<TITLE>24. Par 245-259</TITLE>L-245 I walked into Osborne's Garage down here, one day. He said... I said, "God bless you, Brother Ramsey." I said... He was a poor man. I said, "Look over my old car here; got to take a trip." I said, "Just had a wonderful time." I said, "I wish you was with me, Brother Ramsey."
Said, "Well, I guess, it'd been all right, Billy."
I looked around at him. I thought, "That don't sound right." You know, you can tell when something is happening. I looked over at him.
He said, "Brother Branham, I guess you know I don't serve the Lord no more."
And I said, "What?" I--I said, "Now, you're joking me."
He said, "No, I don't serve Him no more."
Well, I thought he still just kidding me. I just went on out. I went home. I told Meda about it. I said, "Brother Ramsey told me he didn't serve the Lord no more. There's something about that, Meda, that's not just exactly right."
It got on my nerves. I went back down again. I said, "Brother Ramsey, come here, I want to talk to you a minute."
He said, "All right, Billy."
I walked over. I said, "Brother Ramsey, I was in here a couple days ago, and you told me you didn't serve the Lord any more." I said, "You was teasing me, wasn't you?"
He said, "No, no."
I said, "Brother Ramsey, you mean you don't serve the Lord no more?"
Said, "No." He said, "I backslid."
I said, "Well, Brother Ramsey, you better get back to God." I said, "Come, go with me in the meeting."
Said, "No, Billy." Said, "I--I just don't care to serve Him any more." Said, "I just..."
I said, "You believe Him?"
He said, "Oh, I believe Him, but I just don't serve Him. I quit." Said, "There's been so many things."
I said, "Brother Ramsey, don't look at things. Look at Him."
And he said, "Well, Brother Branham," he said, "I just don't serve the Lord, and I'd rather not talk about it."
I said, "Well, brother, God be with you, help you."
And a few days after that, he took sick. Another minister, I won't call his name, 'cause I'm not sure. I believe he's setting in the back right now. This minister went to him, a buddy, said, "Brother Ramsey, don't you want to come, serve the Lord?"
He said, "No." God giving him, through His messengers both times a warning. He said, "No." In a few hours from then he picked him up in his arms, and he went home. God took him off the earth. Yes, sir.

L-258 Remember, Paul, what he told them over there, this man that wouldn't obey the Gospel? He said, "Turn him over to the devil for the destruction of his flesh, that his soul will be saved." That's right. You can't play with God. Brother, that Word's inspired; every Word of It lays right straight to the hewing line. That's right. You'll either toe the line... But if you're ever born of the Spirit of God, you are a son of God.

L-259 Now, you come in. The dove and the old crow, both, was in the ark. That's right. When they turned the old crow loose... Let's type that as backsliding. The old crow flew from dead body to dead body, and he picked on the old dead carcasses. He was all right. Didn't make any difference to him, 'cause he was a crow to begin with. His nature, his appetite, his gastronomics could digest such a thing. Why? He was born with that kind of a gastronomic. See, his gall and stuff in him would make that old dead bodies, and make food for him. But when... He was satisfied.
And so is every man, I don't care how long you been in church, and turn you loose the world; if you still can go out and do the things you once did and enjoy it, it shows you've never come to God.
But when he turned the dove loose to see what she'd do. A dove hasn't got any gall. It can't digest those things. If it would eat them, it would kill them. But the dove, she'd try to fly down; "whew," she couldn't stand it. She'd try to fly down; "whew," she couldn't stand it. She lit in a little bush to get some rest. And she had an olive leaf in her hand; she come back and knocked at the door. "Father Noah, open up and let me in. I can't stand it out here."


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