Our Place Of Refuge
Spiritual Building-Stone No. 82

[ the place where you can let the pressure off ]

In the Bible we read about seven places of refuge. About the six cities of refuge of the Old Testament we read in Numbers 35:1-15 and in Joshua 20:1-9.

Now, if a man killed a man just deliberately, premeditated, he was lost. He could not come to this place. But if he did it accidentally, he didn't mean to do it, then there was a city of refuge. One was at Ramoth-Gilead. And four places, I think, Joshua placed these cities of refuge. Now, the people could come to this city of refuge. If acci-dentally he done something wrong--he didn't mean to--he would come to the city of refuge and go to the gate. The gatekeeper would ask him why he coming--what was his idea of coming. Then his case was pleaded. And when his case was pleaded at the gate and the man be found innocent, he did it not willfully, then the man was taken into the city as a place of refuge. Then the enemy could not get him. And if he lied and done wrong and come into the city of refuge, though he was holding to the altar of horns, his enemy had the privilege and right to drag him from that altar and kill him. Yes, sir. Because he was guilty, premeditated, and he had to be punished.

Now, there was something went with that. 'Course that man would be nervous, my, maybe a dozen man behind you. Somewhere, every rock, every hill, every bush, the enemy, somebody was standing ready for him. He was nervous. And then when he once got into the city, he could let off the pressure. He was safe. He was all right, 'cause there was a provided place made for him, God's provided way for that innocent man not to be slain, but could be exempted from the slaying, because he did it acciden-tally.

Now, if he meant to do it, well, he had to stand the circumstances. But there's no chance for him if he did it willfully.

And there's two classes of people today. May I say this; there's men and women in the world today, that really don't want to do these things they're doing. There's men and women in the world today that don't want to sin. I feel sorry for them, They don't want to do anything wrong, but they do it. They're drove to it. Now, there's a place for that person that wants to do right. There's a place to let off that pressure. It's true. But there's some that doesn't care.

Now, if you want to do right, I'm so glad tonight to tell you that there is a city of refuge; that's Jesus Christ. If you don't want to do wrong, the enemy's after you, then there's a way of escape; and that escape is Jesus Christ. There's a place where you can come and let off the steam. But if you're--love to sin and you don't want God, then the enemy's going to overtake you somewhere. You can't come to Christ, because you don't want to.

When a man come in in the Old Testament, the first thing, he had to come upon his own free will. And that's the way you have to come to Christ.
Another thing, you must be satisfied while you're there. You can't hang around every day crying, "I'd like to get out of here; I'd like to get out of here." They put you out. You must willfully want to stay. It must be that you must want to stay in that city.

And when you come to Christ, you can't look back to the world. The Bible said, "He that puts his hand on the plow and turns to look back's not worthy of plowing" (Luke 9:62). Now there's where so many so-called Christians make their mistake. See, they act like they're going to plow, but the first little thing comes along, they blow up about it.

People trying to impersonate somebody's ministry that hasn't been called to it. Finally it's going to blow up. You've got to be ordained of God. It's got to be God, not some handshake, some sentimental story, but it's coming upon the basis of the shed Blood of Christ and your faith in what God did for you through Jesus Christ. If not, you're going to blow up somewhere. Somebody will step on your toes, and away you go. See, it's a pressure building up all the time, and soon it'll blow up.

The man must want to stay in the refuge. He can't go in there complaining. He must want to stay, no complainings about it, Outside he dies; inside he's safe.

Well, I want to say something to the people here if you're not a Christian. I come to this city of refuge about thirty-one years ago. And brother, I've never wanted to go out. Oh, I come into Christ. Everything that I longed for was in here. I don't want to go out. I pray daily, "Oh God, I'm so happy here. Just let me stay." I never want to leave, and I know He'll never leave me. I know He'll never leave you. And the pressure gets great, if it does, then He is our Outlet. So we don't have to worry about it.

If you're all pressured up, and don't know where you're going, what's going to hap-pen to you after death--and you know you're going to die sometime, you've got it to do--then the thing to come is come to Christ the Refuge and let off the pressure. Settle it, once for all.

No matter what takes place, Christ is our Refuge. And when we come to Him, we can let off the pressure. You can quit worrying about, "Well, if I die, what's going to happen to me? What's going to happen to the wife. What's going to happen to the husband? What's going to happen to the children?" Just come to Christ and let off the pressure. No, He give us all things. All things are ours by Christ, so just let the pressure off.

Somebody might give you a million dollars; it would build up pressure. You might join a church, and it'll still build up pressure, 'cause the Methodists Will tell you they're right and Baptist's is wrong. And the Baptists say, "They're wrong and we're right." So it just builds up more pressure, 'cause you don't know where you're standing. But if you ever come to Christ, you can let off the pressure. Cause it's all over then; just settle it down.
It's God's provided Place of safety where God said, "The Name of the Lord is a mighty tower, the righteous run into it and are safe" (Proverbs 18:10).

In a time of sickness, when sickness strikes, and the doctor says, "There's nothing else I can do about it," don't build up pressure; let off the pressure. Call your pastor; let him anoint you in oil and pray over you: Prayer of faith shall save the sick. Let off the pressure. See?

He's our Refuge. While you're in this Refuge, you've got a right to anything that's in the refuge. And Christ is our Refuge, and everything you have need of is in Him. Amen! In sickness don't build up pressure; let off pressure.
You say, "Well, I--I wonder, Brother Branham." You don't wonder, you just let the pressure off. Commit your case to God, and go on as if it was all over. Don't build up pressure; it lets off pressure.

"Well," you say, "I am so worried, Brother Branham, I just don't know..." Let off the pressure! Amen! In the city of refuge He took your worry, so you don't have to have it. Cast your cares on Him, for He careth for you (I Peter 5:7). Don't you worry about your cares; that's His business.

I met a woman here some years ago in a ten cents store. She was about sixty years old, looked about thirty years old. I said, "How do you do it, Sister?" She said, "When I come to Christ when I was about twelve years old... And I set down and thought about it. I studied other religions, but when I found the true one..." She said, "I come to Christ and took my case, my soul, my all to Him, and," she said, "I've never had a worry since." Said, "Now, He promised to take care of all my troubles." And said, "If He's not big enough to do it, I know I'm not big enough to do it; so what's the use of me worry-ing about it." See? That's it! Christ promised that He'd take all your cares. Cast your cares on Him. So what are you worrying about? Worry builds up pressure; pressure blows up. So just cast your cares on Him and quit worrying. All right!

"Well," you say, "how do I do it?" Just trust His promise. He made a promise that He would do it. Even in the time of death when the death angel comes into the room... "Oh, Brother Branham, I know I'll be nervous." Oh, no! You're in the Refuge. No, no! You know you're going to die; you've got to go some way, so just get into the Refuge; feel safe. That's right! You're safe as long as you're in the refuge. You remember, He died for you. He cares you. ["Letting Off The Pressure", par. 67-71, 82-85, 91-104]

So far Brother Branham, the angel to the church of Laodicea.

Yes truly: About the seventh place of refuge we read in II Samuel 22:2-3,
"And he said, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence."

Moreover, the Bible says in Deuteronomy 33:27, "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee..."

And in Psalm 18:1-2, "I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, and my fortress (my refuge), and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower."

So we want to praise God and thank Him for the place of refuge which He has prepared for His elected, for His chosen Bride. And this place of refuge is, like already mentioned, in Jesus Christ. Only in this place of refuge we are safe and secure. No matter what takes place, how much the enemy roars, whatever the circumstances are, whatever our senses convey to us or what impression we get from the visible, Jesus Christ is the place of safety provided of God, and we have to be in Him in order to be kept from the devil and his evil spirits.

Didn't our Lord Jesus pray in His Prayer in St. John 17:
"I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil" (St. John 17:14-15).

Do we believe that the Father has heard and will hear the prayer of our Lord Jesus? Yes. God revealed Himself in Christ (II Cor. 5:19) and became Himself the place of security for His own in order to preserve them.

"Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance" (Psalm 32:7).

His sheep, the elected from before the foundation of the world, they hear His voice, and He knows them, and they follow after Him. Nobody will pluck them out of His hand (John 10:27-30). They are preserved from the evil, from the supernatural evil powers, from the satanic authorities, from the rulers of darkness of this world, from the spiritual wickedness in high places (Eph. 6:12). For he that is begotten of God (the new man) is kept by God, and the wicked one touches him not (I John 5:18).

Therefore, brother, sister, let us flee into this strong tower! (Proverbs 18:10). Let us yield ourselves unto Him until we break off from ourselves and come into His Spirit, the living Word, and abide in It. And if the devil succeeded in deceiving and blinding us through our thoughts or our mind, in what we see, hear, feel; which can only happen because of unbelief towards the Word of God; then we want to return to the Lord, to the shed blood of Jesus Christ. This precious blood which was shed for us, we want to claim it then in deep gratitude and submission in knowing that it cleanses us from all sin (I John 1:7-9).

By justification, sanctification and baptism with the Holy Ghost we come into this city of refuge, into Jesus Christ, in His spiritual, yet invisible Kingdom. This new and living way which leads into the Holiest of Holies, into these Heavenly Places (Eph. 2:4-9), into this Rock, this strong Fortress, leads only through the blood of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:19-22). When we have put everything under the blood, all our disobedi-ence and the rebellion against the Word, all our sins and iniquities, all our own wills, desires and strives -- when we have confessed and repented all this, the Spirit of God will come into us as a token, that we know that our repentance, commitment to God and our faith in the Blood of the Lamb has been accepted. Then we are in the place of refuge, in Christ Jesus.

Yes, He is the Rock, His work is perfect. All His ways are judgement (Deut. 32:4). Then we can confirm that our God is a refuge, and underneath He puts everlasting arms (Deut. 33:27).

We can rest on this rock, rest in His promises, in His revealed Word. Let us reckon with His inspired Word, let us cling to It, and let us bring our practical life in line with It, for we can kept secured and hidden in It! He has promised us:

"For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock" (Psalm 27:5).

This is just glorious! We can experience it in Him revealing His Word to us, He puts us on this rock, the Rock of spiritual revelation about Himself - and He is the Word. Then we are unreachable for the enemy, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against this rock, this spiritual revelation (Mat. 16:16-18).

Yes, He the Holy Spirit - for He is the revelator - leads us onto a rock, into a revelation which is higher than us. The farther we come onto and into our homeland, which is the Holy Spirit, the farther we leave behind the enemy land, and we are safer and more secure. The devil cannot find us, even if he would want to! We are hidden in Christ, hidden in God through Christ, and sealed with the Holy Ghost.

"Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy" (Psalm 61:2-3).

Spiritual Building-Stone No. 82 from the Revealed Word of this hour, compiled by: Gerd Rodewald, Friedenstr. 69, D-75328 Schömberg, Germany, Phone: (0) 7235 7613

There's coming one with a Message that's straight on the Bible, and quick work will circle the earth. The seeds will go in newspapers, reading material, until every predestinated Seed of God has heard It.
[Bro. Branham in "Conduct-Order-Doctrine", pg. 724]