The Church And Its Condition

Very rare disease of a child to be especially remembered this morning in prayer, so we sure want to all to do that. The doctors don't even know. They give it some kind of a name, but I think they just made up one to give it; they didn't know what it was, but Christ knows what it is. I can tell you what it is, it's a devil, that's right, the devil. What name they want to give him, why, that's up to them. But that's what he is, he's an evil spirit. Now let's, all together, once together now, “Only Believe.” Everyone come right out.

Only believe, only believe,

All things are possible, only believe;

Only believe, only believe,

All things are possible, only believe.

Let's pray for the girl now as we bow our heads.

Our Heavenly Father, seemingly I just can't get it off my mind. The little girl there, dying, she's somebody's darling. She's Your creation, and Satan is robbing her of her young life. I pray that in Christ's name that You'll stay the hand of death, drive back that enemy. Thou, Lord, who can make the Red Sea to wall up on either side, and give the children of Israel, Thy heritage, a safe journey across the sea and into the promised land. God, we pray today that You'll move back every obstacle and let the child live. It's been given to us to ask. And, as a group of people believing in Thee, we ask in Jesus' name for the healing of the child. Amen.

Today it's with a grateful heart that I come to you again in the name of the Lord Jesus. I come home just a little early from Louisiana. Thought maybe if I got here before Sunday, I could have Sunday school. And then the weather was so awfully hot there, that this would be mild, cool this morning aside from Louisiana. You'd never sit in a building like this with no more than a fan, in Louisiana; it'd be air conditioned or you'd be fainting.

And so I come so that I'd get just a day-or-two's rest before leaving now right away, to Northern Saskatchewan, next week, and that's up at Prince Albert. That's as far as the roads goes in the world, from the other side. They cross all the way over the world without any more roads, and nothing but Indians and Eskimos back in the interior past where we go this time.

So, many people will be at this meeting from all over Canada. Some of them will come plumb from the West Coast, they say, coming over. And I certainly desire the prayers of you people, that God will meet with us and give us an exceeding, abundant, great meeting for His glory. It's been some four or five years since I been in Canada. And I've some real royal friends there, that are very fine people.

And so, they're very loyal to go to church. No matter how cold it is, they'll wrap up in a blanket and sit on a bobsled, and drive the horse for thirty miles, to get to go to church. They'll walk through the snowdrifts and everything else, young and old. They all group together. And one family gets the other and they start walking, and they go. It's the sacrifice that they make is what causes them to get so much out of the service. When there's no sacrifice, there's not very much to the service. You have to really get down and do something that hurts real bad, have to lay aside some things and stop the work, and do this or that, to get to go to church and show God that you love Him, and you make a sacrifice to go, it's then when you get something out of it.

It's just like my kiddies. Billy Paul, I thought I would.... I didn't get anything when I was a kid. Mama used to get maybe one sack of candy and she'd measure it out, two or three pieces to each one. Maybe for Christmas we'd get a little tin horn or a little cap pistol, or something. And I seen other kids with sleighs and bicycles and things, good clothes and warm jackets. And it just made me feel so bad, I said, “If I ever have any children of my own, I'm going to do everything for them I could.” Well, I would been willing to go hungry to get something for my kids. And when I lived....

When Billy was just a little boy, I'd get him a little tricycle, and I'd get him everything. And Meda would try everything, to sacrifice her own clothes and things, to get him something. But you know what we begin to find out? I got him a little tricycle, and a little bow and arrow, and everything. I'd find him with a spoon or a stick, out in the backyard, digging somewhere, see. I said, “The next ones won't be like that,” see. You just give anybody everything right on their hand, they don't want it. It's something you have to sacrifice for!

And that's the way salvation is. It's a complete sacrifice. It is, Brother Roy. It's a sacrifice that you have to do every day, something to get close to God and to do something. And I know it's a sacrifice to you all this morning, to sit in this hot building. As we sit here, let's keep our minds on the greatest Sacrifice that mankind ever was given to do, that was Jesus Christ when He was charged to come to the earth to die in our stead. Not only that, but His soul descended into hell and was there for three days and nights, and on the third day He arose, and now ascended on high, sitting at the right hand of God, in heaven, making intercessions upon our confessions of His atonement and His grace that's been provided for us.

Now up in the ... up there where we're going, there'll be many people, real poor, real poor, will have to sell one of their cows, two or three of their sheep, or something, to get to come to the meeting. The old Eskimo will probably bring up some of his skins and sell them, that he really needed for his family, to come out. The Indian trader will have to do the same. Now, we can at least pray for those people, can't we? And we pray that God will give them a great thing.

Now, it's hot; I don't want to keep you long. And I want us this morning to fix our minds, just before we have prayer for the sick, upon Church And Its Condition. And, now, I feel that a few days ago that a message to the church was given to me at Shreveport, Louisiana, and I believe it's The Conditions Of The Church. And we're going to face God with it this morning, and pray and ask God to help us. Don't aim to take the same approach. But, ask God to help us in this day that we're living. And just before.... This is the grand old Bible, but just in there lays the contents of eternal life.

And remember, the Word is God, God is no more than His Word. And we're no more than our word, and if we make.... 'Course, now, you and I in a different sense, 'cause we can say, “Oh, I'll do a certain thing.” We mean that in our heart, but circumstances can arise that we can't do that what we've said we would do. But God can't do that, because He's infinite and He knows everything, everything that ever was, will be. So, He can't make a statement 'less He knows He can back it up.

And Abraham, when he was a hundred years old, he called those things which were not, as though they were. Now, I'm saying this as encouragement to the ones that's going to be prayed for, the sick. Abraham called the things that were not, as though they were, counting that He who had made the promise was able to perform ... or, keep that which He had promised.

Now, when God told Abraham, when he was six ... seventy-five, and Sarah was sixty-five, that they were going to have a baby, why, it was altogether impossible. And he believed that, and looked for the baby, and counted the baby as good as being there, for twenty-five years before the baby ever come. And Abraham was a hundred when the baby was born, and Sarah was ninety, because he believed Him, and called the things which are not, as though they were.

Now, that's to the sick and afflicted to be prayed for. No matter what your troubles are, whether you're ... what kind of diseases you got, how bad off you are, when you accept Christ, His Word, then you call the things which are, as though they were not, if they're contrary to God's Word. Now, God said, “Prayer of faith shall save the sick.” Well, if God said that, that settles it. Then let's put our mind, hope, and act as though it's already done. It's already finished when we accept it.

Salvation is the same way. We believe it, accept it, believe it in our hearts, walk up before God and accept Christ as our personal Saviour, and accept Him. If you're here this morning, and a sinner, and not saved, and you want to be healed, you're sick, first seek the Lord. Accept Him as your Saviour, then that disease will work right out. Ever what it is, just put your whole thought (to everything that you have) on the whole Man, Christ Jesus, everything else will be all right.

So now, keep your mind on that, 'cause I said these few words for those who are sick and afflicted, so that I'm going to speak this morning to the church and the condition. For I feel that although divine healing is marvelous....

But when I was in Shreveport, I only had about three healing services when I was down there, three, or maybe four, at the most, out of the eleven days. It's more essential to preach to the souls of men than it is to put so much time on divine healing. Although, the people who are sick and needy, God can heal them. And it's already been vindicated the world around, that He does. But the main thing, now, is to the soul which will never die. The body will die. But the soul will never die, and we must keep that level and straight with God.

I've often said this. I want everything done, for when I come down to the river that morning, I don't want any trouble there. I want to have my ticket in my hand, waiting for my name. And I want to say, as Paul of old, Brother Creech, “I know Him in the power of His resurrection.” That when He calls from among the dead, I'll come out from the dust. I want to know Him in the power of His resurrection.

So, now, He who is the Author of the book, let's bow our heads and hearts to Him just a moment.

And, God, our Father, we come to Thee now, to ask that You will open Your Word to us. We could pull back the pages, but only the Holy Spirit can open the Word. So open it this morning to us, Father, and give us the exceeding abundance of Thy grace. We wait upon Thee. And may the Holy Spirit get into the Word, and give it out through human lips to human hearts, and may He take it and place it in every heart just as we have need. And when the services is over, we're ready to turn to our homes, we'll humbly bow our heads and give Thee thanks and praise, for all that we have learned of Thee and what Thou has done for us. In Christ's name we ask it. Amen.

The reading of the Word, over in St. John, the 1st chapter, you who have Bibles and would like to read with me or mark it down for a text. And we'll read the text from the Word, and then let's pray that the Holy Spirit will take the context out of the Word to give to us. We can read it, we who are able to read can read it, but only God can bring the context out. The text can be read, 'cause it is His Word, but then the context has to be given by God. Now, in St. John, 1st chapter, and let's begin at the 28th verse and read down to the 32nd, inclusive.

These things were done ... beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.

... next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and said, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world!

And this is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.

And I knew him not: but that he should be ... manifested to Israel, therefore I am come baptizing with water.

... John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.

I want to read that again, that last verse, 32nd verse.

And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.

Now, may the Lord add His blessings to the Word. I want you to try to catch every word if we can. Can you hear me all right way back? All right, can you hear me back there? If you can, you raise up your hand. That's good.

Now, I want to speak to you this morning on parable, on some way that even the most unchurched person in here would be able to understand. Now, we come to church to better ourselves. We come to make ourselves better people, better Christians, better citizens, better fathers, better mothers, better neighbors. We come because Christ has told us if we would come, ask anything in His name, where we are assembled together as many as two or three, He would be with us and would grant it to us.

So, what could be any more ... be any better to us today than to know that we are at the church for to embetter ourself, to broaden our understanding? How many would say, “That's what I'm here for”? Let's see. “I want a better understanding.” And we can't have a better understanding unless it.... And if we're going to have an understanding of God, it must come out of God's Word, for the Word is what God gave us to feed our hungry souls. And the Holy Spirit was sent to take the Word of God and to feed us by the Word. You see it? See, the Holy Spirit is sent from God, to take the Word of God and to give it to us as we have need. Now, I'm so glad that God made a provision like that. Aren't you? That He would feed us.

We are the sheep of His pasture. We're going to speak on that in a little bit: the sheep. And we're the threefold being of God, and when He can have the complete control of us He can lead us and guide us.

Now, it so pleased God, that when He sent Jesus to the earth, that it pleased Him to represent Him as an animal, and that animal was the lamb. Way back in the beginning, in the garden of Eden, in the foreshadows of the coming of Jesus, God sacrificed a lamb to be a substitutionary offering in the foreshadows of the coming of Christ.

Now, I often wonder why that God would foreshadow Christ as an animal, as a beast. But we come to find out that the lamb.... The reason He chose a lamb: A lamb is the meekest and most gentlest of all the creatures there is on earth. There's nothing any more meeker and gentler than a little lamb, so innocent, not self-sustaining. It's not arrogant. It's a gentle, meek little creature. And when God was going to represent Christ to the world, He represented Him in a lamb.

Now, but when God, Father God, Jehovah, was going to represent Himself from heaven, He was represented in the most meekest, humblest of all the fowls that fly in heaven, that is the dove. There's no gentler bird than the dove. I made quite a study on bird life and on wildlife, and the dove is a very odd bird from any other bird that flies the heavens. The dove is a lover. A dove is gentle. And a dove has no gall; it's the only in the bird family that doesn't have a gall. That's the reason you never see a dove anywhere but around where there's grain and seed.

Now, in the ark, there was a dove. And the dove is represented in many places in the Bible. It symbols of the Holy Spirit. And also the lamb is represented in many places of the Bible, as Christ, in the Revelation, all the way back to Genesis, and so is the dove.

And in the book of Genesis, the dove was in the ark, sitting on the roost with the rest of the fowls of the air; and one of them was a raven, a crow. And a crow is one of the meanest birds there is, a crow and a jay-bird, I guess, is about the meanest birds that we can find. The crow is a very long-life bird, and he lives (they are claimed) for, sometimes, two or three hundred years, that a crow.... A parrot lives longer than that.

But a dove is one animal ... or, one bird that doesn't have a gall. Now, the crow could sit over here and eat on a dead carcass. You'll never see the dove around that dead carcass. She can't stand it. The stench of it in her nose, she couldn't stand it. It would make her sick. They just simply can't stand anything that's deteriorating, rottening. They can't stand it, so she couldn't eat it. If she would eat it, it would immediately kill the dove, because what digests the food is the overflow of the gall into the stomach which digests the food. And if there's no gall to go in there to make up this, then it would kill the dove. So, you'll always find the dove around where there's something clean, something that's wholesome.

Now, the crow is different. Now, just notice the crow being a type of the hypocrite. The crow can sit over there on the dead carcass and eat just as much as he wants to, and fly right out in the field and eat wheat, too. But the dove can't eat wheat and then fly over on the dead carcass.

So, a hypocrite, a man can be a hypocrite and both eat spiritual things, and good things and bad things. But a real borned-again Christian can't tolerate the things that's wrong, and only can eat from the good thing. Notice that! When you see a fellow that can go to the dance, go out and drink, go out and live in sin, come back to the church and maybe shout just as much as a saint, what it is, he's a scavenger; he can eat both rotten things and good things. But the real Christian cannot tolerate those things anymore, for he's passed from death to life. And immediately it would condemn him so, the very thoughts of it, till it would condemn him till he'd turn his face and walk away. Oh, what a picture!

Now, the lamb is a very gentle little fellow. He doesn't ... he can't help himself. He isn't self-reliance, because he can't help himself.

Here some time ago I was going through a pasture when I used to patrol, and I found a little lamb, and all of them had got away from him somehow, and he was all wound up in a little bunch of barbed wire. And the poor little fellow was laying there, bleeding and bleating. And I come by and I seen way up, about a half a mile up, was a whole herd of sheep.

Now, he'd have laid right there and the crows would have been picking in his eyes pretty soon if we hadn't have got him out. But I unwound the little fellow, picked him up in my arms. He never refused. He laid real quiet. I picked him up in my arms. First time, perhaps, a human being had ever had their hands on him, but he was gentle. He was willing to be led. He was willing to be helped.

I hope you see it. He was willing, not to try to resist or to kick back, or to bite. Lambs don't kick back, they don't bite; they just humble themselves. And this little fellow, I packed him up and set him down in the rest of the sheep. In a few minutes his mammy found him, how happy he was! Now, how typical that is of the Lamb of God!

You know, where they go to kill sheep, you know what leads the sheep up to the killing block, is a goat. But the goat will lead the sheep right up the chute at the slaughterhouse, and, then just the time he gets the sheep coming up the chute, then he'll jump out. But, oh, they say, when they're going to kill the goat, then he kicks up a storm, see.

And that's the way the devil will do. He'll try to lead God's children right into the meanest, but when it comes time for him to die, he really kicks up a storm then. That's the way the devil does it. And that's the way sometime, some little fancy-looking girl or some little snicklefritz boy with a pack of cigarettes or a bottle of whiskey, would lead a little girl off, a lamb, with somebody's foal, off to the wrong. “Oh, it's all right. There's nothing to all that goody-goody stuff about church.” But let death strike that old boy one time, you hear him squealing, hollering all over the country. And that's the way the devil does it.

But a lamb is so gentle, that it can be led. And that's the reason that God represented Christ as the Lamb, and Himself as the Dove. And on the day that John baptized Jesus at the river of Jordan, one of the greatest events that had ever taken place, taken place right there.

Notice how beautiful! The Lamb, the meekest of all the creatures of the earth, and the Dove, the meekest of all the fowls of heaven. Now, that's the only way that they could ever be united. It's the only way that the Dove would ever come on the Lamb. Now, when the Dove came down, John saw Jesus, and he said, “Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world.” And John said, “I bare record, seeing the Spirit of God like a Dove coming down, and abiding on Him.” Hallelujah!

There you are. The Dove and the Lamb united together. That's when God and man became one. That's when heaven and earth embraced each other. Hallelujah! That's when God was made flesh. That's when God came down from the Spirit form and was made a man and dwelt among us. That's when all eternity embraced each other. That's when the human fallen race of Adam's people and Jehovah God and every angel come together, when God and man was made one, on that great memorial day when John baptized Jesus.

Now, what if they would have been a wolf? The sweet cooing of the Dove would have never been able to stand by the wolf.

What is any prettier than late of an evening to hear the old turtledoves sit out there and coo a while? After I lost my wife and baby.... I wouldn't let no one know what I was doing. I used to get in my old car, I'd drive out across the road here, go out here at Walnut Ridge graveyard, sit up there by the side of a tree and look down at the grave. I just couldn't give them up. Looked like I couldn't stand it any more.

I'd think, “My little baby, laying there, eight months old. How she used to hold her little hands and would reach for me, and I'd blow the horn or say something to her, and she'd 'goo-goo,' reaching her little hands out.”

And I'd sit down by the side of a tree, especially when it would become evening. And there used to be an old dove that would sit out there in the bush, she would go to cooing. Oh, my! I once wondered if it was the immortal soul of my baby coming back to try to speak to me. Nothing sweeter than that cooing of the dove. How she's loving! She brings tidings. How she tries to make peace! Get up early of a morning, go out in the thickets there close to where I live, what a peaceful thing it is to listen! Sitting up there in them great tall trees, those doves cooing to one another.

The other day, down at Brother Cox's, an old mother dove had two little babies. And they sat right up on top of the building, so the cats couldn't get them. And the old mother dove would feed them. Then she'd come down and get them and make them get up in the tree, and they would sit there with their necks around one another, and coo and make love, all day long—two little, gentle baby doves.

And I thought of how God, (the dove is such a loving bird) and the Dove, God, wanting to make love with His human beings. God wants to be loved. God wants to love you. “God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but to have everlasting life.” Blessed be the Lord! Then God, wanting to make love, He had to make something lovable. He had to make something gentle like Himself. He had to make something that could be loved. He had to make something of His own nature.

You couldn't love nothing that wasn't of your own nature. Loving has to unite with love. A husband and wife has to love one another, if they ever make the grade. Family has to love one another, if they ever make the grade. Something to be loved! You search everywhere, finding a girl to be your wife that you love. She searches, finding a husband that she could love.

And God searches, trying to find a soul that He can love. So, He represented Himself here on earth as a gentle dove and a gentle lamb. If that lamb would at one minute ever taken on the nature of a snarling wolf, that dove would have took her flight immediately; she'd have got away.

But the lamb, it doesn't have any great mind of its own. A lamb is ... one thing, when it's lost, it's hopelessly lost. A sheep can't find its way back. That's the reason the goat leads it to its death. It can't find its way, a sheep that's lost. That's the reason God likened us unto sheep. When we're lost, we're lost. There's no way we can find ourself. And there's only one way to do it, that's, submit ourselves to the Shepherd of the flock, and He does the leading.

Now, as I notice this Lamb and the sheep together.... the Lamb and the Dove (rather) together, they made one. Then watch how the Dove led the Lamb, the Son of God. How gentle He was, knowing that He was going to the slaughter. How gentle He was, to always not to try to do Himself, not to try to be self-sufficient. He said, “I do nothing until the Father shows me first, and the Father dwells in Me.”

Now, another thing the lamb is, the lamb is willing to submit its rights. Now, God wants us to be lambs, but there's so many times that we don't want to submit our rights, forfeit our rights. So many of you say, “Well, I've got rights, Brother Branham.” That's true, but are you willing to forfeit your rights? Are you willing to give your rights, that God could lead you? That's what's the matter with our churches today, in the great majority, that the gentleness of the Lamb of God.... We are supposed to be lambs, we have become everything else but lambs. And that's the reason, as soon as we get that attitude, the Dove of the Holy Spirit takes Her flight and leaves.

If the Lamb of God would have made the first snarl like a wolf, or would have done anything contrary to what the gentle Dove would have permitted, the Dove would have took Her flight. She would have left in a minute.

And that's the reason today that we're wondering, “What's the matter with the Pentecostal church?” It's because we have taken on a different nature. We've taken on a nature that, “We want our rights. We're going to do what we know that's right to do.” And we become arrogant. We become hostile. We become indifferent. We let temper come in. We let selfishness come in.

A lamb, when it comes time.... He owns his own wool, that's his right. He owns his wool, but they take the lamb and throw him up on the blocks, and tie his feet down. He never kicks, he never fusses. You just take his rights right away from him, because he's a lamb. He can't do nothing else, because that's his nature. But one time cross a Christian's path, you'll find out whether he's a lamb or a goat. You'll find out what he is: cross him up one time. And that's the reason today that our churches is in the condition they are.

We've called ourselves the lamb of God. The women and the men, together, has begun to act everything but like lambs of God. You look at them going down the street, with short, bobbed hair, curlicues all in their hair. And a few years ago, you couldn't have hired them to do that. And then you wonder why is it the church is in the condition it is, is because you've took the nature of a wolf or a goat, instead of keeping the meek gentleness. And you say, “That's my privilege, Brother Branham.” I know it's your privilege. “Barbers cut hair. And as long as the barber will cut hair, ain't I got a right?” That's right, that's your American privilege. But are you willing to give it up, to be a lamb? Are you willing to submit yourself?

And you women, not long ago, you'd go down the street.... It's ridiculous to look the way the women dress today. And I'm not talking about Presbyterian and Methodist, I'm talking about you holiness women. Go down the street, and it's....

I had a little cross hanging in front of my car, and somebody said to me, said, “Billy, you know that's a Catholic emblem?”

I said, “When did the Catholics get the option on the cross?” Never! That's not an emblem of Catholic faith; that's the emblem of Christian faith. A Catholic faith is a little dead saint, of Mary or some dead person that they worship. We don't worship dead people. We don't worship Saint Cecilia and all those different saints. That's Catholicism, which is a high form of spiritualism. But the cross represents Him who died and rose again.

And I said, “I keep that there, looking on the street. Twenty-five years ago, or thirty, when I was almost blind, I promised God if He'd heal my eyes I'd look at the right thing.” And I said, “Everywhere you look, it's so ungodly, women half dressed, and naked women laying in the yards and everywhere. I look at the cross instead of looking, and remember what Christ did for me, and turn my head to the things ... that's of the devil.” Hallelujah!

And there, people, don't say, “That's ”Presbyterian, Catholic.“ That's Pentecostal! Amen. You say, ”I got a right to, Brother Branham.“ That's right, but if you was a lamb, you'd forfeit your rights. And when you go to acting like that, the Holy Spirit, the gentle Dove, takes Her flight right away. She won't be disgraced with you. No, no. You never think you're going to act like that and keep the Holy Ghost. You can't do it! The Bible said so. You've got to forfeit your.... Well, say, ”The rest of the women are doing it.“

And you men, you poor, little, boneless, sissified things, you, that would let your wife do such a thing as that, that shows what you're made out of. That's the reason you ain't got the Holy Ghost like you profess to have, or you'd have enough something about you to make her act like a lady as long as she lived with you, anyhow. Amen. That sounds old-fashioned, cutting. But that's what the church needs today, is an old-fashioned, Holy Ghost washing out, and hanging out and drying out, and ironing out, by the Holy Spirit. Sure!

What a condition the world's got into! How they get out on the street and carry on! How that you stick your head in a television on Wednesday night, and won't go to church! How that you.... Why, there isn't a kid in the country but knows all about who David Crockett is. And that dirty lie, saying he killed a bear at three years old; you know that's a lie. But you let your kids get their heads stuck full of that. And there isn't one percent out of one hundred that ever knowed anything about Jesus Christ. Is because this world has become so polluted! This nation, so ridiculous and so far from God, has rejected the Holy Ghost.

Oh, you say, “I go to church and shout.” You might do that. But, until that gentle Lamb of God settles in your heart, then makes you clean up your life and act like a different person, it won't do you any good to impersonate Christianity. You've got to have it, Amen.

I went into a house here not long ago, to visit a sick man, and a lady was sitting there. And a little old Oswald come in, hat sitting on the side of his head, said, “Mammy, is dinner ready?”

She said, “Honey, we haven't had time,” said, “this morning to get any dinner.” Said, “I'm fixing you a sandwich.” Said, “There's some oranges.”

He walked over and got a hold of an orange, looked at it, gripped into it, throwed it up against the wall as hard as he could, the juice run down, said, “If that's all you got around this place, then I'll get out,” like that.

I thought, “O God, he ought to be mine for about five minutes!” Boy, I'd jerk the hide off of him like he had never knowed it was jerked off! But them lay there, pity and baby. What he needs is a good old-fashioned limb skinning. That's what we need, some old-fashioned homes again, and some preachers that'll stand behind the pulpit and preach the truth, and lay it down where it belongs to be laid. Amen. That's true. Oh, my!

Little Mary stomp her little feet, and stick that little nose up and turn them little bitty rose-colored lips (by Max Factor's stuff) up in the air, and stick her little head up and walk out of the house. What a disgrace! How disobedient children are being! The Bible said they would be. The Scripture said they would be. How they would act, how they would do, and the things that's going on in the world today, is because they have grieved away the Holy Spirit.

A few years ago.... I'm going now in a few days to celebrate the first falling of the Holy Ghost in America, fifty years ago this year, at the old Azusa Street meeting, Pentecostal meeting in Los Angeles, where they had their first falling of the Holy Spirit, when the people got together. When Christ come down among those people, they were just as gentle, just as peaceful. They lived godly lives. They lived sacrificial lives. They were willing to give in. They were willing to be led by the Holy Ghost. They didn't care what the people said, they were “old-fashioned,” whether they said they were “crazy” or what about it; they were willing to be led by the Holy Ghost.

But, today, oh, my, with a powder puff and a make-up box, and a pair of shorts on, and out on the street, why, it's a disgrace! And calling themselves, “with the Holy Ghost.” Oh, you say, “But I spoke with tongues.” Yes, and the devil does, too. “Oh, I shouted.” And the devil does, too. The devil can impersonate everything God's got, except love, and he can't impersonate love. Yeah.

Then, the first thing you know, when you started doing those things, you let down the bars, you begin compromising, then the church begin to get little clucks ... cliques in among them, and this one said, “You know, the pastor's just so-and-so,” or “the deacon's so-and-so.” And, the first thing you know, you listened to that! And that's the reason you have so much trouble, is because you've begin to listen to the devil, and get a snarl instead of listening to the gentle Dove, the Holy Spirit, the Dove of God that would lead you and guide you, and love you and bless you.

First time you get one of those little temper spasms, the Dove flies right away. That's right. She can't stand it. Her nature is different. Oh, she can't stand that at all. And you go to talking about your neighbor, she can't stand that. She just won't put up with it. He just takes His flight and goes on away. He just can't stand it any longer. The Dove is gentle. The Dove is meek, and the Dove can't stand on nothing unless it's the same kind of a nature.

Now, God can make you a different nature, man or woman. He can give you a different nature. And you say, “Well, Brother Branham, what can we do about it?” Just become a lamb again. It's only two animals will ever associate together, that's the dove and the lamb. The dove won't come to anything else but a lamb. And if you are become a goat, then get that old goaty spirit off of you. That's right. If you've become something else, get it away from you. If you begin to come a tattler....

Here one time, I preached just as hard as I could preach in a certain city, and there was thousands of people there. I made an altar call. I thought I covered the whole realm of sin, I covered everything that I could think of. That night after the service was over, a very prissy little woman walked by, she said, “Well, Brother Branham, I'm sure glad that you didn't touch me tonight.” I thought, “That must be a real Christian.”

Said, “You didn't touch me tonight.”

I said, “Well, I'm certainly glad to hear that, lady. You must be close to the kingdom of God.” And she tipped away.

Some other lady standing there. I said, “Say, do you know that woman?”

“Yes.”

I said, “She must be a real Christian.”

Said, “One thing you failed to hit tonight, Brother Branham, that was gossip. She's the chief gossiper of the country.” There you are, that's it, see.

But when you come to one of those things, no matter whether the preacher hits it in the pulpit or not, when you see those carnal things of the world, as long as you intolerate with them, you're away from God, and the Holy Spirit will stay away. That's the reason the meetings are not like they used to be. That's the reason the sawdust trail isn't born this morning in the Tabernacle. That's the reason the great tent meetings are not around the country, is because we have grieved away the gentle Dove of God. That's right. He won't stay with us as long as we're so indifferent, as long as we're backbiting, “We want our way!”

Now, I want you to notice, the lamb was a silent lamb. The Bible said, “He opened not His mouth. Like the sheep before the shearers, He was dumb.” He didn't open His mouth. He wasn't a fellow that wants his rights. No, sir, He was willing to forfeit His rights. He was a silent Lamb.

But, today, oh, my, how we want our differences! Oh, my! “I tell you, you just let somebody say something to me, I'll go over and get him, boy, I will take him apart. I'll tell that old hypocrite when I see her! You just wait till I see her! Bless God, hallelujah! Uh-huh!” The Dove just takes His flight and goes on away. That's right. The Holy Spirit is not with you anymore, as long as you feel that way. Just mark that down in your book, it'll never do it. The Holy Spirit just won't stay around where that kind of a spirit is. It's got to be a lamb spirit, a gentle spirit, or it just won't stay with it, that's all there is to it; if it ain't a gentle, meek, led by the Holy Spirit. And if anything comes up, it just don't even notice it, just goes on, see. And the very minute that it turns aside, you know, that's the very ...

when you turned aside.

You know, the first sin started of a person turning aside just for a minute. Did you know that? The Bible said so. Eve turned aside just a moment, to hear what Satan had to say, and he painted a picture so pretty to her till she actually thought it was the truth. And she listened to him.

And the only thing the devil wants you to do, is just turn aside just for a few minutes. He can paint the picture, say, “Now, look here. You know, brother, you know, sister, if they were the right kind of people, they wouldn't do this. If they just did this right here, you know.” He can make it so real to you until it becomes a real truth. Right! But remember, it's the devil!

I don't care how low-down they are, how far they've stooped in sin, it's your business to put an arm around them and lift them up by the love of God. Where was you when the Dove of God lifted you out of the miry clay? It's your business, my friend. This world is dying for a little bit of love.

I want you to notice this animal, too, this little animal, it was a silent lamb because it didn't.... When He was reviled, He reviled not again. He didn't rail and carry on, and fuss and stew and go on. He didn't do it. When somebody.... When He was reviled, He reviled not again. He opened not His mouth.

But you let somebody do something to you or me, oh, my, we blow up like a toad frog eating buckshot, puff out like a ... like an old goose. “I'll tell you right now, he step on my toes like that again, I'll never go back to that old church again. No, sir! Bless God! Hallelujah! The Nazarenes will receive me; the Pilgrim Holiness, they'll take me. Hallelujah. I don't have to do it no more.” All right, the Dove takes its flight.

“Do you know what? If that old hypocrite goes to that church, I'll never go again. Bless God, I'll never do it!” When that thing strikes you, that old snarling wolf, the Dove takes Her flight. Right. Then the Holy Ghost is gone.

Then you wonder what's the matter with you. You wonder what's the matter with the church. You wonder what's the matter with you. Why ain't you got victory like you used to have? You've changed your nature. You've become a goat instead of a lamb. You've become something else besides a lamb.

You've got to get that real meek Spirit, “Let the Holy Ghost lead me wherever. God, I love every sinner, no matter where they are.” That kind of a place get into the human heart, then you're going to see something happen. Your soul....

You say, “Well, Brother Branham, is there any solution for it?” Yes, just become a lamb, that's all. You say, “Well, Brother Branham!”

I met a young lady the other night, down in Shreveport. Billy and I went out to a place to get a sandwich after the service was over. A beautiful young woman come in there, probably young girl, or maybe twenty or something like that, nice dressed. She sat down. I noticed her kept looking across that way. I just kept on eating. A few minutes the lady come in. She said, “How do you do?” Spoke to her. And I know the lady was Sister Davis down there. And her and another lady from Life Tabernacle, I knew them well, she come over and spoke to me, went on. Then the young lady sitting across, she said, “Brother Branham, that was a nice message tonight.”

I said, “How do you do, sister?” I said, “Thank you, very much.” And I said, “Are you a member of the Life Tabernacle?”

She said, “I am.” She said, “You know, Brother Branham, I could have sung in the choir, but they make a restriction down there.” She said, “I had, oh, so many years of vocal training, and everything. I sang solos and I sang certain things.” Said, “But, I couldn't sing, because they have a restriction that no woman wearing paint can sing in the choir.”

I said, “Well, praise God for Life Tabernacle!”

She said, “Well, I tell you, Brother Branham,” she said, “I'm a Christian.”

I said, “Then, sister, go home and wash your face or whatever you do.” I said, “Do you mean to tell me that you'd let such a little thing as wearing a little of that old stuff on your face....”

And I can prove to you that that come from the devil. I can prove to you that nothing in the.... The originate of it was heathens. And as long as you wear it, it's a mark of a heathen. Now, I just come back from Africa, and I've been in the Hottentot jungles and found out just exactly where earrings, where all that stuff come, and all this, a lot of jewelry wrapped your necks and ears and everything, where that comes from. It's the heathens. And the Bible don't want a Christian to be a heathen. And you don't want.... I don't say that you are a heathen because you do it, but you're making yourself look like one. It's because your pastor didn't tell you the truth. The Bible said so.

And now you say, “Brother Branham, I think if I got short hair, it makes me cool and everything like....” That's right, but if you got long hair, you'd be cooler. It'll take it all off your neck, and wrap it up and make it right.

Why, you know what the Bible said? That, a man has a right to put away his wife and get a divorce from her if she cuts her hair. If she cuts her hair, it shows she's living untrue to him. The Bible said so, I Corinthians 12; find out if it's not right. She that.... A woman that cuts her hair dishonors her head, which is her husband. And if she's dishonorable, she should be divorced and got away from. That's right. But, see, the pastor never tells you those things. And that's the reason that you do the way you do. And the man, the Bible said....

Here not long ago there was somebody wrote in and said, “Brother Branham, these blouses that women get,” said, “why, it's such.... You just can't hardly find blouses anymore, and it would be all right for us Christian women to wear these Dacrons, nylons, or ever what it is like that?”

I said, “Look, sister, there's one thing about it. Here's one thing true. You can do this: if you can't buy one, they sell sewing machines, you can make one.” I said, “That's right. To make it look.... I believe, you know, what's in your heart is what expresses itself.” The way you do and the way you act, that shows what's in you.

That's the reason that all this here snarling and fussing and backbiting, and biting back, and carrying on around the church, that's what breaks up the church. That shows that the devil got into you, and that shows the Holy Ghost left you.

Now, I know that's just burning the tar out of some of you, but it ought to do it. It ought to! That's what it's said for; not to be smart, not to act cute; but to tell you where the trouble is, for someday I'm going to have stand and give an answer for you. And the very reason the way you do and the way you act, that shows what you are. If you've just got an old temper that'll fly off the handle just in a little bit, and get out here and carry on, or criticize, or vulgarity and stuff like that, that shows where it's coming from.

Now there's only one thing to do: get that thing out of there, and the Dove will come back to your heart. When the dove went out of the ark, she was turned out. But she come back and knocked at the dark door until Noah let her in. The Holy Ghost is here. The Holy Ghost wants to come in. That's the reason today, that the Holy Spirit.... He hasn't gone from you forever. It's just sitting out there on the limbs of the trees somewhere, ready to fly itself back and to come into you, and give you love and peace and joy like you used to have. Sure, it is. He's ready to do it. He wants to do it. He's longing to do it. But you won't let Him do it!

Now, I'm not talking to you strangers. I don't know what your pastor.... I'm talking to the Branham Tabernacle. I ain't talking to you people from other churches. I'm talking to the Branham Tabernacle. That's what's the matter around here.

That's what makes the Dove take its flight. Just let somebody just start a little something around the church, and the first thing, “Oh, is that so? Oh, did? You don't mean so?” Right then the Holy Ghost goes, fly away. It just can't stand that kind of spirit. As long as that lamb nature leaves you, then the Holy Ghost is gone. That's right. And that's what's the matter today. That's the reason the people is in the condition they are, is because they let the wrong spirit come into their heart, into their life. Now, that's the reason we got....

The Bible said that's the reason there's so many sick and afflicted among us, is because of such things. We must be gentle. We must be peaceful. We must be a lamb, so that the Dove can abide with us.

Now, remember, the Dove will come. You said, “Oh, Brother Branham, don't tell me I never received the Holy Ghost. Hallelujah! Down, the night there one night, oh, when He come in, I could just walk....” Sure, that was Him! “Oh, I felt so good, I felt like I could get every little bird out of the tree and hug it and love it. My wickedest person that ever done anything to me, I felt like I could put my arm around them and hug them. Oh, Brother Branham, how I felt!” Sure, that was the Holy Ghost.

But, you see, the reason He couldn't abide.... You was a lamb then; but when you become a wolf, He had to take His flight. Nothing wrong with the Dove; it's you, and you let that spirit come to you. “Did I let it, Brother Branham?” Yes, when you went to listening to that gossip, when you listened to that lie, when you went to saying, “Well, I've got a right to!”

You haven't got no rights! You are bought with a price, that with the price of the precious blood of the Son of God. You have no legal rights. Hallelujah! The only rights you have, is, come to the fountain filled with blood drawn from Immanuel's vein; when sinners plunge beneath the flood, lose all their guilty stain. Yes, sir. That's the only right you have, is a surrendered self-will, to God, and then God does the leading from then on.

That's what causes the meeting.... That's what causes so many strange things. The Holy Spirit will go to a place, the Holy Spirit said, “This is not right. Stop the meeting, move yonder.” I'll stop it, too, brother, move right on. That's right, because you've got to be led by the Spirit of God. And the only way to be led by the Spirit of God, is keep gentle; not to know a whole lot.

Oh, you think, “I know a whole lot.” Yeah, you get your brain all worked up and it can't even work itself. You know all the books, and all the answers, and all the Greek and all the Hebrew, and ain't got no place for the Dove to roost. That's right. But you know it all; then the Dove can't lead, 'cause you know too much.

The lamb don't claim to know nothing. It's got to have somebody else to lead it. Glory! That's it. Don't know nothing! Amen. The only thing I know, is, Christ Jesus died to save me.

Down through California there was a guy coming, had a sign on the front of him, said, “I'm a fool for Christ,” and on the back said, “Whose fool are you?” That's right. Become a fool to the world, that you might be led by the Holy Ghost, 'cause the sons and daughters of God are led by the Holy Ghost. Romans 8:1, said, “There's therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, that walk not after the flesh, but the Spirit,” walk not after the wolf, but the Dove. Amen.

Doc used to sing a song, “Fill my way every day with love, as I walk with the Heavenly Dove; let me go all the while with a song and a smile, fill my way every day with love.” What a peaceful day it'll be for the Branham Tabernacle, or any other church or any individual, when they'll forfeit their rights, to become a lamb.

“What's the question, Brother Branham?”

Come back to a lamb, come back to be gentle, come back to know nothing, come back to just submit yourself to Christ. Don't try, don't try to know nothing. Just walk meekly, quietly, humbly, gently, and the Dove will lead you. But whenever you go to listening to that gossip, whenever you go to getting that temper up, whenever you go to thinking you got a right to do this and do that, the Dove just takes Her flight and goes on away. Then you don't have it anymore. Now, she's not very far from you this morning, church. She's sitting right out there on the limb of peace, waiting for your nature to be changed. Amen.

What you need today is to submit all your rights, is to let God lay you down and shave all your rights off of you. Amen. Could you imagine how a little old lamb, all fleece hanging all over him? That's his rights, yeah. “Hhh, hhh, hhh,” burning up, and then just lay up on the shearing table. They know what's best for him. Take all of his rights away from him and shear it all off, how cool and light he runs. My, my, he's happy, and jumps around and has a big time. Yes, sir. If you'll forfeit your rights, that's what you get. But you got to forfeit your rights and let the Word of God shave all the world off of you, take all the habits of the world away, and you become a new creature in Christ.

Here sometime ago, over in Africa, I was talking to an old saint. He said, “Brother Branham, I know you believe in the supernatural.”

I said, “Certainly, my brother.”

He said, “Years ago I used to think I was somebody.” Said, “I thought I was really a Christian.” And he said, “Then up in our church.... I had to climb a hill, where I stopped my little car.” And said, “I had to climb a hill about, oh, three or four hundred yards, and getting around bushes and things, getting up.” And said, “We'd have prayer meeting up there.” And said, “I thought I was really a Christian.” He said, “I knowed all the Bible. I studied all the Hebrew. I studied all the right pronunciations of the words.” And said, “Anybody walked up to me, I could [Brother Branham snaps his finger.] talk to them like that about the Bible. I knowed what I was talking about.”

He said, “One night I was going up to church. There had been a lot of conflict in our church.” Said, “There was little parties against one another. You know how they raise up.”

Said, “Yes, sir.”

He said, “On my road up the hill, I was walking, and all at once I become conscious that somebody was following me.” And he said, “I thought I'd wait just a little bit for ever who it was, to catch up, and I'd talk to them a little while as we went up the road.”

You know, that's kind of a good thing: you just wait a little while. And said, “As I walked up the hill,” said, “I come up. A Man come up the hill,” and said, “He had a bundle on His back that was way bigger than the Man.” And said, “He was just a panting and a blowing, and making just little short steps, trying to get up. And I said, 'Fellow, can I help You pack this load up the hill?' He said, 'No, I got to pack it.'” Said, “I looked at His hand,” said, “I knew then it was a vision. He had scars in His hand.” Said, “I fell down. I said, 'Lord, are You packing the sins of the world in that sack?' He said, 'No, I'm just packing yours. Just getting you up the hill, just so you can get up.'”

That's the way it is. If we'd just look around, we'd find out He's packing ours. Doesn't it make you feel little? Our wicked, cruel heart, just because we can do it!

Here sometime ago I was hunting. As you know, I love to hunt. And there was a wicked guy in that country; he was a wicked fellow. And he used to make fun of me because I wouldn't shoot does and fawns. I said, “It's brutal.” I said, “Why don't you be a real clean hunter and shoot the old bucks and things that's old and ready to die. God gave them to us, and let them young mothers and things....”

He said, “Ah, you're chicken-hearted, preacher!” Kept telling me like that.

I said, “Now, look, if I was hungry and I wanted one of those fawns, I believe God would let me have it. But just to shoot it just to act smart,” well, he'd fill a wagon up. And he went and made him a call, some kind of a whistle, and he could blow that whistle and sound just exactly like a little fawn calling. One day we was in the bushes together. I shamed him, I said, “I'd be ashamed of myself.” Killed eight or ten fawns one time, if he could, does and everything, just to act smart; maybe cut the hind quarters off and leave the rest of it lay there. I said, “You oughtn't to.”

“Ah,” said, “you preachers are too chicken-hearted!”

One day he stood back in the bushes, he had took a hold of this whistle and he screamed, and it sounded like a little fawn crying. Just as he did that, a beautiful doe stuck her head out, come stomping out. You could see her big brown eyes looking. She was startled. She was looking around. The hunter raised up, pulled up his rifle to shoot the doe. And the doe seen the hunter. But, you know what? That scream of that fawn ... she didn't notice that gun. She was looking for that baby, it was in trouble.

You know, that display of real motherhood and mother love, that she'd face that gun in the face, for death, looking at that in the muzzle of that gun. You know what? That display was so great, it got next to him. He threw down his gun! He run back and grabbed me around the arm, he said, “Billy, pray for me, I had enough of this!” When he seen that display of mother heroism!

Oh, when the world sees the display of the love of God, and the gallant in our human hearts, what a difference it'll be. When we let the Dove of God come to our heart and gentle us, make us meek.

There in that brush arbor back there, me standing there praying for that old boy, I led him to the Lord Jesus. From then on, he was a good, clean hunter.

Sure, he thought he had a right, he'd do what he wanted to. “Them's on my place, they eat my alfalfa down there if they want to.”

I said, “That's right, but it's inhuman to do that.” You've got to forfeit your rights. O God, have mercy, that we will.

Here sometime ago, in—oh, about a hundred years ago—there was a great Christian lived in the southwest United States. His name was Daniel Curry: a wonderful man, a godly man, a sainted man, a real Christian, a man that everybody thought so much of, such a wonderful person. And the story goes, that he died or went into a trance, and he said ... as he went up to heaven, of course, when he died. And when he got to the pearly gate, the caretaker come to the door, said, “Who are you?”

He said, “I am the evangelist, Daniel Curry. I've won thousands of souls to Christ. And I want to come in this morning. My life's journey is ended on earth, I have no place to go now.”

That's the way it's coming to you some morning, sinner. That's the way it's coming to you, backslider. That's the way it's coming to you that's grieved the Holy Spirit away from them, not be gentle and tender anymore. You haven't cried for years. You haven't blushed for I don't know when. All modesty is gone from you. Sure. But it's going to come to your door one of these mornings. And as the gentle Holy Spirit comes and knocks, why don't you just let Him in?

So, when Daniel Curry come there to the gate, they went in, said, “We will see if you got your name here.” They looked all around, they couldn't find any name. Said, “No, there's no 'Daniel Curry' here.”

“Oh,” he said, “surely!” Said, “I'm an evangelist.” He said, “I've won souls to Christ.” Said, “I've tried to do the thing that's right.”

The caretaker said, “Sir, I'm sorry to tell you, but there's no 'Daniel Curry' here.” Said, “I'll tell you what you might do.” Said, “We have no rights here to take your case.” He said, “But do you want to appeal your case? You can appeal it to the White Throne Judgment, if you want to.” But said, “We have no mercy here for you, at all, because we don't have you here. There's no mercy for you.” Said, “Do you want to appeal your case?”

He said, “Sir, what more can I do but appeal my case?”

He said, “Well, then, you can go at the ”White Throne Judgment and appeal your case there.“

Daniel Curry said that he felt himself going through the space for about an hour. Said he come into a place, it got lighter, lighter, lighter, lighter. Said, farther he went, the lighter it got. It was a hundred times, thousands of times brighter than the sun ever shined. And said he was trembling, trembling. And said, when he got in the middle of light, he heard a voice say, “Was you perfect on earth?” Just come out of a light.

He said, “No, I wasn't perfect,” got trembling.

Said, “Did you always play honest with everybody?”

Said, “No.” (Said, “A few things come to my mind that I wasn't just exactly honest about.”) Said, “No, I guess I wasn't honest.”

Said, “Did you tell the truth in every case, in your life?”

Said, “No. I remember some things I've told, that wasn't shady ... that was shady. I—I—I—I never was truthful just exactly.”

Said, “Then, did you ever take anything that did not belong to you, anything, money, anything else that didn't belong to you?”

Said he thought on earth that he was pretty good, but he was condemned. Said, “No. No, I've took things that didn't belong to me.”

He said, “Then you wasn't perfect.”

He said, “No, I wasn't perfect.”

Said he was looking any minute for the blast to come from that great light from where the Dove rested, “Condemned!” Said, just then he heard a voice behind him, that was sweeter than any mother's voice he had ever heard. Said he turned to look. And the sweetest face he had ever saw, sweeter than any mother's face, was standing before him. Then said He said, “Father, Daniel Curry stood for Me down on earth. It's true, he wasn't perfect, but he stood for Me. He stood for Me on earth, now I'm going to stand for him in heaven. Take all of his sin and put them over on My account.”

Who's going to stand for you that day, brother, if you grieve Him away from you today? I just can't preach anymore. Let's bow our heads.

Dear God, dear dying Lamb: meek, humble, lowly. The birds had nests and the foxes had den, but You didn't have a place, and, yet, the very Lord of Glory! When You were born, they didn't have any clothes to put on You. O God, what good's my clothes do me then? What good does my cars do me? What good does a nice home do me? What good is it going to do at that day? You was friendless; no one would friend You. No one seemed to want to give You a helping hand.

You said that day You'd say, “I was hungry, and you didn't feed Me. I was naked, you wouldn't clothe Me.” What good is all we've got, going to do at that day, Lord? Let us stand for You, so when that hour comes and we walk into His presence the Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omn.... O God, when we hear that Dove, with its wings sitting back there in that great light, it'll flash through all eternity. When, You dwell in light!

“When I have to stand there by myself, my brother's gone, my pastor's gone, my mother's gone, my daddy's gone, my wife's gone, my kiddies are gone. O God, what am I going to do then, Lord? What am I going to do then? And that may be before the sun goes down tonight. But what am I going to do? What can I do?

O Christ, I'll stand for You now! I'll take my choice today. I'll forfeit all my talking about other people. I'll forfeit all my temper. I'll forfeit all my differences. I'll forfeit everything. Shear me off, Lord, take all I got. You just take me, Lord. I want to stand in Your place. I want to be sheared. I want all selfishness, all pride, all indifference, just all taken off of me. Then I want to stand for You, as a sheared lamb, willing to give up all the pleasures of ... what they call pleasures of life: all the dances, all the parties, all the old vulgar clothes, make-up, lipstick, fingernail polish, all this indifference that looks like the world. You said, “Don't even act like the world. Don't even associate with the world. Come out from among them!”

O God! Help me, Lord. Shear me today. Take me like a lamb and let me be dumb, don't open my mouth, say nothing about it, just stand and be sheared.

O God, what difference it makes! I remember when You sheared me once: took my wife, my baby, and my daddy, my brother, just sheared me clean. Yet, in my heart, I knew I loved You. How You've blessed me, and how good You've been! All that I am, all that I could be, all that I ever would be; it's You, God, it's You. I confess my wrongs, I confess all that I've ever done or thought. Just shear me off, Lord. I want to be Your lamb.

Not only that, Lord, but take every person in here this morning, every sheep, and those who would want to be sheep, shear all of them off, this morning, Lord. Put their little feet around the stocks of the Gospel. May the Holy Spirit lead them to repentance just now, know that they've been indifferent towards God. And may He shear all the indifference off, all the world and all the things of the world. Just shear it all off this morning, Lord, that we can stand cool and quiet before You, as borned-again Christians. Grant it, Lord.

I love You. I want to go, no matter whether the weather's hot, whether I feel like it or not. I want to go. I want to stand for You, 'cause I want You to plead my case that day, say, “Well, he stood for Me, now I'll stand for him.” O God, grant it today.

And while every head is bowed, and every heart's bowed. I wonder this morning if there'd just be someone here who realizes that you've tried to have your own way, you made these things that you shouldn't done, and you just feel this morning you'd like for the Lord just to shear you off, and make you a real lamb, would you raise your hand? God bless you, lady. God bless you, brother. God bless you, brother. Someone else say, “Shear me, Lord, I'm standing. I'm a sheep. I won't even open my mouth. I just want You to cut all the world away from me.” God bless you, brother. God bless you, lady. God bless you, sonny boy. God bless you, lady. God bless you, sister. “Shear me, Lord.”

Sister Gertie....

God bless you, lady. God bless you, sister. “Shear me now, Lord. I want all the things of the world.... I want to stand for You this morning. I want to stand as a shorn sheep. I want all the things of the world cut away from me. I want to be Yours and You be mine. Will You receive me, Lord, as I raise my hand to You?” God bless you, lady. God bless you, sir. God bless you. God bless you, sir. God bless you, sir. God bless you, lady. God bless you, lady, I see yours. God bless you, my brother. God bless you, little lady. That's good. God bless you back there, my brother. God bless you, sister.

That's right, just be honest. “I'm wanting God to take all away from me that's just not like Him, any selfish motives I have, any indifference that I have. I want Him to shear me all the way off, this morning. I want to be like Him. I don't care whether they're rights or not; I ain't got no right. Only have one right, and that's, come to Him. He takes the rest.”

Is there a sinner here that's never once confessed Christ, never been saved, and you want to be remembered in this prayer this morning, would you raise your hand, sinner friend? God bless you. Another one raise your hand, say, “Remember me, Brother Branham, I'm not a Christian, and I don't know just what time I'm going to have to meet God. And I want to be remembered right now in a word of prayer, as you close.” Will you raise your hand for me to pray for you? He sees. God bless you, little lady. God bless you, lady. God bless you, sir. Someone else, “I want to be, I want the....”

How many here that's backslidden? “Oh,” you say, “I wouldn't admit that, Brother Branham.” But, look, if that Dove of meekness is gone from you, brother, there's something wrong. There's something wrong when you can't bear with one another, when you can't forgive every person from the very depths of your heart. No matter what they've done or what they've said, if you can't forgive them from the depths.... Jesus said, “If you don't forgive every man his trespasses, from your heart, neither does your Heavenly Father forgive you.”

And what if (this hot weather) what if today God would call you? While there's a fountain open, a church ready, the Holy Spirit sitting here at the gable end of this building, ready to come right down and come back in your heart and make you gentle and peaceful. “What must I do, Brother Branham?” Just become a lamb. The Holy Spirit will come right down when you become a lamb. But if you've got the wrong motives, wrong idea, want to have your own way, and not willing to forfeit it, then the Holy Spirit will never come.

Now, with our heads bowed, I wonder if any of you that's raised your hand.... Now, Jesus said, “He that heareth My words and believeth on Him that sent Me, has everlasting life, shall never come into judgment but has passed from death to life,” St. John 5:24. But now if you'd like to come to the altar, kneel down here, let's pray together till that gentle, peaceful feeling that you once possessed, or would like to possess, comes to you again. While we are keeping our heads bowed, while we sing, “There Is A Fountain Filled With Blood,” I want you to come, kneel down and pray. Everyone now that wants to come, kneel down here at the altar rail and pray awhile.

There is a fountain filled with blood,

Drawn from Immanuel's vein,

And sinners plunged beneath......

(God bless you, lady, come right

up and kneel down)

Lose..........................

With your heads bowed, as I hope you have, and your heart. You know who breaks down the aisle this morning? Ought to make you ashamed of yourself. A colored woman, poor thing, swelled up ankles, gray hair, makes her way down to the altar.

Here sometime ago, an old colored man got saved, in the slave time. He went, and as he was saved, he told his boss he was free. He said, “You're what?”

Said, “I'm free.” Then he made him free.

Here comes another group of people coming down for salvation this morning. (Said he was free.) Everybody in prayer, and praying hard if you will, while the Holy Spirit deals with the people making decisions.

He said, “Mose, do you say you was free?”

Said, “Yes, sir, boss. I'm free.”

Said, “If you're free, then I'm going to make you free, too, to go preach the Gospel.”

When he got ready to die, many of his white brethren come in to see him. And when they did, he said, thought he had been in a coma. When he woke up, he said, “I thought I was gone.” (God bless you, my brother, just kneel right down.) Said, “I thought I was already gone.”

Said, “What did you see, Mose?”

He said, “When I walked in the gate, I saw Him.” Said, “I was standing, looking at Him.” And said, “There was an Angel come up and said, 'Come on, Mose. You done preached the Gospel many years, you got a robe and a crown waiting for you.'” He said, “Don't talk to me about robe and crown. I don't want no robe and crown. I just want to look at Him.” I think that's the attitude that we share.

Here sometime ago, way up out of Chicago, I was in a coliseum ... a museum, rather, and I was looking all around in there. I seen an old Negro, little white rim of hair around his head, moving around, had his hat in his hand. I looked at him. He looked over into a little place, and he jumped back, and tears begin to run down his old dark cheek. He started praying. I watched him for a little while. He looked over again, started crying again. I walked over and I said, “Sir.”

He said, “Yes, white friend?”

I said, “I see you're.... What excited you so? What was you so excited about?”

He said, “Sir, if you could feel my side, I got calluses around my side.” Said, “I once was a slave.” He said, “In this little glass cage here, that's a dress laying there.”

I said, “I see it's a dress, but what's so peculiar about that?”

He said, “That spot on there,” said, “that's the blood of Abraham Lincoln.” Said, “That blood taken the slave belt off of me.” He said, “Now, white man, wouldn't it kind of excite you, too?”

I put my arms around his old neck, I said, “God bless you, brother. I know another blood excites me.”

He said, “I know that blood, too, mister.”

I said, “He took a slave belt off of me.” One time I'd get out on Sunday and race and carry on, and tell dirty jokes. And, O God, how did I do it? Still there's scars down in my heart where I done it. But I'm glad He took the belt off of me. It's all gone now; He stood in my place.

Here sometime ago, looking at a woman, and she was so vulgar I wanted to condemn her. And God gave me a vision. I prayed for her then, for I seen that my sins was just as great as hers. And I walked over and sat down by the side of her and shamed her, told her I was a minister. Her two boyfriends.... She was about sixty-five or seventy. Her two boyfriends knelt down there, and they all give their heart to Christ. Oh, my, what a difference!

Won't you? Have you just sinned so much, this morning, have you just got your heart so black and smutty till even the Holy Spirit can't even touch it? Maybe the Dove has took its eternal flight, it's gone forever.

God bless you, honey. A little girl walking up. God bless you, sweetheart. You say, “That little girl doesn't know.” Oh, yes, she does. She just hasn't read as many magazines and old love stories as you all have. That's what's the matter, she's tender. Jesus said, “Suffer the little children to come to Me.”

Someone else would like to come, join around this morning? The altar's open. Just another moment, then while we sing once more, then we're going to offer prayer while these penitent sinners are praying.

The dying thief rejoiced to see

That fountain in.... (Sure, everything

was gone, the poor fellow was finished)

And there may I, though vile as he......

Won't you come up now? Won't you come up, you who know better? The Bible said, “If you know to do good, and do it not, to you it's more than sin.” Won't you come? You know you're wrong. Make your way up and kneel around the altar, and tell God you're sorry for the way you've treated Him. Let the Holy Spirit come back and make you meek and gentle and quiet again. Won't you? Remember, if you die, and He's gone for you, be nobody to plead your case. He's wanting you to stand for Him this morning. God bless you, my brother.

Waiting. Is this it, just fifteen in the church that really feels that you've been condemned? You've lived a peaceful, meek, gentle, quiet life? Now, this is directed by the Holy Spirit. You're forgiving, have no enemies? Living past ... above the condemnation of sinners? You don't live like the heathens, you live different? Your life's all patterned different? The gentle Holy Spirit sitting on the throne of your heart, making you live peaceful and quiet and loving, around all people? Your neighbors and all know, and all your associates know, that you're a gentle, quiet, meek, humble Christian? The Dove of God is with you? You sure? This may be your last opportunity. All right.

Then to you here at the altar, God bless you. You won't have to be judged now. The Holy Spirit has brought judgment to you. You didn't try to hold your rights, say, “Oh, I been a Christian long enough. I don't have to go.” Some of you, your first time to ever be at the altar. “I can stay a sinner if I want to, that's my right.” Yeah, that's right. You're a free moral agent, you can act any way you want to. But you forfeited your rights this morning.

Say, “What will they say, me professing Christianity, then going up to the altar, what would they say?” But what's God saying? He said for you to come, and you did it. Now you forfeited your rights, you've come to have the gentle Holy Spirit to take its place in your heart today. I know He'll do it. I know He will. He promised He will. It just can't help it, just can't help from coming. He's begging, crying, died, and everything else, for a place to come to, wanting to come to you.

And in your hours of death, when the death angel's sitting on the foot of the bed, instead of looking out there at the hideous thing, and know that you refused to come one time, and then your soul become black and smutty, no more time, no matter how hard you cried. Esau sinned away his sin of grace ... his day of grace, rather, and didn't get a chance. He wept bitterly, trying to find a place to make it right, but he couldn't do it. God called him the last time.

But you forfeit all your rights and all your friends, and all your feeling and everything, this morning, to come here. You forfeited your rights, to kneel down here to talk to God. I'm telling you by the Word of the Lord, that Christ said, “He that comes to Me, I will in nowise cast out.” Now while you're there on the altar, repent, tell Him that you're sorry you did what you did.

That's what's the matter, people don't receive the Holy Ghost when they're baptized: They just don't thoroughly repent. God's trying to give them the Holy Ghost. He wants you to be meek and gentle, quiet. That's the reason you get up with that same selfishness in your heart. Oh, you might get up, shouting, speaking in tongues, or.... That wouldn't make you have the Holy Ghost. You got to get up from there a different person. You got to get up from there, gentle, quiet and meek, humble, God's Spirit dwelling with you.

Next year, look back down the trail and see how far you've come, see you're gaining ground all the time. That's the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, meekness, gentleness, patience, faith. Now, just repent and tell God you want that right now, be real good.

Little girl, you there, honey, you do the same thing. Bless you. Your mother standing with her hands on you.

This dear old colored sister here, bowing at the altar. You might have had to eat corn pones, some hominy grits, might have had to live in an alley, for all I know, sister. God bless your heart, there's a palace prepared for you in Glory this morning. Right.

Look on down the altar and see a lady, turning gray; a young woman with her head down; a solid-white-haired woman. O God! See men kneeling, different ones along here. Just repent, tell Him you're sorry. Tell Him you won't do it no more. By His grace, you'll just let all your differences be done, from today on. You want to be gentle and quiet. You want to be humble and go where He leads you.

When people say something, no matter how right it looks, you're going to forfeit your rights to talk about your neighbor. You're going to talk ... you're going to talk about Jesus. You're just going to do the thing that's right. You ain't going out like a murderer. You ain't going out to jump on the innocent. But you see that gallant play of heroism of real Christians, and you want to be like them. You won't have to tell anybody you're a Christian, if you are one; they'll just see it and know it as you talk. You're sealed inside and out.

Now, as you humble your heart, repent now. Tell God you're sorry, you won't do it no more, you're ashamed of yourself, the way you've acted. And then I'm going to pray for you. And I believe, right then, peace will just settle over your heart, just peace like a river will come flowing down to your soul. You might not be shouting, you might not be speaking with tongues, you might not be jumping up and down; but you'll leave away from the altar with Something in you ... something in you that'll anchor you to the old rugged cross as long as you live. Now pray, as I do. Confess.

Our Heavenly Father. Unworthy creatures; this hot, sweaty room this morning, the sweat box; but, God, You sweated it out of us. The Holy Spirit come down, convinced people that they were wrong. They were sinning. Their spirits were arrogant. They become hostile, snoopy, know-it-all, not willing to repent, not willing to forgive people that's done things against them. They wasn't willing to, but today the Holy Spirit took the Word of God, placed it right in their gentle hearts, and said, “Now do you want to come back to where you was the first time you come to the altar, come back to where everybody, you love everybody, and you love Me with undying love? Then just rise up and come up to the altar.” They did it, Lord.

And I pray now that You will sanctify their thoughts, Lord, sanctify their hearts and make them gentle and peaceful. May they rise from this altar now, after they have repented, giving their lives over to You, go back to their homes. No matter whatever takes place, if husband gets all upset, or wife gets upset, or the neighbor is upset, or somebody that you're working with or associating with, “I will just be gentle like a dove.”

After all, Your vengeance belongs to You: “I will repay, saith the Lord.” How we've found that to be so, Lord. Just stand still, be gentle, see God come right down to His lamb. Sure, certainly. This good Shepherd give His life for them, He come right down to His sheep. And He will guide them. Woe unto that one that crosses them up! Woe unto that one that says one word against them! Said, “It'd be better that a millstone was hanged at your neck, and drowned in the depths of the sea. Their Angels always beholds My Father's face which is in heaven.” O God, we want.... “And if you do to them, you do to Me.”

So, God, I want to be gentle. I put myself on the altar, too, this morning; not this morning, but every morning and every day. I want to be quiet and gentle, and like Jesus. Grant it, Father. Help us to be so now. Let the fathomless billows of love roll over our soul.

Peace! Peace! Wonderful peace,

Coming down from the Father above;

(Don't you feel it now in your heart?)

.... over my spirit forever,.......

(Hallelujah! Hallelujah!)

Peace! Peace! Wonderful peace!

Sister Gertie said tell all the church she's condemned, too, but she's making the piano her altar. Since the altar ... the piano is her altar, said, “Tell the church pray for me,” as she sits there and the tears running down on her glasses. This pulpit is my altar. I've repented, too. My Bible wet. O God!

............ peace, peace of God!

Coming down from the Father above;

(Oh, hallelujah)

..... over my spirit forever......

God, if I've sinned against anybody, against You, take it away, Lord. Take the sin away from my little church, this morning.

How many can just feel that God's forgive you, and the Dove of peace sits on your heart again? She flew back just now, took up Her place. The Holy Spirit just moved back and said, “Child of mine, I've been wanting to love you all the time. You just wouldn't let Me do it. I can't dwell with your old selfish spirit. But now that you've surrendered it, I've come back to your heart this morning.” How many feels that way? raise up your hand. Raise up your hand, that's right, all along the altar. Oh, that's fine. How many out in the audience feels that way? Raise up your hand. Oh! (To Be Like Jesus).

Our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for this time of soft consecration, like taking an apple in the hand, mashing it, bruising it, until it becomes mellow, so mellow that a little baby could sit down and eat it. That's the way we want our hearts, Lord.

Take it in Your nail-scarred hand, just bruise it, saying, “Child, don't you see you've hurt Me? You was hurting Me when you flew loose in the handle like that. You were hurting Me, oh, My heart just bled for you, child, when I seen you do such-and-such things. But now that I've got your heart in My hand, I want to make it real meek. I want to make it so that I can use it and live in it. I want to fly back on the roost this morning, I want to fly back and abode, make My abiding with you.” Grant it, God. We love You. Grant it, for Your glory. We ask in Jesus' name.

To be like Jesus, to............

Don't you love just to worship like this? Oh, my soul is just bathing.

On earth I.....................

To see Him come down in the worshipers like this, your heart feel real gentle? My heart's just beating fast.

......... journey from earth to glory

I only ask to be like Him.

Would you raise your hand while we sing it?

To be like Jesus, to..............

(Joe, you want to come up and pray this morning, brother? God bless you. Find you a place here at the altar, Brother Joe. God bless you, my brother.)

........ journey from earth to glory

I only ask to be like Him.

I know it's hot, friend. I know it is. But I hope you feel just like I do. Oh, I just feel like I could just fly away. How loving He is! What could I do? Where would I go? O God! Where am I going? Where am I headed for? What's it going to be? Where am I going to be a hundred years from now? What if I didn't have Him? Where, where's any other refuge?

From Bethlehem's manger came forth a Stranger,

On earth I long to be like Him;

All through life's journey from earth to Glory

I only ask to be like Him.

All together now.

To be like Jesus (Praise be to God! Yes, Lord!

Yes, Lord! Not the world; like You!)

.................. to be like Him;

All through life's journey from earth to glory,

I only ask.......................

While you got your heads bowed, I'm going to ask you something. Somebody in here is displeasing the Holy Spirit. Somebody's been called. I speak in the name of the Lord Jesus, as His prophet. I can feel His heart wounded. Out in there, somebody disobeyed Him, should have come. Won't you come now?

All through life's journey from......

(Yes, sister, but there's more than you)

...................... Glory

I only ask to be like Him.

Just to be like Jesus...........

That's all my desire, meek and lowly, humble, be like Him.

On earth I.................

Won't you come on up now? God wants to see you make a move. There's a number of you.

All through................

I knew you were coming. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. That's it. That's it. I looked out over this audience, and the awfullest black shadow hanging there I ever seen. The Holy Spirit is here now. It's on me right now. “Grieving the Holy Ghost.” To be like Jesus....

What did He do? Went where the Father led. God bless you, brother. God bless you, my brethren. That's right, move right on up and kneel down. On earth I long....

Now is the time for the old-time confessing, straightening up, making right. Come on. Still feel there's more in there. God bless you, lady. God bless you, lady. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. That's right. The Holy Spirit is always right. Come on. That's right, move right out.

........................... Him,

To be like Jesus, to be like Jesus

On earth I.................

Oh, my, that's right! That's the way, just fill the aisles up, move right out and pray

... through life's journey From earth

to Glory, (just repent, tell God you're

sorry; that's all you have to do)

................ to be like Him.

Won't you keep coming now. “To....” That's right, just tear right loose, come on up. “To be like....”

What are you going to do? Who's going to stand for you, maybe tonight? Who's going to stand for you when death comes up your sleeve? No matter what you done, the Holy Spirit is sitting right there close to you. That's Him wanting you to come.

All through life's journey from earth to Glory

Just repent, say, “God, I'm sorry. I wouldn't want to do that. You won't stand for me if I don't stand for You now. And I want You to stand for me, and I'm standing for You from today on. I'm going to live like a Christian ought to. I'm going to change my ways, I'm going to be gentle and quiet, I'm going to let everybody do their own talking, everything. I'm going to just live meek and quiet before You.” No matter how long you profess to be a Christian, what church you belong to, that has nothing to do with it. Come right on. God bless you. Move right on out, child.

God's talking to you now. If you believe me to be His servant, the Holy Spirit spoke to me this morning, said, “Make that call, there's many down there.” This is the day, this is the time. There's about five or six more back there, really should come. Now, remember, brother, sister, I'm looking right at you, I see those dark shadows hanging over you. Better come right on.

To be like Jesus! Don't you want to be like Him, gentle, quiet, meek, humble? God bless you, young man. God bless you, dad with the baby. God bless you, sister. God bless you, sinner friend. That's right. Move right up, sis, come right on out, just find yourself a place. God bless you.

Sister dear, you got a lot to be thankful for. Laying bound in a bed, dying, here you are walking down to the altar. God bless your tender heart.

The Holy Spirit speaking with you now. Repentance: just cry right out to God, just pray your own prayer. You're the one has done the sinning, now you're the one do the praying. Tell God you're sorry what you done. Don't pay any attention who's around you. Just say, “God, forgive me, I didn't mean to be like that. I want to be gentle. I'll never cross up and fuss anymore.” O God, oh, how I love it!

Heavenly Father, for each penitent one down at the altar now, bowing upon their knee, praying! O God, may mothers, dads, children, fathers, mothers, whatever more, neighbors, church members, deacons, trustees, O God, at this old-fashioned, molding-up time, sitting in this hot room this morning, the Holy Spirit coming right down, speaking peace.

O God, I want to stand that day to hear You say, gently, “Yes, you come up and made a stand for Me, now I'll make a stand for you.” I want You to put that peace in every heart that's here today, God. Quietly and gently, I want You to do it. I want You just to move in there with such a feeling that it'll never leave them no more, from this day henceforth. May homes be new. May people be a new person. May everything become new today, because these people has humbled themselves. You said, “If the people that's called by My name shall humble themselves, and pray, then I will hear from heaven.” And I know You do, this morning, God.

And I pray forgiveness for those who remained in their seat, that should have come. God, speak to them, and may they have no peace no more on earth until they have made that decision, Lord, to come and to be made right with You. Grant it, Lord. Bless each one now. May Thy kindness and Thy mercies ever abide on each soul that's penitent and bowed in this church this morning.

Father, God, I have did this at Your bidding. I have called these people; they have stood. You said, “He that will witness Me before men, him will I witness before My Father and the holy angels.” Many of these here have been Christians for years, but they're standing this morning to testify their sins that they have did wrong. They have become unlovable. The Holy Spirit has went from them. And many times that they can't feel that gentle, sweet, meek feeling that they ought to feel. Many of them are sinners that's come for their first time.

But, Father, they want that wonderful feeling, the peace that passes all understanding. Give it to them this day, Lord God, and may they altogether be lovely and full of Thy Spirit, as they leave this place today, to go to their different homes, to live a different life and to be a different people. We ask this in Christ's name.

“Room At The Fountain.” All right, you that's at the altar, raise up, look up to the Lord God, turn around and shake hands with everyone around you. Oh, we're going to sing, everyone now, while we stand just a moment before the healing service.

Room, room, yes, there is room,

There's room at the fountain for thee;

Room, room, yes, there is room,

There's room at the fountain for thee.

Everyone!

Room, room, yes, there is room,

There's room at the fountain for thee;

Room, room, yes, there is room,

There's room at the fountain for thee.

Room, room, yes, there is room!

[Blank spot on tape.]

A faith! You know the other day, brother, when your wife called up, to be prayed for you? Went right in the room, and the Holy Spirit said to me, “Don't fear.” Amen. Isn't He real? Wonderful! Well, praise the Lord! I just feel like shouting the victory! All right.

And His blood washes whiter....

(That's what He said)

..................... Jesus saves!

All right, Brother Neville now. And Brother Slaughter's got a word to say.

[Brother Slaughter speaks.]

Praise the Lord!

[Brother Neville speaks.]

I will probably be here tonight, too. Yes, as far as I know, I will be here unless I'm called out somewhere.