3-4 Off of my subject, but going
back to the beginning. And I used to box. And there was a fellow named (here in
the city, a poor fellow, drinks very bad now; one of his boys is on the police
force) Smith, George Smith; they called him "Six-second" Smith. He went
to training me for boxing when we had, 'fore the Golden Gloves started. We was
out here at the government. And in that, why, he was the roughest person I ever
seen. He'd just hit me, and I'd just go winding through the air. And I come
back, and I said, "You don't have to be so rough about it." See? I
said, "You just knock the breath out of me."
He said, "I tell you, Billy," said, "no
matter how well-trained you are, and how much athletic experience you have, and
how strong you are for your size, or anything like that," said, "a
lick stops the blood when it hits like that." [Brother Branham
demonstrates a punch--Ed.] And said, "You might hate me now, but when you
get up there in the ring yourself," said, "you'll appreciate it."
Said, "Your body builds up that to come back quick. If you get hit, then
you'll just fall over; and you'll lay there and take a count. But if your
body's built and can stand the licks," said, "then, when you hit
it--a hard lick hits you," said, "then when you--you come back
quick," said, "back to your feet again. Get knocked out of the ring,
jump back in." (He'd just got through, knocked me plumb out of the ring.)
So he said, "You have to just do that. You see?" And he liked to kill
me. He was about thirty or forty pounds heavier than I was, and he could--he
was a fighter; and I was just a student, so he was almost killing me. He said, "But you'll appreciate that when you get in the
ring." I found out that was the truth. TRAINING (SEE?), GETTING THAT
TRAINING RIGHT. YOU MIGHT... LET'S--LET'S KEEP RIGHT WITH THE WORD.
4-2 And I've heard of sergeants in
the army train them boys, and rugged. They'd hate that sergeant; but when it
come to combat, they loved him, because, rugged training. That's the way I've tried to train Christians. Don't
bob off your hair; don't wear makeup; don't do this; get it rugged. You'll appreciate me when I come to--to the end of the road. See?
Training (see?), getting that training right. You
might... Let's--let's keep right with the Word. It might be rugged, cut
denominational differences to pieces, but you'll
appreciate it when you come down at the end of the road. See? You stood by the
Book.
4-3 So wife took a--had her arm in
mine, and we walked up; and George Smith (Now, he's, I guess he's a gray-headed
man; I guess he's seven, or eight, ten years older than I.), and he was back in
the ring and he was battling away. And these young fellows that come up, great
wide-shouldered boys, they couldn't match him at all. They'd just... He would
just whip them in a minute.
And a young fellow said, "I can whip that old man; I
know I can." So he, great big athletical fellow, jumped into the ring
there; he didn't last a half a minute. He come back out, said, "I don't
know where it comes from, but he sure is a man." AND LIKE A CHILD,
BELIEVE YOU GET IT AND YOU GET IT.
THY.HOUSE_
TIFTON.GA TUESDAY_ 61-0808
E-40 If you can believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ, not only for salvation for yourself, for your loved
ones, for the healing of the--the child, or for a mother, or for anything that
you desire that's right... And you know if you desired something that wasn't right, you--you
wouldn't have faith enough to ask God in the first place; 'cause you know it
ain't right. See? If you're sincere and know that it's
right, then you can ask God with a clean heart, knowing it's no selfish motive,
and your objective and motive is exactly right, then ask God. And like a
child, believe you get it and you get it. I know that.
Now, I've come to Christ when I was about the age of one
of these boys here, I guess. I was about twenty years old. And I--I served Him
all this time, and I'm fifty-two, will be fifty-three my birthday. And I can sincerely say that I have
never asked Christ sincerely for anything, that is it's--now, that really
sincerely asked Him, anything that was for right, but what He gave it to me or
told me why He couldn't do it. And then
later on, I found out it was a good thing I didn't get it. See? *AND--AND JUST--JUST SPEAK IT OVER WITH
HIM UNTIL YOU FEEL THEN THAT--THAT--THAT YOU RECEIVE IT. AND THAT'S YOUR FAITH.
THY.HOUSE_
TIFTON.GA TUESDAY_ 61-0808
E-42 But it would be the--the right
thing to do is, come set down and talk it over with one another, let--let you
know (You see?), express our feelings to each other. "You're my friend;
that's the reason I come to you."
Now, that's the same way it is by Christ. Say, "You're my Lord. I--I'm--I'm sick. I...
The--the doctor says he can't do nothing for me. But--but I know You can,
because You're my Lord." And--and just--just
speak it over with Him until you feel then that--that--that you receive it. And
that's your faith. "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things not seen."
And I--when I feel that way, it's just as good as I got
it. Sure, I can go ahead, 'cause I got it. See, I done... Now, He has done
promised me that I got it, so that--that settles it. And I just keep on holding
on, waiting.
Finally, first thing you know, here it comes pouring down
out of the corridors of heaven. And you--you got it.
But that's it you see. "Thy and thy house shall be saved."
And if you don't see them all saved before you leave the
earth, you'll--they'll be there when you get... time... when the great coming
comes, it'll be there. *IF YOU GOT FAITH ENOUGH FOR YOUR OWNSELF
TO BE SAVED, HAVE FAITH ENOUGH, NO MATTER HOW WAYWARD THAT BOY IS, OR THAT GIRL
IS, THEY'LL BE SAVED ANYHOW.
ADOPTION.2_
JEFF.IN AD.2 WEDNESDAY_
60-0518
16 …Paul told the Roman, said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and
thou and thy house shall be saved." If you got
faith enough for your ownself to be saved, have faith enough, no matter how
wayward that boy is, or that girl is, they'll be saved anyhow. God
somehow, if He has to lay them on their back, laying there in a hospital,
dying, they'll be saved. God promised it. The inheritance... Oh. "And they
shall be there," said Isaiah, "and all their offsprings with them.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord." *IT'S BY FAITH WE DO EVERYTHING. BELIEVE
ON THE LORD… BELIEVE ON THE LORD FOR ANYTHING… IT SHALL COME. I'VE NEVER SEEN
IT FAIL IN ALL MY LIFE.
THY.HOUSE_
TIFTON.GA TUESDAY_ 61-0808
E-43 Now, you understand what I mean?
See? It's by faith we do everything. Believe on the
Lord. Believe on the Lord for a job. Believe on the Lord to hunt--to
give you the wife that you should have. Believe on the Lord to give you
the husband you should marry. Believe on the Lord to send you some new
furniture, or if the--if the barrel goes empty and the cruse gets dry,
and there's no food and the children are hungry. Believe on the Lord.
Believe on the Lord for anything. See? As long as it's right, just
believe on the Lord and "thou shall." See? It
shall come. I've never seen it fail in all my life. God bless you. *BELIEVE FOR YOURSELF, AND BELIEVE FOR
YOUR HOUSE, AND YOU SHALL HAVE IT.
THY.HOUSE_
TIFTON.GA TUESDAY_ 61-0808
E-44 But you understand what I mean
now to believe? "Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thy and thy house shall be saved."Believe for yourself, and believe for your house, and
you shall have it. Say, "Well, the doctor said I can't get
well." Well, if thou can believe on the Lord, you can get well.
"Well, I--I'm out of work." But if you'll
believe on the Lord (See?), and you shall have work. "And I--I don't know
what to do about this situation." Believe on the Lord. Look where it sets
with me right now, and wife there. I've always thought the Lord wanted me to
leave Jeffersonville. Now, it's got to a spot, till I just had to commit myself
to Him. *I'M JUST--JUST ALL PACKED UP AND READY,
YOU KNOW, WHEN IT COMES, LORD, HERE I AM. I'M JUST WAITING.
THY.HOUSE_
TIFTON.GA TUESDAY_ 61-0808
E-45 All right, Jimmy, have you got them, my
boy? [Brother reads a question: "When
the rapture takes place, will all believer's families, wife and children go?
They are in faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord?"--Ed.]
Yes, yes. Will all the family go in--in the--in the
rapture? See, yes. See? Now, if you notice, the rapture is going to be a
universal thing. And how... Did you all get that lesson all right Sunday? You
all understand it all right about how close we are at the time, "The
Seventy Weeks Of Daniel"?
…THY.HOUSE_ TIFTON.GA TUESDAY_
61-0808
E-46 Now, we was talking today, the
brethren. You say, "Well, Brother Branham, if you believe that the rapture
is that close, then why do you go fishing?" If I put my mind to it
constantly, it would almost run you wild. When you think of the tens of
thousands of people out here in sin that don't know Christ. And I think that
"Here I am, what can I do?"
But here's what I think. I cannot
save one unless God called them. See? I can't do it. And I couldn't save
them anyhow. But "all the Father has given Me will come to Me." So if
He don't tell me where to go, then what can I do? See?
So, the thing I do, is just not be--not be all weary
about it. That'd be worse than ever. I'm happy about it. I'm just--just all packed up and ready, you know, when it
comes, Lord, here I am. I'm just waiting. BUT CHRISTIAN IS NOT A
CHURCH THAT YOU BELONG TO; IT'S AN EXPERIENCE THAT YOU HAVE HAD OF BEING BORN
INTO THE FAMILY OF GOD.
THY.HOUSE_
TIFTON.GA TUESDAY_ 61-0808
E-48 You say, "Well, a Christian
means a Campbellite." No, that's--that's... They just call them Christian,
but that don't mean Christian. I know a many people that I'd think belong to
what was called the Christian Church that wasn't Christians. And the Christian
ministers will tell you the same thing of the Christian Church, that they got
many members that not Christian.
But Christian is not a church that you belong to;
it's an experience that you have had of being born into the family of God.
Jud 1:20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
Jud 1:21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
Jud 1:22 And of some have compassion, making a difference:
Jud 1:23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
Jud 1:24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
Jud 1:25 To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
Rom 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Rom 8:27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Rom 8:30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
Rom 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
Rom 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
Rom 8:33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.
Rom 8:34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Rom 8:36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Rom 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
24-0426A_THE IDENTIFED CHRIST OF ALL AGES PT-21 (FOCUSED HEART TO CHRIST AND HIS WILL)
Heb 9:24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
Heb 9:25 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;
Heb 9:26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
Heb 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
*THAT'S WHAT THE CHURCH OUGHT TO DO TODAY.
LOOK TO THE ONE THING, THE VOICE, THE WORD OF GOD THAT SPEAKS TO US.
LOOK_PHOENIX.AZSUNDAY_63-0428
97
That's what every genuine believer has to do. Separate
yourself from these doubters and unbelievers, and walk with Christ. It, it's Life, to you.
98 And Abraham did such a thing.
And twenty-five years later, we find him still believing the same promise. Why?
He had focused his--his mind to the will of God, by the
Word of God, and believed it.
99 If we can focus
ourself to the plan of God, to what God wants for us, and what God promised us,
and let everything else alone. No matter how long it is, just keep believing.
100 Romans 4 here, we find Romans
4:14. It said, "And he staggered not at the
promise of God, through unbelief." He didn't let unbelief
contaminate him, at all. He looked to one thing, that
was, the Voice that spoke to him.
101
That's what the Church ought to do
today. Look to the one thing, the Voice, the Word of God that speaks to us. Churches and peoples can speak
any way. But, look to the Voice. What are we
looking at?
*THAT'S WHAT EACH MEMBER OF THE CHURCH
SHOULD DO, WOULD FOCUS OUT OF YOU ALL DOUBT. LOOK ONLY TO THAT WORD.
LOOK_PHOENIX.AZSUNDAY_63-0428
104 Abraham knew that his--his body
was as good as dead, but he considered not his own body. He considered not the
deadness of Sarah's womb. A young girl, he had married his half-sister, lived
with her all these years. And now she is ninety years old, and he's a hundred
years old. But he didn't even think about that. That didn't even come in his
mind. Why? He had focused all the unbelief out.
Oh, glory!
105 That's what the Church should
do. That's what each member of the Church should do,
would focus out of you all doubt. Look only to that Word. It promised
it. God said so. It's got to be that way.
106 The Bible said, "Against
hope, he believed in hope. He staggered not at the promise of God, through
unbelief, but was strong, giving praise to God." Each
day he got stronger because the miracle would be greater.
*YOU ARE ZEROED, BECAUSE YOU KNOW THAT
YOU'RE HITTING THE TARGET.
109 But, you know where
you stand, because you been zeroed in with God. You see your own life hitting
that target, just like those apostles did. You live the way they did. You were baptized the way they
were. You see the same results that they seen. You see
it operating in you. You are zeroed. I don't care what the company says
and what the denominations say. You are zeroed, because
you know that you're hitting the target. Amen. Then
you know where you're standing. Depends on what you're looking at. If
you're looking to somebody else, you'll go any way. Any little puff of wind
will blow you off the target. But, oh, you can't be
blowed off the target when you're zeroed in. That's all. There's nothing
going to stop it. God carries it to its...
*JUST LIKE DAVID'S LITTLE ROCK IN THE
SLING, IT WENT STRAIGHT TO ITS DESTINATION…SO WILL YOUR PRAYERS GO STRAIGHT TO
ITS DESTINATION
LOOK_PHOENIX.AZSUNDAY_63-0428
110 Just like David's
little rock in the sling, it went straight to its destination.
111 So will your prayers
go straight to its destination, 'cause it's offered in the Blood of Jesus
Christ which cleanses you. There's not a sin or a spot on you nowhere. That's right. There can't
be. As long as that Clorox is between me and God, how is He going to see my
sin? How can He do it?
112 If I make a sin, it's not
willfully. "He that sins willfully after he receive the knowledge of the
Truth." But there's no willful sin, yet you do sin. But you don't do it willfully, because, in your heart,
you--you don't mean to do those things.
113 But when you do it willfully,
it's different, then I think you wasn't there at the first place.
114 Now, the thing of it is, is come
to a place where that all the stain of sin is washed away. Then you stand, redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb. You are an
Adam, like he was before he fell. You are a son of God, washed in the
Blood of God's Own Blood.
*ONLY GOD HIMSELF CAN TAKE A HOLD OF THE
CAMERA OF YOUR EYES AND LET YOU SEE WHAT GOD IS, AND WHAT HIS PURPOSE IS.
116 And the Life comes not by
confession in some church, or some creed, or some document. But the Life comes when you been born again by the Blood of
Jesus Christ, the--the Germ. "The--the
works that I do shall you do also. He that believeth on Me, though he were
dead, yet shall he live. Whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never
die." There is that Life of God, as a son of God, born by the Blood of
God. And you're... The same Holy Spirit that wrote this
Bible will focus It right back into you again. There's not a
denomination or a creed that can do that. Only God
Himself can take a hold of the camera of your eyes and let you see what God is,
and what His purpose is. Yes, sir. Certainly.
*FAITH IS DESIGNED TO SEE WHAT GOD WILLS
AND WANTS. THERE IS NO KNOWLEDGE THAT CAN DO THAT.
LOOK_PHOENIX.AZSUNDAY_63-0428
120
Pharaoh did not have this potential. He was offered it,
but refused it. And when he refused it, then he couldn't focus.
121 No man, after he's
turned down the Word of God, can ever focus hisself into It, because you refuse
the Word that brings you into relationship of Christ. That's right. So...
122 But, Moses looked out of this
window, he believed it. Why? Moses looked by faith.
That's how Moses looked.
123 Now listen real close to this
remark. Faith! Now, don't forget to get this now. Faith
is designed to see what God wills and wants. There is no knowledge that
can do that. Faith alone is designed, and give to the
human race, to find out what the will of God is.
*BUT WHEN YOUR GOD-GIVEN FAITH FOCUS YOU
WITH THE WORD OF GOD, YOU'RE DIRECTLY IN LINE AND ZEROED.
124 And you take your
faith that you got, and it don't focus with the Word, then leave it alone. You got the wrong faith.
125 But when your
God-given faith focus you with the Word of God, you're directly in line and
zeroed. Oh, my! God
help us this hour, great hour that we live in. Faith,
designed to see what God wants! How do you see it? Through the camera of His Word, His promise. This is a full
revelation of Jesus Christ.
*THAT'S WHAT DOES IT, WHEN YOU'RE
ZEROED-IN WITH GOD, FOCUSED IN, BY THEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE TARGET.
LOOK_PHOENIX.AZSUNDAY_63-0428
126
Then, when the faith that's in you,
focus you to this Word, you're focused away from all denominations and creeds
and everything. You're focused right straight on the Word of God. You're zeroed
in. It only needs
is a little touch-off. Amen. That prayer flies straight
in the Presence of God, because there's nothing to stop it. Yes. That's what does it, when you're zeroed-in with God, focused
in, by then you're looking at the target.
127 You're not looking at what somebody
else says, "This can't happen, and this can't happen."
128 You're looking to what you know
did happen. Look on your target. You see where they hit
it. If they hit it in that day, He's the same yesterday, today, and
forever. Focus out all these creeds and things you got mixed up. Get right back to the Word, then confess your unbelief, and
let God take His Holy Spirit and direct your sights right straight on Jesus
Christ. We're looking to Him then, not what somebody else says.
*A FAITH OF THE CHURCH TODAY SHOULD SEE
THE SAME PROGRAM OF GOD.
LOOK_PHOENIX.AZSUNDAY_63-0428
129
Not even what the doctor says, as good as it might be.
He's got his place. The church, as good as... It's got its place. We don't deny
that. But it's got, all got its place. It'll fire, but it won't hit the target.
130 "Only them who
look for Christ the second time." That's
the zero. It depends on what you're looking at. Yes.
131 Now, today, you see, faith is designed to do this. Same faith today sees
the same thing. A faith of the Church today should see
the same program of God. I want you to don't miss this now. The Church today, that's called of God, will certainly see
the program of God, because the program of God is written out Here, the
Blueprint.And the Holy Spirit, by faith, is the
One Who reads It and sets It together.
*AND THE MAN TODAY WHO SEES GOD'S
PROGRAM, DOES THE SAME THING, LOOKS BY FAITH.
LOOK_PHOENIX.AZSUNDAY_63-0428
134
Moses looked by faith. And the
man today who sees God's program, does the same thing, looks by faith.
135 Moses, later, seen this great
thing. When the people got in trouble, what did he do? He made a serpent out of
brass, put it upon a pole. And said, when they were bitten by serpents, because
of their unbelief, that, "Whosoever looked upon
this serpent lived." Notice. The man who
just come and looked...
136 Now, the stick, the pole it was
on, was a piece of a tree that was cut down there in the wilderness, probably a
piece of mesquite, or--or something that you'd have here, ironwood, or whatever
it might be. It had done been separated from its natural growth. It was dead,
within itself. The brass was probably a piece of helmets from the Romans,
or--or something that they had took in the salvage. It was molded and put
together, and made a serpent.
137 If men come out there, just as
an idol, to look upon that serpent, they received nothing.
138 But when the true
believer come out there and looked upon that serpent, with the spiritual
revealed Truth... That
serpent itself, being it was in the form of a serpent, it represented sin
already judged. They seen sin, their unbelief, already
under judgment, from the serpent from the garden of Eden. And the
serpent was made out of brass, which means Divine judgment. See?
139 The altar was made out of brass,
brazen altar, which the sacrifice was offered upon; brass, Divine judgment.
*GOD IS SO SIMPLE. THE REASON THAT MAN
CAN'T FIND GOD, HE DON'T GET SIMPLE ENOUGH.
LOOK_PHOENIX.AZSUNDAY_63-0428
142 We have become so--so profound
in our intellects. We have educated our children till we got a bunch of rickys.
And we got what we got, even our churches and things. And our boys going to
seminaries, getting out here, and go down there and learn some Ph.D. and L.L.D.
Let me tell you something. Every time he gets one, he
goes farther and farther from God.
143 God is so simple. The
reason that man can't find God, he don't get simple enough.
Someone
said, "Brother Branham, how do you see visions?"
144
It's not me. See? You--you
got to get yourself out of the picture. God made a promise. God has got
to stay with that promise. But you've got to be simple
enough to get out of your own way.
THE
WAY TO KNOW GOD IS GET SIMPLE.
145 Someone
said, "This would be a great man if he had a L.L.D. out of our
college." If he does, he just goes another gap from God.
146 "Men today can send a
message," I said, "to the moon, but he walks over a blade of grass
where he could not explain if he has to." God is hid in simplicity. See?
You can't get simple enough. A man get an education,
the first thing he knows, he's so great, he can't humble himself.
147 And God is so great,
that He humbles Himself and hides Himself from the sinner. Jesus thanked God for it. He
said, "I thank Thee, Father, Creator
of heavens and earth, thou hast hid This from the wise and prudent, and will
reveal It to babes such as will learn."The
way to know God is get simple. The way up is down.
*JUST FOCUS YOUR HEART TO CHRIST AND HIS
WILL, AND WATCH WHAT HAPPENS.
LOOK_PHOENIX.AZSUNDAY_63-0428
148
Which way is the north or south pole? You stand in space.
See?
149 The way up is down. "He
that humbles himself shall be exalted. He that exalts himself shall be
abased." See? We must humble ourselves, not try to
know too much.
150 Just know one thing. Focus everything else out of the way, and look unto Christ. If
you don't know how to write your name, that don't have one thing to do with it.
Just focus your heart to Christ and His will, and watch
what happens. Yes. Certainly.
24-0422P_THE TESTIMONY OF A TRUE WITNESS PT-9 (THY HOUSE)
Act 16:28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
Act 16:29 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,
Act 16:30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
Act 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
*WHEN WE'RE BORNED OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD,
GOD ISN'T WEAK IN ONE PLACE AND STRONG IN ANOTHER. IF YOU'VE GOT A LITTLE
SHADOW OF GOD IN YOU…
THY.HOUSE_
TIFTON.GA TUESDAY_ 61-0808
E-33 As I said the other day, when we're borned of the Spirit of God, God isn't weak in one
place and strong in another. If you've got a little shadow of God in you, just
the littlest speck of God, then you've got all power. You got enough
power in you to make a world and go out and live in it.
But of course, that power is controlled by faith. If it wasn't, we'd all have us a
world out there, living in it. But if you're a son of
God or a daughter of God, you've got the power of God in you. See? So
then, you... That law holds that faith to a certain thing. *WELL, ONE DAY WHEN WE ACCEPTED CHRIST,
WHAT DID HE DO? HE OPENED UP, AS SOON AS WE ACCEPTED HIM... THAT'S OF FAITH
…WE--WE WAS ALLOTTED THAT MUCH FAITH. WHY? BECAUSE THAT WE BELIEVE THAT WE ARE
SAVED.
THY.HOUSE_
TIFTON.GA TUESDAY_ 61-0808
E-34 Now, let's take for instance,
all of us, we'd say. We once lied; we'd steal; we'd--we'd curse, and swear, and
do everything that's wrong.Well, one day when we accepted Christ, what did He do? He
opened up, as soon as we accepted Him... That's of faith, just like Paul
told the Roman to have, "Believe." Just exactly what Job did:
believe. See? And as soon as we accepted Christ as our Saviour, immediately
we received enough faith, till we walked away, no more lying, no more stealing,
no more cheating. See? No... Why?
We rode right up above that sin that we used to ride in
there. We--we was allotted that much faith. Why?
Because that we believe that we are saved. Is
that right? We believe here that we are saved. So then, we ride up above that,
because we believe we are saved. AND BECAUSE YOU BELIEVE YOU ARE A CHRISTIAN, YOU RISE UP FROM THAT;
YOU'RE TO ANOTHER LEVEL.
THY.HOUSE_
TIFTON.GA TUESDAY_ 61-0808
E-36 Now, with that little bit of
God, when you said, "Yes, Lord Jesus, I'm a sinner. I'm not worthy of Your
love. But You did love me so I accept You as my Saviour." Immediately, you
walk right out of there, and what is it? You stop your lying. You stop cheating.
You stop stealing. You stop doing things that you oughtn't to do. Why? Because you believe that you are a Christian. And because you
believe you are a Christian, you rise up from that; you're to another level. Now.
See?
Now, if you're sick, here's healing. You just believe it.
Now, you can't make yourself believe it. It's got to be
something happen to you, just like your conversion. It's got to happen. *A--A MARRIAGE BASED OUTSIDE OF THAT IS
SURE TO FALL, OR IT'LL NEVER BE SUCCESSFUL. THEY'LL NEVER BE HAPPY.
THY.HOUSE_
TIFTON.GA TUESDAY_ 61-0808
E-37 I was telling my wife the other
day how much I loved her. So, I don't guess she wants me to talk about this.
But I do it in private so I guess I can do it in public right now. I was
telling her how much I loved her, and how I always have loved her since the
first beginning. I said, "It don't make any difference..."
She said, "Oh, Bill." She said how... talking
about how fat she was getting and her hair turning gray.
I said, "Honey, you could be that wide and no hair,
I'd still love you just the same." See? Because it has to be something
there that you have to--has--you have to meet that you love somebody. And
unless that person loves that other person...
THY.HOUSE_
TIFTON.GA TUESDAY_ 61-0808
E-38 This is for you young girls
that's not married (See?), and you boys. When you meet that girl that you love,
and there's just something you know you love her, and that's just all there is
to it, or you love him and that's--you don't care whether he's handsome, or
whether he's not handsome, or whether she's pretty or not pretty. That doesn't
matter. But you love them just the same. Now,
you'd better watch, kinda hold around close there, because that's--you're
getting close to home there.
And I... it... A--a marriage
based outside of that is sure to fall, or it'll never be successful. They'll
never be happy. Now, I said that to get around to one thing I want to
say. *A CONVERSION, OUTSIDE OF THE SAME THING,
WON'T LAST EITHER. BUT WHEN YOU'RE CONVERTED TO CHRIST, A LOVE TO CHRIST, THEN
YOU ACCUMULATE A FAITH IN CHRIST…
THY.HOUSE_ TIFTON.GA
TUESDAY_ 61-0808
E-39 Friends, a conversion, outside of the same thing, won't last either. It
won't. When you go to church, and--and you say, "Well, I'm going to join
church, and I'm going to be baptized." If that
isn't coming from a heart of love to God yonder, it'll never go nowhere.
You'll just... All you'll do is join church and be baptized.
But when you're converted to Christ, a love to
Christ, then you accumulate a faith in Christ, like you would to your wife, or
to your husband. You accumulate a faith that you walk in that faith. I don't know, you
just--something about you, you just got a--something that anchors you there.
You see?
Well, that's the same way it is about Christ. And what
Christ says, you believe it. And you just stay right with it. And that's the
way... It just raises you right up above it, and God
brings it to pass and fulfills His promise, "If thou will believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ, thy and thy house shall besaved."
24-0419A_THE IDENTIFED CHRIST IN ALL AGES PT-20 (LOOK TO THAT TARGET)
Heb 9:24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
Heb 9:25 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;
Heb 9:26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
Heb 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
*LIKE GOING DOWN THE ROAD, YOU, SOMEONE,
MIGHT SEE A CERTAIN SCENE, AND THEY WOULD SAY, "LOOK," AND THEN
EXPRESS WHAT IT IS.
LOOK_PHOENIX.AZSUNDAY_63-0428
25L, double o, k, look. The word, really, when... It's used oft. But,
"look," when you hear the word, it's usually somebody trying to get
you to see what they are looking at. They say to you, "Look." Like going down the road, you, someone, might see a certain
scene, and they would say, "Look," and then express what it is. It's
at the mountain, at--at the--the cactus, or whatever they're looking at. But,
the first thing, to get your attention, is, "Look."
LOOK_PHOENIX.AZSUNDAY_63-0428
26Now, everybody is looking, today. Everybody is
looking for something, and looking for something to happen.
27We know that the world is constantly watching the skies,
the radar and the screens that we have up, around the world, every nation, for
its own defense, has--has got a magic eye, like, looking to--to find something to appear into this
screen, like an atomic missile or something. Then, they've got something there
to go back to the one that sent it this way.
*BUT THE BRIDE IS LOOKING FOR THE COMING
OF HER LORD.
LOOK_PHOENIX.AZSUNDAY_63-0428
28Everything is looking. The Ford
Company is looking to make a better Ford. The Chevrolet is looking, make a
better Chevrolet. Phoenix is looking to make a larger and better town. The
nation is looking for more territory, so it can spread itself. The church, just
church, is looking for more members.
But the Bride is looking for the Coming of her
Lord.
29We're all looking. Depends on what the voice is
trying to tell you to look for. Some of us are saying, "Look for
this." And if it's a church, we're saying we want so many more this year,
members. That's all right.
*AND HE, BY FAITH, HE SAW THE COMING OF A
FLOOD, A GREAT RAIN THAT WAS GOING TO COVER THE EARTH AND TAKE ALL THE... WASH
OFF THE EARTH…
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30But the Voice that I trying to
say to you this morning, is like the writer of this epistle, we believe to be
Paul, which is saying, "Looking for the Coming of Jesus Christ, the second
time," looking for Him.In order to do it, you got to see something before you can
tell somebody else to look at what you are seeing.
31Noah had an experience of this. And he, by
faith, he saw the coming of a flood, a great rain that was going to cover the
earth and take all the... wash off the earth; the rededication again to God. The
filth of the world, that the people had got in that conglomeration that they
were in in that day, and it had to all be washed off, to start again.
*NOAH KNEW BY THE WORD OF GOD THAT THERE
WAS COMING A FLOOD. BY FAITH HE SAW IT.
LOOK_PHOENIX.AZSUNDAY_63-0428
37Now, Noah
knew by the Word of God that there was coming a flood. By faith he saw it. He
knew that was going to be, because God's Word promised it. Now, Noah, himself,
by faith, saw what God's Word said. But the world could not see it, because it
could not be scientifically proven that there were water up in the sky. But Noah knew it was there, because God said so.
*THAT'S THE CHURCH, THE BRIDE, THE
CALLED-OUT TODAY, KNOWS THAT THE COMING OF THE LORD IS AT HAND
38That's the Church, the Bride, the called-out today, knows
that the Coming of the Lord is at hand, regardless of how much we've been able to go in progress,
and so forth, and succeed in splitting an atom, and--and sending a--a radar
message to the moon. That means nothing to the
believer, only a sign that the Coming of the Lord is at hand. We see
nations breaking, and the nations coming, falling apart, and the world coming
apart, and the church move coming apart. Then, we are taught, that, "We
receive a Kingdom which cannot be moved." But as
these things begin to happen, the Church binds Itself together, tighter and
tighter, with the... by the Word of God. It's a great day that we're living in.
And we are...
*AND AS A GROUP OF BELIEVERS TODAY, ASSEMBLED TOGETHER, WE WANT TO FIX OUR
THOUGHTS, OUR PRINCIPLES AND THINGS, UPON THE COMING OF THE LORD…
LOOK_PHOENIX.AZSUNDAY_63-0428
40And as a group of believers
today, assembled together, we want to fix our thoughts,
our principles and things, upon the Coming of the Lord, "Looking for
Christ, Who shall appear the second time without sin unto salvation, to those
that believe and are looking for Him to come." God, here, the... by
the writer, is inviting us to--to view this and to look at it. We... The writer
says here, that, "We look for Christ, the second time, to see Him as He
is."
41And now we know that the Word is Christ. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God." And Hebrews 13:8 said, "He's the same yesterday, today, and forever."Therefore it's the Word that we look to, then, for It is
the--the expression of what God is. And when God came in Christ, He was
the expression of what God was. And whatever He was, He ever remains, because
He's Eternal and cannot change.
*THEREFORE, WE WANT TO LOOK TO THAT
TARGET; NOT WHAT TARGET THE CHURCH IS SHOOTING AT, BUT WHAT TARGET THAT CHRIST
IS SHOOTING AT.
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64Now if I had looked to what the
Winchester Company said, which is supposed to be the one that--that made the
gun, then I'd have listened to them. But I knowed different.
65Now if I look to the church, and they say, "Oh, them days is gone,
and there's no such a thing as That," and, see, see where you'd be? It'd
be plumb off of target. See?
66But if He is ever God, He is still God. He always was God, and He can't
be nothing else but God. And He is God, Eternal. Therefore,
we want to look to that Target; not what target the church is shooting at, but
what Target that Christ is shooting at.
67"We look for Christ to appear, the same Jesus." He said, when
He was on earth, "A little while and the world seeth Me no more. Yet, ye
shall see Me, for I'll be with you to the end of the world." That same One Who could direct the Word, and be the Word, and
direct It right straight on to the Target, that same Lord Jesus is here this
morning in the form of the Holy Spirit, to direct our thoughts and focus down,
His Word, to one true and living God, to one purpose, to one achievement.
And if we'll just let Him do it, He will focus the Word
right into a place that'll prove that He's the same yesterday, today, and
forever. Depends on what you want to look at.
*WE MUST FOCUS OUR LIVES… IF WE GET OUR
LIVES LINED WITH THE WORD, THEN THE WORD AND OUR LIFE BECOMES THE SAME.
LOOK_PHOENIX.AZSUNDAY_63-0428
68We must focus our
lives. Not what somebody else says, but focus our lives to Him. And He is the
Word. See? If we get our lives lined with the Word, then the Word and
our life becomes the same. He said, "If
ye abide in Me, and My Word in you, then ask what you will. It'll be granted to
you. Verily I say unto you, if you say to this mountain, 'Be moved,' and don't
doubt in your heart, but believe that that what you have said will come to
pass; you can have what you have said." Oh, my! "Not what I said;
what you said, you can have," because you and He become the same. Because,
the mind that was in Christ is in you. And the mind
that was in Christ was to fulfill the Father's Word. Which, He was the
Word. There you are. Then you and the Word are focused
in, together. You become a living unit of God. How great!
*THAT'S WHAT WE WANT TO DO, TO FOCUS OUR
LIVES INTO JESUS CHRIST, THAT CHRIST AND YOU BECOME THE SAME PERSON.
LOOK_PHOENIX.AZSUNDAY_63-0428
86I could do it. We must cope our lives and focus
it in to the Word of God. Just like that we would a picture camera, or
try to get the right focus before we snap it, and then we got the real true
picture. That's what we want to do, to focus our lives into
Jesus Christ, that Christ and you become the same Person. You are a son adopted to God by the
Blood of the righteous Jesus Christ.
87Then the Church would be moving on without friction,
without hurt, without harm, without--without doubts, without scruples, without
friction. It would
be moving in the power of the Word of God, manifesting every Divine blessing
that God promised to It, if it'd just do that.
*AND THE CHRISTIAN DOESN'T LOOK TO WHAT
HE SEES WITH HIS EYES. HE LOOKS TO WHAT HE SEES WITH HIS FAITH.
LOOK_PHOENIX.AZSUNDAY_63-0428
92Now remember, the whole Christian armor is supernatural, if you are a
Christian.
93You say, "Seeing is believing." You
can never be a Christian if you believe that.
94"For faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of
things not seen." You cannot be a Christian and have to see the thing. The
whole armor of God is supernatural. Love, joy, peace, faith, long-suffering,
goodness, meekness, gentleness, and Holy Ghost, it's all unseen. And the Christian doesn't look to what he sees with his eyes.
He looks to what he sees with his faith.
*AND HIS FAITH CAN ONLY BE BASED UPON ONE
THING, THAT'S THE WORD.
LOOK_PHOENIX.AZSUNDAY_63-0428
95And his faith can only
be based upon one thing, that's the Word. Amen. Now I feel like a shouting Baptist. Yes, sir. See?
When you get to that Word, that's the living thing. That's the Word. When your mind and eyes can be single to that Word, and focus
that in till you see exactly what God is doing, what a wonderful thing.
96Abraham saw it. See? He did not look to any of
the misunderstandings of the promise. What if he would have looked and
said, "Here I'm seventy-five years old. And such-and-such a voice spoke to
me and said I'm to have a baby by my wife. She is sixty-five years old, about
fifteen, twenty, years past menopause"? What would he have done? But what
did he do? He never paid any attention to what the
natural things was. He looked at what God said. It become such a reality to him
till he didn't see nothing else but what God said. He left his home. He
separated himself from all unbelief, anything that would try to pull him away. He separated himself so he could walk alone.
*IF WE CAN FOCUS OURSELF TO THE PLAN OF
GOD, TO WHAT GOD WANTS FOR US, AND WHAT GOD PROMISED US…
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97That's what every genuine
believer has to do. Separate yourself from these doubters and unbelievers, and
walk with Christ. It, it's Life, to you.
98And Abraham did such a thing. And twenty-five years later, we find him
still believing the same promise. Why? He had focused
his--his mind to the will of God, by the Word of God, and believed it.
99If we can focus ourself to the plan of God, to what God
wants for us, and what God promised us, and let everything else alone. No matter how long it is, just
keep believing.
100Romans 4 here, we find Romans 4:14. It said, "And
he staggered not at the promise of God, through unbelief." He
didn't let unbelief contaminate him, at all. He looked
to one thing, that was, the Voice that spoke to him.
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101That's what the Church
ought to do today. Look to the one thing, the Voice, the Word of God that
speaks to us. Churches
and peoples can speak any way. But, look to the Voice. What
are we looking at?
*AND I--I HAD THIS LITTLE MODEL-75 TILL I
COULD JUST, EVERY TIME, HIT A SQUIRREL'S EYE AT FIFTY YARDS WITH IT… AND THAT
WAS THE LORD HELPING ME, OF COURSE, TO DO THAT.
LOOK_ PHOENIX.AZ SUNDAY_
63-0428
55 I--I love to--to shoot, and--and
the targets. And here not long ago, I was squirrel hunting down in Kentucky.
There was... I had a little model-75 rifle. It sounds... I hope it don't sound
sacrilegious to you, to say this in a sermon, but I--I will tell you. I'm
trying to make a point. And this little rifle, I trained it in. And I've dealt
and fooled with guns since a little kid. I--I love them. And I--I had this
little model-75 till I could just, every time, hit a squirrel's eye at fifty
yards with it.
56 I had a paper from the range down there, signed up, that,
"Driving nine bullets through the same hole, at fifty yards, on a rainy,
windy day." And I got it signed up and notarized. And that was the Lord
helping me, of course, to do that. That's unusual.
LOOK_ PHOENIX.AZ SUNDAY_
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57 And I started to shoot the
squirrel. I find out, I hit him somewhere else besides in the eye. I got
nervous. I tried again, on paper, and it wouldn't hit the target. It would hit
within, oh, quarter of an inch, or a half-inch, something, at fifty yards. But
I knowed it would do better than that. I done everything to the gun that I
knowed how to do, and nothing seemed to--to fix it up right.
LOOK_ PHOENIX.AZ SUNDAY_
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58 So I wrapped it up in the box
and sent it back to Winchester Company for examination, for rebedding. They
wrote me a nice letter I have, my file at home. And it said--said,
"Rev. Branham," said, "that--that rifle will group an inch at
twenty-five yards." Said, "It's just a model-75." Said,
"It's not a target gun. It's just a little plinker." And said,
"You'll never get any better than that." Now, that was the Winchester
Company that made the gun, said, "An inch at twenty-five yards," and
I drove nine straight holes at fifty yards.
59 Now, here's my thought. My wife said, "Now look, Bill," she
said, "if that company who made the rifle will just say that, and it won't
do no better than that, then who are you to say that."
60 I said, "Honey, here is what it is. I don't care
what the company says. I've seen it do it, and I know it'll do it."
LOOK_ PHOENIX.AZ SUNDAY_
63-0428
61 And I set down there, when the
other brethren were shooting at squirrels. Anywhere they wanted to hit them was
all right, mid-center, back, or anywhere. I set under a tree and was crying. I
said, "God, I'm so nervous. I can't hold myself together. Why did You make
me a little, nervous fellow like this?" And just...
62 I realize where I am standing here, the Bible before me. And a Voice, just as plain as you would hear mine, said,
"You were made thus for a purpose."
Because, until you--you know that that rifle is
going to zero once, because... If it zeroed once, rather, it'll zero again. It's the same rifle.
*IF OBEYING THIS WORD, TAKING THIS RANGE
FINDER AND BRING IT DOWN TO A PLACE TILL I CAN SEE THE SAME THING THOSE
APOSTLES SAW, THE SAME GOSPEL THEY PREACHED.
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63 Therefore, I see it. See? If obeying this Word, taking this range Finder and bring It
down to a place till I can see the same thing those apostles saw, the same
Gospel they preached. It'll produce the same results, 'cause It did for them.
It'll strike the target every time. No matter what the churches says,
and the people who claims to be, I--I know It'll do It. Because... And there is what I want to look at, that Word, to see that
It's exactly in focus, to see the same vision they saw. And It'll do the same
job that It did for them. It'll heal the sick. It'll raise the dead.
It'll cast out devils. It'll bring forth a glorious
Church Who is willing to seal their testimony with their own blood if it comes
necessary to do that. Because, it depends on what you're looking at.
*THEREFORE, WE WANT TO LOOK TO THAT
TARGET; NOT WHAT TARGET THE CHURCH IS SHOOTING AT, BUT WHAT TARGET THAT CHRIST
IS SHOOTING AT.
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64 Now if I had looked to what the
Winchester Company said, which is supposed to be the one that--that made the
gun, then I'd have listened to them. But I knowed different.
65 Now if I look to the church, and they say, "Oh, them days is gone,
and there's no such a thing as That," and, see, see where you'd be? It'd
be plumb off of target. See?
66 But if He is ever God, He is still God. He always was God, and He can't
be nothing else but God. And He is God, Eternal. Therefore,
we want to look to that Target; not what target the church is shooting at, but
what Target that Christ is shooting at.
67 "We look for Christ to appear, the same Jesus." He said, when
He was on earth, "A little while and the world seeth Me no more. Yet, ye
shall see Me, for I'll be with you to the end of the world." That same One Who could direct the Word, and be the Word, and
direct It right straight on to the Target, that same Lord Jesus is here this
morning in the form of the Holy Spirit, to direct our thoughts and focus down,
His Word, to one true and living God, to one purpose, to one achievement.
And if we'll just let Him do it, He will focus the Word
right into a place that'll prove that He's the same yesterday, today, and
forever. Depends on what you want to look at.
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