Presuming

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1 ... have this time of fellowship with you people far away from that frozen North that I just come out of. I said to your pastor up in his study this afternoon, "This is going to be one of the greatest meetings I ever seen, or either I missed the will of the Lord." I've never had Satan to fight me so hard as he did coming out here. When Brother Williams invited me some time ago, I just kind of hesitated a little. I said, "I'll let you know a little later, because I believe in praying over things before we make our choice. Let it be God's choice."

2 And I just kept feeling led to come, because it was a time... I always appreciate the Full Gospel Businessmen's fellowship. And then ... and this was a little extra, because I would get to meet the different churches, the different brethren of the different denominations. I love to do that, and kind of have fellowship together in different churches of all the churches of God. So then, when...
I said, "I will be sure now that it's the Lord calling me." I said, "I'm going to give Brother Williams quite a bit of time to get somebody else, you know, to go out there. They ... be sure that... If he's still waiting on me, then I know it's the Lord, and if all the brethren say they want me to come out." I said, "Heavenly Father, I'll just take that for granted that you want me to go out to Phoenix."
Well, then, I waited several days. And I thought, "Now I better let him know right away, because they've got to advertise it in the 'Businessmen's Voice.' "
So after waiting a few days, then I called him up, and he said, "Oh, Brother Branham, all the brethren want you to come out." So I said ... just felt that little nudge I should do it. So this would be a grand opportunity.

3 Well, I thought I would come just a little early. And I wanted to go over in Mexico and get me a suitcase I was badly needing. Someone give me the money at Christmas time to get it, and I could get it for about half the price I get it here for, and about twice as good, across the border. I thought, "Well, I'll go down around Texas, so I'm going to allow myself about three extra days so I can shop out and get a good one---so, rest a little along the road." And I was going to start on a Thursday.
And we got all ready to start, and there come a blizzard across the country. And they even blocked the highways everywhere, and the south was impassable altogether; and they wouldn't let us go through the north part over 66.
I waited two days, and finally they opened the roads, said, "You can take your chance." So I started off.
I thought, "Well, it'll be nice weather." Ha! I don't believe I was ever in a worse blizzard in all my life---ice and jams, and all along the road, and everything.

4 Finally one of the recording boys here, Brother Maguire, his car backslid on him coming out. We was coming home. And so, we was having an awful... I think it just give out. I don't think it backslid; it just give out, see. And so, he got an old generator, and the thing wouldn't work right. Tried it again, and it wouldn't work right. He put it in another shop, it wouldn't work right. He tried three ... up till about eleven o'clock one night, and still the thing...
The next morning started up. Fred would ... slept overnight. He's somewhere listening to me. I've never mentioned it even to his father-in-law and them, but he touched me on the shoulder coming out of the restaurant, said, "Brother Branham, you just ask God and it'll work right."
I said, "You really believe that?"
He said, "I do." It worked right. "We can go on now."
So when I got to Phoenix, I thought, "Well, now my trouble's over." And if I didn't get up this morning, with the flu---aching feeling! But I said, "Satan, it's a fight!" So, here I am. So we're here enjoying this fellowship. And I got to meet the pastor this afternoon in his study up here, and we had a wonderful time.

5 Such a lovely little church. And I bring you greetings from all the household of God up in the middle East, where I'm from. And so, we know that you're doing real well out here. We hear from you. And glad to see Brother Norman sitting over here tonight, from Tucson.
And I have some people... I'm looking over this little bitty audience here, seeing people from up in Ohio, Brother and Sister Dauch sitting here. And I believe here's the people from Iowa sitting right back behind us here, and different ones. They just come from the east and west, don't they? Everywhere, flowing in together. So we're happy to be here.
And now we're looking forward for the nights that's scheduled for us to speak at the different churches. I think tomorrow night we'll be up in ... Tempe, was it? Tempe. And then the next night, I think, at Brother Outlaws'---that's the ... 20th and Roosevelt Street; then different ones.

6 And if you brethren are here that I had to miss those two nights, I'm sorry about that. But the Lord will give us a little special blessing on those Sunday mornings that we're to make it up. So it's kind of a full schedule, but by God's grace we'll make it.
And then, expecting a great time in this convention coming, this Businessmen's convention. So happy for the opportunity---maybe get to meet all those brothers, and shake their hands and... It's something to meet friends, and we ... there's nothing like friends.

7 I'm going to quote something that I did to the pastor this afternoon. Oswald J. Smith (he's a great missionary-minded man), he was speaking some time ago in Louisville, Kentucky, to a friend of mine, Dr. Wallace Cobbles. And he said to Brother Cobbles, he said, "Brother Cobbles, I believe that when a man first gets married," he said, "and his wife is young and she's beautiful, and everything," he said, "You know, if she happens to go bad, and fly the coop, as we call it---run away, kick over the trace, or whatever---you know, get out and do wrong," said, "if you have to leave her, or something," said, "it's bad. But it isn't..."
Said, "You can ... you're young and you can look around, maybe, and find another one that will be right." Said, "Then after you live with her long enough till the children comes on," said, "it's awful hard if she does it then, you know." Said, "You really begin to realize you need her. But when you get to about fifty," said, "then you just can't hardly do without her." Said, "Then, when you get seventy, you sure can't do without her."

8 I happened to think ... kind of put a little spiritual interpretation to that. When I was a young minister, every man that made a mistake, he was out of the picture. He couldn't even run in the race. That's all. If he wasn't a Baptist, he just was out of the picture, that's all, see. He just had to see the things I saw, or the man was altogether wrong.
And then after I got a little bit older, I begin to realize that, you know, the blanket kind of stretched a little. I seen where ... what he had to go through with---a lot of toils, a pastor of a church, and the heartaches that goes with it. I realized that this blanket spreads a little over him, too, you know, to kind of keep him from getting cold. And now, as we come on down to about where I am now, I tell you we need one another so bad, we just can't hardly do without one another. That's all there is to it.
And as we see the days getting evil, and things the way they are, why, I think it's good that we come together and fellowship together. And I just long to get with the brethren, and talk to them, and so forth---all the different churches and brotherhood. I love that, see. It's something about it that's real, and...

9 I do think---not plugging for this little group of men, of Full Gospel Businessmen---but I do think that that's a great opportunity that God has given us all, where we can come together through that, and we can have fellowship. They don't draw any lines about any denominations, and so forth, and we can just sit together in heavenly places in Christ. Now I realize that it isn't going to be perfect. We're going to make many mistakes. I see theirs, and they see mine; and you see mine, and I see yours, and... But we got to live with one another, and we got to realize... But I think, after all, if it's all searched around, for my part it's the cream of the crop. That's right. It's this.

10 I put my choice with the full gospel many years ago, and I'm happier every day about it. And I am thankful to be one of them and having this grand experience of receiving Christ as my Saviour; and in return having Him to fill me with his Holy Spirit, living in my heart daily as a witness to me that I have passed from death unto life---testing my ... plan, my salvation, each day as I take inventory. See just the way the Spirit in me, what does it feel like? How does it cooperate with the things of the world? Or is it so heavenly set till the world seems dull, and dingy and dirty?

11 I was passing down this street... I come here the first time thirty-five years ago this year, 1926, in an old T-Model Ford. And I lived at Sixteenth and Henshaw. I see they've even changed the name. It's Buckeye now, so everything's changing. But I recognize the old place. And you know, I rode horses around out through the valley down there, the Salt River, and down through that way. Why, they had burros just across the mountain there, wild burros, see, and old prospectors would come in. My! They got prospectors still coming in, but they're in Cadillacs. So, it's changed quite a bit.
But I find out that the gospel doesn't change. It still brings the same satisfaction. And you go back years after years, you find out it's the same. It's the same experience that they received at Pentecost. After two thousand years it hasn't changed a bit. We get the same thing, you see, just exactly the same thing it's done.
As I looked at the magnificent streets and seeing the places and lights, and places lit up, I thought, "Three hundred years ago (as I was talking to my son coming over) this valley laid peaceful and quiet. Perhaps once in awhile a coyote would howl, or some noise, a burro would bray or..." Three hundred years ago. And as we look, how it's been ... I don't know whether you say converted, or perverted, into what it is now.

12 It would be a convert if this streets was walking up and down with people with their hands up to God, praising God for a beautiful valley, and a lovely place to live, and a healthy climate; and praising God in churches, and brothers was brothers, and sisters, and so forth---just a great colony of God's economy. It would be a wonderful place.
But instead of that, with liquor joints, honkytonks, prostitution, cigarette smoking, gambling, cursing, swearing... I just imagine one day that God will wipe the whole thing clear. That's right. And those who make their choice for Him will live again here in a endless age, that great millennium that is to come.

13 And it's to my intention, and what I'm here in Phoenix for, tonight, is to try to fellowship, first, to strengthen the church; to pray for the sick if any comes to be prayed for. We don't intend to give out any prayer cards, or so forth. We're coming to do just anything we can to help the people. If somebody wants to be prayed for, only thing you do is ask, and we'll pray for them---whatever we can do. I found out at home a few weeks ago doing that, it's far beyond anything else, you see.

14 And I remember when I first come here in Phoenix. We stood over there in Brother Outlaw's church. I believe he's the first one that invited me to Phoenix. And then there was a little Mexican church called Garcia's ... Brother Garcia's, little Spanish-speaking church down ... somewhere down in there. And what a wonderful time we had in there---and people standing in prayer lines, and being healed, just praying and laying hands on them.
The ministry has come higher. Certainly it has. Gifts has been multiplied. But somehow or another, I wish I was just back like I was at the first place, you see. I think more years... We'd just forget some of the things I ever learned, I think it would be a lot better off, see.
Well, I think the road to God is through the path of humility and service. I think that there's nothing no better in the world to lift us up to Christ than that. You get to see carnal impersonations, and so forth, it dulls you and puts something in you. I wish it wouldn't do it, you see. If you just ... kind of brings you up... I think it gets you in the state of complex when you should not be there. You should just keep all things away, and move on.

15 And so... Then I hope that in ... this will strengthen our fellowships together to each other, pray that God will heal the sick people that will be prayed for; and above all things, save every soul that can be saved. I don't know where they are, who they are. So I'm just preaching. Whatever comes in, that's where I try to minister to them, and hoping that some day through that great eternity, and a peaceful valley---maybe not the Maricopa, but some peaceful valley somewhere---we'll live together, neighbors throughout ceaseless ages. That's why we're here.
Now, many are standing, and you're so lovely I could just talk all night. And so, I know we got several services, and I don't want to take too much time in each place. But if we'll just now reverently bow our heads before we open up the Word of God, and pray.

16 Gracious heavenly Father, it is indeed a grand privilege tonight to be alive, to have the opportunity to testify once again before the church of the living God. And as I was speaking to this people a few moments ago, and thinking of this great, mammoth, beautiful city, yet laden with sin like all other cities...
I was thinking, as my son said, "What is the use, then, Daddy?"
But I said, "Son, all over this city is scattered the church of the living God. It's that group that we're holding up before God."

17 It's that ... that saints... As Paul must have looked upon Rome, with its many thousands of population, and as different places that he went he would see the city turned over to idolatry. But there was jewels in that city that he had to labor for. They're resting yonder waiting for the general resurrection in the last day, which we believe is near at hand. We pray for every church in Phoenix, every one of them, Father, we pray that You'd pour out your Spirit upon them all. May they be such lights burning for the gospel till it'd dim the lights of these nightclubs and speakeasies. Grant it, Lord. May the people's hearts become so thirsty for You during this time of visitation, and may You truly visit us, Lord. Visit us with your Spirit, and pour it out upon us in great measures, Lord.
Bless the convention coming on. I pray, Father, that there will be many businessmen, and others, that will be led to this great experience of knowing Christ by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Grant it, Lord.

18 Bless this church that we're here tonight, its lovely little pastor, and its whole being, Lord. It stands here as an example. It's a light to this city that people might see the way of truth. I pray that You'll make its members so salty that everyone in the neighborhood, and throughout the city, will thirst to be like them.
Now I know that You plant these churches here for a purpose. They stand as a witness against evil. And there is a witness in them that God is just and true. I pray that You'd bless them, Father, abundantly.
Now for this coming portion of the service tonight, no doubt but what You've already poured Your blessings upon them. We pray that You'll bless us, Lord, with Your great presence. Speak to us through the Word, in the Spirit. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

19 This afternoon, as I was sitting reading, my eyes fell upon a little text here that I might want to read, and use some of it for a context, if God being willing. And I wrote down some scriptures, and a few notes. I'd like to speak to you a little bit about ... for the glory of God. Now you that wish to turn, let's turn to Numbers, the 14th chapter and begin with the 41st verse. Numbers 14:41, and we shall read ... as it begins:
And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of the Lord? but it shall not prosper.
Go not up, for the Lord is not among you; that ye be not smitten before your enemies.
For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and you shall fall by the sword: because ye are turned away from the Lord, therefore the Lord will not be with you.
But they presumed to go up unto the hill top: nevertheless the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and Moses, departed not out of the camp.
Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites that dwelt in that hill, and smote them, and discomfited them, even to Hormah.
May the Lord add his blessings to the reading of his Word. I wish to take a text from there, if the Lord willing, upon the subject of "Presuming." It's a... I just love to read the Word because I know that that's true. The Word is what we stay by. It must always be the Word of God, or we'll go on the wrong road.

20 It's written over in St. John, I think about the 15th chapter, "If ye abide in Me, and my Word in you (See, the Word abides in you, see.) then ask what you will, and it'll be done," because it's not you---it's the Word that's in you. And the Word is God, see, God in you. God 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."
Now in the return of the Holy Spirit bringing the Word in us, and it abiding in there, then it's not you that speaks; it's the Word itself coming out. So, it's ... the Word will perform the work.
Presume. I got the dictionary and looked up what the word presume actually meant. Webster says it means to venture without actual authority. To presume anything is to venture without actual authority, or to take for granted. To venture without actual authority, or to take for granted to do something before you are authorized to do it, without the actual authority to do it.

21 Now, we have just passed two of the major holidays, that we know here in America to be the Christmas time and the New Year's. It's actually not a Christmas. It's a day that we set aside...
'Course we realize it isn't the Lord's birthday. He couldn't have been born on December the 25th, because it's so cold up there shepherds could not have been on the hill, and so forth. And if you was ever in Judea along that time of year, you'd know it wasn't in the wintertime. But it is thought that it was perhaps along in April, or May, when lambs are born. And like He come by all nature, just like the regular lambs are born, He was the Lamb of God, and He was born along that time. But I don't suppose that He cares what day we set aside, because the actual day is lost. But it's in commemoration of his birthday.
And instead of we making it a commemoration, and a day of worship to God for his sending his Son to us, we have a celebration, see. We celebrate Christmas. And it is not a celebration. You could celebrate Washington's birthday, or Lincoln's birthday; or some other great man's birthday you might celebrate it. But Christmas should be a day of worship. But we have twisted it around and have made it one of the greatest commercial days. It's all fixed up on passing presents one to another, and having feelings hurt if we don't do it, and pay them back. And it's just twisted all up.

22 And then a few weeks ago, when wife and I were over in the shopping center in our little village at home, we overheard a conversation of two girls talking. And one of them said, "Well, what did you get Mother for Christmas?"
"Oh," she said, "dear, I couldn't think of anything else to get her. But what she'd enjoy more was a pack of ... or a carton of cigarettes, and so ... for Mother." And she said, "I got Dad a quart of whiskey." And said, "You know, when..."
And she said, "Well, I'm glad you did that, dear, because I got him a new bunch of poker chips," you see. You see, that's Christmas, see.

23 How can the world stand much longer? A celebration! And then, I suppose they presume that that's the right way to do it, see. That's what they're supposing to do. But they're just presuming that, see.
And here comes New Year's around. After New Year's gets around, why, usually the people all have a great New Year's party. And then in this New Year's party, they all get on a great big drunk around midnight. And I suppose they put to death their sins to forget them all, what they've done in the year. They just get so drunk that they forget all about their sins. And I guess they presume that that's the way you get rid of sins. But they're wrong. That only makes more sin. You can't righten anything by doing another wrong. So, it's just presuming, drowning out.

24 I wonder what people think, that when ... and the pleasure of drinking---that they call pleasure. When whiskey becomes into the system, it heats the blood in such a way it addles the mind, the brain, and you become blank. Your mind is so addled until ... with the heat of this alcohol in the blood stream, so the doctors say, that it just kind of blanks your mind.
Why, if there was some disease in your body that would make your mind go blank, you'd search every doctor's office in the city to find something to get rid of it. And yet, people celebrate the birthday of Christ, and try to drown their sorrows by blanking their mind. Don't you realize, my friend, that people ... you've got to meet that at the judgment bar? You can't get by with that. But they presume that that's the regular custom here in this nation, is to blanken your mind on Christmas Eve night, or on New Year's Eve night---blanken your mind with drinking.

25 They call it a little clean fun, or a little pleasure that people have to have, to give vent. Well, if that's all the pleasure that a person ever got out of life... What pleasure would it be to blanken your mind so blank that you don't even know what you're doing? Then call it pleasure?
Now, I could see the men of the world doing that. But when it comes to the church doing that, people who call themselves Christians, then it goes to show that there's been a letdown somewhere, 'cause that's not the way you forget sins. They're on God's book, and the only way they can be gotten rid of is put in the sea of forgetfulness---the blood of Jesus Christ---and then remembered against you no more. That's the only way. But they presume that the right way is to do it the way the regular ... the people does it.

26 We also have preachers of denomination, great denominations across the nation, and these ministers preach the doctrine of their denomination, presuming that they are doing exactly what's right. Many of them, no matter how contrary to the Scripture it is, they presume they're doing right when they preach that doctrine, let it be whatever it might be. They presume that that's just what God requires---a certain creed, or a certain affiliation. They think that's just all that God requires. They presume that they're taking the people to heaven by just joining a church, and preaching a creed. They presume that that's all right, that's all you have to do. What a mistake that is! That's a terrible mistake, just presuming on that.

27 There's only one creed in the Bible: that's Christ. We only have to ... to know Him is to have life. Outside of that, there is no way to life, outside of knowing Christ by your personal experience with Him---and not by joining a church, or reciting a creed. And when we only bring it to that shallow condition, that's why we have drunken New Year's parties by Christians, so-called. That's why we have celebration of Christmas, and New Year's, and other holy days, and so forth.

28 That's ... the reason that the people do that, is because that that's all they know to do. Why, surely, if there is something that causes people to want to do something on that day, there ought to be something real to be done. There is something somewhere that's a right thing to do, if that's a wrong thing to do; because there's got to be a right to every wrong, or it would be right. So there has to be a pro and con, negative and positive.
There has to be a real dollar that a bogus dollar's made off of, or the bogus dollar would be the real dollar. And when we see a denomination, or a group of people that's hungering for something, and they go into church, and they join the church, they show that there's something that they're hungering for.
The human soul cries out for something. It knows that there's something that brought it here. It knows that there's something that's beyond here. They know that they come from out of the night, and they go back into the night. And they want to know where they come from, and where they're going. Now if that hunger is in there, you can never get it by blanking your mind.

29 You know, I heard ... someone was in that meeting here some time ago. Someone said, "Just let your mind go blank now. Just look right straight up towards the skies. Let your mind go blank, you'll get an experience." No doubt but what you do! That's right.
But ... you get an experience, but what an experience. You see, when you do that, you just open your soul to Satan. He'll give you something, that's true. But I think a person coming to Christ should come with all the intelligence they got, and quoting in their mind when they come to Him every promise in the Scripture. Keep your mind alert, when you come to Christ. Don't let it go blank. The devil will make you do anything, see. They'll give you a sensation. He can do that, too. But you want an experience---something that the Bible teaches, something that's real.

30 Then they go away presuming, "Well, a little nerve shook. I saw a light before me," or something like that. "I got it." And they never live any different. They go right on out.
Many of them come up and say, "Yes, I recite this creed. I believe that I'm all right now."
Now, you presume you're all right. You just think you are. Now, when they do this, then people come and join this church, presuming that they're doing what's right. And many of them is only asked to take a creed to live by, sprinkle a little water on them, and make them church members, and they're all right then. Them people go out---honest, good people---presuming that they're on the road to heaven.

31 Now that's where the trouble comes. Honest-thinking people believe that if they are brought into a certain condition, or a certain place, or to make a certain pledge or something like that, that that's all God requires---keep a commandment, or live by the ten commandments, or something like that, do some good deed, social turn, give the neighbors something. They presume that that's religion, and that's all they have to have. But how wrong that is.

32 Now we're living later than we think. Year by year, coming to Phoenix and other places, I wonder if we'll be here for the next year. I wonder then, when I leave, did I ... was I honest? Did I lay everything out just as clear as I knowed how to lay it? Lord, did I follow Your instructions? Did I say one thing contrary to Your Word, or did I keep every word right on Your Word? Because these same people will stand with me in the judgment, and I'll have to give an account for what I have said while I was at this certain place, where it is.
But the people... After these ministers, I believe, presuming after so many education and get a degree and so forth, and learn a creed of a church, and go back out and take a pastoral job, and, I believe, with honesty and sincerity, just as sincere as anybody could be... But sincerity isn't what makes it true. That isn't altogether truth.

33 I've stood when I ... and here not long ago in India, and seen them with an idol with rubies in the ears, that was worth thousands of dollars---and a hideous looking face in it with great eyes---and seen the priests pour holy water over a man with his body all full of fishhooks with little water balls hanging down from him. And seen them take a ditch of fire about thirty yards long---maybe ten foot wide, and several feet deep---just white embers of fire, and see the men with all this torture... It may be with his lips, if he had lied or done some lies, doing penance, stick his tongue out and sew it to his nose, and run lances through his upper lip, bring it out up through his forehead here, and stick it out like that---all kinds of hideous things. And the priests pour holy water on him to... And they kill a goat then, to make a blood sacrifice, to walk through that fire, presuming that they are doing the will of God. And they're sincere. They are sincere.

34 Down in Africa, see them take little children---just little fat black babies, little bitty fellows---and take ... the witch doctor take the knives and cut them, and rub that ink berry stuff into their faces, and disfigure them, and castrate the little girls and so forth, to make virgins out of them, and all kinds of carrying-on like that, with the deepest of sincerity. Certainly they do. Fall before idols, and even give their lives with the deepest of sincerity.
But sincerity doesn't make it. They're presuming that's right. They just think it's right. And you ... we look down upon them, and we think they ought to be taught different. But we in America are just as bad, and if anything worse off. It's true. We presume. We take it for granted. We venture anywhere without the actual authority of doing it. There's no authority in the Bible for a Christian to drink, gamble, lie, carouse.
People join these churches, and go right on just the same. They join these churches, women cut their hair, wear shorts, smoke cigarettes. Sure. Go right on. They think that's all right. They presume it's all right. But it's not all right! It's not all right. By a million miles it's not right. God's Word don't support it. It's contrary to it. But they presume it's all right.

35 Somewhere out here at the West Coast... Now this isn't over on the Presbyterians, now. This is the Pentecostals, in a great fine church, wonderful organization. But they've so got away from the Word. This lady wore long hair. She had it done in a little round thing on the back of her head. And they'd go around to her, and say, "Hey, your tire's flat in the back," and all of them made fun of her. Even the pastor told her she should have her hair cut because it was different. She asked me, she said, "Brother Branham, what about it?"
I said, "He told you something wrong."

36 Our Pentecostal sisters does the same thing, like the world. Someone said the other day, he said, "Brother Branham, people regard you as a prophet. Why in the world don't you teach those people how to get spiritual gifts? Leave off of the way them women dress, and those men act. Leave off of it. You got no business saying it. Teach them great, deep, spiritual things."
I said, "How can I teach them algebra, when they don't know ABC's?" How can you give them a college education, and they're not even out of kindergarten? Don't even have common decency to clean yourselves up, and act like Christians, and dress like Christians, and live like Christians---and then talk about spiritual gifts. Come out of kindergarten.
They presume that's all right, but it's wrong.

37 You shouldn't do it. Your mothers didn't do it that was in Pentecost years ago. But they do it. And you men---how do you stand and let your wives do that? You're still in kindergarten, see. That's right! You presume it's all right, but it isn't. You say, "Well, wife will do this and that." You're the head of the house! God said so, see.
You just presume it's all right because the rest of them does it. I don't care what the rest of them does; it's what God's Word says. That's what's truth.

38 Just presume it, see. You say, "Well, I guess it's all right. The pastor..."
I don't care what the pastor says. The Word is right. The Word's what's right, see. Don't presume it. You'll get in trouble. Just do what the Word says do. Yes, sir. The people, they keep on doing it just the same, but they're presuming to be right when it's not.

39 People say, "Well, He's too good. He's too good to do it. God is so good."
I believe that. I believe God is good. A teenage boy said not long ago in our town, our city, he said, "You know what?" He said, "God is so good, Brother Branham." He said, "You know, God is so good He just let's me do anything." He said, "He don't care. He don't mind, 'cause He's just so good to me." Nonsense!
God is a good God! We hear so much about Him being a good God, and I believe He is a good God. That's right, He is a good God. But if He's a good God, He's got to be a just God. He can't give us a commandment to do something another, and we disobey it, and expect to escape the judgment. He's also a God of wrath, a God of judgment. That's what makes Him a good God, because He keeps His Word. He watches over it.

40 So we can't expect to do wrong these things that we do, and get by with it. No. We just... He's not too ... He's not... He's good, that is true. I don't want you to misunderstand me. But God is a good God. That is exactly right. But remember, the only way He can be good is to be just. And if He's just, He has to keep His own commandments. And if He keeps His commandments, it's wrong for Christians to intolerate with the world. It's wrong. We shouldn't do it. We're to be a different person.
And we're only venturing out, presuming it, without actual authority. God's Word gives us the authority, and that's the authority we should stand on---what God said.

41 Here Israel presumed that they were all right. He'd been a good God, where I just read in Numbers. He'd been a good God. He'd went down in Egypt, and brought them out of bondage. Sure, He was a good God. "Why, He even rained the manna out of heaven upon us." Good God, sure. It was very well.
But then when it come down to a time that his Word was to be fulfilled, when it come to Kadesh-barnea and the spies come back with the evidence of the land beyond, then they presumed that it would be all right if they bypassed that. God was angry with them.
And Moses said, "Don't go up there with the Amalekites, because you haven't fulfilled what God told us to do."
See, the commandment was, "I have given you that land. Go take it." And they come back with the evidence of it, but they doubted it. They wanted to walk back ... rather, go back to Egypt than to go on and take it, because they was afraid.

42 So many people's afraid today that somebody, your neighbor, is going to say something against you. Many times the pastor is afraid to say something that ... about the Gospel. "I'm afraid it will hurt somebody's feelings." They ought to be hurt. It should be hurt.
Sometimes the women are afraid, say, "Brother Branham..."
It's like this poor soul, she said, "I'm afraid to let ... if I didn't cut my hair off, my husband and the rest of the women, well..."

43 Brother, don't presume on those things. Take the Word of God for it. You know you got a soul that's got to be saved? Do you realize death doesn't change that soul? Death doesn't change nothing but its dwelling place, whatever it is when it leaves you.
We go to a funeral home, we feel sorry for the person that's dead. Sometimes we want to think of the best things we can for them. That is right. But Jesus so strictly said, "Except a man be borned again, he will in no wise enter in." So there's no halfway line. You presume he went to heaven; but according to the Word, he didn't do it. See, you just presume he did.

44 "Well, he was a good church member. He done good for the neighbors." That's fine. We believe that. That's good. I have nothing to say against that part.
But did you realize what kept the people out of the promised land? They were borderline believers. They went so far, but wouldn't go any farther. That's the way men and women, people, do today. They'll go so far in God...
They'll say, "Yes, I'll believe. I'll be baptized. I'll do this, that, or the other---any rules the church has to lay down."
But when it comes to surrender everything to Christ, your life, and all... That's where the line lay. That's what makes people say, "Well, I look at the rest of them." And here to you older Christians, to the younger: the younger women look at the older women, the younger men look at the older men, and see the way you conduct yourself---to see what you do. And they presume that they're all right. It's because you do the way you do.

45 Now, if the Pentecostal church would really live to its standard, if it would live what it claims to have, then the world would thirst after it. But when they see the Pentecostal church let down with just as many things, almost, as the world's got, then they presume that they're just as good as you are. That's right. That's right. They got a right to, see.
But we got to get away from that. We can't presume it. We got to line up with the Word. Now, it's almost a impossible thing to get people praying, fasting, calling on the Lord. Seems like the church has got so drowsy, lazy in these last days---so pitiful. And I hate to come and just keep stirring, and preaching, and saying these things. But brother, sister, that's truth. I just can't hold it. It's the Gospel, and it must be preached. It's got to be preached, as a witness. It's true. So I think that we're just presuming too much.

46 We presume because we had an experience. "Five years ago, Brother Branham, I was walking down the street one day, and the Holy Ghost just blessed me. And I run down the street. And I thought, 'Lord, you have to take me somewhere 'cause I'm going to misbehave on the street.' "
Maybe you were out in the church, and you got an experience. You spoke with tongues, and think, "Well, that's all right. I can go ahead now ... and okay, I see the rest of them doing this." You're just presuming that.

47 Israel had those experiences. Israel had come out of Egypt---Israel, that had seen signs, and miracles, and wonders all down along their road. They'd passed through the Red Sea. They was on dry land. They seen manna fall out of heaven every night. They were witnessing the blessings of God upon their lives.
But then they failed to ... disobey one of God's commandments, and what happened? The blessing cut off from them. And they presumed that because God had been so good, He'd just go on, be good on. But God can't do that.

48 I think we've come to that spot. We've come to a Kadesh-barnea, where we ... when God's given the issue for the church to call a halt, and back to prayer life, back to a consecration, back to a spot that we consecrate ourselves away from the things of the world, and away from our little petty differences among us; and get back to God, and brotherly love, and humility, back to the power of God again.
See, we're just presuming that we're running all right because God is blessing. That... He was blessing Israel probably the same day that they refused to go up there and take the promised land. The same day that they disbelieved the spies, the manna fell just the same that night. But they were altogether out of the will of the Lord. They could not win another battle until they come back and made things right with God. Now I think it's time for the church to get back to God again. Get back and get started like it should be going, so we can continue on in our journey.

49 Yet they knowed God was a good God. He was full of mercy. He'd give them mercy, He'd shown his glory, how there wasn't ... even their shoes wasn't wearing out, their clothes wasn't getting threadbare. And manna was falling from heaven every night. They'd seen miracles and signs all along, of the presence of God with them. Yet, they presumed that because God had did that, they could go up there and take that mountain.
Here it is. When ... if we want spiritual gifts in the church, if we want the power of God in ... the real power of God... Now, I tell you, brother, sister, it's so easy for someone to be deceived on that---sensations, and things. The devil can impersonate nearly any sensation that God's got, see.
But you see, our church is not moving the way it should move. We know there's something wrong, see. And we know then, that God will not be with us until we get whatever it is straightened out. So it's time to check up, see the things that we should do, and what things we should not do; and then get ready, and go ahead. It's all right.

50 Blessings. Samson. Well, Samson was a great man. He was borned a Nazarite unto the Lord. He had his seven locks of hair hanging around his shoulders. He proved by his sign that he was a Nazarite unto the Lord. And God was good, though he run away from his parents, and went down and started going with a Philistine woman. And that was against the tradition, or against Israel to ever fool with a Philistine. But here he was, going down there. God just kept on bearing merciful to him---was all right.
And then she tried to woo him to his secret. Instead of coming right out and telling her not to do such a thing as that, that he was a Nazarite to the Lord and he wouldn't tell it, he told her, said, "Bind my hands." Lied to her, see. And God forgive his lie. And he broke the bands, and on and on like that. Till finally, one time that ... he presumed that he could just do anything he wanted to, get by with it.

51 That's what's the trouble today---presume that we can do anything, and just get by with it. We're Pentecostal people, you see; we can just do anything, and get by with it. You can't do it. You cannot do it. We just can't go on because we're a great organization. Thank the Lord for that, for a great organization. That's appreciated.
But we just can't go on, say, "We got more members than the next fellow, and therefore he's not in the race, and we can just go on. I tell you, we're going to quit doing this, and quit doing that. And I think, well, I think this is old-fashioned. I don't think we'll have them prayer meetings, and all this going on. I think we oughtn't to do that."
You're just presuming. I tell you again---instead of preaching ... taking so many of our students over here, and getting them crammed so full of theology, and things like that, I think it would be better to take them in an upper room like they used to have a long time ago, for an experience.

52 Hudson Taylor said one time, the great missionary to India... A young Indian boy got converted. He was filled with the Spirit of God. He said his face was shining like a light. And he come in, said, "Mr. Taylor, now I believe I will go to school, and take my four years that I missed in college." He said, "Then I think I'm going to study, and get my Bachelor of Art, and within a few years I'll be able to go out and preach the Gospel."
Mr. Taylor, the renowned Christian that he was, he said, "Son, go with what you got now." That's it. Said, "Start giving light when the candle is lit, not when it's half gone." That's right. Tell what you know. If you ain't got no experience, you can't tell nothing.
But what we need is to get back to God. That's true. See, we must get back to that experience again, to the thing that cleans us up inside and outside. If the inside gets right, the outside will take care of its ... it will automatically be done. Yes, sir.

53 Samson said, "Well, I'll just raise, and shake myself just like I've always done. And then, when I do it God will be there. I just presume He's there." But he found out He was gone.
You know what? I believe that the church ought to get back to holiness again. We ought to get back to the right way of living. See, we presume that because we received the Spirit, because that we danced in the Spirit, because that we've done these things that we have done, and God's blessed us, and we've seen the healing meetings, and we seen the revivals, and so forth, we just figure that that's all right.
"Now, when we do that we'll fashion it down, settle down, because we got a great building, we got a nice denomination, we got all this. We got the highest class of this, the best church in this city, and all these things till we can bring the world in, and say, 'See, our piano, our organ, and our so-and-so, is just as good as yours. And our benches is, pews is as good as yours, our preacher is just as highly educated as yours.'" We're presuming that God is still with us when He isn't. Remember that.

54 When we begin to see the miracles and signs and wonders of God, we see the power of God come down, and then see people live different, clean up their lives, brush off tempers, high-tempered fussing, stewing, fighting with one another, members disorderly (that's right), all kinds of sin among us, unbelief...
Somebody preach the Word of God, say, "God said you must be borned again. If you ain't, you can't get in."
"I disagree with that."
And say you got the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit won't deny His own Word. Got to stay with that Word 'cause He's the One Who spoke it. If I speak a word, and then deny what I said, then my word's no good. The Holy Spirit's got to keep what He said. And this Word written here is the Word of the Holy Spirit. I believe it. That's right. Now we find out that God... See, we need more holiness. We need to be cleaned up, our churches.

55 Samson, he thought, "Well, I'll just..." Went down there, and lived with this prostitute, and everything. "Then she finally told me to do this, and I finally got by with it. And then all this... Oh, I really told her the truth, that here's where it's all about. It was like this, and I think it'll be all right. I presume He's with me." But when he got up and shook himself, he found out that his power was gone.
I think today, brother, when we look around upon our churches the way they're going, it's time to shake ourselves. Something's wrong. We're presuming that we're running all right. We're presuming that we're doing fine.

56 Like ... I was speaking not long ago to some of our businessmen, our brethren. I said in a certain meeting that we were in, over across the seas... And the brethren was there, and they had a meeting. And they was telling how the Lord had blessed them. And they had a little bitty business on the corner, and they give their life to Christ; and they had a fleet of Cadillacs now.
So I said to the brethren, I said, "Don't say that! That's contrary. That ain't the way the first Pentecostals did. They got rid of what they had and give to the poor. Them men are businessmen. They own factories, and everything else. You've got to give them something that they don't know about."

57 That's what's the matter with the church. We get the bright lights, and everything, and almost the honky-tonks in the church. We're trying to compare with the world. You can never do that. We got to invite the world on the church grounds; not go out on their grounds. We can't compare with them there, but we've got something that they haven't got. That's the [unclear]. That's the thing. The thing we want to show them is Christ in our lives, the power of the Holy Ghost, see, showing them something that they haven't got. Let them come on our grounds. If they want Christ, come on this ground.
But don't do like them, and act like them. That's wrong. There's where Samson made a mistake. He went from Palestine down into the Philistine country. He got off the wrong ... of his own grounds. He found one time presuming that God was with him, and God had left him.

58 Achan. Why, when he took that little wedge, and that Babylonian garment, why, he thought ... he presumed it'd never be seen. "Well, what's that? It's just a little old garment. I'll stick it under here, and probably my family will long enjoy this. I got a wedge. If we ever get into a tight place, so I got a wedge of gold. Nobody will see it. Just wrap the thing together and put it under my coat, and go on." He presumed that it was all right. Presuming. But God's commandment was, "Take nothing out of that cursed city. Don't have nothing around you that's cursed."
Then how can we smoke cigarettes? How can women cut their hair, if God says that when they do that it's wrong? How can you wear these little old trousers of a thing that they're wearing, when God said a women that puts on a garment pertains to a man it's an abomination in His sight? God don't change. How can we do it? And it's just presuming that it's all right. It's not all right. It's not all right! When our Pentecostal women does a thing like that, you better stop and check up, shake yourself, look back. Don't presume those things, 'cause you're wrong---absolutely wrong.

59 The Egyptians, when they come after Moses and the Israelites, they seen Moses march right through that sea, walk across there---every Israelite. They were circumcised and dedicated to the Lord. The commandments of God was with them, the signs of God was following them. They walked right through the sea. There was no mistake. The Egyptians stood and watched them do it.
"Well," they said, "I presume if they can do it, we can too."

60 Now we look back and see the Pentecostal church at the beginning. We think about the Pentecostal thirty, forty years ago. We think about the Pentecostal ... post-Nicean council. We think about them in the early ages of Irenaeus, St. Martin, Columba, Justin, Polycarp, all those sainted men. And we feel that, seeing them, that we got the same blessing they had, so we can perceive that we can just go right on like they do. We perceive that we can do the same things that they did. But we can't do it under these circumstances, under these conditions that the church is in now.

61 Look what those men did. Look what those churches did. What a sacrifice it was! What they had to give up! How they counted their lives not even nothing to them. They stayed on their face day and night praying to the Lord. They went everywhere they could, and searched for every crack and corner they could get to, testifying of the Kingdom of God to the people. And today, we just expect the pastor to bring it in his briefcase, with a evangelist, and "Bless God, I belong to the church." That's it, see. "I'm a member there. I'm just ... I believe in this church. This church is all right."
Sure, the building might be all right. Might be nothing wrong, no termites or nothing in it. But what about the building ... the other building? What kind of termites is boarded in it, see? That's the thing that might cause us trouble, see. The termites will eat into your soul. Oh, how we need to check up and see if there's ... instead of presuming that we're all right. Yes.

62 There them uncircumcised Egyptians, they thought, "We'll just pass right through the sea like they did," and they lost their lives.
Achan thought, "This little old wedge won't make any difference."
"The rest of the ladies are cutting their hair. I'll do the same thing. It won't make any difference."
But what did they do? It never brought pleasure to his family. It brought death to every one of them. And when we compromise on any commandment of God to please the people, we kill the thing right there. One little wedge, one Babylonian garment, stopped the marching army. Brother, one thing that we permit the church to do that's wrong, one thing that we once called out against to make the people straighten it up, it will stop the march of the church.
They presume they're going on. We may be in name, we may be in numbers---but that ain't what counts, see. That isn't what counts. It's God with us, God in us, God moving through us, His Word alive in us.

63 Don't presume that you know that. Watch the way it makes you live, the attitude you take towards sin, how everything... Why, you think about a holy God... Did you ever think that that one you're going to stand in His presence, and give an account for this Word, and for Christ, when God so holy, sitting yonder in eternity, when ten million suns will be black spots before Him? So holy that even the angels look filthy in His sight. Angels before Him are filthy.
You expect you and I, with His Word and the blood of His Son to cleanse us from sin, and walk right over His commandments and walk out into the world---and expect to stand there blameless, when you knowed better than to do it?

64 The church better be straightening up. Don't ... let's not presume this, because we're bigger in number than we used to be, and we're more financially better than we used to be. We got better buildings than we used to have, we dress better clothes than we used to have, we have better cars than we used to have. But, oh, brother, I wonder about Christ, how much is He with us, see. That's it. We're just presuming. Yes, sir. The uncircumcised could not do it. That's right. They got drowned in the sea.
In the days of Noah, when Noah was building that great boat that was going to stem the tides... Well, no doubt but many of the church members of that day said, "Well, that fanatic! What if it does happen? What if it does happen? What if there does come a storm? We'll get in our boat and ride. Our boat's as good as their boat. Our boat will float as much as theirs, whether it's God-constructed or not."

65 That's what people do today. They say, "I belong to this church. I joined over here. That's as good as any of them."
Well, brother, if we're not on the Word, and the Word's not in us, we're just presuming we're all right. Remember when the floods came, only the God-constructed boat floated. They presumed they'd be all right. But presuming you're all right and being all right is different.
You say, "Brother Branham, you're kind of tying us out here on a limb somewhere, aren't you?"
No. I just want to show you ... put something before you, see. Then we'll come to the rescue just in one minute. Yes.
You say, "Well, Noah..." Somebody'd say, "Well, here. I got ... well, I know John Doe down here on the corner. Well, he's got a boat that we can ride any stream with."
But you see, it wasn't God-constructed. It wasn't put up with the shittim wood, and the way God constructed it.

66 You say, "I got a church, Brother Branham. Oh, we belong to the biggest denomination in this city. We're the biggest church there is around here, and we got the best dressed group of people. The mayor comes to our church, and the officials come to our church. Why, we ... all this we got," see.
But unless that is constructed by God it won't stand. No denomination, unless it's destruct ... constructed by God's construction here ... that it will not stand. That's right. It has to come the way God said build it. It can't come any other way---not by creed, not by just joining, not by this, or not by sensation. It's got to come by the way of the cross. It's got to come by the way of the blood. It's got to come and be filled with the Holy Ghost. It's got to be Holy Ghost material, and Holy Ghost material makes Holy Ghost people.

67 A cypress boat material makes a cypress boat. A poplar material make a poplar boat. See what I mean? And worldly material makes a worldly church. A Holy Ghost material makes a Holy Ghost church.
"What is this Holy Ghost church, Brother Branham? What does it do? How does it act?" We'll find out just in a little bit, see. All right. Constructed. The same as now, they try to believe. So many today, so many down through the age, has talked about... There's so many different ways, telling you so many people of different ways, it's a confusion. You go over here...

68 My old mother that just passed away a few months ago, when she was laying there on the bed, said, "Billy, I'm going."
I said, "Mother, don't talk like that."
She said, "I'm going." Said, "I want to go see my other children. I want to see Dad. I'm going." And she looked over...
I was standing there, her oldest; here stood my sister, the youngest. And there were ten of us children---nine boys and a girl.
She looked, and she said, "My first and my last." She said, "Dolores, you're my only girl. You've been good to me." Said, "You've come and helped me do my washing. You've loved me, and taken care of me."
She said, "Billy, you've seen that I never went hungry. You've paid my bills. You've give me a place to live in." And said, "You've been my spiritual guide."

69 And I said, "Mother, a few years ago when I come to Christ as a little boy, after being called as a child," I said, "first being Irish, I thought I'd go down to the Irish church. And they said, 'We are the church. No matter what anything else says, we are the church.' And said, 'This is what you come ... you got to come to this. This is the only church.' "
And I said, "Then I thought I'd go over and visit the Lutheran. The Lutheran said, 'We are the church. We are that.' Now a church is a body of people, called-out body of people. And I thought, 'Well, now, which one of them is the body? Which one of them really is the church? One says it's this way, and one says it's that way. Went to the Methodists. They're this way; the Baptists this way."

70 I said, "I found out there's about nine hundred different churches, see, each one pulling this way, and that way. Just as..." I said, "I could base no faith upon that. I could not do it, Mama. Therefore I didn't take any of them. But I went back, and I found out what the constructions was, what God laid down (the instructions rather, what the instructions was to be done), and I taught it just exactly the way the apostles taught it. And I got the same results." I said, "Now that's it, see. That's it. I took God's Word and just laid it out like that."
And she said, "Billy, I'm resting on that."

71 And when the poor old thing couldn't even speak no more, I said, "Mother..." I wanted to commit her soul to God. I did my father, and I wanted to commit her soul to God. And she was laying there, she could no more speak.
I said, "Mother, I'm standing here yet. You know it? If you can, bat your eyes." And she'd bat her eyes. I said, "I want to ask you something now, Mother. You're just a few minutes away now." I said, "I want to stand here to see Jesus come get your soul." And I said, "Then I'll commit it to Him."
I said, "I want to ask you something, Mother." I said... I baptized my mother about thirty years ago, and she was filled with the Holy Ghost. And she was a Christian, a real saint of God.
And I said, "Mother, does Jesus mean right here---when you've got maybe five more minutes to live---is Jesus just as sweet to you as He was the day you received the Holy Ghost?" I said, "Mother, I want to say this for my own, so I can tell others. Is He just as sweet right now? You're my mother. You wouldn't tell me anything wrong. I want to know how you feel right now. Is He just as sweet as He was when you received Him back yonder thirty years ago? If it is, you can't speak, but bat your eyes real fast." And she'd bat her eyes real fast, the tears run down her cheeks. Oh, brother.
Yes, that's it. You're not presuming then. You know where you stand. That's right. Oh, don't presume about it. There's so many different ways. Just don't presume. But God has give an a-vindication of his promise, see. We don't have to presume about it; God's vindicated it.

72 Now in Deuteronomy 18:22 you can find (18:15 to 22), you'll find out the Bible said that "The Lord your God will raise up a prophet liken unto me," Moses speaking. "And the people, ever who'll not hear this prophet, will be cut off from amongst the people." Then He goes ahead and said, "If there be a prophet among you, or one who professes to be, and what he says doesn't come to pass, then don't you fear him. It's not right. But if the Lord has spoke to him, He'll bring it to pass," see. That's the way you'll know it. God give us instructions whether to know. We don't have to presume anything. Nothing. You don't have to just imagine; you can have an experience to know it. Yes, sir.

73 In John 14:12, that prophet that the Lord raised up, which was Christ Jesus, his Son, that same prophet in St. John 14:12 said, "He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also." Brother, there's no presuming on that. Not a thing. He said that ye shall do it. In Mark, 16th chapter, from 15th to 18th verse, Jesus said, "These signs shall follow them that believe."
You don't have to presume. "I imagine I'm right. Can I ... I think I'm right." Jesus said, "These signs shall follow them that believe." You don't presume nothing about it.

74 John, the Baptist, he didn't have to presume, say, "I presume maybe that is the Christ. I'm not sure. Now, that may be Him standing right there. I presume maybe it is." He didn't say that. He said, "Behold, there stands the Lamb of God." He wasn't presuming it was; he knew it was. Why?
God had told him in the wilderness, "Now, you're not going to be fooled by this, John. This is an important thing. You don't want to get your things mixed up."
That's what's today. God wants His church to know what's truth. We don't want to get mixed up on this. Brother, you don't get another trial. You better be right when the ship pulls into your house, when death floats around in the room. You've got to be sure of this. Don't take no chance on it. Don't do it. It's wrong. Be sure you're right.

75 He said to John, "Upon whom thou shall see the Spirit descending, that's the one that will baptize with the Holy Ghost and fire, see, that's Him. That'll be the one."
John didn't say, "I presume it." He said, "There He is." O God! That's it. No, He didn't presume nothing. He knew that was the Son of God. He knowed that was the Lamb that was taking away the sin of the world, because it was revealed to him.
And you'll never know no better until it's revealed to you. And how can God reveal to you something that's contrary to his Word? The only way the Holy Ghost will ever be able to reveal Himself to you is when He keeps His promise to you. "These signs shall follow them that believe; in my name they shall cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; take up serpents; or drink deadly things, they wouldn't harm them; lay their hands on the sick, and they shall recover." "... this will all men know that you're my disciples, when you have love one for the other."

76 These are the commandments, these are the things to watch. The fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, faith, goodness, meekness, gentleness, patience. That's the fruit of the Spirit. That's the thing, the evidences, that's the vindication. That's how God vindicates it. He proves it to you.
What was the difference in Moab up on the mountain with seven altars and seven rams, and Israel down in the valley with seven altars and seven rams?---both of them keeping the commandments of God, both of them trying to do it. But God vindicated Israel.
How did Cain... When he made an altar just as pretty, or prettier than Abel's, he offered fruits. He give his tithes, he brought his income into the house of the Lord. He knelt on the altar, he bowed himself. He prayed, he worshipped, just as sincere as any man. But God vindicated Abel, by consuming his sacrifice.

77 On Mount Carmel that great day, when four hundred pagan priests had gathered out there, of the house of the first lady of the land, when they gathered out there to make their sacrifice they called all day long---and there was no sound nor fire. But when Elijah laid the bullock upon there, and poured the seven barrels of water upon it, God vindicated that that was the truth.
If you say you're a believer, God vindicates it. You don't have to presume anything. It's God's consume; you don't have to presume. That's right.

78 The brass altar consumed the sacrifice. If the sacrifice laid upon the altar and it was not consumed, God refused it, see. It's consuming.
And you are God's sacrifice. Lay yourself upon the altar, and say, "God, just take it all out of me. Empty up so You can fill me up, and use me." That's right. Don't presume it; believe it. Yes, sir. If you don't believe it, God won't receive your sacrifice.
He could say, John did, "This is Him. He's true. I know it's Him.

79 Nathanael went back to Deuteronomy 18. And you find in Deuteronomy 18:15, if you want to put it down... He didn't have to presume. When Philip went over and got him, he said, "Come and see. We found the Messiah."
Now you see, Philip was positive. He knew what he was talking about. He said, "We found the Messiah." Not "Come, let us go over here and see. Let us reason it out together, and see if this could be the Messiah. Let's you and I just take our books and go down and find out." It wasn't no reasoning with him. He wasn't presuming it was the Messiah; he knowed it was. He knew it was.

80 So Nathanael, being a good scholar, when he walked up there in the face of Jesus, and Jesus said, "Behold an Israelite in whom there is no guile," presuming was done.
He said, "Rabbi, when did You know me?"
He said, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the tree." No more presuming.
What? He knowed that God had said that. God had said, "If there be a prophet, one that raises up among you, and what he says doesn't come to pass, then don't hear him. But if it does come to pass, I've sent him." There you are. He didn't have to presume. He knowed that was the Messiah.

81 Look at the woman at the well. When Jesus was out there at the well at Samaria, when she was standing at the well, she said... You know the story about "Bring me a drink," and said, "The well is deep and You have nothing to draw with," and so forth, as the conversation went on.
And finally He told her, said, "Go get your husband and come here."
And she said, "I have no husband." She said, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet." After He told her... Said, "I have no husband." He said, "You've said well, because you've had five, and the one you're living with now is not your husband."
She said, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. We know..." (not "we presume. We presume that maybe, we presume maybe that the Messiah might do this. We presume..."), " We know that when the Messiah cometh..." Hallelujah! That's it. We know! We're not presuming nothing. We know exactly what the Scripture says.

82 Brother, the Scripture says we got to be borned again. We got to separate ourselves from all filthiness of the world and be holy. We've got to do that. That's what the Bible said. Our women are not to act like the world. Our men are not to act like the world. We're not to stand around and tell dirty jokes to each other. We're not to go out here and smoke cigarettes, take a social drink to keep our job.
Why, if I had to eat soda crackers, and drink branch water... I'd rather starve on the street than I had to keep a job where I had to drink the devil's rot and smoke cigarettes, and everything else to keep favor. No, sir!

83 I'd rather separate myself from a group of people that calls themselves Christians that'll call me old-fashioned (if I was a woman) ' cause I had to wear long hair and decent looking clothes. I'd rather separate myself and be a fanatic, than to associate with such people that would laugh and make fun of such things as that. Why, it's an abomination in the sight of God. That's right.
But yet, we try to say that's just the thing. We presume that's all right. The rest of them does it. Why, that don't make any... Judas betrayed Christ. Is that a sign you have to do it? No, sir. We don't want to do that. You want to ... you want to keep God's Word. Don't presume nothing. Take what God's Word says. Yes, sir.

84 What if the disciples, now, at the day of Pentecost (closing), what if the disciples said, "We went up there..." And they was up here for nine days. On the ninth day, what if Peter come around and said, "Brethren, you know our Lord can't lie. No, He can't lie."
Matthew'd say, "That's right, Simon. He can't lie. What do you think about it, Mark?"
"Oh, that's right. He can't lie."
"He told us if we'd come up here to the city of Jerusalem and tarry, He would send the promise of our Father upon us. We believe that, don't we, brethren?"
"Oh, sure."
"I tell you what. We done been here nine days. I presume we've already received it." Oh, that'd make good Baptists and Methodists and Presbyterians, see.
"I presume we've got it, brothers. Let's go out and start a meeting."
They'd have never had it. But they didn't presume nothing. Why? They knowed that over in the Scriptures... I'll give you some Scriptures just a minute, as soon as I turn to it. In Isaiah 28:11, He said, "Precept must be upon precept; line upon line upon line; here a little, there a little; and hold fast that what's good. For with stammering lips and other tongues will I speak to this people. This is the rest."

85 Joel 2:28 said, "It shall come to pass in the last days I shall pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; your sons and daughters shall prophecy." Hallelujah! They waited until the Scripture was made manifest to them. They didn't presume nothing. They waited till it was over. They waited till they got it.
Pentecostal church, still their women cutting their hair, their men still smoking cigarettes and the things that we do, and things like that, and letting our people carry on like that. We're presuming something. Let's come back, brother. Let's go back here just a minute. We're running ahead of ourself. We can't be Pentecostal and do like that. No, sir! Let's come back until there comes a consuming fire of God down, and receives the sacrifice, gets the church wholly filled with the Spirit of God, and old-fashioned Pentecostal powers begins to show itself in the church again. Sure. Sure, we're just presuming. See, we're just taking...

86 "Well, yes, sir, I believe I spoke with tongues one day. I believe I received it, Brother Branham. I believe that's right."
And acting the way you act? Doing the things that you do? Associating with the world? Watching television on Wednesday night instead of going to prayer meeting? All of these things, love them ... "We Love Suzie," and all them other things better than you love the Bible? Reading magazines before ... Pentecostal people reading magazines before... 'Cause the rest of the women act like that, you have to do it too? Doing all these kind of things? And then... You're just presuming! He that loves the world, or the things of the world, the love of God's not even in him. That's right. It's the truth.
Getting to a place where it's all show. It's all just a show, instead of old-fashioned holiness, instead of getting back to God. You see the pictures today of advertisements of evangelists going out, and real pretty, curly hair. I'd like to have some. That's true. But you notice them. They'll take their picture ... they hold their head down sideways to show that real pretty, curly hair, advertising out yonder in stuff like that.

87 Let me tell you, brother, no wonder the Spirit of God's departed from the thing. No wonder we're back just as cold as the Methodists, or Baptists. We've got to come out of this, brother, sister, or God will consume us. Exactly right. We got to come back to the power of God, to old prayer meetings and shakings of the Holy Ghost, until men and women live holy and sanctified. Yes, sir. Get the world, and all the Hollywood and dress and stuff, out of the thing. My! That's right, brother. Yes. Oh, how sin is so deceitful. How easy it creeps in like that, and takes the things, and just grabs on to you and holds you, and goes away with it. Yes, sir.

88 Intellectuals. You churches sometimes voting for your pastor, or however you do it... They do it like the Baptist churches, and so forth, and Presbyterians, and Methodists, and Pentecostals, too, of course. You want your pastor... You try to find some great intellectual guy, so you can say to your neighbor over here, "You see, our guy ... our pastor's got a college education," see. We ... you pick a man like that.

89 If I wanted a man to teach my children, to leave them under his tutorship---and things like that---and my brother, my mother, and someone that I'm expecting to meet over on the other land, I'd rather have a man that didn't know his ABC's when it comes to the intellectual standpoint. I'd rather he'd know Christ (that's right) as Saviour. Yes, sir. Whether he could preach, or stand up ... and slobber and everything else, wouldn't make me no difference. If he wore overalls in the pulpit, what difference does that make? Trouble of it is, we got too dressy, and fashion, and... Pentecostals! We just...
It's just all of us. We're just going to be consumed if we don't do something about this. We need prayer meetings. We need back to the power of God. Yes, sir! And just say a little thing about it, oh, my goodness! The people just think that's horrible. "Oh, my! Wouldn't want him in my church saying things like that," see. That's it. What's the matter?
It goes to show there's something's wrong inside. This is God's Word. This is His plan. We're presuming we're all right, but I wonder if ... I wonder what God says about it. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. That's awful to say that, but it's right. Yes, sir.

90 The day of Pentecost they waited till they had Scriptural authority. That's right. Before they claimed anything, they knowed they had it. They didn't say, "Well, I felt a little sensation." They felt it, saw it, everything else. They knowed it was there. They seen it moving in them, working in them, talking through them, everything. It was there! They didn't have to presume nothing. It was there talking for itself.
In a man, when he's borned again of the Spirit of God, it's the same thing today. You don't presume. "I believe we received the Holy Ghost when we believed."

91 No, you didn't. You don't... You could do it, but just 'cause you believed... If God didn't fill you with the Holy Ghost, then He hasn't vindicated you yet. You haven't got it, see. That's right. Don't presume you've got it. Be sure of that thing. You don't want to take a chance on it. No, 'cause you'll be lost. Just don't presume. Just stay ... go stay till it's over with. Today we take it by a creed, or by some kind of a sensation.

92 I heard someone... As I was saying at the beginning of my message, back here a few days ago I was in a place, and some of them said, "Now, you have to wear Elijah's garment." My, there's more different garments, and touching, handling, and sensations I ever heard in my life.
Said, "Now, just let it go blank, go blank. Hold your head back (good, honest people), go blank. Don't think of nothing. Just let your mind go completely blank. Now say, 'I believe God. Oh, I believe you're going to give me Elijah's garment.' "
I don't want Elijah's garment; I want the Holy Ghost. I want to come upon the basis of this Word. I want to come with the knowledge, see, that I come upon God ... believing that... I can't be covered with Elijah's garment. I want to be covered with the garment of the righteousness of Jesus Christ, clothed in His righteousness. Sure. That's the garment we want. Yes, sir.
Say then, "We have it. We..." And people go believing that. Say, "Well, I presume now that I got it. I had a funny feeling," you see. Or, "I really did. Cold chills run all over me." Yeah. Some of them said, "Well, it even made me cry." I did at my mother's funeral, but still, that didn't have anything to do with that, the Holy Ghost.

93 The Holy Ghost is the power of God that sinks into your heart as a witness of the Spirit. You're borned again, your life is cleaned up, the world is dead, and all the stink of it. It is like the garlic in Egypt, see. You're far away from it. You're a new creature in Christ Jesus. Old things has passed away. You become new altogether, a new creation, borned of the Spirit. Yes, sir!

94 Your whole members of your body submissive to his Spirit, and you're moving in the Holy Ghost, and not listening to the sound of the world. Your eyes are on heavenly things. That's when you really ... if God's a-vindicating the thing. But, as long as you still got the world and want to say, "Well, they do this, and they do that. I presume that they got it." They might have it. I don't know what they got, but it ain't this I'm talking about. That's exactly right 'cause... That's one thing true, 'cause it makes you different.

95 Then, can you imagine a person having the Holy Ghost, and denying part of God's Word? Taking half of it and saying the other half is no good? Say, "I believe a man ought to live a pretty good life. But when we come to a time of thinking about divine healing, and all this stuff like that, and abstaining, and oh, we have to be this, that, I don't believe..." Uh-huh.
The Bible said that would come to pass, having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof. They deny half of His Word, and all of His power. That's right. Yes, sir. That's true. And then they presume they got it. "It's all right," see.

96 A lady ... a couple of ladies met one of our sisters coming down here. She had a little wreck on the road, or hurt a ... bursted a plug in her car, or something or another. And some women picked her up from a certain church and... Told her where to come. Said, "Oh, the Lord led us here."
Said, "You're in error."
The Pentecostals in error, you see. So we... Oh, I'd like to've been there.
Stop presuming. Wait until all the temper are gone, the signs of the Bible of your salvation is performing in you. Moses presumed without an actual call that God would surely reveal it to the people. He was going out and take over Egypt down there. He presumed that it was time to do it. But he failed, and miserably failed, and give up the plan, give up the whole thought of it, till one day God met him.

97 When he met God at the burning bush, he got in the bush and the bush got in him. Then there was a difference. He didn't presume. "Now, I don't know. I believe I'll just kill this Egyptian, hide him down here in the sand. That will be all." That was another Achan's wedge, you see. See. But when God spoke to him in the burning bush, and he actually seen God, experienced God, and knowed that God was, and heard Him say, "I will surely be with you," that's a personal call.
Many times people go and say, "I believe I was called to preach the Gospel," see. A man's got no business preaching the Gospel until... Now, I don't care how well he's educated, how well he knows the Bible... The devil knows it better than any of us. That's right. But he can't live it. That's it. He can't live it, see. That's the only advantage you got over him, see. He might know it as well as you do, but he can't live it like you can. Christ died that you could live it, see, and He never for him.

98 So, now, you see, no minister's got any rights---no matter how smart, how much theology he knows, and how well he knows the Bible---he's got no business in the pulpit preaching the Gospel until first he has met God. Not presuming that "I ought to go out. I'll make a better living, and I won't have to work too hard." You're mistaken there, brother, if you're really a preacher. Now. But, "I'll ... and people will be this way, and I'll be popular amongst the neighborhood where I am, and things like that. And I think it's the right thing to do." That's not it.
A call of God is something you don't presume. It's something ... an actual experience, something that you've talked face to face with God, and you know you're commissioned to go do it. "Surely I'll be with you." You don't presume nothing. You just believe it. Yes. Don't presume it.

99 Just don't presume "I'm running all right." Wait for a Christian personal experience. Don't claim the Holy Ghost when you see yourself still dilly-dallying in the world. Don't do that. Don't ... you'd be better off if you just forgot about it, see. If you forgot... "Well," say, "Brother Branham, I got shivers over me one day." That might be all right too, see. But you say, "Well, I danced in the Spirit, I spoke with tongues, I might have done these things." That's fine. Yes, sir, that's all right.
But if that life hasn't straightened up, if you men still smoke cigarettes, tell jokes, take sociable drinks, lie, cheat, not honest with your neighbor, not even honest with your family, see, and claim to have the Holy Ghost, don't you testify that no more, brother.

100 And you women that hasn't the common decency to let your hair grow out, like God told you to... That's right. The Bible says that a woman that will bob her hair dishonors her head, and that dishonors her husband. And you that will wear these little old garments like the rest of the world wears, the Bible says that he that ... "a woman that'll put on a garment that pertains to a man is an abomination," filthy in the sight of God. And then you claim to have the Holy Ghost? You're presuming you've got it. But when you get it, it cleans you up. That's right. It makes you different.
You that claim you have the Holy Ghost, and you that's got long hair, and wear your dresses neat and everything like that, and you'll stay home on Wednesday night to watch a program---a television program---instead of going to church to prayer meeting, you're presuming you got the Holy Ghost. For when the Holy Ghost is in there, the love of God is so constrained in you that you just can't stay away from those people. You that has to be forced to prayer...

101 What if my wife ... if I told my wife... If I marry ... I was married, I told my wife that I loved her and that was a lie, and when it really come to the showdown, it's an artificial love, I'm just, I'm... It's not really the truth, see.
It's just like you can wear artificial teeth, if you have no teeth. That's all right. You have to have something to chew with, so you get artificial teeth. Them teeth's all right to substitute until you get more. But them teeth is not connected with you. They're not connected there. They're all right. They're a substitute, but they're not connected with you. They'll not come in the resurrection 'cause they're not connected with you. That's right.
If you had an arm cut off, you put on an artificial arm, it's a substitute, something---wear a glove---and so, that's all right. It's perfectly all right, see, to do that. But that artificial arm will never come. Nothing artificial will ever come in the resurrection. And neither will an artificial Christian ever rise in the resurrection. You're not connected with Christ.

102 And if you don't truly love your wife better than any other woman in the world, she's not yet ... there's something wrong. If you don't love your husband, if you trifle on him and don't live the right kind of life, there's something wrong. That's right. She'll not ... they'll not be there. So in the resurr... You might've married him, you're living honorable to him. That's fine. I appreciate that. You should do that as a lady for your children---and you men to your wives. That's right. You should do that, honorable. But in the resurrection that'll not be her.

103 You ... just same as in Christ now. You've got to be connected, part of Christ---not something artificial put on. "I go to church, and say that I follow the Apostle's Creed, and so forth. And I believe I'm running just as well as the rest of them." Brother, you're presuming. Don't you just take that for granted. You're walking on grounds you actually have no authority to claim the Holy Ghost. You have no actual authority.

104 What did we say back here Webster said? Webster said, "to venture without actual authority." You're venturing out, saying that "I'm Pentecostal," when you haven't got the experience, and you haven't ... living the life, see---without actual authority, or taking it for granted.
"I spoke with tongues, so I suppose I got it." I believe in speaking in tongues, too, but if the life doesn't follow it, then it does no good. Sure.

105 I've seen witches speak with tongues, wizard's interpret it, you see. I know that. And I've seen saints speak with tongues. It was interpreted too. But you see, it's got to be a life. "By their fruit you shall know them,"---the kind of life it is. And look at our Pentecostal message today in preaching; and our people letting down constantly, even in normal little things that can't even get on a foundation of common decency. Then how we going to claim the Holy Ghost? It's time, brother. No wonder the world says you ain't got what you claim to have.
We're presuming it. We're taking the name of Pentecost without living the life of Pentecost. A life of Pentecost is a consecrated life filled with the Holy Ghost, rich and royal, till there's nobody can put a finger on you. That's real Pentecost. Oh, don't we... Why would you want a substitute? Why would the devil trick you into something like that?

106 Reading here not long ago, how easy the devil can trick a person to that. I was reading the life of St. Martin. Many of you've read that, of course, in the Nicene ... Post-Nicene Council, (Fathers, rather), how that Satan come to him so real that... He came to this Martin. He was dressed with a fine crown on his head, beautiful to look at---shiny hair, golden shoes. Martin ... just staggered him when he seen the vision of him standing there.
He said, "Don't you know me, Martin? I'm Christ."
Martin was a man filled with the Holy Ghost, and it really done right, see. Just listen to this.
And he said, "Accept me, Martin. Why do you stand and hesitate?"
Martin looked back, said, "Don't [blank spot]... My Lord does not come back with a crown upon his head. His saints crown Him," see. The Scripture---stay with it! Yeah. He was on the Word.

107 One night in the school, one of his students... A minister had a school, the monastery, and many of the ... which they call them now students, and Bible schools. But one of the students began to get a self-styled feeling. He said, "I'm one of the prophets of the Old Testament. You all listen to me." (We have that today. "Listen to me." A real prophet never says a thing like that, friends. It would be the last word ... last person to say that, see.) " You all listen to me. The Lord's given me authority." He kept doing that.
The real brethren never paid no attention to him; neither did the bishop---just went on. And finally he said, "Because you all haven't believed me, I'm prophesying tonight the Lord God will come down and give me a white robe to sit among you. I'm one of the prophets of the Old Testament."

108 Doesn't that sound kind of natural about today? Check it up now. Just go ahead, see. Someone said not long ago (had it in the paper) God come down, and took him up before God the Father, and felt angels with feathers on their wings. Whew! All right.
Then that night about midnight, truly there was a light come on in this place---and they only had torch lights in them days---real light, and hear whispering, the people. Directly he walked out with a white robe on. Everybody felt of it, never seen anything like it. Everybody come around. The bishop come around, looked at it. Not even what fabric it was---beautiful. It was not a white robe. It was a purple robe, real puffy, and pretty---and never seen anything like it made in all time. Wouldn't Pentecostals have swallowed that up? M-m-m! My! That would have been it. Yes, sir.

109 So, the old bishop was a pretty smart man, though. What was the matter with the church back there? They stayed with the Word. They never presumed nothing, no matter what kind of a sensation it was! God bless your hearts, brethren---stay with that Word. I don't care how much your pastor, or how much John Doe or somebody else says, or the church, or the organization says this, that or the other, "It's all right. Do the best you can." Don't you believe it! Just stay with that Word.

110 So this robe wasn't natural. And he said, "Now, you see, from this forth I sit among you in this lovely garment sent down from heaven." Whew! Wouldn't that've tore up a Pentecostal meeting, brethren? Wouldn't they have done it, see? Blinded eyes just receive something... Oh, it's so easy to be deceived, see. That's right. Don't you take that.
He said, "The Lord give me this. And now you all have to know that I'm a prophet. I'm one of the Old Testament prophets. Now you all listen to what I tell you," see. "I'm going to give orders around here from now on."
But somehow the old bishop, it didn't set with him. There just wasn't ... something wasn't right, see. It didn't look just right, 'cause the boy's attitude wasn't right, see. That ain't the way prophets act. They're not vindicated by what they say, what they ... like that, what they profess. It's what signs follow them---a Christian the same way, and so forth.

111 If we say we're Christians, and still in the world, then there's something wrong, see. There's something wrong. It just don't feel right, don't look right. No matter how much you say it's right, it isn't right yet. It's got to come to the Word, back to the Word.
So he said, the old bishop said, "We'll spend the rest of the night in singing hymns, and offering prayer." Everything went on.
The old bishop prayed all night long; the rest of them sang hymns to the Lord. The next morning... They knowed that Martin was a vindicated prophet of God. He didn't have to tell nobody. His works proved that. So he said, "There's one more thing I want you to do, son." Said, "I want you to go stand before Martin."
He said, "Oh, I am warned not to stand before Martin."

112 There you are. There you are! He that's got good gold don't have to fear taking it to the touching machine. He that lives the life above reproach don't care what the world calls him---holy roller... That's right.
When a man lives a life above reproach, when the woman lives a life above reproach, she can hear any kind of a word preached out of the Word of God, or he either one. Doesn't bother them. Certainly not. You don't have to fear the touching stone, if you got real gold. Don't have to worry about it. It will stand the test.

113 And so they said, "You're going anyhow," because they knowed that Martin was a vindicated prophet of the Lord. So if God had been with him in the things that he'd done, and proved that it was... So they started to pick him up to take him anyhow, and the robe vanished. See how easy? Presuming. That honest boy presuming he'd heard a voice, how easy it would have been for that bishop, and any of them to have fell for that. But them brothers stayed with the Word.

114 When that Nicea council come up there, they started the argument. Many of you ministers know what I'm talking about. The ones that was real schools---like St. Patrick, and them that went over into ... different ones, and Irenaeus and the different ones---they stayed with the Word. The rest of them took dogmas, and went off. And there it is yet today. But the real believer stayed with the Word. Bless God. I know ... let's presume nothing. Stay with that Word, and God's obligated to make...
That Word is a Seed, and that Word will bring forth everything it promised to bring forth. It'll do it. It will take the world out of you, it'll sanctify you, it'll make you live a different life, it'll make you do things that you thought you couldn't do, 'cause it's the Word in you.

115 Don't presume you have it. Watch your life, and measure up and see what your life is, see the way you're living. See if you're in the faith. Search out, and see if everything's going just right. See if the world's still got a love so much it'll call you away from the things that's really of God to love the world. If it is, brother, check up right here.
Stop right here, say, "Satan, you take that dirty thing back. I'll not receive it."
"Well, over at So-and-so's church they do that. Brother So-and-so lets his people..."
I don't care what Brother So-and-so does. The Word says not to do it. That settles it. That's right.
"Well, they're the greatest organization in the country. They all do it. They say it's all right."
Yes, you might say it's all right. But when God said ... see. God's Word said...
Satan said, "It is written."
Jesus said, "It is also written," see. There it is, see. It's written.

116 We must keep the Word of God. Don't presume nothing. Just don't take it for granted. Don't venture out when you haven't got authority to. The thing to do is stay there, and wait---if it's ten days, twenty days, ten years, or whatever it is---until you are dead positive, and the Word witnesses by itself that it's so. Then you're right. That life will straighten up, and come right to [unclear word] come right to its place. It sure will. And the church...

117 I've often wondered... I'd like to walk into a church (I hope I get to see it before I die) in closing ... walk into a church some time, and walk through there, and just see, oh, how sin couldn't even sit in that church. Any member would have to confess it before they even got there. The Holy Spirit would call it right out on the spot, like that, see, just like, see the women sitting there look like ladies, see men like men, really men of integrity---Holy Ghost-filled men, Spirit-filled. Let just one sin be in the church anywhere, the Holy Spirit call it right out. Like Ananias, Sapphira, have it right there before you, see. Oh, that's a church I'd like to see. I wish I could see it.

118 I've fought across the country, friends. I've beat, I've battered, I've done everything---hollered at people, and sometimes condemned their organizations, and things. Not the organization. It isn't that. The organization's fine. I ain't got nothing against that. But listen, brother, so many people, see, are depending on that organization, see. If you was going down the river towards the falls, and I seen you was in a little boat, and that was going to sink, and me fussing at you, it isn't because I don't love you. It's because I do love you, see. You'll bust up on the falls.

119 And if you say, "Well, we belong to this. But, Brother Branham, I tell you, our pastor, he's a good man." I don't doubt that a bit. And the man's honest. He's presuming that he's right. And you say, "Why, he says there's no such a thing as divine healing. There's no such a thing as speaking in tongues. There's no such a thing as these things. That's not right. Why, he says that's wrong. His organization teaches that."
Well, I'm not against his organization. But that thing will bust up. Jesus said, "These signs shall follow them that believe," see. Don't presume; be sure. Then you've got it, when you are sure. How many would just really like to have that kind of an experience, would like to walk into a church like that? Wouldn't it be wonderful? Let us bow our heads just a moment.

120 Our heavenly Father, in the presence of His holiness, knowing that He is the true and righteous One, how hard it is, Lord, to come to brethren and sisters and speak things that cuts, and digs and tears. And how hard it is to say those things, Father. I pray You be merciful to me, and know that my heart goes for the people in love, that I just love to be with them.
And why would I have to say such things? Because, Father, I believe that it should be said, that it's Your Word, and it should be did. And many times it helps our brethren along the road, when the congregation gets so arrogant that they just walk right over the pastor's commandments and things. And then, Lord, You send along sometimes someone else, and making the mouth of two or three witnesses, and seeing that it's really believed, and it's really the truth, and different ones quoting it. Then the people will stand without an excuse in that day.

121 Now Father God, I know there's no one here that would want to be lost on that day. The very farthest thing from their mind would be to be lost on that day. And, Lord, no matter what we've done, You said, "Except a man be born again, he cannot even see the kingdom of God." Then if we're borned again, we're children of God, and the things of the world are dead to us. We do not associate in them no more. They're dead.
And I pray of Thee, Father, that You will be merciful tonight, and grant that every member of the church that's been associated in such things as a little coldness, and getting back into the world, that quickly they will be like the dove, that was turned from the ark to go find land and come back. It could find no rest for the soles of its feet upon the dead carcasses, and knocked at the window, until father Noah let it rest inside the ark until the floods had gone down. Oh, Lord, may that person return back to God tonight.

122 May the church return in whole. May this be a time of searching in Phoenix. May the churches be stirred to holiness, Lord. And may there be such a moving to see that the great moves that You start up, and the power of God begins to flow among the people. And then worldly and indifference, and impersonations, and carnal comparisons, and worldliness creeps into the church, just exactly like it was our text tonight.
They did run well. They come out of Egypt under the circumcision, and the blood of the lamb, and they were doing fine. But when they come up there to another part of Your Word, and then doubted it, right there they stood, and they lost the battle. And Father, we pray that that will never happen to Your church in this last days. God, don't let the battle ... let us be defeated.
Let us lay all the Achans out, and the wedges out of the camp, and come back to the Word, and come back to holiness, and come back to righteousness, and living for God in the power of the Holy Spirit. Grant it, Lord.

123 Through Jesus Christ I pray that You'll put a hunger in people's heart to see that church like it was back in the old days, when they didn't even have as much as a fixture in the church, didn't even put an altar in it because pagans would fall before the altar, and prostrate themselves before the pagan idols. And they was afraid to put an altar in the church because the people, the simple converts, might try to worship the altar instead of the living God.
And they'd fall on their knees right out in the open, and lay their hands right up to the unseen God because they loved that after-effects of the flowing of the Spirit. Sat on old cold slabs of rock, and on the ground, to listen to some godly man explain the gospel. And the power of God and then the Holy Spirit fall in the meeting.

124 O God, see them go into lions' dens, and to the fire pits, and everything, Father. And in the resurrection, where will we stand? They may not be required today to go to pits, and to lions' dens, but God, we are required to live decent and holy, and after the pattern of God; to live godly, searching and praying, and waiting, and watching at any moment He would come. Not afraid for Him to come, but love His appearing. Grant it, Lord.
We'd love to see that great church called together. And this portion that rests and sojourning here in Phoenix... We believe that You've got literally hundreds of the members of Your church sojourning here in Phoenix, waiting for that time. Lord, they're not presuming. They're filled with the Spirit. Their lives tally out, and show that they are. They're Your children.

125 And there are some would love to be that way, Father. They have just maybe presumed, and they look back on their lives and see that it just doesn't operate that way. There's something wrong. I pray, Father, that tonight will ... if there's any here, that this will be the night that it'll be called up, that they'll not be ashamed, but will stand and say, "I'm wrong. God forgive me, and help me from this night on to really come to the Word, and believe it all, and be filled with the Spirit, and sanctified in such a way that my testimony will not be against me in the city." Grant it, Father.

126 Now while we have our heads bowed, our eyes closed, I'm going to ask you as your brother, as a pilgrim with you seeking a city whose builder and maker is God... And I wonder, some of you sisters here tonight, some of you brethren, no doubt you're good, sincere. I have not wanted to hurt; but I wanted to tell you what's the truth, the Word of God.
And I've been in your city, and held revivals. You've seen that I believe in God. God doesn't answer sinners. We know that. And we ... I believe to be a Christian, and your pastors has told you through the city here... And you find out that you're confessing that you've got the Holy Ghost, and you find out that you still dally in the world---dilly dally out there with the world. You don't want that, do you, sister? You know that. You're too nice a person to be that way. You wouldn't miss it for nothing. And now, from tonight on, God ... if you never heard it before, God will hold you responsible for it. He'll hold you responsible.

127 Brethren, if you're guilty of some of those things that we've been talking about, you don't want to be like that, do you, brother? Certainly not. You want to be a real Christian.
How can God ever take us into algebra, as I said, when we can't leave the kindergarten, see. We might have emotions. We might shout, and praise God, and dance in the Spirit, and all like that. That's all fine, brother, sister. I believe in that, too. But I've seen them dance right around a pagan idol the same way, shouting and screaming, and speaking with tongues, you see.

128 So, it's the life that counts, see. By their fruit they're known. And you see that you're ... it isn't tallying up. Would you like to be a real Christian? And now, I want you with your eyes closed, praying, if you will. I want you to be real honest now---just right now be real honest.
Sin cannot be covered by drinking, by casting it aside, by joining a church, by trying to do better. Sin can only be killed by the power of God, the blood of Jesus Christ. Wouldn't you want a life like that? If you would, and you believe that God is in the building... His never-failing presence is always near, no matter where you are.

129 The vision the other morning, He told me that. He said, "Do not fear." He said, "Stand up boldly, see, 'cause the never-failing presence of Christ is near."
Would you want to be that type of Christian, like you really know you should be? You're trying to be, but you just haven't reached that place yet? Now your own life proves it, see. Raise up your hand to God. Just say... God bless you. That's honest, sincere hearts. "I really want to be..."

130 Now, what if you have ... if you know in your life that you're not tallying up to what a Christian is required to do, and then... Even now in the presence of the Holy Spirit, Satan makes you keep your hand down, and won't receive it. Now, what about that? when you know right here with the Scriptures that you're wrong. I say that in love and respect, see.
What a horrible thing that is, see, that you would know that. I don't say that you are. But, I say, if you would know it... To know that your life ... look what you do, and the things you're acting, see your life doesn't compare with the Bible, and you hear... The Gospel's preached, you read it yourself, and you know it's wrong to do those things, and yet you do it, see. Isn't that a horrible thing?
Now at least twenty, thirty hands was up. Was there one left out would like... Now, don't nobody look. Just let me look. I want to pray. Some that was left out would put up your hand? I see you in the balcony, yes. God bless you. There's plenty more, yes. God be with you. That's really sincere. Why don't we settle it tonight? Just ... why not? We just say, "Tonight let's settle it."

131 Now, coming among you out here at Phoenix, this lovely place, appreciating you so much, letters you write, and encouragement, and things that you try to encourage me on, and you pray for me. That's the reason I got to be ... I want to be sincere with you. See, then Christ is going to make me answer for this. Then if I don't tell you all the truth, then see, I'm going to have to answer. And that's the reason I want to... I want you to be there, brother, sister. Don't take a chance. If there's a slightest chance, don't take it. Don't just play with it. Don't... Let's really be real, real Christians. Let's ... you can be. Others are. You can be, too. You know a certain lady that you'd like to be like, a certain man you'd like to be like, a certain minister you'd like to be like, a certain person---you want to be that way. You can be. Now, let's just believe with all of our heart.

132 And now, while we have our head bowed, I'm going to ask our sister at the piano there, if she will, just to give us a little chord of a song, sister, if you will. And I wonder, you, that really would like to... Now, if you're really sincere, it'll happen right now---if you're really sincere. But you have to be sincere.

133 I've got a testimony. I've been... Since my mother went away, I've been out in the wilderness laying in a cave, fasting and praying. A vision came to me. And that was one of the things is sincerity. Now ... are you ... really mean that, that you want to be a Christian like that? You want to just let all the world go, everything taken off of you?
If you really mean that, you're not ashamed of anybody in this church. You're not ashamed for anybody to see your stand. No, sir, you're not. You held your hand to God. You're not ashamed of anything. You're coming... The only thing you're ashamed of is your life, see, and you want ... you want it to be straightened. You want ... you've always wanted to overcome so you'd do the thing that was right.

134 If you're that sincere, I want you to raise up and come here, stand here at the altar---like you was coming to be prayed for if you were sick. I want to pray for you, and lay hands on you. If you want to come up here now for that, you just move right out, and I'm sure that the heavenly Father will... Just come quietly, and stand right around the altar. Come for consecration, quiet as you can.
"I'm consecrating my life from this night on, Brother Branham. I ain't going to presume nothing. I'm coming right now. I'm coming right now. I'm through with it. I'm promising God I'm... No matter what comes or goes, I'm through with sin right now. I want to be a real Christian. I'm coming to consecrate my life." That makes me feel so good to see you do that.

135 Just a moment or two longer now. Is there some one else would like to just stand, and say, "I ... tonight I'm consecrating my life. God, I'm tired of this. I've always wanted to be a real, real Christian. It's burned in my heart ever since I was a little boy (or I was a little girl). I want the very... I can't take a chance like this, knowing I've got to die." Won't you come just stand around the altar a minute for consecration? Consecration means to be consecrated to something---consecrated to Christ.
Will you come and stand around the altar for this just a minute? Christians that doesn't have this experience, don't take a chance on it now, see. How's the tree known? By the fruit it bears.

136 Now, we're just coming as solemnly as we know how to come. Little later on in one of the meetings along in the churches, you'll know why I'm doing this. I haven't time to say it tonight, and go into it. But you'll understand why I'm doing this. I believe God's giving His church His call. It's the last ... it's about the last one we're going to have, see. It's ... something's going to happen, and I don't know when. It might happen to you before morning; it may happen to me before morning.
But brother, sister, can we afford to take any chance on any one little thing, just no matter what it is? "Guilty of the least is guilty of the whole." You must be clean, washed in the blood of the Lamb. The least sin will keep you right away, see. If the angels look dirty before Him, what would we?

137 Now, I'm just waiting just a moment or two longer, 'cause there might be some other soul. Again, one move now and then coming up. I want you to come in dead earnest now.
No doubt at all, but what many of you standing here at the altar has had experiences of different things. Maybe you have shouted, cried, spoke in tongues, danced in the Spirit, you brothers and sisters. No doubt but what you have. And them things are fine, very fine.

138 But do you know when the Hebrews, the 6th chapter... "The rain come upon the earth oft to prepare it, dress it for which it's for. But thorns and thistles is nigh unto rejecting, whose end is to be burned." How did they know the difference? The same Spirit, the same life, the same water that fell upon the wheat fell upon the thorns, too. And the thorns, and the briars, and the weeds were just as happy and refreshed with the same rain. And people can sit in the church, friends, and receive the same kind of experiences.

139 Now, don't be deceived in this, friends, see. You can receive the same experience by the same Holy Spirit that some one sitting by you received, and still not be that. The sun shines on the just and the unjust. The rain falls on the thorns and on the wheat. It's sent for the wheat. The Holy Spirit's sent in the church for the consecrated saints, but those sitting there enjoy it. Sure. But by their fruits they're known. "Shall we pluck them up?" said they.
"No. Let them grow together. And at that day the angels will go forth and gather all the briars and creepers, and will burn them. But the wheat will be gathered to the garner. By their fruits you shall know them." That's why you're standing here tonight, is for fruit, fruit of the Spirit. Now, remember.

140 "Why is it," you say, "Brother Branham," (Maybe ... some of you women standing here, I noticed you have short hair.) " Why is it, Brother Branham, I'm a Christian, and I still ... look like I just can't do that. I can't let my hair grow out. Yet I know the Bible teaches that that's right." (The New Testament teaches that that's the thing to do.) " I just can't do it. Looks like I just can't overcome it, see, can't get to that place, see."
I believe you're a good person. I believe you're sincere. You wouldn't be standing here as an example tonight. You're doing that, and that's what you must do. It's the Scripture. You must do that, see.

141 Some of you brethren, God only knows your heart, what you're standing here for, the things that you want to overcome. Now, you can do it, if you'll just accept it this way. You say, "Lord, I'm nothing now, and I'm just yielding myself to You, and here I come. By Your grace I'm going to do it." Now you can't do it without Him. There's nothing in the world you can do. You have to let Him do it. You just consecrate yourself to Him, and believe it with all your heart. Then He'll do it. He will do it for you, see, if you'll just take Him at His Word. He wouldn't do one that way, and He wouldn't do the other one that way. He'll do all of you that way, see. He'll make you every one the right thing.
Now I want all you people that are Christians and living above these things, I want you to pray, want you to pray with me, especially the minister brothers to pray with me. I want each one of you, now, down deep in your heart, see...

142 You know that the rain has fell on you. You say, "Brother Branham, I danced in the Spirit, I spoke with tongues." That's truly... But look at ... see, there's something ain't right there, see. You see, you've got to get from this weed now, to a wheat ---humble, sweet, with the Word, obedient, see, obedient to the Word.
Now just let the Holy Spirit come in, and let God change you, tonight, from what you was to what He wants you to be, as we pray.

143 Our heavenly Father, I realize that around this altar, which ... the church is an altar---the place where people come and place themselves upon it to be received as a burnt offering unto the Lord. And I know, Father, tonight some of these people standing here, and their associates, are in the churches here. And they stand here at this altar for consecration. And that's a big thing for them to do, because they're witnessing to the people as they stand here, and before You, that there's something lacking in their lives.
And as hard as I had to cut the poor little sisters tonight, Father, on their ABC's, and here they get right up from their seat, walk right up like a lady, stand there and say, "Then, God, if I'm wrong, mold me and make me." Here's brethren standing here likewise. Yet they raise right up out of their seat, and come right on.

144 Down in their heart there is a desire. And Father, Satan wouldn't put a desire in their heart to do right; he would put a desire in their heart to do wrong, continue on. "Don't go up. Let it alone. Don't believe it." That's what he would say. Then how do we judge it? By the Word.
Like I said, St. Martin, Paul, all the early bishops of the church, and elders, they judged the cases by the Word. And now, tonight, they are judged by the Word. And when they are judged they are chastened, that they should not be condemned with the world.
So they have come now, Lord, to consecrate themselves to be set aside from the world, that they don't want nothing to do with the world. They want to be so completely surrendered to You till their whole being reflects Christ; that when they walk, talk, dress, act, it's Christ's reflection constantly in their lives. And, heavenly Father, I pray that You will grant that to them.

145 Now, knowing that the time is so close, the coming of the Lord; and to see this great move through Phoenix just now among the people; and to see the times that we've come through in healing services, and see how their faith was give to me to help deliver the people from their sicknesses, and afflictions; see Your Spirit move among us, Lord, in the vindication that You were there both physically and scientifically, then tonight with this call I give them to You, Lord, in my prayer.

146 Every minister in here, Lord, every Christian that's walking in the commandments of God, they pray with me, Lord, and we give our prayers to You now in behalf of these people. May each one of them be consecrated from this night on, Lord. May the power of Jesus Christ just humbly, right now, just tear into their hearts in such a way that it'll just mold them, and just make them different from tonight on.
May a sweet, humble, broken-up spirit come into them, Lord, in penance of what has been done wrong. And may a great determination of God's grace come upon them to continue their lives in a sanctified way for You, Lord. Receive them, Father. We give them to You now, as they consecrate their lives, in the name of Jesus Christ.

147 Now, with your heads bowed, as you've been praying, I trust... And you can't say one word to God unless He knows it. The weakest of saint makes the devil tremble. And you're His children. And have you fully with all your hearts, each one of you, fully laid your life before God, and said, "God, mold me, and make me the kind of Christian that's been talked about here tonight, that I have given my life to You. Just take all the things out of my life that's wrong, Father. And tonight on, I'm going to ... by Your grace I'll live every day for You, watching for my life to pattern right up with that of the Bible requirements"?
If you've did that in your heart, will you just raise up your hands before God? Say, "I have did this, and I believe it with all my heart." The Lord bless you. The Lord bless you. God bless you.

148 Now, Father, they're Yours. They've raised their hands, they've made their consecration. And no matter how little the gift is, You're here to receive the smallest of gifts. And they give theirself to You just the way they were. They want to be a member of that great body without a blemish, without a wrinkle. And they're now consecrated to You, Father. I pray that You'll keep them from the things of the world as long as they live. Through Jesus Christ's name, amen. Now go to your seats rejoicing, and be happy that Christ takes you at your word.
I do believe... While they're going down, there's a lady sitting here in a wheelchair, and a man, I believe, and they're talking through their hands. No doubt but what they're here to be prayed for. Will you all bow your heads and let me go down and pray for them?

149 Now, brother, that you can speak to them, there in the wheelchair, and what they are, see... Now, just say to them this: The Lord Jesus Christ so loves you that He's willing now to heal you. If there was anything that I could do otherwise than pray, I would do it. But He's answered my prayers so many times for people like you who are suffering, and has healed them. My heart has gone out to you since I've been standing here.
As I look at the lady, I think of my mother that just went to meet God a few days ago. She, perhaps, is somebody's mother. I'll pray for her. I want you to believe, sister and brother, that God will hear our prayer, and He will answer. And from this very hour, I want you to believe that the work is done.

150 Now, to the rest of the audience out there, was anybody else come to be prayed for? Some sick people, or something, some one to be... A lady here, somebody over there? All right. You come right around the altar here. I'll just be glad to do that.
Now, how many can remember here, a long time ago---about fourteen years ago---down at Brother Outlaw's church? Anybody remember Brother Outlaw's church when I was down there, about fourteen years ago? Brother Garcia and those down in there? Remember how I'd bring the people up? I've crossed the world time after time, discerning spirit. I take you to Word and order tonight. Did you ever see one time it failed? Never. Of the thousands of times, it every time was perfectly, exactly right. Is that right? Now, all that knows that that's true, raise up your hands, been in the meetings here. What did He say? "... what he says comes to pass, then hear it."

151 Now, visions doesn't heal people. Visions only vindicates the presence of God, see. Now, I think that we really know that now. But the way I did then was just pray. There was a lady here that used to be out somewhere here in Phoenix. Her name was Sister Hattie Waldrop, I believe it was. I believe it was, her ... yes. She had cancer. Her husband was a plumber, and they're usually in the meetings. I don't know whether she's here tonight or not.
I remember that she was in the meeting, and they said she died, and she looked like it in the line. And I remember the cancer in the heart, and the doctor here sent x-rays, and so forth, to show. That's been about fourteen years ago. She's living now.
I remember calling to pray for a little crippled, red-headed boy. The Lord healed him, and made him well. So many things, just so many it's just innumerable.

152 I say this with Christian sincerity. I suppose, if I could write down every instance that taken place that I have seen Christ do, since I have been a minister, I couldn't pile a volume of books that high. I have witness of doctors' statements of five people being pronounced dead, laid out dead, and come back to life again. Many that claim that did, and I couldn't say that. I wouldn't say it unless there's some way to prove it, you see, to know it. But seeing them after being dead for hours, days...

153 Well, the little Mexican baby down here in Mexico city had been dead for... Well, it died that morning at nine o'clock, and it was ten something that night. The doctor signed the statement. The baby died with pneumonia, and been dead all that time. And standing out in the rain, that poor little Mexican mother... I never did one thing but just put my hands on the baby. I saw a vision, laid my hands on the baby. It started kicking, and squealing. And the Christian Businessmen packed an article of it not long ago, or something about it in the "Businessmen's Voice," about raising up the dead. Now, it can be done.

154 But what if... I tell you what. Let me say to the members of this church here, and I'll say it to any members' church: You consecrate this church to God, and all of its members, see, consecrate it to God---every one of you with a holy life before God. Watch what will take place. When that church binds itself, and starts praying, see, the prayers of those people begin to go up before God. He will not turn it down. That's right. Now, I'm just one, which there'll be many of you here praying. And divine healing doesn't lay with any certain person. It's sincere hearts that pray to God, and it's sincere people who receive it.

155 I realize there's gifts sent to the church like ... have faith. And I realize that my ministry of crossing the nations, and just taking ... just bringing a few people up, and showing visions, and comb it down... And those who pass through prayer lines of other men, and so forth, they come in, I'd have to stop. Maybe there's something back in that person's life. And many of you here seen it right on the platform---sin called, secrets of their hearts, and things---and told out the reason they couldn't be healed.

156 But through that, by just getting that few... 'Cause just a few and my strength's gone, see, and then... You understand that. It's scriptural. And how... Then, there's been many a mother with a little baby out there, I didn't even get to pray for, see. Many a sick person I didn't get to pray for. I think it's known well enough now that everybody ought to know, that I've told you the truth, see, that it's the truth. And I'm just going to pray for the sick people, and ask God to heal them. And I believe that every one that we pray for will get well.
Now, if there's anything in your lives... People that's standing here, let me ask you this. If you're not a Christian, you become a Christian. You give your heart to Christ standing right where you are. If you're not filled with the Holy Spirit, don't cease praying till God has filled you with the Holy Spirit. If you're doing anything wrong in a Christian, stop doing it. Stop doing it. Check your life up. Live for Christ. Now I'm going to pray, and ask God.

157 Now, one morning at some breakfast, or either some night, I want to tell you something that happened just ... just... I left the field and waited, went back to pray and fast, to see what it was. And something I've always longed ... it happened. So I...
It's nothing, now, fantastic. I don't go for that stuff. I want ... it's got to be "thus saith the Lord" by the Word, see. It's got to be. Have too much of this here touch, feel, and everything like that now---superstitions, and so forth. Let's get away from that stuff. Let's come right back to God. We want the Holy Spirit.

158 I believe that God sends people to pray for sick. And I'm one of the humblest. I'm one of the little ones that He sent. And I want to give my prayer for you, tonight, to be healed. You believe. And I want these brothers here, and sisters, all over the building, to join with me in prayer, and just let...
I believe we'll start right along here. Let somebody walk right up to the pulpit, and then let them walk off, or back the way they did. That'll be fine. Somebody, Billy, some of you help me. Just bring...
Right here, this lady right here, you don't have to start with any certain one. Just ... I can't ... I'm afraid to let them ... if they could let them come down... Can they come down that way, brother? All right. Now, we're just ... now we're just a little late, but you all bear me a record just a minute, to pray.

159 I know sister here. I believe she's a member of Brother Outlaw's church. How's he getting along? Fine. And say, I can't call your name, but... Bagby, Sister Bagby. I ought to know you. You've been nice to me, Sister Bagby. And wasn't that ... wasn't you the one that Brother Outlaw taken me to to pray for in the hospital when I first come here years ago? Was it something like a ... what did you have? Diabetes or heart? ["TB of the throat."] TB of the throat, and she's still living for the glory of God. Well, that's just fine. Now, He's still the same God tonight, just the same as He was. We may have changed, but He hasn't. Now, whatever your trouble is, He'll take it away. You believe it. Will you believe it?
I ask the church to pray with me. Heavenly Father, as I lay my hands upon this sister, in the name of Jesus Christ, may God heal her. I pronounce this blessing for the glory of God, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Now believe, sister.

160 Do you believe that God will make you well if we pray for you? And you'll get well? And you are a Christian, and will give all the thanks and praise to God. But when we pray for you, now, you're going home to be well. That settles it forever. No more thinking about it. Our heavenly Father, along with this church that many of them has just rededicated their lives, Father, I pray that You'll heal our sister in the name of Jesus Christ. Now, not only my prayers, but just look everywhere. In deep sincerity we're not ... we really mean this from our hearts. You're going to be all right.

161 You will believe the same thing, won't you?
Our heavenly Father, with humbleness of spirit ... and God forgive our untrue hearts. Make us pure, Lord, as we lay hands on the sick people, because it's pronouncing something that was asked to be done by God. And just help these poor people, Father. I lay hands upon sister in Jesus' name, and ask for His healing. God bless you. Sure. I trust... God bless you, sister. Would you just a moment... The lady sincerely confessed, and she said she has a spirit on her of high temper. And we realize that that's not ... that's not nice. But sister, not only you, but there's plenty of us. But, maybe some might not be as honest to confess it, but he that will confess his sins... He that'll hide his sins will not prosper, but he that will confess his sins shall have mercy. You know that. So, I pray heavenly Father, by laying hands on sister, that this temper will leave her. May it never bother her again. In the name of Jesus Christ. Bless you, sister.

162 My brother, you believe He's going to going to grant the request? Oh. God bless you, brother. Maybe that ... see, being nervous might cause the heart to fly up like that. Our heavenly Father, realizing that we never know what time our heart's going to stop---might any minute---and brother has heart trouble, and with a temper that causes him to fly into tantrums. Oh, that devil would like to take him to a premature grave. But I, as Your servant along with all these other servants tonight, we ask that in the name of Jesus Christ that the temper will leave him, and the heart will be well, and will be true to Christ all the days of his life, and be well to serve Him. In Jesus' name, amen. Bless you, brother. I believe it's all over, and you've been healed.

163 How do you do? Do you believe that He will grant your request? Our heavenly Father, we bring our brother to You under the name of the Lord Jesus, bring him, as it was, under the cross and pointing him up. Look at those wounds there. Watch that blood as it drips out of His side and across His face---the Son of God dying, that we might be cleansed from all our sins and sickness. Grant it to our brother. Through Jesus' name I offer this prayer. Amen. I believe it's over. Don't you, brethren?
How do you do, brother? Do you believe now this is going to be the night? It's all going to be over from tonight, and you're going to be well. Our heavenly Father, as holding our hand of our brother, from this night henceforth may his request be granted, he'd be well, and live for You all the days of his life. In Jesus' name, amen. I believe it's going to be all right.

164 How do you do, brother? This is the hour that it's all over. Make your decision now. Our heavenly Father, as brother said, "Amen," this is the time the decision is made, right here in the presence of Christ. May it be finished from this night on. In the name of Jesus Christ, be ye healed. Bless you, my brother. I believe it's over now.
How do you do, sister? May I have your handkerchief to go... That's all right, that's all right---something or another, a little token. Might say it's soiled, but I imagine that the garments that they wore in the old days... What about Jesus? He had one garment. He probably had to sleep in it, live in it. But look what it wrapped up.
Our heavenly Father, her precious husband is laying crippled. And here's his companion standing here tonight with a little cloth in her hand, and he's crippled. I pray, Father, that You'll be merciful, and that the prayer of this church that's gathered together here, these that are sojourning in Phoenix, and the different parts of the country that's represented here tonight, our prayers will be heard. And when this cloth is put upon the man, may the power of God bring him back to normal life again. In Jesus' name, amen. Now, it has been asked. Now let it be done. You believe it, sister.

165 How do you do, sister? This your handkerchief? Now, you're perhaps very sick, and do you want to tell your trouble, or just... Arthritis. That's ... twenty-something years. There's a man sitting right behind me by the name of Brother Ed Hooper. He was so bad with it over here in Phoenix one time they had to keep his hands on pillows---wasn't it, brother? And he was dying almost with it that afternoon, or the way I understand the story. And he told his wife he thought he was going then. And he looked and he seen Christ on the cross, or something pitched forward, or something. And he was so healed, till he could ... there he sits right here now. Brother Hooper, she just want to see you. Raise your hand, so she can see.
Let us pray. Our heavenly Father, the man present lets us know that You're the healer. We lay hands upon sister with just a little consecrated humble prayer we offer for her healing, Father. In the name of the Lord Jesus, for his glory. Amen. God bless you.

166 How do you do, sister? Our sister suffers, since her husband died three years ago, with diabetes, and arthritis. She believes that God will heal her. We believe the same thing. Heavenly Father, with hands laid upon her now, may she return back to the church with many of the others, just thanking God that it's all over and gone. We ask this to be so, Father, in our humble prayer in Jesus' name. Amen. God bless you, my sister. You believe now.
How do you do, sister? You believe that tonight will be the end of it, and you can accept Him now as your healer? Oh, precious God, the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and God shall raise them up. We think of our Lord, how He journeyed here on earth and ministered to the sick, and the many things he did. Now I pray for our sister in the name of Jesus Christ. In the commission that was granted to us as ministers, we offer this prayer for her healing. Amen. Just believe it's all done now. All the faith you have, put right with it. It will come to pass.

167 How do you do, brother? On the basis of His Word to be finished right here, heavenly Father, grant this request of our brother. In the name of Jesus Christ, may he be healed. Bless you, brother.
How do you do, sister? Are you prepared now, and ready to receive His healing? And as we ask you see, by that, nothing in the way that would keep Him from pouring out His Spirit? Our heavenly Father, as I lay hands upon our sister, seeing You heal the people, I pray and believe that with all my heart that You'll grant her request. In Jesus Christ's name. Amen. God bless you, sister.

168 You know, I just want to say this while we're coming up. I never could understand why I... Just before even I become Pentecostal, I used to just go and pray for the people, and they'd just get well. I don't know... And then, nothing I would have to do about it. It's just believing Him. And I'd just offer prayer, and the first thing you know, the people would be well. That's the way anyone does. We just offer prayer and believe it. They just get well. That's all, see. How many has been healed by divine healing?
You see, you can tell you're amongst Pentecostals and Full Gospel people, them hands. They believe that. Don't you see why the Lord is zealous of you? Not to try to hurt you, but to try to ... you know, bring us into that place without a spot or wrinkle? I hope you don't get angry with me for bringing words of that out of the Bible. I do it in tolerance of good faith towards God.

169 This is the hour for it to happen to you, isn't it, sister? Now, it's got to happen, see, 'cause He promised it. Our heavenly Father, bless our sister as I lay my hands upon her, and by faith every Christian in here puts their hands upon her. This church praying, we ask for the sickness and the affliction to leave her. In Jesus' name, amen. It's what He's promised us.
How do you do, sister? Do you believe tonight is the night for it? Our heavenly Father, in the name of the Lord Jesus, let this be the finishing touch this hour, that she'll be made well. In Jesus' name, amen. Bless you, my sister. It will be over from tonight.

170 How do you do, sister? This is the hour for your healing? All right, sister. Our heavenly Father, I bring our sister before You in the name of the Lord Jesus, and offer this prayer in her behalf, that she'll be healed in Jesus' name. Amen. Now, see, it isn't only my prayer. Everybody in here is praying, see, all at one time. And we are aware that God's present. We know that He has to be, see. He promised it. You go, believing.
How do you do, sister? This is the hour for it, isn't it? Our heavenly Father, let it be settled for her from tonight on. May she leave this church tonight happy, rejoicing, knowing that it's finished. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. Bless you, sister.
How do you do, sister? This is the night for your healing, isn't it? This is the time, right now, before the Bible and the church, and Christ. Heavenly Father, among the ministers, among the laymen, all the saints of God, the angels, and the Holy Spirit, in the commission of Jesus Christ that these signs shall follow them that believe if they lay hands on the sick, they shall recover, so we claim it finished for our sister tonight, her healing, in Jesus' name. Amen. Bless you, my sister.

171 We will do the same thing for you, brother. You will believe it? Our heavenly Father, he said he believes. So it must be done, Father. That's what You said. These signs shall follow them that believe, and he believes. So, we thank You for his healing, Father, in Jesus' name. Amen. That's good. You know how to accept it, and believe it.
How do you do, brother? This is going to be the night of your healing. Just leave it lay here, and walk away from it. Our heavenly Father, we bring our brother to You in Jesus' name for his healing. He's going to leave it right here, Lord. The enemy will have to leave him. He'll be made free again in Jesus' name. Amen. So be it.
How do you do? You believe Jesus is going to heal you here tonight? Our heavenly Father, as this child comes to receive her healing, we, the church, offer our prayer in the name of Jesus Christ for her healing. Amen. It's all over. Bless you, sister.

172 It's all going to be over from tonight on, isn't it? Our heavenly Father, the people are believing. They believe, they wouldn't be walking across the platform here. They're sick. They know what to do. They're trained. They know that this is the hour that they make their final decision, and they come for that confirmation. These signs shall follow them that believe. And I lay hands upon her in Jesus' name. So shall she be healed. Amen. God bless you, sister. [The sister speaks to Bro. Branham.] Is that... Jonesboro, Arkansas. My, many years ago. What was your trouble, sister [The sister explains.] Praise the Lord. Could you hear the testimony? Praise God. Wait, I ... just a minute, sister. I'll repeat it.
At Jonesboro, Arkansas---it's been some ... about fourteen, fifteen years ago---she had a big goiter hung out on her neck. And she was a Jehovah Witness. And that morning, when she'd heard about our services up there for the Lord, she said I was a prophet of the devil. And she went out in the garden to pray, and the Lord spoke to her, and said go up there, and she'd be healed. And the Lord healed her. She has no goiter, and her people (which were Jehovah Witnesses, most all of them) are Pentecostal tonight.

173 Now, if He can make that nice Christian woman's neck smooth like that, He can heal you, can't He? He sure can. Our heavenly Father, with hands laid upon our brother, we ask for his healing in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. God bless you.
He is just the same for you as He would be for her. Is that right? Our heavenly Father, a simple little prayer with simple faith... Oh, I'm so glad, Lord, You make it simple, so that I can understand it, and just accept You. And Father, I pray that You'll heal him, and make him well in Jesus' name. Amen.

174 How do you do, sister? Oh, yes, ma'am. I see where you breath too. I guess you ... that's such an awful thing. Oh, my. That's ... suffers [unclear words]. There's no reason for her to suffer any longer, is there? See, the doctors has perhaps operated, and taken the ribs out of her lung, and probably give her pneumothorax treatment, and collapsed the lung. And the lady's suffering. And you come believing that Christ will heal you, and you want to spend all your life for Him in service, to do for Him. Then, Christians, I think we have a right to bring this lady before Christ, and He'll heal her. Let us pray, all of us.
Our heavenly Father, our sister comes in humble adoration tonight, knowing that her doctor has done all that he could do. He tried hard. But still it won't heal up. But Thou art the healer. Let her be healed, Father. We commit her to You, that You'll heal her in Jesus' name. Amen. Bless you sister. Be healed now. I believe it will heal up, and you'll be all right.

175 How do you do, sister? You believe that He'll heal you tonight? He'll do it, though, if you'll just believe Him. You will? All right. Let us pray. Our heavenly Father, the lady comes believing. She said she don't even know what's wrong with her, but He knows. Whatever it is, Lord, she wants to get rid of it. She knows it's of the enemy. I pray that You'll grant her request in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Bless you, sister. You go believing with all your heart.

176 How do you do, sister? You believe that tonight will be the settling time? I was thinking, the lady from Arkansas just testifying, I remember, along the line (I'll never forget her) a lady holding a handkerchief. I thought she was weeping. And when she took it down, the handkerchief, she had no nose. Cancer had eaten her nose off. And her son was an exterminator over at Texarkana. And I prayed for her.
And the very next meeting, a lovely woman standing there, looking... She looked very young, and looking at me. She said, "Don't you remember me?"
I said, "I don't believe I do." And the boy started kind of weeping, and looking. It was that lady. She had a new nose. It growed back on her face. I know that sounds unreasonable, and I wouldn't want to say something that wasn't right. So there ... we shouldn't do that. We should be dead earnest when we say these things. But I looked at the lady who was standing there with no nose. And then a few weeks after, I met her again, and she had a nose. And ... it just... She said the cancer just quit eating. And after awhile it just started like something growing back, and there she had a nose again. It's so wonderful to see how He could do it.

177 Now, He that could do that can heal you, couldn't He, sister? It's not the question His power to do it; ... His willingness. And I would like to say this to you, sister, as a mortal, that both of us has to stand like this in His presence some day. He's already did it, if He could just get you to believe it. And there's a little ... act like to be a Christian, to be baptized and so forth, like that. You believe it when I pray for you, you'll get well, sister. Now, all the church pray with me when we pray.
Our heavenly Father, this young lady standing here, and in the presence of God, I lay my hands upon her, and ask for her healing in the name of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen. God bless you, sister. Let it be done from now on.

178 Yes. Ninety-five. This is a sweet thing ... coming for her ninety-five year old mother with cataracts. Our heavenly Father, as she stands proxy as she said for her mother, well-stricken in age, with cataracts, we pray for her mother. O God, this church offers our prayer for her mother's healing in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Don't doubt it.
Sister, dear, is it going to be fin... Can you believe that it'll be finished? Our heavenly Father, with hands laid upon her, for a finished work to be completed, may it be so in her now. In Jesus' name I ask it. Amen. God bless you, sister.
My brother, you believing now with all your heart? Father God, we bring this young man to You here, laying hands upon him in the name of the Lord Jesus. May the finished work of Christ at Calvary be completed in him by healing him. Amen. Bless you, brother. Be it over tonight.

179 How do you do, sister? We're going to believe that it's going to be finished tonight. God's going to complete it right here. Our heavenly Father, just as it has been written, now it will be spoke. Then it must be done. Let it be so in our sister's body. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask it. Amen. We believe it now with all of our heart, that you'll be all right.
Broken neck? Bad throat. Oh, my. Major ... Well, sister, now each one of us here Christians, all of us, we just imagine how we'd feel with that on us. Now, what if it was just vice versa, the lady was praying for me? Or what if she was praying for you? Now how ... she's in misery all the time. Now how ... you'd want some one to be real honest, sincere, and dead earnest about this, see. If it was me, I would. And now, do unto others as you'd have them do unto you.
Now, every one of you just hold this faith, and like a real church, say (as we are), say, "Father God, take the misery from our sister now." Our heavenly Father, may she come back bringing this piece that's around her neck, knowing she don't have to wear it no more, that it's been finished by Jesus Christ, as the church prays and asks this blessing. Answer these Christians, Lord. They've consecrated their lives to You. In Jesus' name may she be healed. Amen. Just let it be over. Stop. It won't hurt no more. You'll be all right.

180 Brother, it be finished now? Settle it forever. Heavenly Father, in the name of the Lord Jesus, grant the healing of our brother. We ask this for the glory of God in Jesus' name. Amen. Bless you, my brother. Be finished from now on.
Lord, this little woman that stands here tonight, let the work of the Lord Jesus be performed in her body, for by His stripes we were healed. We ask for this blessing in Jesus' name. Amen. It's finished now.

181 How do you do? You believe Jesus going to make you well tonight? Asthma? My! That's a mean old thing, isn't it? Certainly. Brother Williams, here, Brother ... Christian Businessman, he had a... Mayos just give him up with asthma. Said he'd never gain any more weight, or anything. He come by up there, it's been about ... pretty near a year ago, I believe, up at the Tabernacle one night. I went out and prayed for him, and the Lord made him well. I guess he's gained... Said he couldn't gain no more weight, would never be able to gain no more weight. And he's gained thirty, thirty-two pounds.
[Someone from audience speaks.] Hear that, honey? This lady, is she here now? Little lady here with ... Oh, yes, I see. You hear that? Now look, Jesus healed that when she was probably smaller than you, little. And she had pneumonia, and everything ---just taking it so bad. And look, Jesus loves ... He loves you. Look how ... how nice she looks, see, and well. Now, you can be that way, too.
Let's pray. Now, heavenly Father, laying our hands upon the little girl, we ask that the asthma leave her, and she'll be made well, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. You go, and you're going to get over it, and you'll be well, and testify like that lady did for her little girl.

182 How do you do, sister? You believe the Lord Jesus will heal you? Our heavenly Father, we pray that You'll heal this little girl, also. May her testimony be like the sister's just said. From coast to coast may she praise God for the goodness of healing her. Amen. Bless you, sister.
How do you do, sister? This is the time for your healing now? Our heavenly Father, as the lady comes, sincerely believing that this will be the hour of her deliverance, may it be so, Father, as we ask in Jesus Christ's name. Amen. Bless you, sister. Let it be over from now on. No more thinking of it.
How do you do, sister? I know that sounds rude, saying no more thinking of it. But I don't mean it in that way. I mean it that just it's a finished work. It's already done. Do you believe that He'll make it all well? Our heavenly Father, I pray that You'll heal our sister, make her well. We lay hands on her in Jesus' name, asking for her healing. Amen. Just let it be finished in your mind, settled, and it will be all right.

183 How do you do, son? In your stomach? Do you believe Jesus will make you well, son? It's your son? You believe that He will do it, sister? I know it. It sounds, well, you know the testimony, what we ... the Lord has did in His church in the last days, far beyond what our little brother has at this time. He's God, who can create. He can, like...
Look. If a stalk of wheat's coming up, and a clod falls on it and defects that wheat, and makes it turn the other way, then the wheat is not growing right. But remove that cause, then the wheat will grow right, see. Why, Satan did something evil here. But the prayer of faith can cast him away, and it'll grow right. You believe that, don't you? Now, let us pray for this precious boy here.
Heavenly Father, simple yet powerful, let the power of God heal our little brother. May there be such a change in this boy, that the mother will be so elated over it in the next few hours. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. God bless you, my brother. Believe Him. God bless you. Mighty sweet boy. God bless you.

184 Heavenly Father, our brother confesses of a high blood pressure. I pray that You'll heal him, Lord. May it leave him tonight. May, when he gets his next checkup or whatever it is, the doctors say, "Why, you're back normal again." Down in his heart he'll be thankful, Lord. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
I'll gladly do it, my brother. Heavenly Father, his father of earth here is ill. He's got a handkerchief here, wants to lay it upon his daddy. O God, I pray that You'll honor the faith of his son, and will heal his father in Jesus' name. Amen. God bless you, my brother. May God grant every bit, and I believe He will.

185 Sister, it's going to be over now, won't it? From right now on, it's going to leave. Our heavenly Father, as we, your church, pray for our sister in her condition, may the power of God heal her, and make her well. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. Bless you now, sister. Ask and it shall be given.
How do you do, sister? Is He going to make You well from tonight? Our heavenly Father, I pray that You'll heal our sister, making her well. She comes and says she believes that it will be so. So be it then, Father. I ask in Jesus' name. Amen. God bless you, sister.

186 How do you do, sister? This is the hour of deliverance for you. Our heavenly Father, these humble people walk across the platform, believing that You will heal their sickness. They've heard so much said, and faith cometh by hearing, hearing testimonies with which we overcome by the blood of the Lamb in our testimony. I pray that You will heal our sister, and make her well through Jesus' name. Amen. God bless you, sister.
Leave it right there, brother, dear, and this is going to be the hour it's going to be over. Is that right? Our heavenly Father, I bring him to You, with this church, their prayers of all these faithful ministers, and deacons, and elders, and lay members, all... The Holy Spirit in our midst bearing record of His Word, they shall lay hands on the sick, they will recover. You promised it, Father. Now heal his eyes, and make him well in Jesus' name. Amen. Bless you, my brother. Let it be over from right now on.

187 How do you do, sister? You believe that it will be over from now on? Our heavenly Father, may it be over for our sister from this night on. May she be healed for the glory of God. Amen. Bless you, sister. Believe now with all your heart. Believe it's over.
How do you do? It's a baby. Oh, my. That's too bad. You're a mighty pretty little girl. Jesus is going to make you well. Now, our heavenly Father, with my hands upon this little child, feeling down in my heart, "What if it was Sarah, my daughter?" It's someone's daughter. And I pray, Father, that You'll heal the little girl from this ... an allergy. And may the attacks leave her. May she be well in Jesus' name. Amen. Now you're going to get over it, honey. It's all right. You believe that.

188 How do you do, brother? Going to make it over from tonight, is that right? Father God, I pray that in Jesus' name that You'll heal our brother, make him well. May it be finished right now in his life, everything finished---that he'll have faith, undoubting faith in his heart he'll be well in Jesus' name. Amen. Bless you, my brother.
Why, bless your heart. Heavenly Father, his mother, eighty-three years old and suffering with heart and asthma, grant, Lord, that when this little token is laid upon her, may she get well in Jesus' name. Amen. God bless you, brother, and your mother, too.
Let it be over from right now on, sister. Just let that be the past. This is the future coming on here. Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ heal this, our sister. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. Gone.
How do you do, brother? Going to be over from now on? Our heavenly Father, I pray for our brother, that You'll heal his body, and make him well. May it be over from this hour on in Jesus Christ's name. Amen. Bless you.

189 Oh, my. Have it prayed over. Why, I'd gladly do that, brother. You believe with me now that she's going to get well. Our heavenly Father, the lovely lady somewhere that's waiting this handkerchief to be laid upon her, we send it to her for her healing in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Amen. God bless you.
Now there's a lady sitting here that can't get up, and one over here, and a man, too. I'm going down to pray for them. Now, you all pray with me, will you? [Someone says, "The lump that she had in her breast is gone, and the pain is gone."] Isn't that wonderful?
I love Him, I love Him,
Because He first loved me,
And purchased my salvation
On Calvary's tree.
God bless you. Heavenly Father, I pray that You'll heal our sister, and make her well in Jesus Christ's name. I ask that this will be completely healed for Your glory. Amen. God bless you, sister. Go be well now.

190 See how simple it is? Now tell me what passed by here to remove that lump, and take the pain away from the woman who couldn't even hear the message? See, she's over there praising God. If a woman that's both deaf, dumb and blind, can praise God for taking a cancer off of her, surely we who are in health, as we are tonight, could give God praise for it. Don't you think so? Let's just kind of shake each other's hands when we sing.
I love Him, I love Him,
Because He first loved me,
And purchased my salvation
On Calvary's tree.
In the name of the Lord Jesus, grant that whoever this lays upon, may they be healed for the glory of God. Amen. Isn't He wonderful? I tell you this, I just like this way. I like God, I love Him with all my heart. He's my Saviour.

191 Now, tomorrow night, I think the next service is at Tempe, Arizona, with Brother Groomer, Brother Groomer up at the Assembly of God. Is it? Assembly of God at Tempe, Full Gospel. Yes, it's been announced, I think. Now, do you love him real well? Amen. It's wonderful.
Now, I turn the service now to Brother ... the pastor.

192 Someone to be prayed for? Just a moment. Go ahead. Why, I'd gladly do it.
My precious brother, now, for his sick wife---been sick for two years. Now let's just believe. Father, I know the world might look down upon this, and say, "I don't believe that." What about the lady that testified a few minutes ago, that had that goiter on her neck up there? What about it, see? These people that's ... little girl here, that's a young woman now. There was that asthma, and everything in her condition. Look what all that we know to be true, see. He'll ... God ... to his wife, too. Let's pray.
Lord Jesus, a sick wife. I pray that this cloth laid upon her will be a token of this meeting tonight, and the Word of God. And may she be healed for your glory. Amen. God bless you, brother.
Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you, God. I pray that You'll grant this, Father, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. He did it now. He fulfilled it after thirteen years. They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. It's all right, brother. Oh, it's wonderful. Well, see you tomorrow night, most of you. If the pastor here ... now Brother...

Presuming

You can find this sermon at ChurchAges.net

1 Thank you. Thank you, Brother. God bless you. Let's remain standing just a moment, and bow our heads. Our heavenly Father, we are grateful this morning for the privilege of coming again to the house of the Lord, meeting these lovely people, this lovely pastor, his wife, his loved ones. We pray, God, now as we sit down to study---to study the Word---that You'll meet with us, and give us food for our souls. We are longing for this, Father. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
You may be seated.

2 We deem this a privilege to be back here again this morning for this class. I kind of run down unexpectedly just for a few moments, to talk with Brother Littlefield, and to have some fellowship. We had such a great time last night here, praying for the sick. And this morning I told him I would try to come back and address the Sunday school class before we leave. So ... a little late. I had some friends that just come to see me, and I spoke with them out there.
And then, while I had the opportunity, I dropped down ... the basement to see how this church was fixed down there, 'cause we're trying to build one at home ourself. And we like this real well, this pattern, the way it's made. I like this acoustic-bouncer here, or ever what you call it. It seems to be able to take care of the acoustics real well.

3 And then again, I hope, if none of them is here (if they are, it's all right), I want to thank this here motel down here, City View Motel, where I stayed last night. It's very few times in my life I ever stayed in a motel free of charge, but I did last night. They wouldn't even charge me for it. Now that's really nice. My son also, over at the LeHigh Motel, they didn't even charge him for that. And I understand the people that's connected---coming here at the meeting, or something last night---that they made them a discount, and things. If you're still here, and go to check out, you really thank those people. And sometime we'd like to come up here on a convention sometime, you know, in a meeting. I hope them men are packed out every night from here on. You know it's written, "Insomuch as you've done unto the least of these, you've did it unto me."

4 And for ... talking to the manager this morning ... the fine compliments he passed on Brother Littlefield, our brother here. He said, "Well..."
I said, "I want to pay you."
He said, "No. It's done taken care of."
I said, "Do you mean Brother Littlefield did that?"
He said, "No. We just want to give it to you."
I said, "Oh, my." I said, "I don't want to do that, sir."
And he said, "Yes, yes." Said, "We have a great respect for Mr. Littlefield, the way he takes care of the people around here---the poor and things, and tries to help everybody." Said, "We respect that. So the least we can do is just put in our little part like that, to help him out."

5 That's really nice. Tried to make him take the money for the motel, and he wouldn't do it. So that's nice. I just pray that God will bless them fellows for that. Billy said over where he stayed at the LeHigh, that was one of the nicest ladies he ever met that was there. And he had to stay a little longer after checking-out time. Said, "That's all right. No extra charge, nothing. There's no charge at all to it."
I like to live with people like that. That's really nice. And, you know, with that kind of a spirit, you can work with them. It's them that's got that spirit that's real bad that you can't work with, you know. That's the kind you have to watch---that, you can't tell them nothing. They're just set now, there's no need of talking. They just got their way, and that's all.

6 Well, usually Sunday school lasts four or five hours at home, so... We can't do that because we just got about forty-five, fifty minutes here that we'd like to speak just a little this morning on the Word.
Now you that's got your Bibles, I want you to turn with me in the Bible over to Numbers, the 14th chapter. I want to read a portion of the 14th chapter of Numbers. And let's begin about the 37th verse. Now listen close to this reading:
Even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land, died by the plague before the Lord.
... Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of the men that went to search out the land, lived still.
And Moses told these sayings unto all the children of Israel: and the people mourned greatly.
And they rose up early in the morning, and gat them up into the top of the mountain, saying, Lo, we be here, and will go up unto the place which the Lord has promised: for we have sinned.
And Moses said, [Now listen to this.] And Moses said, Wherefore now do you trespass the commandment of the Lord? but it shall not prosper.
Go not up, for the Lord is not among you; that ye may ... be smitten before your enemy.
For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and ye shall fall by the sword: because ye are turned away from the Lord, therefore the Lord will not be with you.
But they presumed to go up unto the hill top: nevertheless the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and Moses, departed not out of the camp.
And the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites which dwelt in the hills, and smote them, and discomfited them, even unto Hormah.

7 Now, this is a Sunday school, so you've got a great teacher here, Brother ... our precious Brother Littlefield---and I'm ... kind of feel a little reluctant about approaching a Sunday school class. But I'd like to get a little background on this.
We all know, now, that these... All that happened in the Old Testament was examples of what is going on now. As I said last night, God throws a shadow of a negative before a positive comes. And the Old Testament was a shadow of the New Testament, just like the moon reflects a shadow of the sun until the sun rises. Now we walk in the shadow of the moon in the night. But when the sun rises, then we have the actual sunlight. But the moon only reflects the sunlight to give us what light we have.
Now, the Old Testament was a type and a shadow of the New Testament to come. The people walked in what light they had, as the moon reflected. But now that... Hebrews 1, "God in sundry times [old times] ... divers manners [many manners], spoke to the fathers by the prophets; but in this last day he spoke to us through his Son, Christ Jesus." Now that's glorious.

8 Now, Israel had sinned, and they had been grumbling and complaining. And they came to a place called Kadesh-barnea. And that was really the judgment seat, for out of there went judgment. And there's where Israel was judged---Kadesh-barnea. We're told it's a little place in the desert the other side of Jordan, that's got a few palm trees. And in there, there's one great spring of water, and several small springs---which means a beautiful type we could get here, of God's throne being the house of judgment, and the little judgment places coming up, because Kadesh-barnea means judgment.
And there's where Israel was judged because of their chiding, and disobedience, and interruption of the program of God---a very type of today. The church in its differences interrupts the program of God. God wants us to gather as one heart, one soul, one mind---a real repeat of Pentecost.

9 But you see, we get so different, and we want it this a-way, and we just won't go unless it goes this a-way, and this one---oh, you know how it is. We just ... we ... that's what... God brings us to that judgment seat again, see, that we must stop that.
God's got a program, and let's just get right in it and move on. Don't wait and try to get this and that. You move yourself. God'll move those who He's ordained to move that way. You just take your own. It's your stand. You take your stand. If the next fellow doesn't, how do we know he... It might not be for him to take it. "My sheep hear my voice. All the Father has given me will come to me." Now, if that's not so, then Christ told something that's wrong.

10 Now I'm going to teach on the subject of "Presuming." It's just "Presuming." Now if we were ... the Webster says to presume is to venture without actual authority, or to take it for granted. That's what the word presume means---go without authority, or just taking it for granted. Now there's so many people does that: just take it for granted. "That's all right. Oh, it's all right to do that." Just take it for granted---now that's to presume.
Now Israel made a fatal mistake when they did this. Not only Israel, but everybody else that does it. It'll be a fatal mistake when you presume to walk with God, when God has not called you to walk with Him; or when you presume to venture out upon things that's not Scriptural, thinking it will be all right. It's not all right.
Eve presumed. She presumed it would be all right, because Satan presented something looked awful nice. But she presumed it. It wasn't the Word. You don't want to do that. You want to stay with the Word. Don't move from that. Stay right there. No matter if you stand, and...
Remember. Men that's ever done anything for God stood alone with God. On the road there's only room for two. That's you and God. Men that's ever done anything, under the convictions by the Word, stood alone: Martin Luther, John Wesley, so forth, Finney, Sankey, Calvin, Knox, Spurgeon, whatevermore, see. Moses, Elijah, all of them stood alone on the Word of God. And that's the way you've got to do. It's an individual affair. You've got to stand on the Word, take God's Word.

11 Now. We find out that Israel had come to this place where God, in his grace and mercy, had forgive their sins of all their disobedience after miracle after miracle. God said, "I've showed mighty signs among them..." In the preceding verses, "I've showed mighty signs, and they have ignored all these signs." They just walked right on through it anyhow, and did what they wanted to do, what they thought they ought to do. Not what God said do; what they thought they ought to do.
Now that's where the difference is. Where we think we ought to do, and God says do it some other way, we got to come back and do it God's way, or we'll never pass that spot. That's it. You got to come right back where you left off.

12 I was told not long ago by a chaplain... He said he was called in, there was a man had been machine-gunned across the chest, like this, a captain. And he was laying dying. So the chaplain was called in to him in the tent, and the man was struggling, trying to get his breath. And they'd just got him off the field.
And he said, "Are you a Christian?"
He said, "I once was."
He said, "Well, you better be right away. You're dying."
He said, "I know it," 'cause machine-gun bullets had cut him across the lungs some way, he told me. And said that he was dying, his lungs was filling up, gurgling in his throat.
And he said, "Well, now," he said, "you once knew Him?"
Said, "Yes."
Said, "Now think real hard. Wherever you left Him, that's right where you're going to find Him---where you left Him." That's right. How true that is. Right where you leave Him in the Word, right there's where you'll have to come back.

13 If God says... You go to church (that's all right), you pay your tithes (that's all right), you do these church things (that's all right). But then, when it comes back here to receiving the Holy Spirit, or a certain thing in his Word, and you walk away and say, "I don't know about that," right there you leave Him. Right there. You'll never go no further. If you ever find Him again, you'll come right back there. You leave the highway, you take a bypass, you come right back to the highway again, you find Him waiting right there.
Now that's the way that chaplain... He said, "This man, I told him, said, 'Think fast.'
"He said, 'Well, I can't think.'"
He said, "You better think." And said, "A light come over the captain's face, said, 'I remember.' "
Said, "Start right there."
He said, "Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep." Where did he leave Him at? The cradle, at his mother's knee. And there's where he found Him again, see. You'll have to come right back where you left Him.

14 And Israel had started, but had failed. And God's mercy, his grace, just kept holding for them, and holding for them. And then he come to Kadesh-barnea. And Moses chose one man out of each tribe, and sent twelve men across to spy out the land. And when they got there, oh, what a turmoil there was among them! Oh, my!
Here they come back and said, "Why, there's... Why, we couldn't take them. Why, the Amalekites, and the Canaanites, and Perizzites, and what all kinds ... their great walled cities, and some of them are so large---these people---until we look like grasshoppers to them." Oh, they were discouraged.
Now isn't that just a type of the church today? "We just can't do it. We ... why, I tell you it's impossible." Now we have become this, and we've got to be a little like this, and... Where's the street meetings at anymore? That's true, young fellow. There's not very many no more. Where is the all-night prayer meetings we used to have? What's happened to it? Where's that deep sincerity and pressing on with God? What's the matter? We've been cut away from it. We just laid it, little by little.
Sin is so enticing. Oh, it's glamour. And it's got a very appetizing appeal, sin has. It's so innocent. Why, it looks so ... it looks so innocent. Don't you listen to it!

15 After awhile, when Joshua took the land, God told him, "Utterly destroy everything there is there. Don't leave nothing." Why, could you imagine some of them Israelite women picking up a little baby? "Oh, isn't it cute? Look at its ... it ain't even got teeth yet."
Joshua said, "Kill it."
The mother said, "Oh, I'm a mother. I can't kill that baby."
"You must. Hand it here."
Why? It might look cute now, but it'll grow up and be just like its daddy. You can't baby sin. It's got to be handled with ... not with gloves on, but bare-handed. We want to be nice. Everybody does. We want... But what is nice? We want to be humble. What is humility? We want to be full of compassion. What is compassion?
Jesus, a man full of compassion, passed through two or three thousand people, waterhead babies, crippled, blind, halt, withered. He had compassion. What did He do? Walked over where the Father showed Him, a man that had maybe prostate trouble, or something, and healed him and walked away, and left the rest of them---a man full of compassion.

16 Now people today ... our English words turn the people around, see. That's human sympathy; that's not compassion. There's a lot of difference between sympathy and compassion. They're two different words altogether. And we use them the same.
Now the Word doesn't use any compassion; it's got to be obeyed. Stay with that Word, no matter how bad it cuts. How would you think to it destroy babies, and innocent women, and things like that, so-called? One little leaven leavens the whole lump. That's the same thing started back there with Eve. It looked awful cunning.
"Why, you'll be wise. Surely you'll not die. He's too good. He wouldn't kill you. But surely you'll not die." But God said you would die. That started the whole thing, right there. You've got to stay with that Word, regardless.

17 Don't presume; believe. Don't reason. Knowledge has reasoning; faith has no reason. Faith just holds onto it. What if Abraham would have reasoned? Think. What if Abraham would have reasoned? Hundred years old, lived with his wife (it was his half-sister) since she was about seventeen years old. They married. Why, nature showed all these... Young manhood and womanhood coming together, husband and wife, not a child. He was sterile, and she was barren---forty years a-past menopause. Totally impossible.
Why, your reasonings would have showed that he couldn't have done it. But faith in the Word held onto it. Faith don't take reasonings. Faith holds the Word.
Somebody say, "I believe..." I've met many ministers, say, "Brother Branham, I believe that's the truth you're saying. But if I did that, you know what I'd do? I'd be begging. They'd kick me out of my church." They'd just have to kick me. "Nobody else would have me." He'll have you. You can't live here forever; you got to go there, see. Faith knows no reasons; it just believes. Separates you from every tie---there's nothing. You stay right with faith. Reasonings drop away.

18 Israel said, "now, reasoning shows that, well, if we go over there, why, them ... one of those men could whip ten of ours, and we're not a military nation. We're not military people. We got some sticks, and spears, and things we've picked up, spoils. None of us are trained men. What would we do?" That was reasoning.
But Caleb and Joshua... There you are. Men of faith, men of integrity, men who knowed God said down in Egypt, "I've give you the land." That's good enough.
They run through the people. The people were mourning, and crying, saying, "Now our children will die in the wilderness. Our women will be ravished, and here we are. We'll perish out here in the wilderness," when God had promised He'd give them the land.
Now remember. He gave them the land; but they had to fight for every inch of it. God told Joshua, "Everywhere the soles of your feet sets, that I've give you." Footsteps meant possession.

19 Now to you people that was prayed for, all of you last night was here, laid ... somebody laid hands on you, we prayed. The presence of the Lord came down, revealed Himself right with the Word, to show that it was true that He's here. There's no fooling, there's no mistake. It's there. It's the truth. We don't presume anything else. We lay aside reasonings. We cast them down, and take the Word. Take the Word, move on. The Word said so.
Now, you say, "Then the promise is mine."
Sure. But you'll fight every inch of it till you're well. You'll take every step of it. It's a battle. The promise is yours. That was the promised land---they had to fight to get every step of it. And the promise is yours---but you'll fight every inch of it.

20 I was called by God to preach the gospel thirty-one years ago. I've fought ever since. Every inch of ground I've fought with the sword of God---taking the promise, and cutting away.
Somebody come say... Now we belonged to the Baptist group. Said, "Well, you can't believe that. That wasn't for us." What do you do? Take the sword, and cut free from it, and keep marching on.
I come with the Pentecostals, said, "You go with this group, we'll have nothing to do with you."
The other group said, "If you go with them, we'll have nothing to do with you."
Cut loose. Just keep marching on. Yes. Just keep... Had to fight every inch of it.

21 But what is it? It's a promise. God made the promise. Let's stay with it. God promised it. No matter ... you've got to have a battle. If everything comes lazy, why, you're ... what are you overcoming? They overcome by the Word of God and their testimony, the blood of Christ.
You've got to overcome something, and you've got to have some obstacles. And people that differ, and fuss with you, and tell you you're holy rollers, and things---that's put before you, it's a trial. If you haven't got that, then you're not even in the battle. What did you join the church...?
What did you join the Army and get training for? To lay around, strut up and down the streets, and show off? That's the way some Christians act, that we want to be looked up to. You ain't going to be looked up to. You're going to be looked down on. "For all that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecutions." Pick up the sword, cut everything free from you, and keep going on.

22 Joshua, Caleb, stilled the people. They said, "We can't take it, we just can't do it. That's all." See, they were looking at the Amalekites. Joshua and Caleb was looking at the promise. That's the difference. Depends on what you're looking at.
Joshua said, "We're more than able to do it. We're more than able. Why," said, "they're only bread for us. Why, they look great. They are great. But we'll have great bread." Said, "God gave us the promise, and the fear of us is upon every one of them. Yet they differ with us; yet they're scared of us." Sure. Said, "The fear of the Lord's upon every one of them. They're scared to death of us." Said, "Let's go take it. God give it to us, so it's ours. Let's move on and take it."

23 Oh, if I could get that Pentecostal group together ... that uncircumcised Philistine standing out there, and say, "We have to have all this, and all of that." Nonsense! "We'll have to kind of go in the World Council of Churches to have fellowship with them."
Our fellowship is from God! not with no council of men and man-made dogmas. We are people of God who expect fellowship from God. That's where our rights is, is with God. How can we fellowship with God 'less we fellowship in his Word? because the Word is God. And the Word's made flesh when it becomes you. "If ye abide in me and my word in you, then ask what you will." There you are, see. But the Word's got to abide in here. If it don't, the shower falls ... and, why, it can't produce, because you don't believe it. No matter how much you profess to believe it, you got to believe it. All right.

24 So, Israel... God called Moses out and said, "I'm going to destroy the whole nation. Just step aside." Moses interceded, throwed himself in the breach. It was Christ in Moses, you see. God would have killed the whole world one time for sin, but Christ throwed Himself in the breach for the whole human race. Moses throwed himself in the breach for Israel.
And he said, "You made a promise, God. You made a promise that you'd take them to the land." That's right. What did Moses do to God? When looked like God was going to do something contrary, he throwed the Word in his way. Oh, I love that. Now I feel like shouting just talking about this! Put the Word in the way. God can't walk over his own Word.
Said, "You promised to do it. You said you would take them to a good land that was flowing with milk and honey. I've told them what You said, and here we are. We're on your hands."
God said, "I'll take that stubborn bunch, and let them rot in the wilderness. But I'll take them children of theirs that they said that wouldn't go anywhere---they'd perish in the wilderness---and I'll take them over." That's right.

25 See, sin is horrible. What is sin? Smoking? Nope. Drinking? Nope. Lying? Nope. Committing adultery? No. That's not sin. No sin about that at all, see. No. Telling a lie is not sin. Cursing, using God's name, that's not sin. Uh-uh. Unbelief is sin. Yeah. Why do you do that? It's because you don't believe. That's it. Get back to the cause, see.
You lie, steal, commit adultery because you don't believe. But he that believeth not is condemned already. Before he even starts he's condemned, because he don't believe. Now you do that because you're an unbeliever. If you do that, and say you're a believer, you're not a believer. Your own testimony, your fruits prove that you're not, see. You've got to get rid of that before you're even a believer, see. Now. Sin is unbelief, and unbelief is sin, rather. And so, you see, that is the trouble.

26 And then they said, "Well, now, I tell you what. We've done a lot of this, so we'll just repent. We'll go up here, and mourn a few days, and cry a little bit. And God will forgive us for it, and we'll go right on."
Moses said, "Why do you transgress the commandments of God? I've told you, as his prophet in the name of the Lord, that you're finished! [Now that's just as much commandment as John 3:16] God's through with you. Why are you trying to rise again?"
Like, I was talking to a fellow getting after me about hitting the denominations. I ain't got nothing against the people in them denominations. It's that system I'm hitting at.
If I seen you floating down the river here towards the falls, and you were in a little old boat and I knowed that that boat wasn't going to make that falls, wouldn't I scream at you? It isn't that I don't like you; I love you. It's that boat's going to wreck up with you. Yes, sir.
It's those creeds and denomination going to wreck up out yonder, because they're contrary to the Word, see. That's right. It's contrary. Stay with the Word. Don't presume they're all right. They're not! They're contrary to God's Word. So stay with the Word, see. Now.

27 And when we see today the way the church has done, what's been the results? This fellow said to me, "But, Brother Branham, you're wrong."
I said, "Prove it's wrong. Who was a greater man than John Wesley?"
"You say you're as great as John Wesley?"
I said, "I couldn't bear his shoes. But," I said, "I want to ask you something. If the church would have stayed where John Wesley left it... But what did you do? You got a bunch of Rickys and Elvises in there, and what did you do? You perverted the very thing that he preached for, and stood for. God's through with you."
He said, "I'm writing a thesis on this church."
I said, "I don't care how much thesis you write. God has rejected you." I said, "God rejected every organization, and every denomination." He rejected your Pentecostals. Where are they at? Where's the Methodists at? Where's the Baptist at? Where's the Presbyterian? Where's the Catholic? Where's the Lutheran? Every time they do that God lays them on the shelf.
And I'll ask any historian---and I've put years in studying history---I want you to show me any time that any church ever drawed an organization, that God didn't let it die right there, and never raise again. I want you to point the place to me. It died right there, because it rejected Him as ruler.

28 That's exactly what Israel done when they wanted to look like the rest of the nations. They wanted a king. And old Samuel, the prophet, the one the word of the Lord came to, he stood up there and said, "I want to ask you something." Called them together. They wanted to look like the rest of the nations. He said, "I want to ask you something. Have I ever told you anything in the name of the Lord but what was the truth?" There you are.
They said, "No. All you said come to pass." There you are.
He said, "Have I ever begged you for your money for my living?"
"No, Samuel. I don't guess you ever took up an offering for yourself," see.
"Well, then the Lord wants you to stay and let Him be King."
"Oh, we know all this is true. You're telling us the truth. But Samuel, we want to be like the Baptists," see.
Said, "Go ahead." And right there they lost their fellowship. Right there the church lost its fellowship.
If you draw up your creeds, your plans, your doctrines, your Bible doctrines, and then end it with a comma (We believe this, plus as much as God will let us have, show us."), that's all right. But you draw it up with a period, "We believe this, and nothing else." And then it shuts God right out when you make a period. That's right.
The churches continually grow.

29 So there He was, see. So they couldn't go any farther. Israel couldn't go any farther. And so they said, "Well, we'll go up and repent, and we'll try again. We know that God's tender-hearted, so He'll forgive us."
And he goes up, and Moses said, "You're transgression ... trespassing the commandments of God. God has said He's through with you, and that settles it. Might as well make the best out of it. Stay right here, 'cause you're going to rot right here in your own situation. You've brought yourself into this, you've put yourself here; so there you'll stay."
Now that's what... Here it is. I just read it. You put yourself here, you've died here, you're spiritually gone, so here you'll remain. That's where you're going to stay.
"Well, we'll go try it anyhow." So, went up and said, "Lord, forgive us. I tell you, Lord, we oughtn't to have done this," and cried out. And the next day they said, "All right, all you fellows, come on, now, let's go."
But they couldn't take the Word with them, the ark. Neither did the prophet go with them. He stayed back where God told him to. They went advancing on for a million more, but they failed. Them Amalekites, and them, drove them plumb out of the country. They went forth presuming they ... that God would be with them.

30 Now I'm going to... Ain't got too much time. We're facing a holiday, and that holiday is called Easter. This American people that call themselves Christians...
I hope I don't act like a know-it-all. If I do, you forgive me, will you? But how in the world am I... ? If you drive a nail in that tabernacle, and let it stay halfway loose, you might as well not put it in there. The first... If all these nails are drove like that, I'm scared to stand under it. You've got to drive it down, and clinch it, put the pressure on the hammer.
And we're building the house of the Lord. Drive the nail all the way in. Clinch it on the other side by a proof of it. "Upon this rock I'll build my church"---spiritual revealed truth of God. "Upon this rock I'll build my church." Oh, she'll stand forever, 'cause it's gospel nails you're driving.
God clinches it on the other side by confirming the Word, making it prove what it said it would do. Amen! Then you got it. The Word says so, and God stands right here before you, and proves that it's so. Then where you going to go from there?

31 Now notice. Now all that will happen on Easter morning, there'll be thousands and millions of dollars will be spent on Easter flowers to put on the altar, just like Cain did, see. The altar wasn't made for flowers. Cain tried it. It didn't work. The altar's made for human souls.
God don't want your flower; He wants you on the altar. You're trying to make a substitute. You're the person belongs there---me and you. We're the one belongs on the altar. But we presume that's all right. God accepts it, we say. It's all right. We presume that that's all we have to do, is just do that.
Now we notice that thousands of them won't even do that. They'll get out and get drunk. They know that they're... They know it's Easter. It represents Easter. So they've got a lot of trouble, and sin behind them, so they think if they get drunk, and forget it all, that's just what they ought to do. That's America. They think that's just what they ought to do.

32 I seen the strangest sight I'd seen in a long time, Friday, when I went to get my children down at the school. I seen one woman amongst that bunch wasn't smoking cigarettes. I went back, and told my wife. I said, "I seen a miracle."
Every one of them women coming out, "Hello, Liddy," lighting up. Said, "See, I..." Oh, my! Sing in choirs, belong to church. They presume that's all right. You're going to find out different at the end of the road. See where you're at now.
But they think, "Well, I tell you what we'll do. We'll ... we'll..." Some of them is good-hearted enough to donate some money to charity. "I did my part." That's not what... That's not Easter. That's not Easter. That's a good thing---nothing against it, to donate to charity. That's all right. But that's not your duty to God. That's your duty to your fellow man. Your duty to God is give your life to Him. Give your money to your fellow man. See how we get it? But they presume that's all right. Oh, yeah. That's all right.

33 Some of them take the resurrection to Easter eggs, bunny rabbits. What in the world has bunny rabbits got to do with the resurrection? What's Easter eggs, and new hats got to do with Easter?
A preacher told me, said, "Brother Branham," (it was a Campbellite preacher, a Christian), he said, "I just had to hide my face and laugh at some of the funny-looking hats them women had on."
I said, "Where did you take your text?" Take it where it needs to be! Don't baby around and pet it. You can't pet sin; you got to condemn it. That's right. Condemn the thing. It's wrong. Get away from it.

34 Of course, if he did that, the first thing you know, the deacon board would write to the headquarters, and he'd have to be moved right out of the organization. But to me, I'd rather... And then he wouldn't have fried chicken on Sunday. Oh, man! See, see? Couldn't wear a tuxedo in the pulpit. Nobody else would have him. The organization... If he's kicked out of one, he's black-marked by the rest of them, see. So he's on the big board up there.
But I tell you, I'd rather have my name on the big book up there, than the big board down here. Yeah, see. God will receive you.
But they can't do it. They're afraid of it. Presuming that's all right, that God will understand. He does understand. He understands that you ought to do what's right. Right. People drink, try to put the past ... forget about it. You'll never do it.

35 Preachers today preach their doctrine, their differences, and everything, presuming that's all right. The headquarters said so. That's what they was taught in the seminary. They think that's all right. Just presuming it's all right. Israel presumed too. Didn't get anywhere, see. Don't presume. Be sure you're right, see. Right.
They say, "Well, it's okay. Go ahead. That's ... well, I belong to this certain thing, and we believe that. Our district presbyters teaches this. Our (what is it you call them little books, that they write up, you know?) ... our creeds and our doctrine believes this."
If it's contrary to the Word, throw the thing in the trash basket, and take the Word. Have one law---love; one book---the Bible; have one creed---Christ; and just keep going. That's right. That's the way to do it, see.
And the people, what do they do? They come and join those things. I hope I don't sound mean to you. But I got to make it stick. You've got to go down there somewhere till it clinches. That's right.

36 When I first started training for boxing, before I got in professional fighting, there used to be a trainer ... called him "Six-second Smith." The first professional fight he had, he whipped the man in six seconds. And when I started training, that man liked to killed me. He'd knock me plumb out of the ring and everything else. And I was skipping ropes, and running seven, eight miles every day, and taking all the training.
And I said, "Six, why do you have to do me that way?" see. I said, "You just knock the breath out of me. Man, I went plumb over four ropes, come right out of there in amongst them chairs, and liked to broke my back on them."
He laughed, said, "That'll do you good."
I said, "Do me good? How can it do me good? You're about to kill me."
And he said, "Look, Billy. I don't care how physically fit you are, your body's got to be able to stand that, come back right quick. If you take a hard punch," said, "if your body's not used to coming back, you'll lay there and take the count." He said, "But if your body's used to taking it, then coming back..." Every time you hit it, that shocks the blood, runs it back to the heart.
Said, "If you do that," said, "then your body's used to coming back quick. When you get knocked down, you're on your feet again," see. And said, "That don't mean a thing when you get knocked down ---up on your feet again, quick."
Said, "You hate me now. But you'll appreciate me when you get out there in the ring." That was right.

37 Brother, some time I'd have to knock to who wouldn't have it. But I found something. Don't baby them; pour it on! You'll appreciate me when you come to Calvary. When you come to the end of the road, you'll say, "Praise God. I'm glad I took that old rugged way. Here I stand washed in the blood of the Lamb," see. Don't palaver around them old creeds and things out there. Come on, get in the way. God has a way, a plan. It was wrote right here in the Bible. Let's stay with that.
But the people come join what? They presume they're doing what's right. Then they say, "Where is God? Where is God of the Old Testament? Where is the God who raised up the prophets? Where is the God that promised all these things?" Why, surely He ain't going to work there. He can't. There's nothing for Him to work on.
My old southern mammy used to tell me, "How can you get blood out of a turnip? It hasn't got no blood in it." That's right. How're you going to get spiritual signs and wonders in a dead morgue? ecclesiastical froze-up?
You got to get Spirit in the body of Christ. That's his Word. "My words are spirit," said Jesus. They are.

38 Now people join. They think it's all right (that's right), presuming it's all right. Preachers go ahead preaching that kind of a dogma. And knowing the Bible says another thing, they'll preach it anyhow, presuming they're right. What is it? Taking the tradition of men and making the commandments of God of none effect.
They have a part of the gospel. They preach a part of it, sure, take a part. Satan took pretty near 99% of the gospel that God told Eve, and admitted that it was the truth. But when it come to this one little thing, he said, "Now, I don't say it isn't true. But surely, you know that that was the days gone by. You'll be like this," see.

39 Don't add nothing, don't take nothing away from it. Just keep it the way it is. Don't presume anything. Just have faith in the Word. If that Pentecostal church would have stayed with that, the rapture'd done been gone.
Oh, you say, "Wait a minute, brother. Now you said something wrong."
No, I never. I never. I know what I said. In the days of Noah... The Bible said, "As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the coming of the Son of Man."
In the days of Noah, God was longsuffering, went way past time, see, not willing that any should perish, see. He went on, on, and on, longsuffering. Same thing today, as far as it was in that day, waiting for his church to come to recognition of his Word in the end. But they just keep on.
Every time God sends somebody and blasts away, just as soon as he's taken off the scene, a bunch of Rickys and Elvises gets together, you know, with their great DD's. They add this to it, and add that to it and the first thing you know it's just all gone out.

40 Our Pentecostals the same way---a big part of them denying divine healing, and everything else. The worst I ever was treated on divine healing was Pentecostal ministers. Why, I rented a armory in a certain city, and I didn't have enough seats to put the people. And them poor people come off them hills of Arkansas, from everywhere, coming to the meeting.
And I went to one of the greatest organizations of the Pentecostal movement. And it was... Well, the spiritual thermometer was ninety below zero. Why, you ought to've seen it. That man had about three hundred benches. They'd built a nice big church. Sure. People think that prosperity is a sign of spiritual blessing. That's exactly contrary.
And I asked him, I said, "Can I have these seats? I'll pay you so much for them."
He said, "I wouldn't let anyone sit on my seats that believed in divine healing." That's Pentecostal.

41 In Kingston, Jamaica, at the racetrack last year where the Lord was blessing, they had a Pentecostal minister there. And I was with the Christian Businessmen. And I said, "We had from Cuba, from Haiti, and from the islands around, businessmen sitting there last night. And what did you fellows... ?" I said, "I'm ashamed of you. What did you talk about? A fleet of Cadillacs."
"I was a little bitty fellow in business down on the corner. Glory to God! Hallelujah! The Lord give me this, and the Lord blessed this, and the Lord blessed that."
I said, "Them men sat and looked at one another." I said, "I've been with you long enough till you know I knew their hearts. The Lord let me know it. I seen what they was thinking about. What are you telling them? They belong to these big formal morgues, and they're prosperous---they're billionaires." I said, "How different you are? always bragging about what you got, and how much you accumulated in this much time." I said, "How different it is from the original Pentecost. They sold everything they had and give to the poor." I said, "You vice-versa'd it. Them people knows all about what it means to be rich. They want to find something that satisfies, and got some life in it."

42 That night on the grounds, the place where I was talking to, the men, after I got them over there and was telling them about it, a little fellow walked up to me and he said, "How wrong you were."
I said, "Wrong?"
He said, "Yes, sir, when you made that statement about the Pentecostals back there, how the people sold all they had." Said, "That was the worst thing they ever done."
I thought, "How worldly can you get!" see.
And he said, "That was the worst..."
I said, "Then you mean to tell me that the Holy Ghost made a mistake? What kind of a God are you serving, if He makes mistakes? He's infinite, omnipotent, omniscient." Amen. Sure. How can He make a mistake?
He said, "I'll prove it to you they were wrong. That wasn't the Holy Ghost."
I said, "An act of the Holy Ghost in the Bible wasn't the Holy Ghost?"
He said, "Look."
I thought, "All right. You brought yourself out here. Now just saw your own limb off."

43 Just like putting a rabbit in a pen: if you know where every place is, and every hole's stopped up, and he's got to come back here to get out, just stay right here. He'll have to come back to it. He'll put his head in every hole, but he'll never get through. Just pen him up. Stay right here. That's the way with one of them. Just keep moving with the Word. Just take the Word in front of you, keep moving. You got every hole stopped up out there, anyhow. Just keep moving on, moving up.
I said, "Then the Holy Ghost made a mistake?"
He said, "Well, them people made a mistake."
I said, "They were inspired by the Holy Ghost."
He said, "Look, Preacher. When the persecution come, and the fuss come up among them," said, "that wasn't the Holy Ghost."
I said, "No, sir. But the Holy Ghost was in the first move."
He said, "When the persecution come up, those people didn't even have a home to go to."
I said, "That's just what God wanted them to do. So they went everywhere preaching the Word. If they'd had a home, they'd have went back to it. But God was scattering the message. They got a home in heaven."

44 But that's the difference. What did they do? Presume that's the thing to do. It isn't the thing to do. Certainly it isn't.
Now. Ministers preach that, presuming that it'll be all right. It won't be all right. They permit their congregation ... their women to wear shorts, smoke cigarettes; their men to have little friendly card parties, poolroom, bunco in the church, soup suppers pay off the pastor, everything else that's worldly. People join, thinking that's all right.
Why, I live by the Presbyterian parish. And at midnight the other night there was so much boogie-woogie going on over there in the basement, till it was ... it was a shame. Or what's this new winder, they call it? Them women breaking their legs, and things, doing it? You know, what is that? The twist. They need a twisting. They need a gospel plank to straighten it out of them. That's what they need--- good old gospel Holy Ghost-sent-revival. They need a twisting, all right, around the neck with gospel cords.

45 But they say, "Oh, He's a good God." He is a good God. But don't you presume on that. He's a God of justice, too. He's a good God. Like a little teen age boy said not long ago. Said, "You know, God's so good He just don't care what I do."
Nonsense. He does care what you do. Yeah, you say, "God's a good God." God is a good God but we hear too much of that today. God is a God of wrath. He's a God of judgment. He was good enough to go down there and take Israel right out of the mouth of death; and turned right in the wilderness, and let them rot because they wouldn't follow Him.
God was a good God to pull you Pentecostals out of them organizations. But you turned right back around, and acted like your mammy. So you're rottening in it. (There's a tape recorder going on here, goes around the world, you know. I'm not so much speaking here now.) But you rot right in it. Then, come tell you the truth, then you don't believe it. Here it is wrote right here, in the Word. Yes, sir.

46 Oh, yes, they presume that He's a good God. Yes, sir. They don't presume that He's also a God of judgment. There's where Israel made her mistake. They thought He was so good. He'd done so many things for them. Sure, He brought them up out of Egypt. Sure He did that. He performed miracles. He drawed a line, put the pillar of fire between them and the enemy. Sure, God's a good God. Sure. Let them cross over the Dead Sea, and ... over the Red Sea, and cross over into the wilderness, and so forth. He's a good God. When any Egyptian started after them, why, He protected them in the hour of death--- killed the Egyptians. Sure. He's a good God.
But his patience run out. Then when He spoke that final Word, that was it. Moses said, "Why are you transgressing the laws of God? God's done said He's through with you." Don't presume too far, brother. That's right. You might cross over that line. There's no return.
You know, there is a line. You remember the borderline believers back there in Israel---just borderline. Hebrew 6 says, "It's impossible for those which were once enlightened, made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and tasted the heavenly gifts, if they shall turn away, to renew themselves again to repentance; seeing that they crucified to themselves the Son of God, and put him to an open shame." And counted the blood of the covenant wherewith they were sanctified with an unholy thing, and done despite to the works of grace. That's right. God's a God of jealousy. He's a God of justice.

47 You're a father and mother, and you tell your children, "You go over there, I'll give you a whipping." If you love that child, and he transgresses your laws, you'll keep your word. That's right. But if you let him go on, "Well, that's all right." Do it again, see. That's what makes all these here little Melindas and Rickys and so forth around. That's what makes juvenile delinquency.
Some of them talk about the ignorance of the people in the mountains of Tennessee, and Kentucky. I tell you, some of them old mammies out there would teach some of these modern Jezebels how to raise their young'uns. Right. Let one of their young'uns come in with ... their woman, or girl, with their clothes all twisted on her, being out with Ricky all night long somewhere, loved up in a car; and say, "Have a good time, dear?" She'd take a hickory limb off one of them trees, and she wouldn't get out of the house for another year. Certainly. Then say it's ignorance. They know more about it than... Oh, I better shut up there. All right. Go on.

48 Now Israel was presuming, uh-huh. See what we're hatching out today? Presuming. Nest full of buzzard eggs. That's exactly right. They're not eagles. They know nothing about the high places, how to get up there. The feathers are so loose, they'd strip themselves naked when they get started in the air. That's right. Altitude will pull the feathers out. And the eagle's the only one's got feathers to stand when he gets up there. His feathers are growed in, fastened down, nailed down. Amen! He can go so high till the buzzard, or crow, or chicken hawk, would die trying to follow him.
God said He was an eagle. "I'm Jehovah-eagle, and all my children are eaglets." They know how to fly in the high yonder, where he's just ... up there where you just sail along. Amen. Oh, I like to watch them. Yes, sir. Yeah, presuming.

49 He said, "Oh, well, God forgive us so many times, He'll forgive us again." So he went up.
But Moses said, "He's through with you. When you did this, you crossed the line."
Let's look back and see if we've crossed the line or not. Where did He draw the line on the Lutherans? Where did He draw the line on the Methodists? Where did He draw the line on the Baptists? on the Campbellites? on the Nazarene? on the Pilgrim Holiness? Buddy Robinson's group, and all that?
Where did He draw the line on? The same place He's drawed the line on Pentecost. Rot there. God have mercy! That kills me, nearly, to say that. But I'm duty-bound to this Word, to tell the truth. But it's the truth. You'll rot right there. She'll never rise again. That's the Word of the Lord.

50 Oh, you're presuming. You know, Samson presumed one time, too. Samson presumed it was all right. God was a good God. He could run around with women, he could do whatever he wanted to do, and it would be all right. He could expose God's secrets to her, and it would be all right. See what it was? A woman, church. Woman represents church in the Bible. Delilah's that old Jezebel of the day. That's right. So first thing you know, he got himself wrapped around her, and she wrapped him around the finger, and she done just exactly... And he found out all of his strength was gone.
That's exactly what's happened to the church today---wrapped itself around these creeds, and man-made things, and organizations, denominations, and getting away from the Word of God in formalism. And the church looks like the rest of the world, and acts like the rest of the world. And the first thing you know, you find the Holy Spirit's gone. The strength of the gospel is away from you. What's the matter?
I hope I don't hurt you, but I hope I scorch you, so that you'll... I'd rather be scorched than burned, any time. So, listen! Stay with the Word.

51 Samson, he presumed it was all right. God was still there. That's what the church thought, when they went out here. Well, God's still there. He's a good God. He don't care. You old-timers here, when your mammy and pappy, back yonder fifty or sixty years ago, when they come out of them organizations, and things, to be free with God, to worship God, and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, come up out of Egypt... Why, if you'd have talked to them, if they'd ever went right back and done the same thing that Egyptians done, the world, they'd have laughed in your face. But they did it. They did it. "Oh, we presume it'll be all right." Don't presume. Stay with the Word.
You had to compromise. What did you have to compromise? Your great evangelical doctrine to even get in the World Council of Churches. What are you doing? Acting just like they're doing. Watch the churches, acting like they're doing. Watch the schools---same thing. Even our holiness schools are getting so bad and things like that---the perversion and everything else sitting in among them.
What we need is the power of God in there to call out that sin. And right here it's pouring out, so here you are. That's what gifts are sent in the church...

52 But they teach so much theology, and science, and stuff, until they got the Holy Spirit grieved out. That's the reason that our ... "pre-mother" girls, and so forth, is taking place. That's the reason so much sin among us. That's the reason you can't tell people. They're so smothered over with the things of the world, and the cares of the world, and the things...
"Just so we stand in good standing with the church, so we stand in good standing with the presbyters, so we stand in good standing here."
What difference does that make? Stand in good standing with God. Let the rest of them go. If they want to follow, let them follow. If they don't, let them stay where they're at. You're bound for the promised land. Like God said to Joshua (a very type of them new ones coming out), He said, "You've been on this mountain for forty years wandering around."
What'd they do out there them forty years? Did God curse them? No, He blessed them. Oh, they married wives, and growed good crops, and raised babies, and... Oh, they had a wonderful time. God was with them. But it still wasn't the promise.

53 Listen, I'm going to say something now. Might scorch you, but listen. That's exactly what Pentecost has done. She organized down like the world, but she never did get to the full promise. She did come out of Egypt. She did ... God took care of her, showed her wonders, and signs, and miracles; but never to the fullness. You know it's the truth. And the old fighters died. That's exactly right.
Now that's where we got again. We've been wandering how long? About forty years.
"Bless God, I'm a Oneness. Hallelujah!"
"Bless God, I'm Assembly."
"Glory to God, I'm a Church of God."
"We're the this kind."
"We're the that kind."
You're nothing. As long as you think that, you're nothing. The Bible said when a man thinks himself something, he's nothing. He is nothing that he ought to be. That's exactly right. You think yourself nothing. Come down, so God can tea... Empty yourself out. You're trying to fill yourself up. You empty. That's the biggest job for the church, and the individual, is empty itself. That's rough. But it's good.

54 Just remind me when Mama... When we was little kids we was raised awful poor, and so we didn't have much to eat. And Mom used to ... Pop used to get some meat skins from the bakery down there, where they'd bake them hams and things. And Mrs. Goodman, an old German woman, she... They used to bake the hams.
They cut these skins off the hams, and Papa would go down and get them. And Mama would put them in the bread pan. (Oh, they done forgot the bread pan long ago, up in my country. Of course, not you Southerners.) And they put the old meat skins in there, and put them back in the oven and bake them out, you know, like that; and get the grease out of it to go in the corn bread. And we made corn cakes for breakfast. We had sorghum molasses and corn cakes. And that's what we lived on.
Dinner time, we had poke-greens, if it was up yet, black-eyed peas, or something like that. And we had such poor eating, and so forth.

55 Mom... Every Saturday night---in school---she'd give us all a bath, all in the same tub, same water. Just add a little more, you know. Just come down from the... Give the little one first, and the last one got the dirt of all of them, but we made it. We made it.
Cleanliness is not so much that you wash the outside; but what about the inside? Whited walls? Polish the outside of the sepulchre, but inside's dead men's bones. You're so close today, all the telecast and things, that you keep the dirt off your hands, and the nice detergent. And that's all a lie.

56 I come home the other day. Seen something on television, or telecast or something another, standing down at the filling station. This man said, "Oh, you don't even have to wash dishes no more. Just put it in there. It takes everything right out. Just sit it up."
I said, "I'll do the dishes for you, Meda." I wanted ... I went and got me a bottle of this stuff, and I said, "I'll do the dishes." And I dumped her in there, and suds raised about like this. And I set the dishes down, and let them sit a half hour, and took out... The eggs was still on it. Nonsense! That's what they get all this... When you hear all this big advertisement, when anything's so advertised, there's nothing to it. If the product's any good it sells itself.
That's the way with the old-time religion. You don't have to have great big things out, and big organizations. It'll sell itself, when it's got the power of the Holy Ghost. Got a lot of sin removing you call "Join this," and "We're the holy this, and the holy that." It's holy nothing. That's right. God is the only one who can remove sin: the blood of Jesus Christ. And He does it when you fall in his washpan. That's right. He's the only one that can do it.

57 Samson presumed that everything was all right, though. God had just done so many things for him. That's what we thought---God done so many things. Israel thought the same thing. "Well, God did it before. What if we make ... we do this. We don't care. God's with us." They presumed it was all right. But they found out. The battle went the other way.
Now, when we go up to take the land we find out we're in the same position. That's right. You know, Achan thought the same thing. He had the commandments of God not to take nothing out of that cursed city. (I just got about twelve more minutes. I got to get over to that motel. I want to drive this one down a little bit tighter, see.) Look here. That's exactly what we did, see. A nice Babylonian garment that Achan took, and a wedge. He thought... That city was cursed, and everything in it was cursed. And the denominations is proved cursed. That sounds horrible. But it's the truth.

58 As I said awhile ago about my mammy, she'd make us every Saturday night... 'Cause eating that poor food, she'd make us take a big dose of castor oil. Every ... I can't stand the smell of the stuff. You can get it in this room, and I'll gag. I just can't stand it, so much of it. And I'd take and hold my nose. I'd come up, I'd say, "Mama, I just can't take the stuff. It just makes me gag." She said, "If it don't gag you, and make you right good and sick, it don't do you no good."
That's the way with preaching the Word. If it don't gag you, and get you stirred up, get to reading... Get out of them old creeds, and get down to the Word. Search and see if they're right. Right. Don't do you no good. It'll stir up your spiritual gastronomics. Yes, sir. It gets you started right.
That's rude, hard way to make an expression. But it's the only way I have. I'm rude myself, and I ain't got no education. I just have to... All ... like John. The only thing he knowed was serpents, and axes, and things of the wilderness. And the only thing I know is just what I know, and that's all I know. So, I just have to say it the way I see it, and the way it comes to me. It could be expressed a lot more cleaner, and nicer than that. But you know what I'm talking about. That's one thing, you see. You know what I mean. So, that's it. You got to get back to the Word; get away from all this old stuff anyhow. All right.

59 Now, Achan thought that'd be all right. "I'll take this nice little wedge, and it'll be a nice little outfit. And I'll have this nice little thing here, and I'll be the presbyter," and so forth. "And it'll be all right." But it was cursed. Everything in that fallen place was cursed.
And it is today. We don't want no Achans, we don't want no... They never could get going on, and win a battle, until that thing was destroyed. Right. Yes, sir.

60 The Egyptians presumed that it'd be all right. Israel went through the Dead Sea. Why couldn't they? Uncircumcised. Didn't have the blessings of the covenant. They presumed it was all right. But they find out ... they drowned. You can't go through this ... you cannot come into the fellowship with God bringing on world-made doctrines. You drown, you perish with them. You've got to come God's way, or no way. You've got to line up with the Word, or you're out. You die there.
So, but Egypt thought, "Well, they went through it. I'm just ... we're better men than they are. We're healthier, stronger, smarter. Well, them guys can't even write their name. We're masters." But the masters didn't go very far. God don't count mastery the way that people does. That's right.

61 Noah's time. They thought, "Now, if it does come a... Why now, if it does come a big rain... There never has been one, but if they do, why, we've got ships and boats."
You say, "They didn't have them." They did have them.
Jesus said, "As it was in the days of Noah..." Same kind. They dig up cities and things now, that's sunken---with all modern waterworks, right here in Mexico, a few years ago---everything. Sure. There's nothing new under the sun.
"We'll just ride our own ships."
They presumed they'd be all right. But God had one ship was going to float, and the rest of them was going to sink. But they presumed that their ship would last---float any way that this thing would---no matter whether it was Scripturally made, or not.
I could say something here. Listen. That's the way today. You think that the thing will float. It will be all right, whether it's scriptural or not. It's got to be solid scriptural.

62 God told Noah to make that ark out of shittim wood, and that wood is lighter than balsam. There's nothing in it, just a great big hollow sponge. Why, I could pack a sill of it from here out to there, to the end of the wall back there, and it be six foot thick. I could lay it upon my shoulders and walk away with it. Why, it's nothing but just a sponge. There's nothing in it---shittim wood.
What did He do after that? That represented you. You got to get everything out of you---all your creeds, and doctrines away. Then what did He do? He said, "Pitch it, inside and out." How did it get pitched? They cut down a tree, and beat it. Beat the life out of it, the pitch out of it. And then took the hot pitch, and poured it in there, and all those empty places soaked up. Then it's a lot harder than any steel that there is. You couldn't flinch it. That's the reason it stood the judgments.
There was One had to be beat down: the righteous One, Christ. We empty ourself out, and let the Holy Spirit come in, the Word of God come in. That sets you. Judgments... "When I see the blood, I'll pass over you." Has to be. Oh, yes. But they thought it was just the same, you see. It was all right. They presumed it would be all right.

63 That's the way today. They say, "Our denomination ... I presume that's all right."
"Oh, you don't tell me. I'm ... days of miracles... There's no such a thing as this. It'll be all right. Aren't we a church?"
Go ahead. Drop right into the judgment. That's all right. There's so many different denominations, till it causes a confusion. People, just presuming that it's all right, go right ahead. We don't know which is right. Then, which is right? Give them the Word test. That's the one tells whether it's right or not, you see.
Deuteronomy 22:18, you know, said, "If there be one among you who's spiritual or a prophet, I, the Lord, will speak to him. Then if he's with the scripture, it'll come to pass just what he says. It'll be all right, see."
Mark 16 said, "These signs shall follow them that believe." John 14:12, Jesus said, "He that believeth in me, the works that I do shall he do also." There we are. Now we're getting all right.

64 When John came out to introduce, which was the right way? The Pharisees had their way, Sadducees had their way, the publicans had their way, different ones had their way---their denominations, their organizations. John didn't go to any of their schools. He went out in the wilderness, and waited. He studied the Word. The first thing you know, God told him out there in the wilderness that this Messiah would have a sign following Him, as He always did---What we talked about last night.
So John waited. He didn't join any of them. He just waited, till he was sure. He didn't presume anything. He said, "Now, wait a minute. There's the Pharisees. They're good people, they're holiness people. Why, sure, they're all right." He didn't, "I presume they're all right." They wasn't. God... John waited for the sign. John waited till he was sure, see. Certainly he did. He didn't presume. He waited till he seen the true sign of the Messiah.
Nathan, he was just as irritable as he could be. He just said, "Now, I don't believe it. I'll have to see it." When he got up there and seen that he was the Messiah, he was satisfied then. He didn't presume. He just waited till he seen it.

65 The Queen of Sheba, she waited till she seen it. She said, "Now it's a long... She was a heathen, you know. Said, "If I go up there, all these things, what do I do?" and so forth. "I understand that there's a ... that their God is living in a man called Solomon, their king. They've loved him so much they've made a king out of him. And if he's God... I read these words. If that sign is in that man, then that man's talking about God. I'll go up and see."
So she saddled up her camels and took out across the desert, and got up there, and pitched her tent out there, and waited, you know. And she waited. And the first day, maybe, she sat way back in the back of the church. And she seen Pastor Solomon come out in the temple, and all of his men around him. And, oh, they had a great thing there. Now, she wanted to be sure that she was right.
So then, the first thing you know, she noticed that discernment was just perfect. Finally her prayer card was called, and she got up on the platform. And the Bible said there was nothing that Solomon didn't know about her. That's right. She didn't presume anymore.
She said, "All I've heard is the truth, and more. It's greater than what I was even told," She said, "Blessed is the men that's here with you, and can see these things happening day by day. Just let me take a little bit of ground out of here, back down here, so I can kneel on it when I go back. Let your God be my God." She wasn't presuming nothing. She watched and waited till she seen the true sign of God.

66 The woman at the well, she knowed there was a Messiah coming. She knew what He would do. So, no matter what they did... She didn't presume, but as soon as she seen that, she looked, and she said, "Wait a minute. You must be a prophet." (He looked like just an ordinary man.) Said, "We know there's one coming. A Messiah will do such-and-such things."
He said, "I am he."
Then away to the city she went, presuming nothing. "Come out, you fellows, and bring all your doctrines, and bring all your creed books, and so forth, and let us see if this be the Messiah. Let us ... if possibly could be." She didn't presume nothing. She said, "Come see who I have found." Amen! Right. "Come see. We found it!" There's no mistake about it. She wasn't presuming nothing. She knowed what she was talking about. She knowed she was right.

67 The disciples at Pentecost, what if they'd have said, "Now wait. Let's see. It's a ... let's see. Jesus give us a commandment. So He told us to come up here. We know our Lord can't lie. [Look how innocent, how sneaking, sin is!] Now, He told us we would receive the Holy Spirit when we come up here. [I'm going to... Listen to this, doctor.] Oh, you know... Andrew, come here a minute."
"Yes, yes, sir."
"Matthew, what do you think?"
"Oh, John, come over here. Now you know our Lord can't lie.
"True."
"He told us to wait up here until we had received the promise of the Father, and we was going to receive the Holy Ghost. You remember, He raised his hands upon us, and breathed upon us, and said, 'Receive ye the Holy Ghost'?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I tell you, brethren. I believe we got her. I presume we've got it." [Oh, you miserable hypocrite!] I believe we got it. I think we ought to accept it by faith."
You Baptists! "We accept it by faith." By faith, nothing! It's an experience.

68 I can see Peter, that trained man, standing up there, lived with Jesus. He said, "Wait a minute. That's not scriptural."
"Well, I presume we have it."
"Nonsense."
"We ought to start our ministry. Well, we done been here nine days. What are we waiting on?"
"He said 'until', didn't He? Until. Not nine days, ten days, or fifty, or a hundred. He said, 'Wait until...'"

69 That's where we made our mistake. Yes, sir. Presuming it's all right. Lot of us presume because we got speaking in tongues that that was all we had to do. That's right. We stayed there and spoke in tongues. And somebody encouraged us, and we spoke in tongues. We presumed that was all right, go on back out.
That's the reason you women still bob your hair, wear make-up, shorts. That's the reason you men still have your things, and go on the way you do it. You're just presuming. That's right. Stop it! Stop it! Come back to the Word. Remember.
I can see Simon stand up and say, "Wait a minute. Isaiah said, 'Precept must be upon precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little.' [Oh, my. I can see them call back to the Scriptures]. We're not going to presume anything. We're going to wait here until something happens." That's right.
"Well, I'll tell you, brethren. Let them go do what they want to. We'll just organize our own little group, and we'll call ourself the So-and-so. And let them stay if they want to be fanatically." There you are. That's right.
Stay with the Word. Paul said, "They went out from us because they wasn't of us." That's right. Yes, sir.
Oh, how many I could just... I got so many scriptures wrote down here, it'd take me all day. And I just can't stay any longer. Just presuming, presuming---that's all they do, thinking it'll be all right, presuming that it's all right.

70 Daniel, they presumed there, down in... They presumed it would be all right, take God's holy vessels, and drink out of them. They presumed it was all right to laugh at people that had the Holy Ghost. It was all right to make fun of them. The Bible said, "It's better for you that a millstone was hanged at your neck, and drowned into the depths of the sea, than even to offend one of the least of these my little ones."
Brother, I see these people walking through the streets, these stretched-out, wanton necks, heels on about so high, women pushed out in front, and out in the back, and around like this.
And some woman said to me, said (a Pentecostal woman!), said (wearing these little bitty skirts, you know, just about half-way down to their knees), said, "Why, Brother Branham," said, "that's the only kind they make."
They make sewing machines, and sell goods. See, that old dirty spirit is in you. Why would a Pentecostal woman want to act like that? I ... she's not Pentecost; she's just got the name of Pentecost. I better get away from that right quick, turn the next page. Oh, my!

71 Moses, what if he would've presumed? Don't presume; stay with the Word. Don't accept nothing different. Stay exactly what God said stay with. Stay with the Word. Amen.
God is obligated. God's obligated to his Word. And if the Word is in you, He's obligated to you with his Word. But when you do like Eve---doubt one little speck of it and move something in to substitute---you're out, right there. Stay with the Word. Let's not presume anything. Let's just take what the Word says and believe it. Will you do that?

72 Now, look, friend. That's rough, and I got to be at that place there in about five minutes, or ten, and I got to go. So, I ... usually my talks are so much longer. But I got to move. But God bless you. I love you. I don't mean to be mean. I don't mean to have to cut, and tear. Lot of times it cuts me worse than it does you. But, brother, sister, I got to meet you yonder some day. And if I stand there, and He looked around at me and say, "You deceiver! Their blood's required at your hands!", see, 'cause I know different... And woe unto me if I don't tell it.
Now you can... I just pray that you won't fall out with me, but you'll just take the Word, and sit down and find out if that isn't true. Search these organizations, denominations. Go back. You owe it to yourself. Why, if there was something that was going to harm you physically, you'd do everything in the world---get lawyers, attorneys, and everything else to protect yourself, get a bodyguard if your life was threatened---everything else, you would do it, see. What about your soul, your eternal life is affected?
You ought to go back and see what happened to organizations, what's always happened to them. I'm not against organization, the people in there. I'm not against the Catholic. I'm not against the Baptist, the Presbyterian. Why, if I'd ask this morning in this church here...

73 I thank the Lord for giving me millions of friends around the world, and they're Catholic, Baptist, Presbyterian. What is it? Now that Christian Businessmen that I'm with right now, going all over the world with them people, why is it? I tell them just the same as I tell anyone. And I said that the other day in a meeting. And one of the head men stood up, he said, "That's why we have you with us." Said, "You keep with the Word, and it keeps us lined up." That's right.
People admire you if you'll tell the truth. How many of you girls appreciate a good old mother that spared not the rod, but kept you lined up? Do you appreciate her? How about that old gray-headed daddy, that's out here in the graveyard today? Do you love him? Why? He was a daddy. That's right. But that one who let you... I seen a boy the other day, stole and everything else and carried on. Why, his mother upheld him in it. He said, "If my mother [he was going to prison] would've made me take them things back, I wouldn't be going here today." There you are, see. Don't you be wishy-washy. God wants you to stand on what's truth. Amen! Let's bow our heads just a moment.

74 Our heavenly Father, I don't know. We may never meet again like this. This may be our last morning together. I just don't know. I pray Thee to be merciful, Father. Grant your blessings to this people. And Lord, I know sometimes it's cutting, and... But it's a sword, it's a sharp... Your Bible, in the book of Hebrews, said, "The word of God is sharper than a two-edged sword." And this sword can only be handled by the hand of faith that is with a definite call, a Spirit of God behind it, to back it up and show that it's God---with the Spirit that can make it prove that it's right. But, God, may the people see it.
This humble little person of my brother, here, Brother and Sister Littlefield, the two are one. And his love and his charity... I remember one time they called You to a man. He was a Roman. But they said, "He has done great things for our nation. He's built us a synagogue. He's worthy."
God, sitting under the anointing by the side of the man, I know down in his heart he loves me, believes it. He knows it, and I love him. You know that, Lord. And I've told him the hours couldn't get too long, and the nights too dark, or the rainfall too hard, but any time that I could join hearts with him to pray for his little congregation, do anything that I could... As long as it wasn't contrary to your leading, I'd do it. He feels the same by me.

75 Now, Lord, may my blessings rest upon him. Grant it, Lord. His little church here... Standing here in the hall with the boys a few moments ago, and hear him telling about ... when some person said, "What will you do with the poor?" he said, "I'll take them with me." That's right, Lord. That's the Spirit of Christ in him, as Moses throwed himself in the breach and saying, "Lord, take me. Leave them."---the Spirit of Christ in him.
I pray that You'll help Brother Littlefield and Sister Littlefield. Give them, Lord, the power of the Spirit of God. May they be blessed. May their ... may they feed these people, Lord, physically and spiritually. Grant it, Lord.
Bless the little church, bless the deacons, the trustees. May the little church stand. And from this little place here, when the rapture comes... May there be literally dozens leaving here in the rapture. See these old men, feeble; these old women, gray hair, wrinkled face; see her and dad with their kiddies around them, their grandchildren standing all at once; see grandpa turned back to a young man; grandmother ... leaving then.
Oh, this robe of flesh we'll drop, and rise, seize the everlasting prize. Shout while passing through the air, "Farewell, farewell." I pray, God, that You'll bless them.

76 And if I've done anything wrong, if I've cut or hurt anyone, Lord, I didn't mean to do it in that manner. Maybe there was something needed to be cut. So I just lay the Word there. It's a seed. Now let it come forth as a great crop. May there come forth such a spirit in this church, Lord, that the power of God will be known throughout all the regions around about.
May out of here go missionaries, out of here go famous pastors. Grant it, Lord. Give food, sheep-food, to them, Lord. They desire sheep-food, thy Word.
Magnify thyself, Father, in our midst through Jesus' name. Now, Lord, if there be those here today who doesn't know You, may they accept You now in the name of the Lord Jesus.

77 While we have our heads bowed, I want a real honest question to be answered. Do you feel that you're walking in the light of God? I'm not going to ask if you're not; 'course you're just presuming now. But down in your heart, you know that there's things written in that Bible for you to do, and you don't do it. And as long as you do that... Friends, don't presume. Let's be right.
You're not going to be judged by your creeds. You're not going to be judged by your feeling. You're going to be judged by this Word. And if you know you've been wrong, with every head bowed and eye closed, will you just raise your hands, and say, "Pray for me, Brother Branham? I pray now that God will help me."
God bless you. God bless you. God bless you, and you, you, you, you. God bless you. That's fine. Be honest. God bless you, lady. God bless you. Praise God! I see you.
I seen a woman healed, right then---sick, sitting right here---'cause she raised her hand. She was honest, she got healed.
God bless you, sir. Right. You say, "Brother Branham, how do you know that?" I know it. Yes, sir. God be with you. Just be honest. I know I don't... God bless you, you, you, you. Dozens of them. God bless you.

78 He sees ... He...
I might miss your hand, but He don't. He's infinite. He knowed every gnat would be on the earth, before the earth was created; how many times it'd bat his eyes, and how much tallow he'd make. Sure, it's God's spoken word, every bit of it.
He knows ... He's infinite. He knowed what... Infinite. The Word come from infinite, see. It's just infinite. There's no explaining to it; you can't explain it. It's eternal. He's eternal. He knows everything, even a thought. Every thought you'd ever think, He knowed it before you was ever born.
That's the reason by foreknowledge He could predestinate. He knows what you're going to do. He can make it all work to his glory.
Bless you. I've come to you in the name of the Lord. While you have your heads bowed... I've tried. I've preached awfully hard, but it's true. Now last night we had a healing service, but I feel led to do something right now. I see still people here that's sick, needy. Let God speak whether I've told you the truth or not. Let God speak to you.

79 Heavenly Father, now speak. I've spoke. Now You speak, proving that it's true. Grant it, Lord, in Jesus' name. Now I want everybody in here that's sick... I want at least, get two or three for a witness, before I leave here, and turn the service to Brother Littlefield. Now, just be in prayer.
Now you pray, and say, "Lord Jesus, it says in the Bible that we have a high priest that can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities." Now, if that high priest is Jesus Christ... All believes that say, "Amen." Do you believe Jesus is the Son of God, Jehovah's Son? Do you believe He's alive, and is He now seated on the throne of God, ever living to make intercessions upon our profession? And if He's a living high priest, how did He do...?
When He was a high priest here on earth, a woman one day touched his garment, and He turned around and told her that her blood issue had stopped. Was that the action of the high priest? Then He's an eternal high priest. Then He's the same yesterday, today, and forever.

80 Now He's the vine. Let me just take myself---if you'll excuse it, and God be merciful to me---I'll be the branch. Let it bear its fruit, see if we're at the end time, or not. Pray.
I see it shadowing a young man, but I know the man. I see that light hanging right over a boy, looking right towards me, but I know him. He's been healed before. He's going to be all right now. I won't say a word about it.
Here it is right up here near me, about the second or third row back. It's over a woman that's got complications. I don't know her. I hope she gets it. Lord, tell me who she is. Mrs. Cox, believe. Do you? You can receive what you ask for.
Woman sitting close, right close, she has choking spells. I'm a stranger to you. I don't know you. Mrs. Allaway. I never seen the woman in my life. Do you believe? Amen. Have faith. Don't doubt. Now, do you believe it? What happened? She touched the high priest. Can you understand?
What about you sitting there, lady that's praying, got domestic trouble? Mrs. Miller, he did wrong, run away with that woman. I never seen the woman in my life. God in heaven knows that's true. What did she do? She never touched me. She's thirty feet from me. But she touched the high priest.

81 What is it? This gospel I've preached to you is the truth. Do you believe it? Then walk in the light. Walk in the light of the gospel. Believe Him with all your heart. Will you accept Him? Will you get away from all creeds, and everything else, and accept the Messiah? the Holy Spirit of Christ? Do you believe it? With all your heart raise your hand. Now what is it here?
How many was that? Was that two, or three? Three? That's enough. I see it over a man, hanging right here in the corner. What am I telling you? That's not me telling you; that's God telling you now. A man can say anything. We have so much bogus going around called discernment. "Lord tells me somebody here's got a kidney trouble. Who is it, where're they from, what about them?" It's impersonations, presuming. Don't you realize what the Scripture says about this last day? Don't you realize the last thing we're supposed to receive...? What did it say in Malachi 4? just before the evening shadows would fall?
"Oh," you say, "that was fulfilled in John." It wasn't. Malachi 3 was fulfilled when John came.
Malachi 4, He said, "Just before the day that the Lord will judge the earth and burn it with fire..." Then if God didn't burn the earth with fire when John came, then it isn't that time. He was Malachi 3. Malachi 4 is to be soon now. Now's when it's supposed to be.

82 Now, we're not presuming anything. We see it. We know that God is here---the Holy Spirit, the great ... the God of Elijah, the Holy Ghost, the witness of the last day---pulling his ministry right into the church, the same thing that our Lord did.
The high priest is descending from the throne to the church. And the church is heaping itself up with the Word, 'cause He can only come to the Word. He is the Word. The Word can't come to the almanac. It won't fit.
So the Word has to come to the Word. "Ye abide in me and my word in you..." Man shall live all the Word of God. Here it is. You believe it; accept it then. Now let's pray.

83 Thank You, Lord. If I never get back to this lovely church again, at that day of the judgment the blood is off of my hands. I've cut, and tore, and done everything, Lord. Look like was enough to kill a person. If they continue on, and these tapes right here---all of them across the world---if they continue on after they see this, and know it's a magnetic tape...
... these things happen (Not guesswork, not something you're presuming; but something that's spiritual revealed in the Word, and proven to be.) then in our midst this morning is that lovely One, that Holy Spirit that shall stand there that day and bring this to our memory. God's big magnetic tape will be played that day.
God, have mercy on me now. Have mercy upon the church. Have mercy upon this congregation here this morning. Have mercy upon the poor people, Lord. Many of them are led in all kinds of ways by false prophets, deceiving, lying wonders, unscriptural; blood, fire, smoke, O God, unscripturally, deceiving.
The Bible said it would be that way. God, they think you're trying to push something over. What can I do, God? I don't know what to do, God. They think maybe you're trying to be a know-it-all, or... I pray that You'll straighten that in their hearts, Lord. Let them know that it's You. It's the Holy Spirit proving his Word to be right.

84 There's so many hands went up awhile ago, Lord, church members and everything, putting up their hands; You revealing each hand when they go up, there's their heart, that's what it is---seeing their condition, some of it unconfessed sin. O God, be merciful. I pray that every one put their hand up will never meet the judgment out yonder of God. May they escape the judgment, and go in the rapture like Noah rode over the judgment (grant it, Lord), like Abraham, be out of the judgment. Have mercy, I pray.
Bless these people now. Forgive their sins. May the sweetness, mellowness, and tenderness of the Holy Spirit rest upon each of them.
You're God, and I love You, Lord. Oh, I adore You, You rose of Sharon, lily of the valley. Oh, if I could reach out my arm, and put it around You, Lord. I'm not worthy to... Let me touch your foot, or something, Father.
I know You're standing right here, right here at the platform, that glorious nail-scarred One, so close, so ... in another world, another dimension standing here. We see your pressure and power of your Spirit moving among our flesh, Lord. Oh, adulterous people as we are! And then, You moving among us, and sanctifying us with your blood to fulfill your Word, and pressing your Holy Spirit into us to let us know things that's past, future, present.

85 O God, You're God. How I love You, Lord, how I adore You! Oh, no wonder we can't find a name for You. Wonderful, Counselor, Prince of Peace, the mighty God, the everlasting Father; oh, the lily of the valley, the rose of Sharon; He that was, which is, and shall come; the root and offspring of David; the Word, the life, the joy, the all: You're God!
How I love You, Lord. I praise You, adore You, You matchless one, You great eternal one, made flesh and dwelt among us, now here in a pillar of fire, moving around through here, showing yourself the same pillar of fire when it was in a body called the Lord Jesus, the first Son, the only begotten Son---now through adopted sons showing that You're still God.
We're not lost. We're saved. We're not in the fall, we're not in denominations, we're not in creeds; but we're in the power and the resurrection of our Saviour. How we praise Thee, Lord, for thy goodness!

Presuming

You can find this sermon at ChurchAges.net

1 Let us remain standing just a moment for prayer. If there's any requests, raise your hand. And in your heart say, "God, You know what's in my heart." Let's bow our heads now.
Our heavenly Father, we thank Thee this morning for the true love of God that's shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit that melts us into one (we are one in Christ), and for this time of fellowship around the Word we're approaching now again this morning.
We want to thank you for what it's meant to us through this past week, for meeting with our precious dear friends, your children; and for feeling that fine spirit of love and genuineness in their hearts. And we're so grateful, Lord. Truly the Scripture's right when we're assembled together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

2 Bless the further part of the service. Bless our brother, our pastor, Brother Parker Thomas, thy servant, the Holy Spirit moving upon him and helping him. Lord, he wants to serve you with all of his heart. And I pray that his desires will be fulfilled, and the desire behind every hand that was raised here this morning.
Bless all your servants throughout the land on this Sabbath day. May You anoint your ministers everywhere that's standing in the pulpit. May the sick be healed, the lost saved, and those who are prepared to receive the Holy Spirit. May God be honored today because He has let it be a day. In Jesus' name, amen. You be seated.

3 I think of that great old song, " 'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take Him at his Word; just to lean upon his promise, just to know thus saith the Lord." This is... I was telling your precious pastor here, our Brother Parker Thomas, that I believe this has been one of the most spiritual-impact meetings that I've been into in I don't know when. I come down... I say, "Now, I'm going down tonight. I'm just going to say a few words, and then I'm going to call the people up on the platform and pray for them. And I don't want to say too much," you see.
I said, "Now, Brother Parker is a teacher, and what good's my part going to do down there? And you just can't cut off, you know. It just keeps moving, the Holy Spirit, so... And then, the first thing you know, look down ... about an hour. "It's nearly nine o'clock, I'm sure." It's almost eleven. So, you just... Well, we're ... just love to fellowship around the Word, and so happy.

4 And I know you've had a great time at the school, or the convention up at the Tabernacle. Do you know what, people? If I lived around here, I'd be a member of that place up there. I would. I sure would. I'd be right... I am a member of it. I mean, I'd be going to it. I was a member of it, because I was baptized into it. That's right. I was baptized into that great fellowship.
You know, I come from a Baptist church, and the Baptists believe that when ... you are baptized with the Holy Spirit when you believe. And they also believe that if you've been in the Christian church, or any other church baptizing in the same form of baptism they use---the same ceremony---yet, when you become a Baptist you've got to be rebaptized again. In other words, you're baptized by water into the Baptist fellowship. Well, I'm glad we're baptized by one spirit into the fellowship of the Lord Jesus. That's the lasting baptism.

5 Coming in there was a brother standing out there, and he had a movie camera, and he was winding it up when we backed in. I thought you was singing "Only Believe," and I started up the steps. And I seen this precious brother. Something just said, "Go out to where he is."
He was taking the movie. And he was giving me a testimony. He said that ten years ago his wife, with a cancer up in Pennsylvania... In one of our meetings, one of our first, she was healed of cancer. And here he is way down here today---a Brother Roark, I believe he said his name was.
And a little bitty fellow standing there, his hair all combed up---cute little fellow... And I said, "Is this your father, or grandfather?"
He said, "No, sir."
I said, "Do you live around here?"
He said, "I'm from Charlotte." It just creeps over. I know you're from the South. His speech betrayed him. He was a cute little guy, just a little bitty snicklefritz about this high, you know. They're cute. I love them little fellows.

6 In here this morning is a little Swedish brother of mine. One time, I ... not knowing him, I stood for him with all that was in me. And I'd just come back from Sweden. Brother Joseph was having a hard pull in Chicago, and they had a lot against him---or, they called it against him just because he wanted to be a brother, and fellowship with anybody that reached out his hand and said, "Shake my hand." Joseph was ready to take a hold of it. To me, that's a Christian.
But there was a group of ministers said, "He's associated with a certain people. He's had them in his church"---latter-day rains, and so forth. And we had a meeting booked in Chicago. I said, "But aren't we supposed to be interdenominational?"
Said, "Yeah, but they'd..." The fellow said, "They'd put me out of my church if I let him come in."
I said, "Then we just won't go, if he can't come in." So I bypassed Chicago for that cause. And we have been bosom friends all of our lives. Now, if we'd sit down and try to discuss Scriptures, we might miss one another half a mile or more, when it comes to Scripture. But when it comes to brotherly love, we are one. I know he loves God. He believes the same thing that I believe, and we've had fellowship around.

7 Now I'm going into the mission fields of Africa to provide ... prepare meetings where the big schools are. The little fellow had ... just unsponsored, not underwritten by no one, but a vision in his heart to go to Africa. And there he's got thousands. He was at our church in Jeffersonville, showed his film up at school. I want to come over and help him.

8 And this morning I was eating breakfast down here at Howard Johnson's, and seen some of my friends come by. And who came in but Joseph. Sat down, and had breakfast with us. Went home, and we're living right next door to each other.
I've been all tore up for a few days on account of a vision. I hadn't told it right out to the people, and it's kind of disturbed. And I wondered, "What could that be? How can it be?" I took my wife, and we went aside, and I rehearsed back. "Where down the road, did I ... have I missed the place? What has happened?"

9 And something said while we was just standing in my room, just a moment before I was going to have prayer and come over... And I was going to speak this morning ... teach on the bride tree, but my voice had got bad. And I said, "I better bypass that, 'cause it's long."
And I said... Well, I walked... Something just said, "Take Joseph out in the yard." And I just put my arm around him, walked out into the yard.
We walked down through these big, stately, pine trees. Seemed like that wind blowing through there sings, "There's a land beyond the river..." And standing there with my little friend, talking, and a certain thing I was talking to him about ... which just he and I to know...
And he said, "But, Brother Branham, where the Lord gave you this scripture thirty years ago, but did you ever read this below it?" It done something to me. I felt the Holy Spirit just come down all around us.
I said, "Thank you, Joseph." I put my arm around him, walked back to the door, went in, picked up my Bible. It was there just exactly where... Why I never read but just them first few verses, I don't know. Just for this hour, that's all.
You know Jesus picked up the Scriptures one time, and just read so much of it? Just as much as to be fulfilled then, and left the rest of it; 'cause that part pertained to Him in that time, and the next part pertains to Him the second time. I may speak on it tonight, Lord willing.

10 I want to go this afternoon, take my Bible and get out into the woods alone, 'cause it's just got me all moved inside. I never thought of it, never tried to read it. About, well, about thirty, thirty-one years ago, and everything that He told me has been fulfilled. And just in the last six months the last part of the vision that morning fulfilled, and here it was. The trouble, I guess (is what I call it), just didn't know which way to turn. And Joseph said, "But did you ever read the rest of it?" And there it was! Didn't know it. God bless you, Joseph.
I love God's people, don't you? Just something real about it. Maybe tonight, the Lord willing... I want to go this afternoon to see what He will tell me. What to do? I feel a lot better about it now, I know that. Just caught two or three verses, and I thought, "Oh, my! That's ... why didn't I read that? Why didn't I think about it?" But I just never did notice it. Now ... 'cause it wasn't time.

11 Now, Joseph is going to leave us, and going to Africa to make arrangements for meetings. Brother Parker Thomas has been so sweet to ask me to come back again next year, time of the convention. And I trust that that will be the will of the Lord I can do that, meet with everybody back here again next year. And the fellowship is very sweet.

12 And now, we want to get out of here before noon, and ... so you can eat, and rest, and so forth, and come back again this evening. Do you have an evening service, or afternoon service, brother? [Someone answers, "Perhaps we'll have baptismal service this afternoon, Brother Branham."]
Now anybody that's wanting to be baptized in Christian baptism... Where will that be? At your church? [Brother says, "No. Behind my house. There's a lake behind there."] Oh, there you are. "Here is water. What does hinder us?" All right. All you eunuchs come down and enter into the water. And if you haven't had Christian baptism yet by immersing, you come to Brother Parker Thomas's house ... parish this afternoon, and there will be water for the baptismal service. And that's a good time to settle it once forever. That's right. "For he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." Is that right?
"Repent every one of you and be baptized into the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." If that isn't true, then I don't know what is true.

13 Paul said to those people in Acts, the 19th chapter... Paul, passing through the upper coasts of Ephesus, he finds certain disciples. A great Baptist preacher up there was preaching, proving by the Bible that Jesus was the Christ. He said...
Paul come through, and Aquila and Priscilla, tentmaker friends of Paul's, which absolutely... Aquila and Priscilla was the pastor of the church. Aquila was the pastor of the church, the first church at Rome. And when Claudius had excommunicated all Jews, he come back to Palestine. I'd like to talk to the Catholic church on that one. Yes, sir. Where was Peter over there then? All right.
Now, he had been excommunicated from Rome, and then brought over into his homeland, 'cause... Then Aquila and Priscilla there... When they went back then they'd warn the bishops over there that brought in all the dogma. And there's what started your first Catholic church, right there.

14 And then they established a second Catholic church, which then when Paul came to Rome, he came to the second church. I want somebody to show me where Paul went to the first church. He wouldn't believe those dogmas. Could you imagine Peter, a Jew, taught against idols, put idols in the church? Do you remember Peter so strict on the Word, and staying with the Word, could ever accept dogmas? Think... No, no, not that. That's just foolishness. But there it goes, and that's the way it starts.

15 Now. We find out that Paul, passing through the upper coast of Ephesus, he finds certain disciples. They were rejoicing, happy. He said unto them, "Have you received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?" Wasn't that a knockout to the Baptists! The Baptist says you receive the Holy Ghost when you believe, and that's exactly what their first beginners are. That's what Apollos... He said ... he thought they had already ... everything was all right. He said they was shouting and having a great time.
Paul said, that's all right."
Aquila and Priscilla'd done told them, "We got a little Brother Paul. But when he comes up, he'll teach the Word of God to you more plainer."

16 So he passed through the upper coast, and he finds this Baptist theologian---great man, good man. And he said to his congregation, "Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?"
They said, "We know not whether there be a Holy Ghost."
He said, "Then how was you baptized?"
They said, "Oh, we've been baptized."
"How? Unto what?"
Said, "Unto John's baptism."
He said, "He only baptized unto repentance [The sacrifice hadn't been killed yet, see.], not for remission of sin." That's right.
Acts 2:38 said, "Repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sin," see.

17 But he said, "Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?"
Said, "We know not whether there be any Holy Ghost."
Said, "What was you baptized?" It must be essential.
And he said, "We have not so much as know whether there be a Holy Ghost."
He said, "How was you baptized?", or "to what?" The original says "to how."
And he said, "Unto John's baptism."
He said, "John verily baptized unto repentance, saying unto the people they should believe on him that was to come, that is Jesus Christ." And when they heard this, they were rebaptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
Paul laid his hands upon them, and they received ... the Holy Ghost come upon them; and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. That's right. Oh, that's good Pentecostal doctrine to me. Sure is all right.
So now, if you haven't had Christian baptism, come down this afternoon.

18 And then here not long ago (just before we start), you know that my precious old mother has just gone up the road. And if I had time I'd tell you how it happened, how the Lord told me ... bypassing a hunting trip I had, and sent me to another place; and told me what I would get, and return back; and just exactly where everything was laying perfectly. I told it to the church before I ever left.
I said, "I'm going to kill a nine-foot silver-tipped grizzly. I'm going to kill a caribou that his horns measures exactly forty-two inches from the base up, and he'll be laying on a little panoramic. Never been in the country." Told the church. Part of the church is sitting here this morning. Is that right, church? Raise up your hand, from the Branham Tabernacle.

19 I said, "This is where it'll be." Some of the brethren went with me to find out. We went into a country we'd never seen before, and just perfectly, to the dot, where everything was. The silver-tip grizzly measured exactly nine feet from tip to tip. And he was killed just in the same place He said.
The caribou, laying, looking right down the mountain at me... And that guide said, "Brother Branham, if that caribou's horns measures forty-two inches, I'm going to faint."
I said, "You might as well drop over, because it's going to measure." When he got his measure out, and there it was at the on-the-spot nose, not a 16th over---exactly forty-two inches. I said, "Don't you believe?"
A year before that we was back in a place, and he was just a young convert, and he'd heard about the meetings. His wife is a Pentecostal believer. He's a guide---Brother Southwick. He said, "If anybody ever questions that, let them write and ask me." He said, "Let me tell them." We was way back. That's the land of the midnight sun in the Yukon there. So he...

20 And we'd been back with the Indians back there, and had got across the waters. And the waters had cut us off, and we couldn't go back. So we just sat around there a few days, just talking, watching the great outdoors, and taking pictures of different things.
And so, he kept... Eddie kept telling one of the ministers about the visions, and he said, "Oh, my. If I could just only... If I could get my brother down there..." And he said, "My brother has had epilepsy, my young brother." Said, "He's had epilepsy since he was about three years old. He has four or five fits a day." So, I knowed he was praying to God, but I can't make visions come. They just come. That's the grace of God. I don't... So, we was back there. I prayed for him two or three times, and him not knowing it. We went around the next day. We had about twenty-one head of horses.

21 And down on the trips... Usually I tied tails, toggles, like that. But in the mountains you can't use it that way because you'll loose the whole string of horses. And sometimes they'd fall off a cliff.
And on the road out, we'd let the horses loose, and these young horses roll with their packs and things. I used to ride a lot, and my father was a rider.
So, we was coming up out of the back a-wrangling. Bud was in front, this Brother Eddie, Brother Bud and I, and another Christian called Chris Berg. And so, Bud was riding on in the front with a bell horse trying to lead on; and I was coming in back, Eddie and I, getting these horses out of mesquite. I guess you all know what mesquite is. And they get in that ... like quicksand.

22 We had a couple down, and, oh, I was mud from head to foot, and along there getting them horses out. And one of them jumped in, and I jumped in on top of him, held his head up like that. We got a rope around, throwed it onto my saddle horn like that, and took one horse, and cut the other packs off, and got him out of there. And just take mud, and scrape it off of you like that. So, oh, my!
Them young horses, you can't ... they just go any way. They're two or three years old, and just broke. And they're not trail horses at all.

23 And so, we were going out. And I had got up, and I was riding along in the saddle, and Eddie was there. And I happened to look out across them great big, pretty, pine trees with snow across the top. God, let me live there! If there's a millennium to come, let me live there.
You can have all your fancy hair-trimmed yards, and your big buildings; and all your Miami palm trees lit up, and all you want. But just let me have it the way God sent it, just to live in. I just love it like that. Oh, I can just stand at the top of those hills, go hunting, and climb way up at the top of the hills and sit there, and just hold up my hands and cry. Look across there; and I think, "God, that must be the way you love it. That's the way You must... That's the way You made it. Why does man have to contaminate it, and make it something else---pervert it?"
"Some day," I thought, "Lord, let me walk down your big, never-ending game trail." I hope I meet all you hunter brothers down along through there, real ... where I was looking at it. I'm looking forward to that. 'Course you know that's the Indian's prayer.

24 When... As we was going down there, I was looking out across like that, and I seen that young fellow in a vision. The horse stopped itself. I didn't have to stop him.
And I watched that vision for a few minutes, and when it left I seen it was for Bud's brother. I only had one spur. I spurred my little horse, and turned him around. I run up to Eddie real quick. I had a horse run out into some brush there. I said, "Eddie, Eddie, brother."
He said, "What's the matter, Brother Branham? You look white as a sheet."
I said, "I've got 'Thus saith the Lord.' "
"What is it? For Bud's brother?"
I said, "Yes." I said, "Keep the horses going." And I spurred my horse, and got across and through the mesquite and things. In about fifteen minutes I was just ahead of the string. I rode beside of Bud, and put my hand over on the back of his saddle, and I said, "Bud."
He said, "Yes, Brother Branham."
I said, "I got 'Thus saith the Lord' "
He said, "What do you mean?"

25 I said, "For the last two or three days since we've been back here, you've constantly talked about if you could ever get your brother in one of the meetings."
He said, "Yes, Brother Branham. He's just ... he hasn't even received the Holy Ghost as yet." He has now, but he hadn't then. And he said, "Yes, that is right."
And I said, "Your brother..." Described him.
He said, "That's exactly right. That's the way he looks."
I said, "And this won't work on another person, but it will on your brother." I told him what to do. I said, "You send and get your brother. Bring him up here." It's on the Alaskan highway---lived in an old place where the Americans there, several of them died, putting the road through. And the government had all fell in. And he was guiding. He's got six hundred square miles in there. He was a licensed guide. And so, he said ... very primitive, very fine hunting country.

26 And I said, "Bud, look. When that boy comes, and he has a fit again, grab his shirt, and say, 'Brother Branham told me to do this in the name of the Lord,' and throw that in the salamander." I said, "The fits will leave him. Do you believe me?"
He said, "With all my heart."
He sent and got his brother, brought him up there, and that morning he went to cut trails. His little wife, sweet little Christian, but she... He got violent. He'd get rashal, too. So just ... he hadn't been out of the house more than about thirty minutes down somewhere, and he fell in one of those fits. Usually the little wife would clear a window, anything, getting away from him. But when she seen him rolling and tumbling, and that devil doing that to him, she happened to remember. And she believed me.
Here she come to him, and straddled him---that little bitty woman on that great big, wide-shouldered man. She straddled him, and jerked that shirt off of him, walked over there to that salamander, tears running down her cheeks. Said, "Dear God, Brother Branham told us to do this. And I throw this in there in the name of Jesus Christ." And he's never had a fit from then on.

27 When I told him about those visions, and what would happen...
Coming down the mountain... We shot that caribou on top of the mountain. He said, "Brother Branham, according to that vision..." We was in caribou moss. You know that you can see for miles and miles, and nothing but just yellow moss. He said, "According to what you told me, now, that man that's going to have the shirt on (Eddie down there, that checkered shirt), you're going to kill a nine-foot silver-tipped grizzly."
I said, "That's 'thus saith the Lord.' "
He said, "Brother Branham, I'm not doubting your word, brother. How could I doubt your word?" Said, "But look. I can see every speck of the ground, and there's nothing. There isn't a bush that high. There's nothing but caribou moss. Where's the bear at?"
I said, "He's Jehovah-jireh. The Lord will provide for Himself." I said, "Did you ever hear the story about the squirrels that time?"
He said, "Eddie told me about it."
And I said, "Well, He's still God. If He says it'll be there..."

28 He said, "Well, Brother Branham, if God's told you that, and this caribou was laying exactly... Why, I never seen one like it." He said, "I don't see how in the world you ever got to it, in fifty yards of it." And said, "Just exactly what you've said." Said, "Told me ..." said, "my brother was healed just exactly. That's been over a year ago. He'd had three or four fits a day, and never had one since." He said, "How could I doubt it?"
But said, "Brother Branham, I've lived in these mountains all of my life, and I never seen a silver-tip in my life." Said, "I've seen regular grizzlies, but not a silver-tip. That's the rare type."
I said, "But there's one here." So I picked up the head ... the horns of this... We'd take ... I had the rifle, and we'd take turns about, coming down, having to walk this way down the hill, that caribou moss. My! It was about 3.5 miles right down before you even hit timber. And so... See, that's not even bear country; that's caribou.

29 So we went down foot by foot. We changed ... that trophy I was packing weighed... Well, the caribou itself weighs around nine hundred. But we had to leave the meat there, and I just took the cape. And the horns alone weighed about 150 pounds. So here I was trying to pull it down the hill, like this, over my shoulders.
And when we got within about... We come over a little glacier, and he said, "Think of it, Brother Branham. We're only about a mile to where... I can see with my natural eyes where them horses are standing. And I see every hill. And you're going to kill a nine foot silver-tipped grizzly?"
I said, "That's according to the word of God that told me about three months ago, and it's never failed." I said, "You're doubting that, Bud."
He said, "Forgive me, Brother Branham. I'm not doubting." Said, "My heart is so... I just can't understand it." Said, "Where's the bear at?"
I said, "I don't know. I said, "God's got him sticking around here somewhere."
He said, "Think of it! A bear that I've never seen, and one that God told you..." He said, "That's the same God that told you about my brother."
I said, "Absolutely."
Said, "Brother Branham, put a shell in your gun."
I said, "I'll have time to do that."

30 So, drove on down the hill. We could get about a half a mile, and he'd been packing, and I'd had the rifle. So we sat down, resting. He said, "Brother Branham, just think. We're only half a mile."
I said, "Bud..." And I said, "He'll be there. Don't you worry." And I looked. I said, "Bud, what is that standing right up there, about two miles up, top of the mountain?"
He throwed the glasses on, said, "Brother Branham, looks like a milk cow." He said, "It's a grizzly bear, so help me. And look at that white grizzle a-blowing in that sun setting this afternoon. He's a silver-tip. I never seen it before."
I said, "What are we waiting on?"
He said, "I believe if you'd just shoot him from here---it's two miles away---you'll get him."
I said, "But Bud, according to the vision, I was just right close to him."

31 So, tired, worn---we'd done been at least twenty miles that day over those mountains. So then, we started right back up again. And I got within about five hundred yards, and Bud said, "Brother Branham," he said, "did you ever shoot a silver-tip before?"
I said, "I've killed many bears, but never a silver-tip."
And he said, "They're the most vicious of all." Said, "They don't know dying."
I said, "No bear does."
So he said, "But the Lord gave you that one, didn't He?"
I said, "Oh, yeah."

32 So, I had a little 270. It's a small rifle. And so, then, I went on up just a little farther. He said, "Brother Branham, don't you think you'd better shoot him from here? We better not get too close to him."
I said, "The vision said we was right up on him."
So we went over another little coulee, and come up. And when we did, there, my! Just sitting about 250 yards there, I could see his big, yellow teeth mashing down like that. He looked like a big hay stack, eighteen inches between the ears. He was a mammoth ... foot about that wide, and claws, you know, and just sitting there. Oh, he looked pretty, and mean!
So, Bud said, "Uh hum!" He said, "Brother Branham, I tell you where to shoot him."
I said, "Yes, brother."
He said, "The back, you see." Said, "Then they can't get up then, you see."
I said, "But the vision said shoot him in the heart."
He said, "Then you'd better do it that way."
First shot got him. And as we come down, he said, "Brother Branham..." We was packing them horns, didn't have a measure. He said, "Them horns look about ninety inches."
I said, "No, they're just forty-two inches." He said ... and I told Eddie, I said, "Now watch. The little boy's going to put his hands right there, and measure."
And when we got down to where the packs was... We couldn't bring the bear. We had to go back the next day. And you can't get a bear ... Whew! You can't get a horse near a grizzly bear. You know that. The smell of it, and he's gone. We tore up two or three strings trying to get him out. And so then, all we had was panniers laying all over everything, the pack saddles, and they were scattered. Them horses was scared to death of the grizzly, the smell of them.

33 So we went on down, and when we stopped, the boys was there waiting---Eddie and his son. And he said, "I want to measure those horns."
I pulled back to Eddie, I said, "Eddie, watch the boy put his hands around the bottom of the horns, like I told you before we got here." So he goes down, gets out the tape out of his ... little measure. The little boy come around, put his hands on it.
Eddie said, "Praise be to God!" Just exactly. Raised right up like that. He just turned white in the face. He said, "Brother Branham, looky here. Not one-sixteenth over! Exactly forty-two inches on the dot." Jesus never fails.
He said, "Brother Branham, where am I going to be a year from today?"
I said, "Now, Bud, you're just a young convert to Christ. I don't know where you're going to be." I said, "I can only say just as He tells me. That's what I'll say, and that's all I know," see. "I don't know..."

34 Now, I'm going back into the country, that you might know, when I come back next year. I'm going to get a brown bear that's almost twice that size. You see if it's right or not. I seen it. When we was standing, put my hands on his haunches laying on the ground, like that. And I could put my hands on his hips like that, and him laying down. Now you find out if that's right or not.
There's a whole lot to that. But I just happened to think, I'm supposed to be teaching Sunday school! Oh, friends. You all see these little visions around here? No wonder you minister brothers sometimes get suspicious. "Well, it might be mental telepathy. It might be psychology." Show me somewhere else it's going on.
What about these great psychologists, telepathists? They guess. It sometimes happens, sometimes it never. And it's this, that, or the other. But God's perfect and never fails.

35 What is a fortune-teller? Is a perverted servant of Christ. What is any wrong? Is a perverted right. It's exactly right. There's never... It's just now and then. That's the way ... is taking a chance on Christianity. Don't take chance. Be sure that you're right. Just die to yourself and be borned again by the Spirit of God. Then you'll know. Then there's no... All the "ifs," and "ands" are gone from it.
I love Him, I love Him (glory),
Because He first loved me;
And purchased my salvation
On Calvary's tree.
I seen some ... one man that went with me. I just didn't notice him being here. Brother Fred Sothmann. He's sitting there, and he went to Dawson with me. Is that right, Brother Fred? I drawed the picture on my windshield just exactly (Is that right?), before it happened. Oh, that's happened... How many knows, that travels along (for the strangers here)? Go along the road, and the Lord will say different things that's going to happen, and it'll be just exactly that way, all down. Sure. Don't you love Him? Just sing it.
Because He first loved me;
And purchased my salvation
On Calvary's tree.

36 No guessing anymore. We're in the ark. The world's shut out. We are in Jesus now. Oh, the fellowship! Now God, help us to have fellowship around your Word. When I read it, Lord, I know that your words won't fail. Mine does. I'm just a man. All of us are just human beings.
"What is man that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man that thou would visit him?" Surely, Lord, we have nothing that we can offer, because it was given to us at the beginning. We could not be here if it wasn't for You. And to think that the grace of God come down into our midst in this last days... And God, the great Creator, has made himself known to us by forgiving our sins, and appearing before us in such marvelous ways, as He promised it would be in the evening time. The evening lights are shining. Grant it, Father, that we'll fellowship around thy Word now. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.

37 Sorry to have held you like that. Let us read now on a scripture, just a short one. We're going to be out now, just about thirty-five, forty minutes, Lord willing.
Numbers 14... I said that because I might make a mistake. I don't know what He's going to do. Some ... why, He might get something here in a few minutes, the Holy Spirit might come into this. I'm looking for something to happen. I don't know. So, if I don't know, then I'm just going to say "if He is willing," see. Yes, sir!

38 What do I know? The Holy Ghost might come up here, and strike one of these brethren sitting on the pulpit, and might do something here to just turn the whole thing. There might be a falling of the Holy Ghost in a few minutes, and this wouldn't close for two or three more weeks, just day and night constantly going, all the... I don't know what He's going to do. And, you know, again, we might hear the trumpet sound.

39 Numbers 14:41 down to 45, reading the Word of the Lord now:
And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye trespass the commandment of the Lord? but it shall not prosper. Go not up, for the Lord is not among you; that ye may be ... smitten before your enemies.
For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and you shall fall by the sword: because ye are turned away from the Lord, therefore the Lord will not be with you.
But they presumed to go up unto the hill top: nevertheless the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and Moses, departed not out of the camp.
And the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites that dwelt in the hill, and smote them, and discomfited them, even unto Hormah.
Now for just a ... to draw a little lesson out of here this morning just to talk... Now I believe that we are here to ... in a Sunday School to be taught, to learn. And if we can go back and find out in the Old Testament, and in the New Testament, how people were blessed of God, and how that they were cursed of God, and see what God respected and required, then we'll have some idea of how to maintain the blessings of God. You think so?

40 Now, I'm not going to preach. I haven't got enough voice for that, but I ... and remember, I have ... constantly will be going till this coming September. I've got about two days between the meetings till September, the Lord willing.
Now we want to find out... Let me say it again now, take our time for these few minutes we have. Now, we've got to go back, and if we can see what God desired, what He required, what He cursed, what He blessed, then let's take them for examples.
I believe in Hebrews, the 11th chapter---no, the 12th chapter---said, "... seeing that we are compassed about with such a great cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every sin, or every weight, and the sin that so easily beset us, that we might run with patience the race that's set before us."

41 Now, we got to go back. Paul here, as we believe he was the writer of the Hebrews, was showing back what men of faith and great warriors was. Then, we can take the other side. I got a book at home that tells the last words... Brother Nugent, I got it from him many years ago---the last words of great men and women that lived on the earth. And I believe it was Bloody Mary, in England, that her last words, when she was dying said, "I'd give my kingdom for five minutes more of life." I've got Abraham Lincoln's last words. I got Stonewall Jackson's last words.
You know what Jackson's last words was? that great southern general? I join with you rebels in thanksgiving to God for a general like Jackson. He's never been compared anywhere in any other general, as far as I'm concerned. He was a great man of God. And Jackson said when he was dying... He was fixing to cross the river. He said, "We'll soon cross the river. Then we'll sit under the tree, and rest." That's right.

42 I heard Dwight Moody's last words. Raised up, and said, "Is this death?" Said, "This is my coronation day."
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
With partings leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time.
[I like that.]
Footprints, that perhaps another,
While sailing over life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
In seeing, shall take heart again.

43 Paul Rader. How many ever heard of Paul Rader? I used to hear him preach when I was a little boy. Little did I know then that I'd take his song, "Only Believe," around the world. When Paul was dying out there, they had the little quartet come down from Moody Bible School. And you know what Paul said to a friend of mine? When he knowed he was dying (had cancer) he said, "If I would have took my message of grace and sowed it to the red hot Pentecostals, instead of come here [that's what killed him]," said, "I'd been better off."
So Moody... Paul had a sense of humor. He and Brother Bosworth, and all of them, were just bosom friends. Billy Sunday... Brother Bosworth had a meeting up there with ... one time in Chicago, Rader Tabernacle. And so, Billy Sunday had been there three weeks, and he'd preached out all of his sermons. Paul had been there about two years, and he was preaching on. So Billy said to Paul, he said, "Paul, when do you ever run out of sermons?"
He said, "When I get a kink in the hose."

44 And if anybody ever heard Paul preach... He'd start in Genesis, and wind up in Revelation. He'd preach the whole Bible through every time he'd preach. I used to watch him. He'd take ... something in his mind, he'd get way back---great, big man---he'd pull up his trousers, you know. And here, he'd run as hard as he could, almost go over top of the pulpit like a big bear with his hands out.
But when he was dying out there, Moody Bible school sent down a quartet. They was standing there with the shades all down in the hospital, singing, "Nearer My God to Thee." Paul raised up, and said, "Hey, who's dying, me or you?" Said, "Raise them shades, and sing me some good, snappy gospel songs." Amen. So they began to sing,
Down at the cross where my Saviour died,
Down where for cleansing from sin I cried;
There to my heart was the blood applied;
Oh, glory to his name!
He said, "Where is Luke?" That's his brother. Many of you knew Luke. he just recently went. Luke and Paul were two brothers that stayed together, something like Billy, my son, and I.

45 Said, "Where's Luke?" Luke was in the next room. He didn't want to see his brother die. He said, "Tell Luke to come over here." They brought Luke in, Luke trying to choke it back. Paul raised up and took hold of his hand, and said, "Luke, we've been through a many a battle together, haven't we, brother?"
He said, "Yes, Paul."
He said, "Think of it. In five minutes from now I'll be standing in the presence of Jesus Christ, clothed in his righteousness."
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
With partings leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time.
Let me go like that. Let me go with that testimony, like Moody had. Let me go with the testimony like Paul had. "I've fought a good fight, I've finished the course. Death, where is your sting? Grave, where is your victory?" But thanks be to God who gives us the victory.

46 Therefore, basing back in the Old Testament, I drawed these conclusions for a little message now---"Presuming." Webster, I've got wrote out here ... Webster says to presume is to venture without actual authority. That's presuming. Or, in parenthesis he's got, Webster, taking it for granted---just taking it for granted, or, to venture without authority, or take something just for granted.
Now, that's something that the church must not do. You're not sure of yourself if you're just presuming, for you're just taking it for granted. Now, we have ... each year we pass a holiday. I'm sorry to say this, but it shows, though. The average American Christian, so-called...

47 Billy Graham made the same statement one time. You read his article about how many drunks there was in so-called Christianity. The average so-called Christian of some church (and a sinner alike, which to me they're all in the same boat), people drink, and try to just drown out past sins---the cheating, lying---and on the weekend they try to get drunk. Just think, "Well, I'll just pass it off."
They're presuming that that's the right way to do it. They feel that that's the way to forget your sins---just drink it out. You don't realize you're only heaping more sins. But they presume that that's the American way to do it. And that may be true. But it isn't the Bible way of doing it. But they presume that that's all right.

48 I said that here not long ago. I was speaking on a subject where I had been in Canada with my good Brother Sothmann there, and I come down to a great big hotel that he was so generous to put me in. And the Americans was up there in Canada, a certain club of Americans. They was having their convention there.
And I tell you, when I come in that night, well, there was Miss America. We're ... Oh, terrible! And whiskey bottles all over everything. And I went on up to the room. I got off, and I looked at that little fellow. There was a couple of people got off---men, holding one another---a club.
Then when I ... the little elevator... , I said, "My goodness! Whew!"
He said, "Oh, they're having a real time."
I said, "They sure look it."
So we went up to the door, and opened the door, and we got out of the elevator, and started down.
And there was two young women, both of them wearing wedding bands---pretty little women, just with their underneath garment on, standing up at the end of the hall. And they had a whiskey bottle in their hand. And as they started down through there, trying to hold one another, eyes glassy, starey, their manicure on their lips had run down, and that black stuff. And them women ... putting that ring around here, looked like a monkey, not a human being, like that. (What'cha call it?) And all that stuff, and that big waterhead haircut, you know... You are pretty. Don't make yourself look like a prehistoric animal, see. [Break in tape] ... the way God made you.

49 And here these girls, women, standing up there and they started down through the hall, staggering. And some men come out, drunk, grabbed one around the place of her body he should not have done it, and trying to hold her. And she, staggering around, and he'd come down, and she'd swing a couple punches up. I just stepped back and watched it.
And as they got close, standing there with just a little underneath garment---'course that's more than some of them wear---and then they had this bottle. One of them give one a drink, and this other one taken a big drink out of this bottle of whiskey. And she pulled up this little skirt as high as she could, and kicked her feet way up in the air, hollered "Whoopie!" She said, "This is living it up! This is life!"

50 I watched both them fingers. I thought, "Maybe a husband home, baby-sitting." What is it? Trying to have a little fun. What they call clean American fun. They'd been washing dishes, working in the office, and they were just kind of what I said last night, trying to let off the steam.
And I said, "I beg your pardon. That's not life; that's death."
So she looked around, said, "You want a drink out of my bottle?"
I caught her by the hand. I said, "I'm a gospel preacher. I'm an American, too. But I'm ashamed of you." And the other one started to run, and I caught her by the other hand. I said, "Do you women go to church?" And it seemed to sober them a little.
Held the bottle down, said, "Yes, sir."
One of them was a Sunday school teacher. And I said, "Aren't you ashamed of yourself, to call yourself a Christian?"
I tried to hold them, and they was pulling, and jerking, and jumping like that. And down the hall they went. One of them fell, and sprawled over the floor, and the other one tried to pick her up feet first, and... The awfullest sight you ever seen. I thought, "God, how can You look upon such?"

51 But they presume that's all right, because they're only a member of an organization. If they were borned again they wouldn't be doing that.
I believe it was Calvin ... no, it was John Smith... I'm not sure, now, of the man. But one day in his mission, one of the early great saints of the last two or three hundred years (I forget who it was)... I believe it was a Methodist. John Smith it might have been. But however, they was standing at the door, and down the street come a drunk. He fell in the gutter. And there was a man passed by said, "John, there's one of your converts."
He said, "Yep. That's right. If he was the Lord's, he wouldn't be there." That's right. So that's it.
If you're converted to a creed, if you're converted to an organization, if you're converted to a church, you'll do those things. But when you become a convert of Christ, you're borned again, and you're dead to those things, and alive... But, people go right on presuming it's all right to do that---venturing out without authority.

52 Preachers---good men, fine men---preach denominational doctrine presuming that's all that's required. And when this Bible says, "Whosoever shall take one word out of it, or add one word to it, the same will be taken out of the book of life for him..."
... say "You don't need the Holy Spirit today. That was for a day gone by." Why? They can't teach anything different. If they are, they're excommunicated. They say there is no such a thing as healing, the Holy Spirit was only give to the apostles.
Now, they get that because they're taught that in their school, presuming that that's right. But it's wrong. Heavens and earth will pass away, but God's Word will not. And He said, "Let every man's word be a lie and mine the truth," but they presume that that's all right.

53 Say, "Well, that's all they know." If you went down to a restaurant for your dinner and... I guess it's still dinner here. Up where I come from, up in Indiana, they're trying to get modern American---they're trying to say we have breakfast, and we have lunch and dinner. I'm always left out. Where's my supper come in? I said, "Do you take the Lord's dinner, or the Lord's supper?" Nonsense! Putting on the dog, that's all.
"Oh, he's classical, he's educated," presuming that's all right. We don't need that---preaching denominational doctrine presuming that's all right. And people go join that thing, presuming that's all right. That's all they have to do, just presume. "Well, I'm a church member."

54 You know, one day I was in a prayer line. And coming along there was a lady come up on the platform. Well, she's got a right to do anything she wants to, I guess. And she had enough jewelry on to support a missionary ten times around the world. And I said, "Are you a Christian?"
She said, "I am an American. Doesn't that settle it?"
I said, "Not with me, it doesn't. I asked you if you was a Christian; not a hitchhiker, no, no---but a borned-again Christian." She thought because she was an American that settled it.

55 Brother Bosworth was having a prayer line over in Detroit one time, and a girl come up on the platform to be prayed for. He said, "Are you a Christian?"
Why, she was shocked. She said, "I give you to understand I burn a candle every night," presuming that's all they have to do.
Them's honest-hearted people. They're men and women, and in their heart they want to serve God. Those monks go into monasteries, ministers go to seminaries. They get degrees of psychology, how to bow before the people, and how to be ... and the psychological effect it has on the people, presuming that that's all they have to do. Even some of our great denominations, Pentecostals... Now, I ain't talking about Methodists, and Baptists. I'm talking about Pentecostals.
Here not long ago they got some issues. Each one pulled off to himself with little issues, presuming that's what they ought to have done. That's what they ought not have done. Stay together, all of you. Don't take your issues out like that. Bring it in here, and pray it out. You can have your issue, and still love your brother all right. But when you lose respect and fellowship with your brother, your issue's killed you. Right.

56 But there you are. They presume that that's all they have to do, because that's what they're taught. They just go join church. They say, "Are you a Christian?"
"I'm a Methodist."
"Are you a Christian?"
"I'm Presbyterian." Then they join that.
And now, you say, "Are you a believer?"
"I'm Pentecost."
Well, let me straighten that out for you. There is no such a thing as Pentecostal organization. Pentecost is an experience, not an organization. Catholics has got it. Baptists have it. Presbyterians have it. Anybody can have it. It's an experience, not... You can't organize it. You've got your organization, you've got away from Pentecost then. They never did organize. God never did have an organization. Never one time.

57 I challenge you to show me, and I challenge any historian to tell me, and show me in history where any time that God sent a message, and they organized it. It died right then, and never raised again. It's a cursed thing. So, just look back in your history, and find out if that's right. But they make up their creeds and join it. People think that's right.
Women. You know, I love you, my sister. You know that. I don't stand to hurt you; I love you. But what am I going to do there at that day, when I know the Bible teaches what the women to do? And then, I know it to be the truth. And then, if the watchman sits on the wall and sees the enemy among the people, and don't warn them, God said, "I'll require the blood at the watchman's hand."
When pastors let you cut your hair off, and say that that's right, that pastor is telling you something that's wrong. When he lets you dress in immodest clothes, and tell you that that's all right, that's wrong. And it's not...
You're pretty.

58 You know, everything in the line of female and male, always the male is the most prettiest. Take the rooster and the hen. Take the bird family. Take the elk, the bull, or the cow. Take the deer---the buck or the doe. Everything that's ... always the prettiest in the male line, except the human race... The male is ugly, burly, beard over his face, many times bald-headed and rugged looking, hairs all over him.
But the female is dainty, pretty. There's where Satan lays, right there. That's where he chose at Eden, that's where he got to at Eden, that's what he's used ever since. You tell me any nation in history, some of you school kids... In a fall of the nation, as soon as motherhood was broke and womanhood, that nation's backbone was broken.
Talk about morals in our country! I got a piece out of the paper on the Associated Press, that when our boys went overseas, that four out of every six was divorced by their wife that stayed home before they were over there six months. And there was more illegitimate children born in the State of New York during ... in one year before the war, than there was soldiers killed in the entire four years of war. Presuming that's all right.

59 Women put on little sexy clothes, and walk out on the street. Say, "Yes, I'm a Christian." They're presuming that's the thing they should do. Now, please, sister. I'm your brother. If your mother was the right kind of a woman, she'd tell you the same, or your daddy, or your husband.
And any man ... will let his wife get out on the street in them shorts, and things like that, it shows how much man's in him. Let his wife sit there, and smoke a cigarette before him, and know that that thing... What's his children going to be?
Don't worry about communism whipping us. We've done whipped ourselves. It's our own rotten morals. And where did it start from? Because the gospel was let down at the pulpit, where it began---sissified preachers, with not enough real baptizing of the Holy Spirit in their soul to stand and tell the Word of God.
Don't spank the child for juvenile delinquency; spank the parents. It's parent delinquency. They let them get by with it.

60 And that's the reason I rake across that clergy there. How can you read the same Bible I am? So did those four hundred prophets down there in Israel read the same Bible that Micaiah read. But he was willing spiritually to take his stand.
Amos, in his day, that fearless prophet of God, he walked up there to Samaria. He looked over that city, and he seen all the corruption as he entered it. He said, "The very God that you claim that you love will destroy you." He seen the corruption of it.
They were presuming they were all right. They had their priests, their synagogues. They thought, "Just as long as I'm a Jew, circumcised, that's all I need to be." They claimed that they served God. They...
What had they done? They'd taken the fashions of the outside nations. They had made an alliance with them. And they thought as long as they had favor with the outside nations, well, that's all they had to do. They made alliance, they stripped their women, they walked through the street, they burlesqued, and everything else.
And that old prophet standing there... And his eyes narrowed over his beard. The tourists come from all over the world around to see this great Samaria, but that prophet seen it through a different eye.

61 Today the people and ministers are looking upon the church as numbers and numbers. But a borned again Christian looks at it through a different eye. He looks at it through the Word of God, and he calls out the corruption in it. The very God that they claim to serve will bring judgment down upon them. His prophecy ... it taken it thirteen years to come to pass. Jerome II, you know how it come to pass. Jeroboam, rather, I believe it was. There you are joined.

62 Sister, before I leave it, did you ever realize, when you dress like that and go out on the street, you may be a little lady... I believe you are, honey. That's right. I believe you're a little lady. I don't believe you're bad. I don't believe you want to be bad. I don't believe a Catholic nun goes into a nunnery to be bad. That poor woman goes in there because she wants to get closer to God. I don't believe they want to be bad. I don't believe that you'd be a bad girl. I don't believe you'd be indecent to your husband.
But do you realize... The Catholic nun doesn't realize that the system is sending her in there. And you don't realize the spirit of the day that's making you do those things. You presume it's all right, but it isn't.
Now look. Jesus said, "Whosoever looketh upon a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her in his heart." Now you go out dressed like that, them shorts on, and dressed all sexy, and everything. Sure, you're pretty. But God didn't make you like that. Satan is making a bait out of you, and you don't know it.

63 Now, let a man look at you, a little Christian girl coming down the street---pretty, sweet, innocent little thing---all dressed sexy. And a sinner looks upon her to lust after her. At the day of the judgment, when this man answers for committing adultery, who's guilty? Her. See what I mean? I pray some day you'll find out it's not me trying to be a smart aleck. It's with godly love, see. I love you. I don't want you to be like that.
Don't be like the rest of the world, you Pentecostal women. Your organization's what invited in, and made themselves an organization. And they're trying to compare their congregation with a well-dressed, groomed, the best dressed people. That's the devil! Don't you believe that. They're presuming it's all right, but it isn't. God said not to do it. Go ahead, preach it, join. They think it's all right to presume.

64 And you know, people's said this, "God is a good God." "Oh, Brother Branham [someone said to me], you try to stay right with that Word, just what it says. Don't you think that ... it don't make any difference?"
The fellow had been sprinkled not long ago. And he said... I baptized him, and so another man got after me about it. He said, "Well, he was already baptized."
I said, "No, he wasn't. He was sprinkled. Baptizing, 'baptismo' means cover up, buried." And I said, "I baptized him."
And he said, "Brother Branham, you're radical."
I said, "Maybe I am, but it's for the right cause." And I said, "I'm zealous of God and his Word. I'm zealous of his church."

65 I was an outcast; nobody loved me and cared for me. When I found you Pentecostal people that loved me, and believed this gospel, I come among you not to be an enemy to you, but to be a brother to you, to show you God's Word. Let some of the pastors come stand by me one time, before you, and say it's wrong. That's the only way to prove it.
Now, here's what happened. I said, "I baptized him."
"Oh," he said, "Brother Branham, do you really think it makes a difference?"
I said, "It did with Paul. He said, 'Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?' They said, 'We know not whether there be one.' He said, 'Unto what was you baptized?' Said. 'Unto John.' Said, 'That was only unto repentance, not remission of sins.' They were baptized over again.

66 "And Paul said in Galatians 1:8, 'If an angel from heaven---let alone a preacher---if an angel from heaven would preach any other gospel than this that I've preached unto you, let him be accursed.' That's right."
Now you see, you don't presume. It's got to be the truth. Stay with it. But just presuming, they...
You hear it so much today, I say again, about God being a good God. There was a teenage boy said, not long ago said, "You know, the Lord just loves me so well He just lets me do anything." My!
Friends, He is a good God. I'll admit that. But He's a God of justice. He's a God that requires justice. How can He be just and disobey his own laws? How can He defile his own holy law? If He's just, He has to stick by what He said. If He'll require this of you, and you don't come to that point... If He isn't just then why didn't He let Eve get by with that one little misconstrue of the Word?

67 Why did He let the six thousand years of suffering, and perils, and death, and sorrow strike the human race? He could not do nothing else but be that. He's just. And He's a God of anger, and a God of justice. And his holiness, it ... behooves Him to be that. Not one iota---right on the line... You come to that, for you're on this side or that side. No matter how good you may be, how gentle you may be, how quiet, how sweet...
Who can get any more gentler, and more what they call love than the Christian Science? That's their whole wrap-up, is love. That's not real love. They even deny Jesus being divine, deny the death, the birth, the virgin birth deny his blood; and just talk about love.
Could you imagine me, having a little boy saying, "Oh, honey, you just go ahead. If you want to drink that liquor, you little six-year-old boy, go ahead. Daddy won't stop you. I love you too much."
"Oh, honey, if you want to take my shotgun with two shells in it, and the hammer's back, go ahead. I love you too much to stop you." That ain't love!

68 What if he was out on the street, said, "Daddy, I want to make mud pies out here, where cars are going sixty miles an hour down the street."
"I love you too much, honey, to stop you. You want to do that, I know it. Daddy loves you too well to stop you. Go on out there and get killed." A real daddy will shuck the hide off of him!
That's what's the matter today. You're trying to preach the gospel with soft gloves on, presuming it's all right. What the church needs today is to be shucked down! Come back to the gospel. You're presuming it's all right. "I'm a Pentecostal, I'm this, that, or the other. That's all right." It's not all right! Not according to the Word. Got to come to the Word. "Such a good God." They don't presume that He's a God of justice. He's a God that must keep his word.

69 Now Israel here presumed that they were all right. (Now I've got ten minutes to finish to get out on time.) Israel here presumed. They went up. The Bible said they did. "Why," they said, "look. We're the people of God. God come down there in Egypt, and got us---sent his prophet down there with a pillar of fire over him. "Brought us up there, and slew Pharaoh right before us; smote the land with plagues---fleas, lice---sent fire and hail upon the land. And He protected us. Glory to God! Hallelujah!
"And we come up here to the Red Sea. Here come Pharaoh. God just opened up the Red Sea by his mighty power, and we marched through the Red Sea. God loved us so well He turned, said, 'Look around at your enemy. I'll drown them behind you.' Glory to God! Not only that, but He sent us angel's food---fell out of heaven every night.
"That prophet said, and the Word of God was with the prophet, he said, 'Don't you go up there. And if you do, God won't be with you.' " Huh!
But they presumed. They'd go anyhow. "God's too good. He won't do nothing to us. God's with us, so what do we care?"

70 Pentecost, don't you never put that in your head. Women, "I can bob my hair, I can do this, I can do that." Men, "I can do this, I can go like this ... long as I belong... God healed me one time. God give me the Holy Ghost one time. God did this, God did that."
That's right! But don't you trespass across that dividing line. Moses said, "If you go up there, I'm not going with you. And the Amalekites and Canaanites are up there." I'm going to tell you, sin lays beyond the boundaries of God's Word. To disbelieve one iota of it, God will let you sit there.
(Oh, my! Such a job. Such a terrible thing. I love people. Why do I have to do this?)
Join. Just go on like the rest of them. "Just as long as I belong to church, what difference does it make?" It does make a difference.
The old prophet told Israel the same thing. He said, "Did I ever tell you anything in the name of the Lord but what come to pass?"
They said, "No. All you said, Samuel, it all come to pass."
Said, "Did I ever go out, and take up offerings among you to build big buildings," and so forth?
"No, you never did do that, Samuel."
"Well," said, "then listen to me. You don't want to act like the rest of the nations. God is your King."

71 And I'm saying today, Pentecost, don't try to act like the rest of the churches. God is your Father. The Word is your stay. Have I ever told you anything but what come to pass? Have I ever took your money, and begged you for big programs, and all kinds of things? Tell me one time I ever took an offering, see. Tell me one thing that ever was said in the name of the Lord but what come to pass.
Now listen. Stay with the Word, for the message of the last day has to... The messenger and the message has to be according to the end time, restoring the faith of the children back to the faith of the fathers.
Didn't Jude say over there they've already...? Said earnestly contend for the faith that was once delivered to the saints? Just ninety-six years---eighty ... ninety-six, I believe it was---they had already gotten away from it. Did not they come in and begin ... become a thought, then a doctrine, and then it become an issue of the Nicolaitanes?

72 The word "nico" means to conquer, conquer the laity ... laity, instead of the way you all been doing up here---letting the Holy Spirit move amongst the people---there was one holy man. Holy man! There's no such a thing. It's the Holy Ghost in the church. "Nico," conquer the laity. And it become a doctrine.
What did the first thing they do? Made an organization. In there they put... And for hundreds of hundreds of years it was a persecution. All that wouldn't bow to that was pulled asunder, burnt, persecuted. Then along come Luther. That tree started to growing. When it did they organized it. God cut the branch off, and it withered and died. Like Jesus said, He pruned it.
Up come Wesley, another branch coming out on it. What did they do? Organize. God pruned it, and cut it off. Along come the third message. Just exactly the way the church began, that bride tree at the beginning, it started out.
Who come first? John, preaching justification, repentance. Who come next? Jesus Christ. "Sanctify them, Father, through the truth, thy Word," which was Himself ... is the truth, sanctification. What was the next? The baptism of the Holy Ghost. "I send the promise of my Father upon you," and the bride tree started growing.

73 But here come the cankerworm, eat off this; the palmerworm, eat off the fruit; next, eat off the leaves; next eat off the bark. And then the caterpillar come, a sucker, and sucked the very life out of it, and made a conquer of the laity. God said, "I'll restore it."
Here it come up in the days of Luther, and organized. God pruned it, as He said He would do (John 15). Up come the Wesley. Fine. Got a nice branch started out. What did they do? Organize it after Wesley's death. They cut it off. Up come the Pentecostals, bringing forth the signs of the fruit. What'd they do? Organize it. She's cut off. "But I will restore, saith the Lord." He's going to do it.
What's the matter with these great revivals? Now, let's be sensible. We've had what we've called a revival, but what did we hatch out of it? Members. Why? Why, brethren? The Bible said in Hebrews 6, "The rain cometh oft upon the earth to dress it, water it, prepare it for which it's to be---the fruit. But the thorns and thistles which is nigh unto rejection will be burned."

74 Now, they're bundling them to burn them, that's true. They're getting bundled, all these organizations. Big bundles is coming to one big bundle. That's right. What is that bundle? You know what it is. World Council of Churches, forming the image of the beast. Truly.
And you people that's scared of communism, I want you to show me one place in the Bible where communism will rule the world. Well, I'll tell you the Bible says that Romanism will rule the world. Exactly right. Where does the feet go out in the... That prophet who seen all the Gentile kingdom come right down at the end, it didn't go communism; it went Romanism. Exactly.
Here we are in these days---people presuming, joining right into that thing. Say, "That's all right, that's... Sure I belong to church. Oh, yes. I'm So-and-so," see.

75 Now look. He said there would be light in the evening time. That's to ripen in the evening. The fruits can only ripen by the light. We know that. That's at the top of the tree, the evening light. All the rest of it...
But way back there, that predestinated Word of God, it stayed there all the time because God spoke it. "I will restore it." He will do it, no matter how many organizations and things He has to prune off. There'll be a church without spot or wrinkle, "For I will restore, saith the Lord." It's got to pluck all the years that the cankerworm's eaten, all the years that the caterpillar's eaten, all the years that the denominations and suckers and things on the tree took its fruit away, took its vines away, took its bark away, took the life out of it.
But "I will restore it for the root and offspring of David. I will restore saith the Lord." What is it? He said so. He predestinated it. His Word lays here. Therefore, look. Just exactly the way He done it the first time... He took John, justification. Jesus sanctified the church with his own blood, and then the Holy Ghost came.

76 Then along come the church, begin to grow. Then here come these four termites in---one, the same insect, just different stages. Along come the palmerworm. What did it do? First thing, it took the fruit, brotherly love, off of it. Next thing come around was the cankerworm. Come another worm come around, and eat off the joy, the leaves, the fellowship. The next come along. What did he do? He eat off the bark, the cankerworm. What next come? The caterpillar, and sucked the life right out of it.
But there was a stump, 'cause Joel said, "I will restore that predestinated root." Hallelujah! And all them names that was before the foundation of the world predestinated, "All that the Father has given me will come to me. [Yes, sir!] All that He foreknew He called. All that He calls He justifies, and all that He justified He has glorified."

77 Ephesians 1:5. He said, "God predestinated us before the foundation of the world to the adoption of sons in Jesus Christ." How you going to stop it? All devils in hell, you might as well quit fussing about it. It's going to be there without a spot or a wrinkle. It's going to be a what? A bride church. Hallelujah! God said, "I will restore." Restore what? One without an organization touch to it. One with the pure unadulterated Word. It has to come.
Why did we get a bunch of denominations this time out of this revival? We sowed denomination seed. What we need today... Brother, you can say what you want to about it, we need the gospel---pure, holy, unadulterated Word of God---sown. And when this light comes out it'll bring forth that church, God's predestinated ones. Amen. Don't presume about nothing. Take God's Word and move right on. He promised He'd be here. He's here! Amen. I'd better stop.

78 Too much good God. "He loves me too much to punish me." He promised it. He loved Adam. He loved Eve. He is love. But He's just. He has to keep his Word. If you believe this to be a Word of God, anything contrary to this... Any man that'll take out, or add to, the same will be taken out of his part of the book of life---preacher, denomination, or whatever it is.
What about all these creeds and things that's made up amongst men? God never does deal with a group. He deals with an individual. A group has different ideas. Show me one time He ever did it. He deals with an individual. He's dealing with you, He deals with me, He deals with the next man. That's right. It's an individual affair.

79 Israel presumed that He was just so good. They'd seen so many things that they could just do anything they wanted to, like that teenage boy. That's the way the church is today. They feel, "Well, God gave me the Holy Ghost. If I want to do this I can do it. Hallelujah! No condemnation in me. I'm in Christ."
That right there shows that you're not there. If that was ... if you was in Christ, you'd hold to his Word regardless of what anybody said, if you had to stand by yourself to stand by it, because it's the Spirit of God in you vindicating his Word.
Not one word of it will ever pass to [unclear word] this, so precious, and so darling. It's just like God. He don't judge it by a church. He don't judge the world by an organization. He judges the church by his ... or, judges the world by his Word, like He did Eve and Adam. The way God starts, He cannot finish another way. He's got to finish the same way He started. If He didn't, He done wrong at the first place, see.

80 Don't presume; believe. Don't venture out without authority, without scriptural authority. Samson presumed. "Oh, well, my! Oh, I know I've... I can't... I ain't got my locks anymore, but I presume it's all right. I'm still the same old guy."
No, no, brother. You've crossed the separating line. He presumed he just had as much strength as... He could... Said, "I'll just stretch myself. Oh! Whew! Now I'm just as good a man as I ever was." But he found that his strength was gone.
That's what we did when the revival started about fourteen years ago. Pentecostal found out she couldn't stretch herself no more, because she'd organized in little groups, and hated one another; sowed that discord amongst brethren. And the revival struck it, and the evening light come in. But what could she do? She couldn't do nothing, because she'd organized. She'd lost her strength, her brotherly love, the fruits of the Spirit.

81 Samson thought, "He's still there. I can't..." You better be feeling it. He's still there.
Achan thought, when he took the wedge, "Oh, it won't be noticed."
Oh, that there preacher said to me, "Oh, Brother Branham, does it make any difference whether it's this way, or that way?"
Sure it makes a difference. That's the very lie that Satan told Eve. It does make a difference.
"Well, as long as the rest of them does it..."
I don't care who does it, or who doesn't do it. I don't want to do it anyhow. I'm not presuming that that's all right just 'cause the rest of them does it. God requires this, and this is what I've got to have. If the rest of them don't come, I can only say it and just keep on going---no presuming nothing about it.

82 [Gap in the audio.] ... need more men today like Micaiah, who can stand and say just exactly what God said. Don't pull no punches from nowhere. Amen. Yes, weakness.
Achan said, "It won't be noticed. It don't make any difference." But it did make a difference. That one little wedge upset the whole program of God.
"Just be baptized any way. It don't make any difference. Just as long as you're a member of the church, it doesn't hurt."
That's what's upset the revival. That's what's the matter. We've got a bunch of denominations, instead of having saints. We've got joiners, decision makers. What good is a stone without a mason to cut it and shape it, and knock the corners off of it? When you see a sculptor standing, working on a stone, it don't look like very much. But he's got in his mind what he's trying to make. So he rolled the stone up there for a purpose and he's got to shave it, and cut it, and hone it.

83 Stones that professes to be Christians that'll go out here and act any way, presuming this is all right, presuming that's all right...
They stand still, and the sculptor, the Holy Ghost, cuts them into images of sons and daughters of God. Oh, glory! He's the rose of Sharon, the lily of the valley, the morning star, the Alpha Omega, the beginning and the ending, He that was, which is, and shall come, the root and offspring of David. Hallelujah! Yes. Presume it's all right.
The Egyptians, they saw Israel, circumcised, cross the Red Sea. They presumed that they were just as good a men as they were. They went behind them, and drowned in it. They presumed it was all right. (I got to hurry.)
Noah's time, they presumed if it come a flood like Noah said it would do, the only thing they'd do, jump in their own boat. But there was only one boat that was God-constructed.

84 That's the way with the people today. They said, "I belong to church. I do this, I do that." But there's only one group that's God-constructed, and that's not a denominational-construction. It's the Word construction, revelation of his power, God-constructed boat. Don't presume. Just believe God's Word.
Noah constructed that boat out of a certain kind of wood (wish we had time to go into it, but we don't), how he took that shittim wood. Did you ever see it? It's lighter than balsam. Why, if anybody'd see a man trying to build a boat out of that kind of wood, they'd say he's crazy. Why? It's the lightest wood. You throw shittim wood out there in the water, it'd go "sh, whew," sink right there.

85 That's the way God does it---He just pulls it right over them. They sit there, ignorant as jack rabbits. Sit there... He said... But what do they do? They don't try to have any wisdom of their own. They can't figure it out. You're not supposed to figure it out. You're supposed to believe it.
Said, "Take shittim wood." It's just as light, like a sponge. But now, notice. After he got all that shittim wood destructed, constructed rather, He said, "Go and take pitch, and soak it up." Oh, how did they get pitch in them days? They took another kind of tree---pine tree---and they beat it, and beat it until the pitch run out of it.
What's it a type of, the timber God's got today? Empty out all your old fanatic stuff; empty out all your organizations; get real light and just lay before God. Then He beat One of us. He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquity. He was beat, and wounded, and bruised at Calvary, that his Spirit might pour into you when you have nothing.

86 And then, that boat, that ark... When that sap's in there, even a nail couldn't be drove into it. That's the reason the big logs hitting against it wouldn't bust a hole in it. Why, oak, pine or nothing else, would hold like that. See, it was already soaked up. It was pitched inside and out. That's right.
That's the way a Christian is. He empties himself. "I don't want to know what anybody... I want to know ... Lord, I want to know You. I want You, your will, your life." Then God just ... you just soak up in Christ.
Well, then what was it? It actually would not be shittim wood anymore; it would be pine. It's not you no more; it's the Spirit in you, see. Oh, my! God-constructed. So many prophets today, telling so many different things, gets the people confused. Don't presume. Just watch his vindicated promise.
Let's see.

87 Deuteronomy 18:22, God said, "If there be one among you spiritual or a prophet, and what he says comes to pass, then you hear him. If it doesn't come to pass, then don't hear him." John 14:12, Jesus said, "He that believeth in me, the works that I do shall he do also." Mark 16 said, "These signs shall follow them that believe." Not to join the church, and put their name on a book, and live a good life. But, "In my name they shall cast out devils; and speak with new tongues." No, sir.

88 John never presumed that he'd go out there. John, you know, he was out of a lineage of a priest. Isn't it strange? John ... looked like could actually follow the order of his father, because he was out of a strict priesthood. But, you know, the job was too great. John didn't want to get mixed up in any of their theology.
God took him out in the wilderness, alone, and schooled him out there. For He said, "John, they'll be having all kinds of things, and getting you to believe all kinds of unscriptural things. But here it will be, John. Upon whom thou shall see the Spirit descending and remaining on, He's the one that'll baptize."

89 John didn't have to say, "I presume that this is a good man. I presume that that's a good man. I presume He's going to come to you Pharisees, you oneness, you trinity, you this ... that's who He's going to come to." John said, "Upon whom I see the Spirit descending..." Word. Brother, not your organization. "These signs shall follow them that believe..." "The works that I do shall you do also."
You don't have to worry, wonder. God's done said what to look for. Evening fruits, evening light. He said in the last days it'd be ... the devil'd send his ministers in angels of light, trying to bring you something new, something more popular, something more educated.
Don't you believe it! That's what Eve done, and got in trouble. Stay with the Word! Amen. Don't presume; take God's word. Eve presumed it was all right. "God's a good God. You know He wouldn't..."
"Surely the Lord will not do this," or do that.
But God had promised it. God had to do it. It was God's duty to do it. Now don't presume; just believe.

90 John said, "I knew Him 'cause I seen the Messiahic sign on Him, and I knowed this was Him." He didn't presume.
Nathanael didn't have to presume. Not at all, when He told him. He knowed what Deuteronomy 18:22 said. So He said, "Thou art an Israelite indeed. No guile."
He said, "When did you know me? When did you ever see me?"
He said, "Before Philip called you." He didn't have to presume. He said, "Rabbi, Rabbi, teacher! Although the schools are making fun of your teaching, they're turning you out on account of your teaching, but Rabbi, You are the Son of God. You're the King of Israel." He didn't presume; he had a scriptural evidence of it. That's what the Messiah would do. He didn't presume.
That poor, little, old, dirty, stinking, prostitute, maybe all the organizations in the country maybe had excommunicated her. But she didn't see anything in them to begin with. When she'd see something real, she'd take it. So she seen an ordinary Jew sitting over there, she thought. Looked like an ordinary man. He didn't have his collar all turned around, great big turban, Dr. Reverend Holy Father. He was just a man, just like the rest of the men. Sat, leaned back there, probably a little bit gray.
He was only thirty-something years old, but the Bible said... You know, He looked fifty. Did you know that?

91 They said, "You say ... you're not a man over fifty years old, and say you've seen Abraham? Now we know that you are a ... got a devil."
He said, "Before Abraham was I AM."
"Now we know you got a devil." See, they're blind. He said, "You blind Pharisees, blind leading the blind." That's it.
Now we see Him sitting there. That little woman said, to Him she said, "Well, you want to... You Jews, you want to argue religion." That was the custom of the day, like today. "You Jews say that over here, and down here, and all so-and-so; and we say..."
He said, "Go get your husband, come here."
She said, "I don't have any husband."
Said, "That's right. You've got five, and the one you're living with now is not yours."

92 Look! Who's there? That's predestinated seed laying there. Word. My! What? Could not have been anything else. That predestinated seed'd been laying there. Water begin to fall on that seed, and it started blooming. You didn't have to tell her; she knew.
She said, "Sir, I perceive that you're a prophet. We know the Messiah's coming. We're looking for him. And when he comes, he'll tell us these kind of things."
He said, "I am he."
She said, "That's good enough for me."
No presuming. She didn't come in, say, "Say, you doctors of divinity, I would like to take you all in a scriptural argument." She said, "I'm not presuming nothing. Come see a man that's told me the things I've done. Isn't this the very Christ?" That's it. She didn't have to presume, venture out without authority. She had authority. She had scriptural authority to believe it.
"Oh, woman, you don't know. You don't belong to our school. You don't belong to any of these organizations."
She said, "I don't care what you say. I know what 'thus saith the Lord' is. They said He'll be a prophet, and there He is." Amen. She had scriptural authority. She didn't presume.
"What school did this come from?"
It come from the Bible. That's right. Oh, sure.

93 The disciples at Pentecost. Now you Pentecostal people, get your hats on. You can shout with this. Notice. What if the disciples said, "Well, now, listen. I tell you..."
Matthew goes over, and says to Peter, "Peter, I want to ask you something. Did not our Lord tell us to wait up here, come up, and He was going to send the promise of the Father upon us?"
"Oh, sure. Yeah." Peter said, "That's right. What do you think, Mark?"
Mark, "Oh, sure. He said that. Yep. He said He was going to do it."
"Well, brethren, we've been up here nine days. You know, the other day I had a funny feeling. You know, I just kind of believe that... Don't you think that we ought not to wait any longer? I presume we've already got it, 'cause He told us to wait here. I believe ... we've been up here nine days. So I suppose we might as well go on with our ministry. I presume we've already got it, because we obeyed Him."

94 There's where you Pentecostals missed it by a million miles. You went after sensations, instead of waiting for the Word to be fulfilled. That's right. That's why you organized. That's why you listened to those...
It's always the leaders that gets the people out of the will of God. It was Korah. Not ... it was Korah, that uninspired leader, that said, "Moses tries to think he's the only holy man. Why, we've got as much holy men here ... we've got groups out here. Didn't God put the spirit of prophecy upon all these people? Took it off of Moses and put it on here. So, we'll just listen to this group. Moses thinks he's something."
God told Moses, "Separate yourself from him. I'll sink him and his group, his whole organization." Right.
Moses was God's leader. Moses was vindicated to be that leader, and all that didn't listen to him perished. Jesus was God's leader. The Holy Ghost is his leader. And all that don't obey the Holy Ghost, who wrote this Bible, will perish! Amen.

95 Said, "Wait. We'll just wait. I believe, I tell you now, we've got it. Let's just go out."
No! They didn't do that. They knowed that Isaiah 28:11 said, "Precept must be upon precept; line upon line; here a little, and there a little." "Hold fast to that what's good." "For with stammering lips and other tongues will I speak to this people." "And this is the Sabbath keeping, the rest that calls the weary."
They knowed that scripture must be applied no matter how long they waited, or what they did. They wasn't presuming nothing. They was waiting for the scripture to be fulfilled.
They knowed that Joel said, listen... Peter jumped right out there---and a few minutes later... Then the very next day he preached on Joel. Joel said, "And it shall come to pass [Joel 2:28] in the last days that I'll pour out my spirit upon all flesh. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.
"Upon my handmaids and maidservants will I pour out my spirit.
"I'll show signs in the heaven above, and wonders in the earth below, fire and pillars of smoke, and vapor."
"It shall come to pass before the great and terrible day of the Lord shall come, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

96 They were waiting. They wasn't presuming they had anything. They were waiting until the Scripture was made manifest. Glory! (Oh, brother. I wish it wasn't this late. How we'd like to stay there a little while.) They waited for scriptural authority.
Today, we just take the creed, a sensation, a little smoke or fire, or some little sensation. Somebody say, "Glory to God! We got it! Hallelujah! See oil in my hand? Look up here." Oh, goodness! Look at your head, what kind of a shape it is in.
I didn't say that to be smart. Excuse me. Forgive me. I didn't mean ... I oughtn't to have said that. Something said to me, "Don't you say it." Let it alone. If the blind leads the blind, they'll fall in the ditch.

97 Without scriptural authority, they take it by a creed. "Say this creed." They presume that's all right. They go on, take it by sensations. "Oh, glory to God! I spoke in tongues all night."
I've seen devils do the same thing. Sure.
"You don't believe then in speaking in tongues?"
Sure, I believe it. That's not it. I'm a missionary. I've seen them drink blood out of a human skull, and speak in tongues, and call on the devil. Certainly. Oh, yeah. My mother ... we just buried her recently. She was a half Indian. I've been in the camps, and watched the witch doctors speak in tongues; and lay a pencil down, and it raise up and write in unknown tongues. Certainly. Don't tell me that's it. Oh, no. Mercy, goodness.
Some of the people that speak in tongues claim they got the Holy Ghost, then deny half of his Word, and sometimes all of his power. The Holy Ghost will bear record of his Word. How can the Holy Ghost tell you to do something, then turn back around, say, "Well, it's all right. Just go ahead and do this other." He won't do it. He didn't do that with Eve. He didn't do it at the beginning. If He done it now, and didn't do it then, then He's unjust, because of all this suffering, when we'd have been here anyhow.

98 God's a great contractor. Our bodies was laid out here. But when the world was built, we was calcium, potash, petroleum, cosmic light. Sixteen different elements of the world is in us. And God made the world before he made man. He's a contractor. He laid it out. He was going to call them out of the dust of the earth. But Eve disbelieved God's Word one little iota, and it caused women to bring forth children.
But that predestinated Word of God laying out yonder will bring that predestinated one. When He speaks, he'll come from the earth. Hallelujah! Job said, "I know my redeemer liveth. Last days He'll stand on the earth. Though the skin worms destroy this body, he'll speak and I'll answer. He'll call, and I'll answer him." Sure. Amen! (Where can I stop?)

99 Saying you got the Holy Ghost, and spoke in tongues and ask you, "Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed? Well, then, how was you baptized?"
"Don't make any difference." It does.
"Well, I do this. It don't make any difference whether I dress this way or that." The Bible says it does!
"It don't make any difference whether I do this, or that." The Bible says it does!
There you are. Better leave it off. Let the teachers say that then. All right.

100 Today we just take it for granted, presuming, say we have it. "Yeah, sure. I did this. I shook all night. You know what? I got blood in my hands. That shows I got it."
You got blood in your hand? You might have that, and then turn around, and deny the Word of God; and say you got the Holy Ghost? The Holy Ghost will say "Amen" to every word, because it wrote the Word. It is the Word. Sure.
Stop presuming. Wait till all that temper, sin, and things is gone away from you, so God can fill you up.

101 Moses, one time presumed because, without a witness, or without an experience... He had heard the words that he was to be a deliverer, but he didn't have the call. He didn't have the experience. So he presumed that he could go right out and take over.
That's what the people thinks today. "Oh, we're going to have a revival! We want to see a revival in our age. All ... you all make your confessions. We want more stones. We want this, that, or the other. We want decisions to be made."
What is it? How you going to have a revival upon that, when you're sowing Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, and Presbyterian seed, and denying the seed of God, the Word? Jesus said the Word is the seed, the Bible. God's Word is the seed. How you going to bring forth a Bible church with a denominational seed?

102 Well, you say, "Bless God, Brother Branham. The Holy Ghost did this. I've shouted and screamed!"
Did you know the same water that was sent to make the wheat ... makes the stink weed just as happy as it does the wheat? How did it get in there? It makes the creeper. It makes the briar. Why? They're thirsty. It's in the field when the rain comes on the just and the unjust.
Say, "I shouted, Brother Branham. I danced in the spirit. I spoke in tongues."
I believe in those things, too. But what kind of a fruit is it bearing? "By their fruits you shall know them." The fruit of the Spirit is the Word of God manifesting itself---love, joy, peace, longsuffering, goodness, patience, faith. Faith in what? The Word. Faith cometh by hearing, hearing of the Word. Got to do it. Sure.

103 Moses presumed. "Oh, I got a head full of knowledge. I'll do it." But he didn't have the call. He didn't have the experience. Sure. He went out presuming, presuming on something he ought not to. But after he met the burning bush up there one day, oh, brother! When he heard the voice of God, He give him a scriptural base. Not what his mammy told him; but what God told him.
"I am the God of Abraham. I am the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob [called him his prince name, renamed him]. I have heard the cries of my people. I have seen their afflictions by the taskmasters. I remember my promised word." Hallelujah! There you are. Glory! He still remembers his promised word. "I will restore, saith the Lord, all that the [denominational bugs, and crickets and] palmerworms and cankerworms and caterpillars have eat up [all their denominational isms and creeds and things that they've eat up]. I remember my word, and I'm come down amidst the people. I will restore, saith the Lord."

104 Don't presume it's right. The Bible tells you what's right and wrong. Whew! We just better quit. I've kept you an hour or more. "I will restore." Don't presume. The Holy Ghost is here. The Bible's here. The Holy Ghost bears record of the Word of God. Every promise and iota, it says "Amen" to it.
Don't presume it's all right because you had a sensation. Take inventory of ourself this morning. Look around, and see what we believe. See if we ... if God said a certain thing if we'd tally with it.
"Well," you say, "I'll be put out of my church if I did this, or did that." Well, which is more to you? Your God, or your church? Don't presume without an experience.
Someone said to me not long ago, said, "Brother Branham, don't you believe in purgatory?
I said, "Sure."
"Oh, I see you're Catholic."
I said, "Yeah." Catholic means universal. I'm a great Pentecostal Catholic, of the original church.

105 Somebody said they got a proclamation out now. Pope John XXII or LII, or something, or other, he said, "All the people come back to the original church. The original church began in Rome."
That's a lie. Glory! The church never began at Rome. I'll sanction with the man: let the church go back where it started from---Pentecost. Glory! Go back to where you started from [unclear word] for He's going to restore it. Sure, the denominations are going back to Rome, where they come from. But, hallelujah! God's going to restore Pentecost, back to the faith of the fathers. Hallelujah!

106 I will praise Him, I will praise Him,
Praise the Lamb for sinners slain;
Give Him glory all ye people,
For his blood has washed away each stain.
... each stain of unbelief ... sitting together in heavenly places. The Holy Spirit through a person wouldn't harm you for nothing. How can I harm God's children? But yield yourself, and see the Word come forth. It's the circumciser. Cuts to the heart, knows exactly what you're thinking of, and produces it right through the same vessels. Amen.
I will praise Him, I will praise Him,
Praise the Lamb for unbelievers slain;
Give Him glory all ye people,
For his blood has washed away each stain.

107 Don't you love that? Do you think I love you? I sure do. You're God's heritage. I've often thought, "What would I do if I had two drops of the literal blood of Jesus in a glass, holding it, the blood that dropped off the veins, off the cross, and I had it. How I would hold it to my heart, and walk, watch every step. While we may be cherishing that blood, just two drops of the literal blood... How I would hold it!
But you know what? According to God, I've got under my ... holding this morning, in his sight a greater than that. I've got the purchase of his blood. That's what He shed his blood for, to purchase you. How much the hand ... cannot see sin begin creeping in, and contaminate. Oh, no! no! I can't do it! I've got to shove them things away. Cut it away. This is it. Stay with the Word, brother. Do you love Him?

108 Thank you for staying with me, helping. It's twelve-thirty, and I'm sorry. I ... no, I'm not. Amen. God forgive me. It's wrong to say that. I had nothing to do with it. He did it Himself. And I just love you, I believe in you.
I believe that God's going to have a church, and I believe you're part of that church. And I love you with godly love. And I pray that the Holy Spirit will let that Word be interpreted in the Spirit that it was meant for, as it goes out to you.
Now, I give you your pastor. Now if you can, you come back tonight, and be with us again tonight. Get the baptism this afternoon over at Brother's house. Come here, Brother Parker. Excuse me for calling your first name, but they said Peter, James, John, so forth. God bless you, Brother Parker.