It was many years ago in Switzerland. The little Swiss people had went up in the mountains and built themselves some houses. They had their o--own little economics and so forth; their little homes. And they loved them. They wasn't not a warring people; they were peaceful people.
And all at once, one time, coming into
Switzerland was a great powerful army. And they were well trained man, just setting like them seats there, just like a brick wall: great shields, great spears, well trained war men. And they come marching into Switzerland to take what the Swiss had. And the Swiss to guard their homes, kissing their wives good-bye and their children and babies, they took old pieces of scythe blades, rocks and stones, great big old clubs, and went out in the valley to meet the oncoming army.
And when they got gathered out there, just a little bitty handful of men, and all around them was a great marching army, what could they do? They stood hopeless, helpless, one looking at the other one; they were licked. There's no way around it. They were finished.
After while, there was a man by the name of Arnold von Winkelried.
He stepped out and he said, "Men of Switzerland, over across the mountain is a little white home where my wife and three little children wait." Said, "When I kissed them good-bye this morning, I'll never see them again on this earth."
They said, "Arnold von Winkelried, what are you going to do?"
He said, "This day, I shall die for
Switzerland."
"Well," they said, "Arnold von Winkelried, that will do no good. Why do you say you will die for Switzerland?"
He said, "You take what you have got, plowshares, little old sickles, sticks, and clubs, rocks," said, "you follow me. And you fight the best you can with what you've got."
Said, "What will you do?"
And he threw down his sickle (his thing that he was going to fight with), he raised up his hands, and he screamed to that big army. He looked around; he saw where the thickest of spears was. Just everyone in uniform, in number, marching them right against the mountain, on and on. Oh, that's the way the devil does it. Marching them right into the corner... He raised his hands and he screamed, "Make way for liberty," and the oncoming army wondered what. And he started running, and he screamed again, "Make way for liberty."
And when he got right into this great big bunch of spears where many pointed to catch him, he grabbed his arms out like this, and got a whole arm full of those spears and drew them into his bosom. Such a display of real heroism, it upset that big army, and it routed them.
Here come the Swiss with clubs and sticks and beat that army out of their nation, and they've never had a war from that time to this; because one man played the part of the hero and did what was right. That's never been exceeded and very seldom compared with as heroism. But, oh, that's such a little thing.
Till one day many years ago, when Adam's children, the race of this world was backed up in the corner with sicknesses and diseases, and sin. They'd been sent prophets and killed them and they had all kinds of laws and refused them. And Adam's race was backed into the corner.
There was One Who stepped out of heaven and said, "I'm going down to the earth this day to give My Life." He found where the thickest of the darts was: the fears of Adam's race was death. He grabbed death as He went to Calvary and pulled it into His bosom, and He told His disciples, "Empty up now; go yonder and wait up yonder until I send you back something to fight with."
Blessed be... Excuse me. Blessed be the Name of the Lord. He sent the Holy Spirit and said, "Follow Me. Cut sin and sickness to the wall." Men and women, the greatest thing that's ever been give to the church of God is not to hold some ecclesiastical paper in your hand, but to be filled with God's Holy Spirit and cut the kingdom of the devil until our Chief Captain comes to take over.
God bless you. Don't think I'm beside myself. That's true; I know what I talk of. Men of honor, women, you who believe in God, you who claim to have the Spirit of God in your heart, if you're sick or needy, you've got the weapon there to fight that sickness with. It's in you: God gave It to you.
Why will we stand back like a coward? Why will we stand on the sidelines? Let's follow the Captain. Let's follow Him that went to Calvary. When He went to Calvary, He was wounded for our transgressions; with His stripes we were healed.
Take that what He gives you and fight sickness and sin. Fight unbelief away. Tell the devil he's a liar. Christ said He has overcome the world. "Greater is He that's in you than he that's in the world." Greater is the power of Christ in you than that sickness that you have in your body tonight. Greater is the power of Christ than that little besetting sin that you can't overcome. Let's take that Holy Spirit, and fight the devil down, and walk out victorious as the heroes of the cross. Let us pray.
Extracted from the Message:
58-0128 THE ONENESS OF UNITY
Preached by our Brother:
William Marrion Branham.
