In his teaching about the little weed called hyssop, Brother Branham types it with the Faith we need to trust our Lord. He said the weed makes a perfect type because it is so common and can be found anywhere in Israel. The type he referred to had nothing to do with its color, size or smell, but rather the fact of how easy it was to find. Just go outside anywhere and there it was, even growing in the cracks of the walls. He then said this is how common place real faith is in our hearts, if we could only learn to recognize it and claim it for what it is.

The Prophet is trying to clear up the one Great Mystery that still has some of God’s Elect walking in darkness. Don’t you agree that we mostly understand the other deep things that God revealed through the opening of the Seals, Serpent Seed, One God, Christian Baptism in the Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the sin of denominationalism, the Mystery of anti-Christ and etc. But, when it comes to the Greatest Mystery of all, how to believe God and what Faith is, it seems that the majority are in desperate need of more revelation (And that includes this writer).

But, we are now down to the time when God is unraveling this greatest of all mysteries. We are very close to the time of the Rapture and, no doubt, this revelation is tied in with rapturing faith. Just to speak the word "faith" starts the mind to thinking about some deep, dark subject that puzzles most of us. We know the Lord says that we must have it or we cannot please Him, but what it is and where to find it is a mystery to most Christians. The truth is that the Holy Ghost is not the only One who teaches on faith, Satan does also.

While the Holy Ghost has taught through our Prophet the simplicity of real faith, the enemy has taught for hundreds of years how unobtainable it is for most, how deep and dark the subject is and how very few are ever able to come to it. He well knows that if we ever receive the revelation of the simplicity of faith, and that every born-again person ALREADY HAS IT, then he has lost his hold on us. When this powerful revelation comes (by the Grace of God) then doubts, fears and unbelief shed off of us as rain does off a ducks back. We will stand our ground against them, and rejoice in the faithfulness of our God. We will rise up and begin to act the part that we were put here for. How we love the story Brother Branham told about the black man who was the son of a king in his own county, but had somehow been sold as a slave into our country. The Prophet made a great point of the fact that he acted different than the other slaves. The reason being, that he never forgot that he was the son of a king.

Dear Friends, when God is gracious enough to show us the simplicity of real faith, that is when we will begin to act like what we are, the Sons and Daughters of the King of Kings! Therefore, the purpose of this sermon is to try and prepare our minds to receive this revelation. Only God can give it, but our minds can be prepared for it.

First of all, we need to understand with the intellect that faith is not at all mysterious. It is so down to earth, so common place, and used so regularly in our daily lives, that we are unaware that we even have it. The reason being that faith is nothing more, nor nothing less, than just TRUSTING. All of us know people that we trust, and we do so without going into some sort of a mental contortion, or any conscience effort. Our relationship with them has proven to us that they are trustworthy, and so we go our way, accepting their testimony and their promises to us without even taking thought about.

But, here is where we fail so utterly and so miserably, when the most TRUSTWORTHY PERSON in the whole universe asks us to simply TRUST His promises to us, the common answer is, "I truly want to, I know I should, but I just don’t seem to have any faith!" WHAT WE NEED TO SEE IS THAT IF WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO TRUST ANOTHER HUMAN BEING, THEN WE DO CERTAINLY HAVE THE ABILITY TO TRUST THE LORD JESUS CHRIST! The exact same faith, or TRUST, that we use in our daily relationship with other trustworthy people, will work when we point it toward our God. This is all He asks of us.

Do we consider that too much for our Heavenly Father to ask? Is He not due every ounce of trust that we have in us? Can we accuse Him of ever failing to live up to the trust that any of us humans have placed in Him? Can we put our finger on a time and place where He ever failed to keep His Word to us? Do we understand that it is not possible for Him to ever do one of us a wrong? He has total knowledge, which means He cannot learn anything, so He has no problem in knowing what we each one need at any given time. We cannot lift Him up too high, we cannot exalt His Name enough, and we cannot trust Him TOO MUCH.

We do confess that just as we KNOW out fellow humans and have learned by experiences to TRUST them, so do we need to KNOW our Heavenly Father, and the way to learn about Him is to receive His Spirit into us. We are not "Born-Again" until His Spirit lives within. He, Himself, is the Great Teacher! He will teach us about Himself.

Our major problem concerning the matter of faith seems to be that we suppose our part in it is some "SUPER SOMETHING" that is out of the reach of all but a group of super-spiritual human beings. The truth is that when we are born-again, we are already in that class of Super Human Beings and that is true no matter how our emotions may deny it. Brother Branham taught that Born-Again People already have the trust that God wants from us; we only need to recognize it for what it is, and claim it. The Bible calls it FAITH.

QUOTE: THE TOKEN (DALLAS, TX) 64-0308, PAGE 4, "On the 14^th day, after it was put up, a male without blemish, all Israel shall slay it, and the blood shall be taken with HYSSOP and put on the lintel of the door. AND BY THE WAY, THAT HYSSOP WAS JUST COMMON WEEDS. HYSSOP MEANS YOUR FAITH (Types your faith). SOMEBODY TRIES TO HAVE SUPERNATURAL FAITH, that’s the reason you miss your healing. FAITH IS JUST A COMMON THING. You got faith to come to church; you got faith to walk out there. You got faith to start your car (and get out on the highway). You got faith to eat your dinner (trusting that the food is not poison). That’s the way it (faith) is. Just COMMON faith. Now, to apply the blood it was applied with HYSSOP, which is just common weeds that grows anywhere in Palestine, showing that the faith that the blood is applied by IS NOT SOME SUPER THING (so) you have to have all kinds of doctor’s degrees to do it, IT’S JUST COMMON, EVERYDAY FAITH, TO BELIEVE GOD…." (End quote)

QUOTE: POSSESSING THE GATE OF THE ENEMY 64-0322, PAGE 8, "Then the chemistry, the blood itself, had to be red upon the door, and the post of the door, applied by HYSSOP, which is just a common weed, SHOWING THAT YOU DON’T HAVE TO HAVE SOME SUPER FAITH, YOU JUST HAVE TO HAVE THE FAITH YOU’VE GOT. Like you have to start your car and come to church." (End quote)

Let’s stop and examine what the Prophet is saying. He is showing us that we already have faith, but that we are failing to recognize it. He said, "Somebody tries to have supernatural faith, and that’s the reason you miss your healing." But, Brother Branham, we thought you said that faith is a revelation and we know that a revelation is supernatural! What are you trying to tell us Sir, we don’t understand? To this writer, he is simply pointing out the difference between OUR PART in this thing of faith, and in GOD’S PART.

Our part is to use the NATURAL ABILITY that we already have, and that we use every day to trust other human beings. We cannot say it too often, our part in this thing of faith is to simply TRUST GOD in the same simple manner that we do OTHER PEOPLE. If my devoted friend, and Brother in Christ would tell me to meet him at the bank at 10:30 a.m. and he was going to deposit ten thousand dollars into my account for the work of the ministry, I would most certainly be at the bank to see it done.

During the night, while I was thinking about what he had said, I would not have to wait for the floor to shake, or lightening to flash and thunder to roll before I would believe my Brother. In fact, I would not have to have any kind of EMOTIONAL HIGH before I could believe what he had just told me. Just knowing that he was sincere when he made the statement would be all I needed to cause me to end up at the bank at the appointed time. I believe this is what the Prophet meant when he said faith (our part) is not some supernatural something, but just a COMMON THING.

If God has made us a promise, and we know by the Word that it is His will for us, then can’t I have at least as much confidence in Him as I had in my human Brother? Now the confidence, or trust, I had in my Brother would be the same kind that I used to trust my God, but the OBJECT of this trust would be quite different. My Brother could suddenly be confronted with some reason that would stop him from being at the bank, but my Father cannot be hindered in the keeping of His Word. Only our lack of trust will stop Him!

Our part in faith is so very NATURAL, and I believe that is why our Lord said ONLY believe, with the emphasis on the word ONLY. To emphasize the very simplicity of our part He said, "The ONLY thing you have to do is accept MY STATEMENT", and then ACT on it, in the same way you did the Brother’s. You went to the bank in full confidence that he would be there (unless something unforeseen happened), now just trust what I said in the same simple way, and I will reward you for it.

That is exactly what the scripture says God will do in that great chapter on faith (Heb. 11:6), "But without Faith it is impossible to please Him; For he that cometh to God must BELIEVE that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." Can we see the truth here that the scripture is teaching? Our part is BELIEVING, and afterwards, God’s part is giving the reward, which amounts to the supernatural part of faith.

Let us look at this scripture closely. "For he that cometh to God (to receive His blessings) must believe that HE IS." We must believe that He is WHAT? First, we must believe that He is a PERFECT PERSON! But, for a Born-Again Christian that is no problem at all. Let me show you what I mean. Those who have been born-again, for any length of time, already know that their God is a PERFECT PERSON! Do we not understand that He has perfect love, perfect knowledge, perfect wisdom, perfect patience, and perfect power? Surely, all His Children can believe these things about Him. These are some of the first revelations God gives His Redeemed People.

But, how many of us understand that this KNOWLEDGE that we have, and which we accept as being true without any struggle, is all that our part in Faith amounts to? Yet, this is the simplicity of the Faith that our Prophet is trying to get us to see! But even though this simple faith already resides in us, if we don’t understand what it is that we have, we will most often deny that we have it, and by not claiming it we don’t make use of it, and the scripture says, "But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead."

The Holy Ghost here is exhorting us to BELIEVE that our God is perfect in every respect, then to understand that this knowledge is all that our part in faith is. But, then there is one more step to rounding out our faith. We must ACT IT OUT. To say we have it, but refuse to follow that statement with actions is to have "Faith without works," which thing God will not accept. A word of caution is needed at this point. We must be very careful not to get ahead of the faith that our Lord is giving us. It is possible to act presumptuously, that is to say, without the leading of the Lord, and that always gets us into trouble. "Those that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength….." (Isa. 30:41)

Now a word about what real believing is that God accepts. It is commonly thought that believing is an EMOTIONAL THING. That is to say, if we FEEL as if we are believing, then we accept the fact that we are believing. On the other hand, if our emotions are not going along with what we say we believe, then we most often conclude that we are not truly believing. But, God is not checking our emotions, He is watching our DECISIONS, and these are made with the MIND. It is quite possible to CHOOSE, or DECIDE, to believe a promise of God, and have Him accept it, while every EMOTION in our bodies is going contrary to what we say we believe.

This is the high mountain that we must climb over before we can be accepted as real believers. We must understand the difference between the REAL US, which is the WILL, and in our ever-changing emotions. To always go by our emotions, is to place ourselves directly in the hands of the enemy, because the Lord often times allows him to control our emotions. The Lord never asks us if we "FEEL AS IF WE ARE BELIEVING" but always "HAVE YOU CHOSEN, OR DECIDED, TO BELIEVE MY WORD."

Deut. 30:19, "I call Heaven and Earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you LIFE AND DEATH, BLESSING AND CURSING: THEREFORE CHOOSE LIFE, that both thou and thy seed may live." And, how do we choose life that we and our seed may live? Simply by DECIDING to believe the promises of God. And, how do we DECIDE? We do so by using our will power, which resides in our Mind. This is exactly what the Prophet taught in the sermon "Greatest Battle Ever Fought."

QUOTE: GREATEST BATTLE EVER FOUGHT, PAGES 13-14, "Now don’t miss this! When this great battle started on Earth, there had to be a mutual meeting place; there had to be a place selected for the battle to begin, and for the battle to rage. And, that battleground began in the HUMAN MIND. The human MIND was chosen for the place of the battle, where it was to begin; and that is because that DECISIONS are made from the MIND, the head…..where you’ve got to meet your enemy is in your MIND. You’ve got to make your CHOICE, it meets you." (God requires it) (End quote)

We cannot, in this short sermon, state all the scriptures and the Prophet’s statements pertaining to this all-important subject, but we can hope to give you the framework and quicken your interest to study it. This writer has noticed that the Prophet’s doctrine on "How to believe God" has been, to a large degree ignored, and this is normal, since it is the most important doctrine of all, after Salvation. It is an age-old truth that our Father allows our enemy to throw up walls between us and the most important teachings of the Holy Writ. Perhaps one reason for this is to strengthen our patience and our faith, as we press through each obstacle!

Time now must be very short, and if we are going to discover the secret of believing, we must be about it. We have stressed the very simplicity of how to believe, and the revelation of what it is, but we would not leave the impression that it is an easy thing to carry out in our daily walk! No! Recently I was preaching a meeting in another state and had taught on "Hyssop Faith." After service, a dear Brother said to me, "I see what you are teaching, but that is a very hard thing to do." He was exactly right. Though the revelation is simple enough, the hard part is continuing to stand our ground and confess that God is receiving our decision, and counting us as a Believer, in spite of our contrary feelings about it.

There is a very real battle that begins to rage in the mind when we decide to believe any promise of God. Even so, it’s up to us what we want to believe, and we are either blessed or cursed by our choices.

QUOTE: GREATEST BATTLE EVER FOUGHT, PAGE 20, "You can have little consciences, and little feelings, and little sensations (emotions), all these things, THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. That’s just little sensations (emotions) and things. But, when it comes to reality (when it comes down to what God is looking at), your MIND opens it up. Your MIND either accepts it or rejects it! That’s it friends. God, let none of them miss it! See? It’s your MIND that opens up the door, or closes the door, and listens to your conscience, listens to your memory, listens to your affections. (And, it’s wrong to pay attention to these things when they are denying the Word.) But, when your mind closes itself to these things (your feelings) and let God, the Spirit of His Word come in, it blows the rest of the stuff out. Every doubt is gone, every (wrong) feeling is gone, every sensation of doubt is gone, every feeling is gone. There’s nothing standing there but the Word of God, and Satan cannot battle against that! No Sir! He cannot battle against it. Now we know that’s truth. (End quote)

And so, we press upon ourselves and upon our readers, the drastic importance of believing God with the intellect first, which is the groundwork that must be laid for perfect, supernatural faith to come in.

QUOTE: GREATEST BATTLE EVER FOUGHT, PAGE 16, "If you’d only get that started first. (Your intellectual believing) We’re so anxious to see things done. We’re so anxious to do something for God." (End quote)

But, we haven’t in times past, understood that an iron-clad decision to stand and hold to our decision, in spite of our feelings, and in spite of every contrary circumstance, is the thing God is requiring. May God’s Grace send us revelation just now. Amen!