<TITLE>16. Par 158-168</TITLE>L-158   Every time God raised up a great founder like Luther, and Wesley, and--and John Smith, and Calvin, Knox, Finney, Moody, or so forth like that, then, after their death, then they organized. And got a bunch of--of good college graduates around there, they put their own interpretation to It and made an organization, there where they died right there. And never a place, in history, where any church that ever organized ever lived from then on. Where did they ever have the great revivals in the church like that? The church died when they organized it.

L-159 From the--the Roman Catholic church, the first Roman Catholic church before it become a Roman church, it was a catholic church at Pentecost. Some nearly three hundred years later, at Nicaea, Rome, it changed from the apostolic catholic church to the Roman Catholic church, that injected men's ideas, the little Roman pagan superstitions into the Scripture. And since then, she has never done nothing but laid there, dead, with members.

L-160 Out come the reformer, come Luther, and Luther come out as a man of God, on justification; the Word taught it, by grace of God. Where, the Catholic church said, "There is no, no salvation outside of the church. God was in His church. The Bi-..."

L-161   I was at an interview with a priest, not long ago. He said, "Mr. Branham, you're trying to talk about a Bible. This is the church!" Said, "God is in His church."
I said, "Show me where."

L-162 The Bible said that God is in the Word. He is the Word. And if the Word in you, It produces God again. And He said, "The Word is a seed, and the seed produces what its kind is." It'll produce a godly life, a full consecrated life to Jesus Christ.

L-163   Now notice Daniel, after his investment that he made in God, then it paid off by saving his life from a den of lions.

L-164 The Hebrew children made an investment one day, that when the proclamation come forth that they was all going to have to join this group and worship some other way besides the way that God had told them was the right way, they made an investment in God. "Though they throw us in the furnace, we are not going to do it. We're going to stay with this Word." It saved their life, converted a nation, see, because they were willing to keep their investment. Yes, sir.

L-165   Peter, a fisherman, he was a businessman. He had a great business. He sold fish. And that was a great thing in those days, living there by the lake, like a place something like Chicago here, by the lake. And he was a commercial fisherman. But, and he was kind of a hard man, because he was a Pharisee, and his father was an old Pharisee. But one day...

L-166 I--I was reading a story. And though it might not be authentic, and I... Perhaps it's not, but I think it would stand the test just now.

L-167 [Blank.spot.on.tape--Ed.] "... come. But you know, son, He hasn't come yet, and He might come in your day. Now just remember, as your father, I want to say this, that there'll be many cults rise up, there'll be many false prophets go forth." As Jesus said about this day. "But by their fruit," and the fruit is the fruit of the Spirit, see, "you know them." He said, "There'll be many of this," which there was. But he said, "Now I want you to know there might be great, smart teachers rise up."

L-168 Which, there was one that claimed to be the Christ, and led four hundred out, and they perished in the wilderness, because it was contrary to the Word.


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