Elijah

You can find this sermon at ChurchAges.net

1 Evening friends.
It's a, always is a privilege to be at the Church Of The Open Door. I like that name, the Church Of The Open Door, and I like the pastor also, and the congregation, and the Lord Who lives here. So it makes me always happy to come here. Concerning the meeting at Owensboro, it begins, as Brother Cauble said, it's a salvation, healing, regular campaign that we usually have. And the public, of course, is invited to bring your sick and the afflicted and come down. Brother Bosworth just called this afternoon and he's to be with me there to officiate in the meeting. And that's at the City Auditorium, I... it's a new auditorium, they just built it there. They have seven thousand seats in it. And so, there'll probably be plenty of room 'cause it's a small city and... But they got Evansville and Paducah and many of the others cooperating and it's just the outskirts of Louisville here. So come down when you get a chance, to see us. We'd be very happy to have you down there at this campaign. And bring the sick and the needy and your pastor and everyone along. We'll be glad to have them.

2 And now, tonight, is just the eve of this great prayer for the sick. Our good Brother Cauble's come over and asked me if I'd come say a few words tonight; which is always a pleasure to speak in the Name of our Lord, and to His people. I don't get a chance very often to speak like this. Usually my campaigns it's all on the subject of Divine healing because the managers and them gets the altar call and things before I get in or right after the meeting's over. And it's mostly praying for the sick.
We had a marvelous time over at Jeffersonville this morning in the tabernacle. Our Lord did meet with us over there and help us and we're grateful for that. And the Lord to prosper our ways as we go is our earnest, sincere desire that all of you pray for us and that God will help us.
And now, tonight, being it's just before this prayer meeting, I was coming over and I thought, "Well, I'll." Brother Cauble's never said what to speak on and it wouldn't do me no good write any notes on it anyhow 'cause I'd get up in the platform, the Lord tell me something else and I never look at it. I tried two or three times, as a young minister, to try to write me out some notes to follow. After the service was over I thought, "Well, wonder why I didn't look at that?"
And come to find out I didn't even preach on it, so, I just thought it would best just to let Him have His way, you know, whatever He has for us.

3 And, but just setting here on the platform to when I turn to a Scripture concerning waiting for this great meeting coming up Tuesday. That's a worthy thing. I just come from Santa Cruz, California where we had a marvelous meeting over there. So many people got out there till they had to call the city troops, or I mean, the state troops and block the highways off for the people at Beulah Park and over at Santa Cruz. And all the way over it was constantly just same routine. Everything dried up and Nevada and California and Kansas and all through there it's just like it is here. All across the nation going east it's the same way. "That everything," they say, "is dried up."
Texas, I believe there is one place in Texas, where they haven't had a rain for three years. And just think of that. Now, all this is bound to speak of something. It's just can't be, just say, "Well, it's just a coincidence. It just merely happened that way or just to be." I don't believe that. I believe that everything has to move according to God's will for it to move. And now these things are for a purpose.
And now, I'll watch this clock... usually, I've been accused of speaking too long, but, I don't think I do. I seldom ever speak over four or five hours at a time. And so I'm sure that I won't break that record tonight. I don't think so, I, and... But we'll try to cut it down just a little bit if we can.

4 Now, over in the book of Saint James, I happened to run across these verses, and thought it would be appropriate just to speak of preparation for this meeting that's coming. And now, some of my friends are here from the tabernacle setting here. Why, I want to urge them, also, if they possibly can, to attend those prayer meetings for the sick, or for the, pardon me, it's about half on my mind, looks like, about praying for the sick, but for the drought to be broken. And I believe that God can break a drought today just like He did in the days gone by. But there's a condition we got to meet.

5 And now, as Brother Cauble said a while ago, it's a very beautiful picture. Or, it's sad in one way, but, of our hearts' condition of the world, at how we becoming dry towards the Lord. If you'll notice and go out into the desert... many times I've walked out into the desert in California and Arizona and through them places. And every weed that you find's got a sticker on it. It's because it's dry, it... A dry climate just develops stickers. Everything that's on it's got a sticker. Then you change and take that same variety of weed and put it up into a country where there's a lot of rain and swamp, it's just as soft as it can be. The water makes the difference. And you take a people or a church that's just so dry, that they never have prayer meetings, they become stickers. They're just finding fault and sticking at one another. But all we need is a good rain to soften us up a little bit. Don't you think so? A little... I like to live at the spout where there's just plenty of rain falling and we can just have a... just keep softened up, you know, and you... I think that's the best place to live, anywhere, where the rain's falling.

6 Over in Saint James the 5th chapter and the 16th verse we read these words, beginning:
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that you may be healed. For the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth for the space of three years and six months.
And he prayed again, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one converteth him;
Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from his error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.
Just for one more word of prayer, if you will.

7 Heavenly Father, we come in approach to Thee in the Name of Thy beloved Son, Jesus, to ask mercy and guidance. We don't know what to say and the audience is waiting. But Thou has always supplied our needs and we know that you will according to the riches in Glory. When we look forward and see the end time approaching, our hearts are leaping for joy that know that after a while, by and by, these old frail bodies will be changed and made like unto His Own glorious Body. We shall see Him as He is. We'll never pray for each other no more. There'll never be no more sick, no more old and gray and crippled and sickness. Hospitals, they'll have no need, no more undertakers, no more funeral processions. But then we'll be like Christ, live as sons of God, and reign for Eternity with Him. Oh, until that time, Lord, prepare our hearts and let us give call to this day and night, and not be silent, that God's great Message might wake the people from sin to righteousness. For we ask it in Jesus' Name. Amen.

8 I am a... had a positive thinking that I would go on record of this, just, I have to watch, of course, what I say because there's a many... God has let me come in contact with many thousands, just around, many million of people around the world. And I'll always weigh my words when I make statements of this kind. But I believe that we're living in the end days that when we're at the end of the road. I can't see any hope for anything else but the coming of Jesus Christ. Looks like we've tried every political scheme that we could find and there's nothing seems to work. And there was a Man died nineteen hundred years ago at Calvary who paid the price for all of us that we could be brothers and sisters. And I believe that His program, that we have shunned so long: that is the greatest need the world has today.

9 Now, I'll make this statement which seems very bitter to begin with. And I wanted it because it's the truth. That every kingdom of this world is controlled by Satan. The Bible said so. Satan is the prince of the power of the air, and every nation is under his domination. The Scripture says that. Satan quoted it to Jesus said, "The whole world, all of these kingdoms are mine and I'll do with them what I will." And he said, "I'll give them to you if you'll fall down and worship me." Jesus said, "Get thee hence, Satan, for it's written that thou shall worship the Lord and Him only shalt thou serve." So, you see, they all belong to Satan. Jesus didn't dispute his words about it. But Christ knew that He would fall Heir to all these nations someday.
And over in the book of Revelation, when John the Revelator saw that Christ was falling Heir to it, he said, "Rejoice, ye heavens and all ye earth, for the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will rule and reigned a thousand years on the earth." Now, we're looking for that great Millennium day, that time when all the troubles and droughts and everything will be settled.

10 We're speaking tonight about Elijah and making it a preview of our prayer meeting coming now. Elijah was a man... Many times when someone speaks of a man like Elijah, they would expect him to be a great angel or of some sort or a sainted person that was dropped out of Heaven. But the Bible said that he was a man subject to like passions as we are. He has his ups and downs, his trials, his indifference, but he prayed earnestly that it wouldn't rain. And it didn't rain for three years and six months. And after three years and six months, he prayed again and the heavens gave rain.
Now, he was a man just like we are, not an angel, not no more than what you or I. He had his differences and things, and his ups and downs in life, his life, like we do. But God answered his prayer because he prayed earnestly and sincerely. And before that kind of a prayer can be made for sick or for the end of drought or for anything that we have need of, there must be a perfect understanding that we're praying in the will of God. That's the reason he could close the heavens that it didn't rain, because God had told him it was going to happen. So it's easy to say anything's going to happen, when God says it's going to happen, because it's got to be that way. God's Word cannot fail.

11 And how that in those days, as we look back at the history, in First Kings the 9th chapter, and begin to think of what had taken place in that day, Israel... The reason that a prophet would pray that God would shut off the rains that it wouldn't rain: starve the people to death. Could you imagine that? A sainted person, now, a godly man, a prophet, major prophet, one of the greatest in the Bible, prayed that God wouldn't even let it rain to bring food on the earth. For he knew it was a great mistake for the people to have plenty to eat and to die and be lost in torment, yet have plenty to eat, it would be better that they had nothing to eat and would die and go to Heaven. That's right. And that's true today.
What's the matter with we, American people, we're well fed and fattened up and everything and we just think we just got everything made. And that's the same way that Israel got. It got into a place in the reign of King Ahab that the land was prosperous. And they had many chariots and horses and they whipped all the nations down everywhere. But the king, the main man of the nation, one of the main men, the king of the nation went and married a little, I believe an Egyptian princess. She was a woman who was not a believer and that's what started the trouble. A little leaven leavens the whole lump.

12 And people, today, as you see... you say, "Well, I guess I'm a pretty good Christian, Brother Branham." You can't be a pretty good Christian. There is no such a thing. You have to either be a Christian or you're not a Christian. A grain of wheat or salt... The wheat can't be a barley today and a wheat tomorrow. It's a wheat today, it's wheat for always. And a man that becomes a Christian is not a Christian today and a sinner tomorrow, and a Christian today and a sinner tomorrow. He's the same like Christ, yesterday, today and forever, because he becomes a son of God.
And a nation, we are called a Christian nation. Well, the reason we're called that is because that we hold that name. But just being that name doesn't expel us from all the judgments of God. So, here's... And not long ago, we were talking on this subject. Each year, if you'll notice, across the nation, the drought has begin to get a little worse and a little worse each year. Each year moving up. And I believe that it's we haven't seen half of it yet. And not only that, but the thing of it is, that our people are forgetting God. That's the main thing, friends. We've got plenty to eat. We got plenty to wear. We got fine automobiles. We're the most prosperous nation in the world. In the midst of it all, we don't look to where it comes from.

13 It's like a hog under a apple tree. He'll eat apples all day long. They'll beat him on the head and he'll never look up, see which way they're coming. Well, that's just the way we are. We just absolutely will... God will pour His blessings upon us and then we never look up to say, "Thank you, Lord, I'm so glad to be here, thankful that you give me something to eat." We just go ahead just like he owed it to us. We owe to Him. He owes us nothing. We owe all we are to Him.
And now, I was talking to a... some ministers recently and I was speaking on this manner about judgment fixing to strike this nation. They said, "Brother Branham, God could not put punishment on this nation because of the sacredness of the nation and the... our forefathers, who were real gallant Christians with... and at Plymouth Rock and so forth. He'd remember that."
I said, "God loved Israel and said so in the Bible; and He never did say that He loved us in that way." When, I said, "But He had... That was His first love was Israel." And yet when Israel got out of the will of God, God poured out the judgments of Heaven upon Israel. And we will not escape the judgments of God. If... David was a man after God's Own heart, and when David sinned before God, God made David reap for what he sowed. And we'll never come short of that. Whether it's a individual, church, community, or a nation, God will require judgment of sin. Amen.

14 Now notice, oh, I just love to think of all those examples of what God gave us, to look back over in the Old Testament, to see what God did then; that's just what He is today for He's the same yesterday, today and forever. And if you'll notice, the people had got out of God's will. Ahab had married this little princess, and she'd come over there, and she wasn't a believer. Now, there was a believer married with an unbeliever.
And here is a nation, which is suppose to be a believer, hooking up with all kinds of meanness and diviceties and making it legal: for instance, drinking. Now, I am not this, that or the other. It's not my business to deal with that. But I just want to show you that one thing. We legalize and give men right to sell men whiskey to drink, and beer to drink, then, when they catch him on the street drunk, they lock him up and put him in jail. It's not right. If they'll sell him the whiskey, let him get as drunk as he wants to. He's paid for it. It's his money. So the thing to do.
Not long ago, when we had prohibition in, and saloons was closed, and so forth like that, just as the Bible says, "As the hog goes to its wallow and a dog to its vomit," we couldn't walk the straight, narrow path, we had to turn back. That's right. And we voted in whiskey. We voted in all... When we brought in that, we brought crime.

15 I just left Los Angeles in here, and I was reading the paper, as I was flying over Los Angeles, where on the last two years, it's averaged a hundred and eighty-two major crimes done in that city alone every twenty-four hours. A hundred and eighty-two major crimes done. I said, "It isn't 'Los Angeles,' it's 'lost angels.'" Where men once had morals and understanding; and the great crime of sex and things is on the increase. Why? Is because we let them drink, smoke, do anything they want to. How can we expect to get good out of evil? You've got to take right to go right. You've got to do right to reap right. This is right and this is left. I can't be going left when I'm going right, or vice versa. We've got to go right, think right, do right, to be right. But when we get off of that road, then we're going wrong. We'll come out wrong, no matter how it looks, we've got to come out wrong. And that's the way our nation is today.
Here not long ago... Now, presidents rise and go, they run their business; I'm preaching the Gospel. But I've never... i'm neither Democrat or Republican; I am a Christian. I cast one vote, that was with Jesus Christ. He accepted me. And I've been trying to hold up His Gospel ever since. I'm electioneering for Him, and trying to get all the candidates for His kingdom that I know how, to pull into the kingdom, going day and night everywhere. And I know that there will be a time when Jesus Christ will rule and reign in this world, and all His subject will reign with Him. I want to be one of those. And I look forward for that great, tremendous day when He shall come and set all the captives free, and death and things wiped away. And then we'll be made likened unto His Own glorious image, and there'll be no more of these things. So let's look forward to that.

16 Think here not long ago, when they had a great drought hit the land. Just before that, what did we do? They bought up the hogs and things, took them over there on the west coast, killed them, and by the thousands piled them up, and the bacon and stuff, and burn it to make prices go up. They plowed under all the cotton and everything like that to make the prices go up. And the very next year... And then, we were talking about, "Peace, peace, peace," and China and Japan starving to death. And taking billions of bushels of wheat out in the ocean and dumped it out. And in India that same year, thousands times thousands of people died in the streets, so many, till rats eat them up before they get them off the street to bury them.
Then we call ourselves a Christian nation? And all those things there? How can it be?

17 Brother, what we need tonight, over the whole nation, is an old fashioned God sent revival and repentance for every church and every individual to come back to God, to the true and living God. Not to the psychology, not to the theology of church, but what we need to come back, is to the true and living God: Who changes a man's heart, changes his nature, changes his makeup and makes him a new creature in Christ Jesus, Who kills all the nature of the world and makes a person a new creature.
Oh, Christian friends, that's what the world needs tonight. We don't need a program. We need the regular program that Christ set at Calvary. When He was here on earth, He said, "Except a man be born again, he will in no wise enter the kingdom." That's what we need tonight. We've got it all kinds of programs everywhere, and everybody soliciting, and everything, for this program and that program. When, brother, the program lays right next to your heart, Christ Jesus, the Holy Spirit, trying to get into you just as hard as He can. And yet, we shut it off, and turn aside, and listen to everything else besides the right thing. And God has... lets the bucket of plagues pour out upon the nation. That's right.

18 Now, let's look back again, just for a moment. And Ahab, or, in that day, when he wouldn't listen to the prophet, the prophet tried to speak to him, he wouldn't do it, he listened to his wife. Good time, prosperity, gaiety, carrying on and that's what this world is swallowed up in today. Listen, I... Remember, I love you, but when I'm behind this desk, I've got to say as He says, 'cause I only know how to catch It as He gives It.
It's a disgrace today to look around. Now, I'm not talking to this bunch here. But I'm talking about the world in whole, or this nation in whole. To think, today, that many of the churches don't even open up on Sunday night through the summertime. They stay home to listen to some kind of a radio program or a television program. Is that the truth? And what they do, the American people want to be entertained when they get a preacher. If he's not a good entertainer to have socials and things like that, or carrying on, they don't want him. And they vote him out of it. They want to be entertained. But God don't send entertainers. He sends preachers of the Gospel to preach the unadulterated Gospel of Christ, the power of His resurrection. And every man that believes, and accept it, is born again; outside of that you're lost. And the nation will be lost. And the people will be lost. Sure it's predicted in the Bible that this United States will fall. And it will fall. And it's right on its road right now because it's accepted gaiety and big times and social and things like that instead of the Gospel. They refused the cross, and have accepted, and got a double cross from the Devil. Amen.

19 When I stood in Paris, France, here not long ago, after being over there, looking down through the streets, to see that nation and that people who's polluted beyond anything that I ever seen. If I ever seen a rat hole in my life, it was at Paris, France, when it was so dirty and filthy and immoral. Jumped off in front of the Notre Dame church: the prostitutes, you had to beat them off with a club almost; selling pictures that's vulgar, and everything else like that. And walk in and throw a little water on them and say a prayer and walk away, and then claim to be holy and clean. Oh, it's a disgrace. They call. And then I went on--went on down the streets, on a sightseeing bus. I wanted to look around down by the Seine River and I noticed there was a... the speaker begin to speak, said "The Huguenot." And I looked there, and there was a statue with the little children, wires wrapped in them, and others, and where they'd piled brush around, and burnt the Huguenot, a order in the days gone by. A bunch of people who had the Holy Spirit, who was born again and filled with the power of God, and they went over there to preach the Gospel; and they burned them in the street. That's right. And they accepted their big time, wine, women, and everything else, and they've been the disgrace to the world ever since.

20 And to think that the very devil that done that landed yonder in Hollywood, and stripped our women, and done just the same thing here that he did there. And the preachers behind the pulpit has been ashamed, are afraid of their jobs, to put the Gospel out like it ought to have been done. That's right. If you'd have handled the Gospel with bare hands and tell the people the facts.

21 Now, I begin to notice in the last few weeks over there at home, some of the big dignitaries, or the great men of the big churches, are coming and hungering and thirsting. Great men, some of the greatest men in the nation, even the archbishop of India, come into my house there and had come to the... in America here seeking and begging for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. They're sick and tired of theology and human psychology. They want to feel the touch of the living God Who changes men's life and make them new creatures in Christ Jesus. That's what we need tonight, Christians. That's what the world needs tonight. That's what America needs tonight.
We got programs going around, revivals everywhere and asking people, "If you'll accept Christ as personal Saviour?" They stand up, say, "Yes, I do." And two or three days after that, the Devil's got them right out there again. What they need today is an old fashioned, God sent, Saint Paul's revival and the Holy Spirit would get men down at the altar like their mother and daddy used to do and cry out on the altar till God gives them the baptism of the Holy Spirit. That's the truth, my Christian friend. Wake up, tonight, you people in here; and it'll never get any better, I doubt it, 'cause the Bible predicts it to be, and so we're just there. This has become, not a national affair, now it's an individual affair.

22 Look at this man, Elijah, he said, "Send down the drought." And he closed off the heavens that it didn't rain. And now, I want you to, just, to notice now, just for a prefigure what taken place here. Now, when God told Elijah to go do this, and he went down and predicted to the people what was going to happen, well, those people, no doubt, said, "Well, that man's crazy." Now, if you could've seen him come up, he wasn't a great diplomatic looking man. He had an old piece of sheepskin wrapped around him like this, and his beard sticking all out over his face, and hair probably hanging out the same way. And he walked down the street, little old skinny, boney body with a oil cruse hanging on his side and a stick in his hand, walking down the street; but God was with him.
That's what's the matter today, brother. We have went to the big church or some brethren say, "Oh, well, our church looks better than yours. And ours does this, that, or the other." You're looking at the outside. What does it make any difference there? What kind of a people has it got in it? Has it got a people there who loves God, prays to God, worships, a prayer meeting, and so forth? You'll see a prospering church when you see that kind of a people. Yes, sir, not the building. God said, "Sacrifices and so forth," said, "I have none. And Solomon built Him a house. But howbeit the most High dwelleth not in houses made by hands for He said, Heaven is My throne and earth is My footstool: and where is the house of My rest? But a heart has Thou prepared me, a body." God comes to the individual.

23 Then, I noticed this prophet as he had an alternative, and he prayed that it might not rain so that the people could be saved. And I imagine hearing those people in that day say, "Say, did you hear what that holy-roller said? It isn't going to rain anymore till he calls for it. Did you ever hear of anything like that? Nonsense." They went on out in their big parties, dancing and gaiety just like they always did. That's what throwed our nation into the chaos, when they were drinking and drunken and carousing around when Pearl Harbor struck down there. If they'd been on the alert and been prayed up and had a prayer meeting down there that night, they wouldn't have fell into the hands of the Japanese as they did.

24 And I'll tell you tonight, if we was prayed up and the nation was prayed up and people was living godly, we wouldn't have droughts and famines and pestilence and things like we're having now; if men and women lived right before God. But the trouble of it is, look down through your own city of Louisville, cross over in Jeffersonville. Look down in New Albany, heard an analysis of it, New Albany, twenty-seven thousand people, and forty percent of them has never been to church or don't belong to any church, forty percent of the people of New Albany, Indiana. I forget how many thousands of children in Boston, Massachusetts didn't even know what the name of Jesus Christ meant, of children. Could you imagine that? And talking about a Christian nation, why, brother, it's as black as Africa. That's right.
What are we going to do? No wonder God shut off... No wonder we ought to get ready. I believe over in Amos it said, "Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel. Being that you wouldn't hear the Message and so forth." Said, "Prepare." And if there ever was a time that the world ought to be preparing for the second coming of Christ, is now. Hear it.

25 You prepare for weddings. You say, "Why must I prepare? Why must I start to get ready to meet God, preacher? What are you speaking of?" You prepare for a wedding. And you can be disappointed in that. Yes, sir. You can say I prepare for a great meeting somewhere or something another, you can be disappointed in that. But there's one preparation that you're not going to be disappointed, that's you got to meet God, every one of you. So, what makes me think, every time I know, I see a gray hair, it speaks to me, "I must get ready to meet God." Every time I hear a siren, I know that I must meet God. It's a preparation time. Every time I hear of a death or anything, it's a preparation time, God preparing. And when you see those things, to you see sickness, and see the doctor's office, you see those things, it's a warning, prepare to meet God for it's at hand.
You see a man, young man, here this week, and look back and it look like it hasn't been no time, and there he is broke down, his hairs are turning gray, and the beautiful young woman, she's withering away. That's a warning, prepare to meet God. Yes, sir, and everything that's pointing you to that will witness against you at the Day of Judgment. When I come to the end of the road and you come to the end of the road when we get there, God is going to make everything here, the trees, is going to make every warning be rise up in judgment against us. Even the cries of the wicked will condemn you. When the cries of the wicked that is in hell, when you stand there and say, "Well I didn't... I meant to do right, I..." There'll be millions of them in hell, say, "You have to condemn him, because I had the same intention and you sent me down here. You're not just, God, if you let him get by with it."

26 If the virgin Mary had to go up in an upper room, and stay there till she was filled with the Holy Spirit in such a way till she staggered like a woman that was drunk under strong drink, how are you going to get in, anything less than that? Yes, sir, brother, it's time for us to quit fooling with it, and come on up and get right with God. And the power of God get into our lives. That's the truth. Yes.

27 Ahab, he wouldn't listen to Elijah. Elijah walked up... Could you image a fellow looking like that now? An ol' burly looking man and his little ol' body walked up there and pointed his finger in the king's face. And said, "It's not going to even be dew fall from the heavens till I call for it." Well, I imagine the king said, "Well, who are you?" But he knowed what he was talking about. He knowed the Word of the Lord. That's the reason ministers today, and everything, keep telling you prepare to meet God, because they know Word of the Lord, and know these are warnings everywhere. Famine, pestilence, and earthquakes, and so forth, He said, "All these are the beginning of sorrow. Then they shall deliver you up: and you shall be hated of all nations for My Name's sake."
Looky here in America today, friends, all this we talk about being a religious nation, and they just built, in Chicago, a temple to a heathen god, worth millions of dollars. And the true Gospel of Jesus Christ, many times, is preached in little old missions and things along the street; can't get a dime hardly to support their program.
And here, the pastor said, a while ago, that this little church here, was thirty thousand dollars in debt, and we Christians in America, and call ourselves a Christian nation, when heathens are coming over and build a million dollar temple. And I walked through that temple of continuity up there, when the Devil was so powerful, you could strike it everywhere. If you're spiritual, you'll understand what I mean. There it was, in there, said, they said, "Here's Mohammed here, this is for this over here, and that over there." That'll never work, no, sir. There's only one way, and that's Jesus Christ, the Son of God is the Door and the Gate. And Christ is not dead, He lives in His people.

28 Elijah goes up to the mountain. God told him, said, "Go up there on top the mountain," (the driest place there was, of all of it), " and sit down up there by that little brook Cherith. I have commanded the ravens to feed you." Could you imagine it? And then the people say, "Well, we'll get along all right," a drought set in.
Notice, things begin to come the way the Word of God said it would come. And now they wondered... they thought that that man was crazy. But there he was setting up there eating three meals a day. Crows come and fed him. Well, they... He was better off than a lot of you people here. He had some colored porters. I'd imagine there isn't hardly any of you here, has got servants. But that man setting up there in the wilderness and God made ravens come and feed him. Now you said, "Where did the... where'd those ravens get them sandwiches they was bringing him?" Well, I don't know, that's not for me to know, I can't tell you. The only thing I know, they got them somewhere. And they brought them to Elijah and he eat them, and stayed alive for three years and six months. Amen. The only thing I know, the ravens brought them and Elijah eat it.

29 You say, "Brother Branham, do you mean to tell me there's such a thing as you preach a heartfelt religion?"
Yes, sir. I believe it. If you don't feel it, you haven't got it. That's one thing sure. If I couldn't feel this coat, I wouldn't know I had it on. That's exactly right.
Old fellow one time said... This is not, I don't joke in the pulpit, I don't believe it, don't believe in it. This is no place for jokes, this is a place for the Word of God. An old colored man said, "I carry this Bible."
Said, "You can't read it." Said, "What do you carry it for?"
Said, "I carry it because I believe it." Said, "You, well, I carry it for that reason. I can't read it; says, 'Holy Bible' wrote on it, and I know that it's holy."
And he said, "Well, you believe." His boss said, "Do you believe that a man can have heartfelt religion?"
He said, "Yes, boss."
He said, "Well, how.There is no such a thing as heartfelt religion."
He said, "You just missed one word. There's no such a thing as heartfelt religion, as far as you know." But he knowed different.

30 One day he said, "When... Where... I want to get that heartfelt religion." He said, "It's a rainy day. We can't work."
He said, "Come on." He took him out to the corn crib. It was nice and dry. Said, "Can I receive it here?"
The old darkie said, "No, sir."
He went up in the hayloft, said, "Can I receive it here?"
Said, "No, boss."
Said, "Where do we receive it?"
And he pulled up his trouser leg, like this and walked out in the pigpen and the mud like that. Said, "Come on out, boss." Said, "Here's where you get it, out here."
He said, "I can't come out there to get it." Said, "I don't want it out there."
He said, "You don't want it bad enough. That's the reason."

31 Brother, I tell you when a man's really getting hungering and thirsting for God, he'll receive it. The trouble of it is, that the church is not hungry enough tonight for God, is the reason the Holy Spirit is not moving in the church tonight. That's the reason the signs of the apostles... They sometimes say, "Brother Branham, how does this healing and the miracles and signs and wonders.?" It'll work if you believe it. If you'll take God at His Word, it'll produce. God let me live to prove that around the world that that's true. And so will it work tonight in a drought or anything else. If you'll meet God's condition, God will meet you on those grounds. But you got to come to His conditions.

32 Look, Elijah setting up there by this pool drinking when he wished to and ravens feeding him. Then it come the time when they begin to hunt up... want for Elijah. And they went out to try to find this man of God. Now, I want you to notice what he told them for a preparation. And the thing that worked in that day for a preparation will work in Louisville, Kentucky. It'll work for you people, who are going to come here this next coming Tuesday night and Tuesday afternoon to pray for the rain.
Now, listen close. Elijah said, "First, go call up four hundred of them prophets. Go call your opposition and bring it up here." And said, "When you get it up here," said, "then let's cut a bullock in two and you give them their chance and let them call on their god. And then you give me a chance to call on my God." And I want you to notice, after they'd pour... went up and the heathens had carried on over their religion and so forth. It was dead, there was nothing and Elijah walked out and put his hands across his breast, maybe this way and said, "Why don't you call a little louder? Maybe it's pursuing. Maybe he's in battle. Why don't you speak to him?" Yes, sir.
Now, you have a beer party down here to start your gaiety, or have a big picnic somewhere, and let the whole world turn in to that and bring rain on the earth. Are you... Let's try that tonight. You just open up every saloon, give everybody all the drinks they can, and make the Christian stay home and not pray and everything like that, and see if you can bring rain and prosperity to the nation. That's right. But then you close them, every one, up. Stop all your meanness and everything, and get down on your knees and call out to God and watch what happens. Let the God that answers be God. Let's do a trial.

33 I've seen that tried a many time. I said, "You get one of the persons and let's bring the sick and afflicted and find out Who's God." God will be the same thing in this. If you people around this area here want an old fashion pouring down rain, you just get down on your knees, and all of you around here start calling out to God with a sincere heart. Burn up everything in your house, take that beer bottles out of the icebox, throw that deck of cards away. Take the children and take off to Sunday school next... And stay in prayer instead of running out and running around, and gadding about the way you do. Get on your knees and start praying, God will send you a rain. That's right, make preparation.
I want you to notice old Elijah. Oh, my. Amen. Don't get excited. Amen means "so be it." It won't hurt you. I haven't hurt no one yet. Notice, I get a little excited, maybe, sometime, but it's Something inside of me making me excited. Do you believe in that? Sure, Something inside of you makes the excitement. Once I... What if I'd go out here tonight and say, "Say, I see the moon shining. What are you shining about moon?" And the moon would say, "It's not me shining. It's the sun shining on me." That's what it is. If you live close enough to God so the power of the Holy Spirit can fall on you, it'll reflect the Presence of God. Amen.

34 Up in the mountains, when I go hunting, oh, I just love nature. I used to get out there to an old spring. It was the happiest thing I ever seen. It just bubble, bubble, bubble all the time. And I set down by it one day, I thought, "What makes you so happy. I wish that I had that much energy. You're jumping and bubbling all the time." And I said, "Are you happy because deers drink up to you?"
He'd say, "No."
I said, "Because bears drink there?"
"No."
"Maybe it's because I drink there."
"No."
If he could talk I'd say, "What makes you so happy?"
He'd say, "Brother Branham, it ain't me bubbling. It's something behind me pushing me, making me bubble." And that's the way it is with a man who's right with God, it's Something behind him, pushing him, bubbling him. It makes him testify. It makes you cry. It makes you get right with God. It makes you believe in God because the very reason was.

35 I could say to that light bulb tonight, "What are you shining for?"
He'd say to me, if he could speak, he'd say, "Brother Branham, it's not me shining, I'm just a wire and a bulb here. But it's something running through me making me shine." And that is every man that's born of the Spirit of God: he can't help from believing God does things, because the power of God has, from a great dynamo yonder, a generator that's moving in that man's innermost beings, and he has to shine out in a testimony for the glory of God. Amen. What we need's an old fashion breaking up. What we need's a cleaning up. What we need is a.not a whitewashing, but a washing white. All we need's a getting rid of these things that... The Bible said, "Let us lay aside every weight, that so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that's set before us. Looking to the Author and Finisher of our faith, Jesus Christ."

36 Elijah said, "Now, the first thing I want you to do, when you get ready for my sacrifice to prove Who's God, if you want to see some rain around here, now the first thing I want you to do is go get me twelve stones." Twelve stones represented the twelve tribes of Israel. And that's the only way we'll ever have a revival in America. That's the only way we'll ever get back to God the way we should. The Methodist has got to recognize the Baptist. The Baptist has got to recognize the Presbyterian and we've got to recognize one another as brothers and sisters in Christ, and quit segregating ourselves off like this and have an old fashioned revival. Amen.
An old fashion, God sent, sky blue, sin killing religion (yes, sir, brother) that'll make you what you ought to be. Start an old fashion testimony meeting in the chur-.well, you can't hear a testimony meeting no more, get around, the church is so cold, the spiritual thermometer goes forty below zero. Nobody in there praying, you come into the church and they're all jostling one with another, joking around, walking up and down the aisles, and chewing chewing gum and talking about the washing and this other thing and that. You ought to be praying. Amen.

37 That's the reason God can't get a hold of hearts is because that men won't let Him. You got your life all choked up with something else. Some kind of an organization or, "that you must do this." "Well, they got a revival down at the Methodist or the Baptist. Hah, that's not my church. I don't go down there." Sure, you're a member of that church. Every man that's born again of the Spirit of God is a member of the Body of Christ. Amen. And every man that's born of the Spirit of God has that kind of a motive towards his Christian brother. Although you might differen in little bitty things, but, what difference does that make? You say, "Well, the Methodist sprinkle and we baptize." That don't have nothing to do with it. The thing to do, brother, if in your heart you can't recognize that to be your brother, you need a trip to God's altar to get right with God. "Well, they're down at the Church Of The Open Door, I belong to the Baptist Church. No need me going down there praying for rain." Oh, brother, don't do that. If you do, you'll never get rain. You'll close the heavens again. Yes, sir.

38 Elijah said, "Bring me twelve stones representing the twelve tribes of Israel." And he loaded them together, load them one on top of the other, and when them stones come together, it represented the tribes coming together. Then the sacrifice, the bullock was laid on top of the stones. That's the Blood of Jesus Christ covering all His children. Then he said, "Now, to be sure that it's not false, or anything about it." Everything God does, is in there, above board. He said, "Now, bring me seven barrels of water. And they poured the barrels of water up on top of them sacrifice, and they made a trench and the water run all down around like that. Said, "You see, there's no fire around it. It's absolutely genuine." Churches together, the sacrifice laying bleeding, now Elijah walked out and said, "Lord God, I've done all this at Your command. Let it be known today that Thou art God and I am Thy prophet." And about that time, the fire of God begin to fall, begin to lick up the sacrifice and all the water around; took up the sacrifice and received his efforts. And Elijah slew all the priests over there that was against God; went down there and set down by the side of the mountain, said, "Now, Lord, I have done all this that you said. The people have received us and all cried out in one accord, 'Let God be God. Let God be God.'"

39 Then the people begin to cry with one accord. Then Elijah went down there and said, "Now, Lord, look, Your people's all with one accord. There's three years and six months that there hasn't been a sprig of grass growing or nothing. Everything's dead, the people are just about to perish. All the waters are gone, and just a few mules has been saved, and so forth, of the stock. Look what a time it is, and now they've repented and they're coming back to you." Said, "O Lord God, send rain."
Said, "Go up Gehazi and look."
He looked and he said, "The skies are like brass."

40 Oh, I wished I had time to go into that right now, what brass means. Brass speaks of "Divine judgment." The laver at the altar, where the sacrifice was offered, it was a brazen altar, where the lambs were throwed, the sacrifice, judgment, Divine judgment. Look back there... Moses, when he lifted up the brass serpent in the wilderness, that stick on the pole, that stick represented the cross. The serpent, in itself, serpent represented "sin already judged from the garden of Eden," and brass represented "Divine judgment." Divine judgment, that Christ, that... what... It seems strange that God would let this represent His Son: but a snake. A snake represents "sin" and sin judged by Divine judgment was the brass serpent on the pole. Amen. I just love that.
God sparing not His Own Son, but sent Him made in the likeness of sinful flesh that He might reconcile us to Himself. How God has unfolded Hisself, trying to get into the heart of man down through the age. Oh, you're a wretch without an excuse. How that God, back there in that Pillar of Fire, away from man but looking down, and loving man. And then, no one could touch the mountain where He settled on. Smoke and fire and lightning flying every way, no one could come near the mountain, even if a beast touched, it must be killed.

41 Notice, then after God manifested Hisself to the children of Israel in a Pillar of Fire, that same God revealed Hisself in a body, Jesus Christ. God with us, manifesting Himself here. Unfolding Himself down now from something that couldn't be touched, to a virgin-born body, in order to give this body as a sacrifice to die and to go away and return back again. And now God unfolded Hisself in the Pillar of Fire into a virgin-born body, and now into the hearts of sinful men that's been regenerated by the blood of this Sacrifice. It's more... I couldn't explain it.
How God could love the people so. And all these things and pestilence and things brings us only a warning and a love token to you to get you ready to meet God. Now, when you go home, if there's sin in the camp, burn it up. Get ready for a revival. Come down here, and not only pray for a rain on the earth here to water the things, when billions and millions of dollars worth of stuff is destroyed. Why? Why is it?

42 Here about three years ago, I forget how many thousand rural churches was turned into sheep barns. And that same year, it's been two years ago, I was reading statistics on it, that that same year there was hatched out thirteen million infidels. Why? Why, men and women? Why does it permit? Because the Devil has come in here and is riding us all down, and quoting big pictures and painting wonderful things and he's got you so blind till you can't see the coming of the Lord, yonder.
Young folks, old folks, whoever you are, prepare, get ready to meet God. Prepare yourself, prepare for the end time. We're at the end of the road. One of these days... Do you know the Bible predicts that this world's going to be burnt up with fire? Do you know the Bible said in the last days that the heat was so great upon the earth until men would dig holes to get into it and try to hide themselves from the wrath of God? Do you know diseases are predicted to have, in the last days, till even great men and chief captains and so forth would break out and rot in their flesh, and birds would eat from their bodies, birds of the heavens that fly down and eat on their bodies before they died? You say, "How can those things be?" It's a mystery to you. So was the horseless carriage a mystery to you. So was electric lights. So was airplanes and so forth a mystery.

43 When the prophet give, twenty-five hundred years ago, that missionaries would travel from place to place and go into the nations and wouldn't leave a track behind them, coming by airplane. Twenty- five hundred years ago, before there was thought such a thing. Nahum, four thousand years ago, said that the chariots would rage in the broad ways and look like their headlights would be like a torches and they would run like lightning. And anybody's ever been in the oriental countries, their little old streets are not much wider than that aisle through there, just where a horseman could go down, or a carriage. And he seen the broad ways, he said they'd be the carriages shall rage in the broad ways. That prophet, through the power of God, looking down through an eye of God and said there'd, in other words, there'll be automobiles, there'll be airplanes, and men will come in the last days where they'll be, "Heady, highminded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, despisers of those that are good; having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." That's the Scripture. We're at the end time, friend.

44 Listen, tell you what let's you and I do, let's do like Elijah. Let's get the things right. Let's get back to God. Then Elijah put his head down and he prayed. He said, "O God, send the rain." He went up. Gehazi come back and said, "It looks like brass." He went again, till he went the seventh time. And when he went the seventh time he said, "I see a cloud rising up out of the sea, just looks like a man's hand." And Elijah said, "I hear the sound of abundance of rain. Go tell Ahab to gird up his loin and go to Jezreel 'cause there's a great rain coming."
Look what unbelief would have done then. Unbelief of today, the 1953 version of that would said, "If that's all you can send, well, just take it back." But when Elijah saw the first moving of the hand of God, he said, "I hear the sound of abundance of rain." Look, like a man's hand. Look here, J-e-s-u-s. When he seen that standing in the skies, he knowed everything was all right. That's right. Everything was all right. When he seen Jesus come on the scene.

45 Brother, what this nation needs today to end this drought, to end these pestilence... Look at diseases breaking out when doctors don't even know what they are. And looky here, we're developing drugs... Now I'm.I preach Divine healing, I'm not against drugs, you realize that. No, sir. They're God given, but today they become a... I don't know what to call it. When here not long ago, riding on the road, I picked up an agent and we were talking together in a filling station. And he was talking to me about Divine healing. He said the medical racket has become the greatest in the nation. They kill as many as they help. They give a shot of penicillin, it'll help you get rid of a bad cold, it'll set up something else that might take your life.

46 Here I come back from overseas, Doctor Adair, my friend in Jeffersonville, he said, "Billy, I don't want to give you penicillin. I'll give you some Chloromycetin." I was up there praying for the sick and everything. And I was sneezing around; the wife said, "Well, you just come out of that hot climate, get... take some medicine." And I took them things and I... didn't do me no good. And I went and got another bottle of them and took them, and I got so swimmy- headed, I couldn't stand up. And I called, I said, "Doc, you know, them things makes me swimmy-headed."
He said, "How many you took?"
I said, "Two bottles."
He said, "Mercy, goodness, enough to kill you. Quit taking them." There's only one thing about a bad cold, if you take medicine, you have it seven days. If you leave it alone, you have it one week. So, there, you can suit yourself. So now, that's it.
But let me tell you, brother... Look, then at the Moody Bible Institute up there, I was up there at the broadcast, in Chicago, when the medical science was giving their estimation on the... of their... about drugs. They said, "Don't take Chloromycetin because it sets up a rare blood disease, there's no cure for it." Hmm, I wonder... and here you see on these days.

47 Let me tell you all America. And listen to this, you! Listen! I have seen here the other day in a medical journal where they was getting after these cigarette companies that's putting out these things, that doctors prescribe for certain-certain cigarettes. There's no true doctor prescribes for nothing like that. It's nothing in the world but a trick of the Devil. And you look at this here, this month's Reader's Digest. They taken seven rats over here in the medical research at St. Louis, Missouri, and put seven rats in there and give them one cigarette a day for a year and all seven rats had cancer at the end of the year. And now they claim, I forget how many; eighty thousand cases of throat and lung cancer is caused by cigarette smoking. And the cigarette firm knew as soon as they could get a woman to indulge in that they had it made. And there are more men has cigarette cancer than what women does, because men's been smoking longer than me-... women.
Let me tell you something today, brother, America's loaded down with that tommyrot. And all they got on the programs, and the radio time, and everything sold as such as that, because they got the sway of the world. That's right. Why, the Gospel of Jesus Christ ought to be preached in its power; and men and women born again, and come away from such stuff as that, and live for God. Let me tell you something, brother, you say, "Now, Brother Branham, you're going to teaching about morals." You just get the old fashion baptism of the Holy Ghost and you'll find out what God will do for you.

48 You say, "Will I have to quit smoking, Brother Branham, to get the baptism of the Holy Ghost?" Listen, when springtime comes, we live, here in this country, there's a lot of little ol' scrub oak. You know what it is around here. It's got its leaves all year around. They're hanging on right now. They'll hang on till next spring. Now, when springtime comes, you don't have to go out and pick all the old leaves off. My, just let the new life come up and the old leaf drops off. Just get down here at the altar and stay, Tuesday, until God fills your heart with the Holy Ghost, and you won't have any more time for that kind of stuff. You won't have to preach against it or nothing. It'll take care of itself.

49 "I don't know what to do." He said, "I just don't know what to do."
I said, "What's the matter, Brother Reidhead?" A man of his position.
He said, "I come to you." Said, "Not long ago, I stood by an Indian from India." And he'd been educated here in America. "And I said, 'Why don't you forget your old dead prophet, Mohammed, and accept the resurrected Lord?'" Listen now, closely.
He said, "Sir, what can your resurrected lord do for me any more than my dead prophet can?"
"Why," he said, "Our resurrected Lord is raised from the dead. He gives us happy and joy and everything."
He said, "It's pure psychology. We have the same thing." Said, "Our dead prophet never promised what your resurrected lord did."
Now, there's been a white horse standing at the grave of Mohammed ever since he died two thousand years ago. He claimed that he would raise again. He said, "Your lord raised. And he promised that the things that he did, shall you also and even greater." He said, "Let our Mohammed raise and the whole world will know it." And said, "Your lord's been raised for two thousand years and two-thirds of the people never heard his name."
What's the matter? You've substituted theology for the Holy Spirit. That's exactly right. You've took church creed and took in the place, and let the church creed govern the church when the Holy
Ghost ought to have the way in the church to lead the church. That's exactly right. You'll have to come back to God's program before God can ever turn anything. It's got to be God in you. Amen.

50 He said he stood there whipped and changed the subject. He stood there in the room and said, "Brother Branham, I've been to the Pentecostals and everything;" but said, "I want to ask you something: Is the baptism of the Holy Ghost real?"
I said, "Brother Reidhead, as God lives of Heaven."
He said, "Is it.?"
I said, It's real."
He said, "Can I receive it?"
I said, "Yes, sir, it's 'whosoever will, let him come.'"
He said, "Has the teachers been wrong?"
I said, "Reverently I say it, brother, and with the fear of God in my heart. Yes, sir, they've been wrong." They've tried to educate you into it when you can't be educated to it. You're born in it. Yes, sir, not joined in it, not shook hands in it, not lettered in it, you're born in it. I'm a Branham because I was born forty-four years ago in the Branham family. They never did ask me to join the family. I was born in it. And that's the way a man's born in the kingdom of God, by the baptism of the Holy Spirit, puts him into the kingdom of God, and a joint heir with Jesus Christ. Amen. That's what we need tonight, friends. You know that's the truth. Yes, sir.

51 And there, laying hands on Doctor Reidhead, he received the baptism of the Holy Ghost. He's been right here in this church, I guess. Yes, sir, Doctor Reidhead, he went out and got started. Don Wells, one of the best known Baptists of the southern states here, walked down there and received the baptism of the Holy Ghost in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He set in my den room up there and said, "Brother Branham, I believe it's real and coming from God." And here, Lee and all the rest of them come and has received the baptism of the Holy Ghost. While hundreds and hundreds of men and women across the world... When here come the other day out of Kentucky, here, your main leading of the Christian church, and set on my porch while the movie studios was up there trying to take a picture of the place. And said, "Brother Branham, is the baptism of the Holy Ghost real?" He said, "I'm tired of church theology. I want something real."
What is it, brother? Men and women, we're coming to the end of the road, hungering and thirsting. God is pouring out His Spirit and the people are seeing it and running to Life. They're getting up to Cherith up yonder, where God has commanded the ravens to feed them. That's right.

52 And these little old missions around town, these places are looked upon as a bunch of fanatics, watch out, brother, sometime it might be a meal ticket to you. That's exactly right. Seek God. When you come to this meeting now... I'm sorry, I've kept you long.
But when you come to this meeting Tuesday night, come prepared. I tell you what you do, kill off all of your old long-robed priests. They stand around saying, "The days of miracles is past. There's no such a thing as the glory of God in the human heart. It's all imagination."
Let me tell you something right now, if Jesus Christ raised from the dead, He's living in His church today and we are His representatives. If Jesus is here, look in the meetings, come to the campaigns once when the anointing of the Holy Ghost comes, if it doesn't produce the very same life of Jesus Christ: healing; knowing; foretelling; saying what will, what will not. Watch it if it isn't true. What is it? Jesus isn't dead. He rose from the dead. He said, "A little while and the world will see Me no more; but you will see Me: for I'll be with you, even in you, to the end of the world." He's here tonight. That's right.

53 I can see the wise men as they went to worship him. I can see them getting ready to go. I can hear, oh, one of them say, "What are you doing? You didn't take any compasses," wife said, "how are you going to get through the valleys? How are you going to get over the mountains? How are you going to get over there to worship Him?"
He'd say, "Look, wife, I don't need any of your man-made stuff. I'm going God's provided way. I see a star hanging yonder and that star is going to lead me to the Christ. I don't need compasses anymore. I'm following that star." And it took him right straight to Christ.

54 And brother, you might take, join this church, join that church, you'll go to the Methodist awhile. If they do something over there you don't like, you'll take your paper out and go over and join the Baptist. If you don't like it over there, well, you'll come over here at the Nazarene, join them. You go back over to the Presbyterians and join them or over at the Christian Church. You've packed your paper till it's wore out. Why don't you forget, and tear the thing up, and put your name on the Lamb's Book of Life in Heaven, where it can't be moved. And there with fellowship with the Methodist brother, the Baptist, the Presbyterian, and come together in these union meetings and worship God and let your heart be open and be a brother to all men. Say, "God bless you, brother." If the man's in the wrong, don't condemn him, help him up.
When you see these drunks and prostitutes on the street, don't point your scornful finger and say, "I'm better than they are." The thing to do, that person's just as low as they can get now, if anything, take them by the hand and lift them up and point them to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who can save them. But, oh, I belong to the church that we don't have such people as that in our church. We've drawed a boundary line now. We just let a certain class of people come to our churches. That's right. What we need today is that old fashion, Holy Ghost revival, a nationwide, which makes us all shake hands with one another and call one another, "brother and sister." God bless you.

55 I hope... I'm a poor preacher. I don't know how to carry a subject but I know one thing, I love God. I know that with all my heart. And I know the old fashioned religion that give me new birth, that taken me out of a home of corruption, that taken me out of the gutters of sin and made a Christian out of me, if that'll save me, will save you. That that brought healing to my body will bring it to yours; that who made me turn my face from the things of the world and look to Christ. And tonight, brother, I couldn't help it, if He'd condemn me at the end of the road and say, "William Branham, you go to hell." And I'd go down into the pits of hell, if there is such a thing as love there, I'd love Him there. That's right. I couldn't help it.

56 Here not long ago, I'd had a trial. They're precious to you. I buried a little baby this afternoon out of a home over there that the little baby was born, died right away. Little mother and father, I said, "Oh it's just a... What is it? It's a little cut. It's something to bring you closer to God."
I remember when my little girl had died and I laid her on my mo-... the mother's arms and buried them out there in the graveyard. My father died. My brother got killed instantly. All that happened just at once. And there I was going up the road one day, a pair of boots on, right after the flood, walking, tears running down my cheeks. I couldn't stand it hardly walking up the road. Mr. Isler, of Jeffersonville there, he's the something another in the state law there, I... Senate, I believe. Anyhow, he was going up the highway and he seen me and he stopped his car. He come to the church once in a while, my little church. He put his arm around me and he said, "Billy, I want to ask you a question."
I said, "All right, Brother Isler. What is it?"
He said, "Your father died in your arms. Your brother died before you could get to him. You was holding the hand of your wife when she... you kissed her good-bye and told her you'd meet her at the gate." Said, "And turned right around and walked down in there and God took your baby right out of your arms and you standing there praying for it." Said, "What does he mean to you today?"
I said, "He's more than life to me."
Said, "Do you still love Him?"
I said, "Brother Isler, I could deny myself before I could Him."
Why?
I said, "Down yonder in a little ol' coal shed one night, as a sinner boy, I was kneeling on a grass sack, praying. There's something happened here. A new creature was born. William Branham died and Christ Jesus come in. And since then I love Him, Mr. Isler." If the whole world should turn me down, everything else, I still love Him. If He condemns me, I still love Him.

57 Oh, love of God how rich, how pure. And I know I'm getting older each day, and I know some of these days I've got to come down to the end of the road. I know my last sermon will be preached one of these days; I'll pray for my last sick person. A while ago, they was asking me about a church or something another like that, I said, "I'd love to have a great church. But how can I stand to see them little black hands reaching over yonder in Africa and India that's never heard the Gospel one time, when there's big churches on every corner." Oh, it's not fair.
And one of these days, when I come to the end of the road, I done, I fixed it with the Lord a long time ago. I said, "Lord, I don't want no trouble when I come down there that morning. If there's anything wrong in my life, let me make it right now, for I won't have time when I come to the river. I don't want no trouble down there." I've got a lot of brier patches I've went through. I been cut and bruised and called and scorned and laughed and anything, but I haven't kept my eyes on people. It's on Christ. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other grounds is sinking sand.

58 As I move yonder, one of these days, if I live to be an old man, these few hairs that's left here will probably be hanging down and turning gray. Most all Branham's, when they get old, take the palsy, they shake hard. And I suppose, maybe, standing yonder by the river one of these mornings, I'll be standing leaning on my cane, with these gray hairs stringing down around, shaking with this old Bible in my hand. And I know, the doctor has left the room, and said, "He's gone, he's... nothing to be done for him. The end of the road's come." When I'm standing there listening to breakers dash against the shore yonder and I look back down a path, I want to see it carve through every brier patch for the name of the Jesus Christ. When I know my days is ended, I know my time is come, I want to take off my helmet and lay it down on the shore like that, kneel down on there and take the old sword and stick it back in the sheath of eternity. And raise my feeble hands to God and say, "God, I've done the best that I know how. I've done all that I know how, shove out the lifeboat, Father, I want to come home."

59 I believe He'll be there to meet me. I believe He'll be there to meet me. He won't disappointment me, that hour. That's right, I believe He'll stand there. And I believe He'll stand with every man and woman here tonight that'll believe Him on that ground. If you haven't believed Him that way, believe Him tonight. Won't you? Accept Him in your heart, now. Purpose in your heart that from this night on, you're going to serve God. You're going to tear down all the old mournful things, saying, "The days of miracles is past. Heartfelt religion." Slay them things like Elijah did and come and worship a God who answers by Holy Ghost and Fire. Amen. May the Lord bless you while we bow our head just a moment, and if the organist will, go to the organ, just a moment, sister, if you will. If you will, bow your heads, just a moment.

60 Oh, Father, dear, such a tremendous time we're living, in the greatest time of all the ages. How the prophets would have longed to have seen our day, the announcing of the coming of Jesus. And we realize that mortal men and women are setting here tonight, the purchase of Thy Blood. And now, they've been committed here to us, to preach the Gospel. Receive these few broken words, Father, and mend them together in some way and place them in some heart here tonight that's without you, without hope. Maybe pretended to be a Christian for years but has never been born again, don't know what it means. God if that person's here, won't you speak just now. A loving Father, waiting just across the water yonder, with outstretched arms, calling the wayward in. Will You grant it just now, Father? For we ask it in His Name.

61 And while you have your head bowed, I wonder if there's a man or woman in here would just raise up your hand and say... Don't no one look, now, just let the Lord and I look. And if you'd just raise up your hand, say, "Brother Branham, I'm right now sincere, my heart before God. I really, if I knowed I had to, wasn't coming back no more, this is my last night, I truly, I'd have a lot to repent for and I'd want to make my life different than what it is now." Would you just raise up your hand, say, "Will you pray for me, Brother Branham, that I will meet the conditions God has asked?" God bless you and you and you. Oh, that's right, just, that's right, all over the building, there's hands going up from everywhere. God bless you. God bless you, you, you, you, dozen or more hands in one section.
All right, over to my left, is there any over this way in the left? Raise up your hand. No one look but just the Lord and I, please. Raise up your hand, say, "Brother Branham, these things may be secretly." You just want, you, maybe you belonged to church a long time but you want, you really want a close walk with God. You say, "Brother Branham, I want to really have what Jesus wants me to have, the baptism of the Holy Spirit in Its power and I want to be a shining light for Him. I'm raising up my hand so God will see it and I want you to pray for me." Would you do it, in, to my left side? God bless you, that's right. All down the row. God bless you, all along. Yes, just hands, dozens of them. God bless you.

62 While our heads are bowed, O God, we realize that someday, one by one, if you tarry, each one of these people that put up their hands will go, one by one, to an altar somewhere in a casket, or be destroyed in the river, or in fire, or a wreck, or somewhere. But God, they got a soul there that's going to live on forever. I pray Thee, Father, with all my heart, with all my soul, that you'll not let one of them be lost, if Thy servant has found favor in Your sight. Then I pray that you'll answer my prayer. If you'll open the eyes of the blind, and, like in the service this morning: a little baby standing there born deaf and dumb and the spirit left it and was there normal. O Lord God, You, who can do those things, You, who can make the blind to see and the cripples to walk, hear their prayer, Lord. And you seen their hands. You knowed every one of the them. You was the One Who had them to raise their hand. Grant it, Lord, that You'll hear my prayer and not one will be lost but all be saved.

63 And Father, in this coming meeting, coming here, Tuesday night and Tuesday afternoon, O God, may there be... may the priest stand between the altar and the... and God and hang on to the horns of the altar and weep between the porch and the door, and may there be old fashioned conviction everywhere. And God, I pray that you'll send an old fashion revival and a good sweeping rain that'll water this beautiful country through here. Grant it, Lord. And may, again, the wheels hum the song going to the church on Sunday morning and Wednesday night prayer meeting and may this great lovely nation of ours that you've give it, as our poets of long ago prayed and sang in the hymns, "Long may our land be bright with freedom's holy light; protect us by Thy might, great God, our King."
Grant it, Lord, that once again, that America will turn to God, and we'll have this drought broke and these pestilence stopped, these plagues removed. Grant it, Lord, and may freedom... when everybody's in fear wondering when the atomic bomb would strike, and we're told that in one hour's time, the whole nation could be blowed up. O God, and that great thing is right in the hands of our enemy, and they're well prepared to do it, just Your mercy holding. O God, may men take advantage of this. May sinful men and women everywhere repent. And grant it, Lord. Then send us an old fashioned rain, rain of the Holy Ghost and a rain of the waters that'll water the lands and water the church. And may we all serve You as long as we live and come to Your house in peace at that day. For we ask it in Jesus' Name. Amen.

64 God bless you, for bearing with me all this hour and a half. Wasn't quite five hours, but God bless you and I pray that God will bless each one of you and give you the desire of your heart. It's a happy privilege to get to stand here, be with you. And now, tend to all these meetings that Doctor Cauble has spoke of. And the brother coming from Scotland, attend those meetings and bring the sinners in, and everything. And then, when the meetings are over, remember down at Owensboro, Kentucky, we got a nice big auditorium there seating seven thousand. Everyone's welcome. Come, bring your sick and afflicted. God bless you, Brother Cauble.

65 [A brother makes an altar call and leads the congregation in singing while Brother Branham prays for the people]... God bless you... Won't you come? Won't you come to the altar? God bless you my brother, may the Lord... Just move right out and step in the aisles and find the old fashioned altar. Glory to God.

66 Friends, this is an old fashioned time, like your fathers and mothers had back in the Wesley church and the old fashioned missionary Baptist churches. You just got away from this old time thing. Come to the altar and confess your faults. Come to the altar and tell God about it. If you want just a little closer walk with God, why don't you come up here tonight and stand for prayer. It wouldn't do you a bit of harm. There might be a missionary sitting in here somewhere, tonight, that God wants to send to the field. There might be a preacher. There might be somebody that's facing something. If you are, you might be facing death this very night, tomorrow, I don't know when. But if you're here, why don't you come? That... I just feel, somehow, we ought to just wait just one more moment, while we have one more song or one more verse of that song, rather. Won't you come down here? Just like to shake your hand, stand here so you can just represent Jesus Christ here. He said, "If you're ashamed of Me, I'll be ashamed of you before the Father. But if you'll confess Me, I'll confess you before the Father and the holy angels." Won't you come now? While we sing one more verse, if you will, brother. That's right, sister. I want you to see... Come on down, like an old fashioned altar call. God bless you, I knew you were back there. Come right on down this way and stand right along here at the altar. God bless you. That's... Many of you in here should come. That's the way. Just be open and confess it and come right on out, and God knows your heart. Only thing... That's the way, an old fashioned altar call. Let's sing it now, yeah, come while we're singing now.
...pleading, O list to His voice, (Won't you come now?)
Hear Him today, hear Him today,
... believe on His Name shall rejoice;
Quickly arise and away.
Calling today, calling today,
Jesus is calling, is tenderly calling.

67 Sure, everything's under the Blood now? Everything's all right? If you haven't got the Holy Spirit, come here, stand here just a moment. Let's come. God bless you. Come right on. All right, that's the way. I like to see the people... I see husband and wife and children and all come. It means to me, such a difference in a home.
Friends, we're not asking you to join church, now. We're asking you to come, get right with God. That's right, that's the way. Come right out. Certainly, there's more of you back there that should be here. Certainly, all right, but this... We're just thanking the Lord, now.
Now, to you people penitent, stand here, while the rest of them are standing. Look this way to me just a moment. I want you to look this way. You have a need of God, you wouldn't be standing here. You want a closer walk with God. Look if you... how... Do you want a closer walk? If it is, raise up your hand. You... Do you know the reason you do? There's something in here craving a closer walk. If there's anything in here making you want a closer walk, there's a closer walk for you. When the deep calls to the deep, if something in here is... Before there can be anything in here to make you thirsty, if you thirst for water, there's got to be water somewhere. See? If you... what you want in here, what's in here craving, it shows that there's something out there to respond to the deep call to the deep; there's a deep to respond. Before there's a fin on a fish's back, there had to be a water first for him to swim in or he wouldn't have had no fin. Before there was a tree to grow in the earth, there had to be an earth first or there'd be no tree to grow in it.

68 Here, some time ago, I see where a baby eat the rubbers off of a pencil, eat the eraser off of a pencil, he eat the pedal, rubber pedal from a bicycle. The doctor said, "his body needed sulfur," and sulfur's in rubber. See? He was craving sulfur. If there's something in here craving sulfur, there's sulfur to respond to it. Now, before there can be a creation, there has to be a Creator to create that creation. Is that right? With the Creator, God, by grace and sovereign gra-.No man can come to Jesus, or come to God, except Jesus calls him. See? God has to call you first, it's sovereign election and calling. Now, God has called you, tonight, to a deeper and closer walk. Before He could do that, He has to put that creation in your heart to make you long for it, or you'd have never come. Is that right? Now, being that you have come and answered His call, He's here sovereign to His Word to fulfill what He promised to you.

69 Now, each one of you are going to receive It. Do you believe it? Each one of you are going... I guess there's around a hundred people, nearly standing here, or not that many, maybe, forty, fifty, sixty. But whatever it is standing along here that's wanting more of God, you can have it right now. It's right here, ready for you. The great supernatural God who heals the sick, makes the blind to see, who created the heavens and earth, made the trees, the flowers, His Spirit's moving right through you now. Now, if you could just catch your soul like this and say, "Father, I have come because You have called me and You wouldn't call me here if there wasn't a Fountain to drink from. And I come, by faith I'm accepting It, and I'm now believing that You're going to fill my life with Your Spirit and I'm going to love You, from this on, closer all the time."
Little boy, little Japanese boy there, you believe God is going to give you the Holy Spirit tonight, too? God bless you, all right. Do you believe it over here, sister, that God is going to give you the Holy Spirit tonight? All right.

70 Now, let's bow our heads, the whole congregation, reverently, now. Now, I want this audience that's standing here, the ones that's come here penitent to just repeat what I'm saying. Now, surely, these are the Words that'll defeat Satan. And I want... I'm just going to say them, but I want you to pray them from your heart:
"Almighty God, the Author of Everlasting Life, I have come with true, sincere faith, believing, that You have said, 'Blessed are they, that hunger and thirst, for righteousness, for they shall be filled.' I have come, hungering and thirsting, for righteousness. I believe, that I shall be filled. Now, I'm waiting, Father, and I believe that You're going to fill me right now, with Thy Spirit. In Jesus' Name, I accept it."

71 Now, while you keep your head bowed:
O Lord, I pray Thee just now in the Name of Thy great, powerful Son, Jesus, who died for our sins and died in order that His Ghost could return back to this earth, the Holy Ghost, and dwell among people, and would manifest the Life of Jesus Christ in every believer with power and signs and wonders and miracles. And in this day, when men and women are hungering and thirsting after God, Father, in this glorious little old church, tonight, You have opened up the heart of many people and sent them here to fill them with the power of God. And Father, I pray that while they're standing here in deep sincerity with their hearts bowed before You, I pray that You'll fill each one of them with Your blessings.

72 And by praying, and You have filled all those, Lord, who we have asked for You to, even to the great men of the nation, to the bishops and the doctors and so forth. I believe that You'll fill these lovely, humble people standing here, tonight, with the baptism of the Holy Ghost. May each one of them, may the Holy Spirit surge through their lives right now and take out all that's unlike God. Take out all the things of the world, all the habits and sinful habits of the flesh that they got. Cleanse them, O God, and free them from their sins. And may they leave here, tonight, with a song on their heart, with a testimony on their lips, that they're going from here happy, rejoicing and serving You the rest of their days.
O Holy Spirit, Power Divine, send Thy love and devotion upon each one of them, Lord, and spread forth Your great holy wings and may the power of the Holy Ghost drip upon each one of them. And may their hearts be open to receive Him. Grant it, Lord, and may this be a change of time that they'll never forget as long as they live. In the hours of their death, may they remember, of standing here penitent before You, and confessing before these people that they truly believe You. And may they be filled with Your power, for we ask it in Jesus Christ's Name. Amen.

Elijah

You can find this sermon at ChurchAges.net

1 Good evening, friends. It's a privilege to be in this Shriner Auditorium again just the night of the eve of the closing of this marvelous campaign. I believe this campaign ranks next to the best that I have ever had in Phoenix. The first time was when I was, of course, up here when we stayed so long. I don't believe we had any better meeting than we've had this time. It's been a very fine meeting. And we're very thankful for it. And we pray that God will richly bless each of you.

2 Now, tomorrow night is our closing night; we've got to hurry over to California to the Angelus Temple. And then, Saturday morning we got to be at the Christian Businessmen's Full Gospel Fellowship, internationally, at a broadcast, in the speaking. So then, we are at the Angelus Temple until Thursday of next week.
And then, on Friday we begin at the Stock exhibit, where we was last year with the Full Gospel Businessmen, internationally. We have a lovely big place down there that seats, I think, about eleven, twelve thousand, or maybe a little more. And it's a very nice place, plenty of room, acoustics are good and it's really a nice place. And you're cordially invited to come over any time and visit us, if you're in that part of the country. If you have some loved ones there, we'd be very, very happy for you to write to them and tell them, if they're sick, to come out; we'll do our best to minister to them in the name of the Lord.

3 Today has been a little better day for me. I had a little more rest. Sunday was pretty hard. And today, or yesterday was ... kind of felt the effects of it. You know I'm not no little boy no more. After you pass twenty, of course... You know, I'm just a little past twenty, and so you really feel it after that.
Well, you know, Brother Bosworth here sometime ago... How many know Fred Bosworth, Brother F. F. Bosworth? Nearly everyone knows him, I suppose. Wonderful old veteran of the Gospel. And we were down in his country, Florida, and we'd just had our dinner and we walked out to the seashore, and I was standing out there, forty years old, my shoulders drooped over. He was standing nearly eighty, and his shoulders back like that. I looked at him and I thought, Oh, my.
I said, "Brother Bosworth," I said, "when was you your best?"
"Oh," he said, "right now." He said, "You just misunderstand, Brother Branham." Said, "I'm just a kid living in an old house," he said.

4 So, I thought, God, help me to feel that way if I ever live to be that age. He keeps his youth renewed in his mind. When he gets up at morning, he has to say ... he'll stand there and keep quoting Scriptures. He says, of course, his blood pressure goes low, as old man like that.
But he just was a trip with me through Africa, come back, went back himself, and just returned from Japan. He called me up about six months ago, and he said, "Billy," he said, "how'd you like to go to Japan with me?"
I said, "Well, when you going? Next summer?"
He said, "Right now." No waiting for him. He took off to Japan. Come back, he was with me up to Dallas ... or, not Dallas, but Lubbock, a few weeks ago.
Just in the best of health at nearly eighty years old. So if he can feel that way we ought to be ashamed of ourselves, oughtn't we? That's right, to see as we are ... as young as we are, and then an old man at eighty years old and still preaching the Gospel.
Well, I tell you, one of these days he will set his foot over on the other side. Things will be changed then. Think of it. While you're here tonight, a Christian and sinner, also, alike, I want to give you something to be thinking of while I speak to you just a moment.

5 For instance, tomorrow is packing-up time. We've got to leave. Maybe tonight. Got to leave this world, go somewhere else. And you know, that might be just about so, too.
I heard one of my associates say today that not only in this city, but all the cities around over America; one of my associates said that he seen a car open up and just a teen-age girl started to get out and the beer and whiskey cans and things fell out of the car. The kid just left them lay there and went on in to get something and come back. He said, "If God doesn't soon send judgment upon America, He'll have to resurrect Sodom and Gomorrah and apologize to them." That's right. Resurrect Sodom and Gomorrah and apologize for sinking them (That's right.), if He don't soon send judgment.
We're in for it, friends, that's all. Sure are! But the church is in for it too---a rapture. Amen. That's the wonderful part, the rapture, coming for the church. Be a sad day for the unbeliever then. But it'll be a most marvelous time that we've ever seen or thought for those who are ready at that time when Jesus comes.

6 What if you were taking a trip into the other world that you don't know where, just stepping off. You're old and shaky, you've served the Lord for years and years. And tomorrow you're going to go aboard. There's a ship going to take you away when you get old. And was going ... the ship come in over here to the dock, and you went down and got on this ship; the old foghorn blowed. And she started across the sea, and as soon as you got across... She's made trips back and forth for thousands of years.
And when you set your foot on that new land, somewhere they just discovered a new land. And whenever you set your foot down there, that everyone of those gray hairs went black again. All those wrinkles and worn-down bodies, went back to a young man and woman again, to live forever. Just as soon as your feet touched that land, that's what happens. Well, that's just exactly what happens. That's right.
When the old ship of Zion comes gets it's victim, taking them away. Some of these mornings I expect to hear the whistle blow myself, in the room when the fogs a gathering; this mortal life is spent. I hope that everything's all right then. I believe it will be... He's give me the promise. I believe it with all my heart, that I'll step across the other side. Now not only me, but all those that love His appearing. They'll be there.
So keep your thoughts on that, sinner friend, tonight. And what if it come with you, and went out here, to a shoot somewhere that went down to a dark whirling pit; To an eternity that never ceased, in midnight darkness, and screams, and mourns, and groans. Might be tonight, you might make your decision to change ships. I hope you do. All without Christ go that way. All with Christ goes this way. Just the difference of whether you believe Him and accept Him or not. So make your choice tonight, and let us pray now, while we bow our heads.

7 Our Heavenly Father, we've gathered in this great auditorium here tonight, where You've met with us night after night and blessed our hungry souls; giving us the bread of life, food for our souls, salvation for those, Lord, who are in need, healing for those who are in need; and supplied those things which we have asked and we're grateful to Thee. To seeing Thee in the power of Thy resurrection.
And I pray, Father, that You will be with us tonight, will help us and bless us. Bless the wandering children tonight, Father, wandering about, not knowing just which way to go, or what to do ---unstable, never have anchored yet in Christ. Pray, tonight, that they'll cast the anchor beyond the Rock of Ages, there. When this ship's whirling and tossing, our little barks upon this sea of life, we know our anchor holds within the veil. God, grant it.
Get into the Word, we pray, Father, and make Yourself known to every person here through the teaching of the Word. May the Holy Spirit just take the Word of God and deliver it to every heart, just as we have need. At the end of the service, may the glory of the Lord be upon the people, for we ask it in Jesus' name, Thy Son. Amen.
Just for a few moments... We usually try to start the prayer line around nine o'clock, if possible.
And now this is something new to me to teach to the people. And then, really this is, I guess, my first meeting in years, to ever try to teach the people before having a prayer line.
And it just done my heart so good to see hands go up, accepting the Lord Jesus. When I go home at night and kind of come out the visions, I just sometimes lay in there after they've all gone to bed and just weep for joy, to think, God was pleased, tonight, because I know He was. Sinners came home. That's true. Then He honors us with His blessings and pours out His Spirit, heals the sick, giving faith. What more could we want than that?

8 Now, over in II Kings, tonight; last night speaking on Elijah, the prophet. And tonight... We had him last night going up to when ... Elijah, rather, and Jehoshaphat and them, come down meet him. Tonight, we got him in another scene, in the 4th chapter of II Kings. And just for a text, I want to read the 24th verse of the 4th chapter of II Kings.
And she ... Then she saddled an ass, and said unto her servant, Drive, and go forward; slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee.
May the Lord add His blessings to the reading of this verse of Scripture.

9 Now, our scene begins tonight, upon a family in distress. And, perhaps, this would be a good thing tonight, to recognize that there's, perhaps, many families sitting here tonight, in distress.
And if we can only find something in the Old Testament, here, which was an example of what believers done in that day when in distress, well, perhaps, maybe we can take them as an example and find our position then and what to do.
In the days of Elijah, the prophet, after last night we seeing that he was a type of the church. After Elijah, being the type of Christ taken away, and the double coming up on the prophet. We find that he made his way up through a Gentile country, Shunem. And there was a noble woman up there. And she was not an Israelite; she was a Shunammite.
And Elisha passing through this country, she taken notice to him that he was a holy man---a man of God. What a lesson we could get out of that, that our walk and our associations with people, that people would recognize that we were children of the King. God help us to be that way.
I believe the Scriptures says that we are written epistles read of all men. And Elisha so conducted himself around in that Gentile country, there, that this Shunammite woman realized that he was truly a servant of God. His character, his conduct, and the things that God did by him, that she recognized him to be a servant of the Lord. So she wanted to show some kindness to him. So she had him to come over for dinner, or whatmore, give him a little offering, help him pay for something. Treated him kind, not because she wanted any reward.

10 People who give to people thinking that they'd get a reward for it, well, they don't have any reward. It's those who give freely from the bottom of their heart. That says, "I just give it freely. Not that I expect anything in return."
Jesus said that the Gentiles, or unbeliever, do such as that. They give when they're expect to be given back. But we, the children of God, give when we don't want any return. We just give it.
And now the woman had no ... she proved it a little later. She had no alternative of giving to this man, the blessings that she was to him of giving him food, money, whatever she give him, had a little offering for him when he passed by. She only give it in respects of God.
She said, "I know that he's a holy man. I know that he's a man of God. And he don't belong to my denomination. He doesn't belong to my church, perhaps, but maybe my pastor wouldn't agree with him, but, yet, I believe he's a holy man of God. I believe he's God's servant. So I'll just give him this little offering." So she did that in her kindness.

11 After awhile she began to realize that there was something real good about the man. So, she said to her husband, she said, "You know this man that passes by here is a man of God. He's God's servant. And now we're worth a little money. We've been giving him just a little bit as he passed by. Let's show him some kindness. Let's build just a little room out here, somewhere, when he passes by, he looks so tired and weary, when he's on his road up the mountain to pray and fast; for days at a time he goes up there. And let's just make a little place out here that's on our...
"We got plenty of ground, so let's build him a little room out here, and put a little table in it, and a candle, and a little stool; that when he passes by, why, he can come in and refresh himself, and lay down on the bed, and rest a little while." That's thinking a whole lot of someone.
So she fixed him this place. And the husband, being perhaps, a just and good man, he said, "Well, that would just be fine."
So they go and build the little place and just give it to the prophet as he passes by.
And it came to pass, one day, when Elisha was coming that way, that he stopped by. And he found this little place; of course, he was very happy to find that the people loved him.
Now, everybody wants to be loved. I tell you the truth; I do. I want God to love me, and I want the people to love me. That's exactly the truth. And if God loves me, then the people will love me. And if I love His people, then He will love me for doing it.
God would rather I'd love you, than love Him. Did you know that? I would rather you'd love my boy back there, no matter what you say about me. I want you to love my children. And any father would think that. So Father God, thinks the same thing. For He said, "Insomuch as you have done unto the least of these, My little ones, you have did it unto Me." So if you want to love God, just start loving all of His children, and God will reward you. If you'll just love His children that shows the love of God is in you.

12 Jesus said, "This is the way that all the people will know that you're children of God and passed from death unto life, when you have love one for another." Then you'll know it. Not because you can have a big church. That's all right. Not because that you have a lot of fine ministers come by. That's good, too. But it's because that you have love one for another.
Now when this revival's over, you all go to your respective churches. We're not here to proselyte, and tell you, "All leave one church and go to another one." You keep your church. Try to bring some sinners into that church.
Then when you go back to your respective church, go back with such a heart full of love. And that woman that you just couldn't stand, or that man, love him or her anyhow. They'll know you got something out of the meeting then. That's right. If you don't do that, then you haven't gained anything yet. 'Cause you've got to have love one for another. Then the people... The outside world will know that you've passed from death unto life when you have love one for another.
Jesus said, "You're the salt of the earth. But if the salt's lost its savor," that's its strength, "it is henceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and trod under the foot of men." Like last year, I was holding your convention for the Four Square people in California, and I passed the Salt Lake Deserts and that's what I seen then, the salt left its savor, nothing, just to make walks out of.

13 But salt is a savor if it contacts. You have a piece of meat here, and a barrel of salt here, you've got to get them together, the salt to the meat or the meat to the salt, to preserve the meat. And that's the way it is. We've got to get the believer with the unbeliever. That's right, you've got to get them into the church, into the salty bunch of people.
And you know salt also makes a thirst, doesn't it? And if you eat salt, you get thirsty. And God wants His church so salty, till the whole world will thirst to be like it. That's right. See, just thirsty, just thirsty. Just be ... say, "Oh, if I could only live the way that woman lived. If she ain't the most sweetest, peaceful person, never out of humor, never fussy. She's always kind, trying to do something to help somebody else. Why, she's a credit to any man's church."
"Yes, sir, that man, you see, the neighbor, he's a gentleman, he's just so full of the love of God. You can see him at all hours of night, on his knees somewhere praying. He's always ready to go do something. he's always talking about the Lord Jesus and His mercy." That's the way to make the world salty. Act like that.
Now, Elisha was that type of person. So then, one day, coming by, being tired and weary in his journey, I can see him say, "Well, looky here," a little sign hanging on the door, "This property belongs to the man of God that passes this way." I can hear him say to his servant, "Why, Gehazi, looky here, this Shunammite people here has given us this little piece of property, here, that we can drop in."
He opens the door, for it's his. Goes in, lays down upon the bed. Stretches himself out. Said, "You know, she's been awful kind to us, Gehazi. She's just ministered to us in everything that we have need of. Go in and talk to her." Look like he ought to have went in. But he said, "You go in and talk to her and see if she wants me to speak to the king, or to the chief captain; they all like me, I'm good friends. Maybe she'd want a favor or something like that." I believe that Elisha was only trying her.

14 So, he went, and asked her and she said, "No, I dwell among my people and I didn't want any reward for this, in otherwise. I just did it because I, myself, love the Lord, and I want to do something for Him, so the only way I could do it, I seen him to be a real servant of God, a man of God, so I just done this for that purpose. I don't want any reward."
And so he goes back and Elisha, said ... talked about it a little while. And I imagine Gehazi said, "Elisha, I tell you one thing," said, "she hasn't got any children, and her husband's old."
"Yes!" Elisha said. I imagine he turned over on this little bed that he had in there and laid there a few minutes and thought. After awhile a vision come before him, and he seen the woman bear a child.
Said, "Go get her and bring her out here."
So he went and got the woman and brought her out to the door, and when she walked to the door, he said, "Thus saith the Lord, according to time of life, about this time next year you're going to embrace a son."

15 She said, "Nay, now." Said, "My husband's old," but just the same Elisha said that it was in the name of the Lord, so that settled it. When God says anything, that completes it right then. That's all. No need of wondering anymore. God has said so.
If God said that Christ was returning to the earth, I believe it. That's right. If God said these kind of times would come and men would be heady high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than God, I believe it. That's right. Everything that God says, I believe it.
He said, "He was wounded from our transgressions." I believe it. He said, "By His stripes, we were healed." I believe it. So that settles it, see. If you believe it, then take it, act on it, and the results will come.
No matter how long it tarries, just keep believing it. Abraham tarried ... or, Abraham waited for twenty-five years before the promise ever come. But he was getting stronger all the time, praising God. Baby was going to be born anyhow. Made arrangements for it, everything. Got ready for the event. Just as soon as God told him it was going to happen, he made everything ready. And then, waited twenty-five years, just kept waiting until finally it happened, growing stronger all the time. When God speaks, it's got to come to pass.

16 So Elisha told her she was going to have a baby. And just exactly the time that Elisha said it would take place, it took place. 'Cause he was a prophet. He was under the anointing of the Holy Spirit and it had to come to pass.
So the little boy got about twelve years old, and Elijah would come by, and lay on the bed and go on up into Mount Carmel where he had a cave up there, he went to pray in.
One day the little lad was out in the field with his father, with the reapers, long up in the day around eleven o'clock, something like that. And I believe the little lad had a sunstroke, because he began to holler, "Oh my head, my head!" And that time of day out in the field, probably a little bare-headed boy, running around out there, about twelve years old, behind the reapers, way down in there where deserts like it is in here. Perhaps the little fellow had a sunstroke.
So his father had a young man to pick him and take him back to the house. And he sat on his mother's lap until the midday, and then he died.
Now, seemingly it was all over. So the mother picked up the little fellow... Now notice, the first thing she did with that little boy, she took him right out of her own house, out into Elisha's house, and laid him on the bed, where the prophet had laid. Pretty good wisdom I believe.

17 Took him away, shut him off from the unbelief, and put him in the chamber where the prophet had been, and closed the door. Let nobody in there go to messing around with him, but she put him in the room, and closed the door. And her husband came in. Of course, there was a lot of screaming, and crying, and going on. And she said, "All will be well. Now, saddle a mule for me; I'm going to the man of God."
Now all hopes ain't gone. Something in her heart begin to tell her that something could be done. All the herbs, and perhaps, the doctor had been there, and done all he could do. Nothing could be done. She had done all of her remedies she knowed. And nothing could be done and the little fellow died.
Now she thought ... or, perhaps, maybe the rest of them thought that all hopes was gone. But she knew that there was still a God that lived and reigned. Oh, my! If we could only get that.
Now something down in her heart began to beat. "I would like to find the man of God. I would like to go to church again." Usually that's about what hits a person's heart when trouble hits the home. "I would like to see the man of God again."

18 And her husband said, "Why, he hasn't passed by here. He goes up at the new moon and up in the Sabbath worship. He goes up there, but it's neither new moon nor Sabbath. So he won't be there."
She said, "All is well."
Why? How could she face such a thought as that? Because something down here in her heart told her, "Get to the man of God." Do you see it?
Now, she knowed there was a God that ruled the universe. She knowed there's a God who made the sun to shine, the wheat to grow, the tree, brought life. And she knowed that that God had a representative here on earth. And that representative was the prophet. And she knowed if she could ever get to the prophet, not that she... I don't think she had an idea that the son would be raised. But she thought if she got to the prophet that she would be able to understand why God took her child.

19 And now, people just don't realize what God can do through His servants. That's the reason today that people can't get so much done is because they've lost faith in the servants of God. That's right. Part of it is the servant's fault. He tried to tell you God, way back years ago, but God is still God here on earth, using His servants just like He always did. He doesn't fail; He's the same God. All ages, in every age, He's had somebody He could put His hands on. And we must expect God to do something through His servants. Amen.
"Oh," she said, "all will be well. Let everything alone." I like that: Something settled down in her heart, that if she ever got to Elisha, she would find out just exactly why the baby had died, for she knew he was God's servant.
So, they saddled the mule. And I like this commission she gave to the servant. She said, "You go forward, don't you stop, or slack, anything, until I bid you."

20 I think the church ought to have a commission like that. "Go forward, don't you stop, just keep moving on. When this revival closes, start another one somewhere. Don't wait, don't wait around, just keep moving for God. Just keep moving on, 'cause people are dying, everyday." Some over maybe a hundred thousand people die everyday in the world. I believe, a hundred and twenty-five thousand it is, dies everyday, in the world. And about a hundred thousand of those died without knowing Christ. We ain't got no time to hang around. We got to go forward and don't slack a bit.

21 Not this revival. You're having a good time and seeing souls saved. Just keep on moving, don't slack at all. And the preachers, don't wait till Oral Roberts comes or William Branham, or somebody else. Practice divine healing in your church. Let's go forward, people are dying. Let's get them to the Man of God, which is Christ. Don't wait for some special event; go now. You're God's servant, just as much as anybody else is. You're called, you Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian.
If you've got a commission from God, the general orders is: "Go into all the world, and preach the Gospel, to every creature. Lay hands on the sick; they shall recover. These signs will follow them that believe." If you got a commission from God, you got a ordination from God to do these things. Amen.
Who has... You say, "Oh, Jesus can do it."
He said, "You can do it. In My name, I won't ... they shall." Amen. Got the cart before the horse, see. All right.
"In My name, they shall cast out devils. They shall lay their hands on the sick." Is that right? "They shall lay their hands on the sick, and they shall recover." That's the commission. Let's take it and go. We're too slack about these things, today.

22 We have a little ... serve the people, then we settle down right, the devil blowing his breeze across us, and we get an old True Story Magazine somewhere in the house instead of picking up the Bible. There's a many a Christian in this city, tonight, can tell you all about Hollywood, but knows so little about God. And call themselves Christians. It's a shame. Amen.
Prayer meeting night comes, you stay home watch television, instead of going out at the prayer meeting. Isn't that right? Sure it is. Everything, time to read the papers, time to do this, time to have your society gatherings and things, but no time for God. What we need today is a good old-fashioned Saint Paul's revival, and a Bible Holy Ghost back in the church again: signs, wonders, and miracles. Time for everything, but the right thing.
That's the reason the world is in the condition today. Haven't got time to take care of the children. Let them run the streets.
You women, calling yourselves real mothers, and don't even know where your kiddies is at, half the time. That's not only in the Methodist and Presbyterian; that's in Pentecostal, too. That's right. You know that's the truth. Talking about juvenile delinquency, it's a whole lot of parent delinquency. What the parent needs today is to get some of them old beer cans, out of that ice box out there, take the cards off the table, and put the Bible back there, and open it up and call the kids around have a prayer meeting. That's what we need today. That's right.

23 And some of you up in my country, Kentucky, they have little old things, they say, "The illiteracy of Kentucky, how ignorant, how dumb they are."
I heard a minister tell me he didn't want to go down to Kentucky because the people was too stupid in Kentucky, lived down there. Let me tell you something, some of them old gray-haired mammies up there could teach you something. That's right.
You let your daughter run out all night long nearly, with some little cigarette-smoking, whiskey-drinking rascals; and come in of a morning, and her clothes half on her, and everything like that, and you call yourself a Christian and say nothing to her? Let that happen up in Kentucky, and one of them old mammies would top one of them hickories out there, and she wouldn't be able to go for six months. Yes, sir.
What we need today is some more real old-time American mammies that believes in giving them a little protoplasm of stimulation once in awhile. That's exactly right. You know that's right. Amen.

24 Church all let down the bars. They all sing: "They let down the bars, we compromised with sin. We let down the bars, the sheep got out, but how did the goats get in?" You just let down the bars, that's what it was. You let down the standards of Christianity. Amen.
The devil might have went out of fashions, but he hasn't went out of business yet. He's still in the business. We'll save that for the preachers. I have come here to preach divine healing. All right.
But that's good for you. Amen. That'll straighten you up. It's old-fashioned cornbread, and black-eyed peas, and strong coffee for breakfast; but, brother, it'll stick to your ribs for a good day's work. Sure will. All right.
Notice, yes, sir, the day that we're living, the hour, the time; the church ought to be going forward; instead of that, it's going backwards. That's right. You can't go... If you're not going forward, you are going backwards. God don't want His church to go backwards, or sit still. He wants us to go forward, and don't slack at all. The Holy Spirit don't say, "Slack up here and wait a few years."
He says, "Go forward constantly all the time. Move on."
Where was she moving? To the man of God. Moving up the mountain all the time.
I used to sing a little song:
Lead me higher up the mountain,
Give me fellowship with Thee.
(You remember the old song?)
In the light I see the fountain
and the blood that cleanses me.

25 Way up the mountainside. She said to the servant, "Don't you let that mule even catch his breath. Just keep him a-going." That's the way to do it. Lay it on to the church, and let's keep moving. The trouble of it is, you load the church down.
I heard an old colored brother here sometime ago, preaching on the wise men coming to see Jesus. And he sure give a good illustration. He said, "Went to packing up the old camels, you know," and said, "the first thing you know," said, "two of them struck out." And said, "Then this one fellow began to pack the camel. Got him so loaded down till the old fellow couldn't move."
And that's just about the way it's been with the church: We bring in all kinds of little societies and all kinds of this little, that, and the other, and little entertainments, and so forth and cut out the real value of the prayer meeting. The upper room turned into a supper room. That's right. That's good for you. Take and get some old tough rooster, and boil him up, and sell it about a dollar a plate to pay the preacher. If you take God's plan on it---paying tithes---and do what the Lord told you to do, you'd be a lot better off. Turn that room into prayer room at nighttime. Amen.

26 Oh, my, let's go forward. If we've already preached to the church justification, let's take them a little further than that now. Go a little higher. If we get into that, and God begins to fill them with the Holy Spirit, then let's go to divine healing and search that out.
Why, the Holy Ghost is just like a great big department store. The people that's become Christians don't know what they own. Could you imagine me buying a house without looking all over it first? Could you imagine me owning a place like ... somebody give me a big arcade, great big place where everything's just everywhere. It's all mine.
Well, that's the way it is when you come to Christ, everything belongs to you. All the redemptive blessings that Christ died for is yours. Every believer has possession of every redemptive blessing, (Amen.) is given to the believer.
By one spirit we're all baptized into this big arcade, Christ Jesus. My, up on this shelf here is "justification by faith." Over here's "sanctification through the blood." Up here's "joy," here's "peace," there's "long-suffering," "goodness," "gentleness." Why, my, everything.
Some of them may be hanging a little high. I can't get to it, but they got a stepladder over in the corner. Let's get up and look at it and see what it looks like. If you can't reach up to "divine healing"; take God's step ladder. Reach up, find out what it's all about, it all belongs to you. Right. That's what the church ought to be going---moving up the road.

27 So the woman said, "Now you go forward. Don't you slack a bit, because we've got to get up there now, we got to make haste."
Well, the servant of God was sitting up there in his little den room, wherever it was, back in the mountain. And he looked out and he seen the Shunammite coming. He said, "Gehazi," said, "here comes that Shunammite woman, I wonder what's the matter."
Now, God don't tell His prophets everything. He just tells them what He wants them to know. What they don't... He don't want them to know, He just keeps it to Himself.
But here come this Shunammite woman and this little servant just a beating the mule in a hurry. Said, "I wonder what the hurry is about?"
Said, "Go out and meet her." And said ask her if all is well with her, all is well with her husband, and all is well with the child.
So he hollered, said, "Is all well with thee? And is all well with thy husband? Is all well with the child?"
Look, here's what I like about the lesson. She said, "All is well." Amen. The baby a corpse, but, "All is well." What was it? Everything was under consideration then. She had the situation curbed. Her heart's desire, what was telling her, in her heart, was to get to that prophet. And there she was right in the presence of the prophet. So if God had took her baby, that was His will, everything would be all right. "All is well. All is well with my husband. All is well with me, and all is well with the baby."

28 She run right up to Elisha and fell down at his feet, perhaps begin to kiss his hand or something. Gehazi thought, That's not right for her to act around my master like that. So he jerked her up, threw her away from him. "Here, you can't do that. You can't come up to my master like that."
Elisha said, "Let her alone, for there's sorrow in her heart, and God has kept it a secret from me. I don't know what's the matter with her, but there's sorrow in her heart."
Then she raised up. And she begin to reveal to him what had happened, saying what had taken place, that her baby had died. And said, "Didn't I tell you, don't lie to me? Now my baby is dead. And I've got him laying in your room. The neighbors are all around. They're fixing to embalm his body. And I've come to you."
Now, watch. Elisha said, "Take this staff, Gehazi, and you go forward, and if anybody speaks to you, don't you even speak to them. Take this straight to the baby, and lay it on the baby. If somebody speaks to you, don't speak back. Don't stop for any social affair."

29 That's what's the matter with us today: When we get a message from God, instead of going straight, and doing what God tells us, we stop for a little social affair. We've got to have this, a few ice cream suppers, and all these other kind of things; bring social affairs in the church. We ought to take God's message to the dead, the dead in sin and trespasses. Amen.
Notice. Now, Elisha, why did he send that staff? Did you ever stop to think? Because that Elisha knew that the clothes that he wore was blessed. He knew God lived in his heart. He knew that the clothes he wore was blessed. He knew that everything he touched was blessed. He knew that himself, the way his faith laid in it. So he started the staff on. I think that's where Paul got taking handkerchief and aprons off his body to the sick and the afflicted.
So he ... but the Shunammite woman... Now that would have worked all right, that would have been fine, if the Shunammite woman would have believed that. But she didn't know about whether God was in the staff or not; she knew God was in the man. So she said, "As the Lord liveth and your soul never dies, I'm not going to leave you. I'm on your hands now. I'm going to stay right here till I find out." You know, I like that: that determination. Stay with it.
That's what's a trouble with the people today: They read where, "God's the healer," and they look around, and say, "Well, Mrs. Jones didn't get it." And then you give up. Brother, stay right with it. Amen. If God said so, God's got to take care of His Word. It's not your word anymore, it's God's Word. Stay right with it.
Said, "I'm not going to leave you."

30 And so Elisha girded up his loins, and here he went without a vision, not knowing what to do. And away they went. Gehazi beat them. He run ahead, went into the room, and laid the staff upon the baby. Waited! No life come. Baby still dead. He turns around, looks awhile, still the baby was dead. So he picks up the staff, and runs back, and he meets Elisha and the Shunammite woman coming.
And so when he did, he said, "I laid the staff upon the baby, and there was no life, no breath, he didn't open his eyes, he's still dead."
So see, the woman's faith wasn't in the staff; it was in the prophet. Now it depends on where your faith is. Some people said, "You got to have hands laid on them." The other said ... the Roman said, "Just speak the Word, and my son shall live."
And the one woman didn't want Him to lay hands on her, she touched His garment. And little Jairus in a few nights ago, in the lesson, why, he said, "Come lay Your hands on my daughter." It depends on where your faith lays.
So Elisha was right.

31 Now, I believe he was just probing, but he knew that God had blessed whatever he touched. You see it? He believed that God blessed it. So he said, "God has blessed this. And if you'll lay it on the baby, I believe that God will make it well."
Now, no matter what his faith was, if the woman's faith wasn't the same, then it won't work. You see what I mean? It takes your faith and your pastor's faith together. You two have got to have the same faith. And if you believe the same thing that the man of God has told you, then something's got to happen. So the man of God believed that he wouldn't have to go over there; he would just send the staff. But the woman said, "No, no, no. I'm going to stay right with you. I'm going to stay right here till I find out."
So then Gehazi said, "There's no breath in the baby. He's still dead."
So away they went, come into the yard, and now look at the crowd. Everybody around, wailing and screaming. What a place for faith! Elisha standing there, no vision, didn't know what to do. All he could do was look around. There was the father screaming, there was all the neighbors, and everybody carrying on.
Well, he goes around to his little old chamber, and the woman had the baby laying on the bed, so he shut everybody out of the room, and pulled the door together, by himself. Went over in a corner, and knelt down, and begin to pray. When he got through praying, he got up, walked up and down the floor. Back and forth, to and fro, up and down the floor, until the Spirit of God came upon him. When the Spirit of God come upon him, no doubt but what he saw a vision.
Goes over, stretches himself on top of the baby, his nose again its nose; no prayer; just the nose against its nose, lips against its lips, eyes against its eyes, hands against its hands, and the baby sneezed seven times and come to life. What was that? That wasn't that preacher. That was Christ in His prophet that brought that baby back to life. Hallelujah.
Oh, my, when he stood out there then and said, "Gehazi, call that Shunammite." Amen.
The woman come to the door. Then all the good things that she had done, little did she know when she had that bed made in there for Elisha, and made his bed with her own hands, that someday her dead baby would be laying there and the body of that prophet, through the Christ would bring that baby back to life again. You don't know what's happening when you try to do something for one another. Try to help one another. That's right. Like bread upon the water, it'll return to you someday.

32 Her attitude towards Elisha brought her the victory. If she'd have went up to Elisha and said, "Now you looky here, you hypocrite. My pastor was right after all." See, if she would have went with that kind of an attitude, she would have never got nothing from him. But her attitude towards the man of God, produced exactly what she got---her victory---because she believed.
That's the only way that you'll ever do, if you believe that Jesus Christ, some mythical story, some Santa Claus affair that they tell children, or something like that, you'll never get nothing, until truly in your heart that you believe He's the Son of God died, rose again, ascended on high, and is living with us right here tonight, and will do anything that He promised He would do in His Bible. When you get like that, something's fixing to happen.
Then she picked up the baby, and bowed before him, and recognized him to be a servant of God, and bowed her head, and went out. Went out with her heart full of love!
All the great crisis! What if she had just sat still, and said, "Well, all hopes is gone. The doctor just left and said, 'There was nothing could be done.' And now my baby's dead, so I suppose that's all can be done." Sit helpless. The story would have never been told. If no faith had ever come into her heart, it would have been that way. But God, in His mercy, placed something in that mother's heart, that she knew there was something could be done.
You may be sitting like that tonight in your family. Maybe every hope that you've ever had, that you've had, of ever getting well, the doctors discourage you, the man has done all he can do, and said, "It's passed medical science. There's nothing can be done." But if something can just happen down here in this heart, that tells you, "Yes it is! Yes it is!" Then stay right with it.

33 Paul Rader, a friend of mine, Baptist preacher, died here some years ago, over here in California---a wonderful man, missionary, great believer in healing---told a little story once. Said, he was way down in South America, somewhere on a missionary trip, he and his wife. And he developed some kind of a fever, yellow fever. I believe, it was black water fever. And it kills you just in a few hours. And he was way back miles and miles, back in the jungles with the natives; went back there on a little boat.
And said that, after supper that night, they had eaten, and he went into his room. He was getting sicker and sicker. And he said to his loving wife, he said, "Darling, if you'll just kneel down here, and start praying for me," said, "I believe that, it seems like I'm ... it's getting black in the room."
So she knelt down, and held her hands up, said, "Honey, do you want me to go for a doctor?"
Said, "No, don't go for the doctor, it'd be too long." Said, "Hard telling, it coming night like this," he said, "you couldn't get the doctor now." He said, "Just pray for me, honey, and keep your hands on me." And it kept getting darker and darker in the room, as his life began to fade out; and after a while, it all become dark.
Said he was dreaming, and he was back up in Oregon, again---that was his home---where he used to chop the trees. He was a very strong man. And said, his boss, one time told him---he was dreaming---that said, "Go up the mountain, Paul, and cut me a certain size log and bring it down."
He said, "All right, boss."

34 He run up the hillside, said, with the spring of youth in his feet again---in his dream, when he was unconscious. And said he fell the tree right easy. Said he could feel his axe, as it went down through the soft Oregon fir. And the tree dropped; he trimmed it up like that, stuck his axe into the tree, and tried to pick it up.
Well, said his strength was gone from him. He said he done everything he could to pick it up. He said, "Well, my strength is completely gone." Maybe that's they way you are tonight. Your strength completely gone. The hopes is gone. Everything gone. Said he toiled. And he said, "Well, I ought to be able to lift this. I ought to be able to pick this up. Why, I've picked them up like this before."
Maybe you've been healed before, maybe you've been through prayer lines, and you've been healed, but this time you just simply can't muster enough faith to get it up, the load somehow.
He said, he just got completely worn out. So he just sat down, ducked his head down and started crying. Said, "I'm so weak, I can't move, and I've lost my strength, and I don't know what I'll do."
Said he heard a voice of his ... the voice of his boss, so gentle and kind. Said, he said, "Paul, what's the matter?"
He said, "Boss, I---I---I just haven't got the strength to pick it up. I just simple can't get it down there."
He said, "Paul, you're just doing in vain, you're just tussling in vain." And he said, "Paul, don't you see that stream going down there?" Said, "That stream runs right by the camp." Said, "Why don't you just push it over in the water and jump on it and ride down?"
And said when he looked back, his boss was Jesus. Said, "Just pitch it over in the water, Paul. Don't you try anymore. Just get on it and ride down."

35 Said he just pitched over in the water, and jumped in water, began to splash in water, and the current taking it right on down to the camp. He began screaming at the top of his voice that his strength was all coming to him, hollering, "I'm a riding on it." And said he come to, in the room, screaming at the top of his voice. His wife had been having her hands laying on him praying, said he jumped up in the middle of the room screaming when he come to himself, "I'm a riding on it. I'm a riding on it. I'm a riding on it."

36 Brother, that's what it is tonight: I take Jesus Christ at His promise, throw the thing into the waters of the Holy Ghost, and I'll ride on it. Hallelujah! No matter what takes place, I'm a riding on it. Right. Just keep a riding.
No matter what anybody else says, no matter how many times you've tried, just push it over and start riding on it. God will take you right down to the place where you ought to be. Don't you believe it?
Why, it hasn't been seven years ago, till Mayo Brothers looked me in the face and said, "Rev. Branham, you haven't a chance to live." But I took Him at His Word. I'm a riding on it. Amen.

37 He promised someday he would deliver me over on the other side. Age is coming on, but I'm a riding on it. Some of these days, I'll take out of this life, but I'm a riding on it tonight, on, "Every promise in the Book is mine, every chapter, every verse, is mine."
Oh, my, God promised, "He that heareth My words, believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life." I'm riding on it. I believe it. Christ said so. What? "He that heareth My words and believeth on Him that sent Me hath," right now, "everlasting life, and shall never come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life."
I've been riding on it for twenty-three years. Hallelujah! The journey will soon be in and when it's ended, I'll will still be riding on it.

38 When I was once a blind man, wore great big glasses, led around by an arm like this down the streets, couldn't see but a little piece in front of me. And tonight, by the grace of God, I can read newspaper print five feet away from me. Had an eye test here a year ago, it was ten-ten. That's twenty-twenty, then fifteen-fifteen, then ten-ten. What was it? I took God at His promise, and I rode on it, until God delivered me my sight.
Now I can sing:
Amazing grace! how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now I'm found,
I was blind, but now I see.
'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
Grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed.
Hallelujah! Oh, when I think of it! Take God at His promise and go forward, going forward in faith. What? Faith in what? Believing that what God said anchored here in my heart, and it's my personal property 'cause Jesus died for it. I'm a riding on it. I believe it.

39 And sinner, friend, tonight, when the world was in chaos, the atomic and cobalt bombs hanging everywhere. One bomb! I was talking to a prospector awhile ago, they told me how much power was in one pound of uranium, how many thousands times thousands times thousands of tons of TNT would take to make the pressure of that one pound of uranium.
And I heard Mr. Moore say that one of his jet pilot friends told him that he carried a bomb on his plane, and I forget how many hundred box cars full of TNT, like loaded all the way from Shreveport to Houston, Texas ... a string of box cars like that loaded with TNT; this bomb had more pressure and power, than all that string of box cars did with TNT. A great cobalt bomb, the cobalt around the atomic bomb can be shot up out of a missile out into the air yonder by our enemies, and will burst out there; in a few hours, the entire earth will be totally annihilated.
Just let the wind start blowing; there can't be a living thing live around it. And just completely annihilates the earth, to be done just in a few minutes time. The very enemy, the very godless, heartless, brutal, insane enemy of ours, has that thing in their hands tonight. And why do you trust in the flesh of horses, why do you trust in the atomic powers, why do you trust in the things of this world, in your houses, in your places, in your position? Take God at His Word, and ride on it through the atoms yonder into the spheres yonder into the heavens. Whatever God has promised, God will do.
Do you believe it tonight?

40 God be merciful! Let's get in contact with God's representative. Who is God's representative? It was at that day, Elisha. Who is it today? Jesus Christ. That's His representative. Woman, man, boy, girl, here, tonight, if that Shunammite woman could believe for her dead son, when all impossibilities was gone, she could believe on a natural man, that God was in Elisha, how much more can you believe that God is in Christ reconciling the world to Himself? Come and be reconciled tonight, before it's too late.
Shall we pray.

41 Our Heavenly Father, as we look around about us and see the day, the time that we're living. This great things happening, seeing scattered on the newspapers, today. That doctor here this city, jealous spirit killed four little children, shot his own wife to death, and then killed himself---right here in this city. The devil got a hold of him. God, people just don't believe there's a devil. Let them open their eyes, tonight, and see.
And then, Father, may they look past him and see there's a living God full of love and compassion, waiting to save them. Grant it, Lord. Come near to us now, Father. We believe that in Your name, what we ask, we will receive.
There's men, women, boys, and girls in here, perhaps, Lord, that's never yet, accepted Thee as their Saviour. They don't know what it means to have peace in their soul. And all these old things of the earth pass away. And the soul, the immortal part that goes beyond every sphere of atoms, goes on beyond cosmic light, petroleum, goes on into the spiritual realm. That's the eternal part, that's the part that cannot perished, when it's believed on the Lord Jesus. How simple You've made it. Just come! Receive! "Ask, ye shall receive."

42 "He that heareth My words, believeth on him that sent Me, has everlasting life." How simple. You said, "Even a fool shouldn't err." Nothing binding, nothing complicated, just purely accepting it, believing it because Christ talking to the heart. You said, "No man can come to Me except My Father draws him first."
Father God, upon the basis of the shed blood of the Lord Jesus, upon His supreme sacrifice, and the Word of God, I pray tonight, that You'll knock at every sinner's heart, every backslider in the building. Bring them lovely back to Thee. Just another night, and then we must move on. Grant, Father, that tonight many will find Thee, for we ask it in His name.

43 While we have our heads bowed, the music sweetly, softly playing, the Holy Spirit just above you looking down. God knocking at your heart, saying, "Oh, sinner, come on Home." You may not be here tomorrow to accept it. Won't you come tonight? If God's knocking at your heart and you feel that, it's God speaking to you. Not to me now, but to God, will you raise up your hand to Him, and saying, "God forgive me, I now accept Jesus as my Savior."
God bless you, lady. God bless you, lady. God bless you, sir, God bless you, lady, way in the back. God bless you little lady. Someone else raise your hand, say, "God, be merciful to me a sinner, now I'm coming. The preacher has been preaching."
God bless you, lady, weeping there. God bless you, lady at the end. I see you. "The minister has been preaching, I've been here night after night watching, seeing the Holy Spirit moving, healing the sick, foretelling, telling forth things, the mysterious things to mankind. We can't figure it out. I'm not going to try to figure any longer, Lord. I'm just going to accept You right now, while You're knocking at my heart, 'cause I know Your Spirit won't always strive with me. So while You're calling me now, this is my hand Lord, I come."
Will you raise your hands somewhere else, somebody?
God bless you, sir. God bless you, lady over in the corner. God bless you, way back in the back. God bless you down here in the middle of the aisle. God bless you, over here, in the corner, up in to balcony to my left. Oh, my, God bless you all along there, that great row of hands. God be with you. Remember, when you raise your hand, mean it from your heart, you can no more perish than God can. That's His Word. He said, "He that heareth my words," you're saved right then for eternity. Over to the balcony, to my right, someone up there lift up your hands, wants to settle it tonight once for all, from your heart, God's speaking.
Say, "Brother Branham, I've long time wondered. I just kind of had, oh, a mental faith, just a little intellectual faith. I've kind of read the Word and I believe that. I've went to church. I believe in church. I really belong to church. But really, right in my heart, there's really been nothing happen yet."
Then, sister, brother, you haven't believed yet. You just had an intellectual knowledge, but you haven't believed. You believe with your heart, but not with your mind. Something way down there saying, "Now, now, I want to come into your heart." That's when you get everlasting life.
Jesus said, "He that believeth on me has everlasting life, raise him up at the last day." You'll never perish. Has everlasting life right now.
Someone in the balcony to the right. All up there are Christian? I see, God bless you, sonny. God bless you, you. That's right. God bless you, sir. I see the aged man with his hand up.
Brother, you might have done many a loyal thing, worked, and fed a bunch of children. Got old now and gray. You might have done a lot of things, but just now you're doing the best thing in all your life. You just now received life eternal. You'll never perish now. That's coming from your heart. Jesus Christ's own Word said that you'll not perish but have eternal life.

44 The word is Zoe, "God's own Life." So if God can't perish, neither can you. God bless you. God bless you, lady out there at the corner, a young lady; I see your hand. God bless you, give you everlasting life now. God bless you, little girl down there; I see your hand, too, honey.
All right, down here in the aisle, yes, I see you. Back over here, God sees you. I see the Spanish brother back there, him and his family with their hands up. God bless you. That's right. Got everlasting life.
What would the atomic bomb could do for you? The atomic bomb would have a strike right in your front yard, my brother. The only thing you could do, take you to Jesus and give you a new body, a new life. You have it right now. You have it right now. You've got the very seed in you, that'll produce that life. Everlasting life because you believed on the only begotten Son of God.

45 Someone else? Listen, if you can raise your hand and be healed, you can be saved. God bless you, little Spanish girl. God bless you. And the other lady over there, God bless you. God bless you. Oh, that's fine! A bunch of new hands going up. Let the Holy Spirit just soak down.
God bless you, sir, sitting here with the glasses on, the gray-headed man. God bless you, sir. Way back in the back, I see your hand, lady, way back there. God sees it, too. God bless you, the young blond-headed woman over there with her hands up. God bless you, two young ladies down here with your hands up. God bless you, honey. That's fine! Up here, the little lady in the balcony. See, and the little boy back there, too.
You say, "What about them little children?"
Sure, Jesus is talking to their hearts. Sometimes the adults are so callused, the Holy Spirit just can't speak to them. Jesus said, "Suffer little children to come to Me. Forbid them not, such is the kingdom."

46 All right, every sinner now that's in the building, if you haven't put up your hand to Christ, will you put it up just now and accept Him as your own personal Savior, to believe from this night on? God bless you, sir, see you way up there in the balcony with your hand up. Now you receive Christ, and to receive Christ is life. You pass from death to sin now unto life eternal.
If you people could only realize... God bless you, lady, back there, the young lady with her hand up. God bless you, lady. A little fellow there with a red shirt on, seen your hand, honey, boy. That's just fine. Yes, you're all right. I baptized my boy when he was no older than you. Just... That's right, God bless you. You back here, the young lady, the young man there, God bless you. God bless you. You too, sonny over here. God bless you, young man. Have everlasting life.
Just think how simple God made it. Just believe, accept. That's all you can do is believe. There's nothing else you can do. Jesus said, "If they'll believe, I'll give them everlasting life, raise him up at the last days."
Yes, down here, God bless you. That's fine. God bless you. All right. Now shall we keep our heads bowed just a moment. We're going to present these before the Father; under the blood of Jesus, under His own Word.

47 Now, Father, Your beloved Son, the Lord Jesus, when He stood here on earth, according to the Scriptures, which is the infallible Word of God that can't fail. You said, "He that heareth My words and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but has passed from death unto life."
We thank Thee, Father, for this greatest miracle of all the miracles: sinners receiving Christ. We thank Thee for this. God, grant that not one of them, Father, will ever fail, to keep their faith, and remember this night. And, Father, when I come before You at the judgment to answer, these words I have presented to the people: Thy Word shall not perish, but have everlasting life.
"For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever," Spanish, colored, Ethiopian, Indian, Anglo-Saxon, whosoever "believeth on Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life," because they believed that God sent His Son to die in sinner's place.
We thank Thee for them. We pray that each one of them will have a long journey through the earth. Health, happiness, while they're here. And at the day, when I preach my last sermon, close the Bible for the last time, and when we stand in Your presence, may I see them there and us rallying around the throne with each other, so happy. Say, "Down in Phoenix, that night, I lifted my hand. I believed God knocked at my heart and I responded. Oh, what a life I had, wonderfully serving the Lord." And here they are now immortal. Grant it, Father.

48 And tonight when the services is closed, may each of them come back here in the prayer room and kneel down. Say, "Thank you, Father, for saving me now. Fill me with the Holy Spirit. Just baptize me with unction." Just pour in abundance of Thy Spirit upon their lives. Grant it, Lord, for we ask it in Christ's name. Amen.
Oh, how you'll want Him to say,
"Well done," on that Eternal day.
Don't turn the dear Savior away from your heart,
Don't turn Him away.
Oh, don't you feel good? You that raised your hands a while ago, raise your hands. If you feel like something's happened to you, just raise your hands. Everyone that raised their hands. Oh, my! Isn't that wonderful? Sure.

49 I remember, down way down the mountains in Kentucky, the old-fashioned Missionary Baptist church, they used to start singing that---the old women and them---"Don't Turn Him Away." To see them old boys back there, old limb bark hat on, scream and start to the altar, accepting everlasting life, believing on the Lord Jesus.
Now, to you new converts now, that's just come into the Lord Jesus, accepted everlasting life; I want to ask you something. Now, Jesus ... the Scripture teaches He raised from the dead. And claims that the very works the He did here when He was here on earth, He'll do it through the church until He comes again.
"Verily, verily I say unto you, the works that I do shall he also, and more than this shall he do. For I go unto My Father." The word there is "greater." Greater means "more," you couldn't do anything greater quality ... or, quantity, but in quality, more of it. He could be everywhere in all the churches since He has risen from the dead.

50 Now, He seen visions, said, "I don't do nothing till the Father shows Me, and what the Father shows Me that I do."
He seen the woman's trouble at the well. He knowed where Nathanael got ... or, Philip found Nathanael when he was praying. A fellow come up, and He knew his name, knew who he was, told him what his name was, looked out into the audience, perceived their thoughts.
A woman touched His garment. And He turned around, said, "Strength went out of Me." He look out in the audience where she was, till He had found her.
Said, "Thy faith has healed thee." See, that's the kind of a Jesus He was when He was here on earth.
Well, if He's the same in power, same in respect, same in attitude, same in all, He's the same in everything, yesterday, today, and forever. He said, "A little while and the world won't see Me no more" (That's the unbeliever.), " yet ye shall see Me" (That's the believer.) " for I," (I, as I say, is a personal pronoun.), " I will be with you, even in you," not just through the apostles' age, "unto the end of the world." Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Now we're going to pray for the sick in a few moments. I'm not a healer. I'm just like you are, a sinner saved by grace, that's all. And the Lord has... When I was borned a little baby up there in the mountains, this light here that we have, many of you seen it, that was hanging over my little crib bed that I was in, little trundle affair; been with me ever since.
It's not me that sees the visions; it's Him, that shows them. So it's nothing I have, see. It's what God has given to you. It's not my faith that does it, it's your faith. Your faith does the moving of it, itself. I can't make it move, it's you that makes it move, see. You have to believe it yourself; and in believing so, if you correctly believe, God will grant you your request. Not because it's... It's because it's the Lord Jesus.

51 How many know that the first time Jesus appeared to lead the people, He was in a form of a pillar of fire? The Angel of the covenant led the children of Israel.
The second time He appeared, He was in the form of a Man called Jesus.
The third time He appears, He is in a form of spirit called the Holy spirit. Father, Son, Holy Spirit. You get it? Amen. That's Him.
Now, He's just the same today, as He was when He led the children of Israel in the pillar of fire. It's only thing it is is God condescending---bring Himself down.
Way up there on a mount... Moses, no one, even if an animal touched the mountain, had to be killed, no sacrifice. No blood sacrifice that could take the place. So sinners couldn't approach the holy God.
Then the next thing He come down born of a virgin. A virgin birth. And God came into His Son, Christ Jesus, reconciling the world to Himself. You could touch Him, but He was a different person. What's God doing? Breaking this blood cell to sanctify a church, that He could come down, Himself, and have fellowship with the people. See how God loves you? You couldn't do nothing about it. He brought Himself down. And cleaned His road as He come through wiping away sin, till He could come down and fellowship with Adam again. You see it?

52 He fellowshipped with Him before sin came, then He had to come make a way to take sin out. Now He fellowships with Him again. The same Holy Spirit, the same Father, moving among His people. Just so simple, nothing strange about it. It's God!
Now He'll be here tonight, I trust, and will do the same thing that He did when He was here on earth in a physical form. God raised that Body up, sits on the throne of God today. Christ is not on His right throne, He's on God's throne now, in the heavens. But when He returns back, He'll come to David's throne, which He is heir to.
Now, notice, now He's here in the form of the Spirit, tonight, to do the same thing, same love. He just saved the sinner out there, that's the love He had. Now He'll heal the sick, same love He had, He will show signs and wonders, just the same love He had, the same Jesus. If He'll do that, would you receive Him? God bless you now.
Father God, we pray that You'll grant this. And I submit myself to Thee, now, through Jesus Christ's name. Amen.

53 Bill. What prayer cards was we... Q's, we was calling from last night, wasn't we? Prayer card Q's, I believe, it was. I believe we called the first bunch of them. Let's call the last part of Q's tonight. He isn't here just at the time. Let's... It's prayer cards Q, does anybody have them? Look out there. That's fine. All right, let's call from Q's then. Let's call from the last part of them. The last... How many did we have? Fifteen last night? Fifteen or sixteen?
All right, let's call the last fifteen; that'll be from eight-five to a hundred. Q-85, does anybody have it? Raise up your hand right quick. Q-85, raise up your hand, please. Anybody have it? The girl? All right sister, come here. 86, quickly, just a little card with my picture on it, and the number and a letter on the back. Q-85, 86. Who has 86? The lady. 87, raise your hand quickly now to save the time. Is this it? 87, 88, all right, Q prayer card 88. All right.
Prayer card Q-89, 89. Q-90. Q-90, anyone have it? Would you raise your hands right quick? Prayer card Q-90. Look at somebody's card somewhere. Yes, all right. 90, 91, raise your hand so we can see. Help me if you will. 91, somebody deaf or somebody that can't get up, you know, then ... 91? Come to the afternoon meetings; they give out the prayer cards. 91? Is Q-91 here? 92? All right, lady. 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, up to a 100.
Now look around and see if they come into the meeting, come into the line. And now, if we can ... if everybody be reverent, maybe we can get out then, and give out, and call some more from ... some more prayer cards. If everybody try to hold faith and believe.
While they're coming, I want to pray for these cloths here again. Shall we bow our heads a moment?

54 Dear loving Jesus, upon the basis of the Word of God, we realize that Elisha, the Bible said, "He was a man subject to like passions as we are." He had ups-and-downs. He had his troubles like we have. But he sent a stick that he'd been walking with to lay on a dead baby.
Paul called himself "the chief of sinners." On his road to Damascus to lock up all the people that were in this way. And the Holy Spirit struck him down and chose him for a vessel to bear the Word of God to the Gentiles. And they believed that apostle so much till they took from his body handkerchiefs and aprons. And they laid them on the sick, and unclean spirits went out, and evil, and infirmities, and the people were made well.
Now we realize, Lord, that the prophet has gone, and so has Paul, but Jesus remains forever. And we pray, Father, that in this day that the people's faith believing that You'll now bless these handkerchiefs and little parcels in here, and when they're laid on the sick, may they each be healed. For we send them in Jesus Christ's name. Amen.

55 Now, everyone reverent. And I believe that it got a little cool in here. I see the women putting their coats on. Maybe if they'd shut the fans off, it might be a little better. The custodian will, please.
And then, notice, friend. I want to ask you something while they're lining the people up. Now, if Jesus of Nazareth stood here tonight, wearing this suit that I have on that He gave me several years ago in Sweden. If He stood here wearing this suit, and for instance this girl here, or somebody along the line there, come up here, to Him and said, "Lord, will you heal me?" What do think Jesus would say to them?
He'd say, "I can't. I have already done it." When Jesus died at Calvary, He healed every sick person that would believe that He did it for them then. Is that right?
What if the sinner awhile ago would say, "Now, Lord, will you save me?" What if a sinner came up here to the platform and say ... and Jesus was standing here, say, "Jesus will you save me?"
He'd say, "Well, son, I saved you nineteen hundred years ago. Do you accept it now?"
If he'd say, "Well, I want You to do it now."
He'd say, "I have already done it."
So if any person ever tell you that they can save you or heal you, it's an error, 'cause no one can do what's already been done, see. Jesus died to save sinners and heal sick people. That's what...
And He's sitting tonight at the right hand of God as a High Priest who can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. Is that right? Making what? Intercessions upon our confession, see. He cannot do one thing for you until first you believe it in your heart that He has done it, and then say that He's done it. And the minute that you believe it and say it, then before God, He says it's right. He's there to make intercession upon your confession.

56 Now you can come to the altar here and scream, and cry, and walk up and down the floor and scream, "God, save me a sinner." That wouldn't do one speck of good. You could do that tonight, all night, all day tomorrow, and the next night, beat on the floor, anything you want to do. You're just giving vent to your feeling.
But you can never be saved until you first believe it and then confess it. For He said, "If you confess Me before men, I will confess you before the Father and all the angels." Is that right? The minute you do.
And if you're just doing it from your head, well, it doesn't matter. If you're doing it from your heart, it's settled right there. Has to be. Regenerated person right then. "He that heareth My words and believeth on Him that sent Me has," right now, "everlasting life and shall never perish, but has passed from death to life." Just because you believe. It's all.
The same thing by divine healing. You don't have to be up here on the platform. You just believe right where you're sitting. Look up to Jesus, and say, "I now believe it and accept it and You're my healer right now."
At that very minute, He confesses that same thing before Almighty God, saying, "By My stripes I've recognized him healed," see. And you're just as sure to get well, as He's God, He has to. God just can't say something and take it back; He's got to keep His Word. I can say something and take it back, you can too, but He can't. He's God, once spoke, and that settles it. All right.

57 Now, now, what could be done for these people? Now these standing in the line, just a few of them here, we called a few of them up here to the platform. And my Heavenly Father knows that as far as I know, I've never seen a person in that line. Frankly, there's nobody in the building... I thought this man sitting right here a while ago was Brother G. H. Brown, from Little Rock, but it isn't. You know he looks a whole lot like him, but I thought it was Brother Brown, but it isn't.
If I'm not mistaken, this is Brother Fuller sitting right over here, if I'm not mistaken, sitting right there. And this man here, I don't know him, but I know his face, but I don't know his name. Outside of that, outside my own brethren, right here, there's not a person in this building that I see that I know. That's right.

58 Now I'm not saying that, if you know me, see, I just don't know you. You see, see. Or don't recognize you. God knows that.
And yes, I see the lady sit up there. Her sister, I know that lady. She's from Tucson, Mrs. Morgan. The first vision I ever seen in my life. Her sister was a twenty-one year graduate nurse in Louisville, Kentucky. She's been dead about fourteen years. She's nursing at Clark County Memorial Hospital.
And she came after the Angel of the Lord had ministered to me this ... told me what it was, and about these visions, that the ministers told me it was the devil, and He let me know it was the Spirit of God. And they just didn't understand like they did in the other days. And Mrs. Morgan was the first one to come. Mr. McDowell had been healed of his eyes. Mrs. Morgan... Mr. Morgan, her husband said, "Come," and said, "now, I wonder if that'll work on my wife; she's dying. Taking radium, x-rays, ether. Oh my! She's out of her head."
So he come ask me. I said, "It's not for me to question it; it's for you to question. Do you believe it? I believe it." So he brought her over, and the lady, right here, was present that night.
And when the woman with cancer, it run all through went from the breast, down through the abdomen, into the intestinal tract. And the doctor when he opened her up, "Why," he said, "just like the roots of a tree. Wrapped..." He couldn't even wash her out with an enema.
And said, "There's nothing to do, but let her die." And she got so low till the doctor told her husband, said, "Now, if you want to take her out of the hospital over to Jeffersonville," said, "you can take her just 'cause she always said she liked the river, let her see the river before she dies." But said, "There ain't nothing can be done for her."

59 Well, that being my first one, laying there like that, a dying woman. But when I took a hold of her hand... Two nights or three nights before that the Lord Jesus had met me up there. And this Angel stood by me, and said, this thing would happen, that I was going into all the world testifying over the platform that night, when praying for her, the Holy Spirit spoke back, "Thus saith the Lord." And today she's a healthy, and strong, fine, lovely woman, and that's her sister sitting there with us. Is that right, sister? That's right. Lovely.
And a great attorney come from up north. He heard about it. And he come down, wanted to find out. So he went to the cancer clinic in Louisville, and she's been dead for years. He said, "Do you want to meet her?" Said, "She's the liveliest dead person you ever seen." Still nursing.

60 Me and my wife, in a few weeks now with the baby, she's been with them all along, the loveliest friend, one of the loveliest friends I have in the world.
Yeah, I didn't see you, sister. I'm sorry. I didn't notice you sitting back in the crowd. Especially standing up here and the lights shining in a different way. It's kind of hard. Anyone standing up here can see it's hard to see people out in there.
And now, notice, but if Jesus has risen from the dead... What did He do when He was here on earth? Now just take your time. Don't be in no hurry. What did He do? One thing to recognize the truth, ought to settle it forever. When Jesus was here on earth, did He claim to be a healer? No, sir. He said, "I don't do any healing at all." Said, "It's My Father does the healing, that dwells in Me." Is that right? Said, "I, the Son, can do nothing."
What did He do? He was possessed with the power of God without measure. We have it in measures. He has it without measure. Just like go out to the ocean get a spoonful of the water, it's just a spoonful out of the ocean; that would be just a little gift here, up by the side of Him. But remember, the same chemicals that's in the spoonful of water is in the whole ocean, see. It's the same thing, but just smaller, see. Way smaller.
But when He was standing, the people would look and believe. And certain things that He would call out in the audience and say things. Philip brought Nathanael; He said, "Behold, an Israelite, in whom there's no guile."
He said, "How did You know me, Rabbi?"
Said, "Before Philip got you when you were under the tree, I saw you."

61 He told the woman at the well, after He had talked to her a while to contact her spirit. There was something about Him that seen visions.
And Jesus said, when He passed by a lot of cripples and twisted people, and so forth, and went over to a man laying on a pallet and said... Now watch. Jesus knew that He was there. God had showed Him. He healed that man, told him to take up his bed, and go to his house.
Well, my! When the Jews found him and questioned Him. They brought Jesus in to question, here's what He said, "Verily, verily I say unto you, the Son can do nothing in Himself, but what He sees the Father doing, that doeth the Son likewise." Is that right? Then Jesus' own words said He could do nothing at all until the Father showed Him first what to do.

62 Look at the resurrection of Lazarus, many other things there. Some blind man come by one time, wanted to be prayed for. He didn't have no vision for him. He just touched their eyes, said, "Now according to your faith, be it unto to you."
The woman touched His garment and went out in the audience, stood around out there a little bit and He look around and said, when He found her said, "Thy faith has healed thee." Thy faith has saved thee, physically saved. Same words, sozo. Save thee, save thee, physical or spiritual, same word, same every time in the Bible, where healing or saving, it's the same Greek word, sozo. Any minister knows that, that's studied. Sozo, thy faith has saved thee physically, saved thee spiritually.
Now, if Jesus was here tonight, then when He went away He said this, "A little while and the world..." the unbeliever, they won't believe it. What did the people think about it that day? What did they say He was? Well they... Did he say, "That's truly the Son of God, the great religious world."? They said, "He's the best fortuneteller in the country. He's Beelzebub, the chief of the devils." Is that right?
But what did the devil say He was? "The Son of God." So the devil was more right than the preachers was. You know why? They were more subject to spirit, them fortunetellers, then what the preacher was. That's exactly right.
And here's a little something on the side. What was all that happened on the reservation the other day? up on the Indian reservation? Get what I mean? More subject to spirit. We people are all scholared and educated, my, well, things way back, gone, but the Easterner, brother, he believes.

63 Now, if Jesus was here tonight, and come in, and do the same things that He did when He was on earth, what would He do to these people here? Now if He's already healed them, now what could He do? Now, already through preaching the Word, He let them know what He believes, what He did. Now if they can accept it that way, that's the best way, that's the initial healing. Is that right? That's the initial way. Faith cometh by hearing, by the Word.
Now it's not that... Then He sent gifts into the church. Some apostles, prophets, teachers, evangelists, gifts of tongues, interpretation of tongues, all those for the edifying of the church.
Now, I'm not much of a preacher; the only thing that I can do is just by a gift to see visions. Not here, not here in the church. Mercy. This is a amateur side of it. Ask my associates that deals with me around other places. Why, visions come from everywhere, all the time, foretelling things that will happen on the road and all along.
And just ask anybody if ever one time it ever failed. If it'd be William Branham, it always fails; but as long as it's the Lord Jesus Christ, it can't fail. That's right.

64 In this picture here of Him, that proves scientific world that I've told the truth. That is His picture, which is not mine. It's copyrighted in Houston, Texas, and we just have to buy them and then let the people have them.
But now, if He will come in the power of His resurrection, as we as Christians contend---the Full Gospel people, all of them---contend that Jesus raised from the dead, then if He raised from the dead, and the same yesterday, today, and forever, He's got to do the same thing today that He did yesterday, and forever. Is that right? He's just got to do it in order to be the same.
Now, I hope, that... I know it's not a hundred percent with me tonight but I... You can't hide that, my brother. But it's so anyhow, see.

65 Now, may He come and for the sakes of those believers do... Now how many here that doesn't have a prayer card and yet you want Jesus to heal you, raise your hand. You want Jesus to heal you and don't have a prayer card, I can just get a general conception of where you are. All right. Let's pray.
Father, in the name of Thy Son, the Lord Jesus, I now submit this poor, humble, unworthy body to You. That You'll speak through these lips, look through these eyes. Go into the hearts of the people out there, Lord, and give them faith to believe so that You can work through Your servants together, tonight. For the glory of the resurrection of Thy Son, the Lord Jesus. Amen.
Now, everyone, now please keep your positions, keep your seats, don't move around, just give us a little time. And I want to say, tomorrow night being the last night, if the Spirit of the Lord strikes me, of course, it's a little while them kind, it's another dimension, it's another world. I don't know what I say.
And they tell me... You see this tape recording sitting over yonder? That's how I pick up. Anybody wants to know what's said to them, just get on the tape recording there and you can pick it up. We do that because it's absolutely infallible the truth each time. Just go and find out. And it's been that way. I'm forty-five years old, it's been that way since the first thing I can remember as a little baby boy.
Now, be reverent. You say, "What is it, Brother Branham?" It's submitting yourself to the Spirit of God. Just knowing how to submit yourself. And you do the same thing. You might not be able to see visions, but you can submit yourself for the working of the Holy Spirit.

66 Now, in the name of Jesus Christ the Son of God, I take every spirit in here under my control for the glory of God. Amen.
Now, if the engineer will watch, sometimes I catch on the tape, my voice is not very loud. Now, this young girl standing here, she's a stranger to me. I never seen her in my life, as I know of. If it is, I know nothing about it. But God knows all about the child, He knows just exactly what's wrong with her, or what she's here for, anything.
So, if the Angel of the Lord will come now to this little lady standing here, speak to her, and tell her of something that's been in your life in the past; and will bring it up, whatever it is that you know I know nothing about, and I've seen strangers and you're probably fourteen, fifteen years older, or maybe not that old and I'm forty-five.
And so we were born years apart, perhaps, hundreds of miles apart. Our first time to meet one another. So then, it'd have to come from God. Wouldn't it, little lady? Well, then if He would do that, will the audience believe that He's raised from the dead and living here today, the same yesterday, today, and forever?

67 Well, now little lady, being the first here, of course, you're conscious that something is going on. Now just as a child... You're a Christian, you are a believer, 'cause your little spirit feels welcome, see. If it wasn't, it'd just be turning back from me, but you realize that something's going on don't you? That's the settling of that Angel of the Lord coming down. Now that will not hurt you. You just believe on it and it'll do you good.
And now talking to you, just like our Lord did the woman at the well. Well then He had to get in contact with her somewhere, so it had to be through spirit.

68 One thing, you're all nervous, upset about something. And you are suffering with a kidney condition. It's in your kidneys. That is right, isn't it, sister? Now bless your heart, honey, don't worry. Do you believe now? All upset, got kidney trouble, probably's what making her have kidney trouble. Now, the Lord bless you, my sister.

69 Now, if He's present now to do that for you, then you know me, just a man, and don't know you, if He could tell you what your trouble was, well surely His presence then... Do you believe it being the Lord Jesus? Then somehow in this unworthy temple, Jesus Christ speaks, doesn't He? Then if I'd lay hands on you according to His Word, you'd have to get well if you believe it. Isn't that right?
The little lady seems to leave from me again. Oh, you're... I see a man, it's a man real sick, there's something wrong, it's your father, there's something, he's got a... Oh, he's dying, he's got a head, something wrong with his head. It's a pressure or something in his head. And the man is dying. Your father. That's truth.
Dear God, be merciful tonight. Come to this little child here, Lord, standing here deeply in sorrow, broken up. Thou does know all things, Father. Thou can do all things. And I pray that you'll bless her now. Bless her loved one that's so bad tonight. May the great Holy Spirit be at the room. Stay the hand of death. In this audience, Lord, is believers, we now ask this blessing. This little girl standing here for this. May she receive everything she come for. In the name of Jesus Christ as Your humble servant. I ask it. Amen.
God bless you, honey. God be with you.
He said, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible." Have faith. Don't disbelieve, just have faith in God. Don't you believe now with all your heart? The Bible said, "He that believeth shall not be condemned. He that believeth shall not be condemned." All right.

70 I see you have a personal worker, lady. But I suppose we're strangers to one another. Just as we're strangers that you seen me, but being a personal worker, of course, you have seen me. But I mean to know one another, we are strangers to each other. But the Lord Jesus knows us both, doesn't He?
Now, if He'll help me to know you, know something of you, or something in that manner, will you accept Him then? Now you know lady, that there's not a way in the world for me to know what you're standing there for. Isn't that right? Not a way in the world. I'm a total helpless when it comes to that. Only by the grace of God would I know.
But you're suffering with something in the heart, the heart trouble. That's what it is. True. Now you believe? Believe that God will heal you? Believe that God will make you well? Now what it has to do, not knowing what your trouble was, frankly, I don't think now what it was, but whatever it was I seen something that told me that's what it was. Now that's enough to make a believer out of you, isn't it?

71 I see you're interested in somebody else, too. And that's someone younger than you are. It's your child; it's your daughter. And your daughter is about... It's a domestic trouble in the family. It's a... You understand what I speak of? What is in your heart at this time? God bless you. Do you believe you receive what you asked for? Come here.
Almighty God, be merciful now. Let Thy Spirit come upon this, our sister. As I have my hands laid upon her, and grant unto her, Father God, the deep desire of her heart for that which she asks for. In Jesus Christ's name. Amen.
God bless you, sister. May He grant to you the riches of His blessing.
How do you do, lady. Supposing we're strangers to each other, too. Strangers. I don't know you, but Jesus Christ does know you, doesn't He.
Somebody touched Him!
The vision doesn't break, but it was right in here.
Excuse me, I'm not beside myself. I just ... it's just, I can't explain it. You understand?

72 You got lung trouble. Haven't you just come from the hospital? Or going to one or something? I see a hospital look like appears. Do you believe that Jesus Christ will make you well and take the thing away from you? You believe that He will do it? Will you come near?
Precious Lord, I lay my hands upon the woman. Take this shadow of death from her, Father, and may the light of life take its place. Grant it, Lord, in Jesus Christ's name I ask it. Amen. God bless you, lady. Go believing now. Have faith.
Do you believe Him with all your heart?

73 Sister, you that just bowed your head and said, "Lord, have mercy on me," that's sitting there with the nerve trouble, sitting right there. Yes. He heard you. Now isn't that what you were praying? If it is, raise up your hand if that isn't right. Been suffering with a kind of mental nervousness, haven't you?
You got a habit of dropping things, too, haven't you? I see you standing, dropped a plate or something just recently and broke it. That's right. All right. Isn't that right? If that isn't right, raise your hand, see. I don't know you, but God does. Now you're healed, that's left you. You are going home to be well.
Is this my ... the patient?
Are you believing up there for the child, the little girl? You believe God take that diabetes away from her, make her well? You was crying a while ago, wasn't you? Have you got a prayer card? You don't? You don't need one. God bless you, honey.
You sitting up there with your little head down praying then wasn't you? If that's right, sweetheart, raise your little hand like that. See, Jesus heard your prayer and He come back and tell me about you saying, "Can I be healed tonight, Jesus?" Sure you can, sweetheart, just accept it. That's all you have to do, and you can go home and get well.
Let's say, "Praise be to God, Who gives us the victory." The faith of a little child! Just only believe. Are you believing, everybody believing? You can be healed if you just believe.

74 Lady sitting there with that red dress on, you kind of have a ... you was just really thinking then, "God, are You going to catch me tonight?" That's the truth, isn't it? Not reading your mind, but that's exactly what you said. That's right. Because you want to get over arthritis, don't you? And you also have bursitis, don't you? That's right? All right, now you can get over it if you just... Your faith touches the Lord Jesus. Amen.
Oh, people, how can you turn Him down? How can you say that He's not alive tonight. Why isn't He alive? Here He is doing the same thing He did when He was here on earth. Just believe Him, that's all you have to do. See, those people out there, without prayer cards without anything at all, no way to get up here on the platform, but they get there faith away from here down here. And when you do that, it touches it. Now every spirit in here, I'm feeling it. That's exactly right. And if God wanted to, you couldn't hide your life if you had to, see. All right now, where?
How do you do, sir. Do you believe me to be God's servant? The reason I say that, sir, is not for... I'm a poor representative of His. But what little I can, and with all my heart, I just love Him with all my heart, and all my soul. I love Him.
And I suppose, my brother, that you and I are strangers to each other. Perhaps, we've never seen one another in our lives. You have seen me, but I don't know you. You just see me probably by being in the meetings and things like that. Yes, yes, sir. Well, then, the only way that God would know ... that I would know anything about you or what you're here for, would be through God. Is that right?
Now if He'd just show me what was wrong with you, the vision's what makes me weak, you see. But if I just, if He'd show me what was wrong with you, well, that would be enough for you. You'd believe it then, wouldn't you? With all your heart.
If you possibly can, be just as reverent.

75 Now, my brother, 'course there's spirit all around everywhere. Your brother, myself, it's in a different world now, but you're moving away from me. And I see you suffering with a heart trouble. It's caused by a nervous condition that causes the heart trouble. It's a nervous condition. That is right.
You got a wife that's sick, too. Has a colon trouble like, some kind of a trouble. You got a... I see a daughter, you got a daughter that's a spastic or something. You have. And you got another daughter that suffers a nervous trouble. She's something around school. Isn't she a teacher? Or something around school. That's right. School teacher. Those things are true, sir.
Now, that wasn't me talking. That was my voice, but it was Him talking. Now, whatever He told you, it's the truth. For, He was the same One said here, "If they lay hands on the sick, they shall recover." You believe that? Then come near.
Almighty God, author of life, giver of every good gift, send Thy blessings upon the man. And give to him, Father, the desire of his heart. I ask this in Jesus' name, the Son of God. Amen.
God bless you, my brother.
How do you do, sir? We're strangers to each other, I suppose, sir? My talking to the people, seems like everybody... I just want to talk to you a minute. I see you got the book, the picture there. I hope you enjoy them and God blesses you with reading it. We are strangers to one another. I've never seen you in my life as I know of. We are totally strangers to each other.
Then if there's anything concerning you, or what you're here for, God will have to give it to me in some way. If I, by the Spirit of God will know these things, just exactly like Jesus did when He was here, then you'll have to know it comes from some supernatural resource. Then will you accept it to be from God? God bless you.

76 Will the audience do the same thing? I wish I could just have more strength to go along, but ... just to speak to you a minute.
You're suffering with a nervous condition. That's right. You're a wonderful person though. You got a strong spirit; vision breaks quickly for you. You're a disabled veteran. You got a wife, you're a married man. She's suffering with nervousness, too. You're from Texas. You're here and you're in a business, some kind of a ... you're in a filling station business, filling station. You got a call in your life for the ministry, you feel like you have. And you're trying to accumulate money to go to a school somewhere to learn about, something about... That's true. Do you believe? [The man says, "Yes, sir."] Well, then "Thus saith the Lord," go and receive what you've asked for in Jesus' name.

77 Do you believe that the Lord Jesus healed you while you were sitting there? You was. God bless you. You can go now and be made well.
Mother, do you believe Jesus' going to take that arthritis away from you? you're going to get well? Just go and say, "Thank You, Lord Jesus." Just...
Having headaches, aren't you? Been having all kinds of headaches. God bless you. Back there, sir, sitting next to you there, having trouble with your ears, aren't you. You believe Jesus is going to make you well?
The lady sitting right there has got something wrong with her eyes. Got a tumor on your eyes, haven't you, lady? Put your hands over your eyes and wipe them across that way. Now go and see. Jesus Christ make you well.
Praise be to God. You have a lady's troubled and also arthritis. You believe Jesus going to make you...? God bless you then. Go and God make you well. Go rejoicing, happy.

78 Your trouble's in your back, isn't it, lady? You want to be well? Walk out there and stoop down like this and bend your back down and say, "Jesus, I accept it." Then go, and Jesus Christ will make you well. Let's say, "Praise the Lord."
Brother, you want to go eat your supper, be well again? [A man says, "Yes."] All right, go. The ulcer has left you. You can go and be made well now.
Come! You believe? Lady, you believe? [A lady says, "I believe."] With all your heart? ["With all my heart."] Then you won't have to be operated on; the tumor will leave you and you can go home.
Diabetes is nothing for Jesus Christ to heal. Amen. You believe Him?
You want to get over the tumor, also? God bless you. Then go and be made well in Jesus' name.
Have faith in God.

79 Who switched the switch? All right, stand still. Are you all together? Is this the rest of the line?
All right, to you, young lady, have faith now. Believe with all your heart. There's a dark shadow of death hangs over this family. This lady's a caretaker for these. These people are Indian. You come from an Indian school. You've been put out of the school, because of TB. They say that the children are all going to die. This is the father.
Look on me, sir. This lady here, by working, has contracted TB, and is working is her face. You feel that you got a call for the ministry. You want to preach the Gospel. You! The shadows of death over the children. You believe me to be God's prophet? You believe that this shadow can be moved tonight? You can go back to your people, with these children and get well and live? Will you go preach the Gospel? And believe on the Lord Jesus?
Then, Almighty God, in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, I condemn every demon power. I take the curse off of this people here. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ may every evil spirit depart from this. Hope is failing, oh, from these people. Come out! Satan, I adjure thee in the name of the Lord Jesus.