<TITLE>23. Par 194-203</TITLE>L-194 Today we just think about big crowds. What is it? It's a political organization. If we come--some great evangelist come to the city, what comes first? A bunch of men. And if... All the Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, all them, they make up a little score that they... "He can only preach this; and he can't preach that; and he can't preach this; but he can preach that." What have you got? And they walk up there...
Women (I'm talking about Pentecostals.)--women go in there, up to the altar... They begin pleading...
I've always been against an altar call. Might as well say it. I don't believe in them. There's no such a thing in the Bible. How can any man come 'less God calls him? You couldn't keep him away. You don't have to call anything if God's called him. Altar call's a Methodist idea. That's right. Altar call... They get ahold of them, say, "John, you know, your mother died a long time ago..."
"Oh, boo hoo; yes, brother; hoo hoo." That's not conversion.

L-198 Here a few nights ago we had a--a display in Louisville of a woman brought in in a casket, laid upon the platform of the armory. "Hundreds of people," said, "run to the altar." The Gospel's not a scare. It's not a sympathetic feeling; it's a conversion of conviction.
Watch in these meetings, these great evangelists, and even in my humble, little ministry--not excluding me... Sometimes I feel like ashamed going out. It's right. What do we do? Stand and make altar calls and persuade them. Little girls come up there and all chewing chewing gum, say, "See (See?) I'm going..." [Brother Branham imitates--Ed.] These women come up there with bobbed hair and painted faces (Pentecostals) and go in, and come out, and say they spoke in tongues; and never let their hair grow and still do the same thing they did. You tell me that's conversion? That's a mockery of God. The Bible said it's a sin and a disgrace for them to cut their hair. How can a woman with bobbed hair condemn a woman's got paint on her face? Might as well hear it. The hour is coming till the axe is laid to the root of the tree, and every tree that bringeth forth not good fruit is hewed down.
What's the matter? It was wrong. 'Cause our modern so-called preachers out here--big crowds, and stuffed shirts, and organizations, know no more about God than a Hottentot does about Egyptian knight. When it comes... They go up there...

L-201 What if that people at Pentecost would've went up there and said, "Now, Jesus commanded us that we should go up here and stay till we receive power from on high. Now, brethren, we've been here nine days already; let us accept it by faith. Now, we have the Holy Ghost. We go out... Because we've been here; we done what Jesus told us to do." There'd never been no experience.

L-202 Let me tell you something. I know this is on tape, but here it comes anyhow. Listen I'm going to tell you something. It's a shame, people trying to... I've never believed that the Holy Ghost was shaking. I've never believed that the Holy Ghost was--evidence of speaking in tongues, or crying, or shouting. Them's emotional sensations. I believe the Holy Ghost can do that. But the Holy Ghost is tabernacling Deity. I believe a great bunch of people that claim to have the Holy Ghost don't know one thing about It. You meet God.

L-203 How on the day of Pentecost, they said, now like the Baptist today, the Presbyterian, and Methodist, I ask, "Do you believe you got the...?"
"Oh, yes, we accept it by faith." By faith, nothing. That isn't it. It's a sensation.
You like to see a sunset, and you stand and watch the sun go down, and cry, and tears run down. That ain't God. That's emotion from something that's in you. You hear of somebody being sick or someone dying, you scream out and cry, that's not God. That's human emotion. How God...


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