Expectations
61-0308, Expectations, Lyric Building, Richmond, VA, 92 min




It's a gift of God that... And then we... It attracts the people, and they see something happen that they know that could not happen unless God had done it. Therefore, it turns their attention around from the things of the world to God. See? And that's what--the reason we say it's a bait that leads sinners...
What our main purpose is here for, is to capture the unbeliever to a faith in God. That's what we want to do, is to have--see the sinner converted to a living faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And that's our main thing.
The next thing is to try to help the sick and needy to find help. And many of them, of course, as it is all over the world, are perfectly helpless unless God does something for them, because our medical science... Some of them are beyond that.

A total insane person, an insane young lady, two years, and just... When you see something like that, we know it takes God to do that. That's just all. You know that man cannot do things like that and it wasn't given to man. After all, Divine healing...
There's only one kind of healing and that's Divine healing, no other healing but Divine healing. All healing has to come through God. Psalms 103:3 said, "I'm the Lord Who heals all thy diseases."

I was interviewed at Mayo Brothers, and that's what they told me there, said, "We do not claim to heal people; we only claim to assist nature while God heals."
In other words, if you got a cut in your hand, well, they'll sew it up. They don't heal it. If you got a bad appendix, they can take the appendix out, but that's all they could do. If you got a broken arm, you can set the arm. Who's going to furnish the calcium and whatever it takes to knit--knit that bone?
It takes... To rebuild cells it takes life, and life is what makes healing. We can cut, operate, and so forth but we cannot heal. God has to do that Himself. That's a multiplying of cells. That-that only comes through God is the only One Who can do it.
We can make a mechanical man, where he could reach his hands and almost think, but we cannot build cells. That's... God alone does that. So He's the Lord, heals all of our diseases. We can pull a tooth out, but who's going to stop the blood? And who's going to heal the place it come out of? If God doesn't do it, we'll never be healed. That's right.

Why, he'd say, "You need mental healing." Well, that'd be right. See?
He'd say, "Well, I can--I can set your arm. But something higher than me has to heal it." That's right.
He can set it, and that's his duty. That's what we ought to do, go and let him set it, but God does the healing. So I do not believe that there's such a thing as a Divine healer outside of God. I believe that God is the only Healer that there is.


I do believe that there's power in prayer. I've seen some very direct answers to prayer, but never healed anybody in my life. But I've seen God do a lot of it. So I--I believe that it's the individual's faith in a work that's already been completed.
Now, you say... I'd say here tonight, "How many Christians?" So many hands would go up. "How many was saved last year?" So many hands would go up. "How many was saved maybe a week ago?" Maybe they'd be two or three hands go up.
I differ. You--you was not saved a year ago, or you wasn't saved two or three days ago. You were saved nineteen hundred years ago at Calvary, but you accepted it last year, or you accepted it last week (See?), or two days ago. And the same thing, "by His stripes you were healed." See? "You were (past tense) healed."
Now, you can accept it tonight, or you can accept it tomorrow night, or whenever you accept it, why it's yours. So it's up to you when you want to accept it, upon those basis.

Now, the word used there in the--in the Book of Hebrews is used in the King James Version, is used "profess," but "profess" and "confess" is the same thing. You profess something or confess it, you professed that you believe that He has... "He was wounded for your transgressions with His stripes you were healed." So He's a High Priest to make intercession upon our confession. And He cannot do nothing for us until first we accept it and confess it.
Now, we could get down at the altar and pray till we were--till we laid on our faces and died. Until we believe and accept His pardoning grace, we're still lost. No matter how loud we could scream, or how long we could stay, or how much we could do without food, until in our heart--the revelation God gives us that Jesus Christ died to save us, and we accept it as our own personal property. It's something Christ did for me, did for you, and to whosoever will believe it. Then you're saved because you have believed it, and you're healed the same way.
Many times people say, "I--I like to feel if I'm healed."
Jesus never did say, "Did you feel it?" He said, "Did you believe it?" That's it. "Do you believe it?" Feeling has nothing to do into it; it's your faith. If I did the way I felt, I'd be in bad shape a lot of times. Is that right, brethren? I guess we all would. But it's not how I feel; it's what I believe that He has done. Not my feelings, it's my faith in what a finished work at Calvary.

If all the peoples like those who we've met since we've been here, we certainly have met some very fine people. And maybe I've been meeting the people of just the--just the citizens, maybe not even Christians. Then what will the Christians be if the citizens is like that's not Christians? Be wonderful. So now, a meeting can only be whatever the people will make it.

If you had traveled with me in the last year or so, you'd--you'd know that's true. See? That we're--we're in a shaking condition, and the end time is near. And these things, as we go on along through the week, we'll be presenting them, what's happened, and what's just about to happen. And as you see on your newspapers, telecasts, and whatmore, then you'll listen from the Scripture and what the Holy Spirit has to say.

Now, you must get on the phone. You must get to calling the people, and--and let's... Tell you now... I going to tell you how that we, I believe, that we run the meeting or with the brethren.
And remember, any time that you feel that you want to have someone to be prayed for, any of these brethren here, they believe the same Gospel that I'm here preaching to you. And your pastor's just got as much right to pray for you as anyone else.
Here we just come together. I believe it's written in the Scripture, the Lord said, "If the people that's called by My Name, shall assemble themselves together and pray, then I'll hear from heaven, heal their land."

Hezekiah was told by Isaiah the prophet, that he was going to die on that bed. And Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and wept bitterly, and asked the Lord for--for fifteen more years of life. And God sent the prophet right back, and said, "I've heard." And he was spared for the time. See? When God had already announced his death. But He spared him, because that he prayed. So if prayer is that powerful, what can it do? My, we don't realize how great it is.

And now, if you ever see any action here at the platform, or anything that I speak on the platform here that's not absolutely the Scripture, then you're duty bound to me as a Christian to call my attention to it. Because I do believe that God does things that's not written in the Word. I believe He could--He could do anything He wishes to. He's God.
But just as long as He does what He's promised to do, that'll be enough for me: just--just keep His promise. I--I like that. And I do believe that the Word of God is the Foundation; I believe it is the Word of God. And it's my stand, my life. And all my faith is based on the Word.

Now, we can make a decision... I can make one tonight and in ten minutes have to change it, because I'm--I'm wrong many--so many times; you are also, but not God. So if He ever makes a decision, then that's got to be forever His decision. It's like this: If a man ever come to God and knowed he was lost and wanted to be saved, and God ask him, and placed the basis upon, "if he'd believe it," and He saved that man; the next man comes and wants salvation, He's got to do the same for this man that He did then.
He's got to act the same here as He did there, or He acted wrong in the first place. See? He's got to remain God. His... And if this isn't His Word, then He isn't God. See? Because, this is what He said, and if He doesn't keep His Word, then He cannot have His Word.

And if God's Word's no good, then He's no good. He's no better than His Word. And I'll say this, that God keeps every Word that He said and every promise that He said. And if you'll take the right mental attitude towards any Divine promise God ever made, He will bring it to pass. If you can just take the right attitude, and--and believe it with all your heart. See?
The individual, it isn't what you have to have somebody to lay hands on you with a certain sensation. Oh, my. There's so many sensations today, it couldn't be right. But God's Word's still right. See? It's right.
The sensations I have, don't know nothing about them, but I do know that the Word of God is right. So therefore, when God says anything, it must ever remain that way. And that's the way I believe it. I've studied it, and history, and what He said and would take place and through the ages, the Church Ages, and so forth, and see it just dovetail together, till I'm satisfied that He's God and every Word is true. And He keeps His Word with His people.

Now, we just left Vandalia... Visalia, it was, California, and the first night the... We got over there, and they turned away hundreds and hundreds, and the second night doubled it more and more. We went to a fair grounds, and there's enough people there at three o'clock they had to close the gates for--even get into the places. You see?
Just... When the meeting gets started, and people begin to... The hungry-hearted begin to see that... Well, it's--it's the Holy Spirit moving among the people. See? It isn't some preacher with a some high super-duper faith. I don't believe in those things. I believe that faith comes by hearing the Word of God. And the individual ought to straighten his life up and get right with God, if he expects to get healed. That's... I--I believe if healing's lasting it's that the individual's got to get straight with God.
All this laying hands on the sinners and telling them, "That's all right; just forget about it, God will heal you anyhow." I--I don't believe in that. I believe a man ought to clean up and get right with God, and straighten up, and come on, and live for God and do what's right. And that's lasting healing. During these thirty-one years I have noticed that's true, that the man or woman that's ready to come straight with God, God will come straight with them. See? You have to straighten up with God.

So then we thought, well, we'd just give out prayer cards the first day we was there and give everybody out prayer cards. And then, of course, that settled it. Anybody come, otherwise than the first day, why, then they didn't get a chance to get in the prayer line, 'cause we had enough there to last.
So then we went to giving out prayer cards each day. And then, when we'd get up maybe fifteen or twenty, whatever we'd got in that night, well then, just on the platform of what we could get on there. Then we found out the people, if they wouldn't get some number, or a card up to fifteen or twenty, they'd just throw it on the floor. They didn't want it. They wouldn't be called.

"Yes."
"Count." And he started counting, or she, and wherever they stopped, I'd start right there. Believe it or not, mama knowed just exactly where to tell Junior to stop at for her card. So we still got human beings you know; we're dealing with them.
And so then--then I got one minister I got to give out cards. And then, at his organization if he didn't show just a little bit of favor, it started some feeling with the brethren.
Then I got my brother to give out prayer cards, or before that I got another man, just picked up an outsider, and I caught him selling prayer cards.

Now, then we give out those, and now here's the way we do it, so that each one will know. We come down here and get the cards, and come down before the people, and mix them all up, right up here on the platform, so you can see the cards are mixed up. Therefore, the... ever who's giving them out, he doesn't know who he's getting--who's getting what number. One of you get around and say, "I got number-1. That's me. Yes, sir." Next one say, "I'm number-2, over here." Well, of course, this might get 1, next to them, might get 45, and 62, and so forth. You don't know where it'll be.

So therefore, it's just... We just feel, by that way, it's the way the Holy Spirit has a way of working it (You see?), to bring them in. I think that's just exactly... don't you brethren you think that's a...? I've been doing that now for that last, oh, four or five years, or six, something like that. And so, by and by when you get you a prayer card though, hold on to it, because if you're not called on the first night, we will finally get to it at the end.
Now, and then that... Them prayer cards we call up so much each night. If I... If the Lord leads me to do the way... We just had the greatest success I ever had in America by doing it this way, just recently.

Sometimes they give them like that in the afternoon service; they don't have to fool with it at night. But if we... in some church or somewhere... But if they do it this way, it'll be right. Just come on down tomorrow afternoon between six-thirty and seven-thirty. And then, we expect to have services each night.

Every church to be filled and packed, and God's servants preaching the Gospel like never before, and sinners coming to Calvary, and sick people being healed in every church, and the glory of God going everywhere, that's our hearts desire.
Now, I'm glad I got this little clock over here, and I hope it's just about... It is right, so just according to my watch.

And now remember, we're up here for nothing else... We're not here to represent any denomination, because I--I do not belong to any denomination church. I was ordained a missionary Baptist minister, and I pastored the tabernacle at Jeffersonville for seventeen years. And then I went on the mission field about fifteen years ago, and I been on the field ever since.
And when I come out praying for the sick, I just left the church, or left the organization, because out here I--I get everything all together. And then I--I feel that that's the way the Lord's got His children, everywhere. Every man that's born again by the Spirit of God is my brother and every woman, my sister, that's borned of the Spirit of God.
So I don't represent any certain organization. If I was here in the city, to the converts, I'd join one of these fine churches here that believes the same thing that I believe. So that's the way I--I'd do it myself. You have your own choice to do whatever you wish to.

The only thing that I do is come out here and hold the meeting. And the only thing you have to do is pay the expense of the building, or whatever expenses goes with the meeting, is all I'm concerned about. Just pay the thing off and that--that settles it. Don't owe me nothing.
We got books. But them books... I buy those books at forty percent less, not--not because it's a money making thing because I will lose in them, but get the message out to the people. The tapes are from the Audio Mission, another group that's not with us. It's... Well, they're making the tapes for the tabernacle, which they in some kind of collaboration there that they make the tapes by. But for myself, no.

But we don't leave any debts; never have yet. Want to keep our name clean and clear and in above board, because we're meeting the sick people, we're meeting Satan on his grounds, and we--we want to have our hands clean, that when we come to pray for the sick, that we'd be honest and just and nothing shady. We're standing right before God as His servant. And we want to keep just fair and clean and clear with everybody. And I want you to know then that there's no pulls for money and there's no nothing about that. We--we're not here for that.
And we just love you and come to fellowship with you. And as Brother Bosworth said to me one day, he said, "Brother Branham, do you know what fellowship is?"
And I said, "I think so, doctor." I said, "I think I... Well," said, "here's what it is? It's two fellows in one ship."
And I said, "That's just about a...?... report: two fellows in one ship."
So we're desiring that. If we can come into your little boat, and you can come into our boat, we can have fellowship one with another, while we're seining across this city here to pull every lost soul that we can into the Kingdom of God.

Our heavenly Father, we are grateful to Thee tonight for this privilege of standing our first time in this great state of Virginia, how that many years ago are forefathers landed here, this great state has meant much to our Union. Lord, I pray that somehow that in this great state now, that You'll break forth a revival that'll--it'll be known around the world.
May there come forth an issue from God, a Fire and Spirit of the Holy Ghost that'll save the lost, and heal the sick, let the blind to see, the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, the dumb to talk, sinners be saved in the Kingdom of God, every church just illuminated with Thy Presence, until around the world they'll hear from this great meeting.

As we approach Thy Word now, for just a little foundation to start the meeting on tonight, we pray that You'll bless It. We know that our words will fail, but Your Word cannot fail. So as we read Your Word, we pray that You'll interpret It to us by the Holy Spirit. For we ask it in Jesus' Name and for His sake. Amen.

Each evening those prayer cards will be given out and... from six-thirty until seven-thirty. And then, they'll be called by those numbers. That's to keep the people from rushing up, and... It isn't an arena, you know, it's--it's a church. And... It must be done in order, as Paul said, "Decently and in order." And so, we want them just to come as their numbers are called and minister to at the platform.
Now, these prayer cards are not inter--in--inexchangeable. You have to maintain your own card. You can't take it and give it to a neighbor, bring your neighbor in. The neighbor must come and hear the instructions in order to get the card.
If... 'Cause many times that way, if you bring people in the prayer line that knows nothing about God, and there you are again. You see? And--and so let them come and hear the instructions and have their own faith build up to a place to receive their healing as we pray for the sick. That'll be tomorrow afternoon now, between six-thirty and seven-thirty.

And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon;... the same was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.
And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he would not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
[Luke 2:25-26]And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he would not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
I'd like to use for context, or for a text to build a context on, "Expectations." Now, such meetings draws expectations. And--and when you see something unusual going on... We usually have three classes of people that attend those services, like it was in the days of our Lord, and at all times; there is the unbeliever, the make believer, and the believer. It just attracts those attentions. It's always been.

Now, always to find out something first is to find whether it's the will of God or not. And then if it's the will of God, then your object--objective to it, and then your motive in doing it. If it's the will of God, and your objective is right, and your motive is right, it's got to happen. There's just no way to keep it from happening.
So first find the will, if it's God's will. And then, what--what's your objective in doing it? What's...? If it's selfish, you'll--you'll never--you'll--you'll never get it done, that's all. It's got to be real clean and clear before God or it just won't happen. That's all. It's... You got to always keep that on your mind, that it's got to be clean and clear. Your cups must be clean and clear before God or God cannot work with you.

Now, in the Old Testament they had a way of finding out whether a message was right or not. Now, after the Levitical priesthood they had what they called the "Urim Thummim." And that was the breastplate that Aaron had here. He had the twelve tribal stones in the breastplate. And they hung that on the corner or the post in the temple. And then, when the prophet prophesied or the dreamer told his dream, and when he was telling it, if that lights become a conglomeration of lights, like a rainbow reflecting off of that Urim Thummim, was showing that the supernatural was there, then that prophet was telling the truth or that dreamer's dream was right.
However, no matter how real it sounded (Now, keep this in mind.), no matter how real it sounded, if that Urim Thummim didn't make the supernatural light, they could not receive it, because it wasn't God. So when you see anyone preaching the Gospel that God doesn't come down and confirm that to be right, you leave it alone, 'cause it's not right.

No matter what it is, if you believe it... The Word of God is a seed; it's sowed in the human heart, and if there's nothing there to--to hinder it... just like when God makes a decision, it's His ultimatum. And if you have an ultimatum that God's just the same, when them two comes together, something's got to happen. It just can't keep from happening. See? And if your ultimatum is the same as God's, then something must take place.

Abraham expected that baby to come. Even down till twenty-five years after it was promised to him, he was still expecting it, just the same when he was a hundred years old, as he did when the promise was made at seventy-five. And the Bible said that he never got weak, but he got stronger all the time, believing that God would do it.
Could you imagine an old man, now seventy-five years old and a woman of sixty-five... She was barren and he was sterile. And here they went out now was going to go down to a doctor at the hospital to make arrangements for a bed. They're going to have a baby. Yep. A sixty-five year old woman and a seventy-five year old man, what would the doctor say? "The poor old couple, little off at their head..."
Well now, anybody that really takes God's Word at face value is considered a little off at the head. Because, the... It's so supernatural, the natural world doesn't know nothing about it. Here... It's foolish to the carnal mind. So you'll never understand it.

She bought up the birdeye, and the pins, and got everything ready and made the booties, was all ready. And after the first so many days, twenty-eight days, "How are you feeling dear?"
"No different, honey."
"Praise God, we're going to have it anyhow."
First month passed, no different; second month, first year, second year. "How are you feeling, darling?"
"No different."
"Glory to God, it's going to be a bigger miracle than it was two years ago; it's two years older now."
And when twenty-five years had passed, he still had the same attitude, just the same because God said so. How do you know? God said so; that settles it. If God said so, there's no more to be said about it. See? He said so. And at a hundred years old he still believed God, that God would do it.

Abraham was not a Jew. Abraham was a Gentile. But it wasn't Jew nor Gentile; it was his faith in God's Word was what made him--him to be--to be an heir of the promise. And we being dead in Christ are Abraham's seed and are heirs with Him, according to the promise. I tell you; that's true; we are, but sometimes we don't act like it.
Sometimes we go and say, "Well, I'll go and be prayed for. I'll see what happens. Well, I don't feel a bit different." Abraham's seed? Oh, my. That's a poor excuse for a... even for a church member, let alone being Abraham's seed. Abraham's seed don't look at no circumstances; it looks at the Word of God. That's all.

And the doctor was Catholic himself. And I said, "Now, if the priest came and this boy was dying in here and you knew and said he was going to die tonight, and you--would you let that priest go in?"
Said, "Certainly."
"Give him the last rites?"
"Yes, sir."
And I--I knew he would. My background is Catholic too. So I said... I--I--I knew he would do that. And I said, "Well, now if..."
He said, "Yes, but he's--he's not a married man. You got children. You'd pack this to children. You got two little children."
I said, "Yes, sir; that's true." But I said, "my faith in God..."
He said, "Get out." See?
And I said, "Well, now, look. That... I--I'm just as much to that boy in there, according to this father and mother standing here, as the priest would be to you if you were dying." See? I said, "Just as much. Our faith looks to God just the same way."

Raised up. And the old dad grabbed the mother, and the mother grabbed the dad and begin to hug one another, and just cried, "Isn't it wonderful, honey? Isn't it wonderful?"
And the boy never made a move. He'd been unconscious two or three days. And said, "Oh, isn't it wonderful?"
And I said, "The Lord bless you all" and started to walk out. And the little... And I went on out. And they un... taking that all off me out there so I could go on.

And the old gentleman, you know, fatherly like, put his arms around the little nurse and he said, "Oh, my precious child." He said, "The Lord bless you, honey." He said, "I don't want to make fun of you, because... And I wouldn't disagree with what you're saying." He said, "But you see," said, "don't... you've been trained to believe that when that needle or hand or ever-what it is goes down there, that it can never come back again."

He said, "Honey," he said, "You're looking for that needle." That's right.
She--she'd just ask him, "How can you laugh and go on like that and your boy dying?"
He said, "He's not dying." Said, "He's healed."
And said, "Well, how can you expect that and that needle..."
And said, "Honey, that's all you know to look at, is that needle, but I'm looking at a promise (That's right.) that God made."
And that boy's got two children and is in Africa today, a missionary. Oh, it depends on what you're looking... He was expecting it to happen, because he had met God's requirements. He laid the boy on the altar. He'd... Medical science had done all they could do, and everything was past any physical aid that could be give the boy. So He come to God and believed that God would do him... And the Bible said, "He's a rewarded of those that diligently seek Him." That's right.

Every man that ever believed in God, or heard God's voice, expected Him to do something. When God spoke to Noah in the Old Testament...
Now, they'd never been any rain on the earth. Why there's... God watered the earth... Up to, before the antediluvian destruction, why, He watered it through irrigation, up through the earth. It had never rained. And God spoke to--to Noah and told him to prepare an ark for the saving of his house, that it was going to rain. Rain was going to come out of the skies and the whole earth was going to be covered with water. And Noah was expecting that to happen. If he would not have expected it, the first critic come by, he would've said, "Well, I guess maybe I was wrong. It wasn't God." See? So he'd went away.

He said... You know, why we're that--why we are the way we are today? How the church is lukewarm in this Laodicean church age? Why, it's... God said it would be that way. You can't expect nothing else. It's got to be that way. That's right. But He's got... "All that he loves He chastens and rebukes," and "I stand at the door and knock, and if any man would hear My voice..." that's the address to this church age by God in the Bible of Revelation the 3rd chapter to the Laodicean Church Age.

Now, if you can set right where you are now and so consecrate yourselves to God and expect God to do something, hear the Voice of God whisper down in your heart, "You don't have to wait for a prayer card tomorrow night. This is the time I'm going to heal you." That's all. It's settled. There'd be nothing be able to shake you from that.
If you never received the Holy Spirit, and you say, "Lord, I've sought the Holy Spirit for years, but I just heard a Voice tell me I'm going to get It right tonight," That settles it. That--that's it. You'll be so expecting it; it'll have to happen.

Now, let's just take a moment to find the critics coming by and say, "Well, now just a moment, sir. Mr. Noah, you tell me it's going to rain."
"Yes, sir."
"Now, I'm a scientist." Which they had scientists. Scientists come through Cain's group. So he said, "Now, we--we're scientists, and--and we'd like for you to show us where that rain is up there."
Now, faith is not what you can see, but it's the "substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." God said so. We don't have to prove nothing. Proving nothing... You can't prove God. You can't even prove you got a mind. That's true. You can't do it. If you do let me see it, taste it, feel it, smell it, or hear it. Have you ever feeled your mind? see your mind? taste your mind? See, the senses won't declare it. But yet you've got one; you know you have.
And that's just the way it is by God. You say, "How do I know I got a mind?" I see the way I act. I know the way that something changed me from a sinner to a Christian. I've got a God that I know that it's--it's real, just as real as your mind is or--or--or any other sense that would operate.

You want to do... you got a... You're a free moral agent to act any way you wish to. And none of these other senses has anything to do with it, neither soul nor body, but it's through the spirit on self-will. God told Adam, "The day you eat thereof, that day you die." Now, he could eat and live or he--he could--he could eat and die, or stay away from it and live.
Now, that's the same way we are tonight. We can take His Word and be healed, or we can leave it, and walk away from it, and not be healed. We can have Eternal Life by believing on Him or we can walk away and not have Eternal Life. It's up to you: self-will.

So God can make rain. If there's no clouds up there, no rain up there... If He said it's going to rain, Noah said, "I'll just build right away on this ark anyhow." For he was excepting it to rain. And when he got the ark built and everything was in order, it rained because he was believing.

"Why, sure I know you're sick." All right.
"Well, can you do something?"
Why, now, you'll--you'll never get it that way. No, sir. And you'll pray for them, lay hands on them; they'll walk off the platform, "Don't feel a bit different." Well, you won't. That's one thing sure. You won't.
Now, you wasn't expecting anything. You come to the platform and follow out God's instructions just the way God says, then go away, got expectations. "Yes, sir, I'm going to receive. It's already done. I did what God told me to do. So that settles it." That's--that's the way. That's Abraham's seed.

And when we try to educate the church to fellowship, when we try to educate the people to Christ, we are just batting the air. We'll never get nowhere. There's only one way that a man and woman can come to Christ; that's through the Blood of Jesus Christ and being borned again. That's the only avenue that we can walk. When you come into that, then you receive genuine Holy Spirit faith that makes you call anything contrary to God's promise as though it was--wasn't there.
No matter what the circumstances is, how sick you are, what the doctor said... He give you up. "You're going to die with cancer and you got heart trouble, might go at any minute." You don't even look at that. You look at what God said. You stay right there on what God said. That's... He said that, and that settles it all the time. Now, you can't bluff it. You've got to really believe it.

If the old... You know, feelings raise up and say, "You--you don't feel any different. You--you just..."
You say, "Shut-up." Faith will. "Set down." God took over. That's it. Now, it... "Well, your stomach's still hurting."
"Shut-up! Don't even feel it." That's it.
That's... Don't--don't be... Sure, it's looking at what God said. God said so; so faith believes it. If you can just hold on faith, on and let--just let faith take over, it's makes the rest of them look like little dwarfs. It just makes them set down because He's the boss. Got great big brawny muscles, and I tell you, everything else, all feelings and superstitions and little isms and things, just sets down when faith takes over. He just... He's the boss. That's right.

But one day he was walking back on the back side of the desert; there's something happened that never did happen in the seminary. They was something that happened that he'd never heard of before. He seen a bush burning. He went aside to see what it was. And a Voice spoke out of there, said, "Take off your shoes, Moses. The ground you're standing on is holy." Oh, my. "I've heard the cries of My people. I've seen their affliction. I remember My Word. I remember what I told Abraham. What his seed would sojourn for four hundred years in a strange land. That time's up. I remember My Word. All right, Moses, I'm sending you down."

Goes to show whether you're doing it in God's will or out there in your own will. See? What you can do and get in trouble with your own self, why don't you just let loose and let God do it. That--that's the way to do it.
So here he was the next day... You talk about something radical. You can see Moses the next day now, after being an old sheepherder... He was--he was eighty years old, perhaps a long white beard and his head balding, and--and had a little old crooked stick in his hand with a mule, with his wife setting, straddling it, with a young'un on her hip. Here she's going down like this just a hooping and a hollering, going down, "Glory to God," going down to Egypt.
"Where you going, Moses?"
"Going down to Egypt to take over." Yes, sir.
"What? A one man invasion?"
"Yes, sir. That's right."
"Why? How do you know you're going to do?"
"God said so." That settled it. "I heard His voice. I'm expecting Him to do it." That's right.
Looked silly. Somebody said, "Poor old fellow. A one man invasion..." Going like one man going to whip Russia. You see?
But he did it, because God said so. And he was expecting God to keep His Word. Amen. I'm expecting God to keep His Word with us. God will keep His Word with any man that'll take His Word and say, "It's mine. God's made the promise, and I'm expecting You to do it. I'm not taking "no" for an answer. I'm standing right here."

Then... So he got down in the field; he said, "Lord, if You don't give me the Holy Ghost, when You come back, You'll find a pile of bones laying right here, when You come back." Now, he got the Holy Ghost. So that's the second blessing; he called it sanctification.

Something's fixing to happen. When you hear that Voice of God telling you, "You're Mine. I--I own you. I bought you with My Blood. I'll... By My stripes you were healed." Oh, brother, I'm telling you, something's fixing to happen when you do that.
Yeah, it'll make... Oh, the people will say, "Why, Lucy, Nettie, or Martha, Mary, why, you know they've lost their mind. I--I tell you, they went up to a meeting up there, and was anointed and now, you know... We know she was a dying with cancer. The doctor says she can't get well. And here, she's over there doing all of her washing, just a singing, 'Hallelujah, hallelujah,' walking around there carrying on like that. Why, the poor woman's gone crazy."
No. She's just took God at His Word. She acts crazy to the people, but she's obeying what God said. That's right. Exactly.

"Where you going, Moses?"
"Going down to Egypt, going to take over." Going right down to take over. Eighty years old, going down to the best, mechanized army there was in the world: had the whole world conquered. Going down, eighty years old, with a wife and a kid. It's his boy, Gershom, probably setting on her hip and here she goes down there, leading this old mule, going down to take over, and he did it. Yeah. Why? He was expecting to. Why? God said so. That settles it. When God said so, that was...

He said, "There'll come a day that there'll be One come that'll be the Sacrifice."
"Oh, get next to yourself, preacher. What's the matter with you? There'll be no such a time as that."
And he started to look; he said, "Behold (Amen!)... Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world." Why? He was expecting Him; because he said, "He that told me in the wilderness, go baptize with water," said, "Upon Whom thou shall see the Spirit descending and remaining on, He the One that'll baptize with the Holy Ghost and Fire." That's the One. He was expecting to see Him.
He said, "I knew Him because there was a sign of the Messiah above Him, a Light above Him, and I knew that was the Messiah." And he was expecting to see Him.

Oh, how we could go on. How we could just go on with different ones, but let's get to Simeon now in closing in the next few minutes.

You say, "How do you say that, Simeon? What makes you say that? You're going off on the deep end. What kind of an 'ism' have you got into?"
"None."
"Why do... What makes you say that?"
"The Holy Ghost told me. The Holy Ghost revealed it to me that I wasn't going to see death until I seen the Lord's Christ. And I believe it; that's all." Go around telling everybody. No matter how great his name was, he didn't have to be a blueblood, but he just--he just... I don't care what he was; he still believed that the Holy Ghost was right. Well, there's no two Holy Ghosts; there's only one Holy Ghost. That's right. And he was led by the Holy Ghost, revealed to him by the Holy Ghost. And the same Holy Spirit that revealed it to Simeon can reveal it to you, the promise that He made. There it is.

I can hear the congregation saying, "Poor old Simeon. It's such a pity, poor old fellow. You know, he's kinda little bit... He's got one foot in the grave right now, eighty something years old, ready to die. And look, even plumb back from the day of Adam they looked for the Christ. Look. David looked for Him, sang of Him. Prophets prophesied of Him, and all this. And here, this old man... Now, we're farther away from it than we ever was in all of our life, and here this old man with one foot in the grave, just about to go... And here he goes around, amongst the people saying, 'Nope. I'm not going to die until I see the Lord's Christ. It's right at hand.'"
"How do you know?"
"The Holy Ghost told me so." He was expecting it. That's right. Expect it to be done.

I--I love to--a scenes... I love hunting. I'd go up in the mountains, since I was a little boy, climb up there, and watch that sun go down of a evening, watch it rise in the morning. See that great eye of God look like could move across through there.
Watch springtime coming now, and the little seeds that was buried under that snow here a few weeks ago, bursted, run out, the pulp run out of them. There's nothing left, no seed, no pulp, no stalk, no petal, no nothing left of that flower. The--the... Even the seed, it fell off of it. Do you know God has a funeral procession for His flowers? Did you know that? Sure.

And it lays there all through the winter and rots. And--and then the freeze comes and bursts that little seed open; the pulp runs out of it. And you might get a handful of that dirt and take it down to the laboratory; you couldn't take any chemicals in the world and ever find that germ of life in there. But it's there somewhere. That's right.
It's hid; you can't find it. But just let the--the sun... The sun brings forth all botany life. Now, when that sun begins to shine, that life will come forth again.

It's a master; it's a life-giver to all botany life. It... No matter where it's at, it'll shine forth again. That life will just keep working its way, working its way, working its way till it finally gets out of there to raise its head and glorify God. Then how can anybody not believe in the resurrection? Oh, when that, not s-u-n of God, but S-o-n of God, Eternal Life...
You might bury me in the sea; you could bury me under anything you want to, but when that S-o-n begins to shine forth at His coming, everyone that's dead in Him and has Eternal Life will rise and go with Him, just as certain as I'm standing in this pulpit tonight. That's right.

Well, they picked the little fellow up and took him down to the--to the clinic to have him examined. The doctors looked him over and took an analysis of his body. And come to find out, the little fellow... The body was calling for sulfur. He... There's sulfur in there. His body was calling for sulfur. And sulfur is in rubber, so that's why he was getting on that rubber.
Now, before there could been something in here to call for sulfur, there had to first be a sulfur to respond to that call, or there'd never would been a call for sulfur.

In other words, there has to be a Creator to create the creation. And when in your heart... How many believes in Divine healing, raise your hand? Well, now as (thank you)--as sure as you believe in Divine healing there's something in your--inside you here, telling you there's a God that heals. And before that, even that creation could be in you, there has to be a Creator to create the creations. Amen. That's it.
The very reason that you're here tonight, the very reason that this meeting's going on, proves that there's a fountain open somewhere of Divine healing. Hungry hearts...

Them blanket natives the day before didn't know which was right from left hand; here they was, lovely Christians, healed by the power of God in one moment of time. Why? They seen something happen. And as soon as they seen it happen, something sprung to them, and they said, "It's me too." And when they had the opportunity, they accepted it, and away they went. That's all there is to it. See?

And that same Holy Spirit that revealed to him that he wasn't going to die until he seen the Lord's Christ, that same Holy Spirit speaks to you, "There is a power of God that heals the sick." See? Oh, isn't it plain. It's so... Why, you couldn't make it any plainer. See? "There is a power of God that heals the sick." See?

He's expecting us. And that's the reason He's revealed Himself to you. "I'm the Lord, heals all thy diseases. I'm Jehovah-rapha, Jehovah the Healer, the Lord that heals all thy diseases."
Something tells you in your heart, "That's right. I believe that."
Well, that's the same Holy Ghost that said, "Simeon, you're not going to see death until you see the Lord's Christ."

Something's revealed it to you. What? Same Holy Ghost. Are you expecting it? Expecting it to happen? How many believes we're going to have a great meeting? Keep up your hands now, "I believe we're going..." See? So do I. See? What is it? The Holy Spirit revealed it to us. Amen.
I believe that we're going to see the power of God. Don't you believe that? Sure. The Holy Spirit reveals it to us. We--we believe that. And we just stay right with that.

I believe in old fashion Pentecostal, sky blue, sin killing religion. Yes, sir. I believe in being gun barrel straight, and preaching it the same way, and living it the way you preach it, and just jump as high as you live. That's just right. If you can't live very high, then don't jump very high. But why, this will make your jumps equal with your life. And I believe that that should be that way. That's when God will honor His Word. It--it--it's either right or wrong. And I--I believe that God said, "Prove all things." And It's proved to me that It's right, so I believe It. Amen.

Now, we can expect that out of people out of the world. They don't know no different. But to our Pentecostal people... And I want to say something. I stood there where I've seen thirty thousand blanket natives receive Jesus Christ at one time. Them women stand there just as naked as you come into the world, young and old, nothing but a little clout and beads hanging in front of them about that big: never knowed they were naked, knowed nothing about it. And right on the grounds where they seen this healings taking place, and this sign (as I go into it more tomorrow night), and seen that taking place, I... They wanted to receive... They wanted something, wanted to receive Christ. And I said... I asked, "All that believes that He will save you, let them stand up." And thirty... Well, they tagged thirty thousand. I don't know how many stood, but thirty thousand stood up.

And I said, "I did not mean..." I had fifteen interpreters, you know. So I said, "I did not mean physical healing; I meant salvation, that you--you accept Christ, God's Son as your personal Saviour, and you want to serve Him," many of them with idols in their hand. I said, "You that's sincere about it, break your idols on the ground." Like a dust storm, you see it go up, like that.
And when... As soon as they received Christ, them naked women... Brother, sister, they folded their arms like this to walk out of the presence of men. And if a raw heathen, that knows not right nor left hand, as soon as Christ touches them, realize that they're naked, and then we claim to be of the church of the living God, and stripping ourselves every year? It don't make sense to me. There's something wrong somewhere. That's right.
Oh, God. Yeah, we're in Laodicea; that's where we're at. We're--we're way down the line near the coming of the Lord Jesus. Oh, let's be ready to meet Him. Yes, yes.

I said, "If you do that, you'll answer at the day of judgment for committing adultery." And somebody called my hand on it.
I said, "Jesus said, 'Whosoever looketh upon a woman to lust after her, has committed adultery with her already in his heart.' And you might be as pure as a lily to your husband or your sweetheart. You might be just as virtue a woman as there is in the United States, just as virtuous as you was when you come from your mother's womb. But lady, if you dress yourself like that to let sinners look at you like that, he's going to lust after you; and when he does, at the day of the judgment when he answers for his adultery, you're the one who presented yourself to him." There you are. So you're going to answer for committing adultery.

I said, "They still got sewing machines and sell goods. There's no excuse about it." It's just the same. That's right.
We... What we need today is a good old fashion, sky-blue, sin killing religion, an old Saint Paul's revival, and revive the Holy Ghost and back to real Pentecostal messages again, back to the truth.

Some minister told me said, "You're going to ruin your ministry with that."
I said, "Any ministry that the Word of God will ruin, ought to be ruined and kicked out anyhow." Yes, sir. I said, "I--I..." That's right. You don't... What we need is back to the Bible, back to real holiness, back to God, back--back to where people can have faith. How can God build His church upon a foundation like that?
We've took our churches and made organizations, and we belong to them and settle right down like the rest. And now... We used to say, "The old cold formal Baptist," and now the Baptists say, "Cold formal Pentecostals." That's right. That's exactly right. Pentecost is more formal than the Baptists. Yes, sir. So there we are.

But today, we've weakened our way, and our pulpits has got week at least four or five rounds of little seminary ministers has come in with kinky hair, you know, or whatmore... I'm not saying nothing about that, 'cause I haven't got any, but that don't make... But what I mean to say, they get back to a place, just like God had grandchildren. God don't have no grandchildren.

A few years ago they had real Pentecost, men and women who got down at the altar and paid the price, and come through, brother, and lived the life. Yes, sir. Well, what'd they do? They brought their children in, set them on the rows, and dedicated them in the church, and they were Pentecostal. That's grandchildren.
There's no place in the Bible where God's got grandchildren. He ain't grandpa; He's God. He's Father. Hallelujah. And every man and woman, I don't care...?... you, or how good your father and mother was, you've got to have that same experience of being borned again and filled with the Holy Ghost if you expect to be a son or daughter of God. That's right.

I said that one time, someone said... somebody wrote me some letters, said, "What's sassafras?" All right. But you know what it is up here. Yes, sir.
Oh, but brother, I'll tell you, it--it'll straighten you out. It'll--it'll make you live right. That's true. Just get down there, and stay till it's over, and get straightened out with God. Yes.

Now, in closing, here comes Jesus, His first time in the temple in the arms of His little mother. They tell me His swaddling cloth was made out of a--the wrapping that went on the back of a yoke of an ox, that was hanging in the stable. And then we can put on a five hundred dollar mink coat and stick our nose up the air; if it'd drown in rain, and think we're somebody.
And our Saviour, the God of heaven, came and was wrapped in swaddling cloths. "Foxes has dens and the birds has nests, but the Son of man has not a place to lay His head."
And then we think we're somebody. Can drive a car better than the Joneses, and just starve our kids to death nearly to get that car, too, get a better television or something; stay home on Wednesday night from prayer meeting, and let the church set vacant, to watch "We Love Susie," or something like that on, this nonsense on the television. That shows how much you love God.

Oh, you join the church; that's right. But this is one we're talking about. You don't join this, you're born into it. I been in the Branham family fifty-one years, they never did ask me to join the family. Why? I was born in it. I--I'm was a Branham by birth. That's the way you are a Christian; you're born into the church of the living God. You're born into it by birth. You're a Christian by birth.

Said, "Look at that woman. You know what? She married... that baby was borned out of holy wedlock. Don't tell me. Where's there's a little smoke, there's bound to be some fire somewhere. Yes, sir. I'll tell you, boy, that's all there is to. I'll tell you, she's one of them. You better watch her. See? Keep your distance from her."
That's the way the lukewarm believer tries to do to the real believer. "Oh, he's lost his mind, went off on the deep end. There's something wrong. And how he trusts God for this." He said, "Oh, the days of miracles has passed. No such thing as Divine healing." Hm. All right.

It... Paul said, "I never come to you, preaching to you enticing words of man, that your wisdom, but that your faith would be built in a wisdom of man, but I come preaching to you the power of the Holy Spirit."...?... That's it, brother, simple and plain, just plain to believe it, that's all. God said so and that settles it. That's--that's the whole thing.
She knowed Who that Baby belonged to, no matter what any of the rest of them... I can see them say, "Now, keep your distance. Don't go around her. Don't have nothing to do with her. She's... just keep away from her."
She didn't care whether they did or not, didn't make her no difference. She knowed Who this Baby belonged to. She knowed Who it was. That's right.

She knowed where this Baby come from. She just watched and said, "Yes, sir." She knowed, she went walking on, like that, not paying no attention, talking to her baby. She didn't have time to associate with them--all them societies.
That's what's the matter with our church today; they got the lady's society, and the men's society, and this society, and ball games, soup suppers, and everything else. And prayer meetings is left off, you know. No more... And the Holy Ghost promised He'd only seal those who sighed and cried for the abominations done in the city.

We've--we've joined church and settled down. "That's all that's necessary." See? That's how we get... It's so... Sin is so sneaky, and it sneaks right up on you before you know it. See? That's the way it does. It just grabs you like the old toboggan slide used to be, and it's got you. The devil does that.
Now, brother, let's get plumb back off of his territory; let's come back to God; come back to the altar; rebuild the altar again that's been torn down. And build up your home. Take them cards off the table, and all of them old love story magazines. And open up the Bible, and read the Bible, and pray. And just don't get down and say, "Bless my family, Mary, and Joe, and John, and all of them," get in the bed. No, sir. Stay there with God. Oh, my.

Now, she's coming along with this Baby. Now, there's Christ in the temple. All right. If Christ is in the temple, and God had revealed it to Simeon that it was--He was going to show him the Christ before he died... Well, I think, if Christ is in the temple, it's time for the Holy Spirit to go to work on Simeon. Don't you think so?

Here they are now; it's Monday morning. All... Simeon's back in the office a reading the scrolls. Let's see; he picks up Isaiah, and he begins to read down to Isaiah 9:6, "Unto us a Child is born, a Son is given: His Name shall be called, Counseller, Prince of Peace, mighty God, Everlasting Father, government shall be upon His shoulder. And the..." Oh, Who could that be?
About that time, the Holy Spirit said, "Rise up, Simeon."
"Rise up, what do You want me to do?"
"Just rise up."
"Well, where shall I go?"
"No, no, you just stand up. That's all I want you to do."
That's the way God wants you to do: just as He speaks, act. That's what you want to do this week. When God speaks, act. Do it. Say, "Go see so-and-so about coming to church." Act. Do it.
"Stand up; that's all."
"Here I am."
"What next?"
"Start walking."
"Where abouts?"
"Walk, I'm going to do the leading; you do the walking." See?

He sees this little woman everybody's keeping their distance from. He walks up. The Holy Spirit begins to make his heart beat real fast, you know. Oh, He leads you to the Promise. Yes. If He give you the promise, and you believe in Divine healing, He leads you right into it. If you believe in the baptism of the Holy Ghost, He leads you right into it. See? Where it's at, He will lead you right to it.
Now, he's got Him right here beside. Simeon reaches over, takes that Baby out of its mothers arms, raises up his hands, and said, "God, let Your servant depart in peace, according to Your Word, for my eyes have seen Thy Salvation."

And here comes this old blind woman, "Pardon me, sir. Pardon me, madam. I'm sorry." Led by the Holy...
"Where you going, Anna?"
"I don't know. I'm just led."
First thing you know, she comes right straight where Simeon's standing there, saying, "Lord, let Thy servant depart in peace." She, likewise, the Holy Ghost come upon her, and she begin to prophesy about the Child.

For there is a fountain filled with Blood,
Drawn from Emmanuel's veins,
Where sinners plunge beneath the flood,
Lose all their guilty stains.
Drawn from Emmanuel's veins,
Where sinners plunge beneath the flood,
Lose all their guilty stains.
You believe that? God bless you. Are you expecting something to happen? My time is gone. Now, you're such a lovely audience, I could speak a hour yet to you, but my time is up. And let's be expecting God to give us a great revival. Will you--will you join with me in prayer to--for that purpose? Will you do it? Let's bow our heads then.
Now, minister brethren, I know you all are expecting it. We're here to work together as a unit of God. Let nothing stand in our way now. Church, we're here to work with you. All you ones that belongs to the Assemblies of God, and the Church of God, and the United Pentecostals, and whatever you might be, we don't care what brand you wear. We're just--just believing that God will do it. Let's join together now in one accord.

Heavenly Father, I pray that as we join our hearts and our prayers together... The Bible said in the fourth chapter of, I believe, of the Acts of the Apostles, when the people had come together and made a report, then they prayed with one accord, and the building was shook where they were assembled together. And they spoke the Word of God with boldness.
O, God, we go along here today with this wonderful name pinned upon us, as Pentecostal believers, witnessing that we've been borned again by the Holy Ghost, and the Holy Spirit leads us. Then, Lord, to see the church get weakened, and falling away, and crumbling down, and, O God what a--what a condition. Revive us, O Lord. Send Your Holy Spirit upon us, and bring forth the refreshing, the dewdrops of mercy from above.
O, God, revive our--our--our community here; revive the whole city. Revive the churches around, revive the Methodists, revive the Baptists, revive all of them, Lord. And O, God, may it begin right here in this congregation. May there be such a reviving and awakening amongst us, Lord, till the Holy Ghost taking our hearts, and tearing us apart, and squeezing from us the--the precious ointment that He would desire for our church to be anointed with. Grant it, Lord.

May the Angels of God go to every church throughout this community, every place, down into the barrooms, and--and bring conviction upon sinners. And may the Christians go forth testifying, saying, "Come, see. Come, see. We've never seen anything like it." Grant it, Lord. May it be a great roar through this country, and God getting glory of it. Grant it, Father.
Bless Your precious shepherds; I ask again, back here, standing up here on the platform, some I've never seen in my life. But Lord God, they're standing here to make a witness that they too are believers. They're here to--to put in their part, to put their shoulder to the wheel. Our hearts are burning and yearning, Lord, to see the Spirit of God move among us. Grant it. Do this for us, Father. We commit ourselves to You in Christ's Name, for His glory we ask it.

Now, it's in our hearts, let's just think now. I can see a bunch of disciples around a boy with epilepsy. I can hear Andrew say, "Let's step back, boys. I--I'll show you how I done it down at Capernaum. When I cast out epilepsy down there, here's the way I done it." But it didn't work.
Simon Peter said--said, "Well, now, here's the way I done it down at Joppa. I'll show you how I done it down there." And it didn't work.

And he ran to Him, this father of the child, and said, "Lord, have mercy on my son. He's variously vexed with a devil. I brought him to Your disciples and they could not cure him."
Jesus said, "I can, if you believe, for all things are possible to them that believe."
Said, "Lord, I believe. Help Thou my unbelief."

The last sign He said, He said, "They shall lay hands on the sick; they shall recover."
Now, there's a believer got their hands laying on you, a believer that believes in healing. Jesus made this statement: "These signs shall follow them believers; if they lay their hands on the sick they shall recover."
Now, if you believe with all your heart, don't doubt, the--and you prayer of faith, then the one that's--that you have your hands on is praying for you. Now, believe.

May the devil be defeated in our lives. And we know he is defeated, because he is the defeated being. And, Satan, I turn to you now to say this, that you are defeated. You're not afraid of us, but you're afraid of the One we're speaking about. You have lost every bit of power you ever had. You were defeated at Calvary.
Jesus Christ God's Son triumphed over every enemy. He conquered all sickness, all death, hell, and the grave. And He conquered every victory that you ever had. And you're nothing but a bluff, and we're calling your bluff tonight. In the Name of Jesus Christ turn these people loose. They're fully following and expecting to be healed. The power of God is present. Believers with their hands laid on one another...

Now, just stay shut in with God. Just keep believing now with all your heart. "Lord, I believe that You healed me right now. I believe, because I laid my hand on this man here; he laid his hand on me, on this woman, she laid her hand on me. I was led to do that. I was led to lay my hand over on this person. They were led to lay their hands on me. The same Holy Ghost that told Simeon, give him the promise, led me to do this while we're right here in this place of Divine healing. Now, I believing, Lord. Satan, you might as well get away from me right now, because I'm taking... I'm a seed of Abraham by Jesus Christ, and I take the preeminence."
Just keep believing it with all your heart while I ask one of our pastors here, the one the--one of the brethren here, if you will, if you'll come offer prayer. Some, one of the pastors here, come take the service over, one of you here. All right, sir. Until...

Raise up your hand and say, "I now accept it." Raise your hand. God bless you. That's the way to do it. Keep that kind of faith going, and you'll see the exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we could even do or think. Until I see you tomorrow night, here's the pastor. God bless you.