Letting off the pressure

You can find this sermon at ChurchAges.net

1 Thank you, Brother Ruddell. I am so happy to know I got a son in the gospel. Well, fine; that's good. Yes, I certainly appreciate Brother Ruddell. And I believe Paul once had a son called Timothy. He called him his son in the gospel.
And if I'm not sure, is this Flossy Ford? used to be? My goodness. Flossy, I ... been a long time. Yes, it has. I remember when I was a boy; her brother Lloyd and I used to run around together. And she used to bake big cakes, you know, and we'd come in up there and eat till we was just about sick.

2 I remember one time they asked me come up, Lloyd did, and Flossy had baked... She was just a kid then. She had baked a big cake, and we just eat till we couldn't eat. And I thought, "Now, I'm going to stay all night with Lloyd. Kind of got to getting dark, you know, and I made out, I just had to go home then. So I took off and run down the road and scared to death trying to go home.
And I remember her father. Is your mother is still living, I suppose? Well, that's fine. And been a lot of water went down that river since them days. Yes. Here we are now both middle-aged people, grandparents. Well, but there is a land where we'll never grow old. I'm so glad to know, Flossy, that you're looking for that land and assurance of finding it.
And Jim, how is Jim, is he... Yes, I remember, Jim, that's her husband, and I remember him well. And I knowed a few of the children, we kind of... By that time I'd got on the field when they were married and their children growing up. And we kind of got away, you know, from one another.
I see Brother Lloyd once in a while, holler at him down on the street. They've cooked me many a meal, and I've ... like a real brother and sister.

3 Now, I'm so glad to see that Brother Ruddell's first push was here in this place to convert ... starting out converting a roadhouse into the house of the Lord. That's very fine.
And of course, you know, sometimes if you can foresee anything, you know... And then that makes it better. So we could foresee there was something in this boy. And he was bashful; his dad and I there used to work together years ago. And I knowed his daddy was a up-and-at-it and a go-getter, so why shouldn't that be in the boy. I knowed he had a darling mother. So he was sired right so there had to be something good behind him. You see? And that longing in his heart to serve the Lord. When the deep calls to the deep, there's got to be a deep to respond to that call. And I'm so glad to see Brother Ruddell going on.

4 This wonderful bunch of people up here... And it's a grand privilege to me tonight to come up here and to speak to this bunch of saints that are sojourning here. We are not... This is not our abiding place, you know. We're pilgrims. We're not at home.
And I remember, Sister Ruddell, how you'd come with him and sit there. And he'd hold his head down. And you had a lot of confidence, you sure did. She believed he'd preach the gospel. And so with a good wife like that, and a father and mother and all praying for him, something had to happen, Brother Ruddell. So here it is. And I pray, Brother Ruddell, that this will just be a standing place for you, where you can spring to the highest of heights for the glory of the gospel.

5 I know that Brother and Sister Ruddell, Max there, would feel real happy about it tonight. How I'd like to see Billy Paul stand in the pulpit. And I hope to live someday to see Joseph standing in the pulpit. And that's mighty fine.
Our toils and troubles then that we have raising young children through the teenage and things, that makes us feel fine then. Look back and see the gray in your daddy's hair and things, remember, some of your wrong doings put them there, that's right.

6 Well, it's good to be here, and I'm just a little bit hoarse. I've been preaching... Brother Gene Goad and I took a little trip yesterday and went down. And the fish was biting. And so we had a good time, come in late. And we kind of got out on the water, and a little bit of cold, but I trust you bear with me.
Now, we are fixing to leave on a summer's campaign, about ninety day campaign. Expect to be back again in last of August, first of September. And we're going over now... This week I begin in Green Bay, Michigan. Come back through Chicago for Sunday afternoon at the high school at a convention. I'm going to speak the original convention of the Christian Businessmen in Green Bay, Wisconsin. And then from there to Chicago, and then Monday I'm in Chicago at a conventional meeting, a missionary rally for Brother Joseph Boze. And then return home to go up to Southern Pines, North Carolina, and down into South Carolina, and over to the Cow Palace at South Gate, Los Angeles. Got forty-some-odd oneness churches sponsoring that meeting. First time the oneness ever sponsored my meeting.
Then on up to California through Oregon, on into Canada, and from there in to Anchorage, Alaska, and then back again this fall. Where Brother Joseph Boze is going to Kenya, Tanganyika, Durban in Africa, South Africa to set up meetings for later on in the fall.
Now, to say I have a leading to go to any of these places, I do not, but I feel that it ought to be sowing seed somewhere, doing whatever I can for the kingdom.

7 And now, let us just bow our heads again for another word of prayer, not that we haven't been prayed for, but I'd just like to ask the Lord to help me here now that ... would provide some words for you.
Our heavenly Father, we are now approaching Thy throne of grace in the name of the Lord Jesus, who has give us the permission and bid us to come, and we would be granted the things that we ask for as we approach. Now, we would not ask at all to stand in Your judgment, but we want to stand at the mercy seat so that we can obtain mercy, confessing that we are wrong and there's no soundness in us. But we present ourselves, Lord, nothing we can offer, just the prayer of our Lord Jesus and the bidding that He said this: "He that heareth My words and believeth on Him that sent Me has everlasting life and shall not come to the judgment, but has passed from death to life." We believe that. He told us to come, ask anything in His name, it would be granted. We believe that.

8 Upon the basis of our faith, we come asking that You bless this church and our gracious brother, Brother Ruddell and his family, and all the families that's represented here.
As I look over and see Mrs. Morris here tonight and to think of the days gone by... And God, as I said to her, lots of water's went down the river and many dangers, toils, and snares. You've already brought us through them, Lord, and our trust is in You that we go to the end of the road in Thee.
Bless this place. Place Your name in here, Lord, and give to them the very best that's 'lotted for this place. May evil, as the brother prayed tonight here... This young man prayed that You'd take away all hindrances. Grant it, Lord. Answer his prayer.
Heal the sick that's among us. Give salvation to the soul of those that's hungering and thirsting for righteousness. And now, Lord, sanctify the voice and the effort of Your unprofitable servant. And bless Thy Word, and may it not return void; but may it be so that it'll accomplish that which it is purposed for. May the Holy Spirit take the things of God tonight and encourage our hearts from the greatest to the least. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask it. Amen.

9 Now, this morning I preached a long time. And I didn't know about preaching; I was just kind of teaching a Sunday school lesson. And one day I taught six hours. Won't be that bad tonight, I'm sure.
But I just got a little text here that I would like to read some scripture, because I know His words won't fail. Mine may do it. And I'm going to try to keep my word right with His and take His Word ... take my word to build a context around His Word, as we use for a text.

10 I want to read two places tonight. I want to read in the book of Proverbs in the 18th chapter and the 10th verse for one place. And another place, I want to read Isaiah 32:2. Now, in Proverbs 18:10:
The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous run into it, and are safe.
And in the book of Isaiah, 32nd chapter, 1st and 2nd verses:
Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, a prince shall rule in judgment.
And a man shall be as a hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as a shadow of a great rock in a weary land.

11 And now for my text I want to use this as a text: "Letting Off the Pressure." That's a odd text, "Letting Off Pressure." I chose this, because that before coming to a meeting I always try to pray and to try to seek the Lord, not to stand before any congregation small or great, one to a million, would be to stand there not to be seen or to be heard, but to do something to glorify my Lord. Therefore, seeing the need of the people...
And I wouldn't come here to be heard, because I'm not much to listen to, bad voice, not an educated man, and never stay with my text, skip all over from Genesis to Revelation. And I'm not an eloquent speaker, but I do love the Lord. And I can't love Christ until first I love His people, see. I've got to love His people. So if I love His people, then I love Him.

12 And then, I want to be like He did. I want to make my objective the same objectives He had; and that was always trying to do good, to help somebody.
And seeing this day that we live in, and knowing that this church here has a grand pastor...
Now, I don't say that flattery; I say it from my heart. If I said anything different, I'd be a hypocrite. And I believe that this church has a pastor that would stand on truth regardless of what come or went. I believe that. That's my confidence in my son. And I believe that. And he's fearless as fearless can be. And I believe he's a honorable, holy man, sent from God with a ministry for this last day. And he preaches the same portion of the Word that I preach; that's from Genesis to Revelation, just the way it's wrote. And I like that, no compromising, just stay right with the Word. And I like that.

13 But then I thought with a man like that, for me to walk in behind his pulpit, yet a young man, what could I say that would help his congregation; because that's why he wanted me to come up. He's a shepherd, and he's watching his sheep. And he would think maybe now, to kind of change around a little, there might be something to help his people. And he's interested in you; he's interested in your welfare. Day and night, he'll go anytime, anywhere, help do anything that he can. Well, that's a real servant of God.

14 And as he said he plagued me, or bothered me, or pestered me, or something... He doesn't do that. That makes me love him that much more, when he keeps asking, 'cause I love that, 'cause he's got confidence. It shows... He wouldn't bring me up before his sheep if he thought I was going to hurt them. Nope, no shepherd would do that, because he'd think I would do what was right. And it's a great privilege he pays me when he does ask me to come. And I like his objectives; that's hang on till it happens. That's a man of faith. And I like that.
So then I thought, "What would I speak to this congregation?" I thought, "Well, they're probably trained right in everything, no doubt." But there is a pressure on the people today. And that pressure has no limitation or any denominational lines; it has no age line; it has no respect of person. It's on young and old, good and bad; it's on everybody---pressure.

15 We are living in a neurotic age, nervous tension. Everybody's racing here and going there, and going nowhere. It's just at that kind of an age. And I know this church would be plagued with it as everywhere's plagued with it. Tabernacle's plagued with it, everywhere, the whole world.
It's a day of pressure. Hurry, hurry; hurry, hurry; hurry up and wait. Drive ninety miles an hour and then ... to get home for supper and wait two hours till it gets ready. That's right! It's the time. And in that rushing and speeding it gets you to a nervous tension, the wife say something a little contrary, you want to fly off, temper. Husband say something, you'll pat your foot and tell him to get in the room, see. "Well, now husband, I don't want no words with you; go out there."
"Wife, oh, I'm so nervous," see. Why? What's the matter? See?

16 All this together, this tension building up, then the results of it, is doing something wrong and acting out of place. That's right! Now, it'll make the poor act that way; it'll make the middle class act that way; it'll make the rich act that way. It'll make the wrong act that way; it'll make the pretty good act that way; and it'll make the good act that way, because it's tension, steam built up. Got to blow it out somewhere, see. If you don't, you blow the boiler up.
Now, we find that. It builds up as the day goes. You talk to your boss if you're working, "Oh, so-and-so!" And if you speak to the kiddy, "Come in here!" Mama, I'm..." See, there you are. It builds it up. Ooh, my! See? You feel like you're going to ... head's going to come off. I know; I'm with it every day. So I know what it means. It builds up.

17 I was ... thought of this the other night. I was at a certain hospital. And our pastor, I thought he was sick; but he had just wore out. Run, run, run, run till he was just exhausted. And some of them said, called up... They called in the office down there and asked if I'd make his calls. Well, I'd been with business acts all day, and ministers from different places, and I said, "Yes!"
Well, I went to make his calls. And I went to a certain hospital. And they give me a woman's name and a number where she was at. I goes up to this room; I went over to the lady... It was about fifteen, twenty minutes before receiving time for visitors, so I went over and told the lady I was a minister and would like to see certain, certain woman. She looked me in the face---and she was doing something---she turned around first and said, "What do you want?"
And I said, "I would like to know where a certain, certain lady is in this ward."
She said, "I don't know!"
I said, "Well, I was given a number, a certain place, and I thought I'd ask first."
Said, "Well, if you got a number, go see it."
"Thank you." I goes down there and sat at the door of the ward, and I said, "Is there a lady in here named So-and-so?"
"No!"
Well, I went back and looked at my ticket; that's where it said. So I goes back, and the lady was standing there; I said, "That was the wrong number."
"What did you say her name was?" Said, "She's not on this floor."
"Thank you." I said, "I'll go upstairs then."

18 So I goes up to the next room, and I went to the... First, there was a doctor sitting at the desk and I ... sitting there scratching his head. Said, "How do you do?" He just looked up, looked down. "Well," I thought, "I'd better leave him alone." So I went on down the row a little farther, and I found a lady at the desk, a nurse. I said, "Pardon me!"
Said, "What do you want?"
And I said, "Is there a lady up here by a certain, certain name?"
And she said, "I don't know." And I said... She said...
I said, "I was supposed to have a room number 321 or 221." And I said, "I went to that room, and there was no one there.
And the lady said, "There's no one down here named that," so said, "maybe it was upstairs." And she said, "Well then, why don't you go to 321 then?"
I said, "Thank you!" I goes down to 321 ... or 321, and I said, "Is there a lady in here named So-and-so?"
"No!"
There was a lady laying there, said, "She was across the room, across the room over on the other ... 31."
Said, "Thank you, lady." I walked over; I said, "Is lady So-and-so here?"
"No, they moved her out; she's downstairs."

19 I thought, "My!" I goes back downstairs again; they give me the room number. And I went downstairs, and I looked all... I was afraid to go to that desk again, so I looked all up and down, trying to find that room number. And I look; and couldn't find it.
They got little wings and things cut up in this hospital, so here come this doctor walking down with his stethoscope in his hand and a satchel. And I never did see a man was four feet tall and four feet wide, but he just about matched the... He was walking along there; I said, "Good evening sir. Could you tell me where room number so-and-so was at?"
He said, "Up this way and out that way."
I said, "Thank you for your information."
That's the truth; he said, "Up this way and out that way."
And I "Thank you!" I thought, "I haven't got anywhere yet."

20 I looked back, and there was a kind of a kind looking lady standing at the desk again. I walked over to her, and I said, "Good evening."
She said, "How do you do?"
I said, "Lady, I'm all confused." And I told her my story. I said, "There's a lady here somewhere that's going to surgery in the morning, and she's near death. I'm a minister, and our pastor up there couldn't make his calls, and they give me this number."
She said, "Just a moment, Brother Branham, I'll find out."
"Well," I think, "thank the Lord."
She laid down everything, and walked over there, and got... "Oh," she said, "yes, Brother Branham, she is in room so-and-so to your left, right there."
I said, "Thank you very much." I turned around and looked, and I thought, "That's it, letting off the steam."

21 Everybody... It's just becoming a neurotic age. Everybody's all built up. Haven't got no time. And that builds up to a place that it breaks up things. It causes people to have hard feelings when they snap them off and say things you don't mean to say.
Now, everybody's guilty of it. I'm guilty; you're all guilty. We do things under pressure that we wouldn't do otherwise. So there's an excess pressure built up today. I believe ... before I go any farther I might say this: I believe it's the enemy coming down and pressing. I believe it's the devil.
And we know the coming of the Lord is at hand, and the Bible said in the last days that the devil would go about like a roaring lion. And if he could get you under pressure, hurrying, running over something, you'll make decisions that you wouldn't make if you'd sit down and think it over.

22 About three years ago I was on a hunting trip, and I had a Indian guide. And I hunt real fast. That's just me (you see), one of them pressure builders.
So I was hunting with the Indian, and I jumped off the horse. And there was some elk up on the mountain, and I started around the bend. The old Indian was about ten years older than me; he was just a puffing coming behind me. I said, "Come on, Chief, come on!"
Said, "Too fast, too fast!"
I thought, "Oh, well..." I said, "Come on!"
I started, and he said, "Too fast." I slowed down next gear; "Too fast." And I got down to a walk, "Too fast."
Oh, my! I said, "Chief, the elk is up there!"
He said, "Him stay there; he were born there."
I said, "I guess that's right."
"He stay there; he were born there." He said, "Preacher hunt too fast, scare all the game away." Said, "Do like Indian: walkum once, lookum nine times."

23 Well, I wondered what kind of a gear I'd have to get in to get down there. Where I was on a run up the mountain, he said, "Walkum once, then lookum nine times. Look all around over everything nine times before you make another step." Oh, my! But you see, he's in no hurry.
I've thought of that. And my precious, old mother that's in glory tonight... Someone said, "Why don't you wear a white flower today, meaning your mother is dead."
I said, "My mother's not dead; my mother's a-living. And then I'd wear a red one, and then people'd say 'I thought your mother died?' So to keep from confusing them and building up more steam, I just left it all off," see. She's not dead; she's asleep. She's with Christ.

24 And then the nervous, neurotic age that we're living in... And you know, in all of this the doctors don't have the answer, 'cause they're plagued with it too. They don't have the answer. They don't know what to do.
You say, 'Oh, doctor, I'm just about to blow my head; I don't know what to do. I..."
"Well," he'd say, "I am too. Well, there isn't nothing you can do." He'll give you a tranquilizer, and when that wears off, you're more nervous than you was in the first place, like a drunk man taking a extra drink to get over his drunkness. You see? So you can't do it. There's no answer; they don't have it.
But God has the answer. That's what we want to talk about. They have the answer; God's got the answer. He is the answer. Christ is the answer to every problem we got.

25 Now, we're going to talk about Him now. Now, in the Old Testament there was a time when a man could build up pressure way back there. And that was when he done something wrong. If he shed innocent blood, well then, he was on the run. Because as soon as that man that he killed---the wrong he did, that man he did the wrong to---some of his people would hunt him till he found him. And there he'd kill him. It was a tooth for a tooth and an eye for an eye. And you see, a man had no place to stop.
If he done something accidentally---and of course, the people wouldn't believe it---well, he had to take off. Because just as soon as he did this, then the relatives of this man or woman, whoever it was, they started hunting him. And when they found him, it was tooth for tooth and eye for eye. That's the way they lived.

26 And so he couldn't stop nowhere. He was a fugitive. He didn't know what to do, and he was on the run. A very type of today. I think that's what's causing so much pressure; we're on the run. That's what's the matter with the world. Knowing they're wrong, knowing the coming of the Lord is at hand, and the pressure's building up; and they're on the run. Roadhouse, gambling den, luxury, sin, immoral decay, anything to give vent; listen at television, dirty jokes, anything, give vent. They're on the run. There's something fixing to happen; and they know it; and they're drinking themselves to death with pleasures and everything else---on the run!
They know there's something fixing to happen. The world speaks of it. We know that something's fixing to happen. This world may be blowed up before daylight. Every nation's under tension. Why?

27 One time I was in Africa, and I was watching a sheep feeding. It was a lamb, oh, a middle grown sheep. And the little fellow was eating very peaceful, and all at once he got restless. And he would take a bite; he'd look around; he'd take a bite. When he was peaceful, I was watching him; he looked just as calm. I thought, "Isn't that peaceful out there? Look at that little fellow." The shepherd that had been watching them had gone to the corral, back ... native, colored.
And I watched this little fellow, and after while he got nervous. I thought, "What's the matter with that little guy?" I was watching him, 'course, through binoculars. And he got so nervous, he'd look this way and that way. He started bleating; he didn't know what to do. "Well," I thought, "what made the little fellow get so excited all at once?"

28 Now, he was in a little pasture field. But way over behind there I noticed something raise up and let down again: about a half a mile from him, hid good in the weeds, a lion slipping up. And that little fellow, something in him was building to a place that he knowed there was danger somewhere; he couldn't see it. But the lion had smelled the sheep, and he had to get quick now to get him before the shepherd got him, got him out of the way.
So then watching him, tension had built. And in the distance this lion was slipping up real easy. Yet the sheep couldn't see the lion, but there's just something inside of him that told him that danger was at hand.
And that's the way it is today, that there's something inside of people that let's them know something is fixing to happen. We know it. The Christian knows it. The world knows it. The drunkard knows it. The gambler knows it. The businessmen, the governments, the U.N., all of them know that something's fixing to happen. It's built a tension.

29 Women, mothers, just one cigarette after another... I watch them come to the school. They drive through our lane there till I have to watch my kids and my dog, on a twenty mile zone, seventy miles an hour, women taking their children to school, cigarette in their hand, hanging out one door, fussing with their kids, and down there and squeak the brakes or the wheels, or lay tires on the street... And here they come back again. I seen the wind blow four or five little kids plumb off the road the other day of some neurotic mother. Where's she going? What's the matter? Certain television program on---maybe comes on she wanted to see.
But that's it, tension. There's something causing it. They used to didn't do that. Something's approaching. Death and destruction is on its road here; it isn't very far away. Something is approaching.

30 Now, in the Old Testament God seeing that some of this trouble was accidentally done... So if you're innocent and not guilty, God makes a way for you.
Now, if a man killed a man just deliberately, premeditated, he was lost. He could not come to this place But if he did it accidentally, he didn't mean to do it, then there was a city of refuge. One was at Ramoth-Gilead. Four places, I think, Joshua placed these cities of refuge.
Now, now, the people could come to this city of refuge. If accidentally he done something wrong---he didn't mean to---he would come to the city of refuge and go to the gate. The gatekeeper would ask him why he's coming ... what was his idea of coming. Then his case was pleaded. And when his case was pleaded at the gate and the man be found innocent, He did it not willfully, then the man was taken into the city as a place of refuge. Then the enemy could not get him. And if he lied and done wrong and come into the city of refuge, though he was holding to the altar horns, his enemy had the privilege and right to drag him from that altar and kill him. Yes, sir! Because he was guilty, premeditated, and he had to be punished.

31 Now, there was something went with that. 'Course that man would be nervous, my, maybe a dozen men behind you. Somewhere, every rock, every hill, every bush, the enemy, somebody was standing ready for him. He was nervous. And then when he once got into the city, he could let off the pressure. He was safe. He was all right, 'cause there was a provided place made for him, God's provided way for that innocent man not to be slain, but could be exempted from the slaying, because he did it accidentally.
Now, if he didn't mean to do it... Now, if he meant to do it, well, he had to stand the circumstances. But there's no chance for him if he did it willfully.

32 And there's two classes of people today. May I say this; there's men and women in the world today, Brother Ruddell, that really don't want to do these things they're doing. There's men and women in the world today that don't want to sin. I feel sorry for them. They don't want to do anything wrong, but they do it. They're drove to it. Now, there's a place for that person that wants to do right. There's a place to let off that pressure. It's true. But there's some that doesn't care.

33 The other day a Brother Hickerson got me a pass from the warden of the federal prison at La Grange, Kentucky, to go in, go fishing. And I met a colored boy back there from Louisville, and he told me ... I said, "A fine looking, intelligent man like you, what are you doing in here?"
He said, "Well," said, "Reverend, here's what it was." Said, "It's nobody's fault but mine." Said, "I once belonged to the Lord." His name was Bishop. He said, "They called me holy bishop, because that I served the Lord." He said, "Me and my wife, we got a little girl." And said, "One time I just couldn't stand it, so I just went with the world, went away from the Lord." Said, "I had a Christian father and mother." And said, "I served four years overseas in Korea," how many battles he was in, citations and things. He said, "But out there the thing we done is just go to dances and so forth."

34 "I got mixed with the wrong crowd, and one day two boys come by and said, 'Bishop, we want to go up the Quaker Maid and get some groceries, will you run us up there?'" Said, "My wife had just called me to dinner. And I said..." Said, "She called me in there, said, 'Honey, don't you go with them; there's no good in them guys. We got to get away from them and back to church again.' " And he said, "Well," said,' I said, 'I hate for them ... the boys wants groceries, and I hate not to take them.'" "He said, 'I'll let them have my car.' Said, 'Don't you do it; they'll tear it to pieces.' And said, 'Run them up there and come back then.' "
Said, "I run them up there and stopped in the parking lot." And said, "I was sitting there waiting and all at once the alarms went off and everything, and here come these boys each with pistols in their hand. And I shut the door. I said, 'You're not getting in here.' "
And one of them whacked him across the head, and jerked him back up, throwed this gun and said, "You're not taking me..." throwed the gun in and said, "If you don't want a hole through you ... we'll throw you out here and take off."

35 He said, "You can't go nowhere. You're going to get caught. You boys tell them that I was free; I didn't mean this. I was sitting here; I'm an innocent party." And about that time the police had them.
They pleaded the case, and he said, "I first thought evil of the prosecutor, because he said..." Here's the questions he said: "Is this your car?"
He said, "Yes, sir! But I..."
He said answer my questions." Oh, brother, the devil has a way of doing it. Said, "Answer my question." Said, "Is this your car?"
He said, "Yes, sir!"
"Is that your license number?"
"Yes, sir!"
He said, "Was you up there in that lot?"
He said, "Well, I tell you..."
He said, "Answer my questions."
He said, "Yes, sir!"
He said, "There you are!" And on circumstantial evidence they give him ten years---sent the other boys for life.
Now, he said, "See, brother, I just got in the wrong crowd. It's nobody to blame but me." And that's right! Now, he's got ten years to let off the pressure in. I prayed for him, Brother Wood there and I---we was sitting out on the water---and took the boy by the hand and prayed for him out on the water, that God would give him a parole. And I'm still praying for him that God will.
What is it? Pressure, innocent, a man innocent. Now, that man should have a chance.

36 Now, if you want to do right, I'm so glad tonight to tell you that there is a city of refuge; that's Jesus Christ. If you don't want to do wrong, the enemy's after you, then there's a way of escape; and that escape is Jesus Christ. There's a place where you can come and let off the steam. But if you love to sin and you don't want God, then the enemy's going to overtake you somewhere. You have no... You can't come to Christ, because you don't want to.
And when this man comes to Christ, this place of refuge... When a man come in, in the Old Testament, the first thing, he had to come upon his own free will. And that's the way you have to come to Christ.

37 Another thing, you must be satisfied while you're there. You can't hang around every day crying, "I'd like to get out of here; I'd like to get out of here." They'd put you out. You must willfully want to stay. It must be that you must want to stay in that city.
And when you come to Christ, you can't look back to the world. The Bible said, "He that puts his hand on the plow and turns to look back's not worthy of plowing." Now there's where so many so-called Christians make their mistake. See, they act like they're going to plow, but the first little thing comes along, they blow up about it.

38 The other day I had an experience of that, as you all know. And I thank you for your prayers. As I hunt, and fish, and shoot targets, and things, I've always wanted a Weatherby magnum rifle. Well, some of my friends would've bought it for me; I know people, if I'd just have mentioned it, they'd gladly done it. Frankly, two or three wanted to do it. But I couldn't see them put that much money in a rifle when I know missionaries ain't got shoes on their feet. I couldn't do that. And Brother Wilson give Billy Paul a little .257 Roberts. And a brother friend of mine said, "Brother Branham, Weatherby could bore that gun, I can have it done for a cheap price if you'll let me do it for you." Well, I let him do it.
Come back, put a shell in the gun, and went to shoot it, and the thing blowed up in my hands. And the barrel went almost to the fifty yard line, the bolt way back behind me. And it's a wonder it just didn't cut me half in two. There was about five or six tons of pressure that close to me.
One of the doctors said, "The only thing I know, that the good Lord was sitting there to protect His servant."

39 Now, the thing that I'm thinking of, here's where it comes. If that would've been a Weatherby magnum to start with... What was the matter? There was a flaw in the rifle. The head space was bored too loose. That's what's the matter with a lot of us in our conversion: our head space is bored too loose. And...
Now, if that had been a Weatherby from the very beginning, from the very steel that was poured to make the barrel, it would've been bored out and made a Weatherby magnum. It would not have blowed up. But because it was tried to be converted to something that it really wasn't, then it blowed up. And so will every man find the same thing that professes to be a Christian, that doesn't get the right start from the new birth. He'll blow up somewhere. There's too much pressure on it. It won't stand it. He'll find himself blowed up somewhere.

40 People trying to impersonate somebody's ministry that hasn't been called to it. Finally it's going to blow up. You've got to be ordained of God. It's got to be God, not some handshake, some sentimental story, but it's coming upon the basis of the shed blood of Christ and your faith in what God did for you through Jesus Christ. If not, you're going to blow up somewhere. Somebody will step on your toes, and away you go, see. See, it's a pressure building up all the time, and soon it'll blow up.

41 The man must want to stay in the refuge. He can't go in there complaining. He must want to stay, no complainings about it. Outside he dies; inside he's safe.
Well, I want to say something to the people here if you're not a Christian. I come to this city of refuge about thirty-one years ago. And brother, I've never wanted to go out. Oh, I come into Christ. Everything that I longed for was in here. I don't want to go out. I pray daily, "Oh God, I'm so happy here. Just let me stay." I never want to leave, and I know He'll never leave me. I know He'll never leave you. And the pressure gets great, if it does, then He is our outlet. So we don't have to worry about it.
If you're all pressured up, and don't know where you're going, what's going to happen to you after death? And you know you're going to die sometime, you've got it to do. Then the thing to do is come to Christ the refuge and let off the pressure. Settle it, once for all.

42 No matter what takes place, Christ is our refuge. And when we come to Him, we can let off the pressure. You can quit worrying about, "Well, if I die, what's going to happen to me? What's going to happen to the wife. What's going to happen to the husband? What's going to happen to the children?" Just come to Christ and let off the pressure. No, He give us all things. All things are ours by Christ, so just let the pressure off.
There's only one way you can do it... Somebody might give you a million dollars; it would build up pressure. You might join a church, and it'll still build up pressure, 'cause the Methodists will tell you they're right and Baptist's is wrong. And the Baptists say, "They're wrong and we're right." So it just builds up more pressure, 'cause you don't know where you're standing. But if you ever come to Christ, you can let off the pressure. 'Cause it's all over then; just settle it down.

43 It's God's provided place of safety where God said, "The name of the Lord is a mighty tower, the righteous run into it and are safe." In the time of sickness, when sickness strikes, and the doctor says, "There's nothing else I can do about it," don't build up pressure; let off the pressure. Call your pastor; let him anoint you in oil and pray over you: Prayer of faith shall save the sick. Let off the pressure, see.
He's our refuge. While you're in this refuge, you've got a ... you got right to anything that's in the refuge. And Christ is our refuge, and everything you have need of is in Him. Amen! In sickness don't build up pressure; let off pressure.

44 You say, "Well, I wonder, Brother Branham." You don't wonder; you just let the pressure off. Commit your case to God, and go on as if it was all over. Don't build up pressure; it lets off pressure.
"Well," you say, "I am so worried, Brother Branham, I just don't know... Let off the pressure! Amen! In the city of refuge He took your worry, so you don't have to have it. Cast your cares on Him, for He careth for you. Don't you worry about your cares; that's His business.

45 I met a woman here some years ago in a ten-cent store. She was about sixty years old, looked about thirty years old. I said, "How do you do it, sister?"
She said, "Brother Branham, I've got two sons that's doctors that's older than you are." And honest-to-goodness, she didn't look over thirty years old. She said, "Here's what it was. When I come to Christ when I was about twelve years old... And I sat down and thought about it. I studied other religions, but when I found the true one..." She said, "I come to Christ and took my case, my soul, my all to Him, and," she said, "I've never had a worry since." Said, "Now, He promised to take care of all my troubles." And said, "If He's not big enough to do it, I know I'm not big enough to do it; so what's the use of me worrying about it," see. That's it!
Christ promised that He'd take all your cares. Cast your cares on Him. So what are you worrying about? Worry builds up pressure; pressure blows up. So just cast your cares on Him and quit worrying. All right!

46 Now... "Well," you say, "how do I do it?" Just trust His promise. He made a promise that He would do it. Even in the time of death when the death angel comes into the room... "Oh, Brother Branham, I know I'll be nervous." Oh, no! You're in the refuge. No, no! You know you're going to die; you've got to go some way, so just get into the refuge; feel safe. That's right! You're safe as long as you're in the refuge. You remember, He died for you. He cares for you. He died for you.
Now, let's take a look... You say, "Brother Branham, you mean when the death angel's knocking at the door you're still not to get steamed up?" No, not a bit. "Well, why do you do that?" Come to the refuge; that's all!

47 "Well," you say, "Brother Branham..." Well, now wait a minute. Let's take Israel down in Egypt. There come a time where God said, "I'm going to send the death angel through the land, and I'm going to take every one of the elders of the family unless there's blood on the door!" That great night of the Passover. Now, here's Israel a promised people going to a promised land, and they...
It's the night of the Passover. The death angel is in the land. And we hear a scream coming from down the street. We look out; two big black wings are waving down the street. You think Israel was all excited? No, sir!
Death was at the door. The little boy looked out the window; he was the oldest of the family. He sees that big, black angel. He looks and said, "Daddy, do you love me?"
"Sure, Son, I love you!"
"Well, Daddy, am I not your first born?"
"Yes, you are, Son."
"Look at there, Daddy, that angel got that little boy. I knowed him; I played with him. Oh, Daddy, here he comes towards the house."
"But Son, you see on that door post?" Hallelujah!
"Daddy, will he get me?"
"No, Son. He can't get you."
"Why?"
"That's His promise: 'When I see the blood, I'll pass over you.' Go back and get your toys and start playing, Son. There's no need of worrying. We're in God's refuge. Let off the steam."

48 Israel could sit back and read the Bible. While the rest of them was screaming and building up steam, Israel was relaxed. Why? Death right at the door, what difference did it make? It can't hurt them.
So when death comes to our door (glory to God!), as long as God's requirement, the blood's been placed on the lintel of my heart post, what difference does it make; it can't bother me.
If the doctor says you're going to die tomorrow, what difference does it make, the blood is on the post. You got to die anyhow. But if that blood's been applied I've got a resurrection coming. Amen!

49 Israel could be calm. No building up steam for them, 'cause they knowed that the death angel couldn't strike them. They were under the blood. It was God's provided way.
Now, notice. Say, "Can I be assured of that?" Now, Christians, here we are. "Can I be assured of that?" I spoke on it last Sunday night.
Now, Israel was a promised, covenant people, God's people. They had been promised a land that was flowing with milk and honey. So they had never seen that land, not a one of them have ever been there, but they had a promise of it. See, they'd never been over there; they didn't know nothing about the land. But they were promised that land, and they come out of their slavery by the hand of God through His prophet and was sojourning, professing that they were pilgrims and strangers, and was going to a land that they'd never seen, or none of them had ever seen it. Think of it! So they came close to the borderline. And there was a great warrior among them named Joshua. Joshua means "Jehovah-saviour." And Joshua went over the Jordan into the promised land and come back with the evidence that it was a good land. They brought a bunch of grapes that taken two men to pack. It was just exactly what God said it was. It was flowing with milk and honey. That should've made every one of them rejoice. Why? Joshua brought back the evidence of a land that nobody knowed nothing about that God had promised to give them, see. 'Cause they had a promise to a land and was on the road to it.

50 Now, one day the human race was in a trap, and there come someone to the earth by the name of Jesus Christ. Jesus means "Jehovah-saviour." And He went down to the Jordan of death, went over the Jordan in death, and rose up on Easter morning with the evidence that a man can live after he dies. Hallelujah! Death is not the end. Jesus proved it, that a man can live after he dies.
He stood before them, and He said... Before He left He said, "In My Father's house is many mansions. If it wasn't so, I would've told you. And I'll go and prepare a place... I'll go over and fix up a place and return back and receive you unto Myself, that where I am there you may be also." And on Easter morning after He died till the moon and stars and sun was ashamed of themselves, He died till the Roman soldier pierced His heart with a spear and water and blood had separated... He was the deadest of the dead. He went to the grave like any man did. His soul went to hell, as the Bible said. But on Easter morning He came back from death, hell, and the grave, and said, "I am He that was dead and I'm alive forevermore, and have the keys of death and hell. I'm a man."
They said, "He's a spirit."
Said, "Give me a fish sandwich." And He ate fish and bread. He was a man that died, and went to the land, and returned back with the evidence that a man can live after death. What's death got to do with us? Amen! Let off the pressure.

51 Now, not only that, but He give us the promise. What was it? He give us the earnest of our inheritance. He said, "Now, to prove this to every believer. Now, you're walking down here in unbelief. You don't believe the Word. You're walking in sin in the things of the world. But he that believeth on Me has eternal life, a life that can't die."
Notice now, when we receive His Spirit, we who were once dead in sin and trespasses, He gives us new birth, new life. And what does He do? We die and are buried in Jesus. We raise in the Spirit from the worldly things unto the heavenly things. And tonight we are sitting together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

52 How many Christians in here still love the world? If you do, you're not a Christian. You are a professor of Christianity, and not a possessor. For when a man once tastes of Christ, he's dead to the things of the world and by no means he has any desire to go back into that.
What does it do? "The life," Paul said, "that I once lived, I live no more. Yet I live; not me, but Christ in me." Why? He raised him from this low level of worldly sin up to a place that we ourselves can look back and see where we come from (glory!), look back and see where we once lived. Now we live different. What is it? It's the assurance that we are dead and our lives are hid in Christ through God, and are sealed by the Holy Ghost, and raised above those things. Then we are alive with the same evidence that He come back with to prove to us.

53 The land is glorious and this is the down payment. This is the earnest of our salvation. It's the first money that holds the contract (glory!), that holds God's contract. "He that heareth My words and believeth on Him that sent Me has everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation, but has passed from death unto life." Let off the pressure, brother. Yes, sir! Amen! Do you get it?
Looky, as Elijah that great prophet, a type of Christ, Elisha, the type of the church which a double portion of the Spirit come upon the prophet... He walked to the Jordan one day, a type of this day, this government and things we have now, Ahab, Jezebel and so forth, as you remember my Jezebel sermon. Notice, when Elisha following Elijah for a reason... Amen! Where did he take him? To Jordan, to Ramoth-Gilead, up to the school of the prophets, and down to Jordan. That's the way He takes you, through justification, sanctification, and die out to receive life (amen!), not to a denomination or some creed, but to death to your spirit, so you can be borned again.

54 And Elisha ... Elijah struck that water, walked across Jordan, and Elisha followed him. And when Elisha returned back to the land again on the other side, he come back with a double portion. Today we follow Jesus to His death, burial, and baptism---death, burial, and resurrection, rather, through baptism. We believe Him; we die out to the things of the world, confess that we're nothing baptized in His name, buried with Him in baptism, raised with Him in resurrection. Our spirits live up above the things of the world; then we're in Christ. Now we got one portion.
When we return from across the death line of Jordan, we'll have another portion: the bodies that we now have, with spirits that we have, have the earnest, the Holy Spirit that can't die because it's part of God... And the bodies that we live in ... "He that eats My flesh and drinks My blood has everlasting life, and I'll raise him up at the last day." Amen! Let off the steam!

55 What difference does it make atomic bombs or anything else strike. Let them do whatever they want to [unclear words] ... of this one thing that we have eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. So what do we care about what the world's got to say. What do we care about pressure. Don't make any difference to us. Why? Because we can let off the steam. [Gap in the audio.]
........................
Come where the dew drops of mercy are bright.
Shine all around us by day and by night,
Jesus the light of the world.
Now, with our heads bowed, let's raise our hands.
We'll walk in the light, beautiful light;
Come where the dew drops of mercy are bright.
Shine all around us by day and by night,
Jesus the light of the world.

56 Our heavenly Father, Satan has lost the battle. Just be patient. Don't build up a steam. Standing here preaching on letting off the steam, and then Satan thought he could run me from the pulpit, get me out of this altar call. No, Lord, in my heart there was something burning, saying, "There's somebody here. There's somebody hunting for that rock." We thank You, Father, for the victory, and when that last person walked to the altar, the lights come on. He seen he'd lost, so he might as well give up the battle.
Here stands tonight that number of grace, five precious souls. Five: J-e-s-u-s, f-a-i-t-h, grace, g-r-a-c-e. Oh, God, You're God. You never fail; You're always right.

57 I'm looking, standing on the side here, Sister Wilson's daughter. I can remember that little girl. I remember when You called her. I remember the night at New Market long years ago. Down there that night, I remember, Lord.
Here stands by her side a lady coming down from New York to sojourn with us.
Here stands a young man and a young woman just at this turning point when the world is out here doing all kinds of immoral dances and carrying on. They've walked, hunting for that rock.
At the end of the altar stands a young fellow, his hands raised. He wants to find the rock. Jesus, You are that rock. And You said this: "Wherever two or three are gathered in My name, I'll be in their midst." Then that rock is right here.

58 It may seem very strange, Father, very simple. You make things so simple, so that we won't error. But because that they raised out of their seat and come on the invitation, because that Satan tried to keep them from doing it, every effort he could put forth he tried to do it, but he lost. Now, as Your servant I'm going to lay my hands upon them and pronounce Your blessings. And God, may it follow. Because that they are honest and sincere to follow the leading of the Spirit, I do the same.
Now, I ask that the soul of my sister shall never perish, that the desire of her heart for eternal life will be granted to her. Through Jesus Christ's name.

59 I lay my hand upon my sister and know that many trials has beset her. I know she prays for her darling boy. I know the father, as the tears run down his cheeks tonight as he passed that little piece of tithing. And this morning when we prayed and committed the boy to the Lord God... This mother and father love the child. And God, they want a place where they can just let off the steam and know that everything's all right. Father, we've committed it to You. You'll grant it; we have no fear. Give her that assurance just now, Father, through Jesus' name I pray.

60 And Father, this young man and young woman come together, so I lay my hands upon them. They come to let off the steam. A young couple like this, handsome young people, we know they're a very bait for the devil if he could only use them. But they've been snatched like a firebrand. They come, Lord, because they want to find that shelter. They want to get to the place where they can just let off the steam, let off the pressure, and quieten themselves before God, and know that He is God. I pray, Father, that You'll give them that blessed assurance just now. May every little scale be beat off right now.

61 This young fellow here, Lord, that stands with his hands up, that very last one. And as soon as he rose and come up the lights come on. That was the number You wanted, that was Your calling. "All that the Father has give Me will come." The only thing we have to do is hold the Word there, and them the Father has ordained to life will follow. And now, he comes. He wants to find that cleft, Lord, so he can sit down and rest a little while. I pray, God, that You'll lead him to that cleft right now.

62 May every shackle be broken. May everything, every opposition that's bothered any of these, may it fall from them just now. May that little thing, little temper, little whatever it is, little temperamental, that little worry, that doubt, that little besetting sin, Lord, as their brother and Your servant I intercede for them as standing between the living and the dead. God, I claim their souls. I claim their victory in obedience to the altar call. And we know that Satan tried to stop it. But we claim them, I do now as Your servant, and I present them to Jesus Christ as the trophies of His grace, the trophies of the presence of the Holy Spirit tonight who called them under difficult conditions and brought them to the rock. May they let down the pressure now and know that Jesus said that, "No man can come until I have called him. And all that does come, I'll give them eternal life and raise them up at the last day." It's settled, Lord. I present them to You now in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

63 God bless you as you stand there. As you return to your seats, go and know that everything that you desired and every besetting sin and thing that was wrong is under the blood. It's finished. Do you believe it? Do you believe it? Do you believe it, brother? Do you believe it, sister? Do you believe it? Then it's ... not shall be, it has been done. That's right. It's a past tense.
God bless you! The very best in life an eternal life which you now possess... You have climbed and above sin. Sin is under your feet. What good would it do me to stand here and tell you something wrong? I'd be counted as a deceiver at the end of the road, see. You received eternal life, because you believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, laying aside every sin and every shackle, go free, let off the steam. You're a Christian. You've raised above sin, and you've got the earnest of your eternal salvation, because Christ has received you.

64 Now, didn't He say, "No man can come to Me except My Father draws him; and all that comes I will give eternal life and raise up at the last days"? Then it's settled. Amen! It's all over. God bless you now, be gracious to you. Do you love Him, out there?
I love Him, I love Him,
Because He first loved me;
And purchased my salvation
On Calvary's tree.
How many feels the pressure all gone?
I've anchored my soul in a haven of rest,
I'll sail the wild seas no more;
The tempest may sweep o'er the wild
stormy deep,
But in Jesus I'm save evermore.

65 As the story of Charles Wesley on his retreat down by the seaside one day... He had a little shack; he was studying; the Lord led him down there. And he was studying; oh, God was moving on him for a song. And he couldn't get nothing to start on. He'd start on something; the inspiration would leave him. So he went walking down along the seashore, listen at the waves, and thought he could find some inspiration in the waves lapping. All at once a storm came up. Nothing happens by chance; everything is ordained of God. No matter what happens, all things are going to work together for good.

66 And he started towards his little cabin. When he did, the winds got to blowing. He thought, "Oh, I'll be blown off the shore before I get there. And he pulled up his coat and started to run, and something flew into his bosom. And he looked back, and it was a little sparrow come for refuge. He just held it in his bosom until the storm was over and the sun come out. He set the little fellow upon his finger, and he let him fly away. And he flew away, and then the inspiration struck him:
Rock of ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Oh, I like that. Rock of ages, that rock in a weary land, a shelter in the time of storm. That rock in a weary land, hide Thou me. Hide me, O rock of ages, cleft for me.

67 The great inspired writers of the songs and the things that we so enjoy today... You say, "Are those songs inspired?" Jesus referred to them when He was here on earth, said, "Is not it written in the Psalms, David said certain, certain things." Sure they're inspired. Just like preaching or anything else, it's inspired.
I'm so glad that I have a refuge. Other refuge have I none.
Yes, my hopes is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
When all around my soul gives way,
Then He's all my hope and stay.
For on Christ the solid rock, I stand;
All other grounds is sinking sand.
(No matter what it is).
God bless you, your pastor now, Brother Ruddell. I'm sorry Satan turned them lights out, but God got the victory anyhow.

Letting off the pressure

You can find this sermon at ChurchAges.net

1 Thank you. Let us remain standing just a moment while we pray. How many would like to be remembered tonight in prayer? Would you just let it be known as you lift your hands. Let us bow our heads now as we face Him.
Our heavenly Father, we are asking permission, as we come in the name of the Lord Jesus, to approach thy throne of mercy. We would by no means want to stand at the throne of judgment, but at the throne of mercy---for it's in this mercy by his grace that we come, thanking Thee first for ... to be alive in here tonight. Oh, how Satan would desire to take us quickly from the scene right in the midst of the battle! But the angels are encamped about those who fear Him, and we're so thankful for this. And I'm so glad for a fresh experience of knowing the reality of his promise.

2 I thank Thee tonight for this gathering of Christian fellow citizens of the kingdom of God, in this great commonwealth here on earth that we have, together in this manner of fellowshipping around the Word, sitting together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. We thank Thee for this Full Gospel Businessmen's great, wide, reach and influence with the gospel among the business people and of all walks of life; and for these precious anointed servants that's here on the platform, tonight, and on the grounds; that behind them is a mark of Christianity through years of pressing on, and pressing the battle way up here to the front line. God, we would pray tonight that the angels of God would take their position now in the midst of us.

3 Save those who are not saved. Fill those with the Holy Spirit, and put on the full armor of God to those who are not shod and buckled and covered. And we pray that You'll heal the sick and the afflicted. May there rise such a glorious shout over this campground, Lord, that He who walked on the Sea of Galilee may walk in on the lake tonight and sit with us. And deal with us, Lord, each one as we have need. Speak to us through thy Word, Lord, for truly that's our hope and stand, is on thy Word. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you.

4 Billy, my son, came a bit early for me tonight, and he said to me, "I would sure like to take you down to the grounds." He said, "You've seen many conventions, and we've been ... a bigger part of the world together, but," said, "this is one of the most peaceful, restful spots that you ever saw, Dad."
And I said, "Fine."
He said, "But I'm going to wait till it gets just a little later."
And I said, "What's the matter?"
He said, "Some brethren and I was standing out there on the campus out on the ground, and," said, "two big, fat, gray squirrels were sitting in the woods." And said, "You'd be chasing them till midnight to get them."
I said, "Oh, Paul."

5 It's a privilege to be here tonight. I have so many things to be thankful for. So glad to be alive, and to be in the service of the Lord. I certainly am grateful for this wonderful comment that Brother Brown, our precious brother, just paid me a few moments ago. I certainly feel little to stand up behind a... I ain't going to call him what I did here on the platform a few moments ago, but certainly was a great title. But he might not like that. So, he said, "You couldn't tell the Pentecostals from the Presbyterians." No, not when Presbyterians become Pentecostals. That's right. That makes them all the same.

6 And certainly, I've marveled over the great message that I heard from Brother Brown, that night, coming through the Lord's channel, his servant. And how he blessed my soul! And to know that God is raising up these kind of men... And I understand that my precious friend, Brother DuPlessis, from South Africa is here and has already spoken to you. And I'm sure it was filled with rich vitamins from God's great kingdom. He brings such a stirring message also.

7 Now, you know, just before coming in I took a little walk about a hundred yards out and around. And you know, this makes me think about having a convention myself next year and bringing it up here, and see if we could rent these grounds and everybody just stay around, and have about a week up here---just praying for the sick, bringing in the sick and afflicted. That would be very fine. We'll pray over that and see what the Lord has to say about that. I like to do just as He tells me, you know. Then I feel good about it.

8 I'm sure it'd be all right if I ... in among the brethren here, kind of announce some of my following meetings. I guess that would be all right. I know ... I don't suppose it'd hurt anything. And tomorrow we're to be here, and tomorrow night at the banquet, the Lord willing. And then Sunday afternoon we're at the ... I can't call the name of that ... Mather, or Mayther, or Mather High School Auditorium in Chicago, where I was at the last convention. We had such a glorious time. And then Monday night at, I believe it's the Mather also, for a kind of a missionary rally, or a little farewell party for my precious Brother Joseph Boze who we've been associated together so long. So good to see Brother Boze and Brother Carlson, and, oh, Brother Sonnmore. So many here tonight, I look around and see their faces and I'm so happy for this.

9 Then going home to go on to the convention at Southern Pines, South Carolina, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th of June, with The Midnight Cry paper. And then on down to another Presbyterian, Brother Bigby. He was the one who wrote that article, "A Presbyterian Doctor Meets Pentecostal Prophet," or some such a remark. And I'm to be with him down at Columbia, South Carolina. And then on over to the South Gate, the Cow Palace, where we've had a lot of conventions there with the Businessmen. Then from there I think up to, I believe it's Santa Monica, or somewhere up there, on up in California, in Grass Valley on up. Then to ... I believe it's Spokane. From there back to ... down into Oregon---Salem, Oregon. Then on over into British Columbia and up to Anchorage, Alaska, to organize a chapter for the Businessmen there as soon as the revival's over. Then try to get back home in time to get the winter in for overseas.

10 I have kind of listened and watched my Pentecostal brethren as they have predicted a sweeping revival coming. And we all know that the revival that we've just went through has ceased. But there must be coming something else that's glorious and great. And so I've been studying hard to find these places in the Scripture. I think that if our ... our revelation must be scriptural, and then we know it's right. If it's a scripture, it's from the Lord. And I'm beginning to believe that that's right, that there's coming a ripening time for the evening fruits.

11 I preached the other day on "The Bride Tree," on Easter morning, how that Christ was that tree that was perfect. David saw it and said, "It's standing by the rivers of water." And then how Rome cut that tree down, and ... perfect tree bearing perfect fruits of God, and hung it onto a man-made tree. But God raised it up on the third day. And then there come a bride tree coming forth, bringing forth its fruits. And in come the enemy again and cut it down through the Dark Ages. But, "I will restore," saith the Lord.
... how that the Lutherans raised up and denominated, and the vine was pruned. Up come the Methodists, denominated; the vine was pruned. Up come the Pentecostal denomination; vine was pruned. But the fruit ripens in the top of the tree when the evening lights come out. We're near the road. So we're expecting great things in the future. I've just had an accident as you know, and almost blowed both eyes out. And I'm so thankful to be here tonight that I can see.

12 Now you that keeps scripture, or texts... I wouldn't know whether to call something I was speaking on a text or not. I got a few remarks from Scriptures written down here that I felt that maybe the Lord'd have me speak a little bit on, for a few moments. And usually I'm never over ... well, the other day I was ... I think, Brother Sothmann, about six hours or something like that. It takes me a long time. You know, I don't know very much, so I just have to wait. And so, I have to kind of take my time. I'm not like some of these brethren who are really theologians, and just let it roll out.
I just have to kind of wait for it to come out---and kind of slow with it, you know. Takes me kind of a long time. Then a long time to get started, and then a long time to stop. But it's ... I feel ... get running, you know. It's just like getting a car ... once all through them gears till you get in high gear, then it runs pretty good. You just like to let it run like that a while.

13 So let's, for a Scripture reading, let's read in God's Word tonight out of Proverbs, the 18th chapter and the 10th verse, and out of Isaiah 32:2 to begin with. Now in Proverbs, the 18th chapter and the 10th verse reads like this:
The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous run into it, and are safe.
And in the book of Isaiah 32:1 and 2:
Behold a king shall reign in righteousness, a prince shall rule in judgment.
And a man shall be as a hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as a shadow of a great rock in a weary land.

14 May God add his blessings to the reading of this precious Word. You pray for me. As ... I was listening to a little colored brother a few days ago in Louisville, a little Pentecostal preacher, and he was preaching---chanting. And he would lose the Spirit for a few minutes, and he'd stop and say, "You all praying for me?" Then he'd say ... preach a few more words, say, "Somebody pray for me." And you don't know what that means unless you get up here one time.
Coming to the platform should never be just coming to be seen, or coming to be heard. You must come and ... coming from the freshness of your room in prayer, entering in to a congregation under the anointing, to do just as the Holy Spirit will say do, say just as He says. I don't know what He'll do.

15 I've started to preach like this, and see the Holy Spirit move across the altar, and call men and women living in adultery and everything, and bring them to the altar and have confessions; and seen Him tear loose and heal the people. And you don't know what He's going to do.
I've seen Him bring forth messages that cut the Christians; and sometimes bless the Christians. And you don't know---you just go there, that's all. And if you go with anything that's kind of cut and dried under your own idea, you may get greatly fooled.

16 One time there was a little ... a minister named Jack Moore (many of you know him, he's a member of this fellowship), and he had a little boy named David. I've often thought of it. He was about ... in them days David was about six years old. And he'd heard his daddy preaching, and all the preachers, so he thought the Lord called him to preach. So he said, kept saying, "Pappy, I want to preach."
And his daddy said, "All right, David, one of these times."
And he kept saying, "Now, Pappy, you promised me I could preach."
So his mammy dressed him up real pretty, and put him on a little bow tie, and long trousers, a little white shirt. He looked like a clergyman. Come up and sat down in the chair that night, getting ready to preach. So Brother Jack said, "You know, folks," he said, "David has been wanting to preach a long time." Said, "we're just going to turn him loose now." Said, "Come on, David, jump down here and preach."
Said, "He come out of that chair like a ... going to set the world afire. Jumped down there at the end of the platform. He kind of looked to the right and to the left." Said, "He looked so depleted. Said, 'It just won't work,' went back and sat down."
I've seen a lot of times I didn't think it worked. So we preachers has got to stand and stagger through it anyhow. So, as the little brother said, "Pray for me."

17 Thinking on the subject, after reading this glorious text now, and getting to the more ... part of the service, I want to take a text tonight that comes to my mind that I've tried to handle before, on the subject of "Letting Off the Pressure." I thought that would be very appropriate.
There's so much pressure everywhere. Everybody seems to be under a pressure. What does it? What's the matter? Everything---it's a day of pressure. People are driving through the streets at ninety miles an hour, and getting tickets from the policemen. And run down the road, almost take the chance on losing their life to whirl around, and get five foot in front of someone else, to get to a barroom to drink an hour before they go home. Pressure. That's right.

18 Even Christians, it's bothering them. See some of them all pressured up, and snap you off---enough temper all built up like they're going to blow up. What's the matter? Something wrong. That shouldn't be. Temper comes from Satan.
Everybody's under a pressure, though. 'Course I don't believe it's this group here. But it's ... you know, these meetings are being taped so it'll go other places, you see, so I'll be speaking to that group that's under pressure. But I thought, you know, that kind of bothers all groups---pressure. If Satan can once get you under pressure, he's about got you whipped. That's right. So much pressure. People are doing things wrong, and trying to hide from it. Well, the only thing that does is build up more pressure. It just builds up more pressure.

19 I know what pressure means. I like to've lost my life the other day because of pressure. I'm glad the Lord give me a recreation of going out fishing, hunting.
Everybody knows my mother that just passed away a few months ago---blessed saint of God, I think. Mother's Day the other day, I didn't wear a rose. Some of them said, "What's the matter, Billy?" Said, "Didn't your mother just die?" Said, "Why haven't you got on a white rose?"
I said, "I can't wear a white rose. My mother's not dead; she's alive." I said, "If I wore two, then I'd put a stumbling block in your way. If I wore a white one, I'd be a hypocrite to myself, 'cause I believe she's alive. She's not dead."
Jesus said, "He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die." I believe that. That's his Word.

20 And so, I was going... My recreation is to fish and to hunt. And I'm glad of that. When I get home... And calls, people sitting in there from everywhere, waiting for months---and they're under pressure too, and trying to find out what the Lord would have them to do, and what ... in their lives. And we stay there until God speaks down from heaven and reveals it to them. That builds pressure too, with the people.
Then when I get tense, I go down... I belong to some clubs to go down and shoot targets. And I've always wanted a Weatherby Magnum rifle. But I ... oh, some of my friends would've bought it for me (they're very expensive), but I couldn't let them do it. I couldn't see myself letting a friend of mine pay that much for a rifle when I know missionaries is preaching without shoes on their feet. So I couldn't do that.

21 Brother Art Wilson gave my son a little rifle here some time ago. And he didn't know he was left-handed, and there's a right-hand bolt on it. Another friend of mine that runs a Weatherby outlet place, he said, "Let me take that and send it to Weatherby and have it re-bored for you, and I'll make you a Weatherby Magnum out of it." Said, "If you do it, cost you thirty dollars." Said, "I can do it for about twelve dollars, and let me do it."
Well, finally, I agreed. He's just a Methodist brother, just received the Holy Ghost. And I told him, "Go ahead," he wanted to do it so bad. I took it down on the range and placed a shell in it, and raised up to shoot. And I seen fire just about five feet over my head---that's about all I knew for a second or two. I thought I was dead. And one glorious thing---I had the most peaceful feeling. I believe that if I had to die, I don't think I'd be afraid of it.

22 And so, I couldn't see, hear, nor nothing. And it blowed the gun so completely apart till the barrel went on the fifty-yard line this way, and the stock and things went fifty yards behind me, and the pieces of the gun tore the bark off the tree, and melted in my hand---what was left. And I could hear something squirting like, sounded like... Get myself together, and I was trying to hold my eyes open to see what had taken place.
And a piece had shot me right into the forehead. One went around my eye this way and down that way, and one in the cheekbone, one stuck way into the skull. This one hit on this side of the eye, and this one went into the bone, and this one went through and knocked that tooth off there. And so I was having quite a time to see.

23 The man was with me, he was walking out to see where the target was hit. I couldn't hear him, and couldn't speak to him. And I was holding this eye open with my hand, trying to motion to him. Finally he come up there. And Brother Wood, he was so excited he couldn't even get the car started. So we ... finally I went and got it washed out, and some pieces they picked out of my skull. And I looked at them big pieces, drove inch and a half, or two inches, in a tree.
Now the Winchester Company proves that their gun will stand 6900 pounds of pressure. And this ... that'd been about four tons. So you see, there must've been six or eight tons blowed within one inch of my eye. That ... if that would burst the gun, it could just simply ... just been that much of me left down there. So what was the matter? The way them that bored the gun out left too much head space on it. Instead of the gun blowing forward, it blowed backwards. So it went into my face and blowed that bolt, which weighs about a pound and a half (oh, my!), plumb down to a deer cage sitting way behind me at the Conservation Club.

24 And as I think of it, I thought, "God, I'm so glad to be here." I realized that Satan was trying to kill me there. But he can't do it until God is ready for me to come home. Then I'm ready to go, that time. There's some more sick to be prayed for, or something to be done.
Then thinking of that pressure, I thought... You know, that reminds me of something. It might be good just to kind of say it, for a few moments. It goes to show, if that gun had've started out a Weatherby Magnum to begin with, it would've been made to stand that pressure. But it wasn't a Weatherby Magnum; it was a Winchester converted into a Weatherby Magnum. So it couldn't stand the pressure. And I thought, "That's a very striking thing. I'll get a text on that someday."

25 If we start out just pretending we are Christians, without going back to the very basis to be born again, you'll blow up somewhere down along the road. The pressure's too heavy. You can't stand it unless you're built for it. And you can't be built for it until God gets a hold of you---and not just polish you up, but starts you from the beginning and bring you to a real Magnum, a real child of God that's built to stand the Word, built to stand the pressure, the pressure of the day.
So many blow up. Men trying to impersonate others, and so they blow up sooner or later. God has brought us into this earth and set us into the church, and different things, and we have to be what we are---God by his foreknowledge, placed into the church. I'm so glad of that. Pressure builds up, and sooner or later it'll show up on you.

26 A few nights ago our pastor had just ... wasn't sick; he just wore out, he's going so hard. Besides all my calls, they called his in to me, and I went out to the hospital. They told me a certain lady there was going to have a colostomy the next morning, and she was ... perhaps die on the table. And she was a sinner. The pastor couldn't get to her so they ... I took his call. And I went to the ... they said she was in Room 321. I went upstairs. I wanted to be nice 'cause it was just before visiting hours. I wanted to talk to her alone. And I said, "Lady (the nurse), could you tell me a lady by a certain name?"
She said, "I don't know," all under pressure.
So I said, "They said she was in 321."
Said, "Then why don't you go to 321 and look?"
I said, "Thank you, ma'am."
I goes down to 321, and I said, "Is a lady named Mrs. Knuckles here?"
"No one by that name."
Oh, I hated to go back to that lady again. So I crossed the hall, and I said, "Is Mrs. Knuckles here?"
"No, nobody named Mrs. Knuckles."

27 So I went back. There was another nurse up there in the hall, and I said to her, "I was told to go to 321, and the lady, Mrs. Knuckles..."
Said, "It might've been 221. Go downstairs."
I said, "Yes, ma'am. Thank you."
I went downstairs and there was a little doctor sitting down there (and no remark, I don't mean it bad), but he was just about as wide as he was high. And ... sitting there, one of those flattop haircuts, about my age, and switching his stethoscope around on his finger. I said, "How do you do?" And he just looked sideways. I thought, "Oh, oh, I don't want to talk to him. Too much pressure here."
So I went down to the nurse, and I said, "Lady, I'm a bit confused." I said, "I went upstairs to find a lady, Mrs. Knuckles, that was supposed to be in 321, going under an operation in the morning for cancer, to have a colostomy." I said, "Could you tell me if she is on that floor? The nurse up there said she might be 322 ... 331 down here."
She said, "Well, then, go look."
I said, "Thank you."

28 I went back there. No, they knowed nothing about it.
So then I come back out. And as I come by, a lady in the hall said, "Go over and ask this nurse over here."
So I went over to her, and she said ... I said, "How do you do?"
She said, "How do you do?" Real nice, calm.
And I said, "Could you tell me if there is a lady on this floor..." I said, "I'm so confused." I said, "I've been upstairs and downstairs." And I said, "A lady named Mrs. Knuckles..."
She said, "Just a moment, sir." She took her little mask off she had over her face---she'd been to the operation---run over there and picked up the book. She looked through it. She said, "Oh, yes," said, "she's in 221."
And I said, "Thank you very much, lady."
She said, "You're welcome."

29 I thought, "Well, praise God. That... She's got... She's even in a hurry, yet she's ... she at least has got courtesy." So I walked out the door and I walked back, and here was three ... the wings all cut up, and I didn't know which way to go. And I looked, and I couldn't see no sign. Here come this little doctor packing his satchel, holding his stethoscope. I said, "Sir, could you tell me where 221 is?"
He said, "This way, and that way."
I said, "Thank you for your information. That..."
Oh, everybody's under pressure. Right. No time, no ... everybody seems to be going somewhere. Hurry up and wait. The whole world seems to be plagued with it. And the doctors don't have the remedy. That's right. But I'm so glad tonight, that in the midst of all of it I know somebody's got the remedy. That's God. He has the remedy, how to get from under this pressure.

30 I was talking to a doctor about it. Oh, it's been a year ago or more. He said, "Brother Branham," he said, "you know, the insane institutions are overloaded." He said, "The psychiatrists are breaking up, and they got psychiatrists doctoring the psychiatrists."
And I said, "Oh, my!"
He said, "I wonder what the remedy is?"
I said, "I got it!"
He said, "What?"
I said, "Jesus is the answer. He is the answer to all of it."
And he said, "I believe you're right."
This neurotical age, nobody has a minute. Why, it used to be that we could go over and visit the neighbor. Some of you sisters, why, you don't have time to pray.
I was thinking of John Wesley. Sister Susanne Wesley had seventeen children, and she didn't have a automatic washer and dryer. And she didn't turn on the faucet and get hot water. She packed it from a spring in an old cedar bucket. But yet, she could find two to three hours every day to get those little fellows around and teach them the Bible. And from there come a Charles and a John who changed the course of the world.
Now see, we're so mad, just going somewhere, and going nowhere---just headlong going.

31 Now, in the Old Testament when a man had did something wrong, and maybe he slew a man or did something wrong, then that... That man that he slayed, his friends would hunt this man till he found him and slay him too, because the Old Testament was tooth for a tooth, and eye for an eye.
But Joshua built some places called the house of refuge. And these places ... there's one of them at Ramoth-gilead. I think there's four places from Dan to Beersheba. And they were places of refuge where, if a man did wrong and didn't want to do it, he could come to the city gates of one of these refuges and plead his case, and tell them that he didn't mean to do this evil. And then he could come in this city and be safe from his enemy.

32 Well, if he told a lie and the pursuers found him, they could pull him right off the altar, if he lied. But if he was truthful, and he did not want to do wrong, well, they could... He could be safe as long as he was in this city. Now, that is a safety place, a place of refuge where the (slayer) or, the pursuer to slay him, he was safe from him. He was protected. But the man first must be a man that accidentally did it. If he deliberately premeditated did it, then there was no hope for that man. He didn't even have a chance. But if he didn't aim to do it...
Now I'd like to stop here just a minute. There's people today, and may be some of them here, that you do wrong but you don't mean to do it. I've met men that would be using the name of the Lord in vain. And I've met women standing with cigarettes in their hand, just smoking away, and men cursing. Walk up in their presence like that, and they'd recognize you to be a Christian, they'll say, "Excuse me, sir. I didn't mean to say that."

33 I seen the women burn their hands, almost, in shame, holding that cigarette behind them. A man drinking will make an escape, get around somewhere. See, they ... that's the type that there's a hope for. But there is some of those that would walk right up and curse just in the presence of a Christian to act smart. That man's beyond hope.
When you preach against wrong doing, holiness, preach that women shouldn't wear immoral clothes (these little old clothes, shorts they wear), they wear them just to be mean. And when they do that, there's no place of refuge for them. If it was there, they wouldn't even seek for it. So, sooner or later, they're going to be caught up with.

34 But to those who wants a place of escape, you can't feel comfortable when you're doing wrong. There's no way of feeling comfortable. When a man breaks God's laws, he knows he's guilty. And you know that the hounds of hell is right behind you, and sooner or later your sins are going to find you out.

35 Some of you businessmen, if you should go out here and willfully cheat somebody, you know you've done wrong. And sooner or later that's going to catch up with you. That's right. They believe that "Oh, well. It won't hurt." But when you start to lay down at night, there's something down in you tells you when you're praying. It stands right before you. You know you're wrong.
Now, all of us has things that we can't meet. Sometimes we have debts that we can't meet. Sometimes we got promises we can't meet, and I have plenty of them. But there's one thing I feel good about. At nighttime, when I've done all I can do, when I've visited every sick person I could... And yet a lot of them would think, "He's a hypocrite. He never come to me. My baby's just as much as that." And I know they feel that way. They're bound to feel that way.

36 But when I've used my last inch of energy, when I've done the best that I can do, and I kneel down before Father at night and say, "God, there's a hundred people here in this city tonight that's calling for me to come to them. But I just can't go any farther. You know my strength.", then I feel if He should call me, and I lay my head on that pillow to die on that pillow that night, I am in a refuge. I've done my very best for my Lord. And if we can do that, then God makes a way for us.
Now, this man coming to this place of refuge... Now, when he comes in there, first he must want to come in. He must desire to escape the wrath that's pressing to him. He's got to want to do it.

37 Now I don't mean this critically, and God knows that. It's a million miles from it. But I've been to meetings where preachers would be preaching, and he'd say, "Some of you go back down through the aisles, find your friend and bring him up here." Now I always was a little reluctant on that. I believe if the Word don't convict... If it does, the Holy Spirit will lead. It's too much emotional. A man coming to Christ must come sanely, reverently, upon the basis of the Holy Spirit convicting him, and showing him that someone died to save him---coming sanely upon the basis of the Word, believing, accepting Christ, the substitute for his life.

38 Now I believe that a man coming to Christ, and Christ is our refuge... Now, that's the New Testament refuge, is Christ. Now a man coming to this refuge must want to come. And he must remember another thing, he's got to stay there! Oh, my! He can't just run into the pursuers, get by, and then go out again. He's got to be satisfied.
And I believe if a man with his right mind could see that the death was galloping behind him and the devil's hell he's going to, and could find a place of refuge and then want to go out again, there's something wrong with that man. And as long as he's in the refuge, he's safe. And if he ever goes out again, he's subject to his slayers. And in Christ we have a refuge and are secured, that we have safety from the wrath of God, and the wrath of hell that's coming upon us.

39 Now, this place of refuge, this man must want to stay. The same is it today. We must want to stay. Let me say this. I've been behind the pulpit now soon be thirty-two years. I started preaching when I was just a little boy. And I say this from the depths of my heart. I have never seen one time that I ever wanted to leave this glorious place. "I'm safe in God's pavilion, happy in his love and grace." As the writer says, that "I'm living on the hallelujah side." I'm so happy to be here! "Not for all earth's golden millions would I leave this blessed place. No, though the tempter to persuade me oft has tried; but I'm safe in God's pavilion, happy in his love and grace." Oh, it's such a comfortable place to be. I know I'm safe from my enemy as long...

40 Now, when this man, running, an enemy behind him... Soon he'll catch him and slice him to pieces for the sin that he did. But when he's in there, he can let off the pressure. He's safe! The guard at the gate will catch him (his slayers) before they get in, because he's made it safe to the tower of refuge. Now. Then when he's in there how he could feel safe and let off the pressure. "Whew! My! They were ready to get me, but I'm all safe now." What a place to find a refuge, a place of safety. Outside he'd die; in there he's all right.
So God made us a tower of refuge. Now the Bible says that the name of the Lord is a mighty tower: the righteous run into it, and are safe---not they'll be hunted for anymore, but they are safe! Oh, I just love that. God's provided safety place. Amen! The enemy can't catch you, for you are safe in Christ!

41 As I've often told, of one time over in the Orient, I was riding in a jeep with a minister friend, and we were going up over a hill. And there was some sheep out there, and some donkeys, and everything, pasturing. And there was a man watching them, and I said, "What would you call that fellow?"
He said, "Brother Branham, he is a shepherd."
And I said, "Well, I thought a shepherd just herded sheep."
"Oh," he said, "no. A shepherd herds sheep, goats, cattle, donkeys, camels, whatever more."
And I said, "Well, I didn't know that."
He said, "But here's something I want you to know, Brother Branham." He said, "When the sun starts setting the shepherd goes out amongst all the animals, and he hunts until he finds the last sheep. And he brings them into the corral, and he puts them in the corral at night. But the rest of them stay outside, though he herds all of them."

42 Then the thought come to me, "O God, let me not be as a donkey. Let me be a sheep! that when my flame is dimming and the sun of my life is setting, take me safely in the corral when my eyes are closing." I don't want to be left out there as just a so-called Christian. I want to be a real sheep. I want...
They all eat in the same pasture---just like the Bible says, "The rain falls on the just and the unjust." People sit together, crowds of people. Some of them are, and some of them are not. They all fall on the same Spirit. The Spirit will bless the same crowd. It'll fall ... the rain will fall upon the cocklebur and it'll just straighten up and rejoice. The same rain that falls on the wheat makes it... But by their fruit they are known. Christians bear Christian lives.

43 Notice, now, God's safety zone, God's place of safety. And when we are in here, in this refuge, we have a right to the healing power of God. If God will forgive his enemy and take him into the refuge, how much more will He take care of him after He's got him in there, see. There is healing power. So when the Christians get sick, there is no need of being all steamed up about it. Just remember, "By his stripes we are healed." That's the promise. He promised it, so He just can't take it back.
It's a place of refuge for our sickness, for our worries. "Cast all your cares upon Him; for He cares for you." It's a refuge. Trust in his Word, his promises. Every promise that He made belongs to you as long as you're in his kingdom. As long as you come to Him for refuge, then you have a right to every promise that He made. Every Christian in here, or anywhere else, has a right to anything that Christ died for. And when you're in Christ you possess the whole thing. It's all yours. That's exactly right.

44 Look at the Shunammite woman, when she had ... the little baby had died. Oh, I imagine that little fellow given to her by the Lord, why, when the prophet spoke... And the little boy, about twelve years old, he was with his daddy one day in a harvest field. He perhaps had a sunstroke. He cried, "My head." And as soon as the father got to the house---they were wailing, and so forth---the little baby was dead, little boy. She'd laid him on Elisha's bed.
And she said, "Saddle a mule. I'm going up to the cave where the prophet is."
And her husband said, "It's neither new moon, nor Sabbath. He won't be there."
She said, "All will be well."
So then when Gehazi saw her coming, and Elisha stood in the door of his cave and looked out, he said, "Here comes that Shunammite, and she's riding fast. There must be something wrong." And he said, "Go ask her."
He ... she ... he said, "Is all well with thee? Is all well with thy husband? Is all well with the baby?"
She said, "All is well." Everything's all right.

45 Why? She could let off the pressure. She'd come to God's representative. She'd come to the living Word. The Word of the Lord came to the prophets. And when she was in the presence of this man who had enough favor with God to tell her that she'd have the baby, she was in the presence of the same man who had the Word of God that was true. Hallelujah!
I'm so glad tonight to be in the presence of the same God that saved me from a life of sin! and promised He'd raise me up at the last day, He'd heal my sickness, He'd take care of me when I was here. Pressure's off. Forget about the pressure.
She come up and fell down by Elisha and said, "All is well." Sure, she got to the Word. She got in the presence of God. The pressure went off. All is well now, the pressure's off, for she had got to God's representative.

46 And God's representative on earth today is the Holy Spirit. And when you're in his presence, see Him bless you, how can you build up such a pressure to hate your neighbor? How can you build up with denominational difference in your heart? Say, "If they wasn't Pentecostal, if he was Oneness, or if was threeness, if he was ... belonged to the Assemblies, if he belonged to the church of God, I could fellowship with him." How can you do it in the presence of Almighty God? How can the Holy Spirit be falling upon a congregation, and then make denominational difference? How can it do it? Let off the pressure!
Trouble ... we've built up our pressure, because we're so denominational minded. Oh, America is rotten with it, denomination, drawing fences, creeds. What do you care about them creeds and fences? Get in the presence of God! Get in the presence of the Holy Spirit! Let off the pressure then!

47 That's one good thing I like about these Businessmen's fellowship meetings. You just seem to let your collar down. Let off the pressure! Not ashamed of it! I've stood with them in the finest of hotels, and the greatest of places, and let the Holy Ghost come to a Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist---all shake hands and scream and shout and praise God. Why? They let off the pressure. That's what's the matter. They just don't care what anybody's got to say. They're in the presence of God, letting off the pressure. What a wonderful place to do it. Plenty of room to run out here. Just take off, that's all. Let off the pressure. It's good to do that. If you don't you might blow up, burst a valve somewhere. All right.

48 Now. Now we remember, trust in his Word. Now even... You say, "Can I trust Him when I'm sick?" Sure. Look at Mary, or Martha it was, when her brother was dead and she sent for Jesus. And instead of coming, He went away. And she sent again, and He went further. That's built-up pressure.
"Now instead of me ... I asked Him today, and He went further away. And I asked Him again and He goes farther yet." But after awhile, after she'd buried him, and she heard that Jesus come, she went into his presence, fell down at his feet. Not to upbraid Him. If you approach a gift of God like that, you get nothing. You've got to come with reverence, respects.
When you come just to say, "I'll go give it a try," don't you do that. You're not going to get anything. You come with reverence, fully surrendered, like the man coming into the gate of refuge. You know it's his ... it's the only place he has to go. You must come believing.
"Oh, I'll go down to the altar and see if I can speak in tongues. Oh, I'll go down and see if I can shout." Oh, brother! You might as well stay in your seat. You're not going to get anything. No!

49 But when you come knowing that's your only spot of refuge... When you sit in a meeting, and you're pressing, "How do you get a prayer card?"... I've seen people do that. Pressure built up, they miss it altogether. I seen them stand in the meeting in the prayer line, come up into there and say, "Well, if I..." See, you're fighting against yourself. Don't do that. Just come with boldness, with reverence. Come in the presence of God knowing that God made a promise, and that settles it.

50 Martha came up and said, "Lord, if thou would've been here..."; not, "Why didn't you come?" But, "If thou would've been here, my brother would not've died. But even now, Lord, whatever you ask God, God'll give it to you." She let off the pressure. Though her eyes were streaked with tears, though her feeble body was worn, but she could say this, "If you'd have been here, my brother would not have died. But even now, whatever you ask God, God's going to give it to you." I like that. Yes, sir. And she got what she come for.
Why? She come up into his presence. Not all steamed up---"Why didn't you come when we called you? We left the church. We've forsaken our denomination. We come out to walk with you. And we thought you'd be a deliverer. We've seen you heal the sick. And your own friend, you let him die! And we sent for you." That'd been a modern Pentecostal version. No, no, not Martha. No, sir! She said, "Lord [That's what He was, her Lord.], if thou would have been here, my brother would not have died. And even now, whatever you ask God, God'll give it to you."
"Oh," he said, "thy brother shall rise."
She said ... she said, "I know, Lord, he ... in the last days he'll rise."
He said, "I am the resurrection, and life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." He wanted to see how much pressure He could put back to her, but she wouldn't receive it.
"Yea, Lord: I believe that you're the Son of God, that's come into the world." The pressure was off! Why? She had found the refuge. She'd found the hiding place. Even in the midst of death, she found the refuge.

51 Now there is a refuge in time of death. Do you believe that? Let's look down in Egypt, the night of the Passover. There was down in Egypt, to these slaves... And there was a time come when God got sick and tired of the way people were treating his people. And so what did He do? He required an atonement to protect his people. He always makes a way to protect his people, if the people will just receive it.
And now let's just take a case down in Egypt. It's nighttime, and now notice. And here comes ... the night comes. There never was a night like it since they'd been down there. Oh, it was a horrible night. Everything was black and dark. The moon didn't shine. The stars didn't come out. Oh, what a horrible night! Everything was weary.

52 And a little boy goes to the window and looks out. He said, "Daddy, you know the little Egyptian boy that I played with down the street? Look, there's two big black wings hanging over his home. There's his mother in the street, she's screaming, 'My baby's dead. My firstborn!' "
Then he grabs his daddy and says, "Daddy, don't you care for me? Don't you know that I'm your firstborn?"
I can see that father just as calmly take his little boy by the hand, and walk over to the door and say, "Son, you see that blood on the lintel? You see that on the post of the door, see?"
"But, Daddy, what's that got to do with it?"
"Son, that's God's promise. Just let off the pressure now. He said, 'When I see the blood I'll pass over you. When I see that blood I...' That's God's promise! So those wings won't come."
The little boy goes to the window to look again. Said, "Daddy, here he comes." His father was just busy at something else. The angel moves down towards the door, but when he saw the blood he bypassed it, see.
Why is it? Letting off the pressure. God promised it, and it's by God's promise. He always keeps his promise. That's right.

53 Want to take a little thing for us (did you notice?), while we're on Israel. When they were down in Egypt they were slaves. They had never, never, never seen the promised land. None of them'd been up there. They knowed nothing about it, only what they'd heard. God promised that He was going to take them to a promised land, where it was flowing with milk and honey. That was a great thing to a bunch of slaves that were beaten, and their moldy bread throwed in to them, and whipped every day. That was a terrible thing.
Now listen, Christians, watch this parable here. Now, then when they heard that there was a promised land, was flowing with milk and honey, where they could live in their own home... They wouldn't have to have fear---a place of refuge, where they could raise their gardens, have their children, and be safe. All at once down from the wilderness come a prophet with a pillar of fire following him, or he following the pillar of fire. And they started on their journey to the promised land.
When they got up as far as Kadesh-barnea, what happened up there? Joshua... There was one with them, a great warrior named Joshua, which means Jehovah-saviour. He went over in the promised land and brought back the evidence.

54 Now remember, they did not know whether that land existed or not. They only journeyed by faith to that promised land. They didn't know where it was at. The pillar of fire led them to it. This prophet walking, watching this pillar of fire, and they followed it till they got to the promised land.
And Joshua crossed Jordan, and went over into the promised land, and brought back the evidence that the land was just exactly what God had promised them. And the people tasted of the grapes---a bunch of grapes that'd taken two men to pack. It was just exactly according to God's promise. They had it! The land was just across Jordan. Well, sure, they'd never saw it. They knowed there'd never been nobody over there. But God made the promise, and God always keeps his promise: that was bringing men from slavery up to where he could have his own home.

55 Along came another great warrior one day, his name was Jesus. He taught that there was... "In my Father's house are many mansions." He taught that there was life after a man dies here, that he can live again. He taught that there was a resurrection of the dead. And one day He would come and would judge the whole world.
And one day He went down to the Jordan of death, crossed over the Jordan, come back on the third day bringing the evidence that there is a resurrection of the dead! Hallelujah! He stood and eat fish and bread. He was with them for forty days, showing Himself alive. Said, "Handle me. I'm not a spirit. I'm man, flesh and bones."
What was He? The Joshua of our time that's crossed the river of death, and returned back with the evidence! Not only that, but He said, "Whosoever believeth in me shall never die." And they were commissioned to go up and wait, and He was going to send them the earnest of their salvation.

56 Want to know what the earnest is? I'll buy your farm for ten thousand dollars. I give you one thousand to hold it. It's a promise that you'll hold it for me. That's the earnest money. Well, He said, "I'm going to prove it to you, that you're going to have the earnest of your salvation. But wait up there at the city of Jerusalem till you're endued with power from on high."
One day me, myself, down in sin, no place to go---what happened? Just as it did then on the day of Pentecost---God sent back the Holy Spirit upon the waiting disciples. And when they did they were filled with the Holy Ghost and raised up from a death.
What is death? Sin. Sin---"The wages of sin is death." What is death? Unbelief. "He that believeth not is condemned already." So many people today call themselves Christians. They want to believe some creed of some church. You tell them the Word of God, they laugh in your face. That's sin! Because it don't agree with their creed, they won't have nothing to do with it. You just might as well do anything else. God's Word stands true. Right. And when they ... when they come down from there they knowed they had the evidence of the resurrection.

57 Now today, that's the refuge that we have. Look what happens. When we are recognized... He was our substitutionary death. When we realize it's not our righteousness but his; and when we accept Him as a personal Saviour, then we go to the grave with Him in baptism, and we die with Him. If you don't, you shouldn't be buried.
So when you're dead to ... and confess your sins, and call yourself a sinner, and ask for mercy, and are buried with Christ in baptism, we are also risen with Him in the resurrection.
And now being raised from sin (Hallelujah! Now I feel religious, brother.), being raised from the dead in the likeness of his resurrection, we are raised up from the life of sin, and sitting with Him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, filled with the Holy Ghost, with the evidence of eternal life that we are already raised up from the dead. Our souls are alive tonight with Christ, because sin is beneath us and we've raised from there, which is the earnest of our resurrection. Amen.

58 How do you know you've passed from death unto life? Where you standing at? Because we have raised from sin. Being buried with Him in baptism, we've raised with Him in the resurrection. And now our souls are with Him and He's with us. We feel his presence, we see his works. We see Him doing the same things that He did when He was here on earth, working through the church---healing the sick, knowing the thoughts that's in their hearts, discernment, powers, raising the dead---doing just exactly the things He did.
Then let off the steam, brother! There's nothing to worry about. We're already risen with Him in Christ Jesus! We're sitting in heavenly places now. Not we will be; we are, right now, risen with Him, sitting in heavenly places with the earnest of our salvation. (Whew!) That's right! Amen! Let off the steam. Send atomic bomb, whatever you want to, we are risen with Him. Amen.

59 What's the steam all about? What you fussing about? running from denomination to denomination. Let off the steam---come to Christ. Get the Spirit of God within you, you look back and see where you did come from, you look down there at the world. You wouldn't walk in that again. No. Why? You're risen with Him. You're a new creature, sitting in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Let off the steam.
Joshua went over and brought back the evidence to them. What did they do? Murmured, disbelieved it. So has the religious world today. They don't believe that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. They're scared of it! They're afraid of the Holy Ghost---and that's the very evidence of our resurrection, that we've got eternal life!

60 Look here, another thing I might nail this down with: Elijah and Elisha was always a type of Christ and the church with a double portion. "The works that I do shall you also; greater than this... shall I go to my Father... When I go to my Father, greater, or more of it, you'll do."
When Elijah called Elisha, when God spoke to him in the cave, with a still small voice, he took his robe and went down and seen that young prophet going through the field with a ox. He knowed how to plow a straight row. So he took his robe and throwed it over him. He must have took it back. He was baptized, you see, with the spirit that was on Elijah. He had one portion. He was called to be a prophet. Then when he went to Jordan with him... And he crossed over Jordan with one portion.
When he come back he had two portions! Glory to God! When the Holy Ghost comes upon us today, you get one portion. When we cross the Jordan of death and come back in the resurrection, we have both a spiritual body and a physical body raised with Him! (I hope I'm not deafening you.)

61 Oh, but brother, do you see what I mean? We are already risen! We're under... [Someone gives a prophecy.] Hallelujah! ... raising with Him, sitting now. Where was you? How many Christians in here? Hold up your hands. As Christians, do you look back and see where you first come from? That shows you were dead once. You wouldn't have come to a meeting like this. You wouldn't have sat in a hot building like this. You wouldn't have spent your money and crossed the country. You would've went to some honky-tonk or something. Why? You were dead. It was your nature. You were a sinner by birth.
But Christ come back and said, "I'll not leave you comfortless. I'll give you the earnest of it. I'll send the Holy Ghost upon you [Oh, my, there you are!], which is the earnest."

62 And today we find ourselves with the world under our feet. People think we're crazy. Don't you know the whole thing belongs to us? How can you buy peace with money? buy love with money (That's what the nations are trying to do)? joy with money? "Go down at the drugstore and get me a quarter's worth of joy. Yes, sir. I can use it." You can't do it!
Why? It's a gift of God. It comes from God, and it's free to his children. It's in the refuge of Christ to those who have risen with Him in heavenly places. Right now we are seated with Him, in Him. "The name of the Lord is a mighty tower: the righteous runs in it and are safe." What fellowship to be in! Glory.

63 I'm a Pentecostal-Baptist. Yes, a Baptist with a Pentecostal experience. Why? I can ... I've accepted that evidence. I have received my Lord. I see where once... I looked in the Bible here, and it said different things. I said, "Oh, well, the church says, 'Well, that was for another day.' "
"Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel. These signs shall follow them that believe."
"That's a mistranslation," and all these other things. There was something wrong with it, and it caused me to be an unbeliever in it.
But one day (Hallelujah!), I died out to that thing and become alive in Him through the baptism of the Holy Ghost. And tonight I'm resurrected in Him, raised up above unbelief. I believe every word of it. I believe it's so. I've seen Him working, proving it.
Just exactly the way He was here on earth the first time so is He today, as He promised He'd be in the evening time. We are now seated with Him in heavenly places. Let off the steam. You don't need to be all tore up about everything. What's the use? I've been tore up. After they'd followed his instructions... Yeah.

64 So many called Christians today, running from denomination to denomination, they run out and take their paper, say, "I'm tired of being a Methodist. I'm going to become a Baptist. I'll take my papers over to the Baptists." Baptists run over to the Presbyterian. Presbyterian run over to this, that, and the other. The Pentecostal groups are running from one to another.
What you doing? What's the matter? It goes to show that builds up steam. You don't know where you're standing.
"Who is right, Brother Branham? Is these right, or these right, or is this right?"
Christ is right! "How do I receive Him?"
"He that heareth my words, and believeth on him that sent me, hath eternal life... And I'll raise him up at the last day." Amen! Because what? He believed God's Word! That's it.
Some would have us to believe that you have to shout to get it. The Methodists believed that. They found out there's lots shouted had a lot of steam behind---that's right---built up tempers, and fought the Lutherans.
The Pentecostals says, "You got to speak with tongues to believe it." They spoke in tongues and fighting one another. "You old Oneness, I ain't going to have nothing to do with you."
"Old Trinitarian, I ain't going to have nothing to do with you."
"Old So-and-so..." See, it's still under steam. You've never got to the right place yet.

65 But brother, when you come to that place that you're dead and raised with Him in resurrection, you love your brother, your sister. There's no denomination can break that barrier. You are Christians and you're one in Christ Jesus, whether you're Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, or whatever you may be; and see Him moving among us. That's right. Amen.
See what our denominations get us? A bunch of tommyrot. Separates our fellowship, breaks the barriers, puts the people under pressure, and everything---trying to fight for an organization. It's going to die and perish. It's not going to have to die; it's already dead. It was dead to begin with.

66 But Christ---you're in Christ, you're alive. If you're in Christ you believe his Word. If you're in Christ He manifests Himself to you. If you're in Christ you've passed from death unto life. "The name of the Lord is a mighty tower: the righteous run into it and are safe." Not the denomination is a mighty tower; not the creed is a mighty tower, but "The name of the Lord is a mighty tower: the righteous run into it and are safe."
Let off the steam; just come to Christ. Don't come, "Well, I'll take the creed of this church. I'll take the creed of that church." Take the power of God. Take the name of Jesus Christ. Pray in it! Baptize in it! Pray the sick in it! Cast out devils in it! "In my name they shall cast out devils." Live in it, shout in it, walk in it, die in it! Amen.
"Whatsoever you do in word and deed, do it all in the name of Jesus Christ, giving praise to the Father." Amen. That's it.

67 "The name of the Lord is a mighty tower: the righteous run into it and are safe." Now, you can't come through some creed or something like that. You've got to die and come to it. You've got to walk into it, and die to yourself, and raise anew. And then every word of God becomes a real...
Could you imagine a man having the baptism of the Holy Spirit, that wrote the Bible, and then say, "The days of miracles is past."? Could you imagine a man, no matter how deep he is in theology, or whatmore, deny the very Word of the Bible, that the Holy Ghost wrote, and say the Holy Ghost is in him?

68 Could you imagine a woman stretching herself with a pair of these shorts on, walking up and down the streets, when the Bible condemns it? Could you imagine people doing ... the people today living the way they do, and then saying they got the Holy Ghost?
Why, the very fruits that you bear, people, prove you haven't got it. You're blowing a whistle that you know nothing about. When you're dead, you're dead! When you're alive, you're alive! And old things pass away and every word of God is punctuated with an "Amen." No matter what your creeds or denominations says, the Bible says it. "Upon this rock I'll build my church; and the gates of hell can't prevail against it," said Jesus. Whew! Amen.
I'm ... I guess you think I get angry. I don't. I just get bubbled, see. Love, love is correction. Love is divine correction. Oh, promise...

69 Why? Why do they run from place to place? Why do they join this, and run to this one over here, this organization, or that? They just build up steam. What's the matter? They've never come to the right refuge yet. There's peace, love, joy, longsuffering, gentleness, patience, faith---in the Holy Ghost, in the kingdom of God. These other things has passed away.
The name of the Lord is a mighty tower. We reach it, and we believe it, and we're safe in God's pavilion. And when you do that you know then that you've passed from death unto life. You look back and see where once you disbelieved God, and now you believe Him. You see where once you fussed over a creed, and now you're in the Bible.

70 One time somebody told you that there was no such a thing as speaking in tongues, there was no such a thing as this, and the Bible didn't teach this. And you read it, and there it was in the Bible. And you say, "But the pastor says..." Or, "My denomination says that was for another day." Well, you're still dead in sin. Rise above. That's unbelief.
"Oh," you say, "but I live holy." There's nobody in here ... there ain't a Pentecostal in America can live as holy as them African heathens. No, sir. How about the Mohammedans? How about their holiness? Try to live with them one time. Try to compare your righteousness.

71 One tribe there, if a young girl don't get married to a certain time, she's tested for her virgincy and find out why she didn't get married. If she's found defiled she has to tell the man that did it, and they're both killed together. They'd be a lot of killing in the nations if that would be, wouldn't it, around here? Try to compare with that.
Oh, but today we can tell the people to live... And they puff up and blow up, and run over to something else, and say, "I don't want to hear it. You're always bawling me out." That reminds me of Micaiah when he stood before Elijah, or before Ahab. He stood there because he'd taken Elijah's word. He compared his vision with what the prophet had said before him, with the Word of God. And when we get a vision and it don't compare with the Word of God, then leave it alone.

72 Now. Isaiah described Him. When he saw Him, he said... Now when they saw Him in this fellowship, saw Him in this mighty tower, abiding in it and believing in it... He's a refuge. But when Isaiah saw Him here in the 32nd chapter, he said, "He's a rock in a weary land." That must be this land, a weary, dismal land.
"Oh," you say, "my, this is a land of joy and happiness." Yeah, I know it is. Just like I preached, I believe, last Sunday on the line of a true prophet. When Amos come up and looked over into that city---that old country preacher, bald-headed, and whiskers hanging around---his eyes narrowed. He didn't look like one of these modern tourists coming into Hollywood, looking at the glamour and things. His eyes narrowed, he looked down upon there and said, "The very God that you claim to trust in will destroy you." If he'd come to America tonight he'd say the same thing. "The very God that you claim to serve will be your destruction." And He did it. He only preached about thirteen years, but he lived to see his word fulfilled. He was a man fearless with God's word.

73 You say how did Amos know that? Because he could diagnose that case just exactly like a doctor diagnoses a case. When a doctor takes a case and looks at it and sees the symptoms on it that's cancer, and it's far advanced, he says, "It's death!" There's no hopes as far as he knows. There's no hopes for that patient because he's too advanced.
But when a real true prophet of God looks down and sees the sin of a nation, seeing our women bob their hair and wear dresses that's ornery; and see men having a form of godliness, and creed-bound, and things like that, leading men astray, blind leaders of the blind; diagnosing the case by God's Word, there can't nothing happen but destruction! All's left. The cancer that's eaten in ... rottenness to the core.

74 Among all the denominations it's done. There's nothing to do but cry out against the thing that's wrong. Amen! Means so be it, and that's right. All right. "A great rock in a weary land, a shelter in the time of storm." Oh, I'm so glad when he saw in it a great rock in a weary land.
Oh, I remember here not long ago I was reading a book on an eagle, a certain kind of an eagle. I think he's in ... over in the Orient. And I preached here some time ago on it, "As the Eagle Stirreth its Nest." And I was reading up on eagles, and I found out there's forty different types of eagles.
But this certain eagle... The Bible says as the eagle renews his youth, renews his strength; we shall mount up like eagles, and so forth. And this certain eagle, when he begins to get old he knows he's going to die pretty soon. There's a crust comes over his head. He's bald, you know.

75 And that's the reason...
God likened Himself to an eagle. He likens his children to eagles. And because ... they're the highest soaring bird, they can go higher than any other bird there is. His eye's so keen... It wouldn't do him no good to get up there unless he seen what was going on down here, see far off. He likened his prophet to eagles that can sail up like this, and look way off and see things coming, come back down and tell the people what's fixing to happen---the eagle.
And this old eagle, when he begins to get old, he finds ... and begins ... goes way up high into the cleft of the rocks, and he finds a certain rock. He gets up there. He's getting so old he can't hardly walk around. This crust is killing him, over his head.
And he takes his head and he starts beating against that rock, beating it against the rock until he knocks the crust off his head. Oh, it hurts him. You can see him up there flopping around. He'll jump back (watching him through glasses), he'll knock his head again. What's he trying to do? Knock that crust off. And he'll bleed, and the blood'll run all over him till he knocks that crust off.

76 And if he can't knock it off, he dies. But if he gets it knocked off, he'll start rejoicing and screaming. You can hear him for miles, just a-screaming. Why? He knows that he's got all the crust off of him. He knows that his youth's going to be renewed because that he got the crust off. That's wonderful. I appreciate that for the eagle.
But brother, I know a Rock. Amen! I know a Rock that the weary sinner can beat ... not his head on there, but beat himself in prayer till all the crust of the world is took off of him---all the unbelief, the shackles are broke loose. And that man can beat himself in prayer there, till every sin-shackle is broke away from him.
I know where prostitutes can beat till they become ladies. I know where drunkards and gamblers can beat till they become saints of God, men of God. I know a Rock. That rock is Christ Jesus, our refuge. And as soon as you get all the world beat off of you, you renew your youth.

77 You renew what? You know you can start praising God because eternal life is sure, 'cause He promised it. Just stay there until all of the world is gone. But as long as some of the crust of the world is still sticking on, you better keep beating 'cause eternal life ain't there yet. When you say, "Well, I believe part of the Word of God is right," you still got crust there. Yes, sir. When the women still bob their hair and wear shorts, a lot of crust there.
Someone bawled me out about that the other day. They said, "Brother Branham, people respect you to be a prophet."
And I said, "I'm no prophet."
He said, "But they say you're that. Why don't you teach the people how to get the ... how to get prophet gifts and how to get those things there? Quit telling them women, them men, about their creeds, and about women, the way they dress."
I said, "If they can't learn their ABC's, how they going to teach them algebra?"
If they haven't got the common decency to clean up and act like and be like Christians, how in the world you going to teach them ... give them a high school education when they're not out of the kindergarten yet, and don't desire to come out. I don't mean to be angry, or nasty. But that's the truth! Amen. Whew! I feel religious.

78 Stay there! When the Holy Ghost comes He'll make a different creature out of you. When you got all the world beat off of you, and the shackles and all the unbelief beat off, you believe Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever; you believe in the power of God; you believe in the resurrection; you believe in the baptism of the Holy Ghost; you believe in all these spiritual gifts and see them working.
Why? You're dead with Him, and buried with Him, and risen with Him. There you are. Then the steam goes off. Oh, brother, the preacher can't preach one word that condemns you (no, sir) because you can say "Amen" to anything he says, see---because you've got all the old shackles beat off. That's all. You're not trusting a creed; you're trusting in Christ. Yes, sir.

79 Yeah, when the old crust gets beat off, then you're all right. You're fixing to have a renewed youth then, a renewed life. You got eternal life, Zoe, God's own life dwelling in you. Then you're alive, not dead. Then your desires and affections are on things above, not on the fashions and passions of this world, running around here to dances, and going to picture shows.
And a lot of you Pentecostal people stay home at night and watch television and things like that, and miss your prayer meeting. It's because that your seminaries out here turned off some sissified Elvis preachers, instead of men of God who'll stand and tell you the truth. That's exactly right. What they're trying to do...
You know what kind of a harvest we're reaping out? We're reaping a denominational harvest because we sow denominational seed. That's ...the only kind of seed can come up is denominational seed, is because that's what we're sowing---trying to get people in this, get people in that.

80 You ought to get people to Christ, and forget about your denominational difference. Get them back to holy living by a holy God by the Holy Ghost, and see the power of God move like it did one time. Amen. Call ourselves Christians and deny the Word, "... form of godliness but deny the power thereof." And then say, "Well, what we need today..." No wonder we got pressure built up.
Is the Methodist right? A girl come to me not long ago. She said, "Brother Branham, do you believe it's wrong for a Holy Ghost girl to wear scandal skirts?"
I said, "What is a scandal skirt?"
And she said, "Well, it's so-and-so, and the skirts, the underneath, show."
I said, "What in the world would a Holy Ghost girl want to show her underskirt for?"
Shame, shame! My, what's the matter with our brothers today? What's the matter with the preaching today? They're afraid to do it 'cause it's a meal ticket. Afraid you'll get kicked out. Why, they wouldn't have to kick me out. I got out anyhow!

81 I wasn't going to bung myself up amongst unbelievers. Jesus said don't do that. "Don't yoke yourself with unbelievers; but come out from among them. Be ye separate, saith God, and I'll receive you."
No wonder things can't take place. No wonder we're trying to build a Pentecostal revival. No wonder we've failed ... to do the things we're doing. Why, brother, we're sowing the wrong seed. We're sowing what our organizations believe, what our creeds teach us.
Billy Graham could cross the country a thousand times, and Oral Roberts, and Jack Schuller, and all the rest of them. It'll never do no good until we come back to God, back to the...

82 And how in the world can a government build itself? You say, "It's the government." You know what's the matter with the government? It's because we elect ourselves. It's the people where the 'cause ... the trouble's at. We elect the kind of government we got. Because that's what's right in our heart. That's what we're trying to do. The people want something like that. They vote for it.

83 Go to a church... I was at a charge not long ago, where a little brother had been preaching for about six months. And the trustees and the deacon board called him up and said, "You'll have to stop that. We won't put up with such as that."
Said, "Stop what?"
Said, "That message that you're preaching."
Said, "Message? I'm preaching the Bible."
He said, "We don't believe no such."
"Well, it's the Bible!"
You know what they did? They said we would throw him out.
He said, "You don't have to. I'm already out!" That's right. Sure.
What's the matter, the people? It's a meal ticket. I'd rather ... you say, "Well, you can't, they're afraid that the people ... if you don't have a card."

84 Could you imagine Amos having a card that day when he come down there to preach to the people? Said, "Here's my fellowship card. I got cooperation with all the Pharisees and Sadducees." They hated him. Right. They would today. If he stood today he'd stand right on this Word, the same thing, and condemn from the Catholic plumb to the Pentecostals. He'd do the same thing. He sure would. He wouldn't have no cooperation. He wouldn't have to pack a fellowship card. But he had "thus saith the Lord." That's what the people didn't want.
You think he'd walk through the streets today and see the people... You think his righteous soul could stand still? Certainly not, no. That's what's the matter. Our pressure's build up. That's what's the matter with our nation today. That's what's the matter with our world today.

85 Some time ago I was watching, when I was in Africa, while the corral ... where a little sheep had wandered out from the corral. And the little fellow got all nervous. All at once I thought, "What's the matter with him? What's the matter with him?" I happened to notice there was a lion coming up. He couldn't see the lion. Neither could he smell the lion. But there was just something telling him that danger. He got nervous, he was bleating, he was going on. He didn't know which way to go.
That's what's the matter, what's building up pressure. You're afraid of atomic bombs. The whole world, they're scared that something's going to happen. They know something's going to happen. Why, sure, it's going to happen. But what difference does it make? Amen. It's a quick trip to glory. Well, we're already dead. We're dead. We're risen with Him in heavenly places. It's our desire to go meet Him.

86 A minister called me in not long ago and said, "Brother Branham, you scare the people, telling them about Jesus coming maybe at any time like that." Said, "You get the people so nervous."
I said, "So nervous?"
"Well," said, "sure, nobody wants to think about the end of the world."
I said, "That's the greatest thing I can think of. But they're not ready!"

87 He said that "... all those that love his appearing, He will appear the second time."---those who love his appearing. But if you're so earth-bound and still living down here, that that don't hold a million times more than this does for you, then you're still down here. And if you're up here, you've passed from that to up here. Amen. Just let off the pressure, friends, it's all right. Oh, yes. That's right. Just let off the pressure. If you just come to Christ, this great rock, beat off all the unbelief, and it'll... You start to rejoicing then, because the pressure's going to be gone pretty soon. That's right.

88 Like the old slaves, back when the Emancipation Proclamation, when it was signed that morning... I was reading here some years ago about where ... when they signed the Proclamation. Them slaves were so glad, on a certain day they was going to be free. And the time they was going to be free was when the sun come up. You know what they did? The women and children and the little ones and the cripples, they was all down this a-way, they were strung all up and down the hillside, because as soon as the sun begin to come up they were free, on that morning at sunup. I just forget the date of it now. Wish I could remember it, but I don't just at this time. I thought I did, but I didn't write it down, so I don't remember the date.

89 But anyhow, that morning, as soon as they could, they were going to be free as soon as the sun come up. Well, the most strongest one of them, like the strongest Christians today, they climb plumb up to the top of the hill, and they watched as day began to break. And when, the first thing you know, the first little peep of the sun, the one on top of the hill screamed out, "The sun's up! We're free!" And he hollered down to the next one. The next one hollered to the next one, the next one to the next one---till it got all the way to the bottom. They could let off the pressure. "We're free!" Why? The sun's up! Amen!
That was s-u-n. But today let me scream, "The Son's up!" The S-o-n. The evening lights is shining. The Holy Ghost is here. The Son of God reigns in the hearts of the people. Let off the pressure. He's here. The Son is up. Now I'm so glad of that, seeing the same things take place it did when He was here. Here it is working again in his people in this last day. So we can just let off the pressure.

90 He's up, up from the grave. He's up from the dead. He's been raised for two thousand years, and we're living with Him, resurrected Him, sitting in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (amen), already raised from the dead. What's the use of having the pressure on you? Live? Why, you've got to live. You can't die. "He that heareth my words, and believeth on him that sent me, has eternal life." That's right. "I am the resurrection, and life," said Jesus, "He that believeth in me though he were dead, yet shall he live: whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die." See, we're already raised with Him. We got the earnest of it, the Holy Spirit declares it so. We've passed from death unto life. How do you know? All the world's beat off.
The old eagle can just scream as much as he wants to because every shackle's off of him, all the old crust is gone. And when the worldly crust, worldly habits, all the fuss and tempers, stew, and all the carrying on, running from denomination to denomination, is all settled and you're in Christ Jesus, you know eternal life dwells; for you look back and see where you come from, back down there in that muck and fuss, down there. Now I'm up here, safe forevermore in Christ Jesus, a new creature.

91 A few years ago I was way up in the mountains preaching. And I was preaching one night just as hard as I could on "Holiness unto the Lord," and how it would be upon every heart and upon the [unclear word], and that great shadow would be in the daytime, a pillar of fire by night hanging over Mt. Zion, and so forth. And when I got through preaching I made an altar call. There was an old logger back there, and God just kind of said, "Hold on just a little bit longer."
And I said, "Anybody wants to come and receive the Lord, come now." And he wouldn't come. I asked them to play the hymn again. They played the hymn.
Directly, here he come running up like that. He'd come down there to throw me out of the meeting. His overalls was all tore off like that, and he had a big old nail sticking in the side of them, been cutting fodder. And he come up there, couldn't hardly get to the altar. He fell and crawled hand over head hollering, "God, have mercy to me," like that---come up to the altar and got saved.

92 The next day, and next night, he come up there sitting there with his little children. His little boy come up, little bitty fellow about five years old, said, "Brother Branham," said, "we got a good daddy now." Said, "Every night he'd come in and get drunk, and whip us and everything. But," said, "tonight we all asked the blessing at the table." He had passed from death unto life.
Just before I got ready to preach, he said, "Brother Branham, would you spare me a moment till I could say something?" he said.
I said, "Yes, sir. Come on up here, brother."
He come up there. He said, "I was once dead, but I'm alive now." He said, "Everything's changed for me." He said, "I had a dream last night, Brother Branham."
I said, "What was it? Would you mind telling us?"
He said, "You know, Brother Branham, I dreamed that I was a rabbit." And he said, "The hounds had jumped me up." And said, "I was running, but them long-legged hounds was coming right behind me, just about to catch me." Said, "They were howling," and said, "they got so close to me till I could feel their breath on my heels." And said, "I could just feel them nipping at me every time they'd make a jump."

93 And said, "I looked and there was a great big rock, and there was a cleft in that rock. And I knowed if I could ever get in that little cleft (it just big enough for me to get into), them hounds couldn't get in there. I know they couldn't scratch through the rock. I know I was safe if I could ever get in that rock." And said, "I just made it in time." He said, "When I got inside," said, "I just sat down and begin to relax."
That's it, let off the steam. That's it. Just come to the Rock. The hounds of hell are galloping right behind you, sin marking your lives as you go. You claim... And if you claim to be a Christian and still love the world, if you claim to be a Christian and don't believe the Word, that's the hounds of hell howling right behind you. He's got you hid under some creed or something there, in the brier patch, he can catch you there.

94 There's only one safe place, that's the Rock, brother. There's a cleft in that Rock tonight, it's open for sinners. It's open for unbelief. Run into it, then let off the pressure. Sit down there. You're safe forevermore. Just let off the pressure and you'll be all right. Run to Christ, 'cause He is our refuge. "He is our refuge and our strength, a present help in a time of trouble." Let's bow our heads just a moment.

95 I got about thirty things here I wanted to speak on yet, but I don't want to wear you. It's getting late. I'm going to ask you something though.
Many of you, practically everybody in here, has attended my meetings before. And you know you can't put your hand on one thing but what the Holy Spirit hasn't said but what was right. You know that. Let me tell you, friend, don't you take refuge in your organization. Don't you take refuge in some little experience. The world's just full, tonight, of somebody going around with sensations: fire, smoke, blood, pillars, and everything else. Don't you believe that. There's only one sensation---that's Christ. When you're in there, brother, sister, your life is changed. You become a new creation. You've passed from death to life. I can't judge you. I never ... wasn't sent to judge; I was only sent for this Word.

96 Just take inventory and look at yourself tonight. Each one here... I don't know who you are, but just think of yourself. Just look at yourself, think the way you're doing, what you're doing. You women, look at yourselves. You men, look at yourselves.
Preacher, look at yourself. What about your organization? Does it mean so much to you tonight if God's truth come forth you couldn't take it? You'd stay with your organization? Then you're still a sinner. You're a unbeliever. If you put anything between you and God's Word... Now remember, that's Jesus, He is the Word. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God ... and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us." He is the Word. Is there anything between you and God?

97 Now with your heads bowed, I'm going to ask you. I've held you lengthy. But how do I know that the next blow up won't get me? Somewhere down the line I got to go. If God hasn't backed up every word that I've said... Not because it's me; it's because it's his Word. I've had to [unclear word] your organizations from place to place---not against you; against that system that separates you from others, that system that lets you sit in there and live like the world, and still claim to be a Christian when you know you're not. If you can't compare with the Word, then there's something wrong. That's for minister and all. You know that's right.
Now think of it. Some explosion, something, somewhere, is going to get you one of these days. You've got to go, and you've got to face God. You ... and while there is a chance to outrun the hounds, let's go to the Rock tonight. Will you go with me? I'll lead the way. While you've got your heads bowed, every eye closed, who'd like to be remembered in prayer, raise up your hand, say, "Brother Branham, pray for me." God bless you, you, you, just look over this building.

98 Oh, lead me to the Rock, Lord. Lead me to that Rock that's higher than I, the shelter in a time of storm. Lead me, O Lord, lead me. I don't want to stay in this world. I don't want to be left here to be consumed with it. "They that live by the sword shall perish by the sword." They that live in the world shall die with the world. They that live for this world and in this world will perish in the atomic blast. It's just atomic fodder.
Look at these people today on the streets. Look at them in the yards. Look wherever they go. You wonder what's the matter. They're pleasure-seeking, cigarette-smoking, drinking, diving, women immorally dressed, knowing that they're committing adultery.
You say, "I'm just as clean as anybody." But lady, the way you dress yourself and get out here on the street, men look upon you. Jesus said, "Whosoever looketh upon a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her." When that sinner answers for adultery, you'll be the one that presented yourself. Think of it now.

99 You men who'd compromise the Word of the living God for a morsel of a denomination, shame on you. Let's repent. Let's ask God's forgiveness. Let's not let this convention up here on this lake be an error. Let's get God with us. Let's go away from here filled with the Spirit, a burning fire in our hearts. Let's run to that Rock, the only thing that can help us.
Some day your organization, and your friends that's persuading you out in the wrong way, even your pastor, will perish with the world if he's letting you live like that, and tell you nothing about it. Look at them priests who claim to be holy and sanction... Jesus said, "You're of your father the devil, and his works you do." And yet they were clean, upright men (seemed to be), but they denied the living Word. They had a form of godliness. The prophet told them, said, "The very God that you serve, he'll consume you." The very one that you ... and He did do it.

100 And let me say this tonight, the very God that America claims they believe in will be the very God that will sink her beneath the sea. She'll burn like a eternal fire. The whole world, the Christian world so-called, living in the way they do, hugging on to creeds and things like that, and denying God... No wonder their org... no wonder the revival's died right out. They got to a certain spot and then they went to bringing in this, and bringing in that, and putting million of dollars in new educational buildings and things like that, when it never was ordained of God to do so---yet preach the gospel.

101 Think of it! What if you die tonight? What if you're killed on the road home? When the next explosion gets me, I want the world to know this, I believe the Word of God, every word of it. I accept it in my heart as Christ Jesus. I believe that the Spirit that's in me says ... punctuates every word with an "Amen." I've lived to see the day that every promise He made, I've seen it fulfilled. I know that He's coming.
I know He's coming for a church, and it'll sure be in the minority. "There'll be two in the field; I'll take one and leave one. Two in the bed; I'll take one and leave one," a universal resurrection, a rapture. Let's be ready for it, friends. This is the hour. What a beautiful time right out here on this great lake, here where we're standing, as we did ... Jesus did in Galilee, with the Holy Spirit right here in our building tonight, moving upon people---when in this little crowd of 150 or 200 people, nearly two-thirds of them put up their hands. Let's repent.

102 Our heavenly Father, we can see, Lord, that the church has lost its first love. We can see that the church in full, all over the nation, has dropped---not only the nation, but the world. We realize that You spoke the other morning and said the seeding time is over here, that the only place to sow seeds is in the foreign fields. This is a gleaning over the stubble. And, O God, truly them words was right.
Now tonight, while we see these precious ones that's made a start, a fair showing in the flesh, trying to move up... They realize that they ... that their lives don't cope up with that Word. There's something wrong somewhere. They got pressure, tempers, and indifferences; and O God, ugly things that makes them misbehave and not act like Christians. They find themselves not satisfied. They're wandering about from one organization to another, from one place to another.

103 Though they might have shouted, though they might have danced half a night, though they may have spoke in tongues like pouring peas on a dry cowhide... They might have done all these things, Lord. And yet, O God, Paul said, "Though I speak with tongues of men and angels, I become as a sounding brass, and a tinkling cymbal. Though I have faith to move mountains, though I give my goods to feed the poor," and all these things; yet he becomes nothing.
O God, may men not rely upon sensation, and so forth. May they come to Christ who is the Word, rise above every unbelief, and follow the Holy Spirit to the promised land. Grant it, Lord. You crossed over Jordan of death. You've come back. You proved to us that there was a good land over there where man lives forever. You give us the resurrection fruits. You let us taste of the heavenly gifts.

104 And it's written over in Hebrews, the 6th chapter: "For they which were once enlightened [Pentecostals], and have been made partakers of the Holy Ghost and have tasted of the heavenly gifts [the heavenly food of God---and now I see that they're falling away], that there remains no more sacrifice for sin, but a fearful looking for the judgment, the fiery indignation which shall devour the adversary." O God, may borderline believers run into Canaan tonight as fast as they can. Grant it, Lord.
May every one of these little rabbits tonight, Lord, that's a-jumping for what life they've got in them, may they find that Rock, Lord. O God, may this convention never stop until prayer meetings are out here in the bushes, and everywhere else, until these people find that Rock where women can be like saints of God---where they can dress like saints, and act like saints, and talk like saints; and men can move into their pulpits, and deacons into their offices, and trustees and things with the integrity under the power of the resurrection of Christ, to pray a revival to a ... down upon the people. Grant it, Lord.

105 May the church be saved, God. You said, "All that the Father has given me will come. No man can come unless my Father has called him. And all that my Father has given me will come." O God, is it too late? Will the hounds catch us before we get to the rock? O God, grant not. May every man and woman pinch themselves, wake up to the fact that we're at the end-time. It can't be much longer until the coming of our Lord.
Talking of a convention next year, how do we know that it'll be yet tonight, or in the morning, He'll come? How do we know that one of us, or many of us in here may be called before morning? Then we'll have to stand in the judgment. What good does all these things of the world do us? We'll perish with them. God, we'll never rise in the resurrection---only to be condemned. God grant that we'll let loose of every shackle tonight, that we'll come to the Rock, and there live in Christ Jesus forevermore. Grant it, Lord. Come into the Rock and let off the pressure. Grant it, Father.

106 I commit them to you now. In the name of Jesus Christ, may every one of them make it safely to the Rock where their assurance is there, and they can see their lives with the crust is all beat off. Many, Lord, many, many, Lord, are deceived. When they think they're at the Rock and look right down at their lives and see that they're not; see the shackles of the world, the desire, the things of the world still hanging on them, they know they've never beat the crust off in prayer yet.
God grant that these hotel rooms tonight will be one lively prayer meeting, all night long, of the beating and praying, O God, until Christians are born and filled with the Holy Ghost, new lives are begun. In Jesus' name we ask it, for God's glory. Amen.
You love Him?
I love Him, I love Him
(Now worship Him in the Spirit,
strong heart.)
Because He first loved me
And purchased my salvation
On Calvary's tree.

107 Do you get what I mean? That we are dead, that you already are raised with Him. That's the earnest of our salvation. We're sitting together in heavenly places. Look back to the places you come. Look what's going on, examine yourself, take inventory, see. "Have I bypassed his Word? I don't ... I know the Bible says that, but I don't believe it that way." Be careful, you're not dead yet. If the Holy Spirit was in there He'd say, "Amen. That's my Word," see.
"Well, I believe the days of miracles is past." You do? and the Bible said He's the same yesterday, today, and forever? "I believe that the signs of Mark 16 was for another generation." You do? when He said, "These signs shall follow them that believe."? How far? To the end of the world. "Lo, I'm with you always. And the works that I do shall you do also." How long? To the end of the world. All the promises of the prophets, that in this evening time... The prophet said there'll be a day that wouldn't be called day or night. It'd be dismal.

108 Where does the sun rise? In the east. Where does it set? In the west. How's civilization travel? From the east to the west. Now there's been a day since the Son, S-o-n, rose with healing in his wings in the east upon the eastern people. And now there's been a day of organization, denomination, just enough light to see to get around, put your name on a book, accept Christ as saviour. But He promised, "In the evening time it shall be light."
Now the evening lights has come out, showing the same sun, s-u-n, that rises in the east is the same s-u-n that sets in the west. Religion, civilization, salvation, has traveled from the east to the west like the sun. And now the S-o-n, the same Holy Spirit that fell on the day of Pentecost is falling in the west. We can't go no farther. We're on the West Coast. If we go farther, we're in China---back east again, where it started, see. But it shall be light in the evening time. It's the hour, friends, it's the hour. Please receive it.

109 And listen, let me give you... It is all right just a minute longer? Listen. Are you scared of Communism? What are you afraid of Communism for? You people wake up! Communism is in God's hands. Watch the tool He's using. Don't you never...
There's not one scripture in the Bible that said Communism will rule the world. But the Bible said Romanism will rule the world. Which was the iron and clay in the bottom of the feet? Was it Communism? No, sir. It was Romanism and Protestantism, exactly right. That steel, iron, Rome, run right down to the end. It's Romanism. And look where it's sitting today.
Since our president, Mr. Kennedy, got elected... In the last six months, since he's been elected, in the state of Kentucky about 310,000 people have turned from Protestant to Catholic in the state of Kentucky alone---was in the paper the other day.

110 Look what's happened now. What is it? The World Council of Churches---they talk about that. And they say all these ... like our brother Presbyterian, and so forth coming in. That's wonderful. I believe in that too.
But did you ever wake up to think that Jesus said that that foolish virgin, when she begin to call for oil, it was right then the bridegroom come! When they woke up and begin to realize that they had no oil, they went to buy oil. And it's at that minute, when they went to buy oil, that the bridegroom come and the bride went in! Can't you see that?

111 We think about all these Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and Lutherans. We appreciate that. We see them coming in. But it's a sign to us. This is the time when they're coming to buy that oil. The sleeping virgins been sleeping all along. What's the matter with these pastors today? Don't know the hour you're living? Jesus said, "If you'd have knowed me you'd have knowed my day." Said, "You can discern the face of the skies; but the signs of the times you don't discern."
Wake up, people! Don't you know that the Bible said that ... to this Pentecostal church the way that it's going now, "In the time that you think not..." Do you know the Pentecostal church is the Laodicea church age, the last one of them? it would be lukewarm, God'd spew it from his mouth?

112 Every church age and every star, every minister through the church age, every angel to the church has done made its manifestation. And did you know that this church, age was the only church age that Jesus was put out of his church and found knocking at the door trying to get back in? the Laodicean church age? Don't you see the hour we're living?
Wish I could come here for about a ... two or three weeks just on Bible teaching of prophecy and things. See where we're living, friends! What's the matter with people? Can't you see we're at the end time? It's all over. The next thing will be a sweep that'll get that little group together. In a month or so she'll be gone, as soon as she's gathered together. Well, we're at the end. There's no hopes left, nowhere. Run to Christ, people.

113 Through your gifts I've fed my children. Through your goodness I've had a ministry. Through the people, the Pentecostals, that I left the Baptist church to come to, you've been the one. When they told me I was a fanatic, there was no such a thing as prophecy, was no such a thing as these angels appearing, and things like that... I take you to record, tonight. Have I ever told you anything out of the tens of thousand but what come to pass?
You remember when they come before Samuel, they said, "We want Saul to be a king."
And God told Samuel, said, "They haven't rejected you as prophet; they've rejected me." Said, "Go down and stand before them."
Said, "Have I ever told you anything in the name of the Lord but what come to pass? Have I ever begged you for your living?"
They said, "No. These things are... All right, but we still want the king!"

114 There you are. It's the same place back again. It's the church! It's the church. It isn't the nation; it's the people. If they would... Look at our television. Look at our newspapers. Look at our signboards. Look at our women. Look at our men. Look at our churches. Why, it's rotten to the core. That's exactly right. And then we call that Christian.
Don't you trust in those things, people. I love you, I'm not trying to ... to try to pop off, or say something that's wrong. I'm telling you in the name of the Lord! If you've believed these other things and seen them come to pass, you believe this! It's later than you think. God bless you. I better turn it back over to your ... to the chairman here, Brother Sonnmore, or some of them here.

115 Do you love Him? Let's sing that one more time. And I want all you Methodists to shake hands with the Baptists, and you Pentecostals the same way. And just say, "I love Him too, brother. And by God's help I'm going to serve Him with all my heart." Do you believe? Will you do it? Say "Amen."
I love Him, I love Him
Because (that's right) first loved me
And purchased my salvation
On Calvary's tree.

116 How many wants to make that rapture, raise your hand. All right. See, He's still dealing with you. See, there is a refuge for you if He's still dealing. Let's press right on. I've got both of mine up. I want to make it too. Oh, draw me nearer, nearer, oh, nearer blessed Lord, close to thy bleeding side. That's where I want to stay. Don't you? Now while we sing this, "I love Him," let's raise our hands to Him, and sing with all of our hearts.
I love Him, I love Him
Because He first loved me
And purchased my salvation
On Calvary's tree.

117 Now as you bow your head, close your eyes, think real sincerely now. All that hasn't got the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the signs of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, patience, meekness, faith, all these signs following you... No matter what else has taken place, that's the fruit of the Spirit. And if that isn't in your life---gentle, meekness, patience, love, forgive every person---if those signs is not in your life (now, don't no one look, keep your heads bowed), raise up your hands, say, "Pray for me Brother Branham." I'd say about ninety percent of the congregation.

118 Oh, Jesus, please, God ... God, I just hate to cut those people like that. But, oh, what will I do standing there at the day of judgment? and then I see them hands screaming out and them women with those faces gleaming, their eyes balled way out and saying, "Why didn't you tell me?" When them men say, "Oh, if you'd have told me then..." God, help me. Please keep me, Lord. Let me be truthful. Let me be honest. Let me be upright, Lord. Help me to know your Word, that I can say it. And help these people, dear Father.
Just think, in a Pentecostal conference here, and ninety percent with their hands up after a scorching, hard message coming right straight out of the Word, the Holy Spirit sweeping across... God, I'm so happy that they still can realize it. And a man or a woman that realizes it, and can know it, God, it's got to be your Spirit talking to them. I pray, and I claim the soul of every one of them. As your servant, Lord, I ... like Moses, I stand between them, Lord, in this oncoming judgment. I plead, Lord. They raised their hands. If I've pleased You, Father---I know I haven't---but if I've done anything that's been any benefit to You, hear me now tonight, Lord.

119 These are people that's sacrificed. They've done everything. They love me, Lord, and they love the Word. They love ... and they want to be right. Lord, open up that refuge tonight. God, may they run into it. If it's right now tonight, in the prayer room, in their bedroom, wake them up ... them dreams and things, Lord. Pour out your Spirit upon them. May they find that Rock, Lord. O God, may their souls be a flaming fire. Grant it, Lord.
We love You, and we believe You. And You said this in your Word, "Ask what you will and it will be done to you. If ye abide in me, and my Word in you, ask what you will." God, I've tried to keep every precept of the Word, though men has turned me out of organizations and everything else. But I still believe it. I've stood for it, Lord. Now hear my prayer. I pray for each one of them. I ask for each one of them. God, may every one of them be in the rapture. May they be filled with the Spirit, with all the signs of a living God living among them, Lord. Grant it. In Jesus' name I ask for them. Amen.

120 Brother Carlson said maybe I ought to ask for ... if there's sick people wanting to be prayed for. Are they here tonight, sick and wants to be prayed for? Raise up your hands if there is. Oh, my. There's a number of them. [Brother Branham speaks to someone aside.] Well, I'll tell you, put your hands over on each other while you're there. "The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and God shall raise them up."
Looky here, I want you to look at me. I hold my Bible. What good would it do for me to stand here as an imposter? I've got a wife and three children at home. I got children that cry when I leave. I got a church at home begs me to stay ("Don't go,"), willing to build tabernacles, anything else. But a lot of them, they couldn't come there. I've got to go to them, see. What good would it stand me to do ... what good would it do me to stand here and tell you something was wrong.

121 I'm fifty-three years old. I've been a minister for thirty-two years. I have never one time sincerely prayed for anything but what He give it to me, or showed me why He couldn't give it to me. That's exactly right. I've always found if I asked for it and He'd show me that, I'm glad He didn't give it to me. I say that as a brother that'll have to meet you in the day of judgment with the very message I preached tonight.
You sincerely lay your hands on one another, and pray for one another. And don't you doubt one bit, but believe that what you've asked for you'll receive it, and God will give it to you. I don't care how sick you are, what's wrong with you, God will grant it. Do you believe that? Lay your hands on one another. I'm going to quote you the Word. "And these signs shall follow them that believe; if they lay their hands on the sick they shall recover." Who? You, you believers. Don't pray for yourself now, pray for the one you've got your hands on, 'cause they're praying for you.

122 Our heavenly Father, I know the Word's went forth. It's found its place. And now, I've told them that there is a safety zone. And in this safety zone there's healing power. And, Lord, they got their hands on one another. They are believers. And we believe You. Now Satan has bound some of these people with sickness. They're praying for one another with their hands on one another. Satan, you lose the battle!
I've tried to stand honestly on God's Word. And He said, "If ye abide in me, and my words in you, ask what you will, and it will be done." Therefore Satan, I come in the name of Jesus Christ upon the basis of his shed blood, his resurrection, and the appearance of Him here tonight in the power of eternal life. Turn these people loose in the name of Jesus Christ! I defy thee to hold them any longer. Come out of them, Satan! that they might go and be free. In the name of Jesus Christ.

123 "The prayer of faith shall save the sick, God shall raise them up." Are you the children of Abraham? Do you have to be a child of Abraham? Abraham, no matter how long it took, he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong, giving praise to God. No matter how much the devil tells you, "No, no, no," you say, "Yes, yes, yes." You believe God's Word tonight, and God will bring it to pass. Everything that you've asked for, you shall receive it, if you'll believe it with all your heart.
Now I'm going to ask you. Upon the basis of the shed blood, upon the basis of knowing that you're a Christian, and the promise is true... If Jesus promised life after death, went forward into death and come back with life to prove it, and give you life of the Spirit in you, and his presence here now, how can it fail? It can't fail! "Heavens and earth will pass away, but my Word shall not pass away."
If we claim to be the seed of Abraham, the royal seed, Abraham's royal seed... And we stagger at his Word? and then Abraham's seed? Abraham, a man seventy-five years old, his wife sixty-five, and they was barren, sterile. God told them they'd have a baby. They waited twenty-five years, till she was ninety and he was a hundred, and he was still giving praise to God that he'd have the baby! We can't believe but a few minutes.
I believe that every one of you is healed. Do you believe the same? Raise your hands, "I accept it upon the basis of the shed blood." God bless you. Then you are healed in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Letting off the pressure

You can find this sermon at ChurchAges.net

1 Good evening, friends. It's a privilege to be back here again tonight at the great rally convention. It's been a great day for us all, I'm sure. Had a great time this morning in fellowship around the Word of God, and with the people down at the ministerial breakfast. Oh, we wish you could've all been there. They didn't have, I think, room for the people but ... to accommodate them, but we just had some grand fellowship, and thank you. Such a grand time among the brethren.
Then today's kind of been a day for me just to see many of my friends, and visit around. And they've been seeing the Holy Spirit revealing, and showing, and making things right.

2 Someone was telling me ... Supposed to be a little string laying here, or something, of a little baby that had a waterhead last night, that was prayed for. And, oh, it was a mammoth big waterhead, and it was laying there behind the curtain.
When we come in, the little mother... And we went over, and it kind of touched me to think of the poor little fellow---not a chance. Just a little thing, and its little head was swollen, great big veins sticking out, and its little chin and face about that wide, and its head about like this. And somehow, or another, just kneeling there and offering the prayer of faith, and laying hands upon the little fellow, and challenging the devil that done the work, I said to the little mother, "Do you believe?"
She looked up and she said, "I do."
I said, "There's something happened to the baby. Now I want you to know this. You go home (she lives away from here)," and I said, "When you get home I want you to take a measurement of the baby's head. Then, tomorrow take another measurement. And if you can't get back, send it back."

3 Billy just was telling me a few moments ago that they brought the string, and the baby's head had shrunken three quarters of an inch. They taken it to the doctor today. And they've been giving it shots, I believe, every day, and the doctor said it's so much improved they don't need any more shots. And the big veins that was in its head has done gone down, not a vein to be seen.
And it just goes to show that He lives. So wonderful! I'm so glad that He answers prayer. So happy for that. And we just know that anybody that will believe it, just believe the Lord, it will happen, the same thing, to you.
See, the head has to ... as it goes back, it has to get its position as it shrinks down. And now, if the people's here that has the little one, well, just be faithful to God, and the baby'll get all right. That's a sign that God heard our prayer. And I'm grateful to God, and I'm thanking God for you, mother and father, and relatives and all, of the little one. I know how I'd feel if it had been my child. And I can't feel to yours like it would be mine---I'd be telling something wrong, 'cause I couldn't feel that---but I do feel for the child with all my heart.
... we just had time I'd like to tell something that happened one time concerning ... that a vision that has never come to pass yet. And it will, though.

4 Today I went into a room where there was a precious man, the father of five little children, lay dying with a great big cancer. And looking at him, I... He said the doctor says there's nothing can be done. He's got a little baby just a few months old, his little wife standing there looking at him---a fine looking little fellow, her husband. And the little baby, I didn't see them. I think they'd come all the way from somewhere.
So just ... you've got to feel for those people. I think of that, little children, five of them now, to be without a father. That's the work of the devil. So we ... I said, "I'm going to take you by faith to God's operating room, and I'm going to take God's operating knife, sharper than a two-edged sword. We're going right down where that devil's a-laying, and cut him out with the Word." I think the man went on home. Oh, God is so good! It was my neighbor, right where I'm staying.

5 So now, tomorrow morning, the Lord willing, I've been given the privilege over all these fine ministers and teachers to have the Sunday school lesson. And if the Lord willing, I want to speak on, in the morning, the restoring of the bride tree. And so, if you're not in your own church, why, we'd be glad to have you out, nine-thirty or whatever time it is in the morning.
And then tomorrow night, we're expecting God to do again the exceedingly abundantly, above all that we could do or think. And then we're going down to Brother Bigsby down in South Carolina, for two nights, Monday and Tuesday. And then from there, we'll have to go then home in order to get over to the Cow Palace at the West Coast, where we go next.

6 And now just before we approach the Word, let's approach the author while we bow our heads just a moment for prayer. I wonder tonight with our heads bowed, and I trust our hearts are, too, in his presence, how many in here has something on your heart you'd want God to remember you? Just lift your hand up, and say, "God, remember me." It's almost 100%.
Heavenly Father, it's so good to come to the living God, knowing that He is our great counsellor, the Prince of Peace, the mighty God, everlasting Father. And we come in his name, tonight, before the throne of his grace, to ask for all these hands that went up, down beneath the hand in the heart of the human being. You know what was there, Father. And it goes to show they have a need and a faith, or they would not raise their hands. But they believe, Lord, that the great unseen One is with us. They believe that You would see their hand, and know their request. And I'm sure You did, Lord. And behind that request was a prayer. And I'm laying mine with theirs upon your altar, and praying, Lord, that You'll answer each and every one of them.

7 I pray for all the ministers here, their congregations. And we're giving thanks, Lord, for the testimonies already from that one night of prayer for the sick begin to come in; and the little baby, Lord, oh, a testimony to the physician. Christ is the head physician. He heals all of our diseases. We're so grateful for that.
Now, heavenly Father, we pray that You'll continue to be with the family, be with all that's been prayed for, and let them just not be nervous and upset; but just wait, and remember that ask, and then know that it'll be given. God said so. It just can't fail. Grant it, Lord.
Bless thy Word tonight as we read it, and the context of the Scripture may be given to us in the power and demonstrations of the Holy Spirit.

8 And when we leave tonight to go to our separate homes and places of dwelling at this time, I pray that it'll be noised along the street and in the cars, like those who came from Emmaus when they seen Jesus, what He done after the resurrection, knowed that He done the very same thing after the resurrection that He did before the crucifixion. They knew it was Him, for no one could do it like that. And they said, "Did not our hearts burn within us?"
Grant tonight that the Holy Spirit, the resurrected Christ, will talk to every heart, and may He perform and do the things tonight that He did before his crucifixion, that the church may have another assurance that He is risen from the dead, and lives forevermore. We ask it in his name. Amen.

9 I have two scriptures tonight in mind, like to call your attention to. One of them is Proverbs, 18th chapter, 10th verse; the other one's Isaiah, 32:2. And in Proverbs, the 18:10, I would like to read this:
The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous run into it, and are safe.
And in Isaiah, the 32nd chapter of Isaiah, and beginning with the 1st and 2nd verse:
Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, a prince shall rule in judgment.
And a man shall be as a hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; a river ... as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
And I draw from this a little context that I was going to use this morning at the ministers' breakfast; just a little context that I would ... thought might help us all, because I think it's fitting. I'm calling it "Letting Off the Pressure."

10 I've been thinking that ... you know, we're living in a day when there's a lot of pressure, and I try to always think on something that would help the people that come to listen to the Word.
If I just stand here ... and I have no eloquence of speech. I'm not an educated person, and I have no ecclesiastical training. Therefore, the only thing I can do is study and pray, and just follow the leading of the Spirit, asking God to do something for us that would help us. That's why we're all here tonight---not to be seen, but to be helped. And that's our purpose. That's what the convention's purpose is, to be ... is to help someone, make life a little easier.

11 And this great day that we're living where there is so much pressure, everything seems to be pressurized. Such a hard time. Everybody's hurrying just as fast as they can go, down the street at ninety miles an hour through every speed zone. If it's twenty, they go ninety anyhow. Shouldn't do that, Christians shouldn't. They must give Caesar what's Caesar's; God, what's God's. But here we go, just as hard as we can, rushing just...
And we're so nervous. I don't believe real Christians do this, but many of them just light one cigarette after another. What's the matter? You think that helps you? It only makes you more nervous. But you do it. The doctors will write articles, and put them in the magazines, and say, "Cancer by the carload," telling you how danger it is to smoke them and... But you do it anyhow. What's the matter? You're trying to let off the pressure.

12 We find people drink. Get out, run around, carouse around, and then try to drink it off. I guess they think that's the thing they should do. That don't let off the pressure; that builds up the pressure, going at the wrong thing, wrong way.
Then they'll go out, and do everything they can to ... whether it's right or wrong, and sin and try to hide from it, and think you're doing something great. What you trying to do? You're trying to hide from something. You know you're wrong. No man can do wrong but what he knows he's doing wrong. Very nature in him. Though he be a fallen man, he's a fallen son of God. There's something in him that tells him that it's wrong.
No man can run with another man's wife without he knows it's wrong. No man can get drunk 'less he knows it's wrong. No woman can wear immoral clothes but what she knows it's wrong. You can't do those things.
But what do you do? You're trying to let off a pressure, all twisted up, wound up.
It's just simply a neurotic age that we're living in. It's a ... it's the time that we're living, pressure.

13 I was speaking about, here not long ago, being in Africa, watching a little lamb out from where the natives had a little corral. And they'd let the little fellow out, and he was grazing. And all at once he got real nervous, and I thought, "What's the matter with the little guy?"
But as I watched, he couldn't see it but in the distance there was a great big, yellow-mane lion, slipping up through the grass. He'd smelled the little lamb, and was making his way to him. See, he was just nervous. He didn't know why. Sometimes we call it premonition. Now the reason he was nervous ... he didn't see the lion, but just something ... he knowed that death was lurking near.

14 The world seems to be in that same condition, know that something is lingering near, something's fixing to happen. It builds up a pressure, of course, to the sinner. But the Christian who's instructed in the Word ought to know that that's the coming of the Lord. It ought to build up a glorious jubilee in the Christian, knowing that the end is nigh. Someone said not long ago to me, said, "Brother Branham, you scare the people when you talk about He might come in the next hour."
I said, "Scare what people? Not his people," see. That's the greatest note that we can sound. That's what we're looking for. "Behold, the bridegroom cometh." Why, that's what we live for. That's the hour that we're all living for. I know of nothing could be greater than that hour. But to the sinner, of course, it's a terrible thing.

15 I was talking... Sometimes I'm in and out different places, preaching, but somewhere I must have made this remark, might've been here. But when a storm is coming up over a parched land, and we can feel that cool breeze, we know that rain is fixing to come. It ought to make us happy to breathe, because that air has come through the rain, and it's just the fore announcement of the coming rain.
And when Christians see the things today happening that's happening, it's the fore announcing of the coming of the Lord. We can feel the breeze off of it, it's so close. What a refreshing feeling to those that's not scared of a storm to have a abiding place.
Yes. Drinking, hiding, builds up pressure. It doesn't let it off.

16 A few days ago I was in our city, and our pastor... I've been looking for him---he's supposed to be here. Brother Neville. Fine brother. We love him down our way. And he was a Methodist, come from the Methodist school. And he invited me about twenty years ago down to preach for him one night at the Methodist church in a city below us.
And standing there preaching, and talking to him... I come back. I said to the church, "You know what? I'm going to baptize him one of these days, and God's going to give him the Holy Ghost." And He did. Now he's a pastor up there.

17 He wasn't sick. He was just so wore out he couldn't go no further. And I was trying to make my calls. And so, I happened to pick up some of his.
The office called and said, "Go by the hospital, and ask for a certain, certain woman. Brother Neville would have to drive about thirty miles down ... or twenty miles down, twenty miles back. Go make these certain, such a calls."
I went out to the hospital, and they give me the lady's name, and her ... said supposed to be, they thought, on a certain floor. That was on the third floor of the hospital. I walked out the hospital and started down.
There was a nurse standing there with a little mask hanging down. I said, "Good evening," and she never said a word. I said, "Could you tell me where ... if this lady is in this place or not?" I said, "They told me she was to be in room 331."
She said, "Then, go look!"
I said, "Thank you." Pressure.
I went down to the room, and there was about four people in there, and I said, "Is Mrs. So-and-so here?"
"No, sir, she isn't."

18 Well, I thought maybe they might've meant 231, so I went to 231 ... or I mean 321, instead of 31. They knowed nothing about her. I went back up, and there was a little doctor sitting up there then, real... If I ever seen a man that was as broad as he was high, it was that little fellow, and he was writing. And I come by. Looked up, he kind of raised his eyebrow, and looked. I thought, "I'd better not say nothing." So I went on up. I seen they was all under pressure for some reason.
And so, I thought maybe it might be on the second floor, instead of the third. So I went down to three ... or second floor, and I went to the nurse there, and I said, "Lady, I'm a bit confused. I'm trying to make a sick call. I'm a minister." I said, "Could you tell me if this lady is in ... they said 331. But maybe it's 231."
She said, "Then go find out."
And I said, "Yes, ma'am. Thank you for your information."
I went on down there. They said, "No, she isn't here."

19 So I come back. And I come back again, and I thought, "Well, I'll go back upstairs again." I went back up to the third floor, and I started down. And I thought maybe that that could be in ... maybe it was 320, or something. Well, I couldn't find where 320 was. And so, coming down the hall was this little doctor with his stethoscope, swinging them around. And I walked by and I said, "Good evening, sir." He never said a word. I said, "Could you tell me where 2, or 320 is?"
He said, "This way, and that way."
I said, "Thank you for your information." What is it? Pressure.
I went back down to the desk, and there was another nurse. I thought, "I'll try it once more." I was a little shaky by that time, and a little reluctant to ask. And I said, "Lady, could you tell me some information?" And I went through it again with her.
And she said, "Just a moment, Reverend. I'll look on the chart."
I thought, "Praise God!" I let off some pressure.
She looked down and she said, "Oh, she's been changed. She's over in such-and-such a room."
I said, "Thank you, very much."

20 See, full of pressure.
Doctors are that way, nurses are that way, psychiatrists are doctoring psychiatrists. Pressure, something wrong. Just seems to be so strange, the whole world going some way. They're nervous doctoring the nervous.
But, you know, in all of it, the doctors doesn't have the answer. The hospital, the medics, they don't have the answer, 'cause they're nervous, too. But there's only one that has the answer. That's God. He has the answer.

21 Tension has always been with people. In the Old Testament, when Israel came over into Palestine and inherited the land, Joshua built houses which was called "house of refuge." That was where the people could go if they had killed someone. Or ... their enemy was chasing them, they could go to this house, or city of refuge, and could stand at the gate and could plead their case.
And now, if they had did this on purpose, well then, there was no hope for them.
It's just like today. Man is on a run, and what's he running from? What's the matter with him? He has no rest. He's just going like a mad man.

22 And in this Old Testament, if this man had did this on purposely, then he had no chance. But if he had not done it purposely, it had been an ... accidentally... And there's so many people today that accidentally ... they don't mean to do wrong. Now, there's a hope for that person. If you want ... if you are doing wrong, and you don't mean to do wrong, there's a chance for you. There's a place for you. But if you just deliberately sin willfully, and don't want no place of refuge, then there's nothing for you.
When this man in the Old Testament ... his slayers was after him. And the relatives of these people knew that if they ever could catch him they would kill him, because the law was tooth for tooth and eye for eye. So they had a right to kill him because he had done wrong. And, if they ever caught up with him... Of course, he was under pressure and he would run for his life, and he would take towards this place, or city of refuge.
And when he come to there, and if he went in, and he had told them a lie at the gate, the one who was after him could come and pull him away from the altar, and slay him. But they ... he could plead his case. And if he didn't mean to do it, then the pursuers had to stop at the gate. They couldn't come any farther.

23 I'm so glad today that there is a place of refuge, where in all this rush, and hustle, and bustle, we can let off the pressure, and go in, get out of it all.
People are afraid of atomic bombs. They're afraid of fallout. When I was nearing your city down here, down here in this state, great big signs up, "Warning, fallout." Everybody's scared, trying to dig down in the ground to get away from it.
You know, the only farther you have to go down is just to your knees. You're sure to get away from it, if you just got that far. You don't have to be a mole, go beneath the ground. Just go to your knees. That's all the farther you have to go.

24 Now. But this man who comes must be willing first to accept the refuge. Now, if he doesn't care about the refuge, there's no place for him. But if he's willing to accept the refuge, then there is a place provided for him.
And so is it today. If you're sick, the doctor says you're going to die---same thing said about that baby, others, cancer, whatever it is---and now, if you don't believe in divine healing, well, then, I don't know of no place for you to go. But if you believe there is a fountain open, if you believe there is a place, then I can tell you where there's a refuge, a house of refuge. No man wants to die. Nobody does. You want to live, and there is a place of refuge for you. God provided a place for you, a place of refuge where you can let off your worries, let off your strains, and be safe.

25 Now. He must want to stay in this refuge. Now, when he gets in there, he doesn't ... must not complain. He mustn't get in there and walk around, say, "Oh, I wish I was out of here." If he does, he gets put out.
You know, since I come into my Lord, I love Him so much I never want to go out. There's something about this salvation, that since I come into Him He's my refuge. And when I come into Him, I've never wanted to go out. I have no complaints. If I knowed I was going to be put out, then I'd have a complaint. But I have no complaints.
I love Him. I love his fellowship. I love those who have taken the same refuge. I love to fellowship with these that's in this refuge. Such a glorious fellowship around the Word of God.

26 He mustn't want to go out, for outside he'll die; inside he's alive. Amen. I'm so glad that I'm inside. Oh, it's so good to be in here, for you're safe from death. Death cannot touch you in Christ. He's alive. And it's so glorious that we're baptized into that. I'm so thankful for it, a baptism in the refuge.
Then when you come into the refuge, the one that was pursuing, he has to stop at the gate, because the one that he was pursuing is safe. So no matter how fast he's running, when he gets into the refuge he can just sit down, and let off the steam. That's all. Let it off. He's safe. He don't have to worry no more. He's on the inside then. The gates are closed behind him.
I'm so glad that we can be dead, and our lives hid in God's refuge, safe forevermore. The poet said:
I've anchored my soul in the haven of rest,
I'll sail the wild seas no more;
The tempest may sweep o'er the wild stormy
deep,
But in Jesus I'm safe evermore.

27 The waves can beat, and baffle, and sickness can come, death can come, or anything else. But you're safe evermore---Christ our refuge, God's provided place of safety. Christ is the only place of safety for those who wants to live. He's the only one that has eternal life. There's no church, no denomination, no president, no king, no pope, no bishop, no minister, no nothing can give you safety but Jesus Christ. He's the only place that can give you safety. And He's God's provided safety.
Oh, we can provide this and provide that, and it'll fall. But when God provides anything it's eternal. And that's God's provided way for our safety in Christ. I love it. When you're in Him, when troubles come---like sickness, or worry, disappointments... He bore our sorrows. With his stripes we were healed. Everything that we have need of for the rest of the journey is right here in the refuge.
How do we get in this refuge? By one Spirit we're all baptized into this refuge, and we become a member of this refuge. We are a citizen of this kingdom with our great provider with us, that provides all we have need of. Just trust his Word, and while we're in here we're in his presence. I like that.

28 Now we don't have to hurry, and scuffle, and act like the rest of the world. Quieten down. What's the matter with the Christians? The spirit of the world today is neurotic. But that's not the Spirit of Christ. Did you ever see Him get excited about something? Just as calm as He could be. He knowed exactly where He was standing.
Oh, what a blessed assurance it is---just like a baby---to lay your trust upon Him, and let Him take all your cares; for He cares for you. Don't try to do anything about it. He'll do it already. He's promised He would do it. It's his business. As long as you're fooling with it, well, then, He can't have it. But when you turn it loose, and let Him have it, He'll take care of it for you. Yes, sir. Oh, I like that. What a perfect calmness the Christian ought to have.

29 Let's take a look now at Israel for just an example. (Now I promised myself not to stay here a long time tonight at the platform, like I have been doing.)
Let's take a look at Israel, the night of the Passover down in Egypt. That was the most horrible night that Egypt had ever saw. The night of the Passover the death angel was in the land. Screams were coming from everywhere. People in the streets, screaming mothers pulling their hair, their youngest ... their oldest child had just died. Big black wings of the death angel was floating through the land.
But Israel could sit just as calm as they could be. Why? They were people just like the Egyptians, but they had walked in God's provided way. They had accepted God's way of refuge. They had applied the blood to the door. And as long as they had walked in this way, God's provision, they didn't have to worry about any kind of a death angel or anything else, because they were ... had the promise of God that the death angel would pass over them.

30 I can see a little boy as he looks out the window. And he runs back to his father, sitting reading the scroll, and saying, "Daddy, little Johnny Jones down the street, that I played with, he's dead. His mother is in the street. And I looked, and the great wings of the killer is coming this way." I can see the old dad, just as calm, look at the son. And he said, "Daddy, I'm your firstborn, and our house is next. How could you sit like that when you know that I'm the next one?"
I can see the old dad lay the scroll down, pick the little boy by the hand, walk over to the door, and said, "You see that blood?"
"But Daddy, what power has that blood against that great black wings of death?"
"Son, it's God's promise that He ... 'When I see the blood I'll pass over you.' The only thing we have to do is apply it."
Now, there could be a barrel of blood sitting at the door, and if it's not applied it won't work. It had to be applied in God's provided way. That's the same as it is tonight. You don't apply the blood by talking about it; you apply the blood by accepting it, and get it on the lintel post of your own heart. Then you are free.

31 The old dad wasn't scared. I can hear him say, "Son, just sit down. Let off the pressure. Nothing's going to harm us." Just as calm as he could be. "He promised that He ... when He seen the blood that He would pass over."
He said, "I've followed every instruction that the Word of the Lord that came to the prophet told us to do. I've followed that instruction just the way the prophet told us to do it. And I know that God's with the prophet, because he's God's man, and the Word of the Lord comes to our prophets. And therefore, he told us to apply this blood. He had 'thus saith the Lord,' and I've done it, and I believe it, and I'm resting in it." Hallelujah!

32 They might want you to join this, and join that. That's all right. But to me, I just want the blood applied, applied according to the instruction. If you'll just do the same thing now, then you can sit down and let off the steam. Yes, sir.
But the people of this day, this uncertain age, run from one church to another, one denomination to another, proselyting, oh, my! everything else. What are they doing? They're only building up a pressure.
Some church can have a little meeting, and a speaker comes there, and they take their paper out of this church, and take it over to that one. Another one comes along, has another kind of a little meeting, and they take it from that church over to this one here, just packing it around.
Why don't you just take the Lamb's blood and apply it the way that God said do it? Then you won't have to fool with the letter. Is this right? or is that right? God's right. And if you've got the appropriated blood upon your heart, then you're right with God.

33 Build up pressure---what makes them do it? Because they left Him. They left his Word. They accepted creeds, and all these things, dogmas. Got away from the Word. The Word of the Lord is a ... name of the Lord is a mighty tower: the righteous run into it, and are safe.
The thing of it is, we don't try to run into the name of the Lord, but we try to run into the name of the church. And that's the reason we're sweating it out, but ... and building up pressure all the time, because we're... New denomination, new something, and we take off for it. And the first thing you know we're all built up, and don't know where we're standing.
But the name of the Lord is a mighty tower: the righteous run into it, and are safe. It's the place of refuge. You don't join into it; you're borned into it. You don't pack a letter into it; you're initiated by the Holy Spirit, for you're circumcised from the things of the world, and they are dead, behind you. And you are risen with Him in his resurrection as new creatures in Christ Jesus. They left the Word.

34 When you're just having ... joining a church, well, of course, you can build up a pressure. But when you have been born into the kingdom of God, the pressure is gone, you see. Oh, yes! His name is a tower, a great mighty tower of refuge---such a tower that when we come into it He gives us this assurance: "Ask the Father anything in this great name of the tower, it'll be given to you." Watch it. Come into it. Be borned into it. Then ask the Father anything you want to in that name, and watch Him honor it.
What a consolation it is in this hour, that when the peoples of the world, church members, running from place to place trying to find a refuge... And they say ... well, this one'll say, "Well, you have to recite our creed"; this one say, "You have to join our church."
But for that believer who comes into Christ calmly, and receives the Holy Ghost, and watch the very promise of God be made manifest among them, they don't have to run from here to there. They can just let off the steam. That's right. Sit down. It's all over. Got it made then. Let off the pressure, because you don't have to go running from church to church any more because you are in it.

35 The name of the Lord is a mighty tower, when the righteous run into it are safe. What kind of a tower? It's a tower of refuge, where we can go in there. And that ... the Word ... the Lord is the Word. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God ... and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us."
Again, "If ye abide in me (the tower), my words abide in you..." Now that's when you're on the inside. Not when you're out there looking in; but when you're in here looking out, see. When ... "If ye abide in me and my words abide in you, you can ask what you will, and it'll be done for you."

36 Now, if you don't believe that's the truth, come in one time and find out. Come in, and be satisfied with what the Holy Spirit does. Don't find fault with it, wanting to get back out again. Just come in and abide with Him. The name of the Lord... The Bible said, "...and whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord." That's right. And the Bible said, "There's not another tower under heaven whereby you must be saved---not another tower, name, not another refuge, or churches, or organizations, or societies. They're all all right. I have nothing against them. They do a great work. But when it comes to salvation, there's not another name under heaven given but this great name of Jesus Christ.
That don't mean just call it; that means come into it, be in it. We're baptized into it by one Spirit. I Corinthians 12, "We're all baptized into one body [which is Christ Jesus]." Amen. I like it. It's been a great thing to me.
Then, while we're in this great tower, the fellowship we have, isn't it wonderful to have fellowship with Christ? What more could we ask for?

37 Now, Isaiah described Him as a great rock in a weary land. That's this land---a weary land, or a weary time. We're living in a weary time, when people are trying to dig holes underneath their house, put a big tank in there.
Well, don't you know if an atomic bomb would ever blast this place, well, that would go so deep into the ground it'd break every bone in your body? Why, some of them bombs will blow a hole a hundred and ... or a hundred and fifty, or two hundred feet, maybe, deep; and kill everything on top of the earth for a hundred and fifty, two hundred miles around. It'd blow a hole two or three hundred feet deep, maybe, and for a hundred miles around take everything, just make it into volcanic ashes. If you were plumb down to the center of the earth in the volcanic, it would still kill you.
There's no escape, only up, get away from it. Yes, sir. How do you get up? Go down first. That's right. How? Go down, confess your sins, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, be buried in baptism with Him, and rise in his resurrection, with the Holy Spirit that lifts you up above the cares, and worries, and unbelief of the world. Yes, that's it. The name of the Lord is a mighty tower, a mighty rock in a weary land. The righteous run into it, and are safe. How we thank God for that!

38 I was reading not long ago, and I like to read about wild life. I was a conservation officer for years, and I've studied wild life. Most all of you know about a rifle blowing up on me, the other day. If it hadn't been for God, it would have killed me. Now, I'd just like to say something about that. That was too much pressure. That's what done it.
Let me give you a little lesson here. You know, the rifle was not original Weatherby rifle. As I've said that ... I had friends would have bought me one. I always wanted one, but I wouldn't let them do it because it cost more than any other rifle. And a fine Christian businessman gave my boy a model 70 Winchester; and Billy is left-handed, and it's a right-handed bolt, and he couldn't use it. So I give him my old Savage 300, and I took his rifle 'cause I was right-handed. And so then ... it was a 257 Roberts, to you brothers who hand load and know guns.
And then a friend of mine come along, said, "Brother Branham, you never would let us buy you a Weatherby. Now, Weatherby can bore that out, and make it a Weatherby, for just a little bit of money. Cost you thirty dollars." Cost me about ten or fifteen. Said, "Let them bore it out. Let me have that gun for you."
Well, he's such a wonderful brother, I said, "Go ahead, take it."
Well, he went and bored it out. When I put a shell in it, and shot it, it liked to killed me.

39 Now here's what it was. If that would've been a Weatherby Magnum to begin with, it never would've blowed up. For why? It at the beginning would have been started on those dies. It would've correctly been a Weatherby Magnum. But, being it was something else, and tried to make something out of it that it wasn't, it blowed up.
And that's what's the matter today with the Christians. That's exactly. There's so many people that tries to impersonate Christianity. They get excited. They go out and try to act like a Christian. What happens? The first little pressure comes along, you blow up.
But if you'd have went back to the beginning, and been borned again of the Spirit of God, you can stand the pressure, because it was sent to you. You must start from death to life. You must die, go into the scrap heap, and be molded over. If you don't, you're going to blow up somewhere.

40 I was reading here not long ago. I preached a subject called, "The Eagle Stirreth Its Nest" in Chicago. I was reading about a certain kind of an eagle. There's forty different kinds of them, they claim---means a ripper with the beak. God always likens his people to eagles. He calls Himself Jehovah-eagle. And his little eaglets, that's those who are borned of Him. And I made a little rude illustration many times on that, how that ... how the eagle gets her little ones ready to fly, and takes them up in the air, and turns them loose.
And if a crow tried to get up there, every feather would fall out of him. He's not pressurized to it. See, he couldn't stand the pressure. But the eagle is the only bird that's born with that kind of a feather, that can go so high till a hawk couldn't even come around him. And he's got eyes ... the higher you go the farther you can see. And what good would it do him to get up there, if he didn't have eyes to see way away? He couldn't see back where he come from.
And that's the way with the Christian. Some of the people maybe got a buzzard disposition, eating the things of the world---and the vulture---and try to fly up there with an eagle, why, he blows up. There's too much pressure. You got to be made for it.

41 And this certain kind of a eagle, when he begins to get old, he gets weary, like all of us old people, and he gets a crust over his head. And he gets so weary he don't know what to do. And now, the Bible said that the eagle renews his youth. So I studied about this fellow. And when he gets old and weary, and that crust all over his head, he flies just as high as he can go till he finds a great high rock. He sits down by the side of this rock, and he sits there and beats his head on this rock.
What's he trying to do? Beat the crust off, all the crust. And the blood will fly out of his head. He goes through all kinds of torture. But as long as he can feel some of the crust on him, he's got to get that off. So he beats it on the rock, just keeps beating till all the crust is off his head.
And as soon as all of his crust is off his head, though he's bleeding, wounded, he just screams to the top of his voice. He lets off the pressure. Why? Because, as soon as all that crust is off, then he renews his youth. It's sure to come, so as soon as all the crust is gone, he can start screaming, because he knows that he's got rid of all the crust. So his youth is sure to be renewed, so he can just let off the pressure and start screaming, because he's going back to a young eagle again. That's wonderful. I'm glad for the eagle. I'm glad for that bird.

42 But you know, I know a rock where that we can go, and beat in prayer till all the crust of the world is beat away from us, till all the unbelief in God's Word is beat away, till we enter into a place where all things are possible. And as soon as we got all the world and unbelief in God's Word beat off of us, then we can scream and shout because eternal life is sure, just as certain as anything. Certainly, because all the world is beat off.
If you keep the world onto you, keep loving the world and the things of the world, you're sure to die. But if you can get away from all of that, then your youth will be restored. You'll have eternal life. So glad of that.

43 I was reading some time about the Emancipation Proclamation, when the slaves, colored brethren and sisters in the south, when they used to have slavery. And when the Emancipation Proclamation was signed ... They'd been whipped, and beat, and so forth, and been slaves, and we know what happened. They said, "A certain morning [I don't remember the date just now], but that's the morning that you're going to be free, and you'll be free at sunup." When the sun rises all the slaves could go free.
Those poor, decrepit, hard-beaten slaves were so anxious to be free, till the strongest of them climbed way up to the top of the hill. The women and the weaklings come on down. Ones not quite so strong climbed down a little farther; and the women, then the children. And the great big huskies that was able to go all the way to the top, they stood there before day. And they looked, and they looked, until after awhile they begin to see the streaks of the sun rising. It was still dark in the valley.
They relayed it down. One hollered from the top, "We are free!" The next one hollered down, "We are free!" All the way down to the valley, "We are free! The sun's up." They could let off the pressure, and scream and shout to the top of their voices, because they were free. The sun was up.

44 That was the s-u-n. But, oh, brother, now the S-o-n is up. We are free! Hallelujah! The signs of his resurrection is right among us, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is not dead, but He's alive forevermore. The Son is up! We can shout and praise God, the Son is up! And we live. He's with us, in us, vindicating his presence with his great resurrection signs and wonders.
The S-o-n is up! The slaves to sin, and church denomination, churchanity, and all those things, you are free. The Son of God has raised with healing in his wings, and the Son is up. I'm so glad of it.

45 One time up in Kentucky, up in the mountain country where I come from, I was preaching. And early in the afternoon I was preaching on hellfire and brimstone for the unbeliever. There was an old logger sitting back there, and I said, "All you drunkards [and he was one]," I said, "you better repent. Get right with God."
There'd been a fellow come in the night before that was cutting corn, and he had a big nail sticking in his overalls. He said, "We'll go up there [I'd been preaching for about a year.]," said, "We'll throw that little preacher out the window."
So he come at the door. Someone come told me, said, "That's the roughest bunch there is around here." Standing there, great big burly-looking fellow, his arms crossed, beard hanging on his face, about thirty years old---oh, he was a mean-looking man. And he kept looking at me. I just kept preaching right on, "Repent or perish."
He stayed a little too long. The Holy Spirit got a hold of him. He fell on the floor; he couldn't get to the altar quick enough. He come with his hands up over his head crying, "God be merciful to me."
The next night his little child sat back there. His little girl handed me a little bunch of flowers when I come in the door. She said, "Brother Bill, we've got a new daddy at home. I want to show you that I love you for coming up here, and letting Jesus make a new daddy for us."

46 And this old drunk sitting there... And I said, "All you drunkards, all you sinners, repent!" And he got angry, and he got up and went home. He went to bed.
I was staying down to my grandfather's house. And so then ... while I was having the meeting. And up there, we'd ... you go across the hills with a lantern in your hand.
And so then, along about midnight this old fellow come down. He was beating on the door. And I said ... opened the door. He said, "Brother Branham, I want you to pray for me." Said, "I had the awfullest dream awhile ago," and he said, "I just can't stand it through the night."
I said, "What's the matter?
He said, "I dreamed that I was a rabbit." And he said, "I was sitting out in the field, just eating clover and having a big time, and was doing as I pleased." And said, "After awhile I heard a bawl of a hound and," said, "the hound was right on me." And said, "I took out to run but," said, "the hound was faster than me."
And said, "I happened to turn and look, and there was a big rock that I'd heard about." And said, "In that rock was a hole." And said, "I knowed if I could only beat that hound to that hole, I'd be safe. But if I couldn't beat it, he would have me."
And said, "Brother Branham, as I was running for all that was in me, knowing any minute I'd be gobbled up, because I could feel the hot breath of the hound as he jumped on my heels," and said, "all at once when he made the grab, I slipped in the hole." And said, "When I got in, I sat down, let off the pressure." That's it.

47 He is a rock in a weary land. There's a cleft in the rock for sinners, unbelief. Just run into the rock and be safe. Christ is our rock. People today run after everything else but Christ. They run after denominations, they run after sensations. Everybody's got blood, fire, smoke, or something, and people run after it.
Why don't you take his Word? for He is the Word. Run into that, and you're safe, 'cause heavens and earth will pass away; but my Word shall not pass away. Yes, sir.
Today it's always something they got to do. They'll run to a creed. They'll join and unjoin, and everything else, from one to another; but they won't try to take Christ. Watch Him as He vindicates Himself. That all builds up pressure. You must let it off. Just believe his Word.

48 How do I get it, Brother Branham? St. John 5:24, Jesus said, "He that heareth my words and believeth on him that sent me has everlasting life; shall not come into the judgment, has passed from death unto life." That's what Jesus said.
Acts 2:38, Peter said, "Repent, every one of you. Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins. [You shall receive refuge.] You shall receive the Holy Ghost, for it's for you and your children, and them that are far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." That's the place to come.
Mark 16 said, "These signs shall follow them that believe..." You know what's on the inside of there. You know what the results is. When you do this, you've passed from death unto life, and you have eternal life, and you can let off the pressure.
Why not let it off? People so upset, so bothered ---just let the pressure off. There's a land beyond the river. There's a refuge, and that refuge is Christ. Today, we don't have to wonder about it. We know it's the truth. When God makes a promise in his Bible, and we see it fulfilled, then we know that it's the truth. There's nothing more can be done.

49 Now how do you know that this day, when the great conglomeration of everybody's got this, and that, this and that? But we know that God gives signs. There's signs on the road. If you didn't have a signpost, you wouldn't know where you were going. You can't take a road map and go, unless you got a signpost to see where you're going. This is the road map. This is the one what tells us whether we're right or not.
Jesus said, "These signs [in Mark 16] will point the way." Jesus said in John 14:12, "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also. More than this shall he do, 'cause I go to the Father." That's the refuge. In other words, if you come into Him, his nature and his life will be in you, and you can feel it. You can see it. And it'll produce just exactly the life that the Bible said it would produce.
If you bought a vine and it was a grapevine, and that grapevine went forth and produced a branch off of it, and that branch had grapes on it, now, how you going to get the next vine with a pumpkin on it? And the next vine comes off of it is going to have something else---if it is, it's a grafted vine.
And that's what's the matter today. We got too many grafted things called the church of Christ. We got too many grafts. It only bears the record of itself.

50 Here a few weeks ago I was speaking on the international broadcast for the Full Gospel Businessmen in California. And when I did, I was speaking on a tree that I'd saw at Brother Sharrit's ranch in Phoenix. I think it had nine different kinds of fruit on it, and it was an orange tree. And I said, "I want to ask you something, Brother Sharrit." I said, "Now, there is a grapefruit, and there is a tangerine, a tangelo, and a lemon." Oh, I don't know how many citrus fruits was on that tree. And I said, "That tree ... how did them get there?"
He said, "Well, I grafted them. They're all citrus, so I grafted them.
I said, "Now, next spring, or the next time it bears, it being originally a orange tree, then it will bring forth ... all these branches will bring forth oranges?"
He said, "No, no. No. It'll bring forth what kind of branch that's in it." Said, "If it's a lemon branch in a orange tree, yet it'll bear lemons." And said, "If it's a tangerine branch, it'll bear tangerines living on the same life."
I said, "Then it'll never bear no more oranges?"
He said, "Oh, yes. When the original tree puts forth one of its original branches, it'll bear oranges."
I said, "Praise be to God, that's it!

51 Jesus said in John 14, 'I am the vine. Ye are the branches.' And the first branch that come forth out of that vine they wrote a book of Acts behind it. Right. And today, we have denominations living on the name of Christianity, but only bearing denominational fruit. That's right. But if that vine ever puts forth another branch, you'll write a book of Acts behind it, because it'll bear the original life.
If the Spirit of Christ is in the church, well, it'll do the works of Christ. Jesus said so. Then we can let off the steam, let off the pressure. You don't have to run from church to church. Just come to Christ. What did He do? How did we know Him? What would He be, if He was here in the city tonight? What would He do if He stood here? He would tell you of a place. "Fear not [the first thing after the resurrection], fear not. Don't be all upset. I'm He that was dead, and is alive again. I am the same yesterday, today, and forever." We would know Him.

52 And that's how we know Him today because... He walked one day after the resurrection down a road, or with some friends going to Emmaus, Cleopas and his friend. And He talked to them all day long. They didn't know Him.
But when He got in the building that night, in the little inn, when He sat down... And their eyes were blinded to it, and then He did something just like He did before his crucifixion. And by that sign that He did, the same way He did it before He was crucified, they recognized that it was Him. That's what brought their eyes open.

53 Now isn't that just the same today? Now we're at the end time, when He promised that this vine would bring forth another branch. He promised it at the end time, and here we are at the end time. (I'm going to get to the budding of that branch in the morning, the Lord willing.) But here we are at the end time with the same Jesus.
Now one'll say, "Join this." The other'll say, "Go this," and everything. You're still building pressure, you don't know where you're at. Why not just come to that refuge? Why not just come to Him, and see if it's right? Take Him at his Word. Believe Him.

54 There is Christ in the building tonight. Christ promised this, "Wherever two or three are gathered in my name, I'll be in their midst." Is that right? Well then, if that isn't right, then the Book is wrong. It told something that He didn't say. But now, how would you place your confidence then, whether the Book was right? If the Book's right, and says that, then take Him at his Word, and the Holy Spirit will vindicate that that's the truth.
That's ... God said something; God come prove something. Any man can say what he wants to, but that doesn't make it right. But when God comes around and proves that it's right, that makes it right. Amen.

55 Do you believe? Are you in that refuge? You have a right to every privilege that God has, if you're in there. You believe that? Are you happy to be in this refuge? Can you just sit back and let off the pressure? Say, "Thanks be to God, I finally made it. I am here by the grace of God. I'm in the safety zone. Nothing can harm me now. I'm protected by the blood of Jesus Christ. A company of angels are around me."
The angels of God are encamped about those (They don't leave; they stay there day and night.), are encamped about those who fear Him. And you have a refuge. You can come into it, and every privilege... And what a time it is to be in this refuge, and have fellowship with Him.
I believe if we would ask Him, tonight, if we could have a little fellowship with his presence, I believe He would do it for us. Don't you? I believe He would.

56 Now to you that has that desire awhile ago, that you raised your hand, I wonder tonight if you would just fellowship with Him with that desire for a few minutes. If you're in that refuge, you can touch Him, because He's the high priest that can be touched by the feeling of your infirmities. If you're in that refuge you can do it.
Now I believe last night we come down and give out prayer cards. How many's here sick, wants to be prayed for? Let's see your hands. Raise up your hands. Everywhere. Oh, we couldn't run a line without cards. That's ... see. We couldn't do it, because it'd be a-scrambling over one another, but let's just stop a minute. Remember that little baby, we just prayed for. In less than twenty-four hours God had come on the scene, till he even astonished the doctor. Sure. He's God. He heals the sick.

57 Now, if you knew that Jesus was standing right by the side of you, do you believe if you'd touch Him that He would heal you, like the woman did that had the blood issue? Do you believe that?
Well now, if the Bible here tells us that He's the same yesterday, today, and forever, let us just pray, and say, "Lord, I've come into this refuge. I am your servant. And now I am afflicted with something, or there's something wrong with me. Can I touch You? If it's my faith ... if I got faith enough to touch You, then speak back to me. Now, Brother Branham doesn't know me, and I don't know him; but You know both of us. And I believe that the Bible says that You are the same yesterday, today, and forever. And if we're baptized into You, and in there You have offices to operate your great church for the perfection, to get all the doubt...
"I'm going to be the eagle tonight. I'm going to sit against this rock, and beat till all the unbelief's gone from me, see. When I feel all the unbelief is gone, confess all my sins, say, 'Lord God...'"

58 Now you say, "Brother Branham, I don't smoke, drink, chew, commit adultery." That ain't it. That's not sin. That's the attribute of sin. That's the attribute of unbelief. See, if you believed, you wouldn't do that, see. No, that ain't what sin is. People can... Unbelief is sin. "He that believeth not is condemned already," see. That's just a attribute of unbelief.
But if you can beat all that away from you, say, "Lord God, I believe just exactly what your Word says, and I believe [as we preached last night] that the appearing of the Lord comes before the coming of the Lord," for it's just two different words altogether, see. Now's the appearing, as He promised in the last days that He'd be with us.
And what a refuge, and what a consolation it is, Christians, that we can stand here tonight in the presence of God, in the face of his Word, and the impossibilities that He's promised in here we can see manifested right before us. What a wonderful thing! If that isn't a refuge, if that isn't a haven of rest, I don't know what would be---to see Jesus, who said, "The works that I do shall you do also." Oh, what a promise that is! Now. How many believe that that's the truth? All right. Now let us pray.

59 Our heavenly Father, Thou art God. I pray that You will grant tonight the things that people are asking for. And I pray that You will show Yourself alive, to give consolation.
Awhile ago when I asked for believers to raise their hand, Father, as far as I could see it was one hundred percent, that all of them was believers. Many ... most all of these people I am a stranger to. But Lord, You know them.
Now, I have told them that there is a refuge, a tower, a rock in a weary land, a place in a weary land now, that where we can come to and be safe. The Bible said, "The name of the Lord is a mighty tower: the righteous run into it, and are safe." Now, to assure the safety, Lord, when the people will know that it isn't denominational safety; it's the Holy Spirit the blood safety, that we come into, let this be known tonight, Lord, that You're still Jesus, that You've raised from the dead, that You are now a great high priest that's making intercessions for anything that we ask for.
We believe that You promised us that if we would ask anything in your name it would be done. You promised that if we would abide in You, and your words in us, then we could ask what we wanted to, and it'd be granted to us.

60 We know that Thou keepest thy promise, Lord. And I pray that You will vindicate your presence tonight. And we ask You, Father, to grant the same things to happen here tonight before the people, just like it did before your crucifixion; that they might know after two thousand years that Jesus is not one day older. He's the same Christ that He always was. He can never fail, or never change.
I pray that You'll give them consolation. And grant tonight, Father, that them knowing that we're just human beings, and these things would be impossible for a human being to do. But God promised to do it to his church, his called out, the ones that were under the blood. Grant it, Father.
And if there's some in here tonight that's not under the blood, may ... quickly and sweetly may they ask for that privilege. And I'm sure it will be granted. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.

61 Now, church, you who are sojourning, I don't speak of denomination. I speak of you people in the denomination which is the church. I ask this, that a man can come by and say anything he wishes to. But unless it comes from the Bible, I'd be a little skeptic of it.
Now, God can do anything He wants to do. He's God. I'm no one to say that He doesn't do it. He takes care of his own business. I can't even take care of mine, but I depend on Him. But what ... if He promises, and it's a Bible sign, like, "In my name they shall cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; if they would take up serpents or drink deadly things, it would not harm them; if they lay their hands on the sick, they shall recover." Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever. "A little while, and the world seeth me no more. Yet ye shall see me, for I [personal pronoun], will be with you; even in you, to the end of the world." And, "The works that I do, shall you do also." Them's Bible signs, friends. That's believers that's passed from death to life.

62 The Bible says that He is a high priest that can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities. Now if you have infirmity tonight, or you know someone who has infirmity tonight, if you just pray and believe God, you just ask right now. I believe God's by his Holy Spirit in the midst of us here.
Now friends, we see this ... many of you've seen it done. But the trouble with the American people, we've seen it too much. It's too common to us now. An old sailor was coming from the sea one day, and he met a man going down, a poet who had wrote about the sea, but he had never seen it. And he said, "Where goest thou, my good man?"
He said, "I'm going to the sea." Said, "Oh, I've wrote of it, what I've read." Said, "Now I'm going to learn of it." He said, "I'm going down to experience it. Oh, my heart is thrilled." He said, "I want to smell its briny waves. I want to see its licking waves in the air. I want to hear the gulls holler, and see the blue skies reflect themselves in its water, in its whitecaps as it dances." He was a poet, so he could really express it.
And the old sailor said, "I don't see nothing so thrilling about it." Said, "I was borned on it, more than forty years ago." See, he'd seen it so much, till it become common to him.
That's what's the matter with the Full Gospel people. But the hour will soon come where you'll cry for it, and then won't see it. Let it never become old to you. Let not the Holy Spirit ever become old to you. May it always be fresh and new.

63 May every act of God thrill my soul. I'm amazed each night, each day, as I walk along and see Him as He tells things, and see it happen just the way that He says it will happen; how that He'll predict it months before it comes to pass, and watch it just exactly, never one iota fail.
His Word cannot fail. He's God. And what a refuge that is! What a consolation to know that we're not children just tossed about, not knowing where we're going. We know where we're going. God promised it. He vindicates his promises.
And people might tell you that we're just too emotionally. It isn't emotion. 'Course, in one way it is emotion. But anything that hasn't got emotion is dead. So if your religion hasn't got a little emotion about it, you'd better bury it, 'cause it's dead. So it certainly is thrilling.
When Jesus came into Jerusalem, the people screamed and shouted until people said, "Make them hold their peace." He said, "If they hold their peace, the rocks will immediately cry out." The Son of God was on the road, and something has to come out in its presence.

64 Now the Son of God is here tonight. I believe that. I'm not no son of God. I am adopted son of God, like you are. I'm a portion of his Spirit. And if his Spirit is in me... If I told you I had the spirit of John Dillinger, you'd expect me to have guns, and be an outlaw. If I told you the spirit of an artist was in me, you'd expect me to paint the pictures. If I told you the spirit of some great soldier, you'd expect me to know all the arms and everything, 'cause his spirit is in me. If I tell you the Spirit of Christ is in me, then I should do the works of Christ, live the kind of life that He lived, a sacrificed life for the people. That is right.

65 I think of the time when the prophet went to the people, when they wanted to make themselves like the rest of the people. That's where they made a sad mistake, when they wanted a king, wanted to act like the rest of the people. It's too bad that we ever put denomination in Pentecost, breaking down the bars, and things. It's too bad---it cut off the other fellow. And we oughtn't to want to act like the rest of the churches. We are a borned-again group of people. We are free. We are bound down by no man's creeds. We are free in Christ.
Now. But it was too bad they did it, but we're still free by God's grace, and He's with us tonight. We don't have to be tossed about, saying, "You have to do this, and you have to do that, and do that." We just see Christ come among us. And what a consolation it is to see the very same Christ that promised "I'll be with you, even in you to the end of the road, end of the world," and come right down and prove Himself among us. Isn't that wonderful? Making Himself the same yesterday, today, and forever.

66 There's not many people in here that I know. You sick people, or you that have a desire on your heart, and know that I don't know you, or know your desire, raise up your hand. Well, it's just everywhere. All right. I don't have no control of this; it has control of me. But if it would happen to come over somebody that does know me, and somebody that I have met or something and know them, and they're from Jeffersonville, or somewhere, then you mention it.
But I want to ask you something. When our Lord Jesus stood here on the earth and looked over his audience, a little woman touched his garment one day. And He turned around and said, "Who touched me?" He didn't know who it was. The little woman might have been sitting down, like you are out there. And what did He do? He said... He found her. See, He...
She could not be hid, and He said, "Thy faith hath saved thee," told her her blood issue had stopped, because she had touched Him. Now, she did that herself. Now the Bible said that He's the High Priest that can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities.
When St. Peter came to Him, just an old rude fisherman, we're told He didn't even have enough education to write his own name. But yet it pleased God to give him the keys to the kingdom (That's right.) because of his faith. He had a revelation of who He was. He said, "Upon this rock I'll build my church."

67 Now Jesus is not dead. He's living, a high priest. And if He's the same yesterday, today, and forever, and He's the same high priest, if you touched Him He'd act the same way. Is that right? Now He promised these things would be did.
I believe in the Bible. I believe that that is the complete Word of God. I don't believe we have to go out of that Bible to get anything; that every divine promise is in there. Why, I believe it with all my heart, all my soul, all my strength and all that's in me. I believe it. I may not have faith enough to make every promise come to pass. But I certainly won't stand in the path of those who does have the faith that believe it. I want you to believe it with all that's in you.

68 Now. Each and every person, if Christ will come into our midst by the Holy Spirit, and will have you... You're his children, the blocks that's in the temple. You know today, we hear so much about... Just like it was in the early days. There's so much membership. We got to draw so many members. [Blank spot.] ... the Word, and to sons and daughters of God. That's it. We need the masonry of God's Holy Spirit.
The Bible says that the Word of God is sharper than a two-edged sword, Hebrews 4:12. "The Word of God is sharper than a two-edged sword." Listen, the Word. How many believes that in the beginning was the Word? That's, first it was a thought. And it has to be a thought; then, when it's expressed, it becomes a word.
And then, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God [when He spoke it] ... and the Word become flesh and dwelt among us."

69 Now, that was Jesus. When He was here on earth, He discerned the thoughts of the people. That's what made all true believers know that He was the prophet that Moses had spoke of ... would be raised up. They hadn't had a prophet for hundreds of years.
I believe it's time again; that the Bible promises that in the last days that Spirit will come upon the earth, and will restore the faith of the children back to the Pentecostal fathers again, back to the original faith. I believe it's the evening light. I believe that it's here.
I believe that Spirit of God, that Christ is here tonight. And I ask you as my friend, and my brother and sister, you believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is present. And when you believe that, touch Him with your infirmity, by your faith to believe it, and say, "Lord God, if that man... He doesn't know me. I don't know him; he doesn't know me. But if he's told me the truth, then let your Spirit speak through his lips, and let me touch You, and You confirm it through his lips." Like the woman did when she touched the hem of his garment in that day, you touch his garment, for He can be touched by your faith, like that woman. Maybe not physical, but like that woman. Would it make you have joy and be happy in the refuge if you would see Him do it? Raise your hands if you believe He'd do it. Thank you.

70 Now, Father, that's all I know to say. I'm trying to tell them of a safe place where they can just rest. And, God, in here is healing. In here is a rock that all the unbelief can be beat off with, the rock of the Word. And may the Word come forward now, and be made flesh among us. And it said, "It's sharper than a two-edged sword. It pierces down into even the ... asunder, and a discerner of the thoughts of the heart." A discerner of the thoughts of the heart.
"If ye abide in me, and my word in you, then ask what you will." Lord, I've been turned out, run over, run down, but I've tried to stand faithful. I'm happy to do it by your Word. Let it ever abide in my heart. And before this audience tonight---which I'll stand again at someday; if no more on earth, at the day of that great day when Jesus comes---I know that your Word is truth.
Help me, O Lord, that I might be able to be used tonight. And I know I'm not a theologian, Father. You never called me for that. But I pray that You'll let the ministry that You gave me to bless the people with, come forward now. In the name of Jesus Christ, may the Word come, and pierce down into here, and discern the thoughts of the heart; that the people might know that the Word of God is abiding in us. In Jesus' name I ask it, for God's glory. Amen.

71 Look this way. Now I'm saying this like Peter and John, that passed through the gate Beautiful. He said, "Look on us." That's what I'm asking you to do, look this way---not at me, but what I've said. Whatever that you have a desire in your heart for, you believe that God'll give it to you. And you say, "Lord Jesus, let me touch You."
How many in this building has ever seen the picture of that light, the angel of the Lord, what hangs here at Washington? I am your brother. That light, if you can see it, is hanging not two feet from me right now. Just believe. If you cannot see it, see, pray, and see if God won't vindicate. That light... If that light is that same light that met Paul on the road down to Damascus... He said, "I am Jesus." He'd returned back to God, back to Spirit. The Word was made flesh. He come back to the Word. If that's the same light, it'll produce the same kind of a life, same act. See it?

72 This lady sitting right here. Are we strangers to one another, lady? I don't know you. I've never seen you. Do you believe me to be his servant? You believe the Word that I have preached is the truth? And we're total strangers to one another. You're just... As far as I know, a woman's walked in and sat down here. But you was believing for something. You're trying to find something from God. And if I be a servant of God, and I've told the truth of God, and God's Word and truth's abiding in here, it'll produce itself. It'll declare it. You'll know whether it's the truth or not.
You're praying for some one. It's your child. It's that little girl sitting right there. And that little girl, you believe He'll tell me what's wrong with her? Would it help you? She's got heart trouble. If you will believe with all your heart, and walk down there and lay your hands on that child... Go down now, lay your hands on the child. The womb that bore her to this earth, the hand of the mother lays on the child.
Lord, if she had faith enough to touch your garment, then I come with the sword of God by the Word of God to perform an operation. Come out, Satan. I cut you free with the Word of God, and a promise that these signs shall follow them that believe. Leave the girl, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. You believe she'll live, and be well? As you have believed, so will it be.
Now I ask somebody to question the woman. Ask her if every word was said is true. I know not the woman. I've never seen her, know nothing about her. But what was said is true.

73 What about somebody through here. How about you believing? Let's get at least two or three for a witness. I'm happy to be in this refuge. I'm safe forevermore. I love Him. How sweet it is to trust in Jesus.
What a challenge to a people. He promised it'll be light in the evening time. There'll be a day that won't be day nor night. It's been a day of gloom, just enough to walk and accept. But in the evening time it shall be light.
Little lady, you're just as conscious as you can be that something happened. I'm looking right at it. That light settled right over you. I'm looking at it. I've never seen you before. I guess we're strangers to one another. If that's right, raise up your hand.
There's a dark shadow around you. It's a shadow of death. You're suffering with tumors, and that tumors is on your breast, both breasts. A great percent of your breasts are covered with tumor. You have one hope, if you have faith enough to touch Him to do a thing like that. You're a fine person. I have a good contact of the Spirit with you. You believe me to be his prophet? You know I don't know you, and you know there's... You're conscious that a real sweet feeling's all around you. That's that light, that glow of light.
You're not from here. You're from away from here. Birmingham. I see that banana market there. Your name is Miss Vincent. That is true. Have faith in God. Now at this time, lady, it's gone from you. That shadow that was over you has left. Now don't you doubt. You'll get well. Now I ask anybody to come question the woman. Find out. If there would be a doctor present, why not come ask, and examine if you're a little skeptic? Which, I know it's present, so why not say it? I used to call that out, but it hurts too many feelings.

74 What about somebody in here, some of you way back somewhere? Have faith. I cannot do this; you do it. I'm only trying to represent Him, reflect Him, like in a mirror to you, making my life his mirror that He might reflect Himself. You know I don't know these things, and couldn't do them. You just have faith, and don't doubt, believe.
Right back here. It's a man. It's over a man. He's suffering with a nervous condition. I hope he don't miss it. He's from Pennsylvania. God, help me. Mr. Carnes, stand up on your feet. I'm a stranger to you. I don't know you. If them things are true, raise up your hand. Go home; you are well. Jesus Christ makes you well.

75 Do you believe in God? Believe also that I've told you the truth about Jesus Christ, his presence.
I believe that's three rows. We got one more. Let's get over here. How about some of you in there. Will you believe? How many is suffering, needs help from God, and you believe that...? You don't know, and you know that I don't know your condition, raise up your hand, say, "It's me. I'm believing." Just everywhere. Have faith now.
This little fellow sitting here with his hand up, didn't know you had that much faith, did you? If you've got faith enough, in your condition, to call God on the scene, don't you never take another drop of whiskey as long as you live, and don't never smoke another cigarette. Believe God, and you'll be made well. Will you accept it? Will you believe it? All right. Then go, and God make you well.

76 Let's say, "Praise the Lord." Do you believe He's here? How many of you would like to confess your unbelief, and would like to say, "God be merciful to me," in the presence of the Holy Ghost? "I know that there's no man on earth could do those things. Be merciful unto me." Confess your wrong, say to God, "I've been unconcerned, Lord. I now want to enter into this great fellowship. I want to enter into this refuge. I'm going to believe You with all my heart." Raise up your hand and say, "God, it's me, it's me. I'm at the end of the road. I want to be made right." Do you believe it? Confess your sins now. Let's pray. Each one of you pray in your own way.

77 Lord Jesus, we are human beings, Lord. We are ready to confess our sins. I'm confessing the sins of this people. I'm confessing my own sins. We have disbelieved too much, Lord. The hours are growing dark. The Son of God is soon to arrive. And I pray, heavenly Father, that You'll forgive our sins. Lord, I pray that the Holy Spirit will now take every unbelief away from us.
Oh, if He could only get into our heart, there'd be another day of Pentecost. There would be such a condition in this church, and this group of people, tonight, till it'd be noised abroad all around the country by morning.
Holy Spirit, break every barrier of sin. May it come through like the jet plane beyond the sin barrier, and shake every shackle of unbelief. May every eagle beat his head against the Rock of Ages until the Holy Ghost takes complete control.
Satan, you are lost. You've lost the battle, and in the name of Jesus Christ leave this audience. Come out of them, for the glory of God.

78 Now that you have confessed your sins, now that you believe, do you believe that you have beat every shackle off of your understanding, that nothing hinders you? There's not one thing in your way, but you believe you're free? You believe that all the unbelief is gone from you? You believe that you're now in that haven of rest? You believe all the pressure... "Will I be healed? Can I be healed?" You're already healed.
"Brother Branham, if you'll lay your hands on me..." My hands ain't got nothing to do with it! It's his hands. If you're a sinner, you've already been saved. Just believe, and accept it, and act on it. If you're sick, you're already healed.
Would God stand here and do a thing like that, and let a hypocrite that somebody don't know what they're talking about, come here and would vindicate a liar? would vindicate a hypocrite? God doesn't deal with sinners. God deals with truth, and his Word is the truth. And I've told you the truth.

79 Friends, I say tonight if you'll believe what I've told you, there won't be a feeble person among us. Every one of you are healed. By his stripes you are already healed. "By his stripes we were healed." Do you believe it?
Now you that believe in the laying on of hands, you raised your hands you was believers. Then lay your hand on somebody in front of you in the seat. Lay your hand over there, if you want...
The Bible doesn't say the hands of William Branham; the Bible doesn't say the hands of Oral Roberts. The Bible says, "These signs shall follow them that believe. If they lay their hands on the sick they shall recover. Now you pray. You pray. You confess. Confess your wrong. Tell God that you believe Him, and you can every one be made perfectly whole at this hour. Believe.
Hallelujah! Hold on to it. Don't turn it loose. Stay with it. It's a promise. God said so. Don't be tossed about with everything. Believe it right now.

80 I love you. You're my friends. I'm not trying to talk rude to you, but I'm saying it. I've got to nail it down or Satan's going to rob you from it, from this great display of the presence of the Holy Ghost here tonight---beyond a shadow of doubt, Bible evidence what God said would take place. There's a mighty rushing wind trying to get into the audience, and to still every soul here with the presence of God. Don't let Satan take it away from you. Hold on to it, till you've passed the barriers of unbelief. Amen.
I don't care how crippled you are, how sick you are, who you are, or where you're from. I challenge you in the name of Jesus Christ if you meant that from your heart, stand up on your feet and accept it. No matter who you are, or what you are, stand up! That's it. Get up. That's the way. Amen. Rise up every one. There you are, a perfect whole audience everywhere.
My faith looks up to Thee,
Thou Lamb of Calvary,
Oh, Saviour divine (Let's raise our
hands, now and sing it to Him.);
Now hear me while I pray,
Take all my guilt away,
O let me from this day
Be wholly Thine!

Letting off the pressure

You can find this sermon at ChurchAges.net

1 ...numbered among a group like this, to be here this morning again. Brother Shakarian ... the Lord spared his life. It certainly was news to me when I heard about it. But I'm so glad that the thing that we preach about, it also works among us, to see that God heals the sick and the afflicted. And we just got a few moments and ... about two minutes to speak. And then I'd like to pray for those in radio land, and those who are needy.

2 We just left Southern Pines, North Carolina, where the Lord did a great miracle. One night when we was coming in... It was too late for the little lady who had arrived with a waterhead baby to get a prayer card and get in the line. But she was standing behind the curtains with this precious little child, and tears streaming down her cheeks, like only a mother's love could go for a baby. And its little head was swollen in such a condition, its little eyes pushed out, great big veins over its head, and some kind of a shots that the physician had to give it each day in order to live through that day.

3 And as I passed by I looked over and seen the mother with the little baby, and I said to Billy, my son, "That poor little fellow..."
And he said, "And, Daddy, she asked me for a prayer card." And said, "She was too late. I'd done give them all out."
I said, "Well, just tell them to sing the song again ["Only Believe"], and let me run down and pray for the baby."
And I went down and prayed for the little fellow, and asked our Lord to be merciful to it. And the lady taken the little fellow home that night. And the next morning when she rose up, to her surprise, to look at the little fellow, the big veins was gone. The head was practically normal. So she rushed it over to the doctor right away, and the doctor was so amazed! And he said it... He checked its blood, or whatever they had to do for this shot. "Why," he said, "it doesn't need it anymore."

4 And it made quite a stir around through the country. Just another testimony to the glory of God, to know that He answers prayer when the hearts are sincere and want to believe on Him. There's nothing too great for Him to do. And I believe that He just loves to do that for his people.
Now they're going to hand me a group of requests, just in a moment, for those who called in on the phone to be prayed for. And you out in the radio land, I want you to be ready, and be in expectations. And be perseverant that you're going to hold on to the promise of God, because the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and God shall raise them up. That's the Scripture.

5 And if you could only stand in this heavenly atmosphere that I'm standing in this morning, here in Clifton's Cafeteria, where there's literally hundreds of people pressed in here---all believers, believing---and going to join in prayer with me to pray for you, and for your loved ones. Whatever it is, why not just hold it up before God now, and believe that God's going to hear us and answer prayer.

6 Now you must continue with the faith that you have when you feel the presence of the Lord is with you. Now, many people wonder what happens when they ... seems like they're healed, and then after awhile they don't feel that way. But it's because that when prayer is being made, and the presence of the Lord with you, faith mounts up. And then when faith leaves, well, then something's happened to you. You must remain with that faith. Don't never let that feeling leave you. Just always remember that God has answered. It's his Word. He just cannot go back on that. He must keep his Word. Isn't it an encouragement to you knowing that God made the promise?

7 And I believe that the Bible is God in written form.
We know that "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God ... the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us..." And this is his promises. He gave them to us, and we must cherish them. And now, there's only one thing that will quicken this Word. That's the Holy Spirit. It brings life to the seed. And when He pours out his Spirit upon the earth, as He has in these last days, whatever kind of a seed that Spirit pours upon... Which is the waters, just like... Christ was smitten, like the rock in the wilderness to a perishing people that were dying, needing water, Christ was smitten that the water of life might be poured out upon them.
Now, the congregation---if you in radio land could only see---they're standing now. Be ready now for prayer. Lay your hand upon each other, upon the radio, or upon the place where you're sick, and then let us pray together.

8 Our gracious heavenly Father, as we are now approaching thy throne of grace in that all-sufficient name of the Lord Jesus... And we come believing, and laying our prayers and our faith upon the altar with all these here, for those that are in the land that are sick and needy this morning. Heavenly Father, it seems like another Acts 4. When the people prayed the building was shook where they were assembled, and the power of God moved upon the people.
May Satan turn loose every bound person in radio land this morning that's listening in. May there be such a happening among them, until it'll be like the testimony we have just given about the little baby with the waterhead. May every disease depart from the people. May the power that raised up Jesus from the dead, and has presented Him to us alive after two thousand years, may that power quicken every sick person and make them well. Grant it, Father.
We commit them to You, now, with our prayers, with the sacrifice of Christ going before us, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and for his glory. Amen. [Congregation sings "Only Believe."]

9 The Scripture says that there will be a former rain and a latter rain. Well, now, the Hebrew word (I cannot call it just now), but "former rain" means a planting of seed, see. So the seed is planted now, and getting planted all out through these organizations. Now, when the Spirit begins to fall in that great portion, it'll bring forth its kind. So let's pray that the Holy Spirit will plant the seeds all through that organization, when the great gush does come that there'll be a crop come out of that.

10 Let us pray.
Our heavenly Father, our hearts are stirred this morning with great emotions because of this opportunity to see the people coming in in this hour, when the evening lights are beginning to shine. May the great power of God sweep down through that Seventh Day Adventist organization. From the leaders all the way to the least little church, may the Holy Spirit be poured out upon them, Lord. May they receive a Pentecost, and a great gathering of souls to the kingdom of God throughout the country. Grant it, Lord, across the world. Anoint these people... [Message in tongues; message interpreted; music and singing.]

11 Thank you. I don't know what to say. I'm just without words. I've heard so much till I'm just filled up. Isn't that wonderful? That's just ... I'm so glad. I believe I felt led to come up here this morning. So good to be here, sitting in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
We're so thankful to hear Brother Harold. I can't call his last name, so I'll just have to say Harold. I hear that ... how the Lord led him to that great place, and what they're doing.
I certainly will say this in connection with it, that when you go to the other lands, those people there, it takes a message of Pentecost to stir them people, see. They have all the theology, and all the tracts, and so forth. But they've got to see God in action, and that's what attracts them. One altar call at Durban, my last meeting there, we recorded 30,000 come to Christ as raw heathens at one time, see, because they seen something they could put their hand on.

12 I'd like to say that ... in regards to that ... the great missionary to India, Hudson Taylor. There was a young Chinese boy come up one morning and said, "Dr. Taylor," said, "I have just received Christ in my heart, and my soul is on fire with the Spirit of God in me." Said, "Shall I study...? What school shall I go to study, and get my B.A., and so forth like that?"
Mr. Taylor said, "Don't wait till a candle is half burned to show light." That's right.
I think so, too. When ... that's the trouble. The people wait, and they take them into those seminaries and take all out of them that God put in them, you see. I think, go as soon as the candle's lit. If you don't know no more, tell them how it lit. That's all they have to know. Just tell them how it got on fire, and let them get on fire. The rest of it'll take care of it. Just go. Tell them how the candle was lit, and let them get lit, and they'll tell somebody else. Candle-lighting time now. That's true, that's right. Now I would be foolish to try to preach behind something like that. You know that.

13 Like I was up here one time at a fine school, and someone said, "Brother Branham, you've wrote a few books. I'd like to confer on you a doctor's degree."
I said, "I'm too smart for it."
Said, "Why would you think that?"
I said, "They know my old Kentucky way of speaking---'tis and hain't and tote, and... I'd talk that, and say I was a doctor? People got better sense than that. So I'm just too smart to do that." So we know our capacity.
But it's good to be here---this fine group. And just while I was listening to the joy bells a-ringing in every heart, a little scripture came on my mind that I might use just for, I say for fifteen minutes or about-like, Brother. He ... I certainly feel little, and apologize to Brother Harold. I dropped up here this morning right at the time he was to speak, and then ... up among the people. Then he called me up here. I feel real bad, and apologize... [Brother Harold speaks.]

14 Humility is a way to success. That's right.
I invite you down to the meeting tonight, down to the ... I called it the Cow Palace, and got everybody mixed up. They once told me it was the Cow Palace, and I find out that's plumb at San Francisco. [Someone says, "Great Western Fairgrounds."] Great Western Fairgrounds. And we're having a grand time down there, a group of brethren. We're just like, well ... like a little picture I seen one time.

15 I was up in the northwest fishing, and I had a trout line (many of you fishermen brethren here), and I was packed out on my back with a little pup tent. And I was way back up into the mountains. And I had a little pup tent and some, you know, equipment and I was catching trout. And I'd just catch enough for what I'd eat, and then turn the rest of them loose. And I just love to fish for those little brook. And I had a moose willow behind me that was catching my line all the time. In the morning I thought, "Well, I'll go down and get me my hatchet, and cut those moose willows off," so my little Coachman wouldn't catch in the willow.

16 And I left the tent, and went down, and chopped it down; and had my little axe, and caught my fish, and come back. And an old mother bear and her cubs had got in my tent, and they had just tore it all to pieces.
And so ... a bear is just like you've heard of---a bear in a china closet. It's not what they destroy ... not what they eat, it's what they destroy. Had a little stove pipe, and she had just smashed that all to pieces just to hear it rattle. And so, I noticed... And I do love ... now, anybody here from Kentucky? I love flapjacks, you know. You call them pancakes here, I believe. And so ... and I like to put molasses on them. And I'm not ... I don't sprinkle; I baptize. So I really pour it on, you know, so I have plenty molasses and...

17 Strange thing. When I come up, the old mother bear run away over to one side and she cooed to the cubs, and one little cub run off with her. The other little cub just sat there, had his back turned---little bitty fellows in springtime. And I knowed better than to approach too close to that little fellow, because mother might scratch me. So I... She kept cooing to it, and I noticed, "What's the matter with the little fellow?"
And I looked around, and he had his head all down like this, you know. He was moving his hand up and down. I thought, "What's he got?" I walked around, keeping a tree always in mind, so ... to get up the tree before she could get to me. And I walked around, and this little fellow had got my molasses bucket, and he got the lid off of it. And he didn't know, of course, how to drink it, and he'd just stick his little paw down like this, and lick it up over his face like this. And they love sweet stuff, and he was molasses from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet, and he would lick it.

18 And I hollered, "Get away from there!" and he didn't pay a bit of attention to me. And his mother called him; he still didn't pay any attention to me, and I thought, "Well, he's found something awful good." So, when he looked around he couldn't open his eyes ---just sticking full of molasses, you know. Funniest looking little fellow!
I thought, "Yeah, there's no condemnation to them that's in the patch. That's one thing sure." I thought, "Just like a real old Pentecostal meeting like this morning"---got our hands down in the molasses jar just as far as we can, licking.
You know, the thing of it was, when he finally dropped the bucket and run off to them that was scared to come up there and get it, the rest of them licked him---licking the molasses off.
So that's about what we've been doing this morning, licking molasses from these testimonies.

19 Enjoyed Sister Shakarian's testimony. And this little Stevie, how he's growed up here. I used to pat him on the head, and now he can pat me on the head. My, he's growed up, and made such a fine boy, and following his... No wonder---he's got a good background, something behind it. See Brother Demos here after all this, and Brother Williams, and oh, so many here. I don't know just how to say it, but I'm grateful to be here---this fine time of fellowship. And this is the kind of places that's just heavenly to me, just sit together like this and have a great joy.
Now as we have rejoiced, can... Something come on my mind just a few moments ago, a scripture. And just before we approach this scripture could we just pray, just for a moment.

20 Gracious Father God, into thy presence we come now by the way of grace, by the bidding of our Lord saying, "Ask the Father anything in my name, I'll do it." We know that it shall be given. We're grateful to you for this gathering today at this upper room. Oh, if this blind world could only see and feel the joy, every drunkard would come from the alley. O God, if they only knew what true joy was! They are trying to take and drink, and many are laying on the beaches, and in dance halls, trying to substitute something for this great joy that God brought them on earth to receive.
God, I pray that there will be light go from here today that will bring many into this saving knowledge, and the joy of God be in their hearts. Thank you, Father. As I quote these few words, bless them to the furthering of the service. In Jesus' name. Amen.

21 Over in the book of Isaiah, I'd just like to quote from one just for a ... just a few moments. Isaiah 32:2: "And the name of the Lord is a mighty tower. He's a rock in a weary land, a shelter in the time of storm."
I would like to think of that, "The Rock in a Weary Land." Seeing this group kind of brings something to my memory. That is... I'd like to state this, or text this, to say this: "Letting Off the Pressure." I think that's what's happened this morning.
You know, the world is built up under pressure. Everything is going at a breakneck speed, and they don't know where they're going. They go down the road at ninety miles an hour, to stop in a tavern and drink two hours before they get home. And it just seems to be such a pressure---everybody irritable, pushing, shoving. And I just wonder what the cure is.

22 Then I remember a few days ago, our pastor... I'd come in, and I was late with my calls---people gathering in, you know, internationally around there, and sit in the hotels, and motels and things, waiting. And then the pastor was worn out. He couldn't make some of his calls, and some of them were emergencies. So I took some of his, and went to the City Hospital. And a ... room 331, I believe, was the number. I was to go to a woman facing an operation. And I went down to 331, and the woman wasn't there. So I went back up, and a nurse was standing there patting her foot, and I said, "How do you do?" I said, "Could you tell me where Miss Such-a-name is?" I said, "She's supposed to be in 331."
She said, "Well, if she's supposed to be in 331, she is."
And I thought, "Oh, my! Thank you."
I went back to 331 again, and they said, "Well, maybe it's 332, across the hall."
"No." Said, "She isn't here. It might have been 231."

23 So I went down the stairs, and there was a little doctor sitting there at the desk---a little man. The first one I've ever seen as broad as he was high. So, he was sitting there at the switchboard, and I passed by, and I said, "How do you do? He just looked at me kind of strange, and I thought, "Uh-uh, I don't want to ask him." So I went on down the room, and there was a lady coming from the operation room (a lady with a mask over her face) and the nurse there at the floor. She went over to desk, and I said, "Lady, I'm a bit confused." I said, "I went upstairs to see a lady at 331, and she wasn't there. And I couldn't find... They said maybe she's at 231."
She said, "Well, then, look in 231."
I said, "Well, thank you." My! I couldn't find 231. So I went sort of down the hall. The little doctor was walking along with his stethoscopes in his hand, twisting them around like this. I said, "Good evening, sir." I said, "I'm looking for 231. Could you tell me?"
He said, "This a-way and that way."
I said, "Thank you for your information." What is it? I went back, and there was another lady sitting over to the desk, and I thought she looked pretty calm, so I said, "Lady, could you tell me...?" I told her my story. I said, "I'm a bit confused. I'm a minister. I'm here to make a call."
She said, "Just a moment, sir." She went over, looked on the books, said, "Yes. Go right around the corner. She's ... and she's in 241."
So I thought, "Well, praise God, somebody had the pressure off,"

24 see. It's just a built-up pressure.
It's the age that we're living in---a neurotic age where people don't know what to do, where they're going. And the doctors don't have the answer for it, because the psychiatrists is being doctored by the psychiatrists. So they have not the answer. But there's some answer surely, somewhere. We could deal on it for hours.
But I was just thinking that God has the answer. If they could just sit in a place like this, takes off the pressure, see, with people who are entered into eternity. We are not going into it; we're already in it. That's right.

25 Speaking the other night... I don't say anything that's worth anything, but sometimes the Lord gives me something. And when I do I think it's profound, because He give it to me. I was thinking that---I spoke on it at a meeting the other night---how that God's children, one time slaves, nothing to eat and just living bare ... mere conditions that they were in. And down out of the wilderness came a prophet, and told them of a land that was flowing with milk and honey.

26 And now, they'd never been to that land. They knowed nothing of it, but they followed him. Finally they came to Kadesh-barnea. And there Joshua, the great warrior (meaning Jehovah-saviour) went over the Jordan, and brought back the evidence that that land was there---where a man could live in peace, raise his family, his children, and be a nation, and God would bless them. And how that he brought back the evidence that God had not lied to the people---that the land was there. And it was a good land. It was flowing with milk and honey. They brought back a bunch of grapes that two men carried.
Then, after awhile man had to die, of course. After he'd lived and raised his children, he had to face the graveyard. Finally this great land become ... all the hillsides (or many of the hillsides, I should have said) became graveyards, and the blessed ones laid on these graves.

27 Then there came another great warrior once: Jesus of Nazareth, Jehovah made flesh dwelling among us. He came down, and told us that "In my Father's house are many mansions." Though you have a land, you can raise your homes, raise your children and raise your crops and... But there is a land where man doesn't die, where you don't have to get old and die. And He was the Joshua in our ... for us, and He came to his Kadesh-barnea---the judgment seat which ... Kadesh was the judgment seat. And there, Kadesh-barnea for Him was Calvary, where He bore all of our sins.

28 And then He crossed over what we call Jordan (death) and come back on Easter morning, bringing the evidence to us that man can live after death.
Then he brought back a group of grapes, too, and he told them to wait up there to the day of Pentecost. They all got a bite of it, and got the evidence that man is ... can live again, and we are living again. We have raised from the things of death unto new life, and now we sit together in heavenly places already in Christ Jesus, already in eternity, because we become a part of his life, eternal life. And eternal life is God's life---God's, because we're sons and daughters of God.
Everything ... had a beginning has an end. So it's those things that had no beginning has no end, and that was only God. So we become part of his life.

29 Think of it! God, on the day of Pentecost, that pillar of fire separated and tongues of fire sat upon each of them, separating God Himself, dividing Himself, amongst his people. We become God's own life in us. Then we are dead to the things of the world, and have risen with Christ and sitting in heavenly places, looking back to where we come from. It's enough that we could think of that.
And it lets off the pressure, takes the pressure away when we recognize the position that we now hold in Christ by receiving the Holy Spirit---God's own life (the Greek word "Zoe" which means God's own life) dwelling in you. And you can no more die than God can die. We're eternal with the eternal (amen), waiting for that glorious time of redemption of the body.
And now we are already dead, and our lives are hid in God through Christ and sealed by the Holy Spirit. The devil is out of the picture altogether. And when we sit together like this in heavenly places with Christ, in Him, then we can certainly let off pressure.

30 I take for instance that great night down in Egypt (what we all think of, that great Passover night) that when all Egypt was bothered. Everybody was running from house to house, and screaming going on everywhere. But Israel could sit just as calm in the midst of trouble. They had one thing to do: apply the blood to the lintel. And there you could rest calmly. And if Israel could look upon the post by the applied blood, and know that death would pass over, (that was the blood of the Lamb in figure), how much more can we rest assured when God...

31 Not to speak against my Baptist brethren... As a brother just said, they said "We received the Holy ghost when we believed."
Paul said, "Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?"
A great Baptist brother met me not long ago, and he said to me, he said, "Brother Branham, you being a Baptist," he said, "that sounds incredible for you to say that we do not receive the Holy Ghost when we believe." He said, "Abraham believed God and it was imputed unto him for righteousness.
And I said, "God gave him the seal of the confirmation. He had received his faith, when He give him the seal of circumcision. Therefore, the circumcision now is the Holy Ghost. It circumcises our heart and ... know we've passed from death unto life. We've raised up with Christ in resurrection."
I said, "Now when we know that, we look back at our lives and see what we were."

32 If the colored people are here, excuse this expression. But the colored lady who gave the testimony at the convention one time, she said ... got up and gave her testimony. She said, "Well, I want to say this," she said. "I ain't what I ought to be, and I ain't what I want to be. Then again, I know I ain't what I used to be." So, that was it.
So we know that we have passed from death unto life because we are alive. We're not what we used to be. It's wonderful to know that the pressure can be let off. That's all. "The name of the Lord is a mighty tower that the righteous run into. And He is a rock in a weary land," a rock in a weary land.

33 I was reading some time ago of a great eagle. I preached once in the convention of eagle, because the only way I know how to speak is watch nature, and God lives in nature. Watching the eagle, seeing its traits... And up at the temple up here, preaching on the "Lamb and the Dove," the nature of them... And see, all them things are just God speaking to us.
And there's one type of eagle (there's forty different kinds of them), means "a ripper with the beak." And this eagle, as he gets old, there's a crust comes over his head. And he gets old, he goes blind almost, and he can't hardly get around.

34 Finally, when he gets weary, and all of his feathers are getting loose so he cannot fly very high anymore, then he goes till ... he goes high into the mountains, till he finds a certain rock. There he sits at that rock now. The job is that he's got to beat his head against that rock, until all that crust flies off. And they say he'll beat, and beat, until his head will bleed. He'll almost knock himself out. He'll come back and beat again until all the crust is gone.
When all that crust goes off his head, though he's bleeding and wounded, he's got the assurance. He'll raise up and flop what feathers he's got, and scream out. He lets off the pressure. Why? He knows as soon as all that crust is gone he's going to renew his life again. He gets renewed again. New life is sure to come when all the crust is gone.

35 And when I think how great a God is to be mindful of his eagle, to give that eagle a way to renew his life when he's old! Only thing he has to do is beat the crust off. That's a great thing.
But, oh, I know another rock that a man can beat the crust of the world off there---until every unbelief has dropped, and every shadow and every fetter has dropped, until he has got all the world beat out of him, all the unbelief beat out of him, all the pride beat out of him, all the starch beat out of him. Then new life is sure to come. Then you can let off the steam, and just start rejoicing because new life is sure to come.
As long as you can beat the unbelief out of you---take things, and not take some dogma, some creed or something that some man has made up; just take the unadulterated Word of God, and believe it and stay there until it becomes a reality to you---I'm telling you, new birth is on its road. That's exactly. We can let off the steam then, because new birth is on its road.

36 I was preaching up in the mountains one time in Kentucky, and I made an altar call. There was a great big old fellow come back there, was going to throw me out of the meeting. Was in corn-cutting time, and he ... just had his trouser leg ripped open, and he had a nail in it. And he was going to go up there and throw this little holy roller preacher out.
So they told me he was coming. And when he come to the door (four or five great big bullies, and arms closed like this), I just kept on preaching away. And he waited a little too long. He couldn't get to the altar quick enough. He fell in the middle of the floor, and began to throw his hands up, crying, "God, be merciful to me a sinner," calling out at the altar.

37 And then when the Holy Spirit come down and revealed, and told him what he had done, standing there... That's what got him. When he stood there, and told him that another woman he was running with (and there sat his wife, and two children sitting there), shamed, into the very act that he had done, he knowed that it took more than man to do that. It took God to do something like that. And he screamed coming to the altar, crying, "Be merciful to me, God. I'm a sinner."

38 The next day he come back, he said, "Brother Branham, I had a dream last night that I was a rabbit sitting out in the field." And he said, "A great hound got after me." He said, "I started running for all that was in me, and I didn't know where to go. And said, "I looked up on the mountain, and there was a big rock and it had a hole in it." He said, "I thought if I could ever get to that rock, I could just let off the pressure." He said, "The hound was so close till I could feel his breath on my heels." He said, "But when I got in, I sat down and let off the pressure."
That's a good thing to do. There is a rock that where we can find... He's a rock in a weary land, there where we can sit down and let off the pressure.

39 And now, friends, it's eleven o'clock, and I know we're supposed to go now. And I'm so glad to be here this morning with all the pressure off, and sitting amongst people like this. The Lord bless you real, real good, and pray for me. God bless you.
[A brother speaks.]

40 You all understood that just recently I'd almost gotten killed. You knew that, about a rifle blowing up, one of the... Mr. Weatherby, down here, had bored out a rifle. It was a rebored rifle, and it was a Winchester. I've always wanted a Weatherby Magnum 'cause I've hunted. That's the only outlet I have. And Brother Art Wilson gave my boy a .270---I beg your pardon, it's a .257---Roberts. And Billy's left-handed so he could not use the gun, because it was a bolt action model 70, you brethren who shoot guns. That's been...

41 My mother, you know, that just slipped to heaven a few weeks ago was a half-Indian, and I just love the outdoors. And that's where I get my shooting. And I never could ... I've got friends that would have brought me a Weatherby gun. That's right, I have. But I couldn't think of letting a friend buy me a Weatherby gun, and putting that much money in it, when I got missionary friends ain't got shoes on their feet. I couldn't do that. No, I just couldn't do it. So a brother said, "I'll have that gun bored out for you, Billy, and it'll be all right."

42 Mr. Weatherby bored it out.
When I brought it back, I put the shell in it, and raised to fire it like that, and it blowed up in my face. It blowed the barrel fifty yards in front of me, and the stock this way. And all I see was red fire as high as this ceiling go up like that, and blood was spurting all over everything. And I raised up peacefully. I thought I'd passed on. And it was such a tremendous thing.

43 I got a little message out of that. See, that rifle wasn't started a Weatherby. If it would've been started at the beginning a Weatherby, it would've been all right, because the steel would've held. It got pressure off it. Mr. Weatherby's so nice. He searched the rifle. He couldn't tell what happened, but I thought it was head space that did it. Now, see, if that rifle would have started at the beginning, and come up a Weatherby, it'd never blowed up.

44 And now listen, friends, let me say this to you. When you go out professing Christianity, don't just take a reconversion idea of it. You'll blow up, sooner or later. Don't try to impersonate someone else. Look. Don't just make out and join church, or sing the songs. You got to be borned again, and start from the beginning. Then it'll hold the pressure as long as you got it , won't so it blow up. God bless you, and I'm thankful you all are praying for me now.