Sermon Texts

Respects (61-1015E)

61-1015E Respects
Jeffersonville, IN
1 hr 35 min
11.9MB

  

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1
Until just awhile ago when I left the hospital, and I kind of left it
in the hands of the Lord, that if–if… Knowing I was a little hoarse,
'cause I've got a cold. But I thought if I… If mother was well enough
that I could come, why, I would be down again to get to visit with you.
Because when I see someone like mama laying there and knowing that
these other mothers and daddies here, that's we all got to come to that
place (You see?), and thinking of how grateful I am that she is ready
to go.

2
And then, and another thing I want to express to the church… I
believe I seen Sister Wilson back there. And–and then there's Sister
and Brother Sothmann here somewhere, perhaps, in the building. And–and
several of you here that's been offering your assistance to set up with
mama in the night and things like that, that's mighty loyal. And I
appreciate all that you all have done. Truly, the family's wore out,
you know; we're staying every night. And just… Now, most of them
work, so it's Meda and I, or–or Deloris, and she got children in
school, and it just kind of makes it hard just divide it between a
couple of us that way, and you just get wore out. You just hardly can
go, and you can't tell day from night, hardly, especially when you're
got up to about the age that Meda and I are, you know, it don't–it
don't take very many nights to wear you out when you're–get a little
age on you.

3
So I used to think I could just stay it day and night. I'd come from
California in my old T-model Ford, and I'd get a little sleepy on the
road, take me about four or five days, maybe seven days, to make it.
And I'd ride along day and night. And I'd get a little tired, throw my
blanket under the car, drive out on the prairie, sleep a couple hours
and go on. I've changed a lot since then, Brother Neville. I just
realize that I'm just past twenty-five years old. See?

4
And so it's a–a privilege to be here at the house of the Lord tonight.
And this morning I had a little–a little few notes here that I wanted
to, that the Lord had give me. And I thought maybe that this morning,
if I got a chance, I would speak on it before I had the prayer for the
sick. But being that we were late in the questions this morning, I
thought maybe if mama was better, then maybe it would be a sign that I
was to come down again tonight, maybe, and would speak a little while
tonight if it didn't interrupt Brother Neville's program somewhere.

5
And standing in the room I just had a marvelous testimony give to me
about a Christian sister that's with us tonight. She was in the prayer
line this morning, and she pray, standing for somebody else. And in her
room, a darkened room, there's "The–The Lord's Supper," "The Lord's
Last Supper." And it's so the sun cannot strike the room in any
position. And while at three o'clock this afternoon, this Halo of Light
that was seen here when we got through preaching on the church ages,
only in more like a color of rainbow, like, came right over the head of
the Lord Jesus. Well, she watched It a few moments. And she went and
told her sister, the way I understand the story, and–and they come and
marveled at it for a long time, a hour or something. And then they
called in a neighbor minister, which was Brother Stricker over here, to
see the phenomena of it. And they set and watched it on till five or
something like that. And the minister was asked to pray, and he felt
that he just couldn't pray, or something.

6
In a little bit, somebody gave a message (And they'd been giving their
interpretation of what it meant.), and the message came back through
the speaking in the message, and said that they had "misinterpreted";
they hadn't give it right. I think that's right, isn't it, Sister
Bruce? They hadn't give it right. Said that what the sign was, was to
show to them, like appreciation of them, that they had believed the
Message that's going forth here from the Tabernacle, like that. And
said there was going to see greater things than this take place, that
they would see even Angels ascending, and descending and ascending.

7
So we are living in the last days, and we are near the end time. And
I… This sounds, may sound terrible to some people but to the
Christians, I'm glad that we're here. I–I'm glad that we're at the end.
I said that once in a meeting. And a person talking to me, said, "What
do you mean? You mean you'd be glad to see the end of the world come?"
I said, "Oh, yes, sir." I said, "Sure."
Said, "Well, that don't sound sensible, anybody would want the end of the world to come."
I said, "At the end of the world, the time, Jesus comes, and That's Who
I want to see." And I said, "The Bible said that, 'All those who love
His appearing…' See?"
And it is a pleasure to know that, that these old things here of life
is going to cease one of these days, and we're going to–we're going to
see Him.

12
But sometime ago, it was said down in the–oh, many years back, when
they had slavery… And there was an–an old colored man who was–used
to have old church singings, country singings. They'd get together and
they'd minister among the slaves, and preach, you know, and they'd have
meetings. And one night there was an old fellow over there got saved.
And when he got saved, he knowed he was free then. So he begin to tell
the other slaves, the next morning on the plantation; he said, "I'm
free."
So his boss come over and pulled him in, he said, "Now, looky here,
Sam." Said, "What's this I hear you're telling amongst the slaves that
you're free?"
He said, "Yes, boss." Said, "That's true." Said, "At a meeting last
night, I was set free from the law of sin and death." That's it. That's
it.

15
The law of sin and death, I was set free from it. You were once bound
there (You see?), but now you're free from that. See? As I said this
morning, death only abides in sin. Sin and death is the same. See? But
when you're away from sin, you're away from death; but while you're in
sin, you're in death. See? And therefore, when you are free from the
law of sin and death, you're a new creature in Christ Jesus, and then
you're free.
And his boss said to him, said, "Sam, do you really mean that?"
He said, "Yes, sir." And said, "The Lord called me last night to talk
to my people, and speak to them, that they can be free from the law of
sin and death. Though we're slaves, yet we can be free from the law of
sin and death."
He said, "Sam, do you really mean that?"
He said, "Boss, I don't know what you're going to do with me after I
say this, but I–I's telling you, I's a free man." He said, "I'm free
from the law of sin and death."
And he said, "Sam, I'm a Christian too, you know. And because that you
have–God has made you free from sin and death, and you're a Christian,
and you feel you want to tell your brethren about it, I'm going down
this morning and set you free, and sign the proclamation. And you can
be a free man, not bound by anybody, to preach the Gospel to your
brethren."

20
He said the old fellow preached for many, many years. One time then,
after, as all of us do, we come down to the end of our road. And when
we come to the end of our–his road, when he did, he came down, and he
laid unconscious, they said, for maybe, oh, several hours. And many of
his white brethren come in to visit him. And there happened to be a
group of them in the building when he woke up, come to himself. He
looked around; he said, "You mean I's not over there yet?"
And they said, "Sam, you've been a–asleep."
He said, "No." He said, "I wasn't asleep." I was over on the other side."
Why, they said, the minister brethren said, "Sam, tell us what you saw on the other side."
Said, "Well," he said, "I walked into a great pearly white gate," and
said, "when I walked in there," said, "I seen the throne, and I seen
Him." And said, "Up come an Angel, He said, 'Are you Sam?'"
He said, "I am."
Said, "Sam," said, "here is a–a robe and a crown." Said, "You've won this, Sam, by the great works that you done on earth."
He said, "Don't talk to me about a robe and crown for a reward."
He said, "What would you like for a reward?"
Said, "Just let me look at Him for a thousand years."

26
I think we all feel that way, don't you? I–I don't want no robes and
crowns and palaces; I'd just like to look at Him. I'd just like to just
look at Him, and just, you know. Wouldn't you just like… I'd like to
hold your hand while I'm doing it, Brother Neville. We could do it
together, say, "Think of it, Brother Neville, how we stayed in the
Tabernacle, and hot and cold, and things. But looky here what we're
looking at, the Son of the living God." That'd be wonderful just to
look and see His features.

27
I… Two times in my life–now, three times I have seen Him in vision.
He looked the same each time. But there's not an artist in the world
could ever paint His picture. They might paint something that might
look like Him. But He looked like, to me, He would be a Man if He'd
speak the world would come to an end, and yet so sweet and lovely that
there's just no… There's just too many characteristics there that an
artist brush could ever catch. And I sure want to see Him someday in
Person.

28
And I've often thought when–I'd like to have heard Him when He raised
out those precious hands and said, "Come unto Me." See that tired,
weary look on Him, when He was tired and weary from His journey, say,
"Come unto Me, all ye that labor, and heavy laden, I'll give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me," He said, "for I'm meek and
lowly." I'd like to have heard Him say that. I wasn't there in that
day. I wasn't standing with Peter, James, and John. But I hope I'm
standing by them in the day when I can hear Him say, "It was well done,
My good and faithful servant; now enter into the joys of the Lord."

29
And to think that the very ones who wrote this Bible, Paul, Isaiah, and
Jeremiah, and all the apostles, and those precious brethren, wherever
they are now, wherever, they are now… The very God that dealt with
them to foresee things–and write It, and so forth, and give them the
gifts of the Bible, the prophecy, and speaking with tongues, and signs
and wonders, and so forth, them same men, wherever they are now, we're
going to be with them. The same God with the same thing. It isn't a
"guess so" anymore, we know it now (See?), because He's really present
and we know that it's so. So shouldn't we not be the happiest people on
earth? What–what more would we long?

30
I was talking this afternoon to an aged man, about, I think he said he
was eighty-eight or eighty-nine years old, that just recently become a
Christian. I baptized him in the Name of Jesus Christ, when he didn't
have on nothing to–but his regular Sunday suit. I took him in the
water. I think Brother Wood let him have a pair of trousers or
something, and we baptized him here in the water. And he told me, when
he was a boy… He's rather a wealthy man now. And I–he, when he was a
boy, he said how he worked for thirty dollars a month. He never did get
married or anything till he was an old man. And he said how he longed
the time that when he would get old he wouldn't have to beg and lay on
the street. How he took the little nickels and things that he saved,
and put them to work, and they really went to work and accumulated and
made. And now there he is now at eighty-something years old,
eighty-eight or eighty-nine, I think he said, right close to ninety,
still walking along, setting right here in the church this morning. And
then he's fixed enough till he won't have to worry. If he lives another
hundred years, he wouldn't have to worry when it comes to finances and
so forth like that: Good-hearted, good saint, brother, does everything
for Christians and things that he knows how to do.
And then I said, "And above all of that, my precious brother, when you
were yet eighty-eight or eighty-seven years old, God, in His mercy,
reached down and give you Eternal Life to a heavenly home." What could
you want any more to round out a life? Yes, sir.

32
And of all of the wealth that we could accumulated, all the things that
we could done on earth, no matter what they are, what the man has done,
you have to die and leave every bit of it.

Covet not this world's vain riches,


That so rapidly decay,


Build your hopes on things Eternal,


They will never pass away!


That's right. "Hold To God's Unchanging Hand." I love that song. We used to sing that here at the Tabernacle so much.

Time is filled with swift transition,


Naught of earth unmoved can stand,


Build your hopes on things Eternal,


Hold to God's unchanging hand!


34
There lays my old mother out there tonight. If I had a hundred million
dollars, I'd give every penny of it to talk to her a hour. I would.
Sure. And what if she had a hundred million dollars, what good would it
do her now? There's nothing. See? Them things she has, she leaves no
earthly treasures. But she leaves this: she knows the Lord Jesus as her
Saviour. That's the main thing.

35
In the face of this, I–let's all take inventory of ourselves tonight.
Let us just think before we go to prayer: "How is my–my standing
tonight with God?" Let's check up in our hearts and find out. "Lord, if
I have wounded any soul today, if I've caused one foot to go astray,
whatever I've done or said that's been wrong, O God, forgive me for
it." See? Let…

My faith looks up to Thee,


Thou Lamb of Calvary,


Saviour Divine;


Now hear me while I pray,


Take all my guilt away,


And let me from this day


Be wholly Thine!


While life's dark maze I tread,


And griefs around me spread,


Be Thou my Guide;


Bid darkness turn to day,


Wipe sorrows, fears away,


Nor let me ever stray


From Thee aside.


36
Keep me in the path, Lord. Keep me in the center of Thy will. Young or
old, we don't know how old you might be, and yet you might be eighty
years old, and if you lived till morning, you'll outlive a many
sixteen-year-old boy and girl. There'll be a many sixteen-year-old boy
and girl go to meet God before daylight in the morning. That's right.
So age has nothing to do with it. The thing of it is, are you ready to
meet Him? That's the main thing. Let's think on these things now while
we pray, as we bow our heads.

38
O gracious and holy and reverent Father of Life, we come into Thy
Presence, the Almighty God, to give thanks from the bottom of our
heart, that we have the privilege of setting here tonight. Walking up
and down that hospital awhile ago, and looking in there, with people
who were unconscious, some of them bleeding and crying, and others out
of their head and strapped in bed, O God, I pray that every one of
them's ready, Father, that they would be ready to meet You if they
happen to go out of this life. And to think, Lord, that that could be
us, each one of us here, if it wasn't for Your grace. But You have let
us live to come together again tonight, to make preparations. Those
things are passing through our hearts and minds now, Lord. And while
You're searching the reins of our heart, if there be any unclean thing
about us, Lord, take it away, Father. God, consecrate our souls to Thee.
We thank Thee for all that Thou hast done and for what we believe that
You will do. And for that Light appearing today down there in Sister
Bruce's home, I thank You for that, Lord, It'll give them strength.

40
And now, Lord, I pray that You'll grant tonight that our souls may
continually to be refreshed in Your Presence here in this Tabernacle.
We thank You, Father, for this Tabernacle. We thank You for its pastor
here, our Brother Neville, a man of humility, a man of integrity, a man
that's full of God's love for Christ and for His Church. I pray that
You'll bless him and his lovely little companion and his children. And,
Lord, may they long dwell among us here on the earth. Grant it. Keep
sickness from their door, and keep them healthy. Keep sickness from all
of our doors, Lord, keep us healthy so we can serve You.

41
And now, we lay our souls upon the altar for searching now, as I open
my eyes in a few moments to read Your Word, if it be Your will, and it
falls my lot tonight to try to break the Bread of Life to the people.
Now, Lord, help me to say something that would help some poor weary
soul here tonight. Help it that it might be also words of correction,
that we might know how we to behave ourself, what we should do, and how
we should live in this present world, if we expect to make heaven our
home. Grant it, Lord. And heal the sickness. If there's any among us,
Lord, that's sick, we pray that You'll heal it. Strengthen those who
are weary. We pray for them.
We pray for not only this church, but for other churches throughout the
entire world where prayer is being made, and supplications before God,
and the many tens of thousands of hungry-hearted saints crying, "Come,
Lord Jesus, come." Oh, surely You'll hear our cry, Lord, someday, and
will come.
If it's our lot to fall asleep before that come–the coming is, we know
that the trumpet shall sound and the dead in Christ shall rise first.
We'll come forth and we'll stand in Your Presence someday. We thank
Thee for this, and we wait for that time, and now prepare our hearts.
For we ask it in Jesus' Name. Amen.

44
Now, I don't expect to talk very long tonight, maybe thirty minutes, or
forty, upon a little subject here, that I would like to first read a
Scripture found in the Book of Psalms, Psalms 105, and reading down to
the 15th verse, inclusive. While I read this Psalm, I want you listen
real close to the reading of the Word, because God's Word will never
fail.

O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people. (Now, just think of that.) … give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name: make known his deed among the people.


Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of his wondrous works.


Glory ye in his holy name: let the hearts of them that rejoice that seek the LORD.

Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore.


Remember his marvelous works that he has done; his wonders, and his judgment of his mouth;


O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen.


He is the LORD our God: his judgments are in all the earth.


He has remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations.


Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac;


And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant:


Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance:


When they that… When–when they were but a few men in number; yea, very few, and strangers in it.


When they went forth from one nation to another, and from one kingdom to another…


He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sake;


Saying, Touch not my anointed, and do my prophets no harm.


45
I want to take a subject from there of "Respects." Reading here, David
crying out to the Lord… Respects is what we owe to God. And that's
one thing that I would like to drill this to the heart of every person
here tonight, that in all things that we see going on we must give
respects to it. See, we must respect it. And David said that when they
were very few men of Israel, perhaps Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who
he's speaking of, very few men, that He rebuked nations and kings for
them. God rebuked the nations and kings, saying, "Touch not My
anointed, and do My prophets no harm."

46
Over in Ecclesiastes the 12th chapter and the 13th verse, it's written
like this. See? "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear
God, and keep His commandments, for this is the full duty of man."
The conclusion of the whole matter is to fear God. And when, you cannot
have respects until you have fear. You've got to have fear of God.
Solomon said also in the Proverbs that the fear of God is the beginning
of wisdom: the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.
Now, that don't mean that you're afraid of Him, but that means that
you're giving respects and reverence. And when you respect God, you
fear God. You fear that you might displease Him in some way; you fear
lest you would do something wrong. You wouldn't want to…

49
I fear my mother. I fear my–my wife. I fear my church. I fear all of
God's servants, unless I should put a stumbling block somewhere in
their way. I–I fear the people. I fear the people of the city, unless
I should do something wrong that would cause them to think that I
wasn't a Christian.
See, you've got, before you can have respects, you've got to have fear.
And God demands it, He demands respects. God does; He demands it. And
fear brings it. And we know that fear brings respects.

51
Now, you take for instance, the man, he's a farmer or maybe he's a–a
shop worker, and nobody pays any attention to him. But let him get a
job on the police force and come down the street, and as a–a policeman
with his badge and uniform on, (where, maybe someone wouldn't speak to
him the day before), "Hello, there, John. How are you?" See? Why is it?
It's kind of an awe, or a fear, or a respect, because of it. Maybe he
gets elected to be the mayor of the city, or maybe a…

52
Who would President Kennedy tonight be, if he wasn't President Kennedy?
What if he was just a same man he is, but yet he was a worker that
worked at Colgates down here for forty dollars a week? See? he'd come
through the city here and nobody would pay much attention to him, only
his own associates. But being he's the President of the United States,
he deserves a respect. You see?

53
And that, and because that God is God, He deserves a respect. That's
right. And He, we've got to respect Him and give a fear to Him, and
that brings respect. God has demanded that for Himself and for all His
servants. God demands respects for His servants. He–His servants, how
we know that they're His servants, because He a-vindicates these
servants by His Word. He takes these servants and makes them servants
of God, and proves that they are servants, by making His Word work
through them servants. Then as you respect that servant, you respect
God. So when I respect you, and you respect me, and we respect each
other, then we're respecting God.

54
Did not Jesus say, "Insomuch as you have done unto the least of these,
My little ones, you have done it unto Me. And it would be better for
you that a millstone was hanged at your neck and you were drowned in
the depths of the sea, than to offend one of them. For I say unto you,
behold their face–their angels always beholds My Father's face which
is in heaven." Now, we know that they are–that we, being children of
God, that we are a part of God. And God demands this respect. And then
God shows who His children are. See? He shows it by wonders and signs,
and a–a–that it's being done.

55
Now, we're going to start now and call into question some of these
people. Now, if I was going to say, for one, to start with, I'd think
of–of… Let's take Noah for a moment. Now, Noah had a revelation from
God, yet it was contrary to anything that science would prove to be
true. But yet he had spoke to God, and God had spake to him. And he
went about preparing an ark, where the scoffers and mockers (as the
Bible said that they would be in the last days like they was in them
days), that those scoffers scoffed at Noah. Why, they thought that he
was out of his head because he was building an ark. So but God brought
judgment upon them scoffers because they would not listen to the
messenger of God and come into that ark under his preaching, then God
sent His Divine judgments on the earth. First He made a preparation for
all who would receive it, to escape it, and then if they did not escape
it, there's only one thing left. If they won't take God's preparation
of escape, then there's only one thing left, that's Divine judgment.

56
You can only do two things; it lays either mercy or judgment. You have
to accept one or the other. There's where we stand tonight. We either
take God's mercy or we stand His judgment. There's just no way of
getting around it. God always makes a way of escape for those who
desire to escape. Then He's got… What's left over has to stand the
judgment, not because that God wants them to, but because they have
chosen that way themselves. See? They make their own choice. There's
where we stand tonight, friends, the same thing. We can either take
God's way of escape, or we can stand His judgments, either one we want
to do. Aren't you happy tonight that you have took the way of escape?
Because all that refuse the way of escape will have to come under
judgment.

57
Then there is another man I'd like to speak of. That was a great,
mighty prophet by the name of Moses. The people, Israel should've
understood, according to the Scripture, that God was going to deliver
them and was going to bring them out of Egypt. But as soon as God got
His man ready and sent him down into Egypt, they had no respects for
him. They turned him out and said, "Will you slay us as you did the
Egyptian?" which caused them to stay in bondage a extra forty years.
They stayed in bondage because they refused to respect the deliverer
that come to deliver them. That put them back in bondage again, not
because God wanted them to stay (The time was exactly right.), but they
stayed forty years over because they refused to accept God's provided
way of escape. How I believe that that's what's the matter tonight.
Same thing. See?

59
That they refused the way out, and God was determined, and had told
Abraham and them in His covenant (as we read David singing of it
tonight), He had promised them that He was going to do a certain thing,
so God's going to keep His promise. He was going to bring them out
anyhow, but perhaps nearly another generation died off. The old
generation that laughed at Moses, and so forth, and would not accept
the message, that generation (forty years) died off, and Moses come
into another generation. See what I mean? If they don't accept it, then
God will let that generation die out and He'll bring in another
generation to do it. So they had refused it. And then we find out, this
next generation that come up, when Moses went down there to a-vindicate
himself…

60
You know, Moses was scared to go down again. Moses was eighty years old
now, and he'd been gone forty years. And when he talked to God at the
burning bush, he said, "Who will I tell them has sent me?" God had no
name. He said, "Who will I tell them that sent me?" Said, "When I say,
'The God of your fathers appeared to me,' they'll say, 'Who is the God
of our fathers?' Well, what will I tell them?"
He said, "You tell them that I AM THAT I AM. You tell them that I AM
THAT I AM." And He said, "What is that in your hand, Moses?"
He said, "A stick." And he threw it down and it turned into a serpent.
And he put his hand in his bosom, it turned to leprosy, and went back,
and healed.
He said, "Go down, and take these signs and perform them before the
people, and it'll be an a-vindication. They'll know by these signs that
I sent you for deliverance." Oh, brother. God always does that. God
always gives supernatural signs. See?

64
And now, when he came down, and called the people, and done his signs
before them, all Israel believed, every one of them. And they went
right straight to the palace to–for deliverance. And then the Pharaoh
decided he would not give them deliverance, and God turned judgment
loose on Pharaoh. And we know what happened in Egypt.
Strange, after they'd seen all those signs happen, and then they come
to the Red Sea and found out that the very God that had performed all
those signs, here at the Red Sea, doubted God, the very first thing,
that He was able to make a way of escape.

66
Now, there's where we make our mistake. When a little sickness strikes
us, when a little disaster, or a little trouble strikes somewhere in
the way, then we go to falling away. A young convert, somebody will
make fun of him, say, "Well, you ain't nothing but a holy-roller."
"Well, I hate to be called a holy-roller." You see, see? There you are,
you get that doubt. That's the time to stand there. That's the time to
respect the messenger. That's the time to–to give glory to God.

69
And Moses said, "I've done these already, ten miracles before you. And
God's give you ten miracles, and then you're afraid at the sea?
Certainly. How much more will it take for you to believe?" He walked
back, and took his rod, and held it before the sea, and the storms came
down, and blowed it across the other side, and they went across. And as
soon as they got over there, immediately begin to complain they had no
bread. See, just same thing… Then God rained bread out of the heavens
for them. Then they complained they had no water. They just one
complaint after another. And I notice…

70
You say, "Well, maybe they were the unconverted type." Well, maybe they
were. There was a mixed multitude went with them, true. But I want to
bring another thing into your–into your remembrance. If God sent the
messenger and vindicated by the signs that he was the messenger sent
from God, then it's up to them to obey this messenger. Exactly. They
must obey the messenger and have respects to that messenger. Look at
Joshua and Caleb; they stayed right by his side. Yes, sir. Whatever
Moses was in, they was in it too. Whether Moses was right or wrong,
they stayed right with him anyhow (See?), because they knowed that was
God's messenger.

72
And there one day we find out that even Miriam, a prophetess, and
Aaron, the high priest, made fun of Moses' wife because she was an
Ethiopian, and thought, "Wasn't there enough women of our own group to
marry, instead of going down there and marrying that woman?" That
wasn't Moses' choice; that was God's choice for Moses. And when they
made fun of it, that angered God in such a way until He struck Miriam,
the prophetess, full of leprosy, Moses' own sister. What about that?
Her, a prophetess, but what was she doing? She was making fun and an
irreverence to God's messenger, the messenger of the covenant of that
day. And she was irreverent. And also Aaron, the high priest, the very
mouthpiece of Moses (Right.), he was with her.
And Aaron then, when he saw his sister struck with leprosy, he went in and told Moses, "Would you let your own sister die?"
And Moses went into the tabernacle, and fell before the Lord, and begin
to weep and call out for God, mercy for his sister. And the Spirit of
the Lord came down and said, "Call Aaron and Miriam to stand here
before Me." Oh, my.
God demands respects. God sends His Message; you listen to It and you
reverence It. Don't care if they call It a bunch of holy-rollers, or
whatever they call It; let the world do what they want to, but you give
respects.

76
So there stood Miriam. God said, "Call Miriam and call Moses–or call
Aaron here, your brother and sister, to stand before Me." And when they
come in before God, God said, "Don't you fear God?" Said that to the
high priest and to Miriam the prophetess. Said, "If there be any–a man
among you who's spiritual or a prophet, I the Lord will make Myself
known to him. I'll speak to him in visions and reveal Myself in dreams
to him, and so forth, if he's spiritual or a prophet." But said, "My
servant Moses, I speak lip to ear with him." Said, "Don't you fear
God?" In other words, "You talk about Moses, you're talking about Me.
If you can't respect Moses, you don't respect Me." Said, "Haven't I
proved among you that he's My servant? And you have no reverence for
him at all."
What that would be a lesson for the people of this day: no respects, no honor.
Now, He said, "And because you didn't do that, that's the reason you
got leprosy. That's the reason these things has went," said, "because
you ought to have knowed that this was My servant. You do know it, so
when you say something against him you're saying it against Me."

80
So Moses prayed for her life to be spared, and God did spare her life.
She didn't live very long afterwards; she died. But she did get
cleansed of her leprosy, and was out of the camp for seven days, you
know, for–for having a–for a purification, getting herself cleaned
again from her leprosy. God healed her.
But what He was trying to get to them, was this: "You've got to respect what I do."
And if that was the attitude of God in that day, and God can't change,
God wants us to respect what He's doing. He demands it. Said, "You
either respect that or something else is going to happen."

83
A man told me the other day; he said I… Poor man, sweeps up over here
in the market for a living. He's had a breakdown, in very bad shape.
He's Lutheran by faith, and they'd had communion. He's too a–unable to
walk to the church, so he took a cab: said it cost him eighty cents to
go down and eighty cents to come back. His neighbor, very ungodly, seen
him praying the Lord's Prayer one morning, and laughed at him, made fun
of him. He said to this neighbor; he said to this man, he said,
"Where'd you go in a cab this morning?"
Said, "It was communion. I went down to the church."
He said, "What is communion?"
Said, "When we take the bread and the wine."
He said, "I had mine too this morning at the table with a slice of light bread and a pint of whiskey." See?

85
I know of three boys one time that mocked communion in the church, know
of them. And they went up in the–the hotel room and got some ham
sandwiches and a bottle of whiskey, and had their communion up there,
making fun of the communion they had in a Pentecostal church. Less than
three months from then, all three was to–one of them was dead, and two
was in the insane institution.
You can't disrespect God. You've got to respect God. If you don't
believe it, just keep still, keep away from it. Or, either do that, or
come reverently and respect it. Don't make fun of people in the Spirit.
Don't talk about people that's worshipping in the Spirit of God. Let
them alone.

87
I was standing right there on the corner, preaching, some years ago, as
a boy preacher. And there was a woman came by; she was Catholic by
faith; but I knowed her–her husband was Catholic; she wasn't nothing:
and a very handsome, pretty woman, nice looking, about twenty years
old, twenty-two. I knew her as a girl here in the city. And she came by
and stood there, and she said, "I wouldn't let my pet cow have the
religion that William Branham's got."
And the next night before I could get to her, heard she was dying in
the hospital, and don't know yet what killed her… She was dying out
there in the hospital and her husband came to get me. He said… He was
a Catholic. And he come; he said, "Come quickly and say a prayer for my
wife; she's been calling for you all evening; she's dying."

89
Well, I said, "I will go." And I got in the car, and left the meeting,
and started to the hospital. And I run up on the steps; I met the
nurse, and she said, "She's already dead."
And he said, "Come, say a prayer for her anyhow."
I said, "She's dead."
Said, "Say a prayer, anyhow."
"It won't do them any good now."
Said, "Well, come, look at her."
And I went down. She had that reddish black, I believe they call it,
auburn hair: very pretty woman, few freckles across her face here, with
great big brown eyes. And that woman, that nurse said, "Billy, she died
in such agony until she screamed out your name as loud as she could and
said, 'Tell him to forgive me,' till the freckles stood out on her face
like warts." And those big eyes had set way out and her eyelids had
half closed over. 'Course, you know what happens when a person dies,
their both kidney and bowels move, and she was there just steaming all
over, and died in such agony because–not because she disrespected me,
but she disrespected the Gospel that I was preaching, and God was
working signs and wonders.

91
Sometime ago in New Albany, while I was standing there talking to a
sinner, leading him to Christ, a big old rough-handed man in the
garage. A man was a friend of mine, his son-in-law run the garage next
door. I was standing there preaching at a dinner hour, eating a
sandwich and talking to him about God. Through the daytime I'd find
somewhere where I could go at dinner time and try to win a soul to
Christ. He said, "Mr. Branham," he said. I was just a boy preacher
myself. He said, "Mr. Branham," said, "my mother had that kind of
religion, that heartfelt religion." And the tears was running down his
cheeks.
I said, "How long she been gone?"
Said, "Years. She always prayed for me."
I said, "The God that heard her prayers is trying to answer them right now for her."
And this man walked in there, he said, "Hello." He was drunk. Said,
"Hey, Billy, listen." Said, "Anytime you want to come over to my
garage," said, "you come," but said, "don't bring that old holy-roller
religion of yours over there."
I turned and looked at him, I said, "Anywhere Christ is not welcome, I'll not be."
And so he turned around and said, "Aw, get next to yourself, boy."
And I just heard in my heart a Voice say, "You reap what you sow. It'd
be better for you that a millstone was hanged at your neck and drowned
in the depths of the sea." And his own son-in-law, that very same
afternoon, run over him with a two-ton Chevrolet truck loaded down and
mashed him down in the ground.
See, you've got to respect God. You've got to do, you… God demands respects, and He demands it.
And so Miriam ought to knowed better. So ought–ought Aaron to knowed
better, than knowing this, that Moses was led by the Spirit of God to
do what he was going to do.

99
Baptist minister wrote me a letter a couple days ago from up here. Oh,
if he didn't rake me over the coals, he said, "A guy that's as lazy as
you are, a ministry that would be equal to Elijah, the prophets," he
said, "and then to see you setting around home, doing nothing…"
So Billy is acting as secretary at the time; he wrote him a letter
back. And then he just thought, "Well, I believe I'll just answer him,"
he said. But he thought he better let me read it before he answered it.
But it had a lot of diplomacy in it. He said, "Now, this is not my dad;
this is me." Said, "You just said that daddy had a ministry like that
of Elijah." And said, "You said he set down on a creek bank somewhere
with a fishing pole in his hand, or up in the mountains with a rifle in
his hand." Said, "What will you say about Elijah when he set three
years by the side of a brook?" Said, "Don't you know that they're led
by the Spirit of God to do what they're doing?" See, everybody wants to
run it their own way. But man must be led by the Spirit of God, and you
must give it respects. That's all.

101 Here the other day, a precious soul here in the city seen another brother, he said, "Where's Bill at?"
He said, "He's gone up in Canada."
He said, "I guess going a-hunting?"
He said, "Yes, he's going hunting."
Said, "Aw, nonsense to such stuff."
All
right, that man, not knowing that I was under the power of the Holy
Spirit by a vision of THUS SAITH THE LORD to go… What will you do at
the day of the judgment? What good would it do me to go to the bedside
of that man and pray for him? The first place, he doesn't believe me.
And people, when they come around and say these things, like I don't
know that they don't believe It? Though they pat you on the back and
call you brother, yet you know they don't believe It. See? They don't
believe It. And you can have… Not one thing you can do for them,
they'll call for you come, pray, but it doesn't do them any good,
'cause (You see?), they disrespect it. You've got to believe it. Watch
those who's really believed, and watch what happens. See, you've got to
respect it.

103
Jezebel, in the days of Elijah, how she disrespected Elijah, how she…
Elijah was actually her pastor. Sure. Oh, she wouldn't receive that.
Goodness, no, she was a–she was an atheist, or an infidel, or–or idol
worshipper. And she had her own pagan priests. But yet Elijah was her
pastor; God sent him there to be pastor. He was pastor whether… If he
did bawl her out and tell her all of her sins, yet he was her pastor.
She wouldn't receive it at all, but–and she disrespected him. She
hated him. Sure, she did. And what happened to her? God let the dogs
eat her in the street. That's right. Because what? She disrespected the
message that Elijah was preaching.

104
God demands respects. You've got to have it. You ever get anything from
God, you're going to respect God. And you must do it from your heart,
the bottom of your heart. You must do it.
But she disrespected God as she disrespected His prophet. Now, she
knowed Elijah was a prophet. They didn't have anything in Israel could
keep up with Elijah. Why, his visions and everything was perfect before
God. And he, but he condemned them. Mercy, yes. He'd get on every
denomination, everything else. And everything that's called sin, he
condemned it, from the least to the greatest, king and all; he didn't
pull any punches for none of them. But they had to know he was a
prophet. They just couldn't keep from knowing that. Yes, sir.
Even Ahab tried to accuse him for the drought. And he did pray God to
send the drought. Yes, he did. And he said, "I have power, and I'll
close the heavens; it'll not even rain or dew won't fall till I call
for it."

107
Could you imagine that little Jezebel with that painted-up face,
stomping up-and-down that floor, "That old hypocrite, that old
hypocrite, causing all these little children out here to suffer," and
all like that. Elijah was trying to bring them back to God, trying to
win a nation back to God. See? And looked like… She could tell the
people, "And you mean to tell me you'd believe on a man like that, that
would close the lands up like this, and it not even rain or dew? And
all of his hypocrisy or his witchcraft out there," whatever she wanted
to call it. "And he's nothing but just a–a witch or a soothsayer, or
something. He's closed the heavens and it won't rain, making all these
people suffer. And you say then that's the will of God?" It was the
will of God.

108
No matter what (See?), you must look at what… You must respect God
regardless of what He does. He knows what He's doing. Did look bad,
children suffering, people suffering, cattle dying, sheep dying, no
water nowhere, the nights was hot and sultry, the sun was as bright as
brass in the skies through the daytime for three years and six months.
And Elijah setting up on the mountain said, "Not even dew will fall
till I call from it." That's right. Oh, how they hated him.

109 And when he, Ahab found him, he said, "You're the one that's troubling Israel, are you?"
Old
Elijah looked back in his face, said, "Nay, not me, but you're the one
that's troubling Israel." That's right. See, even Ahab didn't have
respects for him. You know what Elijah told Ahab, said, "Because you
shed the innocent blood of Naboth, so the dogs will lick your blood too
in the street." And they did. Because they disrespected God's
messenger. That's exactly right. They disrespected it.
Now, Miriam disrespected it. Aaron disrespected it. No matter who you
are, Christian or not Christian, you've got to still bring respects to
God, and respect what He's doing, or suffer the consequence. It's
either receive it or go into judgment, either one you want to.

112
How I could say my testimony for hour after hour, of what I've seen in
my lifetime, what I've seen in the other countries and the other parts
of the nations, and so forth, the things that's taken place. But to
omit that, just so that you'll get the–the idea of what I'm trying to
say to you, you must respect it. I've seen young people set in the
meeting, and snicker and laugh in a meeting, and less than twenty-four
hours be crushed into the streets. I've seen young people set in a
meeting, in one year when I was in a place, and next, maybe within six
months, go back to the same place, and practically every one of them
was gone, or laying stricken somewhere with diseases and things. That's
right. You have to respect it.

113
I remember a certain young girl one night, Tennessee, when I was going
out the door, preaching at a big Baptist church. Was going out the
door, I felt led that night to call her to come to Christ. Well, she
laughed in my face when I called her to come to Christ. She happened to
be one of the deacon's daughters. And standing at the door that night,
she waited for me when I come out. She said, "I want you to know
something right now, don't you never embarrass me like that again."
I said, "God was calling you."
She said, "Nonsense. I'm young," said, "I got plenty of time for that."
Said, "My daddy's got enough religion for all of us at home."
I said, "Not enough for you, sister, every one has to have their own religion."
She said, "If I want anybody to talk to me about that, I'll get somebody that's got some sense, not somebody like you."
I said, "Go, say what you wish to; it don't bother me, but someday you'll regret it."

118
Not long after that, passed through the same city. Here she come down
the street with her underskirts hanging down, slopping with a cigarette
in her hand, and offered me a drink of whiskey. Same thing… And
here's her testimony, she said, "You remember the night you called
there?" Said, "That was the truth." She said, "The Spirit of God was
testifying to me that night, trying to get me to come." And said,
"Since then I could see my mother's soul fry in hell like a pancake and
laugh at it." That's what happened. See?
You've got to respect God. That's all. You've got to do it, brother. That's all. Jezebel disrespected it.

120 And remember another time, there was some irreverent children; they had been raised up in a home.
Elijah, after his days, of course, the people hated him because he
called that famine in the land. There was some people that taught their
children that Elijah, a man like that, been translated and taken into
heaven, he'd got killed somewhere, and they just buried him and hid
him. They–they didn't believe it.
So Elisha took his place, now he was the messenger of the day now after
Elijah had been taken up. So he passed down through a certain city, and
the children, little children of that city, run out, making fun of him,
and said, "Say, you old baldhead, why didn't you go up like Elijah
did?" See, they didn't believe Elijah went up. There it is. It wasn't
the disrespecting the man; it was disrespecting his message. He was the
successor to Elisha–to Elijah. He had the anointing; the spirit of
Elijah was upon him. He'd went right up there and done the very same
things that Elijah did. Hallelujah.
Jesus said, "He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also." Yes. "These signs shall follow them that believe."
They disrespected it. And they disrespected Elijah because he believed
in Elisha, because the Spirit was upon him. And he turned around, and
smote the Jordan with his mantle, and opened up the Jordan, went up and
done the same kind of miracles that Elijah did. And even all the
preachers up there at the school of the prophets, said, "The spirit of
Elijah rests upon Elisha," noised abroad in the country.

125
And the people, I bet they laughed to one another, say, "Hey, hey,
looky," they'd say. "That bunch of holy-rollers, fanatics, saying that
man went to heaven without dying, horses come down. We didn't see any."
Certainly they didn't. Certainly not, they didn't. "We didn't see any
horses. We didn't hear any chariots anywhere. Nonsense. The old fellow
died and they buried him, and then they're trying to make a lot of
to-do over it." Just like they'd say today, the same thing, like they
said about Jesus, they said, "Why, they come and stole His body at
nighttime." They even paid soldiers to testify that. But He raised from
the dead.
And Elijah was took up in a chariot of fire, with horses of fire.

128
And when this young prophet walked along there, going down through the
city… And he'd lost his hair, as a young man. He was going down, so
these little children run behind him, said, "Hey, why didn't you go up
with Elijah," said, "you old baldhead, you?" See? And they was giving
disrespect. And what did Elijah do? He turned in the power of the
Spirit and cursed those children. What happened? Two she bears come
from the woods and killed forty-two of them. Right. Disrespects,
irreverent, you can't do that. You've got to respect God.

129
If any of them kids would said now, if their father and mother had
said, "Now, look, children, they say that Elijah was taken up. Now, we
don't know about that, but, anyhow, I–I–I don't know whether it's so
or not, but I tell you; the best thing to do is just don't say nothing
about it. Just go ahead. When he passes… We hear he's coming down
through the city today, going to have a street meeting up there. If he
does, if you children on the road to school today meet him, just say,
'How do you do, reverend? How do you, sir?' or something like that.
Speak to him."
But instead of that, no doubt they'd been told at home, oh, they heard
papa and mama set at the table and laughing, one another, saying, "What
do you know. They said that old holy-roller was taken up. Did you ever
believe anything like that? And they said this little old baldheaded
fellow, just as baldheaded as a pumpkin up there, he ain't over about
thirty-five years old, and here he's coming down through there, and
said he's going to hold a street meeting, expect us to believe such
nonsense as that. Why, he isn't nothing but a little, just a–a
mockery. That's all it is. 'Cause he won't come to our churches. He's
just like Elijah was, he won't come to our churches. We'll–he'll…
Probably some kind of a witchcraft, hoodoo, hoax that he's got, like
Elijah." They didn't believe him. So the little children was taught
that at home.

131
If they'd have been taught reverence and respect, they'd have walked
out there before that prophet of God and have asked for prayer for
themselves. But they had been taught to snicker and laugh and to make
fun about like the children of today. No, too many of them today would
make fun at a street meeting; they'd make fun at the preaching of the
Gospel.
So Elijah cursed them in the Name of the Lord. Not because of the
children, but because of the irreverent parents that'd brought the
children up that way to disrespect God. Two she bears come out and
killed forty-two of them. Now, that's irreverence. God demands respect.
When they disrespected His prophet, they disrespected Him; no matter if
they didn't believe, they ought to kept their mouth shut, stay away
from it. But no, they had to put in their nickel's worth. They had to
say something that they ought not have said. And what happened to them?

134
Let's take some people who did respect it. Let's take the Shunammite
woman to the same prophet, Elijah. She was actually not an Israelite.
She was from Shunem, but she believed in God. And she seen this man
pass through the town, heard him speak, she seen the signs that he done.
It's told in history; I don't know whether it's true or not, that one
day a bunch of wild dogs was trying to catch a little girl. Now, this
isn't the Scripture; it's just a story that I read. And said the
Shunammite woman was standing on the corner, and she saw that these
dogs was going to kill this little girl. And this holy man was passing
through town, and he raised up his staff to God, and cried out for
mercy for them little children like that, and the dogs turned and went
away from them. Whether it was so or not, sounds like it could be, I
don't know.

136
But anyhow, this woman said, when the Bible, when she "perceived that
this was a holy man…" She perceived something had happened. She seen
what he was, and perceived that he was a holy man from God. And instead
of disrespecting him like Jezebel did, she respected him. She said to
her husband, "We are well able to do this. I pray thee; let's build him
a little house out here somewhere. Let's give him a little place, for
he's weary. I've watched him. He's getting old, and I notice his gray
hair as it hung down in his beard, his little old staff, his little
skinny arms as he walked along, the little flabby arms like that. And
here he come walking along, packing a little cruse of oil on his side,
with a piece of sheepskin wrapped around him, in the hot sun, his body
looked scorched and red. And I pray thee, let's make him a little
station to stop here. Let's get the contractor and come out here and
build him a little place, and put him up, because I perceive that his
spirit–by his spirit, he's a holy man. He's a man of God." Oh, oh,
what a difference.

137
Now, her husband agreed, she… He might have said, "Darling, I have
noticed that man too. I've listened at him; I've watched him; I've seen
his works. I know he's a holy man of God. So we'll just do that." So
they called the contractor and built him a nice little place, and put
him a little bed there to rest, so he could lay down and rest, fixed
him a place to wash his feet, got some water and things, and fixed it
in there.
And when the prophet came by, of course, that blessed his soul to see
that something had been done for him. He said to Gehazi, "Go, call her,
and ask her what could I do for her, could I speak to the king, to the
chief captain?" He…
She said, "I dwell among my people, and there's nothing I have need of."
But Gehazi said, "She has no children. And her husband is well stricken in age; he's old. They have no children."
Then I'd imagine, Elijah laying there on this little bed that she had
blessed him by making, had his feet all washed, and his beard's all
washed out, and things, laying there, no doubt but what he seen a–the
vision of the Lord. 'Cause, they always did that. Said–said, "Go, call
her, and tell her to stand here before me." Oh, my. "Go, call her,
because she has–she's respected God. Go, tell her to come here."
When she stood in the door, he said, "THUS SAITH THE LORD. About this
time next year, you'll bear a baby." And about that time next year, she
had the baby.

143
Then Satan, when he got to be about twelve years old, his father had
him out in the field one day, and Satan said, "I'll get rid of that
child," so he just give him a sunstroke. And he died in his mother's
arms.
Did that discourage her? No, sir. She said, "Saddle a mule. And go
forward; don't stop. Go up to Mount Carmel, to the mountain, because he
just passed through here the other day." Oh, oh, oh, my. There you are.
That's respect. That's respect.
And her husband said, "You're going to the man of God." Said, "It's neither new moon or sabbath; he won't be up there in his…"
She said, "All will be well, just saddle the mule and let me go on." And so away they went.

147
And they got up into the mountain. And when old Elijah looked out of
the cave, and he come out there and looked at him, said, "This looks
like that Shunammite woman coming." Said, "She must be grieved." He
said, "Go, meet her." And when… He said, "She's grieved in her heart,
and God's never told me nothing about it."
See, God don't have to tell you everything (See?), so He don't even
tell His prophets everything. He just–He just does what He wants to
do; He's God.

149
Here, now, Elijah said, "God…" What if Elijah said this, "Why didn't
You tell me why she's coming? Why didn't You tell me all about it?"
He'd have never seen a thing. But it was all right with Elijah,
whatever it was…
And what if she'd have come up and said; she'd say, "You said you was a
servant of God? You hypocrite. I do believe you ain't nothing but a
holy-roller"? It'd have never happened. See? God tries us sometimes,
see what we'll do.

151
So instead of that she run right up to his feet and worshipped, like
she was to God. And she said… And she revealed to him what was the
matter. And Elijah said, "Take my staff and go lay it on the child."
And when he did, the woman said, "As the Lord God liveth and your soul
never dies (Oh, my,), thou servant of God, I'll not leave you. I'm
going to stay here till God sends the vision." Old Elijah stayed there
a little while longer; girded up his loins, and took his staff and here
he went.
He went into the room where that baby was laying, a dead baby. Walked
up-and-down the floor, like that, a few times. Because of a reverent
woman, a woman that respected him, a man that respected him, and
believed him to be a man of God, he walked back and forth up-and-down
the floor until God answered. Amen. Then he laid hisself upon the baby
and it sneezed seven times, and picked it up and give it to the mother.
Walked on out, and back up to the cave, he went. Because she respected
the man of God. Amen. God demands respect.

154
What about Martha? She was always thinking about fixing Jesus a good
dinner. Mary wanted to hear the Word of God, so she just set around and
listened at Him. She didn't care whether the pillow cases was changed,
or whether the–the curtains was dusted, or whether they had anything
to eat or not; she just wanted to hear what Jesus was going to say. But
Martha always wanted to cook Him a good dinner, and be sure that the
chair was made soft, and it was set just right, and everything was
cleaned up like that. But she wanted Him, to do something for Jesus in
her way, and Mary wanted to do it in her way. But one day when Lazarus
come… Many people talk against Martha, said she ought to been more
interested. Oh, no, just a moment. See, there come a time for Martha to
show hers. And then when Jesus… When Lazarus died, her brother, she
sent for Him to come pray for him. He did not come. He ignored the
call; He went on somewhere else. She sent again; He still ignored the
call.

155
But when finally He come, seemed like now that she could've walked out
to Him and said, "Why didn't You come? Why didn't You come when I
called You? My brother was laying there, sick. We've left our church;
we left our organization; we done everything to follow Your Message;
because we did believe that You were a Man of God. But how could a Man
of God… And we two orphaned, three orphaned children here, three
orphan people, and our livelihood was making tapestries for that
temple… We was members there; our mother and father was members
there. But because that You hoaxed us into a thing to believing This
what You're trying to teach, saying that You're a Son of God and a
Prophet sent from God, and these things, how can we ever believe You, a
Man that wouldn't even listen to me when I call for You? When I was in
need and had need of You, You ignored my message and went on. And I
sent again, and You still ignored it. Why did You do a thing like
that?" If she'd have done that, the story would've been different
tonight.

156
What did she do? She run right straight to where He was, fell down at
His feet, and said, "Lord, if Thou would've been here, my brother would
not have died." Oh, there you are. What was she doing? She was
respecting. She was in the Presence of God, and she respected Him. She
called Him her Lord. "Lord, if Thou would've been here." (Not, that, "I
sent for You." That was all forgotten.) "Now, You're here. See? If You
would've been here, my brother would have been–not have died."
He said, "Thy brother shall rise again."
"Oh," she said, "yes, Lord, I know he'll raise again in the last day."
And–and He said, He–she–He said, "But I am the Resurrection and
Life. He that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.
Whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die."
"I believe, Lord, that Thou art the Son of God that was to come into
the world. And even now, Lord (Oh.), even now… (Not, "Lord, You ought
to have done this and You ought to have done that.") But even now,
whatever You ask God, God will give it to You." Hm, hm, hm. That's it.

160
What if we could say that to someone tonight, "Oh, my brother, I
believe that what you ask God, God gives it to you"? The same results
would come.
But no matter how much He was, if He was… And we know He was the Son
of God. If she had disrespected it, it would never worked. That was
from her heart. She said, "Even now, Lord, whatever You ask God, God
would give in to You." That's it. That's it. From her heart she
believed it. If He'd have took a hunting trip or a fishing trip, that
wouldn't have made no difference to her.

162
No, if Elijah'd went on a hunting trip or went somewhere, it made no
difference to the–to the Shunammite woman. She still believed him to
be a man of God. Sure. No matter what he did, he was still the man of
God to her, 'cause she'd seen God moving in his life.
And to Martha, no matter what taken place, she'd seen what God did for
Him. She said, "Even now, Lord, whatever You ask God, God will give it
to you…?…" Aw, there you are.
He said, "Thy brother shall rise again." And so He said, "Where have
you buried him?" And they went down to the grave. And He called Lazarus
from the grave after being dead for four days. Why? Because Lazarus'
sister respected what He was.

165
If you can't respect the man, respect the office he holds in God.
That's exactly right (See?); respect him. If a minister comes up, your
pastor, always respect him. I've heard congregations talk about their
pastor, how just talk about him, run him down, ridicule him. How is
that pastor ever going to do anything for you? He can't do it. You–you
don't–you don't re… I don't say this church, but I mean churches I
have seen, that if you… You've got to love your pastor. You've got to
know that he's a human being, but yet God has made him His pastor. The
Holy Ghost has made him overseer; then you've got to respect him in
that manner. And no matter what the pastor's done, if you respect him
in your heart as God's servant, God will respect you for doing it.
"He that–he that receiveth Me, receiveth Him that sent Me," Jesus
said. "He that don't receive Me, can't receive Him." See, they said God
was their Father; He said, "Your father's the Devil."
So, you see, you've got to respect it and believe it, believe that He is. Yes, Martha believed it.

168
And that's one little thing I hit on this morning, that Syrophenician
woman that time when she come up. Look how she was turned down
bitterly. There He was, a Jew; she was a Gentile, and she run up to
Him. She didn't know how to approach Him, but she had a need, and she
knowed that He was that Son of God. She believed it. She… If–if God
would answer His prayer for others, He'd answer prayer for her. And she
knowed what He said was the Word of God. If it was the Word of God for
the Jews, it was the Word of God for the Gentiles too, whatever He
said. And Jesus give her a trial. She said, "Lord, have mercy." Now,
watch. No, he said… "Thou Son of David," 'cause she'd heard the Jews
saying, "Thou Son of David." Now, He wasn't Son of David to her. See?
And said. "Thou Son of David…" That would've been the way a Jew
would've approached Him, 'cause she had heard the rest of them. She
tried to come like they did, 'cause she was trying to find respects.
She was trying to show her respect. And she wasn't just making out;
Jesus would knowed if it was. No, He'd have knowed it.

169 So as she come up, she said, "Thou Son of David, have mercy upon my daughter, because she's variously vexed with a devil."
He
turned and looked at her and said, "It's not meet for Me to take the
children's bread and cast it to the dogs." Whew. Wasn't that one? That
was one: not only turned her down on her request, but called her a dog.
That's right. And a dog's one of the lowest names the Bible has, you
know. So He said, "Not meet for Me to take the children's bread and
cast it to the dogs."
She said, "That's truth, Lord." "Lord," then she got it. He wasn't no
Son of David to her, but He was Lord. Said, "True, Lord. That's right,
but the children eat the scraps under the…" Or, I mean, "The–the
dogs eat the scraps under the master's table." That got it. That was
it. That was the respect.
Jesus turned to her, said, "Great is your faith. Now, go home, you're
going to find your daughter just as you have believed it." That's it.
Why? It was her approach.

172
What if she'd have turned around and said… He turned around, said,
"It's not meet for Me to take… "In other words, it's not proper."
Say, a Catholic come up and say, "Oh, Brother Branham, I know God hears
your prayers for these people here. Will you pray for me?"
And I'd say, "Well, it's not right for me to take these children's time
up here. I'm here to pray for these Pentecostals, not for you bunch of
Catholics." See? What would she had said? Oh, man, I imagine you'd
stomped out of here like everything. See?
But she turned and she said, "That's true, Lord. That's true, Lord. But
we're–we're willing to… The dogs are willing to eat the scraps under
the Master's table."
See, that caught Him right quick. He turned and said, "Great is your
faith." And then we find another case… See, it was her approach, her
respects. She was respecting God as she respected Him.

177
So we find one time there was a Roman, and he was a great man, and he
loved the Jews. And he had a servant that was sick. Hisself, he didn't
feel worthy to go ask Jesus.
See, you always want to feeled a lot littler than what you are. Don't
never be big in your own sight. See? Now, and if you're big, let
somebody else say it about you. See? But now when you… This woman,
or…
This man, rather, he said he was a Roman centurion and he had a sick
servant, so he sent to get this sick servant healed. And Jesus said,
"I'll come heal him."

180
So on His road, the Roman seen Him coming. I imagine he said, "Oh, my,
here comes that holy One. Here comes that holy One. Well, I'm a
no-count Gentile. I'm–I'm–I'm a Roman centurion; I'm a General,
or–or a officer. I–I–I–I really not a Jew, I have no right for that
holy Man to come." See the respect? See? "I don't have the right to
have that holy Servant of God come to my house."
Saw Him come to the door, and he called Him, said, "Lord, I–I'm not
worthy that You'd come under my roof." Probably had a palace of a home,
a centurion… Said, "I'm not worthy that You'd come under my roof. And
I–I didn't think myself worthy to even come to You, so I sent some of
Your–Your Own blessed people, the Jews. But I have a servant here
that's very sick." And he said, "I'm a man under authority," said, "I
say to this soldier, 'You go,' and he, goes. I say to this one, 'You
come' and he comes."

182
What did he say there, "I know that You have all power, You can say to
this disease, 'Go,' and it goes. And you can say to this one, 'Come,
and it would come." See, He recognized. And as he had authority over
these soldiers, so Jesus had authority over all sickness and diseases.
"Only thing You have to do, Lord, is just speak the Word." That's it.
"Just speak the Word, my servant will live."
Jesus stopped, turned around to them Jews, said, "I haven't found faith like that over in Israel."
He said, "It's all right with your servant now." Amen. Why? Because he
respected it. He respected Jesus Christ Who was the–the God of heaven.

184
Now, I guess it's getting late. I just want to say one more thing, is
this. All those great respects, and so forth, but today somehow, it's
different. God can do something today, and people will laugh at it. I
believe that we have been different today. About forty years ago when
the Holy Ghost first begin to fall, but what'd the people do? Locked up
the preachers, called them holy-rollers, went out on the–wouldn't even
feed them in the cities and everything like that. They broke corn on
the railroad tracks to live by. What did they do? They had another
forty years, the church has, suffering, went through everything, two
wars in that much time (See?) it's killed off thousands of them; when
she'd probably done been gone home.

185
Now, what would taken place, when God's begin to pour out the Holy
Ghost upon the church in the last days? What would've happened
twenty-five years ago when He begin to send down His signs and wonders
and miracles, what would've taken place if the people would all
rallied…? What did they do? They said, "It's hoodoo; it's hypnotism;
he's a mental telepathist; he's this, that, or the other." What if all
the nation would've went together and said, "Blessed be the Name of the
Lord"? What if the Methodists, and Baptists, and Presbyterians, and all
would've joined hands together and said, "Thank God, here's what we've
looked for. The Holy Ghost is being poured out. Why, here's men who
sees visions; here's prophets among us; here is–here's all these great
gifts here: speakers with tongues; here's Divine healers; here's
everything is being poured out upon us. Thanks be to God, it come
through a humble little bunch called Pentecostals. Let's all go back to
the Bible again. Let's go back, brethren, break up our organizations,
and all be one brother"? The great churches altogether would've come
together, what would have happened? Brother, there wouldn't even been
had need of a hospital in the land today. That's right. No, there'd
have been such powerful great gifts and wonders working amongst the
people; there'd been such a respect, and perhaps the church would done
been gone home and the millennium would've been on.

186
But no, they disrespected it. They called them holy-rollers. The
newspapers waited to say every slandering, dirty thing they could, and
put every dirty slang to it they could do it, and things like that. And
churches heehawed, and laughed at it, and–and made fun of them, and
turned them away, and tried to keep them out of the cities, and
everything else, with disrespect. Now, I could say a lot about that,
but it's getting late.

187
Let me come to the Branham Tabernacle, please. Now, God's begin to pour
out gifts upon us. We see it. Now, what is the gift of God today? It's
the Holy Spirit. It's the Holy Ghost that's in us. We've got to respect
That. We've got to respect It on every person It comes upon. We've got
to re–give… to God's Divine gifts. When He sends those gifts, no
matter how real they are, it'll never help us until we get to a place
till we can respect it. Somebody can give a prophecy; if you don't
believe in that prophecy, it'll never do you any good. You've got to
have reverence and you got to respect it. You've got to believe that it
comes from God.
Believe it till it's proved wrong. Then when it's proved wrong, then
you have a right to disbelieve it; then don't associate with it no
more. But as long as it's being proven out to be the truth, then
believe it.

189
Like old Samuel said that day when they wanted a king. He said, "I want
to ask you one thing. Have I ever taken any of your money from you?
Have I ever asked you for a living? Or have I ever told you anything in
the Name of the Lord but what come to pass?" He said, "You don't need
no king, and your king will do you no good." And he told them that. He
brought them the question, said, "Have I ever told you anything as THUS
SAITH THE LORD but what happened?"
Now, then the people disrespected Samuel. "Oh, we know, Samuel. That's
right, you–we can't say that you never told us anything but what was
right, but, but still we want to do it this a-way." See? You mustn't do
that. You must do it God's way.

191
When we receive the Holy Ghost, it's not shaking hands with the pastor.
Receiving the Holy Ghost is receiving Christ into you, because He is
God's Messenger of the day. The Holy Ghost is God's Messenger, and we
must respect Him. When He comes, don't say, "Hee, hee, hee. Look at
that woman shouting there, and crying, tears running down her cheeks.
Look at that man there, shaking his hands and trembling and crying. You
know what that is? That's a bunch of worked up emotion." You're
blaspheming the Holy Ghost. You've got to respect That.

192
Remember, here sometime ago I was in Oregon, about, been about twelve
years ago. And two little Catholic reporter girls come down. Not
because they were Catholic, nothing no more that; 'cause I've had just
as many Protestants, and more Protestants than I have Catholics to make
fun of me. And–and–and so these girls come down to give a report. So
as soon as they got in there, I caught the spirit soon as they come in,
and I said, "All right, now what criticism you got up your sleeve now?"
And this girl pulled out a cigarette and started, and I said, "Just
don't light that while you're in my cabin. Just leave it alone."

193
So set there a little bit, and she looked at me as if she could run
through me like that, and she begin to talk some. She said, "Well, I
want to ask you some questions."
I said, "Say on."
She said, "How comes that you're connected up with this bunch of holy-rollers up here?" Said, "Are you one of them?"
I said, "I'm one of them."
And she said, "Well, do you mean to tell me there'd be anything godly about that?"
I said, "Not as you as a Catholic wouldn't believe it."
She said, "How do you know I'm a Catholic?"
I said, "I know you're a Catholic. I'll tell you what your name is (See?) and who you are." That took her off her feet.
She said, "Well, you mean to tell me that that kind of a people they
say will live here on earth and be in heaven?" She said, "I wouldn't
want to be in heaven with such people as that."
I said, "You don't have to worry very much. As long as you think that
way, you won't be there anyhow. See?" I said, "You won't have any worry
about that."

199
I just stood and looked her right in the face. And a–a couple of the
brethren was setting in the building. I said, "I'm not being irritable.
I–I just want to let you know where you're standing. See?" And I said,
"You're going to write a–want to come out here to find out some stuff,
and you'd never write what I told you. You'll make it your own story.
You go ahead and do that, but I want to tell you one thing. You write
anything scandal you want to, and I said, "Before you die, my voice
will call back into your ears. If it doesn't, then you know I'm a false
prophet." I said, "Now, you just write whatever you want to; it's up to
you. I give you liberty to go write what you want to. But before you
die, you'll hear my voice screaming in your ears. It'll do you no
good." I said, "Now, you go ahead and write what you want to."

200
She stood there a little bit. She said, "Why, what do you think about
that idiotic bunch up there, screaming and carrying on last night?"
I said, "They're all Christians."
"Christian?"
I said, "Sure, they're Christians." I said, "They're Christians, filled with the Holy Ghost."
And she said, "That's not no Holy Ghost."
I said, "What would you call the Holy Ghost?" See what she had to say about it. I said, "I'd like to tell you something."
She said, "Well, I wouldn't want to associate myself with a bunch like that."
I said, "I don't think there's much danger," I said, "if you ever
associating yourself like that." I said, "Because if you ever
associated with God or with any of the saints, you'd associate like
that."
She said, "The Bible saints?"
I said, "Yes." I said, "Your blessed virgin Mary, you call her, who is
your goddess," I said, "before God would ever let her come to heaven,
she had to go up to the day of Pentecost and receive the Holy Ghost,
and staggered under the power of God like a drunk woman."
She said, "That is a lie."

206
I said, "Hold your peace just a minute." I turned over here to the
Book, and I said, "Looky here," turned over. I said, "Here it is right
here in the Book." She turned her head. I said, "You haven't even got
the audacity to read God's Word." See? I said, "Sure." See,
disrespectable. I said, "Now, you can take your pack of cigarettes off
the table there and go when you're ready." But I said, "I want you to
know one thing. You write whatever you want to, but remember the last
words I say, 'In the Name of the Lord, you'll remember it before you
die.'" She never wrote nothing. That's right. She just let it go.
What is it? Disrespects, trying to make fun, doing something, they don't know what they're doing. That's right.

208
But here in the Tabernacle, we want you all to know these things here.
When God begins to pour out the Holy Spirit upon people, sometimes I
know I've seen people get in the flesh when they were–when they were
under the anointing of the Spirit. I've seen them go to extremes with
things, but don't you say nothing about it. You respect it; bow your
head. You might not understand it; neither would I; but I want to
respect It anyhow. Now, we must have respects to God. And when God
pours out the Holy Spirit, I just thank, say, "Thank You, heavenly
Father. You are have–doing something for that poor precious soul that
wants to come to Your home like I do someday."

209
And I see men, like here one time a brother in–that's in the ministry
said that I talked about him. And we went and got all the tapes and
sent to him. It was Brother A. A. Allen. And he said that I made fun of
him talking about blood coming out of your hand and–and calling that
the–the initial evidence of the Holy Ghost, and–and I believe it was
blood and oil coming out of his hands, and forehead, and things. He
said that was–was that I made fun of that and told him that it was of
the Devil. I sent back; I just wrote him a letter; I said, "Brother
Allen…" He wrote a piece and you heard–you read it, "Dear Brother
Branham…" See? And so then put out tracts all across the country,
instead of coming and see me about it, he did that.

210
But now, here's what I said. I said, "I'll take all six nights at
Phoenix, and send you my tapes and show you. Which Leo and them did,
and sent the tapes to them. I said, "Only one time your name was
called. The people put up on my desk, and said, 'Brother Branham,
Brother Allen has just been in the town and told us that the initial
evidence of the Holy Ghost was bleeding in the hands, and bleeding in
the face, and oil running out of your hand, that was the initial
evidence.'"
I said, "I disagree with Brother Allen upon that being the initial
evidence of the Holy Ghost, 'cause there was nowhere in the Bible where
they ever bled at the hands, and–and oil come out of their face and
hands for–prove they had the Holy Ghost." I said, "The Holy Ghost was
the power of God in their lives. And Jesus said, 'These signs shall
follow them that believe.' See? 'In My Name they shall cast out
devils,' and so forth." But I said, "Here's one thing I would say about
Brother Allen, he's a great man of God. And if I could preach as good
as Brother Allen could, I'd never have a healing service; I'd just
preach the Gospel."
Then, see, after he done put that paper out and everything, that I did
that, just on what somebody else said. But even I disagreed with the
brother upon his theory, I certainly wouldn't want to blaspheme the
brother.

212
Then standing right there, up here at in Minnesota, that night in
Minneapolis, Minnesota, and there was in that great cathedral–temple,
with Gordon Peterson. And this guy that wrote that book against A. A.
Allen, and said everything about him that could be said, and said, "He
even had the audacity to write that book of "Biting Devils," about that
woman, showed prints on her hands where a devil bit her, and things
like that." Now, I–I certainly… (I don't know whether that could be
true or not, because the devil is a spirit, you see; but this woman
claimed a big hairy devil come and bit her all over the hands and over
her face, and everything like that.) And he said, "A. A. Allen wrote
that book." And the man that wrote the book, wrote a nice article about
me, and here he was setting right there in the meeting that night (when
Brother Peterson and them come told me, there he set), and was bragging
on me, and downing A. A. Allen.

214
I thought, "Here's the time I can take up for Brother Allen." So I
walked out there, and I said, "I was reading here the article in the
paper today that this certain man that's in the city, not…" Knowing
he was setting right out there… I said, "He said here that A. A.
Allen, and all the criticism." I said, "Although I appreciate the man
saying the compliment about me that he did," I said, "that I wasn't out
for money and things like that, and held the cleanest meetings of any
of them, and so forth, the nice things he said." I said, "I appreciate
that. But if that man that wrote this article here in the paper, never
checked his notes any closer than to say A. A. Allen wrote this "Biting
Of Devils"… A. A. Allen never wrote that book. I know the man that
wrote it." I said, "He never wrote the book at all. And if the man
never checked upon his article any closer than that, I doubt that the
rest that he's ever said about Brother Allen is the truth." Taking up
for Brother Allen… And I said, "Besides, if Brother Allen would be
wrong, I'd rather be found at the judgment bar taking my stand with
Brother Allen in the wrong, when he's trying to win souls to Christ,
than to be criticizing what the man's trying to do." Amen. That's
right. Yes, sir.

215
Ever who calls on the Name of Jesus Christ, I'm with him whether he's
Protestant, Catholic, or whatever he is. I–I might disagree with him
upon theology, but I want to respect him as a servant of Christ and as
my brother. See? And no matter what he does, we've got to give respects
to the Holy Spirit. Exactly right. Yes, sir. And when we get to doing
that, then God will go to pouring His blessings among us. Just us
little group right here, about fifty or sixty, or maybe seventy-five
people setting in here tonight, if we would just altogether bind
ourselves together and give godly respects to God and to the Holy
Spirit, and what He's doing in this day, and respect every gift and
every office that He sends into our midst, God will just continue to
pour out His Spirit upon us and we'll grow in numbers and multiply.
Don't you believe that? Sure. We've got to have respects unto God.

216
Let us bow our heads just a moment for prayer. Before we go to prayer,
and I'd like to know if there's anybody in here would like to say,
"Brother Branham, I want you to pray for me, that I'll have great
respects for God, that I'll always be able to keep my mouth shut
against God's things, no matter what they are, and may God place in my
heart to respect every Divine gift He sends into the church." Will you
just raise your hands, and say, "Pray for me." God bless you. Nearly
every hand in the church, and I have mine up too.
God, help me to be a servant of Yours. Help me to respect my brothers,
help me to respect my sisters. And every Spirit of God that comes into
the meeting, whether it be speaking with tongues, whether it be
interpretation of tongues, whether it be prophecy, whether it be gifts
of discernment, whatever it is, I say, "O Lord Jesus, send them. Send
them, O Lord. I am thankful to You."

218
Now, heavenly Father, we know that Thou art a great and terrible God.
We know that Thy wrath is terrible. When once Thou has Thy temper up,
why, it's–it's a terrible thing. The wrath of God can destroy the
world in a second. But when You look down upon the Blood of the Lord
Jesus, then Your wrath is turned away. Oh, hide me over in the Rock of
Ages. Lord God, keep my soul covered with the Blood of the Lord Jesus,
not only mine, Lord, but those that are in here too tonight. We love
You, Lord. And every gift that You has given us, though they may call
us anything they want to do, Lord, that still will not… Don't want
that to have one thing to do with it, we still respect You, the great
One, the great Holy Spirit. We love You, Father.

219
We thank You for gifts of healing among us. We thank You for the gift
of prophecy among us. We thank You for the gift of tongues and the gift
of interpretation. And, O God, we pray that You'll continue to send
gifts among us, gifts of the great Holy Spirit. Above all things, Lord,
we're greatest appreciation we have in our hearts is for that great
all-sufficient Gift of Jesus Christ. We thank You for His grace and His
mercy, Who makes all these other minor things eligible to us by His
vicarious suffering and bleeding at Calvary. He sanctifies the common
people that hears Him gladly.
And, Lord, we're so glad that You come to common people. In the Bible,
in the Book of St. Luke, we read that, "The common people heard Him
gladly." Today they say, "Oh, that's just a common bunch." But, Lord,
that's the bunch that heard You when You were here in flesh. The common
people heard You gladly. The haughty, the rich, and many of those would
not hear You. The kings, the potentates, the priests of the day would
not hear You. But the common people gladly received You.

221
And, Father, tonight, we are common people, and we gladly receive You.
We are glad like they were when they come back rejoicing, and thinking
it was a wonderful thing, and happy because they could bear the
reproach of His Name, when they reproached them and called them
everything. And they were so happy, because it was a privilege for them
to suffer for the Name of Jesus Christ.
Father, God, we join ourselves with them disciples of that day, and say, "Happy are we."
I stand tonight like Saint Paul of old, when he stood before Agrippa,
and he said, "In the way that's called heresy (crazy), that's the way I
worship the God of our fathers."
And when Agrippa said, "Paul too much learning has made thee mad."
He said, "I am not mad, oh, Agrippa."
And then he finally got into a place till he said, "Thou almost persuadest me to be a Christian."
He said, "I would that you were as I, even without these chains and bond."

226
O God, what love that Paul had, he said he would become accursed, that
his people might be saved. O Father, God, give us love for one another
like that. Give us that undying love, that decency, that respect for
one another, to be Christian enough to look over each other's mistakes,
to look over… Because a man has been blessed of God; and he might
make a mistake. O Father, let us not look at that mistake, knowing that
that's a precious brother that maybe Satan did trap him into something.
But if he did, we pray, Lord, that You'll help he or she out of that
place, that we'll have love in our hearts to go after the lost sheep
and bring them back to the fold. Grant it, Lord. Forgive us of our
trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us. Grant it,
Lord. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine
is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

227 [Brother Neville gives a message of prophecy–Ed.]
Amen.
Thank You, Lord. Thank You, Father. Praise Thee, O holy One. How
glorious art Thou, Father. How we thank Thee, Lord. What comfort it is
to feel the Presence of the Holy Spirit and hear Him speak through
human lips to us, confirming that He still remains God and in our
midst. We thank Thee for this, Father. Continue with us, Lord. Bear
with us, that we might be Thy people. Through Jesus Christ we ask it.
Amen.

228
Isn't it wonderful to be a Christian? Isn't it wonderful to know God
and to know His Presence? To think of today now, how He has did this
even to the second time. Today He–He spoke to the sister here, come in
that Light as He did, and spoke to them because they had believed the
Message. He's glorious, isn't He? Don't you love Him? How many love Him
with all your heart, with all your soul? He is wonderful. Now, let's
stand up to our feet, as we sing that good old song we all like.

I love Him, I love Him


Because He first loved me


And purchased my salvation


On Calvary's tree.


Oh, isn't He wonderful? Wonderful. Now, remember the service Wednesday
night. And then, if the Lord willing, I'll be here next Sunday again,
the Lord willing. Pray for us through the week. As we bow our heads now
in prayer, I'm going to ask Brother Neville, our pastor, if he'll come
up for the last words that he'll give you.

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