RAISING THE ROOF

True soul winners know that Jesus the Lord God is God.6 They know if they can get their friends to God that He will forgive their sins, save them, and heal them. But all who receive forgiveness of sins, salvation, and healing must first believe that Jesus the Christ is God.7 There must be no doubt in their heart, mind, or soul that the God who created the universe8 could and did become flesh.9 They must fully believe that He was powerful enough to become the Son of man.10 And they must believe that He was Emmanuel, God who dwelt among us.11

The angel Gabriel said unto Mary, the mother of God the Lord Jesus,12 "For with God [the Lord] nothing shall be impossible,"13 even becoming flesh, making Himself into a man, and dwelling among us.14 The Lord "GOD WAS MANIFEST IN THE FLESH [in the person of Jesus Christ], justified in the Spirit,15 seen of angels,16 preached unto the Gentiles,17 believed on in the world,18 received up into glory."19

The name Jesus means Savior. Christ came into the world to save repentant sinners from an eternity in Hell. If the pains of Hell were not so eternally hard, there would be no other purpose for Christ the Lord God to come and die such a cruel death for us.20

Satan doesn’t want anyone to believe there is a Hell any more than he wants anyone to believe that he exists, because if you believe he doesn’t exist and Hell doesn’t exist, then he has you for all eternity. He doesn’t mind if you believe in God, so long as you don’t believe in the God of the Bible, and just so long as you doubt God’s holy, eternal Word which is Christ.21 Satan knows that by believing God’s Word you’re saved, and by doubting God’s Word you’re damned.22 Satan wants you to believe the same story that he told Eve, that "Ye shall be as gods."23 But God tells those that believe they’re God, "Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee."24

All of us who are saved because we believe His Word, not Satan’s words, must learn quickly that it pleases Jesus the Lord God if the whole world becomes soul winners,25 bringing souls to Him for salvation and deliverances from all plagues,26 so that He may show Himself to be working again in the world as He did when He walked the shores of Galilee.27

Great was the faith of the four men, and great was their desire to please God.28 They raised the roof of the place where God was to get their friend before Him, so he might know God and become saved, joining the household of faith, the eternal family of God.29 This pleased God the Lord very much. He said unto the man, "Son, thy sins be forgiven thee."30 Only God can forgive sin.31 Jesus the Lord (speaking to the man with palsy) said, "That ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins... I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all ."32

In another place Jesus, "when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith He unto His disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous [the world is full of lost souls], but the labourers are few [the soul winners are few]; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth labourers into His harvest [that He will send soul winners to win over this great amount of sinners]."33

If we are to assist the Lord in His harvest of souls, we must be as those four who were full of faith and unashamed of it by raising the roof off of the place where the Lord was, that their lost, sick friend might meet God and reap the benefits of knowing Him.

It seemed good to God that He should punish one soul rather than to bring the whole world to destruction.34 God took this punishment upon Himself35 to achieve the awesome task of redemption for all those who believe He is God the Lord and Savior in the flesh.36 It is impossible for anyone to become a Christian, and possess eternal life unless they believe God the Lord is Christ.37 Christ went through every blockade, and every obstacle to save us.38

God wants those whom He saves and heals to be as compassionate, as merciful, and as pitying towards others as He was to them.39

Everybody in the world needs to be saved. 40 Everyone has or will have a problem as large or even larger than the man with the palsy had. 41 Jesus the Almighty can take care of them all. 42 He is more than capable of handling all problems from the smallest to the greatest, if you but have the faith to raise the roof, wherever you are. 43 The Lord loves the children who fight the good fight of faith, those who finish what they start in the Lord. 44 Paul fought a good fight and finished the course. Because of this, there was a crown of life laid up for him.45

There were blockades and walls of resistance against Paul,46 just as there are walls and blockades against you and I. God will honor your trusting fight, just as He did those of Paul and all the other prophets and apostles in the Bible.47 The same power (grace) is available to us as it was to them.48 All we need to do is receive it. He will love you as He did all the Bible greats if you just scale the wall and go through the blockade, trusting His Word all the way.49 Just raise the roof of the current peril or position you are now in. If it seems you can’t help yourself, then help someone else get out of their current difficulty just as the four men helped the man with the palsy.50 God will honor your move of mercy. He’ll show you mercy by showing you a way over the wall and through the blockade.51 Don’t ever say that with God it is impossible, because it is just the opposite. "With God all things are possible."52 Always act like God’s S.W.A.T. team, of whom it is written, "And when they could not come nigh unto Him for the press, they uncovered the roof where He [Jesus] was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay."53

If your problem is such that you absolutely must get to Jesus immediately, a case of sink or swim, do or die, you know deep inside your heart that you must get to God one way or another. In these kind of cases there’s only one way, and that is to raise up the roof of Heaven. This is the only sure way to get a personal audience before God Almighty, the Lord Christ Himself, to receive a positive answer from Him. You know you must raise Heaven’s roof, that is, if you want God in Heaven to help you. You must break through the airways to God. No matter what, you can’t let yourself be denied. Remember, it’s sink or swim, do or die. There is no other rational choice. When you get sick and tired of no answer from God, it is because you have not yet broken through to God. The righteous will eventually break through. The righteous will raise up the roof of Heaven. They will reach the throne of God and take it by storm. "The kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force."54

Whether you’re seeking salvation from the Lord for yourself or a loved one, raise the roof. You may be seeking deliverance from worry, depression, fears, drug or narcotics habits, illicit sex affairs. You may be seeking deliverance from poverty, or prison, or deliverance from the possibility of going to prison or jail. Maybe your children have been taken away from you and you want them back. Maybe you face multitudes of other problems that exist in the world today. There is always hope for the dying and lost. It may be spiritual gifts that you desire, more power in God. If you are desperate, then you know you must have an audience before God Almighty, the Lord Jesus Christ right now. If you’re like the four men bearing their lost, sick friend, you will raise the roof of Heaven and get that which is the desire of your heart. You’ll also be interested in help for everyone. A true, righteous soul wants to help everyone get to Jesus.

So few have the love in their heart for human souls. So few are those who will become part of a soul winning team effort to help the lost and dying world find Christ, its only hope. The Lord says mercy engenders mercy.55 If you need mercy from God, then think of others besides yourself. Know one thing: if you are seeking salvation for your soul, you can break through very easily right now by saying this prayer:

Prayer

My LORD and my GOD, have mercy upon my soul, a sinner. 1 I believe that JESUS CHRIST is the SON of the living GOD. 2 I believe that HE died on the cross and shed HIS precious blood for the forgiveness of all my former sins. 3 I believe that GOD raised JESUS from the dead by the power of the HOLY SPIRIT 4 and that HE sits on the right hand of GOD at this moment, hearing my confession of sin and this prayer. 5 I open up the door of my heart, and I invite YOU into my heart, LORD JESUS. 6 Wash all of my filthy sins away in the precious blood that YOU shed in my place on the cross at Calvary. 7 YOU will not turn me away, LORD JESUS; YOU will forgive my sins and save my soul. I know because YOUR WORD, the Bible, says so. 8 YOUR WORD says that YOU will turn no one away, and that includes me. 9 Therefore, I know that YOU have heard me, and I know that YOU have answered me, and I know that I am saved. 10 And I thank YOU, LORD JESUS, for saving my soul, and I will show my thankfulness by doing as YOU command and sin no more.11

You've just completed the first step in a series of five steps which are necessary to receive salvation. Your second step is to deny yourself and take up your cross daily and follow JESUS for the purpose of mortifying your flesh, that is, for putting to death your own will, your soulful self, and the world with all of its lusts. All these must be baptized into the death of CHRIST.

Step three is your resurrection from the satanic life of Adam unto the sinless life of CHRIST. Step four is your ascension into a position of authority to reign for God with Christ on earth, and the fifth step is to reign for GOD in CHRIST on earth to the end for the purpose of bringing about the kingdom of Heaven on earth. You must learn the WORD of GOD, submit yourselves one to another, and do what the WORD says so that the church and the world may see evidence of your submission to GOD’S WORD, HIS order, and HIS authority in and by you.

Praise the LORD. May GOD bless and reward you abundantly.

Yours in the wonderful name of JESUS,
Pastor Tony Alamo

Our church receives much mail with thousands of requests for Bibles and literature. Much of our literature is printed in Hebrew, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Romanian, Polish, Czech, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Albanian, Serbian, Telugu, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, and Arabic. Pastor Alamo’s ninety-one page book, The Messiah, is currently available in Hebrew, English, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Korean, Greek, Arabic, Japanese, and Telugu. Distributors for Alamo literature are on the increase every day throughout the world.

English Alamo Literature

Please contact us for more information or for literature on other topics which may be of interest.

Tony Alamo Christian Ministries Worldwide
P. O. Box 2948
Hollywood, CA 90078

Twenty-four hour prayer and information line: (661) 252-5686

Tony Alamo Christian Ministries Worldwide provides a place to live with all the things necessary for life to all those
in our United States locations who truly want to serve the LORD with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Services held in New York City every Tuesday at 8 P.M. and at other locations nightly. Please call for more information: (908) 937-5723.

MEALS SERVED AFTER EACH SERVICE

Ask for Pastor Alamo’s book, The Messiah, showing Christ from the Old Testament revealed in over three hundred thirty-three prophecies.

Become a laborer in the harvest of souls by becoming a distributor of Pastor Alamo’s literature. All of our literature and audio messages are free of charge, including shipping.

CHRIST, THE WORD OF GOD, IS THE ONLY WAY, TRUTH, AND ETERNAL LIFE. 12 PASTOR ALAMO IS INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED FOR USING THE WORD OF GOD ONLY TO PRESENT IT. THIS LITERATURE CARRIES THAT TRUE PLAN OF SALVATION. 13 DO NOT THROW IT AWAY, PASS IT ON TO ANOTHER.

Those of you who are in other countries, we encourage you to translate this literature into your native language.
If you do reprint, please include this copyright and registration:

© Copyright March, 1996 All rights reserved World Pastor Tony Alamo ® Registered March, 1996

This literature was written in prison. Pastor Alamo, as the Apostle Paul, counts his imprisonment for Christ as being all joy. Using the Authorized King James Version and other original texts.

"Raising The Roof" footnotes:

1 Mark 2:3 return

2 Mark 2:4 return

3 Mark 2:4 return

4 Mark 1:45 return

5 Mark 2:5, 11-12 return

6 John 14:9-10 return

7 Acts 16:31, Rom. 10:9 return

8 Gen. 1:1-28, 2:3-4, 5:1-2 , Col. 1:16-17 , John 1:3 , Deut. 4:32, Ps. 89:12, 148:4-5 , Isa. 40:26, 42:5, 43:1, 45:12 , Rev. 4:11, 10:6 return

9 Phlp. 2:5-9 return

10 Heb. 2:16, Matt. 1:23, 2:1, Mark 14:62 , Luke 19:10, 1 Tim. 3:16 return

11 Isa. 7:14, Matt. 1:23 return

12 Isa. 7:14 , Matt. 1:20-21, 23, 2:11 , Luke 1:31 , Acts 1:14 return

13 Luke 1:37, Matt. 17:20, 19:26 , Mark 9:23, 10:27, Luke 18:27, Eph. 3:20 return

14 Matt. 2:23, John 1:14, Acts 1:21-22 return

15 Acts 10:41, Rom. 8:11, 14:9, 1 Cor. 15:20, 1 Pet. 1:21 return

16 1 Pet. 1:12 return

17 Matt. 12:21, Luke 2:32, 24:47, Acts 9:15, 11:1, 18, 13:46-47 return

18 John 2:11, 23, Acts 4:4, 2 Tim. 1:12 return

19 1 Tim. 3:16 return

20 Isa. 52:14, Matt. 10:28, Luke 12:4-5, 16:22-26 return

21 John 1:1, Col. 1:16-17, Rev. 19:13 return

22 Mark 16:16 return

23 Gen. 3:5 return

24 Ezek. 28:9 return

25 Matt. 3:10, 7:19, Luke 3:9, John 15:1-2, 4-6, 8, 16, 1 Cor. 1:21 return

26 Ex. 15:26, Lev. 26:14-33, Deut. 11:26-28, chap. 28, 30:19, Acts 16:31 return

27 John 14:12, 17, 20, 23, chap. 15, 2 Cor. 6:16, Eph. 2:19-22, Rev. 21:3 return

28 Mark 2:4-5, Matt. 15:25-28, Luke 7:6-10 return

29 Gal. 6:10, Heb. 3:6 return

30 Mark 2:5 return

31 Mark 2:7 return

32 Mark 2:10-12 return

33 Matt. 9:36-38 return

34 Isa. 53:10 , John 3:16, Heb. 9:26, 10:12, 1 Pet. 1:18-19 return

35 Isa. 53:5, 7-8, 1 Cor. 15:3 , Gal. 1:4, 3:13, 1 Pet. 2:24 return

36 Acts 5:31, 15:11, 16:31, Rom. 10:9 return

37 Mark 16:16, John 3:15, 10:1-10, 11:25-26, 14:6, Acts 13:47-48, 16:31, Heb. 11:6 return

38 John 16:33, Acts 2:22-24, Rom. 8:37, Gal. 3:13, 2 Tim. 1:10, Titus 2:14, Rev. 1:5, 18 return

39 Matt. 5:7, 10:1, 8, 18:27-35 , Luke 9:1-2 return

40 Ps. 51:5, Isa. 53:6, Rom. 5:8, Col. 2:13-14 return

41 John 16:33, Acts 14:22, 1 Thes. 3:4, 2 Tim. 3:12 return

42 2 Cor 12:9, Eph. 3:20 return

43 Matt. 12:22, John 12:1, Luke 7:19, 21 return

44 2 Cor. 9:6, Rev. 2:7, 17, 26-27, 3:5, 21, 12:11, 21:7 return

45 2 Tim. 4:7-8 return

46 2 Cor. 7:5, 11:23-27 return

47 Ps. 37:4-5, Isa. 41:10, John 10:27-28, 14:15-16 return

48 Rev. 2:7, 7:17, 22:17 return

49 Matt. 21:21-22, Heb. 11:6, James 1:6-7 return

50 Ps. 18:25, Hos. 10:12 return

51 2 Sam. 22:26 return

52 Matt. 19:26, Mark 10:27, Luke 18:27 return

53 Mark 2:4 return

54 Matt. 11:12 return

55 2 Sam. 22:26, Ps. 18:25, Matt 5:7 return

"Prayer" Footnotes:

1. Psa. 51:5, Rom. 3:10-12, 23 return

2. Matt. 26:63-64, 27:54, Luke 1:30-33, John 9:35-37, Rom. 1:3-4 return

3. Acts 4:12, 20:28, Rom. 3:25, I John 1:7, Rev. 5:9 return

4. Psa. 16:9-10, Matt. 28:5-7, Mark 16:9, 12, 14, John 2:19, 21, 10:17-18, 11:25, Acts 2:24, 3:15, Rom. 8:11, I Cor. 15:3-7 return

5. Luke 22:69, Acts 2:25-36, Heb. 10:12-13 return

6. I Cor. 3:16, Rev. 3:20 return

7. Eph. 2:13-22, Heb. 9:22, 13:12, 20-21, I John 1:7, Rev. 1:5, 7:14 return

8. Matt. 26:28, Acts 2:21, 4:12, Eph. 1:7, Col. 1:14 return

9. Matt. 21:22, John 6:35, 37-40, Rom. 10:13 return

10. Heb. 11:6 return

11. John 5:14, 8:11, Rom. 6:4, I Cor. 15:10, Rev. 7:14, 22:14 return

12. John 14:6 return

13. Acts 4:12 return