To Whom Would We Go? (60-0606)
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E-1 Shining faces and great expectations, waiting and… [Blank.spot.on.tape–Ed.]…
we believe that God's going to be real good to us, don't you think so?
When we turned in, Billy and I, out there just a few moments ago, I
heard that song ringing out, "Isn't Jesus our Lord Wonderful." I said,
"Amen, that's right; that's right." He's wonderful.
Oh, has He been good to you since I left last year? Oh, that's
wonderful. Well, He's sure been good to me. Glad tonight to see Brother
Rasmusson and many of my friends here, that's from out of the city. And
I'm sure as the week goes on, we'll meet each other and have lots of
fe–fellowship together. As I used to make this remark (I hope it
doesn't sound sacrilegious), I said, "We get to know each other so
well, till we can chew each other's chewing gum." That's really
brotherly love, isn't' it? That's really close communion.
E-2
Well, we've had a few trips out in the sea, out in the islands, and the
Lord was gracious to us out there. And I've been having the privilege
of having Brother David duPlessis here, as you all know him, and we
certainly had some great times together, Brother David and I, around
the country. And we're hoping that the Lord will continue to bless our
ministries as we journey on together.
Been hearing great reports from up here, getting letters from the last
healing campaign of the healing of many people. I believe I'm looking
at a–oh Brother and Sister Kidd setting down here. Oh, you look so
good to me. You remember, I told you you'd be here? All right. That's
exactly right. That's right, very fine…
'Course, you all understood what was wrong with Brother Kidd, didn't
you? You didn't? Well, he was–he was a very sick man. Doctors just
give him a few days. And we'd come up one morning, and left home about
two o'clock to come pray for him, and–and thought he wouldn't be here,
if I didn't come the end of that week, which would be about three days
longer, he wouldn't be here on earth.
When I got through praying, I said, "Brother Kidd, I want to shake your hand and meet you over at Chatauqua." Here we are.
Always respected those old people. See? They were out preaching the
gospel when we were kids. That's right. And that means something.
They–they got all the stumps out of the way, so we could run up the
highway smooth. That's right. That's very fine.
E-3
I know he–Brother duPlessis speaks and they've got other speakers
here. And I'm looking for Mattsson, where's he at? I haven't seen him
yet, is he at the con… [Someone from audience says, "Tomorrow morning, he will be in."–Ed.]
Be in tomorrow morning… I haven't seen Brother Mattsson for so long;
it will be like a homecoming to see Brother Mattsson again. And so
today will be taken up with many, many good messages from the Lord and
we're expecting great things to happen.
How many would like to have a healing service this week? Would you like
to do that? Oh wonderful, that's just fine. All right. We'll see if the
Lord will provide that for us. And we will have a healing service. How
many in here would like to receive the Holy Ghost this week, let's see
your hands, huh? Oh my, that's wonderful. That sounds like revival,
doesn't it brethren? That's right.
E-4
Last evening I announced in my church, I said, "Every person here that
doesn't have the Holy Ghost you get to the Chatauqua. I'm almost sure
you're going to get it before you come back." Amen. Have we got a place
for them to go in and pray? Right over there, now that's just fine. You
know, just like caterpillars following one another, just take a line
right around over there, and…
And I believe it was Buddy Robinson one time that said, "Lord, if You
don't give me the Holy Ghost, when You come back you'll find a pile of
bones laying right here in the field." That's when he received it.
When you get to meaning business with God, God will mean business with
you. If we can just get that little shaking away from us that God…
"Maybe He will, maybe, I hope He does." He will, he promised it, see?
We want to believe it that way.
E-5
Now, we don't want to keep you too long at night so you can come back
each night fresh. And we're glad to see our ministering brethren and
all. So before we turn in to the Word now for a little message tonight,
let us bow our heads while we pray.
I wonder tonight, if before we pray, if you got your heads bowed, is
there a sinner… How many sinners are present would like to say to God
at the beginning of this meeting, "Lord, save my soul before this
meeting closes." Raise your hands. God bless you, you. That's right.
Just… No… Just keep your heads bowed and just raise your hands. God
bless you.
How many here without the Holy Ghost would say, "Lord, I pray that
You'll give me the Holy Ghost before the services are closed." Let's
see your hands. Oh my, there's so many. All right, God will grant that,
I'm sure.
E-6
Gracious heavenly Father, as we approach Thy throne of mercy and
standing in the shadows of Thy justice, we are humbly bowing our
hearts, as well as our heads, to You. For we realize, Lord, that
someday we must stand in Thy Presence to give an account of the life
that we have lived on this earth that You have given us. And we know
there is just one way that we'll ever be reconciled; that is, through
the blood of Thy Son, the Lord Jesus. That's why these conventions are
held. That's why we preach, and why we try, is to see people press into
the Kingdom of God.
Lord, I pray that those sinners that raised their hands will be
Christians when this service is closed tonight. May everyone that
raised their hands to receive the Holy Spirit, may He fall in abundance
upon them tonight, filling them with His goodness and mercy to lead
them through the rest of life's journey. Heal the sick and the
afflicted, Lord. And may there be an old rev–time revival among us,
Lord, in our hearts, that'll cause the outside world to thirst.
E-7
It's written, "Ye are the salt of the earth." And salt creates a
thirst. God, make the Christians on the ground and around the
buildings, wherever they are met together, may they be so salty, until
the unbeliever will say, "Lord, let me be like that man or that woman."
Grant it, Lord. Take us into Thy care. We are walking in a world of
darkness, looking upward from whence cometh the light. Grant these
things, Father, and may this be one of the greatest conventions that we
have ever had. Bless every speaker, every minister, and every
Christian, and all that attends the meetings. May it be a glorious time
for us all. And when we are finished, services is closed, revival is
over (or the convention), may it be said with all of us, like those who
came from Emmaus, as we return to our homes, "Did not our hearts burn
within us as He talked to us by the way?" We ask it in Jesus Christ's
Name, Thy Son. Amen.
E-8
The convention, of course, is for the speakers and so forth and get
together, but we have another reason for a convention; that is, for the
blessing of our souls, and for the healing of the sick, saving of the
souls. And now, let us make this convention, each one of us put our
shoulders to the wheels. And in our differences of one belonging to one
denomination, one to the other, that doesn't mean a thing.
I'm a man; I love a Ford; and I rode over here in my son's Chevrolet.
So I didn't fall out with him 'cause he bought a Chevy. I–I like the
Ford, 'cause I've never had nothing else hardly but a Ford. So I like
them. And you know what I found out is this Chevy takes me anywhere my
Ford take me so… Just so we keep headed in the right direction,
is–is the main thing. And that's the way I think it is. God wants us
all to be headed in the right direction. And that direction is towards
Jesus Christ.
E-9
Now, let us turn for a Scripture reading tonight in the book of Saint
John the 6th chapter, and let's begin with the the 66th verse reading,
if you're keeping the Scriptures down.
May the Lord add His blessings to the reading of the Word. And if I
should call it a text, I would like to speak on this subject for a few
moments: "To Whom Would We Go?"
E-10
You know, man hasn't changed very much. He's still wandering about in
the world seeking pleasure, restless, never satisfied, never coming to
any right conclusions, never finding rest. He's just about in the same
condition that he was when he left God in the garden of Eden and went
out to shift for himself. He's been shifting ever since. And he finds
it's a rough way to go. And it looks like he doesn't care very much,
too many, just where this life will end up for them.
And if we could set down and take inventory, and ask the question of
why are we here? How come that we ever come on this earth and what
brought us here? And where is our eternal destination going to be?
E-11
I believe if we would all think that way for five minutes of our life,
seriously, we would all speak like Peter did. Because Peter had found
something in Jesus Christ that isn't in other men. That's the reason he
asked, "To whom would we go?" He didn't say, "Where will we go? To whom
will we go? For Thou has the words of Eternal Life." And wonder why
that–that Jesus was so much different from other men. Why was it that
He… Or what was it He had that other men does not have? There was
something about Jesus that no man has, or had had to that time. And it
made Him different.
And I think it's the same thing tonight, that a man when he becomes a
Christian, there's something about him that's different from all of the
other walks of life. No matter how good he may be, a good citizen, go
the second mile, or be a good neighbor, but when he comes in contact
with Jesus, there's something changes in him. There's something makes
him different, noticeable different.
E-12
A few days ago, I'll tell you about it later in the–one of the
services, something happened to me. In all the visions that the Lord
God has ever given me… I had something to happen that's made a
change, a definite change in me. Because I was taken somewhere that I
never was before, but I certainly hope that I go back someday. And I
will tell you about it in another meeting.
But speaking of to whom would we go, or could we go, let's just look at
about, I've got seven things written down here. The reason that we
should go to Jesus, to find this that no one else has but Him. Seven
reasons… There's thousands of reasons, but I thought maybe we could
draw from these seven reasons something tonight that might give us a
hold to get started on, something that would give us an enthusiasm,
something that would encourage us to–to take a better hold.
E-13
The first thing we are thinking of that as we are going out of this
world (We are sure of that.), we do not want to go the wrong direction.
We want to go to heaven when we leave this world. Every person wants to
do that. And there's only one heaven. We all know there's no four or
five heavens. There's one heaven, and there's one way to get to that
heaven. And Jesus said, "I am that Way." That's the reason why that we
must get to Jesus, because He is the way.
Now, I know that there are other claimed ways. There are ways that
people try to say, "If I live the golden rule, or keep the Ten
Commandments, or stop eating meats, or some religious acts…" which is
all right, if they want to believe that. But still, that isn't the way
to heaven. Jesus is the Way. I do not say that you that want to do
those things won't go to heaven, but you'll have to find Jesus first,
because He is the Way, "the," the only way.
E-14
And now, there is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end is
death. And there's a way that we try to go: Many people belong to
lodges. Our pastor buried his sister-in-law the other day, that we'd
tried to get her to turn from thinking that her lodge was what was
going to take her to heaven. But because she belonged to a certain
society in a lodge… Which the lodge is… That's up to them.
We are not here to condemn men for–sinners for sinning. We are here to
condemn the man on a higher level than that. We are here to condemn
sin, not the sinner. Man does not lose his life because he is a sinner;
he loses his life because he refuses to accept his life. And his life
is in Christ Jesus. He's the only one that has Eternal Life.
And this woman would not give up the idea that her lodge was just as
good as any church or anything else–woman with cancer, and the pastor
buried her day before yesterday.
E-15
Now there is a way that people think that they just live a good life
and can get to heaven. But that's an error. You do not get to heaven by
living a good life. The people under the Mosaic law lived a good life.
And then there is a way of church, that we try to go to heaven by the
way of the church. But the church, as good as it is… And I think that
every person ought to belong to some church. But in the church, and as
good as it is, it still is not the way. The church can only point you
to the Way. But Jesus is that Way. Some has preferred it that way, to
change it into learning your catechism, or saying creeds, or going by a
book of rules. All of that may be ever so good, but that's not the way.
Jesus is the Way. He's the only Way. "No man can come to the Father
except by Me," said Jesus. The only way to get to heaven is through
Jesus Christ.
E-16 Today, I'm astonished, many times, as I ask people, "Are you a Christian?"
They say, "I'm a Methodist."
"Are you a Christian?"
"I'm Baptist, or I'm Presbyterian, or even Pentecostal, or Pilgrim Holiness, or some church."
Now,
them may be all right, but that isn't the question. The question is,
"Are you a Christian?" And you cannot be a Christian until you have
received Christ, Christ in you.
E-17
Now, many people say that, "I will go to heaven because my faith tells
me so. I belong to church, and my faith tells me that I'm all right."
Now, I believe in the grace of God too. But look, no matter what your
faith is, you're not going to be judged by your faith; you're going to
be judged by your works. And when you die, death does not change your
spirit; it only changes your dwelling place. It only changes houses for
you. And if you die in your sins, you go to a worse habitation than
what you're living in now. But if you die in Christ, you shall be with
Christ for He is the Way.
E-18
There was a man one time, we know, in the Bible. And he came to the
wedding supper. And he set down at the table. And when the King come
in, or the Bridegroom, He looked at this man, and he wasn't dressed for
the wedding. And He said to him, "Friend, whence comest thou?" In other
words, like this, "How did you get in here?"
Now, many of you that's been in the Orients, know that their wedding
customs never change. It's just the same today. And in that notable
parable of our Lord, the wedding is set, and the bridegroom gives out
the invitation. And he signs each invitation to all that's invited. And
then he has his servant to stand at the door of entrance to the
building. And laying in a little container near the door, he has a
great pile of robes. He has a robe for every invitation. And then when
the person comes up, maybe a good dressed man, well-groomed, but when
he comes to the door, there's a robe put on him. And he goes in with
this robe on.
Then the man comes in that's just fairly dressed, we'd say mediocre in
his dressing, and he has the same kind of a robe put on him that the
rich man had.
E-19
Then may come the poor brother who doesn't have fit clothes to get to
the wedding, or attend the wedding. But he doesn't have to feel
ashamed, for when he comes to the door, there's given him a robe, and
the same kind of a robe that was give to the rich man, and to the
middle man, so that when they're set at the table, they all look alike.
That's the way every child of God looks to Him. We're all alike if we
come by the door. Now, this robe symbols the Holy Spirit, which is
Christ in spiritual form.
E-20
Now, when this man, he was speechless; he couldn't say nothing. And he
was… The bridegroom ordered him to be bound and cast into outer
darkness. But he had gotten there, all right, but what did it indicate?
That he'd… Either he might've come in a window, or come in the back
door, or he'd come some other way besides the provided way. And he was
cast out.
And there is a provided way today; that isn't by our creeds or by any
other thing but by Jesus Christ. He is the way. And a man comes to God
through Jesus Christ, receives the Holy Spirit, and is robed just like
the rest of them that comes, rich or poor, all made alike. No one can
enter in, only by Him.
In one place, in St. John 10, He said, "I am the Door to the
sheepfold." If we enter into the sheepfold, we have to come by the
Door. He is that Door.
E-21
Reminds me of a man in Louisville, here about two years ago. He got
something wrong with one of his ears. And he was doctoring with a–a
local doctor, and the case begin to get advanced. And he couldn't
understand it, so he sent him to a specialist.
And the specialist said, "I do not know what the disease is."
So they sent him to an ear specialist at St. Louis. Upon arriving, he
found out that the old doctor had retired and he lived down in New
Orleans. So he got on a plane and flew down to New Orleans. And he
inquired around until he found this old doctor. And he said to him, "I
have an ear condition that they are afraid it's a certain disease." I
don't know what it was, and if–if I would speak it, I wouldn't know
what I was saying; and I doubt whether you would know it either; so
only thing it would just be, it was an ear disease of some kind. Had a
name on it, a great, long name…
And however, when the old doctor looked at his ear he said it–that's what it was, and it was an advanced case.
The young man said then, "Doctor, will you operate on me and try to
save my life?" For if it goes farther, it goes into the brain; and then
he was hopeless.
Well, he said, "Young man, I'm too old. I could not perform that
operation, and there's just one doctor left in all the world, that I
know of, that could perform that operation."
He said then, "Where can I find him?"
He said, "He's in New York at this time, going over to Europe for six
months' vacation. And if you wait till he comes back, you'll be dead.
You cannot wait till he returns; you must get a hold of him now."
And the young man become frantic. He said, "Do you know any way I could get a hold of him? Call someone; do something."
E-22
Now, could you imagine that young man to have said to that doctor…
After diagnosing his case and telling him that he was on the road to
death, just his case was advanced, and then that he must do something,
and there was only one person he could get to to save his life, could
you imagine that young man to said, "Very good speech, doctor. That was
very striking. I will come back to hear you again at some convenient
season." No, sir, his life was in danger. And there was only one doctor
could save it, and he wanted to know who it was.
If we'd just be as much concerned about our soul tonight; that man was
about his life and his ear condition… There's only One that can save
us, only one Way, and Jesus is that Way. No other way that we know but
through Jesus Christ. He is the Way to God. He's the Way to Eternal
Life. Now, He is the only Way.
E-23
Secondly, He is the truth. Now, many people… I've went into churches,
and I've heard them say, "We have the truth. Our creeds are right; they
were handed to us by our fathers. We have the truth. We do certain
things." And others say. "We keep these kind of days; and we keep these
months; and we do this; we got the truth."
Altogether, it's wrong. Jesus said He was the Truth. Jesus said in St.
John 17:17, "Sanctify them, Father, through the Truth. Thy Word is the
Truth. And 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."
He is the Truth. There may be other truths; but Jesus is that real
Truth, that heavenly-born Truth, God's eternal Truth sent to us, the
only Way and the only Truth. Other things may be true, but Jesus is
that Truth of God, the truth of God's salvation. The truth of God's
plan is Jesus Christ. The Way, the Truth…
E-24
Thirdly, He is the Light, the only Light. Oh, I know we have
Russellites, Campbellites, and what kind of lights, but Jesus is the
true Light. He is the Light cometh into the world that we might not
have to walk in darkness, but walk in Light. He is that eternal Light.
Oh, when I think of it, there is really only one plant giving life.
That's the sun, s-u-n. And in wintertime, when the leaves goes down off
the trees…
E-25
A few months ago, I was down in Kentucky a squirrel hunting with Mr.
Wood last fall. And there was a man down there that was supposed to be
an infidel. And Mr. Woods said, "Let's go over and hunt on his place,
because it's got ditches and so forth. And it's dry; we can walk
through those ditches." About middle of August…
And I said, "Is he an infidel?"
Said, "Yes."
I said, "I doubt very much whether he'd let me hunt."
And he said, "Well, let's go over and ask him."
So I set in the car. And the–Mr. Wood went up, and he spoke to him,
and he called him by name. He said, "I wonder if we could hunt a little
bit."
He said, "Are you Jim Woods' son?" And I think both Banks and Jim is here tonight.
And he said, "I am."
He said, "Well, you can hunt anywhere on my place. Your father was an
honest and just man. Therefore, you can hunt anywhere you want to. I've
got five hundred acres of woods here; just help yourself."
E-26 And he said, called him by name, and he said, "I brought my pastor along, is it all right for him to hunt?"
The
old fellow took off his hat, with a great big chewed tobacco in his
mouth, spit down on the ground and said, "Wood, you don't mean to tell
me that you've got so bad you have to carry a preacher with you
everywhere you go."
And I got out of the car and walked over. They were setting under an apple tree.
I said–he said, "This is our pastor."
And I said, "How do you do, sir?"
And he said, "Well," he said, "I tell you," said, "it's all right for
you to hunt too." He said, "I don't have nothing against you
preachers." But said, "You know, I'm supposed to be an infidel."
And I said, "Oh, I don't believe that's much to brag about."
E-27
And he said, "No, I realize that." He said, "It isn't," but said,
"I–I've always wanted to find something, to me, that looked like
something that was God." He said, "About two years ago, there was a
preacher come over here to Acton, and out at the Methodist campgrounds
(just about like this) for a three nights' meeting." And said, "Certain
old lady lives up here on the hill, she had cancer in the stomach. Wife
and I went up there to pull the sheet from under her; she couldn't even
move her anymore, to either part, to get onto the bedpan." And said,
"We had to pull the sheet, turn her in the sheet, she was so bad."
Said, "Her sister attended that meeting that night." And said, "This
preacher was never in this country before, and turned and told this
woman, 'Take that handkerchief that you've got in your pocketbook, go
down to your sister and (that's her name, whatever it would be), lay it
upon her for THUS SAITH THE LORD, she shall be healed.'" And said, "I
thought that night they had the whole Salvation Army up on top of that
hill." And said, "The next morning she was up frying ham and eggs. And
she's been working ever since." He said, "Now, when he comes back, I'm
going to hear him."
E-28
Mr. Wood looked over to me and I shook my head at him. And I said, "You
mean if you can see something like that happen, then you will become a
believer?"
He said, "Yes, sir."
Said, "Yes, sir, that's very nice." And squirrel blood all over me, and
dirty, whiskers about that long, camping out there in the woods on two
weeks… Then, I said, "How old is this apple tree?"
He said, "Oh, it's about thirty years old." Said, "I planted it there about thirty years ago."
I said, "Yes, sir, and it produces apples each year?"
Said, "Yes, that's right."
I said, "I wonder, sir, it's only about the first or second week in
August, and all the leaves are falling off of that tree. What's the
matter?"
"Oh," he said, "the sap's gone down into the roots."
I said, "What made the sap go down?"
"Why," said, "if it stayed up, the winter would kill the tree. The sap's up in the tree, it would kill it."
I said, "Then, something caused that sap to go down in the roots to hide so the winter wouldn't kill it."
"Yes, sir, that's right."
"Now, it comes up next spring, bringing you more apples?"
"Yes, sir, that's right."
Well, I said, "Tell me, sir, if you can tell me what intelligence makes
that sap leave that tree before we have even a cool spell and go down
into the roots to hide through the winter, I'll tell you, it's the same
One that told me to go tell that woman over there that she'd be
healed."
E-29
He's the same God; He works in all natures. You can see God anywhere
you look. The sun brings forth all botany life, plant life.
The little seed… Did you ever lay your sidewalk in the wintertime,
lay a big rock down, make your sidewalk, pour concrete three or four
feet apart, or wide, rather, pour it down the long strip? Where is the
most grass at the next year? Right around the edge of the concrete.
Why? You can't hide life. When that sun begins to shine, that life will
come forth. A little seed laying way back in the middle of this
sidewalk will press its way around, out through that concrete, over and
around, under rocks and sticks and everything else, till it gets out
and sticks its little head up to praise God. You just can't hide life.
It'll bring forth life as sure as that springtime comes and the warm
sun begins to bathe the ground, all plant life lives, if it's got life
in it. That's s-u-n.
And there's only one thing that can bring Eternal Life: That's when the
S-o-n comes, the Son of the living God. Nothing has ever died in Christ
Jesus. You might bury it in the sea, or wherever it might be, it'll
come when that Light begins to shine. He is the Light. He is the only
true Light.
E-30
The sun, s-u-n, is the only true light that we have to walk by. These
lights are artificial light, and it shines in darkness. We don't have
to walk tonight by artificial light. We are children of the day, not
children of the night. We have Christ, and He's the eternal Light. And
we walk in Him, for He is the Light, the Way, the Truth, and the Light.
"No man cometh to the Father, except by Me." That's why we ought to get
to Christ. That's the reason He was different from anyone else. He's
the only One that has these things to give to us. So where could we go?
Go, get some light somewhere, some other light.
You know, evil things travel at night. Snakes, bugs, all kinds of
insects, they fly at night because it's evil. But let the sun rise,
they take to a dark place just as hard as they can go. Why? They are of
the darkness; they don't want light. That's the way the world's getting
today; it doesn't want the real true Gospel Light. The real Light of
God shows a man's needs.
E-31
There can be someone so foolish as to say, "I refuse to believe the
sun's a shining." Hide his face, go into his basement, close the doors,
and say, "The sun's not shining. I don't believe it, you bunch of
fanatics, just go on out there." Well, we can't help that fellow; he's
mentally wrong. Now, if he wants to stay there and wait till night time
comes, and gets his little lantern, and starts out, looking along,
thinking he's got some light, well, he can go ahead like that. But you
can't tell him.
Neither will he be able to enjoy the blessing of the sun. He will never
enjoy its great rays that shines down, health-giving rays. He will
never be able to see the beauty of creation until he comes out, really,
with that and walks in the light. And Jesus is that Light.
E-32
Now, you can go ahead and join church; it's a good thing. Or you can
serve your creed, a good thing. You might belong to lodges; you might
do these things; I have nothing to say against them. But what I'm
trying to say, this is: You need Light. And the Light is Christ. He is
the only one that can give light.
You might turn that light on. A bunch of dirt down here with ever so
many grains of corn in it, that light will never produce life. No, sir.
That artificial light won't produce life. It takes the sunlight, the
rays of the sunlight. You say, "What difference is it if it's just as
light as the sun." It hasn't got the power of the ray in it to bring
forth life.
E-33
And neither has the light of any creed or any–anything else outside of
Jesus Christ; He's God's Light. And He's the One that give us the Holy
Spirit. And when we live in His Presence, it makes us act different,
look different, talk different, be different, because we are walking in
Light. Children of Light, you live in It; bathe yourself in it; enjoy
Its life-giving flows. That's the reason we have to come to Him to find
it. You don't find it by some creed. You don't… it's… Your creed,
I'm not condemning your creed. If you've got your creed and got Christ
too, amen. See? But if you've just got your creed without Christ,
you're in a miserable shape. That's right. Don't try to get in like
that, because it won't give light. You'll walk along, stumbling all
your life, never able to understand why these people cry, why they
shout, why they clap their hands, speak in tongues, Divine healing, the
powers of God. You'll never know it by some artificial light. You'll
have to come into the real light, the Light of Jesus Christ, Who lights
every man that cometh. Come into that Light.
"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man cometh to the Father, except by Me."
E-34
Fourthly, I want to say, He is the only eternal Foundation. That's
right. We have many other foundations, but Christ is the only eternal
Foundation. Everything else will fall except Christ.
You might build your foundation upon riches. You might have plenty of
money, and leave plenty of money for your children. What will it cause?
What does riches lead to: heartaches, disappointments, fusses,
disagreements, falling out, shooting, rape, murder, and finally
sometimes to suicide. Money… The banks can go broke, close up, or
something happen that you–in a gamble you lose your money, then take a
gun and blow your head off. See? That foundation is not eternal. Your
money doesn't have an eternal foundation.
You cannot have an eternal foundation upon popularity. That's the great
sin of America, is trying to be popular, women trying to dress popular,
men trying to act popular. All these little things going on, the ways
it's taking place, I don't have to start on that the first night. But I
didn't say the third night…?… We'll coast on that tonight. But
being popular, popularity usually leads to sin and disgrace (Certainly
it does.), three or four marriages and all kinds of stuff. And it has
no eternal foundation.
E-35
Sometime pretty girls, her beauty becomes a curse to her. She–she
finds it out; somebody tells her about it. She wants to be like some
movie star, or something, instead of trying to pattern her life after
Jesus Christ. She builds her whole foundation upon that, not knowing
that she's only got five years of real life, from fifteen to twenty;
then she starts dying. And you base your whole hopes upon that, knowing
that you got to get old if you live. You've got to get old; you've got
to break down. And the beautiful face that you have will rot out there
in the grave someday and the bugs will eat it up. So there's no eternal
foundation on popularity: who you are, what you are. That has no real
foundation; it's not there.
It's like some people try to build their foundation upon a building,
material. Look at America today and its big building programs. I went
up the other night and preached in a church where there's almost a
city. And no more than ten or fifteen years ago, I used to squirrel
hunt in that woods. And now, it's a big city built in there. I go over
to where I used to hunt rabbits. Why, it's housing projects everywhere.
It's a building day, and everyone's mad building.
E-36
A man, a certain man, a fine man, that I know of, that went just wild
in building everywhere. Got plenty of money, and kept building more and
more. He and his wife both, they lit a cigarette in Mexico a few weeks
ago, blowed to bits by gas escaping in the room.
And what foundation have you? There's no foundation upon those things;
they are hay and stubbles. And they–they cannot be–have a eternal
foundation built on them. There's only one true Foundation; that's
Jesus Christ.
E-37
Here some years ago, I was standing up here in New York with a Brother
Berg. We had passed by a building, and there was a mammoth, big
building. Oh, it was beautiful. And the architect had taken so much
pains with how he had built it, and its class. And when we got to the
building, the surprise, it was just almost completely finished, but it
had been left sitting there. No one was occupying it.
And I said, "What's the matter?" to this man that I was with. I said, "What's wrong?"
He said, "That building only served for one purpose." Said, "The
contractor was so interested in what he put in the building that he
forgot to go deep enough to put it on the right foundation. So it was
condemned and most anytime that building will rock down. No one will
rent it; nobody wants it. No matter how pretty it is, it wasn't placed
on the right foundation.
Brother, sister, may I say this in respects of Jesus Christ, I don't
care how good you go to church, how well you dress, what good neighbor
you are, unless you took time to dig down to that Foundation of Jesus
Christ and lay your hopes in that solid rock yonder, your beautiful
church buildings, your robed choirs, whatmore which is fine, but it'll
rock down some of these days. God will condemn it, because it's not
laid upon the Rock, Christ Jesus. He is the only Foundation.
E-38
Mexico City, where we had a great meeting, where the little baby was
brought back to life. And there in that great place where we were
having the meeting, one of the brothers taken me the next day out to
look the city over, which Mexico City is a beautiful place. But what
did I find when I got out there? Looking down over the city, some of
the most modern architecture I'd ever seen. Oh, they went altogether
out. But what it was, they never dug down to find the right foundation.
A great percent of Mexico City is either pitched forward; the buildings
are backward or sideways. They never went to the rock. No matter how
pretty the building looked, it wasn't built solid on the rock.
And when you're starting out for God, don't lay down on some false
foundation. Don't lay down on emotions, don't lay down on some creed,
but lay your life in the hands of that eternal Foundation, Jesus
Christ, that Chief Cornerstone. Then build from then on, no matter how
fast or how slow, you got the right foundation. Lay upon Him for He is
the only Foundation that's has security. But you are secured in Jesus
Christ. As long as you're in Him, you're safe from the storm. He is the
only Foundation.
E-39
That was fourthly. Fifthly, He is the only eternal happiness and joy,
peace. What more could I say? He is the only eternal joy, eternal
happiness, eternal peace. "My peace I give unto you, not as the world
give I unto you. Let not your hearts be troubled." He is the only peace
and only happiness.
Oh, you might laugh like a loon; you might just go into hysterics over
some movie star cracking a joke or something. But what is it? You're
only making a noise; it soon wears off. In a few minutes it's all gone.
But when a man has come to a place to where he has found the joy that
there is of knowing that his sins are forgiven, that he is dead and his
life is hid in God through Christ, sealed by the Holy Ghost, it's joy
unspeakable and full of glory in the power of eternal God, knowing that
you're resting securely in His love and grace. Whether the school keeps
or whether it doesn't, what difference does it make? If you…
E-40
I would like to say…?… We'd all like to go back, Brother Sullivan
and I, go back to when we were eighteen years old. Sure we would. But
what if we could go back to eighteen years old and then, and live five
hundred years? Would we not be an antique? Certainly, it'd be better if
we went on and lived and got old, and long whiskers and so forth, than
live the five hundred years. But we couldn't go back to eighteen years
and be… Because we could–we couldn't grow as modern life grows like
that. Because the teen-agers of this day wasn't like they was in my
day. And the next day it will be the same.
What if tonight if you had perfect health? What if you wasn't a ache or
a pain, and yet, and you know that you're–you're a Christian? Yet in
this life, just this life alone, you have no satisfaction, no eternal
happiness, until you are anchored in Christ.
E-41
How do you know tonight, you say, "I feel perfectly well, Brother
Branham." How you do know your mother's not dying at this time? How do
you know dad didn't get killed just a few minutes ago? How do you know
the baby didn't get run over and killed? How do you know these things?
See, in here it's unsettled peace. You don't have no peace. It wasn't
meant for you to have peace here. If you did, you'd get customized to
the world. God don't want you customized to this world. He wants you to
rest in Him. Come to Him, then you have peace.
I don't care what takes place. If you said the Russians is fixing to
pull the trigger at this minute; they're sending an atomic bomb, a real
borned again Christian has eternal peace in his heart. Nothing, there's
nothing that can harm him. Let the bullet fire. Why, the–the smoke
won't be scattered out across the street here until we would be in
glory with Jesus, standing there immortal in His likeness, never to be
sick, never to have a heartache, never to have a disappointment.
E-42
I want you to find some place that you can build a foundation on
something that will take you there besides Jesus Christ. I want you to
find something that'll give you that much satisfaction. You find, then
come tell me. I've done everything I was big enough to do and some
things I wasn't big enough to do I've tried. But I've never found
nothing yet that's ever touched the place of that life-giving flow of
the power of God, when the Holy Ghost come upon me, brother, that
night, and anchored my soul in His eternal salvation. It's peace like a
river.
When old Brother Shakarian used to sing "Peace Like a River," something
happened. Live or die, what difference does it make? We're going to be
in His Presence, turned back to a young man and woman, live that way
forever and forever, eternally. So what have we got to worry about?
There's no perfect happiness outside of that. He is…
E-43
First, He's the Way; second, He's the Truth; third, He's the Light;
fourth, He's the only eternal Fou–Foundation; and fifth, He's the only
eternal Happiness and Joy; sixth, He is the only lasting Achievement.
He is.
You tell me somewhere, or some place, that you could go, or something
you could do, or something you could achieve, that would be everlasting
outside of Jesus Christ. Tell me if you could build a house that would
be everlasting. Tell me you could build a popularity, be eternal. Tell
me you could get enough riches that'd be eternal riches. You cannot do
it, nothing outside of Jesus Christ. He is the eternal Achievement. And
if you have achieved ever so much in your life, you have never achieved
the eternal thing yet until you have found Christ Jesus and have got
Him into your heart. He is the eternal Achievement.
E-44
Seventhly, and last, I might say this: He is the only Translation
(That's right.), the only One that you can be translated in. "For those
that are in Christ, will God bring with Him when He comes." That's the
only translation is in Jesus Christ.
Oh, we have all other kinds of things. Like here sometime ago, I was
speaking at a businessman's breakfast. I believe it was in Puerto Rico.
And someone said to me, he said, "You are a preacher. And what are
doing here in these–with these businessmen?"
I said, "I am a businessman."
He said, "What kind of a business are you in?"
I said, "Insurance."
He said, "What kind of a insurance you sell?"
I said, "Blessed assurance, life insurance." I said, "If you're
interested in a policy, I'd like to talk it over with you." That's
right, I'm interested.
E-45
One day, a boyfriend of mine, Wilmer Snyder, a very good buddy, we
chummed together. He's selling Prudential Life Insurance, and he came
to my house, and he said, "Billy, I'd like to talk to you on some
insurance."
And I said, "Oh, I have in–assurance."
And he said, "Uh, oh, pardon me." Said, "I didn't know that, Billy."
Said, "I believe your wife told me that you didn't have any."
"Oh," I said, "I have."
My wife looked at me as if, "What's happened to him?" And that… She said, looked at me, said, "Billy."
I said, "Why sure, honey, I got assurance." I never said insurance; I said assurance. I said, "I got assurance."
And Wilmer Snyder said to me; he said, "What insurance do you have, Billy?"
I said, "Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine; oh what a foretaste of glory
divine. I'm an heir of salvation, purchase of God, borned of His
Spirit, washed in His Blood."
"Oh," he said, "Billy, that's very nice. I appreciate that." Said, "I got a brother that's a preacher. You know Howard?"
And I said, "Yes."
He said, "But, Billy, that won't put you out here in the graveyard."
I said, "I know it, but it will get me out. I'm not worried about
getting in there, I'm just…" I'm not a bit interested in getting in
there. The thing I want to know is how to get out. That's right. That
Christ is the only Assurance.
E-46
Yes sir, we pay so much to the undertaker, let's give some thoughts
about the Uptaker once in a while, that'll take us up some of these
days, the only Translation, the only One Who can bring us from the
grave, the only One Who can present us before the Father without a
fault, without a spot, without a wrinkle. Hallelujah! Sure, Baptists
shout. Yes, sir. Anybody that's got good religion shouts. Got something
to shout about.
An old, colored man used to talk to me down the lane. He said, "You believe in that shoutin' religion, don't you Billy?"
I said, "Yes, sir."
And I–he said, "You know what?" Next morning he come by; he was about
ninety years old. He said, "I want to tell you something."
I said, "All right. What is it, Reb?"
And he said, "Well, I tell you." He said, "You take an old rooster, you
can tie his feet, nail him down into the box, and any way you want to.
But," said, "when it starts to get daylight, he will turn over and
crow."
I said, "That's right."
He said, "What makes him do that, Billy?"
I said, "He's a rooster and it's breakin' day." That's right. It's his
nature. And when a man is borned of the Spirit of God and has this
Eternal Life in him, when the Holy Ghost comes, you've got to scream
out. Something has to happen.
E-47
Do believe the good, old-time, heartfelt salvation brings tears of joy
and happiness, and peace that passes all understanding? For He's the
River, and He's the… Oh, He's my everything. I just can't praise Him
enough and say enough about Him of what He means to me. Certainly, no
wonder we… It's a nature in you. When you're borned of the Spirit of
God, you got a nature in you to make you scream out.
Why Jesus said, one time, to those Pharisees, and said, "Them people,
they're the ones make chills run up my back. Make them hold their
peace." when He was riding in on the–this little mule. He said, "Why
don't You make them hold their peace?"
Said, "If they hold their peace, the rocks will immediately cry out."
E-48
Something had to take place. Hallelujah! When we see Him coming down
out of heaven, riding on that white charger, you talk about some noise.
Oh, there's going to be something happening then when we see all these
things that we talked about brought into reality. Certainly He's the
only hope that we have.
Nations are breaking; all nations are failing; every help is failing;
the world's a failing; sickness is on the increase; sin is overriding;
but there's one thing that cannot fail; that's Jesus Christ and His
precious Word. He's the only security. He's the only hope, the Life.
He's all that we have to look to, our only Translation.
E-49
I tell you what you do. If you want to find out, you start out in the
morning. And you go down to these big cities here, and go to every
drugstore you can and buy you a bottle of translation from some medical
research. You tell me where you can buy some translation power. You'll
have to come to Jesus to get it. You go down to the doctor and tell him
you want the operation next week performed on you. And you want all sin
cut out of you and make so light that you can go into translation. See
what a job you're going to have. Jesus is the only Translation. He's
the only One that can take you from the grave.
"I am the Resurrection and Life," saith God. "He that believeth in Me,
though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and
believeth in Me shall never die." Hallelujah! Oh…
E-50
"I am He that was dead and alive again and alive forevermore. I have
the keys of both death and hell." He's a fountain of Life. Oh, He's the
everlasting One, the only Foundation, the only Way, the only Truth, the
only Light, the only Foundation, the only et–eternal happiness, the
only true Achievement, the only Translation. He's all in all. That's
right.
In this Bible, we have these blessed promises. How could we ever… Who
could we go to? Tell me what drugstore; tell me what place; tell me
what lodge you can join; tell me what church you can join; tell me
anything that would bring you these things. Then to whom shall we turn?
To whom would we go?
E-51
What if our–what–what if we went–wanted to find Eternal Life? Now,
I'm not saying don't go to the drugstore; I'm not saying don't go to
church; those things are up for you to do. But be sure that you get
the–get your foundation right. Get started right, get Jesus first.
Then go on down and join church, and go on down and be baptized, and go
on down and sing in the choir. Go on down and do whatever the Holy
Spirit tells you to do, but get on the foundation first.
If you got a little tree that's got apple trees; it'll bear apples if
you just put it in the right foundation. If you got a heart hungering
for God, you want to see the power of God, you want to feel the
vibrations of His Eternal Life, you want to see if the Holy Ghost is
real or not, just plant your little tree in His right foundation, and
you'll find out something goes to work. Oh, he will begin to draw the
waters of Life, and that little tree will begin to bear blossoms and
fruit. It'll start growing (Certainly), because you're planted right.
You got to get started right, gets–get the revival right.
E-52
Now there's many in here seeking the Holy Ghost. The thing you want to
do, is not let this night go by until you receive the Holy Ghost. If
you haven't got It by daylight, just keep on through the daylight. Then
if you haven't got It by nighttime, just keep right through the
nighttime. And just stay there until you have received the Holy Ghost.
You don't have to wait one more minute. He's right here now, pour it
out upon you right at this minute, just fill you full of the charging
power of His resurrection Life and give you a hopes, an eternal hopes
of that resurrection, because something's happened.
E-53
Excuse me, my colored friends. An old, colored sister here not long ago
was giving a testimony. And they'd been making fun of her, said, "Oh,
you ain't nothing."
She said, "That might be true." Said, "There's one thing I want to
say." Said, "I–I–I hain't what I ought to be, and I hain't what I
want to be. But there's one thing I do know, I hain't what I used to
be." So I think that's a good thing.
We may not be what we ought to be; we may not be what we want to be.
But there's one thing we know: We're not what we used to be, not since
we found Christ. Come to the foundation.
E-54
That's the hope of Eternal Life. It's all God's promises right here in
the Book. Every one of it is to you. This is His Word; this is Christ;
this is His promise.
"Whosoever will, let him come, drink from the waters–fountains of
waters of life freely." Not cost you one penny, every price is already
paid. You'll have nothing in the world that you can–that you can offer
for an excuse. Jesus went ahead as your sin bearer. He took your sins;
He took your–all your iniquity; He put it up on Himself, went to
Calvary. An innocent Man, the Son of God, went there and took our sins
and was crucified. And God slayed Him at the cross because of your sins
and my sins. And how are you going to answer to God the way you treat
Him? How you going to answer to Him? What… How you going to give an
account for your soul someday?
Say, "I went and joined and church, but I'll tell you, I knowed there
was a way that they call Holiness and things. But I didn't think them
people acted right." Come in and investigate a while. Just walk into
the waters.
E-55
When I was a little boy, we didn't have many clothes. And we used to
dare each other who would be the last one to jump in a hole of water.
We'd all run back out to the old swimming hole. Well, I can tell you
one thing, I was the first one in, 'cause I had the least clothes to
take off. I just had a pair of overalls and had an old, fodder twine
across it with a–with a nail in it. Yes, sir. And I'd run… We'd all
be running. Each of them had to take off shoes and things, and take off
a shirt, and maybe an undershirt. I didn't have to fool with that. Only
thing I done is run just as hard as I could and pull that nail and jump
right in. That's all, I was in.
And they'd always depend on me finding out how the water was. Well, if
I held up one finger, that meant it was cold, "Don't come in, boys.
Take your time." just a shivering… But if I held up two fingers, the
water was fine. Boy, clothes went to flying every way and kids jumping
in.
E-56
I tell you tonight, you that's never received the Holy Ghost, I got up
two fingers. Brother, it's fine, the water of the Word, come on in. Lay
off all the old self-righteousness, and all the old yesterdays, and the
old parties, and the old friendships of, oh, long ago, sinful life, and
lay it on the bank, and jump into that fountain filled with Blood,
drawn from Immanuel's veins. Where sinners plunged beneath the flood,
lose all their guilty stain. You'll never regret it. Oh, wash all my
sins away.
E-57
Every promise in the Book is yours. Whosoever will, let him come. Come,
everybody's invited. The promise is unto you and to your
children…?… [Blank.spot.on.tape–Ed.]…
find out it's really fine. Yes, sir. That's why Peter said at the day
of Pentecost, "The promise is unto you and your children, and to them
that's far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." No
Scripture's of private interpretation. That meant whosoever will, let
him come.
The last book in the Bible said, "Whosoever will, let him come. And He
that will take away or add to, the same shall be taken out of the Book
of Life for him." We don't want to take anything away from it or add
anything to it but invite everybody. Whosoever will may come.
E-58
Don't let someone tell you that these promises, for another age. This
promise is for right now. This promise is good now. It's for whosoever
will. Maybe you don't know, you–you haven't tried it yet. You've been
so close to it and wouldn't know what it was. You can be close that way.
Now, to these people at Jeffersonville, I'm going to give you an
invitation, you especially. Been seeking the Holy Ghost down there for
quite a little bit. We brought a women–a boy up on the road, baptizing
some people last night in my church. Come down to the baptistery and
wanted to use it. One of my boys that went out and established a
tabernacle… I guess Brother Ruddell may be here tonight. He brought
nineteen down last night to be baptized. And when these people had
never heard anything about the Holy Ghost, I preached Saturday night
and they come to the altar and got saved.
E-59
And last night when they pulled the curtains, and they brought some
woman in there, and as soon as they baptized her, she come out of that
water speaking in tongues just as hard as she could go. Oh, you ought
to heard that. Everybody come running over there and then people looked
at her and said, "What does that mean?"
I said, "If this ain't that, I'll just keep this till that comes." Why,
this is that which is spoke of by the prophet Joel, "It will come to
pass in the last days saith God. I pour out My spirit upon all flesh.
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and upon My handsmaids and
maidservant will I pour of My Spirit. And I will show signs in the
heavens above and in the earth below."
E-60
God is calling, God is moving. We're at the end of the road; we're at
the end of time. Time is at the end. I can prove that to you, brother.
That… When it's going to be I don't know. But it may be before
morning; it may be in the next hour; it may be in the next five
minutes. Whatever it is, it's near at hand. There's nothing else to
happen but the coming of the Lord Jesus. The church is rallying itself,
getting itself together, shaking itself. Did you ever see such a
stirring amongst the people? Sure, something's fixing to happen, the
coming of the Lord. The whole earth is waiting for the manifestations
of the sons of God, the nature out yonder which man is given a domain.
When God made man, first when He made him, He was called El, Elah,
Elohim, which means the self-existence One. But when He was called
Jehovah in the next chapter, knowed that He had something, give man,
which had a domain over the earth; he was god; he was a god of the
earth, the man was.
E-61
Jesus said, "Didn't they call… Why do you condemn Me? They call them
to whom the word, in your own law, who the word come to gods." He said,
"If I call Myself the Son of God, and they are the gods you say who the
word come to, the prophets, then how can you condemn Me by saying I'm
the Son of God?" Sure.
The whole world is waiting for the coming of the Lord Jesus, when men
will again take the domain on the earth here, and all trees and
everything else will live, and all animal life and everything else,
waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God. Oh, brother, this…
E-62
They say life begins at forty. That's a lie. Life begins at the altar.
That's where life begins, Eternal Life, when you come to that Jesus
Christ. Every promise is yours; it's all yours. It's to you. Maybe you
haven't searched it. Maybe you haven't looked down the find out whether
the promise is for you. You can't come and receive the Holy Ghost
unless you really believe you're going to get it. Why, God's more
anxious for you to get it then you are to receive it, more anxious; He
wants you to have it. It's yours, it's your personal property.
He sent Jesus to die, that He might bring you to Himself that He–He
might have something to worship Him. When He was El, Elah, Elohim, He
was by Hisself. But in Him was attributes. Them attributes was to be a
father, was to be God, was to be worshipped, was to be a Healer, was to
be a Saviour, and all these things. You–your life displays them
attributes. As soon as you come to Him, you become His son; you worship
Him. It's what He really was to be, what He made you to do. Your
purpose here is to worship God, and you cannot worship Him correctly
till you worship Him in Spirit and in Truth: Saint John 4. That's what
Jesus told the woman, "The Father's seeking such that will worship Him
in Spirit and in Truth."
E-63
First, get the Truth, foundationally right. Jesus Christ is the only
way to come, not by shaking hands, joining church; that's good. Shake
hands, sure; join church, sure. But that's not it. Come to the
Foundation first; lay yourself upon Him. And then after you've received
Him, then shake the pastor's hands and join the church. That's right.
After you've done these things, but get started right first. Get headed
right.
Like David with his slingshot, he had to head that rock right first.
See, you got take aim; you got to zero in. And if you want to zero in,
put it on Christ Jesus. For He's the Way, the Truth, the Light, the
Foundation. All of it is for you.
E-64
Here some time ago a woman here in the United States, poor old thing
was so poverty stricken. They wondered what they'd do about her, and
finally they sent the charity up to see what they could do for her. And
when they come to her, they investigated and found out she was real
poor, and had nothing to eat, and sold all of her furniture. And she
was in terrible shape.
And they said, "Haven't you got any children?"
She said, "Yes, sir, I have one son."
Well, said, "Where's that son at?"
Said, "He's in India." And said, "He's a businessman over in India."
Well, said, "Why can't he take care of you."
"Oh," she said, "I tell you." (You know how mothers are.) Said, "He's
such a darling boy." Said, "He writes me the sweetest letters that you
ever read." And said, "And He–he–he writes me such sweet letters, I
can't ask him for any help." Said, "I just couldn't do it. He tells me,
'Darling mother, how are you getting along?' and things like that."
Said, "I–I just hate to tell him. And–and so I know he'd do anything
to help me." And said, "Then he sends me some of the prettiest pictures
I ever seen."
And said, "Sent you what? pictures?"
Said, "Yeah."
Said, "What kind of pictures?"
Said, "Wait just a minute, I'll tell you. I've got them in my Bible. I've been saving them for two or three years."
And she went back to the Bible and begin to bring them out. You know
what it was? She was worth tens of thousands of dollars. Them's India
money orders with picture on them. She didn't know what it was all
about. But she found them in her Bible. She was rich and didn't know
it, dying of hunger, dying of starvation, and–and up against charity,
because that she didn't know what she had.
E-65
And sometime it may be that way with many people tonight. You don't
realize the joy unspeakable and full of glory. You don't know the
power, the Everlasting Life. You don't know how rich you are, until you
go to looking in here and finding out that those promises, that was
give to those apostles, was give to whosoever will, let him come. That
is right. It's all yours freely.
Would you like to receive it? Would you like to be filled with the Holy
Ghost, be saved, your sins under the Blood, filled with the Holy Ghost,
be baptized in the Spirit, and a translating power in your heart, and
go up to meet Him in the air, go out of this building tonight with that
blessed assurance? If a car runs over you, what difference does it
make? My, it doesn't but just change this old house for a brand new
one. So it's moving from an old, broke-up man or woman to a young one
that–that'll never die.
It's going to a place where there's no yesterday, and no tomorrow; it's
all today. You're there with Somebody that's the same yesterday, today,
and forever, the I AM, the eternal. And you're eternal with Him. And
there you are, never to be old, never to be sick, never to have a
heartache, never to have any disappointments. There you are. It's just
you're changing this for that.
E-66
Now, listen, my friends. If you die without the Spirit of Life in you,
you cannot go to that place. Listen, as I said in the beginning, death
does not change your spirit. It only changes your dwelling place.
I was teaching on that a few nights ago. And I come to this subject on
where that Saul, when he had backslid on God… And the Urim Thummim
wouldn't answer him, neither would a prophet prophesy and could answer
him. He couldn't even have a dream from the Lord. And he went down and
had the witch of Endor to call the spirit of Samuel. And Samuel had
been dead nineteen years; I just looked it up to find out for sure.
He'd been dead nineteen years. And when the witch of Endor called the
spirit of Samuel, he hadn't changed his appearance. He was still
standing there, thin with a mantle on his shoulder. Not only that, he
hadn't changed his life any; he was still the same Samuel and was still
a prophet.
E-67 Oh, you say, "Now, that's kind of shady. That–that–that was the witch of Endor."
Well,
the Bible said it was Samuel. How about the Mount Transfiguration when
Moses had been dead eight hundred years in an unmarked grave? How about
that? How about Elijah that went home in a chariot about five hundred
years before that? And there they was standing there so real till they
recognized them. And they had a human body and they were talking to the
Son of God. Hallelujah! God bless your heart, brother.
E-68
Let me tell you, you've got to have life to go there. Without life you
cannot rise. You take a seed and put it in the ground and let a little
bug got into that seed and kill the germ in that seed, it will never
rise. That's exactly right. But if you can keep that bug out of it,
it's got a heart; it's got something in it; it'll rise just as sure as
the atmosphere gets right around it.
And that it is tonight. If you've the least desire in your heart to
receive God, to receive the Holy Spirit, let–get in the right
atmosphere, the right mood before God, and life will come into you just
as sure. And you'll start rising to translation. Oh, I know what we
receive here is just a shadow of the shadows of the shadows. But when
you die, the shadow becomes a shadow, the shadow to the shadow, to the
strinkle, to the moisture, to the branch, to the lake, to the… Oh,
my, it go right on an into Eternal Presence. Then you're there forever.
E-69
Could you turn down such an opportunity as that? What achievement could
you make, any greater investigation–investment could you make, than to
achieve Jesus Christ as your Saviour? What more could you do than
receive the Holy Spirit tonight, the very Spirit that He was baptized
with Himself, to be up on you? The same Spirit that raised Him up on
the third day, has promised to raise you up at the last day. Amen.
Oh, isn't He wonderful? Let's bow our hands now for a word of prayer. If the pianist, ever who you are, will…
How many in here tonight that doesn't know Him as a Saviour say,
"Brother Branham, I've built my house upon just like Mexico did their
city, or that contractor in New York that built that building." It only
was for one purpose; he climbed to the top of it and jumped out when he
found out he'd lost everything he had, because he wasn't on the solid
foundation. What will it be in your death when you found out you just
joined church, that you put your name on a book somewhere? You thought
you were all right, but still living on with that temper and sin. And
the things of the world, you still love it.
E-70
If you love the world or the things of the world, the love of God's not
even in you. Why w–why take a chance on that, friend? Let's settle it
tonight. I want every sinner that's in here to come up here and stand
here just a minute for a word of prayer before we go farther in the
service. Will you come? Let every sinner that's in the building, while
we're praying, Christians praying…
Sinner friend, come here just a moment. Come here, just do that much.
Show that you–you believe in God. Believe that you want to do it, you
want to be built up on there, you want to get started right. Come right
here and shake my hand. Just come here. God bless you, ladies. Someone
else come now. Come on, every sinner, I want you to come right up here
just a minute. I want to talk to you just right here at the altar. On
the outside, wherever you are, come right on. God bless you. [Brother Branham talks with people at the altar–Ed.] Sisters, you might have been…?… You might've done many great things in life…?…
Come now. As I said to these women, these four women, "There might have
been a lot of great things they might've done in life. This was the
greatest thing they ever done." You've started right now. One time in
life you've pointed right. You might've done–might've done many other
things that were good, and loyal, and everything, but it won't last.
Someday, it'll go away. You'll go out of the memory of the people. But
now, you're coming now, because that you believe. And you're coming to
stand on the Rock, Christ. This is the greatest thing you've ever done,
the greatest achievement you ever made is when you're coming to accept
Jesus.
E-71
Let every other sinner come, will you? Come stand here just a moment,
we just want to have a word of prayer together. I just want to come
pray with you. Will you come? Young or old, come right ahead. God bless
you. Someone else? Get right up and come. Come, young lady. That's
right. Just come here, it won't hurt a thing. You come here and you're
sure not going to do wrong. That's it. God bless you, my brother. [Brother Branham talks with people at the altar–Ed.]
Might've been a lot of things you done…?… My brother, there
might've lot of things…?… This is your greatest moment…?… stand
here…?… for prayer. Young lady, there's no doubt but what you done
great things in your life…?… God bless you.
Come on, sinner friend. While we're waiting just a moment, let's sing
softly now, "There is a Fountain Filled with Blood." All right.
Come to the only lasting thing there is, Jesus Christ.
Won't you come now while the fountain's open, while you have the
opportunity to come? Come to the only great achievement you could
achieve in your life. Come to the Way, the Truth, the Light. Where
could you go for it? Nowhere else not over to Christ…
E-72
I wonder now while we're keeping quietly for a moment: How many in here
has not received the Holy Ghost, and you want to receive it? You mean
business with God. You say, "Lord, I've come to the way, I've accepted
You as my Saviour. But I want the baptism of the Holy Ghost. And I know
that it takes that translating life in me."
"Except a man be borned again of this water and spirit, He can no wise
enter in." Now, there's plenty of water out here on the bank, right
here from the bank of the river. And there's plenty of ministers. Now,
we want the baptism of the Holy Spirit, to be borned again… Come,
now, while we sing this next verse. Everyone who wants the baptism of
the Holy Ghost, I want you to come stand right here with me just a
moment with these pentative people. I want you to come and stand for
the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
E-73
We want to wait to be sure that every seeker comes. I got standing
before me tonight a lovely, little brother, a Methodist preacher come
up here with me to receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Brother
Collins, want you to get It tonight. This is the hour. Amen.
His brother is one of the outstanding Methodists in the fields today. I
want him to receive the Holy Ghost, so he can go tell his brother what
joy it is, how much different it is after you're born again. I believe
it's tonight, Brother Collins; this is the hour; this is the time.
E-74
Is there any more? Now, if you're seeking the Holy Spirit, this is the
time to start. Don't let it go over top of your head, come right down.
It's simple–little simple preaching like that; you know what it means.
Come on now. This is the place, the foundation, the way, the truth, the
light, the only achievement, the only happiness. You've never knowed
happiness till you get this. This is it.
These sinner people standing here now are confessing their sins;
they're going in too. I want them to go in with them to receive the
Holy Ghost. They haven't been baptized. There's a lot of preachers
around here, plenty of water. So we'll see that everything is
ministered just as properly as we know how to minister it in Christian
works, as we can. Then you take the church of your choice. Go somewhere
where they're preach the Gospel and believe in the Word of God, believe
in the coming of Christ. It's your choice.
E-75
Oh, my, this is what… In a few nights, I want to tell you what
happened to me. Then you'll realize why I'm going this. When I seen a
woman that threw her arms around me, she looked to be about eighteen. I
looked back down to where my body was setting. I looked up here and
looked at her and she called me her brother. I said, "I don't get that."
Said, "She was past ninety when she–you led her to Christ." Past
ninety and there she was back young to be forever. No wonder she was
saying, "My darling brother." That burdened my heart.
E-76
You're standing tonight, friends, reaching for the Spirit of God. It's
in reach of all of you. I'll tell you what we're going to do. We're
going to make a congregational prayer right here for you. Then we're
going over in this little room where the brethren's got ready, right
around there. And we're coming in there, whole groups of us, and we're
going to pray until you receive the Holy Ghost. That's all. That's what
we're here for. Is that right, brethren? That's what the meeting is
here for.
All right, let us bow our heads now. Now, to you with the Holy Ghost,
you that's seeking the Holy Ghost, just keep it on your mind now. I'm
going to pray for these ones that come up that wasn't Christians and
wants to accept Christ as their Saviour. I want to talk to them first
just for a moment.
E-77
Jesus said in the Word, "No man can come to me except My Father draws
him first." John 5:24. "No man can come except… He that heareth My
words (I mean), believeth on Him that sent Me has–He has Everlasting
Life. I'll raise him up at the last day. No man could come to Me except
the Father draws him."
Something knocked at your heart. You rose up and stood to your feet,
walked down here at the aisle. Something drawed you. Now let me give
you what the Scripture says: "All that He foreknew, He's called." That
was God calling you. "Those who He has called, He has justified. And
those who He has justified, He has glorified."
E-78
Now, you're in the stage of glorification the moment you accept Jesus
Christ as your Saviour. Then go in the room there where they'll be
seeking the Holy Ghost, and God will pour out the Holy Spirit upon you.
And then you'll be filled with the Spirit. That'll give you power to
live, live as Christians until the time of the restoration of all
things when Jesus comes. Then you'll be taken up into glory with Him
for that three and a half years, and then return to earth for a
millennium and then live with Him forever.
Now, let us pray for these people. And you now that's going to–wants
to receive the Holy Ghost, remember, "Blessed are ye that do hunger and
thirst for righteousness, for you shall be filled."
Now, don't go in just to say, "Well, I–I'll go try it again." This is
a convention. We got six more nights in here. This is the hour to
receive it. Go in there and stay there until you have received the Holy
Ghost. You mean business with God, you that wants the Holy Ghost
tonight? Raise up your hand if you're ready to die right now or receive
the Holy Ghost. That's it.
E-79
Do you women that stood here just a few minutes ago with this little
boy along, and you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and you
want to accept Him as your Saviour, you believe that He's called you to
this altar tonight? Raise up your hands if you believe that it was
Jesus Christ that called you. Raise up… God bless you. That's right.
"He that will confess Me before men, him will I confess before the Father and the holy Angels."
E-80
Now, we're going to make a congregational prayer while the people are
waiting. Then we're going back to a room here to ourself, where we can
be alone to pray. Let's bow our heads, everywhere now, and every
Christian. These are people that you'll spend forever with.
I believe that many of you know me well enough to know if I'm a
fanatic, I don't know it. Something happened the other morning. I'll
tell you about it later in the week. I can never feel the same no more.
And I–I know what visions are. Thousands of times it's happened. This
was not a vision. I went somewhere. And since then, my heart has burned
to get people to Christ. Oh, why ever–every move I want to make is to
get people to Christ.
E-81 I want each one of you Christians to pray for these people, each one of you, while I pray.
Heavenly
Father, the first we bring to You is these women and this little boy
tonight. They've walked up here to this altar. As far as I know, maybe
the only ones that was not saved on the grounds tonight. I trust if
there was any more that they'll come too. But they have come out
publicly. They want Eternal Life. And You have said, "He that believeth
on the Son, has Eternal Life." And now, they have come to confess what
faith that they have, that they accept You as their personal Saviour
and believe that You will give them Eternal Life.
Father God, I pray that You'll grant each one of them tonight, the
forgiveness of sins. May it be washed away in the bonds of Calvary. May
they be forgiven of every sin. May they have peace like the river. May
they have peace that only Christ can give. May these women go home to
their husbands and to their children, this little boy to his papa and
mama, a new creature, a new person, going home to live, to testify in
the neighborhood, to be instruments to bring others to You. For we
realize that we're at the end time and You're making Your last call
across the nation.
E-82
I pray, Father, that You will grant them these blessing. And now, as
they go with these others, may our prayers be together that every one
of these now that's going to receive the Holy Ghost. God, some of these
here, this Brother Collins, that I know personally, that's hungering
and thirsting. His little wife back there crying and begging out to
God, just received the Holy Ghost a few days ago, and she wants her
darling husband to receive the Holy Ghost. Now, Father, fill him
tonight. Oh, God may he set that country a fire with the Gospel.
Others are standing here, young men, old men, middle-aged, young women,
and all. God, may there rise ministers, and evangelists, and
missionaries, and–and different workers out of this group tonight,
Father. Fill them with the Holy Ghost, Lord.
E-83
Oh, their promise is unto you and to your children. To them that's far
off, even as many as the Lord, our God shall call. You've promised it,
Lord. And they're here to receive it. And, Lord, hear my prayer. May
there not be one come from that room without receiving the Holy Ghost.
Grant it, Lord. May it fall just all over them. And may there be a
meeting here that will go through the night and day, just pouring out
of Thy Spirit. Grant it, Lord. Hear the prayer of your servant.
You said, "Say to this mountain, be moved, and don't doubt. But believe
that what you've said will come to pass. You can have what you've said."
Lord, I pray that every heart that's in condition tonight will receive
the Holy Ghost. that goes into that room. Hear it, Lord, I pray. In
Jesus' Name. Amen.
E-84
Now, the ministers here will lead you. Is there somebody there? Are
you… This man right here, this fellow right here, just move right
this a way now to the room while I deal with the rest of the
congregation just a few minutes. Some of the ministers here that wants
to go in there, there's people in there instructing. Now, everyone go
right in now to receive the Holy Ghost.
And I want you here, you Christian ladies here, that just received
Christ, right here, won't you go in with them now? Go in there. You
believe Brother Branham for this one time, as a servant of God.
You go in there and say, "Lord, give me that Eternal Life that he's
talking about." You'll receive it. Everybody will wait for you; your
loved ones will wait. You go in, honey boy. I pray that God will make a
preacher out you, sweetheart, that'll save souls in the days that is to
come. That's right. Oh, my…
Is any of the rest of you like to follow them? Go right in as
believers, going right in now to receive the Holy Ghost. Won't you go
with them? You're invited.
E-85
Oh, do you feel real good? Don't the Gospel just scour you out and you
feel like that you're just refreshings from the Presence of God. Don't
you feel good?
Now, how many out there is sick and afflicted, wants God to heal them,
let's see your hands. Oh, just look at the hands. A brother and sister
setting here. Are you Christians, both of you, in these wheelchairs?
Three of you, well, two of you there…
E-86
Oh, I want to tell you a little something happened day before yesterday
about three days–four days ago now. I want to say this while
they're–they're back in there now. [Brother Branham asks member of congregation–Ed.]…?… All taken care of, good. Now, they're back in there to receive the Holy Ghost.
The ministers are invited now, if they will, to go back with those, so
they can be instructed in the right way. You ministers now, that's got
the calling of God and wants to see people correctly brought through to
the baptism of the Holy Spirit, we cordially invite your cooperation at
this time. And then, invite them to your church. Take them over and
baptize them at your baptistery and–and take them into the church. You
see? We–they're yours. You're needed back in the room now, every
Gospel minister here. All right.
E-87 Now while we're going to pray for the sick just for a few minutes.
Mr.
Wood had painted my porch the other day. And he–I locked the door and
come out the front door and pulled it together when I went out on a
sick call. When I come back, my door was locked and I couldn't get in.
I had my family in the car. Well, there wasn't but one thing to do, is
go out and get the hammer and break the window out and go in. So I went
out and broke the window out. And when I hit it with a hammer, it just
splattered little glass everywhere. Well, my young daughter, Rebekah,
they–she goes and sweeps it all up, little beat-up glass.
And she set in the kitchen the next morning when she was washing the
dishes. She was talking to her sister, Sarah, and she broke a glass,
and she dumped it in the box and some stuff on top of it. And the first
thing you know, a little hound come by and got in the garbage can and
eat that glass with that food. The poor little fellow was laying on the
bank, just having fits and rolling over. And oh, I never seen a dog
suffer so. And I couldn't find no one he belonged to.
And Mr. May next door said, "Billy, I believe the best thing for us to do is take him and shoot him."
"Oh," I said, "we wouldn't want to shoot somebody's dog. See? It looks like a nice hound." I said, "I wouldn't do that."
E-88
And he laid around there about four or five days bleeding and oh, just
in a terrible shape. The little fellow couldn't get up no more, he was
just going… I never seen a dog so sick, just jump–jerking like that.
And–and I said, "Oh, won't you take him out to a veterinary." Said, "A
veterinary will put him to sleep." So I said, "Well, there's no need to
take him to a veterinarian."
And little Joseph and I walked out there in the yard and take him some
beef broth and things. The little fellow couldn't eat it, he was too
sick.
Now this is true, friends. I'm your brother. Joseph looked up to me as if to say, "Daddy, can you help him?"
I said, "Joseph, you hold Daddy's hand. I'm going to lay my hand on the little dog."
God's my judge. Knelt down and had prayer for that little dog. He got
up and eat his supper and went on down through the field just as happy
as he could be.
E-89
Now, that is true. It wasn't but about fifteen feet from where the old
mother opossum was healed at. That's right, you've heard that story.
About fifteen feet…
If God would hear a prayer for a hound dog, how much more will He hear
it for a human being, a child of His that's washed in the Blood of the
Lamb?
E-90
Brother Kidd setting there, well, you know him. You might ask his
doctor. He just had about three days to live. Billy said tonight, he
was just beating him in the back and said, "Boy, I feel fine." That's
wonderful.
God hears prayer. Do you believe that? How many of you people in here
are believers in God's healing power? Let's see your hands. All right,
watch.
E-91
You know, I got a money order the other day. It was sent to me from
heaven. Oh, here it is, Mark the 16th chapter. "Go ye into all the
world and preach the gospel to every creature." All the world, how
long, how does it last? To every creature. How long will that be till
every creature's heard it? Not just in the apostle's age, every age. To
all the world and to every creature…
"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that
believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that
believe. In My Name they shall cast out devils, speak with new tongues,
take up serpents or drink deadly things it shall not harm them. If they
lay their hands on the sick, they shall recover.
E-92
Do you believe that? We're rich and don't know it. How many believers
are here? These signs shall follow them that believe. Then lay your
hands on one another, that's all. Lay your hands on one another. We're
not Divine healers; we're believers. Amen. Christ is the Healer. The
work's already done. We just have to lay hands on one another. Do you
believe that?
Lay your hands on somebody by you. Now, let's pray. You pray for the
person next to you. Don't pray for yourself, pray for the person next
to you. That's it. There you are.
E-93
Heavenly Father, in the Name of Jesus, the Son of God, the Way, the
Truth, the Light, that made this promise that cannot fail, in the light
of His Gospel, we condemn all sickness, every devil, every power of the
Devil, break every fetter. Come out, Satan. You're charged by Jesus
Christ, in the Name of the Holy Son of God, to leave this audience.
Come out of them, Satan, and turn those people loose, that they be made
free, so that the Holy Ghost can have right of way. Amen.
