<TITLE>05. Par 15-18</TITLE>L-15 Now, we find so many people trying to impersonate Christianity. Christianity is--doesn't mean joining a church. Christianity is an experience. Someone had said to me... Well, it was at Little Rock, Arkansas. We were in the Robinson Memorial Auditorium, and the people had gathered and packed into the streets, and the Lord was giving a great revival.
And there'd been a brother who was a Nazarene, was at the platform, and he'd sold pencils on the street. And he had crutches he'd walked on for years. He'd stand on these crutches with his hat out and have pencils to sell, a beggar. And when the Lord in His Divine providence, wisdom, and grace to the man, showed a vision, told him about what something had happened, and the man was instantly healed. And the next day he had a big sign on those crutches walking down the street, like this, packing it around, showing everybody. "These old buddies used to support me. Now, I'm leaning on the everlasting arms (And he was... ) of the Lord Jesus."
And he was so enthused. And when he come back to the service that night, he was setting up in the balcony, something like that. And the best I remember, it's got two or maybe--maybe two or three balconies. And anyhow, I was just beginning to speak as now, and he was just so carried away, the poor little brother, till he raised up and said, "Brother Branham, I want to ask you something."
I said, "Yes, brother."
He said, "I heard you preaching, and I just knew you was a Nazarene." And he said, "Then I hear you--somebody else say that you was a Baptist." And said, "Then I see all around you is Pentecostals." Said, "What are you, Brother Branham?"
I said, "That's easy. I'm a Pentecostal, Nazarene, Baptist." I said, "Is that..."

L-16 Christianity is a life. Pentecost is--is... I know they've organized it, the word Pentecost, and just capitalized on the name. But Pentecost is an experience, not a denomination. Pentecost belongs with the Baptists, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Nazarene, all of them. Pentecost is an experience.
And it seems to be that some people have such a hard time trying to live a Christian life, when really, it isn't that, it is...

L-17 Someone said when I come out of my great trials that time, after I'd lost wife, baby, and everything, said, "Brother Branham, did you keep your religion during that time?"
I said, "No, sir, it kept me during that time." So that's what it's for. I can't keep Christ; He keeps me. It isn't whether I hang on; it's whether He held on. And it's a gift to me.
And then when, noticing that people have this hard time, there's got to be something wrong somewhere. Now, if the Christian religion only consists of a declaration of a creed, denominations, or intellectuals, then we don't need nothing but a real good smart group of people. That's all we need, if the church is to be governed by an intellectual.
Now, intellectual is all right. You can receive the Word intellectually, but let It soak down through to the heart. That's where it--it begins to read the results.

L-18 Now, but if God meant for us to run His church by denominationals or by creeds, then only thing we need is the intelligence of a man: smarter the man, better the church. But that was not God's program. God's program was for the Holy Ghost to run the church. The Holy Ghost was given for the church. And we can't have two faculties running the church at the same time. If man runs it, the Holy Ghost goes out. If the Holy Ghost runs it, usually the man goes out. So it's just one or the other.
So, we must come to this conclusion that God intends the Holy Spirit to run the church. Now, I don't mean just the Spirit gets up and preaches, because the Holy Spirit sets people in the church for certain things. But I mean, if just the intellectual is all it needs...


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