Influence

Thank you very much. Let us remain standing just a moment now, as we bow our heads for prayer. While we have our heads bowed, and our hearts, wonder how many in here has a request, might make it known to God as you lift your hands? Now just hold your requests as we pray.

Heavenly Father, we are so happy tonight for this, another time that we can come to You, and have this assurance that what we ask we receive, if we will believe that we get what we ask for. And now, Lord, help our unbelief, that we might tonight be able to have these things that we ask for. My hands with their hands is up, and we pray, Father, to You who understands the things that we have need of. Grant them to us, Lord, tonight.

We pray for encouragement that when we're in this great hour of distress that we're in, and the world in the condition that it's in, we need your most holy help, Lord. And we pray that You'll encourage us by thy Word, that we might know how that we should act just prior the coming of the Lord Jesus. Grant it, Father. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.

You may be seated.

So glad to be back again tonight, and to speak again about our most gracious Lord. It's good to be back here in Lane Tech again. This is almost like coming home, I been here so many times.

And now, I see they've gotten many handkerchiefs here, that's been laid up here, to be prayed over. And now last night, we had to ... we closed our regular healing services, taken up our cards and things, because of having double services. You see, it kind of puts quite a strain on you, for having double service. Now, we sure will be praying for these handkerchiefs tonight, and trusting that the Lord will make each and every one of you with faith that'll receive what you've asked for in these requests.

We're certainly going to miss Brother Mel Johnson tomorrow and that fine singing. I really appreciate that fine voice that the Lord has given him. And, now, tomorrow, if you're visiting here (I'll say to the Tabernacle people—I got some friends here from down ... Jeffersonville), I think that the Philadelphia church—Brother Mead, our brother—I think they have service there. And I don't know whether ... you have service? There's service? You ... what time? Eleven o'clock there'll be service there, and I suppose I'll be back about one-thirty, or two, something. Three—I'm to be on at three. Three o'clock, and then seven again tomorrow evening. So we certainly want to cordially invite all of you to come to the services, if you have no service in your own church.

We certainly wouldn't want to pull you away from your own post of duty, because that's not our objective. It's to try to catch mainly those who are unsaved, those who does not have the Holy Spirit and you really believe that you need it. And then we're here to help you. Then the sick and the afflicted, why, we're here to pray for them out of all the churches.

And you go back to your church, wherever you come from. If you received the Holy Spirit or healed, go back with a testimony, and tell others. Even though if your church doesn't believe in it, go anyhow, see. Where ... it's easy to let your light shine where there's plenty of light; but we want light to shine where there is no light. That's when it gives its best influence

and.... Thank you, Brother Vayle. Brother Vayle was thinking that they couldn't hear. Is that better? Fine. That's good.

Now, tonight, without a healing service, I think I should get out a little earlier tonight. I've been saying every night I'm going to try to let you out about nine-thirty, and it's pretty near that time now, and so ... nine o'clock, about five minutes of. And then, time I get through.... And then holding you this morning about two hours, I tell you, you'll probably be wore out, and be glad when I leave the city tomorrow night. But ... I wished I could just bring myself down to them twenty-minute talks, but I only ... just have to keep speaking until I get tired. I know you're wore out by that time, so then I just never get finished—I just quit, and go in and rest awhile.

Now tonight, I want you to turn in your Bibles to the ... Isaiah, the book of Isaiah, the 6th chapter of Isaiah. And now before we read we would ask God to bless His Word, and to make it real to us as we bow our heads just a moment. Well, we'll read the Word first, and then listen close now, as we read.

In the year that king Uzziah died I was ... I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his trail filled the temple.

And above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.

And one cried to another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD God of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.

Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:

And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin is purged.

Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Who shall I send, and who shall go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

Let us pray. Lord Jesus, we are not sufficient to break into this most gracious text tonight, but we ask your help now, Lord, for no other purpose but that the gospel might be once more preached in the city of Chicago. Grant it, Lord. And may the influence be a everlasting influence. Grant it. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.

Now, I want to take a text from this of “Influence.” You know, there's something another that we are ... we ... what we do.... We influence somebody else by what we do. The way we act, the way we talk, the way we live, and all that we do, we influence someone else.

Now, you know many people won't go to church. They say.... Well, they've got a wrong impression of church. They think it's ... the women down there are witches, and the men are black-robed demons. And they just got the wrong idea about it. But I tell you what they do do: they will watch your life, to see what you do. I believe it was Paul that said, “We are written epistles of God, read of all men.” When you're on the street, and when you're at your work, and wherever you are, somebody's watching you—

and especially after you have said, and made your confession, that you are a Christian. They'll watch you much closer then. And that gives an influence to the people that's around about you.

And we should watch what we do, because if we produce the wrong influence then we bring reproach; not so much upon ourselves, but upon what we claim to be—Christians. We bring it upon Christ. And no one ... if we would think, you would never want to bring reproach upon Christ. But the wrong act at the wrong time will certainly cause a wrong reflection towards the person that's watching you. And everybody is watched, when you profess to be a Christian.

Now, this text that we're speaking on tonight, of influence, it goes back.... The real lesson of it, if you'd like to read it, you'll find it in II Chronicles, the 26th chapter. It was the life of this Uzziah, the king. Now, Uzziah, the king, was a shepherd boy. He was a young fellow that ... a king's son that loved outdoors. He liked the woods, and he was a herdsman. And he also liked the vineyards—he liked to see things grow.

And this young fellow was brought up under real good influence. Amaziah, his father, had been a great man. In his last days he let down a little and picked up some gods from another country, and the Lord then taken him out of the earth. But this young fellow had had good influence, because his mother was a daughter of Jerusalem, his father a believer. And therefore the boy had been raised up with good influence. And that's a good way to bring up a child—in the way that it should go.

And you know what? Your children is one of the main eyes that's watching you. They watch what you do, and whatever you do they copy after you because you're setting the example before them, that ... what you do.

Reminds me here not long ago I was at a meeting of the Full Gospel Businessmen out in Los Angeles. Brother Oral Roberts had made a statement about something on this line, and they asked me to get up and say something about it—about influencing. I said, “It reminds me of a story that I read once where a man went out Christmas Eve taking presents to the neighborhood—to his colleagues, neighbors. And each time where he went to a place, he taken a drink. He'd go to the next house, he'd take a drink.

And by the time he got all of his presents give out, and the ones he'd collected, on the road back he thought he would take a short cut through the park. And there'd fallen about four or six inches of snow. And he found himself ... he couldn't walk straight. He was going zigzag because he was being influenced by these drinks.

He noticed, coming way back behind him, not able to keep up with him, was his teeny little seven-year-old boy. And he was making big steps, and falling over, and zigzagging. So he waited till the little lad caught up with him, and he said, “What are you walking like that for, son?”

He said, “Daddy, I'm trying to step in your steps.” Now, you see, that's more than just an example, because it is a truth that your children, you set the pace for them.

And our American people are setting a pace today before our children of smoking cigarettes, the women, the men drinking, and cards in the house and dice.

What kind of a people will we have in the next race that is to come, or the next generation, rather, that is to come? It'll be a bunch of neurotics; and which, I think the whole world is just about in that condition now. Then if this race, or this generation, rather, is like this, what will the next one produce? Then, if there would be another, why, the whole human race—if it keeps going in the way it is—will become extinct altogether, because we're killing ourselves, and setting examples for others.

And even Christians, today—who claim to be Christians, and smoke, and drink, and cheat, and found dishonest, while we.... Why, it's no wonder that Christianity is at one of its low ebbs at this time. It's the influence that the church people has placed upon the man than't yet received Christ. Men wants to maintain their testimony, and then live any way they want to.

But that's the reason the Holy Spirit is such a definite “must” in this day, because it is the one that lives your life. You don't live it yourself; it's Christ in you then after you have received the Holy Spirit. And if He doesn't have the preeminence in your life, then you just remember, you haven't received the Holy Spirit, 'cause if He's in you He'll live His own life. You're no more your own. You are dead, and your life is hid in God through Christ, and sealed by the Holy Ghost. So there's no way at all for you to be yourself no more—what you were.

Now, this young boy, we find out, having this good, godly parent and training, it ... when ... his daddy died when he was only sixteen years old. And the people took and made him king, and he come on the throne of power when he was only sixteen years old. And if you'll read his life, he wasn't influenced by the politics of his country. He didn't take the popular opinion; he sought after God, the Bible said. Now that's ... that was what made him such a great example to this young prophet.

At the same time, Isaiah, Isaiah the prophet, lived in the days of Uzziah, the king. Both of them being young together, the prophet and the king, they were great chums together. And Isaiah stayed at the palace and he leaned upon the arm of the king. And we find out that this young fellow's influence influenced Isaiah. He become a hero to Isaiah, because he was ... he made no differences in the people. He never let anything sway him from one side to the other. He was determined to serve God, and serve God alone. And that's a good person to take example of.

And we find out that he never compromised with any of the heathen worlds. The heathen world, after they seen him build his kingdom so great, and God was with him, and blessing him.... And God will bless any man that will stay with His Word. That's ... God's duty bound to do that, to bless any man that will stay with God's Word.

Now, we see that Isaiah really liked this king. And then the king's kingdom spread. I guess he was next to Solomon in his kingdom, because his influence reached all the way down into Egypt. It was a great help to Isaiah, the young prophet, to see that any man that would take a stand for God, and regardless of politics or anything else he would stay straight with the Word.... He certainly was an influence to the prophet Isaiah, this young fellow. How God blessed him, because he stayed true to the Word!

Now, we find that this king (oh!) did like so many Christians of today. As long as he stayed humble then God blessed him. But the Bible said here, that when he got lifted up.... When he got everything secure, then he become lifted up in his own self; and then he was on his road out. Now, that's.... So it is today with churches. It's always been, that when men feel that they have become sufficient they don't have to pray any more; they don't have to wait upon God for their ministry.

If you'll pardon this expression, I agree with a certain writer that that's what has caused many of these men that's been in these latter day revivals, or this last day revival, to fly to pieces. Some of them found ... they been claimed to being drunk in their pulpit, and some of them has done wrong. It's because they have such an influence on the people till they begin to feel that they're self-sufficient, that that's their little kingdom, and they can ... they got the people so in their grip that they can just do anything they want to, and the people doesn't notice it. But God notices it, you see. That's the one.

I might say, like Nebuchadnezzar one day walked out and said, “Look what a great kingdom I have built”; and then the angel of the Lord smote him.

And when a man or woman—no matter whether he's a bishop or a cardinal or whatever he might be—when you begin to feel that you are self-reliant, then you better begin to watch and take heed, because God won't let you go like that, because He will not share His glory with anyone. No, sir. God takes glory alone.

Sometimes God can bless a man and give him a little ministry that's maybe a little better than his brethren (or, not better, but just something a little different from his brethren). And the first thing you know, the man becomes exalted, with his chest out, and, oh, my! he'd brush you off the street. And that's the time that I believe that man started out the door, 'cause God can't use a person like that.

This king, though being a godly man as he was, he felt self-sufficient. He felt like that he could hoist himself up in pride, that he could just take over and do whatever he wanted to and nobody else he had to ask. But remember, we're always under God. God is our God.

And we find out he got lifted up. And he got so lifted up till he thought that because he had been blessed of God he could take a minister's place. So he took the censer and went in to take a minister's place. He got out of his place of duty.

That's what I've always said to these Full Gospel Businessmen. Don't you never try to be preachers. The preachers has a hard enough time to keep the thing straight, and then we're doing a very poor job out of it; and then especially take a businessman that's not even called to the work at all, see. When you do that you're stepping beyond your boundaries. And you might take a lesson for this.

There's many people out even in the pulpit tonight preaching, that oughtn't to be there: because it's more of a meal ticket, or to be popular amongst the people, or to have a little more than someone else's got, or have a few praise by somebody patting you on the back, or something. See, sometimes they become a priest. Jesus said, “You devour widows' houses, and desire the highest seats, and for a showing make long prayers.” He said, “You'll just receive that much more damnation for it,” see.

We must never get to that place. We must always remember that God wants us to be humble. The way up is down. Humble yourself and you're exalted; and if you exalt yourself you will be brought to abase.

Now we find out that this fellow tried to take the place of a minister, which ... he was not qualified. Yet God blessed him. He was a great man. He'd strengthened his kingdom against all the nations of the world. They were bringing in glory and giving it to him, and sheep and cattle. He had herdsmen and fine vineyard dressers and, oh, everything. He was living in luxury. Then he began to come puffed up.

We find out that even a church, a local church, can be humble and have a little place, serving the Lord with trueness of heart; and let them get just a little better, somebody help them, and they get a fine church. They'll try to make it a little better than the one down on the corner, and then the congregation walks around with their chest out. That's right. See, we must remember that's the wrong thing.

God told Israel, “When you were.... I found you in a field. You were bloody [and the condition it was in]....” And then when He ... become fed up and got prettied up, then she turned her back on God, and played the part of a prostitute, and invited everybody to see her. And we see that God isn't pleased with that at all.

And even this great, mighty king of Israel here, when he tried to ... make himself take a position that he did not ... wasn't ordained to.... And we find out the priest here run in and told him, “That isn't your place. You're not supposed to do that, for God has consecrated men for this.”

Oh, if the ministry could only get to that place, that's consecrated to the service! If men could realize that preaching the gospel isn't to get more members in the church; but it's consecration to the purpose of the task that we must have newborn babes into the kingdom of God. No matter what denomination they go to, or what about it, it's just to get those newborn babies.

Then we find out that today it's so hard. When we see a minister rise up with a little ... some kind of a phenomena that God has placed in his ministry, we find carnal impersonations of that—that different ones will come in and try to say this is ... they have this, or exercise something a little different.

I know of a man in the world today—a fine man, too, a good man, a real preacher of the Word, and I would say a real brother—and I talked to him, not long ago. And he kept having sensations and he built his ministry completely upon sensations. Now they're baptizing to eternal life; that the people are not going to die. I'm afraid they're out on a limb that they'll never have no way to get back off of that, see, but ... because that's wrong. A man that's born of a woman is of a few days and full of sorrows, troubles, and the living know they have to die. And we know it is once appointed to man to die, and after that, the judgment. So we know that we must.

I don't want to live in this old pesthouse that I have been living in. It catches every disease floats through. I want one that's made not with hands, fashioned after God, that's not a hybrid plant like this is. I want one that's made by the hands of God, that diseases and sickness and death goes from it. And whenever He summons me, I'm ready, by the grace of God, believing that when this earthly tabernacle be dissolved we have one already waiting that we move into that ... can't die from it no more.

Why would you want to live in this? Not me. My! It's ... we're going out of it and I'm glad of it. This old human germ trap that we're living in, death trap and whatmore, the groans and pains in it, and the old age, and.... Why, my, who would want to stay in a body like that?

I'm glad there's one coming. We got a body that's being prepared for us in glory. And as soon as the life leaves this old hull here that eternal spirit of God that lives within it takes its journey into that tabernacle yonder, and there it lives eternally. Why would we want something like this? My! Yes, sir! Oh, I'm so glad that there is a God who's made all these things plain.

And we look here, we see there's just a shadow anyhow. We are a shadow. I look here on the platform, see men that moves; and I look out on the street and see men and women that moves. They got life, but yet it cannot be real life because it's death in it. And David said, “I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.” Now, it takes so much light to make a shadow. There has to be so much light. If it's altogether darkness it cannot make a shadow. See, it has to be so much light in the dark to make it shadow.

Well, now, it depends on which one of those sides that you're leaning to.

If I see a man walking, a fine looking young man, in a few years watch his hair turn gray and slip out, his shoulders droop down; a beautiful young girl standing with a sainted, godly face on her, and stand and praising God; and I come back in a few years, and find her stoop-shouldered, packing two or three children, why, my! that shows that in that body there is death. No matter how well it is, and how lovely it looks, it's still got death in it.

Then I watch which way that spirit in there leans. If it's always representing the light, speaking of the light, talking of the light, it'll go with the light. But if it's always on the other side—of the world, the things of the world, influenced by the world—there's nothing but it to turn into darkness when it dies—into outer darkness.

So you see, what we are ... we must remember that we are only what we are by the grace of God and none of us can brag about it. We can only bow in adoration and humility before God, and give praise to Him for His goodness.

And we find that as long as this king felt that way God blessed him. But when he got to a place that he wanted to not abide in his own calling.... He wanted to take the calling of something else, and he thought because that God had blessed him and that was all right, he could do that. But how sadly we make them mistakes! How bad.... You must absolutely be honest. You mustn't do nothing unless God has directed you to it, and proves it and vindicates it, and you know that it's God that's done it.

Usually, men of God.... God has to run him down and catch the real man of God. It ain't those guys that wants a whole lot of something to do a whole lot with. Hard tell what they would do with it if they received it, see. But God usually has to catch His man—like Moses, and Paul, and like that—to run him down, to get glory out of his life and let him become a prisoner to the Holy Spirit.

Now, we notice that this king.... And another thing we learn here on Uzziah: that when he was called down by the man who had the authority to take the censer in—the consecrated man for the service—when he called him down he got angry with him. Oh, what a cursed thing that would be! when a man tries to point out to a fellow that you're in the wrong, and prove it to him by the Word of God, “You're in the wrong”; and then the man, because that he feels in himself he'll do what he wants to, and won't submit to the Word, then he gets angry.

You notice what happened to the king? Leprosy broke out in his face while he was still in his anger. Leprosy struck Uzziah in the face, and the priest and those recognized it and threw him out of the temple, and he died a leper. That great life that started out so well ended up to be a leper and cast out; and had to live in a separate house out to himself all the days of his life—the man that ... the life that God once influenced.

I'd say this with respects. We got men today on the field—young men, and middle-aged men, and old men—who started out on a good run, and tried, and made a good showing to God; but we find them today out yonder, alcoholics and broke up out there in the other ... away from us. Some of them backslid altogether, some of them went money crazy and some went woman crazy and married other women that wasn't their wives, and all the things. And disgrace has been brought on every denomination. We ... one can't call the other one bad, because we're all guilty.

The whole ... every denomination we've found men like that, that's once been influenced by God and had a great influence to the people; and yet when they felt self-sufficient.... When a man gets a place where he can influence for God, he ought to humble himself all the time, constantly.

And we find out this king died in disgrace, a leper. Then he was a lesson to the young prophet not to put his hopes upon any man, but to look to God only. When he began to look to a man for an example, this man failed, yet being a good man. So it's a lesson to us tonight to keep our minds upon God, regardless of what man it is. Let him be cardinal, priest, prophet, whatever he might be—he's not immune from mistakes and error, and even death and sin. But there's one who is, and that's Jesus Christ—He is the one. By this Isaiah learned a lesson.

God orders His man to place.

A man has no right to take up and say, “Well, I'd make a easy living if I was a minister. I believe I'll study the ministry. I believe I'll do this, that, or the other. I believe if I could impersonate this gift that God has given, it would ... I'd have great campaigns,” and so forth. We see so much of that today. But when you find out.... Isaiah found a lesson here: that God places His man Himself. God does the placing, and He never made this man a priest. He made him a king, and he ought to abide a king. He must not try.... Isaiah learned here that you mustn't try to take another man's place.

Then, when he saw that his great hero had come to this disgrace, and went down and died, Isaiah felt then pretty near all hopes for him was gone. So he went down to the temple one day to talk it over with the Lord, and that's where the vision happened. At the temple he saw the one that he was supposed to be looking at all the time. In the temple he saw in a vision God, sitting high on a throne, exalted way in the heavens, and His train was with Him. This vision he saw—high, lifted up, His throne way above every earthly domain—God. That's the one he was supposed to look at, when he was in the vision.

And then we notice this, that the heavenly seraphims was flying back and forth in the temple. Now the seraphims.... Actually the Hebrew word there is “burners.” They were the one who offered incense and the sacrifice. It's just a high order of angels that makes a way for the sinner as long as there's a sacrifice. And these seraphims—especially these burners—had a special office: they stayed right in the presence of God. They're the same as the cherubims, and they were right in the presence of God.

And when this prophet felt the Spirit of God on him, and he opened his eyes.... You see, he was so born for that purpose that when he opened his eyes it was like dropping from here into a land, like he was dreaming. And he saw God's throne exalted so high. And then he looked in the temple, and these seraphims was going back and forth through the temple, crying, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God. Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God.” What a change, and what a influence this must have been upon this young prophet, when he saw the failure of men (and although good men would fail). But now he sees God and he saw these seraphims.

And notice the special covering that these seraphims had. They was covered with two wings over their face, two wings over their feet, and they was flying with two wings. God is altogether holy. Think of it! Even angels have to cover their holy face to stand in the presence of God.

I wonder, my brother, I wonder, my sister, if we'll look at that, when holy angels have to cover their face to stand in the presence of God in reverence and in respect.

But today, we find people—who call themselves Christians, even—has no respect at all for God, or His Word, or His people, or His ministry, or nothing. Where are they going to come up at in the resurrection? The Bible said, “If the righteous scarcely be saved, where will the sinner and the ungodly ever appear?”

And when seraphims—the highest order of angels, right by the mercy seat, the burners of the sacrifice—had to cover their holy faces to stand in His presence.... And here they was, God sitting up there on His throne, and these cherubims going back and forth, screaming day and night, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God.” Do you know what I'm meaning?

Notice. Two wings they covered their faces, and why?

We notice today that because that people are ... have no reverence, they'll come to church (people will come to church) and cut up, and laugh, talk, make fun, sitting where the gospel's being preached—no reverence at all. And meet you on the street, and with.... You don't expect any respects from people—we mustn't do that—but yet it shows Christian dignity to at least honor the people, say, “Good morning, brother,” or whatever you wish. Some of them holler, “Hello, preach.” Oh, that's so common!

Remember, Jesus said, “As you do unto these, you do it unto me. He that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me; and he that receiveth him that I sent receives him.” See, “As you do to them, you did it unto me.”

And the irreverence.... You know what it is? It's the ... they are not conscious of the presence of God. The world has become so common, and religion has become such a low ebb, until there's no respect—just as it's always been.

Look at them soldiers. We could think tonight what a rashal and horrible thing it was for those soldiers to put a rag over the face of our Lord Jesus, to make fun of Him being a prophet and could know the secrets of the heart. They put a rag over His face, and set Him out there in the courtyard, and took a stick and struck Him on the head with it; and then passed it one to another and said, “If you be a prophet, prophesy now. Tell us the one of us that hit you.” See, no respects at all. They couldn't feel no virtue. But that little woman with enough faith that could touch His garment, she got her desires.

You see, we've got to be conscious of God's presence.

This little five senses that we live in, that's just a little world of our own, see. But God.... That's ... we was only given these so we could contact our earthly home. But there's senses beyond that, another dimension, and God is always present. If we could only remember that the angels of the Lord are encamped about those who fear Him. In this building tonight stands Jesus Christ. In this building tonight is hosts of angels, thousands of them, gathered around. You don't see them, but you can feel the influence of them, telling you that they're here.

If that isn't so then the Scripture isn't so, and if the Scripture isn't right then God isn't right. The Bible said that the angels of God are encamped—they don't leave; they stay—near those that fear Him.

Jesus said, “Wherever two or three are gathered in my name I'll be in their midst.” Then that makes Him in a world that we cannot see, that our five senses doesn't contact. Jesus Christ is here present. If we could be conscious of that!

And remember, not only here, but when you're walking down the street, wherever you are, you that profess to be believers and fear the Lord, remember the angels of God are moving with you wherever you are. They watch everything you do, every thought that goes through your mind, and they know all about you. Therefore, we must be conscious of that. If we're not conscious of it, then you act any way.

So people mostly today—too many people—are not conscious of the presence of the Lord Jesus. That's the reason they ... we have these things that we have going on now that's not right.

If we could only do like David said: “I put the Lord always before me.” Oh, I like that! “...the Lord always before me. Where He goes, I'll follow; and I'm conscious that everywhere I'm going [in other words, David said] that the Lord is going before me.”

“I will not leave thee, nor forsake thee,” said Jesus. “Lo, I'm with you always, even to the end of the world.” He cannot leave us. He promised not to.

That's the very objective of these meetings. That's the objective, my brethren, of holding my ministry out from the denominations, is to try to let the people see that Jesus Christ is still alive and He's here to every believer, to every denomination that will believe Him, or the people in those denominations. “The Lord is before me,” David said, “and I shall not be moved.”

Notice now, with two wings they had over their face to stand in the presence of God, 'cause that's where they ministered. And if they had to cover their holy faces to minister to God, what kind of a person ought a preacher to be? How we ought to cover our face in shame! How we ought to live! God's altogether holy. We must consciously, all the time, remember that outside the grace of God we're naked sinners; but the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from sin.

Now they had two wings over their feet. That represents humility. Like Moses. Moses wasn't too much in humility until he met God in that burning bush. But when he truly saw that was God, and because this light spoke the Word of the promise.... Do you get it? They knew, and Moses knew, that the time was at hand for this deliverance. And here comes a supernatural being down, and repeats and says, “I remember my promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” And Moses took off his shoes—humility, his whole foundation—he took off his shoes.

Paul, when he saw that same angel of light above him and called it “Lord,” he fell in the dust of the earth. He recognized, with humility, “I'm no more.” No wonder Isaiah could cry, “Woe is me, for I've seen the Lord God of hosts,” yet being a prophet. And yet Paul, being a great man, a scholar.... But when he come in the presence of God he humbled himself. And when Moses come into the presence of God he humbled himself. He was a prophet. He respected God, the Word.

Notice John the Baptist. When John stood on the bank, after baptizing the people, he looked out and saw that same light descending from heaven. He cried, “Behold the Lamb of God, that takes away the sin of the world.” And when he humbled himself, and Jesus walked out into the water by him....

Now, here's a question was asked me the other day that might come up in your mind. When Jesus walked into the water, and John said, “I have need to be baptized of thee, and why comest thou to me?”.... Now an old Baptist brother of mine, Dr. Roy Davis, used to tell me (he laid his hands on me when he ordained me in the Missionary Baptist Church), he said, “Billy, what happened....” I asked him about that. He said, “Here's what happened. You see, John had never been baptized himself, so Jesus baptized John; and then John turned around in return, baptized Jesus, because Jesus couldn't baptize John before He was baptized.”

Well, I thought that sounded all right. But one day about two years ago, out in the woods where I was sitting, the Holy Spirit came down—the light—and then I saw what it was, when He revealed it.

Now, here is what it is. See, there was the two most important people on the earth. There was John the prophet, there was Jesus the Messiah, and they....

Two of the men that had the message of the day met face to face in water, when their eyes caught one another. And John, in humility, did say, “I have need to be baptized of thee, and why comest thou unto me?”

Jesus said, “Suffer that to be so [that is right]. But thus it behooveth us [or it is becoming to us—behooveth means 'becoming'] ... it is becoming to us that we fulfill all righteousness.” Why? Jesus being God, John being the prophet, quickly.... Jesus knowed when He said that—John being a prophet to who the Word come to—knowed he would understand it, because the sacrifice according to the law had to be washed before it was presented, and Jesus had to be baptized before presented. He said, “Suffer it to be so now [that's right], for thus it is behooving us, [becoming to us] to fulfill all righteousness.”

Oh, if we could take that for our text for a few minutes—that we see today, as believers in the light and the hour that we're living in, it's becoming to us that we fulfill all righteousness. It's becoming to a Pentecostal church, that we fulfill all righteousness, seeing that we have been called by the Holy Spirit. It's unbecoming that we separate ourselves from other brethren. It's unbecoming that we denominate ourselves, and won't have nothing else to do with the brethren who's received the Holy Ghost the same as we did.

It's not becoming to us when we see God moving and performing and doing exactly what He said, and because a person's not connected with our organization that we misbehave ourselves. That's unseemingly. It's not right. We should be Christians, we should be gentlemen, we should be God-fearing people and men. We should be ready to reach across and give any man a handshake, and stretch the blanket on his side of the bed too. Yes, for thus it is becoming to us to fulfill all righteousness.

Now, we know that

that was, because that He was the sacrifice, and John knew it, because he seen that light over Him. And John humbled himself, being the greatest man to that hour. But when he seen this great Lord Jesus coming, he said, “I have need to be baptized of you.” But when He told him, “It's becoming that we fulfill all righteousness,” then John turned, knowing that as a servant of God, as a prophet, he must fulfill the word of that hour, because he knowed that was the sacrifice. He'd just said so: “There comes the Lamb of God [the sacrificial lamb] that's going to take away the sins of the world.” And the lamb had to be washed in the laver before it was presented to the people. Amen.

It's becoming to us that we fulfill all righteousness. When you take on the name of Jesus Christ, let every man or woman that takes the name of Jesus depart from sin.

Our confessions today has begin to come just like a ... I don't know what—some riddle, or something. We go down and pray a prayer about two minutes long and get back up, do something wrong, and say, “Oh, Lord, You know I didn't mean to do that. Hallelujah! I'm all right,” go on. No, that's not it, brother. You've got to be godly sorry. You've got to confess that thing. You've got to make it right.

You cannot do it. Jesus said, “When you go to the altar ... remember the brother has aught against you, go to him first before you offer your gift here. Be reconciled with the brother.” It's becoming us ... to us that we fulfill all righteousness.

And you women with short-bobbed hair, do you know what? It's becoming to you that you let your hair grow out and act like a lady. You that wear shorts, take them off, put on dresses. It's becoming to you that you act like Christians. That's right, 'cause the Bible said that's wrong. A woman shouldn't do that.

And you men that's smoking cigarettes—that's unbecoming. And you men that's letting your wives do that, and then say you're sons of God? A man.... The great vow that's took at the marriage ceremony—love, honor, and obey—is gone. In America the woman has the right-of-way. Well, everywhere she's got the right-of-way. The Bible said she'd have it that way.

They say that the women is the most careful drivers that we got in the land. That's wrong. My son and I, crossing the nation back and forth, keep a book. And every time there's a (what we call) a boo-boo pulled on the road, if it's a man, we put it under man, and woman under woman. And under three hundred boo-boos across the nation there was 281 of them women. How did they base theirs? Because of the reports that's turned in. Certainly. Them cops ain't going to arrest them nice looking women if they got a telephone number. They won't turn them in; they let them go. That's the reason. You see, it's become a woman's world. The Bible said it would be that way. Exactly.

So, the preacher in the pulpit's just about the same thing. He's afraid to say anything against it.

But it's becoming to us that we fulfill all righteousness. It's got to be said somewhere. You don't look at your fame and popularity here. You are a love prisoner to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and duty bound. You're a prisoner to Him, and you can say nothing else but what the Holy Ghost says, and preach the thing that's right. You become a love prisoner to Him. Then you don't care what it is; you've got to fulfill all righteousness. A minister should speak that—you Pentecostal people especially, that knows better than to let that get by like that.

Now here some time ago a great famous man come to me, said, “Why don't you leave them women alone?” He said, “Come here. I want to lay hands on you and pray for you, that you'll go in and go ahead praying for the sick.” Said, “Why, the people regard you as a prophet.”

I said, “I never did say I was a prophet.”

He said, “But the people regard you as that.” He said, “You ought to be teaching them people how to get great spiritual gifts.”

I said, “That's what's the matter with the church today.”

Said, “...not tell them about cutting their hair, and this, like that.” Said, “You ought to be teaching them great high things.”

I said, “How can I teach them algebra when they won't even learn their ABC's?” That's right. You've got to start from somewhere, so go down to the bottom and build up. Don't try to start on the top—you haven't got any foundation. And that's the trouble with it today, brethren. They don't take this, “It behooveth us to fulfill all righteousness.”

Notice these angels now,

John the Baptist, Paul, different ones —when they saw that glory of God, and that light, they bowed to it. They ... yes, they honored it. They respected it, because that they humbled themselves. And these angels, even, that minister in His presence, cover up their feet and cover up their face. Oh, my!

Now notice, quickly now. He had two more wings, and by this, he could put himself in action.

Now, what a real servant that is of God. Knowed ... showed the prophet how His prepared servants should be. What should the prepared servant be? Now these servants, look at.... He had looked at a man on earth here, and seen what a failure he made. Then God showed him a kingdom in heaven, a throne. That's the one to look at.

Then He showed him what a real servant ought to be that served in His presence. And here was these seraphims that covered their holy faces, covered their feet, and with two wings they went into action. Reverent, humble, and in action. Amen! If that ain't a dressed-up servant I don't know what is—reverent, humble, and in action. Oh, my! I'll tell you....

Like the little woman at the well. When she recognized that gift of God, and this man that spoke was the Messiah, it sure put her in action right quick. She forgot about her waterpot. She run into the city saying, “Come, see a man who's told me the things I've done. Isn't this the very Messiah?” Oh, what a action she went into.

Peter, when he took Him at His word, as we was speaking on this morning, out there in the boat.... Did you notice, when Peter took His word and dropped the net down in there and caught the big load of fishes, the multitude of fishes, quickly Peter left the net and got into action? Before he done that, he fell down before the Lord and said, “Depart from me, O Lord, I'm a sinful man.” If that ain't the very words like that Isaiah the prophet said, “Woe is me, for I have seen the Lord God, and I'm a man of unclean lips.”

Don't you see what the presence of the Lord does to real believers?

We don't even want to confess. We just want to say, “Well, we're Pentecostal, we're Baptist, we're Presbyterians,” and live on. But a real genuine called servant of God humbles himself in the presence of God. He doesn't criticize it. Look who criticized the Lord Jesus—was the Pharisees. Sectarianism—they was the ones who criticized Him.

But the man who was really willing to be His servant, humbled himself and went into action. Jesus said, “You'll ... follow me, and I'll make you fishers of men.” When he saw that that really was God, he went into action.

The blind man that was healed, the Bible said that he scattered His fame all throughout the country abroad. He went into action, when he found out that God had a representative here on the earth that could open the eyes of a blind man; and going around testifying, giving God praise. And the Pharisees caught him.

And what it was going to be to him? And as I said this morning, “Why,” he said, “I cannot explain, argue theology with you, but this one thing I know: wherein I was once blind, I now see.” He was into action, certainly, because he had scattered His fame everywhere. And sometimes.... Maybe you're not a minister to scatter His fame, but your life will scatter His fame if you'll just live right.

The poor people at Pentecost—those bunch of fishermen, and tax collectors, and so forth, with humble jobs—they went up there on a promise of God and they waited in the upper room for ten days. And all of a sudden there came a sound from heaven like a rushing wind, filled all the house where they were sitting, and they went into action because that they had seen a promise of God made manifest. It was vindicated to them, the promise of God, and it put them in action. When His promise was fulfilled it put them in action.

Friends, may I say this: what we have seen in the last year or two in the kingdom of God ought to put every born-again Christian into action. But the thing of it is, we don't respect it, to realize that it's God. We're just kind of a little curious. We like to see little things that give us sensations, we like to feel good, we like to do these things. But when it really comes to really respecting it and believing it with all of our heart, it puts us into action.

Why, when the angel met Mary that morning on the road to the well, and told her she was going to have a baby, knowing no man, it put her into action. She went quickly, telling everybody that she was going to have a baby, knowing no man. She didn't care what it meant or what the people said. She had actually met an angel of God, and it put her into action. She was conscious that the Holy Spirit was upon her, creating in her a life.

Oh, if we could only realize that: that the Holy Ghost is upon us, creating in us a faith, trying to present Himself in so many different ways and gifts to create a faith for a rapturing church. It should put us into action. But ... wonder if we're just doing it the way He wanted it to be, with reverence and humility.

The pillar of fire in this last days ought to put the whole church into action—it being vindicated, signs of His coming at hand.

Israel has gone back to her homeland. Jesus said, “When the fig tree puts forth its buds, this generation shall not pass until all these things are fulfilled.” When Israel returns to her homeland and becomes a nation, that generation would see the coming of the Messiah.

I got a piece from a rabbi in Palestine the other day was very striking. There's a little vine this year has growed up in Palestine that hasn't been seen there for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years. And it's been predicted by the Jews that when that vine grows again, the Messiah is on His road.

The wise men that come from up in Babylon, and they were studying the stars.... They were astronomers, and as they studied the stars they seen these three stars line up. Ham, Shem, and Japheth's star that they were born under lined up, and they knew.... Those scientific believers watched the heavenly beings, how they moved. And when they seen those stars come into line over Jerusalem (for if they was at Babylon they looked right straight towards Jerusalem, towards the west, to see it), and when they seen that come in.... They knew that when those stars come in line with one another the Messiah was on the earth. Glory!

And when we see Israel going home, and the Holy Ghost being poured out in the churches, the ecumenical news of going together in a council of churches and things, and Roman Catholicism and Protestantism uniting together, the Messiah is going to come to catch away His bride.

And God is sending gifts to try to create in us a faith that'll move us out of here some day into a rapture—healing the sick, opening the eyes of the blind, raising up the dead, great signs in the heaven above, angels coming in constellation, and scientists looking off at it, predicted months before it happened. There it was. There it's in a magazine. Told months before it happened, seven angels come down, and said the complete revelation of the six-seal mystery of God would be unfolded. And there it was, just exactly like He said—predicted before it happened.

And they look around, they find all kinds of mystic sights and call them supernatural beings of some kind. They call it flying saucers. Fearful signs in the skies, on earth signs—the signs pointing to us that the coming of the Lord Jesus is at hand.

Now a little vine crops up. Israel's a nation of her own. She's got her own nation, her own flag. The old six-point star of David, the oldest flag in the world, flies again for the first time for about 2500 years. They've got their own army, they've got their own currency, they are represented in United Nations. They are a nation for the first time for 2500 years. And while they were gathering in

I got a tape of it, a picture. We call it, “Three Minutes till Midnight.” And in that, they asked these Jews—bringing them in, old, on their back, packing them—they say, “Did you come to the homeland to die?”

“No. We come to see the Messiah.” Amen! When you see them questions that's God's calendar piece, that Messiah is fixing to appear.

Oh, how we ought to be humble! How we ought to be reverent! How we ought to be in action, trying to get every soul saved that we can, scattering seeds from right to left and doing everything we can. But instead of that, we say “Glory to God, I don't feel like going tonight. I believe ... well, I believe I'll stay home and see this good telecast tonight. It's prayer meeting, but....” A sleeping church, a Laodicean, rich. Oh, my! There we are. It should put us in action.

We, like the prophet, seeing, come out of self-exaltation and denominations. We see exactly today in the church what's happened, like Isaiah saw. He saw a man, yet being honored of God. But we saw him ... he saw him exalt himself and was stricken with leprosy. We today, we see the same thing, of self-exalted denominations. “We're the biggest one of the bunch. We got more members than the rest of them.” Self-exaltation! See the leprosy of unbelief strike them, and they're cast out. Then we ought to look for a vision from heaven that'll show us Jesus Christ among us, His promised Word that He would do it. Yes, sir—influenced not by some man-made system, but influenced by God Himself.

We find them, like Uzziah, lose their hold on the Word because they've exchanged it for creeds; trying to make themself, like Uzziah of old, trying to take the place of the anointed office behind the platform, and reject the true Word of God. They have no more business back there than Uzziah did in that ... by that altar with the incense. A man that claims to be a Christian and will deny the facts of the Word has no more business in the pulpit than what Uzziah had with that censer. A man that claims to be baptized with the Holy Spirit and blessed of God, and will stand up and deny that Bible and the truth of it, has swapped it for a creed or something. He's just as full of leprosy of sin and unbelief as Uzziah was.

He was put off from the office. But they try to fulfill that office by intellectual. “I'm Doctor ... Ph.D, LL.D, So-and-so,” see. They try to take that and usurp education for the anointing of the Holy Ghost. You see, therefore, a man can take that Bible, and some big institution can explain it and take it apart, and lay it out here, and fix it up to make it look pretty good to you—that's intellectual. That is because he studied and studied of these angles and things, how to put it together. But let me tell you something: when God comes down into His Word He don't only put it together, He manifests it out there, and makes it alive and vindicates it, and proves that it is the truth. That's the truth of the Word. That's when God, Himself, said....

The vision affected the prophet. Oh, the effects the vision had on him! It caused this prophet.... Now, remember, he had been looking at a man. But when he saw something real.... He'd watched the man's holy life; he watched him fail. He seen him take leprosy and die. You ... looking at the same thing in your denominations. You see where every one of them are gone?

Now, this great ecumenical move.... If a church isn't in this ecumenical move, in a time of an emergency that church cannot be used as a church, and no minister can minister to anybody. He'll be put to death by doing so if he ministers any blessing to the people, outside he's with the ecumenical move. That's exactly in the writings today by the Lutheran (I forget his name), see. That's right. Your church cannot be worshipped in. It will be made a storeroom. See, the mark of the beast already coming in effect, and we're looking at it. Oh, it ought to put the church in action! Certainly it ought to.

Watch the effects of the vision now, what it did to the prophet. It caused him.... After watching that man and see it fail, he saw God angry with the man, and withdrawed from him and smote him with leprosy.

Then he went down to the temple to say, “Lord God, I know you're God, and I've been looking at the wrong thing.”

And then God showed him a vision. And not only a vision, but the vision was vindicated because in the midst was the seraphims flying back and forth, that even their voice rocked the building when it come together, the posts of it. And then.... See, he saw something real, and yet he was a prophet. He was ... the prophet's who the Word comes to. But he had never went out into a sphere no more than what he had been looking at—his hero, Uzziah—looking at the past, or the big fellow.

And when he seen the failure there of.... The Word ... and seen the Word rebuke the man because he was usurping a office that he had no business to be, then what happened? He looked up and he saw the Lord.

Can you read between the lines? Can you see what I'm saying now? The Lord Jesus, that promised “As it was in the days of Lot, so shall it be at the coming of the Son of man,” the very God that wrote the Bible, said, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” And He said, “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he also.” Do you get what I mean?

Then that honest-hearted man saw the glory of God. He saw it in action. And he cried out as a sinner, and confessed himself to be a sinner. He'd never seen anything like that so real before. He confessed that he was a sinner. Then what happened? When the prophet got ready to confess, then come the real cleansing.

Until the people gets ready to confess, there's no need of having these healing services. If you'll confess your sins, confess your unbelief, confess the things that you're doing wrong, then God can do something. But until there is a confession, there can be no cleansing.

And as soon as Isaiah said, “Woe is me! I'm a man of unclean lips, and I dwell with people of unclean lips,” then come the confession. Then come the cherubim with the fire.

Did you notice? God never used a seminary to cleanse him with. He never used a book of laws to clean him with. He cleansed him by fire. God always cleanses His servants when He's ready to put them in duty by the Holy Ghost and fire. God cleanses by fire. Not by books, not by education, not by intellectual conception, not by denomination, but by the fire of the Holy Spirit God cleanses His servant.

Then notice. Then, after the confession, after the cleansing, then come the commission. Then was the commission. After confessed and cleansed, it was then that the clean Isaiah answered God and said, “Here am I; send me.” After he was cleansed ... confessed, cleansed by the fire, then that clean Isaiah was ready for work.

He was ready to be an example. He was ready to have ... to put his life out that ... others to be influenced by him. But until he had confessed it, until he was cleansed, then he was a very poor influence—just as a puppet for the king.

Now, he's cleansed. Now he's confessed and cleansed and called, and commissioned to be a prophet. And God let him write the entire Bible. In sixty-six books of the Bible, and there's sixty-six chapters of Isaiah. He starts out in Genesis, the middle of the book comes John the Baptist, and goes plumb over into the millennium reign in Isaiah 65 and 66. That's right—Revelation. He wrote the entire outline of the Bible.

Why? Because he humbled himself when he saw the presence of God. What did he do? And his.... After he did that, and humbled himself and was cleansed, and set aside, and cleansed and commissioned, he's influenced millions of people. Here is his book. Here's Isaiah's writing that's influenced men from that time down to this. His influence goes on. The Bible said their works do follow them.

The Holy Spirit told John, on the revelation on the Isle of Patmos, “Thou must prophesy yet before kings and nations and people.” The book of Revelation's still prophesying. They rest from their labors, but their works follow them. Their influence that they had still follow them, see. Certainly it is.

Now, today, we find the same thing—influences. We've got to influence.... Before we can influence we've got to recognize God, we've got to be clean, we've got to be humble, we got to get ourself down and know.... Just keep imagining and knowing how little you are. You're nothing, I'm nothing, and none of us is nothing; but He's all. He's worthy of all praise.

O Lamb of God, what we need is to go back to the temple. We need to go back to the altar of God and to make a altar in our own hearts where that we can surrender ourselves; and then see the Lord God of hosts come down in this last days and do what He did when He was here first. Then you'll understand it and cry, “Woe is me.”

When the coal of fire had touched the prophet,

Making him as pure as pure could be,

When the voice of God said, “Who'll go for

us?“

Then he answered, “Master, here, send me.”

Is that right? Let's sing it.

Speak, my Lord, speak, my Lord,

Speak, and I'll be quick to answer Thee;

Speak, my Lord, speak, my Lord,

Speak, and I will answer, “Lord, send me.”

(Listen, friends)

Millions now in sin and shame are dying;

Listen to their sad and bitter cry;

Hasten, brother, hasten to their rescue;

Quickly answer, “Master, here am I.”

Now, speak, my Lord, speak, my Lord,

Speak, and I'll be quick to answer Thee;

Speak, my Lord, speak, my Lord,

Speak, and I will answer, “Lord, send me.”

Do you love Him? Let's bow our heads now just a moment and hum this.

... the coal of fire had touched the prophet,

(Let's hum it now.)

Making him as pure as pure could be,

When the voice of God said, “Who'll go for

us?“

Then he answered, “Master, here, send me.”

Speak, my Lord, speak, my Lord,

Speak, and I'll be quick to answer Thee;

Speak, my Lord, speak, my Lord,

Speak, and I will answer, “Lord, send me.”

Heavenly Father, we are waiting for a cleansing of all unbelief, for truly millions now in sin and shame are dying. What good, Lord, does it do that we profess without having what we profess to have? How good does it do for us to try to imagine with our intellects that something has happened when we really know it hasn't happened? Our heavenly Father, we pray that You'll cleanse us now from all of our unbelief, and all of our carnal things of life that we might be clean by the blood of the Lord Jesus.

This group here in Chicago ... by that vision the other morning, Lord, I know there's part of that bride waiting here, and I don't know just how to catch it, Lord. I'm just sowing seeds wherever I can. I pray, God, if there's them here tonight that doesn't have this experience, that they've never been ... and seen the real kingdom of God being manifested, never felt the results of it, and see their lives to cope to all the Word, and can ... and so forth, Lord, grant tonight, that this will be the night that they will do it. Grant it, Father. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Now, reverently.... I'm sure you know me well enough (or I hope you do), I am not a fanatic. If I am, I don't know it. And I don't believe that God honors fanatics. All these years on the field there'd have been something happen. I am your brother, but I do believe with all my heart that.... Now I can't say the Lord told me, but I believe that this generation living now will witness that rapture. That's how close I believe.... I can't see nothing else coming. See, everything's done moved right up to its place.

Remember, the last thing that taken place before Sodom was burned, the Lord was manifested in human flesh. Now, He was a man. He eat meat, and He drank the milk from the cow, and eat cornbread, and eat the calf of the cow, and stood there and eat; and yet Abraham, who talked to Him, said that it was Almighty God. In human flesh, yes. He was showing an example what He was going to do in the last days. Jesus referred back to it.

And watch the ministry that He did. The first thing, He referred back to His promise. You see the theology side of it, see? He said, “I made you a promise, and now I'm here to confirm it.”

And now, how we know that promise is.... Watch. That ... they were waiting. Just before the fire fell, Abraham and Sarah was waiting for a promised son. God appeared in human flesh and done signs before them that Jesus referred to would be the same thing at His coming that He, the Son, promised. And we've noticed that now for going on fifteen years; and still, the church gets worse. No wonder we can actually see we're in the Laodicea age.

Now, the Holy Spirit is here. There may be ones in here.... We have ... we've been praying for the sick, but I'm making an altar call. I'm making an altar call to both professors and those who have never made a profession. I'm asking you to go with me to the temple of God which is within you, go to the confession booth of your heart, and say, “Lord God, cleanse me and send the angel with a coal of fire and take from me all unbelief, that this night I might recognize the presence of God as Isaiah, the prophet, did when the angel touched him.” I want you to do that, and really be sincere.

Now, we've got a promise for this age. We haven't been promised a great bunch of theology. We've been promised.... Look, the Hebrews had two thousand years of theology, but they had a sign given to them before they was destroyed. Lot and them had another sign give to them. They saw the same sign. And now, if God lets the people....

When Jesus was here He made that same sign to the Hebrews, He made it to the Samaritans, and not to the Gentiles. Now, this is the end of the Gentile age, like it was then to their age. The Gentile church is being called.

Now, God cannot change His program, because He's infinite, and He's perfect. Omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, and infinite—if He isn't, He isn't God. So you see, He's got to do the same thing He did then. That's the reason they knowed.... In every generation that He manifested Himself was the same way, knowing that He is the same.

Now, if Jesus Christ stood here tonight at this platform.... If He stood here the only thing that He would do would be the same thing He did when He was back there, to make the people understand that He was the Son of God.

Now, He is here. He promised to be here. And now, the only way that He can work is by His promise, “I am the vine; ye are the branches.” And the branches bear record that the life is coming from the vine, or it doesn't have any life in it. But if it's energized by the life, it's got the same life that the vine's got. It's compelling itself, or pushing itself, up into the branch.

Now be reverent a moment, and may the God of heaven help me, that you, on this sermon that I preached, that when Isaiah—that believer.... When he come to the place that he'd seen the failure of man who tried to represent God, then he saw God come down, and a reality to it. Then he cried, “Woe is me,” because God had made the promise like that. He made it to each generation. He's making it to us, in this our generation. We see everything exactly in order for His coming. Now do you believe He's here? Now, may He help me.

Now I want to know how many sick people's out there. Raise up your hands. You have faith. And now I ask you to take this scripture (Hebrews), that he is the high priest of our confession, and He can be touched by the feeling of our infirmities. Now you pray, “God, let me touch You, and then You in return speak back through Brother Branham like You did through your real Son. He's just an adopted child, like I am. But You promised that in this last days You would do it. Now, Lord, let me see something real.” You pray. May God of heaven, upon the basis of my heart being poured out to Chicago (and wherever I go), may He confirm it to be so.

That man that just raised back in his seat—he's a big fellow, sit right straight in front of me here, that's got his hands up—no, the one back ... white shirt on. It's not exactly you, yourself, but you're praying for somebody else. It's a minister. Do you believe I can tell you what's wrong with him? He's got heart trouble. If that's right, wave your hand. Believe for him now. If you'll just believe it.... But you've got to believe it. If you don't believe it, it won't work. The man in sincerity....

Here, here. Here sits a woman, sitting right down here by this end—second woman back in the second row here, right here. She's suffering with a colon trouble. It's an infection in her colon. The little lady on the end there, kind of gray-headed, stand on your feet so the people can see you. Yes, that's you. That's the truth. It's an infection in the colon and also you have other things wrong—complications. If that's right, raise up your hand. Now who did she touch? Not me; she touched Him. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Here's a lady sitting right back here. She's got trouble, roaring in her head, nervous complications. Mrs. Pfeiffer, you believe with all your heart. Stand up on your feet. I don't know you, but Jesus Christ gives you your desire. I never seen her in my life. She's a stranger to me. It'll stop, don't worry. Your faith healed you.

You believe? Don't you see that's what He promised?

That man sitting back there.... Don't you see that light? He's very bad. He's had a tumor in his throat. He's had an operation. The doctor don't give him much hope for it. Do you believe that God will make you well? You accept it? Mr. Stonelake, you believe with all your heart? All right, stand up on your feet. Jesus Christ will make you well.

“If thou canst believe....” This lady, laying over here in this stretcher, of course you have no prayer card. There's no such a thing now. You're paralyzed. Do you believe this to be the truth? You believe what you've heard tonight is the truth? If you lay there you'll die, but Jesus Christ can heal a paralytic. Do you believe He'll do it? If you'll believe it and will accept it, then you can get up out of that cot and go home in the name of Jesus Christ and be made well.

There she comes, raising right now. Somebody give her a little lift there now. She's paralyzed. There she comes by herself, up out of the chair, made whole in the name of Jesus Christ! Do you believe with all your heart? Then stand on your feet. There comes a paralyzed woman walking through the audience. “Speak, my Lord....”

Do you believe with all your heart? There's another man, paralyzed—out of the cot, coming up, glorifying God. Do you believe? Where's there another one? All the cots are empty! Everything ... everybody's on their feet, praising God. “When the coal of fire had touched the prophet....” Here's a paralyzed woman walking on the platform. Praise be to God! Give Him glory and praise! Here's another man coming up the platform. Look at him walking up steps! Let's give God praise. Raise up your hands and give God the glory!