I give a little illustration this morning about a person that... One time this little woman had--had received the Holy Ghost. And she was a very sweet little person. They... She said... Well, she'd had a hard life, and her husband was an alcoholic. And so, she just kept on; she bore with him. He says, "You want to go to church, honey, take off. But I just go down to the saloon, down at the old Brown Derby, down here. Go and--on." So they hung out down there all the time, used to be Bonifers. Many of you old-timers here remember when Bonifer had there on the corner of... It's called Brown Derby now, I believe it is.
So, hanging around down there, and the first thing you know, one night come up a question about church and about Christians. One of the old drunks setting there said, "There ain't no such a thing as Christians any more." Said, "There is no such a thing. All this bunch of hypocrites," said, "you see them out here smoking, drinking, doing the same thing that we do," and said, "call themselves Christians. There is no such."
This one drunk raised up and said, "Just a minute. There's one that I know about. "
Said, "Who is it?"
Said, "It's my wife." See? She'd become salty. He was catching it all the time.
He said, "I bet if she was put to a squeeze..."
He said, "No, she's still a Christian; I'll prove it to you." Said, "I tell you what let's do; let's go up home, and I'll show you whether she's a Christian or not." Said, "Let's go up home, and now, let's really be drunk. We're going to act like we're really drunk." Knocked at the door, come in staggering over everything and--and... "Why don't you set around this a-way," and everything. And she set them all a chair and (his guests, you know)--and tried to make them just as welcome as could be. Said, "I want you to fix us some supper." And so they--she went out and fixed some. Said, "we want ham and eggs." He knowed they had it, so they fixed the ham and eggs. When he got there at the table, he looked at them like that, picked up his plate, and slammed the stuff on the floor, said, "You know, I don't like my eggs like that. Come on boys let's get out of here anyhow," like that--like that.
They went out and set down like that, you know. And she come out; she said, "Dear, I'm--I'm sorry I didn't get them fixed; I'll fix some more for you."
"Oh, nonsense, you knowed I didn't want them that way in the first place," just carrying on like that. They went out there, and set down, and act like they was drunk. They heard her in there kind of snubbing to herself, singing real low voice:
Must Jesus bear the cross alone,
All the world go free?
There's a cross for every one,
And there's a cross for me.
This consecrated cross I'll bear,
Till death shall set me free,
One drunk looked at the other one, said, "She's a Christian; she's got it." And that little woman led her husband, plus these others to Christ that night. See? Why? See? Just be real sweet. Just remember, He knows all about it.
So, sister, or brother, whoever it might be, or brother, it is here, 'cause he asked about his wife, you just be salty; she'll get thirsty if there's anything in her to thirst for. If it isn't, remember, if you got the wrong person, you'll get the right one in the millennium. You just keep on going; all wrongs will be made right there.
64-0830M QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 3 COD ( 116-121) (WMB).
