The God Who Is Rich In Mercy

I was packed away, coming in seeing Brother Moore and all of them here on the platform, the friends that I've knowed for so many years. It's certainly a privilege to see them here tonight. I feel kind of small to stand here and speak with such theologians behind me, and maybe they'll correct me when I'm wrong. I hope so.

We are very happy tonight to have a certain person here—Sister Rose. We was coming down with Brother Shore and his assistants today for a little lunch, and on the road down, Brother Williams said that Sister Rose was very sick. And we went in to see her just a moment, knelt down, and she had a high fever and really sick. Just a few words of prayer, and the Lord spoke to us, and said, “She's going to be healed. She'll be there tomorrow night.” And here she is tonight, sitting right here.

Sister Rose, stand up just a minute so that they.... We're thankful to the Lord....

She was bedfast. She said, “The devil just beats me out of everything. I come over here, then break down with this.” Some kind of a throat disease, and so forth—but the Lord has brought her through. So to that, we are happy, thanking the dear Lord.

Now we've been having wonderful times, and tomorrow night now, we go over to the Ramada. And don't forget now, it won't be here tomorrow night. It'll be at the Ramada, and the convention begins the next night. Got to put up with me one more night.

So last night I went so far off a scale.... I kind of made a little promise to myself that the first of the year that I was just going to cut them messages down from three, four, five hours to, maybe, along about thirty or forty minutes. And as I told you last night, my wife commended me Sunday, said, “You did real well.” So then, of course, I had to come along last night and ruin it, see. I was fifty-five minutes instead of thirty last night.

Coming down tonight Billy said, “What are you going to speak on?”

I said, “Well, I got a few little notes wrote out here and some scriptures. I went over some of them, four or five different messages.” I said, “I feel when I get down there, and see what's going on....”

Said, “You promised to pray for all them sick people.”

I said, “Yes, sir. How many cards you got?”

Said, “Two hundred.”

I said, “I better start on them tonight.”

And he said, “Now remember, you only get fifteen minutes to speak, see. You took the rest of it up last night.” So I'll have to hurry up, won't I?

Well, we are ... made a promise to you that we would pray for those people who had prayer cards, and we're obligated to a promise, of course. We can't bring them all through these lines, and neither could I be able to call them individually, out in the audience, even though the Holy Spirit give it to me. I just can't stand to do it. It's just too much on me.

And, but we're all acquainted with those things. We know that God's still God. It isn't that that heals; it's that that only builds faith, to let us know that we're in his presence. And we're going tonight to pray for all those sick people, every one of them, that's got those prayer cards to be prayed for.

Then tomorrow night over at the Ramada, we'll try to give out some more, and start praying for them over there. 'Cause I still have tomorrow night, and I think I have one night of the convention, and maybe a breakfast also. And it depends on how things come out, if some of the....

One of the speakers that never showed up, or he hasn't as yet, I don't think. Brother Humberg, or is that...? [Amburgy] Amburgy? Amburgy, Cassius Amburgy. So I got it all wrong. That's that German name—I guess that's German. So I may have to kind of pinch hit—it's because (excuse the expression) for him.

So we've been having a wonderful time in the Lord, see. All you, if there be some strangers here tonight, we're sure glad to have you in. Trust that the Lord will bless you. I pray that there won't be any sick people in the building when we leave tonight—that our Lord will come down in his great power, and will heal all the sick and afflicted.

Here some time ago, we used to take the individuals in on special interviews, some of the hard cases that we couldn't get to. Then it built up so fast that it got to be.... The Lord kept blessing it, till we got three or four hundred of them waiting. So then people get their feelings hurt because the wait, maybe on that much time you'd have to wait maybe a year. So to get into it, see, just in between the meetings, to take them on the interviews. And we'd just sit and wait on the Lord, until He told us just exactly the case. There's no doubt there's people sitting here tonight that's been on them special interviews. Is there? Let's see you raise your hand, on the special interviews. Yes, right there. So, we know that's right. We just wait to see what the Lord would say, watch that case.

And then I had to stop that, here some time ago. I told Billy that we couldn't have any more private interviews.

See, I just passed twenty-five recently, second time, and way up toward the third time. So as you get a little older, why, you don't.... Somehow you can't keep up like you used to. Your steps shorten, and you.... 'Course Brother Moore don't know anything about that yet. He's.... I think we're somewhere around the same age.

A lot of water's went down the river since you and I and Brother Brown come here the first time, with Brother Outlaw, and Brother Garcia, and Brother Fuller. I wonder if them men would be in here tonight? Brother Garcia? Brother Fuller? Brother Outlaw? Are they here? Raise up your hands if you are here. Yes, there's Brother Fuller, I believe, if I'm not mistaken. Brother Outlaw over here. Brother Garcia? I believe though that he left Phoenix. I think that's right. He left Phoenix, and he's over in California. Well, certainly grand days, and I still believe the same message I had then: Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever.

I guess that's been about.... Well, Becky was a baby. That's about nineteen years, and now she's a big, old, fat, ugly girl sitting out there somewhere, nineteen years old. Where are you, Becky? Boy, she'll get me for that. I remember packing her in on my arm; I'd sure have a job doing that tonight.

Remember over at Brother Garcia's church one night, she was a little bitty fellow, and I said, “We have an international meeting tonight.” I said, “I'm speaking to the Spanish.” And I said, “My wife here is a German.” I said, “I'm an Irishman,” and I said, “my little girl's an Indian.” And that was Becky. So when I went out the back door, there was a little Mexican girl out there said, “Brother Branham?”

Said, “Yes honey, what do you want?”

Said, “Don't you think your baby is a bit pale to be an Indian?” She's a blonde, you know.

And I said, “Just an Indian in action.”

Well, we're thankful to be here again tonight. Now before we approach the Word, let's approach Him, for He is the Word. When the Word is made manifest, that's Him to you.

As we had last night on the “Seed of Discrepancy” ... did you appreciate that? The Lord bless you. I certainly appreciated bringing the message to you. And we see what the seeds are.

Now, is there a special request tonight, just something special? Maybe some of you all that's going to be in this prayer line, say, “God, be merciful. When I come to be prayed for, let my faith rise up to meet the condition.” And maybe somebody's got a loved one sick, and, something.... Would you just raise your hand, so God would just look down, and say.... Now if that ... you know how that makes me feel to look there? Just look at the need in here. Minister brothers, just look at that, see. Now if it makes me feel that way, what does it do to our Father. Certainly.

Now, let us pray.

Dear Jesus, we are approaching now the great throne of mercy through this all-sufficient name. For there is no other name given among men whereby we must be saved, but only this name of the Lord Jesus. And we're coming in His name, and we pray, heavenly Father, that you will receive us tonight as your believing children, and forgive our unbelief, Lord. Help it tonight, that it may be that we will completely believe every word of God tonight for all the things that we have need of.

You know what's beneath these hands that's been raised up. There's sickness, some of them may be domestic troubles, some of them financial trouble, some of them are weary, maybe some backslid, some sinners. Whatever the need is, thou art more than a match for any enemy. So we pray, Lord, that tonight that we will recognize that our enemies, every one has been defeated, even to death itself; and that we are more than conquerors in Him who loved us and gave Himself for us, has washed us in His blood.

We pray, Lord, that all unbelief, all doubt, all flusteration, all that is unlike God will flee from us tonight, that the Holy Ghost might have the right-of-way in our heart. May He speak to us in a mysterious way; may He speak to us in his power. May He resurrect those that are spiritually dead, bring back health to those who are sick and afflicted, lift up the feeble knees, the wearied hands that's hanging down.

May there be a time of rejoicing. May it break forth tonight, Lord, to leave this place, to the Ramada Inn, and start one of the greatest conventions that's ever been held in this city. Lord, while we're assembled together and pray, you said, “If the people that are called by my name shall assemble themselves together and pray, then I'll hear from heaven.” God, we pray that this will be so tonight.

Now Father, as we read the Word, no one can interpret it but you. You're your own interpreter. And we pray that you'll interpret to us the things that we read tonight, for we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.

Now if.... Many of you like to just mark down scriptures that a minister reads. And I would like for you to, tonight, if you would, to turn to Ephesians. And I was speaking last Sunday on the Ephesians, how that the book of Joshua was the Ephesians of the Old Testament, and how it was a book of redemption. And redemption has two different parts: come out of, and entering into. First you have to come out. Some people wants to bring the world in with them, but you got to come out of the world to enter into Christ. You have to come out of unbelief to enter into faith. There cannot be one thing in your way to really have genuine faith. You must absolutely leave everything that's contrary to the Word of God behind, to enter into faith.

And that was the book of the Ephesians of the Old Testament, Joshua. Where Moses represented the law, could not save no one, but grace could. And here's.... Joshua is the same word like Jesus, Jehovah-saviour.

And now, then, we find out that we have come to another Ephesians—another Ephesus now—where that in our intellectual denominations, and so forth, and all of our educational programs has come to its Jordan. Then we must have an Ephesians again. We must have an exodus to come out and to go into, for the rapture.

Now, we're going to read tonight from the 2nd chapter of Ephesians. I was just saying that so you could get to the spot, or turn to the chapter.

And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

Wherein in times past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the desire of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

Even when we were dead in sins hath he quickened us together with [him], or quickened us together with Christ, (by grace are ye saved;)

I want to take from there a few ... part of the verse, but God, God who is rich in mercy.“

I want you to notice here of the prophet (apostle, rather) Paul, who ... how he made mention of this, how.... “You hath he quickened, who were once dead.” You hath he quickened, who were once dead. Dead in sin and trespasses, walking after the things of the world, the desires of flesh, and fulfilling the desires of the mind, has....

What caused this change, you see? What caused this, from one time being dead, to quickened? Quickened means made alive. There was a change from death unto life. There's no other ... there's no other thing that could happen to any person so great as the changing from death to life. A man, if he was dying physically and could be healed physically, that would be a great thing; but nothing so great as when he is spiritually dead, and God has quickened him to life.

You once, in times past, dead—you were dead. Even many here tonight, one time, can look back and know that you were dead. But now, why aren't you dead tonight, as you were then? You deserve to be that way, because you was a sinner. But God, who is rich in mercy.... That's the ... that's the thing. God, who was rich. All these things that we were, but God.... That made the change right there. God, who is rich in mercy.

Oh, I'm so glad for that, that he being rich in mercy.... If He was just rich in money, if He was just rich in materials (which He is), but yet the greatest thing is being rich in mercy. Oh, what a great word that is!

How, that we were once dead,

and we was speaking the other night on how the seed must die. And everything around that germ of life must not only die, but rot. If it doesn't rot it cannot live. And rot is completely done away with, it's finished. And until we get to the place that our own ideas and our own thinking is completely gone, and it's rotted away from us, then the germ of life can begin to live.

Now we might.... I might inject just a little bit of doctrine here that I don't.... If you don't believe it, all right. That's just okay. I do believe it. I believe that a man, when he's born in this world ... that when you're a little baby born into the world, you could not have been here without being the foreknowledge of God. Because he is infinite, and he knows all things. And when that little baby is born into the world, there's something in that baby—if he's ever going to have life there's a little something in there, in that child, then, that he comes to, sooner or later. That little seed is in him. Now if you'll take.... The Scriptures plainly declare that.

Now, if you've got eternal life tonight, if we have eternal life, then we always were, because there's only one form of eternal life. We always were, and the reason we were, because we are a part of God. And God is the only thing that's eternal.

And like, as Melchizedek received tithes from Abraham, and it was 'lotted to his great grandson Levi, who was yet in the loins of Abraham. Paid tithes, for he was yet in the loins of Abraham when he met Melchizedek. I want to speak on that over at the other place one morning, “Who is This Melchizedek?” Now notice that way back, God knew this boy coming down. He knowed all things.

Now we are a part of God. You always was. You don't remember it, because you were only an attribute in God. You were only in His thinking. Your very name, if it ever was on the book of life, it was put there before the foundation of the world. He knew what you were.

I'm only saying this, not to mix up doctrine, but to straighten it out, that we might get away from this fear and scare. You don't know who you are. You are not going to be, but now you are the sons of God, see. You always were the sons of God, see.

Why, when God had you in His thinking at the beginning, you had to be—some part of you—your life that's in you now, had to be with God before there.... Well, when he.... Before he even become material here on earth, before there was anything but God, you were one of His attributes. He knowed what your name would be. He knowed the color hair you'd have. He knowed all about you.

The only thing happened is, when you, being a sinner....

Many of you can fellowship with me on this thought. When you was a little boy or little girl, you'd walk around and there would be certain things that would just—where it wouldn't bother the other kids—it seemed like there was something in you that cried out, there was God somewhere. Yet you were a sinner. You remember that? Certainly. Now, what was that? That was that little form of life in you then.

And then, after awhile, you heard the gospel. Maybe you went to church. You picked out this and that, and went from denomination to denomination. But one day, you—being part of God, you had to be part of the Word—and when you heard the Word, you knowed where you come from. You knowed what was the truth. You were always.... The seed was in you. Always, the Word seen—the Word that was in you that was before the foundation of the world—saw the Word and you come to it.

Like my little eagle story, how the little eagle was hatched out under a hen. And the little fellow walked with the chickens. He.... The hen clucked, and he didn't understand her clucking. And the little chickens, their diet they had in the barnyard, he didn't understand that, how that they did that. But there was something in him seemed to be different from what that chicken was, because at the beginning he was a eagle. That's right.

One day his mama come hunting, and when he heard that scream of the eagle, it was different from the cluck of the hen. And that's the way it is with every borned-again believer. You can hear all the theology you want to, and all the man-made discrepancies, but when that Word flashes out there, then there's something takes ahold. You come to.... You who were once dead in sin, that life has he quickened. There has to be a life there to quicken to, first. God, by his foreknowledge knowed all things, and we were predestinated to be sons and daughters of God. Ye who were once dead in sin and trespasses, wherein we all had our times past, but hath He quickened.

Look at Paul. When Paul was a great theologian, but when he come face-to-face with that Word, Jesus, it quickened.... He come to life right quick, because he was ordained to be that. He was part of the Word, and when the Word saw the Word, it was his nature. All the clucking of the hens and the orthodox churches didn't have no effect upon him. He'd saw the Word—it was part of him. He was an eagle; he wasn't a chicken. He was just in the barnyard with them, but he was a eagle to begin with.

That'll resemble a little story (I hope it don't sound sacrilegious) about a little duck being borned under a hen one time. He couldn't understand—a funny-looking little fellow, odd guy—and he couldn't understand the ducks, and everything. They were playing in the barnyard. But one day the old hen led the little brood out behind the barn, and he got a smell of water. Well, he took out toward that water as hard as he could go. Why? He had never been on a pond before. He had never been in the water. But he was a duck to begin with! Only thing he had to do was come to himself.

That's the same thing the believer is. There's something in him that when he meets God face-to-face, he comes to himself. That seed is in him, and it's quickened. My! That's right, and he flies away from the things of the world. They become dead to him. My! I remember, we all had our life in the past in those things of the world, but once we got ahold of that real thing, something that quickened us—a little seed that come to life—and all the things of the world rotted right there. We had no more desire of it.

He that's borned of God doth not commit sin. The worshipper once purged has no more conscience of sin, no more desire to sin. The sin question's over. You become a part of God, in Christ. Christ died to redeem you. Now just think of all that we would've been if it hadn't been for God—but God in His rich mercy, how He has redeemed us tonight. Where would've we been tonight, if it hadn't been for God's rich mercy upon us?

Once the world was so sinful that man had caused corruption to come upon the earth, until it even grieved God that He ever made man. The whole head was a putrefied sore, the whole body, and God even grieved that He ever made a man. So he said, “I will destroy man who I've created.” He will destroy him because he is nothing but just a bunch of corruption. And the whole human race would've been wiped out at that time—but God, rich in mercy, would not let the innocent perish with the guilty. And He went away and made a provided way for the ones that wanted to come in, that wanted to do what was right. He made a way of mercy for those who desired mercy, and He prepared an ark.

In other words, He put some wings on his eagles, that they could fly above the judgment and not drown with the chickens. But He made a way of an escape in the days of Noah. This caused Him to do that, to provide—because He was rich in mercy.

But after He had provided a way for people, and then they refused it.

Now the reason they refused it, is because there's nothing in there to receive it. There's nothing to receive it. My mother used to say, “You cannot get blood from a turnip, because there's no blood in a turnip.” So if there is no form of life in there to receive it, then it cannot be received. That's the reason the Pharisees could look right in the face of Jesus and call Him Beelzebub, because there was nothing in them to receive Him.

But “All the Father hath given me,” he said, “will come to me.” There's somewhere it's going to be presented.

You can talk to people sometimes on the street, talk to them about the Lord—they laugh right in your face. Well, we're supposed to do it anyhow. But listen, there's “no man can come to me, except My Father draws him first.” God has to do the drawing. There has to be a life, and all that He has given me, will come to me. He made a provision for those who wants to be redeemed. He made a provision for those who wants to be healed. And then, because that He did this, makes Him rich in mercy, as He's always been, rich in mercy. It must be.... If you refuse this, there's nothing left but the judgment, because sin must be judged.

Pharaoh, when he went into the sea as an impersonator, seemed that he could go in like Moses did—Moses with his army, and Pharaoh with his army. Both of them should've perished in the sea, looked like. But God, rich in mercy, made a way of escape for the Hebrew children. Why? Because they were following in the line of duty—they were following in the Word. Now that's the only way to obtain mercy, is to follow the instructions that God has give us to follow in. That's the only way He can show mercy, is when we follow what He said do.

As a little debate, not long ago with a minister, that said that I was teaching an apostolic doctrine in this day.... I believe I spoke of it a night or two ago, or sometime, about how he said, “You're trying to inject into this age an apostolic doctrine.” He said, “The apostolic age ceased with the apostles.”

And I asked him, “Well, do you believe the Word?”

He said, “Yes.”

I said, “Revelations 22:18 says that whosoever shall take one word out of this, or add one word to it—not just two words—one word, take one word out....”

He said, “I believe that.”

I said, “Then I can tell you where the apostolic age was given, the apostolic blessings was given to the church. Now you tell me where God taken it out of the church by the Word. You can't do it. It's not there.”

I said, “Now remember that Peter, on the day of Pentecost, he was the introducer of the apostolic age. And he told them all to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost for the promise is unto you, and to your children and to them that is far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.”

Now if you want to listen to the clucking of some denominational hen, and live back out there in the things of the world, then it goes to show that there's something wrong. Because that is the Word. Whosoever will may come, and if you've got a will you should come. But if you haven't no will, then you're in sad condition. But if you've got a will to come, come follow God's formula, and He never fails to fulfill what He promised. I once was young and now I'm old. I've never seen Him fail in His word, because he can do anything but fail. He cannot fail. God cannot. It's impossible for God to fail and remain God. He has to do that.

Now Pharaoh's army tried to impersonate, because they wasn't called, and they had not that life into the.... The promise wasn't given to Pharaoh. The promise wasn't given him for a promised land. And an impersonator trying to follow a real believer who's called to such, only makes a mockery out of it. That's what's the matter with our religious system today, is too many people trying to impersonate the Holy Spirit; too many people trying to impersonate the baptism; too many people trying to impersonate the apostolic age. It's for believers, and that alone. God has made a way rich in mercy, that His children would not perish. He's made a way for them.

Now, Pharaoh trying to pursue on, he drowned in the very waters that saved Moses and his group. Now Moses did not drown, because God is rich in mercy to them who are following His provided way. Amen! Can you see what I mean—that tonight, people who don't believe in divine healing, people who do not believe in the baptism of the Holy Ghost, how can they receive anything? God is rich in mercy to those who will follow after Him —not after a creed, but after God.

God is the Word: it was made flesh and dwelt among us.

Now, that he might bring forth the other attributes of God.... The body, Jesus, was the body of God, an attribute. Moses seen him pass, the back part of Him. No man has seen His face. But now we've seen Him, we have beheld Him, seen Him as a sacrifice. Now, He was an attribute of God being displayed. The Word, that's what He was.

And when any believer comes to God, he becomes God's attribute of His Word. He's used to manifest the Word that's promised for that day. That's right. God, rich in mercy, has never left us without a testimony. He's rich in mercy.

We find out that God was so merciful to Moses out there in that Dead Sea, out in the Red Sea out there, rather. Then when he said here in Exodus 19:4, He said, “I carried you away on eagles' wings, brought you to myself.” Carried them on eagles' wings, and “brought you to myself.” There was other men in the middle of that sea out there also, trying to impersonate, but what? He carried them on eagles' wings.

Now God always likens His prophets to eagles, and what was it? Moses was His messenger, and they were following Moses, and that was the eagles' wings that they were carried on. Because he was catching God's message, and the people followed that. They were following God as they followed Moses with his message of deliverance. And the Bible said that he.... They perished not with them who believed not, 'cause God was rich in mercy to them because they were following His commandments. God wants us to follow His commandments.

We could say the same about Korah and about Dathan and their gang of unbelieving people as they tried to impersonate. They tried to inflict something into God's program. They didn't like a one-man program. They didn't like that. They had to have something to do. Korah said, “But there's more holy men than you, Moses. You act like you're the only beach on the ... or only pebble on the beach, rather.” And said, “I ... you oughtn't to do that, and there's more men here, and....”

Moses knowed that he was to carry those children over into the promised land, because the promise was given to him. And he must pack them to the promised land.

And today the Holy Spirit is here to vindicate God's Word, and that's the eagle wing that we're supposed to ride on. Not some man-made theology, but we're to ride upon the wings of the eagle to the promised land.

And here they was going to get a bunch of chickens out there, Korah thought, you know, to come around, impersonate this ... the eagle. And when they did, God said, “Separate yourself from them,” and He swallowed up the world. He would've swallowed up the whole thing, the whole creation, but God was rich in mercy to those who were trying to follow His Word. Always God rich in mercy.

Many of them come over on the side with Moses, and God opened up the earth and swallowed up the unbelievers. The unbeliever will always perish.

Those who did not believe, though they come out and walked for a while, but they.... Jesus said that they're every one dead. Dead is annihilation. They are dead. Just think of them—they come out, seen the miracles of God, seen the great hand of God, enjoyed the manna; and got out there and listened to a man named Balaam, that perverted the way of God, by his teaching contrary to the Word.

“We're all brethren, so let's just all get together.” That's another Balaam system rising up today—“Let's all get together.” It will not work. Let's walk with the eagle—Jehovah-eagle. You're eaglets.

There's only three saved out of the entire group: Moses, Caleb, and Joshua. The rest of them perished in the wilderness. Jesus said so in St. John, the 6th chapter. God, in mercy, would not let them perish because ... with the rest of the unbelievers. They all died right there in the wilderness, and they are dead. God saved Moses and the eagle believers, because as they had respect to His Word.

And today, friends, the only way that we can ever have favor with God.... God's rich in mercy today, but we've got to respect what He said about it. You just can't take what somebody else said; you've got to take what God said. He said, “Let every man's word be a lie, and mine truth.”

Today we're told all you have to do, in many places, is join church, have a creed or something like that, or say a prayer, or put your name on a book, or be sprinkled or baptized a certain way, or something like that. That's all you have to do. But that's wrong! To be an eagle of God you've got to follow the Word day by day. You've got to continue to feed upon the Word.

Now, we find then, after this time, murmuring again; weakened in faith after God had showed mercy to them. And we find them murmuring with God, and when they did they were dying with snake bites. Well, they deserved it. They certainly did! Anybody that would mistake God's Word, and do these things that they did, they deserved to die. Every one of them deserved to die in the wilderness. But when they were so sick that even Dr. Moses, and none of them, could do anything about it and they were dying by the thousands—but God, rich in mercy.... He made a way of escape for those who would believe Him. He made an antidote for it by standing up a brass serpent. God in His rich.... God made a way of escape so His believing children could be healed.

God's interested in everything that's wrong. Everything that you're anticipating, in every walk of life, God is interested in you. You are His child, and he's rich in mercy. He wants to do for you.

The people sinned later by taking this same thing, that God had made an atonement for them by the brass serpent (which represented sin already judged), and they idolized that gift. And that sinned again.

God will not share His glory with nobody. Therefore we can't have no two, three, four gods—there's only one God. He'll not share His glory with anything else. He's God alone, see, so.... As the heathens have many gods, we have the one God. And He will not share his glory with another. Neither will He let anything be an idol in front of him. Even though He'd made an atonement for the people, and it was God's Word. It was right. But when they become to idolizing that, then they got in trouble.

Now that's just the same thing, I think, that's happened to our church ages. God sent us a message of Martin Luther with his message, John Wesley, the Pentecostal message. But what did we do with it? The very same thing that they did with that brass serpent. We idolized it. “I belong to this,” and, “I belong to that.” You see, you belong to something, without the sincerity that is connected with genuine, godly worship of the Word. What happened? The Bible ... we're told in the Bible that the prophet took that idol and destroyed it. Hallelujah!

What we need on the scene today is a prophet that will destroy the idol of denomination—that thinks they're going into heaven upon belonging to some creed or denomination. Needs to be destroyed, burned up, throwed away. God is full of mercy. He's rich in mercy. In the day that when we would've all been in that chaos of darkness out there, but God rich in mercy, has sent us the real, genuine Holy Ghost with His own interpretation to it right here in the building every night. God rich in his mercy! How wonderful we find him to be. Yes, sir.

Now, all they thought they could do was to just go to this snake, or this little thing that God had made out there—had Moses make, and hang on a pole—and they could be healed without any sincerity. They just stood and looked at it. And they got to idolizing it, and God sent a prophet along and destroyed it.

Now, all that refused to look at that serpent in the wilderness, they perished.

Now, God makes a way, but if you refuse to look at it—if you'll sit across the street, if you'll hold on to some creed, and refuse to look straight into the Word and see whether it's right or not—all that refused to look, they perished. And God is a never-changing God, and all who refused to look, perished. So is it today, the same thing.

Then the people sinned later, and as they've always did, and made the idol out of it—making it a ... just trying to get a healing without sincerity. And “they belong to something,” and the way we do today. And now, we see then, the difference of it was, that God.... It was a good atonement, a good sign for that time. That time, it was all right. But it was just to be for that time, for that journey. That's all it would work for, that journey.

And the message that Martin Luther brought of justification was all right for Luther's age. That's as far as it went. Sanctification was fine in Wesley's age. That's as far as it went. Then we come into the Pentecostal age, and the restoration of the gifts is a very fine thing. It was fine in the age, but we're going beyond that now. We're beyond that. Just as sure as there's a world we've got to become beyond this thing, because we have done the same thing with it that they did before—make an idol out of it.

“I belong to this order of it.”

“I belong to that order of it.” God will send somebody that'll smash the thing, and tear it to pieces, and confirm His Word (the full Word). Notice. Praise be to God! Now, we see that that's true. God, rich in His mercies!

Then, when the prophet destroyed this it left them without any sign of healing, of an atonement, because their idol was destroyed. But God, rich in mercy, made them another one. And what did He do that? He troubled water at the pool, at the temple, and many come and was healed by stepping into this water. Jesus came down to this same pool, and saw a man who'd been laying there for a number of years, waiting for the troubling of the waters. See, God, rich in mercy, although they idolized that thing, although the prophet had to tear it up, God made another way for them 'cause He's rich in mercy. He wants them to be healed, and He made a way for their healing.

Now, then, that went on. The world become more sinful and more sinful all the time, and finally the world got so sinful that God could've destroyed it. It said in Malachi 4, “Unless I come ... and to smite the earth with a curse.” He could've done it—just the question.

But then, God rich in mercy, He sent forth a Saviour, Jesus Christ. He sent forth Jesus to be both Saviour and Healer, for He said, “As Moses lifted up the brass serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up,” for the same purpose. He, the atonement, that's what we have claim upon. Nothing but the atonement—what Jesus purchased by His blood. That's what we have claims upon.

And the Bible said, “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquity: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we were healed.” That's what we can claim, because that's what the atonement that we stand for, ordered for us. God, rich in mercy!

This was to be an eternal atonement, because He came Himself. God came himself in the form of sinful flesh to make an eternal atonement, and suffered in the flesh, and made the atonement—and returned back in the form of the Holy Ghost to confirm that atonement. Where no brass serpent or no troubled waters could do it, it all pointed to that perfect atonement. God rich in His mercy, has did this.

Now today, being it's the day that we're living in, we have come through these church ages, and explained everything away from that. Our theologians of the day have far lost that side of it. They explain it all away, to some other day, some other age, some other something way back from long ago. And divine healing was just about played out. Hardly found any body who would believe it; they made fun of it. Not any more than about twenty years ago they were making fun of it. The Pentecostals had practically got away from it. They started in the early days, but they got away from it. Look how they did. Now they got denominational-wild, running off to make them each a creed, and so forth. Except....

Instead of accepting light as light come in, they organized and made themselves creeds, each one coming around making himself a doctrine and staying in that doctrine. And then they got so much took away till the Holy Spirit couldn't get into the church. They just become another idol, like a brass serpent. It become an idolatry. Every fellow said, “I belong to this.” And, “I belong to that.”

It was an idolatry. What a mess we were in at the end-time. But God, rich in His mercy, has sent back the Holy Spirit upon us, and vindicating His Word tonight as He promised he would do. God promised He would do these things. Look what He did, look what He did.

How.... Now, we can see how He promised each age a certain thing to happen. And we find out that it happened just exactly like it, that He said that He would do—because he's rich in His mercy, to always have mercy to fulfill every word that He has promised. He has to do it, and always, in order to stay God. Always He does this.

His Word always comes to pass in its season, His seed that He has sowed into the earth. What did He do? He put it here in the Word, and that's a seed. And every time the age comes along, that seed ripens up and a reformation comes forth. And He promised it, and it does that.

Now, we did not deserve these things. We did not deserve these blessings of God, because we had went out after the things of the world—went in the error of Cain. Cain, building a nice altar, and a nice church, and putting flowers upon it, and thought that's exactly what it was; it was a bunch of apples, or pears, or pomegranates, or whatever it was his father and mother had eat in the garden of Eden that run them out. And so he offered that back to God, and God rejected it.

But Abel, by faith, offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. And today the Bible said, in Jude, that they have run in the way of Cain perished in the gainsaying of Core. See, run in the way of Cain: building altars, building churches, denominations, making it flowery, big, more members than the rest of them, taking in things. Anything that come along, and jumped up and down, or shook hands, or was baptized a certain way, or spoke in tongues, or run through the floor—they'd put their name on the book. That's right. And then turn on the real truth that be preached, and deny it! How can it be! So, notice what a mess we were in. Notice. And the Bible said, “and they went in the way of Balaam and perished in the gainsaying of Core.”

Perished in the gainsaying of.... What was the gainsaying of Core? “Why, you think you're the only holy man? Why, God's.... All of us are holy. The whole church is all right. Every.... All of us get together, that's what we ought to do.” That's where they perished! Right! And we truly deserved it! We deserved to be that.

But God, rich in mercy, has pulled us out of that chaos and let us see it, before the thing hits here. Rich in His mercy, and sent us back a revival of divine healing and the coming again of the power of God. According to history, no revival ever lasted over three years. This revival carried for fifteen years. It's been a burning fire around and around the world. Why? Because we deserved it? God, rich in His mercy—not because we desired it, or because we deserved it, rather.

Just think of what it's done.

I think of one of your sisters, right here in Phoenix, that many of you know, Miss Hattie Waldrop. She had cancer of the heart, and she was in the prayer line up here, when Brother Moore and I were here the first time, about fifteen, eighteen years ago. And she was dying with cancer of the heart, and she should've been dead a long time ago. But God, rich in mercy, sent His power upon her and He saved her life, and she's living today. God, rich in mercy.

Congressman Upshaw, a great man.... I think he was the president, or something, of the Baptist, Southern Baptist Convention, at one time, or vice president or something. He'd done all.... He was a good man. He did all that he knowed how to do. He went to every doctor. Nobody could do nothing for him. He was bound down. Ministers had prayed for him. He'd had a gallon of oil poured on his head, anointing of different ministers, everywhere.

One night, Los Angeles, California, walking up to the pulpit, looking, a bunch of wheel chairs about twice, three times.... And watch, sitting there, all up and down the aisles, back and forth. And then, there laid over there a cot, with a little colored girl in it, little Negro girl. And her mother was sitting by her. My brother had ... bringing the prayer line up, and I was looking, knowing not what was going on.

And I seen a doctor with tortoise-shell glasses operating on a little Negro girl for a throat condition, and she paralyzed. And I looked around. I thought, “Where is the child at?” I couldn't see her. After while, way down there (no hope), lovely little girl about seven or eight years old, to be paralyzed the rest of her life. There was her mother down there on her knees, praying. Then, I said, “This doctor operated on your little girl?” and described....

She said, “That's right, sir.” Then she tried to get the baby to the platform. They told her not to do it. They tried to quieten her down.

About the time they got her quiet, I thought, “Well, we'll get a chance to pray for her in a few minutes.” Maybe people right here was there that night. I was looking out on the audience. I seen that little girl going down, looked like through a little, narrow road, with a doll in her arm, rocking that doll. No matter how much the doctor said that she was going to be paralyzed the rest of her life, God, rich in mercy, sent down the Holy Spirit by a vision, and that little girl got up out of there. And she and her mother took hold of hands and walked down through that aisle, praising God.

Way back there sat an old man—Congressman Upshaw. Many of you know his testimony. He had been a good man. Tried all of his life. Sixty-six years an invalid in a wheelchair, pushed in bed, crutches under his arms that he walked with, never no more to walk normal. And there he sat there looking on that, and all of a sudden I looked out and saw a vision. Here he come, walking down across atop of that audience, bowing his head. Could walk as good as anybody. I didn't know who the man was. I said, “There's a great man sitting back there. He fell off of a wagon when he was a little boy onto a hay frame, and hurt his back. They bored holes in the floor to keep the vibrations, when the people walked, from striking on his back.” I said, “He becomes a great man, and he keeps growing greater. He's sitting in a great circle at the White House.”

And then this man come and told me, said, “That's Congressman Upshaw. Did you ever hear of him?

I said, “Never heard of him.” And so he run a little extension mike back there and they was talking back and forth.

Then I started to look around, and I seen the old congressman coming walking toward me in a vision, just as perfect and normal as he could be. God, rich in mercy, pulled him from that wheelchair, and he walked without crutches till the day he died! God, rich in mercy! When doctors had failed, when science had failed, when everything thing else had failed, God was rich in mercy to Congressman Upshaw.

I think of myself as a little, old, boy. I remember as a.... People call me today a woman-hater. The reason it was, was because I seen so much immorality out of women when I was a kid. I hated them. And I don't do that now, because I know there's some good ones. But I remember how it was so bad, so immoral. And I thought, “My, I'll never be around where people's there. I have no education, so I won't get any....”

A little old kid sitting there, not even a shirt on, with my coat pinned up like this with a safety pin.

And it real hot, and the teacher said, “William, aren't you hot with that coat on?”

I said, “No, ma'am, I'm a little bit chilly.” And she made me go over to the stove and put some wood in the stove, and I liked to burnt up. And I didn't have no shirt that whole season through. And I thought if I could ever get the money some time, that I could get a little ... get me a 30-30 rifle, I'd come out west here, and live out here and hunt the rest of my life. I didn't want nothing to do with people. Just stay away, 'cause they didn't like me, and I'd just stay away from them.

And then every time I'd go down town to talk to anybody, see some fellows on the street I knew, I'd say, “Hello there, John, Jim. How are you?”

“Oh, hello.”

See, They didn't want to talk to me, didn't want nothing to do with me because of my daddy and them that made whisky. And I didn't do that—it was nothing I done. And I would've been that type, but now....

I said to the wife not long ago, “My wall is plastered with the best guns that can be bought.” Oh, and I think of them old dirty clothes—tonight I've got two or three good suits. And no friends? I have to hide out in the wilderness to keep away from people.

What's the matter? Is it because of my personality? Is it because of my education? No. God, rich in mercy, saw me in that condition and he saved me. I remember being led by the arm as a blind man. I could not see. Everything in front of me was a blur. I'd be blind the rest of my life; but God, rich in mercy, restored back my sight. I'm fifty-five years old and still got good sight. God, rich in mercy, is the only thing that I can say.

Once the church had no provided way of healing. They had one, but they turned it down. But God, rich in mercy, has sent them a gift of divine healing. That is the Holy Spirit among us, confirming the Word with signs following. God, rich in mercy.

I have two or three pages here of these notes, but I ain't going to try to strike them, because I'm conscious that it's almost time to start that prayer line. But, God rich in His mercy! Many of you here tonight, the doctors has turned you down. There's people sitting in them wheelchairs—they'll probably never come out of there. They are there to stay, some of them paralyzed in different ways. They would ... never could come out. There's no way for them to come out. But God, rich in His mercy, has provided an atonement. Don't turn it down; receive it.

There's men out there with heart trouble, there's people with cancers that the doctors can do nothing with. You're hopeless, helpless in this world,

but God, rich in His mercy, has sent down the Holy Ghost, and right here now to confirm the Word to prove that He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. Because we deserve it? Because God is rich in His mercy. Amen.

Now that's the one. That's the person—it's that Lord Jesus. He is not dead, but He has risen from the dead and He's alive forevermore. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever, still just as rich in His mercy as He was to the woman that had a blood issue. And she started through the crowd. There was no hopes for her. The doctors had done all they could do. She had a blood issue. She was dying. And she touched the Master's garment. God, rich in mercy, turned around and told her of her condition, and she was healed of this blood issue.

A little foul prostitute went up to a well one day to get some water. No hopes—she'd been excommunicated from the virgins, from around the people. Her life was no good, and she thought, “What's the use of trying? I'm turned out. There's nothing left for me.” But she looked, standing over on the side, or sitting by the side, of the well, and there was a man sitting there who told her all things that she'd ever done. God, rich in His mercy! That same God tonight's just as rich in His mercy, and just the same as He was in them days. God rich ... [blank spot on tape].

I think we have two hundred prayer cards out here, or what we called out in two hundred. We're going to call them and let the people line up. We're going to pray for them. But before we do it, if there be some newcomers here, then get away from all superstition. This is not a superstition; it is the manifestation of a promise of God. It depends on what you're looking at. No virtue in any man; there's no power in no man. But we, as believers, have authority—not power, but authority. Someone asked me not long ago, said, “Brother Branham, you believe you got power to do this?”

I said “I ain't got any power at all, but I've got authority.” Every believer has it. If you refuse it, you'll stay where you're at; but if you'll accept it, it'll do the exceeding abundant, because God is rich in His mercy.

Take a little policeman standing out here on the street, his clothes hanging half off of him he's so skinny. The cap's got his ears pulled down. And he walked out there where cars coming down that street at fifty miles an hour, three hundred horsepower motors in them. He hasn't got the power to stop a bicycle. That's right. But just let him blow that whistle and hold up that hand, and watch the brakes squeak. He hasn't got power, but he's got authority. The whole city's behind him.

And when a man or a woman, I don't care what condition you're in, you've got the authority of God by a promise. Because He's rich, and promised to do the exceedingly abundantly. “If you say to this mountain be moved, and don't doubt in your heart, but believe that what you said will come to pass, you can have what you said.” You've got no power, but you've got authority.

Remember what he told me back there? Said, “You'll be able to reveal the secrets of the hearts.” Well, you remember that, many of you Phoenix people? He promised it; what He promises, He does,

Now there's some of you here that hasn't got prayer cards, no doubt. How many's sick and don't have prayer cards? Raise up your hand. Sure. All right, if you want to know, not authori... not power, but the authority of the Word. “The things that I do, shall you do also.” Jesus promised, in Luke 17:30, that just before His coming there'd be like the time of Moses, or Noah, when they were eating and drinking and giving in marriage, and knew not, till the day that Noah entered into the ark. He said there'd be that time. Then he said also, “As it was in the days of Lot,” and said, “This will take place in that day when the Son of man shall be revealed.” When the Son of man is revealed, in the last days....

Now look what he ... how the Son of man revealed Himself in the person of this angel, which was the Son of man. Absolutely. Abraham called him Elohim. He was the Son of man. Revealed himself just before the Gentile world was burned.

How did he do it to the believer? To the make-believer he sent two preachers down to preach to them; but to the real believer he stood with His back to the tent, and he said, “Ab-ra-ham (he was Abram a few days before that, but now he's Abraham), where is thy wife, Sarah?”

Said, “She's in the tent behind you.”

Said, “I'm going to keep my promise to you. I'm going to visit you.” Oh, Abraham was a hundred years old, and Sarah was ninety, but God, rich in mercy, kept His promise. It brought the baby, 'cause God's merciful. And He's full of mercy, He's rich in mercy, He keeps his promise.

Notice, with his back turned to the tent. Sarah laughed, and said, “How could these things be? I'm old. How could I have pleasure with my husband as a young married woman? Why, he's a hundred years old. Our family relationship had ceased many, many years ago. How could this be?” And she laughed about it.

And the angel with ... the Son of man with his back turned to the tent said, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying how can these things be?” What was it? Jesus said, in St. Luke 17:30, that, and the days ... like it was in the days of Lot, same situation before this Gentile world is burned up. He said, “The Son of man will reveal Himself in that day.” He made the promise that.... Malachi 4 promises it would say ... a message would come forth that would restore the people back to the original Pentecostal message, and with the same blessing they had on the day.... What is it? It's a two-winged eagle. Both New and Old Testament prophets has promised us together, of God, to fulfill what the promises of the Bible said it would do. Amen!

God, rich in mercy, would not let His people go out in this denominational, rich in goods and things of the world, Laodicean church age; but he'd make a way of escape. Believe it, people. God bless you. Amen.

God, rich in mercy—the mercies of God, that's the only thing that I desire. Not His righteousness, not His law, but His mercy is what I call for. God be merciful to me. We all have that feeling.

I was watching—there's a little woman sitting out here on the end of the seat. You have a prayer card out there, lady? You don't? Let me show you God's rich in mercy. You been real nervous here lately, haven't you? Real bad. And your eyes has gotten worse. Isn't that right? That's right. Now they're going to change. God, rich in His mercy, by asking you if you'd believe Him. Now you had no prayer card, you had nothing, but you don't need it. See, it's grace that's bestowed to you.

There sits a little bitty fellow, sitting right there in front of, in kind of a ... sitting right out here. He's suffering with a growth on his body. It's just recently come on there. Recently, isn't that right, sir? That's right. You don't know what it is. You're scared of it. Right. It was caused from a bruise, wasn't it? Have you a prayer card? You don't have no prayer card. You don't need one. God, rich in His mercy. Oh, brother, sister, believe God. Don't doubt him; believe him. Right!

Here sits a man, gray suit, glasses on. Looky here, sir. Do you believe God's rich in His mercy? You're sitting there with a hernia. Do you believe that God can heal that hernia and make you well, sitting right here on the end of the seat looking at me? If you believe that God can heal that hernia, God will do that to you, if you'll accept it. Do you believe it? Will you accept it? All right, you can have it if you'll just believe it. Have mercy, yes sir.

There's a lady sitting out here—she's suffering with poor circulation in her body. But if she will believe, God will heal her, if she believes it. I believe she's going to miss it as sure as anything. Have mercy is my prayer. If I can faintly see the woman's .... Mrs. Riley, do you believe that God can heal that poor circulation? If you will, receive it. Amen. Just believe. God is good. Isn't he, Stella? I never seen the woman in my life, but God in His mercy!

Here sits another woman, sitting right back behind there, right in the back, looking right at me. She also, she's got poor circulation too. She was thinking about it just then. I never seen the woman in my life. Seeing that this other woman had the same thing, look at me. Do you believe me to be God's prophet, or His servant? You also have heart trouble. If that's right, raise up your hand. You don't have it now. God, rich in His mercy, is showing forth that He's alive here in the building tonight. God, rich in His mercy! Amen.

Could there be.... How many sinners and backsliders would stand to your feet and say, “God, rich in his mercy, be merciful to me?” Stand to your feet—I'll pray for you. If you believe that He ... you want mercy now. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you, you. Backslider, raise to your feet. God, rich in His mercy—are you....

Surely you've not gotten so numb in this condition that you can't see that that's the very promise of the hour? Surely you haven't got so wrapped up in denomination and other things that you can't see that this is the promise of the hour. God rich in mercy. Ever who you was that stood up, I'm going to pray just in a minute. I want you to make your way to some good, full-gospel church, and be baptized in Christian baptism. God give you the Holy Ghost.

Is there another? Stand to your feet and say, “Me, I want to be remembered. God, in your mercy, remember me. I haven't lived like I should. Maybe....” God bless you, lady. God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you. That's right. God's rich in his mercy. Have mercy on me. God bless you, sister. Is there....

How many more is in here, say, “I'll stand. I want God to know that I want mercy. I haven't lived right. I've lived this way, and that way, and I've been up and down, but I want his mercy.”? God bless you, brother. Someone else, say, “God, rich in His mercy....”? God bless you, sister. God bless you, sister. That's right—God, rich in His mercy. God bless you, too, God bless you back there, God sees you, just stand to your feet.

Then, “Does it do any good, Brother Branham?” Sure. Stand up and see how much different it is. If you're really sincere in your heart, God is rich in mercy. He's not willing that any should perish, but that all might come to repentance. God, rich in His mercy. Oh, God, have mercy on us.

Now, how many in here now that's holding those prayer cards? What were they? A's and B's, wasn't it? A's and B's. All the people that's got prayer card A stand over on this side, and prayer card B will stand up behind them. I wonder if there's some ministers here that would like to anticipate in helping me. If they are, would like to come up, I would be glad to have your assistance here, for we will be glad to pray, and pray with you.

This, the Bible, said, “These signs shall follow them that believe. In my name they shall cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues.” Have we done it? By the grace of.... Not us, but God, rich in mercy to keep His Word—God.

Now the wheelchairs, if you want to put them right down here in the front, we'll pray for them right here. Won't have to put them up through that, all that aisle there. Let.... All right, let them come right up here. We'll certainly pray for them, every one of them. God rich in His mercy

... would you stand to the right hand side now for a few minutes?

Did Brother Brown come with you? Coming tomorrow? I was in hope's he'd be here. Where's Brother Outlaw? Where's Brother Fuller? Some of them people that was up here with me when I first come.... Let's come back.

You remember these old-fashioned prayer lines, when we used to stand there till you'd have to hold me on one side, and somebody on the other—I'd get so weak. How many has been in them meetings, way back in the beginning? Looky here. You remember back there I told you that the Lord Jesus told me that if I'd be sincere that these things would take place? Is that right? We never had such as that in that day, but it's happened—because God's rich in his mercy and loyal to His promise. Amen! Oh, amen! Praise God! Hallelujah! Oh, I'm so glad I'm one of them. Amen! Oh my!

There are people, almost everywhere,

Whose hearts are all on flame

With the fire that fell on Pentecost,

That cleansed and made them clean;

Oh, it's burning now within my heart,

All glory to his name!

I'm so glad that I can say I'm one of them.

Oh, me! A wretched, miserable, poor, blinded wretch as I was, and now by His mercy, His rich mercy, I can see the kingdom of God in sight. Amen! How beautiful is His commandments. Stand right over here, my brother, on your crutch. If you can't get up, all right. Stand right here. We'll come right down and pray for you. And now that.... A's and B's of prayer cards get lined up over on the other side there, and we're going to pray for them. Minister brothers, you are certainly.... If you believe in laying hands on the sick, you come right here and stand with me on this platform. We are going to pray for the sick.

Now, to you people that's standing in that line: if you can believe the presence of God is here, that the Holy Spirit is in our midst now, doing just exactly what He said He would do.... If I had power to heal you, I'd certainly do it. If I had any way of healing you, I would certainly do it. I do not have it. I.... God has give a little gift. I'm not much of a preacher. I don't have education enough to be qualified as a preacher—what's called a preacher in these days, when your experience must be a theological experience, and it must have certain doctor's degrees, and so forth —I can't qualify for that. But God seen my heart and knowed that I want to do something for Him. I want to appreciate it.

A man said to me the other day, said, “I think you're just a fine man, Mr. Branham, but I believe you're sincerely wrong. You're all out of the will.... Do you know you'll be condemned at the end?”

And I said, “Look, I want to tell you something. I'm going to say that you'd be right, just to say for your argument sake. If I am wrong (which I don't believe I am), but if I was wrong, and I knowed right now that I was going to live to be a hundred years old and he was going to condemn me at the end of the road and tell me, 'You don't deserve to come into my heaven, William Branham. Get out into outer darkness.' You know what? I'd serve him every day of my life until I went anyhow. For I have received so much of His unmerited blessing that He's more than life to me.”

He's everything that I....

All that I am, all that I ever could hope to be, I have derived from His grace and mercy. I was wretched, miserable, poor, blind; but by grace He has healed me, and I am strong and healthy by the grace of God. I have good eyesight, I have eat, drink, have whatever I have need of. He never promised to supply my wants—my needs. And if I am cast away at that day, and I knowed (I cannot see where I would be) but if I knew that I was wrong, and God had chose me to be wrong, I would want to stay wrong and ... because that I want to do His will. It's.... I love Him till I want His will to be done. Now that's a big statement, but I hope you get it in the way, the spirit, I said it in, see.

I want to do His will. I ask him for something sometime, he'd shake his head, “No.” I just rejoice as much about that as I can if He'd said, “Yes.”

Because we always ought to ask, “Thy will be done.” His no's is just as ... if that's His will, that's just ... it's a whole lot better than His yes's, if it's his Will to do it. That's when you really love Him. Amen.

I get to talking about Him, I just can't stop. Oh, He's so real, so real to me. Friends, He's all that I am. All that I ever could be, all that I ever expect to be, is grounded in Christ Jesus, His Word.

I'm thankful tonight for the witness of the Holy Spirit for the message. I know it might ... some might disagree with it, but as I have told you, I am duty bound to a message. A sign went forth, and God does not send a sign just to show that He is God. A message, a voice, always follows the sign. Anyone knows that. Jesus come with signs and wonders. He was a great man when He was doing signs and wonders, but when He begin to sit down and begin to bring the message “I and my Father are one,” oh, my! That was wrong to them, see.

But the voice had to follow the sign.

Moses was given two signs and each sign had a voice. That's right. I preached on it here some time ago, somewhere, on “The Voice of the Sign.” It must have a voice. It's a-changing. Always it's that way; if it isn't, then it didn't come from God.

If a man comes out with an odd, peculiar ministry that's found in the Bible to be the truth, and that man stays right in that same old denominational doctrine, forget it. Nothing to it. God don't do a thing like that. That thing, that's rotten manna that's got termites in it, or wiggletails, or whatever you want to call it, from forty, fifty, years ago. Still trying to eat that old manna that fell way back, years ago; and the children of Israel, on their journey, new manna fell every night. Right. They couldn't keep it over. We don't live over some other age gone by; we're eating new manna, fresh manna out of heaven, in our journey as we go on.

Let's bow our heads now.

Lord God, You are so real, Your presence. I think of grace. Lord, we have just seen You do so many things. We've heard You speak with tongues, seen You interpret it through Your people. Oh, God, to see You heal the sick, open up the eyes of the blind, make the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, the dumb to talk! What a great, mighty God You are! And then to see that you promised this in the last days. Though we have many carnal impersonations, yet it only declares that there is a real God somewhere that really is true.

And I pray, Heavenly Father, tonight, that we will become so God-conscious that we see that You're here. And these people in the line, when they go through this line, Lord, for.... We're doing this because that we made a promise to them. And You said, “These signs shall follow them that believe.”

Here's minister brothers standing here, men that You have chosen before the foundation of the world to be what they are tonight. You knew before there was a world that we would stand here tonight, because you're infinite.

So we pray, Heavenly Father, tonight, that as these sick people—crippled, blind, lame, cancer-ridden, whatever it might be —that passes through this line, may they realize that the very God that knows the secret of the heart will heal them, if they'll just only accept it. Only look and understand. The man that looked upon the brass serpent just as a piece of brass, he never would be healed, because he didn't have understanding of what it was. And today, Lord, the same. If they look upon a gift to think it might be able to help them, they don't have understanding. It's only vindication of the presence of God that's here to heal. Grant it, Father. May it be done in Jesus' name. Amen.

I want the little pianist, if she will (man or woman, whoever it might be) to go over there and play this song, “The Great Physician now is near, the sympathizing Jesus,” if she will, wherever the pianist is.

I remember one of my first healing services, Fort Wayne, Indiana, a little Amish girl setting playing that piano, “The Great Physician now is near, the sympathizing Jesus.” A little baby was brought to me on the platform. It was crippled, and while I was praying for that baby it jumped out of my arms and run down across the platform. The mother fainted, the grandmother threw up her handkerchief and began to cry. And this little Amish girl now (not knowing nothing about anything about Pentecostals, because she belonged to the Amish church, but she was playing), her long hair fell down, she raised in the Spirit, and began to sing in unknown tongues, and with the harmony of that song. And them piano keys moved up, and down, playing, “The Great Physician now is near, the sympathizing Jesus.” Amen! He's the same yesterday, today, and forever.

LUKE8:50

Now let us pray now. Now, let's everybody out there pray. You people coming through the line, when we lay hands upon you, remember Jesus said if you'd believe it, you'd be well. You believe it? Now let's all sing now.

The Great Physician now is near,

The sympathizing Jesus.

He speaks (let's just close your eyes

now as we sing) ... heart to cheer,

Oh, hear the voice of Jesus.

Sweetest note in seraph song,

Sweetest name on mortal tongue,

Sweetest carol ... (Father God,

move upon the people now),

O Jesus, blessed Jesus.

The great...............

As you walk through now, He's here. Take my word, or you believe it yourself. He's here. Everybody in prayer out there now, for the people.

Sing it right with me.

He speaks the drooping heart to

cheer ... [blank spot on tape].

Lord, I believe, O Lord, I believe.

All things are possible,

O Lord, I believe.

All of you who believe, raise your hand like this. Say, “I believe.” Here sits a man sitting here. I, the reason I was extent talking, he's dying with cancer. He's on this crutch. There's no way in the world for the man to live, outside of God. He's got cancer all through the bowels, and he's going to die, if it isn't for the mercy of God. And I wish I could just ... a word of encouragement to this man. You know the doctors can do nothing for you now; you're beyond that, see. And you only got one chance, and that is in Christ. And, brother, I'll die one day too. You'll have to go, if Jesus tarries. I've got to meet you over there, stand there at the judgment bar. And this night....

You know, like in television, television has picked up that every time we even move our finger, anything, it's on record. Every word we say is on record. Now, see, television has proven that. Now television doesn't manufacture a picture. It only channels that wave into the television, see. It doesn't make it. There was television when Adam walked on earth; there was television when Moses come through the Red Sea; there was television when Elijah was on Mount Carmel, see. But they just now discovered it, see.

And now, every word I ... every move we make, and every sound, is playing a record that'll meet us at the judgment. Every move we make has got to meet us there. I've got to answer for the words that I say to you as a minister. I've got to do it, because God'll hold me responsible to it.

Now, if I could, I'd make you well—'cause you just got a little time, if not for God. Now I'll come down and pray over you—all I know how to do, brother. Anything in the world I could do for a man sitting there in that condition, I'd do it. Let me ask. You are already healed, because Jesus said you was, see. “By His stripes we were healed.” Now if you could, from the bottom of your heart, accept that, you'll not die now, but you'll live, see.

Now we know that television's coming through this room. We know that. We don't see it. We can't see it; our eyes are not made ... our senses cannot pick it up. It takes a manufactured tube, or whatever it is, crystal, to pick that up. So is God present. We don't see Him, but we know He's here. Jesus Christ is the same.... Look, He's just declared Himself, how He makes Himself.... Now as far as healing, if He was standing right here now He could do no more for you, see. Not another thing. If the Son of God was standing right here (which He is, He's here), but He couldn't do no more for you. Because He's already identified Himself here, see, and He's here right now, just standing to heal you and make you well.

That little lady there told me, said, “You asked the blessing,” and prophesied or something over her, that she'd have a baby, sitting in that wheelchair, and she did. She had her baby, and now the little lady sitting here now. She had a goiter operation and it paralyzed her. Well, we just see so much of them things happen.

Now, little sister, I know you're a genuine Christian. Why God has let you set there, I don't know. I believe maybe it's, because that you have faith you're trying to get out of there, see. But now, look. Let's just not try to have it, let's just have faith. Now it's just going to be there, that's all there is to it. It's going to start right now. You're going to get well.

And you people out there in those chairs, whatever you are, just remember that Christ is present.

Now you say.... “Is there somebody, do you see my picture is coming through?” Oh yes, even the words of Jesus Christ that He spoke when He was here on earth is passing right through this room. It never died. How many knows that's scientifically the truth? Well, what is it? Then the Spirit picks up that word that's been written and makes it manifest.

Oh glory! He's here. He's right here now, the Lord. We just have seen so much, He's done so much, till we just kind of, you know, we just kind of stumble over it. If we would realize, not that some mythical something, some theological term; but the evidence that He promised He would show Himself in this day, here He's declaring it right here before us, right now. What a wonderful thing! Isn't that wonderful?

Now, you believe!

Will you believe it? Believe you're not going to die; you're going to live, and you're going to honor God. You're going to honor God. Have you ever been baptized? You're a Christian, are you? You're a Christian. Well, you want to live for the honor of God? Then go live, my brother. In the name of Jesus Christ, live.

And, sister, you want to walk for the glory of God and take care of the baby? Then walk, sister, in the name of Jesus Christ. You.... Every one of you do the same, in the name of Jesus Christ.

Don't forget this Western Home Hotel here tonight, the presence of God identified here. He's no respecter of persons. He only wants you to believe. Do you believe Him now? Amen. God bless you. Let us bow our heads now. I don't know who they've chose to dismiss. Brother, come right here, brother. He's going to dismiss in prayer. God bless you.