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Hearing, Recognizing, Acting On The Word Of God (60-0221)
| Hearing, Recognizing, Acting On The Word Of God (60-0221) |
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1 Now, these tapes, that of this meeting this morning, is not sold, it's just for the church or for someone, 'cause it's on doctrine. And in the meetings out there, it causes confusion, because hardly two of us see perfectly eye to eye, but we ought to be heart to heart anyhow. But it... We in the Tabernacle here... These tapes are, you notice on the... It's for just friends, and so forth. 3 Our heavenly Father, we now approach Thy throne of mercy, because we have been asked to do this. And it was told us by Thy Son and our Saviour, that if we should ask You anything in His Name, it would be granted. Therefore, Lord, knowing that we are living in the shadows of His coming, and now standing in the shadows of His mercy, then we would ask, Lord, that You would choose by the Holy Spirit, those things that we should ask for. And we feel this morning that it would not be contrary to Thy Word, or to Thy great righteousness, and Thy mercy and grace, that if we should ask that we would have a special visitation today from the Holy Spirit, and He might come into our midst and would discern the thoughts of our hearts, reveal to us our weak places, and heal our sicknesses, and bind up the broken hearts, and save the lost, and make ready a people for His coming. Lord, hear this prayer. 4 Now, we are going to read Thy Word. And--and we pray, Lord, that on our Sunday school lesson this morning, that You will bring forth the context of the reading, and will reveal it to our hearts. Because we come here for one purpose, and that purpose, alone is to know You better. We who are Christians by faith want to know You better. Those who have not yet become Christians are wanting to know You as their Saviour. Those that are sick wants to know You as their Healer. And we pray that there will not be one leave this building, empty, but that every request may be fulfilled to the letter, and every desire met, and every--every person be happy, and go from the building, saying, like those coming from Emmaus, "Did not our hearts burn within us, as He talked to us along the way?" For we ask this in Jesus' Name. Amen. 5 Now, to you who want to turn in your Book... Usually, I have found out that in the evangelistic services, that just about twenty or thirty minutes makes the best impact for a throw-in spiritual message, and then an altar call. But this being Sunday school, I just don't want to do it that way this morning. I feel more led to take my time and talk on the Word. 6 Now, if anyone is uncomfortable, too cold, the only thing you have to do is... My brother, the custodian, is at the back of the church there, just raise up your hand like that back there, to him, and he'll regulate the heat. And we want you to be comfortable and feel real well, and listen to the words. For we trust the Holy Spirit to teach us the Word of God. And can you all hear well, in the back? If you can, raise your hands, if you--you can hear well. That's good.
7 Now, I want you to turn with me; I've got some texts wrote out here, and some Scriptures. So I want you to turn with me first to the Book of Romans, Romans the 9th chapter. And we want to read for a Scripture lesson, first, in Romans 9:11.
(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
As it is written, Jacob have I loved, and Esau have I hated.
May God add His blessings to this Scripture reading. And now, for a text to back up my lesson, I want to take this for a text: "Hearing, Recognizing, Acting On The Word Of God." May I repeat that again: "Hearing, and Recognizing, and then Acting On The Word Of God."
9 Now, we are fully acquainted, we people who search the Scriptures day and night, and read our papers and hear the news commentators, that this world is now standing in the grip of two great spiritual forces. And they are both religious forces. And I believe that these great forces are soon coming to a head. And both of these great forces was represented in these two sons of Isaac. How that God in His infinite wisdom has foreshadowed all things to us; that we might by these things know of certain what lays before us. Made it so plain that God and His Word, and the nature and His universe, is so perfectly arranged together, that even the--the sinner can see something's fixing to take place. God has so arranged it, no one is without excuse.
10 Now, we see in these two sons that when they, before they were even borned, they were at war with one another. Even though their virgin mother... For she was a virgin, the beautiful Rebekah that married the righteous seed of God's promise, Isaac; that they were two consecrated, Spirit-filled believers on God, foreordained to the very marriage that they united together by. God foreknew it. And how could such a thing come through that one mother by one father? One, a very evil person; and another, very good person; and how that the good person looked to be the evil, and the evil looked to be the good.
12 In the garden of Eden sin was so beautiful until it attracted Eve from righteousness to sin. And in the same garden where there was a Tree of Life, there was also a tree of death. 14 But in these two sons it is strange to know that before they were born, both the same seed, from Isaac which was the promise... Now, our lesson's a little lengthy, and I--I want to get enough background till you can see exactly what I'm speaking about. And the first son, Esau, that was born, we find out that not only were they fussing and fighting in the womb of their mother, but they came from her fighting, Esau coming forth, and Jacob holding onto his heel. And they are still fighting.
15 And how that, how it could come from that perfect, pure, elected, holy, consecrated father or mother. So to base it, that God calls by election... It must be. No matter how good your father and mother was, how nice they was, how much Christians your father and mother was, it still lays to you as an individual, your standing before God.
16 And before either one was born, God said, "I love Jacob and hate Esau," before either one was born. So how ought we to feel, someone who has God speak to you and invite you to come to His table and to His home, and be His son or daughter. There's nothing so great as that.
20 And that spirit of that one birth is still represented in the world today, and it's coming to a head now: the spiritual believer; and the carnal man, carnal believer. No one could say they wasn't both religious. They were. They didn't say that one served an idol and the other one God. They were both servants of God.
22 Now, if you notice, Jacob had one thing that he wanted, because according to the Word, the blessings and the--the good things laid in the birthright. And Jacob, that was his only objective, the only thing he had in mind was get that birthright. And Esau despised it. The one that actually had it, despised it, or he was ashamed of it. But Jacob wanted it regardless of how he got it, he wanted it.
24 "Jacob" means "supplanter" or "deceiver." But after finding and coming into possession of the birthright, he was changed. That's the carnal, changed. He was then called, Jacob, "a prince with the Lord," who's wrestled with Him.
27 And then we see that these two, carnal and spiritual people, that's the way it always happens. That's the way it is today. It always has been that way. 29 But look, the church natural, it's just the church carnal. They're never able to get above that little thing of "I join church. If I go to church, if I do the best I can, that's all God requires." Now, that's the same thing Cain done. He went and made a altar; he made a sacrifice, brought the fruits of the land, and he said, "Here it is, God. That's the best I got. Take it or leave it." That's the way the carnal believer believes today. "Lord, I'll go to church; I'll join the best group that I can find. I'll pay in my dues to the church; I'll do what's right. Now, here's the best I can do. I'll help buy some coal for the widow. I'll give the children some clothing." Them's all right, nothing to say against it. "But that's it, that's all. If You want it, take it; if You don't, You don't have to take it." Now, that's the attitude of the church carnal today.
30 But the church spiritual... Abel by revelation, by grace he seen beyond that, and by faith he offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. And it testified of his righteousness. God...
34 Now, here come Israel coming up with God's promise that they were headed to the promised land. Not infidels, but believers, believers in the same God that Israel had, come out to try to curse his brother, because he said his brother is, surely was unrighteous because he had done lots of things that was bad. But, you see, he failed to see the election.
36 Moab was good, a great nation, a brother to him. And Jacob had done everything; he'd been a renegade; but yet he had one thing to achieve: that was to obtain that promise, that birthright. Here come Israel, Jacob's children, with the same objective. Now, who is going to be right?
38 How blind, how blind of Esau's children, spiritually speaking, the Moabites looked down upon Israel and said, "Look at them; they're not a denomination. They're a bunch of renegades. They live in tents. And we're a great nation. They done evil, and they have no organization among them. They're just wiggling around, following a prophet." But he failed to see the Brass Serpent and the smitten Rock going before them. He failed to see that called-out, elected group following the Divine order of God to the promised land.
41 Jacob, the reason that he chose to find that birthright, regardless, he wanted to get it, because that he knowed that birthright held the blessings; it held life. He didn't care how it come, just so he got it. That was the main thing. What plane it come on, didn't matter. He wanted it, and he must have it. And he got it. "Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst for righteousness; they shall be filled." He was on his road, and he was after it, and he received it.
44 One time two kings came together. One of them was Ahab, a bad one, and the other one was Jehoshaphat; church spiritual, church carnal. Ahab was a borderline believer. He had prophets. They wasn't infidels. They wasn't idolaters. They were Israelite prophets, but they were all taught and fed and clothed by Ahab the king. It become like a place where they had all the political backing-up.
50 And today man can stand in the pulpit with such intellectual, and speech-making, and education, until they can explain the power of the Holy Spirit away from the Bible; they can explain Divine healing away; they can explain speaking in tongues and interpretations; they can explain the baptism of the Holy Ghost to another day.
54 In the days of Noah, in them days look at the church natural. What were they? Scientists, builders, smart men. But the elected, Enoch and Noah, were shepherds and farmers, humble, not educated, not smart, but knowed their God; something in them moving, calling. We'll get to that after a bit.
57 But Jehoshaphat, something in him... Oh, I hope that God gets this to your hearts. It's nothing you can educate yourself to; it's nothing you can read yourself into. It's what God, by election, does for you. "Not him that runneth or him that... It's just God that showeth mercy."
60 "Oh, it's a lot of truth in what they're saying, "But isn't there one more?"
62 But if I could read Jehoshaphat's mind a few minutes, "There's just something that doesn't register," he'd say. "There's just something that doesn't seem right. Isn't there just one more somewhere?"
65 And somebody met him on the road, said, "Now, you say the same thing they say. You must agree with the association. If you don't, woe unto you."
69 Now, it's promised that, in these days God will pour out His Spirit. It's promised by Daniel, that the people, in the days when the stone hits the image in the foot, the people that know their God shall do exploits. Prophecy after prophecy, and all the seminaries, the world, can't take it out. God's going to do it anyhow, and people's going to follow it. See? The carnal and the... The natural church and the Supernatural church... You see, the Word makes the different. 72 Whenever there is a revival, it always produces twins. That's a rude mar--remark, but it's true. When there was a birth out of, from Isaac and Rebekah, it produced twins. When the world was created, it produced twins, two trees. And when Cain and Abel were born, it produced two. When Ishmael and Isaac was born, it produced two. And when Esau and Jacob was born, it produced two. One of them, natural (one of them of the earth); the other one Supernatural. And one looked at the natural, intellectual; the other one walked by the Spirit. It's always been that way. When the Lutheran church came forth...
73 Let's take Pentecost first. Look at the Pentecostal birth. It brought forth a great, powerful revival that swept the known world: Pentecost. It wasn't long after Pentecost till even Paul said that there would be men rise up among them, with perverse things, and would turn the people away from God. And that's just exactly what they done. It produces two. 77 But that spiritual seed of the living God, though it has to be a sojourner, though it has to be a rambler, it always causes separation. Esau didn't last very long with Jacob. As soon as Jacob obtained the birthright (Praise God), it called for separation. And when a man... I don't care what church you belong to, if it's carnal, and your associates that you run with, the people you play cards with, and your literature societies, and so forth, when you obtain the birthright, that something that's down in your heart that's hungered for God, when you receive that, it calls for separation. "Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith God." Separation...
78 The church settles down. See, it cannot go on. Esau was a very good type of the carnal believer today, never able to overcome the world. He don't overcome the things of the world. They still like their carousing, their dancing, their manicure makeups, and, the women, on their faces, and--and cutting their hair and--and wearing little old short clothes; and--and men likes to go out to the poolrooms, and--and smoke cigarettes, and tell little dirty jokes; and still belong to the church. They're never able to overcome those things: neither could Esau. But yet, to be religious, he had to settle down to an intellectual conception. That's the same thing the church does today. "We'll become an organization. We'll put ourself together. We'll make a clan, or a clique, or something like that." 80 God's holiness... God, being God, projects that Himself. If there was not a sinner, there would never... He'd have never been a Saviour. But He was a Saviour at the beginning, so there was nothing lost. And His own attributes as being a Saviour, projected a sinner, there had to be something to be saved. Before there could be anything saved, there had to be something lost. And His righteousness and His holiness... If there had never been a--a sick person, He'd have never been a Healer. But from the beginning, and of the beginnings, He was before the beginning, He was a Healer. So there was nothing sick, so it projected a sick person that He might heal them to make Him a Healer.
81 Out of that same holy realm yonder that come salvation, come curses. Out of the same mother and father that projected Jacob, projected Esau. See, it's God. He can't change His plan. They have to go just the same. All nature will cope right into it. It has to. You get what I mean? Moves it right in. There has to be somebody lost to be saved. And if there wouldn't have been, He, His... Him being a Saviour made that. The deep calls to the Deep. 83 That's the way God is a Saviour, and there had to be something lost for Him to save to make Him a Saviour. That's all it's doing, is playing up God; everything, all is in Him, not in a preacher, not in a church, not in an organization, but in God, that the election might stand perfect. See? It's in Him. Yeah, the Lutherans... 84 And then we see another separation, that was Abraham and Lot. They were brethren. But Lot was a carnal thinker. He was always out for some big thing, something with a lot of tinsel on it. Just like a monkey, as I'd say, always reaching for bright things. That spirit hasn't left people today. They'll reach for the... They go to the city, and they wouldn't come to a little shack like this. See? They want the biggest church there is in the city, the most intellectual pastor, where the best-dressed people goes, where the mayor goes, to the city. It's still that Esau spirit. Really had the birthrights to begin with, called themselves the church, but they lose it because they despise it. You can't get them people to get down on their knees, and cry, and beg out to God, and go out and have healing service, and stand the persecution of the world, receive the Holy Ghost. And they--they won't do that. They despise it. They call it a bunch of holy-rollers. Just what the Bible said they would do. They do it because that's their nature. It's the nature, like the crow and the dove, the two natures. They crave it, because that is what they are. They never--will never see the other, because they're not born to see that.
85 And the other one, you couldn't keep him away from it, because it's the election of God. He's born to be a spiritual man or a spiritual woman. Something in him calls for it. Oh, I--I hope this gets down to a place to where we can, you can see what I--I mean, by capping it off now. Now, Abraham...
87 Lot had his own little prayer meetings in his church down there, taught his sons and daughters, and them. But he lived such a life, till when they went talking about the end of the time, they laughed at him.
89 Did you notice Jesus in His speaking of the coming, second coming, He said, "As it was in the days of Noah, they'd be eating, drinking, marrying, and given in marriage." But when He spoke of the days of Lot, He never said nothing about it. "As the days of Lot," that's for revelation.
91 And there was an intellectual preacher went down and preached, and called them out. Look at the--look at the message, "Come out," he said to Lot.
94 Now, watch closely now as we move up into this. Watch what kind of a sign that Abraham's and his family got. They got the supernatural. "Abraham," How'd He know he was Abraham? "Where is your wife, Sarah?" How did He know he was married, or had a wife, Sarah?
97 And Sarah, way back in the tent (about four of the little tents, the main tent), setting in the back, behind the flaps, she's listening, she heard it. And down in her heart she's smiled, said, "Me, an old woman of a hundred years old, and my lord (her husband)--my lord an old, and think that we'd have pleasure together again as young married people? Oh, how could it be?" And she kind of smiled.
99 Look at the church carnal getting the Gospel preached to them: a modern Billy Graham and them down there preaching the Gospel, "Come out of it." But did they come? No. Very, very, very few. 101 Now, these two spirits (to hurry up with you, to hurry up now to get to my spot to where I want you to see), these two groups has associated close together all down through the ages since the very beginning of time; the church natural, the church spiritual. They been through the Old Testament; they was through the New Testament; and they're down yet today. 102 Now, about two thousand years ago, it came to a head, and it headed up in two men: one of them, Jesus Christ; the other, Judas Iscariot. Now, Jesus associated the coming, of His second coming, that these two spirits would be a lot different than what they was back there. Now, here's where I want you to put on your--your glory garments. These two spirits are going to be different. Because Satan come and lived in a man that was a church member, Judas Iscariot, lived in the carnal church, and was a friend to the church all the time. But he come in and--and deceived, or thought he was deceiving, his brother. He come in and pertained to be one of them, tasted the good things of God, moved right along in the Spirit, seeming to be, went out and preached the Gospel, and cast out devils. But down in him, all the time he was Judas to begin with. The Bible said, "He was born the son of perdition."
103 Now, remember, there's church carnal back there under the Esau, the Pharisees and Sadducees. But watch this guy who thinks himself just a... He'll go along with the Message for a while, but he just don't want to put his hands too much on it. See them spirits? Jesus said, "It'll be so close to the real thing, it'll deceive the very elected," elected, if you'll notice it, "if it was possible." But it ain't possible. See, it'll deceive.
107 Let me give you an illustration. Here it is. Here's a man; he's a good fellow, nice boy. He's called; he feels in his heart he wants to be a minister. All right, he accepts Jesus as personal Saviour. He's a nice boy, nobody can say nothing against him. After while the subject of sanctification. The man lusts when he looks at women; he--he's sinning. See? And then, the next thing, maybe he has smoked, and he wants to smoke. Maybe he wants to gamble. Maybe he wants to do some bad things. He knows he oughtn't to do that, so he says, "O God, apply the Blood of Jesus to me and sanctify me." And he gets sanctified. He can shout, praise the Lord, and do some things too, go out and do things. Remember, Jesus said that type would be there at that day. "Many will come and say, 'Lord, have not I prophesied (preached)? Have not I cast out devils in Your Name?'"
109 Now, watch this now. We're coming to making the hundredth millionth's of a hair, right down to the sharp edge of the Gospel, sharper than a two-edged sword, cutting even to the asunder of the bone, and a Discerner... Hallelujah. God, let it go through. "A Discerner of the thoughts of the mind." That's the Gospel, the power of God. The Word of God made manifest is the Gospel.
111 When I went to India, the archbishop of--of the Methodist church come out, and said, "Mr. Branham, we don't want to know anything about a missionary. We know more about the Bible than you all ever will know." Said, "We was a church, and settled here two thousand years before you was a nation." That's right. But said, "We hear that God has visit you and brought a gift that can make this Bible live." Said, "That's what we're interested in." Oh, my. See, that man was a son, not a grandson, as David said. See? "We want to know. Is it true?"
113 Now, notice him, the church natural persecuting the church spiritual. Now, we find out then that Judas pretending to be a brother, a brother, and that headed up and finally come to a climax. 116 Then, when he does that, one night he passes by and he hears something. He goes over and listens. He hears of the baptism of the Holy Ghost, the filling of the Spirit. Then he looks over into it, "Oh, my, isn't that wonderful? But, say, that would ruin my ministry if I preached that. That would make mommy run me away from home. They'd turn me out of my church if I ever went into that. Oh, I better leave away from that. But let me look through it. Yes, that's the truth, the Bible."
117 Well, like a certain famous minister, worldwide known, was found recently (by a man that was with me in Puerto Rico) on his knees, speaking in tongues in London, England; a powerful man, one of the greatest evangelists in the world today. And this man, his brother being with me here, a Spirit-filled man, run to him and Oh, brother, that's it."
121 Have rec... Once been sanctified and has come up to receive the knowledge of the Truth (look into It, see that It's right), and turn away, seeing that they crucify to themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame, ashamed of the Gospel." 125 But see how close they can come to It, you know, "And count the Blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified with; a thing that sanctified him and took him out of the world, and try to put him over in here, and then he looks upon It and has the knowledge of It; to turn away from It, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin," said the Bible, "but a fearful looking for the judgment and the fiery indignation, should shall--which shall devour the adversary. 'For vengeance is mine,' saith the Lord. He that despised Moses' law, died without mercy under two or three witnesses. How much more punishment, and sorer punishment, though worthy, a minister, who has trod the Blood of Jesus Christ under his feet, after receiving the knowledge of the truth, and counted It an unholy thing." Whew. 126 See where we're at? Jesus said, "Be careful." See how Judas was? He was right with them. He was the Esau, made greater for this age. He was the deceiver, the impersonator, made greater for this age. Here he come right up to again, a brother of Jesus, a pretended brother. But in his heart he was with the old carnal church all the time, because that's where he sold Jesus to. He sold Jesus, his birthrights, just as much as Esau did for a mess of pottage. He sold his birthrights for thirty pieces of silver.
127 Many a man and woman today has sold out their spiritual birthright for some popularity, some little thing of the world you never overcome, some little women wearing of makeup and bobbing of hair, wearing short clothes; men for little dirty jokes and smoking cigarettes, something of the world. "If you love the world or the things of the world, the love of God's not in you," said the Bible.
129 See how it is? They do it. They're predestinated. They might impersonate and be just as sweet and humble, just as close, like Christians, so close that it would deceive the very elect; but by their fruits you shall know them. 134 Look, anything you want to find in the Bible, and pick it up here, go back to Genesis and see where it hatched out of, see where it come to. All the spirits and moves today go back to Genesis. That's what we done to prove to you these things that you're seeing, friends. Don't forget that. Don't let it go over top of your head. Let it soak into you. That's the things of God. It come to a head; and Jesus predicted it would come to a head again in the last days, and it would be by this: the Seal of God, and the mark of the beast; two spiritual powers working together.
135 Now, anyone knows that the Seal of God is the birthright, the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Ephesians 4:30, says, "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you're sealed till the day of your redemption." When they were borned again, they were filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the new birth, we know that. You're--you're begotten of the Spirit; I'll admit that. But until you're borned... 137 And the baby can go to church and say, "Oh, I believe in church. I, I'll go; I'll do this. And I'm a good... I want to do right; I want to do right." But what it needs is a Gospel spank to wake it up to squeal to Eternal Life; and the Holy Spirit screams in it, like It never screamed before. And it's a new creature; it's borned of the Spirit. Then it begins to grow, move, and have its being in God; see, just as a baby, natural baby, has its being in the world.
138 Then if this earthly tabernacle be dissolved, we have one waiting. See? Just as sure as the natural body was coming forth, there's a spiritual body to receive it when it dropped from its mother. And when it drops from the mother earth, which is, it's in the womb of it now, groaning, crying (O God), groaning, laboring, getting old, and sickness, and everything besetting it, and the spirit on the inside of it looking for a land beyond the river. It's groaning, twisting, jumping (Yes, sir.), because there's a life in there that lives forever. It's in a body that's got to die. And sometime, just as a mother dropped the natural baby, and the spiritual body got it; the earth will drop, and the body of the natural will drop, and the physical body--or the celestial body will grab it yonder. If this earthly tabernacle be dissolved, we have one waiting. That's the reason you forget the things of the world. They're dead to you. There's the Spirit.
139 The Holy Ghost is the new birth; we know that. It's being borned again, of the Spirit of God. That's how you're born, by the Spirit. Born by the Spirit, that's the new birth. All right. You're begotten of the Spirit; then when you're borned of the Spirit, you're filled with the Holy Ghost. All right. 141 Now, have you ever seen this? You see in our churches today, even in the groups where we have separated ourself and made organizations; and we seen all of this. And you seen a man pick up a certain Scripture, and, brother, that man can take that Scripture and make it live new, make it live just exactly what it promised here in the Bible. And the next man will see him do it, and he'll come around and try to do it and fail. Now, I hope you're reading now. He'll fail. Why? The Scripture is not inspired to him. He's only trying to impersonate. He's trying to act like something. He wasn't... Well, maybe he was sent by man. Maybe some man said, "Well, you can do the same thing." See, just like Jesus said it would be this way. The Bible predicts that in the last days: "As Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses."
142 There stood Moses, and there stood Jambres. And Moses threw down his rod, and it become a serpent. "Why," Pharaoh said, "come here, Jambres, you can do the same thing." And he did. See? But what happened? Then Moses' rod eat up the rod of his. See, it was made manifest. Where was his rod?
144 People come up and say, "I got the Holy Ghost too." Look the way they live; it don't last from one revival to another, from one meeting to another. It's made manifest; they haven't got it. If a man's borned of the Spirit of God, or a woman, they have the fruit of the Spirit; they walk godly; they live that life. See? They keep away from the things of the world. God moves in them and makes Hisself manifest, and proves that He's God working in there. The other is impersonating. See?
147 Look at the mark in the Old Testament. When the trumpet blowed, the jubilee, every so many years, the--the slaves went free because the trumpet sounded. Well, everyone that wanted to be free, could go. But some of them, they loved to be slaves, so they took them to the altar and in the post of the church, and bored their ear with an awl. And they were marked forever; they always served that master.
149 Now, look, the Word has to be inspired; hearing It, recognizing It, and acting upon It. Many people will hear, but won't recognize it. 153 Those men setting there, looked around, preachers and all, say, "My..." Go to a meeting and watch the Holy Spirit go right out through the meeting, and tell the secrets of the hearts, things like that; say, "Wonderful. Yeah." See? Oh, brother. See, it--it's--it's on the other side; there's something happened. Women will continue to go right on, do the same thing. Men will go right on back like a hog to its wallow and a dog to its vomit, just the same. Don't you see? Now, I'm talking to the en... the... 154 See, you must realize then, friend, what condition you're in. That's the reason this tape; I said, "to church only (See?), to church only." If you've been called from life--from darkness unto Life, from death unto Life, from a formal intellection conception of Christ to a borned again experience; and watching your life, that it lays the things of the world aside, and you stand for Christ, regardless; then something's happened. See? There's something in you, hungering and moving, like it was Jacob. See, you wrestle with the Lord; you walk different after that. Something's different in you, you've changed. Now, it has...
155 'Fore it can be done, it has to be inspired to you. I don't care; I could stand here and preach till I got--what hair I got left fell out, till my shoulders stooped down and I was ninety years old, and you listened every day; until God quickens that to you, you're still in the same shape.
159 And notice the fruits of the Spirit. Now, see, it has to be quickened to you.
163 Noah was out in the field, and he heard, and he recognized, and he acted. And no matter how many scoffers come, he built right away.
165 Could you imagine, could you ever i--imagine this, that Moses, on his way to Egypt, got out one day and said to Zipporah, his wife, "Zipporah, you know what? I've polished up some on my grammar. I have got a little of my mathematics all straightened up, and some of my geometry and, oh, many other things, and my education. Since I've been herding sheep back here, I--I--I've polished up on some of that. I made a mistake down in Egypt, I think I'll go down and correct it. I think I'll go down." No, the first wave come against him, he'd have fell right there.
168 Moses was herding sheep, settled down and forgot. He knowed his intellectuals had failed. He knowed his education had failed him. He was herding sheep, but he heard, oh, "Take off your shoes, Moses, the ground you're standing on is holy." He listened to it. What was it? The Voice the Angel had spoke was Scriptural. He'd promised Abraham, his father, "I'll visit the people after they have been down here for four hundred years, and I'll take them out with a mighty arm." He recognized that that was God's Scripture being made manifest.
170 Moses recognized it; it was Scriptural; it was a promise. He heard; he recognized. Something come in him; brother, he could go do it then. He acted. He could go down and stomp every Pharaoh; he could call plagues when he wanted to; he could open the Red Sea; because he had heard; he had recognized; he was acting in God's stead. "I'll be God to you; you be prophet to Me," He said.
173 Could you imagine Elijah on Mount Carmel, said, "You know, this land's awful sinful, perhaps maybe I ought to go out and tell Ahab he ought to be ashamed of himself. Maybe I ought to go up on the mountain there and set down, and just fast so long, till them people get so sick and tired of seeing me up there starving to death..." No. No, that wasn't it.
175 When it come time for a showdown between Baal and God, he said, "Go, get your sacrifices; do anything to them you want to, and call upon your god." When they cut themselves, and had a lot of flesh, and jumped up and down, and had a lot of noise, he said, "Holler a little louder, maybe he's gone, pursuing somewhere. He might be asleep." Oh, brother.
179 That's what's the matter today. You can't get up at the altar and say, "Well, hallelujah, hallelujah. Lord, I want the Holy Ghost. Hallelujah, hallelujah." No.
181 Even Jesus Himself, He said, "I do not what I want to do within Myself. The Son can do nothing but what He sees the Father doing." The Words... He was Emmanuel Himself. He was God on earth, Jesus was. He was the flesh that God dwelt in. He was the tent that God lived under. Amen. But in all of that, the virgin-born Son of God, Emmanuel in the fullness of the Spirit (He had the Spirit without measure), and yet in His Own flesh He said, "I do nothing until the Father shows Me first." Inspired to Him to do it...
184 Don't try to impersonate. That's what's the matter with Pentecost today. That's what's the matter with the church today. There's too many trying to impersonate they got the Holy Ghost. There's too many trying to impersonate Divine healing. There's too many trying to impersonate different things of the Lord. You can't do that. That things comes by election, God calling, you're dropped from the mother's womb with that. "Gifts and callings are without repentance." Oh, my. That's true. You can't make yourself something you're not. 186 As I would speak, if I had time, on the squirrels the other day, about turned me around. I never seen it before, and I couldn't do it. Hattie, setting back there looking at me. how could that ever happen? It couldn't have done it, but it was inspired, quickened. The Word was spoke and it was made so. Hallelujah.
187 Paul, could you imagine him saying, "I've been out on this sea for fourteen days and nights and no stars or moon, nor the sun or nothing. Guess I'll just go up and tell them, 'Be of a good courage, 'cause God will take care of us anyhow.'" Oh, God don't work like that. God doesn't do that.
189 Oh, here's a red light hanging there, and if I see... I say, "Well, I've got my foot on the accelerator. I've got a car, I can go through that light yonder, making a hundred and twenty miles an hour." That's true. "I can feel the power under my foot." But you'd better wait till the "go" sign. Hallelujah.
191 Oh, don't you remember the sons of Sceva. Sceva went out and said, "We adjure you, adjure you in the Name of Jesus who Paul preaches, come out." 193 Paul never said, "I believe I'll just go up and say, 'Well, be of a good courage.'" No. What did he do? He heard an Angel. He knowed that was the same Angel that always spoke to him. He recognized. Then he acted; went up and said, "Be of a good courage, for the Angel of the Lord, Whose servant I am, stood by me last night, showing me a vision that there'll be nothing lost on this ship. Be of a good courage; go eat your dinner now, and everything's all right." Amen. When it's inspired to you, when God makes it right... 195 I got a remark here somewhere, I had wrote down; here it is right here. We're at the end of all things. Let me just bring this in like this now in closing. I hope that God has revealed something to you. Everything's at the end. Someone asked the other night, I believe it was Brother Fred Sothmann; we were asking about how close the end time.
196 Brother Demos Shakarian had seen that vision so manifest, and come to pass five days later to the perfect, it just liked to have dropped him out of his shoes. He called me. He said, "How is Joseph?"
199 And we were talking a little bit, and they, Fred said to me, "Where's this drawn from, Brother Branham?" 202 Looky here, let me show you. Politics is at the end. Do you believe that? Show me something today. This nation is the worst in the world for corruption, ungodliness. Who read the Courier Journal paper the other night in Louisville, when all these women, picking out, each nation, the prettiest woman in the nation, and stand them up to be Miss Universe? Everyone did but Russia. And they sent to Khrushchev and asked him, "Why not?" He said, "Russia don't strip their women down to walk before men." A heathen, ungodly nation bringing reproach upon we who call ourselves Christians, said, "Russia don't strip their women to walk out like that. And you never see shorts or such stuff as that in Russia." That's the ungodly. And we who call ourselves Christians...
203 No wonder the Bible said, "Every table's become full of vomit. And who can I teach doctrine, and who's weaned from the breast? But precept will come upon precept, and line upon line. For with stammering lips and other tongues will I speak to this people. And this is the rest. For all this they would not hear." We got our own intellectual conception. Oh, how good it could be to stay all day on it. 205 Looky here today, what they're going on now. Hollering at me about spending some money out yonder for Christians, and wanting to give me twenty years in the state prison for spending money to operate a religious move. And whiskey and beer and cigarettes write off tens of millions of dollars a year to corrupt the nation. And me trying to preach righteousness, standing in the door of Jesus Christ, and send me to the penitentiary for it. And take stuff like that of the evil, lowdown, smart, intelligence, and let them write it off for television programs which corrupted the world, sent women to the dogs. One of the greatest curses the nation's ever had, and they get by with it. They send me to penitentiary for preaching the Gospel taking a few dollars out here to--to preach the Gospel, that people give me to preach the Gospel with. I'm not rich, and I can't write that out. But yet they want to send me to the penitentiary, hold me two years, and got a trial coming soon. Oh, how lowdown, how filthy. God, be merciful. 206 I'll say this one thing; maybe that's the way God's got before He sends an atomic bomb. You have to do something wrong, you know. You have to touch His anointed one time, for this same Scripture, lest that... "Touch not My elected." That's right. So if it has to take that to bring judgment, like it did in the days of Daniel or somewhere else, let it come. I'm You're servant, Lord. That's right. Oh, yes. 207 Politics, lowdown, nation, corrupted... Well, look what they're going to put soldiers in shorts now. Oh, my. Politics, war; politics is at the end. Dictators is wrong. Politics is wrong. (Why didn't they stay with the godly king like God give them: David?) The great lord of England said, when this--when this democracy was formed, said, "It's all right now, but it'll come the time," he said, "it'll be nothing. It'll be all sails and no anchor." And he's right. Said, "Politicians stand on soap boxes on every corner with all kind of crooked things that corrupt the government." And the man was right. That's exactly what's going on. 208 One man can go out here and go through here and get drunk, and tear up everything he wants to; and go down there, and he knows everybody, so there's nothing said. Let a poor man or somebody don't know, try to do, it, and they're sent to the penitentiary. Corruption, lowdown, filth, forty percent of them homosexuals. Think of it: Sodom and Gomorrah again. There's the group, supposed to be religious...
209 I--I wonder what takes place next, when the next President comes in? God give us one good godly man, old Dwight Eisenhower. And now, I ho... And watch what the next thing comes in. And we might have a rat the next time sure enough. But there is coming a Pharaoh who doesn't know Joseph. Remember that. I'll get to that just in a second. Politics is corrupted. We know that. 211 Education's at the end. Juvenile delinquency is at the end. Children, there ain't no hopes for children; they done gone insane. You can't have no education. You can't go down here at the school and have, get a kid with education. He's a--he's a twofold child more of hell when he comes out than he is when he goes in. Let the teacher say something about it; he'll get killed; they'll form a little cluck and go out there and shoot the teacher, take him out and string him up. We lost two thousand teachers. Oh, wait a minute, I believe, twenty thousand teachers, this last year. I don't blame them. I wouldn't want to do it either. Now, they got signs up every time, "Give college education to these kids." They do need it, but the Devil's got them. The Devil's got them. And it's not only just normal to go out and be mean and--and--and take a gate off and hang it up in a tree on Halloween night, or do some little meanness like kids used to do, or take a farmer's buggy and set it out in the road, not like that; but they're insane. They do things that's insanity; shoot you, kill you, and murder you, poison you, anything. That's the next generation.
212 Child bearing's at the end, womanhood, motherhood. Why, birth control practiced everywhere, and little dogs has took the place.
215 Now, the church life is at the end, the normal church, the church, that... Now, this may stick just a little bit. But the church carnal, the Esau church, she's come to her end. What she doing? Heading up in the federation of churches, which will finally join with Romanism to fight Catholicism--or with Catholicism to fight Communism. Pope John is calling for all the churches to come back, and they will. And they'll unite themselves together, just exactly what THUS SAITH THE LORD.
217 Morris Cerullo said to me the other night, said, "Who is the antichrist, Brother Branham? The Jew's the antichrist."
221 See, we're at the end. The carnal world, the carnal church is at it end. Watch how it's heading up in the federation of churches, the United Brethren went into them, the Pentecostal is into them. All the rest of them organize themselves. See, you was down in them Canaanites, all the way down through those Esau spirits, very religious, and confederated themselves with the world, not spiritual understanding, not able to overcome, not elected of God to be called out and separated. 223 And the spiritual Church is at its end; she's coming to the end. O God. Look back yonder when she started with Luther, shook down, the spiritual. Then with Wesley come to sanctification, then with Pentecost, the Holy Ghost, and now at the end time, the Spirit of Christ so in the Church, It's doing the same works that He did, right back to Its head again; and ready for the Church and Christ to unite, and the coming of the Lord Jesus, and the resurrection of the dead. We're at the end time. Jesus said so, "As it was in the days of Sodom, so shall it be in the coming of the Son of man." Do you understand it?
224 Look at the carnal church. Look where they're going to, farther and farther away. Look at the Spirit-filled Church, shaking off all of its little nonsense, coming up in the Spirit, (in the minority, of course), coming in the Spirit, but moving up into such a place till it's got there to where the Holy Spirit's moving right through it, working Its way, ready to receive her Lord, ready to receive her Lord.
227 Now, let me say this to you, and then I'll--it will be time to close. It's, I've... I told you it was going to be long. I--I just feel so wound up. When God even said these things, said, "Tell them. Speak it out. Don't hold your peace any longer. Show it to them. If they don't receive it, then the blood's not on your hands." The hour's here. The time, it's all heading up. 229 The church world is Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, It's the hogs to its wallow, dogs to its vomit. That's right, every one of them. God calls out of that corruption a Church that's elected. That's exactly. Esau, they said, "We're the church." I don't doubt that. Jacob was Esau's father too, that's right, so... But, but I--I mean Isaac was Esau's father, and Jacob was his brother, with him. But one had recompense to the birthright; the other one hated it. One heard, recognized, and acted; the other one said, "Oh, as long as I go to church and do what's right, what difference does it make?" There you are. Now, in... 230 I say this; then I'm closing, this one more remark. The real Church has so much to live for now. Oh, it should be such a jubilant time for the real Church, for the true Church, for the elected Church, when you know in your heart you've passed from death to Life. When you look at yourself and see, watch your life and see that all the things of the world's passed away, that you become a new creature. Listen now, in closing, closely. You know that you've passed from--your life proves it, "By their fruits you shall know them." Your whole objective is Christ. You're looking for Him to come at any minute. You walk in the Spirit; you love Him. You see Him working through you. Nothing that you desire to do, but He just does it Himself. Oh, what a time. 231 Reminds me of the artist that went over to Rome to learn to be an artist, a young fellow. They noticed him. He was so much different from all the other American boys and girls, and things that went over there to be artists, and from the rest of the world. This one young man was outstanding. He was a fine fellow. And they noticed. They'd have great big parties, and get down there and, how they do in Rome, just get drunk as they can be. I've been there myself and seen it; get out on the street, men and women, and carry on. Even in the parks, have sexual affairs right in the park, right out in the open, pay no attention; England too, all the rest of them. See? That's no worse than here. Just the same thing here, just about as bad; only, just cover it up a little more here, on account of police and things. Now, but just horrible...
233 Well, this young one fellow, he kept hisself away from all of it. When they'd go on their parties, he'd let them go, but he was learning to be an artist. So one day an old caretaker, which was a Christian that was around the--the museum, the art gallery, he said--he said, "Let's take a little walk, son. Let's take a walk; I'd like to talk to you awhile."
239 I was standing with Fred the other day down in San Juan, Puerto Rico, was looking across the sea, and noticed how that coral reef a half a mile out, them big waves breaking. He said... Flamingos walking in the garden, so forth. I said... He said, "Brother Branham, this is like heaven." 241 Let us bow our heads just a moment. My dejected friend, this morning, have you got something different to live for, something to bring you out of the world, something that means more to you than all the world, is to live for Christ? If you haven't got that, why don't you receive It now. Just don't go to church and say, "I want to be a good person." Don't do that. You want to be a Christian. You, if there's something that's always been in your heart, telling you, "You're not right, but I want you to be right." You've always longed to be something that you're not now, don't you know that's God calling to you? Don't turn your back on it. "For if you was once enlightened and had the opportunity, and turned it down your last time, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin." Don't take up with Esau; come with Jacob, regardless of the--regardless of what it's going to cost you. If it costs you your home, if it costs you your job, if it costs your husband, it costs your wife, if it costs your children, if it cost anything, get the birthright. That's what counts. And if you feel that way about it this morning, and would like to have this birthright, I can't give it to you; God can, and He's the One that's talking to you. Would you just raise up your hand, say, "Pray for me, Brother Branham, that birthright, I want." God bless you, everywhere across. "That birthright, I want."
243 Our heavenly Father, I thank Thee, most noble and holy God, for all Your goodness and mercies to the sons and daughters of men. And we realize that we're at the end time; nothing can go much longer. We're just waiting in borrowed time; like it was in the days of Noah, the long-suffering of God, when the ark was being prepared, when only eight souls were saved. You said, "So will it be at the coming of the Son of man. "God's long-suffering, not willing that any should perish, but that all might come to repentance."
245 These women setting here, Lord, many of them that's heard the Gospel preached so many times, and still wade right on into the world, and fashion like the world and dress like the world, and going to parties and things that the world, partaking of worldly things and acting like the world, and using the things of the world. O God, may they be ashamed this morning. If there's any hope in them at all, Lord, turn it today. Let this be the hour.
247 God, be merciful to them people. O Lord, don't let them be lost. Please have mercy and send mercy. Give each one of them, Lord. You're the only One can give this blessing. And if you've called them to Eternal Life, may their hearts open up; and they lay everything aside this morning, and then they will receive it. Grant it, Father.
249 Now, in the building where the people are, I sent Billy this morning to give out prayer cards. He call... [Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.]
251 Now, is it real or not? Oh, call on your intellectual religions. "Baalim," said, "where's he at?" Elijah on Mount Carmel, said, "Where's Baalim? Where? Wake him up." You don't have to wake Jesus. He's awake all the time. He's ever present, ever living, and ever able, the same yesterday, today, and forever. Amen. God remains God.
253 See? It goes over the top of heads of people, they'd never get it. A live church would grab that quickly, and know that the Presence of the Holy Spirit is here.
256 A lady looking there, praying, looked at me, said she was a stranger. You believe the high blood pressure's going to leave you? That's right, isn't it? Raise up your hand if that's right. All right, have faith in God. You see what I mean?
259 I know Georgie, but she's thinking of something. She's got two people, that's away from here, she's praying for. Both of them live in Corydon. That's right. Then she's got a person here, a man she's praying for that's out here in the hospital. And you're praying, not so much for his healing, but the salvation of his soul. That's THUS SAITH THE LORD. That's right. Is that right, Georgie? That's exactly right.
261 I believe that woman out there with the white-looking hat around her head, rai--colored lady, raised her hand. I haven't had a colored person yet. You believe, lady? All right, sir, believe with all your heart. You got heart trouble, stomach trouble, complications. Somebody brought you here this morning. THUS SAITH THE LORD. That's right, isn't it, lady? If that's right, wave that handkerchief you got in your hand, so the people will see it. I never seen the woman in my life.
264 Now, Who's here? Who is It? It ain't me. How can I do that? Don't be numb of the Spirit, spiritual things. It's God here. That Holy Spirit you want, do you believe It now? Do you believe It now? All right, then receive It now. Now's the time to receive It. Believe with all your heart.
266 Now, bow your head. You believe right now, as I pray for you and these handkerchiefs.
271 And may the people see that the Spirit-filled Church is coming to a head. Christ is fixing to come and take His Church. His last great signs, as it was in the days of Sodom: Who spoke, knowed Sarah, and knowed he had a wife named Sarah, knowed her in the tent laughed; He said, "That'll be a sign. When you see that, remember, that generation shall not pass until all be fulfilled." Here it is. We're at the end. | ||||||