The ever-present water from the Rock

You can find this sermon at ChurchAges.net

1 We are grateful this morning for the presence of the Lord God that would begin the early services by giving us a message, that we should listen, be reverent before Him, that He has something to say to us. I'm sure that He will do that what He has promised. He always does keep His Word. And so we are grateful to be assembled together, alive, and, this side of eternity this morning, able to worship the Lord again and to assemble ourselves together and hear from Him. That's the reason we come together is for this very purpose.

2 Now, I kind of stormed in on Brother Neville unexpectedly today because of a certain dream I had. I believe in dreams. I believe that God deals with people by dreams. And I had a very unusual dream night before last that I was going along a hillside, certain hillside, going to an eating place where I was to have my dinner. And I noticed that, as I got close to the place, they were playing music, an orchestra was playing music, with violins, and entertaining the people while they were eating. And there was something about it that I didn't like, so I just bypassed the thing. And I met someone coming up a hill. And I looked, and many people were coming up the hill to this eating place. But I kind of got away from them, turned back to the right ... or, to the left.

3 And somehow, down in the valley, I could see the Tabernacle. I heard someone's voice said, "Meet Brother Branham at a certain certain crossing---he's coming down the hill up there---and tell him such and such a thing." And I hurried to get to this crossing.
And when the person come up, it was Brother Neville, wearing his brown suit, looked just like he looks sitting there this morning. And he said, "Brother Branham, if you are going to be in the city," said, "it would be a good thing for you to come down because Brother Hank..." (Now, the only one I know, "Brother Hank," is Brother Henry Carlson. We call him "Hank.") Said, "He might think it was strange that you didn't visit the Tabernacle more if you're going to be around the town for ... around the city for a few days." I woke up.
And at that, I felt kind of strange. I didn't want to butt in at that time of week. I asked Brother Neville if he had anything special for this morning for the church. So he was gracious, as always, said, "Come on down." So, we just come on. I called him late yesterday afternoon, and come in this morning, unexpectedly to any of us.

4 I believe that it would be a good thing, first, for me just kind of to explain to you some things. I am, supposingly, a very odd person to many people. And I'm kind of odd to myself also, because I try to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit just as close as I can, and that makes us odd. We do things that we really sit down and wonder sometimes, "Why did I do such a thing? How did I ever do such a thing?" And right then you may think that you have done exactly what you should not have done. But if you'll just be patiently, and have faith, and you're sure that God has led you to do it, you'll find out it works out just exactly right, see. And many times we find that. And I know Brother Neville has found that many times, and leaders and spiritual people realize that.
It's been some time in my life that... Frankly, since I was just a boy, I have never felt very leading that I should live in Jeffersonville. It's always been a fly in the ointment for me to try to live here. The first place, the climate miserably disagrees with me. Another thing, there seems to be a depressing of the spirit.

5 If you go back and look somewhere here, if it didn't get destroyed during the time of the flood, there is a letter to that effect that I had ... first call in the ministry. I started to leave. And Brother George DeArk and I...
And Brother Graham Snelling's mother, Brother Hawkins, who runs the filling station in New Albany, and many of the people, met me outside the little prayer meeting place over here. And even said if I would stay, they would allowance their children at the table to build a tabernacle, so they wouldn't have to be carried about from place to place.

6 When I heard that little mother, with one baby holding to her hand and the other one on her arm, say that she would be willing to allowance her children at the table in order to build a place where they could stay and worship, it was a little too much for me to stand. So Brother George and I got together and decided we would stay and build the Tabernacle.
And when the Tabernacle was built, it always seemingly... The morning that I dedicated the Tabernacle a vision came, which is written and in the cornerstone there, when the Holy Spirit said to me, "This is not your tabernacle." And I asked where my tabernacle was, and He sat me down under the bright blue skies. And then He said, "Do the work of an evangelist," and so forth, as you know. It's written even in the books.

7 All those things put together. And one day while I was mowing the yard up there where Brother Wood lives now---my mother in law lived there at the time---I sat on the back step, a little old concrete step, that I had built this little place there for my mother in law. And she was kind of janitor of the church at that time, taking care of it. And just as clear as anyone could speak, a voice spoke to me, said, "I can never bless you as long as you stay here. You've got to separate yourself from your people and this place." Well, that just tore me to pieces for about a week or more.

8 Constantly, all the time, something has warned me, "Go away, go away. Move westward. Keep going west." Well, I ... it's always bothered me. And looks like every time...
Now, I had made it clearly in my mind that this week I was flying to Tucson, where I was to rent a place to be there this winter to put the children in school, starting in September. I had the place. There was even a place give to me there. But there is something that... And if I'm gone away...

9 Another thing I'd like to say. Just before we built this house up here, the parsonage, where it is now ... I did not want to build there. My wife's mother was old, and she even wept about it. She said, "I just can't leave Mom here, with knowing she's old, and she might not be taken care of." Well, I understood that. I understand. That's her mother---and the only mother she ever had, or ever will have---so I understood that. So I prayed to the Lord, I said, "Lord, being that I do not like the place," I said, "make me satisfied. I'll go anywhere You want me to go, from anywhere. But I don't want to grieve my wife, to take her away from here into a strange country where she knows no one. And then I'm gone all the time anyhow. Just make me satisfied to be here with her."
And now, when her mother has been taken, and she is gone on to glory, then here comes the urge again, see, now to move on. I don't know what to do.

10 And then the other day when this doctrine that the brethren had started around ... I stood from the pulpit the last time I was here and told you that I would not be on the field as long as that was going. So, the brethren graciously straightened all that up. It's all cleared up. Within twenty four hours it was all over.
Now that opens the field again to me. I don't know what to do, I don't know which way to turn. I've asked the Lord for a vision. I've asked Him to tell me what to do, but He just lets me sit.

11 Now, last night when I got all the kiddies away, my wife and all from the house, I made a commitment to the Lord God. And I said to the Lord God, "If You will bless me in the way that I go, I'll serve You. But You will have to show me where to go and how to go, and what to do." So, I committed myself to the Lord. With the ministry and all, I committed it to the Lord. And I said, "Wherever You open, whatever You do, I'll walk in that way. Until You make a way, I'll just continue on as I am until You make the way." And I asked Him to make it so clear that I would not be deceived then, for I truly believe that we're right at a crossroads of something to happen.
I heard it prophesied this morning here by Brother Neville, or gave it where I knew it had been a prophecy that he was referring to. Now, therefore, I have prayed for all you, and I need you all to pray for me so that the Holy Spirit will lead me just exactly where I should go, what I should do, so I'll make no mistake.

12 You see, many times people thinks that a prophetic gift, that God just says, "I'll pick you up right here, and sit you down here. Now you just go right over here and..." He doesn't tell you all those things. If He did, then what overcoming faith do you have? See, He lets you stand alone, more than anybody else, see. You all can come to me and ask for certain things, and He's never failed yet but what He's give you the answer. That's right. But I can ask Him for things for myself, and many times He just lets me alone, see, just let me go ahead and walk into it.
I have things now that I have to solve out myself, and decisions I have to make. And this is such a vital one, till I cannot exactly make it until I'm sure that it's Him speaking to me. And He won't give me a vision. He just lets me alone. So I'm just sitting as an orphan, like, this morning. I don't know which way to turn. So, I have committed it to the Lord.

13 I felt like then, in dreaming, that I should come back here to the Tabernacle and help Brother Neville until something else just occurs along the road. So, I'll be along.
I asked Brother Neville a few moments ago how was the church progressing.
And he said, "Good."
And so I hear that you still have spiritual gifts and things among you which is operating---gifts of prophecy, and speaking with tongues, and interpretation of tongues, which we just heard a few moments ago. And those things are edifying to the church, and greatly.

14 But I thought maybe tonight I might, if Brother Neville ... if the Holy Spirit doesn't lead us to something different, tonight I would like to have a... You all, before you leave this morning, write you a question and lay it here, some question in your mind, that we might find out what the church is thinking. That's about the way pastors have of finding out just what's on the people's hearts. And each one of you with a question, write it and lay it up here. If you do not have a piece of paper to get it on this morning, then write it tonight, early. So, I'd like to have just as much time as I could on them, to look them over and Scripturally answer you.

15 Then if the Lord is willing, if it be God's will, I have made a statement here not long ago that I would like to speak to you on the seven last seals of Revelation. Now if we... I could not get all the way through those seals this year because it takes from the sixth chapter of Revelation through the nineteenth chapter, to get through those seals. But the first three or four of them could be answered within a night, I think, each seal being a night.

16 Now, if we understand, see, where we stopped right on that book of Revelation, where the church was taken up into glory, then the rest of it is dealing with the Jews, not with the church at all. It's dealing with the Jewish nation. Therefore we'll have to drop back down from the rapture of the church, and so we see here what takes place during those seals, and time of the Gentile church, the church, being gone. And with the nation of Israel, it drops back and brings Israel from the time it left off with them up to the modern time, and the coming Messiah, when they will receive the Messiah.
Now you get it? The church is taken up. God dealt first with the church---church ages. We took that. Then the church is taken up into glory. Then the Holy Spirit goes back and gets Israel as a nation, and brings it on down to this far while the wedding supper is going on, and then brings them back again at the end of that time. I'll have my blackboard up, and be able to draw it out and teach it, when the time comes. Then the Lord returns with the bride, and Israel sees her. And oh, what a time that will be!

17 Now, before we can correctly tie this in, there's a great lesson that's a stumbler to theologians, and many teachers down through the age, and people of the church of Christ and those who are coming to hear this. That is the seventy weeks of Daniel. We've got... We can't go no further in Revelation till we tie the bride and Israel together with the seventy weeks of Daniel. And maybe, if God willing, so that if He should speak to me in the future to speak on some of these seventy weeks ... or not seventy weeks but seven last seals... Then next Sunday I'll try to take Daniel's seventy weeks. Next Sunday, the Lord willing. And then that will open the grounds then, if He should lead us, to start on the others. Well, we'll find out from then on.

18 Brother Neville and I will be working together on this, and doing everything that we can for the benefit of the people.
Now, going back each time, we pray for the sick. We're always glad to do that. And I'll probably do it every meeting, if people are sick, to pray for them.
I do not desire to have any more discernment. See, now here's what happened. I've tried. I know I've done things that's wrong; but I have tried to live close enough to God, all the time, to God, that's how these visions would happen, how they would take place. Even people would lose things and call me up, ask me to go pray to the Lord, to ask where it was at. Like Jesse lost the mules, and the boys went down to find the prophet, and he told them where the mules had done returned home, so forth like that. That is perfectly all right. But it gets so much of it, so many people. Just not in the locality like this---it's world wide, see. So it just keeps you so tore up. And then keeping you right on the edge all the time till it got to a place...

19 And that's what caused the brethren to get the doctrine started that I was the incarnated Lord Jesus Christ. And we know that that would just tear the ministry all to pieces, and bring reproach upon Christ and everything, see. So that's the reason I had to give them a great shake, to stop it right at once, to let them know that that was not of God, that was of the devil, see. And good people. And it showed those people are borned again of the Spirit of God, because when they seen truth by the Scripture they returned to God, exactly, see, immediately. So that showed it was Satan trying to do something with the people. They were all godly Christian people.

20 And it made many of them say to me, "Brother Branham, we got more confidence in you now than we ever had."
Because, see, what---with the gift that God has given me---what could I have done with that? Throwed the nation at my feet, or the people. What we call a nation is not "cosmos" out here, the cannon fodder and so forth. I mean the Christians, the real believer, that's the cream of the... We speak of nation, we preach of the born again people, that's what we talk of, the "nation." Not just everybody out here so ... the filth and muck that we're living in the world. That's just dust of the earth that's turning back. I'm talking about born again Christians, people that's real Christians.

21 I'm waiting for a man to jump onto me again about something. Someone come to me not long ago and said, "The very idea, of Christ spitting on the ground with His spit, and making a cake and smearing it over somebody's eyes." Said, "How filthy dirty that was for Him to spit with His spit out of His mouth, how unsanitary it was to spit in dirt, and make mud cakes and put it over a man's eyes."
I said, "But he come back seeing." See, that's it.
And that same man... They opened up a nudist camp up there by my place---you know, a swimming pool. And that man has got a ticket for every one of his children to go down there and swim in that pool. And he and his wife goes too, in that pool. Excuse me, my sisters, but where them women in there swimming ---about a hundred of them, or two, every day---women, all that filth and things, and the women today, and washing around in that water, that filth and dirt in their mouths, and swallowing it and spitting it out. I just want him to jump onto me, see.
Said, "If Christ was living today, they'd have Him arrested on account of that unsanitary thing."
How about that? I'm sure you catch what I mean. They go right in that pool, and many of them with diseases---syphilitic, gonorrhea, and everything else---right in there. And you spitting it through your mouth, and everything like that, and washing around in there like that. That's sanitary, of course.

22 So, oh, my, this day we're living in, brother, sister! It's time for the coming of the Lord! The church has one hope, and that's the coming of the Lord.
Well, I cannot stop those things. There's no need. The Bible has done predicted they would be here. I cannot stop them. But I want my voice on record in heaven that I was against it, when the time comes for the judgment. I was against it.
I still believe that this Bible is the Word of God. Then there's nothing else in the world contrary to it can ever stumble you. But this Bible here, this is truth, this is God's Word. So now let's just pull in our sails, and anchor a while against the peaceful shore of the haven of rest. And we can sail off tomorrow somewhere, but let's just anchor now and listen to the voice of our heavenly Father as He would speak to us through His Word, we trust, today.

23 And tonight, now, you get fixed up whatever little question you have about... Now, not something that's going to harm someone. If you do that, then that's ... I wouldn't answer that to begin with, see. But you, something another, say, "Well, now, if I do a certain thing, does God say that we should do this?" Or, you know, little questions on your heart. Or, "We have gifts running with us, Brother Branham, and should we operate them this way or that way? Or, what should we do?" Something that I can answer you back in the Scripture, you see. Write out a little something, I'd be glad. And if there is none, then I'll just take a subject of some sort and preach to you tonight, the Lord willing. This is Sunday, and I've been...

24 Last Sunday I started to go over to Brother Cobble's. And I heard this church bell ring, and I just walked up and down the yard. I couldn't stand it, that was all. So I just had to come down.
So now let us just bow our heads now and speak to our Maker, then, in a word of prayer. Has anybody a special request? Just raise up your hands, just say, "I..." Just make it known. God knows what's on your heart. Now just keep your request on your mind.

25 Most holy God, who has created heavens and earth by the word of thy mouth, by the thoughts of thy mind, we are coming into thy presence, through Jesus Christ our Lord, to give Thee thanks for all that You have done for us. And we're so grateful to You, Lord, this morning, to know where we are standing, to know the position that we are in this morning, and the history of time, and the future that's coming. Knowing today that by the grace of God that we've been washed in Calvary's blood, that we are prepared with faith in our hearts to meet Him if He should come today, we should say, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus."
And we see the sin heaping up, until it seems like the world staggers under the impact of sin. How that drinking, and gambling, and carousing, and nudeness, and, O God, the filth and dirt and muck of the people, and how they ... if they could just realize, Lord! Does those people who dresses like that in those little old ungodly clothes and get out there on the street, do they realize that they're nothing but bugs and dust, that maybe in another week the bugs will be eating that body that they're so glorifying? Do they realize that the cankerworms will eat it up? And their soul will be yonder in an eternity without God, without Christ, without a hope, sinking in deep despair, to be simply annihilated at His coming? O God, give us voices of warning, that we might warn every soul of this danger that they're approaching.

26 Be with us today. Give us words of wisdom, as Solomon once said in the Ecclesiastes, that we would be wise builders, that we would be the shepherds of this assembly. And we pray, Lord, that as we seek out words to say, that they would be masterpieces that would catch the heart that's so in need here this morning.
We have not come and gathered under this hot roof today just to be seen, but we have come here because we love You, and because we are desiring to hear from You. You are our lover that we love, and we desire to hear words from Thee. We are grateful for what we have already heard. It will long stay with us. Now give us the portion that You have for us today, as we wait further on Thee. We ask it in Jesus' name, and for His sake. Amen.

27 Now if ... [A sister speaks in tongues. A brother gives the interpretation.]
We are grateful for these exaltations from the Spirit. They tell us and warn us to watch the words that maybe the Holy Spirit is going to speak to us today. And we don't know just what He has in store for us, but we do know that there must be something that He is going to bring forth. Maybe a question is on your mind, that He'll speak it through there. He might speak it through the message this morning. He might speak it tonight at the service. Somewhere along today, He's trying to, looks like, warn someone to catch the Word.

28 Now to turn to the written Word, let us go over in the book of Exodus, for the Sunday School lesson.
Do you have a baptismal service? [Brother Neville says, "No, not until six o'clock this evening."] No. The baptismal service at six this afternoon.

29 Let's go to the seventeenth chapter of Exodus, and begin with the fifth verse, I believe, fifth and sixth verses of the seventeenth chapter of Exodus.
And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thy hand, and go.
Behold, I will stand before thee ... upon the rock in Horeb; and ... shall smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
Now, if I should call this a little Sunday School text, I would like to take this as the subject for this morning's lesson: "The Everpresent Water From the Rock."

30 We know that Israel has always been a historical example of the church. Because, Israel was the people of God until they came out of Egypt, and then they were the church of God because they were separated from the rest of the world.
And when we are separated from the rest of the world, then we become the church. But as long as we are entangled with the rest of the world, then we are not in the church. Now I trust that that goes real deep, catches its place. See, we are not the church until we are separated from the world. Separate ourselves, come out from among the people, the unclean, deal not with them, and be not partakers of their sins. Yoke not up with the unbelievers, but separate yourself from the things of the world.
And when Israel was in Egypt, they were the people of God. Then when they were called out, or had the exodus, coming out, then they were called the church, because it was then they separated themselves from the rest of the world.

31 And the very word church means "called out." Exodus, "come out." Each one of us, as Christians, has had an exodus in our life. We had a time where we were called out from amongst our associates, called out from amongst the people that we once fellowshipped with, and become a different people, to walk with a different people that acted a different way and talked a different way. It was an exodus in our life.
Very fine example Israel gave us, of when God called them out. They had an exodus, and came out from amongst the peoples of the world, and become a separated nation unto God, a peculiar people. They walked under the shadows of the mercy seat. They lived and walked by the great pillar of fire. And God brought them from Egypt to the land that He had promised.

32 And in this exodus they were given a spiritual leader, a leader which was Moses, a great anointed prophet that was a great man. He was a godly man, he was born a godly man. God called him from his mother. Even before that time, God ordained him before the foundation of the world to be a leader to that generation, to bring this exodus to the people.

33 Here some time ago I spoke to the little children here in the Tabernacle, and had a little sermon for them; and told ... or give a little illustration of how Jochebed, how she prayed, her and Amram, the father of Moses, about doing something about delivering the people. And Amram saw the vision of God standing, or an angel, pointing towards the north, and told him what would take place. And the little Moses was born. And they feared not the commandments of the king, or the threats. They knowed that God had his hand on Moses, and that settled it. That's right. No matter what the king said, what the political world said, what anything else said, they knowed God had His hand on Moses. So they wasn't scared to turn him loose right in the midst of the crocodiles, when they were all just fat on little Hebrew children, where they had fed them out there to the crocodiles. And yet Moses was put right in a little ark and sent right out among the crocodiles---right out among them---because they didn't fear nothing. They knowed that God had His hand on Moses.

34 Well, now, if we could just know that same thing, that our great leader, the Holy Spirit, God has sent Him. And He's our leader. And no matter what the world says, and how much they laugh at you and make fun of you, we follow our leader! God sent the Holy Spirit to be our leader, see. "A little while and the world seeth me no more. Yet ye shall see me, for I will be with you, even in you, to the end of the world." So our great leader is with us, the Holy Spirit. Now we must follow this leader and do just as He says do. And this leader will never take us from the path. He'll keep us right in the path of the Scripture all the time. But He'll never go to one side for something, and this side for something. He'll stay right straight in the road of the Scripture.

35 And Moses had a course that he was to take Israel, and follow them right across the Red Sea, right across Jordan, right into the promised land, right out through the wilderness. It wasn't Moses got out of line. It wasn't God out of line. It was the people out of line that caused the trouble. So, let us think of these things now.
Moses was anointed leader. Finally, when he had showed to the people, by signs and wonders that God alone could do... He performed these signs and wonders before the elders of Israel, and before Israel, until they were satisfied that this Moses was the anointed one that was to take them out of this country to that goodly land that they had been promised. Then, when they seen these great things that Moses did in the name of God, they were willing to follow him. And he taken them out, led them through the Red Sea, crossed over on dry land, and into the wilderness journey, which means the time of testing.

36 When a fellow receives Christ as his Saviour, everything is on the housetop. But, before this man can come into the baptism of the Holy Spirit, this person, he must first have a sanctifying process. He must have a testing time in his life. All of you had it. He had this testing time. "Every son that cometh to God is first scourged, chastened, chastised. And if we cannot stand chastisement, then it shows we're not children of God. We are bastards, and not children of God," the Bible said. But if we can stand the chastisement, knowing that "all things work together for good to them that love God," then we are sons and daughters of God, then He seals us with the Holy Spirit until the day of our redemption. See, that's the chastisement, the strain, the thing we go through. And Israel, as a historical type, had to take this chastisement.

37 Now, when they were down in Egypt, and God sent Moses, and he stretched forth the rod and fleas and lice come on the ground, he stretched forth towards the sun, and it went down, he stretched it over the waters, and they turned to blood, why, Israel was over in Canaan ... over in Goshen, just having a glorious time. The sun never went down, the plagues never struck them. Why, they were just having a glorious time.
Just like you did when you first got saved. Everything, the birds sang different, and everybody was sweet. And, oh, my, how everything just was dandy when you first got saved! Then come the trying time, the chastening, sanctifying time, sanctifying yourself from things of the world, "laying aside the weight that does so easily beset you." You men had to stop your smoking, stop your drinking, stop your going to the poolroom, your all night card parties. All those things, you had to sanctify yourself from them, by the faith in the blood of Jesus Christ---sanctifying yourself. You women had to let your hair grow out, lengthen your dresses, and act like different than what you was. Sanctifying time. Many times they'd rebel and go back. Well, that's not a child of God, see. A child of God looks straight to Calvary, and knows that it's for his good.

38 So then that process of time, there's where the great falling away come in Israel. When this great crowding in time, then the people began to fall away, from one side to the other. Then in their chatting, "Well, we wish we were back down in Egypt. Our souls loatheth this light bread," (in other words, if I take it historically now) that's what they said.
Now in the modern day, it would be, "Oh, every Wednesday night, prayer meeting. Every Sunday morning, back to the church. What do we hear? The same thing---the preacher stand up and preach, songs; go on back." See, then you're just going as a line of duty. You're not a worshipper. A worshipper goes there to worship, to express hisself before his God, to praise God for His goodness. Every word, he hangs onto it.

39 Just like a love affair. If you was going with a girl because you knew it was a duty, or you going with a boy when you were young ("Mama wants me to go with this guy, but I just can't stand him."), you don't get nothing of him coming to see you. Or, if it's the same way about the girl to the boy, or boy to the girl. You go with her, she bores you; Mama wants you to go with her because she's the type of girl that Mama likes. See, it bores you---it's no love affair. But you don't care, you don't want to clean up, you don't want to go see her. And it's a... Why, it's a horrible thing. And when he is coming to see you, my, you just wish he'd hurry on, go home.
That's the same way it is when you, "Why does he preach so long? What about all this stuff, and everything?" See, you're not in love.
But when you really hang onto every word, as the Spirit gave you warning this morning, see... "Hanging onto every word," that might be what He has been talking to you about---holding on! It's eternal life, every word of God. It's a joy to go to church, under any circumstance. Whether it's hot, cold, indifferent, whether the people are fussing, growling, whatever they are doing, it's still a joy to hear the Word of the Lord. Then you're in love then with Christ, see, you love to go to church.

40 "Well, Honey, here it's Sunday morning again. I guess we have to wash up the young ones and get down there. My, it's boresome." See, you're not in love.
But if you are really in love, you just can't wait till Sunday morning comes, you've just got to get down there with them. And we get ... and the people of God, they don't bore you. Why, they are brothers and sisters. As I used to say, you get as thick as sorghum molasses on a cold morning. It don't run, it just stays together, you know, clings tight. Now, that's a rude expression, but it's trying to let you know what I mean, you see. You stick together. And the colder it gets, the tighter they stick. And that's the way it ought to be with us. The colder...
When the earthly friends forsaken,
Still more closely to Him cling.

41 And that we love each other is not because that we're somebody, but it's the Christ in one another that we love, you see. It's the God that's in our beings that we love. Now we love to come together. We used to sing the old hymn:
Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred mind
Is like to that above.
See, the fellowship of kindred mind is like to that above.
Before our Father's throne,
We pour our ardent prayers;
Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one,
Our comforts and our cares.
See? Yes, sir! When one has had a blessing, we are all happy about it. When one is sad, we are sad with him. We want to all be together. Now that's the way we're supposed to be.

42 And that's the way Israel was supposed to be. But it become burdensome, "Oh, this old light bread, angels' bread! Well, what do we care about this old light bread? Our souls loatheth this stuff. And everything is wrong. And this old manna that falls out every night, why, we would rather have some garlic and leek out of Egypt." You see, their hearts wasn't ready for the journey.
And when a man or a woman begins to complain about going to church, they get so tired of going to church, they're not ready for the journey. That's right. There's something wrong somewhere.
Oh, when you love God, and thinking you're going to heaven, and all of you are going together!
What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
Oh, what blessed peace with my Lord
so near,
Leaning on His everlasting arms.
What a ... we sing those hymns.
We share our mutual woes,
Our mutual burdens bear;
And often for each other flows
A sympathizing tear.
When we asunder part,
It gives us inward pain;
But we shall still be joined in heart,
And hope to meet again (at the next
prayer meeting time).
Yes, sir, still joined in heart.

43 Now you're getting ready for the journey, see, you're ready to go into the promised land. The testing times, there's the danger ground---the wilderness, the testing times.
Israel, in her testing time, she got to quarreling and fussing with one another, and loathing over the bread, and they wanted to go back to Egypt.
And then they begin to complaining about their leader. Oh, they was afraid that he was leading them astray. After he had showed himself to be a leader, and God had proved that he was the leader, "Well, maybe we've acted a little bit fanatically. And maybe we've got off, all on the wrong foot." Or something like that, see. They were chatting against God and against Moses---God and His leader.

44 Now when we get to a place then, "I don't know whether the Word means this or not. And I don't know about the Holy Spirit. I'm a little bit skeptic of that. I know others that don't." Well, go on to Egypt, see.
But if you are really determined to stay on the road, stay right with the leader, the Holy Spirit, stay right with the Word. And if you stay with the Spirit, it'll keep you in the Word. That's right. It'll take you right down along the line, the path of the Word. Don't be afraid of it. It won't hurt nothing; it'll just help you if you are hurt. It'll heal all the hurts, the Holy Spirit will.

45 Now, we find out that along this road, after they got like this, they come to a place of Horeb. And H-o-r-e-b, Horeb, then we find out... Let's break that name down. That's where the... The name Horeb means a "dry place" or a "desert."
And when we get out of fellowship with one another in the church, and out of fellowship with the Holy Spirit, it brings us to a dry place, a desert---nothing alive. Everything's got stickers on it. A desert. A little piece of cactus with that sticker on it, did you know what that is? That's a precious little tender leaf that hasn't had no water. It's just wound itself up so tight till it's a sticker. And when you see somebody like that, maybe it's a precious soul that could have been watered right, would have been a tender little leaf for something. But instead of that, it's wound itself up till it's a sticker, just punching at everything, you know, finding fault. Only thing it needs is just water, that's all. It just needs a revival, or a breaking up, a refreshing from the Lord. It'll unfold its little self if you'll just put it to the water.

46 But that's where them who live in that place has to suffer with the conditions of that place. And those who desire to live in that kind of an atmosphere of where everything is just punching and fussing, and quarreling and stewing like that, well, you'll just live under that atmosphere, that's all. But we don't have to live there, it's not necessary for us to stay there.
Now, this Horeb was the place where God was discouraged with the people, because they had wandered into this place and had got in this condition. And He brought them right around to it because that they wouldn't walk in the path. They got off the main road, got off over on this side road. And then it caused God to do something that was terrifically ... caused God to have Moses to take the judgment rod that he had judged the nation with and smite the rock, to bring forth water.
Now, there's a beautiful lesson here if we could just get it, see. And because that we get so out of cater, and world bound and things, it caused God to take the judgments of the world and smite His own Son with it at Calvary that we might go free. Do you see what I mean?

47 Now, in order to get these people to some water after they got over there, this dry place was made a Calvary. And there God told Moses, He said, "Take the rod and the elders, and go forth, and I will stand on the rock before you." And this rock was Christ. And Moses, with the rod that he had brought judgment upon the nation of Israel, took this same rod and smote the judgments of God upon the rock, see. He took the sins of the people onto this rod. Which, he should have smote the people. Instead of smiting the people, he smote the rock. And the rock, through a work of God, brought salvation, brought water to a perishing people. It brought life to a dying people. And that's what God did by taking His wand of a judgment rod, and winding my sins and your sins around this rod, when it should have struck us; but it struck Christ, that from Him come forth waters, which means "Spirit." The Holy Spirit came forth from Him to give us life. Now we have eternal life. Now, that rock was Christ. Now we want to notice...

48 I have seen so many intellectual drawings of this rock. I seen one of the most critical ones, not long ago, to where there was a little rock laying up on top of a hill. And Moses was supposed to have smitten this rock, and Israel was down there with a tea cup, getting them a drink out of a little sprinkle that fell down out of this rock. Now that is just somebody's idea.
But when this rock brought forth its waters there were over two million people, besides the oxen, camels, and everything else, that drank in tubs of water from it. It was a gushing stream that come forth out of there!

49 That's the way they've tried to make Christ, the Holy Spirit, today. "It's just a little sprinkle." See, just enough to make you believe that there is a God. No!
It is abundance of water! David said, "My cup runneth over!" It's just a gusher of the Holy Spirit.
People are afraid of it. Some people say, "Well, I'm just a little afraid I will do this or that, or if I happen to go a little too deep. I can show you someone went a little too far." But you never do point to that one didn't go far enough, see. How about the ones that didn't go far enough?

50 Now, we have had some people that got into the flesh, and got off on the wrong foot and (not God, but the people) because of not good leadership and so forth, got them off on the wrong foot and they went into fanaticism. And then the whole world, the devil points to them, "See that? See that?"
Well, let me stand this morning and point back to these tens of millions times over that never even made a start. What about them? See, look at their condition. Look at a guy like Eichmann today, with the highest... They say, "The Pentecostals are unethical and uncouth, and they're not educated," and so forth like that. Look at Eichmann. One of the highest educated men in the world, and he put to death six million children and women and men---six million souls. You don't want to point to somebody like that.

51 But some little fellow that couldn't read, hardly, called maybe some name of the Bible wrong, or maybe said something or did something wrong, or made some mistake, the newspapers wants to write it up everywhere and say, "They're not to be trusted."
Then if that cannot be trusted, why not education---the things and intellectuals that they have today? Look at Adolf Hitler. Look at the brains of the world today. Look at them! The old saying, "The sauce for the goose is for the gander."
The thing you have to do is be able by the Holy Spirit to divide what's right and wrong, and take what is right and wrong.

52 Now, we find out that this Calvary that they had, and the waters of life gushed forth for the people.
Now, some people has it upon their hearts and minds that all Israel drank, and then they packed up the camels, and tied their hitches on their horses and so forth, and took their kids and journeyed on into somewhere else, and left the rock there, sprinkling. That is wrong.
That rock followed them, and that water followed them. Now in I Corinthians the tenth chapter, I believe, and the eleventh verse, you can find it, that that rock followed Israel. Wherever they went from that day henceforth the rock went with them and the waters followed them.

53 What a beautiful type and a beautiful hold, and an anchor for the believer today that knows that that rock that was once smitten, that water that once poured forth from Calvary, goes with us wherever we are. Oh, my! It's not going back to a certain place and say, "Well, we did have water day before yesterday over there." We got water today, right here, because that rock was Christ and Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
See, that rock followed Israel. They never followed the rock; but the rock followed them. Amen. Israel went on their journey. They had but one thing to do. That's keep the straight course, right straight on into the promised land. And the rock and the water followed them. "... the rock following them: ..." I Corinthians tells you so, the tenth chapter. All right. That rock was Christ.

54 God took the judgments of the people and placed them upon Christ, and smote Him. Did you notice there was a cleft in the rock from then on? The rock had a cleft in it where Moses smote. And Christ had a cleft. When He was smitten "He was wounded for our transgressions, and with his stripes we were healed." From that life come forth the waters of life that we so enjoy today!

55 Now, in order to obtain this life ... remember the life of Christ stays with the church. Hallelujah! Oh, if we could anchor our thoughts there for the next ten minutes! Christ does not leave the church. "I'll be with you always, even to the end of the world." It's the people that leaves Christ, not Christ leaving the people. The people leave it by their unbelief. They leave Christ, not Christ leaving the people.
Israel left the stream, not the stream leaving Israel, see. For the Bible plainly states that the rock and the water followed Israel. Followed them! Wherever they went, it went too.

56 Oh, I'd like, this morning, if we had time, to turn over to the first chapter of Joshua where He said, "Everywhere the soles of your feet shall trod I've given to you. Wheresoever thou goest the Lord thy God is with thee. Don't you fear any man. Be courageous! Just wherever you make a footstep, I'm right there with you, no matter where it's at."---God going with Joshua.
The same God goes with His church this morning. Let's drink from this fountain yonder. Wherever you make a footstep, there is where God will be right with you, to water and to give you life. "I'll be with thee always, even unto the end of the age." Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever. The laws of God.

57 Now you say, "Then, Brother Branham, why is it that we do not do the things then that we should do. How is it our gifts and things in the church does not come to its color, to where it should be? How is it our church does not lift up into the spot where it should be?" The people, in the testing time, drops away like Israel did. They think that God has left them.
But, remember, the rock never left Israel; Israel left the rock. It forgot about the rock being with them all the time. It was right there, went right with them to the end of the road. It followed them. It wasn't out of speaking distance. It wasn't out of hearing distance. Or, it wasn't out of seeing distance.
And neither is Christ! With the church today, He's not out of speaking distance. Some of you have backslid and done that which is wrong, and you've lost that joy, and your water is dried up. He's still in speaking distance of you. He follows you. He knows every move you make and everything you do. He's longing to hear you call Him on the scene.

58 And this great Pentecostal move today, God is waiting for you to call Him on the scene. You're not out of speaking distance with Him. Though we've done wrong and sinned, and turned our backs on Him and done things we ought not to do, but yet He is with us. Christ said He would be with us.
The Bible said, "The waters followed the children of Israel." When they got thirsty, they knowed the water was near.

59 Now, these things are controlled by law. All of God's system is put up by law. Now we'll take... Let's stop for a minute.
Let's take the world. It turns. Every twenty four hours it makes a complete revolution, so perfect. That... We have never been able, with all of our science, to make a watch to keep perfect time. Every once in a while, the best watches they ever make, in the run of a year will gain or lose many minutes. But the world never fails but what she is right there on the second. It's so perfect till the scientists today, the astronomers, can tell you in twenty years from now, or fifty years from now, just exactly the sun and moon will pass one another. When it turns its twenty-four hour circle, and it turns its time around the orbit for a season, it does not miss a tick. Hallelujah! It's perfectly, because it's running according to the law of God.

60 They know just exactly when that tide will go out, just to the minute, because they know what time the moon drops. And God has got everything set in order by law. And when that moon goes down, away goes the tide with it. When that moon comes up, here comes the tide with it. And they know exactly, by timing, when that moon will go down. They can put it on an almanac calendar for years ahead, and tell you to the minute when that tide will start dropping. Sure, because that's the way the moon is going out, because it is set in the order of God's law.

61 I was standing the other day by Lake Michigan. And I went over to Lake Superior, on my road to Canada, that large body of water. And I stood there, and I thought, "How many miles is it across this great strait of water here?" And then after I crossed Michigan ... or, Lake Superior, I would come into Michigan, almost an equal body of water. And to there, from Lake Superior to Lake Michigan, from Lake Michigan to Lake Ontario, and Huron, and all the lakes together. How many billions times billions times billions, and innumerable barrels of fresh water lays within that lake!
And yonder in Nevada, and in Arizona, New Mexico, eastern California, lay millions of acres of parched, burning ground that's so fertile that, if that water could ever get on that ground, this nation could feed the world, without any hungry people, and have surplus to throw in the sea. That's right! The millions of acres that would grow tons times millions of tons of potatoes, and cabbage, and beans, and lettuce, and radishes, and celery, and cucumbers, and whatmore---the ground would grow it. It's just longing for the water.

62 And here is the water up here; and here is the ground down here. Now we can see it, and we know it would do it because we can test the water and see it's fresh, and test the soil and see it's fertile. Now, all the wishing that we can do will never put them together. But there is a law, and that law is gravitation. Now, if we would work according to gravitation, we could water every bit of that land, taking the water from the lakes and watering it. But we'll have to work according to the law of gravitation. We can't wish it out there. We can't scream it out there. We can't holler it out there. We've got to work according to the laws of gravitation to get it there. God puts everything in a law.

63 Here, I was thinking, I don't know whether I ever told you this or not. I was down in Kentucky squirrel hunting with Brother Wood about a year ago. And the squirrels was kind of scarce, and so we went over to a fellow's house to find out about hunting. A man had several acres of ground, and on this ground there was much woods. But Brother Wood told me that the man is an infidel, he's an unbeliever. So he said that he knew him, or his father knew him, he would go over and ask if he could have permission to go hunting.
We drove up to the gentleman's place. And he and another man, both of them in their seventies, they were sitting under an apple tree. And Mr. Wood went in to this man, and he said to him, "Could I hunt a little bit on your place?"
And he said, "Well," he said, "all right." He said, "What Wood are you? Are you Jim Wood's boy?"
He said, "I am."
He said, "Well, old Jim was honest," and so forth. He said, "You can hunt anywhere you want to on my place. I got so many hundred acres here. Help yourself. Go down in them hollers, wherever you want to. Just make yourself at home."
I sat in the car because I thought the preacher and infidel wouldn't go good together if we was going to ask a favor of the infidel.

64 So then after a while Brother Wood said, "Well, now, I have my pastor with me. I guess it would be all right for him to come along?"
And this old man turned around on his cane, and he said, "Wood, do you mean to tell me that you have stooped so low till you have to have a preacher with you wherever you go?"
And so I thought after that I'd better get out of the car. So I got out of the car and talked to the old gentleman a few minutes. And he let me know right quick that he didn't have much use for preachers because he thought they were talking about something that they didn't know nothing about.
He said, "They just blat out at something they don't know nothing about. Well," he said, "when a man talks to me, I want him to know what he's talking about." Now, that's good sense. That's good sense. He said, "Now, if a man talks to me, I don't want him to talk on something or another, supposition, that he knows nothing about. I want him to speak something that he knows what he's talking about." Well, I honored that. I respected that in the old gentleman.
And so I said, "Well, of course, that's every fellow to his own opinion."

65 And he said, "There was one preacher that come here in this country a few years ago that had a meeting over at Acton." And he said, "This preacher one night, being a stranger in the country, said to a lady that was sitting in the audience, 'You have a handkerchief in your pocket. And you are Mrs. So-and-so. And you have a sick sister over on the hill here, her name is So-and-so. She's dying with cancer in the stomach.' And said, 'Take this handkerchief and lay it on your sister, and tell her thus saith the Lord, she's not going to die, but live.' "
He said, "This same woman was a friend of ours." And said, "We took this woman ... or, this handkerchief up ... or, this man ... the person first." He said, "This woman, my wife and I had been up there that morning and had took ... waited on this woman. And she was so bad, the doctors had give her up long ago. She was so bad till we had to move her in a sheet, lift her up to put her on the bedpan, take her back, turn her in the sheet, she was so bad." He said, "One night over there, there come a noise like they had ... somebody had died."

66 That was Ben over there with that handkerchief, taken it over there. I believe it was you, wasn't it, brother? It was Brother Ben over there, getting that handkerchief, because he took the woman over there.
And said, "The next morning she was eating fried apple pies!" And said, "She not only does her own work, but she does the neighbor's work, she was so well." He said, "Now, I've often wondered. If I ever seen that preacher---he knew what he was speaking about---" said, "I'd like to talk with him."
Brother Wood looked over to me, and I looked over to him. Standing there dirty, and sweaty, and filthy, had been camping in the woods, and squirrel blood all over us. And so I said, "Well," I said, "you mean that if you could talk to this fellow he would tell you how he done that?"
He said, "Yes, sir, that's what I mean."
I said, "Well, that's a good thing."

67 I was eating one of his apples. Little old yellowjackets was getting on them there, you know, in the fall of the year, in August. So I had this little apple, and I was eating on it. And I said, "That's a very good apple." I said, "How long has that tree been there?"
"Oh," he said, "I planted that tree there thirty or forty years ago, or something another."
"Yes, sir." I said, "I would just like to ask you a question." I said, "How in the world ... I see those apples have dropped off that tree, and its leaves are dropping off, and here it is only the middle of August." And I said, "We haven't had not even a cool spell. We haven't even had a frost or anything, and yet them leaves are dropping off of that tree. Why is that?"
He said, "The sap has left the tree."
"Oh." I said, "Where did it go to?"
He said, "Down in the roots."
And I said, "Then how long will it stay down there?"
He said, "Till spring."
I said, "Then it will come back up, and bring you up new leaves for a shade, new apples to eat?"
He said, "That's right. Exactly right."

68 I said, "Well, I want to ask you something, sir. You talk about these fellows that don't know what they're talking about." I said, "Could you explain to me what intelligence makes that sap leave that tree? If it stayed there through the winter, the tree would die. [It'd kill the tree. The germ of life is in that sap.]" So I said, "It would kill the tree. What intelligence makes that sap go out of that tree, down into the roots, and stay until springtime, and then come back up again and bring some more apples?" I said, "Put water in a bucket and set it on a post, and see if in August it'll go down to the bottom of the post and come back up in springtime." I said, "There is some law, there is a law of nature. Some intelligence set this law in order. Not only that, but that same intelligence has to operate that law that runs it down into the root of the tree and comes back."
He said, "I never had thought of that."
I said, "If you can ever find out the intelligence that makes that sap go from that tree limbs down into the roots and come back, that's the same intelligence that told me over there that night, 'Go put that handkerchief on the woman.' "
He said, "And you're that preacher?"
I said, "Yes, sir, that is right."

69 Last year I was over (he's gone away), and when his widow was sitting on the porch, peeling apples, off that same tree, Brother... First they was going to run us out, they didn't know who we were. And I went and told her about it, that we had permission from him, and told her about it. Said, "He made a full confession of Christ before he died."
You see, what does that tree, what intelligence runs that down? It's a law. It's a law that God has set in order. And that law is God's law that will take care of the subject. Amen!
You know, I don't care how much you cry out and say, "Now it ain't going to ... the sun ain't going to shine no more this summer," it'll shine, anyhow. How much you're going to say, "I ain't going to let nighttime come," it'll come, anyhow---because this thing that we live on called the world is controlled by a law of God.

70 Now, brethren and sisters, I want to ask you something. Then if we are born again of the Spirit of God... God don't have little weak parts and big strong parts---He's altogether God! And if you had enough of God in you till it was just barely a shadow, that's enough power to make a new earth. That's enough power to make a new moon and a new system. It's God, and it's strong! And right now every believer in here has life eternal, which is God's Spirit in you---enough power that will raise up the dead, that will heal the sick, that will set orbits in conditions. But it's controlled by a law. That Spirit that's in you, you are sons and daughters of God. That same Spirit that you've got in you will raise yourself up at the day of resurrection.

71 Jesus, when He was here on earth, when He died, his soul descended into hell and preached to the spirits that were in prison, the souls in prison that repented not in the longsuffering of the days of Noah. His body went into the grave. But before He died He commended His Spirit into the hands of God. His Spirit went to God, His soul went to hell, and His body went to the grave. And Jesus was barred out from resurrection until the Scripture could be fulfilled. He could not come back because He had to stay in the grave for three days and nights. But when the Scripture was all fulfilled, this bar was taken away; His Spirit descended to His soul, His soul to His body, and He rose again.

72 And when we die our souls will go under the altar of God, where I was privileged to see a few mornings ago, as you know, in the vision, where the Bible speaks of our spirits will go to God who gave it, and our bodies shall return to the dust of the earth. But some day, when the Scripture is fulfilled, our spirits will be released from God, will pick up the soul, and the soul to the body. And the power that will raise us up is right in us now! We are now in heavenly places. We are now in the power of the resurrection.
If there wasn't a law to that, sons and daughters of God would create them a world out here and go live a private life on it. You have the power in you to do it. If you've got a shadow of the power of God in you, you got power to do it---God is omnipotent. See what I mean? The power that's in you will make... You could speak a world into existence and go live on it. Hallelujah! There you are.
That's what power is in the church now, but it is controlled by a law. And that law is not keeping a bunch of commandments. It's a law of faith. Jesus said, "All things are possible to them that believe." And if you can believe it, whatever God will lead your soul to believe, that is yours. Every place the soles of your foot can set upon by faith, God gives it to you. Amen! It's yours, you possess it, if you can find the key to this law of faith that opens it to you. You see what I mean? That power is controlled by... If you are a son of God, you are a daughter of God, that never leaves you. It's with you all the time. But, your faith gets away from it but it's still there. Hallelujah!

73 When you are saved, God gives you faith to rise from the muck of the earth. Your faith overcomes the things of the world. What is your faith? Your faith in that act that God has did in you, to make you a son of God. You quit your lying, you quit your stealing, you quit your drinking, because your faith rises you up above it. Amen. If you don't do it, you don't have any faith. "And by faith are you saved, and that through grace."
As much as your faith will be released, that's how much power you can have, because in you dwells the power to make heavens and earth. God dwells in you, and you are sons and daughters of God. Amen. There you are. But, it's your faith. Jesus said, "According to your faith, be it unto you. If thou canst believe, all things are possible. Verily, I say unto you, if you say to this mountain, 'Be moved,' and don't doubt, but believe that what you have said..."

74 Then what kind of people ought we to be, having faith in this great redeeming Christ that lives in us, this smitten rock that never leaves the church? "I am with you always, even to the end of the world," the everpresence of the great gusher of salvation and power that poured forth from Calvary into the church; the everpresence of the living God, the great flowing, smitten rock that goes with us in our journey.

75 Israel lost her faith. They got off the path. They begin to lust for the flesh pots. If they had stayed with faith and believing that God was going to take them to the land, there would've been nothing hinder them. They had already opened up seas, they had smote plagues upon their enemies, they had crucified their enemies behind them, and had walked over into the land, and still couldn't have faith to go on to the promise.
Joshua and Caleb had that faith. They said, "We are more than able to conquer anything that would come before us."
That's the trouble with the church. We can conquer every disease. We got the power in us. We are sons and daughters of God, nothing can stand before us. Only thing, He wants to find somebody who will believe it, who will believe what God has already done for you. Not we will be; we are now! And the everliving presence of the Spirit is with us. Amen! There you are.

76 That's what I mean when I spoke of the subject this morning, the everpresent water from the rock. The everpresent water from the rock is right here now, that everpresent water from that smitten rock at Calvary. When that Holy Ghost came out of Him on Calvary, and come back on the church on the day of Pentecost, that same Holy Ghost is present this morning, and it's give us a promise.
That's the reason, walking before the sick people, when He commissioned me yonder, I believe it---God said so! That's how visions happen. God promised it! God can't lie!

77 Believe it! You got to believe it. Got to be something there to open that damper, open that thing to let you in on it. What we need today is not pray for more power. You got enough power to make a new earth. What you need is faith to use that power. What you need is control that life, and live such a godly life that when you ask God anything, you know! We have confidence in God of that. We know if we keep His commandments He'll withhold no good thing from us---if we walk with Him. God walking with us. Oh, my!

78 They had but one thing to do. They had but one thing to do, that's stay straight on the course. Not wander off over here and wander off over there; but stay on the course. The church has got but one thing to do, stay on the course. They had a pillar of fire, that they had to keep themselves in course by. Following that pillar of fire, that's what led them. Their object they could see was that pillar of fire. They seen it working through Moses, and they knowed that he was the leader.
Today we got the Word. We follow the Word. And we see the Word working in the believers, and we know it's so then. God working with us, confirming the Word with signs following! We stay with the Word. The Word produces the results.
They stayed with Moses because... The pillar of fire---Moses followed that, and they followed. When they begin to turn against Moses, and fuss against God and against Moses, they got wandering off to one side and the other. Troubles come in. Sure.

79 We stay with the Word, and the Word produces signs. Jesus said, "These signs shall follow them that believe the Word." See, it stays with the... You stay with the Word, the Word produces the signs.
But, Moses, what did he do? They wandered off, and what did they do? Wandered off the path and they lost their water supply.
I think that's what the church has done today. It's wandered off the path of the Scripture. They've got off onto isms. They've got off onto little things that they should not do. They adopted things. They adopted things like Apostles' Creed. Where do you find that in the Bible? They adopted catechisms that they read. They adopted denominations instead of an experience. They adopted shaking hands instead of a borned-again experience. They adopted sprinkling instead of water baptism. They adopted an evil form, "Father, Son, and Holy Ghost," when there's no such a thing in the Bible. The Bible said, "In the name of Jesus Christ." There's only one thing to do if you want that same water. Come back to the path again. Get back on the... He hasn't left; He's still here.

80 You take creeds instead of Christ. You wander off on tantrums.
One said, "Well, I'm a Methodist." The other say, "I'm a Baptist." That shows you're not a Christian, then. We are Christ's! We belong to Him. You say, "Well, me a Baptist?" If that's all you are, then you're none of Christ's, you're a Baptist. You say, "Well, I'm Pentecostal." If you're just Pentecostal by denomination, that's all you are.
But, if you've got the Pentecostal experience... And the Pentecostal Word will bring forth a Pentecostal experience. Follow the same thing those disciples did, stay up there until you're filled with the Holy Ghost.
And then if that you get contrary to the Word, that spirit in you goes contrary to what the Word says, then it isn't the Holy Spirit. It's the devil impersonating the Holy Spirit. You see where we got on it?

81 Oh, some of us spoke with tongues. We had shouting spells and things like that, and denied all these other things. We suffered everything that wasn't in the Scripture to come into the church. Where we got to today? We're back to another desert, dried up organization. We organized, and lost our water. That's exactly what Pentecost did. When it began to organize, it began to break up fellowship, and saying, "Well, now, we won't associate if this guy believes that."
Go ahead, stay with him till he comes to the Word of truth, the knowledge of truth. Whatever it is, let it go anyhow. Just go on, be a brother.
But, oh, we had to organize and say, "Well, because you're not oneness, because you're not twoness, or threeness, or like this, we won't have no fellowship with you." Then when we do that, what do we do? We bring ourself right back to a desert again. That's right.
But remember, when Israel wandered off of the path, the course to the promised land, the rock never left them---it stayed right there. So did the water. So is the Holy Spirit, is staying right there. We don't have to wonder about it.

82 Now, here God teaches us a great thing. God teaches us here a lesson. Christ was smitten once, giving us a Pentecostal experience, one time for all. Now, when that rock was smitten, it did not have to be smitten again. It was only smitten once.
Moses made a mistake by smiting it the second time, showing the weakness of his faith in the atonement. But when Christ was smitten once, He don't ever have to be smitten again. Well, what was Moses doing? Moses was setting up something new, trying to make a new thing.
And that's the way our clergymen has done today. They've tried to make something new. "We'll make ourself the Assemblies of God." "We'll make ourself the Pentecostal Church of God." "We'll make ourselves the General Council." "We'll make ourselves this, that, or the other." That's not what God did. That's wasn't His idea.

83 Christ was smitten once. That's the original experience. That's the original way. On the day of Pentecost, Peter said, "Repent, every one of you, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ."
We sprinkle in the name of Father, Son, and and Holy Ghost, give all kinds of creeds and everything else about it. When we get off the Word, no wonder we can't get nowhere.

84 God teaches us a lesson. Moses wasn't supposed to say, "Now we'll start a new something here now, and we'll organize and we'll make the Catholic church." (That's the first thing they done.) No. Then after a while, "Well, we'll start something new off of that, we'll make the Lutheran." Then come the Anglican, and then the Baptist, and whatmore. Campbellites, and Church of Christ, and antichrist, and all other things. See, they all started going, one after the other one, one after the other, making denominations and organizations. That wasn't it. See what they're doing? They're smiting the rock again, to start something new. We don't need a new doctrine.

85 Every man in the Bible was baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Every man in the Bible that got the Holy Ghost come God's way, exactly the way God performed at the beginning. They did the same thing. They had the same experience. The same signs followed them, the same works followed them. Why? They lived by the rock. They got the same water.
And today, the reason we got so many creeds and denominations is because we're starting something new. We don't need nothing new. Go back!
Moses wasn't supposed to smite the rock again, start something new. He was supposed to speak to them of the original rock. Oh, I hope you get that! Moses was supposed to speak of the original smitten rock, not try to smite it again. Not try to start a new thing but to speak to the old thing.

86 God, help me, if I die a pauper in the pulpit, I'll speak of the original rock! I'll speak of the original experience. I'll speak of the original Scriptures that gave them the baptism of the Holy Ghost: "Repent, every one of you, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." The everpresence of the flowing waters from the rock is still with us. It'll bring forth the same thing. It'll bring forth visions. It'll bring forth healings. It'll bring forth prophesies. It'll bring forth every thing that they did.

87 When Israel got lined back up in the Scriptures again, and got back on the road, they went on to the promised land, but taken them forty years.
Pentecost has been about forty or fifty years wandering around in the wilderness. Come back to the rock! It's in sight. Here it is, written right here on the Word. The Holy Spirit is here performing the same thing He always did, so the everpresence of the water is here. Just come back to it, come back to the former, the original.

88 How was it in the original?
"Well, they shook hands with the preacher." No such a thing. "They was baptized in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." There's no such a thing. There's no persons in the Bible anywhere, or three hundred years outside the Bible, was ever baptized in the name of Father, Son, Holy Ghost. That's a Catholic creed, not a Bible doctrine, see.

89 They had the Holy Spirit. These signs followed them that believe. It'll do it again today. That rock is just as everliving as it ever was, that smitten rock.
Let's not say, "Well, now you come over and join our Pentecostal church, get in our Pentecostal realms." "No, you come over and join the Baptist, or the Methodist, or the Presbyterian, or Catholic." What is that? That's smiting the rock over again, trying to start something new.
Tell them, "Repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of their sins, and these signs shall follow them that believe." There you're back on the road, back to the same water. The same water will give the same refreshment. It'll give the same scourge to the body. It'll give the same cleansing power. It'll give the same healing power. It'll do the same thing it did then, if we'll only get back to the same Spirit.

90 Life in a grapevine will bring forth grapes. If it did last year, it'll bring the same thing this year. That's a law of God. The law of God is that if this is a grapevine, leave it alone, it'll produce grapes. You can interbreed it with something else, but then leave it alone and it will come right back to the same grapes again.
So we've interbred the church with Pentecostalism, with Baptist-ism, with Methodistism, with Presbyterianism, with Anglicanism, and every other kind of an ism. Why don't you leave it alone? Come back to the vine, it'll come back to the same power. Amen! Amen! I like that.

91 Start something new, same thing we've done. Not try to show our authority. "Dr. So-and-so is the founder of the great So-and-so church of the So-and-so-and-so." That wasn't it.
That's what Moses said, "I'll show them what I can do. I'll bring it anyhow!" He smote it, it didn't come, he hollered again. "Show what I can do." God dealt with him for that.
Don't you think ... if you just hold onto some denomination God will deal with you for that. That's exactly right. You got to come back to that original. Come back.

92 If you speak to the people, don't tell them "You come join our church. You come say our creed." You come back and repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, if your heart is right. And these signs will follow the believers. The group of believers, these signs will go with them. Because why? The rock, the smitten rock, and His waters of life is coming right forth, producing the same thing that He did back there. It just can't help it. Oh, yes.
We want to show off and say, "We're Methodist and Baptist."

93 Just speak to the Rock, He's everpresent. Don't try to join it. "I had to join it down here." Don't try to join it. You can't join this, that's one thing sure. You can join the Methodist, you can join the Baptist, you can join the Pentecostals, you can join the Anglicans; but you can't join this. No. You have to be filled with it. Don't join it; just be filled with it. That's all. It's filled with what? Filled with power, filled with the Spirit, filled with life, filled with joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, power of the Holy Spirit in your life, for the everlasting presence is there. Remember...
I'll have to close because it's getting late.

94 But, remember, that rock never left them. It never did leave them. And Christ will never leave us. Christ said, "I'll be with you always, even to the end of the world." Is that right? And that rock stayed with them all the way from Horeb to Nebo. It did. Down to the Jordan, it was still there. O God, I want to see it at the Jordan.
Moses, when he was at the Jordan, the rock was with him all the way through. And he was standing up there, looking down at a bunch of people who had backslidden and gone away from God. His heart was yearning for them. And he looked over Jordan. There he was at the Jordan. Jordan spiritual I'm talking about. There he was standing there, death was coming up his sleeve, but he looked, laying there by his side and there laid the rock. He just stepped over on the rock, and the angels come packed him away.

95 "I'll never leave thee nor forsake thee." No matter how hard the times get, how old we get, what kind of a death we die, remember, the rock will be there at Jordan. It'll never leave or never will forsake. Just remember that. The everpresence of the water from the rock will be with us all down through life, and even at the Jordan.

96 Let's bow our heads. [A brother from the audience gives a message in prophecy.]
While that Spirit is moving among us, the Spirit of God moving among us, would there be those here this morning that does not know Christ, and you're not close to that rock, not on speaking terms to it this morning? But you know it's present. Look at it working everywhere, see Him moving around, see it moving upon the people. That's the everpresence of the water. That's salvation. That's the Spirit that runs their cups to a place till they can't hold their peace any longer, something has to come forth. And you don't know Him, would you like to raise up your hand and say, "Pray for me, Brother Branham. I now want to know Him. And I want to speak with Him, and I want to know Him in the fullness of His Spirit. I want to know that He's right by my side all the time. I believe He is, but I want to be on speaking terms. I'm thirsty, and I'm hungry for God. I want to know Him better"?

97 God bless you sir. God bless you, sir. You, brother. You, yeah, way back in the back. Down here, lady, yeah. Yes, lady. We see your hands, and God sees them. God bless you, young man. God bless you. You, lady. Amen. God bless you. Bless you, sister. Someone else now, in the silent moment. God bless you, way back there, young fellow.
Think of it. Think of it, the everpresence of the water from the rock. That same Spirit that He screamed out there at the day of the judgment for Him, when He took our judgment---and God's rod of wrath struck upon Him, and your sins was wrapped in that rod, and it struck Him, and blood and water gushed forth from Him---He said, "Father, into thy hands I commend my Spirit." Then on the day of Pentecost it come to go with us through the journey. And it's so close now.

98 When you launch out from under it, far away from home, say, "Lord, I'm coming home." While we sing this, if you'd like to walk up to the altar and make a reconsecration of your soul to Christ... Amen.
I've wandered far away from God,
(off of the path)
Now I'm coming home;
The path of (unbelief) too long I've trod,
Lord, I'm coming home.
Coming home, coming home,
Never more to roam;
Open wide Thine arms of love,
Now, Lord, I'm coming home.
[Brother Branham hums "Lord, I'm Coming Home."]

99 Three little boys just walked right out, real fast, tears in their eyes, and kneeled down by the side of the altar. Of course they are forgiven. They was forgiven before they even left their seats, when their little mind got made up. They just come forward to kneel down here to let the people know that whose side they're on from this time on.
Maybe there'd be some older people would like to do this, just like to kneel down and say, "Lord, I've wandered away from the path. I've had so much doubt, and sometimes I've wandered out and got in sin. I want to come back before it's too late. God, I'd like to come. I'd just really like to come and kneel down."

100 Now, odd as it seems, three little girls about the same size, they come up, kneeled down.
I believe one of them's a little girl that just got her a little new brother at home. The other day I said... Mrs. Wood come up and told me, said this sister was going to the hospital to have a baby. The Holy Spirit said, "Go tell them it will be a boy." When it was born it was a little boy.
Seems to be a children's morning, the little fellows coming out from Sister Arnold's little class, consecrating their lives. The whole altar to my right is full of little children. It would be nice if we would sing a hymn, at the altar, to the rest of the people (wouldn't it?), adults.

101 Now, Lord, I am coming home.
[Brother Branham talks to the children at the altar.]
Coming home, coming home,
Never more to roam;
Open wide Thine arms of love,
Lord, I'm coming home.
I'm tired of sin and straying, Lord,
Now I'm coming home;
I'll trust Thy love, believe Thy Word,
Now I'm coming home.
Coming home, coming home,
Never more to roam;
Open wide Thine arms of love,
Lord, I'm coming home.

102 Let us bow our heads just a moment for prayer for these little fellows.
Heavenly Father, if there is a coming tomorrow, if Jesus should tarry for another ten or fifteen years, these will be the boys and girls that will pack this message along to the other generations to come. No doubt in my mind, Lord, but what all the days of their life they'll remember coming up to this altar. They're little jewels, Lord. Their young and tender little hearts are convinced this morning. Not even hearing all the message, just come out of the room from hearing our Sister Arnold teaching, move up around the altar here, giving their little lives to Thee.
Now, Father, I've just got through speaking that in us dwells the Holy Spirit. And this Holy Spirit, faith with this Spirit, does all things. And I believe that this very hour, You forgive every sin that they have committed. And I'm asking You, with all the faith that's in my heart, that You will keep their little lives down through the road. May they never stray from the way.

103 This truly is a strange thing. The Spirit said this morning we'd see something strange. God, if You've quit dealing with the others, take little children. How this morning in the altar call there's not one adult, but the whole group of little children come up. Yet, with a great message of hard understanding even to adults, but the children caught the Spirit of it. We thank You for them, Father. I give them to You, as Your servant, as the trophies of this meeting, for remembering that the ever presence of the water of life will flow with them as long as they live. May they have faith now in this what's happening, that God that pulled them from the seat and sent them up here, may they have faith in that God all the days of their life. May their little spirits be brought to You in the day of their death, brought back to their body in the day of the resurrection. They are Yours, Father. We give them to You through Jesus' name.

104 While we have our heads bowed, I'm going to ask all these little children at the altar that believes that Jesus is your Saviour and the one who told you back there in the audience to come up here and kneel down around this altar, "Do you believe that Jesus loves you and forgives your sin?" I want you all to stand up on your feet and look back into the audience. That's the way you can tell the people that you believe that Jesus saves you. Now stand up on your feet, that's right, and look right back towards the audience. All you little boys and girls that love Jesus, stand up and look back towards the congregation there, every one of you.

105 What about you little girls here in front? Do you believe? Do you love Jesus? These little girls here, do you love Jesus with all your heart? Do you? You love Him? You love Him too, Honey? Stand up here, let the people know that you love Jesus. God bless you.
Now let's turn around this way and sing for these people before we leave, "Jesus loves me, this I know. The Bible tells me so." See? Let's just raise our hands as we sing it now. All right, let's sing it.
Jesus loves me, this I know;
For the Bible tells me so;
Little ones to Him belong,
They are weak but He is strong.
Now put your hands up while we sing. Come on, all together.
Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me,
The Bible tells me so.

106 Now you all repeat after me. I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Today I accept Him as my personal Saviour. From this day henceforth I will love Him and serve Him. Amen.

107 [A brother in the congregation says, "Brother Branham, I've got four children on my heart at this time. Will you please pray for them?"] Sure will, Brother Ben.
Heavenly Father, this man sees other little children coming to Christ, and he cries out, as a father, for his own little ones. And the Spirit that brought these little ones to the altar, may that same Spirit save his children, Lord. Grant it. We give them to You, Father, in the name of Jesus Christ.

108 Now as you little fellows go back to your seat, I want everybody along that row to shake hands with these little children, or pat them as they go back. You all go back to your seats this way. And let everybody along there just pat the little fellows. And we love you with all our hearts. You all are members of the body of Christ, just as much in it as the rest of us.
We're marching to Zion
Beautiful, beautiful Zion;
We're marching upward to Zion,
That beautiful city of God.
Come, we that love the Lord,
And let our joys be known,
Join in the song with sweet accord,
Join in the song with sweet accord,
And thus surround the throne,
And thus surround... ...
Mighty good singing! Let's raise our hands now.
We're marching to Zion,
Beautiful, beautiful Zion;
We're marching upward to Zion,
That beautiful city of God.
Let's just shake one another's hands while we sing now.
We're marching to Zion,
Beautiful, beautiful Zion;
We're marching upward to Zion,
That beautiful city of God.

109 Now let's stay with our heads bowed, while we pray. Brother Teddy, just a...
I've got some requests here, handkerchiefs and so forth. They may come from overseas. Billy was telling me they had a little pair of booties from a little baby over in England, about that long, the little thing is all crippled up. And so we was to pray for that too.

110 And so ... [Brother Ben says, "Brother Branham, please excuse me for butting in, but pray that who hit our car last night on my right front fender, pray that that will be revealed. Pray that the Lord will reveal it."] Amen, Brother Ben, I sure will do that.
[Brother Branham continues to hum, "We're Marching to Zion."]

111 As we march, Lord, we know that the smitten rock is right alongside, the everpresence of the water from the rock goes with the church. O eternal God, loose to us this morning faith in this God that's with us. I know You will, just as we can find favor with You that You can trust us with it. If You'd give it to us in the abundance we might misuse it, Lord. But as we find grace with You, let it happen.
Our brother said someone hit his car. O God, we know the man don't have money to do these things. I pray that You will bring the fellow under conviction, or somewhere he might repent of doing this, come say, "Brother, I'll fix your car. I did it." Help Brother Ben and his loved ones.

112 Here laying in my hand is handkerchiefs and requests, have faith in that God. Moses had faith in that God, and he crossed the sea. Daniel had faith in that God, and was brought out of the lions' den. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had faith in Him, and quenched the fire. Paul had faith in Him, and one day when the services was real hard and Paul couldn't get to everybody, he just took a handkerchief, he said, "I believe that God is with me." He laid his hands upon handkerchiefs and aprons, and spirits of evil went from the people, and sickness, diseases departed from them. And, God, I got faith in the same God. May the evil depart. Sicknesses, and diseases, afflictions, may it depart, Lord.

113 You're the same God that spoke to me down there in that pillar of fire down on the river. You're the one that's got Your picture hanging here with me, on the wall. You're with us, Lord. You're ever present, that same pillar of fire. And we've enjoyed the water from the rock every day, as we join in the Spirit. Then, You're here. We got confidence in You, Lord. We have faith in You. We believe that You'll anoint us and help us. Not for our glory, Lord. We'd be like Moses then, when he done the wrong thing. We want to do something to help You, Lord. That's the intention of our hearts. And if we can do it, You show us, Father, whatever You want us to do.

114 And now, for an act of faith, I condemn the sickness that these handkerchiefs represent, and these requests. They'll leave the people. I know You'll do it, Lord. I believe it in my heart that You'll do it. Heal all the sickness in our midst this morning.
Save those who raised their hands, that said they would like to come to the rock for water. God, may they be so thirsty today, may there be such a salty life around them, it'll cause them to thirst for Christ. Grant it.
Be with us tonight, Father. O God, let me find out through these requests what's on the people's hearts. If there is nothing on their heart, then, Lord, You give me something to preach to their hearts tonight.

115 Bless our Brother Neville, and his wife, his family, our little church, our trustees, our deacons, our members, and Your body everywhere. Be with us, Father. We commit this to Your hands, in Jesus Christ's name.
... ... ... Zion;
e're marching upward to Zion;
That beautiful city of God.
Now let's just sing it, real, really to Him now, see.
Come, we that love the Lord,
And let our joys be known,
Join in the song of sweet accord,
Join in the song of sweet accord,
And thus surround the throne,
And thus surround the throne.
With our bowed hearts now.
We're marching to Zion,
Beautiful, beautiful Zion;
We're marching upward to Zion,
The beautiful city of God.