Living Word Broadcast - 63-1118, I Am The Resurrection And Life, Campbellsville, KY

I Am The Resurrection And Life

63-1118, I Am The Resurrection And Life, Lyon's Funeral Home, Campbellsville, KY, 49 min

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L-1 ... I would not have you... ignorant, brethren, concerning those which are asleep, that you sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them... that sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them that are asleep.
For the Lord himself shall descend from the heaven with a shout,... the voice of the archangel, and... the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together... in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air:... so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Wherefore comfort one another with these words. [I Thessalonians 4:13-18]

L-2 I was reading from First Thessalonians, the 4th chapter. I shall read now from the Book of Job. The four-... The 14th chapter of Job.

Man that is born of a woman is of a few days, and full of trouble.
He cometh forth like a flower, he's cut down: and he fleeth away as a shadow, and continueth not.
... dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bring me into judgment with thee?
Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.
Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou has appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;
Turn from him, that he may rest, till he has accomplished, as an hireling, his days.
For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down,... it will sprout again, and that the tender branches thereof may not cease.
Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof dieth in the ground;
Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.
But man dieth,... wasteth away: yea, giveth up the ghost, and where is he?
As the waters fail from the seas, and the floods decay and dry up:
So man lieth down, and he raises not: till... heavens be no more, then shall he not awake, nor be raised out of his sleep.
O that thou would hide me in the grave, that thou would appoint me a secret place, till thy wrath be past,... thou would appoint me a... time, and remember me!
If a man dies, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change comes.
Thou shall call,... I will answer thee: thou will have a desire to do a work of thine hand.
... now thou numberest my steps: does thou not watch over my sins?
My transgressions is sealed up in a bag,... thou sewest up my iniquity.
... surely the mountains fall and cometh to nought,... the rocks move out of their place.
The waters wear away the stone: thou wash away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth; and thou destroyest the hope of man.
Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passes: thou changes his countenances, and sends him away.
His sons come to honour him, and... knoweth it not;... they are brought low, but... perceive it not...
But his flesh upon him shall have pain, but his soul within him shall mourn. [Job 14:1-22]

L-3 ... -cluding the 14th chapter of the Book of Job.

L-4 We have here, this afternoon, something that's not welcome anywhere at any time. No matter how prepared we are for it, it's always an unwelcome guest that's sure to come to every home. And it's heartless. I'm sure if I had been a death, I don't think I would want to come to a home that this death has come to, this young Christian, that we have his body laying here before us, as we know him, as our Brother Garnett.

L-5 And we're here today, assembled, to pay the last respects to this young, gallant Christian. It's the last things that we can do for him upon earth, though he does not hear us. But we're thinking about those who has this before them, yet. It must be taken care of someday. We've got to meet it. Young or old, sooner or later, it will come to all of us.

L-6 No matter what I would say about Garnett, as I knew him, it wouldn't change our opinion. His life and his testimony speaks, among you all, louder than anything I could say. I'm...

L-7 My personal acquaintance with him was through his mother. One night, while service was over, at the... my church, she come to me. And she had a son that was dying with polio. I think they had given up hopes that he could live any longer. Well, many of those calls, we have them. They're just a regular routine. But when I went to see this young fellow, was in an iron lung. There was something about him, as I laid my eyes upon him the first time, I loved him. I love him until today, as I look at him now, always will. He was a gallant young fellow. And he seemed like he had something in life that--that meant more than just an ordinary boy, of a teen-ager just passing through. He had more of a clear understanding of things. I prayed for him, that he would not die.

L-8 Finally, they taken him from the iron lung, and he was brought home, was put in some kind of a rocking bed, where they keep him breathing.

L-9 I come to see Garnett. And what a sweet Christian that life had developed into, a boy that--that any parent would be proud of. After all, that's our--that's our journey here on earth, that's what it's for, is to prepare for--for leaving. And Garnett had certainly made this preparation, beyond any shadow of doubt, the gallant young man full of Spirit and Life of Christ. It reflected right through him.

L-10 And I live in Tucson, Arizona. Some time ago, the young lad got sick, and was very sick. And the expression of his faith, to call the long distance. And when I finally got into my home and prayed for the little boy, on the phone, why, the grace of God came to him, and he--he got over it. Time after time, when we'd have something wrong, he--he'd call. Together we would pray, by the medium of the telephone. And I don't think our Heavenly Father ever turned him down, at any time, but what he got over what he had.

L-11 Last fall, I was down here visiting friends. One day, last time I seen Garnett in this life, we stepped in unexpectedly into the... his lovely little home. He was staying with his people. And what did we find, but it would a--a real example for any Christian minister to--to see this. He was setting up, and out of the rocking bed, had his arms in a little sling. As we walked to the house, as we was always so welcome, there was Garnett. And before him was the Bible. And the little lady that was taking care of him was setting over on the little duofold affair, and they were having Bible study. And I looked at him, and my heart just melted.

L-12 And I said to him, asked him a question. I said, "Garnett, perhaps, what if this had never happened to you?" I said, "You'd... I was called, say, up here tonight, there had been a young boy by the name of Garnett Peake's had just got killed out here on the highway, with his car. And the boy was drunk, and his soul had gone on to meet God. Or, would you just rather keep the scene the way it is?"

L-13 He said, "Just let it be the way it is. Long as I know Jesus the way that I know Him now," he said, "it's more than life, even though I'd have to stay here all my life in this condition."

L-14 But he said, "I want to show you, Brother Branham, I'm much better." He could move his arms, and so forth. With great anticipation, he was looking forward to the time that he would be well, so he could walk around. I'm an old man, seen much in my days. I don't believe I ever met a more gallant-spirited boy than Garnett. Great hopes for him.

L-15 Few nights ago, I'm told that he took in... taken something like intestinal flu. And that when he realized that he was going, well, he called for me. And he didn't know, at that time, I was in New York, at the arena. And when I got out of the arena, the telegram, or message was given to me. I rushed quickly to a phone and called. But the lovely brother that's taking care of him, said, "Brother Branham, Garnett went to meet Jesus, six o'clock."

L-16 He's gone from us. We--we realize that. But I wonder if really there is such a thing as--as this being the end of it? We're all conscious that the boy is gone from us, its life, but let's think what's next. Is there anything that we could say, could we ever see him again? Is this the last we're going to see of Garnett? That's what I want to talk to you about, for the next few minutes. Can you be sure that we're going to see him again? Job asked this question, the oldest Book in the Bible. He said, "If a man dies, shall he live again?" Is there any proof then that this is so? Could we have any physical proof that this resurrection is so? Yes. I would think so.

L-17 If we notice, that, we are serving the Creator. We realize that we could not be here unless there was something that made us. We cannot just be like we are, without just--just happening to be; no more than my watch could be just as it is, with all the jewels and the timing. There was... There is some mastermind behind it, that made that watch, and just think of what a human being is that makes the watch. How impossible it would be for the watch to just to happen, and how much more impossible it is that we just happened!

L-18 Being a missionary and traveling around the world, I been acquainted now with, seven times around the world, and thinking of seeing the different religions of the world, and each one of their philosophies and what they think. And many of them believe in reincarnation, and so forth. But the Christian religion is the only religion that has truth, because all creation speaks of Christianity.

L-19 Job said, "If a tree dies, there's hopes that it--it will live again. And if the flower dies, there's hopes that it'll live again." But he said, "Man layeth down, and he giveth up the ghost, and where is he?" Job was a man, a--a renown man. He was a--a great philosopher of his day, and a believer, and he had much wisdom. And Satan had desired to--to sift him and try him. [Job 14:7-12]

L-20 And all Christians, believers, are tried. "Every son that cometh to God must be tried, chastened."

L-21 So, Job, knowing that the Creator made all of His creation, he noticed that in the creation, that, there was a resurrection of botany life, so forth. But he said, "A man layeth down, he giveth up the ghost, he wastes away, and where is he? What happened to him?"

L-22 And then he saw, by a vision, the coming of the Just One. He--he knew he was a sinner. And the--the reason a man had to lay down, and not rise up, there was nothing could speak for him.

L-23 He knew that the flower had done nothing. It was brought here for a purpose, and it served God's purpose. And, therefore, when the flower died, it could raise again.

L-24 But a man had sinned, and there was no way for him to ever rise in the Presence of his Maker. And so, in this condition, he was permitted by God to see the Just One coming. A Man Who could put His hands on a sinful man and a holy God, and bridge the way, the Son of God. Then when the Spirit was on the prophet, he cried out, "I know my Redeemer liveth, and at the last days He'll stand upon the earth, and though after my skin worms destroys my body, yet in my flesh shall I see God for myself. Mine eyes shall behold, and not another."

L-25 All Christianity is based upon resurrection. That's our hopes. Now let's find out why. The Creator has so set it in order, if we did not even have a Bible, we would still know that Christianity was right.

L-26 Now, resurrection is not replacement. Resurrection is bringing the same thing up that went down. If I should drop the Bible from the--the stand, on the floor, and catch some, another Bible, and replace it, that's replacement. But, resurrection, is bring the same Bible up that went down. And that's what resurrection means, "to be--to be raised up."

L-27 And, God, the great Creator Who has expressed Hisself through all of His creation. And we are a part of His creation, just as those flowers are, just as the trees are, all other nature. We are a part of His creation.

L-28 Now, God is a God of variety. He doesn't have everything just the same. He doesn't have just all mountains. He has desert, plains, grassy fields. And He has yellow flowers, white, blue, pink, different colors. He has large men, small men; and dark-headed, brown-headed, red-headed. He's the God of variety, for everything is to serve His purpose. He's got everything to serve His purpose. And everything that does serve His purpose, correctly, there is a resurrection to it.

L-29 Now, that might be hard to think or to comprehend, at once, but let's think of it, being that we got this here before us, this afternoon.

L-30 Now, here's the flowers. They're expressing what they come here on earth for, to help cheer the--the weary room, this afternoon, where this lovely young brother lays, asleep. And those flowers, we notice.

L-31 Like you women here in Kentucky. I--I'm from here, myself. And--and I notice you plant your flowers around your house, and--and the summertime they bloom up so pretty, and brighten up your home. And then, maybe, in the fall of the year, all of a sudden, a frost hits them. That's death. Now, whether they're already the petals are dropping, or whether they're young flowers, or whatever they are, when frost strikes, it takes them all. That's death. It's no respect of person, ability, age. It just strikes. And where it hits, it takes. Then we notice the petals drop from the little flower, then, and out of the flower drops a little black seed.

L-32 And now this may seem juvenile. But that's the way you find God, is in the simple things, not the--the complicated things. God has made it simple, if we just could see it.

L-33 Now, God has a funeral procession for that flower; seems strange. But the little seed is laying on the ground. Then the fall rains come, like tears dropping from the sky, and pats down upon this little seed, until it buries it.

L-34 And along comes the cold winter. Now, the petals are gone. The stalk is gone. The bulb in the ground, the roots is dried up. Oh! The seed, when the winter freeze, it freezes the seed. It bursts the seed open, the pulp runs out. Now we're getting along, February or March. There's no petal, no stalk, no seed, no pulp, no nothing.

L-35 Is that the end of that flower? Not by no means. There's a little germ of life, somewhere, within that seed. That, you might get the dirt in your hands, and take it to the laboratory, and let the--the--the scientist examine it, back and forth, and he'll never find that germ of life. God hid it. But just as soon as the--the world rocks around in the solar system, until it... till it gets around to where the sun begins to strike the earth again. You could not hide that life.

L-36 If you laid a concrete walk, down through your yard, on top of the grass, where's your next... the most... Next summer, where is the most grass at? Right around the sides of the walk. Why? It's that life that was laying beneath that--that concrete. And when it comes springtime, though a rock laying on it, it will not hide it. That life will weed its way right through. That's what makes so much grass around the edge of the walk. You cannot hide life. It has to come up because God has put the sun, s-u-n, over this, the botany life, and it controls botany life.

L-37 Well, if He put the s-u-n over botany life, then He put His S-o-n over Eternal Life. So, if there is a resurrection for the flower, because it served God's purpose, how much more has He made a way for a man! Yeah. There's a way for a man. He must come forth, too, when it comes time for the S-o-n of God. Not... The s-u-n, it brings forth the botany life, because it controls that. You cannot hide it. It must come up. And there is a S-o-n of God that's controlling human life, Eternal Life. And if we are serving God's purpose, as sons and daughters of God, then when the time has shaped up for the S-o-n of God to come, you could not hide that Life. All nature speaks for It.

L-38 We're here in the fall of the year now, here in Kentucky, where the beautiful trees that this year have put forth their leaves. And then, before we even had any--any frost or anything, Did you notice in your yards and around, how that the leaves begin to drop way back in the first of August? Why? What made those leaves drop? Is because that the--the life went out of the--of the leaf. And where did it go? Down into the root of the tree. What Intelligence made that life leave the leaf and go down into the ground? Because if it stayed up here, it would kill the tree. It went down to the root of the tree, to hide, until the winter is past. Next spring, it brings back life again, and puts forth another leaf.

L-39 Now, there's got to be some Intelligence doing that. The tree has no intelligence; it's just merely a botany life. But some great Intelligence says to that tree, before any frost strikes it, to the life that's in there, "Go down into the root of the tree, and hide there." And then when the sun begins to move back, how does that leaf know that the sun is moving away and winter is coming on? It's an Intelligence that tells it that. It's God.

L-40 What a symbol! What do we see there? The same as we see in the flower; the life, death, burial, resurrection. And even God makes, puts the flowers out, that the leaves turn brown, and make a bouquet upon the breast of the earth, as soon as them flowers die. The red, and green, and colors, just like this is here, this afternoon.

L-41 God is not complicated. People sometime want to make Him complicated. But He, God, is known in simplicity. We look over the top of Him, trying to find Him. He's so simple, makes Hisself that way. That's what makes Him so great.

L-42 Now notice, in this, this life that was in the tree. That served its purpose, went down into the grave, to stay until springtime. Now, some Intelligence has to bring it back up again, come back with the apples, and whatevermore the tree bears, its leaves and so forth. It comes back up again.

L-43 Now, Job said here, "O that Thou would point me a time, and hide me in the grave, until Thy wrath be past." See what the Scripture said? We are hid in the grave until the wrath is past, and then comes back up again. [Job 14:13]

L-44 "I know my Redeemeth liveth, and at the last day He'll stand upon the earth; though after the skin worms destroys this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God." He seen the resurrection would be brought about by Man, some day; and the sin question would be settled when that righteous One, the Son of God, came to die for sinners. There was no man on earth at that time, or no man since, that could ever bridge the way between a holy God and a sinful man. But Job, here, four thousand years before His Coming, saw His death, burial, and His resurrection, and His justification that come by the resurrection, and the absolute guarantee of the resurrection of the believer. What a comfort it is to know that those things are true! It's not a fiction story. [Job 19:25-26]

L-45 Look out here. Look at the sun. The sun comes up of a morning, it's a baby born. God sent it up. It's to serve God's purpose. And at nine o'clock in the morning, it goes to school, it's a teenager. And then at twelve o'clock, it becomes fully matured. After twelve o'clock, fifty years has passed, it's half done, and starts going down, gets weaker, older. It's getting stronger until this time, then starts getting weaker.

L-46 Just as we do. We start out, strong. And get... As we come to our full maturity, we get stronger. Then when a certain age, we're our best. Then we start weakening, all the time, going down.

L-47 Finally, after while, it sets over the western horizon, a beautiful light. It served God's purpose. It dies. The earth colds, cools off, gets cold, over the night. Now is that the end of that sun? Is that the last time you'll ever see it? No. The next morning, she rises up again, in the resurrection. God, every day, testifying to it, said, "There is a life, death, burial, resurrection."

L-48 Everything that you look at speaks the same way, "life, death, burial, and resurrection," that is, if it serves His purpose.

L-49 Now there would be a time that this flower could be a flower and would never live again. There's the point that I wish, and if Garnett could speak to me, this afternoon, here would be what he would want me to say, 'cause he's in the Presence of God. If that seed...

L-50 Many of you men here this afternoon are farmers, or live around here where you see the--the farms and see nature. If the seed is planted, no matter how nice that seed looks, if that seed is not germitized, it will not live. It'll go into the ground, and will rot, and that's the end of it. There's no way, at all. There's nothing there to come back to life. That seed has to be in the pollen with the mate or it will not rise again.

L-51 And there is what makes our assurance of the resurrection again. As Jesus told us, "Except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God." We're placed here to make a choice.

L-52 And now that beautiful flower... no matter how pretty it is, and how nice and round the seed is. Like a hybrid corn, we could plant hybrid corn, it'll do nothing. It's a nice seed, without life. Its life is perverted.

L-53 And any perverted life from God cannot live again. We must be born again.

L-54 But as surely as that seed is germitized, it's then it rises again. There's no way to keep it from rising again. It's got to, because it's germitized and its botany life is in it.

L-55 Now, a believer has the Life of Christ within him, Who rose up first for our justification, to prove there is resurrection of the human life, a human body, that we live again because we been germitized; in other words, born again, of the Holy Spirit.

L-56 And everything that we could see in nature... I stand here and got many things written on a piece of paper here, that I would like to speak to you about. But that ought to be sufficient, to let you know that you cannot look out without seeing the evidence of death, burial, and resurrection. Wherever you go, whatever you look at, it's impossible to pass over: death, burial, resurrection.

L-57 And then, again, we find out that resurrection only comes when it serves God's purpose. If it doesn't serve God's purpose, no matter how beautiful it is, how--how pretty it looks, and how much better it might look than some other Seed that is germitized, it'll never rise. It lives this, and that settles it. But if It's germitized, It must rise again.

L-58 So is it, my friends, we here this afternoon, to see what death has done to our brother. It's got to be germitized. We might belong to church. We might be fine people. We might be a--a good character in the neighborhood; a fine father, mother, son, daughter. But unless we are germitized with the Spirit of God, we'll never rise in the resurrection. It's finished.

L-59 It speaks to us of these things. Nature calls out, day by day. And the sun rises and sets. The moon and stars come out, the same thing. Everything in nature revolves in one thing: death, burial, resurrection; death, burial, resurrection. Every day of our life, something is testifying to us: death, burial, resurrection.

L-60 We walk over the top of it, many times. Let's not do that. That's not why it was set here, and the world set in order like that. It's for Eternal Life, that we know. And seeing upon the seeds, that they're not germitized and serve the purpose of God, it cannot rise. Neither will we rise, though we be good people, though we be church members, though we be gallant neighbors, fine people, educated, smart. Science tells what has been. Science can't give life.

L-61 Life belongs to God, alone, and He's the only One handles life. So we must come to that place, to be germitized by the Word of God, or we will never rise again. Our--our--our life is totally finished when--when we finish this life here, that does it, altogether, if we're--if we're not germitized by the--by the Word of God, or by the Life of God.

L-62 Now, this little, cold frame laying here, none of us can say but what he's part of this great economy of God's creation. He is part of God's creation. He's a man, a human being that God created. He lays, sleeping now. Now, the thing of it is, if he served God's purpose in his life, then there's got to be a resurrection for Garnett. There's no way of getting around it. This is not the end of Garnett.

L-63 Well, we've all got to take this route through life. We come in from the darkness and enter the same way. And every one of us, some way or other, are going through the shadow, the valley of the shadows of death. But the thing we're put here for, there is...

L-64 Like the world. Jesus said, "You cannot serve God and mammon." Mammon is the "world." Can't serve God and world at the same time. [Matthew 6:24]

L-65 We have our choice. We can be germitized by God, by His Holy Spirit, and we have Eternal Life. If we don't, when we die, that's it. We're ready for the Judgment then, why we didn't do it, then the punishment. It follows that, for rejecting It.

L-66 But, I am so happy, as far as I know, within the reach of my understandings, by the Word of God and by the witness of the Holy Spirit, this boy met that condition. He was born of the Spirit of God, a changed man. The Spirit of God was upon the little fellow. He was a staunch Christian. He served God's purpose. Maybe it was for a short time.

L-67 But God sometimes train men for years, to get a few days of service out of him. John the Baptist was thirty years, by himself, in the wilderness, for six months of service. Jesus Christ was thirty years old, for three years of service, for the crucifixion. God trains men, brings them up. It's His purpose. Time is with man. Eternity is with God.

L-68 I believe that God brought this little boy here on the earth for a purpose.

L-69 And if you noticed, right in the time of his--his sickness and things, this struck him for a purpose. God could have made the boy sound and well. But what did He do instead of taking his life? He let him get up just where he wasn't going to die.

L-70 And neither did polio kill him. He didn't die by polio. No other disease killed him, that we prayed over, he and I, and the rest of the Christians here around Campbellsville, that prayed for him. It never. That never did it. See?

L-71 It was Garnett's time to go. He must. He had served his purpose. He come to Christ, been germitized. What if he would have died before this time? Polio drove him to God. He was to be a tobacco auctioneer, what he had in his mind. That wasn't his purpose, at all. We knew that. His purpose was to be a Christian.

L-72 Now, a tobacco auctioneer, somebody said, maybe seventy-five years from today, if the world should stand that long, "Garnett, he was a great auctioneer." Maybe that's all the minister could have said at his funeral, "He was a great auctioneer."

L-73 But what can we say today? "He's a Christian." As an auctioneer, without the germ of Life, just a memory of that generation, he'd be gone, among--among a few men. Now he's amongst the immortals. He's got to come forth in the resurrection. There's no way keep it from it. He has to come, for he served his purpose. He was germitized with the Holy Spirit of God, of Eternal Life that laid within the boy. Insomuch, that if he said, "If I knowed..."

L-74 The last time I spoke to him, he said, "If I knew that I had... could be well, strong like these other boys, running up-and-down the roads here with my hot-rod, running up-and-down the roads, and drinking, and would not know This that I know," he said, "I wouldn't swap this for ten thousand lives like that." A young eighteen-year-old boy, fine handsome-looking young man, would probably been a regular target for the Devil.

L-75 But God had to throw him in that stage, to get out of him, to serve the purpose. Look at his patience, his testimonies among you neighbors. Look what he was, what, how his little life has spoke to many of you, that at the Day of Judgment, without that, his life will testify right back against you. He was an example of what God wanted with him. He served God's purpose.

L-76 Now, if he served God's purpose and been germitized, as all nature has to be germitized, with a promise that he will rise again, how could we ever doubt the resurrection, of seeing Garnett again? Why, it would be totally insane to say that he cannot come up. If Garnett doesn't come up, there never was a sun ever rose and set, and come up again. If Garnett doesn't come up, the flower never dies and lives again. It met God's purpose. It served God's purpose. It was germitized with life, and it come up again. Well, we--we would be a--a--a horrible thing, a rashel thing, to say there's no resurrection, when we look right out, on in, and see the--the purpose of resurrection and what we must be to have a resurrection.

L-77 Garnett will live again. He's alive now. He's in another world. And he'll rise again just as sure as the flower rises again. He'll rise just as sure--sure as the moon, sun or stars rise again. He'll rise. But, see, they only rise to another mortal life, to give testimony to another age. When he rises, it'll be at the end of the age, there'll be no more testimony. He has Eternal Life. That had perpetual life; it must be germitized for--for perpetual life, to make it rise again for--for perpetual life. He is germitized with Eternal Life. And when he rises again, there's no more death, he lives forevermore.

L-78 I've preached thousands of funerals in my days, around the world. I wish I could say, over the many funerals that I have preached, I would... I wish I could say the words that I could say about Garnett, and the hopes that I have in Garnett. And knowing that God will raise him up, because he met every requirement that I know of, that God required. And his life showed the flower of the Holy Spirit was in him, that God lived within him. That boy was a changed boy. There's no doubt at all. His life bore record of it. He was changed.

L-79 Now, if we would say that, "There's no more resurrection, and this is the end of Garnett. Garnett, all we'll ever see is when we cover him up out there, this afternoon." Then what speaks for him? If someone would say, "Oh, I don't know about that. I don't know. Now, I've--I've never seen it done." Certainly, the end of time hasn't come yet. But when you say that, the first thing you'll have to do...

L-80 The Word of God is testifying for Garnett. The Word of God said, "We that are alive and remain to the Coming of the Lord shall not prevent or hinder those which are asleep. For the trumpet of God shall sound, and the dead in Christ shall rise first; and we which alive and remain shall be caught up together with them, to meet the Lord in the air." "He that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." The Scriptures! "I am the resurrection and Life," saith God. See? You'd have to testify against the Word of God. The Word of God is testifying for this boy. And what's any more sufficient than God's Own Word? Which, He is His Word. The Word is God. And God, Himself, is testifying that Garnett will rise. Garnett will rise up again. [I Thessalonians 4:10-18], [John 11:25]

L-81 All creation! We'd have to say, "The sun don't rise. No, God made a mistake. The sun, we don't see the sun." See? It'd be an insane thing.

L-82 The sun says he'll rise again. The flower says he'll rise again. The Word says he'll rise again. Every nature, all creation, says he'll rise again. Earth, turning, says he'll rise again, everything that you see. Even to the Word of God! The only... The Holy Spirit, within my bosom and other Christian believers here, is pulsating now with faith, that says he'll rise again.
And you'll go over your faith, you go over the Word of God, you go over creation, you go over everything, see, saying he won't rise.

L-83 This is not the end of Garnett. This is the end of his purpose on life on--on earth, but he'll rise again. See? The whole thing: he will rise again. So what are we, what's our worry?

L-84 Course, we hate to see that young fellow laying there like that, just look like in the prime of life. But you know when God... When you take a flower out of your flower garden, you don't always take the old ones. Sometimes you have to have a bud, a bud has to serve your purpose in a bouquet. Maybe God wanted a bud. And that's what He picked on here, for a bud for His altar in Glory; with a guarantee, of everything testifying that he will rise again. Our faith says he rise again. The Word says he rise again. The moon says he rise again. The stars says he'll rise again. The sun, the flowers, the nature, everything says he rises again.

L-85 Because, all that knowed Garnett, knowed this, that he was a Christian. You couldn't come in his presence without knowing there had been a change in that boy. He had been germitized by Life.

L-86 My prayer is that we who are alive, this afternoon, will see the example of what--of what God does, and will prepare. And if we don't, do not have this germ of Eternal Life, knowing that we have to go the same route that he goes, let us get germitized. Let us receive Christ into our hearts and be born again. Because, brother, sister, each one of us faces this, no matter who you are, how much business you're in, how young or how old, you've got to meet it. You've got to meet it. And don't--don't dare try to do it without being first germitized by Christ, that you have Eternal Life.

L-87 Then, death is swallowed up in victory. Garnett shall rise again. All nature... Now, in the neighborhood, everybody knowed that boy. Everybody ever come in contact with him knows he was a Christian. Now, the Word of God and all nature says he'll rise again.

L-88 His mother, his father, all his relation, whatever it might be, you people here that's looking upon him; as a minister of the Gospel, as his brother, I see nothing in the Word of God or anything in nature...

L-89 Reason I chose to say this, maybe someone wouldn't go to church too much and understand it. I thought, in this way, it would make everyone understand. Just a little simple way that you look out here in nature and see what--what happened.

L-90 Garnett met God's specification. He served God's purpose. He's not dead. He's alive forevermore, just waiting some time for us to come.

L-91 Now, you that had Garnett in life, his father, mother, brother, sisters, and whatever you were, relatives, you knew him. You loved him. You couldn't come in contact with Garnett without loving him. See? You was with him here. Now what about the life hereafter? Let's prepare, that we too will meet him in the resurrection. Let's make our lives in such a way, that we'll meet him in the resurrection.

L-92 "If a man die," said the text, "can he live again? All the appointed days of my life will I wait, till my change comes. Thou will call, and I will answer." "The trumpet of God shall sound, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then if we're alive at that time and remain, shall be caught up with them, to meet the Lord in the air, and forever be with the Lord." [I Thessalonians 4:16-18]

L-93 This is a proving ground, a trying time. Garnett met the specifications that God required. And today, Garnett is not dead, he sleeps with the One that he loves more than anything else in the world. More than he loved... As much as he loved his parents, he loved everybody he come in contact with, he loved. Yet, the One that he supremely loved was Jesus Christ. He's gone to be with Him. May you who shared his lesser love, may we all prepare to meet him at that great resurrection.
Let us bow our heads just a moment.

L-94 With our heads bowed. I haven't tried to say too much about Garnett. He's a Christian. His own life tells what he is. But the thing I tried to tell you, you loved ones, that he shall rise again. Prove it to you, this is not the end. There's the guarantee written out, by the Blood of Son of God, he'll rise again.

L-95 Now let's prepare our hearts now, that when we too are brought to a place like this, some funeral parlor, that our loved ones can remember that we are prepared also to go. And may the father, mother, loved ones of this young boy, the greatest thing...

L-96 You know, I know how that you're suffering. I just give up a child, a little girl. I know how your hearts are bleeding.

L-97 But, see, if Garnett had been lost, it really would be a terrible time for you. But what a glorious hour it is for you, to know that your boy was with Christ. And he had to go sometime. And at the end of the road, he still remained with his faith. And God has him today. To you ones who is cousins and relation to him, just think of what he was. And now what if he had went the other way? We have nothing to worry about. Garnett is with Jesus. Let us prepare to go with Him, too.

L-98 Gracious God, great Eternal Jehovah, Who moved upon the waters and said, "Let there be light." You Who spoke the world into existence by Your Word, has promised by that same Word that we shall rise again. Now we want to offer, You, Father, this afternoon...

L-99 As I was associated with this young brother, in life, and how the undying love between he and I. As long as I live here, I suppose I'll always remember that gallant little soldier rocking on that bed, in the iron lung, between breaths, praising the Lord God. He was an example, too, for me, of his patience, never to complain, just, "The--the will of God be done." Thou has placed him before us, and now Thou has taken him out of our presence.

L-100 Lord God, may each one of us, this afternoon, who are living... And I feel, maybe, that Garnett would want me to say this. If we are not prepared, may we be prepared, and be as I have stated it, Father, germitized, to meet him by the same Holy Spirit which he received, the Life that was in Christ.

L-101 Bless this dear mother and this father, and the parents, and the loved ones. Whoever they may be, let Your holy Presence be with them, Father. May this be a time that--that they'll think, more than ever, what this little life has lived like this for. It was a testimony, as an example.

L-102 To the young men setting here, that associated with him, as a little boy, see what he was before, and then what he was after. May his life be a--a sermon to them, Father, that, too, that they may prepare to meet with their little friend at the other side, where there'll be no more death, or sorrow, no more heartaches. Grant it, Lord.

L-103 And we older people, who look down at this young man, right in the prime of life, and see him change, and come from a dying life unto a living Life. Grant it, Lord, that we might see that, this afternoon, by the simplicity of using examples of nature, then placing it back to the Word of God, to a promise. And You said, "The Word of God is a seed." And a seed must bring forth its kind.

L-104 I pray that You'll bless and comfort these people. Let them know that this little boy was just set here for a sermon. He's preached his sermon, the Book is closed, but we shall see him again. Grant, Lord, that we'll all stand there in the beauty of Christ, where we have Eternal Life. Until that time, keep us ever centered in Your will. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen.