Sermon Texts (Adding Now)
Sermon Texts Beginning With I
Identification (63-0123)
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E-1 You may be seated. Thank you very much, brother, Brother Shore. It's a... I certainly deem this a grand privilege to be here tonight in the--this First Assembly of God again to fellowship around the Word of God with you fine people, to be with our precious Brother Shore again, and--and all the brethren that we have met through the week. And we've had a... really a grand time these last few weeks.
E-2 I don't know as I have ever, in years, ever had a better time than I had this week of fellowshipping with the brethren around through this Maricopa Valley, all the way from Mesa down, and down to Tucson, which is Jerusalem, of course, on the hill. And we're glad to visit with our brethren here in Jericho (See?) down here in the--down at the bottom of the hill. (Just wondered how that was going to go.)
E-3 Now, it's been a grand time, as I repeat, and we've certainly enjoyed ourselves immensely. Now, we are waiting with great anticipation for this coming convention starting tomorrow night. We're expecting a great time. And in this I have tried to lay, in my humble way of doing it, a foundation, kinda get a stir among the people for the revival that's coming up. And now, we got some wonderful speakers coming up in this revival that's at hand now: Brother Velmer Gardner, and some Methodist brother that's supposed to be an outstanding speaker. And then, for that great final wrap at it all is our precious Brother Oral Roberts for next Monday night. And I trust that God will give the brethren such messages that'll send Phoenix to its knees a trembling in the fear of God.
E-4 It's been a great time. Now, I've been preaching these strong messages about His coming, and trying to lay out the--the possibilities, and the hour that we're now living in, and how that everything to my opinion, my humble opinion, is just in condition for the coming of the Lord, the rapture, the next thing. And all that lacks could happen within an hour.
E-5 Last evening I thought we had a grand time down at the--at the Assembly of God south of here; I believe South Side, maybe it's called South Side Assembly. Met a fine brother that I had not met before in the journey as I remember, but a precious brother and a fine group of people. And we spoke on there last--last night, a message of a--of having Him as an oasis, a place, remembering Him, what all He had done when we come together, setting around in heavenly places in Christ. And to remember the things that He did, and the things that He promised to do, how He promised He would meet with us. Wherever two or three were assembled in His name that there He would be among us.
E-6 I presume, maybe, that most people here are--are saved people. And we are the ones who are praying and putting forth our effort now for the coming convention. And we must press with all that's in us, and do everything we can. Be sure that we speak to every sinner during the time of this convention. Approach every businessman, and every unsaved person, and those without Christ and without the Holy Spirit. We want to approach them with the message, with a sane solid Gospel approach to the people.
E-7 Now, you may hear me talking a little funny tonight, but the last three, four nights I've had to take my upper voice. I--I... The other one's wore out. So, I'm talking up high, more from the top of my mouth. It's a--not a put-on, but I've got to do it to keep the bottom part from hurting. You know, God kinda makes us in a way where if one part wears down we can catch another. Some... someone... You know, a reserve... And someone asked me some--one time said, "How can you walk so hard through the mountains and so forth?" E-8 Now, I've been preaching so much on the--on the coming of Christ in this age, I thought maybe it would be a good thing tonight to kinda settle down on some of these things I've been talking about, and bring the--the seriousness of the condition of this day into our presence by the Gospel, and see how we are, ourselves, are fitted for this hour. How do we know? This may be the last convention that these Business Men will ever have. You know, this may be the last night that the First Assembly of God and all the rest of the churches throughout the country will be open. Tomorrow it could happen they're all closed. We don't know. This may be the last time the Bible's read to this audience. So let us just kind of check up tonight and see where we're at, for the seriousness, for a little while.
E-9 And then we're going to go--try to get through early so we can let the people out and not hold you. I made a little rude remark this week, that I--I'd keep you long through the nighttime, if I know... Just to miss a day's work, that won't hurt you. But I said, "Saturday night now, can't keep you long at all, because you can't miss Sunday school. You must be there at your post of duty." So now, I won't keep you long tonight 'cause I certainly want you there tomorrow night. That's what we've been driving for, this great time.
E-10 Now we're going to look to the Lord just now in prayer before we approach His Word, because, you know, the Word is of no private interpretation. So I just like for the Author to reveal it, and keep out of it, you know, just so that we can--we can believe that He's doing it. So let us bow our heads just now. And--and when we bow our heads, let's bow our hearts also, just bow our hearts to God.
E-11 Our heavenly Father, we are approaching Thee by faith now. We are joining ourselves together, putting our prayers as one person. By faith we're leaving here at 11th and Garfield, and we're climbing up by faith beyond the moon and stars, up the milky-white way, on in and beyond scenes of this earth, on to the Presence of God. And there on the altar where the Sacrifice is laying, and the Cherubims and Seraphims are flying over the altar of God, crying, "Holy..." Oh, what a place to stand.
E-12 And we pray, heavenly Father, tonight first to pardon our iniquity, and all that we've done and said that was not just right in Your sight. And God, we know that's innumerable things that we have did. Have mercy upon us, God, for we're not just speaking these things to be heard, but we are--are speaking these things in--in love, and in reverence, and in faith that God will hear us and answer our prayers for others and ourselves. You know what was behind each hand, the objective and the motive. E-13 And we are anticipating this coming meeting over at the Ramada tomorrow night, and we want to check our own lives tonight and see where we are short, so that we'll be instruments in Thy hand, clay molded and shaped by the God of heaven, that we might be able to anticipate in this great event that's coming to pass, that we're putting forth for no other cause but for the Kingdom's sake and the glory of God. Bless our feeble efforts of the week, Lord, trying to stir amongst the people the realization of the hour we're living. Speak to us tonight and through the reading of the Word, and may You take the text and--and reveal the context in the way that the Holy Spirit would have us to know it. And all praise shall be Thine. We ask in Jesus' Name. Amen.
E-14 As many people like to kinda keep down texts, and thinking of times they'd like to refer back to it, and many times ministers, like I do myself, we--we keep a text down sometimes to refer to it. Some minister spoke on it, and we... Some little thought caught our mind. And we like to refer back to it sometimes to say, "Well, that's... I--I seen something while they were saying it." That's all right.
E-15 Now, while you're turning to the place in the Scripture, I'd like to say it's been granted me, your brother, the privilege of speaking this coming Sunday afternoon at the convention. It was my intention of being there now the rest of the week, and setting out somewhere in the audience, or somewhere, listening and filling up and feeding my own soul on the Word of God as our brethren will bring it, and the testimonies of the businessmen, and hoping to see you all there. The meeting's on the afternoon so the churches will be closed all around. You--you'll be more than welcome to come. We're expecting you--that, and every other meeting.
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient to death, even the death of the cross.
E-16 May the Lord add His blessings to the reading of His Word. I would like to take for a few minutes of your time on what I would call, or like to say, a text called "Identification," identifying, identified in the likeness of Bible characters, being identified in the likeness of Bible characters. And tonight as I have thought, in approach to this, after we have this week been talking of His coming, and how that the church should make itself ready...
E-17 And I'm sure tonight that we ought to find ourselves somewhere in some character of the Bible, so that we would know the outcome of that character and know what our outcome will be.
E-18 This little lad must've been raised in such a home. And when he came down to visit his grandmother, she had a door that on the back side of it was a mirror. And the little lad was kind of lonesome. And he was looking all around the house, and after a bit he happened to look through the door. And it'd been closed since he'd come in, and--and in the mirror on his side, he saw a little boy. And he started to the little boy to make friends with him, and as he begin to look into this glass, he got up close. And he turned around. He said, "Why, mama, that's me."
E-19 Now, Jesus gave us the Example of what we ought to be looking at, when He reflected His Life to us through the Word, what we should see. When we look into God's mirror, we should see ourself identified with Him. That is a perfect Example. E-20 When God looked upon His lost creation, after He had made it and fashioned it just the way He wanted it... And I like to look at it in its origination. I--I love the outdoors because there... That must be the way He wants it or He wouldn't have it made that way. And we come around and pervert it, and make something out of it that doesn't please Him. But His loving character molded... God, seeing that His great plan and creation of--of mankind to inhabit the earth, and to live in peace, and never to die, never to be sick, or have a heartache or any worry... Oh, what a--what a way that the Father provided for us. And that was His--that was His desire to--for us to be in that way. He didn't desire us to be in a dying shape as we are. This... And the condition that the world is in today is never the desire of God. He didn't mean that at all. E-21 But when He seen that His creation had--had fallen, now His own loving character molded Himself into the Person of Christ. God's own character of love projected Himself in the man, Christ. As Paul, speaking here, "Thinking it not robbery, but making himself equal, equal to God," rather. See, His own character molded that kind of a Person. Oh, no one could ever do that but God. This was done so that He could pay the penalty of the fall of His creation. See, He... There must be something save this creation. And nothing could save it, because the high species of His creation had fallen, and everything under it fell with it, because it fell.
E-22 There's only one thing left that did not fall, and that was God, the heavens. So something of the heavens had to come down to redeem this creation, because there was nothing here that could create it. And God's own love for the world created the character expressed in Christ. He was God's character. He was God's expressed image. In Him was God, God in Christ revealing Himself to the world. And no love could ever be greater than that love, that such a Person would become what He did in order to--to redeem what had been lost. That ought to... Just that thought right there should set Phoenix and the whole world to a shame, to see what a condition that we have fallen into, and what... God projecting Himself to make a plan of redemption to--to redeem this fallen character of ours.
E-23 Now therefore, His loving character of love, oh, for us, it--it makes plain John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but would have Eternal Life." God, projecting Himself, and become man that He might have upon Him the form of His creation. In other words He changed His tent. He spread it amongst human beings. And the infant Jehovah, crying in a manger, could you imagine it? It ought to alarm the hearts of believers. And that was all done...
E-24 Now, I believe a few nights ago we was expressing something on that order. When He came... And He sent prophets and great men, and He sent Moses and the prophets, and He gave laws. But all these could not redeem, because they were still men under the penalty of death. And they could not pay the penalty of death, although they were pointing posts that pointed to that perfect one coming, because they were not perfect. But when this one was born, He was born without sin. E-25 Then what an example. How would our life reflect to His? And He made the example of what we should do, how we should be. We should see Him when you look in the mirror, see Christ, the mirror of His Word, how that He did that for love. And we gave a little drama the other night of Christ going up Golgotha, and how that the footprints of His--of Blood running down His back where He had been scourged, and mistreated, and bruised, and, oh, all this for you. He had no sin. He had no sin, but He was made sin by becoming a sin offering.
E-26 And now, God had to--to reveal Himself in His attributes into this Person called Christ in order to take death upon Himself. As Jehovah, He could not die. So He had to create Himself a body. And no woman could produce that body. So His own character... Amen. Excuse me. When I think of it... His character projected that lovely Person of Jesus Christ. No woman could bring it. Moses' mother, she... Jochebed, she was a great woman, and so was Rebekah and many other of the women. But none of them could produce this type of character because it was come through sex by a fallen people. But God projected His own body, His dwelling place. That's the reason He was the Son of God, 'cause nothing else could project it. But His own Divine character projected this Tabernacle to express Himself in. E-27 Now, you study that character a little bit and then look at yourself, and I look at myself. But that's what He was; that's Who He was, and that's why He was to save you. He took... He become you, that you might become Him. He took your load of sin. Therefore, when we come to meet Him we will not have to stand... We could not stand in the Presence of God. There's no way for us to do it. But when we stand in Him... See, He's already recognized the Sacrifice. "This is My beloved Son in Whom I'm well pleased." He recognized it. There was no blemish on Him, and yet He suffered temptation like any other man, and yet was... He was scorned; He was made fun of; He was persecuted, from the hour He was born until the hour He died. And yet He returned good for evil. E-28 You cannot no way ever produce a Character like that, only accepting that Character in you. A church cannot do that. A creed cannot do that. A denomination cannot do that. An education cannot do that. It must be a birth. It's got to be a--a dying out, and let God in it. By the grace of Christ, mold this type of character in you, that you become Him. And your life and His is the same. Then you are sons and daughters of God.
E-29 Then when He was going up the mountain, and His cross was dragging out the footprints... Oh, I wish I was an artist. I wish I was--could speak so that I could mentally paint you a picture of Calvary, of that most dreaded hour that the world ever knew. And yet, they were not conscious of what was going on; millions was not conscious.
E-30 What a terrible time it was. They just knowed that there was a malefactor under capital punishment, was going to die that morning. That's all it was to them. That's all it is today to the people when they hear the message, another wild man, another holy-roller, or some religious crank. And I'm not saying that there isn't religious cranks. But did you only know that... They call them oddballs. Well, listen. Anybody that's living right is an oddball to this modern world. We're all oddballs, as so to speak. And excuse that worldly expression, but it's the only way I knowed you was going to get what I'm talking about. See?
E-31 And today when we hear the message of God come forth we think it's some crook, crank, or something. And there's--there's plenty of it in the world: schemes, moneymaking, unconcerned, people under impressions and--and speaking as if it was the Lord. The Lord always truly identifies Himself. See? And notice. E-32 When the prospector finds what he calls pay dust, it's dust, but it's--they see it... It symbolizes in there there's a shadow of a mother lode somewhere. And when we see these people today pretending to be Christians, and just living any way, what is it? It's a pay dust; there's a mother lode somewhere. When we see somebody acting like they got the Holy Spirit when they haven't, and living a different life, it's only a proof that there is a genuine mother lode of the Holy Ghost that can be poured out, that can give the things that He promised. We must be very concerned and reverent.
E-33 Jesus on His way up... The devil always doubted that being any more than a prophet. He didn't believe that. He was Emmanuel, God manifested in His own Son, Him and His Son being One, why, he couldn't see that. How could God, the great Creator, ever stand and let somebody tell Him, "Well, if you be the Son of God, command these stones to be turned to bread." And how could He, in Pilate's courtyard, when the (Excuse the expression.)--but when the chips was down, as we would call it... And there He was with a rag around His face, and--and Roman soldiers spitting in His face, and jerking the beard, and the Blood pouring through, and with a crown of thorns on His head, and already beaten and His Blood running freely down His side, and Satan watching that. And then put a rag over His face, and the soldiers smote Him on the head with a stick, then passed it one to another and said, "Now, if you can see these visions, if you be a prophet, now, you--you tell us who hit you." E-34 Criticism... Now, with our message, can we stand by the looking glass of God's Word and see Christ reflect in our own lives then? Can we bear such, and the reproach of the message that we're standing for here? Someone can say something about it, and yet you just don't open your mouth, and say nothing about it. He was the example, because God was reflecting His character in Him. And then if we're sons and daughters of God, God reflects His character in us. Then we become like Him. That's my heart's desire. I think that's every believer's desire, is to become more like Him.
E-35 And then on the road up the hill, when Satan said, "All right, death, now you know I have you in my command. And there he is. We've finally wore him out. It's got to a place to where he's--he's at the end of his wits. He doesn't know what to do anymore. He's become a reproach amongst the people. His message fell to the air. And now, the government has caught him and he is defeated. He's not God. Go down there and sock the stinger in him. Take him out of life."
E-36 That's why God had to reflect Himself into a body which is--we know as the Son of God, Jesus Christ. And He did that so that He could take away the penalty, because you see now, we're going to another part of the Scripture. But you see now why that that man was more than just a teacher (as people say He is today) a philosopher, or a good man, or a prophet. He was Emmanuel. He was the Son of God, which is Jehovah God made manifest in His attributes of displaying Himself in a body that He built Himself. Amen. It reflected in... The sinful nature of a man could not do the thing that He did. See? So it had to be God making His--reflecting Himself in the Man, making a mirror that we might see that perfect Man, which is Christ. E-37 Now, St. John the 1st chapter explains that. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh." God become flesh when He represented, or when He displayed Himself to the earth in the form of His Son, the Person of Jesus, the Son of God. God displayed Himself in that Person. Did not Jesus say, "My Father and I are One. My Father dwelleth in Me. It's not Me that doeth the works; it's My Father. He dwells in Me. I have no control of My own. He does that." God's fountain of Word expressed... Amen. I feel Pentecostal, yes.
E-38 He was sinless by nature, and that's the only thing that could project that. Sinless, God Word... The Word being God, and a word is a thought expressed. And when God thought of parent, He expressed His thought in... And Christ was God's expression. Amen. You see it? He was God's expression that God could be us, and live as we live, yet expressing perfectly what the perfect person should be, perfectly.
E-39 You see, sin is unbelief. There's only two channels that you can live by. One of them is faith, and the other one is unbelief. "He that believeth not is condemned already." Smoking, drinking, committing adultery, lying, stealing, carnal impersonations, those things are attributes of unbelief. If you was a believer you wouldn't do those things. No. You do that because you're not a believer.
E-40 And let me take that a little further, will you? The Scriptures is what tells what you are. That expresses you; and it expresses me. The Scriptures tell what we are. It's so loud that our voice cannot be even heard. Our life speaks louder than our voice (See?), and it is God's way of letting us see what we are.
E-41 Wonder if we Christians could think that tonight. Wonder if we can look in God's looking glass of what requirements is of a Christian and identify ourselves that way. I wonder if we could. I wonder if we could identify ourselves tonight with John 3:16, and, oh, all other kind of Scriptures: Mark 16th chapter, and all these other places that--and over in--in Galatians, I believe, and--and different places, 2nd--in Thessalonians, where the fruits of the Spirit and so forth. Wonder if we can identify ourselves?
E-42 The little woman at the well didn't--didn't make any mistake. She said, "Sir, we know when Messiah cometh He'll do these things, but Who are You?" She said...
E-43 Philip had no mistake, although when... Nathanael rather, when Philip had tried to tell him what had taken place when He met Simon... But when Nathanael came, he was a little in doubt. But when he seen Jesus, and Jesus said to him, "Behold an Israelite, whom there's no guile," he said, "Rabbi, when did you know me?"
E-44 His sinless nature expressed God's Word. See? He was the Word, so God expressed Himself by that sinless nature. E-45 That don't mean perfection in yourself. You can't be that. But you see, even our people are getting away from the practice of holiness. We begin to let down so many bars. See? We got to come to that place of our profession. He is our example and He is our sin Bearer. And then, if we profess that He is our Peacemaker, He is our Propitiation... Then if we profess that, then that is supposed to reflect Him back in us, and we are a written epistle, a looking glass that people can see Christ in us. And now, if they don't, then we're--we're--we're looking at something else and we're not looking to Him. E-46 Look to Him, all the ends of the world, and live. And the only way you can... His sinful--sinless nature expressed the Word of God so much that He and the Word was One. He said so. "I and My Father are One. I do always that what pleases the... I and My Father are just One." He was so perfect in the image of God until He and God was the expressed same thing. He was the flesh, the Son, that expressed the deity of God. So that made Him deity in a man, in order to redeem a man. See? He and the Word was One. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh..." So He and the Word became one, that the Word could express, and could show to the world that Example of what man should be. E-47 And man can't be that in himself. There's no way to educate it to it; there's no way to join it; there's no way to baptize it; there's no way of doing nothing to it, only kill it and let it be borned again, and a new nature come in. That's the only way. Kill that nature of yourself that you might become... And then the Word becomes a living thing. It just expresses itself through you. See? Then you're looking in the looking glass, and the people sees you as a mirror, because... You know, God has made a way. People won't read the Bible, so God has made you a Bible. You are. What you do, people's looking at you. E-48 God sent His mirrors, His--His expressed--expression of Hisself in the prophets, because the Word came to the prophets, and they expressed God there in the--their prophecy that God gave them. And now God expresses Himself through His Son, Christ Jesus, as He takes us in as adopted children and put His Spirit in us crying, "Abba, Father." See? Or in other words, "My God, my God." See? Then the Holy Spirit in us, Christ's Spirit expressing Jesus Christ, and the people look at you. See? And when they see hypocrisies and everything, no wonder you... We've lost our strength. The salt has lost its savour.
E-49 Oh, no other nature could do this. No. 'Cause He was the molded perfect character of God. For it was a fallen character that all nature had. All men had a fallen character. Even everything that was under man fell. Everything's got a dying character. And He had a living character, so He expressed it in Christ, and He paid the price. And then because of His obedience He raised Him up on the third day. See? And then He gives to us... That gives to us the--the proof. It gives to us the assurance that as long as we're in Him we're already risen with Him.
E-50 No other nature could do it; it was fallen. And God identified... Look. God identified Himself as a Man, and took upon Him the form of sin. Now, were not sin, but the form of sin, that in order that He might take the sin of the sinner (See?), and pay the penalty for it, and give the sinner back the life that he had before the fall. Oh, my. What love God has expressed to us. See? Think of it.
E-51 We've got to take the entire full Gospel. We must... And now, being that we have identified ourselves as full Gospel people, let's mold our character. We're invited to be molded in His Image, that we might reflect His Presence. "And the works that I do, shall you do also. The Life that I live, so shall you." We're invited by God to take Him as an Example, and let our character be molded like His. What a thing. My. E-52 Now, how... Just listen a minute. How can we have the mind of Christ that was in Him, and then deny the things that He commissioned us to do? How can we place miracles in the past, when the very Christ Himself was God and God in you. In the Presence of God there's always miracles. He said, "You call Me Lord. Why call ye Me Lord and do not the things that I have commanded you to do, I laid out for you to do?" Don't you see where we've gotten to, where the church is drifting? And I find it a whole lot among our Pentecostals too. We're drifting too far from that lifeline. We must come back to that, friend, come back, because we're getting big now. E-53 I see where the Business Men's publication is the greatest, one, as much maybe as what Oral Roberts has got. And I find out that when we go to getting big, then we go to acting big (See?) just like Israel did. And we go to acting like we're just--compare with the--the rest of them. Remember, you are a different people. You are a holy nation, a royal priesthood, a peculiar people. Why, we Pentecostals got so we ain't any more peculiar than the rest of the world. We just dress, act, talk, go do the things they do, run home and watch television instead of staying for church, and just the same things they do, about. We're trying to compete, trying to be like the Joneses. See? We don't want to do that.
E-54 We want to be--make this Bible our looking glass, and let ourselves be molded by His character, having His character, His mind, letting the mind that was in Christ be in us. His mind was always... What was His mind to do, the mind that was in Christ? Always to stay with the Father's Word. No matter what looked glossy, and what looked this way, it didn't make any difference to Him. The Father's Word's what counted. Everywhere when He met the devil He never even used His power to defeat him. He used the Word, because that was Him.
E-55 You know in the heathen world how the heathen put up an idol, and they prostrate themselves before the idol, and work themselves into such an emotion till they believe they can hear that idol speak back to them. It's a mental affair, but how vice versa from God's truth. God wants you. He don't want an idol. You are the living image of God. And you prostrate yourself before God, and He fills you with Himself, and you express Him as a looking glass, His church. E-56 That's what the prophets did: every one. The Word of the Lord came to the prophets, and that's how they knowed they were. Moses, the Word of the Lord came to Moses. The more--Word of the Lord came to Noah; the Word of the Lord came to Daniel; the Word of the Lord expressed itself through the Hebrew children. What was it? When men of any age took God's Word, then God expressed that Word to them. Noah was a image and a sign of God's oncoming judgment, and he expressed the Word. And by staying with the Word, the same Word he expressed condemned the world and saved his own house.
E-57 Daniel had purposed in his heart he wasn't going to defile himself with the world. And what did it do? It saved his life. The Hebrew children the same way...
E-58 Now, let us look at--in God's mirror Word and identify our present character. Now, I might pinch you just a little bit. And I won't take much more time. Oh, my. I didn't know it was that late: quarter after. I ain't got no clock here. I watched one last night and preached about two hours, and I thought, "My, it's just seven o'clock. I'm doing fine, just getting warmed up," and here it was nine-thirty, time to quit. Notice. We won't stay much longer though. Let me just give this to you, just...
E-59 What group? When here is an old fanatic standing up there on the hill, that's been proven over and over for a hundred and twenty years that he's out of his mind, because he's absolutely predicting that there's water coming down from up there. And all their scientific instruments prove that it wasn't there. And because it didn't jive up with their scientific things... How could Almighty God ever do something that was against their own reasoning? See? And the man was talked about. He was the laughing stock of the time.
E-60 The only way that you'd ever do it would be for it personally to be revealed to you. And did you know that's the only way that God built His church? Look it. In the garden of Eden, how did Abel know that it was a blood instead of a apple? See? It was spiritually revealed. And look. When Jesus was here on earth He said, that great notable time that He was speaking, "Who does men say I, the Son of man, am?"
E-61 Now watch the way He quoted it. Now, we know that the Catholic church (Not hurting you Catholics' feelings), but you said He built it up on Peter being the little rock. "Upon this rock I build My church. The gates of hell cannot prevail against it." See? Now, if that be so, then the church backslid. See? Now, then if it was, it was built upon a man.
E-62 I'm going to disagree with both by saying this, that it was not He was talking about Himself directly, but potentially He was speaking of Himself. And He did not include Peter, any more than his confession of it. Because look what He said, "Blessed are thou, Simon, the son of Jonas, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you. You never learned this by some seminary experience, or somebody told you about it. But My Father which is in heaven has revealed this to you." Then it's a spiritual revelation of Who Jesus Christ is. It's exactly.
E-63 So you see, Noah had a spiritual revelation. God had directly spoke to him. Abel... When Cain offered the fruits of the field, as apples, and the fruits and so forth, and made his altar pretty, and said, "God will accept this because I've done all this, and fixed the great altars, and I--I've decorated it. I made it pretty. We got the biggest church in the city, or so forth." God will accept it in this." He accepts the work of no man's hands in redemption.
E-64 You say, "Well, I belong to church. My church is as good as your church. They're both made out of the same kind of building, same kind of materials." That's right. The building has nothing to do with it. Organization is a group of men who gets together, make up a decalogue of what they stand for, and that's it. Nothing against that, that's all right, but that ain't what I'm talking about. You wear the same kind of clothes maybe, if they're decent, what other believers would do, and still that doesn't make it.
E-65 Now, now--now, we notice that... If you were in that day, what group would you be identified with? With the prophet with the vindicated Word, although they were in the minority? Or would you be with the popular opinion folks? "Well, I tell you; I believe that man's crazy." And the only way that you'd ever know he wasn't crazy is for the same God to reveal to you the same thing He'd revealed to Moses.
E-66 Would you be with the popular folks who had the popular opinion? "As long as I belong to church, and maybe because I danced in the Spirit I'm all right." Maybe, "Because I've spoken with tongues, I'm all right." Or maybe, "We got a good pastor, and I'm all right." Now, those things are loyal. I have nothing to say against that. That's true. But this plan of salvation is an individual affair with you. Speaking in tongues is a gift of God. Dancing in the Spirit is the Presence and glory of God. But for you to let your character be molded into the image of God, that He projects Himself, and you are--and you are His idol walking on the earth, the expressed image of Him...
E-67 Or in the days of Elijah, when he talked enough about painted faces, and--and the modern lady of the hour, that Jezebel, setting there turning her--her husband's head any way it wanted to go? And whether it wanted to or not, she turned it anyhow, and the preachers all agreeing, "That's all right." See, "That's all right, because our queen..." See? And they all so easy fall into that trend.
E-68 Would you be on the critical side? Would you be down there with Elijah, standing there when Elijah seemed to be the only one alone, and everybody thought he was an old fogy or something? But that never bothered him a bit. He had the Word, and... He had the Word, and he wasn't afraid with the Word. He wasn't scared with It. Any man who's got the message of God fears nothing. That's right. E-69 And any man with God's message knows where he's standing. He don't care for nobody, what they got to say about it. There ain't no bishops or nothing else pushing him around. He knows exactly where he's standing, and that settles it. God vindicates His message and proves that it's right, so he stands right with it and he's fearless. That's the expressed image of God. That's what Jesus did. He wasn't afraid to say, "Oh, you blind Pharisees, you're a--you're the one who builds up the tombs of the prophets, and you're the one put them in there. You are of your father the devil." And archbishops and everything else... He wasn't afraid because He knowed where He was at. Yes. E-70 In the days of Elijah what side would you have took? Or in the days of Moses, when there was a message of God thoroughly a vindicated (Now, listen.), in your present character... You say, "I'm a Christian." All right. I'm just going to ask you. Your present character, what stand would you have took when Dathan raised up and said, "Now, wait just a minute. There's more holy men around here besides you, Moses. We'll just get a group of men and make us a big affair here. And the first thing you know we'll have bishops, and archbishops, and everything else around here. And God's in His people the whole thing. Don't think that you're the only pebble on the beach."
E-71 When Dathan stood there and said, "Don't you people think that? That man takes too much in his own hands. He's trying to tell us what to do. Why, in the multitude of many, there's counsel, there's--there's safety. Why, we all ought to get together and solve this thing out." But there was a message of... God vindicated His message.
E-72 But you see, what side would you have took in your present character, if Dathan would've raised up and said that, and you'd been standing there at that time? Would you have held onto God's message and messenger, and stayed by till it was thoroughly vindicated to be the truth, or would you have took your--your papers and went over and joined some other group? Oh, that's... See? Just think about it.
E-73 Now. Or in the days of Christ... We'll hurry. In the days of Christ what side would you have took, when all the big churches and their modern theologians and teachers was against Him and His principles and clear-cut Scripture teaching? They was against it. When your church that you went to said, "That guy's a fanatic. Well, he never came out of our seminaries. We have no record of him going to our schools. He don't have a fellowship card. He don't pack no credentials. So the guy's crazy. Don't have nothing to do with that." What would you have done in your present state now? Just ask it a minute. All right.
E-74 Why? He was heaven-born. His character was above. It didn't--it didn't coincide with the affiliation of this world's confederations. See? He wasn't that type of person. Where would you stand when all the theologians, all the teachers said, "Where did this man come from? We don't even know where he come..." When He healed the blind man they said, "Why, we don't know what--whence this man come from? Give glory to God. We don't know nothing about this man. Where did he come from? We--we don't have no record of him. He's not on our schedule. He's not on our board of directors. He's--he's nowhere none of them knows nothing about him. Where did he come from?" E-75 Way... All modern... All Bible teachers was against Him and his true-cut Word from God. You believe He was absolutely fundamental, don't you, in His teaching? But not according to their schools. Did that soak in? How did we know He was fundamental? He asked them, "Who can prove Me of sin? Search the Scriptures. They're the One that testify of Me. They tell you exactly. Now, if I don't do what the Scripture says, and then the Father don't vindicate that through Me, then throw Me out. I'm wrong." Yes, sir.
E-76 Now we find out that they were against that, the true Word of God. Oh, would your present estate identify you with Him, or with that blinded bunch of Pharisees? Would your present state... Would you hold on to your--your creeds of your church? Would you hold to it because that your pastor was a... Maybe you say, "Well, he's a good man." He can be a good man and still be blind. Certainly. Did not Jesus say, "You blind leaders of the blind..."
E-77 And when you've seen the Word of God vindicated as the truth by the messenger, and you search the Scriptures and knowed it, but your--your denomination said, "The days of miracles is past. There's no such a thing as that."? Now, what would you do in your present state? Many of you has expressed it.
E-78 You know, history is repeating itself. I cut a piece out of the paper the other day on that. The Pharisees of that day took a stand against Him because of prejudice. That's the same thing they do today. Remember, Nicodemus said the same thing. He said, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God." But because that their creeds and denominations wouldn't accept His message, then they forbid anybody else.
E-79 If you would've followed Him just to see His miracles, as many did, and you followed Him today in the church, just to see His miracles and set around... But to put your hand down to receive the Holy Ghost yourself, you won't do it. They won't do it. Many followed Him just for His miracles, to see them. But when He set down to the real teaching of the Scripture the multitude walked away from Him.
E-80 Many of them followed Him, because the first part of His ministry He went from church to church. Oh, they gladly received Him, and they give Him a great hand. "Oh, Rabbi, oh, you're a great fellow." But one day He set down with Scriptural Truth. And then when He identified Himself not only as a Healer, but as a sent from God with Truth and Life: when He identified Himself to that, oh, that was against their tradition, even to many that followed Him. The seventy turned and went away.
E-81 I'm going to speak to the kids here, the teenagers. Could you identify yourself today, teenager, as a professed believer? As the rich young ruler, the Elvis Presley type that love the pleasures of the world more than he loved to follow Christ? Would you identify yourself with this present day group that say... Well, like this Mr. Presley. As I understand, He's a Pentecostal. And a Pentecostal to get out and act like that, He's just only a Pentecostal by name. To me it's another Judas.
E-82 That young teenager had a... He was a rich man. He had an opportunity. He was a--may have been a Christian businessman too. [Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.]... church. E-83 What am I laying before you? Oh, say, "They..." I know better than that. I've passed through, myself, Phoenix for the last fifteen years, and it still looks the same as it always did, only getting worse. So don't lay it all on to the pastor. Let's just say we're all guilty, and stand up there, and look at ourself in the glass. That's right. Teenager, what about that? Do you love the praises of them people more than you love the--the invitation you're give to mold your character into the image of the Son of God? What about it? How can we do it? Oh, my. Can you see yourself identified, popular-loving?
E-84 How about... Now, I'm coming down home just a little closer now. How about you Pentecostals that really know better? That's right. You know better than that. You know better. So remember, this rich young ruler's last identification. He was in hell, looking up to a man that had lived right, asking for water. But he'd crossed that great chasm without accepting God's potential to bring him back. And there he was, and there he is yet tonight, and he always will be. All right. That's His last identification.
E-85 Do you identify yourself with Judas' group? Remember, Judas started out to walk with Him. Now, if--if this hurts, I don't mean it to hurt, but I mean it for to pinch right hard. See? Judas started out on the right foot. He started out to walk with Him. But when he got to be--get a little money in his hands... I wonder if that could be applied to Pentecost? When we got off of the street corner, and out of the little mission in the alley--and then we got to have a little money... And I wonder if our walk hasn't got a little twisted, when we got a bunch of... Maybe a bunch of people gets in there and says, "Oh, well, this..."
E-86 All right, notice. Now, modern Pentecostals... Now, now, we've talked to the Presbyterian, the Catholic, but I'm going to talk about Pentecostals now, 'cause we're going over here to represent something (See?), Pentecost. Isn't it a strange thing that the Pentecostals in this modern age, that the Bible predicts will be like the Laodicea... Laodicea... There's a Greek teacher setting here listening at me. The "Laodicea" means "a woman." Laodicea is a woman's name in Greek. None of the rest of the church is represented by that name. But now it's a woman, a Jezebel. That's right.
E-87 Let some pastor come into a community and build up a nice work. And then they have the meeting, general meeting somewhere, and they take that fellow out, and take some little pet little Ricky and put him in there, and it only scatters the sheep. If God puts a man in there... But, oh, the--they do that at the conferences many times, pick on, send some poor brother away and--that's really built up the work. Then they don't know they break their own neck in doing so and hurt the church.
E-88 What did Judas do? What did he do? Remember his last estate. Oh, what did he do? He doubted Christ's claims after he started to walk with Him. Pentecostals, don't you never do that. Business Men, don't you never do that. Don't you doubt His claims; He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. Judas doubted His claims and become very popular and sold it out. Judas' character caused him to sell Him out to His critics, and today the same thing's taking place. E-89 Or do you find yourself identified with His true disciples? Amen. That's where we want to be: true to Him, true to His Word. Stay up in the face of critics. Amen. Is that where you find yourself identified tonight? Thank the Lord. Amen. Letting the Life of Christ flow through them... Yes, sir. They had been sanctified by His coming. And a sinful man, upon confession... And sanctification had cleansed them, and their hearts were so centered to God until Christ poured Himself into them and reflect His Presence to the world. In the face of critics they stood like He did. They stood true to the Word, even till one said, "Thou almost persuadest me to be a Christian," one of his--the critics.
E-90 Can you identify yourself with Peter on the day of Pentecost? Can you identify yourself there in Acts 2, where people say today the Holy Ghost was only given to the twelve apostles? Can you identify yourself with Peter when he said, "Repent, every one of you, and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to them that's far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." This same Holy Ghost... Do you identify yourself there with him on that day?
E-91 Or with Paul, when the popular world-loving Demas, forsaken him for his Christian so-called brethren of the popular opinion? When Paul stood on the Word, Demas left him, love--loving this present world, left him because that he was true to the Word. It was too straight for him. Who would you go with? Demas? Or would you go with Paul? Check the Word. What side would you take in your present state at that time? Yet them was professed Christians. Paul said, "All men has forsaken me." Poor little guy...
E-92 Like the infidel said--said to the little girl, he said, "You believe that Bible?"
E-93 Or let me ask you one more thing. This might hurt a little bit, but I want to ask you something. When the issue come up in the Corinthian Church about women preachers, and them bobbing their hair, the women... And the issue come up, and Paul took the state that they should not be made preachers. Paul took the state that a woman cut her hair she dishonored her husband, and she'd ought not even be seen praying in public. What, in your present estate, what issue would you take? Now, look in the glass. I better leave that alone. I want you to look at your present state. What part did... what... where--what--where--where are you looking at now? What are you looking at?
E-94 Yes, sir. There Paul stood for--for--from the position that he had in... Remember, Paul... To do this... Now, wait. Let me get something else 'fore we leave. Paul, before he could do this, he had to leave a high position he had in the church of his day to stay with the Word. Now, if you're looking at Paul, what about you when your church teaches contrary to it? What about you, pastor, minister, laity? Sure.
E-95 Demas, and all the rest of them, said, "Oh, you might as well come on... Go on, Paul, you ain't..." But Paul stood right there with that Word.
E-96 Moses had to stoop from a throne to take the Word of God. He forsook a throne. That's right. He was heir to a throne, and he forsook the pleasures of being Pharaoh, for he esteemed the reproach of Christ's greater riches than the treasures of Egypt. You say, "Well, I tell you. The women'll all laugh at me. The man'll think..." Well, I don't care what they think. That's right.
E-97 In John 14:12 He said, "He that believeth on Me, the works that I do, he'll do also." Why? It was Christ reflected. "A little while and the world won't see Me no more, yet you'll see Me, for I ('I,' the personal pronoun) "be with you, even in you (See?) all to the end of the world." Oh. "If any will follow Me, let him deny himself..." Let him deny his manmade creed, pick up his Bible, "and follow Me." That's right. Yes, sir.
E-98 Church, we're going over here to a--to a gathering that has been planned for a year. Churches has been praying. People has been fasting. I've poured out my heart all through the week, up and down this valley, to every little crack and corner that I could get into, trying my best to warn you of the coming of the Lord. And here we are just before this time here, and let's identify ourselves now to move over yonder to represent or reflect Jesus Christ. E-99 But where's that happiness coming from? What's the resource? What does it react upon you, and what does it reflect? Someone'll deny God's Word, someone'll live in the world, someone'll hear the truth and walk away from it, sell their birthrights out for something else? Oh, God help us, brother, sister, help us to get back and let Christ reflect Himself to--in us like that. Oh, my. May God help us to be identified in Him so much that His Word and His Presence can flow through us to manifest Himself to the world (Amen.), for which we're going to face. E-100 One more remark--I'm closing. Listen close. The goldsmith is now standing ready. You know, jewels are found in the earth, materials that we beat together. But you know, if you find in that something mixed into it, that nugget that you got will break apart. A chain is no stronger than its weakest link. So if you're trying to be a stone cut out of God, some material, and you find out you try to make yourself too big, and in between there you had to squeeze some world into it, that stone'll break. It won't stand the test. And listen. God will not accept us Pentecostal people when we inject dogmas and everything else in God's Word. It'll... God will reject the stone and kick it over to one side. Let's not look for big things. Let's look for Christ in our life. Let's look for humility. See?
E-101 Remember, if the stone is big, and you're trying to spread out... That's what I'm afraid we're trying to do. That's what I've talk... I've got with these businessmen. It seems like they're outgrowing something, and I--I... That's the reason I hate... I--I like to be honest with you brethren. I got to meet you yonder in judgment someday. That's the reason the church thinks I'm against the church. I'm not against the church. I'm... Why would I identify myself here with you? If I thought the Baptist was right, the Methodist was right, the Presbyterian was right, I'd be with them. I'm here with you because I'm identifying myself here with you.
E-102 Just because we bear the name of Pentecost, that don't mean nothing to God. No, sir. Pentecost is not an organization. Pentecost is an experience. It's a reflection of Christ, where He started on the day of Pentecost to reflecting Himself to the people. And then the people begin to add worldliness. What happened? They went into the Nicaea Council and--and rejected the plain promises of God and put dogma into it. And she broke the Christian experience all to pieces, and she went off into Catholicism.
E-103 "How do..." You say, "How do you know those things?" Well, let me tell you something. "Brother Branham, are you prophesying?" I'm not exactly prophesying. But when a doctor examines a patient, he sees the symptoms, he knows what's going to happen. I'm reading out of the doctor's Book, and I see the symptoms working in the Pentecostal church and I know where she's headed.
E-104 Business Men, stay off of that track. Now, you're writing all kinds of creeds up in your magazines, and that associates you just as much denomination as the rest of them. You know that's just so. Don't you see you're coming right into the thing you've been standing against? Now, you won't love me maybe. Whatever... That's true. You mark my word down. Turn, or you're gone. Pentecost, turn, or you're gone. Come back to the Word. It's later than you think.
E-105 You've seen so many impersonators come along, saying, this, and "Glory to God, I got this... And hallelujah, I got this." And you find out they haven't got nothing. And the devil did that to rise a doubt in your heart. See? He did that purposely to do that. But remember that only says one thing, that there's a genuine, that that impersonator's trying to act like. E-106 [Someone in audience prophesies, and Brother Branham comments during its delivery: "My people, I say unto thee this night, awake! Awake, My people, I say unto thee this night, and return unto My Word. I say unto thee, My people, return. Return unto thy first love, My people, I have called thee this night. I have given thee My Word this night. (Glory.) I have spoken unto thee by My Spirit (Amen.) and I have given thee My Word. And I say unto thee, My people, I am speaking unto thee this night. Return unto thy God, My people (Amen.), return unto My Word. (Oh, amen.) Knowest thou not that the day comest when thou shalt stand before Me and thou shalt be judged, yea, even by the Word which thou hast heard this night," saith the Lord--Ed.]
E-107 O Lord God, how we thank You, Lord. We are told in the Scripture that when David, when the enemy was coming in, and they had assembled together, and David was trying to tell them about the God, there stood up one in their midst and prophesied and told them what to do and how to defeat the enemy. Truly, Lord, we believe that same thing. The Spirit of God falls in the midst of us, and the Word is the place to defeat the enemy. That's what You give Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden to defeat the enemy, and when Eve reasoned with It and projected reasons with the Word, it fell apart, and sin entered.
E-108 Bless the people here, Lord. I have now, in these nights after nights, tried to say these things, that Your--Your--Your coming is at hand. Everything's shaping that way. And from a--a vision a few weeks ago has sent me here to Arizona. I know not why: maybe my coming home. I don't know. It--it looks very much that way. But, Lord, let me finish my course with--with--and hold the faith, keeping my garments unspotted, Lord, by the grace of Christ. Let me be able to stand in that day and say, "I've declared the whole counsel of God, as I knew it, to be the truth. And I've shunned to say nothing." Grant it.
E-109 God, let me look at myself. And I'm ashamed of it, Lord, in the mirror of God's Word. I'm contending, and honestly, earnestly, contending for the faith that was once delivered to the saints, as Jude said we should do. And we're promised that in the last days this faith of the fathers would be restored back again to the original Pentecostal faith. You promised it. In Malachi 4 You said it would happen, and, Father, may we be watching, and our eyes wide open, and not miss it, like through the ages they've always did. But may our eyes be open to see Jesus Christ as He's manifested in His glory among His humble people to take out a people out of these Gentiles for His Name's sake. Grant it, Lord.
E-110 And thank You for an oasis too, for the business world, these businessmen. Lord, may their garments stay unspotted from the things of the world. Grant it. Make it a soul-saving place, Lord, that--that maybe somewhere the people won't go to church, they will go to hear business people talk. And may their--their life be so salty with the grace of God, and the humility of His Spirit, that the--that the world will crave to be that kind of men. Grant it, Lord. Bless us now together.
E-111 He's not a dead founder like Mohammed, or--or Buddha, or some other of the cults. He's a living, present tense now, resurrected Jesus. He's alive forevermore and can never die no more, and has give to us Eternal Life, and has presented Himself among us, and we, Lord, reflecting His grace to others. Help us, Father, as You've promised in the last days what would happen, just like it was in the days of Lot.
E-112 Now, now, I--I spoke at length, but this... I don't know that He'd do this. I don't know that He will. I'm only going to ask Him. I believe, if I put my life here to--on the stake to stand by this Word, then the best of my knowledge... I'm not sinless. I got plenty hanging on me. But every hour I confess it, constantly. When I see my wrong, now I turn from that and try to do what's right. I wouldn't try to go to heaven on my merits. I wouldn't get there. I'm trusting solemnly in Jesus Christ. He's my Trust. I--I--I believe in Him. I wouldn't try to go in because I'm a Pentecostal brother. I wouldn't go in on the merits of Pentecost; I go in on the merits of the Blood of Jesus Christ. He died for me, and that's what I want you to trust: the merits of Him. | ||||||