It wasn't so from the beginning

You can find this sermon at ChurchAges.net

1 You know, preachers are always long-winded, and I am. So, I'm ... I guess we just have a few minutes, about ten or fifteen minutes, something like that? And I'd just like to say that I have certainly enjoyed this stay here with you friends. And this morning, coming in and meeting sister here, that I had seen in a vision over there the other night, come to find out that she was ... had Hodgkin's disease one time in a meeting, and was healed---and three different times that the Holy Spirit has called this woman out.

2 And then, I met this brother here, that up at the other meeting had cancer on his face. And now the Lord has healed him, and Brother Jackson, the organist. And then I was reminded of, up at Lake Port, where we had the meeting up there recently. And there was a little German, or someone across the hill, and he had his wife laying there. And the Holy Spirit was making discernment, telling him about how he'd made a promise to give so much money to a church if the Lord would let his wife be healed with cancer. And told him that he didn't have to make that promise. God owned everything anyhow. And so they... And the lady was healed. She is still living, and just ... I saw her.
And during that time they took a picture of the angel of the Lord standing there, and there was that rainbow color. Many of you people have seen the picture.

3 And come to find out that our brother chairman... I thought we were full-fledged brothers, and come to find out he's an Arkie. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. And they tell me if you took Arkansas and Oklahoma out of California, there'd be no more California! Well, it sure has been some wonderful friends from Arkansas. And I'm sure if I ever make heaven I'll see many people there from Arkansas, Oklahoma, and the world over. We're so happy to be here, and having this time of fellowship.

4 And someone was telling me that a little lady here somewhere that had a... I believe it's this lady right here, this man and his wife. Said that she was called last night in the meeting of having some kind of growth, or something, on her body. And the different ones... I thought maybe in this time that I would try to make a little explaining.

5 Now you watch your watch, and don't be ashamed, and take hold of my coat when it's just about time, 'cause I get talking. I won't tell him---he's already pulling it, see. So I know... But we ... this room here, they'll probably want it. Wasn't that a lovely breakfast? Didn't you really appreciate that? That was just a real Arkansas breakfast (that's right), ham and eggs, and so forth.

6 And so, the meetings here, we felt that the Lord would lead us up here, and have this time of fellowship. And it's really been nice.
Now, visions is an odd thing. We were sitting here talking about back at the early meetings, how that the people drove for... Some of them would come three thousand miles in a taxicab to get to the meetings. Now remember, He's just as much God now as he was then, see. And the ministry from there to this time has improved 100%, see, the ministry. But the revival spirit is leaving the people, see. It's getting away. It doesn't seem to be the people with the enthusiasm that they used to have.

7 Now here is what visions does. Now, our sister here, the strange thing... When I turned the other night, looking to brother (and she was telling me the story of being ... sitting down there to watch his face, you see) and seeing this woman. Then I noticed back again, and I seen it was coming from this direction---looked, and there was the woman. And here I had no idea what that would be, you know. And I didn't know ... being his wife. Then I seen the vision open then. It was in their home, and I knew it had to be his wife then. And that's three times that she's did that.

8 Now, what that is is her faith in that gift, see. She don't realize, but she's the one's a-doing it. She does it herself. Now, if we just think a moment, maybe, so that you'll get little better hold on it, what it is in these few minutes. Let's take our Lord, because, after all, everything is of Him, see. It's Him, and not us. It couldn't be one of we minister brothers, or anyone. It is...
We don't claim to preach the gospel by our own intelligence. We preach it by the power of God. You ministers do that. And that's the power of God comes upon you, and anoints you. And even in your own ... your ministry you say things, and sometimes you ... "Why did I change my text?" And you know how it is, see. That's God doing it you see. And you might think that the whole audience missed it. And maybe one little individual sitting out there, God was directing that entire message right to that one person.

9 And sometimes you've noticed you've went right down the line preaching, saying "This is it. This is it." Then the next time, you turn around and say something looks like contradicts that. You think, "Am I a hypocrite?", see. But you see, it's God working in you. Like I said about Jonah the other night. See, he wasn't out of the will of the Lord; it was God working in him. He sent him over one way, but he was sitting ... told him to go that way, but He turned him around, see. That's the way... Sometimes I've said things, and I turn around and think, "What's the matter with me?" Come to find out it's the Holy Spirit. And when a man's preaching by inspiration ... must yield himself completely to the Spirit. It's the only way we're going to ever ... or, I can do it, because I have no intellectual powers to put a sermon or anything together.

10 And you minister brothers, while we're together---I've said this from the platform, I want to say it again---I've kept the meeting kind of juvenile, you know, kind of ... so the people... There's many of them here... I realize this country, that this is a great Catholic country---bound to be here, see. And those people just coming in, they just ... they don't get it if you go to something strong.

11 Now, let's take our Lord as our example because He said He was our example. Now, his life is in us. Now, we think like this---for just to get a little thought of ... not a text to preach from---but Jesus said one time, speaking about marriage and divorce, He said, "It wasn't so from the beginning."
Now we'll have to go back to the beginning to get every thing, because every thing had a beginning, that we see now. It's eternal things that had no beginning, because eternal never began, never ends. And it's the things that has a beginning has an end, everything. Now, Genesis is the seed chapter, so we'll have to go back to Genesis.

12 And studying through many books of the history of the church---the Hislop's "Two Babylons" (you've probably studied it), and Foxe's "Book of Martyrs," and the Pre-Nicea Councils, Nicean Fathers, and so forth---you go back and find that every spirit in the land, and every cult and everything, if you go back, it began in Genesis. It's coming up to a blooming time, a blossoming time. You see them come out like Cain and Abel; and watch those two boys come right down to be Judas and Jesus. And just right on through, you see, it comes right on out into this last days, where the antichrist and the Christ spirit ... so close, it'd deceive the very elected if possible. Now, we're taught that, and we know that's true.

13 Now, we take our Lord. When He was here He did not claim to do miracles. He said it was the Father, God, that dwelt in Him, and He was ... He expressed God through Himself. God, in otherwise, built Himself a body that He lived in Himself. God came down, was manifested in flesh in Christ. And it was not Jesus, the body, the Son of God; it was the God of glory in the Son of God, showing the glory of God, you see, through Himself---the God of glory manifesting the glory of God. And in Him ... God dwelt in Him, and He reflected God.
Now that's the way each of we ministers do. We reflect God, as God is in us. And then that's the only way that God can move, is ... and people can see God, is through we, his servants. That's how people won't read a Bible, but they'll read you, see. And so you reflect Christ. Your walks, your talks, your actions all reflect Christ.

14 You might not think that people are watching you, but they're watching every move you make. You are a Bible to many people. Therefore, we've got to watch what we do, our business deals, in everything that we do in our entire walk. Just yield yourself to the Spirit, and God will reflect Himself through you---as I said, like a vine. Jesus said in John 15, "I am the vine, ye are the branches. "Well, now remember, the vine does not bear fruit; it's the branch that bears fruit. But it gets its life from the vine.

15 Well, now, a few months ago I was in Arizona to a precious friend of mine, John Sharrit. And he owns many citrus groves. Real poor brother, a Pentecostal brother, and the Lord blessed him. And now he owns... He ... well, the other day I think, he was telling me about ... he had 49,000 acres of cotton, and stuff, in it, just what... The Lord has blessed him in a financial way. And he rides around in an old Chevrolet, and the sun visor hanging down.
And we were ... he was showing me a tree that had about five or six different fruits---different kinds of fruit---on that one tree. Now it was an orange tree to begin with, but they had grafted into this orange tree a lemon, a tangelo, tangerine, and a grapefruit, and... Any citrus fruit would grow into that vine, into this tree.

16 And I said, "That's remarkable, Brother Sharrit. Now," I said, "now, next year when the next crop comes on, they'll all be oranges?"
He said, "Oh, no, uh-uh." He said, "The vine ... the branch that is a grapefruit branch will bring forth a grapefruit, and the lemon will bring forth a lemon."
I said, "Now, wait a minute. On a orange tree?"
He said, "Yes. It's all citrus fruit, but it'll bring forth its kind, the branch that's in it."
I said, "Now, if this certain tree then will bring forth another branch itself, what will it be?"
He said, "Like the original. It will be a orange tree."
I said, "I got it!", see.

17 Now, Christ is the branch ... He is the vine. But if we graft in... This morning, here, there may be different denominations among us---Assemblies, and Oneness, and Church of God, and all these other different churches, denominations, see. If we take our denominational branch and put it in there, it'll just bear denominational fruit. That's where we have ... into the Christian line of Christian name, of Christian life. Like citrus fruit, we have grafted in there Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Catholic. All different kinds are under that name of Christianity.
But did you notice, when that original tree put forth a branch at the beginning, that vine put forth its first branch, they wrote a book of Acts behind it. And if... These churches, denominations, are living off of this citrus vine in the name of Christianity; but if that true vine ever puts out another branch, they'll write another book of Acts behind it, see, because it'll bear the fruit.

18 And we as ministers has got to let our lives be not in some organization. Them things are all right---to keep brotherhood, and so forth, I mean. But ... they have their place, but we ourselves must be completely surrendered in Christ, so the Holy Spirit can flow through us, see. And that brings forth the original fruit of Pentecost, which is... The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, you know---that real thing.

19 Now. Just a ... I got to stop now, but... Here. When Jesus was on earth, He was that vine. He brought forth the headstone, we know... We realize that. He was the first. Now let's watch Him as He went around. He didn't go around with his dress different from other men. He had no different action. He was just a gentle sort of a fellow, as I preached some time ago on "The Forgotten Beatitude." It's found over in Matthew, the 11th chapter and the 6th verse, where...
John the Baptist had sent forth first, you know, and introduced them to the Messiah. He was a great prophet, John, between the two ages, between law and grace. And he'd preached that there was a Messiah coming that was going to thoroughly purge his floors, and gather the grain, and He was going to be a great Messiah that was going to tear down the Roman empire.

20 And then John waited in the wilderness till he was sure he'd know what sign that was. He never went to school. Remember, John went into the wilderness at nine years old. He had a commission from God. It could not be an ecclesiastical ring-around something. It had to be genuine. So he waited in the wilderness until he heard from God.
And God said, "You'll know him, because there'll be a sign over him. You'll see this sign, and that'll be the Messiah."
And John bare record, saying, "I saw the Spirit of God like a dove descending upon him." And he announced publicly, "This is the Messiah."

21 But then, there was something happened---disappointment. That's what happens to all of us. In your healings and things you'll find out looks like something didn't work just right. Remember, that's the enemy, and God's permitting it to give you a trial of it, to see what you're going to do.
Now, instead of Jesus coming like John said he would come, and John saw the sign and knew it was Him... He introduced to the public, "That's him, for I see the sign that God told me."
But when he got down in trouble, and his eagle eye got filmed over, as Pemberman said, and he didn't see so well... He thought, "Here, I preached the Messiah was going to free the people. And here a little gentle fellow, pushed around from here and there---a strange Messiah..."

22 But what he couldn't understand, there was the sign over Him but yet He was so much different. He wasn't that great guy was going out and tearing up everything, like he thought He would. He was little, gentle, meek sort of a fellow, pushed around from here to there, you know. "What a strange fellow this guy is."
So he sent two of his disciples, and said, "Go ask him, is he the one?" Now that was the poorest compliment that he could have ever paid to Jesus, after he'd announced that that was the Messiah, and then come back and say, "Is that Him?" But Jesus understands our weaknesses. He turned around and paid the greatest compliment that He could pay to any man, to John.
Watch Him, when John come and said... When John sent his disciples, come, said, "Are you he, or do we look for another?"

23 Now, Jesus never... You know, John was in prison and Jesus knew that. So He never give him a book on how to behave himself in jail (or something like that), or tell him some rules and regulations of the campaign. He just said, "Stay and wait till the service is over. Then go tell what you saw."
So when... They seen the lame walk, the blind seeing. And I can just imagine seeing our Lord stand there, as the disciples went up over the hill, and He watched them. He turned around and said, "What went ye out to see? Did you go out to see a reed shaken with the wind?" Not John. No, no. Not John. You wasn't pushing him around from one place to another. Said, "But what did you go out to see? A man with his collar turned around [you know, in fine clothing, things]?" Said, "They kiss the babies, and marry, bury the dead. They're with kings' palaces."

24 That's ... they don't know... They fool with a penknife. They don't know to take a two-edged sword, stand out there at the battlefront where you fight demons, and things. That's not that kind of a man. You don't ... that wasn't what you went ... Said, "What did you go to see? A prophet?" Said, "I say unto you, greater than a prophet." He was. He was a messenger of the covenant, and he was greater than a prophet. He bridged those together.

25 Now, we find our Lord, then, in his work, that He claimed to do nothing of Himself but what He seen the Father doing. He gave all praise to God---thing that was unnatural, supernatural. Every armor that we have, brother, all of our armor is supernatural. We ... nothing natural that we have... We must believe it.
What is the fruit of the Spirit? Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, meekness, gentleness, patience. Now, you go down to the drugstore and buy me a quarter's worth of patience. I need it. Five dollars worth of love---I could stand a lot of that, see. See, it's the unseen something. That's our whole armor. We stand in the unseen world looking at the unseen things. Yet, to us, we see them because our faith detects them, and says it's there.

26 And when Jesus... One day a sickness came in a family of his friend, and He went away. The Father had told Him to go away, because He said (St. John 5:19) He did nothing till the Father showed Him. Not the Father told Him; but showed Him. And He went away.
And the lovely sisters of Lazarus sent to Him, and said, "Come pray for your friend. He's sick." And instead of going to that lovely friend, and helping them in the time of need---after they'd come out of their churches and everything to be his disciple---He ignored the call and went on. Then when they sent again, instead of Him responding to that call He went further.
Now, looked like that would have tore up anybody, see. But when faith takes a hold of something, there's no hindrance to that. It'll stay right there, see.

27 Now, when He returned ... finally He said, "Lazarus sleepeth." That's the way He knew it.
But the disciples said, "Oh, if he sleeps, he's taking a rest, he's doing good."
But He had to tell them in their language: "He's dead. And for your sake I'm glad I wasn't there. But I go wake him."
But when Martha saw it... As He had come into the city, she went to Him and said, "Lord, if you would've been here my brother would not have died. But even now, whatever you ask God, God'll give it," see.
And He said, "Thy brother shall rise again."

28 Now if you notice, when He went to the grave where Lazarus was... Now, He'd already... He knew exactly what was going to happen. I'm sure we all believe that. He knew, because He said He did nothing until the Father showed Him, and that's the reason He didn't go. That's the reason He said, "I'm glad I wasn't there for your sake," 'cause they'd been asking Him to pray for him, when He already knew by vision that He wasn't to pray for him. He was to raise him from the dead, see. And He said, "I go wake him."
But you remember when He stood at the grave He said, "...thou has already... But for these sake I said this," you see, that for an example.
Then He called Lazarus from the grave---a man that'd been dead four days. He called him back to life again, and he stood up on his feet and lived. There wasn't one thing said there about Him getting weak, or having any physical results from it. Why? It was the Father using his own gift. God had just automatically told Him.

29 But passing through a crowd of people one day, where a little woman touched the border of his garment... A little woman in the time of menopause was having floods of blood. And so she touched his garment. And He stopped and said, "Who touched me? I perceive that I have gotten weak." See, that was the woman using God's gift, see. He was God's gift. The greatest gift was ever give to the world was when God gave his Son. We all admit that, see. And see, God was using his gift.

30 It's just like this: We're all... There's a carnival in town. And us little Southerners, you know, didn't have any money, and so we want to see this show. It's in a big board fence. And Brother Williams, here, say he's short and strong, sturdy. And I'm a great big, tall, thin fellow. And so, perhaps, maybe he could pack water to the elephants. He's strong. I couldn't do it---too high up from the ground, see. I couldn't pack the water he did, 'cause he's built low and strong. Now he can't help being like that; neither can I help being the way I am.
And that's the way each one of our ministries, see. We can't help being what we are. God has set in the church..., see. God did it by sovereign grace.

31 Well, now, we're all wondering what's just beyond that curtain over there. That's what we all are doing today. What is it? What's beyond? We've come... Like the king of England when it was called Angel Land... When St. [unclear] come up there, and he baptized the king of England in the name of the Lord. When he sat by the fireplace that night and a little sparrow come in from the dark, and flew in, flew around, flew back out, and St. [unclear] said to him, "Where did he come from? and where did he go?", see. And that got the king. So he baptized the king---start ed Christianity in England.
Now, the thought of, "Where did he come from?" A place that he knows ... his mind can't grasp it. And then, he closes his eyes, and he goes back into that place. He's intelligent here, he knows. And he knows he come from somewhere, and he knows he's going somewhere, but he don't know where. Now that's what we're all trying to find. Now, each one of us is messengers of that land.

32 Now we're standing here this morning, and we look all around. There's no place we can get under. But finally I look, and there's a knothole up here, way up high. I say, "Brother Wilson..."
"I'll never make it, Brother Branham. I'm built too close to the ground. I could never make it."
But, I'm built a little different. I can get it if I'll jump up, like way high, and just get a hold of it with my fingers, and pull up, and look. We're wondering what's on the other side. Now. That's a rude way of putting it, but I hope you understand it. That's the position this morning, as we stand together, see. You have something to do; I have something to do.

33 Mine, I was born to see visions.
Now on the platform, here comes ... someone comes up before me. Now, it takes their faith to do it. It's their own faith. Now, it's just like a gear, getting into a gear, changing ... you're pulling up a hill in a car and then it changes gear, see. I can't change that gear. He does it.
And then, maybe hours before I come to the meeting I'm in prayer to myself. And then I see that light come near me, and nobody speaks to me and I just go on in. It'd be better if I just entered the building, don't speak or nothing. Go right ahead in the prayer line, it would be better. But instead of doing that, I speak a while. Them kind of meetings couldn't last very long, 'cause it takes the life right out of you.

34 But now, here stands a person. We're standing here together, now. We want to look a-past the curtain of time. Now, I jump real hard, run up like this and grab a hold, and pull up, come back down.
"What'd you see, Brother Branham?"
"An elephant."
"Oh, you did? What else did you see?"
"That's all I had time to see."
"Whew!" It's strong, see. Just like wore me out. What was it? That's the person standing before me. See, it's them taking something out of you, see.
"What did you see?"
"You have tumor." It left me, see. It's a strain. I got tired.
"What else did you see, Brother Branham?" I have to go again. All right. Up you go again, and pull and strain, you know. And first thing you know, come back down: "You're Miss So-and-so, from Third...," see? There you are. You're doing that yourself. That's you, not using me, but using a gift that God sent for you, see. See. But the physical part hurts.

35 Now, what if the ringmaster comes by, the boss of the whole thing? Says, "What're you looking at, Brother Branham? Yeah, I know you. I want to show you something." Just pick me up, hand me up in his hand, or something like this, and say, "You see this tent? These people does this, and goes down here, and comes out down here, and over here, and down there." I'm just sitting there looking, see. It's all right. Then when He sets me down, I'm not tired, see. That's God using his own gift. You see what I mean? That's the way it does.

36 Now, the people here---some of these people that's with me ... maybe some of you are strange to me. The vision that comes out there, when just sovereignly He sends it, there's no complaint about it---sometimes under the anointing, without breath in your body, or respiration for fifty or sixty minutes, see. And He tells what will be just exactly to the point: where it'll be, how it'll happen and everything, the whole panoramic of the whole thing. And God's my judge, whose Bible I stand here ... has never failed one time of one iota, of the thousands of times. And ... but there's no complaint about that.

37 But in a meeting when a little individual will come, like... That's them using that same gift, see. It's the person using it. Now you catch it? Jesus felt no strain when He raised Lazarus from the grave, because the Father had told Him, see. But now, when it comes to a woman using that gift, virtue had gone from Him. You get what I mean? That's what does it.
And, friends, it's you people that does that, see. It isn't me; it's you that's doing it---your faith.

38 Now, there's just one thing that I'd like to say now, again, 'cause they'll probably be getting us out of here. But ... now watch what it says. Don't leave too quick, see. I guess Brother Borders may explain that to you in the opening meeting, see. Don't leave too quick. When it says, "Here is a person that is ... before here ... has a tumor, or cancer..." Here, let me give you a little illustration. Say, we'll take Brother Williams here, and I think it'll give... Do we have that much time? Just a second.

39 Now I've never seen him before---say I've never seen him. I'm in New York City. And he goes today out here to a doctor, and he's wearing this pretty light suit and tie. And he goes to the doctor. And the doctor says, "Reverend, I'm very sorry to tell you, but you're suffering with TB. There's nothing that can help you now. You're in a stage where it's too late to retire, so it's going to kill you."
Well, he begins to wonder. Somebody... His faith catches. "Believe I'll have Brother Branham to pray for me." He hears about it. He comes to New York. I'm in New York.
And now he's wearing a black suit with a red tie, and he has his glasses off. And he walks up on the platform. I'm standing there. I've never seen him in my life, and he's never seen me. And I say, "How do you do, sir?" What am I doing? Contacting his spirit, see, just to see what kind of a feeling... Sometimes we hit imposters, we hit critics. We had one in the meeting last night, looks like would've torn me to pieces, and so that's the reason I couldn't call that prayer line. And ... just terribly.

40 So, then I stand there and I say, "How do you do?"
He says, "How do you do?"
I carry a conversation. After awhile I see something before me. I said, "You are suffering with..." I'm going to take a good, long discernment. Say there's nobody else on the platform but him, see, to be there that night. I say, "You are suffering with tubercular."
"That's right."
"Now, you was at a doctor. The doctor had a mustache, and wore glasses and gray head, and he examined you and said... And you're not from here. You're from a country where there's a lot of sand, and so forth. It's California."
"Yes, that's right."
"You are a minister of the gospel."

41 See, I'm watching just what he's doing. And maybe I come to this very meeting, and may meet somebody else now. And recently he was wearing a white suit, light-colored suit with a light tie. "You were sitting at a table listening to someone speak. You was wearing glasses. A lady sat next to you, was kind of heavy set, and wore a pink dress." You know it was right this time here, see. And it just leaves me. I don't know what I've said, see. I was standing right here watching that.
Well, maybe he's all thrilled, then. "Praise God! That's right. I was listening to Brother Branham talk, see, like... That's exactly. I was wearing that suit. Hallelujah!" Here he goes off the platform.

42 Now he hasn't waited long enough, see. He's just ... that's him doing it. That's what his own faith did. Now, wait and see what God says about it, see. Now, if nothing else happens ... I stand there a minute and nothing happens, I keep watching. If nothing happens, I look back. And if he isn't shadowed yet, I'll say, "I'll pray for you, sir," and then send him off.
But if you hear it speak back and say, "Thus saith the Lord," see... Now, your faith is what pulled that from God; but now, here's God speaking back to you, see. I don't know what's going to happen yet, 'cause I...
That was his own faith that did that. That didn't say he was healed, see. That was only his faith moving God to do that. It foretold. And now wait till it forth-tells, see. Then it comes back... And I see him maybe years later, an aged man, see. And I say, "Sir, thus saith the Lord, you are healed. By this, to increase your faith, tomorrow you're in a strange city. You'll be walking down the street, and somebody's going to hit you on the arm. You'll turn around. It'll be a little newsboy. And you look up at a clock, and it will be striking twelve o'clock, just exactly. By this you'll know," see. Now one is what he pulled from God; the next is what God's given to him. He did the first. Now, it's "Thus saith the Lord," see. That's the next, you see.

43 Then the next day he'll go, and he'll say to the friends was with him, some of you minister brothers, "Wasn't that strange?", see. Now if it's only his faith that's done something, he knows his faith has touched God. But now, what has God said to him? He hasn't waited long enough to find out, see. He rushed right on off the platform.
Now, he'll be going around the next day saying, "You know, I... What?", and something hit him, and say, "What?" (Bang, bang---twelve o'clock). Say, "What?" See? Oh, then nothing can ever make him doubt it. It's just anchored right there, see.

44 Here ... just, Brother Evans here, sitting right here... Now we realize that we are not to use God's gifts as Ouija boards. We realize that we can't play with God's gifts. He wouldn't give them to anybody that would do that. That's right. This man had come up to visit me, he and his wife and his children. And there's just much could be said about many of these things, but here's what happened---so a little testimony. He had a new car, all their clothes and things in it. He stopped at the Miller's Cafeteria in Louisville. And in Kentucky, you can sell a car as long as you've just got a ... you... They make you a title for it, see. And they had a ring of thieves there that was stealing cars, running them in and spraying them over, making them a title and selling it. Oh, they just ... it was terrible.

45 Mr. Evans, coming for hundreds of miles (about 750 miles from Georgia) up there, just drove in, turned off the key and went in to eat. Come back out---car, clothes, recorder, everything he had was tore up, gone, didn't know where it was at. So there he was, hundreds of miles from home---no money, no clothes, no nothing---and a new car gone.
Well, they got with Brother Sothmann, and I believe Brother Simpson, and some of the brethren there. So finally they said, "Let us consult the Lord." So they said, "Let's go up and have Brother Branham to ask." So they come to the house... And that's what private interviews does, see. We stay before the Lord until something happens. It ain't like meeting them on the platform. It's when you stay there, and just wait. People sitting there from overseas, and around the world, waiting... Some three hundred appointments waiting now, see, from everywhere, to find out about these things.

46 And so, then Brother Evans, and Brother Fred, and many of them come up to the house there---four or five brethren. Brother Willie, I don't know whether you was with them that morning, or not. I know Brother Fred was, and I can't remember just how many there was. And we got down before the Lord to pray.
(Now, these are all ministers, I trust. All of you are believers.) See, you've got to find the condition. You've got to find the cause before you can find a cure, always, see. A doctor ... if you go into his office and say, "Doctor, I'm suffering at my stomach. I got a headache," he gives you some aspirin, and sends you out, he's trying to get rid of you, see. A real doctor will diagnose that case till he finds the cause. And that's what it is running through a prayer line, laying hands on people, saying, "Glory to God! Hallelujah! Believe it. Glory to God! Shake..." see. Let's find the cause first.

47 It might be something ... God put a curse upon that person to make them do a certain thing, and you come around and take it off---like Moses did smiting the rock, or Elisha because he was called bald-headed, and cursed those little children and so forth. You have to watch with gifts of God. You've got to watch what you're doing, see, when you go to cursing and stomping devils, and things like that. When you don't know what you're talking about you get in trouble with God, see, 'cause you have to realize what's happened. This ... something down there's causing this to happen, then you'd better wait and tell that person about it, and make that right first.
So the thing to do is wait till you find the cause. Then the cure is already perfect, if you can find the cause. Get rid of the cause and... Like, if a clod is laying over something another... Like a piece of corn, and a stick is laying over it making it grow crooked, just move the stick and it will grow straight. That's the same thing it is, see. You've got to find the cause first. But find out what's making you do this.

48 Now. And Mr. Evans come in, and he said, "Brother Branham," he said ... told me the story.
I said, "Let's go to God," and we knelt down to pray. And while in prayer I...
You have to go out. That's the way the raising of the dead... You've heard of the meetings, you've seen it, know it's wrote up---doctors signed statements of people being dead. I've seen five of them in my own humble ministry. You've got to find that soul that's out yonder somewhere, return it, bring it back. And on the Spirit going out, He sent his Word. Sent his Word, see.

49 And going out, I seen a young fellow wearing a yellow shirt (had once been a Christian and raised in a Christian home) was in Brother Evans' car going down to Bowling Green, Kentucky, 118 miles below Louisville. And the Spirit (while praying) convicted him, that he was doing wrong. He was working for this ring, he was doing wrong. And then the Spirit, the Word, holding over him in this prayer, he turned, come back.
I seen him bring the car back, and park it on a certain place. I raised up and told Brother Evans about it---it'd be all right. And on his road home there from... Now, the car was stolen across the river---Louisville, Kentucky, a mile across the river ---and then up at Miller's Cafeteria. It was stolen from there. And here it was brought back from Bowling Green. He had a tank of gas---half of it gone, just where the boy had drove down---drove it back around, and sat it right there in the road where... On his road right out to the trailer camp there he met it, sitting right there on the road the same way, see. Now that's the Spirit of God going out catching that.

50 Another case right on there, just to show you the opposite. Then I will quit, sure enough, so then... They ... this is the same man, on a man that bought a car from him and would not ... did not pay him. Run off. And the Spirit of the Lord, when we prayed, went after that man, but he was a rough, ungodly sinner. See, the Word wouldn't have no effect on him. Then God had to work in another way, and sent him around.
And one day when he was up at my house, I told him, "We're going by Bowling Green." Going down to his house, was going down to go fishing, he and his wife and I in the car. He caught it right quick.
Now, as he said, "Shall I ... I better turn off down here?", I said, "If you want your money, you'd better go now." And he went over; he got paid off in full, see.

51 See, God knows how to do things to work it, see. But sometimes if it's a lingering case... Now that case lingered for a couple months or more, two months (What say?) ... two years before it ever happened. But you see, he had asked, and knowed that if we asked that thing...
Martha said, "My brother's dead. He's stinking out there in the grave. But even now, whatever you ask God, God will give it to you." There you are, see. Whatever you ask God, God will give it to you. Two years after all that he held on. He knowed he'd get it, see. God worked it right around; he got it. That's it, brethren. It's God reflecting Himself in our lives.

52 I could talk to you all day. You're such a wonderful bunch of people. I love you real well. And I'm here, my Christian friends, to help you. I'm here to do all that I can to help seine with you, brethren. Now sometimes people say, we knowing today... There's been a lot of carnal impersonations of these things. You understand that. It's just got to come. When Moses went out, the supernatural had been done, and a mixed multitude went with him. It upset the camp after a while and with Korah, you know, and so forth. And we realize that. And it does that, brethren.
And I ... sometimes shepherds are little suspicious, and I don't blame them. They got sheep to feed, you see. They ... I don't have no feelings against those brothers that just even condemn it. I don't feel bad about it, because they're shepherds, you see. But I want you to know, as my brother, as the end is drawing nigh, when I meet you on the other side I'll still have the same testimony. It's God. You just believe that with all your heart.

53 And I want you to pray for me. It's awfully hard, brethren. It's hard, 'cause sometimes you say ... you have to say things that just... Maybe a person's opinion has been one way, and yet you've got to say it. You're duty bound to say it. You've got to say it. And then it hurts and it hurts maybe your brother, or something. Then you feel terrible about it.
But you're not your own. You are bought with a price. You're commissioned to a job. You must be loyal and true to it, no matter what it is. And I think most all real level-thinking people will respect that. Even though they might disagree with it, they'll respect it.

54 How about a man to a woman? No matter whether she's pretty, ugly, or whatever it is, if she's a lady---a real lady---any man will respect that's got a ounce of man about him, see. No matter who it is, he respects her stand, see. And that's the way I think it is amongst brethren, brethren who sees somebody that's convinced. I have the same respects to brethren who might disagree with me. I would say, certainly I respect...

55 A great story comes in my mind now, of that Lutheran dean up there, you know, when he wrote me a letter, and said I was a polished-up soothsayer, you know, and so forth like that; and told the horrible ... you see, about me. Yet I wrote him a letter back.
He said, "You said you'd been preaching for thirty years." Said, "I was preaching before you were nursing," he said. And then tell something just like...
But still, I had a respect for him. He just called me "Branham." I wrote back. I said, "Dear precious brother (a Lutheran dean)." No one could preach the gospel fifty years, and yet disrespect Christ. I wouldn't think so. See, he's a man. He's not made out of sawdust; he's a human being. And I wrote him a nice letter back, and...

56 He said, "The very idea of you standing up there!" Said, "I drove fifteen miles through a blinding snowstorm to hear a man of God, and what did I find but a polished-up soothsayer."
And I said, "I forgive you for that, brother." And so then, I said, "You didn't know what you said." I said, "The people seen Jesus Christ do the same thing in his day as He does in my day---the same Jesus doing it---and they called Him Beelzebub."
I said, "Now, what if I was right? And Jesus said to speak one word against it will never be forgiven." I said, "What good has your fifty years done?" I said, "But I know you didn't mean that from your heart. I just don't think that a man could talk about Jesus for fifty years, and preach for Him, and be a dean of a college, could talk about Jesus like that. You're just excited and don't understand."

57 Later he wrote me a letter. He said, "I apologize for that, and I hear you're coming to Minneapolis again." It was Dr. Aegery, and he said, "I'd like for you to come to the college. I'd like to ask you some questions." (Have I got time to tell it?) And said... Have ... and I said...
Brother Jack Moore and some of us was up there at the Businessman's convention. He said... I went out. And of course, my education is very limited, as you know, and I don't claim to be a preacher. So I sat next to Brother Jack, and he's pretty smart, you know. And I thought if he said some words that I didn't know what he was saying, I'd punch him on the leg, and he'd take over from there, you see.

58 So they give us a nice dinner. They're Norwegian. And so they had a great big smorgasbord dinner, set in the shape of the cross, and put me at the head of it here. The lovely little ladies served the table. And Dr. Aegery raised up after dinner, and he said, "Brother Branham, I know you've got to get back for service tonight," but said, "I want to ask you a question."
I said, "Dr. Aegery," I said, "I'll be glad to answer what I can. Maybe my education is so limited I just might not be able to do it."
He said, "Well, I'd like to say this to you." He said, "I apologize for what I said."
I said, "Oh, you was forgiven, brother. I wouldn't think of that."

59 And he said, "We are hungry here at Bethany." He said, "We want God." He said, "And we read about the Pentecostals." And he said, "I understand that you used to be a Baptist."
I said, "I am."
And he said, "Well," he said, "I went to see them," and said, "there was a meeting." And said, "They was just kicking over the chairs, and knocking out the window lights, and so forth like that." Said, "What have they got?"
I said, "The Holy Ghost."
And he said, "The Holy Ghost do that?"
I said, "Brother. Here's what I find amongst the Pentecostal people. It's so much steam they blow it out the whistle, instead of putting it on the track and making [unclear words], see. I said, "They ... if they just knowed how to put it to work... They shout it all out, see, scream it out."
You know what I mean. And that's true. I don't say it dishonorably; I say it with love and respect. The power that's in the church, if it only be put to work, and harnessed... Like the zig-zag lightning that lights the end time across the skies, harness that and see what it will do, see. Edison said he could do it, and he did, see. It's harness this power that we've got, see. We just scream it out, and blow it out, see.

60 And he said, "Then what have we Lutherans got?"
I said, "The Holy Ghost." Then he was all confused. And I thought ... I said...
He said, "I went to California. I wrote ... I read a book one time on all the spiritual gifts." Said, "We're hungry here at Bethany." And he said, "All my associates here [and there was about three hundred or four hundred of them sitting there]," he said, "We're all hungry for God."
He said, "Now, the thing is," he said, "we read this book in our school, in our studies here." And said, "Why, some of the brothers and I got on a plane, and went to California and found this man. And he said, 'I don't have any of the gifts. I just wrote about them.' "

61 Said, "Then we heard about you was coming over here." And said, "We went over there." And said, "Quickly---being disappointed so many times on an illusion---we applied it to being an evil spirit that... I'm sorry that I said it."
I said, "Well, that's all right." I said, "We all maybe have those times, sir." I said, "Probably been I might have done the same thing myself a time." I said, "God is merciful to us. He's certainly merciful to me."
He said, "Well, I'd just like to say one thing." He said, "What can we do?"

62 And I happened to think... The students that couldn't pay their way through, they had about a thousand-acre farm there, or more---maybe two thousand acres---and they planted corn, and let the students work their way through, see. And I said, "One time there was a man that planted a field of corn." How many ever seen corn come up? We all seen it. And I said, "The next morning when he went out there were two little blades ... or one morning when he went out there was two little blades sticking up. He said, 'Praise the Lord for a crop of corn.' " I said, "Did he have it?"
He said, "Well, I wouldn't say he had it."
I said, "Let's say this: potentially he had it."
"Yes," he said.

63 I said, "That was the Lutherans. Finally those two little blades growed into a tassel, something different. And that was the Methodists, by sanctification---which you all preached justification---and the tassel looked back down at the blade and said, 'Huh! I'm a tassel. I don't have any use for you at all. I'm it now.'
"But you know, that tassel finally shed off these little tassels down into the blade again, and it brought forth an ear of corn, like the original grain that was planted." I said, "That was Pentecost, the restoration of the gifts being restored to the church." I said, "We got a lot of fungus on the ear, but yet, we got some grains there too, see." I said, "That's right." I said, "It was the original Pentecost."

64 And I said, "Then the grain said, 'I don't need neither tassel nor leaf. I don't need you Methodists, or you Lutherans either one. I'm the grain.'" I said, "After all, it took the life that was in the blade to make the tassel, and the life in the blade to make the grain." I said, "The Pentecostal church is the advanced Lutheran church."
He scooted his plate back. Did a little simple thing like that: not arguing their theology, see, or arguing with them; just letting them see what's the truth. He said, "Brother Branham, we of Bethany (no matter what the rest of the Lutherans say), we want God. What can we do to receive the Holy Ghost?"
I said, "Get back from the table, turn your backs to the table and kneel down with your faces towards the wall." And we went around and laid hands on them, and four hundred received the Holy Ghost. And now they are running hundreds and hundreds, a-doing miracles, and signs, and wonders. That's Dr. Aegery of the Bethany College at Minneapolis, Minnesota.

65 Brethren, we got the best product in the world, but we're handling it wrong, see. That's right. What say, if Brother Borders here a carpenter, what if he was standing out here with a hammer beating around on nails, you see; and I had some kind of super-duper hammer here, that I could put a keg of nails in, go 'brrrrp,' just go up like that, and nail all the boards on at once. And I come up to him and say, "Yeah. You're out of the game. You ain't got nothing. There's nothing to you anyhow. You're not even in the game," see. I've ruined my product right there. I've approached him in the wrong way, see.

66 If I go up and tell him how wonderful, what a good carpenter he is and just leave my product, it'll sell itself if it's any good. That's right. That's what I'm here for, friends, see. It's a product of God that's an advanced, we call it, maybe, ministry to the Lutheran, and you Methodists, and Baptists, and many of you brethren. We're not try to push something on you. We're only trying to tell you of an advanced gift that the Lord has given to the church, and may his grace help us.

67 I'm sorry to take all this time. I just get to talking. God bless you. Let's sing real easy while we get this door shut here now, closing the door.
I love Him, I love Him,
Because He first loved me,
And purchased my salvation
On Calvary's tree.

68 Now laying this little foundation of healing... Now tonight, if it's all right with the pastors and all, I want to take a night for salvation, see, to see... See, after all, these people that's healed, they'll ... if they live long enough they'll get sick again, perhaps. But if one time they're saved, they have eternal life. That's right. They'll come in the resurrection.
Now Jesus... We've closed the doors and pray to our Father who seeth in secret. Can we just bow our heads a moment now, for a word of prayer.

69 Heavenly Father, nervously, hurryingly, we can't do justice to the job. But I hope that somehow this morning by your presence being here, that we, leaving here will just go with our hearts full of joy.
Bless these kind people, Lord, who let us have the place for this meeting. We pray that they'll do great work. They seem to be that they were nice. Us, an offcast group of people despised by the world; and yet they opened the doors, and let us come in. We're thankful for that. Bless them. And may every one ... may this man who owns the place, all the help ... may there be such a conviction when them waitresses walk into this room, that tears of sorrow for sin will flow down their cheeks. Grant, Lord, that they'll all be saved and filled with the Spirit, become a great power for God.

70 Thank you for this brotherhood, these fine men and women who I expect to live in eternity with, through all ages that is to come, or worlds without end. Bless our brother chairman here and his wife, every minister and his wife, all the visitors with us this morning.
And Father, in this great time that we're living, just at the evening lights going down---the sun is setting here on the West Coast---soon there will be a day of trouble such as never been known. Then he that's filthy is filthy still; he that's holy is holy still. God grant that we'll do everything that lays within our power to get every soul into the kingdom of God before it's too late. God grant it.

71 Bless the ministry of these my brethren, God, their little churches, and my sisters and brothers that's sitting here this morning, their works. God, they're here. I've met this little Pentecost group world-wide, way back in those jungles, there where men would dare to go. And there would be a little unsponsored Pentecostal sitting back there holding the candle of light, not underwritten by nobody, some little man or woman standing back there all disfigured up, and eat up with amoeba, and clothes ragged---but holding forth the candle of light. As Paul said in Hebrews, "of whom the world is not worthy of," they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins and destitute and afflicted. God, the great judgment will only reveal it.
How I thank you for men and women like that, and for being associated with such a group, to sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Bless them all, Father. We pray that your grace and mercy will rest upon them.

72 Forgive our many weaknesses, Lord. We don't intend to do anything wrong, Lord, but through flesh we do make mistakes daily. So in order to stay alive in Christ, we have to die to our own thoughts. So keep us dead to ourselves, and alive in Him. Let our bodies be so, and our soul so submissive to Him that people will see the reflection of Christ as we go, or come, or whatever we do.
Bless us together, Father. Help us tonight in the service, help us tomorrow, help the Sunday schools, the churches. And may there be a flame of fire of God in each church, and each heart, until Jesus comes. We ask it in his name. Amen.
Back to the chairman, and the brother...