Why little Bethlehem?



1 That's what we're here for this morning, raising up our cups, "Fill it, Lord." This is the only time that we'll have the opportunity to ask this. There'll come a time where we'll be on the other side and then we won't have that opportunity. So while we do have it, and in our right mind, I think one of the most sensible things that anyone can do while God has given us the opportunity to do so, is to do it, get our cups filled now with His love and mercy.

2 There is one who sat with us long ago, not too long ago, neither, and he's passed on. And it's a great sorrow in our hearts for Brother Williams. Brother Williams, our chapter president here, his father. How old was your father, Brother Williams? Eighty-eight. That'd be about eighteen years, I guess, a-past the... no, it'd be, yeah, eighteen years a-past the promised time. A gallant man. It hasn't been too long ago since, sitting in the meeting, I said to him, and no disregards to Brother Williams, I said, "You look younger than your son, Carl." It just goes to show that we're here today and tomorrow we're not here. We don't know when that time comes, when it is coming, but we know it's coming. I was thinking, but life is a great thing, life is an opportunity.

3 We just had a great tragedy, of one that come to our church so long, from Chicago, was killed the other day coming home, a mother. She was close, I guess close to seventy, and she and her husband riding along and up Kansas, Missouri, one, a blizzard going through. A man driving, car out of control, her neck was broke instantly. And we just don't know when this is coming. When I... They called me to tell me about it and I called up all the children around across the nation, telling them. 'Course, being their pastor, like, I was the one to notify them. Thinking of how quick we can go, and then there set a box of candy setting before me that she made me about a week ago, and gave to me. Just to see how quick we can be snapped out. But, if that... If this life only was where we had our hopes, we'd be a miserable people. Job said, in the 14th chapter, "Oh, that thou would hide me in the grave and keep me in the secret place."

Job 14:13 O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!

1 Corinthians 15:19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

4 Have you ever noticed how nature testifies of God? We find the trees, the leaves go off the trees, and the life in the tree goes down into the ground, like the grave, and stays there until the wrath of the winter is past, then comes back again, bringing forth new life. It's a testimony that we live again. The sun rises of a morning, just a little baby, it's weak; after a while at this time it's in school, high school; then at noon it's in its strength; then the afternoon it begins to turn to the other side; then in the evening it gets weak again and dies. But, that's not the end of the sun, it comes up again the next morning to testify to another generation, that there is a life, death, burial, and resurrection.
Even nature everywhere speaks of Him. And nature is a great testimony in another way, that is, that we cannot have this resurrection Life unless it serves God's purpose. Now, if a seed is planted, and that seed is germitized, it brings forth a new flower. But if it isn't germitized, it will not bring forth a new flower, if it doesn't serve God's purpose. Yet, not just because it's a flower it rises, because it serves God's purpose. That's the reason the sun rises, is because it serves God's purpose. And we rise when we serve God's purpose.

5 I believe that Brother Williams served God's purpose in life, a real father. And I see his darling companion, Mrs. Williams, sitting here. A real husband, that's one of God's purposes. A father, one of God's purposes. And he was germitized to God, by the Holy Spirit, God's main purpose. So, to say that Brother Williams will not rise and be with us again, we'd have to say there's no going down of the sap, there's no rising of the sun. Everything speaks of his resurrection again, to be with us again, everything. First, the sun, the flowers, the nature, botany life, everything speaks of it. And then the Word of God speaks for him. And, besides that, the very faith that's in our heart pulsates that we'll see him again. God rest his soul. Just as a little salute to him that once set with us, let us stand to our feet just a moment.

6 Heavenly Father, we have never tried to make a gathering like this a purpose just to be seen or heard. We have come together each time, for the edification of Thy Son, Jesus Christ, and to give testimony to those who are without Him, that they might find Him. We are, our hearts are burdened for those who are left behind from the departing of our brother, one that sat with us not long ago, has many times sat right in this same chapter. But we believe that You let him live out a good, full round life, and his soul is with You today, Rest him, O God, until that day when we shall see him again. Bless his son here, his other children, his darling wife, and those who loved him, and that's all of us, Father. And may we take notice to this, that we too are frail and we must go someday, so let us prepare ourselves for that great hour. And if there should be some here this morning who has not prepared for this same event, may this be the day that they'll say "yes" to the Lord Jesus, and also be germitized to Him by the Holy Spirit. For we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. Be seated.

7 Now, we want to announce a few announcements. My wife sitting back there this morning, I told her, I said, "Honey, I'm going to be out of the breakfast..." We had to go downtown, do some things. And I said, "I'm going to be out at ten o'clock..." She looked at me. I said, "If I'm not out by ten o'clock, I'll buy you three new dresses of your choice." So I know what's going to happen, I owe three dresses right now, 'cause it's twenty till ten now. But I will try to hurry as quick as possible.

8 We're glad to be here in Jericho with you brethren this morning, and we invite you, Monday night, up to Jerusalem, at Tucson, at the banquet down there. See, Phoenix is in the valley, like Jericho. Tucson, where I live, is on the mountain, that's Jerusalem. Where're you at, Tony? Why don't somebody say "amen" around here. Now I'm in a trap, Tony didn't even show up. Well, tomorrow, or Monday night, is the banquet at Tucson, and we certainly would be glad if you're around that way, would drop in and see us. My subject that night, if the Lord willing, is, "We Have Seen His Star in the East and Have Come to Worship Him."

9 And now the nineteenth of this month, or next month, rather, nineteenth of January, I start a revival here, right in this room, the Ramada Inn here, and the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first. And then the twenty-second, I believe, starts the... twenty-third, I have four nights here, and as a revival. Many of you minister brothers, we're certainly happy to have you with us this morning, and we cordially invite you out to bring your people. The ones especially, that you know here in the city that doesn't know Jesus as their Saviour. And then, secondarily, to those who are sick and believes that God answers prayer, we aim to pray for the sick during this time just prior the great national convention is to be held here beginning the twenty-second. And I'm sure you want to hear that, because there's many outstanding speakers come, and I'm sure you'll have a great time.

10 Now, this morning, I have thought about speaking here to this chapter, which Phoenix has always been a place on my heart. I like Phoenix. I was here when I was a little boy, out here at Wickenburg just above. And lived down here at Sixteenth and Henshaw. It was a desert then. But I see it's right in the metropolitan, well, really in the heart of the city. Goes to show that there's a changing time, changing. But there's one thing I want to speak on this morning, is the unchanging one, that's God, God, in His program, His Word, it never changes. Times change, men change, systems change. But God never changes, He ever remains the same.

Malachi 3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

11 And I thought, being that we were facing the Christmas time, that we would.. maybe I'd speak on a Christmas message. And now if you have your Bibles, and like to read, sometimes people do, behind evangelists or speaker, I want to read from St. Matthew's gospel, the 2nd chapter, for a portion of the Word.
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
Saying, Where is he that's born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
When Herod the king... heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
And when he had gathered all the chief priests and the scribes of the people together, he demanded... them where Christ should be born.
... they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophets,
And thou Bethlehem, of the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: but out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

Matthew 2:1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

Matthew 2:2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

Matthew 2:3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

Matthew 2:4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

Matthew 2:5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,

Matthew 2:6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

12 May the Lord add His blessings to the reading of His Word. And now with some notes here, and some scriptures referred to, I'd like to have your undivided attention for a little while on the subject of: Why Little Bethlehem.
You know, at Christmas, I think we all, too many of us, I wouldn't say all, but too many of us lose the real value of what Christmas is. As I noticed out here, even the palm trees are decorated; and in the East it's always the fir tree, or the evergreen. And months, or weeks, rather, maybe a month or six weeks before Christmas ever begins, it's always the tinsel and the great... They've made it a commercial in the stead of what it really means.

13 I don't believe that Christ was born on the twenty-fifth day of December. I do not believe that at all. It would be impossible for the things to happen. The hills of Judea are snowier than, why, snow is waist-deep in there in the month of December, up in Judea. But we realize in studying history, Christ was probably born in the spring, along maybe April or May, somewhere like that. But when it was changed, this they brought it, when Christianity was converted into Romanism, they made the sun-god's birthday, which was at the solar at the twenty-fifth, from the twenty-first to the twenty-fifth of December, the sun setting right almost hardly changes at all. And then that was the sun-god's birthday, so they changed it to the Son of God.

14 But, remember, ever what day it might be, we still doesn't take away the sacredness of what it's supposed to be. Where Satan has robbed us of this, has made the great commercial, and Santa Claus stole all of the worship. And it's become a day like Easter, like bunny rabbits and pink ducks. And then what's that got to do with Easter? What's that got to do with the resurrection of Christ?
It's just like the world today, the kids on the street can tell you more about Davey Crockett than they could about Jesus Christ. They can tell you more about some outlaw, some criminal of days gone by, than they can of the Prince of Life that was born nineteen hundred years ago. But that doesn't take the real thing away from we Christians.

15 You see, always light shines its best in the darkness. The forked lightning in the black cloudy skies at night, shows there can be light in darkness. And when the light is shining, you don't see... If the sun's shining, you don't need the lights too much. But darker, the smaller the light, greater it'll shine in the darkness. Darker, the better, shows itself better. And that's more the less that we Christians ought to be testifying to the glory of God giving His Son to us. This Christmas ought to be an outstanding thing. We Christians ought... No matter how much it looks, it'll make it shine that much better. The whole world's got tinsel. We've got Christ, and that's what we ought to be letting shine in this dark hour that we're now living in.

16 We think of how God does things in unusual ways, because He is unusual Himself. God is unusual. He's the Supernatural, the Infinite, unto we finite. So, anything He does is in it's scope unusual. And God is so great, till He takes the unidentified things of the earth to identify Himself by it.
We notice here in my subject, of: Why Little Bethlehem, that smallest of all of Judea, the princes or the cities of Judea, why did God choose to send His Son to that place? That's what we want to talk on. God taking the things of the world, I believe the Scripture says, "By the foolishness of preaching, it pleased God to take the unidentified things." What we make great, God calls foolish. What we put so much glory to, God says it's no good. And what we think is no good, God glorifies it.

1 Corinthians 1:21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

17 Was thinking of just before the birth of our Lord, when all the prophets, and so forth, had spoke of the forerunner coming, how every mountain would be brought low and the low places brought high, and the mountains would skip like little rams, and the leaves would clap their hands. And it was a minister, a prophet by the name of John, came forth out of the wilderness, not from even a theological school, whiskers all over his face, and a piece of sheepskin, not in a clergy clothes, come out and announced, "The kingdom of God is at hand!" And the people could hardly understand such an outfit as that coming, with no identification of any system, anything that he belonged to, any fellowship card, or any denominational that was backing him up. The message was too great, he couldn't take man, God schooled him out in the wilderness. His message was not on some kind of a theological terms. He spoke of serpents and axes and trees, and that's what he was used to, nature, watching it how it worked. And that was the way he approached. Not as a clergyman, but as a man of nature.
And the people could hardly understand him. Didn't even have a pulpit, and probably wasn't welcome in any, but he preached on the banks of the Jordan, probably standing in mud up half to his knees. But the people come out to hear it, those who were honest in heart. They wanted to hear because it was something different, it had a ring of truth to it.
Today we ought to be at just at the approaching of the birth of Christ, our message, it ought to have a ring of truth to it that would make people thirst to find Him.

Psalm 114:4 The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs.

Psalm 114:6 Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams; and ye little hills, like lambs?

Isaiah 40:4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:

Isaiah 55:12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Luke 3:5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;

18 God took that simple man, without education, not one day in school, and yet said he was the greatest among all the prophets that ever lived, because God identifies Himself in unidentified things.
When Jesus chose His disciples, it was. There were many men better qualified for the job than those disciples, there were clergymen, He never called one. There were clergymen in them days, great men, priests, men of education, renowned men, but He never called them. He took fishermen and tax collectors, and so forth, to send His message out. He always does that.

Matthew 3:2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Matthew 3:4 And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.

Matthew 11:11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Luke 7:28 For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

19 In the days of Noah, He chose a farmer, just a common farmer, to announce the destruction of that age. Just a common farmer, not a clergyman, just a farmer. In the days of Noah, He took a... or pardon me.
In the days of Moses, He took a runaway slave, not a clergyman. And He let him get out till He was satisfied, out in the backside of the desert, and lose his education, and appeared to him in a burning bush, and sent him down with a crooked stick in his hand, to take over a nation that had... that he had run from.
See, God takes the simple things to identify Himself through. See, taking His... just His Word. He made the world out of the things that does... has not appeared.

Exodus 3:2 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

Hebrews 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

20 A few days ago I was at the Morris Auditorium, one of our great New York campaigns, and I was hearing a lecture on Einstein speaking of this galaxy, that said take hundred and fifty million years of light time, to go out to it, and hundred and fifty million years to get back. And then, just think, hundred and fifty million light years, that would be three hundred million light years. And then when you got back here, you'd only been gone fifty years. Think, why, how fast light travels, one hundred and eighty-six thousand miles per minute, and think of how many billions and trillions of years it would take to go out there and come back. A hundred and twenty or three hundred million light years. And that's just to a galaxy in the constellation that God just blew from His hands, and He maybe aeons of time in light years beyond that, and there looking down upon that.

21 Then this Russian said that he was about hundred and fifty, two hundred miles up in the air, said he never seen no God or angels. How simple can man get? And then think of all them billions and trillions of years; and only fifty years from here, what did he do, broke into eternity.
They say this astronaut that just went up, was up so many hours, went so many, seventeen times around the world, or whatever it was, they said it never even... it wasn't one second in his life. He was traveling with the time. So, you see, you break into Eternity. That's the greatness of God.
Our minds cannot fathom how great He is. And yet when He gets ready to reveal Himself, He makes it so simple, takes the simple things to do it, the simplicity of it.

22 David, he seemed to be the... All of Jesse's seven sons, he was the last one to be brought before the prophet. Why, even his own folks could have laughed, they couldn't imagine a little ruddy-looking David, a little stoop-shouldered, ruddy-looking man to be the man that would be the king of Israel. He might not have looked like a king to those people, but he sure must have looked like it to God, 'cause they... He anointed him king, anyhow. See, He took the simple of David's family, or of Jesse's family, to make king. Something that the world had turned down.. he had sent him back to take care of the sheep. He brought forth his first son, a great strong stately-looking man, probably could stand erect and look like a king of Israel, and that's the one they thought would look good with a crown on his head, that's the one would wear the kingly garment and could pack the staff, and whatever must be done to a king. He looked good to the eyes of the people.

23 But the prophet, with the anointing oil in his hand, said, "Haven't you got another one?" And he brought them, one by one, until finally he said, "Haven't you got another one?"
He said, "I've got one, but perhaps he wouldn't be nothing. He's just a little dried up sort of a fellow, we got him out there herding sheep."
He said, "Go get him." And as soon as he fell in the eyes of the anointed prophet, he poured the oil upon his head, and run to meet him said, "This is the one God chose," see. See, it's not tinsel always, of the world. It's God's choosing.
By grace He chose us, so we're grateful for that this morning. And it doesn't take those great tinsel things of the world. The humblest can be a servant of Christ, takes somebody who's willing.

1 Samuel 16:11 And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither.

1 Samuel 16:12 And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.

24 God anointed him, see, takes the little things. Now, why did He take little Bethlehem? Seemed like there would have been greater places that the King, great King of kings could've been born.
Usually when we fix up an event here on earth, we try to get it in the highest, most glittering thing that we can think of, we take it to the biggest places and spend the most money, and the most elaborate things. That's the way we do it.
But God don't do it that way. He takes something that's nothing, so He can show Himself to be mighty, that He can. If He'd've took a high priest or a well trained man in the days when He was calling the apostles if He'd've took that instead of an ignorant, unlearned fisherman who couldn't even write his own name, they could have said, "Oh, that, see, your education pays off." But God took a man who couldn't even write his name, that He could take something He could get in His hand, something that He could make something out of, to show that He's God. When we get to a place that we realize that we're nothing, then get in God's hands, and He can mold you and make you the way He wants you to be. But as long as we feel that we're important, then you'll never get nowhere. You can't even get in the hands of God until we realize that we're not important.

Acts 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.

25 One of my little girls was asking the other day about importance. I said... Well, talking about some important man, well, it was the president that was just assassinated, and our hearts was grieved over it. And I said, "Well, he was an important man." The papers played it up, and the television shot it, billions and billions of dollars it cost the government to broadcast that. Which, that's all right, that's their business. But I said... This little Pentecostal preacher up there in Carolina, that a man walked in, a drunk, with his shotgun, called for his wife, and shot the man plumb out of the pulpit and then shot his wife and shot himself, a little piece in the back on the paper about that big. Let me tell you, brother, no matter who we are, "Do you want to know how important you are," I said to my little girl, "stick your finger in a bucket of water and pull it out, and try to find the hole." We're nothing. There's only one important, that's God. We must remember, He's the one.

26 Looked like that if they wanted to... man had been fixing a place for the King to be born, there was more greater religious places and historical places for the King instead of this little Bethlehem. Places, for instance, like Shiloh. Shiloh was where the ark was pitched first, we know, as we come across the Jordan to this side in Palestine, to where the ark was set up for its first worship place. Or Gilgal; Zion, Zion a great place; Gilgal, also.
Or the proud great capitol, of Jerusalem, where the heads of all the organizations gathered at, their headquarters, looked like they'd've fixed a place up there at Jerusalem for the great King to be born, if they wanted a place, a historical place or a great outstanding place. That's where the religious headquarters was, of their religion to which the King came to. He came to represent their religion. And He... and when He did, instead of them fixing Him a place at Jerusalem or one of those great historical spots, He was borned in Bethlehem, the smallest of all the cities. "Art thou not the least among the princes of Judea? But out of thee shall come a Governor that shall rule My people." And this great proud Jerusalem and all the other cities was rejected.

Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

Matthew 2:6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

27 Or maybe they could've took some of the places of refuge, the great place like Hebron, Kadesh, or Ramoth-gilead, one of those great refuge cities, because He was to be our Refuge. If we would try to fix in our own mind, we might have took, say, "Well, now, if this great King's coming, which will be our Refuge, He should be born in one of these great memorial places of a refuge, like Ramoth-gilead, or Kadesh, or one of those." We would have tried to fix it like that in our minds.
But, you see, God has other ways of doing things. He knows how to do things right. And now by the mind of God and the help of God, we'll try to say why that this happened, because everything works just exactly right in God's great program. And I want you people here at Phoenix, and around to try to get this. That remember, that God knows what He's doing, see. And He takes simple means to do it by. Because, if He does something by some great outstanding something, then... God never does do things like that, He never did in all the history of the Bible. God never did deal, never did in any time, take any group of people to do anything. God takes an individual. You're the one, you, one person. God never changes His program, because His first program, He must always remain with that program.

28 In the days of Noah, He had one man, Noah. The days that He brought Israel out, He had one man, that was Moses. We know Dathan and many of the others tried to think, well, they had the same authority, and so forth. You know what happened to them. The days of the coming of the Lord, the days of John the Baptist, and the different ones, He has one individual He works with. And He deals with us today as one individual, not as a group. One person! It's going to be up to you and I, of how we stand before God. Because, He's dealing with you and I as individuals, not as a group that we're in, and not as the denominational church we belong to, but as you and I as individuals.

29 Now, Joshua, in dividing up the land, give this little spot to Judah. Many of you, I got some places here jotted down to where it sets at, but we're all aware of that, where it sits up in the corner. And it was just a little place that they give it, Joshua, in dividing the land, give that to the tribe of Judah.
And now when Israel come over the river of Jordan, now try to catch this, when Israel crossed over into the land, the promised land, there was a Gentile woman that we know as Rahab the harlot. And she asked for mercy, and she received mercy, she received mercy as long as she stayed under that scarlet cord. And that's the only way she could have mercy. It was a sign, a token that was given her.
We have a Token today, also, and we're safe as long as we stay under our scarlet cord, the Blood of Jesus Christ. As an individual, not a group, an individual we each must stay under that scarlet cord of the Blood of Jesus Christ.

Joshua 2:12 Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father's house, and give me a true token:

Joshua 2:18 Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household, home unto thee.

30 And then this Rahab, after she was spared, she got all of her people in, everything that was under the cord was saved. Just like when God in Egypt, all was under the blood was saved. All was under the scarlet cord was saved. All under the Blood of Jesus is saved, all out from under it is lost and it's ready for destruction. And we find out now, in doing this... Then we understand by history that she courted some general, I don't know his name right now, in Israel's army. And she finally married this man. And they settled up here in this, near this little place, and her son Salmon was the one who founded Bethlehem. See, a Gentile is connected with it to begin with, a Gentile, Rahab the harlot.

31 Now, we find out that Salmon founded this little city of Bethlehem. And he begot Boaz. And Boaz was the one who married Ruth, another Gentile. And we're following this lineage now. Ruth, she got, she was a Moabite, and she married Boaz, and came into this little city just in barley season. Oh, if we had the time this morning, on that, I'd owe my wife six dresses, afterwards. But how to dwell on that subject!

32 Naomi, representing the orthodox church, went away on the account of a famine, went over into the land of Moab; like the scattering of Israel, all out among the nations. And then as she came back, she brought back Ruth, the Moabite, and she returned just in barley season, just the gathering in of the first barley. That is that the Gentile church coming to God just at barley season again. What a beautiful picture there. And then she and Boaz being married, and their famous son, Obed, was begotten there, and also born. And then his son, great son, Jesse, came from Obed. There also he begat David, his son, the king David come out.

33 Look at this coming up now. From Rahab the harlot, her son, founding it. From that come Boaz, which brought in another Gentile. And then from Boaz come Jesse. And here Jesse, to Jesse was born David. And David, right here at this same little Bethlehem, was anointed by the prophet of God, to be the king of Israel. All these spiritual things hid from the eyes of the world, was happening here in this little city of Bethlehem. See, that's the way God does.

34 Now, I trust that the Holy Spirit will be present now to give you correct understanding, that God doesn't work out in these big things. It's by the Spirit. "'Not by power, not by might, but by my Spirit,' saith the Lord," see. God working in the Spirit among the people. See, these great backgrounds, He could only come to this city. That's the only place He could be born. God following His same line. God always does that. God follows the line of His Word. He cannot go back on His Word by no means and then remain God He's got to stay with the Word. He can never leave that. Today, our traditions and so forth take us from the Word, we have creeds and things we inject into the Word, which pollutes the whole thing. But God can never leave the line of His Word. His Word is true, always, because He is the Word. God and His Word is the same.

Zechariah 4:6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

35 Now, we see here how that this little Bethlehem, yet being unnoticed, a little place not noticed too much to the outside world, just a smallest of the cities, nobody paid any attention to it. But yet God had in His purpose that there's where all these things would happen. Now, the spiritual mind would pick that up, because the prophet said here, you see, the prophet said, "Thou Bethlehem of Judea, art thou not the least among the princes? But out of thee shall come a Governor that shall rule my people Israel." The prophet, the mind of the prophet found it.
Watch those spiritual, Holy Spirit today leading those things. Don't make any difference what the world says in all of its tinsel. Watch the Holy Spirit in the Word, there's where it come.

Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

Matthew 2:6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

36 How about when Job died and specified his burial place? Along came Abraham, Abraham bought the parcel of ground to bury his wife, Sarah. And Abraham, when he died, wanted to be buried with Sarah. Abraham begot Isaac. Isaac, when he died, wanted to be buried with Abraham. Isaac begot Jacob. Jacob died, plumb down in Egypt, but he made Joseph (his prophet son) sware by him, with his hand on his limping hip, that he would not bury him down in Egypt. Why? Said, "Take me up into the land and there let me be buried." And Joseph, when he died down in Egypt, made mention of the departing, and Israel going out according to the prophecy, but said, "Take my bones out of this land." Why? They knew the firstfruits of the resurrection was coming up from that land, because Job said, "I know my Redeemer liveth, and at the last days he'll stand upon the earth; and though the skin worms destroys this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God."

Genesis 50:24 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

Genesis 50:25 And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.

Exodus 13:19 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you.

Job 19:25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:

Job 19:26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:

37 They knew that firstfruits of resurrection was coming out of the promised land, not Egypt. They were spiritual, they were prophets. And when Jesus died, on Good Friday, and raised up on Easter morning, the following Sunday morning, the Bible said that, "Many of the saints that slept in the dust of the earth, raised up and come out of the graves, went into the city, went on into glory with Him." Why? It was them prophets that knowed exactly where to be buried, at the place and at the time. It was hid from the eyes of the wise but they knew... they looked at the Spirit side. The firstfruits of the resurrection was to come out of Palestine, not out of Egypt.
So is it today, friends. So many people hold onto things of the world, or some great system or something. Bury me in Jesus, for those that are in Christ will God bring with Him at that resurrection. And I don't care what the world's got to say, how much they try to tinselize things. It's in Christ, those that are in Christ that God will bring with Him. The spiritual mind catches those spiritual things.

Genesis 47:29 And the time drew nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt:

Genesis 47:30 But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their buryingplace. And he said, I will do as thou hast said.

Genesis 47:31 And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head.

Matthew 27:52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,

Matthew 27:53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

38 Here the prophet said, "Little Bethlehem, art thou not the least among all the princes of Judah? But out of thee shall come this Governor," not out of the big self-styled capitol, not out of some historical church grounds or something, where the Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, or whatmore started. "But out of the least of these, out of a little insignificant place will I bring forth this place, my ruler of the people."
But today we want to say, "Our fathers did this, and our fathers did that." See, God ignores every bit of that. God does what He wants to. Watch the line of the Spirit, watch the way the Scripture reads. They were ignorant to that. But, you see, the Scripture is what's right. Always, God is right.

Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

Matthew 2:6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

39 David was anointed by this great prophet, to be king. No doubt that Samuel, this great prophet, knew these things beforehand. And it was there that his great promised spiritual seed.. for God swore by an oath, that He would raise up Christ to sit on the throne of David. Then where else could Christ be born? Here's His father born, His grandfather, His great-grandfather, great-great-great-great-great... on back. See, his people in the line of the Gentiles brought in. And now the Bible said that, "In His name will the Gentiles trust."

Romans 15:12 And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust.

40 It all has to be brought in so you can see it. We'd like to stay there for a while and dwell on that, and show you why the Gentiles, but I'm sure the spiritual mind will catch this right away now; because, being the mothers, and not the father. Now, 'cause it was a woman--the Bride. The Gentile will be made up... The Bride will be made up of Gentiles. The Gentile, "He'll take a people out of the Gentiles for his name's sake." That's His name. He took a Wife, see, out of the Gentiles. That's how it had to be, woman come in, church, and she... they were Gentiles, the grandmothers back in the line of the seed.

Acts 15:14 Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.

41 Now, just as Isaac was in the line of the seed otherwise. Now notice this, we find out then that David had this promise of a son. Now, we notice how that parallels again with Israel. When Israel... Or Abraham was promised that his seed, what it would be, that out of his seed would come this great Saviour, and he'd be father of the nations. His natural seed, of course, was Isaac, and it failed. But his spiritual seed, by the faith that he had, come Christ, which brought in all of the nations.
Well, now the same thing is paralleled here again. David's natural seed was Solomon, and it backslid just like the other seed of Abraham did. It backslid. So did Solomon backslide. He got too many women and, the first thing you know, they led his heart away from God. And the way he went and backslid, died that way, backslid. Israel died in the same way, backslid.

Genesis 17:4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.

42 But we find out that this spiritual Seed, which was promised by the natural seed as a lineage of people coming through Abraham, but the kingship come through the spiritual promise of David. And David was born in Bethlehem. And he was anointed in Bethlehem. And we find out then that when his real Royal Seed, heir to his throne was born, in this same city, little Bethlehem. "Thou art least amongst all the princes of Judah, but out of thee shall come a Governor that shall rule my people."

Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

Matthew 2:6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

43 In this little town, little stable, city stable down on the side of the bluff, was a cave back in the bluff, and out of there came forth through its little doors, the Prince of Peace, born in a stable, in a little box of straw sitting somewhere, manure piled up in the barns, and so forth, but out of there came that great Prince, the Seed of the woman, out of there came the Saviour of the world, out of there came Jehovah Himself, in the form of a man, came out of that little humble stable in Bethlehem. Not in some king's palace, born in royalty; but there He came from that humble place, to a manure stack down in there, and was wrapped in swaddling cloth. As traditions says, it was taken from the yoke of an ox where they had been plowing with it.

44 Poor people! Joseph and Mary, both real poor, and here they was in this little stable. How humble God makes Hisself! And then we try to make ourself something great. Can't you see how God humbles Himself and takes the things that's not, that He might bring to pass His great promises. How that little Jehovah laying in a manger, wrapped in the cloth taken off of the back of a yoke, the neck of a yoke where ox had been. And wrapped the Prince of Peace in it. My! Who are we then? What do we deserve? If God can humble Himself like that, oughtn't we to be able to humble ourselves to become His servants, if He did things like that? Can't we forget our great dignities and things of this world, and pass from that, and humble ourselves before Him this Christmas? And be a... Show Him our appreciations of that birth and that humility, by humbling our own selves in receiving His Word. No matter what the tradition says, it's His Word that counts. That's what He'll take, His Word, and that only.

45 Now we find out, this little stable, it was there that the first noel was ever sang on earth, and it was sang by angels. Think of it! The first noel, not sung up there with Caiaphas, not down at some great fine church where a wonderful pastor was, but at a stable in Bethlehem, the least among all of them. But the first noel was sang by angelic beings in the little city of Bethlehem. See what I mean?
No matter how poor you are, how little or insignificant you might be, God can use you if you'll just let Him do so. God wants you. He don't want you to... you don't have to belong to some great society, some great order, or some great brotherhood, or whatever it might be, that don't mean nothing to God. God wants you! And if you're... if you feel that you're great, get that feeling out of you. You got to get it out. You say, "Well, I have a Ph.D., LL.D." That just takes you that much farther from God. Forget the thing. Come back to God. Come back to the humility of the Spirit, and love God and take His Word.

Luke 2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Luke 2:14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

46 "If ye abide in me and my Word in you, then ask what you will, it'll be done for you." God promised that. "If you say to this mountain, 'Be moved,' and don't doubt in your heart, but believe that what you've said will come to pass, you can have what you've said." "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he also. Even greater than this shall he do, for I go to my Father." What promises!

John 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

John 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

47 There's something lacking somewhere. What we try to do is twist it up and make it some great something up there, put flower and tinsel on it, and we pollute it just like the nations has done Christmas. That's right! If we could get the tinsel off of the things, and the humility back in the human heart! If we could bring the humility back to Christmas of what it ought to be! Not a commercial day, not lights and Santa Clauses! But back to worshipping the God of creation Who come in a stable and was borned a baby, God made flesh and dwelt among us! If we could come back to that, get away from the tinsel and the big things. God don't even deal with it at all.

Matthew 21:21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.

Mark 11:23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

48 You say, "Well, I belong to the biggest organization." That takes you that much farther from God. You say, "I do this, that." That just takes you that much further.
You've got to humble yourself until you see that, until, "If ye abide in me and my words abide in you, then ask what you will." What we try to do, as soon as God gives us a little shower of blessings, we try to twist it all up and get dignitaries in there that's going to make great big names and outdo the other one. This one starts this way and that way, God leaves the whole thing. What we need today is a fresh pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon hearts that's humble. We need a real Christmas, a birthplace. If you could realize that you're nothing but a stable! God didn't go to Jerusalem, to Shiloh, or Ramoth-gilead, He come to a stable that was polluted. You let God, you become... and realize in yourself that you're nothing but a stinking stable. But welcome, open your doors, when these great big places and inns are turning Him away, open your doors of the manger of your heart and let Jehovah come into that, and watch what takes place, for He is the Word. He said, "if ye abide in me and my Word in you." He is the Word. Let Him come into you, and watch what takes place. Then ask what you will, and it'll be done for you.
Yes, it was there the first noel was sung by angels, many years ago. And when He...

John 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

49 [A brother speaks in another tongue. Someone gives an interpretation. Blank spot on tape--Ed.] Amen. Now, we know the message must be very important, that God wanted to say that, or He wouldn't have broke in on a message to do something like that. "Humble yourselves under the hands of God," was the message of it. Now, our Heavenly Father, we know that Thou art all wisdom and does everything just right. We pray that You'll grant now that this might be a message to the people, that they truly must humble ourselves, all of us, and come under the hand of the mighty God. We commit ourselves to You, Father, that You'll grant this to us. In Jesus' name, Thy Son. Amen.

50 Now, to continue on, I was speaking of when the first noel was sang, was sang by angels at little Bethlehem. There's where all these great men were born. There's where the promise of the King was born. The promised King came to that. Now, the word... to get quickly now, so I won't hold you too long. The promise, the word was this, the word "Bethlehem." Let's break it down. I skipped over a few notes here in order to take up the time. Now, Bethlehem. The word B-e-t-h means "house." E-l means "God," in Hebrew. E-l-h-e-m is "bread." Bethlehem, "the house of God's bread." That's what the word means.
Words, names, they have meaning. Many people don't believe that, but that's true. If names don't have some meaning, why did Abram's name have to be changed to Abraham? Why did Sarai have to be changed to Sarah? Why did Saul have to be changed to Paul? Why did Simon have to be changed to Peter? See, all these has meanings, everything has meanings.

51 And the name Bethlehem means "the house of God's bread." Now, how fitting that is to Jesus, the Bread of Eternal Life. Christ is the Bread of Life. We all believe that, don't we? How fitting Bethlehem there, the bread center of the world, was the bread center of Eternal Life. That's why the King had to be born there. He said, in St. John 6:35, "I am the Bread of Life that come from God out of heaven. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and all dead. But this Bread, if a man eats this Bread, he shall live forever." Then, Jesus is the Bread of Life, so the Bread of Life had to come at Bethlehem. He is our Bread of Life for the journey, like Israel. God gave Israel bread out of the skies for their journey as they journeyed from where they left Egypt unto the promised land. Bread, nightly, rained down from the sky. And God gave us the Bread of Life for our journey, come at Bethlehem, God's house of Bread. See how it had to be? It must be where that name is called, Bethlehem, "the house of God's Bread." Then how could He be born in Jerusalem? How could He be born in Ramoth-gilead? See, He come to where His name was, "house of God's Bread."

John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

John 6:49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.

John 6:50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.

John 6:58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

52 Oh, notice, Israel received a new fresh bread every night, coming down from heaven for their journey. Christ is our Life, Bread of Life, and every day we receive a freshness from Christ, from heaven, the Holy Spirit coming down upon the believer every day. Fresh!
Yesterday's experience, many of us live on yesterday's experience. We mustn't do that. It's today's experience! That's what's the matter with our denominations, they're living on the experience of John Wesley, upon the experience of Dwight Moody, Finney, Sankey, Knox, Calvin, many of those back there. They're living on that experience. But, remember, the bread that fell, and they tried to keep it over, it got contaminated, maggots got in it, little wiggle-tails. And that's what's the matter today, contaminated cisterns, living on past bread that's contaminated.

Exodus 16:13 And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host.

Exodus 16:14 And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground.

Exodus 16:15 And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.

Exodus 16:20 Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them.

John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

John 6:48 I am that bread of life.

John 6:49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.

John 6:50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.

John 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

53 We must have something fresh from Christ, His Word today for this hour, see. He is our freshness, our Bread that falls every day from heaven upon the believer. He is our Bethlehem, God's house of Eternal Life Bread. Christ was born in Bethlehem, and became God's house of Eternal Life Bread. He is the Bread of Life. He is our Bethlehem. Christ is our Bethlehem. Natural bread is called the staff of life. We call the natural bread, like our light bread, and stuff we get, is called the staff of life. Jesus is God's Life Staff, Bread of Life Staff for Eternal Life. As a staff of life is called bread, Jesus, being the Bread of Life, is God's Staff of Eternal Life Bread to us, see.

John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

John 6:48 I am that bread of life.

54 We can't go, something must die so we can eat. This morning when you eat, you eat dead substance. If something doesn't die, then you cannot live, 'cause you only live by dead substance. If you eat meat, the hog died. You eat pork, the hog died, of course. And then if you eat beef, the cow died. You say, "But I eat bread." Then the wheat died. "Why, I ate greens." The greens died. You only live by dead substance, and that's the only way you can live.
Then if you can only live natural, by dead substance, something had to die so you can live natural, how much more did something have to die so you could live eternally! Christ died, that we might live eternally. And He become the house of God's Eternal Life Bread, that we catch, freshly, every hour of the day, coming down from God out of heaven, in the form of the Holy Spirit, feeds our hungry souls as we set together in heavenly places. He is our Bethlehem.

Ephesians 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

55 Then all true believing sons of God are born in Bethlehem with Him. If Christ had to become the Bread of Life, to be born in Bethlehem, which is Life's Bread House, then every one of true believers in Christ is born in Christ, they are born in God's Bethlehem. Amen. Then not only Jesus was born in Bethlehem, I was born in Bethlehem, you were born in Bethlehem. How did you do it? Right here in Phoenix, Arizona, this morning in the Ramada, you can be born again in God's Bethlehem, house of Eternal Bread Life. Eat it and live forever!

56 Why little Bethlehem? That's today, "Why a bunch of little holy rollers? Why this, that or the other?" The people don't know what it's all about.
But the Spirit reveals it. The Word shows it. It's the manifestation of God's Word. We have Life through Christ, and Him alone. Our organizations, our denominations, our differences, only separates us from God. We have one access to God, and that's through Jesus Christ. There's not another way that we can come through by no priest, no preacher, no system, or nothing else; only Jesus Christ and Him crucified. He's God's Bread of Life, and we are borned in Him. And if He is God's Bread of Life, then He is Bethlehem. And being born in Christ, we are then born in Bethlehem, in Christ Jesus, sitting together in Heavenly Places, eating of Him. Eating of Him! Who is He? He's the Word. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." And when we can sit with one objective, the Word of God, and feed upon that, we are in God's spiritual Bethlehem, eating God's spiritual Bread, and our souls punctuating every word that He spoke with an "Amen!" We enjoy this heavenly angel Food.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Ephesians 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

57 When it says "These signs shall follow them that believe." The creed or denomination says, "Oh, it isn't so. But the real man who's born in Bethlehem, says, "Amen!"
"The works that I do shall you do also." The denomination says, "It's a bunch of work-up emotion." But the real Bethlehem dweller says, "Amen," because he's satisfied that it's angel Food.
"If ye abide in me and my words in you, ask what you will, and it'll be done for you." Amen.
Oh, the high and prudent will never see it. We hold so much to our traditions of the elders, so much that we have to pack cards and everything else to get in some pulpit. They ain't it! You can get in God's pulpit by humbling yourself. Come into the house of the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ, and live forever in His presence, and lifted up in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, feasting on the Word. That's God's Bethlehem.

Mark 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

John 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

John 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

Ephesians 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

58 How many of us is in it this morning? How many's willing to forget your traditions, how many's willing to forget your creed that disagrees with the Word? Why ain't we got a revival? Why haven't we got these things going on? What's the matter with Pentecost? It organized itself. That's it. You can't organize Pentecost. You can make an organization. But the Pentecost is a blessing, it's the power of God. And if it's a genuine Pentecost, it'll never bypass the Word for a creed. It'll take the Word. Right, because it's circumcised from the world and the things of the world. It sets only on the Word of God, and believes it. We're in Bethlehem, candidates for the kingdom of God. We're eating God's Eternal Life Bread. Born, God, Bread, born in Bethlehem, to become the spiritual Bread of Life, of Eternal Life, in the house of God. Oh, my. Born in Bethlehem, we are this morning, when we're born in Jesus Christ, for He is God's Bethlehem. Jesus is God's house of Eternal Life bread.

59 He also is our Water for the journey. Now, we know that He is the Water. Like Israel in their journey; They smote a rock and the bread come down out of heaven, but a rock was smitten so that they could drink from it for the sustainings of their life in the journey. God smote a rock, or had Moses to do it, His prophet, smote the rock. What was it? Opened the rock. The Rock was Christ. Do you believe it? All right. Then if the prophet opened the rock so life could come out, then, if it is the rock, today we need the Holy Spirit in some man who will smite back the Rock, amen, and let the Word come out, because He is the Word!

60 We've bypassed on creeds and drinking stagnated water from cisterns. What we need today is an opening of the Word that lives, that He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. He cannot fail! They can call it mental telepathy, they can say whatever they want to, or spiritualists, or a devil, as long as that Word is flowing free and producing exactly what it said it would do, it's a fountain in the house of David again, back in Bethlehem, where that Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever, to His Bethlehem dwellers live with it, live in it, it's life-journeying water for us as Israel had.

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

61 One of David's great experiences, if you want to read about it in II Samuel 35:15, beginning, we read out there that David, being born in Bethlehem, but yet he become a fugitive. Oh, what a sight! The Philistines were garrisoned at that time, in the land, because Saul, the great man that brought all Israel into sin, had fell away from God and become an enemy to God, and had been garrisoned, the Philistines were garrisoned around Bethlehem. And David, trying to get back to his own home, could not do it, was out in the wilderness because he had become a fugitive to the people, there was ousted.

2 Samuel 23:14 And David was then in an hold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem.

62 What a beautiful picture that is of Christ today, a fugitive. He is. Now, you say, "That can't be." Well, if you believe the Bible it is. The Bible said, in the Laodicean Church Age, that Christ was on the outside of the church, knocking, trying to get back in His own church. A fugitive is something's been refused, rejected. And the Word and the Holy Spirit is rejected. That's right. You can't get in there. If you ever receive Him, you got to get out of there to get Him. You got to go out to Him. He can't get in. They're so set on their creeds that they won't let you preach them things, they won't let you believe those things.
They say, "Do you believe He's the same?"
"Oh, in a way, He's the same." Now, that's not living in Bethlehem. No, no. That's drinking at a stagnated cistern, way back, old contaminated bread that fell several years ago. "What did so-and-so say about it?" They might have been all right in their day. This is another day. This is the day of the Lord! This is another Church Age, not the Philadelphian. This is the Laodicea. It's rejected, and Christ has become a fugitive in His own church, pushed out. He's foreign.

63 He can come right down and work right among the people, and do the same things that He did here, saying that He would do it in the last days, give the same signs and things that He said He would do as it was in the days of Sodom. We know what He done to the church there.
We see Billy Graham, as it was and them messengers went down in the church denomination, and preaching down in there. And there calling them out, telling them to believe the Word and to come out of Sodom.

Luke 17:28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;

Luke 17:29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.

Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

64 Abraham's group wasn't in Sodom, they was already called out. Watch the angel, what He did up there for them, for a sign, that they knowed. And the same thing can be done, and people say, "Oh, well, don't believe it." Why? Why? Because that they have made Christ a fugitive to their organization, they're so foreign with it, Pentecostal and all together. Now, that's just exactly the Truth. I know that scratches but listen, if anything that don't... if it's Truth, it will scratch. That's right. It's got to be Truth.

65 Now, now watch David, when he was up there, David dreamed of his mighty victories. He was in a cave, staying back, and way away, about fifteen miles out of the city. And he come up and noticed that there, his own beloved city where he had been born, and where he had been anointed king and so forth there.
The dwellers in Israel, in them days, was something like it is today in Germany. They have the little cities and then they live in the cities for protection, and then they take their sheep and their stock out in the country and feed them, and drive them back in. And the evening time, put them in the corrals.

66 And David, looking down upon the city, begin to remember the mighty deeds that God had done by him, the great mighty victories that God had won by him. How that one day while he had his sheep up there in the mountains where he was, laying down there by the green pastures, and so forth, a bear come in and got one of the little lambs and took it out. And he went after it, and he killed the bear. God gave him victory because he was detailed by his father to take care of those sheep. That was his job, take care of the sheep!
O pastor, that's your job! And they eat sheep food, not almanacs. Sheep Food, God's Word!
Someone come in and got one, run out. Someone come in and got one and took out, he went after it. A lion come in and took one, he went after it. He wasn't satisfied until he got it.

1 Samuel 17:34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:

1 Samuel 17:35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.

1 Samuel 17:36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.

67 That give him that great victory one day when he seen Israel all backed up. See, Israel had been hearing all the creeds and everything, they had all, they'd all went to church. They had all be circumcised. They all went to the priest and got their blessings before they went to battle. But when it come down to the showdown, of the Supernatural, they were, every one cowards, because they seen something was in opposition. And they didn't have the audacity, they didn't have what we would call today, the street word, they didn't have the "go get it." There was something lacking. They could not go out there and face that giant. Why? But they was all blessed by the priest. They had the holy blessings upon them, and they had knelt and probably been anointed with the holy waters, and whatever it was, and there they was all standing out there. But when the opposition was so great, they didn't have it. There stood Saul, the general overseer or the bishop, standing out there, head and shoulders above his army.

68 And he made a challenge, Goliath did, and said, "If I kill him, then you'll serve us. But if he kills me, then we'll serve you." But the opposition was too great. He had fourteen-inch fingers, that'd be twenty-eight inches across his hand. Look what a hand he had! His needle, weaver's needle, his spear he had. And think how big his head would be, be about like a tub. And there would be a helmet, of inch or two thick, of brass, hanging over his head. Look at the armor, pieces of armor like one of these jalousie windows, where he could breath and move himself, that's the way the armors worked. With that great coat of mail hanging on him, may have weighed a hundred pounds, or two hundred pounds, of brass, hanging over his chest. With a needle, spear in his hand, maybe thirty-five-feet long.
What the enemy can do when he thinks he's got the odds on you. What he thinks he can do, how he'll make the boast! "The days of miracles is past. You can't get by with such a thing as that."

1 Samuel 17:9 If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us.

69 But there come up a little ruddy-looking fellow that hadn't had no theological experience, but he'd had an experience that God still remained God. God keeps His Word. Here he come up, and Saul said, "Wait, I'll give you a bachelor of art."
He put his helmet on him, and it sunk him down. He didn't know nothing about that. Said, "I don't know nothing about them kind of things." Said, "I don't know. But I know one thing, that are you afraid to go fight that giant? And you stand here and call yourself the church of the living God, and let that uncircumcised unbeliever stand out there and make such boast as that?" Said, "I'll go fight him!"
Oh, we need men like that today, men who's had an experience!

1 Samuel 17:26 And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?

1 Samuel 17:32 And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.

70 What did he do? What did little David of Bethlehem do? He went out there to fight the giant. The giant cursed him in the name of his gods (gods, plural), cussed him in the name of his giants, or his gods, and went out there and said, "Today I'll take you by my spear and I'll hang your carcass up there in the tree and let the birds eat it."
He said, "You meet me as a Philistine, in the name of a Philistine, with an armor and a spear, but I meet you in the name of the Lord God of Israel." What was it? The Word! The Word, "I'll meet you with the Word." Said, "Today I'll cut your head from your shoulders." That giant laughed and took after him. And David didn't back up, he took after him, too. There's only one little place, and God directed his rock.

1 Samuel 17:43 And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

1 Samuel 17:44 And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.

1 Samuel 17:45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.

1 Samuel 17:46 This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

71 David, laying up here as a fugitive, was thinking about that, how that great victory was. Then he must have got to thinking about the psalms, how sometimes out there in the mountains he'd lay and meditate on God. He said he tied His commandments on his bedpost and his fingers, and everywhere he go. "I always got the Lord before me, always, and I shall not be moved." He kept God before him. And the great victories he had! When he'd get so inspired, he was a psalmist, he'd jump up and take his pen and write down the psalms and sing them. He'd get into the Spirit, and dance and dance and dance in the Spirit. How he'd get so carried away in the Spirit, he'd dance in the Spirit by writing these psalms. And he must have come over the different psalms, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures (the 23rd Psalm), he leadeth me beside still waters. He restoreth my soul. Oh, He leadeth me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake. And, yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I'll fear no evil. Thou art with me."

Psalm 10:6 He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity.

Psalm 16:8 I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

Psalm 23:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Psalm 23:2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

Psalm 23:3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Psalm 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Psalm 30:6 And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved.

72 And as he thought on those things, it must have been a hot day, he got thirsty, hot and sweating. He could look way down in the valley from the top of the mountain, on the east side or the west side, or east side it is, of the city, when he looked down and seen where the Philistines all down there, thousands of them garrisoned around. He seen that old well where he once drank from. Oh, he begin to think of a morning when he'd take his sheep, go out to feed them, he would pass by this old well, because it was a great place of water. And then he'd go there and he would drink water, and drink, let his sheep drink. How, there, at Bethlehem, where he watered his sheep.
That's exactly where God waters His sheep again today, right back at Bethlehem, its cool fresh Water.

73 He cried out, "If I only had a drink from that well again!" I'm going to close now, listen close. "If I only had a drink!" Inside of him cried out, "If I could only drink once more from that well at Bethlehem." His desires was a commandment to those who loved him. Remember, his soul was crying for a drink of that water. And those who loved him, his least desire was a command. We're told that one... three of those men got together, great men. One killed eight hundred, by himself. The other one jumped into a pit and killed a lion. One took a stick and knocked a spear out of an Egyptian's hand, slew him with his own spear, and stood on a field of lentil like that, and killed three hundred around him. Great men! They were Gentiles. Watch where they come from.

2 Samuel 23:8 These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the seat, chief among the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite: he lift up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time.

2 Samuel 23:12 But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the Philistines: and the LORD wrought a great victory.

2 Samuel 23:15 And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!

2 Samuel 23:20 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man, of Kabzeel, who had done many acts, he slew two lionlike men of Moab: he went down also and slew a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow:

2 Samuel 23:21 And he slew an Egyptian, a goodly man: and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand; but he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, and slew him with his own spear.

74 David here is a type of Christ, Bethlehem, 'cause Christ is David's Son. Here he's standing there, crying for a drink of that water. And his desire was a command, I said, to those who loved him. Three of those men pulled their swords and fought fifteen miles of men, down to that city, while others fought keeping... Them were gallant fighting men (those Philistines, twice their size, some of them) but they were men, gallant, who could fight. One of them slew, stood alone-handed, and killed eight hundred men right around him, in one day. They were great men, they trusted God. They had faith in their leader. And they cut his way down through, until while some of them cut and the other one got a bucket of water, and they cut their way back through another fifteen miles of men, and brought that up to David so he could drink it.

75 Here Christ is represented here in this, both king and warrior, because He cut His way through. He broke the enemy's lines of death. He broke the enemy's lines so that we might have Eternal Life, the Waters of Eternal Life. He come through even to death, and took death upon Himself, and died the death, and come back that we might have Eternal Life. He's both King and Warrior. We didn't conquer, it's already conquered! We never conquered death, He conquered death for us! He's our David of this day. He conquered death. Bethlehem's Bread and Water.

76 Bethlehem was the center. You historians know that, that it was the center. It was a great wheat country in there, from the irrigation and stuff. They could have great wheat crops. And it's also the best water. It was the bread center and the water center of Palestine.
And today, no matter how many organizations we got, how many other so-called brethren, and which way they may be, still Christ is the believer's Bethlehem. He is the place of Bread and Water. Methodist, that's good for you; that's good for you Baptists, you Pentecostals, the rest of you. It's all one place, that's Bethlehem, is where Bread and Water of Life comes from... Yeah.

77 Here He is our Bread, God's Bread and Water for us. He's the center, the only place that you can come and get it, is from Him. God's House, in the person of Jesus Christ, our Bethlehem, Bread and Waters of Eternal Life. And He is the Word made flesh. Here is the Word, the Bread and Water of Life. Hebrews 13:8 said, "He's the same yesterday, today, and forever." That makes Him our Bethlehem, our place of Bread and Water, the only place of Eternal Life.

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

78 Notice David, in getting the waters, he never drank it. He said, "God forbid. This is the blood of these men that jeopardized their lives," to go out and bring him that drink. Watch! He poured it upon the ground, for a drink-offering to God. Amen! Men and brethren, rise your faith just a minute now. He refused to drink it himself. He poured it upon the ground for a drink-offering to God.
How fitting that is to John 3:16, "when God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son." Jesus, the Prince of Life, come here, didn't have to die. He conquered death Himself, and poured His own Life's Blood out upon the ground, amen, as an offering for our sin. He's our smitten Rock upon the ground, His precious God-given Blood.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

79 I heard someone say the other night in a message, said that they come to... I believe it was Billy Graham, last night, we was watching him as he said that he went to Israel and he went into Palestine, and he said, "I come to believe your people," something on that order. And I certainly admired him as he appeared on that worldly program last night. Many of you turned the man down for doing that. But, look here, he got before the whole nation then. And he never took it back, he stood just exactly on what he believes. And I certainly admire him for that. And he said, "I went to Israel and I told them, 'I worship one of your children,' in other words, like this."
I thought, "Billy, that's wonderful. I'd like to see that God-given power that you have to stand there in the midst of all that Hollywood glamour and give a testimony by Jesus Christ, but he was not a Jew." Jesus was God, not a Jew. Remember, the blood cell comes from the male sex. And He was not no man, Jew or Gentile, He was God created in flesh. We're not saved by the blood of a Jew or the blood of a Gentile, we're saved by the Blood of God. He was God, nothing less. He wasn't Jew nor Gentile. God's creative Blood in Him, we become... If He was a Jew or a Gentile, we're all lost. He was God in flesh. That's right.

2 Samuel 23:16 And the three mighty men brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: nevertheless he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the LORD.

2 Samuel 23:17 And he said, Be it far from me, O LORD, that I should do this: is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mighty men.

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

80 I don't worship a Jew, I worship God when I worship Jesus Christ. I don't worship some fiction or some kind of a historical something. I worship Jesus Christ, the presence of Jesus Christ right now, which is His Word that's manifested in this age.
God in every age allotted His Word from the beginning, and every time which one of those ages passed by, God sends down an anointed prophet for that age. In the days of Noah, days of all the rest of them, when He made the promises. I don't care what kind of a condition the church got into, He always does that, He sends a man anointed. For the Word of the Lord comes to the prophets. And here he stood there, each prophet, and was condemned by the organizations of that day, but he stood on the Word and made the Word live.

Amos 3:7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

81 Jesus was the fullness of God's Word, for He was the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and in Him dwelt the fullness of God. God lived in Jesus Christ. God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. Not Jew nor Gentile, but God! There He stood, making Hisself. How fitting! And God's own Blood had to shed upon the ground, from the innocent blood of Abel on down, to redeem us. He didn't take His own life, He didn't hold His own life; He said, "Father, is it possible this cup should pass from me? But, nevertheless, not my will, thine be done." He give in to the Word.
Today we can do the same thing. You can either take your creeds, take your so-and-so, and go wherever you want to with it; but you can say, "Not my will, but thine be done." Come back to that Word of God. Take your tinsel and Christmas and do what with it you want to, but give me Jesus Christ in my heart. No matter how humble it is and how people laugh at it, or what. Watch its nature, see if it does just like He did. If it didn't, then don't compare with this Word, leave it alone; it's not Christ 'cause Christ is the Word.
Now we find how fitting it was, our Rock, smitten, His Blood Life poured upon the ground, a sin-offering for the sinner. Our Bethlehem, Water, Bread and Life, offered to cleansing for us unclean sinners.

Mark 14:36 And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.

Luke 22:42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

2 Corinthians 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

Colossians 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

82 Oh, sinner friend of mine, how can you refuse, so foolishly, such an offering, when God gave His only begotten Son, a sin offering, that whosoever believeth in Him, in Him, shall not perish but have Eternal Life? How do you get into Him? By one Spirit we're all baptized into one Bethlehem, the Word of God, which is Christ made manifest for this age.
And every promise that the Bible gives of this age, He's waiting for some prophet to rise on the scene to manifest that, He promised it according to Malachi 4. It'll be done. No matter how foolish the people think, it'll be done anyhow! God said so! He's able of these stones... our creeds won't receive it, if our churches won't receive it, God can go back to the stable, He can go anywhere He wants to. But there'll be somebody stand up for this Word spoke for this day. Something has to manifest it. It won't be a group, either, it never was.

Malachi 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

Malachi 4:6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

Matthew 26:39 And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

Mark 14:36 And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

83 O sons, warriors, as I close. I don't want to keep you here too long. I'm going to close right now, the Lord willing. Five minutes till eleven, or six minutes, rather. Notice, O warrior sons, you men here that claim to be sons! Did you know what David represented? David represented Christ, Christ was the Son of David. Now listen, in closing. Those Gentile warriors, many of them, notice they come from everywhere, but they knowed that that fugitive was anointed. They knew David was rejected by His own people, but they knowed the anointing was on him. They could see it. So they stood right by his side, die or live! They were gallant men, no matter how much the outside world didn't believe it.
His own people kicked him out. They didn't want nothing to do with him. Saul run him out, the head of the denomination kicked him out, and have nothing to do with it, the council kicked him out, and he become a fugitive. They had to go to wherever he could. There he was up in the mountains, but there was a little group of men, of Gentiles and so forth, made up, that they looked at that man and they knowed he was coming king.

1 Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

84 So is it today with real gallant soldiers of faith of that Word, who knows that Word promises that Jesus Christ will return. We ain't interested in millions of dollars of this and millions of dollars of that. I'm interested in the return of Christ Jesus. O warrior sons of God, what's the matter with you, how do you stand today? When we see that the Bible predicts that He's a fugitive today, turned out of His church, turned out of the organizations. You know it. No need of hiding around about it, it's the Truth. The Bible said it would be that way. Come out from them marks of the beast!

85 Look at these men! They pulled their swords. What was it? His desire was a drink of cool water. David! What a type of today, our David, Christ, we know He's called a holy roller, He's cast off to one side, a fanatic and everything, rejected by the churches. They've got their creeds and things drawed up at the Christmas like they did the first one. We know that, but we know that this Word ever remains true, and it's got to be fulfilled. And the desire of Christ is for men, warriors, to stand! Amen!

86 Oh, come stand with me by my side, I'm standing in a terrible place. I challenge today! These tapes go over the world. I challenge some man, some warrior who loves Jesus Christ, that knows that these things has got to be fulfilled today, brethren, come stand by my side and pull the Word of God. Forget those dry cisterns and stagnated denominations you're living in. Pull the fresh Word of God, let's give Jesus a good drink of fresh Pentecostal Water! That's His desire today, back to original Pentecost, back to the Word! It's prophesied we'd do so, in Malachi the 4th chapter... Return the faith of the children back to the fathers, again. Who would stand this morning?

Malachi 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

Malachi 4:6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

87 Like David, we know that David is coming into power. Jesus Christ is going to take the world. He inherits the earth, He is going to be King over the earth. He's rejected today, He's a fugitive among His people. 'Course, He's a fugitive to the world, always was. But today He's a fugitive to His own church, they reject Him, they love their creeds and big dignitaries instead of the Word. They won't let it be manifested. They won't let it be preached in its power. They've cut away from it, just like the Bible said they'd do in Revelation 17. What are they doing? Going up here today, and all going in this council of churches. Catholicism and Protestantism uniting together, making the mark and the image of the beast. And Protestants falling right for it, Pentecostals everywhere. Dignitaries going into Rome, from Pentecost, and coming back, said, "Most spiritual place!" And in Texas and everywhere else, they're opening up and giving understanding of the stations and so forth, knowing that that creed's been injected to this Word!

88 Oh, you Bethlehem dwellers! Hallelujah! I call for men, warriors who's not afraid. I don't care if there's eight hundred standing on one side and ten thousand on the other, I want warriors who will come with me and cut a hole through this line of unbelieving Philistines. The world council has got garrisoned around the Word of God, trying to make it creeds and feed the people. There's a well, there's a fountain open in the house of David, Bethlehem, for sin and uncleanliness. Brother, sin is unbelief in His Word!
Who... warrior that can see the millennium coming? What warrior can see this great Holy Spirit coming in the form of Jesus Christ, the literal body of Christ to take over again, stand with me. Stand by me! Let's cut a hole through this denominational creed. Let's get in there! He's crying for a good fresh drink of Pentecostal Water, original Pentecost, not a bunch of carrying on, screaming, hollering. I mean a genuine Holy Spirit baptism that produces the Life of Jesus Christ back into the person.

89 Forgive me if I hurt you. No, don't you do it. I'm doing this in the name of the Lord Jesus. Come back! Stand, you gallant men who see David standing yonder! Jesus Christ, a fugitive from His church, barred out by their creeds. There's a fresh Fountain hanging yonder. Amen. There's power to make this Word live again, it's prophesied in this day to come to pass. God said it would come to pass. It's got to come to pass. You'll never do it in the army you're in now. You're garrisoning yourself, Pentecost, right around with the rest of the organizations, cutting it into a creed.

90 O men of God, where's that sword? Our Lord desires a fresh drink. I don't care if it's life or death, let's cut through this thing. It's so hard standing by yourself. I'm calling for men to stand by me, stand with the Word! What that Word says, do it just the way the Word said. I don't care what anything else says, stay it that way, for that's the only thing that will cut. Let's get to Bethlehem, the true Water of God.
"If a man abide in me and I in him... if ye abide in me and my words in you..." Abiding, not just jumping from place to place, and swapping your fellowship card from a oneness to a twoness and a threeness, and back to a Presbyterian, Lutheran. "Ye abide in Me (and He is the Word), my Words abide in you! Don't be afraid of eight hundred or eight million, I'll stand by your side." I desire to drink from that well again.

John 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

91 God's going to have a people that will drink from that Well! Hallelujah! You might think I'm crazy, and maybe I am, then I'm crazy about Jesus Christ and His Word. If I have to be called a fool, let me be called a fool for His Word. I've never been against men in them organizations, I'm against that system that's barring the Word of God out. Let's cut, warriors, stand by it! Let's go into that Well, He's our Bethlehem.
These old cisterns, the world council of churches organizing now. Let's restore the fresh Word of God, not a denomination. Let's not take a creed, that's old stagnated cisterns that fell forty years ago, twenty years ago, thirty years ago, or either last year. I want God's Word that's promised for today. That's the drink He wants me to have, this Word today! It's a little Bethlehem, it's rejected.

92 It's... I know, it's just like you think, "Well, if my..." Yes, that's right, they thought He should be born in Jerusalem. They thought He should be born where their denomination heads was. But He turned by all that. He come to the name Bethlehem, for that's what He was. Hallelujah! He's not coming for Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian or Pentecostals. He's coming for the Bride, Jesus Christ. That's who He's coming for. It may seem strange to you, but believe it!

93 See, these types, they can come no other way but by the Word. That's the only place He could be born, is by that Bethlehem. That's why it had to be that little humble place. That's the way it has to be this morning, has to be the same way by the promised Word. Yes, sir. The Philistine council of churches now organizing, garrisons everywhere around our Bethlehem. Around this Christmas, they're garrisoned around there everywhere, it's all decorated up with worldly tinsel. "Oh, we'll bring world peace." Pope Luther, John, or whatever his name is, he'll get together, and all the great bishops of the church, the United Council of Churches and the World Council all coming together. How can two walk together unless they be agreed? Amen!
There's only one you can walk with, that's Jesus Christ. How can you walk with Him? When you agree with who He is, the Word! Don't you let that leave you.

94 I don't care about how much tinsel they got, "You got to do this or we're going to close up your church or... I don't care what they close up, that has nothing to do with the Word. Yes, sir. Where you going? Just exactly what the Word said you was doing, going right back, all dressed in worldly tinsel, with all kind of worldly promises, but it's away from the Word a million miles. There it is today, Christmas again, to keep us from the promise of the Word. But it shall be fulfilled. God's able of these stones to rise children to Abraham. Ah, trying to keep the real, true Bethlehem dwellers away from Eternal Life, that's their purpose.

Matthew 3:9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

Luke 3:8 Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

95 Rise, ye sons and warriors, let's cut back to our original Bethlehem! Remember when David come to his throne. These men stood by him because he knowed... they knowed he was coming to the throne. They knowed that David was going to be on the throne, no matter how much he was rejected out. He was the worst fugitive in the land. So is the true Word of God, this morning, it's foreign to organizations. Look what they've done. That shows it right before you.
People try to say, "Brother Branham, you're knocking the church." I'm knocking them systems. The Church is Jesus Christ, not a system.

96 And today, look what they've done, look what they're doing. And you can see what they're doing, they're trying to keep the people from that. They're garrisoning more and more around that well, to be sure that nobody will drink from it. But, O warriors of God, I believe that Jesus Christ will come some day in glory, I believe He'll come and sit on the Throne of His Father, David. Though He be a fugitive, His Word this morning, rejected by His own people like David was, the organizations turned out His Word, they turned out, when God comes and vindicates His pure Word. Don't tell me! For years, across the country, and they get farther away from it all the time.

97 I said the other day, about Jacqueline Kennedy, how many times I've rebuked you women for cutting your hair, wearing makeup, you Pentecostal women cutting your hair, which God said it's... You make yourself a street harlot when you do it. And, according to God, your husband has no right to live with you any longer. A woman that cuts her hair, dishonors her head, which is her husband. That's exactly. What did I say about it? And you call me out on it, I get the letters, "You old crank." All right, they called Elijah the same thing. They called every Word of God, every time the Word is made, call it.

98 Somebody said the other day, "Why, we believe you to be a prophet."
I never said that, I don't tell... I ain't no prophet, I'm just God's servant here trying to tell you the Truth. That's all. Let me tell you, the Word of God stands for that! He said, "The daughters of Zion, the branch that escaped in that day of all its contamination, it'll be glorious in the sight of the Lord." Cut through, women, you got your place to cut through, worldly Hollywood and picture shows, and all this television stuff that you try to pattern after, dress yourself sexy out on the street.
And someone said, "Why, the people want you to teach them how to receive the Holy Ghost and how to get..."
Say that you got the Holy Ghost, and then deny the Word? Your own life proves you haven't got it, see. Now, I'm not angry, I'm just telling you what's the Truth. Look at yourself and find out. Paul said, "If an angel from heaven taught anything else, let him be accursed," Galatians 1:8. That's right.

Isaiah 4:2 In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.

Isaiah 4:4 When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.

1 Corinthians 11:5 But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.

Galatians 1:8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

99 What if Jacqueline Kennedy... She did set the pace of women with all these waterhead haircuts and things that they have, all these sexy dresses, and like motherhood dresses and things. Every woman in the country wants to wear them, you Pentecostals, too. Look, Jacqueline Kennedy never did hear a message like this. If she would have heard it, she might have repented long ago. But you Pentecostal women hear it day in and out, and year in and out, and still you do nothing about it! Hallelujah! God's going to get tired one of these days! God will get tired. Well, I know you think I'm crazy. Go ahead, it's all right. They thought that all down through the ages when the Word... see.

100 O warriors, pull that Sword, let's stand for everything that Sword stands for! Let's get to that well where there is a Fountain filled with Blood, drawn from Immanuel's veins. Not a Jew, Immanuel's veins, God with us; Where sinners plunged beneath the flood lose all their guilty stain.
"And there shall come forth a ruler out of Bethlehem that shall rule over my people." The Holy Spirit today rules over the people, and the Holy Spirit is the Word. Is that right? Now, in closing, reverently. He rules the people. No matter what you think; you cope with the Word. If you don't, the Holy Spirit's not there; you bear record of your own testimony, no matter what you say. You could jump up and down, speak in tongues, and run over the floor, still have bobbed hair and doing the things you're doing; it testifies against you, that it's not so.

Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

Matthew 2:6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

101 Bethlehem dwellers, God bless you, let's go through! Christ wants a real Church. He wants a Bride. Let's cut our ways through. Get out of here, get these creeds away, that the real drinkers might come back and get a drink of real, cool Pentecostal Water that once flowed from this great Well. It's still flowing. Won't you come today and believe that with all your heart, while we bow our heads just a moment.
I got many things here I should speak on. Time won't permit it, it's eleven o'clock now. I wonder how many warriors in here, you ministers, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Catholic priest, whatever you might be, you're convinced? I know I'm not a clergyman. I might have come out of the wilderness, with chopped up this, that, and the other, but this is the Word. You believe it's so, you believe it's the Word, that's the Bethlehem. Jesus said, "Man shall not live by bread alone; every Word that cometh from the mouth of God." And the Word is here, the Bible. Man shall live by that, and He is that Word.

Matthew 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Luke 4:4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

102 O warrior, will you pull the Sword of God and say, "I'm through with these traditions, I'm coming back to the Word, I'm coming back to Truth."? Women, men! Women, ain't you ashamed of yourself, the way you've been doing? Are you willing this morning, at this Christmas, to come back and reflect the real Jesus Christ?
Now with your heads bowed and every eye closed, would you raise your hand, say, "Pray, Brother Branham. Truly I want to do that in my heart. I am... I believe it"? God bless you. My, ministers, women, everywhere!

103 In Bethlehem... Bethlehem, the place of the Bread and Water of God, Christ our glorious Bethlehem. How do we get into Him? I Corinthians 15, "By one Spirit we are all baptized into the mystical body of Jesus Christ."
We feed upon His Word, not anything else, sheep Food alone! That Word! Nothing else. You can't put no creed in it, we won't listen to it. No, sir. You go to say, "Why, it's this way." If the Bible says it's this way, this is the way we want it. We don't want it seasoned up. We want it just the way it is.

1 Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

104 O God, our Father, today there's hungry hearts still left on the earth. Why little Bethlehem? In my poor unlearned way, Lord, I've tried to let this little group... which loves me, I know they do, Lord. And I love them. And I love them so much till, Lord, I'm zealous of them. I don't want to see them mixed up in these great things, and get cut off then when it's too late, and see them poor souls yonder in prison, and know it once had the opportunity.
Lord God, today, no matter what the great Jerusalem thinks, and what the Gileads and the Ramoth-gileads and whatevermore, Shilohs and the great worship places, wherever they are. There is a Bethlehem. "Art thou not least among all of them? But out of thee..." Out from the Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian; Catholic, the great capitol; and the Ramoth-gileads, where Luther fought; and the Shilohs, where maybe Wesley fought; and many other places. But, Lord, Lord, You raised up a Pentecostal group, and if they haven't turned right around and done the same thing.

Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

Matthew 2:6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

105 Jesus of Nazareth, I pray Thee, Lord, to let warriors, out of every one of these creeds back there, rise in Your name, cut through all these creeds and get back to the true, unadulterated Word, laying aside every weight that does so easily beset them. Laying aside every hour that they're out here foolishly dropping around trying to make members of an organization. Lord God, let them come back to get converts to Jesus Christ; not to glorify any organization or any persons, but Jesus Christ, He alone.
It was David those men fought for. It was David they set their life in jeopardy for. And them great and mighty warriors, without fear, they moved their way through there, because it was his desire. It was his desire to have a drink from that well.
Lord God, maybe we don't feel, just that tug, but, look, it's your desire that these things be done. As you said to John, "Thus it is behooving to us, or becoming, that we fulfill all righteousness."
It's becoming to us, as ministers today, to see that this Word is preached, to see that it's done. It's becoming to us, men of these hours that we're living in. Great men in the earth today, O God, they're out there, let them see it and grab the Sword! No matter what the opposition, if God be for you, who can be against you? We don't care jeopardizing our social living, we don't care jeopardizing this, that, or the other, we want to get the Water of Life back!

Matthew 3:15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.

Romans 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

106 Let us go to Bethlehem, Lord, let every one of them. Let all these women, that, surely, if they put up their hand, they was ashamed of themselves. Let them realize that these men will be like Mr. Kennedy one of these days. They'll be like the rest of men, they have to die. These women are dying. I'm dying. We're all burning up here on earth, and know that just a short time, we've only got a very few days left. And, God, instead of trying to build big systems, Lord, let men and women see this morning it's the coming of a King.
O God, the coming of that great King, Jesus! And we realize, God, that every one of those men that pulled that sword and fought for David when he was a fugitive, when he come into power, he made them rulers over cities. Every one of them had cities. And you promised that in the Bible, that we would have cities. O God, as Gentiles, fell heir through the Gentiles, that we might be partakers of His holiness and His righteousness! Let us today, Lord, as men warriors take that Word, knowing that, those who stand for Him in this hour, they'll be rulers over cities. Not as we want to be rulers, but we want to be servants to You, Lord. O God, we see the vision of this little minority, this little group, this what's called fanaticism in the... Paul said in his day, "In the way that's called heresy (crazy)." That's where I want to fight, Lord. Thy Word is Truth! Thou art the Word, the same yesterday, today, and forever.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Acts 24:14 But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

107 O God, anoint us with Thy Word, and bring Thy Word promised to this day to pass. May we leave this building this morning as shining instruments of God. May we go with the Sword, it glittering in the air, to cut away every weight and everything else, till we can get back the people to Christ, bring a cool fresh drink to our Lord, instead of all these old stagnated creeds. Let the people drink from the Fountain, of real, cool refreshing Pentecostal blessing, that it might bless His heart and bring Him back among us again. Grant it, Lord. In Jesus' name, I pray.

108 While we have our heads bowed, if the pianist or organist, or whatever it is, will got to the organ, piano, I want us quietly to sing this, "There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Immanuel's veins; when sinners plunge beneath the flood..." Sinner, what is sinner? Unbeliever. "Unbelievers plunge..." Unbelieve in what? The Word. Oh, those Jews, they didn't want to believe that they were unbelievers, they thought they were saved, but God knowed they needed a saviour. They was praying for a warrior, God give them a baby, a Saviour. He knowed what they need. That's their Christmas present. That's what you need today, that's what I need today, a Saviour for my unbelief, a Saviour for your unbelief. While we sing, let's just pray about it now in our hearts. Just pray sincerely, please, church.
%#There is a fountain filled with blood,
Drawn from Immanuel's veins,
And sinners (unbelievers) plunged
(not a church member, now) beneath the...
(That's where church members plunge.)
Lose all their guilty stain.
Lose all their guilty stain,
Lose all their guilty stain;
And sinners...

109 Lord Jesus, I pray now that You'll receive us. I'm putting myself right here with this group, Lord. Take all my unbelief, Lord, away from me. Let me die, Lord, as Samson cried, let me die with these Philistines. Let me do whatever it may be for me to do, but, God, cleanse my soul. Take all doubt away. If there's anything in this Word that I don't believe, Lord, if there's not something here that You've promised, that I can't see my own life be... vindicate that Word for this day, then, Lord, forgive me. Forgive me, Lord.
Give me courage. O Lord, I need courage to cut down this thing, cut this wall, for I know it's Your desire. You've spoke it, it should be in this day, "As it was in the days of Sodom, so shall it be in the coming of the Son of man." We see this last move, this last sign that's been given to the church. That was the last sign of Abraham's natural seed saw before the fire burnt up the Gentile world. And so is it the last sign that His royal Seed will see before the fire burns up the Gentile world. You... Lord, may they see that's just exactly the reason Jesus had to be born in Bethlehem. It's Your Word. It's Your promise. Bless them now, Father. I give them to You, as trophies. And may we, together, Lord, pull the Word today, and march forward in Jesus' name. Amen.

Judges 16:30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.

Luke 17:28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;

Luke 17:30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

110 God bless you. Do you love the Lord Jesus? Do you believe that's the Truth? Raise up your hands if you believe it's the Truth. Thank you, friends. Look, I am... I guess the tape's off. See, in speaking here, I'm not just speaking just to you. That tape goes around the world, and men and women around the world hear that. We go to nation after nation after nation, they just... They sit there with little tubes in their ears and speak that right out to hundreds and hundreds of people around the world.

111 And look, it's not... Now you women, I don't want to hurt your feelings when I tell you them things. But if your pastor don't tell you that, there's something wrong with him. He ain't got the audacity to do it. He's hiding behind an organization. Or he's like Lot, sitting down, before the fire fell, he just didn't have the real stuff it takes to stand out there. He... The Bible said that, "The sins of Sodom vexed his righteous soul daily." His soul knowed better, but he didn't have the real thing it taken to stand out there and condemn it. And a pastor that won't tell a woman it's wrong to cut her hair, there's something wrong with that man, and to wear these clothes.

2 Peter 2:8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)

112 And you men, you men that'll let your women do such things at that, what's the matter with you? What's the matter with you? Lead your wife around through town like a public prostitute, and then slap some man in the mouth if he'd insult her. You're the one needs slapping in the mouth. That's right, and God will do it some day, too. That's right. We need to get back to this Word.
Not only that, that's just a little thing. But how're you going to get the big things if you refuse the little ones? How can you learn algebra if you don't know ABC? If you can't count to ten, how you going to know your mathematics? You've got to start from the bottom. You're trying to get at the top. Come down here and get started right.
This is the time to do it, now, Christmas. It was the birth of Christ, let Christ be born in us. What is Christ? Christ is the Word. How many knows that? "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

113 Somebody said the other day, said, "Brother Branham, you... people know that you're a woman-hater." I am not. I'm not. I got genuine love for my sisters. Some man will turn around, think you look nice with red eyes and green eyes, and bobbed hair, that man has got a different opinion what I'd have. I love that soul that's in you, that's got to meet God. That's what I'm... my sister for eternity, not some little sex thing here on earth will...

114 How many ever read the decline or the fall of Rome? Sure. Look at there, just the same thing we're doing, sex appeal. Youth in the condition it is, just exactly the way we got now, racial problems. And youth taking over, and men and sex. Just the way the Roman Empire fell, eighteen hundred years ago, and here it is right back here again amongst Gentiles, see. The confusion amongst the religions and things. Oh, what an hour that we're living in.
[A sister gives a message. Blank spot on tape--Ed] Amen. The Lord God has spoke. I believe that.

115 Now let us stand. When He speaks, it's time for us to give reverence. [Someone speaks to Brother Branham--Ed.] By God's grace, and by God's help, I'm more determined than I ever was, to stand by this Word and try my best, by the help of God, to cut away down to Bethlehem again, where Bethlehem dwellers can drink from that Fountain. How many will join with me, with your hands up, say, "I promise to God I'll do it"? God bless you.
Now bow your heads just a moment, and I believe some brother here, Brother Jeffries, come here. He's going to dismiss the audience while we bow our heads in prayer, if you will. All right, brother.


“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” — 1 Corinthians 16:23