<TITLE>09. Par 33-37</TITLE>L-33 Now John, bearing this great office, went straight to the wilderness and was there from the age of nine until he was thirty years old, in the wilderness.
You can notice the way he talked; he was a wilderness man. "Oh, you generation of snakes." See? He'd been used to the snakes in the wilderness. See, he... See? "Oh, the axe is laid to the root of the tree." See? He was wilderness. See? He--he preached like he had lived, in the environment he'd lived in. And he give those symbols of the things that he had learned out there in the--the wilderness.

L-34 Now. Why was John so sure? Did you notice, he didn't say, "Perhaps this is..."? He said, "Behold, this is..." How would he be so sure?
Now, let's read another verse, the 26th verse I got written out here. I want to see what we get out of this 26th verse here.
And John answered them, saying, I baptize you with water: but there standeth one among you, whom you know not;
Look. John knew. How was John so sure that right among that bunch somewhere, standing there then, was that Messiah? "There's one standing among you now who you don't know, and he's the one that's going to baptize with the Holy Ghost." See? He knew Him. Why? Because the time was at hand.

L-35 Brethren, the time is at hand. It pays the Christian not to just join the church, or to depend upon some maneuver, some sensation, or something on that way, but to be sure that you're right. Now, there's so much today that we have. Some allows it to schooling, some allows it to learning creeds, some allows it to little funny feelings, some allows it to different things, which, I don't have nothing against that. That's all right. But that's not what I'm talking about. You can have that without having the real thing. See? And that's what we're trying to say. We must be sure, because the time is at hand for the--the real pouring out of the Holy Spirit. He promised He would pour it out in the last days.

L-36 Now, there's so many people say if you quiver, hold your eyes shut, and do all kinds of things and get sensations. You get spirits, friends, but if your life don't tally up to what you're professing, then there's something wrong with the spirit you got. See? It's--it's true. See? You--you must be sure. The Holy Spirit will bring forth a holy life. That is right. And if the desire's in your heart... If you have to force yourself constantly to try to press, and do what's right, and the world's still hungering in you, then there's something wrong. See, the Holy Spirit in you will not hunger for the world; It'll hunger for God. If it's hard for you to go to church, and press yourself to come when the church is open, there's something wrong with that spirit. It's trying to keep you away from God. The Spirit of God will run you right straight to the church every time the door opens for fellowship. Yes, sir. See? So you've got to be sure of this now. The time is at hand.

L-37 Now, John knew that the time was at hand. So, therefore, he said, "There's One standing here somewhere among you Whom you don't know." Neither did he at that time, or he'd have said, "Here He is, or there He is. That's Him standing there."
But John, if he'd have went to school, he probably would've pointed out fifty. But, you see, John had went to a different school. John had been before God. John had revealed to him by God exactly the Word of God, what the Messiah would be like. So he was waiting to see the sign of the Messiah. He wanted to see where the Messiah was. God promised, "I'll vindicate that Messiah to you." I tell you now, if you want the Scripture for that, there'll be a Scriptural sign, verse 33. Let's take the verse 33 here and read. Now, watch:
And I know him--knew him not--I knew Him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shall see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizes with the Holy Ghost.


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