Abraham Restored (61-0211)
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Lord bless each of you. Good evening, friends. It's a privilege to be
back again tonight at the church to–to speak on the Word, the eternal
Word of the eternal God of heaven. A little tired, we had–had two
services this morning at the Christian Business Men's Fellowship
Breakfast. The Lord gave us a great blessing.
Something happened to my own life that I'll never forget it. And so I'm
so grateful to the Lord in a confirmation of–of what that I'm trying
to do for the Lord, the Lord vindicated it to be, that it was His will.
And–and you know how you feel when you–something happens like that:
makes you feel real good.
Now, I've been keeping you a little late; I'm sorry for that. And–and
I just run–this morning I thought I was just doing real well, and I
said, "It's twenty-five minutes to eleven." And the clock had been
stopped for a hour, Brother Dean said. So I guess that's just the way
it kind of goes, you know, we just run out of time. There's so much to
say and such a little time to say it.
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Tomorrow morning, I think at eleven or eleven-thirty, when the church
is dismissed, I was to–to come here again for a little message to the
church, the Lord willing. That's after the pastor and all is finished
with their morning activities and Sunday school.
And then tomorrow night is–we're going to pray for the sick. That is
if enough comes out to do it. See? We got to have enough to run a
prayer line if we're going to pray for the sick. Here, the boy said the
other day when he was giving out prayer cards, after he got about
twenty, he said that finished, that there wasn't no more. Couldn't give
out any more cards, there wasn't that many. That's about the way we hit
it in a little church, you know, when we have church meetings. See, you
get in the great large audience…
And then tomorrow night if you have any loved ones that wants to be
prayed for… Now, we're planning, if God willing, to be praying for
the sick tomorrow night. Be here at six o'clock 'fore any of the church
activities start, get you a prayer card and–and be ready for prayer
tomorrow night. We don't know just how, but we'll try to maybe pray for
them right along in the line or whatever the–the Lord leads. And then
the following, next Sunday night again, is another prayer for the sick,
we–if the Lord provides and is willing.
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And then Wednesday is–Wednesday afternoon I'm to speak at the Old
Pisgah Home. Brother Smith, I think, Smith, I believe is his name is,
and a very fine brother. I've missionaried with him overseas, and he's
just one wonderful man. And I think they're having some kind of a rally
there, so I was to speak there next Wednesday afternoon, and then be
back here for Wednesday evening services.
And then the following Monday, we're trying to see if we can one day
between that and to get to Brother Espinosa's at San Bernardino before
we go on up into Bakersfield, or near Bakersfield where the play…
What's the name of that, Brother Gene? Visalia. I think they had an
auditorium and set it between Fresno and Baker so they could get both
crowds, 'cause in there there's people from both cities wants to come,
and they just placed it in between there at Visalia. So be praying.
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And then we go from there straight to Ohio, back to the snow country.
And we be there with the cooperation with the Assemblies, and the
independents, and all together in Ohio at the auditorium. And then at
what's the name of that place, Gene? Ohio? Middletown, Ohio, it's a
basketball center. And then we go from there down in, I believe, it's
Monroe, Virginia, or somewhere down in there where there's about
seventeen inches of snow tonight. And then we come back from there and
go to Bloomington, Illinois, the following week. And then from there to
the last ten days, eight or ten days, in Chicago at the Lane Tech where
we go so many times. That's sponsored by the Full Gospel Christian
Business Men.
And I'm home one day and then I go to Northern British Columbia, up
where the snow's really deep. And so I'm up there then, the Grande
Prairie, and I think the next is Dawson Creek, and then Fort Saint
John. That's the last stop before you get to Anchorage, Alaska, fifteen
hundred miles back into the jungle. Then, if the Lord willing, I'm
coming back and from there going overseas. And then hope to be back in
the native land here next fall some time, the Lord willing, sometime in
the early fall of October, November. If the Lord tarries, if He
doesn't, if He takes me before that time, I'll meet you on the other
side. If He tarries I'll be with you, and we'll go up to see Him
(See?), and go up to meet Him in the air. Now, that might happen any
time; we don't know; we just can't tell. But…
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And we're missionaries. I was talking to some this morning, and they
was talking about what you think about the American situation here?
It's just like all other, the missionaries and so forth, we believe
the–the revival is in the other lands now, the people over there.
There's just about… You know, there's so many fish in the lake, and
when the last one's caught out, that's all. God won't put a freak body.
He won't have a hand with six fingers on it. See? It'll be when that
body is completed, that's all of it. See? No matter how much you
preach, or what He does, there no more will come.
So it's almost that way in our homeland, friends. It's a terrible hour
that we're living in. You don't realize it. Ask some other evangelist;
just don't take my word. Or look around across the country, see where
you see the great masses coming to Christ. Well, you can get out in
Bombay, India, and–and whistle for five minutes about the Lord or
speak four or five words, and five thousand people are there crying to
get saved. That's right. And then here we go along from place to place,
and pull, and strain, and pull, and strain. It just don't… There's
only one thing the American people can do. That's sponsor a program
over there. They got the money here. They ain't got nothing over there,
and can't pay for it, but they're certainly willing and wanting to hear
it. Stand on a ramp, tens of thousands out waving, just–if you just
preach just another five minutes about Jesus, just make a few words…
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I said that, I see there's an Indian woman setting here in front of me
tonight. And are you–are you from India? Oh, south India. Well,
there's a great opportunity, if the Lord willing, this coming October
I'm going to be down around Calcutta and–and up around in Bombay and
up there, maybe over in Thailand. And we hope so. The Lord has really
blessed them meetings. You wouldn't happen to have been at the Bombay
meeting when I was there, were you? You missed it. Guess you heard
about it. [A man says something indistinguishable–Ed.] Pardon? [He repeats it.] Is that right? Well, that was wonderful. It was a great meeting there. God certainly did bless your people.
And I'll never forget that meeting that night at Bombay, long as I
live. They–they… When I was met by the Bishop of the Methodist
church and many of the leaders, and–and they didn't want me to come
under that sponsorship that I was under. And they… I done took these
poor women and men's money to go over there, and I sure I was going to
minister while I was there anyhow. If the manager messed it up about
the–the itinerary, or the sponsorship… But, oh, my, I never seen so
many people come to a meeting in my life. And the mayor of the city was
out.
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And that's when the blind man received his sight standing there. When I
challenged every Mohammedan and every one them, "Come, give him his
sight, and I'll believe you," see. "Let the God…" He was a worshipper
of the sun. Now his eyes was out, he worshipped the creation instead of
the Creator. I said… I was down at the temple of the Jains, you know,
and the–and the–and the Buddhas, and all of them there, they–seven
or eight different religions, and every one of them against Jesus
Christ, and didn't believe in it.
So that night, when that great challenge come, there was all of them
setting there, I said, "Now, here's a man that's been blind for twenty
years, and you think I'm reading his mind." You know holy men, you
know, so forth, the worshippers. And I said, "You think it's a
telepathy, that it's reading his mind, telling him what his name was."
Couldn't even pronounce it, had to spell it out. See? And so I said,
"That was right." And he was a man had two children, his wife. And one
boy was eight, and the other one ten or something like that.
I said, "Now, you thought that was mental telepathy. Now, if that's
mental telepathy, then you come here. I don't know nothing about
telepathy. If it is, you're a genius at it. I don't know nothing about
psychology. You come here and give him his sight and I'll follow you."
I said, "The Mohammedan religion is so great, and this Koran is right,"
I said, "then let the Mohammedan priest come here and give him his
sight, and I'll be a Mohammedan." See?
I said, "Now, I challenge you, every one in the Name of Jesus Christ to
come give him his sight." I'd have never said that if I hadn't seen a
vision he was going to receive his sight. But I knowed where it was at.
That was the quietest bunch you ever heard. Thousands… Why, it taken
me two hours to press through in a automobile to get up there.
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And so the man standing there, and I said, "He said he'd serve the God
that give him his sight." I said, "That's a great big challenge to the
Mohammedan religion, Buddha, Jains, Sikhs, or whatever it might be;
there it is." So nobody… I said, "What you so quiet about?" I said,
"You know the reason they don't come? Is because they can't do it. And
neither can I. But the God of heaven has raised up His Son Jesus Christ
Whose witness I am." See? I said, "I saw a vision that he's going to
get his sight." And I said, "If he doesn't get his sight, then I'm a
false prophet. Run me out of India. If it is–if he does get his sight,
now how many of you will receive Christ as personal Saviour and forget
about your Mohammedan prophet and so forth?" Just as far as you see,
masses of hands, thousands times thousands. There it was; that's it.
I motioned to him; I told him… The translator I said, "Don't
interpret this." I said, "Heavenly Father, it's again a–a Mount
Carmel." I said, "You would not let Your Word be defeated. because you
showed me the man that was going to receive his sight." I said, "Let
the God Who showed me the vision of his eyes being opened, let Him open
the eyes." And he let a scream, and there he could see as good as I
can. And he went out. He run to the mayor of the city.
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I had to leave the platform. I didn't have no shoes when I got out of
there, and pockets off of my clothes. And they had great big strings of
people. I–I guess the guards or something, had them long sticks, you
know, holding them off like that. And them people would run over their
feet, under their legs, just to touch you, crawl over top their backs.
I had to leave the city. Didn't even–couldn't get out of the city on
account of having protection.
And that man has testified before the governor, or the–what
it–president, I think it is, up there. And the mayor of the city was
witness of it. I had his name; I got it in one of my pockets now, I
think, down at the–in the motel, one of the pockets of my coat.
And they invited me back up to what, New Delhi? New Delhi? New Delhi, I
think it is, where they got a amphitheater there they can put a million
people in it. So I'm hoping to go back. He's still God. Amen. He never
changes. The hour is coming.
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And as I said this morning in the talk, if a man ever once goes into
them countries and find the need of those people, then we feel ashamed
of ourself. And there's men over there preaching the Gospel, that our
little churches is supporting as many as we possibly can, some of them
men preaching the Gospel without any shoes on. That's right.
Missionaries preaching the Gospel with no shoes on, maybe a little
plate of curry about twice a week, running through jungles and
everywhere trying to preach the Gospel; and us building six million
dollar buildings and–like we're going to be here forever, and
preaching the coming of the Lord is at hand. Don't make sense to me.
I–I–I–I don't want get started on that one; we're on another subject.
Now, last evening… Before we approach the Word, let's approach the Author in prayer. Let's bow our heads.
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Our heavenly Father, we are assembled again tonight in the Name of the
Lord Jesus Christ our loving Saviour, Thy Son. We have assembled in His
Name, because He promised that if two or three would assemble in His
Name and would ask anything, as touching one thing, they should receive
it. Now, Father, we're more than that number, but it just shows that
Your willingness to meet the church no matter how much is in the
minority; You still will meet with Your people. And we're praying
tonight that You'll come and bless us.
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Tomorrow, Sunday, thousands of pulpits will be open around the world
tomorrow. God, some of them are already open in the other lands; it's
Sunday morning in other lands. We pray, Father, that You'll anoint Your
ministers everywhere. Anoint Your missionaries wherever they are. Your
servants that's praying for the sick, God, may they be so anointed that
great signs and wonders will be done everywhere in every man of every
church and every phase of Christianity. Lord, may there come a time
that God will pour out His Spirit in such a way, that the critics will
be backed off and the church of the living God will be gathered
together like a hen gathering over her brood. Grant it, Father.
We pray for this church that's opened the doors to bring us in here. We
pray tomorrow You'll bless the pastor, the Sunday school teachers, the
choir, and all its activities, its laymen, its deacons, trustees,
whatevermore. May in the morning when they gather for the Sunday school
class, may great signs and wonders be accomplished. May the Holy Spirit
fall in the building, a revival start, slain under the power of God,
laying across the floors, everywhere. Just be an example around town
what God can do when His people come together and assemble themselves
to pray.
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Looking down tonight upon this Indian brother and his woman and the
little children, so thankful, Lord, that–that they're here with us
tonight. And just to show us, Lord, that truly, it's written in the
Book that God is no respect of people. And You–You–You're honorable
to them that'll worship You and fear You in all nations. We're so
thankful for this, that You are a universal Father to all of us, an
eternal Father. And we pray, Lord, that You'll send Your eternal
blessings upon us tonight.
Forgive us of our sins as we forgive those that sinned against us. May
there be not one root of bitterness left in our hearts, anywhere. May
the Holy Spirit purge our lives and our conscience that this Word that
we're fixing to bring forth might come forth anointed by the Spirit.
May it–You circumcise the lips that speak and the ears that hear, that
it might not fall upon the shallow ground, or upon rocks to be packed
away by the–by the birds of the air. But may it fall into good rich
ground of faith and bring forth a hundredfold. Grant it, Lord. We
commit it all to You and ourselves with it, in the Name of Jesus
Christ. Amen.
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I've been enjoying these messages myself, what I get out of them on
Abraham. It's…?… Are you enjoying it? Abraham. And approaching it,
I don't know what you're going to say, 'cause the Holy Spirit just
leads from one thing to another. And we're certainly enjoying it. We…
Last… Night before last, we had him when he was called of God. Last
night when we seen him, he'd separated himself from–fully obedience.
And we find that you cannot be blessed and God cannot do nothing for
you till you completely obey Him.
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Now, there be just a little instruction I might say to the sick. You
might come here, be prayed for; you might have Angels to lay hands on
you, and it will never do one thing to you until you first believe it,
and accept it, and confess it. For He is the High Priest of our
confession. We've got to confess it first before He can witness it
before God. For He's the High Priest there to make intercessions upon
our confession of what He has done for us.
Now, what is Divine healing? Does it mean now that we have to wait till
tomorrow night to be healed? No, sir. Do I have to come to the church?
No, sir. The moment you believe God and accept it as your personal
property, it's finished right then. That's right. "When was I healed,
Brother Branham? I was saved last week, I was saved night before last,
ten years ago." You was saved nineteen hundred years ago when Jesus
died for you at Calvary. And every redemptive blessing that God has for
you… Jesus said at the cross, "It is finished." Everything is done
paid for.
Just like you was in the pawn shop and God come and took you out. Oh,
beautiful lesson in that. We might get to it next week of Ruth and
Naomi, the kinsman redeemer. That's a beautiful lesson. So many… The
whole Bible's beautiful, and just all of it because it's the Word of
God.
Now, the moment that you can accept your healing or your salvation, if
you're walking down the street, if you're–wherever you are, the moment
you accept it, that's when you're turned around.
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I was mowing the grass here about a year ago in my yard and–and I was
trying, sometime you'd have to get on my overalls and cut a few rounds;
then somebody come in, and you'd have to go pray for them. Go out the
back door and change and come back. And I just run out of gasoline, and
so I started up on the porch, and I seen an old beat up truck stop in
front of the house and a gentlemen come walking up the street there,
the little driveway. And he said, "I'm looking for Brother Branham."
And I said, "I'm Brother Branham." He looked them overalls over and everything, he said, "Yes, sir."
I said, "That's right."
And so he said, "Well, Brother Branham, I just wanted to see you for a moment; I guess you're busy."
I said, "Never too busy to talk about the Lord." And he said "Well…"
I said, "Won't you come in?"
He said, "No, I'll just set here on the porch."
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He said, "Brother Branham…" He told me where he was from, he said, "I
was borned and–and dedicated, or consecrated, whatever they call it,
as a Lutheran." And he said, "I guess when I was a little boy, that was
the last time I ever went to church that I know of, 'less my mother
took me sometime I knowed nothing about." Said, "I'm married," a very
fine business man." Said, "I had a lot of things, a lot–nice car
business, and I'd made lots of money." Said, "One day my wife went down
to the Pentecostals." I'm going to quote it the way he did, said, "went
down to the Pentecostals and got the spirits on her." And said, "She"
said, "She was having a–a good life." And said, "She come to me and
tried to get me to go and get the spirits on me. And I said, 'No,'
said, I said, 'Honey, if you want to go,' said, 'you go on anyhow.'
Said, 'Now, remember, if you're changing your life…'" Said, "We–we
lived an ordinary American life, cocktail parties, dances, drunk, and
everything else." And said, "I was glad to see her straighten up."
Said, "She did; it made a different person out of her." And said, "I
thought, 'Well, if–if she does that, I'm–I'm very happy that she does
it.'" And he said, "Now, you got the checkbook, any time your little
church needs any money, you're name's just as good on a check as mine.
Go on and write them out." And said, "But for me, I–I'm not
religious." Said, "If you want to be religious, go on."
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And said that, "Well she was in that little church about a year." And
said, "They had a convention up in Tennessee." So I suppose it was the
Church of God of Prophecy; that's where they-they have their
conventions up there. And so he said, that "She went up there." And
said, "I was making a sale, a car, in a–out in the–the lot," and
said, "to some ladies." And said, "I'd put on my coat, summertime."
Said, "Walk out before them to make my sale." And said, "When I come
back, I happened to think, did I give that woman that second set of
keys? And I run my hand down in my pocket," and said, "I had a little
square tag in there had a question mark and on the back of it said,
'Where will you spend eternity?'" Well, he said, "I looked and I
thought, 'Well I wonder who put that in my pocket?' And just throwed it
over in the trash basket." And said, "Something said to me, 'But that's
got to be settled.'" Said, "I reached down and picked it up again," and
said, "I got to shaking, and I thought, 'That's right. I'm past forty
years old. So I ought to be finding out where I'm going to spend it.'"
And said–said, "Oh, now looky here, you're just getting all messed
up." So he throwed it down again, tried to turn around, turned the fan
on, and so forth. And said… He looked back to that again. It just
kept ringing in his heart. "Where will you spend eternity?" He picked
it up the third time. And said it got him so nervous till he just
couldn't even–he went home.
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Said he heard that the famous evangelist Billy Graham was just one
state over from him, holding a meeting. Said he went over to that
meeting, thought he'd talk it over with Mr. Graham. And said, "Mr.
Graham said a notable message that night." And he said, 'All that wants
to see–receive Jesus Christ, stand up and raise up your hand.'" Said,
"I stood up and raised up my hand." Said, "They took me in the room and
told me, 'Did I believe that He was the Son of God?' And I said, 'Yes,
I do.' And they told me, upon my faith, that made me a Christian, and
said, 'It's all over now.'"
He said, "Brother Branham, but it wasn't all over." He said, "I went
out and then I went to another place, and the people was called the
Free Methodists." And said, "They told me I had to get sanctified, and
get happy and shout, and then it would be all over." And said, "They
stayed with me." And said, "I got happy, sanctified, and shouted and it
was…" But said, "They told me, 'It's all over.'" But said, "It
wasn't."
And said, "Then I went to a famous Pentecostal brother who crosses the
nation back and forth, one of the largest Pentecostal group." And said,
"He said, 'Have you ever spoke in tongues?' No. Said, 'Then you haven't
received the Holy Ghost.' Said, 'Then go back in the other tent and
receive the Holy Ghost.'" Said, "They were very nice to me, worked with
me and everything." And said, "I stayed in there, and there was some of
them stayed with me, way in the night." Said, "Finally, the power fell
on me, and I spoke in tongues." And said, "And I come out," said, "The
evangelist, I went to see him the next day, he said, 'It's all over.'"
And said, "Brother Branham, it wasn't all over."
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And he said, "Then I–I went from there down to the–from there," he
said, "I–I went to the 'Voice of Healing.'" And said, "When I got to
the 'Voice of Healing,'" said, "I got with all those brethren there,"
and said, "they told me that I had crossed over the separating line in
my life, that there was no place for me. Said, 'The only one straighten
you out," said, "go see Brother Branham; he's a prophet.'" Now, that's
wrong, but… "He said, 'He–he's a prophet; he will be able to look
down and see where you crossed the line and maybe you go back and do
something. There's something that you haven't done or–you better go
see him.'" He said, "Brother Branham, here I am."
And I said, "Well, brother," I said, "I'm not a prophet." I said, "But
the Lord lets me discern things to help out the people, a little humble
gift." I said, "But I–I don't call myself a prophet." I said,
"But–but you don't need a prophet for that. You just need to get
straightened out; that's all. You don't…
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I said, "I want to ask you something." I said, "What Billy Graham told
you was the truth." And I said, "And what the Methodists told you was
the truth. And what the Pentecostals told you was the truth. But it
wasn't all the truth." See? I said, "It was truth but not all of it." I
said, "I believe in accepting Christ as personal Saviour; I believe
that. I believe in sanctification, and–and cleaning up a life, and
getting happy and shouting; I believe that. I believe in speaking in
tongues and the baptism of the Spirit, and I believe in all that." But
I said, "That's not exactly what we're talking about."
E-22 I said, "I want to ask you something." I said, "Now, remember, you said for forty years of your life you did not do anything."
He
said, "Brother Branham, I've sold every car I've got and give it to
preachers and evangelists. I've done everything that I know how to do,
make reconciliations for what I've done in my life."
I said, "That wasn't necessary; you didn't have to do that." See? I
said, "God never required you to do that." I said, "You can't pay your
way in. That's not the idea." But I said, "His grace is taking you in."
He said, "Well, what must I do?"
I said, "Not a thing, nothing you can do." I said, "You told me for the
first forty years of your life, that you didn't care about God. But you
picked up a little piece of paper that said, 'Where will you spend
eternity?' And Something said, 'That's got to be settled.' You couldn't
get over it. Now, you were going down a road this a way, and all at
once you started back this way. You didn't care for God; you started
back hunting for Him." I said, "Right there where you made your turn,
that's exactly what changed you, right there."
He said, "Then I've had it all the time."
I said, "Certainly."
He said, "Well, praise be to God." (See?)
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Not upon some sensation, but did you believe it? See? That's where you
got–you got… See, no matter how many sensations of sanctification…
It is a sensation to be sanctified. It is a sensation to receive the
baptism of the Holy Ghost. But when you receive Christ as your Saviour,
that turns you around. No man… Jesus said in Saint John 5:24 (Think
of a hand full and two dozen of eggs. See?), 5:24: "He that heareth My
Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath (present tense) Eternal
Life, and shall not come into the judgment; but hath passed from death
unto Life." There you are. See? Right there you're turned around.
That's one part of the Holy Spirit. Sanctification is another part of
the Holy Spirit. Then when you get so full of It that you can't do
nothing else, as Brother Roe said, He gives you another language then.
And then trying… He just fills you up. It takes the Holy Spirit…
"No man can come to Me except My Father draws him first. All the Father
hath given Me will come to Me." There you are. So when you have the
least little tinkling in your heart to come to Christ, you do it right
away, 'cause that's the greatest thing that ever happened to you, is
for God to call you to the wedding supper of His Son. I don't know
anything greater.
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Now, your story, Abraham, we left him last night after he'd went
through a great trial. And Sarah had decided that she would give Hagar
to him for a wife and brou–she brought forth a baby and called him
Ishmael; and Abraham still knew that that wasn't right, so he went
before God. It was God's plan of doing it, but God had promised him the
baby by Sarah. And now he was a hundred years old and Sarah was ninety.
And he went before God, and God appeared to him and come to him in the
Name of the Almighty God, which the Hebrew word there means "El
Shaddai, the Almighty." And we found out to break that word down,
"Shad" in the Hebrew means "breast." "Shaddai" meant "breasted God," a
God with breasts to pour His own strength into His believing children.
When they're sick, when they're weak, when the spirit's at low ebb, He
pours His strength into them as they take a hold of His breasted
promise and begin to draw from those promises strength.
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Strong One with breasts, oh, I think that's the most beautiful picture.
See, what a consolation to an old man a hundred years old, still
standing on God's promise. Now, the Bible said, "They were well
stricken in age; they were well stricken in years." An old man, that
had holding on to God's promise… And said, "I am the breasted One,
and you're no more than a little fretting child." Sarah's womb had been
dried up for forty years, had past her menopause period for forty,
fifty years before that, hadn't happened a time perhaps. There she was,
all the veins in her had dried up, and she was barren. And–and he
as–as to be a man, he was as good as dead: wasn't no more man to him
in that way. And there he was an old man and his wife real old. And God
said, "But I am the Mother. (Amen.) I'm the Mother, just take–keep
holding to My promise and keep drawing. I'm able to do something for
you." Oh, I like that.
E-26
And to show him what He was going to do, He changed his name in the
17th chapter. And He changed Sarah's name. That's right. Watch those
names, mean something. Why did He change Jacob's name to Israel? Why
did He change Saul's name to Paul? Why did He do all those things?
After He overcome and entered into glory He said that His Name was
changed. In Revelations it's given a promise to those that overcome, He
would make known His new Name. That's right. Every time they overcome
they was given a new name.
Abraham, when he finally overcome, he was taken from the name of Abram,
said, "You shall not be called Abram any more, but shall be called
Abraham." Give him part of His Name, tacked His name onto it: Elo-him.
H-i-m and h-a-m: Elohim. In other words, I am the Father of all things.
See? And I'm making you a father of nations, so I've changed and give
you part of My Name, father of nations, h-a-m. See? Elo-him, Abraham…
That's a good sentence, did you ever think about that? A great
evangelist today named Graham, G-r-a-h-a-m, Billy Graham, think of it,
how that God in His mercy, how He foreknows and the things that He does.
Now, notice what He did there, He changed Sarai to Sarah. Sarai's name,
Sarai, to Sarah. Notice there "Sarah" means "princess." And he was
father of nations. Oh, isn't that beautiful? To that old man and old
woman, hundred years old now, the promise is fixing to be fulfilled.
E-27
Now, we find out that after this Abraham had–he was separated, went
out and got his brother Lot, brought him back in. And when he did,
brought him from the enemy that would've killed him, brought him back,
thinking perhaps maybe he would come on out now and separate hisself
from all the things of the world. Instead of that, he went right back
down into Sodom, like a hog to its wallow and a dog to its vomit. They
return right back again.
That's where I've been so plastering that. Get… No matter how much I
plaster against it, it's going to do it anyhow. But on the day of the
judgment when this recording has been taken in heaven, remember, it'll
answer against you. That's right. The Pentecostal church getting cold
and formal, going right back into its great depths of organization.
"And as long as we belong to the church, that's all that's necessary."
You got to be borned again. You've got to have the Spirit. You got to
have the works, signs and wonders and so forth, as God promised. And
that's where I see the church cooling off. No matter how much I preach
against it. I could stand and say women not to wear shorts, women not
to bob their hair; they'll do it anyhow. I can say the Pentecostal
churches is putting money in great big things, and getting the fashion,
and organizing, and cutting all the rest of them out, just like the
other churches did, that fell before them." They're going to do it
anyhow. God said they'd do it.
E-28
But what I'm trying to do, is jerk and snatch and pull from there.
Today in the meeting when I was preaching, the Holy Spirit fell upon a
little boy and come there and spoke in a French language, don't knowing
one word of French. And a man standing there, didn't know
interpretation, two of them (one has been an interpreter for the U.N.)
spoke up, and the Holy Spirit spoke and confirmed that the Holy Spirit
had sent me to go do this work, and to stay loyal to it, and stay with
it regardless of what the thing is. They'll be reading it one… See,
showing right amongst the Pentecostal people. Yes, sir. Brother, you
take heed. You flee to the rock. Get to the house of refuge. "The Name
of the Lord is a mighty tower; the righteous run into it and are safe."
The great walls of Babylon is collapsing.
E-29
Like over in India when you had the earthquake there, I guess, just the
year I come in, it'd be about six years ago. I picked up the paper, the
English paper, and it said, "I guess the–the earthquake's over." In
India, they don't have fine fences and things like you all have here.
They pick up rocks and make fences. The animals stand around there in
the shade of the evening. The little birds go in there and build their
nests. One day they seen all the little birds flying away, getting
away. And all the cattle wouldn't come in and stand around the walls
and so forth. They went out in the middle of the field and stood
leaning against one another in the sun. They wondered what was the
matter. Then a great earthquake shook the place, shook the walls down.
What happened? All the little birds, if they'd been in them little
coves there, had got killed. The animals had been standing under those
big rock fences and walls, it'd fell on them and killed them. What was
it? God by instinct, letting them know the earthquake was coming, they
fled for safety. If God… The same God that called them into the ark,
had called them away from the wall. He's the same God.
E-30
Well then, if God can use a cow and a horse and a sheep and a bird by
instinct to flee the wrath that's coming, you'd better get away from
these big old walls of Babylon and flee to Jesus Christ, 'cause she's
going to crumble and fall one of these days. Remember, there was a
Stone cut out of the mountain without hands, come rolling into Babylon
and tearing it down wherever it went. And the kingdom of this world
will fall just as certain. Every manmade kingdom's got to sink, so the
Kingdom of God can take the right of way. Every manmade organization
will fall and crumble to the dust, that the power of the Holy Ghost
might take the church and rapture it into that place up above. That's
right. Yes, sir. They… Everything has served its purpose, but we're
at the time, brother, when God is calling His people out. The Stone
that was cut out of the mountain without hands is rolling in, crashing
down Babylon, moving right on over. Get away from the big walls,
friend. Come into Jesus Christ. That's the only Place of safety or
refuge I know.
E-31
We see there that Abraham, when he found what God wanted him to do, He
blessed him and changed his name, and changed Sarah's name, give them
a–a–a sure promise that this was going to happen. Then we find him, I
believe it's in the 18th chapter. We find him setting out in the field
and somewhere in the desert, hard way.
My. Oh, I don't know why that keeps bubbling up in me. I… Forgive. No
don't forgive me. Now, that–that'd be wrong. Why is it, brothers? I
stood here not long ago and went to a big bunch of fine Pentecostal
men. And I said, "You're giving the wrong testimonies. You're always
talking about how God's blessing you, how many big things you got, how
many Cadillacs you can own, and all like that. That's a whole lot
different from what the first Pentecost was. They sold everything they
had, and give it to the poor, and went out preaching the Gospel.
There's something wrong somewhere." That's exactly right.
There was a fellow raised up, he said, "And Brother Branham, that was a
greatest mistake the people ever made." We was in Jamaica. If anybody's
here, Brother Bonamore, I guess remembered. I don't know whether
Brother… Yeah, was with me setting out there that night.
I said, "Do you mean to tell me that you think that God makes a
mistake? God don't make no mistake. A man that's led by God, they was
led by God to do that."
E-32 He said, "Then when the persecution come on, they didn't have any home to go to. I guess you think that was a mistake."
I
said, "Shame on you. Not know no more, had been in Pentecost as long as
you have, know no more about God than that. That's exactly what God had
to do. They had nothing to go back to; they went everywhere scattering
the message throughout the country. God knows what He's a doing." Let
them be led, sure. God don't make no mistakes. It's you and I that
makes the mistakes. God doesn't make it. When you feel led of the
Spirit, move on, move on, just keep going on.
E-33
Here Abraham, he wasn't down in Sodom seeing how much he could get. He
was up there in fields in obedience to God. Probably Sarah didn't have
the new dresses that Mrs. Lot had and didn't keep up with all the
fashions. Yet they said there wasn't a woman in the land as fair as she
was. She was a mother, and she also loved her husband so well that she
didn't tighten up her dresses, and get out on the street, and carry on
the way modern Mrs. Lot does, and things like that. She called her own
husband lord. And the Bible said, "Whose daughters you are, as long as
you obey the Word." That's right.
There she was. And we see them out there. Time's poor, the herds going
down. Everything seemed to be… But Abraham was abiding in the
promise. Amen. That's where we make our mistake, brother. It isn't our
organizations makes the mistake; it's us in the organization makes the
mistake. See? It's all right as long as you–if you'll abide in the
promise. But when you do get into these things you begin starchy, want
to act like the rest of the world. And that's the reason God walks
right away from it.
I'm looking in the face of one of the greatest historians there is in
the United States. And I'll tell you–Brother Paul Boyd, setting right
there. And I'll tell you one thing, you show me one speck of history
where a church ever come into an organization if it didn't fall and
never rise again. Find it: never did, never will. It isn't the will of
God. We'll get on that next week.
E-34
Notice, but now as we go ahead in with Abraham. Abrahams abide in the
land; he abode right there where God told him to. And as long as he
stayed there, God was with him. When he moved out of the land, a curse
come on him. As soon as you move away from the promise of God, then
just get ready for trouble. That's exactly right.
Now, we find out that one day he was setting out there. Let's give it a
little drama so these little fellows here can catch it. Now, I see
Abraham setting in the tent door one morning. There was a big oak tree
in front of his place there. They claim the oak still stands. They got
it preserved, they say. Well, there where he had his tent pitched, out
there on the desert… Lot was down there, my, I guess if they'd had
such a thing, he'd had a big cigar and mayor of the city, you know. And
Mrs. Lot and her daughters and all of them going around to all the
fashion shows, watching the TV, and–and pattern after the–the–the
styles of those days. But Sarah stood true; Abraham stood true; they
stayed with God, stayed out there.
E-35
Now, what happened? One day while Abraham was setting there, along
about eleven o'clock in the day, I imagine. He looked, coming up
through there, and here come three Men with dust all over Their
clothes, walking along.
You know there's something about it, you can pass right by God's
blessing and not know it if you're not prayed up. I think about that,
prayed up.
There was a little Irish woman come over from Ireland not long ago, and
they said she was on a ship and she's was… Along about, oh, about
time they was getting in New York a great typhoon swept out across the
ocean, and the ship was just sending out SOS's, and it was just diving
from place to place. The bands had been playing; they'd been doing all
the rock-and-roll that they could and all like that. And they
started–band started playing… The Captain said, "Everybody pray;
everybody pray, the way you do in your church." And the bands begin to
play "Nearer, My God To Thee." And they all begin going on.
E-36
A little Irish woman begin walking up and down the floor. And the
Captain said, "If we can only hold this storm for thirty minutes, we'll
come into the harbor, drop anchor." Said, "But if we can't hold it for
thirty minutes," said, "we'll be at the bottom of the sea."
That little Irish woman said, "Glory to God. Hallelujah."
So the Captain walked up, said, "Lady, did you understand what I said?" He sa…
She said, "I understood you plainly, sir."
He said, "I said in thirty minutes from now we may be in the bottom of
the sea, if we can't hold out thirty minutes in this storm."
Said, "I understood what you meant." Said, "Hallelujah. Praise God."
Said, "Why don't you pray?"
She said, "I'm prayed up. Don't have to do any more praying." Said, "I was prayed up to begin with."
Well, said, "Why could you say hallelujah like that and knowing that you might be in the bottom of sea?"
She said, "Sir, I'm on my road from Ireland to see a daughter of mine
that lives in New York." She said, "I got a daughter in glory and one
in New York. If we go down I'll see that one up there. If we land I'll
see that one there. I'll see one of them in thirty minutes." That's
right. Prayed up… Amen. That's the way to stay, prayed up. Be ready
for it. She was going to meet one of them in thirty minutes. She knowed
it either… It didn't make any difference to her, up there or down
here, it did–she was going to see one of them in thirty minutes. Now,
that's good, that's fine. That's the way the church ought to be all the
time, prayed up.
E-37
Abraham was prayed up, setting out there. Lot didn't know, maybe down
in there what was going on out there in the desert. But when Abraham
looked, there was something about that Man walking out there in front
that he recognized that looked a little strange. Oh, my. Strange
looking Man… He run out, and if you notice, the very first thing he
said, "My…" Not "My Lords." I certainly differ with that Jewish
brother that made that remark the other night at Shreveport. Not "My
Lords," but, "My Lord." L-o-r-d, one. "My (capital) L-o-r-d, won't You
come in." Now, any of you notice the translator on there, that was
Elohim, Abraham called Him. Ca… Brought Him in. Said, "Won't You come
in, set down. I'll fetch You a little water, I'll wash Your feet. Take
a morsel of bread." And said, "Then You… Satisfy Your–Your desire,
then You can go on wherever You're going." I can just imagine slipping
through and say, "Sarah, Sarah, shh. Somebody's out there; get some
flour ready right quick, or the cornmeal."
E-38
And how many ever seen a sifter? Is any women… Well, what part of
Kentucky you from? I used to see mom with that old sifter, go up to the
meal barrel, and had a little round thing like a cheese crate and
screen wire over the bottom of it, and dip it up like this, and she had
an old wedge in there; she'd rub the lumps through when the old meal
would get wet. Did you ever see that done?
You know the other day I bought my wife a coffee mill down here, one of
them kind you grind yourself. Why, I haven't ground one since I was a
little boy. I–it used to be mine to clean the light chimney, you know,
get in there with big old moon and owl on the lamp chimney, you
remember that? Have to run my hands down there and clean them…
E-39
And I sees Abraham run through and say, "Say, get–knead some of
the–the–the meal right and get it ready; make some cakes on the
hearth." Went out and had a servant to take the calf and dress it. And
come out and feed these Men. Now, they act like They were Strangers, as
from another country. And They was just passing through. And so I just
imagine maybe that Abraham got the old fly bush and got out there, you
know, after dark and shoo… How many knows what a fly bush is? Now, I
know these's Kentuckians here. Yes, sir. I remember when company'd come
we'd set them out there and take that old fly bush, and I had to stand,
my poor old arm would just nearly break like that, shooing the flies,
while mama's cooking, then have to stand at that stove and wipe the
sweat and–with the fly brush, you know, going like this so the flies
wouldn't get around where we eat. We was raised poor. And so, take the
butter and the cream and put it down in the milk house, or not the milk
house but a little old place, spring down there, and cover over the
crock, you know, and milk get–cream get about that deep. I slipped in
many times and got a cup of it, when she was trying to save it. Oh,
what, it was good.
E-40
Now, we find out that Abraham took this food out there and set it down
before these Men and They eat. Now, Abraham was curious to find out
what Their journey was because he knowed that One of them there, that
main One, was God. He knew that was God; he called Him Elohim. So now,
what did it represent?
We find out two of them rose up and went on down into Sodom. They were
going down there to preach and to call out those that would be called
out. And we see that when he got down there and begin to preach, that
they didn't do many miracles, just smote them blind. That was…
Preaching the Gospel smites the blind. But there was…
E-41
Now, remember, there is three classes always at the judgment. We find
out the Bride comes back with Christ, in Daniel. Ten thousands times
ten thousands came with the Ancient of days. The judgment was set, and
the books were opened, and another book was opened, which was the Book
of Life. See, the sleeping virgin come up for the judgment. And a book
of the ungodly was opened, and He separated the sheep from the goats,
but the raptured church come back with Him.
Jesus comes three times. He came first to redeem His Bride. He comes
the second time to catch Her away. He comes the third time with Her: To
redeem His Bride, to receive His Bride, and to bring Him and His Bride
back as King and Queen over the earth, set on His father David's
throne.
E-42
And now, we know there's three classes of people all the time. We
notice it today. There has been Lutheran, Methodist, Pentecostals.
There is the sinner, the ungodly, the sleeping virgin, and the true
virgin. Always. Now, we find out there was the Sodomites, there was
Lot, the lukewarm church, and here was Abraham had separated hisself
from them and was living apart. Now, the very word "church" means
"separation."
Israel was the people of God until they came into the wilderness, and
being called out it was then the church of God. "Church" means "called
out, set aside." And Abraham was the elected church. Lot was the
sleeping virgin or the formal church. And then there was the sinner,
the Sodomite.
E-43
Now, watch, the Sodomite and the formals down there, Lot in his formal
condition… Now, he was a good man, no doubt. It said, "The sins of
the city vexed his righteous soul." But there was a elected church,
called, predestinated by God, Abraham, called when he was seventy-five
years old, given a promise, to let the trial say it would be for sure.
Wait till we get over in a little farther here where He made it
positive sure. All right. Told him about the child he was going to
have. And Abraham did not stagger at the promise of God. No matter how
many extra dollars laid down here, and how rich he could be in Sodom,
and what he could do, he stayed with God, kept the promise. That's the
elect church. There's some of them in the Methodists, some in the
Baptists, some in the Pentecostals. The elected church will be called
out of all the groups. That's right. That's the one that hears the
voice.
E-44
When Jesus came, the Lord Jesus Christ, why didn't they recognize Him?
They never recognized it till it's too late. They never knew Elijah was
the prophet of God. Why, they sent their children out to tease him,
called him bald-headed because he went bald-headed when he was a little
boy. They didn't know nothing. They didn't believe he was any prophet.
Certainly they didn't. They never do believe it. Didn't Jesus say,
"You're whited walls, you–you polish the walls of the prophets and
you're the one that put them in there."
Look at Jeremiah, Isaiah, any of the prophets. They didn't recognize it
till it was all over. And when John came, they didn't know what…
Jesus said Hisself, "That was the Elijah that was spoke of." And
they've done done to him what they listed, and even the disciples
didn't know it wa–John was that Elijah. And when Jesus come, they
didn't know He was Jesus; they didn't recognize Him to be the Christ.
But those who were ordained to Eternal Life, "My sheep hear My voice."
They recognized it.
E-45
Let's come on down, Saint Patrick. You Catholic people that call him a
Catholic, I wish you'd produce the history for it. He wasn't a
Catholic; he protested the Bishop at Rome. That's exactly right. His
school's up in Northern Ireland. He didn't believe in that one man
control. He believed in the Holy Ghost controlling. Yes, sir. He also
believed in the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and speaking in tongues,
and–and the power of the Spirit. Saint A–Saint… What was I trying
to say? Columba did the same thing. Saint Martin did the same thing,
Irenaeus, the same thing. They all believed in the power of God, in
Divine healing, and the power of the Holy Ghost. All of them early
saints…
Then they had a bunch of bishops that was starchy and wanted to make a
organization, and they organized the church, and conglomerated sin and
some church superstitions together and made their organization. From
that come the mother organization. From that come every one of the rest
of them right out of it. Read Revelations 17 and see if it ain't: the
mother whore and her daughters were harlots. What is a harlot but a
whore, same thing. What makes that? Committing spiritual fornications
against the true Father, the true Husband, taking manmade doctrines and
creeds, taking the people, getting formal, bringing them into an old
formal worship. We worship God in Spirit and in Truth, God seeks such
to do so. Yes. Sure it is.
E-46
Now, we find out that Abraham, Abraham stayed out there; he was
elected, a called out church. And remember, the Man that was in human
flesh, the Man eat the flesh of a calf. He drank the milk from the cow.
He drank his bread and had but–eat bread and had butter on it,
drinking the milk from the cow. And Abraham called Him God.
Look–take… Look at the translators, run it down, find out if that's
right: Elohim, God. Now, I want you to notice, it was representing
something, something that we want to let you positive see it.
Now, notice, then we find out that when the two men went down, the
preachers went down to preach, two Angels went down to preach in
Sodom… They never done this, this thing, this sign that they went
down there and showed their sign, that they come to bring them out. But
it wasn't the same sign the elected church got. The elected church got
another sign. And now, notice what the church out there got, the One
that stayed behind with the elected church. You remember when He was
talking? He said, "Abraham…" Called him by his new name that God had
just give him. "Abraham, where is Sarah (S-a-r-r-a-h, her new name)?"
Why, He was the One that give it to them. Yeah.
E-47 Someone said, I've made this statement many times, said, "Brother Branham, you don't believe that man was God?"
I
said, "The Bible said it was God." See? He did. He's the Creator. He
could do anything He wants to. He just picked up some petroleum, and
cosmic light, and calcium, and potash, and [Brother Branham blows–Ed.]
blowed into it, and stepped into the body and come down. That's exactly
the way He did it. He had Angels there the same way. He can do the same
thing. Where did we come from? Who made the earth? Where did He get the
stuff to make the earth out of? Tell me where He went out and got it
at. The very earth that we're setting on is the Word of God made
manifest. This pulpit is the Word of God. This is the Word of God made
manifest. God spoke it, and He's a Creator, and He made it out of
things that–not was here to make it with. He created it. Got a
purpose, He can create. He can do whatever He wants to; He's God.
E-48
Abraham called Him God. That's Who He was. Abraham ought to know, he
talked to Him, been talking to Him all of his life. I guess he ought to
know Who He was. Sure. Told him, "I, I'm going to fulfill this promise
that I made you." Who was the One talked to him back there? "I, I am
the One," He said. And notice, then when He said, "Abraham, where is
your wife Sarah?" Abraham, not Abram, Abraham… And God in the
previous chapter had just give him that name of Abraham. They didn't
have newspapers and televisions and–and things in that day. Abraham
was out there by himself, out there, him and his wife and his–his
people, his servants. And so God had appeared to him and changed his
name, and the Angel called him Abraham. God changed Sarai's name to
Sarah and called her name Sarah. "Where is your wife Sarah?" How did He
know that he was even married? How did He know, being a Stranger, that
his name was Abraham? How did He know He changed his name from Abram to
Abraham? How did He know that He'd changed Sarah to Sarah? And how–or
Sarai to Sarah. How did He know these things?
E-49 And Abraham said, "She is in the tent behind You, back there."
He
said, "I'm going to visit you, Abraham." In other words, "I promised
you that I was going to give you this child, and you've believed My
Word, now I'm going to visit you according to the time of life and
you're going to have this baby."
And Sarah, ear-dropping in the back, she said within herself, now; she
said in herself. Now remember, down in her heart, "Would I ever have
joy, me an old woman, ninety years old, grandma, great, great, great,
grandma, and my husband, old, my lord out there, he's old, a hundred
years old, and here I am ninety years old, and I'd ever be as a young
woman again?" She thought, "That's funny," and she laughed.
And the Angel said, "Why did Sarah laugh?" And not only that, but He
said, repeated the words to Abraham, what Sarah thought in her heart.
He said, "How could it be?" Amen. There you are. Setting with His back
turned to the tent… Then Sarah really was scared. She seen what she'd
done. "Why did Sarah laugh saying within her heart, 'How can I ever
have pleasure with my husband again?'" But His words was confirmed; He
was God.
E-50
Now, what was it? Now, Jesus referred to that same thing. And He said,
"As it was in the days of Lot, so will it be in the coming of the Son
of man." Now, notice, why don't you get out and hit those big nerve
centers? Wasn't sent to those nerve centers. To the elect church,
that's where. They'll never believe it. I know standing here at
nighttime when I was having that discernment the other night, and feel
it right now; there's many in here don't believe that. Don't tell me; I
can call your name. That's right. Don't tell me. What's right. That's
right; I know your sickness. God can tell me right here your sickness,
certainly. And I feel it. Why you trying to play a hypocrite about it?
Won't you be what you really are? One thing, you're scared. I don't
blame you. One word against It will never be forgiven. But I want you
to know that the Scriptures is not no mysticism as some of you
preachers think it is. It's not no telepathy. God have mercy on your
sinful soul. You don't need a pulpit; you need an altar. That's right.
Get right with God. Remember, a word against It will never be forgiven
in this world or the world to come. Now, you say, "It's not me." Don't
tell me who you are; I know. See? Yes, sir. So now listen, I'm just
warning you. Remember, God promised that would happen. Amen.
E-51
Notice, He said… Watch, what was it? God in human flesh. And God
would represent Himself again in human flesh just before the coming of
the Son of man. What flesh? Your flesh, my flesh. God, coming down from
heaven, God longing for fellowship… How people… It seems to be like
there's so much mental theology about it you fail to get the
discernment of the Spirit.
Like a guy was trying to tell me the other day about being three Gods,
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Father is a dispensation of the Father, it
wasn't three Gods, three offices of the same God: the Fatherhood, the
Sonship, the Holy Ghost, the same God in each One. You don't have to
have no Nicene council for that. It's God, the same God always, one
God. He was in the Fatherhood; that's the reason Matthew said, "Baptize
them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." Not three Gods,
one God in three offices: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three
attributes. Certainly.
E-52
He was in the Pillar of Fire as God, Jehovah. He… No one could touch
Him. Sin was so far from Him; He couldn't get near them. Then He come
and overshadowed a virgin, created a Blood cell in her womb. The child
come forth, Jesus, holy body, neither Gentile nor Jew, God's own Blood.
And then the great Holy Spirit came down from heaven, the Spirit of God
like a dove, descending and went on Him, "This is My beloved Son
(correctly on the right translation) in Who I am pleased to dwell in.
My Father dwelleth in Me." Ask any good translator of the Scripture and
find out if that's not in the Hebrew. Yes, sir. "In Whom I am pleased
to dwell." Jesus said, "The Son can do nothing in Himself. Not Me that
doeth the works, but My Father. He dwells in Me, Emmanuel." Not another
God up there, and another one here, and another one down here; that's
heathen. One God in three offices: God the Father Almighty came down
and dwelt in His Son Christ Jesus. He gave His life trying to find
Hisself back to fellowship with His people, trying to get back. No one
could pay the price, all sinners. And His own Son was made sin for us
to take away our sins. And that would let the same Father God in the
form of the Holy Ghost came down and dwel–dwelt in us and worked
through us like He did His Son that was created. Amen. There's your
truth.
E-53
You got one side of the road over here saying, "God's one like your
finger's one. He can't be His own Father." Got them over here saying,
"He's three different Gods." Well, if He's three different Gods, then
God the Holy Ghost, and God the Father is two different people, then
the virgin was conceived by the Holy Ghost. Which one was His Father?
Got one Father, the Holy Ghost and God is the same self Spirit. That's
correctly. Then in that… Oh, it's not mysterious. If He had… If–if
a man was–if two was His Father, then He's a illegitimate child sure
enough spiritually. See, it's all scrupled up; it don't make sense. The
only thing that man tried to figure it out with their head instead of
letting their heart go to God, and God would reveal those things to
them, if you just let Him do it. Yes, sir.
He can't be His own Father; Jesus couldn't be the one Jesus, one God,
all like that. He was created by God the Father. Right. And God the
Father dwelt in Him that He might use His Blood for sanctification, and
cleanse His church with that same Spirit, to live in His church, to
perform the works and the signs and fulfill the Scripture that He
promised, "In the last days as it was in the days of Sodom, so shall it
be in the coming of the Son of man."
E-54 [Blank.spot.on.tape–Ed.]…?…
That's it, learning what somebody else… What did Jesus say to Peter?
"Blessed art thou, Simon, son of Jonas. You never learnt this in the
seminary. Flesh and blood never revealed this to you, but My Father
which is in heaven has revealed this to you, and upon this rock I'll
build my church; and the gates of hell can't prevail against it."
That's the reason He give him the keys. He had the revelation. It's
revealed, truth.
Oh, the–them–them little things that they fight over and separate
themselves, it shows it's not of God or they wouldn't separate
themselves like that. Why don't you come together and be brothers,
sisters; let the power of God work among you. It'll work it all out.
God's the Tutor of the church, the Holy Spirit. Correctly. You don't
have to use all your life just trying to learn something like that. The
best thing you know you're saved and call–start walking with God. What
He wants you to know, He will reveal it to you.
E-55
There was God Almighty made flesh in a commemoration that… Jesus
said, "A little while and the world seeth Me no more; yet ye shall see
Me, for I will be with you, even in you, in you, to the end of the
consummation," all the way down to the end of the world, Jesus Christ
the same yesterday, today, and forever. He's here. It's Christ working
in you and me and the rest of us, trying to bring His Word together to
confirm and to fulfill His Word. Why did Jesus heal the sick for in
Matthew 12, Matthew 8, I believe it is? He said, "That it might be
fulfilled which is spoken of by the prophet." The Word of God needs to
be fulfilled. This is the hour.
Telepathy, they call it. They called it the same thing there, a devil.
He said, "It's unforgivable to call the Spirit of God that's working a
thing like that." I want you to think about that 'fore you go to making
your decisions. There's a new ministry that God has confirmed, and we
know it to be the God's truth. But somehow or another it just won't
work here in–in America. It does at other places. Now, greater than
what we have here.
But you see, we just–we just sinned away our day of grace; that's all
there is to it. I predicted that in 1956, and it's been that way ever
since, constantly falling. See? But God will pull out that elect
church. He's–He's duty bound to do it; He said He would do it.
E-56
Now, look at that Angel with His back turned, told Sarah what she was
thinking about. If that ain't the Word of God, I don't know it. The
Bible said in Hebrews 4 that, "The Word of God is sharper than a
two-edged sword, and even a discerner of the thoughts of the heart and
mind." Right. It discerns; It's the Word of God. And the Word of God is
in you if you'll let the Word, because He is the Word. "In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God; and the Word was made flesh, and dwelled among us." See that? Then
that same Word, Christ, the promise, the Holy Ghost, you call it the
third Person of the trinity, that's fine, that's what it is, Christ,
the Holy Ghost in you. He was in a Pillar of Fire once. Then He come
was made flesh. Now, He's come in your flesh.
What's He doing? God condescending, trying to draw near to His people
so He can be loved and worshipped. And we've in the Laodicean Age
turned Him on the outside. He's knocking, trying to get back in. "As
many as I love, I rebuke and chasten, repent," He said. Here we are.
That's God, that's God our Father in the form of the Holy Ghost trying
to get back into our lives to control us. He's got to have a church to
make–as I said last night, that capstone come on. It's got to come on
there perfect. And the church has got to draw into perfection. You say,
"Perfection?" That's what He said, "Be ye perfect as My Father in
heaven is perfect." God… Let's take a notion. Let's take a–let's
take a little example here for a minute. Notice this. Now, as I was
saying this morning, if a grape vine has grape life in it, it'll bring
forth grapes.
E-57
Now, this Pillar of Fire that went with the children in the wilderness,
anyone knows that that was God. We know that that was God, He told
Abra–told Moses, "I AM THAT I AM. And I have seen the affliction of My
people and heard their groans by the reason of the task masters, and
I've come down to deliver them." Now, that was the Pillar of Fire in
that bush (You believe that? The Angel of the covenant.) Well it was
a… It led it on Mount Sinai and wrote the commandments. Even if an
animal touched it, it had to be killed. What was it? Because there was
no sin offering, a animal.
E-58
See, when the Old Testament, when they offered a sin offering, they
took a little lamb, laid their hands upon it, confessed their sins, and
they cut its throat. And when the little fellow was dying, kicking, and
bleating, why, the blood got all over the hands of the worshipper. And
then he felt the death going out of that animal as it straightened out
and died, and he knowed that that animal was dying in his place. But
the Bible said he went out with the same desire he had when he come in.
'Cause see, when that blood cell was broke, that animal spirit could
not come back and coincide with the human spirit. The animal has no
soul. So they could not come back. So therefore he went out with the
same conscience. But when a man by faith come lays his hands upon the
head of Jesus Christ and feels His suffering for your sins, and when
that Blood cell was broke on Calvary, not only the life of a human
being come back, but the life of God comes back from it and makes you a
son and daughter of God.
E-59
Watch when that Pillar of Fire was made flesh and dwelt among us. How
do we find Him the other night, what He did? How they knew Him, by
discerning the thoughts of the heart. They knew that was that prophet
that Moses spoke of. He claimed to be that. They knowed it was; that's
the way He was. Now, He turned back to that again, did you know that?
"Oh, no, Brother Branham." Oh, yes, He did to.
He said, when He was here on earth; He said, "I come from God and I go
to God." Is that right? And after He was dead, buried, rose, and
ascended on high… Saul of Tarsus was on his road down to Damascus one
day to put the people in jail that was worshipping. And all at once a
great Light flashed before him, and he fell to the ground. And that
great Light was so bright, that put out the eyes of Saul; he was blind
for a season. And He said, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest Thou Me?"
He said, "Who are You, Lord?"
He said, "I'm Jesus." Went back to the Pillar of Fire again.
E-60
And we got the picture of It right with us, the Pentecostal church.
Hallelujah. Now, is It the same Spirit? Is It the same Pillar of Fire?
George J. Lacy, the head of the FBI, fingerprint and document,
you–there's his document wrote on it, said, "Light struck the lens."
Said, "There's no psychology about it, 'cause this mechanical eye of
the camera won't take psychology." Struck the lens.
Got another one right up here at the other place, got them in
Switzerland and Germany. They want to know if their pictures would take
It. The big German cameras come out. And I was standing there; I said,
"Certainly, if God will permit it." There I come out there then, was
talking, and I said, "Now, It's coming." And this German just standing
there, whirl his pictures, taking them. And when it did, it showed the
Holy Spirit coming down, showed when It–showed the man over there with
his collar turned around, and I said to him, by the Spirit, "You're
standing there like a priest, but you're not a priest. You're not even
a German." I said, "You're an Italian; you're a leader of twenty
thousand communist. You run off with a party; you got a little
orphanage up in the mountains. You didn't eat your breakfast because
you got stomach trouble. That's THUS SAITH THE LORD." I said, "Eat your
breakfast, Jesus Christ makes you well." He set down and started eating
as hard as he could, he crying. And they took the picture of the Holy
Ghost coming down, when It ascended, when It was anointing, and when It
went away, right straight in the daylight, standing there. What is it?
Not psychology. Are you so far away from God, my brother? Not
psychology, the camera knows more about it than you do.
E-61
Now, is it the Holy Spirit? Well, if it does the works of Jesus Christ,
It's the same Spirit was on Him. Then you can rest assure that you who
believe in God and believe you have the Holy Ghost, that that's the
same Holy Ghost, because It's doing the same thing It did when It was
on the real Son of God. When It comes upon sons and daughters of
adoption, It does the same thing It did there.
If I told you I had the spirit of John Dillinger, you'd look for me to
have two big guns, if I had his spirit. If I had the spirit of an
artist, you'd expect me to paint the pictures of the waves out there,
catch them beautiful waves and paint them. If I had the spirit of an
artist, I could do it. If I had the spirit of a mechanic, I could
listen to your car and tell you what's wrong with it. If I tell you I
got the Spirit of Christ, then do the works of Christ. You can't
believe me, why, believe the works. Believe that God sent It. Because I
don't join up with the organizations and things, you don't want to
believe it for that, then believe the very works and get saved. That's
right.
I know it's hard; I don't know why I say it. But it's got to be told
somewhere. It's got to be truth; it's got to be made known. At the day
of the judgment, I'll meet you there in the Name of the Lord Jesus. He
will still confirm that it's truth, but it's in His Bible. "And heavens
and earth will pass away; My Word shall never." Amen. Come back to God.
That's the call. Get back to God again.
E-62
Abraham called Him Elohim. Turned His back, show you what God did then,
'cause Abraham recognized that that was God in human flesh dwelling
right here with him, talking with him. Jesus said, in other words He
said to… You know what the Angel of the Lord did down there at Sodom?
Look what the Sodomites were doing. They were buying, and building, oh,
my, contractors all over the country, buildings. Did you ever see such
a time? I can't even go rabbit hunting no more at home, the–it's all
housing projects where the farm was. I don't know what we're going to
do to eat. See? Building, building. That's exactly what Jesus said
would take place. Did He say it? They were marrying, giving in
marriage, like in the day of Noah. Look at the Reno, Nevadas, and look
here.
E-63
This nation would be better off if it had–if it had a… I better not
say that. All right. But anyhow it'd be better to have three or four
wives than… I'd rather stand before God with three married women, or
five married women standing by my side, than to stand there with one
wife, and running with another man's… Yes, sir. I'd have a better
chance before God. You can't force sinners to take a Christian's duty
and do that; they can't do it until they're borned again. That's right.
We're a long ways from being a Christian nation. How would we open up
every bootleg joint that's on the corner, and run the things the way we
do and call ourselves Christians? That's not Christians no more than a
hog knows about a sidesaddle. Well, you couldn't call that
Christianity. We're no Christian nation, no, sir. There's Christians in
this nation, but it's not Christian nation. I thank God for the
Christians that is in here. "It's not all that saith unto me, Lord,
Lord, will do–will come in, but the one that doeth the will of My
Father which is in heaven." That's the one that comes in.
E-64
What's the use of being a halfway? What's the use of having a lukewarm
church? Either be red-hot or–or ice cold. Don't claim Pentecost 'less
you live Pentecost. Don't jump no higher than you live. That's right.
It's a shame; it brings a disgrace upon the rest of them. It ain't the
bootleg joints so much that's hurting the unbeliever; it's these people
that claim to have something and acting like the world; that's what's
the stumbling block. A church that's supposed to be on fire for God,
and go around calling the very Spirit of God that comes, saying
it's–it's mystic, it's telepathy, it's all this, that, or the other,
because we don't belong to their organization. Shame on you. God have
mercy on your sinful souls. You'll meet that at the day of judgment and
perhaps before you get to judgment; that's right, 'cause God promised
it.
Oh, we're in a terrible time, friends. Oh, the world is sinking, the nation is dying.
Oh, what a day that we're living in. What if Paul was living in this
day? What if the Saint Peter was living in this day, and to see
Pentecost in the condition. He'd shake you; he certainly would, 'cause
he had the Holy Spirit in him. He certainly would.
E-65
Now, notice, I want to show what God promised to them overcomers, what
God did to those overcomers. I just got fifteen minutes to let outing
time. Let's see, what God did. Right there when Abraham recognized it
and said, "Yes, that's God." Called Him Elohim, my Lord, not my Lords,
my Lord. "My Lord," he said. Capital L-o-r-d. Notice what he called
Him. And when he recognized Him, and knowed what it was, and he asked
for mercy for so many people, so many people, and finally he got from
fifty down to ten, still couldn't find them in–in Sodom, or He
would've spared the city. But He couldn't even find them in all the
church down there. There couldn't be five, or ten honest people; He
only got three out: had four, one of them turned around, looked back:
his wife. She didn't want to leave her fine Hollywood things and her
nice place, you know. And–and she turned to a pillar of salt.
E-66
Don't look back. "He that puts his hand on the plow, and he that turns
to look back is not worthy of plowing." That's what's in this church,
brother. You put your hands on the plow and called yourself
Pentecostal, filled with the Holy Ghost; stop looking at the world, and
act like the world, and polish yourself like the world, and all this
kind of stuff, and having worldly things, and staying home watching
television instead of coming to prayer meeting. While sinners come to
the altar and never get a move out of anybody to come, not interest any
more.
Let me give you a little warning, Ezekiel the 9th chapter, the Bible
said, told the marker with the–with the Holy Spirit, "Go through the
city and set a mark upon those who sigh and cry for the abominations
that's did in the city." How many ever read it? Sure. Don't mark nobody
else but them. Count on your fingers and hold them up to me, how many
people can anyone in this building mark that sighs and cries day and
night for the abomination done in this city? I don't see a finger. "Set
a seal only on those who sigh and cry for the abominations did in the
city." Lot of them even scared to preach out against it. Lot of them
are afraid. God give us men with backbone instead of wishbone. Yes,
sir. Give us another John the Baptist. Send him forth, anoint him with
the Holy Ghost, that'll not pull any punches, but stay with the Word.
And if he stays with the Word, don't be afraid. God will back His Word.
I've come in all kinds of tight places, where devils and everything
else raised up. I've seen them smitten blind, struck down, and
everything else. Don't fear; stay right there at the Word and watch
what God does. Just be sure that you're right with God. Stay with that
Word and watch what happen.
E-67
If Brother Arganbright is setting near, he could tell you the story; I
was thinking how fifteen witch doctors on one side and fifteen on the
other one, called up a storm to blow away the tent in Switzerland, or I
believe it was France–Germany. Going to blow away the tent. Told us
they was going to do it. And set there and cut those feathers and
started going through maneuvers, "Father, Son, and Holy Ghost…?…
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, three high words," they said. All like
that, and here come the storm up. Brother Arganbright will tell you
same where tens of thousands of people in the tent jumping up and down.
I said, "Pray, Brother Arganbright." I said, "Brother Louster, don't
interpret this." I said, "Heavenly Father, I landed off that plane up
here in the Name of Jesus Christ, because You sent me here. You
promised that You'd take care of me. What can I do in a case like this?
I rebuke this storm in the Name of Jesus Christ." In one flat second
that storm parted right over the tent and moved back. Thunder begin to
roll back, like that. And thousands run to the altar to get saved. And
the witch doctors was defeated.
E-68
That man setting out in the meeting trying to throw one of them spells
on me, make me bark like a dog to show off in there, he didn't know.
Setting there, and I kept feeling that odd spirit. I thought, "I hate
to call that because he's somebody's friend. Jesus said, 'Let them grow
up together; you pull up the wheat when you pull up weeds.'" I kept
going on, and he kept on. After awhile the Holy Spirit kept speaking to
me, I turned around and said, "You deceiver, why will you come into the
meeting, the service of God to try to deceive somebody?" And he kept
looking around like I was talking to, I said, "It's you I'm talking
to." I called his name. I said, "Because that you did this to the
Spirit of God, somebody will pack you out of here." And he's still
paralyzed. Wrote a letter and said, "What must I do?"
I said, "Repent."
Said, "Come, take this off of me."
I said, "I have noth–I never had nothing to do with it coming on you.
You brought it on yourself. The Bible said, 'It's far better that a
millstone be hanged at your neck and you drown in the depths of the
sea, than to offend the anointed of God.'" That's right. We've lost our
fear for God, the respects for Christians. Oh, how we ought to get back
to God.
E-69
Watch what God showed Abraham here because he believed the Word. Watch
what took place. What did He do to Sarah? You know what He done to
Sarah and Abraham, showing what He's going to do to all of Sarah and
Abraham's seed, the seed of Abraham, what He's going to do. You know
what He did? Watch what they did immediately after that. They took a
long journey from where they were camped at up there at Sodom, all the
way to Gerar, down in the Philistine land, about three hundred miles.
That's quite a long walk for an old man a hundred years old and little
old grandma with a little shawl on her shoulder, going along like this,
three hundred miles on a walk. It wasn't that way. He turned them back
to a young man and a young woman. I can prove it. He did. And that's a
promise to all His seed that'll take His Word and hold on to It like
that. He turned Sarah back to a young woman so she could have that
baby.
E-70
Now, I want to say something. Now, you listen to your doctor, I'm your
brother. Now, look, if she was that old, He'd have to strengthen her
heart or she could not go in labor: ninety year old woman. That's
right. He'd have to patch up her heart. The milk veins from her breast
had dried up. They didn't have… Women didn't smoke cigarettes in them
days, so they just raised their baby on their breasts (You see?), and
didn't give it cow's milk. So they–they–they had to feed them through
their breasts. And the milk veins was dried up. Just look what a
condition. He'd have had to patch her up. God don't patch up; He makes
new. I can see Sarah turn back to a lovely woman about twenty-five
years old. I can see Abraham about twenty-five or thirty years old. I
can hear Sarah say, one morning wake up and say, "Honey, did you know,
that hump's gone out of your shoulders."
I can hear him say, "Darling, them pretty brown eyes that you used to
have, come back. And the coloring is coming back into your hair again."
Oh, my. Yeah.
E-71
Now, you say, "Now, Brother Branham, wait a minute, wait a minute."
See? The Bible is a love story to the believer. Now, when I go
overseas, and Mrs. Branham writes me a letter and she said, "Dear
Billy, I'm setting here tonight; I've got to put the children to bed. I
just got through praying for you. I know that God is blessing you."
See, that's what she's saying, but I'm reading right between the lines.
I love her. See? I know what she's talking about. She won't tell me
just all about it, but 'course I know it anyhow, way she's writing.
Well, that's the way you read the Bible: between the lines. God has
got–that's the reason He hid it from the eyes of the wise and prudent,
them say, "I've a Ph.D., a D.D.D." You know what D.D. stands for? Dead
dog. So I tell you, brother, what–we don't need that today. We need,
not some theology, but kneeology is what we need. Yeah. Well, the Bible
called it dumb dog, so it'd just be as bad. You see? Said they were
dumb dogs, D.D.'s.
Now, notice, there he was in there, "I got this and I got that." Well,
that's all right. I like to have Jesus. They perceived that Peter and
John were ignorant and unlearned, but had to take notice they'd been
with Jesus. Neither one of them could sign their name or anything, but
they knowed they'd been with Jesus; that's what we got to do: know that
they been with Jesus.
E-72
Now, when you read the Bible, He's hid it from the eyes of the wise and
prudent and will reveal it to babes such as will learn. So when you go
to reading this here, now watch what happen, to show you that that's
what He done. The first thing… Now, you say, "Oh, Brother Branham,
they were just…" No, the Bible said they were well stricken in years
(That's right.), well stricken in years.
Now, my legalistic brother, I don't want to pinch you very hard, but I
want you to know I–I can still pinch just a little with the Word. See?
Don't want to hurt you, but I want you to watch what taken place.
He goes down into Gerar. And when he got down there… I'm going to
take your side of it. Here's little grandma coming along, nearly a
hundred years old, little dust bonnet, and little shawl, you know,
lumping along. And you know, Abimelech down there in Gerar, he was a
king, and he was hunting for a wife. And all those pretty Philistine
women, but when he seen little grandma, he said, "That's the one I've
waited for."
Oh, Abraham said, "Now, you show your kindness to me; you say you're my
sister." Which she was. Said, "You say you're my sister." Because, see,
in them days… I might put a plug in here if the preacher want to
preach on it some time, he might run it on through the Bible. Remember,
men had as many wives as they could afford to have. But no woman could
have two living husbands at the same time. David had five hundred
wives, but not one of them had another husband. I better stop right
now. See? All right. If they only knowed the truth of that, it'd tear
these churches wide open. That's right.
E-73
Now, notice what would take place. If you just get to where God could
reveal some things to you of the Spirit… Now, notice. Now, he said,
"Now, they'll kill me and save you alive." 'Cause as long as he was
married to her, said, "You say you're my sister and that'll go well
with me."
Now, here was Abraham going down there and here was little Sarah,
little grandma, you know, coming along, and Abimelech said, "Oh,
there's a beauty; that's the one I want.": grandma." No, that sounds
silly, doesn't it? See? It wasn't. She was a beautiful woman. Sure,
she's young again. Oh. Don't worry mother, it's coming someday. Watch
dad, just be the seed of Abraham. Have that faith; that's what it
takes. "We being dead in Christ, we're Abraham's seed." But you have to
be dead in Christ, take on Christ, the Holy Ghost in you, that's
Abraham's Seed, and He will rise you up again. Old age won't mean a
thing.
E-74
I asked a science here not long ago, I said, "I pray you tell me
something. Is it so that every time I eat… I'm made out of the dust
of the earth, and every time I eat food then I renew my life?"
He said, "That's right. Makes blood vessels and–and the blood, you get
new blood from your food," and said, "that makes new life."
I said, "You know, when I was sixteen years old, I eat the same food I
eat now." And I said, "Every time that I eat, I got bigger and
stronger. Now, no matter how much I eat, I'm getting older and weaker.
If I'm renewing my life, where's–what's happening to it? Tell me, I
got a jug of water and a glass of water setting here. And I start
pouring water out of this big jug into this glass, and it starts
filling up, and gets half full, and I start pouring faster, and it
keeps going down all the time. Scientifically prove that to me." Can't
do it. I can by the Bible. It's an appointment. That's right.
E-75
That's right. God has appointed. When He seen you and mother at the
right age, when you were young and married and happy, remember it, dad?
Before the children come on, the first thing you know, she's the
prettiest thing you ever looked at. Oh, my, you just thought she was a
beauty. And how she admired you, standing, them straight shoulders.
After while you looked around and said, "Mother, there's wrinkles
coming around them pretty eyes."
"Yes, dad, some gray's coming in here too, sliding out on top." What's
the matter? See, death is set in. It's going to corner you someday. But
listen, in the resurrection there'll not be one thing that symbolizes
death. We'll be anew. Hallelujah.
I've got about four or five hairs left on top, and I was combing them a
few days ago, or sometime ago, combing them. And my wife said, "Billy,
you know what? You're just about bald-headed, honey."
I said, "But I haven't lost a one of them."
She said, "Pray tell me where they're at?"
I said, "Wait a minute, darling, come here." I said, "You tell me
be–where they were before I got them. They had to come from somewhere.
Tell me where they were before I got them, I'll tell you where they are
waiting for me to come to them." Hallelujah. My God is Abraham's God.
Amen. Every hair of your head's numbered. All the wrinkles will fleet
away; old age will pass away. Oh, glory to God. And we'll be a new
creature forever, standing in the center of youth and happiness. Amen.
That's our God.
E-76 Oh, I'll be a–just a maybe a spoonful of dust. But He will call me someday, go [Brother Branham makes blowing sound–Ed.] "Come forth, Billy."
I say, "Here I am, Lord. Here I am, Father." Yes, sir.
He
will never come say, "Now, Mr. Branham, Charles, you and Ella give
birth to William again, 'cause he was one of My servants." No, No, He
will just speak and I'll answer Him. Amen. Hallelujah. "Hallelujah"
means "Praise our God." And I think He's worthy of all praise.
E-77
Somebody said to me not long ago; she said… A woman that belonged to
another denominational church, she said, "Brother Branham, there's only
one thing wrong with your ministry that I find."
I said, "What's that?"
Said, "You brag too much on Jesus."
I said, "I what?"
Said, "You brag too much; you make Him Divine."
I said, "He was Divine."
And she said, "Oh, He was a prophet."
I said, "He was more than a prophet; He was the God of the prophets." That's right.
"Oh," she said… You know what religion I'm talking about. I don't
want to hurt your feelings; it was Christian Science woman. See, 'cause
many of them comes to the meeting, gets healed; that's all right.
E-78 She said, "Well, He was–He was a good man; I believe He was a prophet."
I said, "He was either God or the greatest deceiver the world ever had." He was God Himself.
And
she said, "I'll prove to your own Bible. You said you was a
fundamentalist. I'll prove by your own Bible that He wasn't nothing but
a man."
I said, "Prove it."
And she said, "Saint John the 11th chapter when Jesus went down to the
grave of Lazarus, the Bible said He wept. That proved that He was a
human being like you are."
And I said, "Is that your Scripture?"
She said, "Yes."
I said, "Sister, that's thinner than the broth made out of a shadow of
a chicken that starved to death." I said, "That would never stand."
She said, "What do you mean by that?"
I said, "He wept like a man, that's right, going to the grave. But when
He stood His little stoop shoulders and pulled them together and said,
'Lazarus, come forth,' and a man had been dead four days stood on his
feet and lived again, that took more than a man. Yes, sir, It was God.
'I am the Resurrection and the Life, saith God.' Not a man, not a
prophet, but God. That's what He was. 'I am the resurrection and life,'
saith God. 'He that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he
live. Whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.' Said,
'Believeth thou this?'"
And she said, "Yea, Lord, I believe." That's it, something's got to happen. Not a man, God…
E-79
Now, let's follow Abraham. So Sarah… Abimelech said, "You know,
there's that beautiful Hebrew woman." Said, "Is that your husband?"
"No, that's my brother."
He said, "That's right, that's–that–that's my sister." Which is was, his half sister.
"Well," so he said, "Well, I'll take her over to the palace and
I–she'll become my wife, and I'll just give you a lot of things. See?"
"All right." So he took her over there. And could you imagine a man doing a thing like that? So he stepped over there…
E-80
See why–why–why he done it? Why did he compromise? He was out of the
promise. He went down in Gerar. That's the reason you women chop your
hair off, and use makeup, and you fellows smoke cigarettes, and–and
carry on the way you do; you get out of the promise, and still remain
deacons and members and so forth. Like these Baptists, Presbyterians,
Methodist, Pentecostals, and so forth; you just get right out of the
promise, that's all. The devil pushed you and he… Stay over here
where you belong, prayed up. That's right. Let the devil speak to you,
listen to him…
E-81
Now, here he was, setting out there as a little sneaking coward.
Setting out… God forgive me for speaking of His prophet like that,
but I'm trying to make a point here. Now, we watch, old Abimelech went
over there, and I imagine that night after he took his bath, and put on
his pajamas, and said his prayers, and stuck his toes out like that,
"Oh, I finally found the one I wanted." Laying on the bed, said,
"Tomorrow I'll marry this pretty Hebrew woman." They had her all
decorated up with earrings and all these kind of things, you know. "Oh,
how beautiful she looks, tomorrow I'll marry her." And while he was
laying there on the bed, the Lord said, "You're just as good as a dead
man." That good holiness brother… But He said, "You're just as good
as a dead man." Said, "That woman is a wife of another man."
Well, he said, "Lord, You know the integrity of my heart. Did-didn't she tell me that?"
"Yes, I know."
"Didn't he tell me?"
"Yes, I know. That's the reason I kept you from sinning against Me.
Now, her husband is My prophet." Amen. Now, if you want to watch grace,
look at this. Setting out there lying about his wife… "But her
husband's My prophet. I won't hear your prayers. But you take her back
and let him pray for you, and then I'll heal you." Oh, hallelujah. Oh,
brother, can you see it? The seed of Abraham anchored in Jesus. "Her
husband is My prophet." There you are. "Take his wife back to him, and
give him an offering, and let him pray for you," 'cause He closed every
womb. That's right. The nation would've died right off and been no more
of it. But he was willing; he was a good man.
He went and took the wife back and restored her and God blessed him and
blessed Abraham. Then he started back up into his homeland, right back
to the place where the Angel met him and showed the sign by turning His
back. That same God lives tonight.
E-82
I ain't going to have time to make this other; I get it tomorrow at
Sunday School, this last little comment here. I've got the–I got the
21st, 20th, last part of the 20th and 21st chapter yet with some
Scriptures that I'd like to use. Now, I'll get that tomorrow at Sunday
School, how He takes him up and becomes Jehovah-jireh.
E-83
Oh, brother, the Angel of the Lord is–is here tonight. He's Jehovah
God in your flesh. He's Jehovah God in my flesh. That same God never
dies. He's just as real. The thing of it is, the people don't recognize
Him. They don't re… And when He does come, they say, "Well, very
well, I suppose. Looks all right, uh-huh. I guess that's right." Oh,
brother, if every Word in that Bible isn't true, it's not God's Word.
It's not God's Word if it isn't. But if it is, then it's… If–if
the–if God confirms His Word, then it's true. Amen. God keeps His
Word; don't you believe that?
He's here. He's here. I say that in the Name of the Lord. Think He is?
Now, He can use my flesh the same as He could create some, 'cause He
made me anyhow. He could use your flesh; He created and made you, don't
you think that? Now, if you'll just open up your heart and get yourself
out of the way, He will come in, can use you. He's the same God; He
gives the same signs. Amen. You believe it? Look to Him; let me turn my
back, pray for something you got wrong. Oh, that's a challenge.
E-84
Yes, sir. Here's a man before me; here he is standing right… Let me
see now, where's he at? Setting right back there, tie open here in
front, light suit on, thin hair on top, suffering with heart trouble.
The man with the gray looking suit on, setting here looking right at
me. You were praying, "Lord, let him touch me." That's right? Raise up
your hand if that's right. That the same Angel came tell me what he was
saying in his heart, then why ain't the same God? Your heart trouble's
over, brother; go home and be well. Amen. You wouldn't happen to have a
prayer card, do you? You don't have a prayer card. Don't need one.
You see what I mean? The… See, he's just coming to himself. I looked
around; I seen him standing back there, that thin hair; and I looked; I
thought, "Where's he at?" And looked back there and there he was; he
was setting there. The man just… I never seen him in my life. If
we're strangers, raise your hand, sir. Was every word said right? Was
that what you was thinking, what you was doing? There you are.
E-85
Then what did He say? When the–that man setting there, God in His
flesh, this Man's flesh, said, "Why did Sarah say in her heart, that it
can't happen?" Then the same Angel comes here and said, "Why did–you
did say it will happen, let Him touch me." Amen. Oh, why be so gross?
Amen. Just have faith. Don't you see, friends? Can you wake up,
Pentecostal people? Why don't you bite your conscience? Why don't you
pinch your soul? Amen.
Now, it's starting everywhere. Oh, Jehovah-jireh, the Lord's able to
provide for Himself a sacrifice. Amen. Have faith. What do you think,
brother? I guess you might think I'm rough. I'm not. I'm your brother.
I'm your brother. That's right, brother. I love you. I realize I'm in
a–a organizational church here, Assembly of God, one of my greatest
sponsors, my brothers. But what I hate to see is them getting cold and
cooling off. I'm not against that organization. I'm not against the
Oneness brethren out there, or the Methodists, or the Baptists, I say
the same thing everywhere. But what I'm trying to say, shake
yourselves, brother. Get your eyes off of these things…
E-86
Here, wait a minute, a woman appeared here before me, somebody praying:
Neuritis, eyes… The woman's got a red dress on. Here she sets right
here. You believe that He will heal you? Miss Curry, then if you'll
believe with all your heart, God will make you well. If that's right,
raise up your hand. All right, there you are.
I challenge you to believe it. What is it? The same Lord God Almighty.
He's here, indwelling in human flesh. Hallelujah, hallelujah. Oh, my.
His Spirit is all over the building. Ever where was that woman that It
spoke to? Where's she? Is–was it you, lady? The woman It spoke to just
then, where was it? Oh, here, this lady, yeah. All right. You accept
your healing now? I don't know you. I've never seen you in my life,
know nothing about you. But them things are true, wasn't it? There you
are. All right. All right. See, I never seen her; there's my hands
before God. See what He does. Oh, brother, sister, if you'd just get
away from your shell, pull out of it. Come out, lay yourself before God
and saying, "Lord God, nothing in my arms I bring, simply to Thy cross
I cling." That's right.
E-87
E-88
Oh, doesn't that do something to you? That cutting Spirit going through
the building chopping, circumcising. What does the word circumcise
mean? Cut off surplus flesh. The church got too much surplus flesh, the
sword of God cuts it off. Then when we do, we feel all circumcised and
clean. Paul said, "I worship Him, I worship Him in the Spirit."
E-89
Oh, isn't He wonderful? Is there a sinner here knowing that God makes a
promise, God keeps His promise. God speaks here, and if any man that
preaches the Word of God, God will back His Word up. Now, you don't
have to guess about it; He's alive; He's here now. Do you want Him as
your Saviour? Come up to the altar if you do, while we sing again. "I
will praise Him, praise the Lamb for sinners slain." All right. Will
you come to the altar?
E-90
Oh, wonderful. What would happen in India if that altar call was made
like that? You'd have to get back, they'd crowd you down. Around
thousands pouring in around the altar. They love Him. When they see
God, not a material, not a God that's a historical God, a God that's
present day God.. A God from history makes Hisself–and I'll be
preaching this next week, "The God of History Rising on the Scene." See
if He's a historical God, or if He isn't the same God today. Amen. I
love Him, don't you?
E-91 Won't someone else make their way around the altar while these are here, penitent souls crying?
E-92
Won't you come? Come sweetly, humbly to the cross. God bless you ones
that's coming. Move right on down and come in now around the altar.
Let's have a season of prayer. Why not them that feels a little damp in
the spirit? Come on, sister dear; I see you right up in the balcony
coming. Come "just as I am, without one plea, but that Thy Blood was
shed for me. Because Thy promise, I believe. O Lamb of God, I come!"
That's it. Now, the coldness will go to breaking.
Now, everyone of you bow your heads, raise up your hands to God, and
start praying. You pray yourself. Get right down and start praying.
That's it.
