THERE ARE STILL MANY PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT YET CONVINCED THAT PROPER WATER BAPTISM IS ALWAYS ADMINISTERED IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST, SO TODAY, I AM GOING TO DEAL WITH THAT SUBJECT. I AM GOING TO SAY THIS AT THIS TIME, THE MESSAGE TODAY IS MAINLY BECAUSE OF A REQUEST FOR A FRIEND IN NEWFOUNDLAND. HE WROTE A NOTE THAT I AM GOING TO READ TO YOU. IT WILL TELL MORE OR LESS WHAT THE DENOMINATIONAL WORLD HAS DECIDED ABOUT WATER BAPTISM.
“I was wondering if you could speak on water baptism. I can see it in the Bible, how God’s plan of redemption was water, blood, and spirit. I have a friend that says there is no need for water baptism, as that was only for the Jews. He said there is no need for that anymore, as it was a part of the Law Age and is not necessary for the Grace Age. Obviously, I do not believe that, but was wondering if you could help me see the picture of water baptism so I can explain to my friend the need for it.” I also got an e-mail about a week ago from a man that is a follower of Bro. William Branham. He has it all lined out that the thunders have already sounded in 1963 by Bro. William Branham and that we no longer need to observe water baptism and the Lord’s supper. As you can plainly see, there are yet two extremes. One from a denominational standpoint and another from the message standpoint. Brothers and sisters, the Bible, the whole gospel, is built around water baptism, repentance in name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore it is my desire to be able to stand here and present this message to you from the scriptures. These last few weeks have given me a chance to do a lot of research, reading and praying, and I know I have an answer for a lot of people. Tonight, at the end of the service, as I end this water baptism message, I have a message to deliver to the church here, especially. I am going to relate some things I know to be a fact. It is my desire that you will take it and apply it to your understanding and use it wisely. If you want to know what it is, then you be here tonight, don’t come slipping up and asking, Can I get the tape? There is not going to be any tape. I will say to any critic that might be tuned in, no matter what your religious views might be, you cannot take the Bible, the New Testament, and discredit water baptism as an essential thing in the plan of salvation. It all begins with it. First it begins with repentance, then baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and then from that to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. So this morning if you have your Bibles with you, let us see what the scriptures say, instead of what our religious ideas from denominationalism or what the critics say. It is true, water baptism has been taken and been used in many ways throughout the years and centuries of time in the denominational realm. While they have discredited it in one way, substituted it another way by sprinkling, I have to say the end results are, the Bible has the answer as to whether it is a fact or just a myth. If you will turn with me to Matthew chapter 3, verses 1 thru 6, we will see what is written. John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus Christ. He was the spirit of Elijah for that day and hour of time, to do exactly what Malachi had said he would do. When he came on the scene to introduce this advent of the kingdom of heaven, it starts out here in the 3rd chapter of Matthew, like this,“In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight. And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, (This was not something as a carry over from the Law, this was the beginning of something New.) and all the region round about Jordan, and were baptized of him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.” Now with that we see he has announced, repent, for the kingdom of heaven, a new dispensation, not the Law Age, but it means it is the Grace Age. So we take it from that standpoint, that baptism is truly an essential thing to be observed in the right way. We see after John is off the scene, Jesus came along doing the very same thing. But go with me now, as we come to Matthew 28:19. Jesus has now suffered, He has died on the cross, He has given His life as a ransom, His blood has been shed as an atonement. He has been buried, He has from the grave. Now He appears to His disciples. So in Matthew 28, we will start with the 16th verse, “Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw Him, they worshipped Him: but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, (Notice the word, baptizing, this is the beginning of something that is to start the dispensation of the kingdom of heaven.) baptizing them in the name (singular) of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Now as we look at this commandment, we can say this, The Trinitarians of the religious world today, take that as meaning water baptism has to be done just using these titles. However when we study the titles mentioned here, the titles are pointing to a name, not to the titles themselves. That is why He said, baptizing them in the name, singular, not titles. Name singular, of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. When we study the gospel of St. John, many times Jesus said, I have come in my Father’s name, and you did not receive me. If another will come in his own name, him you will receive. He is pointing to the antichrist. But Jesus is repeating many times, He has come in the revelational name of the Father, because when Jesus was born, He was given that name Jesus. Keep in mind there were other Jews in that day by the name of Jesus. But this man was the only Jesus who had the Spirit of God dwelling in Him. That is why He is Jesus, the anointed One, or the Christ. That name Jesus, in its singular usage is the manifested name of the Father revealed in the Son, and then the name of Jesus is the name of the man that He is. We see that when the Holy Spirit came to those disciples on the day of Pentecost, He came in the name of the Son, because God ordained that the name Jesus, the whole family of people in heaven and earth would be named after that name. That is God’s family name. No matter how much you want to twist that scripture, it is pointing to the finished product, the name of Jesus, which is the name of the Father in His redemptive work through His Son, but it is the name of the Son in the sense that He is a man in the public picture. But when the Holy Spirit came back on the day of Pentecost, it came in the name of the Son because that is the family name. Does not the scripture say there is no other name given among men whereby we must be saved than Jesus the Christ. Therefore we have to begin to realize when we go further in the history of baptism, how it was used. Did the disciples walk away from there and say, Well, I thought He said so and so: What do you suppose He meant? That is the way a lot of people are today: they would rather guess about some things than to learn exactly what a certain scripture means. Now having said that, let us go to Mark 16. In Mark 16, we find that Jesus is speaking again, and we are starting in the 14th verse. “Afterward He appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen Him after He was risen. And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but He that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” There is a lot said in those verses. At that time the Holy Spirit had not yet descended, so go with me to Acts. 2.
THE DISCIPLES RECEIVE THE PROMISE
After Jesus had made certain statements to His disciples, on the last occasion for Him to be with them, He is leading them over onto the Mt. of Olives. As He did, He told them, Tarry in Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high. So there has been no baptism on their part carried out at that time. They have been given a commission, which gives you all the analysis of how they are to do this. Here in Acts, it is recorded where the Holy Spirit came to them as promised. I am going to start here in the 32nd verse of the 2nd chapter of Acts. We know that in this upper room they have waited, they have tarried, that is what the Lord told them to do. Notice, He never said go and tarry ten days. You go into Jerusalem and tarry until you be endued. But we find here they have waited and when that day of Pentecost or feasting had come, that is when the strange sound came in the upper room as a rushing mighty wind. Jesus never told them what to listen for, or anything like that. He just told them, tarry. So there in that upper room they are waiting, one day, two days, three days, four days, five days. God had intended and ordained that when that feast day of Pentecost, according to the Law, after the passover season, which was the natural side, when that would come, that is when the Holy Spirit would drop. That is exactly what happened on that feast day. I am just referring to that. Now that it has come into the upper room, they all began to speak in other languages. I am bringing these things out and I want some of the old Pentecostal men, you have carried in your heart for years that speaking in tongues is the initial evidence of the baptism of the Holy Ghost, to pay close attention. If you were here, I would stand here and look you in the face and say, There is nowhere in the Bible that says speaking in tongues is the evidence of that experience. Don’t argue with me. I have a surprise for you. You go back here and read the 2nd chapter. When they came out of the upper room speaking in other dialects, staggering like drunk men, those other Galilean Jews, as well as the visitors from other nations that only knew the Hebrew Galilean dialect, they each heard something said to them in the dialect wherein they were born. No matter what nation they were from, they everyone knew the Hebrew dialect, but they also knew the dialect of the nation wherein they were born. These were the Jews of dispersion. Now notice, when they heard these home town Jews speaking to them in other dialects, dialects that the home bunch did not themselves know, they could understand every bit of it, because some of it was Latin, some Greek, and many other different dialects. These that were visiting there on this particular day, began to look at one another and question, What is this, that we hear the wonderful words of God spoken to us in the language wherein we were born? It is a question, What is going on here? They had come from the place where they lived, to Jerusalem, to feast and offer their sacrifices in the temple, observing this feast day. But now, in the streets, they are startled. They are actually surprised. Here are some Galilean Jews, never been anywhere else, not knowing any other dialect before that, and they are coming into the streets among the visitors talking in other dialects, and even they did not know what they were saying, but it was God, speaking through them, telling these other Jews that were there from other nations, of the wonderful works of God, which was exactly the fulfillment of what the feast day is a type of, so God was manifesting it to them. I am taking this way to explain something, because you do not know how many times I have been asked through the years, Bro. Jackson, don’t you believe that speaking in tongues is the initial evidence? It is hard to say to some of those old Pentecostal fellows, no, because he looks at you like you do not have anything then. Nevertheless if you will listen to me carefully, whether you are an old Pentecostal adherer, or whatever you are, the Bible does not point to tongues as the initial evidence. Let us now go to the book of Acts. Peter is preaching, so we now come to the 32nd verse. “This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, He hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens; but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. (Remember, this is Peter preaching.) Now when they heard this, (That is the ones in the streets) they were pricked (touched) in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you (Now to the man that we are preaching this message for, this is not a carry over out of the Law Age. This is the beginning of something that is to inaugurate the Grace Age. It is the beginning of something new. He said be baptized every one of you…) in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward (unbelieving) generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.”
SPEAKING IN TONGUES, EVIDENCE OR A SIGN?
Now I want to say to the critics, and I ask you to listen carefully, If you go back further, before that, when they came to Peter asking, well what is this? Peter said this is that which was prophesied to you by the prophet Joel. Can you show me anywhere in Joel that it said they would speak in tongues? No. Joel said, I will pour out of my Spirit in those last days, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy. So prophesying and speaking in tongues is two different manifestations of the Spirit. Have you caught the point? Peter is quoting Joel and how Joel said it. At the same time Peter knew also, that the manifestation they heard was the fulfillment of that prophecy. The difference is, Peter did not make it an evidence of one receiving the Holy Ghost. How many understand that? Let us just take this on further in the scriptures. We are going to see something here, where Paul refers to this in 1st Corinthians the 13th chapter. I will say this, In that hour of time it was a sign, but only a sign: not an evidence. I trust that you everyone see the difference. When you want to make it an evidence, you are really saying that is the one and only thing you would ever know it by, and you have gone too far. Go with me now to Acts 10. Peter has gone over to Joppa. We know from the scriptures that it is dinner time, (noon time). While the meal was being prepared downstairs, he thought he had an opportunity to go up on the rooftop and pray. The rooftop in those days was flat, because they stored a lot of their belongings up on the roof. He went up on the rooftop to pray. There, is where the Lord came to him in a vision. There is no need for me to read it to you. He did this three times. Three times was to signify that there were three unclean men, Gentiles, soon going to stand outside the front gate, inquiring about the man called Peter. So while God is giving Peter this vision, Peter began to converse back with God. All God said was go and doubt not. Peter did not understand what it was all pointing to, but it was all done to show, that even though, up until this time it had been only Jews that Peter had seen receiving the Holy Spirit. But the minute he heard the voice of those men at the gate, inquiring, Do you have a man by the name of Simon Peter here? that conversation caused Peter to begin to question God. God told Peter, Go down, join them, and doubt not. Down Peter went. As he did, we find that the Lord had told him to go and follow these men. Peter has some other Jewish brothers that accompanied him, so they traveled with him. They followed those men to Cornelius’ household. Cornelius was a Greek. I had a Greek man himself tell me, Cornelius is a Greek word, not a Roman word. Do you think that only Romans were in the Roman army? When Rome controlled the world at that time, do you not realize that there were other nationalities present? Do you believe that? Sure. I say that because some people just read at the Bible, but they do not really read it: because most of the time they do not even know what they have read when they are finished. Cornelius was a Greek man, but he was a man who was an official with much authority. He was also a proselyte to the Jewish belief. Coming there, he commanded a garrison of Roman soldiers, possibly mixed with both Greeks and Romans. It tells us in here, that he had done many good deeds to show kindness in wanting to help the Jewish people. God looked upon the man’s heart, the sincerity of Cornelius. That is why the Lord sent an angel to Cornelius’ household. You can read it. The angel told him his prayers and his alms have been heard and received in heaven. He told Cornelius to send men down the coast to Joppa and inquire for this man. So that is what he did. The Lord told Peter to go with those men and doubt not. He does go with them, but still wondering what it is all going to add up to. Being a Jew, he never dirtied his hands to affiliate with a Gentile. They looked upon them as dogs, unclean people. Therefore he could not understand why God had done this to him. Nevertheless Peter has come to the household of Cornelius, so just think, the fact that Peter, being a Jew, has entered this man’s house was unthinkable, Cornelius being a Gentile, just fell on his face before Peter; and when he did, Peter said, Rise up, we are just men like you are. Now with that, he has more or less given a cordial invitation to Cornelius, saying who he is, and he doesn’t know why he is there. Well the onlything he knew, was talk about Jesus
PETER PREACHES TO ALL THAT WERE PRESENT
Let us pick it up on the 34th verse of Acts chapter 10, and listen to Peter preach to those Gentiles. “Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him. The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: He is Lord of all: That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John peached; How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him. (Peter is preaching, not yet knowing what was going to take place.) And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: Him God raised up the third day and, and showed Him openly; Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after He rose from the dead. And He commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is He which was ordained of God to be the judge of quick and dead. (Peter is preaching, expressing himself toward this unclean Gentile man, because this was the only thing in his heart he knew to talk about.) To Him give all the prophets witness, that through His name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins. (Now notice, Peter enters the house, not knowing why he is there. He has been told by the men that was sent from there what their master had seen in a vision, and what the Lord had told him. I believe for sixty some miles up the coast of the Mediterranean, Peter and the other men, being Jews, went obediently, not knowing what God was going to do. God never explained one thing. So when he was introduced to Cornelius, all he knew to do, was just to start preaching about Jesus. When he gets his sermon to a certain strategic point, we need to pay attention to the sovereignty of God. “While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision (the ones that came with Peter) which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God.” Now I will say to those that have preached that tongues is the initial evidence of the Holy Ghost, It was not the initial evidence, it was a sign that God was fulfilling certain things to those believing Gentiles. When they stood there, seeing and hearing these Gentiles speaking in tongues, when they have not yet been baptized in water, I imagine that greatly shook that bunch of Jews that thought everything had to be done a certain way. My God, what is going on here? It just goes to show, God had seen the attitude and motive of these peoples’ hearts, so on the basis of that, He gave them the Holy Spirit. They immediately began to speak in tongues. “Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?” In other words, they got it just like we got it. That is the picture we have to see here, if we are to understand. Brothers and sisters, we are not finished with water baptism yet. We are not finished with this evidence thing either. We must take this though, that those Jews quickly settle the fact, these have received the same gift we received. It tells you they took them out, And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.” Now that is just one event. Go with me now, over to Acts 19. This is also among some Gentiles. Verse 1, “And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, (These were disciples that had been converted to accept by the ministry of Apollos, who was a follower of John the Baptist, what John preached.) He (Paul) said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, we have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on Him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.” Prophesied is what Joel the 2nd chapter said. How many got that? Now which one of these is the evidence? Let us be serious now. It is a sign, and prophesied. “And all the men were about twelve.” I have said these things to try to show you, as the Holy Spirit began to move among the Gentiles and as time moved along, there have been many manifestations of the Holy Spirit among the Gentile people. Gentile people have taken this and manipulated it and given it a lot of different meanings. We never did hear much about evidence until we came into the 20th century. Then at Azusa street back in the beginning of the 1900’s when people began to speak in tongues, immediately Gentile fellows began to say, This is the initial evidence. There were a lot of people turned away from this, but that is not for me to see or explain. I will say today, When you say it is a sign, then a sign it is, because in the hour it is manifested, it is a sign of something different. But to say it is the one and only thing that you will ever know that they have the Holy Ghost by, oh no. Because prophecy can be as much as tongues can as pertaining to a sign. The reason I am saying this, is because, all through Acts, you do not hear the apostle Paul saying anything. It is Peter doing the speaking and explaining, and yes, Paul is saying some things. But when you come into 1st Corinthians the 13th chapter, you will run into the words Paul said, and he refers to Isaiah 28: 11, “For with stammering lips and men of other tongues will he speak unto this people and yet for all this they will not believe.” So it was Isaiah who said that would be manifested. But you notice Peter did not even refer to that: all he referred to on the day of Pentecost was, This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel. Well Bro. Jackson, explain it. Do you not think Peter knew what was going on, that whether it was speaking in tongues or prophesying, it is all a sign. Let us just keep it as a sign and we will keep out of trouble. How many understand? When you start arguing, that tongues is the one and only evidence, you are going to find yourself out on a limb. Think brothers and sisters, in these last number of years, especially in the charismatic move, and even right here since 1994, we have had young people laying on the floor, running the aisle, speaking in tongues, and also some of them prophesied. Did they not? The reason I bring this in is to show you something, when you start trying to nail down an evidence, which means proof, you actually get ready to hang yourself, because how many of them that went through this kind of experience are still here today, faithful to the experience they received? Did you hear what I said? How many of them are here today, upholding the experience they received? Many of them are not here. Where are they? Out there running around in the world. So what does that tell me? You cannot take either one of them as definite proof that the person has received the Holy Ghost. It has been a sign these last number of years that the Holy Spirit can come on people, it can slay people, they can run and shout, jump, and everything else, but if that Holy Spirit is not allowed to get down in the heart and begin to deal with them and give them an understanding of how to apply this word, then it is just like pouring water on a hard piece of concrete. It was never allowed to penetrate the soul at all. It has just had an affect on the flesh. That is why I have to say, Do not hold to anything like that as an evidence, which means proof. It is not proof, it is only a sign. I will say though, There have been others that received that same Holy Spirit, that did not speak in tongues, they did not prophesy, but they have had dreams, and some have received revelations that have been hid, or concealed, but God has opened it up to them and they have been able to see and understand some things of how God wants them to conduct their lives. I can say today, out in this Gentile world of religion, there are untold numbers that can boast about how they have spoken in tongues and have done this and that, but they do not live the godly life that is required by the scriptures. How many understand? Therefore I say, Do not come around harping on evidence, which actually means proof, because your tongues are only a sign. I can honestly say, In these last days there have been a lot of people who have spoken in tongues and it is not a sign that they have anything, because they went by the way of the world afterward. I say those things with proper respect for all that do have a genuine experience with the Lord. Go with me now, to 1st Corinthians. This is where the apostle Paul was speaking to the Corinthian Assembly about a symbol, or a type. This is where I suppose the man that was talking about this was saying it was all of the Law. No, not water baptism. Certain things were typed in the Law, pointing ahead to real water baptism. Anyhow here is the type, but not the actual application of it. That is why Paul uses this event from the Old Testament Law era. Paul writes like this in the 10th chapter, 1st verse. “Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, (which was a symbol of the Holy Spirit) and all passed through the sea; (They did not get wet. They went down into the bowels of the sea and walked on dry ground. So we see how Paul uses it only as a type. Now is where he takes it and says….) And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; (Actually Paul was saying, they were baptized in the cloud, the Holy Spirit, and they were baptized in the sea, water baptism. Do you get the point? It is only a type, not the actual elements at all. As Paul referred to it, all were baptized in the cloud and in the sea.) And did all eat the same spiritual meat; (the hidden manna) And did all drink the same spiritual drink: (the waters that flowed from the rock) for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. (Now notice, how Paul could say back then, look what our fathers did, look what many of them that came through the same experience, which was only a type did later. In other words, look how many of them fell away later.) But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown (overcome) in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.” If that was a type, not the real thing, and could produce the two kinds of people, real believers and others, which were make believers or imitators, that is what it all comes to, so he then brings it to this age likewise. These things were examples that we should not lust after evil things as they lusted. Verse 7, “Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.” When you go back and read the books of Leviticus and Numbers, of the numbers of those people that fell, was overcome with all kinds of plagues and things, all because they looked at all this that God had done miraculously for them, and they could not see the purpose, they could not recognize God. So God gave them over to all kinds of trials and things that took them out by the thousands. I brought this out to try and show you God has a purpose in everything He allows, so now I am going to take you back to Isaiah 28. When they want to say that speaking in tongues is the initial evidence, go to the dictionary, see what the word initial actually is pointing to. It really means the one and only proof. When Peter preached on the day of Pentecost, he never did quote Isaiah because he knew it was all pointing to Joel. Let us read Isaiah 28, starting in the 8th verse. “For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean. Whom shall He teach knowledge? and whom shall He make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.” Bring it to this age when you have in the world at large today, all kinds of people that have had their minds filled with all kinds of ideas of what it is, and what it is not. I just have to say it is a shame that people sit in congregations today, claiming to believe the word of God, and yet, if you have not spoken in tongues, you have nothing, according to them. They live like that, they think like that, they act like that, and all because they do not have a revelation of the scriptures they read. Brothers and Sisters: you cannot find the apostle Paul talking like that. Let us continue on here. “For precept must be upon precept, (I will say since the beginning of the Reformation, that is exactly what has been going on as God has slowly been restoring truth, a little here, a little there, for precept must be upon precept.) line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little: For with stammering lips and another tongue will He speak to this people. To whom He said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.” That plainly tells you that there is a time coming when some will speak in tongues and others will not pay a bit of attention to it. Is that right? That is exactly what is going on in the Gentile world today. I will plainly say this, I believe in all the manifestations we read of in the scriptures, but let us not let our minds get hung up on one particular thing, and feel like it has to be that or nothing. Just look at this religious world we live in, all the many things that has been going on. People can boast of the various experiences, like, Well I lay on the floor for so long after I fell in the Spirit, or I ran in the spirit, I shouted in the spirit. Sure, all of that can be manifestations of the Spirit of God, but if somehow something genuine does not get down into the heart of such a person, that person just simply cannot live on the visible evidence of these things as though they got everything God has to offer. It simply comes down to this very fact, watch the life that is lived after such experiences, look at that life in the light of God’s Word. How steadfast is it? What kind of spiritual foundation does that life have?. Back in the 1960’s when Bro. William Branham was preaching the Church Ages, in December 1960, and then in 1963 here came the revelation of six Seals, so after that, here came people from all along the eastern portion of the nation, because they began to hear about Bro. William Branham and the ministry he had. Many of them were people that had come out of Pentecostal movements. They felt like they had something, and they felt like this man had a message they needed, so those people began to move here. You could hear them talk about the Holy Spirit, this and that. I am not looking back on that era to condemn and find fault. I have respect and appreciation for people with these kinds of experiences, but when you want to use these things as some kind of yardstick by how to measure everybody else, you are absolutely getting on the wrong track. Some of those people that moved into this area, came here, not because they were led here, but just because they felt obligated to other people. I cannot begin to tell you how many times I have been approached by some of the deacons of the Tabernacle, while we were sitting there with service going on, they would somehow get word that there was a family that just moved into the area, and were in need. They would ask, Can you contribute something to help these people. I will never forget one particular family that we not only helped to put them up after they got into the area, but that family was all over creation around here. They spoke in tongues also, but do you know, when Bro. William Branham moved west, they left the area and moved west also. I began to wonder, Are these people just following this man and not following God at all? I will always remember this one particular family that moved into this area. He ended up getting a house in New Middletown. That man was an expert at plastering walls, but he would get an idea that he was going on a missionary trip, and it was not because he was led by the Spirit of God: he would just take off. One time he left his wife and children in a house he had rented in New Middletown in the middle of winter. I heard they had no fuel, and no groceries. I wound up buying coal, taking it to the wife and getting groceries for them. That man, when he finally returned, never did show any respect for that. Months followed, and finally they left the area. I am saying these things to try to help some who will hear me. I am thankful to God today for the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and I am so thankful for what that experience has taught me. It has taught me how to live and give place for the Word of God. When I look back through the years, from Oklahoma and Arkansas, they came by the car loads. They knew we lived close to the Tabernacle, so they stopped over at our place. I remember one night when we had twenty seven people sleeping in our beds and on our floors, because we were generous to all. We wanted to show Christian love, but they had come here to hear the great prophet, so when it was all over, my little wife and family did not amount to a dime’s worth of anything to them. This area has been full of this type of professed Christians, so we have had ample opportunity to learn some things first hand. Therefore as I stand here and look at you I must say, Speaking in tongues is a wonderful experience, but do not ever attempt to make that the one and only thing that proves you have the Holy Ghost. It is a sign, it is part of ones experience, but not the only sign. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God Himself, which can get inside of you and teach you, guide you, and show you how to be led by that Spirit. I look back and say, Lord, thank you for leading me and helping me through the many trials and tests, the problems we faced. I have seen my share of people who were quick to say, Oh they have the Holy Spirit: I heard them speak in tongues. That spirit within a believer will cause that person to live a proper life before others. Some of the things we would see them do, and the testimony they would leave wherever they went, was that they would use you and abuse you and then when they would leave, you would never see them anymore. Think about all of this as you continue on from here.
WHICH IS FIRST: WATER OR SPIRIT?
I realize I said something earlier, concerning the name of Cornelius, what it meant. I said it pretty loud, and maybe it sounded a little rough. I want to say a few more things before getting back to water baptism. There was a young man, who was a Greek descendent, he told me this, Cornelius is Greek. I have a history about the Roman Empire. The original founding of Rome was not one particular race of people. There is the mythical story about Remus and Romulus, the two brothers who survived by nursing from a wolf. In front of the old capital building in Rome there is a big female wolf in bronze, with two infant boys nursing from her. That is Roman mythology, but according to the history, as Rome began to become a city, it was far west from Athens, Macedonia, and those places of the far east Mediterranean. It tells the history of the many different kinds of people that began to make up the population of Rome. It said most of the bandits, cutthroats of the previous society here in the eastern part of the Mediterranean, eventually made their way into Rome, because it was a hideaway. You then had many other Macedonians, Greeks, and all, who were the original people that began the population of Rome in its growth. So you have to look at some of these names. The person might have been a Roman citizen, but whatever their descendants were, whether they were Greek or Macedonian, or whatever, usually that is what their names brought out. It is just like the name Jackson: Everyone jumps to the conclusion that it is English. But do not forget, some of them are Irish, some are Scottish. What am I saying? It is all from the same area of the British Isles. How many realize that? So is it with the Roman name: many of them were the ancient descendants of the ancient populations east of there. That is the way history brings it out. We must realize there were not only Macedonians, and different ones like that, but Grecians and so forth that made up early Rome. We do know that in the days when Rome did rule the world, her army was made up not only of Roman citizens, but there were German soldiers also in it. I said that to try to clarify why I said Cornelius was Greek. It is true, he was a Roman citizen and a commander in the Roman army. If you doubt that, I can bring the history to prove it to you. Rome was not made up of any one particular native people who were the parent structure. I just wanted to get that in, so we will now get back to the water baptism message.
PROPER TEACHING KEEPS OUR THINKING UPDATED
I want to touch on some of the closing points, as we deal with this evidence thing; and especially from the beginning of the Reformation, wherever there was a manifestation of speaking in tongues, people jumped to a conclusion that it is the initial evidence. Why? Because the hour had not yet come, when God was going to straighten up those things. He was in the process of restoring truth to believers, putting truth back into proper application and fulfillment. Having said that, I will say this, It is right here in the end time, that He intends to straighten up everything that has been taken out of balance in the line of scriptures. As I read to you this morning from the book of Acts, in the 19th chapter, that Paul, when he came to Ephesus, found certain disciples, but they were the disciples of Apollos, who was a disciple of John the Baptist. He had baptized all of them in the baptism of repentance as John had. But when Paul asked the question, Have you received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? They said, we know not whether there be such a thing. So when Paul explained to them the meaning of this which they were dealing with, he then took every one of them out and re-baptized them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. As he prayed for them, they not only spoke in tongues, but they prophesied. Now you have two prophecies in fulfilment. Which one is the initial evidence? That is the point I want to place emphasis on, so we will now take it from that point, and when we go back into the book of Acts, here the disciples had come out of the upper room, speaking in other dialects, languages, but it was not unknown tongues: it was other dialects that were being spoken in and around the Mediterranean area. What did it say about those Jews? They were devout Jews out of every nation, that had come back to Jerusalem to keep the day of Pentecost, that special feast day, and what was the question they asked? What is this, seeing that we hear the wonderful words of God in the language wherein we were born, whether it is Rome, whether it is Greece, or where. There were different dialects of languages being spoken by the 120 Galilean Jews from the upper room, which knew nothing about speaking in other national tongues. All they knew was the Hebrew Galilean dialect. When Peter began to preach his message he plainly told them, This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel, the 2nd chapter. When you turn there and read it, and you read the entire scope of it, you will find that Joel had prophesied, verses 28 and 29, “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. You can see there, two more things that it takes the Holy Spirit to do. It is not until we look over here in 1st Corinthians the 14th chapter, that we find the apostle Paul, as he is seeking to set proper order in the Church, and clarify the usage of tongues and what it is as a gift. He has told the Corinthian church, that if they come together and all are speaking in another language, will they not say that you are mad? What he was actually saying is, there is a proper order for all things. That is exactly the way it is in our era of Pentecost, especially in some of the backwoods churches where many times the preacher did not really know how to study the Bible and get a true picture, Therefore people were just left to run the aisle and speak in tongues without any teaching of scriptural order. Many times, if someone would say something about it they would hear, Oh you just want to quench the spirit. Keep in mind saints, that this church at Corinth had been established by the apostle Paul. Let me say this, Paul was not against the gifts because he taught the gifts, but he sure is not teaching the people just to let loose and let God have His way and do anything you want to do. That is not what he is talking about. The main thing is, Paul was not against the gifts, because he taught the proper use of the various gifts. In the 14th chapter, he is the first one actually in all the New Testament up until that time, that even goes back to the prophets and speaks about this thing of gifts, the tongues and all. Open your Bibles with me, to 1st Corinthians 14:21. He says, “In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord.” That is exactly what happened on the day of Pentecost. All these disciples from the upper room were speaking in other languages, in other tongues. It was the visiting Jews out of other nations that were asking the question, What is this? When we go to the 2nd chapter of Acts, we hear the home town critics spouting off that unbelieving statement, Oh these are just drunk on new wine. That is all they knew about it. They did not have any scripture to explain it. Then when Peter gives an answer, did he go to Isaiah 20. He did not. He said, men and brethren, this is that which was spoken unto us by the prophet Joel. He is quoting from the 2nd chapter. In that, Joel had said that they would prophesy, young men would have visions, old men would dream dreams, and so forth. These are all manifestations of the same Holy Spirit. But when the apostle Paul is straightening up the usage, the conduct, to the Corinthian Church, here we find him going back into Isaiah and bringing it out of there. So he is saying here, God had already said in the law how He would speak to this people, yet for all this they would not believe. That is exactly what happened on the day of Pentecost. The home bunch heard this manifestation and could not explain it, but it was a Holy Spirit manifestation, a sign of the Spirit of God, that God was speaking through these people, to them, yet for all that they did not believe. They only said, they are just drunk on new wine. My point is, the apostle Paul is actually showing us the first time tongues was spoken of, by Isaiah the prophet, that it would be manifested. On the day of Pentecost it was. Just notice, when these devout Jews began to say, what is this, seeing we hear the wonderful works of God? It was the apostle Peter who goes to Joel the 2nd chapter and explains this manifestation by quoting Joel the 2nd chapter, this is that which the prophet Joel spoke. He did not say with stammering lips and men of other tongues, he said instead, in the last days I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy. That is quite a difference than speaking in tongues, isn’t it? The point is, I want you to know both prophecies have an important part to play in this. If we fail to get it balanced right, then we are guilty of following the tradition of ignorant men. They read the sign as it pleases the flesh and then go jumping and skipping down the road, Hallelujah, this is the Holy Ghost! Then you hear, This is the initial evidence. Well I have to say, Tongues is not the initial evidence of having the Holy Ghost. It is a sign, just like prophecy is a sign. Visions and dreams are also signs, but none of this is to be taught as the initial evidence. If you look back to the time Moses and Aaron were in the process of leading the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage, you will discover that the magicians under Satan’s power were able to duplicate everything Moses and Aaron did as a sign, with the exception of creating life. Therefore this is the way we have to look at the scriptures, that these things are signs, not evidence. The reason I say that, is because, in this end time, as God has brought a messenger and a message, whenever Bro. William Branham would say something like, Tongues is not the evidence, it seemed like some of those old Pentecostal fellows went up in the air, saying, Well he is wrong there. They take a traditional thing that they had played with so long and want to hang everything on it. My point is, that we are not living in the day and hour when we can play with terms. If there is going to be a living element of a Bride here in the end time, we have got to get this thing straightened out in our minds, what did it say, and what did it mean, and also what it did not say, and then lay all these traditions aside and get the truth straightened out in our mind. I have to say, Water baptism was a necessity from the very beginning of Pentecost, right straight on down through two thousand years of the Grace Age. It is true, scriptural water baptism in the denominational realm has been substituted by sprinkling. That is carnal man doing that, but that does not change the Bible. It does not change the authority nor the truth of the word. As God sent a messenger to this age, to restore us back to the truth taught by the apostolic fathers, water baptism was one thing that needed to be restored in its true scriptural application. I am thankful I was privileged to hear the man and hear how he said things, in order to let you and I know that all this traditional stuff that the denominational world has upheld, while they have become so modernistic in their ideas, that scriptural baptism is no longer important to them, not even necessary. That goes on especially in your charismatic part of the church world. I must say to you, It is a necessity, for us to understand what the scriptural truth is and let it be applied to our lives to get our hearts in line with the word of God. Jesus is coming back for a people whose lives have been lined up with the scriptures. As I begin to bring this to a close, we have to realize Joel mentioned three things as visible signs of the Holy Spirit. Your sons and daughters shall prophesy, old men shall dream dreams, young men shall see visions. Right there, are three manifestations of the Holy Ghost, but which one is the initial evidence? When we see Paul explaining the usage of the gifts in the Church, he is the one that goes back to Isaiah 28, verses 8 thru 13, and shows to them how that gift of tongues was manifested on the day of Pentecost. It was a sign, but it was a prophetic sign and it had a dynamic purpose. As God manifested this through those disciples, those Galilean Jews that did not understand, did not believe anything of what was really being manifested. The fact that they disbelieved, criticized, and condemned it, just goes to show that you cannot pick out one of these things and say that is the initial evidence. It is a manifestation, it is a sign. Somewhere along the route all of this is going to be restored and cultivated within the mystical body of Christ. That is why, next Sunday, the Lord willing, I am going to begin a message on God restoring the body. He is going to restore it just as it pleases Him. That is why He sent a man with a message. I have read this and I want to clear it up tonight, when God sent His prophetic messenger to this age, he brought a true scriptural message that was to take these loose ends of what the Reformation has been used for and put them together, and put them back in the Bible, to get us back on the Bible path of what the Bible faith originally was. I have to realize when God took the man, He did not take him because all those things had been fulfilled. I have a reason and a purpose for saying this; and I will explain it.
SORTING OUT DIFFERENCES
When I look back at the years when God began to compel me to write and teach certain things, my message is not a bit different than what Bro. William Branham brought. I have heard some people say, Well it was good for its hour, but now we will take Bro. Jackson’s. You are misunderstanding me altogether. Let me say this, What he did and said was the beginning of the restoration of truth. While he did not live long enough to finish the ultimate purpose, I have to say as humble as I know how, that God has allowed me, by his divine grace, to pick up where Bro. William Branham left off. Therefore what I have taught through the years is no better and no bigger than what he brought. To me, it is a continuation of the one and selfsame thing, because the end result will be the same. Now let me say to those overseas, Wherever you may be, you may have a very unique way of wanting to say what Bro. William Branham brought is our absolute, but then some will say, Well, what Bro. Jackson brought is our absolute, but you who engage in that kind of statements do not know your Bible, so stop playing with ideas! I want to ask you a question. All the epistles in the New Testament, those that are written by Paul, What do you think Paul meant when he said, 1st Corinthians 11:1,“Be ye followers of me even as I also am of Christ?” What do you think he meant when He said to the Church at Philippi, (chapter 3;17-19) 17″Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. 18(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)? Be ye followers of me and mark them that do likewise as though you have us for an example. It all means this, you cannot see Christ in the flesh, you do not know what He looked like in the flesh. Do you? But we know from the writings in the Bible, He portrayed a character that is clean and upright and honest. He was a spiritual man. He was a manifestation of everything God wants you and me to be. So if Jesus is not here in the natural flesh that we can see Him as an example, just realize that when God reaches down here and gets many of us, lifts us up out of sin and unbelief and we follow Him in obedience in baptism, then He puts in us His Spirit. What does He do this for? Is it just so we can run the road, yell, and shout, and just make a noise? That spirit within you and I is the gift of eternal life, and the objective of it is to take the word that is written, that brings out character, how we are to conduct ourselves as the person we are, and by faith seek to apply a change to this fleshly person we are, and try to envision Jesus, that He can be molded in us. So I have to say, When Paul went to preach to the Gentiles in the different areas, and when he said to them, Be ye followers of me even as I am of Christ, we have a lot of people that are ignorant of the written Word. Well, bless God, I am not going to follow him, he is just a man. Shame on you. Let us not be so ignorant. If that man is living something that you know is the truth, it might behoove us to take the example. When I met the man, William Marrion Branham, I not only recognized him to be God’s prophet, but I saw a man that lived a simple, honest, upright life. All I had to do was watch him. I said in my heart, I want to take the things that this man lives and do my best to apply them to my own personal life, because I believe he conducted himself just exactly the way God would have him to. We cannot see Christ in the flesh, but if we can recognize Christ, how He has reproduced His attributes in other people, then God wants us to recognize that life and try to apply the example to ourselves. We have a lot of people in the denominational world today, that will copy almost anything because they do not see true exampleship. I have to say, People have gotten to the place today, that if they like you, they will follow you from here to who knows where, but if they do not like you, they look for every excuse to throw rocks at you, no matter how much truth you have. It just goes to show, they do not see Jesus. They only look for an element of flesh to follow after, flesh that attracts them and appeals to their own ideas. That is not supposed to be the way we live. From the least of us to the greatest, we are all supposed to be able to live and apply some conduct and behavior on our part that will cause other people to say, I cannot find a fault with the way he lives. It is not how super we might look, but it is how honest and sincere we are with living and carrying out what we do live. We are living in a day when God is going to restore His Church precisely, to what the original apostles preached. They preached a true revelation that does not need to be changed, but the church world in general, is getting further and further away from it every day. One night lately I happened to catch a little of TBN on the TV, and I am not belittling the people, they are doing what they do because they are ignorant of the truth. Oh how beautiful they sing though. They have to take their handkerchiefs and dab at the corner of their eyes, but when you look at the way they are dressed, how they fix their hair and the make up on their faces, you come to one conclusion, There is very little of a revelation of Jesus Christ in their lives. The natural minded man of the world is made to think they are wonderful people. In some ways maybe they are, but we are supposed to be the reproduction of Jesus Christ. That is exactly why we are to study this truth and do our best to apply it to our lives, so that our lives are a product of the regenerating and molding power of the spirit of Christ. We are expected to bear the image and likeness of Jesus Christ. I am very thankful for what God has allowed me to see and understand of His Word. When Bro. William Branham, many years ago, would deliver a message, how wonderful it was to hear him take the scriptures and use them to portray a beautiful picture. It was how he could explain them, that really captured your attention. I will never forget one time down in Carolina, it was just a weekend meeting they had, and on the first night he took the text where Jesus was in the boat and began to preach and tell certain things to the disciples. Bro. William Branham took the occasion, and as he was dramatizing this, it made you feel like you were sitting in that boat with Jesus. Then when He was telling the disciples what went on in certain periods of time, Bro. William Branham used that, and when the Holy Spirit began to use Bro. William Branham, and he began to reveal the secrets in peoples lives, it made you feel like you were re-living those days when Jesus Christ was here in the flesh, in the little boat with His disciples. His disciples were caught up and mystified with how Jesus explained in simplicity, the truth of that time. All of that was so wonderful, and so simple because it was the unadulterated truth for their hour of time. All of that was expanded as God revealed things to the apostles and anointed them to teach them, but one thing I want you to know for sure, nowhere in the Bible do you find anyone teaching anything about an initial evidence that someone has received the Holy Spirit. I believe we have already shown plain enough, that from a dictionary standpoint, that term points to the one and only. There is no verse of scripture that implies anything like that. How many can see that? I realize, that until the time came for the truth of it to be made known, if you would bring these things out, you only have an argument, you have people breaking up and running, stay away from that false prophet, he is against the Bible. We are not against the scriptures, but I am sure against a doctrine that is made out of a traditional thing and thousands of people have believed it, when it is not even that at all. So the reason I have used these things in this message, is to show you, wherever water baptism in the gospel age was ministered, it was necessary that the Holy Spirit be presented to the people and that they were to receive the Spirit by being obedient and baptized in water. I hope what I have said has been understood. I realize there are a lot of old timers that will shake their head and say, That can’t be so. I say, Yes it can be so, and it is. They will say, I have believed this way all my life. Well yes, but that does not make your traditional idea right. Any of you can go ahead and believe what you have been believing, but God will not accept you as bride candidates when you refuse to turn loose of non scriptural ideas. When I look back to 1952 the time when I was privileged to meet Bro. William Branham for the first time. I just have to say, Thank God. He let me see a man, and hear him preach, and I heard him take a story from the Bible and make it so real. When he was finished I said, This is that man that is to fulfill Malachi 4:5-6. A few weeks after that, he was talking about people receiving the Holy Spirit. I was sitting about the third row from the front. He looked over my way and said, This is good for you Methodists too. Well I could have become offended at that, but I didn’t. I only said, Lord, whatever is in your word and whatever is available, I want it.
A FIRST HEALING EXPERIENCE FOR ME
A few weeks after Brother Branham said to me, This is good for you Methodists too, a Pentecostal evangelist came to Louisville. Bro. Glenn was going over to listen to him and wanted to know if I wanted to go along. I said yes. I went with him on this particular night. Up until this time I had never seen Bro. William Branham pray for the sick. As I went that night and saw this brother, he asked for those that were sick or crippled or anything to come forth. This certain woman walked up to that platform on crutches. He did not take the crutches and break them like Jack Cole would. He just took the crutches and laid them down nicely and took the woman by the hand and led her across the platform real slow. Then he said, follow me, he took her back across the whole platform. Ever once in awhile he would ask, How are you feeling? I could not tell what she was saying to him, but she was saying something. He led the woman back and forth about three or four times. Finally the last time he led her, he said, Now you go back by yourself. She walked just as straight back to the other side, just as if she had never needed crutches. That particular night when the service was over, for some reason or other, it fell my lot to walk out of that building right behind that woman, and she was carrying the crutches on her shoulder. She was walking just as straight as I was. That let me know God is still a miracle worker. The preacher announced a night or two after that, that on a certain night he would be praying for those that wanted the Holy Spirit in their life. He said, I am going to ask you, if you can possibly fast for a meal during the day, do so. I made up my mind that morning that I would not eat at all that day. I did not eat. I went back that night, determined, God I want the Holy Ghost, whatever measure you have for me. I got in that prayer line, and as I got within three or four persons from him, I began to feel something get hold of me and I got dizzy. When I got to him, he laid his hand on me and I heard him say, Lord, you have your hand on this man. Down I went. Bro. Glenn was right behind me. No sooner was I on the floor, the first thing that came to my mind was, I am a dignified Methodist, this does not look nice laying here on the floor like this, so I thought, I will get up. When that thought came into my mind and I tried to get my left elbow under me, I just simply could not do it. The more I tried, the less it accomplished. I felt like I weighed a ton. Finally the thought came to me, that he said God had His hand on me, so I just gave up. I have to tell you, the power of God began to surge through my body like electricity. In that building the lights all became as one, and everything began to go round and round. I did not know what was up and what was down. I lay there for several minutes and thought, If death could be like this, I am ready to go home to glory right now. Finally I heard the evangelist say, you can get up now. I thought, get up, I don’t know which way is up. Bro. Glenn helped me get on my feet. Brothers and Sisters: I am saying this to you, When I got up off the floor, I felt like ten million volts of electricity had gone through my body. I did not speak in tongues, prophesy, or anything like that, but I knew something supernatural had been in this vessel of clay. I knew that I had received something I had never received before. I began to thank God for giving me that gift of the Holy Spirit. As I studied more and more, I began to realize there are a lot of people out here that will never believe you received anything unless you have spoken in tongues. I began to make this promise before God, Lord, if you will let me speak in tongues or manifest it as a gift in my life, I promise I will never teach it as an evidence, because I know it is not an evidence. When we came to the year 1957, A.A. Allen was down in Evansville. I had been praying, Lord, if you will just let me get somewhere that I can see the gifts of the Spirit work, I feel like you will do something in my life to help me. Well one particular night we went. That night, there was a large crowd in the big tent. When the evangelist made the announcement that he would be praying for people that wanted more of the Holy Spirit in their life, I went up and joined that line. After awhile all the preachers on the platform, along with him, formed two rows. All those seeking something from the Lord began to walk between them. I finally realized myself, I am getting about five or six persons away from the preachers, I had my hands in the air and praying, Lord God, you know the desire of my heart. By the time I got up to those preachers, I had lost all sense of where I was. I was heading for the floor, a dirt floor. I heard the evangelist say, pick him up. So they picked me up by my shoulders and dragged me over and laid me down in some straw, face down. I had not lain there but a moment or two, and I did not feel electricity going through me, but I felt something deep down in my stomach begin to roll. As it began to roll, it was like a little rock, finally it came up to my throat area. As it began to roll from my throat out my mouth, it was a word, then here came another, an another word. I laid there on the straw with my face down, speaking in a dialect I had never spoke in. I said, Thank you God, you have heard my prayer. I laid there about fifteen or twenty minutes. I never felt electrified like I had before, so I do not want anyone telling me that you cannot receive the Holy Spirit without speaking in tongues. I know you can. That was the time God was going to answer my prayer and fill my heart’s desire. When I got up from there that night I realized He had let me speak in another dialect. I came home rejoicing within. The next day I wondered, Will I ever speak in tongues again? Saints, I have to say God knows the sincerity of your heart. One particular day when it was raining, I could not do anything out in the field, so I took the opportunity to go to the barn, where I got into the oats bin, which was about half filled with oats. I got in there on my knees and lifted my hands toward heaven and began to pray, and for about half an hour the Holy Spirit began to speak through my lips. I think I spoke in every dialect there ever was. No one but the angels in heaven heard me, but I say these things to you to explain, God knows exactly how to deal with your life. He knows how to manifest Himself to you, to establish you, to ground you, to help you in your sincerity, and how He wants you to live and walk with Him. I look back on those early days and say, Thank you, Lord. He gave me an understanding that settled me, which is, that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the living God, and that there are many manifestations of His presence within you. It takes all these things working, as He manifests them through the body of Christ, to make the body complete. Just watch what I tell you, Before the true Bride leaves here, every one of these things are going to be manifested precisely, accurately, exactly the way God has ordained them to work. I think I have said all I am going to say on this message, so I will close by saying, Scriptural water baptism is still a must. It is not a choice: it is a command. As long as God is still in the saving business, then it is important for all true believers to get baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. From that, you can believe that somewhere He will add the other portion according to His will and purpose, giving you the Holy Ghost as He chooses. May God be gracious to each of you. Amen.