Sermon Texts (Adding Now)
Sermon Texts Beginning With I
Influence (63-0803E)
| Influence (63-0803E) |
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1 Thank you, very much. Let us remain standing just a moment now as we bow our heads for prayer. And while we have our heads bowed, and our hearts, wonder how many in here has a request, might make it known to God as you lift your hands? And then... Now, just hold your request as we pray. 2 Heavenly Father, we are so happy tonight for this, another time that we can come to You, and have this assurance that what we ask we receive, if we will believe that we get what we ask for. And now, Lord, help our unbelief, that we might tonight be able to have these things that we ask for. My hands with their hands is up. And we pray, Father, to You Who understands the things that we have need of. Grant it--them to us, Lord, tonight. We pray for encouragement, that when we're in this great hour of distress that we're in, the... And the world in the condition that it's in, we need Your most holy help, Lord. And we pray that You'll encourage us by Thy Word, that we might know how that we should act, and just prior the coming of the Lord Jesus. Grant it, Father. We ask it in Jesus' Name, amen. You may be seated. 3 So glad to be back again tonight, and to speak again about our most gracious Lord. It's good to be back here in Lane Tech again. This is almost like coming home; I been here so many times. And now I see they've gotten many handkerchiefs here that's been laid up here to be prayed over. And now, last night we had to--we closed our regular healing services, taken up our cards and things, because of having double services. You see, it kinda puts quite a strain on you for having a--a double service. And now, we sure will be praying for these handkerchiefs tonight, and trusting that the Lord will make each and every one of you, with faith that'll receive what you've asked for in these requests.
4 We certainly going to miss Brother Mel Johnson tomorrow and that fine singing. I really appreciate that fine voice that the Lord has given him. 6 We certainly wouldn't want to pull you away from your own post of duty, because that's not our objective. It's to try to catch, mainly, those who are unsaved. Those who does not have the Holy Spirit, and you--you really believe that you need It, and then we're here to help you. Then the sick and afflicted, why, we're here to pray for them out of all the churches. And you go back to your church, wherever you come from. If you received the Holy Spirit, or healed, go back with a testimony, tell others. Even though if your church doesn't believe in it, go anyhow. See? Where it's easy to let your Light shine where there's plenty of--of Light, but we want Light to shine where there is no Light. That's when it gives its best influence. 7 And thank you, Brother Vayle. [Brother Vayle had adjusted the microphone, and now says, "Stay up like this, we got to watch it."--Ed.] Brother Vayle was thinking that they couldn't hear. Is that better? Well, fine, that's good. 8 Now, tonight, without a healing service, I think, I should get out a little earlier tonight. I--I been saying every night, "I'm going to try to let you out about nine-thirty." And pretty near that time now, and so, nine o'clock, about five minutes of. And then I--time I get through, and then holding you this morning about two hours, I'll tell you, you'll probably be wore out and be glad when I leave the city tomorrow night. But I wished I could just bring myself down to them twenty-minute talks. But I only just have to keep speaking until that I get tired, and I know you're wore out by that time. So then I just never get finished; I just quit and go in, rest awhile.
9 Now, tonight, I want you to turn in your Bibles to the Isaiah, the Book of Isaiah, the--the 6th chapter of Isaiah. And now, before we read, we would ask God to bless His Word and to--to make It real to us, as we bow our heads just a moment. Well, we'll read the Word first, and then listen close now as we read.
In the year that king Uzziah died I was... I saw also the Lord setting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his trail filled the temple.
And above it stood the seraphim: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
And one cried to another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD God of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I'm a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this has touched thy lips: and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin is purged.
Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Who shall I send, and who shall go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
10 Let us pray. Lord Jesus, we are not sufficient to break into this most gracious text tonight, but we ask Your help now, Lord, for no other purpose but that the--the Gospel might be once more preached in the city of Chicago. Grant it, Lord. And may the--the influence be an everlasting influence. Grant it. We ask it in Jesus' Name. Amen. 12 And now, you know, many people won't go to church. They say... Well, they've got a wrong impression of church. They think it's the--the women down there are--are witches, and the--the men are--are black-robed demons, and they just got the wrong idea about it. But I tell you what they do do, they will watch your life to see what you do. I believe it was Paul that said, "We are written epistles of God, read of all men." When you're on the street, and when you're at your work, and wherever you are, somebody's watching you. 13 And especially after you have said and made your confession that you are a Christian, they'll watch you much closer then, and that gives an influence to--to the people that's around about you. And we should watch what we do. Because if we produce the wrong influence, then we bring reproach, not so much upon ourselves, but upon what we claim to be, Christians, we bring it upon Christ. And no one, if we would think, you would never want to bring reproach upon Christ. But the wrong act, at the wrong time, will certainly cause a wrong reflection towards the person that's watching you. And everybody is watched, when you profess to be a Christian.
14 Now, this text that we're speaking on tonight, of influence, it goes back, the real lesson of it, if you'd like to--to read it, you'll find it in II Chronicles the 26th chapter. It was the--the life of this Uzziah, the king.
17 Reminds me. Here not long ago, I was at a meeting of the Full Gospel Business Men out in Los Angeles. Brother Oral Roberts had made a statement about something on this line, and they asked me to get up and say something about it, about influencing. I said... 21 And if our American people are setting the pace today before our children of smoking cigarettes, the women and the men drinking, and cards in the house, and--and dice, what kind of a--of a people will we have in the next race that is to come, or the next generation, rather, that is to come? It'll be a bunch of neurotics. And which I think the whole world is just about in that condition now. Then if this race, or this generation, rather, is like this, what will the next one produce? Then if there would be another, why, the whole human race, if it keeps going in the way it is, will become extinct altogether, because we're killing ourselves and setting examples for others.
22 And even Christians today, who claim to be Christians, and smoke, and drink, and--and cheat, and buy on dishonest. While we... Why, it's no wonder that Christianity is at one of its low ebbs at this time. It's the influence that the church people has--has placed upon the men that hasn't yet received Christ. Men wants to maintain their testimony and then live any way they want to.
24 Now, this young boy, we find out, he was--having this good, godly parent and training, it... When his daddy died, when he was only sixteen years old, and the people took and made him king... And he come on the throne of power when he was only sixteen years old. And if you'll read his life, he wasn't influenced by the politics of his country. He--he didn't take the popular opinion, "He sought after God," the Bible said.
26 And we find out that he never compromised with any of the heathen worlds; the heathen world, after they seen him build his kingdom so great, and God was with him and blessing him...
30 Now, we find that this king, oh, did like so many Christians of today. As long as he stayed humble, then God blessed him. But the Bible said here, that when he got lifted up, when he got everything secured, then he become lifted up in his own self, and then he was on his road out. 32 If you'll pardon this expression, I agree with a certain writer, that that's what has caused many of these men that's been in these latter-day revivals, or this last-day revival to--to fly to pieces. Some of them found they've been claimed to being drunk in their pulpit, and--and some of them has done wrong. It's because they--they have such an influence on the people till they begin to feel that they're self-sufficient, that that's their little kingdom, and they can, they got the people so in their grip that they can just do anything they want to, and the people doesn't notice it. But God notices it (You see?), that's the One. I might say... Like Nebuchadnezzar, one day, walked out and said, "Look what a great kingdom I have built," and then the Angel of the Lord smote him.
33 And when a man or a woman, no matter he--whether he's a bishop, or a cardinal, or whatever he might be, when you begin to feel that you are self-reliant, then you better begin to watch and take heed. Because God won't let you go like that, because He will not share His glory with anyone. No, sir. God takes glory alone.
35 This king, though being a godly man as he was, he felt self-sufficient. He felt like that he could hoist himself up in pride, that he could just take over and do whatever he wanted to, nobody else he had to ask. But, remember, we're always under God. God is our God.
37 That's what I've always said to these Full Gospel Business Men, "Don't you never try to be preachers." The preachers has a hard enough time to keep the thing straight. And then we're doing a very poor job out of it and then especially take a businessman that's not even called to the work at all. See, when you do that, you're stepping beyond your boundaries.
41 Now, we find out that this fellow tried to take the place of a minister, which he was not qualified. Yet, God blessed him, he was a great man. He had strengthened his kingdom against all the nations of the world. They were bringing in glory and giving it to him, and sheep and cattle. And he had herdsmen, and vine--vineyard dressers, and, oh, everything. He was living in luxury, then he begin to come puffed up.
44 God told Israel, "When you were... I found you in the field, you were bloody," and the condition it was in, "and then when you become fed up, and--and got prettied up, then it..." she turned her back on God, and be--played the part of a--of a prostitute, and invited everybody to see her. And we see that God isn't pleased with that at all.
46 Oh, if the ministry could only get to that place, the consecrated to the service... If man could realize that preaching the Gospel isn't to get more members in the church, but it's consecration to a--the purpose of the task, that we must have newborn babes into the Kingdom of God. No matter what denomination they go to, or what about it, it's just to get those newborn babies.
48 I know of a man in the world today, a fine man too, a good man, a real preacher of the Word, and I--I would say a--a real brother, and I talked to him not long ago. And he kept having sensations, and he built his ministry completely upon sensations, now they're baptizing to Eternal Life, "as the people are not going to die." I'm afraid they're out on a limb that they'll never have no way to get back off of that (See?) but because that's wrong. 50 I'm don't want to live in this old pesthouse that I been living in. It catches every disease floats through. I want one that's made not with hands, fashioned after God, that--that's not a hybrid plant like this is. I want one that's made by the hands of God, that diseases and sickness and death goes from it. Now, whenever He summons me, I--I'm ready, by the grace of God, believing that, when this earthly tabernacle be dissolved, we have one already waiting, that we move into, that can't die from it no more. 51 How would you want to live in this? Not me. My, it's... We're going out of it, and I'm glad of it. And this old human, germ trap that we're living in, death trap and whatmore, is--is the groans and pains in it, and old age. And, why, my, who'd want to stay in a body like that? I--I'm glad there is one coming. We got a body that--that's being prepared for us in glory. And as soon as the life leaves this old hull here, that eternal Spirit of God that lives within, it takes its journey into that tabernacle yonder, and there it lives eternally. Why would we want something like this? My, Yes, sir. Oh, I--I'm so glad that--that there, that there is a God Who has made all these things plain. 52 And we look here, we see they're just a shadow anyhow. We are a shadow. I look here on the platform, seen men that moves, and I look out on the street and see men and women that move. They got life, but yet it cannot be real Life, because it's death in it. And--and David said, 'I'll walk through the valley of the shadow of death." Now, it takes so much light to make a shadow. There has to be so much light. If it's altogether darkness, it cannot make a shadow. See? It has to be so much light in the dark to make it shadow. Well, now it depends on which one of those sides that you're leaning to.
53 If I see a man walking, fine-looking young man; in a few years, watch his hair turn gray and slip out, his shoulders droop down. A beautiful young girl standing, with a sainted, godly face on her, and stand and praising God; and I come back in a few years and find her stoop-shouldered, packing two or three children. Well, my, there--it shows that in that body there is death. No matter how well it is and how lovely it looks, it's still got death in it.
55 And we find that as long as this king felt that way, God blessed him. But when he got to a place that he wanted to not abide in his own calling, he wanted to take the calling of something else. And he thought, because that God had blessed him, that that was all right, he could do that.
58 Now, we notice that this king... And another thing we learn here on Uzziah, that when he was called down by the man who had the authority to take the censer in, the consecrated man for the service... When he called him down, he got angry with him. 61 I'd say this, respects. We got men today on the field, young men, and middle-aged men, and old men, who started out on a good run, and tried, and made a good showing to God. But we find them today, out yonder, alcoholics, and broke up, out there in--in the other, away from us. Some of them backslid altogether. Some of them have went money crazy, and some went woman crazy and married other women that wasn't their wives. And--and all the things and disgrace that's been brought on every denomination. We, one can't call the other one bad, because we're all guilty, the whole, or every denomination. We've found men like that, that's once been influenced by God and had a great influence to the people. And yet when they felt self-sufficient... When a man gets a place where he can influence for God, he ought to humble himself all the time, constantly.
63 And we find out, this king died in disgrace, a leper. Then, he was a lesson to the young prophet, not to put his hopes upon any man, but to look to God only. When he begin to look at--to a man for an example, this man failed, yet being a good man.
65 A man has no right to take up and say, "Well, I'd make a easy living if I was a minister. I believe I'll study the ministry. I believe I'll do this, that, or the other. I believe if I can impersonate this gift that God has given, it would... I'd have great campaigns and so forth." We see so much of that today.
67 Then when he saw that his great hero had come to this disgrace and went down and died, Isaiah felt then pretty near all hopes for him was gone, so he went down to the temple one day to talk it over with the Lord, and that's where the vision happened. At the temple he saw the One that he was supposed to be looking at all the time. In the temple he saw in a vision, God setting high on a throne, exalted way in the heavens, and His train was with Him. This vision he saw, high, lifted up, His throne, way above every earthly domain. God, that's the One he was supposed to look at, when he was in the vision.
69 And when this prophet felt the Spirit of God on him, and he opened his eyes... You see, he was so born for that purpose, that when he opened his eyes, it's like dropping from here into a land like he was dreaming, and he saw God's throne exalted so high. And then he looked in the temple, and these Seraphims was going back and forth through the temple, crying, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God! Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God!"
72 I wonder, my brother; I wonder, my sister, if we'll look at that. When holy Angels has to cover their face to stand in the Presence of God in reverence and in respect, but today we find people who call themself Christians even, has no respect at all for God, or His Word, or His people, or His ministry, or nothing. Where are they going to come up at in the resurrection? The Bible said, "If the righteous scarcely be saved, where will the sinner and the ungodly ever appear?"
74 Notice. They... Two wings, they covered their faces. And why? We notice today that, because that people are--have no reverence. They'll come to church; people will come to church, and--and cut up, and laugh, talk, make fun, setting where the Gospel's being preached, no reverence at all. And meet you on the street, and with... You don't expect any respects from people; we mustn't do that. But yet it--it shows Christian dignity to at least honor the people, say, "Good morning, brother," or whatever you wish. Some of them holler, "Hello, Preach." Oh, that's so common.
77 Look at them soldiers. We could think tonight, what a rashal and a horrible thing it was for those soldiers to put a--a rag over the face of our Lord Jesus to make fun of Him being a prophet and could know the secrets of the heart. They put a--a rag over His face, and set Him out there in a courtyard, and took a stick and struck Him on the head with it, and then passed it one to another, and said, "If you be a prophet, prophesy now; tell us the one of us that hit you." See, no respects at all. They couldn't feel no virtue.
79 This little five senses that we live in, that's just a little world of our own. See? But God... That's... We was only given these so we could contact our earthly home. But there's senses beyond that, another dimension.
81 Jesus said, "Wherever two or three are gathered in My Name, I'll be in their midst." Then that makes Him in a world that we cannot see, that our five senses doesn't contact. Jesus Christ is here, present. If we could be conscious of that...
84 If we could only do like David said, "I put the Lord always before me." Oh, I like that. "The Lord's always before me. Where He goes, I'll follow. And I'm conscious that everywhere I'm going," other words, David said, "that the Lord is going before me."
87 Notice now, with two wings they had over their face to stand in the Presence of God, 'cause that's where they ministered.
89 Now, they had two wings over their feet. That represents humility.
91 Paul, when he saw that same Angel of Light above him, and called it, "Lord," he fell in the dust of the earth. He recognized. The humility, "I'm no more."
96 Now, here's a question was asked me the other day. It might come up in your mind. When Jesus walked into the water, and John said, "I have need to be baptized of Thee, and why comest Thou to me?"
99 Now, here is what it is. See, there was the two most important people on the earth: there was John the prophet; there was Jesus the Messiah. And they two of the men that had the message of the day, met face to face in water, when their eyes caught one another. And John in humility, did say, "I have need to be baptized of Thee, and why comest Thou unto me?"
101 Oh, if we could take that for a text for a few minutes... That we see today, as--as believers in the Light in the hour that we're living in, it's becoming to us that we fulfill all righteousness. It's becoming to a Pentecostal church, that we fulfill all righteousness, seeing that we have been called by the Holy Spirit. It's unbecoming that we separate ourselves from other brethren. It's unbecoming that we denominate ourselves and won't have nothing else to do with our brother who's received the Holy Ghost the same as we did. It's not becoming to us. When we see God moving and performing, and doing exactly what He said, and because the person's not connected with our organization, that we misbehave ourself; that's unseemingly. It's not right.
103 That was because that He was the Sacrifice. And John knew it, because he seen that Light over Him. And John humbled himself, being the greatest man till that hour. But when he seen this great Lord Jesus coming, he said, "I have need to be baptized of You."
107 Our confessions today has begin to come just like a--a I-don't-know-what, some riddle or something. We go down and pray a prayer about two minutes long, and get back up; do something wrong, say, "O Lord, You know I didn't mean to do that, but (Hallelujah.), I'm all right," go along. No, that's not it, brother.
109 And you women with short, bobbed hair, do you know what? It's becoming to you that you let your hair grow out and act like a lady. You that wear shorts, take them off; put on dresses. It's becoming to you that you act like Christians (That's right.), 'cause the Bible said that's wrong. A woman shouldn't do that.
112 They say that the women is the--the most careful drivers that we got in the land. That's wrong. My son and I, crossing the nation, back and forth, keep a book, and every time there's what we call a boo-boo pulled on the road, if it's the man we put it under man, and woman under woman. And under three hundred boo-boo's across the nation, there was two hundred and eighty-one of them women. 115 But it's becoming to us that we fulfill all righteousness. It's got to be said somewhere. You don't look at your fame and popularity here. You are a--you are a love prisoner to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and duty bound. You're a prisoner to Him, and you can say nothing else but what the Holy Ghost says, and preach the thing that's right. That's right. You become a love prisoner to Him. Then you don't care what it is; you've got to fulfill all righteousness. A minister should speak that, and you Pentecostal people especially, that--that knows better than--than to let that get by like that.
116 Now, here sometime ago a great famous man come to me, said, "Won't you leave them women alone?" Said, "Come here, I want to lay hands on you and pray for you, that you'll go ahead, and go ahead praying for the sick." Said, "Why, the people regard you as a prophet."
121 Notice these Angels now. And John the Baptist, Paul, different ones, when they saw that Glory of God and that Light, they bowed to It. They... Yes, they honored It; they respected It; because that they humbled themself. 123 Now, what a real servant that is of God, knowed--showed the prophet how His prepared servant should be. What should the prepared servant be? Now, these servants look at... He had looked at a--a man on earth here and see what a failure he made, then God showed him a Kingdom in heaven, a throne. That's the One to look at. Then He showed him what a real servant ought to be that served in His Presence. And here was these Seraphims then, covered their holy faces, covered their feet, and with two wings they went into action: reverent, humble, and in action. Amen. If that ain't a dressed-up servant, I don't know what is: reverent, humble, and in action. Oh, my. I tell you...
124 Like the little woman at the well, when she recognized that gift of God, and this Man that spoke was the Messiah, it sure put her in action right quick. She forgot about her water pot. She run into the city, saying, "Come, see a Man Who's told me the things I've done. Isn't this the very Messiah?" Oh, what an action she went into.
127 Don't you see what the Presence of the Lord does to real believers? We don't even want to confess; we just want to say, "Well, we're Pentecostal; we're Baptist; we're Presbyterians," and live on. But a real genuine, called servant of God, humbles himself in the Presence of God. He doesn't criticize It.
130 The blind man that was healed, the Bible said that he scattered His fame all throughout the country abroad. He went into action when he found out that God had Representative here on the earth, that could open the eyes of a blind man, and going around testifying, giving God praise. And the Pharisees caught him, and what it was going to be to him, and as I said this morning. "Why," he said, "I cannot explain the--argue theology with you. But this one thing I know, wherein I was once blind, I now see." He was into action, certainly, because he had scattered His fame everywhere. 132 The poor people at Pentecost, those bunch of fishermen and--and tax collectors, and so forth, with humble jobs, they went up there on a promise of God, and they waited in the upper room for ten days. "And all of a sudden there came a sound from heaven like a rushing wind, filled all the house where they were setting." And they went into action, because that they had seen a promise of God made manifest. It was vindicated to them, the promise of God, and it put them in action. When His promise was fulfilled, it put them in action. 133 Friend, may I say this. What we have seen in the last year or two in the Kingdom of God, ought to put every born again Christian into action. But the thing of it is, we don't--we don't respect it, to realize that it's God. We're--we're just kind of a little curious. We like to see little things and give a sensation. We like to feel good. We like to do these things. But when it really comes to really respecting It and believing It with all of our heart, it puts us into action.
134 Why, when the Angel met Mary that morning on the road to the well and told her she was going to have a baby, knowing no man, it put her into action. She went quickly, telling everybody that she was going to have a baby, knowing no man. She didn't care what it meant or what the people said. She had actually met an Angel of God, and it put her into action. She was conscious that the Holy Spirit was upon her, creating in her a life.
137 Israel has gone back to her homeland. Jesus said, "When the fig tree puts forth its bud, this generation shall not pass until all these things are fulfilled." When Israel returns to her homeland and becomes a nation, that generation would see the coming of the Messiah. 139 The wise men that come from up in Babylon, and they were studying the stars, there were astronomers. And as they studied the stars, they seen these three stars line up. Ham, Shem, and Japheth's star, that they were borned under lined up, and they knew. Those scientific believers watched the heavenly beings, how they moved, and when they seen those stars come into line over Jerusalem. For, if they was at Babylon, they looked right straight towards Jerusalem, towards the west to see it. And when they seen that come in, they knew that when those stars come in line with one another, the Messiah was on the earth. Glory.
140 And when we see Israel going home, and the Holy Ghost being poured out in the churches, the ecumenical news of going together, and the Council of Churches, and things, and Roman Catholicism and Protestantism uniting together, the Messiah is going to come to catch away His Bride. 144 Now, a little vine crops up. Israel's a nation of her own. She's got her own nation, her own flag. The old six-point star of David, the oldest flag in the world, flies again, for the first time for about twenty-five hundred years. They've got their own army. They've got their own currency. They are near--represented in United Nations. They are a nation for the first time for twenty-five hundred years. And while they were gathering in...
145 I got a tape of it, a picture, we call it "Three Minutes Till Midnight." And in that they asked these Jews, bringing them in, old, on their back, packing them. They say, "Did you come to the homeland to die?"
148 We, like the prophet, seen come out of self-exaltation, the denominations. We see exactly today in the church what's happened, like Isaiah saw. He saw a man yet being honored of God, but we saw him--he saw him exalt hisself and was stricken with leprosy. We today, we see the same thing, of self-exalted denominations, "We're the biggest one of the bunch. We got more members than the rest of them." Self-exaltation, see the leprosy of unbelief strike them, and they're cast out. 150 We find them like Uzziah, lose their hold on the Word, because they've exchanged It for creeds, trying to make themself like Uzziah of old, try to take the place of the anointed office behind the platform, and reject the true Word of God. They have no more business back there than Uzziah did in that, by that altar with the incense. A man that claims to be a Christian and will deny the facts of the Word, has no more business in the pulpit than what Uzziah had with that--with that censer. A man that claimed to be baptized with the Holy Spirit, and blessed of God, and will stand up and deny that Bible and the Truth of It, has swapped It for a creed or something, he's just as full of leprosy of sin and unbelief as Uzziah was.
151 He was put off from the office, but they try to fulfill that office by intellectual. "I'm Doctor Ph.D., LL.D. So-and-so." See, they try to take that and assert education for the anointing of the Holy Ghost. You see? Therefore, a man can take that Bible, and some big institution can explain It and take It apart, and lay It out here, and fix It up to make it look pretty good to you. That's intellectual. That is because he studied and studied of these angles and things, how to put It together.
153 The vision affected the prophet. Oh, the effects the vision had on him, it caused this prophet...
157 Then he went down to the temple to say, "Lord God, I know You're God. And I've been looking at the wrong thing." And then God showed him a vision, and not only a vision, but the vision was vindicated; because in their midst was the Seraphims flying back and forth, and even their voice rocked the building when it come together, the posts of it.
159 Can you read between the line? Can you see what I'm saying now? The Lord Jesus that promised, "As it was in the days of Lot, so shall it be at the coming of the Son of man." The very God that wrote the Bible, said, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." And He said, "He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he also." Do you get what I mean?
163 And as soon as Isaiah said, "Woe is me! I'm a man of unclean lips, and I dwell with people of unclean lips." Then come the confession that, then come the Cherubim with the fire. Did you notice? God never used a seminary to cleanse him with. He never used a--a book of laws to clean him with. He cleansed him by fire. 165 Then notice, then, after the confession, after the cleansing, then come the commission. Then was the commission. After confessed and cleansed, it was then that the clean Isaiah answered God, and said, "Here am I, send me." After he was cleansed, confessed, cleansed by the fire, then that clean Isaiah was ready for work. He was ready to be an example. He was ready to--to have to put his life out, that others could be influenced by him. But until he had confessed it, until he was cleansed, then he was a very poor influence, just as a puppet for the king.
167 Now, he's cleansed, now he's confessed and cleansed, and called and commissioned to be a prophet. And God let him write the entire Bible in sixty-six Books of the Bible, there's sixty-six chapters of Isaiah. He starts out in Genesis; the middle of the Book comes John the Baptist; and goes plumb over into the millennium reign in Isaiah 65 and 66 (That's right.), the Revelations. He wrote the entire outline of the Bible. Why? Because he humbled himself when he saw the Presence of God. 170 And now, today, we find the same thing: influences. We've got to influence. Before we can influence, we've got to recognize God, we've got to be clean, we got to be humble. We got to get ourself down, and know, just keep imagining and knowing how little you are. You're nothing. I'm nothing. And none of us is nothing, but He's all. He's worthy of all praise, O Lamb of God. What we need is to go back to the temple; we need to go back to the altar of God and to make a altar in our own heart, where that we can surrender ourselves, and then see the Lord God of hosts come down in this last days and do what He did when He was here first. Then you'll understand it and cry, "Woe is me!"
172
When the coal of Fire had touched the prophet,
Making him as pure as pure could be,
When the voice of God said, "Who will go for us?"
Then he answered, "Master, here, send me."
Is that right? Let's sing it.
Speak, my Lord, speak, my Lord,
Speak, and I'll be quick to answer me;
Speak, my Lord, speak, my Lord,
Speak, and I will answer, "Lord, send me."
Listen, friends.
Millions now in sin and shame are dying;
Listen to their sad and bitter cry;
Hasten, brother, hasten to their rescue;
Quickly answer, "Master, here am I."
Now, speak, my Lord, speak, my Lord,
Speak, and I'll be quick to answer Thee;
Speak, my Lord, speak, my Lord,
Speak, and I will answer, "Lord, send me."
173 Do you love Him? [The congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.] Let's bow our heads now, just a moment, and hum this. [Brother Branham starts humming, and then begins to sing.]
... the coal of Fire had touched the prophet,
Let's hum it now. [Congregation hums as Brother Branham continues singing--Ed.]
Making him as pure as pure could be,
When the voice of God said, "Who will go for us?"
Then he answered, "Master, here, send me."
Speak, my Lord, speak, my Lord,
Speak, and I'll be quick to answer Thee;
Speak, my Lord, speak, my Lord,
Speak, and I will answer, "Lord, send me."
175 Heavenly Father, we are waiting for a cleansing of all unbelief, for truly millions now in sin and shame are dying. What good, Lord, does it do, that we--that we profess without having what we profess to have? How good does it do for us to try to imagine with our intellects that something has happened, when we really know it hasn't happened? Our heavenly Father, we pray that You'll cleanse us now from all of our unbelief, and all of our carnal things of life, that we might be clean by the Blood of the Lord Jesus. 177 Now, reverently. I--I'm sure you know me well enough, or I hope you do. I am not a fanatic. If I am, I--I don't know it. And I don't believe that God honors fanatics. All these years, and on the field, there'd have been something happen. I am your brother. But I--I do believe with all my heart that... Now, I can't say the Lord told me, but I believe that this generation living now will witness that rapture. That's how close, I believe. I can't see nothing else coming. See, everything's done moved right up to its place.
178 Remember the last thing that taken place before Sodom was burned? The Lord was manifested in human flesh. Now, He was a Man. He eat meat and He drank the milk from the cow, and eat corn bread, and eat the calf of the cow, and stood there and eat. And yet Abraham, who talked to Him, said that it was Almighty God. In human flesh? Yes. He was showing an example of what He was going to do in the last days. Jesus referred back to it. 181 Now, the Holy Spirit is here. There may be ones in here... We are--we're... We have, we--we have been praying for the sick, but I'm making an altar call. I'm making an altar call to both professors and those who have never made a profession. I'm asking you to go with me to the temple of God which is within you. Go to the confession booth of your heart, and say, "Lord God, cleanse me. And send the Angel with a coal of Fire and--and take from me all unbelief, that this night I might recognize the Presence of God, as Isaiah the prophet did when the Angel touched him." I want you to do that, and really be sincere.
182 And now we've got a promise for this age. We haven't been promised a great bunch of theology. We've been promised...
185 Now, if Jesus Christ stood here tonight at this platform; if He stood here, the only thing that He would do, would be the same thing He did when He was back here to make the people understand that He was the Son of God. 187 Now, be reverent a moment. And may the God of heaven help me, that you on this sermon that I've preached, that when... Isaiah, that believer, when he come to the place that he'd seen the failure of men who tried to represent God, then he saw God come down, and a reality to it, then he cried, "Woe is me!" Because God had made the promise like that. He made it to each generation. He's making it to us in this our generation. We see everything exactly in order for His Coming. Now, do you believe He's here? Now, may He help me.
189 And I want to know how many sick people's out there, raise up your hands. You have faith. And now, I ask you to take this Scripture, Hebrews, that, "He is the High Priest of our confession, and He can be touched by the feeling of our infirmity."
192 That man that just raised back in his seat, he is a big fellow, set right straight in front of me here, that got his hands up... No, the one back, white shirt on. It's not exactly you yourself, but you're praying for somebody else. It's a minister. Do you believe I can tell you what's wrong with him? He's got heart trouble. If that's right, wave your hand. Believe for him now.
194 Here--here--here sets a woman setting right down here by this end, second woman back in the second row here, right here. She's suffering with a colon trouble. It's an infection in her colon. The little lady on the end there, kind of gray-headed, stand on your feet so the people can see you. Yes, that's you. That's the truth. It's an infection in the colon, and also you have other things wrong, complications. If that's right, raise up your hand. Now, who did she touch? Not me. She touched Him. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
198 That man setting back there, there... Don't you see that Light? He's very bad. He's had a tumor in his throat. He's had an operation; the doctor don't give him much hope for it. Do you believe that God will make you well? You accept it, Mr. Stonelake? Do you believe with all your heart? All right, stand up on your feet; Jesus Christ will make you well.
200 There she comes, raising right out of it. Somebody give her a little lift there now, she's paralyzed. Somebody... There she comes by herself, up out of the chair, made whole in the Name of Jesus Christ.
When the coal of Fire had touched the prophet,...
Here's a paralyzed woman walking up to the platform. Praise be to God! Give Him glory and praise.Here's another man coming up the platform. Look at him walking up steps, Brother...?... Let's give God praise. Raise up your hands and give God the glory. |
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