<TITLE>05. Par 16-19</TITLE>L-16 Some years ago, I was talking to the judge of our city. And he's a good friend of mine. He comes up to my church once in a while. And I was down there to see him about a young boy who had stolen a car. And his mother laid on my steps nearly all night. And the next morning she said, "Brother Branham," she said, "Judge will listen to you." She said, "Ask for mercy for my son."
Well, that was the least I could do. And the next morning I went down to the office, and I knocked on the door. And a man opened the door, and he said, "The judge is busy."
I said, "All right. Tell him I'd like to see him in a few moments."
He heard my voice. He said, "Come in, Brother Branham." And he said, "What can I do for you."
And I give him the story. He said, "Brother Branham, that boy is not his first time. This is about five times for him."
And I said, "But Judge, he told me if you would give him one more chance, he'd come up to church, and come to Sunday school, and make a report every Sunday."
He said, "Brother Branham, every man that I have to sentence to penitentiary is going to be a preacher, until he gets out."
That's the way it is. We try to make God all kinds of promises when we're in trouble. But when we get out of trouble, then we forget all about it.

L-17 Israel was the same way. When Israel got in trouble, when it got away from God... And when anyone gets away from God, any nation, any people, any church, trouble's in the way. And when they'd leave God for a season and get in trouble, they'd always scream out to God, and kill sacrifices, and do honor to God until God came and helped them, and then forget Him again.
That just lays in human beings, seemingly, to do that. Looks like they enjoy coming to the Lord, but it's so quickly forgotten. Why, we have seen the hand of God enough in this meeting here to remember till the day we die. If we should live another fifty to a hundred years, to remember what God has done for us.

L-18 David later cried out, "Bind Thy commandments on my bedpost. I'll honor Thy statutes, and all..." when he seen the goodness of God. But you know, the Psalmist said again, that God is our refuge, a very present help in a time of trouble.
So, it's good to know God, find God, get on speaking terms with Him while there's nothing wrong. Then in the time of trouble, He's a very present help--in the time of trouble.

L-19 Not long ago, I was talking to an evangelist. And he said, "One of the strangest thing happened." Said, "A--a young colored boy had come to him a few nights before to be saved." And said, "He just never waited for altar calls." Said, "When I got to the pulpit, he walked right straight up, and he said, 'Parson, I want to accept Jesus as my personal Saviour.'"
And he said, "Certainly, son. I'm very happy to hear you say that, and to pray with you. But what is the sudden change? What's happened? Have you ever been to church much?"
Said, "No, sir, I haven't." He said, "I've been more or less a vagabond." He said, "In about six months ago, I'd wandered way up in the state of Maine." And said, "I was out on a little lonely road, walking. And I'd gotten hungry, and I was out of money." And said, "I hired out to some pulp cutters." And said, "They told me, 'You might help. We got a colored woman washing dishes, or cooking. You might wash dishes for her.'" And said he told them, "Well, that's all right. I don't care what to do. I want to work awhile. And they said, 'We'll feed you and give you so much.'"


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