<TITLE>12. Par 17-18</TITLE>L-17 Abraham said, "Well, Lord, I'm sure glad to get it." And he went along acting like he already had it. Amen. That's the way it is. If God has... He wouldn't--He wouldn't say it lest He'd prepared it. If He's prepared it, you've as good as got it.
If I told you I'd give you an oak tree, and you said, "All right, Brother Branham." Here I come around with a little acorn give it to you. You've got the oak tree; sure it is; it's in seed form; but just let it alone. Plant it in the ground; it'll produce an acorn tree. Certainly.
That's the way it is by the Word. the Word is the Seed. The Word came to Abraham; the Word of God came to Him, and said, "Abraham, I have chosen thee." You get it? Oh, I just love that, not, "You chose Me, but I chose you."
Now, why are you here this morning, that's sick? God chose you. Today's your day for healing. "I chose you. I made my supper ready. I've called you in. Now, each one of you is a guest, and you've come in. And I've got everything prepared and all the dainties setting on the table, and every one of you can have it now." What an invitation.
Now, God says, now sometimes, Abraham--Abraham would've no doubt said, "Thank You, Lord. I am so happy to get this--this promise that You give me, because here I am, I'm old and I've always wanted children. So I'm--I'm old and I--I would like to have that promise."
Well, Abraham went along as if to believe that the baby was going to born in that same year. But you know, day by day there was no change. And then it went day by day, then week by week, and year by year and no change. But the Bible said... Now, if that would be you and I, well, maybe... I don't say you and I, but some people, they would say, "Oh, my. God--God let me down, He didn't keep His promise." But He did keep His promise.
And Abraham, the Bible said, grew strong in God. All the time it got greater. Now, he's seventy-five; now ten years has past, he's eight-five: ten years. Just think, that's when I started preaching this meetings. And ten years passed and still nothing happened. The first person I ever prayed for... But would still be giving God praise because it was going to happen. Why? God prepared it. God will never give you a promise unless first there is a deposit for it.

L-18 A good man wouldn't give you a check with no money in the bank; an honest man wouldn't. Well, God wouldn't give you His check for your salvation or healing, 'less there was a deposit for it. God has prepared it. He told Abraham that he was going to have the child. That settled it.
He told Noah; He said, "Noah, I want you to build Me an ark. Build to the saving of your house, an ark." And Noah... Isn't it good in God? Before these great disasters happen, God always gives a warning and makes a way of escape. He prepares it. He said, "Now... Noah, look at it. I want you to build an ark." Why, they'd had no water on the earth, just little springs. It never did rain. There was no rain up in the skies. And how foolish sometimes it seems to the carnal mind, when God gives a person a promise, how the world can't understand it.
There's no doubt, but what when you receive God's blessing and was born again, you... The people thought you were crazy. They said, "That person's just a little bit off." You see, you're moving by faith. Oh. You're making preparations for something that the world knows nothing about. They only live just as far as they can see. But we live by things we don't see, that we believe that God said was true. Faith doesn't look at a thing that you can see. Faith looks at things you don't see.


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