Questions & Answers
Questions 49, 49b, 50 (COD Page 200)
49. Brother Bill, it is... Is it out of order for someone to get up and give messages in tongues while the preacher is giving the... out the Word? This person’s got three questions here.
49b. And the other one is: Also, is it out of order to do likewise when the altar call is being made?
50. Third, third one: Also, it is out of... Is it out of order for someone to stand up in church and reprove a minister for something he has said or done during service, and him behind the sacred desk? All these things has been done at the tabernacle several times.
321 Now, let me get to this right quick now, this pertains to the church now. I... Now, to you strangers in our gates, I’ve got to give the church a little spanking now, so you-you just kind of hold off for a minute, see, if you will.
322 Listen, my children! Those gifts are wonderful. Nobody knows how I appreciate you, and I love you with godly love. But those gifts can be a harm to you if you don’t use them in the right place.
323 Look at people today, fine man out on the field, praying for the sick and charging money for it. That’s wrong. If a man’s got faith for healing and praying for the sick, he ought to be gentleman enough to pray for people without money. Thank God! Brother, I want to say that, not for myself, but for the glory of God, not one time have I ever taken money from people, or anything like that; and turned down, literally, a million, five hundred thousand dollars, in one offering. And you know it; was right here, the paper. See? That’s right. It’s
not for... When you do that, you’re going to lose your faith out yonder with God.
324 Now you people that speak with tongues and has got gifts of tongues, God bless you. You are needed in this tabernacle. I want you here. But, now, the-the thing is in order, don’t never do it while the preacher’s preaching. If you do, you’re out of order. See? You mustn’t do it. For the Bible said, “The spirit of the prophet is subject to the prophet.” And when a man is preaching, he’s got the floor, he’s got the audience, the Holy Spirit is going to speak through him. When he’s finished, then is the time for the message, you see. So don’t get out of order; if you do, then you interrupt and you’ll-you grieve the Holy Spirit with the message that’s going forth.
325 Here not long ago, I was in a meeting up here somewhere in Washington, many thousand people were sitting there. And my manager, which is a real Bible expositor, he was standing there speaking on Divine healing, anointed, the Holy Spirit was speaking. A lady raised up and begin to speak with tongues, and he waited just a moment, then he started on. The Holy Spirit begin... grieved, you could see it amongst the people. He started to speak again, and she raised up. He said, “Sister, sit down, in the Name of the Lord.” Said, “You’re out of order.” And the ministers took her over there and let her know.
326 Now, what it is, those gifts are in the world, they’re in the church now. The gifts are in the church, but the poor little children get those gifts and don’t have the teaching to know how to control it. If you’d miscontrol it, you’ll do more damage than you will good. See?
327 Just like a man going out, praying for the sick and somebody getting healed, say, “Now, you ought to give me a thousand dollars for it.” Now, he’s done more damage than he has good. Been better if the man went ahead and died instead of bringing such a reproach upon the cause of Christ.
328 Now, when you... When the pastor or the evangelist, or whoever it is, is preaching, hold your peace. Paul said to do that, you see. Now, and then he said, “You may all speak, one by one.” That’s true enough. And he said, “I would that you would all speak with tongues. That’s good.”
329 But you can’t speak with tongues unless you have the gift of tongues. And no doubt at all but what there’s many gifts of that in this church now. There’s many gifts of it over here in the Methodist church, there’s many of it over here in the Baptist church, if it was only preached so the gift could go to operating.
330 How? If you put seed in the ground and don’t cultivate it, what’s going to happen to it? See, it’ll lay there in dry dust, and rot; it’ll do no good. These gifts have been in the church all along, but just now the water’s begin to fall, the pentecostal rain, to water it and bring forth fruit. Now, use it in the right place.
331 Now, it says, well, I believe the next question was there, the person asked, said: When the... when they’re giving an altar call?
332 No, I wouldn’t think then. If you noticed, and take Corinthians and read it, some of you here, if-if you got gifts of speaking in tongues, then you watch. In the Bible, when they had... after the service was over, the blessing of God come down upon the congregation, then they begin to speak, then they begin to magnify God. And, every time, is a direct message to somebody. Not... You have to watch that now. See? It isn’t just something in fleshly. It’ll be a message to somebody, for somebody to do something, or something to edify the church. It’ll be something to glorify the church.
333 There is where the Pentecostal people has brought reproach to their name. The very name Pentecost, you can mention it and the people will just walk away and say, “Nonsense,” because they’ve seen a lot of carrying on; which, the people being in sincerity but wasn’t taught.
334 Paul said, “When I come to the Pentecostal church over there,” said, “I’ll set it in order.” It’s got to be in order, and everything must be done orderly, just as the Spirit ordered. So he said, “Now, if come in, and all of you begin to speak in tongues; and the unlearned comes in, he’ll say, ‘Well, aren’t you all mad?’; walk out.”
335 That’s just what the Pentecostal church do. He said, “Now, in the stead, if one of you prophesy and reveals the secrets of something, (one of you to be a prophet, in other words),” he said, “then won’t the people fall down and say ‘God is with you’?”
336 Well, how could I deny the gift of speaking in tongues when I’d have to deny the gift of prophecy, I’d have to deny these other gifts? Now, the most of the churches, the big churches, the Nazarene, Pilgrim Holiness, and so forth, they think if a man speaks in tongues he’s a devil. That’s blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, which there’s no forgiveness. That’s what the Jews done, made fun of the people with the Holy Ghost, and were condemned and lost, for it. Correct! Didn’t Jesus say, “If you speak one word against the Holy Ghost, it’ll never be forgiven you in this world or the world to come”? So be careful; you don’t understand, sit still.
337 And you people who has got the Holy Ghost and called into offices, teachers... Now, could you imagine... here’s me standing here trying to teach, and here jump a man up, side of me, and start teaching right at the same time, another man standing out here singing a jubilee song? Well, what a confusion!
338 Well, that’s the way it is about speaking in tongues. Let it come orderly, just as the Spirit will give it, you can speak with tongues.
339 Now you say, “Well, Brother Branham, I can’t help it.”
340 Oh, yes, you can! Paul said you could. He said, “If there be one of you, among you, who speaks with tongues, and there be no interpreter, let him hold his peace.” No matter how much it wants to speak, hold your peace. That’s a gift, brother. I-I pray, God will let me have a revival here some of these days so we can get into them things for you, you see. Where you can see it’s a gift, and that gift wants to operate all the time. See? But you’ve got to have the wisdom of the Holy Spirit here to know when and how to operate that gift. And that...
341 You say, “Well, glory to God, the Bible said when the Holy Ghost is come you don’t need any teacher. He’s the teacher Hisself.” Oh, brother, how can you be so little to read the Scrip-... Why did the Holy Ghost set teachers in the church, then?
342 Say “I don’t have to have anybody to teach me. The Holy Ghost teaches me.” It does, through a teacher. He set teachers in the church.
343 He said, “Are all teachers, are all apostles, are all gifts of healing?” The Holy Ghost set these things in the church, and He operates them all, and each one of them operates orderly.
344 Now it’s just like my foot; one of them say, “I’m going this way,” the other one say, “I’m going back this way.” Now, what are you going to do? The hand said, “I’m going to go up,” and the other one’s going around this way. What kind of a shape is the body going to get into? See?
345 But, now, if the mind here says, “Foot, move forward, both of you. Hand, you go with them. Head, you stay straight. Arms, you do the same,” everything walking in harmony. Now, when I get there, I haven’t used my arms. Now, the foot’s done its duty, the pastor’s through preaching; now, arms, you do your duty. See? See what I mean?
346 Well, what if the arms was reaching out like this, “Oh, where’s it at? Where’s it at?” and the feet preaching? See, you’re not there yet. See, hold your peace, arm; it’ll be time for you to be used after while; wait till you get over there. See what I mean? That’s the gift, that’s the gift of the Spirit in operation.