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One In A Million (65-0424)
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One In A Million (65-0424)
1
Thank you, Brother Shakarian. And good morning, friends. Certainly good
to be here in Los Angeles again this morning, prior this great
convention, and the oncoming meeting of this coming week over at the
Embassy Hotel. I'm expecting to see you all over there. And we're all
under a great expectations to meet our Lord Jesus and see Him over
there. He promised that He would be wherever two or three was gathered
together, He would be there.
3
Just as I got top of the steps... I'm looking at the old gentleman now.
He came up to me and said, "Brother Branham, years ago..." He said he
had heart trouble so bad that he--they thought he was going to die. And
had prayer for him, and the grace of God healed him. And here he is
this morning way in his eighties, just rejoicing. So that makes us take
a new hold.
5
Now, I don't have time just take a text and preach, which I expecting
to after a few minutes here in the--in the--this auditorium, but just
to speaking to--to you a few moments, get acquainted. And to the people
out in the land, I'm going to have prayer for those out there right
away, and you here also. And I'm certainly glad to meet all these fine
new friends that I have never met before, just come in contact with
them this morning.
7
And I know, to the radio audience, perhaps many of you are not full
Gospel, and this may seem a little mysterious to you. Which it would to
me, but there is... Anyone who can explain anything, you don't have to
accept it anymore by faith. It's things that we cannot explain, that we
have to accept by faith. We cannot explain God. No man can explain God.
He's sovereign, and He's great and mighty. We just--we just accept it
because that we know He's there. And then by our faith in accepting it,
He brings the response back to us of the baptism of the Holy Spirit,
which I'm just going to speak to you about in a few moments here on,
"God's Way Or Place Of Worship."
9
Now, coming to Tucson, it was strange. Those visions speaking to you in
the Name of the Lord, not one of them as I ever can recall, will ask
anyone else if they can recall anytime, that He ever did say anything
but what was the Truth. It always happens just the way He says it will
happen.
11
This week, the Lord willing, I wish to speak some on that, out in our
campaign here at the--the Embassy Hotel, and kinda get acquainted in my
humble way of doing it. The--the time and the hour that we're living,
if a person don't know which a-way to go, what to do or how to turn,
you're--you're not walking by faith anymore; you're just guessing;
you're presuming. And "presume" is to--to "advance without official
authority." So if we haven't got the real official authority to know
what God said would take place in this hour, how are we ever going to
face this hour? And we've got to face it, knowing by faith in His Word,
the things that's supposed to be happening now.
13
Now, I'm sorry that I cut off of what I was saying a few moments ago,
about coming to Tucson. And I thought myself, that it was the end of my
life. I thought no one could ever stand that shock of that condition
that happened in that vision that morning about ten o'clock at home,
that would ever be able to live after that. Why, I come to Tucson,
making arrangements with my son, for my wife and--and children to go
with him after I was gone, because I thought it was my end. And I, in
Phoenix, the men in meetings before it happened, I told you just how it
would happen.
15 Now, radio audience, this may seem strange that I have said, but it's the truth. And God is my Judge.
18
And I looked around. I said, "Well, now, how could that ever happen?
Here I am standing here, right here, and no one around for miles and
miles, and where did that come from?" I said, "Well, I--I suppose maybe
it's the--the Lord telling me it's my end time."
21
And then two weeks after that, or two months, rather, after that, I was
up in the mountain with a bunch of friends when it happened. Seven
Angels, just as clear as you're standing here, came sweeping down from
heaven. The rocks in the mountains rolled out and down the hills,
and--and people standing there were screaming and going on, you know,
and the dust flying everywhere. And when it was, He said, "Return to
your home. Now, will be, each Angel will be one of the seals of the
Seven Seals."
23 And it's just three minutes now, I'm told, unto the closing of the program. 25 Dear heavenly Father, we're like children today, we're obeying what You said do. We are laying hands upon all these telephone requests. Thou seest them out in the land out there, how they're needy, the suffering. You see those here that are needy, suffering. And we are committing them to Thee, Dear God, with this faith in Thy Word that Thou has said, "These signs shall follow them that believe: if they lay their hands on the sick, they shall recover." Grant it, Lord, in Jesus Christ's Name. Amen. [Brother Branham ends first radio broadcast--Ed.]
26
Thank you, Brother Shakarian. It's certainly a grand privilege to be
back again on the broadcast to speak to some of our friends out in the
radio land, as well as present here. 28 And Divine healing usually draws an attention to people to--and brings them in the Presence of God. When God does something that--that they know is un... Well, it's not understood. We cannot mechanically show how it's done. God does it in His own great way. Then that attracts the attention of the people to know that there is a Presence of a power somewhere that can do something that's beyond human understanding, and that causes them to look to the Lamb of God. And always, Divine healing; I've been told, and I believe myself, that about between sixty, maybe, and seventy percent of our Lord's ministry was on Divine healing. And He did that to attract the people. Then when they were there, He said, "Except you believe I am He, you'll perish in your sin." 29 Now, Divine healing is a great drawing card to get people to look to the Lord Jesus. And Doctor F. F. Bosworth, which many of you are--was a friend to, and knew him, and his ministry meant so much to me as a young minister. I started out in my meetings, and I run into Brother Bosworth. He used to say, "Divine healing," it's a crude little statement now; he said, "Divine healing is the bait on a fishhook." Said, "You never show the fish the hook. You show him the bait, and then he gets after the bait and gets on the hook." So that's what we try to do. That's our--we... Our aim is to get people to the Lord Jesus Christ. And He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. So if He was a Healer in the days gone by, He's a Healer today. A... 30 Just a personal testimony before I pray for the sick out in the radio land. It was a few days ago I was setting up in a mountains where a great thing had taken place before fifteen or twenty brethren there, where the Angel of the Lord came so down, and great Light flying like a comet, bursting around through the mountains, and rocks flying for two hundred feet, or more, across the earth, cutting the top of the trees out. And I was standing right under It. And told them just a few moments before it happened, it would be there and what would happen; frankly, it was told the day before. And all these men running under trucks and everything, trying to get away, they didn't know what had taken place. And He spoke and said what would take place right immediately afterward.
31
Setting on this certain rock there, right where He had appeared, I had
a--a friend that was with us, that had come down from up in Minnesota.
His people are here this morning, and I'm not sure but what he may be
here on some of the other floors. It was Donavon Weerts, and a fine
young fellow, a Lutheran that had just give his life to Christ and been
filled with the Spirit, very humble German boy, about thirty years old,
family, two or three little children. He moved down in Tucson just to
be neighbors with me, where three or four hundred had moved in to be
neighbors. So he... 33 'Course, the people that I know and associate with are just like my own brother, sister. I watch them, and feel if I think they're getting out of line, and take them out to one side and talk with them, because I love them. We want to live in glory together. And sometimes maybe in the meetings, you think I speak harsh to you. That isn't from... That isn't because that I don't love you, but it does come from my heart, because I--I... It must be just one way. There's only one way to serve God, and that's... And we must stay in His way, no matter what our thoughts is, His way.
34
And I noticed Donavon, on the right tip of his ear, was swollen perhaps
three times its size, and looked very red. Well, now thinking maybe
that there in the desert for a few days, that where we'd been, that
maybe he had got some cactus in his ear. But taking ahold of his hand,
I found out that it was a cancer. So I said to Donavon, I said,
"Donavon, have you... How long has that been on your ear?" Just to kind
of throw him off, like I didn't know. I said, "How long has that been
on there, Donavon?"
37
So many times we press, trying to get to this, that, or... See, it's,
"These signs shall follow the believer." It didn't say if they pray for
the sick. "If they lay hands on the sick, they shall recover." We must
have faith ourselves in what we're doing. All right.
40
Now, you out in radio land, as well as here, I'm holding here now a
great handful of requests that's come in by the phone this morning,
constantly ringing since we've been here. And so we... One hundred and
ninety-six requests has come in this morning by the phone, since we've
been in here. So let us join in prayer now as each one... Wherever you
are out in the land, lay your hands on one another, if you're
believers. If not, lay your hand upon the Bible or something out there,
while we pray here and there.
42
Well, this is three times for me up here this morning. My. And, you
know, it was just told that we got to vacate the building in about
twelve, fourteen minutes, or something. And the management said there's
on the other floor there, and they can't serve any meals. Our meals
lengthened out. We have many courses, you know. So we are very, very
glad that we have had this great spiritual, gastronomical jubilee, as I
would call it, this morning here with this fine bunch of men.
44
And Brother Shakarian now just made a--a real statement just now about
what he thought about these days that we're--we're living in. I truly
believe that with all my heart, that we're living just at the closing
time, just in a--just in the evening shadows. The sun is far advanced.
And when we see things taking place the way they are today, why, it's
hard telling what another generation would bring. A few days ago... 46 Let me give you a--a shocking something. See, "Not all that says unto Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter in; but the one that doeth the will of My Father." His will is His Word. We can be ever so religious, have great times, shouting, jumping in these meetings, which we're... I don't--I don't want to be critical. But I have a--a duty to do to God, and that duty is to be sincere and to say what He wants me to say. And I'm--I'm certainly grateful for the California chapter who's bore with me in--in my convictions. If I don't speak my convictions, I'm a hypocrite and now I'm not even honest with you. And if I can't be honest with you, how will I be honest with God, 'cause I see you and talk to you. 'Course we do to God too, but we've got to be really sincere and honest with one another. We are certainly in a--a horrible, horrible age. And did you ever stop...
47
Just let me give you just a little analysis. "Not all that saith unto
Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter therein; but the one that doeth the will
of My Father." Jesus said on earth, "Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every Word," every Word, not just now and then a Word, but by
every Word.
51
I went one day with Brother Shakarian, where they was hybreeding
cattle. And I seen the--the--in the laboratory where Brother Shakarian
taken me in. And they dipped in the sperm of the male cow, just a
little--like a little instrument, a match stem, and took up a bunch of
that sperm, and put it under this glass that magnified it hundreds of
times. And there was little germs jumping in that--in that sperm.
Which, we know the germ comes from the male, and the egg from the
female. And I asked the chemist there; I said, "What's that making that
little jump like that?" 53 Now, when this great thing takes place, there's one egg waiting for one germ out of that million. And there's no one can tell which germ that is, or which egg that is. If you'd watch the natural birth, it's more of a mystery than the--than the virgin birth. Because in this sperm, there's one in there that's predestinated to live and the rest of them will die. And it isn't the first one meets; it's the first one that comes together with the egg. Maybe the egg may raise up from the back of the sperm, or the middle of the sperm; the germ may do the same, the egg. The germ crawls into the egg, and little tails drop off of it, and there starts the spine. There's only one in that whole load of a million that's going to make it, only one; and that's determined by some unknown force to man. Yet they're every one alike, every one of those germs are just alike: same thing in animals, same thing in man. It's determined whether it's going to be boy, girl, red-headed, black-headed, or what. It's determined by God. All of them look the same naturally, but there's one in there that's ordained to life: one in a million, yet all of them alike.
54
When Israel left Egypt, there was approximately two million people left
at the same time. Every one of them heard the message of a prophet.
Every one of them saw the Pillar of Fire. Every one of them was
baptized to Moses in the Red Sea. Every one of them shouted in the--in
the Spirit, beat the tambourines, and run up-and-down the bank with
Miriam, when Moses sang in the Spirit. They every one drank from the
same spiritual Rock. They every one eat fresh Manna every night, every
one of them. But there was two made the land: one out of a million.
57
There's approximately five hundred million so-called Christians in the
world today, and each day ends a generation. And now, what if the
rapture would come today and five hundred people, universally, would be
taken in the rapture? You'd never know or even they'd see in the paper
of them going. And the coming of the Lord is a secret coming. He'll
come and steal away.
61
Did you ever notice a seed, as the Reverend Pitts was speaking a few
moments ago, that how a seed goes into the ground? Many seeds are there
in the ground. When God moved upon the water with the Light, and Light
brought forth. The first Presence of God, spoken Light came by God's
Word. And God's Word is the only thing that still brings Light. And
when the waters went back, the seed was already in the earth, and the
Light only brought forth the seeds that remained with germ in them,
come forth, God making His creation.
63
So you see people making their blunders. They stumble at it. They run
at it, and they think this and that, but it doesn't work right; we see
it. But there is a working right; that's to find God's perfect will and
stand in it, what God called you for.
66
But did you notice as--as Brother Pitts went on with his lovely message
this morning to us? As he begin to walk out of the park, there he found
a little Easter lily. "In the midst of all the confusion," as he
brought it to us, "it had no way to say 'yes' or 'no.' It was a life of
God shining in it, in the midst of all the confusion." It was there in
its radiance, because God had ordained it to be there. In the midst of
all the conflict, no one was noticing it. They didn't see the spiritual
application of it.
68 I see that we ought to be downstairs by now. So let's pray, each one of us.
71
As it was like in the days of Noah, when the last member of the family
was brought in, God closed the door. And they beat and pounded, but it
was too late. Dear God, they had the opportunity.
74
And if there be a tug, or a little feeling, that this might be the hour
for somebody here in this audience, here or downstairs, or wherever
they may be, may they answer, "Yes, Lord, I am that little wandering
one that's wandered away; and that's fought It off all my life. I--I--I
felt that I should come, but today I'm hanging on the side of defeat. I
can't go up or down. I can go no way." Oh, may the great Shepherd come,
reach down with tender hands and bring that one safely in, place it
upon His shoulders and bring it safely back.
76
As we think of David, as he was given a charge over a few sheep, just a
few. But one day a bear come in and got that one little sheep and took
it out, and would have eaten it up, like a cancer would eat up a body,
or a huge lion... But David, not too well equipped with a--a rifle, or,
not a swordsman, but with only a slingshot, he went after that sheep.
And when he found the--the animal that was about to kill the little
sheep, he slew it with the slingshot. Just a simple little weapon with
a piece of leather and a string, and--but he had confidence in it.
79
This, I--I hope that you'll--that I've found more grace in the sight of
God and before you to believe that I would stand here to tell you
something that was wrong. I have passed my fifty-sixth birthday the
other day. Now, this isn't just an old man's Message. I've believed
this since I was a little boy. And if this isn't true, I've been the
most foolish person God had on the earth. I've give my entire life for
this cause. And may I say this with sincerity: if I had ten thousand
lives, I'd never change my opinion.
82
Now, look, each one of you here is standing as believers (See?), then
the Life that was in Christ is in you. It can, if you could just see it.
85
And as the tree drinks, it begins to push out its leaves, its buds,
pushes out its fruit each year. The fruit's not in the ground; the
fruit is in the plant. How many understand that, say "amen." [The congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.]
So see, the fruit is in the plant, and every plant has to drink from
his fountain. As the rain comes down, gives that plant life to drink
from. And as it drinks, it grows. And it's growing up until it comes to
the full bud, just like the church has, to bloom out in this age.
88
'Course, you know how the Lord does show different things of what
you've done and what you should not have done, and so forth, in the
meetings. We was hoping that the Holy Spirit would fall upon us this
morning and do such, as we stood. But I kept waiting.
93
Dear God, in the Name of Jesus Christ, in this crucial moment when the
church... May they stand at this second without nervousness, may the
power that raised up Christ from the grave, quicken to them just now
the Truth of the Gospel, that Jesus' commission was, if they lay hands
on the sick, they shall recover. May every demon power, every sickness,
every disease, every affliction, every tormenting thing that's happened
to the people, may it leave just now by faith. As believing people, we
ask it in Jesus Christ's Name. Amen. |
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