40. He gave him a vision. I can see him walking down the street. The Lord must have told him this, "There'd be an old woman--looking old; she's young. Her shoulders are stooped; she's a... Her shoulders are ragged; her arms are out of her sleeves. She'd be out in the yard with two sticks in her hand. And Elijah, you know what that means, what will be in about eight hundred years from now."
And as he walked, he seen the woman. He leaned over the little fence and said, "Fetch me a little drink of water."
And she turned to say something, and she thought, "That's a kind old man. He speaks a little different from the ordinary men."
There's something about God's children that they know one another, something that's always been. They know one another. "My sheep know My voice," said Jesus. And then she looked, and she heard.
She looked at him; she said, "There must be something godly about that old man."
Said, "Fetch me a little drink of water."
She nodded her head; she would do it, and she started to go away. What? Then she heard the voice again. "And bring in your hand a little cake for me to eat, a morsel of bread."
And she said, "I have just enough for me and my little starving boy. And I'm out here getting these two sticks. I've just mixed it together, dressed it. And now, I've got these two sticks to make a fire to make the cake. And he and I will eat it and die."
41. Then she heard... She started to turn again, and she heard a voice saying, "But bring me one first."
What do we learn here? Seek ye first the Kingdom of God. "How will I meet it?" I can't tell you, but you put God first. "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, all these other things will be added."
"But bring me one first."
Look, she didn't have to go down and get her last penny; she had to go down and get her last piece of bread. She didn't have to go for this, or that, or maybe change doctors or so forth, some little insignificant thing; but she had to go to the only thing that stood between her and death, and her child. "Bring me a little cake first in your hand." I can see her nod her head, obedient. That's what God requires. You get the Word and the Spirit mixed together, self-sacrifice, obedience. When God's prophet says a certain thing, do it! Hold on to it!
She bowed her head, "Yes sir." She starts on.
Then she heard the sweetest thing she'd ever heard, that all sufficient word that all of us listen for. For there come across that gate a blast from that prophet's voice; said, "For THUS SAITH THE LORD..." Amen. That's what we look to hear. "THUS SAITH THE LORD, the barrel will not go empty, or the cruse will fail until the day that God sends rain on the earth." There it was. Amen.
42. Oh, it gets dark sometimes. Many times we think it's dark. You should follow us in the fields afar if you want to see what darkness means. We don't see darkness in America. We got plenty. It gets dark. But I know in our own way, in our categories, it looks dark. We think when we see people sick and dying, that is darkness...
Walk with me down through the streets of Calcutta. Watch them come through there with the big baskets, and pick up the dead by the hundreds, put them up on top of their head (Don't even know who they are.), walk over to the salamander and dump them in. At least when a man dies here, he has a religious funeral. There's a John 14 for him. But them people don't have a John 14; they don't have no obituary. They just dump them in and cremate them, get them off the street.
Dying mother's, their little babies there, and the bellies swelled out like that, mother so weak, she can't raise off the street, begging for a penny to save her child. And then look what we dump in the garbage can every Sunday. And then we think we have hard times. Oh, it may look hard. It is hard. But, friend...
43. One time there's a German painting called "The Clouds." It's a famous painting like the painting out there in California up at the--the cemetery there, Forest Lawn. It's so big, they had to build a building to put into it, maybe a half a million dollar building or more to put the painting in. It's one of the largest in the world.
Germany's got one, it's called "The Clouds." And when you're looking at it, way off as you come to it, it's a horrible looking sight. It's dreary. Oh, the clouds are beating together. And it looks like it's the most horrible thing for a person to look at. A weary, dreary day, the clouds all forming, but when you get real close to it, you find out it's Angel's wings beating together, a rejoicing in the heavens.
44. We think we have it hard. And sometimes trials comes. I think of this woman in the wheelchair and these children. You out there with heart trouble, may be dead in a week from now, eat up with cancer, it may look awful dark, but if we'll just keep coming closer to God to find out His purpose, it's the Angels of God, ready to rejoice for a victory that God wants to give. Sometimes it's in disguisement.
There's sinners, perhaps, setting here that think, "What would I do if I die tonight? What if this would be the last night I'm on earth? What then?" It may look dark, may look like you're going to die. Maybe you're here to be prayed for to--for your sickness, and you're still a sinner. You get right with God first. Say, "Why did I take this? I've got children at home." How do you know, that might be Angel's wings beating together, trying to get you close to God so you can be a real mother or dad to those kids. See?
45. It looks dark like it did for the little woman. But if you'll just take God's promise now, that "whosoever will, let him come and drink from the Waters of Life, the Fountains of Life freely..." Drink the Water freely. It's for whosoever will. That might have been put upon you. You might have done that evil. You may feel condemned in your heart, you Christians now, on what I said a while ago, because something, iniquity lays in your heart.
Maybe it happened for a purpose to get you closer to God. That happened to me. My life has been different since I seen that. I thought I was just living fine. But I found out that let that God raise His hand one time, and Satan's got me. We're mortal. And it was just a blessing in disguisement. It makes me appreciate Him more now to know that He's loving, and willing to take us back.
If you're in that condition tonight, and you don't know God, and you've got condemnation in your heart; it looks awful dark for you and sickness and so forth; search out your heart now a minute while we have prayer and see if there's anything in there to condemn you, or to keep you from being healed, or keep you from going to heaven. If there is, let's move close to the altar then and find out if just ain't the Angel's wings a beating together. It isn't a dark picture; it's God trying to get you close to Him. He loves you and He wants you.
46. Let us pray while we bow our heads. Just before praying, may I ask if there would be... How many in this audience tonight would like to raise up their hands and say, "Brother Branham, remember me in prayer tonight. I too want to get close to God." Look at your hands, my, all over the building. "I want to get close to God. I need God. I need Thee, Oh, I need Thee. Every hour I need Thee. Bless me now, my Saviour, I come to Thee"
Have you done everything that you know how to do? If you have done--met every requirement, you've repented of your sins, you've been baptized, and you--you've done everything that you know to do, and still looks like God don't answer, now, I'm going to ask you, "Hold on." Just keep holding there; God's on the throne. He knows all about you. If you've got condemnation in your heart, you can think of something you've done that you ought not have done, some little iniquity, a little thing that you did that you should not have done, then I'd ask you to repent of it.
47. And sinner friend, if you've never accepted Christ as your Saviour, and you don't know Him as your Saviour, and you're here tonight, let me invite you to come.
The Reaction To An Action - 59-0810 - William Branham
No comments:
Post a Comment