Prečo?
A čudujem sa, prečo máme všade toľko zmätku, tak veľa organizácií, tak veľa rozdielov, oddelených bratstiev a všetko možné. Je to preto, že nieto Balzamu v Gileáde? Je to preto, že tam nieto Lekára? Som zvedavý, či by sa nás Boh opýtal túto otázku. No, nebolo to preto, že tam nemali lekára. Mali. Boh bol tým Lekárom. Čiže to nebolo preto, že nebolo Boha v Izraelovi. Bol tam Boh. A mali tam proroka, od ktorého si mohli dať poradiť a zistiť, ako sa veci majú. Ale bola to len kráľova vlastná tvrdohlavá vôľa. Presne tak.
A to je to, čo sa deje v tomto dnešnom národe. Je to len vlastná tvrdohlavá vôľa ľudí. Nie že by sme nemali toho istého Boha, ktorý prešiel cez Červené More so Svojimi ľuďmi, kŕmil ich štyridsať rokov v divočine. Nie je to preto, že by sme nemali toho istého Boha, akého sme mali na začiatku. Je to len vlastný tvrdohlavý spôsob ľudí. Jednoducho sa len nechcú skloniť. Nechcú mať nič spoločné so svätosťou a čistotou žitia biblickým spôsobom. Radšej by patrili do cirkvi a mali svoje meno v nejakej knihe a žili ako zvyšok sveta, ako sa pokloniť zasľúbeniam a prikázaniam Všemohúceho Boha. To je to, čo sa dnes deje. To je ten dôvod, prečo sú veci také, aké sú, že ľudia sa vzďaľujú od Slova. Nikdy nebudete schopní dať sa do poriadku, dokiaľ sa znova nedostanete na tú správnu cestu.
1Ďakujem, brat Johnson. Dobrý večer, priatelia. Je to skutočne veľké privilégium byť tu dnes večer, to je jedna vec, byť znova v Arkansase, a druhá vec je byť znovu na tomto kempe. Myslím, že to je moje prvé kempové zhromaždenie, ktorého som sa po dlhom čase zúčastnil. Mal som tu pozvanie, aby som tu prišiel, a tak som začal s vami. A počul som, že odvtedy, ako sme sem prišli, že ste prežívali tu na týchto zhromaždeniach nádherný čas. A som za to vďačný.
2A ako som tak pred chvíľou išiel dolu cestou so svojím synom, rozprávali sme sa, ako sme pred rokmi prvýkrát prišli do Arkansasu na moje prvé zhromaždenia. Keď som s tým prvýkrát začal, bolo to práve v Arkansase, jednako to bol taký evanjelizačný typ zhromaždení. A odvtedy som bol sedemkrát okolo sveta a teraz som znovu v Arkansase. Je to, ako keď robíte pokútny obchod, vždy sa vám to vracia. A mám taký pocit, že takmer všade v Spojených štátoch som sa pýtal, „Sú tu nejakí ľudia z Arkansasu?“ Vždy som mal v Arkansase priateľov, takmer všade. A vždy som povedal: myslím, že niektoré z najpravdivejších sŕdc, ktoré kedy búšili, boli pod tými starými modrými tričkami dolu v Arkansase. Skutočne milí ľudia! Mám vás rád.
3A som vďačný Bohu za túto príležitosť byť tu späť dnes večer v Arkansase, byť tu s vami. Myslím, že nám v tomto kempe zostávajú ešte tri večerné zhromaždenia, takže som rád, že som dostal tú príležitosť prísť sem a vyjadriť moju lásku voči Ježišovi Kristovi a mať obecenstvo s vami ľuďmi a s našou milou skupinou bratov, ktorá tu je, dokonca mnohých z nich ani nepoznám. Ale len som sa tak obzeral dookola a zazrel som jedného, ktorého poznám, brata Jacka Moora. A hneď som ho, rovnako ako aj sestru Moorovú, spoznal. A tak sme istotne šťastní, že tu môžeme byť.
4No, viete, za ten celý dlhý deň sa jednako musíte unaviť, viete, fyzicky unaviť. Nikdy nedostávame dostatok... nikdy sa neunavíme z oslavovania a dobrorečenia Bohu za Jeho dobrotu a za to, aký je On nádherný. A potom, po celom tom dlhom dni, a potom nadišiel večer a práve vtedy som prišiel. A bol som jedným z tých kazateľov, ktorým bola daná možnosť, aby dlho hovorili. Ale nemyslím, že to dnes tak urobím, kvôli tejto tlačenici na týchto zhromaždeniach. Bezpochyby ste počuli veľkých rečníkov po celý deň a behom všetkých týchto zhromaždení. A po takom niečom sa teraz postaviť na pódium pred všetkých týchto veľkých rečníkov, to spôsobuje, že sa cítim dosť malý, ako tu stojím.
5Jeden z kazateľov, s ktorým som si práve podal ruku, mi povedal, že toto sú vaše prvé zhromaždenia, ktoré tu máte v tejto modlitebni, ako by som to nazval; neviem, čo to presne je, nejaký chrám alebo čokoľvek. A sme istotne vďační mať znova tú príležitosť prísť do tejto novej cirkvi, do niečoho, čo je vybudované na chválu a česť Božiu. Ó, aké nádherné!
6A my sme sa práve presťahovali späť, alebo nie presťahovali... Práve sme prišli na detské prázdniny pre deti. Žijeme v Tucsone, v Arizone. A bolo tam hrozne horúco, ale začíname zisťovať, že tu doma to je trochu horúcejšie, ako to bolo tam, pretože tu je hrozne vlhko. A to nás tak trochu unavuje, potom, ako sme zvyknutí na taký vzduch, aký máme tam.
7Dostali sme sa domov a minulú nedeľu sme mali prvé zhromaždenie a videli sme, ako Pán Ježiš pokračuje vo Svojom veľkom diele lásky a moci medzi ľuďmi. A to isté Evanjelium, ktoré som vám kázal pred pätnástimi rokmi tu v Arkansase, ja stále verím, že to je tá istá vec. Len to nijako nemeňte. To je Kristus.
8V nedeľu sa v cirkvi niečo udialo. Nejako som sa obzeral dookola a videl som človeka, s ktorým sa stal zázrak.
9Všimnite si, máme to radi, keď sa chválime Pánom Ježišom. Máme to radi. A raz prišla jedna žena, ktorá mi povedala, že jediná chyba, ktorú na mne mohla nájsť, bolo, že „som sa až príliš chválil Ježišom.“ Povedal som, „Tak to potom istotne pôjdem do neba, ak sú toto všetky chyby, ktoré mám, že sa chválim Ježišom.“ Ale ona si skrátka nemyslela, že On bol Božský. Ona sa len pokúšala povedať, že bol len človekom alebo filozofom, či prorokom alebo niečím podobným. Ale ja som na to povedal, že On je Bohom. A tak my...
Ona povedala, „Môžem ti dokázať, že On nebol Bohom.“
Povedal som jej, „Ó, nemyslím, že sa ti to podarí.“
Povedala, „Ó, môžem ti dokázať, že bol len človekom.“
10Povedal som, „No, uznám, že bol človekom, ale On bol človekom aj Bohom.“
Na to povedala, „On nemohol byť Bohom.“
Povedal som, „Ó, On bol Bohom a On je Bohom.“
11Povedala, „Ó, nemohol byť.“ Povedala, „Dokážem ti to tvojou vlastnou Bibliou.“
Povedal som, „Dobre.“
12A povedala, „V Jánovi v 11. kapitole na ceste dolu k Lazarovmu hrobu Biblia hovorí, že 'Ježiš plakal.'“
Povedal som, „No a čo to má s tým spoločné?“
13Odvetila, „Dobre, ale ak plakal, to dokazuje, že nebol Bohom.“
14Povedal som, „Pani, tvoj argument je tenší ako vývar uvarený z kuraťa, ktoré umrelo hladom.“ Povedal som, „Toľko by si mala vedieť.“ Povedal som, „On bol človekom, ako išiel k Lazarovmu hrobu a plakal, to je pravda. Ale keď vystrel svoje malé ramená a povedal, 'Lazar, vyjdi von,' a ten človek bol schopný postaviť sa na svoje nohy potom, ako bol štyri dni mŕtvy a znova ožil, to už bolo viac ako človek, že dokázal urobiť niečo také.“ A ja stále verím, že On tým je.
15V nedeľu, ako sme hovorili... Poprosil som ľudí, aby sa prešli po modlitebni a navzájom si podali ruky. A bol tam jeden milý priateľ, práve som sa naučil, ako ho milovať. Práve prišiel do zboru, on a jeho manželka. Ona bola registrovanou zdravotnou sestrou. Ale on sám bol Angličanom. Ona bola Nórka. Ako sa to vôbec stalo, to neviem. Ale akokoľvek, obaja sú milí ľudia. A tento brat mal niečo zlé, niečo so svojím srdcom. A on je Kresťanom a tiež intelektuálnym mužom, robí nejakú svetskú prácu pre účtovníkov, a tak ďalej. A otočil sa a vtedy ho zasiahol srdcový infarkt, načo sa hneď zrútil na zem, mŕtvy.
16A jeho manželka, keďže bola zdravotnou sestrou, rýchlo ho chytila a odmerala mu srdcový pulz, „Je preč.“ A pozrel som sa na jeho tvár, bola skutočne tmavá, oči mu sčerneli. Nielenže zavrel svoje oči, ale aj sa mu dokonca vytlačili dopredu. A bol... Práve som vystúpil na pódium snažiac sa utíšiť obecenstvo, veľa ľudí sa snažilo pomôcť tej sestre, samozrejme, v takom stave, v akom bol jej manžel. Niekto mu potom niečo položil na hlavu, vlastne pod hlavu.
17Uchopil som jeho srdce, aby... jeho pulz na ruke a nebolo ho tam o nič viac ako na tomto kuse dreva. A potom som si kľakol a modlil sa, „Pane Ježišu, prosím Ťa, daruj život späť nášmu bratovi Wayovi.“ A potom jeho srdce zabúšilo štyri alebo päťkrát, a potom sa znova pravidelne rozbúšilo. A tak sa znova postavil a snažil sa nejako rozhovoriť. Nemohol nič povedať, bol... Krv sa zastavila, viete, keď srdce prestalo pracovať. A trvalo to nejaký čas, kým jeho krv začala správne cirkulovať. A počul som, ako zavolal moje meno, a tak som potom vyšiel späť na pódium.
18Brat Way, možno by si sa mohol teraz postaviť, aby ľudia videli, čo to je za človeka. To je ten muž, ktorý padol mŕtvy v nedeľu ráno na srdcový infarkt. [Zhromaždenie sa raduje. - pozn.prekl.] Sestra Wayová, jeho manželka, zdravotná sestra, ktorá tam stála, aby mu odmerala tlak, pozrite sa. Všimnite si, že on... Tak som...
19Pre ľudí, ktorí by také veci neverili, to môže znieť veľmi divne. Ale mnohokrát som videl, ako Pán Ježiš vzkriesil mŕtvych. A to nie je pre nás nijako nové, takže by sme... Myslím, že je to dobré chváliť sa Ježišom, ale myslím si, že by tam mala byť aj nejaká pravda, čím sa to vlastne chválite. Videli sme Ho, ja sám som Ho videl v posledných pätnástich rokoch, ako v mnohých nevyvrátiteľných prípadoch vzkriesil mŕtvych.
20Raz jeden v Mexiku, kde sme ja a brat Moore stáli v Mexico City, jedno malé dieťa tam v jedno ráno zomrelo o deviatej hodine na zápal pľúc, v ordinácii lekára. A tá malá žena, nemohli sme sa ku nej dostať, aby sme... No, ten človek tam rozdal všetky modlitebné karty a mali sme tam len volať čísla, ako potom budú prichádzať. A už nebolo viac žiadnych modlitebných kariet. A táto malá španielska sestra, asi tak dvadsaťpäťročná, odhadujem, mala tam malé, mŕtve dieťa a akurát v tom čase tam pršalo, takže ho mala schované pod dekou.
21A jeden večer dozadu, bol tam jeden slepý muž, bol asi tak starý, ako by bol teraz môj otec, asi sedemdesiat rokov, slepý a získal svoj zrak, práve keď som sa zaňho modlil. A v ten večer, to pódium, asi tak široké ako toto tu, boli tam kopy, ó, vysoké kopy, asi dve alebo tri stopy so šálmi, klobúkmi a starými rúchami, ktoré tam tí ľudia naskladali.
22A táto malá žena sa tam snažila dostať. A Billy Paul, môj syn tam prišiel a povedal, „Oci, mám tam veľa uvádzačov a nikto z tých troch stoviek tam nedokáže udržať tú malú ženu.“ Mala tam to mŕtve dieťa pod malou, modrou dekou.
Povedal som, „V poriadku,“ povedal som bratovi Jackovi Moorovi, „poďme dole.“
23Ja mám totižto s bratom Jackom Moorom veľa spoločných vecí. Nechcem tým povedať, že vyzeráme rovnako, pretože on je takým dobre-vyzerajúcim mužom. Ale jedna vec na bratovi Moorovi, obidvaja si tak isto striháme vlasy. [Brat Branham a zhromaždenie sa smejú. – pozn.prekl.] Máme teda veľa spoločných vecí. Myslel som si, „Ona ma predsa nikdy nepoznala,“ museli ma tam dostať dolu po povrazoch, a tak ďalej. Tak som ho tam dolu poslal, aby sa tam modlil za to malé dieťa. Myslel som si, „No, oni... ona nikdy nebude poznať rozdiel.“
24A tak som začal znovu hovoriť, keď... Brat Espinoza, mnohí tu z vás bratov ho asi poznáte, zo Západného pobrežia, robil tam tlmočníka. Bolo to tam vonku pri býčom ringu v Mexico City. A pozrel som sa dolu na obecenstvo a videl som videnie, v ktorom sedí malé mexické dieťa a usmieva sa na mňa. Tak som povedal, „Priveďte tú malú pani sem.“ Tak som na to malé, mŕtve, stuhnuté a studené stvorenie položil ruky. Jeho nohy začali kopať a začalo to kričať a bolo to... jednoducho to bolo živé.
25A tak som poslal poslíka, Espinoza poslal, aby to overil s lekárom, aby urobil nejaké vyhlásenie, predtým, ako by to mohli napísať. Lekár napísal prísažné vyhlásenie, že to dieťa v to ráno zomrelo v jeho ordinácii o deviatej, a toto sa udialo asi o desať-tridsať v ten večer. A to dieťa je dnes živé, teší sa z dobrého zdravia, na česť a slávu Božiu.
26A tak, videli sme udiať sa mnoho takých vecí. Nemuseli by sme to o bratovi Wayovi povedať, ale pravda je pravda. A Boh nerobí tieto veci len preto, aby... On chce, aby to bolo známe ľuďom, a aby ľudia vedeli, že On ich miluje. A z milosti Božej, brat Way tu s nami dnes večer sedí a je živý. A iste sme za to vďační.
27Myslel som si, že ako som bol na tých kempoch, ako som tam prišiel, nechcel som prerušiť ten veľký čas. Billy mi hovoril, dnešné popoludnie, povedal, „Hovoríš o skutočných staromódnych Letniciach,“ povedal, „počkaj ale, keď sa tam dostaneš!“ Povedal, „Spievajú tam, ako keby tam mali prežitie už päťdesiat rokov.“
Povedal som, „Hádam aj niektorí z nich mali, áno, kľudne aj päťdesiat rokov.“
28A mám to skutočne rád, keď sa dostanem do takého zhromaždenia, myslím, že to je tak s každým z nás, keď sa do toho dostaneme správnym spôsobom.
29Ako som aj raz zvykol hovorievať jeden príbeh o rybárčení. Hore v New Hampshire, chytal som tam pstruhy. A hore, na vrchu tej hory, mal som tam malý stan, asi takýto malý áčkový stan od vlády. A podarilo sa mi nájsť miesto, kde bolo veľa pstruhov, bolo to vzadu pod kríkom. A bola tam taká vŕba, a vždy, keď som si chcel namočiť mušku, vždy sa to zachytilo o tú vŕbu. A tak v to ráno, vstal som a išiel som tam dosť skoro, pričom som si myslel, že tie vŕby zotnem. Len by som... Ak by som tú rybu zabil, tak by som ju zjedol, ináč by som ju pustil. A tak som tam mal celý týždeň, a to bolo všetko, o čo som sa musel starať, a okrem toho som tam bol sám.
30A keď som tam v to ráno bol preč, na ceste späť, stará medvedica s dvomi mladými mláďatami sa mi tam dostali do stanu. A veľa môžete počuť o tom, ako sa veci zničia, ale tieto to skutočne riadne pokazili. Všetko tam roztrhali. A tak som si myslel... Keď som sa vrátil, počul som nejaký hluk a poobzeral som sa a obchádzal som okolo nejakých malých kríkov. A tá stará matka medvedica a ostatní si to tam pekne užívali, vo všetkom sa prehrabávali.
31A ona ma uvidela, tak sa rozbehla a zabrumela na svoje mladé. Jedno z tých jej mláďat išlo, ale to druhé nie. A bolo to také malé stvorenie, asi takto vysoké. A takto tam sedelo. Myslel som si, „No, do čoho je tento kamarát tak zaujatý?“
32A tak som sa tam prešiel a poobzeral. A povedal som mu, „Zmizni odtiaľto! Vypadni!“ A len tam tak sedel. Myslel som si... A tak som sledoval tú starú matku, pretože, viete, ako tam mala svoje malé, ona by sa nedala, poškriabala by vás, viete. Tak som len sledoval; a bol tam jeden strom, ktorý bol celkom blízko. A tam v stane mi ležala moja stará hrdzavá pištoľ, pravdepodobne už aj tú rozmlátili. Ale jednako, nechcel som zastreliť tú starú matku a nechať tam v lese dve siroty. Tak som len sledoval tento strom prechádzajúc dookola, aby som videl, z čoho bol tento malý taký fascinovaný.
33A viete, mám rád palacinky. My... my sme všetci severania, či nie? [Zhromaždenie hovorí, „Amen.“ - pozn.prekl.] Lievance je to, čo tam dole robia, viete. Tak... A skutočne ich mám rád a viete... Nie je na mne práve veľa z metodistu; veľmi rád vylievam melasu. A skutočne som ich správne pokrstil, celé som ich tým popolieval. Nemám práve rád iba také malé pofŕkanie, ako to zvyknete robiť tu, iba trochu. Mám to rád tak, keď to skutočne celé popolievate, viete, dobre premiešané a potom také ťažké.
34A mal som tam jeden galón, plné vedro dobrej cirokovej melasy. A ten malý medveď sa dostal až na vrch a skutočne sa tešil z tej mojej melasy. Tak som ho len sledoval, ako tam išiel okolo toho rohu. Takto zobral svoju malú labku a strčil ju do toho vedra, viete. A nevedel, ako odtiaľ tú melasu vytiahnuť, takže len stále strkal svoju labu dolu do mojej melasy, hrabal sa v nej, až kým ju celú nevylízal.
35A to si píšte, že keď som to nakoniec zvládol a podarilo sa mi upútať jeho pozornosť, stále sa na mňa díval. Nemohol ma vidieť, lebo bol celý od melasy, od vrchu svojej hlavy až po spodok. Jeho malé brucho bolo plné melasy. A jeho oči, dokonca ich ani nemohol otvoriť, aby sa na mňa pozrel, viete, len sa tak pokúšal.
36Pomyslel som si, „To je pravda. Nie je žiadneho odsúdenia tým, ktorí jedia.“ Keď si oblečieme tú myseľ toho starého dobrého letničného zhromaždenia, keď strčíme svoje ruky do toho medového pohára, asi takto hlboko, viete, z toho letničného medu.
37Viete, ale to zvláštne na tom je to, že potom, ako si naplnil brucho a vyprázdnil moje vedro, prišiel ku svojej mame a malému bratovi a tá mama z neho ten zvyšok vylízala.
38Takže, viete, dúfam, že dnes tu toho toľko naberieme, že keď potom prídeme domov, tí, ktorí tu s nami neprišli, to z nás všetko vylížu, trochu z nášho prežitia, povieme im o tých veľkých veciach, ktoré Pán učinil tu v Hot Springs. Nech vás Pán žehná.
39A teraz, myslím, že mi povedali, že to práve nestihli načas, alebo niečo také, aby oznámili, že treba rozdať modlitebné karty a modliť sa za chorých; niektoré čísla na kartách, my ich len tak vyvolávame a modlíme sa za nich. A keď to takto chodí, niekedy mi to trvá aj celý večer, kým sa tak nejako nezoznámime. A tak zajtra večer, myslím, že budú rozdávať modlitebné karty, niekedy v toto popoludnie. Je to tak? Áno, už ste... O šiestej? Dobre, o šiestej, zajtra večer.
40No, myslel som si, že dnes večer len vezmem nejakú malú časť Písma, ktorá tu je, a prečítam to a uvidíme, že či nájdeme to, čo nám Pán chce povedať. Ale teraz, ešte predtým, ako otvorím túto Knihu, hovorme teraz k Autorovi tejto Knihy, ako skloníme svoje hlavy.
41Ešte predtým, ako sa pomodlíme a skloníme naše hlavy; všetky starosti, ktoré teraz máme, a zhon dnešného dňa a ten malý zmysel pre humor, ktorý sme mali, dajme to všetko nabok, pretože sa približujeme ku Kráľovi. Ak je tu nejaká mimoriadna prosba, ktorá má byť spomenutá, len pozdvihnite svoju ruku a povedzte, „Pane!“ Drž svoju prosbu rovno vo svojom srdci.
42Náš Nebeský Otče, považujeme to za také privilégium, Všemohúci Bože, že prichádzame do zhromaždenia Pánovho, aby sme mali spolu obecenstvo, svedčiac a hovoriac o tých veľkých veciach, ktoré si Ty vykonal, a o miestach, kde sme boli. A práve mi to pripomína Skutky 4 v Biblii, keď sa vrátili a hovorili o tom, čo všetko Pán urobil. A všetci sa tam modlili a tým miestom bolo zatrasené, kde boli spolu zhromaždení.
43Bože, my nie sme dnes večer až tak dychtiví, aby sme videli triasť sa túto budovu; ale ide nám o to, aby si Ty nami zatriasol, Pane. Zatras naším rozumom. Zatras našou bytosťou, našimi emóciami, našimi srdcami rozumnosti, aby sme mohli dnes večer toto miesto opustiť tak, že budeme oddaní slúžiť Ti viac ako kedykoľvek predtým, aby sme mohli cítiť Prítomnosť nových a čerstvých Letníc, aby na nás mohol byť vyliaty Svätý Duch, čerstvý a nový ako dole tam v tých lesoch a kopcoch Arkansasu pred päťdesiatimi rokmi, keď tam naši predkovia prišli na koňoch a vozoch a kázali toto Evanjelium. Drahý Pane, nech len my, nositelia tejto veľkej a hodnej veci, ktorú si nám tu zoslal, aby sme sa nehanbili za túto veľkú vec; ale nech len kráčame po stopách tých, ktorí išli pred nami, Pane, a nech nosíme ten prápor Pána Ježiša.
44Nech ostatní, ktorí ešte neprijali tento veľký plán spasenia, ktorý tam Boh pre nás položil v Písme, predpovedal cez celý Starý Zákon, a dnes sa z toho radujeme; a nech je tu medzi nami veľké zatrasenie, Pane, a obnovenie viery a obnovenie našich síl.
45Ďakujem Ti za tieto zhromaždenia, za túto skupinu ľudí, ktorí sa stále pevne držia, Pane. V tejto hodine skúšky, ktorá prichádza na zem, aby skúsila tých, ktorí vyznávajú, že sú Kresťanmi. Nech sú na konci nájdení ako hodní vstúpiť do radosti Pánovej, ktorá bola pripravená pre vykúpených, od založenia sveta. Požehnaj Tvoje Slovo.
46Pane, pamätaj na každú ruku, ktorá je teraz zodvihnutá. Ty poznáš každý zámer, každý motív, Ty poznáš každú prosbu, ktorá je za tou rukou. Modlím sa, Bože, aby si to udelil každému jednému. Nech každý muž, ktorý... alebo žena, chlapec alebo dievča, ktorí zodvihli ruku, ktorí chcú viac spasenia alebo bližšie kráčanie alebo Ťa chcú poznať ako svojho Spasiteľa, nech neopustia toto miesto, dokiaľ ich prosba nebude zodpovedaná.
47Tí, ktorí sú chorí a núdzni, modlíme sa, Bože, nech tu je taká vlna uzdravenia, ktorá prejde týmto miestom, že tu nebude ani jedna slabá osoba, ktorá tu prišla a opustila toto miesto takým spôsobom, akým sem prišla. Ty, ktorý dokážeš vzkriesiť človeka z mŕtvych, a tu to pred nami ukázať, to len ukazuje, že Ty si tým istým Bohom, ktorý stál tam pri Lazarovom hrobe, ktorý ho vyvolal zo smrti. Otče, nech oni vedia, že Ty si tým istým včera, dnes i naveky. Tu dnes večer medzi nami stojí niekto, kto bol len pred pár dňami zavolaný zo zeme, ktorá je poza tieňom ľudského poznania v tomto živote. Ako Ti len za to ďakujeme!
48Požehnaj nás dnes večer, ako sa budeme venovať Tvojmu Slovu, lebo Tvoje Slovo je skutočne Pravdou. Ty a Tvoje Slovo ste jedno. Oni nemôžu byť oddelené. Takže Ťa prosíme o Tvoje požehnanie, Otče, ako len očakávame na Teba, že k nám budeš dnes večer hovoriť, skrze Ježiša Krista, nášho Pána. Amen.
No, ak si to chcete so mnou otvoriť, rád by som sa obrátil do Písma a tak.
49Trochu som si ľahol na posteľ a išiel som spať; a tá prvá vec, viete, Billy ku mne prišiel a povedal, „Poďme.“
Povedal som, „Chceš povedať, že už je čas ísť do zboru?“ Musel som vytiahnuť nejakú kopu miest Písma, ktoré som kedysi zvykol používať, aby som na ne dnes večer hovoril.
50A myslel som si, že možno by sme mohli rozdať nejaké karty a modliť sa za chorých, a tak ďalej. Všimol som si, odkedy som tu prišiel, že tu ležia dvaja ľudia na lôžkach, asi sem prišli, aby sme sa za nich dnes večer modlili.
51A tak Billy sa vrátil a povedal, „Nestihol som to včas, oci.“ Hovoril o tom a povedal, „Možno to skúsime zajtra večer.“
52Povedal som, „V poriadku, zavolaj bratov, choďte tam a rozdajte nejaké karty.“
53A tak teraz chcem, aby ste si so mnou otvorili 2.Kráľov a je to 1. kapitola. A potom by som tiež chcel z Jeremiáša, 8. kapitola a 22. verš. Prečítajme aspoň kúsok z tohto Písma.
Potom po smrti Achabovej sprotivil sa Moáb Izraelovi.
A Achaziáš spadol cez mrežu na svojom hornom príbytku svojho paláca, ktorý bol v Samárii, a onemocnel. Vtedy poslal poslov a povedal im: Iďte, opýtajte sa Bál-zebúba, boha mesta Ekrona, či vyjdem z tejto svojej nemoci a budem žiť?
Ale anjel Hospodinov hovoril Eliášovi Tišbänskému: Vstaň, iď hore vústrety poslom kráľa Samárie a hovor im: Či preto, že niet Boha v Izraelovi, idete sa pýtať Bál-zebúba, boha Ekrona?
Preto takto hovorí Hospodin: S lože, na ktorú si vyšiel, viacej nesídeš, ale istotne zomrieš. Potom odišiel Eliáš.
54A teraz v Knihe Jeremiáša, 8. kapitola a 22. verš.
Či nieto balzamu v Gileáde? Či nieto tam lekára? Lebo prečo potom nie je zahojená rana dcéry môjho ľudu?
55Chcem hovoriť, ak by sme to tak mohli nazvať, na tému: „Prečo?“ Je to otázka a Boh sa pýta túto otázku.
56A Boh je večným. Vieme, že je. Je večne trvajúci. Nikdy nemal počiatku a nikdy nemôže mať konca. Večnosť sa nedá začať, nikdy sa nemôže končiť, pretože je večná.
57A Boh nemôže zmeniť Svoju myseľ, ani Svoju cestu. Preto my, ako ľudia, ktorí nebudú prijímať vierovyznania, ak je to v protiklade s Božím Slovom, pretože veríme, že Boh a Jeho Slovo sú to isté. Veríme, že Biblia hovorí v sv. Jánovi v 1. kapitole, že, „Na počiatku bolo Slovo a to Slovo bolo u Boha a to Slovo bol Boh. A to Slovo sa stalo telom a prebývalo medzi nami.“ Preto, keď Boh niečo hovorí, On nemôže zajtra, ani ktorýkoľvek iný čas odvolať; keď je Boh zavolaný na scénu, aby učinil rozhodnutie. A každé jedno Jeho rozhodnutie je večné. Nikdy sa nemôže zmeniť.
58A Boh bol zavolaný, aby urobil rozhodnutie pre ľudskú rasu, v záhrade Eden, kedy bol spáchaný prvý hriech. Mohol by niekedy byť schopný vykúpiť Svoje stratené dieťa znovu späť do obecenstva s Ním? Ale zaviedol jeden program. A on nemôže byť nikdy zmenený, a to je cesta Krvi. A keď budete sledovať Písma ďalej, nikdy sa to nejako nepozmenilo alebo nezmenilo a ani sa nikdy nemôže, pretože to je Božie rozhodnutie: skrze Krv. Hoci sa to my snažíme pozmeniť. Snažíme sa to naučiť. Pokúšali sme sa z toho spraviť denomináciu. Skúšali sme už všetko, čo sa v ľudskom zákone dá, aby sme sa to pokúsili zmeniť, ako to urobil Adam cez figové listy, a tak ďalej. Ale ono to trvá navždy, Krv je tým jediným miestom obecenstva.
59Preto tu my dnes večer môžeme spolu stáť, nie ako jedna denominácia, môže nás tu byť mnoho a sme spolu. Ale my tu nemôžeme stáť, aby sme reprezentovali jednu denomináciu, musíme tu stáť pod týmto obecenstvom pod Krvou Ježiša Krista. Všetci môžeme byť bratmi a sestrami. Boh robí pre človeka cestu, ale keď ten človek potom odmieta tou cestou kráčať, potom má Boh právo opýtať sa, „Prečo si to neurobil?“ A to je to, čo vtedy urobil, a to je to, čo On robí dnes, a preto aj bude, to, čo sa opýta na súde. Oni sa pýtali, „Prečo?“
60No, tu, kde sme to miesto Písma práve začali čítať, odohráva sa to tesne po Achabovej smrti, zlého kráľa, hraničného veriaceho, človeka, ktorý vedel, čo bolo správne robiť, ale predsa nemal odvahu vystúpiť a urobiť, čo vedel, že bolo správne.
61A viete, tak nad tým premýšľam, ak tento svet nie je znečistený Achabmi, toto kresťanstvo, v ktorom žijeme, je kontaminované Achabmi, ľuďmi, ktorí vedia, že je správne dať svoj život Bohu a byť naplnený Duchom a nasledovať učenia Biblie, ale predsa sú bez odvahy, aby sa postavili a urobili to. Opäť mi to pripomína tú situáciu, ktorá bola v Sodome.
62Biblia hovorí, „Hriechy Sodomy denne sužovali spravodlivú dušu Lóta.“ A tak duša toho človeka bola spravodlivá a on sa pozrel na hriechy tej zeme a vedel, čo tam bolo nesprávne, kde robili zle, ale predsa bol bez tej odvahy, aby sa postavil na svojom presvedčení.
63Niet divu, že celý svet sa stal Sodomou a Gomorou a ako títo dnešní Lótovia, cez národ a okolo sveta, stoja v cirkvách, a ktorí sú presvedčení, že Ježiš Kristus je tým istým včera, dnes i naveky a že Jeho moc je stále taká skutočná, ako kedy bola, ale sú bez odvahy, aby sa postavili za kazateľňu a odsúdili hriech, iba kvôli takej prekážke, že ich vylúčia z obecenstva, do ktorého sa pripojili. Stále to ukazuje, že Krv Ježiša Krista je to jediné liečivo.
„Prečo? Prečo?“
64Achaziáš bol synom Achabovým a bol privedený do domu, ktorý bol vlažným. On nebol tak celkom Kresťanom. Jeho matka bola pohanka. A jeho otec sa oženil mimo obecenstva a zobral si ženu, ktorá nebola veriacou.
65A to vždy vytvára zlý domov, pre akékoľvek dieťa, v ktorom len môže vyrastať, keď sa nevera s vierou snažia spolu zmiešať dokopy.
66No, ak by ten otec bol býval skutočne silným mužom vo svojej viere, to dieťa by mohlo mať lepšiu príležitosť, ale on nebol. Nebol. On vedel, že existuje Boh. Vedel, že existuje Jehova. A potom... bohovia jeho matky, a tak ďalej. On v tom bol zmätený. A potom po smrti svojho otca, tento chlapec vo svojom stave bol tak trochu zmiešaný, nevedel, či tak, alebo onak.
67Či to nie je obraz dnešných krajín? Jeden v rodine je taký, a ten potom taký, jeden sa uberá to cestou, ďalší zase tamtou. Niet divu, že stále produkujú tak veľa mládežníckej kriminality, a podobne, pod menom kresťanstva. Je to preto, že tam nie je žiadna jednota. Nie je tam nijaké vyvolanie a státie na strane Božej.
68No, zisťujeme teraz, že tento človek sa mal stať dedičom trónu svojho otca. Jedného dňa, hore na jednom balkóne, kráčal tam dookola a padol cez mrežu. Mohol byť možno omámený a padol cez tú mrežu, dole možno na zem, na lavičku alebo niečo také a zlomil si pár rebier alebo mal nejaké vážne zranenie. A tá choroba alebo tá rana musela niekde spustiť infekciu, čo spôsobilo, že dostal horúčku. A bol dosť chorý.
69Samozrejme, v tých dňoch nemali také lieky, aké majú teraz. Možno tí lekári len prišli a urobili pre toho chlapa, čo len mohli, ale nebolo to nič dostatočné. A potom vedel, že jediná vec, ktorú mohol urobiť, bolo ísť ku vyššej moci, akú len lekári mohli vyprodukovať v ich medicínskej terminológii. A potom si myslel, že pôjde; a poslal pre svoju matku.
70Ó, čo za lekcia by to mala byť pre matky! Dieťa bude zvyčajne počúvať svoju mamu.
71A tak oni tam išli, poslal ich k bohu jeho matky, Belzebúba, až z Ekronu, kde bola tá jeho socha, jeho monument. A povedali, „Choďte tam a prekonzultujte to tam s tými kňazmi a nech sa pýtajú tej sochy Belzebúba, či sa dostanem z tejto choroby, ktorú mám, alebo nie.“
72Ale viete, ten človek... On skutočne... Viete si to predstaviť? Ľudia, od ktorých sa očakávalo, že sú ľudia s bázňou pred Bohom, a nechali takého človeka, aby nad nimi vládol, iba kvôli takému vlažnému stavu. Bol to stav, do ktorého sa cirkev dostala, že dala do moci takú osobu, alebo to dovolila. Nemyslím si, že časy sa nejako zásadne menia; zväčša vyzerajú vždy také isté. A nechali panovať takého muža, a mali to tak v tom kraji povedať, aby si nechali poradiť od nejakej sochy, ktorá bola nejakou pohanskou ideou, o svojom stave.
73A potom, viete, ale poza tým všetkým, bez ohľadu na to, ako sa zdalo, že Boh odvrátil Svoju tvár od ľudí, On sa niekedy pozerá, aký typ postoja zaujmeš. Každý syn, ktorý prichádza k Bohu, musí byť skúšaný a karhaný.
74A potom je tam nejaká malá chyba v tom mužovi alebo žene, ktorí sú narodení v Duchu Božom, ktorý je Večný.
75A potom sa dostanete do miesta, kde niekedy... Všetko, čo je na tebe ľudské, rozumovanie, diabol to od teba môže vyrozumovať. Ale ak sa to potom prelomí preč, ak tam ten Večný Život nie je, tiež upadneš, pretože sa rozumovaním môžeš dostať preč od Boha.
76Ale človek, ktorý tvrdí, že je Kresťanom, nemá nijaké právo za kazateľňou alebo v určitom úrade ako vodca niekde, dokiaľ sa nevyšplhal do miesta, kde je narodený z Ducha Božieho, naplnený Svätým Duchom, a to takým spôsobom, že nikto to z neho nemôže vysvetľovaním odstrániť.
77Boh, keď On poslal Mojžiša dolu do Egypta, aby vyslobodil svoj ľud, najprv si ho vzal na zadnú časť púšte a vytrhol z neho všetku teológiu, ktorú v sebe mal, za tých štyridsať rokov, a až potom sa mu zjavil. On vedel viac o Bohu v tých piatich minútach, v Prítomnosti toho ohnivého kra, ako vedel za tých štyridsať rokov vyučovania sa a toho všetkého, čo mal.
78To je to, čo cirkev dnes večer potrebuje, to je ďalšie prežitie s ohnivým krom, kde prefíkaní ľudia... Viete, Písmo hovorí takto, „Tie dva duchy budú v posledných dňoch tak blízko, že by to zviedlo aj vyvolených, ak by to bolo možné.“
79Človek by sa mal prv dostať na to posvätené miesto s Bohom; kde všetci teológovia, všetci doktori božstva, všetko uvažovanie, všetci ateisti, nič z toho to nemôže z neho vysvetľovaním odstrániť. A on bol práve na tom mieste, keď Boh prišiel a dobre vedel, čo sa udialo. Nemôžete to z neho vyrozumovať; on bol na tom mieste, keď sa to stalo. To je ten druh muža, akého dnes potrebujeme vo vláde, v cirkvi a všade možne, v takom čase, aký je tento. Pre vodcovstvo potrebujeme človeka, ktorý je naplnený Svätým Duchom.
80To je to, čo dnes cirkev potrebuje; nie teológa, ale duchom naplneného, znovuzrodeného muža, plného Svätého Ducha. A poviem vám, ak by sme mali viac z toho, cirkev by vyzerala úplne inak, ako teraz vyzerá. Veci by boli inak, ak by sme len mali viac takých ľudí naplnených Božím Duchom, nie kráčajúcich podľa tradícií starších, a tak ďalej.
81A tak teraz zisťujeme, že tento chlap ich poslal pre informáciu od boha Ekrona, Belzebúba.
82Ale celý čas Boh vedel, že to robil. Takže tam mal proroka menom Eliáš, a tak prehovoril k Eliášovi a povedal, „Choď tam na takú a takú cestu a takto sa tam postav. Poslovia tam prichádzajú.“ Vidíte, nikdy nemôžete niečo pred Bohom skryť, vidíme, bez ohľadu na to, čo robíte. No, ako málo urobil ten človek, Eliáš, ku ktorému tam Boh hovoril niekde v púšti, niekde v nejakej blatovej chatrči a povedal mu, „Choď tam a postav sa na roh tej cesty, ktorá tam je, a prehovor k týmto ľuďom a povedz im, 'Choďte naspäť k nemu a povedzte mu, „TAK HOVORÍ PÁN, on nevyjde z tej postele.“'“
83A On povedal, „Opýtajte sa ho, 'Prečo si to urobil? Čo sa stalo, že si to urobil? Je to preto, že nie je Boha v Izraelovi? Je to preto, že tam nie je proroka? Je to ten dôvod, prečo si to urobil? Viete predsa, čo sa stalo. Poznáte Písmo. Máte ho vo svojom vlastnom paláci. Sú tam okolo kňazi. Bezpochyby ste ich čítali už odmalička. A ako teda môžete urobiť tak hlúpu vec ako niečo také?'“
84Som dnes večer zvedavý, že či by Kristus prišiel na scénu do tohto dnešného národa, priťahujúc tento národ bližšie k súdu, ak by nebola položená tá istá otázka. Prečo to tak je? Čo sa deje, že robíme takéto veci? Prečo sa hádame vo vláde, či môžeme čítať Bibliu na verejnosti, a prečo, ak všetci čítame takéto nezmysly? Či naši predchodcovia nedali tento úrad do poriadku? Nebol tento národ zrodený na princípoch Biblie? Nie sme tu pre slobodu náboženstva, aby sme konali v Bohu takým spôsobom, akým to cítime, takým spôsobom, ako sme presvedčení, že je to Pravda?
85Ale vidíte, my robíme práve niečo také, ako oni robili vtedy. Len nechávame politiku a podobne, aby nás pohltila, namiesto toho, aby sme rešpektovali našu vieru v nášho Boha a ľudí, ktorí budú stáť za Pravdou. A nechávame, aby nad tým všetkým panovala politika a hlasujeme za také veci, ktoré znečisťujú tento národ, zatiaľ čo prichádzame k súdu. Boh jedného dňa vzbudí na scénu mocného proroka, ktorý bude hovoriť k tejto generácii a povie ľuďom a oni uvidia, že to je Boh, ktorý hovorí, ale nebudú činiť pokánie. Bude to presne také, ako to bolo vtedy.
86On povedal, „Nie je Boha v Izraelovi? Je to preto, že tam niet Boha?“ To isté, ako keď Jeremiáš povedal, „Či nie je balzamu v Gileáde? Nie je tam nijakého lekára?“ A potom oni na to nemôžu odpovedať. Samozrejme. No, on povedal, „Potom, ako ste to mohli urobiť? Prečo nie je uzdravená dcéra môjho ľudu?“
87No, my sa tomu dnes večer divíme. Prečo? Či nieto Biblie? Či nieto Boha? Či v tom nie je žiaden rozdiel? Ak Boh privedie ľudí k súdu, On bude musieť mať niečo, skrze čo ich bude súdiť. Musí tam byť nejaký štandard.
88A ak ich On bude súdiť katolíckou cirkvou; ak ich bude súdiť rímskou cirkvou, grécka cirkev je stratená, a ďalšie katolícke cirkvi sú stratené. Ak bude súdiť gréckou, rímska je stratená. Ak On bude súdiť skrze luteránov, metodisti sú stratení. Ak ich bude súdiť metodistami, luteráni sú stratení. Jednoducho nemôže súdiť cirkvou; je tam až príliš veľa rôznych organizácií.
89Ale Boh bude súdiť svet Ježišom Kristom, tak to On povedal. A Ježiš Kristus je Slovom a Slovo Bohom. Čiže On ich bude súdiť touto Bibliou, pretože toto je Slovo. To je ten Boží štandard. Musíme to vždy odmerať s tým, čo Biblia hovorí.
90A čudujem sa, prečo máme všade toľko zmätku, tak veľa organizácií, tak veľa rozdielov, oddelených bratstiev a všetko možné. Je to preto, že nieto Balzamu v Gileáde? Je to preto, že tam nieto Lekára? Som zvedavý, či by sa nás Boh opýtal túto otázku.
91No, nebolo to len preto, že tam nemali lekára. Mali. Boh bol tým Lekárom. Čiže to nebolo preto, že nebolo Boha v Izraelovi. Bol tam Boh. A mali tam proroka, od ktorého si mohli dať poradiť a zistiť, ako sa veci majú. Ale bola to len kráľova vlastná tvrdohlavá vôľa. Presne tak.
92A to je to, čo sa deje v tomto dnešnom národe. Je to len vlastná tvrdohlavá vôľa ľudí. Nie že by sme nemali toho istého Boha, ktorý prešiel cez Červené More so Svojimi ľuďmi, kŕmil ich štyridsať rokov v divočine. Nie je to preto, že by sme nemali toho istého Boha, akého sme mali na začiatku. Je to len vlastný tvrdohlavý spôsob ľudí. Jednoducho sa len nechcú skloniť. Nechcú mať nič spoločné so svätosťou a čistotou žitia biblickým spôsobom. Radšej by patrili do cirkvi a mali svoje meno v nejakej knihe a žili ako zvyšok sveta, ako sa pokloniť zasľúbeniam a prikázaniam Všemohúceho Boha. To je to, čo sa dnes deje. To je ten dôvod, prečo sú veci také, aké sú, že ľudia sa vzďaľujú od Slova. Nikdy nebudete schopní dať sa do poriadku, dokiaľ sa znova nedostanete na tú správnu cestu.
93Oni postavili túto budovu, dali tam niekde ten roh, nikdy by ste nemohli postaviť takúto budovu. Musíte byť postavení na základe. A ten základ je Biblia, náuka apoštolov a prorokov, a tak ďalej, všetko z Biblie.
94Kráľov vlastný tvrdohlavý spôsob. Nechcel tam dole po nich poslať. Nebolo to dosť populárne.
95Boží skutočný a pravdivý spôsob žitia nikdy nebol populárny. A ani nikdy nebude populárny. „Lebo kázanie Evanjelia je bláznovstvom tým, ktorí hynú.“ Pavol povedal, „Nehanbím sa za Evanjelium Ježiša Krista, lebo je mocou Božou na spasenie každému, kto verí.“
A tak teraz zisťujeme, že ten kráľ bol tvrdohlavý.
96Je to niečo také, ako je to dnes, ten pacient si ľahne priamo na... Čo ak by pacient išiel k lekárovi, ľahol si tam dolu na posteľ a mal by nejaký typ horúčky, ktorá by ho išla zabiť? A ten lekár by vošiel do dverí a povedal by, „Pane, máme tu na to medicínu.“
On povie, „Ó, nemôžem.“
„Len poďte, dám vám injekciu, očkovanie.“
„Ale ja nechcem vašu medicínu.“
97A teraz by povedal, „Pane, ale ja vám viem pomôcť, jedine ak pôjdete.“ „No, ale ja nejdem.“
98A ten človek by tam ležal na tej posteli a zomieral; zomieral by tam na tej posteli, pretože by neprijal očkovanie proti týfusu, alebo čokoľvek by to bolo, čo by mal. Neprijal by to očkovanie proti tomu a ten človek by zomrel rovno na prahu lekárových dverí. No, ten človek.. Nemôžete obviňovať toho lekára, ak on mal ten liek, ktorý by vyliečil tú nemoc, a ten lekár je ochotný mu to dať a bolo mu to poskytnuté. A ten človek tam len tak sedí, prichádza k prahu dverí a priamo tam padne a zomrie, nemôžete za to obviňovať lekára. Nemôžete za to obviniť ten liek. Je to ten človek, ktorý je za to vinný; zomierajúci na prahu dverí u lekára s chorobou, na ktorú existuje liek, ktorý by to mohol vyliečiť, môže to zvnútra vyliečiť. No, to je však len podobenstvo.
99Ale viete, Boh má liek vo vnútri Svojho Kráľovstva, aby vyliečil každú nemoc, ktorá len na svete je, a ľudia len stoja na prahu dverí v cirkvi. Nie však len to, ale oni sedia priamo na tých lavičkách, a tak tam zomierajú a sú stratení a idú do pekla, pretože odmietli prijať Liek Lekára. Amen. Tak je. Absolútne odmietli vziať ten Liek Lekára, preto tam zomierajú na horúčky.
100A ľudia sedia v zbore a počúvajú Posolstvá Božie a veria im, lenže ich neprijímajú. Oni by nepovedali, „No, teraz ale neverím, že toto je pravda.“ Niektorí z nich prídu, povedia a budú s tým súhlasiť a povedia, „Verím, že toto je pravda,“ ale neurobia to. Vidíte, zomriete. Zomriete na stoličkách v zbore, pretože neprijmete to liečivo. Oni to neurobia. Vidíte, čo to spôsobuje, vezme to trochu popularity z ľudí. To ich trochu stlčie.
101Oni sa boja toho nového narodenia. Viete, každé narodenie je neporiadok. Je mi jedno, čo to je, nech už je to hoci prasačí chliev alebo vyzdobená ružová nemocnica, je to neporiadok, a tak je to so znovuzrodením. To spôsobí, že budete robiť veci, ktoré ste si nikdy nemysleli, že budete robiť. To vás dá na poriadok. Ale ešte prv, ako sa môžete napraviť, musíte sa dostať cez ten neporiadok. To je pravda. Amen. Predtým, ako sa môže zrodiť semeno, musí zomrieť a zhniť. A to je to, čo sa deje s dnešnými ľuďmi, oni len nechcú zomrieť a zhniť svetu, aby mohli byť znovuzrodení Svätým Duchom. Vidíte, tak to je. Boja sa toho znovuzrodenia. Boja sa.
102A to spôsobuje, že robia veci, ktoré nechcú robiť. To z nich berie popularitu. To z nich berie škrob. Ó, poviem vám, som rád, že je tu niekde to očkovanie, dnes večer, ktoré to od vás všetko vezme, brat, ktoré z teba vezme všetok svet. To spôsobí, že ľudia, bratstvo, sa spolu zhromaždia napriek denominačným rozdielom. To spôsobí, že pár montériek sa objíme so spoločenským oblekom a zakričí, „Brat, ako som rád, že ťa vidím!“ Amen. Istotne! Ale vy... Oni sa boja toho očkovania. Ó!
103Je to dosť nebezpečné odmietnuť doktorov liek, viete, ak k nemu idete. A bojíte sa.. Ak odmietnete ten liek, tam je potom nebezpečenstvo. Môžete zomrieť. Ale to... vy len zomriete telesne tým, že si nevezmete doktorov liek. Ale o čo viac nebezpečnejšie je odmietnuť Božie očkovanie proti hriechu!
104Pred nejakým časom som mal také obdobie, že som býval chorý a niekto za mnou prišiel a povedal, „No, Billy,“ povedal, „stále zachovávaš svoje náboženstvo aj počas svojej nemoci?“ Povedal, „Vieš, veríš Božskému uzdraveniu; zachoval si stále svoje náboženstvo?“
105Povedal som, „Nie, to ono zachovalo mňa. Nie myslieť na to, že by som to ja mal zachovať, to ono zachovalo mňa.“
106Keď bola tá Krv Ježiša Krista preliata na Golgote, Boh urobil prípravu. Keď človek po prvýkrát zhrešil, on sa dostal poza priepasť, cez ktorú prešiel, a nemal nijaký spôsob, ako sa dostať späť. Boh bohatý v milosrdenstve prijal tú náhradu, a to bola tá krv baránka alebo vola a tá náhrada trvala dlhé roky.
107Mojžiš stál pod inšpiráciou Božou, keď hriech ešte dokonca ani nebol rozvedený, bolo to len jednoducho prikryté krvou býkov a kôz. A mal na sebe slávu Božiu, dokiaľ nevypovedal muchy do existencie, mohol vypovedať žaby do existencie. Pretože slovo je vyjadrenou myšlienkou, takže Boh priniesol Svoje myšlienky ku Mojžišovi a Mojžiš ich prehovoril v slovách. A keď to Slovo prehovorilo, celý svet bol vyformovaný Slovom Božím.
108Raz bol taký čas, keď som zvykol chodievať do školy a mal som na košeli kúsok atramentu. A mama mi zvykla vyzliecť tričko a povedať, „Rýchlo mi to podaj, drahý,“ a dala na to nejaký petrolej. A to všetko tam bolo také rozmazané a spôsobilo to, že tam bola taká veľká škvrna, kde dala ten petrolej na ten atrament. A to bolo všetko, čo mohla urobiť. Bolo to to najlepšie, čo mala.
109Ale dnes je to iné. Oni vyrábajú vec, ktorá sa nazýva bielidlo. A vy... Je to len chemikália, že kedykoľvek sa tie kvapky atramentu dostanú do toho Cloroxu alebo bielidla, čokoľvek to je... Keď to tam narazí, už tam viac nemôžete nájsť nič čierne. Čo sa tomu stalo? Kvapka a kvapka čierneho atramentu v tube bielidla, nemáte tam nič. Nemôžete tam nájsť nejaký plyn.
110Ak by som bol chemikom, možno tieto slová nebudú zrovna vedecky veľmi správne, ale ja by som povedal: čo to je? „Je to H2O, voda, je to len pre jednu vec. A tam v tom je chemikália a to spôsobuje, že to sčernie.“ Je len jediná originálna farba a to je biela. Všetky ostatné farby sú prevrátením tejto farby. A teraz hovorím... A potom, keď to odtiaľ dáte preč, tak možno poviete, „No, ono sa to premenilo na kyselinu, keď to narazilo na to bielidlo. Premenilo sa to na kyselinu.“ V poriadku, kam potom ale tá kyselina išla? „Tá kyselina sa premenila na bielu...“
No, je to zafarbenie, to, o čom teraz hovoríme, je to zafarbenie.
111Poviete, „Išlo to naspäť do molekúl. Dobre,“ poviete, „molekula, šesť krát šesť plus deväť, z toho je molekula H.“ Ak by to bolo štyri plus šesť plus osem, čo by z toho bolo? Ružová namiesto čiernej. A potom sa to premenilo naspäť do atómov. Potom, z atómov, plus jedna plus B2 plus tri, to sú štyri, z čoho je molekula H. Čo to znamená? Potom sa dostanete naspäť do čiernej. A keď idete ešte poza to, môžete sa dostať do elektrónov.
112A odtiaľ idete potom kam? Už budete musieť ísť späť. Pretože existuje stvorenie, ktoré musí prísť od Stvoriteľa. Musíte to urobiť. Preto, ono to všetko išlo naspäť k svojmu Stvoriteľovi. To zafarbenie, ktoré bolo v tom atramente, ono sa to nikdy nemôže navrátiť.
113No, Boh videl, že tá krv býkov a kôz nemôže vziať hriech. On to tak nikdy neurobil, ale On stvoril chemikáliu v Krvi Ježiša Krista. Amen. Ten hriech bol raz vyznaný správnym spôsobom; ani neprekračujete tú priepasť, ale to berie tú priepasť kompletne preč, a Boh už nikdy viac nepamätá na to, že ste hrešili. To je pravda. On povedal, že ich hodil do mora zabudnutia, aby na ne už nikdy viac nepamätal, lebo boli proti tebe. Muži a ženy stoja v Prítomnosti Božej ako synovia a dcéry Božie so samotnou náturou svojho Boha vo svojich srdciach.
114Ale kde je cirkev dnes, brat? Čo sa stalo s cirkvou? Dnes môžeme vidieť, ako Krv Ježiša Krista tak odpúšťa hriechy, že Boh si už viac nepamätá, že sme zhrešili. Potom, „Čokoľvek poprosíte v Mojom Mene, to vám učiním.“ Čo sa deje? Je to preto, že niekto tieto Písma tak pred ľuďmi poprekrúcal. Toto je tá jediná vec, ktorá si myslím, že bola vykonaná, pretože Boží liek je stále ten istý. No, je to nebezpečné odmietnuť lekárske očkovanie, o čo viac potom Božie!
115No, ako môže človek nájsť liek, aby pracoval na ľudskej bytosti? Viete, čo robia chemici, alebo skôr vedci? Oni vezmú chorobu, zistia, aký typ zárodku tam je, potom si zoberú nejaký druh jedu, nejakú protilátku, a tak ďalej, skrátka dostatok jedu na to, aby ťa zabili, a zase dostatok protijedu, aby ich to od toho zadržalo, a dajú to najprv ako injekciu morčaťu. Dajú tú chorobu, ktorú máte vy, do morčaťa. A potom dajú ten liek do morčaťa, a ak to ono prežije, potom to dajú vám. Viete, to je teda niečo... dať to morčaťu a pozrieť sa, či to bude fungovať, a ak to morča nezomrie, potom to dajú vám. Ale viete, nie všetci ľudia sú stvorení ako morčatá, čiže niektorých to zabije, a niektorým to pomôže.
116Ale je jedna vec na očkovaní, ktoré dáva Ježiš Kristus, že to pomôže každému. Nie je to liek; je to vyliečenie.
117Počuli ste, ako ľudia dnes hovoria, „Zabijak číslo jeden je srdcová choroba.“ Ja sa od nich líšim; nie, aby som bol iný. V tomto sa od nich líšim, pretože viem, že to tak nie je. Zabijak číslo jeden je choroba hriechu. Tak je to, nie všetky tie srdcové choroby, je to choroba hriechu.
118Viete, niektorí ľudia hovoria, „No, brat Branham, myslím, že tuto si to už trochu prehnal. No, nech sa ťa len niečo opýtam. Človek musí zhrešiť; každý deň musím aspoň trochu zhrešiť.“ To je len preto, že si nikdy nebol očkovaný. To je všetko. Vidíte? Ó. Áno. Nikdy ste neokúsili Božie liečivo. To je pravda. Ak by ste to urobili, nikdy by ste nič také nečinili.
119Povieš, „Ale ja musím fajčiť. Niečo proste robí, že fajčím.“ Len raz skús to Očkovanie a zisti, či to funguje, alebo nie. Povieš, „Nemôžem to nechať tak. Ja...“ No, len si raz skús vziať Boží Toxín a pozri sa, ako to pracuje.
120Jedna žena mi prednedávnom povedala... Hovoril som s ňou o nosení toho škandálneho oblečenia. A ona povedala, „No, brat Branham, nech ti len toto poviem, nemáš právo povedať niečo také. Máme právo na to, aby sme nosili šortky, ak chceme.“
121Povedal som, „Iste, to je pravda. Ale ak by si bola kresťankou, nikdy by si ich nechcela nosiť.“ Povedala...
122A tak povedala, „No, počkaj, brat Branham.“ Povedala, „Vieš, oni nevyrábajú nijaké iné druhy šiat, iba toto sexi oblečenie, a tak ďalej, ako tieto.“
123Povedal som, „Ale stále predávajú látky a šijacie stroje. Takže to ťa nijako neospravedlňuje.“ Tak veru.
124Ale to je len preto, že nechcú prijať očkovanie naplnenia Svätým Duchom, staromódnej, Bohom spasenej svätosti. Amen. To je pravda.
125Zvyklo to byť nesprávne, keď sa niečo také robilo. Ale to je stále nesprávne! Tak je. Ale čo sa deje, niečo sa stalo. Zvyklo tak byť, že ľudia, ktorí takto konali, boli vylúčení zo spoločnosti; a teraz je to tak, že do spoločnosti nie sú prijatí, ak tieto veci nerobia. A tak, vidíte, to závisí na tom, kde je tvoje srdce, lebo tam sú tiež tvoje poklady; alebo skôr tam, kde je tvoj poklad, tam je tiež aj tvoje srdce. Musíte mať na pamäti, že keď milujete Pána z celého svojho srdca, budete čistí a rýdzi.
126Raz nedávno som s manželkou išiel do supermarketu. A videli sme tam zvláštnu vec, jedna žena mala na sebe šaty. V našom kraji to bola dosť nezvyčajná vec. A tak mi Méda povedala, „Billy, ako to, že tie ženy... ja ich poznám, niektoré spievajú v speváckom zbore tam dole v niektorej z tých cirkví.“ A povedala, „Ja ich poznám.“ Povedala, „No, ale čo to spôsobuje, že toto robia?“
127Povedal som, „No, vidíš, miláčik,“ povedal som, „ja sám som misionárom a vieš,“ povedal som, „my sme z iného kraja.“
Povedala, „Čo?“
Povedal som, „My sme z iného kraja, z iného národa.“
Povedala, „Nie sme predsa Američania?“
128Povedal som, „My tu síce žijeme, ale toto nie je náš domov. Sme pútnikmi. Hľadáme Mesto, ktorého Remeselníkom a Staviteľom je Boh. Išiel som do Fínska, videl som spôsob, akým konali vo Fínsku. Išiel som tam, potom som prišiel do Nemecka, videl som spôsob nemeckého ducha. Išiel som do Švajčiarska, tam mali švajčiarskeho ducha. Potom som prišiel do Ameriky, tam mali amerického ducha.“
Povedala, „No a čo potom my?“
129Povedal som, „My sme narodení z hora, z Nebies, kde je čistota, svätosť a spravodlivosť a čestnosť.“ Áno. Povedal som, „Preto tí, ktorí toto vyznajú, už viac nehľadia na veci tohto sveta. Ale jasne hovoríme našimi životmi, a spôsobom, akým žijeme, že máme Boha, máme Kráľovstvo, máme miesto, do ktorého ideme. A toto nie je náš domov.“ Amen.
130Ó, to sa mi páči! Práve som sa začal cítiť nábožne. Tak veru. Verím v to staré spasenie Svätým Duchom. Ó, brat, sestra, to s vami niečo robí. Ten istý Boh, ktorý raz žil, On dnes stále žije. Tá istá jeho náuka svätosti, ona dnes večer žije práve tak isto, ako kedy žila, je to presne tá istá vec. Tak veru. Všimnite si, ľudia sa dostali ďaleko od náuky toho, to je všetko. Áno. Tak veru.
131Naše číslo jeden, srdcová choroba, to nie je tá vec, ktorá dnes zabíja ľudí. To číslo jedna je choroba hriechu. A hriech je nevera. Nevera v čo? V Bibliu. To je pravda. Áno, je to číslo jedna, choroba hriechu, to je to, čo dnes zabíja ľudí, aj duchovne, aj... A to ich zabije aj telesne, samozrejme, pretože už môžu dokázať, že ľudia si držia svoju nenávisť, a ženy, ktoré sa rozčuľujú, bijú a hádajú, oni zomrú. To spôsobí rakovinu, pleseň, všetko možné, vredy.
132Vidíte, boli ste stvorení na to, aby ste boli šťastní a slobodní. Boli ste utvorení na to, aby ste žili ako deti pred svojím Otcom, a vedeli, čo On robí každý deň, všetko pre vás každý deň tak, ako treba. Tak veru.
133Ľudia sa len boja toho nového narodenia. To je všetko. Oni sa do toho boja prísť, pretože to ich napraví. To spôsobí, že prestanete hrať bingo, prestanete hrať na automatoch. To spôsobí, že prestanete zostávať v stredu večer doma od modlitebného zhromaždenia, len aby ste sledovali nejaké „Milujeme Suzy“ a všetky tieto bláznivé veci, ktoré Hollywood má, a tie špinavé vtipy, ktoré sa tam rozprávajú. A to spôsobí, že si necháte narásť dlhé vlasy. To spôsobí, že budeš konať ako dáma. To spôsobí, že muž prestane fajčiť cigarety, potom, ako bol v cirkvi diakonom. To spôsobí, že ľudia prestanú klamať, kradnúť. To pre vás niečo urobí. To vás prečistí a dá vám to spasenie, ktoré nič na svete nemôže nijako vysvetľovaním z teba dostať, pretože viete, že ste boli tam, keď sa to stalo. Tak veru.
134No, ako som aj pred chvíľou povedal, keď Boh... Keď človek nachádza ten liek, tie veci, ktoré oni robia, oni len hľadajú svoj prostriedok na vyliečenie. Potom nájdu tú chorobu, potom to dajú ako injekciu morčaťu a pozerajú sa, či to to prasa prežije.
135No, keď Boh išiel priniesť toto očkovanie, o ktorom dnes večer hovorím, tento balzam z Gileádu, On nenašiel morča. On Sám tam prišiel. Amen. Jediný spôsob, akým to mohol urobiť, je, že prišiel vo forme Svojho Syna, stal sa telom a prebýval medzi nami, aby mohol vziať preč ten osteň smrti. Prišiel, aby zomrel. Jediný spôsob, akým mohol zomrieť... On nemohol zomrieť ako duch, ako človek. On bol vyformovaný do tela, ktoré sa volalo Ježiš Kristus, Syn Boží, a Boh prebýval v tomto tele tvoriac Samého Seba Emanuelom na zemi, aby vzal preč ľudský hriech. To bola tá chemikália, ktorá bola v tej Krvi.
136Niekto povedal, „On bol Židom.“ On nebol Židom. Niektorí z nich hovoria, „On bol pohan.“ On nebol pohanom.
137On nebol o nič menej ako Boh. Biblia tak hovorí, „Sme spasení Krvou Božou.“ Tá krv prichádza z mužského pohlavia. Vieme to. Hemoglobín prichádza od muža; žena má len vajíčko. Tak je.
138Ako som už povedal, je to, ako keď je jar. Tie staré vtáčie matky si tam stavajú hniezda a pokladajú tam svoje vajíčka. Niektoré z nich tam položia plné hniezdo vajíčok, ktoré sa zase nikdy nevyliahnu. Prečo? Ona tam môže položiť plné hniezdo vajec a môže tam na nich vysedávať a len taká verná. Môže si tie vajcia každý deň pretočiť, nič nejesť, až dokiaľ nedôjde do takého úbohého stavu, že sotva dokáže vyletieť z hniezda. Bez ohľadu na to, ako ich rozmaznáva, ako ich kŕmi a ako je im oddaná, oni sa nikdy nevyliahnu. Prečo? Ešte nebola so samcom, takže ešte nie je plodná, preto tam tie vajcia budú len ležať a hniť.
139To je to, čo sa deje s mnohými našimi konferenciami. To je to, čo sa deje s našimi kempovými zhromaždeniami, s mnohými, ktoré dnes sú, a s našimi konferenciami. Čo z toho máme? Bandu rozmaznaných a zženštilých kazateľov, ktorí by mali... Ó, to je hanba. A chodia tam len, aby mali nejakú malú prestíž alebo nejaké malé vzdelanie, a nejako to dotiahli. Ó, ale tá jediná vec, ktorú dnes potrebujeme... My máme len plné hniezdo zhnitých vajec.
140To, čo potrebujeme, je to dobré starodávne očisťovanie hniezda, čo je dosť ďaleko od toho dnešného, ktoré to vytlačí von, dokiaľ nemáme mužov a ženy, ktorí sú naplnení Svätým Duchom; tí, ktorí boli so Samcom, Ježišom Kristom, a sú naplnení Duchom, ktorým bol On pokrstený. To je pravda. Potom máme to skutočné svetlo v tábore. Tak veru. Toxíny, oni sa toho boja.
141Ježiš Kristus, Syn Boží, keď sa On narodil, niektorí z nich povedali, „No, viete, On bol narodený z vajíčka Márie.“ Ale On nebol. Mária by musela dostať to vajíčko cez vajíčkovod do maternice a tam by musela mať nejakú senzáciu, takže vidíte, čo nútite Boha robiť? On tam vôbec nebol, nebol žiadnou časťou toho.
142Boh, Stvoriteľ, zatienil pannu Máriu a stvoril v jej lone bunky a stvoril Človeka, ktorý bol Emanuel, Boh Sám, ktorý sa stal telom medzi nami, bez cudzej pomoci. On je Stvoriteľom, ktorý sa stal prvým človekom. Amen. Ó! Tu to máte, tam stojí. Tak veru. A potom to urobil, takže mohol obdržať to očkovanie.
143Hocijaký skutočne dobrý vedec, dobrý doktor, ktorý hľadá chorobu, niektorí z nich pôjdu do väzenského tábora a zoberú nejakého človeka, na ktorom to môžu vyskúšať, ktorý bude žiť vo väzení. A ak prežije to očkovanie, ó, potom ho ten jed nezabije, potom môže ísť slobodný, ak je pripravený prijať to očkovanie. Väzni na to čakajú. Ó, ale to je lekár, ktorý sa bojí svojho lieku.
144Ale viete, Boh sa Svojho vlastného Lieku nebál. [Prázdne miesto na páske – pozn.prekl.]... v jasliach, človek, ktorý stál na brehoch Jordánu. Keď tam to očkovanie padlo, on to videl ako holubicu, ktorá prichádzala z Nebies, a On bol očkovaný. A Hlas riekol, „Toto je Môj Milovaný Syn, v ktorom sa mi zaľúbilo prebývať.“ Amen. Boh v človeku. To je to očkovanie. Boh v človeku. Svet Ho sledoval. On obstál v každom pokušení. Keď Mu pľuli na tvár, ťahali Ho za bradu a pľuli Na Neho, On v tom pokušení obstál. V hodine skúšok obstál v pokušení. To držalo! To očkovanie, ktoré prijal v Jordáne, vydržalo. Vydržalo to aj v čase popularity.
145Čo sa deje s mnohými dnešnými cirkvami, Boh ich bude žehnať, oni začnú... A tu máme to, čo raní mnohých letničných. Oni by sa mali dostať späť tam, kde boli ich starí otcovia s plechovými hrncami alebo tamburínami, dole niekde na rohu, udierali do tamburíny; potom by tu neležali tie veľké márnice, ktoré dnes staviame, snažiac sa mať lepšiu módu ako iní ľudia. Ale to, čo potrebujeme, je to staromódne vyliatie Ducha Svätého, ktoré nás prečistí, vrátane našich pastorov v letničných zboroch. To je pravda.
146No, ale tá vec na tom bola tá, že keď Svätý Duch zostúpil na Ježiša v dni Jeho krstu, On bol očkovaný. Sledovali sme Ho v hodine skúšky. Keď sa Mu diabol pokúšal dať všetky kráľovstvá sveta, čo On urobil? On stál rovno so Slovom. Amen.
147Ale to, čomu sa dnes divím, je, že veľa bratov na misijnom poli od posledného dňa prebudenia... Prečo to tak je, že keď dostanete pár päťcentoviek alebo veci na preoblečenie, necítite sa na to, aby ste niekam išli, ale musíte mať niečo väčšie, ako má druhý? Z toho sú len nakoniec veľké preteky za lepšou kariérou. Je to hanba. Boh chce, aby sa človek pokoril a dostal sa do toho správneho miesta, On chce niekoho, ku komu môže hovoriť. Ale stáva sa to len honbou za kariérou, každý chce mať niečo viac ako ten druhý. Je to... A vidíte, oni nemôžu obstáť pred tou prestížou satanovho pokušenia.
148Ale náš Pán obstál v pokušení. To očkovanie vydržalo. Keď prišiel ten čas, keď tam bola debata ohľadom Písma, On stál presne na Slove. Satan povedal, „Je napísané.“
On povedal, „Ale tiež je napísané.“ Ó, to je... Sláva! Boh v človeku, vidíte.
149Čo On mal? On mal u Seba niečo, čo podložilo každé slovo, čo povedal. Povedal, „Ak nečiním skutky Môjho Otca, potom Mi neverte. Ale ak Mi nedokážete veriť, verte v skutky, ktoré On činí cezo Mňa.“ Ó! Tu to máte.
150To, čo potrebujeme, sú takí muži a ženy dnes, ktorí dokážu zavrieť ústa svetu skrze znamenia Svätého Ducha. Také kempové zhromaždenia potrebujeme. Potrebujeme byť totálne obrátení a vytrasení, aby sa mnohé veci tohto sveta dostali von z cirkvi, ktoré tam v posledných dňoch prišli. Peniaze sa trúsia po krajine, a veľké veci, ktoré napĺňajú ľudské mysle veľkými vecami, namiesto Boha. Kompromisy a kompromisy s Písmom! Každý brat, ktorý tak začal, ale stal sa populárnym v nejakej organizácii, činí kompromis na tom, čo uveril.
151Taká krv netečie v pravom človeku narodenom zo Svätého Ducha. Všetci diabli v pekle sa ho môžu snažiť vyviesť z miery ohľadom Slova. Ale on na tom bude stáť napriek všetkému. Amen. Pavol povedal, „Nie je nič prítomné ani budúce, čo môže prísť, vôbec nič, čo by nás mohlo oddeliť od lásky Božej.“ Skutočné, nefalšované narodenie zo Svätého Ducha prichádza do človeka, a on sa potom stáva Synom Božím. Nie je medzi ním a Bohom žiadna priepasť. On je Jeho synom v Jeho Prítomnosti. Amen. Mám to rád. Viem, že to je pravda. V poriadku.
152Zisťujeme, že v hodine pokušenia aj napriek tým svetským veciam to očkovanie vydržalo. V čase, keď bol nazývaným náboženským fanatikom a robili si z Neho žarty, hodili Mu na hlavu handru, na Jeho oči, a udreli Ho do hlavy palicou a povedali, „No, ak si prorok, povedz nám, kto Ťa udrel.“ Tí rímski vojaci, oni ho videli, ako rozpoznával ľudské myšlienky. Len tam stáť a...
153Ak by tu On teraz dnes večer stál, pozrel by sa dookola a povedal by tej žene, čo s ňou nebolo v poriadku a čo bolo toto a toto. To je spôsob, ako by to urobil. To je spôsob, ako to vždy robí, pretože On sa nemení. Amen. Nie ste za to radi? To je živý Boh. Ten človek mohol spadnúť zo strechy a život mohol z neho odísť; ale stál tam muž, ktorý mal v sebe Boha a ktorý mohol položiť ruky na toho človeka a on by opäť žil. Ten istý Boh žije dnes večer. Amen. On je Nemenný Boh. Cirkev potrebuje očkovanie. Tak veru.
154Ako raz David duPlessis povedal, Boh nemá žiadne vnúčatá. To je pravda. Kde sa naši letniční bratia stávajú... Ich vlastné deti prichádzajú do cirkvi a hovoria, „No, my sme letniční, pretože aj náš otec bol.“ Ak otec bol letničný a obdržal krst Duchom Svätým, potom to musíte obdržať presne takým spôsobom, ako váš otec. On nemá vnúčatá. On má len synov a dcéry, nie vnukov a vnučky; len synov a dcéry. To je pravda.
155Takže vy musíte urobiť tú istú vec, ktorú oni urobili na deň Letníc. Musíte mať to isté prežitie. Musíte mať tú istú vec, ktorú oni mali. Boh nikdy nemení Svoj program. On nikdy nemení Svoje spôsoby. On len vždy robí tú istú vec. Ten spôsob, akým usporiadal Svoj program, ono sa to s tým vždy musí zhodovať. Musí to byť to isté. A ak budete robiť tú istú vec, prídu tie isté výsledky. Amen. Tak veru.
156No, teraz zisťujeme, že to vydržalo v čase pokušenia. Vydržalo to, aj keď všetko išlo zle. Vydržalo to, keď Ho všetci priatelia opustili. Stále to vydržalo, to očkovanie pretrvávalo. Potom si diabol myslel, „Teraz Ho mám.“ On začal na Golgote, Krv vytekala z Jeho tela. Okolo tela Mu dali rúcho, bolo tam jedno veľké šplechnutie Krvi. Diabol musel povedať, „Teraz Ho mám. Toto nemôže byť Boh. Nie, nie. To nemôže byť On, ak by nechal tých vojakov, aby Mu pľuli na tvár, keď ich predsa nechal, aby Mu vytrhávali kúsky brady z tváre, inak by ich vyzval, aby videli videnie, ale On to neurobil. A teraz ide hore na kopec, nesie ten kríž, za pár minút Ho dostanem.“
157Tá včela smrti tam zostúpila, krúžila okolo, aby Ho poštípala. Viete, ako každá včela, ona mala žihadlo. Ale viete, Boh tam mal v tom čase pripravené telo, to bolo telo Božie. Keď je to žihadlo raz zakotvené v tom Synovi Božom, v Emanuelovi; keď sa odtiaľ vytiahol, nezostalo tam žiadne žihadlo. Vzal to žihadlo rovno zo smrti. Niet divu, že Pavol mohol povedať, „Smrť, kde je tvoj osteň? Hrob, kde je tvoje víťazstvo? Ale vďaka Bohu, ktorý nám dal víťazstvo skrze nášho Pána Ježiša Krista.“
158On mohol poštípať Eliáša a zomrieť, mohol poštípať Eliáša a zanechať svoje žihadlo. Ale viete, ak včela... Ak tá včela hlboko poštípe, už sa jej viac nepodarí štipnúť, žihadlo sa je vytiahne. Takže tam už nebolo nijaké ľudské telo, do ktorého by sa mohol zakotviť. Ó! Nikto, do koho by sa mohol zakotviť. Ale keď to vtedy umiestnil do Emanuela, on stratil svoj osteň. Vďaka Bohu! Áno, tak veru, na tomto jednom zlyhal. Tak veru.
159Oni zistili, že ten toxín vydržal. Povedali, „Ak si Syn Boží, zostúp z kríža.“ Veľkňaz, veľký hodnostár cirkvi povedal, „Povedz nám teraz jasne. Ak si Synom Božím, zostúp z kríža a zachráň sa,“ a tak ďalej. „Nech sa len pozrieme, či si Synom Božím.“ Ale On nikdy neotvoril Svoje ústa a nepovedal ani slovo.
160Ale teraz zisťujeme, že On zomrel. On skutočne zomrel. Zomrel, až dokiaľ slnko a mesiac nevyhlásili, že zomrel. Celá príroda povedala, že zomrel. Celá zem sa zachvela, prebehlo ňou napäté zdesenie. A keď uvideli, že práve ten Boh, ktorý stvoril zem, ako tam ležal na jej vrchu a Emanuelova Krv kvapkala na zem. Niet divu, že zomrel. Zomrel, až dokiaľ všetko nepovedalo, že zomrel.
161A keď to išli zistiť, predtým, ako zomrel, On povedal, „Zborte tento chrám a znovu ho vystavím na tretí deň. Nikdy nebudete schopní udržať ho dole. Zničte ho a na tretí deň ho znova vystavím.“
162A dali tam dookola stráž, aby zistili, či to očkovanie vydrží. Videli, ako to vydržalo pokušenie hriechu. Vydržalo to chudobu. Vydržalo to bohatstvá. Prešlo to cez všetky druhy pokušenia. Stále to pretrvávalo. Ale teraz je to v smrti, čo sa teraz ide diať?
163Ale na to Veľkonočné ráno, predtým, ako vyšlo slnko, to očkovanie to všetko vzalo pod kontrolu. A keď to urobilo, smrť prelomila svoje bariéry, hrob sa otvoril, ale On na tretí deň znovu vstal a vystúpil na výsosť. To ukazuje, že očkovanie, ktoré On mal, je očkovanie Večného Života. Nemôžete to zničiť. Dokonca ani brucho pekla to nemôže pohltiť. Hrob to nemôže zastaviť. Smrť to nemôže zastaviť. Nič proti tomu nemôže obstáť. Znova to vstane.
164Ježiš Kristus povedal, „Všetci, ktorých mi Otec dal, prídu ku Mne a znova ich vzkriesim v posledný deň.“ Haleluja! Muž či žena, ktorí boli Týmto očkovaní, nemôžu zostať v hrobe. Žiaden hrob nemôže zadržať spravodlivého. Žiadne peklo ho nemôže zadržať; žiaden hrob, jednoducho nič. Ježiš Kristus zasľúbil, že ich v ten deň opäť vzkriesi. Amen. Ó, som za to tak rád, za to očkovanie. Viete, v to Veľkonočné ráno to dokázal.
165Viete, čo to bolo? Bola to taká veľká vec, až stodvadsať ľudí chcelo byť očkovaných. No, ak On dokáže zachovať človeka počas pokušení, tak tam prišlo stodvadsať ľudí, ktorí Ho poznali veľmi dobre, a oni to Očkovanie chceli. A tak presne vtedy museli ísť až do toho laboratória a obdržať to sérum, takže On povedal, „Choďte až do Jeruzalema, pokiaľ tam Ja neprídem a nenamiešam ten Liek. Pošlem vám To naspäť.“ A tak oni tam išli, aby tam počkali.
166Ako by mala byť riadená skutočná kresťanská cirkev, aký druh očkovania by mala prijať? Čo, čo by bolo to očkovanie? Ako by to urobili? Čo by sa udialo? Mali by navštíviť všetky tie semináre a naučiť sa mať Ph.D. a LL.D.? Mal by tam prísť nejaký kňaz s kóšerom v rukách na oblízanie a tak prijať komúniu, a tým by to bolo vybavené?
167„Ale prišiel zvuk z neba,“ Očkovanie bolo na svojej ceste, „ako rýchly mocný vietor a naplnilo to celý dom, kde sedeli. Rozdelené jazyky zostúpili na nich ako oheň. A všetci z nich boli naplnení Svätým Duchom a začali hovoriť cudzími jazykmi, tak, ako im dával Duch vysloviť sa.“
168Videli ste niekedy ten starý chrám, obrázok toho? Boli tam malé bočné dvere, ktoré takto vyčnievali, takto vychádzali schodmi a viedli až do hornej miestnosti. Zavreli dvere a takto tam vstúpili, pretože sa báli.
169Ale hovorím vám, že keď zostali očkovaní ako čerstvo označkované teľa, nemohli to v sebe udržať. Nie veru. Vyšli z izby a išli na ulicu. Boli očkovaní. Smrť, peklo, prenasledovanie, vysmievanie, posmievanie, nerobilo to žiaden rozdiel, oni boli očkovaní. Amen. Ó!
170Počúvajte, čo tam Peter hovoril, ako tam stál. Začali sa pýtať, „Či nieto balzamu v Gileáde? Nie je už viacej balzamu v Gileáde? Či tam nieto lekára?“ Ó, tak je, my máme dostatok balzamu v Gileáde. Máme dostatok lekárov.
171V ten deň, doktor Šimon Peter, on bol lekárom. Povedal, „Napíšem vám lekársky predpis. Poviem vám to. A toto je večný predpis, pretože to bude pre vás a pre vaše deti a všetkým na široko-ďaleko. Úprimne povedané, je to pre každého, ktorý na Neho zavolá, na ktorého Hospodin, váš Boh, zavolá. 'Dám mu to.'“ Ó.
172Povedal, „Čo pre to môžeme urobiť, aby sme zostali očkovaní?“ To je to, v čom to spočíva. „Čo môžeme pre to urobiť, aby sme zostali očkovaní?“
173Povedal, „Napíšem lekársky predpis.“ Povedal, „Čiňte pokánie, každý jeden z vás, a buďte pokrstení na Meno Ježiša Krista na odpustenie vašich hriechov a príjmete dar Ducha Svätého. Lebo tento predpis je pre vás a pre vaše deti a všetkých na široko-ďaleko, toľko, koľko ich Pán, náš Boh, zavolá.“ Ó!
174Viete čo? Keď lekár nájde liečivo pre určitú chorobu; a napíše predpis, a potom sa toho zmocní nejaká mastičkárska lekáreň a pridajú tam trochu tohto, potom zoberú niečo z toho a takto to tam dajú, ono to buď pacienta zabije, alebo mu to jednoducho niečo urobí. Ten predpis v tom nemá dostatok lieku, aby mu to niečo pomohlo. Ak nie, je to tak slabé, že to tomu pacientovi ani nepomôže.
175A to je to, čo sa deje s mnohými dnešnými denominačnými lekárňami. Oni vypíšu predpis, pridajú tam niečo iné namiesto toho, a potom z toho máte len kopu márnic.
176Ale tento predpis stále zostáva ten istý. Potom, keď to Samaritáni prijali, potom zostali očkovaní, oni mali tú istú vec. Keď to prijali pohania, obdržali ten istý lekársky predpis. Pavol stretol skupinu v Skutkoch 19, ktorí mali len časť predpisu. Ale nie komplet, on povedal, „To nebude fungovať. Takto to len celé zničíte.“ Takže on to pre nich prepísal, a povedal im, ako to obdržať. A dostali to tým istým spôsobom.
177A to je to, čo sa dnes deje. Existuje dostatok balzamu v Gileáde, taktiež máme dostatok lekárov, ale ľudia sa boja toho predpisu. Sláva! Chvála Bohu. Či nieto balzamu v Gileáde? Či nieto žiadnej moci v Duchu Svätom? Kde to všetko je?
178Ale toto očkovanie funguje pri všetkom. Vidíte? Fungovalo to so Židmi. Taktiež so Samaritánmi. Rovnako aj s pohanmi. S každým to funguje tým istým spôsobom.
179Som misionárom. Bol som v oblastiach, kde ľudia ani nevedia, ktorá je pravá a ľavá ruka, a oni tam stáli. A viete, čo robia, keď obdržia Svätého Ducha? To isté, čo robíte vy, presne tú istú vec.
180Ó, čo to je? „Je to pre vás, pre vaše deti a pre všetkých na široko-ďaleko a pre kohokoľvek, koho si Pán, náš Boh, zavolá.“ Ten istý predpis funguje na tú istú vec.
181A cirkev bude robiť presne tú istú vec, akú robila na počiatku. Presne tak. Ježiš je viničom. My sme letorasty. A tým, že sme očkovaní Životom, ktorý je v tom Viniči, Cirkev, ktorá zostala očkovaná, potom písala novú Knihu Skutkov.
182Ale teraz máme akési náhrady. Máme nejaké naštepené ovocie. Ono to síce žije ten život toho stromu, ale nikdy to nezrodí ovocie. Tak je.
183Stál som tam s jedným mojím priateľom, Johnom Sharritom, tam vo Phoenixe, nie veľmi dávno. A mal tam strom, pomaranč, ktorý mal na sebe okolo päť alebo šesť rôznych druhov ovocia.
Povedal som, „Nič také som ešte nevidel.“
On povedal, „Oni sú naštepené.“
Povedal som, „Čo za druh stromu to je?“
Povedal, „Pomaranč.“
184Povedal som, „No, je tam citrón, je tam limetka, sú tam mandarínky a citrusy, grep, všetky možné druhy.“ Povedal som, „A všetky z nich vznikli z tohto istého stromu?“
Povedal, „Áno, je to všetko citrusové ovocie.“
185Povedal som, „No, je to dosť zvláštne.“ Povedal som, „No, tento rok, po tom, ako to splodilo všetko toto ovocie, ďalší rok to potom splodí pomaranč?“
186On povedal, „Ó, nie. Istotne nie.“ Povedal, „Splodí to presne to ovocie, akým je tá vetva.“
187Tak som povedal, „Potom sa ten strom nejako premení na pomarančový strom, alebo čo?“
188On povedal, „Nie, nie, nie. Ak to niekedy vydá ďalšiu vetvu, to splodí pomaranč.“
Povedal som, „Aha, rozumiem.“ Amen.
189Brat, my dnes máme také veci, ako cirkevné denominácie, ktoré sú zaočkované do tohto a nazývajú sa kresťanmi. Ale ak ten skutočný Život toho stromu niekedy privedie inú vlastnú vetvu, za tým pôjde ďalšia Kniha Skutkov, lebo On je ten istý včera, dnes i naveky. Čo svet a jeho poklady, oni o tom nič nevedia. Ale ľudia, ktorí čítajú túto Bibliu... ak to budete čítať z denominačného stanoviska, veľa z toho neobdržíte. Ale ak sa na to budete pozerať len tak, ako sa to tam hovorí, a potom poslúchať, čo hovorí ten predpis. Čítajte to, buďte tomu poslušní a to vás urobí inou osobou.
190Práve nedávno som sa vrátil z Indie. Počul som tam o žene, bola zasiahnutá chudobou, jej syn išiel do Indie, aby sa tam stal lekárom. A tak tam prišiel a potom odišiel od svojej lekárskej praxe a stal sa niečim iným, myslím, že bol niečo ako elektroinžinier. A táto žena bola chudobná. Ona jednoducho nemala nič, a tak sa charita snažila prísť a postarať sa o ňu. A tak preverovali ten prípad, a keď to celé prešetrili, zistili, že tá žena tu mala jednu podporu, a pritom to bol jej syn, ktorý bol v Indii bohatým človekom. Tak povedali, „Prečo ťa tvoj syn nepodporuje?“
191Povedala, „Ó, ja sa ho ani nemôžem opýtať.“ Povedala, „Ja som jeho matkou,“ povedala, „radšej si vybavím charitu, ako by som sa mala pýtať môjho syna.“
Povedali, „Či si nikdy o ňom nepočula?“
192Povedala, „Ó, počujem ho najmenej raz alebo dvakrát do mesiaca.“ Povedala, „Píše mi jedny z najmilších listov, aké by ste kedy mohli čítať.“
193Povedali, „No, zdá sa, že dostatočne miluje svoju matku a má dostatok peňazí, mal by sa teda snažiť postarať sa o ňu, namiesto toho, aby ju nechal napospas charite.“
194Povedala, „No, predsa ak by vedel, že som na tom takto,“ povedala, „on by to urobil, postaral by sa o mňa. Ale,“ povedala, „on nevie... je mi to dosť trápne povedať to takto môjmu synovi.“
A tak povedali, „A stále vám píše tieto milé listy?“
195Povedala, „Ó, tie najmilšie listy!“ A povedala, „Taktiež mi posiela tie najkrajšie obrázky, aké ste kedy videli.“
Povedali, „Najkrajšie obrázky? Tak sa na nejaké pozrime.“
196Trochu prelistovala Bibliu a vytiahla ich. Viete, čo to bolo? Bankové zmenky. India dáva na svoje bankové zmenky obrázky, vidíte, tie najkrajšie obrázky. A ona mala tisíce dolárov, keby sa to zamenilo z indickej meny na americkú menu. Čo to bolo? Na zadnej strane Biblie, tam mala poklady, o ktorých si myslela, že to boli „len obrázky“, ale potom zistila, že to bola pre ňu skutočná hodnota.
197A brat, keď sa snažíš prečítať namaľovaný oheň z Letníc, a niekto sa ti snaží povedať, že Duch Svätý nie je ten istý dnes, ako bol vtedy, niekto sa to snaží povedať, že dni zázrakov pominuli, že Ježiš Kristus nie je ten istý včera, dnes i naveky, a snažia sa ti toto nahovoriť, jednoducho tomu never. To nie sú tie obrazy. Všemohúci Boh poslal to posolstvo pre teba, tak je to, „Je to pre vás, pre vaše deti a pre všetkých na široko-ďaleko, toľkých, koľkých Hospodin, náš Boh zavolá.“ Boh je stále Bohom. Ježiš Kristus je ten istý včera, dnes i naveky.
198On je práve tu, dnes večer, aby zachránil stratených, uzdravil chorých, naplnil ich Svätým Duchom, tých, ktorí túžia byť nasýtení. Veríte tomu, či nie? [Zhromaždenie hovorí, „Amen.“ - pozn.prekl.] Tak veru. Ak tomu veríš, potom, to sú tieto Božie zasľúbenia v tomto Slove tu, môžeš to obdržať priamo tu a nájsť každé zasľúbenie. To zasľúbenie je pre teba. Peter povedal, „To zasľúbenie je pre vás a pre vaše deti a pre všetkých na široko-ďaleko.“ Nebojte sa do toho investovať. To je tá banková zmenka v nebi. Tak veru. Ježiš Kristus je ten istý včera a naveky!
199Čo ak by tu On dnes večer stál a videl by túto ženu, ako tu chorá leží? Zdá sa, že je veľmi chorá, postihnutá, možno paralyzovaná alebo niečo také. Dve ženy... Žena, farebný muž a farebná žena, snažia sa niečo robiť s tým malým dieťaťom, čo si myslíte, že by On urobil, keby tu teraz stál a hľadel na týchto dvoch pacientov, myslím, ako Uzdravovateľ? Či si myslíte, že je schopný ich uzdraviť? Ale On to už urobil, vidíte. Keď zomrel na Golgote, On to urobil. Veríte tomu, či nie, vy, pacienti? Veríte, že to je pravda? Ty, farebná pani, ktorá si tu s tým malým dieťaťom, veríš Ježišovi Kristovi, že keď On zomrel na Golgote, že On tiež vykúpil uzdravenie tvojho dieťaťa?
200Ty tam na tom ležadle, ak si... Vyzeráš, že si veľmi chorá. Si ochromená alebo čokoľvek iné to je, veríš, že Ježiš Kristus zomrel na Golgote, aby ťa zachránil z tvojej nemoci? Veríš tomu? Veríš, že to, čo som dnes večer vypovedal, že to je pravda? Veríš, že ten lekársky predpis je pravdivý? Veríš tomu?
201Ak by tu dnes večer stál a vy by ste sa Ho opýtali, „Uzdravil by si moje dieťa?“ Viete, čo by povedal? „Ja som to už urobil.“ Vidíte, vy tomu len verte. Vidíte? Ak by ste povedali, „Pane, som postihnutý, nemôžem chodiť,“ alebo čokoľvek iné to je. „Nedokážem kráčať. Zomieram,“ alebo niečo. „Spasil by si ma?“ On by povedal, „Ja som to už urobil.“ Vidíte?
202No, ale ako by ste vedeli, že to je práve Jeho hlas? Pretože On by urobil niečo podobné, ako urobil vtedy. On by ti mohol byť schopný povedať niečo o tebe, povedať ti, čím si bol, alebo čo s tebou nebolo v poriadku, alebo niečo také, tak, ako to urobil vtedy v čase Biblie. To by len ukázalo, že On bol ten istý. Ale čo sa týka uzdravenia, vy sami by ste to mali prijať. „On bol ranený pre naše prestúpenia; Jeho ranami sme uzdravení.“ Veríte tomu?
203Veríte, že On by mi bol schopný dnes večer povedať, čo je tvoja ťažkosť, alebo niečo o tebe, ty, čo tu ležíš? Prijal by si to a veril by si mi, ako Jeho prorokovi? Urobil by si to?
204A čo ty, tá pani vedľa nej, tá s tou rukou na svojom dieťati, veríš tomu? …?...
205Koľkí tomu budú veriť? [Zhromaždenie sa raduje a hovorí, „Amen.“ - pozn.prekl.]
206Teraz, Nebeský Otče, toto je Tvoje zhromaždenie. Práve som... Ja som zodpovedný za kázanie Tvojho Slova. No, viem, že toto je nezvyčajné, ale modlím sa, aby si to dnes večer udelil, aby ľudia mohli vedieť, že toto je pravda.
207V poriadku, pozrite sa na to takto. Tvoje dieťa má nejaký druh choroby s kosťami. Tak je. Má nejaké veľké opuchnutie v nohe. Či je to pravda? Drž na ňom svoju ruku, opakuj a povedz, „Pane Ježišu, uzdrav moje dieťa, budem Ti slúžiť celý môj život.“ Ak ste ešte nikdy neobdržali to Očkovanie, len tomu verte z celého vášho srdca. A potom dajte povraz okolo nohy toho dieťaťa, dnes večer, a odmerajte to. A potom prineste ten povraz opäť zajtra, kde ste to odrezali, o koľko sa to zmenšilo medzi dneškom a zajtra večer. Urobíte to?
208Ty, čo tam ležíš, vedľa, veríš, že som Jeho služobníkom? Nikdy som ťa nevidel, nikdy v živote. Ale ty tu ležíš v tôni smrti. Ponad tou ženou je tmavý tieň. Ona trpí, zomiera na rakovinu. Presne tak to je. A veríš, že Boh ťa môže dať do poriadku? Dokážeš tomu veriť? Potom prečo tam tak ležíš a čakáš, kým zomrieš? Doktor to nemôže urobiť. Vstaň, v Mene Ježiša Krista, vezmi svoje ležadlo a choď domov.
209[Zhromaždenie sa raduje. – pozn.prekl.] Veríte? Všetci, ktorí chcú veriť a akceptovať svoje uzdravenie, postavte sa na svoje nohy a ďakujte Bohu. Vezmi ju za ruku, môj brat.
210Povedzme, „Chvála Pánovi,“ každý jeden. Veríte Mu? [Zhromaždenie sa raduje. – pozn.prekl.] Pozdvihnite teraz svoje ruky ku Bohu a chváľte Ho. [Zhromaždenie sa raduje. – pozn.prekl.] Veríte? [Zhromaždenie sa raduje. – pozn.prekl.] Či nieto balzamu v Gileáde? Moc Božia to dokáže urobiť!
211Povstaňme teraz na svoje nohy, každý jeden, s tou vierou, že tomu veríme.
Povstaňte všetci na svoje nohy a prijmite vyslobodenie v Mene Pánovom. [Zhromaždenie pokračuje v radovaní. – pozn.prekl.]
1 Thank you Brother Johnson. Good evening, friends. It's really a grand privilege to be here tonight and, one thing, to be back in Arkansas, and, another thing, to be on the campgrounds. I believe this is my first camp meetings that I have attended for a long time. And I had the invitation to come, and--and to begin with you. And I have heard, since we've just come in, you've been having a wonderful time here at this meeting. I'm so thankful for that.
2And, I, coming up along the road, a few moments ago, with my son, and we were talking about years ago when I first come down here to Arkansas, was the first of my meetings. When I first started off, it was in Arkansas, in the evangelistic type of the meetings, anyhow. And since then, been seven times around the world, and now back in Arkansas. It's like bad money, always returns it. I have, everywhere I've been, I suppose, in the United States, I've asked, "Any people here from Arkansas?" I've always had friends from Arkansas, pretty near everywhere. And I have always said: some of the truest hearts, I believe, that ever beat, was under them old blue shirts down here in Arkansas. Real fine people! I love you.
3 And I--I'm grateful to God for the opportunity to be back, tonight, in Arkansas, be here with you. And so I think we got three nights yet left in the convention, and to have the opportunity to come in and express my love to Jesus Christ, and have fellowship with you people and our fine bunch of brethren here, who, many of them I don't know. I just looked around and seen one that I do know, Brother Jack Moore, I just happened to, and Sister Moore, happened to recognize them then. And we are certainly happy to be in.
4Now, I know, all day long you must get tired, you know, physically tired. We never get enough of... get tired praising and blessing God, for His goodness, how wonderful He is. And, but, all day long, and then when nighttime comes, then here I come in. And I kind of one of those ministers that's been given the idea of speaking a long time. But I don't think we'll do it now, because of this squeeze in the convention. You've heard great speakers, no doubt, all through the day and through the convention. And then to stand up here on the platform, why, before all these fine speakers, that, I feel pretty small, and stand here.
5 One of the ministers I just shook hands with, told me this is your first services to have in this tabernacle, I would call it; I don't know just exactly what, this temple or whatever it is. And we're--we're certainly thankful again for the opportunity to come into a new church, something that's erected to the praise and honor of God. How wonderful!
6And we are just moved back, or not moved back... Just come back from the... for the school vacation for the children. We live in Tucson, Arizona, now. And it's been awfully hot out there, but we find that it's a little bit hotter here at home than it was out there, because of the tremendous humidity. And it kind of puts us down, after getting kind of used to the air there.
7 We got in home and had the first service last Sunday, and we seen the Lord Jesus continuing His great work of love and power among the people. And the same Gospel that I preached to you fifteen years ago, here in Arkansas, I still believe the same thing. Just don't change It. It's Christ.
8Sunday there was something taken place at the church. Just happened to look around and see the gentleman on which the--the miracle was performed.
9 Notice, we all love to brag on--on the Lord Jesus. We--we love to. I had a woman one time to tell me, she said that's the only fault she could find with me, I "brag too much about Jesus." I said, "I'll sure go to Heaven if that's all the faults I had, bragging on Jesus." And so she--she just didn't think He was Divine. She tried to say He was just a man and philosopher, or prophet, or something on that order. But I said He was God. And so we...
And she said, "I can prove to you that He wasn't God."
And I said, "Oh, I don't believe you can do that."
She said, "Oh, I can prove He was only human."
10I said, "Now, I'll admit He was human, but He was both human and Divine."
She said, "He couldn't be Divine."
And I said, "Oh, He was Divine, and He is Divine."
11She said, "Oh, He couldn't be." Said, "I'll prove it by your own Bible."
I said, "All right."
12 And she said, "On Saint John the 11th chapter, on the road down to the grave of Lazarus, the Bible said, 'Jesus wept.'"
I said, "Well, what's that got to do with it?"
13She said, "Well, if He--if He weeps, it proves He is not Divine."
14I said, "Lady, your argument is thinner than the broth made out of a shadow of a chicken that starved to dead." I said, "You know better than that." I said, "He was--He was human as He went to the grave of Lazarus, crying, that's right. But when He straightened His little shoulders up, and said, 'Lazarus, come forth,' and a man that been dead for four days stood on his feet and lived again, that was more than a man, that could do that." I still believe Him to be that.
15 Sunday, while speaking, we... I was asking the people to turn around in the tabernacle and shake hands with each other. And there was a--a dear friend, I've just learned to love him. He just come into the church, he and his wife. His wife is a registered nurse. And he himself is an Englishman. She is a Norwegian. How that ever happened, I don't know. But--but, however, they're both fine people. And this--this brother has had a little something wrong, kind of in his heart. And very fine Christian man, and an intellectual man, too, he does secular work for accountants and so forth. And he turned around, and, when he did, a heart attack struck him, and he pitched over on the floor, dead.
16And his wife, being a nurse, she grabbed him quickly, and grabbed his pulse over his heart, "He is gone." And I looked at his face, real dark, his eyes was turned back. Not just closed his eyes, but his eyes pushed out in front. And he was... I come over the platform, tried to get the audience quietened, many people was trying to help the sister, of course, in that condition, with her husband. Someone laid something over his head, or under his head, rather.
17 I took a hold of his heart, to... his pulse at his arm, and no more pulse than there is on that piece of wood. And then I knelt down and prayed, "Lord Jesus, I pray Thee, give back our Brother Way his life." And his heart beat four or five times, and started off beating regularly again. And he come back up again, and he was trying to talk. He couldn't talk, he was... The blood stops, you know, when the heart stops. And it was quite some time before his blood got circulating just right. And I heard him call my name, and then I got back in the platform.
18Brother Way, I wonder if you'd just stand up so the people could see who the man was. That's the man that dropped dead, Sunday morning, of a heart attack. [The congregation rejoices--Ed.] Sister Way, his wife, a nurse who was standing there to take his pulse, to see. And see that he... So I...
19That sounds very strange, maybe, to people who wouldn't believe these things. But I have seen the Lord Jesus raise the dead, many times. And that's not new to us, so we wouldn't... I think it's fine to brag on Jesus, but I think it ought to be some truth, what you're bragging about. So we've seen Him, I've seen Him, in the last fifteen years, of many infallible cases, raise up the dead.
20 Especially one in Mexico, where Brother Moore and I was standing in Mexico City, a little baby died one morning at nine o'clock, with pneumonia, in the doctor's office. And the little woman, we couldn't get her to the... Well, the man had give out all the prayer cards, and we just had to number them as they would come up. There wasn't no more prayer cards. And this little Spanish sister, about, I guess, twenty-five years old, had a little, dead baby; and it was raining, and she had it under a blanket.
21And the night before that, there had been a blind man that was, oh, probably as old as my father would be, probably seventy years old, blind, and he received his sight when I was praying for him. And that night, platform practically as wide as this is across here, was just ricks of, oh, way high, two or three feet, with just shawls and hats, and old garments that they had laid up there.
22 And this little woman was trying to get up there. And Billy Paul, my son, came and said, "Dad, I got pretty near three hundred ushers there, and all three hundred can't hold that little woman." She had a dead baby under a little, blue blanket.
I said, "Well," I said to Brother Jack Moore, "go down."
23Brother Jack Moore and I have a lot of things in common. I don't want to say we look alike, because he is such a handsome man. But one thing about Brother Moore, we both part our hair the same way. [Brother Branham and congregation laugh--Ed.] We have a lot of things in common. I thought, "She never did know me," had to let me down on some ropes and things, to get in. So I sent him down to pray for the little baby. I thought, "Well, they won't, she'll never know the difference."
24 And so I was started to speak again, when... Brother Espinoza, many of you brethren know him, from the West Coast, was doing the interpreting. This was out there by the bull ring in Mexico City. And I looked out over the audience and I seen a vision of a little Mexican baby sitting, smiling at me. So I said, "Bring the little lady here." So laid hands upon the little, dead, stiff, cold form. His feet begin to kick, and he begin to scream, and--and there he was, alive.
25And I sent a runner, Espinoza did, to check with the doctor, to get a statement before we could write it out. The doctor wrote an affidavit, that that baby died that morning in his office, about nine o'clock, and this was about ten-thirty that night. And the baby is living today, enjoying good health, to the honor and glory of God.
26 So seeing many things take place, we wouldn't have to say about our Brother Way there, but truth is truth. And God doesn't do those things just to... He wants it to be known, and people to know that He loves them. And by the grace of God, Brother Way sits among us tonight, living. We're thankful for that.
27I thought, being on the campground, coming in, just don't want to interrupt the great time. Billy was telling me, this afternoon, said, "You talk about real old-fashion Pentecost," said, "you wait till you get up there!" Said, "They sing like they have had the experience for fifty years."
I said, "I guess some of them has, yeah, for fifty years."
28 And I just love to get into a meeting like that, I believe every one of us do, where we just get right into it.
29Like I used to tell a little story about fishing. Up in northern New Hampshire, I was fishing for trout. And way up at the head of the mountain, I had a little tent sitting up there, oh, those little A-tent, little pup tent from the government. And I had found a place where there was many trout, was back under a bush. And there--and there was moose willow there, and every time I tried to wet my fly, why, it would catch in the willow. So that morning, I got up, went up there, early, and I thought, I'll cut them willows down. I'd just... If I killed a fish, then I would eat it, otherwise I would turn it loose. So I had all week, all I could take care of, and I was up there by myself.
30 And while I was gone that morning, on my road back, an old sow bear and two little cubs had got in my tent. And you talk about wrecking things, they really had wrecked it right. And they had tore everything up. And I--I thought... When I come back, I heard a noise, and I looked around some little bushes I was coming around. And the old mother bear and all of them was just having them a time, raking through everything.
31And she saw me, and she run off and cooed to her cubs. One of the cubs come, and the other one didn't come. Little bitty fellow, spring, he was just so high. He was sitting like this. And I thought, "Well, what's the little fellow so interested in?"
32 And I got around and looked. I said to her, "Get out of there! Get out of there!" And he just sit there. I thought... And I watched the old mother, because, you know, to fool with her cubs, she would scratch you, you know. So I--I--I watched; there was a tree pretty close, you know. I had an old rusty pistol laying over there in the tent, was probably broke up then. And, anyhow, I wouldn't want to shoot the old mother and leave two orphans in the woods. So I kept watching this tree, getting around to see what the little fellow was so fascinated.
33And, you know, I--I--I like pancakes. We, we're all Southerners, aren't we? [Congregation says, "Yes."--Ed.] Flapjacks is what they are down here, you know. So, and I really love them, and I--and I--I know... There's not much Methodist about me; I really like to pour on the molasses. I really baptize them right, pour it all over them. So I don't like just a little bitty sprinkle like you get in these places here, a little thing. I like to get where you really pour it on, you know, and get them mixed good and heavy.
34 I had me a half a gallon bucketful of--of good old sorghum. This little bear had got the top off, and he was really enjoying my molasses. Kept watching him around the corner. He'd take his little paw and stick down in this bucket, you know. And he didn't know how to get the molasses out, so he just sticking his paw down in my molasses, and then rake it up and lick when it come down.
35I tell you, when I finally got around and got his attention, he looked at me. He couldn't see me, he was molasses from the top of his head, all the way down. His little belly just as full of molasses. And his eyes, he couldn't even open his eyes to look at me, you know, trying.
36I thought, "That's right. There is no condemnation to them that's eating." Puts in the mind of a good old Pentecostal meeting, when we get our arms down in that honey jar, about that deep, you know, of that Pentecostal Honey.
37 You know, the strange thing about it, after he got his tummy full, and my bucket sopped out, he went over to his mammy and little brother, and the mammy licked him.
38So, you know, I hope we get so much on us here, that, when we go home, those who didn't come will lick off of us, a little of our experience, tell them about what great things the Lord has did down here in Hot Springs. The Lord bless you.
39And now, I believe, they told me that they didn't get it in time, or something another, to announce to give out some prayer cards, to pray for the sick; some numbers on cards, we call them and pray for them. And now like that, so it's give me one night to kind of get acquainted. And so tomorrow night I think they're going to give out their prayer cards, sometime in the afternoon. Is that? Yeah, you've already... Six o'clock? Six o'clock tomorrow evening.
40 Now I thought, tonight, we'd take just a little portion of the Scripture here and read It, and see if we could find what the Lord would have to tell us. And now just before we open the Book, let's speak to the Author of the Book, as we bow our heads.
41Before we pray, and your heads bowed; and all the cares now, and frolic of the day, and little sense of humors we've had, let's just push it aside now, because we're approaching the King. Is there any special requests, like to be remembered, just would you raise your hand, and say, "Lord!" Right down in your heart, just hold your request.
42 Our Heavenly Father, we deem this such a privilege, God Almighty, to come into the congregation of the Lord, to fellowship together, testifying, telling of the great things that You've done, and the places that we have been. And it just reminds me of Acts 4, in the Bible, when they returned and was speaking of what the Lord had done. And they all prayed, and the place was shook, where they were assembled together.
43God, we're not so anxious, tonight, to see the building shook; but we would like for You to shake us, Lord. Shake our understanding. Shake our being, our emotion, our hearts of understanding, that we might leave here tonight, more determined than ever to serve You, that we might feel the Presence of a new fresh Pentecost, of a Holy Spirit pouring out upon us, afresh and anew like down in these woods and hills in Arkansas, fifty years ago, when the forefathers come through here in horses and wagons, preaching this Gospel. Dear Lord, may we, the bearers of this great worthy Cause that You sent through here, may we not be ashamed of this great thing; but may we walk in the footsteps of those who went before us, Lord, packing the banner of the Lord Jesus.
44 May others, who have not yet accepted this great plan of salvation that God laid down for us in the Scripture, foretold all the way down through the Old Testament, and today we're enjoying it, may there be a great shaking among us, Lord, and a renewing of faith and--and a renewing of efforts.
45I thank You for this convention, for this bunch of people who is still holding on, Lord. In this hour of trial that's come upon the earth, to try those who are professing to be Christians, may we be found, at the end, worthy to enter into the joys of the Lord, that's been prepared for the Redeemed, since the foundation of the world. Bless Thy Word.
46 Lord, remember every hand that went up. You know the objective, You know the motive, You know the request behind that hand. I pray, God, that You'll grant it to each one. May every man that... or woman, boy or girl, that put up a hand, that wanted more salvation, or a closer walk, or to know You as their Saviour, may they never leave this ground till that request is answered.
47To those who are sick and needy, we pray, God, there will be such a wave of healing cross this place, that there'll not be a feeble person that comes on this ground will leave in the way that they come on. You who can raise a man up from the dead, and present him here before us, it shows that You're the same God that stood there by the grave of Lazarus, called him out from among the dead. Father, let them know that You're the same yesterday, today, and forever. Here stands one among us tonight, just a few days ago, called back from the land beyond the shadow of man's knowing in this life. How we thank Thee for this!
48Bless us together now as we study Your Word, for truly Thy Word is Truth. Thy and Thy Word are one. They cannot be separated. So we ask Your blessings upon us, Father, as we wait upon You to speak to us tonight, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Now, if you will, I'd like to turn to Scriptures, and so forth.
49 I kind of laid down on the bed and went to sleep; the first thing you know, Billy come up and said, "Let's go."
Said, "You mean it's church time?" I had to pull out a little bunch of Scriptures I had used before, to--to speak on tonight.
50And I thought maybe it'd be give out some cards and be praying for the sick, and so forth. I've noticed since I've come in here, two people laying on cots, perhaps come to be prayed for tonight.
51Now, and--and Billy come back, said, "I just didn't get in in time, daddy." Talked about it. Said, "We'll--we'll try it tomorrow night."
52I said, "All right, you get the brethren, get it, give some cards out."
53 So now I want you to turn with me, to the--the Book of Second Kings, and the 1st chapter. And then also I want you to turn in there to Jeremiah, the 8th chapter and 22nd verse. Let's read just a portion of this Scripture.
Then Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.
And Ahaziah fell down through the lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, enquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease.
But the angel of the LORD said unto Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, and go up and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that you go to enquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron?
Now therefore thus saith the LORD God, Thou shalt not come down from the bed on which thou has gone up, but thou shall surely die. And Elijah departed.
54And then in the Book of Jeremiah, the 8th chapter and the 22nd verse.
Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is... the health of the daughter of my people not recovered?
55 I want to speak, if we would call it, on the subject: Why? It's a--it's a question, and God is asking this question.
56And God is Eternal. We know He is. He is everlasting. He never had a beginning, or He can never have an end. Eternity never started, it never ends, because it's Eternal.
57And God cannot change His mind nor His way. That's why that we, as people who will not accept creeds, if it's contrary to the Word, because we believe that God and His Word is the same. We believe that the Bible says in Saint John, the 1st chapter, that, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us." Therefore when God says anything, He cannot, tomorrow or any other time, ever take it back; when God is ever called on the scene, to make a decision. And His one decision is Eternal. It can never be changed.
58 And God was called to make a decision for the human race, in the garden of Eden, when the first sin was committed. Could He ever be able to redeem His lost child back into fellowship with Him again? And He fixed one program. It's never changed, by the way of the blood. And follow the Scriptures, it never did alter or change, and it never can, because it's God's decision, by the Blood. Although, we tried to alter it. We've tried to educate it. We've tried to denominate it. We've tried to do everything there is in man's law, to try to change That, like Adam did by fig leaves and so forth. But it still ever remains, the Blood is the only place of fellowship.
59 Therefore, together tonight, we can stand, not as one denomination, maybe many of us together. But we can't stand here to represent one denomination, we have to stand here in this fellowship under the Blood of Jesus Christ. We can all be brethren, sisters. God makes a way for man, and then man refuses to walk in that way, then God has got a right to ask, "Why didn't you do it?" And that's what He did then, and that's what He does now, and that's why He will, what He will ask at the Judgment. They've asked, "Why?"
60 Now, our Scripture reading started off, just immediately after the death of Ahab, a bad king, a borderline believer, a man who knowed what was right to do, and yet did not have the courage to step out and do what he knowed was right to do.
61I just think, if this--if this world isn't contaminated today with Ahabs, this Christendom that we live in, it's contaminated with Ahabs, with man who really know that it's right to give your life and be... to God, and be filled with the Spirit, and to follow the teachings of this Bible, and yet without the courage to stand and do it. Reminds me again of another situation like that in Sodom.
62 The Bible said, "The sins of Sodom, vexed the righteous soul of Lot, daily." And how that the man's soul was righteous, and he looked out upon the sins of the land, and he knowed that what was wrong, that they were doing wrong, and yet without the courage to stand for his conviction.
63No wonder the whole world has become a Sodom and Gomorrah, and how that the Lots today, across the nation and around the world, standing in churches, who is convinced that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and that His power is just as real today as it ever was, without the courage to stand in the pulpit and to denounce sin, because of some barrier that would excommunicate them from a fellowship that they had joined into. Still comes back to the Blood of Jesus Christ, the only remedy.
"Why? Why?"
64 Ahaziah was--was the son of Ahab, had been brought up in the kind of a home that--that was a--a lukewarm home. It wasn't altogether Christian. His mother was a heathen. And his father had married out of fellowship, married a woman that was not a believer.
65And that always makes a bad home for any kid to be raised in, that when unbelief and faith tries to mix together.
66And, now, if the father would have been a real strong man in his faith, the child might have had a better opportunity, but he--he didn't. He didn't have. He knew that there was God. He knew that there was a Jehovah. And then he... his mother's gods, and so forth. He was all confused. Then after the death of his father, this boy in this condition, kind of a mixed up, one way and another.
67And if that ain't a picture of the lands today! One in the family is this a way, and one another, and one going this way and one going that way. No wonder we are producing so much juvenile delinquency, and all other kinds of stuff, under the name of Christianity. It's because there is no unity. There is no real call out, and stand for God.
68 Now we find that, this fellow falling heir to his father's throne. One day, up in the top of his balcony somewhere, walking around, he--he fell through the--the lattice. Might have been over intoxicated and fell through the lattice, down probably on the bottom floor, struck a bench or something, and broke a few ribs or bruised him up. And the sickness must have started an infection somewhere, or the bruise, and caused him to have fever. And he was pretty sick.
69Course, them days, they didn't have the remedies that they have now. Perhaps the doctors came and done what they could for the fellow, but they didn't have the sufficiency. Then he knowed his only thing that he could do would be to go to a higher power than what the doctors could produce in their terminology of medicine. And he thought he would go then; and he sent to his mother.
70 What a lesson that ought to be to mothers! A kid will usually listen to his mama.
71And he went to his, sent to his mother's god, Baal-zebub, over to Ekron, where his statue was, his monument. And said, "Go consult the priests over there, and let them consult their statue of Baal-zebub, whether I will recover of this sickness that I have, or not."
72 But you know, that man, really, could you imagine? A people who was supposed to be a God-fearing people, would let such a man rule over them, is because a lukewarm condition. It was the condition that the church had got into, that put such a person in power, or permitted it. I don't think times have changed very much; they still seem to be a whole lot the same way. And let this man rule, have the say-so over the country, that would consult some statue of some pagan idea about his condition.
73And then, you know, but behind all of it, no matter how much it seems that God has turned His face from the people, He does that sometime to see what kind of an attitude you take. Every son that cometh to God has got to be tried and chastened.
74 And then there is a little spot in a man, or woman, when they're born of the Spirit of God, that's Eternal.
75And you'll get into a place sometime to where every... Everything that's human about you, in reasoning, the devil can reason it away from you. But when it all breaks away, then, if that Eternal Life isn't there, you will fall also, because you can reason yourself away from God.
76But a man that claims to be a Christian, has no right in the pulpit, or has no right in the office, a leader anywhere, until first he has climbed them steps into a place to where he is born of the Spirit of God, filled with the Holy Ghost, in such a way that nobody can explain it away from him.
77 God, when He sent Moses down to Egypt, to deliver the people, first He took him on the back side of the desert, and took all the theology he had in him out, in forty years, and then appeared to him. He knowed more about God, in five minutes, in the Presence of that burning bush, than he knowed in the forty years of learning that he got.
78That's what the church needs tonight, is another burning-bush experience, where slick-tongued people... Where, the Scripture says that, "The two spirits in the last days will be so close, it'd deceive the very elected if possible."
79 A man ought to first get on that sacred ground with God; where all the theologians, all the doctors of divinity, all the reasonings, all the atheists, nothing else can ever explain that away from him. He was there when God come, and he knows what took place. You can't reason it out of him; he was there when it happened. That's the kind of man we need today in the government, in the church, and anywhere else, in the times like this. For leadership, we need a man that's filled with the Holy Ghost.
80That's what the church needs today; not a theologian, but a Spirit-filled, born-again man, full of the Holy Ghost. I tell you, if we had more of that, the church would look a little different than it does in the present time. Things would be different if we just had more man filled with God's Spirit, not going after traditions of the elders, and so forth.
81 Now we find that this fellow sent up there to get this information from--from the--from the god of Ekron, Baal-zebub.
82But, all the time, God knew he was doing it. So He had a prophet down there, by the name of Elijah, so He spoke to Elijah and said, "Go up there to a certain road, and stand in that way. Messengers are coming up." You see, you cannot hide nothing from God, see, no matter what you're doing. Now, how little did that fellow know that God was speaking to Elijah way down there in the wilderness somewhere, in a little mud hut somewhere, and could tell him to "Go, stand on the corner of the road up there, and speak to these fellows, and tell them to 'Get back down to him, and tell him, "THUS SAITH THE LORD, he is not coming off of that bed."'"
83And He said, "Ask him, 'Why did you do it? What makes you do it? Is it because that there is no God in Israel? Is it because He doesn't have a prophet? Is that the reason you did it? Why, you know what's happened. You know the Scripture. You've got them in your own palace. The priests are around there. No doubt you've read them since a boy. And why did you do such a silly thing as that?'"
84 I wonder, tonight, if Christ would come on the scene, or over the nation today, in drawing this nation to judgment, if that same question wouldn't been asked. Why is it, is it? Why is it we are doing these things? Why are we fussing in the government, whether we should read the Bible in public, and, why, if we are reading all this nonsense? Did not our forefathers set this constitution in order? Did not this nation be born upon the principles of the Bible? Aren't we here for freedom of religion, to act in God the way we feel fit to act, the way that we are convinced is Truth?
85 But, you see, we have done something like they did then. We are just letting everything, politics, swallow us up, in the stead of respecting our Faith in our God, and man who has stood for Truth. And we are letting our politics run over that, and voting in such stuff that's polluting this nation, and while we are coming to a judgment. God will rise on the scene, someday, with a mighty prophet, speak in this generation and--and tell people, and they'll see that it's God speaking, but they won't repent. It'll be just like it was then.
86He said, "Is there no God in Israel? Is it because there is no God?" Same as Jeremiah said, "Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there?" Then, they could not answer that. Course, there was. Well, He said, "Then, why, why did you do it? Why is the daughter of my people not healed?"
87 Now we wonder that, tonight. Why? Is there no Bible? Is there no God? Is there no difference? If God is going to bring the people to Judgment, He has got to have something to judge them by. There has got to be some standard.
88If He is going to judge them by the Catholic church; then if they judge them by the Roman church, the Greek church is lost, the other Catholic churches are lost. If He judged it by the Greek, the Roman is lost. If He judged it by the Lutheran, the Methodist is lost. If He judged it by the Methodist, the Lutheran is lost. He can't judge it by a church; there is too many different organizations of it.
89But God will judge the world, He said, by Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ is the Word, and the Word is God. And He will judge them by this Bible, for this is the Word. That is God's standard. We must measure up to what the Bible says.
90And we wonder why we got so much confusion, so many organizations, so much differences, separating brotherhood, and--and everything. It's because there is no Balm in Gilead? Is it because there is no physician there? I wonder if God would ask us that question?
91 Now, it wasn't--it wasn't exactly they didn't have a Physician. They did. God was the Physician. And it wasn't because there wasn't a God in Israel. There was a God. And they had a prophet to consult, to find out what these things are. But it was the king's own stubborn will. That's exactly.
92And that's what's the matter in the nation today. It's the people's own stubborn will. Not because we don't have the same God that crossed the Red Sea, with His people, that fed them forty years in the wilderness. It's not because we don't have the same God that we had in the beginning. It's the people's own stubborn way. They don't want to bow down. They don't want to--to have anything to do with the holiness and purity of living the Bible way of living. They would rather belong to church and put their name on a book, and live like the rest of the world, than to bow down to the promises and the Commandments of Almighty God. That's what's the matter today. That's the reason things are going the way they are, people get away from the Word. You'll never be able to get straightened out till we get back onto the right path.
93 They built this building, put that corner down here somewhere, you would never get the building built. You've got to be laid on the foundation. And the foundation is the Bible, doctrine of apostles and prophets, and so forth, of the Bible.
94The king's own stubborn way. He just didn't want to--to send down there. It wasn't very popular.
95God's real true way of living has never been popular. It never will be popular. "For the preaching of the Gospel is foolishness to them that perish." Paul said, "I'm not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for it's the power of God unto salvation to them that believe."
Now we find out here that the king was stubborn.
96 Just something like today, a patient will lay right on a... What if a patient went to a doctor and laid down on his steps, and he had some kind of a--a fever that was going to kill him? And the doctor come to the door, and said, "Sir, I've got the medicine in here."
He say, "Ah, I just ain't."
"Come on in, I'll give you the injection, the inoculation."
"I don't want your medicine."
97And say now, "Sir, I--I can help you if you'll just come on in."
"Well, I'm not coming in."
98And the man laid there on the doctor's steps and died; die on the doctor's steps because he won't accept the inoculation for typhoid fever or ever what it is, that he had. He won't accept the inoculation for it, and the man dies right on the doctor's doorstep. Now, the man... You can't blame the doctor, if he has the--the medicine that will--that will cure the disease, and the doctor is willing to give it, and it's been provided. And the man set, come as close as the doctor's doorstep, and set down there and die, you can't blame the doctor. You can't blame the medicine. It's the man that'd be to blame; dying on the doctor's doorstep, with a disease that there is a medicine to be cured, can cure it, on the inside. Well, that's just a parable.
99 But, you know, God has the medicine inside of His Kingdom, that will cure every sin disease there is in the world, and the people sit right on the church doorsteps. Not only that, but they sit right in the pew, and die, and are lost and go to Hell, because they refuse to accept the Doctor's medicine. Amen. That's right. They absolutely refuse to take the Doctor's medicine, therefore they die with the fevers.
100And the people sit in the church and hear the Messages of God, and believe them, and won't accept It. They wouldn't say, "Well, now I don't believe that's right." Some of them will come, say and agree with It, say, "I believe It's right," but you won't do it. See, you'll die. Dying in the pews of the church, because they won't accept the remedy. They won't. See, what it does, it takes a little bit of the--the popularity out of the people. It kind of beats them up a little bit.
101 They're afraid of that new Birth. You know, any birth is a mess. I don't care what it is, if it's in a pig pen or a pink decorated hospital, it's a mess, and so is the new Birth. It'll make you do things that you didn't think you would do. It'll straighten you up. But before you can ever get right, you have to come through that mess. That's right. Amen. Before a seed can ever be born, it has to die and rot. And that's what's the matter with people today, they don't want to die and rot out to the world, so they can be born again of the Holy Ghost. See, that's right. They're afraid of that new Birth. They're--they're afraid.
102It makes them do things that they don't want to do. It takes the popularity out of them. It takes the starch out of them. Oh, I tell you, I'm glad that there is inoculation, tonight, that'll take it out of you, brother, that will take the world out. It'll make people, brotherhood, associate together regardless of denominational differences. It'll--it'll make a pair of overalls put an arms around a tuxedo suit, and holler, "Brother, I'm glad to see you!" Amen. Sure! But you... They're afraid of that inoculation. Oh, my!
103It's dangerous to refuse the doctor's medicine, you know, if you--if you're going to him. And it's afraid of... If you refuse the medicine, it's danger. You may die. But that, that, you'll just die physically, from not taking the doctor's medicine. But how much more dangerous is it to refuse God's inoculation from sin!
104 Here sometime ago, I had a little sick spell, and someone said to me, said, "Well, Billy," said, "did you keep your religion during your sickness?" Said, "You know, you believe in Divine healing; did you keep your religion?"
105I said, "No, it kept me. Not the idea of me keeping it; it keeps me."
106When the Blood of Jesus Christ was shed on Calvary, God made a preparation. When man first sinned, he left hisself a great chasm that he crossed, leaving hisself no way back. God, rich in mercy, accepted a substitute, and that was the blood of a lamb or a bullock, and that substitute lasted for years.
107 Moses stood under the inspiration of God, when sin was not even divorced, it was just simply covered by the blood of bulls and goats. And he had the--the glory of God upon him, until he could speak flies into existence, he could speak frogs into existence. Because, a word is a thought expressed, and God brought His thoughts to Moses, and Moses spoke them in words. And when the Word spoke, the whole world was framed by the Word of God.
108There used to be a time when I'd get, in school, get some black ink on my--on my shirt. Mama used to take my shirt off, and say, "Hand it to me, quick, honey," and she would put some coal oil on it. And all it done was just scattered it, made a great big ring spot, where she put the coal oil on the ink. That's all she knowed about. That was the best she had.
109 But it's different today. They have manufactured a stuff called bleach. And you... It's a chemical that whenever that ink drops back into that Clorox, or bleach, whatever it is. When it strikes that, you cannot find that black no more, at all. What happens to it? Drop a drop of black ink in a tub of bleach, why, you don't have nothing. You can't find any fumes.
110If I was a chemist, these--these words may not be just exactly true to science, but I'd say, what is it? "It's an H20, water, for one thing. Then there is a chemical in it, and made it black." There is only one original color, and that's white. All other colors are perversions from that. And now I say... And then if you would break it up from there, and maybe you would say, "Well, it turned into an acid when it hit the bleach. It turned to an acid." All right, then where did the acid go? "The acid went back..."
Now, it's coloring we're talking about in this, the coloring.
111 Say, "It went back to molecules. Well," say, "molecule four times six plus nine, makes molecule H." If it would come out four plus six plus eight, what would it come out? Pink instead of black. Then it went back from there to atoms. Then, from atoms, plus one plus B2 plus three, make four, which put it with molecule H. Means what? Then you come back to black again. And then when you go beyond that, you might go to electrons.
112Where do you go to from there? You will have to go back. Because it is a creation, it had to come from a Creator. You have to make it. Therefore, it went all the way back to its Creator. That coloring that was in that ink, it can never return again.
113 Now, God seen that the blood of bulls and goats could not take away sin. He never manufactured, but He created a chemical in the Blood of Jesus Christ. Amen. That sin once confessed in the right way; you--you don't even bridge that chasm, you take the chasm completely away, and God don't even know that you ever sinned. That's right. He said He "put them in the Sea of Forgetfulness," to remember them no more at all against you. Then men and women stands in the Presence of God, as sons and daughters of God, the very nature of their God in their hearts.
114Where is the church today, brother? What's happened to the church? When, we can see that the Blood of Jesus Christ so remitted sins, that God don't even remember we sinned. Then, "Whatever you ask in My Name, that I'll do." What's the matter? It's because somebody has been indocumating these Scriptures for the people. This is the only thing that I can figure has been done, because God's remedy is still the same. Now, it's dangerous to refuse the doctor's inoculation, how much more God!
115 Now how does man ever find medicine, anyhow, to work on a human being? You know what chemists does, or--or scientists? They take a disease, and find out what kind of a germ is in it, then they get some kind of poison, antidote, and so forth, enough poison enough to kill you, and enough antidote to keep it from doing it, and they inject it first into a guinea pig. They give the guinea pig the disease that you've got. And then they put the medicine in the guinea pig, and if the guinea pig survives it, then they give it to you. So that's quite a thing, you know; give it to the guinea pig and see if he can take it, and, if the guinea pig don't die, then they give it to you. Not all--not all people are made like guinea pigs, you know, so it--it kills some and--and helps the other.
116 But there is one thing about this inoculation that Jesus Christ gives, it helps everybody. It's not a remedy; it's a cure.
117You've heard people say today, "Number-one killer is heart disease." I--I differ with them; not to be different. I just differ because I know it's wrong. The number-one killer is sin disease. Right, not--not all heart disease, it's sin disease.
118You know, some people say, "Well, now, Brother Branham, I believe you stretched the blanket there a little bit. Now let me ask you something. A man has to sin; I just have to sin a little bit every day." That's because you've never been inoculated. That's all. See? Uh-huh. Yeah. You never tried God's remedy. That's right. If you would do that, then you wouldn't do it.
119 Say, "I just have to smoke. Something just makes me smoke." Try the inoculation one time, and find out whether--whether it works or not. You say, "I--I just can't keep from doing this. I--I..." Well, you just--you just take God's toxin one time and see how it does to you.
120A woman said to me not long ago. I was getting onto her about wearing these little old scandal clothes. And she said, "Now, Brother Branham, let me tell you, you have no right to say that. We got a right to wear shorts if we want to."
121I said, "I guess that's right. But if you was a Christian, you wouldn't want to wear them." She said, she said...
122And she said, "Well, now wait, Brother Branham." She said, "You know, they don't make any other kind of clothes but just those sexy clothes, and so forth, like that."
123I said, "They still got bolt goods and make sewing machines. There is no excuse." That's right.
124It's because they don't want to take the inoculation of the fillings of the Holy Spirit, old-fashioned, God-saved, camp-meeting holiness. Amen. That's right.
125 Used to be wrong to do those things. It's still wrong! That's right. But what's the matter, there is something happened. It used to be that--that people that would act like that, they were even excommunicated from society; now they can't be brought into society until they do do it. And so, you see, it depends on where your heart is, there your treasures are also; or where your treasure, your heart is, also. You must remember, that, if you love the Lord with all your heart, you'll live clean and pure.
126 The wife and I went over to the supermarket, here some time ago. We seen a strange thing, a woman with a dress on. It was a strange thing in our country. And Meda said to me, she said, "Bill, I know that, them, some of them women sing in choirs down here in the churches." And she said, "I know them." And she said, "Now, why, what makes them?"
127I said, "Well, you see, honey," I said, "being a missionary, as myself," I said, "we--we are of a different country."
She said, "What?"
I said, "We are of a different country, a different nation."
She said, "Aren't we Americans?"
128I said, "We live here, but this is not our home. We are pilgrims. We are seeking a City, Whose Builder and Maker is God. I went into Finland; I seen the way they acted in Finland. I went in, and down into Germany; I seen the way they had the German spirit. I went down into Switzerland; they had the Switzerland spirit. I come to America; they got a American spirit."
She said, "Well, then, what about us?"
129I said, "We are born from Above, Heavenly, where purity, and holiness, and righteousness, and honesty." Yes. I said, "Therefore, those who profess that, look not upon the things of the world. But we plainly say, by our lives and the way we live, that we have a God, we have a Kingdom, we have a place that we are going. And this is not our home." Amen.
130My, I like that! I begin to feel pretty religious right now. Yes, sir. I believe in this old-time, Holy Ghost salvation. Oh, brother, sister, it does something to you. The same God, lived one time, still lives today. His same, His same doctrine of holiness, just lives tonight the same as it ever lived, just the same thing. Yes, sir. Notice, the people has got away from the doctrine of It, that's all. Yes. Now, yes, sir.
131 Our number-one, heart disease, doesn't, the main thing that kills the people today. It's number one, sin disease. And sin is unbelief. Unbelief in what? The Bible. That's right. Yes, it's the number-one, sin disease, that kills the people today, both spiritually and... And that'll make them kill them physically, of course, 'cause they already can prove that man that holds grudges, and women who fuss and stew, and fight and argue, they die. It'll cause cancer, fungus, everything else will set in, ulcers.
132See, you were made to be happy and free. You were made to live like children before your Father, and--and know that He makes every day, everything work right for you each day. Yes, sir.
133 The people is just afraid of this new Birth. That's all. They're afraid to come to it, because it'll straighten them up. It'll make you quit playing bingo, quit playing these slot machines. It'll make you quit staying home on Wednesday night, from prayer meeting, to watch We Love Sucy and all those other crazy things that Hollywood has got, and them dirty jokes that's cracked over there. And it'll make--it'll make you let your hair grow out, long. It'll make you act like a lady. It'll make a man quit smoking cigarettes, then being in church as deacons. It'll make the people quit lying, stealing. It'll do something for you. It'll clean you up and give you a salvation that there is nothing in the world can explain it away from you, 'cause you know you were there when it happened. Yes, sir.
134 Now, as I said a while ago, when God... When man finds medicine, the thing that they do, they search for this remedy. Then they find this disease, then they inject it into a guinea pig and see if the guinea pig survives it.
135Now, when God was going to bring down this inoculation that I'm speaking of tonight, this balm of Gilead, He didn't find a guinea pig. He come Himself. Amen. Only way He could do, is come in the form of His Son, and was made flesh and dwelt among us, in order to take the sting of death. He come to die. The only way He could die... He couldn't die as a spirit, as a man. So He was formed a body called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and God dwelt in this body, making Himself Emmanuel on earth, to take away the sin of man. That was that chemistry that was in that Blood.
136Somebody said, "He was a Jew." He was not a Jew. Some of them said, "He was a Gentile." He was not a Gentile.
137He was nothing less than God. The Bible said that, "We are saved by the Blood of God." The blood comes from the male sex. We know that. The hemoglobin is out of the male; the female is only the egg. That's right.
138 Like I said there, like springtime. These old mother birds are building nests out here, and laying eggs. Some of them will lay a nestful of eggs that'll never hatch, too. Why? She--she could lay a nestful of eggs, and she could sit on them and just be so loyal. She could turn them eggs each day, and stay there away from food, until she gets so poor she couldn't hardly fly off the nest. No matter how much she babies them, and how much she pets them, and how loyal she is to them, they'll never hatch. Why? She hasn't been with the mate, and they're not fertile, therefore they'll just lay there and rot.
139That's what's the matter with a lot of our conferences. That's what's the matter with our camp meeting, many of them today, and our conferences. What do we get? A bunch of pets and sissified preachers that ought... Why, it's a disgrace. And come in there because he has got a little prestige, or a little education, push them up above something. I'd, my, only thing we need today is a... We got a nestful of rotten eggs.
140 What we need is a good old nest-cleaning time, all the way from there, that will push it out, until we get men and women that's filled with the Holy Ghost; that's been with the Mate, Jesus Christ, and is filled with the Spirit that He was baptized with. That's right. Then we got Life in the camp. Yes, sir. Toxin, they're afraid of It.
141Jesus Christ, the Son of God, when He was born, some of them said, "Well, now, He was, He--He was the egg of Mary." He wasn't. If Mary had to get that egg down through the tube and to the womb, there had to be a sensation, so you see what you put God doing? He was neither, no part of it.
142 God, the Creator, overshadowed the virgin Mary, and created the cells within her womb, and brought forth a Man which was Emmanuel, God Himself made flesh, among us, with no help from anybody. He's the Creator who made the first man. Amen. Oh, my! There He is. There He stands. Yes, sir. And then He did that so He could take the inoculation.
143Any real good scientist, good doctor that finds a disease, some of them will go over to a prison camp and get some man to try it out, that's going to have life in prison. If he survives the inoculation, why, then the poison don't kill him, he can go free if he's ready to take the inoculation. Prisoners wait for that. Oh, that's a doctor that's afraid of his medicine.
144 But, you know, God wasn't afraid of His Own medicine. [Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.]... in a manger, a man standing on the banks of the Jordan. When the inoculation fell down there, he seen it like a dove coming down from Heaven, and He was inoculated. And a Voice said, "This is My beloved Son in whom I'm pleased to dwell in." Amen. God in man. That's the inoculation. God in man. The world watched Him. Every temptation, He stood it. When they spit in His face, pulled the beard out and spit on Him, It stood the temptation. In the hours of trial, it stood the temptation. It held! The inoculation that He received at Jordan, it held. It held in the time of popularity.
145 What's the matter with a lot of--of churches today, God will bless them, they get started... And that's what's hurting our Pentecostal people. They, they ought to be back like our grandfathers was, with a tin pan or a tambourine, down on the corner somewhere, beating a tambourine; than it would be laying these big morgues that we're building today, trying to fashion after other people. What we need is a good old-fashion outpouring of the Holy Ghost, that will clean you up, including you pastors of the Pentecostal church. That's right.
146Now, the thing of it was, that when the Holy Spirit came down upon Jesus, at the day of His baptism, He was inoculated. We've watched Him in the hour of trial. When the devil tried to give Him all the kingdoms of the world, what did He do? He stayed right with the Word. Amen.
147 What I'm wondering today, that many brethren out on the field since this last-day revival... Why is it, when you get a few nickels or a change of clothes, you're too big to go somewhere, too, oh, something another, and you have to have something bigger than the other one? It's become a regular rat race. It's a shame. God wants man that will humble himself, and get down there into a place, somebody He can speak to. But it's become such a rat race, everybody is trying to get something bigger than the other fellow. It's a... And, see, they can't stand that prestige of the temptation of Satan.
148 But our Lord stood the temptation. The inoculation held. When the time come, there was a debate on the Scripture, He stayed exactly with the Word. Satan said, "It's written."
He said, "It's also written." Oh, it's... Glory! God in man, see.
149What did He have? He had something with Him to back up every word He said. He said, "If I do not the works of My Father, then don't believe Me. But if you can't believe Me, believe--believe the works that He does through Me." Oh, my! There you are.
150 What we need is men and women like that, today, that can shut the mouth of the world, by the signs of the Holy Ghost. We need a camp meeting like that. We need a turning upside down, a shaking out, a lot of the world and things out of the church, that's come in in these last days. Money is scattering out through the country, and big things, that's got the people's minds on big things instead of on God. Compromising, compromising with the Scripture! Any brother who started out on that way, but they get popular in some organization, compromise on what he believed.
151That blood doesn't run in a genuine, Holy-Ghost-born man. All devils in hell can't upset him on that Word. He'll stand on That regardless of what. Amen. Paul said, "There is nothing present or future, can come, or anything, can separate us from the love of God." That real genuine birth of the Holy Spirit comes into a man, he's a Son of God. There is no chasm between him and God. He is His son in His Presence. Amen. I like that. I know that's true. All right.
152 We find out that in the hour of temptation, for worldly things, the inoculation held. In a time of being called holy roller or--or made fun of, put a rag around His face, His eyes, and hit Him on the head with a stick, said, "Now if You're a prophet, tell us who hit You." Them Roman soldiers, they seen Him discerning the thoughts of the people. To stand out and...
153If He was standing here tonight, He would look around and tell that woman what was wrong with her, and what was this and that. That's the way He did it. That's the way He still does it, 'cause He doesn't change. Amen. Ain't you glad? That's a living God. That a man could fall out of a roof, and the life go out of him; and a man standing there with God in him, could lay himself over that man, and he lived again. That same God lives tonight. Amen. He is the unchangeable God. The church needs an inoculation. That's right.
154 As David duPlessis once said, God don't have no grandchildren. That's right. Where our Pentecostal brethren are becoming, their children come into church and just say, "Well, we're Pentecostal 'cause papa was." If papa was a Pentecostal, and got the baptism of the Holy Ghost, you'll have to get It the same way papa did. He don't have grandchildren. He just has sons and daughters, not grandsons and granddaughters; just--just sons and daughters. It's true.
155So you've got to do the same thing they did on the Day of Pentecost. You got to have the same experience. You got to have the same thing that they had. God don't never change His program. He never changes His ways. He just does the same thing all the time. The way He lays down His program, it must toe to that each time. It's got to be the same thing. And if you will do the same thing, the same results will come. Amen. That's right.
156 Now we find out, it held in time of temptation. It held when everything was going wrong. It held when all of His friends forsook Him. He still held, the inoculation held. Then the devil thought, "I got Him now." He started up Calvary, the Blood streaming out of His body. His garment wrapped around Him, one big splash of Blood. The devil must have said, "I got Him now. That can't be God. No, no. That can't be Him, if He would let them soldiers spit in His face, if He would let them jerk handfuls of beard out of His face, if He would let them challenge Him to see a vision and He didn't do it. And now here He goes up the hill, packing that cross, I'll have Him in a few minutes."
157 That bee of death come down, and circling around, to sting Him. You know, like any bee, has a stinger in it. But, you know, God had prepared a flesh that time, it was the flesh of God. When that stinger once anchored in that Son of God, into Emmanuel; when he pulled hisself out, he had no stinger left. He took the sting right out of death. No wonder Paul could say, "Death, where is thy sting? Grave, where is thy victory? But thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
158He could sting Elijah, and die, he could sting Elijah and remain his stinger. But, you know, if a bee--if a bee ever stings deep enough, he can't sting no more, he pulls his stinger out. So there was no human flesh that he could anchor in. Oh, my! No one that he could anchor in. But when he put it in Emmanuel that time, he lost his stinger. Thanks be to God! Yes, sir, he failed on that one. Yes, sir.
159 They found out the toxin held. They said, "If You be the Son of God, come down off the cross." The high priest, the big dignitary of the church, said, "Tell us plainly now. If You're the Son of God, come down off the cross and save Yourself," and so forth. "Let us see if You're the Son of God." He never opened His mouth and said a word.
160Now we find out that He died. He really died. He died until the sun and moon said He died. All of nature said He died. The earth quaked, it had a nervous chill run over it. And when they seen the very God that created the earth, was hanging on top of the earth, and Emmanuel's Blood dropping upon the ground. No wonder He died. He died till everything said He was dead.
161 And then we're going to find out, before He died, He said, "You destroy this temple, and I'll raise it up again on the third day. You'll never be able to keep it down. Destroy it, and I'll bring it back up on the third day."
162They put a guard around, to find out the inoculation was going to hold. They seen it held through temptation of sin. It held through poverty. It held through riches. It held through all kinds of temptation. It still held. But now it's in death, what's it going to do now?
163 But on Easter morning, oh, my, just before that sun rose up, that inoculation took a hold. And, when it did, death broke its barriers, the grave opened up, and He rose again on the third day and ascended on High. It shows that that inoculation is the inoculation of Eternal Life. You can't destroy it. Even the belly of hell can't hold it. The grave can't hold it. Death can't hold it. Nothing can hold it. It'll rise again.
164Jesus Christ said, "All the Father has given Me will come to Me, and I'll raise it up again at the last day." Hallelujah! A man or a woman that's been inoculated with This, cannot stay in the grave. No grave can hold the righteous. No hell can keep it; no grave, no nothing else. Jesus Christ promised to raise it up again on that Day. Amen. Oh, I'm so glad of that, that inoculation. You know, on Easter morning it proved.
165 Do you know what it was? It was such a great thing, till a hundred and twenty people wanted to get inoculated. Now, if He can keep through temptation, there was a hundred and twenty people who knew Him real well, they wanted that inoculation. So right then He had to go up to the laboratory and fix the serum, so He said, "You go up there to the city of Jerusalem till I get it, all the formula fixed up. I'm going to send It down to you." So they went up to wait.
166How the Christian church should be run, what kind of an inoculation would it take? What, what would be the inoculation? How would they do? What would take place? Should they all go away to the seminary and learn to have a Ph.D. and LL.D.? Should some priest come up the road with a kosher in his hands, and lick out and take the communion, and that's it?
167 "But there came a sound from Heaven," the inoculation was on its road, "like a rushing mighty wind, and It filled all the house where they were sitting. Cloven tongues set upon them, like Fire. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and begin to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit give them utterance."
168Did you ever seen the old temple, the picture of it? There was a little side door that went out, went up along the stairsteps, went up in the upper room. They closed the doors and went in, because they was afraid.
169But I'm telling you, when they got inoculated like a fresh branded calf, they couldn't hold him. No, sir. Out of that room he come, out into the streets he went. He was inoculated. Death, hell, persecution, laughed at, made fun of, made no difference to him, he was inoculated. Amen. Oh, my!
170 Listen at Peter standing up there. They begin to ask, "Is there any more balm in Gilead? Is there any more balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there?" Oh, yeah, we got plenty of balm in Gilead. We got plenty of physicians.
171In that day, Doctor Simon Peter, he was the physician. He said, "I'm going to write you a prescription. I'm going to tell you. And this is an Eternal prescription, because it's going to be for you, and for your children, and for them that's far off. Frankly, it's for every one who will call upon, the Lord thy God shall call upon, 'I'm going to give it to him.'"
172Said, "What can we do to get inoculated?" There is where she lays. "What can we do to be inoculated?"
173He said, "I'll write the prescription." He said, "Repent, every one of you, and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For this prescription is to you, and to your children, and to them that's far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." Oh, my!
174 You know what? When a doctor finds a remedy for a disease; and he writes out a prescription, and some quack druggist gets a hold of it and goes to adding a little of this and taking a little of this out of it, he'll either kill the patient or--or do something to it. The prescription doesn't even have any enough medicine in it to do any good. If it don't, it's so weak you won't help the patient.
175And that's what's the matter with a lot of these seminary druggists today. They take the prescription out, and add something else instead of It, and you got a bunch of dying morgues.
176 This prescription still remains the same. When the Samaritans received It, they get inoculated, they had the same thing. When the Gentiles received It, they got the same prescription. Paul met a bunch in Acts 19, who had part of the prescription, not all of It, he said, "That won't work. You're going to kill the whole thing." So he wrote it over, for them, told them how to get it. They got it the same way.
177And that's what's the matter today. There is plenty of balm in Gilead, and we got plenty of physicians, but the people are afraid of the prescription. Glory! Praise be to God. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no power of the Holy Spirit? Now is there?
178This inoculation works on all, see. It did on the Jews. It did on the Samaritans. It did on the Gentiles. It does on everybody the same way.
179 I'm a missionary. I go over into the land where the people there that don't even know which is right and left hand, and they stand there. You know what they do when they receive the Holy Ghost? Same thing you do, same thing.
180Oh, what is it? "It's for you, and for your children, and to them that's far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." This same prescription works the same thing.
181And the church will do the same thing it did at the beginning. Exactly right. Jesus is the vine. We are the branches, and by being inoculated by that Life that was in the vine. The church that went out, inoculated, they wrote a Book of Acts behind it.
182Now we got some substitutes. We got some grafted fruits. It--it lives off of the life of the tree, but it won't bear the fruits. That's right.
183 I was standing with a friend of mine, John Sharrit, over in Phoenix, here not long ago. He had a tree there, an orange tree, that had about five or six different kinds of fruit on it.
I said, "I never seen a thing like that."
He said, "They're grafted."
I said, "What kind of a tree?"
He said, "Orange."
184I said, "Well, there is lemon, and there is lime, and there is tangerines, and tangelos, and--and grapefruit, many different kinds." I said, "And all of them is raised off of that same tree?"
He said, "Yeah, it's all citrus fruit."
185I said, "Well, now, that's a strange thing." I said, "Now, this year, after all that fruit goes off, next year it'll bring forth an orange?"
186He said, "Oh, no. Huh-uh. No." Said, "It'll bring forth the kind that the limb is."
187And I said, "Then that tree turned from, you mean, from the--the orange tree to what..."
188He said, "No, no, no. If it ever puts forth another limb, it brings forth an orange."
I said, "I see." Amen.
189 Brother, we've got such things as church denominations injected into This, and living off of It, calling themselves Christians. But if the real Life of that tree ever puts forth another branch of its own, it'll be another Book of Acts behind it, for He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. What the world and their treasures, and they don't know nothing about. The people reading this Bible, if you'll read It from the denominational standpoint, you'll not get much from It. But if you'll just look to what It says, then obey what the prescription says. Read It, obey It, it'll make a different person.
190 I just come from India, here not long ago. I heard of a woman over here, she was poverty-stricken, her son had went to India to be a doctor. And he got over there and he got away from his medical practice, and got into another, I believe he was an electrical engineer, or something. And this woman got poverty-stricken. She just didn't have nothing, and so charity was trying to come and take care of her. And so they invested the case, and when they investigated, they found out that the woman had one support, and that was a son that was a very wealthy man in India. And said, "Well, why don't your son support you?"
191Said, "Oh, I just couldn't ask him." Said, "I'm his mother," said, "I'd just rather take charity than to ask my son."
Said, "Don't you never hear from him?"
192Said, "Oh, I hear from him at least once or twice a month." Said, "He writes some of the most sweetest letters that you ever read."
193Said, "Well, look like if he loved his mother enough, and he had plenty of money, he would be trying to take care of her, instead of her having to go to charity."
194Said, "Well, perhaps if he knew I was this a way," said, "he would, he would take care of me. But," said, "you know, he doesn't know, and I--I just feel embarrassed to tell my son, like that."
And said, "And he still writes you sweet letters?"
195Said, "Oh, some of the sweetest letters!" And said, "He sends me the prettiest pictures you ever seen."
Said, "The prettiest pictures? So let's see some of them."
196She went through her Bible, and she pulled them out. You know what they was? Bank drafts. India puts pictures on their bank drafts, you see, pretty pictures. She had thousands of dollars, converted from Indian money into American money. What was it? In the ledge of her Bible, she had treasures that she thought was "just pictures," but, come to find out, it was real value to her.
197 And, brother, when you try to read of a painted fire of Pentecost, and somebody tries to tell you that the Holy Spirit isn't the same today as it was then, somebody tries to tell you the days of miracles is passed, that Jesus Christ isn't the same yesterday, today, and forever, that they try to tell you, don't you believe it. Them is not pictures. God Almighty sent that message to you, that's right, "It's for you, and to your children, to them that's far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." God is still God. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
198He is right here, tonight, to save the lost, to heal the sick, to fill with the Holy Spirit, those who desire to be filled. You believe that, don't you? [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.] Yes, sir. If you believe it, then, you see, that's God's promises in this Word here, you can get right in there and find every promise. The promise is unto you. Peter said, "The promise is unto you, and to your children, and to them that's far off." Don't be afraid to cash that. That's a bank draft on Heaven. That's right. Jesus Christ the same yesterday and forever!
199 What if He stood here tonight and seen that woman laying there sick? She looks like she is very sick, crippled, probably paralytic or something. Two women... A woman, and a colored man and a colored woman, trying to work with a little baby, what do you think He would do if He stood looking at them two patients there, as a healer? Do you think He can heal them? He has already done it, you see. When He died at Calvary, He done it. Do you believe that, patients? Do you believe that's right? You there with the little colored lady, there with the baby, do you believe Jesus Christ, when He died at Calvary, He purchased the healing of your child?
200You on the cot there, if you're... You look very sick. You're paralyzed, whatever it is, do you believe Jesus Christ died at Calvary, to save you from your sickness? Do you believe that? Do you believe that what I've said tonight, that it's true? Do you believe that prescription is true? You do?
201 If He stood here tonight, and you asked Him, "Will You heal my child?" You know what He would say? "I've already done that." See, you just believe it. See? If you would say, "Sir, I am crippled, can't walk," or whatever it is. "I--I can't walk. I--I'm dying," or something, "Will You save me?" He would say, "I've already done it." See?
202Now how would you know it was His voice? Because He would do something like He did then. He might be able to tell you something about yourself, tell you what you were, or what was wrong with you, or something like that, like He did in the Bible time. That would show He was the same. But for healing, you would have to accept it yourself. "He was wounded for our transgressions; with His stripes we were healed." Do you believe that?
203Do you believe He could tell me tonight what's your trouble, or something about you laying there? Would you accept it and believe me to be His prophet? You will?
204What about you, the lady there next to her, with your hand on your baby, do you believe that?...?...
205How many will believe it? [Congregation rejoices and says, "Amen."--Ed.]
206 Now, Heavenly Father, this is Your servant. I've just... I'm just responsible for preaching Your Word. Now, I know this is unusual, but I pray that You will grant it tonight, that the people might know that--that this is Truth.
207All right, look this a way. Your baby has some kind of a bone disease. That's right. It's got a big swelling in the leg. Is that right? Keep your hand on it, repeat and say, "Lord Jesus, heal my baby, I'll serve You all my life." If you've never took this inoculation, believe It with all your heart. And put a string around that baby's leg, tonight, and measure it. And then bring the string back tomorrow, where you cut it off, how much it shrunk between now and tomorrow night. Will you do that?
208 You laying there, next, do you believe me to be His servant? I never seen you, in my life. But you're laying there, shadowed to death. There is a dark shadow over the woman. She is suffering, dying with cancer. That's exactly right. And you believe that God will make you well? Can you believe it? Then why do you lay there till you die? The doctor can't heal that. Rise up, in the Name of Jesus Christ, and take up your bed and go home.
209[Congregation rejoices--Ed.] Do you believe? All that wants to believe and accept your healing, stand up on your feet and thank God.
Take her by the arm, my brother.
210Let's say, "Praise the Lord," everybody. Do you believe Him? [Congregation rejoices--Ed.] Raise your hands now to God, and praise Him. [Congregation rejoices.] Do you believe? [Congregation rejoices.] Is there no balm in Gilead? The power of God can do that!
211Let's raise on our feet, everybody now, with faith to believe it. Stand up to your feet, everybody, and accept deliverance, in the Name of the Lord. Amen. [Congregation continues rejoicing--Ed.]
1Ďakujem, brat Johnson. Dobrý večer, priatelia. Je to skutočne veľké privilégium byť tu dnes večer, to je jedna vec, byť znova v Arkansase, a druhá vec je byť znovu na tomto kempe. Myslím, že to je moje prvé kempové zhromaždenie, ktorého som sa po dlhom čase zúčastnil. Mal som tu pozvanie, aby som tu prišiel, a tak som začal s vami. A počul som, že odvtedy, ako sme sem prišli, že ste prežívali tu na týchto zhromaždeniach nádherný čas. A som za to vďačný.
2A ako som tak pred chvíľou išiel dolu cestou so svojím synom, rozprávali sme sa, ako sme pred rokmi prvýkrát prišli do Arkansasu na moje prvé zhromaždenia. Keď som s tým prvýkrát začal, bolo to práve v Arkansase, jednako to bol taký evanjelizačný typ zhromaždení. A odvtedy som bol sedemkrát okolo sveta a teraz som znovu v Arkansase. Je to, ako keď robíte pokútny obchod, vždy sa vám to vracia. A mám taký pocit, že takmer všade v Spojených štátoch som sa pýtal, „Sú tu nejakí ľudia z Arkansasu?“ Vždy som mal v Arkansase priateľov, takmer všade. A vždy som povedal: myslím, že niektoré z najpravdivejších sŕdc, ktoré kedy búšili, boli pod tými starými modrými tričkami dolu v Arkansase. Skutočne milí ľudia! Mám vás rád.
3A som vďačný Bohu za túto príležitosť byť tu späť dnes večer v Arkansase, byť tu s vami. Myslím, že nám v tomto kempe zostávajú ešte tri večerné zhromaždenia, takže som rád, že som dostal tú príležitosť prísť sem a vyjadriť moju lásku voči Ježišovi Kristovi a mať obecenstvo s vami ľuďmi a s našou milou skupinou bratov, ktorá tu je, dokonca mnohých z nich ani nepoznám. Ale len som sa tak obzeral dookola a zazrel som jedného, ktorého poznám, brata Jacka Moora. A hneď som ho, rovnako ako aj sestru Moorovú, spoznal. A tak sme istotne šťastní, že tu môžeme byť.
4No, viete, za ten celý dlhý deň sa jednako musíte unaviť, viete, fyzicky unaviť. Nikdy nedostávame dostatok... nikdy sa neunavíme z oslavovania a dobrorečenia Bohu za Jeho dobrotu a za to, aký je On nádherný. A potom, po celom tom dlhom dni, a potom nadišiel večer a práve vtedy som prišiel. A bol som jedným z tých kazateľov, ktorým bola daná možnosť, aby dlho hovorili. Ale nemyslím, že to dnes tak urobím, kvôli tejto tlačenici na týchto zhromaždeniach. Bezpochyby ste počuli veľkých rečníkov po celý deň a behom všetkých týchto zhromaždení. A po takom niečom sa teraz postaviť na pódium pred všetkých týchto veľkých rečníkov, to spôsobuje, že sa cítim dosť malý, ako tu stojím.
5Jeden z kazateľov, s ktorým som si práve podal ruku, mi povedal, že toto sú vaše prvé zhromaždenia, ktoré tu máte v tejto modlitebni, ako by som to nazval; neviem, čo to presne je, nejaký chrám alebo čokoľvek. A sme istotne vďační mať znova tú príležitosť prísť do tejto novej cirkvi, do niečoho, čo je vybudované na chválu a česť Božiu. Ó, aké nádherné!
6A my sme sa práve presťahovali späť, alebo nie presťahovali... Práve sme prišli na detské prázdniny pre deti. Žijeme v Tucsone, v Arizone. A bolo tam hrozne horúco, ale začíname zisťovať, že tu doma to je trochu horúcejšie, ako to bolo tam, pretože tu je hrozne vlhko. A to nás tak trochu unavuje, potom, ako sme zvyknutí na taký vzduch, aký máme tam.
7Dostali sme sa domov a minulú nedeľu sme mali prvé zhromaždenie a videli sme, ako Pán Ježiš pokračuje vo Svojom veľkom diele lásky a moci medzi ľuďmi. A to isté Evanjelium, ktoré som vám kázal pred pätnástimi rokmi tu v Arkansase, ja stále verím, že to je tá istá vec. Len to nijako nemeňte. To je Kristus.
8V nedeľu sa v cirkvi niečo udialo. Nejako som sa obzeral dookola a videl som človeka, s ktorým sa stal zázrak.
9Všimnite si, máme to radi, keď sa chválime Pánom Ježišom. Máme to radi. A raz prišla jedna žena, ktorá mi povedala, že jediná chyba, ktorú na mne mohla nájsť, bolo, že „som sa až príliš chválil Ježišom.“ Povedal som, „Tak to potom istotne pôjdem do neba, ak sú toto všetky chyby, ktoré mám, že sa chválim Ježišom.“ Ale ona si skrátka nemyslela, že On bol Božský. Ona sa len pokúšala povedať, že bol len človekom alebo filozofom, či prorokom alebo niečím podobným. Ale ja som na to povedal, že On je Bohom. A tak my...
Ona povedala, „Môžem ti dokázať, že On nebol Bohom.“
Povedal som jej, „Ó, nemyslím, že sa ti to podarí.“
Povedala, „Ó, môžem ti dokázať, že bol len človekom.“
10Povedal som, „No, uznám, že bol človekom, ale On bol človekom aj Bohom.“
Na to povedala, „On nemohol byť Bohom.“
Povedal som, „Ó, On bol Bohom a On je Bohom.“
11Povedala, „Ó, nemohol byť.“ Povedala, „Dokážem ti to tvojou vlastnou Bibliou.“
Povedal som, „Dobre.“
12A povedala, „V Jánovi v 11. kapitole na ceste dolu k Lazarovmu hrobu Biblia hovorí, že 'Ježiš plakal.'“
Povedal som, „No a čo to má s tým spoločné?“
13Odvetila, „Dobre, ale ak plakal, to dokazuje, že nebol Bohom.“
14Povedal som, „Pani, tvoj argument je tenší ako vývar uvarený z kuraťa, ktoré umrelo hladom.“ Povedal som, „Toľko by si mala vedieť.“ Povedal som, „On bol človekom, ako išiel k Lazarovmu hrobu a plakal, to je pravda. Ale keď vystrel svoje malé ramená a povedal, 'Lazar, vyjdi von,' a ten človek bol schopný postaviť sa na svoje nohy potom, ako bol štyri dni mŕtvy a znova ožil, to už bolo viac ako človek, že dokázal urobiť niečo také.“ A ja stále verím, že On tým je.
15V nedeľu, ako sme hovorili... Poprosil som ľudí, aby sa prešli po modlitebni a navzájom si podali ruky. A bol tam jeden milý priateľ, práve som sa naučil, ako ho milovať. Práve prišiel do zboru, on a jeho manželka. Ona bola registrovanou zdravotnou sestrou. Ale on sám bol Angličanom. Ona bola Nórka. Ako sa to vôbec stalo, to neviem. Ale akokoľvek, obaja sú milí ľudia. A tento brat mal niečo zlé, niečo so svojím srdcom. A on je Kresťanom a tiež intelektuálnym mužom, robí nejakú svetskú prácu pre účtovníkov, a tak ďalej. A otočil sa a vtedy ho zasiahol srdcový infarkt, načo sa hneď zrútil na zem, mŕtvy.
16A jeho manželka, keďže bola zdravotnou sestrou, rýchlo ho chytila a odmerala mu srdcový pulz, „Je preč.“ A pozrel som sa na jeho tvár, bola skutočne tmavá, oči mu sčerneli. Nielenže zavrel svoje oči, ale aj sa mu dokonca vytlačili dopredu. A bol... Práve som vystúpil na pódium snažiac sa utíšiť obecenstvo, veľa ľudí sa snažilo pomôcť tej sestre, samozrejme, v takom stave, v akom bol jej manžel. Niekto mu potom niečo položil na hlavu, vlastne pod hlavu.
17Uchopil som jeho srdce, aby... jeho pulz na ruke a nebolo ho tam o nič viac ako na tomto kuse dreva. A potom som si kľakol a modlil sa, „Pane Ježišu, prosím Ťa, daruj život späť nášmu bratovi Wayovi.“ A potom jeho srdce zabúšilo štyri alebo päťkrát, a potom sa znova pravidelne rozbúšilo. A tak sa znova postavil a snažil sa nejako rozhovoriť. Nemohol nič povedať, bol... Krv sa zastavila, viete, keď srdce prestalo pracovať. A trvalo to nejaký čas, kým jeho krv začala správne cirkulovať. A počul som, ako zavolal moje meno, a tak som potom vyšiel späť na pódium.
18Brat Way, možno by si sa mohol teraz postaviť, aby ľudia videli, čo to je za človeka. To je ten muž, ktorý padol mŕtvy v nedeľu ráno na srdcový infarkt. [Zhromaždenie sa raduje. - pozn.prekl.] Sestra Wayová, jeho manželka, zdravotná sestra, ktorá tam stála, aby mu odmerala tlak, pozrite sa. Všimnite si, že on... Tak som...
19Pre ľudí, ktorí by také veci neverili, to môže znieť veľmi divne. Ale mnohokrát som videl, ako Pán Ježiš vzkriesil mŕtvych. A to nie je pre nás nijako nové, takže by sme... Myslím, že je to dobré chváliť sa Ježišom, ale myslím si, že by tam mala byť aj nejaká pravda, čím sa to vlastne chválite. Videli sme Ho, ja sám som Ho videl v posledných pätnástich rokoch, ako v mnohých nevyvrátiteľných prípadoch vzkriesil mŕtvych.
20Raz jeden v Mexiku, kde sme ja a brat Moore stáli v Mexico City, jedno malé dieťa tam v jedno ráno zomrelo o deviatej hodine na zápal pľúc, v ordinácii lekára. A tá malá žena, nemohli sme sa ku nej dostať, aby sme... No, ten človek tam rozdal všetky modlitebné karty a mali sme tam len volať čísla, ako potom budú prichádzať. A už nebolo viac žiadnych modlitebných kariet. A táto malá španielska sestra, asi tak dvadsaťpäťročná, odhadujem, mala tam malé, mŕtve dieťa a akurát v tom čase tam pršalo, takže ho mala schované pod dekou.
21A jeden večer dozadu, bol tam jeden slepý muž, bol asi tak starý, ako by bol teraz môj otec, asi sedemdesiat rokov, slepý a získal svoj zrak, práve keď som sa zaňho modlil. A v ten večer, to pódium, asi tak široké ako toto tu, boli tam kopy, ó, vysoké kopy, asi dve alebo tri stopy so šálmi, klobúkmi a starými rúchami, ktoré tam tí ľudia naskladali.
22A táto malá žena sa tam snažila dostať. A Billy Paul, môj syn tam prišiel a povedal, „Oci, mám tam veľa uvádzačov a nikto z tých troch stoviek tam nedokáže udržať tú malú ženu.“ Mala tam to mŕtve dieťa pod malou, modrou dekou.
Povedal som, „V poriadku,“ povedal som bratovi Jackovi Moorovi, „poďme dole.“
23Ja mám totižto s bratom Jackom Moorom veľa spoločných vecí. Nechcem tým povedať, že vyzeráme rovnako, pretože on je takým dobre-vyzerajúcim mužom. Ale jedna vec na bratovi Moorovi, obidvaja si tak isto striháme vlasy. [Brat Branham a zhromaždenie sa smejú. – pozn.prekl.] Máme teda veľa spoločných vecí. Myslel som si, „Ona ma predsa nikdy nepoznala,“ museli ma tam dostať dolu po povrazoch, a tak ďalej. Tak som ho tam dolu poslal, aby sa tam modlil za to malé dieťa. Myslel som si, „No, oni... ona nikdy nebude poznať rozdiel.“
24A tak som začal znovu hovoriť, keď... Brat Espinoza, mnohí tu z vás bratov ho asi poznáte, zo Západného pobrežia, robil tam tlmočníka. Bolo to tam vonku pri býčom ringu v Mexico City. A pozrel som sa dolu na obecenstvo a videl som videnie, v ktorom sedí malé mexické dieťa a usmieva sa na mňa. Tak som povedal, „Priveďte tú malú pani sem.“ Tak som na to malé, mŕtve, stuhnuté a studené stvorenie položil ruky. Jeho nohy začali kopať a začalo to kričať a bolo to... jednoducho to bolo živé.
25A tak som poslal poslíka, Espinoza poslal, aby to overil s lekárom, aby urobil nejaké vyhlásenie, predtým, ako by to mohli napísať. Lekár napísal prísažné vyhlásenie, že to dieťa v to ráno zomrelo v jeho ordinácii o deviatej, a toto sa udialo asi o desať-tridsať v ten večer. A to dieťa je dnes živé, teší sa z dobrého zdravia, na česť a slávu Božiu.
26A tak, videli sme udiať sa mnoho takých vecí. Nemuseli by sme to o bratovi Wayovi povedať, ale pravda je pravda. A Boh nerobí tieto veci len preto, aby... On chce, aby to bolo známe ľuďom, a aby ľudia vedeli, že On ich miluje. A z milosti Božej, brat Way tu s nami dnes večer sedí a je živý. A iste sme za to vďační.
27Myslel som si, že ako som bol na tých kempoch, ako som tam prišiel, nechcel som prerušiť ten veľký čas. Billy mi hovoril, dnešné popoludnie, povedal, „Hovoríš o skutočných staromódnych Letniciach,“ povedal, „počkaj ale, keď sa tam dostaneš!“ Povedal, „Spievajú tam, ako keby tam mali prežitie už päťdesiat rokov.“
Povedal som, „Hádam aj niektorí z nich mali, áno, kľudne aj päťdesiat rokov.“
28A mám to skutočne rád, keď sa dostanem do takého zhromaždenia, myslím, že to je tak s každým z nás, keď sa do toho dostaneme správnym spôsobom.
29Ako som aj raz zvykol hovorievať jeden príbeh o rybárčení. Hore v New Hampshire, chytal som tam pstruhy. A hore, na vrchu tej hory, mal som tam malý stan, asi takýto malý áčkový stan od vlády. A podarilo sa mi nájsť miesto, kde bolo veľa pstruhov, bolo to vzadu pod kríkom. A bola tam taká vŕba, a vždy, keď som si chcel namočiť mušku, vždy sa to zachytilo o tú vŕbu. A tak v to ráno, vstal som a išiel som tam dosť skoro, pričom som si myslel, že tie vŕby zotnem. Len by som... Ak by som tú rybu zabil, tak by som ju zjedol, ináč by som ju pustil. A tak som tam mal celý týždeň, a to bolo všetko, o čo som sa musel starať, a okrem toho som tam bol sám.
30A keď som tam v to ráno bol preč, na ceste späť, stará medvedica s dvomi mladými mláďatami sa mi tam dostali do stanu. A veľa môžete počuť o tom, ako sa veci zničia, ale tieto to skutočne riadne pokazili. Všetko tam roztrhali. A tak som si myslel... Keď som sa vrátil, počul som nejaký hluk a poobzeral som sa a obchádzal som okolo nejakých malých kríkov. A tá stará matka medvedica a ostatní si to tam pekne užívali, vo všetkom sa prehrabávali.
31A ona ma uvidela, tak sa rozbehla a zabrumela na svoje mladé. Jedno z tých jej mláďat išlo, ale to druhé nie. A bolo to také malé stvorenie, asi takto vysoké. A takto tam sedelo. Myslel som si, „No, do čoho je tento kamarát tak zaujatý?“
32A tak som sa tam prešiel a poobzeral. A povedal som mu, „Zmizni odtiaľto! Vypadni!“ A len tam tak sedel. Myslel som si... A tak som sledoval tú starú matku, pretože, viete, ako tam mala svoje malé, ona by sa nedala, poškriabala by vás, viete. Tak som len sledoval; a bol tam jeden strom, ktorý bol celkom blízko. A tam v stane mi ležala moja stará hrdzavá pištoľ, pravdepodobne už aj tú rozmlátili. Ale jednako, nechcel som zastreliť tú starú matku a nechať tam v lese dve siroty. Tak som len sledoval tento strom prechádzajúc dookola, aby som videl, z čoho bol tento malý taký fascinovaný.
33A viete, mám rád palacinky. My... my sme všetci severania, či nie? [Zhromaždenie hovorí, „Amen.“ - pozn.prekl.] Lievance je to, čo tam dole robia, viete. Tak... A skutočne ich mám rád a viete... Nie je na mne práve veľa z metodistu; veľmi rád vylievam melasu. A skutočne som ich správne pokrstil, celé som ich tým popolieval. Nemám práve rád iba také malé pofŕkanie, ako to zvyknete robiť tu, iba trochu. Mám to rád tak, keď to skutočne celé popolievate, viete, dobre premiešané a potom také ťažké.
34A mal som tam jeden galón, plné vedro dobrej cirokovej melasy. A ten malý medveď sa dostal až na vrch a skutočne sa tešil z tej mojej melasy. Tak som ho len sledoval, ako tam išiel okolo toho rohu. Takto zobral svoju malú labku a strčil ju do toho vedra, viete. A nevedel, ako odtiaľ tú melasu vytiahnuť, takže len stále strkal svoju labu dolu do mojej melasy, hrabal sa v nej, až kým ju celú nevylízal.
35A to si píšte, že keď som to nakoniec zvládol a podarilo sa mi upútať jeho pozornosť, stále sa na mňa díval. Nemohol ma vidieť, lebo bol celý od melasy, od vrchu svojej hlavy až po spodok. Jeho malé brucho bolo plné melasy. A jeho oči, dokonca ich ani nemohol otvoriť, aby sa na mňa pozrel, viete, len sa tak pokúšal.
36Pomyslel som si, „To je pravda. Nie je žiadneho odsúdenia tým, ktorí jedia.“ Keď si oblečieme tú myseľ toho starého dobrého letničného zhromaždenia, keď strčíme svoje ruky do toho medového pohára, asi takto hlboko, viete, z toho letničného medu.
37Viete, ale to zvláštne na tom je to, že potom, ako si naplnil brucho a vyprázdnil moje vedro, prišiel ku svojej mame a malému bratovi a tá mama z neho ten zvyšok vylízala.
38Takže, viete, dúfam, že dnes tu toho toľko naberieme, že keď potom prídeme domov, tí, ktorí tu s nami neprišli, to z nás všetko vylížu, trochu z nášho prežitia, povieme im o tých veľkých veciach, ktoré Pán učinil tu v Hot Springs. Nech vás Pán žehná.
39A teraz, myslím, že mi povedali, že to práve nestihli načas, alebo niečo také, aby oznámili, že treba rozdať modlitebné karty a modliť sa za chorých; niektoré čísla na kartách, my ich len tak vyvolávame a modlíme sa za nich. A keď to takto chodí, niekedy mi to trvá aj celý večer, kým sa tak nejako nezoznámime. A tak zajtra večer, myslím, že budú rozdávať modlitebné karty, niekedy v toto popoludnie. Je to tak? Áno, už ste... O šiestej? Dobre, o šiestej, zajtra večer.
40No, myslel som si, že dnes večer len vezmem nejakú malú časť Písma, ktorá tu je, a prečítam to a uvidíme, že či nájdeme to, čo nám Pán chce povedať. Ale teraz, ešte predtým, ako otvorím túto Knihu, hovorme teraz k Autorovi tejto Knihy, ako skloníme svoje hlavy.
41Ešte predtým, ako sa pomodlíme a skloníme naše hlavy; všetky starosti, ktoré teraz máme, a zhon dnešného dňa a ten malý zmysel pre humor, ktorý sme mali, dajme to všetko nabok, pretože sa približujeme ku Kráľovi. Ak je tu nejaká mimoriadna prosba, ktorá má byť spomenutá, len pozdvihnite svoju ruku a povedzte, „Pane!“ Drž svoju prosbu rovno vo svojom srdci.
42Náš Nebeský Otče, považujeme to za také privilégium, Všemohúci Bože, že prichádzame do zhromaždenia Pánovho, aby sme mali spolu obecenstvo, svedčiac a hovoriac o tých veľkých veciach, ktoré si Ty vykonal, a o miestach, kde sme boli. A práve mi to pripomína Skutky 4 v Biblii, keď sa vrátili a hovorili o tom, čo všetko Pán urobil. A všetci sa tam modlili a tým miestom bolo zatrasené, kde boli spolu zhromaždení.
43Bože, my nie sme dnes večer až tak dychtiví, aby sme videli triasť sa túto budovu; ale ide nám o to, aby si Ty nami zatriasol, Pane. Zatras naším rozumom. Zatras našou bytosťou, našimi emóciami, našimi srdcami rozumnosti, aby sme mohli dnes večer toto miesto opustiť tak, že budeme oddaní slúžiť Ti viac ako kedykoľvek predtým, aby sme mohli cítiť Prítomnosť nových a čerstvých Letníc, aby na nás mohol byť vyliaty Svätý Duch, čerstvý a nový ako dole tam v tých lesoch a kopcoch Arkansasu pred päťdesiatimi rokmi, keď tam naši predkovia prišli na koňoch a vozoch a kázali toto Evanjelium. Drahý Pane, nech len my, nositelia tejto veľkej a hodnej veci, ktorú si nám tu zoslal, aby sme sa nehanbili za túto veľkú vec; ale nech len kráčame po stopách tých, ktorí išli pred nami, Pane, a nech nosíme ten prápor Pána Ježiša.
44Nech ostatní, ktorí ešte neprijali tento veľký plán spasenia, ktorý tam Boh pre nás položil v Písme, predpovedal cez celý Starý Zákon, a dnes sa z toho radujeme; a nech je tu medzi nami veľké zatrasenie, Pane, a obnovenie viery a obnovenie našich síl.
45Ďakujem Ti za tieto zhromaždenia, za túto skupinu ľudí, ktorí sa stále pevne držia, Pane. V tejto hodine skúšky, ktorá prichádza na zem, aby skúsila tých, ktorí vyznávajú, že sú Kresťanmi. Nech sú na konci nájdení ako hodní vstúpiť do radosti Pánovej, ktorá bola pripravená pre vykúpených, od založenia sveta. Požehnaj Tvoje Slovo.
46Pane, pamätaj na každú ruku, ktorá je teraz zodvihnutá. Ty poznáš každý zámer, každý motív, Ty poznáš každú prosbu, ktorá je za tou rukou. Modlím sa, Bože, aby si to udelil každému jednému. Nech každý muž, ktorý... alebo žena, chlapec alebo dievča, ktorí zodvihli ruku, ktorí chcú viac spasenia alebo bližšie kráčanie alebo Ťa chcú poznať ako svojho Spasiteľa, nech neopustia toto miesto, dokiaľ ich prosba nebude zodpovedaná.
47Tí, ktorí sú chorí a núdzni, modlíme sa, Bože, nech tu je taká vlna uzdravenia, ktorá prejde týmto miestom, že tu nebude ani jedna slabá osoba, ktorá tu prišla a opustila toto miesto takým spôsobom, akým sem prišla. Ty, ktorý dokážeš vzkriesiť človeka z mŕtvych, a tu to pred nami ukázať, to len ukazuje, že Ty si tým istým Bohom, ktorý stál tam pri Lazarovom hrobe, ktorý ho vyvolal zo smrti. Otče, nech oni vedia, že Ty si tým istým včera, dnes i naveky. Tu dnes večer medzi nami stojí niekto, kto bol len pred pár dňami zavolaný zo zeme, ktorá je poza tieňom ľudského poznania v tomto živote. Ako Ti len za to ďakujeme!
48Požehnaj nás dnes večer, ako sa budeme venovať Tvojmu Slovu, lebo Tvoje Slovo je skutočne Pravdou. Ty a Tvoje Slovo ste jedno. Oni nemôžu byť oddelené. Takže Ťa prosíme o Tvoje požehnanie, Otče, ako len očakávame na Teba, že k nám budeš dnes večer hovoriť, skrze Ježiša Krista, nášho Pána. Amen.
No, ak si to chcete so mnou otvoriť, rád by som sa obrátil do Písma a tak.
49Trochu som si ľahol na posteľ a išiel som spať; a tá prvá vec, viete, Billy ku mne prišiel a povedal, „Poďme.“
Povedal som, „Chceš povedať, že už je čas ísť do zboru?“ Musel som vytiahnuť nejakú kopu miest Písma, ktoré som kedysi zvykol používať, aby som na ne dnes večer hovoril.
50A myslel som si, že možno by sme mohli rozdať nejaké karty a modliť sa za chorých, a tak ďalej. Všimol som si, odkedy som tu prišiel, že tu ležia dvaja ľudia na lôžkach, asi sem prišli, aby sme sa za nich dnes večer modlili.
51A tak Billy sa vrátil a povedal, „Nestihol som to včas, oci.“ Hovoril o tom a povedal, „Možno to skúsime zajtra večer.“
52Povedal som, „V poriadku, zavolaj bratov, choďte tam a rozdajte nejaké karty.“
53A tak teraz chcem, aby ste si so mnou otvorili 2.Kráľov a je to 1. kapitola. A potom by som tiež chcel z Jeremiáša, 8. kapitola a 22. verš. Prečítajme aspoň kúsok z tohto Písma.
Potom po smrti Achabovej sprotivil sa Moáb Izraelovi.
A Achaziáš spadol cez mrežu na svojom hornom príbytku svojho paláca, ktorý bol v Samárii, a onemocnel. Vtedy poslal poslov a povedal im: Iďte, opýtajte sa Bál-zebúba, boha mesta Ekrona, či vyjdem z tejto svojej nemoci a budem žiť?
Ale anjel Hospodinov hovoril Eliášovi Tišbänskému: Vstaň, iď hore vústrety poslom kráľa Samárie a hovor im: Či preto, že niet Boha v Izraelovi, idete sa pýtať Bál-zebúba, boha Ekrona?
Preto takto hovorí Hospodin: S lože, na ktorú si vyšiel, viacej nesídeš, ale istotne zomrieš. Potom odišiel Eliáš.
54A teraz v Knihe Jeremiáša, 8. kapitola a 22. verš.
Či nieto balzamu v Gileáde? Či nieto tam lekára? Lebo prečo potom nie je zahojená rana dcéry môjho ľudu?
55Chcem hovoriť, ak by sme to tak mohli nazvať, na tému: „Prečo?“ Je to otázka a Boh sa pýta túto otázku.
56A Boh je večným. Vieme, že je. Je večne trvajúci. Nikdy nemal počiatku a nikdy nemôže mať konca. Večnosť sa nedá začať, nikdy sa nemôže končiť, pretože je večná.
57A Boh nemôže zmeniť Svoju myseľ, ani Svoju cestu. Preto my, ako ľudia, ktorí nebudú prijímať vierovyznania, ak je to v protiklade s Božím Slovom, pretože veríme, že Boh a Jeho Slovo sú to isté. Veríme, že Biblia hovorí v sv. Jánovi v 1. kapitole, že, „Na počiatku bolo Slovo a to Slovo bolo u Boha a to Slovo bol Boh. A to Slovo sa stalo telom a prebývalo medzi nami.“ Preto, keď Boh niečo hovorí, On nemôže zajtra, ani ktorýkoľvek iný čas odvolať; keď je Boh zavolaný na scénu, aby učinil rozhodnutie. A každé jedno Jeho rozhodnutie je večné. Nikdy sa nemôže zmeniť.
58A Boh bol zavolaný, aby urobil rozhodnutie pre ľudskú rasu, v záhrade Eden, kedy bol spáchaný prvý hriech. Mohol by niekedy byť schopný vykúpiť Svoje stratené dieťa znovu späť do obecenstva s Ním? Ale zaviedol jeden program. A on nemôže byť nikdy zmenený, a to je cesta Krvi. A keď budete sledovať Písma ďalej, nikdy sa to nejako nepozmenilo alebo nezmenilo a ani sa nikdy nemôže, pretože to je Božie rozhodnutie: skrze Krv. Hoci sa to my snažíme pozmeniť. Snažíme sa to naučiť. Pokúšali sme sa z toho spraviť denomináciu. Skúšali sme už všetko, čo sa v ľudskom zákone dá, aby sme sa to pokúsili zmeniť, ako to urobil Adam cez figové listy, a tak ďalej. Ale ono to trvá navždy, Krv je tým jediným miestom obecenstva.
59Preto tu my dnes večer môžeme spolu stáť, nie ako jedna denominácia, môže nás tu byť mnoho a sme spolu. Ale my tu nemôžeme stáť, aby sme reprezentovali jednu denomináciu, musíme tu stáť pod týmto obecenstvom pod Krvou Ježiša Krista. Všetci môžeme byť bratmi a sestrami. Boh robí pre človeka cestu, ale keď ten človek potom odmieta tou cestou kráčať, potom má Boh právo opýtať sa, „Prečo si to neurobil?“ A to je to, čo vtedy urobil, a to je to, čo On robí dnes, a preto aj bude, to, čo sa opýta na súde. Oni sa pýtali, „Prečo?“
60No, tu, kde sme to miesto Písma práve začali čítať, odohráva sa to tesne po Achabovej smrti, zlého kráľa, hraničného veriaceho, človeka, ktorý vedel, čo bolo správne robiť, ale predsa nemal odvahu vystúpiť a urobiť, čo vedel, že bolo správne.
61A viete, tak nad tým premýšľam, ak tento svet nie je znečistený Achabmi, toto kresťanstvo, v ktorom žijeme, je kontaminované Achabmi, ľuďmi, ktorí vedia, že je správne dať svoj život Bohu a byť naplnený Duchom a nasledovať učenia Biblie, ale predsa sú bez odvahy, aby sa postavili a urobili to. Opäť mi to pripomína tú situáciu, ktorá bola v Sodome.
62Biblia hovorí, „Hriechy Sodomy denne sužovali spravodlivú dušu Lóta.“ A tak duša toho človeka bola spravodlivá a on sa pozrel na hriechy tej zeme a vedel, čo tam bolo nesprávne, kde robili zle, ale predsa bol bez tej odvahy, aby sa postavil na svojom presvedčení.
63Niet divu, že celý svet sa stal Sodomou a Gomorou a ako títo dnešní Lótovia, cez národ a okolo sveta, stoja v cirkvách, a ktorí sú presvedčení, že Ježiš Kristus je tým istým včera, dnes i naveky a že Jeho moc je stále taká skutočná, ako kedy bola, ale sú bez odvahy, aby sa postavili za kazateľňu a odsúdili hriech, iba kvôli takej prekážke, že ich vylúčia z obecenstva, do ktorého sa pripojili. Stále to ukazuje, že Krv Ježiša Krista je to jediné liečivo.
„Prečo? Prečo?“
64Achaziáš bol synom Achabovým a bol privedený do domu, ktorý bol vlažným. On nebol tak celkom Kresťanom. Jeho matka bola pohanka. A jeho otec sa oženil mimo obecenstva a zobral si ženu, ktorá nebola veriacou.
65A to vždy vytvára zlý domov, pre akékoľvek dieťa, v ktorom len môže vyrastať, keď sa nevera s vierou snažia spolu zmiešať dokopy.
66No, ak by ten otec bol býval skutočne silným mužom vo svojej viere, to dieťa by mohlo mať lepšiu príležitosť, ale on nebol. Nebol. On vedel, že existuje Boh. Vedel, že existuje Jehova. A potom... bohovia jeho matky, a tak ďalej. On v tom bol zmätený. A potom po smrti svojho otca, tento chlapec vo svojom stave bol tak trochu zmiešaný, nevedel, či tak, alebo onak.
67Či to nie je obraz dnešných krajín? Jeden v rodine je taký, a ten potom taký, jeden sa uberá to cestou, ďalší zase tamtou. Niet divu, že stále produkujú tak veľa mládežníckej kriminality, a podobne, pod menom kresťanstva. Je to preto, že tam nie je žiadna jednota. Nie je tam nijaké vyvolanie a státie na strane Božej.
68No, zisťujeme teraz, že tento človek sa mal stať dedičom trónu svojho otca. Jedného dňa, hore na jednom balkóne, kráčal tam dookola a padol cez mrežu. Mohol byť možno omámený a padol cez tú mrežu, dole možno na zem, na lavičku alebo niečo také a zlomil si pár rebier alebo mal nejaké vážne zranenie. A tá choroba alebo tá rana musela niekde spustiť infekciu, čo spôsobilo, že dostal horúčku. A bol dosť chorý.
69Samozrejme, v tých dňoch nemali také lieky, aké majú teraz. Možno tí lekári len prišli a urobili pre toho chlapa, čo len mohli, ale nebolo to nič dostatočné. A potom vedel, že jediná vec, ktorú mohol urobiť, bolo ísť ku vyššej moci, akú len lekári mohli vyprodukovať v ich medicínskej terminológii. A potom si myslel, že pôjde; a poslal pre svoju matku.
70Ó, čo za lekcia by to mala byť pre matky! Dieťa bude zvyčajne počúvať svoju mamu.
71A tak oni tam išli, poslal ich k bohu jeho matky, Belzebúba, až z Ekronu, kde bola tá jeho socha, jeho monument. A povedali, „Choďte tam a prekonzultujte to tam s tými kňazmi a nech sa pýtajú tej sochy Belzebúba, či sa dostanem z tejto choroby, ktorú mám, alebo nie.“
72Ale viete, ten človek... On skutočne... Viete si to predstaviť? Ľudia, od ktorých sa očakávalo, že sú ľudia s bázňou pred Bohom, a nechali takého človeka, aby nad nimi vládol, iba kvôli takému vlažnému stavu. Bol to stav, do ktorého sa cirkev dostala, že dala do moci takú osobu, alebo to dovolila. Nemyslím si, že časy sa nejako zásadne menia; zväčša vyzerajú vždy také isté. A nechali panovať takého muža, a mali to tak v tom kraji povedať, aby si nechali poradiť od nejakej sochy, ktorá bola nejakou pohanskou ideou, o svojom stave.
73A potom, viete, ale poza tým všetkým, bez ohľadu na to, ako sa zdalo, že Boh odvrátil Svoju tvár od ľudí, On sa niekedy pozerá, aký typ postoja zaujmeš. Každý syn, ktorý prichádza k Bohu, musí byť skúšaný a karhaný.
74A potom je tam nejaká malá chyba v tom mužovi alebo žene, ktorí sú narodení v Duchu Božom, ktorý je Večný.
75A potom sa dostanete do miesta, kde niekedy... Všetko, čo je na tebe ľudské, rozumovanie, diabol to od teba môže vyrozumovať. Ale ak sa to potom prelomí preč, ak tam ten Večný Život nie je, tiež upadneš, pretože sa rozumovaním môžeš dostať preč od Boha.
76Ale človek, ktorý tvrdí, že je Kresťanom, nemá nijaké právo za kazateľňou alebo v určitom úrade ako vodca niekde, dokiaľ sa nevyšplhal do miesta, kde je narodený z Ducha Božieho, naplnený Svätým Duchom, a to takým spôsobom, že nikto to z neho nemôže vysvetľovaním odstrániť.
77Boh, keď On poslal Mojžiša dolu do Egypta, aby vyslobodil svoj ľud, najprv si ho vzal na zadnú časť púšte a vytrhol z neho všetku teológiu, ktorú v sebe mal, za tých štyridsať rokov, a až potom sa mu zjavil. On vedel viac o Bohu v tých piatich minútach, v Prítomnosti toho ohnivého kra, ako vedel za tých štyridsať rokov vyučovania sa a toho všetkého, čo mal.
78To je to, čo cirkev dnes večer potrebuje, to je ďalšie prežitie s ohnivým krom, kde prefíkaní ľudia... Viete, Písmo hovorí takto, „Tie dva duchy budú v posledných dňoch tak blízko, že by to zviedlo aj vyvolených, ak by to bolo možné.“
79Človek by sa mal prv dostať na to posvätené miesto s Bohom; kde všetci teológovia, všetci doktori božstva, všetko uvažovanie, všetci ateisti, nič z toho to nemôže z neho vysvetľovaním odstrániť. A on bol práve na tom mieste, keď Boh prišiel a dobre vedel, čo sa udialo. Nemôžete to z neho vyrozumovať; on bol na tom mieste, keď sa to stalo. To je ten druh muža, akého dnes potrebujeme vo vláde, v cirkvi a všade možne, v takom čase, aký je tento. Pre vodcovstvo potrebujeme človeka, ktorý je naplnený Svätým Duchom.
80To je to, čo dnes cirkev potrebuje; nie teológa, ale duchom naplneného, znovuzrodeného muža, plného Svätého Ducha. A poviem vám, ak by sme mali viac z toho, cirkev by vyzerala úplne inak, ako teraz vyzerá. Veci by boli inak, ak by sme len mali viac takých ľudí naplnených Božím Duchom, nie kráčajúcich podľa tradícií starších, a tak ďalej.
81A tak teraz zisťujeme, že tento chlap ich poslal pre informáciu od boha Ekrona, Belzebúba.
82Ale celý čas Boh vedel, že to robil. Takže tam mal proroka menom Eliáš, a tak prehovoril k Eliášovi a povedal, „Choď tam na takú a takú cestu a takto sa tam postav. Poslovia tam prichádzajú.“ Vidíte, nikdy nemôžete niečo pred Bohom skryť, vidíme, bez ohľadu na to, čo robíte. No, ako málo urobil ten človek, Eliáš, ku ktorému tam Boh hovoril niekde v púšti, niekde v nejakej blatovej chatrči a povedal mu, „Choď tam a postav sa na roh tej cesty, ktorá tam je, a prehovor k týmto ľuďom a povedz im, 'Choďte naspäť k nemu a povedzte mu, „TAK HOVORÍ PÁN, on nevyjde z tej postele.“'“
83A On povedal, „Opýtajte sa ho, 'Prečo si to urobil? Čo sa stalo, že si to urobil? Je to preto, že nie je Boha v Izraelovi? Je to preto, že tam nie je proroka? Je to ten dôvod, prečo si to urobil? Viete predsa, čo sa stalo. Poznáte Písmo. Máte ho vo svojom vlastnom paláci. Sú tam okolo kňazi. Bezpochyby ste ich čítali už odmalička. A ako teda môžete urobiť tak hlúpu vec ako niečo také?'“
84Som dnes večer zvedavý, že či by Kristus prišiel na scénu do tohto dnešného národa, priťahujúc tento národ bližšie k súdu, ak by nebola položená tá istá otázka. Prečo to tak je? Čo sa deje, že robíme takéto veci? Prečo sa hádame vo vláde, či môžeme čítať Bibliu na verejnosti, a prečo, ak všetci čítame takéto nezmysly? Či naši predchodcovia nedali tento úrad do poriadku? Nebol tento národ zrodený na princípoch Biblie? Nie sme tu pre slobodu náboženstva, aby sme konali v Bohu takým spôsobom, akým to cítime, takým spôsobom, ako sme presvedčení, že je to Pravda?
85Ale vidíte, my robíme práve niečo také, ako oni robili vtedy. Len nechávame politiku a podobne, aby nás pohltila, namiesto toho, aby sme rešpektovali našu vieru v nášho Boha a ľudí, ktorí budú stáť za Pravdou. A nechávame, aby nad tým všetkým panovala politika a hlasujeme za také veci, ktoré znečisťujú tento národ, zatiaľ čo prichádzame k súdu. Boh jedného dňa vzbudí na scénu mocného proroka, ktorý bude hovoriť k tejto generácii a povie ľuďom a oni uvidia, že to je Boh, ktorý hovorí, ale nebudú činiť pokánie. Bude to presne také, ako to bolo vtedy.
86On povedal, „Nie je Boha v Izraelovi? Je to preto, že tam niet Boha?“ To isté, ako keď Jeremiáš povedal, „Či nie je balzamu v Gileáde? Nie je tam nijakého lekára?“ A potom oni na to nemôžu odpovedať. Samozrejme. No, on povedal, „Potom, ako ste to mohli urobiť? Prečo nie je uzdravená dcéra môjho ľudu?“
87No, my sa tomu dnes večer divíme. Prečo? Či nieto Biblie? Či nieto Boha? Či v tom nie je žiaden rozdiel? Ak Boh privedie ľudí k súdu, On bude musieť mať niečo, skrze čo ich bude súdiť. Musí tam byť nejaký štandard.
88A ak ich On bude súdiť katolíckou cirkvou; ak ich bude súdiť rímskou cirkvou, grécka cirkev je stratená, a ďalšie katolícke cirkvi sú stratené. Ak bude súdiť gréckou, rímska je stratená. Ak On bude súdiť skrze luteránov, metodisti sú stratení. Ak ich bude súdiť metodistami, luteráni sú stratení. Jednoducho nemôže súdiť cirkvou; je tam až príliš veľa rôznych organizácií.
89Ale Boh bude súdiť svet Ježišom Kristom, tak to On povedal. A Ježiš Kristus je Slovom a Slovo Bohom. Čiže On ich bude súdiť touto Bibliou, pretože toto je Slovo. To je ten Boží štandard. Musíme to vždy odmerať s tým, čo Biblia hovorí.
90A čudujem sa, prečo máme všade toľko zmätku, tak veľa organizácií, tak veľa rozdielov, oddelených bratstiev a všetko možné. Je to preto, že nieto Balzamu v Gileáde? Je to preto, že tam nieto Lekára? Som zvedavý, či by sa nás Boh opýtal túto otázku.
91No, nebolo to len preto, že tam nemali lekára. Mali. Boh bol tým Lekárom. Čiže to nebolo preto, že nebolo Boha v Izraelovi. Bol tam Boh. A mali tam proroka, od ktorého si mohli dať poradiť a zistiť, ako sa veci majú. Ale bola to len kráľova vlastná tvrdohlavá vôľa. Presne tak.
92A to je to, čo sa deje v tomto dnešnom národe. Je to len vlastná tvrdohlavá vôľa ľudí. Nie že by sme nemali toho istého Boha, ktorý prešiel cez Červené More so Svojimi ľuďmi, kŕmil ich štyridsať rokov v divočine. Nie je to preto, že by sme nemali toho istého Boha, akého sme mali na začiatku. Je to len vlastný tvrdohlavý spôsob ľudí. Jednoducho sa len nechcú skloniť. Nechcú mať nič spoločné so svätosťou a čistotou žitia biblickým spôsobom. Radšej by patrili do cirkvi a mali svoje meno v nejakej knihe a žili ako zvyšok sveta, ako sa pokloniť zasľúbeniam a prikázaniam Všemohúceho Boha. To je to, čo sa dnes deje. To je ten dôvod, prečo sú veci také, aké sú, že ľudia sa vzďaľujú od Slova. Nikdy nebudete schopní dať sa do poriadku, dokiaľ sa znova nedostanete na tú správnu cestu.
93Oni postavili túto budovu, dali tam niekde ten roh, nikdy by ste nemohli postaviť takúto budovu. Musíte byť postavení na základe. A ten základ je Biblia, náuka apoštolov a prorokov, a tak ďalej, všetko z Biblie.
94Kráľov vlastný tvrdohlavý spôsob. Nechcel tam dole po nich poslať. Nebolo to dosť populárne.
95Boží skutočný a pravdivý spôsob žitia nikdy nebol populárny. A ani nikdy nebude populárny. „Lebo kázanie Evanjelia je bláznovstvom tým, ktorí hynú.“ Pavol povedal, „Nehanbím sa za Evanjelium Ježiša Krista, lebo je mocou Božou na spasenie každému, kto verí.“
A tak teraz zisťujeme, že ten kráľ bol tvrdohlavý.
96Je to niečo také, ako je to dnes, ten pacient si ľahne priamo na... Čo ak by pacient išiel k lekárovi, ľahol si tam dolu na posteľ a mal by nejaký typ horúčky, ktorá by ho išla zabiť? A ten lekár by vošiel do dverí a povedal by, „Pane, máme tu na to medicínu.“
On povie, „Ó, nemôžem.“
„Len poďte, dám vám injekciu, očkovanie.“
„Ale ja nechcem vašu medicínu.“
97A teraz by povedal, „Pane, ale ja vám viem pomôcť, jedine ak pôjdete.“ „No, ale ja nejdem.“
98A ten človek by tam ležal na tej posteli a zomieral; zomieral by tam na tej posteli, pretože by neprijal očkovanie proti týfusu, alebo čokoľvek by to bolo, čo by mal. Neprijal by to očkovanie proti tomu a ten človek by zomrel rovno na prahu lekárových dverí. No, ten človek.. Nemôžete obviňovať toho lekára, ak on mal ten liek, ktorý by vyliečil tú nemoc, a ten lekár je ochotný mu to dať a bolo mu to poskytnuté. A ten človek tam len tak sedí, prichádza k prahu dverí a priamo tam padne a zomrie, nemôžete za to obviňovať lekára. Nemôžete za to obviniť ten liek. Je to ten človek, ktorý je za to vinný; zomierajúci na prahu dverí u lekára s chorobou, na ktorú existuje liek, ktorý by to mohol vyliečiť, môže to zvnútra vyliečiť. No, to je však len podobenstvo.
99Ale viete, Boh má liek vo vnútri Svojho Kráľovstva, aby vyliečil každú nemoc, ktorá len na svete je, a ľudia len stoja na prahu dverí v cirkvi. Nie však len to, ale oni sedia priamo na tých lavičkách, a tak tam zomierajú a sú stratení a idú do pekla, pretože odmietli prijať Liek Lekára. Amen. Tak je. Absolútne odmietli vziať ten Liek Lekára, preto tam zomierajú na horúčky.
100A ľudia sedia v zbore a počúvajú Posolstvá Božie a veria im, lenže ich neprijímajú. Oni by nepovedali, „No, teraz ale neverím, že toto je pravda.“ Niektorí z nich prídu, povedia a budú s tým súhlasiť a povedia, „Verím, že toto je pravda,“ ale neurobia to. Vidíte, zomriete. Zomriete na stoličkách v zbore, pretože neprijmete to liečivo. Oni to neurobia. Vidíte, čo to spôsobuje, vezme to trochu popularity z ľudí. To ich trochu stlčie.
101Oni sa boja toho nového narodenia. Viete, každé narodenie je neporiadok. Je mi jedno, čo to je, nech už je to hoci prasačí chliev alebo vyzdobená ružová nemocnica, je to neporiadok, a tak je to so znovuzrodením. To spôsobí, že budete robiť veci, ktoré ste si nikdy nemysleli, že budete robiť. To vás dá na poriadok. Ale ešte prv, ako sa môžete napraviť, musíte sa dostať cez ten neporiadok. To je pravda. Amen. Predtým, ako sa môže zrodiť semeno, musí zomrieť a zhniť. A to je to, čo sa deje s dnešnými ľuďmi, oni len nechcú zomrieť a zhniť svetu, aby mohli byť znovuzrodení Svätým Duchom. Vidíte, tak to je. Boja sa toho znovuzrodenia. Boja sa.
102A to spôsobuje, že robia veci, ktoré nechcú robiť. To z nich berie popularitu. To z nich berie škrob. Ó, poviem vám, som rád, že je tu niekde to očkovanie, dnes večer, ktoré to od vás všetko vezme, brat, ktoré z teba vezme všetok svet. To spôsobí, že ľudia, bratstvo, sa spolu zhromaždia napriek denominačným rozdielom. To spôsobí, že pár montériek sa objíme so spoločenským oblekom a zakričí, „Brat, ako som rád, že ťa vidím!“ Amen. Istotne! Ale vy... Oni sa boja toho očkovania. Ó!
103Je to dosť nebezpečné odmietnuť doktorov liek, viete, ak k nemu idete. A bojíte sa.. Ak odmietnete ten liek, tam je potom nebezpečenstvo. Môžete zomrieť. Ale to... vy len zomriete telesne tým, že si nevezmete doktorov liek. Ale o čo viac nebezpečnejšie je odmietnuť Božie očkovanie proti hriechu!
104Pred nejakým časom som mal také obdobie, že som býval chorý a niekto za mnou prišiel a povedal, „No, Billy,“ povedal, „stále zachovávaš svoje náboženstvo aj počas svojej nemoci?“ Povedal, „Vieš, veríš Božskému uzdraveniu; zachoval si stále svoje náboženstvo?“
105Povedal som, „Nie, to ono zachovalo mňa. Nie myslieť na to, že by som to ja mal zachovať, to ono zachovalo mňa.“
106Keď bola tá Krv Ježiša Krista preliata na Golgote, Boh urobil prípravu. Keď človek po prvýkrát zhrešil, on sa dostal poza priepasť, cez ktorú prešiel, a nemal nijaký spôsob, ako sa dostať späť. Boh bohatý v milosrdenstve prijal tú náhradu, a to bola tá krv baránka alebo vola a tá náhrada trvala dlhé roky.
107Mojžiš stál pod inšpiráciou Božou, keď hriech ešte dokonca ani nebol rozvedený, bolo to len jednoducho prikryté krvou býkov a kôz. A mal na sebe slávu Božiu, dokiaľ nevypovedal muchy do existencie, mohol vypovedať žaby do existencie. Pretože slovo je vyjadrenou myšlienkou, takže Boh priniesol Svoje myšlienky ku Mojžišovi a Mojžiš ich prehovoril v slovách. A keď to Slovo prehovorilo, celý svet bol vyformovaný Slovom Božím.
108Raz bol taký čas, keď som zvykol chodievať do školy a mal som na košeli kúsok atramentu. A mama mi zvykla vyzliecť tričko a povedať, „Rýchlo mi to podaj, drahý,“ a dala na to nejaký petrolej. A to všetko tam bolo také rozmazané a spôsobilo to, že tam bola taká veľká škvrna, kde dala ten petrolej na ten atrament. A to bolo všetko, čo mohla urobiť. Bolo to to najlepšie, čo mala.
109Ale dnes je to iné. Oni vyrábajú vec, ktorá sa nazýva bielidlo. A vy... Je to len chemikália, že kedykoľvek sa tie kvapky atramentu dostanú do toho Cloroxu alebo bielidla, čokoľvek to je... Keď to tam narazí, už tam viac nemôžete nájsť nič čierne. Čo sa tomu stalo? Kvapka a kvapka čierneho atramentu v tube bielidla, nemáte tam nič. Nemôžete tam nájsť nejaký plyn.
110Ak by som bol chemikom, možno tieto slová nebudú zrovna vedecky veľmi správne, ale ja by som povedal: čo to je? „Je to H2O, voda, je to len pre jednu vec. A tam v tom je chemikália a to spôsobuje, že to sčernie.“ Je len jediná originálna farba a to je biela. Všetky ostatné farby sú prevrátením tejto farby. A teraz hovorím... A potom, keď to odtiaľ dáte preč, tak možno poviete, „No, ono sa to premenilo na kyselinu, keď to narazilo na to bielidlo. Premenilo sa to na kyselinu.“ V poriadku, kam potom ale tá kyselina išla? „Tá kyselina sa premenila na bielu...“
No, je to zafarbenie, to, o čom teraz hovoríme, je to zafarbenie.
111Poviete, „Išlo to naspäť do molekúl. Dobre,“ poviete, „molekula, šesť krát šesť plus deväť, z toho je molekula H.“ Ak by to bolo štyri plus šesť plus osem, čo by z toho bolo? Ružová namiesto čiernej. A potom sa to premenilo naspäť do atómov. Potom, z atómov, plus jedna plus B2 plus tri, to sú štyri, z čoho je molekula H. Čo to znamená? Potom sa dostanete naspäť do čiernej. A keď idete ešte poza to, môžete sa dostať do elektrónov.
112A odtiaľ idete potom kam? Už budete musieť ísť späť. Pretože existuje stvorenie, ktoré musí prísť od Stvoriteľa. Musíte to urobiť. Preto, ono to všetko išlo naspäť k svojmu Stvoriteľovi. To zafarbenie, ktoré bolo v tom atramente, ono sa to nikdy nemôže navrátiť.
113No, Boh videl, že tá krv býkov a kôz nemôže vziať hriech. On to tak nikdy neurobil, ale On stvoril chemikáliu v Krvi Ježiša Krista. Amen. Ten hriech bol raz vyznaný správnym spôsobom; ani neprekračujete tú priepasť, ale to berie tú priepasť kompletne preč, a Boh už nikdy viac nepamätá na to, že ste hrešili. To je pravda. On povedal, že ich hodil do mora zabudnutia, aby na ne už nikdy viac nepamätal, lebo boli proti tebe. Muži a ženy stoja v Prítomnosti Božej ako synovia a dcéry Božie so samotnou náturou svojho Boha vo svojich srdciach.
114Ale kde je cirkev dnes, brat? Čo sa stalo s cirkvou? Dnes môžeme vidieť, ako Krv Ježiša Krista tak odpúšťa hriechy, že Boh si už viac nepamätá, že sme zhrešili. Potom, „Čokoľvek poprosíte v Mojom Mene, to vám učiním.“ Čo sa deje? Je to preto, že niekto tieto Písma tak pred ľuďmi poprekrúcal. Toto je tá jediná vec, ktorá si myslím, že bola vykonaná, pretože Boží liek je stále ten istý. No, je to nebezpečné odmietnuť lekárske očkovanie, o čo viac potom Božie!
115No, ako môže človek nájsť liek, aby pracoval na ľudskej bytosti? Viete, čo robia chemici, alebo skôr vedci? Oni vezmú chorobu, zistia, aký typ zárodku tam je, potom si zoberú nejaký druh jedu, nejakú protilátku, a tak ďalej, skrátka dostatok jedu na to, aby ťa zabili, a zase dostatok protijedu, aby ich to od toho zadržalo, a dajú to najprv ako injekciu morčaťu. Dajú tú chorobu, ktorú máte vy, do morčaťa. A potom dajú ten liek do morčaťa, a ak to ono prežije, potom to dajú vám. Viete, to je teda niečo... dať to morčaťu a pozrieť sa, či to bude fungovať, a ak to morča nezomrie, potom to dajú vám. Ale viete, nie všetci ľudia sú stvorení ako morčatá, čiže niektorých to zabije, a niektorým to pomôže.
116Ale je jedna vec na očkovaní, ktoré dáva Ježiš Kristus, že to pomôže každému. Nie je to liek; je to vyliečenie.
117Počuli ste, ako ľudia dnes hovoria, „Zabijak číslo jeden je srdcová choroba.“ Ja sa od nich líšim; nie, aby som bol iný. V tomto sa od nich líšim, pretože viem, že to tak nie je. Zabijak číslo jeden je choroba hriechu. Tak je to, nie všetky tie srdcové choroby, je to choroba hriechu.
118Viete, niektorí ľudia hovoria, „No, brat Branham, myslím, že tuto si to už trochu prehnal. No, nech sa ťa len niečo opýtam. Človek musí zhrešiť; každý deň musím aspoň trochu zhrešiť.“ To je len preto, že si nikdy nebol očkovaný. To je všetko. Vidíte? Ó. Áno. Nikdy ste neokúsili Božie liečivo. To je pravda. Ak by ste to urobili, nikdy by ste nič také nečinili.
119Povieš, „Ale ja musím fajčiť. Niečo proste robí, že fajčím.“ Len raz skús to Očkovanie a zisti, či to funguje, alebo nie. Povieš, „Nemôžem to nechať tak. Ja...“ No, len si raz skús vziať Boží Toxín a pozri sa, ako to pracuje.
120Jedna žena mi prednedávnom povedala... Hovoril som s ňou o nosení toho škandálneho oblečenia. A ona povedala, „No, brat Branham, nech ti len toto poviem, nemáš právo povedať niečo také. Máme právo na to, aby sme nosili šortky, ak chceme.“
121Povedal som, „Iste, to je pravda. Ale ak by si bola kresťankou, nikdy by si ich nechcela nosiť.“ Povedala...
122A tak povedala, „No, počkaj, brat Branham.“ Povedala, „Vieš, oni nevyrábajú nijaké iné druhy šiat, iba toto sexi oblečenie, a tak ďalej, ako tieto.“
123Povedal som, „Ale stále predávajú látky a šijacie stroje. Takže to ťa nijako neospravedlňuje.“ Tak veru.
124Ale to je len preto, že nechcú prijať očkovanie naplnenia Svätým Duchom, staromódnej, Bohom spasenej svätosti. Amen. To je pravda.
125Zvyklo to byť nesprávne, keď sa niečo také robilo. Ale to je stále nesprávne! Tak je. Ale čo sa deje, niečo sa stalo. Zvyklo tak byť, že ľudia, ktorí takto konali, boli vylúčení zo spoločnosti; a teraz je to tak, že do spoločnosti nie sú prijatí, ak tieto veci nerobia. A tak, vidíte, to závisí na tom, kde je tvoje srdce, lebo tam sú tiež tvoje poklady; alebo skôr tam, kde je tvoj poklad, tam je tiež aj tvoje srdce. Musíte mať na pamäti, že keď milujete Pána z celého svojho srdca, budete čistí a rýdzi.
126Raz nedávno som s manželkou išiel do supermarketu. A videli sme tam zvláštnu vec, jedna žena mala na sebe šaty. V našom kraji to bola dosť nezvyčajná vec. A tak mi Méda povedala, „Billy, ako to, že tie ženy... ja ich poznám, niektoré spievajú v speváckom zbore tam dole v niektorej z tých cirkví.“ A povedala, „Ja ich poznám.“ Povedala, „No, ale čo to spôsobuje, že toto robia?“
127Povedal som, „No, vidíš, miláčik,“ povedal som, „ja sám som misionárom a vieš,“ povedal som, „my sme z iného kraja.“
Povedala, „Čo?“
Povedal som, „My sme z iného kraja, z iného národa.“
Povedala, „Nie sme predsa Američania?“
128Povedal som, „My tu síce žijeme, ale toto nie je náš domov. Sme pútnikmi. Hľadáme Mesto, ktorého Remeselníkom a Staviteľom je Boh. Išiel som do Fínska, videl som spôsob, akým konali vo Fínsku. Išiel som tam, potom som prišiel do Nemecka, videl som spôsob nemeckého ducha. Išiel som do Švajčiarska, tam mali švajčiarskeho ducha. Potom som prišiel do Ameriky, tam mali amerického ducha.“
Povedala, „No a čo potom my?“
129Povedal som, „My sme narodení z hora, z Nebies, kde je čistota, svätosť a spravodlivosť a čestnosť.“ Áno. Povedal som, „Preto tí, ktorí toto vyznajú, už viac nehľadia na veci tohto sveta. Ale jasne hovoríme našimi životmi, a spôsobom, akým žijeme, že máme Boha, máme Kráľovstvo, máme miesto, do ktorého ideme. A toto nie je náš domov.“ Amen.
130Ó, to sa mi páči! Práve som sa začal cítiť nábožne. Tak veru. Verím v to staré spasenie Svätým Duchom. Ó, brat, sestra, to s vami niečo robí. Ten istý Boh, ktorý raz žil, On dnes stále žije. Tá istá jeho náuka svätosti, ona dnes večer žije práve tak isto, ako kedy žila, je to presne tá istá vec. Tak veru. Všimnite si, ľudia sa dostali ďaleko od náuky toho, to je všetko. Áno. Tak veru.
131Naše číslo jeden, srdcová choroba, to nie je tá vec, ktorá dnes zabíja ľudí. To číslo jedna je choroba hriechu. A hriech je nevera. Nevera v čo? V Bibliu. To je pravda. Áno, je to číslo jedna, choroba hriechu, to je to, čo dnes zabíja ľudí, aj duchovne, aj... A to ich zabije aj telesne, samozrejme, pretože už môžu dokázať, že ľudia si držia svoju nenávisť, a ženy, ktoré sa rozčuľujú, bijú a hádajú, oni zomrú. To spôsobí rakovinu, pleseň, všetko možné, vredy.
132Vidíte, boli ste stvorení na to, aby ste boli šťastní a slobodní. Boli ste utvorení na to, aby ste žili ako deti pred svojím Otcom, a vedeli, čo On robí každý deň, všetko pre vás každý deň tak, ako treba. Tak veru.
133Ľudia sa len boja toho nového narodenia. To je všetko. Oni sa do toho boja prísť, pretože to ich napraví. To spôsobí, že prestanete hrať bingo, prestanete hrať na automatoch. To spôsobí, že prestanete zostávať v stredu večer doma od modlitebného zhromaždenia, len aby ste sledovali nejaké „Milujeme Suzy“ a všetky tieto bláznivé veci, ktoré Hollywood má, a tie špinavé vtipy, ktoré sa tam rozprávajú. A to spôsobí, že si necháte narásť dlhé vlasy. To spôsobí, že budeš konať ako dáma. To spôsobí, že muž prestane fajčiť cigarety, potom, ako bol v cirkvi diakonom. To spôsobí, že ľudia prestanú klamať, kradnúť. To pre vás niečo urobí. To vás prečistí a dá vám to spasenie, ktoré nič na svete nemôže nijako vysvetľovaním z teba dostať, pretože viete, že ste boli tam, keď sa to stalo. Tak veru.
134No, ako som aj pred chvíľou povedal, keď Boh... Keď človek nachádza ten liek, tie veci, ktoré oni robia, oni len hľadajú svoj prostriedok na vyliečenie. Potom nájdu tú chorobu, potom to dajú ako injekciu morčaťu a pozerajú sa, či to to prasa prežije.
135No, keď Boh išiel priniesť toto očkovanie, o ktorom dnes večer hovorím, tento balzam z Gileádu, On nenašiel morča. On Sám tam prišiel. Amen. Jediný spôsob, akým to mohol urobiť, je, že prišiel vo forme Svojho Syna, stal sa telom a prebýval medzi nami, aby mohol vziať preč ten osteň smrti. Prišiel, aby zomrel. Jediný spôsob, akým mohol zomrieť... On nemohol zomrieť ako duch, ako človek. On bol vyformovaný do tela, ktoré sa volalo Ježiš Kristus, Syn Boží, a Boh prebýval v tomto tele tvoriac Samého Seba Emanuelom na zemi, aby vzal preč ľudský hriech. To bola tá chemikália, ktorá bola v tej Krvi.
136Niekto povedal, „On bol Židom.“ On nebol Židom. Niektorí z nich hovoria, „On bol pohan.“ On nebol pohanom.
137On nebol o nič menej ako Boh. Biblia tak hovorí, „Sme spasení Krvou Božou.“ Tá krv prichádza z mužského pohlavia. Vieme to. Hemoglobín prichádza od muža; žena má len vajíčko. Tak je.
138Ako som už povedal, je to, ako keď je jar. Tie staré vtáčie matky si tam stavajú hniezda a pokladajú tam svoje vajíčka. Niektoré z nich tam položia plné hniezdo vajíčok, ktoré sa zase nikdy nevyliahnu. Prečo? Ona tam môže položiť plné hniezdo vajec a môže tam na nich vysedávať a len taká verná. Môže si tie vajcia každý deň pretočiť, nič nejesť, až dokiaľ nedôjde do takého úbohého stavu, že sotva dokáže vyletieť z hniezda. Bez ohľadu na to, ako ich rozmaznáva, ako ich kŕmi a ako je im oddaná, oni sa nikdy nevyliahnu. Prečo? Ešte nebola so samcom, takže ešte nie je plodná, preto tam tie vajcia budú len ležať a hniť.
139To je to, čo sa deje s mnohými našimi konferenciami. To je to, čo sa deje s našimi kempovými zhromaždeniami, s mnohými, ktoré dnes sú, a s našimi konferenciami. Čo z toho máme? Bandu rozmaznaných a zženštilých kazateľov, ktorí by mali... Ó, to je hanba. A chodia tam len, aby mali nejakú malú prestíž alebo nejaké malé vzdelanie, a nejako to dotiahli. Ó, ale tá jediná vec, ktorú dnes potrebujeme... My máme len plné hniezdo zhnitých vajec.
140To, čo potrebujeme, je to dobré starodávne očisťovanie hniezda, čo je dosť ďaleko od toho dnešného, ktoré to vytlačí von, dokiaľ nemáme mužov a ženy, ktorí sú naplnení Svätým Duchom; tí, ktorí boli so Samcom, Ježišom Kristom, a sú naplnení Duchom, ktorým bol On pokrstený. To je pravda. Potom máme to skutočné svetlo v tábore. Tak veru. Toxíny, oni sa toho boja.
141Ježiš Kristus, Syn Boží, keď sa On narodil, niektorí z nich povedali, „No, viete, On bol narodený z vajíčka Márie.“ Ale On nebol. Mária by musela dostať to vajíčko cez vajíčkovod do maternice a tam by musela mať nejakú senzáciu, takže vidíte, čo nútite Boha robiť? On tam vôbec nebol, nebol žiadnou časťou toho.
142Boh, Stvoriteľ, zatienil pannu Máriu a stvoril v jej lone bunky a stvoril Človeka, ktorý bol Emanuel, Boh Sám, ktorý sa stal telom medzi nami, bez cudzej pomoci. On je Stvoriteľom, ktorý sa stal prvým človekom. Amen. Ó! Tu to máte, tam stojí. Tak veru. A potom to urobil, takže mohol obdržať to očkovanie.
143Hocijaký skutočne dobrý vedec, dobrý doktor, ktorý hľadá chorobu, niektorí z nich pôjdu do väzenského tábora a zoberú nejakého človeka, na ktorom to môžu vyskúšať, ktorý bude žiť vo väzení. A ak prežije to očkovanie, ó, potom ho ten jed nezabije, potom môže ísť slobodný, ak je pripravený prijať to očkovanie. Väzni na to čakajú. Ó, ale to je lekár, ktorý sa bojí svojho lieku.
144Ale viete, Boh sa Svojho vlastného Lieku nebál. [Prázdne miesto na páske – pozn.prekl.]... v jasliach, človek, ktorý stál na brehoch Jordánu. Keď tam to očkovanie padlo, on to videl ako holubicu, ktorá prichádzala z Nebies, a On bol očkovaný. A Hlas riekol, „Toto je Môj Milovaný Syn, v ktorom sa mi zaľúbilo prebývať.“ Amen. Boh v človeku. To je to očkovanie. Boh v človeku. Svet Ho sledoval. On obstál v každom pokušení. Keď Mu pľuli na tvár, ťahali Ho za bradu a pľuli Na Neho, On v tom pokušení obstál. V hodine skúšok obstál v pokušení. To držalo! To očkovanie, ktoré prijal v Jordáne, vydržalo. Vydržalo to aj v čase popularity.
145Čo sa deje s mnohými dnešnými cirkvami, Boh ich bude žehnať, oni začnú... A tu máme to, čo raní mnohých letničných. Oni by sa mali dostať späť tam, kde boli ich starí otcovia s plechovými hrncami alebo tamburínami, dole niekde na rohu, udierali do tamburíny; potom by tu neležali tie veľké márnice, ktoré dnes staviame, snažiac sa mať lepšiu módu ako iní ľudia. Ale to, čo potrebujeme, je to staromódne vyliatie Ducha Svätého, ktoré nás prečistí, vrátane našich pastorov v letničných zboroch. To je pravda.
146No, ale tá vec na tom bola tá, že keď Svätý Duch zostúpil na Ježiša v dni Jeho krstu, On bol očkovaný. Sledovali sme Ho v hodine skúšky. Keď sa Mu diabol pokúšal dať všetky kráľovstvá sveta, čo On urobil? On stál rovno so Slovom. Amen.
147Ale to, čomu sa dnes divím, je, že veľa bratov na misijnom poli od posledného dňa prebudenia... Prečo to tak je, že keď dostanete pár päťcentoviek alebo veci na preoblečenie, necítite sa na to, aby ste niekam išli, ale musíte mať niečo väčšie, ako má druhý? Z toho sú len nakoniec veľké preteky za lepšou kariérou. Je to hanba. Boh chce, aby sa človek pokoril a dostal sa do toho správneho miesta, On chce niekoho, ku komu môže hovoriť. Ale stáva sa to len honbou za kariérou, každý chce mať niečo viac ako ten druhý. Je to... A vidíte, oni nemôžu obstáť pred tou prestížou satanovho pokušenia.
148Ale náš Pán obstál v pokušení. To očkovanie vydržalo. Keď prišiel ten čas, keď tam bola debata ohľadom Písma, On stál presne na Slove. Satan povedal, „Je napísané.“
On povedal, „Ale tiež je napísané.“ Ó, to je... Sláva! Boh v človeku, vidíte.
149Čo On mal? On mal u Seba niečo, čo podložilo každé slovo, čo povedal. Povedal, „Ak nečiním skutky Môjho Otca, potom Mi neverte. Ale ak Mi nedokážete veriť, verte v skutky, ktoré On činí cezo Mňa.“ Ó! Tu to máte.
150To, čo potrebujeme, sú takí muži a ženy dnes, ktorí dokážu zavrieť ústa svetu skrze znamenia Svätého Ducha. Také kempové zhromaždenia potrebujeme. Potrebujeme byť totálne obrátení a vytrasení, aby sa mnohé veci tohto sveta dostali von z cirkvi, ktoré tam v posledných dňoch prišli. Peniaze sa trúsia po krajine, a veľké veci, ktoré napĺňajú ľudské mysle veľkými vecami, namiesto Boha. Kompromisy a kompromisy s Písmom! Každý brat, ktorý tak začal, ale stal sa populárnym v nejakej organizácii, činí kompromis na tom, čo uveril.
151Taká krv netečie v pravom človeku narodenom zo Svätého Ducha. Všetci diabli v pekle sa ho môžu snažiť vyviesť z miery ohľadom Slova. Ale on na tom bude stáť napriek všetkému. Amen. Pavol povedal, „Nie je nič prítomné ani budúce, čo môže prísť, vôbec nič, čo by nás mohlo oddeliť od lásky Božej.“ Skutočné, nefalšované narodenie zo Svätého Ducha prichádza do človeka, a on sa potom stáva Synom Božím. Nie je medzi ním a Bohom žiadna priepasť. On je Jeho synom v Jeho Prítomnosti. Amen. Mám to rád. Viem, že to je pravda. V poriadku.
152Zisťujeme, že v hodine pokušenia aj napriek tým svetským veciam to očkovanie vydržalo. V čase, keď bol nazývaným náboženským fanatikom a robili si z Neho žarty, hodili Mu na hlavu handru, na Jeho oči, a udreli Ho do hlavy palicou a povedali, „No, ak si prorok, povedz nám, kto Ťa udrel.“ Tí rímski vojaci, oni ho videli, ako rozpoznával ľudské myšlienky. Len tam stáť a...
153Ak by tu On teraz dnes večer stál, pozrel by sa dookola a povedal by tej žene, čo s ňou nebolo v poriadku a čo bolo toto a toto. To je spôsob, ako by to urobil. To je spôsob, ako to vždy robí, pretože On sa nemení. Amen. Nie ste za to radi? To je živý Boh. Ten človek mohol spadnúť zo strechy a život mohol z neho odísť; ale stál tam muž, ktorý mal v sebe Boha a ktorý mohol položiť ruky na toho človeka a on by opäť žil. Ten istý Boh žije dnes večer. Amen. On je Nemenný Boh. Cirkev potrebuje očkovanie. Tak veru.
154Ako raz David duPlessis povedal, Boh nemá žiadne vnúčatá. To je pravda. Kde sa naši letniční bratia stávajú... Ich vlastné deti prichádzajú do cirkvi a hovoria, „No, my sme letniční, pretože aj náš otec bol.“ Ak otec bol letničný a obdržal krst Duchom Svätým, potom to musíte obdržať presne takým spôsobom, ako váš otec. On nemá vnúčatá. On má len synov a dcéry, nie vnukov a vnučky; len synov a dcéry. To je pravda.
155Takže vy musíte urobiť tú istú vec, ktorú oni urobili na deň Letníc. Musíte mať to isté prežitie. Musíte mať tú istú vec, ktorú oni mali. Boh nikdy nemení Svoj program. On nikdy nemení Svoje spôsoby. On len vždy robí tú istú vec. Ten spôsob, akým usporiadal Svoj program, ono sa to s tým vždy musí zhodovať. Musí to byť to isté. A ak budete robiť tú istú vec, prídu tie isté výsledky. Amen. Tak veru.
156No, teraz zisťujeme, že to vydržalo v čase pokušenia. Vydržalo to, aj keď všetko išlo zle. Vydržalo to, keď Ho všetci priatelia opustili. Stále to vydržalo, to očkovanie pretrvávalo. Potom si diabol myslel, „Teraz Ho mám.“ On začal na Golgote, Krv vytekala z Jeho tela. Okolo tela Mu dali rúcho, bolo tam jedno veľké šplechnutie Krvi. Diabol musel povedať, „Teraz Ho mám. Toto nemôže byť Boh. Nie, nie. To nemôže byť On, ak by nechal tých vojakov, aby Mu pľuli na tvár, keď ich predsa nechal, aby Mu vytrhávali kúsky brady z tváre, inak by ich vyzval, aby videli videnie, ale On to neurobil. A teraz ide hore na kopec, nesie ten kríž, za pár minút Ho dostanem.“
157Tá včela smrti tam zostúpila, krúžila okolo, aby Ho poštípala. Viete, ako každá včela, ona mala žihadlo. Ale viete, Boh tam mal v tom čase pripravené telo, to bolo telo Božie. Keď je to žihadlo raz zakotvené v tom Synovi Božom, v Emanuelovi; keď sa odtiaľ vytiahol, nezostalo tam žiadne žihadlo. Vzal to žihadlo rovno zo smrti. Niet divu, že Pavol mohol povedať, „Smrť, kde je tvoj osteň? Hrob, kde je tvoje víťazstvo? Ale vďaka Bohu, ktorý nám dal víťazstvo skrze nášho Pána Ježiša Krista.“
158On mohol poštípať Eliáša a zomrieť, mohol poštípať Eliáša a zanechať svoje žihadlo. Ale viete, ak včela... Ak tá včela hlboko poštípe, už sa jej viac nepodarí štipnúť, žihadlo sa je vytiahne. Takže tam už nebolo nijaké ľudské telo, do ktorého by sa mohol zakotviť. Ó! Nikto, do koho by sa mohol zakotviť. Ale keď to vtedy umiestnil do Emanuela, on stratil svoj osteň. Vďaka Bohu! Áno, tak veru, na tomto jednom zlyhal. Tak veru.
159Oni zistili, že ten toxín vydržal. Povedali, „Ak si Syn Boží, zostúp z kríža.“ Veľkňaz, veľký hodnostár cirkvi povedal, „Povedz nám teraz jasne. Ak si Synom Božím, zostúp z kríža a zachráň sa,“ a tak ďalej. „Nech sa len pozrieme, či si Synom Božím.“ Ale On nikdy neotvoril Svoje ústa a nepovedal ani slovo.
160Ale teraz zisťujeme, že On zomrel. On skutočne zomrel. Zomrel, až dokiaľ slnko a mesiac nevyhlásili, že zomrel. Celá príroda povedala, že zomrel. Celá zem sa zachvela, prebehlo ňou napäté zdesenie. A keď uvideli, že práve ten Boh, ktorý stvoril zem, ako tam ležal na jej vrchu a Emanuelova Krv kvapkala na zem. Niet divu, že zomrel. Zomrel, až dokiaľ všetko nepovedalo, že zomrel.
161A keď to išli zistiť, predtým, ako zomrel, On povedal, „Zborte tento chrám a znovu ho vystavím na tretí deň. Nikdy nebudete schopní udržať ho dole. Zničte ho a na tretí deň ho znova vystavím.“
162A dali tam dookola stráž, aby zistili, či to očkovanie vydrží. Videli, ako to vydržalo pokušenie hriechu. Vydržalo to chudobu. Vydržalo to bohatstvá. Prešlo to cez všetky druhy pokušenia. Stále to pretrvávalo. Ale teraz je to v smrti, čo sa teraz ide diať?
163Ale na to Veľkonočné ráno, predtým, ako vyšlo slnko, to očkovanie to všetko vzalo pod kontrolu. A keď to urobilo, smrť prelomila svoje bariéry, hrob sa otvoril, ale On na tretí deň znovu vstal a vystúpil na výsosť. To ukazuje, že očkovanie, ktoré On mal, je očkovanie Večného Života. Nemôžete to zničiť. Dokonca ani brucho pekla to nemôže pohltiť. Hrob to nemôže zastaviť. Smrť to nemôže zastaviť. Nič proti tomu nemôže obstáť. Znova to vstane.
164Ježiš Kristus povedal, „Všetci, ktorých mi Otec dal, prídu ku Mne a znova ich vzkriesim v posledný deň.“ Haleluja! Muž či žena, ktorí boli Týmto očkovaní, nemôžu zostať v hrobe. Žiaden hrob nemôže zadržať spravodlivého. Žiadne peklo ho nemôže zadržať; žiaden hrob, jednoducho nič. Ježiš Kristus zasľúbil, že ich v ten deň opäť vzkriesi. Amen. Ó, som za to tak rád, za to očkovanie. Viete, v to Veľkonočné ráno to dokázal.
165Viete, čo to bolo? Bola to taká veľká vec, až stodvadsať ľudí chcelo byť očkovaných. No, ak On dokáže zachovať človeka počas pokušení, tak tam prišlo stodvadsať ľudí, ktorí Ho poznali veľmi dobre, a oni to Očkovanie chceli. A tak presne vtedy museli ísť až do toho laboratória a obdržať to sérum, takže On povedal, „Choďte až do Jeruzalema, pokiaľ tam Ja neprídem a nenamiešam ten Liek. Pošlem vám To naspäť.“ A tak oni tam išli, aby tam počkali.
166Ako by mala byť riadená skutočná kresťanská cirkev, aký druh očkovania by mala prijať? Čo, čo by bolo to očkovanie? Ako by to urobili? Čo by sa udialo? Mali by navštíviť všetky tie semináre a naučiť sa mať Ph.D. a LL.D.? Mal by tam prísť nejaký kňaz s kóšerom v rukách na oblízanie a tak prijať komúniu, a tým by to bolo vybavené?
167„Ale prišiel zvuk z neba,“ Očkovanie bolo na svojej ceste, „ako rýchly mocný vietor a naplnilo to celý dom, kde sedeli. Rozdelené jazyky zostúpili na nich ako oheň. A všetci z nich boli naplnení Svätým Duchom a začali hovoriť cudzími jazykmi, tak, ako im dával Duch vysloviť sa.“
168Videli ste niekedy ten starý chrám, obrázok toho? Boli tam malé bočné dvere, ktoré takto vyčnievali, takto vychádzali schodmi a viedli až do hornej miestnosti. Zavreli dvere a takto tam vstúpili, pretože sa báli.
169Ale hovorím vám, že keď zostali očkovaní ako čerstvo označkované teľa, nemohli to v sebe udržať. Nie veru. Vyšli z izby a išli na ulicu. Boli očkovaní. Smrť, peklo, prenasledovanie, vysmievanie, posmievanie, nerobilo to žiaden rozdiel, oni boli očkovaní. Amen. Ó!
170Počúvajte, čo tam Peter hovoril, ako tam stál. Začali sa pýtať, „Či nieto balzamu v Gileáde? Nie je už viacej balzamu v Gileáde? Či tam nieto lekára?“ Ó, tak je, my máme dostatok balzamu v Gileáde. Máme dostatok lekárov.
171V ten deň, doktor Šimon Peter, on bol lekárom. Povedal, „Napíšem vám lekársky predpis. Poviem vám to. A toto je večný predpis, pretože to bude pre vás a pre vaše deti a všetkým na široko-ďaleko. Úprimne povedané, je to pre každého, ktorý na Neho zavolá, na ktorého Hospodin, váš Boh, zavolá. 'Dám mu to.'“ Ó.
172Povedal, „Čo pre to môžeme urobiť, aby sme zostali očkovaní?“ To je to, v čom to spočíva. „Čo môžeme pre to urobiť, aby sme zostali očkovaní?“
173Povedal, „Napíšem lekársky predpis.“ Povedal, „Čiňte pokánie, každý jeden z vás, a buďte pokrstení na Meno Ježiša Krista na odpustenie vašich hriechov a príjmete dar Ducha Svätého. Lebo tento predpis je pre vás a pre vaše deti a všetkých na široko-ďaleko, toľko, koľko ich Pán, náš Boh, zavolá.“ Ó!
174Viete čo? Keď lekár nájde liečivo pre určitú chorobu; a napíše predpis, a potom sa toho zmocní nejaká mastičkárska lekáreň a pridajú tam trochu tohto, potom zoberú niečo z toho a takto to tam dajú, ono to buď pacienta zabije, alebo mu to jednoducho niečo urobí. Ten predpis v tom nemá dostatok lieku, aby mu to niečo pomohlo. Ak nie, je to tak slabé, že to tomu pacientovi ani nepomôže.
175A to je to, čo sa deje s mnohými dnešnými denominačnými lekárňami. Oni vypíšu predpis, pridajú tam niečo iné namiesto toho, a potom z toho máte len kopu márnic.
176Ale tento predpis stále zostáva ten istý. Potom, keď to Samaritáni prijali, potom zostali očkovaní, oni mali tú istú vec. Keď to prijali pohania, obdržali ten istý lekársky predpis. Pavol stretol skupinu v Skutkoch 19, ktorí mali len časť predpisu. Ale nie komplet, on povedal, „To nebude fungovať. Takto to len celé zničíte.“ Takže on to pre nich prepísal, a povedal im, ako to obdržať. A dostali to tým istým spôsobom.
177A to je to, čo sa dnes deje. Existuje dostatok balzamu v Gileáde, taktiež máme dostatok lekárov, ale ľudia sa boja toho predpisu. Sláva! Chvála Bohu. Či nieto balzamu v Gileáde? Či nieto žiadnej moci v Duchu Svätom? Kde to všetko je?
178Ale toto očkovanie funguje pri všetkom. Vidíte? Fungovalo to so Židmi. Taktiež so Samaritánmi. Rovnako aj s pohanmi. S každým to funguje tým istým spôsobom.
179Som misionárom. Bol som v oblastiach, kde ľudia ani nevedia, ktorá je pravá a ľavá ruka, a oni tam stáli. A viete, čo robia, keď obdržia Svätého Ducha? To isté, čo robíte vy, presne tú istú vec.
180Ó, čo to je? „Je to pre vás, pre vaše deti a pre všetkých na široko-ďaleko a pre kohokoľvek, koho si Pán, náš Boh, zavolá.“ Ten istý predpis funguje na tú istú vec.
181A cirkev bude robiť presne tú istú vec, akú robila na počiatku. Presne tak. Ježiš je viničom. My sme letorasty. A tým, že sme očkovaní Životom, ktorý je v tom Viniči, Cirkev, ktorá zostala očkovaná, potom písala novú Knihu Skutkov.
182Ale teraz máme akési náhrady. Máme nejaké naštepené ovocie. Ono to síce žije ten život toho stromu, ale nikdy to nezrodí ovocie. Tak je.
183Stál som tam s jedným mojím priateľom, Johnom Sharritom, tam vo Phoenixe, nie veľmi dávno. A mal tam strom, pomaranč, ktorý mal na sebe okolo päť alebo šesť rôznych druhov ovocia.
Povedal som, „Nič také som ešte nevidel.“
On povedal, „Oni sú naštepené.“
Povedal som, „Čo za druh stromu to je?“
Povedal, „Pomaranč.“
184Povedal som, „No, je tam citrón, je tam limetka, sú tam mandarínky a citrusy, grep, všetky možné druhy.“ Povedal som, „A všetky z nich vznikli z tohto istého stromu?“
Povedal, „Áno, je to všetko citrusové ovocie.“
185Povedal som, „No, je to dosť zvláštne.“ Povedal som, „No, tento rok, po tom, ako to splodilo všetko toto ovocie, ďalší rok to potom splodí pomaranč?“
186On povedal, „Ó, nie. Istotne nie.“ Povedal, „Splodí to presne to ovocie, akým je tá vetva.“
187Tak som povedal, „Potom sa ten strom nejako premení na pomarančový strom, alebo čo?“
188On povedal, „Nie, nie, nie. Ak to niekedy vydá ďalšiu vetvu, to splodí pomaranč.“
Povedal som, „Aha, rozumiem.“ Amen.
189Brat, my dnes máme také veci, ako cirkevné denominácie, ktoré sú zaočkované do tohto a nazývajú sa kresťanmi. Ale ak ten skutočný Život toho stromu niekedy privedie inú vlastnú vetvu, za tým pôjde ďalšia Kniha Skutkov, lebo On je ten istý včera, dnes i naveky. Čo svet a jeho poklady, oni o tom nič nevedia. Ale ľudia, ktorí čítajú túto Bibliu... ak to budete čítať z denominačného stanoviska, veľa z toho neobdržíte. Ale ak sa na to budete pozerať len tak, ako sa to tam hovorí, a potom poslúchať, čo hovorí ten predpis. Čítajte to, buďte tomu poslušní a to vás urobí inou osobou.
190Práve nedávno som sa vrátil z Indie. Počul som tam o žene, bola zasiahnutá chudobou, jej syn išiel do Indie, aby sa tam stal lekárom. A tak tam prišiel a potom odišiel od svojej lekárskej praxe a stal sa niečim iným, myslím, že bol niečo ako elektroinžinier. A táto žena bola chudobná. Ona jednoducho nemala nič, a tak sa charita snažila prísť a postarať sa o ňu. A tak preverovali ten prípad, a keď to celé prešetrili, zistili, že tá žena tu mala jednu podporu, a pritom to bol jej syn, ktorý bol v Indii bohatým človekom. Tak povedali, „Prečo ťa tvoj syn nepodporuje?“
191Povedala, „Ó, ja sa ho ani nemôžem opýtať.“ Povedala, „Ja som jeho matkou,“ povedala, „radšej si vybavím charitu, ako by som sa mala pýtať môjho syna.“
Povedali, „Či si nikdy o ňom nepočula?“
192Povedala, „Ó, počujem ho najmenej raz alebo dvakrát do mesiaca.“ Povedala, „Píše mi jedny z najmilších listov, aké by ste kedy mohli čítať.“
193Povedali, „No, zdá sa, že dostatočne miluje svoju matku a má dostatok peňazí, mal by sa teda snažiť postarať sa o ňu, namiesto toho, aby ju nechal napospas charite.“
194Povedala, „No, predsa ak by vedel, že som na tom takto,“ povedala, „on by to urobil, postaral by sa o mňa. Ale,“ povedala, „on nevie... je mi to dosť trápne povedať to takto môjmu synovi.“
A tak povedali, „A stále vám píše tieto milé listy?“
195Povedala, „Ó, tie najmilšie listy!“ A povedala, „Taktiež mi posiela tie najkrajšie obrázky, aké ste kedy videli.“
Povedali, „Najkrajšie obrázky? Tak sa na nejaké pozrime.“
196Trochu prelistovala Bibliu a vytiahla ich. Viete, čo to bolo? Bankové zmenky. India dáva na svoje bankové zmenky obrázky, vidíte, tie najkrajšie obrázky. A ona mala tisíce dolárov, keby sa to zamenilo z indickej meny na americkú menu. Čo to bolo? Na zadnej strane Biblie, tam mala poklady, o ktorých si myslela, že to boli „len obrázky“, ale potom zistila, že to bola pre ňu skutočná hodnota.
197A brat, keď sa snažíš prečítať namaľovaný oheň z Letníc, a niekto sa ti snaží povedať, že Duch Svätý nie je ten istý dnes, ako bol vtedy, niekto sa to snaží povedať, že dni zázrakov pominuli, že Ježiš Kristus nie je ten istý včera, dnes i naveky, a snažia sa ti toto nahovoriť, jednoducho tomu never. To nie sú tie obrazy. Všemohúci Boh poslal to posolstvo pre teba, tak je to, „Je to pre vás, pre vaše deti a pre všetkých na široko-ďaleko, toľkých, koľkých Hospodin, náš Boh zavolá.“ Boh je stále Bohom. Ježiš Kristus je ten istý včera, dnes i naveky.
198On je práve tu, dnes večer, aby zachránil stratených, uzdravil chorých, naplnil ich Svätým Duchom, tých, ktorí túžia byť nasýtení. Veríte tomu, či nie? [Zhromaždenie hovorí, „Amen.“ - pozn.prekl.] Tak veru. Ak tomu veríš, potom, to sú tieto Božie zasľúbenia v tomto Slove tu, môžeš to obdržať priamo tu a nájsť každé zasľúbenie. To zasľúbenie je pre teba. Peter povedal, „To zasľúbenie je pre vás a pre vaše deti a pre všetkých na široko-ďaleko.“ Nebojte sa do toho investovať. To je tá banková zmenka v nebi. Tak veru. Ježiš Kristus je ten istý včera a naveky!
199Čo ak by tu On dnes večer stál a videl by túto ženu, ako tu chorá leží? Zdá sa, že je veľmi chorá, postihnutá, možno paralyzovaná alebo niečo také. Dve ženy... Žena, farebný muž a farebná žena, snažia sa niečo robiť s tým malým dieťaťom, čo si myslíte, že by On urobil, keby tu teraz stál a hľadel na týchto dvoch pacientov, myslím, ako Uzdravovateľ? Či si myslíte, že je schopný ich uzdraviť? Ale On to už urobil, vidíte. Keď zomrel na Golgote, On to urobil. Veríte tomu, či nie, vy, pacienti? Veríte, že to je pravda? Ty, farebná pani, ktorá si tu s tým malým dieťaťom, veríš Ježišovi Kristovi, že keď On zomrel na Golgote, že On tiež vykúpil uzdravenie tvojho dieťaťa?
200Ty tam na tom ležadle, ak si... Vyzeráš, že si veľmi chorá. Si ochromená alebo čokoľvek iné to je, veríš, že Ježiš Kristus zomrel na Golgote, aby ťa zachránil z tvojej nemoci? Veríš tomu? Veríš, že to, čo som dnes večer vypovedal, že to je pravda? Veríš, že ten lekársky predpis je pravdivý? Veríš tomu?
201Ak by tu dnes večer stál a vy by ste sa Ho opýtali, „Uzdravil by si moje dieťa?“ Viete, čo by povedal? „Ja som to už urobil.“ Vidíte, vy tomu len verte. Vidíte? Ak by ste povedali, „Pane, som postihnutý, nemôžem chodiť,“ alebo čokoľvek iné to je. „Nedokážem kráčať. Zomieram,“ alebo niečo. „Spasil by si ma?“ On by povedal, „Ja som to už urobil.“ Vidíte?
202No, ale ako by ste vedeli, že to je práve Jeho hlas? Pretože On by urobil niečo podobné, ako urobil vtedy. On by ti mohol byť schopný povedať niečo o tebe, povedať ti, čím si bol, alebo čo s tebou nebolo v poriadku, alebo niečo také, tak, ako to urobil vtedy v čase Biblie. To by len ukázalo, že On bol ten istý. Ale čo sa týka uzdravenia, vy sami by ste to mali prijať. „On bol ranený pre naše prestúpenia; Jeho ranami sme uzdravení.“ Veríte tomu?
203Veríte, že On by mi bol schopný dnes večer povedať, čo je tvoja ťažkosť, alebo niečo o tebe, ty, čo tu ležíš? Prijal by si to a veril by si mi, ako Jeho prorokovi? Urobil by si to?
204A čo ty, tá pani vedľa nej, tá s tou rukou na svojom dieťati, veríš tomu? …?...
205Koľkí tomu budú veriť? [Zhromaždenie sa raduje a hovorí, „Amen.“ - pozn.prekl.]
206Teraz, Nebeský Otče, toto je Tvoje zhromaždenie. Práve som... Ja som zodpovedný za kázanie Tvojho Slova. No, viem, že toto je nezvyčajné, ale modlím sa, aby si to dnes večer udelil, aby ľudia mohli vedieť, že toto je pravda.
207V poriadku, pozrite sa na to takto. Tvoje dieťa má nejaký druh choroby s kosťami. Tak je. Má nejaké veľké opuchnutie v nohe. Či je to pravda? Drž na ňom svoju ruku, opakuj a povedz, „Pane Ježišu, uzdrav moje dieťa, budem Ti slúžiť celý môj život.“ Ak ste ešte nikdy neobdržali to Očkovanie, len tomu verte z celého vášho srdca. A potom dajte povraz okolo nohy toho dieťaťa, dnes večer, a odmerajte to. A potom prineste ten povraz opäť zajtra, kde ste to odrezali, o koľko sa to zmenšilo medzi dneškom a zajtra večer. Urobíte to?
208Ty, čo tam ležíš, vedľa, veríš, že som Jeho služobníkom? Nikdy som ťa nevidel, nikdy v živote. Ale ty tu ležíš v tôni smrti. Ponad tou ženou je tmavý tieň. Ona trpí, zomiera na rakovinu. Presne tak to je. A veríš, že Boh ťa môže dať do poriadku? Dokážeš tomu veriť? Potom prečo tam tak ležíš a čakáš, kým zomrieš? Doktor to nemôže urobiť. Vstaň, v Mene Ježiša Krista, vezmi svoje ležadlo a choď domov.
209[Zhromaždenie sa raduje. – pozn.prekl.] Veríte? Všetci, ktorí chcú veriť a akceptovať svoje uzdravenie, postavte sa na svoje nohy a ďakujte Bohu. Vezmi ju za ruku, môj brat.
210Povedzme, „Chvála Pánovi,“ každý jeden. Veríte Mu? [Zhromaždenie sa raduje. – pozn.prekl.] Pozdvihnite teraz svoje ruky ku Bohu a chváľte Ho. [Zhromaždenie sa raduje. – pozn.prekl.] Veríte? [Zhromaždenie sa raduje. – pozn.prekl.] Či nieto balzamu v Gileáde? Moc Božia to dokáže urobiť!
211Povstaňme teraz na svoje nohy, každý jeden, s tou vierou, že tomu veríme.
Povstaňte všetci na svoje nohy a prijmite vyslobodenie v Mene Pánovom. [Zhromaždenie pokračuje v radovaní. – pozn.prekl.]
1 Thank you Brother Johnson. Good evening, friends. It's really a grand privilege to be here tonight and, one thing, to be back in Arkansas, and, another thing, to be on the campgrounds. I believe this is my first camp meetings that I have attended for a long time. And I had the invitation to come, and--and to begin with you. And I have heard, since we've just come in, you've been having a wonderful time here at this meeting. I'm so thankful for that.
2And, I, coming up along the road, a few moments ago, with my son, and we were talking about years ago when I first come down here to Arkansas, was the first of my meetings. When I first started off, it was in Arkansas, in the evangelistic type of the meetings, anyhow. And since then, been seven times around the world, and now back in Arkansas. It's like bad money, always returns it. I have, everywhere I've been, I suppose, in the United States, I've asked, "Any people here from Arkansas?" I've always had friends from Arkansas, pretty near everywhere. And I have always said: some of the truest hearts, I believe, that ever beat, was under them old blue shirts down here in Arkansas. Real fine people! I love you.
3 And I--I'm grateful to God for the opportunity to be back, tonight, in Arkansas, be here with you. And so I think we got three nights yet left in the convention, and to have the opportunity to come in and express my love to Jesus Christ, and have fellowship with you people and our fine bunch of brethren here, who, many of them I don't know. I just looked around and seen one that I do know, Brother Jack Moore, I just happened to, and Sister Moore, happened to recognize them then. And we are certainly happy to be in.
4Now, I know, all day long you must get tired, you know, physically tired. We never get enough of... get tired praising and blessing God, for His goodness, how wonderful He is. And, but, all day long, and then when nighttime comes, then here I come in. And I kind of one of those ministers that's been given the idea of speaking a long time. But I don't think we'll do it now, because of this squeeze in the convention. You've heard great speakers, no doubt, all through the day and through the convention. And then to stand up here on the platform, why, before all these fine speakers, that, I feel pretty small, and stand here.
5 One of the ministers I just shook hands with, told me this is your first services to have in this tabernacle, I would call it; I don't know just exactly what, this temple or whatever it is. And we're--we're certainly thankful again for the opportunity to come into a new church, something that's erected to the praise and honor of God. How wonderful!
6And we are just moved back, or not moved back... Just come back from the... for the school vacation for the children. We live in Tucson, Arizona, now. And it's been awfully hot out there, but we find that it's a little bit hotter here at home than it was out there, because of the tremendous humidity. And it kind of puts us down, after getting kind of used to the air there.
7 We got in home and had the first service last Sunday, and we seen the Lord Jesus continuing His great work of love and power among the people. And the same Gospel that I preached to you fifteen years ago, here in Arkansas, I still believe the same thing. Just don't change It. It's Christ.
8Sunday there was something taken place at the church. Just happened to look around and see the gentleman on which the--the miracle was performed.
9 Notice, we all love to brag on--on the Lord Jesus. We--we love to. I had a woman one time to tell me, she said that's the only fault she could find with me, I "brag too much about Jesus." I said, "I'll sure go to Heaven if that's all the faults I had, bragging on Jesus." And so she--she just didn't think He was Divine. She tried to say He was just a man and philosopher, or prophet, or something on that order. But I said He was God. And so we...
And she said, "I can prove to you that He wasn't God."
And I said, "Oh, I don't believe you can do that."
She said, "Oh, I can prove He was only human."
10I said, "Now, I'll admit He was human, but He was both human and Divine."
She said, "He couldn't be Divine."
And I said, "Oh, He was Divine, and He is Divine."
11She said, "Oh, He couldn't be." Said, "I'll prove it by your own Bible."
I said, "All right."
12 And she said, "On Saint John the 11th chapter, on the road down to the grave of Lazarus, the Bible said, 'Jesus wept.'"
I said, "Well, what's that got to do with it?"
13She said, "Well, if He--if He weeps, it proves He is not Divine."
14I said, "Lady, your argument is thinner than the broth made out of a shadow of a chicken that starved to dead." I said, "You know better than that." I said, "He was--He was human as He went to the grave of Lazarus, crying, that's right. But when He straightened His little shoulders up, and said, 'Lazarus, come forth,' and a man that been dead for four days stood on his feet and lived again, that was more than a man, that could do that." I still believe Him to be that.
15 Sunday, while speaking, we... I was asking the people to turn around in the tabernacle and shake hands with each other. And there was a--a dear friend, I've just learned to love him. He just come into the church, he and his wife. His wife is a registered nurse. And he himself is an Englishman. She is a Norwegian. How that ever happened, I don't know. But--but, however, they're both fine people. And this--this brother has had a little something wrong, kind of in his heart. And very fine Christian man, and an intellectual man, too, he does secular work for accountants and so forth. And he turned around, and, when he did, a heart attack struck him, and he pitched over on the floor, dead.
16And his wife, being a nurse, she grabbed him quickly, and grabbed his pulse over his heart, "He is gone." And I looked at his face, real dark, his eyes was turned back. Not just closed his eyes, but his eyes pushed out in front. And he was... I come over the platform, tried to get the audience quietened, many people was trying to help the sister, of course, in that condition, with her husband. Someone laid something over his head, or under his head, rather.
17 I took a hold of his heart, to... his pulse at his arm, and no more pulse than there is on that piece of wood. And then I knelt down and prayed, "Lord Jesus, I pray Thee, give back our Brother Way his life." And his heart beat four or five times, and started off beating regularly again. And he come back up again, and he was trying to talk. He couldn't talk, he was... The blood stops, you know, when the heart stops. And it was quite some time before his blood got circulating just right. And I heard him call my name, and then I got back in the platform.
18Brother Way, I wonder if you'd just stand up so the people could see who the man was. That's the man that dropped dead, Sunday morning, of a heart attack. [The congregation rejoices--Ed.] Sister Way, his wife, a nurse who was standing there to take his pulse, to see. And see that he... So I...
19That sounds very strange, maybe, to people who wouldn't believe these things. But I have seen the Lord Jesus raise the dead, many times. And that's not new to us, so we wouldn't... I think it's fine to brag on Jesus, but I think it ought to be some truth, what you're bragging about. So we've seen Him, I've seen Him, in the last fifteen years, of many infallible cases, raise up the dead.
20 Especially one in Mexico, where Brother Moore and I was standing in Mexico City, a little baby died one morning at nine o'clock, with pneumonia, in the doctor's office. And the little woman, we couldn't get her to the... Well, the man had give out all the prayer cards, and we just had to number them as they would come up. There wasn't no more prayer cards. And this little Spanish sister, about, I guess, twenty-five years old, had a little, dead baby; and it was raining, and she had it under a blanket.
21And the night before that, there had been a blind man that was, oh, probably as old as my father would be, probably seventy years old, blind, and he received his sight when I was praying for him. And that night, platform practically as wide as this is across here, was just ricks of, oh, way high, two or three feet, with just shawls and hats, and old garments that they had laid up there.
22 And this little woman was trying to get up there. And Billy Paul, my son, came and said, "Dad, I got pretty near three hundred ushers there, and all three hundred can't hold that little woman." She had a dead baby under a little, blue blanket.
I said, "Well," I said to Brother Jack Moore, "go down."
23Brother Jack Moore and I have a lot of things in common. I don't want to say we look alike, because he is such a handsome man. But one thing about Brother Moore, we both part our hair the same way. [Brother Branham and congregation laugh--Ed.] We have a lot of things in common. I thought, "She never did know me," had to let me down on some ropes and things, to get in. So I sent him down to pray for the little baby. I thought, "Well, they won't, she'll never know the difference."
24 And so I was started to speak again, when... Brother Espinoza, many of you brethren know him, from the West Coast, was doing the interpreting. This was out there by the bull ring in Mexico City. And I looked out over the audience and I seen a vision of a little Mexican baby sitting, smiling at me. So I said, "Bring the little lady here." So laid hands upon the little, dead, stiff, cold form. His feet begin to kick, and he begin to scream, and--and there he was, alive.
25And I sent a runner, Espinoza did, to check with the doctor, to get a statement before we could write it out. The doctor wrote an affidavit, that that baby died that morning in his office, about nine o'clock, and this was about ten-thirty that night. And the baby is living today, enjoying good health, to the honor and glory of God.
26 So seeing many things take place, we wouldn't have to say about our Brother Way there, but truth is truth. And God doesn't do those things just to... He wants it to be known, and people to know that He loves them. And by the grace of God, Brother Way sits among us tonight, living. We're thankful for that.
27I thought, being on the campground, coming in, just don't want to interrupt the great time. Billy was telling me, this afternoon, said, "You talk about real old-fashion Pentecost," said, "you wait till you get up there!" Said, "They sing like they have had the experience for fifty years."
I said, "I guess some of them has, yeah, for fifty years."
28 And I just love to get into a meeting like that, I believe every one of us do, where we just get right into it.
29Like I used to tell a little story about fishing. Up in northern New Hampshire, I was fishing for trout. And way up at the head of the mountain, I had a little tent sitting up there, oh, those little A-tent, little pup tent from the government. And I had found a place where there was many trout, was back under a bush. And there--and there was moose willow there, and every time I tried to wet my fly, why, it would catch in the willow. So that morning, I got up, went up there, early, and I thought, I'll cut them willows down. I'd just... If I killed a fish, then I would eat it, otherwise I would turn it loose. So I had all week, all I could take care of, and I was up there by myself.
30 And while I was gone that morning, on my road back, an old sow bear and two little cubs had got in my tent. And you talk about wrecking things, they really had wrecked it right. And they had tore everything up. And I--I thought... When I come back, I heard a noise, and I looked around some little bushes I was coming around. And the old mother bear and all of them was just having them a time, raking through everything.
31And she saw me, and she run off and cooed to her cubs. One of the cubs come, and the other one didn't come. Little bitty fellow, spring, he was just so high. He was sitting like this. And I thought, "Well, what's the little fellow so interested in?"
32 And I got around and looked. I said to her, "Get out of there! Get out of there!" And he just sit there. I thought... And I watched the old mother, because, you know, to fool with her cubs, she would scratch you, you know. So I--I--I watched; there was a tree pretty close, you know. I had an old rusty pistol laying over there in the tent, was probably broke up then. And, anyhow, I wouldn't want to shoot the old mother and leave two orphans in the woods. So I kept watching this tree, getting around to see what the little fellow was so fascinated.
33And, you know, I--I--I like pancakes. We, we're all Southerners, aren't we? [Congregation says, "Yes."--Ed.] Flapjacks is what they are down here, you know. So, and I really love them, and I--and I--I know... There's not much Methodist about me; I really like to pour on the molasses. I really baptize them right, pour it all over them. So I don't like just a little bitty sprinkle like you get in these places here, a little thing. I like to get where you really pour it on, you know, and get them mixed good and heavy.
34 I had me a half a gallon bucketful of--of good old sorghum. This little bear had got the top off, and he was really enjoying my molasses. Kept watching him around the corner. He'd take his little paw and stick down in this bucket, you know. And he didn't know how to get the molasses out, so he just sticking his paw down in my molasses, and then rake it up and lick when it come down.
35I tell you, when I finally got around and got his attention, he looked at me. He couldn't see me, he was molasses from the top of his head, all the way down. His little belly just as full of molasses. And his eyes, he couldn't even open his eyes to look at me, you know, trying.
36I thought, "That's right. There is no condemnation to them that's eating." Puts in the mind of a good old Pentecostal meeting, when we get our arms down in that honey jar, about that deep, you know, of that Pentecostal Honey.
37 You know, the strange thing about it, after he got his tummy full, and my bucket sopped out, he went over to his mammy and little brother, and the mammy licked him.
38So, you know, I hope we get so much on us here, that, when we go home, those who didn't come will lick off of us, a little of our experience, tell them about what great things the Lord has did down here in Hot Springs. The Lord bless you.
39And now, I believe, they told me that they didn't get it in time, or something another, to announce to give out some prayer cards, to pray for the sick; some numbers on cards, we call them and pray for them. And now like that, so it's give me one night to kind of get acquainted. And so tomorrow night I think they're going to give out their prayer cards, sometime in the afternoon. Is that? Yeah, you've already... Six o'clock? Six o'clock tomorrow evening.
40 Now I thought, tonight, we'd take just a little portion of the Scripture here and read It, and see if we could find what the Lord would have to tell us. And now just before we open the Book, let's speak to the Author of the Book, as we bow our heads.
41Before we pray, and your heads bowed; and all the cares now, and frolic of the day, and little sense of humors we've had, let's just push it aside now, because we're approaching the King. Is there any special requests, like to be remembered, just would you raise your hand, and say, "Lord!" Right down in your heart, just hold your request.
42 Our Heavenly Father, we deem this such a privilege, God Almighty, to come into the congregation of the Lord, to fellowship together, testifying, telling of the great things that You've done, and the places that we have been. And it just reminds me of Acts 4, in the Bible, when they returned and was speaking of what the Lord had done. And they all prayed, and the place was shook, where they were assembled together.
43God, we're not so anxious, tonight, to see the building shook; but we would like for You to shake us, Lord. Shake our understanding. Shake our being, our emotion, our hearts of understanding, that we might leave here tonight, more determined than ever to serve You, that we might feel the Presence of a new fresh Pentecost, of a Holy Spirit pouring out upon us, afresh and anew like down in these woods and hills in Arkansas, fifty years ago, when the forefathers come through here in horses and wagons, preaching this Gospel. Dear Lord, may we, the bearers of this great worthy Cause that You sent through here, may we not be ashamed of this great thing; but may we walk in the footsteps of those who went before us, Lord, packing the banner of the Lord Jesus.
44 May others, who have not yet accepted this great plan of salvation that God laid down for us in the Scripture, foretold all the way down through the Old Testament, and today we're enjoying it, may there be a great shaking among us, Lord, and a renewing of faith and--and a renewing of efforts.
45I thank You for this convention, for this bunch of people who is still holding on, Lord. In this hour of trial that's come upon the earth, to try those who are professing to be Christians, may we be found, at the end, worthy to enter into the joys of the Lord, that's been prepared for the Redeemed, since the foundation of the world. Bless Thy Word.
46 Lord, remember every hand that went up. You know the objective, You know the motive, You know the request behind that hand. I pray, God, that You'll grant it to each one. May every man that... or woman, boy or girl, that put up a hand, that wanted more salvation, or a closer walk, or to know You as their Saviour, may they never leave this ground till that request is answered.
47To those who are sick and needy, we pray, God, there will be such a wave of healing cross this place, that there'll not be a feeble person that comes on this ground will leave in the way that they come on. You who can raise a man up from the dead, and present him here before us, it shows that You're the same God that stood there by the grave of Lazarus, called him out from among the dead. Father, let them know that You're the same yesterday, today, and forever. Here stands one among us tonight, just a few days ago, called back from the land beyond the shadow of man's knowing in this life. How we thank Thee for this!
48Bless us together now as we study Your Word, for truly Thy Word is Truth. Thy and Thy Word are one. They cannot be separated. So we ask Your blessings upon us, Father, as we wait upon You to speak to us tonight, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Now, if you will, I'd like to turn to Scriptures, and so forth.
49 I kind of laid down on the bed and went to sleep; the first thing you know, Billy come up and said, "Let's go."
Said, "You mean it's church time?" I had to pull out a little bunch of Scriptures I had used before, to--to speak on tonight.
50And I thought maybe it'd be give out some cards and be praying for the sick, and so forth. I've noticed since I've come in here, two people laying on cots, perhaps come to be prayed for tonight.
51Now, and--and Billy come back, said, "I just didn't get in in time, daddy." Talked about it. Said, "We'll--we'll try it tomorrow night."
52I said, "All right, you get the brethren, get it, give some cards out."
53 So now I want you to turn with me, to the--the Book of Second Kings, and the 1st chapter. And then also I want you to turn in there to Jeremiah, the 8th chapter and 22nd verse. Let's read just a portion of this Scripture.
Then Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.
And Ahaziah fell down through the lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, enquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease.
But the angel of the LORD said unto Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, and go up and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that you go to enquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron?
Now therefore thus saith the LORD God, Thou shalt not come down from the bed on which thou has gone up, but thou shall surely die. And Elijah departed.
54And then in the Book of Jeremiah, the 8th chapter and the 22nd verse.
Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is... the health of the daughter of my people not recovered?
55 I want to speak, if we would call it, on the subject: Why? It's a--it's a question, and God is asking this question.
56And God is Eternal. We know He is. He is everlasting. He never had a beginning, or He can never have an end. Eternity never started, it never ends, because it's Eternal.
57And God cannot change His mind nor His way. That's why that we, as people who will not accept creeds, if it's contrary to the Word, because we believe that God and His Word is the same. We believe that the Bible says in Saint John, the 1st chapter, that, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us." Therefore when God says anything, He cannot, tomorrow or any other time, ever take it back; when God is ever called on the scene, to make a decision. And His one decision is Eternal. It can never be changed.
58 And God was called to make a decision for the human race, in the garden of Eden, when the first sin was committed. Could He ever be able to redeem His lost child back into fellowship with Him again? And He fixed one program. It's never changed, by the way of the blood. And follow the Scriptures, it never did alter or change, and it never can, because it's God's decision, by the Blood. Although, we tried to alter it. We've tried to educate it. We've tried to denominate it. We've tried to do everything there is in man's law, to try to change That, like Adam did by fig leaves and so forth. But it still ever remains, the Blood is the only place of fellowship.
59 Therefore, together tonight, we can stand, not as one denomination, maybe many of us together. But we can't stand here to represent one denomination, we have to stand here in this fellowship under the Blood of Jesus Christ. We can all be brethren, sisters. God makes a way for man, and then man refuses to walk in that way, then God has got a right to ask, "Why didn't you do it?" And that's what He did then, and that's what He does now, and that's why He will, what He will ask at the Judgment. They've asked, "Why?"
60 Now, our Scripture reading started off, just immediately after the death of Ahab, a bad king, a borderline believer, a man who knowed what was right to do, and yet did not have the courage to step out and do what he knowed was right to do.
61I just think, if this--if this world isn't contaminated today with Ahabs, this Christendom that we live in, it's contaminated with Ahabs, with man who really know that it's right to give your life and be... to God, and be filled with the Spirit, and to follow the teachings of this Bible, and yet without the courage to stand and do it. Reminds me again of another situation like that in Sodom.
62 The Bible said, "The sins of Sodom, vexed the righteous soul of Lot, daily." And how that the man's soul was righteous, and he looked out upon the sins of the land, and he knowed that what was wrong, that they were doing wrong, and yet without the courage to stand for his conviction.
63No wonder the whole world has become a Sodom and Gomorrah, and how that the Lots today, across the nation and around the world, standing in churches, who is convinced that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and that His power is just as real today as it ever was, without the courage to stand in the pulpit and to denounce sin, because of some barrier that would excommunicate them from a fellowship that they had joined into. Still comes back to the Blood of Jesus Christ, the only remedy.
"Why? Why?"
64 Ahaziah was--was the son of Ahab, had been brought up in the kind of a home that--that was a--a lukewarm home. It wasn't altogether Christian. His mother was a heathen. And his father had married out of fellowship, married a woman that was not a believer.
65And that always makes a bad home for any kid to be raised in, that when unbelief and faith tries to mix together.
66And, now, if the father would have been a real strong man in his faith, the child might have had a better opportunity, but he--he didn't. He didn't have. He knew that there was God. He knew that there was a Jehovah. And then he... his mother's gods, and so forth. He was all confused. Then after the death of his father, this boy in this condition, kind of a mixed up, one way and another.
67And if that ain't a picture of the lands today! One in the family is this a way, and one another, and one going this way and one going that way. No wonder we are producing so much juvenile delinquency, and all other kinds of stuff, under the name of Christianity. It's because there is no unity. There is no real call out, and stand for God.
68 Now we find that, this fellow falling heir to his father's throne. One day, up in the top of his balcony somewhere, walking around, he--he fell through the--the lattice. Might have been over intoxicated and fell through the lattice, down probably on the bottom floor, struck a bench or something, and broke a few ribs or bruised him up. And the sickness must have started an infection somewhere, or the bruise, and caused him to have fever. And he was pretty sick.
69Course, them days, they didn't have the remedies that they have now. Perhaps the doctors came and done what they could for the fellow, but they didn't have the sufficiency. Then he knowed his only thing that he could do would be to go to a higher power than what the doctors could produce in their terminology of medicine. And he thought he would go then; and he sent to his mother.
70 What a lesson that ought to be to mothers! A kid will usually listen to his mama.
71And he went to his, sent to his mother's god, Baal-zebub, over to Ekron, where his statue was, his monument. And said, "Go consult the priests over there, and let them consult their statue of Baal-zebub, whether I will recover of this sickness that I have, or not."
72 But you know, that man, really, could you imagine? A people who was supposed to be a God-fearing people, would let such a man rule over them, is because a lukewarm condition. It was the condition that the church had got into, that put such a person in power, or permitted it. I don't think times have changed very much; they still seem to be a whole lot the same way. And let this man rule, have the say-so over the country, that would consult some statue of some pagan idea about his condition.
73And then, you know, but behind all of it, no matter how much it seems that God has turned His face from the people, He does that sometime to see what kind of an attitude you take. Every son that cometh to God has got to be tried and chastened.
74 And then there is a little spot in a man, or woman, when they're born of the Spirit of God, that's Eternal.
75And you'll get into a place sometime to where every... Everything that's human about you, in reasoning, the devil can reason it away from you. But when it all breaks away, then, if that Eternal Life isn't there, you will fall also, because you can reason yourself away from God.
76But a man that claims to be a Christian, has no right in the pulpit, or has no right in the office, a leader anywhere, until first he has climbed them steps into a place to where he is born of the Spirit of God, filled with the Holy Ghost, in such a way that nobody can explain it away from him.
77 God, when He sent Moses down to Egypt, to deliver the people, first He took him on the back side of the desert, and took all the theology he had in him out, in forty years, and then appeared to him. He knowed more about God, in five minutes, in the Presence of that burning bush, than he knowed in the forty years of learning that he got.
78That's what the church needs tonight, is another burning-bush experience, where slick-tongued people... Where, the Scripture says that, "The two spirits in the last days will be so close, it'd deceive the very elected if possible."
79 A man ought to first get on that sacred ground with God; where all the theologians, all the doctors of divinity, all the reasonings, all the atheists, nothing else can ever explain that away from him. He was there when God come, and he knows what took place. You can't reason it out of him; he was there when it happened. That's the kind of man we need today in the government, in the church, and anywhere else, in the times like this. For leadership, we need a man that's filled with the Holy Ghost.
80That's what the church needs today; not a theologian, but a Spirit-filled, born-again man, full of the Holy Ghost. I tell you, if we had more of that, the church would look a little different than it does in the present time. Things would be different if we just had more man filled with God's Spirit, not going after traditions of the elders, and so forth.
81 Now we find that this fellow sent up there to get this information from--from the--from the god of Ekron, Baal-zebub.
82But, all the time, God knew he was doing it. So He had a prophet down there, by the name of Elijah, so He spoke to Elijah and said, "Go up there to a certain road, and stand in that way. Messengers are coming up." You see, you cannot hide nothing from God, see, no matter what you're doing. Now, how little did that fellow know that God was speaking to Elijah way down there in the wilderness somewhere, in a little mud hut somewhere, and could tell him to "Go, stand on the corner of the road up there, and speak to these fellows, and tell them to 'Get back down to him, and tell him, "THUS SAITH THE LORD, he is not coming off of that bed."'"
83And He said, "Ask him, 'Why did you do it? What makes you do it? Is it because that there is no God in Israel? Is it because He doesn't have a prophet? Is that the reason you did it? Why, you know what's happened. You know the Scripture. You've got them in your own palace. The priests are around there. No doubt you've read them since a boy. And why did you do such a silly thing as that?'"
84 I wonder, tonight, if Christ would come on the scene, or over the nation today, in drawing this nation to judgment, if that same question wouldn't been asked. Why is it, is it? Why is it we are doing these things? Why are we fussing in the government, whether we should read the Bible in public, and, why, if we are reading all this nonsense? Did not our forefathers set this constitution in order? Did not this nation be born upon the principles of the Bible? Aren't we here for freedom of religion, to act in God the way we feel fit to act, the way that we are convinced is Truth?
85 But, you see, we have done something like they did then. We are just letting everything, politics, swallow us up, in the stead of respecting our Faith in our God, and man who has stood for Truth. And we are letting our politics run over that, and voting in such stuff that's polluting this nation, and while we are coming to a judgment. God will rise on the scene, someday, with a mighty prophet, speak in this generation and--and tell people, and they'll see that it's God speaking, but they won't repent. It'll be just like it was then.
86He said, "Is there no God in Israel? Is it because there is no God?" Same as Jeremiah said, "Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there?" Then, they could not answer that. Course, there was. Well, He said, "Then, why, why did you do it? Why is the daughter of my people not healed?"
87 Now we wonder that, tonight. Why? Is there no Bible? Is there no God? Is there no difference? If God is going to bring the people to Judgment, He has got to have something to judge them by. There has got to be some standard.
88If He is going to judge them by the Catholic church; then if they judge them by the Roman church, the Greek church is lost, the other Catholic churches are lost. If He judged it by the Greek, the Roman is lost. If He judged it by the Lutheran, the Methodist is lost. If He judged it by the Methodist, the Lutheran is lost. He can't judge it by a church; there is too many different organizations of it.
89But God will judge the world, He said, by Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ is the Word, and the Word is God. And He will judge them by this Bible, for this is the Word. That is God's standard. We must measure up to what the Bible says.
90And we wonder why we got so much confusion, so many organizations, so much differences, separating brotherhood, and--and everything. It's because there is no Balm in Gilead? Is it because there is no physician there? I wonder if God would ask us that question?
91 Now, it wasn't--it wasn't exactly they didn't have a Physician. They did. God was the Physician. And it wasn't because there wasn't a God in Israel. There was a God. And they had a prophet to consult, to find out what these things are. But it was the king's own stubborn will. That's exactly.
92And that's what's the matter in the nation today. It's the people's own stubborn will. Not because we don't have the same God that crossed the Red Sea, with His people, that fed them forty years in the wilderness. It's not because we don't have the same God that we had in the beginning. It's the people's own stubborn way. They don't want to bow down. They don't want to--to have anything to do with the holiness and purity of living the Bible way of living. They would rather belong to church and put their name on a book, and live like the rest of the world, than to bow down to the promises and the Commandments of Almighty God. That's what's the matter today. That's the reason things are going the way they are, people get away from the Word. You'll never be able to get straightened out till we get back onto the right path.
93 They built this building, put that corner down here somewhere, you would never get the building built. You've got to be laid on the foundation. And the foundation is the Bible, doctrine of apostles and prophets, and so forth, of the Bible.
94The king's own stubborn way. He just didn't want to--to send down there. It wasn't very popular.
95God's real true way of living has never been popular. It never will be popular. "For the preaching of the Gospel is foolishness to them that perish." Paul said, "I'm not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for it's the power of God unto salvation to them that believe."
Now we find out here that the king was stubborn.
96 Just something like today, a patient will lay right on a... What if a patient went to a doctor and laid down on his steps, and he had some kind of a--a fever that was going to kill him? And the doctor come to the door, and said, "Sir, I've got the medicine in here."
He say, "Ah, I just ain't."
"Come on in, I'll give you the injection, the inoculation."
"I don't want your medicine."
97And say now, "Sir, I--I can help you if you'll just come on in."
"Well, I'm not coming in."
98And the man laid there on the doctor's steps and died; die on the doctor's steps because he won't accept the inoculation for typhoid fever or ever what it is, that he had. He won't accept the inoculation for it, and the man dies right on the doctor's doorstep. Now, the man... You can't blame the doctor, if he has the--the medicine that will--that will cure the disease, and the doctor is willing to give it, and it's been provided. And the man set, come as close as the doctor's doorstep, and set down there and die, you can't blame the doctor. You can't blame the medicine. It's the man that'd be to blame; dying on the doctor's doorstep, with a disease that there is a medicine to be cured, can cure it, on the inside. Well, that's just a parable.
99 But, you know, God has the medicine inside of His Kingdom, that will cure every sin disease there is in the world, and the people sit right on the church doorsteps. Not only that, but they sit right in the pew, and die, and are lost and go to Hell, because they refuse to accept the Doctor's medicine. Amen. That's right. They absolutely refuse to take the Doctor's medicine, therefore they die with the fevers.
100And the people sit in the church and hear the Messages of God, and believe them, and won't accept It. They wouldn't say, "Well, now I don't believe that's right." Some of them will come, say and agree with It, say, "I believe It's right," but you won't do it. See, you'll die. Dying in the pews of the church, because they won't accept the remedy. They won't. See, what it does, it takes a little bit of the--the popularity out of the people. It kind of beats them up a little bit.
101 They're afraid of that new Birth. You know, any birth is a mess. I don't care what it is, if it's in a pig pen or a pink decorated hospital, it's a mess, and so is the new Birth. It'll make you do things that you didn't think you would do. It'll straighten you up. But before you can ever get right, you have to come through that mess. That's right. Amen. Before a seed can ever be born, it has to die and rot. And that's what's the matter with people today, they don't want to die and rot out to the world, so they can be born again of the Holy Ghost. See, that's right. They're afraid of that new Birth. They're--they're afraid.
102It makes them do things that they don't want to do. It takes the popularity out of them. It takes the starch out of them. Oh, I tell you, I'm glad that there is inoculation, tonight, that'll take it out of you, brother, that will take the world out. It'll make people, brotherhood, associate together regardless of denominational differences. It'll--it'll make a pair of overalls put an arms around a tuxedo suit, and holler, "Brother, I'm glad to see you!" Amen. Sure! But you... They're afraid of that inoculation. Oh, my!
103It's dangerous to refuse the doctor's medicine, you know, if you--if you're going to him. And it's afraid of... If you refuse the medicine, it's danger. You may die. But that, that, you'll just die physically, from not taking the doctor's medicine. But how much more dangerous is it to refuse God's inoculation from sin!
104 Here sometime ago, I had a little sick spell, and someone said to me, said, "Well, Billy," said, "did you keep your religion during your sickness?" Said, "You know, you believe in Divine healing; did you keep your religion?"
105I said, "No, it kept me. Not the idea of me keeping it; it keeps me."
106When the Blood of Jesus Christ was shed on Calvary, God made a preparation. When man first sinned, he left hisself a great chasm that he crossed, leaving hisself no way back. God, rich in mercy, accepted a substitute, and that was the blood of a lamb or a bullock, and that substitute lasted for years.
107 Moses stood under the inspiration of God, when sin was not even divorced, it was just simply covered by the blood of bulls and goats. And he had the--the glory of God upon him, until he could speak flies into existence, he could speak frogs into existence. Because, a word is a thought expressed, and God brought His thoughts to Moses, and Moses spoke them in words. And when the Word spoke, the whole world was framed by the Word of God.
108There used to be a time when I'd get, in school, get some black ink on my--on my shirt. Mama used to take my shirt off, and say, "Hand it to me, quick, honey," and she would put some coal oil on it. And all it done was just scattered it, made a great big ring spot, where she put the coal oil on the ink. That's all she knowed about. That was the best she had.
109 But it's different today. They have manufactured a stuff called bleach. And you... It's a chemical that whenever that ink drops back into that Clorox, or bleach, whatever it is. When it strikes that, you cannot find that black no more, at all. What happens to it? Drop a drop of black ink in a tub of bleach, why, you don't have nothing. You can't find any fumes.
110If I was a chemist, these--these words may not be just exactly true to science, but I'd say, what is it? "It's an H20, water, for one thing. Then there is a chemical in it, and made it black." There is only one original color, and that's white. All other colors are perversions from that. And now I say... And then if you would break it up from there, and maybe you would say, "Well, it turned into an acid when it hit the bleach. It turned to an acid." All right, then where did the acid go? "The acid went back..."
Now, it's coloring we're talking about in this, the coloring.
111 Say, "It went back to molecules. Well," say, "molecule four times six plus nine, makes molecule H." If it would come out four plus six plus eight, what would it come out? Pink instead of black. Then it went back from there to atoms. Then, from atoms, plus one plus B2 plus three, make four, which put it with molecule H. Means what? Then you come back to black again. And then when you go beyond that, you might go to electrons.
112Where do you go to from there? You will have to go back. Because it is a creation, it had to come from a Creator. You have to make it. Therefore, it went all the way back to its Creator. That coloring that was in that ink, it can never return again.
113 Now, God seen that the blood of bulls and goats could not take away sin. He never manufactured, but He created a chemical in the Blood of Jesus Christ. Amen. That sin once confessed in the right way; you--you don't even bridge that chasm, you take the chasm completely away, and God don't even know that you ever sinned. That's right. He said He "put them in the Sea of Forgetfulness," to remember them no more at all against you. Then men and women stands in the Presence of God, as sons and daughters of God, the very nature of their God in their hearts.
114Where is the church today, brother? What's happened to the church? When, we can see that the Blood of Jesus Christ so remitted sins, that God don't even remember we sinned. Then, "Whatever you ask in My Name, that I'll do." What's the matter? It's because somebody has been indocumating these Scriptures for the people. This is the only thing that I can figure has been done, because God's remedy is still the same. Now, it's dangerous to refuse the doctor's inoculation, how much more God!
115 Now how does man ever find medicine, anyhow, to work on a human being? You know what chemists does, or--or scientists? They take a disease, and find out what kind of a germ is in it, then they get some kind of poison, antidote, and so forth, enough poison enough to kill you, and enough antidote to keep it from doing it, and they inject it first into a guinea pig. They give the guinea pig the disease that you've got. And then they put the medicine in the guinea pig, and if the guinea pig survives it, then they give it to you. So that's quite a thing, you know; give it to the guinea pig and see if he can take it, and, if the guinea pig don't die, then they give it to you. Not all--not all people are made like guinea pigs, you know, so it--it kills some and--and helps the other.
116 But there is one thing about this inoculation that Jesus Christ gives, it helps everybody. It's not a remedy; it's a cure.
117You've heard people say today, "Number-one killer is heart disease." I--I differ with them; not to be different. I just differ because I know it's wrong. The number-one killer is sin disease. Right, not--not all heart disease, it's sin disease.
118You know, some people say, "Well, now, Brother Branham, I believe you stretched the blanket there a little bit. Now let me ask you something. A man has to sin; I just have to sin a little bit every day." That's because you've never been inoculated. That's all. See? Uh-huh. Yeah. You never tried God's remedy. That's right. If you would do that, then you wouldn't do it.
119 Say, "I just have to smoke. Something just makes me smoke." Try the inoculation one time, and find out whether--whether it works or not. You say, "I--I just can't keep from doing this. I--I..." Well, you just--you just take God's toxin one time and see how it does to you.
120A woman said to me not long ago. I was getting onto her about wearing these little old scandal clothes. And she said, "Now, Brother Branham, let me tell you, you have no right to say that. We got a right to wear shorts if we want to."
121I said, "I guess that's right. But if you was a Christian, you wouldn't want to wear them." She said, she said...
122And she said, "Well, now wait, Brother Branham." She said, "You know, they don't make any other kind of clothes but just those sexy clothes, and so forth, like that."
123I said, "They still got bolt goods and make sewing machines. There is no excuse." That's right.
124It's because they don't want to take the inoculation of the fillings of the Holy Spirit, old-fashioned, God-saved, camp-meeting holiness. Amen. That's right.
125 Used to be wrong to do those things. It's still wrong! That's right. But what's the matter, there is something happened. It used to be that--that people that would act like that, they were even excommunicated from society; now they can't be brought into society until they do do it. And so, you see, it depends on where your heart is, there your treasures are also; or where your treasure, your heart is, also. You must remember, that, if you love the Lord with all your heart, you'll live clean and pure.
126 The wife and I went over to the supermarket, here some time ago. We seen a strange thing, a woman with a dress on. It was a strange thing in our country. And Meda said to me, she said, "Bill, I know that, them, some of them women sing in choirs down here in the churches." And she said, "I know them." And she said, "Now, why, what makes them?"
127I said, "Well, you see, honey," I said, "being a missionary, as myself," I said, "we--we are of a different country."
She said, "What?"
I said, "We are of a different country, a different nation."
She said, "Aren't we Americans?"
128I said, "We live here, but this is not our home. We are pilgrims. We are seeking a City, Whose Builder and Maker is God. I went into Finland; I seen the way they acted in Finland. I went in, and down into Germany; I seen the way they had the German spirit. I went down into Switzerland; they had the Switzerland spirit. I come to America; they got a American spirit."
She said, "Well, then, what about us?"
129I said, "We are born from Above, Heavenly, where purity, and holiness, and righteousness, and honesty." Yes. I said, "Therefore, those who profess that, look not upon the things of the world. But we plainly say, by our lives and the way we live, that we have a God, we have a Kingdom, we have a place that we are going. And this is not our home." Amen.
130My, I like that! I begin to feel pretty religious right now. Yes, sir. I believe in this old-time, Holy Ghost salvation. Oh, brother, sister, it does something to you. The same God, lived one time, still lives today. His same, His same doctrine of holiness, just lives tonight the same as it ever lived, just the same thing. Yes, sir. Notice, the people has got away from the doctrine of It, that's all. Yes. Now, yes, sir.
131 Our number-one, heart disease, doesn't, the main thing that kills the people today. It's number one, sin disease. And sin is unbelief. Unbelief in what? The Bible. That's right. Yes, it's the number-one, sin disease, that kills the people today, both spiritually and... And that'll make them kill them physically, of course, 'cause they already can prove that man that holds grudges, and women who fuss and stew, and fight and argue, they die. It'll cause cancer, fungus, everything else will set in, ulcers.
132See, you were made to be happy and free. You were made to live like children before your Father, and--and know that He makes every day, everything work right for you each day. Yes, sir.
133 The people is just afraid of this new Birth. That's all. They're afraid to come to it, because it'll straighten them up. It'll make you quit playing bingo, quit playing these slot machines. It'll make you quit staying home on Wednesday night, from prayer meeting, to watch We Love Sucy and all those other crazy things that Hollywood has got, and them dirty jokes that's cracked over there. And it'll make--it'll make you let your hair grow out, long. It'll make you act like a lady. It'll make a man quit smoking cigarettes, then being in church as deacons. It'll make the people quit lying, stealing. It'll do something for you. It'll clean you up and give you a salvation that there is nothing in the world can explain it away from you, 'cause you know you were there when it happened. Yes, sir.
134 Now, as I said a while ago, when God... When man finds medicine, the thing that they do, they search for this remedy. Then they find this disease, then they inject it into a guinea pig and see if the guinea pig survives it.
135Now, when God was going to bring down this inoculation that I'm speaking of tonight, this balm of Gilead, He didn't find a guinea pig. He come Himself. Amen. Only way He could do, is come in the form of His Son, and was made flesh and dwelt among us, in order to take the sting of death. He come to die. The only way He could die... He couldn't die as a spirit, as a man. So He was formed a body called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and God dwelt in this body, making Himself Emmanuel on earth, to take away the sin of man. That was that chemistry that was in that Blood.
136Somebody said, "He was a Jew." He was not a Jew. Some of them said, "He was a Gentile." He was not a Gentile.
137He was nothing less than God. The Bible said that, "We are saved by the Blood of God." The blood comes from the male sex. We know that. The hemoglobin is out of the male; the female is only the egg. That's right.
138 Like I said there, like springtime. These old mother birds are building nests out here, and laying eggs. Some of them will lay a nestful of eggs that'll never hatch, too. Why? She--she could lay a nestful of eggs, and she could sit on them and just be so loyal. She could turn them eggs each day, and stay there away from food, until she gets so poor she couldn't hardly fly off the nest. No matter how much she babies them, and how much she pets them, and how loyal she is to them, they'll never hatch. Why? She hasn't been with the mate, and they're not fertile, therefore they'll just lay there and rot.
139That's what's the matter with a lot of our conferences. That's what's the matter with our camp meeting, many of them today, and our conferences. What do we get? A bunch of pets and sissified preachers that ought... Why, it's a disgrace. And come in there because he has got a little prestige, or a little education, push them up above something. I'd, my, only thing we need today is a... We got a nestful of rotten eggs.
140 What we need is a good old nest-cleaning time, all the way from there, that will push it out, until we get men and women that's filled with the Holy Ghost; that's been with the Mate, Jesus Christ, and is filled with the Spirit that He was baptized with. That's right. Then we got Life in the camp. Yes, sir. Toxin, they're afraid of It.
141Jesus Christ, the Son of God, when He was born, some of them said, "Well, now, He was, He--He was the egg of Mary." He wasn't. If Mary had to get that egg down through the tube and to the womb, there had to be a sensation, so you see what you put God doing? He was neither, no part of it.
142 God, the Creator, overshadowed the virgin Mary, and created the cells within her womb, and brought forth a Man which was Emmanuel, God Himself made flesh, among us, with no help from anybody. He's the Creator who made the first man. Amen. Oh, my! There He is. There He stands. Yes, sir. And then He did that so He could take the inoculation.
143Any real good scientist, good doctor that finds a disease, some of them will go over to a prison camp and get some man to try it out, that's going to have life in prison. If he survives the inoculation, why, then the poison don't kill him, he can go free if he's ready to take the inoculation. Prisoners wait for that. Oh, that's a doctor that's afraid of his medicine.
144 But, you know, God wasn't afraid of His Own medicine. [Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.]... in a manger, a man standing on the banks of the Jordan. When the inoculation fell down there, he seen it like a dove coming down from Heaven, and He was inoculated. And a Voice said, "This is My beloved Son in whom I'm pleased to dwell in." Amen. God in man. That's the inoculation. God in man. The world watched Him. Every temptation, He stood it. When they spit in His face, pulled the beard out and spit on Him, It stood the temptation. In the hours of trial, it stood the temptation. It held! The inoculation that He received at Jordan, it held. It held in the time of popularity.
145 What's the matter with a lot of--of churches today, God will bless them, they get started... And that's what's hurting our Pentecostal people. They, they ought to be back like our grandfathers was, with a tin pan or a tambourine, down on the corner somewhere, beating a tambourine; than it would be laying these big morgues that we're building today, trying to fashion after other people. What we need is a good old-fashion outpouring of the Holy Ghost, that will clean you up, including you pastors of the Pentecostal church. That's right.
146Now, the thing of it was, that when the Holy Spirit came down upon Jesus, at the day of His baptism, He was inoculated. We've watched Him in the hour of trial. When the devil tried to give Him all the kingdoms of the world, what did He do? He stayed right with the Word. Amen.
147 What I'm wondering today, that many brethren out on the field since this last-day revival... Why is it, when you get a few nickels or a change of clothes, you're too big to go somewhere, too, oh, something another, and you have to have something bigger than the other one? It's become a regular rat race. It's a shame. God wants man that will humble himself, and get down there into a place, somebody He can speak to. But it's become such a rat race, everybody is trying to get something bigger than the other fellow. It's a... And, see, they can't stand that prestige of the temptation of Satan.
148 But our Lord stood the temptation. The inoculation held. When the time come, there was a debate on the Scripture, He stayed exactly with the Word. Satan said, "It's written."
He said, "It's also written." Oh, it's... Glory! God in man, see.
149What did He have? He had something with Him to back up every word He said. He said, "If I do not the works of My Father, then don't believe Me. But if you can't believe Me, believe--believe the works that He does through Me." Oh, my! There you are.
150 What we need is men and women like that, today, that can shut the mouth of the world, by the signs of the Holy Ghost. We need a camp meeting like that. We need a turning upside down, a shaking out, a lot of the world and things out of the church, that's come in in these last days. Money is scattering out through the country, and big things, that's got the people's minds on big things instead of on God. Compromising, compromising with the Scripture! Any brother who started out on that way, but they get popular in some organization, compromise on what he believed.
151That blood doesn't run in a genuine, Holy-Ghost-born man. All devils in hell can't upset him on that Word. He'll stand on That regardless of what. Amen. Paul said, "There is nothing present or future, can come, or anything, can separate us from the love of God." That real genuine birth of the Holy Spirit comes into a man, he's a Son of God. There is no chasm between him and God. He is His son in His Presence. Amen. I like that. I know that's true. All right.
152 We find out that in the hour of temptation, for worldly things, the inoculation held. In a time of being called holy roller or--or made fun of, put a rag around His face, His eyes, and hit Him on the head with a stick, said, "Now if You're a prophet, tell us who hit You." Them Roman soldiers, they seen Him discerning the thoughts of the people. To stand out and...
153If He was standing here tonight, He would look around and tell that woman what was wrong with her, and what was this and that. That's the way He did it. That's the way He still does it, 'cause He doesn't change. Amen. Ain't you glad? That's a living God. That a man could fall out of a roof, and the life go out of him; and a man standing there with God in him, could lay himself over that man, and he lived again. That same God lives tonight. Amen. He is the unchangeable God. The church needs an inoculation. That's right.
154 As David duPlessis once said, God don't have no grandchildren. That's right. Where our Pentecostal brethren are becoming, their children come into church and just say, "Well, we're Pentecostal 'cause papa was." If papa was a Pentecostal, and got the baptism of the Holy Ghost, you'll have to get It the same way papa did. He don't have grandchildren. He just has sons and daughters, not grandsons and granddaughters; just--just sons and daughters. It's true.
155So you've got to do the same thing they did on the Day of Pentecost. You got to have the same experience. You got to have the same thing that they had. God don't never change His program. He never changes His ways. He just does the same thing all the time. The way He lays down His program, it must toe to that each time. It's got to be the same thing. And if you will do the same thing, the same results will come. Amen. That's right.
156 Now we find out, it held in time of temptation. It held when everything was going wrong. It held when all of His friends forsook Him. He still held, the inoculation held. Then the devil thought, "I got Him now." He started up Calvary, the Blood streaming out of His body. His garment wrapped around Him, one big splash of Blood. The devil must have said, "I got Him now. That can't be God. No, no. That can't be Him, if He would let them soldiers spit in His face, if He would let them jerk handfuls of beard out of His face, if He would let them challenge Him to see a vision and He didn't do it. And now here He goes up the hill, packing that cross, I'll have Him in a few minutes."
157 That bee of death come down, and circling around, to sting Him. You know, like any bee, has a stinger in it. But, you know, God had prepared a flesh that time, it was the flesh of God. When that stinger once anchored in that Son of God, into Emmanuel; when he pulled hisself out, he had no stinger left. He took the sting right out of death. No wonder Paul could say, "Death, where is thy sting? Grave, where is thy victory? But thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
158He could sting Elijah, and die, he could sting Elijah and remain his stinger. But, you know, if a bee--if a bee ever stings deep enough, he can't sting no more, he pulls his stinger out. So there was no human flesh that he could anchor in. Oh, my! No one that he could anchor in. But when he put it in Emmanuel that time, he lost his stinger. Thanks be to God! Yes, sir, he failed on that one. Yes, sir.
159 They found out the toxin held. They said, "If You be the Son of God, come down off the cross." The high priest, the big dignitary of the church, said, "Tell us plainly now. If You're the Son of God, come down off the cross and save Yourself," and so forth. "Let us see if You're the Son of God." He never opened His mouth and said a word.
160Now we find out that He died. He really died. He died until the sun and moon said He died. All of nature said He died. The earth quaked, it had a nervous chill run over it. And when they seen the very God that created the earth, was hanging on top of the earth, and Emmanuel's Blood dropping upon the ground. No wonder He died. He died till everything said He was dead.
161 And then we're going to find out, before He died, He said, "You destroy this temple, and I'll raise it up again on the third day. You'll never be able to keep it down. Destroy it, and I'll bring it back up on the third day."
162They put a guard around, to find out the inoculation was going to hold. They seen it held through temptation of sin. It held through poverty. It held through riches. It held through all kinds of temptation. It still held. But now it's in death, what's it going to do now?
163 But on Easter morning, oh, my, just before that sun rose up, that inoculation took a hold. And, when it did, death broke its barriers, the grave opened up, and He rose again on the third day and ascended on High. It shows that that inoculation is the inoculation of Eternal Life. You can't destroy it. Even the belly of hell can't hold it. The grave can't hold it. Death can't hold it. Nothing can hold it. It'll rise again.
164Jesus Christ said, "All the Father has given Me will come to Me, and I'll raise it up again at the last day." Hallelujah! A man or a woman that's been inoculated with This, cannot stay in the grave. No grave can hold the righteous. No hell can keep it; no grave, no nothing else. Jesus Christ promised to raise it up again on that Day. Amen. Oh, I'm so glad of that, that inoculation. You know, on Easter morning it proved.
165 Do you know what it was? It was such a great thing, till a hundred and twenty people wanted to get inoculated. Now, if He can keep through temptation, there was a hundred and twenty people who knew Him real well, they wanted that inoculation. So right then He had to go up to the laboratory and fix the serum, so He said, "You go up there to the city of Jerusalem till I get it, all the formula fixed up. I'm going to send It down to you." So they went up to wait.
166How the Christian church should be run, what kind of an inoculation would it take? What, what would be the inoculation? How would they do? What would take place? Should they all go away to the seminary and learn to have a Ph.D. and LL.D.? Should some priest come up the road with a kosher in his hands, and lick out and take the communion, and that's it?
167 "But there came a sound from Heaven," the inoculation was on its road, "like a rushing mighty wind, and It filled all the house where they were sitting. Cloven tongues set upon them, like Fire. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and begin to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit give them utterance."
168Did you ever seen the old temple, the picture of it? There was a little side door that went out, went up along the stairsteps, went up in the upper room. They closed the doors and went in, because they was afraid.
169But I'm telling you, when they got inoculated like a fresh branded calf, they couldn't hold him. No, sir. Out of that room he come, out into the streets he went. He was inoculated. Death, hell, persecution, laughed at, made fun of, made no difference to him, he was inoculated. Amen. Oh, my!
170 Listen at Peter standing up there. They begin to ask, "Is there any more balm in Gilead? Is there any more balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there?" Oh, yeah, we got plenty of balm in Gilead. We got plenty of physicians.
171In that day, Doctor Simon Peter, he was the physician. He said, "I'm going to write you a prescription. I'm going to tell you. And this is an Eternal prescription, because it's going to be for you, and for your children, and for them that's far off. Frankly, it's for every one who will call upon, the Lord thy God shall call upon, 'I'm going to give it to him.'"
172Said, "What can we do to get inoculated?" There is where she lays. "What can we do to be inoculated?"
173He said, "I'll write the prescription." He said, "Repent, every one of you, and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For this prescription is to you, and to your children, and to them that's far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." Oh, my!
174 You know what? When a doctor finds a remedy for a disease; and he writes out a prescription, and some quack druggist gets a hold of it and goes to adding a little of this and taking a little of this out of it, he'll either kill the patient or--or do something to it. The prescription doesn't even have any enough medicine in it to do any good. If it don't, it's so weak you won't help the patient.
175And that's what's the matter with a lot of these seminary druggists today. They take the prescription out, and add something else instead of It, and you got a bunch of dying morgues.
176 This prescription still remains the same. When the Samaritans received It, they get inoculated, they had the same thing. When the Gentiles received It, they got the same prescription. Paul met a bunch in Acts 19, who had part of the prescription, not all of It, he said, "That won't work. You're going to kill the whole thing." So he wrote it over, for them, told them how to get it. They got it the same way.
177And that's what's the matter today. There is plenty of balm in Gilead, and we got plenty of physicians, but the people are afraid of the prescription. Glory! Praise be to God. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no power of the Holy Spirit? Now is there?
178This inoculation works on all, see. It did on the Jews. It did on the Samaritans. It did on the Gentiles. It does on everybody the same way.
179 I'm a missionary. I go over into the land where the people there that don't even know which is right and left hand, and they stand there. You know what they do when they receive the Holy Ghost? Same thing you do, same thing.
180Oh, what is it? "It's for you, and for your children, and to them that's far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." This same prescription works the same thing.
181And the church will do the same thing it did at the beginning. Exactly right. Jesus is the vine. We are the branches, and by being inoculated by that Life that was in the vine. The church that went out, inoculated, they wrote a Book of Acts behind it.
182Now we got some substitutes. We got some grafted fruits. It--it lives off of the life of the tree, but it won't bear the fruits. That's right.
183 I was standing with a friend of mine, John Sharrit, over in Phoenix, here not long ago. He had a tree there, an orange tree, that had about five or six different kinds of fruit on it.
I said, "I never seen a thing like that."
He said, "They're grafted."
I said, "What kind of a tree?"
He said, "Orange."
184I said, "Well, there is lemon, and there is lime, and there is tangerines, and tangelos, and--and grapefruit, many different kinds." I said, "And all of them is raised off of that same tree?"
He said, "Yeah, it's all citrus fruit."
185I said, "Well, now, that's a strange thing." I said, "Now, this year, after all that fruit goes off, next year it'll bring forth an orange?"
186He said, "Oh, no. Huh-uh. No." Said, "It'll bring forth the kind that the limb is."
187And I said, "Then that tree turned from, you mean, from the--the orange tree to what..."
188He said, "No, no, no. If it ever puts forth another limb, it brings forth an orange."
I said, "I see." Amen.
189 Brother, we've got such things as church denominations injected into This, and living off of It, calling themselves Christians. But if the real Life of that tree ever puts forth another branch of its own, it'll be another Book of Acts behind it, for He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. What the world and their treasures, and they don't know nothing about. The people reading this Bible, if you'll read It from the denominational standpoint, you'll not get much from It. But if you'll just look to what It says, then obey what the prescription says. Read It, obey It, it'll make a different person.
190 I just come from India, here not long ago. I heard of a woman over here, she was poverty-stricken, her son had went to India to be a doctor. And he got over there and he got away from his medical practice, and got into another, I believe he was an electrical engineer, or something. And this woman got poverty-stricken. She just didn't have nothing, and so charity was trying to come and take care of her. And so they invested the case, and when they investigated, they found out that the woman had one support, and that was a son that was a very wealthy man in India. And said, "Well, why don't your son support you?"
191Said, "Oh, I just couldn't ask him." Said, "I'm his mother," said, "I'd just rather take charity than to ask my son."
Said, "Don't you never hear from him?"
192Said, "Oh, I hear from him at least once or twice a month." Said, "He writes some of the most sweetest letters that you ever read."
193Said, "Well, look like if he loved his mother enough, and he had plenty of money, he would be trying to take care of her, instead of her having to go to charity."
194Said, "Well, perhaps if he knew I was this a way," said, "he would, he would take care of me. But," said, "you know, he doesn't know, and I--I just feel embarrassed to tell my son, like that."
And said, "And he still writes you sweet letters?"
195Said, "Oh, some of the sweetest letters!" And said, "He sends me the prettiest pictures you ever seen."
Said, "The prettiest pictures? So let's see some of them."
196She went through her Bible, and she pulled them out. You know what they was? Bank drafts. India puts pictures on their bank drafts, you see, pretty pictures. She had thousands of dollars, converted from Indian money into American money. What was it? In the ledge of her Bible, she had treasures that she thought was "just pictures," but, come to find out, it was real value to her.
197 And, brother, when you try to read of a painted fire of Pentecost, and somebody tries to tell you that the Holy Spirit isn't the same today as it was then, somebody tries to tell you the days of miracles is passed, that Jesus Christ isn't the same yesterday, today, and forever, that they try to tell you, don't you believe it. Them is not pictures. God Almighty sent that message to you, that's right, "It's for you, and to your children, to them that's far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." God is still God. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
198He is right here, tonight, to save the lost, to heal the sick, to fill with the Holy Spirit, those who desire to be filled. You believe that, don't you? [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.] Yes, sir. If you believe it, then, you see, that's God's promises in this Word here, you can get right in there and find every promise. The promise is unto you. Peter said, "The promise is unto you, and to your children, and to them that's far off." Don't be afraid to cash that. That's a bank draft on Heaven. That's right. Jesus Christ the same yesterday and forever!
199 What if He stood here tonight and seen that woman laying there sick? She looks like she is very sick, crippled, probably paralytic or something. Two women... A woman, and a colored man and a colored woman, trying to work with a little baby, what do you think He would do if He stood looking at them two patients there, as a healer? Do you think He can heal them? He has already done it, you see. When He died at Calvary, He done it. Do you believe that, patients? Do you believe that's right? You there with the little colored lady, there with the baby, do you believe Jesus Christ, when He died at Calvary, He purchased the healing of your child?
200You on the cot there, if you're... You look very sick. You're paralyzed, whatever it is, do you believe Jesus Christ died at Calvary, to save you from your sickness? Do you believe that? Do you believe that what I've said tonight, that it's true? Do you believe that prescription is true? You do?
201 If He stood here tonight, and you asked Him, "Will You heal my child?" You know what He would say? "I've already done that." See, you just believe it. See? If you would say, "Sir, I am crippled, can't walk," or whatever it is. "I--I can't walk. I--I'm dying," or something, "Will You save me?" He would say, "I've already done it." See?
202Now how would you know it was His voice? Because He would do something like He did then. He might be able to tell you something about yourself, tell you what you were, or what was wrong with you, or something like that, like He did in the Bible time. That would show He was the same. But for healing, you would have to accept it yourself. "He was wounded for our transgressions; with His stripes we were healed." Do you believe that?
203Do you believe He could tell me tonight what's your trouble, or something about you laying there? Would you accept it and believe me to be His prophet? You will?
204What about you, the lady there next to her, with your hand on your baby, do you believe that?...?...
205How many will believe it? [Congregation rejoices and says, "Amen."--Ed.]
206 Now, Heavenly Father, this is Your servant. I've just... I'm just responsible for preaching Your Word. Now, I know this is unusual, but I pray that You will grant it tonight, that the people might know that--that this is Truth.
207All right, look this a way. Your baby has some kind of a bone disease. That's right. It's got a big swelling in the leg. Is that right? Keep your hand on it, repeat and say, "Lord Jesus, heal my baby, I'll serve You all my life." If you've never took this inoculation, believe It with all your heart. And put a string around that baby's leg, tonight, and measure it. And then bring the string back tomorrow, where you cut it off, how much it shrunk between now and tomorrow night. Will you do that?
208 You laying there, next, do you believe me to be His servant? I never seen you, in my life. But you're laying there, shadowed to death. There is a dark shadow over the woman. She is suffering, dying with cancer. That's exactly right. And you believe that God will make you well? Can you believe it? Then why do you lay there till you die? The doctor can't heal that. Rise up, in the Name of Jesus Christ, and take up your bed and go home.
209[Congregation rejoices--Ed.] Do you believe? All that wants to believe and accept your healing, stand up on your feet and thank God.
Take her by the arm, my brother.
210Let's say, "Praise the Lord," everybody. Do you believe Him? [Congregation rejoices--Ed.] Raise your hands now to God, and praise Him. [Congregation rejoices.] Do you believe? [Congregation rejoices.] Is there no balm in Gilead? The power of God can do that!
211Let's raise on our feet, everybody now, with faith to believe it. Stand up to your feet, everybody, and accept deliverance, in the Name of the Lord. Amen. [Congregation continues rejoicing--Ed.]