A Secondhanded Robe

Just remain standing a moment. Our heavenly Father, we thank Thee for the privilege that we have of being assembled together one more night this side of the coming of the Lord. And may we live and act tonight, and do and accept just as we would if this was the last night. Grant it, Lord.

If there be any here who doesn't know Thee in the pardoning of their sins, the blessed Holy Spirit has not filled their life until this time, may this be the night that they receive Him. Grant it, Lord.

And may also every sick and afflicted person be healed of their diseases tonight and show Your great hand to heal the sick and to save the lost. Grant it, Lord, for we ask it in Jesus' name, Thy beloved Son. Amen.

May be seated. So happy for the privilege of being back in the church again tonight. I believe one said once, “I was happy when they said unto me, 'Let us go unto the house of the Lord.'” And this is a privilege that's rare to us all, to assemble together to serve the Lord Jesus.

And now, I believe, the engineer on this may.... I hope I'm not too loud. Can you hear me all right? Can't hear me over there? Would you step it up just a little bit, ever who's on the engineering end of these microphones, if you will.

I don't talk too loud, and so I guess it's kind of hard sometimes to hear. Now, is that better? Can you hear that all right now? That's fine. Up in the balcony all right? Well, that's good. All right.

Now, our friend, Brother Mattsson-Boze was speaking this afternoon, and on the road over tonight they told me he had a wonderful message. So, you people that were here were privileged to hear the message, and so we pray that you'll trust that if possible you'll be out tomorrow afternoon to hear his message again. I think his services begins around two or three o'clock, something like that. They probably already announced it.

Joseph, as I call him, I've known him for a long time, and I know him to live like he preaches. So that's the main thing. You know, I'd rather you live me a sermon than preach me one. It's a lot better to be lived than it is to be preached. It takes a real servant of God to live one, but most anyone that preaches, besides myself, maybe preach one once in awhile.

So, we are trusting to the Lord tonight to bless each one. And I have just heard that Brother Jack Coe isn't too well yet. And I certainly do pray that God will heal Brother Jack Coe. I can think of Brother Jack as many of you know him (as he looks today), but when I first seen him, he was a little skinny boy. And he....

I was at San Antonio, Texas. And he was the most curious little fellow I ever seen when he couldn't understand the callings of things of God. So, one night on the road out, he said, “Say, I want to ask you something.” They'd just taken me from the platform. And 'course, then is just when the anointing is leaving; it ain't bad while it's there or when you're out of it. But it's in between the times is what does it. Anyone who knows the Scripture know what that means.

And Mr. Kidson, a few of the brethren were taking me from the place, and Brother Jack said, “Say, tell me what's wrong with this woman here, and I'll believe you,” see.

I said, “Sir, the Lord doesn't work like that.” I said, “He doesn't....” It was one time they said, “Come off the cross, and I'll believe You.” It was one time said, “Turn these stones into bread and I'll believe You.” One time they put a rag over His face and hit Him on the head, said, “Tell us who done it and we'll believe You.” I said, “God doesn't do it that way.”

He said, “Sir, I'm just curious.”

I said, “That's right. Now, the woman that you have has a tumor in her side.” And I said, “And the only thing's the matter with you is just a little curious preacher. You don't understand this, but someday you'll be out on the field preaching the Gospel and praying for the sick.” And that's the beginning of Jack Coe. He left from right there.

And tonight, he lays very ill with polio in his lungs, I think, and is very, very bad. And now, Brother Jack, as I know in the foreign fields where we deal with leprosy and everything, and Brother Jack has had to face lots of sickness and things. And no one can really, truly, outside of God, appreciate a man that goes before every kind of a thing like that.

So, I think before we start the service, will you just bow our heads for a word of prayer for Brother Jack?

Our heavenly Father, it's with bowed hearts that we come before Thee tonight, this lovely church here in Brooklyn, to offer our sincere thanks to Thee for Brother Jack Coe and for his ministry, and for the things that he has done for Thee and in Thy name.

And now, Father, he stands just at the point of death. Oh, great, Holy Spirit, will You deliver our brother? We pray the prayer of faith to the best of our knowledge. And we pray that You will manifest Your great healing power. And, Father, if it be possible, I pray that You'll give a vision of what to go tell Brother Jack; I'd leave immediately.

And I pray Thee to be merciful to him and to spare his life, thinking of his good works and of the things that he has did for Thy kingdom: the orphanage of the poor little children that without papas and mamas. And oh, God, if the enemy takes him, what'll happen to that school?

God, we think of his own family, the work of the Lord. Be merciful to Brother Jack, and I pray that right now that the Holy Spirit will take over, drive away the polio, may his lungs begin to breathe back and forth normally. Grant it, Lord. We humbly offer You this prayer, Lord, with all the faith that we have, believing that You'll answer us. For we ask it in Jesus' name, who said, “Ask the Father anything in My name, I will do it.” And I pray that it'll be answered in that way for the glory of God, in Jesus Christ's name. Amen.

By keeping you a little late last evening, I will try to maybe a little shorter this evening. And I want to read just a verse of Scripture from the Old Testament in 2nd Kings, the 2nd chapter and the 20 ... or, I mean, the 13th verse.

And he took up also the mantle of Elijah that had fallen to the ground and he went ... and stood by the ... Jordan.

And now, for a text tonight, I would like to use this as a text, A Secondhanded Robe. And then for a subject: Standing by the Jordan. And may the Lord add His blessings to the reading of His Word, and in doing so, brings faith to the audience.

I suppose we're about the same audience that was here last evening. So, we understand how to approach God, as I explained it last night on how to come to Him and about the operation and that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, and He's alive tonight, and He's just the same yesterday, today, and forever.

On the subject tonight as a way of knowing that you people here have a very good pastor, a good preacher, and I know you're used to preaching. And I feel very small to stand behind the pulpit here where Brother Hutchinson has ministered, because, as myself, I'm not a speaker. I'm not too well, I have a very poor education. And I just trust in the Lord for what little I can do for Him, and but what I know of the Word, I sure like to tell someone else about it and we fellowship around the blessed Word.

Now, in the day, the event that we're speaking of tonight ... or, right immediately after the death of Ahab, and Ahaziah his son had taken his place and had done wickedly; and he had fallen through the lattice of his place in Samaria and had been cursed and was laying, dying.

And so, him being an idolater, sent the men from Samaria to inquire of Baalzebub and the demon powers of what would be his outcome, or if he would be able, through this great god that they call Baalim, if they would be able to recover from his condition.

And on his road over there to the messengers that he sent, God, who knows all things, called to His servant Elijah, and said, “Go meet them and ask them, 'Why is he doing this; because there was no God in Israel?'”

And when he turned the servants back, and on their way back ... or, when they come back, they asked him, “Why didn't you go to take the message?”

And he said, “We met a man that told us, 'Thus saith the Lord.'”

And then, the king inquired, “What kind of a man was he?”

He said, “He was a hairy man, and he had leather on his loins.” And he knew it was Elijah, the Tishbite.

God has never been at any time without a true witness on the earth. He always has had a true witness somewhere; and since the world began, He's had it. And somewhere today there is a true witness of God. In the midst of all of our nine hundred and sixty-nine different denominations here, there's somewhere God has a true witness.

Now, in the old days He had prophets. The message came by God in sundry times and divers manners spake to the fathers by the prophets, and in this last day has spoke to us by His Son, Christ Jesus. And now, the Word came through the prophets. Today, we have gifts of prophecy, and we have prophets, also.

And there's quite a vast difference between a gift of prophecy and a prophet. A gift of prophecy is a church gift that operates, that might be on one one night, and another another night, and another another night. And before it can be received into the church, it has to be judged by three different judges. And then, three witnesses has to accept it as being the Word of the Lord, then it's kept on record; and if it comes not to pass, then there's an evil spirit among the people. And there's why I think that we have misused God's divine gifts.

In our tabernacle at home when I first ... in our Baptist church, when I first received the baptism of the Spirit and was called into the ministry, we tried to seek out God for the spiritual gifts. We had all the people to come who were gifted people, maybe an hour before the service ever started.

And the gifts of the Spirit as one would speak in unknown tongues and the other give the interpretation.... And it could not be just a quoting of Scripture, 'cause God doesn't use vain repetition. It must be some direct message to the church. And then, if it was to the church, before it could be received in the church, there had to be at least three spiritual gifts there. And that was to call ... we call them like judges to judge. Three people with the gift of discernment, in the Bible it's called.

And one of them would raise up and say, “It's of the Lord.”

And the other one raise up and say, “It's of the Lord.” Well, the two out-ruled the one. So, then the message was taken down and then placed on my desk. And it couldn't be now like, “Jesus is coming soon.” We know that, and other things that the Scriptures declare.

It would be something like this: “Tell ... 'Thus saith the Lord,' tell Brother Jones to get away from that place where he lives, for it's near a railroad track, for tomorrow at two o'clock, there's going to be a wreck there, and his house will be destroyed.” Or, “Tell Brother Branham that tonight there'll be someone come in from a certain place, that's got a certain disease, be dressed a certain way. And he shall go to them; they'll be brought in tonight by ambulance. And tell them that this thing that's against them. It's 'Thus saith the Lord.'”

Well then, if them messages was taken down that the witnesses witnessed that it was the Holy Spirit, it was laid on the pulpit, and then when the church begin to gather, all the gifts they'd done had their part of the meeting. There was nothing taking place then but the singing of the Word ... or, the singing of the hymns.

And then, when I came out to speak, which was in the room, they pressed a button, a red light come on. I'd been in there maybe all afternoon, praying; walked forth with the message of the Lord on my heart. Before I made the message on the platform ... on the pulpit, laid these messages. I read them off, then went on with the message. And then, after the message, the altar call.

And if the things that were written on there did come to pass, we thanked the Lord and praised Him for it. If it didn't come to pass, they had a cleaning-up time. There's an evil spirit among them, because God don't tell lies, see.

And that's the way the gifts should be operated. And then, all this stuff that goes on in the name of the gifts would be culled out. And then, no one wants a evil spirit on them to lie and do those things. They want the real; there's a real Spirit. You don't have to have that kind of a spirit. God's got a real Spirit for you. And so, you don't want them things that the devil would give you.

And if that was wrong, then all those people repented and prayed, and fasted, and went before the Lord till that spirit got off of them, all of them. The witnesses and all, the one who discerned it and so forth, they were all wrong. And then, we had the thing cleaned up. And that's the way that the gifts should be operated in the church, to my opinion. That's the way it worked wonderful in our tabernacle at home.

And then, if that'll work in a Baptist church, it surely ought to work in a Pentecostal church. It certainly ought to. So then, it's just the sincerity. You must respect those gifts and give them their places and everything where they should be.

And the Bible is a blueprint, just how they should be put together and how they should operate. Then, you'll have no trouble at all nowhere. Everything will move just exactly in the will of the Lord. If He wants anything said, He'll speak and give the interpretation of it, and set it out, and it'll happen just exactly to the minute just the way God said it would.

And oh, the marvelous things that we have seen our Lord do in those things. But it takes a consecrated life, a surrendered life, and so forth, and a church that's purged daily by the blood of the Lord Jesus and them things will take place.

And there's a vast difference between a gift of prophecy and a prophet. A gift of prophecy will act on one and then another and it's to be judged. But a prophet has the Word of the Lord. And a prophet is born a prophet, see.

Jesus Christ was the Son of God; He was a woman's seed from the garden of Eden, that was promised. You believe that? Moses was born a prophet. They recognized it when he was born: a prophet child, the emancipator of Israel.

And John the Baptist seven hundred and twelve years before he came to the earth, he was the voice of one crying in the wilderness through the prophet Isaiah.

Jeremiah: God told Jeremiah, “Before you was even formed in your mother's womb or came forth, I knew you, and sanctified you, and ordained you a prophet to the nation,” see. Gifts and callings are without repentance. God has, see. Oh, what a wonderful book. Well, that's the pastor's place to take care of that. I'm here to preach divine healing to you. All right.

But anyhow, in the days.... As long as Israel walked before God, and listened to the prophets, and had the right thing, then God heard them and blessed them. And He'll do the same thing in the church today, if the people will touch Him, and listen, and keep things straight, and everything moving directly in Christ. God will do the same thing for the church.

Now, God had His man and it was Elijah, the Tishbite. And usually, God has one major in them days—a major prophet. Then sometimes He had others—minor prophets.

In the days of Elijah, he knew that he was making ready for his translation. God was going to take him up. So he had went and called Elisha to take his place. And had threw his robe around him and called him to the ministry under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

And now, in them days, they'd had a school called the school of the prophets, that had a (and we'd call it today) a seminary. They'd seen the great work that God was doing through Elijah, so they thought they'd get them a school, and hatch them out a few, and get a few prophets across the land like Elijah.

Well, that's a great thing. But it never worked successful then, neither will it work today. That's right. It takes God does the calling. That's the only flaw there is to it. God has to do the calling. And if God don't do the calling, then it does the prophet no good to go. But if God does the calling, He will honor His Word wherever he goes. God will be with him.

Now, we find that this school of the prophets, how it turned out to be. I'd imagine every prophet there.... When Elijah came up, we seen they didn't live the right kind of life, for they said, “It's too straight for around here when Elijah comes around.” I imagine if it'd be today, they'd make them get rid of all their television programs, and all their old love story magazines, and quit their smoking and drinking, and all these things, and clean up.

If there's anything would be needed today, it would be that. That's right. Any people that stay home on Wednesday night from a prayer meeting to see, “We love Lucy,” or, “Who love Lucy,” or whatever it is, that person needs an old-fashioned case of repentance at the altar. That's exactly right. And anyone that would belittle themself with such things that come out of Hollywood, and pattern yourself with such immoral people that's married five or six times, and running around, and carrying on the way they do with their ungodly dressings, and things that they have in that place, and make that your example?

Why, you ought to look at Jesus Christ. You've died to those things and are alive in Christ. Make Him your example.

And it's terrible to see the way this great nation of ours is sinking and falling, and all the programs, nearly, on the radio and everything is some kind of a gag, or dirty joke, or some kind of a smutty odd thing being told. And all this old music they have, boogie-woogie, ever what you call it, and rock-and-roll, and them evil persons like Presley, and Arthur Godfrey, and those them who pull things smutty jokes.

And you people gum that stuff down you every day on the radio, and then come to the church and expect a blessing. How can you throw stagnated water in a place and expect good things to come out of it? There's a hog in the wallow somewhere. We need a cleaning-out time. The church needs to be purged by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ that sets your affections on things above and the coming of the Lord.

Now, them people live their lives. God have mercy on them. I'm not making light of them or anything, but I'm only trying to press a mark to the church. No wonder we can't have revival like we ought to. No wonder Billy Graham was crying the other night about not being able to see revival at this time.

Brother, they need a cleaning up from the pulpit plumb into the janitor's room in the churches through the land is what we need, before the Holy Spirit can take place. God's a holy God. That's right. And now, I don't believe that you'd go to heaven on your holiness, but you go to heaven on His holiness. But it's the works that you do prove what's in you. That's right. You love Him and God wants you to love Him.

And if you love Him, you'll worship Him and you'll love Him. What's in your heart, that's where you love, what you love. Where your treasures is, there your heart is also. It's a wonderful thing.

Like I said to my wife, “What's that.... It's a case of love.” Now, when I go overseas, I don't say, “Now, wait a minute, Mrs. Branham. I'm going to lay some law down to you now. I'm going overseas, and thou shalt not have any other husbands. And don't you go to flirting with any other man,” and all these things.

Now, when she said, “Now, just a minute, young man, and I want to give you some orders. And you're not taking any women out while you're gone and....” Why, wouldn't that be a life to live? I'd hate to trust her like that. That's right. And I guess she'd hate to trust me.

But we love one another. When I get ready to leave, we kneel down in the floor and offer thanks to God for the privilege that we have of going in the Gospel and to do in the work of the Lord. And I ask God to bless my little children and my wife and take care of them; we raise up, and I kiss her goodbye. Say, “Goodbye, sweetheart, see you when I come back. Be praying for me.”

She said, “I will, Billy.” That settles it.

Well, if I ever.... I don't care who it was. If, why, if I even thought that I could go out with someone else and get by with it, (I know she'd forgive me for it) I wouldn't do it. I love her too much. I think too much of her to hurt her. She'd forgive me, but it would hurt her.

Well, that's just human love. How much more it is when you love the Lord Jesus? You don't have.... You won't stay home and listen to these things. You love Him. You wouldn't hurt Him. Why, everything you want to do is to do something for Him, because you love Him. Though you say, “He'd forgive me for it.” That's right. He might forgive you, but if you really love Him, you don't want to do it.

And we've got too many school of prophets letting those things get by. That's the truth. And I want you to notice these fellows. When they were up there, why, Elisha went up to see them one day. And one fellow went out to get some ... pick some peas. And he picked a lap full of gourds and he cooked them up.

Now, a guy that don't know the difference between wild gourds and peas ain't very much prophet, don't look like. But he threw them into the pot and begin to cook them. They were cooking up something all right. And when they begin to eat, one of them recognized he was getting sick, and he said, “There's death in the pot.”

Now, what did Elisha do? They went to him, the one with the double portion. So they went to him and wanted to know what to do. And he never said, “Get rid of all of it now.” He said, “Don't do that.” But he went and got a handful of meal, and threw into the same pot, and said, “Now, eat all you want to. There's life in it.”

Now, what made the difference was the meal. And the meal at the school was the meal offering that was offered to the Lord, which was grounded a certain burr. And every grain of meal had to be ground the same. And that meal represented Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever. And when He's throwed into death, it always brings forth life.

What we need is Christ in the pot where we got the poison cooking. That's right, all.... We don't need to get rid of the Methodists, Baptists, and Pentecostals; we just need a handful ... or, a heart full of Christ in among them, and all these other old programs and things will clear up. And from death will turn to life when Christ is put in.

The seminaries, the schools, the denominations, they're all right; but they need Christ in them. The members are fine people; they're human beings like you and I are, that love to eat and love their families and love like that. But what they need is Christ in their life. They don't need a yardstick to measure by. Christ comes in; He takes the place of that yardstick.

I'm raised in a country where they got a lot of hardwood. And in the wintertime—the little old scrub oak always holds its leaf all winter, the oak tree does. Now, when springtime comes, you don't have to go out and pick up all ... pick all the oak leaves off the old ones so the new one can come on. The only thing you have to do is just wait and let the new life come up; the old leaf drops off. That's all we need, is Christ the new life, and all the things of the world become dead to you. Just need Christ in the church. That's what we need today: more of the risen Lord Jesus.

Now, notice, now the school, I can imagine each one of them up there, they each one pack their Bible just about like Elijah done, you know. And each one used his voice just the way Elijah does. It's a great day again of impersonation. Don't you believe that?

Billy Graham was just in Louisville, and I'm telling you, every program comes on, everybody say, “The Lord bless you real good.” It's just in human, I guess. And try to speak like Billy Graham, pack their Bible like Billy Graham; or some evangelist come to town. That's the way they do. It's impersonation, carnal impersonation.

And now here it is. It may hurt just a little bit, but my mother used to give me.... We was raised so poor, we'd have to eat cornbread that was made out of grease ... out of meat skins where they cook it in a pan, you know, and boil out the grease to make....

And every Saturday night, I know we used to have to take a dose of caster oil. And I can't even stand it today. And mama used to say.... I'd hold my nose. I'd say, “Mama, it makes me so sick. I can't even bear it.”

She said, “If it don't make you sick, it don't do you any good.”

So, maybe that is with preaching the Gospel. If it doesn't stir you up a little bit.... And I'm afraid today that many of us that are claiming great things in God, are only carnal impersonations. In someone else: the way they act, and the way they do, and try to put the same thing on ourself and act that way.

When Christianity is not a mimic; it's a life. Christianity comes by a birth that when you're borned again of the Spirit of God and become a new creature in Christ Jesus. Old things have passed away and all things become new.

Watch.

And we find every one said, “Now, when Elijah goes, I tell you (You know, I'm the dean of the school) the mantle will come on me. I'll get it when Elijah goes.

And the other one said, “But you remember, I'm the professor here too. And I'm the dean of psychology. I'll get it, because I really know how to handle the people.” Everyone.... But you know what God did? God had chose a little old plowboy down there. Just shows the difference.

Maybe he didn't know his ABC's. Maybe he couldn't count to a hundred, but God had chose him. Sometimes man's choice is a lot different than God's choice.

One time they was choosing a king. And when the prophet went up.... Even the prophet had the horn of oil to anoint one of David's sons. And they brought out the great big six-footer, you know. Said, “The robe and crown would look good on him.” But God refused him. And God chose a little old scrawny guy back there. The Bible said, “A little ruddy fellow with a sheepskin coat on, with a slingshot in his hand, herding his daddy's sheep.”

But God don't look at the outside; God looks at the inside. And we're trying to put too much exaggerations and so much expression on the outward appearance, when God looks on the heart. Amen. Oh, my, how we need it today, everywhere and every place. The whole world is corrupted everywhere. How does God ever stand it?

But notice, here they come out. And Elijah, when he come by, his time just about fulfilled for him to go, he spoke to Elisha. Come by where he was at, and he said, “Now, you stay here. I'm going up to Gilgal up here.” You see, he tried to discourage him.

And many times when there's a blessing laying right ahead, the devil tries everything he can to discourage us. We go through trials and testings. But Elisha, being spiritual minded also, he knew that he had a purpose, and he wasn't going to leave him. He said, “As the Lord liveth and your soul liveth, I'm not going to leave you.” I like that, that determination.

Oh, my, we take a little thing from God and get all discouraged in a hour, but not Elisha. He looked forward to the time. He knowed that it was close at hand. So he went to another place, he said, “Tarry here, I pray thee, for the Lord's calling me somewhere else. You just stay back here.” But there was no staying back with Elisha. He had the revelation of what God was going to do.

So, if somebody says, “Just stay home tonight and look at the television. It's too bad to go out.” Don't you worry. If you know the Lord Jesus is coming, oh, you're going to church regardless of what the weather looks like or anything else. You're going to stay right there, for we're expecting something to happen at any time.

When we see Moscow with guided missiles, who could take this whole nation in one hour and never leave Moscow.... Just send up this rocket like that with explosions in it, it'd blow it so many thousand miles and guide it through the stars and radar, drop it right on Manhattan here, three or four of them at a time. There'd be a ... for fifteen miles each way would be hole in the ground a hundred and seventy feet deep. What would you do?

Or maybe let loose a hundred or two of them on the major cities at one time, in one hour's time there'd be no more United States and no more world, set up a chain reaction to cause a total annihilation. What could it do? Where are you going to run to? Used to say, “Get a bomb shelter.” They say now, “That's nonsense.”

But we got a bomb shelter. Amen. You know what it's made out of? Feathers: under His wings (Amen.) to be carried away, a bomb shelter of safety. Amen.

Oh, my, how this prophet, he wasn't discouraged. He said, “No, as the Lord liveth and your soul liveth, I'm going to stay right with you.” So, they go on to the school of the prophets. Elijah said, “You stay here for I'm going to Jordan.” He said, “As the Lord liveth, I'm not going to leave you.”

On down to the Jordan they went to cross Jordan. Then Elisha turned around and said to ... or, Elijah said to Elisha, “What do you desire? What you hanging around for?” Oh, my, I like that. “What're you hanging around for? What do you desire?”

Now, the Bible said, “Ask abundance.” Certainly. You know, we're afraid we're going to ask God too much. But you can't over-ask God anything. Could you imagine a little fish about that long out in the middle of the ocean saying, “Well, I better drink of this water sparingly, 'cause it might run out someday.” Nonsense.

Could you imagine a little mouse about that long, down under the great garners of Egypt, saying, “I better just eat a few grains each day, and be very conservative now, because I tell you; I might run out before the winter's over, before the new crop comes in.” Oh, my.

Now, add ten billion times to that, and you can find how silly it would be to try to think you could exhaust God's abundance of blessings for you. Why, my, He said, “Ask abundantly that your joys might be full.” And Elisha was going to ask abundantly. He said, “I want a double portion of Your Spirit upon me.” Oh, what a question, what a desire.

Now, remember, Elisha and Elijah was a type of Christ and the church. As Elijah was taken up and threw back his robe for Elisha to wear, so was Christ taken up and sent back His robe.

Was asked one day by a mother of two of His disciples, she said, “Let my sons set one on the right and the left.”

He said, “Can you drink the cup that I drink?”

Said, “Yes.”

Said, “Can you be baptized with the baptism that I'm baptized with?”

She said, “Yes.”

He said, “You can. You will. But the right and left hand is not Mine to give.”

So as He was baptized with the Holy Ghost and said, “The things that I do, more than this shall you do,” a double portion of the Spirit of Christ come upon the church at Pentecost, 'cause it goes to all the world, a double portion as it was Elijah.

Now, Elisha wanted to find one thing; in his mind, in his heart, there was a deep desire. And when the deep goes to coming to the deep, there's bound to be a deep to respond to that call. Before there's a fin on a fish's back, there had to be a water for him to swim in first. Before there's a tree to grow in the earth, there had to be a earth first for the tree to grow in.

Before there's a desire in your heart for more of God, there's got to be more of God somewhere to respond to that desire.

I seen here sometime ago, where a little kid eat the erasers off of pencils, eat the pedal off of a bicycle. And they taken him down to the laboratory to examine him. And find out, at the clinic, rather, they found out that his little body needed sulfur. Well, if there's something in here calling for sulfur, there had to be a sulfur to respond to that call.

Here it is, like this. Before there can be a creation, there has to be a Creator to create that creation. And if you're desiring tonight to be healed of the Lord, there's got to be a fountain open somewhere. That's right. If you desire the baptism of the Holy Ghost in your heart, there's got to be something out there creating that desire. When the deep calleth to the deep, there's got to be a deep to respond to it.

And Elisha, oh, he wanted that Spirit. And though, he didn't have any promise of it yet, but he knew that Elijah was wearing a robe. And he knew he had that robe on him. And I can see him stand up on the hill where all of the school, the DD's and PhD's was standing back, seeing what was going to take place.

But Elisha had had that robe on him many years before. Now, Elijah had to grow ... Elisha had to grow to fit the robe. Today, we're trying to cut the robe to fit us, and God has to cut us to fit the robe. That's the difference. We just got vice-versa.

You've got to alter yourself to meet God's Holy Spirit. God won't alter the Spirit to meet your desire, see. But you've got to alter yourself. So, Elisha had several years of growing into fit the robe. So he thought it would fit him pretty well. He was on his road up the hill.

And Elijah turned around. The only thing that he wanted to know was, he could ever get that promise. That's all he wanted. And he said, “Now, I'm going to ask you ... tell you what my desire is. I want a double portion of your Spirit to come upon me. What are you going to say?”

Elijah, the anointed prophet, turned around and said, “Thou hast asked a hard thing, but this will be given to you on condition.” So is the Holy Ghost given to you on condition, see. “On conditions, if you can meet the condition; that is, if you can see me when I go away, you'll have what you ask for.” That's all Elisha wanted, was the promise.

If he knowed the promise and the conditions of the promise, then he kept his eye right on Elijah. I can imagine somebody else saying, “Say, what are you following him for?”

“I ain't got no time to talk to you. I'm looking straight at him.”

And today, the promise.... Many of you here are sick. And the promise is to you. “If thou canst believe.” You've got the promise. The promise is laid down here in the Bible. The promise is yours, but the trouble of it; you let the schools of the prophets and everything else call you from one side to the other one, telling you, discouraging, and telling you, “Days of miracles is past. No such a thing; it's mind reading. It's mental telepathy,” and all those things. And you listen to it, and that's the reason you don't receive the promise.

I can imagine Elisha following Elijah with them eyes straight on him. He wasn't going to turn to see, or didn't turn back, say, “Hey, fellows, how do you think I'm doing?” If he would, Elijah might've been taken away and he wouldn't have got the promise.

And when we turn aside to go to looking at this, and looking at conditions, and looking at symptoms.... Oh, we say, “Now look, I was prayed for last night. You see, my hand's no better.” And it never will be, like that. No, sir. You don't look at the symptoms; you look at the promise. Amen. The promise is what it is. Look who made the promise. It was God who made the promise. It's God's Word who's in authority. It's God who spoke the promise. That's who it is.

And you look at your symptoms. Symptoms are one of the greatest hindrance God has to work with, is symptoms. And if there ever anything that is wrong is a man or woman who'll look and say, “I don't feel any better. Now, they prayed for me over at my church last night, and they believe in divine healing; but, really, I don't feel any better.”

You don't never go by your feelings. Jesus never did say, “Did you feel it?” He said, “Did you believe it?” See where you get the thing all turned around? It's your faith in His promise that does it. Like Elisha, he wanted the promise. And if Elijah said he could have it if he kept his eye on him, he kept his eye on him. That's all. Amen.

There was a fellow in the Bible had some symptoms one time. His name was Jonah. Talk about symptoms, he had them. Now, he was backslid. That's a big word for a Baptist to say, but I believe you can do it. So, he was backslid. God told him to go down to Nineveh, and he went to Tarshish, the easier road.

So out there a storm came up, a stormy sea. And he had his hands tied, his feet tied, throwed out. A big fish come along and swallowed him, went down in the bottom of the sea. Feed your goldfish and watch them when they prowl through the waters till they find their prey. And then when they feed they go right down and rest their swimmers on the bottom of the ocean.

This big whale that swallowed Jonah went down to the bottom of the sea and was laying there resting. Now, you talk about symptoms, that man had it. The first place, he was backslid. The next place, his hands and feet was tied behind him, and he was on a stormy sea, in the belly of a whale, in the bottom of the sea. And if he looked this way, it was a whale's belly; he looked that way it was whale's belly. Everywhere he looked was whale's belly. You talk about symptoms, he had it. There's nobody here in that condition tonight.

But what did he say? He said, “They are lying vanities. I won't even look at them.” But he turned over in vomit and seaweeds around his neck in the belly of this whale, and he said, “Lord, once more will I look to Your holy temple.” Not at the symptoms; at the temple. Why?

When Solomon dedicated the temple, he prayed, and said, “Lord, if Thy people be in trouble at anytime, and look towards this holy place and pray, then hear from heaven.” And Jonah denied all those symptoms and called them lying vanities, because he had faith in the prayer of Solomon, who dedicated the temple.

And if Jonah could do that upon them circumstances, what ought we to do who don't look to Solomon's temple, but to heaven itself where Jesus sits at the right hand of God with His own blood to make intercessions upon our confession. Symptoms? Certainly not; we deny them. There's no such a thing. We take God at His Word, and keep our eye on the promise, and move on.

When you receive the Holy Spirit, the devil will try to say, “You ain't got nothing.” Well, that's just all he knows about it, see. Then if you give in to him, you lose it. But keep your eye on the promise.

I can see Elisha as he goes up the hill, and Elijah in front of him, going on, he's keeping his eye on him. Somebody hollers from one side, some of the school of the prophets will holler across the Jordan. He just kept his eye right on him, going right on.

Some of them say, “Wait a minute; wait a minute here. You know, I'm Professor So-and-So....”

“I don't care who you are; I got the promise. I'm going right on.”

Say, “You know what, the pastor....”

“I don't care who you are. I got my eye on the promise.”

That's the way to get it. Keep your eye on the promise. Stay with it; hold onto it. That's right. Don't be jellyfish, wishy-washy, in-and-out, up-and-down, like a worm in a lemon. But stay with your eye on the promise. God said so; that settles it. God said so; that takes care of it as far as I'm concerned. God said so; He has to stay with His Word, and His Word's eternal as God is. So, he kept his eye on him.

After a while, there came a sound from heaven, like it did on the day of Pentecost. And fire came like it did on the day of Pentecost, and it separated them, as it did Christ from the disciples at Pentecost.

But Elijah stepped on this chariot of fire, pulled by horses of fire, and went away. And while the young prophet was standing there, standing there looking up and hollering, “My Father, my Father, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof,” all of a sudden something dropped on him, fit him just exactly: the robe of Elijah.

That's the way it is today, brother, any man that looks up and says, “Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God, You gave the promise.” Be sincere in it and watch fits around you. It fit him exactly. What did he do? Took off his own garment and tore it to pieces. Television programs and all the nonsense is finished there. All the worldly things—the picture shows, the drinking, the smoking, the gambling, the lying, the dirty jokes, everything—is finished there. Tore his own robe to pieces and throwed it down, said, “I'm entering the ministry.” Amen.

That's what we need today. He turned around, looked back then to the prophets. Amen. That's what's first. Get it on him, get the promise; get it down in your heart. Then he turned and looked towards.... Also he was wearing a secondhanded robe, brother. But he was on his march of the conqueror, prayer behind him. How he felt as he marched down toward the Jordan. God be merciful, brother.

We're going to a Jordan tonight, too. We got to stand there at the Jordan. I'm glad to be wearing a secondhanded robe, too; not the robe of my own righteousness (because it wouldn't do any good), but the robe of His righteousness. I'm trusting in Him. He wore it, sent it back to me. I'm happy to have it.

I want to wrap myself in His righteousness.

I know there's a great shadow setting before us. Everyone of us is coming that way tonight, friends. Every time your heart beats, you're one step closer to that big door called death. One day you're going to make the last beat, and you're going in.

I realize as your evangelist and servant, I, too, have to go to that. I've got to come down, no matter how much I've preached about it. I've got to come down to it, but when I do, I don't want to come in my own wrapped-up righteous rags. When I see that my last beat's coming up, and I'm entering that door, I want to wrap myself in the robe of His righteousness, knowing this, that I know Him in the power of His resurrection, and when He calls from among the dead my name will be called. That's the main thing in my life tonight, is to know that I know Him in the power of His resurrection, that He lives and reigns. And I know Him by the forgiveness of sins, by His Spirit dealing, by Him moving and acting. I know that it's Him.

And as Elisha walked down there with the robe on, but when he got down there next to the river (Did you notice?), he took off the robe. The robe's all right.

And, brother, many people today are trying to march down to the Jordan wearing a secondhanded robe called Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian—moth-eaten by doubt, and holes all in it, and everything like that. Don't you never try to cross Jordan with that. That won't work. Certainly won't. The moths eat out.

Maybe John Wesley worked. That might've been good for his days, but don't you try to go upon the thoughts of being a Methodist. Don't you try to go upon John Smith's Baptist robe, either. Don't you go upon Martin Luther's Lutheran robe, or the Catholic priest and their robes. Don't you go on the Pentecostal, so called today.

But, brother, when Elisha got there, and we find out that he took off this robe of Elijah. It isn't some kind of a robe, but what did he do? He knowed all of them was watching him. He couldn't trust in the robe of Elijah, but he said, “Where is the God of Elijah?” Amen.

We got Pentecost, but where is the God of Pentecost? Where is the Pentecostal, resurrected Jesus Christ, Who proves Himself alive tonight among the people? Oh, you claim Pentecost in every church. You claim it in the Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, so called the Assemblies, and the rest of them. But where is the God of Pentecost? That's the next thing. So, don't trust in that moth-eaten, thread-bare Pentecostal robe that you're wearing by name. It won't work.

Some other men might've wore it with a flame a few years ago, but, brother, it won't work with you. But it takes the God of Pentecost. Yes, sir.

And he stood by Jordan. Hallelujah. And he stood by Jordan and said, “Where is the God of Elijah?” He knowed He was close. Then when he took the robe and threw it across the waters, I tell you, she opened from one side to the other one. I wonder sometimes when the Pentecostal, and Baptists, and Presbyterians, and so forth, stand and see the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ moving in great power (who claim to kiss the cup of the golden blessings of God), how they can hold their peace and live the type of life they do.

And the God of Pentecost is a moving among the people. I wonder, friends, what we'll give an account at the day of the judgment. I wonder what'll take place at that time. If you'll only realize that Jesus Christ still lives and reigns.

The secondhanded robe, but when you come to Jordan you've got to have the God of Pentecost. He wanted the God of Elijah. If the servant of God does the work of God, he's got to have the power of God. If Pentecost is wearing a Pentecostal robe, it's got to have Pentecostal power and the God of Pentecost, or it won't do any good.

Call yourself Pentecost if you want to, but where's the God of Pentecost? That's right. Yes, sir. Where is He who appeared before them? Who is it that come down to Paul that night when he was out on a ship and all hopes was gone, but everything safe. And the Angel of the Lord come to him, said, “Don't fear Paul. Thou must be brought before Caesar. And lo, all these that sail with you, I give to you.”

That little Jew come out on the deck there with arms all bound down with shackles and across his legs in chains, walked out there shaking his hands and saying, “Be of a good courage.” Amen. “For the Angel of God, whose servant I am, stood by me last night, saying, 'Don't fear Paul.' And sirs, I believe God; it'll be just the way He told it to me.” Yes, sir.

What we need is not Pentecost, but the God of Pentecost. You're coming to the Jordan, men and women. Each one of you is coming down to the Jordan. I don't know when that may be. It may be before daylight for some of us.

But I tell you: There's coming a time that when you're going to need more than a an old moth-eaten robe of some church. You're going to need the God that set that church afire in its early days. You're going to have to have the vision that they had in the early days, that wore this. But the new schools has come in, and the holes has been eat in it, of doubt and superstitions and theologies and things, till the thing is no good at all. Call for the God of Pentecost. That's what we need today, truly.

The servant of God has to call on God. He has to depend on God, not his church, not his robe. He has to depend on God. God's asking him to do the impossible. In order to do the impossible, he's got to call on God for power of God to perform the impossible. If we be the Messiah's servants, we have to have the Messiah's power.

And He promised it to us, “I am the vine; ye are the branches. I energize every branch that brings forth fruit.” Hallelujah! There you are. There it is. Yes, sir.

And one of these mornings, I got to come to the river. And when I do.... Probably all Branhams.... If I live to be old, I hope I am, long beard and hair hanging around me.... When I come to the end of the road and I know I've done my best, I've fought my last battle, I want to take off the helmet, lay it down on the beach right here at the Jordan beating against the side of it. Want to lay the shield down, take the old sword of faith, and stick it back in the sheath of eternity, and scream out, “God, send out the life boat; I'm coming home this morning.”

As the poet said, “He can see Adam turn over and shake Eve and say, 'Honey, wake up. It's here.' Eve reached over and got a hold of Seth and said, 'Wake up, honey. He's here.' Seth took a hold of Abraham, said, 'Wake up, Abraham. It's here.'” There's going to be a great waking up time some of these mornings when the Jordan begins to beat the bank. I want to know the God who makes His way through the Jordan, instead of having on some moth-eaten robe.

As I was speaking not long ago concerning a certain thing that taken place in Switzerland. When I was in Switzerland about a year ago up in them great Swiss Alps there, there's a name that we used to know in history here; it's almost forgotten. You men and women about my age remembers when we had it in school. It was the history of Arnold Von Winkelried. What a mighty man.

In the days when Switzerland pulled away and went up in there, the little countries with no ore in the mountains, but they had little farms. They still live that way, a lovely, sweet people who love the Lord, way up in the mountaintop.

And then when the invading armies come in one day, all the Swiss gathered in a little field down at the foot of the mountain to protect their little mountain homes. And when the invading armies moving in—a great massive bunch, well trained, spears, armor.... And every man, like a stone wall, moving to his place, coming right on in to destroy the Swiss, ravish their women, kill their babies, take over their homes, take what they had.

The little Swiss army gathered down there with nothing to fight with, pitchforks, and old scythe blades, and whatever they could pick up to fight with, no armor, nothing to fight with, but stood helpless by the side of a mountain. What did they do? All around them come this great army moving on like a big wall, moving in: tromp, tromp.

The little fellows standing there helpless. Finally that great dark, crucial hour, Arnold Von Winkelried stepped out and said, “Men of Switzerland, this day I give my life for Switzerland. This day I'll save Switzerland.” Then, he said, “Over yonder's mountain is a little white home, and there is my lovely wife and my children waiting for me to return, but they'll never see me no more.” Said, “For, this day I give my life for Switzerland.”

They said, “What will you do, Arnold Von Winkelried?”

He said, “Just follow me and do the best you can with what you've got.” What did he do? He screamed and threw his hands up in the air and dropped his a weapon and said, “Make way for liberty.” And he looked, and he found where the deepest part of the spears was, and he run right into those spears, screaming with all of his voice, “Make way for liberty.”

And he grabbed a armful of those spears and plunged right into his heart as he fell to his death. And such a gallant play of heroism rallied that army. And these men followed him just as hard as they could, fighting with what they could, and drove the armies out of their land and they've been free to this day.

Why, you can mention his name up there in Swiss, and the tears, little hot tears will run down their cheeks for their hero. Such a gallant display of heroism has seldom been seen on the earth. But that wasn't much.

Just like something else that took place one day. When mankind ... the sons of Adam was backed into the corner—diseases, affliction, and sin cankering them, eating them, driving them to hell like taskmasters; the devil had broke everything they'd tried. God sent them prophets. They just done away with the prophets. God sent them the judges. Done away with the judges, the kings. Everything, He had done every.... He sent them the law. They didn't even keep it. Everything that could be done was done, and Adam's race stood helpless.

Sickness, diseases, affliction, sin, everything held the little group of Adam's race at bay, that no one could do nothing about it. And they were helpless. And the devil and his great marching army come marching in, well equipped, powerful, supernatural beings. Here stood a little natural people with nothing they could do. Then in heaven something took place. There was One stepped out called Jesus, the precious Son of God.

He said to the angels and His brethren, “This day I'll give My life. I'll save Adam's race.” And He came down, and was made flesh, and dwelt among us.

One day standing yonder at Calvary, when He seen the thickest part that there is in any human life; the darkest part of the spears of human life is death. Every man fears death.

And when Jesus of Nazareth run against every devil there was in hell, and caught death right into his own bosom, and conquered death, and sent back the Holy Ghost, and said, “Take this and do the best you can and liberate the people.”

I tell you: we got to fight, and we got the most powerful weapon. The devil makes fun of it and says, “There's no such a thing.” But pick up tonight and receive the Holy Ghost and defeat every devil of sin, sickness, and whatever it is. We've got him on the run to be conquered. Yes, and someday, the great Chief Captain will come, and sin, and sickness, and sorrows will be over. It's conquered.

And we men have the Spirit in our own possession, as the vine ... the branches on the vine with the Spirit energizing the church with the Holy Spirit. And we're commanded to go into all the world, and preach the Gospel, and cast out devils, and lay their hands on the sick and they shall recover. “Lo, I am with you, leading the army to the end of the world and I'll show Myself alive. For I'll be the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Amen.

Do you believe it, Church of God? If you believe it, let us accept it tonight with one full heart and believe with everything that we have within us to believe for the righteousness of Christ. Oh, how we listen to His Word. Faith cometh by hearing, hearing of the Word. Now, let us pray just a moment.

Our heavenly Father, as tonight we see the Captain of our salvation, the Lord Jesus in all of His splendor and power, anointed His church and sent them forth to preach the Gospel into all the world. Said, “These signs shall follow them that believe: In My name they shall cast out evil spirits. They'll do great signs and wonders. I'll be with them. I'll manifest Myself to them. I will show Myself alive, though believers will see Me to the end of the world, yet the unbelievers will see Me no more.”

And, Father, that promise that You made is good today. I keep my eyes on that, as Elisha kept his eyes on Elijah. You said, “Lo, I am with thee always, even to the end of the world. The things that I do, shall you also. The works that I work, shall you work also.” And I know that those promises are true. And tonight, we got our hopes and faith centered on that. You said You'd do it. Now, theology and Scriptural texts has been taught to people through the years, but it's evening time now. Now is the day of the restoration of all things.

And we pray, heavenly Father, that You'll manifest Yourself tonight here in great resurrection power with resurrection blessings. And may every person who knows and recognizes to be You, Lord, may they put their hopes on the promise, and see that You promised them that You'd raise from the dead, and You did. You said, “I'm alive forevermore.” And You are. “And I will be with you, even in you, to the end of the world.” And You are.

And You said the works that was done then would be done till You come again; and it is. And You're the same in every principle that You ever was. You are today. And we love You for it, Lord.

And may this church here and these people tonight see that You keep Your promise. Not only do You keep Your promise that You've raised and will meet with us, but You keep Your promise to heal the sick, to deliver the people from unclean spirits, to pour out the Holy Ghost upon the people that desire. And every promise in the Bible is true. It's the seed of God that's sowed into the human heart and believed by faith.

Grant, Lord, tonight, that You'll manifest Yourself. And when we leave here tonight, may we say like those who came from Emmaus, “Did not our hearts burn within us?” For we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.

I believe God, believe that He is. And they that come to God must believe that He is and a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Now, to some of you newcomers here, it may be a little strange in a church like this. It may not ... they may not worship here and the people praising the Lord and saying the things that they do, acting maybe a little peculiar to you. But, friend, if you only had received what they have, you'd feel the same way. Turn back in the Bible and see it, see.

Today is the day, as I said about the prophets packing their Bibles, and impersonations. It's a great day of impersonations. Paint your steps red next week and find out what your neighbor will do. He'll paint his red, too. Wear a little black hat to church and find out what your neighbor will do. They'll wear a black hat, too. Get a new suit of clothes and see how nice it is, and watch your neighbor will ask where you got it. It's an impersonation. They want to match, want to be matched.

And, brother, I don't care if my trousers matches with my coat or my shirt matches my tie. I want my experience to match God's Bible. That's the kind of matching that the church ought to do. It's exactly right. My Lord raised from the dead, and He's alive tonight. He's your Lord also, and He's here to bless you and to help you.

And here's the way the Bible is to me. It's either the truth or it's an error. If it's an error, I want nothing to do with it. No, sir. I want to be that.... If it's a error, I want nothing to do with it. If it's the truth, I'm ready to die for it. That's right. So, make it one or the other way. God speed the day when so-called Christians will either profess and be Christians, or either say what they are to begin with. I'd rather be an infidel than a hypocrite. That's right.

Be what you are. If you believe Christ, say, “Yes,” and don't just, “Oh, I believe this, and I believe this, and I....” Either believe it all or believe none of it. It's either God's Word or it's not God's Word. If God didn't write it, then.... If part of it's wrong, then the other part's wrong. That's right.

How many ever heard of Morris Reedhead? Anybody here? Why, he's the president of the great ... one of the greatest fundamental.... Well, it's the big Sudan missions, the biggest in the world. He was standing after an Indian had been educated.... (Just before we call the prayer line.) He'd been standing. Did I say.... Was I speaking of that last night here, I believe, it was, wasn't it?

And Morris Reedhead, he's a friend of mine now. He's on the field preaching the Gospel, the full Gospel. And when he was.... He said this Indian had been educated, and he was a fine boy. He come over here to study, I believe it was electrical engineering or something. He got his education, very smart, brilliant boy—a Mohammedan.

And when he started back to go back across the sea, Mr. Reedhead said to him, said, “Now, son,” said, “You got your education. You're going back to be a great help to your country.” Said, “Now, why don't you forsake that old dead prophet your serving and accept the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ, and take Jesus back with you as your Saviour?”

So, the Mohammedan stood there a little bit. He said, “Kind, sir,” he said, “what could Jesus do for me any more than Mohammed could do?” He said, “Now, they both wrote books, and we believe them. Ours is the Koran. Yours is called the Bible. You believe yours, and I believe mine. They both promise life after death. So, I believe Mohammed told the truth, and you believe Jesus told the truth. So, what good could Jesus do me outside of Mohammed, that Mohammed couldn't do?”

“Why,” he said, “why, the first thing is,” said, “you see, Mohammed is dead, and Jesus is alive.” Said, “That's the difference.”

And the Mohammedan said, “All right, sir. Is He alive?” Said, “I'd like to see you prove it.”

So, Dr. Reedhead said, “I realized I hadn't met an overnight man. I met a man who knowed what he was talking about.”

He said, “Is He alive?” Said, “No, He's dead, just exactly like Mohammed is dead.” Said, “He isn't alive.”

He said, “Why, wait a minute.” Said, “We know He's alive.” Said, “Because we feel Him in our heart, and we have joy of knowing He's coming again.”

He said, “Now, just a moment, Mr. Reedhead. Mohammedan religion can produce just as much psychology as Christianity can.” Said, “We have just as much happiness, and just as much shouting, and just as much joy, knowing that Mohammed will come someday as you do knowing Jesus is coming someday. What about that?” That's the truth.

Said, “Now, wait a minute.” And Mr. Reedhead said, he knowed right then, said, “That boy ... he just wasn't a pushover.”

And he said, “Well,” he said, “but just a minute,” the Mohammedan said to the Christian. He said, “Dr. Reedhead, kind sir,” he said, “I don't want to make fun of your religion. I respect every man's religion.” But he said, “You see, Mr. Reedhead,” he said, “Mohammed only promised life after death.” And said, “And that's what we believe in.” But said, “Your Jesus promised you teachers that you'd do the same things He done if He raised from the dead.” Said, “Now, we're waiting to see you teachers produce that, and then we'll believe He raised from the dead. Until you do that, He hasn't raised from the dead.”

Well, he said he stood there a little bit, and he said, “Well, what do you mean, like healing of the sick?”

He said, “Yes, one thing.”

He said ... Mr. Reedhead said, “Well now, you're probably referring to Mark the 16th chapter.”

He said, “Yes, sir, that's one of them.”

He said, “Well, Mark the 16th,” said, “Now, the better scholars understand.” Said, “Now, the illiterate kind of takes the rest of it, but,” said, “we know that Mark 16th from the 9th verse on, where He said, they shall cast out devils, and speak with tongues, and lay hands on the sick and things.” Said, “We realize; we better scholars know that that part of the Bible is not inspired. It was written by the Vatican, and it's not inspired.”

You know what the Mohammedan said, he said, “It isn't? What kind of a Bible are you reading?” Said, “All the Koran's inspired.”

That's the weakness of Christianity (so-called). He said, “Then what about Mark 11, 'Whatsoever things you desire?' What about this when He said, 'The things that I do shall you also.'”

He said, “Well, He said, 'The works that I do....' Well,” he said, “you see, we preach the Gospel to all the world.” Said, “That's the greater works.”

He said, “You have. You've had two thousand years to prove that He's alive, and two thirds of the world never heard His name.” Said, “Let Mohammed raise from the dead and everybody will know it in twenty-four hours.”

Ah-ha, you talk about a defeat. And Dr. Reedhead said, “Mr. Branham,” he said, “I kicked my foot in the dust.”

He said, “Now, sir, when you prove that He's alive and let me see Him do the works with you His teachers that He promised that you would do, then I will believe you. And the Mohammedans will believe you.” And that's the truth. I've seen it proved. And I know they will. That's what the world wants. America's all polished up with so much education, they stand and hear the mister, doctor, PhD Jones and all with their great, talking about the flowers and the things.

Mercy, goodness.

What we need is the Gospel. And the Gospel is the power and demonstration of the Holy Ghost. That's what the world.... We've went and built churches. Jesus never did say, “Build a church.” Show me the Scripture. We went and built schools. He never did say, “Build schools.” We built hospitals. He never did say, “Build hospitals.” Yet, we done it. That's all right. I ain't got nothing against it. We've done it.

But He never said do that. We done the things that He said ... the very things He told us not to do, we did it, or the things that He told us to do, we refuse to do it. Let's preach and demonstrate the power of the Gospel. That's the reason two thirds of the world has never heard it.

And he ... Mr. Reedhead standing there in the room, he said, in my own room, he said, “Brother Branham,” he said, “I've seen the Pentecostals and kick over furniture, and tear it up, and everything like that.” But said, “I heard that there....” Said, “I have enough degrees I could plaster your wall.” Said, “When I was a little boy, seven years old, I started studying the Scripture. I gave my life to Christ.”

Said, “When I thought I got my BA, that would be Christ in that.” Said, “I got my BA; it wasn't so.” Said, “Then, when I was ordained, it wasn't so.” Said, “When I got my LLD, I thought that would do it. I've got every kind of degree can be thought of, an honorary degrees, till I could plaster your wall.” But said, “Where's Christ in all of it? Has the teachers been wrong?”

I said, “I don't want to say the teachers are wrong, sir. But I say one thing they've left out: the keynote. They've left out the cornerstone. Christ doesn't lay in BA's or DD's, or LD's; Christ lays in the power of His resurrection to a heart that will receive Him.

He said, “Mr. Branham, could I receive the Holy Ghost right here?”

I said, “If you'll meet it on God's conditions.”

He said, “I don't care what it is. I want to know Christ.” There I laid hands on him and prayed there in the room, and he fell under the power of God and the little coffee table there, broke the glass out of it, and received the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and is preaching divine healing today on the field: Dr. Morris Reedhead.

When I was at Chattanooga, Tennessee, to my friend Don Wells, the biggest Baptist church in the south, and he received the baptism of the Holy Ghost. And over two hundred of those people has received the baptism of the Holy Ghost in that Baptist church.

A few weeks ago when a Lutheran dean of psych ... a dean up there of a big school come down and criticized me when I said the devil couldn't heal. And made fun of me upon the Word, saying the devil couldn't heal.

He said, “Well, I'll just prove to you that the devil can heal.” Said, “We got a woman lives in town with a familiar spirit.” And said, “The people come to her and she pulls hair out of her head, and plucks their veins, and gets blood on it, walks down to the river and throws it over her shoulder, and she walks back to the house. If she's ... happens to turn around and looks, the disease comes back to the people, if it does she casts away.” And said, “About thirty percent of them get well. Then you say the devil can't heal.” Said, “I'm ashamed of you. I was preaching the Gospel before you was born.” Said, “You get a little age on you yet.” Of all my forty-seven years.... He said, “I've preached the Gospel fifty years.”

I said, “And I'm ashamed of you, then. And know no more about the Scripture than that.” I said, “Certainly, the woman ... the people got well; but not the witch had nothing to do with it.”

There's people in the land today, say, “I got healing in my hand. Feel it, feel it, feel it.”, and all this stuff like that. It's nonsense. It's psychology.

But the poor people that's approaching ... coming, they're thinking they're approaching God, and God has to honor faith; I don't care where it's at. And they approach God through the witch. They think that they're coming to God, coming through there. And God's got to honor that faith.

That's the reason He said, “In that day, many will come and say, 'Have not I cast out devils and things in Your name?'” And so forth.

And that man when he heard that, he said, “I want you to come to my college.” Mr. Boze is a witness of this, right there at Minneapolis, a Lutheran college.

I went out there, and my manager went with me, we sat down there to a great big place of the Scandinavians there, all sitting there, these Lutheran students.

He said, “Mr. Branham, I've watched the meetings, and I apologize when I said that you was a polished-up soothsayer.” He said.... That's what he called me, a polished-up soothsayer. He said, “I apologize to it, and I want you to tell me how me and this school can receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost.”

I said, “What's the Lutheran church going to do?”

He said, “I don't care what the Lutheran church says. I want God.”

I said, “Do all of you feel the same way?”

Said, “Yes.”

I said, “Move back your chairs from the table and get around the wall and lean against the wall and start praying.” I went along and laid hands on them, and seventy-two Lutheran students—with the dean—received the baptism of the Holy Ghost. That's at Minneapolis, Minnesota. That's right.

What is it? Men and women are hungering for God. The day is here. The Holy Ghost is here. Jesus is here, raised from the dead. Don't speak against It, it's blasphemy, but receive Him. He's here tonight. I believe Christ. Don't you? Yes, sir.

There is a counterfeit. Certainly. What makes the real, real? It's because there is a counterfeit. If I seen a bogus dollar, I'd know there'd have to be a real one it was made off of. So, certainly the devil gives impersonation, but there's a real genuine baptism of the Holy Spirit, a real resurrected Lord Jesus, who's true to His Word; every word He said, He's true.

Now, let us be in prayer. Now, friends, one more thing. And then, I think tomorrow night, I'll just either preach or call the prayer line. I keep you too late. But I want to ask you something. How many was here at the meeting last night? Let's see your hands. How many was not? Let's see your hands. Oh, my. It's just.... Where's all them that was here last night?

Here's what it is, friend. Listen, just a moment. If a man ever tells you that he's a healer, he's wrong. I'll have to take a moment to explain this to you newcomers.

Listen, there is no man that's a healer. Christ is the healer, see. And it's only our faith in the finished work of Christ at Calvary. It's our personal faith. Salvation, and healing, and every redemptive blessing was included, and every blessing in the redemption was everything that was caused in the fall. Everything we lost in the fall, was restored to us in Calvary.

What is sickness? Attribute of sin. So, you can't deal with sin without dealing with sickness, 'cause sickness came after sin which was an attribute of sin. Exactly right. Now, don't say that God makes the people sick, 'cause you cross up your questions there like the Lutheran did, see. So, you can't do that.

Someone said the other day, a minister talking to me, said, “Oh, it's such a blessing, Brother Branham. Oh, I've seen the most patient people laying in wheelchairs.” And said, “God wants them to be sick. He lets them be sick, so He can show His blessings.”

I said, “Then, if that's the truth, then Jesus Christ defeated the very purpose of God when He come to earth. He healed everyone He come in contact with, like [unclear words].” Right.

Oh, brother, that's too thin. See, it just don't work. You just might as well face the fact that you don't believe the Bible and just say so, and that's all, because.... Or either afraid to step out and challenge God to His promise like Elijah did. That's true.

Now, what is Christ? He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. And when He was here on earth, He did not claim to be a healer. Did He? No, sir. Said, “It's not Me. It's My Father that dwells in Me. He does the healing.” Is that right?

And when He stood there, and they questioned Him about the man of Saint John 5:19, (we had last night), packing his bed on his shoulder like this.... And He was questioned about it, when He went through all those afflicted people and healed this one man and walked away. He was questioned. (And we went through that last night.) How He'd be questioned here.

But what did Jesus say? “Verily, verily, I say unto you, the Son can do nothing in Himself (Is that right?) but what He sees the Father doing, that doeth the Son likewise.” How many Bible readers knows that that's the truth, Jesus said that?

Now, Jesus, according to His own Word, did nothing until first He saw a vision of the Father doing it. Is that right? Saint John 5:19, “Verily, verily (that's absolutely, absolutely), I say to you, I do nothing in Myself; but what I see the Father doing, then I go do what He shows Me to do. The Father worketh; I worketh hitherto.” Now, just a moment, then we'll start the prayer line.

When He was here on earth, He did not claim to heal the people. The only thing He did, He watched and seen what the Father told Him. And the Father....

One day Philip went and got Nathanael, thirty miles around the mountain, brought him back to where Jesus was when He was standing. Just one quotation....

And when he come back, Jesus looked and seen them. They might have been in the prayer line or out in the audience, wherever it was. And Jesus looked at them, and He looked at Philip ... Nathanael and He said, “Behold, an Israelite in whom there's no guile.” Why, it astonished him. How did He know he was an Israelite, and how did He know he was a believer, an orthodox?

Why, he said, “How did You know me, Rabbi?”

He said, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the tree praying yesterday, I saw you.”

Now, what did the Israelite say? He said, “You're the Son of God, the King of Israel.”

Jesus said, “Because I told you that, you believe Me? You'll see greater things than this.”

Now, what did the Jewish believer believe? The great high church as we have today, they said, “He's a fortuneteller. He's Beelzebub.” Is that right? And said, “That's what He is. He's a soothsayer or Beelzebub. He's reading their mind. It's mental telepathy.”

What did Jesus say to them? He said, “You say that against Me, I'll forgive you; but when the Holy Ghost is come and does the same thing, if you speak a word against that, it'll never be forgiven in this world or the world to come.” Because they said He has an unclean spirit (Is that right?), calling the works of God an unclean spirit.

Now, He said, “These things that I do shall you also. I will be with you to the end of the world.” Now, that's either the truth or it's an error. I believe that He's raised from the dead. And if He comes tonight and does the same thing here amongst you people that He did when He was here on earth amongst groups like this, will you receive Him? Will you say, “I will receive Him and believe Him, and believe that He is living and will give to me what I have need of”?

Now, it's hard after speaking or preaching the way I did. Didn't aim to speak that long. But it just happened that I did it. So now, we'll ask God to be with us. Now, I believe the boys give out, they said, a hundred cards. And last night we took the first part of them. And tonight, let's start with the second part of the hundred cards, and we'll.... And tomorrow night, we'll start from somewhere else in them, and the next night, somewhere else, and just wherever we go like that.

Now, let's begin tonight with fifty. All right, just look down on your prayer card and find out who has prayer card 50. Would you raise up your hand, someone? Lady, come right here. Fifty-one, would you...? [Blank spot on tape.]

Brother Branham, it's submitting yourself to the Holy Spirit, just giving yourself over. Now, no matter how much He tried to work with me, He's got to work with you, too. If you can't submit yourself to Him, then He can't work through you. It's your faith. It's your faith. And if you're ever healed, it'll be your own personal faith in Christ. It cannot be any healing that I have, 'cause men are not healers. Not even a doctor is a healer. There's not one medicine that'll heal. I'll prove that to you tomorrow.

I want you to bring me the doctor and says that medicine does heal; show you how funny he acts. There's not one medicine that will cure a simple bad cold. Thousands die every year with bad colds. Nothing that'll cure.... Christ is the only healer. “I'm the Lord who heals all thy diseases.” Never did a hospital, never did a medicine; God does it all.

Give one this medicine, it'd kill him, then the other one would get well—same medicine, both same diseases. The Lord is the healer.

Now, is this the patient? Are you the lady? All right, you come here just a minute. Now, I want to look through the prayer line first, right along here. Now, I'm a stranger to you people, not a stranger in a way of brother and sister, but I'm a stranger to you as human beings knowing each other. I don't believe there's a person in the building I know except my brother sitting here, Gene, that's taking the tape recordings. My daughter-in-law there and my son, Brother Joseph, and Brother Hudson here is about the only ones that I see that I know in the entire church.

Now, you don't have to be here on the platform to be healed. You can be healed right where you're at. You don't have to be ministered to by the Holy Spirit here at the platform. You can speak there.

A woman run through the crowd one time and touched His garment, went back, and sat down, and denied that she did it. But Jesus said, “I got weak.” He looked around till He found her. And He told her that her blood issue was healed. Is that right? Sure.

Now, is He the same today? If He is, He'll do the same today. Then, we got a High Priest that can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities. So, He can heal today you where you're at. All right.

Now, the lady standing here by the side of me is a stranger and I don't know her. She doesn't know me. Therefore we're just standing here. She's a Christian; I'm a Christian; first time meeting in life. And here's a very picture again tonight of a Bible scene, a woman at the well. How many ever heard the story? Now, let's see if Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

The Father told Him to go up not.... He was going down to Jericho, but He went up the way of Samaria. And when He sat down on the well up there, a woman come out which was a Samaritan, getting some water, and He said to her, “Bring Me a drink.” Wonder why He said that?

She said, “It's not customary for you Jews to ask Samaritans such. We have no dealings.”

He said, “But if you knew who you were talking to, you'd ask Me for a drink.” He went to talking with her. Is that true? Get the conversation. What was He doing? Catching her spirit. Then He found what her trouble was. Did He? He said, “Go, get your husband.”

She said, “I don't have any husband.”

He said, “That's right. You got five. And the one you have now is not your husband.”

Now what did she say? Now, listen real close now. What did she say? To you newcomers? She said, “I perceive that You are a prophet.” Now, she said, “We know when the Messiah cometh, He will tell us these things, but Who are You?”

He said, “I'm He.”

If that was the sign of the Messiah then, it's the sign of the Messiah today, if He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Is that right?

Now, here's exactly the same scene exactly. Now, here's the woman standing here. God sent me up to New York. I don't know. He just sent me up here. Here's a woman comes up on the platform. I never seen her, know nothing about her. She's standing here.

Now, the Messiah can, through a divine gift, come down and reveal to this woman what she's standing here for, what her trouble is, the same as He did to that woman. If He would do it, would it still be the sign of the Messiah to you all? Would you believe it? You that's never seen it, would you believe it? Raise your hands and say, “I believe it.”

Now, the lady be the judge. Now, if He knows you, sister, and you know I don't know you, do I? No, I'm a stranger. And if He can reveal to you your trouble or what you're here for.... I don't know, you know that. But if He can reveal through me ... to me what you're here for, would you believe that you would get what you ask for? You would believe it? Well, may the Lord grant it. I want everyone quiet now. Be real quiet and be real reverent.

Now, just merely.... The lady is conscious that something's going on. And if anybody.... Brother, have you ever showed the picture of that Angel of the Lord yet here? They've seen it. Okay. Now, that's just what's right around close to her now, see. That Light, it moves in; the lady comes in. (If they can still hear me.) The lady is going from me.

And I see her. She's suffering with a tremendous nervous condition—real, real nervous. And then, she's got something on her hands, not visible, but it's a breaking out, a rashing like, that bothers her that's caused from this nerve condition. That's true. Is that right, lady? If that's right, raise up your hand, if that's right. All right, all right.

Now, do you believe? Now watch, if I would talk to her more, more would be said. But it just breaks me into perspiration. It's so weakening. It's a vision. Now, right now the only way that'd I know what was wrong with her is run that tape back and find it (See?), of what He said to her. But there was something.

Now, just to talk with the woman, so that you might know that there's something different. Just to talk to her, maybe He would show something else. It's just catching her spirit, yielding myself to the Holy Spirit, and Him standing between us, and just yielding. And He takes me and just begins to use my voice talking.

He said He'd set in the church apostles, prophets, teachers, evangelists, and pastors. So, we can't say one and not the other. And I'm not much of a preacher, but I was called. This I was born to do. In all my life, it's come. Never one time has it failed, and never will because it's of God.

Now, the lady ... it seems like if He would speak with her again, by His grace. She moves from me. And I see her again. She's walking the floor, real nervously like. And she's looking on her hands. There's something on her hand which is a breaking out, a rashing. And then she has something like a trouble in her head. It hurts like a ... it's a sinus trouble she has in her head. And then again, she has a stomach trouble, which is a tumor in her stomach. And that was caused by a fall. That's exactly right.

Now, do you believe me to be His servant, madam [unclear words] now. Now, that's Him, the One that was at the well. Now, could I heal the woman? Certainly not. I could pray for her. I can pray, but I can't heal her. Now, let us pray for her.

Heavenly Father, whatever this woman is in need of, if Satan has bound her, we, through the name of Jesus Christ, take the initiative. And ask for Him to leave this woman and be cast out in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Now, go rejoicing and being happy, lady. All right, lady.

Now, that ought to settle it. That ought to settle it that you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible said, “If thou canst....” You say, “Oh, she's emotional.” Probably if you was healed of the same thing, you'd be a little emotional too. If you was only standing with a open heart.... Watch the expression on their face when they believe. They can't stand in that Presence without knowing it, see. It's not me; it's Him.

Now, as she's giving thanks to God, now, I challenge every person in here in the name of Jesus Christ to look this way, and believe with all your heart, and see if God don't call you to Him, see. I mean, how many hasn't got a prayer card and wants to be healed? Let's see your hands. Without prayer cards, raise up your hand, everywhere. See, there you are. Why, it's just everywhere.

Now, you look this way, you without prayer cards, that's not going to be in the line. You just believe; have faith.

Now, the little lady standing here is a stranger to me. I never seen her in my life, as far as I know. Are we strangers to each other? We are. Now, if there's something wrong with you, I don't know it. But God does know it. He knows ... He knowed you before the foundation of the world. He knows everything that you've had in your life. He knows what you're here for.

If He'd just tell me what you're desiring of Him, would you accept it and believe it? If something that you.... It may be finances; it may be domestic; it may ... I don't ... maybe sickness. I don't know. He does. Now, the miracle is.... Now, if I'd say, “Here's a man twisted up in a wheelchair.” You'd look and say, “Oh, yeah, sure. I see that.” But here looks like a healthy woman. What's she here for?

Maybe she's a deceiver. If it is, watch what happens to her, see. See, if it would be, see. Watch what happens. How many ever seen it happen when a deceiver come to the platform? Yes, sir. One come to the platform, tried to bewitch me one night. Well, a guy that went around army camps throwing spells on people, make them bark like a dog and things like that. Then the Holy Spirit turned around, said, “You child of the devil.” And he was paralyzed right there, and that's been three years, four years ago, and he's still paralyzed today, see. Yes, sir.

Don't you try.... It's not playing church. You're in the presence of the Holy Ghost, see. It's not man, it's Him. We may be uneducated and a simple people, but that's what God has called us to the ministry to do this. And this is His work.

Now, the little lady, I wished I could help you some way, sister. If I could and wouldn't do it, I'd be a brute, you know that. But I want to help you. I want to see the Lord do something good for you.

Now, if I could just yield myself to the Holy Spirit. I say, “Now, you are a Christian though,” 'cause your spirit is coming to me, see. Now, now that I have your spirit under my control (See), you couldn't hide your life if you had to now (See), 'cause it's before God.

And I see that you are ... you're real nervous, too. And you got ... your trouble is ... you got trouble with your head. It's in your neck and in your shoulders and back. It was caused from a fall you had and done that. That's right, isn't it? Now, do you believe with all your heart? You believe that you're healed now and going to be well? Come forward.

Almighty God, Creator of heavens and earth, Author of everlasting life, bless this woman who I bless in Thy name, and ask for her healing through Jesus Christ's name. Amen. Now, God bless you. Go, and may the Lord Jesus bless you and give you the best of His kingdom.

Now, be real reverent. Don't.... Just be real reverent. Believe with all your heart.

Jesus said, “I can, if ye believe.” But first you got to believe.

Just a moment. If our colored brother there would just step back to one side. There's a vision moving right in there, right down there. It's a lady praying. I see it. Yes, nervousness and a female trouble.... You believe that Jesus Christ make you well? Right across, now, lay your hand over on the lady next to you there. Right there, right there. No, the lady next to you. That's it, see. No, the lady with the red hat on, lay the hand on the lady right there, see. All right.

Now, heavenly Father, in the name of the Lord Jesus, we ask for this deliverance. I pray that Almighty God will bring it to pass just now, through the glory of God in Jesus' name. Amen.

I couldn't see but one woman, but this woman looked young, and the other one looked old, and I couldn't make out where it was at. And it was up over the man. I could see the vision. It was a little lady sitting on the end. All right. You can get to your place now. God bless you, lady. Your simple little faith touched His garment. Wasn't you sitting there praying for that end? You was sitting there praying for that, wasn't you? If that's right, raise ... stand up to your feet if you was praying for that, so the people will know that, see.

How would I know what she was praying about? Praying for me to call you, that's the reason He did it. Amen. Now, you're healed and can go home and be well. Amen. God bless you. What did it? The woman touched His garment. She didn't touch me. She touched Him. He just used my voice to speak back. We are the branches. He's the Vine. It was His; went through, He just used our voice as He uses our eyes and our hands and so forth.

Now, the lady here is a stranger to me. I don't know her, never seen her in my life. We're perfectly strangers. Are we? That's right. Now, I'm glad that the colored sister is standing here, 'cause there's many colored people here tonight. And you can see that God is no respect of persons, nationality. He made us all. Our colors and things has nothing to do with it.

He told the woman at the well.... Here's a perfect picture of the woman at the well again. Here's a white man and a colored woman. See, just exactly: a Jew and a Samaritan. And today in the south, they have a segregation, like that they had then. They had a segregation then, the Jews and Samaritans. But Jesus let her know that God didn't care about their segregation. God, when they talked.... All men must worship Him in Spirit and truth.

All right. Us being total strangers, knowing not each other, God knowing us both. If He will reveal to me what you're standing there for, will you believe it? Will the rest of you colored people believe it out there with all your heart, if God will do this to your colored sister? All right. May the Lord bless us. Again a contrast, two nationalities of people, see what I mean, and the same Lord Jesus Who loves us both.

Your trouble is in your side. It's not big. It's a growth, a little fatty tumor in your right side at the waistline. That's right. The minute you put your hand on it, before I spoke about it, may the Lord grant something else so that the audience and the colored people will see that it's of the Lord Jesus. Do you believe with all your heart?

You're not from right around here. You're from a place called, Jamaica, New York. And here, your name is Esther and Lewison. That's right. Is that right? You believe me to.... You say He knowed Peter and them. You believe He's the same Christ? All right, go on your road, sister, and the Lord Jesus make you well in Jesus' name. Amen.

You believe with all your heart? You can have what you ask for if thou canst believe.

Little lady, sitting there praising the Lord, sister, you suffer with a trouble that's ... it's sleepless, nervous. Take sleeping pills to go to sleep. Isn't that right? All right, do you believe that Jesus Christ will make you well? You accept it? Sitting there praying and believing, raise your hand up if that's right. All right, see. All right, go home and sleep tonight. I send you in Jesus Christ's name. Amen.

Have faith in God. Don't doubt, but believe. All things are possible to them that believe. Jesus said, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to them that believe.” But first, you must believe.

If you believe, lady, that hernia and nervous trouble would leave you. If you believe, sitting there with a red coat behind you, if you'd believe with all your heart, Jesus Christ would make you well.

You say, “You're reading her mind.” No, sir. Her faith touched the Lord Jesus. That's right. “If thou canst believe....” The conditions are, if you can believe. It's not for unbelievers. It's for those who will believe. Amen.

Got high blood pressure, haven't you? But if you'll believe with all your heart, Jesus Christ will make you well. Sitting next to you, you got leg trouble, trouble with the leg sitting there. But Jesus Christ can make you well if you believe it. Amen. Amen.

Here He moves here. Oh, how marvelous. “If thou canst believe,” is what He said. Do you believe, lady? With all your heart? If God will reveal to me what you're here for, lady, will you believe me to be His servant? Now, here's what the Angel, “If you can get the people to believe you....” Not believe me as Him, but believe that He sent me to help you. I'm just His voice, see. I'm just His voice by vision, just like looking at anything you see. You believe it. God bless your heart. All right, may the Lord grant you your request.

You have a real good one, lady. The first thing, you're nervous as you'd actually be. Then you're seeking something. You're seeking God. [“Yes.”] You want a closer walk with God. [“Yes.”] You want the baptism of the Holy Ghost. [“Yes.”] That's.... Yes, and you [The lady speaks.] But you ... but see [The lady speaks]. It's going to leave you, and you'll get the Holy Ghost.

Now look, Eve was seeking new light when Satan deceived her. So now, be careful, go forward; I want to pray for you that God will give you the baptism of the Holy Ghost and give you your desires. Come here.

Lord Jesus, grant this woman's blessing, and may she receive the Holy Spirit. Even in her own home this night, it's possible Lord, or here at the church. Grant that she will receive it in Christ's name, I ask it. Amen. Now, go believing, sister. He knows it. He knows what you're after, or He wouldn't reveal it to me. Now, God [The sister talks to Brother Branham]. Yes, sister. Uh-huh. Yes. Yes. Maybe that's what He did right there, you see. You'll be all right. Just go and believe God; you go and believe with all your heart.

Come, little fellow. A fine little boy. Well, I'm sure we're strangers to each other. I want to ask you something, sonny. You seem like a fine-looking little fellow. Now, did you know Jesus said, “Suffer little children to come unto Me and forbid them not for of such is the kingdom of God.”? A little child is a pattern of the kingdom of God. He said, “Suffer them to come unto Me and forbid them not.”

Now, if Jesus was here today, and you come down to where He was.... You heard He was down here in Brooklyn, and you come to Him, and He come to you, now, He would know you, wouldn't He? He would know what was your. [Blank spot on tape.] ... long to get in here. It just looks like when I turn, like when the anointing strikes. I don't mean to try to explain it. You cannot explain it. I know no more about it than you do. But it just looks like it's dipping from one to the other one. Just like He would like to call you. But if you just break that crust of the shadow of doubt (You see?); that's the only thing that's keeping you from receiving it. Now, look to Him.

This darling little boy standing here. He's probably sick or something. I don't know. He's standing here. But that poor little baby boy.... Now, may the Lord grant it. And if He will, how many will make Him a promise tonight.... If God.... Let the little boy be the judge. If God, if He will speak to that child and tell him his life, or his future, or whatever....

Now, if I come here and said, “Oh, the Lord says you're going to get well.” Well, you have a right to doubt that. But when the Lord comes around, and I tell you, “Next week you're going to be better, and two weeks from now, you're going to be well.” You'd have a right to doubt that. But when the Lord comes down and tells you what you was, beforehand, you know whether that's right or not, see. You know that. Then He tells you what's going to be. You can believe it, 'cause it'll be just as true as the other was. He's God.

Now, how many will say to God, “This night I will throw away every shadow of doubt and believe you, if You'll reveal this little boy and let us see that You're the same resurrected Lord Jesus in all Your power, I'll accept it.” Let's see your hands go up to God now. You're making this promise. All right. Just may the Lord Jesus grant it. All through the balcony, every one of you.

Now, here's a little boy. You know how good.... I seen him stand here with a neat little coat on, and his little tie, and his little trousers. You know where my mind is going to? Way down in the native home in South Africa. The little fellows down there maybe never had on clothes. They don't even know which is right and left hand. And that's the reason, friends, I leave the American people. My heart burns for Africa.

They come out there.... I seen thirty thousand raw heathens with idols in their hands accept Jesus Christ as personal Saviour at one time. The Lord has give us a great ministry among the colored there. I'm going back.

A few nights ago, a young colored girl came to the platform, and she just had to walk like this. And I said, “Lord, if You will only grant to this young girl her desire....” Because just before, I seen them fields of Africa waving like that, in a vision. And I couldn't see the girl because of that. Just look like a call to Africa. And the Holy Spirit come down and told her that she had had a automobile accident and had severed the nerve in her head here. And she could not hear, or could not speak, or could not move one side.

And I said, “Holy Spirit, if You'll make a sign before this massive audience tonight, that You'll give this girl her perfect soundness, I will make arrangements to return to Africa.”

And no more than said that, till the girl let out a scream, and throwed both arms loose, and went perfectly normal, with a severed nerve, that's cut apart, hollering, “Mother, mother, mother. Oh, it's so good.” Like that again.“

Now, here stands a little boy. I don't know nothing about him. But now, you're under promise to God, and I under promise to God myself as yielding.

Now, sonny boy, I just want to talk to you a minute, not making you a.... I just want to see the Holy Spirit heal everybody at once, you know what I mean. All right.

Now, the little boy, I'm just looking to you. Like Peter, James and John ... Peter and John passed through the gate called, Beautiful, in the Bible. And they said to the lame man, said, “Look on us.” That don't mean to look to them to be something, but to pay attention to what they were saying, see. “Look on us.”

And Elijah, the prophet, said, “If it wasn't I respected the presence of Jehoshaphat, I wouldn't even look to you.” But he said, “Bring me a minstrel.” And the Spirit come on....

[Blank spot on tape.] ... muscles. He's got a muscle trouble. And he's been everywhere. I see him going to doctors, and the doctors don't even know what caused it or what it is. And I see him from hospital, in and out; it's different hospitals. He's even had an operation for it, and nothing done him any good. It's a curse of the devil. That's true; isn't it, sonny? If that's true, raise up your hand to God.

Now, to heal him, I can't. But God can. That's right. The boy is shadowed, see. But only God can make it. And you in this room, there's many here that's shadowed. But God can take the curse away. “In My name, they shall cast out devils.” Jesus Christ is here. Do you believe it? Then let's all you receiving and be healed. Will you believe it, everyone of you?

While I pray for the lad, then, you lay your hands on each other, and let's see what the Holy Spirit will do. In the prayer line, everywhere, lay your hands on one another. Come here, laddie. Bow your heads everywhere. Be real consecrated to God.

Oh, heavenly Father, the Author of life, the giver of every good gift, send of Thy blessings upon this people. And Thou art here moving among the people in the prayer line, out in the audience, everywhere. And the people recognizes that You're here. They know that man cannot do these things, when it's been preached to them by the Bible, that Jesus of Nazareth has raised from the dead and showing Himself alive.

Here stands a little boy, standing here, a little Ethiopian boy. And the devil has bound him. Oh, Satan, you've hid from the doctor, but you can't hide from God. I adjure thee by the living God to come out of him and leave this boy alone. Get from him. We come in the name of Christ, standing as a representative of Christ's death and vicarious suffering. Here He is, resurrection, and He's here in our midst tonight.

And you know that, so you're exposed, and come out of this audience. Leave this people, thou demon. We have charged thee through Jesus Christ's name to leave the people and come out of them. In the name of Jesus Christ.

Now, everybody that believes with all your heart, keep your heads bowed, your eyes closed. Say this, “Lord Jesus, come into my heart, move all the shadow of doubt. This old moth-eaten robe of doubt, I cast it away. I wrap myself by faith in the Holy Ghost. I'm the seed of Abraham. I call those things which were not as though they were. I believe I'm healed. I confess Christ.”

Satan, come out of these people in Jesus Christ's name. Rise up; give God praise.