E-1 You can be seated if you will. And I want to express my gratefulness to God, for the privilege of being here and to meet fellow citizens of the Kingdom of God. While you people have gathered out here, this morning, in this brother's home, to—to have some fellowship together, it kind of reminds me of the early Church. The way Christianity first started out, was, the Bible said, "It was from house to house. They met and broke the bread with singleness of heart." And that's what we want to have this morning, while we're here, is singleness of heart, one purpose.
E-2 One—one thing that we're trying to achieve, and, that is, to fulfill the plan of God for our lives, while we're here on earth. And perhaps, maybe, God, many thousands years ago, but He's, by His infinite wisdom, knew that we would be here this morning, and would be back here on this prairie, or—or desert here, in the little building. He knew that thousands of years ago.
E-3 Now, we met some of our friends that was coming over this morning from Tucson, the Stricker family. And they had had a generator to go bad in their car. We gathered up what we could get, to bring them along, the lady here and the—the children. And they're coming on, a little later, if they can get their generator fixed. It was some little crossroads out here. I don't know where it was at. But we're happy to be here.
E-4 And now, Brother Isaacson here, and we hardly know each other, no more than just we know that we're brothers in Christ. And we have had times of fellowship together. And I believe our first meeting was at… up in Phoenix, years ago. And if his wife is present, I wouldn't know her. Now, that's how well we're acquainted, to know who his wife is, or his family.
E-5 Coming in I met one of our colored brethren standing at the door, a very fine fellow with a handshake, you know, made you kind of feel like you was just so welcome, you know, to come in, and—and to be among this crowd like this this morning, and It gives me a privilege.
E-6 And now, I've had the privilege of speaking in many crowded areas, where they would have maybe thousands times thousands of people would gather. But I… The memorials of my ministry is times like this, when there's maybe a dozen, or two, setting together, seemingly that God deals closer to people. I think we feel more acquainted, and—and as we assemble in small gathering. It seems like where God's Word is so—so eminent to us, is when we, He said, "Wherever two or three are gathered in My Name, there I am in their midst."
E-7 Last night, near midnight, I was just assembled with… in the home where there was a man and his wife, and a young girl, was losing her mind, over a little affair that had taken place. And while we are… were assembled together, just the young lady and I, in a room, 'cause the things that had to be said, that was, I'd rather we'd been together. And there came this Light, this Angel of the Lord, and assembled right over where we were at, showing that—that God keeps His promise.
E-8 And yesterday, where there was a young man of twenty-two years old, of a very prominent family, had taken the mumps, and the mumps had fell on him. And many you adults know what that is, especially in the male. Males, it really just almost kills them. And this boy, for several days, right on two weeks, had been running a fever of a hundred and five. Now, you know that's in stroking condition there. And the doctors had just simply played out all they'd had, with penicillins and everything, to strike that fever for that infection. But seemed like it didn't take any effect. But in one minute's time before God, every speck of the fever left the young man. He rose up, well. And just goes to show the main Person is Christ.
E-9 That's what we're here, this morning in this home, is to serve Christ, upon this sabbath day.
E-10 I've looked forward for the time of coming here, meeting with our precious brother, and you people. I have received your tithings that brother has sent me, many times, from this little gathering out here. And such treasures as that, I hold very sacred to my own being, because I know that I have to answer someday from where it went from there. And I certainly want to appreciate, do appreciate, and want to express my gratefulness of the loyalty of you people, of—of this thought that you have did, knowing that the tithings that you have. And meeting in houses like this and, yet, want what little you have to go, the best of your knowledge, to the support of the—of the ministry. Then, from there on, I have to be responsible for it. And I want to be a good steward to our Lord, and when I have to answer at that Day, for what we've did on earth.
E-11 Now, there's one thing, back here we're not be bothered too much with the roar of traffic, and that's good.
E-12 And so now, I just hardly know how to say this, but I wish we were holding a revival back here, where we have several days of it. Because, this way, you just come in and say, "How do you do? I'm glad to meet you," and speak a few moments about the Lord, and gone again. I'm supposed to be in Tucson at one-thirty. And how that it… We just meet here like that, and shake one another's hands, and say, "How do you do? Glad to have met you," and take off.
E-13 But, you know, I think of a Day when we will meet where we won't say good-bye. We won't say, "It's nice to see you. Hope you come back again." Where, we would count here maybe a couple hours together. There we can, we might set down and talk for a million years, if there's such a thing as time, and we won't—won't be any less time than it was when we set down. See? It's just Eternity. There's no—there's no end to it. And to think of the time that we're out, and like that, and when we'll walk down through the corridors of God's great paradise, and the Angels singing anthems.
E-14 And—and now is the time where we have to—to fight, to win the battle, and to overcome the things of the world.
E-15 And There, well, there won't be any fight There. The last prayer will be made; they won't have to have prayer meetings no more. There'll be no more place for the people get saved. There'll be no sickness to be healed. And it'll just be one great glorious thing.
E-16 And what could we as human beings, this morning, what—what could we promise? What could we look at anything that'd be any greater than looking to that promise of that time. See?
E-17 We think of here. I look at the changing of the ages, from little nursing babies on their mother's laps, to the little school boys, the teen-age girls and boys, and then the middle age, and then the elder. See? And the—the school boy, last year was on his mother's lap, a nursing baby. See? And the teen-age entered school just last year, seemingly. And the middle age was a teen-age. And then the old age. Just… Oh! See? It's just like a vapor that flies into the earth and falls away. Solomon said, I believe it was, "It's like a flower. It rises up, and then it's cut down, and wastes away." And we—we want to make benefit of what time we are here.
E-18 So now let us speak to Him, now, as we bow our heads in prayer.
E-19 And if there would be anyone here that would like to be remembered in prayer, for instance, like being sick, or have need, if you would just make it known to God in your heart, say, "Now, Lord, I've entered, to—to ask in this petition." And if you would just, so I would know, kind of, if you'd just raise your hand up, and just, like that, say, "Remember me." The Lord bless you richly.
E-20 Almighty God, Who formed the heavens and the earth, by Thy Word, we have assembled here this morning to speak of this Word, and of the great One Who is the Word.
E-21 We thank Thee for this grand privilege of coming back at the backside of the desert. It was there one day where a burning bush drawed the attention of a runaway prophet. And there he was commissioned anew, and was sent, which became a great deliverer of the people of that day, of God's heritage that was in bondage. O great God, won't You come to the backside of the desert this morning with us? As we know, You're in great cathedrals, and around the world, but knowing that You are the infinite God, and there's no place too small. Or, no place, or no matter how well we're scattered across the face of the earth, yet You're omnipresent, can be everywhere at all times. We thank Thee for this.
E-22 And in this assembly this morning, we thank Thee for our brother and—and his little flock here, and for their courage and loyalty to the Cause of God in the earth today, and we ask Your blessings upon them. And may, as long as there is a desiring heart for Christ, may there always be a messenger somewhere to grant, bring the Message to that hungry heart.
E-23 And we pray, Heavenly Father, for the need of those people who raise their hands just now. You know what was pulsating under their hand, around their heart. They had a need. If it's sickness, Lord. You Who taken Paul Sharrit that was just spoke of just a matter of hours ago, when he was laying between death and life, with a raging fever that all the medical science could not stop, and yet one small word of prayer stopped the fever immediately. You're Jehovah God. Show that You're just as well represented, and just as real today, here on the backside of this desert, as You was the days with Moses at the backside of the desert there.
E-24 We thank Thee, because I know that You'll hear prayer. And we come to Thee most humbly and most sincerely, knowing that it would be wrong to ask You things that we're just imagining in our mind. We want to be earnest and dead sure, that what we're asking. We must believe it, and—and—and know that it is God's will to give it to us, 'cause we have solved it out in our hearts, with all we know, Lord.
E-25 So, I pray that You'll heal every sick person that's here this morning. Save every one that's lost. Grant it. May something be said or done today, that will cause them, in the place where they're seated, or standing around the walls, or wherever it may be, that the anchoring faith of God will move into their hearts and that'll settle it, once for all. Grant it, Father.
E-26 Bless the brother that's let us have the home here for the service.
E-27 Now speak to us through Thy Word, for that's why we're here, Lord. We love to fellowship with each other, but yet it's You that we want, Lord. We can go out under the trees somewhere and set down and talk with each other. But, here, we are assembled to find favor with You. Won't You meet with us now, Lord? We have opened the seat in our heart, that You to be throned today, to talk to us, and tell us of the needs that we have, and Your love expressed to us as we express our love to You. This we ask in Jesus Christ's Name. Amen.
E-28 There, if there's someone back in there, that wants to set down, I see some chairs here, that you could be assembled, and want to be more comfortable.
E-29 Now, these times that we're living in is tremendous times. And yesterday, while I was thinking of what would I say today, knowing I've looked forward to coming down here, and what would I say when I come down, the little prayer meeting? And I asked the Lord to help me. And—and I picked up a few notes on a Scripture here, that I'd like to express to you people this morning, while we're waiting for the Lord's blessings.
E-30 And we pray now that you'll open your heart and understand the least, faintest little knock of Christ at the heart. Remember, you, if you're not a believer, and never have accepted Christ yet, this will be the grandest thing that ever happened to you, will be gathered in this home this morning, that when that knock come to your heart. If you'll accept it, it's a door to Life. To turn it away is death. And that's why we're here this morning, to show to you that there is an open door to every believer that can believe.
E-31 Now I want to read from the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, the 15th chapter. I want to read a portion, the first four verses of the 15th chapter of the book of the Revelation.
And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having… seven last plagues; for in them is filled up with the wrath of God.
And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stood on the sea of glass, having… harps of God.
And they sang the song of Moses a servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.
Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only are holy: and all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.
E-32 And if the Lord will, I would like to take a text from that, to call it a V-day, Victory Day, as we symbolize that, a complete victory.
E-33 These people, that in the chapter that we're… have just read, had just gotten the victory. I think that the word victory is a great word in the English language. It means that you have—you have defeated the enemy, and you've overcome, and you are a victor holding victory. And we sing songs and cheer in a victory. And here we find that there was something, these people had come to this sea of glass, mingled with fire. And they had gotten the victory over the beast, over his image, over the mark, and the letter of his name. All these things, they had gotten the victory over them, and were victors standing on the other side, on the sea of glass mingled with fire, singing the songs of praise to Almighty God.
E-34 Now, to speak of victory and V-days, and so forth, it brings us back to the thought of war, when we think of V-day. Because, just recently, in the last few years, we come to a—a—a day that we called V-day, of the war, where they gotten the victory over the enemy. And it's too bad that we have to think it, but the world has been soaked with human blood ever since the blood of righteous Abel.
E-35 The first human blood to strike the earth was righteous Abel. And he, the reason he had to shed his blood, was because that he had been right with God. And God had accepted his—his atonement that he had, by faith had offered to God, this lamb.
E-36 And his jealous brother, being jealous of him, slew righteous Abel. And that same reason has, just about, caused the shedding of all human blood upon the face of the earth. And the old earth is certainly soaked with it, of all across the world, human blood. We… There's a reason for that. There is some reason that they would be, that this human blood was shed. And we find that the first reason was because of jealousy, that—that Cain was jealous of Abel because that God accepted Abel's sacrifice. And Hebrews 11 tells us that—that—that, "Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than that of Cain, and God testifying by it." And Cain, course, being jealous of this, because his sacrifice was rejected, and Abel's accepted. And Abel did this by faith. The Bible said, that, "He did this by faith."
E-37 Seeing that—that, the two boys trying to find favor with God, to come back, because they know that they were just fresh from the garden of Life. And they had fell, on the other side, by the transgression of their parents, had made them subjects to death; just like we all stand, this morning, subjects to death. And they wanted to know how to get back into that place where they could find Life again. And, in doing so, they—they were trying to find favor with God.
E-38 And Cain offered a beautiful sacrifice of flowers and the fruits of the field, or whatever it was he put upon the altar.
E-39 But Abel, by spiritual revelation, revealed to him that it was not the fruit of the field that caused the death. "It was blood that caused the death." So, he offered back blood of an innocent substitute, and God accepted it. And that has been God's propitiation for our sins, ever since that very day. No other way, because if He had accepted on any other basis, then we'd have had to come to that basis, to be, to find favor with God. But God accepted only the innocent blood of an innocent subject. See?
E-40 And therefore, if the beauty and the big places would have been God's acceptance, today we'd… We would have wondered, "Would He come back on the backside of the desert, to this little home setting here by the railroad track? Would He come back here and meet with us?" But if it had been a great cathedral, or the beauty that—that Cain offered, why, we'd find we'd just been talking to ourselves, and to the air.
E-41 But God came on the basis of the shed blood. So, no matter, today, how small we are, how poor we are, or how much we would like to be, offer to God a greater place, but God wouldn't accept it, no more than He will right now, because we're coming on the basis of the shed Blood of an innocent Substitute, which is Christ dying for us sinners.
E-42 Now, the reason that this Blood has been shed, is because, I believe, that man wants to… God invites man to look, but man wants to—to show himself. Man wants to look at what God is trying to show him, on the basis of his—his own idea about it. See? God is trying to show man something, but the man wants to accept it upon what he… the way he looks at it.
E-43 But it's just like anyone wanting to show a scene. There's got to be a reason to show this scene. There's… If you say, "Look yonder at the mountain," now there's something there that struck your attention, that you're trying to ask me to look at that mountain. See? Or, "Look at this tree," see, there is something about that tree that you want me to see.
E-44 Now, God is trying to get man to look to that innocent substitute for a way back. And man wants to look at It in his own way. He don't want to see what God is trying to show him, in this innocent substitute. Therefore, that's what's caused the trouble. Then, when man does, as it was, picks up the glasses, to view off in a long distance, to see what God is trying to show him, he fails to focus his glasses right.
E-45 Here on the road, not long ago, coming from a trip up in the mountains, someone was said, "Here, take these glasses and look over here at a certain thing." Well, I picked up the glasses. I saw three or four different objects. Now, you see, I knowed that there was something wrong with that. See? Now, this antelope standing in the field, there seemed to be three or four of them standing together. Now, what it was, the antelope was just perfectly one antelope. The glass was all right. But what I had to do, was to draw that focus till I got all three of the antelopes into one, and made one antelope. See? And then that… See, behind me, I knew there was a… to be one antelope, because that's what I was told. But to pick up the glass and look through it, I saw, say, three antelopes standing there. Well, the glass was out of focus. I—I have to focus that glass back, till I get it into a place to where I see the one antelope. And then the glass draws it close enough to me till I can see what it looks like.
E-46 Now, God gives us the Bible. Now, the Bible is the Word, and the Word is God. So, that is our binoculars. That's our glasses. But, then, when we go to looking in the Bible, and seeing four or five different ways, well, it needs focusing, you see. And we—we got to bring the thing into the place where we see the one solemn purpose for God.
E-47 But man wants to start an organization, run this way. And the other one wants, "Well, I know. I think I can be a bigger fellow than him, so I'll start over here. We'll school our boys better, and we'll do this and so forth." See? They fail to get the glass in focus. God wants them to see one thing, and that's the innocent Blood that was shed for their sins. That's exact. That's the real thing, no matter. We don't need an organization. I have nothing against them, only they… the damage that they do, to pull people out and separate brotherhood and things.
E-48 But we only need to look at one thing, and that's our Substitute. That's right. And that Substitute is Jesus Christ.
E-49 And then today you see how we are twisted out in organizations. And they say, "The Methodists is having a revival. Course, that don't mean the Baptists. That's the Methodists. And these are having a revival, and so forth." And they—they cut the other fellow out, all the time. But we don't want to see it that way.
E-50 We want to keep pulling that focus till we find out that there is one God. When you see three of them out there, you better focus the glass a little better. See? You're—you're seeing something wrong. So you'd better bring it in, and find out there is one God over us all, and He's the God of the human race.
E-51 And if He's God, at all, He's interested in every human being, because it's His creation. And He's interested in the children. He's interested in the old age and the middle age. He's interested in the—the colors of us, and the white, the brown, the black, the—the yellow, the different shades of our skins from the country that we come from and our forefather. He's interested in all of us. He's just not interested in the Jews, alone, or in—or in the yellow race, black race, white race, whatever it is.
E-52 He's interested in the whole human race, and trying to get the human race to focus His Word down to one thing, and say, "There is one God, and that God give an innocent Substitute, by coming; becoming, Himself, Man, in order to take away sin, to save the whole human race." John the prophet so beautifully illustrated, "Behold the Lamb of God, that takes away the sin of the world, whosoever." The whole sin problem is settled right there in that one innocent Substitute.
E-53 But when man begins to get a hold of God's binoculars here, he—he begins to… He looks at so much of the natural, he fails to see the spiritual application that the Word gives.
E-54 Now, see, that's one of the great things that man does when he tries to look, because he looks like Cain looked through the glasses. He looked at a—a personal achievement. Cain thought, "Now, if I can get Abel out of the way, then I'm the only one. Then, see, there, the other fellow is out of the way." That's what man has tried to do, down through the years, is try to get the other fellow out of the way.
E-55 When, he ought to be trying to bring the other fellow in the way with him, and—and be a brother, you see; instead of trying to say, "Oh, that little group, just rake them out. And this over here, oh, well, they are this, or that." See? We shouldn't do that. We should be trying to bring the whole thing to one—one solid picture, and that is Jesus Christ.
E-56 A young lady, last night, in an interview, she said… But she said… A minister's daughter had had some kind of a little love affair, and—and she had lost her mind about it. She gone, a breakdown. A very beautiful young woman, and about twenty-three years old.
E-57 And when she was a little girl, of about twelve, she was in Chicago. And setting in the meeting… Or, Elgin, it was. And setting in the meeting, the Holy Spirit went out through the audience and called her, who she was, and said, "You got a murmuring heart. The doctor says you can't live to fifteen years old. But, THUS SAITH THE LORD, you're healed." And she never even—never even felt a heart trouble, since.
E-58 And last night she had a different type of a heart trouble. It was a spiritual, heart trouble. Her lover had run off and married some other woman. And, yet, she was still in love. And this boy telling that he was in love, yet, with her, and his "father had caused it."
E-59 I said, "Oh, nonsense. He didn't have to marry the other girl. He did it because he failed to have the right kind of love for you." That's exactly.
E-60 But, see, being all wound up into that, the girl set there in—in such a stoop, like. And she said, "Oh, I know Johnny loves me. I know." See? That's all she could see. She lived in that one little world, by herself. She had formed herself in there.
E-61 And I took a hold of her hand. I said, "Listen to me." And the Lord showed a vision, you see, that she knowed I knowed nothing about, that something had taken place, some transaction between them. And when that was said, then that snapped her right quick. I said, "Now, while you're out of there, look to Calvary. There, you're going out here and started trying to drink, and a minister's daughter, a Pentecostal minister's daughter, and doing the things that you're doing, trying to drown that sorrow; that man, and somebody that don't care the snap of their finger for you." I said. "Look yonder to Calvary, girl. That's the only way back."
E-62 We got to get ourselves focused, till, whether we live or die, sink or drown, it's Calvary, Christ. That's the thing that God wants us to come back to.
E-63 And men, in the focus of God's Word, instead of bringing It together and making It say the one thing that God makes It say, we look at the natural side. Therefore, it—it, man doing that, he gets hisself into a place that he just takes off after the thing that's presented. "Here is an opportunity that we, us little group, we can do this, and we can. We won't have nothing to do with the rest of them." And—and that, see, that's the first thing is presented; instead of focuses in, to know that it's brotherly love that we should have for one another, and—and to understand one another, and to love one another, and to worship with one another. They degrade a man because of his clothes he wears, or the—or the education he has, or the color of his skin, or—or something like that. Or his… And that, therefore, it separates the people, and man takes off after that.
E-64 It never gives the inward man a chance to operate. Now, we are—we are a triune being; soul, body, and spirit. Now, but when the natural mind… The two spiritual forces that works in you is your mind and your—and your spirit. See? Now, the natural mind, that's highly polished, will try to achieve something by his intelligence. See? And when he does that, the very thing when he does that, he throws hisself away from the spiritual man that's in him. And there what causes the trouble, right there, see, he tries to make it out in himself.
E-65 As I spoke here, not long ago, I believe was at the tabernacle, that, "God is so great, He can become so simple."
E-66 Now, see, when we get great, we can't be simple. See? We, we know too much. And we—we got to, "Oh, it's just got to be this way, the way we say It, or It isn't, at all." See? Well, that way, we miss God.
E-67 But if a man could just, a great man, could just get greater and greater, and keep on getting greater, what would he do? He'd just become right straight back again to so humble, and so simple, till people walk over the top of him and not know it, see, the great person that's in their midst.
E-68 Just the same thing as we do. We, we measure an electron, we split an atom, and we send a—a message to the moon, and walk over common grass that we know nothing about. That's right. The little flower, no one can explain or can find the life that hides in that little seed down in the earth, to bring forth a flower next year. A common blade of grass, all the scientists in the world couldn't make one sprig of the grass, not one blade. See? You can't do it, because it holds life. And therefore, see, we…
E-69 It's been said, "Fools walk with hobnailed shoes where Angels fear to trod." And that's really true. We walk over the simple things. We walk over God.
E-70 We walk over a—a orchid, looking for a daisy. Now, that's it, see, walking over the orchid. And if we just simplify ourselves, get down. No one could look at even…
E-71 That vine out there, what is it? God. What is it? It's volcanic ash, with a life in it. Turn, look away, there's a mighty tree stand there, cottonwood, I believe. What is it? It's a volcanic ash, with a different kind of life in it. This kind of life, made a—made a tree. That kind of life, made a vine. See?
E-72 And what are we? Volcanic ash, with life in it. What made us what we are? We would just be no more than that, but God put Eternal Life in us, and then we become subjects of God. Then, we're—we're watching, focus the Word then to God.
E-73 But man never gives the inside man a chance to explain what is right, therefore that's what causes the trouble. Watch. We find, if he doesn't do it, then what happens? We find that his temper, like Cain, got up, see, right quick. He was jealous. He didn't like God, to offer his, to accept Cain's… Abel's sacrifice instead of his. He wanted to go, too. He wanted his own sacrifice. He wanted his own way, see, instead of coming over to Abel, and saying, "Oh, my brother, I am so happy that God has accepted. Now we got a way, that we know that Jehovah accepts this way, because He's proved it by receiving your sacrifice." Wouldn't that been the thing to—to done? But instead of that, he got jealous.
E-74 Now, don't you see that same thing today in men? [Congregation says, "Amen."—Ed.] See? It's just his way, see, now, instead of accepting the way that God vindicates to be Truth.
E-75 The way that God Himself moves upon the scene, and saying, "This is it. These signs shall follow them that believe. I'll be with you, even in you. A little while, and the world won't see Me no more; yet you'll see Me, for I'll be with you, even in you." See, the world, you… "The world won't see Me, but you will." See, "Cain won't see Me, but you will, Abel." You see? Because, it's—it's the same thing.
E-76 And instead of coming and saying, "Well, wonderful. We see God in the midst of the people, working. Let's do that"? No, sir. With creed, the same thing, and greed, rather, and with jealousy, the same thing that Cain has, he requires the blood of his brother. He tries to wipe him out of the way, get rid of him. "They're nothing but a bunch of holy-rollers. They're little." See? You know what I mean. That's what starts the trouble. There's where trouble begins. That's where the broken vows. There's where broken fellowship separates. That's the thing that breaks up homes. That's the thing that starts the—the wheel moving towards divorces. That's the very thing that breaks the fellowship.
E-77 That's the thing that broke the fellowship in Eden, is because that Eve failed to keep the focus, of her looking on God's Word, and listened to the reasonings of the enemy. See? See? If she just stayed right with, "God said so. That settles it. God said so," but she didn't want to do that. See? She changed the focus of her glass, and begin to see, instead of being just one way, there become two ways. See? She saw, "Well, now, maybe this man could be right. Maybe he is right. Now, we know God is right, and maybe he is right. This is just more light on what God said." You see there?
E-78 There is the same thing happens today, exactly right back to the same spot. See? See? You see two ideas. There's only one. There's not no creed. It's the Word, God's Word, God's purpose, God's plan. All other plans are no good.
E-79 That, and Eve did this evil thing, and that's the reason today that God, in His Word, never permits women to be ministers. See? It's just not permitted in the Word.
E-80 This morning, in our home, we were talking, and setting at the breakfast table, early. We had wanted to start, so we get here on time, and get back to the other appointment. So, we, I said… We was talking at the table. And—and we was talking about, the word come up, about Angels. My little boy, Joseph, setting there, said something about Angels. And he said, "Now, daddy," he said, "the Angels…"
I said, "God is a man."
"But," said, "the—the Angels are women."
I said, "There is no such a thing." See? He said…
E-81 "Well, They got…" Sarah, my daughter, said, "But, daddy," said, "there, they, they got skirts on." Said, "They, they are women."
I said, "That's, some psychologist drawed that picture."
E-82 They never did see, in the Bible, an Angel called "she." It was "he," always, he, he, he, not—not "she." There's no such a thing as an Angel being a woman. There never was, in the Bible. And there's not, in the Church of the living God. There's no such a thing as a messenger woman. An angel is a "messenger." So, God never permit it.
E-83 Because, the Bible says, "Adam was first formed, and then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression." See? Therefore, she… Said, Paul said, "I suffer not a woman to teach, or have any authority, but to be in silence, as also saith the—the law."
E-84 Now, in that, you see, now, now, like our Pentecostal groups, it's the grass root of that. See? What they do, they get the focus, "Well, now, here, here is a woman can preach like a lightning." Well, that's no doubt, at all. Absolutely. I heard some women preachers, could preach, that men couldn't even stand in the shadow of doing it, but that doesn't have one thing to do with what's righteous; see, doesn't have one.
E-85 Paul said, "If one speaks in tongues and there be no interpreter, then let him hold his peace."
Say, "I can't hold my peace."
E-86 But the Bible said you can, see, so that's it. See? It must be done in order, placed in order, put in its place, and there remain ever in its place.
E-87 See, there, you get out of focus. That causes hard feelings, greed, and so forth. Instead of focusing ourselves back with the Word, we focus ourselves out, and see, "Well, let them do what they see." See, like that, just the way, then. All right.
E-88 Now, we find that it breaks up the fellowship of homes. It breaks up the fellowship of churches. It breaks up the fellowship of nations, that same thing.
E-89 Nations wants to see their own way. Germany wants to see their way, alone. Russia wants to see their way, alone. America wants to see her way, alone. See? Then, see, that's it. It's the spirit of the nations. You find it wherever you go, you find a national spirit. I went in, and they have different ways. It's so strange. If I had the time, I'd just like to skip through some of the nations and show you.
E-90 When you go in, you go into Germany, you find a military spirit. Everything is military. You have to stand straight, walk straight, cut your corners, and everything. It's military.
E-91 You go into France, you find an immoral spirit, just women, and wine, and liquor, and—and stuff like that. See?
E-92 You go into Finland, you find a loyal spirit, kind of like, everything is honest. "We must pay off everything." See? It must be done. It's just got to be that way. No matter how hard they have to work, what it costs, it must be that way.
E-93 You come into America, you find a big, "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" That's what it is. Yeah. That's the American spirit. Somebody tell a dirty joke on the radio, and everybody laugh at it. Ernie Ford, or—or some of them, cracking jokes that they have, you know, everywhere, Arthur Godfrey and that group like that, see, that's—that's American spirit. You find it that way.
E-94 And then those spirits get jealous of another spirit. And what do they do? They cause war. That's right.
E-95 Now, you see, every nation is controlled by Satan. The Bible said so. He's the god of the nations. Satan took Jesus up, top the mountain, and said… showed Him all the kingdoms was in the world, all the kingdoms, in a moment of time. Said, "These are mine. I do with them anything I want to." Said, "I'll give them over to You, if You'll worship me."
E-96 Jesus said, "Get behind Me, Satan." He knew He was going to fall heir to them in the Millennium. See? So, He didn't have to bow down to him. He knowed they was going…
E-97 Now, when God comes again, and take, makes His Kingdom here, see, there will not be any different kinds of spirit; a German spirit, and a French spirit, and a—a Norwegian spirit, and American spirit. There won't be that. It'll be one Spirit, amen, the Spirit of God, living in every heart. That's right. And there'll be one flag, one nation, one people, a brotherhood, a Fatherhood of God, and a brotherhood of men. Sonship! Yes.
E-98 Then we find that, because that people do this, and—and cause these great fusses, and so forth… Now, see, as long as Satan controls it, there is going to be wars and troubles, and war. Jesus said, in Saint John… Saint Matthew 24, said, "You'll hear of wars, and rumors of wars, and wars, and war." Why? Cause, the prince of the earth, the Satan, the power of the nations… There is a national spirit here, a national spirit here. It's devils. They can't get along with one another. See?
E-99 Did you ever take a bunch in the Eskimo country up there, where we go on dogsleds, northern Alaska, and way up around in the Northwestern Territory? When the—the guide there was tying off these dogs, called Huskies… And he tie one here, and one out there, and one over here.
I said, "Why you doing that for?"
E-100 Said, "They are so full of the devil, they'd kill one another." See? Just—just kill, that's all they think about.
E-101 Well, that's—that's the devil, you see. He's a killer. He, just he, the nation just… Even devils fighting devils. See? They just fight one another.
But, God is all love, see, so you can't do nothing but love one another.
E-102 So, you see, the whole principle bases right back again to them spirits, exactly back to the beginning. Genesis is the seed chapter, and it produces everything, then, that we have in the earth today.
E-103 Now we have wars and victories, great victories. One nation will come in and beat down the other one, say, "Glory! We got the victory. We beat them up." And—and then, the first thing you know, they'll become friends and shake hands, and have a trade between one another.
E-104 And after while, it's another president, or another king will come in, or another ruler, another system. And, first thing you know, here they are, their grandchildren are back with guns, fighting one another, again. "Wars, and rumors of wars." And this other one will run up over the other one, "Now you'll serve me, you know. I'm the victor, and you're the—you're the one that's out, and so forth." You just…
E-105 As I once heard a remark, "God made man, and man made slaves." God didn't make man to rule over one another. God made man to be brothers, that's right, to be brothers, not to rule over one another. No superior race, no superior nation, no superior language. We have one language, Heavenly. See? That's right. We have one brotherhood: that's man. That's man, no matter who he is.
E-106 Why should we fight and kill one another? But they do it. Then sometime, a good nation, or a nation that's got a system in it, is trying to do right, and fighting for its rights, then the evil nation will come in over it. And then here they'll take over, and this nation become that. And then back and forth, just changing, back and forth.
E-107 The nations has had many, many great national victories that they've tried, as they have tried to fight for their liberties, and what they hold for their—their own. And they have—they have what? As long as Satan controls them, they're going to continue to fight. But they have won many great victories, great victories. We could go back, from the very beginning, and show where nation has ruled over nation, and the celebration of great victories, and so forth.
E-108 Like, in the First World War, when we had the First World War, when many of the nations come together and met on the grounds in Germany. And where Belgium and different ones of the nations was fighting under the different flags, was called World War One. Now I…
E-109 There is two brothers setting here, or three, maybe four of you, that can remember that. I can remember it. I'm fifty-four.
E-110 And I remember, as a little boy, about nine, eight or nine years old, in 1914. Let's see, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen. I was five years old when it broke out. I remember when they said there was going to be war. And my daddy was about twenty-two, and they had to send him to war. Oh, I couldn't think of that, sending my daddy to war. He come up the road. He was on a spring wagon. And he had a… And he had went down to the store, which was several miles below us, and he had a sack of beans on there. We… And so I said… I picked up the beans. I thought, "If them come and starts any war, I'll hit them with this sack of beans if they come." See? Now, they was a… Just the thought of war, my daddy having to go to war!
E-111 Well, the—the trumpet sounded, and—and the "Buy your bonds," and so forth.
E-112 And as we all remember it, "We'll go over and have this World War, and we'll settle it. And then they'll organize." They organized what they called the League of Nations. "And then there's going to be a peace, Eternal peace. That's all. No more war."
E-113 In a merely little twenty years, we were right back in her again, just as hot as ever, in another world war. See? Wars! Why? It's greed, jealousy. See? As soon as Kaiser Wilhelm left Germany, then some fellow come in, by name of Adolf Hitler, an Austrian, and got those people's minds all scattered up, which is demon inspired, that they could whip the world. And, they, and there you was. See? It's devil against devil, again, you see, like that. And the innocent subjects of those nations, that, they just lead one another to war, to war, to war. And it's just been that way, all along.
E-114 Now, now, we find out, then, the next thing you know, another war come up. Now, again, the whole world went to war again, with better instruments, and better planes, and bigger bombs. And they fought, and bled, and died, and starved, and froze, and everything else. War, war, war!
E-115 Then there come a day, what we call, the V-day. There's where I drawed this text from, that V-day, Victory Day. That was the day that they took the victory, and where the—the armies took the victory over other armies, V-day. Now, there was a D-day, and then there was a V-day. The D-day is when they went in to fight. The V-day is when a peace was signed, when Germany and the rest of their allied nations and all surrendered to the—to the—to the other nations.
E-116 And what did we do? At V-day, we sang songs. We screamed. We throwed our hats in the air. We shot the guns in the air. We cried. We blowed whistles. We beat drums. We, we played music. We, we beat one another on the back. What was it? It was a victory. Oh, we had the victory. How these… Why, we felt, "We have won. We have won." The flags went up, and the trumpets sounded, and, oh, what a time we had! "Victory, victory, victory! We won."
E-117 And it was a great thing. It brought peace to the—to the Christian nations, as so-called. And we had a little time of breathing. Some of the boys that was living, come back home and so forth. But, many great, them days, has been, many of them, and great wars.
E-118 But, you know, all along where there has been that kind of a battle fought, there has also been God's believing people has had many great V-days, too. Oh, yes! There's been on both sides, where the glass has focused and went to the natural side, with V-days; also where it focuses into the Word in the Scripture, it brings another V-day sometimes.
E-119 We've had many of them great battles against our enemy. And God has had great men out here that's standing at the front, who has been able to—to capture, by the Spirit of God, the thoughts of the people, and throw it into the Kingdom of God yonder, and come out victorious.
E-120 We fight it every day. Every Christian fights a battle, every day. We're in a warfare right now, going on constantly within us, between right and wrong. "Shall we receive It? What shall we do? Shall we bow to the world? Shall we give up this thought that we got?"
E-121 And if we see It, focus It. Take It from Genesis to Revelation. She is THUS SAITH THE LORD, each time, right down through there. We can't give It up. We can't compromise with the rest of them. We just can't do it. We've got to stay here. That's all. No matter how great the enemy is, and how much machinery he's got against us, and how many organizations, and how many of this, that, or the other. We, yet, we have pulled this focus, of God's Word, till we find that there's one thing, and that's the Blood of Jesus Christ. And He's the same yesterday, today, and forever.
E-122 Therefore, don't make any difference what anyone else says. They say, "The days of miracles is past. There's no such a thing as Divine healing. There's no baptism of the Holy Ghost. And the baptism in the Name of Jesus Christ, that was for the disciples only." And all these things, they try to focus off of it. Still, it focuses right back to the Word, and nobody can say it's not there. That's right.
E-123 So, we're in a warfare. And God's heroes has always had warfare.
E-124 And you, little church, remember back here, you are a part of that unit. You're an outpost back here. That, you know what an outpost is. You should, by being some of it right here by you. So, you're an outpost back here, to a place, to—to keep up the banners, to do what's right, to still claim Jesus Christ is the only hope of the world; not the Methodist church, the Baptist church, the Presbyterian idea, Catholic, or Jewish, or whatever it might be; race, clan, or color. That's not it. It's Jesus Christ. See? He is the One. He's our Victor. He is the One. He's the Chief Captain of the move. This is His orders. We got to carry out orders. How could you ever…
E-125 Some of you boys served in the war. How could you ever… The captain give an order, and you turn around and do something backwards, why, you'll mess the whole army up. That's right. You'll throw it into a riot. You've got to carry out the orders. The only way you can do it, is focus it, and see the purpose, what it's all about. All right.
E-126 We have had many great battles, spiritual battles. Many great V-days that the Church has had; I mean the Church, the Body of Christ. I'm not talking about the organization system now. I'm talking about the Body of Christ. The Body of believers, down through the ages, has had many great V-days.
E-127 We talk about, we've had several wars, the wars and rumors of wars, and V-days, and V-days, and V-days. And it'll finally wind up into the great battle of Armageddon. That'll be the last of it. When she comes to the battle of Armageddon, that'll settle the whole thing. Just before the great Millennium, Armageddon is to clean off the earth. She repurifies herself with this atomic blowing, and the volcanic ash and thing sinks this soaked blood of men and upon the earth, and sin and crime. She sinks beneath the earth, and the volcanic brays out again, and renews and cleans the earth for the great Millennium. He cleans His Church, during that time, for a people to live here. Amen. I—I say, I like that. Yes, sir. There's coming a time when it'll be great.
E-128 Now, great V-days, we think of the time. Let's just go back. We got a few minutes now to think of some of the warriors. Let's go back and think of one of the… We could go way back. But let's just go back as far as Moses. Moses had a time that he went down in a great warfare, because the church, in itself, had long forgotten victory.
E-129 That's what's the matter with the church today. We've too long forgotten that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. We forgot that God is a Healer, can make the sick well. We forgot that the baptism of the Holy Ghost was poured out upon the disciples, and given from generation to generation, for anybody, whosoever will could come. We've forgotten that, long, long ago.
E-130 So had Israel forgotten. They had become satisfied down in Egypt, and then become slaves.
E-131 And now here was Moses that went down, within his own intellectual affair, to intellectual achievement, to try to, and under a military force, to bring out Israel, and failed to do it.
E-132 But just a Word from God, on the backside of the desert, boiled the whole thing up again. What happened to Moses? He got his glasses focused. God's only purpose wasn't to marry this beautiful Ethiopian colored girl back there, and—and to settle down and have children, and—and raise his father-in-law's sheep. But his mission was—was to deliver the children of God, out from under that bondage. That was his commission. That's what he was born for.
E-133 And each one of us is born for something. We just wasn't put here for nothing. That mountain never happened out there just to be. That tree was put there for a purpose. Everything is for a purpose. It's got to serve. And we are here for a purpose. Maybe it's to testify to one person and get them saved, and out of that might come a preacher will send a million souls to Christ.
E-134 Look at Dwight Moody's conversion, and many of those. You see? Just one little old woman, with a… Little old wash woman with a message on her heart, to do something for God, and she rented an old livery stable, and got a minister to come down and preach. And nobody but a little old boy, with their hair hanging down his neck, and his daddy's suspenders on, went down there and knelt down at the altar that night. Dwight Moody, that sent a half a million souls to Jesus Christ. See? That woman had something to do. She's… It was for a purpose. She was made a wash woman, for a purpose.
E-135 Don't despise where God has got you. But, serve your purpose. There's coming a great victory day, one of these days, where the battle is over.
E-136 Now, notice. Moses, he went down, after got his glasses focused and seen that it was God's program, what he was to do. He went down. He fought hard. He had many great battles. But one of his great, trying battles, I'd like to—to bring it. When, he had achieved, by showing signs and wonders, by different things that God had showed him, to speak the Word and it would become material and happen.
E-137 Same thing we have today, speak the Word over the sick, [Brother Branham snaps his finger—Ed.] and watch It heal, and do these other things that God's Word spoke through human lips. "You say to this mountain, 'Be moved,' and don't doubt, but believe what you said will come to pass, you can have what you've said." Jesus said so. Now, we believe that, and hold to it, and take it, and believe it.
E-138 And now, Moses had done that. And he got down there, and God had proved to being with him. But after getting him all together, God…
E-139 It seems like, the Christian life, if the fellow is not absolutely centered on Christ, the Christian life, seems like, holds so many disappointments. But those disappointments are—are God's Divine will happening for us. Now, it don't seem like it would be that, but it's God's way of doing things. He lets us hit the river, to see what we'll do.
E-140 Moses led the children of Israel right in the path of duty, and Pharaoh's army behind him, and the dust boiling from a—a half-a-million men in arms. And here was two million helpless Jews with nothing, standing there, men, women, children, and so forth. And the Red Sea had him cut off. The dead sea had him cut off. He… There's no place to go. See? But Moses had a V-day when he prayed through. He went and begin to cry out to the Lord.
E-141 And the Lord said, "Why you crying to Me? I commissioned you to do it. Speak to the children, that they go on in the line of duty." Amen. There you are. "Don't cry out to Me. You're commissioned to take these people over there. Just speak to them, that they go forward, stay straight in the path of duty." Amen.
E-142 What a courage that ought to be for the sick person! What a courage that ought to be for the backslider! Turn yourself around, and start back. Stay in the line of duty. It's God's business to open up Red Seas. It's God's business. You just speak and move forward. That's all you have to do.
E-143 And Moses, that great V-day, was at the sea down there. Oh, what a V-day that was for Moses, and for the children of Israel who obeyed the voice of their prophet, when they spoke and went forward. Moses said, "Haven't I… You've seen ten miracles already, and still you doubt." And he started walking towards the sea, with that stick in his hand. And God sent in a wind over the night and blowed that sea from one side to the other, and they walked across on dry land, a V-day.
E-144 Looky here. They stood, even our text today said, that, "They stood and sang the song of Moses, on the sea of glass mingled with fire." See? See? They sung. And Moses, when he crossed over, and he didn't know what to do. And he got over… Here come Pharaoh's army, trying to impersonate the things that he was doing. Carnal comparisons! And what happened? The sea fell in and drowned them, every one. And he saw the dead taskmasters.
E-145 Miriam grabbed a tambourine and down the bank she went, beating this tambourine. And the daughters of Israel followed her, shouting, and beating tambourines, and dancing. And Moses sung in the Spirit. If that ain't an old-time Holy Ghost meeting, I never seen one. [Blank.spot.on.tape—Ed.]
E-146 "These Egyptians that you look at today, you'll never see them again." Amen. What a day! It's all over.
E-147 Someday there'll come another V-day for the Christian, too. That's right.
E-148 Notice, Joshua had a V-day at the river, too. Joshua had a V-day at Jericho. He certainly did. There where he had crossed, he had a V-day, first, at the river. There he is in the month of April, probably a mile across, Jordan was, 'cause up in top of the mountains up there, there is snow melting. And all over the plains, the river was spread.
E-149 And no doubt the enemy would have said, "Now, God is quite a—a General, isn't He? Lead His army right up here to the time of spring, when the river is its worst, when it's the worst time to cross, and then lead His army up here, and led them to cross." No.
E-150 God lets disappointments happen, to show victory. Oh, if we could only see that! See? You'd only see that these things that seems to be so burring you, and upsetting you, they are trials. They are things, to stand still, focus your glasses on the Word of God. And speak the Word, and then just walk forward. That's all there is to do it.
E-151 We get to a time, we say, "God, I don't know what to do. I'm up against it."
E-152 Speak the word, "Lord, I believe." And just start walking forward. God does the opening up of the sea. You just keep walking. See?
E-153 Now, we find out that Joshua, right at that time, he prayed. And the Lord told him that what would happen. And he had a V-day. He overcome. Then, when he overcome the river and got on the other side, what did he do? He put the ark…
E-154 Which, the Word was in the ark. He put that first. Then the singers, and so forth, come behind it. But the ark went forth, first.
E-155 When Israel went to battle, the first thing went forth was singers. And singers went forth, singing. Then they blowed trumpets, and so forth. Then the ark moved up. Then, when the ark moved up, then they set the ark down, and the—the battle started.
E-156 Notice. But now, in this, when Joshua took the Word first, and put the Word first, he crossed down.
E-157 And God had told him, "As I was with Moses, so I'll be with you. I'll not fail you. I'll be with you. No man is going to stand before you, all the days of your life. I'm going to be right there. Don't fear what's going to take place. I'll be right there." Then what, with a commission like that, what could Joshua do but put the Word first? Amen. There you are. With a commission from God, put the Word first. And it brought a V-day. Oh, it's got to come. That's all.
E-158 He put the Word first, and what happened? The ark went down first, to the water. When it did, the sea opened up, the river, rather, and they crossed over.
E-159 Then what's he going to do after he gets over there? What's the next thing is going to take place, when he gets over there on the other side? Then he finds out, they're all walled in, because of the fear of him when he comes over.
E-160 But he met the Chief Captain, one day. And he had another V-day. He told him exactly what to do, and the walls of Jericho fell down. How is he going to do it?
E-161 The natural man looking through the glass there, say, "Now, here, You brought me over here, and here I am. Look at the opposition. Why, they're all on the inside, with their slings. If we ever get close to that wall, woe unto us. They got rocks laid in there, their big slings. They got spears. They got bows. They got everything laying in there. And they just…"
But, see, Joshua put God first. And when he did…
E-162 It isn't how you're going to get there. That's up to God. Just keep on moving, follow the Word.
E-163 He said, "March around, seven days. And on the seventh day, march seven times. On… At the last time around, sound the trumpet." God's place, to take the natural away. And the spiritual moved in, and the walls fell. And they went right straight up and took the thing. Yes, sir. God had a V-day then.
E-164 Abraham had a V-day, after being promised so long for this child, God testing him for his love and his loyalty; to whose seed we are, if we believe God.
E-165 And Abraham had a V-day. When was it? The day that he left the land of the Shinar plains? Not exactly. He crossed over, that's right, the Euphrates, and come on this other side, to sojourn. That was a good day. That still was kind of a…
E-166 But his main V-day was up on Mount Jireh, when he got up there that day, when God give him the final test. When, he had his only son. He said, "Now, Abraham, take him up there to that mountain, and offer him up for a sacrifice. I've made you a father of nations. Here is the only thing that you've got, to make you 'father of nations,' is through this son. I want you to kill him." Oh, you see it? "Destroy everything. Destroy the very purpose. Here you are, Abraham, you're about a hundred and fourteen, fifteen years old now. And you waited for twenty-five years for the baby. And now the boy is fifteen or sixteen years old. And I want you to take him up and kill him, so that I can make you a father of nations." Oh, my! Yes.
E-167 Abraham never moved. He never, never quivered at the Word of God. Said, "Yes, Lord. Here I go." Picked up the wood, and took Isaac right up to the top of the hill, just exactly in obedience. Why? He put the commandment of God first. How is he going to be a father of nations, when he's only got one son, and over a hundred years old now? How did he do it? Because, this, he said, "I…" He perceived that if God was able to give him Isaac, as one from the dead, He could also raise him up from the dead again.
E-168 Now, friends, the God that has raised us from the things of the world and the corruption of this earth, can't He much more give us Eternal Life and put us in a Land where there's no death? See? We look at these little trials, and we think they are something. Why, they're nothing but little testing times. See? God tested Abraham, but when he got his V-day is when he went up there in obedience to the Word.
E-169 Like they say today, "I know." I heard a minister a while ago, read Acts 2:38, but he missed out, see. He said, "And Peter said that they must be baptized, and then—then they would receive the Holy Ghost," failed to read the rest of It. Why? See, organizations fought the very Thing. Now, you get the idea? See? Why do you do that? What makes you bypass those Things?
E-170 If the Bible says That, to read It right down the way It says It, and say the same thing the Bible says. That's when you got your focus back right, see, come back to what the Word said.
E-171 Now, we find out that, they, you get your—your… you're out of focus there.
E-172 Now, Abraham had had his focus right, because God said, "I'm going to make you a father of nations," when he was seventy-five years old, and Sarah sixty-five.
E-173 And he believed God. He, what'd he do? He put his focus on what THUS SAITH THE LORD was. Yes, sir. And he walked right straight with that, what THUS SAITH THE LORD was. Day after day, he walked. Year after year, he walked, confessing, "Anything contrary to That, was—was not right. No, sir. It had to be That way. God said so."
E-174 I imagine some of his enemies walk around, say, "Father of nations, how many children do you have now?"
E-175 "Don't make any difference how I have now. I'm a father of nations. That's all."
"How do you know?"
E-176 "God said so. That settles it. That's just all there is to it. God said it, and that settles it."
E-177 So along went Abraham. And he finally come to that very… then, you see, being so loyal; more loyal, more testing. See? So He brought him right back.
E-178 Now, remember. When… God has counted you worthy when you have a test. Now, don't fail this, to get this. When you have a trial or a test, it shows the grace of God has found, you found favor with God, and God believes that you'll stand the test.
You remember, He did the same thing by Job.
E-179 Satan said, "Oh, yes, I seen Job down there." Said, "He's not…"
E-180 God said, "He's a perfect servant. There's none in earth like him. There's nobody like Job. He's a perfect man. Now, he, he's My—he's My pride and joy."
E-181 Satan said, "Oh, sure. He gets everything he asks for." Said, "Let me have him once." And said, "I, I'll make him curse You to Your very face." Said, "I'll just make him curse You."
E-182 God said, "He's in your hands, but don't you take his life." See? God had confidence in Job. Amen.
E-183 When looks like everything has gone wrong, God is giving you a trial. He's got confidence in you. He don't have to baby you around. You're not a hotbed plant, a hybrid. You're a real Christian. God is giving you a test, see what you'll do about it. Amen. No wonder Peter said, "These fiery trials, why, count it a joy. It's—it's more precious to you than gold."
E-184 And many times we hum and haw, "Oh, well, if I just…" Well, that, well, that's something God give you, to overcome. He—He—He knows you'll do it. He, He's—He's put his trust in you.
E-185 And He believed Abraham… Abraham believed God, rather. And God said, no doubt, told Satan, "I can just prove to you he loves me." Said, "I'm… He believes that promise, because I told him that." So he took his own son up, the top of the mountain, tied his hands behind him, that, the day God said so.
E-186 Little Isaac got suspicious, you know. He said, Genesis 22, he said—he said, "Father?"
He said, "Here am I, my son."
E-187 He said, "Here is the wood, and here is the—the—the altar, and everything. But—but—but where is the lamb, see, for—for the—the—the sacrifice?" He begin to feel kind of funny. "What, what's this all about? We, we've left off something."
E-188 Don't make any difference what you think you've left off. You've left off the fellowship of everything else. "Well, you have to have your card parties. You have to do this. You have to drink a little bit. You've left." You ain't left off nothing. Go on, obey the Word. See? That's all, just obey the Word. You ain't left off nothing. Just obey the Word.
E-189 He said, "God said, 'Take him up here,' and he would—he would… Get up here on top the mountain. I'm supposed to do something. When I get there, I'll do it."
E-190 So he got up there, and tied his hands, and laid him upon the altar, like that. Little Isaac never murmured; obedient, see, type of Christ. Then when he pulled the knife from its scabbard, and pulled his hair back out of his face, to take his life, that was Abraham's V-day; oh, my, when he, tested to that very limit, of his only son.
E-191 Now, if you're just spiritual, take that to the test, when God gave His Own, see, the V-day, what He loved. God so loved Adam's fallen race! We'll get to that in a little bit.
E-192 Notice, V-day, Abraham's V-day was on Mount Jireh, where the Lord provided for him a sacrifice instead of his son. Love, see, love. That day, Abraham proved to God, without a shadow of doubt, his loyalty. Abraham proved to God, his faith in Him, for he said, "I got this boy when I was a hundred years old, by believing a promise. And He told me I was the father of nations. If He asks me to take his life, God is able to raise him up from the dead." Whew! My, oh, my! That ought to make a Presbyterian shout, wouldn't it? See? "How He—He—He give me the promise, and He—He—He showed me now the—the evidence of this. Amen. He, He's proved it to me, that He keeps His Word."
E-193 Well, where did He get us? What kind of a mess did I come out of? What kind did you come out of? Where is our thoughts this morning? What has He proven to be among us? There's no doubt about it. Amen. And our—our V-day is sure. We got to have it. See? He's proved it.
E-194 Abraham says, "He proved it to me. I was childless. I was—I was an old man. I was sterile, and my wife's womb was dead. And we was… She was sixty-five, and I was seventy-five, but God said, 'I'm going to give you a baby by her.' That settled it. That was all there was to it." Abraham says, "I believed it."
E-195 Then God throwed him into twenty-five years of trial. It didn't mean a thing to Abraham. He come out stronger than he was the first place, still giving praise to God. No doubt, God looked down and said, "What a servant!"
Said, Satan said, "Oh, yeah."
Said, "He…"
E-196 "But I'll—I'll prove that he loves Me. Take him up there, top of the hill, destroy the very evidence. Take him up there."
And Abraham went up to do it. That's right.
E-197 And Abraham, when he started to take his child's life, the Holy Spirit grabbed his hand, said, "Abraham, stay your hand. I know you love Me." Amen.
E-198 That's the kind of a person that I want to be, love God regardless of what takes place. "Stay your hand." Give you the trial, where it's even against your own thinking. But, as long as the Word said so, do it, anyhow. See?
E-199 "Stay your hand. I know that you love Me, 'cause you've not even withheld your only son from Me." Said, "Blessing, I'll bless you," said, "his seed shall stand in the gate of the enemy, and he'll conquer." Oh, my! He did, too.
E-200 A little later, we're going to get that "seed of Abraham" there. All right. What did…
E-201 Doubts had gone from Abraham. When he heard the real Word, doubts left. When he seen God vindicate the Word, doubts left. Love took its place. "I know you love Me, Abraham. You don't doubt Me a bit. No matter how long you had to wait, you still believed Me. I asked you to destroy the very evidence I had give you. Give you the evidence, then asked you to destroy it. And you love Me so well, you keep My Word regardless of what it is." Amen. That was a real V-day for God. See?
E-202 Jacob had a V-day one time. He was scared to go back to his brother, because he had done evil. But, yet, the Holy Spirit begin to warn him, in his heart, "Return back to the homeland where you come from. You come from the homeland. You done evil over there, now I'm sending you back." And when he got closer, he got… Course, certainly.
E-203 That's what the devil is so after us about. See? That's what the devil is so after the Bride, the Church, so, for now, it's getting close to V-day. That's right. She is getting real close. That's when the enemy does his worst, to reroute. The Bible said, "Woe unto the earth, because the devil is like a roaring lion, in the last days, going around, devouring what he will, you see. Woe unto them, the persecutions and things would take place." Hold right to It. Don't you move, right or left. Stay right with that Word. God said so. That does it.
E-204 Jacob, longing in his heart, everything seemed to be wrong. He wanted to go back home. The Holy Spirit was leading him. He had made a promise to God. He had to go to Bethel, to pay these tithings and so. And here, on his road back, he finds out that Esau, his enemy brother, was—was just across the river, waiting for him, with an army. So, Jacob was a coward, yet he had the blessings of God. God had promised to bless him. He had the birthright. Amen.
E-205 What a type of the Church today, with the baptism of the Holy Spirit, with the promise of God's Word to vindicate it, because you become part of that Word, the birthright.
E-206 And Jacob had the birthright. Amen. He had… His brother didn't care about it. And he had the birthright, because his brother sold it to him for a mess of pottage.
And so has the church world today sold their birthright.
E-207 And thank God, we got It. Yes. We got It. What do we care about the union of churches, and the League of Nations, and all these other things, as long as you've got the birthright?
E-208 What the church needs to do, is to do like Jacob, pray till you get a V-day. And, right, Jacob had a wrestling party. He wrestled all night long, with the Lord, but he said, "I'm just not going to let You go until I get this victory." And then about daylight, one morning, he had a V-day. He didn't walk the same, anymore. But, on this side, he was a great big, strong, fearful church member. But, on the other side, he was a little, limping priest, or prince, rather; a little, limping prince, with enough courage to fight the whole army.
Esau said, "I'll furnish you an army."
He said, "I don't need it." He had had a V-day.
E-209 We don't need their organizations. We don't need their—their stuff of this world. We don't need their… to have to tally in the things of this world. We've had a V-day. We wrestled one day, or one night.
E-210 Oh, how I remember the wrestle, when—when I had to die to myself. But there come a V-day, when I got the victory, then God's Word become right. The Baptist church, to me, was no more than any other organization. That's right. I had a V-day. God's Word is right.
Dr. Davis said, "Why, you'll become a holy-roller."
I said, "A holy-roller, or no holy-roller!"
E-211 Up, down there at Green's Mill, I stayed all night in prayer, until that Angel come in there that morning, that Light. Said… What? I was trying to get rid of the very thing that God give me to fight with, the visions, when they was telling me It was of the devil. Then He come, telling me, referred back to the Scriptures, "Didn't they say the same thing about the Son of God, and so forth?" I had a V-day. No more of that for me. I took to the fields, and around and around the world. A V-day!
E-212 See, Jacob had this V-day. He wrestled, all night. But when day begin to break, it was a V-day for him.
E-213 All these great victories and things! Get talking about these things, no stopping place, is there? All these great victories was fine. We appreciate every one of them. They were all great victories. The great victories of the wars, and the great victories of the spiritual wars, and so forth, was great. But, you notice, there was none of them lasting. See? We have a great victory, temporarily. Now, we just…
E-214 We found out here, not long ago, when we went to war with Japan. Why, I—I… In our own home, there was a little bitty gadget. Somebody had given us a little bitty, oh, a trinket, you know, a little like a doll. And it had on it, "Made in Japan." The fellow throwed it down and broke it. See? And you could say, "Made in Japan," they would throw it out. Or, they go in ten-cent store, a bunch of Rickys, you know. Not is… Delinquent people go in there, a ten-cent store, just to act smart, see, go in and get things from Japan. They wanted to show their loyalty to a nation.
E-215 What about to God, laugh in His face? See? If they was so easy to run into a ten-cent store and knock over the counters, and things like that, because they had little dolls and trinkets, and things, them made out… made from Japan, because they were in war with it; what about smoking cigarettes, and drinking, lying, stealing, and things like that, see, to the real army of God? See? They want to be loyal. How about us being loyal? If they went to jail for doing that, what difference did it make, they want to be loyal to the nation, to the flag? But the Christian is afraid, sometime, to speak up. See? That's the reason we need more V-days, when you can get yourself conquered. See? Let God conquer you by His power of love.
E-216 All these great victories was temporal victories. Even, to Moses, Israel went right back into bondage again. Always, in and out, in and out, we find it. Many heroes still fought on, and died. They still do it in wars, in the natural focus of the glass. They do it in the spiritual. Heroes fight and die. How we could go down. I got a whole line of them wrote down here, like Daniel, and the Hebrew children, and them great victors back there that won victory.
E-217 But they, continually, finally come a thing called death, took them, see, regardless. They went right on, see, still fighting, dying; fighting, dying; winning victories, dying; winning victories, dying.
E-218 But, you see, after all, man was not made to die. Man was made to live. And no matter how many great achievements he did, he still died, just the same. And we went to the grave, they buried him, and that settled it. They marked his grave with a tombstone out there, and his sepulcher, and that—that was the end of it. Death swallowed him. That great Moses, great Joshua, the great prophets of the Bible, nearly all of them, except about two or three, we know where their graves are, where it marked them. Death swallowed them up and took them right on. See?
E-219 But one day, there came a battle, there come the Chief Warrior came down, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And there was an Easter. That was the real V-day, after Jesus had fought and prevailed. He fought against every enemy there was to be fought against.
E-220 The first thing, when He was born, He was born with a dirty name, to begin with, amongst the people, as a illegitimate Child. He fought Hisself right on through that. "Mary, having this baby by Joseph, without being married." He come amongst the young children, with a name. But, in His heart, He knowed He was the Son of God. See? He fought through that.
E-221 He come to the day of where He would make His decision of what He would do, after He had received the Holy Spirit.
E-222 He come to the day that Satan took Him up on the mountain, and he showed Him all the kingdoms of the world, and said, "I'll make You a king now. You say You're the Son of God, and You got power. I'll give You the ruler of all the nations," just what the antichrist is trying to be today. But there was a V-day. He fought right through it. Said, "If Thou be the Son of God…"
E-223 There come a time when He was challenged by the Word. "If Thou be the Son of God, command these stones to be made bread. See? And You're hungry, now eat them. See? If You're the Son of God, You can do that." He could have. That's right. But there had to be a V-day. He won the victory over that temptation. See? He won the…
E-224 Said, "Now You can be a great Person. You can show Yourself, what You are." Took Him, the pinnacle, temple, said, "Drop off. I'll quote the Scripture to You, It's written, 'He give the Angels charge over Thee, lest any time Thou dash Thy foot against a stone, and bear Thee up.'" Look at that theologian that Satan is. See?
E-225 "Get thee behind Me, Satan," come the Word. It was a V-day. He come to every V-day.
E-226 He walked up in the presence of—of Peter's wife's mother laying there, sick of the fever. The fever was raging in her body. They needed service. He walks over and touches her hand. Sickness couldn't stand in His Presence. Certainly not.
E-227 Then He come to the place to where there was death in—in a family. There come to a place where a man named Lazarus, a friend of His, had died and was buried, and laying in the grave, and stinking, about the fourth day. The body sets in corruption in three days, see, seventy-two hours, corruption. And there come a place where life and death was faced. Here He is, Life; there's death, that took His friend; in a showdown. He walked out to the grave, and pulled them little shoulders back, said, "Lazarus, come forth." Oh, my! That Word went forth. It was the Word of God. Life sprung to itself again. Back come the victim, from the beyond yonder, somewhere, to life again. Sure. He won the victory. That's right.
E-228 Sickness, temptation, everything that could be, He fought through every bit of it. A V-day! Exactly right.
E-229 Then it come to the time to when the whole world was laying in a shadows, the regions of the shadows of death; every man, every human, every prophet, every great man, all these great heroes that He had sent. They all laid back there. There laid Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, all of them laying in the grave back yonder, believing; no more evidence than just, "The Word of God said so. God said so."
E-230 Look at Job when he was fighting so hard. His wife, even his wife, his companion, he said, "Even her breath has become strange to me," so forth. He was…
E-231 What a time the man had, the temptations! And even to Belzar and all the rest of them, said, and Elihu even, tried to accuse him, and things like that. But he knowed he stayed with the Word.
E-232 And his wife come and said, "Job, you look miserable." Said, "Why don't you just curse God and die the death."
E-233 He said, "Thou speakest like a foolish woman." Uh-huh! Oh, my! What a hero!
Even Jesus referred to him, "Have not you heard the patience of Job?"
E-234 Job went down in the harness. Abraham went down in the harness. Yes, sir. Isaac went down in the harness. Joseph went down in the harness.
E-235 Joseph said, "Don't bury me down here, though. Bury me up here, see, bury me up here with my fathers. Bury me the way they were buried, the Word, the plain they was buried in, the place they were buried in."
E-236 That's the same thing in me. That's the reason I want to be buried in the Name of Jesus. "For those that are in Christ will God bring with Him," you see.
E-237 So then we find out, on and on and on, went the heroes, heroes, heroes. And here come a time that the Chief Captain, that had sent them… And they had fell on the field of battle, great victors. They come to their V-days, and they won the victory over the enemy. They even…
E-238 Joshua, with… had, one time, he stopped the sun with his own word, and it didn't shine. And the sun didn't go down for twenty-four hours. The Bible said, "There never was a man, before that or after, that ever commanded the sun to stand still, that God listened to the voice of a man."
E-239 Why? See, he had the enemy all routed. See? They was. They were routed all out, everywhere. He had to hunt them down and kill them. That's all there was to it, because that was his commission. And he knowed, if it ever come nighttime, they'd have a time to mobilize again and get together, and he'd lose more men. So he said, "I need time. I need light. Sun, stand still." Amen. O God. God listened to a man's word and stopped the sun. It stayed in its same place for twenty-four hours, till he fought, weeded out every one of the enemy and brought them down. They couldn't… Didn't give them a time to get mobilized again. He kept moving on.
E-240 And, yet, Joshua laid down his life, is laying in the dust of the earth.
E-241 But, when, this great Prince came, Christ, the One that Daniel saw.
E-242 That great warrior, Daniel, in the midst of all the troubles and things like that, and the great… Where, if we would had time, could have referred to him. Yet, he laid in the dust of the earth. He said, "Thou shall rest in thy lot that day, but, Daniel, you'll stand again."
E-243 Now, the promise that had been given him, to all these heroes, till, finally, a time come, and the crucial hour, that it must be paid. Jesus had come to the earth. He had conquered every sickness. He conquered everything. Now He must conquer the grave.
E-244 He had conquered death. Death couldn't stay in His Presence. He never even preached a funeral. No, sir. The widow of Nain come out with her son, like that. He stopped it, raised him up. Oh, my! Yes, sir. He proved that He had power over death.
E-245 Now there's two more enemies: that's the grave out yonder, and hell; hades, the grave. So on that day when He died so dead until the sun quit shining, and earth—earth had a nervous prostration, the rocks wrung out of the hills, and things like that, He died. He went down into hell. He conquered death. He conquered hell. On Easter morning He conquered the grave. Amen.
E-246 Talk about a complete V-day, a real V-day? Brought them out! And not only that, but, when He come out of the grave, He brought the captives that had been there. The Bible said, "He led captives captive." Come up from the grave, bringing with Him, all those heroes out yonder. Don't you know that was a great time up there that day, when they—when they entered that Kingdom, my, went into the Kingdom of God, brought the captive saints out of there! He was a complete victory, a complete victory. He brought out all the dead heroes. He brought out Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Job, all the rest of them, brought them out of the grave with Him.
E-247 He captured. See, He come to the earth, He captured death. He captured hell. He captured the grave. He captured everything. And now He rises, amen, with His saints with Him.
E-248 "Now He ascended on High and give gifts back to men." What was it? Swords, put swords in their hand, the Word, see, to conquer. Oh, my! He give them swords, (what for?) the Word, to conquer what? Sickness, sin, superstitions, evil, to bring every living creature that wants to live, bring everyone of them to the realization, that, "Because I live, ye live also."
E-249 We have the fight of faith. Let us fight the good… Complete our victory, for our complete victory is positive. It's sure. It's got to be. We have the firstfruits of it. We have the evidence of it in our heart now, because we've already got the first battle behind us. We have been able to conquer, through the Faith of Jesus Christ. We had a V-day.
E-250 I remember down there, that about ten o'clock one night, or when I was down there in that little old garage, praying, "God, kill me or save me." I went to churches. They wanted me to come up and shake hands with the preacher.
I said, "I want something more than that." See?
E-251 Then in that garage that night, when I said, "God, I can't go any further. I—I'll die." And when I was there in that old, wet building, and my knees… I was kneeling on an old grass sack, with my hands up, saying, "God, I don't know how to talk, Mister." I wanted to write Him a letter, to ask Him to forgive me. I didn't know how to pray. "I want to be forgiven."
E-252 I promised that when I was dying on the bed. And He let me… When the doctor done give me up, my heart was only beating seventeen times to the minute. And you know how slow that was. He said, "He's dying," and I heard it. Told my daddy, and pulled the curtains around me. And there in that room, that hour, I see them big J's come all over; that curtain was around me, like that. I heard that nurse crying, said, "There's nothing but a kid, see, and here he's going." Spinal anesthetic had leaked through and got into in my heart. See? It was only beating seventeen times a minute.
E-253 When I got home, I had to prove that, that I—I loved God. And I—I got down there on that ground. I said, "I—I don't know how to pray." And I—I'd bite on my thumbnail. I thought, "Maybe… I seen pictures. I'll fold my hands like this, put my fingers together." I said, "Dear Sir, I would like to speak with You." I'd listen. I said, "I don't hear You." I said, "I folded my hands wrong. Maybe I ought to do it like this." I put my… I said, "Dear Sir, I… Jesus Christ, I would like to speak to You." I said, "Sir, I don't hear You. Answer me. I've heard other people say, 'God talked to me.' Now I want to talk this over with You. I promised You I would do it. I want to talk it over. Will You please come and speak to me, Sir?" Thought, "No, I ain't holding my hands right, or He would say something." I didn't know how to do it. Never prayed in my life. Didn't know what to do; this little old shed.
E-254 One day, then, I thought this. I thought, "According to the Scriptures, as I've heard it read, He was a Man. And if He was a Man, He understands as a Man." Right. "And then I don't know whether You hear me."
E-255 Devil said, "Why, you done sinned away your day of grace. There's no more. See, you been so mean, till He won't forgive you."
E-256 I said, "I don't believe that. I just can't believe it. I believe He would talk to me."
E-257 I said, "Sir, I don't know if I make a mistake, if I ain't got my hands folded right, or whatever it is, You—You forgive me for it. But I want to talk to You." I said, "I'm the lowest rascal in the world." I said, "I, I've done all these things, and—and I run from You, and all," went on talking like that.
E-258 And the first thing you know, while I was talking, across the room come a little Light, and went over on the side of the wall, and formed a cross of Light, that Light, and begin to talk with a language. I never, never heard of such a thing as speaking in tongues; never had even read the Bible; I was looking for James 5:14 in Genesis. I was looking up there, and I seen that Light, and it was talking some kind of a language. Then It went away.
E-259 And I said, "Sir," I said, "I—I—I don't know nothing about this Christian life." I said, "If—if that was You talking to me, I can't understand Your language, Sir. But if You'll talk… And if You can't speak my language, see, and I—I don't understand Yours, but may we understand one another like this: if You'll just come back there again, that'll be a sign between me and You, that You forgive me."
E-260 There It was again. Oh, talk about a V-day? I had one, yes, a real V-day? There It was again, talking the same way. And I had a V-day. Oh, my!
E-261 And since then, when He put the Word in my hand, I've fought to win the prize, to sail through bloody seas.
E-262 We've all got a victory. We've fought through many victories. And a great victory is coming just soon, right around the corner. Our complete V-day will be soon, when the Son of God shall break the skies, and scream with the Voice of the Archangel, and He shall come again. And the graves shall open, and the dead shall walk out.
E-263 I think you play my tapes down here, of the vision I just had, or a translation, whatever it was, in a room; and went up there and seen those people, just the same as I see you, this Bible laying open here before me. And God knows that's the truth. See? There they was, young, just the same, and the same.
E-264 As you all been in the meetings, and you realize, those visions. Have you ever seen one fail? No, sir. Just recently He sent me out here on one, told me what happened. You all, all of you, know about it. Went right. Right there it was, just exactly. It never fails.
E-265 And I'm telling you, as a little Christian group setting here this morning, hold to God's unchanging hand. You've had a temporary victory. But there is coming a real V-day, completely, when Jesus shall come.
E-266 "And the trumpet shall sound; the dead in Christ shall rise." And if you don't have that hope within you, don't let this day pass without getting it.
E-267 I heard a little something, a while ago, I'd like to repeat. It come from, I believe, it was Billy Sunday that made the remark. There was a boy that had done a crime. I don't know whether you ever heard of it, or not. He done a crime. They throwed him in jail, was going to… He was in. And so he had a trial. And—and the judge said…
E-268 And the jury come out. They said, "We find the boy guilty of the crime. And we, the jury," said, "we ask for his life."
E-269 And the judge said, "I—I sentence you to die, hanging from a rope, until your mortal life is gone. And God have mercy on your soul."
E-270 And the boy was taken to the prison, and put in the inner prison, that he'd have to stay there until the time he was to die.
E-271 And friends come to the judge, and said, "Judge, we helped elect you in the city. Please, please, don't let that young fellow die like that."
E-272 I just come from Texas, for another, something like that. A young man and a young woman, and God spared their lives. They was to die, about three or four days after that. I guess you all seen the paper, you was with me over there, that they spared their lives.
E-273 So they pleaded, and pleaded, and pleaded, the people, that he wouldn't do it. So after while, at the governor of the state…
E-274 The mother, on the outside of the door, one day, fell down on the door, like that, and cried to get in.
E-275 And finally the man come in, said, "The mother of that boy, governor, is—is outside there. She wants to see you."
And the governor said, "Bring her in."
E-276 And the woman, in humility, crawled on her hands and feet, up to the governor, and took a hold of his shoes, and said, "Sir, that's my child. Don't kill him. Don't kill him. He's the only one I got. Don't kill him." Said, "He didn't mean to do that. Just give him life in prison. But don't take his life, governor."
The governor said, "Well, I'll go down and see him."
Said, "All right."
E-277 So the governor went down to the ward where he was at, and they went in. The boy wanted to be arrogant. Said, "Got someone to see you."
E-278 And the governor went in, said, "Young man, I'd like to talk to you." He got real arrogant, just set down, buttoned up, wouldn't say a thing. He said, "Young man, I want you to speak to me. I want to talk to you." And the boy just acted like he didn't even hear him. And he said, "Young man, I can help you if you'll let me."
E-279 Said, "Get out of here. I don't want to hear nothing you got to say."
He said, "Well, son…"
E-280 He said, "Shut up. Don't you see I'm nervous? I don't want to hear one word you're going to say."
He said, "Well, I come…"
He said, "Get out of this cell."
So he walked out. They closed the doors.
E-281 So when he walked back, the guy, the—the police at the ward, at the door, said, "You're the most foolish person."
He said, "Who was that crank, anyhow?"
He said, "That was the governor of the state."
E-282 Said, "No, not the governor. The only man that can pardon me, and I run him out of my cell. The only man that can sign my pardon, and I run him out of the cell."
As the governor went out, said, "He made his choice."
E-283 So, the last thing the boy said, when they put the black mask over his face, to hang him; when they pulled the rope up tight, put the mask over him. Said, "Think of it. The governor stood in my cell and would have pardoned me if I hadn't turned him out."
E-284 How do we know, this morning, that the Governor is not standing by our cell this morning? Don't turn Him away, if you haven't never received pardon from Him. Not only the Governor, but the King, the only One Who can pardon you, He may be standing by that little cell that you been living in for a long time. Why don't you just let Him in, if you haven't, haven't done it, if you haven't made a complete surrender to Him?
E-285 Someday, you'll find out that this little humble way, that you might think is just a bunch of silliness, a bunch of people that don't know what they're talking about, you'll find out, the Governor is here this morning. If you have need, if you're in a little cell of sickness, you can't get out of, the Governor is here. The Governor of the world, He is just, and He will turn you out. He come. He signed your pardon. He just wants to give it to you, this morning. Don't turn it down.
Let's bow our heads a minute.
E-286 If you want a real victory now, with your head bowed, why not surrender and let the Governor of state, let the Governor sign your pardon this morning. He's ready to take you out; take you out from sin, take you out from unbelief, take you out from sickness, take you out from ever what you want. You do it while we pray.
Now you pray in your own way. You talk to Him. See?
E-287 The warden could have talked to the governor. That wouldn't done any good. See? The boy had to talk to the governor. See?
E-288 You have to talk to the Governor. If you're sick, talk to Him. If you've sinned and done wrong, talk to Him. He has a pardon for you.
E-289 Heavenly Father, we are grateful. And I, Lord, am so in debt to You. There's no way that I could ever pay the debt of my sin. I was in a cell one day, 'cause I was born in that cell. I knowed what—what freedom meant. And the price was so great, I couldn't pay it. But I am so glad that, the day that You visit my cell, I recognized it, that it was the only One that could pardon. The only way I could ever be free, and have victory, a complete victory, was to accept the pardon that You had signed for me. And today I am free.
E-290 I'm so happy, Lord. I visit from prison house to prison house, from those that are got marriage scruples, those who are sick and fevered, those who are sick and in prison, those who are sinful and in prison, those who flusterations, and doubt, and in prison. I'm going from cell to cell, telling them, the Governor is coming right along, pardoning every one, taking every one out.
E-291 Father, You know the heart of the people here today. May this be a V-day, a complete V-day. May this be a day that when every one, Lord, today, will receive the victory. Grant it, Lord.
E-292 May every sick person be healed, that's in this building today.
E-293 May this backside of the desert be a time that when the Voice of God will speak through the—the burning fire of faith. O God, that little fire burning there, of faith, that little hope that's burning, may the Voice of God speak through that, to every prisoner this morning, and say, "I've come today to set you free." There be a boy or girl, man or woman, here, Lord, that doesn't know You as their Saviour, may that little Voice speak, that little faith, a Voice speaking now and saying, "Yes, I believe that God is. I believe that He's everything that they say He is." And, Lord, let that little faith set them free just now. Grant it, Lord.
E-294 Bless them. Bless Brother Isaacson here, Lord. We love this young man and his wife, his little children. Bless the little church, O God. That, we're so happy for them, we're so glad to see that they got a roof over their head here, and a place in here. You're so good to them, Lord. And we're so thankful to You. May they ever remain humble and sweet, in the Presence of God.
E-295 Bless this stranger in our gate. Bless the visitor, Lord. We pray that You'll be with them. And if they have never received this complete victory, to where they can say "amen" to every Word that God speaks, then, Lord, may their faith this morning, that they have in You, punctuate every Word with an "amen." Grant it, Lord.
E-296 Bless us together. Deliver the sick, and the afflicted. Get glory to Thyself.
E-297 And, dear God, may we not fret now after this, and remember that these trials and things comes upon us, are only done because God loves us. He gives it to us to, because He's got confidence in us. He believes that we'll… that we have faith and love for Him, that we'll be able to overcome. He'll see to it. And may we not fret and—and stew about it. May we just walk up there and speak the Word, and walk forward. The seas will open. The V-days will come. Grant it, Lord. And may this be one of the greatest V-days of our time. Bless us until we meet together again, in the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
E-298 I want to say this, just before I have to go. I got an hour and a half now, to get to Tucson. It's quite a little drive. But I want to say this, that I really enjoyed being here and feeling this—this faith that you have. Don't never get away from that. Let that little fire keep burning and burning. And remember, God speaks in those little fires.
E-299 Brother Isaacson, I—I just don't know how to express it, how grateful, that you have been able to come up here and—and hold the—the group together. May God, my brother, ever give you strength to continue on. And to you people that comes to hear, may God ever grant you strength, Divine strength, to keep you on. Now if…
E-300 I guess you have a little formal dismissing in a few moments, the way, Brother Isaacson. I'll turn the service to him.
E-301 And if there's any of you here, that has, that's been studying about the water baptism in the Name of "Jesus Christ" instead of the titles of "Father, Son, Holy Ghost," our little pastor here, is here ready, be glad to do that, to render baptism. If there's any problems on your heart, you'd like for him to pray through with you, he's right here to do it. And I… no more than I know him, and—and met him, and setting with him, and things, a fine, gentle, little Christian spirit found in the little brother. And—and I'm sure that God hears a prayer like that.
E-302 Used to be an old man lived in our country, named Hay. He was a great old man. He was a… Every time anybody… He was humble and gentle. But, and some of them thought he was just a religious crank or something. But, you know, when anybody would get sick, they called on old Daddy Hay to come pray for them. He wasn't a crank at all then. He was just a real man. And that old soldier…
E-303 An infidel lived up on top of the hill there, had a farm. He was a friend to my daddy. My father drank. I'm ashamed to say it. But, truth is truth, you know.
The Bible is one thing that tells the Truth. See?
E-304 Now, we have a book called the history; it said George Washington never told a lie. I doubt that. I doubt that. Yes, sir. I'm… I—I—I don't—don't believe that. A kid can come up… "You're born in sin, shaped in iniquity, come to the world speaking lies," says the Bible. So I—I doubt that historical point of George Washington. But it only tells the good side of man.
E-305 The Bible tells both side of men. Lot was a good man down in Sodom. "The sins of the city vexed His righteous soul." But it didn't fail to tell that he lived with his own daughter and had a child, though, see. It tells both sides of it. So we must tell both sides.
E-306 My father, drinking, he run with this infidel. And he would laugh at this old man. He was always making fun of him. "Old Pop Hay," we call him, "Daddy Hay," just a little rim of hair. He was an old preacher. And they was wanting rain one time. Their crops was all burning up. And they come to a little church, no more than this, called Little Opossum Kingdom, back there in Kentucky. And when they went up there, they say he said…
E-307 He, old Daddy Hay, had a saying. He'd say, "Dear, bless my soul." Little, humble fellow, rode an old horse, old circuit preacher. And they paid him off with maybe a basketful of dried pumpkin, you know, and whatever more they had, you know, and some grease or something. That, you know, that's the way they paid the old circuit preachers. Many of you people here remember the old Eastern circuit preachers.
E-308 And one day the crops was all burning up. And old Daddy Hay said, "Well, dear, bless my soul." After he had a little service like this. Said, "If any of you all want to stay and pray for rain, that God will spare your crops," he said, "you stay with me." And the whole church stayed right with him.
E-309 Pop, outside, went over, just a young fellow, took the saddle off his horse, put it—put it under the church, 'cause he knowed it was going to rain.
E-310 That old man got down at the altar. He didn't even come off his knees. Said, about an hour after that, he heard a noise. He looked around. A black cloud was coming across the hill. There it was. See?
E-311 The infidel, among dad's friend that made fun of the old preacher, when he died, they had to hold him in bed. He taken walking typhoid fever. Many of you people out here probably wouldn't know what it was. Oh, it's a horrible thing. And he fought devils for hours after hours, for three or four days. He'd say, "Charlie, Charlie." That was my father. He said, "Don't let him get me. Don't let him get me. Don't you see him setting there on the side of that bed there, with them chains wrapped around him. Don't let him bind me with them. Oh!" He screamed. And they'd hold him, four or five men hold him in bed, 'fore he got ready to die.
E-312 Back in Kentucky, they had old pegs along the side of the wall where they hung their clothes. Anybody ever see a house like that, where they put the peg?
E-313 And he had his old slicker hanging up there. He said, "Charlie, there's a pint of whiskey in my pocket. Go, give it to my kids."
E-314 And his wife, a Christian, out in the kitchen, cried, cooking dinner. He said, "I couldn't do that."
E-315 And they held him in the bed until he died, fighting devils off of him.
E-316 When old Daddy Hay, the one he laughed at, when he got ready to die, about eight-five, ninety years old, he went to sleep. And all the children gathered in. His grown great-great-grandchildren gathered around the bed. He raised up. He had white whiskers, you know, a little rim of white hair around his head. What… Top of his head, bald. He wiggled his whisker, said, "Dear, bless my soul." Said, "You all thought old Daddy Hay was dead, didn't you?" He said, "Well, I can't die." Said, "I died years ago." Said, "I'm just going to meet the Lord Jesus." He said, "Oh, it's so great!" Said, "All you, my children, gather around the bed." He took, from the oldest to the youngest, by the hand, and blessed them.
E-317 Then he said to his two oldest boys, said, "Raise me up." And they raised him up in bed. He couldn't hold his hand up. He was too feeble.
E-318 He said to his other boy, said, "Raise my hand up." He raised his hands up, like that.
E-319 He said, "Happy day, happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away. He taught me how to watch and pray, and live rejoicing every day." Bowed his head and was gone.
Well, we got to come to one of those ends.
E-320 I'm glad you got a little, humble man like this around you, who you got confidence in. Believe him; God will work miracles for you, among you.
E-321 And I want to ask this little church something for me. Pray for me, will you? I'm one of your brothers, too. Not with you all the time; I want to be. You get the tapes and things in here. And I'm out here on a great battlefield. This is just one of the posts where we're watching for the Coming of the Lord. Pray for me, 'cause I really need your prayers. I depend on it, lot of times, when I hit hard places, especially in the foreign fields.
E-322 And there is witch doctors, and everything, thousands times thousands standing there, challenging you, and you walk out there, alone, oh, you better know what you're talking about. Oh, my! When, they can do anything. They can just impersonate anything that God has, almost. They can. Just like Jannes and Jambres, they can impersonate anything God has got here.
E-323 Then I remember, think about a little, faithful group. "What time is it, of the day? Way back on the backside of the desert there, way out, of a little old place called Sierra Vista, see, a little prayer meeting going on about this time. See? Way back, over on the other side of the mountain, up there in that old cow camp, somewhere like that, they're praying.
E-324 Then I walk out, I say, "I'm covered with prayer. Satan, you can't do nothing to me. I come in the Name of the Lord Jesus." You see, something happens.
E-325 You pray for me. Will you do that now, all of you? [Congregation says, "Amen."—Ed.] Amen.
Brother Isaacson, come here.
E-326 You know, I wish I—I could stick around here, and go home with each one of you and eat dinner. Take me a long time. And I know you men think you got the best cook in the world. No doubt but what you have. See? And I'd sure like to do that. But I—I can't do it today. You all understand that, don't you? You, you do, that I can't do it right now. I'm in a tremendous strain here, at the present time. I want to come down and have a little fellowship with you. I want to come back again, too, come back and be with you. God bless you.
E-327 Now, Brother Isaacson, take over, whatever the Lord wants you to do.
E-328 Now, if there's any of you that would like to come here, that's never made a surrender to Jesus Christ, and you want to come here and stand here this morning, right beside this pulpit, where Brother Isaacson and I stand, and want to be prayed for, want us to pray that God will save you, will you come now? And, you, you'll have a complete victory today. If you'll…
E-329 If there's any of you that's backslid and gone away from God, and don't know—don't know, you've lost that fellowship, like that little lady last night. Oh, darkness gathers when you get away from God. You're on a muddy road. You're bound to lose. And if you don't have that victory that you ought to have, won't you come, too? This is a complete victory. This could be a V-day for you, for all the things of the world.
E-330 You say, "I've had so many trials, Brother Branham. I've just been drug from pillar to post." Haven't I just told you that that's God, because He trusted you? You won't fail Him, will you? You might have fell. You might have made a mistake. But you won't fail Him, will you? You'll rise up again, like a real soldier, grip the Sword, and come forward again. We'd be glad to do that. Sure.
E-331 And if not, Brother Isaacson will continue to speak for you then.
E-332 If you'll excuse me now, and I can get going, go back to Tucson. I'll be back to see you again, the Lord willing. God bless you. Will you pray for me now? [Congregation says, "Amen."—Ed.]
E-333 Remember, a complete victor, and single your focus on Jesus Christ. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. And someday, with your eye single-looking, He will come from the sky with a Shout, the Voice of the Archangel. The dead in Christ shall rise. And these mortal bodies will take on immortality, and we'll go to be with Him forever. Till then, watch and pray. God bless you. Amen.
God bless you, brother.