We would see Jesus

You can find this sermon at ChurchAges.net

1 Thank you, brother. You may be seated. Certainly a privilege to be here in Grass Valley tonight, to represent our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ; to pray for God's sick children, the doctor's patient; and to enjoy this fellowship together, for these five days that we have promised.
I bring greetings from all the other pilgrims around the different parts of the world to where I've been. And trusting... And many thousands of people are praying for the success of this meeting here, these nights. I'm sure, together with the prayers of the rest of them, and ourselves, that God will meet with us and bless us.
We don't come now to represent any certain church, or we don't come to call ourselves healers. We come, representing Christ. And we come, not to heal the sick, but to pray for the sick, and to do what we can to help make life a little easier for each and every one. And I'm sure that you'll be a blessing to us. And we trust that we'll be a blessing to you.

2 And now I was just thinking, since we've been over in California this last trip, that it's been that the people like to get home early. Now, at home, and different, many parts of the country, you find people different. Some of them, they just like to hear you preach; I don't care if you don't even pray for the sick, just keep them about four or five hours, preaching, that just satisfies them right. But over here, sure hurts; they just seem like, "Just a short sermon, and pray for the sick, and let's get back home right quick 'cause I got to get back again." And everything seems to be in such a hurry over here. Where we all going? "Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry!" Maybe, the Lord willing, I want to preach while I'm over here, "Letting Off The Steam." I guess that's what we ought to do, kind of let down.

3 I just had an accident, a few weeks ago. I love target shooting, hunting. I just had been given a rifle, that had been a rebored rifle by the Weatherby Company down here. And I put the thing up to shoot, and it blowed up in my face. And blowed the barrel about fifty yards, the front of me, and the stock about the same distance behind me, and blowed out the bushes and everything around, where the thing went off. And just the grace of God it didn't blow me the same way, 'cause it was that close to my eye when it went off; the telescope up ... shooting.
And I got a little thought out of it. You see, the rifle really wasn't a Weatherby rifle. It was just bored out to be a Weatherby rifle. It was a model .70 Winchester, to you fellows who hunt. And had been given to me by a good California brother named Art Wilson. He gave it to my son, Billy Paul, a .257 Roberts. And so they... Billy is left-handed, and he never could use it, so he said, "Dad, I'll just give it to you."

4 Well, I always wanted a Weatherby rifle, but I felt like I never could afford one. And then if some of my friends would have bought me one, I wouldn't have wanted them to do it, because they're an expensive gun. And as I've often said, "I've got missionary friends hasn't got shoes on their feet and I can't let someone pay that much for a rifle, me to hunt with or shoot with, when I have friends that ain't even got shoes." So, I just wouldn't do it.
But a friend of mine said, "I can take that model .70 and make a Weatherby rifle out of it. Weatherby does it over there, and guarantees it." I said... Said it won't cost me, just about ten, twelve dollars.
And I said, "Go ahead."
So he gave it, took it out to the company and they rebored it. First, it blowed right up. So it must not have been... Something that got pressure somewhere.

5 Now my lesson on that is this. You see, it had too much pressure, it blowed up, see. We don't want too much pressure, it'll blow up.
And another thing, I'd like to say this, it might get a little doctrinal point in. You see, if that rifle would have been started in the molds, a Weatherby magnum, it wouldn't have blowed up. But, you see, it was something else just part of the way converted, and that's the reason it couldn't stand the pressure.
And I believe in a religion that we don't patch up. We die and are borned again, and then we're a Christian that can stand all the pressure that the Holy Spirit wants to push out. So I think we have to get back to the beginning, not just try to make something out of something that isn't. We got too much of psychic religion today, instead of real born again experiences with God. And so somewhere along the road a little something will come along, will cause a little leak, and blow the pressure back, and you'll find yourself blowed up. So we believe in actually dying to yourself and all your thoughts and everything else, just die right out and let the Holy Spirit remake you. Just, you're a born again Christian, that's what you are, have an experience with God that you know you've passed from death unto life. And that's what we believe.

6 We believe the Bible, and we believe that that is God's book. We just stay right with the Bible. Now, I believe that God can do things that He hasn't got written in the Bible. Now, He's God, He can do whatever He wishes. But if I can just see Him, in my lifetime, perform what He has promised, then I know it's right, see, as long as it's in the Bible.
Now, in the Old Testament, as ministering brothers know, that in the Levitical priesthood, they had a way of knowing whether the prophet was telling the truth, or a dreamer's dream was right. They had what was called Urim and Thummim. Now, that's been disputed what it was. But the most ... the greatest and the most ethical point that I can see, and the most suitable way, was, they took the breastplate that Aaron wore; which represented the twelve tribes by the birthstones of the tribes, and it hung in the temple, on the post. And then when a prophet prophesied, and then they could know whether it was truth, or not; now, if those conglomeration of lights flashed on there, making the supernatural.
God is supernatural, because He is God, a Spirit. And if that supernatural light represented on there, like a rainbow flashing from this, then the prophet was right. That's the way he was identified, or the dreamer was right. But if it did not flash on the Urim and Thummim, then no matter how real it sounds, they would not receive it, because it didn't flash on the Urim and Thummim.

7 Now, the Levitical priesthood ceased at the death of the Lord Jesus. Now we live in the Melchisedec priesthood, Christ. Now we still are not without a Urim and Thummim. This is it now, the Bible. See, we must stay with the Scripture (not put our own interpretations to it) just the way it's written. I believe that God will judge the world someday by Jesus Christ. I believe that. I believe that there will have to be some standard He'll have to judge by, because there's so much representing Christ, and so many.

8 Now, my background, Irish, so my people before me were Catholic. When I was a little boy; you probably read my life story, they have it here in books, and so forth. I went down to the Irish church and I heard what the priest had to say. Then I went over to the Lutheran church, I heard what he had to say, the Lutheran pastor. And there had been a little Baptist back somewhere in our generation, so I went over to the Baptist church. I went to different churches. Well, they, each one, different one from another. Now, each one wanted to say that that church was exactly right.
So, now, they all can't be right, there's got to be something wrong somewhere. And I find out now, there's about nine hundred and something different denominations, so I think there's got to be something wrong somewhere. 'Cause, if this, they all go in by this church...

9 Now we was told, as Catholics, that "God is in His church. And that's where God is, in His church." So then if God is in His church, which one of them is His church? Each one of them says it's the church. So I knowed one thing... Now that's just what the priest said, "God is in His church."
But the Bible said, "God is in His Word." And He said, that "Whosoever shall add anything to this, or take anything out of it, the same will be taken out of the book of life, for him." So I believe with all my heart that this Word is God in print form. Now, why I say that is because that no man is better than his word, he's no more than his word. If you can't take my word for anything, then don't have no dealing with me, see, because you can't believe me. And that's the same thing, I've got to believe that this is God's Word, and I do.

10 Now the Bible said, in St. John, the 1st chapter, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us," then that was Christ, and Christ is the Word. Then if He judges the world by Christ, it'll have to be by the Word, see. So, that's the way we believe it, and in our teaching.
Now we'll have just a short, quick as we get out ... What is their, really times, brethren, of getting out here, about two o'clock or something like that? Huh? Two o'clock? They was laughing, so I suppose about nine or nine-thirty, something like that, is about usually getting-out time. That would be in about thirty-five minutes.

11 Tonight, I, being a stranger among you, yet I do not feel that I'm a stranger. I feel I'm your brother. And now I want you to follow what I say in the Scripture. Then the message will probably be altogether different than what you have been expecting, but you check it with the Scripture. It'll be right along the same line you've heard. I'll just read it from the Scripture, and then not try to explain it, just let it explain itself.
Like selling a product. If you've got a product to sell, if it's any good, it'll sell itself. You don't have to do so much advertising about it. I got so much of that advertisement stuff, that I go around, see the ... everybody is "the man of the hour," and "this is the message," and all that, till I wonder who it is. Oh, I believe Christ is the man of the hour, and always has been. And a lot of pomp and stuff is not to be put on.
I got enough of that one time. For you sisters ... I got my wife, she's with us, and I really love her and my children. And so I always want to help her, and I'm a very poor hand to help. And I was ... I know she has so much to do, and the kiddies to get ready and everything, to go to bed at night when I'm home. I thought I'd help her wash the dishes, only I just hate to do it as bad as you do. And I thought, "Well...!"

12 And mama used to stand me up on a little box to wash dishes when I was a little boy, and I thought, "If I ever get married, I'm going to get out of that habit right now."
But here it is, I love my wife the way I loved my mother, only as a wife, and my mother. Then I thought, "Well, I'm going to help her if I can."
And I seen something on a program one time, a television program, where I was waiting for an airplane to go out, and they had a television sitting out there and a great big front, a great big glass in it, and it said, "Use this certain detergent, no wash, no rinse, no wipe, no nothing. Just put it in the water, dunk it down, take it out, that's all you have to do."
I thought, "Oh-oh! My wife is going to really love me from now on, 'cause I'm going to show her how to do the dishes." So, I got me a box of it, next day when I got home. I got me a box before I got home, put it under my coat, and went in.

13 Next morning, I said, "Don't worry, dear. I'm right here to do the dishes for you. That's all you have to do. Now you just slip right on out there and get the sweeper and start on. Before I go to the office or start making my calls, I'll have the dishes done just in a jiffy."
So I got this thing and read on it, you know, "Put two tablespoonfuls." And I thought, "My, I'll make a real job out of it," I poured about half the box in there, stirred it up like that; got all the dishes and set them down in like that, suds come about that high. I thought, "Boy, just a few minutes now, and all I have to do is take them out and put them on the table again." The kids had eat eggs for breakfast; I pulled them out, there was just as much eggs as there ever was.
I said, "When I see anything highly advertised, I just bypass it from then on, don't bother it, because I know it didn't work on that."

14 And so sometimes I think that if we just talk about Jesus and let the people see who He is, and what He is, and I believe that He'll do the rest of it. He'll bring Himself, 'cause "All the Father has given Me will come to Me, anyhow." See, that's what Jesus said. "And no man can come except My Father calls him." So the only thing we do is just sow the seed, and let it go.
Now, I trust that you'll get on the phones and call the people.
And the main thing here is not pray for the sick now, that's one of the sidelines, but the main thing is to get every sinner we can to know the Lord Jesus as his Saviour. That's the main. Secondarily, is to get every person that has accepted Christ as their Saviour, and has not yet been filled with the Holy Spirit, for them to be filled with the Holy Spirit. And that's your second. Then the third thing, is pray for all the sick people that we can pray for. And, through that, we hope that God will give us a great time during this meeting. And I think it's each evening and then Sunday afternoon, I think is right.

15 I want to thank my brethren here, the ministers, for inviting me here. And I thank God for the leading of coming here. Now, the manager here, Mr. Borders, we had a book full of invitations around the world, but somehow something spoke to me about Grass Valley.
And immediately, a friend of mine, the Arganbright family down here around Los Angeles, called me and said, "If you haven't made your itinerary completely for going through, I wish you'd stop in Grass Valley."
I called the manager, got him on the line, I said, "Have you passed by there yet?"
"No."
I said, "Drop in." And here we are.
Now what the Lord is going to do, I don't know. There might be one person here He's for, coming for. I hope it's the whole community that He's coming to save.
Now, upon this, let's bow our heads and speak to the author before we read His Word.

16 Our heavenly Father, it is indeed a privilege that we have, to stand in Thy presence, in this closing hour of the history of this world, and call You "Father," and know that we are approaching Thee by the all-sufficient way, with the blessed assurance that Jesus, Your Son, said, "If you ask the Father anything in my name, I'll do it, it will be granted." Then we know, Father, if we ask in the name of the Lord Jesus, that our petition will be granted. Now we would not want to ask anything contrary to Your will. But we believe after You leading us here, that it is Your will to save people, and to heal people, and to fill people with the Holy Spirit, and to get glory unto Thyself. And we are here to do everything that You lead us to do. So I pray, Father, that You will unfold Your Word to us, and Your will, with Your Word, that we might know what Your will is concerning Your Word. Bless us together now. Forgive our sins.

17 And tonight, as we settle down in this building, we pray that You will bless this building. God, it's perhaps an arena, but it now is being dedicated for the service of the Almighty God, to be a church house where respects and love and reverence is given to the Almighty. Grant, Lord, that every person that walks through these doors during these next five or six days, will fall under conviction in such a way that they'll not be able to leave the building without surrendering their heart to Christ.
We pray, Father, that every sick person that walks in this building, and those who walk in with others on their hearts, praying, that the blessed Lord Jesus will be present to heal the sick. Fill every one's heart with the Holy Spirit.

18 And, God, draw them in out of this drunken, sin-maddened love, pleasure-loving world, before it's too late, before the mountains are leveled down, before the great wrath of God is poured out upon an unbelieving generation. God, bring it so close to us this week that we'll see it, and our hearts will be so filled, till every person in here will become a minister in the street and in the neighborhood, to bring others to Christ.
We know not whether we'll ever finish the revival here, or not, until You come. But we know this one thing, that someday You will come, and we don't know what hour that will be. But let us live each hour that, if it was that hour, we'd be ready to go to stand in Your presence, to hear it be said, "It was well done, my good and faithful servant; enter into the joys of the Lord, that's been prepared for you since the foundation of the world." We dedicate ourselves, with this building, and Your Word, to the honor and glory of God, through the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

19 The Lord bless you. Now we wish to read some Scripture here, found in the book of St. John, the 12th chapter and the 20th verse.
And our theme is this, our campaign theme is that, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." Now, that's Hebrews 13:8, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever." Now St. John 12:20.
... there were certain Greeks among them that went up to ... the feast:
The same came ... to Philip, which was of Bethsaida, Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sirs, we would see Jesus.

20 Now, I wish to give now, for the next few minutes, just a little formal talk, on basing and backgrounding. We're going to start off, as it was, on divine healing. And always, Jesus, I believe, in His ministry, about eighty percent of it, was on divine healing.
And as my good old friend, Brother Bosworth, which many of you Christians knowed, he used to say, "You always, to catch fish, you don't show them the hook, you show them the bait. And the fish grabs the bait, and gets the hook."
So that's the way we try to catch Christians for Christ, is by the miracles of divine healing, to show His presence. And then, in that, they know that a man cannot do those things, so it catches the soul of the believer, and he accepts it upon them basis. So now, to start off with, I want to give the talk of saying that He's the same yesterday, today, and forever.
And these Greeks said, "Sir, we would see Jesus."

21 Now, those Greeks would well express our thoughts here tonight. I do not believe that there is a person here but what would want to see Jesus Christ. Just to find out how many in here that's ever heard of Him, would like to see Him, I just want you to put up your hand. See, it's a hundred percent. There's no one can ever hear of Him... Just that charming name makes us desire to see Him!
There's something about Christ that it's not with other men. He was different. He was the Son of God. And there is something so different about Him that other men doesn't seem to have it like He had it. And we have the Spirit, understand, but we have it by measure. He has it without measure, He was Immanuel, God living in the body of Christ Jesus, God manifested in flesh. Christ was the express image of God, manifesting God to the people. What God was, they saw in Christ, His Son. He was the anointed one. The word Christ means "the anointed one."

22 And now if those Greeks, seeking Him... Now, now let's lay onto each word. Those Greeks, seeking Jesus, they came to one of His disciples, which was Philip, of Bethsaida. And he was seeking Jesus, so he came to a disciple, and the disciple taken him to Jesus. If that was the way of seeing Jesus, for those Greeks, and we desire to see that same Jesus, and the Bible says "He's the same yesterday, today, and forever," then why can't we see Him?
Now, the Scriptures cannot lie. They are the truth. I believe that. And if these Scriptures was wrong, then I would be doing something else tonight besides standing here representing this. But I believe that they are right, exactly right. They don't need any interpretation. They're just the way they are supposed to be, just written right in here, 'cause God has seen to it that they stayed that way. Now watch.

23 How many believes that God is infinite, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient? Sure. Now, He is God, therefore His first decision on anything has to ever remain the same, because His decisions would be perfect, because He cannot do anything but perfection. That's all He is, is perfection. He can never change. Now here is where our hopes is built on the Word. If God ever called on the scene, to make a decision about any certain thing, His first decision has to forever remain the same. It can never change. Just before we get to the thought, think of this.

24 When God, in the garden of Eden, when He was called on for salvation for Adam and Eve, He had one remedy, that was the blood. And He's never changed it. Forever, it's the blood! He can never change it.
When God was called on, to heal a sick man, He healed him by his faith. And He can never change it, see. And if He healed one man, because of his faith in God to do it, then He'll have to heal the next one, or He acted wrong when He healed the first one, and He acted wrong when He saved the first one, see. So you can't...
We change. We're what you call "finite." And He's the infinite. So He cannot change, because He's perfect. We make a decision, then we say, "Well, that was wrong. I'll make it this way, it'll be a little better." But not Him. His first one is perfect. That's the way it has to ever remain. So He cannot learn more or get smarter, as we think we do, but He is perfect to begin with.

25 Now we hear so much about Jesus in these days, and everywhere you go. Now, I'm a missionary, you understand; this is my seventh time around. Now, this in the mission fields, we find people worshipping idols and so forth, and millions of them. But here in America we find churches on every corner, each one is representing God in some way, and they find so many different opinions of it. Some try to find God through one way, and some another. Surely there is a right way somewhere. There is bound to be a right way somewhere.
Because, like David said, "When the deep calls to the deep, there has to be first, something to respond to that call, or the call wouldn't be there." In other words, there has to be a creator before there could be a creation, see. There has to be something put a creation in you, before; a creator to put a creation, and then there has to be something to respond to that. Before there's a fin on a fish's back, there had to be a water first for him to swim in, or he'd have had no fin. Before there was a tree to grow in the earth, there had to be an earth, first. And as long as there's a hunger in the human heart for God, there's got to be a God somewhere to respond to that call.
And many are here tonight seeking divine healing. Why are you seeking it? Because something inside of you tells you, "There's a fountain somewhere," see. And as long as there's something in you, telling you, "There is a fountain somewhere," there's got to be that fountain, or there'd never be that desire in you. See, the creator, to create the creation.

26 Now we find people in this day, longing, pulling, running here and there, seeking, grabbing, changing churches, changing papers and different denominations, and so forth. What's the matter? They're hungering for something, but they don't seem to be able to find what they're hungering for. There's got to be that thing somewhere.
Now, some today seek God through their creeds. Some people think, through their creeds, they'll "Just go through a certain creed, that finds God." Some thinks, "Joining certain denominations, finds God."

27 Well, Jesus found that same thing when he come to the earth. He found the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and whatmore, the different orders, or organizations and creeds of that day. What did He say to them? "By your traditions you have made the commandments of God of none effect," see.
I think that searching God through creed or through denomination, only thing it does, it gets it so mysteriously fixed up and then you find out that it comes right back. and denies the Word. Comes right back and makes the commandments of God of none effect. For instance, you try to find God in saying the Apostles' Creed. And then you come back to find Mark 16 to be made a reality to you, "these signs shall follow them that believe"; why, they'll tell you right quick, "Well, them days of miracles is past!" Then what does it do? It takes the commandments of God and makes them of none effect; see, they're not effective, the commandments of God.
His commandment was "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." Now, the gospel came not by Word only, but through manifestation of the Word, demonstrations of the Holy Spirit making the Word live. See, it's the Spirit taking the Word.

28 The Word was a thought. And a thought is... A word is a thought expressed, see. Now, it was God's thoughts, what He was going to do, then He expressed it on the Word.
And now when the Holy Spirit gets a hold of the Word, it brings it to pass and manifests it, makes it a reality, every word of God. No Scripture but what is given by inspiration! And every word of God is perfect and correct, and it will be fulfilled. Every word must be fulfilled. "Heavens and earth will pass away," said Jesus, "but My words shall not fail." Every word of it must be fulfilled.
Now, then when God does that, and we find our creed then, if we say certain creeds or certain things that we belong to... And I have nothing against that. That's all right.
It's just like eating watermelon, as the colored man said when he ate a slice of it. He said, "What'd you think about it, Mose?"
He said, "It was good, but surely there's some more of it." So, it wasn't enough to satisfy.

29 A creed is all right, but it just doesn't satisfy till you get down to the Word. "And man shall not live by bread alone, but every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." That's what man shall live by. The Word of God is a man's spiritual daily bread, is the Word of God made manifest.
And when God gave Israel the promised land, while they were still in Egypt, they had to fight every inch of that land. God told Joshua, in Joshua 1, "Wherever the soles of your foot treads upon, that I've given you for a possession." So footprints means "possession." Some people can just barely get to the edge of the land. Some can take the two-handed sword and cut their way through Philistines and Amorites till they take the whole thing. That's what we should do. Every promise is to us. We got a... Footprints is possession. Walk right up and take it! God gave it to us. It's a promise and it's the truth, and it's for us.
Now, then in these creeds, they come around again, as I say, and make, with their traditions, the commandments of God of none effect. Takes it away, explains it all away.

30 But surely there is some way to know what's truth, because a scripture here says, "He is the same yesterday, today, and forever." Now, you can't take that scripture and take it out of the Bible. You've got to leave it in the Bible, 'cause it belongs in there. And if it says, "He's the same," it doesn't mean He's partially the same, it means that "He's the same yesterday, today, and forever."
Now, then, we want to see Him. I'd like to see Him come in the building tonight. I would like to see Him. Wouldn't you? We said awhile ago, we would. We would like to see Him. Well, then, if He promised it to us, why can't we? That's the idea Now, if we'll just open our eyes and our minds just for a while, I believe that we'll understand, and He will come in and show Himself with us. Now, and then we could go away tonight, saying, "We would see Jesus."

31 Where did they find Jesus in the Old Testament; right in the New Testament, I mean? Right with the Word, because He was the Word. Now, He wasn't the Word in the way they had put it together, but He was in the Word in the way that God put it together, because He was the living Word.
Now, when He met Satan, He met him on the Word. He was God manifested in flesh; but when He met Satan He never used His power of His Godhead, what He was. He said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone.' It is written, 'Thou shall worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shall thou serve.'" When He met Satan, He met him with the Word, because He was the Word. Now, the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Now, Moses spoke of Him in the Word, now, in Deuteronomy, the 18th chapter, 15th verse.

32 Moses wrote the five books of the Old Testament, Exodus and Genesis; Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Numbers. He wrote the five books of the Old Testament. In there, by inspiration from God, he wrote and told what was, then he wrote and told what would be. And what he said would be, come to pass; so we know that what He said was, is true. For a man can look this way and see what's coming to pass, and it does come to pass, then what he said back there was certainly inspirational too.

33 Now, the Jews were all taught to believe their prophets. They do yet. As Paul said, "Jews seek signs, and Greeks wisdom, and so forth. We preach Christ crucified."
Now, the Bible had taught those Jews, "If there be one among you who is spiritual, or a prophet, I the Lord will make myself known to him, in prophecies and visions, dreams, and so forth, and what he says comes to pass, then hear him." Now, that's only sense. "But if it doesn't come to pass like he said, then don't hear him." 'Cause, God can't lie, He's God. But if a man says a thing, and it comes to pass, and then you watch it in him, coming to pass, coming to pass, coming to pass, then you know that can't be that man. That's got to be God. So God told the prophets ... or, told the Jews to listen to that man because he was a prophet sent from God.

34 Now, Moses was that major prophet. We haven't time to go into his life, to show how he typed Christ. But he was a major prophet. And he said that, "The Lord your God shall raise up a prophet likened unto me. It shall come to pass that whosoever shall not hear this one will be cut off from amongst the people." Now, now if Moses spoke, and other prophets... And Moses, remember, wrote Genesis, too. From the garden of Eden, "the seed of the woman would bruise the serpent's head," and all the promises back in there of a coming Messiah, Moses wrote it. And then the other prophets, major, such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and so forth, they all spoke of the coming Messiah. Prophets, which, their words come to pass. Now, they spoke and said He would be a prophet when He come. "He would be a prophet likened unto me," Moses said. That's what He would be.
Now, if we would want to see Jesus today, and the Bible said, "He's the same yesterday, today, and forever," then there's only one way to do it.

35 Just lay aside our creeds just for a few, for an hour now, or a half hour. Lay aside our creeds, lay aside our denominational views, and so forth, and let's go back and find out what He was. Now would that be... That would be logical, wouldn't it? That would be fair. Go find what He was, and then we'll know what He is if we can find out what He was. But the only way you'll... If He was a creed back there, then the creed's right. If He was a denomination back there, then that's right. Find what denomination it was or what creed it was.
But we find out, back there He was the Word, so He's still the Word. Now I read from St. John. Now if we turn back here to the 1st chapter of St. John, and we'll just take some of what He was, from the 1st chapter of St. John. Now we find out that, "In the beginning was the Word," as I have already quoted, "and the Word was God, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God ... And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us." Now we find out what He was. Now we've got "the Word being God," and "God being made flesh and dwelling among us," in those days. Now the Bible said, "He's the same yesterday..." That was the New Testament.

36 In the Old Testament, Christ, the same. Christ, the same in the New Testament. And Christ, the same forevermore. Then if we can see what He was, then, what He had been, and what he will be, then we've got it. Is that right?
Moses said, now, "He'll, be like me, a prophet like unto me." Then when He come, what Christ that was, He had to be what He... Then He had to be what He was before then. So now let's start from right there, and then we'll see that He will be forever. That's the only way to make it.

37 Same yesterday, now here was, we find the Hebrew writer, is Paul, saying, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday," speaking to the Hebrews. And we all know that Jehovah of the Old Testament, was Jesus of the New, and it's the Holy Spirit of today. It's just the same God just manifested in three different offices. And, so, the same God! And all that God was, He poured into Christ, all Christ was He poured into the church. So, see, you can find quickly what He is, "The same yesterday, today, and forever."

38 Now, but we have to find His nature, what He was. Now we all know, and all Bible readers will agree, that the pillar of fire that followed Israel in the wilderness, or they followed the pillar of fire, rather, that that was the angel of the covenant that talked to Moses in the burning bush, that same pillar of fire. You, agree with that? We all do. Well, who is the angel of the covenant? Christ. "Moses forsook Egypt, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater treasures than that of Egypt," see.
And now when He was here on earth, that pillar of fire was made flesh, dwelt among us. When He was here on earth, He said, "I come from God, and I go to God." Now remember, "yesterday, today," see. He come from God, from the pillar of fire, He goes back to God.

39 Now, after His death, burial, and resurrection. Saul of Tarsus, on his road down to Damascus to arrest the Pentecostal people, on his road down there, what happened? A pillar of fire, a light struck him down. Nobody else saw it. He saw it. It put his eyes out for a season. It was so real to him; when the rest of them standing there, couldn't see a thing; but it was so bright to him, it put his eyes out. And He said, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?"
He said, "Who are You, Lord?" Now listen!
"I am Jesus. And it's hard for you to kick against the pricks." You remember that. Well here He is, that same pillar of fire that was.
Then if He's the same yesterday; then in Paul's day, today; He will be the same forever! So that great pillar of fire, God, the angel of the covenant, is the same today as it was when it led Israel.
Notice! Now we're going to start His ministry, in St. John 1. We know... We'll bypass His calling and birth, and John the Baptist, and take to His baptism, then into the wilderness, tempted of the devil, come back out after forty days and nights of fasting in the wilderness. He come back out and started His ministry. Now let's follow His ministry here. Immediately, people begin to get healed from being prayed for, by Him.

40 And we find that there was a man by the name of Simon, and he came to Jesus by the invitation of his brother, Andrew. And when he walked up in the presence of Jesus... Now remember, here comes the key man. Now we understand, according to Acts the 4th chapter, that he was an ignorant and an unlearned man. We're taught that he couldn't even sign his own name. Now, he wasn't a scholar. He wasn't a bishop. He wasn't a priest. He was a fisherman.
God always takes something that's nothing, and makes something out of it. He manifests Himself through nothing, so that anyone can see it's God. See, He takes something that's nothing.
And He picked up this ignorant man. Now how is He going to make this man know that He is? 'Cause, there had been many fakes had gone on. And we've had them through the ages.

41 And whenever you pick up a bogus dollar, and look at that bogus dollar, you just remember that that bogus dollar is made off of a genuine dollar. For if there was no genuine dollar, then that bogus would be the original copy, see. So as long as you see somebody impersonating or playing the part of hypocrite, just remember there's a genuine Christian somewhere, see. You see somebody introducing some kind of an ecclesiastical system of a false god, or some kind of a psychic, ecclesiastical, mental work-up, just remember, behind there, somewhere, there's a real, genuine God. Notice. Oh, I just love it!
Notice.

42 Now as soon, just as soon as Simon... Let's take just a little back drama of Simon, a minute, being an old man. His father was an old man, too. And perhaps maybe one day, as I read a little story of him; his father was a fisherman, and he was pulling in ... They was needing fish, bad. So they, that day they got a great catch. They always prayed before they went to fish. And so he had some debts to pay, and he caught a big bunch of fish. And he sat down on the side of the boat and put his arm around Simon, and said, "Simon!"
His name was Jonas, you know. And he said, "Simon, my boy, I've thought that someday I'd see Messiah. That's been the hope of our people since we've come from Egypt, or since we knowed there was a promised Messiah. Four thousand years has passed, son. Many great men, prophets, has died, looking for Him. I thought He would come in my generation. But I'm getting old now, perhaps I won't see Him. But, Simon, I want you to remember, you and Andrew, that He'll probably come in your generation, for I'm old now and I'm ready to go be with my people. And I've tried to raise you boys right, tried to raise you on the Word.
"Now listen. Now, Simon and Andrew, before that Messiah really rises, there will be lots of things go on under the name of Messiah, because that will be the enemy. But don't you forget, Simon, you and Andrew always stay with the Word. Don't leave the Word. Remember, Messiah will be a prophet like Moses, for that's exactly. No matter, he might be a great ecclesiastical giant, he might be able to explain the words, he might be able to do anything like that; but the Bible said He will be a prophet like Moses. Amen. Now that's the way you'll know Him."

43 And that day when Simon walked up, and Andrew, in His presence, and Jesus standing there, who Andrew had told him, "We have found the Messiah."
And I'd imagine Peter thought like this, or Simon, and he was then, "Now you've probably gone off on the deep end, Andrew. I'll go over with you, and I'll know."
So as he walked up before Jesus, Jesus said, "Your name is Simon, and you are the son of Jonas."
That was enough. That was it. He believed Him and accepted Him in such a way that he had the keys to the kingdom afterwards. He didn't take any schooling or anything, he had the keys to the kingdom. Because, by the revelation of God he knew that that was Messiah, because it was the Scriptural Messiah. He was a prophet, and they hadn't had a prophet for four hundred years, since Malachi. They had had false prophets. But, a real prophet who told the truth! And here was a man standing here who, as soon as He seen him, not only knew who he was, but knew who his godly old father was that had instructed him. That settled it! "Thou art the Christ, the Son of God," see.
"Your name is Simon. You are the son of Jonas." That was enough to show him. Now that's what Jesus did yesterday, to prove Himself, that He was Messiah.

44 There was one standing there. We'll hurry. There was one standing there, by the name of Philip. Why, it enthused him! That's the one we're reading of here. It enthused him so much! Now, Philip might have said, "Say, that settles it! Now I'm sure!"
Around the hill he went, fifteen miles. He had a friend that he had went to school with, a good man, a man of Scripture, a man of integrity, a man that knowed the Scripture, and loved God. And I can see him knock on the door [Brother Branham knocks on the pulpit.] and say, "Where is Nathanael?"
His wife said, "He's out into the yard out there. He's praying."
He went to find him, and he was under a tree. And when he found him, he said, "Come, see who we have found; Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."

45 And now I can imagine Philip ... or, Nathanael saying, "Now, Philip, could there be any good thing come out of Nazareth?"
He said, "Come and see."
Now, that's a good statement for anybody. Don't stay home and criticize. Don't get up and walk out. Stay and wait, and find out whether it's the truth, or not, see. "Come, see for yourself."
Well, went around the bend; let's think of their conversation. I can hear Philip say to Nathanael, "Nathanael, what does the Scripture say Messiah will be?"
"Oh, He'll be a prophet like unto Moses."
"Surely. That's right. Well, this Jesus of Nazareth that I'm telling you about, you remember that old fisherman that you bought the fish from, and couldn't sign his name?"
"Yes. Oh, sure, the son of Jonas. I know him well. His name is Simon."
"As soon as he walked into the presence of this man, He told him who he was, and about his father. It wouldn't surprise me that He wouldn't tell you who you are," he said.
"Well," He said, "now, just a moment. I'll have to see that."

46 Well, finally, they arrived at the meeting. As soon as he got in the presence of Jesus, Jesus said, "Behold, an Israelite in whom there is no guile."
Now you might have said, "Well, sure, He knows he's an Israelite, the way he was dressed." All the Easterners dress the same, all of them are dark complected and they wore a beard, and turban, and cloaks, and so forth, just the same. And how would He knowed he was an honest and just man, with no guile?
He said to him, "Behold, an Israelite in whom there is no guile."
And it astonished that scriptural man. He said, "Rabbi [which means teacher], when did You ever know me? This is our first time meeting. When did You ever know me?"
He said, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the tree, I saw you." There you are. That's it. "I saw you," fifteen miles around the mountain, day before. "I saw you when you were under the tree." Now, you know what he did? He ran up to Him, he said, "Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God! Thou art the King of Israel!" That You are! Why? He's Scriptural, that one that the prophet said would come. "Thou art the Son of God! Thou art the King of Israel!" Don't make any difference what the rest of them said.

47 Now, there was those standing there, oh, Pharisees and Sadducees, and bishops, and whatever more, head men, great ecclesiastical leaders, high priests, and priests, and whatmore, standing around there, and they looked at that. They knowed they had to answer their congregation. They had to give them a ques... had to answer their question. So you know what they said? They said, "This man is Beelzebub," see. In other words, "He's a fortune-teller, a devil."
And Jesus turned to them, and said, "I forgive you." See, they called the Spirit of God, that was doing that, an unclean spirit. Said, "I forgive you for doing that. But someday the Holy Ghost will come to do the same thing, and one word against it will never be forgiven in this world, neither in the world that is to come." One word against it. Now, that was for another age. Look at it.

48 Now, the Bible said that "The Word of God [Hebrew 4] is sharper than a two-edged sword. The Word, which was Christ, sharper than a two-edged sword, cutting to the marrow of the bone, and a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." The Word! When the Word itself goes forward, that's what it is. That's the declaration, that's the vindication of the Word. And there was the Word standing there, made flesh among them, doing exactly what it said it would do, and they didn't perceive it.

49 Now, remember, there's only three races of people on the earth, that's Ham, Shem, and Japheth's people. We know that, if we believe the Bible. They all started from them, three children, Noah's children; Jew, Gentile, and Samaritan.
Did you notice Peter with the keys to the Kingdom? The first one he opened it to, was the Jews, at Pentecost. Is that right? And Philip went down and preached to the Samaritans, they had been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, but had not received the Holy Ghost as yet; and they sent up and got Peter to come down and laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. Is that right? Acts 10:49, "While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell upon them that heard the Word," see. Now notice them three people: Jews, Gentiles, and Samaritans.

50 Now here the Jews and the Samaritans was looking for a Messiah. Now Jesus was on His road to Jericho, from Jerusalem to Jericho, but He had need go by Samaria.
Now remember St. John 5:19, Jesus said, after passing the pool of Bethesda, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, the Son can do nothing in Himself, but what He sees the Father doing." Did you get it? Jesus said, "The Son can do nothing in Himself [that's Him], but what I [not hear the Father, but] see the Father doing." Now, that Scripture is right, or the rest of them might be wrong. He said, "Before I do anything, I see by vision what the Father shows Me to do, and then I go do it," see. It was just all around Him. "But, no man can come unless the Father draws him." That's true.
So He had need go by Samaria, and He went up around Samaria. And it was about twelve o'clock. And He sent His disciples in, when He come to the city of Sychar, and He sent His disciples in to get vittles--food. And while they were gone, a woman of Sychar come out.

51 Now, she was a woman that we'd call a woman of ill fame, probably a beautiful, young woman that took the wrong road, and she was living wrong. And she come out to get water. 'Cause, she can't come out... I've been in the country myself, and the customs are still the same. A woman of that type associates not with decent women; so she can't, she can't come to the well same time they're there, or anything. And so she come to the well after the rest of them had got their water, she come out to get water.
And when she did, she stopped, and was letting down the windle, it's got two hooks, and just put it over the pot handles like this. It's not a bucket; it's kind of a pot, like, made out of clay, and they let it down into the well, and windle it back up. And so she started to let the bucket down, and she heard someone say, "Woman, bring me a drink." And she looked over. It was kind of a little panoramic like this here, where the city public well is out there, out of Sychar. And then she looked over there, and there sat a middle-aged Jew. Now, He was really only about thirty-two.

52 But He had just got through, in St. John 6, where they told Him He looked like He was fifty. But, of course, His work had done that, perhaps. Said, "You're not a man over fifty years old, and say you seen Abraham? We know you're crazy now."
He said, "Before Abraham was, I AM." That's right. They didn't understand it, yet being as ecclesiastical and intelligent as they could be. But intelligence ain't to know God; you have to forget all that, to know God. See. No.

53 And there they were. So this woman said... Now, she was, what we call today, a prostitute, and there she was. She said, "Sir, it's not custom for you Jews to ask me, a woman of Samaria, something, because we have no dealings." In other words, "There's a segregation."
He said, "Woman, if you knew who were talking to, you'd ask me for a drink. I'd give you water you don't come here to draw." What was He doing? Contacting her spirit.
Now remember, He had need go up to Samaria. The Father just said, "Go up to Samaria." He did nothing till the Father showed Him.

54 Now here He was at Samaria. Now He doesn't know just exactly what's going to happen, but here's the woman, so He thought He'd carry a conversation with her. So He said, went to talking about a drink. She went to talking about worship in this mountain or that mountain, or so forth. Directly He caught what her trouble was. How many knows what it was? Sure, she had five husbands, six, really. So she said... He said, "Go, get your husband, and come here."
She said, "I have no husband."
He said, "That's right. You've said well, for you have had five, and the one you're living with now is not your husband. In that thou saidest the truth."

55 Notice! Now I got to nail this down, 'cause I got to quit. Look the difference between that woman, in that shape that she was in, to those high-cultured ministers.
That woman said, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet."
The priests and the educated said, "You are Beelzebub, a devil, fortune-teller."
This woman said, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. We know when Messiah cometh, He'll tell us these things."
If that was the sign of Messiah yesterday, and He's the same yesterday, today, and forever, it's got to be the same!
She said, "We know Messiah, which is called the Christ the anointed one; when He comes, He'll tell us these things. But who are You?"
He said, "I am He that speaks with you." That was enough. She saw it!

56 Look at the difference. Look when that light flashed upon that ecclesiastical seed and creed, and denominational, it never took effect at all. But the first time that light flashed upon that little predestinated seed there, it flashed quickly, she recognized it. She said, "Sir, you must be a prophet! We know Messiah is coming, and He'll do those things."
He said, "I am He."
And away she went, into the city, said, "Come, see a man that told me the things I done. Isn't this the very Messiah?" Amen.
There you are! What was He yesterday? That's the same He is today, and will be forever, see. He was.

57 David was anointed with the Spirit of God. The prophets was anointed with the Spirit of God.
That was Christ in Joseph, that made him portray Christ, exactly. Sold for thirty pieces of silver, loved by the father, hated by the brethren, in this prison house. Like Christ was on the cross, one was saved; the butcher and the butler, one saved and the other one lost, the same thing. Set at the right hand of Pharaoh; and every time he went forth, a trumpet sound, "Everyone bow the knee, Joseph is coming." No man could get to Pharaoh, only through Joseph. That was Christ in Joseph!

58 That was Christ in David, as a rejected king, and went up on top of the Mount of Olives, when he had been dethroned down there by his own people, and rejected king, went up to the top of the hill and wept over Jerusalem, and cried, because he was a rejected king. That same Spirit in Christ, wept over Jerusalem, and said, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how oft would I have hovered you as a hen doth."
It was Christ in those people, anointed ones, coming up till this perfect anointed One come. The sin-offering wasn't made. He couldn't come into all flesh like that, because it was just under... They was anointed. But now the Holy Spirit has come, which is Christ in Spirit form. Now notice.

59 Now, why didn't He do those signs for the Gentiles? It never was performed by Him. Why? Gentiles wasn't looking for no Messiah. They were heathens, we were, our people, Romans and so forth, back there with a club on our back, worshiping idols. They wasn't looking for no Messiah. And Messiah only comes to those who are looking for Him. That's the only way. "To them that look for Him, will He appear the second time." Just those who are looking for Him! Not just those who's pretending; but those who are really looking for Him. And notice, He never come to Gentile. That miracle was never performed before a Gentile.
And the unchangeable God! Now we've had two thousand years of scholarship and all kinds of things, and now it's come evening time, and now the Gentiles are looking for a coming Messiah. Now, if He's the same! He appeared the same to them two tribes, He's got to appear the same way there. And promised, though...! One more Scripture, and I'll close.
Always remember, keep three classes of people in your mind. They're always there, that's: believers, make-believers, and unbelievers. They're in every crowd, see.

60 And Abraham was given the promise, and Abraham's seed after him. Now notice Abraham's seed, in the form of Lot, went down into Sodom, the pleasures of the world; that's church natural, denominational, organizational. But church spiritual, which was Abraham that God visited personally, the called-out, he never went into Sodom, he was out of Sodom; that's the church, called-out. Now, the end-time come, when He was going to destroy the lands with fire.
That's what He's fixing to do again. Is that right? Now watch. Jesus said, "As it was in the days of Sodom, so shall it be at the coming of the Son of man." Remember, them were Gentile nations, see. The end, as it was in Sodom. Now here's the Gentiles coming up. The Jewish time was destroyed by water. This time, Gentiles is destroyed by fire. Notice, "as it was in Sodom," let's just watch.

61 There was Abraham, the elected church, called out of Sodom; spiritual, God appearing in their camp all the time, signs and wonders, with a promise. Sitting up here on the hills, barren grounds, not rich and like the rest of them; but poor, sitting up; a little, despised group, made fun of. The rest of them had went out and got rich, and rulers of the city, like Cain's children always did, great men, scientists, doctors, and so forth. There they was, just as it always has been. God doesn't change. And there they was sitting there.
Now, down in Sodom was the lukewarm church, Lot and his bunch. Abraham and his bunch was the elected church. Notice. And then the Sodomites, the unbelievers.

62 And there came three messengers from heaven, dressed like men. And Abraham set in the door of his tent one morning, and looked, and three men come up. Now, they had dust on their clothes, like they had been traveling. And Abraham, there was a little something down in him, he knew that them were strange men. They looked like somebody that he ought to know, so he run out.
There's something about a real borned-again Christian, when you meet one! I was coming through a restaurant today, somebody said, "God bless you." I turned around. I said, "Oh-oh, something wrong." A little lady shook my hand. Now, something about a borned-again Christian!
And these angels walked up there and begin to talk to Abraham. Now remember, two of them went down into Sodom, to call out, see if they could find ten just people. Is that right? Two of them went away. One of them stayed back and talked to Abraham. Is that right? Now watch.

63 Down there, there wasn't no miracles, just smote them blind when they come to get in. And preaching the gospel does smite the unbeliever blind. That's what the Bible says. And remember, a modern Billy Graham and intellectuals down there preaching, "Come out! Come out! Come out!" See?
But remember, the one that stayed back with Abraham, done something else with the elected church, He was sitting with His back turned to the tent. Now remember, he had been "Abram" till just a day or two before that, and Sarah had been "S-a-r-r-a." But now she's S-a-r-a-h, and he's A-b-r-a-h-a-m; "father of nations," and "princess," see. Now how did this stranger know, when He set down, with His back to the tent? And He said, "Abraham, where is your wife, Sarah?" How did He know he was married? How did He know her name was Sarah?
And Abraham said, "She's in the tent behind You."
Now watch. "I," personal pronoun, "I am going to visit you." What had He done? Set there and had eat a calf that Abraham killed eat bread that Sarah had baked, and drank milk from the cow.

64 Someone said to me not long ago, said, "Who was that, Brother Branham?"
I said, " It was God."
Abraham ought to know, he talked to Him. Ask any minister. He called Him "Elohim," the self-existing one; capital L-o-r-d, "Lord," the self-existing one.
Now watch, you won't miss it. "Abraham, where is your wife, Sarah?"
Said, "She's in the tent, behind You."
Said, "I'm going to visit you according to the time of life." What He promised him twenty-five years before that! Abraham was a hundred, and Sarah was ninety. "I'm going to visit you according to life."

65 Now remember, Sarah, an old woman, it had ceased to be with her as a wife. No woman ninety years old... Maybe twenty or thirty years, maybe, since she had been a wife to Abraham. They were old. And she laughed in herself; you know, what we call, "laugh up her sleeve." Said, "Me, an old woman like I am; and my lord, Abraham, out there, old, too; and me have pleasure like a bride again, with Abraham?" And she laughed about it.
And the angel, with His back turned to the tent, said, "Why did Sarah laugh, saying that, 'These things can't be'? What kind of a telepathy was that?

66 Jesus said, "As it was in the days of Lot, so shall it be at the coming of the Son of man." There, the church nominal has their messengers. And the messenger of the Holy Spirit is with the church elected, doing the same thing, which makes Him Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever. Who is the messenger of this hour. No man. The Holy Ghost is the messenger of this hour. What is it? God, dwelling in human flesh. Glory! I feel religious. Amen. God, in human flesh, dwelling among you!
Jesus said, "Lo, a little while and the world seeth Me no more [that's the unbeliever]; yet ye shall see Me [the church], for I [personal pronoun again], I'll be with you, even in you, to the end of the age, the end of the world." Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever! Our God is not dead! He is living forevermore! He's living at the end time, when the sun is setting.

67 The sun always rises in the East and sets in the West. Civilization has traveled with the sun. We know that. The oldest civilization we have is China. And when the Son (S-o-n) shined its first time, was on the Eastern people. Now civilization has traveled till we're... Right yonder is the West Coast! If we go any further, we'll be East again. The next stop is Japan, China. We'll be East again, if we go any further. Civilization has traveled with the sun.
Now the prophet said, "There will be a day that cannot be called day or night, a dismal, foggy day." People has knowed enough about God to join a church, put there name on a book, walk in what light they had. On a foggy day, there's so much light of the sun, or you couldn't get around at all. But he said, "In the evening time, it shall be light." What is it? The same sun that rises in the East, sets in the West. And the same Son of God that manifested and appeared in the East, is appearing in the West now at the evening time, evening light to the church that's called out and filled with the Holy Spirit.

68 Christ, by the blood and power of His own veins, cleansed an unclean people, and dwells among them in the form of the Holy Ghost. Amen. The picture of it, how many ever seen that picture? It's right back there now. You can go look at it. George J. Lacy, the head of the FBI in fingerprinting and things, been taken. And that same angel that led Israel, is here now performing and doing the same thing it did when it was in the person of Jesus Christ. Christ, the body, has ascended up to the right hand of the Father; but the Holy Spirit come back, the life that was in Christ, is in the church. Now Christ didn't...

69 When Jesus said, in John 15, "I am the vine, ye are the branches." Now, the vine doesn't bear fruit; it's the branch. You know that, you people here, you grape raisers, and so forth. Now, if that first branch that come out of the vine, produced a book of Acts behind it, that first church; if that vine ever puts forth another, another branch, it'll write another book of Acts behind it. For, the very life that's in the vine brings forth into the branch. Sure. We've got a lot of grafted branches in here.

70 I seen a tree the other day in Phoenix, Arizona, had nine different fruits on it, citrus fruits. And I said to somebody, I said, "Brother Sharrit." I said, "Brother Sharrit, what is that? Lemon, tangerine, tangelo, and grapefruit, and everything." I said, "Now when all them are picked off," I said, "next year then it'll bring forth ... it'll bring forth oranges, 'cause it's an orange tree."
Said, 'Oh, no. It'll bring forth grapefruit, lemon, and whatever the branch is."
"Why," I said, "that's a strange thing. You mean you perverted that orange tree into them kind of trees?"
He said, "No. The orange tree is still the same. If it ever puts forth another branch, it'll bring forth an orange. But what's grafted into it like that, it brings forth of its own kind, because it's a citrus fruit."
I said, "There you are!"
Denomination can only bring forth denomination fruit. But if that original vine ever puts out another one, it'll be Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever! "I will restore," saith the Lord. Amen. (It's time to go home.)

71 What? "Sirs, we would see Jesus." What kind of a person would you look for. The same kind of person that was. Now, you don't go down the street here and look for a man with some kind of a robe on, and nail scars across his head, or whatever it is. Any hypocrite can do that. That's right. Anybody can impersonate that. But it would be the life that was in Christ, will be in His church. That's it, the life!
If you took the life out of a pumpkin vine, and put it over in a grapevine, it would bear pumpkins, if it could live like that. Sure, the life in it.
And that's where the life is now. The life of Christ in the church, produces Christ over again. That's how they see Christ. In John 14:12, he said, "He that believeth in Me, [not make-believeth; but] he that believeth in Me, the works that I do shall he do also. More than this shall he do, for I go to My Father." Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever.

72 Christians. Been a missionary, seen hundreds of different gods, yes, thousands of them, all kinds, Sikhs Jains, Buddha, all the other kinds that's put together, see. I was entertained here not long ago, in India (where I had my largest crowd, five hundred thousand in one gathering), and there I was entertained in the temple of the Jains. And in there was seventeen different religions, seventeen different gods, and every one of them against Christianity. But, oh, my, you ought to have seen Him come on the scene. Every one of their founders is dead and gone. Ours rose again, and He's alive forevermore, living in His church, the same yesterday, today, and forever.

73 Let us bow our heads.
Lord Jesus, we're so happy to talk about You. You're so lovely and so worthy of all we could say. But, Father, just one word from You would do more than all I could ever say, or any other minister. Just one word from You would settle it. Won't You do it tonight, Father, as we're waiting now, just for a moment, for You, I pray. We'll wait, not for a moment for You, Lord, we'll wait till You are ready. We want to hear from You. I pray, heavenly Father, tonight, as I've held the audience again, long. But they're so lovely, Lord. And I know the evening sun is gone. We're just living in the shadows now. And, God, there may be somebody that don't know You. I pray that You'll come to us tonight, Lord, in the form of the Holy Spirit, and let the people see You, see the same Jesus that they seen in the days gone by.

74 It wasn't the man, the body (they crucified that, but God raised it up), but it was that life that was in Him. He didn't say, "Come, see the way I wear My clothes, that's the sign I'm Messiah. Come, see what schools I come from, what creed I teach." No, that wasn't how He introduced Himself. But He said, "If I do not the works of My Father, then believe Me not. But though I do the works of My Father and you don't believe Me, believe the works, they are they that testify of Me. They're the one that makes Me known." And they seen that You was Messiah, because You was the prophet, the God-prophet.
And now tonight, Father, we pray that You will bless us tonight like You did Cleopas and his friend after they'd walked with You for three-and-a-half years, and had seen the things that You did; then You were crucified, under Pontius Pilate, You suffered, crucified died. And on the third day, they were on the road to Emmaus. They had heard a rumor by the women and some of the disciples, that "He was risen." But that day You walked with them and talked with them practically all day long. They didn't know You.
Maybe many here ... You've walked with them and talked with them, and they didn't recognize it.

75 But when evening come, they invited You in, and You closed the doors and sat down. Then You did something just the way You did it before Your crucifixion. They knew then it was You. A moment, You disappeared out of their sight, and was gone out into the night. Away they went to their people, saying, "The Lord is risen!"
God, will You do it tonight again? Do something among us tonight, Lord, Just like you did it before Your crucifixion. Then we'll have confidence and know that our Christ is not dead, but He is risen from the dead, and is alive here among us, forevermore. We commit ourselves to You, Father. I commit this church to You, and every spirit in here, to You, that You might use us to honor Christ. In Jesus' name I ask it. Amen.

76 Now before we pray or call the pray line, I'm going to ask you something. I want every person, please, to keep your seat just for a few minutes. Now you must be reverent during this time. Now, if you don't believe, then slip out real easy. But now, if you're going to believe, sit still, just about fifteen minutes, see. Let's see if He'll speak to us. Now we're not in a... We're in an arena, but this is a church. It's dedicated for that purpose, so let's sit real still. Each one of you is a spirit. If you're not, you're dead, see. So then you are a spirit, and then when the Holy Spirit comes down to anoint amongst the people, it contacts, it picks them spirits, see. And you moving, there's a shift.
You say, "Oh, Brother Branham!" Well, why did He lead the blind man out of the city? And so forth, see. See?
Now how many that believe Him? "Sirs, we would see Him."

77 Now we got a little prayer line we're going to call. I believe they call... Where did... Or did he give out, yeah, prayer cards one to a hundred? One to a hundred, what? C, C. All right, let's call some of the prayer cards. C, number 1, who has that card? C, number 1. Look at your prayer card, you who have your prayer card. Number one. All right. You're going to bring them which way, this a-way, back this way? All right.
C, number one. Number 2. All right, lady. Number three. Number 3. If you can stand up, or raise your hand or something another, so I'll... Number 3, who has prayer card? The gentleman, all right. Number 4, prayer card number 4. All right. All right, number 4. Who has number 4, would you raise up your hand, please? All right, lady, come over here. See, they just...

78 They come down, the boy does, and takes these prayer cards and stands up before you. He mixes them together, then he just starts giving you a prayer card. You might get 6, and the other one get 14.
Come over here, lady. 4, 5. And then who has 5, raise up your hand. Prayer card number 5. And then another thing when he... Right down here, lady. And then another thing they do in that, then sometimes I call from one place... How many was ever in a meeting before, one of our meetings? Oh, well, I thought I was amongst strangers. Certainly not. All right. 5, 6. Who has 6? All right, 7, 8, 8, 9. I get this, 'cause deaf people, and people is in wheel chairs and can't walk. 9, 10. Number 10. 10, how would you say that in Spanish? 10. All right, 11, prayer card 11. Thought somebody in the balcony... Here. All right, 12. All right, 12, 13. Prayer card 13, do you have it, lady? 14, 14, 15. Well, let us start like that now. All right.

79 Now, please, now be just reverent. Now how many in here that doesn't have a prayer card, and yet you believe that Jesus Christ will heal you? Raise your hand. I don't care where you are. How many has been in the meetings before, and knows that there is more healed out there than there is up here, by just calling them? Sure, without prayer cards! You just have faith now, don't doubt, believe with all your heart.
Prayer card 5 is missing. The usher is calling prayer card number 5. See, if you get up and... Don't get a prayer card 'less you're going to use it; see, don't. You get your number now, 'cause we're going to pray for everyone's got them cards, see, and we don't want you to miss your time. 'Cause, now, when we call again now, we left off at 15, that's where we'll start probably tomorrow night, same place, see. We're going to get them, every one, so then you'll miss your time, see, here. Now prayer card number 5. All right.

80 And just have faith. Don't doubt. And believe with all your heart. Now, now each one of you now that's got a prayer card, or don't have a prayer card, and you believe, now while they're getting the line ready, look this way now.
One time there was a woman, and maybe she didn't have a prayer card, but she had what it taken, faith. And she passed through the crowd, and she said, "If I can just touch His garment, I'll be made well." How many ever heard that story? The woman with the blood issue. Now that little woman was determined she was going to touch Jesus. She said, "I believe Him. I don't care how many of the priests and all the rest of them don't believe Him, I believe Him. And I believe if I can touch His garment, I'll be made well. I believe He is Messiah."

81 Do you believe He is Messiah? Sure. Now can you touch Him? Now, to the ministers, where's the minister brethren? The minister, now. Does the Bible say, ministering brethren, or all you Bible readers, that "He, right now [book of Hebrews, 3rd chapter], is a high priest that can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities"? How many knows the Bible says it? Sure. Well, then, if He is a high priest, and the same high priest would He not act the same? see. If He's the same yesterday, today, and forever (that's our subject), He would act the same. Now you say...

82 Now if you come up here and touch me, wouldn't make a bit of difference. Touch the pastors, wouldn't make a bit of difference. Touched your pastor there, whoever it is, wouldn't make a bit of difference. But, you touch Him!
Then how would you know you touched Him? He would work right back and do the same thing, see. You touch Him and see if He don't speak right through here, and say, "Your faith ... you had so-and-so," and whatever it is, and tell you what it was, and what happened, all about it. Now, how many seen that done hundreds of times, just raise up your hand, see. Sure, never fail, never fail. Why? He can't fail; He's God, see. Aren't you happy to be a Christian, a real, borned-again Christian, really with the victory of Christ?

83 Now, just you out there in the audience now, you just keep real reverent, and say, "I'm going to believe it, no matter what anybody else does, what anybody else says, "I'm going to believe it with all my heart." And just be faithful and believe now. All right. All right.
The brethren back there, ministers and them is bringing the patients out.
(Now I think, yes, this is alive. Now if the one on ... the engineer on that will kind of keep it a little high.)
'Cause, sometime when the anointing strikes, then I don't know what I'm saying. You see, I'll have to ... It's somewhere else back in life, see. And then when I... Just like you dreamed it, see. And you're dreaming like a dream, if I make it that way to you, yet you're standing right here; and go back for years, in people's life, and find what they did, what's the matter, and whatmore, and bring it up like that, see. And that's the Holy Spirit. Then it tells what was, what is, what will be, so forth. You just watch it and listen close, and you get your tapes, and it'll tell you.

84 Now here's a man that probably just maybe a little older than I. And I believe we're strangers to one another. This is our first time meeting, as far as I know, you and I, we're strangers to each other. [The man says, "I've been in your meetings.] You've been in my meetings. Yeah. ["But I've never met you."] He's been in my meetings, he said, but had never met me. 'Course, there's millions has been in the meetings that I would never know. But, now here's two men that meets for our first time in life. He's just a man standing there, I don't know him. Here's the Bible; I don't know him, I've never seen him in my life. He's seen me, from somewhere in the audience, in a meeting somewhere. But there he stands.

85 Maybe the man is a make-believer. Maybe he's a believer. Maybe he's not a believer at all, no way. Maybe he's just a man. Maybe he's sick, maybe he's not. Maybe it's domestic trouble, financial trouble. Maybe he's standing there for somebody else. I don't know. But there he stands, and here I am.
"Now, sirs, we would see Jesus."
Now, what could I do for that man? Now, I might walk up to him, put my hands on him, say, "Are you sick, sir?" He'd say, "Yes, sir." I put my hands on him, say, "Glory to God, hallelujah! Go, you're going to get well. Hallelujah!" Well, now, that could be he'd get well; it depends on what he thought about it. No matter, might ... me shaking him and putting my hands on him, wouldn't do nothing. It's his faith in God that would do it. But, now, he would have a right to doubt that.
But if the Holy Spirit can stand here and tell him something that he has been, like Moses wrote Genesis, then surely He could tell him what would be. He could believe that, could he? Now, now if He would do that, if Christ would do that, how many of you would believe with all your heart?

86 See, now see, the only one fault I find in America, they have seen so much until they just become spectators, you see. Don't do that. You honor Christ, see. Don't pay no attention to me. I'm a sinner saved by grace. But now no matter how much God would anoint me, He's got to anoint him, too. That's right, it wouldn't do a bit of good. He's got to anoint him, too. He's got to anoint you, see, anoint you out there, the Holy Spirit fall on you.
Then, this is just a channel. You don't speak it yourself. He speaks through you. It's a medium in which God uses to speak through, see. It's like this microphone, that microphone is a mute unless something back here is speaking through it. And, that's me, how do I know that man? Never seen him, but I'm a mute to him, see.

87 So, "Sir, we would see Jesus." Now what would He do? What if the man is sick, would He say, "I'm going to heal you"? He couldn't do it; He's already did it, see. "By His stripes we were healed." He did it on Calvary. But He would do something to show that He was still Messiah. Is that right? Well, then, what would He do, would He say, "Look at My nail scars"? That's not what He said in the beginning. He just told them what was in their heart, and so forth, and they knew that was Messiah. Now that's Him, same yesterday, today, and forever. Do you believe it? Say, "Amen."

88 You say, "Brother Branham, what are you waiting on?" The angel of the Lord. Sure. I can't do a thing. I'm waiting for it. It don't anoint me, I can't say a thing. It just depends on what...
Now He's here. He's here now. And in the name of Jesus Christ I take every spirit in here under my control, for the glory of God.
I don't know you, sir. We are strangers. But you're present something ... or conscious that something is going on. Now the man could not hide his life. He is sick. To heal him, I cannot. There's no way for me to heal him. The man has been to a doctor. He's had an examination. Sure, he's up for an operation. That is right. If that's right, sir, raise up your hand.
Do you believe?

89 Say, "You guessed that, Brother Branham." I didn't.
Watch again. Look this way, sir. Just like our Lord speaking to a woman, it's His Spirit. I'm not Him. I'm a man like you, but it's His Spirit. Whatever He told you, it was right, whatever. Yeah, here it is again. Yes, yes, he's ready for an operation right now, and it's on a bladder trouble and a prostate condition. That's "Thus saith the Holy Spirit. That's right. Raise up your hand if that be so. Do you believe now that you're in His presence? All right. Go, believing, and you'll be well. Amen.
Do you believe? Now it's just that simple to see Christ moving.

90 Now, lady, we are strangers to each other. Here's a... You've been in the meeting. When I say "stranger," that mean I don't know you, you don't know me. And You've seen me in the meetings, and things like that. But to know, say, "Yes, Brother Branham, you come to my house, I know you, we're personal friends," I don't know you that way. And you just been in the meeting somewhere. I wouldn't have no idea, nothing about you, only just you're just a woman that's attended some meeting somewhere. Now, there was a man. Here's a woman.

91 Here's a picture of St. John 4, a man and a woman meets the first time in life, to meet face to face, like the woman of Samaria and our Lord Jesus. Now here's a woman, I don't know her. I've never seen her. She's a total stranger. God in heaven knows that. I've never seen her. But if the Holy Spirit will tell her what she is here for, somebody else or whatever it is, domestic, financial, or sickness or whatever it is, then she'll have to admit that there's some supernatural power here to do that. Is that right?
See, now it depends on what you think it is. You can say "Beelzebub" or you can say "Christ." If you say "Beelzebub," you get his reward, see. Say "Christ," it's His reward. You must believe.
Now what a place it puts you! Does somebody want to take this place? If you don't believe it, come here and take my place once. [Brother Branham pauses.] Always a quiet audience when that is asked.

92 Now, sister, look this way. Why did I call you "sister" when I looked around? I had my back turned to you. But I felt the Spirit on you, that you are a Christian. You're a believer. I don't know you, but I know you're a Christian. Because, the Spirit that's on you, and the Spirit that's on me, is a relative, you see. You just feel like you're welcome, you know, just making you feel good, you're welcome.
Now, if the Holy Spirit, like Jesus speaking to the woman at the well, here we are, just a little panoramic like the well at Sychar, I was talking about. Now, being that we're both believers, and we're standing here, the Holy Spirit on both of us. Now He has give... I'm not a preacher. But He gives me a gift; that's my preaching. It's a prophetic gift. And these are just temporarily; it'll take your faith to do that; like the woman that touched His garment, said, "Thy faith has saved thee," see. Now, that's the same thing that takes now, see, it takes your faith. Then He tells me something, where to go and certain places.

93 Now, here, He had need to go by Samaria. Now I'm on my road to Alaska, but I had need come this way. Why? I felt led to come here. And here I am; here you come up on the platform. That's all I know. And here you stand. You're a Christian and I'm a Christian, both of us with the Holy Spirit. And here's His Word, that He's the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Now, if He'll reveal to you something that's in your life, you'll know whether it's the truth or not. And He'll make you believe then for whatever you're asking for; 'cause a Christian wouldn't stand there like that. You're in need of something or you wouldn't stand there.
Will everybody else believe? Does anybody know the person? Yeah, lots of people knows the person.

94 Well, according to medics, you should have an operation, too. It's cysts. That's right. Do you believe that the Holy Spirit can reveal to me where those cysts are? The kidneys. That's right. Now do you believe? You're not from here. You come here about two or three hundred miles. You traveled a long ways to get here. That's right. That's right. And, by the way, you're a minister's wife. You believe God can tell me who you are? Would it help you? Mrs. Johnson. Go, believing, and be made well; with all your heart.
Do you believe with all your heart? See? Jesus Christ! Sirs, we would ... You say, "How that?" Well, that's no more than what He told the rest of them. Do you believe? "Sirs, we would see Jesus." That's Him. Now go talk to the woman, ask her.

95 Now here's a man, total strange, I don't know him, never seen him in my life. He might be eat up with cancer, He might have domestic troubles, financial. I don't know what's wrong with him. He's standing here, just a man. Now if the Holy Spirit will reveal to that man, you know...
That little lady sitting right back over here towards where I'm pointing my finger, suffering with that eczema. If you'll believe with all your heart...! You believe it, lady, with all your heart? Little gray-headed woman with glasses on, she suffers with eczema. She was standing there, or sitting there, rather, thinking about what was wrong with her, praying in her heart. And now if that's right, and you believe that God will make you well, stand up on your feet.
What did she touch? I ask you, what did she touch? She's twenty yards from me. She touched the high priest, and that high priest is here! He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. Don't you see? Don't doubt it. Believe it! Have faith.

96 Now, I couldn't help that, sir. It's just... I watch a light, you see, and it just went from me, and I seen it hanging over there, and I seen the little lady come up here before me. And she kept coming before me here, and see it was a woman instead of a man, so I just had to speak on what I was seeing.
Oh, if this church, if this group of people would just believe right now, just have faith, what would happen, what would take place!
Sir, we're strangers to one another. Just want to speak to you, in order to just contact your spirit. Here, you're not here for yourself. You're here for somebody else, that's a little fellow, a little fellow, little boy been wrecked in an automobile accident, cut all to pieces, lacerated, very bad, serious condition. You're here, standing for him. That's right. If God doesn't help the little boy, he's got to die. Will you do me a favor? Take that handkerchief out of my pocket; go, put it on him, in the name of the Lord, and don't doubt. And let me hear from him, as the meeting goes on. Have faith.

97 How do you do, sir? We're strangers to each other. Another woman. Are you believing? Now, remember, He's just the same out there that He is here. He's all over. He's everywhere.
Sister Borders, is that you sitting out there? I can't make out. Looked like Sister Borders sitting there. I can't ... Roy, Brother Roy Borders' wife. I guess it isn't. It went right, stood over that lady. Now, just a minute, and maybe it'll call back again, see what it's doing.
I'm a stranger to you. The Lord knows both of us. If the Lord will explain to me, and do something here, that what you're here for, will you believe with all your heart?

98 Mrs. Borders keeps standing here before me, somewhere. Mrs. Borders is in the meeting somewhere. [Brother Branham says to Brother Roy Borders, "Anything wrong with your wife?] All right, it just keeps coming here. And there's a bunch of people, somebody by her, and I keep wondering.
You are suffering with a tumor. That's right. You believe God can tell me where the tumor is? On the hip. You believe with all your heart. You have complications, too, many other things. You believe. That's right. You believe with all your heart? ["Yes."] Go, believing like that, and it'll all be over, and God will heal you and make you well [The sister says, "Brother Branham, that woman came with me, with eczema, came with me. And I didn't know it until we sat back there, she said she had eczema."] Her getting thrilled of getting in a prayer line probably is what done it, prayer for one another.

99 Here it is! Oh, I see! I seen Mrs. Borders standing here, she's praying. And there's one woman sitting by her there, that's praying, has got low blood pressure. If you believe, sitting right there, lady, with all your heart you believe it, and God will make you well, with the low blood pressure. Amen. There you are. There's where the prayer was coming from.
If you don't believe me to be a prophet, or, excuse me, servant (that stumbles the people), lay your hand on the woman sitting next to you, because she suffers with varicose veins. That's right. Amen.
Believe with all your heart now! Tell me what they're touching; some little woman sitting there, praying for another one, it keeps appearing on the platform. Just believe with all your heart! All right.

100 Come here, lady. Do you believe with all your heart? Do you believe? Do you believe that stomach trouble is going to get well? ["Yes."] Then go eat your supper. Jesus Christ makes you well.
What do you believe? Do you believe God is going to heal that back trouble, them kidneys, and make you well? Go home, believing, say, "Jesus Christ makes me well." Just have faith, don't doubt.
Come, sir. You were awful happy when you come out of the line there, when your number was called. God heals heart trouble and can make you well. You believe it? Then go on your road, believing, and it'll all leave you, and you'll be made well. All right.
Have faith. Don't doubt, lady, what do you think about it? You think if I laid my hands on you, you'd get well? Just didn't say nothing, just laid my hand on you? [The sister says, "You don't even have to."] Don't have to, all right, that's good. Go right ahead. Amen. That's the way to do it. All right.

101 Come, lady. What do you believe, sister? Do you believe with all your heart? You know God can tell me what's wrong with you, but will you believe it? Then diabetes is nothing for God, He can heal it. You believe it? All right, go on, get well. Amen.
All right, sir. Come, sir. I'm a stranger to you. Everybody tells you, "Get next to yourself," 'cause you're nervous. But you can't get next to yourself, there's something there that makes you nervous. That's right. But you're standing on the spot now where it's left you now. Go, believe it, and it'll never come back again. Go, believe it. Amen. Have faith. Don't doubt. All right.
Many things, lady's trouble, arthritis. Now you believe God will make you well? Just go, saying, "Praise be to God," and believe with all your heart.

102 Come, lady. (You believe Him out there?) God can heal diabetes, anything in the blood. Don't you believe that? Sure, He can. Go right on, believing, saying, "Amen! Praise the Lord!"
You believe "...lay hands on the sick, they shall recover"? In the name of the Lord Jesus, go get well now, and believe all your heart.
All right, come right on, sir. You believe God can heal heart trouble; make prostate trouble, everything, that nervousness and everything go away from you? Then go, believe, in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.
You believe with all your heart? What about the rest of you, you believe?

103 Where is your cripples? I see a wheel chair. What do you say, sir? Look here to me. Do you believe me? You believe me to be God's servant? You do. Look on me, then. Your trouble is with your legs. You're supposed to go to a hospital; but you wouldn't do it, because you thought if you could ever get here, you'd get well, and wouldn't have to go to the hospital. That's right. Do you believe it? If you sit there, you're sure to die; like the lepers. The doctor can't do you no good. So why don't you accept Christ tonight, and believe with all your heart, and rise up out of that wheel chair, and take the end of it and push it around, and go on out the door and go home, and get well? Why don't you do that? Will you believe it? Then rise up. Don't doubt. In the name of Jesus Christ, take your wheel chair and go home!

104 Do you believe with all your heart? Stand up on your feet, anybody wants to be healed. Stand up on your feet, and believe it. Rise up! I don't care what's wrong with you, how crippled you are. That doesn't make any difference. I'm challenging you, stand up! Rise up, everybody, every cripple, wherever you are. In the name of Jesus Christ, stand on your feet and be made well! There you are, the whole audience, standing.

105 Now let us raise our hands to God. Heavenly Father, Sir, we would see Jesus. Here You are! Not a feeble one among us, every one healed. How we thank You, Father! Now we pray, God, that You'll defeat the devil in every instance now, cast out all the unbelief.
Satan, in Jesus' name, leave this audience, come out of here! You've lost the battle. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, may they be healed, every one of them.