Musíte sa znova narodiť
Prvé kroky ku tomuto narodeniu, je na to spôsob. Aby sme pristúpili ku tomuto narodeniu, musíte prejsť cez proces, tak, ako všetko, čo žije, všetko, čo znovu ožíva, musí prv zomrieť. A vy si nemôžete ponechať toho istého ducha, nemôžete si ponechať tie isté zvyky, nemôžete si ponechať tie isté myšlienky. Musíte zomrieť. Musíte zomrieť tak, ako On zomrel! Musíte zomrieť na Jeho oltári, ako zomrel Ábel so svojím baránkom. Vy musíte zomrieť so svojím Baránkom. Musíte zomrieť. Zomrieť svojmu vlastnému zmýšľaniu, aby ste sa narodili pre Jeho zmýšľanie. Nech tá myseľ, ktorá bola v Kristovi, je vo vás. Musíte myslieť Jeho myšlienky. A teraz, brat, sestra, dovoľte mi povedať toto tak inteligentne, ako len viem. Ako môžete myslieť Jeho myšlienky a pri tom zapierať Jeho Slovo, a pri tom tvrdiť, že ste znovuzrodení? Položte si sami túto otázku.
Ako to môžete? Nemôžete. Ak ste znovuzrodení, máte Jeho myšlienky. Ak je vo vás myseľ Kristova, potom ste novým stvorením. Biblia to tak učí. Keby to chcel niektorý brat vedieť, dobre, nájdite si slovo stvorenie, vyhľadajte si to slovo stvorenie v slovníku a budete vidieť, že slovo stvorenie je tam vyložené alebo preložené „nové stvorenie", pretože ste jedným stvorením, ľudská bytosť, narodená tu na zemi zo sexuálnej žiadosti a teraz ste novým stvorením narodeným z Ducha. Vaše vlastné myšlienky sú mŕtve. Oni sú tak mŕtve, že sú až skryštalizované ako bol ten medený had, alebo ako bol On, keď nebesia a zem a všetko vydalo svedectvo, že je mŕtvy.
1 ... Silvester ráno v službe Pánovej. A snažili sme sa dohodnúť s bratom Neville, čo budeme robiť, ohľadne kázania. Ja som sa ho snažil presvedčiť, aby tu dnes ráno stál a kázal nám všetkým a mňa aby nechal kázať večer. No, nakoniec sa to zmenilo a ja kážem aj ráno aj večer. On je dobrý predavač. A tak prv, ako začneme našu lekciu, povedal som mu, že budeme mať len lekciu, chcel by som ... nie je nás tu dnes ráno veľmi veľa a budeme mať len lekciu. Prv ako začneme, chcel by som povedať malé oznámenie.
2 Máme tu nejakých ľudí, ktorí sem prišli z New Yorku a chcú tu s nami bývať. Myslím, že som ich nikdy nestretol. Brat Neville povedal, že o tom práve hovoril. Včera večer som počul, že sa im chytil horieť príves a celý zhorel. Išiel som tam, aby som videl tých ľudí, a zdá sa, že sú to milí kresťania. Sú to takí biedni ľudia ako aj my všetci, a brat Wood a dvaja alebo traja z nás sa chceli poskladať a zistiť, či by sme im mohli kúpiť druhý príves. A boli veľmi milí a povedali, že poistka, ktorú mali, že sa dostali do ťažkostí a museli ju odhlásiť. Ale predsa ten agent zaplatil tú poistku a že dostanú odškodnenie za svoj príves, za čo sa bude dať pravdepodobne kúpiť druhý príves. Myslím, že pondelok alebo utorok to budú vedieť alebo teraz niekedy, alebo ... Myslím, že v utorok. A tak chceme niesť spolu s nimi ich zármutok a urobiť všetko, čo môžeme, aby sme im pomohli, aby sme im dali vedieť, že sme bratia a sestry v Kristovi Ježišovi a súcitíme jeden s druhým. A myslím, že každý jeden to takto chceme cítiť, aby sme im teraz trochu mohli pomôcť. Je to trochu neobyčajná vec. Myslím, že nikdy v živote som nerobil zbierky a tak nechám, aby to urobil brat Neville. Tak ... to bola rana, však. No dobre. Ďakujem, brat Ben. Proste niekto ... čo ... len trochu niečo, čo máte, čo by ste im mohli dať, som si istý, že to bude ocenené. Poď sem, brat Neville. Neviem ako. Urob to tak, ako si myslíš. [Brat Neville sa modlí a robí zbierku. – pozn.prekl.] Amen.
3 Myslel som, že kým to robia, budem mať trochu príležitosť pripraviť si niečo, o čom budem hovoriť dnes ráno, zo starých textov a z toho, čo som si zapísal na kúsok papiera. Myslím, že všetci kazatelia to robia. Ako sa volajú títo ľudia? Elliott. Je tu dnes ráno brat a sestra Elliotovci a ich syn? Ak sú tu, keby ste chceli povstať a povedať, len vstať a povedať niečo „Ďakujeme za ..." ľuďom, dobre. Chcete niečo povedať ľuďom, brat Elliott alebo sestra Elliottová? [Brat Elliott ďakuje ľuďom. - pozn.prekl.] Nech ťa Boh žehná brat Elliott. To je milé. Ďakujeme. Nech je Boh s tebou a s tebou, sestra Eliottová, a s vaším synom.
4 Títo ľudia prišli z New Yorku. Nevedel som, že sú tu. Vraveli mi, že voľakedy som sa s nimi rozprával, alebo že som sa s nimi modlil, či niečo také. Nepoznal som ich až včera, keď som sa s nimi stretol a zistil som, že sú to milí kresťania, veľmi milí ľudia. Bývali hore v New Yorku, niekde tam v Hudson River Valley a možno, že cez pásku alebo niečo také uverili posolstvu, a predali všetko a prišli sem, proste vydali svoje životy aj čas Kristovi. A chceme, aby ste vedeli, brat a sestra Elliottovci, toto je naše malé vyznanie, že my sme tu tiež iba dočasne. Sme pútnici a cudzinci na tomto svete. Hľadáme mesto, ktorého staviteľom a tvorcom je Boh. A keď sa vám v týchto veciach prihodilo nešťastie, diabol sa vás snažil spáliť a vystrašiť, my sme na 100% s vami, aby sme sa vás zastali vo všetkom, čo môžeme pre vás urobiť, aby sme vám pomohli, aby ste sa znovu postavili na nohy. Aby ste povstali v mene Pána Ježiša a ďalej pochodovali. Nevzdávajte sa, nie. Mnoho zlého prichádza na spravodlivého, ale zo všetkého toho ho Boh vytrhuje. A tak vieme, že môžeme očakávať, že sa stanú takéto veci, ale vieme, že tiež môžeme spoliehať na nášho Spasiteľa, ktorý je viac ako víťaz, a my v Ňom, ktorý nás vykúpil.
5 No, dnes je taký plný deň a dnes ráno som si tam myslel, len som tak rozmýšľal, že by som za chvíľu učil lekciu nedeľnej školy, že by sme dnes ráno mali lekciu nedeľnej školy. A večer o pol ôsmej chcem, ak bude vôľa Božia, priniesť svoje novoročné posolstvo, ako som minulú nedeľu či sobotu večer priniesol svoje vianočné posolstvo. A dnes večer prinesiem svoje novoročné posolstvo o pol ôsmej, ak dá Pán. Brat Neville bude mať svoje novoročné posolstvo, a vidím tam brata Strickera a brata Collinsa a, ó, iných kazateľov a je tu s nami brat Palmer z Georgii a ďalší. To je kazateľov, budete ich dnes večer počuť.
6 A tak som včera zavolal bratovi Nevillemu ohľadne niečoho, čo mi prišlo na srdce. Vidíme, že toto je Nový rok, a to je tiež prvý, prvá nedeľa, tak prečo by sme dnes večer nemali namiesto veľkých zábav a hulákania a takýchto prejavov, aké robí ostatný svet, majme dnes o polnoci Večeru Pánovu. Dobre? Slúžme Pánovi. Brat Neville súhlasil a myslí, že by to bolo veľmi vhodné. A dnes večer, ak dá Pán, budem o dvanástej prisluhovať večeru Pánovu. A začneme nový rok nie s vykrikovaním a tak - to je v poriadku, keď to ľudia chcú robiť - ale urobme to s väčším posvätením a úprimnosťou. A pristúpme do tohoto roku úprimne ku Kristovi, dajme Mu všetko, čo máme, a zaviažme sa Mu. Nie obrátiť novú stranu alebo niečo také, a tak začať Nový rok. V takéto niečo neveríme. Obrátite len novú stranu, aby ste na druhý deň znovu vošli do starých koľají, tak obráťme svoje životy ku Nemu a majme dnes večer o polnoci Večeru Pánovu. A myslím, že toto je prvýkrát, ako sa pamätám, odkedy som kazateľom, keď to budeme robiť. Pamätáš sa, brat Neville? Ale teraz je to pre nás niečo nové a to je veľmi zriedka, že Nový rok takto prichádza, viete, a tak mi to napadlo, a myslím, že by to bolo ohromné.
7 Zdá sa mi, že toto teraz bude asi posledný krát, keď budem môcť s vami všetkými hovoriť, lebo na nejaký čas odchádzam. Vchádzam do nového roku a odchádzam na misijné pole, v Pánovej službe. Odídem asi na budúci týždeň, alebo potom nasledujúci týždeň do Phoenixu na okolo pätnásť- šestnásť zhromaždení, v tých údoliach a hore cez Sunny Slopes a Scottsdale a okolo tam cez tie údolia. A potom tam budeme mať konferenciu Kresťanských Obchodníkov, je to päťdňová konferencia na koniec všetkých týchto zhromaždení. Zariadili to tak, že budem môcť hovoriť ku všetkým denomináciám, ku každej z ich cirkví na území celej metropolitánie Maricopa Valley vo Phoenixe. A oni začínajú pätnásteho. Tak odtiaľto odídem asi o desať dní skôr, aby som ... Cestou sa asi zastavím navštíviť svojho dobrého priateľa, brata Mooreho a niekoľkých iných. A potom na cestách bude snežiť a tak ďalej, aby som prišiel na čas. A potom ... mnohí z vás sú kazatelia ...
8 A brat Roy Borders, ak je tu dnes ráno, on máva na starosti tie zhromaždenia, keď ľudia telefonujú a pýtajú sa na zhromaždenia. A počas týchto vianočných prázdnin, no, zvyknem robiť cestovný program, kde budem ten ďalší rok, ale tento rok nejako cítim, aby som to tak nerobil. Cítim, že budem mať jedno zhromaždenie a potom odtiaľ pôjdem tam, kde ma On bude viesť na to ďalšie. A potom z toho ďalšieho, kdekoľvek to bude, tak, ako ma On bude viesť.
9 A očakávam teraz, že niečo sa v tomto roku stane. V poslednom čase som mal veľa videní. Jedného dňa ráno som mal znovu jedno veľké a všetko sa týka a vyzerá, akoby sa malo stať niečo veľké. Tak spolieham len na Neho. Niektorým z nich ani nerozumiem. A my nerozumieme videniam. Oni sú viac akoby symboly a niekedy im celkom nerozumieme, ale aj tak vieme, že hovoria pravdu. Tak ony sa vyplnia. Zapísal som si ich.
10 Zdá sa mi, že už bolo oznámené, alebo má byť oznámené, že rada starších a rada diakonov sa tu v modlitebni má spoločne stretnúť na spoločnom zhromaždení, zajtra večer o siedmej. Dovoľte, že to znovu oznámim, ak diakoni, kdekoľvek sú, ak sú v tej druhej miestnosti, môžu to počuť cez tento malý mikrofón, že zajtra večer o siedmej, pastor, rada diakonov a starší, ako som povedal pred chvíľou, zajtra večer sa majú stretnúť. Brat Neville sa chce stretnúť so svojimi diakonmi a hovoriť s nimi a starší majú svoje pravidelné stretnutie, a tak sa zajtra večer spolu zídu.
11 No, dnes ráno, skôr ako pristúpime ku Slovu, och, nemajme v ničom naponáhlo. Dnes máte celý deň a večer a zajtra. Využime len náš čas a nepreberme tieto veci len tak naponáhlo. Samozrejme, viem, že ľudia sú unavení a ustatí alebo chcú ísť domov, viete, ponáhľajú sa, musia pripraviť večeru, ich muži na to čakajú. No dobre, to je v poriadku, len potichu vyjdite. A vy ostatní, ktorí chcete zostať, dobre. Nemusíme ... Zajtra nemusíte ísť do roboty a tak využime náš čas. A preto som si myslel, že namiesto toho, aby som kázal tri alebo štyri hodiny, budem osem alebo desať hodín vyučovať. Dobre?
12 Všetci tí ľudia z Georgie a Alabamy spravili, že som si včera pripadal taký veľký. Myslím, že som bol niekde vonku, a okrem Billyho tu nikto nebol a on povedal - brat West a ostatní ... Sú to moji veľmi milí a verní priatelia, nevidím ich tu, ale zdá sa mi, že sú tu. On zavolal a povedal: „Bude mať brat Branham ráno nedeľnú školu?" A v Lousville mrzne, v správach hovorili, že diaľnice sú zablokované a cesty sú klzké.
13 Billy povedal: „No, je to pravdepodobné." Povedal: „Ide tam. Možno brat Neville alebo on."
14 Povedal: „Ak je to pravdepodobné, to nám celkom stačí. Prichádzame!" Všetky cesty v Alabame sú klzké a až sem sú klzké cesty. Nezaslúžim si takýchto priateľov. Niečo je na tom, že nerád oznamujem zhromaždenia, keď viem, že mám ľudí, ktorí veria tomu posolstvu a prídu, a ktorí ma majú radi.
15 Stále som chcel, aby ma niekto mal rád. Keď som bol malý chlapec, chcel som, aby ma mal niekto rád. Nikto ma nepotreboval. Bol som tu v Indiáne, narodil som sa v Kentucky, tak som pre tieto deti tu bol čierna ovca. V rodine skoro všetci chlapci fajčili a pili a všetko možné, okrem mňa. A ja som bol v rodine nepodarok a v škole som bol nepodarok a v robote som bol nepodarok a všade, kde som išiel, som bol nepodarok. A potom, nakoniec, keď som našiel niekoho, kto ma skutočne miloval, Ježiša, a On povedal: „Ja ti dám otcov a matky a bratov a sestry a priateľov."
16 A potom je zvláštne, ako Jeho veľká, múdra prozreteľnosť, ako On všetko zariaďuje. Zdá sa, akoby pri tom tá láska vyvolávala smiešny pocit. Nie pocit, ale reakciu. Pozriem sa potom medzi ľudí, keď ma On povolal, aby som bol Jeho sluhom, pozriem sa medzi ľudí a vidím, ako sa tam vkráda hriech, a potom tam musím vtrhnúť so všetkým, čo je vo mne, (rozumiete?), aby som to vytrhal. Zdá sa to tvrdé, ako sa ja na to dívam, keď hovorím tieto veci. Ale predsa, dole vo vnútri, takto sa prejavuje skutočná láska. Vidíte? Skutočná láska.
17 No, ak sa váš malý chlapec alebo malé dievča hrá na ulici, kde jazdia autá, a vy viete, že skôr či neskôr sa mu niečo môže stať ... Ak by on povedal: „No, ocko, ja chcem byť tu vonku," či by ste povedali, „Buď šťastný, môj malý, len choď a hraj sa na ulici?" To nie je ozajstný otec. Keby ste museli toho malého odtiahnuť a dať mu pár pohlavkov, vyhrešiť ho, zavrieť ho, či čokoľvek, zabránili mu ísť na ulicu - kde by ho mohlo niečo zabiť. Nie je to tak? Dobre, takto musíte robiť s Evanjeliom. Musíte zatriasť a potiahnuť a snažiť sa robiť všetko, čo len môžete, aby ste udržali ľudí v rade. No, dúfam, že to každý takto rozumie. Ja len dúfam, že jedného dňa, keď všetko skončí, a potom, keď nám budú z tváre odstránené záclony, potom to porozumieme.
18 Brat Way, to je dobrá Biblia, ktorú si mi ty a sestra Way darovali na Vianoce, bude to dobré, že v nej budem môcť mať svoje poznámky namiesto takejto knihy, budem si ich môcť napísať na stroji. Nechcem písať rukou, pretože ťažko prečítam sám po sebe, a ako by to prečítal niekto iný? Vravel som ľuďom, že mám svoje vlastné tesnopisné znaky a sám musím skúmať, čo som si poznačil. Niekedy si to napíšem na stroji. To je Biblia, z ktorej sa dajú vyberať strany. Môžete v nej zobrať ... Ako tu, dnes ráno tu mám dva texty, dve miesta Písma, z ktorých chcem čítať. A v tejto Biblii, ktorú mi dal, to takto vytiahnete a môžete zobrať jeden list z Genesis, zo Zjavenia, z hocikade, a dať si ich spolu a takto to prečítať. Vidíte? A potom tu vzadu je také miesto, voľná strana, tam si môžete vypísať všetky miesta Písma a posolstvo a všetko. Je to ohromné. Tak dúfam, že s ňou pomôžem získať veľa duší pre Krista.
19 Znovu chcem povedať, nech vás Boh všetkých žehná za tie pekné vianočné dary, ktoré ste mi dali. Zbor mi dal nový oblek. Ó, ako si to vážim! A dostal som na Vianoce dva nové obleky. Môj brat, v malom zbore tam v Macon v Georgii, brat Palmer mi poslal nový oblek. A tento zbor mi dal nový oblek. A dostal som toľko veľa pekných vecí a vianočné dary vo forme peňazí. Na oddelení daní z príjmov mi povedali, že keď je to vianočný dar a je tam napísané vianočný dar alebo dar k narodeninám alebo niečo také, tak to môžem prijať; inak to ide na prácu, čo je v poriadku. A skutočne ďakujem každému jednému z vás. Moja žena a ja a deti a my všetci veľmi pekne každému ďakujeme. Prajeme si, aby sme mohli ísť naspäť a tiež dali každému z vás darček, ale to sa jednoducho nedá, viete len ... Ó, nebol by som to schopný. Prajem si, aby som bol, ale nie som. Som si istý, že ma rozumiete. Viem, že to tiež tak isto cíti môj drahý brat, ktorý tu sedí. Cítime, že ľudia nás takto milujú, vážime si ich. A teraz skloňme svoje hlavy, pomodlime sa, aby sme boli pripravení dnes ráno pristúpiť ku posolstvu.
20 Prichádzame teraz do prítomnosti živého Boha, triezvo a s bázňou ku Nemu. Prichádzame v Mene Pána Ježiša, vieme, že by sme nemohli prísť a povedať: „No, Otče, tu je William Branham alebo Orman Neville," alebo ktokoľvek by to bol. Rýchlo by sme boli odmietnutí. Ale máme istotu, že On povedal: „Keď prosíte Otca o čokoľvek v mojom mene, bude vám to dané." Tak nemyslím, že by som mohol dostať niečo od Neho, keby som používal svoje meno. Ale viem, že keď používam meno Jeho Syna, potom dostanem svoje prosby, lebo to je On, v ktorého verím. V Ňom žijeme a sme. A sme vďační dnes ráno Bohu za všetko, čo On pre nás znamená, že On je naším úplným životom a podstatou.
21 Ďakujem Ti za tento malý zbor, za jeho pastora a za starších a diakonov a za všetkých členov. A som vďačný za Ducha Svätého, ktorý nad nimi bdie. Nech ich ten veľký Duch Svätý neustále vedie a sprevádza po cestách, po ktorých On chce, aby išli. Čítame v Zákonoch, v Starom a v Novom a tiež v Nicejskom veku, ako to bolo, keď nemoc vtrhla medzi svätých, celý zbor išiel spolu. Jedným srdcom volali ku Bohu a ich prosby boli vypočuté. Každý z nich ako člen Kristovho tela sa postil a modlil a Boh počul a odpovedal na prosbu. Otče, nech ľudia v tomto malom zbore sú jeden s druhým tak zviazaní putami lásky a Duchom Svätým, že až sa stanú ako tamtí, že nebudú medzi nami v tomto ďalšom roku žiadne trenice. Nech tu bude len taká Božia láska a nech by každý chodil po ceste Kristovej, že mnohí unavení pútnici na ceste prídu a budú spasení. Nech by ľudia mohli povedať, že keď niekto vojde do dverí tejto modlitebne, že ho stretne Božia prítomnosť s milým pozvaním. Pane, zober z nášho stredu choroby.
22 A sme vďační, že máme hladné srdcia počuť Tvoje Slovo. Pane, nech naďalej zostávajú naše srdcia hladné po Tebe. Ako voľakedy dávno povedal Dávid: „Ako reve jeleň za potokmi vody, tak túži moja duša po Tebe." Predstavte si toho jeleňa, že je pohryzený divými psami a krváca, stráca život, a ak chce existovať, musí nájsť vodu. V tej chvíli, keď nájde vodu, jeho život je obnovený. Nech by sme boli takí smädní, Pane, že musíme mať Krista, keď chceme existovať. Musíme mať Krista, keď sa chceme stať zborom, o aký prosíme. Keď budeme žiť takým životom, akým chceme, musíme mať Krista, inak zomrieme.
23 Teraz, keď otvoríme dnes ráno tvoje Slovo, aby sme našli slová útechy a pevné miesta, na ktoré môžeme položiť svoje nohy, aby sme sa viacej priblížili ku Nemu, prosím, Otče, aby nám Duch Svätý otvoril Slovo, aby sme my, Pane, ako tvoji sluhovia boli lepšie vybavení stretnúť sa s novým rokom, lebo to prosíme v Mene Ježiša Krista. Amen.
24 No, myslím, že dnes ráno, pretože bude Nový rok, myslel som, že by bolo dobré, keby som odložil svoje novoročné posolstvo na večer a zobral teraz nejaké miesta Písma na nedeľnú školu a zobral text, o ktorom by som nejaký čas hovoril, jednu z najdôležitejších tém, ktorú v Biblii poznám. To je náuka, ktorú náš Pán kázal prvú. Prvá náuka, ktorú Ježiš kázal, a zdá sa mi, že by to bolo dobré, aby sme to urobili naším prvým vyučovaním v roku.
25 Je vám niekomu zima? Zodvihnite ruky. Je tu trochu chladno. Zdalo sa mi, že to tu hore cítim. Doc, kde si, pridaj trochu na kúrení, pretože cítim, ako to tu vanie. Viem, že tam trochu podupkávate, niektorí, zvlášť s deťmi.
A on dal jedných za apoštolov, jedných za prorokov, jedných za evanjelistov, jedných za pastierov a za učiteľov
na zdokonaľovanie svätých ku dielu služby, na budovanie tela Kristovho,
až by sme všetci dospeli v jednotu viery a plného poznania Syna Božieho, v dokonalého muža, k miere dospelosti plnosti Kristovej,
aby sme už neboli viacej nedospelými, zmietaní vlnami a sem a tam nosení každým vetrom učenia, závratníctvom ľudí, schytralosťou mámiť do bludu,
ale aby sme hovoriac pravdu v láske rástli v neho v každej veci, v neho, ktorý je hlavou, Kristus,
z ktorého všetko telo, príslušne dovedna pojené a spolu viazané každým pojivom podávania výživy, podľa pôsobenia v miere jedného každého dielu vzrast tela si pôsobí na svoje budovanie sa v láske.
A bol istý človek z farizejov, ktorému bolo meno Nikodém, židovské knieža.
Ten prišiel k Ježišovi v noci a povedal mu: Rabbi, vieme, že si prišiel od Boha ako učiteľ, lebo nikto nemôže činiť divy, ktoré ty činíš, keby nebol s ním Boh.
A Ježiš odpovedal a riekol mu: Amen, amen ti hovorím. Ak sa niekto nenarodí znova, nemôže vidieť kráľovstvo Božie.
A Nikodém mu povedal: Ako sa môže narodiť človek, keď je starý? Či azda môže po druhé vojsť do života svojej matky a narodiť sa?
Ježiš mu odpovedal: Amen, amen ti hovorím, že ak sa niekto nenarodí z vody a z Ducha, nemôže vojsť do kráľovstva Božieho.
Čo sa narodilo z tela, je telo, a čo sa narodilo z Ducha, je Duch.
Nediv sa, že som ti povedal: Musíte sa narodiť znova.
Vietor, kam chce, tam veje, a čuješ jeho zvuk, ale nevieš, odkiaľ prichádza a kam ide; tak je to s každým, kto sa narodil z Ducha.
A Nikodém odpovedal a riekol mu: Ako sa to môže stať?
Ježiš odpovedal a riekol mu: Veď si ty učiteľ Izraelov a toho nevieš?
Amen, amen ti hovorím, že čo vieme, hovoríme, a čo sme videli, svedčíme, ale neprijímate nášho svedectva.
Ak som vám povedal zemské veci a neveríte, ako potom, ak vám poviem nebeské, uveríte?!
28 Nech Boh požehná svoje Slovo. Chcem zobrať dnes ráno túto tému Ježišovej prvej náuky. Prvá Ježišova náuka bola, „Musíte sa znovu narodiť." To bola Jeho prvá náuka. A teraz, tak, ako to robíme na nedeľnej škole, nechcem kázať, aby som večer nebol zachrípnutý. Myslel som v srdci, že toto je niečo, čo sa ľuďom zdá nejasné. Stále o tom počujeme tak veľa a myslel som, že by bolo dobré dnes ráno, keby sme dôkladne preskúmali túto tému, vysvetlili to. A to je úplný začiatok: „Musíte sa znovu narodiť." A to je veľmi hlboké.
29 Zisťujeme, že je veľa rôznych názorov, ktoré ľudia o tom majú. Skoro všetky cirkvi hovoria, že sa musíte znovu narodiť, ale každá má na to svoj vlastný výklad, čo to znamená narodiť sa znovu. Mohol by som ísť dnes ráno do metodistickej cirkvi. Oni hovoria: „My veríme, že sa musíš znovu narodiť." Ako to vykladáte? Idem do Baptistickej cirkvi: „My veríme, že sa musíš znovu narodiť." Ako to vykladáte? A išiel by som do každej cirkvi a zistili by sme, keby sme išli do všetkých deväťsto rôznych denominačných cirkví, bolo by deväťsto rôznych výkladov. Tak, keď vidíme, že je tak veľa rôznych výkladov a pritom je to Biblická náuka, niekde musí byť pravda, a je.
30 Tak pamätajte, tam nie je povedané: „Máte sa znovu narodiť." Ale: „Musíte!" No, my, ktorí hovoríme anglicky, rozumieme, čo znamená slovo „musíš", to znamená, že „to musíš bezpodmienečne urobiť." Rozumiete, tam je povedané: „Musíš"! Nie: „Mal by si, radšej by si to mal urobiť." Ale: „Musíš sa znovu narodiť." Ó, keby sme len dnes ráno mohli zobrať toto slovo a predstavili jeho význam, čo to znamená, ako je absolútne nemožné ... A potom, keď je to také základné a dôležité, že je absolútne nemožné vojsť do kráľovstva nebeského, alebo ho vidieť, až kým sa znovu nenarodíte, a je tak veľa rôznych výkladov tohoto slova, znovu sa narodiť, mali by sme to hľadať z celého svojho srdca, aby sme zistili, čo to znamená.
31 Nie je tu ani jedna osoba, ktorá by chcela ísť do súženia. Niet takého. A necestujete stovky míľ po zamrznutých cestách a neriskujete život, nevydávate svoje peniaze, len aby ste prišli sem do zhromaždenia, no povedzme, aby ste si potriasli s ľuďmi ruky (hoci to máte radi), a aby ste počuli pastora a mňa a iných kazateľov kázať Slovo. Robíte to kdekoľvek ste - pastori, kazatelia, tak ako my, sluhovia Kristovi. Ale je niečo, čo vás priťahuje sem na toto zvláštne miesto. A tak, je to naša povinnosť, ako pastorov, aby sme dohliadali, aby sa toto stádo živilo, a aby sa živilo správne, pretože Všemohúci Boh bude vyhľadávať vašu krv z našich rúk. V deň súdu sa budeme za to zodpovedať. Tak, keď vidíme túto nesmierne veľkú zodpovednosť, ktorá je na nás a Boh nám dal ľudí, ktorí nás milujú a prichádzajú nás počúvať, potom by sme mali venovať svoj čas na to, aby sme ustavične dávali pozor na vaše duše. Potom hneď, keď vidíme povstávať nejakú drobnú vec, o ktorej vieme, že nie je správna, je našou povinnosťou ísť za tým človekom, pretože sme pastieri, ktorí strážime ovce. A keď vidím, že ovca je burinu, ktorá ju zabije, radšej ju odvediem preč od tej buriny; hneď odtiaľ vytrhnem tú burinu, aby sa ku nej nemohla dostať, pretože ona tú ovcu zabije.
32 A v západných krajinách je známa taká burina, ktorú zviera môže zjesť. Nazýva sa kozinec. Neviem, či niekto o tom počul alebo nie - kozinec. Áno. Kôň to môže zjesť a nemôžete pre neho urobiť nič. Stane sa jednoducho divý. Nemôžete dať na neho sedlo a nič s ním nemôžete urobiť. Volá sa to kozinec. A musíte chrániť svoj dobytok, aby neprišiel ku tej burine. A keď to spôsobí, že kôň, keď niečo zje ... ak kôň zje niečo, čo ho uvrhne do takéhoto stavu, do tohoto záchvatu, no boli by ste veľmi biedny kovboj, keby ste nechali svojho koňa jesť kozinec. To ukazuje, že sa o neho nestaráte.
33 A skutočný pastor, skutočný sluha Kristov, bude biedny Kristov príklad, keď bude vidieť ovcu jesť niečo, čo ho odvedie preč, alebo ho to urobí divokým voči Bohu, bude prestupovať Jeho Slovo, prestupovať Jeho prikázania. Nemali by ste to nechať. Mali by ste na to dávať veľmi dobrý pozor.
34 Tak táto dôležitá Ježišova náuka, ktorá je tu napísaná pred nami v Biblii: „Musíte sa znovu narodiť." Je tak veľa rôznych verzií o tom, ako som pred chvíľou povedal, že som myslel, že by bolo dobre dnes ráno, kvôli tým mnohým, ktorí sa ma pýtali, čo to znamená, a ako sa môžu stať skutočnými kresťanmi, že som myslel, že by sme mohli možno pristúpiť ku tejto téme a predstaviť to tak jasne, ako to len budem vedieť. A nebudeme to robiť formou kázania, bude to vyučovanie nedeľnej školy, aby ľudia mohli to posolstvo porozumieť. Mnoho výkladov o znovuzrodení ...
35 A teraz, keď budem toto hovoriť a viem, že sa to nahráva, chcem povedať pastorom, ktorí možno dostanú túto pásku. Je dosť možné, že to učím a verím tomu trochu inak, ako to učí nejaká cirkev, verím, že môžem dostatočne dokázať pomocou Písma, že keď sa narodíte z Ducha, potom ste vkrstení skrze Ducha Svätého do tela.
36 No, mnohí učia, že keď len vystúpite pred zhromaždením, či niečím takým, a uznáte, že ste hriešnik, a že chcete prijať Krista ako osobného Spasiteľa, že to je znovuzrodenie. Mnohí veria, že krst vo vode, že to je znovuzrodenie. A niektorí veria, že ste narodení z vody, keď ste pokrstení vo vode. A je o tom tak veľa rôznych verzií. Veľa z nich, mnohí veria, že prijať vyznanie a veriť v učenie nejakej cirkvi, jednoducho to prijať, hovoriť: „Verím v svätú cirkev takú a takú a verím, že Boh je Spasiteľom ľudí (a tak ďalej). A od tohoto dňa sa stávam členom tejto cirkvi a mám obecenstvo s kresťanmi." Oni veria, že sú znovuzrodení.
37 A hoci recitujú vyznanie, nemyslím, že by sme to mali kritizovať. Niektoré z nich sú čisté a sväté, niektoré z nich sú skutočne podľa Písma, ale to Písmo nie je použité na správnom mieste. A hoci berú Písmo, verím, že znovuzrodenie je niečo viacej ako to. Nie je to ani v tom, ako úprimne to môžete myslieť. Verím, že znovuzrodenie je oveľa viacej ako vaše dobré úmysly a myšlienky, myseľ. To je viac než to.
38 Nechcem toto povedať na zneuctenie niečoho svätého a nehádžem žiadnu kritiku na žiadnu cirkevnú organizáciu, ale mnohé z toho mi pripomína jedného Žida. To je trochu ... To je žart a nemyslím, že za kazateľňou by sa mali rozprávať žarty. To nie je miesto na žarty. A tak, aby som povedal toto, čo mám na mysli, to nie je na žart, ale aby som vyjadril to, čo mám na mysli. Jeden katolícky kňaz prišiel raz v piatok na návštevu ku ľuďom, novoobráteným do katolíckej cirkvi. A ten obrátený katolík mal pečenú šunku a povedal: „Otče, ľutujem, keď som si spomenul, že dnes je piatok. Ale verím, že podľa našej veľkej cirkevnej náuky, že keď som ja bol raz žid a vy ste ma pofŕkali nejakou svätou vodou a spravili ste zo mňa žida-katolíka, ja teraz trochu pofŕkam tou vodou túto šunku a urobím z nej rybu." No, hovorím to preto, že to neurobí z nej rybu. To je stále šunka, nezáleží na tom, aká svätá by tá voda mohla byť.
39 A nezáleží na tom, ako veľmi by sme sa snažili myslieť si, že sme v poriadku, keď sa hlásime ku nejakému vyznaniu, alebo keď vstúpime do nejakej cirkvi, stále ste tým, čím ste boli, až kým sa skutočne znovu nenarodíte z Ducha Božieho. To vás nezmení. Vaše vyznanie, vstúpenie do cirkvi, alebo zmena vašich ideí, alebo vaše dobré úmysly, hoci by to mohlo vyzerať tak dobre, stále to nie je to pravé. Niečo sa musí stať. Znovuzrodenie je prežitie, niečo, čo sa stalo. Tak tieto veci neprinášajú znovuzrodenie. Rôzne cirkvi hovoria: „Dobre, keď prijímaš toto alebo veríš tomuto, tak je to v poriadku:" Ale nie je.
40 No, na začiatok, aby sme to mali podložené, dôvod, prečo sa musíme znovuzrodiť, je ten, že Biblia nás učí, že sme sa všetci narodili v hriechu, sformovaní sme v neprávosti a prichádzame na svet a hovoríme klamstvo. To nám potom ukazuje, že naša povaha je od začiatku hriešna, od štartu. Od začiatku sme zlí. Tak si nič nemôžeme nárokovať na základe našej chytrosti, úprimnosti alebo na základe toho, akí sme veľkí, alebo akí sme malí, alebo čokoľvek. Sme naskrz od začiatku zlí a nič s tým nemôžeme urobiť. Nemôžete. Ježiš povedal: „Kto svojím staraním sa môže pridať do svojej postavy čo len jeden lakeť?" Môžete zobrať všetky myšlienky, snívať o tom všetky sny, čítať to, študovať to, skúmať to a všetko možné a nemôžete si pomôcť ani v jednej jote. Tak to všetko zahoďte. Som rád, že je to tak, pretože keby to záležalo od toho či budeme niečo vedieť, či budeme chytrí, my biedni nevzdelaní ľudia by sme boli z toho vylúčení, tak by sme nemali šancu. Ale Boh to zmenil, lepšie povedané, u Boha to nikdy tak nebolo, od začiatku. Cirkvi to stále komplikujú. Boh to robí jednoduchým. Je to podané tak, že to všetci môžeme vidieť, všetci to môžeme mať. Je to pre každého, kto chce.
41 No tak, žiaden človek nemôže spasiť druhého. Nezáleží vôbec na tom, čo sa kto snaží povedať, žiaden človek nemôže spasiť druhého. Nezáleží na tom, aký je chytrý, aký má úrad, či je to pastor, kňaz, biskup, kardinál, alebo pápež, on nemá nič spoločného so spásou života nejakého človeka, pretože on sám je hriešnik - narodený v hriechu, sformovaný v neprávosti, prichádza na svet a hovorí klamstvo. Od začiatku je klamár a každé slovo, ktoré povie bude klamstvo, ak je nezhodné s Božím Slovom a Božím plánom.
42 Jedine Boh urobil pre človeka plán na spasenie. Človek do toho plánu nemôže nič pridať. To je Boží plán. A to je ten plán, ktorý chceme dnes ráno študovať. Aký je Boží plán? On povedal: „Nech je každé ľudské slovo klamstvo a Moje pravdou." A tak by sme sa neodvážili zmeniť ani jednu vetu, aby to znelo nejako inak. Nezáleží na tom, koľko toho učia naše rituály a tak ďalej, to musíme vypustiť z hlavy. Toto je Božie Slovo. To sa nemôže stať nijako inak. Boh má plán, On urobil plán.
43 A pamätajte, prvá vec, až kým sa znovu nenarodíte, nikdy to neporozumiete. On to dvakrát povedal. „Ak sa niekto nenarodí znova, nemôže vojsť do kráľovstva nebeského." „Ak sa niekto nenarodí znova, nemôže vidieť kráľovstvo." No, to je tiež zdôraznené. To slovo, pri písaní týchto slov; počul som, že ich museli písať veľkými písmenami. A keď je tam povedané: „Amen, amen" to je zdôraznené. „Amen, amen ti hovorím!" A to slovo na jednom mieste, alebo na mnohých miestach je prekladané: „Bezpodmienečne." „Bezpodmienečne, bezpodmienečne ti hovorím!" Kto to povedal? Nejaký kardinál, kňaz, pastor, evanjelista, pápež? Sám Boh! To sa nedá prepáčiť. On to nijako neprepáči, v žiadnom prípade, nijakým spôsobom, nezáleží na tom, aký je ten človek veľký, ako sa volá, aký je veľký, alebo aký je populárny, nemôže ani len porozumieť kráľovstvo Božie, až kým sa znovu nenarodí. To je dôležitá téma. „Amen, amen ti hovorím!" Dávajte pozor. Zoberte grécky preklad a nájdite to. Nie vidieť svojimi očami; vy vidíte svojím srdcom. Kráľovstvo Božie nemôžete vidieť očami, pretože to je duchovné kráľovstvo. Inými slovami, nikdy nebudete schopní rozumieť kráľovstvo Božie, až kým sa znovu nenarodíte. To je všetko zakryté tajomstvo. A keď sa znovu zrodíte, ten plán kráľovstva, samotné kráľovstvo sa stane pre vás skutočné.
44 Tak ako staviteľ, keď stavia dom, kým nevie čítať plán, nie je mu treba, aby sa snažil postaviť dom, ak nerozumie plánom. A potom, keď rozumie plánom, potom vie, ako ten dom postaviť. Tak to je. Tak sa to deje pri stavaní Božieho kráľovstva. Musíte rozumieť plánom a vy nebudete poznať plány, až kým sa neznovuzrodíte. A keď ste znovuzrodení a potom zapierate plány, čo sa deje?
45 Jedno milé dievča, ktoré sa nedávno ... Chodil som s jej matkou keď sme boli mladí. A ona bola milá, pekná žena. Teraz sa volá Haffová. Pred tým, ako sa vydala, sa volala Leeová. Keď som bol pastorom baptistického zboru v Milltown, oni patrili do zjednotenej bratskej cirkvi, ale, ó, mali ma veľmi radi. A ona ... ja som s ňou chodil. Oni bývali tu hore trochu ďalej, ako býva brat Write, a ja som zvykol ku nim chodiť. A to dievča bolo veľmi milé a bola moja priateľka. A brat Lee, milý človek, verný cirkvi, názorom zjednotenej bratskej cirkvi, a jeden večer ma pozval ku sebe, aby som tam zostal celú noc. A povedal som: „Brat Marrion, rád prijmem tvoje pozvanie." A tak, keď skončilo zhromaždenie, to dievča a ja sme nasadli do auta a išli sme. Musel som otvoriť asi desatoro brán, keď sme prechádzali popri úbočí a hore, až sme prišli ku veľkému drevenému domu. Sedeli sme vonku na dvore a čakali sme na jej matku a otca a mladšiu sestru, kým prišli. Keď prišli, všetci sme vošli dovnútra a trochu sme povečerali. Matka niečo pripravila a jedli sme, a otec a ja sme spali spolu dole pod veľkou perinou na slamníku, poznáte to, na tom sa veľmi dobre spí. Je to lepšie než ako ktorékoľvek tieto nádherné matrace, ktoré máte. To vám poviem. A tak matka a dve dievčence odišli hore.
46 A tej noci, keď sme tam ležali, brat Lee mal sen. On stále so mnou diskutoval o vodnom krste vo meno Pána Ježiša Krista. On tomu neveril. A on bol staviteľ. Tak on povedal: „Brat Branham, sníval sa mi práve sen." A povedal: „Snívalo sa mi, že som išiel do New Albany. A jednému človekovi som staval dom a on mi dal plány. Ale keď som videl, ako tam mal vyrezané okná a umiestnené na určitom mieste, povedal som: „To nie je dobre. To proste nemôže byť dobre. To nepasuje. To nie je dobre.“ Tak som to postavil tak, ako som si myslel, že to má byť. A keď sa on vrátil z Floridy z dovolenky, mal som ten dom už skoro hotový.
47 „On sa pozrel na dom a išiel a zobral plány a pozrel sa na to a povedal: „Počúvajte, vy ste zle postavili môj dom!"
„A ja som mu povedal: „Nie, nepostavil som vám ten dom zle."
„A čo je s týmto a s týmto miestom?"
„Aha," povedal: „to tu vôbec nepatrí."
48 „Povedal: „Zrúťte to! Ak chcete, aby som vám zaplatil, postavíte to tak, ako je to v plánoch."
49 A on povedal: „Čo si o tom myslíš, brat Branham?"
50 Povedal som: „Hneď tu dole pod domom tečie potok." A išli sme ku nemu.
On povedal: „Nechcem, aby potom, keď príde ten deň, bolo treba niečo zrútiť."
51 Povedal som: „Urob to hneď teraz. Postav to podľa plánu!"
52 Ako to platilo, práve nedávno jedna z jeho ... Potom sa jeho dcéra vydala za milého chlapca, dobrého muža. On je strojníkom tu v lodenici. A tento chlapec mal takto odseknuté prsty. Milý človek. A majú milú rodinu, tri dievčatká a jedno z nich je ... všetky sú veriace a spievajú trio. Keď tu budeme mať niekedy zhromaždenie, prídu a zaspievajú nám. A jedno z týchto dievčeniec vyštudovalo hru na piane a učilo klasickú hudbu, kým bolo ešte len dieťa, pätnásť, šestnásť ročné. A deti v škole sa jej posmievali z rôznych vecí, za to, že je veriaca, a to jej poškodilo nervy, a ona sa zrútila a stratila rozum. A oni ju mali v Louisville a nasledujúci pondelok ju mali previesť do ústavu pre duševne chorých. A nechceli ... doktori mi nedovolili ísť ku nej. A išiel som tam ako návšteva a sadol som si na kraj postele s jej otcom a matkou. A kým som tam sedel, Duch Svätý prišiel do tohoto Our Lady of Peace Sanatorium v Louisville, kde mali nervovo chorých pacientov a kde je ešte stále pre nich nádej. Potom, keď pre nich nemôžu nič urobiť, posielajú ich do Madisonu v Indiáne. A toto dievča malo ísť ten týždeň do Madisonu. Nedalo sa jej pomôcť. A keď som tam sedel, prišlo pred nás videnie, a prehovoril som ku tomu dievčaťu v mene Pána Ježiša. A tá matka ma chytila za koleno, natiahla sa a chytila za ruku svojho muža a povedala: „To nikdy nebolo falošné!"
53 Povedal som: „Nebojte sa, ona bude v poriadku." A rýchlo som odtiaľ odišiel.
54 Ten večer o deviatej zvonil telefón, alebo zdá sa mi, že to bolo trochu pred deviatou, predtým, ako som prišiel ten večer do zhromaždenia. To bolo v nedeľu. A otec s radostným srdcom povedal: „Nemôžem ísť domov, aby som ti nepovedal tú dobrú správu, brat Branham." Povedal: „Prišiel doktor a vyšetril moje dieťa. Povedal: „Čo sa s ňou stalo? Zajtra môže ísť domov." Keď pred pár týždňami zomrela matka, spievali tam to trio, to dievča také roztomilé, úplne v poriadku, ona a jej priateľ, milí. Ó, hovorím vám, plány, Božie Slovo je to jediné, čo vysvetľuje program, ako sa musíme znovu narodiť.
55 Poprvé, sami seba pokladáme za hriešnikov, hodných zatratenia. My všetci sme sa narodili v hriechu, sme sformovaní v neprávosti a nie je na nás zdravého miesta. Naše myšlienky sú zlé, naša duša je skazená, naše ustavičné rozmýšľanie je zlé, každá predstava našej ľudskej mysli je zlá, hriešna. Naše telo je tiež slabé, náš duch nie je dobrý a sme jednoducho plní skazenosti. A ako môže niečo skazené priniesť zo skazenosti niečo dobré? Dovoľte mi povedať toto, čo je v Jóbovi v 14. kapitole, on povedal: „Človek splodený zo ženy je plný žiaľu a nepokoja. Vyjde ako kvet a zvädne." A ďalej, ako ten prorok ďalej hovorí, on povedal: „Kto môže vydať čisté z nečistého? Nikto!" Spustíte vedro do studne a vytiahnete vodu a je skazená, smrdí. A pozriete sa do nej, a je špinavá a sú v nej červíky. Nie je žiadna možnosť vytiahnuť odtiaľ čistú vodu, keď tam znovu spustíte vedro. Celý svet je skazený. A celá duša, myseľ a telo človeka, všetko je poškvrnené hriechom. Človek sa narodil v hriechu, telesne, je sformovaný v neprávosti a prichádza na svet a hovorí klamstvo, tak jeho vlastná duša je skazená. Nič dobré! Jeden nemôže vykúpiť druhého, pretože to je všetko zlé. Nemôžete tu zobrať jedno vedro skazenej vody a druhé vedro skazenej vody a zmiešať to spolu - máte len viacej skazenia. Niet na to očistenie.
56 Ale Boh sa rozhodol spasiť človeka. On položil na Neho neprávosť všetkých nás. Odplata za hriech, v ktorom ste sa narodili, odplata za hriech je smrť. Hriech je smrť. A tá cena bola taká veľká, že nikto z nás nemôže pomôcť druhému, tak musel byť niekto, kto mohol zaplatiť túto cenu.
57 Čo ak by dnes ráno bolo treba zaplatiť sto miliárd dolárov, aby sme mohli opustiť túto miestnosť? Nikto z nás by ju nemohol opustiť, pretože nikto z nás nemá takú sumu. Jedine, že by potom niekto prišiel, kto by mal na to, aby to za nás za všetkých zaplatil!
58 Je treba niekoho ... my to nedokážeme. Bolo treba niekoho, kto bol hodný. Ó, ako by som si prial, aby som sa tu na chvíľu mohol zastaviť, ísť naspäť a zobrať Ruth a Naomi a ukázať vám, ako ten príbuzný vykupiteľ, aby vykúpil ten upadnutý majetok, musel prv na to mať - byť hodný, musel byť príbuzný. A tak, Boh, Duch, Jehova, stal sa naším príbuzným, tým, že zobral na seba formu tela. Stal sa naším príbuzným - musel ním byť. Potom musel byť hodný (musel na to mať). A On je ten jediný, ktorý vyprodukoval zdroj naplnený krvou, ktorá tiekla z Emanuelových žíl. On bol ten jediný, ktorý niesol naše neprávosti.
59 Nádherný obraz mám tu v 4. Mojžišovej - mám tu zapísaných veľa miest Písma. V 4. Mojžišovej, nádherný obraz tohoto je ... Tam to je ... (Ó, všetky sú pekné, ak by ste to chceli vidieť.) Ten medený had, ktorý bol povýšený na púšti. Ako Izrael, ten had bol pre nich smrteľným uhryznutím a nebolo žiadneho lieku. Nebolo medzi nimi doktora, ktorý by mal na to liek alebo niečo, čím by to vyliečil. Oni mali medzi sebou doktorov, ale nie na to uhryznutie. Tak, ako som povedal, nie sú medzi nami doktori, ktorí by mohli vyliečiť hriech. To je smrteľné uhryznutie a my sme všetci vinní, všetci sme sformovaní v neprávosti. Všetci sme vinní. Ale čo urobil Boh? Oni boli potom vinní, potom museli platiť smrťou, trestom smrti. Ale Boh kázal Mojžišovi, aby vztýčil medeného hada a dal ho na tyč, že ľudia nemuseli nič urobiť, nemuseli zaplatiť žiadne peniaze, vôbec nič, nemuseli odrieknuť žiadne vyznanie, nemuseli vstúpiť do žiadnych cirkví - len sa pozrieť a žiť. Vidíte, aké jednoduché? Pozri sa a ži! Netreba vstúpiť do cirkvi, netreba prežiť žiadnu senzáciu, nemusíš mať žiaden zvláštny pocit. Len sa pozri a ži! To je všetko. Také jednoduché. Nie, ak si môžeš zapamätať všetkých desať prikázaní, vtedy budeš žiť. Nie, ak budeš vedieť všetky ustanovenia. Len sa pozri a ži - to je všetko, čo si musel urobiť. A každý, kto sa pozrel na neho, žil.
60 Ježiš, keď bol tu na zemi, On povedal, keď sa tu rozprával s Nikodémom, povedal: „Ako Mojžiš vyvýšil hada na púšti, tak musí byť vyvýšený Syn človeka." Tak musí ... Prečo? Tak isto, kvôli tomu istému, za tým istým účelom, aby sa dosiahlo to isté. Veľa krát toto zmätie ľudí, keď vidia hada, ktorý reprezentuje Ježiša. Ten had v tomto prípade reprezentoval Ježiša. Všimli ste si, že ten had bol mŕtvy? Nebol v ňom žiaden život. Ježiš zomrel. Ako Kain, keď zabil Ábela, Ábel zomrel na oltári so svojou obeťou. Potom, keď Ábel obetoval svoju obeť a zabil svoju obeť za svoj hriech, potom zomrel na tom istom oltári so svojou obeťou. Aby ste sa mohli znovu narodiť, musíte zomrieť na oltári so svojou obeťou, byť jednoducho taký mŕtvy, ako bol On - a ste znovuzrodení. Ten had nemal v sebe žiadny život.
61 Poviete: „Prečo bol medený?" Meď reprezentuje súd, božský súd. Všimli ste si v Biblii v Starom Zákone, že oltár, na ktorom boli pálené obete, bol urobený z medi? Meď hovorí o súde. Ako Eliáš, vo svojich dňoch vyšiel, aby sa pozrel na oblohu, aby videl, či príde nejaký dážď, keď sa pomodlil a povedal: „Nebesia vyzerajú ako meď." Čo to bolo? Božský súd nad neveriacimi ľuďmi, nad neveriacim národom, ktorý opustil Boha. To bol božský súd - medený! A samotný ten had, jeho forma, on reprezentoval hriech, nad ktorým bol už vykonaný súd, lebo ten had bol odsúdený v záhrade Eden, a to bol ten odsúdený had.
62 A my, keď sa pozrieme na Krista, vidíte ten trest. Ten Jediný, sám Boh sa stal telom. Boh prichádza na zem a berie na Neho hriech všetkých nás a súd a hnev všemohúceho Boha bol vyliaty na Jeho telo a ono tam bolo rozkmásané na kríži. To je skutočný súd. On Sám prešiel lisom Božieho hnevu. Sám išiel tou cestou. Sám zomrel, neprišiel mu s pomocou žiaden anjel, človek, jeho cirkev, jeho matka, jeho bratia, jeho Otec, opustený od Boha, ľudí i od prírody. On Sám zomrel, aby nám ukázal, že ani samotná príroda nám nemôže pomôcť v hodine smrti. Žiaden priateľ, žiaden kňaz, žiaden pápež, žiaden pastor. To je smrť. Ale bol Jeden, ktorý to zniesol za nás.
63 V tom hadovi nebol žiaden život. Bol definitívne mŕtvy - úplne vykryštalizovaný. To bola tá požadovaná cena - trest. On zomrel, že až zem sa zahanbila. On zomrel, že sa až hviezdy zahanbili. On trpel, že až slnko prestalo svietiť, On trpel, že až mesiac nedal svetla, On trpel, že až všetky čiastky zeme boli také čierne a tmavé ako o polnoci, taká tma, že ju bolo možno nahmatať. Nebolo ničoho. Nikto nikdy takto netrpel, ani nemohol. Nieto smrteľníka, ktorý by cez to mohol prejsť. Ale On to vytrpel. Boh položil na Neho neprávosť všetkých nás a zniesol na Neho Svoje súdy a On Sám prešiel lisom Božieho hnevu a nikto Mu nepomohol. Nebolo nikoho, kto by Mu pomohol. Boh uložil trest. Všetko sa nachádzalo pod trestom a nič mu nemohlo pomôcť, pretože my sme všetci vinní. Nemohol mu prísť pomôcť žiaden najvyšší kňaz. Nikto mu nemohol pomôcť, žiaden pápež, žiaden anjel. Všetci stáli opodiaľ a pozorovali to. To bol najdôležitejší moment v histórii sveta. On zomrel až tak, že v ňom nezostalo ani kvapky života, stal sa ako ten medený had, jednoducho vykryštalizovaný ornament visiaci na kríži.
64 Prvé kroky ku tomuto narodeniu, je na to spôsob. Aby sme pristúpili ku tomuto narodeniu, musíte prejsť cez proces, tak, ako všetko, čo žije, všetko, čo znovu ožíva, musí prv zomrieť. A vy si nemôžete ponechať toho istého ducha, nemôžete si ponechať tie isté zvyky, nemôžete si ponechať tie isté myšlienky. Musíte zomrieť. Musíte zomrieť tak, ako On zomrel! Musíte zomrieť na Jeho oltári, ako zomrel Ábel so svojím baránkom. Vy musíte zomrieť so svojím Baránkom. Musíte zomrieť. Zomrieť svojmu vlastnému zmýšľaniu, aby ste sa narodili pre Jeho zmýšľanie. Nech tá myseľ, ktorá bola v Kristovi, je vo vás. Musíte myslieť Jeho myšlienky. A teraz, brat, sestra, dovoľte mi povedať toto tak inteligentne, ako len viem. Ako môžete myslieť Jeho myšlienky a pri tom zapierať Jeho Slovo, a pri tom tvrdiť, že ste znovuzrodení? Položte si sami túto otázku. Ako to môžete? Nemôžete. Ak ste znovuzrodení, máte Jeho myšlienky. Ak je vo vás myseľ Kristova, potom ste novým stvorením. Biblia to tak učí. Keby to chcel niektorý brat vedieť, dobre, nájdite si slovo stvorenie, vyhľadajte si to slovo stvorenie v slovníku a budete vidieť, že slovo stvorenie je tam vyložené alebo preložené „nové stvorenie", pretože ste jedným stvorením, ľudská bytosť, narodená tu na zemi zo sexuálnej žiadosti a teraz ste novým stvorením narodeným z Ducha. Vaše vlastné myšlienky sú mŕtve. Oni sú tak mŕtve, že sú až skryštalizované ako bol ten medený had, alebo ako bol On, keď nebesia a zem a všetko vydalo svedectvo, že je mŕtvy.
65 On zomrel, že bol až tak mŕtvy, že až sa Mu v tele oddelila Jeho krv od vody. Jeho smrť bola taká strašná, poviem to tak, že až svet dostal nervový šok. Triasol sa a chvel, že až skaly padali z vrchov. Kto môže takto zomrieť? Žiaden pápež, keby zomieral, tak by sa toto nedialo, žiaden pastor, keby zomieral, tak by sa toto nedialo. Ale keď Boh v tele zomrel na kríži, zem dostala nervový šok, aby sme vedeli, že to vypovedané Slovo Božie - skaly a zem a kríky a palice a stromy na zemi a hviezdy a mesiac - Jeho vlastné vypovedané Slovo videlo svojho Stvoriteľa, ktorý sa stal telom, a ako bol na Neho vyliaty hriech. Hnev Boží bol vyliaty na Neho, že až mesiac nevydal svojho svetla, slnko nevydalo svojho svetla, zem dostala nervový záchvat - šok. Rozletela by sa na kúsky, keby tu nemusela byť ďalej pre nás. Všetko.
66 A keď Jeho veci na zemi, keď sa dívali a videli, čo sa deje, a otriaslo ich to do takého stavu, čo to má urobiť so mnou a s tebou? Čo to má urobiť s našou dušou, keď sa dívame a vidíme, čo Boh pre nás urobil? A to bolo všetko pre teba a pre mňa. Čo to má s nami urobiť? Zostaneme naďalej v hriechu? Bože, chráň. Ale máme sa zdržať hriechu a zomrieť hriechu. Či nevidíte, čo Jemu urobil hriech? Hriech Ho zabil. A On zaplatil pokutu za hriech, aby mohol priniesť spravodlivosť Božiu pre teba a pre mňa. Tak, keď príde na nás spravodlivosť Božia, hriech je mŕtvy v našich smrteľných telách. Ó, dúfam, že to vidíte.
67 Áno, aby ste sa znovu narodili, musíte prejsť cez proces smrti. Všetko musí cez to prejsť. Zoberte kukuričné zrno, ak to zrno očakáva, že znovu bude žiť, musí prv zomrieť. Ak pšeničné zrno očakáva, že bude znovu žiť, je úplne nemožné, aby ... To zrno, pšenica, kvet, strom, tráva, vegetácia, všetko, čo očakáva, že bude znovu žiť, musí prv zomrieť. Ako sa vy potom tomu vyhnete? Musíte prv zomrieť. Musíte zomrieť. Zomrieť ako? Sebe samému, zomrieť všetkému, aby ste sa tak mohli znovu narodiť. Musíte to urobiť. Ak nezomriete, nemôžete nikdy znovu ožiť.
68 A pozrite sa. Vedeli ste o tom, že každý deň musí niečo zomrieť, aby ste vy mohli žiť? A teraz, čo sa vás týka, Adventisti siedmeho dňa, ktorí ste medzi nami. Mnoho ľudí hovorí: „Ja by som nestrieľal veveričky, brat Branham. Ja by som nezastrelil jeleňa alebo zajaca, rybu, pretože neverím, že by sme mali niečo zabíjať." Môj brat, či vieš, že zelenina a všetko, čo ješ, má tiež život? Ty to musíš zabiť. A jediný spôsob, ako môžeš existovať v tomto živote, niečo musí zomrieť, aby si ty pomocou toho mŕtveho života mohol žiť. No, ak niečo musí zomrieť, aby si ty mohol žiť tento smrteľný život tu na zemi, žiť smrteľne, či nemusí niečo zomrieť, aby si skrze ten život mohol žiť večne? Len si polož tú otázku. A tým niekým bol Kristus, pretože nikto iný nemal nesmrteľnosť. Jedine Syn je nesmrteľný. A On dal Samého Seba tebe, tým, že Ho prijmeš. No, to musí zomrieť.
69 To teraz neznamená obrátiť novú stranu, tento nový rok. Vy poviete: „Brat Branham, chodím sem dlhý čas. Som členom zboru. Tento nový rok chcem obrátiť novú stranu a začať odznova." To neznamená to. Nie otočiť novú stranu, ale skutočne zomrieť a byť znovuzrodený. Musíš sa cítiť tak vinný, keď zastaneš v Jeho prítomnosti - či chodíš cestou Metodistov alebo cestou Baptistov alebo akoukoľvek cestou chodíš - musíš byť tak vinný a cítiť sa taký vinný, že až ... To ťa zabije. Je to tak. To ťa zabije. Tvoj svetský život hneď tam zomrie. Musíš sa pokladať za takého vinného v prítomnosti Božej, že až tvoj svetský život namieste zomrie. Otázka hriechu pre teba skončila, keď stojíš v prítomnosti Božej. Keď sa takto dívaš, môžeš si byť istý, že budeš žiť, pretože si zomrel. A jediný spôsob, ako môžeš znovu žiť je, že najprv musíš zomrieť, aby si mohol znovu žiť.
70 No, vidíte ku čomu prichádzam, či nie? Čo je to narodenie, znovuzrodenie. Prv zomrieť, aby ste sa mohli znovuzrodiť. A ak máte stále v sebe veci tohoto sveta, nie ste znovuzrodení. A ako budete tvrdiť, že ste znovuzrodení, a stále sa vás držia veci tohoto sveta? Ako to môžete tvrdiť?
71 Mladý kresťan jedného dňa, skupina ľudí ... Nehovorím, že nie sú. Ale keď sa dívajú na určité obrázky, kresťanky, kresťania, všetci milí jedni s druhými, v plavkách, v bazéne. Vidíte? Hovoria: „To je skutočná láska." To je skutočná špina! To nie je láska. Láska je vyjadrená inak.
72 Naše duše sú skrze vieru položené na Jeho medenom oltári Božieho súdu, a naša obeť je strávená. Pamätajte teraz, keď Eliáš, pod týmito medenými nebesami, položil Božiu obeť na oltár, tá obeť bola strávená. Bál nemohol stráviť svoju obeť. Nechcem toto povedať, ale musím to povedať. A keď vy chodíte do nejakej cirkvi a prijímate ich vyznanie a ich formy krstu a kladiete tam obeť, ktorou by ste mali byť vy sami, môžete vstať a triasť sa, hovoriť v jazykoch, behať hore dole alebo môžete vstať a plakať. Ale ak Boh prijal tú obeť, ona je strávená. Svet je pre vás mŕtvy. S vami je koniec, lebo sa pokladáme za mŕtvych a za pochovaných. Sme mŕtvi a sme ... sme skrytí v Kristovi. Skrytí v Kristovi! A okrem toho, potom, keď sme mŕtvi a pochovaní a skrytí v Kristovi, potom sme zapečatení Svätým Duchom.
73 Rozumiete teraz, čo myslím? Ste mŕtvi. Naše duše sú položené na Jeho Božský súd. To je meď. Keď sú naše duše položené na oltári Božského súdu, aká bola cena? Smrť. A keď sa položíte na Boží oltár, ktorý na hriešnika vyniesol rozsudok smrti, ako môžete odtiaľ povstať živí v hriechu, keď Boh prijal tú obeť? Je to teraz jasné? Vy ste zomreli! V skutočnosti ste strávení a ste stuhnutí. Neostalo vám už nič, len táto stuhnutá forma, v ktorej stojíte - ako ten medený had, ako bol Kristus, keď Ho mŕtveho a studeného zložili z kríža. Ste mŕtvi! Prečo? Ste na Božom súdnom oltári. Aký je Jeho súd? Keď sudca vyniesol rozsudok. Aký to bol rozsudok, ktorý vymeral Jeho trest? Smrť. A keď položíte svoju dušu na Jeho súdny oltár, to je pre vás smrť. Rozumiete teraz tomu?
74 Ó, môžete odtiaľ vstať a robiť všetko možné. Môžete tancovať v Duchu, môžete kričať ako nikto, môžete behať hore dole, môžete vstúpiť do každej cirkvi, môžete robiť čokoľvek chcete (Hovorím teraz ku letničným.) a idete rovno naspäť a poškvrníte niečiu ženu, rozbíjate niečí dom, niektoré z vás žien. Hneď zase pôjdete do starých koľají. Bez ohľadu na to, koľko vám Slovo hovorí, aby ste robili dobre a tak ďalej, nebudete to uznávať. Ženy, nenecháte si na základe toho rásť vlasy. Nebudete sa poriadne obliekať. Ďalej budete presne také, ako ten svet, pretože nie ste ešte mŕtve pre ten svet, žijete s ním.
75 Niektorí z vás, mužov, neprestanete piť, fajčiť. Neprestanete túžiť po skazených ženách, nemorálne oblečených, keď ich vidíte na ulici. Namiesto toho, aby ste sa odvrátili a odišli preč, stále budete žiadostiví presne tak ako predtým. Prečo? Pretože ešte žijete s tým svetom. Ale keď tá obeť bola prijatá, ste mŕtvi. Je to tak. Počujete, čo myslím? Rozumiete, o čom hovorím?
76 Vaša duša leží na súdnom Božom medenom oltári, potom Boh prijíma tú obeť ... To ukazuje, že ste to ešte neprijali, ak to ... ak ste stále živí v tomto svete, Boh to vôbec neprijal. Vy ľudia hovoríte, že prijímate Ducha Svätého a ako dlho musíte na to čakať, tu to máte. Až kým Boh neprijme tú obeť, až kým to tam neleží na Jeho oltári, až kým Jeho súd skutočne nezabije vaše zmysly ... Môžete hovoriť: „Dobre, obrátim novú stranu." To nie je to. „Dobre, viem, že som zvyknutý fajčiť, prestanem s fajčením." To stále nie je to, až kým Boh neprijme tú obeť na svojom medenom oltári, na Jeho súdnom oltári. Čo je jeho súd? Smrť! To je cena, ktorú treba zaplatiť.
77 „Duša, ktorá hreší, zostáva v hriechu, zomrie." Nestarám sa o to, čo ste urobili.
78 Ježiš povedal: „Mnohí prídu ku mne v ten deň a povedia: Pane, či som neurobil toto a tamto? On odpovie: Odstúpte odo mňa, činitelia neprávosti." Vidíte?
79 Keď oheň prijal tú obeť a to takto vystupuje hore a dym vystupuje hore, vy vystupujete so svojou obeťou do ponebeských miest a potom ste odlúčení od vecí tohoto sveta. Naša duša je na jeho oltári.
80 Čo ste potom urobili vy, keď ste zomreli, čo potom máte robiť? Potom ste sa znovu počali. Ste nanovo počatí. Prv ste boli počatí v neprávosti, teraz ste počatí v niečom novom. Čo to je? Živé Slovo. Ó, to teraz mení situáciu, či nie? No, skončil sa náš boj, keď ste uvideli, čo musíte urobiť. Čo sa teraz deje? Ste znovu počatí, v živom Slove. Čo to je? Ožíva vo vás Slovo. Začínate vidieť všetko inak. Tam, kde ste to predtým nemohli vidieť, teraz to vidíte. Teraz je to niečo iné. To spôsobuje, že všetky miesta Písma sa spájajú, všetko presne zapadá. Potom sa začína niečo diať. Zomreli ste svojím vlastným predstavám, teraz ste sa počali, pretože sme umytí vodou Slova. Je to tak?
81 Čo robíte s dieťaťom hneď, ako sa narodí? Umyjete ho. Je to tak? A len čo človek zomrel sebe samému a narodil sa z Boha, je umytý vodou Slova. Amen. Ak ono hovorí „Ježišove meno," vy hovoríte „Ježišove meno"; hovorí: „Musíte sa znovu narodiť" vy hovoríte to isté. Všetko, čo hovorí Boh, ste umytí tou vodou Slova. Amen.
82 No, teraz ste pripravení pre život. Teraz ste pripravení začať. Teraz ste nanovo narodení, narodení v Božej rodine, novým rodičom. Vaši tútori bývali ... Ale teraz máte tútorov, máte nových rodičov. Nemôžete sa narodiť bez toho, aby ste mali rodičov. Tak, ak ste sa narodili v bratstve nejakej cirkvi, to je to, čo máte. Ak ste sa narodili vo vyznaní, prosím. Ale ak ste sa narodili v Bohu, boli ste počatí v Jeho Slove, máte nového rodiča - to je Boh - pripravený dať cez teba na známosť Svoje Slovo, hovoriť ho cez teba. Ó, nový rodič - tým rodičom je Boh. On je teraz pripravený zobrať svoje Slovo, ktoré On už vypovedal a položiť ho do teba a spraviť, aby ožilo. Vidíte? Teraz začína tvoja výchova. Teraz si hotový, aby začala tvoja výchova, výchova dieťaťa. To je ťažký úsek, keď si myslíte, že máte robiť toto a Slovo vás dookola obsekáva a ukazuje vám niečo iné. „Aha, oni tam veria, že ..." To nie je dôležité, čo oni veria. Tu je to, čo hovorí Boh! Musíš byť vo veciach Otca. Teraz sa znovu rodíš. Teraz sa naprávaš, vyrovnávaš. Máš nového rodiča.
83 Tak podľa poriadku, keď si znovuzrodený a máš nového rodiča, potom máš novú povahu. Stará povaha je mŕtva a máš novú povahu. Voľakedy si išiel jednou cestou; teraz ideš inou cestou. Voľakedy si išiel touto cestou, dole; teraz ideš touto cestou, hore. Máš záľubu vo veciach, ktoré sú hore. Nové záľuby. Už viacej nemiluješ veci tohoto sveta. Máš zaľúbenie v Bohu. Nestaráš sa o to, čo hovoria ľudia, ako sa z teba vysmievajú a hovoria, že si „starý model", alebo čokoľvek také. Nestaráš sa o to, pretože si narodený zhora a máš záľubu vo veciach, ktoré sú hore. Boh sa za teba nehanbí a ty sa nehanbíš za Neho. Je to tak. Tak si ... Čítajte jedenástu kapitolu Listu Židom, hneď tu (Zapísal som si to), práve tak, ako ľudia v tých časoch, ako si oni počínali. Ako sa oni túlali v ovčích kožiach, po púšti, strádajúci a všetko možné, ktorých svet nebol hoden. Vidíte? Čítajte to, bude to pre vás dobre. A môžete tam vidieť, čo to boli za ľudia, keď ich povaha bola zmenená, čo sa dialo.
84 No, brat Branham, akú povahu potom má človek? Jeho povahu. Keby som mal povahu svojho otca, potom by som robil veci, ktoré robil môj otec. Ale teraz, keď som znovuzrodený, to záleží od toho, kto je môj otec. Ak ste narodení len do cirkvi, vaším otcom je cirkev a môžete ho nazývať otec, ak chcete. Môžete ho nazývať akokoľvek chcete, pretože on je vaším otcom. Ale ak je vaším Otcom Boh a vy ste sa narodili do Božej rodiny, hľadáte veci, ktoré patria Bohu. Je to tak. Potom ste Božie dieťa. Vašou povahou je Božia povaha. Potom, keď ... ó, počujete niekoho, ako hovorí: „Naša cirkev verí, že dni zázrakov pominuli." Ako môžeš veriť, že dni zázrakov pominuli, keď je v tebe vlastná Božia povaha? Keď On sám o sebe je zázrak. Jeho povaha je zázrak, Jeho zvyky sú zázrakom, celá Jeho bytosť je zázrak - ako môžeš byť niečo iné, ako zázrak? Tvoje nové narodenie je zázrak, tvoj nový život je zázrak. Ešte aj tvoja povaha je zázrak - ako sa môžeš dívať naspäť a hovoriť: „Tie veci sú mŕtve. Je to tak." Ty si nový tvor, nové stvorenie. Skutočne.
85 Ako som tu nedávno kázal o tom malom orlovi. Hádam si pamätáte ten príbeh, ako ten farmár podložil pod sliepku orlie vajce. A keď sa tie mláďatá vyliahli, všetky okrem jedného boli kurence. On bol orol. Bol to malý čudák. Bol úplne iný, ale viete, narodil sa v inej kategórii. Ten zárodok v tom vajci bol iný. Preto to bol iný vták. Samozrejme. Bol zvláštny, pre tých ostatných sa správal smiešne, ale on sa správal len prirodzene, pretože on nemohol robiť nič iné, pretože bol orol. Mal orliu povahu, to bolo to jediné, čím mohol byť, orlom. Ale mnoho ich je v týchto denomináciách. Oni sú v podstate orli, ale nevyzerajú tak, ako by mali, keď ich vidíme, ako sa váľajú v špine a vo veciach tohoto sveta. Vidíte? To je našou úlohou, dostať ich odtiaľ.
86 Jedného dňa tá matka orlica letela ponad, a čo si myslíte, že tá sliepka ho mohla ešte dlhšie udržať na zemi? Bez ohľadu na to, ako veľmi kvokala, ako dobre ... Ona povedal: „Poď sem, drahý. Práve som niečo našla, poď." Ó! Jeho túžba sa niesla po veciach tam hore a on tam išiel, aby sa s tým stretol. Žiadna denominácia ho nemohla od toho odvábiť.
87 A človek, ktorý sa narodil z Boha, nemôžete ho už viac zavolať naspäť do zhnitého zmätku hriechu. On je mŕtvy a znovu narodený. On je novým stvorením. Má povahu orla. On musí ísť do oblakov a lietať. On sa musí dostať tam hore, kde je jeho matka, jeho rodič.
88 Tak je to s človekom, ktorý verí. Povedzte mu: „Poď a vstúp do našej cirkvi. To je fanatizmus. Dni ..."
89 Keď ten malý orol možno stál a počul krik matky a pozrel sa hore a povedal: „Kde to je?" Aha, ona možno zakričala tomu malému orlovi niečo takéto: „Ježiš Kristus ten istý včera, dnes a naveky."
90 A tá matka povedala: „Dni zázrakov pominuli, kvok, kvok, kvok, kvok. Dni zázrakov pominuli. Nič také nie je! To je fanatizmus!" Och.
91 Nedokážeš ho dlhšie udržať. Môžem ho počuť, ako hovorí: „Mama, ako sa dostanem tam hore?"
92 „Zamávaj len krídlami, drahý. To je všetko, čo musíš urobiť. Ty si orol. Vykroč len vo viere."
„Ako sa to stane, mama? Ja neviem."
93 „Len kráčaj." A tu on ide. Prv trochu zamával a sadol na kôl v plote. Dostal sa nejako tak vysoko. Ona povedala: „Len tak ďalej, ja ťa chytím." To je to.
94 Nová povaha, nová bytosť, nové stvorenie, povaha vášho otca. A veríte a milujete každé Slovo, ktoré On povedal. Každé ľudské slovo, ktoré je nezhodné s týmto Slovom, je klamstvo. Toto je Božie Slovo. Vidíte? Biblia má pravdu. Nestarám sa o to, čo hovorí cirkev, Biblia je stále pre teba pravdou, pretože tvoja povaha sa zmenila. No, ak je tvojím otcom cirkev, budeš veriť tomu cirkevnému otcovi. Ale ak je Boh tvojím Otcom, budeš veriť Božiemu Slovu. Ak máš otca v cirkvi, budeš veriť jemu, pretože máš jeho povahu, to je tvoj otec. Ale ak je tvojím Otcom Boh, potom budeš veriť Božiemu Slovu. Ak si cirkvou, budeš veriť jej slovu, budeš veriť slovu cirkvi, budeš veriť tomu, čo hovorí cirkev. Ale ak si znovuzrodený, potom budeš veriť tomu, čo hovorí Boh, pretože Boh je tvojím Otcom - nie svet alebo cirkevné vyznania.
95 To mi pripomína. Jedného dňa na dvore, vraveli, že tam mali kačku, ktorá chodila s kurencami. A tá kačka, viete, bola pre tie kurence taká smiešna. Bola taká negramotná, viete, s veľkým zobákom, viete. Ale aj keď bola negramotná, ten zobák mala na nejaký účel. A asi je to tak, že niekedy kresťan vyzerá trochu, berie to trochu fanaticky, ale to má tam svoj účel. Vidíte? Kým behala s tými kurencami, s morkami a ostatnými, vyzerala smiešne. Oni mali trochu kratší zobák a pri tom, čo robili, neboli tak zostrojené ako tá kačka. Jedného dňa ju tá matka zaviedla - kŕdeľ kureniec a ona - tam vzadu. Ona stále chodila vzadu, viete, tak nejako. Ona ani nerozprávala ako oni. Jej jazyk bol iný. Oni si navzájom nerozumeli.
96 Tak je to s kresťanom, keď je znovuzrodený. Vidíte? On sa vyliahol z iného vajca, to je všetko. Viete. Možno, že má ... Verím, že je ich tu veľa v týchto denominačných cirkvách, ktorí sú ozajstné kačice, ale vedie ich sliepka. Je to tak. Tak oni to jednoducho nerozumejú. Znie to tvrdo. Nerozumejte to tak, ale chcem vám na niečo ukázať.
97 Jedného dňa ju zaviedla trochu ďaleko za stodolu. Tam za stodolou pretekala nejaká voda, nejaký pramienok, potok. A ona išla okolo a bola zvedavá, čo to je, viete, keď išla za tou sliepkou. A och, ona ani nemala rada to, čo oni jedli, jej sa to nezdalo dobré. Tieto staré veci, ktoré oni jedli, to nevyzeralo dobre. A tak po chvíli zacítila závan vzduchu. „To bola tá správna vôňa. Odkiaľ to prišlo?" Ó, to zavanutie z neba. Ó, zachytiť to jemné zavanutie niečoho, čo občerstvuje. Kázeň, ktorá ťa vyzýva, ktorá prechádza dovnútra, cítiš, ako samo Slovo za tam zakotvuje - hmm, nebeský svit! Ona si myslela: „Ó, to je niečo iné, ten závan, ktorý som zachytila, pasuje mojej povahe." Znovu to potiahla do seba. „To je tu niekde. Nevyhovoríte mi to. To je niekde tu. Viem, že niekde je niečo, kde ja patrím." Nie do tohoto vyznania. Viete, čo myslím? Ona zacítila vodu a ona bola z prirodzenosti kačica, tak kačka a voda pasujú jednoducho ku sebe. Tak aj veriaci a Boh pasujú ku sebe. Hneď zacítila ďalší silný závan toho, bolo to silnejšie. Po chvíli vietor začal fúkať - ako ten nesúci sa silný vánok, viete. Začal fúkať vánok od vody rovno ku nej. Ona to už viacej nemohla vydržať. Pustila sa dole kopcom, ťap ťap ťap, viete. „Ga ga ga." Zobák zodvihnutý hore, viete. Ona zavoňala vodu.
98 Tá sliepka volala: „Ty fanatik, vráť sa naspäť!" To ju vôbec nezaujímalo, ona zacítila vodu. Ona bola na ceste ku vode!
99 „Je fontána naplnená krvou, ktorá vytiekla z Emanuelových žíl, do ktorej, keď sa hriešnik ponorí, stratí všetky škvrny vín." Skutočný kresťan nechce mať nič spoločné so svetom. Oni tu nechcú žiť, ako sa pritrafí, túlať sa tam, kde sú. Dnes sú metodisti, zajtra baptisti a letniční a tak ďalej. Ó, brat, to je biedne! Skutočný kresťan chce cítiť čerstvosť Ducha, sviežosť Boha vo svojom živote, niečo, čo ho robí novým stvorením. Len čo nájde ten otvor, pôjde po zasnežených cestách a po všetkom, len aby sa tam dostal. On tam pôjde, pretože to je od začiatku kačka. Áno. Nie vyznanie, nie - nie, nie-nie.
100 A ak stále milujete veci tohoto sveta, ste zvedení. Vaša obeť nebola ešte prijatá, vaša povaha nebola zmenená. Viete teraz, čo to znamená byť znovuzrodený? Vidíte? Vaša povaha je zmenená, stávate sa novým stvorením. Prv musíte zomrieť a potom sa znovu narodiť. (Viem, že už je čas, aby som skončil, ale dajte mi ešte niekoľko minút. Prebehnem rýchlo cez tieto texty.) Ak stále milujete svet a tvrdíte, že ste znovuzrodení, bez ohľadu na to, čo ste urobili ... Mohli ste kričať, mohol vám prejsť po chrbte mráz. To je v poriadku, nemám nič proti tomu. Kresťania kričia a prechádza po nich mráz. A vy hovoríte: „Brat Branham, hovoril som v jazykoch ako ... „ To mohlo byť dobre, to mohlo byť tak dobre.
101 Dívam sa práve teraz na jednu ženu, ktorá nedávno prišla za mnou, že mala videnie alebo sen a ja som jej dal výklad. Stále, je to tak trochu ťažko ísť a povedať žene letničného kazateľa, že nemá Ducha Svätého, ale nemala ho. Ale potom ho prijala. Áno.
102 Je to iné. Vidíte? Áno. To nie je hovorenie v jazykoch, to nie je tancovanie v Duchu. Nemôžete to odôvodňovať žiadnou z týchto vecí. To je smrť a narodenie, premenená prirodzenosť, zmenená povaha. Staré veci sú mŕtve, nové veci sú nové. Svet je mŕtvy a Boh je nový. Boh je váš život a svet je pre vás mŕtvy. Rozumiete to teraz? Dobre.
103 Počúvajte teraz. Budem musieť skončiť, ale ešte trochu, viete, aby som odstránil z cesty tŕnie. Ženy a muži, ktorí nechcú nasledovať Božie Slovo a jeho učenie po tom, keď tvrdia, že sa znovuzrodili, tam nie je niečo v poriadku. Budem teraz na chvíľu hovoriť ku ženám. Ak nejaká žena, ktorá vie, že Božie Slovo odsudzuje strihať si vlasy a nosiť šortky, nosiť nohavice, nemorálne sa obliekať, a nemáš ani toľko slušnosti, aby si si nechala rásť vlasy a obliekla si šaty, aby si vyzerala ako kresťanka, si zvedená. Nestarám sa o to, cez čo všetko si prešla. Mohla si hovoriť v jazykoch, ako keď sa sype hrach na suchú kravskú kožu. Mohla si tancovať v Duchu, že až sa triasla celá budova. To s tým nemá vôbec nič spoločné. To ukazuje, že je v tebe stále láska ku tomu svetu, keď to Boh odsudzuje. On povedal: „Nepatrí sa ... Žena má mať dlhé vlasy. A sama príroda nás učí, že muž má mať krátke vlasy, pretože Boh je nad mužom a muž nad ženou." A ak si žena strihá vlasy, hanobí svoju hlavu, ktorou je jej muž. Ak si muž necháva rásť vlasy, potom on hanobí svoju hlavu, ktorou je Kristus. Vidíte? „Nech sa vaše ženy ozdobujú v skromnom rúchu," čistom, ako dámy. Vidíte?
104 A potom, keď to robíte bez prostej slušnosti, hovoríte: „Sláva Bohu! Haleluja! Hovorila som v jazykoch. Haleluja! Sláva Bohu!" To ukazuje, že ten duch vo vnútri je zlý. Ak je to povaha Slova, ona bude vždy akceptovať Božie Slovo. A Slovo je telo, a to Slovo bol Boh, a to Slovo je Boh, a to Slovo je vo vás a robí, že sa stávate synmi a dcérami Božími, Jeho letorastami, veríte Jeho Slovu.
105 „Ja neverím, že mám byť pokrstený v to staré Meno Pána Ježiša. Haleluja! Nestarám sa o to, ako veľmi sa mi to budeš snažiť vysvetliť, ja verím svojmu pastorovi." Choď si, to je tvoj otec. Ale ak je Boh tvoj Otec, budeš sa držať Božieho Slova.
106 Kazateľ ... „Mnohí prídu ku mne v ten deň a povedia: Pane, či som nevyháňal v tvojom mene démonov? - Kazatelia. Či som nerobil veľa mocných skutkov? - Evanjelisti na misijnom poli. Odstúpte odo mňa, činitelia neprávosti." Nemanželské deti. Je to tak.
107 Ak ste narodení z Boha, umytí ste vodou Slova, oddelení od vecí tohoto sveta a veríte Bohu. Ste mŕtvi. Ste mŕtvi svojím vlastným mysliam, mŕtvi svojim vlastným predstavám, mŕtvi všetkému okrem Božieho Slova. Ono žije vo vás, účinkuje vo vás. Dokazuje, že to je Božie Slovo. Vy hovoríte: „Som mŕtvy svetu, brat Branham." A zapierate Božie Slovo?
108 Ježiš povedal: „Tieto znamenia budú nasledovať tých, ktorí uveria." Teraz sa dostávame ku tomu, čo to znamená narodiť sa znovu. Vidíte?
109 Stále sa rozčuľuješ, stále si podlý, arogantný, niekto o tebe niečo povie a rozpáliš sa, pripravený biť sa. A potom narodený z Ducha Božieho? Nie. Boží Duch sa takto nespráva. Nie. Boží Duch je pokorný, krotký, milý, trpezlivý. To je Boh - milujúci, láskavý, odpúšťajúci. To je Boží Duch. Ó, áno.
110 Ale oni sa budú držať tej denominácie a hovoriť v jazykoch, prorokovať a robiť všetky rôzne veci. Ježiš povedal, že to budú robiť. Budú mať formu pobožnosti." Držia sa denominácie lebo to je ich otec. Oni sa narodili z denominačného otca. Ale ak ste sa narodili z Boha, toto je váš Otec. On je Slovo - Slovo. Nezáleží na tom, koľko ste prežili senzácií, stále ste dieťa Satana, až kým sa nestanete mŕtvi pre svet a budete žiť v Kristovi. Počúvajte. Už to teraz rýchlo preberiem.
111 Duša, dobrá alebo zlá, smrť ju nezmení. Mám tu v tomto zapísaných veľa miest Písma, o ktorých som chcel hovoriť, čo je to duša. Čo je to duša? To si ty. Ty si duša - tá časť vo vnútri v tebe. A keď zomrieš, to, čo formuje tú dušu, je stále v nej, tak sa to deje. To ide na svoje miesto určenia. Nemôžeš to vytiahnuť, bez ohľadu na to, ako veľmi by si sa snažil. Tá duša musí byť tu premenená, znovuzrodená.
Vy hovoríte: Brat Branham, a čo s Duchom Svätým?"
112 Duch Svätý vás krstí do tela, do služby, ale na večný život veríte. „Ten, kto počuje Moje slová a verí v Toho, ktorý Ma poslal, má večný život." Vidíte? Potom ste pokrstení Duchom Svätým do tela, aby ste manifestovali dary a tak ďalej, ale na večný život veríte. Ten, kto verí, má večný život. A keď veríte, vtedy ste mŕtvi a narodení, regenerovaní, ste novým stvorením. Dobre.
113 Duša, pamätajte teraz, dobrá alebo zlá, smrť na tom nič nezmení. Smrť ju len zoberie na jej miesto určenia. Počujete to? A ak máte v duši stále svet a lásku po svete, to zomrie spolu s vami, pretože svet musí zomrieť. Boh odsúdil svet (to je svetský poriadok). Boh ho odsúdil a on musí zomrieť; a ak je ten svet vo vás, zomriete s tým svetom. Ó, nevidím, ako by to mohlo byť ešte jasnejšie. Vidíte? A ak je dobrá, narodená z Boha, musí ísť ku Bohu. Ak je zo sveta, ďalej pôjde do zahynutia spolu so svetom. Ak je z Boha, bude žiť s Bohom. Vzdelaný alebo nevzdelaný, vzdelaný alebo negramotný, ak je stále v nej svet, musí zomrieť. A ak je vo vašej duši svet a vy túžite po veciach tohoto sveta, zahyniete so svetom. To je jasné, či nie? Musíte. Ste časťou tohoto mŕtveho sveta. A keď je svet mŕtvy, ste mŕtvi spolu s ním.
114 Ale ak ste znovuzrodení, ste živí s Kristom a vaša túžba sa nesie po veciach, ktoré sú hore a nie po veciach tohoto sveta. Ale keď ste znovuzrodení z Ducha Božieho, stávate sa časťou Boha a ste veční spolu s Ním. Smrť sa vás potom nemôže dotknúť, keď ste znovuzrodení. Ste veční. Premenili ste sa z bytosti času na bytosť večnosti. Prešli ste zo smrti do života. Hovorím o večnosti - z večnej smrti do večného života. Ak ste zo sveta, zomriete tu spolu s ním. Ak milujete ... Biblia hovorí v Jánovi: „Ak milujete svet alebo veci tohoto sveta, to preto, že nie je vo vás láska Božia." Nemôžete milovať svet. A Ježiš povedal: „Nemôžete milovať svet a mamonu." Mamona, to je svet. Nemôžete naraz milovať svet a Boha. „A ten, kto hovorí, že ma miluje, a nezachováva moje slová (to je Biblia), je klamár a pravdy v ňom niet." Tu to máte.
115 Ó, Branhamova Modlitebňa a vy všetci dobrí ľudia, urobme inventúru! Toto je Nový Rok. Začnime, urobme niečo, odstráňme od seba veci tohoto sveta. Ak to tam stále je, zbavme sa toho. Tak veru.
116 Dobre, ľudia dnes (musím sa ponáhľať), ľudia dnes prijímajú všetkých rôznych duchov. Oni idú a prijímajú ducha nejakej cirkvi. Oni prijímajú dokonca duchov, ktoré tvrdia o sebe, že sú Božími duchmi, že sú znovuzrodení a zapierajú, že Božie Slovo je pravda. Mohli by ste si predstaviť Ducha Božieho, že by zapieral svoje vlastné Slovo? Vy katolíci - myslím, rímsko-katolíci - či môžete skutočne povedať, že ste narodení z Ducha Božieho, a prijímate tieto dogmy, ktoré sú nezhodné s Bibliou a zapierajú Slovo Božie? A hovoríte, že ste ... či by Duch Boží vo vás, Duch, ktorý napísal túto Bibliu, či by ju zapieral? Tu by mi niečo hovoril a potom by sa postavil a klamal proti tomu. Či by Boh niečo povedal a potom by sa otočil a klamal ohľadne toho, keď Biblia hovorí, že je nemožné, aby Boh klamal, pretože On je samou podstatou všetkej pravdy.
117 A čo vy metodisti, baptisti, ktorí ste pokrstení v tituly Otca, Syna a Ducha Svätého, nevidíte to teraz inak? Máte svoju Bibliu. Vy, ktorí len vstupujete do cirkvi, skrze potrasenie rúk? Vy, ktorí prijímate svoje odporúčajúce listy jeden od druhého, a tvrdíte, že ste znovuzrodení z Ducha Božieho? Ako to môžete robiť, a potom sa dívate do tváre Božieho Slova a hovoríte o sebe, že ste znovuzrodení kresťania? Keď ste mŕtvi pre cirkev, mŕtvi vyznaniam, mŕtvi svetu, mŕtvi všetkému inému, ale živí Bohu a Boh je Slovo! Tu to máte. Pozrime sa. Oni prijímajú všelijakého ducha. Ó, oni majú cirkevných duchov, majú všetkých rôznych duchov. Počúvajte teraz, končíme.
118 Proroci - Slovo Božie prichádza ku prorokovi. Biblia tak hovorí. (No, na záver, mám tu ešte niekoľko poznámok, chcem ich prebrať a potom skončím.) Slovo Pánovo prichádza ku prorokom. Čo prichádza ku prorokom? Či slovo cirkvi prichádzalo ku prorokom? Či slovo vyznania prichádzalo ku prorokom? Slovo Pánovo! Čo to bolo? Prorok zjavoval Slovo Božie. Vidíte? To sú proroci, skutoční proroci. No, máme falošných prorokov, za chvíľu sa ku nim dostaneme. Ale skutočný prorok, skutočné slovo prichádzalo ku skutočnému prorokovi, to nemohlo byť nič iné. No, vyznanie neprišlo ku prorokovi, denominácia neprišla ku prorokovi. Nie. Ale Slovo Pánove prichádzalo ku prorokovi a on ho zjavoval ľuďom. Pravý prorok mal pravé Slovo.
119 Ako otestujete pravého proroka? Keď má pravé Slovo. Potom, ak to nie je pravé Slovo, musí to byť falošný prorok. Ak hovorí niečo nezhodné s týmto Slovom a toto Slovo je Božie Slovo, nech každé slovo proroka je klamstvom a Božie Slovo pravdou. A ak to slovo, ktoré prichádza od toho proroka, je Slovo Božie, potom je to pravý prorok, pretože Slovo prichádza ku prorokom, ku pravým prorokom. Stále sme mali falošných prorokov. Praví proroci, pravé slovo. Falošní proroci, falošné slovo - „naše vyznania, naše denominácie, pripoj sa ku tomuto, hovor toto, ver tomuto, rob toto."
120 Ale pravé slovo prichádza ku pravému prorokovi a on vám hovorí pravé slovo. Vy nasledujete to slovo a máte pravé prežitie Slova, pretože Slovo sa stalo vo vás telom a vy ste sa stali Božím synom a Slovo Božie krúži rovno z Boha do teba, pretože ty máš Jeho povahu, Jeho Duch je v tebe a ty budeš robiť skutky Božie. Haleluja! Biblia tak povedala. Ó!
121 Falošní proroci prinášajú falošné slovo. Čo robia? Majú falošné senzácie. Falošní proroci sa držia dosť veľkej časti pravého Slova, aby boli falošní. Je to nezvyklé, ale Biblia hovorí ... Chcete si zapísať miesto Písma o tom, 2. Timotejovi 3. Vidíte? Falošní proroci majú dosť pravého Slova, aby to urobili falošným, pretože Biblia hovorí, že majú formu pobožnosti, a aby mali formu pobožnosti, musia mať niečo, čo je pravda. „ ...formu pobožnosti, ale zapierajú jej moc." Moc čoho? Aby vás to napravilo, aby ste boli iní, aby ste slúžili Bohu, aby ste nechodili na tance a na veci tohoto sveta, čo Biblia odsudzuje, aby ste si nestrihali vlasy. O čom falošní proroci hovoria, že na tom vôbec nezáleží.
122 Niekto mi pred nedávnom povedal (Zdá sa mi, že som to tu predtým citoval, neviem presne.), povedal: „Prečo nenecháš tie ženy a mužov na pokoji. Tí ľudia veria, že si prorok."
Povedal som: „Nie som."
123 „Ale ľudia veria, že si. Prečo ich neučíš, ako prijímať videnia, ako robiť také skutky Božie?"
124 Povedal som: „Ako ich môžem učiť algebru, keď nepoznajú abecedu? Ako môžete zobrať dieťa z materskej škôlky a dať mu dnes vysokoškolské vzdelanie, učiť ho druhú odmocninu? Ako to môžete, keď ono nevie, čo znamená ABC? Viete, čo znamená ABC? Vždy ver Kristovi. [Po anglicky to je Always Believe Christ. - pozn.prekl.] Je to tak. Never cirkvi, never vyznaniu, never doktrínam. Ver Kristovi! Prečo? „Poznať Jeho, poznať Jeho, to je život." Je to tak? Nie poznať Jeho vyznanie. On nemá žiadne vyznania. Ani nie poznať Jeho Slovo. Nie poznať Jeho Slovo; musíš poznať Jeho, poznať Ho ako svojho Spasiteľa v znovuzrodení. Ako povedal Ježiš Nikodémovi: „Ak nemôžete veriť zemským veciam, ktoré vám hovorím, ako potom uveríte nebeským veciam?" Ako budete veriť duchovným veciam o vojdení do Ducha a poznať a vidieť videnia a takéto veci - treba takto po poriadku nastúpiť do školy - keď neveria ani zemským veciam? Nemôžu ani uveriť, že majú nosiť poriadne šaty, nemôžu ani uveriť, že by mali prestať fajčiť a klamať, odložiť nabok hnev a všetky tieto veci, dobyť všetky tieto veci tam, prestať so žiadosťou. Ako môžete učiť ľudí, aby vošli do Ducha, keď visia na nich všetky tieto veci? Áno. Och.
125 Falošní proroci majú falošné slová, vyznania, denominácie, senzácie. „Ó, chvála Bohu! Jediné, čo musíš robiť ... Chceš nosiť Eliášov plášť? Sláva Bohu! Stačí, keď si len vyprázdniš myseľ, na nič nemysli a hovor: Ó, naplň ma, naplň ma, naplň ma." Diabol to určite urobí. A potom spoliehaš na niečo také? „Óóóó, prebehlo to cezo mňa, brat Branham. Cítil som to. Óóóó, sláva Bohu, haleluja (vyskakuješ takto hore-dole), ó, mám to!" A žiješ tak, ako žiješ?
126 „Podľa ich ovocia ich poznáte." Vidíte? Nie podľa senzácií.
127 „Ó, brat, chceš prijať Ducha Svätého? Kľakni si len pri oltári a hovor: Sláva, sláva, sláva, sláva, sláva, až kým nezačneš hovoriť v jazykoch." Och. A potom ideš a žiješ všelijakým životom, klameš, kradneš? Keď ti hovoria, aby si sa dal pokrstiť vo meno Ježiša Krista, povieš: „To je fanatizmus, moja cirkev to učí inak!" A hovoríš, že si znovuzrodený, umytý vodou Slova? Niekde nie je niečo v poriadku. Vidíte?
128 Budeš veriť každému Slovu, presne tak, ako je tu napísané. My nepotrebujeme ... Biblia hovorí: „Ono nepodlieha vlastnému výkladu." Boh ho vykladá a toto je ten spôsob, ako sa to deje, Jeho Slovo tu. Či nehovorí Biblia, myslím, že tam v 2. Liste Petra: „Biblia sa nedeje z vlastného rozlúštenia?" Samozrejme. Žiadny vlastný. To znamená to, čo je tam napísané, presne ako to. Len tomu verte tak, ako je to napísané tu, to prinesie tie isté výsledky.
129 Falošní učitelia budú prinášať falošné narodenie. Praví proroci budú prinášať Slovo, narodenie zo Slova, z Krista. Falošní proroci prinesú falošné narodenie - cirkevné narodenie, narodenie z vyznania, denominačné narodenie. A tu to máš, letničný brat, falošné ... alebo senzácie a hovoriť niekomu, že má Ducha Svätého, pretože hovoril v jazykoch. Videl som diablov hovoriť v jazykoch, samé ceruzky písali v neznámych jazykoch. To nič neznamená. Vidíte? To musí byť život. „Podľa ich ovocia ich poznáte." „Brat Branham, veríš v hovorenie v jazykoch?" Samozrejme. „Veríš vo vykrikovanie?" Samozrejme. Keď som kresťan, tak tomu verím. Verím Božiemu Slovu. Ale ak za tým nestojí život ...
130 Idete odtiaľ ako nafúkaná košeľa: „Sláva Bohu! Haleluja!" a potom mi hovoríte, že to je Kristus? Kristus bol pokorný, krotký a príjemný. Choďte do mesta a, ó, musíte byť taký vykefovaní, viete, a všetko musí tak sedieť, nesmiete mať ani trochu pokrčený oblek; a musíte mať všetko najlepšie, inak vôbec neprídete; zaistené toľko a toľko peňazí, inak nemôžete mať zhromaždenie. Ó, joj! Všetky denominácie vás musia poklepkávať po pleciach. Jeho nikto z nich neklepkal po pleciach, lebo On bol Slovo. Je to tak.
131 Falošní, dodržiavajú dosť veľký kus pravdy, aby mali formu pobožnosti. A počúvajte, teraz tu niečo poviem, chcem, aby ste počúvali. Taký druh falošných počatí, (Viete, čo robí to falošné počatie?) vedie milióny ľudí do falošného narodenia. Falošní učitelia vedú ľudí, aby verili v senzáciu. „Pretože si sa celý triasol, tak to máš. Ó, pretože si cítil, ako prešiel cez teba zvláštny pocit, videl si pred sebou svetlá a bol si slepý a potácal si sa, to je Eliášov plášť, ktorý zostúpil na teba. Je to v poriadku, máš to. Ó, vieš, čo si? Si zamanifestovaným synom Božím." Kde sa nachádzaš? Si porazený. Je to tak. „Sláva Bohu, jednej noci som mal sen!" Ó, áno. „Ó, videl som toto, tamto." Áno. „Či neveríš v sny?" Áno, samozrejme, verím. Ale ak ten sen nepasuje s Božím Slovom, potom je zlý. Toto tu je pravda, stoj na tomto. Tak veru. Vedú milióny ľudí do falošného narodenia. Len sa nad tým zamyslite!
132 Mám výstrižok z novín, chcel som ho zobrať so sebou, kde ten ekumenický otec všetkých gréckych ortodoxných a ortodoxných cirkví sa rozprával s pápežom Jánom 22. a povedal: „Možno, že my to neuvidíme v našej generácii, ale vyvinie sa veľké bratstvo a protestanti a katolíci sa zídu spolu."
133 Pomyslel som si, „Chvála Bohu!" Niekto to vystrihol z novín a takto mi to napísal.. Zdá sa mi, že to bol brat Norman alebo niekto, povedal: „Brat Branham, je neskoršie, ako si myslíme." Pozrite sa dnes, minister vojny a och, tak veľa rôznych úradov, prezident, a celý tento národ je pod katolíckou kontrolou.
134 Počúvajte. Vy hovoríte: „Dobre, oni sú kresťania." Byť kresťanom znamená byť ako Kristus, mať Jeho Ducha. Je to tak? Toto tu je tvrdé, ale chcem to povedať. Ak na sviňu budete hovoriť, že je ovca, spraví to z nej ovcu? Aha, ak poviete: „Prasiatko, je mi z toho nanič, že si prasiatko. Ja chcem jahniatko, tak ťa zoberiem sem a celé ťa vydrhnem a umyjem ti zuby a učešem ťa a urobím z teba malého baránka. Uviažem ti okolo krku ružovú stužku a bude z teba baranček namiesto prasaťa." Prídete tam a budete hovoriť: „Baránok, baránok, baránok." Ono bude ďalej robiť: „Kvik, kvik." Vypustíte ho do ohrady a bude žrať všetky pomyje, ktoré nájde. Tak veru! To nie je v tom, že ho pofŕkate, to nie je v tom, že ho ponoríte do vody; to je smrť a narodenie! Tak veru. Poviete: „Nebudem ťa kŕmiť ničím iným než ďatelinou, budem ťa kŕmiť tým, čo jedia ovce." Stále ho kŕmite ďatelinou a ono je stále prasa, to je všetko. Je to tak? Samozrejme. Prečo? Samozrejme. Ono je prasa, pretože má povahu prasaťa.
135 A ak milujete svet alebo veci tohoto sveta, stále ste prasa. Je to tak. Je potrebná moc Božia, aby premenila vašu dušu. Zomri prasaťu, polož na oltár svoje prasačie zvyky, polož sa tam a nech Božia obeť ... či, nech zostúpi oheň súdu a strávi ťa ako prasa a znovu ťa narodí ako baránka. Potom nebudeš jesť žiadne pomyje. Nemohol by si, tvoj žalúdok by to nestrávil. Nie si v poriadku. Tým z neho neurobíte prasa, keď budete hovoriť ... či vlastne baránka, keď budete hovoriť, že to je baránok.
136 Tak človek, ktorý si hovorí kresťan, preto, že prijal nejaké vyznanie alebo prežil nejakú emóciu ... Vy hovoríte: Sláva Bohu, brat Branham, vtedy som celú noc tancoval v Duchu. Hovoril som v jazykoch, ó, brat Branham!" Hovorím teraz ku letničným. „Tancoval som v Duchu. Ó, prežil som senzácie, všetko také. Ale hovorím ti hneď teraz, nehovor mi nič tam o tom Ježišovom mene." Len do toho, prasiatko. On je stále prasa, to je všetko.
137 „Moje ovce počujú Moje Slovo!" Dobre, ja poviem: „Ale brat, pozri sa, nájdi mi v Biblii jedno miesto, kde bol niekto niekedy pokrstený vo meno Otca, Syna a Ducha Svätého."
138 „Nestarám sa o to, čo je tam, haleluja, ja nechcem nič z toho (Jesus Only) Len Ježiš." Kto hovorí o Len Ježiš (Jesus Only)? Ja hovorím o Biblii. Jesus Only je skupina vyznaní a skupina denominácií. Jeden nemôže nazývať druhého inak, pretože obidvaja sú v tom istom.
139 Ale ja hovorím o úplných, skutočných, stopercentných kresťanoch, znovuzrodených z Ducha Božieho, ktorí majú nebeskú rosu vo svojom živote. To je to, o čom hovorím. Ak si metodista a máš to, amen! Jediné, čo musíš urobiť, je byť nasmerovaný do Slova. Budeš ho nasledovať tak, ako tá kačka, ktorá išla do vody. Vidíte? Je to tak.
140 Ľudia chcú dnes skratky. Oni nechcú ... oni si myslia, že to dostanete hneď v tej chvíli: „Sláva Bohu!" Čo to je? Čo oni robia? Dnes večer sú v ... sú tam vonku v ... Ako niektorí z týchto ľudí, ktorých majú, ako niektorí ľudia, ktorých by som mohol vymenovať, ale nechcem to robiť, pretože toto sa nahráva, ale dnes večer sú s gitarou v nejakom nočnom klube, brnkajú na nej a na druhý deň ráno stoja niekde v nejakej cirkvi, a brnkajú na tej istej gitare. Špina! Biblia hovorí v Izaiášovi, v dvadsiatej kapitole: „Všetky stoly sú plné vývratku. Ako sa pes navracia ku svojmu vývratku a sviňa ku svojmu váľaniu sa v blate, tak robia oni." Prečo? Oni sú stále psami a sviňami! Preto sa navracajú do váľania sa a ku vývratkom. Nie sú znovuzrodení. Ak sú znovuzrodení, tak sú novými stvoreniami.
141 Viete čo? Vrana, nezáleží na tom, ako sa ju snažíte ... mohli by ste ju prefarbiť celkom na takú olivovú farbu, ako má holubica, na celkom sivú ako holubica, na bielu, mohli by ste ju celú prefarbiť - ona bude stále vo vnútri vrana. Vidíte? Naďalej, tak isto je to smradľavý starý krkavec, zbierač odpadkov, ktorý žerie mŕtve veci zeme. Je to tak. Ale viete čo? Holubica sa nemusí ani kúpať. Ó, haleluja! Telo holubice, pretože to je holubica, ona má olej, ktorý prechádza cez jej perie, to ju po celý čas udržuje čistú, pretože on vychádza z vnútra. Ó! Prečo? Krkavec hovorí: „Mňa tiež! Vylial som na nich trochu svätej vody, brat, ona to dá do poriadku." Nie, nedá. Pretože to vychádza z vnútra navonok, nie z vonku dovnútra. To je narodenie. Chvála Bohu, ja chodím do cirkvi tak isto ako ty. Haleluja, moja cirkev je tak isto dobrá ako tvoja. Haleluja, my sme práve...“ Dobre, ty krkavec. Vidíte? Je to tak. Vidíte? Ale holubica je mazaná olejom zvnútra. Holubica má určité žľazy, ktoré nie sú takto v žiadnom inom vtákovi, holubica alebo hrdlička. A ona sa maže od ... von. Po celý čas sa udržiava v čistote. Ona sa nemusí sama udržiavať v čistote; vo vnútri nej je niečo, čo ju udržuje čistú. Ó, sestra Why, haleluja! Niečo vo vnútri nej ju udržuje čistú.
142 Hovoríte: „Ja viem, minulý týždeň som vstúpil do cirkvi. Naozaj by som si rád s tebou vypil, ale hm ... ó, tá cigareta tak dobre vonia! Ó, sestra, viem, že som starý model, musím si teraz nechať rásť vlasy. Nie je to hrozné? Vieš, aké som nosievala pekné šaty, a každý, kto išiel okolo: fijú-fiť. Teraz som ich musela odložiť. Vieš, minulý týždeň som vstúpila do cirkvi." Ty biedna chudera! Nemôže ťa očistiť ani všetka svätá voda na svete.
143 Ale brat, keď máš niečo v sebe vo vnútri, to po celý čas zmýva všetko preč. Ty len kľudne stojíš a to z teba všetko zmýva.
144 Ovci nemusíte hovoriť: „Ty musíš vyprodukovať ..." To je to, čo sa dnes deje s letničnými. To sa deje dnes s celým kresťanstvom. Snažia sa niečo vyprodukovať. Ovcu neprosia, aby vyprodukovala vlnu; ona nesie vlnu. Vy nesiete ovocie Ducha. Nehovoríte: „Sláva Bohu, musím sčernieť v tvári, musím robiť toto, musím prežiť nejakú senzáciu, musím tancovať v Duchu a potom to mám." Nie, nie, och. Len sa znovuzroď a to sa skutočne bude diať samé. Nemusíš hovoriť: „Musím študovať celú noc, musím robiť toto, musím robiť tamto, musím sa pripojiť ku tomuto a musím prijať toto vyznanie, musím toto odpykať?" Nie, nie. Len zomri, to je všetko. Vidíte? Buď znovuzrodený, a to prichádza zvnútra a stará sa o to, čo je vonku. Vidíte? Fŕkať ich trochu vodou a umývať, to je niečo, ako premieňať prasa na baránka, to nedokážete. Ale keď je on vo vnútri baránok, potom už viacej nie je prasa. Vidíte? Je to tvrdá poznámka - ale ja nie som vzdelaný, to som len povedal ako príklad.
145 Viete, to je ... Rozmýšľal som, keď som raz čítal život Jána Krstiteľa, čo on povedal, ako ich nazval? „Vy plemä vreteníc!" Prečo? On vyrastal na púšti. On vedel, čo to boli vretenice. Dupnite nohou a oni sa skryjú. „Vy plemeno vreteníc." A tiež: „Sekera je priložená na koreň stromu." Strom, vretenice, sekery, on hovoril o tom, čo poznal. Takto sa učíte poznávať Boha, podľa toho, čo poznáte. Vidíte, prasa a baránok, nedá sa vôbec nič ... Nemôžete spraviť ... Môžete to prasa umyť a robiť s ním všetko, čo len chcete, stále je to prasa. Ono sa musí znovu narodiť, prv, ako môže byť baránkom.
146 Skratky! Dnes večer, dnes sú tam vonku, správajú sa .. (Och.) A na druhý deň chcú už kázať. Letniční im to tiež dovolia. Áno. Oni chcú skratky do neba. „Haleluja, všetko, čo musím urobiť, je len kľaknúť si sem a vôbec o ničom nemyslieť a hovoriť: Haleluja, haleluja, mám Eliášov plášť. Zajtra pôjdem a budem vyháňať démonov. Haleluja, haleluja. Mám to! Chvála Bohu, idem!" Oni chcú skratky do neba a nesú so sebou toľko sveta, koľko len môžu. Nemôžete niesť žiadnu z tých vecí. Neexistujú žiadne skratky. Poďte cestou Golgoty. Poďte cestou medeného oltára. Poďte cestou medeného hada. Zomrite! Skutočne zomrite. Ó, Bože, prečo to nemôžem povedať správne? Zomrite! Zomrite doslovne sebe samému. Zomrite veciam tohoto sveta a nanovo sa narodíte. Amen. Žiaden svet, veci tohoto sveta sú mŕtve. Nie sú žiadne skratky. Vidíte, ľudia chcú prísť veľmi rýchlo. Nechcú rásť. My rastieme v Pánovi. Je potrebný rast a prežitie.
147 Teraz hovoria ľuďom tam na západnom pobreží: „Ó, máme večný krst. Keď vás pokrstíme vo vode, hneď tam sa premieňate na mladého muža a na mladú ženu. Tak veru. Začínate sa ..." Majú Eliášov plášť, majú zamanifestovaných synov Božích. „Áno, brat, Boh práve teraz manifestuje synov, manifestuje." Hovoria im všetko o tomto. „Dnes ste hriešnici a zajtra ste zamanifestovaní synovia Boží." Nezmysel! Kde ste niečo také videli v Slove? Deti sa nerodia ako dospelí muži. Oni sa rodia ako deti a vyrastajú na mužov.
na zdokonaľovanie svätých ku dielu služby, na budovanie tela Kristovho,
až by sme všetci dospeli v jednotu viery a plného poznania Syna Božieho, v dokonalého muža, k miere dospelosti plnosti Kristovej
aby sme už neboli viacej nedospelými, zmietaní vlnami a sem a tam nosení každým vetrom učenia, závratníctvom ľudí, schytralosťou mámiť do bludu,
ale aby sme hovoriac pravdu v láske hovoriac pravdu v láske, rástli v neho ktorý je hlavou, Kristus
:
(Treba rásť v Neho.)149 Pamätám sa na prvé kázanie, ktoré som kázal. Zastal som si tam a myslel som si, že som to kázal naozaj dobre a všetky tie staré panie sedeli a trochu poplakávali, viete, a hovorili: „Ó, aký fajný chlapec."
150 Ten starý pastor, Dr. Davis, bol starý advokát. Išiel som dole a on povedal: „Chcel by som sa s tebou porozprávať tam v dome."
151 Povedal som: „Dobre." Išiel som tam na druhý deň. Viete, celý nadchnutý. Opýtal som sa: „Ako mi to išlo, Dr. Davis?"
Povedal: „To bolo to najbiednejšie, čo som kedy počul!"
Opýtal som sa: „Čo?"
On povedal: „Najhoršie, čo som kedy počul."
„Ó," povedal som, „brat Davis, všetci plakali."
152 On povedal: „Áno, ľudia plačú na pohreboch, plačú pri narodení dieťaťa a pri všetkom možnom." Povedal: „Čo to je, Billy, necitoval si ani kúsok z Božieho Slova. Rozprával si o nejakej matke, ktorá potom zomrela, či niečo takéto, a všetkých si dojal do plaču." Povedal: „Ľudia sa neznovuzrodia skrze také veci a senzácie tejto zeme; oni sa znovuzrodia zo Slova." Povedal: „Billy ..."
153 Ó, hneď mi vyrazil dych. Som rád, že to urobil. Vidíte? Vidíte? Nie vyskakovať hore-dole, vykrikovať, to nie je to. Život prichádza zo Slova. Slovo oživuje. Nie prežitie, Slovo!
154 On povedal: „Billy, pamätám sa na prvý prípad, ktorý som obhajoval." Povedal: „Búchal som po zábradlí." A povedal: „Povedal som, keď som sa díval na tú biednu ženu. Ó, keď som videl, ako muž s ňou zle zachádzal. Trochu som plakal a vytiahol som vreckovku a správal som sa tak, ako tí ostatní advokáti. Myslel som si, že mám mať také isté emócie. Povedal som: Sudca, vaša excelencia, prečo ju nerozvediete? Pozrite sa! Ona hovorí, že ju muž zbil po chrbte." On to ani nemohol vidieť, pod jej šatami. „On ju bil po chrbte. Prečo jej nedáte ..." Ten starý sudca tam len sedel a díval sa.
155 Ten starý advokát, ktorý sedel na druhej strane, už dorástol a povedal: „Sudca, vaša excelencia, koľko takýchto nezmyslov bude tento súd ešte trpieť?"
156 Len veľa predvádzania. Tak to robí príliš veľa ľudí. Príliš veľa sa ich predvádza a nemajú za tým dostatok Slova, ktoré by to podopieralo. Vzrastať! „Ó, on včera večer tancoval v Duchu, brat Branham, on je v poriadku." Ale, pre mňa to neznamená, že by kvôli tomu bol v poriadku. Nie veru. Musí rásť, byť dokázaný, skúšaný, vzrastať v Neho, byť dozretý.
157 Čítal som nedávno v histórii. (Nezaberám príliš veľa času?) Čítal som v histórii cirkvi. Zdá sa mi, že sestra Arnoldová mi raz povedala „amen", na niečo, čo som hovoril o histórii cirkvi, že ona to čítala. Díval som sa na to, kde sa písalo o jednom chlapcovi v nejakom kláštore za času sv. Martina, a tento chlapec povedal: „Pán ma urobil prorokom zo Starého Zákona. Som jeden z tých starodávnych prorokov." Dobre, nemôžem si spomenúť, ako sa tam volal ten biskup, tej malej školy - bola to len malá skupina ako táto tu. Nemôžem si teraz spomenúť na jeho meno, ale on bol vyučený pri Martinovi. Nezdalo sa mu to celkom v poriadku, tak tí ostatní bratia ho nechali tak. On hneď potom prorokoval. Povedal: „Dnes večer Boh zostúpi a dá mi biele rúcho, aby som sedel medzi vami a vy budete poznať, že som jedným zo Starozákonných prorokov." Tak tej noci, o dvanástej, sa to skutočne stalo. Bolo počuť hlasy, okolo chodili ľudia a ten chlapec dostal rúcho, hovorili, že bolo také biele, ako len mohlo byť. On vyšiel a povedal: „Či som vám nehovoril?" Povedal: „A teraz všetci robte to, čo vám budem hovoriť. Ja som starozákonný prorok."
158 Ale tomu starému biskupovi sa nezdalo, že by to bolo celkom v poriadku. Nebolo to podľa Slova. Prorokov nikto nerobí, oni sú predurčení. A prorok sa v prvom rade nebude takto správať. To ovocie dokazovalo, že to nebolo pravé. Vidíte? Ovocie dokazovalo, že to nebol prorok. Vidíte? Tak on povedal: „Strávime zbytok noci na pôste a na modlitbe a pri spievaní piesní." Prešiel deň alebo dva. Po nejakom čase ten starý biskup, keď sa modlil, povedal: „Pane, ten chlapec ... To rúcho, keď sa na to dívam," povedal, „nikdy som sa nestretol ... nič také som ešte nevidel." Prišli pisári a dívali sa a oni nikdy nič také nevideli. Bolo to tam. Nakoniec, oni poznali jedného muža, ktorý bol prorok, to bol Martin. Povedali: „Dobre, urob teraz jednu vec, aby si nás presvedčil. Podľa Písma si vedľa. Čo tak ísť ku Martinovi a postaviť sa pred ním a povedať mu to?"
On povedal: „Ó, ja mám zakázané postaviť sa pred Martina."
159 Ten, kto má dobré zlato, nemá strach ísť ku testovaciemu stroju (Je to tak.), ten kto má pravdu. Preto som urobil tú výzvu. Nech príde ktokoľvek a ukáže mi, kde ten krst v Mene Ježiša Krista je nesprávny. Nech mi ukáže toto narodenie, že musíte zomrieť, a ak máte v sebe stále svet, stále ste zo sveta. Ukážte mi tieto veci. Netreba sa strachovať ohľadne toho - zobrať to ku testovaciemu stroju. Tu je testovací stroj. Vidíte? Je to tak.
160 Tak oni povedali: „Aj tak tam pôjdeš." A niekoľkí tí bratia ho chytili a to rúcho zmizlo. Vidíte? Či by to dnes letniční nezjedli? Ó! Vyzeralo to ako skutočná vec, ale to nebolo zhodné so Slovom.
161 Martin povedal, že sa mu raz zjavil Satan, na hlave mal veľkú zlatú korunu, takto na nej tri alebo štyri rady hviezd, lesk a nádhera, veľký silný muž, pekný, statný, dôkladne učesaný a upravený, na sebe mal veľké nádherné rúcho a na nohách zlaté topánky. Prišiel a povedal: „Martin, poznáš ma?"
162 Pre ľudí, ktorí nevídajú videnia, toto možno ... možno tomuto nerozumiete, ale ako prichádzajú ku vám tie veci v rôznych duchoch, a aké sú zvodiace. Biblia hovorí, že by zviedli aj vyvolených, keby to bolo možné. Vyvolení - to sú tí, ktorí sa kvôli tomu narodili a boli na to predurčení. Vidíte.
163 Tak on prichádza ku týmto vyvoleným. On povedal: „Martin, poznáš ma? Ja som Kristus." On povedal: „Poznáš ma?" Martin váhal. Vyzeralo to divne. On chvíľu čakal a on znovu povedal: „Či ma nepoznáš? Ja som Kristus. Poznáš ma?" Povedal mu to tri alebo štyri krát.
164 Kristus povedal ... či vlastne, Martin povedal: Poznám ťa, Satan. Môj Pán nie je ešte korunovaný, ale Jeho svätí Ho budú korunovať." To je podložené Slovom.
165 Tam má rímsko-katolícka cirkev toľko dogiem, vchádzajú tam zlí duchovia, nezhodní so Slovom a oni musia zapierať Slovo, aby prijali svoju dogmu, a odchádzajú od Biblie. Stojte pri Slove! To je dnes niť života. Zakrátko povstanú duchy, ktoré zvedú takmer všetko. Biblia tak povedala. Ako Janes a Jambres sa stavali proti Mojžišovi, tak budú títo ľudia prevrátenej mysli čo do pravdy, budú robiť zázraky a všetky rôzne znamenia. Ale stojte pri tom Slove. Slovo Pánove prišlo ku prorokovi, a oni to priniesli, a my veríme prorokom.
166 Všimnite si, áno, on povedal: „Poznám ťa, Satan." Povedal: „Môj Pán nie je takýto veľký muž. Môj Pán odišiel a mal na sebe drsné staré rúcho, mal jazvy na rukách, nebol korunovaný, mal zakrvavené vlasy. A keď sa vráti, príde takto, lebo Biblia povedala, že sa vráti tak, ako odišiel." A to zmizlo zpred neho. Ó.
167 Ako on prichádza a robí to také nádherné. „Ó, oni hovorili v jazykoch. To sú najlepší ľudia, akých som kedy videl." Neverte tomu. Buďte opatrní.
168 Dúfam, že vás Slovo nenudí. Zrodení kresťania rastú do Kristovej postavy, keď žijú. Oni sú znovuzrodení, ich životy sa začali formovať, ako dieťa. Dostávajú formu a začínajú rásť. A zrazu zbadáte, že sú tu v plnej postave. Amen. Tu to máte. Deň za dňom, rok za rokom, zostávajú takí istí. Poďme teraz naspäť do Slova: „Keď zostanete vo Mne ..."
169 Oni hovoria: „Ja som sa znovuzrodil. Haleluja! Vstúpil som do ... do tohoto. Vstúpil som ... Neviem. Minulý rok som veril v meno Ježiša, odstúpil som od toho; teraz verím tomuto. Veril som, že musíte byť svätí, ale ... Ten a ten hovorí ..." Tuláci, nosení sem a tam každým vetrom učenia. Vidíte? Tu to máte.
170 Ale narodiť sa z Ducha a rásť do dospelej postavy Krista. Vidíš to, brat Dauch? Rásť do postavy Krista! Tvoj život potvrdzuje ... Ako keby si sa narodil ako prorok, zostaneš ním. Ak si sa narodil ako kresťan, zostaneš ním. „Ak zostanete vo Mne a moje slová vo vás ..." Toto vám dáva vzrastať do dospelej postavy Krista. Nie búchanie nejakého mladého advokáta, nariekanie, plakanie, vravieť toto, tamto, či niečo ďalšie, prejavovať množstvo emócií; ale niekto, kto narástol do dospelej postavy Krista, roky dozrieval a bol skúšaný, stál pri kormidle. Žiadna ... „Na Kristovi, na tej pevnej skale stojím a všetky ostatné základy sú topiacim sa pieskom. Nech denominácie a vyznania prichádzajú a odchádzajú, a tiež izmy. Daj mi zotrvávať v pokore, Pane, stáť pevne v Slove a ísť rovno vpred cez ten prúd. On nás privedie ku brehu. Plná postava.
171 Pozrite sa teraz, ak vidíme, ako to tu ide, a vy sa po smrti nemôžete zmeniť ... Pozorujte týchto ľudí, ktorí prišli, mali všetky tieto senzácie a všetko možné, vybehli a na druhý deň idú touto cestou. Videli ste to? Stovky z nich. Vidíte? A vidíte, čo sa deje. A teraz, čo ak tí ľudia zomrú v takom stave? Smrť nič na tom nezmení.
172 Tak, ó, kresťania, končím týmito slovami, dovoľte mi povedať toto. Obráťme sa ku Nemu a do Jeho Slova s celou úprimnosťou. Poďte pokorne, ako kresťania, a buďte znovuzrodení z Jeho Ducha. A keď ste znovuzrodení, ste potvrdení kresťan, ovocím, ktoré nesiete. Rozumieš to, sestra Peckenpaugh? Ste kresťania, skrze ovocie, ktoré nesiete. „Podľa ich ovocia ich poznáte." To je potvrdenie. Nemusíš poznať abecedu, ale aj tak môžeš byť dáma, kresťanka. Svet ťa môže nenávidieť. Keď ťa nenávidí, pretože si niečo urobil, má ťa za čo; ale ak ťa nenávidí kvôli Nemu, to je iné.
173 Nemusíš byť teológ. Pozrite sa na toho slepého muža, ktorý sa slepý narodil. Ježiš ho uzdravil. On sa narodil ... od narodenia nemal ani očné buľvy. A Ježiš mu dal zdravie, uzdravil ho. A keď ten človek začal vidieť a tí farizejovia sa ho vypytovali, povedali: „Kto to bol?" Oni nemohli poprieť, že sa niečo stalo. No, ten človek nebol teológ. On nemohol argumentovať, ako to robia kazatelia, drobnými technickými vecami. On im to nevedel vysvetliť. On nepoznal Zákon. On nevedel, ako sa má narodiť Mesiáš, a o skutkoch, ktoré má robiť. Ten človek to nepoznal. On nebol teológ. Ale čo urobil? Oni povedali: „Daj chválu Bohu. My sme teológovia a my vieme, že On je hriešnik."
174 A teraz ten človek nemohol zaprieť ich slovo, ale tu je to, čo on povedal, inými slovami: „Ak je On hriešnik a urobil toto, tak čo je potom s vami? Čo je s vami všetkými?" On povedal: „Či je ten človek hriešnik alebo nie, ja neviem. To ja neviem povedať. Ale toto jedno viem, že som bol slepý a teraz vidím." Čo on robil? On bol potvrdený. Je to tak. On zostal potvrdený. Niečo sa s ním stalo. Bol premenený z tmy do svetla, zo slepoty do zraku.
175 A človek, ktorý sa narodil z Ducha Božieho - ktorý mal raz formu pobožnosti a zapieral Slovo a jeho moc a hovoril, že dni zázrakov pominuli - keď je znovuzrodený, nemusí byť učený, nemusí byť schopný to vysvetliť, ale tomu verí.
176 Ako ... Ak mi moji čierni bratia a sestry odpustia, že toto poviem, jeden starý dobrý brat dole na juhu, ľudia o ňom rozprávali taký príbeh. Hovorili, že nosil Bibliu a nevedel prečítať ani svoje meno. A jeden mu povedal: „Mose, prečo nosíš tú Bibliu?"
Povedal: „To je Slovo Božie."
Oni povedali: „Dobre, a veríš tomu?"
177 On povedal: „Áno, ja tomu skutočne verím." Povedal: „Verím tomu od obalu po obal a tiež verím tomu, čo je na tom obale, pretože tam je napísané Svätá Biblia."
178 Povedali mu: „Ako vieš, že je to Svätá Biblia?" Povedali: „Ako to vieš?"
179 On povedal: „Jednoducho tomu verím. To je všetko!" To je všetko, čo musel mať. On tomu jednoducho veril. Nevedel prečo, ale veril tomu.
180 Oni mu povedali: „Mose, urobíš všetko, čo káže Biblia?"
„Áno, samozrejme," povedal. „Ak tak Biblia hovorí, tak to urobím." Tu to máte.
181 Ten mu povedal: „Dobre, Mose." Povedal: „No, čo ak tam ten kamenný plot tam, keby ti Pán povedal, aby si preskočil cez ten kamenný plot?"
182 On povedal: „Či Biblia hovorí, aby Mose preskočil cez ten kamenný plot?"
183 On povedal: „No, čo ak by Boh prehovoril ku tebe a povedal ti, aby si preskočil cez ten kamenný plot?"
On povedal: „Keby to bol Boh a On by mi povedal, aby som preskočil, tak preskočím."
184 On povedal: „Ako by si sa dostal cez ten plot, keď v ňom nie je diera?"
185 On povedal: „Keby to bol Boh, On by tam urobil dieru, keby tam Mose mal prejsť." A to je pravda. Je to tak!
186 Odvážte sa zobrať Božie Slovo a stojte tam a hovorte, že je to tak! Nech tu táto malá biedna nervózna žena, ona si myslí, že ide zomrieť, že je chorá na všetko možné, vidíte ... Nejdeš zomrieť! Povieš: „Ako to môžem urobiť, brat Branham?" Zober len Jeho Slovo a postav sa raz naň. Stoj na tom Slove a uvidíš, čo sa bude diať. Povedz diablovi, že je klamár. Bola si v prechodoch po všetky tieto roky, máš okolo päťdesiatsedem rokov. Odstúp od toho, to je diabol! Chyť sa Božieho Slova a povedz: „Jeho sinavicami som uzdravená." Dívaj sa, čo sa bude diať. Potom prestaneš myslieť, že máš srdcovú porážku a všetko možné. Nemáš žiadnu srdcovú porážku, ani nič z toho. To je klamstvo. Nemáš to. Ver len Božiemu Slovu. To je ono.
187 Keď ste znovuzrodení, Boh vás potvrdzuje. Takto, ako Boh potvrdzuje celú Svoju prírodu. Čím? Ovocím. Takto On potvrdzuje Svoju službu. Je to tak. Všetci Jeho sluhovia sú potvrdení tak isto, ako On potvrdzuje prírodu. Ako viete, že toto je broskyňa? Pretože nesie broskyne. Podľa čoho poznáte, že to je jabloň? Nesie jablká. Podľa čoho poznáte, že to je kresťan? Nesie znaky kresťana, vychádza z neho kresťanský život. Ako viete, že to je učiteľ? Vychádza z neho Slovo. Ako viete, že to je prorok? Prichádza cez neho Slovo, nesie svedectvo, potvrdenie. Samé sa to dokazuje. Ako sa to tým stane? Keď to zomrie a stane sa tým. Je to tak. Keď zomrieme a staneme sa novým stvorením v Kristovi Ježišovi, to nás privádza ku nášmu povolaniu, stojíme pri svojom povolaní. Keď sme jeho sluhovia, nasleduje nás ovocie Ducha. Keď sme znovuzrodení, nasleduje nás ovocie Kristovho života. Je to tak. Ako viete, že je to broskyňa. Má broskyne. Ako viete, že to je kresťan? Správa sa ako Kristus, chodí ako Kristus, rozpráva ako Kristus, žije ako Kristus, preč od hriechu, víťazne. Keď niečo urobí, či hovorí: „Pozrite, čo som ja vykonal?" Kristus to nerobil. On dával všetku chválu Otcovi. Je to tak. Takto to poznáte - podľa ich ovocia ich budete poznať.
188 „Amen, amen vám hovorím, ak sa človek znovu nenarodí, nemôže porozumieť kráľovstvo Božie:"
189 Tak to tu, od dvanásť tridsať alebo od dvanásť štyridsať do jednej, nie je moje Novoročné posolstvo, ale toto je moja rada pre vás, kresťania, ktorí milujete Boha. Keď prichádzate na Boží súdny, medený oltár, a chcete sa znovuzrodiť, položte sa len naň. Neočakávajte, že znovu povstanete - idete zomrieť. To je váš koniec. Hotovo. Ak to nerobíte, ak sa necítite, že by ste to mohli urobiť, tak sa nesnažte znovuzrodiť, nebude to fungovať - to musí byť hlboko, úprimne. Mám tu ešte okolo desať strán poznámok, miesta Písma, k tejto lekcii alebo viacej, ale končím. Ale položte sa na Boží medený oltár Božieho súdu a stanete sa takí mŕtvi pre svet, ako bol Kristus. Vidíte? Stanete sa práve tak mŕtvi ako ten odsúdený had v záhrade Eden, ktorý bol reprezentovaný vo forme medeného hada, nebol v ňom vôbec žiadny život. Všetok jeho život bol preč. Kristus bol bez života, oni Ho zložili z kríža a pochovali Ho v hrobe. Bol mŕtvy. A potom vstal na naše ospravedlnenie. A my sme zomreli s naším Baránkom na oltári a znovu sme povstali v Jeho ospravedlnení. Ako to vieme? Pretože Jeho život, ktorý vzkriesil Jeho z toho mŕtveho stavu, ten istý život kriesi nás z nášho mŕtveho stavu sveta do nového stvorenia v Kristovi Ježišovi, a potom skrze Ducha Svätého sme zapečatení do Božieho kráľovstva až do dňa nášho vykúpenia.
190 „Amen, amen vám hovorím, ak sa človek nenarodí znovu, nemôže porozumieť kráľovstvu Božiemu." Nesnažte sa tomu rozumieť. Nikdy to nedokážete. Ježiš povedal, že nie. Len to prijmite. Prijmite to na základe Jeho Slova.
191 Nechoďte teraz v slepote a nehovorte: „Ó, Pane, daj mi nejakú senzáciu. Pane, poviem Ti ... „ Nie. Povedzte len: „Pane, zabi ma, odstráň zo mňa ten svet. Stále milujem veci tohoto sveta." Nemyslím stvorenie, západ slnka a krásu, a takéto veci. To nie to, o čom hovorím. Mám na mysli žiadosť, špinu, svetský poriadok, všetky tieto veci sveta. Proste ... oni zomierajú, proste automaticky zomierajú a už sa vás viacej nedržia. Začne vám to smrdieť. Vykríknete: „Och, proste nechápem, ako v tom ľudia môžu žiť!" Čím viacej to vidíte, tým vám je z toho horšie! Tak veru. Nedokážete s tým robiť kompromis. Nemáte miesto na kompromis. Pre vás tam nie je miesto, keď je tam svet. Ste mŕtvi tým veciam. A ako môžete, keď ste raz mŕtvi pre ten svet, a potom sa znovu spolčovať s tými vecami? To sa nedá. Tak to nerobte. Zomrite veciam tohoto sveta.
192 Nech vás Pán žehná. Buďte znovuzrodení kresťania. Buďte znovuzrodení, potom nemusíte hovoriť: „To je pre mňa najťažšia vec (vy ženy) nechať si rásť vlasy." „To je pre mňa najťažšie zanechať moju prchlivosť (muži). Chlapče, musím proste povedať svojej žene. Chytil som ju a zatriasol s ňou a povedal som: Viem, som kresťan, nemal by som toto robiť, ale buď ticho a sadni si." Nerobte to. Rozumiete?
193 Radi by ste videli také chvíle, keď by ste ju objali a povedali: „Drahá, to sa na kresťanku nesluší." Takto by ste to chceli robiť, však? Môžete byť takí. A keď ťa niekto udrie po jednom líci, nemusíš na neho vyťahovať nôž. Ak ťa niekto udrie po jednom líci, povieš: „Brat, prečo si to urobil?" Tu to máte. To je kresťanstvo. Keď povie niekto niečo zlé na teba, namiesto toho, aby si sa snažil urobiť z toho veľké divadlo, odídeš niekde a povieš: „Nebeský Otče, ten človek je smrteľník. Prosím, aby si zobral od neho toho ducha. Nenechaj ho, aby to tak robil. Prosím Ťa, spas jeho život."
194 Nehovor: „Pane, viem, že to nemám hovoriť." Dobre, možno si to nepovedal svojimi ústami, ale si to myslel vo svojom srdci. Vidíte? Ide o tvoje srdce. Keď si znovuzrodený z Ducha Božieho, skutočne každého miluješ. No nemiluješ ich cesty a takéto veci, nechceš mať v tom diel. To nie. Stoj z ďaleka od vecí tohoto sveta, zostávaj nepoškvrnený. A to dokážeš jedine vtedy, keď to vychádza zvnútra von, tak ako si holubica udržuje svoje perie. Rozumiete? Ona si ho nemusí udržiavať tým, že bude hovoriť: „No, dnes si musím toto všetko povytierať." Takto nejako. Nie. Ona má v sebe vo vnútri olej, pretože je holubica, proste si ho udržiava čisté. Vidíte? Je to tak.
195 Chceli by ste to? Chceli by ste Ho takto prijať? To je to, o čom vás presviedčam v tento Novoročný predvečer. O čom presviedčam toto malé zhromaždenie. Ako vás milujem, ako milujem túto malú skupinu ľudí. Ako rád by som tu raz prišiel, prešiel cez túto sálu a len sa díval. Viete, čo si stále prajem vidieť? Zbor naplnený Duchom, že by nikde naokolo neobstál hriech. Len čo jeden člen urobí niečo zle, Duch by to hneď povedal. On by sa bál pripojiť ku kresťanom skôr, ako by to vyznal a dal do poriadku, pretože hneď by bol vyvolaný na zhromaždení, keď sa spolu zídete. Vidíte? Či by to nebolo nádherné? Keby prišiel niekto nečistý a sadol by si medzi vás, prvé, čo by ste zbadali, že Duch Svätý hovorí takým spôsobom, že zjavuje tajomstvá ich srdca, (Vidíte?) hovorí ku nim. No, ak to bude fungovať na jednom, bude to fungovať na druhom. Vidíte? A každý sa modlí, všetci v jednote, ako jedna osoba, proste jedna osoba, ako sme my všetci členovia tohoto tela, ktoré ide dopredu. Všetci znovuzrodení z Ducha Božieho, naplnení tým istým Duchom, pokrstení v to isté telo. Nebolo by to nádherné? No, môžeme to mať. Boh nám to zasľúbil. Ale prv, smrť, pohreb a vzkriesenie s Ním.
196 Skloňme svoje hlavy a pomodlime sa. Ležia tu tiež nejaké vreckovky.
197 Svätý Bože, uvedomujeme si, Pane, aké je to posvätné stáť na tomto mieste. Uvedomujeme si, že sme v dome Božom. Spájame sa s telom Kristovým, ktoré je domom Božím. Členovia tohoto tela sú spolu zhromaždení. Jeden prichádza z jedného miesta a druhý z druhého a schádzajú sa spolu. A dnes, na tejto lekcii nedeľnej školy, ktorá bola dlhá a pretiahnutá. Ale, Otče, verím, že Ty si ju naplánoval, aby to takto bolo, aby sme mohli porozumieť, čo znamená narodenie a vzkriesenie, čo to znamená narodiť sa znovu. Musíme, to prvé je, že musíme zomrieť, aby sme sa mohli znovuzrodiť. Ty nikdy nemeníš svoje zákony. Zákon prírody stále platí. Zákon prírody je, že každé semeno musí prv zomrieť, aby sa mohlo znovu narodiť. A uvedomujeme si, že my tiež musíme zomrieť, aby sme sa mohli znovu narodiť. A, Pane, dnes tak veľa (prosím, aby si nám odpustil), tak veľa ľudí spočíva na nejakom prežití, ktoré mali, na základe ktorého tvrdia, že sa znovuzrodili. Ale ovocie ich života ukazuje, že narástli na zlom strome.
198 To bol môj dôvod, Otče, keď som sa dnes ráno pýtal, či brat Neville chce, aby som priniesol posolstvo, učil som proste nedeľnú školu. A tak, Otče, urobil som to s láskou a z celého svojho srdca, aby ľudia mohli vedieť, že ... aby neodpočívali na nejakých drobných prežitiach, ktoré mali, ale aby slávnostne odpočívali na svojom každodennom živote; ako žijú v tých časoch, keď sú v zbore, a ako žijú, keď prichádza vonku to veľké napnutie. Utiekajú sa ku krížu o pomoc, keď povstávajú problémy, alebo chodia vo svojom vlastnom duchu a vo vlastných myšlienkach? Odplácajú nadávkou za nadávku? To je to, Otče. A keď vidíme, že je úplne nemožné, aby niekto z nás niekoho spasil, že Boh má pripravenú cestu a plne dostatočnú obeť a to je jediná cesta, ktorou môžeme prísť, nie skrze nejakú cirkev, nie skrze nejaké vyznanie, nejakú denomináciu, nejakú senzáciu, ale Kristovou cestou. Tak, ako zomrel ten prvý spravodlivý človek, on zomrel na oltári so svojím baránkom. A až do tejto hodiny, každý ďalší spravodlivý musí zomrieť na medenom Božom oltári, so svojím Baránkom, Ježišom Kristom. Potom sme mŕtvi s Ním a znovu sme povstali v novom živote. Udeľ nám to, Pane, aby to tu žiadne srdce neprehliadlo.
199 Pane, daj, aby sme to dnes porozumeli, keď sa sem znovu dnes popoludní o pol ôsmej vrátime, aby sme tu priniesli sériu posolstiev, ktoré budeme dnes večer kázať. Prosím, aby si požehnal každého Tvojho sluhu dnes večer mocným posolstvom, Pane. Udeľ nám to. Nech sú naše duše naplnené. Títo ľudia, ktorí prešli takú dlhú cestu, aby tu boli, nech by boli tak naplnení evanjeliom moci Božej tento Novoročný predvečer, že pôjdu odtiaľto šťastní a radostní. Udeľ to, Pane, daj im duchovný pokrm na tento prichádzajúci rok. Udeľ nám to.
200 Odpusť nám naše previnenia, ako my odpúšťame tým, ktorí sa previnia proti nám. A Ty si povedal: „Ak vy zo srdca neodpustíte každému jeho previnenia, ani váš nebeský Otec neodpustí vám." Tak, Pane, odpúšťame každému. Vierou kladieme dnes ráno naše duše na oltár. Vypáľ z nás každý kúsok svetského života, Pane. Nech vystúpi dym z našej obeti, Pane, a nech je príjemnou vôňou v tvojich nozdrách. Sprav to, Pane, keď neskladáme zápalnú obeť baránka, ale kladieme sa sami ako hriešnici, aby sme boli spálení ako hriešnici a premenení na znovuzrodených baránkov. Sprav to, Pane.
201 Neuvoď nás potom do pokušenia, ale zbav nás od zlého - od zla nemocí, od zla skľúčeností. Uzdrav každého, kto je dnes ráno v tejto budove. Nech je dnes uzdravená každá chorá osoba, Pane. Hovorím tieto slová v mene Pána Ježiša, aby tie hory, ktoré ležia pred ľuďmi, nech sú dnes všetky odsunuté. Ak je to choroba, ak je to zlá žiadosť, ak je to hnev, ak je to čokoľvek z toho sveta, nech je to odsunuté z cesty a nech Slovo Božie vojde dovnútra a nech sa prejaví v ich živote. Zbav nás od zlého, Pane, lebo Tvoje je kráľovstvo a moc a sláva naveky. Amen.
Milujem Ho, milujem Ho,
lebo On prv miloval mňa,
a vykúpil mi spasenie
na Golgote.
(Potrasme si teraz navzájom ruky.)
Milujem Ho, ...
(Obráťte sa len okolo seba a povedzte: „Pozdravujem ťa, môj brat, pozdravujem ťa!")
Pretože On prv miloval mňa
a vykúpil mi spasenie
na Golgote. (Hrajte ďalej.)
202 Chcem vám všetkým poďakovať za vašu láskavosť v tomto minulom roku. Pravdepodobne budem dnes večer kázať svoje posolstvo, ak Pán dá o pol ôsmej. Chcem poďakovať Charliemu a Nellie a Rodneymu a jeho žene za ich láskavosť, bol som tam u nich cez sezónu poľovania a oni sa ku mne správali, ako keby som bol ich otec alebo brat. Ďakujem vám všetkým, ktorí ste boli ku mne takí láskaví. Ďakujem bratovi a sestre Dauchovcom a bratovi Palmerovi a vám všetkým z Georgii a všetkým všade okolo.
203 Mimochodom, Margiin otec, včera volali a hovorili, že je chorý. Je tu Margie a Rodney? Nie sú. Ako sa má ten starý človek? [Nejaký brat v zhromaždení hovorí: „Možno, že je mu trochu lepšie." – pozn.prekl.] Pomodlime sa.
204 Nebeský Otče, pred niekoľkými týždňami som sedel vo verande, v tej krajine, keď som išiel do Kentucky. Sedel tam starý otec v montérkach a vo vyblednutej modrej košeli a triasol sa. Chytil som ho za ruku a videl som, že je blízko konca. Tá stará matka ma pozvala dovnútra na koláč a omáčku. Pane, oni mali úctu pred Tvojím Slovom. On je ledva medzi nami, opúšťa nás. Nedaj, aby zomrel ako hriešnik, Pane. Možno, že to bola naša ... Pane, chyba tvojich sluhov. Ten biedny starý muž, nepozná nič okrem rozbíjania hrúd a tým zadovažuje živobytie pre svoje deti, ale videl som v ňom dobrého milého ducha. Nedaj, aby zomrel ako hriešnik. Jeho dcéra je jedna z nás, Pane. A ako táto Margie, boleli ju ruky, a ako mi ona poslúžila a snažila sa pripraviť mi posteľ, aby som tam mohol prespať, a raňajky pri stole, a ona a Nellie a Charlie a všetci, matka Coxová. A telefonovali, že plače, otec jej zomiera. To je jej otec.
205 Pane, príď teraz ku tomu kyslíkovému stanu. Neklep na ten stan, ale na stan, na dvere jeho srdca. Možno sme my niektorí nevyplnili svoju povinnosť, Pane, aby sme išli za ním, niektorí tvoji sluhovia, možno vtedy keď bol ešte mladý, keď jeho myseľ bola bdelá. Možno je to naša chyba, Pane, že sme ho nepresvedčili. Odpusť nám potom, Pane, a vezmi ho do Svojho kráľovstva. Sprav to, Otče. Porúčame ho teraz Tebe. A ak to bude možné, alebo ak je to v Tvojom veľkom pláne, ak ho pozdvihneš, Pane, nech by mal niekto z nás príležitosť ešte s ním hovoriť. Jednako, prosíme o jeho dušu, Pane, pretože ona sa zakrátko vydá na svoju cestu, tak to vyzerá, bude sa plaviť tam do neznáma, ó, bez pilota, nikto ho neprevedie tam cez tie hmlisté miesta. On zablúdi, Pane. Nech by ten pilot, ktorý pozná tú cestu, prišiel ku nemu dnes ráno, zakotvil jeho malú loď na druhom brehu na tej starej lodi na Sion. Keď sa vydá na cestu, bude si istý, že bezpečne dopláva. Sprav to, Otče. Porúčame ho teraz Tebe, v mene Ježiša Krista. Amen.
Milujem Ho, milujem Ho (Zodvihnime ruky),
lebo On prv miloval mňa
a vykúpil mi spasenie
na Golgote.
206 Dnes večer sa budem snažiť byť trochu rýchlejší s posolstvom, než ako som bol teraz ráno. A teraz sa rozídeme. Prajem si, aby som vás všetkých mohol zobrať ku mne domov a dať vám všetkým dobrú večeru. Naozaj by som to rád urobil, keby som mohol. Ale dúfam, že Pán vám dáva dobré jedlo, duchovne hovorím, v Jeho dobrote a milosti; že to budete vidieť a budete rásť do plnej postavy Toho, ktorého milujete, vášho Spasiteľa, Ježiša Krista. A teraz, keď opúšťame túto budovu a stojíme, aby sme sa pomodlili, rozpustili zhromaždenie, chceme spievať našu pieseň a byť si istí, že to poslúchate: „Ber so sebou Meno Ježiš." Chceme ešte povedať oznámenie za chvíľu, len čo zaspievame pieseň, máme oznámenie. Dobre.
Ber so sebou meno Ježiš,
dieťa starostí a žiaľu,
dá ti radosť a pokoj,
ber ho všade, kde pôjdeš.
Nádherné meno (nádherné meno), Ó, aké sladké! (Ó, aké sladké) Nádej zeme a radosť neba.
Nádherné meno, ó, aké sladké! (ó, aké sladké!)
Nádej zeme a radosť neba.
Ber so sebou meno Ježiš,
ako štít pred každou pascou (Počúvajte teraz. Čo?)
Keď sa pokušenia nahromadia (Čo urobíš?).
Zašepkaj len to sväté meno v modlitbe.
Nádherné meno, ó, aké sladké!
Nádej zeme a radosť neba;
Nádherné meno (nádherné meno),
Ó, aké sladké! (aké sladké)
Nádej zeme a radosť neba.
207 Pamätajte teraz, verím, že Ježiš toto hovorí každému človeku vo svojej prvej náuke: „Ak sa človek nenarodí z vody (to je Slovo, umývaní vodou Slova) a z Ducha (a to je Duch Svätý, Duch Svätý potvrdzuje Slovo), nemôže vidieť kráľovstvo nebeské." Veríte tomu? „Vodou," umytí vodou Slova, Slovom a pravdou, On je pravda. „Voda a Duch," Duch prichádza so Slovom, aby potvrdzoval Slovo, robí, že Boh žije vo mne. Vidíte? My nemôžeme rozumieť kráľovstvo nebeské, kým sa toto nestane. Potom, keď sa toto začne diať, vidíme Slovo v nás, narodení sme zo Slova a z Ducha - samé sa to manifestuje, neodvádza ma to preč od Slova ... Duch ma vedie do Slova a Slovo žije vo mne, manifestuje Boha v tvojom živote ... inak nikdy nebudeš rozumieť kráľovstvu Božiemu a nijakým spôsobom nebudeš môcť vojsť do neho. Nech vás Boh žehná. Brat Neville.
1 ... New Year's Eve morning in the service of the Lord. And Brother Neville and I was trying to get together, and we were, on speaking, what we would do. I was trying to get him to get up here and preach this morning for you all, and let me have it tonight, so it happened to root off, I have both this morning and tonight to do it. He's a good salesman. And so before we have the--start the class, I told him we'd just have a class, like there wasn't too many of us here this morning, and just to have a class. Before I do this, I'd like to make a little announcement.
2 I has--we have some people who came here from New York to sojourn with us. I suppose I never met the people. Brother Neville said he just spoke about it. Last night I heard that they'd--their trailer caught fire and destroyed their trailer. I went out to see the people, and seemed to be lovely, fine Christian people. And they kinda poor people, like all of us, and Brother Wood and two or three of us was going to get together and see if we couldn't just buy them another trailer. And they were very sweet and said they--the insurance that they had been carrying on it, they'd got in a tight place and they had to drop the insurance. But, however, the agent had paid the insurance policy, or, and they got--get their insurance back for their trailer, which will probably be able to replace the trailer again. They'll know that, I think, Monday or Tuesday, or something like that, or Tuesday, I believe it is. And so we want to--to share their sorrow, to do everything that we can to--to help them, to let them know that we--we are brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, and have feelings one for another. And--and I think that each one would want to feel that way to a little help to them at this time. It's a little out of ordinary, I think; I never took an offering in my life, and I--I'm going to let Brother Neville do it. So... That--that was bumping it off, wasn't it? It's all right. Thank you, Brother Ben. Just someone, what, just a little something that you have that you could drop to them, I'm sure it would be appreciated. Brother Neville, come here. I don't know how to. You just do whatever you think. [Brother Neville prays and takes the offering--Ed.] Amen.
3 I thought maybe while they were doing that, it would give me a little opportunity to pick out something to talk about this morning out of some old texts and things I had write out on a piece of paper. I guess all preachers do that.
What's these people's name now that they call? Elliott. Is Brother and Sister Elliott and their son in the building this morning? If they are, if you would just like to stand up to say, I... to say, as much as thank you for the--to the people, why, all right. Got a word you want to say, Brother Elliott or Sister Elliott, in the--to the people? [Brother Elliott expresses their thankfulness--Ed.] God bless you, Brother Elliott. That's very fine. Thank you; God be with you, you and Sister Elliott and your son.
4 The people come from New York. I didn't know they were here. They said I'd had them on a interview, or either prayed with them or something, sometime. I didn't know them, till I met them yesterday, and found them to be sweet Christians, very nice people. And they lived up in New York, up in the Hudson River Valley somewhere, and maybe through a tape or something they believed the Message and sold out, moved in, just giving their lives and times over to Christ. And we want you to know this is our little expression, Brother and Sister Elliott, that we are sojourners too. We are pilgrims and strangers in this world. We're seeking a city whose Builder and Maker is God. And when misfortune fell to you upon these things, of the devil trying to burn you out and scare you away, we're with you one hundred percent, to stand behind you in everything that we can do to help you back to your feet again. Rise in the Name of the Lord Jesus and go marching on. Don't--don't take down, no. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but God delivereth them out of them all. And so we--we know we look for these things to happen, but we know that we also look to our Saviour Who is more than a conqueror, we are, in Him Who has redeemed us.
5 Now, today is a kind of a full day, and this morning I was thinking there, I just thought I'd teach awhile in a Sunday school class. Like, make it a Sunday school class out of it this morning. And tonight at seven-thirty, I want to, if it be the will of God, to bring my--my New Year's message, as last Sunday or Sunday night I brought my Christmas message. And tonight I'll bring my New Year's message at seven-thirty, the Lord willing. Brother Neville will have his New Year's message, and I see Brother Stricker over here, and Brother Collins, and, oh, other ministers around, and Brother Palmer's up here with us from Georgia, and--and different ones around. It's ministers, you'll be hearing from them tonight.
6 Then I called Brother Neville yesterday, and on something that struck my heart, seeing this is New Year's, and is also the first, like the first Sunday, why not, tonight, instead of having a big rally and hollering and going on like the rest of the world does, let's take communion at midnight (See, see?), serve the Lord. Brother Neville agreed that he thought it would be very appropriate. And tonight, the Lord willing, I'll be serving communion at twelve o'clock tonight. And we'll start the New Year, not by hollering and going on, which it's all right if they want to do that, but let's just make it more sacred and sincere, and let's approach this year in the way of sincerity to Christ, giving our all that we've got, and our pledge. Not turn a new page or something like that, start a new year, we don't believe in that stuff. You only turn a new page to--to blow it back the next day, so let's just turn our lives over to Him, and take communion tonight at midnight. And I believe that's the first time that I ever remember, since I been a minister, of ever doing it. You remember it, Brother Neville? But something new for us now, and it's very seldom that New Year's comes around like this, you know, so just--just struck me, and I thought it would be striking.
7 I suppose then this will be about last time I'll be able to speak with you all for some time now, I'm entering in the New Year, entering out into the field on the service of the Lord. I'll be leaving about next week, or first of the following week to Phoenix, for about fifteen, sixteen meetings straight, all through the valleys, and up through Sunnyslope, and Scottsdale, and all around out through the valleys there. And then we have the Christian Business Men's Convention that comes off there, which is a five-day convention at the end of all these meetings. They have arranged so that I could speak to all the denominations, every one of their churches throughout the entire metropolitan area of the Maricopa Valley in Phoenix. And they begin on the fifteenth. So I'll leave here about ten days early, in order... I stop probably to see my good friend, Brother Moore, and several of them going down. Then it'll be snowy across the passes, and so forth, and go in time. And then I... Many of you people are ministers...
8 And Brother Roy Borders, if he's here this morning, he usually keeps in order the meetings as they call for meetings. And during this Christmas holidays, well, I usually make an itinerary of where the following year, but this year somehow I felt not to do that. I feel that I'll go and have one meeting, and then where He leads me to the next meeting I'll go from there, and then from the next meeting, wherever it is, just go as He leads me.
9 And looking now for something to take place during this year... And many visions has been coming to me recently. The other morning a great one again and all pertaining and looking like a great something fixing to happen. So I just keep trusting Him. Some of them I don't even understand. And we don't understand visions; they're more like symbolically and we don't get them just exactly sometimes, but we know that they are true, anyhow. So they will come to pass. I write them down.
10 And so I believe it's announced also, or which should be, that both the trustee board and the deacon board is to meet here at the Tabernacle in a union, joint meeting, seven o'clock tomorrow night. Now, let me announce that again so if the deacons, wherever they, if they're in the other room they might hear on the little mike that tomorrow night at seven o'clock, both pastor--both the pastor, the deacon board and trustees, I was just told a few moments ago that they were to meet tomorrow night. And Brother Neville wants to see his deacon board and talk to them, and the trustees has their regular meeting time, and so they will meet together tomorrow night.
11 Now, this morning, before we approach the Word, now, oh, let's not be in no hurry about anything. You got all day today, and tonight and tomorrow, let's just take our time and--and not rush these things through. 'Course I know people gets tired or worn out, and, or, wants to go home, you know, for their--hurry, got their dinner, and their husband's waiting for it. Why, then, that's--that's all right, just slip out quietly. And--and--and the rest of you wants to stay, all right. And we don't... You don't have to work tomorrow now, and so we just take our time. And that's the reason I thought instead of preaching just for about three or four hours, I'd take eight or ten hours on a teaching. You see?
12 All those people from Georgia and Alabama made me feel so great the other night. I believe I was out by the office, and all was gone but Billy, and he said... Brother West and them, which are very sweet loyal friends (I don't see them here, but I suppose they're here.) called up and said, "Well, is Brother Branham going to have the Sunday School, Sunday morning?" And it freezing in Louisville; the news said they're blocking the highways in and out, and slick on the roads.
Billy said, "Well, it's a possibility." Said, "He goes down there." Said, "Maybe Brother Neville or him, one..."
Said, "Well, that possibility's good enough; here we come." All the way from way down in Alabama, and over the slick roads, and I--I'm not worthy to have friends like that. Now, that's true. I--I am not worthy to have friends like that. There's something about it that I just hate to announce the meeting, know that I got people who believe the Message, and--and come, and--and they love me.
15 And I--I've always wanted to be loved. When I was a little boy I wasn't loved by nobody. Nobody had no use for me. I was here in Indiana, born in Kentucky, so I was a corn-cracker to these kids over here. In the family, all the boys, nearly, smoked and drank and everything, but me. And I was a--I was an offcast in the family, and an offcast in school, and at work I was an offcast, and everywhere I went I was an offcast. And then finally when I found Somebody that really loved me, Jesus, and He said, "I'll give you fathers, and mothers, brothers, sisters, and friends."
16 And then the strange thing how that His great wise providence, how He works things in His--out. Seems like that love has a funny feeling to it; not a feeling, but a--a reaction. And then I look out among the people, as He's called me to be His servant, and I look out amongst the people and see sin creeping in, then I have to just tear in there with all that's in me (You see?), to tear it out. And that makes it look hard to the--to my way of looking at it, why, to say those things. But yet, down at the bottom, true love runs like that (See?), true love.
17 Now, if your little boy or little girl was playing on the street where cars are running, and you knew sooner or later they're going to get hurt... Now, if he says, "Why, papa, I want to be out here." Would you say, "Bless your little heart, Junior, you just go right ahead and play in the street"? That's not a real daddy. If you have to jerk that little fellow up and give him a spanking, scold him, tie him up, anything else, keep him off that street, he'll get killed. Is that right? Well, that's the way you have to do with the Gospel. You have to shake and push, and--and--and try to do everything you can to keep the people lined up. And I hope everybody understands that that way. I--I'm just trusting that someday after it's all over and then when the veils are taken from before our face, we will understand then.
18 Brother Way, I... That fine Bible that you and Sister Way gave me for a Christmas present, that's just going to be a good thing to keep my notes in instead of a book like this, when I get a chance to type it out. I don't want to write, 'cause I can't make my own writing out, and how's anybody else going to do it? I told them I had a shorthand all of my own. And I have to study it myself to see what I've said. And I--I get it typed out someday. It's a loose-leaf Bible, where you can just take like here. I got two texts here this morning, two places I want to read from. And in this Bible that he gave me, you pull it out like this, and can take one leaf from Genesis, Revelations, anywhere, and put them both together, and read them right off like that. See? And then a little place back here in the back with a flyleaf, you can just go right back to the... to all the Scriptures wrote down on that message and things. It's wonderful. So I hope that I'll help win many souls to Christ with it.
19 God bless each one of you. I want to say again for the nice Christmas presents that each one give me. The church give me a new suit, oh, how I appreciate it. And I got two new suits for Christmas. My brother, the little church down in Macon, Georgia, down there, Brother Palmer, sent me a new suit. And the Tabernacle give me a new suit, and there's so many nice things give in, and--and Christmas gifts in the line of money. Which, the division of income tax tells me that if it's a Christmas present and wrote "Christmas present" or a "Birthday present," anything, you can accept it; otherwise that I have to... It--it goes into the work, which is all right. And I sure thank each and every one of you, wife and I, and the children, and all of us express our gratitude to each, every one of you, so nice. We wish we could go back and give each one of you a present back, but you just can't do that, you know, you just... My, I--I couldn't do that. I wish I could, but I--I just couldn't. I'm sure you understand. I know that's the feeling of my precious brother setting here too. We just feel the people love us like that; we appreciate them.
20 Now, let's bow our heads now for prayer and get ready for start the--the message this morning. Into the Presence of the living God we come now, soberly, and in the fear of Him, we come in the Name of the Lord Jesus, knowing that we could not come and saying, "Now, Father, here is William Branham, or, Orman Neville," or whoever we might be, we would be turned down quickly. But we have the assurance that He said, "If you ask the Father anything in My Name, it'll be granted." So I don't guess I could get, using my name, anything from Him. But I know that when I use His Son's Name, then I get my petition, for it's in Him that I trust. It's in Him that we live and have our being. And we're grateful this morning, God, for all that He means to us, and that's our complete life and being.
21 I thank You for this little church, for its pastor, and for the trustees, and the deacons, all the members. And I'm grateful for the Holy Spirit that watches over them. May that great Holy Spirit continually lead them and guide them into the paths that He would have them go in. Reading in the Testaments, the Old and New, and also in the Nicaea age, that how that when sickness struck amongst the saints, the whole church went together; with one heart they called on God, and their petition was granted. Each one of them as members of the Body of Christ, fasting and praying, and God heard and answered prayer. Father, may this little church so--be so bound in the bonds of love to each other and the Holy Spirit, until it'll become like one of those, that there will be no friction among us in this coming year. May there be just such godly love, and everybody walking in the way of Christ, until many weary pilgrims along the road will come and be saved. May it be said that when you enter the doors of the little building, that the Presence of God meets you with a sweet welcome. Take sickness away from the midst of us, Lord.
22 And we're grateful that we have hungry hearts to hear Thy Word. Continue to hunger our hearts for Thee, Lord, as David of old said, "As the hart panteth for the water brook, my soul thirsts after Thee." Thinking of the little hart, the deer as we would call him today, that he's been torn by the wild dogs, and he's bleeding. He's losing his life, and he must find water if he expects to exist. Once he finds water his life is renewed. May we be that thirsty, Lord, that we must have Christ if we exist, we must have Christ if we become the Church that we're asking for. If we live the lives that we are wanting to live, we must have Christ or we will die.
Now, as we open Thy Word this morning to find consolation and stepping stones to bring us closer to Him, I pray, Father, that the Holy Spirit will open the Word to us, that we, Lord, as Thy servants, will be better equipped to face the new year. For we ask it in the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
24 Now, thinking this morning that, on the basis of being New Year, I thought it would be good maybe that I would lay aside my New Year's message until tonight, and go back here in some Sunday school Scriptures, and take a text to talk on for a while, on one of the most vital subjects that I know of in the Bible. It's a doctrine that our Lord preached first, the first doctrine that Jesus preached, and I suppose it would be good to make it our first year's teaching.
25 Now, is it cool for any of you, raise up your hand, feel a little chilly? I thought I felt it up here. Doc, wherever you are, kinda turn the furnace up just a little, because I feel it here moving around. I know you're bound to out there, some of you people, especially with the children.
26 Now, let us turn in our Bibles this morning to Ephesians the 4th chapter of Ephesians, and let's begin reading at the 11th, the 11th verse of the 4th chapter of Ephesians. And then we're going to turn then from then--from there, to John 3:1-12, and read two places in the Scripture. Reading now from the 4th chapter of Ephesians and the 11th verse, beginning...
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets;... some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
For the perfecting of the saints, for the working of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Till we all come into... unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto the perfect, a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
But speaking the truth in love, may grow up unto him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
For whom the whole body is fitly joined together and compact by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, making increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
27 Now, I read that so that it'd give you something to study on after you get home. Now, I'll read my text from John 3, a very familiar Scripture.
And there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.
Nicodemus said unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
Jesus answering--answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be borned of water and of... Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.
That which is born of... flesh is the flesh; and that which is born of... Spirit is spirit.
Marvel not that I say unto thee, You must be born again.
The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but can not tell whence it cometh, or where it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
Nicodemus said--answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that which we do know, and testify that which we have seen; and you perceive not our witness.
If I have told you earthly things, and you believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you... heavenly things?
28 Now, God bless His Word. And I want to take the subject this morning of Jesus' first doctrine. The first doctrine of Jesus was, "You Must Be Born Again." That was His first doctrine. Now, in a way of Sunday school, so that I won't preach and hoarse myself up for tonight, I have thought in my heart that this is something that it seems puzzling, and to the people, we hear so much about it all the time, and I thought it would be good this morning if we just search this subject through, clear it out. And that's the first beginning, "You Must Be Borned Again." And it's a very deep one.
29 And we--we find out that there is so many different meanings that people put to it. Nearly all churches say that you must be born again, but each one has their--their different interpretations to that, what it means to be born again. I might go to the Methodist church this morning; they say, "We believe that you must be born again." How do you interpret it? I go to the Baptist church, "And we believe you must be born again." How do you interpret it? And I would go to each church, and we'd find, if we went to all the nine hundred different denomination of churches, there'd be nine hundred different interpretations. So seeing that there is so many different interpretations, and yet a Bible doctrine, there must be, and is, a truth somewhere.
30 So now, remember it didn't say, "You ought to be born again," but, "you must." Now, we, as English speaking people, understand what the word "must" means, that is, "it's absolutely, you've got to do it." See, it's a must. Not, "you ought to; you'd be better off if you did, but "you must be borned again." Oh, if we could just take that word this morning and break it down, what it means, how that it's totally impossible... And then if it's that essential and that great, that it's totally impossible to enter the Kingdom of heaven, or even see It, until you're born again, and so many different interpretations of that word "borned again," we ought to seek it out with all of our heart to find out what it means.
31 There's not a person in here that wants to go to torment; there's nobody. And you don't drive hundreds of miles over icy roads, and spend your living, your money, just to come to the church here to, well, say, shake hands with the people (although you love to do that), and to hear the pastor, myself and other ministers speak the Word (You get that wherever you are, pastors, ministers, just like we are, servants of Christ.), but there's something that draws you here, and to this particular place. Therefore, it's the duty of we as pastors to see that this flock is fed and fed right, because God Almighty will require your blood at our hands. At the day of the judgment we'll answer for you. So seeing this great tremendous responsibility that's placed upon us, and God has given us people who love us and come to hear us, then we should spend our time constantly watching for your souls. And when the first little thing we see raising up that's not right, it's our duty to come to that person, because we are shepherds watching that sheep. And if I see that sheep eating on a weed that will kill it, I better drive it away from that weed, jerk the weed right away from it so it cannot get to it because it'll kill the sheep.
32 And there's known in the western countries a weed that an--an animal can eat; it's called locoweed. I don't know whether anybody ever heard of it or not, a locoweed. Yes. A horse can eat that, and you just can't do nothing with him. He just becomes an outlaw. You can't put a saddle on him, and you can't do nothing with him. It's called locoweed. And you must keep your--your stock away from that weed. And if it'll cause a horse to eat something... If a horse, rather, it'll eat something that throws him into this condition, into this spasm, why, you would be a very poor cowboy to let your horse eat a weed, locoweed. It shows that you don't care.
And a real pastor, a real servant of Christ will be a poor example of Christ to see the sheep eat something that's going to drive him away, or make him a outlaw before God, a breaker of His Word, a breaker of His commandments. You shouldn't do that. You should watch that very closely.
34 So this great doctrine of Jesus that's wrote here before us in the Bible, "You must be born again..." There is so many different versions of it, as I have said before, till I thought this morning, for the sake of many who's been asking me what it meant and how could they become a real Christian, then I thought maybe that we would just approach the subject and take it just as clearly as I know how to give it to you. And it's not in the way of a sermon; it's in the way of teaching Sunday school, that the people might get the Message. Now, many interpretations of the born again...
35 And now I'm saying this, and I know it's going on tape, and I want to say this to the pastors that will perhaps receive this tape. I suppose maybe just a little different from what the regular church teaches it, I teach and believe, and believe can sufficiently prove by the Scripture, that you're borned of the Spirit and then baptized into the Body by the Holy Spirit.
Now, many of them teach that just to come up and be recognized before the congregation, and so forth, as a--as a sinner, that you want to accept Christ as personal Saviour, that that is the new birth. Many believe that water baptism is the new birth. And some of them believe that you're--you're borned of the water when you're baptized in the water. And there's so many different versions of it. Lot of them, many believe that to recite a creed and believe on a doctrine of a church, just accept and say, "I believe in the holy church of So-and-so. And--and I believe God to be the--the Saviour of men, and so forth. And from this day on, I--I become a member of this church, and fellowship with the Christians." They believe that that's born again.
37 And although the creed that they recite, I do not believe that we could criticize it; some of them are pure and holy; some of them are real Scriptural; but the Scripture is not applied in the right place. And even applying the Scripture, I believe that the new birth is something beyond that. Even though how well you might mean it, I believe something that the new birth is far beyond your good intentions and your thoughts, minds; it's beyond that.
38 I do not want to say this for--to be sacrilegious, and I do not throw any slams at any organization of church, but a lot of it reminds me of a--of a--a Jew, a little... It's a joke. And I do not believe that jokes should be told at the pulpit; it's no place for a joke. And therefore, to bring this statement that I've got on my mind, it's not for a joke, but to show an expression of what I mean. That a Catholic priest one time went home with a--on Friday, with a new convert to the Catholic church. And the Catholic convert had baked a ham, and he said, "Father, I am sorry, as my remembrance comes to me, this is Friday. But I believe that according to our great doctrine of the church, that one time I was a Jew, and you sprinkled some holy water on me and turned me from a Jew to a Catholic. Now, I shall sprinkle a little of that same water upon this ham and make a fish out of it." Now, that's, saying that doesn't make it a fish. It's still a ham, no matter how holy the water might pretend to be.
39 And no matter how much that we try to think we are right in saying a creed or joining a church, you're still what you were until you're actually borned again of the Spirit of God. It doesn't change you. Your creed, joining church, or changing your ideas, or your good intentions, although as good as it might seem, it's still not right. There's something's got to happen, the new birth is an experience, something that takes place. So it is not that that brings the new birth. Now, the different churches, they'd say, "Well, you accept this or believe that, and it's all right." But it isn't.
40 Now, to begin with, to base back, the reason we have to be born again is because the Bible teaches us that we were all born in sin, shaped in iniquity, and come to this world speaking lies. Then that shows us that our nature, to begin with, is sinful to start with. We're no good to begin with. So we cannot claim anything by our shrewdness, our sincerity, or how great we are, how little we are, or--or whatevermore, we are altogether wrong to begin with. And there is nothing at all that we can do about it. You cannot... Jesus said, "Who, by taking thought, can add one stat--one to his stature, one measure to his stature?" You can take all the thoughts, do all the dreaming of it, read it, study it, examine it, and everything else, and you can't help yourself one iota. So that just throws it all out. I'm so glad it does, because if it laid in the thought of knowing something, smart, we poor illiterate people would be left out, so we wouldn't have a chance. But God changed it, or never had it that way in the beginning. The churches always makes it complicated. God makes it simple. So it's brought down into a place where all of us can see, all of us can have it. It's for whosoever will.
41 Now, now, one man could not save the other. Now, it makes no difference what anyone tries to say; no man can save another. No matter how smart, what his office is, let him be a pastor, priest, bishop, cardinal, or a pope, he cannot have one thing to do with saving any man's life, because he is a sinner hisself, borned in sin, shaped in iniquity, come to the world speaking lies. He's a liar to start with, and any word that he would say would be a lie if it was contrary to God's Word and God's plan.
42 But God made a plan for man to be saved. And man cannot add anything to that plan. It's God's plan. And that's the plan that we are--want to study this morning. What is God's plan? He said, "Let every man's word be a lie, Mine be the Truth." Therefore, we'd be daresn't to change one sentence to make it something else. No matter how much our rituals and so forth reads, we got to forget that. This is God's Word. Just can't be done no other way. God has a plan; He's made a plan.
43 And, remember, to the first thing, until you're borned again you'll never understand. Twice He spoke it. "Except a man be born again he cannot enter the Kingdom. Except a man be born again he cannot even see the Kingdom." Now, that's punctuated too. The word, in the making all those words, they tell me that they had to write it out, they, and when they say, "Verily, verily," that's a punctuation, like a--a--a capital. "Verily, verily, I say unto you." And the word in one place, or many places, it's translated "absolutely": "Absolutely, absolutely, I say unto you." Who said that, did a cardinal, priest, pastor, evangelist, pope? God Himself. Now, there's no excuses. He will in no wise, no wise at all, cannot in any other way, no matter how great he is, what his name is, how big he is, or how popular he is, he cannot even understand the Kingdom of God until he's born again. It's a great subject. "Verily, verily, I say unto you." Watch. Go get the Greek translation; you'll find: not see with your eyes, you see with your heart. See, you can't see the Kingdom of God with your eyes, because it's a spiritual Kingdom. See? In other words, "You'll never be able to understand the Kingdom of God until you are borned again." It's all an unraveled mystery. And when you're borned again, the plans of the Kingdom, the Kingdom itself becomes real to you.
44 Like a contractor to build a building, unless he could read a blueprint, there's no need of him trying to build the building, if he doesn't understand the blueprint. And then when he understands the blueprint, then he knows how to build the building. That's--that's the way it is. That's what happens about building the Kingdom of God. You've got to understand the Blueprint, and you won't know the Blueprint until you're born again. And when you're born again and then deny the Blueprint, what takes place?
45 A lovely little girl that's recently... I used to go with her mother when we were young. And she was a lovely, beautiful woman. Her name is Huff now; her name was Lee before she was married. When I used to pastor the Milltown Baptist Church, they belonged to the United Brethren Church, but, oh, they liked me real well. And she... I used to go with her. They lived way back up behind Brother Wright's here. To... And I used to go up to their house, and the little girl was a very sweet little girl, and she was a little girlfriend to me. And Brother Lee, a fine man, loyal to the church, the United Brethren view of the church, and one night he invited me to go home with him and stay all night. And I said, "Brother Marrion, I'll--I'll be glad to do that." And so after the service was over, well, the--the girl and I got in the car and we went on. And I had to open a dozen gates, I believe, going around the hillside, and up to hit a great big old log house. Well, we set out in the yard and waited for her mother and father, and younger sister, to come up. When they come up, we all went in and had a little lunch that night. The mother got some stuff out and we eat, and--and the father and I were sleeping together downstairs in a great big featherbed, and--and a straw tick under it, you know, real good sleeping. It's better than any of these old Beauty-rest mattresses you get; I'll tell you that. And so we... The mother and the two girls went upstairs.
46 And that night while we were laying there, Brother Lee had a dream. And he'd always debated with me about the water baptism in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. He didn't believe it. And he was a contractor. So he said, "Brother Branham, I just dreamed a dream." And he said, "I dreamed I went up to New Albany. And I was building a man's house, and he gave me the blueprint. But when I seen a certain way he cut his windows and fixed a certain place, I said, 'That's not right. It just can't be right. That's contrary. Now, he... That isn't right.' So I built it the way I thought was right. And when he come back from Florida, from his vacation, I had his house almost ready."
"He looks at the house, and he goes, and gets the blueprint, and looks at that, and said, 'Say, you have built my house wrong.'"
"And I said to him, 'No, I haven't built your house wrong.'"
"'What about this such-and-such a place?'"
"Well," he said, "that really don't belong there."
"He said, 'Tear it down. If you expect me to pay you, you'll build it the way the blueprint said.'"
And he said, "What do you think about that, Brother Branham?"
I said, "There is a creek running right down below the house here." And we went to it.
He said, "I don't want any tearing down on that day."
I said, "Get it right now. Put it up according to the Blueprint."
52 How it paid, just recently one of his... Then his girl married a fine boy, nice man. He's a machinist over here at the boat works, and the boy'd had his fingers cut off this way, a nice man. And they have a lovely family, three little girls, and one of them's--all Christians, and they sing a trio. If we ever have a meeting here, they're coming to sing for us. And one of the little girls majored in piano music, and was a teacher of classical music when she was just a child, fifteen, sixteen years old. And the kids at school got to teasing her about different things, and being a Christian, and it got on her nerves and give her a breakdown, and she lost her mind. And they had her in Louisville, and was going to take her to the insane institution the following Monday. And they wouldn't... The doctors wouldn't let me see her. And I went over as a visitor and set on the side of the bed with the father and mother. And while I was setting there, the Holy Spirit moved in the--this Our Lady of Peace Sanitarium in Louisville, where they take the nervous patients, and when there's still a hope for them. Then if they can't do nothing for them, they send them to Madison, Indiana. And the girl was going to Madison that week; they--she was past help. And setting there, a vision came before us, and spoke to the girl in the Name of the Lord Jesus. And the mother grabbed me by the knee, reached up and grabbed her husband by the hand, and said, "It's never wrong."
I said, "Just don't worry; she'll be all right." I left the building quickly.
54 That night at nine o'clock, the phone rang, or I believe it was a little before nine, 'fore I come to the church that night. It was on a Sunday. And the father, with his heart so thrilled, he said, "I couldn't go home, holding the good news, Brother Branham." He said, "The doctor come in and examined my girl. He said, 'What's happened to her? She can go home tomorrow.'" When mother was laying a corpse a few weeks ago, there the trio was down there, the little girl just as nice as she could be, her and her boyfriend, sweetly. Oh, I tell you, the Blueprint, God's Word is the One to explain the program of how we must be borned again.
55 First, we reckon ourselves sinners and worthy of condemnation. And we are all born in sin and shaped in iniquity; there's not a sound parcel of us. Our minds are bad; our soul is corruptible; our constant thinking is evil, every imaginary thought of a man's mind is evil, a sinner; and also that our body is weak; our spirit is no good; and we're just full of corruption. And how could one corruptible thing bring another good thing out of a corruptible? Let me say this, that in Job, 14th chapter he said, "Seeing that man is born of a woman, is full of sorrow and trouble, yet he cometh forth like a flower, he fadeth away." And on, as the prophet goes on speaking, he said, "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one." You stick your bucket down into the well and pull out a bucket of water, and it's stagnant, it stinks; you look in it, and it's muddy, and little worms is in that water; there's no way at all to put your bucket back and get a clean bucket. The whole well is contaminated. And the whole soul, mind, and body of man is contaminated with sin, and born in sin, physically, shaped in iniquity, and come to the world speaking lies, so that his own soul is contaminated: nothing good. One cannot redeem the other, because it's all wrong. And you can't take a bucketful of water here that's contaminated, and another bucketful that's contaminated and mix them together; you've got more contamination. There's no purification to it.
56 But God determined to save man. He placed upon Him the iniquity of us all. The penalty of--of sin, when that you're born in the penalty of sin, is death. Sin is death. And the penalty was so great that there's none of us could help the other, so there had to be Someone Who could pay this penalty.
What if this morning the penalty to leave this room was a hundred billion dollars? There's none of us could leave, 'cause there's none of us worth that. But then if one came in who was worth enough to pay for all of us.
It takes One. We can't do it. It took One Who was worthy. Oh, how I wish I could stop here for a while, and go back and pick up Ruth and Naomi, and show that how the kinsman redeemer to redeem the fallen estate had to be first worthy, had to be a kinsman. Therefore, God, the Spirit, Jehovah, became Kinfolks to us by taking on a form of flesh. He became Kinfolks: had to be that. Then He had to be worthy. And He is the One Who produced that Fountain filled with Blood, drawn from Immanuel's veins. He was the One Who bore our iniquities.
59 A beautiful type I got here in Numbers. I've got my Scriptures wrote down here. In Numbers, the beautiful type of it is, in there it's... Oh, it's altogether pretty if you could see it. It's the brass serpent lifted up in the wilderness. How that Israel, that serpent to them was a death bite, and there was no remedy. There wasn't a physician among them who had the remedy or the cure. They had physicians among them, but not for that bite. Just as I've said, there's no physicians among us that can cure sin. It's a death bite, and we're all guilty, all shaped in iniquity. All of us are guilty. But what did God do? They was guilty then, then death had to be paid, the penalty of death. But God had Moses to erect a brass serpent, and put it on a pole, that nothing the people could do, no money they had to pay, nothing at all, no creeds they had to recite, no churches they had to join, just look and live... See how simple? Look and live. Don't join a church; no sensation, you don't have to feel a funny feeling. Just look and live. That's all. So simple. Not if you can remember all the ten commandments, you'll live; not if you know all the statutes... Just look and live. That's all you had to do. And every man looked upon him lived.
60 Jesus, when He was here on earth, He said, talking to Nicodemus here, He said, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up." So must... Why? In the same manner, for the same thing, the same purpose, to do the same work. Many times this puzzle people when they see the serpent representing Jesus. The serpent represented Jesus in this much; did you notice the serpent was dead? There was no life in it. Jesus died. Like Cain when he slew Abel, Abel died on the altar with his sacrifice; after Abel offered his sacrifice and killed his sacrifice for his sin, then he died on the same altar with his sacrifice. In order to be born again, you have to die on the altar with your Sacrifice, just as dead as He was. And you're born again. The serpent had no life in it.
61 And you say, "Why was it brass?" Brass represents judgment, Divine judgment. Did you notice in the Bible, in the Old Testament, the altar was made out of brass, where the sacrifice was burnt? Brass speaks of judgment. Like Elijah, in his days, he went to look at the skies to see if any rain was coming after his prayer, and he said, "The sky looks like brass." What was it? Divine judgment upon a unbelieving people, a unbelieving nation who had forsaken God. It was Divine judgment, brassy. And the serpent itself, its form represented sin already judged, for the serpent was judged in the garden of Eden. And he was the serpent judged.
62 And when we look at Christ, you see the penalty. The only One, God Himself made flesh, God coming to the earth, and took on Him the sin of all of us, and the judgment and wrath of Almighty God was poured out upon His body, and there it was rivened at the cross. That's the real judgment. He tread the winepress of the wrath of God alone. Alone He walked the road. Alone He died with not no help from an Angel, from a man, from His Church, from His mother, from His brethren, from His Father. And forsaken by God, man, and nature, He died alone to show us that even nature itself can't help us in the hour of death. There's no friend, no priest, no pope, no pastor... It's death. But there was One Who took it for us.
63 No life in the serpent, it was absolutely crystallized. That was the penalty. He died until the--the earth got ashamed of itself. He died till the stars got ashamed. He suffered until the sun wouldn't shine. He suffered till the moon turned off its light. He suffered till even the elements of the earth was so black and dark until the midnight so dark you could feel it. Wasn't nothing, no one's ever suffered like that or could suffer like that; there's no mortal could go through it. But He suffered it. God laid upon Him the iniquity of us all and passed His judgments upon Him, and He tread the winepress of the wrath of God alone with no help. There was nothing to help Him. God placed the penalty. Everything was under that penalty and nothing could help Him, 'cause we're all guilty. There's no high priest could've come helped Him. There was nothing could help Him, no pope, no Angel. Everything stood back and watched it. That was the greatest moments was ever in the history of the world. He died until there's not one drop of life left in Him, become like the brass serpent, just a crystallized ornament hanging on the cross.
64 Now, the approach to this birth, there is approach to it. And to be--to approach this birth, you have to go through a process, just like anything that lives. Anything that lives again's got to die first. And you cannot keep your same spirit. You cannot keep your same habits. You cannot keep your same thoughts. You got to die. You've got to die like He died. You got to die on His altar, like Abel did with his lamb. You got to die with your Lamb. You got to die, die to your own thinking to be born to His thinking. Let the mind that was in Christ be in you. You got to think His thoughts.
And now, brother, sister, let me say this as intelligent as I know how to say it. How can you think His thoughts and deny His Word, and yet claim you're born again? Just ask yourself that question. How can you do it? You can't. If you're born again, you got His thoughts. If the mind of Christ is in you, then you are a new creature. The Bible teaches that. And if any brother would like to, where you find that creature, look that word "creature" up in the--the Lexicon, and you'll find out that the word "creature" there is interpreted or translated, "a new creation," because you are a one creation, a human being born in sexual desire here on earth, and now you're a new creation born by Spirit. Your own thoughts are dead. They're so dead until they're crystal like the brass serpent, or like He died when the heavens and earth and everything witnessed He was dead.
65 He died till He was so dead that even His Blood and water separated in His body. His death was so tremendous, till, I say, the--the world had a nervous breakdown. It shook; it trembled until rocks fell out of the mountains. What could die like that? No pope dying would do that; no pastor dying would do that. But when God in flesh died on the cross, the earth had a nervous breakdown to know that the very spoken Word of God, rocks and dirt, sticks and clubs and trees hanging in the earth, and the stars and the moon, His very spoken Word seen their Creator become flesh and sin poured out upon Him. The wrath of God poured out upon Him until the moon shut off its light, the sun shut off its light, the earth had a nervous shake--breakdown, would've bursted to pieces if it hadn't have been a future for us. Everything...
66 And if His elements of the earth, upon looking, seeing what was taking place, shook them to that condition, what ought it do to me and you? What ought our souls to do when we look and see what God did for us? And it was all for you and for me. What ought it to do to us? Continue in sin? God forbid. But to abstain from sins and die to sin. Don't you see what sin done to Him? Sin killed Him. And He took the penalty of sin, that He might bring the righteousness of God to you and me. So when the righteousness of God comes to us, sin is dead in our mortal beings. Oh, I hope you see it.
67 Yes, to be born again you must go through a process of death; everything does. You take a grain of corn; if that corn ever expects to live again, it's got to die first. If a grain of wheat ever expects to live again, it's totally impossible for... That corn, that wheat, that flower, that tree, that grass, that vegetable, everything that expects to live again must die first. Then how you going to escape it? You got to die first. You got to die. Die how? To yourself, die to everything, so that you can be born again. You've got to do that. If you don't die, you can never live again.
68 And look, did you know each day something has to die so you can live? Now, to you Seventh-day Adventists that's in our midst, many people say, "I wouldn't shoot a squirrel, Brother Branham. I wouldn't kill a deer, or a rabbit, fish, 'cause I don't believe that we should kill things." My brother, did you know that the vegetables and things that you eat is life also? You have to kill it. And the only way that you can exist in this life, something has to die so you can live by its dead life. Now, if something has to die so you can live by its mortal life here on earth to live mortally, did not Something have to die so that by Its life you could live eternally? Just ask yourself that question. And that One was Christ, 'cause no other one has immortality. The Son only has immortality. And He gives Himself to you by just accepting Him.
69 Now, it must die. Now, that don't mean turn a new page now, this new year. You say, "Brother Branham, I've been coming here for a long time. I've been a member of the church. This New Year's I'm going to turn a new page and start new. That don't mean that. Not turn a new page, but actually die and be born again. See? You've got to feel so guilty when you stand in His Presence. Whether you go the Methodist way, or the Baptist way, or whatever way you go, you've got to be so guilty and feel so guilty till you... It'll kill you. That's right. You--it'll kill you. Your worldly life will die right there. You've got to reckon yourself so guilty in the Presence of God until your worldly life dies right there. The--the sin question's over for you when you're standing in His Presence. When you look like that, you're sure to live, because you die. And the only way you can live again is to be--die first so you can live again.
Now, you see what I'm coming to, don't you (See that?), what the birth is, the new birth. First, to die, in order to be born again... And if you still got the things of the world in you, you're not born again. And how you going to claim to be born again and still with the things of the world hanging on you? See? How can you do it?
71 Young Christian the other day, bunch of people... I don't say they're not. But in looking at some pictures, Christian women, Christian men, all lovable around one another in bathing suits, in a-swimming. See? It's just... They said, "That's real love." That's real filth. It's not love. Love is expressed different from that.
72 Our souls are placed by faith on His brass altar, God's judgment, and our offering is consumed. Now remember, when Elijah, under those brass skies, laid the offering of God upon the altar, the offering was consumed. Baal could not consume his offering. I don't want to say this, but I must say it. And when you go to a church, and accept their creeds, and their forms of baptisms, and the offering that you supposingly yourself to lay upon there, you might get up shivering, speaking in tongues, running all over the floor, or you might get up weeping. But if that offering has been received by God, it's consumed; the world is dead to you. You're gone, for we reckon ourselves dead and buried. We are dead and our... We are hid in Christ, hid in Christ. And besides that, then--then after that we're dead, and buried, and hid in Christ, then we're sealed with the Holy Spirit.
73 You see what I mean now? You are dead. Our souls are placed upon His Divine judgment; that's brass. When our souls is placed upon a altar of Divine judgment, what was the penalty? Death. And when you lay yourself upon the altar of God, which is pronounced death upon the sinner, how can you raise from there, alive in sin, if God accepted the sacrifice? Is it clear now? You die. You actually are consumed, and you're petrified. There's no more left to you but just this form that you're standing in, like the brass serpent, like Christ was when they took Him dead and cold off the cross. You're dead. 'Cause why? You're on God's altar of judgment. What is His judgment? When the Judge has passed His sentence. What is the sentence of His penalty? Death. And when you place your soul upon His altar of judgment, it's death to you. Now, you get it?
74 Oh, you might get up from there and do anything; you might dance in the Spirit; you might cry like a--like anybody would cry; you might run up and down the floors; you might join every church; you might do anything you want to (I'm talking to Pentecostals now), and go right back out and defile a man's wife, break up a man's home, some of you women. You'll go right back no matter how much the Word comes to you to do right and things, you won't recognize It. You'll never let your hair grow, women, or that. You'll never dress right. You'll still be just exactly like the world, because you're not dead to the world yet; you're alive with it.
Some of you men will never quit drinking, smoking. You'll never quit lusting after foul women immorally dressed, when you see them on the street, instead of turning your back, walking away. You'll still lust right on just the same. Because why? You're alive with the world yet. But when that sacrifice has been received, you're dead. That's right. You hear what I mean? You understand what I'm talking about?
76 Now, your soul is laid upon that altar of God's brass judgment, then God receives the sac... Now, it shows that you haven't received it yet, if it does... If--if you're still alive in the world, God's never took it. Now, you people talking about getting the Holy Ghost and how you have to wait so long, here you are. Until God receives that sacrifice, until it's laid on His judgments there, until His judgment has actually killed your senses... You might say, "Well, I'm going to turn a new page." That ain't it. "Well, I know I used to smoke; I'm going to quit smoking." That still isn't it. Until God receives that sacrifice on His brass altar, His altar of judgment... What is His judgment? Death. That's the penalty. The soul that sinneth that remains in that, shall die. I don't care what you done.
Jesus said, "Many will come to Me in that day, and say, 'Lord, haven't I done this and done that?' He'd say, 'Depart from Me, you workers of iniquity.'" See?
79 When that sacrifice is received by the fire, and it goes up like that, and the smoke goes up, you rise with your sacrifice into the heavenlies, and you're sealed away from the things of the world then. Our soul's on His altar.
What are you done then, after you have been died, then what are you to do? Then you are conceived anew. You are conceived anew. You was first conceived in iniquity. Now, you're conceived in something new. What is it? The living Word. Oh, that changes it now, doesn't it? Now, we're through the struggle, after seeing what you got to do. Now, what happens? You're conceived anew in the living Word. What is it? The Word becomes alive in you. You begin to see things different. Where once you couldn't see that, now you do see it. There's something different now: makes all the Scriptures come together, makes everything dovetail just right. Then now--now something's begin to happen. Now, you die to your own thinking; now you're conceived, because we are washed by the water of the Word. Is that right?
81 What do you do with a baby soon as it's born? Wash him. Is that right? And as soon as a man has died to himself and's born of God, he's washed by the water of the Word. Amen. If It says, "Jesus' Name," you say "Jesus' Name"; says, "You must be born again," you say the same thing. Ever what God says, you're washed by that water of the Word. Amen.
Now, you're ready now for life. You're ready to be--start out now. Now, you're born anew, born in the family of God with a new parent. Yes, sir. Your tutors used to be... Now you got tutors that is now; you got a new Parent. You can't be born without having a parent. So if you're born in the brotherhood of a church, that's what you got. If you're born in a creed, there you are. But if you're born in God, conceived in His Word, you got a new Parent; that's God, ready to make His Word known among us, with you, speak It through you. Oh, a new Parent, that Parent is God. He's ready to take His Word now that He's already spoke, and lay It in you and make It come to life. See? Now, you have your training now. You're ready--you're ready to go into training now, child-training. That's the hard part, when you think you ought to do this, and the Word cuts you around and shows you something else. "Why, they believe that over..." That don't make any difference what they believe. Here's what God said. You must be about the Father's business. Now you're getting born again. Now you're getting right, getting straightened out. You have a new Parent.
83 So in order if you're born again and got a new Parent, then you got a new nature. The old nature's dead, and you got a new nature. You once was going one way; now you're going another way. You once was going in this a-way, down, now you're going this a-way, up. Your affections are set on things above: a new affection. You don't love the things of the world no more; your affection's of God. You don't care what man says, how they laugh at you and say you're old model, or whatever it is like that, you don't care, because you're born of above and your affections are set--set on things above. God's not ashamed of you, and you're not ashamed of Him. That's right. So you're... Read the 11th chapter of Hebrews right here. I got it wrote down. Just why people in that day how they did, how they wandered about in sheepskins in deserts, and destitute, and everything else, of whom the world's not even worthy of. See? Read it; it'll be good for you. And you can see there, what people when their nature's changed, what happens.
84 Now, what kind of a nature have you got then, Brother Branham? His nature. If I had my father's nature, then I'd do the things my father did. But now that I'm born again, it depends on who my father was. If you're just born in the church, you got a church father, and you can call him, "father" if you want to. You call him anything you want to, because he's your father. But if your Father is God, and you're borned in the family of God, you seek those things that pertain to God. That's right. Then you are God's child. Your nature is God's nature. Then when some, oh, you can hear them, some of them say, "Oh, our church believes the days of miracles is passed." How could you believe the days of miracles is passed when the very nature of God's in you, when He is altogether miracle? His nature's miracle; His habit's miracle; His whole being is miracle. How can you be anything else but miracle? Your new birth is miracle. Your new Life is miracle. Even your nature's a miracle, how you can look back and say, "Them things are dead. This is right." See? You're a new creature, new creation. Sure.
85 [Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.] And when the babies was born they was all chickens but one. He was an eagle. He was an odd little fellow. He was altogether different, but (You see?), he was borned in another category. The--the--the sperm and the egg was different; it made a different bird. Certainly. He looked queer; he acted funny to the rest of them, but he was--he was only acting natural, because he couldn't do no more, 'cause he--he was a eagle. His--his nature was eagle, so that's all he could be was an eagle. But there's a lot of them out in these denominations; they're actually eagles, but it just don't look right to see them lolling in the mud and the things of the world. See, that's your business, go get them.
86 One day the old mother eagle come over, and do you think that hen could ever keep him on the ground any longer? No matter how much she clucked, how well she said, "Come here, honey. I found something right here, come." Oh, my. His affections was on things above, and he went to meet it, no more denominations for him. Can't call him away from It.
And a man that's born of God, you cannot call him back into that rotten muss of sin any more. He's dead, and he's born again. He's a new creature. He's got the nature of the Eagle. He's got to get into the skies and soar. He's got to get up there where his mother is, his Parent.
And that's the way a man that believes...?... "Oh, come join our church. Now, that's fanaticism. The--the--day..."
89 Now, if that little eagle maybe standing out there and he heard that mother cry, and he looked around and said, "Where is it?" Here, maybe she cried something like this to the little eagle, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever."
And the mother said, "Days of miracles is passed, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck. Days of miracles is passed. No such a thing. That's fanaticism." Oh, my.
Why, you couldn't hold him no more. I can just hear him say, "Mama, how do I get up there?"
"Just flop your wings, honey. That's all you have to do. You're an eagle. Just walk by faith."
"How is it going to be, mama?"
"I don't know. Just keep walking." Here he comes. His first few flops, he set down on a fence post. He got that high anyhow. She said, "Just come on; I'll catch you." That's it.
94 A new nature, a new being, a new creation, nature of your Father, and you believe and love every Word that He said. Every man's word's a lie, contrary to this Word. This is God's Word. See? The Bible's right. I don't care what the church says; the Bible's still right to you, 'cause your nature's been changed. Now, if you've got a--a church father, you'll believe in that church father. But if you got Father God, you'll believe in God's Word. If you got a father in the church, you'll believe that because you're of his nature; that's your father. But if your Father's God, then you'll believe God's Word. If you're church, you'll--you'll believe his word; you'll believe the church word; you'll believe what the church said. But if you're born again, then you'll believe what God says, 'cause God's your Father, not the world or church creeds.
95 Reminds me. One day they in a--a yard, they said they had a duck was following some chickens. And the--the duck, you know, was a funny little fellow to them chickens. He kind of top-heavy, you know, and big bill, you know. But that, being he was top-heavy, he--had that bill there for some purpose. And that's the way I guess sometimes the Christian seems to be a little bit, get a little fanatically, but--but that's there for a purpose. See? So he... It did look funny as long as he was running around with the chickens, and he could... Turkeys and things, they--they--they had the little bitty short bill, and they, and while the things they did, and they wasn't built like that duck. One day the mother led him, the bunch of chickens and him out behind. He was always way in the back, you know, kinda... He didn't even talk like them. His language was different. They couldn't understand one another.
96 That's the way with the Christian when he's born again. See? He come out of a different egg; that's all. See? Maybe he's got... I believe there's many of them out here in these denomination churches that's genuine ducks, but they got a hen leader. That's right. So they just don't get it. That sounds rude. Don't mean it that way, but I'm trying to make a point.
One day she led him out a little too far behind the barn. There was some water running down behind the barn, a spring going out, creek. And he was going along there wondering what it's all about, you know, following the hen along. And, why, he didn't even like the diet they were eating: didn't look right to him. These old things that they do, it didn't seem right. So after while he happened to catch a breath. "That smelled just right. Where did that come from?" Oh, that little breath of heaven, hmmm. Catch that little breath of something that's refreshening, a sermon that appeals to you, that strikes down in, you feel the Word anchor Itself: hmmm, heavenly sunshine. He thought, "Oh, there's somehow another that breath that I got fits my nature." He breathed it again. "It's somewhere. Now, you can't tell me; it's somewhere. I know there's something somewhere that I belong to," not to this creed. See? You know what I mean? He smelled water, and his nature was a duck, so a duck and the water just goes together. That's the way a believer and God goes together. Directly he got another big whiff of it; it come more strong. After while the wind begin to blow (Like the rushing, mighty Wind, you know.); it begin to blow the breeze right off the water to him. He couldn't stand it no longer. Down over the hill he went, wobble, wobble, wobble, wobble, just, you know, going, "Honk-honk, honk-honk, honk-honk," that little bill sticking up in the air, you know. He smelt water.
The old hen said, "You fanatic, get back here." No good at all; he done smelt water. He was on his road to the water.
99 "There is a fountain filled with Blood, drawn from Immanuel's veins, where sinners plunged beneath the flood and lose all their guilty stain." A real Christian wants nothing to do with the world. They don't want to live around here haphazardly and wondering where they're at, and today they're Methodist, and tomorrow they're Baptist, and Presbyterian, and Pentecostals, and so forth. Oh, brother, that's miserable. A real Christian wants to get the freshness of the Spirit, the freshness of God in his life, something that makes him a new creation. As soon as he can get the outlet, he'll drive over snowy grounds or anything else to get to it. Away he'll go, because he's a duck to begin with. Yeah. Not a creed, no, no, no, no...
100 And if you still love the things of the world, you're deceived; your sacrifice hasn't been accepted yet; your nature hasn't been changed. Now, do you know what it means to be born again? See, your nature's changed; you become a new creature. You got to die first and then be born again. I know it's time for me to close, but just give me just a few minutes. I'll run over these texts real quick. See, see?
If you still love the world, and claim that you are borned again, no matter what you done... You might've cried; you might've had chills run through you. Them's all right; I ain't got nothing against that. Christians cry and have chills run through them. And you say, "Brother Branham, I spoke in tongues just..." That might be fine, and that might be just ever so good.
101 I'm looking at a little woman right now that come to me not long ago with a vision or a dream she had, and I got the interpretation. Still, it's kind of hard to go tell that little Pentecostal preacher's wife that she didn't have the Holy Ghost (Uh-huh.), but she didn't. But then she received It. See? Yeah, it's different. See?
Yeah, it ain't speaking in tongues; it ain't dancing in the Spirit. There's none of those things you can lay it onto. It's a death and a birth, a changed nature, a changed disposition. The old things are dead; new things are new; the world is dead and God's new. God is your Life, and the world is dead to you. Now, you get it? All right.
103 Now, listen. I'm going to have to cut just a little bit here, you know, get the briers out of the way. Women and men that won't follow God's Word and His Teaching after they claim to be born again, there's something wrong.
I'm going to speak with the women just a minute. If a woman that knows that God's Word condemns bobbed hair, and wearing shorts, wearing slacks, and dressing immorally, and haven't got the decency enough to let your hair grow out and put on clothes that look like a Christian, you're deceived. I don't care what you've been through. You might've spoke in tongues like pouring peas on a dry cowhide. You might've--you might've danced in the Spirit till you shook the whole building. That don't have one thing to do with it. It shows that the love of the world is still in you, when God condemns that. He said, "It's not..." A woman should have her hair long. And nature itself teach you that men should have short hair, because God is over man, and man over woman. And if a woman cuts off her hair, she dishonors her head, which is her husband. If a man lets his hair grow, then he dishonors his head, which is Christ. See?
104 "And let your women adorn themselves in modest apparel," clean, ladylike. See? And then without the common decency to do that, you say, "Glory to God. Hallelujah. I spoke in tongues. Hallelujah. Glory to God." That shows that spirit in there is wrong. It'll accept the Word every time if it's the nature of the Word. And the Word is flesh, and the Word was God, and the Word is God; and the Words is in you, makes you become a son or a daughter of God, an offspring of Him, believing His Word.
"I don't believe in that old Name of the Lord Jesus to be baptized in. Hallelujah. I don't care how much you try to explain it; I believe my pastor." Go ahead; that's your father. But if God's your Father, you'll line up with God's Word.
Preacher... "Many will come to Me that day, and say, 'Lord, have not I cast out devils in Your Name? (Preachers.) Have not I done many mighty works? (evangelists on the field.)' Depart from Me, you workers of iniquity," illegitimate children... That's right.
107 If you're borned of God, you're washed in the waters of the Word, separated from the things of the world, and believe God. You're dead. You're dead to your own thinking, dead to your own ideas, dead to everything else but God's Word; It lives in you, working back through you, proving that it is God's Word. You say, "I'm dead to the world. I'm dead to the world, Brother Branham." And deny God's Word?
Jesus said, "These signs shall follow them that believe." Now, we're getting down to what borned again means. See?
109 Still with tempers, still mean, arrogant, somebody say something about you, you right up ready to fight, then borned of the Spirit of God? No. God's Spirit don't do like that. No. God's Spirit is humble, meek, sweet, long-suffering. That's God. loving, kind, forgiving, that's God's Spirit. Oh, yes.
But they'll hold to that denomination, and speak in tongues, prophesy, do all kinds of works. Jesus said they'd do it: "Having a form of godliness." Hold to the denomination because that's their father; they was born in that denominational father. But if you're borned of God, This is your Father; He is the Word, the Word. No matter how many sensations you have, still a child of Satan until you become dead to the world and alive in Christ. Listen, quickly now.
111 A soul, good or bad, death doesn't change it. I had a lot of Scripture wrote down here on this one that I wanted to comment on, what a soul is. What is a soul? It's you. You are a soul, the part inside of you. And when you die, ever what shape that soul's in, that's the way it goes. It goes to its destination. You couldn't pull it up no matter how much you'd do for it; that soul's got to be changed here, born again.
You say, "What about the Holy Ghost, Brother Branham?"
The Holy Ghost baptizes you into the Body, for service, but you believe unto Eternal Life. "He that heareth My Words and believeth on Him that sent Me, has Eternal Life." See? Then you're baptized by the Holy Spirit into the Body for manifestations of the gifts, and so forth, but you believe to Eternal Life. He that believeth has Eternal Life. And when you believe is when you're dead and are born, regenerated, a new creature. All right.
113 The soul, now remember, good or bad, death doesn't have one thing to do with it. Death just takes it to its destination. You hear it? And if you still got the world and the love of the world in it, it'll die with you, 'cause the world must die. God's condemned the world; that's the world order. God has condemned it and it's got to die. And if that world's in you, you'll die with that world. My, I don't see how it could be any plainer. See? And if it's good, borned of God, it has to go to God. If it's of the world, it'll remain to perish with the world. If it's of God, it'll live with God, educated or not educated. Educated or illiterate, if the world is still there, it must die. And if the world is in your soul, and your desire is of the things of the world, you'll perish with the world. That's clear, isn't it? See? Should be. You're a part of the dead world. And as the world is dead, you're dead with the world.
114 But if you're born again, you're alive with Christ, and your affections is on things above and not on things of the world. But if you are born again of the Spirit of God, you become a part of God and are eternal with Him. Then, death cannot touch you when you're born again. You are eternal. You have changed from a creature of time to a creature of eternity. You have changed from death unto Life. I'm talking about eternal. From eternal death to Eternal Life... If you're of the world, you die here with it. If you love... The Bible said in John "If you love the world or the things of the world, it's because the love of God's not even in you." You can't love the world. And Jesus said, "You can't love God and mammon." "Mammon" is the "world." You can't love the world and God at the same time. "And he that says he loves Me, and keeps not My sayings," that's the Bible, "he's a liar, and the Truth's not even in him." There you are.
115 Oh, Branham Tabernacle, and all you good people, let's take inventory. This is New Year's. Let's start; let's do something; get the things of the world out of us. If it's still in there, let's get rid of it. Yes, sir. All right, people of today... I've got to hurry.
116 People of today take all kinds of spirits. They go up and take a church spirit; they even take spirits that call themselves God's spirits, born again, and deny the Word of God being true. Could you imagine the Spirit of God denying His Own Word? To you Catholic people, Roman Catholic, I mean, could you actually say that you are borned of the Spirit of God, and take those dogmas which is contrary to the Bible, and deny the Word of God, and say that you are--the Spirit of God's in you, the Spirit that wrote this Bible would deny It? That would be me telling something and standing up and lying against it: God saying something, then turn around and lie about it, when the Bible said, "It's impossible for God to lie, 'cause He's the very Fountain of all Truth."
117 You Methodists, Baptists, that are baptized in titles of "Father, Son, Holy Ghost," and know different now? You got your Bible. You that just take a church joining by shaking a hand, you that take your letter from one to another, and claim that you're borned again of the Spirit of God? How can you do it, and then look in the face of God's Word and call yourself a borned again Christian, when you're dead to the church, you're dead to the creeds, you're dead to the world, you're dead to everything else but God, and God is the Word? There you are.
Let's see. They take every kind of a spirit. Oh, they got church spirits; they got all kinds of spirits. Now, listen closely.
118 Prophets... The Word of God comes to the prophet. The Bible said so. Now, in closing, I've just got couple more comments here or so I want to pass and then I'm going to cut off.
The Word of the Lord come to the prophets. What come to the prophets? The Word of the church came to the prophets? [Congregation replies, "No"--Ed.] The word of the creed came to the prophet? ["No"--Ed.] The Word of the Lord. What was it? The prophet revealed the Word of God. See? That's prophets, real prophets. Now, we got false prophets; we're getting to them just in a minute. But the true prophet, the true Word came to the true prophet. It couldn't be nothing else. Now, a creed didn't come to the prophet; a denomination didn't come to the prophet. No. But the Word of the Lord came to the prophet, and he revealed It to the people. The true prophet had the true Word.
119 How do you test a true prophet? When he's got the true Word. Then if it isn't a true Word, it's got to be a false one. If it says something different from this Word, and this Word is God's Word, let every prophet's Word be a lie and God's Word be true. And if that Word is coming from the prophet, is the Word of God, then he's a true prophet, because the Word come to the prophets, true prophets. We've always had false ones. True prophets, the true Word. False prophets, false word, "our creeds, our denominations; join this; say this; believe this; do this"...
120 But the true Word comes to the true prophet, and he tells you the true Word. You follow that true Word, and you get a true experience of the Word, because the Word is made flesh in you, and you become God's son, and the Word of God is revolving right out of God into you, because you are of His Nature, His Spirit is in you, and you'll do the works of God. Hallelujah. The Bible said so. Oh, my.
121 False prophets bring false words. What do they do? Have false sensations. False prophets keep enough of the true Word to be false. They used to didn't do it, but the Bible said... You want to put down Scripture on that? II Timothy 3. See? The false prophet has enough of the true Word to make it false, because the Bible said that they'd have a form of godliness. In order to have a form of godliness, they have to have some of it as Truth. "A form of godliness, but deny the power thereof," the power of what? To make you straighten up, be a different, serve God, not go to dances and things of the world, the Bible condemns, not cut your hair. Like, false prophets say that, "Don't make any difference."
122 Someone said not long ago (I believe I quoted it here before, I don't know.), said, "Why in the world don't you leave them women and men alone," to me. Said, "Why, then, the people believe you to be a prophet."
I said, "I am not."
"But the people believe you to be. Why don't you teach them how to receive visions, how to do the works of God like that?"
I said, "How can I teach them algebra when they don't know their abc's?" See, see? How can you take a child out of kindergarten and give him a college education today, teach him square root measure? How can you do it when he don't know what abc means? You know what abc means? Always Believe Christ. That's right. Don't believe the church; don't believe their creed; don't believe their doctrine; believe Christ. Why? "To know Him, to know Him is Life." Is that right? Not know His creed, not... He ain't got no creeds. Not to even know His Word, not to know His Word; you got to know Him, know Him as your Saviour in new birth. Like Jesus said to Nicodemus, "If you can't believe earthly things that I tell you, how could you believe heavenly things?" How you going to believe spiritual things that enter into the Spirit, and knowing and seeing visions and things like that to set a school in order like that, when they don't even believe earthly things, can't even believe to wear clothes right, can't even believe to quit their smoking, and quit their lying, lay their temper aside, and all them things, do all these things, or quit lusting? How can you teach people to enter into the Spirit when they got all those things still hanging on them? Yes. Oh, my.
125 False prophets have false words: creeds, denominations, sensations. "Oh, bless God, only thing you have to do... You want to wear Elijah's garment? Glory to God. Only thing you have to do is just be blank in your mind, don't think of a thing, and say, 'Oh, fill me, fill me, fill me.'" The devil will sure do it. And then you rely upon that? "Oooh, It run all over me, Brother Branham. I felt It. Oooh, glory to God, Hallelujah. Jumping up and down like that, oh, I got It." And live like you live? "By their fruits you shall know them," (See, see, see?), not sensations.
"Oh, brother, you want to receive the Holy Ghost, just get down at the altar and say, 'Glory, glory, glory, glory, glory, until you speak in tongues.'" Uh-huh, go back out and live any kind of a life, lie, steal? When they tell you about being baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ, "That's fanaticism, my church teaches different," and say that you are born again, washed by the waters of the Word? Something wrong somewhere. See?
128 You'll believe every Word just the way It's wrote here. We don't need... And we don't... And the--the Bible said, "It's of no private interpretation." God interpreted It, and this is the way It is. He... Word, His Word here... Don't the Bible say in II, I believe, II Peter there, "The Bible is of no private interpretation." Certainly. No, no private, it's wrote just the way It means It, right like that. Just leave It just the way It's wrote here; It'll bring the same results.
129 Now, false teachers will bring false births. True prophets will bring the Word, the birth of the Word, Christ. False prophets will bring false birth, the birth of churches, the birth of creeds, the birth of denominations. And here you are, Pentecostal brother, false sent--or sensations, and tell a man he's got the Holy Ghost 'cause he speaks with tongues. I've seen devils speak with tongues, pencils lay down and write in unknown tongues. That don't mean a thing. See, it's got to be a life: by their fruit you shall know them. "Brother Branham, do you believe in speaking in tongues?" Yes, sir. "You believe in shouting?" Yes, sir. To be a Christian, I believe that. I believe God's Word. But if the life isn't there to back it up...
130 Get out there a stuffed shirt, "Glory to God, hallelujah," and then tell me that that's Christ? Christ was humble, meek, and gentle. Go into a town, and, my, you have to be just brushed off the shoulders, you know, and everything has to be just right, not a wrinkle in your suit, and you have to have the very best or you won't even come at all, guaranteed so much money, you can't have a meeting. Oh, my. All the denominations, they have to pat you on the back. There wasn't a one of them patted Him on the back, for He was the Word. Right.
131 False keep enough of the true to make a form of godliness. And listen, now I'm saying something here; I want you to listen. Them kind of false conceptions (You know what a false conception is?) lead millions of people to a false birth. False teachers lead the people to believe in a sensation, "'Cause you jerked all over, you got It. Oh, because you got a real funny feeling went over you, you--you seen lights in front of you, and got blind and staggered, that's Elijah's jacket put on you. That's right, you got It. Oh, you know what you are? You're a manifested son of God." Where do you find yourself? Defeated. That's right. "Glory to God, I went one night and I had a dream." Oh, yes, uh-huh. See? "Oh, I seen this, that..." Yeah, uh-huh. "You--don't you believe in dreams?" Yes, sir, I certainly do. But if that dream didn't back up God's Word, then it's wrong. This is the Truth here; stay in This. Yes, sir. Lead million to false birth, just think...
132 I got a piece of paper I was going to bring with me, where that the ecumenical father of all the Greek Orthodox and Orthodox churches has talked with Pope John the 22nd, and he said, "We may not see it in our generation, but the great brotherhood in the a-merge of both Protestant and Catholic is coming together."
I thought, "Praise God."
Somebody cut it out of a paper, wrote to me like that. I believe it was Brother Norman or somebody, said, "Brother Branham, it's later than we think." Look at today, the minister of war and, oh, so many different offices and President, and this nation is all Catholic controlled. Listen.
134 You say, "Well, they're Christians." To be Christian is to be like Christ, have His Spirit. Is that right? Here's a rude, something rude, but I want to say it. If you called a hog a sheep would it make him a sheep? Why, if you said, "Piggy, I'm just tired of you being a piggy. I want a lambie, so I'm going to take you out here, and I'm going to scrub you all up, and I'm going to wash your teeth, and I'm going to comb your hair down, and I--I'm going to make you a little lamb. I'm going to tie a little pink ribbon around your neck and you're going to be a little lambsie instead of a piggy." You come over and say, "Lambsie, lambsie, lambsie," he'll still go, "Oink, oink." Turn him loose in a pigpen, he'll eat all the slop he can get. Right? It isn't sprinkling him; it isn't putting him in water; it's a death and a birth. Yes, sir. Say, "I ain't going to feed you nothing but alfalfa; I'm going to feed you sheep food." Still feed him alfalfa, he's still pig. That's all. Is that right? Certainly it's right. Why, sure, he's a pig because his nature's a pig.
135 And if you love the world or the things of the world, you're still a pig. That's right. It takes the power of God to transform that soul. Die a pig; lay your pig habits on the altar; lay yourself on there, and let God's sacrifice be--or fire of judgment come down and consume you as a pig, and rebirth you as a lamb. Then you won't eat no slop; you couldn't; your gastronomics won't digest it. You're not right. Won't... It certainly won't make him a--a pig to say--or make him a lamb to say he's a lamb.
136 So a person called a Christian, by some creed or some sensation... You say, "Glory to God, Brother Branham, I danced in the Spirit all night that night. I spoke in tongues, oh, my, Brother Branham." I'm talking to Pentecostals now. "I--I--I danced in the Spirit. Oh, I had sensations, everything like that. But I tell you right now, don't you go talking to me about that there Jesus' Name stuff." Come on, piggy. You're still a pig; that's all.
"My sheep hear My Word." I say, "But, brother, look, find me one place where they was ever baptized in the Name of the Father, Son, Holy Ghost, in the Bible."
"I don't care what that does. Hallelujah. I don't want none of that old Jesus Only stuff." Who said anything about Jesus Only stuff? I'm talking about Bible. Jesus Only is a group of creeds and a group of denominations. One can't call the other one something else, 'cause they're both into it.
But I'm talking about thorough, genuine, one-hundred-percent Christians, borned again of the Spirit of God, and the dewdrops of heaven in their life. That's what I'm talking about. If you're a Methodist and got that, amen. Only thing you have to do is be pointed to the Word, you'll follow it like the duck going to the water. See? Just exactly. See? That's right.
140 People today want shortcuts. They don't want... They--they think you get it just in a minute, "Glory to God." What is it? What is it they do? Tonight they're in a--they're out yonder in the... Like some of these fellows that they got like certain people that I could call names, but I don't want to do it because this is on tape, but they're in a nightclub tonight with a guitar, beating it, and tomorrow morning they're standing in church somewhere beating that same guitar. Filth... The Bible said in Isaiah the 20th chapter, "All tables are full of vomit. As a dog goes to its vomit and a hog to its wallow, so do they." Why? They're still dogs and hogs. That's what makes them return to the wallow and to the vomit. You're still... They ain't borned again. If they're borned again, they're new creatures.
141 Do you know what, you got an old crow, he--he... Don't matter how much you try to... You could paint him just as--just as olive color as a dove, just as gray as a dove, white, paint him all over, he's still a crow inside. See? He's still stinky, an old buzzard just the same, scavenger, eat the dead things of the earth. That's right. But you know what, a dove don't even have to take a bath. Oh, hallelujah. A dove's body, because he is a dove, he's got a oil that comes through his feathers, that just keeps him clean all the time, because it comes from the inside out. Oh. Why? The buzzard say, "Mine too. I put a little holy water on them, brother, it fixed it." No, it didn't. For it comes from the inside out, not from the outside in. It's a birth. "Bless God, I go to church the same as you do. Hallelujah, my church is as good as yours. Hallelujah, we're just as..." All right, you buzzard. See, that's right. See? But a dove is oiled from the inside. There's a--a certain gland in a dove that's not in no other bird like that, dove or pigeon. And he oils hisself from the... Outside, he keeps hisself clean all the time. He don't have to keep hisself clean; there's something inside of him keeps him clean. Oh, Sister Way, hallelujah. Something inside of him keeps him clean.
142 Say, "I know, I joined church last week. I--I'd sure like to take that drink with you, but, huh... Umm, that cigar smells so good! Oh, sister, I know I'm an old model; I have to let my hair grow out now. Ain't it awful? You know them pretty little dresses I used to wear, and everybody, 'Whew-whew' (See?) I have to take it off now. You know, I joined church last week." You miserable wretch, all the holy water in the world couldn't clean you. But, brother, when you got something inside of you, It just washes it away all the time. You just stand still and It washes.
144 You don't have to tell a sheep, "You've got to manufacture." That's what's the matter with the Pentecostal people today. That's what's the matter with all Christiandom. It's trying to manufacture something. A sheep isn't asked to manufacture wool; he bears wool. You bear the fruits of the Spirit. You don't say, "Glory to God, I have to get black in the face; I have to do this; I have to have sensation; I have to dance in the Spirit, and I got It." No, no, uh-huh. Just get borned again and it actually takes place itself. You don't have to say, "Shall I study all night, shall I do this, shall I do that, shall I join this, and shall I make this creed, shall I do these penances?" No, nope. Just die, that's all (See?), be borned again, and it comes from the inside, takes care of the out. See? Sprinkle a little water, and wash them, just like changing a pig to a lamb, you can't do it. But if on the inside he's a lamb, then he won't be a pig no more. See? That's rude remarks; but I'm not educated, I just have to make it.
145 You know, it's... I was thinking, read in the life of John the Baptist the other day, what he said, what he called them, "You generation of vipers." Why? He was raised in the wilderness. See, he knowed what they was. Stomp your foot and they take for cover. "You generation of vipers." Also, "The axe is laid to the root of the tree." Tree, vipers, axes, he talked on what he knowed. That's the way you learn God, by what you know. You see a pig and a lamb, there's no nothing at all. You can't make... You might wash that little old pig up and do everything you want to, he's still a pig. He's got to be reborn before he can be a lamb.
146 Shortcuts... Tonight they're out here today, and they're going on (Oh, my.), and tomorrow they want to preach: Pentecostal people letting them do that too. Yeah. They want a shortcut to heaven, "Hallelujah, all I have to do is get down here and just don't think of nothing at all, and say, 'Hallelujah, hallelujah, I got on Elijah's garment. I'm going out tomorrow to cast out devils. Hallelujah, hallelujah, I got It.' Praise God, here I go." They want the shortcut to heaven, taking as much of the world as they can take. You can't take any of it. There's no shortcuts. You come the way of Calvary. You come the way of the brass altar. You come the way of the brazen serpent. You die. You actually die, O God, why can't I say it right? You die, literally die to yourselves, die to the things of the world, and are borned anew. Amen. No world, the things of the world is dead. There's no shortcuts. See? They want to come right quick; they don't want to grow. We grow in the Lord. It takes growth and experience.
147 People are told out on the West Coast now, "Oh, we got the immortal baptism. We baptize you in water; you turn right back to a young man right there, a young woman. Yes, sir. You keep getting..." They got Elijah's garments; they've got manifested sons of God. "Yes, sir, brother, God's getting manifested sons right now, manifesting, tell them all about this. Tonight you're a sinner; tomorrow you're manifested sons of God." Nonsense. Where do you get that in the Word? Babies are not born men; they're born babies and grow to men.
148 Listen over here; just let me just quote back just a minute and read something to you in Ephesians, the 11th verse, 12th, about the 15th, I believe it is, somewhere along in here. Let's start at the 12th verse.
For the perfection of the saints, for the working of the ministry,... the edifying of the body of Christ:
Till we all come into the unity of the faith, and... the knowledge of the Son of God, into perfected man, and the measure of His stature and the fulness of Christ:
That we from henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine,... (Listen, and what doctrine?)... by the sleight--sleight of men, and cunning crafts, whereby they lay in wait to deceive you;
But speaking the truth in love,... (And, wait, what?)... speaking the truth... (He is the Truth)... in love,... (Listen. Are you listening? Say, "Amen.") [Congregation says, "Amen"--Ed.] (What?)... may grow up unto him... (Ah, what, tomorrow? No, grow up to Him.)... grow up--grow up unto him... which is the head, even Christ: (Growing up into Him, oh, there's...)
149 I remember the first sermon I preached. I got up there, and I--I thought I did real well, and all of the old ladies set around and they cried a little bit, you know, and said, "Oh, what a wonderful boy."
The old pastor, Doctor Davis, was an old lawyer. I went down, and he said, "I want to see you down at the house."
I said, "All right." I walked in next day, you know, all swelled out. I said, "How did I do, Doctor Davis?"
Said, "The rottenest I ever heard."
I said, "What?"
He said, "The worst I ever heard."
"Oh," I said, "Brother Davis, everybody was crying."
He said, "Yes, they cry at funerals, cry at births, everything else." He said, "What it is, Billy, you never quoted one bit of God's Word. You talked about some mother that had done gone on, or something like this, and got everybody to crying." Said, "You're not borned again upon things and sensations of this earth; you're born by the Word." Said, "Billy, I..."
Oh, he cut the wind right out of me. I'm glad he did. See, see? Not jumping up and down, hollering, that isn't it. It's the Word that makes alive. The Word's quickened, not experiences; the Word.
154 He said, "I remember the first case I tried, Billy." He said, "I beat on the rail," and he said, "I said, 'Look at this poor woman.'" Oh, he said, "'Look how she look, and her husband's mistreated her.'" And said, "I cried a little and picked up my handkerchief, and I acted just like the rest of the lawyers." Said, "I thought I'd go through the same emotion." Said, "Judge, your Honor, why don't you give her a divorce. Look at there. She says her husband beat her back across the back." He couldn't even see it, under her underneath clothes. "They beat her across the back." And said, "Why won't you give her..." The old judge just set there, looked.
Directly the old attorney setting across on the other side had growed up; he said, "Judge, your Honor, how much more will--of this nonsense will your court stand?"
Just a lot of carrying on, that's the way too many people do: too much carrying on without enough Word behind it to back up. Grow up. "Oh, he danced in the Spirit last night, Brother Branham; he's all right." No, that don't make him all right to me. No, sir. Got to grow up, be proved, tested, growing up to Him, seasoned.
157 I was reading in the histories not long ago. Am I taking too much time? I was reading in the history of the church. I believe Sister Arnold back there "amen'd" me the other day on something about the history of the church, that she had been reading it. I seen where one night there was a boy in a monastery in the days of Saint Martin, that he said, "The Lord made me an old prophet out of the Old Testament. See? I am one of the old prophets." Well, I cannot call the bishop's name there of this little school, just a little group like this here. I cannot call his name at this time, but he was trained under Martin. It didn't sound just right, so the rest of the brethren just let him alone. Directly he prophesied; he said, "Tonight God's coming down and going to give me a white robe to set among you, and you'll know that I'm one of the prophets of the Old Testament." So that night, twelve o'clock, actually it happened. Voices was heard, people moving around, and the boy got a robe, they said just as white as it could be. He comes out, said, "Didn't I tell you?" Said, "Now, all of you take orders from me. I am the Old Testament prophet."
158 But the old bishop didn't go for it just right. It wasn't the Word. Prophets are not made; they're predestinated. And a prophet wouldn't act like that in the beginning. The fruit of it proved that it wasn't. See? The fruits proved that it wasn't a prophet. See? So he said, "We'll spend the rest of the night in fasting, and praying, and singing of hymns." A day or so passed. After while the old bishop, praying, said, "Lord, that boy..." That garment, to look at it, they'd never knowed nothing, seen anything like it. Writers come and looked, and they never seen anything like it. There it was. Finally, they knowed one man that was a prophet; that was Martin. They said, "All right, one thing now you do to prove to us. Scripturally you're wrong. How about going over to Martin and stand before him and tell him that?" See?
He said, "Oh, I am forbidden to stand before Martin."
159 He that's got good gold don't dread going to the testing machine (Uh-huh, that's right.), he that's got the Truth. That's the reason I make a challenge. Any man come and show me where the baptism in the Name of Jesus Christ is wrong. Show me this birth that you got to die, and if you still got the world in you, you're still of the world. Show me these things. Don't have to worry about it, take it to the testing machine. Here's the Testing Machine. See, see? That's right.
So they said, "You're going anyhow." And a bunch of the brothers picked him up, and the robe vanished. See? Wouldn't Pentecostal people eat that up today? Oh, my. It looked like the real thing, but it wasn't according to the Word.
161 Martin said Satan appeared to him one time, great golden crown on, three or four decks of stars in it like that, glistening and beautiful, great big fellow, nice, handsome, correctly combed and groomed, a great beautiful robe on, and his shoes on his feet was gold, walked out and said, "Martin, do you know me?"
Now, people that don't see visions, this might not--this might not--you might not understand it (See?), but how things come to you in different spirits, and how deceiving they are. The Bible said they would deceive the very elected if it was possible. See? The elected, that's those who are predestinated and born for that purpose. See, see?
163 So he come to this elected; he said, "Martin, do you know me? I am Christ." He said, "Will you recognize me?" Martin hesitated: seemed strange, he waited a minute. And he said again, he said, "Don't you see me? I am Christ. Do you recognize me?" He said it three or four times to him.
Christ said, or Martin said, "Satan, I know you. My Lord is not crowned yet, but His saints shall crown Him." There's the Word back.
That's where that Roman church got so much dogma, evil spirits coming in contrary to the Word, and they had to deny the Word to take their dogma and get away from the Bible. Stay with the Word. That's the string of Life today. There'll be spirits rise after while that'll deceive everything nearly. The Bible said so. "As Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so will these men of reprobated mind concern the Truth," perform miracles and do all kinds of signs. But stay with that Word. The Word of the Lord came to the prophet, and they brought It forth, and we believe the prophets.
Notice, yes, he said, "I know you, Satan." Said, "My Lord is not a big man like that. My Lord went away with a rugged old garment on, with nail scars in His hand, uncrowned, with bloody locks. And when He returns, He'll come like that, for the Bible said He'll return in the like manner as He went." And the thing vanished from him. Oh, my.
167 How he comes in and just makes it so beautiful. "Oh, they spoke in tongues. They--they--they're the best people you ever seen." Don't you believe that. Be leery.
I hope the Word's not boring you. Born Christians grow into the stature of Christ as they live. They're borned again, and their lives begin to shape like a baby. It takes form and begins to grow. First thing you know, here they are in the full stature. Amen. There you are. Day after day, year after year, they stay the same. Now, come back to the Word, "If ye abide in Me..."
169 They say, "I got born again, hallelujah, I joined the... I joined this. I joined. I don't know; last year I believed in Jesus' Name; now I--I backed it out now; I--I believe this. I did believe you had to be holy, but I--I... So-and-so said..." Wanderers, tossed about with every wind of doctrine... See? There you are.
But be borned of the Spirit and grow into the stature of Christ. You see it, Brother Dauch? Growing into the stature of Christ. Through your life, proves... Like if you were borned a prophet, you'll remain that. If you were borned a Christian, you'll remain that. "If ye abide in Me and My Words abide in You..." This grows you up into the stature of Christ, not some young lawyer beating, screaming, crying, tell you this, that, other, make a lot emotions; but somebody who's growed into the stature of Christ, through the years has seasoned out and proved, standing at the helm. No other... "On Christ the solid Rock we stand, all other grounds is sinking sands." Let denominations and creeds come, go, let isms; keep me humble, Lord, stay right with the Word and move right on through the stream. She'll guide us to the shore. Full statue-ment...
171 Now look, if we see how it turns out here, and you can't change after death... Now, you watch these people that come in, gets all the sensations and things, run out and tomorrow they're this way. Have you seen it? Hundreds of them. See? And you see, you--you see what happens. And now, what if them people died in that state? Death doesn't change it.
So, O Christians, in closing this Words, let me say this. Let us turn to Him and His Word with all sincerity. Come humbly like Christians, and be born again of His Spirit. And when you are born again, you are vindicated a Christian by the fruits that you bear. You get that, Sister Peckenpaugh? You are a Christian by your fruits that you bear. "By their fruits you shall know them." That's a vindication. You might not know your abc's, but yet you can be a lady, a Christian. You might be hated of the world (If you do it because something you've done, you should be.), but if you're hated for His sake, that's different.
173 You might not--you might not be a theologian. Look at the blind man that was born blind. Jesus healed him. He had been born from birth; he didn't even have eyeballs. And Jesus made him well, healed him. And when that man came to see, and the Pharisees questioned him, said, "Who was he?" They couldn't deny that something had been done. Now, the man was not a theologian. He couldn't argue like preachers would do, little technique things; he couldn't explain to them. He didn't know the Testament. He didn't know how the Messiah was to be born and the works He was to do. The man didn't know it. He wasn't a theologian. But what did he do? They said, "Give God praise. We are theologians, and we know He's a sinner."
174 Now, the men couldn't deny their word, but here's what he did say, in other words, "If--if He is a sinner and does this, then what's the matter with you fellows? (See?) What's the matter with you all?" He said, "Whether He's a sinner or not, I don't know; I can't say that. But this one thing I do know; wherein I was once blind, I now see." What was he doing? He was vindicated. That's right. He was being a-vindicated. Something had happened to him. His being was changed from darkness to light, from blind to sight.
And a man that's borned of the Spirit of God, that once had a form of godliness, deny the Word thereof, and the power thereof, and to saying "The days of miracles is passed..." When he's born again, he might not be a scholar, he might not be able to explain It, but he believes It. Like the...
176 If my colored brethren and sisters here forgive me for saying this... A good old colored brother down south, they told a little story of him, said he was packing a Bible and he couldn't even read his name. And he said, "Mose, why do you pack that Bible?"
Said, "It's the Word of God."
They said, well, said, "Do you believe It?"
He said, "Yes, sir, I sure do believe It." Said, "I believe It from 'civer' to 'civer,' and believe the 'civer' also, because It's got Holy Bible wrote on It."
Said, "How do you know It's a Holy Bible?" Said, "How do you know It is?"
He said, "I just believes it. That's all." That's all he had to have. He just believed It. He didn't know why, but he believed It.
They said to him, "Mose, do you, would you do anything that Bible said do?"
"Yes, sir." He said, "If the Bible said so, I'd do it." There you are.
He said, "All right, Mose." He said, "Now, what, if that stone fence there, if the Lord told you to jump through that stone fence, would you, how'd you jump through the stone fence?"
He said, "Does the Bible say for Mose to jump through that stone fence?"
He said, "But what if God would speak to you and tell you to jump through the stone fence?"
He said, "If it was God, and He told me to jump, I'd jump."
He said, "How you going to get through that fence without a hole in it?"
He said, "If it was God, He'd have the hole there when Mose got there." And that's right. Right.
186 You dare to take God's Word and stand there and say It's so. Let this poor little nervous woman here, thinks she's going to die, and everything else is wrong with her... See? You're not dying. Say, "How can I do it, Brother Branham?" Just take His Word and step on It one time once. Stand on that Word, see what happens. Tell the devil he's a liar. You've been in menopause all these years, about fifty-seven years old. And get away from the thing, it's the devil. Take God's Word and say, "By His stripes I am healed," watch what takes place. Then you'll quit thinking you got heart attacks and everything. You don't have no heart attacks and all that stuff. It's a lie. You don't have it. Just believe God's Word. That's right.
187 When you're borned again, God vindicates you. That's how God vindicates all of His nature. What? By their fruits. That's the way He vindicates His ministry. That's right. All of His servants are vindicated the same way He vindicates nature. How do you know it's a peach tree? 'Cause it bring peaches. How do you know it's an apple tree? Bearing apples. How do you know it's a Christian? Christian signs bear from it; Christian life comes out of it. How do you know he's a teacher? The Word comes from him. How do you know he's a prophet? The Word comes through him, bears record, vindication. It proves itself. How does it become that? When it dies and becomes one. That's right. When we die and become a new creature in Christ Jesus, it gets us with our calling; we stay with our calling. The fruits of the Spirit follow us when we are His servants. When we are borned again, the fruits of Christ's Life follows us. That's right. How do you know it's a peach tree? It's got peaches. How do you know he's a Christian? He acts like Christ; he walks like Christ; he talks like Christ; he lives like Christ, above sin, victorious. What does he do, say, "See what I done"? Christ didn't do that. He gave all praise to the Father. That's right. That's how you know it. By their fruits you shall know them. What must...
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be born again he cannot even understand the Kingdom of God."
189 So not my New Year's message here at twelve-thirty, or twenty minutes till one, but my advice is to you, Christian, you who love God: when you come to God's brass altar of judgment, and you want to be born again, just lay yourself upon there. Don't expect to pick up again; you're going to die. That's the end of you. That's all. If you don't do it, if you don't feel like you can do that, don't, don't try it, it won't work; deeply, sincerely. With about ten pages more of this lesson here, or more, Scriptures, I quit.
But lay yourself upon God's brazen altar of God's judgment and become just as dead to the world as Christ was. See? Come just as dead as the judged serpent was in the garden of Eden, had done been represented in the form of a brass serpent: no life at all in it at all; all of its life was gone. Christ was lifeless; they took Him from the cross and buried Him in the grave. He was--He was dead. And then He rose for our justification. And we die with our Lamb on the altar and are raised again for--in His justification. How do we know? Because His Life that raised Him from that dead condition, that same Life raises us from our dead condition of the world into a new creature in Christ Jesus, and then by the Holy Ghost we're sealed in the Kingdom of God until the day of our redemption.
190 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be born again he cannot understand the Kingdom of God." Don't try to understand It. You'll never do it. Jesus said you could not. Just accept It; accept It on the basis of His Word.
Don't walk in blindly now, and say, "O Lord, give me a sensation." Don't, "Lord, I tell You." No. Just say, "Lord, kill me; take the world out of me. I--I--I still love the things of the world." I don't mean the creation, sunsets and beauty, and stuff like that; that ain't what I'm talking about. I'm thinking about the lust, the filth, the world order, all these things of the world. Just, they just die, just automatically die, and you've got no... They've got no more hold on you. They become stinky to you, "Uh, just don't see how people live in them." You cry out. More you see of it, the worse you get. Yes, sir. You can't compromise with it. There's no place to compromise. There's no place to put yourself in there when there's world in there. You're dead to them things. And how can you, once being dead to the world, then associate in the things of it again? Can't do it. So don't do that. Die to the things of the world.
192 The Lord bless you. Be borned again Christians. Be borned again, then you won't have to say, "It's the hardest thing," you women, "for me to let my hair grow out." "It's the hardest thing for me to let my temper go," you men. "Boy, I just have to tell my wife. I get her, boy, and I shake her and I say, 'I know I'm a Christian, oughtn't to do it, but you shut-up and you set down.'" Huh-uh, don't do that. See?
You'd like to see a time you could put your arm around her, and say, "Sweetheart, that isn't becoming to a Christian." That's the way you want to be, isn't it? You can be that way. See? And when a man slaps you on one side of the face, you don't have to cut him down with a pocketknife. See? A man slaps you on one side of the face, say, "Brother, what reason did you do that for?" See? There you are. That's Christianity. When somebody says something evil about you, instead of just trying to make a big show of it, slip off somewhere and say, "Heavenly Father, the man is a mortal. I pray that You will take that spirit out of him. Don't let him do that. Pray You save his life."
194 Don't say, "Lord, I know I oughtn't to say it." Well, you might not say it with your lips, but mean it in your heart. See? It's your heart's what counts. See? When you're borned again of the Spirit of God, you actually love everybody. Now, you don't love their ways and things like that, don't want to partake of it. No, sir. Stay away from the things of the world, but you just keep yourself spotless. And the only way you have to do it, it comes from the inside out, like the dove fixing his feathers. You see? He don't have to fix them, say, "Now, today I must wipe all this off," and then like that. No, he's got a oil on the inside of him because he's a dove, just keeps him clean. See? That's right.
195 Won't you do that? Won't you receive Him like that? That's my persuasion to you on this New Year's Eve. I persuade this little Tabernacle. How I love you, how I love this little group of people. How I would like to come in sometime, walk down through this building, and just look. You know what I've always longed to see? A church filled with the Spirit, that sin could not even be around it. As soon as one member done something wrong, the Spirit would call it right out. He'd be afraid to join himself with the Christians before confessing it and making it right, because he'd be called right out at the meeting when you get together. You see there? Wouldn't that be lovely? Then the unclean come in and set down among you, the first thing you know, the Holy Spirit speaks in such a way that reveals the secrets of their heart (See?), telling them. Now, if it'll work on one, it will on the other. See, see? And everybody in prayer, all of you as one unit, one person, just one person, like we're all members of this body moving right along, all borned again of the Spirit of God, filled with the same Spirit, baptized into the same body, wouldn't that be wonderful? Now, we can have it. God promised it to us. But first, death, burial, and resurrection with Him.
196 Let us bow our heads now for prayer. There's some handkerchiefs laying here also.
Holy God, we realize, Lord, that the sacredness of standing in this spot... We realize that we are in the House of God. We're in, associating with the Body of Christ, which is the House of God. The members of the Body are assembled together. There's one coming from one place, and one another, gathering together. And today on this Sunday school lesson, it's been long and drawed out. But, Father, I believe that it's ordained of You, that it should be this way, that we might understand what birth and resurrection mean, what it means to be borned again. We have to... First things first, we have to die in order to be borned again. You never change Your law. The law of nature still provides. The law of nature is that any seed must first die in order to be borned again. And we realize that we too must die in order to be born again. And so many, Lord, today, I pray You forgive us, so many has depended upon certain experiences they had, that they claim they're borned again. But the fruits of their life shows that it--they were brought on the wrong tree.
198 That was my reason, Father, as this morning asking if Brother Neville spoke to me to bring a message, I'd just teach Sunday school. And therefore, Father, I've done it with--with love and with all my heart, that the people might know, that--to not rest upon some little experience they had, but to rest solemnly on their day-by-day life; how they live in the times when they're in the church, and how they live when the--the great strain comes on the outside. Do they flee to the cross for help when trouble arises, or do they walk in their own spirit and own thoughts? Do they rile back when they're riled upon? That's this question, Father. And when we see that it's totally impossible for any of us to save the other, that God has made an appropriated way, a--a all-sufficient Sacrifice, and It's the only way that we can come, not by any church, any creed, any denomination, any sensation, but by the way of Christ... As the first man, the righteous died, he died on the altar with his lamb. And to this very hour, every other righteous man has to die on the brazen altar of God with his Lamb Christ Jesus. Then we are dead with Him and raised anew in a new Life. Grant it, Lord, that it won't miss any heart in here.
199 Let us think it over today, Lord, as we return this afternoon again at seven-thirty to begin here a series of meetings in preaching tonight. I pray that You'll bless every one of Your servants tonight with mighty messages, Lord. Grant it. May our souls be filled. These people that's drove so far to come in, may there--be so filled with the Gospel of the power of God through this New Year's Eve, that they'll go away from here happy and rejoicing. Grant it, Lord, giving them spiritual Food for the coming year. Grant it.
Forgive us of our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us. And You said, "If you from your heart do not forgive every man his trespasses, neither does your heavenly Father forgive you." So, Lord, we forgive everyone. We by faith this morning lay our souls upon the altar; and burn every bit of the life of the world out of us, Lord. May the smoke come up from our sacrifice, Lord, and be sweet-smelling odor in Your nostrils. Grant it, Lord, as we don't lay a burnt lamb, but lay ourselves up there as sinners to be burned as sinners, and changed into lambs of a new birth. Grant it, Lord.
201 And then lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil; the evil of sickness, the evil of depressed. Heal everyone that's in the building this morning. Every sick person may be healed today, Lord. I speak these words in the Name of the Lord Jesus, that the mountains that lays before the people, may they all be moved today. If it's sickness, if it's lust, if it's passions, if it's anything of the world, may it move out of the way, and let the Word of God come in and be made manifest in their life. Deliver us from evil; for Thine is the Kingdom, Lord, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
I love Him, I love Him
Because He first loved me
And purchased my salvation
On Calvary's tree.
Now, shake one another's hand.
I love Him, I... (Just turn right around, say, "Greetings, my brother, greetings.")
Because He first loved me
And purchased my salvation
On Calvary's tree. (Keep on playing.)
202 I want to thank each one of you for all your kindness this past year. I'll probably get my message tonight, the Lord willing, at seven-thirty. I want to thank Charlie and Nellie, and Rodney and his wife, for their kindness, hunting season as I was down there, and they treated me as if I was their father or their brother. To all you people that's been so kind to me, thank you. Brother and Sister Dauch, and Brother Wright, oh, so--Brother Ben, many, oh, all you people, Brother Palmer and, you know, all of you from Georgia, all around everywhere, thank you.
By the way, Margie's father, they called yesterday and said he was sick. Is--is Margie and Rodney here? They're not? How is the old fellow? [A brother in the congregation says, "He might be just a little bit better."--Ed.] Let's just, slowly, let's pray.
204 Heavenly Father, a few weeks ago I set on the little country porch way back up on the road in Kentucky. An aged old daddy set out there with his overalls on and his faded blue shirt, trembling. Took him by the hand and seen that he was nearing the end... A little old mother invited me in to have some biscuits and gravy. Lord, they were only respecting Your Word. Now, he's just barely here; he's leaving us. Don't let him die a sinner, Lord. Maybe it's been our--Your servant's, Lord, fault. That poor old man, knowing nothing but beating out the clods and making a living for his children, but I found in him a good gentle spirit. Don't let him die a sinner. His daughter is one of us, Lord. And how little old Margie, them little shoulders aching, and how she's ministered to me and trying to make me a bed to sleep in down there, and a--a breakfast at the table, and her, and Nellie, and Charlie, and all of them, mother Cox. "And she's crying," they said, "on the phone. Her daddy is going." That's her daddy.
205 Lord, come to that oxygen tent just now; don't knock on the tent, but that tent of the door of his heart. Maybe some of us hasn't fulfilled our duty to go to him, Lord. Some of Your other servants, maybe in his young days when his mind was alert, maybe it's our fault, Lord, that we didn't persuade him. Then forgive us, Lord, and take him into Thy Kingdom. Grant it, Father. We commit him to You now. If it be possible, or be in Your great plan, if You'll raise him up, Lord, maybe some of us will have a chance to talk to him yet. However, our plea is for his soul, Lord, 'cause it's going to take its journey pretty soon, it seems like, sailing out into the unknown yonder, oh, with no pilot, no one to guide him through the fog and mist yonder. He'll lose his way, Lord. May the Pilot that knows the way, come to him this morning, anchor his little ship against the side of the old ship of Zion. When he takes his journey, he'll be sure to land in safety. Grant it, Father, we commit him to You now, in the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
206 I love Him, I love Him (Let's raise our hands.)
Because He first loved me
And purchased my salvation
On Calvary's tree.
Tonight I'll try to be a little quicker with the message, not as I was this morning. Now, slip away. I wish I could take you all up home with me, give you all a good dinner. I'd sure do it if I could. But I hope that the Lord gives you a--a real meal, spiritually speaking, in His goodness and mercy, that you'll see it and grow unto the full stature of Him that you love, your Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Now, as we leave the building, and stand for prayer, dismissal, we want to sing our song, and be sure that you obey it, "Take The Name Of Jesus With You." All right. You're going to dismiss...?... Now, we're going to make announcement just in a moment, got announcement soon as we sing our song. All right.
Take the Name of Jesus with you,
Child of sorrow and of woe;
It will joy and comfort give you,
Take it everywhere you go.
Precious Name (Precious Name), (O how sweet!)
Hope of earth and joy of... (Lord Jesus, heal these people...?...)... (How sweet!)
Hope of earth and joy of heaven.
Take the Name of Jesus with you,
As a shield from every snare; (Listen, now what?)
When temptations 'round you gather, (What do you do?)
Just breathe that holy Name in prayer.
Precious Name, O how sweet!
Hope of earth and joy of heaven;
Precious Name (Precious Name), O how sweet!
Hope of earth and joy of heaven.
207 Now remember, I believe that Jesus Christ says this to every human being on His first doctrine, "Except a man be born of the water (That's the Word, washing of the water by the Word.) and of the Spirit (which is the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit confirming the Word), he cannot see the Kingdom of heaven." Do you believe that? See? Of the water, washing of the water by the Word, Word and Truth, He is the Truth. Water and Spirit, the Spirit coming with the Word to confirm the Word, making God live in me... See? We cannot understand the Kingdom of heaven till that's happened. Then when that begins to happen, that we see the Word in us, born of the Word and of the Spirit, manifesting Itself, leading me not away from the Word; the Spirit leads me to the Word, and the Word living in me, making God manifest in your life, you'll never understand the Kingdom of God and can no wise enter into it. God bless you. Brother Neville.
1 ... Silvester ráno v službe Pánovej. A snažili sme sa dohodnúť s bratom Neville, čo budeme robiť, ohľadne kázania. Ja som sa ho snažil presvedčiť, aby tu dnes ráno stál a kázal nám všetkým a mňa aby nechal kázať večer. No, nakoniec sa to zmenilo a ja kážem aj ráno aj večer. On je dobrý predavač. A tak prv, ako začneme našu lekciu, povedal som mu, že budeme mať len lekciu, chcel by som ... nie je nás tu dnes ráno veľmi veľa a budeme mať len lekciu. Prv ako začneme, chcel by som povedať malé oznámenie.
2 Máme tu nejakých ľudí, ktorí sem prišli z New Yorku a chcú tu s nami bývať. Myslím, že som ich nikdy nestretol. Brat Neville povedal, že o tom práve hovoril. Včera večer som počul, že sa im chytil horieť príves a celý zhorel. Išiel som tam, aby som videl tých ľudí, a zdá sa, že sú to milí kresťania. Sú to takí biedni ľudia ako aj my všetci, a brat Wood a dvaja alebo traja z nás sa chceli poskladať a zistiť, či by sme im mohli kúpiť druhý príves. A boli veľmi milí a povedali, že poistka, ktorú mali, že sa dostali do ťažkostí a museli ju odhlásiť. Ale predsa ten agent zaplatil tú poistku a že dostanú odškodnenie za svoj príves, za čo sa bude dať pravdepodobne kúpiť druhý príves. Myslím, že pondelok alebo utorok to budú vedieť alebo teraz niekedy, alebo ... Myslím, že v utorok. A tak chceme niesť spolu s nimi ich zármutok a urobiť všetko, čo môžeme, aby sme im pomohli, aby sme im dali vedieť, že sme bratia a sestry v Kristovi Ježišovi a súcitíme jeden s druhým. A myslím, že každý jeden to takto chceme cítiť, aby sme im teraz trochu mohli pomôcť. Je to trochu neobyčajná vec. Myslím, že nikdy v živote som nerobil zbierky a tak nechám, aby to urobil brat Neville. Tak ... to bola rana, však. No dobre. Ďakujem, brat Ben. Proste niekto ... čo ... len trochu niečo, čo máte, čo by ste im mohli dať, som si istý, že to bude ocenené. Poď sem, brat Neville. Neviem ako. Urob to tak, ako si myslíš. [Brat Neville sa modlí a robí zbierku. – pozn.prekl.] Amen.
3 Myslel som, že kým to robia, budem mať trochu príležitosť pripraviť si niečo, o čom budem hovoriť dnes ráno, zo starých textov a z toho, čo som si zapísal na kúsok papiera. Myslím, že všetci kazatelia to robia. Ako sa volajú títo ľudia? Elliott. Je tu dnes ráno brat a sestra Elliotovci a ich syn? Ak sú tu, keby ste chceli povstať a povedať, len vstať a povedať niečo „Ďakujeme za ..." ľuďom, dobre. Chcete niečo povedať ľuďom, brat Elliott alebo sestra Elliottová? [Brat Elliott ďakuje ľuďom. - pozn.prekl.] Nech ťa Boh žehná brat Elliott. To je milé. Ďakujeme. Nech je Boh s tebou a s tebou, sestra Eliottová, a s vaším synom.
4 Títo ľudia prišli z New Yorku. Nevedel som, že sú tu. Vraveli mi, že voľakedy som sa s nimi rozprával, alebo že som sa s nimi modlil, či niečo také. Nepoznal som ich až včera, keď som sa s nimi stretol a zistil som, že sú to milí kresťania, veľmi milí ľudia. Bývali hore v New Yorku, niekde tam v Hudson River Valley a možno, že cez pásku alebo niečo také uverili posolstvu, a predali všetko a prišli sem, proste vydali svoje životy aj čas Kristovi. A chceme, aby ste vedeli, brat a sestra Elliottovci, toto je naše malé vyznanie, že my sme tu tiež iba dočasne. Sme pútnici a cudzinci na tomto svete. Hľadáme mesto, ktorého staviteľom a tvorcom je Boh. A keď sa vám v týchto veciach prihodilo nešťastie, diabol sa vás snažil spáliť a vystrašiť, my sme na 100% s vami, aby sme sa vás zastali vo všetkom, čo môžeme pre vás urobiť, aby sme vám pomohli, aby ste sa znovu postavili na nohy. Aby ste povstali v mene Pána Ježiša a ďalej pochodovali. Nevzdávajte sa, nie. Mnoho zlého prichádza na spravodlivého, ale zo všetkého toho ho Boh vytrhuje. A tak vieme, že môžeme očakávať, že sa stanú takéto veci, ale vieme, že tiež môžeme spoliehať na nášho Spasiteľa, ktorý je viac ako víťaz, a my v Ňom, ktorý nás vykúpil.
5 No, dnes je taký plný deň a dnes ráno som si tam myslel, len som tak rozmýšľal, že by som za chvíľu učil lekciu nedeľnej školy, že by sme dnes ráno mali lekciu nedeľnej školy. A večer o pol ôsmej chcem, ak bude vôľa Božia, priniesť svoje novoročné posolstvo, ako som minulú nedeľu či sobotu večer priniesol svoje vianočné posolstvo. A dnes večer prinesiem svoje novoročné posolstvo o pol ôsmej, ak dá Pán. Brat Neville bude mať svoje novoročné posolstvo, a vidím tam brata Strickera a brata Collinsa a, ó, iných kazateľov a je tu s nami brat Palmer z Georgii a ďalší. To je kazateľov, budete ich dnes večer počuť.
6 A tak som včera zavolal bratovi Nevillemu ohľadne niečoho, čo mi prišlo na srdce. Vidíme, že toto je Nový rok, a to je tiež prvý, prvá nedeľa, tak prečo by sme dnes večer nemali namiesto veľkých zábav a hulákania a takýchto prejavov, aké robí ostatný svet, majme dnes o polnoci Večeru Pánovu. Dobre? Slúžme Pánovi. Brat Neville súhlasil a myslí, že by to bolo veľmi vhodné. A dnes večer, ak dá Pán, budem o dvanástej prisluhovať večeru Pánovu. A začneme nový rok nie s vykrikovaním a tak - to je v poriadku, keď to ľudia chcú robiť - ale urobme to s väčším posvätením a úprimnosťou. A pristúpme do tohoto roku úprimne ku Kristovi, dajme Mu všetko, čo máme, a zaviažme sa Mu. Nie obrátiť novú stranu alebo niečo také, a tak začať Nový rok. V takéto niečo neveríme. Obrátite len novú stranu, aby ste na druhý deň znovu vošli do starých koľají, tak obráťme svoje životy ku Nemu a majme dnes večer o polnoci Večeru Pánovu. A myslím, že toto je prvýkrát, ako sa pamätám, odkedy som kazateľom, keď to budeme robiť. Pamätáš sa, brat Neville? Ale teraz je to pre nás niečo nové a to je veľmi zriedka, že Nový rok takto prichádza, viete, a tak mi to napadlo, a myslím, že by to bolo ohromné.
7 Zdá sa mi, že toto teraz bude asi posledný krát, keď budem môcť s vami všetkými hovoriť, lebo na nejaký čas odchádzam. Vchádzam do nového roku a odchádzam na misijné pole, v Pánovej službe. Odídem asi na budúci týždeň, alebo potom nasledujúci týždeň do Phoenixu na okolo pätnásť- šestnásť zhromaždení, v tých údoliach a hore cez Sunny Slopes a Scottsdale a okolo tam cez tie údolia. A potom tam budeme mať konferenciu Kresťanských Obchodníkov, je to päťdňová konferencia na koniec všetkých týchto zhromaždení. Zariadili to tak, že budem môcť hovoriť ku všetkým denomináciám, ku každej z ich cirkví na území celej metropolitánie Maricopa Valley vo Phoenixe. A oni začínajú pätnásteho. Tak odtiaľto odídem asi o desať dní skôr, aby som ... Cestou sa asi zastavím navštíviť svojho dobrého priateľa, brata Mooreho a niekoľkých iných. A potom na cestách bude snežiť a tak ďalej, aby som prišiel na čas. A potom ... mnohí z vás sú kazatelia ...
8 A brat Roy Borders, ak je tu dnes ráno, on máva na starosti tie zhromaždenia, keď ľudia telefonujú a pýtajú sa na zhromaždenia. A počas týchto vianočných prázdnin, no, zvyknem robiť cestovný program, kde budem ten ďalší rok, ale tento rok nejako cítim, aby som to tak nerobil. Cítim, že budem mať jedno zhromaždenie a potom odtiaľ pôjdem tam, kde ma On bude viesť na to ďalšie. A potom z toho ďalšieho, kdekoľvek to bude, tak, ako ma On bude viesť.
9 A očakávam teraz, že niečo sa v tomto roku stane. V poslednom čase som mal veľa videní. Jedného dňa ráno som mal znovu jedno veľké a všetko sa týka a vyzerá, akoby sa malo stať niečo veľké. Tak spolieham len na Neho. Niektorým z nich ani nerozumiem. A my nerozumieme videniam. Oni sú viac akoby symboly a niekedy im celkom nerozumieme, ale aj tak vieme, že hovoria pravdu. Tak ony sa vyplnia. Zapísal som si ich.
10 Zdá sa mi, že už bolo oznámené, alebo má byť oznámené, že rada starších a rada diakonov sa tu v modlitebni má spoločne stretnúť na spoločnom zhromaždení, zajtra večer o siedmej. Dovoľte, že to znovu oznámim, ak diakoni, kdekoľvek sú, ak sú v tej druhej miestnosti, môžu to počuť cez tento malý mikrofón, že zajtra večer o siedmej, pastor, rada diakonov a starší, ako som povedal pred chvíľou, zajtra večer sa majú stretnúť. Brat Neville sa chce stretnúť so svojimi diakonmi a hovoriť s nimi a starší majú svoje pravidelné stretnutie, a tak sa zajtra večer spolu zídu.
11 No, dnes ráno, skôr ako pristúpime ku Slovu, och, nemajme v ničom naponáhlo. Dnes máte celý deň a večer a zajtra. Využime len náš čas a nepreberme tieto veci len tak naponáhlo. Samozrejme, viem, že ľudia sú unavení a ustatí alebo chcú ísť domov, viete, ponáhľajú sa, musia pripraviť večeru, ich muži na to čakajú. No dobre, to je v poriadku, len potichu vyjdite. A vy ostatní, ktorí chcete zostať, dobre. Nemusíme ... Zajtra nemusíte ísť do roboty a tak využime náš čas. A preto som si myslel, že namiesto toho, aby som kázal tri alebo štyri hodiny, budem osem alebo desať hodín vyučovať. Dobre?
12 Všetci tí ľudia z Georgie a Alabamy spravili, že som si včera pripadal taký veľký. Myslím, že som bol niekde vonku, a okrem Billyho tu nikto nebol a on povedal - brat West a ostatní ... Sú to moji veľmi milí a verní priatelia, nevidím ich tu, ale zdá sa mi, že sú tu. On zavolal a povedal: „Bude mať brat Branham ráno nedeľnú školu?" A v Lousville mrzne, v správach hovorili, že diaľnice sú zablokované a cesty sú klzké.
13 Billy povedal: „No, je to pravdepodobné." Povedal: „Ide tam. Možno brat Neville alebo on."
14 Povedal: „Ak je to pravdepodobné, to nám celkom stačí. Prichádzame!" Všetky cesty v Alabame sú klzké a až sem sú klzké cesty. Nezaslúžim si takýchto priateľov. Niečo je na tom, že nerád oznamujem zhromaždenia, keď viem, že mám ľudí, ktorí veria tomu posolstvu a prídu, a ktorí ma majú radi.
15 Stále som chcel, aby ma niekto mal rád. Keď som bol malý chlapec, chcel som, aby ma mal niekto rád. Nikto ma nepotreboval. Bol som tu v Indiáne, narodil som sa v Kentucky, tak som pre tieto deti tu bol čierna ovca. V rodine skoro všetci chlapci fajčili a pili a všetko možné, okrem mňa. A ja som bol v rodine nepodarok a v škole som bol nepodarok a v robote som bol nepodarok a všade, kde som išiel, som bol nepodarok. A potom, nakoniec, keď som našiel niekoho, kto ma skutočne miloval, Ježiša, a On povedal: „Ja ti dám otcov a matky a bratov a sestry a priateľov."
16 A potom je zvláštne, ako Jeho veľká, múdra prozreteľnosť, ako On všetko zariaďuje. Zdá sa, akoby pri tom tá láska vyvolávala smiešny pocit. Nie pocit, ale reakciu. Pozriem sa potom medzi ľudí, keď ma On povolal, aby som bol Jeho sluhom, pozriem sa medzi ľudí a vidím, ako sa tam vkráda hriech, a potom tam musím vtrhnúť so všetkým, čo je vo mne, (rozumiete?), aby som to vytrhal. Zdá sa to tvrdé, ako sa ja na to dívam, keď hovorím tieto veci. Ale predsa, dole vo vnútri, takto sa prejavuje skutočná láska. Vidíte? Skutočná láska.
17 No, ak sa váš malý chlapec alebo malé dievča hrá na ulici, kde jazdia autá, a vy viete, že skôr či neskôr sa mu niečo môže stať ... Ak by on povedal: „No, ocko, ja chcem byť tu vonku," či by ste povedali, „Buď šťastný, môj malý, len choď a hraj sa na ulici?" To nie je ozajstný otec. Keby ste museli toho malého odtiahnuť a dať mu pár pohlavkov, vyhrešiť ho, zavrieť ho, či čokoľvek, zabránili mu ísť na ulicu - kde by ho mohlo niečo zabiť. Nie je to tak? Dobre, takto musíte robiť s Evanjeliom. Musíte zatriasť a potiahnuť a snažiť sa robiť všetko, čo len môžete, aby ste udržali ľudí v rade. No, dúfam, že to každý takto rozumie. Ja len dúfam, že jedného dňa, keď všetko skončí, a potom, keď nám budú z tváre odstránené záclony, potom to porozumieme.
18 Brat Way, to je dobrá Biblia, ktorú si mi ty a sestra Way darovali na Vianoce, bude to dobré, že v nej budem môcť mať svoje poznámky namiesto takejto knihy, budem si ich môcť napísať na stroji. Nechcem písať rukou, pretože ťažko prečítam sám po sebe, a ako by to prečítal niekto iný? Vravel som ľuďom, že mám svoje vlastné tesnopisné znaky a sám musím skúmať, čo som si poznačil. Niekedy si to napíšem na stroji. To je Biblia, z ktorej sa dajú vyberať strany. Môžete v nej zobrať ... Ako tu, dnes ráno tu mám dva texty, dve miesta Písma, z ktorých chcem čítať. A v tejto Biblii, ktorú mi dal, to takto vytiahnete a môžete zobrať jeden list z Genesis, zo Zjavenia, z hocikade, a dať si ich spolu a takto to prečítať. Vidíte? A potom tu vzadu je také miesto, voľná strana, tam si môžete vypísať všetky miesta Písma a posolstvo a všetko. Je to ohromné. Tak dúfam, že s ňou pomôžem získať veľa duší pre Krista.
19 Znovu chcem povedať, nech vás Boh všetkých žehná za tie pekné vianočné dary, ktoré ste mi dali. Zbor mi dal nový oblek. Ó, ako si to vážim! A dostal som na Vianoce dva nové obleky. Môj brat, v malom zbore tam v Macon v Georgii, brat Palmer mi poslal nový oblek. A tento zbor mi dal nový oblek. A dostal som toľko veľa pekných vecí a vianočné dary vo forme peňazí. Na oddelení daní z príjmov mi povedali, že keď je to vianočný dar a je tam napísané vianočný dar alebo dar k narodeninám alebo niečo také, tak to môžem prijať; inak to ide na prácu, čo je v poriadku. A skutočne ďakujem každému jednému z vás. Moja žena a ja a deti a my všetci veľmi pekne každému ďakujeme. Prajeme si, aby sme mohli ísť naspäť a tiež dali každému z vás darček, ale to sa jednoducho nedá, viete len ... Ó, nebol by som to schopný. Prajem si, aby som bol, ale nie som. Som si istý, že ma rozumiete. Viem, že to tiež tak isto cíti môj drahý brat, ktorý tu sedí. Cítime, že ľudia nás takto milujú, vážime si ich. A teraz skloňme svoje hlavy, pomodlime sa, aby sme boli pripravení dnes ráno pristúpiť ku posolstvu.
20 Prichádzame teraz do prítomnosti živého Boha, triezvo a s bázňou ku Nemu. Prichádzame v Mene Pána Ježiša, vieme, že by sme nemohli prísť a povedať: „No, Otče, tu je William Branham alebo Orman Neville," alebo ktokoľvek by to bol. Rýchlo by sme boli odmietnutí. Ale máme istotu, že On povedal: „Keď prosíte Otca o čokoľvek v mojom mene, bude vám to dané." Tak nemyslím, že by som mohol dostať niečo od Neho, keby som používal svoje meno. Ale viem, že keď používam meno Jeho Syna, potom dostanem svoje prosby, lebo to je On, v ktorého verím. V Ňom žijeme a sme. A sme vďační dnes ráno Bohu za všetko, čo On pre nás znamená, že On je naším úplným životom a podstatou.
21 Ďakujem Ti za tento malý zbor, za jeho pastora a za starších a diakonov a za všetkých členov. A som vďačný za Ducha Svätého, ktorý nad nimi bdie. Nech ich ten veľký Duch Svätý neustále vedie a sprevádza po cestách, po ktorých On chce, aby išli. Čítame v Zákonoch, v Starom a v Novom a tiež v Nicejskom veku, ako to bolo, keď nemoc vtrhla medzi svätých, celý zbor išiel spolu. Jedným srdcom volali ku Bohu a ich prosby boli vypočuté. Každý z nich ako člen Kristovho tela sa postil a modlil a Boh počul a odpovedal na prosbu. Otče, nech ľudia v tomto malom zbore sú jeden s druhým tak zviazaní putami lásky a Duchom Svätým, že až sa stanú ako tamtí, že nebudú medzi nami v tomto ďalšom roku žiadne trenice. Nech tu bude len taká Božia láska a nech by každý chodil po ceste Kristovej, že mnohí unavení pútnici na ceste prídu a budú spasení. Nech by ľudia mohli povedať, že keď niekto vojde do dverí tejto modlitebne, že ho stretne Božia prítomnosť s milým pozvaním. Pane, zober z nášho stredu choroby.
22 A sme vďační, že máme hladné srdcia počuť Tvoje Slovo. Pane, nech naďalej zostávajú naše srdcia hladné po Tebe. Ako voľakedy dávno povedal Dávid: „Ako reve jeleň za potokmi vody, tak túži moja duša po Tebe." Predstavte si toho jeleňa, že je pohryzený divými psami a krváca, stráca život, a ak chce existovať, musí nájsť vodu. V tej chvíli, keď nájde vodu, jeho život je obnovený. Nech by sme boli takí smädní, Pane, že musíme mať Krista, keď chceme existovať. Musíme mať Krista, keď sa chceme stať zborom, o aký prosíme. Keď budeme žiť takým životom, akým chceme, musíme mať Krista, inak zomrieme.
23 Teraz, keď otvoríme dnes ráno tvoje Slovo, aby sme našli slová útechy a pevné miesta, na ktoré môžeme položiť svoje nohy, aby sme sa viacej priblížili ku Nemu, prosím, Otče, aby nám Duch Svätý otvoril Slovo, aby sme my, Pane, ako tvoji sluhovia boli lepšie vybavení stretnúť sa s novým rokom, lebo to prosíme v Mene Ježiša Krista. Amen.
24 No, myslím, že dnes ráno, pretože bude Nový rok, myslel som, že by bolo dobré, keby som odložil svoje novoročné posolstvo na večer a zobral teraz nejaké miesta Písma na nedeľnú školu a zobral text, o ktorom by som nejaký čas hovoril, jednu z najdôležitejších tém, ktorú v Biblii poznám. To je náuka, ktorú náš Pán kázal prvú. Prvá náuka, ktorú Ježiš kázal, a zdá sa mi, že by to bolo dobré, aby sme to urobili naším prvým vyučovaním v roku.
25 Je vám niekomu zima? Zodvihnite ruky. Je tu trochu chladno. Zdalo sa mi, že to tu hore cítim. Doc, kde si, pridaj trochu na kúrení, pretože cítim, ako to tu vanie. Viem, že tam trochu podupkávate, niektorí, zvlášť s deťmi.
A on dal jedných za apoštolov, jedných za prorokov, jedných za evanjelistov, jedných za pastierov a za učiteľov
na zdokonaľovanie svätých ku dielu služby, na budovanie tela Kristovho,
až by sme všetci dospeli v jednotu viery a plného poznania Syna Božieho, v dokonalého muža, k miere dospelosti plnosti Kristovej,
aby sme už neboli viacej nedospelými, zmietaní vlnami a sem a tam nosení každým vetrom učenia, závratníctvom ľudí, schytralosťou mámiť do bludu,
ale aby sme hovoriac pravdu v láske rástli v neho v každej veci, v neho, ktorý je hlavou, Kristus,
z ktorého všetko telo, príslušne dovedna pojené a spolu viazané každým pojivom podávania výživy, podľa pôsobenia v miere jedného každého dielu vzrast tela si pôsobí na svoje budovanie sa v láske.
A bol istý človek z farizejov, ktorému bolo meno Nikodém, židovské knieža.
Ten prišiel k Ježišovi v noci a povedal mu: Rabbi, vieme, že si prišiel od Boha ako učiteľ, lebo nikto nemôže činiť divy, ktoré ty činíš, keby nebol s ním Boh.
A Ježiš odpovedal a riekol mu: Amen, amen ti hovorím. Ak sa niekto nenarodí znova, nemôže vidieť kráľovstvo Božie.
A Nikodém mu povedal: Ako sa môže narodiť človek, keď je starý? Či azda môže po druhé vojsť do života svojej matky a narodiť sa?
Ježiš mu odpovedal: Amen, amen ti hovorím, že ak sa niekto nenarodí z vody a z Ducha, nemôže vojsť do kráľovstva Božieho.
Čo sa narodilo z tela, je telo, a čo sa narodilo z Ducha, je Duch.
Nediv sa, že som ti povedal: Musíte sa narodiť znova.
Vietor, kam chce, tam veje, a čuješ jeho zvuk, ale nevieš, odkiaľ prichádza a kam ide; tak je to s každým, kto sa narodil z Ducha.
A Nikodém odpovedal a riekol mu: Ako sa to môže stať?
Ježiš odpovedal a riekol mu: Veď si ty učiteľ Izraelov a toho nevieš?
Amen, amen ti hovorím, že čo vieme, hovoríme, a čo sme videli, svedčíme, ale neprijímate nášho svedectva.
Ak som vám povedal zemské veci a neveríte, ako potom, ak vám poviem nebeské, uveríte?!
28 Nech Boh požehná svoje Slovo. Chcem zobrať dnes ráno túto tému Ježišovej prvej náuky. Prvá Ježišova náuka bola, „Musíte sa znovu narodiť." To bola Jeho prvá náuka. A teraz, tak, ako to robíme na nedeľnej škole, nechcem kázať, aby som večer nebol zachrípnutý. Myslel som v srdci, že toto je niečo, čo sa ľuďom zdá nejasné. Stále o tom počujeme tak veľa a myslel som, že by bolo dobré dnes ráno, keby sme dôkladne preskúmali túto tému, vysvetlili to. A to je úplný začiatok: „Musíte sa znovu narodiť." A to je veľmi hlboké.
29 Zisťujeme, že je veľa rôznych názorov, ktoré ľudia o tom majú. Skoro všetky cirkvi hovoria, že sa musíte znovu narodiť, ale každá má na to svoj vlastný výklad, čo to znamená narodiť sa znovu. Mohol by som ísť dnes ráno do metodistickej cirkvi. Oni hovoria: „My veríme, že sa musíš znovu narodiť." Ako to vykladáte? Idem do Baptistickej cirkvi: „My veríme, že sa musíš znovu narodiť." Ako to vykladáte? A išiel by som do každej cirkvi a zistili by sme, keby sme išli do všetkých deväťsto rôznych denominačných cirkví, bolo by deväťsto rôznych výkladov. Tak, keď vidíme, že je tak veľa rôznych výkladov a pritom je to Biblická náuka, niekde musí byť pravda, a je.
30 Tak pamätajte, tam nie je povedané: „Máte sa znovu narodiť." Ale: „Musíte!" No, my, ktorí hovoríme anglicky, rozumieme, čo znamená slovo „musíš", to znamená, že „to musíš bezpodmienečne urobiť." Rozumiete, tam je povedané: „Musíš"! Nie: „Mal by si, radšej by si to mal urobiť." Ale: „Musíš sa znovu narodiť." Ó, keby sme len dnes ráno mohli zobrať toto slovo a predstavili jeho význam, čo to znamená, ako je absolútne nemožné ... A potom, keď je to také základné a dôležité, že je absolútne nemožné vojsť do kráľovstva nebeského, alebo ho vidieť, až kým sa znovu nenarodíte, a je tak veľa rôznych výkladov tohoto slova, znovu sa narodiť, mali by sme to hľadať z celého svojho srdca, aby sme zistili, čo to znamená.
31 Nie je tu ani jedna osoba, ktorá by chcela ísť do súženia. Niet takého. A necestujete stovky míľ po zamrznutých cestách a neriskujete život, nevydávate svoje peniaze, len aby ste prišli sem do zhromaždenia, no povedzme, aby ste si potriasli s ľuďmi ruky (hoci to máte radi), a aby ste počuli pastora a mňa a iných kazateľov kázať Slovo. Robíte to kdekoľvek ste - pastori, kazatelia, tak ako my, sluhovia Kristovi. Ale je niečo, čo vás priťahuje sem na toto zvláštne miesto. A tak, je to naša povinnosť, ako pastorov, aby sme dohliadali, aby sa toto stádo živilo, a aby sa živilo správne, pretože Všemohúci Boh bude vyhľadávať vašu krv z našich rúk. V deň súdu sa budeme za to zodpovedať. Tak, keď vidíme túto nesmierne veľkú zodpovednosť, ktorá je na nás a Boh nám dal ľudí, ktorí nás milujú a prichádzajú nás počúvať, potom by sme mali venovať svoj čas na to, aby sme ustavične dávali pozor na vaše duše. Potom hneď, keď vidíme povstávať nejakú drobnú vec, o ktorej vieme, že nie je správna, je našou povinnosťou ísť za tým človekom, pretože sme pastieri, ktorí strážime ovce. A keď vidím, že ovca je burinu, ktorá ju zabije, radšej ju odvediem preč od tej buriny; hneď odtiaľ vytrhnem tú burinu, aby sa ku nej nemohla dostať, pretože ona tú ovcu zabije.
32 A v západných krajinách je známa taká burina, ktorú zviera môže zjesť. Nazýva sa kozinec. Neviem, či niekto o tom počul alebo nie - kozinec. Áno. Kôň to môže zjesť a nemôžete pre neho urobiť nič. Stane sa jednoducho divý. Nemôžete dať na neho sedlo a nič s ním nemôžete urobiť. Volá sa to kozinec. A musíte chrániť svoj dobytok, aby neprišiel ku tej burine. A keď to spôsobí, že kôň, keď niečo zje ... ak kôň zje niečo, čo ho uvrhne do takéhoto stavu, do tohoto záchvatu, no boli by ste veľmi biedny kovboj, keby ste nechali svojho koňa jesť kozinec. To ukazuje, že sa o neho nestaráte.
33 A skutočný pastor, skutočný sluha Kristov, bude biedny Kristov príklad, keď bude vidieť ovcu jesť niečo, čo ho odvedie preč, alebo ho to urobí divokým voči Bohu, bude prestupovať Jeho Slovo, prestupovať Jeho prikázania. Nemali by ste to nechať. Mali by ste na to dávať veľmi dobrý pozor.
34 Tak táto dôležitá Ježišova náuka, ktorá je tu napísaná pred nami v Biblii: „Musíte sa znovu narodiť." Je tak veľa rôznych verzií o tom, ako som pred chvíľou povedal, že som myslel, že by bolo dobre dnes ráno, kvôli tým mnohým, ktorí sa ma pýtali, čo to znamená, a ako sa môžu stať skutočnými kresťanmi, že som myslel, že by sme mohli možno pristúpiť ku tejto téme a predstaviť to tak jasne, ako to len budem vedieť. A nebudeme to robiť formou kázania, bude to vyučovanie nedeľnej školy, aby ľudia mohli to posolstvo porozumieť. Mnoho výkladov o znovuzrodení ...
35 A teraz, keď budem toto hovoriť a viem, že sa to nahráva, chcem povedať pastorom, ktorí možno dostanú túto pásku. Je dosť možné, že to učím a verím tomu trochu inak, ako to učí nejaká cirkev, verím, že môžem dostatočne dokázať pomocou Písma, že keď sa narodíte z Ducha, potom ste vkrstení skrze Ducha Svätého do tela.
36 No, mnohí učia, že keď len vystúpite pred zhromaždením, či niečím takým, a uznáte, že ste hriešnik, a že chcete prijať Krista ako osobného Spasiteľa, že to je znovuzrodenie. Mnohí veria, že krst vo vode, že to je znovuzrodenie. A niektorí veria, že ste narodení z vody, keď ste pokrstení vo vode. A je o tom tak veľa rôznych verzií. Veľa z nich, mnohí veria, že prijať vyznanie a veriť v učenie nejakej cirkvi, jednoducho to prijať, hovoriť: „Verím v svätú cirkev takú a takú a verím, že Boh je Spasiteľom ľudí (a tak ďalej). A od tohoto dňa sa stávam členom tejto cirkvi a mám obecenstvo s kresťanmi." Oni veria, že sú znovuzrodení.
37 A hoci recitujú vyznanie, nemyslím, že by sme to mali kritizovať. Niektoré z nich sú čisté a sväté, niektoré z nich sú skutočne podľa Písma, ale to Písmo nie je použité na správnom mieste. A hoci berú Písmo, verím, že znovuzrodenie je niečo viacej ako to. Nie je to ani v tom, ako úprimne to môžete myslieť. Verím, že znovuzrodenie je oveľa viacej ako vaše dobré úmysly a myšlienky, myseľ. To je viac než to.
38 Nechcem toto povedať na zneuctenie niečoho svätého a nehádžem žiadnu kritiku na žiadnu cirkevnú organizáciu, ale mnohé z toho mi pripomína jedného Žida. To je trochu ... To je žart a nemyslím, že za kazateľňou by sa mali rozprávať žarty. To nie je miesto na žarty. A tak, aby som povedal toto, čo mám na mysli, to nie je na žart, ale aby som vyjadril to, čo mám na mysli. Jeden katolícky kňaz prišiel raz v piatok na návštevu ku ľuďom, novoobráteným do katolíckej cirkvi. A ten obrátený katolík mal pečenú šunku a povedal: „Otče, ľutujem, keď som si spomenul, že dnes je piatok. Ale verím, že podľa našej veľkej cirkevnej náuky, že keď som ja bol raz žid a vy ste ma pofŕkali nejakou svätou vodou a spravili ste zo mňa žida-katolíka, ja teraz trochu pofŕkam tou vodou túto šunku a urobím z nej rybu." No, hovorím to preto, že to neurobí z nej rybu. To je stále šunka, nezáleží na tom, aká svätá by tá voda mohla byť.
39 A nezáleží na tom, ako veľmi by sme sa snažili myslieť si, že sme v poriadku, keď sa hlásime ku nejakému vyznaniu, alebo keď vstúpime do nejakej cirkvi, stále ste tým, čím ste boli, až kým sa skutočne znovu nenarodíte z Ducha Božieho. To vás nezmení. Vaše vyznanie, vstúpenie do cirkvi, alebo zmena vašich ideí, alebo vaše dobré úmysly, hoci by to mohlo vyzerať tak dobre, stále to nie je to pravé. Niečo sa musí stať. Znovuzrodenie je prežitie, niečo, čo sa stalo. Tak tieto veci neprinášajú znovuzrodenie. Rôzne cirkvi hovoria: „Dobre, keď prijímaš toto alebo veríš tomuto, tak je to v poriadku:" Ale nie je.
40 No, na začiatok, aby sme to mali podložené, dôvod, prečo sa musíme znovuzrodiť, je ten, že Biblia nás učí, že sme sa všetci narodili v hriechu, sformovaní sme v neprávosti a prichádzame na svet a hovoríme klamstvo. To nám potom ukazuje, že naša povaha je od začiatku hriešna, od štartu. Od začiatku sme zlí. Tak si nič nemôžeme nárokovať na základe našej chytrosti, úprimnosti alebo na základe toho, akí sme veľkí, alebo akí sme malí, alebo čokoľvek. Sme naskrz od začiatku zlí a nič s tým nemôžeme urobiť. Nemôžete. Ježiš povedal: „Kto svojím staraním sa môže pridať do svojej postavy čo len jeden lakeť?" Môžete zobrať všetky myšlienky, snívať o tom všetky sny, čítať to, študovať to, skúmať to a všetko možné a nemôžete si pomôcť ani v jednej jote. Tak to všetko zahoďte. Som rád, že je to tak, pretože keby to záležalo od toho či budeme niečo vedieť, či budeme chytrí, my biedni nevzdelaní ľudia by sme boli z toho vylúčení, tak by sme nemali šancu. Ale Boh to zmenil, lepšie povedané, u Boha to nikdy tak nebolo, od začiatku. Cirkvi to stále komplikujú. Boh to robí jednoduchým. Je to podané tak, že to všetci môžeme vidieť, všetci to môžeme mať. Je to pre každého, kto chce.
41 No tak, žiaden človek nemôže spasiť druhého. Nezáleží vôbec na tom, čo sa kto snaží povedať, žiaden človek nemôže spasiť druhého. Nezáleží na tom, aký je chytrý, aký má úrad, či je to pastor, kňaz, biskup, kardinál, alebo pápež, on nemá nič spoločného so spásou života nejakého človeka, pretože on sám je hriešnik - narodený v hriechu, sformovaný v neprávosti, prichádza na svet a hovorí klamstvo. Od začiatku je klamár a každé slovo, ktoré povie bude klamstvo, ak je nezhodné s Božím Slovom a Božím plánom.
42 Jedine Boh urobil pre človeka plán na spasenie. Človek do toho plánu nemôže nič pridať. To je Boží plán. A to je ten plán, ktorý chceme dnes ráno študovať. Aký je Boží plán? On povedal: „Nech je každé ľudské slovo klamstvo a Moje pravdou." A tak by sme sa neodvážili zmeniť ani jednu vetu, aby to znelo nejako inak. Nezáleží na tom, koľko toho učia naše rituály a tak ďalej, to musíme vypustiť z hlavy. Toto je Božie Slovo. To sa nemôže stať nijako inak. Boh má plán, On urobil plán.
43 A pamätajte, prvá vec, až kým sa znovu nenarodíte, nikdy to neporozumiete. On to dvakrát povedal. „Ak sa niekto nenarodí znova, nemôže vojsť do kráľovstva nebeského." „Ak sa niekto nenarodí znova, nemôže vidieť kráľovstvo." No, to je tiež zdôraznené. To slovo, pri písaní týchto slov; počul som, že ich museli písať veľkými písmenami. A keď je tam povedané: „Amen, amen" to je zdôraznené. „Amen, amen ti hovorím!" A to slovo na jednom mieste, alebo na mnohých miestach je prekladané: „Bezpodmienečne." „Bezpodmienečne, bezpodmienečne ti hovorím!" Kto to povedal? Nejaký kardinál, kňaz, pastor, evanjelista, pápež? Sám Boh! To sa nedá prepáčiť. On to nijako neprepáči, v žiadnom prípade, nijakým spôsobom, nezáleží na tom, aký je ten človek veľký, ako sa volá, aký je veľký, alebo aký je populárny, nemôže ani len porozumieť kráľovstvo Božie, až kým sa znovu nenarodí. To je dôležitá téma. „Amen, amen ti hovorím!" Dávajte pozor. Zoberte grécky preklad a nájdite to. Nie vidieť svojimi očami; vy vidíte svojím srdcom. Kráľovstvo Božie nemôžete vidieť očami, pretože to je duchovné kráľovstvo. Inými slovami, nikdy nebudete schopní rozumieť kráľovstvo Božie, až kým sa znovu nenarodíte. To je všetko zakryté tajomstvo. A keď sa znovu zrodíte, ten plán kráľovstva, samotné kráľovstvo sa stane pre vás skutočné.
44 Tak ako staviteľ, keď stavia dom, kým nevie čítať plán, nie je mu treba, aby sa snažil postaviť dom, ak nerozumie plánom. A potom, keď rozumie plánom, potom vie, ako ten dom postaviť. Tak to je. Tak sa to deje pri stavaní Božieho kráľovstva. Musíte rozumieť plánom a vy nebudete poznať plány, až kým sa neznovuzrodíte. A keď ste znovuzrodení a potom zapierate plány, čo sa deje?
45 Jedno milé dievča, ktoré sa nedávno ... Chodil som s jej matkou keď sme boli mladí. A ona bola milá, pekná žena. Teraz sa volá Haffová. Pred tým, ako sa vydala, sa volala Leeová. Keď som bol pastorom baptistického zboru v Milltown, oni patrili do zjednotenej bratskej cirkvi, ale, ó, mali ma veľmi radi. A ona ... ja som s ňou chodil. Oni bývali tu hore trochu ďalej, ako býva brat Write, a ja som zvykol ku nim chodiť. A to dievča bolo veľmi milé a bola moja priateľka. A brat Lee, milý človek, verný cirkvi, názorom zjednotenej bratskej cirkvi, a jeden večer ma pozval ku sebe, aby som tam zostal celú noc. A povedal som: „Brat Marrion, rád prijmem tvoje pozvanie." A tak, keď skončilo zhromaždenie, to dievča a ja sme nasadli do auta a išli sme. Musel som otvoriť asi desatoro brán, keď sme prechádzali popri úbočí a hore, až sme prišli ku veľkému drevenému domu. Sedeli sme vonku na dvore a čakali sme na jej matku a otca a mladšiu sestru, kým prišli. Keď prišli, všetci sme vošli dovnútra a trochu sme povečerali. Matka niečo pripravila a jedli sme, a otec a ja sme spali spolu dole pod veľkou perinou na slamníku, poznáte to, na tom sa veľmi dobre spí. Je to lepšie než ako ktorékoľvek tieto nádherné matrace, ktoré máte. To vám poviem. A tak matka a dve dievčence odišli hore.
46 A tej noci, keď sme tam ležali, brat Lee mal sen. On stále so mnou diskutoval o vodnom krste vo meno Pána Ježiša Krista. On tomu neveril. A on bol staviteľ. Tak on povedal: „Brat Branham, sníval sa mi práve sen." A povedal: „Snívalo sa mi, že som išiel do New Albany. A jednému človekovi som staval dom a on mi dal plány. Ale keď som videl, ako tam mal vyrezané okná a umiestnené na určitom mieste, povedal som: „To nie je dobre. To proste nemôže byť dobre. To nepasuje. To nie je dobre.“ Tak som to postavil tak, ako som si myslel, že to má byť. A keď sa on vrátil z Floridy z dovolenky, mal som ten dom už skoro hotový.
47 „On sa pozrel na dom a išiel a zobral plány a pozrel sa na to a povedal: „Počúvajte, vy ste zle postavili môj dom!"
„A ja som mu povedal: „Nie, nepostavil som vám ten dom zle."
„A čo je s týmto a s týmto miestom?"
„Aha," povedal: „to tu vôbec nepatrí."
48 „Povedal: „Zrúťte to! Ak chcete, aby som vám zaplatil, postavíte to tak, ako je to v plánoch."
49 A on povedal: „Čo si o tom myslíš, brat Branham?"
50 Povedal som: „Hneď tu dole pod domom tečie potok." A išli sme ku nemu.
On povedal: „Nechcem, aby potom, keď príde ten deň, bolo treba niečo zrútiť."
51 Povedal som: „Urob to hneď teraz. Postav to podľa plánu!"
52 Ako to platilo, práve nedávno jedna z jeho ... Potom sa jeho dcéra vydala za milého chlapca, dobrého muža. On je strojníkom tu v lodenici. A tento chlapec mal takto odseknuté prsty. Milý človek. A majú milú rodinu, tri dievčatká a jedno z nich je ... všetky sú veriace a spievajú trio. Keď tu budeme mať niekedy zhromaždenie, prídu a zaspievajú nám. A jedno z týchto dievčeniec vyštudovalo hru na piane a učilo klasickú hudbu, kým bolo ešte len dieťa, pätnásť, šestnásť ročné. A deti v škole sa jej posmievali z rôznych vecí, za to, že je veriaca, a to jej poškodilo nervy, a ona sa zrútila a stratila rozum. A oni ju mali v Louisville a nasledujúci pondelok ju mali previesť do ústavu pre duševne chorých. A nechceli ... doktori mi nedovolili ísť ku nej. A išiel som tam ako návšteva a sadol som si na kraj postele s jej otcom a matkou. A kým som tam sedel, Duch Svätý prišiel do tohoto Our Lady of Peace Sanatorium v Louisville, kde mali nervovo chorých pacientov a kde je ešte stále pre nich nádej. Potom, keď pre nich nemôžu nič urobiť, posielajú ich do Madisonu v Indiáne. A toto dievča malo ísť ten týždeň do Madisonu. Nedalo sa jej pomôcť. A keď som tam sedel, prišlo pred nás videnie, a prehovoril som ku tomu dievčaťu v mene Pána Ježiša. A tá matka ma chytila za koleno, natiahla sa a chytila za ruku svojho muža a povedala: „To nikdy nebolo falošné!"
53 Povedal som: „Nebojte sa, ona bude v poriadku." A rýchlo som odtiaľ odišiel.
54 Ten večer o deviatej zvonil telefón, alebo zdá sa mi, že to bolo trochu pred deviatou, predtým, ako som prišiel ten večer do zhromaždenia. To bolo v nedeľu. A otec s radostným srdcom povedal: „Nemôžem ísť domov, aby som ti nepovedal tú dobrú správu, brat Branham." Povedal: „Prišiel doktor a vyšetril moje dieťa. Povedal: „Čo sa s ňou stalo? Zajtra môže ísť domov." Keď pred pár týždňami zomrela matka, spievali tam to trio, to dievča také roztomilé, úplne v poriadku, ona a jej priateľ, milí. Ó, hovorím vám, plány, Božie Slovo je to jediné, čo vysvetľuje program, ako sa musíme znovu narodiť.
55 Poprvé, sami seba pokladáme za hriešnikov, hodných zatratenia. My všetci sme sa narodili v hriechu, sme sformovaní v neprávosti a nie je na nás zdravého miesta. Naše myšlienky sú zlé, naša duša je skazená, naše ustavičné rozmýšľanie je zlé, každá predstava našej ľudskej mysli je zlá, hriešna. Naše telo je tiež slabé, náš duch nie je dobrý a sme jednoducho plní skazenosti. A ako môže niečo skazené priniesť zo skazenosti niečo dobré? Dovoľte mi povedať toto, čo je v Jóbovi v 14. kapitole, on povedal: „Človek splodený zo ženy je plný žiaľu a nepokoja. Vyjde ako kvet a zvädne." A ďalej, ako ten prorok ďalej hovorí, on povedal: „Kto môže vydať čisté z nečistého? Nikto!" Spustíte vedro do studne a vytiahnete vodu a je skazená, smrdí. A pozriete sa do nej, a je špinavá a sú v nej červíky. Nie je žiadna možnosť vytiahnuť odtiaľ čistú vodu, keď tam znovu spustíte vedro. Celý svet je skazený. A celá duša, myseľ a telo človeka, všetko je poškvrnené hriechom. Človek sa narodil v hriechu, telesne, je sformovaný v neprávosti a prichádza na svet a hovorí klamstvo, tak jeho vlastná duša je skazená. Nič dobré! Jeden nemôže vykúpiť druhého, pretože to je všetko zlé. Nemôžete tu zobrať jedno vedro skazenej vody a druhé vedro skazenej vody a zmiešať to spolu - máte len viacej skazenia. Niet na to očistenie.
56 Ale Boh sa rozhodol spasiť človeka. On položil na Neho neprávosť všetkých nás. Odplata za hriech, v ktorom ste sa narodili, odplata za hriech je smrť. Hriech je smrť. A tá cena bola taká veľká, že nikto z nás nemôže pomôcť druhému, tak musel byť niekto, kto mohol zaplatiť túto cenu.
57 Čo ak by dnes ráno bolo treba zaplatiť sto miliárd dolárov, aby sme mohli opustiť túto miestnosť? Nikto z nás by ju nemohol opustiť, pretože nikto z nás nemá takú sumu. Jedine, že by potom niekto prišiel, kto by mal na to, aby to za nás za všetkých zaplatil!
58 Je treba niekoho ... my to nedokážeme. Bolo treba niekoho, kto bol hodný. Ó, ako by som si prial, aby som sa tu na chvíľu mohol zastaviť, ísť naspäť a zobrať Ruth a Naomi a ukázať vám, ako ten príbuzný vykupiteľ, aby vykúpil ten upadnutý majetok, musel prv na to mať - byť hodný, musel byť príbuzný. A tak, Boh, Duch, Jehova, stal sa naším príbuzným, tým, že zobral na seba formu tela. Stal sa naším príbuzným - musel ním byť. Potom musel byť hodný (musel na to mať). A On je ten jediný, ktorý vyprodukoval zdroj naplnený krvou, ktorá tiekla z Emanuelových žíl. On bol ten jediný, ktorý niesol naše neprávosti.
59 Nádherný obraz mám tu v 4. Mojžišovej - mám tu zapísaných veľa miest Písma. V 4. Mojžišovej, nádherný obraz tohoto je ... Tam to je ... (Ó, všetky sú pekné, ak by ste to chceli vidieť.) Ten medený had, ktorý bol povýšený na púšti. Ako Izrael, ten had bol pre nich smrteľným uhryznutím a nebolo žiadneho lieku. Nebolo medzi nimi doktora, ktorý by mal na to liek alebo niečo, čím by to vyliečil. Oni mali medzi sebou doktorov, ale nie na to uhryznutie. Tak, ako som povedal, nie sú medzi nami doktori, ktorí by mohli vyliečiť hriech. To je smrteľné uhryznutie a my sme všetci vinní, všetci sme sformovaní v neprávosti. Všetci sme vinní. Ale čo urobil Boh? Oni boli potom vinní, potom museli platiť smrťou, trestom smrti. Ale Boh kázal Mojžišovi, aby vztýčil medeného hada a dal ho na tyč, že ľudia nemuseli nič urobiť, nemuseli zaplatiť žiadne peniaze, vôbec nič, nemuseli odrieknuť žiadne vyznanie, nemuseli vstúpiť do žiadnych cirkví - len sa pozrieť a žiť. Vidíte, aké jednoduché? Pozri sa a ži! Netreba vstúpiť do cirkvi, netreba prežiť žiadnu senzáciu, nemusíš mať žiaden zvláštny pocit. Len sa pozri a ži! To je všetko. Také jednoduché. Nie, ak si môžeš zapamätať všetkých desať prikázaní, vtedy budeš žiť. Nie, ak budeš vedieť všetky ustanovenia. Len sa pozri a ži - to je všetko, čo si musel urobiť. A každý, kto sa pozrel na neho, žil.
60 Ježiš, keď bol tu na zemi, On povedal, keď sa tu rozprával s Nikodémom, povedal: „Ako Mojžiš vyvýšil hada na púšti, tak musí byť vyvýšený Syn človeka." Tak musí ... Prečo? Tak isto, kvôli tomu istému, za tým istým účelom, aby sa dosiahlo to isté. Veľa krát toto zmätie ľudí, keď vidia hada, ktorý reprezentuje Ježiša. Ten had v tomto prípade reprezentoval Ježiša. Všimli ste si, že ten had bol mŕtvy? Nebol v ňom žiaden život. Ježiš zomrel. Ako Kain, keď zabil Ábela, Ábel zomrel na oltári so svojou obeťou. Potom, keď Ábel obetoval svoju obeť a zabil svoju obeť za svoj hriech, potom zomrel na tom istom oltári so svojou obeťou. Aby ste sa mohli znovu narodiť, musíte zomrieť na oltári so svojou obeťou, byť jednoducho taký mŕtvy, ako bol On - a ste znovuzrodení. Ten had nemal v sebe žiadny život.
61 Poviete: „Prečo bol medený?" Meď reprezentuje súd, božský súd. Všimli ste si v Biblii v Starom Zákone, že oltár, na ktorom boli pálené obete, bol urobený z medi? Meď hovorí o súde. Ako Eliáš, vo svojich dňoch vyšiel, aby sa pozrel na oblohu, aby videl, či príde nejaký dážď, keď sa pomodlil a povedal: „Nebesia vyzerajú ako meď." Čo to bolo? Božský súd nad neveriacimi ľuďmi, nad neveriacim národom, ktorý opustil Boha. To bol božský súd - medený! A samotný ten had, jeho forma, on reprezentoval hriech, nad ktorým bol už vykonaný súd, lebo ten had bol odsúdený v záhrade Eden, a to bol ten odsúdený had.
62 A my, keď sa pozrieme na Krista, vidíte ten trest. Ten Jediný, sám Boh sa stal telom. Boh prichádza na zem a berie na Neho hriech všetkých nás a súd a hnev všemohúceho Boha bol vyliaty na Jeho telo a ono tam bolo rozkmásané na kríži. To je skutočný súd. On Sám prešiel lisom Božieho hnevu. Sám išiel tou cestou. Sám zomrel, neprišiel mu s pomocou žiaden anjel, človek, jeho cirkev, jeho matka, jeho bratia, jeho Otec, opustený od Boha, ľudí i od prírody. On Sám zomrel, aby nám ukázal, že ani samotná príroda nám nemôže pomôcť v hodine smrti. Žiaden priateľ, žiaden kňaz, žiaden pápež, žiaden pastor. To je smrť. Ale bol Jeden, ktorý to zniesol za nás.
63 V tom hadovi nebol žiaden život. Bol definitívne mŕtvy - úplne vykryštalizovaný. To bola tá požadovaná cena - trest. On zomrel, že až zem sa zahanbila. On zomrel, že sa až hviezdy zahanbili. On trpel, že až slnko prestalo svietiť, On trpel, že až mesiac nedal svetla, On trpel, že až všetky čiastky zeme boli také čierne a tmavé ako o polnoci, taká tma, že ju bolo možno nahmatať. Nebolo ničoho. Nikto nikdy takto netrpel, ani nemohol. Nieto smrteľníka, ktorý by cez to mohol prejsť. Ale On to vytrpel. Boh položil na Neho neprávosť všetkých nás a zniesol na Neho Svoje súdy a On Sám prešiel lisom Božieho hnevu a nikto Mu nepomohol. Nebolo nikoho, kto by Mu pomohol. Boh uložil trest. Všetko sa nachádzalo pod trestom a nič mu nemohlo pomôcť, pretože my sme všetci vinní. Nemohol mu prísť pomôcť žiaden najvyšší kňaz. Nikto mu nemohol pomôcť, žiaden pápež, žiaden anjel. Všetci stáli opodiaľ a pozorovali to. To bol najdôležitejší moment v histórii sveta. On zomrel až tak, že v ňom nezostalo ani kvapky života, stal sa ako ten medený had, jednoducho vykryštalizovaný ornament visiaci na kríži.
64 Prvé kroky ku tomuto narodeniu, je na to spôsob. Aby sme pristúpili ku tomuto narodeniu, musíte prejsť cez proces, tak, ako všetko, čo žije, všetko, čo znovu ožíva, musí prv zomrieť. A vy si nemôžete ponechať toho istého ducha, nemôžete si ponechať tie isté zvyky, nemôžete si ponechať tie isté myšlienky. Musíte zomrieť. Musíte zomrieť tak, ako On zomrel! Musíte zomrieť na Jeho oltári, ako zomrel Ábel so svojím baránkom. Vy musíte zomrieť so svojím Baránkom. Musíte zomrieť. Zomrieť svojmu vlastnému zmýšľaniu, aby ste sa narodili pre Jeho zmýšľanie. Nech tá myseľ, ktorá bola v Kristovi, je vo vás. Musíte myslieť Jeho myšlienky. A teraz, brat, sestra, dovoľte mi povedať toto tak inteligentne, ako len viem. Ako môžete myslieť Jeho myšlienky a pri tom zapierať Jeho Slovo, a pri tom tvrdiť, že ste znovuzrodení? Položte si sami túto otázku. Ako to môžete? Nemôžete. Ak ste znovuzrodení, máte Jeho myšlienky. Ak je vo vás myseľ Kristova, potom ste novým stvorením. Biblia to tak učí. Keby to chcel niektorý brat vedieť, dobre, nájdite si slovo stvorenie, vyhľadajte si to slovo stvorenie v slovníku a budete vidieť, že slovo stvorenie je tam vyložené alebo preložené „nové stvorenie", pretože ste jedným stvorením, ľudská bytosť, narodená tu na zemi zo sexuálnej žiadosti a teraz ste novým stvorením narodeným z Ducha. Vaše vlastné myšlienky sú mŕtve. Oni sú tak mŕtve, že sú až skryštalizované ako bol ten medený had, alebo ako bol On, keď nebesia a zem a všetko vydalo svedectvo, že je mŕtvy.
65 On zomrel, že bol až tak mŕtvy, že až sa Mu v tele oddelila Jeho krv od vody. Jeho smrť bola taká strašná, poviem to tak, že až svet dostal nervový šok. Triasol sa a chvel, že až skaly padali z vrchov. Kto môže takto zomrieť? Žiaden pápež, keby zomieral, tak by sa toto nedialo, žiaden pastor, keby zomieral, tak by sa toto nedialo. Ale keď Boh v tele zomrel na kríži, zem dostala nervový šok, aby sme vedeli, že to vypovedané Slovo Božie - skaly a zem a kríky a palice a stromy na zemi a hviezdy a mesiac - Jeho vlastné vypovedané Slovo videlo svojho Stvoriteľa, ktorý sa stal telom, a ako bol na Neho vyliaty hriech. Hnev Boží bol vyliaty na Neho, že až mesiac nevydal svojho svetla, slnko nevydalo svojho svetla, zem dostala nervový záchvat - šok. Rozletela by sa na kúsky, keby tu nemusela byť ďalej pre nás. Všetko.
66 A keď Jeho veci na zemi, keď sa dívali a videli, čo sa deje, a otriaslo ich to do takého stavu, čo to má urobiť so mnou a s tebou? Čo to má urobiť s našou dušou, keď sa dívame a vidíme, čo Boh pre nás urobil? A to bolo všetko pre teba a pre mňa. Čo to má s nami urobiť? Zostaneme naďalej v hriechu? Bože, chráň. Ale máme sa zdržať hriechu a zomrieť hriechu. Či nevidíte, čo Jemu urobil hriech? Hriech Ho zabil. A On zaplatil pokutu za hriech, aby mohol priniesť spravodlivosť Božiu pre teba a pre mňa. Tak, keď príde na nás spravodlivosť Božia, hriech je mŕtvy v našich smrteľných telách. Ó, dúfam, že to vidíte.
67 Áno, aby ste sa znovu narodili, musíte prejsť cez proces smrti. Všetko musí cez to prejsť. Zoberte kukuričné zrno, ak to zrno očakáva, že znovu bude žiť, musí prv zomrieť. Ak pšeničné zrno očakáva, že bude znovu žiť, je úplne nemožné, aby ... To zrno, pšenica, kvet, strom, tráva, vegetácia, všetko, čo očakáva, že bude znovu žiť, musí prv zomrieť. Ako sa vy potom tomu vyhnete? Musíte prv zomrieť. Musíte zomrieť. Zomrieť ako? Sebe samému, zomrieť všetkému, aby ste sa tak mohli znovu narodiť. Musíte to urobiť. Ak nezomriete, nemôžete nikdy znovu ožiť.
68 A pozrite sa. Vedeli ste o tom, že každý deň musí niečo zomrieť, aby ste vy mohli žiť? A teraz, čo sa vás týka, Adventisti siedmeho dňa, ktorí ste medzi nami. Mnoho ľudí hovorí: „Ja by som nestrieľal veveričky, brat Branham. Ja by som nezastrelil jeleňa alebo zajaca, rybu, pretože neverím, že by sme mali niečo zabíjať." Môj brat, či vieš, že zelenina a všetko, čo ješ, má tiež život? Ty to musíš zabiť. A jediný spôsob, ako môžeš existovať v tomto živote, niečo musí zomrieť, aby si ty pomocou toho mŕtveho života mohol žiť. No, ak niečo musí zomrieť, aby si ty mohol žiť tento smrteľný život tu na zemi, žiť smrteľne, či nemusí niečo zomrieť, aby si skrze ten život mohol žiť večne? Len si polož tú otázku. A tým niekým bol Kristus, pretože nikto iný nemal nesmrteľnosť. Jedine Syn je nesmrteľný. A On dal Samého Seba tebe, tým, že Ho prijmeš. No, to musí zomrieť.
69 To teraz neznamená obrátiť novú stranu, tento nový rok. Vy poviete: „Brat Branham, chodím sem dlhý čas. Som členom zboru. Tento nový rok chcem obrátiť novú stranu a začať odznova." To neznamená to. Nie otočiť novú stranu, ale skutočne zomrieť a byť znovuzrodený. Musíš sa cítiť tak vinný, keď zastaneš v Jeho prítomnosti - či chodíš cestou Metodistov alebo cestou Baptistov alebo akoukoľvek cestou chodíš - musíš byť tak vinný a cítiť sa taký vinný, že až ... To ťa zabije. Je to tak. To ťa zabije. Tvoj svetský život hneď tam zomrie. Musíš sa pokladať za takého vinného v prítomnosti Božej, že až tvoj svetský život namieste zomrie. Otázka hriechu pre teba skončila, keď stojíš v prítomnosti Božej. Keď sa takto dívaš, môžeš si byť istý, že budeš žiť, pretože si zomrel. A jediný spôsob, ako môžeš znovu žiť je, že najprv musíš zomrieť, aby si mohol znovu žiť.
70 No, vidíte ku čomu prichádzam, či nie? Čo je to narodenie, znovuzrodenie. Prv zomrieť, aby ste sa mohli znovuzrodiť. A ak máte stále v sebe veci tohoto sveta, nie ste znovuzrodení. A ako budete tvrdiť, že ste znovuzrodení, a stále sa vás držia veci tohoto sveta? Ako to môžete tvrdiť?
71 Mladý kresťan jedného dňa, skupina ľudí ... Nehovorím, že nie sú. Ale keď sa dívajú na určité obrázky, kresťanky, kresťania, všetci milí jedni s druhými, v plavkách, v bazéne. Vidíte? Hovoria: „To je skutočná láska." To je skutočná špina! To nie je láska. Láska je vyjadrená inak.
72 Naše duše sú skrze vieru položené na Jeho medenom oltári Božieho súdu, a naša obeť je strávená. Pamätajte teraz, keď Eliáš, pod týmito medenými nebesami, položil Božiu obeť na oltár, tá obeť bola strávená. Bál nemohol stráviť svoju obeť. Nechcem toto povedať, ale musím to povedať. A keď vy chodíte do nejakej cirkvi a prijímate ich vyznanie a ich formy krstu a kladiete tam obeť, ktorou by ste mali byť vy sami, môžete vstať a triasť sa, hovoriť v jazykoch, behať hore dole alebo môžete vstať a plakať. Ale ak Boh prijal tú obeť, ona je strávená. Svet je pre vás mŕtvy. S vami je koniec, lebo sa pokladáme za mŕtvych a za pochovaných. Sme mŕtvi a sme ... sme skrytí v Kristovi. Skrytí v Kristovi! A okrem toho, potom, keď sme mŕtvi a pochovaní a skrytí v Kristovi, potom sme zapečatení Svätým Duchom.
73 Rozumiete teraz, čo myslím? Ste mŕtvi. Naše duše sú položené na Jeho Božský súd. To je meď. Keď sú naše duše položené na oltári Božského súdu, aká bola cena? Smrť. A keď sa položíte na Boží oltár, ktorý na hriešnika vyniesol rozsudok smrti, ako môžete odtiaľ povstať živí v hriechu, keď Boh prijal tú obeť? Je to teraz jasné? Vy ste zomreli! V skutočnosti ste strávení a ste stuhnutí. Neostalo vám už nič, len táto stuhnutá forma, v ktorej stojíte - ako ten medený had, ako bol Kristus, keď Ho mŕtveho a studeného zložili z kríža. Ste mŕtvi! Prečo? Ste na Božom súdnom oltári. Aký je Jeho súd? Keď sudca vyniesol rozsudok. Aký to bol rozsudok, ktorý vymeral Jeho trest? Smrť. A keď položíte svoju dušu na Jeho súdny oltár, to je pre vás smrť. Rozumiete teraz tomu?
74 Ó, môžete odtiaľ vstať a robiť všetko možné. Môžete tancovať v Duchu, môžete kričať ako nikto, môžete behať hore dole, môžete vstúpiť do každej cirkvi, môžete robiť čokoľvek chcete (Hovorím teraz ku letničným.) a idete rovno naspäť a poškvrníte niečiu ženu, rozbíjate niečí dom, niektoré z vás žien. Hneď zase pôjdete do starých koľají. Bez ohľadu na to, koľko vám Slovo hovorí, aby ste robili dobre a tak ďalej, nebudete to uznávať. Ženy, nenecháte si na základe toho rásť vlasy. Nebudete sa poriadne obliekať. Ďalej budete presne také, ako ten svet, pretože nie ste ešte mŕtve pre ten svet, žijete s ním.
75 Niektorí z vás, mužov, neprestanete piť, fajčiť. Neprestanete túžiť po skazených ženách, nemorálne oblečených, keď ich vidíte na ulici. Namiesto toho, aby ste sa odvrátili a odišli preč, stále budete žiadostiví presne tak ako predtým. Prečo? Pretože ešte žijete s tým svetom. Ale keď tá obeť bola prijatá, ste mŕtvi. Je to tak. Počujete, čo myslím? Rozumiete, o čom hovorím?
76 Vaša duša leží na súdnom Božom medenom oltári, potom Boh prijíma tú obeť ... To ukazuje, že ste to ešte neprijali, ak to ... ak ste stále živí v tomto svete, Boh to vôbec neprijal. Vy ľudia hovoríte, že prijímate Ducha Svätého a ako dlho musíte na to čakať, tu to máte. Až kým Boh neprijme tú obeť, až kým to tam neleží na Jeho oltári, až kým Jeho súd skutočne nezabije vaše zmysly ... Môžete hovoriť: „Dobre, obrátim novú stranu." To nie je to. „Dobre, viem, že som zvyknutý fajčiť, prestanem s fajčením." To stále nie je to, až kým Boh neprijme tú obeť na svojom medenom oltári, na Jeho súdnom oltári. Čo je jeho súd? Smrť! To je cena, ktorú treba zaplatiť.
77 „Duša, ktorá hreší, zostáva v hriechu, zomrie." Nestarám sa o to, čo ste urobili.
78 Ježiš povedal: „Mnohí prídu ku mne v ten deň a povedia: Pane, či som neurobil toto a tamto? On odpovie: Odstúpte odo mňa, činitelia neprávosti." Vidíte?
79 Keď oheň prijal tú obeť a to takto vystupuje hore a dym vystupuje hore, vy vystupujete so svojou obeťou do ponebeských miest a potom ste odlúčení od vecí tohoto sveta. Naša duša je na jeho oltári.
80 Čo ste potom urobili vy, keď ste zomreli, čo potom máte robiť? Potom ste sa znovu počali. Ste nanovo počatí. Prv ste boli počatí v neprávosti, teraz ste počatí v niečom novom. Čo to je? Živé Slovo. Ó, to teraz mení situáciu, či nie? No, skončil sa náš boj, keď ste uvideli, čo musíte urobiť. Čo sa teraz deje? Ste znovu počatí, v živom Slove. Čo to je? Ožíva vo vás Slovo. Začínate vidieť všetko inak. Tam, kde ste to predtým nemohli vidieť, teraz to vidíte. Teraz je to niečo iné. To spôsobuje, že všetky miesta Písma sa spájajú, všetko presne zapadá. Potom sa začína niečo diať. Zomreli ste svojím vlastným predstavám, teraz ste sa počali, pretože sme umytí vodou Slova. Je to tak?
81 Čo robíte s dieťaťom hneď, ako sa narodí? Umyjete ho. Je to tak? A len čo človek zomrel sebe samému a narodil sa z Boha, je umytý vodou Slova. Amen. Ak ono hovorí „Ježišove meno," vy hovoríte „Ježišove meno"; hovorí: „Musíte sa znovu narodiť" vy hovoríte to isté. Všetko, čo hovorí Boh, ste umytí tou vodou Slova. Amen.
82 No, teraz ste pripravení pre život. Teraz ste pripravení začať. Teraz ste nanovo narodení, narodení v Božej rodine, novým rodičom. Vaši tútori bývali ... Ale teraz máte tútorov, máte nových rodičov. Nemôžete sa narodiť bez toho, aby ste mali rodičov. Tak, ak ste sa narodili v bratstve nejakej cirkvi, to je to, čo máte. Ak ste sa narodili vo vyznaní, prosím. Ale ak ste sa narodili v Bohu, boli ste počatí v Jeho Slove, máte nového rodiča - to je Boh - pripravený dať cez teba na známosť Svoje Slovo, hovoriť ho cez teba. Ó, nový rodič - tým rodičom je Boh. On je teraz pripravený zobrať svoje Slovo, ktoré On už vypovedal a položiť ho do teba a spraviť, aby ožilo. Vidíte? Teraz začína tvoja výchova. Teraz si hotový, aby začala tvoja výchova, výchova dieťaťa. To je ťažký úsek, keď si myslíte, že máte robiť toto a Slovo vás dookola obsekáva a ukazuje vám niečo iné. „Aha, oni tam veria, že ..." To nie je dôležité, čo oni veria. Tu je to, čo hovorí Boh! Musíš byť vo veciach Otca. Teraz sa znovu rodíš. Teraz sa naprávaš, vyrovnávaš. Máš nového rodiča.
83 Tak podľa poriadku, keď si znovuzrodený a máš nového rodiča, potom máš novú povahu. Stará povaha je mŕtva a máš novú povahu. Voľakedy si išiel jednou cestou; teraz ideš inou cestou. Voľakedy si išiel touto cestou, dole; teraz ideš touto cestou, hore. Máš záľubu vo veciach, ktoré sú hore. Nové záľuby. Už viacej nemiluješ veci tohoto sveta. Máš zaľúbenie v Bohu. Nestaráš sa o to, čo hovoria ľudia, ako sa z teba vysmievajú a hovoria, že si „starý model", alebo čokoľvek také. Nestaráš sa o to, pretože si narodený zhora a máš záľubu vo veciach, ktoré sú hore. Boh sa za teba nehanbí a ty sa nehanbíš za Neho. Je to tak. Tak si ... Čítajte jedenástu kapitolu Listu Židom, hneď tu (Zapísal som si to), práve tak, ako ľudia v tých časoch, ako si oni počínali. Ako sa oni túlali v ovčích kožiach, po púšti, strádajúci a všetko možné, ktorých svet nebol hoden. Vidíte? Čítajte to, bude to pre vás dobre. A môžete tam vidieť, čo to boli za ľudia, keď ich povaha bola zmenená, čo sa dialo.
84 No, brat Branham, akú povahu potom má človek? Jeho povahu. Keby som mal povahu svojho otca, potom by som robil veci, ktoré robil môj otec. Ale teraz, keď som znovuzrodený, to záleží od toho, kto je môj otec. Ak ste narodení len do cirkvi, vaším otcom je cirkev a môžete ho nazývať otec, ak chcete. Môžete ho nazývať akokoľvek chcete, pretože on je vaším otcom. Ale ak je vaším Otcom Boh a vy ste sa narodili do Božej rodiny, hľadáte veci, ktoré patria Bohu. Je to tak. Potom ste Božie dieťa. Vašou povahou je Božia povaha. Potom, keď ... ó, počujete niekoho, ako hovorí: „Naša cirkev verí, že dni zázrakov pominuli." Ako môžeš veriť, že dni zázrakov pominuli, keď je v tebe vlastná Božia povaha? Keď On sám o sebe je zázrak. Jeho povaha je zázrak, Jeho zvyky sú zázrakom, celá Jeho bytosť je zázrak - ako môžeš byť niečo iné, ako zázrak? Tvoje nové narodenie je zázrak, tvoj nový život je zázrak. Ešte aj tvoja povaha je zázrak - ako sa môžeš dívať naspäť a hovoriť: „Tie veci sú mŕtve. Je to tak." Ty si nový tvor, nové stvorenie. Skutočne.
85 Ako som tu nedávno kázal o tom malom orlovi. Hádam si pamätáte ten príbeh, ako ten farmár podložil pod sliepku orlie vajce. A keď sa tie mláďatá vyliahli, všetky okrem jedného boli kurence. On bol orol. Bol to malý čudák. Bol úplne iný, ale viete, narodil sa v inej kategórii. Ten zárodok v tom vajci bol iný. Preto to bol iný vták. Samozrejme. Bol zvláštny, pre tých ostatných sa správal smiešne, ale on sa správal len prirodzene, pretože on nemohol robiť nič iné, pretože bol orol. Mal orliu povahu, to bolo to jediné, čím mohol byť, orlom. Ale mnoho ich je v týchto denomináciách. Oni sú v podstate orli, ale nevyzerajú tak, ako by mali, keď ich vidíme, ako sa váľajú v špine a vo veciach tohoto sveta. Vidíte? To je našou úlohou, dostať ich odtiaľ.
86 Jedného dňa tá matka orlica letela ponad, a čo si myslíte, že tá sliepka ho mohla ešte dlhšie udržať na zemi? Bez ohľadu na to, ako veľmi kvokala, ako dobre ... Ona povedal: „Poď sem, drahý. Práve som niečo našla, poď." Ó! Jeho túžba sa niesla po veciach tam hore a on tam išiel, aby sa s tým stretol. Žiadna denominácia ho nemohla od toho odvábiť.
87 A človek, ktorý sa narodil z Boha, nemôžete ho už viac zavolať naspäť do zhnitého zmätku hriechu. On je mŕtvy a znovu narodený. On je novým stvorením. Má povahu orla. On musí ísť do oblakov a lietať. On sa musí dostať tam hore, kde je jeho matka, jeho rodič.
88 Tak je to s človekom, ktorý verí. Povedzte mu: „Poď a vstúp do našej cirkvi. To je fanatizmus. Dni ..."
89 Keď ten malý orol možno stál a počul krik matky a pozrel sa hore a povedal: „Kde to je?" Aha, ona možno zakričala tomu malému orlovi niečo takéto: „Ježiš Kristus ten istý včera, dnes a naveky."
90 A tá matka povedala: „Dni zázrakov pominuli, kvok, kvok, kvok, kvok. Dni zázrakov pominuli. Nič také nie je! To je fanatizmus!" Och.
91 Nedokážeš ho dlhšie udržať. Môžem ho počuť, ako hovorí: „Mama, ako sa dostanem tam hore?"
92 „Zamávaj len krídlami, drahý. To je všetko, čo musíš urobiť. Ty si orol. Vykroč len vo viere."
„Ako sa to stane, mama? Ja neviem."
93 „Len kráčaj." A tu on ide. Prv trochu zamával a sadol na kôl v plote. Dostal sa nejako tak vysoko. Ona povedala: „Len tak ďalej, ja ťa chytím." To je to.
94 Nová povaha, nová bytosť, nové stvorenie, povaha vášho otca. A veríte a milujete každé Slovo, ktoré On povedal. Každé ľudské slovo, ktoré je nezhodné s týmto Slovom, je klamstvo. Toto je Božie Slovo. Vidíte? Biblia má pravdu. Nestarám sa o to, čo hovorí cirkev, Biblia je stále pre teba pravdou, pretože tvoja povaha sa zmenila. No, ak je tvojím otcom cirkev, budeš veriť tomu cirkevnému otcovi. Ale ak je Boh tvojím Otcom, budeš veriť Božiemu Slovu. Ak máš otca v cirkvi, budeš veriť jemu, pretože máš jeho povahu, to je tvoj otec. Ale ak je tvojím Otcom Boh, potom budeš veriť Božiemu Slovu. Ak si cirkvou, budeš veriť jej slovu, budeš veriť slovu cirkvi, budeš veriť tomu, čo hovorí cirkev. Ale ak si znovuzrodený, potom budeš veriť tomu, čo hovorí Boh, pretože Boh je tvojím Otcom - nie svet alebo cirkevné vyznania.
95 To mi pripomína. Jedného dňa na dvore, vraveli, že tam mali kačku, ktorá chodila s kurencami. A tá kačka, viete, bola pre tie kurence taká smiešna. Bola taká negramotná, viete, s veľkým zobákom, viete. Ale aj keď bola negramotná, ten zobák mala na nejaký účel. A asi je to tak, že niekedy kresťan vyzerá trochu, berie to trochu fanaticky, ale to má tam svoj účel. Vidíte? Kým behala s tými kurencami, s morkami a ostatnými, vyzerala smiešne. Oni mali trochu kratší zobák a pri tom, čo robili, neboli tak zostrojené ako tá kačka. Jedného dňa ju tá matka zaviedla - kŕdeľ kureniec a ona - tam vzadu. Ona stále chodila vzadu, viete, tak nejako. Ona ani nerozprávala ako oni. Jej jazyk bol iný. Oni si navzájom nerozumeli.
96 Tak je to s kresťanom, keď je znovuzrodený. Vidíte? On sa vyliahol z iného vajca, to je všetko. Viete. Možno, že má ... Verím, že je ich tu veľa v týchto denominačných cirkvách, ktorí sú ozajstné kačice, ale vedie ich sliepka. Je to tak. Tak oni to jednoducho nerozumejú. Znie to tvrdo. Nerozumejte to tak, ale chcem vám na niečo ukázať.
97 Jedného dňa ju zaviedla trochu ďaleko za stodolu. Tam za stodolou pretekala nejaká voda, nejaký pramienok, potok. A ona išla okolo a bola zvedavá, čo to je, viete, keď išla za tou sliepkou. A och, ona ani nemala rada to, čo oni jedli, jej sa to nezdalo dobré. Tieto staré veci, ktoré oni jedli, to nevyzeralo dobre. A tak po chvíli zacítila závan vzduchu. „To bola tá správna vôňa. Odkiaľ to prišlo?" Ó, to zavanutie z neba. Ó, zachytiť to jemné zavanutie niečoho, čo občerstvuje. Kázeň, ktorá ťa vyzýva, ktorá prechádza dovnútra, cítiš, ako samo Slovo za tam zakotvuje - hmm, nebeský svit! Ona si myslela: „Ó, to je niečo iné, ten závan, ktorý som zachytila, pasuje mojej povahe." Znovu to potiahla do seba. „To je tu niekde. Nevyhovoríte mi to. To je niekde tu. Viem, že niekde je niečo, kde ja patrím." Nie do tohoto vyznania. Viete, čo myslím? Ona zacítila vodu a ona bola z prirodzenosti kačica, tak kačka a voda pasujú jednoducho ku sebe. Tak aj veriaci a Boh pasujú ku sebe. Hneď zacítila ďalší silný závan toho, bolo to silnejšie. Po chvíli vietor začal fúkať - ako ten nesúci sa silný vánok, viete. Začal fúkať vánok od vody rovno ku nej. Ona to už viacej nemohla vydržať. Pustila sa dole kopcom, ťap ťap ťap, viete. „Ga ga ga." Zobák zodvihnutý hore, viete. Ona zavoňala vodu.
98 Tá sliepka volala: „Ty fanatik, vráť sa naspäť!" To ju vôbec nezaujímalo, ona zacítila vodu. Ona bola na ceste ku vode!
99 „Je fontána naplnená krvou, ktorá vytiekla z Emanuelových žíl, do ktorej, keď sa hriešnik ponorí, stratí všetky škvrny vín." Skutočný kresťan nechce mať nič spoločné so svetom. Oni tu nechcú žiť, ako sa pritrafí, túlať sa tam, kde sú. Dnes sú metodisti, zajtra baptisti a letniční a tak ďalej. Ó, brat, to je biedne! Skutočný kresťan chce cítiť čerstvosť Ducha, sviežosť Boha vo svojom živote, niečo, čo ho robí novým stvorením. Len čo nájde ten otvor, pôjde po zasnežených cestách a po všetkom, len aby sa tam dostal. On tam pôjde, pretože to je od začiatku kačka. Áno. Nie vyznanie, nie - nie, nie-nie.
100 A ak stále milujete veci tohoto sveta, ste zvedení. Vaša obeť nebola ešte prijatá, vaša povaha nebola zmenená. Viete teraz, čo to znamená byť znovuzrodený? Vidíte? Vaša povaha je zmenená, stávate sa novým stvorením. Prv musíte zomrieť a potom sa znovu narodiť. (Viem, že už je čas, aby som skončil, ale dajte mi ešte niekoľko minút. Prebehnem rýchlo cez tieto texty.) Ak stále milujete svet a tvrdíte, že ste znovuzrodení, bez ohľadu na to, čo ste urobili ... Mohli ste kričať, mohol vám prejsť po chrbte mráz. To je v poriadku, nemám nič proti tomu. Kresťania kričia a prechádza po nich mráz. A vy hovoríte: „Brat Branham, hovoril som v jazykoch ako ... „ To mohlo byť dobre, to mohlo byť tak dobre.
101 Dívam sa práve teraz na jednu ženu, ktorá nedávno prišla za mnou, že mala videnie alebo sen a ja som jej dal výklad. Stále, je to tak trochu ťažko ísť a povedať žene letničného kazateľa, že nemá Ducha Svätého, ale nemala ho. Ale potom ho prijala. Áno.
102 Je to iné. Vidíte? Áno. To nie je hovorenie v jazykoch, to nie je tancovanie v Duchu. Nemôžete to odôvodňovať žiadnou z týchto vecí. To je smrť a narodenie, premenená prirodzenosť, zmenená povaha. Staré veci sú mŕtve, nové veci sú nové. Svet je mŕtvy a Boh je nový. Boh je váš život a svet je pre vás mŕtvy. Rozumiete to teraz? Dobre.
103 Počúvajte teraz. Budem musieť skončiť, ale ešte trochu, viete, aby som odstránil z cesty tŕnie. Ženy a muži, ktorí nechcú nasledovať Božie Slovo a jeho učenie po tom, keď tvrdia, že sa znovuzrodili, tam nie je niečo v poriadku. Budem teraz na chvíľu hovoriť ku ženám. Ak nejaká žena, ktorá vie, že Božie Slovo odsudzuje strihať si vlasy a nosiť šortky, nosiť nohavice, nemorálne sa obliekať, a nemáš ani toľko slušnosti, aby si si nechala rásť vlasy a obliekla si šaty, aby si vyzerala ako kresťanka, si zvedená. Nestarám sa o to, cez čo všetko si prešla. Mohla si hovoriť v jazykoch, ako keď sa sype hrach na suchú kravskú kožu. Mohla si tancovať v Duchu, že až sa triasla celá budova. To s tým nemá vôbec nič spoločné. To ukazuje, že je v tebe stále láska ku tomu svetu, keď to Boh odsudzuje. On povedal: „Nepatrí sa ... Žena má mať dlhé vlasy. A sama príroda nás učí, že muž má mať krátke vlasy, pretože Boh je nad mužom a muž nad ženou." A ak si žena strihá vlasy, hanobí svoju hlavu, ktorou je jej muž. Ak si muž necháva rásť vlasy, potom on hanobí svoju hlavu, ktorou je Kristus. Vidíte? „Nech sa vaše ženy ozdobujú v skromnom rúchu," čistom, ako dámy. Vidíte?
104 A potom, keď to robíte bez prostej slušnosti, hovoríte: „Sláva Bohu! Haleluja! Hovorila som v jazykoch. Haleluja! Sláva Bohu!" To ukazuje, že ten duch vo vnútri je zlý. Ak je to povaha Slova, ona bude vždy akceptovať Božie Slovo. A Slovo je telo, a to Slovo bol Boh, a to Slovo je Boh, a to Slovo je vo vás a robí, že sa stávate synmi a dcérami Božími, Jeho letorastami, veríte Jeho Slovu.
105 „Ja neverím, že mám byť pokrstený v to staré Meno Pána Ježiša. Haleluja! Nestarám sa o to, ako veľmi sa mi to budeš snažiť vysvetliť, ja verím svojmu pastorovi." Choď si, to je tvoj otec. Ale ak je Boh tvoj Otec, budeš sa držať Božieho Slova.
106 Kazateľ ... „Mnohí prídu ku mne v ten deň a povedia: Pane, či som nevyháňal v tvojom mene démonov? - Kazatelia. Či som nerobil veľa mocných skutkov? - Evanjelisti na misijnom poli. Odstúpte odo mňa, činitelia neprávosti." Nemanželské deti. Je to tak.
107 Ak ste narodení z Boha, umytí ste vodou Slova, oddelení od vecí tohoto sveta a veríte Bohu. Ste mŕtvi. Ste mŕtvi svojím vlastným mysliam, mŕtvi svojim vlastným predstavám, mŕtvi všetkému okrem Božieho Slova. Ono žije vo vás, účinkuje vo vás. Dokazuje, že to je Božie Slovo. Vy hovoríte: „Som mŕtvy svetu, brat Branham." A zapierate Božie Slovo?
108 Ježiš povedal: „Tieto znamenia budú nasledovať tých, ktorí uveria." Teraz sa dostávame ku tomu, čo to znamená narodiť sa znovu. Vidíte?
109 Stále sa rozčuľuješ, stále si podlý, arogantný, niekto o tebe niečo povie a rozpáliš sa, pripravený biť sa. A potom narodený z Ducha Božieho? Nie. Boží Duch sa takto nespráva. Nie. Boží Duch je pokorný, krotký, milý, trpezlivý. To je Boh - milujúci, láskavý, odpúšťajúci. To je Boží Duch. Ó, áno.
110 Ale oni sa budú držať tej denominácie a hovoriť v jazykoch, prorokovať a robiť všetky rôzne veci. Ježiš povedal, že to budú robiť. Budú mať formu pobožnosti." Držia sa denominácie lebo to je ich otec. Oni sa narodili z denominačného otca. Ale ak ste sa narodili z Boha, toto je váš Otec. On je Slovo - Slovo. Nezáleží na tom, koľko ste prežili senzácií, stále ste dieťa Satana, až kým sa nestanete mŕtvi pre svet a budete žiť v Kristovi. Počúvajte. Už to teraz rýchlo preberiem.
111 Duša, dobrá alebo zlá, smrť ju nezmení. Mám tu v tomto zapísaných veľa miest Písma, o ktorých som chcel hovoriť, čo je to duša. Čo je to duša? To si ty. Ty si duša - tá časť vo vnútri v tebe. A keď zomrieš, to, čo formuje tú dušu, je stále v nej, tak sa to deje. To ide na svoje miesto určenia. Nemôžeš to vytiahnuť, bez ohľadu na to, ako veľmi by si sa snažil. Tá duša musí byť tu premenená, znovuzrodená.
Vy hovoríte: Brat Branham, a čo s Duchom Svätým?"
112 Duch Svätý vás krstí do tela, do služby, ale na večný život veríte. „Ten, kto počuje Moje slová a verí v Toho, ktorý Ma poslal, má večný život." Vidíte? Potom ste pokrstení Duchom Svätým do tela, aby ste manifestovali dary a tak ďalej, ale na večný život veríte. Ten, kto verí, má večný život. A keď veríte, vtedy ste mŕtvi a narodení, regenerovaní, ste novým stvorením. Dobre.
113 Duša, pamätajte teraz, dobrá alebo zlá, smrť na tom nič nezmení. Smrť ju len zoberie na jej miesto určenia. Počujete to? A ak máte v duši stále svet a lásku po svete, to zomrie spolu s vami, pretože svet musí zomrieť. Boh odsúdil svet (to je svetský poriadok). Boh ho odsúdil a on musí zomrieť; a ak je ten svet vo vás, zomriete s tým svetom. Ó, nevidím, ako by to mohlo byť ešte jasnejšie. Vidíte? A ak je dobrá, narodená z Boha, musí ísť ku Bohu. Ak je zo sveta, ďalej pôjde do zahynutia spolu so svetom. Ak je z Boha, bude žiť s Bohom. Vzdelaný alebo nevzdelaný, vzdelaný alebo negramotný, ak je stále v nej svet, musí zomrieť. A ak je vo vašej duši svet a vy túžite po veciach tohoto sveta, zahyniete so svetom. To je jasné, či nie? Musíte. Ste časťou tohoto mŕtveho sveta. A keď je svet mŕtvy, ste mŕtvi spolu s ním.
114 Ale ak ste znovuzrodení, ste živí s Kristom a vaša túžba sa nesie po veciach, ktoré sú hore a nie po veciach tohoto sveta. Ale keď ste znovuzrodení z Ducha Božieho, stávate sa časťou Boha a ste veční spolu s Ním. Smrť sa vás potom nemôže dotknúť, keď ste znovuzrodení. Ste veční. Premenili ste sa z bytosti času na bytosť večnosti. Prešli ste zo smrti do života. Hovorím o večnosti - z večnej smrti do večného života. Ak ste zo sveta, zomriete tu spolu s ním. Ak milujete ... Biblia hovorí v Jánovi: „Ak milujete svet alebo veci tohoto sveta, to preto, že nie je vo vás láska Božia." Nemôžete milovať svet. A Ježiš povedal: „Nemôžete milovať svet a mamonu." Mamona, to je svet. Nemôžete naraz milovať svet a Boha. „A ten, kto hovorí, že ma miluje, a nezachováva moje slová (to je Biblia), je klamár a pravdy v ňom niet." Tu to máte.
115 Ó, Branhamova Modlitebňa a vy všetci dobrí ľudia, urobme inventúru! Toto je Nový Rok. Začnime, urobme niečo, odstráňme od seba veci tohoto sveta. Ak to tam stále je, zbavme sa toho. Tak veru.
116 Dobre, ľudia dnes (musím sa ponáhľať), ľudia dnes prijímajú všetkých rôznych duchov. Oni idú a prijímajú ducha nejakej cirkvi. Oni prijímajú dokonca duchov, ktoré tvrdia o sebe, že sú Božími duchmi, že sú znovuzrodení a zapierajú, že Božie Slovo je pravda. Mohli by ste si predstaviť Ducha Božieho, že by zapieral svoje vlastné Slovo? Vy katolíci - myslím, rímsko-katolíci - či môžete skutočne povedať, že ste narodení z Ducha Božieho, a prijímate tieto dogmy, ktoré sú nezhodné s Bibliou a zapierajú Slovo Božie? A hovoríte, že ste ... či by Duch Boží vo vás, Duch, ktorý napísal túto Bibliu, či by ju zapieral? Tu by mi niečo hovoril a potom by sa postavil a klamal proti tomu. Či by Boh niečo povedal a potom by sa otočil a klamal ohľadne toho, keď Biblia hovorí, že je nemožné, aby Boh klamal, pretože On je samou podstatou všetkej pravdy.
117 A čo vy metodisti, baptisti, ktorí ste pokrstení v tituly Otca, Syna a Ducha Svätého, nevidíte to teraz inak? Máte svoju Bibliu. Vy, ktorí len vstupujete do cirkvi, skrze potrasenie rúk? Vy, ktorí prijímate svoje odporúčajúce listy jeden od druhého, a tvrdíte, že ste znovuzrodení z Ducha Božieho? Ako to môžete robiť, a potom sa dívate do tváre Božieho Slova a hovoríte o sebe, že ste znovuzrodení kresťania? Keď ste mŕtvi pre cirkev, mŕtvi vyznaniam, mŕtvi svetu, mŕtvi všetkému inému, ale živí Bohu a Boh je Slovo! Tu to máte. Pozrime sa. Oni prijímajú všelijakého ducha. Ó, oni majú cirkevných duchov, majú všetkých rôznych duchov. Počúvajte teraz, končíme.
118 Proroci - Slovo Božie prichádza ku prorokovi. Biblia tak hovorí. (No, na záver, mám tu ešte niekoľko poznámok, chcem ich prebrať a potom skončím.) Slovo Pánovo prichádza ku prorokom. Čo prichádza ku prorokom? Či slovo cirkvi prichádzalo ku prorokom? Či slovo vyznania prichádzalo ku prorokom? Slovo Pánovo! Čo to bolo? Prorok zjavoval Slovo Božie. Vidíte? To sú proroci, skutoční proroci. No, máme falošných prorokov, za chvíľu sa ku nim dostaneme. Ale skutočný prorok, skutočné slovo prichádzalo ku skutočnému prorokovi, to nemohlo byť nič iné. No, vyznanie neprišlo ku prorokovi, denominácia neprišla ku prorokovi. Nie. Ale Slovo Pánove prichádzalo ku prorokovi a on ho zjavoval ľuďom. Pravý prorok mal pravé Slovo.
119 Ako otestujete pravého proroka? Keď má pravé Slovo. Potom, ak to nie je pravé Slovo, musí to byť falošný prorok. Ak hovorí niečo nezhodné s týmto Slovom a toto Slovo je Božie Slovo, nech každé slovo proroka je klamstvom a Božie Slovo pravdou. A ak to slovo, ktoré prichádza od toho proroka, je Slovo Božie, potom je to pravý prorok, pretože Slovo prichádza ku prorokom, ku pravým prorokom. Stále sme mali falošných prorokov. Praví proroci, pravé slovo. Falošní proroci, falošné slovo - „naše vyznania, naše denominácie, pripoj sa ku tomuto, hovor toto, ver tomuto, rob toto."
120 Ale pravé slovo prichádza ku pravému prorokovi a on vám hovorí pravé slovo. Vy nasledujete to slovo a máte pravé prežitie Slova, pretože Slovo sa stalo vo vás telom a vy ste sa stali Božím synom a Slovo Božie krúži rovno z Boha do teba, pretože ty máš Jeho povahu, Jeho Duch je v tebe a ty budeš robiť skutky Božie. Haleluja! Biblia tak povedala. Ó!
121 Falošní proroci prinášajú falošné slovo. Čo robia? Majú falošné senzácie. Falošní proroci sa držia dosť veľkej časti pravého Slova, aby boli falošní. Je to nezvyklé, ale Biblia hovorí ... Chcete si zapísať miesto Písma o tom, 2. Timotejovi 3. Vidíte? Falošní proroci majú dosť pravého Slova, aby to urobili falošným, pretože Biblia hovorí, že majú formu pobožnosti, a aby mali formu pobožnosti, musia mať niečo, čo je pravda. „ ...formu pobožnosti, ale zapierajú jej moc." Moc čoho? Aby vás to napravilo, aby ste boli iní, aby ste slúžili Bohu, aby ste nechodili na tance a na veci tohoto sveta, čo Biblia odsudzuje, aby ste si nestrihali vlasy. O čom falošní proroci hovoria, že na tom vôbec nezáleží.
122 Niekto mi pred nedávnom povedal (Zdá sa mi, že som to tu predtým citoval, neviem presne.), povedal: „Prečo nenecháš tie ženy a mužov na pokoji. Tí ľudia veria, že si prorok."
Povedal som: „Nie som."
123 „Ale ľudia veria, že si. Prečo ich neučíš, ako prijímať videnia, ako robiť také skutky Božie?"
124 Povedal som: „Ako ich môžem učiť algebru, keď nepoznajú abecedu? Ako môžete zobrať dieťa z materskej škôlky a dať mu dnes vysokoškolské vzdelanie, učiť ho druhú odmocninu? Ako to môžete, keď ono nevie, čo znamená ABC? Viete, čo znamená ABC? Vždy ver Kristovi. [Po anglicky to je Always Believe Christ. - pozn.prekl.] Je to tak. Never cirkvi, never vyznaniu, never doktrínam. Ver Kristovi! Prečo? „Poznať Jeho, poznať Jeho, to je život." Je to tak? Nie poznať Jeho vyznanie. On nemá žiadne vyznania. Ani nie poznať Jeho Slovo. Nie poznať Jeho Slovo; musíš poznať Jeho, poznať Ho ako svojho Spasiteľa v znovuzrodení. Ako povedal Ježiš Nikodémovi: „Ak nemôžete veriť zemským veciam, ktoré vám hovorím, ako potom uveríte nebeským veciam?" Ako budete veriť duchovným veciam o vojdení do Ducha a poznať a vidieť videnia a takéto veci - treba takto po poriadku nastúpiť do školy - keď neveria ani zemským veciam? Nemôžu ani uveriť, že majú nosiť poriadne šaty, nemôžu ani uveriť, že by mali prestať fajčiť a klamať, odložiť nabok hnev a všetky tieto veci, dobyť všetky tieto veci tam, prestať so žiadosťou. Ako môžete učiť ľudí, aby vošli do Ducha, keď visia na nich všetky tieto veci? Áno. Och.
125 Falošní proroci majú falošné slová, vyznania, denominácie, senzácie. „Ó, chvála Bohu! Jediné, čo musíš robiť ... Chceš nosiť Eliášov plášť? Sláva Bohu! Stačí, keď si len vyprázdniš myseľ, na nič nemysli a hovor: Ó, naplň ma, naplň ma, naplň ma." Diabol to určite urobí. A potom spoliehaš na niečo také? „Óóóó, prebehlo to cezo mňa, brat Branham. Cítil som to. Óóóó, sláva Bohu, haleluja (vyskakuješ takto hore-dole), ó, mám to!" A žiješ tak, ako žiješ?
126 „Podľa ich ovocia ich poznáte." Vidíte? Nie podľa senzácií.
127 „Ó, brat, chceš prijať Ducha Svätého? Kľakni si len pri oltári a hovor: Sláva, sláva, sláva, sláva, sláva, až kým nezačneš hovoriť v jazykoch." Och. A potom ideš a žiješ všelijakým životom, klameš, kradneš? Keď ti hovoria, aby si sa dal pokrstiť vo meno Ježiša Krista, povieš: „To je fanatizmus, moja cirkev to učí inak!" A hovoríš, že si znovuzrodený, umytý vodou Slova? Niekde nie je niečo v poriadku. Vidíte?
128 Budeš veriť každému Slovu, presne tak, ako je tu napísané. My nepotrebujeme ... Biblia hovorí: „Ono nepodlieha vlastnému výkladu." Boh ho vykladá a toto je ten spôsob, ako sa to deje, Jeho Slovo tu. Či nehovorí Biblia, myslím, že tam v 2. Liste Petra: „Biblia sa nedeje z vlastného rozlúštenia?" Samozrejme. Žiadny vlastný. To znamená to, čo je tam napísané, presne ako to. Len tomu verte tak, ako je to napísané tu, to prinesie tie isté výsledky.
129 Falošní učitelia budú prinášať falošné narodenie. Praví proroci budú prinášať Slovo, narodenie zo Slova, z Krista. Falošní proroci prinesú falošné narodenie - cirkevné narodenie, narodenie z vyznania, denominačné narodenie. A tu to máš, letničný brat, falošné ... alebo senzácie a hovoriť niekomu, že má Ducha Svätého, pretože hovoril v jazykoch. Videl som diablov hovoriť v jazykoch, samé ceruzky písali v neznámych jazykoch. To nič neznamená. Vidíte? To musí byť život. „Podľa ich ovocia ich poznáte." „Brat Branham, veríš v hovorenie v jazykoch?" Samozrejme. „Veríš vo vykrikovanie?" Samozrejme. Keď som kresťan, tak tomu verím. Verím Božiemu Slovu. Ale ak za tým nestojí život ...
130 Idete odtiaľ ako nafúkaná košeľa: „Sláva Bohu! Haleluja!" a potom mi hovoríte, že to je Kristus? Kristus bol pokorný, krotký a príjemný. Choďte do mesta a, ó, musíte byť taký vykefovaní, viete, a všetko musí tak sedieť, nesmiete mať ani trochu pokrčený oblek; a musíte mať všetko najlepšie, inak vôbec neprídete; zaistené toľko a toľko peňazí, inak nemôžete mať zhromaždenie. Ó, joj! Všetky denominácie vás musia poklepkávať po pleciach. Jeho nikto z nich neklepkal po pleciach, lebo On bol Slovo. Je to tak.
131 Falošní, dodržiavajú dosť veľký kus pravdy, aby mali formu pobožnosti. A počúvajte, teraz tu niečo poviem, chcem, aby ste počúvali. Taký druh falošných počatí, (Viete, čo robí to falošné počatie?) vedie milióny ľudí do falošného narodenia. Falošní učitelia vedú ľudí, aby verili v senzáciu. „Pretože si sa celý triasol, tak to máš. Ó, pretože si cítil, ako prešiel cez teba zvláštny pocit, videl si pred sebou svetlá a bol si slepý a potácal si sa, to je Eliášov plášť, ktorý zostúpil na teba. Je to v poriadku, máš to. Ó, vieš, čo si? Si zamanifestovaným synom Božím." Kde sa nachádzaš? Si porazený. Je to tak. „Sláva Bohu, jednej noci som mal sen!" Ó, áno. „Ó, videl som toto, tamto." Áno. „Či neveríš v sny?" Áno, samozrejme, verím. Ale ak ten sen nepasuje s Božím Slovom, potom je zlý. Toto tu je pravda, stoj na tomto. Tak veru. Vedú milióny ľudí do falošného narodenia. Len sa nad tým zamyslite!
132 Mám výstrižok z novín, chcel som ho zobrať so sebou, kde ten ekumenický otec všetkých gréckych ortodoxných a ortodoxných cirkví sa rozprával s pápežom Jánom 22. a povedal: „Možno, že my to neuvidíme v našej generácii, ale vyvinie sa veľké bratstvo a protestanti a katolíci sa zídu spolu."
133 Pomyslel som si, „Chvála Bohu!" Niekto to vystrihol z novín a takto mi to napísal.. Zdá sa mi, že to bol brat Norman alebo niekto, povedal: „Brat Branham, je neskoršie, ako si myslíme." Pozrite sa dnes, minister vojny a och, tak veľa rôznych úradov, prezident, a celý tento národ je pod katolíckou kontrolou.
134 Počúvajte. Vy hovoríte: „Dobre, oni sú kresťania." Byť kresťanom znamená byť ako Kristus, mať Jeho Ducha. Je to tak? Toto tu je tvrdé, ale chcem to povedať. Ak na sviňu budete hovoriť, že je ovca, spraví to z nej ovcu? Aha, ak poviete: „Prasiatko, je mi z toho nanič, že si prasiatko. Ja chcem jahniatko, tak ťa zoberiem sem a celé ťa vydrhnem a umyjem ti zuby a učešem ťa a urobím z teba malého baránka. Uviažem ti okolo krku ružovú stužku a bude z teba baranček namiesto prasaťa." Prídete tam a budete hovoriť: „Baránok, baránok, baránok." Ono bude ďalej robiť: „Kvik, kvik." Vypustíte ho do ohrady a bude žrať všetky pomyje, ktoré nájde. Tak veru! To nie je v tom, že ho pofŕkate, to nie je v tom, že ho ponoríte do vody; to je smrť a narodenie! Tak veru. Poviete: „Nebudem ťa kŕmiť ničím iným než ďatelinou, budem ťa kŕmiť tým, čo jedia ovce." Stále ho kŕmite ďatelinou a ono je stále prasa, to je všetko. Je to tak? Samozrejme. Prečo? Samozrejme. Ono je prasa, pretože má povahu prasaťa.
135 A ak milujete svet alebo veci tohoto sveta, stále ste prasa. Je to tak. Je potrebná moc Božia, aby premenila vašu dušu. Zomri prasaťu, polož na oltár svoje prasačie zvyky, polož sa tam a nech Božia obeť ... či, nech zostúpi oheň súdu a strávi ťa ako prasa a znovu ťa narodí ako baránka. Potom nebudeš jesť žiadne pomyje. Nemohol by si, tvoj žalúdok by to nestrávil. Nie si v poriadku. Tým z neho neurobíte prasa, keď budete hovoriť ... či vlastne baránka, keď budete hovoriť, že to je baránok.
136 Tak človek, ktorý si hovorí kresťan, preto, že prijal nejaké vyznanie alebo prežil nejakú emóciu ... Vy hovoríte: Sláva Bohu, brat Branham, vtedy som celú noc tancoval v Duchu. Hovoril som v jazykoch, ó, brat Branham!" Hovorím teraz ku letničným. „Tancoval som v Duchu. Ó, prežil som senzácie, všetko také. Ale hovorím ti hneď teraz, nehovor mi nič tam o tom Ježišovom mene." Len do toho, prasiatko. On je stále prasa, to je všetko.
137 „Moje ovce počujú Moje Slovo!" Dobre, ja poviem: „Ale brat, pozri sa, nájdi mi v Biblii jedno miesto, kde bol niekto niekedy pokrstený vo meno Otca, Syna a Ducha Svätého."
138 „Nestarám sa o to, čo je tam, haleluja, ja nechcem nič z toho (Jesus Only) Len Ježiš." Kto hovorí o Len Ježiš (Jesus Only)? Ja hovorím o Biblii. Jesus Only je skupina vyznaní a skupina denominácií. Jeden nemôže nazývať druhého inak, pretože obidvaja sú v tom istom.
139 Ale ja hovorím o úplných, skutočných, stopercentných kresťanoch, znovuzrodených z Ducha Božieho, ktorí majú nebeskú rosu vo svojom živote. To je to, o čom hovorím. Ak si metodista a máš to, amen! Jediné, čo musíš urobiť, je byť nasmerovaný do Slova. Budeš ho nasledovať tak, ako tá kačka, ktorá išla do vody. Vidíte? Je to tak.
140 Ľudia chcú dnes skratky. Oni nechcú ... oni si myslia, že to dostanete hneď v tej chvíli: „Sláva Bohu!" Čo to je? Čo oni robia? Dnes večer sú v ... sú tam vonku v ... Ako niektorí z týchto ľudí, ktorých majú, ako niektorí ľudia, ktorých by som mohol vymenovať, ale nechcem to robiť, pretože toto sa nahráva, ale dnes večer sú s gitarou v nejakom nočnom klube, brnkajú na nej a na druhý deň ráno stoja niekde v nejakej cirkvi, a brnkajú na tej istej gitare. Špina! Biblia hovorí v Izaiášovi, v dvadsiatej kapitole: „Všetky stoly sú plné vývratku. Ako sa pes navracia ku svojmu vývratku a sviňa ku svojmu váľaniu sa v blate, tak robia oni." Prečo? Oni sú stále psami a sviňami! Preto sa navracajú do váľania sa a ku vývratkom. Nie sú znovuzrodení. Ak sú znovuzrodení, tak sú novými stvoreniami.
141 Viete čo? Vrana, nezáleží na tom, ako sa ju snažíte ... mohli by ste ju prefarbiť celkom na takú olivovú farbu, ako má holubica, na celkom sivú ako holubica, na bielu, mohli by ste ju celú prefarbiť - ona bude stále vo vnútri vrana. Vidíte? Naďalej, tak isto je to smradľavý starý krkavec, zbierač odpadkov, ktorý žerie mŕtve veci zeme. Je to tak. Ale viete čo? Holubica sa nemusí ani kúpať. Ó, haleluja! Telo holubice, pretože to je holubica, ona má olej, ktorý prechádza cez jej perie, to ju po celý čas udržuje čistú, pretože on vychádza z vnútra. Ó! Prečo? Krkavec hovorí: „Mňa tiež! Vylial som na nich trochu svätej vody, brat, ona to dá do poriadku." Nie, nedá. Pretože to vychádza z vnútra navonok, nie z vonku dovnútra. To je narodenie. Chvála Bohu, ja chodím do cirkvi tak isto ako ty. Haleluja, moja cirkev je tak isto dobrá ako tvoja. Haleluja, my sme práve...“ Dobre, ty krkavec. Vidíte? Je to tak. Vidíte? Ale holubica je mazaná olejom zvnútra. Holubica má určité žľazy, ktoré nie sú takto v žiadnom inom vtákovi, holubica alebo hrdlička. A ona sa maže od ... von. Po celý čas sa udržiava v čistote. Ona sa nemusí sama udržiavať v čistote; vo vnútri nej je niečo, čo ju udržuje čistú. Ó, sestra Why, haleluja! Niečo vo vnútri nej ju udržuje čistú.
142 Hovoríte: „Ja viem, minulý týždeň som vstúpil do cirkvi. Naozaj by som si rád s tebou vypil, ale hm ... ó, tá cigareta tak dobre vonia! Ó, sestra, viem, že som starý model, musím si teraz nechať rásť vlasy. Nie je to hrozné? Vieš, aké som nosievala pekné šaty, a každý, kto išiel okolo: fijú-fiť. Teraz som ich musela odložiť. Vieš, minulý týždeň som vstúpila do cirkvi." Ty biedna chudera! Nemôže ťa očistiť ani všetka svätá voda na svete.
143 Ale brat, keď máš niečo v sebe vo vnútri, to po celý čas zmýva všetko preč. Ty len kľudne stojíš a to z teba všetko zmýva.
144 Ovci nemusíte hovoriť: „Ty musíš vyprodukovať ..." To je to, čo sa dnes deje s letničnými. To sa deje dnes s celým kresťanstvom. Snažia sa niečo vyprodukovať. Ovcu neprosia, aby vyprodukovala vlnu; ona nesie vlnu. Vy nesiete ovocie Ducha. Nehovoríte: „Sláva Bohu, musím sčernieť v tvári, musím robiť toto, musím prežiť nejakú senzáciu, musím tancovať v Duchu a potom to mám." Nie, nie, och. Len sa znovuzroď a to sa skutočne bude diať samé. Nemusíš hovoriť: „Musím študovať celú noc, musím robiť toto, musím robiť tamto, musím sa pripojiť ku tomuto a musím prijať toto vyznanie, musím toto odpykať?" Nie, nie. Len zomri, to je všetko. Vidíte? Buď znovuzrodený, a to prichádza zvnútra a stará sa o to, čo je vonku. Vidíte? Fŕkať ich trochu vodou a umývať, to je niečo, ako premieňať prasa na baránka, to nedokážete. Ale keď je on vo vnútri baránok, potom už viacej nie je prasa. Vidíte? Je to tvrdá poznámka - ale ja nie som vzdelaný, to som len povedal ako príklad.
145 Viete, to je ... Rozmýšľal som, keď som raz čítal život Jána Krstiteľa, čo on povedal, ako ich nazval? „Vy plemä vreteníc!" Prečo? On vyrastal na púšti. On vedel, čo to boli vretenice. Dupnite nohou a oni sa skryjú. „Vy plemeno vreteníc." A tiež: „Sekera je priložená na koreň stromu." Strom, vretenice, sekery, on hovoril o tom, čo poznal. Takto sa učíte poznávať Boha, podľa toho, čo poznáte. Vidíte, prasa a baránok, nedá sa vôbec nič ... Nemôžete spraviť ... Môžete to prasa umyť a robiť s ním všetko, čo len chcete, stále je to prasa. Ono sa musí znovu narodiť, prv, ako môže byť baránkom.
146 Skratky! Dnes večer, dnes sú tam vonku, správajú sa .. (Och.) A na druhý deň chcú už kázať. Letniční im to tiež dovolia. Áno. Oni chcú skratky do neba. „Haleluja, všetko, čo musím urobiť, je len kľaknúť si sem a vôbec o ničom nemyslieť a hovoriť: Haleluja, haleluja, mám Eliášov plášť. Zajtra pôjdem a budem vyháňať démonov. Haleluja, haleluja. Mám to! Chvála Bohu, idem!" Oni chcú skratky do neba a nesú so sebou toľko sveta, koľko len môžu. Nemôžete niesť žiadnu z tých vecí. Neexistujú žiadne skratky. Poďte cestou Golgoty. Poďte cestou medeného oltára. Poďte cestou medeného hada. Zomrite! Skutočne zomrite. Ó, Bože, prečo to nemôžem povedať správne? Zomrite! Zomrite doslovne sebe samému. Zomrite veciam tohoto sveta a nanovo sa narodíte. Amen. Žiaden svet, veci tohoto sveta sú mŕtve. Nie sú žiadne skratky. Vidíte, ľudia chcú prísť veľmi rýchlo. Nechcú rásť. My rastieme v Pánovi. Je potrebný rast a prežitie.
147 Teraz hovoria ľuďom tam na západnom pobreží: „Ó, máme večný krst. Keď vás pokrstíme vo vode, hneď tam sa premieňate na mladého muža a na mladú ženu. Tak veru. Začínate sa ..." Majú Eliášov plášť, majú zamanifestovaných synov Božích. „Áno, brat, Boh práve teraz manifestuje synov, manifestuje." Hovoria im všetko o tomto. „Dnes ste hriešnici a zajtra ste zamanifestovaní synovia Boží." Nezmysel! Kde ste niečo také videli v Slove? Deti sa nerodia ako dospelí muži. Oni sa rodia ako deti a vyrastajú na mužov.
na zdokonaľovanie svätých ku dielu služby, na budovanie tela Kristovho,
až by sme všetci dospeli v jednotu viery a plného poznania Syna Božieho, v dokonalého muža, k miere dospelosti plnosti Kristovej
aby sme už neboli viacej nedospelými, zmietaní vlnami a sem a tam nosení každým vetrom učenia, závratníctvom ľudí, schytralosťou mámiť do bludu,
ale aby sme hovoriac pravdu v láske hovoriac pravdu v láske, rástli v neho ktorý je hlavou, Kristus
:
(Treba rásť v Neho.)149 Pamätám sa na prvé kázanie, ktoré som kázal. Zastal som si tam a myslel som si, že som to kázal naozaj dobre a všetky tie staré panie sedeli a trochu poplakávali, viete, a hovorili: „Ó, aký fajný chlapec."
150 Ten starý pastor, Dr. Davis, bol starý advokát. Išiel som dole a on povedal: „Chcel by som sa s tebou porozprávať tam v dome."
151 Povedal som: „Dobre." Išiel som tam na druhý deň. Viete, celý nadchnutý. Opýtal som sa: „Ako mi to išlo, Dr. Davis?"
Povedal: „To bolo to najbiednejšie, čo som kedy počul!"
Opýtal som sa: „Čo?"
On povedal: „Najhoršie, čo som kedy počul."
„Ó," povedal som, „brat Davis, všetci plakali."
152 On povedal: „Áno, ľudia plačú na pohreboch, plačú pri narodení dieťaťa a pri všetkom možnom." Povedal: „Čo to je, Billy, necitoval si ani kúsok z Božieho Slova. Rozprával si o nejakej matke, ktorá potom zomrela, či niečo takéto, a všetkých si dojal do plaču." Povedal: „Ľudia sa neznovuzrodia skrze také veci a senzácie tejto zeme; oni sa znovuzrodia zo Slova." Povedal: „Billy ..."
153 Ó, hneď mi vyrazil dych. Som rád, že to urobil. Vidíte? Vidíte? Nie vyskakovať hore-dole, vykrikovať, to nie je to. Život prichádza zo Slova. Slovo oživuje. Nie prežitie, Slovo!
154 On povedal: „Billy, pamätám sa na prvý prípad, ktorý som obhajoval." Povedal: „Búchal som po zábradlí." A povedal: „Povedal som, keď som sa díval na tú biednu ženu. Ó, keď som videl, ako muž s ňou zle zachádzal. Trochu som plakal a vytiahol som vreckovku a správal som sa tak, ako tí ostatní advokáti. Myslel som si, že mám mať také isté emócie. Povedal som: Sudca, vaša excelencia, prečo ju nerozvediete? Pozrite sa! Ona hovorí, že ju muž zbil po chrbte." On to ani nemohol vidieť, pod jej šatami. „On ju bil po chrbte. Prečo jej nedáte ..." Ten starý sudca tam len sedel a díval sa.
155 Ten starý advokát, ktorý sedel na druhej strane, už dorástol a povedal: „Sudca, vaša excelencia, koľko takýchto nezmyslov bude tento súd ešte trpieť?"
156 Len veľa predvádzania. Tak to robí príliš veľa ľudí. Príliš veľa sa ich predvádza a nemajú za tým dostatok Slova, ktoré by to podopieralo. Vzrastať! „Ó, on včera večer tancoval v Duchu, brat Branham, on je v poriadku." Ale, pre mňa to neznamená, že by kvôli tomu bol v poriadku. Nie veru. Musí rásť, byť dokázaný, skúšaný, vzrastať v Neho, byť dozretý.
157 Čítal som nedávno v histórii. (Nezaberám príliš veľa času?) Čítal som v histórii cirkvi. Zdá sa mi, že sestra Arnoldová mi raz povedala „amen", na niečo, čo som hovoril o histórii cirkvi, že ona to čítala. Díval som sa na to, kde sa písalo o jednom chlapcovi v nejakom kláštore za času sv. Martina, a tento chlapec povedal: „Pán ma urobil prorokom zo Starého Zákona. Som jeden z tých starodávnych prorokov." Dobre, nemôžem si spomenúť, ako sa tam volal ten biskup, tej malej školy - bola to len malá skupina ako táto tu. Nemôžem si teraz spomenúť na jeho meno, ale on bol vyučený pri Martinovi. Nezdalo sa mu to celkom v poriadku, tak tí ostatní bratia ho nechali tak. On hneď potom prorokoval. Povedal: „Dnes večer Boh zostúpi a dá mi biele rúcho, aby som sedel medzi vami a vy budete poznať, že som jedným zo Starozákonných prorokov." Tak tej noci, o dvanástej, sa to skutočne stalo. Bolo počuť hlasy, okolo chodili ľudia a ten chlapec dostal rúcho, hovorili, že bolo také biele, ako len mohlo byť. On vyšiel a povedal: „Či som vám nehovoril?" Povedal: „A teraz všetci robte to, čo vám budem hovoriť. Ja som starozákonný prorok."
158 Ale tomu starému biskupovi sa nezdalo, že by to bolo celkom v poriadku. Nebolo to podľa Slova. Prorokov nikto nerobí, oni sú predurčení. A prorok sa v prvom rade nebude takto správať. To ovocie dokazovalo, že to nebolo pravé. Vidíte? Ovocie dokazovalo, že to nebol prorok. Vidíte? Tak on povedal: „Strávime zbytok noci na pôste a na modlitbe a pri spievaní piesní." Prešiel deň alebo dva. Po nejakom čase ten starý biskup, keď sa modlil, povedal: „Pane, ten chlapec ... To rúcho, keď sa na to dívam," povedal, „nikdy som sa nestretol ... nič také som ešte nevidel." Prišli pisári a dívali sa a oni nikdy nič také nevideli. Bolo to tam. Nakoniec, oni poznali jedného muža, ktorý bol prorok, to bol Martin. Povedali: „Dobre, urob teraz jednu vec, aby si nás presvedčil. Podľa Písma si vedľa. Čo tak ísť ku Martinovi a postaviť sa pred ním a povedať mu to?"
On povedal: „Ó, ja mám zakázané postaviť sa pred Martina."
159 Ten, kto má dobré zlato, nemá strach ísť ku testovaciemu stroju (Je to tak.), ten kto má pravdu. Preto som urobil tú výzvu. Nech príde ktokoľvek a ukáže mi, kde ten krst v Mene Ježiša Krista je nesprávny. Nech mi ukáže toto narodenie, že musíte zomrieť, a ak máte v sebe stále svet, stále ste zo sveta. Ukážte mi tieto veci. Netreba sa strachovať ohľadne toho - zobrať to ku testovaciemu stroju. Tu je testovací stroj. Vidíte? Je to tak.
160 Tak oni povedali: „Aj tak tam pôjdeš." A niekoľkí tí bratia ho chytili a to rúcho zmizlo. Vidíte? Či by to dnes letniční nezjedli? Ó! Vyzeralo to ako skutočná vec, ale to nebolo zhodné so Slovom.
161 Martin povedal, že sa mu raz zjavil Satan, na hlave mal veľkú zlatú korunu, takto na nej tri alebo štyri rady hviezd, lesk a nádhera, veľký silný muž, pekný, statný, dôkladne učesaný a upravený, na sebe mal veľké nádherné rúcho a na nohách zlaté topánky. Prišiel a povedal: „Martin, poznáš ma?"
162 Pre ľudí, ktorí nevídajú videnia, toto možno ... možno tomuto nerozumiete, ale ako prichádzajú ku vám tie veci v rôznych duchoch, a aké sú zvodiace. Biblia hovorí, že by zviedli aj vyvolených, keby to bolo možné. Vyvolení - to sú tí, ktorí sa kvôli tomu narodili a boli na to predurčení. Vidíte.
163 Tak on prichádza ku týmto vyvoleným. On povedal: „Martin, poznáš ma? Ja som Kristus." On povedal: „Poznáš ma?" Martin váhal. Vyzeralo to divne. On chvíľu čakal a on znovu povedal: „Či ma nepoznáš? Ja som Kristus. Poznáš ma?" Povedal mu to tri alebo štyri krát.
164 Kristus povedal ... či vlastne, Martin povedal: Poznám ťa, Satan. Môj Pán nie je ešte korunovaný, ale Jeho svätí Ho budú korunovať." To je podložené Slovom.
165 Tam má rímsko-katolícka cirkev toľko dogiem, vchádzajú tam zlí duchovia, nezhodní so Slovom a oni musia zapierať Slovo, aby prijali svoju dogmu, a odchádzajú od Biblie. Stojte pri Slove! To je dnes niť života. Zakrátko povstanú duchy, ktoré zvedú takmer všetko. Biblia tak povedala. Ako Janes a Jambres sa stavali proti Mojžišovi, tak budú títo ľudia prevrátenej mysli čo do pravdy, budú robiť zázraky a všetky rôzne znamenia. Ale stojte pri tom Slove. Slovo Pánove prišlo ku prorokovi, a oni to priniesli, a my veríme prorokom.
166 Všimnite si, áno, on povedal: „Poznám ťa, Satan." Povedal: „Môj Pán nie je takýto veľký muž. Môj Pán odišiel a mal na sebe drsné staré rúcho, mal jazvy na rukách, nebol korunovaný, mal zakrvavené vlasy. A keď sa vráti, príde takto, lebo Biblia povedala, že sa vráti tak, ako odišiel." A to zmizlo zpred neho. Ó.
167 Ako on prichádza a robí to také nádherné. „Ó, oni hovorili v jazykoch. To sú najlepší ľudia, akých som kedy videl." Neverte tomu. Buďte opatrní.
168 Dúfam, že vás Slovo nenudí. Zrodení kresťania rastú do Kristovej postavy, keď žijú. Oni sú znovuzrodení, ich životy sa začali formovať, ako dieťa. Dostávajú formu a začínajú rásť. A zrazu zbadáte, že sú tu v plnej postave. Amen. Tu to máte. Deň za dňom, rok za rokom, zostávajú takí istí. Poďme teraz naspäť do Slova: „Keď zostanete vo Mne ..."
169 Oni hovoria: „Ja som sa znovuzrodil. Haleluja! Vstúpil som do ... do tohoto. Vstúpil som ... Neviem. Minulý rok som veril v meno Ježiša, odstúpil som od toho; teraz verím tomuto. Veril som, že musíte byť svätí, ale ... Ten a ten hovorí ..." Tuláci, nosení sem a tam každým vetrom učenia. Vidíte? Tu to máte.
170 Ale narodiť sa z Ducha a rásť do dospelej postavy Krista. Vidíš to, brat Dauch? Rásť do postavy Krista! Tvoj život potvrdzuje ... Ako keby si sa narodil ako prorok, zostaneš ním. Ak si sa narodil ako kresťan, zostaneš ním. „Ak zostanete vo Mne a moje slová vo vás ..." Toto vám dáva vzrastať do dospelej postavy Krista. Nie búchanie nejakého mladého advokáta, nariekanie, plakanie, vravieť toto, tamto, či niečo ďalšie, prejavovať množstvo emócií; ale niekto, kto narástol do dospelej postavy Krista, roky dozrieval a bol skúšaný, stál pri kormidle. Žiadna ... „Na Kristovi, na tej pevnej skale stojím a všetky ostatné základy sú topiacim sa pieskom. Nech denominácie a vyznania prichádzajú a odchádzajú, a tiež izmy. Daj mi zotrvávať v pokore, Pane, stáť pevne v Slove a ísť rovno vpred cez ten prúd. On nás privedie ku brehu. Plná postava.
171 Pozrite sa teraz, ak vidíme, ako to tu ide, a vy sa po smrti nemôžete zmeniť ... Pozorujte týchto ľudí, ktorí prišli, mali všetky tieto senzácie a všetko možné, vybehli a na druhý deň idú touto cestou. Videli ste to? Stovky z nich. Vidíte? A vidíte, čo sa deje. A teraz, čo ak tí ľudia zomrú v takom stave? Smrť nič na tom nezmení.
172 Tak, ó, kresťania, končím týmito slovami, dovoľte mi povedať toto. Obráťme sa ku Nemu a do Jeho Slova s celou úprimnosťou. Poďte pokorne, ako kresťania, a buďte znovuzrodení z Jeho Ducha. A keď ste znovuzrodení, ste potvrdení kresťan, ovocím, ktoré nesiete. Rozumieš to, sestra Peckenpaugh? Ste kresťania, skrze ovocie, ktoré nesiete. „Podľa ich ovocia ich poznáte." To je potvrdenie. Nemusíš poznať abecedu, ale aj tak môžeš byť dáma, kresťanka. Svet ťa môže nenávidieť. Keď ťa nenávidí, pretože si niečo urobil, má ťa za čo; ale ak ťa nenávidí kvôli Nemu, to je iné.
173 Nemusíš byť teológ. Pozrite sa na toho slepého muža, ktorý sa slepý narodil. Ježiš ho uzdravil. On sa narodil ... od narodenia nemal ani očné buľvy. A Ježiš mu dal zdravie, uzdravil ho. A keď ten človek začal vidieť a tí farizejovia sa ho vypytovali, povedali: „Kto to bol?" Oni nemohli poprieť, že sa niečo stalo. No, ten človek nebol teológ. On nemohol argumentovať, ako to robia kazatelia, drobnými technickými vecami. On im to nevedel vysvetliť. On nepoznal Zákon. On nevedel, ako sa má narodiť Mesiáš, a o skutkoch, ktoré má robiť. Ten človek to nepoznal. On nebol teológ. Ale čo urobil? Oni povedali: „Daj chválu Bohu. My sme teológovia a my vieme, že On je hriešnik."
174 A teraz ten človek nemohol zaprieť ich slovo, ale tu je to, čo on povedal, inými slovami: „Ak je On hriešnik a urobil toto, tak čo je potom s vami? Čo je s vami všetkými?" On povedal: „Či je ten človek hriešnik alebo nie, ja neviem. To ja neviem povedať. Ale toto jedno viem, že som bol slepý a teraz vidím." Čo on robil? On bol potvrdený. Je to tak. On zostal potvrdený. Niečo sa s ním stalo. Bol premenený z tmy do svetla, zo slepoty do zraku.
175 A človek, ktorý sa narodil z Ducha Božieho - ktorý mal raz formu pobožnosti a zapieral Slovo a jeho moc a hovoril, že dni zázrakov pominuli - keď je znovuzrodený, nemusí byť učený, nemusí byť schopný to vysvetliť, ale tomu verí.
176 Ako ... Ak mi moji čierni bratia a sestry odpustia, že toto poviem, jeden starý dobrý brat dole na juhu, ľudia o ňom rozprávali taký príbeh. Hovorili, že nosil Bibliu a nevedel prečítať ani svoje meno. A jeden mu povedal: „Mose, prečo nosíš tú Bibliu?"
Povedal: „To je Slovo Božie."
Oni povedali: „Dobre, a veríš tomu?"
177 On povedal: „Áno, ja tomu skutočne verím." Povedal: „Verím tomu od obalu po obal a tiež verím tomu, čo je na tom obale, pretože tam je napísané Svätá Biblia."
178 Povedali mu: „Ako vieš, že je to Svätá Biblia?" Povedali: „Ako to vieš?"
179 On povedal: „Jednoducho tomu verím. To je všetko!" To je všetko, čo musel mať. On tomu jednoducho veril. Nevedel prečo, ale veril tomu.
180 Oni mu povedali: „Mose, urobíš všetko, čo káže Biblia?"
„Áno, samozrejme," povedal. „Ak tak Biblia hovorí, tak to urobím." Tu to máte.
181 Ten mu povedal: „Dobre, Mose." Povedal: „No, čo ak tam ten kamenný plot tam, keby ti Pán povedal, aby si preskočil cez ten kamenný plot?"
182 On povedal: „Či Biblia hovorí, aby Mose preskočil cez ten kamenný plot?"
183 On povedal: „No, čo ak by Boh prehovoril ku tebe a povedal ti, aby si preskočil cez ten kamenný plot?"
On povedal: „Keby to bol Boh a On by mi povedal, aby som preskočil, tak preskočím."
184 On povedal: „Ako by si sa dostal cez ten plot, keď v ňom nie je diera?"
185 On povedal: „Keby to bol Boh, On by tam urobil dieru, keby tam Mose mal prejsť." A to je pravda. Je to tak!
186 Odvážte sa zobrať Božie Slovo a stojte tam a hovorte, že je to tak! Nech tu táto malá biedna nervózna žena, ona si myslí, že ide zomrieť, že je chorá na všetko možné, vidíte ... Nejdeš zomrieť! Povieš: „Ako to môžem urobiť, brat Branham?" Zober len Jeho Slovo a postav sa raz naň. Stoj na tom Slove a uvidíš, čo sa bude diať. Povedz diablovi, že je klamár. Bola si v prechodoch po všetky tieto roky, máš okolo päťdesiatsedem rokov. Odstúp od toho, to je diabol! Chyť sa Božieho Slova a povedz: „Jeho sinavicami som uzdravená." Dívaj sa, čo sa bude diať. Potom prestaneš myslieť, že máš srdcovú porážku a všetko možné. Nemáš žiadnu srdcovú porážku, ani nič z toho. To je klamstvo. Nemáš to. Ver len Božiemu Slovu. To je ono.
187 Keď ste znovuzrodení, Boh vás potvrdzuje. Takto, ako Boh potvrdzuje celú Svoju prírodu. Čím? Ovocím. Takto On potvrdzuje Svoju službu. Je to tak. Všetci Jeho sluhovia sú potvrdení tak isto, ako On potvrdzuje prírodu. Ako viete, že toto je broskyňa? Pretože nesie broskyne. Podľa čoho poznáte, že to je jabloň? Nesie jablká. Podľa čoho poznáte, že to je kresťan? Nesie znaky kresťana, vychádza z neho kresťanský život. Ako viete, že to je učiteľ? Vychádza z neho Slovo. Ako viete, že to je prorok? Prichádza cez neho Slovo, nesie svedectvo, potvrdenie. Samé sa to dokazuje. Ako sa to tým stane? Keď to zomrie a stane sa tým. Je to tak. Keď zomrieme a staneme sa novým stvorením v Kristovi Ježišovi, to nás privádza ku nášmu povolaniu, stojíme pri svojom povolaní. Keď sme jeho sluhovia, nasleduje nás ovocie Ducha. Keď sme znovuzrodení, nasleduje nás ovocie Kristovho života. Je to tak. Ako viete, že je to broskyňa. Má broskyne. Ako viete, že to je kresťan? Správa sa ako Kristus, chodí ako Kristus, rozpráva ako Kristus, žije ako Kristus, preč od hriechu, víťazne. Keď niečo urobí, či hovorí: „Pozrite, čo som ja vykonal?" Kristus to nerobil. On dával všetku chválu Otcovi. Je to tak. Takto to poznáte - podľa ich ovocia ich budete poznať.
188 „Amen, amen vám hovorím, ak sa človek znovu nenarodí, nemôže porozumieť kráľovstvo Božie:"
189 Tak to tu, od dvanásť tridsať alebo od dvanásť štyridsať do jednej, nie je moje Novoročné posolstvo, ale toto je moja rada pre vás, kresťania, ktorí milujete Boha. Keď prichádzate na Boží súdny, medený oltár, a chcete sa znovuzrodiť, položte sa len naň. Neočakávajte, že znovu povstanete - idete zomrieť. To je váš koniec. Hotovo. Ak to nerobíte, ak sa necítite, že by ste to mohli urobiť, tak sa nesnažte znovuzrodiť, nebude to fungovať - to musí byť hlboko, úprimne. Mám tu ešte okolo desať strán poznámok, miesta Písma, k tejto lekcii alebo viacej, ale končím. Ale položte sa na Boží medený oltár Božieho súdu a stanete sa takí mŕtvi pre svet, ako bol Kristus. Vidíte? Stanete sa práve tak mŕtvi ako ten odsúdený had v záhrade Eden, ktorý bol reprezentovaný vo forme medeného hada, nebol v ňom vôbec žiadny život. Všetok jeho život bol preč. Kristus bol bez života, oni Ho zložili z kríža a pochovali Ho v hrobe. Bol mŕtvy. A potom vstal na naše ospravedlnenie. A my sme zomreli s naším Baránkom na oltári a znovu sme povstali v Jeho ospravedlnení. Ako to vieme? Pretože Jeho život, ktorý vzkriesil Jeho z toho mŕtveho stavu, ten istý život kriesi nás z nášho mŕtveho stavu sveta do nového stvorenia v Kristovi Ježišovi, a potom skrze Ducha Svätého sme zapečatení do Božieho kráľovstva až do dňa nášho vykúpenia.
190 „Amen, amen vám hovorím, ak sa človek nenarodí znovu, nemôže porozumieť kráľovstvu Božiemu." Nesnažte sa tomu rozumieť. Nikdy to nedokážete. Ježiš povedal, že nie. Len to prijmite. Prijmite to na základe Jeho Slova.
191 Nechoďte teraz v slepote a nehovorte: „Ó, Pane, daj mi nejakú senzáciu. Pane, poviem Ti ... „ Nie. Povedzte len: „Pane, zabi ma, odstráň zo mňa ten svet. Stále milujem veci tohoto sveta." Nemyslím stvorenie, západ slnka a krásu, a takéto veci. To nie to, o čom hovorím. Mám na mysli žiadosť, špinu, svetský poriadok, všetky tieto veci sveta. Proste ... oni zomierajú, proste automaticky zomierajú a už sa vás viacej nedržia. Začne vám to smrdieť. Vykríknete: „Och, proste nechápem, ako v tom ľudia môžu žiť!" Čím viacej to vidíte, tým vám je z toho horšie! Tak veru. Nedokážete s tým robiť kompromis. Nemáte miesto na kompromis. Pre vás tam nie je miesto, keď je tam svet. Ste mŕtvi tým veciam. A ako môžete, keď ste raz mŕtvi pre ten svet, a potom sa znovu spolčovať s tými vecami? To sa nedá. Tak to nerobte. Zomrite veciam tohoto sveta.
192 Nech vás Pán žehná. Buďte znovuzrodení kresťania. Buďte znovuzrodení, potom nemusíte hovoriť: „To je pre mňa najťažšia vec (vy ženy) nechať si rásť vlasy." „To je pre mňa najťažšie zanechať moju prchlivosť (muži). Chlapče, musím proste povedať svojej žene. Chytil som ju a zatriasol s ňou a povedal som: Viem, som kresťan, nemal by som toto robiť, ale buď ticho a sadni si." Nerobte to. Rozumiete?
193 Radi by ste videli také chvíle, keď by ste ju objali a povedali: „Drahá, to sa na kresťanku nesluší." Takto by ste to chceli robiť, však? Môžete byť takí. A keď ťa niekto udrie po jednom líci, nemusíš na neho vyťahovať nôž. Ak ťa niekto udrie po jednom líci, povieš: „Brat, prečo si to urobil?" Tu to máte. To je kresťanstvo. Keď povie niekto niečo zlé na teba, namiesto toho, aby si sa snažil urobiť z toho veľké divadlo, odídeš niekde a povieš: „Nebeský Otče, ten človek je smrteľník. Prosím, aby si zobral od neho toho ducha. Nenechaj ho, aby to tak robil. Prosím Ťa, spas jeho život."
194 Nehovor: „Pane, viem, že to nemám hovoriť." Dobre, možno si to nepovedal svojimi ústami, ale si to myslel vo svojom srdci. Vidíte? Ide o tvoje srdce. Keď si znovuzrodený z Ducha Božieho, skutočne každého miluješ. No nemiluješ ich cesty a takéto veci, nechceš mať v tom diel. To nie. Stoj z ďaleka od vecí tohoto sveta, zostávaj nepoškvrnený. A to dokážeš jedine vtedy, keď to vychádza zvnútra von, tak ako si holubica udržuje svoje perie. Rozumiete? Ona si ho nemusí udržiavať tým, že bude hovoriť: „No, dnes si musím toto všetko povytierať." Takto nejako. Nie. Ona má v sebe vo vnútri olej, pretože je holubica, proste si ho udržiava čisté. Vidíte? Je to tak.
195 Chceli by ste to? Chceli by ste Ho takto prijať? To je to, o čom vás presviedčam v tento Novoročný predvečer. O čom presviedčam toto malé zhromaždenie. Ako vás milujem, ako milujem túto malú skupinu ľudí. Ako rád by som tu raz prišiel, prešiel cez túto sálu a len sa díval. Viete, čo si stále prajem vidieť? Zbor naplnený Duchom, že by nikde naokolo neobstál hriech. Len čo jeden člen urobí niečo zle, Duch by to hneď povedal. On by sa bál pripojiť ku kresťanom skôr, ako by to vyznal a dal do poriadku, pretože hneď by bol vyvolaný na zhromaždení, keď sa spolu zídete. Vidíte? Či by to nebolo nádherné? Keby prišiel niekto nečistý a sadol by si medzi vás, prvé, čo by ste zbadali, že Duch Svätý hovorí takým spôsobom, že zjavuje tajomstvá ich srdca, (Vidíte?) hovorí ku nim. No, ak to bude fungovať na jednom, bude to fungovať na druhom. Vidíte? A každý sa modlí, všetci v jednote, ako jedna osoba, proste jedna osoba, ako sme my všetci členovia tohoto tela, ktoré ide dopredu. Všetci znovuzrodení z Ducha Božieho, naplnení tým istým Duchom, pokrstení v to isté telo. Nebolo by to nádherné? No, môžeme to mať. Boh nám to zasľúbil. Ale prv, smrť, pohreb a vzkriesenie s Ním.
196 Skloňme svoje hlavy a pomodlime sa. Ležia tu tiež nejaké vreckovky.
197 Svätý Bože, uvedomujeme si, Pane, aké je to posvätné stáť na tomto mieste. Uvedomujeme si, že sme v dome Božom. Spájame sa s telom Kristovým, ktoré je domom Božím. Členovia tohoto tela sú spolu zhromaždení. Jeden prichádza z jedného miesta a druhý z druhého a schádzajú sa spolu. A dnes, na tejto lekcii nedeľnej školy, ktorá bola dlhá a pretiahnutá. Ale, Otče, verím, že Ty si ju naplánoval, aby to takto bolo, aby sme mohli porozumieť, čo znamená narodenie a vzkriesenie, čo to znamená narodiť sa znovu. Musíme, to prvé je, že musíme zomrieť, aby sme sa mohli znovuzrodiť. Ty nikdy nemeníš svoje zákony. Zákon prírody stále platí. Zákon prírody je, že každé semeno musí prv zomrieť, aby sa mohlo znovu narodiť. A uvedomujeme si, že my tiež musíme zomrieť, aby sme sa mohli znovu narodiť. A, Pane, dnes tak veľa (prosím, aby si nám odpustil), tak veľa ľudí spočíva na nejakom prežití, ktoré mali, na základe ktorého tvrdia, že sa znovuzrodili. Ale ovocie ich života ukazuje, že narástli na zlom strome.
198 To bol môj dôvod, Otče, keď som sa dnes ráno pýtal, či brat Neville chce, aby som priniesol posolstvo, učil som proste nedeľnú školu. A tak, Otče, urobil som to s láskou a z celého svojho srdca, aby ľudia mohli vedieť, že ... aby neodpočívali na nejakých drobných prežitiach, ktoré mali, ale aby slávnostne odpočívali na svojom každodennom živote; ako žijú v tých časoch, keď sú v zbore, a ako žijú, keď prichádza vonku to veľké napnutie. Utiekajú sa ku krížu o pomoc, keď povstávajú problémy, alebo chodia vo svojom vlastnom duchu a vo vlastných myšlienkach? Odplácajú nadávkou za nadávku? To je to, Otče. A keď vidíme, že je úplne nemožné, aby niekto z nás niekoho spasil, že Boh má pripravenú cestu a plne dostatočnú obeť a to je jediná cesta, ktorou môžeme prísť, nie skrze nejakú cirkev, nie skrze nejaké vyznanie, nejakú denomináciu, nejakú senzáciu, ale Kristovou cestou. Tak, ako zomrel ten prvý spravodlivý človek, on zomrel na oltári so svojím baránkom. A až do tejto hodiny, každý ďalší spravodlivý musí zomrieť na medenom Božom oltári, so svojím Baránkom, Ježišom Kristom. Potom sme mŕtvi s Ním a znovu sme povstali v novom živote. Udeľ nám to, Pane, aby to tu žiadne srdce neprehliadlo.
199 Pane, daj, aby sme to dnes porozumeli, keď sa sem znovu dnes popoludní o pol ôsmej vrátime, aby sme tu priniesli sériu posolstiev, ktoré budeme dnes večer kázať. Prosím, aby si požehnal každého Tvojho sluhu dnes večer mocným posolstvom, Pane. Udeľ nám to. Nech sú naše duše naplnené. Títo ľudia, ktorí prešli takú dlhú cestu, aby tu boli, nech by boli tak naplnení evanjeliom moci Božej tento Novoročný predvečer, že pôjdu odtiaľto šťastní a radostní. Udeľ to, Pane, daj im duchovný pokrm na tento prichádzajúci rok. Udeľ nám to.
200 Odpusť nám naše previnenia, ako my odpúšťame tým, ktorí sa previnia proti nám. A Ty si povedal: „Ak vy zo srdca neodpustíte každému jeho previnenia, ani váš nebeský Otec neodpustí vám." Tak, Pane, odpúšťame každému. Vierou kladieme dnes ráno naše duše na oltár. Vypáľ z nás každý kúsok svetského života, Pane. Nech vystúpi dym z našej obeti, Pane, a nech je príjemnou vôňou v tvojich nozdrách. Sprav to, Pane, keď neskladáme zápalnú obeť baránka, ale kladieme sa sami ako hriešnici, aby sme boli spálení ako hriešnici a premenení na znovuzrodených baránkov. Sprav to, Pane.
201 Neuvoď nás potom do pokušenia, ale zbav nás od zlého - od zla nemocí, od zla skľúčeností. Uzdrav každého, kto je dnes ráno v tejto budove. Nech je dnes uzdravená každá chorá osoba, Pane. Hovorím tieto slová v mene Pána Ježiša, aby tie hory, ktoré ležia pred ľuďmi, nech sú dnes všetky odsunuté. Ak je to choroba, ak je to zlá žiadosť, ak je to hnev, ak je to čokoľvek z toho sveta, nech je to odsunuté z cesty a nech Slovo Božie vojde dovnútra a nech sa prejaví v ich živote. Zbav nás od zlého, Pane, lebo Tvoje je kráľovstvo a moc a sláva naveky. Amen.
Milujem Ho, milujem Ho,
lebo On prv miloval mňa,
a vykúpil mi spasenie
na Golgote.
(Potrasme si teraz navzájom ruky.)
Milujem Ho, ...
(Obráťte sa len okolo seba a povedzte: „Pozdravujem ťa, môj brat, pozdravujem ťa!")
Pretože On prv miloval mňa
a vykúpil mi spasenie
na Golgote. (Hrajte ďalej.)
202 Chcem vám všetkým poďakovať za vašu láskavosť v tomto minulom roku. Pravdepodobne budem dnes večer kázať svoje posolstvo, ak Pán dá o pol ôsmej. Chcem poďakovať Charliemu a Nellie a Rodneymu a jeho žene za ich láskavosť, bol som tam u nich cez sezónu poľovania a oni sa ku mne správali, ako keby som bol ich otec alebo brat. Ďakujem vám všetkým, ktorí ste boli ku mne takí láskaví. Ďakujem bratovi a sestre Dauchovcom a bratovi Palmerovi a vám všetkým z Georgii a všetkým všade okolo.
203 Mimochodom, Margiin otec, včera volali a hovorili, že je chorý. Je tu Margie a Rodney? Nie sú. Ako sa má ten starý človek? [Nejaký brat v zhromaždení hovorí: „Možno, že je mu trochu lepšie." – pozn.prekl.] Pomodlime sa.
204 Nebeský Otče, pred niekoľkými týždňami som sedel vo verande, v tej krajine, keď som išiel do Kentucky. Sedel tam starý otec v montérkach a vo vyblednutej modrej košeli a triasol sa. Chytil som ho za ruku a videl som, že je blízko konca. Tá stará matka ma pozvala dovnútra na koláč a omáčku. Pane, oni mali úctu pred Tvojím Slovom. On je ledva medzi nami, opúšťa nás. Nedaj, aby zomrel ako hriešnik, Pane. Možno, že to bola naša ... Pane, chyba tvojich sluhov. Ten biedny starý muž, nepozná nič okrem rozbíjania hrúd a tým zadovažuje živobytie pre svoje deti, ale videl som v ňom dobrého milého ducha. Nedaj, aby zomrel ako hriešnik. Jeho dcéra je jedna z nás, Pane. A ako táto Margie, boleli ju ruky, a ako mi ona poslúžila a snažila sa pripraviť mi posteľ, aby som tam mohol prespať, a raňajky pri stole, a ona a Nellie a Charlie a všetci, matka Coxová. A telefonovali, že plače, otec jej zomiera. To je jej otec.
205 Pane, príď teraz ku tomu kyslíkovému stanu. Neklep na ten stan, ale na stan, na dvere jeho srdca. Možno sme my niektorí nevyplnili svoju povinnosť, Pane, aby sme išli za ním, niektorí tvoji sluhovia, možno vtedy keď bol ešte mladý, keď jeho myseľ bola bdelá. Možno je to naša chyba, Pane, že sme ho nepresvedčili. Odpusť nám potom, Pane, a vezmi ho do Svojho kráľovstva. Sprav to, Otče. Porúčame ho teraz Tebe. A ak to bude možné, alebo ak je to v Tvojom veľkom pláne, ak ho pozdvihneš, Pane, nech by mal niekto z nás príležitosť ešte s ním hovoriť. Jednako, prosíme o jeho dušu, Pane, pretože ona sa zakrátko vydá na svoju cestu, tak to vyzerá, bude sa plaviť tam do neznáma, ó, bez pilota, nikto ho neprevedie tam cez tie hmlisté miesta. On zablúdi, Pane. Nech by ten pilot, ktorý pozná tú cestu, prišiel ku nemu dnes ráno, zakotvil jeho malú loď na druhom brehu na tej starej lodi na Sion. Keď sa vydá na cestu, bude si istý, že bezpečne dopláva. Sprav to, Otče. Porúčame ho teraz Tebe, v mene Ježiša Krista. Amen.
Milujem Ho, milujem Ho (Zodvihnime ruky),
lebo On prv miloval mňa
a vykúpil mi spasenie
na Golgote.
206 Dnes večer sa budem snažiť byť trochu rýchlejší s posolstvom, než ako som bol teraz ráno. A teraz sa rozídeme. Prajem si, aby som vás všetkých mohol zobrať ku mne domov a dať vám všetkým dobrú večeru. Naozaj by som to rád urobil, keby som mohol. Ale dúfam, že Pán vám dáva dobré jedlo, duchovne hovorím, v Jeho dobrote a milosti; že to budete vidieť a budete rásť do plnej postavy Toho, ktorého milujete, vášho Spasiteľa, Ježiša Krista. A teraz, keď opúšťame túto budovu a stojíme, aby sme sa pomodlili, rozpustili zhromaždenie, chceme spievať našu pieseň a byť si istí, že to poslúchate: „Ber so sebou Meno Ježiš." Chceme ešte povedať oznámenie za chvíľu, len čo zaspievame pieseň, máme oznámenie. Dobre.
Ber so sebou meno Ježiš,
dieťa starostí a žiaľu,
dá ti radosť a pokoj,
ber ho všade, kde pôjdeš.
Nádherné meno (nádherné meno), Ó, aké sladké! (Ó, aké sladké) Nádej zeme a radosť neba.
Nádherné meno, ó, aké sladké! (ó, aké sladké!)
Nádej zeme a radosť neba.
Ber so sebou meno Ježiš,
ako štít pred každou pascou (Počúvajte teraz. Čo?)
Keď sa pokušenia nahromadia (Čo urobíš?).
Zašepkaj len to sväté meno v modlitbe.
Nádherné meno, ó, aké sladké!
Nádej zeme a radosť neba;
Nádherné meno (nádherné meno),
Ó, aké sladké! (aké sladké)
Nádej zeme a radosť neba.
207 Pamätajte teraz, verím, že Ježiš toto hovorí každému človeku vo svojej prvej náuke: „Ak sa človek nenarodí z vody (to je Slovo, umývaní vodou Slova) a z Ducha (a to je Duch Svätý, Duch Svätý potvrdzuje Slovo), nemôže vidieť kráľovstvo nebeské." Veríte tomu? „Vodou," umytí vodou Slova, Slovom a pravdou, On je pravda. „Voda a Duch," Duch prichádza so Slovom, aby potvrdzoval Slovo, robí, že Boh žije vo mne. Vidíte? My nemôžeme rozumieť kráľovstvo nebeské, kým sa toto nestane. Potom, keď sa toto začne diať, vidíme Slovo v nás, narodení sme zo Slova a z Ducha - samé sa to manifestuje, neodvádza ma to preč od Slova ... Duch ma vedie do Slova a Slovo žije vo mne, manifestuje Boha v tvojom živote ... inak nikdy nebudeš rozumieť kráľovstvu Božiemu a nijakým spôsobom nebudeš môcť vojsť do neho. Nech vás Boh žehná. Brat Neville.
1 ... New Year's Eve morning in the service of the Lord. And Brother Neville and I was trying to get together, and we were, on speaking, what we would do. I was trying to get him to get up here and preach this morning for you all, and let me have it tonight, so it happened to root off, I have both this morning and tonight to do it. He's a good salesman. And so before we have the--start the class, I told him we'd just have a class, like there wasn't too many of us here this morning, and just to have a class. Before I do this, I'd like to make a little announcement.
2 I has--we have some people who came here from New York to sojourn with us. I suppose I never met the people. Brother Neville said he just spoke about it. Last night I heard that they'd--their trailer caught fire and destroyed their trailer. I went out to see the people, and seemed to be lovely, fine Christian people. And they kinda poor people, like all of us, and Brother Wood and two or three of us was going to get together and see if we couldn't just buy them another trailer. And they were very sweet and said they--the insurance that they had been carrying on it, they'd got in a tight place and they had to drop the insurance. But, however, the agent had paid the insurance policy, or, and they got--get their insurance back for their trailer, which will probably be able to replace the trailer again. They'll know that, I think, Monday or Tuesday, or something like that, or Tuesday, I believe it is. And so we want to--to share their sorrow, to do everything that we can to--to help them, to let them know that we--we are brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, and have feelings one for another. And--and I think that each one would want to feel that way to a little help to them at this time. It's a little out of ordinary, I think; I never took an offering in my life, and I--I'm going to let Brother Neville do it. So... That--that was bumping it off, wasn't it? It's all right. Thank you, Brother Ben. Just someone, what, just a little something that you have that you could drop to them, I'm sure it would be appreciated. Brother Neville, come here. I don't know how to. You just do whatever you think. [Brother Neville prays and takes the offering--Ed.] Amen.
3 I thought maybe while they were doing that, it would give me a little opportunity to pick out something to talk about this morning out of some old texts and things I had write out on a piece of paper. I guess all preachers do that.
What's these people's name now that they call? Elliott. Is Brother and Sister Elliott and their son in the building this morning? If they are, if you would just like to stand up to say, I... to say, as much as thank you for the--to the people, why, all right. Got a word you want to say, Brother Elliott or Sister Elliott, in the--to the people? [Brother Elliott expresses their thankfulness--Ed.] God bless you, Brother Elliott. That's very fine. Thank you; God be with you, you and Sister Elliott and your son.
4 The people come from New York. I didn't know they were here. They said I'd had them on a interview, or either prayed with them or something, sometime. I didn't know them, till I met them yesterday, and found them to be sweet Christians, very nice people. And they lived up in New York, up in the Hudson River Valley somewhere, and maybe through a tape or something they believed the Message and sold out, moved in, just giving their lives and times over to Christ. And we want you to know this is our little expression, Brother and Sister Elliott, that we are sojourners too. We are pilgrims and strangers in this world. We're seeking a city whose Builder and Maker is God. And when misfortune fell to you upon these things, of the devil trying to burn you out and scare you away, we're with you one hundred percent, to stand behind you in everything that we can do to help you back to your feet again. Rise in the Name of the Lord Jesus and go marching on. Don't--don't take down, no. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but God delivereth them out of them all. And so we--we know we look for these things to happen, but we know that we also look to our Saviour Who is more than a conqueror, we are, in Him Who has redeemed us.
5 Now, today is a kind of a full day, and this morning I was thinking there, I just thought I'd teach awhile in a Sunday school class. Like, make it a Sunday school class out of it this morning. And tonight at seven-thirty, I want to, if it be the will of God, to bring my--my New Year's message, as last Sunday or Sunday night I brought my Christmas message. And tonight I'll bring my New Year's message at seven-thirty, the Lord willing. Brother Neville will have his New Year's message, and I see Brother Stricker over here, and Brother Collins, and, oh, other ministers around, and Brother Palmer's up here with us from Georgia, and--and different ones around. It's ministers, you'll be hearing from them tonight.
6 Then I called Brother Neville yesterday, and on something that struck my heart, seeing this is New Year's, and is also the first, like the first Sunday, why not, tonight, instead of having a big rally and hollering and going on like the rest of the world does, let's take communion at midnight (See, see?), serve the Lord. Brother Neville agreed that he thought it would be very appropriate. And tonight, the Lord willing, I'll be serving communion at twelve o'clock tonight. And we'll start the New Year, not by hollering and going on, which it's all right if they want to do that, but let's just make it more sacred and sincere, and let's approach this year in the way of sincerity to Christ, giving our all that we've got, and our pledge. Not turn a new page or something like that, start a new year, we don't believe in that stuff. You only turn a new page to--to blow it back the next day, so let's just turn our lives over to Him, and take communion tonight at midnight. And I believe that's the first time that I ever remember, since I been a minister, of ever doing it. You remember it, Brother Neville? But something new for us now, and it's very seldom that New Year's comes around like this, you know, so just--just struck me, and I thought it would be striking.
7 I suppose then this will be about last time I'll be able to speak with you all for some time now, I'm entering in the New Year, entering out into the field on the service of the Lord. I'll be leaving about next week, or first of the following week to Phoenix, for about fifteen, sixteen meetings straight, all through the valleys, and up through Sunnyslope, and Scottsdale, and all around out through the valleys there. And then we have the Christian Business Men's Convention that comes off there, which is a five-day convention at the end of all these meetings. They have arranged so that I could speak to all the denominations, every one of their churches throughout the entire metropolitan area of the Maricopa Valley in Phoenix. And they begin on the fifteenth. So I'll leave here about ten days early, in order... I stop probably to see my good friend, Brother Moore, and several of them going down. Then it'll be snowy across the passes, and so forth, and go in time. And then I... Many of you people are ministers...
8 And Brother Roy Borders, if he's here this morning, he usually keeps in order the meetings as they call for meetings. And during this Christmas holidays, well, I usually make an itinerary of where the following year, but this year somehow I felt not to do that. I feel that I'll go and have one meeting, and then where He leads me to the next meeting I'll go from there, and then from the next meeting, wherever it is, just go as He leads me.
9 And looking now for something to take place during this year... And many visions has been coming to me recently. The other morning a great one again and all pertaining and looking like a great something fixing to happen. So I just keep trusting Him. Some of them I don't even understand. And we don't understand visions; they're more like symbolically and we don't get them just exactly sometimes, but we know that they are true, anyhow. So they will come to pass. I write them down.
10 And so I believe it's announced also, or which should be, that both the trustee board and the deacon board is to meet here at the Tabernacle in a union, joint meeting, seven o'clock tomorrow night. Now, let me announce that again so if the deacons, wherever they, if they're in the other room they might hear on the little mike that tomorrow night at seven o'clock, both pastor--both the pastor, the deacon board and trustees, I was just told a few moments ago that they were to meet tomorrow night. And Brother Neville wants to see his deacon board and talk to them, and the trustees has their regular meeting time, and so they will meet together tomorrow night.
11 Now, this morning, before we approach the Word, now, oh, let's not be in no hurry about anything. You got all day today, and tonight and tomorrow, let's just take our time and--and not rush these things through. 'Course I know people gets tired or worn out, and, or, wants to go home, you know, for their--hurry, got their dinner, and their husband's waiting for it. Why, then, that's--that's all right, just slip out quietly. And--and--and the rest of you wants to stay, all right. And we don't... You don't have to work tomorrow now, and so we just take our time. And that's the reason I thought instead of preaching just for about three or four hours, I'd take eight or ten hours on a teaching. You see?
12 All those people from Georgia and Alabama made me feel so great the other night. I believe I was out by the office, and all was gone but Billy, and he said... Brother West and them, which are very sweet loyal friends (I don't see them here, but I suppose they're here.) called up and said, "Well, is Brother Branham going to have the Sunday School, Sunday morning?" And it freezing in Louisville; the news said they're blocking the highways in and out, and slick on the roads.
Billy said, "Well, it's a possibility." Said, "He goes down there." Said, "Maybe Brother Neville or him, one..."
Said, "Well, that possibility's good enough; here we come." All the way from way down in Alabama, and over the slick roads, and I--I'm not worthy to have friends like that. Now, that's true. I--I am not worthy to have friends like that. There's something about it that I just hate to announce the meeting, know that I got people who believe the Message, and--and come, and--and they love me.
15 And I--I've always wanted to be loved. When I was a little boy I wasn't loved by nobody. Nobody had no use for me. I was here in Indiana, born in Kentucky, so I was a corn-cracker to these kids over here. In the family, all the boys, nearly, smoked and drank and everything, but me. And I was a--I was an offcast in the family, and an offcast in school, and at work I was an offcast, and everywhere I went I was an offcast. And then finally when I found Somebody that really loved me, Jesus, and He said, "I'll give you fathers, and mothers, brothers, sisters, and friends."
16 And then the strange thing how that His great wise providence, how He works things in His--out. Seems like that love has a funny feeling to it; not a feeling, but a--a reaction. And then I look out among the people, as He's called me to be His servant, and I look out amongst the people and see sin creeping in, then I have to just tear in there with all that's in me (You see?), to tear it out. And that makes it look hard to the--to my way of looking at it, why, to say those things. But yet, down at the bottom, true love runs like that (See?), true love.
17 Now, if your little boy or little girl was playing on the street where cars are running, and you knew sooner or later they're going to get hurt... Now, if he says, "Why, papa, I want to be out here." Would you say, "Bless your little heart, Junior, you just go right ahead and play in the street"? That's not a real daddy. If you have to jerk that little fellow up and give him a spanking, scold him, tie him up, anything else, keep him off that street, he'll get killed. Is that right? Well, that's the way you have to do with the Gospel. You have to shake and push, and--and--and try to do everything you can to keep the people lined up. And I hope everybody understands that that way. I--I'm just trusting that someday after it's all over and then when the veils are taken from before our face, we will understand then.
18 Brother Way, I... That fine Bible that you and Sister Way gave me for a Christmas present, that's just going to be a good thing to keep my notes in instead of a book like this, when I get a chance to type it out. I don't want to write, 'cause I can't make my own writing out, and how's anybody else going to do it? I told them I had a shorthand all of my own. And I have to study it myself to see what I've said. And I--I get it typed out someday. It's a loose-leaf Bible, where you can just take like here. I got two texts here this morning, two places I want to read from. And in this Bible that he gave me, you pull it out like this, and can take one leaf from Genesis, Revelations, anywhere, and put them both together, and read them right off like that. See? And then a little place back here in the back with a flyleaf, you can just go right back to the... to all the Scriptures wrote down on that message and things. It's wonderful. So I hope that I'll help win many souls to Christ with it.
19 God bless each one of you. I want to say again for the nice Christmas presents that each one give me. The church give me a new suit, oh, how I appreciate it. And I got two new suits for Christmas. My brother, the little church down in Macon, Georgia, down there, Brother Palmer, sent me a new suit. And the Tabernacle give me a new suit, and there's so many nice things give in, and--and Christmas gifts in the line of money. Which, the division of income tax tells me that if it's a Christmas present and wrote "Christmas present" or a "Birthday present," anything, you can accept it; otherwise that I have to... It--it goes into the work, which is all right. And I sure thank each and every one of you, wife and I, and the children, and all of us express our gratitude to each, every one of you, so nice. We wish we could go back and give each one of you a present back, but you just can't do that, you know, you just... My, I--I couldn't do that. I wish I could, but I--I just couldn't. I'm sure you understand. I know that's the feeling of my precious brother setting here too. We just feel the people love us like that; we appreciate them.
20 Now, let's bow our heads now for prayer and get ready for start the--the message this morning. Into the Presence of the living God we come now, soberly, and in the fear of Him, we come in the Name of the Lord Jesus, knowing that we could not come and saying, "Now, Father, here is William Branham, or, Orman Neville," or whoever we might be, we would be turned down quickly. But we have the assurance that He said, "If you ask the Father anything in My Name, it'll be granted." So I don't guess I could get, using my name, anything from Him. But I know that when I use His Son's Name, then I get my petition, for it's in Him that I trust. It's in Him that we live and have our being. And we're grateful this morning, God, for all that He means to us, and that's our complete life and being.
21 I thank You for this little church, for its pastor, and for the trustees, and the deacons, all the members. And I'm grateful for the Holy Spirit that watches over them. May that great Holy Spirit continually lead them and guide them into the paths that He would have them go in. Reading in the Testaments, the Old and New, and also in the Nicaea age, that how that when sickness struck amongst the saints, the whole church went together; with one heart they called on God, and their petition was granted. Each one of them as members of the Body of Christ, fasting and praying, and God heard and answered prayer. Father, may this little church so--be so bound in the bonds of love to each other and the Holy Spirit, until it'll become like one of those, that there will be no friction among us in this coming year. May there be just such godly love, and everybody walking in the way of Christ, until many weary pilgrims along the road will come and be saved. May it be said that when you enter the doors of the little building, that the Presence of God meets you with a sweet welcome. Take sickness away from the midst of us, Lord.
22 And we're grateful that we have hungry hearts to hear Thy Word. Continue to hunger our hearts for Thee, Lord, as David of old said, "As the hart panteth for the water brook, my soul thirsts after Thee." Thinking of the little hart, the deer as we would call him today, that he's been torn by the wild dogs, and he's bleeding. He's losing his life, and he must find water if he expects to exist. Once he finds water his life is renewed. May we be that thirsty, Lord, that we must have Christ if we exist, we must have Christ if we become the Church that we're asking for. If we live the lives that we are wanting to live, we must have Christ or we will die.
Now, as we open Thy Word this morning to find consolation and stepping stones to bring us closer to Him, I pray, Father, that the Holy Spirit will open the Word to us, that we, Lord, as Thy servants, will be better equipped to face the new year. For we ask it in the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
24 Now, thinking this morning that, on the basis of being New Year, I thought it would be good maybe that I would lay aside my New Year's message until tonight, and go back here in some Sunday school Scriptures, and take a text to talk on for a while, on one of the most vital subjects that I know of in the Bible. It's a doctrine that our Lord preached first, the first doctrine that Jesus preached, and I suppose it would be good to make it our first year's teaching.
25 Now, is it cool for any of you, raise up your hand, feel a little chilly? I thought I felt it up here. Doc, wherever you are, kinda turn the furnace up just a little, because I feel it here moving around. I know you're bound to out there, some of you people, especially with the children.
26 Now, let us turn in our Bibles this morning to Ephesians the 4th chapter of Ephesians, and let's begin reading at the 11th, the 11th verse of the 4th chapter of Ephesians. And then we're going to turn then from then--from there, to John 3:1-12, and read two places in the Scripture. Reading now from the 4th chapter of Ephesians and the 11th verse, beginning...
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets;... some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
For the perfecting of the saints, for the working of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Till we all come into... unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto the perfect, a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
But speaking the truth in love, may grow up unto him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
For whom the whole body is fitly joined together and compact by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, making increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
27 Now, I read that so that it'd give you something to study on after you get home. Now, I'll read my text from John 3, a very familiar Scripture.
And there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.
Nicodemus said unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
Jesus answering--answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be borned of water and of... Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.
That which is born of... flesh is the flesh; and that which is born of... Spirit is spirit.
Marvel not that I say unto thee, You must be born again.
The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but can not tell whence it cometh, or where it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
Nicodemus said--answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that which we do know, and testify that which we have seen; and you perceive not our witness.
If I have told you earthly things, and you believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you... heavenly things?
28 Now, God bless His Word. And I want to take the subject this morning of Jesus' first doctrine. The first doctrine of Jesus was, "You Must Be Born Again." That was His first doctrine. Now, in a way of Sunday school, so that I won't preach and hoarse myself up for tonight, I have thought in my heart that this is something that it seems puzzling, and to the people, we hear so much about it all the time, and I thought it would be good this morning if we just search this subject through, clear it out. And that's the first beginning, "You Must Be Borned Again." And it's a very deep one.
29 And we--we find out that there is so many different meanings that people put to it. Nearly all churches say that you must be born again, but each one has their--their different interpretations to that, what it means to be born again. I might go to the Methodist church this morning; they say, "We believe that you must be born again." How do you interpret it? I go to the Baptist church, "And we believe you must be born again." How do you interpret it? And I would go to each church, and we'd find, if we went to all the nine hundred different denomination of churches, there'd be nine hundred different interpretations. So seeing that there is so many different interpretations, and yet a Bible doctrine, there must be, and is, a truth somewhere.
30 So now, remember it didn't say, "You ought to be born again," but, "you must." Now, we, as English speaking people, understand what the word "must" means, that is, "it's absolutely, you've got to do it." See, it's a must. Not, "you ought to; you'd be better off if you did, but "you must be borned again." Oh, if we could just take that word this morning and break it down, what it means, how that it's totally impossible... And then if it's that essential and that great, that it's totally impossible to enter the Kingdom of heaven, or even see It, until you're born again, and so many different interpretations of that word "borned again," we ought to seek it out with all of our heart to find out what it means.
31 There's not a person in here that wants to go to torment; there's nobody. And you don't drive hundreds of miles over icy roads, and spend your living, your money, just to come to the church here to, well, say, shake hands with the people (although you love to do that), and to hear the pastor, myself and other ministers speak the Word (You get that wherever you are, pastors, ministers, just like we are, servants of Christ.), but there's something that draws you here, and to this particular place. Therefore, it's the duty of we as pastors to see that this flock is fed and fed right, because God Almighty will require your blood at our hands. At the day of the judgment we'll answer for you. So seeing this great tremendous responsibility that's placed upon us, and God has given us people who love us and come to hear us, then we should spend our time constantly watching for your souls. And when the first little thing we see raising up that's not right, it's our duty to come to that person, because we are shepherds watching that sheep. And if I see that sheep eating on a weed that will kill it, I better drive it away from that weed, jerk the weed right away from it so it cannot get to it because it'll kill the sheep.
32 And there's known in the western countries a weed that an--an animal can eat; it's called locoweed. I don't know whether anybody ever heard of it or not, a locoweed. Yes. A horse can eat that, and you just can't do nothing with him. He just becomes an outlaw. You can't put a saddle on him, and you can't do nothing with him. It's called locoweed. And you must keep your--your stock away from that weed. And if it'll cause a horse to eat something... If a horse, rather, it'll eat something that throws him into this condition, into this spasm, why, you would be a very poor cowboy to let your horse eat a weed, locoweed. It shows that you don't care.
And a real pastor, a real servant of Christ will be a poor example of Christ to see the sheep eat something that's going to drive him away, or make him a outlaw before God, a breaker of His Word, a breaker of His commandments. You shouldn't do that. You should watch that very closely.
34 So this great doctrine of Jesus that's wrote here before us in the Bible, "You must be born again..." There is so many different versions of it, as I have said before, till I thought this morning, for the sake of many who's been asking me what it meant and how could they become a real Christian, then I thought maybe that we would just approach the subject and take it just as clearly as I know how to give it to you. And it's not in the way of a sermon; it's in the way of teaching Sunday school, that the people might get the Message. Now, many interpretations of the born again...
35 And now I'm saying this, and I know it's going on tape, and I want to say this to the pastors that will perhaps receive this tape. I suppose maybe just a little different from what the regular church teaches it, I teach and believe, and believe can sufficiently prove by the Scripture, that you're borned of the Spirit and then baptized into the Body by the Holy Spirit.
Now, many of them teach that just to come up and be recognized before the congregation, and so forth, as a--as a sinner, that you want to accept Christ as personal Saviour, that that is the new birth. Many believe that water baptism is the new birth. And some of them believe that you're--you're borned of the water when you're baptized in the water. And there's so many different versions of it. Lot of them, many believe that to recite a creed and believe on a doctrine of a church, just accept and say, "I believe in the holy church of So-and-so. And--and I believe God to be the--the Saviour of men, and so forth. And from this day on, I--I become a member of this church, and fellowship with the Christians." They believe that that's born again.
37 And although the creed that they recite, I do not believe that we could criticize it; some of them are pure and holy; some of them are real Scriptural; but the Scripture is not applied in the right place. And even applying the Scripture, I believe that the new birth is something beyond that. Even though how well you might mean it, I believe something that the new birth is far beyond your good intentions and your thoughts, minds; it's beyond that.
38 I do not want to say this for--to be sacrilegious, and I do not throw any slams at any organization of church, but a lot of it reminds me of a--of a--a Jew, a little... It's a joke. And I do not believe that jokes should be told at the pulpit; it's no place for a joke. And therefore, to bring this statement that I've got on my mind, it's not for a joke, but to show an expression of what I mean. That a Catholic priest one time went home with a--on Friday, with a new convert to the Catholic church. And the Catholic convert had baked a ham, and he said, "Father, I am sorry, as my remembrance comes to me, this is Friday. But I believe that according to our great doctrine of the church, that one time I was a Jew, and you sprinkled some holy water on me and turned me from a Jew to a Catholic. Now, I shall sprinkle a little of that same water upon this ham and make a fish out of it." Now, that's, saying that doesn't make it a fish. It's still a ham, no matter how holy the water might pretend to be.
39 And no matter how much that we try to think we are right in saying a creed or joining a church, you're still what you were until you're actually borned again of the Spirit of God. It doesn't change you. Your creed, joining church, or changing your ideas, or your good intentions, although as good as it might seem, it's still not right. There's something's got to happen, the new birth is an experience, something that takes place. So it is not that that brings the new birth. Now, the different churches, they'd say, "Well, you accept this or believe that, and it's all right." But it isn't.
40 Now, to begin with, to base back, the reason we have to be born again is because the Bible teaches us that we were all born in sin, shaped in iniquity, and come to this world speaking lies. Then that shows us that our nature, to begin with, is sinful to start with. We're no good to begin with. So we cannot claim anything by our shrewdness, our sincerity, or how great we are, how little we are, or--or whatevermore, we are altogether wrong to begin with. And there is nothing at all that we can do about it. You cannot... Jesus said, "Who, by taking thought, can add one stat--one to his stature, one measure to his stature?" You can take all the thoughts, do all the dreaming of it, read it, study it, examine it, and everything else, and you can't help yourself one iota. So that just throws it all out. I'm so glad it does, because if it laid in the thought of knowing something, smart, we poor illiterate people would be left out, so we wouldn't have a chance. But God changed it, or never had it that way in the beginning. The churches always makes it complicated. God makes it simple. So it's brought down into a place where all of us can see, all of us can have it. It's for whosoever will.
41 Now, now, one man could not save the other. Now, it makes no difference what anyone tries to say; no man can save another. No matter how smart, what his office is, let him be a pastor, priest, bishop, cardinal, or a pope, he cannot have one thing to do with saving any man's life, because he is a sinner hisself, borned in sin, shaped in iniquity, come to the world speaking lies. He's a liar to start with, and any word that he would say would be a lie if it was contrary to God's Word and God's plan.
42 But God made a plan for man to be saved. And man cannot add anything to that plan. It's God's plan. And that's the plan that we are--want to study this morning. What is God's plan? He said, "Let every man's word be a lie, Mine be the Truth." Therefore, we'd be daresn't to change one sentence to make it something else. No matter how much our rituals and so forth reads, we got to forget that. This is God's Word. Just can't be done no other way. God has a plan; He's made a plan.
43 And, remember, to the first thing, until you're borned again you'll never understand. Twice He spoke it. "Except a man be born again he cannot enter the Kingdom. Except a man be born again he cannot even see the Kingdom." Now, that's punctuated too. The word, in the making all those words, they tell me that they had to write it out, they, and when they say, "Verily, verily," that's a punctuation, like a--a--a capital. "Verily, verily, I say unto you." And the word in one place, or many places, it's translated "absolutely": "Absolutely, absolutely, I say unto you." Who said that, did a cardinal, priest, pastor, evangelist, pope? God Himself. Now, there's no excuses. He will in no wise, no wise at all, cannot in any other way, no matter how great he is, what his name is, how big he is, or how popular he is, he cannot even understand the Kingdom of God until he's born again. It's a great subject. "Verily, verily, I say unto you." Watch. Go get the Greek translation; you'll find: not see with your eyes, you see with your heart. See, you can't see the Kingdom of God with your eyes, because it's a spiritual Kingdom. See? In other words, "You'll never be able to understand the Kingdom of God until you are borned again." It's all an unraveled mystery. And when you're borned again, the plans of the Kingdom, the Kingdom itself becomes real to you.
44 Like a contractor to build a building, unless he could read a blueprint, there's no need of him trying to build the building, if he doesn't understand the blueprint. And then when he understands the blueprint, then he knows how to build the building. That's--that's the way it is. That's what happens about building the Kingdom of God. You've got to understand the Blueprint, and you won't know the Blueprint until you're born again. And when you're born again and then deny the Blueprint, what takes place?
45 A lovely little girl that's recently... I used to go with her mother when we were young. And she was a lovely, beautiful woman. Her name is Huff now; her name was Lee before she was married. When I used to pastor the Milltown Baptist Church, they belonged to the United Brethren Church, but, oh, they liked me real well. And she... I used to go with her. They lived way back up behind Brother Wright's here. To... And I used to go up to their house, and the little girl was a very sweet little girl, and she was a little girlfriend to me. And Brother Lee, a fine man, loyal to the church, the United Brethren view of the church, and one night he invited me to go home with him and stay all night. And I said, "Brother Marrion, I'll--I'll be glad to do that." And so after the service was over, well, the--the girl and I got in the car and we went on. And I had to open a dozen gates, I believe, going around the hillside, and up to hit a great big old log house. Well, we set out in the yard and waited for her mother and father, and younger sister, to come up. When they come up, we all went in and had a little lunch that night. The mother got some stuff out and we eat, and--and the father and I were sleeping together downstairs in a great big featherbed, and--and a straw tick under it, you know, real good sleeping. It's better than any of these old Beauty-rest mattresses you get; I'll tell you that. And so we... The mother and the two girls went upstairs.
46 And that night while we were laying there, Brother Lee had a dream. And he'd always debated with me about the water baptism in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. He didn't believe it. And he was a contractor. So he said, "Brother Branham, I just dreamed a dream." And he said, "I dreamed I went up to New Albany. And I was building a man's house, and he gave me the blueprint. But when I seen a certain way he cut his windows and fixed a certain place, I said, 'That's not right. It just can't be right. That's contrary. Now, he... That isn't right.' So I built it the way I thought was right. And when he come back from Florida, from his vacation, I had his house almost ready."
"He looks at the house, and he goes, and gets the blueprint, and looks at that, and said, 'Say, you have built my house wrong.'"
"And I said to him, 'No, I haven't built your house wrong.'"
"'What about this such-and-such a place?'"
"Well," he said, "that really don't belong there."
"He said, 'Tear it down. If you expect me to pay you, you'll build it the way the blueprint said.'"
And he said, "What do you think about that, Brother Branham?"
I said, "There is a creek running right down below the house here." And we went to it.
He said, "I don't want any tearing down on that day."
I said, "Get it right now. Put it up according to the Blueprint."
52 How it paid, just recently one of his... Then his girl married a fine boy, nice man. He's a machinist over here at the boat works, and the boy'd had his fingers cut off this way, a nice man. And they have a lovely family, three little girls, and one of them's--all Christians, and they sing a trio. If we ever have a meeting here, they're coming to sing for us. And one of the little girls majored in piano music, and was a teacher of classical music when she was just a child, fifteen, sixteen years old. And the kids at school got to teasing her about different things, and being a Christian, and it got on her nerves and give her a breakdown, and she lost her mind. And they had her in Louisville, and was going to take her to the insane institution the following Monday. And they wouldn't... The doctors wouldn't let me see her. And I went over as a visitor and set on the side of the bed with the father and mother. And while I was setting there, the Holy Spirit moved in the--this Our Lady of Peace Sanitarium in Louisville, where they take the nervous patients, and when there's still a hope for them. Then if they can't do nothing for them, they send them to Madison, Indiana. And the girl was going to Madison that week; they--she was past help. And setting there, a vision came before us, and spoke to the girl in the Name of the Lord Jesus. And the mother grabbed me by the knee, reached up and grabbed her husband by the hand, and said, "It's never wrong."
I said, "Just don't worry; she'll be all right." I left the building quickly.
54 That night at nine o'clock, the phone rang, or I believe it was a little before nine, 'fore I come to the church that night. It was on a Sunday. And the father, with his heart so thrilled, he said, "I couldn't go home, holding the good news, Brother Branham." He said, "The doctor come in and examined my girl. He said, 'What's happened to her? She can go home tomorrow.'" When mother was laying a corpse a few weeks ago, there the trio was down there, the little girl just as nice as she could be, her and her boyfriend, sweetly. Oh, I tell you, the Blueprint, God's Word is the One to explain the program of how we must be borned again.
55 First, we reckon ourselves sinners and worthy of condemnation. And we are all born in sin and shaped in iniquity; there's not a sound parcel of us. Our minds are bad; our soul is corruptible; our constant thinking is evil, every imaginary thought of a man's mind is evil, a sinner; and also that our body is weak; our spirit is no good; and we're just full of corruption. And how could one corruptible thing bring another good thing out of a corruptible? Let me say this, that in Job, 14th chapter he said, "Seeing that man is born of a woman, is full of sorrow and trouble, yet he cometh forth like a flower, he fadeth away." And on, as the prophet goes on speaking, he said, "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one." You stick your bucket down into the well and pull out a bucket of water, and it's stagnant, it stinks; you look in it, and it's muddy, and little worms is in that water; there's no way at all to put your bucket back and get a clean bucket. The whole well is contaminated. And the whole soul, mind, and body of man is contaminated with sin, and born in sin, physically, shaped in iniquity, and come to the world speaking lies, so that his own soul is contaminated: nothing good. One cannot redeem the other, because it's all wrong. And you can't take a bucketful of water here that's contaminated, and another bucketful that's contaminated and mix them together; you've got more contamination. There's no purification to it.
56 But God determined to save man. He placed upon Him the iniquity of us all. The penalty of--of sin, when that you're born in the penalty of sin, is death. Sin is death. And the penalty was so great that there's none of us could help the other, so there had to be Someone Who could pay this penalty.
What if this morning the penalty to leave this room was a hundred billion dollars? There's none of us could leave, 'cause there's none of us worth that. But then if one came in who was worth enough to pay for all of us.
It takes One. We can't do it. It took One Who was worthy. Oh, how I wish I could stop here for a while, and go back and pick up Ruth and Naomi, and show that how the kinsman redeemer to redeem the fallen estate had to be first worthy, had to be a kinsman. Therefore, God, the Spirit, Jehovah, became Kinfolks to us by taking on a form of flesh. He became Kinfolks: had to be that. Then He had to be worthy. And He is the One Who produced that Fountain filled with Blood, drawn from Immanuel's veins. He was the One Who bore our iniquities.
59 A beautiful type I got here in Numbers. I've got my Scriptures wrote down here. In Numbers, the beautiful type of it is, in there it's... Oh, it's altogether pretty if you could see it. It's the brass serpent lifted up in the wilderness. How that Israel, that serpent to them was a death bite, and there was no remedy. There wasn't a physician among them who had the remedy or the cure. They had physicians among them, but not for that bite. Just as I've said, there's no physicians among us that can cure sin. It's a death bite, and we're all guilty, all shaped in iniquity. All of us are guilty. But what did God do? They was guilty then, then death had to be paid, the penalty of death. But God had Moses to erect a brass serpent, and put it on a pole, that nothing the people could do, no money they had to pay, nothing at all, no creeds they had to recite, no churches they had to join, just look and live... See how simple? Look and live. Don't join a church; no sensation, you don't have to feel a funny feeling. Just look and live. That's all. So simple. Not if you can remember all the ten commandments, you'll live; not if you know all the statutes... Just look and live. That's all you had to do. And every man looked upon him lived.
60 Jesus, when He was here on earth, He said, talking to Nicodemus here, He said, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up." So must... Why? In the same manner, for the same thing, the same purpose, to do the same work. Many times this puzzle people when they see the serpent representing Jesus. The serpent represented Jesus in this much; did you notice the serpent was dead? There was no life in it. Jesus died. Like Cain when he slew Abel, Abel died on the altar with his sacrifice; after Abel offered his sacrifice and killed his sacrifice for his sin, then he died on the same altar with his sacrifice. In order to be born again, you have to die on the altar with your Sacrifice, just as dead as He was. And you're born again. The serpent had no life in it.
61 And you say, "Why was it brass?" Brass represents judgment, Divine judgment. Did you notice in the Bible, in the Old Testament, the altar was made out of brass, where the sacrifice was burnt? Brass speaks of judgment. Like Elijah, in his days, he went to look at the skies to see if any rain was coming after his prayer, and he said, "The sky looks like brass." What was it? Divine judgment upon a unbelieving people, a unbelieving nation who had forsaken God. It was Divine judgment, brassy. And the serpent itself, its form represented sin already judged, for the serpent was judged in the garden of Eden. And he was the serpent judged.
62 And when we look at Christ, you see the penalty. The only One, God Himself made flesh, God coming to the earth, and took on Him the sin of all of us, and the judgment and wrath of Almighty God was poured out upon His body, and there it was rivened at the cross. That's the real judgment. He tread the winepress of the wrath of God alone. Alone He walked the road. Alone He died with not no help from an Angel, from a man, from His Church, from His mother, from His brethren, from His Father. And forsaken by God, man, and nature, He died alone to show us that even nature itself can't help us in the hour of death. There's no friend, no priest, no pope, no pastor... It's death. But there was One Who took it for us.
63 No life in the serpent, it was absolutely crystallized. That was the penalty. He died until the--the earth got ashamed of itself. He died till the stars got ashamed. He suffered until the sun wouldn't shine. He suffered till the moon turned off its light. He suffered till even the elements of the earth was so black and dark until the midnight so dark you could feel it. Wasn't nothing, no one's ever suffered like that or could suffer like that; there's no mortal could go through it. But He suffered it. God laid upon Him the iniquity of us all and passed His judgments upon Him, and He tread the winepress of the wrath of God alone with no help. There was nothing to help Him. God placed the penalty. Everything was under that penalty and nothing could help Him, 'cause we're all guilty. There's no high priest could've come helped Him. There was nothing could help Him, no pope, no Angel. Everything stood back and watched it. That was the greatest moments was ever in the history of the world. He died until there's not one drop of life left in Him, become like the brass serpent, just a crystallized ornament hanging on the cross.
64 Now, the approach to this birth, there is approach to it. And to be--to approach this birth, you have to go through a process, just like anything that lives. Anything that lives again's got to die first. And you cannot keep your same spirit. You cannot keep your same habits. You cannot keep your same thoughts. You got to die. You've got to die like He died. You got to die on His altar, like Abel did with his lamb. You got to die with your Lamb. You got to die, die to your own thinking to be born to His thinking. Let the mind that was in Christ be in you. You got to think His thoughts.
And now, brother, sister, let me say this as intelligent as I know how to say it. How can you think His thoughts and deny His Word, and yet claim you're born again? Just ask yourself that question. How can you do it? You can't. If you're born again, you got His thoughts. If the mind of Christ is in you, then you are a new creature. The Bible teaches that. And if any brother would like to, where you find that creature, look that word "creature" up in the--the Lexicon, and you'll find out that the word "creature" there is interpreted or translated, "a new creation," because you are a one creation, a human being born in sexual desire here on earth, and now you're a new creation born by Spirit. Your own thoughts are dead. They're so dead until they're crystal like the brass serpent, or like He died when the heavens and earth and everything witnessed He was dead.
65 He died till He was so dead that even His Blood and water separated in His body. His death was so tremendous, till, I say, the--the world had a nervous breakdown. It shook; it trembled until rocks fell out of the mountains. What could die like that? No pope dying would do that; no pastor dying would do that. But when God in flesh died on the cross, the earth had a nervous breakdown to know that the very spoken Word of God, rocks and dirt, sticks and clubs and trees hanging in the earth, and the stars and the moon, His very spoken Word seen their Creator become flesh and sin poured out upon Him. The wrath of God poured out upon Him until the moon shut off its light, the sun shut off its light, the earth had a nervous shake--breakdown, would've bursted to pieces if it hadn't have been a future for us. Everything...
66 And if His elements of the earth, upon looking, seeing what was taking place, shook them to that condition, what ought it do to me and you? What ought our souls to do when we look and see what God did for us? And it was all for you and for me. What ought it to do to us? Continue in sin? God forbid. But to abstain from sins and die to sin. Don't you see what sin done to Him? Sin killed Him. And He took the penalty of sin, that He might bring the righteousness of God to you and me. So when the righteousness of God comes to us, sin is dead in our mortal beings. Oh, I hope you see it.
67 Yes, to be born again you must go through a process of death; everything does. You take a grain of corn; if that corn ever expects to live again, it's got to die first. If a grain of wheat ever expects to live again, it's totally impossible for... That corn, that wheat, that flower, that tree, that grass, that vegetable, everything that expects to live again must die first. Then how you going to escape it? You got to die first. You got to die. Die how? To yourself, die to everything, so that you can be born again. You've got to do that. If you don't die, you can never live again.
68 And look, did you know each day something has to die so you can live? Now, to you Seventh-day Adventists that's in our midst, many people say, "I wouldn't shoot a squirrel, Brother Branham. I wouldn't kill a deer, or a rabbit, fish, 'cause I don't believe that we should kill things." My brother, did you know that the vegetables and things that you eat is life also? You have to kill it. And the only way that you can exist in this life, something has to die so you can live by its dead life. Now, if something has to die so you can live by its mortal life here on earth to live mortally, did not Something have to die so that by Its life you could live eternally? Just ask yourself that question. And that One was Christ, 'cause no other one has immortality. The Son only has immortality. And He gives Himself to you by just accepting Him.
69 Now, it must die. Now, that don't mean turn a new page now, this new year. You say, "Brother Branham, I've been coming here for a long time. I've been a member of the church. This New Year's I'm going to turn a new page and start new. That don't mean that. Not turn a new page, but actually die and be born again. See? You've got to feel so guilty when you stand in His Presence. Whether you go the Methodist way, or the Baptist way, or whatever way you go, you've got to be so guilty and feel so guilty till you... It'll kill you. That's right. You--it'll kill you. Your worldly life will die right there. You've got to reckon yourself so guilty in the Presence of God until your worldly life dies right there. The--the sin question's over for you when you're standing in His Presence. When you look like that, you're sure to live, because you die. And the only way you can live again is to be--die first so you can live again.
Now, you see what I'm coming to, don't you (See that?), what the birth is, the new birth. First, to die, in order to be born again... And if you still got the things of the world in you, you're not born again. And how you going to claim to be born again and still with the things of the world hanging on you? See? How can you do it?
71 Young Christian the other day, bunch of people... I don't say they're not. But in looking at some pictures, Christian women, Christian men, all lovable around one another in bathing suits, in a-swimming. See? It's just... They said, "That's real love." That's real filth. It's not love. Love is expressed different from that.
72 Our souls are placed by faith on His brass altar, God's judgment, and our offering is consumed. Now remember, when Elijah, under those brass skies, laid the offering of God upon the altar, the offering was consumed. Baal could not consume his offering. I don't want to say this, but I must say it. And when you go to a church, and accept their creeds, and their forms of baptisms, and the offering that you supposingly yourself to lay upon there, you might get up shivering, speaking in tongues, running all over the floor, or you might get up weeping. But if that offering has been received by God, it's consumed; the world is dead to you. You're gone, for we reckon ourselves dead and buried. We are dead and our... We are hid in Christ, hid in Christ. And besides that, then--then after that we're dead, and buried, and hid in Christ, then we're sealed with the Holy Spirit.
73 You see what I mean now? You are dead. Our souls are placed upon His Divine judgment; that's brass. When our souls is placed upon a altar of Divine judgment, what was the penalty? Death. And when you lay yourself upon the altar of God, which is pronounced death upon the sinner, how can you raise from there, alive in sin, if God accepted the sacrifice? Is it clear now? You die. You actually are consumed, and you're petrified. There's no more left to you but just this form that you're standing in, like the brass serpent, like Christ was when they took Him dead and cold off the cross. You're dead. 'Cause why? You're on God's altar of judgment. What is His judgment? When the Judge has passed His sentence. What is the sentence of His penalty? Death. And when you place your soul upon His altar of judgment, it's death to you. Now, you get it?
74 Oh, you might get up from there and do anything; you might dance in the Spirit; you might cry like a--like anybody would cry; you might run up and down the floors; you might join every church; you might do anything you want to (I'm talking to Pentecostals now), and go right back out and defile a man's wife, break up a man's home, some of you women. You'll go right back no matter how much the Word comes to you to do right and things, you won't recognize It. You'll never let your hair grow, women, or that. You'll never dress right. You'll still be just exactly like the world, because you're not dead to the world yet; you're alive with it.
Some of you men will never quit drinking, smoking. You'll never quit lusting after foul women immorally dressed, when you see them on the street, instead of turning your back, walking away. You'll still lust right on just the same. Because why? You're alive with the world yet. But when that sacrifice has been received, you're dead. That's right. You hear what I mean? You understand what I'm talking about?
76 Now, your soul is laid upon that altar of God's brass judgment, then God receives the sac... Now, it shows that you haven't received it yet, if it does... If--if you're still alive in the world, God's never took it. Now, you people talking about getting the Holy Ghost and how you have to wait so long, here you are. Until God receives that sacrifice, until it's laid on His judgments there, until His judgment has actually killed your senses... You might say, "Well, I'm going to turn a new page." That ain't it. "Well, I know I used to smoke; I'm going to quit smoking." That still isn't it. Until God receives that sacrifice on His brass altar, His altar of judgment... What is His judgment? Death. That's the penalty. The soul that sinneth that remains in that, shall die. I don't care what you done.
Jesus said, "Many will come to Me in that day, and say, 'Lord, haven't I done this and done that?' He'd say, 'Depart from Me, you workers of iniquity.'" See?
79 When that sacrifice is received by the fire, and it goes up like that, and the smoke goes up, you rise with your sacrifice into the heavenlies, and you're sealed away from the things of the world then. Our soul's on His altar.
What are you done then, after you have been died, then what are you to do? Then you are conceived anew. You are conceived anew. You was first conceived in iniquity. Now, you're conceived in something new. What is it? The living Word. Oh, that changes it now, doesn't it? Now, we're through the struggle, after seeing what you got to do. Now, what happens? You're conceived anew in the living Word. What is it? The Word becomes alive in you. You begin to see things different. Where once you couldn't see that, now you do see it. There's something different now: makes all the Scriptures come together, makes everything dovetail just right. Then now--now something's begin to happen. Now, you die to your own thinking; now you're conceived, because we are washed by the water of the Word. Is that right?
81 What do you do with a baby soon as it's born? Wash him. Is that right? And as soon as a man has died to himself and's born of God, he's washed by the water of the Word. Amen. If It says, "Jesus' Name," you say "Jesus' Name"; says, "You must be born again," you say the same thing. Ever what God says, you're washed by that water of the Word. Amen.
Now, you're ready now for life. You're ready to be--start out now. Now, you're born anew, born in the family of God with a new parent. Yes, sir. Your tutors used to be... Now you got tutors that is now; you got a new Parent. You can't be born without having a parent. So if you're born in the brotherhood of a church, that's what you got. If you're born in a creed, there you are. But if you're born in God, conceived in His Word, you got a new Parent; that's God, ready to make His Word known among us, with you, speak It through you. Oh, a new Parent, that Parent is God. He's ready to take His Word now that He's already spoke, and lay It in you and make It come to life. See? Now, you have your training now. You're ready--you're ready to go into training now, child-training. That's the hard part, when you think you ought to do this, and the Word cuts you around and shows you something else. "Why, they believe that over..." That don't make any difference what they believe. Here's what God said. You must be about the Father's business. Now you're getting born again. Now you're getting right, getting straightened out. You have a new Parent.
83 So in order if you're born again and got a new Parent, then you got a new nature. The old nature's dead, and you got a new nature. You once was going one way; now you're going another way. You once was going in this a-way, down, now you're going this a-way, up. Your affections are set on things above: a new affection. You don't love the things of the world no more; your affection's of God. You don't care what man says, how they laugh at you and say you're old model, or whatever it is like that, you don't care, because you're born of above and your affections are set--set on things above. God's not ashamed of you, and you're not ashamed of Him. That's right. So you're... Read the 11th chapter of Hebrews right here. I got it wrote down. Just why people in that day how they did, how they wandered about in sheepskins in deserts, and destitute, and everything else, of whom the world's not even worthy of. See? Read it; it'll be good for you. And you can see there, what people when their nature's changed, what happens.
84 Now, what kind of a nature have you got then, Brother Branham? His nature. If I had my father's nature, then I'd do the things my father did. But now that I'm born again, it depends on who my father was. If you're just born in the church, you got a church father, and you can call him, "father" if you want to. You call him anything you want to, because he's your father. But if your Father is God, and you're borned in the family of God, you seek those things that pertain to God. That's right. Then you are God's child. Your nature is God's nature. Then when some, oh, you can hear them, some of them say, "Oh, our church believes the days of miracles is passed." How could you believe the days of miracles is passed when the very nature of God's in you, when He is altogether miracle? His nature's miracle; His habit's miracle; His whole being is miracle. How can you be anything else but miracle? Your new birth is miracle. Your new Life is miracle. Even your nature's a miracle, how you can look back and say, "Them things are dead. This is right." See? You're a new creature, new creation. Sure.
85 [Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.] And when the babies was born they was all chickens but one. He was an eagle. He was an odd little fellow. He was altogether different, but (You see?), he was borned in another category. The--the--the sperm and the egg was different; it made a different bird. Certainly. He looked queer; he acted funny to the rest of them, but he was--he was only acting natural, because he couldn't do no more, 'cause he--he was a eagle. His--his nature was eagle, so that's all he could be was an eagle. But there's a lot of them out in these denominations; they're actually eagles, but it just don't look right to see them lolling in the mud and the things of the world. See, that's your business, go get them.
86 One day the old mother eagle come over, and do you think that hen could ever keep him on the ground any longer? No matter how much she clucked, how well she said, "Come here, honey. I found something right here, come." Oh, my. His affections was on things above, and he went to meet it, no more denominations for him. Can't call him away from It.
And a man that's born of God, you cannot call him back into that rotten muss of sin any more. He's dead, and he's born again. He's a new creature. He's got the nature of the Eagle. He's got to get into the skies and soar. He's got to get up there where his mother is, his Parent.
And that's the way a man that believes...?... "Oh, come join our church. Now, that's fanaticism. The--the--day..."
89 Now, if that little eagle maybe standing out there and he heard that mother cry, and he looked around and said, "Where is it?" Here, maybe she cried something like this to the little eagle, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever."
And the mother said, "Days of miracles is passed, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck. Days of miracles is passed. No such a thing. That's fanaticism." Oh, my.
Why, you couldn't hold him no more. I can just hear him say, "Mama, how do I get up there?"
"Just flop your wings, honey. That's all you have to do. You're an eagle. Just walk by faith."
"How is it going to be, mama?"
"I don't know. Just keep walking." Here he comes. His first few flops, he set down on a fence post. He got that high anyhow. She said, "Just come on; I'll catch you." That's it.
94 A new nature, a new being, a new creation, nature of your Father, and you believe and love every Word that He said. Every man's word's a lie, contrary to this Word. This is God's Word. See? The Bible's right. I don't care what the church says; the Bible's still right to you, 'cause your nature's been changed. Now, if you've got a--a church father, you'll believe in that church father. But if you got Father God, you'll believe in God's Word. If you got a father in the church, you'll believe that because you're of his nature; that's your father. But if your Father's God, then you'll believe God's Word. If you're church, you'll--you'll believe his word; you'll believe the church word; you'll believe what the church said. But if you're born again, then you'll believe what God says, 'cause God's your Father, not the world or church creeds.
95 Reminds me. One day they in a--a yard, they said they had a duck was following some chickens. And the--the duck, you know, was a funny little fellow to them chickens. He kind of top-heavy, you know, and big bill, you know. But that, being he was top-heavy, he--had that bill there for some purpose. And that's the way I guess sometimes the Christian seems to be a little bit, get a little fanatically, but--but that's there for a purpose. See? So he... It did look funny as long as he was running around with the chickens, and he could... Turkeys and things, they--they--they had the little bitty short bill, and they, and while the things they did, and they wasn't built like that duck. One day the mother led him, the bunch of chickens and him out behind. He was always way in the back, you know, kinda... He didn't even talk like them. His language was different. They couldn't understand one another.
96 That's the way with the Christian when he's born again. See? He come out of a different egg; that's all. See? Maybe he's got... I believe there's many of them out here in these denomination churches that's genuine ducks, but they got a hen leader. That's right. So they just don't get it. That sounds rude. Don't mean it that way, but I'm trying to make a point.
One day she led him out a little too far behind the barn. There was some water running down behind the barn, a spring going out, creek. And he was going along there wondering what it's all about, you know, following the hen along. And, why, he didn't even like the diet they were eating: didn't look right to him. These old things that they do, it didn't seem right. So after while he happened to catch a breath. "That smelled just right. Where did that come from?" Oh, that little breath of heaven, hmmm. Catch that little breath of something that's refreshening, a sermon that appeals to you, that strikes down in, you feel the Word anchor Itself: hmmm, heavenly sunshine. He thought, "Oh, there's somehow another that breath that I got fits my nature." He breathed it again. "It's somewhere. Now, you can't tell me; it's somewhere. I know there's something somewhere that I belong to," not to this creed. See? You know what I mean? He smelled water, and his nature was a duck, so a duck and the water just goes together. That's the way a believer and God goes together. Directly he got another big whiff of it; it come more strong. After while the wind begin to blow (Like the rushing, mighty Wind, you know.); it begin to blow the breeze right off the water to him. He couldn't stand it no longer. Down over the hill he went, wobble, wobble, wobble, wobble, just, you know, going, "Honk-honk, honk-honk, honk-honk," that little bill sticking up in the air, you know. He smelt water.
The old hen said, "You fanatic, get back here." No good at all; he done smelt water. He was on his road to the water.
99 "There is a fountain filled with Blood, drawn from Immanuel's veins, where sinners plunged beneath the flood and lose all their guilty stain." A real Christian wants nothing to do with the world. They don't want to live around here haphazardly and wondering where they're at, and today they're Methodist, and tomorrow they're Baptist, and Presbyterian, and Pentecostals, and so forth. Oh, brother, that's miserable. A real Christian wants to get the freshness of the Spirit, the freshness of God in his life, something that makes him a new creation. As soon as he can get the outlet, he'll drive over snowy grounds or anything else to get to it. Away he'll go, because he's a duck to begin with. Yeah. Not a creed, no, no, no, no...
100 And if you still love the things of the world, you're deceived; your sacrifice hasn't been accepted yet; your nature hasn't been changed. Now, do you know what it means to be born again? See, your nature's changed; you become a new creature. You got to die first and then be born again. I know it's time for me to close, but just give me just a few minutes. I'll run over these texts real quick. See, see?
If you still love the world, and claim that you are borned again, no matter what you done... You might've cried; you might've had chills run through you. Them's all right; I ain't got nothing against that. Christians cry and have chills run through them. And you say, "Brother Branham, I spoke in tongues just..." That might be fine, and that might be just ever so good.
101 I'm looking at a little woman right now that come to me not long ago with a vision or a dream she had, and I got the interpretation. Still, it's kind of hard to go tell that little Pentecostal preacher's wife that she didn't have the Holy Ghost (Uh-huh.), but she didn't. But then she received It. See? Yeah, it's different. See?
Yeah, it ain't speaking in tongues; it ain't dancing in the Spirit. There's none of those things you can lay it onto. It's a death and a birth, a changed nature, a changed disposition. The old things are dead; new things are new; the world is dead and God's new. God is your Life, and the world is dead to you. Now, you get it? All right.
103 Now, listen. I'm going to have to cut just a little bit here, you know, get the briers out of the way. Women and men that won't follow God's Word and His Teaching after they claim to be born again, there's something wrong.
I'm going to speak with the women just a minute. If a woman that knows that God's Word condemns bobbed hair, and wearing shorts, wearing slacks, and dressing immorally, and haven't got the decency enough to let your hair grow out and put on clothes that look like a Christian, you're deceived. I don't care what you've been through. You might've spoke in tongues like pouring peas on a dry cowhide. You might've--you might've danced in the Spirit till you shook the whole building. That don't have one thing to do with it. It shows that the love of the world is still in you, when God condemns that. He said, "It's not..." A woman should have her hair long. And nature itself teach you that men should have short hair, because God is over man, and man over woman. And if a woman cuts off her hair, she dishonors her head, which is her husband. If a man lets his hair grow, then he dishonors his head, which is Christ. See?
104 "And let your women adorn themselves in modest apparel," clean, ladylike. See? And then without the common decency to do that, you say, "Glory to God. Hallelujah. I spoke in tongues. Hallelujah. Glory to God." That shows that spirit in there is wrong. It'll accept the Word every time if it's the nature of the Word. And the Word is flesh, and the Word was God, and the Word is God; and the Words is in you, makes you become a son or a daughter of God, an offspring of Him, believing His Word.
"I don't believe in that old Name of the Lord Jesus to be baptized in. Hallelujah. I don't care how much you try to explain it; I believe my pastor." Go ahead; that's your father. But if God's your Father, you'll line up with God's Word.
Preacher... "Many will come to Me that day, and say, 'Lord, have not I cast out devils in Your Name? (Preachers.) Have not I done many mighty works? (evangelists on the field.)' Depart from Me, you workers of iniquity," illegitimate children... That's right.
107 If you're borned of God, you're washed in the waters of the Word, separated from the things of the world, and believe God. You're dead. You're dead to your own thinking, dead to your own ideas, dead to everything else but God's Word; It lives in you, working back through you, proving that it is God's Word. You say, "I'm dead to the world. I'm dead to the world, Brother Branham." And deny God's Word?
Jesus said, "These signs shall follow them that believe." Now, we're getting down to what borned again means. See?
109 Still with tempers, still mean, arrogant, somebody say something about you, you right up ready to fight, then borned of the Spirit of God? No. God's Spirit don't do like that. No. God's Spirit is humble, meek, sweet, long-suffering. That's God. loving, kind, forgiving, that's God's Spirit. Oh, yes.
But they'll hold to that denomination, and speak in tongues, prophesy, do all kinds of works. Jesus said they'd do it: "Having a form of godliness." Hold to the denomination because that's their father; they was born in that denominational father. But if you're borned of God, This is your Father; He is the Word, the Word. No matter how many sensations you have, still a child of Satan until you become dead to the world and alive in Christ. Listen, quickly now.
111 A soul, good or bad, death doesn't change it. I had a lot of Scripture wrote down here on this one that I wanted to comment on, what a soul is. What is a soul? It's you. You are a soul, the part inside of you. And when you die, ever what shape that soul's in, that's the way it goes. It goes to its destination. You couldn't pull it up no matter how much you'd do for it; that soul's got to be changed here, born again.
You say, "What about the Holy Ghost, Brother Branham?"
The Holy Ghost baptizes you into the Body, for service, but you believe unto Eternal Life. "He that heareth My Words and believeth on Him that sent Me, has Eternal Life." See? Then you're baptized by the Holy Spirit into the Body for manifestations of the gifts, and so forth, but you believe to Eternal Life. He that believeth has Eternal Life. And when you believe is when you're dead and are born, regenerated, a new creature. All right.
113 The soul, now remember, good or bad, death doesn't have one thing to do with it. Death just takes it to its destination. You hear it? And if you still got the world and the love of the world in it, it'll die with you, 'cause the world must die. God's condemned the world; that's the world order. God has condemned it and it's got to die. And if that world's in you, you'll die with that world. My, I don't see how it could be any plainer. See? And if it's good, borned of God, it has to go to God. If it's of the world, it'll remain to perish with the world. If it's of God, it'll live with God, educated or not educated. Educated or illiterate, if the world is still there, it must die. And if the world is in your soul, and your desire is of the things of the world, you'll perish with the world. That's clear, isn't it? See? Should be. You're a part of the dead world. And as the world is dead, you're dead with the world.
114 But if you're born again, you're alive with Christ, and your affections is on things above and not on things of the world. But if you are born again of the Spirit of God, you become a part of God and are eternal with Him. Then, death cannot touch you when you're born again. You are eternal. You have changed from a creature of time to a creature of eternity. You have changed from death unto Life. I'm talking about eternal. From eternal death to Eternal Life... If you're of the world, you die here with it. If you love... The Bible said in John "If you love the world or the things of the world, it's because the love of God's not even in you." You can't love the world. And Jesus said, "You can't love God and mammon." "Mammon" is the "world." You can't love the world and God at the same time. "And he that says he loves Me, and keeps not My sayings," that's the Bible, "he's a liar, and the Truth's not even in him." There you are.
115 Oh, Branham Tabernacle, and all you good people, let's take inventory. This is New Year's. Let's start; let's do something; get the things of the world out of us. If it's still in there, let's get rid of it. Yes, sir. All right, people of today... I've got to hurry.
116 People of today take all kinds of spirits. They go up and take a church spirit; they even take spirits that call themselves God's spirits, born again, and deny the Word of God being true. Could you imagine the Spirit of God denying His Own Word? To you Catholic people, Roman Catholic, I mean, could you actually say that you are borned of the Spirit of God, and take those dogmas which is contrary to the Bible, and deny the Word of God, and say that you are--the Spirit of God's in you, the Spirit that wrote this Bible would deny It? That would be me telling something and standing up and lying against it: God saying something, then turn around and lie about it, when the Bible said, "It's impossible for God to lie, 'cause He's the very Fountain of all Truth."
117 You Methodists, Baptists, that are baptized in titles of "Father, Son, Holy Ghost," and know different now? You got your Bible. You that just take a church joining by shaking a hand, you that take your letter from one to another, and claim that you're borned again of the Spirit of God? How can you do it, and then look in the face of God's Word and call yourself a borned again Christian, when you're dead to the church, you're dead to the creeds, you're dead to the world, you're dead to everything else but God, and God is the Word? There you are.
Let's see. They take every kind of a spirit. Oh, they got church spirits; they got all kinds of spirits. Now, listen closely.
118 Prophets... The Word of God comes to the prophet. The Bible said so. Now, in closing, I've just got couple more comments here or so I want to pass and then I'm going to cut off.
The Word of the Lord come to the prophets. What come to the prophets? The Word of the church came to the prophets? [Congregation replies, "No"--Ed.] The word of the creed came to the prophet? ["No"--Ed.] The Word of the Lord. What was it? The prophet revealed the Word of God. See? That's prophets, real prophets. Now, we got false prophets; we're getting to them just in a minute. But the true prophet, the true Word came to the true prophet. It couldn't be nothing else. Now, a creed didn't come to the prophet; a denomination didn't come to the prophet. No. But the Word of the Lord came to the prophet, and he revealed It to the people. The true prophet had the true Word.
119 How do you test a true prophet? When he's got the true Word. Then if it isn't a true Word, it's got to be a false one. If it says something different from this Word, and this Word is God's Word, let every prophet's Word be a lie and God's Word be true. And if that Word is coming from the prophet, is the Word of God, then he's a true prophet, because the Word come to the prophets, true prophets. We've always had false ones. True prophets, the true Word. False prophets, false word, "our creeds, our denominations; join this; say this; believe this; do this"...
120 But the true Word comes to the true prophet, and he tells you the true Word. You follow that true Word, and you get a true experience of the Word, because the Word is made flesh in you, and you become God's son, and the Word of God is revolving right out of God into you, because you are of His Nature, His Spirit is in you, and you'll do the works of God. Hallelujah. The Bible said so. Oh, my.
121 False prophets bring false words. What do they do? Have false sensations. False prophets keep enough of the true Word to be false. They used to didn't do it, but the Bible said... You want to put down Scripture on that? II Timothy 3. See? The false prophet has enough of the true Word to make it false, because the Bible said that they'd have a form of godliness. In order to have a form of godliness, they have to have some of it as Truth. "A form of godliness, but deny the power thereof," the power of what? To make you straighten up, be a different, serve God, not go to dances and things of the world, the Bible condemns, not cut your hair. Like, false prophets say that, "Don't make any difference."
122 Someone said not long ago (I believe I quoted it here before, I don't know.), said, "Why in the world don't you leave them women and men alone," to me. Said, "Why, then, the people believe you to be a prophet."
I said, "I am not."
"But the people believe you to be. Why don't you teach them how to receive visions, how to do the works of God like that?"
I said, "How can I teach them algebra when they don't know their abc's?" See, see? How can you take a child out of kindergarten and give him a college education today, teach him square root measure? How can you do it when he don't know what abc means? You know what abc means? Always Believe Christ. That's right. Don't believe the church; don't believe their creed; don't believe their doctrine; believe Christ. Why? "To know Him, to know Him is Life." Is that right? Not know His creed, not... He ain't got no creeds. Not to even know His Word, not to know His Word; you got to know Him, know Him as your Saviour in new birth. Like Jesus said to Nicodemus, "If you can't believe earthly things that I tell you, how could you believe heavenly things?" How you going to believe spiritual things that enter into the Spirit, and knowing and seeing visions and things like that to set a school in order like that, when they don't even believe earthly things, can't even believe to wear clothes right, can't even believe to quit their smoking, and quit their lying, lay their temper aside, and all them things, do all these things, or quit lusting? How can you teach people to enter into the Spirit when they got all those things still hanging on them? Yes. Oh, my.
125 False prophets have false words: creeds, denominations, sensations. "Oh, bless God, only thing you have to do... You want to wear Elijah's garment? Glory to God. Only thing you have to do is just be blank in your mind, don't think of a thing, and say, 'Oh, fill me, fill me, fill me.'" The devil will sure do it. And then you rely upon that? "Oooh, It run all over me, Brother Branham. I felt It. Oooh, glory to God, Hallelujah. Jumping up and down like that, oh, I got It." And live like you live? "By their fruits you shall know them," (See, see, see?), not sensations.
"Oh, brother, you want to receive the Holy Ghost, just get down at the altar and say, 'Glory, glory, glory, glory, glory, until you speak in tongues.'" Uh-huh, go back out and live any kind of a life, lie, steal? When they tell you about being baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ, "That's fanaticism, my church teaches different," and say that you are born again, washed by the waters of the Word? Something wrong somewhere. See?
128 You'll believe every Word just the way It's wrote here. We don't need... And we don't... And the--the Bible said, "It's of no private interpretation." God interpreted It, and this is the way It is. He... Word, His Word here... Don't the Bible say in II, I believe, II Peter there, "The Bible is of no private interpretation." Certainly. No, no private, it's wrote just the way It means It, right like that. Just leave It just the way It's wrote here; It'll bring the same results.
129 Now, false teachers will bring false births. True prophets will bring the Word, the birth of the Word, Christ. False prophets will bring false birth, the birth of churches, the birth of creeds, the birth of denominations. And here you are, Pentecostal brother, false sent--or sensations, and tell a man he's got the Holy Ghost 'cause he speaks with tongues. I've seen devils speak with tongues, pencils lay down and write in unknown tongues. That don't mean a thing. See, it's got to be a life: by their fruit you shall know them. "Brother Branham, do you believe in speaking in tongues?" Yes, sir. "You believe in shouting?" Yes, sir. To be a Christian, I believe that. I believe God's Word. But if the life isn't there to back it up...
130 Get out there a stuffed shirt, "Glory to God, hallelujah," and then tell me that that's Christ? Christ was humble, meek, and gentle. Go into a town, and, my, you have to be just brushed off the shoulders, you know, and everything has to be just right, not a wrinkle in your suit, and you have to have the very best or you won't even come at all, guaranteed so much money, you can't have a meeting. Oh, my. All the denominations, they have to pat you on the back. There wasn't a one of them patted Him on the back, for He was the Word. Right.
131 False keep enough of the true to make a form of godliness. And listen, now I'm saying something here; I want you to listen. Them kind of false conceptions (You know what a false conception is?) lead millions of people to a false birth. False teachers lead the people to believe in a sensation, "'Cause you jerked all over, you got It. Oh, because you got a real funny feeling went over you, you--you seen lights in front of you, and got blind and staggered, that's Elijah's jacket put on you. That's right, you got It. Oh, you know what you are? You're a manifested son of God." Where do you find yourself? Defeated. That's right. "Glory to God, I went one night and I had a dream." Oh, yes, uh-huh. See? "Oh, I seen this, that..." Yeah, uh-huh. "You--don't you believe in dreams?" Yes, sir, I certainly do. But if that dream didn't back up God's Word, then it's wrong. This is the Truth here; stay in This. Yes, sir. Lead million to false birth, just think...
132 I got a piece of paper I was going to bring with me, where that the ecumenical father of all the Greek Orthodox and Orthodox churches has talked with Pope John the 22nd, and he said, "We may not see it in our generation, but the great brotherhood in the a-merge of both Protestant and Catholic is coming together."
I thought, "Praise God."
Somebody cut it out of a paper, wrote to me like that. I believe it was Brother Norman or somebody, said, "Brother Branham, it's later than we think." Look at today, the minister of war and, oh, so many different offices and President, and this nation is all Catholic controlled. Listen.
134 You say, "Well, they're Christians." To be Christian is to be like Christ, have His Spirit. Is that right? Here's a rude, something rude, but I want to say it. If you called a hog a sheep would it make him a sheep? Why, if you said, "Piggy, I'm just tired of you being a piggy. I want a lambie, so I'm going to take you out here, and I'm going to scrub you all up, and I'm going to wash your teeth, and I'm going to comb your hair down, and I--I'm going to make you a little lamb. I'm going to tie a little pink ribbon around your neck and you're going to be a little lambsie instead of a piggy." You come over and say, "Lambsie, lambsie, lambsie," he'll still go, "Oink, oink." Turn him loose in a pigpen, he'll eat all the slop he can get. Right? It isn't sprinkling him; it isn't putting him in water; it's a death and a birth. Yes, sir. Say, "I ain't going to feed you nothing but alfalfa; I'm going to feed you sheep food." Still feed him alfalfa, he's still pig. That's all. Is that right? Certainly it's right. Why, sure, he's a pig because his nature's a pig.
135 And if you love the world or the things of the world, you're still a pig. That's right. It takes the power of God to transform that soul. Die a pig; lay your pig habits on the altar; lay yourself on there, and let God's sacrifice be--or fire of judgment come down and consume you as a pig, and rebirth you as a lamb. Then you won't eat no slop; you couldn't; your gastronomics won't digest it. You're not right. Won't... It certainly won't make him a--a pig to say--or make him a lamb to say he's a lamb.
136 So a person called a Christian, by some creed or some sensation... You say, "Glory to God, Brother Branham, I danced in the Spirit all night that night. I spoke in tongues, oh, my, Brother Branham." I'm talking to Pentecostals now. "I--I--I danced in the Spirit. Oh, I had sensations, everything like that. But I tell you right now, don't you go talking to me about that there Jesus' Name stuff." Come on, piggy. You're still a pig; that's all.
"My sheep hear My Word." I say, "But, brother, look, find me one place where they was ever baptized in the Name of the Father, Son, Holy Ghost, in the Bible."
"I don't care what that does. Hallelujah. I don't want none of that old Jesus Only stuff." Who said anything about Jesus Only stuff? I'm talking about Bible. Jesus Only is a group of creeds and a group of denominations. One can't call the other one something else, 'cause they're both into it.
But I'm talking about thorough, genuine, one-hundred-percent Christians, borned again of the Spirit of God, and the dewdrops of heaven in their life. That's what I'm talking about. If you're a Methodist and got that, amen. Only thing you have to do is be pointed to the Word, you'll follow it like the duck going to the water. See? Just exactly. See? That's right.
140 People today want shortcuts. They don't want... They--they think you get it just in a minute, "Glory to God." What is it? What is it they do? Tonight they're in a--they're out yonder in the... Like some of these fellows that they got like certain people that I could call names, but I don't want to do it because this is on tape, but they're in a nightclub tonight with a guitar, beating it, and tomorrow morning they're standing in church somewhere beating that same guitar. Filth... The Bible said in Isaiah the 20th chapter, "All tables are full of vomit. As a dog goes to its vomit and a hog to its wallow, so do they." Why? They're still dogs and hogs. That's what makes them return to the wallow and to the vomit. You're still... They ain't borned again. If they're borned again, they're new creatures.
141 Do you know what, you got an old crow, he--he... Don't matter how much you try to... You could paint him just as--just as olive color as a dove, just as gray as a dove, white, paint him all over, he's still a crow inside. See? He's still stinky, an old buzzard just the same, scavenger, eat the dead things of the earth. That's right. But you know what, a dove don't even have to take a bath. Oh, hallelujah. A dove's body, because he is a dove, he's got a oil that comes through his feathers, that just keeps him clean all the time, because it comes from the inside out. Oh. Why? The buzzard say, "Mine too. I put a little holy water on them, brother, it fixed it." No, it didn't. For it comes from the inside out, not from the outside in. It's a birth. "Bless God, I go to church the same as you do. Hallelujah, my church is as good as yours. Hallelujah, we're just as..." All right, you buzzard. See, that's right. See? But a dove is oiled from the inside. There's a--a certain gland in a dove that's not in no other bird like that, dove or pigeon. And he oils hisself from the... Outside, he keeps hisself clean all the time. He don't have to keep hisself clean; there's something inside of him keeps him clean. Oh, Sister Way, hallelujah. Something inside of him keeps him clean.
142 Say, "I know, I joined church last week. I--I'd sure like to take that drink with you, but, huh... Umm, that cigar smells so good! Oh, sister, I know I'm an old model; I have to let my hair grow out now. Ain't it awful? You know them pretty little dresses I used to wear, and everybody, 'Whew-whew' (See?) I have to take it off now. You know, I joined church last week." You miserable wretch, all the holy water in the world couldn't clean you. But, brother, when you got something inside of you, It just washes it away all the time. You just stand still and It washes.
144 You don't have to tell a sheep, "You've got to manufacture." That's what's the matter with the Pentecostal people today. That's what's the matter with all Christiandom. It's trying to manufacture something. A sheep isn't asked to manufacture wool; he bears wool. You bear the fruits of the Spirit. You don't say, "Glory to God, I have to get black in the face; I have to do this; I have to have sensation; I have to dance in the Spirit, and I got It." No, no, uh-huh. Just get borned again and it actually takes place itself. You don't have to say, "Shall I study all night, shall I do this, shall I do that, shall I join this, and shall I make this creed, shall I do these penances?" No, nope. Just die, that's all (See?), be borned again, and it comes from the inside, takes care of the out. See? Sprinkle a little water, and wash them, just like changing a pig to a lamb, you can't do it. But if on the inside he's a lamb, then he won't be a pig no more. See? That's rude remarks; but I'm not educated, I just have to make it.
145 You know, it's... I was thinking, read in the life of John the Baptist the other day, what he said, what he called them, "You generation of vipers." Why? He was raised in the wilderness. See, he knowed what they was. Stomp your foot and they take for cover. "You generation of vipers." Also, "The axe is laid to the root of the tree." Tree, vipers, axes, he talked on what he knowed. That's the way you learn God, by what you know. You see a pig and a lamb, there's no nothing at all. You can't make... You might wash that little old pig up and do everything you want to, he's still a pig. He's got to be reborn before he can be a lamb.
146 Shortcuts... Tonight they're out here today, and they're going on (Oh, my.), and tomorrow they want to preach: Pentecostal people letting them do that too. Yeah. They want a shortcut to heaven, "Hallelujah, all I have to do is get down here and just don't think of nothing at all, and say, 'Hallelujah, hallelujah, I got on Elijah's garment. I'm going out tomorrow to cast out devils. Hallelujah, hallelujah, I got It.' Praise God, here I go." They want the shortcut to heaven, taking as much of the world as they can take. You can't take any of it. There's no shortcuts. You come the way of Calvary. You come the way of the brass altar. You come the way of the brazen serpent. You die. You actually die, O God, why can't I say it right? You die, literally die to yourselves, die to the things of the world, and are borned anew. Amen. No world, the things of the world is dead. There's no shortcuts. See? They want to come right quick; they don't want to grow. We grow in the Lord. It takes growth and experience.
147 People are told out on the West Coast now, "Oh, we got the immortal baptism. We baptize you in water; you turn right back to a young man right there, a young woman. Yes, sir. You keep getting..." They got Elijah's garments; they've got manifested sons of God. "Yes, sir, brother, God's getting manifested sons right now, manifesting, tell them all about this. Tonight you're a sinner; tomorrow you're manifested sons of God." Nonsense. Where do you get that in the Word? Babies are not born men; they're born babies and grow to men.
148 Listen over here; just let me just quote back just a minute and read something to you in Ephesians, the 11th verse, 12th, about the 15th, I believe it is, somewhere along in here. Let's start at the 12th verse.
For the perfection of the saints, for the working of the ministry,... the edifying of the body of Christ:
Till we all come into the unity of the faith, and... the knowledge of the Son of God, into perfected man, and the measure of His stature and the fulness of Christ:
That we from henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine,... (Listen, and what doctrine?)... by the sleight--sleight of men, and cunning crafts, whereby they lay in wait to deceive you;
But speaking the truth in love,... (And, wait, what?)... speaking the truth... (He is the Truth)... in love,... (Listen. Are you listening? Say, "Amen.") [Congregation says, "Amen"--Ed.] (What?)... may grow up unto him... (Ah, what, tomorrow? No, grow up to Him.)... grow up--grow up unto him... which is the head, even Christ: (Growing up into Him, oh, there's...)
149 I remember the first sermon I preached. I got up there, and I--I thought I did real well, and all of the old ladies set around and they cried a little bit, you know, and said, "Oh, what a wonderful boy."
The old pastor, Doctor Davis, was an old lawyer. I went down, and he said, "I want to see you down at the house."
I said, "All right." I walked in next day, you know, all swelled out. I said, "How did I do, Doctor Davis?"
Said, "The rottenest I ever heard."
I said, "What?"
He said, "The worst I ever heard."
"Oh," I said, "Brother Davis, everybody was crying."
He said, "Yes, they cry at funerals, cry at births, everything else." He said, "What it is, Billy, you never quoted one bit of God's Word. You talked about some mother that had done gone on, or something like this, and got everybody to crying." Said, "You're not borned again upon things and sensations of this earth; you're born by the Word." Said, "Billy, I..."
Oh, he cut the wind right out of me. I'm glad he did. See, see? Not jumping up and down, hollering, that isn't it. It's the Word that makes alive. The Word's quickened, not experiences; the Word.
154 He said, "I remember the first case I tried, Billy." He said, "I beat on the rail," and he said, "I said, 'Look at this poor woman.'" Oh, he said, "'Look how she look, and her husband's mistreated her.'" And said, "I cried a little and picked up my handkerchief, and I acted just like the rest of the lawyers." Said, "I thought I'd go through the same emotion." Said, "Judge, your Honor, why don't you give her a divorce. Look at there. She says her husband beat her back across the back." He couldn't even see it, under her underneath clothes. "They beat her across the back." And said, "Why won't you give her..." The old judge just set there, looked.
Directly the old attorney setting across on the other side had growed up; he said, "Judge, your Honor, how much more will--of this nonsense will your court stand?"
Just a lot of carrying on, that's the way too many people do: too much carrying on without enough Word behind it to back up. Grow up. "Oh, he danced in the Spirit last night, Brother Branham; he's all right." No, that don't make him all right to me. No, sir. Got to grow up, be proved, tested, growing up to Him, seasoned.
157 I was reading in the histories not long ago. Am I taking too much time? I was reading in the history of the church. I believe Sister Arnold back there "amen'd" me the other day on something about the history of the church, that she had been reading it. I seen where one night there was a boy in a monastery in the days of Saint Martin, that he said, "The Lord made me an old prophet out of the Old Testament. See? I am one of the old prophets." Well, I cannot call the bishop's name there of this little school, just a little group like this here. I cannot call his name at this time, but he was trained under Martin. It didn't sound just right, so the rest of the brethren just let him alone. Directly he prophesied; he said, "Tonight God's coming down and going to give me a white robe to set among you, and you'll know that I'm one of the prophets of the Old Testament." So that night, twelve o'clock, actually it happened. Voices was heard, people moving around, and the boy got a robe, they said just as white as it could be. He comes out, said, "Didn't I tell you?" Said, "Now, all of you take orders from me. I am the Old Testament prophet."
158 But the old bishop didn't go for it just right. It wasn't the Word. Prophets are not made; they're predestinated. And a prophet wouldn't act like that in the beginning. The fruit of it proved that it wasn't. See? The fruits proved that it wasn't a prophet. See? So he said, "We'll spend the rest of the night in fasting, and praying, and singing of hymns." A day or so passed. After while the old bishop, praying, said, "Lord, that boy..." That garment, to look at it, they'd never knowed nothing, seen anything like it. Writers come and looked, and they never seen anything like it. There it was. Finally, they knowed one man that was a prophet; that was Martin. They said, "All right, one thing now you do to prove to us. Scripturally you're wrong. How about going over to Martin and stand before him and tell him that?" See?
He said, "Oh, I am forbidden to stand before Martin."
159 He that's got good gold don't dread going to the testing machine (Uh-huh, that's right.), he that's got the Truth. That's the reason I make a challenge. Any man come and show me where the baptism in the Name of Jesus Christ is wrong. Show me this birth that you got to die, and if you still got the world in you, you're still of the world. Show me these things. Don't have to worry about it, take it to the testing machine. Here's the Testing Machine. See, see? That's right.
So they said, "You're going anyhow." And a bunch of the brothers picked him up, and the robe vanished. See? Wouldn't Pentecostal people eat that up today? Oh, my. It looked like the real thing, but it wasn't according to the Word.
161 Martin said Satan appeared to him one time, great golden crown on, three or four decks of stars in it like that, glistening and beautiful, great big fellow, nice, handsome, correctly combed and groomed, a great beautiful robe on, and his shoes on his feet was gold, walked out and said, "Martin, do you know me?"
Now, people that don't see visions, this might not--this might not--you might not understand it (See?), but how things come to you in different spirits, and how deceiving they are. The Bible said they would deceive the very elected if it was possible. See? The elected, that's those who are predestinated and born for that purpose. See, see?
163 So he come to this elected; he said, "Martin, do you know me? I am Christ." He said, "Will you recognize me?" Martin hesitated: seemed strange, he waited a minute. And he said again, he said, "Don't you see me? I am Christ. Do you recognize me?" He said it three or four times to him.
Christ said, or Martin said, "Satan, I know you. My Lord is not crowned yet, but His saints shall crown Him." There's the Word back.
That's where that Roman church got so much dogma, evil spirits coming in contrary to the Word, and they had to deny the Word to take their dogma and get away from the Bible. Stay with the Word. That's the string of Life today. There'll be spirits rise after while that'll deceive everything nearly. The Bible said so. "As Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so will these men of reprobated mind concern the Truth," perform miracles and do all kinds of signs. But stay with that Word. The Word of the Lord came to the prophet, and they brought It forth, and we believe the prophets.
Notice, yes, he said, "I know you, Satan." Said, "My Lord is not a big man like that. My Lord went away with a rugged old garment on, with nail scars in His hand, uncrowned, with bloody locks. And when He returns, He'll come like that, for the Bible said He'll return in the like manner as He went." And the thing vanished from him. Oh, my.
167 How he comes in and just makes it so beautiful. "Oh, they spoke in tongues. They--they--they're the best people you ever seen." Don't you believe that. Be leery.
I hope the Word's not boring you. Born Christians grow into the stature of Christ as they live. They're borned again, and their lives begin to shape like a baby. It takes form and begins to grow. First thing you know, here they are in the full stature. Amen. There you are. Day after day, year after year, they stay the same. Now, come back to the Word, "If ye abide in Me..."
169 They say, "I got born again, hallelujah, I joined the... I joined this. I joined. I don't know; last year I believed in Jesus' Name; now I--I backed it out now; I--I believe this. I did believe you had to be holy, but I--I... So-and-so said..." Wanderers, tossed about with every wind of doctrine... See? There you are.
But be borned of the Spirit and grow into the stature of Christ. You see it, Brother Dauch? Growing into the stature of Christ. Through your life, proves... Like if you were borned a prophet, you'll remain that. If you were borned a Christian, you'll remain that. "If ye abide in Me and My Words abide in You..." This grows you up into the stature of Christ, not some young lawyer beating, screaming, crying, tell you this, that, other, make a lot emotions; but somebody who's growed into the stature of Christ, through the years has seasoned out and proved, standing at the helm. No other... "On Christ the solid Rock we stand, all other grounds is sinking sands." Let denominations and creeds come, go, let isms; keep me humble, Lord, stay right with the Word and move right on through the stream. She'll guide us to the shore. Full statue-ment...
171 Now look, if we see how it turns out here, and you can't change after death... Now, you watch these people that come in, gets all the sensations and things, run out and tomorrow they're this way. Have you seen it? Hundreds of them. See? And you see, you--you see what happens. And now, what if them people died in that state? Death doesn't change it.
So, O Christians, in closing this Words, let me say this. Let us turn to Him and His Word with all sincerity. Come humbly like Christians, and be born again of His Spirit. And when you are born again, you are vindicated a Christian by the fruits that you bear. You get that, Sister Peckenpaugh? You are a Christian by your fruits that you bear. "By their fruits you shall know them." That's a vindication. You might not know your abc's, but yet you can be a lady, a Christian. You might be hated of the world (If you do it because something you've done, you should be.), but if you're hated for His sake, that's different.
173 You might not--you might not be a theologian. Look at the blind man that was born blind. Jesus healed him. He had been born from birth; he didn't even have eyeballs. And Jesus made him well, healed him. And when that man came to see, and the Pharisees questioned him, said, "Who was he?" They couldn't deny that something had been done. Now, the man was not a theologian. He couldn't argue like preachers would do, little technique things; he couldn't explain to them. He didn't know the Testament. He didn't know how the Messiah was to be born and the works He was to do. The man didn't know it. He wasn't a theologian. But what did he do? They said, "Give God praise. We are theologians, and we know He's a sinner."
174 Now, the men couldn't deny their word, but here's what he did say, in other words, "If--if He is a sinner and does this, then what's the matter with you fellows? (See?) What's the matter with you all?" He said, "Whether He's a sinner or not, I don't know; I can't say that. But this one thing I do know; wherein I was once blind, I now see." What was he doing? He was vindicated. That's right. He was being a-vindicated. Something had happened to him. His being was changed from darkness to light, from blind to sight.
And a man that's borned of the Spirit of God, that once had a form of godliness, deny the Word thereof, and the power thereof, and to saying "The days of miracles is passed..." When he's born again, he might not be a scholar, he might not be able to explain It, but he believes It. Like the...
176 If my colored brethren and sisters here forgive me for saying this... A good old colored brother down south, they told a little story of him, said he was packing a Bible and he couldn't even read his name. And he said, "Mose, why do you pack that Bible?"
Said, "It's the Word of God."
They said, well, said, "Do you believe It?"
He said, "Yes, sir, I sure do believe It." Said, "I believe It from 'civer' to 'civer,' and believe the 'civer' also, because It's got Holy Bible wrote on It."
Said, "How do you know It's a Holy Bible?" Said, "How do you know It is?"
He said, "I just believes it. That's all." That's all he had to have. He just believed It. He didn't know why, but he believed It.
They said to him, "Mose, do you, would you do anything that Bible said do?"
"Yes, sir." He said, "If the Bible said so, I'd do it." There you are.
He said, "All right, Mose." He said, "Now, what, if that stone fence there, if the Lord told you to jump through that stone fence, would you, how'd you jump through the stone fence?"
He said, "Does the Bible say for Mose to jump through that stone fence?"
He said, "But what if God would speak to you and tell you to jump through the stone fence?"
He said, "If it was God, and He told me to jump, I'd jump."
He said, "How you going to get through that fence without a hole in it?"
He said, "If it was God, He'd have the hole there when Mose got there." And that's right. Right.
186 You dare to take God's Word and stand there and say It's so. Let this poor little nervous woman here, thinks she's going to die, and everything else is wrong with her... See? You're not dying. Say, "How can I do it, Brother Branham?" Just take His Word and step on It one time once. Stand on that Word, see what happens. Tell the devil he's a liar. You've been in menopause all these years, about fifty-seven years old. And get away from the thing, it's the devil. Take God's Word and say, "By His stripes I am healed," watch what takes place. Then you'll quit thinking you got heart attacks and everything. You don't have no heart attacks and all that stuff. It's a lie. You don't have it. Just believe God's Word. That's right.
187 When you're borned again, God vindicates you. That's how God vindicates all of His nature. What? By their fruits. That's the way He vindicates His ministry. That's right. All of His servants are vindicated the same way He vindicates nature. How do you know it's a peach tree? 'Cause it bring peaches. How do you know it's an apple tree? Bearing apples. How do you know it's a Christian? Christian signs bear from it; Christian life comes out of it. How do you know he's a teacher? The Word comes from him. How do you know he's a prophet? The Word comes through him, bears record, vindication. It proves itself. How does it become that? When it dies and becomes one. That's right. When we die and become a new creature in Christ Jesus, it gets us with our calling; we stay with our calling. The fruits of the Spirit follow us when we are His servants. When we are borned again, the fruits of Christ's Life follows us. That's right. How do you know it's a peach tree? It's got peaches. How do you know he's a Christian? He acts like Christ; he walks like Christ; he talks like Christ; he lives like Christ, above sin, victorious. What does he do, say, "See what I done"? Christ didn't do that. He gave all praise to the Father. That's right. That's how you know it. By their fruits you shall know them. What must...
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be born again he cannot even understand the Kingdom of God."
189 So not my New Year's message here at twelve-thirty, or twenty minutes till one, but my advice is to you, Christian, you who love God: when you come to God's brass altar of judgment, and you want to be born again, just lay yourself upon there. Don't expect to pick up again; you're going to die. That's the end of you. That's all. If you don't do it, if you don't feel like you can do that, don't, don't try it, it won't work; deeply, sincerely. With about ten pages more of this lesson here, or more, Scriptures, I quit.
But lay yourself upon God's brazen altar of God's judgment and become just as dead to the world as Christ was. See? Come just as dead as the judged serpent was in the garden of Eden, had done been represented in the form of a brass serpent: no life at all in it at all; all of its life was gone. Christ was lifeless; they took Him from the cross and buried Him in the grave. He was--He was dead. And then He rose for our justification. And we die with our Lamb on the altar and are raised again for--in His justification. How do we know? Because His Life that raised Him from that dead condition, that same Life raises us from our dead condition of the world into a new creature in Christ Jesus, and then by the Holy Ghost we're sealed in the Kingdom of God until the day of our redemption.
190 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be born again he cannot understand the Kingdom of God." Don't try to understand It. You'll never do it. Jesus said you could not. Just accept It; accept It on the basis of His Word.
Don't walk in blindly now, and say, "O Lord, give me a sensation." Don't, "Lord, I tell You." No. Just say, "Lord, kill me; take the world out of me. I--I--I still love the things of the world." I don't mean the creation, sunsets and beauty, and stuff like that; that ain't what I'm talking about. I'm thinking about the lust, the filth, the world order, all these things of the world. Just, they just die, just automatically die, and you've got no... They've got no more hold on you. They become stinky to you, "Uh, just don't see how people live in them." You cry out. More you see of it, the worse you get. Yes, sir. You can't compromise with it. There's no place to compromise. There's no place to put yourself in there when there's world in there. You're dead to them things. And how can you, once being dead to the world, then associate in the things of it again? Can't do it. So don't do that. Die to the things of the world.
192 The Lord bless you. Be borned again Christians. Be borned again, then you won't have to say, "It's the hardest thing," you women, "for me to let my hair grow out." "It's the hardest thing for me to let my temper go," you men. "Boy, I just have to tell my wife. I get her, boy, and I shake her and I say, 'I know I'm a Christian, oughtn't to do it, but you shut-up and you set down.'" Huh-uh, don't do that. See?
You'd like to see a time you could put your arm around her, and say, "Sweetheart, that isn't becoming to a Christian." That's the way you want to be, isn't it? You can be that way. See? And when a man slaps you on one side of the face, you don't have to cut him down with a pocketknife. See? A man slaps you on one side of the face, say, "Brother, what reason did you do that for?" See? There you are. That's Christianity. When somebody says something evil about you, instead of just trying to make a big show of it, slip off somewhere and say, "Heavenly Father, the man is a mortal. I pray that You will take that spirit out of him. Don't let him do that. Pray You save his life."
194 Don't say, "Lord, I know I oughtn't to say it." Well, you might not say it with your lips, but mean it in your heart. See? It's your heart's what counts. See? When you're borned again of the Spirit of God, you actually love everybody. Now, you don't love their ways and things like that, don't want to partake of it. No, sir. Stay away from the things of the world, but you just keep yourself spotless. And the only way you have to do it, it comes from the inside out, like the dove fixing his feathers. You see? He don't have to fix them, say, "Now, today I must wipe all this off," and then like that. No, he's got a oil on the inside of him because he's a dove, just keeps him clean. See? That's right.
195 Won't you do that? Won't you receive Him like that? That's my persuasion to you on this New Year's Eve. I persuade this little Tabernacle. How I love you, how I love this little group of people. How I would like to come in sometime, walk down through this building, and just look. You know what I've always longed to see? A church filled with the Spirit, that sin could not even be around it. As soon as one member done something wrong, the Spirit would call it right out. He'd be afraid to join himself with the Christians before confessing it and making it right, because he'd be called right out at the meeting when you get together. You see there? Wouldn't that be lovely? Then the unclean come in and set down among you, the first thing you know, the Holy Spirit speaks in such a way that reveals the secrets of their heart (See?), telling them. Now, if it'll work on one, it will on the other. See, see? And everybody in prayer, all of you as one unit, one person, just one person, like we're all members of this body moving right along, all borned again of the Spirit of God, filled with the same Spirit, baptized into the same body, wouldn't that be wonderful? Now, we can have it. God promised it to us. But first, death, burial, and resurrection with Him.
196 Let us bow our heads now for prayer. There's some handkerchiefs laying here also.
Holy God, we realize, Lord, that the sacredness of standing in this spot... We realize that we are in the House of God. We're in, associating with the Body of Christ, which is the House of God. The members of the Body are assembled together. There's one coming from one place, and one another, gathering together. And today on this Sunday school lesson, it's been long and drawed out. But, Father, I believe that it's ordained of You, that it should be this way, that we might understand what birth and resurrection mean, what it means to be borned again. We have to... First things first, we have to die in order to be borned again. You never change Your law. The law of nature still provides. The law of nature is that any seed must first die in order to be borned again. And we realize that we too must die in order to be born again. And so many, Lord, today, I pray You forgive us, so many has depended upon certain experiences they had, that they claim they're borned again. But the fruits of their life shows that it--they were brought on the wrong tree.
198 That was my reason, Father, as this morning asking if Brother Neville spoke to me to bring a message, I'd just teach Sunday school. And therefore, Father, I've done it with--with love and with all my heart, that the people might know, that--to not rest upon some little experience they had, but to rest solemnly on their day-by-day life; how they live in the times when they're in the church, and how they live when the--the great strain comes on the outside. Do they flee to the cross for help when trouble arises, or do they walk in their own spirit and own thoughts? Do they rile back when they're riled upon? That's this question, Father. And when we see that it's totally impossible for any of us to save the other, that God has made an appropriated way, a--a all-sufficient Sacrifice, and It's the only way that we can come, not by any church, any creed, any denomination, any sensation, but by the way of Christ... As the first man, the righteous died, he died on the altar with his lamb. And to this very hour, every other righteous man has to die on the brazen altar of God with his Lamb Christ Jesus. Then we are dead with Him and raised anew in a new Life. Grant it, Lord, that it won't miss any heart in here.
199 Let us think it over today, Lord, as we return this afternoon again at seven-thirty to begin here a series of meetings in preaching tonight. I pray that You'll bless every one of Your servants tonight with mighty messages, Lord. Grant it. May our souls be filled. These people that's drove so far to come in, may there--be so filled with the Gospel of the power of God through this New Year's Eve, that they'll go away from here happy and rejoicing. Grant it, Lord, giving them spiritual Food for the coming year. Grant it.
Forgive us of our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us. And You said, "If you from your heart do not forgive every man his trespasses, neither does your heavenly Father forgive you." So, Lord, we forgive everyone. We by faith this morning lay our souls upon the altar; and burn every bit of the life of the world out of us, Lord. May the smoke come up from our sacrifice, Lord, and be sweet-smelling odor in Your nostrils. Grant it, Lord, as we don't lay a burnt lamb, but lay ourselves up there as sinners to be burned as sinners, and changed into lambs of a new birth. Grant it, Lord.
201 And then lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil; the evil of sickness, the evil of depressed. Heal everyone that's in the building this morning. Every sick person may be healed today, Lord. I speak these words in the Name of the Lord Jesus, that the mountains that lays before the people, may they all be moved today. If it's sickness, if it's lust, if it's passions, if it's anything of the world, may it move out of the way, and let the Word of God come in and be made manifest in their life. Deliver us from evil; for Thine is the Kingdom, Lord, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
I love Him, I love Him
Because He first loved me
And purchased my salvation
On Calvary's tree.
Now, shake one another's hand.
I love Him, I... (Just turn right around, say, "Greetings, my brother, greetings.")
Because He first loved me
And purchased my salvation
On Calvary's tree. (Keep on playing.)
202 I want to thank each one of you for all your kindness this past year. I'll probably get my message tonight, the Lord willing, at seven-thirty. I want to thank Charlie and Nellie, and Rodney and his wife, for their kindness, hunting season as I was down there, and they treated me as if I was their father or their brother. To all you people that's been so kind to me, thank you. Brother and Sister Dauch, and Brother Wright, oh, so--Brother Ben, many, oh, all you people, Brother Palmer and, you know, all of you from Georgia, all around everywhere, thank you.
By the way, Margie's father, they called yesterday and said he was sick. Is--is Margie and Rodney here? They're not? How is the old fellow? [A brother in the congregation says, "He might be just a little bit better."--Ed.] Let's just, slowly, let's pray.
204 Heavenly Father, a few weeks ago I set on the little country porch way back up on the road in Kentucky. An aged old daddy set out there with his overalls on and his faded blue shirt, trembling. Took him by the hand and seen that he was nearing the end... A little old mother invited me in to have some biscuits and gravy. Lord, they were only respecting Your Word. Now, he's just barely here; he's leaving us. Don't let him die a sinner, Lord. Maybe it's been our--Your servant's, Lord, fault. That poor old man, knowing nothing but beating out the clods and making a living for his children, but I found in him a good gentle spirit. Don't let him die a sinner. His daughter is one of us, Lord. And how little old Margie, them little shoulders aching, and how she's ministered to me and trying to make me a bed to sleep in down there, and a--a breakfast at the table, and her, and Nellie, and Charlie, and all of them, mother Cox. "And she's crying," they said, "on the phone. Her daddy is going." That's her daddy.
205 Lord, come to that oxygen tent just now; don't knock on the tent, but that tent of the door of his heart. Maybe some of us hasn't fulfilled our duty to go to him, Lord. Some of Your other servants, maybe in his young days when his mind was alert, maybe it's our fault, Lord, that we didn't persuade him. Then forgive us, Lord, and take him into Thy Kingdom. Grant it, Father. We commit him to You now. If it be possible, or be in Your great plan, if You'll raise him up, Lord, maybe some of us will have a chance to talk to him yet. However, our plea is for his soul, Lord, 'cause it's going to take its journey pretty soon, it seems like, sailing out into the unknown yonder, oh, with no pilot, no one to guide him through the fog and mist yonder. He'll lose his way, Lord. May the Pilot that knows the way, come to him this morning, anchor his little ship against the side of the old ship of Zion. When he takes his journey, he'll be sure to land in safety. Grant it, Father, we commit him to You now, in the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
206 I love Him, I love Him (Let's raise our hands.)
Because He first loved me
And purchased my salvation
On Calvary's tree.
Tonight I'll try to be a little quicker with the message, not as I was this morning. Now, slip away. I wish I could take you all up home with me, give you all a good dinner. I'd sure do it if I could. But I hope that the Lord gives you a--a real meal, spiritually speaking, in His goodness and mercy, that you'll see it and grow unto the full stature of Him that you love, your Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Now, as we leave the building, and stand for prayer, dismissal, we want to sing our song, and be sure that you obey it, "Take The Name Of Jesus With You." All right. You're going to dismiss...?... Now, we're going to make announcement just in a moment, got announcement soon as we sing our song. All right.
Take the Name of Jesus with you,
Child of sorrow and of woe;
It will joy and comfort give you,
Take it everywhere you go.
Precious Name (Precious Name), (O how sweet!)
Hope of earth and joy of... (Lord Jesus, heal these people...?...)... (How sweet!)
Hope of earth and joy of heaven.
Take the Name of Jesus with you,
As a shield from every snare; (Listen, now what?)
When temptations 'round you gather, (What do you do?)
Just breathe that holy Name in prayer.
Precious Name, O how sweet!
Hope of earth and joy of heaven;
Precious Name (Precious Name), O how sweet!
Hope of earth and joy of heaven.
207 Now remember, I believe that Jesus Christ says this to every human being on His first doctrine, "Except a man be born of the water (That's the Word, washing of the water by the Word.) and of the Spirit (which is the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit confirming the Word), he cannot see the Kingdom of heaven." Do you believe that? See? Of the water, washing of the water by the Word, Word and Truth, He is the Truth. Water and Spirit, the Spirit coming with the Word to confirm the Word, making God live in me... See? We cannot understand the Kingdom of heaven till that's happened. Then when that begins to happen, that we see the Word in us, born of the Word and of the Spirit, manifesting Itself, leading me not away from the Word; the Spirit leads me to the Word, and the Word living in me, making God manifest in your life, you'll never understand the Kingdom of God and can no wise enter into it. God bless you. Brother Neville.