Conferences

Thank you very much, brother, the Lord bless you. Good evening, friends. It is a. . . . [congregation claps] Thank you. That just makes me feel double welcome. And so nice to be here in Arizona tonight in this city of Phoenix, and this lovely tabernacle, with this fine fellowship, which I've looked forward to coming back since I was here last. And a few days ago it was mentioned, just before I went overseas, that . . . the possibilities of coming back to Phoenix, that none of the brethren was coming in this time. Well, that sure made me feel good, to know that I'd get to see my friends again out here. And while I was in Puerto Rico, in the Caribbean Islands, why, then when I returned I heard then that we was coming out here. And it certainly was a great privilege to get to come back.

It always seems good to me when I come down across the mountains and see those deserts blooming and flowers beginning to come—after battling a snow storm for four days and then freezing up—and coming down here where it was nice and warm. It's just a little touch of heaven. This valley always has had an attraction for me since I was a little boy.

I remember my first visit to Phoenix. I was just about . . . well, I was about sixteen, seventeen years old. It's been around thirty years ago. And up on Sixteenth and Henshaw was a desert. That's where I stayed, up . . . just right out on an old country road. Rode down along an irrigation ditch coming into Phoenix. That's how I got down from the Henshaw Road coming into Phoenix. All gravel, just an old gravel road coming here. Certainly has changed,

and there's people has changed. The valley has changed. Phoenix begins now at Apache Junction, coming this way.

It will continue to change if time goes on. That's the way we find everything in life—it changes. I've only found one thing that doesn't change: that's God. He doesn't change. I found Him around thirty years ago. I was running from Him when I come to Phoenix. But there's no need of running from Him—He knows where you are. And so then . . . but He has never changed and never failed to remain the same loving, sweet Saviour that I have . . . that I found. The only thing, in me, it just seems like He gets more dear to me each day as it goes by, because I'm getting just a little closer to Him. My life's running out, and I'm not the little boy I was a few years ago. But there's one great hope that I have: that's some day to return back to that again, only with immortal life, never to die.

A few days ago, or some time ago I might say, I was combing what few hairs I had left. My wife said to me, she said, “Billy, you're almost bald-headed.”

I said, “Yes.” It was because, to start with, from a barber putting carbolic acid on my hair. It all come out, and then it never did come back right. I said, “But, Honey, I want to tell you, I haven't lost one of them.”

She said, “Pray tell me where they're at.”

I said, “Well, I will answer you if you'll answer me.”

She said, “All right.”

I said, “Where were they before I got them? They were bound to be a substance somewhere, and wherever they were before I received them, they are there waiting for me to come to them.” Someday this . . . that is exactly right. Not one hair of our head but what's numbered. God knows all about it.

I slipped out a while ago, looking out to Camelback Mountain, and remembered as a little boy I rode a horse out there. I used to work up here above Wickenburg, went up with them to bring cattle down. I've often wondered how . . . if I could ever see a time that I could ever be that seventeen-, eighteen-year-old boy again. But God's Word teaches that I will be. There's nothing that God loses. He'll raise it up again at the last day. He promised that, Jesus did.

And then we're knowing that this life, no matter whatever happens in this life, all of our homes, our big city, our fine nation, this fine state of Cali. . . I better not say that, had I? The water rights are too. . . . Arizona will fade and go away some day. All of our homes in this valley will be dust again, but our souls have immortality. When we're born again of the Spirit of God, God promised to raise us up again at the last day through His Son, Jesus Christ, and then we would be young forever. We'd never have to be sick no more, never have no more heartaches or sorrows. What a time that will be!

When He said in Revelation 21, “I saw a new heavens and new earth, for the first heaven and first earth was passed away, and there was no more sea,” that's the one we're longing to go to, striving to go to.

And around the world as I go—preaching to the people, praying for their sick and afflicted, meeting my fine brethren of every church and every denomination, having great fellowship—I'm looking forward to the time when I shall meet them to never say good-bye again.

Today I was standing in Miller's Cafeteria, and the man who was taking care of the meat back there knew me. Then the boy, waiter, said, “Hello, Brother Branham.” I sat down, and I met my friends, Brother and Sister Norman and their people from Tucson. A few moments, an elderly man and woman come up. And this lady, when they introduced themselves, was from Oakland; came over and going to be here for the meeting. They're probably present tonight. And she received, as I understand, the Holy Spirit two years before I was born. She's been preaching for forty one years, I think it is, the gospel.

When I see people like that. . . . And she said, “There's only one thing that worries me—I wish I could get out and keep going.” My, I felt just about that big, standing beside of that woman. To think of an old saint, aged, and still, all that's in her, something cries out, “More God—if I could do something for Him.” It should make us ashamed of ourselves. We should go right out into the field, start doing something for the Lord Jesus.

I want to thank our precious brother here tonight, and the board of this church, for inviting us and bringing us out here so we could associate and have great fellowship together, trusting that God will give us a great meeting. I think it's about fifteen days. My, can you put up with me that long? That'll be about as long as I ever held a meeting in my life—will be fifteen days, the longest meeting. I usually just stay three to five nights, and gone.

We was in Puerto Rico last week, or week before last, it was, I believe. We was in Kingston, Jamaica, and having about three thousand converts each night (and went to Puerto Rico), was there about three or four nights. Went to Puerto Rico for two nights, had three to four thousand each night there coming to the Lord. And here at Phoenix now for fifteen days. My, I just trust that the Lord will do something great for us.

And because of our coming together, I trust that it'll cause a revival, a real revival over the entire Maricopa Valley here, that there will be a revival in every church, and everywhere there'll break out the Spirit of God, of love and fellowship that'll be on its way to bring Jesus Christ, the Son of God, back to the earth again. Upon those thoughts, before I take a text, let us bow our heads for a word of prayer. Now, before we pray, would there be any like to be remembered in this prayer? If they would, just raise your hands up to God, inside or out. He sees and understands. Keep your thought in your mind now as we pray.

Our most gracious Father and God, who brought again the Lord Jesus from the dead, raised Him up on the third day, and presented Him to the church as the only mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, Him leaving this most wonderful promise to us, that if we ask the Father anything in His name, He'll give it to us, it would be granted. So we come before thee tonight, Lord God, in the name of the Lord Jesus, Thy Son, to ask that You first will pardon us of every sin and every trespass that we have did against Thee.

And if we have sinned against our brother, or against our neighbor, or anyone, may the Holy Spirit reveal that to us at the beginning of this revival, that we might go and make these things right, that we might have clear hearts and clean hands and undefiled conscience before Thee that Thou could send us to the needy, those who are indifferent about God—our testimony would not be hindered, but the great Holy Spirit would go before us and help us to bring people to the Lord Jesus.

We ask, Lord, that You'll bless this church and its pastor, and its board, and its members. Bless the body of Christ that's in the valley here, the members of every church.

And we pray not only for this church but for all, that there will come a great revival, and that the glory of God may be felt throughout the valley, and not only through the valley, but around the nations. And bring the Lord Jesus, as we see the time approaching. We'd ask, Lord, to remember those that are sick and afflicted, the shut-ins tonight, out in the hospitals and the convalescent homes and around. Let Thy Holy Spirit, Lord, minister graciously to them, through the name of the Lord Jesus.

Give unto us of Thy grace and Thy love, and give us Thy Word, Lord. May the Word each night be planted into our hearts, and the Holy Spirit water until we become real statures of God, members of His body, bringing forth love in such a measure that it would be so salty until all Phoenix would thirst to be like those Christians. For it is written of our Lord that He said these words, “Ye are the salt of the earth.” And we realize that salt is a savor when it contacts. May we live such lives till our spirits will contact others and make them crave to be the people and live the life that the Holy Spirit lives through us.

Bless Thy Word as we read it tonight, and we pray that You'll establish it in our hearts, for we ask it in the name of the Lord Jesus, Thy Son. Amen.

Waiting inside and out, and around the walls. . . . We know what it means to stand cramped and maybe stand a long time before the services start, so each night I'll try to hurry just quick as I can. But yet, I want to give ample time for the Holy Spirit to let the Word work, take its place in the heart, so that. . . . You know, eternity's a long time. It never did begin or it never will end. We dropped down in time, but we'll be lifted into eternity one of these days or nights. And it will determine what stage of that—how we live here—what our outcome will be there, so let us be real deeply and sincerely every moment . . . that this would be the last message we'd ever hear in our lives.

I have chosen for a text tonight, found in the book of Isaiah, the first chapter, the eighteenth verse; and just for a while, after I read it, I pray the Holy Spirit give us the context of the Word.

Come now, . . . let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be white as wool.

I thought that would be a very appropriate thing to start out the service with tonight, and I want to take the text—if I should call it a text—of “Conferences.” The prophet here has been called to. . . . God said, “Come, and let us reason together. Let us just have a conference.”

We've heard so much lately, in the last few years, about conferences. And what are conferences for? What's the reason for a conference? Usually a conference is held in a time of an emergency, when an emergency arises that the armies, or whatever, is . . . if it's a conference of that type, that the big men, the leaders, could get together and swap their ideas and reason out things, and work the best that they could for what they were working for—the cause, the purpose.

Many in here can remember a conference that I have in mind tonight. Was a few years ago, when they had what they called the “Big Four Conference.” The free nations had come together and held a conference because that they was in emergency. At that time Germany was just about to take England; and the world, as it was, there was a state of emergency. And the Big Four powers of the free world met together, and they was trying to come upon some idea, something that they could put their hands on that they could change the strategy, to know how to win that war.

I remember a minister friend of mine was in Louisville, and he was listening to the returns. Usually, when they have a conference of that type, the whole world was focused upon the outcome of that conference, because the whole world was involved in it. Usually, if there's not anything to your interest involved in the conference, why, you don't care about it. But let you have some interest in it, then you want to hear the returns, to hear what's taking place. This minister friend of mine was listening to the radio, and he was just walking the floor, listening at the speech, and, he said, someone knocked at the door.

And it was during the time that when we were having rough times. You couldn't have sugar in the coffee, and, well, we complained about that. Had to boil the coffee the second time, and we complained about that. Sometimes I wonder if we don't do a little bit too much complaining. When we think of having to boil the coffee twice and complaining about it—and men dying on the field. Young American blood being shed on the field, and blood of the nations poured out—and then we complain about some little sacrifice that we have to make. It seems like that . . . I hope this doesn't seem wrong, but we seem to be more or less an ungrateful people for the things that we do have. We don't put evaluation to the things that we do have.

And this minister was pacing the floor and someone knocked at the door, and he went to the door to see what was going on. And there was . . . like a modern beatnik there, you know, with his whiskers all over his face, and dirty. And he said, “I'd like to talk to you a little while.” Said, “I'm a poet. No one will buy my poetry; and you're an influential man in the city, and I feel if you'd go down and give me a little send-off, well, people would buy my poetry.”

And he said, “My dear man, won't you come in and sit down just a moment?” He said, “I'm hearing the returns of the results of the Big Four Conference.” And the young fellow wasn't interested in a conference; he was only interested in his own poetry. And he wouldn't even listen to the minister, till the minister had to take him to the door and make him sit on the porch until he had heard the returns; because it seemed the only thing in life to him was to sell this poetry that he had written.

And then we could think of another conference. There was the Geneva Conference. We all remember the Geneva Conference, how that they selected that beautiful place. I've been there several times, and it's certainly a pretty place, in Geneva. And in the Geneva Conference and the results of that conference. . . . And then recently, the Paris Conference. We remember the great Paris Conference, another great historical marker. And then, now our own beloved President Dwight Eisenhower, he's visiting the free world, conference after conference after conference. Khrushchev, he's also out, conference after conference after conference.

Why? Because, it looks like that there is a state of emergency coming on. The world is in such a shape till any little nation could destroy the whole earth. Man has achieved by his scientific researches, and he's got beyond gunpowder and poison gas. He's got into hydrogen bombs and nuclear weapons, and so forth, that they could rise a submarine up out of the ocean somewhere and destroy the world. And everyone's getting afraid. That's why they're holding conferences, trying to get together and find out what we must do.

God also has conferences. God holds conferences when emergency arises. Let us look into some of those conferences. The first one that I can call, when emergency arose, was, we would call it, the Eden Conference. When word reached heaven that God's children had fallen, there immediately something had to be done, because His own son and His own daughter had fallen from grace. And there was a case and a stage of emergency. If man ever existed, there had to be something done.

I can imagine God, our Father, down in the garden of Eden, looking around to find a certain tree, to where He could call His children up in His presence under this tree. He selected a place. And He called that conference, and He stood Adam and Eve and the serpent, and there was a conference held.

They had trespassed His laws, and His laws were just and the penalty must be paid. And how are they going to live after the death sentence hangs on them? And there was a conference held, and there was a propitiation made for that sin. And temporarily—until the woman's seed was to bruise the serpent's head, that would pay the full penalty of sin—there was a lamb sacrifice, until that time to be fulfilled.

And there was something that was achieved, there was something done that was great—a way that man could be saved again.

I'm so glad that they had a conference. If they'd've had no conference, where would we have been tonight? There was something done. Agreements was met, and bylaws was made, and they went forward. That first conference meant the difference between life and death to the human race.

And then, let's call another conference. There was a time when there was a prophet that knowed the Lord God as his Saviour; and he had misbehaved himself, and tried to do it in his own way. May I stop here just for a moment to say this, my brother, or my sister? Any time that any person ever tries to do God's word or will in their own way, they need a conference right quick with God, because they're wrong. There's only two ways to do anything—that's right and wrong. That's your way, and God's way. Your way is always wrong.

Moses found out that his way didn't work. And as Moses learned the hard way, so have I learned it that way. No doubt but many of the people here tonight, sitting here or standing here, has learned it the same way. It's a hard way. It's best to surrender your will to God's will, and hold a conference with Him.

And when. . . . We find out that Moses, in his great schooling and his intellectual learning—smart, intelligent—he was so shrewd till he could teach the teachers. I'm not trying to support ignorance, but I think that when we get that way we're in the most dangerous stage we can get into—when we get so smart that we know more than everybody else. That's what's the matter with the world today. That's what's the matter with the nations today. Each one's trying to get smarter than the other. That's what's the matter with the people today. We're trying to out-smart something.

We're trying even in our churches to see how greater a steeple we can build, the better class, as we'd call it, to get in, the better dressed. Taking away the real jewels and nuggets of the gospel, and compromising upon them. Instead of the altar, a handshake; instead of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, we've compromised to a handshake; or a baptism by immersing to the sprinkling of some water. Anything to get our own plan in it, but it will never work. It never did work, and it never will work. God's way is always right. Got to be His way, is the only way.

Moses, in all of his great military mind and how that he could achieve, he thought murder was the question . . . or, murder was the way, and he slew an Egyptian. And his very beginning, he found himself defeated.

I might say this: there's a many minister tonight in the land, and in other lands, and many Christians tonight, that in their heart they really want to serve God, but they find themselves defeated because they take their own intellectual conception of the gospel. Just join church, or do some good thing, or give someone some clothes, or do a little good deed—if that's all that it took, then the Eden Conference was in vain, and the death of the Lord Jesus was in vain. God laid a program down and we've got to come to that program; and sooner we get to that, the better the church will achieve the purpose of God—when we get to God's program.

Moses tried to work it out in his own way, and he found that he was wrong. And by doing so, like many others—who backslide from one revival to another, going up and trying to impersonate a Christian, or standing and making some kind of a sign, or some declaration of creed that we recite—we find ourselves in a few days defeated, because we're trying to do it in ourselves. It'll never work. We must meet God's program word by word, letter by letter.

See, anything that you try to do with a intellectual mind is so contrary to the Spirit. The intellectual mind thinks it has to be smart and wise. The Holy Spirit is humble. Break down all you ever knowed. Walk sweet and humble before the Lord, loving Him with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your strength. There's where the Holy Spirit works. Makes you do things that you didn't think you ever would do. It'll make you repent, and go back and shake hands and make up with people. Like you could join church and still call yourself a Christian, and hate down in your heart; but you can't be led of the Holy Spirit and do that. You can't do it. You can't cheat, you can't lie, you can't pull shady deals. It's got to be out and above board and the Holy Spirit's approval on it.

Moses tried, but he failed. God had called him, and there's no doubt in the hearing of my voice there may be many people that God's called the same way. But we try to appease that by joining church, or doing something religious. It'll never satisfy. You need a conference with God. So Moses (God determined, because He'd elected him to do so), He wandered in the desert. And one day, on the back side of the desert, God decided to call his runaway prophet, and He selected a certain tree. I've always wondered, “Wonder what He put on that tree that it didn't burn up?” The leaves were popping and cracking, and the fire burning. I don't know how long it had burned, but it didn't burn. It was God's selected place to meet His prophet.

God selects the place to have His conferences. Just as the kings and the rulers of the nations select their places for conferences, God selects His place. It's my honest prayer that your seat tonight, or your standing place, is God's selected place for you; that He can talk to you, speak to you, do something or say something that would attract your attention, that He could hold your attention just for a few moments.

Moses walked up to the burning bush, watching, and beholding what a sight it was, to see a bush that was burning and yet it did not consume. And when he walked up to the burning bush, he got orders, “Take off your shoes, Moses, for the ground that you're standing on is holy ground.” Moses obeyed by taking off his shoes.

We notice one thing—that when men has conferences of the nations, they get together and they find a big place, and they feast and they have great dinners, and they sit at the table, and they have sociable drinks; and they get ready and go out from there to try to accomplish what they have selected in their minds to do. How different it is from God's conferences. Men don't come together in God's conferences to eat; they come together to fast and to pray, and to receive orders and go forward with it.

Moses, coming on top of the mountain for these forty days, and he'd been up there getting the commandments, or afterwards. Knew what it was to meet God, knowed what it was to have a conference with God, so he waited his forty days. It was easy after he had once had a conference with God. Men whoever have a conference with God (or women), knows what it means to forsake food sometimes, forsake water, forsake the things of the world, forsake everything else, to come apart with God to hold a conference.

Moses on this first conference, the burning bush, he received orders from God. “I'm the God of your fathers, and I've heard the cries of my people, and I'm sending you down to deliver them. I want you to go down into Egypt.” Look what simple reasons He used.

Moses begin to make excuses, and said, “I'm not . . . I'm slow of speech,” and so forth. So He told him that He'd be with him, and the angel of God would go before him, and signs and wonders that He would do. So he was ready then to go.

After you have obeyed God, and gone on the mission that He sent you on, sometimes we come into difficult circumstances. Moses hit that. He had went down into Egypt and had done just exactly what God told him to do. He'd obeyed the Word to the letter and he was following the Word. God promised Abraham that his seed would sojourn in a strange country among strange people, but He would bring them back to that land after they had been captive four hundred years. So Moses was perfectly in line with the Word of God.

And even in that you still hit obstacles.

There may be some here tonight up against that. Say, “I'm sick, Brother Branham. I've been a Christian all my life. I've had the Holy Ghost for years. I've been a member of this church for so many years. I've lived faithful, all that I've done. And here I am tonight, the doctor says that I must die. I got cancer, I got heart trouble, I'm in a wheelchair,” or something else. Those things happen. Moses was perfectly in line of duty of God and also in line of the Scripture.

The first thing for a man to do to find out if something has went wrong is check himself. First, are you in the line of God's Word? Then the next thing, are you in line of duty, following what the Holy Spirit told you to do? Then if that be so, then there is only one thing left: that's a conference.

Moses had led the children of Israel by the hand of God from Egypt, and had come to the Red Sea. We'll call this the Red Sea Conference. He was exactly in the line of duty, leading the children across to the Red Sea, and was taking them to the promised land as God had promised. He'd heard from God, the Holy Spirit was upon him. He had led them out, done the miracles and signs of God, and here they was right in line of duty, and there every obstacle that could be, shut off. It seemed that nature would even itself cry out, “Oh, Moses and Israel, I feel sorry for you, because doom just waits you.”

It might be that with you tonight—doom just ahead.

What did Moses do, this great runaway prophet? He'd had one conference with God and he knowed what it meant to him. He knowed the only thing to do was have another conference. He selected him a place. Perhaps he'd say, “Oh, I don't know, maybe over behind this certain rock.” He'd went over there, and perhaps had knelt on his knees, and said, “Great Jehovah, I read in the Scriptures, or by the Word that I have, that You'd deliver your people. You sent an angel and spoke to me, and I'm strictly in the line of duty. And here we are at the Red Sea, and there's no way to get over. So I thought within myself, there's only one thing to do. I'll never try to rely upon my intellectuals; I'll just come have a conference with You.”

God said, “Stand on your feet, Moses. Go speak to the children of Israel that they go forward.” Never does God ever say “retreat.” There's no retreat in God. God is “go forward,”

no matter what stage of the battle you're in.

If you've backed up and said, “I'm afraid of divine healing, I'm afraid of this, that, or the other, I'm afraid about the baptism of the Holy Spirit,” speak and go forward. No retreat. Don't come back —there's nothing to back up to. God is always “go forward,” if it's the line of duty, the line of His Word. Go on. Move on.

“Well,” say, “I know someone went into fanaticism.” But that wasn't you. Your duty is to go forward. Until God gets through with you, just keep moving forward.

A few years ago, when the Lord called me (me a local Baptist pastor) to go preach divine healing, I'd never heard of such a thing as Pentecost—no more than I may have heard somebody say, “It's a bunch of holy rollers,” or something. But when He came, and I seen Him, and He spoke! If God speaks, there's something's got to respond to it somewhere. Whether my church believed it or not, there's somebody going to hear it. From there came Oral Roberts and Tommy Osborn, and so forth, and revival fires burn all over the world tonight. Why? Speaking, going forward.

Don't back up. We're coming to kind of a slowdown. There's no place to slow down. If there's anything, get in double gear! Let's go forward. There's no stopping place. Pentecost cannot stop. There's no place to stop. Let's not build a fire on the same ground, two fires in two nights. Let's build a new fire here tonight, and a new fire on up the road, on and on, until we see Jesus. There's no stopping place now.

Moses, he prayed and he got orders. And he stepped out and asked the children of Israel to go forward; and the sea opened up, and they went through. God always makes a way. A conference, that's what the churches needs tonight is a conference. Get orders and move forward. You pray and ask if it's time now to lay the great blessing of this that's went through in the last thirty or forty years—of Pentecost, of the blessing of the Holy Spirit, the baptism that set the world afire for a revival that's never been seen since the day of Pentecost in the beginning. . . . They never had it in the Lutheran revival. They never had it in the Wesley revival. They've never had it in no revival till this revival.

It's not time for Pentecost to lay itself to seed; it's time to spread out its tents. It's time to go forward, bringing in the brethren from every denomination, from every walk of life, and the message to burn forward. No time for stopping! If you're halting, let's call a conference, see what's wrong.

When we get to a place that we think we're the only one that God can use, we better call a conference. God sent Jesus, His Son, to die for every member of the body of Christ. Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Catholic, whatever they may be, they're all God's children by the promise. How are they going to hear the message unless we. . . .

If we cool off, what are we going to do? We're putting a bad example before them. It's no time for cooling off; it's time for a warming up. We can't have a warming up till we have a conference—an old time revival that'll bring back the revival fires, that'll attract attention, when sinners are born into the kingdom of God, when men begin to see ill-famed women, and ill-famed men, and sinners repenting and changing their life, going forth making restitution, weeping, bringing precious sheaves. The church needs a good case of old-time godly love, brotherly love. We need a conference, hold a conference.

Quickly let's go to another conference. There was a Gethsemane conference. There's many we can mention. There was a conference one day in Babylon, whether they should bow to the image of the king or whether they'd keep God's Word. God sent the fourth person down on account of that conference.

Daniel had to have a conference, and God sent an angel, maybe a pillar of fire, a light; scared those animals off and they did not have the power over Daniel, because they'd held a conference, a prayer meeting somewhere.

That's what does the difference. When we get so wrapped up in the things of the world that we can't come to church on Sunday night—or Monday night, or any other night, and have to watch our television programs and certain things like that, that shows that the world has leaked into us.

What the Pentecostal church and all other churches needs tonight is to “lay aside every weight, and the sin that does so easily beset us, that we might run with patience the race that's set before us.” We need a conference, a universal prayer meeting, for the church of the living God to be called together.

Don't think I am angry or beside myself. I know what I speak of. The need of the church tonight is a conference, a prayer meeting, a get-together, called together. Ministers break down their middle wall of partition, church members that'll forget the differences between the denominations of churches, church members and ministers hold to the horns of the altar with one accord, and pray until the fire of God begins to fall again. God knows . . . the stubbornness and difference of men is broke up in godly fear, and brotherly love takes its place in the human heart.

Then you'll become salty. Then the message will have its preeminence in the heart. It'll have its influence in the city.

We could scream and shout, or do whatever we want to, and it'll never influence men until they see the life of Christ being projected in you—someone who is tender, and merciful, and forgiving, and ready to turn the other side of the cheek, or give the second coat, or go the second mile. Christianity in action. Not just talk from the pulpit, but acted among the members, among the pastors. That's when you see Christ living in the church, decisions made.

Jesus has brought Himself to a decision. And before going to Calvary, the Father brought His own Son into conference in Gethsemane, while angels taking their positions to see what the decision would be. Oh, it might not have been this way, but let's think maybe it was. I can hear Him say, “Son, do You desire to go on to Calvary? There's a ban waiting for You, there's persecution, there's death and murder laying in the way. There's exposure of your own body—they'll strip the clothes off of You. They'll beat You into pulp. They'll pull a crown of thorns over your head, and You'll die screaming for mercy. Should You go on?”

Look at the decision.

Sometimes when we, sitting in our seats, and the Holy Spirit say, “You must do this, or you must do that. . . .” You got someone who won't speak to you, you won't speak to them, you won't make it right. And you're just ashamed to go up and say—if you are in the wrong, or if you're not in the wrong—to go up and say, “Brother, let's forgive and talk it over.”

Jesus, when He looked up into the face of the Father, He said, “It's not My will, it's Yours to be done.” What a decision! That decision anchored and swept the world, still comes tonight to every penitent soul. “Not my will, but thine be done.” That's the decision.

There was a decision also made, a Pentecostal decision. A hundred and twenty went to the upper room. And they were waiting because that their leader, their Lord, had ascended up into the heavens to the Father. And He had told them, He said, “Now, you wait up to the city of Jerusalem. And I don't want you to go out preaching yet. I don't want you to have any schooling. You don't need any more theology. But I want you to go up there and just wait there till you get in one accord. Then I can send the decision of heaven back to you.” That's what's the matter today. That's what's the matter with the churches today. What's the decision for this hour?

Look here, when Khrushchev, and when the communists, the other day, could take a little bottle of medicine, and shake it in the face of the world (atheists, ungodly, God-hating nation), and say, “We can take a paralytic and pour this into him, he'll straighten up again. . . ?”

What a disgrace! Although I'm thankful for anything that can be done to help the sick—I don't discredit that—but deliverance wasn't given to infidels. It was given to the ministry of the Lord God. The church of the living God has deliverance with them. It doesn't come from a bottle; it comes from Calvary.

But what's the matter? There's something wrong. We need a conference. The church needs to come together. The people needs to come together, and wait with one accord until the decision comes. They're trying to build bomb shelters down under the ground, four hundred feet, make it out of steel. Why, the concussion of one of those bombs will blow a hole in the ground a hundred and seventy-five feet deep, for a hundred and fifty square miles. Why, there's no way to dig out of it. There's only one way to get out of it, is go up out of it.

Conferences—how deep we must go, how much reinforced concrete and other things—that won't be worth that [Brother Branham snaps his fingers.]

We're at the coming of the Lord. The church needs to be called together in a conference, come in one accord, and wait to see what the decision of God is. “O Lord, what must we do?” We've come down now, we've preached the gospel, we've spoke with tongues, we've had interpretations, we've had signs and wonders and miracles in our church; but we've come to a place till we're halting. Now the communists shake a bottle in front of us, say, “We got it here.”

Jesus Himself said, “Verily, I say to you, if you say to this mountain, 'be moved,' and don't doubt in your heart, but believe that what you've said will come to pass, you can have what you've said.” Oh, my, what's the matter, then? A conference, that's what we need—a conference! One accord, in a conference.

They waited. They wanted to see how the church should be conducted. They wanted to see whether it should be conducted by intellectual conceptions of good moral living, whether they should conduct it upon the basis of certain sprinklings or forms of baptisms, or what must they do? How must the new Christian church be conducted? And there was a conference held in heaven how they must do. Carry a pad of paper with them, and take everybody's name down, give them communion and send them on —was that it? But they were waiting, with one accord, in one place. That was Pharisees, Sadducees, all the rest of them. The little things of their denominations had been broke down. Their sects, and so forth, of their religious teachings had been broke down. They was called to a conference by Jesus Christ. There they were, waiting, with one accord.

“And suddenly there came a sound from heaven like a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. There appeared on them cloven tongues like fire. . . . And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began speaking with other languages, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

There were Jews—devout men out of every nation under heaven—had gathered there at Jerusalem. When this was all noised abroad they came together, were confounded because they heard every man speaking in his own language wherein he was born.“ That was God's decision of how the church must be run. Brother, when we capitalize upon the things of God, and make it just our group is the only one has got it, it's time to call another conference. Get back to God again and hear another sound like a rushing mighty wind, to see brotherly love.

We hear so much today about Christians has got to be millionaires. You have to own a fleet of Cadillacs or you're not spiritual. How far that is.

I was speaking to a group of men here a few nights ago that has spread propaganda across the world, on books and so forth, that you must . . . become a Christian and your business flourish, and everything—which, that's good, God'll do that. But what we need today is not a flourishing business; what we need today is a testimony of the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ as a living witness.

How contrary that is from real Pentecost. You got to live in a better neighborhood today, you got to do this, and you got to dress this way, or be that way. That's all right. I believe Christianity, as much soap and water as you got, will make you keep yourself clean. That's right—physically. And, of course, the Holy Spirit's there, it will spiritually.

But, brother, that still isn't what I'm talking about. What they did at that day, instead of trying to boast on how much of the worldly things they had, they sold everything they had, and they distributed it amongst the poor.

A certain fellow raised up when I said this. He said, “Brother Branham, that was the greatest mistake the church ever made, to let them do that.”

Said, “Why do you get that?”

He said, “Because when the persecution arose they had no homes to go to, and they were scattered everywhere.”

I said, “It's exactly the will of God, because then they had no place to go, no worldly possessions. They went forth preaching everywhere, and the Word of the Lord grew.” God's decisions is always right, exactly right. Went forth everywhere preaching. That's the way He had scattering the Word.

The Pentecostal Conference was not to be upon a certain bunch, or a certain sect, but “whosoever will, let him come.” That's what Peter said. “For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to them that's far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” That's who it's for, for whosoever will. Let him come that he might drink from the fountains of the water of the Lord.

Now, there was another conference, and we're coming to a close for this last conference. There was a conference arose after they were scattered abroad everywhere, preaching. And two of them went up to the gate called Beautiful, and there laid a lame man that was sick, crippled from his mother's womb, and he was lame in his feet. And Peter and John said, “Look on us,” and he did. And he said, “Silver and gold have I none [that's it]; but such as I have. . . .” Would you trade that for silver and gold? Would you trade that for a name of popularity? Would you trade that for a television show—Sunday night or Monday night, Tuesday night, whenever it was—when your church has got services going on? That's what's the matter today. I've often said this, “If this isn't that, then I'll keep this till that comes.”

Peter said, “I have silver nor gold; but such as I have I'll give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” And the man hesitated a little, and Peter grabbed him by the arms, him and John, and lifted him up, and his ankle bones received strength. He begin leaping and praising God. It did something to the congregation.

They took them in and whipped them, and threatened them that they should no more preach in such a name, no more scatter the heresy of Pentecost any further. So when they did that, they went out with that threat that they'd be throwed into prison if they preached it again—said anything about Jesus being raised, and the Holy Ghost here performing miracles. You know what they done? They were in trouble, there was an emergency. So they went to their own company. That's where we ought to go tonight; not go out and ask the mayor of the city how we should do this, how we should do that. We shouldn't send off to some school of education and ask how we must do this or how we must do that. If our church is getting lean in the Spirit, the thing we should do is hold a conference with God.

Acts 4 they held a conference, and they preached . . . they prayed like this, “Lord, why did the heathens rage and the people imagine a vain thing? Is it right for us to refuse to preach divine healing in our messages? Should we preach divine healing or should we refrain from such a thing? O Lord, we know what Your Word says. Then give us boldness, courage.” Then their house was shook where they were assembled together. What an answer!

Give us a conference like that on Eleventh and Garfield. We'll preach the full Word of God, we'll stand on everything that God said stand. We'll believe in being dead from sin and alive in Christ. We believe that a man that's dead from sin refrains from the things of the world because they're dead to him. He no more gossips, and pouts, and fusses, and fights, and stews. He's at peace with God and with the church from then till the day he's taken out of the world.

I believe that the Holy Spirit kills the nature of the world in a man or woman. Yes, sir. I believe that divine healing is right. I believe that the power of the Holy Spirit is just as great today as it was when it was poured out at Pentecost. I believe it breaks down the walls of partition and brings the brotherly love, that the devil and all the cares of the world can't separate us from the love of God that's in Christ. We need a conference, a real conference, to bring us together in this time.

There's another conference coming, and that's the conference of judgment. Now, you might not have been at the Big Four. Neither was I. You might not have been at the Geneva. Neither was I. But, brother, sister, let me say this to you as your brother: that one, you're going to be there. Every time that ambulance screams out there on the street, let's you know that you're going to be there too. Every time you pass by the graveyard and see a tombstone, something tells you you're going to that conference. Every time you hear the warning voice of your pastor across this pulpit, it tells you you're going to the judgment. Every time you comb your hair and see the gray, or it falling, the wrinkles in your face, your eyes dimming, what is it? You're going to judgment. You're going to be at that conference, just remember that. You've got to be there, young or old, right or wrong, you're going to stand there. “Some men's sins go before them, some follow.”

The conference we need tonight in America, the same as here at Phoenix, and across the world everywhere, is a conference of an old-fashioned prayer meeting, of a place that where we can get back to the place where brotherly love exists, where the Spirit of God can come into our hearts and make us so miserable for the things out here that's going on in the world. Do you know the sealing angel said, “Put a mark upon those who sigh and cry for the abominations that's did in the city,” while the investigation judgment's going on, to see who is worthy to escape the wrath. The angel was to seal only those who cried and sighed for the abominations done in the city.

Now mark these tonight.

This is where the conference is held. We've come here for that purpose, to hold a conference here at this church. We've come to reason among you. God said, “Come let us reason together.” No matter what you have done, let's forget that and start right now. [Break in tape.]

Judgment is coming, all will be there—who has rejected or who has refused. No matter what you've done, you're going to that conference. And you're going to have to appear there before Christ to give an account of your life, how you spent it.

There might be some say, “Well, look here, Brother Branham, I'm an old man, an old woman.” Or, “I'm insignificant.” “I was born in a home that didn't believe in God.”

I don't care how insignificant it may be, how little you may be, how old you may be, how sinful you may be, how many times you've tried to receive the Holy Spirit, how many times you've tried to repent, how many times you've tried to do right and failed, there's still hope for you as long as God's knocking at your door. I don't care how many churches you've joined, how many mistakes, and how much fanaticism, or how much this or that you've done, there's still hope as long as God knocks at the door.

Conference. I believe tonight, and I pray that right in this audience, right now, that angels of God will take their places around this building. Let's hold a conference. What if you die tonight? Or, what if somebody runs in the door and says, “John Doe, I have a message here for you.”

“Oh, what is it? I'm John Doe.”

“I have a order here, you inherit a million dollars.” Oh, that would be grand, but you might die before you ever get it.

You might say, “How do I know I got a million dollars?”

“Well, here's a postal order, here's a . . . from the government, shows before this could be written, this order, there has to be a million dollars on deposit before this can be written.”

I say, “Well, what are you hollering about, you just got a piece of paper?”

But you say, “Look what it is. Look on here. Here's a postal clerk's name (if such could be written). A million dollars on deposit here, it's in the bank.”

I don't care what you've got against you. You may have cancer, you may be sin-sick, you may have demon possession. I don't care what you've got, I've got a message here for you, screaming across this pulpit as hard as I can. There's pardoning, there's grace, there's healing, there's forgiveness, there's love, there's joy, there's peace.

You say, “What are you so enthused about, Brother Branham?”

It's written, “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow. Come let us reason together.”

But you say, “I'm unworthy.” I know you are, but Jesus died for you.

In our fair city, or city near us, the other day, there was an accident happened. An old bum was crossing the street. He looked like his clothes was ragged, his old hat was tattered. And a young teen-age boy and girl coming down the street, making love to each other, and they wasn't noticing the poor old fellow, and they hit him and knocked him way back up, and smashed him . . . the side of a building when the fender sideswiped him. As the boy turned from the girl to see the old man, he swung sideways and crushed him up side of a building.

The emergency was called and they took him over to the hospital, the city hospital. And they looked him over, and there his arms was broke, his legs was broke, and his . . . they thought he was unconscious. He wasn't even hardly breathing. So a bunch of doctors, they thought about others they had, and they said, “We should hold a little conference here. Now, the old man is nearly seventy, no doubt. We don't know who he is. It'll take us hours after hours of our time to operate, set his bones back again, and try to straighten him up. And the old fellow doesn't have very much longer to live, and we've got others waiting out here. I just don't believe it's worthwhile to do it. Let's just lay him back, and it won't be too long till he'll be gone anyhow.”

But the old man wasn't as dead as they thought he was. He turned himself over. He said, “Gentlemen, I've heard every word you said.” He said, “I am worth something.” He said, “I'm worth so much till God gave His only begotten Son that I would be saved.” And he said, “I received that message some fifty years ago. And as passing tracts on the street, I've walked from place to place trying to preach the Gospel.” He said, “I'm worth something, or God would've never saved me.”

Sure you are. Angels of God are here. I don't care what you've done. “Though your sins be as scarlet, they'll be white like wool; though they be red like crimson, they shall be white like snow.” Let's hold a conference, each one where you're at, and ask God, “O Lord, am I worth anything?” “I'm just a little housewife.” “I'm just a farmer.” “I work at a filling station.”

“I don't care what you do.”

“But you see, Lord, I've been evil. I made three or four shows, and fell.”

“I don't care what you've done. Let's hold a conference.” Though your trials have failed, though your intellectuals has passed away, God's got a burning bush right there by your seat tonight. He's got an angel that can set your heart afire. Come let us reason together. Let's start here from Eleventh and Garfield. Let's start, you Christians, and let's us hold a conference.

Let's hold a conference. “Lord, my life will soon be over. Jesus will soon come. [We're going to get to those messages this coming week, Lord willing, the second coming, how close.] Now, and what must I do? Maybe I've just got this week to work and that'll be the last that I'll ever have time to work.”

Let's hold a conference now and see what the Holy Spirit would say, while we bow our heads everywhere, inside and out. And if our pianist there, whoever it is, will go to the piano just a moment.

Now while you're praying may the Holy Spirit, in His goodness and mercy and His tenderness, come down to you and say, “Child of Mine, that's Me talking to you. I'm wanting to speak to you just a moment. I know that you feel you're condemned, and I want to take you a little closer to Me. You don't want to come empty-handed. You don't want to come with sin on your conscience. You want to come with happiness and peace and joy in your hearts.” While we have our heads bowed and our eyes closed, each one of you now, a little private conference with God while we wait. “Though your sins be as scarlet, yet they shall be white like snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be white like wool.”

You say, “Brother Branham, it's sickness that I've got.” A little faith right now will just settle the whole thing. It's just a little sin not to believe. What is sin? Unbelief. “He that believeth not is condemned already.” Let's find a little conference.

The other day I laid sick. Couldn't even whisper for nine days. And I heard something in my room and I looked up, and there stood someone dressed in white. I seen a Bible open, and a cross came out of it, and out of the cross came Jesus. He told me what I was fixing to go into that was wrong, and, oh, that conference, the sweetness. One second later I called my wife, and she was so scared she dropped the blankets on the floor, the sheets, to come in and change my bed. Just a little talk with Jesus makes it different.

Now, inside and out, with your heads bowed, how many would like to be remembered tonight, in closing prayer of the message? Would you raise your hand? God bless you, you. God be with you. Outside, would you want to hold your hand? God sees. There's no darkness so dark but what He can see. Yes, hundred and fifty, two hundred, maybe more, hands have went up. There's no way for us to make an altar call here, the altar is full of little children; but the. . . .

Just keep singing. Now to you that's sick, you raise your hands, say, “Lord, let me have . . . let me talk it over with you right now.” God bless you. That's right. A hundred and fifty or more of those—there may be that many. All right. Whatever the conference is, no matter. If thou believest. . . .

Our heavenly Father, in the sacredness and sweetness of this minute that may mean the difference between death and life to many people. . . . We cannot see outside, standing in the churchyard, but around the building inside, over the audience, we seen many hands—many of those calling for salvation, many of those wanting to be saved and filled with your Spirit. Then there was many raised their hands for sickness.

And we've been through the conferences, Lord, of that upon the Word, we ministers, and we have orders from You: “Preach the Word.” That's why they call us “Full-Gospel preachers.” We preach the whole Word, the whole counsel of God. We believe He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquity, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with his stripes we were healed. We believe that's so, Lord. We're settled in that in our hearts. No matter what they have done, though their sins be as scarlet, You promised if they'd come and reason together. . . .

Now, Lord, we realize we haven't got much more time. We see everything moving right at the door. And we don't know how long we'll live ourselves. May not through the night, we do not know. But we have the blessed promise, Jesus saying, “He that heareth my words and believeth on Him that sent me, has eternal life, and shall never come into the judgment, but has passed from death unto life.” Lord, if there be anything in me, as I stand here at the pulpit, over this sacred spot where the gospel has been preached so long, where great servants of yours has wept this altar wet with tears. . . . Try me, Lord. I want a conference, and you promised that I could have it with the Father if we would ask in Your name. And each of us are holding conferences, inside and out.

May we hear the burning of the Holy Spirit. May we feel the impact of His presence that tells us our sins are forgiven, and though they were like crimson, they shall be white like wool. And our unbelief and frustrations and our indifference and little petty thoughts will all pass from us, and we'll become a great united church of the living God. Every denomination together, every heart all with one accord, marching forward, undivided upon the principles of the Lord Jesus and upon His teachings, upon His Spirit that's bringing us to that day of the judgment.

May we confess our sins now, and they go before us.

Those who are sick and afflicted, that's your children. All sins has been forgiven and they're washed in the water by the Word, the word of separation . . . or, the waters of separation, the Word; and has divided them, Lord, from the wrong to the right, and has forgiven them. May the Holy Spirit, right at this moment, Lord, touch their sick bodies. May they rise from their sickness, go out tomorrow to be different, to be at work with the Lord somewhere, doing His bidding. Grant it, Lord.

Bless every minister, Your shepherds, Lord. Oh, Lord, bless their precious hearts, shepherds of these flocks around through the country here. Lord, may their churches just begin to prosper. May the cause of Christ begin to grow. Grant it, Lord. Bless this pastor here, our dear brother. We ask that You'll just bless him abundantly and all of his staff and his church and his members. May there be hundreds, additions, to the fellowship—grant it, Lord —because of the presence of Christ. Forgive us of every sin and take us into Thy keeping.

Now, while we have our heads bowed. . . . The pastor just whispered in my ear, if these that raised their hands want special attention, they can certainly get it in a side room here. If you want a special attention, if you'd just raise to your feet, walk over here to my right, we'll take you over here in the room, those who need a special attention from Christ. It doesn't feel sufficient just now, that you have received that what you've asked for, the doors are open, we'd be glad to have you to come in so we could council with you. While we softly sing real. . . . “Come Home,” is that what you was singing, sister?

Now keep your heads bowed and pray. Now you that raised your hands that doesn't feel that you have just what you want from Christ, right to my right, right here, there's a place fixed so we can minister. Pray now.

Softly and tenderly [as you come by,

won't you come right to the altar

so I'll be sure to touch each one]

. . . . . . . . for you and for me;

See, on the portals He's waiting and

watching,

Watching for you and for me.

Come home, come home,

Ye who are weary, come home;

Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,

Calling, O sinner, come home!

With your heads continually bowing. [Brother Branham hums] Maybe the little conference sitting in your seat there settled it. So glad to know that it did. I wouldn't think that you were honest enough to raise your hand if you wanted something from God, and then not honest enough to refuse it if it was given to you. I believe you have received it. God ever bless you while we remain with our heads bowed. I'm going to ask the pastor now to say a word of prayer.