What the Holy Ghost was Given
for no 23
The
Brian Kocourek, Pastor
Matthew 7:12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would
that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: (In other words, the golden rule, do unto others as
you would like for them to do unto you. Don't have two standards, one for
yourself and one for others. Don't be a hypocrite) for
this is the law and the prophets. What the law and prophets teach.
13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: (that's the gate that is narrow or constricted) for wide (spread out) is the gate, and
broad (spacious) is the way (or road, or journey) that leadeth to destruction, and many
there be which go in there at: 14 Because strait
(constricted) is the gate, and narrow (and full of
afflictions and suffering) is the way which leadeth unto life,
and few there be that find it.
So he is telling us
that the way that the majority go is always the wrong
way to go. If you see too many going that way, then avoid it, because that is a
sign that you are on the wrong road. The way of the Lord is always the way of
the despised few.
We sing that
song. "I'm
going through, yes, I'm going through, I'll pay the price, whatever others do;
I'll take the way with the Lord's despised few;I've started in with Jesus, and I'm going through."
Let us bow our heads
in prayer....
15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in
sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye
shall know them by their fruits.
Now, he said you shall know them by their fruits. We
always say, if he looks like a duck, and he walks like
a duck, and he flies like a duck and he talks like a duck, then it's most
likely a duck.
So if he is talking about Wolves dressing up in
sheep's clothing, and then he talks about fruits, you know that there are
certain things you must look for to identify that wolf that is masquerading in
the clothing of a sheep.
Now, you know that a wolf would put on sheep's
clothing to look like a sheep, but his sole purpose is to get close enough to
the sheep by looking like them to take a bit out of them. and so he says when
you run across a person who dresses like a Christian, you had better look at
all their fruits, because by their fruits you shall know them.
As I ravel around the world, and come into contact
with many people who profess to believe the Message, it amazes me to see so
many who profess to be sheep but in actuality they are wolves only dressed in
the letter of the Message.
And just because someone comes to you and says they believe the Message, doesn't mean that you are obligated to believe them. Why else would John warn us to try every spirit to see whether it is even in The Faith.
1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit,
but try (test, examine,
discern, prove for yourself) the spirits whether they are of God: because many
false prophets (may
imposters) are gone out into the world.
Then Jesus continues, Do men gather
grapes off of thorns, or figs off of thistles?
Look at the plant you
are picking your fruit from? Are they prickly, do they sting you or cut you
every time you take fruit from them? Then you better watch out my brothers and
sisters. Because, although the Word is corrective, yet it doesn't lash out and
grab you and tear you apart every time you eat from it. So watch the fruits
it's bearing.
Then Jesus says, 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good
fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither
can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down,
and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by
their fruits ye shall know them.
Now, here we come to
an allegory, a metaphor where Jesus is speaking about in nature fruit bearing trees are not thorny.
You don't eat a rose from a thorny rose bush. And you do not eat the leaves of
a briar patch. And neither does apples and oranges,
and mangos and bananas have thorns to guard you from partaking of their fruit.
But notice how he teaches us here that good trees do not bring forth evil
fruit, they bring forth good fruit. And then he is going to give us a hint as
to what this fruit is.
He says, 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord,
Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will
of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that
day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and
in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done
many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them,
I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Now, if you catch what
he is telling you here that what they say is the fruit. Many will say this, and
many will say that. But what they say are lies because they do not do what they
say. In other words, Jesus is telling us that words are fruit, what we say is
fruit. He's speaking of the fruit of the lips.
Hebrews 13:15 By him
therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that
is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
So there is a fruit of
the lips, and whether it is true or whether it is a lie determines what kind of
a tree is bring it forth. And notice further, the ones that say it and don't
produce what they say, are to be cut down and cast into the fire. That is exactly
what Jesus is telling us.
And
we know that in the message “Anointed Ones at the
end Time”, William Branham taught us that the fruit is the teaching for the season.,
what they are teaching for the season.
In other words, the fruit is what they are teaching. The fruit of their ministry.
And
he tells us that if you are a good tree, then you can not teach error. Your
teaching will be right smack on target. For the word sin means to miss the
mark. But the word righteous means to be rightly wise. And how could you be a
righteous man if you are not right in our thinking.
24 Therefore whosoever heareth
these sayings of mine, and doeth
them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house
upon a rock: (Built his home upon revelation) 25 And the rain descended, and the
floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell
not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not,
shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27 And
the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and
beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
Luke
Now in the light of what Jesus
is saying here he is saying if your understanding
is good you will bring forth good things, and if your understanding is evil then you will bring forth evil
things.
If you recall, in our series on
the garden of your mind I showed that the mind is a garden, and in it are
planted many seeds, and the seed that are planted in your mind are those things
that become manifested in your life. Therefore whatsoever you sow, you will
surely reap. And therefore what things you are feeding your mind will
become manifest in your life. Now, this is the end time and people must
manifest what seed they are. And we know that whatsoever
doth make manifest is manifested by the light. That’s Ephesians 5:13. So then,
we must understanding that all seeds here on earth must come into a
manifestation of what they are and the nature of the seed that they are will
manifest itself openly once that Light strike the seed.
And so Jesus continues as we
read from verse 46
And why call ye me, Lord,
Lord, and do not the things which I say? And how can you say you
believe this message if you are not living it? How can you say you have believe that token if you do not
apply it in your life?
Now, we began by showing you in
Mathew 7 about the man who build his house upon
Revelation. Well, we see the same thing taught here in Luke 6:47. Whosoever cometh to me, and hears my sayings, and doeth
them, I will shew you to whom he is like: 48 He is like a man which built
an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: (now
remember that a rock represent revelation, so this man built his house upon
revelation) and
when the flood arose, (And remember the Bible tells us that the
devil will come in like a flood) the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not
shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. 49 But he that heareth,
and doeth not, is like a man that
without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream
did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was
great.
Now, notice the only difference
between the house that stood and the house that was swept away, is that one
heard and acted upon what he heard while the other also heard but did not act
upon what he heard. Thus the revelation that the one had was to do and the
revelation the other had was that he did not have to do. Now, which one's house
was saved? I ask the question because there are some who say, "I don't care what a man does, I'm only interested in what he
says." Now, that man did
not speak according to Scripture.
What saved Noah and his
household? His believing God that it was
going to rain? Or His actions
which came as a result of his believing God? In other words, his
doing what God had instructed him to do and that was
to build the ark.
Now, we have been commanded to apply the token,
and I don't understand how people can think that to apply the token simply
means to believe it. If I told you to apply the paint you would find a roller
or a paint brush and something to open the can if you are going to apply it.
And brother Branham said we must apply it.
The Token 63-0901M 34-9 You should love one
another. Believers should separate themselves from the world. Don't
just take it now, lightly. And then, you people that's listening to this on
tape, you women, you men, you listen a minute. If you ever believed me, you
believe it now. It's time to quit fussing with one another. Believe the
message of the Bible. Believe Jesus Christ; and love, and honor, and respect
one another. Men respect your wives; you respect your home. Bring your home
together, because, you remember, this Lamb was for the home, not just one.
The whole home too had to be brought; everything had to be brought in. We
should love each other, and believers should separate themselves from the
world.
You
know it seems odd to me that those who claim to follow William Branham prophet
of God, separate themselves more from each other than they separate themselves
from the world. Have you ever noticed that?
35-3 Notice, they were not just yet come together to talk
about the message. They come together to apply the blood, to apply the
token. That's what you must do. Pastor Neville, and to this congregation, trustees, deacons,
to you brethren, it's time that we laid aside all the foolishness of the
world, time we laid aside everything else. We've seen enough now, that
we're positive, sure, and the Token must be applied. Without it, you're
going to perish; you must perish. That is the only thing. Oh, don't come together, say, "I believe it." Get
beneath it. Get into it. How to do it? By one Spirit we're baptized into the Body of Jesus Christ. Everybody believe
with all your heart. See? He was not responsible for any out from beneath it.
Now, in getting back to Matthew 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will
liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25 And the
rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that
house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
Now, if we want to apply the
symbols in this parable we must know what they mean first to understand what
this is all about.
Notice, he said the rain would descend, and we know according
to Deuteronomy 32:2 God said "My Doctrine shall descend as the rain".
So we see here that the rain must come before the floods. Now, we know that Satan comes in like a flood, but
we also know that a flood represents judgment by the Word, "as it was in the days of Noah so shall it be when the
Son of Man is Revealed". And as the doctrine begins to pour
forth upon the face of the earth, then the judgments that the doctrine bring
with it begin to take apart every house that is not founded on the rock of
revelation.
You see the flood is the waters
of separation, and we know the waters of
separation is caused by the Word itself.
In his sermon, Water of
separation 55-0121 P:23 Brother Branham
said, "Notice, now what was the water of
separation type of? The
water of separation was the type of the Word of God: the Word. Now, I
believe it's over in Ephesians here, at the 5th chapter, it said, "That
he might sanctify and cleanse us with the washing of the water by the word," (See?), washing of
the water of separation by the Word. And in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelled among us, and became (You see it?) the water of separation. Amen. And
everything that Christ died for and promised in His Word is yours as freely as
the water runs. For if you have a sin, apply the Word. It's the water of
separation.
Notice the rains come first,
then the flood which is the waters of separation
which will take away any house that has not been build upon a rock which Is
Revelation. And not just any revelation will do for Christ is that Rock. And therefore
there is one Faith or one
Revelation and that is the revelation of Jesus
Christ. And building your house upon that rock which is Christ
will weather any storms that will come.
So he says the rains will come,
that’s the doctrine, and then the floods will rise which is the
waters of separation that will come as a result of that Word, and then
the winds will blow, which speaks of every wind of doctrine, and
cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive. And will beat upon that house, and if it was
not founded upon the Rock of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, then it will
not last.
If you just come to church
because you know you should, watch out? The rain is falling, and
the next thing will come is the waters of separation! Then you will find out
where your home was built upon. And if you have received the revelation
of Jesus Christ you will be tested to see whether you have it or not.
That’s the trial of your faith, according to 1 Peter
1:7 which is the trial of your revelation.
26 And every one that heareth these
sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened
unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27 And the
rain descended, (that's the doctrine) and the floods came, (that's the waters of
separation) and the winds blew, (that's every other wind of
doctrine) and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall
of it. 28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
29 For he taught them as one
having authority, and not as the scribes.
Now the King James version uses the word astonished here but the word astonished is not
a good translation of the word ekplesso that Jesus used here in the original,
because it gives you a wrong idea of what was taking place. The Greek word used
here is ekplesso
and it means to strike out, to expel by a blow, to
drive out or away; to cast off by a blow, or to drive out. In others
words, they didn’t want His doctrine.
They wanted to expel him to get him to go away, for his doctrine was too
hard for them to hear. And they didn’t want it. Why? Because they all liked to
talk about the Lord, and to talk about the Word but he said with their mouth
they draw near Me but in their hearts they were far
from God.
Isaiah 29:13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this
people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but
have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the
precept of men:
And that is what Jesus quoted to them in Matthew 15:7 where he said, Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you,
saying, 8 This people draws nigh unto me with their mouth, and honor me with
their lips; but their heart is far from me. 9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for
doctrines the commandments of men.
Jehovah Jireh PT 1 62-0705 13 You can't go by emotions. See, your life that you live
testifies what you are. See? No matter what kind of a sensation, you cannot base Christianity on
any sensation. It's a life. Jesus said, "By
their fruit you shall know them." Not by their profession, not
by what they say. And Jesus also said, "You
draw nigh unto Me with your
lips, but your heart is far from Me." That's their
profession. See, your life tells what. And if a man says that he believes God,
and denies one Word of this Bible, or changes It in any way, why it's got to be wrong. 14 You say, "It doesn't make any
difference about these little things." It certainly does. One little word is what
taken us in all this trouble; not disbelieve it, but just misplace it. ...
15 The Devil won the battle over the human race by reasoning with the human
race. Just reason, "Why, it stands to reason this would be? It stands
to reason." If
the reasoning is contrary to the Word, then the reason is wrong. The
Word is right, just the way It's written. Don't
put any private interpretation. Just say It the way
It's written, and believe It like that. See? God's took care of It. It's just exactly the way It's
supposed to be, so let's just believe It that way. Now, it's the Word, every
Word! Every... The Holy Spirit in a man; every
sentence of the Bible, the Holy Spirit in you will punctuate with a
"amen," because the Holy Spirit wrote the Bible. And if He's in you,
how can He say, "Well, That was for another age. That was for this, or
that was for that"? How can He say that and be the Holy Spirit in you? Can't do it. He has to say "amen" to It.
Now,
back to LUKE 6:47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom
he is like: 48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid
the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently
upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. 49 But
he that heareth, and doeth not, is
like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against
which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of
that house was great.
Luke 21: 34-36 NIV 34 "Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with (1) dissipation, (2)drunkenness and (3) the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. 35 For it will come upon all those who live on the face
of the whole earth.36 Be always
on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about
to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of
Now, let’s stop here for a moment to see just exactly
what this means. He told us to be careful about three things that could weigh
and close in on us like a trap.
Dissipation:
which means Wasteful expenditure or
consumption. 3. Dissolute indulgence in sensual pleasure;
intemperance. 4. An amusement; a diversion. So we are warned to be
careful not to become too weighed down by these things which are rampant in our
society today. That’s
Drunkeness: which implies a losing of ones
ability to rightly reason. And
to be resolute in our minds.
Anxieties of this Life: And
we are told by jesu to be anxious for nothing. You
see, God is not pushy, and he does not want us to get pushy about anything. He
said we need to lay in the
presence of the Son to ripen. Not run, run, run, but lay in His
presence until we get mellow in our spirit and ripe in our soul.
Now, this scripture tells us
that if we are not focused on Christ when that day comes, we are going to miss
Him, and yet these three things are what the entire world are focused on and
they have missed Him altogether. Notice
he said, if you are caught up in these things, that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. 35 For it will come upon all those
who live on the face of the whole earth.36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may
be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to
stand before the Son of
So we are looking at the
condition at the end time, and we know that we must be focused. If the eye be
single, that means focused, then the body is full of light.
Amos 8:11
¶ Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the
land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words
of the LORD: 12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and
from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of
the LORD, and shall not find [it].
And so we will pick up with
What the Holy Ghost was Given for and pp. 57
"Well now, what degree did you have?" What, where, what school
did you come from?" "That don't make any
difference right now." Oh, he begin to pouring
in the Scripture. "David foresaw Him, 'The
Lord always before me... Will not be moved. Moreover my heart rejoiced because--and my tongue was made
glad. He'll not leave My soul in hell, neither will He
suffer His holy One to see corruption.' Let me freely speak to you. The patriarch David, he's both
dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us this day. But by a prophet, he
foresaw the coming of the Just One. And let it be known unto you, that God has
made this same Jesus, Who you crucified by wicked hands, both Lord and Christ." Amen. "Men and
brethren, what can we do to be saved?" Said,
"Repent every one of you and be baptized in
the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your 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's far off, even
as many as the Lord our God will ever call."
Amen.
58 As long as God's got a people, God's got a
church, God's got the Holy Ghost marching with It. That's what God gave the
Holy Ghost for. Intellectuals will rise, always have. But God's got a
minority somewhere. God's got a little church that'll move right on with the
baptism of the Holy Ghost to claim in the Light. And they'll be the ones that through
their testimony, will judge the world. Don't the Bible say, Jesus
said, "Blessed are
the pure in heart, they shall see God," and the other one say that the just, the saints shall judge the earth? Sure, your testimony today will bring
judgment against this city. Our testimony of the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and the power of God, a
holy life, will bring judgment against this city. When this...
Now, in this next
paragraph brother Branham quotes from Luke
Notice brother Branham quotes
this and then notice what he says after it. 59 Them that are first will be last; them that are last will be first. I won't know nothing about Sankey, Moody in their resurrection. They'll not
know nothing about me in this one, but I'll stand
in this one to give testimony. So will you.
And from the Seven church
ages 54-0512 P:37 he is more clear on this
and calls it the order of the resurrection. "His
great, glorious Presence shall strike the earth. "He cometh in
clouds." Oh, I love that. "Clouds," there will
be wave after wave of His glory will come across the earth, and the
resurrection of the saints shall come. When that blessed Holy Spirit that's
lived in their hearts, and they died with their corpses laying
there, and the tear stains over their cheeks, and things like that, they're
placed out here in a graveyard. A great wave of that same
Spirit, and a "whoossh," wave after wave.
"He that was last will be first, and he
that was first will be last." How can it
be that way? That's the
order of the resurrection. I won't know nobody
in the generation before me or the generation after me. I'll know those in the
generation of this. And every
generation will come successfully, right as it went down. "They which were last will be first." Sure, it has to be. See? I'll know my people.
The next fellow, my dad will know his people; his grandfather, his
people, on down like that. Wave after wave, after wave, after wave, and the saints arising from
everywhere, won't that be wonderful. Amen. That makes the old people
feel young again. Yes. Now, notice closely. All right.... comes in the clouds; and every eye shall see him... (No matter how far back they died; they'll still see
him.)...
Now, let's read pp. 59
again. Them
that are first will be last; them that are last will be first. I won't know nothing about Sankey, Moody in their resurrection. They'll not
know nothing about me in this one, but I'll stand in this one to give testimony. So will you. And
through that, by the scattering of your light, and the baptism of the Holy
Spirit, and by the
lives that you live, and the things that God has done to prove
that He's moving here; and with their intellectuals, walked away from it, they'll be judged by the
saints. They're already judged; they've already passed it.
Now, listen? They will be
judged then because they are judged now. By their
fruits you know them.
60
Oh, my. I was talking on power of prayer, power of speech,
power for a holy life. Amen. That's what the Holy Ghost is to do. Some
of you people walking along, saying, "Well, I just can't quit drinking. I
just can't quit this." The Holy Ghost comes to live in you to make all
these "can'ts" get away from you
(That's right.): make women stop cutting their hair, make them quit wearing
shorts and slacks (no excuses), make them quit
tattling. Oh, yes. That's
what It's for, to make you a holy life.
It'll follow the
instructions of the Bible every time. Woman say,
"It's just too hot. I just have to wear these. Gives me
a headache if I let my hair grow." But there's no excuses with the Holy Ghost.
It's there to make it so. It'll follow the Word just exactly right. That's
what the Holy Ghost is to do. It's to make you man turn your head from them
half naked women and quit lusting after them. Yeah, church members... That's
what It's to do.
61 It's to quit
making you smoke, and drink, and want to be a big shot. It'll take that out of
you. It'll humble you when you do that. That's what the Holy Ghost is
for. It's for a
holy life (That's right.): make you quit gossiping; make
you quit playing cards, shooting craps, and all these other things that you do
around the corner. It'll make you quit your carrying on the way you're doing, living
untrue to your wife. That's what It'll do. That's
right. It'll quit making you want to marry somebody else's wife. That's exactly
right. That's what It is. It's to make you live a holy life. That's what the Holy
Ghost is power for, to set your affections on things above where God stands at
the...?... The mind of Christ in you. You can't
help from seeing those things. When you look at them, you turn your head.
That's right. It's to make you...You say, "I can't do it. Oh, I just can't
do it." Sure, you can't. But the Holy Spirit come
for that purpose. That's what It did. It come to take it out of you, all of them old habits and
things that you're doing. That old back biting, separating yourself,
saying, "Bless God, I'm a Methodist. I won't have nothing
to do with them old holy-rollers." The Holy Ghost come
to take that out of you.
62
"I'm a Baptist." "I'm Presbyterian; I wouldn't go to that
little old holy-roller bunch." The Holy Ghost come
to take all that starch out of you. That's what It is. It washes you in the
Blood, irons you out. That's what It come to do. It
come to straighten you up. He said, "Make the crooked places straight." That's what It come to do,
straighten it up, make
the high places low, make all the mountains look like they're all dancing like
little rams, and all the leaves are clapping [Brother Branham claps his hands--Ed.] their hands to you. The birds sing different. Joybells
a-ringing. There's no excuses. That's what
It come to do. That's the purpose of God send the
Holy Ghost, so you would do these things. That you would work, walk after Him.
63 Now,
I don't want to hurt you, but I've told you I'm here with the deepest of
sincerity. To keep from pinching you, once in a while I jump off on a line
somewhere (and just stay with the Truth.), but staying there and make it in
such a way it won't pinch you too hard. But I want to tell you something. If
the Bible says that it's wrong for a woman to cut her hair, and you say you've
got the Holy Ghost and then cut your hair, I wonder if you have. Don't
get mad. If it does, that still shows there's another mark against you.
64 If
the Bible says it's wrong for a woman to put on a garment that pertain to a
man, and you wear these little old overalls and slacks out here on the road... You grown women... I guess a little baby would be all, think
if they're play with little boys and things. But look, when you grown women
fifteen, sixteen, eighteen years old, and up to grandma, out here on the
road... And the Bible says it's an abomination in the sight of God for a woman to wear those
things, and you wear
them anyhow, and say you got the Holy Ghost? I wonder sometimes. The Holy Ghost will follow God's
Word to the letter. And a preacher behind the pulpit that
ain't got grace enough to preach it, I doubt he's got It.
Well, that's what the Holy Ghost is for.
65 It's to
give unction to the
preacher. It's to give holiness to the group. It's to set the church in order. It's to bring
a unity of spirit.
It's to unite us
together with power. It's to unite us together with love, brotherly love. I
don't care if you're Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, whatever you
are, if we've all been by
one Holy Spirit baptized into one Body and become members of the Body of Jesus
Christ and not... There's nothing present, nothing future,
hunger, starvation; nothing can separate us from the love of God that's in
Christ, because we are
borned of His Spirit, washed in His Blood. We are a new creature. That's what
God came to do. That's what the Holy Spirit's for. Yes, sir. That's
what...
66 Now,
people. Look at me in the face. A lot of hands went up you had the Holy
Ghost. See? Sure, there was. Oh. Now, I'm just going to bounce just a
little bit here. This is taped. But we're going to get more to it tomorrow
night. If you say you've got It and are guilty of these, I wonder what's
a-leading you. God
will never lead you off the Word. He'll keep you with the Word,
'cause that's God's own laws of His church for His people, for women, and for
men. Well, you say, "It don't harm me to do
this or that." It doesn't? The Word says it does. And if the Holy Spirit is in you, It'll lead you right to the Word. There'll be no excuses.
God don't make alterations or excuses. He makes the mark and you toe it.
That's all. That's what it is with everyone. You come the same way. Peter said,
"Repent every one
of you, be baptized every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the
remission of your sins, then you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." See? That's it. We've got to hit
that line.
67 Now, I
don't mean to hurt you. I love you too much. But, brother, sister, do you
realize what? that I know that I've got to stand in the last
days at that
resurrection with this generation of people and give an account for this Word? And the
Holy Spirit showing this and me preaching out yonder, where you going to
stand? How you going to get by with it? You can't do it, friend.
Don't... Now, stop that. Whatever
you're doing that's wrong, stop it. You say, "I can't."
Then you haven't got the "Can'ter" in
you yet. When the
Holy Spirit comes, He gives you power over the world. And if you...
Listen what He said: "If you love the world or the things of the world, it's because the love
of God isn't in you." Now, there's no excuses.
He makes it plain, and we got to come up to that mark. I know you think I'm
awful. But I'm just awful full right now. See? Listen. That is true.
68 Now, come up to
it, brother, sister. Don't let some of these intellectual colleges
around here tell you, "Oh, that's old-fogy stuff." If
it's old-fogy stuff, then God's old-fogy. And if God's old-fogy, then
I am too. Amen. I want to be like Him. Why? His Spirit is in me
that hungers and
thirst, calling
everything contrary to the Word...If the people say, "It's all right for, oh, if a man plays a
little cards for fun and just gambles a nickel or two, it's all right." God says it's not."
Oh, if you just take a good sociable drink, just get on a little drunk once in
a while..." But God said, "Woe unto him." Oh, you say, "It's all right, Brother Branham. I cut
my hair because of a real thing; a woman, you know--the rest of the women are
doing it." I don't care what the rest of the women doing. They're not
your example, or they're not your boss. If you've got the Holy Ghost in you, you'll follow His
instructions regardless of what people say about you. "Well,
Brother Branham, it's just so hot, and I just have to put these little
so-and-so clothes on." Hell's hotter than that, sister dear. Let me
tell you that. And don't... You remember that.
69 And the Holy
Spirit will always lead you to Truth, and His Truth is the Word. "My Word is the Truth. Let every man's word
be a lie, but let Mine be true." And just think, an abomination.
Could you think? This is an awful word for a minister to say, but I've went
into restrooms in places where it would just... You'd have to walk back out
nearly. It was just so... And dirty things on the wall. I thought, "How in
the world can people be so lowdown?" And stink... When I walk into those
places, I've often thought, "What a stink." I'd have to hold my nose
like this to wash my hands. I'd be afraid that when I took ahold of the doorknob again, there'd be germs from venereal
and things. And I thought, "Oh..." One day standing at a airport, one of them places I walked in, or was a railroad
place. I walked into that, and I thought, "Oh, mercy..." And Something said to me, "That's the way the world
smells to God." It's an abomination.
70 And I thought
when I see a woman walk down the street with herself all carried out like that
and man's clothes on, that's what it looks like to God; it's an abomination,
something that's filthy and stinking before God. Yet, she'll go to church on
Sunday and decorate up. There'll go a man down there, and drink, and cheat,
and love money, and cheat his neighbor, and everything else to get a little
extra money, and do these things, and gamble, and smoke, and drink, and
lie, and then goes to church and testify: abomination, filthiness. That's
the intellectual church. Say, "Well, I belong to the church."
Yes. And have to let the church out fifteen minutes so all the deacons and all
of them can smoke, and the pastor too, 'fore you can go back to have church.
Tell me... Separate
yourself from every unclean thing. "Defile a body, I'll destroy it." God said He'd do it.
71 And today cancer
is causing... Ninety something per cent of the deaths of throat and lung cancer
is caused by smoking cigarettes. "Defile the body, I'll destroy it." But they're so hell bound, rolling
on like that, they don't know. And some preacher standing in
the pulpit with four degrees out of college, smoking himself. Let me
tell you something, brother. The Holy Ghost was sent to call men and women
out of that thing. Separate yourself. The word "church" means to be "separated." "Come out from among
them," said the Bible. "Touch not their unclean, and I'll receive you; and you be sons and
daughters to Me, and I'll be God to you." Oh, my. I don't mean to be mean,
but I mean to be honest and to be truthful. Yes, sir. Oh, what a horrible
thing.
72 Men and women,
where do we stand today? Where we at? Let's stop. The other night, across a
little old seat there in the room (Now, I must close.), a little old Duo fold
seat, after praying for three or four days, so I got in such a place, going
around and thinking, "Oh, God..." And I got in such a place till I
didn't know what to do. I said, "God, we're at the end of the road. And I
realize that I've neglected. I've had calls to go on, and be tired, and wouldn't
do it." I thought then, "I could see my Lord staggering through the
dark yonder when He was so tired He could hardly raise one foot after the other
one, but He wasn't too stopped for the woman than for the boy brought out there
that was dead, till He could go over and touch the bier, and use what little
strength was in Him to raise that boy. Well, how do I get tired? What's the
matter with me, Lord?" Here I think, "Well, I'm getting old. I can't
do it."
73 There was
Moses (the same God that I serve), stood yonder at a hundred and twenty years
old. There was Caleb, stood at the age of ninety with a sword in his hand and
said, "Joshua, put this sword in my hand forty years ago." He was
eighty then. Said, "I'm just as good a man today as I was then."
Amen. I said, "God, be merciful to me." I said, "Oh, looky here. I'm always..." And I took my wife (back
there) by the hand, across this Bible and her little Bible, and I said,
"Honey, I've been too negative. The Holy Spirit condemns me within
me." I said, "I think of them squirrels out yonder. I think of Hattie
Wright back there and the little boys. I think of what God did, showing that He
was God that could create." Hallelujah. I thought, "He's told me that
years ago, 'I'll not
leave you; I'll never forsake you. No man will stand before you all the days of your life. I'll be
with you. And from this hand of discernment, it'll come till you'll know the
secret of the heart. After that, it'll raise higher and higher.'" A year
after that proved perfect the world around. Here comes this other great
ministry far beyond it. I said, "Honey, I take your hand. By God's help
and God's grace, never let me be negative again. Let
me walk forth to this revival here to preach like never before. Let me go here
to first sanctify myself and make a way for the people, that my own sins, my
own neglecting be under the Blood, my own shortcomings be under the Blood, that
I might walk out and say, 'Follow me, people.'" That's right. I hate to
see a guy say, "You go do it." I like to see somebody that'll
lead the way to do it. Yes, sir.
Let us pray