E-1 ... as we read the Word. Remembering, after this service this afternoon, you'll probably go back to your churches, for the night service. I'll try to let out early so you can do so.
E-2 Listen. If I was in this city, around, I'd attend to these--these churches here. I really would. I'm not saying it... Never told me to say this. There is some fine man, real brothers. And then each one of you that accepted Christ, if they didn't get your name, why don't you look them up, for Christian baptism, and let them lead you on to the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
E-3 If you don't have a church, you must; see, you'll die, spiritually, you'll just dwindle away. And if you don't have a church, why don't you go and talk to them, they would be glad to help you. They are--they are--they are brothers in Christ, and, they, they would be glad to help you. Isn't that right, brethren? [The ministers say, "Right."--Ed.] Just very happy to help you, and help you along, do anything that they can for you. Good, faithful man, someone who will watch over your soul and care for you. Do that.
E-4 And if you accepted Christ, and they didn't get your name, just somewhere in the seat you just accepted Him, why don't you go talk to them about baptism now, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Do that now. God bless you.
E-5 We want to read, this afternoon, out of the book of Philippians, the 2nd chapter of Philippians. And I want to begin with the 5th verse.
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of man:
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Wherefore God also has highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things that are in heaven, and things in earth,... things underneath the earth:
And that every tongue should confess that Jesus is Christ the Lord, to the glory of God our Father.
Let us bow our heads for a moment.
E-6 Our Lord, we are approaching Thee now in the holy Name that's--that's got Heaven's Name, and all the family in the earth is named. And He told us, when here, "You ask the Father anything in My Name, I will grant it." We just simple people, Lord, but we believe that to be the truth. We believe that what we ask we receive, because if our--if our souls condemn us not, if we don't have any bad feelings of what we've done, that's wrong, then we have this assurance that God will hear us. So we are asking for mercy, this afternoon, for all of us.
E-7 And now I am asking that You will grant to this waiting audience, now, the healing of every person that's in Divine Presence. May this be one of the greatest healing services that we have ever had. May there be something take place, Lord. We don't know how it would happen, or what else could be done, but we pray that the Holy Spirit will have the preeminence this afternoon, to break into every heart and to every mind. As we have just read, "Let the mind that was in Christ be in you." I pray, God, that as we see that the mind is the controlling tower of the whole being, that it directs us, and let the mind that was in Christ be in us this afternoon. And He was always believing the Word. And now may there be a great outpouring of His Presence upon us.
E-8 And I pray for these ministers, Lord, that's cooperated in this meeting, that each of their church will be benefited with such great spiritual and material benefits, because of their stand, to try to bring to their people, the Gospel, in every true fashion that they know It's being preached in. And I pray, Father, that You will bless them. And may the people appreciate them, knowing that--that they are doing it for their sake and for the Gospel's sake; that may they, in return, help and put their shoulders to the wheel, and to push for the Cause that we're trying to bring forth on the earth, the Lord Jesus.
E-9 Now, Father, we pray that You will take the Words as we have read them, and You are Your Own interpreter, so we pray that You'll interpreter It to our hearts today. And when we leave, today, may we say like those coming from Emmaus, "Did not our hearts burn within us, as He talked to us along the way?"
E-10 Bless them, God, all these new-born babes that's just come to You. I pray, in their tender little way, that they'll be fed with the sincere milk of the Gospel, that they'll grow into great statues of Christ, that they might be His mouthpieces and servants, to serve Him in this great shadowing age that we're now living, in the evening Lights. Grant it, Father. We ask this in Jesus' Name. Amen.
You may be seated.
E-11 [A sister speaks in another tongue. Blank.spot.on.tape. A brother gives an interpretation--Ed.] Amen. Amen. I think the message would be to comfort the saints, and to exalt... exhort the young converts to come closer to God and to continue in the Faith. Thanks be to God.
E-12 Now I want to take this subject for a while. We got, won't be able to speak but just a little while, because we got around five hundred prayer cards out, and they've all got to be prayed for.
E-13 So now I'm doing this so that it might help. I'm wondering if my voice hasn't got a rebound. Can you hear me way back in the back, all right? It just sounds to me like it's bouncing back here. And last night, in making the altar call, I thought that that's maybe the reason people couldn't understand, that it had a rebound.
E-14 Now I want to take this subject this afternoon: Identification.
E-15 Now, anyone, that must be, we're living in a days when identification is required. You can't, unless you're known at a bank, you can't cash your check unless you have something to identify yourself.
E-16 I know, my wife, she can't cash a check. Yet, when we get our check, we put it in the bank. But she don't cash it, because she doesn't drive, she has no social security number or nothing to identify herself, so therefore it's a hard thing for her to cash a check. You've got to be some official identification, and I think it's just that time that we're living in.
E-17 If you notice, if you go to a certain denominational church, like a Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, or something, you have to have something to identify yourself if you're going to speak. You have to have a credential, or a card, or fellowship card, or something to identify yourself as where they know where you come from and what you're going to say at that platform. You have to be identified. And--and it's identifying age.
E-18 Now all that that happens in the natural is only a type that's going on in the spiritual. We also, the Christian Church Itself, which is of no denomination, but of a Nature. It is the mystical Body of Christ, and It's identified, also. It bears identifications. Jesus identified Himself.
E-19 And now we're going to speak this afternoon upon identifications, in the Bible character. We're going to, or identify our present condition, and with characters of the Bible, of other ages.
E-20 Now, we wonder sometime what--what we would look like if we would try to look into the mirror and see what we look like. It reminds me of a little story I heard one time, of a family that lived way back in Kentucky, where I come from, way back in the mountain country where there is...
E-21 Well, my grandmother lived to be a hundred and ten years old, and she never seen but one automobile, and to bring it from an old grade, up to where I brought mine up, it taken almost eight hours to go about four miles; putting logs in the creek, and things, to get it across. She never seen a--a--a train, or anything old enough. When she died, years ago, she remembered the assassination of President Lincoln, and lived to be a hundred and ten years old.
E-22 And I guess she never had three or four pairs of shoes, all of her life. And I can just see the little old tracks now, like a little coon track going up to the spring, of a morning before daylight; with a big old cedar bucket, with hoops, brass hoops on it, to get water, come down to do her cooking. Set with her little feet out, before an old fireplace, like that, big cracks, and them bleeding in there.
E-23 But when she died, she put her arms around me, I held her in my arms and cried, praying for her like this. The last words I heard her say, was, "God bless your little soul now and forevermore." I was just a boy then. But she knew Christ as her Saviour, but they didn't have very much of the world's goods.
E-24 So out of this story comes this, that these people never could afford a looking glass. They didn't have one, and the father had just a piece of a--a mirror he had tacked on the tree, to shave by, on the outside. They had a little boy, and he'd... this little piece of mirror, why, he had never been able to--to get up to where it was at, to see himself. So he come to visit in the city with one of his mother's sisters who had married a--a man that had come to Indiana, and then they lived out there. So they had a home, they'd all...
E-25 The old fashion home, used to be, they had a full mirror on a door, sometime, when he would go in--in--in the bedrooms. I don't know whether any of you remember them old doors, or not, that had a fulE-length mirror up-and-down the door.
E-26 So the little boy, he got to his auntie's house, and he was running around like any little boy would, and--and they noticed him. And he--he started to--to walk up the steps. And, as he did, at the head of the steps, when he was getting close to the head of the steps, he begin to see another little boy appearing. And he stopped and looked at the little boy. Course, it was... He waved at him, and he waved back at him. And he kept getting closer and closer, watching the little fellow. First thing, he reached out his hand. He looked around. His parents was watching him, 'cause he had never seen a mirror before. He said, "Well, that's me."
E-27 So I just wonder, today, if we couldn't look in the Bible, and say, "That's me," as we wonder which one is it, which character in the Bible would we look like. And let's just take that for a little text now and stay with it for a while. And as we look into God's Word, let's identify ourself, for He give others in there for examples of what we are. Now remember that God takes His Spirit... or takes His man, but never His Spirit; Satan takes his man, but never his spirit. So let's see if we can identify our present state now with Bible characters. Now, they, the Bible said, "All those things happened, back in those days, for examples for us." They are our examples.
E-28 Our character molds us to the image of what we are, our character of life that's in us.
E-29 Now you take a little germ of life, and when if it's a--if it's a germ of a--of a bird, it'll produce a bird. And if a germ of a--of a wheat, it'll produce wheat. A germ of corn, it'll produce corn. See, the life that's in it molds the character of it.
E-30 Then we find the same thing, like a life of a cancer. See, a germ, cancer germ, it molds a cancer. It's an evil life. A life of a tumor would mold a tumor, so forth.
E-31 You see, we, our characters is molded by what's on the inside of us, and our outside only expresses what's on the inside. What we are, how we walk, no matter what we say, our life speaks louder than our words does.
If we might say, "I am a believer in God."
And I would say, "Well, do you believe all the Bible?"
E-32 "Well, I don't know." Then, you see, your--your--your lips, your very... your life is speaking louder then than what your words would be.
E-33 If you say, "I am a Christian. I do not believe in doing... and I believe all that God said is Truth." Then live any kind of a life after that? See, your--your life speaks louder than what your testimony does.
E-34 And, you know, that's one of the greatest hindrance that the Church of God has. The bootlegger, the gambler, them people are... we--we all know which way they are headed, and they know, themselves. But the fellow that professes to be a Christian, the woman that professes to be a Christian, and then lives something different, it's the greatest stumbling block that the outside world has got, that--that--that there is in the outside world, anywhere. It's worse than anything the world can produce, is a person that's supposed to be a Christian and then lives something else different from that. Lying, stealing, cheating, and doing things that he ought not to do, it's a discredit to his testimony when you take people that do those things there. And they are they... Our character is molded in there by the life that is in us.
E-35 Now we would say, "Jesus came to save that which was lost." That's what He did. And now there had to be something to save this lost, so it had to be a different character than that which was lost. So we find then, when God looked down upon this creation of His, that He had made upon the... His... the characters of this earth; His loving character, Hisself, was molded into the Person of Jesus Christ, to be the Saviour of the world. He... This was done so He could pay the penalty for death for us, and redeem us. It certainly fulfilled John 3:16, see, that "God," no other person could do it. Jesus could been no one else. There was no other character anywhere could have produced such a Person as Jesus Christ, but God Himself.
E-36 Now there was nothing in the Heaven, that could have done it. You know, John looked in the--the Book there, the Bible, we find that he saw there was no one upon the earth that was worthy to take the Book, the Book of Redemption, and there was nobody in Heaven worthy. Nobody that was beneath the earth, or nowhere, was able or worthy to take the Book, to loose the Seals, or to even look on It. And he wept, because in this Book was the Book of Redemption, his own name was in there, and nobody was worthy.
E-37 And then one of the elders said, "Fear not, for the Lion of the Tribe of Judah has prevailed, and He is worthy.
E-38 John looked then to see a--a Lion, and he saw a Lamb, and it must have been a slain Lamb. It was a bloody Lamb. He said It was full of blood, because, "It was a Lamb that had been slain." And a slain lamb is bloody, of course. "And had been slain from the foundation of the world. He came and took the Book." There was nobody else could do it.
E-39 Because, if you plant any like a cocklebur in the ground... Any of your Arkansas-ers know what a cocklebur is. And put that in the ground, you can't expect to harvest a crop of corn out of it. No, you can't. So if you took a cocklebur and put it with a... and crossed it up with to jimson weed, you still wouldn't have nothing. See? And, see, there is no character in there but what would produce the same character, evil to evil.
E-40 So it taken something that was not evil, that could produce a character like Jesus Christ. And it was God looking upon His creation, and His Own loving character; seeing that lost, yet in His image, made for His glory. And, see that lost, His Own love projected Jesus Christ. "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son." That was God manifesting Himself, not some other person, but Himself in a body form, to redeem what had been lost. No wonder how sad that must have been, when God looked upon the earth and it grieved Him that He ever made man.
E-41 One time, I--I had my little girl by the hand, and we was up at Cincinnati, at the zoo, and we were going down along, watching the animals, and I heard a great noise down below the--the--the cages where the--the animals such as wolves and tigers, and so forth, were. I walked down there. And there was a huge, big cage, oh, as high as this ceiling, perhaps. And they had just got an eagle, a little, oh, a few weeks before that, out of a... and put him in captivity. I never felt so sorry for that poor fellow. And he would get back... He's a big bird, and here he was all caged up by some something that man had done, had trapped him into something, and put him in a cage.
E-42 And that big fellow, he was bleeding over the head, his great bald eagle, that big white head; and--and his wings, all the feathers was beat off of them like that. And the poor old fellow was laying on his back; his eyes, wearied, looking around. He'd get up, walk back over to the other side of the cage, and look up towards the heavens. That's where he come from.
E-43 He is a heavenly bird. There is nothing can follow him. A hawk would disintegrate, to try to follow him. Nothing can follow that eagle. And he goes so high, his eyes is comparative with his height, he can see what he is doing when he is up there. What good does it do to get up there if you don't know what you're doing?
E-44 So God likened His prophets to eagles, that foresees things before they happen.
E-45 And I noticed him bleeding, and he would lay on his back and look up like that. That's where he belonged, but man had caged him. I thought, "What a pitiful sight!" He would get back, and he would fly, flop those big wings and just butt his head against those bars, and fall back in the floor again. Lay there, weary, and look around like that; look in the heavens where he was free, up there, at one time, and now in a cage.
E-46 I stood there and cried. I wish they would have sold me the thing, I'd turned him loose. To see anything caged up! If that would make a man, who loves outdoors, as I love outdoors, if--if that would make a man cry, to look at that; and that was a pitiful sight.
E-47 But, oh, let me give you a more pitiful sight, is to see men and women who were made in the image of God, to bear His character, yet housed into things, and housed in by the traps of the world. See a beautiful young lady coming down the street, such a--a--a real... her--her... such a pretty woman, and her pretty hair all cut off; see her face with--with... A pretty, shaped face, with so much paint on it, you can't tell what she looks like. Look like she is cankered, with blue under her eyes, and--and eyes like a lizard, or a wolf, or something like that. And to see her with clothes on that she shouldn't be even caught into the--the bedroom herself, with the doors locked, with them on, and out on the street displaying herself like that. And to see sons of God, which ought to recognize that to be their sister, out on the street, whistling and trying to pick her up, to take her out for bad purposes. That's a pitiful sight, to see that Satan has caged in the human race.
E-48 There is nothing could save it but a Character that could come over the top all of that. That, that, there was nothing in it, and That had to come from that pure Fountain of Almighty God.
E-49 That pretty, little lady who could be a--a real, little queen to some little, tired preacher, come in and take him up on her laps, and put her arms around him and--and quieten him down, there is nothing will take that place. That's part of a man. There is no hand can touch you, when you're tired and wore out, but a real kind, gentle wife who understands. Man knows that.
E-50 And to see her out like that, she is in a cage that Hollywood has put her in. And--and many times them women claim to be Christians, and sing in choirs, but all caged up with a spirit that they can't see. There is no need of you to try to point it out, to them, seem like it just gets worse and worse. See? There they are, a modern Jezebel walking on the streets. And she say, "I give you to understand, I belong to this, and I..." See, still, that--that thing she belongs to has--has cut her off from the resource of Life. When she was born to be a little queen for some man, or some man that was born to be a--a--a son of God, and to think what has happened to them, oh, it's a terrible thing.
E-51 Then, see, God came down, and the character of God was Christ. He, He was the reflection. He was God, made visible. Notice, God made visible.
E-52 "In the beginning was God." He wasn't even God then. No. God is an "object of worship." Only thing He was, was the Eternal. And in Him was attributes, and those attributes were thoughts. And those thoughts was expressed to Words, and Word was made manifest.
E-53 What is it? It's all God, becoming tangible, and you are a part of God. And Jesus come to redeem those that was put on the Lamb's Book of Life, before the foundation of the world. It was in God's thoughts, and that's what He come to redeem. And them, as soon as It strikes to them, they see It, because the Life is in there.
E-54 But if the Life isn't in there, then what can they do? See? They don't see It. They'll never see It. See?
E-55 And the whole thing, as Jesus said, "At that day, you'll know that I'm in the Father, the Father in Me; I in you, and you in Me." The whole thing is God, becoming material. Like a husband and wife becoming one, together, God and His Church becoming One.
E-56 Now, it taken something to redeem this fallen woman, which was typified in Eve, when she fell. "Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression." Adam knowed that he was doing wrong; she didn't. That's the reason...
E-57 I am not hurting your feelings, but you know I've always stood for it. I don't agree with women ministers, because it's not supposed to be that way. See, she is the weaker vessel. Now we find that this woman was deceived by a someone quoting her the Word, and just missed It a little bit, and that's what caused all the trouble; reason Paul said, "Let her keep silent in the church, not permit her to speak," so forth. Now notice.
E-58 But, see, all that is, it's displaying showing by type, like the whole Bible, God coming together with a redeemed Wife, a Bride that God had in His mind before the foundation of the world. That was the attributes of God, being displayed. And now to make a character that could redeem this woman, it had to be something greater than her, to redeem her. And did you ever notice... I--I... this may be...
E-59 Now as some of my Arminian brothers are, a--a doctrine that is legalists, would disagree, just let me just... Pardon me for a minute, I might project this. If He is the Redeemer... I don't say this to hurt now, or to be different; I don't preach doctrine, but let me ask you something.
E-60 If He is a Redeemer, He come, a redeem is to "pick up that which has fallen," to redeem back to a place where it was at the beginning, so none will be picked up but them that was in His thoughts at the beginning. He come to redeem, not this cannon fodder that we see around professing to be Christians; but that He came to redeem, that was in God's thinking at the beginning. This other is just something that mixed around to show the Statue. See? It just... it's a--it's a garden, a flower garden. That plays its part. But the Statue is what you want to see, the Statue of Christ, which was God projected to the earth in the form of a Man. Amen! That's the Statue you want to see. That's the One. This other is just make-up parts, you see.
E-61 Now, this reflected His loving, noble character, God reflected in a Man, called Christ. He was only one that could do this. There was no other character in Heaven could do it, see, was God. He was the sinless nature. He was the Word, sinless nature of God. He was the Word expressed. Which, the Word was the beginning.
E-62 And if you are in the Lamb's Book of Life, you was God's expression from His thought. He seen you and seen your desire, before there even was an atom, or anything else, and you are His thought made word, and expressed in what you are now. Amen. That's God, in you, reflecting Christ today. You know what I mean?
E-63 Now, I hope that don't interfere with nothing, you see, and I wouldn't want to say nothing contrary to what you've been taught.
E-64 But just so that you would understand what I'm trying to get to here, a reflection, you've got to be identified. And if you are, and you were in God's thinking at the beginning, see, and was His reflection here on earth, you will bear record of the Heavenly, and as He bore record of the Heavenly, also. And when He raised up from the grave, and was given a body; we, when we raise up, will have a body like His Own glorious body.
E-65 The resurrection is sure. It's a guarantee, and we have the earnest of it now, as the Holy Spirit comes in and identifies us as God's redeemed person. Amen! When you receive the Holy Ghost, you're sealed till the journey is over. That is your Token that you hold, that shows that your--your fare has been paid. You are a redeemed character. Satan has no business with you, none whatever. Just pick up your Token and show him, "My healing is paid for. My trip to Glory is."
E-66 A Token is what you use to ride on a bus line, or an airplane. Your ticket is your token. See?
E-67 Take your Token; you're redeemed; the Blessing, the Holy Spirit. And if Satan tries to push something on you, just show This. That's your identification. Amen. You are identified in the resurrection of Christ. You are identified in His death when you die; you're identified in His resurrection. And, by that, It identifies you, that you were with Him before the foundation of the world, 'cause you are redeemed, that's, "brought back." "All the Father has given Me will come, and no man can come unless He the Father has give it, see, in the beginning."
E-68 Now notice, He was sinful... sinless, to take a place of the sinful, the antidote. He was without sin so that He might redeem sinners. God was expressed in Him and properly identified Himself in Him. Now notice.
E-69 You say, "Brother Branham, did you say, 'God identified Himself'?" He did.
E-70 Now, "In the beginning," said Saint John 1, "was the Word, and the Word was with God." Now a Word has to be a thought before it's a Word, 'cause the Word is a thought expressed. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God," see, "was God. And the Word, the Word, was made flesh and dwelt among us."
E-71 Identified how? Now Hebrews 4, see, "The Word of God is sharper, more powerful than a two-edged sword, cutting asunder," cutting both coming and going, "cut asunder, and a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." And when He did that, that's how the prophets was identified, because they... God would speak and tell them just what was wrong and what was going on. See? That is the identification of the Word of the hour, being made manifested.
E-72 He was the fulness of God's Word, for He was the fulness of the Godhead bodily. He was God in human form, and it took God to express such a character as this. And then that lovely life had to be taken from Him, so that He could save these that God's foreknowledge saw in the beginning, which was His thoughts of you and me. Jesus came to do that; His perfect life had to be sacrificed, to redeem that person. Then, if they do, and you were with God in His thoughts at the beginning, how can you deny His Word being true, when you are part of His Word. Amen. Certainly. A vindicated, properly, there could be no mistake about it. He said, "It's not Me that doeth the works, it's My Father that dwelleth in Me."
E-73 Now we find out that in the great turmoil of the day, the people, about understanding God, "God in three persons?" God, it's three attributes of God, like three offices: God above us, in the Holy Spirit up there, in a Pillar of Fire; God made flesh and dwelt among us, a Man that we could touch and handle; now God in the Church. God above you; God with you; God in you. See, the same God, in three different manifestations, but the same God all the time.
E-74 Notice, to be no mistakes. His sinless Nature expressed God's Word. And the only way that you will ever be able to express God's Word, that you believe It and watch It act behind you, you will have to have that sinless Nature that come from God. Before the foundation of the world, you was recognized with Him. Before the Word can ever express Itself through you, it takes a sinless Nature to do that.
E-75 So much, till, He was the Word in full. The Word of God flowed through Him so freely that even He could speak a Word, it would create. See, that showed Who He was. Who can create, but God? See, God is the only creator there is. And He was so perfect in harmony, Him and the Word was so perfectly together, until He created, even He had, He and the Word being one.
E-76 No other nature could do this. No other nature could. No character, nothing in the Heavens, nothing else, could do that but Him, for He was the beginning of that Character, Saviour! The Angel wasn't born a Saviour; He was created a Being to worship God, not a Saviour. But in God was a Saviour. An ordinary man born of an ordinary woman couldn't be a Saviour, 'cause his nature is carnal. But it taken God, Himself! Amen. I--I hope you see it. Look, that was the expression, to manifest such a Character as that. For others, it was a fallen character; nothing could save. Angels wasn't created for such. Man was a fallen character. Look, how could this man...
E-77 Look, to show it's the ones that He thought of, His thoughts is the Christian of today, the thoughts before the foundation of the world. Now remember, "Man, when he was born in sin, shaped in iniquity, comes to the world speaking lies." Is that right? [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.] There is nothing in him at all. So, you see, if he was in God's thoughts when he come to the world, he's come (in God's thoughts at the beginning) to display His attribute. Do you follow me? ["Amen."] Then Jesus came to break the clouds back, so that attribute could display itself. Amen. That's it. He is God's expressed Word. Now, nothing else could be manifesting; other characters had all fallen. Then, you see, what did Jesus come, to bring back those characters? No, no, they were born in sin, shaped in iniquity.
E-78 He came as a Redeemer. And to redeem anything, is to "bring it back." Amen. Bring it back! It was God's thought, you! Think! Little you, little me; no one in the world could take my place, nobody can take yours. You being a Christian and filled with the Spirit, God, and before the foundation of the world, seen you and knowed every feature that you got, see, and Jesus come to bring you back. That's what Jesus was here for, the Redeemer, the human body, to bring you back. That had to come to be a human, as a Redeemer, to display His attributes as Saviour, come to redeem you and bring you back from where you come from. You were...
E-79 When you receive Eternal Life, there is only one form of Eternal Life. That's the Greek word, Zoe. Is that right, brother? [The brother says, "Yes."--Ed.] Zoe, "God's Own Life." So you, being a son, you become part of that Life. So the Life that's in you never did begin and It never can end. Think of it. It can't end, because anything that's Eternal never began. The Life that's in you never did begin, that is, if you've got Eternal Life. And that's God, for you was in His thought from the Eternal, and now it's expressed here in a human being, for His glory. Jesus came to redeem that, being the Son, the fulness of God had to come and become that. The sinless character of God did that, that He might redeem these other thoughts that was to come to Him, to make a Wife. See what I mean? Oh, it's a glorious story! We ain't... oughtn't to get on that, anyhow. Let's go on. All right.
E-80 Notice, "created." God, God flowed through Him just like the--the wind would flow through a--a building, or like the water flow down a stream, even He had... Him and the Word being One. No other character could do it, for He was the only One that was born without carnal. All the rest of them was sexual desire, by carnal. He was born without sex desire. He was the virgin born.
E-81 God identified Himself as we are. He took--He took His strain, what He was, His strain as God, and stretched His tent down here and become human. He made Himself a tent, a body to live in, and that body is known as Jesus. God lived in Christ. See, He become human, in order to save us. And He took our upon Him, our form, that He might mold in us His character.
E-82 And His character was, that, He did everything that pleased God, and He stayed with the Word. That's what He wanted us for, we'd stay with God's Word, find our place, and then know where we were at. Stay with His Word! And, think of it, we are invited to shape our own character to His. Now we're going to find out what we've done. Shape our character to His Own, by His Own Spirit. Then we, by Him, are sons of God, just what I've expressed, by having His mind in us, to shape our character to His, His mind. "Let the mind that was in Christ be in you." If that mind is in you, then, you see...
E-83 He only did that which pleased God. He knowed Who He was. He came, the Son of God. He knowed He was to take that place. His character had to be that way. And then when He, having taken this place, He knowed what the Messiah was required of, and He always sought at God to do those things, and did nothing until the Father showed Him.
E-84 Now if you find your place, sister, don't let me hurt you, or brother, but you'll find your place in the Word, as a Christian. Not what the creed said; that's down here in this lower cannon fodder that's going to be destroyed. See, you find your place as a Christian, because your character is molded as Christ's. You are Zoe the same as He was Zoe. Then if the Bible said for "a woman not to cut her hair," how can you do it? It says "a man is the ruler of the house," how can you women be? What's the matter with you man that's sons of God? See? See, you don't find your place. See? Watch now. In... You're invited to come and take His character. By having His character in You, it molds you into the same mind that He was, and His mind was always to do what the Father had ordained Him to do.
E-85 He said, "Search the Scripture. They testify of Me." In other words, "If I don't do exactly what the Scripture said I'm to do, then show Me where."
E-86 Now what if God stood on the platform today, and said, "What's required of a Christian?" Then where would we all be? See, the character isn't expressing itself.
E-87 His mind was to stay with the Father's Word. Their--their mind was to... The same mind that was in them was to be in us. And if His mind is in us, we'll do like He did. If His character is in us, we'll be as He was. Is that right? [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.] All the prophets had that, we know. We took, take about Noah, how he did in his day, Moses, how he did in His day, Daniel in his day, the Hebrew children, and so forth.
E-88 The Word molds God's character to us, and anything that's tried to be mixed with that character, breaks the mold. You can't mix creed with Word. You can't mix the world with the Word. Jesus said, "You can't serve God and mammon." Mammon means "the world." You can't be; one or the other. "If you love the world, or the things of the world, the love of God is not even in you." Is that true? [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.] Then, you see, you can't mix it.
E-89 You can't mix oil and water. It just won't mix. You can churn it up-and-down, do anything you want to, it won't mix.
E-90 And your character will not mix with the world, if you are being molded in the form of God, by letting the mind that was in Christ be in you. That's the control tower, the direction.
E-91 Now let's look into God's mirror, His Word, and identify our present character by some Bible character. And we'll close just in a few minutes now. Identify ourself. Now This is the mirror that you want to do like that little boy did, look into. Let's look into This and see if can see ourself reflected by some Bible character. See what they did under certain circumstances, and see what we are doing now. Now get me real close now, see what your present character as a Christian is.
E-92 Now you can judge. That won't make nobody judge you; you judge yourself, see. Nobody is judging you. I'm not passing judgment. But let's just reflect, see how it reflects from some characters of the Bible, as we mention them, and see what your character is at this present time. Now notice, the--the--the Word creates a character, we know that, now we look into His mirror and identify ourself by some--some person in the Bible.
E-93 If you lived in the days of Noah, and was in your present character... If you understand me, say, "Amen." [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.] If you were living in the days of Noah, and in your present character, what side would you a-been on? Be careful, see. In your present character; now think of what you are. When the groups... What group would you be identified with, if your present character would have been living in the days of Noah? Would you been with the prophet and God's vindicated Word, standing in the minority, the little group, or with the popular-opinion folks of that day? What character?
E-94 Would you have been belonging to the churches, and things, was making fun of that prophet up there? Would you have been walking up with a group that went up and said, "Well, I ain't got nothing against that old man; he might be right," or would you be in there pitching away with him? Now think of your character now. What would you have done when everything was against it?
E-95 Remember, the world was criticizing the prophet and his message, and--and everything, the world, was criticized. All the churches was criticizing him. All the science said, "The man is crazy." As they said about Jesus, eating the flesh and drinking His Blood, they said, "The Man is a cannibal. He's a vampire." See? So you see where the sensible, what we call the world's sensible people, the scientists?
E-96 Did you know, when you get more education and more culture, did you know that's what side it puts you on? It puts you on the devil's side. The Bible said that, "The children of the darkness are wiser than the ones of the Light."
E-97 Look at the sons of Cain, every one of them become scientists, dealers in buildings, and making great progress. But the sons of Seth was all humble, peasant, sheepherders. Is that right? [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.] Man renown, of old, as it was in the days of Noah, how they build and made, and built the pyramids and everything, scientists. Watch real close now, see. This people criticized this man's message, though he had the evidence of God with him.
E-98 Or what if you would have lived in the days of Elijah; Elijah, when him being the pastor at that day? And Jezebel, the twenty-five hundred years ago, Hollywood was starting, with all of her paint and fashions, had got all the daughters of Israel doing the same thing. And one old man standing up there and battering against it! And all the priests saying, "Oh, well, the old fellow, let him alone, he'll come to his end after a while. There is nothing to it. And he, our fine king who is dressed just like we're dressed, and got the finest clothes, and the best fed nation, and everything, what does it make any difference whether you do this, or that, or the other? What difference does it make?" The pastors had been saying it.
E-99 But there stood one man, alone, with THUS SAITH THE LORD.
E-100 Now in your present character, where would you have been placed then? Now look in the Mirror, when you go home you'll see where you're at. See? See? What, what state would your present condition now place you at that day? Would you have went with the modern idea, the denomination, the sign, the fellow, "Oh, well, we're all married"? Oh, sure, they all worshiped Jehovah every new moon, and they screamed and they drank the water from the fountain, and praised the God of Heaven who brought them up, and all like that, but they're a million miles off the line. Where would your present Christian experience place you in Elijah's time? Where would you be identified? What side would you have took then?
E-101 Or, when Moses brought Israel, going down there as an identified prophet, with the Word that God had promised Abraham the prophet, would take place, and Moses went down and done all the signs that God told him to do. Listen close now, we're going to close in a minute. Brought them children out and got into the wilderness, the message, like you Pentecostals left fifty years ago from the denomination, and they got across the--the line over there, and there raised a man up, said, "Now wait a minute, let's make an organization out of this," a fellow named Dathan. "Moses, you think you're the only one on the beach. You think you're the only holy man among us. We got other holy man, say something about this. We'll just make us a little group, and we'll believe it this way, and we'll believe it this way, and we'll believe it this a way."
E-102 Now what group would your present character identify you? Would you, in the days of--of Elijah, would you have went out there where Jezebel, say, cut her hair and painted her face, and was a modern woman? Now just think where you are identified now. You say, "I'm Pent-..." I ain't saying what you are. I'm asking your character. We're going below these little things that you're looking at. We're going on the inside of you.
E-103 Did you hear that Holy Spirit last night, how It screamed out there at last? That's the reason I'm saying what I am today. See? Open your under-... spiritual understanding, people, It's--it's later than you think. See? See? See? You can. It's--it's a way that a person might think that you're right. But I thought, maybe, if the Lord would let me speak this, that they would pardon me for it, the--the association, or, the brethren; which, I know they do, they're right with me on it.
E-104 Notice. But, this, if--if you can just see your ownself today, in the light; if your spirit, that was in you, lived in a character back there. Now look where you are today, and you'll see where you'd a-been back there. Where would you have been in that time? Would you have took sides with the organization that Dathan wanted to organize? Or, would your present character separated you from that, and stayed with the Word, see, when it seemed all was against it?
E-105 Moses had been thoroughly a vindicated, that he had the message of the Lord. God had proved it in every manner, just exactly what He said had come to pass; told Israel, plumb back in Deuteronomy, way back in there, "Whatever these signs would be, you must follow that and listen to it, and hear what the Word promised." He was made manifest.
E-106 And still Dathan, a smart leader down in Egypt, rose up and said there, "You'll try to make yourself the only one that's got anything."
E-107 That wasn't Moses' thought. He was only doing what God had ordained him to do. All of them didn't have to be Moseses. The people only had to follow what he said. Everyone didn't have to create, and do miracles and things. That's what's the trouble with people today.
E-108 A lady asked me, coming down the road, the other day, from up here. She said... It's Florence Shakarian, Brother Demos' sister, and Sister Williams and them sat in the car. She said, "Brother Branham, I fast and fast and fast, and still I can't cast out devils."
E-109 I said, "You wasn't born to do such. Your duty, is fast. The Holy Spirit is working on somebody else out there for that. You don't know the place."
E-110 If we had time, we'd teach those things in long meetings. How that one person is burdened, like this, for something over here. You don't know, you don't, and not for you to know. It's Him doing it. You're just submissive to your call, and always line it up with the Scripture, see if it's right or not.
E-111 Now we find out, both... This was Moses that was criticized, and he was--he was criticized by this group, but God said to Moses, "Separate yourself from him, because I am going to swallow him up in the earth," and he did. Now, see, you must know the hour that you're living, and now judge your character with what they was.
E-112 Or, in the days of Christ. I want to ask you now. When they had the finest seminaries, the finest ministers, the highest educated, the most holy rituals, and everything that we, they ever had; and when Jesus come on the scene, He was actually a "renegade," to them. But, you see, God identified His Own character in Him, by manifesting that He was God. And He said, "If you don't know Who I am, search the Scriptures."
Said, "We know Moses. We don't..."
E-113 Said, "If you'd have knowed Moses, you would know Me. He wrote of Me."
E-114 Now, if you lived in that day, and was a member of some fine church of the Sanhedrin Council, fine pastor, what side would you have took? What, what side would your character now place you on? Think. It's up to you. What side, would your--your character now that you are, where would you identify yourself in the days of Jesus, when your pastor said, Oh, them things are nonsense"?
E-115 And yet here come Jesus back, saying, "The Scripture said I was to do this," and He did it. "The Scripture said I was to do this, and 'born a virgin.' Scripture said I was to do this," and He did it. He said, "Search the Scripture and see where I failed."
E-116 But they said, "Pay no attention to that guy; He is out of His mind." See?
E-117 What, what present character do you have? Where would you be placed back there in them days when Jesus was on earth, when the big denominations and theologians was all against Him, and all the teachers and theologians of that day was against Him, all the Bible teachers against Him? Against what? Against the clear-cut Word of God for that age being made manifest, being identified, God Himself identified.
E-118 "His Name shall be called Counsellor, Prince of Peace, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father. A virgin shall conceive and bear this son. The government shall be as over his shoulders, see, of His Kingdom there is no end." Who is this Person? A baby, God, and then God becomes a man. Could you imagine Jehovah crying like a baby? Could you imagine Jehovah born in a barn? Could you imagine Jehovah playing like a boy? Could you imagine a church, that claimed to worship Him, crucify Him?
E-119 Now what side would you be identified on? What the true-cut, clean-cut Word was saying, Itself, or would you have took to your creed? Your present character, where would you be at? Now that's right where you would have been. Whatever you are right now, that's just what you would have been back there, just exactly, clearly cut. Oh, my!
E-120 When, His Messianic sign, now watch, His Messianic sign identified His character, for it was God in a man, the Word. See what I mean? It discerned the thoughts, and told them all these things.
E-121 [Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.]... the Word found her in. But when the Word first flashed, she got It. She was one of those thoughts of God, that was manifested. See?
E-122 But those who stood there in the ecclesiastical robes, with all kinds of dignity, and all kinds of perverting the Word into different things, and making It with no sincerity in It, just they belonged to the church, they was the one that claimed to have Light, and the Light blackened what light they had.
E-123 Like you trying to hold a flashlight in the sun, put the sun out. See? Why won't a flashlight put the sun out, why won't any other light? There is no light can put the sun out. Why? It's the Word of God made manifest. God said, "Let there be light," and that's God's light. It's God's Word manifested; here he come!
E-124 No creed, denomination, no pope, priest, or whatever it is, or Doctor of Divinity, no organization, no nation, no nothing, will ever put out the manifestation Light of God. When the Word is spoke and she comes to Light, it's going to do that what It said It would do. No creed can stand around It, no nothing can stand around it, but Light Itself and those who will walk in it. That's Jesus Christ raised from the dead, here manifesting Hisself among us, and we walk in Him. There is nothing can stop it. "Heavens and earth," Jesus said, "will pass away, but It won't." Notice, all the Bible teachers, and so forth...
E-125 Yet, seeing that Word vindicated, His messianic sign showing that little prostitute Who He was, others who was had them thoughts in God's mind, like Peter and--and Nathanael, and all those who was in God's thinking. As soon as that Light flashed, they recognized It. They didn't have to pull them up to the altar, call them up and--and beg them, and tell them you'll do something else for them if they would, and you'd give them a better living, and see if you could speak to the boss for a job, put them in a better location. They didn't care. They had to fight to hold their place. "But there is nothing going to separate us," said the Bible, "from the love of God which is in Christ." Persecution, peril, death itself, can't separate us, because we all was, always was, in His thoughts. All right, on we go.
E-126 Would your present state identify you with the Pharisees of that day? Would your present state? Now if you should say, "No, it wouldn't identify me with them Pharisees then," then what about now? Hebrews 13:8 said He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Now what state does your present character identify you now? "I wouldn't have nothing to do with them Pharisees. No, sir." Now, that's just a name, to you. But what about the estate that you're in, when you see Him today in His church just as He was then, now where would you be? History is repeating itself.
E-127 Pharisees of that day stood against Him because of prejudice. And that's what's the matter today, the denominational world stands against Truth of the Word, because it's prejudice.
E-128 Being interviewed by a Catholic priest not long ago, he said to me, "You're trying to teach a Bible."
I said, "That's what I believe in."
He said, "God is in His church."
I said, "God is in His Word."
E-129 He said, "That was, all them early people were Catholics." I said... "Peter, James and John, they were all Catholic."
E-130 I said, "If they were..." And he said... I said, "You, what do you think about the church today?"
Said, "It's far better off than it was then."
E-131 I said, "Do the things you did then." See, the character shows exactly what it is.
E-132 Pharisees of that day, for prejudice! Remember, it was prejudice. They actually seen It! Nicodemus, one of their priests, expressed it, and said, "Rabbi, we know You're a teacher comes from God. No man could do what You do without God being with him." See, but for prejudice, because He didn't join up with their group!
E-133 If He would come, say, "Now you Pharisees are wrong; I am a--I'm a Sadducee," or, "you Sadducees are wrong; I'm a Pharisee." The Pharisee would say, "See, I told you we were right." But He didn't come to any of them; but He stood between them.
E-134 If you would have followed Him, to see His miracles then, and then... And you say, "Oh, I'd love to see His miracles." And you followed Him, to see His miracles.
E-135 And then when He come to this place, said he stopped displaying His miracles, like, and begin to teach them. And the seventy ministers, ordained by Christ, got up and walked away from Him because He said something that science couldn't go with, or the rest of the crowd couldn't go with. They couldn't understand how that Man, being a man, yet make Hisself God coming down from Heaven. The Son of man ascend up from where He come from. He was God. Sure, He was. They said, "Oh, we, that's too hard, we can't go that."
E-136 Where would you be identified at that time, now with your character that's molded in you? Something has molded your character. You are some kind of a character. You would find yourself somewhere here. What would you have done? What, in your present state now, what, where would you have been at that time? See?
E-137 Teachers all against Him, and everything, and His miracles identified Him. And when the seventy got up, and the pastors and the ministers, and got up and said, "We can't understand That," would you have walked away like that congregation? Or would you have been like them disciples, "I don't care what they say"? See, it's there.
E-138 Then Jesus turned and give them a trial, said, "You all want to go, too?"
E-139 See, they had Him caught in a trap. "Why, this Man is a vampire," said, "have to eat His flesh and blood." They walked away, the congregation.
E-140 "Well," the ministers says, "well, we'll stay a little while longer, see what it's all about."
E-141 And He said, "Now when you see the Son of man identifying Himself as God now, see, when you see the Son of man lifting up into Heaven from where He come from."
"Oh," they said, "this is too much for us," and off they went.
Then He turned to the disciples, said, "You want to go, too?"
E-142 And Peter said, "Lord, who would we go? Where could we go? We know that You, and You alone, has the Words of Life."
E-143 And that's the same thing today, "He," not your organization, not your group. Christ, and Him alone, has the Word of Life. Where do you identify yourself, with some false fable of something man has made up, or the achievement of God? As I spoke last Sunday on the Countdown, what God has been able to achieve, to get His Church into astronaut age now. See? Or, where would you, or can you see your own identification now?
E-144 Notice, with the popular, loving teacher. I want to speak to you young folks, just a minute. Where do you identify yourself, young lady, you at school? Oh, you can split grains, you can show all this, and--and you're a science teacher and everything. But do you know what? They can't give you Life.
E-145 Life only comes by Christ, "to know Him," not know His Word, not know His Church, not know His This. "Know Him," that's the only thing can give you Life.
E-146 And now when This come before a modern teen-ager, something like your modern Pentecostal boy, Elvis Presley, who sold his birthrights for a fleets of Cadillacs and the million dollars of gold records, and so forth. That's what the world wants. They want a Pentecost can let the--the people...
E-147 Today, the women want a Pentecost that will let--let them cut their hair and wear shorts, or do anything they want to, and--and just maintain their--their testimony of being Pentecost. They, they want that just the same. See? "No, I wouldn't go to that bunch. No, they got... That's old fashion." See? See, they want that. It's just the nature. And some of the man, that's led by the women, gives it to them.
E-148 But, "God is able of these stones." Somebody has got to scatter the Light, and we've got man today who is not afraid to scatter It, too. Let it be whatever it wants to.
E-149 Where are you identified? What group are you with? See? Where do you stand? Notice.
E-150 This young fellow, he identified himself with his own church; the price was too great. So if--so if you remember his last identification, where we identified this young ruler that had the opportunity to come follow Jesus. He went ahead and took his church and went on. He was a good boy, said he kept the commandments and done all these things. And he knew just as good as any of the rest of them, so he'd just take that idea. He rejected to follow Jesus, and His last identification, we find him in hell, was crying for Lazarus to come and bring him some water.
E-151 Or, your identification, could you be identified with the group that Judas was in? He started to walk with Jesus. He started out all right, like the Pentecostals did years ago. But the very thing that they come out of, the organization, your mothers and fathers, this young group has turned right back and made them one just like they come out of. See? What type of a group are you with?
E-152 Now the Bible said this Laodicea Church Age... Judas, you know, carried the... He saw the possibilities of getting something great with what he had. He was identified with Jesus. So he thought, with that, he carried the bag, and he could make some extra money by selling Him for thirty pieces of silver.
E-153 That's exactly what the Laodicea Church Age did. The Bible said so. "You are rich, and you say, 'I've increased, and I have plenty of goods, and I have need of nothing.' And you don't know that you're wretched, miserable, blind, naked; and don't know it." That's Pentecostal, the last Church Age; not Luther, not Wesley. But, Pentecostals, that's the Church Age.
E-154 Where are you identified now? Say, "I'm Pentecostal." You see where it's identified? Of putting Him on the outside. Certainly, because they are rich, have need...
E-155 "Oh, you say, 'rich'?" Why, you used to stand out here and pay three dollars a week for a little old shanty on the corner. Not as I'm trying to identify that; but if it takes that to preach the full Words, take that. Certainly. Now we've paying fifty million dollars for seminaries, and groups, and great big things, and of other places putting billions and millions of dollars in great big buildings, to make way, and preaching Jesus is coming soon. And missionaries I know, on the field, with no shoes on their feet. Amen. Making up an offering, some more missionaries; and one old brother with nothing on his feet but a pair of sandals, that's all he had, he picked them up and laid them up there for an offering for some other missionary. Oh, my! Where are you identified at?
E-156 Pentecostals! I won't stay too long there, but you know what I mean. Oh, my! Sold out! Sold out what? Sold out our birthrights for popularity. We wanted to be like the Methodists. You wanted to be like the Baptists and Presbyterians. That's the kind of buildings you got. You put up a seminary, and like an incubator, and hatch you out some preachers that'll let you do anything you want to, and still call yourself "pentecost." That's a lie. Right! Remember, remember, that was the very thing that turned Judas to be popular amongst the rest of the ministers, he sold Him for thirty pieces of silver.
E-157 He, what made him turn? He actually doubted the claims of Christ being the Word. He could see that Man, eat with Him, fish with Him out there, and everything else; and Him being the Word, he couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe He was God; but He was. Judas' character caused him to do this. Has your character done the same? Remember, Judas was very religious.
E-158 I went to Africa, and they said, "Why, Elvis Presley, we got his songs all over here, he sings."
E-159 Pat Boone and them, they oughtn't to be permitted to speak the Name. Filth and dirt! It's hypocritical. "He that names the Name of Christ, let him separate himself from sin." See? But there you are. See where we got to? Sin is so treacherous, it moves in so cunning, till you don't know it's there till it's done got you wrapped around it, see, and then it's got you in its clutches. See what Judas' final identification was?
E-160 And, my brother, because the church that you go to is bigger than the next one over on the corner, yet they're preaching the Truth, and you're not, you see where that gets you? That's that Judas spirit. And you know his last identification? Was hanging on a sycomore tree.
E-161 Or do you find yourself identified with the real disciples of Christ? Now we're going to close, sure enough now. True to Him and His Word, in the face of all criticism! Can you identify yourself with Peter on the Day of Pentecost?
E-162 When all of them saw it, said, "Look at this bunch of crazy people. They're all drunk."
E-163 Peter stood up and said, "Ye man of Jerusalem, and you that dwell in Judaea, let this be known unto you, and hearken unto my words. These are not drunk as you suppose; this is just the third hour of the day. But this is that, the Scripture, that was spoke of by the prophet Joel." What was it? The Word of God was being manifested. He said, "Repent, every one of you, and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. The promise is unto you, and your children, and them that's far off." How many? "Even as many as the Lord our God shall call." He never called all, you know. But them, that called, know what to do. All right. All right.
E-164 Or, with Paul, or when you was with Paul when the--the--the popular-loving Demas forsaken him, for the things of the world, his helpmate; if you'd have seen all the people laughing at Paul, hear Paul said, "Bring a coat." A man with a ministry like he had, and only had one coat.
E-165 Why, Demas thought, "He ought to a-had a great big Bible school, and all this organized everywhere, and in some great association. Why, he could heal the sick. He was a prophet. Why, he ought to have all kinds of money, millions of heir, and here the man only had one coat."
E-166 Said, "It's getting cold down here. Tell him to bring my coat down when he comes."
E-167 And Demas, seeing this, went with the world, and left his poor little brother to fight it alone. Would you dare to stand and see Jesus out there, cold, to see Him needy, and you walk away from Him?
E-168 Remember Saint Martin? Many of you brothers remember him, the writings of Saint Martin. He was in Toras, France, and he wasn't a Christian. His mother was a Christian. He was a cousin to--to Irenaeus. And, then, this was several hundred years after the death of the apostles, when they was still trying to keep the Word together; and the Catholic church was taking it all off on dogmas, and they wouldn't stand for it.
E-169 And Saint Martin, going through a gate, where... a cold afternoon, and there laid a poor old beggar laying there, freezing to death. Nobody would give him a coat. Saint Martin took off his own coat, cut it in half and wrapped the beggar in it, and went on. They laughed at him. "What a silly soldier that is. He is even breaking the rules of our army. He is doing all this. A man with a half coat wrapped around him, for that bum."
E-170 That night as he laid in his bed, he was awakened by a noise. And when he looked up, there stood Jesus wrapped in that piece of coat. He knowed what he done to that beggar, he done to Christ. That was his conversion.
E-171 Would you stand and see the Gospel suffering today? Or would you go with the popular-loving crowd, like Demas did? Are you going to stand by Him, live or die? Like Peter did, "I'm ready to go to prison, or wherever, with You." Yeah.
E-172 When the issue comes forth in the church, whether women should cut their hair, or what they should do, like they did in Corinthians, what side do you take then? What's your present state do that time? Think of it, sister. When, Paul said, "I suffer not a woman to teach or usurp any authority, but be under obedience."
E-173 They wrote and told him, said, "Well, the church over here, the Holy Ghost told us."
E-174 He said, "What? Came the Word of God out of you? And came It to me only. If any man thinks himself to be a prophet, let him acknowledge that what I say is the commandments of God." He said, in Galatians 1:8, "If an angel comes from Heaven and says any other thing, let him be accursed."
E-175 What side would you take in that issue if it was in your church? Huh? Find your present state now. I'm just trying to ask where you're at. Oh, brother, let's hurry. Paul stooped from a great position, you remember. You say, "But, brother, I--I'm a district man. I'm a--I'm a..." I don't care what you are. I'm asking you what your present position, your present character. What, what's it doing for you? Where would you be identified?
E-176 Paul, remember, come down from a great education under Gamaliel. Gamaliel was his great teacher, and he was a great something, would have been a great man. But he stooped, to see that the Word of God could continually grow, and gave his life for it.
E-177 Moses come from a throne, to be a Pharaoh, to carry the Word of God through the wilderness.
E-178 Jesus come from Heaven, to give you Life. What crowd are you identified with? Oh, to make a way to reflect Hisself, like a flashing Light! What would He do that for?
E-179 Now, right, just set still just a minute longer, a few minutes longer, if you want to be prayed for. I know I'm holding you long. It's right now twenty minutes to five. We'll be gone by five, the Lord willing. Listen. What crowd would you be identified with? I want to ask you something.
E-180 Jesus come that He might turn on the Light. The flash light takes a picture. See, that He could, you could be reflected, or He could be reflected in you; when your picture is taken, it'd look like His; when people look at you, they see God's Word living again. That's what He come, to bring that camera, by His sanctifying Blood, to bring the Word close to you. For this cause, He said, John 14:12, "The works that I do shall you do also." "And if any will follow Me, let him deny his creed, deny himself, deny the world, take up his cross and follow Me."
E-181 Or are you found identified in some of the Scriptures where the--in some of the Scriptures where the... them that didn't stay? Where you identified with, anyhow? The camera has already flashed. You're identified somewhere. You are setting here this afternoon, every one of us, now listen, you're identified somewhere. The camera has already flashed. You know what you are. It has took your picture somewhere. Now where you standing? You're the judge.
E-182 God help us to be so identified, in Him, that we'll reflect His Life in our own. Listen, the goldsmith used to take and beat the gold, and he kept beating it and beating, and turn it over and beating it, till he seen his own reflection in it. Then it was pure gold; all the sludge was beat out. May the Holy Ghost, today, and in this meeting, in the hours to come, may He take this Word and beat It over, in our heart, until all of the doubts, all the creeds, and all the things contrary to God, is gone, that we can, (listen now) that we, the Church, can reflect His resurrection.
E-183 Listen, this little story, and then get your prayer cards ready.
E-184 In Carlsbad, New Mexico, many of you has heard of that big cavern down there, see, down under the ground. You go down about a mile, on a--on a thing. It goes plumb all the way down, a mile under the ground. It's so dark, until you put your hand like this, you couldn't see nothing, it's just so dark. And a little family went down one time, and--and the little boy was walking with the guide, and the guide went over, all at once, and just flipped the light, and the little girl begin to scream. She was scared.
E-185 That's about like the little Bride now, that has to take Her stand. It looks dark. The Council of Churches is going to throw you into that thing, or you're going to have to take a stand and come out. You have to reflect your character. What's She going to do in that time?
E-186 What's going to happen when you can't buy nor sell, when they have a union of church? Now you say, "When that happen?" No, no, the flash has done took your picture then. Your character has already told you. You're already in it. See? You know what the Bible said about that. "They would come, say, 'Yes, Lord, we're coming in now,' but it's too late, the door is closed." See?
What's going to happen to the little Bride?
E-187 I think of it, in this little story. You know, when that little girl was screaming, jumping up-and-down, in hysterics, like to scared her to death, when she seen what happened. And in that midnight darkness, she was cut off all at once. The little boy said, screamed out, with all of his voice, said, "Don't fear, little sister, we got a man here who can turn on the lights."
E-188 Don't you fear, little sister, we got a Man here Who can turn on the Light, see, Who can make the Word of God do just what It is supposed to do. That Man is Jesus Christ. Let your character reflect with His.
Let us pray.
E-189 Don't fear, little Sister, we got a Man here who can turn on the Lights. Wherever you are, whatever you have seen your place this afternoon, I'll leave that with you. Your present character will make you see yourself somewhere along the line. Which, we could have went hours and hours on it. What is your present character? Now let's pray, and you pray, too. Now remember, I may never see you again, you may never see me again, until we meet over there. Now in your present state; I don't care who you are. In your present state, I'm putting myself in there, too, what does my character reflect this afternoon? Where am I identified?
E-190 Heavenly Father, search our hearts, in this minute. It only takes a moment of time, a change. Let the mind of Christ come into us. The Bible said, "Let the mind that was in Christ be in you." That changes our character. And in this drawed out sermon, if I should call it that, this afternoon, just my humble way of showing the people what I believe, that You would have us to know. God, let the mind that was in Christ be in me. And if anywhere that I have failed to punctuate Your Word with an "amen," and then follow it out, then, Lord, change me, make me over. I am Your servant; I want to be, Lord. Help Thou me. Help everyone in here, Lord.
E-191 And now I commit them to You. If there is those here, Lord, who was in Your thinking before the foundation of the world, surely this is wakening them up. I trust that every one of them was. And There, Father, we'll know when You come and the great Book is opened, we will understand then. And if there is some that has strayed away, got off the Path, I pray, God, that today You'll bring them back, bring them back to that Path of righteousness and Life. We're in Your hands, Lord, do with us as You see fit. I give this audience to You, as trophies of the meeting, in Jesus Christ's Name. Amen.
E-192 Now we haven't time for the altar call, but I want the altar call to be in your heart. Where are you identified, in your present state?
E-193 Now after preaching like that, I'm going to ask the Holy Spirit, if He will, to help me just a minute now, till I can get the anointing to pray for the sick. These things that I have said, let them be true, God. Which, they are true.
E-194 Now if everyone will just keep your seat and be real reverent just a moment, please, so, you see, and contact Him. You're right on something here, and something moves, it throws you out. It's a very hard thing. It looks like, if that one woman up there at--at Sychar... It was done one time. Jesus didn't repeat it over and over.
E-195 But the American people has got to be entertained, you know, that's--that's just the nature of us. We'd just... We would rather stay home and watch television, more entertainment than there is in the church. See? That's, see, that's entertainment. That's what we want. It's got into the church. God don't entertain you. He just brings you His Word. See?
E-196 He said that to that woman, and they had to believe that prostitute's word for it. But the whole city was ready, see, they were in the thoughts of God before the foundation of the world.
E-197 Now may God repeat it again this afternoon, is my humble prayer. In leaving you, may He leave this with you. Pray.
E-198 How many out there... I don't see a person there that I know. All that's in this crowd, and I don't... maybe, probably prayer cards is all over the place. But you setting out there, that's sick or got a need, or something, and you know that I know nothing about you, raise up your hands, just everywhere you are. See? It's just everyone.
E-199 May the Lord help us now in this. Now don't no one move. Don't, please, no one move. This is a--a great thing.
E-200 Now, there is no need of me saying, trying to explain it, there is no way of doing it. Now, the Bible said, which is the Word, that, "He is the High Priest that can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities." Is that right?
E-201 Now sometimes faith is unknown to you; you got it, and you don't know it. If you try to push yourself into something, you miss it, you go over the top of it. It's so humble and simple, see. "And He is the High Priest that can be touched by our infirmities." Then, if you touched Him, He would act like He did before. Is that right? [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.] Now watch.
E-202 You see this woman setting right down here? I don't know the little soul. She is just setting there, but somehow she is in contact with God. Cause, in the dimension that I'm now looking in, I see the woman, and she is conscious that something is going on. She is praying for her children who is not here. That is right. I don't know her. I've never seen the woman, but she was deeply concerned about some children.
E-203 Do you believe me to be His servant? Do you believe that, that Jesus Christ is here, the Holy Spirit Who... You see, if we can get ourselves out of the way! See? Now to heal you, I can't. See? Or, to give you your desire, I can't. See, that has to come through God, 'unless He would tell me to tell you something. Now, but if He can reveal to me what's the matter with that child, or whatever it is, you--you will believe me to be His servant? You will.
E-204 Now the whole audience, if you wish, the lady is setting right here. Would you stand up? Now, the Bible laying here before me, I do not know the woman. I've never seen her. Now, here, come right back to Sychar now.
E-205 Please, everyone be reverent. See? When you see something... See, it's a spirit, it moves, throws me off again.
E-206 Yes, the lady has three children she is praying for, and all three of them is shadowed. That is, they are not Christians. They're unsaved. That is right. One of them is a girl, and she has a sore on her leg, up high. That's right, isn't it? One, something wrong with their eyes, one of the boys. Another one has got heart trouble, and is an alcoholic. That's true. Is that your desire? Is that what you want from God? [The sister says, "Amen."--Ed.] Then I ask, in Jesus' Name, that He gives you what your desire is. You need--need anything, anything else?
E-207 Here is a lady, just as I said that, it disturbed her. She is setting right back here. She is suffering with arthritis. Her name is Miss Thomason; she won't know... Yes. I am a stranger to you. I never seen you in my life, but that's who you are. Do you believe me to be His servant, lady? Do you believe what I've said is true, and comes from God? You are suffering with arthritis.
E-208 That's your husband setting there by you. He is suffering, too. He has something wrong in his--his veins, it's called "hardening of the arteries." That's right. He has something wrong with his feet, also. That is right. And, then, you're trying to quit drinking. You want to do it. You're an alcoholic, but you're trying to quit drinking. Do you believe me to be His servant? Will you accept me as God's servant? Then I deliver you from that, in the Name of Jesus Christ. Do you believe, sir? Give your heart to Christ, see the ministers about baptism, and the thing is over for you. You just believe.
E-209 Do you believe? "If thou canst believe!" Got something wrong with your side, haven't you, honey? If you'll believe with all your heart, God will heal it.
E-210 Setting there, next, you got diabetes. Do you believe that God will heal the diabetes for you, and make you well?
E-211 Heart trouble; you believe God will heal the heart trouble? All right, sir.
E-212 Also, heart trouble, next. Do you believe God will heal the heart trouble, next? That's right. You believe He'll do that? Uh-huh.
E-213 This big lady setting here. A few minutes ago, when I was preaching, come down about identifying yourself, she looked right straight towards me. You were healed then. You had kidney trouble. If that's right, stand up on your feet. See? Well, you like... Wasn't it a strange feeling come to you when I said that about identifying yourself? And you had a real strange feeling, looked right straight to me. That's when it took place. Go home now, you're well. Just believe God, that's all.
See, the Word is made manifest.
E-214 Caught your breath, sir. Do you believe God can heal you of that heart trouble, make you well? The man with gray hair, nice-looking fellow setting there, do you believe God will heal the heart trouble? You do. Your wife sets there now. Do you believe I can tell you what's wrong with your wife, by the help of God? You believe that God can tell me what's wrong with her? It's anemia, a blood condition. That's right. Do you believe God will make you both well now? You do? You accept it?
E-215 Now the lady setting next to her. See that going down there? That lady has something wrong with her back. Do you believe God will heal the back trouble, lady, and make you well?
E-216 The man next to you has arthritis. Do you believe God will heal you of the arthritis, sir? You accept it? You do? Got your hand up. All right.
E-217 How about that little lady setting there looking right at me, right next to you? Yes, she is praying for her mother. Mother in the hospital, with infection. That's right.
E-218 You put up your hand, right next to her, sister. It wasn't the mother you were praying for. This lady is praying for her mother in the hospital. And, but, you, your dad, he's got cancer, and you're praying for him. That's right. See?
E-219 The next lady has lung trouble. Do you believe God will the heal lung trouble?
E-220 Now, you see, it's just got me so I'm just blinded, almost, see about twenty or thirty people across there.
E-221 What, where are you identified now? Are you identified in saying, "I am a believer. I believe God. Or, I believe that this is Him"? Do you identi-... Or, you be--be identified with that Word, say, "God promised It. What Jesus did then, He did again today. And I believe that we're living in the days of Sodom, and just before the destruction of the world. And Jesus promised that He would manifest Himself again just like He did at Sodom, like He was doing there, and like He is doing now." Do you believe it? [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.]
E-222 Then, all you that have prayer cards, in this one row here, this section here, stand up against the wall, that way. Go right out of your place, stand up against the wall, all on this side.
E-223 Now let those that are in this section that has prayer cards, the middle section, stand up in this aisle, stand out this a way. Don't, don't move over now, see, stand right in the aisle. See, go right...
E-224 Now wait. I want this, this crowd over on this side, to stand this a way, look, turn this a way. I want this crowd to go around this a way; go back through the aisle, go back that way, come around and join yourself over here.
E-225 Now all that's in this other section, that has prayer cards, stand up in this aisle, this a way. That's right. Come out here, and go back towards the back, and join in behind these.
E-226 Now you're either going to see a complete flop or you're going to see the Glory of God. Now where are you identified today, with believer, or you have to be entertained, or are you going to believe God? Some of them in the Bible time, as even the shadow of Saint Peter, a fisherman who couldn't sign his name, the shadow of that man, that showed the same sign that you seen here today, passed over the people and they were healed. How many knows that's true? [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.]
E-227 Now, brethren, you're not left out. While these here, like that, see, it'll make that come. And just stand here. [Brother Branham turned and spoke to the ministers. Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.]
E-228 If there be a pastor here that believes in praying for the sick, I don't want to leave you people think, (me standing up here as an evangelist and--and with a gift of discernment, and so forth like that, and the prophetic hour that we're living in), to make you think that your pastor just ain't just as much as anybody else. He's a servant of Christ, with the same authority that I have or anybody else has. Our authority is Jesus Christ. And I'm going to have them come down here and pray with me while we're praying.
E-229 Now, every pastor in here that believes in Divine healing and wants to stand with us here, will you come and make, take your stand with me here while I'm praying for the sick, any of you pastors that wants to come. This group of pastors, sponsoring pastors, I asked them there; said, "It makes no difference what the pastor is, what church he belongs to." If you're Presbyterian, Lutheran, or a Catholic priest, come here and stand with us if you believe the Message of Christ, that you believe in Divine healing. Come here and lay your hands upon them. Surely you wouldn't--you wouldn't separate, as a servant of Christ, you wouldn't separate yourself from your... from the human beings, no matter whether they belonged to your--your--your manse or not, or your parish. You wouldn't separate yourself from them. You'll believe. Now you're welcome to come here and help with me, laying hands upon these sick people, that they might be healed.
E-230 All right, I think the lines are about ready to start. I want the ushers now to get their places, so they can help with the people.
E-231 Now, so that we don't... everybody will understand, now listen real close. Can you hear? Say, "Amen." [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.] Say it again. ["Amen."] Look, I'm going to give you...
E-232 Now, I can't take each person, stand there and pray with them, and have discernment. I'd go about five or six more, and they would be taking me away from the building. You know that.
E-233 Jesus, a woman touched Him, and He turned around and told her what her trouble was, and all about it. And He said, "Virtue is gone out of Me," strength; one person. And that was God, manifested in flesh.
E-234 This is just a little gift, see, to manifest Him, a promised gift for the day. Notice, friend.
E-235 Peter, one time, was called on the scene where there was a woman dead, by the name of Dorcas. All of you remember it, say, "Amen." [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.] And He went over and knelt down, and prayed. After... Listen now, you people in the prayer line. After He prayed, He went over and laid hands on Dorcas, and she came to life. Is that right? ["Amen."]
E-236 Now, brethren, I want you and this congregation to join in with me. Look here, standing here, about five hundred people, or maybe more, standing here, this afternoon, to be prayed for. Now let us pray a prayer of faith, each one of us. And then when the people comes by, when you lay your hands upon them, lay them upon there, with faith, that it's going to happen. I'm going to believe. I'm, I, with all my heart, I'm going to believe.
E-237 Our Heavenly Father, now the great march will start through here. Hundreds of people will pass through, and under these ministers' hands. Let them realize, Lord, that they are just passing under the Cross. They're passing under the... where the Blood was shed to make this, what we're doing, to be real. For, He that hung on the Cross, said, "These signs shall follow them that believe. If they lay their hands on the sick, they shall recover." And let the people accept it.
E-238 You promised You would save whosoever "will." You can't save the world, because whosoever "will" won't believe You. You went into a city, many mighty works you couldn't do, because of unbelief.
E-239 Neither will You be able to help one person that comes through this line, unless they're willingly, from the bottom of their heart, to identify themselves with the believers and the Word of God, that the thing is over. May this great identification come now, that when each of these people passes under the hands of these ministers, may the Holy Spirit place into their heart that they have did the bidding of God, and may they go out of here rejoicing, healed, for the Kingdom of God's sake. We obey You, Lord, in this act, in the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
E-240 I want someone, Roy, come here if you will, and sing Only Believe. I want the rest of you, your heads bowed, and everybody praying.
E-241 Now, these is mothers, fathers, and children, little, sick babies, people dying with cancer. If it was you, you would want somebody sincerely. And we want that sincerely.
E-242 Now, let's all bow our heads now. I'm going to step down here among my brethren, to pray for the sick. [Brother Branham and the ministers lay hands on the sick and pray for them in the prayer line. Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.]
E-243 You know, it's been a most wonderful time in this fellowship. And I have noticed something this afternoon; I don't know whether you did or not. Ninety percent of those people that were healed, were healed before they even got to where I was at. They were screaming and shouting, and giving God praise before they got there.
Now we're going to pray for these handkerchiefs.
E-244 Lord Jesus, we know that in the Bible, they said, "They took from the body of Saint Paul." Not because He was Paul, but because that He was Your servant, Lord. He was Your ambassador, and we know that they say that, "Sickness and diseases departed." Many people could not attend the meeting, and they sent a handkerchief to represent them. God, let the Angel of the Lord; He was the One that looked down upon the Red Sea and--and got it scared, and Israel went on to their promise. Grant it, Lord, that this will be the same. May these handkerchiefs, laying upon the sick, heal the sick. For the Kingdom of God's sake, in Jesus' Name, I ask it. Amen.
E-245 Now I just want to say a word or two, to you, 'cause I really appreciate you. I appreciate these fine ministers, all down the line; they put in their time of help, and everything. And maybe you might have thought, brethren, that while the discernment was going on, and so forth, down here, I didn't know what you were praying about, but the Lord Jesus reminded me of it. I know what...
E-246 Don't worry about your mama. She'll be all right.
E-247 And you setting there, with that sinus and female trouble. I knowed it, all along. You're going to be over it. Don't worry.
E-248 See, It was behind us, same as He was here in front, and He knows all about it. See? Now you've come through the prayer line, and the same God that would anoint me before the service, here He is doing the same. See? It's... And He is just the same yesterday, today, and forever.
E-249 Do you believe Him? [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.] Oh, isn't He wonderful? ["Amen."] Isn't this something? Yeah.
E-250 How many knows this song, "Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love"? Could you give us the key on that, sister? I--I want to sing it. I don't know why, but let's just sing it. Stand real reverent before Him now and sing, sing it together now.
Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred mind
Is like to that Above.
That's an old-timer.
When we asunder part, (Let's raise our hands.)
It gives us inward pain;
But we shall still be joined in heart,
And hope to meet again.
E-251 Don't you love that? [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.] Till, till we meet, now, all of us together, "Till we meet again," all of us together now.
Till we meet! till we meet!
Till we meet at Jesus' feet;
Till we meet! till we meet!
God be with you till we meet again!
E-252 Let us bow our heads now in prayer. I'm going to ask the pastor here, brother, if he'll come up; and if you got anything to say, brother, or whatever you want to say, or dismiss the audience. Until I see you again, God be with you. Pray for me. I love Him. Amen.