We Would See Jesus
Open Bible Standard Church in Spokane, Washington,
Sermon translation in Russian: 62-0712 - Москва
Sermon translation in French: 62-0712 - Shp
E-1 Thank you, Brother Borders. Let's remain standing tonight just for a moment as we bow our heads for prayer. Now, while we have our heads bowed, is there a request that you would like to make known to God? Let it be known by a uplifted hand. God grant every one of them.
Our heavenly Father, we've come tonight in the Name of Thy Son, the Lord Jesus, the lovely One. We come praying, believing that You will grant the requests that's been asked tonight, because we believe, Father, that it come from a sincere heart; that they really have need, and the need is for Your glory. And we pray that You will grant their requests, each of them.
E-2 And now, this being the second night in the service, we thank Thee for last night, for those who came forward to accept Christ as their Saviour, trusting that each one that was coming back home from a backslidden condition, that their experience was renewed. They know... We know that God stands with a hand out ready to receive the prodigal as he returns. And those who were seeking the baptism of the Spirit, we pray, God, that You fill their hearts with Thy goodness and mercy and power. Grant it, Lord.
Now, tonight as we're going to pray for the sick, if it be Your will, we trust that there will not be a feeble person in our midst tonight when the service is over. May those that's dying with heart trouble be healed, those that's dying with cancers that the doctors has fought hard to try to save their life, but it seems like it's hopeless, but God, there is a Balm in Gilead, and we're so thankful that--to know that, and to share the promises of God with each other.
E-3 And we pray that You'll come into our midst tonight with such great faith, Lord, that there will be such a great time... And we pray that You'll be so--so real to everyone tonight, Lord, that when we leave to go to our homes that we'll say like those who came from Emmaus that day after the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord... They were wondering along the road, "Did He really raise or not?" But when He got them in in the evening time, about this time or a little later, the doors was a... [A prophecy is given--Ed.]
And let Thy peace and Thy mercy, O God, be with us and help us, and deliver every one, Lord, that is afflicted. Let the Holy Spirit do the great work that He has been sent to do among us, and we'll bow our heads in humility and simplicity and give thanks and praise to Thee. We ask it in Jesus' Name. Amen.
E-4 The brother has just laid here some prayer requests, and we're trusting that the Lord God will grant this and many of... [Someone speaks to Brother Branham--Ed.]... Handkerchiefs, and... Yes.
Now, we do believe in praying over handkerchiefs for the sick and the afflicted. Now, we take that from the Bible. One time in South Africa... I believe one of the books out there they have a picture of it, I had several great sackfuls of handkerchiefs that had been sent in by the people. And they said, "Brother Branham is very superstitious, because he prays for--over handkerchiefs." And it wasn't superstitious; it's just Scriptural, that... Now, we realize that--that it...
E-5 I believe that Paul was very fundamental, Scriptural in everything that he did. Now, we all have to believe that because--to believe the Bible. God would not permitted this man to write the Bible, the--the books in the Bible that he did... I believe Paul of the New Testament was like Moses of the Old. And Paul was a missionary prophet to the Gentiles. Now, we're trusting that in this, that people will understand that Paul... Where I think that he received it, that...
You know Elijah one time, a great prophet of the Lord... A Shunammite woman lost her child, and so she came to Elijah and asked him about the child. And he said, "Take this staff," to Gehazi, his servant, "go lay it on the child." And I believe that that's what--where Paul got the idea of laying handkerchiefs. 'Cause Elijah knew that whatever he touched was blessed, if he could just get the woman to believe the same thing. But the woman's faith wasn't in what he touched; it was in the prophet.
E-6 Then we find out that in Paul's time they taken handkerchiefs and aprons... The people (greater faith) believed, and they laid these handkerchiefs and aprons upon the people, and evil spirits went out of them, and they were healed.
Now, we know Paul's been gone for a long time, but the Holy Spirit's still here. It's a... He's no respect of person, and He gives people favor amongst the people, ministers, to believe that that man, something about him that proves that God is with that pastor, and they believe that. And all fulE-Gospel, believing people take handkerchiefs, aprons, and so forth from their bodies and lay them upon the sick and the afflicted, and they get well. And we have greater success with that than anything yet that...
E-7 Here some time ago a little German woman... I send them out by the thousands, and she received one. And she had her neighbors to come in. She didn't have a pastor, so she had the neighbors come in and pray. And she confessed all of her faults. There's one thing you've got to do, is make things right with God, 'cause the affliction might be on you for that purpose, and so--to bring you to God. So confess all your sins. And when she did she laid it upon her.
She'd been crippled with arthritis for about twenty years. And she said, "All right, old man devil, now the works is done, so get away. Here I come." Got right up and walked away from the wheelchair--just that simple. See? Said, "All right, everything's complete now; the works was all finished, so just get up and walk away." That's the way we've got to believe it, just in that manner, just as simple as we can be.
E-8 We--the people today make the Gospel too complicated for people. See? That's always been the reason it goes over the head of the common people. And the Gospel was sent for all, but it's usually the common people that hears it. Luke said, "The common people heard Jesus gladly," the common people.
And so God makes it so simple He said in Isaiah, "Even a fool shouldn't err in the way." So we never want to make it complicated. It's simple, the simplicity of believing it, just having faith. Don't move from it. Stay right with it, and God takes care of the rest.
E-9 Now, last night I kept you late. I'm going to try tonight to pray for the sick, and I think Billy told me awhile ago that he give out a group of prayer cards to the people. The reason we do that is to keep them lined up, so who can come and who cannot. And each one gets a card can--may come to the platform. But anyone's ever been in the meeting know there's five healed in the audience while one's healed on the platform. It's always greater in the audience: faith.
Now, many people want you to lay hands upon them. That's perfectly all right. That's Scripture. Jesus said, "These signs shall follow them that believe. If they lay hands on the sick they shall recover." Now, that's--that's God's Word, so we believe it. Now, but did you notice, that was kind of a Jewish custom. It wasn't so with the Gentiles.
E-10 Now, when Jairus' daughter was laying at the point of death, they sent for the Lord Jesus, and when He... On His road over there the girl died, perhaps in His travel from the seacoast up to the house. And a runner come, said, "Don't trouble Him. She's already dead."
And watch what Jairus said. He said, "My daughter lays at the point of death. But come lay Thy hands upon her and she'll get well. She'll be healed." That's Jewish, because he was a teacher, rabbi.
E-11 But did you notice the Roman, the Gentile? When Jesus come to heal his servant, he said, "I'm not worthy that You come under my roof." And said, "Just... I'm a man under authority." Said, "I say to this man, 'Go,' and he goes; to this man, 'come,' and he comes." See, he was saying to Jesus that he recognized Himself (Christ) to have the authority over all diseases, just like he had authority over the hundred men that was under him. See? "I'm a man under authority also. And I say to this man that's under my authority, 'You come,' or 'You go,' and he does it. Just speak the Word; my servant will live." That's it.
Did you notice what our Master said? He turned around, said, "I haven't found faith like that in Israel." See, see?
"Just speak the word; that's all you have to do," 'cause he knowed that every disease, and every affliction, and everything was under Christ's control. All He has to do is speak the Word.
And He sent His Word and healed them. See? So we know that we need His Word. It's the Word makes us free.
E-12 Now, tonight, if you keep texts, I just want to give a little basis. Last night, the reason I didn't pray for the sick last night... First thing, I didn't know whether they permitted praying for the sick in the church here or not. I knew they had it in a church. A bunch of brethren was sponsoring it, but they had it in a church. And I want to be very careful that I don't do nothing that--that brings an offense or hinder. I just want to do as I think it's the right thing to do.
And then I--then I seen all the sick and afflicted, and a brother said, "Sure, they believed it." Today I happened to find out this Open Bible church, that...
E-13 My, such wonderful friends that I have in that church. Brother Mitchell was one of them. One night we was having a meeting at Brother Mitchell's church, and his son-in-law didn't have the Holy Ghost. I didn't know his son-in-law, or his daughter. And she was there, and she was barren, had no children. And while I was yet speaking, the Holy Ghost spoke to the girl and said, "THUS SAITH THE LORD, you'll have the child. And your husband sets out there. THUS SAITH THE LORD, he receives the Holy Ghost." He received the Holy Ghost. That night after service... Brother Bryant never had no children yet, so they begin to call him, "Grandfather." Nine months, here was the baby.
So it--it just has never failed. You watch It. When It says so, it's perfect that way. I'm fifty-three years old. I saw visions since I was a little bitty boy. I've never seen one of them fail, and it can't fail. God cannot fail. That's one thing God cannot do. He cannot fail. And He--He just can't, because He's God.
E-14 And now, we wish to read some Word over here in the Bible, 'cause I know that my words is the word of a man. These is God's Words, so It can't fail. And now, tonight for a little Scripture reading I want to take a couple places. First, I want to read out of--just in a routine now, just in the way of reading, and a little routine service to kind of base it.
The message, if you don't get the thing, just... You--you have to have faith. There's only one way to be healed or saved, and that's by faith. Your emotions, that won't save you. Your mental ideas, it won't save you. It's got to be faith. And faith does not, cannot, never will fail when you really believe it.
E-15 Now, it's too bad we don't have about a month here in this city in some auditorium, where we just take messages on faith, build the people to that. Let all these sick people throughout the building here that's setting here, let them come, watch night after night, see what takes place, watch for faith until really something anchors. Then they get it. When it--when faith anchors, it's there to stay. It'll never be moved. Nothing can ever move faith.
I find in a prayer line about ninety-nine out of every hundred that comes to the platform... Oh, I've heard people say, "Oh, Brother Branham, I got all faith." Then what are they doing up there. See, see? See, it's hope instead of faith. See? If faith, you know something. It's just as positive as if you're setting here. It's more positive than you're setting here.
It's a sixth sense. Five senses won't touch it. It's the sixth sense. Five senses won't declare faith at all. It's the sixth sense, and the sixth sense is the one that declares the whole armor of God. And the whole armor of God is nothing that the... one of the five senses will declare. Do you believe that?
Look. Faith, love, joy, peace, long-suffering, meekness, gentleness, patience, who can declare that by some of your science? You can't do it. It's a faith, the sixth sense that goes out and declares it. "It's the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." You don't see it, taste it, feel it, smell it, or hear it; you believe it. That's right.
E-16 And now, what if I was dying, and you--a loaf of bread would save my life, and the loaf of bread cost twenty-five cents. And you gave me the purchase price of a loaf of bread--twenty-five cents. I could be just as happy with the twenty-five cents, and rejoice just as much as if I had the loaf of bread in the other hand, because I've got the purchasing price of the bread. And if you've got faith, and no matter how long it takes the thing to happen, you've got it. That's all. See? It'll purchase what you're asking for.
Oh, I wish we could just get that much right there, if you could just... If you could just grasp that much. Not a mental belief; but from the heart.
Then there's no one, nothing anywhere, could ever shake you away from it. When something's anchored, that settles it. You could no more deny that than you could deny you was a human being. See? It's just the real part. We must believe it.
E-17 Now, I want to say this, that I am not a Divine healer. People call me that, but I am not. No man is a healer. If a man comes by and says he is a healer, you watch that fellow: something wrong. Neither am I a Saviour. I could be a--a Saviour just as well as I could be a healer, because He, Christ, was wounded for our transgressions, with His stripes we were healed. It's a past tense.
Every sin in the world was forgiven when Christ died at Calvary. You believe that? There's a Blood atonement on the altar for--for the sins of the world. But it'll never do you any good until you accept it and confess it. And He can never work on it until first you say, and have by faith accepted it.
Then He's a High Priest to make intercessions upon our confession. See, He can't move, He--He's bound; there's nothing He can do, until first you accept it and confess it; and from your heart you believe it. Then it touches Him, and then He can go to work on it and make intercessions for you. There you are.
E-18 So then, somebody said, "I got healing in my hands. I got healing..." Oh, well, if it's in your hands, then what happened to Calvary? See? What happened to the Blood of the Lord Jesus? If rubbing oil, or--or blood, or smoke, fire, or whatever it might be, is healing, then what happened to Calvary? What happened to the Blood of Jesus Christ?
No wonder people are so confused. If they could only stop a minute to realize that there has--that a bogus absolutely only declares that there is a real. But people is just... They don't know which way to go.
There's been so much gone forth in the Name of Holy Spirit, been so much gone forth in the name of Divine healing, till sensible-thinking people... You can hardly blame them from being afraid. But remember, friend, as sure as there is one that isn't right, it's got to be one that is right.
E-19 But what--what is sin? Is unbelief. What is righteousness? Faith. And sin is only righteousness perverted. What is a lie? Is the truth misrepresented. What's an adultery? Is the right act misrepresented in the wrong way. See, all things...
There's only two things. That's right and wrong. And Satan is not a creator. There's only one Creator. That's God. Satan perverts what God has created. But as long as you have faith in the Creator, in Him, God brings it back to its right place.
E-20 What if there was a stalk of corn growing and a chunk was laying on it? It'd grow crooked. Pick up, move every obstacle that's hindering that, and the--and the sun that it's sticking up towards, it'll finally grow that stalk of corn right out straight again. Cast out an evil spirit, then the people say, "Well, wasn't nothing happened to me." You--you grow right back straight. If you believe that, and know that something happened to you, there's nothing to keep you from straightening right back again. You just hold on to it.
It's just like the sun. The sun is the--controls all botany life. The s-u-n controls all botany life. When springtime comes, that little seed laying in the ground, you can't hide it. No matter... You put a rock over it, it'll work its way right up from under that concrete, and stick its head up, and praise God. It's life. Sure. That's why you can bury in the sea, you can burn your body to ashes, but you'll... No matter what they'd ever do to you, you'll rise again.
Where's your--where's your most grass at in the springtime, if you lay it--your concrete, rocks over it? Right at the edge of your walk. Why? It's all that life under there. When that sun begins to shine down, though it be under concrete, it's got to find its way out, stick its head up, and praise God. Just as sure as that sun begins to strike it, it's coming out.
E-21 And as sure as the S-o-n, Who controls all Eternal Life, if it strikes that germitized, predestinated seed, something happens. It takes a hold, and there it holds there, twists its way through every obstacle there is. Finally it sticks its head up and said, "Praise God, I knew it was so." That's it. That's faith. Believe it. Don't just make-believe; be a believer, genuine.
That's what I made my altar call for first last night, before we start a prayer line. We could've had the prayer line last night, but we had people at the altar. We got to get the foundation laid first.
E-22 You've got to... Jump up and grab something--that's the American way of doing it: grab, like a monkey reaching for anything that shines. Let's get back, and get the foundation Gospel, Christ, and there, upon that Rock, build your faith, upon Christ; not upon some mythology of some fellow coming around, and a lot of ballyhoo, and work up. Come back to that Word, and stay there on that Word. And don't--don't you leave that Word. If it's contrary to the Word, let it alone; if it's with the Word, believe it.
And it's the sensible, sane, doctrine of the Bible: Divine healing. If there is no Divine healing... It's the earnest of our resurrection. I've seen a shadow of a man dying with sarcomas cancer made perfectly whole. I've seen people that'd had been dead, doctor's statements wrote out, been dead for twenty-four hours and rise back to life again. Can prove that by doctor's statements. See?
E-23 I know that it's real. God is God. He can't fail. His Word is so, but you've got to believe it, not just imagine it; believe it. (Now, so much time will pass by in talking to you, won't even get to my text.)
Well now, we want... If you find me saying anything, teaching anything that's not Scriptural, you owe it to me to tell me about it. Yes, sir, it's got to come from this Bible. It's got to be a promise of God. And then we know that there...
E-24 A doctor told me one time... Fine man. Wish I had time to tell you his story, how he was converted, but... He said, "Oh, I believe, Billy, if anybody could touch that pole out there and believe it, they'd get well, that believe it."
I said, "Doctor, who could have faith in touching the pole? Faith ain't a myth. It's got to be based on something. What's any more eternal than God's Word?"
Like the old colored fellow down south, he said, "I'd rather be standing on the Bible than standing in heaven." His boss asked him why. He said, "Well, the Bible said, 'heavens and earth will pass away, but my Word won't.'" So heaven and earth's gone, he's still there because he's standing on the Word. And that's just it: stand on the Word. It's the truth. God said it. No other... Nothing else in the world can take Its place. No institution, no denomination, no nothing can take the place of the Word of God. And anything contrary to It is wrong to my way of thinking.
E-25 Now, let us read here now in our precious Bible out of Saint John the 12th chapter and the 20th verse. Then I want to take Hebrews 13:8 for a little backing. And that's the campaign theme always. Now, in Saint John the 12th chapter, 20th verse... Now, usually the first night before healing, I approach this text, and each time try to get a little different.
And there was certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast:
The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.
Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew... tell Jesus.
And in Hebrews 13:8, the Bible said in the 13th chapter of Hebrews and the--the 8th verse, that:
Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever.
E-26 Now, we want to approach this question. And now, I--I--I hope I don't take too long for these poor suffering people setting here in these wheelchairs, and cots, and stretchers. And--and they're in bad shape, crippled up like that. But remember, that they're... Perhaps these people might live an ordinary lifetime being crippled, but there may be a man setting out there with heart trouble and don't know it. He may have to have his right now, or he will die tonight. See? We don't know. Let's just make the Scripture so clear and plain, if we can, by the help of God, that we'll be able to--to help the whole group to find--see what we're talking about.
Now, I have a few Scriptures written out here that I want to refer to, and now, I want you to pray with me while I do.
E-27 Now, the question is... As a missionary I've had the experience of meeting with all kinds of religions. I was entertained just recently in Bombay, India, with seventeen different kinds of religion, and every one of them denied Christ and God. See? That's just--that's just a little group of them. See? And there's all kinds of gods, all kinds of everything.
That's why I can't... Wonder why we in America, under one God, with a church under every corner like that, can't come together and have fellowship? I just can't understand it. I can understand those people, a different god. But what about us. See?
Now, and each one has their mystic idea. But every one of them, their founders was men who lived and died and buried and still there. But there's only one of them that's true, and that's Christianity. For the Founder of Christianity lived, died, and rose again, to prove that He was God, and has been alive for two thousand years with us. That makes Him the same yesterday, today, and forever.
E-28 Now, I read out of Saint John. We're going to turn back the first of Saint John, and just start talking about Jesus for a little bit and find out about Him. Now, if I would say to all the--the Catholic here, "Does your church believe that He's the same yesterday, today, and forever?"
"Yes."
Lutheran, Baptist, Pentecostals, Church of God, Assembly of God, oh, everybody would say, "Yes, sure." Well, there's so much difference somewhere. There's got to be something wrong or something right somewhere, to me. It's too--it's too broke up. Now, now, there's only one way that we can find out today, if He is today the same as He was yesterday, is find out what He was yesterday; and then test it whether He's the same today. Now, He's the same yesterday, today, and forever.
E-29 Now, these Greeks that came to the Lord Jesus, or came to Philip of Bethsaida, they--they themselves were curious. They'd heard about Jesus and they wanted to see Him. Now, there's an old saying, "I'm from Missouri. Show me." Now, those Greeks were something like that. We... They wanted to see Him.
I don't believe there's anybody that ever heard His wonderful Name breathed but what wants to see Him. I believe if I'd say tonight in this audience, "How many of you would like to see Jesus," every one of you would put up your hand. Is that right? Every one of us would like to see Him, everywhere. Well then, the Scriptures can't lie, and if these Greeks got their request to see Him, then why can't we if He's the same? Now, just think of it.
I'm going to take my time. I don't want you to be nervous. Just set quiet awhile and reason it as we talk.
E-30 Now, if He is the same (and God forgive me for using that word to make a point--"if He is"--we know). Now, then, why can't we see Him if they got to see Him? Now, He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. Now, the only way that we can find out whether we're right or not is to go back and find out what He was yesterday, and then He is the same today, and will be forever.
E-31 Now, if you know when this statement was made, it was made in the New Testament. It was Paul, we believe, writing the book of Hebrews to the Hebrews, separating law from grace. And we find out here that he said, "Jesus Christ is the Same yesterday (in the Old Testament), today, and forever the same." Well then, I believe that in the Old Testament it was still Jesus Christ. I believe that the Pillar of Fire that followed--led Israel through the wilderness was Christ. The Bible said It was. Any teacher knows It's the Angel of the Covenant, which was Christ.
And then when Jesus was here on earth He said, "A little while and the world seeth Me no more, yet ye shall see Me. I come from God and I go to God." And after that Pillar of Fire was made flesh in the form of man, God's Son dwelt among us, manifested Himself and proved God, for He was the manifestation of God in flesh... God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself.
E-32 Then after His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, Saul of Tarsus was on his road down to Damascus to arrest those people that'd become Pentecostal. And on his road down he was stricken down by a great Light, same Pillar of Fire, returned back to God: came from God; returned to God. And He said, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?"
He said, "Who are You, Lord?"
He said, "I am Jesus (See?), and it's hard for you to kick against the pricks."
Now, to go back and find out, we see that...
We'lE--we'll base it on through the week greater, make it more plainer. But I--I--I didn't set my watch to alarm tonight. I'm watching that clock there. So we'll try to leave it like that.
E-33 Now, He was in the Old Testament a Pillar of Fire; He was on earth the Son of God manifested, same God in flesh; and now He's in the form of the Holy Spirit: the same God in three offices, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, making Himself... That's the reason Matthew said baptize in the Name of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. It was the fatherhood, sonship, and Holy Ghost, the same God using three different offices: God condescending.
E-34 God, holy, couldn't come around sin. All right. Even a--a beast touched the mountain must be thrust through. So great was the quake till even they cried out, "Let Moses speak and not God," 'cause sin was horrible. And then God, made flesh among us, worked with us... I Timothy 3:16, "Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness, for God was manifested in flesh." There He was in flesh, making Himself known, a little closer to us. Now, what...
He died to redeem a church and all that was in Him. Now, He's come in the form of the Holy Ghost: God above us, God with us, God in us. See? God in us the same yesterday, today, and forever, the Holy Spirit working, carrying out, finishing the works of Christ, which was in Christ. Now, remember. All that God was He poured into His Son, Jesus Christ. And all that Christ was He poured into His church. See, makes Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever.
E-35 Now, notice. Let's find out what He was. Now, in the beginning, I John the 1st chapter... We're going to stay in John tonight. Tomorrow night we'll go in another--readings and so forth, another writer, some place else in the Bible. But notice. Now, in John's writing, starts out back there, "In the beginning was the Word."
Now, what is a word? A word is a thought expressed. You have to think it before you express it. That's the reason Jesus said to the Pharisees, "You hypocrites, how can you say good, and when--call Me good..." and so forth, when He knew in their hearts they were thinking evil of Him.
Said, "From the heart... The--the--the mouth speaketh from the heart." If you don't, then it's--it's your thoughts expressing themselves, and you express something else. Then it's hypocrisy, it isn't coming from your heart.
E-36 So "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." It hadn't been expressed yet. "And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us." The Word, Christ is the Word. Now, when He came on earth... In the beginning was the Word, and, the thought Word, and then the Word once expressed in Eden, it become reality.
God cannot say anything and ever take it back. That's why we base our--our hopes upon God, because God being infinite, He cannot change. If I can say something today, tomorrow I might think different. Next year I might be a lot smarter; I can think different. You can. But not God. Every decision is perfect. If God once says anything, it's eternal that way. It can never be changed.
And now, God... That's the reason Jesus was the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world, because it was in God's thinking. And when the Word was expressed, then it become flesh and dwelt among us. Oh, I love that. That gives me such hope. I--I--I love that because it gives the assurance that the great infinite God that we serve knowed all things and knowed us before the world was ever created. How glorious that is.
E-37 The people gets scared. What are you scared about? Those who He foreknew He called; those who He called He justified; those who He has justified, He's already glorified. What you scared about? Just take a hold of God like little children, and hold onto it, and believe God your Father. He loves you. He's done everything He could to redeem you. You're...
And the Bible said the antichrist deceived all that lived upon the earth whose names were not written in the Lamb's Book of Life from the foundation of the world. God, by His foreknowledge, saw you, put your name in His Book. And that's the reason you're here tonight, because you've answered that call. God foreknew you and called you, and you accepted His call.
Now, you say, can you... I... Every man seeks out his own salvation with fear and trembling. I hope my name was among that. But if it was, my name ever on the Book of Life, it was put there before the foundation of the world, when the Lamb was slain for me in the thinking of God. He's infinite. You don't just simply run a business just haphazardly. I don't run my business like that, and you wouldn't yours. God doesn't His. Christ come to redeem those who God foresaw and foreknew that would come to Him. Aren't you glad that you have come?
E-38 And now, with reverence you say, "Brother Branham, am I there?" I don't know. If you're in the church, you're there. And the only one way to get in the church: by one Spirit, we're all baptized into one body by the Holy Spirit. We don't join it. Joining church is all right, but I've been with the Branham family fifty-three years, and they've never asked me to join the family. I was born in it. So I become a Branham by birth. And that's the way a man becomes a Christian, when he's borned of the Holy Spirit. And then if you're borned of the Holy Spirit then you'll become, through Christ... Being dead in Christ you take on Abraham's royal seed, and are heirs with Abraham according to the promise.
E-39 What's the church scared about? I've always wondered what's the matter with the Pentecostal people. They--they've got... They've got enough faith to blow up the world, and they've got enough faith for all kinds of healings, but they're afraid to use it. That's the devil. If we could break that shadow of blackness from under the people, something's going to happen. And that's my purpose here.
I find two people, two classes. One of them's fundamentalist. Oh, they positionally know where they are by accepting Christ, positioned in Him; but they haven't got no faith. And I find the Pentecostals; a lot of faith, but don't know who they are. Just like a man's got money in the bank and can't write a check; and the other one's got--ain't got no money in the bank and he can write a check. If you could ever get the two together you got something. And if I could ever get the Pentecostal people to realize that they are sons and daughters of God, setting in heavenly places right now in Christ Jesus, that God foreknew before the foundation of the world, has ordained us to preach the... What you scared about? No matter what it is, swing out there. Take God's Word and believe it.
E-40 Set along, baby, and say you're Abraham's seed; when Abraham called things which was not as though they were because God said so. A man seventy-five years old, his wife sixty-five years old, and said they was going to have a baby. What do you think they'd do? Go down to the doctor and say, "Get things ready. We're going to have a baby."
Why, they'd say, "The man's crazy." Anybody that takes God's Word, the world calls them crazy.
Paul said, "In the way that's called heresy (crazy), that's the way I worship the God of our fathers." I'm glad to join hands with him tonight. That's right. All very fundamental in the Word too...
E-41 Now, notice. What was He? Ever what He was, He always has been and always will be. Now, I want you to notice. He was the Word. He was God's thought of a Redeemer expressed. That's what He was. He was the Word. And in Hebrews the 4th chapter and the 12th verse, the Bible said that the Word of God is more powerful, quicker, than a two-edged sword... even a discerner of the thoughts and--of the heart. God even knows what's on your mind. Now, hold that. "The Word of God is more powerful, sharper, than a two-edged sword, and It is a discerner of the thoughts of the heart." That's the Word.
E-42 That's the reason they couldn't believe Jesus. They couldn't understand Him. He said unto them, "Search the Scriptures. They are They that testify of Me. Search the Scriptures." He said to those learned priests, scholars, "You search the Scriptures. They are the Ones that testify of Me." In other words, "They... I manifest the Scriptures. I am making God's Word become reality. Search the Scriptures." They had their own idea about it; but He had the right way.
They had the way the Messiah was coming probably down the golden corridors and shake hands with Caiaphas, the high priest, if He come in his way. But look what He come. He never come contrary to the Scriptures. He come exactly the way the Scripture said. He said, "Search the Scriptures. They are They that testify of Me. They... I make the Scriptures manifest; and if I do not the manifestation by My works, then don't believe Me."
Oh, what a statement. A man that could take the written Word of God and make it come to pass right before them, and still by their traditions they turned Him down. No wonder broad is the way that leads to destruction. That's right. Strait is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life. Christ standing there...
E-43 Everybody's wanting something that's glamour, that's got a lot of tinsel on it. Christ is humility. Here not long ago a certain man, friend of mine. I was supposed to go to Chicago to speak in a convention. And because on the tapes I'd made a statement that it wasn't apples that Eve eat, the man turned it down. And when he did, he went and got some man--great hierarchy from a great institution of Chicago, and the man come to speak.
And when he did, he had everything wrote out in a book, about like that. An intellectual sermon, you couldn't have heard a better one. But he found out when speaking it, it didn't go with full Gospel people, the intellectual ideas.
He come stomping up there with his chest out, and throwed it out. And he even made fun of them and everything. But when he did, he found out it didn't go so good. So he found out he was wrong. He closed up his books, and walked down with his shoulders down, humbly walking down.
There was an old saint setting over in the corner, punched the one next to him, said, "If he would've went up the way he came down, he'd have come down the way he went up." So that's about right.
E-44 Men who are borned of the Spirit of God know God by an experience, and it's exactly with the Word. And they tell you, "The Holy Ghost is excitement. It's not this, it's not that..." It's contrary to the Word. The Word said it is right.
Peter said on the day of Pentecost, "The promise is to you, to your children, and to them that's far off, many as the Lord our God shall call." It's for whosoever will, let him come.
E-45 Now, notice. Jesus could stand there and say, "If I don't do the works that My Father said I would do, then don't you believe Me. Now, you go search the Scriptures. If you're wondering about what I'm doing, then go search the Scriptures; for in Them you think you have Eternal Life, and They are They which testify of Me. Now, look at the Scriptures and see what day you're living in."
Said, "You hypocrites, you see the sun setting. You say, 'Oh, it's red and lowering. Tomorrow it will be rain. If it's setting clear, tomorrow will be a fair day.'" Said, "You can discern the face of the skies, but the sign of the time you can't discern. If I don't do the works of My Father, then don't believe Me." Now, there's a statement. That was making Him the same as God was. Being the Son of God, He was equal with God. As the Bible said, not make Him robbery 'cause He was God manifested in flesh.
E-46 Now, that... Watch what we're trying to place now, that He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. Here He was standing here, and the Word of God predicting what would take place in that day, and here He was standing here doing it. And He said, "Search the Scriptures, for in Them you think ye have Eternal Life, and They are They which testify of Me. If I do not the works of My Father, then don't believe Me; but if I do the works and you can't believe Me, believe the works."
E-47 Now, watch closely now. What Scriptures in the Bible, Old Testament, that testified of Jesus. He said, "The Scriptures, They are They which testify of Me." Now, if He said that... All Scripture's inspiration, and I want to see that guy that tells me It contradicts Itself. It doesn't contradict Itself. It's perfectly in harmony. It's hid from the eyes of the wise and prudent, Jesus said so, but would be revealed to babes such as would learn.
E-48 So the Pharisees had their way about it; but here come God with His way about it. See? The Pharisees thinking it'd be in this way, He was altogether out of the Scriptures of their thinking; but He was perfectly in the Scriptures with His own way of thinking. So you have to have the mind that was in Christ be in you to know the Scripture. And now, they...
Jesus said, now, "They are They that testify of Me." Now, we could take tilE--run another hour or two, and never even get over the things that's wrote about Jesus, all ways.
He's the woman's Seed from the garden. Isaiah 9:6 is one told about His birth, and all about the virgin shall conceive; and all we talk about. But now, being we'll bypass that, the Scriptures that talk about how He would come. You all know they missed that by a million miles, how He was born. Lowly, setting upon the foal of an ass coming in, and they failed to see it. Come out of the little tribe of Judah and so forth. By "Bethlehem of Judaea, art thou...?... and least amongst all the princes, but out of thee shall come the--the Christ, the Deliverer." And they failed to see all of that.
E-49 Now, but we're going to bypass all of that and take it down to the Scripture that testified of His works, because He just said, "If you can't believe Me, believe the works that I do, for they testify of Me." In other words, "You can't believe that I was borned of virgin birth. You can't believe all these things that's spoke of the Scripture. If all that's blinded you, and you can't see it, then test that the works that I do testify of Me, 'cause they're written in the Scripture. Now. You see? 'Cause He is the Word. And He was the Word in the Old Testament; He's the Word in the New Testament; and He's the Word now, the same yesterday, today, and forever. So He can't change it. It's always the Word.
E-50 Now, His works... Now, if we would turn back into the Old Testament for tonight and take one thing that was testified--His works testified of... We're going to turn and you put it down, you're writing it down, Deuteronomy the 18th chapter. Just read the whole chapter through. It'd be--do you good to read the whole thing: Deuteronomy 18. Now, we know that Moses forsook Egypt, not fearing the king's wrath, and he followed the Angel of God; 'cause he said he esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than that of Egypt.
Now, watch it. The people that Egypt looked upon as slaves and mud daubers, Moses saw them the elected children of God.
Now, he was a called prophet. Prophets are foreknown. They are placed in the church, like the offices, the five offices in the church. First there's apostles, prophets, teachers, pastors, evangelists. See? Those offices God puts in the church. Then there's nine spiritual gifts in that church, which is speaking in tongues, prophecies, and so forth like that. Lot of difference between prophets (a man giving a prophecy) and a prophet. A prophecy has to be judged by two or three judges; a prophet is borned a prophet and raised a prophet. See? It's foreordained of God for that age.
E-51 Notice, now, Moses being this one that God had raised up and at is going, in Deuteronomy 18 he spoke to the children of God and said that "The Lord your God shall raise up a prophet like me." Moses, the leader, the one that delivered Israel, spoke that, "The Lord our God shall raise up among you, of your brethren, a prophet like unto me. And God said it'll come to pass that who will not believe that Prophet will be cut off from amongst the people." So that is to raise up a prophet.
Now, we realize that he was to be the God super-prophet. I believe that David, the prophet David had the Spirit of God in him. He was to be... Jesus was the Son of David. Look at David, the rejected king, out of--out of his own people--come up on top of Mount Olives, and looked back and wept over the city because he was rejected. Eight hundred years from there, the Son of David, a rejected king, wept over Jerusalem. What was that? The Spirit of Christ by a portion in David.
E-52 Look at Joseph, borned among his brethren, hated of his brothers, loved of his father, given a coat of many colors, perfectly like Christ. Notice, sold for pretty near thirty pieces of silver, throwed into a ditch supposedly to be dead. In his temptation, the butler and butcher, one lost and the other one saved: same thing, Christ on the cross.
And he was taken up from this ditch, and went and set at the right hand of Pharaoh, and no one could see Pharaoh without coming through Joseph. And Jesus was raised up and sets at the right hand of God; and no man can come to the Father except by the Son. And when Pha... When Joseph left to go before, the trumpet sounded before him, and every knee had to bow. "Joseph is coming." And when Jesus leaves that throne to return to the earth, a trumpet will sound, and every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess.
How we could go through the prophets, and show that was the Spirit of God, of Christ, in those prophets. You believe that? See, he just acted; he portrayed Christ. Then it come into the Fullness of the prophet.
E-53 Look at Moses, how he was hid in the bulrushes like Christ, so forth, took into Egypt; and, oh, just anything, a lawgiver, and whatmore. He just portrayed Christ. Then when Christ come, in Him was the Fullness of that Spirit. See? That was... The Fullness of the Godhead bodily was in Christ. They had it by measure.
Same thing tonight by the Holy Ghost. God... On the day of Pentecost, that Pillar of Fire broke into many tongues of fire, forked tongues, and set... God was separating Himself among the people. That day God was in one Person, Christ. Now, He's in the entire church, universal. Amen.
E-54 Boy, that makes me feel religious. Praise to Jehovah God. Hallelujah. Don't let me scare you. I'm not crazy. If I am, just leave me the way I am. I feel better this way. So just, I--I... Think of it. Something thrills me. Lo, that by the grace of Jesus Christ I'm saved tonight. If He comes what difference does it make? We'll go with Him. Amen. Worth more than all the billions of worlds piled full of everything, and enough life to live a hundred million years, I still wouldn't trade places with that person at all. To be adopted into the family of God, and be one of His children, what a privilege it is. And people turn their back upon such a thing as that.
E-55 Notice. "The Lord your God shall raise up a prophet like me, and it shall come to pass that whosoever shall not hear this prophet will be cut off from amongst the people." That'd been a teaching.
Now, read on down at the bottom of your 18th chapter there. God said, "Here's how you're going to know a prophet." Israel always was taught to believe their prophets. Is that right? That's exact... Who did the Word of God come to? Prophets. The Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet. The Word of the Lord came... It was the Word of the Lord. And we know that this man was the entire Word of God. Hallelujah. He was the Word.
E-56 And Israel was taught to believe their prophets. Now, what did He say? "If there come one among you who is spiritual, or a prophet, I, the Lord, will make Myself known to him in visions, speak to him through dreams. And if what this prophet says comes to pass, then you hear him. But if it doesn't come to pass, then don't hear him." That's only sense. Sure.
If he said it and it don't come to pass, it's wrong. If a prophet comes by prophesying, it don't come to pass, then watch and see if it comes to pass. If it doesn't, then it's wrong. If it does, it's the truth. That's the way Israel knowed their prophets.
E-57 Four hundred years now, by the birth of Christ, there'd been no prophets. Malachi was the last prophet. Oh, they'd had a lot of false prophets, but I mean real prophets. One day, way down in the Bethlehem's manger, came forth a Baby. There was wise men from the east followed His sign; the star led them to Him. There was shepherds on the hillside come down to see Him. He growed as a baby; He played as a boy.
One day there was a prophet came out of the wilderness by the name of John. He said, "The time was at hand; repent and get ready." Woodsman, burly; oh, and a woolly-looking man, if he'd come to your door, you'd run him away. And he... Woolly-looking fellow come out of there, and stood on the muddy banks of Jordan, and said, "Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand." And he bawled those denominations out and told them where they belonged. He had a piece of sheepskin around him. He hated immoral women. Why? The spirit of Elijah was upon him.
Elijah bawled them, same thing, out, that Israel in that day, and told what all their creeds, and how they'd fell in love with the first lady of the land like America has, and acting like her. And dressing like her, and that Jezebel... And he told her about it. Right. He pulled no punches on it.
E-58 There it come again, in the form of John the Baptist, promised again in the last days to move out again... Malachi 4, not Malachi 3 when John came "My messenger before Me," Matthew 11:6. But also (See?), when this Elijah comes, immediately afterwards the world's going to be burned with fire and the righteous walk out upon the ashes of the wicked. That wasn't John.
Notice him. He will restore the faith of the children back to the fathers. And when this first one come, restored the faith of the children to the fathers. See? The young message there was going to the patriarch fathers. And today they'd get away from it. And sometime there will come one bursting out. Nobody knows where he comes from or how he goes. But he will come right in and restore back the original Pentecostal faith that they... The Roman Catholic cankerworm and palmerworm eat that precious tree down to a stub.
But God said, "I will restore, saith the Lord. It'll be Light in the evening time." When that evening sun comes out, there'll be a tree there with fruit on it to ripen. Amen.
Watch Him as we see Him. Here He comes one day, and was baptized of John in Jordan. John bare record. Nobody else saw it. Nobody seen the Magis--the star the Magi saw. They wasn't looking for it. That's right. He only comes to those who he's looking for. John knew; he was looking for a sign. That's the way, be posted in the Scripture, and you'll know the true sign of God. God always travels by signs.
E-59 Notice, that Magi, they were looking for a sign, because they know a star of Jacob was to rise. Daniel was their teacher when he was... You know where they come from--the old Medes of Persia. They still set in the streets three in a group like that, studying. And when they seen that heavenly visitor appear, they knew something was fixing to happen. And they followed it, until they found the Messiah.
And when they come through Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he, born king of the Jews," the great church knowed nothing about it. Just as bad as it is today, same thing. There it was again.
E-60 We find out that then John said, "He that said to me in the wilderness 'Go baptize with water,' said, 'Upon Whom thou shall see the Spirit descending and remaining, He's the One that'll baptize with the Holy Ghost and fire.'" And John was standing there waiting for a sign, watching.
He said, "There's One among you..." He was so positive it was going to happen. Said, "There's one among you right now that you don't know. There's one here if you watch."
After while he saw the sign over Him. He said, "I--I saw Him. I recognized His Messiahic sign. There come that Light of God like a Dove, coming down upon Him, the voice from heaven saying, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I'm pleased to dwell in.'"
There He went out into the wilderness, was tempted for forty days and nights of Satan, getting prepared for His ministry. When He come forth down along Judaea, and out of there, He begin praying for the sick. Signs and wonders begin to follow Him. People begin to believe. Some of them made fun of Him. Some of them that John had prepared recognized Him.
E-61 One of them in there was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He stayed all night with Him till he was convinced He was the Messiah. Then he went and told Simon, brought Simon.
Now, Simon... they were scholars, if you ever read their lives. Their father was a real teacher, a Pharisee. (Now, watch, we're coming right into something. Don't miss it.) And Andrew got Simon to come with him to the meeting. And as soon as Simon walked up into the Presence of the Lord Jesus, who Andrew had told him was the Messiah...
E-62 I can imagine hearing Simon say, "I'll know Him. I'll know what He looks like. My old father told me one day," he said Simon, "I'm getting old. I thought I'd see the Messiah. We've longed to see Him through the ages, but I'm getting too old now. I probably won't see Him. But don't you boys be deceived. If He comes in your generation, remember there'll be a lot of false cults going by. But you remember, you're Hebrews. You must believe the Word of God. And listen, when that Messiah comes, He will be exactly what the Word said He would be. Moses, our prophet, said, 'The Lord our God shall rise up a prophet among us.' Now, it's been hundreds of years; we haven't had one. We're having all kinds of things, but we're looking for Him."
E-63 And here come Simon, walking up into the Presence of the Lord Jesus. And Jesus. looking upon him, said, "Behold, your name is Simon, and you are the son of Jonas." That took the starch out of him. See, not only did He know who he was, He knowed that godly old father of his. He said, "Your name is Simon, and you are the son of Jonas."
And Peter recognized right then that that was that prophet, because he had told exactly the truth. And he fell at the feet of Jesus, and Jesus made him the head of the church at Jerusalem, with not enough education to sign his own name. But he had the revelation. That's what it takes. That's right. It pleased God to place him, because he recognized, Scripturally, that that was Messiah.
E-64 There was one standing there by the name of Philip; it thrilled him so much till... He'd had Bible study with a man named Nathanael. It's about fifteen miles, if you check it, from where Jesus was preaching to where Nathanael lived: probably took him a day to go over there. And he got over there, and he found Nathanael under a tree, praying.
I can imagine Nathanael saying, "Oh, Jehovah, we're looking for a coming of the Messiah. Oh, we're in Roman bondage. How long shall we suffer this way? Oh, great Jehovah, send Him."
And I can imagine Philip standing there, saying, "Bless God. Wait till I tell him. Just wait till I tell him."
After while, when he said, "Amen," and stood up, he didn't talk to him about the orange grove, or the citrus grove, or whatever he had. He said, "Come, see Who we have found, Jesus, of Nazareth, the Son of Joseph. This is that Messiah."
Oh, I can imagine Philip saying to him, "Now, wait a minute here..." or Nathanael saying, "Now, wait. We've had too many good Bible studies together for you to go off on a deep end like that. Now, there's something wrong."
E-65 All right, let's just break in on their conversation. I can hear some of them say--hear Philip say, "Now, wait a minute. Aren't we taught according to our Scriptures, that when Messiah comes He will be a [Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.] prophet?"
"Absolutely. Moses said so. We believe our prophets, and He will be a prophet."
"Do you know that old fisherman down there that you bought that fish from, that he couldn't sign the receipt?"
"Oh, Simon? Yes. Oh, I even knowed his father, Jonas. Sure, I know him well."
"His brother, Andrew, brought him to the meeting yesterday. And as soon as he walked in the Presence of this Jesus of Nazareth, He told him his name was Simon and he was the son of Jonas. What about that?"
I can hear Nathanael say, "I'll go see for myself."
E-66 He's got more respect than many Americans. They'll stay home and criticize. They won't go, even try to find out. So they'll...
Here they'll come. And they went around the bend talking. And then when he come up into the Presence of Jesus... Now, watch. And as soon as he come in the Presence of Jesus, Jesus looked at him and said, "You're... Behold an Israelite, in whom there's no guile." That was Jesus yesterday. "Behold an Israelite... whom there is no guile," and He looked at him.
You say, "Well, it's the way he was dressed."
No, sir. All of them dressed the same way, the eastern people, a garment on. And He could've been a Greek. He could've been, oh, Egyptian, wearing the turban, every... See, He didn't know him by his dress. He said, "An Israelite, in whom there's no guile," not only Israelite, but he's--he's an honest man.
And he stopped, and he looked at Him. He said, "Rabbi (which means 'Teacher'), "when did You ever know me? This is our first time meeting. How do You know me?"
And Jesus said, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the tree, I saw you."
I can imagine he look around, and there stood Bishop So-and-so there that was saying, "The first one that attends one of them meetings is going to be churched." But it didn't make any difference. He saw a Scriptural Messiah, and he run up, and fell down at His feet, and said, "Rabbi, Thou art the King of Israel. Thou art the Son of God." That's the way Jesus identified Himself yesterday. That's how they knowed He was.
Look at Jesus turned around, said, "Because I've told you this you believe? You'll see greater than this." That was His identification.
How we could go to blind Bartimaeus, and on down to many others, many others, and on down through.
E-67 Now, there's only three class--races of people on earth. I know you don't believe it. Or, I don't say you don't. Many don't. This meeting... This is being taped, goes all over the world. So there's many people that don't believe. So there's many people that don't believe. The reason that I say this this way, talk the way I do, it's not exactly you. But this goes everywhere. See? It's put in twenty-seven different languages. So people that don't believe...
But there's only three races of people. That's Ham, Shem, and Japheth's people. And that was Jew, Gentile, and Samaritan. Look at Peter with the keys at Pentecost, went on down to the Samaritans, and up to the house of Cornelius. And from there she's open (See?), three races of people.
E-68 Now, there was two races of them a watching for a Messiah. That was the Jews and Samaritans. And Jesus had need go by Samaria. Look how He identified Himself among the Jews, by being the prophet that Moses spoke of. Now, He goes up to the Samaritans. Went up to Sychar on His road down to--to--to Jericho, but went around up into--to the Samaritans. They must know; they must recognize Him.
So He come to this city of Sychar, and there was a little panoramic welE--still there. And He set down there, tired in the journey, and sent the disciples into the city to buy food. And while they were gone, there were a lovely woman come out. She was a woman of ilE-fame. She had five husbands. She was a very popular movie star of today. But she had five husbands and living with the sixth. She'd been right in line today.
But she come out of the city to get water. She couldn't come with the decent women. If you're ever in the orient, you find out they make a difference between them, and the virgins go early to the well. She come out about eleven o'clock, and here she set down the big pot. You know, the great big thing with a long neck, hooks on it. I've seen them put one on their head, one on this hip, and one on this hip, and walk just as straight, and talk like women can, you know, and never spill a drop of water. That's right. Walk right down through there. Still do it. They don't--haven't changed one thing since them days.
E-69 And so, He set down to this well. She put the hooks in for the windle to let down into the well, and she started to let the bucket down. And she heard a Man say, "Woman, bring Me a drink." And she looked over there, and there set a middle-aged Jew. He was only thirty-three, not quite thirty-three. But you remember in Saint John 6, they said He looked like He was fifty. Said, "You're a man not over fifty years old, and say you've seen Abraham?"
He said, "Before Abraham was, I AM." See, they didn't realize it. But He said...
E-70 A might've... Middle-aged Man around fifty, He looked fifty years old, setting over against the well. And she said, "It's not customary for you Jews to ask me, a woman of Samaria, such a thing. We... There's segregation here. We have no dealings with one another."
He said, "But woman, if you knew Who you were talking to, you'd ask Me for a drink. And I'd bring--give you water you don't come here to draw."
E-71 See, what He was doing, now, He was contacting the woman's spirit.
Now, you remember, in Saint John 5: 19, Jesus said, Himself, "Verily, verily I say unto you, the Son can do nothing in Himself but what He sees the Father doing." How many knows that Scripture? Amen. Not "What I hear the Father say; what I see the Father doing." See? Exactly like all the prophets before Him, minors, did, just as God told them.
He said, "I do nothing till I see the Father doing it."
E-72 Now, the Father had sent Him up here to Samaria, to the Samaritans to give them the witness of Messiah. The Jews had received it. Some of them, most of them turned Him down, ninety percent of them ninety-nine percent. Yeah, more than that turned Him down. But when He showed them Who He was, then He had to show Samaria Who He was--Who He was.
And this woman said to Him; she said, "The well's deep, and You have nothing to draw with."
He said, "The water that I give is Life, bubbling up." What was He doing? Contacting her spirit.
They got talking about where to worship, at Jerusalem, and she said, "Our father, Jacob..." Now, the Samaritan woman called Jacob her father. That was the well he gave Joseph, of course. He drank from it, and gave to his children, and so forth. "And You say this water You've got's greater than that?" and so forth, talking.
Then after while Jesus found her trouble. You know what it was. He said, "Go, get your husband and come here."
She said, "I have no husband."
He said, "You've told the truth, for you've had five. And the one you're living with now is not your husband."
E-73 Now, watch. Now, the Pharisees saw Him do that, them great scholars that day, and they said, "This man's Beelzebub, a fortuneteller." And anybody knows that fortunetelling's of the devil. It's a perverted spirit.
And Jesus said, "You speak a word against Me, I'll forgive you. But someday the Holy Ghost is coming to do that, and one word against It will never be forgiven." See, the sacrifice wasn't made then. It is now.
E-74 Watch this woman. He said, "Go, get your husband and come here."
She said, "I have no husband."
He said, "You have said well. You've had five. And the one you're living with now is not your husband."
Watch her. Brethren, she knowed more about God than half the preachers in the United States: in that condition. Now, isn't that true?
She said, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet." The rest of them said, "Beelzebub." And she said, "I perceive that You're a prophet. We know that when Messiah cometh, that'll be what He will do." Oh, my. They had better teaching. That woman, in that--that condition saw it quickly.
E-75 What was it? One of those seeds of life, ordained before the foundation of the world. And no matter how religious... What I was trying to tell you last night. There'll be so many condemned that thinks that they're holy and pious. "No man could come except My Father draws him. And all the Father's given Me will come to Me." And as soon as that light flashed across that little predestinated seed there, it come to life quickly.
All the rest of them was all Scriptured up and taught this, that, and the other. But she knew. She said, "Sir, I know when Messiah cometh, He will tell us these things."
He said, "I'm He that speaks with you."
Into the city she went. She needed nothing else. She run into the city and said, "Come see a Man Who told me the things I've done. Isn't this the very Messiah." And the Bible said that the people of the city believed on Jesus because of the woman's testimony. They knowed that would be the Messiah. If that was Him yesterday, it'll have to be Him today. Is that right?
E-76 Now, remember. When God makes a decision, He can't change it. That's the way He identified Himself every time. That's the way He identified Himself to the Jews. That's the way He identified Himself to the Samaritans. Now, we Gentiles... Not one time in the Scripture was that ever done to a Gentile. No sir. Why? They wasn't looking for no Messiah.
We had a club on our back and worshipping a idol in those days, we Anglo-Saxon. But notice, Jesus prophesied that the Holy Ghost would come and do the same. Now, in closing, I'd like to say this. As Abraham... And we, being in Christ, take on Abraham's seed. Now, don't miss it.
E-77 Notice. Abraham, when it come to the time of separation, him and Lot, Lot went down in Sodom. And then it come to this place there where God was going to manifest Himself. And one day Abraham, setting in his tent door...
He represented the church spiritual. Now, there's three classes of people: the unbeliever, make-believer, and believer. Now, the unbeliever was the Sodomite. The make-believer was Lot, the normal church, the denominational church. And the... Abraham represented the church elected, called-out, separated. He wasn't in Sodom to begin with. Oh, my. Watch. That Angel never went to that other church. He come to the elected church.
E-78 Three of Them come up. And watch. When They come up, Abraham went out and said, "My Lord, come by. Set down," setting in his tent door. There was something about those Men. They were Strangers, dust on Their clothes. But what it was, was God Himself and two Angels. That's what the Bible said. Abraham called Him "Lord, Elohim." That's right. Lord God, Jehovah, the self-existing One. And He come up, and He set down, and They talked with Abraham.
And two of Them got up and went down into Sodom. And Abraham pleaded for Sodom. If He could find fifty, if He could find twenty, on down if He could find ten, and He promised to spare them for ten. Notice.
Down in Sodom went two messengers, not doing any signs and wonders, a modern Billy Graham. The only thing He done was blind them; and preaching the Gospel blinds the unbeliever. Notice. And he... They preached the Gospel and called out Lot. And his wife turned around and looked back. We know the story.
E-79 But that one that stayed with Abraham, watch Him. He was setting with His back to the tent, and He said, "Where..." Now, you remember, he had been Abram till just the day before, and she'd been S-a-r-a-i the day before. But now, it's S-a-r-a-h, and he's A-b-e-r-h-a-m. He said, "Abraham, where is your wife Sarah?" S-a-r-a-h.
Said, "She's in the tent behind You."
And He said, "I'm going to visit you according to the time of life."
How'd He know he was married? How'd He know he had a wife; and how'd He know her name was Sarah? But you notice, "I..." "I'm going to visit you" according to the promise that He'd made. "I" is a personal pronoun. It was God. See? And--and He said, "The time of life with Sarah. It's going to be... She's going to have the baby now." She was right at a hundred years old.
And Sarah on the inside, laughed. And the Angel setting on the outside with His back turned to her, said, "Why did Sarah laugh? saying within herself, 'These things can't be?'" What kind of a telepathy was that? And finally, the Man gave the sign.
And Jesus said, "As it was in the days of Sodom, so shall it be at the coming of the Son of man."
E-80 Isn't it strange, they got a man, the only time in all the history of the world, out there amongst the denominational churches, with a name something like Abraham: A-b-e-r-h-a-m, G-r-a-h-a-m. Strange, isn't it, church natural is getting its visit?
What's God trying to show? What did He do there? That was God in a body of flesh, showing that God would be in His church in the last days, in a body of flesh, a body of human beings, in His flesh, and would manifest the same thing. Because, if the Jews had that... That was the last sign that the Jews got. That was the last sign that Abraham got before the fire fell. And here it is, down to the same time today.
E-81 If Jesus Christ has come into the church through the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and spoke in tongues, and healed the sick, and performed miracles, what's... The same thing He did with Abraham along the journey, then that was the last sign before the fire. It was the last sign before God turned from the Jews.
Here it is. Then the Gentiles has to get the same thing, that is, the church elected and the church nominal. There He is out yonder, and here's the Holy Ghost here tonight: the same Jesus Christ that was yesterday, today, and forever, to do the same thing. He's the same Christ. He can't fail. He's Christ.
E-82 We would see Jesus. If I went out in the street tonight, and got you a man, and brought him in here, had nail scars in his hands, and prints over his face here, and blood running down from the nail scars, any hypocrite could do that. But the life... God raised up the body of Jesus Christ, and it sets at His right hand. You believe that? That's the... He is a High Priest setting there to make intercessions upon our confession. He's God's High Priest.
E-83 Now. But the Life that was in Him, the Spirit was in Him, is down here. "He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also." Why could He tell them what they were thinking about, what they were doing, who they were? Because He was the Word. "The Word of God," Hebrews 4 said, "is sharper than a two-edged sword, and a discerner of the thoughts of the heart." And then, if this Word... Faith is come in into this Word, and God has set His church in order, that Word becomes the same thing. That makes Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever, the same thing. You believe it? I challenge you to believe it. (It's getting late. I just keep talking.) I challenge you to believe that to be the truth.
E-84 "Sirs, We Would See Jesus." What more would it be, if a man come in here with blood over him, and nail scars, and things... Jesus, when He comes, every eye shall see Him, every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess when the Body of Jesus returns. I believe in His literal coming, corporal body, descending from the heavens with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, the trump of God. The dead in Christ shall rise. But His Spirit is here with us.
And as the church, like the pyramid, comes into a--a point, so has the church in the days of Luther, days of Wesley, days of Pentecostal. And now just before the Headstone comes into it, that church has to be honed so perfect, till the same ministry that He did here, His same Spirit, so predominant, will bring that same Body right into it, and resurrect the whole thing. That's exactly. Amen. Glory to God.
E-85 Look on the back of your American dollar. On one side it says "the American Seal," the eagle with the things in his hand. Why did they put the Egyptian seal and say, "The Great Seal" on the other side? Not a pyramid doctrine, that's nonsense. I'm talking about something that they say...
Just like, why does a woman every time she gets married, put a veil over her face? She's coming to her husband, the head, just like Rebekah did. She put a veil over her face to meet Isaac. She has no more head; Isaac's her head. And the church ought to be so submissive to the Word of God, that it veils its own face. It has no head. It's... The nature of a woman is to submit to a man. And that's what the church ought to be doing, submitting to Christ, to His Word, to His doctrine, to His principles. She takes no thought for Herself. She has no head. Christ is Her Head, not some ecclesiastical bunch. But Christ is Her Head, the Word. And the Word was made flesh and dwelled among us. Hallelujah. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever, that same manifestation of the Word. Do you believe it? Let us pray.
E-86 Heavenly Father, there's one thing that Your servants are responsible for: preaching the Word. That's all we can do, is just preach the Word. Some falls by the wayside. Some will get up and go out. Some will set and wonder. Some will receive It. It'll go in good ground. It'll bring forth the results. It's always been that way. You said it would be that way, and that's the way it goes. It's always been that way.
And, Father, I pray tonight that in this little group here, that It'll fall a hundred percent upon every person. Let them know that the coming of the Lord Jesus is close at hand. We don't know the hour. No one knows. Only the Father alone knows. Jesus confessed that He didn't know it. Just God alone knows when He's going to send Him. But, Lord, You give us signs. We know that them signs are appearing. We see by the Scripture that the last visit that the Jews had; and now, the last visit the Samaritans had; the last visit that the Gentiles will receive, prophesied, told, Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever.
E-87 O God, if You should anoint me tonight with the Spirit of Christ, it would do no good unless You anointed Your church the same way. It takes us together. We're not divided; we're one body, Lord. I pray that You'll grant it. And may, when the service is over, may there not be a feeble person in our midst. May there--every one of them, may this Word fall into their hearts, and may they receive It. And may great signs and wonders be done.
If You grant it, Lord, we continue on with Divine healing. If not, then we'll just continue on with salvation. Let Thy will be done, Lord, to show that we believe in the full Gospel, and believe that You are the same yesterday, today, and forever. You are the anointed God of heaven, and You're the same, and we believe You to be the same; that You're living forevermore, ever setting at the right hand of the Majesty, ever living to make intercessions upon our confession. We believe it, Father.
We pray that You'll shut us in in the Kingdom of God now, and manifest Yourself to us. And let the people know that when judgment strikes this place, then, Lord, there'll be no excuse. Let it be known in Jesus' Name. Amen.
E-88 I've kept you at length. We won't call too many. Maybe get the rest of them tomorrow night. He told me he give out prayer cards, I think. What was it? A-1, A-1 to 100. All right. We can't stand them all at one time. We just stand them as we can, whatever we can stand.
Now, there's several of them here in wheelchairs and things. Now, we'll have to call you. And then when we do, we'll see that you're packed up here, when your number's called. But just as... We'll take them just one at a time, because there is many cripples.
Now, who has prayer card number 1, A-number-1? Raise up your hand, ever who has it. Prayer card A-number-1, A-number-1. Can you walk? All right. A-number-2? Who has A-number-2? The lady... what say? Number 1? There's something wrong. Look at her card there. See what card she's got. The lady misunderstood. She don't have a prayer card. All right. A-number-1? You... Just a minute, lady. If you haven't got a card... You don't have to have one. Just set there and believe, and watch what the Holy Ghost will do. See? All right.
E-89 How many knows there's more healed out there without prayer cards, than there is here? How many here doesn't have a prayer card? Raise up your hands, and you know that God can heal you? You just watch Him now, just for a few minutes, if He comes. A-number-1? Who was the woman had the prayer card A-number-1? All right. Raise up. Is--is it number 1? Number 2? Who has number 2? Number 3, come up here just a minute, you--you women. Number 2, 1, 2. Number 3, who has number-3? Number 3, come over here, you all over this way, if you can walk. If you can't, well raise your hand. We'll pack you up here. See? Number 1, 2, 3, 4. Who has prayer card number 4, raise up your hand. Number 4. The lady right there. Come right here.
Number 5. Number 5? All right. Number 6. Just gather over here on this side over here. Number 6. Ushers, somebody, go down there, Brother Roy, some of you and help the people. All right. Number 6. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Number 6. Who has prayer card number 6? 1, 2, 3. Number 6. All right, lady, right in line. Number 7. Right here. Can you get up? Oh, okay. Number 7. Number 8. All right. There, lady. Number 9. Right here, all right, lady. Number 10. Number 10? Prayer card number 10. How would you say it in Spanish? Is many Spanish people here? Number--number 10. All right, sir. Number 11?
E-90 We want you... Everyone with a prayer card, we're going to pray for them, because we're--we're obligated to do it. You hold your card. Number 11? Did it get... Number 12. That's fine. Now. Now, number 13. Wait a minute. This lady here. Is that her number? All right. Number 14. All right. Now, number... Is that 13? 13. Over here. Now, somebody got up wrong. You see? Is that 13? 14? All right. That's fine. All right.
How're you getting... Piling them out in the other room? Now, let's wait, and bring these through. Then we can get the rest of them in as we come to them. If you'll move that, if it can be moved, or... Oh, they can go around it, I guess, if the... All right.
E-91 Now, each one of you in here, there's not a person in my--my knowing that's here that I know, unless this is Brother Evans' boy, setting right here. I believe that's Ronnie Evans. Is that right, Ronnie? All right. That's the only person that I see in the building that I--I really know, outside of Brother Borders, the manager, and my son, wherever he went, pastor here. The rest of you are strangers.
Now, I see about ninety percent of you were sick. Now, up in the balcony too, it don't matter where you are, if you're sick up there, don't have a prayer card, raise up your hand, say, "I'm sick." All right. You believe up there. Now, remember. While he's lining them up, let me give you another Scripture. I want you to put these Scriptures down and remember them.
Now, the minister brethren, and out in here, how many knows this, that the Bible said that Jesus is a High Priest, right now, that can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities? How many knows that's the truth? Well, if He is the same High Priest that He was yesterday, He'd act the same way today that He did yesterday. Is that right? You believe that? Raise up your hand.
E-92 Now, I'm going to ask, if you will, if you'll not move around now for a few minutes. Just set reverently for a few moments. Don't move at all. And, folks, keep your children as close to you as you can now, because we're not dealing... We're not playing church. And many times... How many knows these goes from one to another. You've seen it happen. Yes, sir, many times. People just set right in their seats and crumple over, paralyzed. Seen them drop dead right in the, right on the, right at the platform. That's right. We're not playing church.
You must be reverent. Now, this is sacred. Now, the Bible said that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And It says that He's the High Priest that can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities. Everybody witnesses that that's the truth. Now, how would you know that you touched Him? You... He'd act the same way He did when He was here. Well, how did He act? Let me give you an example, 'cause I'm making you, trying to get you to believe that He is the same. He hasn't changed. The Bible... My Scripture is that He's the same.
E-93 Now, when that... in the... There was a woman, say she didn't have a prayer card. But she wanted to get in to... She believed He was a holy man, a prophet. And she said, "If I can only touch the border of His garment, I'll be made well." You know the story? And she twisted through the crowd until she touched Him. Now, she ne... He never felt it physically, you know, because the Palestinian garment hangs loose. It's got an underneath garment also. But He--He never felt it physically. Because Peter rebuked Him, when He said, "Who touched Me?"
And Peter said, "Lord, why..." Rebuked Him, said, "The whole crowd's touching You."
He said, "But I perceive that I've gotten weak. Virtue's gone from Me." And He looked all around. See, He'd been touched with a different kind of touch. And He turned around, He looked over the audience, until He found the little woman that touched Him. And He told her of her blood issue and said, "Your faith has saved you." Was that Jesus yesterday?
Well, if He's the same today, a High Priest that can be touched by our infirmities, can't He touch you if you'll touch Him? Can't He do the same work?
E-94 Now, the... Now, remember. He might use my voice. If it is, I'm just like this microphone. It's a mute without something speaking into it. That's right. I don't know you. But He knows you. So you might touch me. It wouldn't do a bit of good. You touch the pastors, it wouldn't do a bit of good. They're men just like I am. But you touch Him once, watch what happens. Now, you don't have to be here. You don't have to be on the platform. Just--just believe.
E-95 Now, this is a picture of where I was speaking tonight in Saint John, 4th chapter, if you want to read it when you get home. Here's a man and a woman. I don't know the woman, never seen her in my life. She's a total stranger to me. Awhile ago they gave out some prayer cards, and she hap--she got a hold of one. The boy comes up here before you all, mixes them prayer cards up so he don't know which one he's giving which. So he just hands them out to you, whatever you want. And she happened... And I call them from anywhere.
Maybe tomorrow night, I might start at sixty-five, or forty-five, or twenty-five, or--or ninety and come backwards. You know that. You've been in the meetings. So it just happened to be tonight.
E-96 I'm seeing that clock get around there. I don't want to hold you. But this woman just happened to get to where I started, number 1. I guess you're the woman, are you? You're the--you're the person? All right. We are strangers to one another. We don't know each other. This is our first time meeting. Here's a little panoramic. Here's a man and a woman, meeting for the first time, like Jesus and that woman at the well. Two people, never met before, and here we stand.
Now, if I said to the woman, "The Lord sent me to pray for the sick. I'm going to lay my hands upon you." It might not be sickness she's here for. Maybe it's domestic trouble; maybe it's financial trouble. Maybe it's something else. Maybe she's not even a Christian. I don't know.
But if He can tell her what has been, and then tell her what will be, surely she could believe what will be if He can tell what has been. Is that right? How many believe that now? All right. Now, if anybody thinks there's something wrong with it, that you have a better program, better idea, you're welcome to come here and take my place. If you don't, then keep still about it. See?
E-97 Notice. Now, here it is. I have just preached the Word that Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and proved by the Scripture that He lives today in His church, and He's coming. And the last sign that He give to the Jews, Samaritan, and now to the Gentiles... We've had... Jews had four thousand years to believe a prophet come in, in its major condition, as the church went on.
Gentiles has had two thousand years of churchanity. And now on--coming on down to speaking in tongues, and Divine healing; and now right to the end time where the great Messiah in the fullness of His Spirit, moving, not just in one person, in the whole church, flowing.
E-98 Now, no matter how much I believe, this woman's got to believe too.
And now, you out there that won't be in the prayer line, you look towards God and say, "God, that little old fellow standing up there don't know me, knows nothing about me. But I'm in--I'm in a serious condition. Let me touch Your garment, and You speak back through him and tell me something." Try it. See if He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. Don't try it; believe it. Anybody can try it. We don't try Christ; we just take Him and believe Him. He don't come by trial. Now, if the Holy Spirit will reveal... I've got to speak to her a minute.
E-99 Now, look here. I'm in Spokane. Why did I come to Spokane? We even had trouble getting here, had to swap meetings with another country. I was supposed to be here later than this, but had to swap it around. But still, and we... I think they couldn't get a building, had to come take the brother's church; and these other brothers, wonderful, coming in, and cooperating with the brother here. That's sweet, lovely. That's--that's the way I want to see the church get.
Here we are, standing here like this. And here I am. Why? God sent me here. I felt to come here. I don't care how much battle I have to have, He said come here; and here I am. Not because I didn't have no other place to go. Ask the manager. We've got a book of invitations, world around, hundreds of them. But I just felt to come here. Why? I don't know. Maybe He's going to break a revival. Maybe you're receiving your last message. I don't know. I can't tell you. But He sent me here; I don't know why. Here I am.
Jesus went up to Samaria. Why? He didn't know. A woman come out. He just got to talking to her. Then He found her trouble. And she run and told everybody, "That's the Messiah."
E-100 Now, lady, if the Holy Spirit would reveal to me something you're here for, or something you've done, or--or whatever it is, you know I don't know you. And--and if He'd reveal it, you'd know it'd have to come from some spiritual power. It'd have to come... You know that, don't you, brethren? It'd have to come to the sister. Then it'd have to come through a spiritual power. Do you believe that, out there?
Then it depends on what you think it is. The Pharisees said, "He's Beelzebub."
But the believers said, "It's the Messiah." They were Scriptural people who believe the Scripture.
E-101 Now, I'm just going to talk to the woman, and please keep seated. Now, don't move because... You say, "Brother Branham, you're stalling for something." Certainly. Did they have the picture of that Angel up here? There it is in Washington D. C., and so forth, the only supernatural Being was ever scientifically proven, same Pillar of Fire that I told you was with Israel. When It was made flesh... we see what It did in flesh.
Now, if that's the same Pillar of Fire, It'll manifest Itself the same way. It's the same life. You put the life of a grape in a pumpkin vine, it would bear grapes. Certainly it would. It's the life in it that bears the fruit. Christ said, "I am the Vine; ye are the branches." He's ascended on high and sent His Life back. His Life bears record.
Now, if that be... I'm waiting for that anointing. And if it doesn't come, I'll just lay hands on the woman, pray for her, and go on. I don't know. I can't say. It's stalling, or I'm stalling, waiting for it. That's exactly right.
E-102 What's the matter with everybody? What's the matter? Can't you believe? Have faith, friends. The Scripture laying here before you, and a person walk up here, and dare before an audience of people to take God's Word, and challenge the whole world with it? Believe. Have faith. Amen.
Now, in the Name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, I take every spirit in here under the control of the Holy Spirit which has me anointed. Now, have faith. Look here just a moment, as Peter and John said, "Look on us." I'm trusting for you. I don't know. You're just standing here, a woman. But if the Holy Spirit will reveal something to me that's in your life, you'll know whether it's the truth or not.
Now, I'm talking to you individually. That's the reason I have someone up here, just to get a contact. The Spirit gets me anointed, and then I--I can start to the audience, or wherever it's at, to see wherever He will lead me then.
Now, I'm just speaking to you to find out, just see what He would tell me. I don't know. That'd be up to Him to say. But I'm sure He will do it. Yes, sir. The lady goes from me, moving away. She could witness right now there's a feeling around her like a real sweet, humble feeling, 'cause the light settles right over the woman. And the woman is suffering with a throat trouble. That's right. That's right, lady. You believe?
E-103 Why is it variable, every time, somebody will think "He guessed that?" I got a good notion to call on who did it. Don't do it. You believe. I never guessed that to that woman. She knows I couldn't do that. How could it be perfect, and be...
Here just... She seems to be a lovely person. Let me talk to her just a moment. Now, ever what He told you, I wouldn't know. It's on tape. See? I'm somewhere else. It's like another dimension. It's a vision. You see? Yes. It's a... It's throat. You got throat trouble, and you're bothered with nervousness. You seem to be extremely nervous.
Well, you just have complications; many things are bothering you: get real weary in the late of a evening, tired, wore out, your work done. That is right.
Another thing, there's somebody else that you're interested in, you're praying for. I see a man appear. It's--it must--it must be your husband. It's in the same place. The man's here now. You believe I can tell you what's the trouble with your husband? Would you believe me to be His servant? Your husband suffers with a heart trouble. He also is nervous. And--and you've brought somebody from a... It's your sister. You brought her from a--a nursing home. She's setting right here. That's right, crippled.
You believe? Now, is He the same yesterday, today, and forever? Then what does that bring? Christ here with us. Do you believe with all your heart? Then go and receive what you've asked for. Don't doubt. You can have what you've asked for, and God be with you.
E-104 Now, don't move around. Set real still, set still, set still. Reverent... See, each one of you is a spirit, and when you move I can just--you can just tell it. It's moving. There's something wrong. See? Just be real reverent, quiet.
This is the lady. The--the Angel of the Light that I watch, It appeared over in here somewhere, right in here. Be real reverent. Now, just keep praying. Now, if I look down and say, "Well, that person that's laying on a cot is crippled, or got arthritis. It's going to..." You'd say, "Sure. Look at it. Sure it is. You can see that."
But here this person looks perfectly normal. What's wrong with her? There's the thing. Now, look this way just a moment, lady. We're strangers to one another, our first time meeting. The great Holy Spirit is here. You believe that? You feel it. Isn't that a sweet feeling? See, it just feels... Knowing you're a Christian, to see the welcome into that Spirit, just look like it He just acts like that. said it's a real sweet, humble feeling. It's such a wonderful thing to be a Christian.
E-105 Now, if the Lord Jesus will just tell me something about you, or what you're standing here for, what you want from Him, you'd believe it if He could tell you what--what it was about.
Now, if I could heal you, I would do it. But I can't. You see? If He was standing here with this suit on that He gave me, He couldn't heal you, because your healing's already purchased. He would make you know that It was Him, and how He would do it, by He proving Himself the same yesterday, today, and forever, just what I preached about. The audience... I believe we all believe that. Yes.
Now, you just believe. You're suffering with a hernia. That is right. It's true. Then you've got something wrong with your right side. You have pain that hits and goes all the way down your right side plumb into your feet. That's right, isn't it? Do you believe that that's Christ that you're anointed by now? Accept Him as your Healer, a finished work. It'll all leave you, and you'll never have it no more if you'll believe it. God bless you. God bless you, my sister.
E-106 I do not heal. I... If He was standing here, He could not heal. How many knows that? He's already done it. See, He just let's you know that He's here. He's risen from the dead. That's the only thing He could do: make Himself known that He's still Messiah.
How do you do? I suppose we're strangers to one another. I've never seen you in my life, and we're just standing here for the first time, a man and a woman meeting.
There's a man keeps coming before me; see, it's somebody praying. You just keep praying; that's all right. That's right. You just touch Him. I just ask you, in the Name of the Lord Jesus, to believe what I told to be the truth. For I have told the truth, and you know that's right. It's out of the Word. And if I've told the truth, God's obligated to His own Word. See? He's not obligated to me; He's obligated to His Word. See? And I'm just speaking His Word.
E-107 Now, not knowing you, but if the Lord Jesus would tell me something about you, or something that you've done, or something you ought not have done, or some you--trouble that you've got, and maybe it's financial, domestic, I don't know. But if He will just explain it, you'll know that it has to be some kind of a power. It'll have to be the Word of God, because It's a discerner of the thoughts of the heart. That's right. You believe that God sent this in the last days, and It's Christ testifying of His soon coming? If you believe that, then God surely will grant your request.
You have a rupture, two of them. That's right. You have something else wrong, which is a bladder trouble. That is right, isn't it? You believe He knows who you are? Mrs. Peterson. That's who you are. Now, go believing and...?... no more. Have faith. Don't doubt. Do you believe? Just have faith in God. Don't doubt. Don't doubt.
E-108 We are strangers to each other, but the Lord Jesus knows us both. And do you think that He could do something, or tell me something about you that would help you? Would you believe it?
Now, you realize the condition it's got me in right now. I'm just shaking all over. You say, "Why, Brother Branham? Why would you do that?"
Well, if one little woman, touching the border of the garment of Jesus, made the Son of God weak, what do you think it would do to me, a sinner, saved by faith? Here's... The only way I could do even one is because He said, "The works that I do shall you do also. More than this shall you do."
King James says "greater," but it's not interpreted right. The right translation is "more." Who could do any greater? He healed the sick; He raised the dead; He stopped nature. He done everything there was to be done. See? You just do more of it, because He'd be divided amongst His church: "more than this."
E-109 Now, here's a little lady much younger than I. Don't know her, never met her. We're strangers to each other. But the Holy Spirit knows us both. And if the Holy Spirit will reveal to me something like that, will it make the whole audience believe? Everybody?
Here's my hand. Here's the Bible. I don't know the woman. See? And there she stands. She might've been in a meeting somewhere. Was you ever in one of my meetings before? Never been in a meeting even before. She's just standing here. We're perfectly strange to one another.
All right. May the Holy Spirit grant your request, sister. Yes. The lady suffers with a rectal trouble. She has colitis, which has caused this. You've had a lot of trouble in your life, haven't you? I see you going to a hospital. No. One, two, three, four, five, six times, operations. That's THUS SAITH THE LORD. Believe with all your heart, and it's all over. You believe it?
E-110 Come by here. Lay hands...?... You believe God can heal heart trouble? All right. Go ahead, off the platform.
Do you believe? Here, raising up your hands, you believe He heals that prostate trouble you got, make you well? All right, if you believe it, you can have it also. Just have faith.
How do you do, lady? You believe He heals arthritis? Well, just keep on walking then, and He will make you well, just... He will make it well, if you'll believe it.
What about you, lady? Would you like to get over that stomach trouble and be well? Keep on walking, saying, "Thank You, Lord. I--I receive it."
E-111 If you can believe. What is... All things are possible to them that believe. You believe? What if I didn't say a thing to you, just laid hands on you. Would you believe it? You believe you'd get well? Come here. In the Name of Jesus Christ, may she be healed. That's one that didn't want to see anything. See? She just believed that whatever it was, it was all right.
Come. lady. What if I didn't say nothing to you. Would you believe the same thing? Well, if you do, the female trouble... I done told you, so go ahead. That lady's trouble...?... it'll go and leave you, and you'll be all right, if you'll just believe with all your heart. Believe.
You believe with all your heart? Go eat your supper and say, "Thank the Lord for healing me." Amen. God bless you, sir. Just have faith. Don't doubt. Just believe with all of your heart.
Come, lady. You've had a nervous stomach for a long time. You've had a lot of trouble with it. It's all over now. You believe it? All right, go say, "Thank You, Lord."
E-112 How many believes out there? With all of your heart? You believe that He is the Son of God? The same yesterday, today, and forever? You believe it? Start walking off the platform then, saying, "Thank You, Lord."
There's something's got me anointed, isn't it? I lay hands upon you, saying, "Praise the Lord."
Come... anointing. Come. You believe? Have faith. In the Name of the Lord Jesus, go be made whole. Believe.
Come. If I don't say nothing to you, you'd believe anyhow? Well, you're nervous. Well, you're... You've had nervousness for a long time. Really, one thing's that change, that menopause that's got you all upset. You get real gloomy spells, and you... Everybody's saying, "Get next to yourself," but you can't. There's something scaring you. But it's gone now. It'll stay gone. See? Just believe it with all your heart. Go and believe with all your heart.
E-113 You believe? Somebody out there in the audience believe. Oh. You believe? "Sir, we would see Jesus." You know it can't be me. Well, Who do you think It is? What about this little Mexican woman, setting here, suffering with dizzy spells? That's right. Do you believe? Who'd you touch? You touched the High Priest. You never touched me; you're too far from me. All right, your dizzy spells has left you. Amen. Amen. Ask her if that's right. See? Just have faith in God. Believe God.
What about you, laying there on the stretcher? Yes, you. You believe with all of your heart? You pointed your finger. You believe me to be God's prophet or His servant? I'll say it that way. That stumbles people. You believe it? If... I can't heal you, sir. But God can. If you lay there, you're going to die. Doctors can't do you no good. One thing, you got a stomach trouble, got arthritis in your back. But no one can heal that but God. But if you'll believe God, and act upon the Word, you can raise up, take your bed, and go home.
What about you in the next stretcher, over there? Do you believe? There he goes. Praise God. You see him straighten out? There he goes. Let's give God praise. Amen. Do you believe Him? Amen. Isn't He the same yesterday, today, and forever? I can't heal. I can't make well. Christ can.
E-114 What you scared about? When I said a few minutes ago about that woman being nervous, you turned me plumb around. You're scared. There's nothing's going to happen to you. You'll be all right. You believe that? How could you pull the faith of God? Who'd you touch to let know it was nervousness bothering you?
You believe God? You believe Him, take Him at His Word? You believe me to be His prophet? Then in the Name of Jesus Christ, rise up out of that stretcher, and go home, and forget about it. You believe it? Come out. Get up. Take up that which you have, go home. Be made well. Have faith in God.
You believe? If she'd only believe... You was praying. There's a Light over you. If you believe, you'll get over that polio and be made well. Return to the mission field. Don't doubt it.
E-115 You believe Him? What about you over there? Back trouble, bladder trouble, complications, all taking... Nothing will do you any good. Christ's the only One can heal you. Is that right? Why don't you believe Him? You believe me to be His prophet? Would you take my word as His, to tell you He's the same yesterday, today, and forever? How can He stand here and tell you all about yourself, without being you have some contact with Him? Why don't you believe Him, rise up, take your bed, and go home, get well? If you'll accept it, then come out of the cot. Believe the Lord Jesus Christ. You have faith, believe.
This little lady setting here in this wheelchair, I can't heal you. But if you'll believe with all of your heart, that diabetes will leave you, and you'll go home and be well. Have faith in God. Believe it. Get out, go home. Be made well.
What about you laying there, suffering with bleeding in the throat, everything. You believe with all your heart? If you believe with all your heart... Everything's wrong with you, but why don't you raise up, and come out of that bed, come out of that cot? In the Name of Jesus Christ, rise up. Amen. There they are.
E-116 Everyone that believes, do you believe it? Sirs, We Would See Jesus. Do you believe it? Put your hands on one another then, right quick. Put your hands over on one another, every believer. Here's the wheelchairs emptied, the cots. Put your hands on one another and pray.
Heavenly Father, in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, may Satan lose his power amongst these people when he can see the cripples, the arthritis, the twisted-up can come forth and be made well. Grant, Lord, that they'll believe it. In Jesus' Name may Satan leave them. Amen.
E-117 Every one that believes on Him, accepts Him now as your healer, stand up on your feet in the Name of Jesus Christ and be made well. Amen. There you are. Every one of them up.
Let's sing praises to Him. Raise up your hands and give Him praise. Sirs, We Would See Jesus. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. He never fails. He's the Son of God eternal, and He can never fail. Believe on Him with all your heart. Be made well. Get up and go home.
Our heavenly Father, we've come tonight in the Name of Thy Son, the Lord Jesus, the lovely One. We come praying, believing that You will grant the requests that's been asked tonight, because we believe, Father, that it come from a sincere heart; that they really have need, and the need is for Your glory. And we pray that You will grant their requests, each of them.
E-2 And now, this being the second night in the service, we thank Thee for last night, for those who came forward to accept Christ as their Saviour, trusting that each one that was coming back home from a backslidden condition, that their experience was renewed. They know... We know that God stands with a hand out ready to receive the prodigal as he returns. And those who were seeking the baptism of the Spirit, we pray, God, that You fill their hearts with Thy goodness and mercy and power. Grant it, Lord.
Now, tonight as we're going to pray for the sick, if it be Your will, we trust that there will not be a feeble person in our midst tonight when the service is over. May those that's dying with heart trouble be healed, those that's dying with cancers that the doctors has fought hard to try to save their life, but it seems like it's hopeless, but God, there is a Balm in Gilead, and we're so thankful that--to know that, and to share the promises of God with each other.
E-3 And we pray that You'll come into our midst tonight with such great faith, Lord, that there will be such a great time... And we pray that You'll be so--so real to everyone tonight, Lord, that when we leave to go to our homes that we'll say like those who came from Emmaus that day after the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord... They were wondering along the road, "Did He really raise or not?" But when He got them in in the evening time, about this time or a little later, the doors was a... [A prophecy is given--Ed.]
And let Thy peace and Thy mercy, O God, be with us and help us, and deliver every one, Lord, that is afflicted. Let the Holy Spirit do the great work that He has been sent to do among us, and we'll bow our heads in humility and simplicity and give thanks and praise to Thee. We ask it in Jesus' Name. Amen.
E-4 The brother has just laid here some prayer requests, and we're trusting that the Lord God will grant this and many of... [Someone speaks to Brother Branham--Ed.]... Handkerchiefs, and... Yes.
Now, we do believe in praying over handkerchiefs for the sick and the afflicted. Now, we take that from the Bible. One time in South Africa... I believe one of the books out there they have a picture of it, I had several great sackfuls of handkerchiefs that had been sent in by the people. And they said, "Brother Branham is very superstitious, because he prays for--over handkerchiefs." And it wasn't superstitious; it's just Scriptural, that... Now, we realize that--that it...
E-5 I believe that Paul was very fundamental, Scriptural in everything that he did. Now, we all have to believe that because--to believe the Bible. God would not permitted this man to write the Bible, the--the books in the Bible that he did... I believe Paul of the New Testament was like Moses of the Old. And Paul was a missionary prophet to the Gentiles. Now, we're trusting that in this, that people will understand that Paul... Where I think that he received it, that...
You know Elijah one time, a great prophet of the Lord... A Shunammite woman lost her child, and so she came to Elijah and asked him about the child. And he said, "Take this staff," to Gehazi, his servant, "go lay it on the child." And I believe that that's what--where Paul got the idea of laying handkerchiefs. 'Cause Elijah knew that whatever he touched was blessed, if he could just get the woman to believe the same thing. But the woman's faith wasn't in what he touched; it was in the prophet.
E-6 Then we find out that in Paul's time they taken handkerchiefs and aprons... The people (greater faith) believed, and they laid these handkerchiefs and aprons upon the people, and evil spirits went out of them, and they were healed.
Now, we know Paul's been gone for a long time, but the Holy Spirit's still here. It's a... He's no respect of person, and He gives people favor amongst the people, ministers, to believe that that man, something about him that proves that God is with that pastor, and they believe that. And all fulE-Gospel, believing people take handkerchiefs, aprons, and so forth from their bodies and lay them upon the sick and the afflicted, and they get well. And we have greater success with that than anything yet that...
E-7 Here some time ago a little German woman... I send them out by the thousands, and she received one. And she had her neighbors to come in. She didn't have a pastor, so she had the neighbors come in and pray. And she confessed all of her faults. There's one thing you've got to do, is make things right with God, 'cause the affliction might be on you for that purpose, and so--to bring you to God. So confess all your sins. And when she did she laid it upon her.
She'd been crippled with arthritis for about twenty years. And she said, "All right, old man devil, now the works is done, so get away. Here I come." Got right up and walked away from the wheelchair--just that simple. See? Said, "All right, everything's complete now; the works was all finished, so just get up and walk away." That's the way we've got to believe it, just in that manner, just as simple as we can be.
E-8 We--the people today make the Gospel too complicated for people. See? That's always been the reason it goes over the head of the common people. And the Gospel was sent for all, but it's usually the common people that hears it. Luke said, "The common people heard Jesus gladly," the common people.
And so God makes it so simple He said in Isaiah, "Even a fool shouldn't err in the way." So we never want to make it complicated. It's simple, the simplicity of believing it, just having faith. Don't move from it. Stay right with it, and God takes care of the rest.
E-9 Now, last night I kept you late. I'm going to try tonight to pray for the sick, and I think Billy told me awhile ago that he give out a group of prayer cards to the people. The reason we do that is to keep them lined up, so who can come and who cannot. And each one gets a card can--may come to the platform. But anyone's ever been in the meeting know there's five healed in the audience while one's healed on the platform. It's always greater in the audience: faith.
Now, many people want you to lay hands upon them. That's perfectly all right. That's Scripture. Jesus said, "These signs shall follow them that believe. If they lay hands on the sick they shall recover." Now, that's--that's God's Word, so we believe it. Now, but did you notice, that was kind of a Jewish custom. It wasn't so with the Gentiles.
E-10 Now, when Jairus' daughter was laying at the point of death, they sent for the Lord Jesus, and when He... On His road over there the girl died, perhaps in His travel from the seacoast up to the house. And a runner come, said, "Don't trouble Him. She's already dead."
And watch what Jairus said. He said, "My daughter lays at the point of death. But come lay Thy hands upon her and she'll get well. She'll be healed." That's Jewish, because he was a teacher, rabbi.
E-11 But did you notice the Roman, the Gentile? When Jesus come to heal his servant, he said, "I'm not worthy that You come under my roof." And said, "Just... I'm a man under authority." Said, "I say to this man, 'Go,' and he goes; to this man, 'come,' and he comes." See, he was saying to Jesus that he recognized Himself (Christ) to have the authority over all diseases, just like he had authority over the hundred men that was under him. See? "I'm a man under authority also. And I say to this man that's under my authority, 'You come,' or 'You go,' and he does it. Just speak the Word; my servant will live." That's it.
Did you notice what our Master said? He turned around, said, "I haven't found faith like that in Israel." See, see?
"Just speak the word; that's all you have to do," 'cause he knowed that every disease, and every affliction, and everything was under Christ's control. All He has to do is speak the Word.
And He sent His Word and healed them. See? So we know that we need His Word. It's the Word makes us free.
E-12 Now, tonight, if you keep texts, I just want to give a little basis. Last night, the reason I didn't pray for the sick last night... First thing, I didn't know whether they permitted praying for the sick in the church here or not. I knew they had it in a church. A bunch of brethren was sponsoring it, but they had it in a church. And I want to be very careful that I don't do nothing that--that brings an offense or hinder. I just want to do as I think it's the right thing to do.
And then I--then I seen all the sick and afflicted, and a brother said, "Sure, they believed it." Today I happened to find out this Open Bible church, that...
E-13 My, such wonderful friends that I have in that church. Brother Mitchell was one of them. One night we was having a meeting at Brother Mitchell's church, and his son-in-law didn't have the Holy Ghost. I didn't know his son-in-law, or his daughter. And she was there, and she was barren, had no children. And while I was yet speaking, the Holy Ghost spoke to the girl and said, "THUS SAITH THE LORD, you'll have the child. And your husband sets out there. THUS SAITH THE LORD, he receives the Holy Ghost." He received the Holy Ghost. That night after service... Brother Bryant never had no children yet, so they begin to call him, "Grandfather." Nine months, here was the baby.
So it--it just has never failed. You watch It. When It says so, it's perfect that way. I'm fifty-three years old. I saw visions since I was a little bitty boy. I've never seen one of them fail, and it can't fail. God cannot fail. That's one thing God cannot do. He cannot fail. And He--He just can't, because He's God.
E-14 And now, we wish to read some Word over here in the Bible, 'cause I know that my words is the word of a man. These is God's Words, so It can't fail. And now, tonight for a little Scripture reading I want to take a couple places. First, I want to read out of--just in a routine now, just in the way of reading, and a little routine service to kind of base it.
The message, if you don't get the thing, just... You--you have to have faith. There's only one way to be healed or saved, and that's by faith. Your emotions, that won't save you. Your mental ideas, it won't save you. It's got to be faith. And faith does not, cannot, never will fail when you really believe it.
E-15 Now, it's too bad we don't have about a month here in this city in some auditorium, where we just take messages on faith, build the people to that. Let all these sick people throughout the building here that's setting here, let them come, watch night after night, see what takes place, watch for faith until really something anchors. Then they get it. When it--when faith anchors, it's there to stay. It'll never be moved. Nothing can ever move faith.
I find in a prayer line about ninety-nine out of every hundred that comes to the platform... Oh, I've heard people say, "Oh, Brother Branham, I got all faith." Then what are they doing up there. See, see? See, it's hope instead of faith. See? If faith, you know something. It's just as positive as if you're setting here. It's more positive than you're setting here.
It's a sixth sense. Five senses won't touch it. It's the sixth sense. Five senses won't declare faith at all. It's the sixth sense, and the sixth sense is the one that declares the whole armor of God. And the whole armor of God is nothing that the... one of the five senses will declare. Do you believe that?
Look. Faith, love, joy, peace, long-suffering, meekness, gentleness, patience, who can declare that by some of your science? You can't do it. It's a faith, the sixth sense that goes out and declares it. "It's the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." You don't see it, taste it, feel it, smell it, or hear it; you believe it. That's right.
E-16 And now, what if I was dying, and you--a loaf of bread would save my life, and the loaf of bread cost twenty-five cents. And you gave me the purchase price of a loaf of bread--twenty-five cents. I could be just as happy with the twenty-five cents, and rejoice just as much as if I had the loaf of bread in the other hand, because I've got the purchasing price of the bread. And if you've got faith, and no matter how long it takes the thing to happen, you've got it. That's all. See? It'll purchase what you're asking for.
Oh, I wish we could just get that much right there, if you could just... If you could just grasp that much. Not a mental belief; but from the heart.
Then there's no one, nothing anywhere, could ever shake you away from it. When something's anchored, that settles it. You could no more deny that than you could deny you was a human being. See? It's just the real part. We must believe it.
E-17 Now, I want to say this, that I am not a Divine healer. People call me that, but I am not. No man is a healer. If a man comes by and says he is a healer, you watch that fellow: something wrong. Neither am I a Saviour. I could be a--a Saviour just as well as I could be a healer, because He, Christ, was wounded for our transgressions, with His stripes we were healed. It's a past tense.
Every sin in the world was forgiven when Christ died at Calvary. You believe that? There's a Blood atonement on the altar for--for the sins of the world. But it'll never do you any good until you accept it and confess it. And He can never work on it until first you say, and have by faith accepted it.
Then He's a High Priest to make intercessions upon our confession. See, He can't move, He--He's bound; there's nothing He can do, until first you accept it and confess it; and from your heart you believe it. Then it touches Him, and then He can go to work on it and make intercessions for you. There you are.
E-18 So then, somebody said, "I got healing in my hands. I got healing..." Oh, well, if it's in your hands, then what happened to Calvary? See? What happened to the Blood of the Lord Jesus? If rubbing oil, or--or blood, or smoke, fire, or whatever it might be, is healing, then what happened to Calvary? What happened to the Blood of Jesus Christ?
No wonder people are so confused. If they could only stop a minute to realize that there has--that a bogus absolutely only declares that there is a real. But people is just... They don't know which way to go.
There's been so much gone forth in the Name of Holy Spirit, been so much gone forth in the name of Divine healing, till sensible-thinking people... You can hardly blame them from being afraid. But remember, friend, as sure as there is one that isn't right, it's got to be one that is right.
E-19 But what--what is sin? Is unbelief. What is righteousness? Faith. And sin is only righteousness perverted. What is a lie? Is the truth misrepresented. What's an adultery? Is the right act misrepresented in the wrong way. See, all things...
There's only two things. That's right and wrong. And Satan is not a creator. There's only one Creator. That's God. Satan perverts what God has created. But as long as you have faith in the Creator, in Him, God brings it back to its right place.
E-20 What if there was a stalk of corn growing and a chunk was laying on it? It'd grow crooked. Pick up, move every obstacle that's hindering that, and the--and the sun that it's sticking up towards, it'll finally grow that stalk of corn right out straight again. Cast out an evil spirit, then the people say, "Well, wasn't nothing happened to me." You--you grow right back straight. If you believe that, and know that something happened to you, there's nothing to keep you from straightening right back again. You just hold on to it.
It's just like the sun. The sun is the--controls all botany life. The s-u-n controls all botany life. When springtime comes, that little seed laying in the ground, you can't hide it. No matter... You put a rock over it, it'll work its way right up from under that concrete, and stick its head up, and praise God. It's life. Sure. That's why you can bury in the sea, you can burn your body to ashes, but you'll... No matter what they'd ever do to you, you'll rise again.
Where's your--where's your most grass at in the springtime, if you lay it--your concrete, rocks over it? Right at the edge of your walk. Why? It's all that life under there. When that sun begins to shine down, though it be under concrete, it's got to find its way out, stick its head up, and praise God. Just as sure as that sun begins to strike it, it's coming out.
E-21 And as sure as the S-o-n, Who controls all Eternal Life, if it strikes that germitized, predestinated seed, something happens. It takes a hold, and there it holds there, twists its way through every obstacle there is. Finally it sticks its head up and said, "Praise God, I knew it was so." That's it. That's faith. Believe it. Don't just make-believe; be a believer, genuine.
That's what I made my altar call for first last night, before we start a prayer line. We could've had the prayer line last night, but we had people at the altar. We got to get the foundation laid first.
E-22 You've got to... Jump up and grab something--that's the American way of doing it: grab, like a monkey reaching for anything that shines. Let's get back, and get the foundation Gospel, Christ, and there, upon that Rock, build your faith, upon Christ; not upon some mythology of some fellow coming around, and a lot of ballyhoo, and work up. Come back to that Word, and stay there on that Word. And don't--don't you leave that Word. If it's contrary to the Word, let it alone; if it's with the Word, believe it.
And it's the sensible, sane, doctrine of the Bible: Divine healing. If there is no Divine healing... It's the earnest of our resurrection. I've seen a shadow of a man dying with sarcomas cancer made perfectly whole. I've seen people that'd had been dead, doctor's statements wrote out, been dead for twenty-four hours and rise back to life again. Can prove that by doctor's statements. See?
E-23 I know that it's real. God is God. He can't fail. His Word is so, but you've got to believe it, not just imagine it; believe it. (Now, so much time will pass by in talking to you, won't even get to my text.)
Well now, we want... If you find me saying anything, teaching anything that's not Scriptural, you owe it to me to tell me about it. Yes, sir, it's got to come from this Bible. It's got to be a promise of God. And then we know that there...
E-24 A doctor told me one time... Fine man. Wish I had time to tell you his story, how he was converted, but... He said, "Oh, I believe, Billy, if anybody could touch that pole out there and believe it, they'd get well, that believe it."
I said, "Doctor, who could have faith in touching the pole? Faith ain't a myth. It's got to be based on something. What's any more eternal than God's Word?"
Like the old colored fellow down south, he said, "I'd rather be standing on the Bible than standing in heaven." His boss asked him why. He said, "Well, the Bible said, 'heavens and earth will pass away, but my Word won't.'" So heaven and earth's gone, he's still there because he's standing on the Word. And that's just it: stand on the Word. It's the truth. God said it. No other... Nothing else in the world can take Its place. No institution, no denomination, no nothing can take the place of the Word of God. And anything contrary to It is wrong to my way of thinking.
E-25 Now, let us read here now in our precious Bible out of Saint John the 12th chapter and the 20th verse. Then I want to take Hebrews 13:8 for a little backing. And that's the campaign theme always. Now, in Saint John the 12th chapter, 20th verse... Now, usually the first night before healing, I approach this text, and each time try to get a little different.
And there was certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast:
The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.
Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew... tell Jesus.
And in Hebrews 13:8, the Bible said in the 13th chapter of Hebrews and the--the 8th verse, that:
Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever.
E-26 Now, we want to approach this question. And now, I--I--I hope I don't take too long for these poor suffering people setting here in these wheelchairs, and cots, and stretchers. And--and they're in bad shape, crippled up like that. But remember, that they're... Perhaps these people might live an ordinary lifetime being crippled, but there may be a man setting out there with heart trouble and don't know it. He may have to have his right now, or he will die tonight. See? We don't know. Let's just make the Scripture so clear and plain, if we can, by the help of God, that we'll be able to--to help the whole group to find--see what we're talking about.
Now, I have a few Scriptures written out here that I want to refer to, and now, I want you to pray with me while I do.
E-27 Now, the question is... As a missionary I've had the experience of meeting with all kinds of religions. I was entertained just recently in Bombay, India, with seventeen different kinds of religion, and every one of them denied Christ and God. See? That's just--that's just a little group of them. See? And there's all kinds of gods, all kinds of everything.
That's why I can't... Wonder why we in America, under one God, with a church under every corner like that, can't come together and have fellowship? I just can't understand it. I can understand those people, a different god. But what about us. See?
Now, and each one has their mystic idea. But every one of them, their founders was men who lived and died and buried and still there. But there's only one of them that's true, and that's Christianity. For the Founder of Christianity lived, died, and rose again, to prove that He was God, and has been alive for two thousand years with us. That makes Him the same yesterday, today, and forever.
E-28 Now, I read out of Saint John. We're going to turn back the first of Saint John, and just start talking about Jesus for a little bit and find out about Him. Now, if I would say to all the--the Catholic here, "Does your church believe that He's the same yesterday, today, and forever?"
"Yes."
Lutheran, Baptist, Pentecostals, Church of God, Assembly of God, oh, everybody would say, "Yes, sure." Well, there's so much difference somewhere. There's got to be something wrong or something right somewhere, to me. It's too--it's too broke up. Now, now, there's only one way that we can find out today, if He is today the same as He was yesterday, is find out what He was yesterday; and then test it whether He's the same today. Now, He's the same yesterday, today, and forever.
E-29 Now, these Greeks that came to the Lord Jesus, or came to Philip of Bethsaida, they--they themselves were curious. They'd heard about Jesus and they wanted to see Him. Now, there's an old saying, "I'm from Missouri. Show me." Now, those Greeks were something like that. We... They wanted to see Him.
I don't believe there's anybody that ever heard His wonderful Name breathed but what wants to see Him. I believe if I'd say tonight in this audience, "How many of you would like to see Jesus," every one of you would put up your hand. Is that right? Every one of us would like to see Him, everywhere. Well then, the Scriptures can't lie, and if these Greeks got their request to see Him, then why can't we if He's the same? Now, just think of it.
I'm going to take my time. I don't want you to be nervous. Just set quiet awhile and reason it as we talk.
E-30 Now, if He is the same (and God forgive me for using that word to make a point--"if He is"--we know). Now, then, why can't we see Him if they got to see Him? Now, He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. Now, the only way that we can find out whether we're right or not is to go back and find out what He was yesterday, and then He is the same today, and will be forever.
E-31 Now, if you know when this statement was made, it was made in the New Testament. It was Paul, we believe, writing the book of Hebrews to the Hebrews, separating law from grace. And we find out here that he said, "Jesus Christ is the Same yesterday (in the Old Testament), today, and forever the same." Well then, I believe that in the Old Testament it was still Jesus Christ. I believe that the Pillar of Fire that followed--led Israel through the wilderness was Christ. The Bible said It was. Any teacher knows It's the Angel of the Covenant, which was Christ.
And then when Jesus was here on earth He said, "A little while and the world seeth Me no more, yet ye shall see Me. I come from God and I go to God." And after that Pillar of Fire was made flesh in the form of man, God's Son dwelt among us, manifested Himself and proved God, for He was the manifestation of God in flesh... God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself.
E-32 Then after His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, Saul of Tarsus was on his road down to Damascus to arrest those people that'd become Pentecostal. And on his road down he was stricken down by a great Light, same Pillar of Fire, returned back to God: came from God; returned to God. And He said, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?"
He said, "Who are You, Lord?"
He said, "I am Jesus (See?), and it's hard for you to kick against the pricks."
Now, to go back and find out, we see that...
We'lE--we'll base it on through the week greater, make it more plainer. But I--I--I didn't set my watch to alarm tonight. I'm watching that clock there. So we'll try to leave it like that.
E-33 Now, He was in the Old Testament a Pillar of Fire; He was on earth the Son of God manifested, same God in flesh; and now He's in the form of the Holy Spirit: the same God in three offices, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, making Himself... That's the reason Matthew said baptize in the Name of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. It was the fatherhood, sonship, and Holy Ghost, the same God using three different offices: God condescending.
E-34 God, holy, couldn't come around sin. All right. Even a--a beast touched the mountain must be thrust through. So great was the quake till even they cried out, "Let Moses speak and not God," 'cause sin was horrible. And then God, made flesh among us, worked with us... I Timothy 3:16, "Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness, for God was manifested in flesh." There He was in flesh, making Himself known, a little closer to us. Now, what...
He died to redeem a church and all that was in Him. Now, He's come in the form of the Holy Ghost: God above us, God with us, God in us. See? God in us the same yesterday, today, and forever, the Holy Spirit working, carrying out, finishing the works of Christ, which was in Christ. Now, remember. All that God was He poured into His Son, Jesus Christ. And all that Christ was He poured into His church. See, makes Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever.
E-35 Now, notice. Let's find out what He was. Now, in the beginning, I John the 1st chapter... We're going to stay in John tonight. Tomorrow night we'll go in another--readings and so forth, another writer, some place else in the Bible. But notice. Now, in John's writing, starts out back there, "In the beginning was the Word."
Now, what is a word? A word is a thought expressed. You have to think it before you express it. That's the reason Jesus said to the Pharisees, "You hypocrites, how can you say good, and when--call Me good..." and so forth, when He knew in their hearts they were thinking evil of Him.
Said, "From the heart... The--the--the mouth speaketh from the heart." If you don't, then it's--it's your thoughts expressing themselves, and you express something else. Then it's hypocrisy, it isn't coming from your heart.
E-36 So "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." It hadn't been expressed yet. "And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us." The Word, Christ is the Word. Now, when He came on earth... In the beginning was the Word, and, the thought Word, and then the Word once expressed in Eden, it become reality.
God cannot say anything and ever take it back. That's why we base our--our hopes upon God, because God being infinite, He cannot change. If I can say something today, tomorrow I might think different. Next year I might be a lot smarter; I can think different. You can. But not God. Every decision is perfect. If God once says anything, it's eternal that way. It can never be changed.
And now, God... That's the reason Jesus was the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world, because it was in God's thinking. And when the Word was expressed, then it become flesh and dwelt among us. Oh, I love that. That gives me such hope. I--I--I love that because it gives the assurance that the great infinite God that we serve knowed all things and knowed us before the world was ever created. How glorious that is.
E-37 The people gets scared. What are you scared about? Those who He foreknew He called; those who He called He justified; those who He has justified, He's already glorified. What you scared about? Just take a hold of God like little children, and hold onto it, and believe God your Father. He loves you. He's done everything He could to redeem you. You're...
And the Bible said the antichrist deceived all that lived upon the earth whose names were not written in the Lamb's Book of Life from the foundation of the world. God, by His foreknowledge, saw you, put your name in His Book. And that's the reason you're here tonight, because you've answered that call. God foreknew you and called you, and you accepted His call.
Now, you say, can you... I... Every man seeks out his own salvation with fear and trembling. I hope my name was among that. But if it was, my name ever on the Book of Life, it was put there before the foundation of the world, when the Lamb was slain for me in the thinking of God. He's infinite. You don't just simply run a business just haphazardly. I don't run my business like that, and you wouldn't yours. God doesn't His. Christ come to redeem those who God foresaw and foreknew that would come to Him. Aren't you glad that you have come?
E-38 And now, with reverence you say, "Brother Branham, am I there?" I don't know. If you're in the church, you're there. And the only one way to get in the church: by one Spirit, we're all baptized into one body by the Holy Spirit. We don't join it. Joining church is all right, but I've been with the Branham family fifty-three years, and they've never asked me to join the family. I was born in it. So I become a Branham by birth. And that's the way a man becomes a Christian, when he's borned of the Holy Spirit. And then if you're borned of the Holy Spirit then you'll become, through Christ... Being dead in Christ you take on Abraham's royal seed, and are heirs with Abraham according to the promise.
E-39 What's the church scared about? I've always wondered what's the matter with the Pentecostal people. They--they've got... They've got enough faith to blow up the world, and they've got enough faith for all kinds of healings, but they're afraid to use it. That's the devil. If we could break that shadow of blackness from under the people, something's going to happen. And that's my purpose here.
I find two people, two classes. One of them's fundamentalist. Oh, they positionally know where they are by accepting Christ, positioned in Him; but they haven't got no faith. And I find the Pentecostals; a lot of faith, but don't know who they are. Just like a man's got money in the bank and can't write a check; and the other one's got--ain't got no money in the bank and he can write a check. If you could ever get the two together you got something. And if I could ever get the Pentecostal people to realize that they are sons and daughters of God, setting in heavenly places right now in Christ Jesus, that God foreknew before the foundation of the world, has ordained us to preach the... What you scared about? No matter what it is, swing out there. Take God's Word and believe it.
E-40 Set along, baby, and say you're Abraham's seed; when Abraham called things which was not as though they were because God said so. A man seventy-five years old, his wife sixty-five years old, and said they was going to have a baby. What do you think they'd do? Go down to the doctor and say, "Get things ready. We're going to have a baby."
Why, they'd say, "The man's crazy." Anybody that takes God's Word, the world calls them crazy.
Paul said, "In the way that's called heresy (crazy), that's the way I worship the God of our fathers." I'm glad to join hands with him tonight. That's right. All very fundamental in the Word too...
E-41 Now, notice. What was He? Ever what He was, He always has been and always will be. Now, I want you to notice. He was the Word. He was God's thought of a Redeemer expressed. That's what He was. He was the Word. And in Hebrews the 4th chapter and the 12th verse, the Bible said that the Word of God is more powerful, quicker, than a two-edged sword... even a discerner of the thoughts and--of the heart. God even knows what's on your mind. Now, hold that. "The Word of God is more powerful, sharper, than a two-edged sword, and It is a discerner of the thoughts of the heart." That's the Word.
E-42 That's the reason they couldn't believe Jesus. They couldn't understand Him. He said unto them, "Search the Scriptures. They are They that testify of Me. Search the Scriptures." He said to those learned priests, scholars, "You search the Scriptures. They are the Ones that testify of Me." In other words, "They... I manifest the Scriptures. I am making God's Word become reality. Search the Scriptures." They had their own idea about it; but He had the right way.
They had the way the Messiah was coming probably down the golden corridors and shake hands with Caiaphas, the high priest, if He come in his way. But look what He come. He never come contrary to the Scriptures. He come exactly the way the Scripture said. He said, "Search the Scriptures. They are They that testify of Me. They... I make the Scriptures manifest; and if I do not the manifestation by My works, then don't believe Me."
Oh, what a statement. A man that could take the written Word of God and make it come to pass right before them, and still by their traditions they turned Him down. No wonder broad is the way that leads to destruction. That's right. Strait is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life. Christ standing there...
E-43 Everybody's wanting something that's glamour, that's got a lot of tinsel on it. Christ is humility. Here not long ago a certain man, friend of mine. I was supposed to go to Chicago to speak in a convention. And because on the tapes I'd made a statement that it wasn't apples that Eve eat, the man turned it down. And when he did, he went and got some man--great hierarchy from a great institution of Chicago, and the man come to speak.
And when he did, he had everything wrote out in a book, about like that. An intellectual sermon, you couldn't have heard a better one. But he found out when speaking it, it didn't go with full Gospel people, the intellectual ideas.
He come stomping up there with his chest out, and throwed it out. And he even made fun of them and everything. But when he did, he found out it didn't go so good. So he found out he was wrong. He closed up his books, and walked down with his shoulders down, humbly walking down.
There was an old saint setting over in the corner, punched the one next to him, said, "If he would've went up the way he came down, he'd have come down the way he went up." So that's about right.
E-44 Men who are borned of the Spirit of God know God by an experience, and it's exactly with the Word. And they tell you, "The Holy Ghost is excitement. It's not this, it's not that..." It's contrary to the Word. The Word said it is right.
Peter said on the day of Pentecost, "The promise is to you, to your children, and to them that's far off, many as the Lord our God shall call." It's for whosoever will, let him come.
E-45 Now, notice. Jesus could stand there and say, "If I don't do the works that My Father said I would do, then don't you believe Me. Now, you go search the Scriptures. If you're wondering about what I'm doing, then go search the Scriptures; for in Them you think you have Eternal Life, and They are They which testify of Me. Now, look at the Scriptures and see what day you're living in."
Said, "You hypocrites, you see the sun setting. You say, 'Oh, it's red and lowering. Tomorrow it will be rain. If it's setting clear, tomorrow will be a fair day.'" Said, "You can discern the face of the skies, but the sign of the time you can't discern. If I don't do the works of My Father, then don't believe Me." Now, there's a statement. That was making Him the same as God was. Being the Son of God, He was equal with God. As the Bible said, not make Him robbery 'cause He was God manifested in flesh.
E-46 Now, that... Watch what we're trying to place now, that He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. Here He was standing here, and the Word of God predicting what would take place in that day, and here He was standing here doing it. And He said, "Search the Scriptures, for in Them you think ye have Eternal Life, and They are They which testify of Me. If I do not the works of My Father, then don't believe Me; but if I do the works and you can't believe Me, believe the works."
E-47 Now, watch closely now. What Scriptures in the Bible, Old Testament, that testified of Jesus. He said, "The Scriptures, They are They which testify of Me." Now, if He said that... All Scripture's inspiration, and I want to see that guy that tells me It contradicts Itself. It doesn't contradict Itself. It's perfectly in harmony. It's hid from the eyes of the wise and prudent, Jesus said so, but would be revealed to babes such as would learn.
E-48 So the Pharisees had their way about it; but here come God with His way about it. See? The Pharisees thinking it'd be in this way, He was altogether out of the Scriptures of their thinking; but He was perfectly in the Scriptures with His own way of thinking. So you have to have the mind that was in Christ be in you to know the Scripture. And now, they...
Jesus said, now, "They are They that testify of Me." Now, we could take tilE--run another hour or two, and never even get over the things that's wrote about Jesus, all ways.
He's the woman's Seed from the garden. Isaiah 9:6 is one told about His birth, and all about the virgin shall conceive; and all we talk about. But now, being we'll bypass that, the Scriptures that talk about how He would come. You all know they missed that by a million miles, how He was born. Lowly, setting upon the foal of an ass coming in, and they failed to see it. Come out of the little tribe of Judah and so forth. By "Bethlehem of Judaea, art thou...?... and least amongst all the princes, but out of thee shall come the--the Christ, the Deliverer." And they failed to see all of that.
E-49 Now, but we're going to bypass all of that and take it down to the Scripture that testified of His works, because He just said, "If you can't believe Me, believe the works that I do, for they testify of Me." In other words, "You can't believe that I was borned of virgin birth. You can't believe all these things that's spoke of the Scripture. If all that's blinded you, and you can't see it, then test that the works that I do testify of Me, 'cause they're written in the Scripture. Now. You see? 'Cause He is the Word. And He was the Word in the Old Testament; He's the Word in the New Testament; and He's the Word now, the same yesterday, today, and forever. So He can't change it. It's always the Word.
E-50 Now, His works... Now, if we would turn back into the Old Testament for tonight and take one thing that was testified--His works testified of... We're going to turn and you put it down, you're writing it down, Deuteronomy the 18th chapter. Just read the whole chapter through. It'd be--do you good to read the whole thing: Deuteronomy 18. Now, we know that Moses forsook Egypt, not fearing the king's wrath, and he followed the Angel of God; 'cause he said he esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than that of Egypt.
Now, watch it. The people that Egypt looked upon as slaves and mud daubers, Moses saw them the elected children of God.
Now, he was a called prophet. Prophets are foreknown. They are placed in the church, like the offices, the five offices in the church. First there's apostles, prophets, teachers, pastors, evangelists. See? Those offices God puts in the church. Then there's nine spiritual gifts in that church, which is speaking in tongues, prophecies, and so forth like that. Lot of difference between prophets (a man giving a prophecy) and a prophet. A prophecy has to be judged by two or three judges; a prophet is borned a prophet and raised a prophet. See? It's foreordained of God for that age.
E-51 Notice, now, Moses being this one that God had raised up and at is going, in Deuteronomy 18 he spoke to the children of God and said that "The Lord your God shall raise up a prophet like me." Moses, the leader, the one that delivered Israel, spoke that, "The Lord our God shall raise up among you, of your brethren, a prophet like unto me. And God said it'll come to pass that who will not believe that Prophet will be cut off from amongst the people." So that is to raise up a prophet.
Now, we realize that he was to be the God super-prophet. I believe that David, the prophet David had the Spirit of God in him. He was to be... Jesus was the Son of David. Look at David, the rejected king, out of--out of his own people--come up on top of Mount Olives, and looked back and wept over the city because he was rejected. Eight hundred years from there, the Son of David, a rejected king, wept over Jerusalem. What was that? The Spirit of Christ by a portion in David.
E-52 Look at Joseph, borned among his brethren, hated of his brothers, loved of his father, given a coat of many colors, perfectly like Christ. Notice, sold for pretty near thirty pieces of silver, throwed into a ditch supposedly to be dead. In his temptation, the butler and butcher, one lost and the other one saved: same thing, Christ on the cross.
And he was taken up from this ditch, and went and set at the right hand of Pharaoh, and no one could see Pharaoh without coming through Joseph. And Jesus was raised up and sets at the right hand of God; and no man can come to the Father except by the Son. And when Pha... When Joseph left to go before, the trumpet sounded before him, and every knee had to bow. "Joseph is coming." And when Jesus leaves that throne to return to the earth, a trumpet will sound, and every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess.
How we could go through the prophets, and show that was the Spirit of God, of Christ, in those prophets. You believe that? See, he just acted; he portrayed Christ. Then it come into the Fullness of the prophet.
E-53 Look at Moses, how he was hid in the bulrushes like Christ, so forth, took into Egypt; and, oh, just anything, a lawgiver, and whatmore. He just portrayed Christ. Then when Christ come, in Him was the Fullness of that Spirit. See? That was... The Fullness of the Godhead bodily was in Christ. They had it by measure.
Same thing tonight by the Holy Ghost. God... On the day of Pentecost, that Pillar of Fire broke into many tongues of fire, forked tongues, and set... God was separating Himself among the people. That day God was in one Person, Christ. Now, He's in the entire church, universal. Amen.
E-54 Boy, that makes me feel religious. Praise to Jehovah God. Hallelujah. Don't let me scare you. I'm not crazy. If I am, just leave me the way I am. I feel better this way. So just, I--I... Think of it. Something thrills me. Lo, that by the grace of Jesus Christ I'm saved tonight. If He comes what difference does it make? We'll go with Him. Amen. Worth more than all the billions of worlds piled full of everything, and enough life to live a hundred million years, I still wouldn't trade places with that person at all. To be adopted into the family of God, and be one of His children, what a privilege it is. And people turn their back upon such a thing as that.
E-55 Notice. "The Lord your God shall raise up a prophet like me, and it shall come to pass that whosoever shall not hear this prophet will be cut off from amongst the people." That'd been a teaching.
Now, read on down at the bottom of your 18th chapter there. God said, "Here's how you're going to know a prophet." Israel always was taught to believe their prophets. Is that right? That's exact... Who did the Word of God come to? Prophets. The Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet. The Word of the Lord came... It was the Word of the Lord. And we know that this man was the entire Word of God. Hallelujah. He was the Word.
E-56 And Israel was taught to believe their prophets. Now, what did He say? "If there come one among you who is spiritual, or a prophet, I, the Lord, will make Myself known to him in visions, speak to him through dreams. And if what this prophet says comes to pass, then you hear him. But if it doesn't come to pass, then don't hear him." That's only sense. Sure.
If he said it and it don't come to pass, it's wrong. If a prophet comes by prophesying, it don't come to pass, then watch and see if it comes to pass. If it doesn't, then it's wrong. If it does, it's the truth. That's the way Israel knowed their prophets.
E-57 Four hundred years now, by the birth of Christ, there'd been no prophets. Malachi was the last prophet. Oh, they'd had a lot of false prophets, but I mean real prophets. One day, way down in the Bethlehem's manger, came forth a Baby. There was wise men from the east followed His sign; the star led them to Him. There was shepherds on the hillside come down to see Him. He growed as a baby; He played as a boy.
One day there was a prophet came out of the wilderness by the name of John. He said, "The time was at hand; repent and get ready." Woodsman, burly; oh, and a woolly-looking man, if he'd come to your door, you'd run him away. And he... Woolly-looking fellow come out of there, and stood on the muddy banks of Jordan, and said, "Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand." And he bawled those denominations out and told them where they belonged. He had a piece of sheepskin around him. He hated immoral women. Why? The spirit of Elijah was upon him.
Elijah bawled them, same thing, out, that Israel in that day, and told what all their creeds, and how they'd fell in love with the first lady of the land like America has, and acting like her. And dressing like her, and that Jezebel... And he told her about it. Right. He pulled no punches on it.
E-58 There it come again, in the form of John the Baptist, promised again in the last days to move out again... Malachi 4, not Malachi 3 when John came "My messenger before Me," Matthew 11:6. But also (See?), when this Elijah comes, immediately afterwards the world's going to be burned with fire and the righteous walk out upon the ashes of the wicked. That wasn't John.
Notice him. He will restore the faith of the children back to the fathers. And when this first one come, restored the faith of the children to the fathers. See? The young message there was going to the patriarch fathers. And today they'd get away from it. And sometime there will come one bursting out. Nobody knows where he comes from or how he goes. But he will come right in and restore back the original Pentecostal faith that they... The Roman Catholic cankerworm and palmerworm eat that precious tree down to a stub.
But God said, "I will restore, saith the Lord. It'll be Light in the evening time." When that evening sun comes out, there'll be a tree there with fruit on it to ripen. Amen.
Watch Him as we see Him. Here He comes one day, and was baptized of John in Jordan. John bare record. Nobody else saw it. Nobody seen the Magis--the star the Magi saw. They wasn't looking for it. That's right. He only comes to those who he's looking for. John knew; he was looking for a sign. That's the way, be posted in the Scripture, and you'll know the true sign of God. God always travels by signs.
E-59 Notice, that Magi, they were looking for a sign, because they know a star of Jacob was to rise. Daniel was their teacher when he was... You know where they come from--the old Medes of Persia. They still set in the streets three in a group like that, studying. And when they seen that heavenly visitor appear, they knew something was fixing to happen. And they followed it, until they found the Messiah.
And when they come through Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he, born king of the Jews," the great church knowed nothing about it. Just as bad as it is today, same thing. There it was again.
E-60 We find out that then John said, "He that said to me in the wilderness 'Go baptize with water,' said, 'Upon Whom thou shall see the Spirit descending and remaining, He's the One that'll baptize with the Holy Ghost and fire.'" And John was standing there waiting for a sign, watching.
He said, "There's One among you..." He was so positive it was going to happen. Said, "There's one among you right now that you don't know. There's one here if you watch."
After while he saw the sign over Him. He said, "I--I saw Him. I recognized His Messiahic sign. There come that Light of God like a Dove, coming down upon Him, the voice from heaven saying, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I'm pleased to dwell in.'"
There He went out into the wilderness, was tempted for forty days and nights of Satan, getting prepared for His ministry. When He come forth down along Judaea, and out of there, He begin praying for the sick. Signs and wonders begin to follow Him. People begin to believe. Some of them made fun of Him. Some of them that John had prepared recognized Him.
E-61 One of them in there was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He stayed all night with Him till he was convinced He was the Messiah. Then he went and told Simon, brought Simon.
Now, Simon... they were scholars, if you ever read their lives. Their father was a real teacher, a Pharisee. (Now, watch, we're coming right into something. Don't miss it.) And Andrew got Simon to come with him to the meeting. And as soon as Simon walked up into the Presence of the Lord Jesus, who Andrew had told him was the Messiah...
E-62 I can imagine hearing Simon say, "I'll know Him. I'll know what He looks like. My old father told me one day," he said Simon, "I'm getting old. I thought I'd see the Messiah. We've longed to see Him through the ages, but I'm getting too old now. I probably won't see Him. But don't you boys be deceived. If He comes in your generation, remember there'll be a lot of false cults going by. But you remember, you're Hebrews. You must believe the Word of God. And listen, when that Messiah comes, He will be exactly what the Word said He would be. Moses, our prophet, said, 'The Lord our God shall rise up a prophet among us.' Now, it's been hundreds of years; we haven't had one. We're having all kinds of things, but we're looking for Him."
E-63 And here come Simon, walking up into the Presence of the Lord Jesus. And Jesus. looking upon him, said, "Behold, your name is Simon, and you are the son of Jonas." That took the starch out of him. See, not only did He know who he was, He knowed that godly old father of his. He said, "Your name is Simon, and you are the son of Jonas."
And Peter recognized right then that that was that prophet, because he had told exactly the truth. And he fell at the feet of Jesus, and Jesus made him the head of the church at Jerusalem, with not enough education to sign his own name. But he had the revelation. That's what it takes. That's right. It pleased God to place him, because he recognized, Scripturally, that that was Messiah.
E-64 There was one standing there by the name of Philip; it thrilled him so much till... He'd had Bible study with a man named Nathanael. It's about fifteen miles, if you check it, from where Jesus was preaching to where Nathanael lived: probably took him a day to go over there. And he got over there, and he found Nathanael under a tree, praying.
I can imagine Nathanael saying, "Oh, Jehovah, we're looking for a coming of the Messiah. Oh, we're in Roman bondage. How long shall we suffer this way? Oh, great Jehovah, send Him."
And I can imagine Philip standing there, saying, "Bless God. Wait till I tell him. Just wait till I tell him."
After while, when he said, "Amen," and stood up, he didn't talk to him about the orange grove, or the citrus grove, or whatever he had. He said, "Come, see Who we have found, Jesus, of Nazareth, the Son of Joseph. This is that Messiah."
Oh, I can imagine Philip saying to him, "Now, wait a minute here..." or Nathanael saying, "Now, wait. We've had too many good Bible studies together for you to go off on a deep end like that. Now, there's something wrong."
E-65 All right, let's just break in on their conversation. I can hear some of them say--hear Philip say, "Now, wait a minute. Aren't we taught according to our Scriptures, that when Messiah comes He will be a [Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.] prophet?"
"Absolutely. Moses said so. We believe our prophets, and He will be a prophet."
"Do you know that old fisherman down there that you bought that fish from, that he couldn't sign the receipt?"
"Oh, Simon? Yes. Oh, I even knowed his father, Jonas. Sure, I know him well."
"His brother, Andrew, brought him to the meeting yesterday. And as soon as he walked in the Presence of this Jesus of Nazareth, He told him his name was Simon and he was the son of Jonas. What about that?"
I can hear Nathanael say, "I'll go see for myself."
E-66 He's got more respect than many Americans. They'll stay home and criticize. They won't go, even try to find out. So they'll...
Here they'll come. And they went around the bend talking. And then when he come up into the Presence of Jesus... Now, watch. And as soon as he come in the Presence of Jesus, Jesus looked at him and said, "You're... Behold an Israelite, in whom there's no guile." That was Jesus yesterday. "Behold an Israelite... whom there is no guile," and He looked at him.
You say, "Well, it's the way he was dressed."
No, sir. All of them dressed the same way, the eastern people, a garment on. And He could've been a Greek. He could've been, oh, Egyptian, wearing the turban, every... See, He didn't know him by his dress. He said, "An Israelite, in whom there's no guile," not only Israelite, but he's--he's an honest man.
And he stopped, and he looked at Him. He said, "Rabbi (which means 'Teacher'), "when did You ever know me? This is our first time meeting. How do You know me?"
And Jesus said, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the tree, I saw you."
I can imagine he look around, and there stood Bishop So-and-so there that was saying, "The first one that attends one of them meetings is going to be churched." But it didn't make any difference. He saw a Scriptural Messiah, and he run up, and fell down at His feet, and said, "Rabbi, Thou art the King of Israel. Thou art the Son of God." That's the way Jesus identified Himself yesterday. That's how they knowed He was.
Look at Jesus turned around, said, "Because I've told you this you believe? You'll see greater than this." That was His identification.
How we could go to blind Bartimaeus, and on down to many others, many others, and on down through.
E-67 Now, there's only three class--races of people on earth. I know you don't believe it. Or, I don't say you don't. Many don't. This meeting... This is being taped, goes all over the world. So there's many people that don't believe. So there's many people that don't believe. The reason that I say this this way, talk the way I do, it's not exactly you. But this goes everywhere. See? It's put in twenty-seven different languages. So people that don't believe...
But there's only three races of people. That's Ham, Shem, and Japheth's people. And that was Jew, Gentile, and Samaritan. Look at Peter with the keys at Pentecost, went on down to the Samaritans, and up to the house of Cornelius. And from there she's open (See?), three races of people.
E-68 Now, there was two races of them a watching for a Messiah. That was the Jews and Samaritans. And Jesus had need go by Samaria. Look how He identified Himself among the Jews, by being the prophet that Moses spoke of. Now, He goes up to the Samaritans. Went up to Sychar on His road down to--to--to Jericho, but went around up into--to the Samaritans. They must know; they must recognize Him.
So He come to this city of Sychar, and there was a little panoramic welE--still there. And He set down there, tired in the journey, and sent the disciples into the city to buy food. And while they were gone, there were a lovely woman come out. She was a woman of ilE-fame. She had five husbands. She was a very popular movie star of today. But she had five husbands and living with the sixth. She'd been right in line today.
But she come out of the city to get water. She couldn't come with the decent women. If you're ever in the orient, you find out they make a difference between them, and the virgins go early to the well. She come out about eleven o'clock, and here she set down the big pot. You know, the great big thing with a long neck, hooks on it. I've seen them put one on their head, one on this hip, and one on this hip, and walk just as straight, and talk like women can, you know, and never spill a drop of water. That's right. Walk right down through there. Still do it. They don't--haven't changed one thing since them days.
E-69 And so, He set down to this well. She put the hooks in for the windle to let down into the well, and she started to let the bucket down. And she heard a Man say, "Woman, bring Me a drink." And she looked over there, and there set a middle-aged Jew. He was only thirty-three, not quite thirty-three. But you remember in Saint John 6, they said He looked like He was fifty. Said, "You're a man not over fifty years old, and say you've seen Abraham?"
He said, "Before Abraham was, I AM." See, they didn't realize it. But He said...
E-70 A might've... Middle-aged Man around fifty, He looked fifty years old, setting over against the well. And she said, "It's not customary for you Jews to ask me, a woman of Samaria, such a thing. We... There's segregation here. We have no dealings with one another."
He said, "But woman, if you knew Who you were talking to, you'd ask Me for a drink. And I'd bring--give you water you don't come here to draw."
E-71 See, what He was doing, now, He was contacting the woman's spirit.
Now, you remember, in Saint John 5: 19, Jesus said, Himself, "Verily, verily I say unto you, the Son can do nothing in Himself but what He sees the Father doing." How many knows that Scripture? Amen. Not "What I hear the Father say; what I see the Father doing." See? Exactly like all the prophets before Him, minors, did, just as God told them.
He said, "I do nothing till I see the Father doing it."
E-72 Now, the Father had sent Him up here to Samaria, to the Samaritans to give them the witness of Messiah. The Jews had received it. Some of them, most of them turned Him down, ninety percent of them ninety-nine percent. Yeah, more than that turned Him down. But when He showed them Who He was, then He had to show Samaria Who He was--Who He was.
And this woman said to Him; she said, "The well's deep, and You have nothing to draw with."
He said, "The water that I give is Life, bubbling up." What was He doing? Contacting her spirit.
They got talking about where to worship, at Jerusalem, and she said, "Our father, Jacob..." Now, the Samaritan woman called Jacob her father. That was the well he gave Joseph, of course. He drank from it, and gave to his children, and so forth. "And You say this water You've got's greater than that?" and so forth, talking.
Then after while Jesus found her trouble. You know what it was. He said, "Go, get your husband and come here."
She said, "I have no husband."
He said, "You've told the truth, for you've had five. And the one you're living with now is not your husband."
E-73 Now, watch. Now, the Pharisees saw Him do that, them great scholars that day, and they said, "This man's Beelzebub, a fortuneteller." And anybody knows that fortunetelling's of the devil. It's a perverted spirit.
And Jesus said, "You speak a word against Me, I'll forgive you. But someday the Holy Ghost is coming to do that, and one word against It will never be forgiven." See, the sacrifice wasn't made then. It is now.
E-74 Watch this woman. He said, "Go, get your husband and come here."
She said, "I have no husband."
He said, "You have said well. You've had five. And the one you're living with now is not your husband."
Watch her. Brethren, she knowed more about God than half the preachers in the United States: in that condition. Now, isn't that true?
She said, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet." The rest of them said, "Beelzebub." And she said, "I perceive that You're a prophet. We know that when Messiah cometh, that'll be what He will do." Oh, my. They had better teaching. That woman, in that--that condition saw it quickly.
E-75 What was it? One of those seeds of life, ordained before the foundation of the world. And no matter how religious... What I was trying to tell you last night. There'll be so many condemned that thinks that they're holy and pious. "No man could come except My Father draws him. And all the Father's given Me will come to Me." And as soon as that light flashed across that little predestinated seed there, it come to life quickly.
All the rest of them was all Scriptured up and taught this, that, and the other. But she knew. She said, "Sir, I know when Messiah cometh, He will tell us these things."
He said, "I'm He that speaks with you."
Into the city she went. She needed nothing else. She run into the city and said, "Come see a Man Who told me the things I've done. Isn't this the very Messiah." And the Bible said that the people of the city believed on Jesus because of the woman's testimony. They knowed that would be the Messiah. If that was Him yesterday, it'll have to be Him today. Is that right?
E-76 Now, remember. When God makes a decision, He can't change it. That's the way He identified Himself every time. That's the way He identified Himself to the Jews. That's the way He identified Himself to the Samaritans. Now, we Gentiles... Not one time in the Scripture was that ever done to a Gentile. No sir. Why? They wasn't looking for no Messiah.
We had a club on our back and worshipping a idol in those days, we Anglo-Saxon. But notice, Jesus prophesied that the Holy Ghost would come and do the same. Now, in closing, I'd like to say this. As Abraham... And we, being in Christ, take on Abraham's seed. Now, don't miss it.
E-77 Notice. Abraham, when it come to the time of separation, him and Lot, Lot went down in Sodom. And then it come to this place there where God was going to manifest Himself. And one day Abraham, setting in his tent door...
He represented the church spiritual. Now, there's three classes of people: the unbeliever, make-believer, and believer. Now, the unbeliever was the Sodomite. The make-believer was Lot, the normal church, the denominational church. And the... Abraham represented the church elected, called-out, separated. He wasn't in Sodom to begin with. Oh, my. Watch. That Angel never went to that other church. He come to the elected church.
E-78 Three of Them come up. And watch. When They come up, Abraham went out and said, "My Lord, come by. Set down," setting in his tent door. There was something about those Men. They were Strangers, dust on Their clothes. But what it was, was God Himself and two Angels. That's what the Bible said. Abraham called Him "Lord, Elohim." That's right. Lord God, Jehovah, the self-existing One. And He come up, and He set down, and They talked with Abraham.
And two of Them got up and went down into Sodom. And Abraham pleaded for Sodom. If He could find fifty, if He could find twenty, on down if He could find ten, and He promised to spare them for ten. Notice.
Down in Sodom went two messengers, not doing any signs and wonders, a modern Billy Graham. The only thing He done was blind them; and preaching the Gospel blinds the unbeliever. Notice. And he... They preached the Gospel and called out Lot. And his wife turned around and looked back. We know the story.
E-79 But that one that stayed with Abraham, watch Him. He was setting with His back to the tent, and He said, "Where..." Now, you remember, he had been Abram till just the day before, and she'd been S-a-r-a-i the day before. But now, it's S-a-r-a-h, and he's A-b-e-r-h-a-m. He said, "Abraham, where is your wife Sarah?" S-a-r-a-h.
Said, "She's in the tent behind You."
And He said, "I'm going to visit you according to the time of life."
How'd He know he was married? How'd He know he had a wife; and how'd He know her name was Sarah? But you notice, "I..." "I'm going to visit you" according to the promise that He'd made. "I" is a personal pronoun. It was God. See? And--and He said, "The time of life with Sarah. It's going to be... She's going to have the baby now." She was right at a hundred years old.
And Sarah on the inside, laughed. And the Angel setting on the outside with His back turned to her, said, "Why did Sarah laugh? saying within herself, 'These things can't be?'" What kind of a telepathy was that? And finally, the Man gave the sign.
And Jesus said, "As it was in the days of Sodom, so shall it be at the coming of the Son of man."
E-80 Isn't it strange, they got a man, the only time in all the history of the world, out there amongst the denominational churches, with a name something like Abraham: A-b-e-r-h-a-m, G-r-a-h-a-m. Strange, isn't it, church natural is getting its visit?
What's God trying to show? What did He do there? That was God in a body of flesh, showing that God would be in His church in the last days, in a body of flesh, a body of human beings, in His flesh, and would manifest the same thing. Because, if the Jews had that... That was the last sign that the Jews got. That was the last sign that Abraham got before the fire fell. And here it is, down to the same time today.
E-81 If Jesus Christ has come into the church through the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and spoke in tongues, and healed the sick, and performed miracles, what's... The same thing He did with Abraham along the journey, then that was the last sign before the fire. It was the last sign before God turned from the Jews.
Here it is. Then the Gentiles has to get the same thing, that is, the church elected and the church nominal. There He is out yonder, and here's the Holy Ghost here tonight: the same Jesus Christ that was yesterday, today, and forever, to do the same thing. He's the same Christ. He can't fail. He's Christ.
E-82 We would see Jesus. If I went out in the street tonight, and got you a man, and brought him in here, had nail scars in his hands, and prints over his face here, and blood running down from the nail scars, any hypocrite could do that. But the life... God raised up the body of Jesus Christ, and it sets at His right hand. You believe that? That's the... He is a High Priest setting there to make intercessions upon our confession. He's God's High Priest.
E-83 Now. But the Life that was in Him, the Spirit was in Him, is down here. "He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also." Why could He tell them what they were thinking about, what they were doing, who they were? Because He was the Word. "The Word of God," Hebrews 4 said, "is sharper than a two-edged sword, and a discerner of the thoughts of the heart." And then, if this Word... Faith is come in into this Word, and God has set His church in order, that Word becomes the same thing. That makes Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever, the same thing. You believe it? I challenge you to believe it. (It's getting late. I just keep talking.) I challenge you to believe that to be the truth.
E-84 "Sirs, We Would See Jesus." What more would it be, if a man come in here with blood over him, and nail scars, and things... Jesus, when He comes, every eye shall see Him, every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess when the Body of Jesus returns. I believe in His literal coming, corporal body, descending from the heavens with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, the trump of God. The dead in Christ shall rise. But His Spirit is here with us.
And as the church, like the pyramid, comes into a--a point, so has the church in the days of Luther, days of Wesley, days of Pentecostal. And now just before the Headstone comes into it, that church has to be honed so perfect, till the same ministry that He did here, His same Spirit, so predominant, will bring that same Body right into it, and resurrect the whole thing. That's exactly. Amen. Glory to God.
E-85 Look on the back of your American dollar. On one side it says "the American Seal," the eagle with the things in his hand. Why did they put the Egyptian seal and say, "The Great Seal" on the other side? Not a pyramid doctrine, that's nonsense. I'm talking about something that they say...
Just like, why does a woman every time she gets married, put a veil over her face? She's coming to her husband, the head, just like Rebekah did. She put a veil over her face to meet Isaac. She has no more head; Isaac's her head. And the church ought to be so submissive to the Word of God, that it veils its own face. It has no head. It's... The nature of a woman is to submit to a man. And that's what the church ought to be doing, submitting to Christ, to His Word, to His doctrine, to His principles. She takes no thought for Herself. She has no head. Christ is Her Head, not some ecclesiastical bunch. But Christ is Her Head, the Word. And the Word was made flesh and dwelled among us. Hallelujah. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever, that same manifestation of the Word. Do you believe it? Let us pray.
E-86 Heavenly Father, there's one thing that Your servants are responsible for: preaching the Word. That's all we can do, is just preach the Word. Some falls by the wayside. Some will get up and go out. Some will set and wonder. Some will receive It. It'll go in good ground. It'll bring forth the results. It's always been that way. You said it would be that way, and that's the way it goes. It's always been that way.
And, Father, I pray tonight that in this little group here, that It'll fall a hundred percent upon every person. Let them know that the coming of the Lord Jesus is close at hand. We don't know the hour. No one knows. Only the Father alone knows. Jesus confessed that He didn't know it. Just God alone knows when He's going to send Him. But, Lord, You give us signs. We know that them signs are appearing. We see by the Scripture that the last visit that the Jews had; and now, the last visit the Samaritans had; the last visit that the Gentiles will receive, prophesied, told, Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever.
E-87 O God, if You should anoint me tonight with the Spirit of Christ, it would do no good unless You anointed Your church the same way. It takes us together. We're not divided; we're one body, Lord. I pray that You'll grant it. And may, when the service is over, may there not be a feeble person in our midst. May there--every one of them, may this Word fall into their hearts, and may they receive It. And may great signs and wonders be done.
If You grant it, Lord, we continue on with Divine healing. If not, then we'll just continue on with salvation. Let Thy will be done, Lord, to show that we believe in the full Gospel, and believe that You are the same yesterday, today, and forever. You are the anointed God of heaven, and You're the same, and we believe You to be the same; that You're living forevermore, ever setting at the right hand of the Majesty, ever living to make intercessions upon our confession. We believe it, Father.
We pray that You'll shut us in in the Kingdom of God now, and manifest Yourself to us. And let the people know that when judgment strikes this place, then, Lord, there'll be no excuse. Let it be known in Jesus' Name. Amen.
E-88 I've kept you at length. We won't call too many. Maybe get the rest of them tomorrow night. He told me he give out prayer cards, I think. What was it? A-1, A-1 to 100. All right. We can't stand them all at one time. We just stand them as we can, whatever we can stand.
Now, there's several of them here in wheelchairs and things. Now, we'll have to call you. And then when we do, we'll see that you're packed up here, when your number's called. But just as... We'll take them just one at a time, because there is many cripples.
Now, who has prayer card number 1, A-number-1? Raise up your hand, ever who has it. Prayer card A-number-1, A-number-1. Can you walk? All right. A-number-2? Who has A-number-2? The lady... what say? Number 1? There's something wrong. Look at her card there. See what card she's got. The lady misunderstood. She don't have a prayer card. All right. A-number-1? You... Just a minute, lady. If you haven't got a card... You don't have to have one. Just set there and believe, and watch what the Holy Ghost will do. See? All right.
E-89 How many knows there's more healed out there without prayer cards, than there is here? How many here doesn't have a prayer card? Raise up your hands, and you know that God can heal you? You just watch Him now, just for a few minutes, if He comes. A-number-1? Who was the woman had the prayer card A-number-1? All right. Raise up. Is--is it number 1? Number 2? Who has number 2? Number 3, come up here just a minute, you--you women. Number 2, 1, 2. Number 3, who has number-3? Number 3, come over here, you all over this way, if you can walk. If you can't, well raise your hand. We'll pack you up here. See? Number 1, 2, 3, 4. Who has prayer card number 4, raise up your hand. Number 4. The lady right there. Come right here.
Number 5. Number 5? All right. Number 6. Just gather over here on this side over here. Number 6. Ushers, somebody, go down there, Brother Roy, some of you and help the people. All right. Number 6. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Number 6. Who has prayer card number 6? 1, 2, 3. Number 6. All right, lady, right in line. Number 7. Right here. Can you get up? Oh, okay. Number 7. Number 8. All right. There, lady. Number 9. Right here, all right, lady. Number 10. Number 10? Prayer card number 10. How would you say it in Spanish? Is many Spanish people here? Number--number 10. All right, sir. Number 11?
E-90 We want you... Everyone with a prayer card, we're going to pray for them, because we're--we're obligated to do it. You hold your card. Number 11? Did it get... Number 12. That's fine. Now. Now, number 13. Wait a minute. This lady here. Is that her number? All right. Number 14. All right. Now, number... Is that 13? 13. Over here. Now, somebody got up wrong. You see? Is that 13? 14? All right. That's fine. All right.
How're you getting... Piling them out in the other room? Now, let's wait, and bring these through. Then we can get the rest of them in as we come to them. If you'll move that, if it can be moved, or... Oh, they can go around it, I guess, if the... All right.
E-91 Now, each one of you in here, there's not a person in my--my knowing that's here that I know, unless this is Brother Evans' boy, setting right here. I believe that's Ronnie Evans. Is that right, Ronnie? All right. That's the only person that I see in the building that I--I really know, outside of Brother Borders, the manager, and my son, wherever he went, pastor here. The rest of you are strangers.
Now, I see about ninety percent of you were sick. Now, up in the balcony too, it don't matter where you are, if you're sick up there, don't have a prayer card, raise up your hand, say, "I'm sick." All right. You believe up there. Now, remember. While he's lining them up, let me give you another Scripture. I want you to put these Scriptures down and remember them.
Now, the minister brethren, and out in here, how many knows this, that the Bible said that Jesus is a High Priest, right now, that can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities? How many knows that's the truth? Well, if He is the same High Priest that He was yesterday, He'd act the same way today that He did yesterday. Is that right? You believe that? Raise up your hand.
E-92 Now, I'm going to ask, if you will, if you'll not move around now for a few minutes. Just set reverently for a few moments. Don't move at all. And, folks, keep your children as close to you as you can now, because we're not dealing... We're not playing church. And many times... How many knows these goes from one to another. You've seen it happen. Yes, sir, many times. People just set right in their seats and crumple over, paralyzed. Seen them drop dead right in the, right on the, right at the platform. That's right. We're not playing church.
You must be reverent. Now, this is sacred. Now, the Bible said that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And It says that He's the High Priest that can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities. Everybody witnesses that that's the truth. Now, how would you know that you touched Him? You... He'd act the same way He did when He was here. Well, how did He act? Let me give you an example, 'cause I'm making you, trying to get you to believe that He is the same. He hasn't changed. The Bible... My Scripture is that He's the same.
E-93 Now, when that... in the... There was a woman, say she didn't have a prayer card. But she wanted to get in to... She believed He was a holy man, a prophet. And she said, "If I can only touch the border of His garment, I'll be made well." You know the story? And she twisted through the crowd until she touched Him. Now, she ne... He never felt it physically, you know, because the Palestinian garment hangs loose. It's got an underneath garment also. But He--He never felt it physically. Because Peter rebuked Him, when He said, "Who touched Me?"
And Peter said, "Lord, why..." Rebuked Him, said, "The whole crowd's touching You."
He said, "But I perceive that I've gotten weak. Virtue's gone from Me." And He looked all around. See, He'd been touched with a different kind of touch. And He turned around, He looked over the audience, until He found the little woman that touched Him. And He told her of her blood issue and said, "Your faith has saved you." Was that Jesus yesterday?
Well, if He's the same today, a High Priest that can be touched by our infirmities, can't He touch you if you'll touch Him? Can't He do the same work?
E-94 Now, the... Now, remember. He might use my voice. If it is, I'm just like this microphone. It's a mute without something speaking into it. That's right. I don't know you. But He knows you. So you might touch me. It wouldn't do a bit of good. You touch the pastors, it wouldn't do a bit of good. They're men just like I am. But you touch Him once, watch what happens. Now, you don't have to be here. You don't have to be on the platform. Just--just believe.
E-95 Now, this is a picture of where I was speaking tonight in Saint John, 4th chapter, if you want to read it when you get home. Here's a man and a woman. I don't know the woman, never seen her in my life. She's a total stranger to me. Awhile ago they gave out some prayer cards, and she hap--she got a hold of one. The boy comes up here before you all, mixes them prayer cards up so he don't know which one he's giving which. So he just hands them out to you, whatever you want. And she happened... And I call them from anywhere.
Maybe tomorrow night, I might start at sixty-five, or forty-five, or twenty-five, or--or ninety and come backwards. You know that. You've been in the meetings. So it just happened to be tonight.
E-96 I'm seeing that clock get around there. I don't want to hold you. But this woman just happened to get to where I started, number 1. I guess you're the woman, are you? You're the--you're the person? All right. We are strangers to one another. We don't know each other. This is our first time meeting. Here's a little panoramic. Here's a man and a woman, meeting for the first time, like Jesus and that woman at the well. Two people, never met before, and here we stand.
Now, if I said to the woman, "The Lord sent me to pray for the sick. I'm going to lay my hands upon you." It might not be sickness she's here for. Maybe it's domestic trouble; maybe it's financial trouble. Maybe it's something else. Maybe she's not even a Christian. I don't know.
But if He can tell her what has been, and then tell her what will be, surely she could believe what will be if He can tell what has been. Is that right? How many believe that now? All right. Now, if anybody thinks there's something wrong with it, that you have a better program, better idea, you're welcome to come here and take my place. If you don't, then keep still about it. See?
E-97 Notice. Now, here it is. I have just preached the Word that Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and proved by the Scripture that He lives today in His church, and He's coming. And the last sign that He give to the Jews, Samaritan, and now to the Gentiles... We've had... Jews had four thousand years to believe a prophet come in, in its major condition, as the church went on.
Gentiles has had two thousand years of churchanity. And now on--coming on down to speaking in tongues, and Divine healing; and now right to the end time where the great Messiah in the fullness of His Spirit, moving, not just in one person, in the whole church, flowing.
E-98 Now, no matter how much I believe, this woman's got to believe too.
And now, you out there that won't be in the prayer line, you look towards God and say, "God, that little old fellow standing up there don't know me, knows nothing about me. But I'm in--I'm in a serious condition. Let me touch Your garment, and You speak back through him and tell me something." Try it. See if He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. Don't try it; believe it. Anybody can try it. We don't try Christ; we just take Him and believe Him. He don't come by trial. Now, if the Holy Spirit will reveal... I've got to speak to her a minute.
E-99 Now, look here. I'm in Spokane. Why did I come to Spokane? We even had trouble getting here, had to swap meetings with another country. I was supposed to be here later than this, but had to swap it around. But still, and we... I think they couldn't get a building, had to come take the brother's church; and these other brothers, wonderful, coming in, and cooperating with the brother here. That's sweet, lovely. That's--that's the way I want to see the church get.
Here we are, standing here like this. And here I am. Why? God sent me here. I felt to come here. I don't care how much battle I have to have, He said come here; and here I am. Not because I didn't have no other place to go. Ask the manager. We've got a book of invitations, world around, hundreds of them. But I just felt to come here. Why? I don't know. Maybe He's going to break a revival. Maybe you're receiving your last message. I don't know. I can't tell you. But He sent me here; I don't know why. Here I am.
Jesus went up to Samaria. Why? He didn't know. A woman come out. He just got to talking to her. Then He found her trouble. And she run and told everybody, "That's the Messiah."
E-100 Now, lady, if the Holy Spirit would reveal to me something you're here for, or something you've done, or--or whatever it is, you know I don't know you. And--and if He'd reveal it, you'd know it'd have to come from some spiritual power. It'd have to come... You know that, don't you, brethren? It'd have to come to the sister. Then it'd have to come through a spiritual power. Do you believe that, out there?
Then it depends on what you think it is. The Pharisees said, "He's Beelzebub."
But the believers said, "It's the Messiah." They were Scriptural people who believe the Scripture.
E-101 Now, I'm just going to talk to the woman, and please keep seated. Now, don't move because... You say, "Brother Branham, you're stalling for something." Certainly. Did they have the picture of that Angel up here? There it is in Washington D. C., and so forth, the only supernatural Being was ever scientifically proven, same Pillar of Fire that I told you was with Israel. When It was made flesh... we see what It did in flesh.
Now, if that's the same Pillar of Fire, It'll manifest Itself the same way. It's the same life. You put the life of a grape in a pumpkin vine, it would bear grapes. Certainly it would. It's the life in it that bears the fruit. Christ said, "I am the Vine; ye are the branches." He's ascended on high and sent His Life back. His Life bears record.
Now, if that be... I'm waiting for that anointing. And if it doesn't come, I'll just lay hands on the woman, pray for her, and go on. I don't know. I can't say. It's stalling, or I'm stalling, waiting for it. That's exactly right.
E-102 What's the matter with everybody? What's the matter? Can't you believe? Have faith, friends. The Scripture laying here before you, and a person walk up here, and dare before an audience of people to take God's Word, and challenge the whole world with it? Believe. Have faith. Amen.
Now, in the Name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, I take every spirit in here under the control of the Holy Spirit which has me anointed. Now, have faith. Look here just a moment, as Peter and John said, "Look on us." I'm trusting for you. I don't know. You're just standing here, a woman. But if the Holy Spirit will reveal something to me that's in your life, you'll know whether it's the truth or not.
Now, I'm talking to you individually. That's the reason I have someone up here, just to get a contact. The Spirit gets me anointed, and then I--I can start to the audience, or wherever it's at, to see wherever He will lead me then.
Now, I'm just speaking to you to find out, just see what He would tell me. I don't know. That'd be up to Him to say. But I'm sure He will do it. Yes, sir. The lady goes from me, moving away. She could witness right now there's a feeling around her like a real sweet, humble feeling, 'cause the light settles right over the woman. And the woman is suffering with a throat trouble. That's right. That's right, lady. You believe?
E-103 Why is it variable, every time, somebody will think "He guessed that?" I got a good notion to call on who did it. Don't do it. You believe. I never guessed that to that woman. She knows I couldn't do that. How could it be perfect, and be...
Here just... She seems to be a lovely person. Let me talk to her just a moment. Now, ever what He told you, I wouldn't know. It's on tape. See? I'm somewhere else. It's like another dimension. It's a vision. You see? Yes. It's a... It's throat. You got throat trouble, and you're bothered with nervousness. You seem to be extremely nervous.
Well, you just have complications; many things are bothering you: get real weary in the late of a evening, tired, wore out, your work done. That is right.
Another thing, there's somebody else that you're interested in, you're praying for. I see a man appear. It's--it must--it must be your husband. It's in the same place. The man's here now. You believe I can tell you what's the trouble with your husband? Would you believe me to be His servant? Your husband suffers with a heart trouble. He also is nervous. And--and you've brought somebody from a... It's your sister. You brought her from a--a nursing home. She's setting right here. That's right, crippled.
You believe? Now, is He the same yesterday, today, and forever? Then what does that bring? Christ here with us. Do you believe with all your heart? Then go and receive what you've asked for. Don't doubt. You can have what you've asked for, and God be with you.
E-104 Now, don't move around. Set real still, set still, set still. Reverent... See, each one of you is a spirit, and when you move I can just--you can just tell it. It's moving. There's something wrong. See? Just be real reverent, quiet.
This is the lady. The--the Angel of the Light that I watch, It appeared over in here somewhere, right in here. Be real reverent. Now, just keep praying. Now, if I look down and say, "Well, that person that's laying on a cot is crippled, or got arthritis. It's going to..." You'd say, "Sure. Look at it. Sure it is. You can see that."
But here this person looks perfectly normal. What's wrong with her? There's the thing. Now, look this way just a moment, lady. We're strangers to one another, our first time meeting. The great Holy Spirit is here. You believe that? You feel it. Isn't that a sweet feeling? See, it just feels... Knowing you're a Christian, to see the welcome into that Spirit, just look like it He just acts like that. said it's a real sweet, humble feeling. It's such a wonderful thing to be a Christian.
E-105 Now, if the Lord Jesus will just tell me something about you, or what you're standing here for, what you want from Him, you'd believe it if He could tell you what--what it was about.
Now, if I could heal you, I would do it. But I can't. You see? If He was standing here with this suit on that He gave me, He couldn't heal you, because your healing's already purchased. He would make you know that It was Him, and how He would do it, by He proving Himself the same yesterday, today, and forever, just what I preached about. The audience... I believe we all believe that. Yes.
Now, you just believe. You're suffering with a hernia. That is right. It's true. Then you've got something wrong with your right side. You have pain that hits and goes all the way down your right side plumb into your feet. That's right, isn't it? Do you believe that that's Christ that you're anointed by now? Accept Him as your Healer, a finished work. It'll all leave you, and you'll never have it no more if you'll believe it. God bless you. God bless you, my sister.
E-106 I do not heal. I... If He was standing here, He could not heal. How many knows that? He's already done it. See, He just let's you know that He's here. He's risen from the dead. That's the only thing He could do: make Himself known that He's still Messiah.
How do you do? I suppose we're strangers to one another. I've never seen you in my life, and we're just standing here for the first time, a man and a woman meeting.
There's a man keeps coming before me; see, it's somebody praying. You just keep praying; that's all right. That's right. You just touch Him. I just ask you, in the Name of the Lord Jesus, to believe what I told to be the truth. For I have told the truth, and you know that's right. It's out of the Word. And if I've told the truth, God's obligated to His own Word. See? He's not obligated to me; He's obligated to His Word. See? And I'm just speaking His Word.
E-107 Now, not knowing you, but if the Lord Jesus would tell me something about you, or something that you've done, or something you ought not have done, or some you--trouble that you've got, and maybe it's financial, domestic, I don't know. But if He will just explain it, you'll know that it has to be some kind of a power. It'll have to be the Word of God, because It's a discerner of the thoughts of the heart. That's right. You believe that God sent this in the last days, and It's Christ testifying of His soon coming? If you believe that, then God surely will grant your request.
You have a rupture, two of them. That's right. You have something else wrong, which is a bladder trouble. That is right, isn't it? You believe He knows who you are? Mrs. Peterson. That's who you are. Now, go believing and...?... no more. Have faith. Don't doubt. Do you believe? Just have faith in God. Don't doubt. Don't doubt.
E-108 We are strangers to each other, but the Lord Jesus knows us both. And do you think that He could do something, or tell me something about you that would help you? Would you believe it?
Now, you realize the condition it's got me in right now. I'm just shaking all over. You say, "Why, Brother Branham? Why would you do that?"
Well, if one little woman, touching the border of the garment of Jesus, made the Son of God weak, what do you think it would do to me, a sinner, saved by faith? Here's... The only way I could do even one is because He said, "The works that I do shall you do also. More than this shall you do."
King James says "greater," but it's not interpreted right. The right translation is "more." Who could do any greater? He healed the sick; He raised the dead; He stopped nature. He done everything there was to be done. See? You just do more of it, because He'd be divided amongst His church: "more than this."
E-109 Now, here's a little lady much younger than I. Don't know her, never met her. We're strangers to each other. But the Holy Spirit knows us both. And if the Holy Spirit will reveal to me something like that, will it make the whole audience believe? Everybody?
Here's my hand. Here's the Bible. I don't know the woman. See? And there she stands. She might've been in a meeting somewhere. Was you ever in one of my meetings before? Never been in a meeting even before. She's just standing here. We're perfectly strange to one another.
All right. May the Holy Spirit grant your request, sister. Yes. The lady suffers with a rectal trouble. She has colitis, which has caused this. You've had a lot of trouble in your life, haven't you? I see you going to a hospital. No. One, two, three, four, five, six times, operations. That's THUS SAITH THE LORD. Believe with all your heart, and it's all over. You believe it?
E-110 Come by here. Lay hands...?... You believe God can heal heart trouble? All right. Go ahead, off the platform.
Do you believe? Here, raising up your hands, you believe He heals that prostate trouble you got, make you well? All right, if you believe it, you can have it also. Just have faith.
How do you do, lady? You believe He heals arthritis? Well, just keep on walking then, and He will make you well, just... He will make it well, if you'll believe it.
What about you, lady? Would you like to get over that stomach trouble and be well? Keep on walking, saying, "Thank You, Lord. I--I receive it."
E-111 If you can believe. What is... All things are possible to them that believe. You believe? What if I didn't say a thing to you, just laid hands on you. Would you believe it? You believe you'd get well? Come here. In the Name of Jesus Christ, may she be healed. That's one that didn't want to see anything. See? She just believed that whatever it was, it was all right.
Come. lady. What if I didn't say nothing to you. Would you believe the same thing? Well, if you do, the female trouble... I done told you, so go ahead. That lady's trouble...?... it'll go and leave you, and you'll be all right, if you'll just believe with all your heart. Believe.
You believe with all your heart? Go eat your supper and say, "Thank the Lord for healing me." Amen. God bless you, sir. Just have faith. Don't doubt. Just believe with all of your heart.
Come, lady. You've had a nervous stomach for a long time. You've had a lot of trouble with it. It's all over now. You believe it? All right, go say, "Thank You, Lord."
E-112 How many believes out there? With all of your heart? You believe that He is the Son of God? The same yesterday, today, and forever? You believe it? Start walking off the platform then, saying, "Thank You, Lord."
There's something's got me anointed, isn't it? I lay hands upon you, saying, "Praise the Lord."
Come... anointing. Come. You believe? Have faith. In the Name of the Lord Jesus, go be made whole. Believe.
Come. If I don't say nothing to you, you'd believe anyhow? Well, you're nervous. Well, you're... You've had nervousness for a long time. Really, one thing's that change, that menopause that's got you all upset. You get real gloomy spells, and you... Everybody's saying, "Get next to yourself," but you can't. There's something scaring you. But it's gone now. It'll stay gone. See? Just believe it with all your heart. Go and believe with all your heart.
E-113 You believe? Somebody out there in the audience believe. Oh. You believe? "Sir, we would see Jesus." You know it can't be me. Well, Who do you think It is? What about this little Mexican woman, setting here, suffering with dizzy spells? That's right. Do you believe? Who'd you touch? You touched the High Priest. You never touched me; you're too far from me. All right, your dizzy spells has left you. Amen. Amen. Ask her if that's right. See? Just have faith in God. Believe God.
What about you, laying there on the stretcher? Yes, you. You believe with all of your heart? You pointed your finger. You believe me to be God's prophet or His servant? I'll say it that way. That stumbles people. You believe it? If... I can't heal you, sir. But God can. If you lay there, you're going to die. Doctors can't do you no good. One thing, you got a stomach trouble, got arthritis in your back. But no one can heal that but God. But if you'll believe God, and act upon the Word, you can raise up, take your bed, and go home.
What about you in the next stretcher, over there? Do you believe? There he goes. Praise God. You see him straighten out? There he goes. Let's give God praise. Amen. Do you believe Him? Amen. Isn't He the same yesterday, today, and forever? I can't heal. I can't make well. Christ can.
E-114 What you scared about? When I said a few minutes ago about that woman being nervous, you turned me plumb around. You're scared. There's nothing's going to happen to you. You'll be all right. You believe that? How could you pull the faith of God? Who'd you touch to let know it was nervousness bothering you?
You believe God? You believe Him, take Him at His Word? You believe me to be His prophet? Then in the Name of Jesus Christ, rise up out of that stretcher, and go home, and forget about it. You believe it? Come out. Get up. Take up that which you have, go home. Be made well. Have faith in God.
You believe? If she'd only believe... You was praying. There's a Light over you. If you believe, you'll get over that polio and be made well. Return to the mission field. Don't doubt it.
E-115 You believe Him? What about you over there? Back trouble, bladder trouble, complications, all taking... Nothing will do you any good. Christ's the only One can heal you. Is that right? Why don't you believe Him? You believe me to be His prophet? Would you take my word as His, to tell you He's the same yesterday, today, and forever? How can He stand here and tell you all about yourself, without being you have some contact with Him? Why don't you believe Him, rise up, take your bed, and go home, get well? If you'll accept it, then come out of the cot. Believe the Lord Jesus Christ. You have faith, believe.
This little lady setting here in this wheelchair, I can't heal you. But if you'll believe with all of your heart, that diabetes will leave you, and you'll go home and be well. Have faith in God. Believe it. Get out, go home. Be made well.
What about you laying there, suffering with bleeding in the throat, everything. You believe with all your heart? If you believe with all your heart... Everything's wrong with you, but why don't you raise up, and come out of that bed, come out of that cot? In the Name of Jesus Christ, rise up. Amen. There they are.
E-116 Everyone that believes, do you believe it? Sirs, We Would See Jesus. Do you believe it? Put your hands on one another then, right quick. Put your hands over on one another, every believer. Here's the wheelchairs emptied, the cots. Put your hands on one another and pray.
Heavenly Father, in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, may Satan lose his power amongst these people when he can see the cripples, the arthritis, the twisted-up can come forth and be made well. Grant, Lord, that they'll believe it. In Jesus' Name may Satan leave them. Amen.
E-117 Every one that believes on Him, accepts Him now as your healer, stand up on your feet in the Name of Jesus Christ and be made well. Amen. There you are. Every one of them up.
Let's sing praises to Him. Raise up your hands and give Him praise. Sirs, We Would See Jesus. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. He never fails. He's the Son of God eternal, and He can never fail. Believe on Him with all your heart. Be made well. Get up and go home.