, brother, you're just about as bad off as she was. That's right. Some big chunk of stone of a building or something another, that's called, "This is my church. This is my denomination."... Them are all right, but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about a living God. One that's not dead, One that's alive right now, One that's here, just as real as He ever was real. He promised it.
E-33 And then, she'd say, "Now, look, sir. I've never seen him move. I've never seen him do anything. My grandmother never saw him do anything. And neither did her mother. And I've lived up till this time. And I hear that there is One that is alive. I'm going to see Him. No matter what you think, I'm going anyhow." I like that courage. Find out for yourself.
She said, "Now, if it isn't right, I'll come back and tell you it isn't right, but I'll know in my heart whether it's right or not."
Now, I can imagine before she started, that she had some thoughts in her mind like this, "What if it isn't right? Or what if it is right? Now, if it is right, and there is a living God, that's moving, alive among people, and showing Himself alive (not a stone, but a living God), if it is, I'm going to support it with everything I got. It's worthwhile."
E-34 She saddled up her camels, and--and took great loads of silver, gold, myrrh, frankincense. She's got ready to make her start. Now, she might've thought this: "If it's true, I'll support it. But if it isn't true, I'll bring my money back home." (That's a good thought for America.) Maybe I oughtn't to have said that. I'll just wait a minute, let it soak way down.
If it's God, support it with prayer, with all that you've got. Do everything that you can to press it forward, not so much with money. Little money now and then helps it, of course, but it--when it's needed, help. But the main thing is, keep the money as far out of it as you can. Put yourself in there instead of your money. God wants you on the altar, not your money. It's better for you to be... And this... I...
This Easter, coming on, always just makes me kindly halfway, spiritually sick. My spiritual gastronomics can't dissolve that, when they go up and put a big pot of lilies on the altar. God don't want lilies on the altar; He wants you on the altar. Altars wasn't built for lilies. Cain thought so. You see what happened. The altar was built for you. You are the gift that wants to be on the altar.
E-35 And she said, "If it's not so, I'll return back with my money." Now, when she got her camels all ready... And of course there's none of those people down there wanted to go, perhaps. And remember, she had a long journey, and she had to cross the Sahara desert. And she didn't have an air conditioned Cadillac. She had a camel to ride on, in that hot boiling sand.
No wonder Jesus said, "She'll stand in the day of the judgment and condemn this generation." She come plumb across that desert. Taken her three months to do it. And some people won't walk three minutes across the street to see the manifestation of the living God, living among His people, but will class them as a bunch of holy-rollers. There you are. No wonder this nation's due for judgment.
E-36 There... She had to cross that desert. And remember, the sons of Ishmael was in the desert in that day, them fleet riders and great robbers. What a easy prey for that little army that she had with her and a few maids along, the lady setting upon a camel. Perhaps had to travel by night. The--the direct rays of that sun would burn her up, nearly, in the day time. Hunting and seeing if they could follow a star by night to a certain water hole out in the Sahara, coming across... Oh, she had a lot of things to think about.
But listen, let me say this: When God ever speaks in a human heart and begins to draw them, there isn't enough devils out of hell to stop them from getting to it. They'll go to it. "My sheep hear my voice." Something begins to dig in a man's heart. "There's a God somewhere. I'm in search for Him." He will search, and move, and hunt, and turn over until he finds It.
E-37 And as David said in the days gone by, "When the deep calleth to the deep..." If there's a deep calling, there's got to be a deep to respond to it. Listen, if there no Scripture telling me that there was Divine healing, you people setting here tonight, I'd still believe that there was.
Look. Before there can be a--a creation, there has to be a Creator to create the creation. Maybe that's Greek to you, but listen.
Here--here some time ago, I read in a paper, a city below us--where a little boy was eating the erasures off of pencils. And the teacher was all disturbed about it and sent word to the mother. The mother found the little fellow out on the porch, eating the pedal off of a bicycle: rubber. So, she taken him down to the clinic, and they examined the little fellow, and they found out that his little body needed sulfur. And sulfur was in the rubber. But before he could desire sulfur, there had to be some kind of a sulfur out there to respond to that desire, or he'd a never desired it.
E-38 And as long as human beings search, and hunger, and thirst, calling for the power of God, there's got to be a power of God somewhere to respond to it. Before there can be a creation, there has to be a Creator in there creating that creation.
When a man longs to see God, there's got to be a God somewhere that created that desire in him. If the deep's calling to a deep, there's got to be a deep to respond to that, because the deep had to be first there to create the call that's in you.
E-39 Now, that little woman was on her road, everything against her. But when once, she got a feeling that God was a real God, God was real, she begin to thirst. Another one come in, said, "Oh, I seen him stand... One of the most mysterious things I ever seen, but he solved it right out under the power of his God, and told them exactly the answer." Oh, it just shook the little queen.
She said, "Oh, I must see it. I must see it. I'm a human being. My life, my eternal destination is before me. I must see it." Nothing's going to stop her.
You don't think of dangers. You don't think of criticism. You don't think of what somebody else is going to say.
E-40 When that Angel of the Lord met me up there that night... All my brethren in my church told me, said, "Them visions are of... That's the devil. You're--you're a spiritualist." But when--I just couldn't see why it could be and me loving Him the way I did. When I met Him up there that night, oh brother, the deep was calling to the deep, and there was Something responded to it.
I went to the overseer of the church. He said, "Billy, you had a nightmare."
I said, "If that's the--that... If that's the way this church feels about it, here's my fellowship card."
Said, "Oh, I didn't mean it that way."
"But, you know, such and such can't happen."
I said, "All right. I might as well give up the fellowship now, 'cause you're going to kick me out after while anyhow. So I might as well get started free and clean and get going." So there it was. When the deep was calling, there's something to respond to it.
E-41 Now, some of them said, "This great big Goliath out here, medical science and all this fine cultured churches..."
I said, "I can't help how much Goliath it is; God's still God. The God of David still lives. The God of Abraham still lives. The God of Jacob lives. The God that was in Christ is living tonight. He's raised, and I know He's real."
There's something that, no matter what the difficulty is, you want to go anyhow, because there's a... You've got an objective. And if you'll take the right motive towards that objective, you'll get there. You've got to have the right motive towards your objective. That's the way I always find the will of God. First, think, "If it's the will of God, then my motive and my objective to it..." If it's the right motive, then the objective, I have.
E-42 If God would say, "Go over here and preach at this group."
I'd say, "Well, how much will I get in a--a love offering?" 'Course that's all cut out: I get a hundred dollars a week no matter whether I preach or don't. Like--that settles it. So--but even before that, before I was on a salary, don't make any difference where it was, the right objective is see what you could do for the Kingdom of God. Go where He leads you to go. No matter where it is, whether it's little or small.
I've never permitted my meetings to grow or get any size. I don't need much money, have one little end of a trailer with two typewriters in it, two boys I'm paying. That's all. 'Cause why? God might call me to a little place over here.
Just recently I held a revival in a church that held twenty. Then, if He wants me to go overseas and preach to a hundred thousand or two hundred thousand, whatever it is, He puts it upon somebody's heart to send me over there, the same time He gives me the call. Oh, it's nothing like it! Live for Him. Trust Him day by day. Lead... Where the deep calling...
E-43 The little woman said, "I'm going anyhow." And across the desert, regardless of any of the things that people said, no matter, she pressed on.
Well, finally she arrived at the gate. I can see her take all the camel's weights off of them, and put the gold in the tent, and... Now, she didn't come just to say, "I'll go in. I heard of this evangelist. I'll go in and set down, but if he says one thing against my church doctrine, I'll get right up and go out." (That's the 1960 version of it.) People knowed better in that day. I think that shows poor raising in the first place. That's right. "If it's anything contrary to me--if he says one word, I'll get right up and go out. I won't listen to him no more. No, sir. I won't listen to him."
See, you don't come with the right kind of a motive. You don't come with the right objective of trying to find God. You're just trying to get your knowledge all twisted up. You haven't got a hunger of God yet. You get hungering for God, you'll stay till it's over, like she did.
E-44 She put down her tent and everything, and got ready, and camped out there in the palace courts somewhere, and said, "I'm going to stay here till I see it through. If it's right, it's right. If it's wrong, it's wrong."
So I can imagine seeing her go down in Jerusalem and buy all the Hebrew scrolls there was, to find out just what kind of a nature this God was that they were talking about.
[Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.]... Then you think you have Eternal Life, and They testify of Me." If the things you see did, is not Scriptural, then don't believe it. That's the way she was going to do: take the scrolls and let's see what kind of a God this Jehovah is. And she got all read up. She said, "I know just what He's going to be, now."
E-45 Now, if you'd just do that... If the people of America would just have that much audacity, if they would just absolutely have--give that much consideration to--to God... Did He promise to do this? Is it His will? Did He promise He would? Is It the Holy Spirit? What kind of a nature is It? How does It act? That's what you ought to do. Find out if the Holy Spirit's...
Walk up and say, "I--I believe God Almighty. I believe Jesus is His Son. I take..." and be confirmed... Never was such a thing. You're not confirmed. It's being borned of the Holy Ghost, borned of the Spirit.
See if the thing is right. Search it over, and see if you're supposed to be sprinkled or baptized by immersing. See if you're suppose to join the church or be--or receive the Holy Ghost. (I've been with the Branham family, next Wednesday, fifty-one years. They never did ask me to join the family. I was borned a Branham; that's the reason.) And now, now, you're born in the Church of the living God. It's an experience. You become a new creature. You're a child of God, a son of God.
E-46 And if the Spirit of God dwells in you, it'll bear record with His own Word. If one say, "Well, that was for another day." Remember, you ain't got the Spirit of God in you. If the Bible said, "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever," you say, "In a certain way..." Then remember, that's the devil in you. That's right. It's not God.
God say, "Yes, sir, every Word; that's amen. Amen, I wrote It. Amen."
Men of old, when they were moved by the Holy Ghost, wrote the Bible. How can the Holy Ghost ever deny It? I'm not yelling at you. I've been used to preaching outside, so, I'm--I know you're not hard of hearing, but I--I'm not... I just feel religious, that's all. I just--I just feel real good. It's the Holy Spirit 'cause I know the thing that I'm talking about is the truth. It's God's truth.
E-47 That little woman moved up there. And I can ima--im--imagine her, seeing the first day. Comb her hair right quick, and wash her face, and get over there. She said, "I'll see what all the congregation..." Here was people from everywhere, gathered into the big court. And after while, after they'd sing some of the Psalms, I can see pastor Solomon come out, walk out, up to his seat, set down on his throne.
And the first thing, here come a case up. And as soon as it come up, she said, "Now, I'll just see about this and see how this works. I heard there was so much wisdom. Now, look at that poor little woman or whoever it is, standing there. We'll see about it."
When it come up to Solomon, he told her exactly the right thing. Her little heart begin to beat, "My, that must be true. Let's see these scrolls, just exactly right, that must be right."
E-48 Day after day passed. She set. She'd go and maybe at nighttime, set by the candlelight, read, read, read the Scriptures, read Isaiah, read all the prophets, getting ready, wondering just what was going to take place. Go back the next day and see that same God she had read about, living in one of His human, mortal creations, declaring Himself through that man. That man, so su--submitted to God, that God worked through him... Not the man, the man was just a man like you or I.
This ain't the church today. It ain't the... Peter called the Mount Transfiguration, once, "the holy mountain." I don't believe the apostle meant holy mountain, 'cause the mountain wasn't holy. It was a holy God on the mountain. It ain't the holy church; it's the Holy Ghost in the Church that makes it holy. It ain't a holy people, a holy man. There's no such as holy man, holy church, or holy this or that. It's a Holy Spirit in the Church, in the people, the holy God, moving Himself through the people. That's it.
The fountain, the inexhaustible Fountain of Life is Christ. You cannot ex--exhaust His great love, and power, and willingness to do for you. His goodness and mercy, it's beyond human understanding. We just lay in there and bathe in it (That's all.), in His mercies.
E-49 Then she watched, day after day. Finally, it come a time to her prayer card was called, or whatever it might've been. Might not have been a prayer card; but, whatever it was, her time come to walk up before him. "Now," she said, "I've got some things..." But the Bible said that there was nothing hid from Solomon but what he knowed about her. Amen. Nothing hid, he told her all things. If that...
What kind of a Spirit was that on Solomon? Solomon? No, sir. It was the same Spirit that spoke to a woman at the well and told her where her... While she was living in adultery... And she went and--and told the people, "Come, see a Man Who told me all the things that I did." She knowed if He could tell her that one thing, He could tell her all things. And there was nothing hid that Solomon didn't tell her.
E-50 What did she say? You know what she did? She stood publicly, before the audience of the people, and she said, "All that I have heard of you, all the good things that I've heard about you, they were true, and more than what I ever heard about you." She had the experience herself.
And if you don't believe the Holy Ghost is real, what you've heard about It, just get the experience yourself and see what happens. See if you won't say, "More than what..."
I used to watch people enjoy the blessings of God. I thought it was all right. So I wanted it. But when you get it, then you'll say, "It's more than what I ever saw," because it's something that happened to you, when Christ reveals Hisself to you, not in a intellectual form, but in a new birth form...
E-51 She stood up there. Not only that, she recognized that that man had God in him and that was a gift of God. She said, "All I heard's true, and even more than I've heard." And she said, "Even blessed is the men that's with you. Blessed is the men that sets here with you daily, that sees this great gift of God performing. Blessed is the people that's with you, that stand..." Now, think about a pagan saying that. She witnessed that that was the true God.
And Jesus said, "She'll stand up in the day of the judgment and will condemn this generation," that'll not walk across the street, or will walk in and set down, look around a little bit and say, "Oh, nothing to that," and walk away. In the day of the judgment...
E-52 If she would condemn that generation, just a few generations after Solomon, and Jesus said, "A greater than Solomon is here," and it's greater now than what it was when Jesus was here... For they'll... Told Him that He was a Beelzebub, called the acting of the Spirit of God as a spiritualist or something, and called Him Beelzebub, because He did that... And Jesus said, "I'll forgive you, but when the Holy Ghost is come, to speak a word against It will never be forgiven in this world nor the world to come."
So one of the greatest gifts that God has ever given was His Son, to sanctify a people that the Holy Spirit might show Itself. And still, that little woman, if she'd condemned that, this is two thousand years later, what will she do when she stands in the presence of Tulsa, at that day?
E-53 What will she do, when she stands in the presence of the whole United States in this generation? She'll condemn it, for she had no limitations. Her heart was hungry and she recognized it. She sought God. She looked over the scrolls. She seen it was right and then she accepted it, and stood and blessed him, blessed the people, and was so happy that she come.
I'm so glad, that one day I found it to be the truth. Oh, it's been,
Thou, the stream of all my comfort,
More than life to me.
Whom have I on earth beside Thee,
Or Whom in heaven but Thee.
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever, let's embrace Him, the true gift of God, the Son of God in the form of the Holy Spirit. Let us bow our heads.
E-54 Before praying, with your heads bowed and your eyes closed, how many would like to be remembered in prayer tonight, saying, "Brother Branham, remember me before God. I recognize that the Holy Spirit is here on earth today, that the great powers of God still works through believers as Jesus promised: 'The works that I do, shall you do also. He that believeth on Me... '"?
Saint John 14, "He that believeth on Me, the works that I do, shall he also." How did He make Hisself known, Messiah? By knowing the secrets of their hearts. That's always been a sign of God through the age. Would you like to be remembered, raise your hand. God bless you everywhere.
E-55 As Thou hast said in Thy Word, Lord, "Blessed are the eyes that can see and the ears that can hear..." And truly, no man can come except You draw Him. We thank Thee for the Holy Spirit. We thank Thee for these people that's here tonight, that's has received the Holy Spirit. We pray, heavenly Father, that all here that has not received It, will receive It tonight. Cleanse their hearts from unbelief, and may they just, simple and child-like faith believe it, confessing, open up their heart and He will certainly come to their--their abode. Grant it, Lord.
The services are drawing close now, Lord, to a prayer line, where Your servant, I'll pray for the sick if it be Your will. I pray, Lord, that if there be sinners here, unbelievers... Oh, they may be theologians; they may be staunch church members; but if they still haven't received the Holy Spirit, or believe on Him, they're still unbelievers.
E-56 Truly, Lord, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness, and then God give him the seal of circumcision as a confirmation of his faith.
So is it today, Lord. We might say that we believe, but until we receive the Holy Ghost, it's never been confirmed, for it is written in the Book of Ephesians, 4th chapter and 30th verse: "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you're sealed until the day of your redemption." Let it be tonight, Lord, that You'll seal many away into the Kingdom of God, until the day of redemption. May they become full believers tonight, and You confirm it by giving them the Holy Spirit.
O Lord, I would pray Thee, God, let Him come now and just humble our hearts, and bring us to a spot to where that He could work through us and in us to will His will and to do His will. For we ask it in Jesus' Name. Amen.
E-57 [Someone speaks in tongues and one interprets:
"... saith the Lord, that draweth nigh unto thee. And the Lord, Thy God, wouldest say: Open thine heart and search them and break up thy fallow ground, and give thyself to Me, for I am the Lord Thy God. And I've spoken even unto thee, this night, My Word. I have give thee of My Spirit; and therefore, I would reveal and unveil Myself to thee, that thou mightest be enlightened, not only to meet Me, but to discernibly to obey Me and to perform the Word of God. For verily, My Word shall not return void, but it shall accomplish that whereunto it has pleased Me to sent It to thee. I am Thy God, Thy Deliverer. I am thy God, thy Shield, and thy Buckler. Rejoice in thine heart and praise me, and I shall show thee My glory."--Ed.]
E-58 Almighty One... Praise to Jesus' Name. Th... Now--now, if you understand, friends, that's the Spirit of the Lord speaking. Now, the Bible said, "If one speaks, another one interprets..." Now, the Lord said He was ready to unveil your eyes and show Himself to you. Oh, how wonderful. Aren't you happy for it? Wonderful.
What prayer cards did we give? "G." My son said they gave out fifty prayer cards, G-1 to 50. We will call those cards, just a moment. And now... Usually, for the last few nights, we haven't been giving prayer cards. We've been having discernments --just the people praying. Do you like that? Oh, I--I just love that. But many people wants to have hands laid on them, and then, we're right here to do that. Yes, sir.
E-59 Now, G number 1, who has it? Prayer card number 1. Now... [Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.]... if He's the High Priest, and does the Bible say, "He's the same yesterday, today, and forever?" You believe that, sister dear? All right. You believe that He is? Do you believe it, little lady, setting here in the chair? You believe that He's the High Priest. Okay? Now, He can be touched by the feeling of our--our infirmities.
If I could, my precious people, if I could, I'd come right down there and go around through the building and heal everybody here. I--I would just love to do that. I believe you believe that. I would do it, but I can't. I can't do it. It's already done. Jesus has did that. He can't forgive your sins; He's already forgive them.
E-60 But now it won't do you any good until you accept it, you believe it; you say, "Yes, Lord, I accept what You did for me." Then you're saved. And then you say, "I want You to heal me, Lord." He's already done it. Then you just have to accept what He's done. Now, He's the High Priest, setting at the right-hand of Almighty God, making intercessions upon our confession, or profession; it's the same word. So, whatever...
Now, He can't do nothing for us till we already say that He's done it. We have to confess it or profess it, that He's done it, then He can go to work on it and make the intercessions. Is that right, brother? Is that the Scripture? Making intercessions on our profession...
E-61 Now, and the Bible said, in the Book of Hebrews... Now, we have some of the best scholars in the world tonight, setting here. In the Book of Hebrews, that it's written, that He is a High Priest now, ever living, make intercessions upon our confessions. And He's also a High Priest that can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities. He--we could touch Him with our infirmity. Then, if He is the High Priest--and He is--that can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities, then, if He's the same... Hebrews 13:8 said, "He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. Now... And He said, "The works that I do, shall you also."
Now, what works did He do to make people to understand that He was the Messiah? See? Because He showed them the sign of a prophet, that He was Messiah. They knew it, 'cause Moses said that He would be a prophet. How many understands that? How many knows that Jesus said in Saint John 5:19, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, the Son can do nothing in Himself; but what He sees the Father doing... "? Then Jesus Himself, that Word is true. He never did one miracle until God showed Him a vision on what to do. How about it? That's right. A vision on what to do...
E-62 Talk about visions... This brother, translator here, was telling me today that about forty per cent of the Bible is visions. And we just... As he said, he made a beautiful illustration; said, "Pin your arm and don't use it for a few months and find out what happens." It gets so weak it can't be used. That's what the church has done with these things, with all the gifts of God. You just pin them up; they're not usable. See? Let them loose. Exercise faith, get some muscles in it. Let me tell you: Faith has got hair on the chest. When faith speaks, everything else sets down. That's right. That's right. When it speaks, everything else shuts up.
Now, if Jesus is a High Priest that can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities, then do you figure, you out there that doesn't have a prayer card, do you believe you could touch His garment tonight? Do you believe you could?
E-63 Now, if you get real hysterical and say, "Oh--oh--oh, I--I--I... Let--let me hurry; let me try it..." No, you're going to lose it right there. See? Faith is so simple, you don't know you have it. That's right. It's just a gift. It's just say, "Well, can you touch that Bible?"
"Sure."
How do you know you can? Only by faith, because it's just become so common to me, "I just reach out and get it." Well that's the way faith is. It's just so simple; you just reach out and get it. Now, you believe.
E-64 You're all strangers. How many in this prayer line is strangers, raise up your hands, strangers to me, I mean? All right. How many out there is strangers to me, raise up your hand?
Now, we're not in some ouija Board, like the devil. We're out here before these floodlights and before the people, in the Presence of God to ask God to do what He said He would do. Now, this line here is not a line of discernment. We know we just pray for these people. Discernment comes from out there. See? These people--if... How many knows that when you would... [Someone prophesies--Ed.] Amen.
E-65 Have faith. Sweetly, have faith. Now, just... I want you in the prayer line, now, watch the audience. See? And you pray and just ask the Father, "Father God, Thou knowest my need. And You know that I have need of healing. Will You help me?" Just humbly, just come like that poor little woman with that blood issue, and she touched the border of His garment and was made whole.
Over here in the corner, did you raise your hand awhile ago? You want--you--want to be healed? You think your heart's going to be all right now, you're going to be healed? You had heart trouble, didn't you? Wasn't you praying, "Lord, let it be me"? Raise up your hand it that's right. All right. Your heart trouble's finished now. Now, I do not know the man, but watch. What? Did he touch me? He's thirty feet away from me. See? He touched something, and something spoke through me, that was all. Wasn't me. I'm just like... This here microphone's a complete mute without there's something to speak through it. And that's the way we are. How do I know that man? I never knowed what... How would I know was wrong with Him? I don't.
E-66 Right here, that you might know again. Here sets a man setting right back here, suffering with heart trouble, little blue looking coat on, his shirt open. That's right, isn't it, sir? All right. He healed you right then. Your faith made you whole. See? What did he do? He touched, not me. I don't know the man; I've never seen him. But he was disparately; and he was praying, "O Lord, let Brother Branham speak to me." Ask him if that's right or not. Raise your hand if that's right, sir. Raise up your hand if you was setting there praying for me...? See?
Now, a God that can hear a prayer, can answer prayer. Don't you think so?
E-67 This lady, setting right back here, got something wrong with her hands. You believe that God will heal you, lady, with something wrong with your hands, setting there? You want to be healed? All right. Your faith touched Him then. Your hands will get well.
That lady setting right behind you there; she's had an awful operation, and she's praying also for her to get over that. Is that right, lady, raise up your hand? All right. You're going to get well. Where the doctors fail... Satan hid from the doctors, but he can't hide from God. He knows right where he's at. So he's gone. Have faith in God.
This lady setting right over here close to where that baby's being rocked back and forth there, she's praying about a foot trouble. But you believe that God will heal the feet? If you believe it, all right, stand up, lady, so that they'll know who I'm talking about. That's it, you, right there, sister. Just tell God that you love Him. Do you love Him? All right, then you can go home and be well. The Lord bless you. That's very fine.
E-68 And by the way, when you set down, that lady right next to you was so thrilled. Having that bladder trouble, but it's gone too, sister. You can stand up on to your feet and accept it also. So you're healed.
You believe with all your heart? Now, you see, now we know His Presence is here. Now, be reverent.
Now, if anyone knows that when a vision strikes, it weakens you. How many knows that? How many knows that the Son of God said, when a woman touched His garment, He said, "Who touched Me?" and He looked around and said, "I perceive that virtue (That's strength.) has gone from..." Him. And that takes strength. What, would all these people here...? If the Son of God, one woman touching Him, and there's seven or eight people across there, then... See? And you're still touching, if I just speak, you see. It's your--it's your faith.
E-69 But now, this line here, you believe. Now, Jesus said, "These signs shall follow them that believe."
Look, the other night, coming by, I laid hands on a little boy, blind. Walked right up there, and started down the steps, and received his sight. How many was here when that happened? Sure. Little boy, born blind, 'bout sixteen, seventeen years old. Begin to scream back, "Oh, Brother Branham, I can see." Sure. I can't heal. I can just obey a commandment. See? That's what I do here. When He told me that these things would come to pass...
And let me tell you something now. The new ministry that's coming up, will be so far beyond this, till you... It's all... I've already seen it working four or five times. They's many of the people that's with me knows that to be true. We're facing ready for a great hour.
E-70 But that you might know, here's a fine person standing here. We're strangers to one another, are we, lady, you and I? Well, He don't... But it... I have no idea what's--the woman. I... You said something, sister, I didn't... Oh, I've prayed for you before. Uh-huh. Of course I wouldn't know that. My... I don't know what's wrong with you now. God... Or if I... God knows that I don't remember you. See? But just that the people might see that God's just as great here, out there; it's just wherever your faith is.
Right now, just to settle down... See, I'm trying to throw myself off from you, to keep from your faith pulling this a way. And the first thing you know, I just wilt right down. You just can't stands too much. Pray for someone; then turn around and change the subject, and pray for someone again just to keep strength up, to keep my promise to lay hands on the American people.
E-71 We never have to do it overseas. Just one thing to be spoke out like that, the whole group just raises up, leaves wheelchairs and everything else, and goes on home. That's all over. See?
But there's so many confusions of different teachings here in America, they don't know what to believe. That's right. One says, "Oh, telepathy." The other one, "The devil." One says, "Do this." One... Poor people. Listen. You... "Let every man's word be a lie and God's be true." That's just the only way it's at. He's here. He's already healed you. You just accept it.
E-72 Now, look lady, if the Lord Jesus will reveal to me something of you, that you know I don't know nothing about you, and if the Lord Jesus will reveal something to me, that you know it has to come supernatural, would--would it make you believe better? It would? Would it make the audience believe better? Now, she's close to me, here (You see?), just real close.
Now, this is the same picture of Saint John 4: a man and a woman meeting for the first time, setting here. It's just a... Maybe the little well was a panoramic like this. Now, Jesus begin to talk to her. Now, you're not the woman, and I'm not Him, but His Spirit still lives. See? In that time it was in the flesh called the Son of God. And now, we're adopted sons of God, by His grace, so that His work can carry on (See?), and still declaring.
E-73 The lady is very, very sick. She's got a female trouble, lady's trouble. That's right. And if that's right, raise up your hand. You believe now?
I keep feeling somebody saying, "He's guessing that." Stop thinking that. You hurt the meeting. I'm not guessing that. That's the power of God. Here stand still a minute. See now, just so as get that out of their mind.
Let's see, I don't know what it was, but just a minute till I finally... Yes, you've been to a--a doctor. It's a female... Yeah, not only that, you're up for an operation. That's right. And you have a kidney trouble. You have a bladder trouble. You're not from this country. You're from Missouri. You're name's Miss. Hildreth. Now, go back up there and be--and be made well in the Name of the...?... God bless you, sister. Your faith has made you whole. Just believe with all your heart...?...
E-74 You believe now as you come? If I don't say one thing, will you believe to lay hands on the sick? The rest of you going to believe it now? Come right on here. Everybody pray now for these people. Father in heaven, may the power of Almighty God rest upon the woman and heal her. Amen.
All right, come. You believe, sister? What if I told you you was healed while you was setting in the chair when That come upon you? It's gone...?...
You believe now, sister? Let's--whole church is praying for you. Now, heavenly Father, I lay hands upon her and ask for her healing in Jesus' Name. Amen.
Come. Now, you know that I know what's wrong with you. But if I don't say nothing, would you believe anyhow. Then go eat your supper. Your stomach trouble left you, you can go eat. Lord Bless you. You believe, sister? In the Name of the Lord Jesus, may she be healed.
E-75 Come, sir. You believe the heart trouble left you when you come up step a few minutes ago? If I told you it did, would you believe it? Go on your road. Say, "Thank you, Lord Jesus."
Come on. You believe with all your heart, sister, and that arthritis will go away, and you'll be made well. Lord, I pray that You'll grant it in Jesus' Name. Amen.
Come, sister. Now, I... You know I know what's wrong with you, don't you? You want me to tell you? I believe you do. All right. Now, you're awful young for that, but you got a nervousness. Now, that's right, a mental nervousness: upset and you're, get real weary late of an afternoon and drop things. That's exactly what you do. Got a mind that thinks; you're always crossing bridges before you get to them. Forget it. Go home, Jesus Christ makes you well. Believe with all your heart.
Come. Father God, in the Name of the Lord Jesus, I pray that You'll heal and make well this woman. Amen. Go on...?...
E-76 Father, I pray that in Jesus' Name that You'll heal...?... You going to believe now, sister for him?
Come, sonny boy...?... Don't doubt. You going to believe for him with all your heart sister? Our heavenly Father, You took the little boys and put Your hands upon them and they were healed. I do this in Jesus' Name. Amen. Believe now.
The Holy Spirit's here, just the same Holy Spirit that knows all about things. Now, if you don't doubt at all, you'll get over it; you'll be all right. So just go believing. See?
Now, you people coming through, when you're--you know--you keep thinking; you keep wondering, watching, see if I'm going to tell you. If I'm... They'll come get me and take me out of the line, the rest of them won't get through the line (See?), so don't do that. See, He's still here. He knows--He knows all about it. He knows everything. Don't you believe that?
E-77 Do you believe that, lady? Are we strangers to one another? God knows us both doesn't He? You believe God can tell me what your trouble is? If He will do it for this woman, will the rest of you believe for the rest of the night with all your heart? Raise up your hands if you say you... Here's my hands. I don't know the woman, never seen her. All right. Just have faith.
Got broken ribs. That's right. It's what's wrong with you. Exactly right. You got a burden on your heart for somebody else you're praying for. That's your father-in-law. That's right. And he's blind, got cancer of the stomach. You mind if I say the rest of it? He was too poor to come to the meeting. He didn't have money to--for him to come to the meeting. Here. Put that on him in the Name of the Lord. Take my handkerchief, and tell him he will get well...?... In the Name Jesus Christ...?...
Father, I...?...
E-78 Nervousness did it, made a peptic ulcer, like, caused that acid in your mouth and things after eating. Go get you a hamburger. Your faith makes you well...?...
Our heavenly Father, I pray for this boy that the power of God will make him well. Amen. Mother, you're passing under the cross for him. Believe with all your heart. God bless you...?... Have faith.
What do you think about the little baby? You... That's what you want prayer for. You believe God could--could tell me what's the matter? Would it help you? I see it's a serious thing. It's a brain trouble, kindy a like mental retarded like. It's had three operations of no good. You believe God can hear my prayer? Then I cast the...?... Jesus Name...?... Don't doubt; he will get all right.
E-79 Lord, I pray that You'll heal this woman in Jesus' Name...?...
Come, sister,...?... In the Name of Jesus Christ may she be healed. O Lord...?... Don't doubt...?...
In Jesus' Name may you be healed.
Come, sister dear...?... hand. In the Name of Jesus Christ may she be healed. Don't doubt. Go, believing.
Coming like you're coming...?...
Go--go believing with all that's in you, now...?...
Something happened in the audience. Somebody was healed in the audience. Just a moment. I'll get it.
Are you the one to be prayed for? Do you believe God? Something wrong with your lungs, got a trouble in your lungs. You just had a nervous breakdown. You're not from here. You're from California. You're a minister, Mr. Alsup. Go home, be well.
E-80 O Lord, come, I pray in Jesus' Name that You'll grant it, Lord...?...
Come, sister dear. Everybody pray now. It's weakness. You pray, pray, pray. In Jesus' Name I pray Father that You'll heal...?...
Come, sir. Believe with all your heart and you remove your trumpet, in the Name of Jesus Christ. Yes, I know you can. I know you can. Believe now.
This little crippled boy. O Lord, I pray that you'll heal the little lad. May he return back, walking and rejoicing, in Jesus' Name. Amen. Don't doubt...?... You believe with all your heart. See?
All right. Come, sister, here. Believe with all that's in you. In the Name of the Lord Jesus may she be healed. Amen.
Come brother, with all the faith that you can, would you believe. In the Name of Jesus Christ, may you be healed. Amen. Amen.
Come, lady. O Father God, in the Name of Jesus Christ, may she be healed. Pray, all the church pray together now. Just, what if this is your children passing through here?
Come...?... O God, I pray that You'll heal the little lad and make him well in Jesus' Name. Amen...?...
E-81 Come, sir. Lord, in the Name of Jesus Christ, grant his request Father...?...
Come, sir. Heavenly Father, grant this request, and may she be healed for the glory of God. Amen. God bless you. If you won't doubt...?... God bless you...?...
Father God, I pray that You would grant his request to him that he's asking. In the Name of Jesus Christ, may it be so. Amen.
Come now, believing with all your heart. Are you believe with all your heart? Come here just a minute. O heavenly Father, I pray that in Christ's Name that You'll grant this request, and may she be healed for the Kingdom of God's sake. Amen.
In the Name of Jesus Christ may you be healed, Father, for the Kingdom of God's sake. Amen. Look how many people's praying for you out there, dad. You've got to make it. You've got to do it. Father God, in the Name of Jesus Christ grant her healing for Your glory. Grant it.
You believe for the little one? Bring him here. O God, don't doubt no more. See? Let... You--you try, but don't do that. Father, cursed be the devil that's done this evil. May the child get well. Do you believe that God heard that? I tell you, to be sure that you'll know, you put a string around its head. And then you measure it tonight; cut the string off. Then tomorrow morning, or tomorrow night 'fore you come back, measure it again, and then show me how much it's shrank and lay it up here on the desk. And watch how much it shrinks between now and the morning...?... He loves you...?... Have faith. You going to believe, laying there? Going to believe, all of you? Have faith now. It's just whatever you believe.
E-82 Now, are you the--you to be prayed for? Do you believe the Lord Jesus? Do you believe me to be His prophet--or His servant? You believe me to be His servant? Prophet staggers the people See? I know somewhere they're listening at me. Very weak... But do you believe that God will hear prayer? All right.
Listen. Your trouble is in your side. That's right. You've got a loved one you're praying for, and that loved one's in kind of a mental case. That's right. You believe they'll get well? You believe that handkerchief you've got will catch it? Mrs. Hammer? That's your name. You're not from here. You're from Oklahoma, Wagner. Now, return back and take that handkerchief. Believe with all your heart and Jesus...?...
E-83 Do you believe, out there, with all your heart, each one of you? Do you believe, everybody? I'll tell you what you do, if you can. Reach over and lay hands on somebody. Lay hands on. Young man, lay your hands on little one. Raise...?... Lay your hands right upon that little girl. All right. Someone walk over there and lay their hands on this lady on the cot. All of you, are you believers, say, "Amen."
Come here, brethren. Take one of these mikes, each one of you. Bow your heads. Jesus Christ the Son of God, Who is present now, knows your heart. (I am so weak I can't hardly stand it, now. You can realize the condition.) Jesus said, "These signs shall follow them that believe. If they lay their hands on the sick, they shall recover." If you're a believer, just lay your hands on somebody and pray for them, and they'll pray for you. Now, I'm going to pray for all of you. And God will hear my prayer. God will hear your prayer. And I don't care what's wrong with you, you just believe right now and you're going to get well, everyone.
E-84 A little girl there was crippled, setting in a wheelchair, and has raised up. In the Name of the Lord. Now, Lord, I pray that Your power and grace will be sufficient at this time into the people's heart, like the Queen of Sheba, may they stand today, proving God is in the midst of His people.
And Satan, you who's bound the people, I charge thee as a deceiver. I charge thee as having no power. You're only a deceiver. Jesus Christ triumphed over all the powers you have and stripped you from every power. You're deceiving the people, and you've been exposed tonight. Come out of this audience, in the Name of Jesus Christ. Leave them people...
All things are possible, Lord, I believe.
Let us remain standing just a moment. We're going to bow for prayer. Is there any here would like to be remembered in prayer before God, before--when we take you to the throne of grace, now. The Lord grant your request while we pray.
Our heavenly Father, we are approaching Thy throne of mercy in the all sufficient Name of the Lord Jesus, Thy Son. We confess that we are weak, Lord, and need Thy help. Our great adversary and Thy adversary, the enemy, is going about like a roaring lion, devouring what he can. But Thou hast promised, "I'll never leave thee nor forsake thee." And we so solemnly believe that, Lord, knowing that "Wherever two or three are gathered in My Name, there I'll be in the midst of them." And we believe that with all of our heart.
E-2 People has sent in letters, here, Father. And in these letters are handkerchiefs and pieces of cloth, that goes to the sick and needy. And O Father God, we're taught in the Scriptures, that they taken from the body of Saint Paul, handkerchiefs or aprons. Evil spirits left the people, and diseases was healed. As we have said before, we know we're not Saint Paul, but You still remain Jesus, the Son of God.
And we do not believe that it was Paul that did this. It was Your Spirit, Lord, answering the faith of the people. And today there is the same need, and the same cry, and You're the same God. May the same results come, for we commit them to Thee for that purpose. Thou did see the hands of this audience. You know the heart of everyone. May they receive just what they've ask for. Grant it, Lord. Hear us now.
E-3 And as we read the Word, impart the Word to us by Thy Holy Spirit.
And when service is finished tonight, and we start to our different homes, may we be able to say like those coming from Emmaus, "Did not our hearts burn within us?" Do something tonight among us, just like You did before the crucifixion, that the world might know that You have risen from the dead, and You're no longer dead, but a living Lord, forevermore. In Jesus' Name we ask it. Amen. You may be seated.
E-4 I have been thinking today, that they misnamed Chicago being windy city. I think it should have been Tulsa. I could hardly sleep last night; the wind was so hard. And I thought, "Many times have I been in Chicago, but never such a wind, as I--we had last evening." And then the service, it was so hard, the wind blowing and making a noise. It was rather a bit of confusion.
But it all paid up today, to get to meet some precious people. I had the privilege of meeting Dr. Lamsa, today, the translator of the Lamsa translation of the Bible. And such a privilege... You know, I would rather you'd give me a little rose bud, right now, than a whole wreath after I'm gone. I think maybe he'd think the same thing. I certainly can prescribe to his translation, for meeting him and finding such a lovely spirit of a real true Christian believer. God bless his gallant soul. I don't know as I've ever met any more spiritual man than Dr. Lamsa. May the Lord richly bless Him.
E-5 Then I had the privilege, today, of--in the private interviews and so forth, meeting many other fine people. You got lovely people here in Oklahoma. I certainly appreciate them.
I have just a--a little bit of kindred of Oklahoma; my--I think my mother lived here for a few years, right near Tulsa, here.
And so I'm--then they moved on down to a place in Texas called Paris, Texas. Then from that, they went to Kentucky, moved out to Indiana, and then back to the West. And my father was a rider. And mother and dad were married then. So then they kindy settled down in Kentucky, and moved then, after my birth, to Indiana. And there we have been since. So it's a great people in this United States, a great world, a great people everywhere: where you find God's people, no matter what color or where--what country they're from, they're always the same.
Way down in Ceylon, and many different places, you take those people which hardly know right hand from left; when they receive the Holy Spirit they act just the same as you do when you receive It--not knowing what is right or left hand, some of them. And they act the same way you do when you receive the Holy Spirit. So we're thankful for that.
E-6 Now, we must get right along, because tonight we promised to run a--a little line of prayer for the sick. I do not claim to heal people. I don't believe there's anybody would do that. We just claim that we pray for them, and someone said, "Are you a Divine Healer, Brother Branham?"
I said, "No, sir. I'm not a Divine healer, but I certainly had some great answers to prayer. So, thank the Lord for that. But anything that we can do to help, some... What I'm here for, is to try to make the burdens of life just a little bit lighter for you. That's... It's kind of a struggle any way you take it. We all know that. And if we can lighten up each other's load, just a little bit, I think it shows such a real brotherly love and care for each other.
E-7 Now, I want to read from the Scriptures tonight, in Saint Matthew the 12th chapter, if anyone is a--a keeping the Scriptures down, and the 42nd verse of the 12th chapter.
The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
Jesus had been kindly upbraiding the cities and the people, because they had not believed on Him. And He had showed to them all the works of God. But they had become so ecclesiastically like, until they had their own ways and their own ideas, just like today: many of us has got drawed up, just how the Lord will come. And sometimes they break off and make a denomination out of it, because one believes He will come on a white horse, the other one on a white cloud. What difference does it make, as long as He comes? That's the main thing: be ready. So, I--I believe that when He comes, it will probably be altogether different than what we've got figured out, anyhow. So I haven't got any set way. I'm just wanting to see Him come; that's all; and just be ready when He gets here.
E-8 And so, they had their ways fixed, and their theology had been upset a little bit, and they had denied Him, even had called Him that low name of Beelzebub, which was the prince of the devils.
When Jesus came to the earth, He was given the lowest Name that could be given. He went to the lowest city that could be, had the--no place to lay His head. And when God exalted Him, He taken Him higher than the heavens, till heavens; He has to look down to see it. He give Him a Name above every name, that everything in heaven and earth is named Jesus Christ. What God did for Him, and what we did for him: we mistreated Him, but God exalted Him.
E-9 And now, He had been telling them how He had done, and what the miracles and signs that He had done, and said, "If these things would have been done in other generations, why, it'd been yet standing, the cities."
And it's strange, some good theologian could tell you the cities that He cursed is not there today. The cities that He blessed, remains till this day. It's very striking, and I've heard real good Bible scholars speak of it.
But Jesus had come in every form of the Messiah that the Bible predicted Him to come in. He'd come as a--the God prophet. He had come just exactly the way the Bible said he would come, and yet they missed seeing Him. Oh, may that not be our attitude when He comes the second time.
E-10 Now, they was failing to see His supernatural work. The people, the churches, had gotten so far away from the supernatural, until they could not give a answer to their congregation for the supernatural that was being done; so they just had to class it something. 'Stead of figuring it out, laying aside their thoughts, and--and going to the Scriptures, why, instead of doing that, they just answered their congregations, said, "Why, He's the devil. That's all. He's just a fortuneteller or something. There's nothing to Him."
But then, when He did that supernatural, it usually blinds those who are blinded to those things. It makes them worse. But in every generation, God has always had His agents. It's got down sometime to merely one, but God always had somebody in every generation that He could lay His finger on, some people that He could put His finger on, and say, "This is My people, and they'll do as I tell them to do."
E-11 And Jesus had been referring back. The 41st verse of this same chapter, He'd spo--spoke about the days of Jonah and Nineveh. Many people... I like to speak just a moment before I get to my text, on Jonah.
So many people condemn that prophet. He should not be condemned. He--the--the steps of the righteous is ordered of the Lord. And He makes everything work just exactly right.
Now, I believe God had a purpose in sending Jonah to Tarshish instead of Nineveh. I believe that was God's purpose to confirm His Word to the Ninevites. Then when Jonah, on his road to Tarshish, a great storm came up, as we know, and he told the captain of the ship that he was in fault. And they tied his hands and feet, throwed him over the--the ship sides into the water. The Scripture says that this great fish swallowed him.
E-12 I never forget, sometime ago, a man said to me (who knowed a lot about science, he said), said, "That story cannot be true, Brother Branham."
I said, "Why?"
He said, "The swallow of a whale isn't big enough to swallow a man."
I said, "But sir, you just don't read the Scriptures right. This is a special prepared fish. God fixed this one just right. God had a fish prepared for it. He enlarged his swallow so Jonah could get in. God can do whatever He wants to." The Bible said that God had a fish prepared for him and--that could swallow him. He was a special one.
E-13 And then when the fish, prowling through the water, hunting something to eat... And when a fish has fed... If you'll feed your little gold fish, watch them, they'll go right down to the bottom of the bowl and rest their little swimmers on the bottom, after they have fed.
Then after, perhaps, this big fish had swallowed Jonah, and had went down then, to the bottom of the sea... I wouldn't know how many fathoms deep it would be out there from Nineveh, but could you imagine the condition this poor prophet being in?
E-14 You know, I think, if anybody had a right to claim symptoms, it would've been Jonah. You know. Look at him. We want to think he was backslid, though he wasn't. And he was on a stormy sea in the belly of a whale, hands and feet tied, seaweeds all around his head, in the vomit of the whale, laying in the bottom of the sea. Now, there's nobody here, that bad off. I'm just sure of that. But just to show that you can't hide a real believer from God...
Now, I can just imagine seeing Jonah turn over on his back... And talk about a good case of symptoms: he looked this a way, it was whale's belly. Back this-a-way was whale's belly. Everywhere he looked was whale's belly. He was in an awful condition, lot of symptoms. But you know what he said? "They are lying vanities." He said, "Once more will I look towards Your holy temple, Lord." For Jonah remembered that when Solomon dedicated that temple, he prayed and said something like this in his prayer, 'Lord, if Thy people be in trouble anywhere, and then look towards this holy temple, and pray, then hear from heaven.'" And Jonah had faith in God, and faith in the prayer of Solomon, and God delivered him from the whale's belly.
E-15 Now, there's no one here in that bad a condition. We're not in a whale's belly, and we're here seeing the hand of God move every night. And if Jonah could place that kind of faith, in the condition that he was in, in the belly of a whale in the bottom of the sea, and refuse to see anything contrary to the answer to his prayer, when he looked to a temple where a earthly man prayed, and a earthly people built the temple, how much more ought we to have faith to look to heaven where Jesus sets at the right-hand of God to make intercessions upon our confessions. Why, certainly. Nothing should be able to stand in our way.
E-16 Jesus, the Son of God Who was crucified, dead, rose again on the third day, ascended into heaven, sent back the Holy Spirit that bears record night after night, that He's here; then how much we keep looking, saying, "Oh, look at my hand. Look at my finger. I'm still sick at my stomach." Oh, my, that's terrible. "Once more will I look to Your holy temple, Lord," where He's setting there tonight, with His own Bloody garments wrapped around Him, making intercessions upon our confession...
Oh, how it would... Depends on what you're looking at. If you're looking at your symptom, you can't get well. But refuse to see your symptom: look at what God said. It depends on what you're looking at. And the Christian always looks at the unseen.
E-17 That's the only way you can be saved, is by faith. You've got to look at the unseen. And a whole armor of Christianity is supernatural. The people... How that a man can say that he believes in God, and preaches in a church, and says he does not believe in the supernatural, when the full armor of God, the full armor of Christianity, is supernatural?
What is the armor of Christianity? Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, goodness, meekness, patience, faith, Holy Spirit: all those things are supernatural. What is love? What is joy? Go down to the drug store and buy me a quarter's worth of it; I need it right now. See? You can't buy love, joy, peace, long-suffering, goodness, patience, gentleness, faith. You can't buy it; it's supernatural. And the whole armor of the Christian is supernatural, and we're bidden by the Scriptures to put on the whole armor of God. Be girded about--the whole armor.
E-18 Jonah turned over in that whale's belly, looked away towards the temple, the best that he knowed, towards the top of the whale, and begin to pray. And God turned that big fish around, took him right straight to Nineveh for a purpose.
Now, we believe that most of the Ninevites must a been backslidden and have went off... I read a story one time, where many of them had turned to heathenism, and they were worshipping idols. And they believed that the whale was the god of the sea. And while their occupation was fishing, here comes the whale swimming into the shore. The god of the sea, opens up his mouth and spits the prophet out on the bank. No wonder they heard him. God knows how to work things. He knows how to make things. You could take that version of it if you like. That might be all right.
E-19 But watch. The main thing was this: that they asked Jesus, "Show us a sign." And Jesus said, "A weak and an adulternous generation seeks after a sign." And they'll get a sign. What kind of a sign? A resurrection sign. And I believe that we are now living in the time of a weak and an evil generation of mixed up, confused theologians and churches all bundled together, till people don't know what to believe. But Jesus said that that weak generation would receive a sign of the resurrection. And I believe we receive it now. Jesus Christ is not dead; He's alive in here tonight, to live in us, and perform, and do just exactly what He promised to do.
"Oh," He said, "if Nineveh, if the generation then would've been like Nineveh..." Then He goes on to the days of Solomon. And He said, "In the days of Solomon..."
E-20 Now anyone knows, that any time that God sends a gift to the earth, and the people turns that gift down, it's always chaos to that nation and that people, that turns down the gift of God.
Jesus was the greatest Gift God ever give to the world. And the Jewish people turned it down, and is scattered throughout the world from that time since. And when God sends a gift, and the people refuses to see it, and refuses to take it, then it's scattered, the people is, and they--like sheep having no shepherd.
E-21 And I think of--if we, tonight, would only do as they did in the days of Solomon... God sent a gift of discernment to Israel, and He put it upon Solomon. And as soon as the people saw that this great power of God of discernment was upon Solomon, they cherished the gift, honored the man, made him king. And any Bible scholar knows that that was the golden age for Israel in the days of Solomon. It was called the golden age. Israel prospered. They built the temple. Hardly any wars at all, all nations feared them because that they had honored what God sent to them. Oh, if tonight...
You talk about a bomb shelter... They're trying to dig so many hundred feet beneath the earth to find a place to make steel places, so that you can escape the atomic bomb. Well, anyone knows that that bomb would hit the earth and blow a hundred feet deep. If you were five hundred foot below it, it would break every bone in your body. But there is no shelter here on earth, but One. There is a shelter, and It's not made out of steel. It's made out of feathers: under His wings, is the place to stay, is the best shelter that I know of, is beneath His protecting wings.
E-22 Now, in the days of Solomon, all gathered around and rallied around that great gift of God that was sent to the church and to the people.
Now, what if America today, would rally around the Gift that's been sent them? What if we would all of the American people, where this great Gift has been poured out in these last days, the Gift of the Holy Ghost...? What if all the ministers, all the laity, all the churches together, would rally around the Holy Ghost, the Gift of God, that's been sent to us to guide us, and direct us, and set us in order? But we got so many bishops, and archbishops, and men.
God intends the Holy Spirit to lead the church. That's our Leader. That's the One that was sent to us, and we're to be dominated by Him and Him alone, that directs us. Then we stay in the Word, level in the Word. The Holy Spirit feeds you Sheep-food. And Sheep-food is the Bible. And it feeds on the Holy Spirit. The soul that's hungering for God, feeds on the Word of God. Now, if we'd all rally around that, it--we wouldn't have to dig one foot under the ground. We wouldn't have to fear any atomic attack, because we'd already be in the safety.
E-23 There wouldn't be any confusion among us. We'd all be rallying around. And nations, Russia... Oh, Russia is just as hungry for it as we are. And Finland, when that little boy was raised from the dead that night, being killed in that automobile accident, as you all know, and... In the books it's printed. And the little boy, I'd seen him two or three years before, in a vision. Wrote, I had the people to write it in their Bibles, that it would come to pass.
When that little boy was raised from the dead that afternoon, that night when I went down to the "Messuhalli," there were thousands of Russians standing there. And them soldiers standing there with that Russian salute, the tears running off their cheeks, said, "We will receive a God like that." Sure. They come to find God, and you give them a bunch of creeds. They want something real that they can take a hold of. I don't blame them.
E-24 That's what started communism: when the church let down and let people feed out of trash cans. A hungry child will eat from a garbage can. The only reason he does, is because he's not invited to a clean table. It's the church's fault. Absolutely, it's the church's fault. God didn't intend such as that. But they find the weakness, and just no more than belonging to a lodge, when you belong to the church. Shame on us. When people come to the church, we ought to have all the spiritual gifts, and the power of God operating that would make them people thirst.
Did not Jesus say, "Ye are the salt of the earth. But if the salt has lost its savour, it's henceforth good for nothing but to be trod under the foot of man."? That's exactly what they've done with it. When the salt lost its contact of strength, when the church lost its power, it becomes no more than any other lodge. It's true.
E-25 But salt is the savour if it contacts, if it's got any strength in it. If you got meat here and salt here, you've got to get them together (It's exactly right.) to save the meat. It's the salt saves if it contacts. But if the salt's lost its strength, you could pour it all over the meat and it would ruin anyhow. That's what's been the matter: people joining church: putting their name on the book, without knowing Christ as their Saviour, without being filled with the Holy Spirit. Men hungering for God, coming into the church and finding nothing, just the bare, a little intellectual talk about some star, moon, or something like that, or who's going to be the next president. Those things are all right, but not in the pulpit. The pulpit is the judgment seat; it's where God's power ought to be preached in His power and His... It's exactly right.
E-26 But, in the days of Solomon, how different. They all rallied around. Oh, that was just wonderful. And when they all rallied around this gift, what happened? His fame, and the fame of God begin to spread out through all different nations.
Now, them days they didn't have televisions, and--and telegrams, and--and telephones, and so forth. The only way they sent message was from lip to ear. And everybody passing through... All Israel... Could you just imagine, Israel's heart burning. When some stranger would pass through, "Oh, you should go up to the temple. The Lord our God has sent a gift. It's abiding upon our brother Solomon. God has made him a king before us, and that gift is upon him. You should come and see the wisdom of discernment that that man has."
Why the people would pass by, their hearts would be happy. They'd go tell somebody else. And the fame of Israel spread worldwide until it come to the utmost parts of the earth, way down in Sheba. Now, that, at that time, I suppose, was the far ends of the earth, of the civilized known world at that time.
E-27 There was a little queen down there. And let's think that she was a pagan. And every time a camel caravan would come through, somebody'd--coming from up around in Palestine (That's all the way across the Sahara desert now.), would come down in there and say, "Say, you know what? You should go up into Palestine. Those people up there has got a God. They call Him Jehovah. And He's not a dead God; He's a living God. He isn't an idol. Why, He's living right in a man called Solomon. Why, you never seen such in your life. Why, his power of discernment is far beyond anything a human could think of. They got something that you can lay a hold of and say that their God lives."
You know, "Faith cometh by hearing." So many people testifying, it come to a place that the little queen's heart begin to come alarmed. Well, after while she, hearing so many testimonies (and faith cometh by hearing), no discord about it at all: "You should go see. One hundred per cent right, every person comes up. You should look at it. It's a wonderful gift from God. And they got a great God."
E-28 Well, this little queen (Let's just think it this way.), one day she set down and she read her pagan scriptures. Well, it's promising about a great god that lived in this idol or something another. And grandmother had knowed it, and grandfather had thought of it and so forth. But after while she come to hear these testimonies, that wasn't some written theology; it was a living reality. And I'll tell you, if... There's not a person in the world that ever come from behind the curtain into this Light that we live in, called Life, but what wonders where he goes when he goes beyond here. It's just the instinct in a man to do that. We all seek. We want to know what's beyond the curtain. We're searching for that.
The little queen begin to hunger; thought, "Oh, if I... I believe I'll go. And after while she made up her mind, "I'm getting tired of listening to others telling me about that. I don't know whether it's right or not, but I'm going to see for myself." That's the way to do it. Go, find out for yourself. Don't stand home and criticize.
E-29 When Philip found Nathanael he said, "Come, see Who we found: Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Joseph."
He said, "Now, could there be any good thing come from Nazareth?"
He said, "Come, see." That's the best thing to convince yourself. "Come, find out." Philip give Nathanael the best answer any man could give, "Come, be convinced yourself."
E-30 Well, the little woman thought she'd go and be convinced whether it was right or not. But now, she had a lot of things to face her, a lot more than you and I have, to try to find out truth.
First thing, before she could go... She was a queen. And she was in great authority. And no doubt that her name on the great church book there, was pretty heavy. So the first thing she ought to do, would be go talk to her pagan priest and ask him permission if she could leave the church and go up and find out about this other religion.
E-31 Why, you could just imagine what kind of an answer she got. Why, I can just see that pagan priest, you know, standing there, and say, "Now, wait a minute, daughter. You know, you don't want to follow vain philosophies like that, because I tell you; if there was any god alive, it would be our god."
You know, we may not have pagans, but we've got the same kind of priests, all right. Yes, sir. "If God was going to do anything supernatural, He'd do it here in our church. He wouldn't go over there and do it. He'd do it here." But you know, the thing of it is, God does it where He wants to and how He wants to. And it's not up to us to question God.
E-32 Then we find out, a... I can see the priest say, "Now, look, daughter, your grandmother, your great grandmother, and way behind her, all worshipped this great idol here. It's a great god."
She said, "Yes, sir, that's probably true. I've got all the scrolls on it, but I've heard all this scroll over, and over, and over, and over, what he would do, what he would do, but I haven't seen him make one move." That's a good answer. "I haven't seen one thing. All I see is a chunk of stone setting there."
And if that's all you got, brother, you're just about as bad off as she was. That's right. Some big chunk of stone of a building or something another, that's called, "This is my church. This is my denomination."... Them are all right, but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about a living God. One that's not dead, One that's alive right now, One that's here, just as real as He ever was real. He promised it.
E-33 And then, she'd say, "Now, look, sir. I've never seen him move. I've never seen him do anything. My grandmother never saw him do anything. And neither did her mother. And I've lived up till this time. And I hear that there is One that is alive. I'm going to see Him. No matter what you think, I'm going anyhow." I like that courage. Find out for yourself.
She said, "Now, if it isn't right, I'll come back and tell you it isn't right, but I'll know in my heart whether it's right or not."
Now, I can imagine before she started, that she had some thoughts in her mind like this, "What if it isn't right? Or what if it is right? Now, if it is right, and there is a living God, that's moving, alive among people, and showing Himself alive (not a stone, but a living God), if it is, I'm going to support it with everything I got. It's worthwhile."
E-34 She saddled up her camels, and--and took great loads of silver, gold, myrrh, frankincense. She's got ready to make her start. Now, she might've thought this: "If it's true, I'll support it. But if it isn't true, I'll bring my money back home." (That's a good thought for America.) Maybe I oughtn't to have said that. I'll just wait a minute, let it soak way down.
If it's God, support it with prayer, with all that you've got. Do everything that you can to press it forward, not so much with money. Little money now and then helps it, of course, but it--when it's needed, help. But the main thing is, keep the money as far out of it as you can. Put yourself in there instead of your money. God wants you on the altar, not your money. It's better for you to be... And this... I...
This Easter, coming on, always just makes me kindly halfway, spiritually sick. My spiritual gastronomics can't dissolve that, when they go up and put a big pot of lilies on the altar. God don't want lilies on the altar; He wants you on the altar. Altars wasn't built for lilies. Cain thought so. You see what happened. The altar was built for you. You are the gift that wants to be on the altar.
E-35 And she said, "If it's not so, I'll return back with my money." Now, when she got her camels all ready... And of course there's none of those people down there wanted to go, perhaps. And remember, she had a long journey, and she had to cross the Sahara desert. And she didn't have an air conditioned Cadillac. She had a camel to ride on, in that hot boiling sand.
No wonder Jesus said, "She'll stand in the day of the judgment and condemn this generation." She come plumb across that desert. Taken her three months to do it. And some people won't walk three minutes across the street to see the manifestation of the living God, living among His people, but will class them as a bunch of holy-rollers. There you are. No wonder this nation's due for judgment.
E-36 There... She had to cross that desert. And remember, the sons of Ishmael was in the desert in that day, them fleet riders and great robbers. What a easy prey for that little army that she had with her and a few maids along, the lady setting upon a camel. Perhaps had to travel by night. The--the direct rays of that sun would burn her up, nearly, in the day time. Hunting and seeing if they could follow a star by night to a certain water hole out in the Sahara, coming across... Oh, she had a lot of things to think about.
But listen, let me say this: When God ever speaks in a human heart and begins to draw them, there isn't enough devils out of hell to stop them from getting to it. They'll go to it. "My sheep hear my voice." Something begins to dig in a man's heart. "There's a God somewhere. I'm in search for Him." He will search, and move, and hunt, and turn over until he finds It.
E-37 And as David said in the days gone by, "When the deep calleth to the deep..." If there's a deep calling, there's got to be a deep to respond to it. Listen, if there no Scripture telling me that there was Divine healing, you people setting here tonight, I'd still believe that there was.
Look. Before there can be a--a creation, there has to be a Creator to create the creation. Maybe that's Greek to you, but listen.
Here--here some time ago, I read in a paper, a city below us--where a little boy was eating the erasures off of pencils. And the teacher was all disturbed about it and sent word to the mother. The mother found the little fellow out on the porch, eating the pedal off of a bicycle: rubber. So, she taken him down to the clinic, and they examined the little fellow, and they found out that his little body needed sulfur. And sulfur was in the rubber. But before he could desire sulfur, there had to be some kind of a sulfur out there to respond to that desire, or he'd a never desired it.
E-38 And as long as human beings search, and hunger, and thirst, calling for the power of God, there's got to be a power of God somewhere to respond to it. Before there can be a creation, there has to be a Creator in there creating that creation.
When a man longs to see God, there's got to be a God somewhere that created that desire in him. If the deep's calling to a deep, there's got to be a deep to respond to that, because the deep had to be first there to create the call that's in you.
E-39 Now, that little woman was on her road, everything against her. But when once, she got a feeling that God was a real God, God was real, she begin to thirst. Another one come in, said, "Oh, I seen him stand... One of the most mysterious things I ever seen, but he solved it right out under the power of his God, and told them exactly the answer." Oh, it just shook the little queen.
She said, "Oh, I must see it. I must see it. I'm a human being. My life, my eternal destination is before me. I must see it." Nothing's going to stop her.
You don't think of dangers. You don't think of criticism. You don't think of what somebody else is going to say.
E-40 When that Angel of the Lord met me up there that night... All my brethren in my church told me, said, "Them visions are of... That's the devil. You're--you're a spiritualist." But when--I just couldn't see why it could be and me loving Him the way I did. When I met Him up there that night, oh brother, the deep was calling to the deep, and there was Something responded to it.
I went to the overseer of the church. He said, "Billy, you had a nightmare."
I said, "If that's the--that... If that's the way this church feels about it, here's my fellowship card."
Said, "Oh, I didn't mean it that way."
"But, you know, such and such can't happen."
I said, "All right. I might as well give up the fellowship now, 'cause you're going to kick me out after while anyhow. So I might as well get started free and clean and get going." So there it was. When the deep was calling, there's something to respond to it.
E-41 Now, some of them said, "This great big Goliath out here, medical science and all this fine cultured churches..."
I said, "I can't help how much Goliath it is; God's still God. The God of David still lives. The God of Abraham still lives. The God of Jacob lives. The God that was in Christ is living tonight. He's raised, and I know He's real."
There's something that, no matter what the difficulty is, you want to go anyhow, because there's a... You've got an objective. And if you'll take the right motive towards that objective, you'll get there. You've got to have the right motive towards your objective. That's the way I always find the will of God. First, think, "If it's the will of God, then my motive and my objective to it..." If it's the right motive, then the objective, I have.
E-42 If God would say, "Go over here and preach at this group."
I'd say, "Well, how much will I get in a--a love offering?" 'Course that's all cut out: I get a hundred dollars a week no matter whether I preach or don't. Like--that settles it. So--but even before that, before I was on a salary, don't make any difference where it was, the right objective is see what you could do for the Kingdom of God. Go where He leads you to go. No matter where it is, whether it's little or small.
I've never permitted my meetings to grow or get any size. I don't need much money, have one little end of a trailer with two typewriters in it, two boys I'm paying. That's all. 'Cause why? God might call me to a little place over here.
Just recently I held a revival in a church that held twenty. Then, if He wants me to go overseas and preach to a hundred thousand or two hundred thousand, whatever it is, He puts it upon somebody's heart to send me over there, the same time He gives me the call. Oh, it's nothing like it! Live for Him. Trust Him day by day. Lead... Where the deep calling...
E-43 The little woman said, "I'm going anyhow." And across the desert, regardless of any of the things that people said, no matter, she pressed on.
Well, finally she arrived at the gate. I can see her take all the camel's weights off of them, and put the gold in the tent, and... Now, she didn't come just to say, "I'll go in. I heard of this evangelist. I'll go in and set down, but if he says one thing against my church doctrine, I'll get right up and go out." (That's the 1960 version of it.) People knowed better in that day. I think that shows poor raising in the first place. That's right. "If it's anything contrary to me--if he says one word, I'll get right up and go out. I won't listen to him no more. No, sir. I won't listen to him."
See, you don't come with the right kind of a motive. You don't come with the right objective of trying to find God. You're just trying to get your knowledge all twisted up. You haven't got a hunger of God yet. You get hungering for God, you'll stay till it's over, like she did.
E-44 She put down her tent and everything, and got ready, and camped out there in the palace courts somewhere, and said, "I'm going to stay here till I see it through. If it's right, it's right. If it's wrong, it's wrong."
So I can imagine seeing her go down in Jerusalem and buy all the Hebrew scrolls there was, to find out just what kind of a nature this God was that they were talking about.
[Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.]... Then you think you have Eternal Life, and They testify of Me." If the things you see did, is not Scriptural, then don't believe it. That's the way she was going to do: take the scrolls and let's see what kind of a God this Jehovah is. And she got all read up. She said, "I know just what He's going to be, now."
E-45 Now, if you'd just do that... If the people of America would just have that much audacity, if they would just absolutely have--give that much consideration to--to God... Did He promise to do this? Is it His will? Did He promise He would? Is It the Holy Spirit? What kind of a nature is It? How does It act? That's what you ought to do. Find out if the Holy Spirit's...
Walk up and say, "I--I believe God Almighty. I believe Jesus is His Son. I take..." and be confirmed... Never was such a thing. You're not confirmed. It's being borned of the Holy Ghost, borned of the Spirit.
See if the thing is right. Search it over, and see if you're supposed to be sprinkled or baptized by immersing. See if you're suppose to join the church or be--or receive the Holy Ghost. (I've been with the Branham family, next Wednesday, fifty-one years. They never did ask me to join the family. I was borned a Branham; that's the reason.) And now, now, you're born in the Church of the living God. It's an experience. You become a new creature. You're a child of God, a son of God.
E-46 And if the Spirit of God dwells in you, it'll bear record with His own Word. If one say, "Well, that was for another day." Remember, you ain't got the Spirit of God in you. If the Bible said, "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever," you say, "In a certain way..." Then remember, that's the devil in you. That's right. It's not God.
God say, "Yes, sir, every Word; that's amen. Amen, I wrote It. Amen."
Men of old, when they were moved by the Holy Ghost, wrote the Bible. How can the Holy Ghost ever deny It? I'm not yelling at you. I've been used to preaching outside, so, I'm--I know you're not hard of hearing, but I--I'm not... I just feel religious, that's all. I just--I just feel real good. It's the Holy Spirit 'cause I know the thing that I'm talking about is the truth. It's God's truth.
E-47 That little woman moved up there. And I can ima--im--imagine her, seeing the first day. Comb her hair right quick, and wash her face, and get over there. She said, "I'll see what all the congregation..." Here was people from everywhere, gathered into the big court. And after while, after they'd sing some of the Psalms, I can see pastor Solomon come out, walk out, up to his seat, set down on his throne.
And the first thing, here come a case up. And as soon as it come up, she said, "Now, I'll just see about this and see how this works. I heard there was so much wisdom. Now, look at that poor little woman or whoever it is, standing there. We'll see about it."
When it come up to Solomon, he told her exactly the right thing. Her little heart begin to beat, "My, that must be true. Let's see these scrolls, just exactly right, that must be right."
E-48 Day after day passed. She set. She'd go and maybe at nighttime, set by the candlelight, read, read, read the Scriptures, read Isaiah, read all the prophets, getting ready, wondering just what was going to take place. Go back the next day and see that same God she had read about, living in one of His human, mortal creations, declaring Himself through that man. That man, so su--submitted to God, that God worked through him... Not the man, the man was just a man like you or I.
This ain't the church today. It ain't the... Peter called the Mount Transfiguration, once, "the holy mountain." I don't believe the apostle meant holy mountain, 'cause the mountain wasn't holy. It was a holy God on the mountain. It ain't the holy church; it's the Holy Ghost in the Church that makes it holy. It ain't a holy people, a holy man. There's no such as holy man, holy church, or holy this or that. It's a Holy Spirit in the Church, in the people, the holy God, moving Himself through the people. That's it.
The fountain, the inexhaustible Fountain of Life is Christ. You cannot ex--exhaust His great love, and power, and willingness to do for you. His goodness and mercy, it's beyond human understanding. We just lay in there and bathe in it (That's all.), in His mercies.
E-49 Then she watched, day after day. Finally, it come a time to her prayer card was called, or whatever it might've been. Might not have been a prayer card; but, whatever it was, her time come to walk up before him. "Now," she said, "I've got some things..." But the Bible said that there was nothing hid from Solomon but what he knowed about her. Amen. Nothing hid, he told her all things. If that...
What kind of a Spirit was that on Solomon? Solomon? No, sir. It was the same Spirit that spoke to a woman at the well and told her where her... While she was living in adultery... And she went and--and told the people, "Come, see a Man Who told me all the things that I did." She knowed if He could tell her that one thing, He could tell her all things. And there was nothing hid that Solomon didn't tell her.
E-50 What did she say? You know what she did? She stood publicly, before the audience of the people, and she said, "All that I have heard of you, all the good things that I've heard about you, they were true, and more than what I ever heard about you." She had the experience herself.
And if you don't believe the Holy Ghost is real, what you've heard about It, just get the experience yourself and see what happens. See if you won't say, "More than what..."
I used to watch people enjoy the blessings of God. I thought it was all right. So I wanted it. But when you get it, then you'll say, "It's more than what I ever saw," because it's something that happened to you, when Christ reveals Hisself to you, not in a intellectual form, but in a new birth form...
E-51 She stood up there. Not only that, she recognized that that man had God in him and that was a gift of God. She said, "All I heard's true, and even more than I've heard." And she said, "Even blessed is the men that's with you. Blessed is the men that sets here with you daily, that sees this great gift of God performing. Blessed is the people that's with you, that stand..." Now, think about a pagan saying that. She witnessed that that was the true God.
And Jesus said, "She'll stand up in the day of the judgment and will condemn this generation," that'll not walk across the street, or will walk in and set down, look around a little bit and say, "Oh, nothing to that," and walk away. In the day of the judgment...
E-52 If she would condemn that generation, just a few generations after Solomon, and Jesus said, "A greater than Solomon is here," and it's greater now than what it was when Jesus was here... For they'll... Told Him that He was a Beelzebub, called the acting of the Spirit of God as a spiritualist or something, and called Him Beelzebub, because He did that... And Jesus said, "I'll forgive you, but when the Holy Ghost is come, to speak a word against It will never be forgiven in this world nor the world to come."
So one of the greatest gifts that God has ever given was His Son, to sanctify a people that the Holy Spirit might show Itself. And still, that little woman, if she'd condemned that, this is two thousand years later, what will she do when she stands in the presence of Tulsa, at that day?
E-53 What will she do, when she stands in the presence of the whole United States in this generation? She'll condemn it, for she had no limitations. Her heart was hungry and she recognized it. She sought God. She looked over the scrolls. She seen it was right and then she accepted it, and stood and blessed him, blessed the people, and was so happy that she come.
I'm so glad, that one day I found it to be the truth. Oh, it's been,
Thou, the stream of all my comfort,
More than life to me.
Whom have I on earth beside Thee,
Or Whom in heaven but Thee.
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever, let's embrace Him, the true gift of God, the Son of God in the form of the Holy Spirit. Let us bow our heads.
E-54 Before praying, with your heads bowed and your eyes closed, how many would like to be remembered in prayer tonight, saying, "Brother Branham, remember me before God. I recognize that the Holy Spirit is here on earth today, that the great powers of God still works through believers as Jesus promised: 'The works that I do, shall you do also. He that believeth on Me... '"?
Saint John 14, "He that believeth on Me, the works that I do, shall he also." How did He make Hisself known, Messiah? By knowing the secrets of their hearts. That's always been a sign of God through the age. Would you like to be remembered, raise your hand. God bless you everywhere.
E-55 As Thou hast said in Thy Word, Lord, "Blessed are the eyes that can see and the ears that can hear..." And truly, no man can come except You draw Him. We thank Thee for the Holy Spirit. We thank Thee for these people that's here tonight, that's has received the Holy Spirit. We pray, heavenly Father, that all here that has not received It, will receive It tonight. Cleanse their hearts from unbelief, and may they just, simple and child-like faith believe it, confessing, open up their heart and He will certainly come to their--their abode. Grant it, Lord.
The services are drawing close now, Lord, to a prayer line, where Your servant, I'll pray for the sick if it be Your will. I pray, Lord, that if there be sinners here, unbelievers... Oh, they may be theologians; they may be staunch church members; but if they still haven't received the Holy Spirit, or believe on Him, they're still unbelievers.
E-56 Truly, Lord, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness, and then God give him the seal of circumcision as a confirmation of his faith.
So is it today, Lord. We might say that we believe, but until we receive the Holy Ghost, it's never been confirmed, for it is written in the Book of Ephesians, 4th chapter and 30th verse: "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you're sealed until the day of your redemption." Let it be tonight, Lord, that You'll seal many away into the Kingdom of God, until the day of redemption. May they become full believers tonight, and You confirm it by giving them the Holy Spirit.
O Lord, I would pray Thee, God, let Him come now and just humble our hearts, and bring us to a spot to where that He could work through us and in us to will His will and to do His will. For we ask it in Jesus' Name. Amen.
E-57 [Someone speaks in tongues and one interprets:
"... saith the Lord, that draweth nigh unto thee. And the Lord, Thy God, wouldest say: Open thine heart and search them and break up thy fallow ground, and give thyself to Me, for I am the Lord Thy God. And I've spoken even unto thee, this night, My Word. I have give thee of My Spirit; and therefore, I would reveal and unveil Myself to thee, that thou mightest be enlightened, not only to meet Me, but to discernibly to obey Me and to perform the Word of God. For verily, My Word shall not return void, but it shall accomplish that whereunto it has pleased Me to sent It to thee. I am Thy God, Thy Deliverer. I am thy God, thy Shield, and thy Buckler. Rejoice in thine heart and praise me, and I shall show thee My glory."--Ed.]
E-58 Almighty One... Praise to Jesus' Name. Th... Now--now, if you understand, friends, that's the Spirit of the Lord speaking. Now, the Bible said, "If one speaks, another one interprets..." Now, the Lord said He was ready to unveil your eyes and show Himself to you. Oh, how wonderful. Aren't you happy for it? Wonderful.
What prayer cards did we give? "G." My son said they gave out fifty prayer cards, G-1 to 50. We will call those cards, just a moment. And now... Usually, for the last few nights, we haven't been giving prayer cards. We've been having discernments --just the people praying. Do you like that? Oh, I--I just love that. But many people wants to have hands laid on them, and then, we're right here to do that. Yes, sir.
E-59 Now, G number 1, who has it? Prayer card number 1. Now... [Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.]... if He's the High Priest, and does the Bible say, "He's the same yesterday, today, and forever?" You believe that, sister dear? All right. You believe that He is? Do you believe it, little lady, setting here in the chair? You believe that He's the High Priest. Okay? Now, He can be touched by the feeling of our--our infirmities.
If I could, my precious people, if I could, I'd come right down there and go around through the building and heal everybody here. I--I would just love to do that. I believe you believe that. I would do it, but I can't. I can't do it. It's already done. Jesus has did that. He can't forgive your sins; He's already forgive them.
E-60 But now it won't do you any good until you accept it, you believe it; you say, "Yes, Lord, I accept what You did for me." Then you're saved. And then you say, "I want You to heal me, Lord." He's already done it. Then you just have to accept what He's done. Now, He's the High Priest, setting at the right-hand of Almighty God, making intercessions upon our confession, or profession; it's the same word. So, whatever...
Now, He can't do nothing for us till we already say that He's done it. We have to confess it or profess it, that He's done it, then He can go to work on it and make the intercessions. Is that right, brother? Is that the Scripture? Making intercessions on our profession...
E-61 Now, and the Bible said, in the Book of Hebrews... Now, we have some of the best scholars in the world tonight, setting here. In the Book of Hebrews, that it's written, that He is a High Priest now, ever living, make intercessions upon our confessions. And He's also a High Priest that can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities. He--we could touch Him with our infirmity. Then, if He is the High Priest--and He is--that can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities, then, if He's the same... Hebrews 13:8 said, "He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. Now... And He said, "The works that I do, shall you also."
Now, what works did He do to make people to understand that He was the Messiah? See? Because He showed them the sign of a prophet, that He was Messiah. They knew it, 'cause Moses said that He would be a prophet. How many understands that? How many knows that Jesus said in Saint John 5:19, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, the Son can do nothing in Himself; but what He sees the Father doing... "? Then Jesus Himself, that Word is true. He never did one miracle until God showed Him a vision on what to do. How about it? That's right. A vision on what to do...
E-62 Talk about visions... This brother, translator here, was telling me today that about forty per cent of the Bible is visions. And we just... As he said, he made a beautiful illustration; said, "Pin your arm and don't use it for a few months and find out what happens." It gets so weak it can't be used. That's what the church has done with these things, with all the gifts of God. You just pin them up; they're not usable. See? Let them loose. Exercise faith, get some muscles in it. Let me tell you: Faith has got hair on the chest. When faith speaks, everything else sets down. That's right. That's right. When it speaks, everything else shuts up.
Now, if Jesus is a High Priest that can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities, then do you figure, you out there that doesn't have a prayer card, do you believe you could touch His garment tonight? Do you believe you could?
E-63 Now, if you get real hysterical and say, "Oh--oh--oh, I--I--I... Let--let me hurry; let me try it..." No, you're going to lose it right there. See? Faith is so simple, you don't know you have it. That's right. It's just a gift. It's just say, "Well, can you touch that Bible?"
"Sure."
How do you know you can? Only by faith, because it's just become so common to me, "I just reach out and get it." Well that's the way faith is. It's just so simple; you just reach out and get it. Now, you believe.
E-64 You're all strangers. How many in this prayer line is strangers, raise up your hands, strangers to me, I mean? All right. How many out there is strangers to me, raise up your hand?
Now, we're not in some ouija Board, like the devil. We're out here before these floodlights and before the people, in the Presence of God to ask God to do what He said He would do. Now, this line here is not a line of discernment. We know we just pray for these people. Discernment comes from out there. See? These people--if... How many knows that when you would... [Someone prophesies--Ed.] Amen.
E-65 Have faith. Sweetly, have faith. Now, just... I want you in the prayer line, now, watch the audience. See? And you pray and just ask the Father, "Father God, Thou knowest my need. And You know that I have need of healing. Will You help me?" Just humbly, just come like that poor little woman with that blood issue, and she touched the border of His garment and was made whole.
Over here in the corner, did you raise your hand awhile ago? You want--you--want to be healed? You think your heart's going to be all right now, you're going to be healed? You had heart trouble, didn't you? Wasn't you praying, "Lord, let it be me"? Raise up your hand it that's right. All right. Your heart trouble's finished now. Now, I do not know the man, but watch. What? Did he touch me? He's thirty feet away from me. See? He touched something, and something spoke through me, that was all. Wasn't me. I'm just like... This here microphone's a complete mute without there's something to speak through it. And that's the way we are. How do I know that man? I never knowed what... How would I know was wrong with Him? I don't.
E-66 Right here, that you might know again. Here sets a man setting right back here, suffering with heart trouble, little blue looking coat on, his shirt open. That's right, isn't it, sir? All right. He healed you right then. Your faith made you whole. See? What did he do? He touched, not me. I don't know the man; I've never seen him. But he was disparately; and he was praying, "O Lord, let Brother Branham speak to me." Ask him if that's right or not. Raise your hand if that's right, sir. Raise up your hand if you was setting there praying for me...? See?
Now, a God that can hear a prayer, can answer prayer. Don't you think so?
E-67 This lady, setting right back here, got something wrong with her hands. You believe that God will heal you, lady, with something wrong with your hands, setting there? You want to be healed? All right. Your faith touched Him then. Your hands will get well.
That lady setting right behind you there; she's had an awful operation, and she's praying also for her to get over that. Is that right, lady, raise up your hand? All right. You're going to get well. Where the doctors fail... Satan hid from the doctors, but he can't hide from God. He knows right where he's at. So he's gone. Have faith in God.
This lady setting right over here close to where that baby's being rocked back and forth there, she's praying about a foot trouble. But you believe that God will heal the feet? If you believe it, all right, stand up, lady, so that they'll know who I'm talking about. That's it, you, right there, sister. Just tell God that you love Him. Do you love Him? All right, then you can go home and be well. The Lord bless you. That's very fine.
E-68 And by the way, when you set down, that lady right next to you was so thrilled. Having that bladder trouble, but it's gone too, sister. You can stand up on to your feet and accept it also. So you're healed.
You believe with all your heart? Now, you see, now we know His Presence is here. Now, be reverent.
Now, if anyone knows that when a vision strikes, it weakens you. How many knows that? How many knows that the Son of God said, when a woman touched His garment, He said, "Who touched Me?" and He looked around and said, "I perceive that virtue (That's strength.) has gone from..." Him. And that takes strength. What, would all these people here...? If the Son of God, one woman touching Him, and there's seven or eight people across there, then... See? And you're still touching, if I just speak, you see. It's your--it's your faith.
E-69 But now, this line here, you believe. Now, Jesus said, "These signs shall follow them that believe."
Look, the other night, coming by, I laid hands on a little boy, blind. Walked right up there, and started down the steps, and received his sight. How many was here when that happened? Sure. Little boy, born blind, 'bout sixteen, seventeen years old. Begin to scream back, "Oh, Brother Branham, I can see." Sure. I can't heal. I can just obey a commandment. See? That's what I do here. When He told me that these things would come to pass...
And let me tell you something now. The new ministry that's coming up, will be so far beyond this, till you... It's all... I've already seen it working four or five times. They's many of the people that's with me knows that to be true. We're facing ready for a great hour.
E-70 But that you might know, here's a fine person standing here. We're strangers to one another, are we, lady, you and I? Well, He don't... But it... I have no idea what's--the woman. I... You said something, sister, I didn't... Oh, I've prayed for you before. Uh-huh. Of course I wouldn't know that. My... I don't know what's wrong with you now. God... Or if I... God knows that I don't remember you. See? But just that the people might see that God's just as great here, out there; it's just wherever your faith is.
Right now, just to settle down... See, I'm trying to throw myself off from you, to keep from your faith pulling this a way. And the first thing you know, I just wilt right down. You just can't stands too much. Pray for someone; then turn around and change the subject, and pray for someone again just to keep strength up, to keep my promise to lay hands on the American people.
E-71 We never have to do it overseas. Just one thing to be spoke out like that, the whole group just raises up, leaves wheelchairs and everything else, and goes on home. That's all over. See?
But there's so many confusions of different teachings here in America, they don't know what to believe. That's right. One says, "Oh, telepathy." The other one, "The devil." One says, "Do this." One... Poor people. Listen. You... "Let every man's word be a lie and God's be true." That's just the only way it's at. He's here. He's already healed you. You just accept it.
E-72 Now, look lady, if the Lord Jesus will reveal to me something of you, that you know I don't know nothing about you, and if the Lord Jesus will reveal something to me, that you know it has to come supernatural, would--would it make you believe better? It would? Would it make the audience believe better? Now, she's close to me, here (You see?), just real close.
Now, this is the same picture of Saint John 4: a man and a woman meeting for the first time, setting here. It's just a... Maybe the little well was a panoramic like this. Now, Jesus begin to talk to her. Now, you're not the woman, and I'm not Him, but His Spirit still lives. See? In that time it was in the flesh called the Son of God. And now, we're adopted sons of God, by His grace, so that His work can carry on (See?), and still declaring.
E-73 The lady is very, very sick. She's got a female trouble, lady's trouble. That's right. And if that's right, raise up your hand. You believe now?
I keep feeling somebody saying, "He's guessing that." Stop thinking that. You hurt the meeting. I'm not guessing that. That's the power of God. Here stand still a minute. See now, just so as get that out of their mind.
Let's see, I don't know what it was, but just a minute till I finally... Yes, you've been to a--a doctor. It's a female... Yeah, not only that, you're up for an operation. That's right. And you have a kidney trouble. You have a bladder trouble. You're not from this country. You're from Missouri. You're name's Miss. Hildreth. Now, go back up there and be--and be made well in the Name of the...?... God bless you, sister. Your faith has made you whole. Just believe with all your heart...?...
E-74 You believe now as you come? If I don't say one thing, will you believe to lay hands on the sick? The rest of you going to believe it now? Come right on here. Everybody pray now for these people. Father in heaven, may the power of Almighty God rest upon the woman and heal her. Amen.
All right, come. You believe, sister? What if I told you you was healed while you was setting in the chair when That come upon you? It's gone...?...
You believe now, sister? Let's--whole church is praying for you. Now, heavenly Father, I lay hands upon her and ask for her healing in Jesus' Name. Amen.
Come. Now, you know that I know what's wrong with you. But if I don't say nothing, would you believe anyhow. Then go eat your supper. Your stomach trouble left you, you can go eat. Lord Bless you. You believe, sister? In the Name of the Lord Jesus, may she be healed.
E-75 Come, sir. You believe the heart trouble left you when you come up step a few minutes ago? If I told you it did, would you believe it? Go on your road. Say, "Thank you, Lord Jesus."
Come on. You believe with all your heart, sister, and that arthritis will go away, and you'll be made well. Lord, I pray that You'll grant it in Jesus' Name. Amen.
Come, sister. Now, I... You know I know what's wrong with you, don't you? You want me to tell you? I believe you do. All right. Now, you're awful young for that, but you got a nervousness. Now, that's right, a mental nervousness: upset and you're, get real weary late of an afternoon and drop things. That's exactly what you do. Got a mind that thinks; you're always crossing bridges before you get to them. Forget it. Go home, Jesus Christ makes you well. Believe with all your heart.
Come. Father God, in the Name of the Lord Jesus, I pray that You'll heal and make well this woman. Amen. Go on...?...
E-76 Father, I pray that in Jesus' Name that You'll heal...?... You going to believe now, sister for him?
Come, sonny boy...?... Don't doubt. You going to believe for him with all your heart sister? Our heavenly Father, You took the little boys and put Your hands upon them and they were healed. I do this in Jesus' Name. Amen. Believe now.
The Holy Spirit's here, just the same Holy Spirit that knows all about things. Now, if you don't doubt at all, you'll get over it; you'll be all right. So just go believing. See?
Now, you people coming through, when you're--you know--you keep thinking; you keep wondering, watching, see if I'm going to tell you. If I'm... They'll come get me and take me out of the line, the rest of them won't get through the line (See?), so don't do that. See, He's still here. He knows--He knows all about it. He knows everything. Don't you believe that?
E-77 Do you believe that, lady? Are we strangers to one another? God knows us both doesn't He? You believe God can tell me what your trouble is? If He will do it for this woman, will the rest of you believe for the rest of the night with all your heart? Raise up your hands if you say you... Here's my hands. I don't know the woman, never seen her. All right. Just have faith.
Got broken ribs. That's right. It's what's wrong with you. Exactly right. You got a burden on your heart for somebody else you're praying for. That's your father-in-law. That's right. And he's blind, got cancer of the stomach. You mind if I say the rest of it? He was too poor to come to the meeting. He didn't have money to--for him to come to the meeting. Here. Put that on him in the Name of the Lord. Take my handkerchief, and tell him he will get well...?... In the Name Jesus Christ...?...
Father, I...?...
E-78 Nervousness did it, made a peptic ulcer, like, caused that acid in your mouth and things after eating. Go get you a hamburger. Your faith makes you well...?...
Our heavenly Father, I pray for this boy that the power of God will make him well. Amen. Mother, you're passing under the cross for him. Believe with all your heart. God bless you...?... Have faith.
What do you think about the little baby? You... That's what you want prayer for. You believe God could--could tell me what's the matter? Would it help you? I see it's a serious thing. It's a brain trouble, kindy a like mental retarded like. It's had three operations of no good. You believe God can hear my prayer? Then I cast the...?... Jesus Name...?... Don't doubt; he will get all right.
E-79 Lord, I pray that You'll heal this woman in Jesus' Name...?...
Come, sister,...?... In the Name of Jesus Christ may she be healed. O Lord...?... Don't doubt...?...
In Jesus' Name may you be healed.
Come, sister dear...?... hand. In the Name of Jesus Christ may she be healed. Don't doubt. Go, believing.
Coming like you're coming...?...
Go--go believing with all that's in you, now...?...
Something happened in the audience. Somebody was healed in the audience. Just a moment. I'll get it.
Are you the one to be prayed for? Do you believe God? Something wrong with your lungs, got a trouble in your lungs. You just had a nervous breakdown. You're not from here. You're from California. You're a minister, Mr. Alsup. Go home, be well.
E-80 O Lord, come, I pray in Jesus' Name that You'll grant it, Lord...?...
Come, sister dear. Everybody pray now. It's weakness. You pray, pray, pray. In Jesus' Name I pray Father that You'll heal...?...
Come, sir. Believe with all your heart and you remove your trumpet, in the Name of Jesus Christ. Yes, I know you can. I know you can. Believe now.
This little crippled boy. O Lord, I pray that you'll heal the little lad. May he return back, walking and rejoicing, in Jesus' Name. Amen. Don't doubt...?... You believe with all your heart. See?
All right. Come, sister, here. Believe with all that's in you. In the Name of the Lord Jesus may she be healed. Amen.
Come brother, with all the faith that you can, would you believe. In the Name of Jesus Christ, may you be healed. Amen. Amen.
Come, lady. O Father God, in the Name of Jesus Christ, may she be healed. Pray, all the church pray together now. Just, what if this is your children passing through here?
Come...?... O God, I pray that You'll heal the little lad and make him well in Jesus' Name. Amen...?...
E-81 Come, sir. Lord, in the Name of Jesus Christ, grant his request Father...?...
Come, sir. Heavenly Father, grant this request, and may she be healed for the glory of God. Amen. God bless you. If you won't doubt...?... God bless you...?...
Father God, I pray that You would grant his request to him that he's asking. In the Name of Jesus Christ, may it be so. Amen.
Come now, believing with all your heart. Are you believe with all your heart? Come here just a minute. O heavenly Father, I pray that in Christ's Name that You'll grant this request, and may she be healed for the Kingdom of God's sake. Amen.
In the Name of Jesus Christ may you be healed, Father, for the Kingdom of God's sake. Amen. Look how many people's praying for you out there, dad. You've got to make it. You've got to do it. Father God, in the Name of Jesus Christ grant her healing for Your glory. Grant it.
You believe for the little one? Bring him here. O God, don't doubt no more. See? Let... You--you try, but don't do that. Father, cursed be the devil that's done this evil. May the child get well. Do you believe that God heard that? I tell you, to be sure that you'll know, you put a string around its head. And then you measure it tonight; cut the string off. Then tomorrow morning, or tomorrow night 'fore you come back, measure it again, and then show me how much it's shrank and lay it up here on the desk. And watch how much it shrinks between now and the morning...?... He loves you...?... Have faith. You going to believe, laying there? Going to believe, all of you? Have faith now. It's just whatever you believe.
E-82 Now, are you the--you to be prayed for? Do you believe the Lord Jesus? Do you believe me to be His prophet--or His servant? You believe me to be His servant? Prophet staggers the people See? I know somewhere they're listening at me. Very weak... But do you believe that God will hear prayer? All right.
Listen. Your trouble is in your side. That's right. You've got a loved one you're praying for, and that loved one's in kind of a mental case. That's right. You believe they'll get well? You believe that handkerchief you've got will catch it? Mrs. Hammer? That's your name. You're not from here. You're from Oklahoma, Wagner. Now, return back and take that handkerchief. Believe with all your heart and Jesus...?...
E-83 Do you believe, out there, with all your heart, each one of you? Do you believe, everybody? I'll tell you what you do, if you can. Reach over and lay hands on somebody. Lay hands on. Young man, lay your hands on little one. Raise...?... Lay your hands right upon that little girl. All right. Someone walk over there and lay their hands on this lady on the cot. All of you, are you believers, say, "Amen."
Come here, brethren. Take one of these mikes, each one of you. Bow your heads. Jesus Christ the Son of God, Who is present now, knows your heart. (I am so weak I can't hardly stand it, now. You can realize the condition.) Jesus said, "These signs shall follow them that believe. If they lay their hands on the sick, they shall recover." If you're a believer, just lay your hands on somebody and pray for them, and they'll pray for you. Now, I'm going to pray for all of you. And God will hear my prayer. God will hear your prayer. And I don't care what's wrong with you, you just believe right now and you're going to get well, everyone.
E-84 A little girl there was crippled, setting in a wheelchair, and has raised up. In the Name of the Lord. Now, Lord, I pray that Your power and grace will be sufficient at this time into the people's heart, like the Queen of Sheba, may they stand today, proving God is in the midst of His people.
And Satan, you who's bound the people, I charge thee as a deceiver. I charge thee as having no power. You're only a deceiver. Jesus Christ triumphed over all the powers you have and stripped you from every power. You're deceiving the people, and you've been exposed tonight. Come out of this audience, in the Name of Jesus Christ. Leave them people...