The Bible said, “All that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecutions.” So if—if you're not suffering persecutions for Christ's sake, then there is something wrong. If the devil ain't after you, he's got you. That's all, because as long as he's after you, that's a sign he hasn't got you yet. But if he isn't after you, it's a sign he has got you. Yeah. So just remember, as long as he's blasting at you, you're a few jumps ahead of him yet, and just keep on going. “But all that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecutions.” He said, “Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for so persecuted they the prophets which was before you.” That's right. Don't go with a hang-down face, and say, “Well, I oughtn't to have done it. I guess, they—they, I just can't stand for somebody to talk about me, and say I'm old fashion, I'm this, that, or the other.” Oh, you—you should be exceedingly glad, happy because of it, because you can bear the reproach of His Name. And by keeping His commandments, it caused you to do that.

Then I said to them, “Do you realize what hour this is when the sleeping virgin begins to ask for oil?” It was time that the Bridegroom came, and the people, the ready Ones went in. Oh, I'm so glad to know that we're living here in these last days. See? I believe that we're living in one of the most tremendous times that the world's ever known, just on the eve of the Coming of the Lord. Isn't that wonderful? Think, that most any time now, all Scripture's just about fulfilled! And so we're expecting Him at any moment. And we should live under those kind of expectations, that, just any time it can happen. Be prayed up, ready!

Jesus said, “He that receives them that I send, receives Me.” And, now, them that He sends. “And them that receives Me receives Him that sent Me.” Wish we had time to linger on that. You can only serve God as…You can only serve God as you do and—and believe the servants that God sends. You can only serve God on earth, see, as God's servants that's sent on earth by Divine inspiration interprets the Word to you. You believe that?

You've got to have a battle. If everything comes lazy, why, you're… What are you overcoming? They overcome by the Word of God and their testimony, the Blood of Christ. You've got to overcome something, and you've got to have some obstacles. And people that different, and fuss with you, and tell you you're holy-rollers, and things, you—that's put before you, it's a trial. If you haven't got that, then you're not even in the battle. What did you join the church…
What did you join the Army and get training for? To lay around, strut up and down the streets and show off? That's the way some Christians act, that we want to be looked up to. You ain't going to be looked up to. You're going to be looked down on. “For all that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecutions.” Pick up the Sword, cut everything free from you, and keep going on.

You know, you take a tree, a big old tree. I, when I was a boy, I used to go out, and we'd, us boys, we'd go out, and had a big old tree we used to set under, big old beech tree. And the winds would blow. And I wonder, looked like that thing, so much in the top, looked like it'd blow the—the thing over. But, you know, every time wind blows on a tree, it rocks the tree, and it loosens up the roots, so that they can just dig deeper and get a better hold. And that's the way, mockery, laughing, making fun of a Christian. What it does, is, persecution shakes the Christian, to make him pray more, dig down, get a better hold, so he can stand the storm.

Now remember Him! Keep Him always on your mind, in your heart. Wherever you go, see, keep Jesus on your mind.

The—the Bride must be unified, unified together by the Word. “My sheep hear My Voice.” And This is His Voice on printed Word. All right. Unified by the Word, She makes Herself ready, not with the regular creed. Like Esther, when Esther was to be chosen to stand before the king, she didn't adorn themselves with all the things, but she adorned herself with a sweet, meek spirit. That's what the Bride is adorning Herself with, with all of the fruits of the Spirit following it. What She got? Assembling together in the fellowship of the Word. “Amen.” Fellowship of the Word. That's right. Fellowshipping, setting together in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus, tonight: one accord, one place, one Spirit, one mind, one hope, one God, one purpose. “Amen.” See? There you are. Every time the Bible says anything, we say, “Amen.” Punctuating every Word with, “Amen.”

Many times we get pa-…impatient, like a child. We great…get great anticipations, and many times jump way ahead, and that—that just hinders the work, until the work gets caught up. See? We must just move reverently, have a purpose in heart that God, if He would desire to use us in such-and-such, but wait till He makes the opening, ’cause He has to go ahead of us.

And all that go with God has trials, your faith is tried. When you start to live for Him, then every neighbor's going to talk about you, everything's going to go wrong for you. Just remember that, for it's God trying you. The Bible said, “Every son that cometh to God must be first proven, chastened, child-trained.” Like my daddy trained me when I done wrong, they had—they had the—the ten commandments hanging up over the door, it was a limb about this long; and Mr. Branham was a pretty good man in his arm, and he took us out and he trained us. And that's the way God does. He tries, child-trains you, brings you up, because you're His child; there's something in the future for you, home in Glory. And He trains you.

Search yourself back, and see if the Life of Christ is reflecting Itself in your daily walk. Find out.

Here's God's promise. God said this would be a sign of the last day. Here's the last days here; we're living in it. All right. Now, is it true? Here's the Holy Spirit standing present right now. How many ever seen the picture of that Angel on that—that Light. See? It's right here right now. It's right here, right where I'm standing. That's exactly what's talking.

What was it? The woman's absolute was the prophet. The prophet's absolute was God. And together, with the Word, "I am the resurrection and the Life." I see the power of God. The Creator can do all.

 Live so, that if God would want to use you, He knows right where to come get you. You're in a position, living a life clean before God, your words are honest, your life is true. That's the kind of a place that Angels come.

The reward to them that overcome in this church age, is to “sit on the throne with the Lord.”