Faith

. . . your resurrection lays inside of you in your Spirit. Now, we know when Jesus died on the cross His soul descended into hell, and He preached to the souls that were in prison, that repented not in the long-suffering days of Noah. His body went into the grave. But before He died, He committed His spirit into the hands of God, into the hands . . . “Into thy hands I committed my Spirit.” So, you see, the spirit went to God, His soul went to hell, and His body went to the grave.

Now, that spirit that was in Him was the Spirit of God. And that Spirit, in sundry times and divers manners, anointed the prophets to bring the message to the people; in the last days through Christ; now in these days here through the gospel.

Now, when we receive Christ into our hearts, there's all that we have need of—there's eternal life.

Now, Christ could not come back until three days was fulfilled because His Spirit was behind a screen—like a bar, like this—that He could not cross over that bar because it was the spoken word of God that He was to lay in the grave for three days and three nights. Now, He could not come back until that three days and nights was up. Then, when three days and nights was up, His spirit was loosed. It went directly to His soul, and His soul came back and picked up the body and fulfilled what He said: “I have power to lay my life down, I have power to take it up again. I have power.”

Now, each one of you have power the same way because you are sons and daughters of God. And the very Spirit that's in you this morning, the Holy Spirit that's in you this morning, that same Holy Spirit will raise you up. So, you have power to raise yourself back up.

When you die, your soul will go under the altar of God, not right in the presence of God. Now, your spirit will go to God, but you cannot come back. Remember, the Bible says their souls are under the altar crying, “Lord, how long, how long?” They could not return until the Scripture's fulfilled, like Christ could not return till the Scripture's fulfilled. Then after all has been done, all the suffering's over, and the brethren have suffered the same things, or we suffered like they suffered, and so forth, then on that day. . . . You'll know exactly where you're buried. Your spirit will be turned loose from God and will come to the soul.

Now, the soul is that part of me who knows and understands, your intelligence. You remember the vision I had not long ago—or the little translation—went into that place and saw those people? Now, your spirit will come back to that body. And that kind of a body, the soul . . . which is a body that does not have to eat and so forth. This earthly tabernacle be dissolved, we have one already waiting—a celestial body; and with that spirit and that soul and celestial body, you'll raise up again this natural body for that great millennium. You have the power in you now to do that.

Now, but that power that you have in you now could make a new world. God doesn't have little weak spots, and big heavy parts that's powerful. The least little touch of God is omnipotent, see, the least little touch of God.

So, you know (I'm trying to get you in a faith now),

you know that something has happened to you as a Christian. Do you know it? You used to ride around here in the muck, with all of the muck and sin and drinking and gambling and things of the world. Well, as soon as you believed that Christ forgive your sins, you raised up above that stuff. Now you're riding up here, see, above all of it. Why? Because that you believe that you are a Christian. Then when you accepted Christ and the Holy Spirit came to you, then you have faith in the Holy Spirit that gives you power to ride above that kind of a life of sin. Well, now, the only thing you have to do to ride higher on to healing is just have more faith. Just keep pushing out, see, and there you are.

Now, if you're sick and you're not a Christian, become a Christian right now so that that healing power will come in you by becoming a Christian. And that'll give you faith to ride above sin. It'll give you faith; and everything that you have need of in this journey is right in you now. And the only thing you have to do is have faith in God. That pushes that good things out of you which is in you by the Holy Spirit. You understand clearly now?

Billy told me last night . . . called me and said come in this morning especially for one person that come, thinking we're having services this week of those seven seals, and they brought a sick child, I believe. And if you're in here now, sir, remember, you cannot . . . your faith will have to go for that child, if it's a little infant child.

But now let me take another scripture, if it's all right. Just remember, now, in the gospels we read—over in the sixteenth chapter, I believe, of the Acts—where that Paul and Silas was in prison one night; and they'd been beaten because they'd cast the devil's spirit out of a fortune-telling girl. And her masters had got angry about it and beaten them, put them in the inner prison. And then when they did that, well, Paul and Silas was praying, and God sent an earthquake and shook the jail down.

The Philippian jailer, being a centurion which deludes . . . his prisoners, why, it could be his own life would have to pay for the prisoners. He pulled his sword and was going to commit suicide, when Paul run forth and said, “Do yourself no harm; we are all here.” And this centurion had some impression they had about Paul and them. They might have sung hymns, they might have testified or done something. But whatever it was, they knowed that they were holy men. They knowed there was something different about those men, because quickly he adds, “What must I do to be saved? What must I do to be saved?”

Now, Paul said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou and thy house shall be saved.”

Well, now, if believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. . . . That don't mean that his salvation would save the house. But if he's got enough faith in God for his own salvation, he has the same faith for his house, and his house would have to come in, see. The same thing.

Same as Job did, as I said the other night down in Georgia at a meeting. I said, “Job, now he said, 'Now, I don't know if my children have sinned; but what if they have sinned?' ” And Job had one thing to do to be righteous—that was offer a burnt offering. He said he would offer the burnt offering. If his children had sinned, then they would be forgiven of their sin. And it was a good thing that father done.

That was a good thinking father. We need more of those kind of fathers today. And Job offered the burnt offering. That's before his tragedy set in. But when his children was all killed and his sheep all destroyed and all that he had taken, he's sitting on an ash heap back of his house, scraping himself with a piece of crock.

Did you notice? After the days of his tragedy, when God begin to restore to him again, where he had ten thousand cattle or so forth, He restored double—double his sheep and double everything. But you notice . . . and God also gave Job his seven children. Did you ever think where they were at? That burnt offering stood for them. They were saved in glory, waiting for him to come. He's with them today. “Thou and thy house shall be saved,” see.

Now, Job had one thing to do to be righteous, was to offer the burnt offering. You have one thing to do to be righteous, that's have faith in God. For by faith are you saved, by faith are you healed, by faith you get everything that you ask, see. It's by faith that you believe it. Now, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou and thy house shall be saved.

Now, sir, if you got the baby here to be prayed for, you believe, yourself. I'm here to put my faith with yours. And we'll believe together that God will heal that baby. See, we got in us the power to do that. You've got in you the power to do it. Every Christian's got the power to do it. But now if we can just get. . . .

That power's controlled by a law as I've often said. It's like gravitation controls water, because it's a law. Gravitation controls water. The sun is controlled by the earth, the turn of the earth. You can't just make the sun do one thing or another: Say, “I believe I want to sleep a little longer. Hold off an hour.” It won't do it, see, because there's a law. If you'll work according to that law, well, then, everything will be all right. If you'll go to bed in time, you can wake up in time.

And if you. . . .

Like we got the lakes up here and your Lake Ontario, your Lake Huron, and all those Great Lakes up here. We got tens of thousands times thousands of acres of ground out in Nevada and California and Arizona and New Mexico that's burning up for that water. A land that would raise anything—you could feed the whole world out there if you only had this water up here down there. (It wouldn't bother that because it's spring fed. As soon as it goes out it just comes up to its level again, because gravitation holds it there.) Well, now, if you can work according to the law of gravitation, you can take all these Great Lakes and water that whole country out there and feed the whole world. Nobody'd be hungry. But you can't sit here and say, “Yeah, I see it. Sure.” You got to go do it.

Well, that's the same way it is by the law of God. The law of God is faith. And we got faith here this morning to heal any sickness, to do anything. But it's controlled by a law, and that law is faith. God's law is faith. Jesus said, “Whatsoever things you desire when you pray, if you can believe you receive it, you can have it.” There you are. So, it's the faith that controls it.

And faith is given to us just as we have need of. Now, we have to. . . . God allots some of us some faith, some another faith. It isn't some great supernatural power that you have, because when you become a Christian you already have the power; but you lack faith in operating that power.

So, now, this morning when you come to be prayed for, remember the Bible has said this: (This is true.) James 5:14: “If there be any among you sick, let them call the elders of the church; let them anoint them with oil and pray over them. The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and God shall raise him up.” He promised, if you'll believe it. Therefore, see, healing is allotted to the individual. It was in the days of Jesus of Nazareth. He could not heal people against their own faith. He said, “I can, if you believe. If you believe that I'm able to do this, I can do it—if you can believe it.”

So, some people throws the power of healing into some other evangelist. It's not there; the power of healing's in you. It's in you. They just put the cart before the horse. The evangelist doesn't have power to heal. It's the Holy Spirit that has power to heal, and you have the Holy Spirit. That's the little tree that you are. And all the things that you have need of is in you. So therefore you just start drinking from God's promise, saying, “It's the truth. God can heal me. By His stripes I am healed.” There you are. What you do, you start pushing out here, see.

And then others can see what you have.

Now, what is. . . ? “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Now, when I sat out there, that little tree out there, I don't see the apples; but they're in there. That little tree knows they're in there. So, he just starts drinking, pushing and pushing, because he knows, “It's in me. I'll get it out after while. Give me a little time. Just give me a little time. [He just keeps drinking.] I know the apples are in me. I'll bring them up after a while.” And first thing you know, here they come. Here comes the apples, because he believed that they're in him.

And if you believe that the power of the Holy Spirit is in you to heal you (There you are!), just keep pushing, see. You have faith. You can't see the results right away. You don't see it.

Now, see, James justified Abraham by his works; Paul justified Abraham by his faith. What do we say then between the two? Abraham was speaking on what . . . I mean, Paul was speaking on what God saw in Abraham; and James was speaking on what people saw in Abraham, see. Now, see, therefore, God knowed that before the baby come that Abraham had faith; and Abraham proved it to God by acting like that the baby was going to come, when he was sterile. He had no children—his wife's womb was dead and he was sterile—but yet he knowed in there somewhere was the baby. You see, he kept drinking the promise, leaning on God's great El Shaddai, the breast; leaning there drinking, knowing that God would give it to him, knowed that it was a promise and He had to do it. And we're the children of Abraham, so let's lean on to His promise and hold there, knowing that God will do it—He said so. Do you believe it now?

Then, let the sick line up over here on one of the sides or the other, that wants to be prayed for, and we'll get the elder here and anoint them with oil. I'll pray over them and we'll believe that God'll make every one of them well. “If thou canst believe.” (Teddy, where are you at?) Come around on this right hand side. That's good. (I want you to play “Only Believe.”) While they're coming, let's just bow our heads, the rest of the audience, and let's be in prayer for these people who are coming.

Our heavenly Father, we bring to You this morning in the name of Jesus Christ these poor, sick, suffering humanity that's in this terrible, disastrous condition. I believe. I know that your words are true. They are so true. They cannot fail because they are God's eternal and everlasting words. They are all-powerful, like God is, because they are part of Him. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . . . and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Now we believe that, Lord, with all of our hearts, with all our souls, with all that's inside of us. We believe it.

And I've tried, in a simple child-like way, to present it to the people that they might understand and know that the power of God lays within them, if they can only have their faith and follow God's orders. That's how they were saved. They come and repented of their sins and was baptized in the name of Jesus Christ according to this Bible, of Acts 2; and then Peter said that “Ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Then, here it comes, just exactly—because it's God's Word made manifest. Well, now, the same thing, Father, we know is true when we anoint the sick with oil and pray over them. “The prayer of faith shall save the sick and God shall raise them up.”

God, may each one leave this altar, around this place this morning, so happy and rejoicing in knowing that God has healed them; go and be made well, for we commit them to Thee, now, in the name of Jesus Christ. May each one be healed and catch the vision what it means; like Abraham, call those things which are not as though they were. No matter what the results is, that has nothing to do with faith. Results is nothing. Faith has already took ahold. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen.” God, make it sink deep in their hearts, for they're needy. I go as your humble servant to stand here along with the other servants, and pray God will put in our hearts these sick people. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.

Somebody said Brother Estle Beeler was in the building, and I believe there's another minister here that led in prayer this morning. We would like to ask all the ministers here, wherever they are, if you'd come up here and stand around this altar with me, if you want to, these brethren. Brother Beeler, thank you, come right up and step around here and stand around the altar so we can have prayer with these people, lay hands on them.

Now, as they play this song and the ministers are taking their place here so each one can lay hands upon the people,

let's see coming down across the mountain yonder: I see a man coming, wasn't any different from any other man. He was just an ordinary man, kind of small in body, rather frail. As we see Him look, His eyes down upon a scene taking place down in the valley—it was the apostles. They had a boy down there had epilepsy, and no doubt but what they were saying, “Heal him, Lord, heal him.” But you see, just saying, “Heal him, Lord, heal him,” won't do it. That just won't do it. There's got to be something behind that “Heal him, Lord, heal him.” And if I can get you to believe that, and believe that with all your heart, you're going to be healed—if I get you to really see the vision.

Now, look at those disciples standing there, maybe shaking him, maybe pushing him, “Believe it, brother, believe it! Hallelujah, believe it! Heal him, Lord, heal him.” But the devil stayed right there, because he couldn't find enough faith there to make him believe. But here comes One down across the hill, and soon that devil recognized that that was a little different from other men. Now that's the kind of a man we want to be [unclear words]. Just not come for a show, but come in love, as our God, to know that we've been commissioned to go [unclear words]. This is our commission.

Then He walked up to the father. I think this is where this song was written from, composed of the words. He said, “Lord, have mercy upon my son because he's seriously vexed with a devil.” Said, “It throws him in the fire, and at times, away,” and so forth. He said, “I brought him to your disciples but they couldn't heal him. But I'd like. . . .”

He said, “I can, if you will believe. Now, I have the power within me,” He said, “to do it—if you can believe that.”

Would God let that cancer-ridden people that's sitting here this morning, bedridden with cancer and leukemia and sickness and afflictions, would God heal them and pass you by? Not likely. No. See, now, He doesn't fail. “I can, if you will believe.” What did He say?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

All things are possible, Only believe.

Now just only believe, Only believe.

All things are possible, Only believe.

(Everybody be in prayer.)

Lord, have mercy I pray, and heal these people through Jesus Christ [break in tape]. So many along the line—watching them and seeing their reaction of how they were . . . see how they react on a action. See, there's such a thing as an action—they raised and come forth. And another thing is how they react on that action that they have made. After they have come to the place to believe that when they're prayed for they'd be healed, then watch the reaction of their action.

Now the pastor's got a good message for us, I'm sure, this morning. One thing I'd like to comment on just a moment was a Catholic girl standing there along the altar. A few days ago she was at my house, her and her husband. And I just knowed her husband for some time. And there was something about while we were sitting on a private interview. . . . (That's where we have the visions. That's where we. . . . I used to have it here in the church, but just taken up the morning and so forth.) And, so, it was in. . . . I never said nothing because she being a girl, and another thing, always reared in the Catholic church and so forth; but she went to speak for her mother and during that time I saw a vision of her mother. Told her what her mother's trouble was, and described it, and how her mother looked. Of course, she was the judge of that, whether it was right or not. I had never seen the mother in my life. She knows that.

And the girl this morning came to the altar here and stood to make a confession and accept Christ as her Saviour. She did that at the altar this morning. Brother Neville, not knowing, anointed her with oil (how God works), anointed her with oil for the sick. But watch the moving of the Holy Spirit. Now, being she was anointed—really not sick, but anointed—see how it makes everything work right? She stood as a Christian now, after she had become what we believe to be a Christian. Now she said, “Would you pray for my mother? She's sick.” That's the same one. So the anointing oil was applied.

Then I realized how appropriate that, see, someone being just saved. . . . Christ stood for all of us. He stands for all. As soon as this girl becomes a Christian, then she wants to stand for someone, too, showing that the Spirit of Christ comes within us when we are really saved. Now, that's really fine. I certainly appreciate that. That's fine Christian Spirit, I believe. Now, let's just remember. . . .

Now, to this young lady (she's here somewhere) and to another Catholic lady that came by, I'd like to say these words just before I turn the service to our pastor, see. It's this. Now, the Catholic church was one time like this church. If you'll go back and read the Bible, which . . . we believe and do know that the Catholic church was the first church. That is true. But it got away from its teaching. This was the teaching of the Catholic church. But you see, they got six hundred and something another books the popes and so forth has written that's just as holy to them as this Bible. So, you see, what this is, you haven't changed. What you've done, you've just been converted, see.

Now, if you take. . . .

Of course, I guess, maybe some of you. . . . Them two this morning was women. There might be some Catholic men sitting in here. If you'll go back to the history of the church, if you might ask your priest, “The action of these apostles in the Bible here, was that the way . . . was that early Catholic?”

They'll say, “Yes.” And that's true. They were.

Now, they . . . look what kind of religion they had. They met in little simple places. They never said “Hail Mary”s or “Our Father”s. That's a tradition of the church. What did they say? They prayed, “God. . . .” They screamed, they cried.

Look here in Acts 2, when the holy apostles—Peter and James and John and all of them—were together, the Bible said they spoke in tongues, and they screamed, and even acted so filled with the Spirit until they acted like they were drunk; and even till the outside world asked, “Are not all these drunks?”

And even Peter the apostle, the holy saint Peter, when he stood up and he said, “Men and brethren, these men are not drunk, but they're filled with the Spirit, as the Bible says they was.”

Now, that was the early Catholic church, according to the teaching. Now, you see, after about two hundred years the dignified began to get into the church. Then what did they do? They made their first organization at the Nicene Council, A.D. 606. They made their. . . . When the Nicene Council was held at Nicaea Rome, it began to get all the great dignitaries in, and they just formed a church, and made a church. After that they broke four or five times. Then they went from that to the bishop, from the bishop to a pope, and from that came the Greek Orthodox and different ones, till they just broke up to where we see it today. It's just in all kinds of break-ups.

But what we're trying to do, my Catholic friends. . . . See, we are Catholic, too—we are the early, beginning Catholic. And the church that they call us now, mostly we're referred to as Pentecostal because we believe in the Pentecostal blessing. That's where the Catholic church was organized. And in our organizations of Pentecost today, if any of this world would stand five hundred years longer, this Pentecostal organization would be more formal than the Roman Catholic church is today. It's just getting farther away, same way. And when they organize, they make a lodge out of it. And then they just become lodges, and members, and unconverted souls.

To my precious dear brothers and sisters, to all of you, as a servant of God, I never said before in this church, I never said . . . but as a prophet of the Lord I say to you, “This is the light. Walk ye in it.”