This Great Warrior, Joshua

Joshua. Last night on David, the great warrior, his position in Christ and what he did about it. And tonight, Joshua. And tomorrow night, the Lord willing, we'll get another great hero, or someone, to speak on their life.

And now being that there's not too many here, and most of them has accepted their healing and so forth, I give a lot of the time to bringing forth the Word to encourage and to positionally place the people.

I feel led of the Holy Spirit to do that, see, to let the people, these who are here.... I'd say like this, how many Christians are here tonight? Raise up your hands. Christians, no matter what church you belong to. About ninety-nine percent. Maybe ninety-nine and nine-tenths percent, see, is Christians. Maybe there'd be eight or ten people in here, maybe tonight, that's not Christians, see.

Well now, and that.... What must you do to that people? All right, you must positionally let them know what they are, see, who they are, and how to handle the evil one. Then there's thousands in Chicago tonight who's not Christians. So, you're going to be the warriors, you're the preacher.

Someone, as I was telling you, I never finished it, about the little word that someone wrote me—a criticism. Not in this meeting, now; in another meeting. Said, “Reverend Branham, I had lots of confidence in you as a man of God until I heard you say, under your inspiration, that you was a prophet.” Well, said, “You don't say it just at that time.”

Well, that wasn't me saying it then; it was Him. So, argue with Him about it. He's the one. And after all, my dear friend, you know what a prophet is, a New Testament prophet? Is a preacher, is exactly. A prophet is a preacher. The word prophet means “to foretell or tell forth.” Either preach or foretell.

And now, if you can't believe the dictionary for it, here's what the Bible says about it. The Bible said, “The testimony of Jesus Christ is a spirit of prophecy.” Is that right? So everyone of you are prophets to testify of Jesus Christ, see. It's the spirit of prophecy, the testimony of Jesus Christ is the spirit of prophecy.

So now, may the Lord bless us as we read His Word. I suppose you've turned to it by this time, Joshua 3. A great warrior that I always admired here in the Scriptures.

And the Lord said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so will I be with thee.

And now over in the 6th chapter ... or, the 5th chapter of Joshua and the 12th verse, we read this,

And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.

And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?

And he said, Nay; but the captain of the host of the LORD am I ... come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant?

And the captain of the LORD'S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoes from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.

Now just another word of prayer.

Father, these are Thy words, and we pray that You will take these words now and magnify them, put them before each one of us that we can see the real meaning of these words and of Thy great servant Joshua. And we pray that You'll plant the seed in every heart, may the Holy Spirit take this Word of God and place it in every heart. And in returns, may it bring forth a hundred fold in fruits. For we ask it in Christ's name. Amen.

Now, for ... we're speaking of this great warrior, Joshua, tonight. He had just.... The children of Israel had just come up out of Egypt, and they was in their last stage of the journey. There's three stages of the journey. As they come first, positionally, in Egypt; second, in the wilderness; third, in Palestine, the promised land.

Now, many people has regarded that typologist, as myself, has said that was represented after the wilderness journey, then going into glory. Now, there may be someone here that teaches it that way tonight. That wouldn't make any difference, my brother, or sister, whatever it is. I may be wrong in my theories of it, but I never could liken the promised land to being heaven because they had wars in the promised land.

I'm a millennialist. I believe that there will be a millennium, a thousand years on the earth that mankind will go right back to God just as he come out from God. And I believe that the promised land represented the millennium, the thousand years in the millennium.

If you notice, as soon as they crossed Jordan, which means separation from this earthly journey into the other land, the manna, which was a spiritual thing, ceased, and they eat of the old corn. They eat of the fruit of the land again. And in the millennium.... See, we are eating spiritual manna now, but will be back ... won't need spiritual manna in that time; we will eat the fruit of the vine again, and of the field, the corn.

And the Bible said we would build houses and inhabit them, plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them. When we come into the millennium, that thousand years of rest, when there'll be ... wars and troubles and sickness and death will flee from the world, we will return here on this earth and be with Christ a thousand years, right here before we go into glory. That's the teaching of the Scripture.

Now, see how beautiful it's typed out. It was a type of Egypt, being settled in Egypt. Many people was left in Egypt. Now as far as we know, Joseph was brought out, his body. But in Egypt there was to be a resurrection in Egypt, because the patriarchs, as far as we know, are buried in Egypt. Many believers were buried in Egypt.

And in the second phase of the journey, in the wilderness, many died, and many righteous men, Miriam, Aaron, and many of them, died here in between, in the journey, and there'll be a resurrection there. And then also, over into the promised land there will be the resurrection.

But those three things typing, Luther age ... justification by faith, Luther bringing out the people from Egypt, the garlic pots, flesh of the world; secondly, John Wesley through sanctification; and third, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, where they are free again.

Notice, Joshua now, being first called, elected of God, when he was in the wilderness, when he come out of Egypt with the Israelites. They could have journeyed in about five days across that little forty or fifty mile strip there, over into the promised land.

And when they came out, God was leading them and they went along fine, until they begin to murmuring and complaining. God would provide, then they come up to the judgment seat, Kadesh-barnea, and refused to accept God's program and turned back, wandering for forty years, because they did not believe God. They wouldn't accept it.

Such a beautiful types of the church today, how that the same procedure, God just repeating history in another way. How the church was called out, now in their journey, and could have went on over into the promise, but has refused. Now, a beautiful picture is before us.

Now, as Joshua, the leader first, in the wilderness where there was thousands times thousands of noblemen, yet Joshua seemed to realize that he was positionally, he was elected of God. And when he crossed and Moses died, then he was called of God. God called him out and give him a vision, and said, “Now, as I was with Moses, so will I be with you. And no man shall stand before you all the days of your life. Be not dismayed, neither be discouraged, for the Lord thy God is with thee wheresoever thou goest.”

And after the vision was over, then Joshua, being the warrior, elected of God, chosen of God.... Now, when he meets this king ... or, this great man standing at the wall near Jericho, he was positionally placed then; he was a warrior. And then he seen what the real visible thing was. Who do you think this man was that was standing over against the wall?

Now, Joshua knowing he had had visions, how the Lord had spoke to him, and he knowed that he was God's servant, and he wasn't afraid. But when he went into the land, they crossed over, the manna ceased, and then the old corn, they begin to eat it.

And one day while strolling along in the wilderness, coming from Jordan up to Jericho, rocky, hilly, desert, wilderness-like place; walking along there he seen a man. And the man stood and drew his sword—just a man, looked like a man. And Joshua, perhaps being a chief warrior, drew his sword too, walked to meet him, said, “Who are you? Are you for us, or are you our adversary?”

The man, I could see, lift his sword high and say, “No, I'm the captain of the host of the God of Israel.”

The captain of the host. Who was this captain of the host? Joshua reached down, unloosened his shoes, fell on his face before Him, said, “What would the Lord have me do?”

You see, after he had been.... He was getting his position then. He was to be the greatest military man that's ever been on the face of the earth. There's never been a general like Joshua, no time, no age, nowhere has ever been compared with Joshua. The word Joshua comes from the word of “Jesus,” means “Jesus” or “Saviour, deliverer.”

And so when he seen this man, what was it? It was the captain, in other words, the leader of the host of Israel. And that leader was none other than Christ, Himself. And what was He first seen in? A pillar of fire. And now the pillar of fire had become a man. I hope you know what I'm talking about. He had become a man.

Joshua, alone by himself, seen just what it was: that that pillar of fire that had led them, as an Angel, here He stood and called Himself the captain of the host. He was the unseen One.

And He is still the captain of the host of the Lord, the unseen One, the invisible One, the omnipotent One, here tonight, just as real as He was standing there against the walls of Jericho, the same Lord Jesus. A figurative type, of course. He was Melchisedec that met Abraham, many, many, hundred years before there. Had no father, no mother, no beginning of days or ending of years: Melchisedec.

Who was this great king? Had no beginning of days, no ending of years, without descent, without father, without mother. There you are. Here He is, He met Abraham out there under the oak one day. And He had dust all over His clothes, and said He was from a strange ... a far country, and was on His road down to Sodom and Gomorrah.

And Abraham recognized it was something; went in and got the fatted calf, and killed it, and brought it out, and give Him milk from the cow, meat from the calf, hoecakes off the fire. And He drank the milk, eat the flesh and the hoecakes. And when Abraham made a sacrifice, the Man vanished before him. Abraham said, “I've talked face to face with God.” Melchisedec, the unseen host. He's just as real here tonight as He was there. He's everywhere that His people are gathered together, because it is His spiritual body: Christ. Oh, I hope you get it tonight and see it real close.

Look. If my spirit was as my shadow is a shadow of the material, say my shadow would be the spirit of the material. And the body, supernaturally now the body of the Lord Jesus is the shadow, as it was, of the natural physical body of the Lord. And notice, if healings, if power, if visions, if the things that Christ had in Him, has gone out of His shadow, then Christ is paralyzed. His natural body sits paralyzed, because if His physical body moves, His shadow will have to move with it.

And if we are in Christ by Holy Ghost baptism, and the way the body of Christ moves, it'll move the same way on earth, for this is a shadow of His body. Amen. Always been in figurative type, and it is tonight, the body of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, taking in out of the things of the world, predestinated by God, called of God, elected by God, chosen of God, saved by God, baptized into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit, and made members of this body—alive, ready, willing. My shadow will move every time anything of my body moves. And the Holy Spirit body of Christ, will move just as Christ moves. And if Christ, in heaven, can ever get His physical bod... or, His spiritual body on earth moving as He wants it to move, watch for things to happen.

It's beginning to come to life. They've paralyzed it long enough, but the Holy Spirit is bringing life into it. And it's beginning to wake up and begin to move, because it sees it position.

Joshua, being the leader with Moses. The first time we hear of him, he was holding up Moses' hands.

Now they journeyed, beautiful picture coming up out of the chaos of Egypt, out of the garlic pots, out of the world; crossing the Red Sea; leaving the things behind; cutting loose every shore line, as we call it today; coming out to walk in a strange land, among strange people; serving the Lord. What a type of conversion. Leaving Egypt, sandy, barren lands, to sojourn in a wilderness among strange people, but a promise that God would take you through.

God has promised tonight. When you come up out of the world, you separate yourself from all your earthly associates, all the old parties you used to go to, the worldly amusements, drinking, smoking, gambling, all those things are separated. And you're walking among a strange people that you haven't known before, that say “Amen,” and Spirit filled, believing in all things, hoping all things, waiting for the coming of the Lord, professing to be pilgrims and strangers, nothing of this world, don't desire it, falling away from the things of the world. See what I mean?

Egypt. The children of Israel left the boasting physicians of Egypt to be with the great Physician. They left the garlic pots of Egypt to eat angel's food. They left the muddy waters of Egypt to drink from the spiritual Rock. Amen. You get it? On the journey, cut loose from Egypt. Let them go.

And as they came through the water, they were baptized unto Moses and to God. When they crossed over the Red Sea, they had a little spell of rejoicing. Miriam got so excited that she grabbed the tambourine and begin to beat it and dance. And the daughters of Israel got excited too, speaking in terms today. And they begin to beat the tambourines and dance. What were they dancing about? What was their excitement about? Because they looked and seen all the Egyptians that once drove them to things, was dead in the Red Sea, to bother them no more.

I tell you, Miriam, no wonder you have a little funny feeling tonight, when them old things that used to drive you out to card parties and the social affairs of this world, when you see they are dead. You don't want them no more. And you've passed through the Red Sea, the blood cell's sprayed all over you, vaccinated you. Amen. Dehydrated you too, at the same time. Amen. That's right. Taken all the world out, sprayed you; DT, DDT, I believe they call it. That takes all the bugs out. And when you come through God's DDT, it takes all the world out, kills all those parasites back behind.

That's what's the matter with the church today, they don't want to come through that spray. You want to pull a few things along with you. Cut loose, let them go. Go through the spray the hard way. Separate yourself. It will smother everything that's around you. Amen.

Here they come through the Red Sea. Then when they found out they was really through it, coming through that DDT back there, coming out, we found out the parasites—I hope it burns deep—but the parasites, trying to do so, drowned.

And these people who are trying to impersonate Christianity: living like the world, running around to every kind of place they oughtn't to be, belong in a church and call themselves Christians. God's spraying on His DDT today, separating His people, calling out, filling with the Holy Spirit, segregating them.

You know the world wants mixers. God said, “Separate ye, Paul and Barnabas.” God wants separators. Separate yourself from the things of the world, then Christ will receive you.

Notice, here they come out, and they were on their journey. Moses got to feeling real good and the Spirit come on him and he raised up and sang a song in the Spirit, how God had overthrown Pharaoh and his horsemen and his chariots. Then they were ready for the journey.

That's the way the church is, when you've once come through the blood of Jesus Christ cleansed from all unrighteousness, then you're ready for the journey. You're on your road then; keep traveling.

On and on they went, type of the church. But then, comparing that with the Lutheran age, they come up to a place then—they didn't have the full Gospel yet—and they come up to the place of Kadesh-Barnea. Now Kadesh-Barnea was where there was a great spring and lots of little springs around it, once the judgment seat of the world. A beautiful type of judgment. Judgment begins at the house of God, truly. And there they camped.

And now, God told Joshua ... or, told Moses rather, “Go out now and look around and get a man out of every tribe and send them over into the promised land,” just a few days after he'd left Egypt. “Send them over now and spy out the land. And then come back and give me the report.”

And when they went over across the little river Jordan, went over into the promised land and begin to look around, to see whether it was lean or whether it was good, or whether it was grapes or whether it was the fruits. When they come back, they climbed up and cut down a bunch of grapes that taken two men to pack them. What a bunch of grapes. I think if a land with a curse on it will grow something like that, what will it grow when the curse is off of it?

Here they come back, but when they looked over into the land and seen all the Philistines and the Amorites and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and all of those fellows all walled up and sitting in their big kingdoms and so forth, they quivered in their boots.

They come back and said, “Oh.” When they called a counsel, brought all the children of Israel out—beautiful type now. And they stood up and said, “The land is beautiful. It's wonderful. It would be good if we could have a revival like that. But we just can't do it, that's all.” Said, “Oh, we're just prey to them.” Said, “My,” said, “well, they're way bigger. Why, they're giants and so forth. And they're walled in. And it's impossible for us to take them. Oh, why did you bring us out of our churches, out into this kind of a land?”

I want you to notice, this come in my mind just then. When Moses sent those ten spies over, it was in harvest of grape time. Perfect type of Pentecost. First fruits, Pentecost was the ingathering, the first harvest. And when they was at Kadesh-barnea, at judgment, then it would be determined on whether they could go on over and get the Holy Spirit or not, into the land of promise, where they'd promised.

You say, “Is that a promise?”

Yes, Peter said, “Repent, be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, to them that's far off, even (Chicago) as many as the Lord our God shall call.” We got too many people today saying, “It's too hard, we can't do it.” We can. Harvest time.

That's the reason they got this big bunch of grapes and brought it back, for an evidence. I can see Caleb and Joshua, with that on their shoulders, marching down through there, just singing the jubilee songs. Sure, they had the evidence. They could prove that it was a good land. They brought it back and give all the children a grape if they wanted one, off of one cluster. Just look what a bunch of grapes they had.

Now, Joshua and Caleb, when they heard all these murmuring—the people saying, “Oh, it can't be done, it can't be done,”—Caleb run out in the midst of the people and quietened them, said, “Yes, it can be.” Joshua stood by him, said, “Certainly, it can be. God's given it to us.” Amen. I like that. Yes, sir. What was it? They were positionally born in Christ. They had a knowledge of the Word and the Word become manifested. Remember, every one of those Israelites had the Word of God preached to them. But it only taken effect upon Caleb and Joshua to realize what it was all about.

They said, “Oh, we can't do it.” And the people begin to weep and begin to complain then, “Oh, why did you bring us out? We ought to've died. Now, our little ones are going to be killed and so forth. And we'll go over there and only thing, we'll be butchered up over there with them. That's all it will be.”

That's the way they say today, “Oh, we can't accept this here Full Gospel message, we can't accept divine healing.” Great big institutions and so forth. Let one of their members believe in divine healing and get healed, they'll turn them out. Don't tell me; I know.

I know of an institution not very far from here, who was giving a widow woman help. She was a missionary to the Jews. And the woman had a daughter. And the daughter was laying in the hospital at the point of death, unconscious. Uremic poisoning, after the birth of her baby. She married a Catholic boy. And the boy believed on the Lord. And his baby, ... his first baby had been healed.

And so, I was out of town at the time. When I come back in, they asked me if I'd go over and pray for the woman. Well, I went over there, there stood the priest standing there. The mother-in-law had got the priest to stand there. And so they were arguing. One of them Protestant, the other one Catholic, and fussing with one another. And one of them said, “Well....” The mother that had the priest there said, “Well, it's my grandchild, and I don't want the grandmother to go to hell.” Said, “I want the priest to go in and anoint her for death.”

Well, about that time, I walked up, and here was the doctor into it. And here I was going in to anoint her for life, him going in to anoint her for death, and the doctor standing there ready to whip both of us, I guess. What a picture. And I said, “Now, if he goes in to anoint her for death, what's the use of me going in to anoint her for life? We're getting all mixed up here.”

“Well,” he said, “the grandmother ... the two grandmother's are fussing it out.”

And I said, “Well, you ought to let the father make the decision.” And the father said, (well, he had been a Catholic boy), he said, “Look, Reverend Branham prayed for my baby.” And said, “I believe if he goes in and prays for it.... I'll say, let him go in.”

So, all of them stepped back, the doctor give me room, the boy went in with me. Woman was unconscious. I knelt down to pray. And while I was standing there praying, just humble as you would pray or anyone else, the boy.... Someone knocked at the door, and he went to the door and stepped out to talk to them. There's somebody else had come up, another doctor; they wanted to hold a consultation of something or another. They'd done give her up to die. So they was going to do something. The boy had stepped out.

And I prayed about ten minutes. I raised up and I said, “Lord, don't let a poor little mother die.” Well, I got up from off the floor where I was praying for her. And I got up and was kind of wiping my eyes, I had been crying a little. Started to turn around and looked, and I seen the woman at home looking at her baby going, “shh” like that. And she was fixing the things around like that and fixing the dinner on. I looked at her for a little bit. My, what a feeling.

The vision left. I walked out the door kind of smiling, my overcoat on my arm. There stood the father and all of them out there ... the priest, rather, and the doctor, all of them standing on the outside there. And I walked out, the husband said, “Reverend Branham,” said, “have you any news?”

I said, “Yes, sir, I have some good news for you. 'Thus saith the Lord', your wife is going home well.” I said, “Now, she's going to get worse,” I said, “before the night's over. They're going to put a pull motor on her 'cause she's going to be so low.” But I said, “After that, she's going to come out of it. And by this time tomorrow night, your wife will be home, 'thus saith the Lord.'”

And the people begin ... he begin to rejoicing. And the priest shook his head and looked at the doctor, the doctor looked and shook his head, walked on down, like 'he was gone crazy.' So I looked at them till they passed on by, and the father of the boy run up and said, “Look, son, haven't we got enough of this nonsense?”

He said, “Look, Daddy,” said, “I took my baby over, my first baby, and you know it's the truth, over to Brother Branham, and he prayed for it at least four or five times. I took it over there, and never did it get healed.” It had clubbed feet. And said, “One day I was over there with someone else and while I was sitting in the room Brother Branham told me within twenty-four hours my baby's feet would be straightened.”

Said, “The next morning the wife and I jumped up the same time and run at the cradle” and said, “both feet was just as normal as they could be.” And said, “If Brother Branham says 'thus saith the Lord,' that my wife is going home in twenty-four hours, goodbye, I'm going home to straighten up the house to get her home.” That's right. And away he went. Straightened up the house; in twenty-four hours she was home. Been there ever since. That's been two years ago.

And this woman, the grandmother, well, it was the grandmother of the child, the mother of the girl, when she told that to an institution that was sending her so much money each month to support the Jewish people, when she'd accepted divine healing and saw that, they cut off her support, and said, “We don't disregard Brother Branham, we have nothing against the man, but we cannot entangle divine healing in our program.”

Well then, you're out of God's program at that minute, remember that. I'd rather be a fanatic to the world and be right before God, than anything that I know of. Yes, sir. That's right. When God proves His doings and actions He vindicates them by signs and wonders. He's always done it, and He will always do it. As long as there's a world there'll be a supernatural God here to control things. And He'll always have somebody He can put His hands on.

He's got a church tonight, made up all around the world. It's got a lot things about it that's got to be ironed out. I can't iron them out and I couldn't iron them out. I don't know how to iron them out. No other man can, but that's God's business to do that. He'll take care of that. It's not in the hands of man to do it. No matter how many man-made programs we rise up, they'll every one fall, just as sure as you raise them up. But God Himself will set up His program. And His program is Jesus Christ. As far as I know, is to be baptized in Christ and be led by the Holy Spirit—free from condemnation.

Joshua, after seeing that God could open up the Red Sea, he said, “That settles it with me. God opened up the Red Sea.” Before they left Egypt, the Lord in the form of the big pillar of fire, that was whirling over the top of Moses and them standing there, He said, “I will send my Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, provoke him not; for my name is in him.”

Can you see it? Sure, it was Christ, the anointed. “My name is in him.” Joshua seen Him there like a man with his sword drawn. And we see Him today as a sin offering for sin. And then resurrected, Emmanuel, sitting at the right hand of His majesty on high, making intercessions and bringing to pass anything that we confess that He's done for us. Hallelujah!

I know it sounds rough, and sounds like fanaticism, but so many people so afraid of fanaticism you miss the real thing. Did you always realize that scarecrows are put up around the good apple tree? There ain't a lot of scarecrows.... What's a scarecrow is for is to scare you away from the real thing. Move on around them. Way on back there there's a right genuine Holy Spirit, Holy Ghost filled believers. Signs and wonders and vindications of supernatural God! A King in the camp! That's what made the difference between Israel and Moab. That was the difference.

That was the difference between Cain and Abel. Cain was a good man, so was Abel. Cain was a man that believed in God, so was Abel. But Abel had spiritual revelation that knowed it was blood, not fruits. And he offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, which God received.

Look here, here come Moab down just as fundamental as he could be, brother. He had every fundamental doctrine the Scriptures taught. And he built his seven altars, seven sacrifices, seven bullocks, seven rams, just the same sacrifice as being down there in Israel. Seven altars, seven bullocks, seven rams, speaking of the coming of the Lord Jesus. Just as fundamental here as they was down there.

Well, if God only expects you to be a fundamentalist, then He could not condemn Moab and accept Israel. It would be unjust. Cain was just as fundamental as Abel was. He was a believer, built a church and worshipped, offered sacrifice, humbled himself before God. If it only takes to be a believer....

You say, “Well, I'm believer.”

Well, if God's never give you the Holy Ghost, you're not a believer yet. That's right. For God is under obligation to give you the Holy Spirit. When He said, “Repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost,” God's under obligation to do it. For it's to who? The apostles? No, sir. Peter said, “It's for you and your children, and them that's far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call,” no matter how far it is. It's for every believer.

Oh, theologians smear the putty over the top of it, but that don't make any difference; she's sprouting up everywhere now. Amen. I'm so happy for the Lord Jesus and for His people.

What am I trying to do? Trying to get you to see where you're at. If you could only get the eyes open, just look yonder, where you're standing, why, sickness would melt away from you like a snowball on a hot stove in the summertime, diseases and so forth, 'cause Christ promised it. It's His promise.

Now, look when this Angel was whirling above them in a sign of a pillar of fire. That was in the nighttime. In the daytime it looked like a white cloud circling over them. And when they was under this, He said, “Now I'm going to send Him before you.” He said, “Now I have given you Palestine. All of it's yours, just go and possess it. That's all you have to do.”

Well, here they started, God blessing them and giving them great big joys and great big revivals and so forth, as they went. And they come right up there, and because they seen it was all possessed all over with great big opposition, they were scared. God said, “How long will I suffer with you?” He said, “Moses, step out of the way, and I'll slay every one of them. After I performed these....”

If that ain't a picture of the Pentecostal church today. Said, “As many miracles as I performed before them and showed in the face of the unbeliever that I have called them, and I performed these miracles, and yet they won't believe me.”

What a rebuke to the church. “As many things that I've done, I've healed the sick, the lame, the blind, I've raised the dead, I've performed miracles, I've done everything all across the country, and yet, they won't believe me. I give them the Holy Spirit, brought them into the covenant.” Did He do Israel? Sure, right through the Red Sea, the baptism, on out, give them joy, happiness, performed miracles and fed them. Still they disbelieved. And He said, “There's something just a little bit beyond.”

“Oh, we're satisfied to belong to church. As long as we go to church, it's all right, I suppose.”

Here come Joshua back, and Caleb, and said, “The land is real. Here's the evidence.” Praise be to God. “Here's the evidence that God's promise is true. We have the evidence here to prove it.”

They said, “Well,” the others said, “You can't do it. You can't do it, you get too much fanaticism mixed into it. We just can't, over.... If you do, we're just going to break up all of our congregations, we're going to do this....”

My, if that ain't the same old whine today. That's right. “Oh, it'll never work, I tell you, you can't make it work.” No we can't make it work, but He who said it would work is able to make it work. If He can ever get people enough under His control, get so submitted to Him that He can do it. I'll say that God will do it.

We got the evidence today that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, raised from the dead, and is the same yesterday, today and forever. And we're headed towards the millennium. Hallelujah! How I praise Him! We're going in one of these days. The captain of the host of the Lord is coming. The Lord Jesus Christ will take us over.

Joshua, the savior.... Moses, a type of the church organization, who brought the law and so forth, failed. How did he fail? Glorifying himself instead of God. Is that right?

So is the church today, trying to see who can build the biggest church, who can get the best dressed crowd, who can get the mayor of the city and all the celebrity into the church. That's what the program is today. As the Baptist said, “A million more in '54.” I don't care, a million more what? That's it. A million more joiners? You haven't got nothing yet. I'd rather have one filled with the Holy Ghost and full of God's power, than a thousand times thousand church joiners. I'd rather have one alive with God who'd believe.

It's not how many we can get to join the church. It's how many we can get in Christ Jesus, to believe and submit themselves. Find your position and stand like the Rock of Ages at their post of duty, and ready. Oh, I hope God just settles everybody in here tonight and just let you know what to do. This great crisis, we're at Kadesh-barnea. We would've....

Look. And the reason they refused it.... They journeyed forty years longer in the wilderness because they refused it. And what's kept all these things.... I believe the coming of Christ.... It's on my heart; I might as well say it. The coming of Christ is past due—past due. You say, “Preacher, what are you talking about?” The Bible. “As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the coming of the Son of man.”

In the days of Noah, God was long-suffering, not willing that any should perish. God is long-suffering. His coming is past due. We'd have went into the millennium forty years ago if the people would have submitted themselves to God.

But instead of that, they pulled back and organized and tightened down, even the Pentecostals and all the rest of them. Under the old system, “We will have a church, and we'll join the church, and we'll see if we can't get more members than them.”

And one raised up in the bunch and said, “You know, I believe Jesus is not coming on a white horse; He's coming on a white cloud.” He goes over here and makes him an organization, gets a few in it. One say, “You know, I believe we ought to be baptized like this.” And he makes him an organization. Other one said, “I believe we ought to be baptized forward.” He makes him an organization.

The same old worldly system. But God in this last days, calling out of chaos, out of the midst of all of it. Man can't do it, and never will do it. But Christ Himself, shall come and shall call. We'll cross Jordan then. We'll cross Jordan.

Now, look at them. There they was, sitting in the wilderness. Here was the evidence back. Why did he believe they could do it? Why, Moses said ... I mean, God said to Moses there from the pillar of fire, He said, “Now look. I give you Palestine. It's yours. I give it to your father, Abraham. And I told him that you all would sojourn down there....” And I want you to notice another thing, how many generations it took to bring it up. Forty ... fifty years is a generation, considered in the Bible. Four hundred years, that would make eight generations.

Notice, then they.... The first thing you know, they.... Moses come up and they backslid, went away another forty years. They come up to Palestine, another forty years. Ten generations, meaning the ten tribes, and the half tribes, of course, to split time, to take it over. Perfectly, how they got all the words inspired, not one word but what's inspired in the Bible from Genesis to Revelations.

Then they come to Kadesh, where they could be judged. Now, the church come to Kadesh, where they was going to be judged. Then the churches all sat in counsel here a few years ago, “Could we consider this baptism of the Holy Spirit? Could we consider the gifts of the Spirit returning to the church? I'll tell you what it would do, our documents drawed up like this, we cannot move to it.” The next one said, “We cannot receive it.” Others said, “We cannot receive it.”

But there was some people said ... went over into the promised land and come back with the evidence of it, that healing was right, that the Holy Ghost is right, that the powers of God is right. And the very promised land we're promised is right. Yes, sir.

Now, when Joshua was over there walking around after he crossed over Jordan, then begin to eat some of the old corn.

I can imagine Joshua that morning, after having this great vision of the Lord saying, “I will be with you. Just as I was with Moses, so will I be with you.” Called him out one night, said, “Now, look, Joshua,” give him a vision, said, “Now my servant Moses is dead. Rise and go over this Jordan, thou and all the host of Israel. And the Lord thy God will be with thee. No man shall stand before thee all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so will I be with you. Only be good, courageous, and do not be discouraged, just keep moving on, I will be with you. Every place you set the souls of your feet is a possession for you.”

Footprints means possession, brother. What the church needs tonight is some more footprints over here on this land. Don't hang around Jordan too long. Let's get out here and see what we got. All right. Every time that he made a footprint, every time he footprinted on, it was a possession.

I can see Joshua, after he had the vision, he said, “Now, gather all Israel and stand down by the Jordan. Sanctify yourselves, wash your clothes. And come down to the banks in the morning, I'll show you what the glory of God is.” Amen. He had a vision. God told him in His Word, the Word said, “I've give you the land. It's yours. It's your possession.”

Now, why didn't he go over there and clean out all the Philistines and so forth? Now, he said, “Come on. You've got something to do too.” God just don't poke things down your neck. You've got to believe it; you've got to do some fighting. As Peter Cartwright said to the drunkard that day, many of you has met him, told him, said, “What are you going to do here?”

Said, “I'm going to hold a meeting.”

Said, “Who told you?”

Said, “The Lord.”

Said, “You got to whip me first.”

Said, “Well, if that's my next job, all right.” Undone his coat, beat him up, got on top of him, beat him in the face, said, “I must fight if I should reign, increase my courage, Lord.” Beat the guy up. Said, “You got enough?”

Said, “Yep.” Shook his hand, come on back and got saved.

That's what we need. You got to do some fighting, not with your fist, but with the power of God, with your testimony. That's how you overcome, by the blood of the Lamb and your testimony. Tell the devil he's got no strings tied to you. “You put this disease on me, but Jesus Christ delivered me from it. He promised it to me.”

Now, look. He said, “I'll send you a sign. There'll be a pillar of fire will lead you all the way. You just follow it, it'll take you.” That's right. And they got right up there and the pillar of fire turned into be a man. He said, “I'm the captain of the host of the Lord.” Said, “We've come this far, now let's go on.”

Now, there was all that great land before them—all military men. And now the captain of the host of the Lord, He was a military man too. So He said, “Now, Joshua, now don't you fear. I will be with you and no man can stand before you all the days of your life.” Oh my! Joshua said, “Now, we're going to see what the land looks like.”

So he sent out some spies. They went and the harlot Rahab hid them through the night. I want you to notice another thing: Watch what taken place when they were up there, harlot Rahab's house. Harlot Rahab, she hid them on this flax on top of the roof, sent the men out of the gates, and come back and said, “Look.” Said.... Now, watch how God's a moving, to take this encouragement back to Joshua. She said, “All this country fainteth because of you.” Said, “We have heard what the Lord has done for you.”

Amen. I just love that. Don't you worry, God's got a good time coming by-and-by.

“All the country is afraid of you. When we heard that the Lord dried up the Red Sea and let you across, drowned Pharaoh's army, give you food by manna out in the wilderness, and put a brass serpent up for an atonement. He done all these things for you. And I knowed what you done destroyed the Og, and the other kings. I seen what you did, utterly destroyed. And when we heard this and you were headed our way, we just fainted. There's no more courage left in no one.”

When they come back and told that to Joshua, I can imagine whirling that sword, say, “Glory to God, He's before us.” Amen.

What made them faint? What made them so fainty when they were way bigger? “Why,” they said, “we look like grasshoppers up beside of them.” How could they faint? They were sitting behind big walls with big slings and rocks and everything, and spears and everything. Outnumbered them by the thousands times thousands and thousands, they outnumbered them. Certainly they could, they were all united together.

“Why can't we run that bunch, little handful of little bitty, old tiny scrubby looking men with old sickle bars and things to fight with? They're not even military men at all, the only thing they are, walking along there with little old sandals on, not warriors. They're campers and dwellers and fanatics and holy rollers. Well, why can't we.... Standing down on the banks and shouting and screaming, bringing disgrace. Why can't we armor ourself and go against them?”

But there was nothing in their hearts. Why? God said, “I'll send my fear before you.” Amen. There it is. “I'll send my fear before you, for you're my people, my covenant people. I've called you by election. I have chosen you. I have put you into the body and you're circumcised. Now, you're believers. And you go on, I'm with you. It's all yours.”

Now, let's liken that today. That Palestine belonged to Israel; that was their dwelling place. You see it? That was their dwelling place, for Israel to dwell in. This body is yours. God gave it to you. It's your dwelling place. God wanted you to have it. But the devil is moved in: cancer, tuberculosis, diseases. You say, “I'll take him out. I'll do this, I'll do that.”

But you know what? Something's happened. That pillar of fire has come among us, the captain of the host of the Lord. And every devil that's got the people bound tonight is scared to death. Sure they are. They're fainting. Why? They hear.... Why did these Philistines and so forth faint? Why was Jericho fainting? Because the people that had the promise was on the road to come in. Amen. The one that's got the promise.

The people, the covenant people, the promised people that's in Jesus Christ has got a promise even at the last days, that God will raise this body up and make it perfect. And we've got the attributes of it now. So, they're scared. Their father, the devil is defeated at Calvary. And the captain of the host of the Lord has moved in in the form of the Holy Ghost.

Faith in the Father, faith in the Son,

Faith in the Holy Ghost, three in the One;

Demons will tremble, and sinners awake;

Faith in Jehovah will anything shake.

Hallelujah! Devils are on the move, for Jesus Christ the chief captain said, “In my name they shall cast out devils.”

They failed to get it forty years ago, but we're coming in now, possessing the land. The same pillar of fire, the same chief captain is a leading the host of the Lord. It's your land. God's promised to prosper you in health. He gave you that body. It's yours by possession. The devil is trying to take it over. He hasn't got the authority to do it. He's trembling tonight. Hallelujah! Great whirl of God's power moving in the building, Satan's a trembling. Oh, what if they'd only have faith. His heart's about gone, it's melted in him. Why?

“Oh,” you say, “well, the doctor said I....”

Yeah, but they realize that the host of the Lord is moving in now. That's right. No matter how high he's walled it, he may have walled it out of the sight of the doctor, but he hasn't walled it out of the sight of God. He might be a great big bluff to the medical science but he ain't a big bluff to God. Hallelujah!

Joshua, the savior. Joshua means “Savior.” He's moving in. Don't be troubled. Believe. And here tonight to take over. Amen. How I love that. I believe the pillar of fire is with us tonight. The captain of the host of the Lord is here tonight. The sword is pulled. He may be afraid of that medical sign ... he may not be afraid of it, rather. 'Cause they've never been able by....

They're trying hard, and I hope they get it: something to cure cancer, something to do these things with. But so far the devil thinks he's got the bluff on them. But when the sword of Christ comes down, he'll never withstand that. He'll chop every cancer loose, He'll raise up the blind and the afflicted. He's doing it, everywhere.

And He's here tonight, the great supernatural Lord Jesus Christ, the great I AM, the great Alpha, Omega, the beginning and the end. Why? The land belongs to us. “All that comes to me I will give him everlasting life and will raise him up at the last day.” Amen.

We got the evidence of it here. People who were laying last week dying, where Mayo's and so forth, had turned away, could never be well, didn't know what to do with them, tonight are perfectly normal and well. The evidence. The land is ours. Hallelujah! Let's get it. Amen. Let's take over. God promised it to us. It belongs to you, it belongs to me. It's your possession if you'll pull the sword. This is it. Walk in and tear down the walls. Hallelujah!

The fight is on, O Christian soldier,

face to face in stern array,

With armors gleaming, colors streaming,

the right and wrong's engaged today;

The fight is on, but be not weary,

be strong and in His might hold fast;

If God be for us, his glory over us,

we'll sing the victor's song at last.

We've got to, we're bound for the promised land. The resurrected Lord Jesus is here now. You believe it?

O Lord Jesus, Son of God, the great Joshua to the Gentile church, to lead us from this chaos of wilderness. For poor little wandering pilgrims are traveling around through the wilderness, Lord, up and down, back and forth, because of leaders who's robbed them from the children's bread. O Joshua, Joshua, the Lord Jesus, the I AM, move in tonight with predominating faith. Take possession tonight of every sick person in here. If there be a sinner, take possession of him, shake him, let him know that we're here at Jordan.

O God, one of these days You'll gather all Your children, sanctify them through Your blood. You'll bring them out on the side of the bank to view the land over, be changed in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye and cross over Jordan. We're waiting for that hour.

Father, we pray tonight that You'll send Jesus, and may He come in this audience now and do that which He said He would do, and heal the sick and the afflicted. For we ask it in His name. Amen.

Have faith in God. I say to you, my dear brother, my sister, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, never fails. He can't fail. What have we to look to tonight? We got a leader tonight. It's the second Joshua, none other but the Lord Jesus Himself, the captain of the host of the Lord. He's with His people. He's here in power. He's bringing evidence into the church and proving He's the healer. He's proving the evidence by His people. He gives them the baptism of the Holy Ghost. He comes down and lets His picture be taken with us.

He's doing everything that He can do to show you. Not to join the Methodist, the Baptist, or the Pentecostal, or the Branham Tabernacle, but to join Jesus Christ. Believe in Him. Everything, no matter what church you're going to, that doesn't have nothing to do with it. It's your heart with God, what God looks at. That's right. Believe in Him as the supernatural resurrected Lord Jesus.

Is there a sinner here would stand up and say, “All right, now, I want to join that rank myself by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ.” Stand to your feet. If there's a sinner here that would like to join with the Lord Jesus Christ and be a believer, you stand to your feet. You're asked to do it. May the Lord Jesus.... There may not be a sinner in the audience, for all I know. That I do not know. But Jesus Christ does know.

Lady sitting there with that white shawl on, sitting right down here, God healed you just now of your arthritis. Stand up on your feet. It's gone, hasn't it? If that's right, wave your hand. That arthritis pains is gone. Is that right? The Lord Jesus Christ has healed you. You're well.

That lady sitting right back there with female trouble, looking over that man's shoulder. Sitting right back there, just on the other side of the lady with the red coat on, got female trouble. You lady, yes, stand up on your feet. The lady, right there, with the little brown looking tam on. You've had female trouble haven't you, lady? You haven't got no prayer card, have you? You haven't got a prayer card? All right, you don't need it, you're going home well. That's right. God bless you.

You've been having a drainage from that female trouble, is that right? It's been ... it was an abscess, is what it was. Had pains on your side, and drainage from it. Isn't that right? Wave your hand if that's right. See? You won't have it no more now, Jesus Christ has healed you.

This lady, I see an Angel of God standing over where she's at. It's a big lady. She's got a red-like sweater on. She's been suffering from a nervous trouble. She's sitting there asking to be delivered. Isn't that right, lady? If it is, shake your hand. You're delivered now, you can go home. Jesus Christ has made you well. Jesus Christ of yesterday, is today.

Young man, sitting out here, put your hand on that boy's shoulder sitting there next to you. Tell him to go eat his supper. He had stomach trouble. He's been healed now. God bless you, young man. You go home now and you're going to be well. You love the Lord Jesus, do you? You believe you're healed? You are. Stand up on your feet just a minute as a testimony. Now, go home. You've been all nervous and shook up and everything, you're going home to be well. God bless you.

The lady ... a fellow right back there has got sinus trouble, right back behind you there. Do you believe the Lord Jesus makes you well? You do, sir? Do you believe that He makes you well? God bless you. Your faith's healed you.

Put your hand over on the lady next to you there, 'cause she's suffering with a rupture. She wants to get healed too. God bless you, lady. You believe that you're going to get healed too? God bless you. You may have what....

The one next to you there has kidney trouble too. You want to get healed, son? Stand up on your feet and accept the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you believe that you're healed? You are. God bless you. It's gone from you.

The Joshua, the Angel of the Lord that led Israel, is the Lord Jesus Christ. He's here in His power and resurrection. You don't need a prayer line. What you need is faith. Do you believe it? If you believe it, stand up on your feet right now and accept your healing and go home well, everyone of you, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Rejoice, give Him praise and glory. Thank Him for healing you. If you believe it, wave your hands. Get up, sir, you can't get any better sitting there. Everyone, raise and give God praise.

Father, in Jesus Christ's name, heal every sick person.