| Life (58-0519) |
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E-1 Let's remain standing just a moment now for prayer. Shall we bow our heads? Blessed Lord, we thank Thee, God, for what Thou hast done for us. And that Your great privilege of ours that we have now to come back to worship Thee tonight... And we would ask You to meet with us in an unusual way and to bless our hearts as we put our faith together. And we would ask tonight if there would be some who would be among us that has not this grand fellowship with Thee, may this be the night that all of their sins will be under the Blood, and they'll be able to enjoy these privileges that we have enjoyed so gratefully.
E-2 Be merciful to those, Lord, who are so greatly in the need of healing tonight. May Your Holy Spirit just heal their sick bodies. And there is some perhaps, here, Lord, who has never received Thy Holy Spirit yet. And we pray that You'll give to them tonight, Lord, Thy Holy Spirit to fellowship around Thy Word. Grant it, Lord.
E-3 I am very pleased tonight to see this nice audience of people on a Monday night, and a rainy bad night. You know, down in the south, a little rain and a little weather kind of hinders the people much, but it don't seem to bother you.
E-4 Just reading a testimony here recently in a meeting, and before I take my text, I would like to--to speak that. And I was praying for some people, and there was a lady came up that had a stomach trouble, and it was very bad. I think the doctors had told her that they'd even had to give her a blood transfusions from ulcers which had broke in her stomach. She was very bad, and there it was a duodenal ulcer. That's the very bad kind. So in the vision, the Lord told the woman what her troubles was, and what she had did, and--and then after it was over, she said she believed.
E-5 When Hezekiah lay dying. Isaiah... Did you imagine how that prophet must've felt, when he went up there saying, "THUS SAITH THE LORD, you're going to die. You're not coming off the bed."?
E-6 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and wept bitterly and said, "Lord, I beseech Thee to consider me, for I've walked before You with a perfect heart." That's quite a testimony, isn't it? "And I ask for fifteen years longer of life."
E-7 But you know, God has ways of doing things? And we have to cooperate with His ways of doing it. Hezekiah was not born in that position to--for the Lord to talk to him like that. So the Lord goes back down to the place where the prophet was setting, said, "Go, tell him I heard his prayer, and I'm going to spare him fifteen years."
E-8 And when the Lord had pronounced on this little woman that she was going to be all right, she was healed, well, she went outside thanking the Lord. So she thought she could just go on, be all right. And she goes and tries to eat. Oh, did she get sick. So then in a couple of days, kept getting worse, and she'd try to eat and force it down her, vomit it up, bleeding. So she said...
E-9 And one morning after, I guess, five weeks or more, four or five weeks, I forget just what she said. She was washing the dishes one morning. The children had gone to school, and all of a sudden she had a real strange feeling strike her. She thought, "What is this?" She felt real blessed. So then she thought, "Well, maybe it's just the Lord blessing me." She was a very fine Christian woman, young woman about in her thirties. And she got real hungry. And she said, "Oh, how I would like to be able to eat just a little piece of toast. And she set down and eat the toast. Just in a few moments it come up, would've done it. But that time it stayed down, felt good.
E-10 And she felt so good. She said, "You know, I just can't keep this good thing to myself." So down the street she went to a neighbor that had been prayed for the same night, who had a growth on the side of her neck. Well, her husband was retired. They'd gotten up late. And when she got to such a house a few doors below her, she thought they had the Salvation Army in there. She never heard so much shouting and going-on in all her life. She thought, "Well, what's wrong?" She runs in and said, "Lydia, what's the matter?"
E-11 Now, what happened? The Angel of God, Who had pronounced that blessing had passed through the neighborhood confirming it. You see? What if they would've give up? Don't give up. You believe. Stay with it. God will bring it to pass. See?
E-12 Now, tonight I'm going to try, if the Lord willing, to speak on a little evangelistic type of a message, that seems to be on my heart. I told you I was going to speak tonight on the "Mighty Conqueror." It's a message that I preached once before somewhere. I believe it was in the south. And I just haven't got that much voice to do it. So you will forgive me for making that promise. And I pray that God will, 'cause I don't have the voice to do it. It's not that I have a cold. This is twenty-some odd nights straight.
E-13 There's a great carnival come to the city, and there's these two strong looking men setting here and I are standing there, but we haven't got money to go in and see the show. And it happens to be that they're short strong men who could pack water for the elephants, and I'm a tall skinny man, and--and I--I couldn't pack those big pails of water.
E-14 Christianity is based on resurrection. We know that. Not... Well, if you go down here and on earth as a black headed woman, you'll rise up a black headed woman. You won't rise up... You say, "Well now, if this is a what goes down, in resurrection that same has to come up." Not take this and... That's replacement; that's not resurrection. Resurrection's bring the same Jesus up that went down, the same Person.
E-15 And at this great carnival when I looked through this knot hole... Now, here's the way I have to do it. I jump way up, and take my hands, and get a hold of it and strain. I look in. I got back down.
E-16 "Now, what are you getting at, Brother Branham?" Here's what it is. When Jesus was on earth, He was God manifested in the flesh. We have the Spirit by portions. He had it without any certain portion. All the Fullness of the Godhead bodily dwelt in Him. He was not just only a Man; He was God.
E-17 I was talking to a woman here not long ago who was... I don't call people's religions out, but you'll know what it is by what I said. They claim they believe in healing, but they don't believe that Jesus was no more than just a philosopher. And that's a social gospel. They said, "He's a good man. He had... He's a good teacher, but He wasn't Divine." Why, He... Certainly He was Divine. He was the God of the prophets. E-18 He was a man when He come off the mountain, as we preached last night, hungry, wanting something to eat. He was a man, but when He took five biscuits and two pieces of fish and fed five thousand, that was more than a man. Right. He was a man when He laid on the back of that little ship one night, tossed about like a bottle stopper in a storm. Ten thousand devils of the sea swore they'd drown Him. He was so tired and weary until even the waves didn't wake Him up. He was a man when He was asleep, but when He put His foot on the brail of that boat, looked up, and said, "Peace, be still," and the waves obeyed Him and the winds obeyed Him, that was more than a man.
E-19 He was a man when He cried at Calvary, "My God, why has Thou forsaken Me?" He was a man when He died, but on Easter morning when He broke the seal, and rolled the stone away, and rose again, He proved He was God.
E-20 So notice, when God wanted to use His gift, He said to Jesus... Now, remember, He said, "I do nothing until My father shows Me what to do, I see the Father doing," St. John 5:19. Have you read it since we been in the meeting? St. John, "Verily, I say unto you, the Son can do nothing in Himself, but what He sees the Father doing, that doeth the Son likewise." E-21 He never said nothing about being weak, virtue leaving Him. But when a woman touched His garment, He said, "Virtue's gone out of me." Which is the greatest miracle? To raise a man dead four days or stop a issue of blood from menopause? One of them made Him weak. Why? It wasn't God using His gift. It was a woman using God's gift. See? This way the Father had showed Him what to do. He went and done it, and this other way was the woman. Now, He never said, "I saw a vision. You're going to be well." He said, "Thy faith has saved thee: thy faith, not what Father showed Me, but what you acted on." That's what hurt Him.
E-22 Now, here it is. All right, you jump up. Look, that's what the woman's doing. It pulls; it strains. Somebody comes to the platform, stand there. You're straining. It's a gift. Who's using it? Not me. You are. You're the one that's doing it, and you set there, you say, "I believe that." Down in your heart you really mean it, then that's pulling strength. What happens? I'm pulling up. "You have a cancer." That's right. See? Then I look around... Still don't believe it. You thought I guessed it. See? Well, I'll have to go back again.
E-23 Well, go back again. Hold it with the end of your finger, just barely can look through the knot hole as it was, the vision. "Oh, you are Miss So-and-so. You come from..." Uh, yes, yeah. That's right. Walk on across the platform. You're weak already. See? Now, that's the way that works.
E-24 Here recently, you seen it in your paper. I guess it was on the Associated Press, about the miracle man in Denver. They didn't know whether mystic, miracle. God Who knows. I was in my room. I saw a man where there was a clock. And He was in a wheelchair; it was squeaking. And I looked at the old clock and it was just exactly ten minutes after three. And I was standing by a ten cents store, and I... Said, "Go near that man."
E-25 Then he come, and I seen a--a--a baby. It was laying dying. And the doctor had went out. I noticed he got in a gray car. He had a mustache. And there was a gate there, and right behind the gate laid a hoe. I had laid my hat upon the television as I went in the room. There was lady with a red sweater on, one with a brown coat, and they were weeping. And He said, "Go over to the baby." And I went and laid hands on the baby. He got well.
E-26 They told me this way, come here and there. I couldn't feel a thing. Well, I let it go for about, I guess, two weeks or more. After while, a man had sent a ticket for me to come to Denver, and when I got over to Denver, I felt led that I should go to Denver. I went and prayed for the man. I don't know what happened to him. I just went over. He was a tubercular case, was out there, been in the sanitarium: soldier.
E-27 I thought, "I have seen that man somewhere." Mustache, gray suit, that car, and he come out the gate. And I was pretty close within being about ten feet of him. He looked over. I said, "How do you do, doctor?"
E-28 Walked in, but there was no lady there with a brown coat on. I laid my hat up on the television, and I waited a few minutes. Well, I... She wondered why I wasn't going to pray, but I couldn't say nothing. I had to wait for the lady with brown coat on. Now, that's just how simple it is. I waited there, I guess, a half hour talking to her about the Lord and so forth. And then, after while, there was somebody knocked at the door. And the lady with the brown coat in--on come in, but she was supposed to be setting on that side, and the lady with the red sweater on down this side, and vice versa their place. Still I couldn't say nothing until they got everything in position. The vision has to be perfect. Then I said, "Now, lady, you might have wondered why I waited. This is a vision. You might not understand what I'm saying, but just watch your baby a minute."
E-29 I got out and started down the street, and I thought, "Thank you, Lord. I see now." And I hadn't gone but a little piece, till I happened to think, "What was the rest of that vision?" It was something. And while I was stand there, I heard a clock strike three o'clock. And I walked around the corner by the side of the ten cents store, and there was that old clock over there on that steeple. I thought, "God, I got ten minutes to wait right here."
E-30 And he jumped up and begin to scream. I run, went through the ten cent store, went out, and down the alley, and went back over, and got a taxi cab, and went out to the station. A big piece on the Associated Press, "Mystic Healing In Denver." They don't know yet. See? E-31 Let us pray now. Lord, be with us now and as we fellowship around the Word... Just tired tonight, Lord, I can hardly stand here, but I pray that You'll help me now to minister the Word. In the Name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.
E-32 On the 63rd Psalm, I wish to read for a Scripture lesson now. And we expect to be out in the next thirty or forty minutes.
O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;
To see thy power and thy glory,... as I have seen it in thy sanctuary.
Because thy loving kindness is better to me than life, my lips shall praise thee.
Listen at the prophet here in the 2nd verse.
To see thy power and thy glory,... as I have seen it in thy sanctuary.
But my subject tonight is, "Life." And life is what controls us. Life is what gives you your emotions. And then, by your life everyone knows what you are.
E-33 Preaching a funeral sermon recently, I said, "There's no need of me saying anything about this man's life. I want to preach to you that's a living, that has to meet this. Everyone of you... You raised and lived and died in this neighborhood; you got your mind made up what you thought about him." See?
E-34 The Greek word for Life Eternal come from the word "Zoe" which means, "God's own life." And it's a... The love of God is called "Agapao" which means, "God's love." E-35 Now, there's life. There's one kind of Eternal Life and that's God's Life. And when you receive that, you have Eternal Life. But life has many interpretations as it comes down. There's love, Agapao; love, Phileo; love; lust. See, you just keep dropping down, dropping down into the lowest of low. But all of that had a beginning so it'll have a end. But those things which had no beginning has no end. So God had no beginning, and His life had no beginning, and it'll have no end. And if you've got Eternal Life, then you have no end to Eternal Life. It's forever. And your character is proven by the life that's in you.
E-36 Sometime ago a slave buyer down in the south many years ago, went by buying slaves on... They'd go to the old plantations and they'd say... They'd buy slaves, human life, just like you'd buy a used car on a lot, a broker. And they'd go buy these big slaves and big healthy slaves, maybe, and men, breed them like cattle, to big healthy women, bring forth great big, husky slaves. Brother, that's wrong. And when... One day a broker came by a certain old plantation. And he said, "How many slaves do you have here?" E-37 And he stayed through the day, and he watched the behavior of the slaves, and how they conducted themselves, whether they were good workers or whether they were not. And as the day passed by... You see, the slaves was away from home, away from papa and mama. The Boers bought them in Germany, or Africa and brought them over here and sold them for slaves. And sometimes they'd have to whip them to make them work. Their loved ones was across the sea. They'd never see them no more. They had to die here in slavery. That's all they knew, and they were sorry, and they--they had to whip them and make them work.
E-38 But they noticed one young slave. They didn't have to whip him, chest out, chin up, right now at the minute. And that broker said, "I want to buy that slave."
E-39 When I read this Scripture verse, I thought, "What could the prophet be meaning? It's a unusual text." Thy loving kindness is better than life. I thought, "There must be many interpretations to life." And it could not mean the life that we now live in the flesh, because that life has heartaches. That life has sorrow, and that life gets so bad sometime until men wants to take a pistol and blow his brains out. So that couldn't be the life he was talking about. It must be another life that he's speaking of. That life gets so miserable until people climb to a high tower, and jump off, and commit suicide. They take poison, tens of thousands a year over the United States, where we ought to be living at the highest rate of life.
E-40 Sometime ago in a great city in Canada I was having a meeting. And in this certain meeting there was a American group come up there to celebrate some sort of a--a jubilee of a certain lodge in America. And I noticed as they come in that day, they were drinking. And it almost made me ashamed of my own country. And that night, when I left the arena, and was going home in this great big hotel. I went up to about the tenth or fifteenth floor, and on the elevator whiskey bottles was piled everywhere. And down in the lobby they were drinking and carrying on, and as I--I asked the elevator boy, I said, "What's all of this?"
E-41 And so when they let me off at my floor, I walked along the side. And I heard a noise up the end of the hall. And I looked and there stood two young American women with just their underneath garment on, just as drunk as they could be, both of them, perhaps, married woman, 'cause they was woman in their thirties, just with the little underneath garment on, a bottle of whiskey, coming down through that hall, and men dragging them from room to room.
E-42 And this woman, as she came staggering by, the two of them, and they stopped in the middle of the floor, pulled their little skirts up, and throwed their legs up in the air, and hollered, "Whoopee." Said, "This is life."
E-43 They begin to walleye, looked at one another. And they started to pull away. I held their arms. I said, "Just a minute. What are you going to do when you meet God? What if under this drunken stew tonight, you die in this condition? What'll happen to you? You say you got life. You are dead in sin and trespasses." And they jerked away from my arms, and down the hall they went, hardly in any clothes on and away out of my sight. E-44 The reason that you crave for those things is because you are giving the devil the place that God wants to be. Oh, he's good at that. You're going to thirst for something, because you're made to thirst. God made you to thirst, and you try to satisfy it with the things of the world. And the Bible said if you love the world or the things of the world, the love of God's not even in you. You try to satisfy that blessed holy thing with drinking, picture show running, gambling, dances; all that is the wages of death. You got no right to do that. Listen to me as your brother. The devil's put something over on you and you don't know it.
E-45 What's happened to our people? What's happened to our churches? I could show you how there won't be one poor person in this town in a year from today. There won't be one trashy house in this city. Let the people that call themselves Christians take the money that they spend on whiskey, beer, and cigarettes and pool it together, you'll end all depressions. Count it up, how many there is and how much money's spent each year on cigarettes. Why can they give these great big prizes away and things, beating it from the government?
E-46 It used to be a long time ago that all of our fashions come from Paris. Now it don't come from Paris. Paris comes to Hollywood to get it. It used to be it was wrong for you to go to picture shows, you holiness people, and see those bad plays; but the devil beat you to it. He put it on the television and set it right in your own house. It's right.
E-47 Holiness women wearing these little bitty old clothes and getting out here in the yard, mowing their yard, walking up and down the streets with shorts on, letting your children do it... Then you say, "God, send us a revival." How would God ever put a revival on a bunch of filth? Can't do it. Now you're going to find out why we haven't got a revival. Why did you do it? You see, the world begin to seep in.
E-48 And you women, at ten o'clock at morning when you ought to have prayer meeting, you listen to some old ungodly thing like Arthur Godfrey with his old dirty jokes and things with that bunch of women and then call your selves Christians. Go on. That's the truth.
E-49 That... You see, we can't have a revival. That's the reason. Oh, certainly, it makes you hard--makes--goes down... But if it was wrong to begin with, it's wrong now. Something's happened. Here's where it's at. There's no foundation to lay a revival on. How can you do it when God forbids it?
E-50 Now, and you women, used to you didn't wear this manicure, ever... What is that stuff you put on your mouth? Ever what it is, I don't know nothing about it. I'm not saying it for a joke. Ever what the stuff you... lip--lip rouge, ever what it is. It used to be wrong for you to do that, but it sure is common among you Pentecostal folks now. What happened?
We let down the bars.
We let down the bars.
We compromised with sin.
We let down the bars;
The sheep got out,
But how did the goats get in?
You let down the bars. That's what did it, because you had a weak pulpit back there with a little preacher that thought that his ministry was a meal ticket in the stead of a commission from God. You'd excommunicate him, throw him out if he said anything about it. He ought to be throwed out if he wouldn't say something about it.
E-51 Listen, ladies. This is not a joke. But there was one woman in the Bible that painted herself to meet a man. You don't meet God like that. Her name was Jezebel. You know what God did to her? He fed her to the dogs. So when you can see a woman all made up like that, you can say, "There's Mrs. Dog meat." That's exactly what God called it. Now, you know it's the truth. That's not joking. I'm telling you what God said.
E-52 Not long ago, I was driving over to California. And I had a sinner man to drive my truck over. And when I got over there, one of the great officials come. This man would pull the truck up, was unloading some books. I drove another truck. And this man was a sinner. He was smoking a cigarette. And one of the great big men of the church walked up; He said, "Why, Brother Branham. I'm surprised at you."
E-53 So he said... Well, we started down a few minutes. We went to the big tent, and he said, "Brother Branham, I want you to meet my wife." Said, "She's going to be your pianist during this revival."
E-54 There's something wrong. That blessed holy thirst that God gave you to thirst after Him, you've perverted it into the things of the world and craving the things of the world. See where the church is? Something's wrong. We've let down the bars somewhere. E-55 You think you're having a big time. You've got the biggest church there is in the city. Your spires reach plumb to the skies. "Oh, we're better off. We got the best paid pastor. We--we got the--the... We can take care of our pastor. We're better off. We live better. We--we can wear better clothes. We can associate with a better class." I don't whether you could or not. The best meetings I ever had was in a little old mission down on the side of the street somewhere, where a dozen come together with a true heart. That's right. I'd rather be there anytime.
E-56 Oh, you see how easy, because they let down the bars. The first round of you Pentecostal people did fine. Another round comes along, it begins to weaken down. Then you begin the denominations stick in the back. "We're Oneness. We're Threeness. We're Fiveness." You're nothing. That's exactly right as long as you think that.
E-57 There you are. Let down the bars somewhere, and you're feeding in that blessed holy place in your heart. You've brought the unclean vessel of the devil into there where the vessels of the Lord should've been, where the fruits of righteousness ought to be with peace, long-suffering, goodness, gentleness, patience, meekness. It's selfishness, greed, denominational barriers, fighting one another, and that's the reason you're wearing earrings and short hair and manicure over your face and all kinds of things like that. That's the reason. That's what done it.
E-58 But what happened? Then the devil tries to satisfy that thirst for you. "Well, John's got a better job. Bless God. We've went and left that old holy-roller church and we went over to this one." See where you went?
E-59 And another thing the devil tries to do to quench that thirst, you say, "Well, I'm very religious."
E-60 Did you ever take the crow and the dove? In the ark they both sit on the same roost. One could fly just the same place as the other, but the crow was satisfied when she turned loose, went out and fly from one old dead carcass to another where the bugs and things was eating, there she'd on that; it was all right. But the dove couldn't find no rest for her feet. She had to come back. She couldn't stand that old stink.
E-61 Now, watch what happened. The crow, reason he can eat, he can digest anything. But the dove is made up different. It's a different makeup. A dove doesn't have any gall. It couldn't digest it. And a borned again Christian cannot eat the things of the world. He doesn't have any gall anymore. It would kill him. You won't see the dove eating dinner with the crow as long as he's on that dead carcass. E-62 Except you're borned again, except something's happened here that changes your whole appetites of the things of the world or the... All your love and devotion, everything's give to Christ. Then's when you're coming along. You can tell when your spirit bears record with His Spirit, your life copes with it. Yes. "Oh, my soul longeth for Thee, O Lord. I long to see Thee," David, when he seen the church getting away. "I long to see Thee like I seen Thee in Thy sanctuary," pure, holy. "My thirst... My soul thirsts for Thee like in a dry and thirsty land where no water is.
E-63 David was a hunter. He dealt with wild animals. And he knowed what they were? You can learn a lot by wild animals if you'll just watch them. I just love to watch wild animals. I was out today, driving through the roads and things trying to find something to look at it, see if I could see a deer or something I could watch. How that you can see God in them if you'll just watch them...
E-64 Now, to some of you hunters, if you wound a deer and he can get to the water, you'll lose him. He will keep drinking, go up, circle back. You can track him wherever you want to. Come right back to that water. He will never leave that water. But if he doesn't get to the water, you'll pick him up right away.
E-65 That's what I was getting at you awhile ago. Why do you make yourself up like that and act like that, women? Let me tell you something before I leave it. You know what's going to happen at the day of judgment? You're going to be guilty for committing adultery. You say, "Why, I'm just as pure as a lily to my husband. Mr. Branham, I never was defiled."
E-66 I'd like to put a tent up out here and preach on some of these things just for a while. You just run over the top of those things. Jesus said, "Whosoever look upon a woman to lust after her..." And you present yourself out there. You might be, morally speaking, undefiled, but because a demon spirit made you dress and act like that, you're guilty of letting a sinner committing adultery with you, because you presented yourself like that. That's what Jesus said. Have to talk to Him about it.
E-67 When I was a game warden, I was coming down on a train one day and a woman setting there with her limbs crossed and smoking a cigarette, and knocking the--blowing the ashes out of her baby's eyes. I walked around; I said, "Woman, did God give you that baby for an ash tray?" But the world don't want to hear those things. E-68 Your societies, got so many of it now till the church can't even move, it's paralyzed. What good's it done? You need a prayer meeting and an altar call is what you need. There they stand, the little innocent things, standing out there not knowing. What's the matter with you preachers? Get woke up. God will hold you responsible for it, brother. Preach it. Get the blood off your own hand. Get out there, they want the boys to say, [Brother Branham gives a "wolf whistle"--Ed.]. Look what happened.
E-69 A little deer, standing in the field picking, and a wolf sees it. He's attracted to it. Now, the wolf's a killer, and that wolf that whistles is a killer too, sis, worse than the other one. E-70 And then if he misses that place, he's got another place he can grab. That's right in the flank. Now, the flank is kind of middle weight of the deer. The hind quarters is heavier than the front quarters, and that's about halfway; so if he can grab and get a hold of that, he can shake the deer. If he gets a good hold he can throw the deer down anyhow, if he sees he's going to miss the throat when he's turning. And he will grab the flank. And if the deer is real smart, it can give a certain twist, and the wolf will grab the whole mouth full off. Then the little fellow starts bleeding. But if he can get away, if it's fast...
E-71 Oh, sister, dear, brother dear, I wonder where it's grabbed you tonight? Remember, there's female wolves too. Where has he grabbed you, little girl here that's just attended your first rock-and-roll party. And you little fellows out there, lusting your soul on dirty old rotten stuff like Elvis Presley.
E-72 It shows what the world's come to. The world give their decision when they said, "Take Jesus and crucify Him and give us Barabbas." There's only one difference between Elvis Presley... I happen to live in his country, you know, know his pastor and all. Said he's religious. There's one difference to my opinion with God's Bible between Elvis Presley and Judas Iscariot. Judas got thirty pieces of silver. Elvis got a fleet of Cadillacs and two or three million dollars. That's the difference. They both sold out to the devil. Exactly right. E-73 Some of you churches... I went down here the other day to a YMCA in a certain city. I was across the street from it, rather. Raised my curtain, they had little girls over there, sixteen years old, teaching them this boogie-woogie, or what--rock-and-roll. I'm a missionary. I can prove this without a shadow of a doubt, that woman wearing paint come from a heathen trait. The heathens do it. And boogie-wooglie and rock-and-roll is a African dance of the heathens. Can't you see how the devil come in and polished it up?
E-74 Used to be the old drunkard was old Charlie Barley Corn, horrible looking hideous scare crow in the field somewhere, but today he's all polished up. He's in bumpers and setting in every ice box. He's still the same devil. Oh, yes. E-75 Notice, if that little deer, when he gets away... Now, I'm closing now. I guess you think it's time. But when that little deer could get away, what happens when he go to bleeding? He goes to thirsting. He's got to find water. That's what David said, "As the hart thirsts for the water brook." He's wounded. His life's bleeding out of him. Hart thirsts for the water brook. My soul thirsts after Thee, O God. If that little deer can't find water, he's going to die. But if he can find water, he will survive it.
E-76 O God, I would that every soul in here tonight would see the wounds of Satan.
E-77 Merciful God, look across this audience tonight at all of us, Lord, see the wounds and the scars of the world. Look at these poor little women setting here, Lord. Look at these men. What a pity, what a shame, God. And let them know that Thy servant, Lord, who loves them, surely, if You'd let me know the thoughts of their heart and things by a gift to manifest Your Presence, You would let me know that this message needed to come tonight.
E-78 And while we have our heads bowed, I wonder, you that's been wounded by this old hound of hell, that's bawled down your track and got you all in the fixed condition that you are tonight, surely you see it. If you believe God hears my prayer for healing the sick, how about your soul? Would you come here, and shake my hand, and stand here, and let's pray? Come on, down through the balconies, out of the building, you know you're wounded. Don't say you're not. Your presence even shows it.
Just as I am without one... (Will you come here, let me shake your hand.)That... (God bless you, sister. God bless you.)
Honest--honest hearted, a little lady setting here, clean looking little lady. No, she... Would you just stand here a minute, sister. Let's... Just come right on down. That's right. Come out of the balcony. We'll wait.
E-79 You believe I told you the truth? Raise your hand. You believe I said that to be mean? No, sir. If I did, brother, I'm not fit to stand here. I've told you from my heart if I know it to be clean. I've said it because you need it. You're dear people. Last night you give me a portion of your living to feed my children with. You think I'd come here be hypocrite enough to throw off something on you that wasn't right? I come here because I'm warned in my heart. That's why I come. Now, you know you're guilty. There should be scores of you coming here right now. You know you're wrong. Look at yourself. Think yourself over. That's up to you. If you want to continue on, that's up to you. I plead and offer you Christ while we sing once more.
Just as... (God bless you, brother.)
[Brother Branham leaves the microphone and blesses the people--Ed.]
Whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God I come! I...
E-80 Are you willing to admit you're wrong? I feel led to say this while these are standing here, church members. I said, "Sisters, I don't mean to be mean."
E-81 Let us pray. Lord, I said those words because that I felt like I should say them, never thought of them before in my life. Never did I feel that in my life. You're my Judge, Lord. But I said it because that I love these people, and Your Spirit has warned me to say so. They're lovely. They're kind. They are conservative, a little indifferent many of them, yet good people. But seeing, Lord, that darkness now in this way, hanging to the people, God, raise them from their seats and bring them out here to make their confession before Thee.
Just as I am, Thou will receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because Thy promise I believe
That's right. That's right. Now you're obeying.
Just as I am, and waiting... (Listen to these words now.) Waiting not... (To rid my soul of what?)... of one dark blot.To--to Thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot,O Lamb of God, I come! I come!Just as...
Oh, that's the way, brother, sister, come right on out. No matter where you are, who you are. Come right on. If there's a spot on your life, this is the time. I promise you. God's going to do something for you now.
E-82 How many of you's seeking the Holy Ghost and has never received It, yet? This is your time. We're waiting. They're coming down out of the balconies and around, getting in, gathering around. This is the hour of your decision. Will you come to God and make the old fashion confession? Will you come and say, "God, I'm guilty. I'm guilty of doing wrong. Forgive me, God. Take me into Your care and Your confidence tonight. I promise You, I'll serve You."
To Thee, whose Blood can cleanse each spot,
... I come! I come!
While we sing it once more, I want ministers to come here to the platform. All ministers that's here, come up here to the platform with me just a minute.
... without one plea,But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou... (Hear that little voice speaking, bidding you?)Come to Thee... (Now, walk right forward up around the sides here.)... Thou will... (Just gather right...?...)Will wel...
E-83 Are you finished back there? Are you sure there's nothing on your soul? Step out in the aisles if you--if you want to. Hadn't you rather make it right here? What if tonight is your last night? What if you go in a heart attack or something before morning? What if your car crashes tonight? What if the doctor comes along early in the morning, takes your pulse? You're gone. Come now. Make it right now. Don't--don't gamble with your soul, friends.
Just as...
E-84 Up in the balcony, if you think it's too far to walk down, stand up on your feet. Just stand up and say, "God, I got something on my soul." God bless you, brother. Listen, you might've done a many great thing in your life, sir, but that's the greatest move you've ever made. You're man enough. I got confidence in you to stand up and say, "I'm wrong. God, forgive me." Men that'll stand... E-85 Stand now, everyone. Now, raise up our hands and each one do this. Make this prayer; say, "God, I'm ashamed of myself. I'm sorry I did this. Help me, Lord. Forgive me. I'm guilty. Take that guilt away. If I've shaved off my hair, I'll let it grow again, by Your grace. I'll wash my face from this paint stuff and never wear it again. I'll never wear them dirty looking little old clothes again. I'll dress myself like a lady. I'll conduct myself like God's daughter. Though I'm here in the world where it's all different like that slave was." Strange people, strange things...
E-86 How about you men? You boys with your girlfriend, you girls with your boyfriends, if you're God's children, conduct yourselves like God's children. Be different. The world wants you to see that--wants to see that in you. Now, let's raise our hands and we ask God to forgive us. Each one with their hands up... |
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