Making The Valley Full Of Ditches

... supremely, and how our hearts, right now—present tense. So happy for that. And last evening we had a marvelous healing service. Our Lord Jesus met with us and gave us the exceedingly abundant. Now, tomorrow there is another healing service, tomorrow night, if the Lord willing.

Now, tomorrow morning, I think the broadcast is ... what time, brother? Nine o'clock, over KPVS. And I speak a few minutes over there. And one thing, by a promise, to do it.

And then tomorrow at ten-thirty, Brother Moore said, I believe. At ten-thirty is the drama of The Smallest Ship In The World. And now, come out in the morning, if you can, see what the smallest ship is. Especially, this is dedicated to the children—children from eight to eighty, I said the other night. And we are expecting the Lord to meet with us there.

Then, tomorrow night ... or, tomorrow evening again here, at seven-thirty. The prayer cards will be given out at six-thirty. And there will be prayer for the sick tomorrow night, the Lord willing. And now be expecting, and come all prepared, prayed up.

And now tonight is a bad night: Saturday night. This is the devil's night, you know. The one when the devil gets on the highways and all the booze joints and all the liquor-running crowds. All the lowdowns, hoedowns, boogie-woogies, and rock-and-rolls, and all that rolling, and rocking tonight. Hundreds will die.

I see the other day where, in a certain place, that they had a big jamboree, one of these jamborees they have here. They took it up to Canada. And I forget how many children they had to send to the insane institution after going through that boogie-woogie, rock-and-roll affair they brought from America to Canada. They barred it out of many countries, many states in the union. And yet, we Americans plunge headlong into it.

The other day seeing where a young man that's one of the heads of this rock-and-roll, and going through all of his maneuvers, he said he learned it in a Pentecostal church. And to think that that would be perverted. No wonder the boy's got a perverted mind—going crazy. Well, certainly God will punish him. And He will do it, certainly, for such as that. That's sacrilegious. And it's absolutely blaspheming the Holy Ghost.

And it's terrible to see how the people can try to belittle the work of the living God. “As you sow, so shall you reap.” Remember that.

Now I think in Canada.... I forget just how many it was. At the first.... One of these here outfits they had up there.... How many children, how many young people, had lost their mind over that one meeting; in the insane institution now. Without hope, without God, without any mercy, laying there in that condition; screaming, and crying, and walking up-and-down, butting their heads against the wall, under that kind of a nonsense. And we make it legal:

drink, gamble.

A lot of places allow the kids to smoke in the church ... or, the school, just before semester, and so forth. Isn't that terrible? To quieten their nerves. They ought to have a prayer meeting. That's the best thing I know to quieten nerves.

But, you know, hungry people has got to fill that longing with something. If they won't drink from the Fountain of the waters of life, the devil will give them a stagnated cistern with wiggle-tails in it. That's right. But they'll drink from somewhere. You'll spend that loyalty and worship either on the devil or on God.

Never was a person ever went to one of those places or done any of those things, except it was a hungry-hearted person that refused to drink from the fountain of the waters of life freely.

I tell you, I feel sorry for them because of the let-down and pollution of our modern churches. That's one of the things that I lay it to: the social gospel that people preach.

Why, in our own city of Jeffersonville, a certain pastor, every Saturday night, has a square dance in the bottom of the church. That's right. Teaches square dancing out of a very famous denominational church—a square dance.

That was the same pastor that asked me that time, coming down the telephone pole, how I got so many people out to the tabernacle. Said he made them sign a card, a thousand members, that they would attend Sunday school at least one time out of the year ... or, six months out of every year, is what it was.

He said, “You know how many answered?” Said, “Two.”

I said. “No wonder. I don't blame them. I wouldn't either.” It's exactly right. As long as you're having shindigs and things in the church, well, that's a sin. It don't belong in a house of God. When I get to a place that I have to have something like that to get a people to listen to me, I will sure go off the field of the Gospel ... preaching the Gospel.

I don't blame sinners. When you see sinners going out there, just old rank, lowdown sinners, well, then I don't blame them. That's all they know. But these people who go to church and call themselves Christians, and then do that!

I don't blame a pig for rooting in a manure pile. Certainly not. That's his nature. Certainly. I wouldn't think it strange to see a pig in a manure pile, certainly not. That's his nature. That's what he does. That's his living. He don't know any different. But I'd sure feel funny if I seen a lamb doing that. Frankly, he wouldn't do it.

And that's the way with the sinner. Let him go ahead. That's all he knows. Drink all the booze he wants to, and go to all the lowdown, and the hoedowns, and listen to all that nonsense. That's all he knows.

But to you people who is supposed to know better.... I'm persuaded, if you ever turn to that, you'd never really drank from the Fountain of the Lord. I tell you, that just cuts all that other stuff. It's as dead as midnight. There's no joy to it. It's thing has got a.... You can't even stand it.

I go to the restaurant sometimes. First thing I do, I look through and see if they got one of those little old penny ... nickel juke boxes on the wall. Them things make me so nervous I can't eat. I have a sour stomach after I come out, just to hear all that nonsense.

And see Christians playing it—supposed to be Christians.

Brother, by their fruits you know it. Well, that ain't my subject tonight. But, I tell you, it's too bad that we don't have a little more condemning of that stuff from the platform. Certainly it is.

When I pastored in church, though it was a Baptist church, but not the kind you have, and shake hands and put the name on the book. Brother, we got down at the altar and beat one another on the back till they come through. We had something. Yes sir.

And one of those people was caught in one of those kind of places, they put right on the carpet. And if it was so, they either repented, or was excommunicated right there. We didn't yoke ourselves up with unbelievers. They either walked the straight and narrow line.... We had a blackboard sitting there. If anybody had a grievance or seen one do it, they put both their names on the blackboard, like that, and both in the prayer room. Somebody put “Jones,” up at the top, next was “Scott” at the bottom. “All right, Brother Jones, you and Brother Scott come in here with me.” That's right. They had to straighten it out right then. It had to be made right. Church rolled on.

That's what we need tonight, is a good old-fashioned, backwoods, sin-killing, sky-blue religion, preached under the power of the Holy Ghost. Yes sir. And a washed and whiter saints. Not a whitewashing, but a washing white. There's a whole lot of difference in white-wash, and washing white. Amen.

Now remember the services now, and may the Lord bless us as we open His Word to read just a few scriptures here, and then speak to you on the Word. And everybody be solemnly, and in prayer, believing with all your heart. And I'm wondering tonight....

Some of them was telling me about a little baby, the last one was prayed for last night. The little fellow got started crying. Is that baby here tonight? Would it happen to be that the little fellow is here? I'd like him to climb up to the platform here, just a moment, if he is. I guess they might have been from out....

I don't know. Them keeps me.... It's in a semi-conscious condition. And my son was telling me, going out, said, “Daddy, it was a marvelous thing.” Said, “A little boy come in the line down there, a little....” I believe he said a cross-eyed, and had a rupture, or something another.

And said, “When you picked the child up, I seen you put your hand over that place, and it went away.” He said, “And when the child opened his eyes, and when you had your hand laying on him,” Said, “I noticed his eyes was as perfectly straight as it could be.” And said, “You tried to get him to look to the audience.”

And I just wondered if he was here tonight, if he'd be back. And we are thanking the Lord for his healing.

Now, the Lord can heal all kinds of diseases, if we can believe Him to do it. And I've seen Him do so many things, I just want to believe that everything we ask for, we get. That's right. We got to believe it that way.

And now, we trust that the Lord will bless.

Now, this blessed old Book is a Book of all books. And there's only One can rightly interpret this Book, and that's the Holy Spirit. He's the writer of it.

And it's the only One that can really interpret. No matter how well we think we know it, we don't know it until the Holy Spirit has revealed it, because it's all a mystery. It's all cut up in mysteries. And God said He did it purposely, so He could hide it from the smart and wise, but He would reveal it to babes such as would learn.

Now, we want to be babes in the Lord tonight. Just see how simple you can be. And tomorrow night, I think I have, the Lord willing, I have a message on that, on the simplicity of it.

So, now let us bow our heads just one more moment, to speak. How many has a need tonight? Would you raise your hand, say, “I want to be remembered in this, Brother Branham. I want you to remember me before the Lord.”

Our Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus, Thy beloved child, we come as humbly as we know how, and ask You for forgiveness of our sins and trespasses. Whatever we have did or said, through this day, or any other time in our life that's against us tonight, we humbly bow, and confess.

And I pray for this audience of people, as they raise their hands. Many of them, Father, are maybe desperately in need of forgiveness. Some besetting sin, some habit, some sickness, some disease or affliction, some loved one that's in trouble. Whatever it is, Father, I pray that You'd forgive and forget all their iniquity, and heal all their diseases.

And pour out Thy blessings upon us tonight, through the reading of the Word and the preaching of the Word. For we ask it in Christ's name, Thy beloved Son. Amen.

In II Kings, and the 3rd chapter of II Kings, and the 16th verse:

And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Make this valley full of ditches.

Now, may the Lord add His blessings to the reading of His Word. This was in the book of II Kings the 3rd chapter. And maybe when you would go home....

How many reads the Bible? let's see your hands. Oh, it's wonderful. Read it. Study it. And you, especially you born-again Christians, that's the bread and the meat for the Holy Spirit. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

What if I was a doctor tonight, and a young fellow come to me, had a great frame on him, and yet he looked so weak and run down, I'd say, “What's the matter, son?”

He said, “I'm just so weak, doctor. I can't hardly stand up.”

I ask him a few physical things.

Said, “All right?”

“They're all right.”

I say, “Well, what makes you weak?”

“I don't know, doctor.”

I say, “Well, when did you eat last?”

“Well, I eat a half a cracker, day before yesterday.”

“Why,” I'd say, “Only thing you need is a good square meal. You become anemic, you become run down, weak.”

And that's what's the matter with the church. You got to have a good square Gospel meal about every day. If you don't, you're going to be anemic. You're going to get run down. Taking a lot of God's vitamins out of His Word, and it certainly does bring up the spirit of you, and makes you feel refreshed and renewed.

Now, there'd just been a great event taken place. And there'd been a house cleaning time, in Israel. But the bad part of it was, by the vote of the people, and the run of the ... of the way they voted in, they had just about made it as bad as what they would today if one pastor would leave the church, and the deacon board would vote in another. Sometimes they was taking out a good one, putting in a bad one.

But when God sends one along, he's the right man. Always. You should pray, and seek God's favor, you who have such, to select your pastor.

But now, it was in the days of Elijah—Elijah, the mighty prophet of the Lord. Oh, God, what would we do if we didn't have some man of God in the world, that would stand in the breach, and try to intercede for the people, and with enough nerve to tell the people ... or, not enough nerve, but enough grace to tell the people what's right and wrong.

Whole lot of that is the matter ... or, the trouble today, is because men, in one sense.... I'm not condemning my brethren. Certainly not. I'm only trying to present a truth. The only reason today that the conditions are....

If every pastor would've stood firm on the Word, and not let down or compromise, it wouldn't be like it is today. But compromising, self-sufficient organizations, and so forth, has always tried to take the place of the Holy Spirit.

And God never did have, any time, a group of men to run His church. It's always been the Holy Spirit. That's His duty. That's what He's here for. That's what God sent Him for. He will teach you. “He will guide you into all truth, and will show you things to come, and reveal these things; take these things of Mine and reveal them to you.” Not the seminary; as good as they are. Not the church; as good as it is. But, the Holy Spirit. That's the Teacher.

And we've tried to adopt men to take the Holy Spirit's place. We've tried to adopt certain different offices in the church to take the offices of apostles, prophets, and so forth, in the church, that God set the gifts in the church. And we've took men and made them gifts, instead of God's gifts. And that's what we're in today.

Now, Elijah was a great man, and his time had come for him to leave the earth. And he walked before the Lord. And the Lord had told him, “Go and anoint another man.”

I love that. Don't you love that? God has never been without a witness. God has always had a witness since the world began. Sometimes it come down to one man. But God has always had someone He can lay His finger on, and say, “This is my servant,” in all ages.

Now, and when He seen He was going to take Elijah, Elijah the Tishbite went and found Elisha plowing in the field. And took off his robe, and threw it on him. And he knew he was called to be the prophet.

Then to show how a prophet should: He burnt every bridge, as we call it. He killed the ox. Took the yokes and the plow, and made a sacrifice to the Lord, showing that all of his earthly doings were over. He was completely sold out to the Lord. That's the kind ... the way every man and woman that comes to Christ, ought to completely sell out to sin and everything behind him; cross the separating line and look only to God from then on.

What a difference it would be if men and women would do that. Then, to give Him his test! Do you believe in the testings and trying, and trials of the Lord? Every son, without any exceptions, “Every son that cometh to God must first be tested, tried,” child trained.

Do you remember how you got your training? I remember how I got mine. My daddy had a.... He believed in the golden rule. And he had it, and it laid up over the door, and had all the ten commandments on it: a big long hickory stick, about this long, with a brush on the end of it.

I tell you, when them little Branhams done wrong, they knowed what the golden rule was. Pop got it for the hand picked and said, “Come here, son.” And he would say, “Now, tomorrow, I'm really going to tend to you.”

“Why don't you do it now, Papa, get it over with?”

“No, I'll just wait till tomorrow.”

After he'd get through eating his dinner, he's say, “Come here, Billy.”

“Yes, sir, dad.”

Settling it. Get his knife out and go to whittling. “Now, you knew better than that, didn't you?”

“Oh, I wish you'd just whip me, get it over with.”

He'd say, “But you knew better than that, didn't you?”

“Yes, Dad. I did.”

“Ain't you ashamed of yourself, to do like...?”

“Yes, pop, I am.”

“I've got to whip you for it.”

He'd tell me all about it. I'd go on out to the field, get my little old straw hat, and put it on, go out in the field scared to death. That night I'd think, “This is the night I'm going to get it.” But, brother, don't worry, he never forgot it. I got it. And that was a good schooling.

If we had some more that would do like that today, we wouldn't have so much juvenile delinquency. You talk about teaching the child.

I went to a house, here not long ago; to visit a person that was sick. And in come little junior, little old Oswald. And he walked in, he said, “Mammy, ain't you got my dinner ready yet?”

She said, “Sonny, I've been so sick.” Said, “This is Brother Branham.”

Said, “Well, why ain't you got some dinner ready for me?”

She said, “I've been real sick.”

Said, “That's no excuse.”

She said, “There's an orange.”

He took it, looked at it, said, “That's all you can do? Blankety-blank!” And threw it against the wall, and the juice run all over the place.

Said, “Junior, behave yourself.” And he kicked over something, and walked out.

I looked down at the mother. I thought, “Lady, you just give me the privilege for a few minutes. I'll make him think different from that, the next time he come in the house.”

Oh, how we let down. You're trying to.... You're too good to kids nowadays. That's right. You baby them.

You can't go beyond the Bible. The Bible says, “If you spare the rod, you spoil the child.” And that's right.

Pop used to take the old gun stick. I don't know whether you know what it is, or not, what you used to load your muzzle loader with. [A brother says, “Ramrod.”] Yea, ramrod. Right. Brother, I got an education with that thing. He didn't make me walk around.

He's in the grave tonight. When I looked upon him when he was laying there, and the black locks laying around, looked gray, I thought of every one of it, and I honored every whipping I ever got. I never got half enough. That's right. He was my daddy, and I loved him because he tried to make me do right. He was determined that I would do right.

And now, some of you talk about the illiteracy of the hillbillies up in Kentucky there. But how the old grandmas with their long bonnets and things on. You know what? They could teach some of you city people how to behave yourself. That's right.

Your little Martha Ann come in, of a night time, and mess-up all over her face, and half-drunk, and smoking a cigarette, and blowing it through her nose, and stomp her foot, and scream at you. Let her do that to one of them old Kentucky mammies one time. She'd top a hickory, boy, or take something, or a barrel slat. When she got through, she'd know who was mammy around there.

If you'd do that, you wouldn't have so many wrong men, and boys and girls, in the world tonight. Let one of them strip theirselves, in some these old dirty clothes like you let your kids wear out here: little old shorts, and ever what you call them. And let them one time, uh-huh, you'd find out how illiterate they were. She'd beat her till she'd be so full of welts, you couldn't get the clothes over the top of them.

That's what needs to be done tonight. That's right.

And some of these sissified preachers stand in the pulpit, and let their choir sing, and then go out on the afternoon and stretch out in those things. Shame on you, and call yourself a man of God. You got a wishbone, and not a backbone. If you had the Holy Ghost, it'd make you act different from that, and talk different from that, and make you call black “black,” and white “white.” Yes sir. But the trouble of it is.... Oh, my, you're so feminish anyhow, little sissy. Why don't you get a backbone, get the Holy Ghost!

John the Baptist was the first one to receive the Holy Ghost, and he walked right up to old Herod, and said, “It's not lawful for you to have your brother's wife.” Brother, that's the way, a man filled with the Holy Ghost, when he sees something wrong, he calls it wrong. That's right. Certainly.

Now, Elijah was that type of man. And when Elisha knew that he was to take his place, Elijah gave him a trial. He said, “You stay here, because I'm going to another city.” And Elijah knew that he had to watch him.

He was inspired. He said, “As the Lord liveth, and your soul never dies, I will not depart from you.”

On and on they went, until finally, the last trial. And they crossed Jordan. He said, “Now, what can I do for you?”

He said, “That a double portion of your spirit would come upon me.” Now that seems strange: the spirit of a man coming upon another. “I want a double portion of your spirit.”

Said, “You've asked a hard thing. But nevertheless, if you see me when I go, you'll have it.”

So they walked on. And after awhile, the chariots of fire, and horses of fire came down, and Elijah stepped on, and pulled off his robe, and threw it back to Elisha. And he put it on and walked down to the river, with a double portion of the spirit of Elijah, a beautiful type of the church.

Jesus said, “These things that I do, shall you also. And more than this shall you do. Can you be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with? Can you drink from the cup that I drink?” Said, “Yes, you will.” And a double portion, (you see it?) of the Holy Spirit was to come upon the church. And a double of what Jesus did was to be done by the church.

Oh, where is the saints of the church tonight that's a-praying? Crawled back in the shell, like a turtle, hiding. Now listen. The only thing that you need to do is to come out.

Notice, then when he walked down, he began to perform miracles. And one done eight, Elijah. And Elisha, with sixteen; a double portion of the Spirit was upon him.

During that time, old king Ahab had died, because the prophet told him how his end was going to be. And his little old painted-faced wife, she died, too, and the dogs eat her just according to the Word of the Lord.

She hated that preacher, worse than anything, because he was always telling her about her sins. How could he be honest and sincere with God, and keep from doing it? God had told him that He was going to feed her to the dogs. And she didn't become nothing but dog meat.

And so, no matter how much of those pretty, painted-up, rosebud lips was, when she stood him up. Old Jehu said, “Throw her out the window!” She wasn't vamping him with her vampy eyes. He was a man of God. Said, “Throw her out the window!” And the dogs eat her up, on the street. That's right.

And then when they went to select them another, they got Joram his son and her son. Now, you couldn't expect very much to come out of a marriage like that. So then we find out that when Joram had ascended to the throne, he was a borderline believer, just a half-way, lukewarm believer. So many of them in the world tonight. Joram would just set his sail; any way the wind was blowing, that's the way Joram would go.

That's what's the matter with the church tonight. They set their sail to every form of doctrine. Tossed about from pillar to post, not knowing where they stand, or what to do. When the little trials come up, the little afflictions, away they go, this way. They're Methodist today, a Baptist tomorrow, a Pentecostal next day, a Lutheran the next day, Seventh-day Adventist, Jehovah Witness. They don't know where to stand; tossed about; borderline. Packing your church letter from one place to another. What good does it do you, anyhow?

Better put it in heaven; that's where it'll be recognized.

Notice, then, a lukewarm preacher, or a believer, so many tonight is in the same way. They're with the crowd. If they're in the crowd, they'll do as the crowd does. Next, they make their way back to church.

Here, some time ago, a young man told me, said, “Preacher, I'm not a Christian.” He said, “I'm ashamed to admit it.”

I said, “Now, there's hope for you when you're ashamed to admit it.”

He said, “I'm not a Christian. I'm ashamed to admit it.” But said, “I took a certain girl the other night. A boy, another boy and I had her out. And she was so drunk she couldn't hardly get in. And we walked her, and give her salt water to vomit it up. She had to be sober enough to attend church the next morning.” And said, “If you'll look, they'll come out and get another bottle, they'll be on the road again.” And she was a singing in the choir. And the sister taught Sunday school, and wasn't any better.

No wonder we got a bunch of infidels and skeptics, and half-believers, and make-believers, and everything else. The church needs an old-fashioned, Holy Ghost, God-sent revival, and preachers to get in the pulpit and call those things out. Right. Let the righteous wrath of God rain down, through old-fashioned, hellfire and brimstone preaching. Too bad we ever got away with it, and sissified it. When the Holy Spirit left the man, he didn't know no better. What we need is a returning of the Holy Spirit. Yes, sir.

Now, borderline....

Here sometime ago, a young lady, right in our city ... everybody thought lots of her. It was a little old girl run up there at the church. She had long hair, and slicked her hair right back till face was just about as slick as a peeled onion, I guess. But she was really a genuine Christian, born again.

So, this little old girl went to a modernistic affair down there, she met her on the street. She said, “Rose, you know what?” Said, “You'd be a pretty girl if you'd just use a little of this, and a little of that, and if you'd wear this kind of clothes and that kind of clothes.”

She said, “I wear just exactly what I want to wear.” Amen. Ah, that was telling her.

She said, “The trouble of it is, is that man, my ... preacher, pastor, Billy, you got up there.” Said, “That guy ought to be in the insane institution.”

And the little girl said, “Well, if you had what we had up there, you wouldn't be looking the way you're looking now.” She told her about it. Yet, she was a Sunday school teacher.

Now, Mr. Perkins, a friend of mine, dear friend, at Jeffersonville, he had the embalming at the Coot's undertaker chapel. And then this girl taken down sick, and they didn't know what it was; and it was a venereal. And the family never let it out, because it was a disgrace.

And when the girl had taken down with this disease, and she started to die, she called for the pastor, and the church to come and sing hymns to her. And when she was singing out there ... they were, and death struck her....

If ever one time that you'll get right with God—or try to—is when death really sets in on you.

And when death struck her, the pastor.... She began to kind of ... began to scream. She said, “I'm lost.”

And the pastor said, “Here, here, here. You, you can't act like that.” Said, “You know you're saved.”

“I'm lost.”

He called the doctor and put a hypo in her arm. And she told him, she said, “You deceiver.” She said, “I'm lost, and I am going to hell. And you're the cause of it.” And she said, “Send for that little Mahoney, just as quick as you can, and get her here, that she'll pray for me.” But they couldn't get the girl. She'd already died.

And when Mr. Perkins told me. Said, “Billy, when I was pumping the fluid into that girl, we noticed that it.... I began to smell it, that she was taking too much fluid for her body. And so, we had to examine her.” And when they did, there was holes eat in her everywhere, where venereal disease had eat her up. And there she was, died.

Oh, my! And that disgrace is all because that she was told that tap dancing, and all the other nonsense that goes with the sinful, backslidden life, was all right, by a backslidden preacher. That was the cause of it. And she spit it to his face, in the days of her death.

And what will she do yonder, where they have to stand in the presence of God and give an account for everything that's done. And God will require at that preacher's hands, that girl's soul. Certainly, it is true.

Oh, brother, what we need in the church today, is an awakening. “Arise, and rise out of a sleep, and shake yourselves.” And realize that the day that we're living in.

Now, not long ago, when that taken place. That still hangs on the record in Jeffersonville, of how that girl went out of life.

Now, a borderline, lukewarm—they try to make it smooth. That's the way this Joram was, just a borderline preacher. And, he, every way the people.... If they wanted to do this: well, “All right.” They wanted to do that; “all right.” But yet he claimed to be a Christian ... or, a believer.

And first thing you know, there was Moab rebelled against Israel. So then he called for help.

Now, the king of Judah was Jehoshaphat. And Jehoshaphat was a righteous man.

Now, I want you to notice how easy it is sometimes, on a little persuasion, for a Christian to get in the wrong company, trying to be pity. “Well, I tell you, I'll just go down to the pool room. I won't play any pool, but I'll go down there. I'll go to the dance with Suzy, because she's a good girl, and maybe I could win her to the Lord.” You'll never do it, doing that. Right. Show your colors! Right. Don't get on the wrong ground.

That's what's the matter with the Pentecostal church tonight: it got on the wrong ground. That's the reason, in the church tonight, the people.... It used to be wrong for the people to do certain things. Now, it's not wrong—they do it anyhow. You got on the wrong grounds. You got with the wrong crowd.

Show me your company, I'll tell you who you are. Let me walk into your house. Let me see what's laying open on the table. Let me see how that Bible is marked up. Let me see whether it's old True Stories. Let me listen to what kind of music you bring in on your radio. Let me see what kind of pictures you got in your house. I'll tell you what you're made out of. Yes sir. That's what your soul's feeding on. Regardless of what your testimony is, your fruits prove what you are. That's right.

Oh, it's the truth. Your soul feeds on something. And whatever the characteristic of your soul is, that's what it will show forth. That's the reason Jesus said, “By their fruits you shall know them.” You took a lot of advantage of saying, “I spoke in tongues. I got the Holy Ghost.” If your life didn't type up with it, you didn't do it; you either got the devil, or the flesh. I'm talking to the Pentecostal people.

Now, you Baptists ought to shout a little, and you Presbyterians. Sure, that's right!

Now, I don't care what kind of a sign.... You might have cried tears like a crocodile, and you might have moaned at the bench. That don't mean you're saved. Your life proves what you are.

Did you ever hear a goat bleat? A goat and a sheep is almost the same thing. Now, I've heard goats crying, when it act like sheep. It takes a real shepherd to know the difference. Do you hear a goat squealing? It sounds just exactly like a sheep. But a shepherd knows the voice. That's right.

Now, but something happened. And we find out that this Jehoshaphat [unclear words] you before, praying over it.

Before you cut your hair, sister, did you get down and pray over it, see what the Lord said about it? Before you wore those little old sinful, ungodly-looking clothes that you wear, did you get down and pray, “O Lord,...” and ask the Lord what to do about that? And He didn't condemn you? I'm afraid you didn't ... you had your mind already made up, what you was going to do, before you prayed. That's right.

Are you willing to let (as I said the other night) God sheared all the things off of you—took all your rights. You say, “This is my life. I'm an American. I can do what I want to.” That's right, but are you willing to forfeit them to the kingdom of God? If you're a lamb, you are. If you're a goat, you won't. So there you are.

So now, you might bleat and cry, and you might act like it. You might eat the same grass that the goat and the sheep does.

Way over in the holy lands, here not long ago, I seen a shepherd. And he was herding sheep, goats, donkeys, and camels, all on the same grass. And I said, “What does a shepherd mean?”

He said, “The shepherd is a grazier.” Said, “Like you'd call in America, your 'cowboy.'”

And I said, “Well, then why is it that he's herding the goats and everything?”

He said, “That's right.”

“Oh,” I said, “I see.”

He said, “But, Brother Branham, when night time comes, everything is left on the pasture, except the sheep, and the sheep's tucked in the fold.” And he lays down at the door to see that nothing bothers them.

I said, “I see.” You can sit in the same church, shout by the same Gospel. But if your nature isn't different, you'll never be recognized as a friend to the Son. That's right. It's got to be in your heart, not in your head.

You say, “I like to do that, but I better not do it, because the church wouldn't like it.” It don't make any difference what the church says. It's what God says, what your conscience says, what the Holy Spirit says, in you. Right. He said, “You love the world, or the things of the world, the love of God is not even in you.” So don't be a borderline. Come out and be one side or the other. Let your colors shine.

Now, I want you to notice. Jehoshaphat got messing around, and he got with that crowd. They said, “Will you go up with us? Will you come over and join our church?”

He said, “Well, I guess I might as well go into the association. I imagine it's all right. I feel a little independent, fellow up here. Maybe if I join the association, I'd be better off. I'd have the fellowship then of Israel down here and of these other fellows up here, maybe if I could just join the association.”

Sometimes you make a mistake by doing that. I ain't got nothing against the association, but just stay the way you are with God.

Now, the first thing you know, he goes up there. And after awhile, why, he said, “Will you go with me to battle?”

Said, “Sure. We're all Christians anyhow. We're all believers, anyhow, but....” He wanted to be a mixer.

And that's what the world's looking for today, is a mixer; but God wants separators.

You know, here sometime ago, I heard of a church up in the northern part of Indiana, was making their choice for a pastor. And the whole bunch of them, almost a hundred percent, unanimously voted on a guy because of his looks: great big, fine-looking young man.

And I asked an old grandma lady, I said, “How did you vote in that case?”

I seen them give the brother a Bible that day when they brought him into the church, and give him the privileges of being their pastor. “Oh,” she said, “he was such a handsome looking fellow.”

I said, “But that's not all of it, sister. The thing of it is, what does he preach? What does he feed with? Does he feed with some kind of little recreation programs? Does he talk about roses and flowers, or who's going to be the next president; or some baseball game, or some fish fry, or party? Or does he preach the Word of God, and stand on it, firmly?” Yes, sir.

One young lady, I said, “Well, what about you?” And she give me her excuse for it.

But look, that's the way people vote. They vote by their sight.

One time there had to be a selection made who'd take Saul's place, down in Israel. And so Saul was head and shoulders above all of his army. So, even the prophet got the horn of oil and went up to Jesse's house to anoint one of his sons to be king. The Lord told him to. But He said, “But don't you anoint but who I call for.”

And then they run out the great big, oldest one there—great big seven-footer. Said, “My, won't he look good, standing in the pulpit, with his clothes just fitting him just right!” And all about it.

That's what America wants today. Pentecost.... Here it is; get ready. Pentecost is full of Hollywood evangelism. Why, in Louisville, Kentucky, a bunch of people come in there not long ago. And I went over there to a revival center, thought I'd get my soul all fed up. And I got over there, and a woman on the platform with great big earrings hanging down. And with the clothes on, looked like she'd been poured into them. And running up-and-down the aisle, hollering, “Hallelujah! And who will give the next fifty?” And I never heard such! And the music sounded like some kind of rock-and-roll, boogie-woogie. That's got its place, but not on the platform. Amen. I just, almost, I thought the building might fall in, so I went out. To see people—how far away!

Don't think because you're Pentecostal that God's going to take you in on that name. He won't do it. You've got to have the article, brother. That's right.

Notice, here he was, joining himself up, associating with unbelievers. So they fixed him a compass for seven days, and got out into the desert, on out to fight the kings of Moab. And when they got out there, they found out that they were out of water. The water supply was cut off. And things go wrong when the water is cut off. Do you know that?

Now, in the public utility, if you don't pay the bill, they'll cut the water off. You'll dry up around the house.

And that's what's the matter with God's people tonight: They just didn't pay the price, and God cut the water off. That's all.

You know, out in the desert ... go to any desert you want to. That's the reason some of you Full Gospel church members, and so forth, don't believe in divine healing. Your water has been cut off. That's right. Out in the desert.

You say, “Full Gospel!” The dirtiest I ever was treated was by a Pentecostal pastor, against divine healing. I asked him if I could rent some seats from him. I had a big meeting in the city, and because a certain church was sponsoring it, he said, “Anybody that believes in divine healing, I wouldn't even let sit on my seats.” That was Pentecostal. Sure. That's right. Within a gunshot distance, almost, of where you're sitting tonight. That's right. Would be a little farther than that, I suppose, be about two hundred miles. But, look ... that would be the big cannon guns they're shooting today.

But notice, that's what he said, and he wouldn't let me have them. And the people had to stand, but we had the meeting just the same.

But now notice, that's the reason.... Out in the desert, everything you come in contact in the desert has got stickers on it. I don't care if it's a little old leaf, or whatever it is, don't move it, 'cause it's got a sticker on it. You know what does that? It's because it ain't had no water. Where there's no water, it gets stickers. Where there's water, that same plant will soften up and make leaves.

And that's what's the matter with the church, the reason there's so much fussing. “I'm a Oneness.” “I'm Assembly.” “I'm this.” or “I'm this other.” or “I belong to the church of God. We got the group!” “Them's a buzzard roost over there.” “This is that, and the other.” “Oh, we don't believe in that. We believe in dancing this way. We believe in this and do this: Liberation of women. Oh, well....” Oh, my! What's the matter? Your water supply is cut off. Right. It's the truth.

So, they found out they was without water. And when you're without water, you're without life. So, then they said, “What can we do about it? We'll start a prayer meeting.” It's a bad time to start it then. [Blank spot on tape.] you ought to pray before you left [unclear words]. You ought to pray over it. That's what's the matter with us tonight.

Now, notice. After he got out there, finally, one man come up, of the king of Israel, and said, “Why, you know what? We've got a man, lives right down here by the name of Elisha. He poured water on Elijah's hands.” In other words, “His association was pretty good. He really had some dealings with a real prophet.” Birds of a feather, flock together. And that's right.

How can you expect anybody to believe you when you're running around and acting the way you do, and then come in and call yourselves Christians. No wonder they don't call, “Please come pray for me,” so forth, see. That's right. Now, birds of a feather, flock together.

And they said, “Well, but this man poured water on Elijah the Tishbite. They poured water on his hands. He had some dealings with him.” And so, Jehoshaphat, being a spiritual man, the first thing he thought of, was to visit the prophet.

And when a real child of God ever gets in trouble, the first thing he goes to is God, right straight back to God.

Said, “Let's go to him quickly.”

So they went down there, and drove up in front. And Elisha was in there reading the Scriptures, perhaps. And when they all drove up in front, and the king.... Well, here they come in, and they said, “What shall we do?”

And Elisha got his righteous indignation all stirred up. Oh, he could boil over once in a while. He looked at old Joram standing there. He said, “Why don't you get to the prophet of your daddy and your mother. Why did you come to me?” Whew! My! Wasn't very peaceful, was he? “Why don't you go back to your pagan gods. Why'd you come down to me?” A prophet, a servant of the Lord, a mighty man, double portion of the Spirit on him. “Why don't you go to your mother's god, and your father's god.”

And listen to what he said, “If it wasn't that I respected the presence of Jehoshaphat, I wouldn't even look at you.” Whew! You talk about being stirred up!

And I believe that's the same thing tonight. I believe this America will be blowed to pieces. I believe the thing has done been sunk and gone, if God didn't respect the real genuine Christians in America that's praying to hold it together. Amen. I believe it would have been gone long ago. I believe the Japs would have took it, or some other nation, if God hadn't respected the honest, sincere prayers of born-again children of God. That's right.

Said, “If I didn't respect the presence of that righteous man, I wouldn't even look at you.”

So, he got himself all stirred up. So, you know, when you get all stirred up, and riled up like that, it's not a good time to do any service for the Lord.

So, you know what he said? Said, “Nevertheless, go get me a minstrel. Start playing.” Now, you people that don't believe in music in the church, what about that? Yeah. Said, “Go get me a minstrel. I'm all riled up today. My righteous indignation is boiled over. That guy come up here, that borderline preacher, standing out here, leading them children wrong down there, and doing that. Oh, how I could take a hold of him.” Said, “I got to see a vision now, so, bring me a minstrel.”

And they went and got all the music. And they got to playing the music, some real good hymns. And the first thing you know, when the songs returned to Zion, when the music and the children begin to sing from their heart, something takes place. The Spirit of the Lord come on the prophet.

And if the real, old-fashioned, godly singing, and repenting, would bring the Spirit of God on the prophet then, it'll do the same thing today. And, notice, he wanted to see the way out. And the only way out they could do, would be to have a revival.

So, he had some repentant sinners to come in, and the music played, and the prophet saw a vision.

And the only way you're ever going to see your way out, is an old-fashioned, spiritual revival, where the “hallelujahs” of God is ringing from the bottom of their hearts, and an old-fashioned, Holy-Ghost-sent revival hits the place. Then you begin to see things. Then God will begin to reveal things. Then you'll wonder why these real Christians are hanging on, while they're praying for you.

What a revival! And he got in the Spirit.

Now, the reason that these people has dances.... If they didn't have a dancing, lets get in the spirit of dancing. You can't have a ballgame unless you get in the spirit of the ballgame. You've got to get in the spirit of it.

And we can never have a revival in Shreveport, or anywhere else, until the church gets in the spirit of revival. God can come and perform miracles, He can show wonders, He can stretch forth His hand to heal the sick and afflicted. The preacher can preach the Gospel as hard as he can, but there will never be a revival until the church gets in the spirit of revival.

America has gone to sleep. Thousands times thousands of great miracles, and signs, and wonders, and evangelists, whose hearts are burning, men tonight who has got to make decisions.... Some of them are standing on the borderline. Many of them, great men, are turning to God and receiving the Holy Ghost.

One of the foremost men of America, in the evangelical realm, come the other day, to Indianapolis, where I was, and has received the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Yes, sir.

Oh, my, nations are breaking, Israel's awakening, the signs that the Bible foretold. We're at the end time. And there's light, if you want to walk in it.

And I noticed, as this man, telling how happy he was, and how he'd been liberated, and said, “Brother Branham, I come upon the recommendation of other great men.” He'd told me who they was —Morris Reedhead, and other ones—how that they had received the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and revolutionized their life. And now they are out preaching.

Another outstanding man, he has to come to a showdown, pretty soon, of what he's going to about it. But he made the remark, and said, “I don't care what the politics of the church says, I want God.” Amen.

Pentecostal, you'd better be pulling in your.... buckling up your shield, your armor. If you don't watch out, the Baptists, and Presbyterians, so forth, will pass you on by. “God is able of these stones to rise children unto Abraham.” Don't think because you belong to the Assemblies, or the Church of God, or the UPC, that you just got her made. You ain't got her made at all. Right. God's the One has made the way. You're to walk in it.

Watch, it's a sign. The Pentecostal just lay birthday rallies, say, “Oh, isn't that wonderful? My! My! Oh, mother, we just can't have this standing around here no more. We got to pray through.” Everybody else praying through. And, the first thing you know, they watch it for a while, then they say, “Oh, well, I guess it's all right.” God performs something; you say, “Mm-hmm, yeah, we'll have a revival.”

Oh, my! Then here comes the Baptists, and the Presbyterians, the Nazarenes, the Pilgrim Holiness. And them coming along, seeing the baptism of the Holy Ghost, they're stepping in, grabbing it like that, as fast as they can. Sure. “God's able of the stones to rise children unto Abraham.” You won't walk it, God will turn it over, and give it to somebody else. It's exactly right. Great things are in the making, right now. Amen.

Now, he said, “Now I saw a vision. I see the way out. I know what to do.”

And I tell you, brother, today the church hasn't got the vision, or they would have more prayer, and they'd be more spiritual than what they are. Unless there is a vision, unless someone can see the vision, see the Coming of the Lord, seeing the things that were going through with; see all these things that God predicted that would be in the last days, and here we are living in them.

Instead of reading the Bible, we're reading love stories. They're reading that, and they read everything else. We ought to be reading God's Bible, and on our knees, constantly praying for God to help us; awakening in our soul, a-crying out to the Lord. But we don't.

Now, notice, and then when he said he seen a way out. “Now,” he said, “the first thing I want you to do, is go out here and make this valley full of ditches. Dig just as hard as you can dig. For, 'Thus saith the Lord,' you'll not see any wind, or there'll be any rain, but this valley will be full of water. The more ditches, the more water.

What did he see? He saw a vision of that spiritual rock that Moses had already smitten, and been speaking to. He'd just spoke to that rock, and it was ready to pour forth the water, when ditches was made for it to run in.

And I say, that same smitten Rock tonight, is here. And it'll pour forth an old-fashioned, Holy Ghost revival that will tear Shreveport apart, if you people will go to digging, moving all the difficults out.

If you dig up against one thing—the beer cans in the ice box—throw it out and make way for the Holy Ghost. Every time you hit against a snag, throw the thing out. The deeper you dig, the more water you'll get. So what you have to have is, to make a way for it.

No matter how much preaching there is, how many visions there are, the subject was then, and the main principle was: Make ready for the water; get the ditches dug.

That's what we got to do tonight, is to make way for the Holy Ghost to pour down. Make it in your house, make it in your church, make it in yourself. Kick everything out of the way. Get ready. There's coming a gusher, if you'll make ready for it. If you don't make ready for it, you'll never see it.

Now, it's up to the church tonight. Got a nice tent here. You got nice pew ... or, churches ... seats, got nice people, got nice singing. We've got a wonderful Savior. But get every.... Lay aside everything, every sin that so easily besets you.

“Brother Branham, I don't do nothing.”

Maybe that's what's the matter. That's the trouble of it. It's more sin not to do it, than it is to do when you know better. Right. “He that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it's sin.” You got to make ready. Doing nothing is the worse thing you can do; do nothing about it.

You Southerners remember your history. Went up here, when Grant was sitting just across the river, and he had a boy out there on guard duty. And the Rebels was across the river. And this boy, walking along there, kind of dazed around with the dreams of his sweetheart. He left his post of duty and went down to pick some violets, to send to his sweetheart. He didn't mean to do wrong. He went.... At that time, there was a spy ready from the southern army, and they slipped in. And they looked around, they found out that the southern army was two or three times the size of General Grant's.

What happened? The boy come back on the post of duty, not knowing what had happened. But the spy had already been there. And what happened? They stormed across the river, and drove them plumb back up into the state. And that boy was shot an hour later, not because he.... They didn't have no objection to him picking the violets. They didn't have.... It wasn't what he'd done; it was the things he didn't do. He didn't stand to his post of duty. He didn't guard the post like he was supposed to. And he spoiled the whole thing.

And that responsibility tonight lays at the Life Tabernacle, and other tabernacles and churches in Shreveport, Louisiana. God is here to take it with a storm. It ain't what you're doing, maybe it's what you're failing to do.

Let's do something about it. Let's dig with all of our hearts, that when that day of judgment comes, we can say, “God, I did the very best I could, and You know I did.” Amen. When we do all we can do, that's all's expected.

Notice, when they begin to dig, they dug down against things; just throwed it out, and made big ditches. The next morning the enemy looked down, the sun come up, and it looked like blood. They said, “Well, they've fallen on one another, and killed each other.” And away they went.

And they were ambushed. And they said, “This is just a light thing, before the Lord, sending forth this water.” And they went over into the other lands, and they stopped up every well, they cut down every good tree. They just had a real old-fashioned revival.

And when it gets to the place, that the people that love God will throw everything they got right into the revival, with prayer, and with everything else, and seek God's face, and pray and seek God, and call out in the hours of night, for mercy, and get the neighbors saved, and so forth; I tell you, we'll stop the mouth of every critic, we'll knock down every formal thing that's standing up. And they'll have to know that God's been in the camp. That's right. Friends, we'll never do it, until that thing takes place. We can't.

That's the way of the revival. “For thus saith the Lord,” said Elisha—spoke in the name of the Lord.

And the other night, when I was coming over here a few nights ago, and the Lord met me in the room there, just as vision the same as I see here at the platform, other places. Said, “Here's what's the matter with the church. They've got so much selfishness, everywhere.” Didn't just say this. The church of the living God has got so much differences, and so much this and that, till they grieve the Holy Spirit away from them.

And that's just exactly what it is. And brother, sister, until we humble ourselves, and become the lamb, so the dove can light on us again, and bring joy, and peace, and satisfaction, and a burning desire in our hearts to see others saved and come to God, we are simply fighting the winds. That's all. That is true. No matter how many revivals....

The Lord Jesus was standing here at the platform last night, and proved to every person present, that He was absolutely raised from the dead, without a shadow of doubt.

Tonight, two or three hundred less people than was here last night. What's the matter? The end time is here, brother. It's here, beyond any shadow of doubt. That same action in Germany, Switzerland, Africa, anywhere in the other lands, that same thing would have took place, there would have been a hundred thousand people ... there'd have been at least twenty or thirty thousand come to Christ. And the next night, there'd have been double that.

What is it? The Holy Spirit has flew away from us, and She's gone overseas, hunting lambs to dwell in. That's really, exactly what's taking place. What a time! What a tragedy, to see that we.... The more the church preaches, the more the saints cry out, it seems like the farther away from God the nation gets. No wonder airplanes are crashing in the air, boats are crashing on the sea.

The Bible said there'd be perplex of times, distress between the nations, great signs, flying saucers through the air, sights in the heavens above and on earth below. All these things taking place; but the Gospel would be preached.

And He said, “There will come a famine in the land. Not for bread and water, but for the hearing of the Word of God; the true Word of God.” A famine. Oh, what a day that we're living in. We ought to be ready; making ready.

“Now, what are you speaking to, Brother Branham? Are you saying that to me?” I am saying that to you. If you're unsaved, if you have never received Christ, if you don't know what it is to be filled with the Holy Spirit, I'm speaking to you.

If you're a born-again Christian, prayed up, doing everything that you can, just remember you can say “hallelujah” to it.

One night, while preaching, I thought I'd condemned sin in every way that I could condemn it in. I combed it over and over, till I wondered if a congregation would ever come back. And I thought, “My, surely I've covered everything. God, when I meet You there, I can say I've told them the truth.”

And as I went away, there was a lady, a little flippy-like, walked up to me, and she said, “Well, preacher, you never struck me tonight. That's one thing. Not one thing you said ever bothered me. I'm above everything.”

Well, I thought that lady was in pretty good shape. She went flipping all the way, like that, strutting down along the aisle. I said, “Well, praise the Lord. I'm sure glad of that.” She went on out.

Some elderly ladies was standing there. I said, “Do you know her?”

Said, “Sure.” Said, “She's the biggest gossiper there is in town. You never said a thing about gossip.” There you are, see. Oh, my.

But remember, brother, no matter what it is, what little sin there is, lay it aside. If I haven't struck it, may the Holy Spirit strike it to your heart tonight, and mine. Maybe it's unbelief, maybe it's doubting, maybe it's skeptic. If it is, may God lay it to your heart, and we have an old-fashioned revival coming up this coming week.

May the Lord grant it, as we bow our heads. I'm going to ask the little sister if she'll come to the piano, organ, whatever. And give us just a chord, if you will, sister dear, while I ask for this altar call.

Now, it's early yet tonight, and I want to know, as you have your heads bowed, while I offer this word of prayer for every one.

Now, Heavenly Father, harshly have I condemned sin, in every way that come on my mind, I let it go through this microphone. Everything that I thought of, that You put in my mind, I said it right out. It might have offended some, but at the day of the judgment, I can say I'm innocent. I've preached the Word just as You gave it.

And now, there is no doubt there's just many fine, loving people sitting here, prayed up, filled with the Holy Spirit, no condemnation in their heart, living daily before the Lord. If He should call them, they'd be ready to go.

But to do my part, to preach the Gospel, to call the colors of the Gospel, to show what Christ died for, what it is when He comes to us. Then, Lord Jesus, if there's somebody sitting here under condemnation.... You're the judge; not I. The Word has gone forth; it's the judge. And You are the Word.

Now, Father, if there's someone here who isn't living just right, and know that if You would send Jesus to the earth tonight, they'd be condemned and lost. They might think it's strange, standing out under this tent, this hot weather, to preach the old-fashioned, rough, sin-killing, stirring; not no gloves on. Handle it barehanded. Laying it right out, where it belongs.