I never thought about 600 something denominations. That is a lot of them. There are not as many major Christian persuasions or communities. But somewhere around 600 plus fragmented denominations of the Christian faith, all of whom have different ideas and different opinions of what the Bible says. Granted, a lot of folks at different places and at different times, I believe, are sincere Christians and we can find them in every single church, do you believe that?

Could you say, Amen? People who love Jesus and God, with some of the folks in the Seventh Day Adventist church love as other folks in some of the other churches. And by the way there are some Jesus loving people in the Seventh Day Adventist Church, I know, for I have met them. There are some folks in this church who would stand by truth and stand by God and they are willing to pay the price and I have seen them pay the price.

But brothers and sisters, it is not easy to stand up here and share with you, and somehow, sometimes the old wounds are beginning to open up. And you begin to re-feel again some of the pains that you had as you struggled towards truth. I call this my traveling towards truth. I wished sometimes the road was a lot easier, a lot wider. I wished that there would be a lot more tributaries. But you know, Jesus said, the road that leads to hell is wide and there are many ways to get there. But he said, there is only one way to get to me and he said that road is narrow and that road is straight, praise God, and that road is hard. But Jesus Christ has already traveled that road and I do not have to go ahead of him all I have to do is follow him.

I want to be doing what Jesus did, do not you? That is what being a Christian is all about. To be a Christian means to be like Christ. I want to be doing the things that Jesus did, I want to be saying the things that Jesus said, I want to be following the things that Jesus followed. I want to worship the way Jesus worshipped. That is truly the only way that I can call myself Christian. "Christ in me, the hope of glory"(Col. 1:27), Paul said. That is being a Christian all the way. But friends I found out, that to truly following Jesus you have got to pay a price. I am finding out that many people in the world today do not follow truth, they follow tradition. You ask them why are you what you are and they say, `Well, well, I have been brought up in this church. My mother was, my dad was, my grandfather, my grandmother was. Lots of folk today have the religion of their mom's and dad's. Now, that is not bad as long as mom and dad had the right religion. And they had the right ideas. And they had Bible to back it up. But a lot of different people have different opinions and different ways to interpret scripture.

You see, I was brought up as a Protestant and became a minister in my particular denomination which beliefs in the Scofield interpretation. That means I was a dispensasionalist. That is why it is very difficult for some Adventists to understand why people think and believe the way they do. It is because other people interpret the Bible from a different perspective. But as we begin to let the Holy Spirit open our hearts to understand how to really interpret the scriptures, and what it really means. Is the law of God still effectual and real today or has it been nailed to the cross? Is it the Old Testament that was Mosaic?

You see, in my denomination I was taught as I went to school that different things meant different things to others. That the law was just something that God nailed to the cross. It says in Matthew 5:17:

"Jesus came to fulfill the law."

Brothers and sisters, when the Spirit of God takes you deeper into the study of the word of God, you begin to see things that you did not see before. You begin to see a different meaning and method of interpretation. Then your anxiety level begins to rise like a thermometer. And one of the reasons why a lot of people do not like to go around and check other things out, is, because it makes their anxiety thermometer rise. It begins to effect them at the emotional level. And so they bypass and avoid the painful mission of journeying for truth. Of seeking and traveling down the road of truth which is narrow and which is hard. But my friends, as I have read these scriptures to you this morning and I reiterated a couple of them, Jesus said,

"If you love me," Jesus said, there is a way to show it. There is a condition to prove it. It is not works for salvation but rather salvation working through you.

How can you know you love Jesus?

Why I just said it. The Bible tells us, `Well, I love Jesus.'

There are a lot of folks saying today, they love Jesus. But Jesus expressed it that way, and he said it without any question or reservation, without any hesitation, Jesus said,

"If ye love me ye will keep my commandments." John 14:15.

Jesus gave a new commandment and a new commandment is real and relevant. He said, `A new commandment I give unto you that ye should love one another.' Friends, that is absolutely essential to proof that we are followers of Jesus. To just regurgitate and to say, as we as commandment keepers say, `The Ten Commandments are not going to save you.' That is not enough. Jesus wants the Ten Commandments taken from the stone and placed in our hearts of flesh, Amen?

He wants the Ten Commandments to be something that we take into our lives not to use as a club on someone else. But rather that we might allow God to use us in order that he could perfect his character through us. The Ten Commandments is a means by which we could become more and more like Jesus Christ. I am not going through all ten of them right now, I do not have to. You know the ten. If you do not, you need to know them.

Brothers and sisters, the law of the Lord is perfect. And there is nothing better than perfect. Could you say Amen to that? I do not see why any minister wants to try to make it any better by saying, `God did away with that which was perfect.' That is insane. The law of the Lord is perfect. And the Bible says it is the aid by which the soul is converted (Psalm 19:7), Amen. It also says in that particular Psalm that it is a sign of God's testimony. The law of the Lord is something extremely important. It is his character that is implanted, imbedded and reflected from our lives. But in my denomination, going to school, I used to hear my professors say,

"We are no longer under the law." Gal. 3:25.

[These are the 10 Commandments, the civil law, the laws of washings and purifications and Ceremonial Sabbath laws. For more click here.]

When I saw the word law, I just simply said, everything. Kaboom. Nail it to the cross. Do away with it. Never realizing the insanity of that move. And yet as a minister in my denomination, standing up with us, they would say hellfire and brimstone. Preaching against those who committed adultery, and the Bible says, no adulterer should enter the kingdom of God. And talking about stealing and talking about honoring your mother and father. And then I would get to that fourth commandment and I would say and this is that Mosaic law right here. This is the Jewish Sabbath here. The Christians Sabbath is the Lord's Day. I would go to Revelation 1:10 and talk about how John was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day. And without question I would think that it was Sunday.

I remember when I was in CB college and I was struggling with some things. You know, I am the kind of a guy that says if I do not understand some things I want you to tell me about it. I am not trying to start trouble, I am just having some problems with what you are saying. So, Tony would come to class and the professor which taught then, one of the scriptures which came up was this Revelation 1:10 pastor. And the preacher did this, he said,

`And John was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, Sunday.'

`Yeah, what is it now? Yeah, what is it now?'

He would say, `You got all kinds of questions.'

`That is because I am looking for some answers from you, professor. I want you to tell me, how you get Sunday out of that text?'

He would look at me and say, `You know, you got a lot to learn.'

I said, `You are not answering my question.'

I said, `Professor, I know I have a lot to learn.' I said, `We all have a lot to learn. I am asking you a simple question. How do you get Sunday out of that text right there?'

He said, `It is implied.'

I said, `Oh, oh.'

It is implied. Folks, you know what that means? That means that you can bend it, mold it, kick it, shape it into any form you want. That is opinions. To say it is implied is an opinion, a statement, not a fact. And it comes back to the issue, is God still God, is the law still a law, is the law giver's finger still the same? Has God decided all of a sudden, Oops, I really blew it? Haha, I have to eradicate that number four, because it messes all the other ones up.

That is not the way my God works, people. I want you to know that the first real evidence of the Lord's Day being Sunday was not in the Bible, was not in the Bible, it was in the post-apostolic father's Justin Martyr in 166 AD. He used the term `the Lord's Day' equating it to Sunday dealing with the official celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, of which Jesus said, if you want to remember me, remember my death. Amen.

And folks, when you have to struggle with those kinds of things it is not easy, especially in a class room when you raise your hand and all you want to do is just simply ask a question. And the teacher is finally going to say to you, `You know something, Tony? You are a lot of trouble.'

In fact, the professors used to check their lists out when the students would sign up for the next year, they checked their lists out to find out if my name was in their class. If my name was in their class they would immediately go to the principal or dean and say, `Give me an aid. I do not want this guy in my classroom without some help. You give me someone in that class who can help me out because he will question my brain to death.' Amen.

And by the way that goes for Adventism, if I have got some questions, I am going to ask them for I am looking for some answers. And Jesus said, `He is the answer.' And Jesus will come through in every doctrine, very plain and very clear. There are a lot of very godly ministers in this world, and friends they want the truth. And there is a price to be paid, as you are going to find out in just a moment.

Jesus Christ, what does He say? `If you love me keep my commandments.' And then He says, if you do that I will then pray to the Father and you shall be given another Comforter that will abide in you.'

Folks, there is something about obedience, truth and obedience and the gift of the Holy Spirit to go together. We have been talking all week about the gift of the Holy Spirit, haven't we?

God is not pouring out his gift upon a willfully disobedient servant. Now upon someone who might be ignorant and someone who is struggling and may be doesn't see it clearly yet, Yes, God will pour out his Spirit. But to pour the Spirit out over someone who willfully refuses the truth is absolutely non-Christian and non-biblical.

You go to the book of Acts and you find out the Holy Spirit is given to those who obey. That is in the word of God. And there are all kinds of movements today. Not just within other denominations but within Adventism also. Today they move away from obedience, holiness, godliness, sanctification, obedience to God. God will not send the Holy Spirit to those individuals who want their own religion. The only ones who get the Holy Spirit are the ones who want to be like Jesus, talk like Jesus and act like Jesus because you need the Holy Spirit to do that. Amen? We cannot do it without Him.

What are we going to do with all these deceptions? As I studied the word of God I have to deal with these issues. I have to come to a conclusion on these issues. Well, this warfare went on for an awful long time, folks. But God has little plants and little seeds all over the place. People in pockets everywhere that he seems to bring out at the exact right time.

I remember, I was visiting, I walked into a home of a lady, I called her Byrd. I have a Birdie and a Bertha. Two ladies. I walked into Byrdie's home, Byrdie is 84 years of age. We were chatting and talking when she said to me, `Pastor, I have a book I want to give you or lend you. I need this book back.' She told me that this book, other than her Bible meant more to her than any other book. She said this book was sold to her dad in 1914 by a door to door booksalesmachine, she called him a caterpillar.'

She said, `A caterpillar sold you a book? What kind of guy was this anyway?' She said, `A caterpillar.' She couldn't remember. Caterpillar. Caterpillar. Well, you know who they are, colporteurs, Amen?

She called him a caterpillar.

I said, `My, my, my, what kind of books do you have here.'

With that little old rickety leg she just kind of meandered on over to this linen closet and she brought out this old dilapidated book which was pasted together with Scotch Tape and she said, `I want you to take this book home and I want you to read this book. Keep it as long as you can. But make sure I get it back.'

And so I took this book home and I laid it down. By the way this was sold by some godly literature evangelist. And I laid that book down and I went back a couple days later to get the book. And as I opened the book up I looked at the cover of the book and it said, `Bible Readings for the Home Circle.'

I said, `Hmm. I wander what is in this book. Thinking there is a little economics education here. Finally I thought, what did she give me this kind of book for, was she trying to get me to read this? But you know folks, sometimes you do some stupid things. Sometimes we play games with the Holy Spirit. But we are sure that the Holy Spirit knows our ignorance and I gave it one of these, because I was not sure where to go in the book and I kind of closed my eyes opened a page with my eyes closed and I said, in Jesus name, wherever stops that is what I will study. And I did it, just like that. Kind of stupid, kind of ridiculous, but you know where it hit? It hit in the section dealing with the moral law and the ceremonial law. Hallelujah. I thought to myself, Moral Law. I thought all laws were moral? I never heard the term `moral law.' I did not fully understand ceremonial law. I understood a little bit about it. But I read that chapter on the moral law and the ceremonial law and folks (Page 385), I began to see things that began to disturb me. And automatically you go into resistance. That is the mode you go into. A high level of resistance. Because what you are trying to do is to defend what you believe because of your interpretation. And so you go into a high mode of resistance and you do everything you can to put the breaks on and say, `I tell you what, this guy is skipping up a tree. This is absolute heresy. I know the law has been done away with. And yet scripture after scripture, statement after statement, this writer seems to easily just destroying and eradicating everything I stand for.' And so, what you do is to close the book and you say, `Well, I am going to give this book back to Mrs. Hensley, I do not need this book in my house, this is of the devil.'

Aha, folks, this is a good way to try to justify that you are doing God's work. It is when the truth hits you and you do not like it. And I know that someone out here the truth is hitting and they do not like it. It doesn't feel good when the truth hits and you know you are going to take some stance. It feels terrible when you have a wife and three kids and you are about ready to loose your job, your home and everything, including your parsonage. But friends I do not have to stand before my wife and my kids, I have got to stand before Jesus. Amen?

And that is what it is all about. How much do I love the Lord. I say, `I love the Lord Jesus, Amen. I shout out, Hallelujah, preach good sermons.'

Jesus says, `Tony, do you love me?'

`Yeah, yeah, Lord, I love you.'

`Do you love me, Tony?'

`Yes, I love you.'

He says, `Keep my commandments.'

Wow, Bang.

And I say, `Well, that is legalism.'

`Legalism? Are you accusing me of being a legalist?'

Friends, the reason why we do not want to change, the reason why we do not want to abide, the reason why we do not want to believe that we can keep it is because we love sin. Amen? That is it. We cherish sin.

We cannot cherish the savior and cherish sin. They do not fit in the same house. They are opposed and enemies to one another. Granted, Jesus said, `Love your enemies.' Jesus hates sin, not the sinner.

What are we going to do with all these scriptures friends?

Sooner or later we have to deal with them.

We have to think of Psalms 19:8:

"The law of the Lord is perfect converting my soul."

"I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart."

"Few are chosen."

You talk about a diabolical shock. Think about this statement beloved:

Jesus said, that in the final hours of human history, picture if you can the great judgment of God, picture if you can the voice of Jesus, picture if you can the Christ standing before people and listening to them if that was possible, telling Jesus,

"Lord, Lord, look what we have done. We prophesied." Matth. 7:22.

People who prophecy are involved with religious things.

"We cast out devils." Ibid.

"We have done many wonderful works."

It is awful tough to stand there and to think that Jesus is listening to these people saying, `Lord, Lord ...,' they are actually talking in Christian terms. And Jesus stands back and in his eyes is justice and love and he looks them straight in the eye and he says, "Who are you?"

Can you imagine the shocking facial expression on the individuals who had done these religious things and they thought they were right, they were sincerely right and all the time sincerely wrong? Can you imagine their countenance? Can you imagine their spirit fall down to their ankle somewhere, when Jesus says, "I never knew you?" Matth. 7:23.

Jesus said the only ones I knew where the ones that did my will. What is the will of the father, the will of the father according to the word of God?

Is the treasure, the law of God, in your heart? Ex. 19:5

Not in your head?

But to make it a part of your life? Why would Jesus say to proof you love me, "Obey me?" John 14:15.

"Keep my commandments", if that was not a credible thing to do and possible to do?

I went back to that book `Bible Readings for the Home Circle', ... and folks I want you to know how I went back to it. I went back to it this way. I said:

`Jesus, I want you to know I am very prejudiced.'

You know the Lord did not have to know that? The Lord already knew that. I did not have to remind Jesus how prejudiced I was and I was not prejudiced against color, I was prejudiced against a different belief. Another book written by another group of people who believed in Mary Baker Eddy. That is how much I knew about Adventists.

I had you SDA's mixed up with the LDS's. I thought Joseph Smith had something to do with you. I used to call her Mary Ellen for a while until I realized it was Ellen G. White. Amen.

I did not know very much. I thought Adventists were

1. legalists
2. you meet on the wrong day of the week
3. you eat funny

Answer: `I would not shake one of those people's hand, are you kidding? I wouldn't shake one of those people's hand, I would get leprosy if I did. I wouldn't get near one of those folks, if they were LDS's or SDA's or whoever they were. Because they were members of a cult. I read that in some religious book. And I believed everything I ever believed from the Evangelicals because they were right. And brothers and sisters, I remember, that prayer in October of 1970. I forgot it for a while, but you know the Spirit of God never let me forget that prayer you will hear in just a moment. But on my knees with tears running down my face as I was struggling in that College, trying to figure out where all these professors were coming up from with these biblical answers.

I would got to the library, people, and I would find things that were absolutely contrary to the things that they were thinking and in class, I would write a paper on it and bring the paper and somebody would get wind of the paper and I would never get the chance to present the paper. I want you to know that six weeks before graduation I got out of the military, I was in the military as a career soldier, because I loved the military. I got out of the military in order to go to that Bible College in order to become a minister and get my degree. And you know what happened six weeks before graduation? I got a phone call. Listen to it.

"Tony, this is Dr. Wilson."

So I said: "Yes, Sir."

He said: "The board of directors of the college had just convened - met - and I called to give you the news, we had unanimously voted to expel you from school."

Folks, my heart dropped down to the floor.

I said: "But, but, but brother Wilson." And he interjected, "that has been voted by the council."

And I said, "But wait a minute, but I got the manual, the school manual right in front of me and it states that I have the privilege to challenge this by written statement. And I like to write a letter and challenge that."

And he said: "There will be no challenge, I am the president and what I say goes." Click.

That was it. I tell you what. You talk about the papacy, it is not just Catholic, people. It is not just Catholic.

There I am, six weeks before graduation - totally out. Military, totally out. They took all my credits and discredited them. And I had to start all over again at the university of Tennessee.

You do not think I was upset? Oh yes I was! Folks, someone stuck a knife in my heart, because all I wanted was some answers. I asked some legitimate questions and all I wanted was some answers. I just wanted to know the truth. And I was on my knees on that October in 1970 on that 12th day of my thirtieth birthday. I wept before Jesus and those tears just simply covered that Thompson chain reference Bible, it just rolled of that Bible as I pleaded to God in heaven:

`Jesus, please, tell me what's right?'

`I do not want to lead people astray. Jesus, just tell me what's right?'

After that I was so turned off with religion, people, I just threw my hands up in the air and said:

`You can just take it and chuck it. You can stuff it in your ears as far as I am concerned, if that is what religious folks are like I do not want anything to do with it.'

`Hey, listen, you look like the kind of guy I can talk to.'

I'd say,

`Shut up, I do not want to talk to you about anything. I do not want to hear about anything you have to say.'

`Tony, I want something to do with you.'

It finally took, brothers and sisters, an almost severe accident. When I was in a dump truck with seven tons of stone. I was just about to make the brink of the hill when my truck stopped and my vacuum brakes quit. I said,

`Oh, if we could just make the top of the hill.'

`Oh, my God, oh my God, oh, my God, what is going to happen. What am I going to do here.'

`Grab that wheel!'

I have been out of the ministry now three years, running from God. Folks angry of God, angry of the church, angry at the Bible school, angry at the Bible professors. It was not their problem. It was my problem now. And people it took me at least thirty minutes to get out of that truck because I knew that as soon as I would get out of that truck I'd see all those crunched up little bodies, crunched up under the wheels of that truck.

But I had to get out of it sooner or later. As I began to get out of that truck, real slow, and I began just slowly, hoping and hoping and hoping and praying that there was nothing under there, and as I looked I began to see - a - nothing. And I looked a little furthher and there was still nothing down there. And finally I got myself down under that truck total and I saw completely nothing in there except where that truck had found a soft spot in the pavement, friends, and that truck sunk three feet into the pavement. Wow, praise the Lord. And all I lost about a hundred pounds that were stolen of that truck. We knocked down a mail box and a little twiggy tree.

And folks, I can tell you what. After that experience I told those two guys I am going to pay you a day's salary and I am going to send you home. I am going back to Jesus.

I am going back to Jesus, because Jesus just told me I am going to talk to you one more time, that is the last time I am going to talk to you son. Oh, yeah, I will not leave you son, but you are going to leave me and you are going to be a far distance from me son. You are going to cut your apron strings and you are going to be on your own boy.

And folks, I began to think about leaving Jesus completely and I want you to know that I came under conviction right there at that truck. And I said,

`That is it, Jesus, I am coming home. I am coming home God.'

Jesus answered her prayer. That is the little girl I had prayed for. That is the little girl, that I had chosen, I said,

`Jesus, I need a wife.'

I fell on my knees people, I tell you, when you get the Holy Ghost and the Holy Ghost gets you, when you fall down and you begin to pray. And folks I fell down on my knees and my prayer went something like this,

`Jesus, here I am, good morning Jesus, here I am. I need a wife Jesus.'

`Jesus, I need a wife, get me a wife, and Jesus said, Amen. Amen.' That is the way to pray folks. And you pray with faith, and I knew when I got off my knees that God provide me a wife and I did not worry about it, did not even think about it.

Two weeks later God approached as I was walking out of the mail room and there was this young girl sitting there on the wall. And I saw her back and I said,

`Hooh, what a back, hooh, look at that.'

That is right. - Folks, as I talked to you about the Holy Spirit, as David talked to you about the Holy Spirit, I firmly believe, .. am convinced in my heart if we are close to God, that close to God, we can speak, think and hear like he does. You are so sensitive to His will for your life, you do not have to question it, it is like God is speaking to you and in deep assurance you know it is real.

And there is this young lady sitting there and I did not even see her face and God said,

`She is going to be your wife Tony, 'cause you prayed and I said I answer your prayer.'

Hahahhaaa, her name was Linda Gayle so and so. I said, Wow, am I going to ruin that name. I am Tony so and so, it is going to ruin that family name of hers. What a simple name. In fact there was a time when I thought about changing my name to her name. A lot easier for people to remember me. I thought to myself, How I am supposed to do this? May be I can say,

`Did I see you before?'

And this is why the Bible says do all things by prayer. What am I supposed to say to her?

Men, if you just pray and ask the Lord, the Lord will tell you what to say. He said,

`Ask and ye shall rec...'

`Lord, help me, give me the word. What am I supposed to say to her?'

`You tell her about me.'

So I turned to that young lady and I knew God called me to preach because no one could talk for 2 1/2 hours without stopping. If you aren't called to preach or be a politician. And I turned and I talked to that lady and I said,

`I want to tell you something. I want to share something with you.'

`I am Tony.'

You see, handball was an officers sport, and I was an enlisted man but I was the world champion in the air force. And so I got around by all the officers, I mean the general used to let me use his car, and I drive this car all over town including having his driver with me. And we'd drive all over town. Here I am a sergeant with three stripes and a general's cab with two stars on it. Amazing. The general's car drove by and the girl did not have much interest in me until the general's car drove by put the breaks on, backed up, rolled down the windows and said,

`Hey, Tony, you want a ride?'

`You tell your dad anytime your dad wants an appointment with the general, see Tony. - I take care of him.'

You see God uses all circumstances, people. God speaks in many ways. And by God, she dropped that book on `How to improve your vocabulary in 30 days,' and she began to listen to me because she thought I was important. I was not important, I just had something important to tell her. And I shared with her Jesus. At the time I was sharing with her Jesus.

Dear people, I had a master sergeant that told me,

`You're late for work one more time, buddy, I am going to apply article 15 to you.'

He did not like me. 'cause I was gone all the time. And folks, I was really late this time. And I mean I was 2 hours late for work. I want to show you how God works. Listen to me. We finally get back to the air base and I said,

`Oh, I am going to get scorched today.'

`Tony, Tony, Tony, have you seen Johnson?'

`Ooh, Ooh, what do you mean have you seen Johnson?'

`Well, I do not know where Johnson is.'

`How could that be.'

`You are not going to believe this.'

`I had never in my life a day like this, never, never, never.'

`I am telling you right now,' he says, `2 1/2 hours ago I am hailing me a taxi cab. I got into that taxi cab that did not go fifty feet up the road and that dummy ran out of gas.'

He said,

`I am never late for work, ....never....

`I got out of that taxi cab and hailed me another taxi cab down.'

He said,

`Sweeny, do you know what I have been doing the last 2 1/4 hours? ...

`I have been filling out police reports.'

I thought to myself, Jesus is so good. I mean he knows how to do it, doesn't he? Amen, Haaa.....

`I tell you what. I do not know about you, but I have fun being a Christian, even when I get in trouble he gets me out of it. Yeah .....

He lives, folks, its right here in this song book. He does live. He lives in your heart. ...

Well. I can go on and tell you many, many more such stories. ... But I got involved with a Christian group over there called the Galatians. The GBM and that is how I got involved with that southern denomination. One Sunday night they had a call. And I felt the calling of the Holy Spirit when the call was for those who felt called to be preachers, to proclaim the Word of the Lord. And I tell you, the call came to me, it was like burning in my bones ... I had to do something about it. And so when the invitation was given, man, I hit the sawdust trail. I came a running right down front. And I knew that is what God wanted me to do. And there in Turkey in 1960 I gave my heart to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was a few months after that of course I went to CB college then of course I got thrown out of class, so you know the story. ...but you're getting the idea, you are getting the idea.

God hasn't forgotten Tony and friends, God hasn't forgotten you either.

But people, the story runs on and I know that I am running late here. But it is later than you think, people. It is later than you think. What a glorious experience with those folks of my denomination I had. I preached and pastored five of the best groups of people the world has ever known. ... Loved the Lord. ... Loved the Word. .... And I still think my church's preachers are great preachers. They can preach.

But people, there's something beyond that. When you begin to seek God's Word, you begin to see things. And you begin to meet a birth, when you begin to meet Bertha. And there one Sunday in my church, I never forget, Bertha came up as I gave an invitation. Right there in front of a whole packed out church ... and when everything was silent ... you could hear a pin drop ... Bertha looked at all the crowd and she said the following:

`I was in Sisis(?). We are meeting on the wrong day of the week.'

I said,

`Wow ....'

Folks if I could have crawled under the rug, I would have done it.' ....

I thought of all the times now ... by the way Bertha did not know that I was having some struggles at the time, and I did not admit it either.

But it is amazing how God was working. Some of those sermons that I would preach folks .... by the way ... I want you to meet a friend ... named Ken and Brian. Who sits right here. Brian in October 1983 or 1984 Brian, ... Brian came over with his epistle ... now Brian writes epistles ... you know what they are? .... they are encyclopedias.

I had my 4 to 5 scriptures and Brian had his 3 or 400 scriptures. And he was all gentle as I was screaming and raving and I was raving and he just ate my 4 or 5 scriptures up with the Word of the Lord. He just kept pouring it out, pouring it out ... Brian, you just do not know what that was doing to me that day, brother.

And here I am ... and here you are ... in Washington. Brian set in my house in a parsonage because he loved me and came over and spent a number of hours with me because he loved Jesus and the truth and he loved Tony.

We had a friend called Ken, Ken is a medical doctor. How did I get involved with the Adventists? Let me move on here or we all miss lunch. ... No , we won't ... We'll get lunch later on ... they'll just open the cafeteria later, won't they? Yeahhh....

How did I get involved with the SDA's? Well, folks, that is what God's job is.

One Sunday morning I was running down the street ... been with the physical fitness like jogging .. always wanted to really take care of myself and the physical fitness ...and I found out this new person ... and all of my church's ministers ... they're all looking for, you know, new prospects ....

So I knew, there was new prospects down the street, so I went down to find this new prospect, I did not know who he was at the time. And you know, I am still kind of prejudiced ... I did not pray that prayer by the way until a bit later on,

`Lord, remove my prejudice. ... Lord, take it away.'

And so I stopped by and I introduced myself,

`I am Tony. The reverend Tony ...'

That always gives us some class and dignity, brothers.

`I am Ken, I am the new doctor in town.'

And I said,

`Well, that is great, brother, listen ahhh. ... want you to know I am going to give you an invitation to the church.'

I said,

`I pastor this church up the street. Do you have a church home?'

He said,

`Yeap.'

I do not know what it is about you Adventists, but it takes an awful long time for you to tell where you go to church. (laughter)

Kind of like selling things. I better watch out, haa?

You do not know what they're doin'. Someone tell you how to make a billion dollars in three months.

And so I couldn't get it out of him. He says,

`I go to church in a town in Tennessee.'

I said,

`What's the name of your church.'

'Course he had to stop and .... he was on the spot. He said,

`I go to the Seventh day Adventist church there.'

And all of a sudden the lights went on. Legalist. Wrong day. Eat grass. (laughter)

That is the way I saw them. I thought I got here one of these goofy people. What am I going to do now? They follow that lady, Mary Baker Eddy. ... or someone like that.

What am I going to do now. ... So I did what any minister of my church would do. I began to talk religion to him. Tried to get him saved, Amen?

Amen, I have got to get this guy saved now from that goofy group.

So we began to talk and were interested in health. Does that ring a bell? We had a common interest in health.

I said,

`I like to do something in my church with health, by the way.'

`Good he said,' and you see, now began the walls of prejudice to break down.

And I said,

`Let us do a health lecture in my church.'

Now folks, if you can only try to picture this. In a church of my persuasion. You are about ready to fall out of your seat.

On a Sunday morning at 7 o'clock we met together in a health lecture.

You know what happened? 43 of those crazy people showed up. They came.

They wanted to know what this crazy Greek was up to I guess.

We were going to teach them how to make granola. And we did. And they looked at that stuff. Where's the grease? That is health food. `That is horse food,' they said.

Something was happening in that church. And we had a cemetery by that church and then I began to read some of his literature and I said,

`You gotta be kidding me ... you gotta be kidding me ... those folks are really dead out there ... they are really dead ... I had been telling folks they are dead, they are dead .... the Bible said it ... the Word said it ...

And you know what this crazy fool began to do? I began to preach it. Oh, yeah. I wished you could have been there folks. I rather go into the middle of a Muslim country and preach Jesus then stay in my church and preach the state of the dead, the dead are really dead, dead, dead ....

Sleep in Jesus ... Man, they looked at me ... folks, listen, I am telling you when you get someone who is dead out there and you know who is not dead out there ... when you get someone who says, well, they are not there - they are really with the Lord, and you are trying to tell them ... nope ... yeah, your mom and your dad, they're skeletons are out there. I am telling you right now, they are sleeping in Jesus.

The Bible says that Jesus said,

`THEY ... A R E ... D E A D !!!!!....' John 11:14.

`No she's not, she's with the Lord.'

I just quoted scripture after scripture. Brian, you taught me that!

I quoted 43 scriptures ... 43. ... I mean I loaded it ... I loaded it. .. I shot that gospel gun ... bang, bang, bang ... shot it off..... Amen folks, well you could hear a pin drop like a log.

People looked at me and if you have ever seen yaws locked ... I watched jaws locked ... and I began to realize ... that this is painful to preach ... and then I went to the back door like a good minister would do and I waited for the people to come out and hear them say ... good sermon pastor ... ahaaaa, oh, boy, did I get ... and they went out the side door to escape. ... They went out doors in that church that had not been used in twenty years. ...

Really, twenty years. And I tell you what, 50% of the church found those doors and they went their way. ... One lady came out the back door and I stuck my hand out and she pushed my hand aside. ... I thought Wow, man, wow .... what's next here ... I mean they just walked by me ... They'd wait till there were 3 or 4 people and out they'd go ... This one lady shoved my hand to the side and she came nose to nose ... man I'm glad she did not have oysters on her breath .... she was that far from my face right there. ... and she said

`I want to tell you something young man ...'

She said,

`I want you to know something young man.'

`I have been coming to this church for years and years.'

`I believed everything you have preached.'

`I do not believe anything you said this morning, nothing.'

`But dear sister, I quoted 43 scriptures.'

`I do not care how many scriptures you quoted, I do not believe nothing.'

Brian I tell you tradition is strong, very strong. That is a tragic thing to hear, tragic to hear.

You know in the South they have 2 or 3 preachers who will do a funeral. You know they find all the preachers and they all do the funerals. One day I was called to do a funeral and there was myself, a Methodist minister and a Nazarene minister. And the Nazarene minister gets up, bless his heart, and said some real nice words.

It is amazing how many nice words you can say about a person ... Jesus says most of them go to hell ... but we have them all go to heaven. ... Then the Methodist minister gets up and he gets them also all up into heaven ... and folks, I had the difficult job of getting up and getting them back down and bury them again. .....

I mean folks, if you do not think that will warm an audience. ... They know it as the thumb in my hand here, I mean they know that something strange is going on.

'Cause I had to get up and get Mary to come down again, and put her to rest and asleep in Jesus awaiting the glorious day of her resurrection.

I hadn't even gotten to the Sabbath yet, and by the way the Sabbath was not the most difficult subject, it was hellfire. ....

Folks, I never realized how upset folks get when you tell them that God will get you out of your misery - not keep you in your misery ... People do not want that ... it is almost like vengeance, is not it ... almost like vengeance.

My, I did not realize I was not preaching hell hot enough to take care of things. ... So you know that I began doing? ... You bet ... I began to preach it. ...

It is not easy folks, to be preaching some of these topics in my church. And it is not easy when you are a Baptist or whatever and have to sit there and listen to it either. ... its very difficult ... but it is very biblical ... but people, I was getting back further and further into the corner ...

But I had a book with a pretty cover with Bible studies inside I started on page one and preached it ... about God, the Holy Ghost ... before too long I got to the Sabbath ...

AAhhhh, Aahhhh.....

Here I was on a Sunday preaching how to go to church on Saturday, Amen, that was a jewel of an experience.

I mean, what you feel like - if I was there in your church preaching about Saturday and we are there on Sunday?

I told you I was nuts, didn't I?

Now you believe it ... because you gotta be crazy to preach some of this stuff ... but the point of interest is, people ... I had scripture to back it up ... that was the point of interest ... It was!