<TITLE>06. Par 22-25</TITLE>L-22 So we walked out on the street and there were men past harm, as far as being immoral. They had done passed that. Women would be perfectly free. They--they're beyond that, to pass through there. Laying on the streets. Some of them laying back and their clothes all soiled and from not able to get up. And--and oh, such a condition. It was horrible.
And there laid a man with his arms laying back against the post, and his legs laying out into the street. And his clothes were all wet. And I said, "Let's pull him off the street."
And Brother Burg said, "Well, he will probably roll back out." Said, "They watch them along here."
So I said, "Oh, that poor man." I said, "What got him in that condition?"
Said, "Ask him."

L-23 So I walked over. And he was too far gone. I went down the street a little farther, and it was... When I got down there, I met another man. He was standing there, going against the post like this. And he was doped. And I said, "How do you do, sir?"
He said, "Would you give me a quarter?"
I said, "What would you want with a quarter, my good man?"
He said, "I--I want to buy me another drink."
I said, "I'm a minister of the Gospel. What money I have comes from tithings from God's people. Therefore, I could not give you money to drink." I said, "I will buy you a sandwich, cup of coffee, or something, but I--I could not do that."
He said, "You're a reverend?"
I said, "Yes, sir."
He said, "Pardon me, sir."
And I said, "I would like to ask you, my good man, what caused you to be this way."
He said, "I am ashamed to tell you, but if you could raise your head and go up to the top of that trestle, you can see the door of the bank that I was president of."
"Oh," I said, "surely not."
He said, "I'm so-and-so."

L-24 I looked over at Brother Burg and he nodded his head that would be right. I said, "A man of your stature, a man of your caliber, would be laying here on the street a drunken sot like that?"
He said, "Sir, I once was a noted respectable citizen." And he said...
I said, "Tell me your story, just in a moment." I said, "If you don't mind and wouldn't mind me to repeat it at the pulpit."
He said, "Certainly not." He said, "Well, I had a lovely home, two fine children. One day I come home, and I'd always suspicioned my wife. But" said, "there was a 'Dear John' letter laying on the table." He said, "I never drank in my life, but I went out that night, and from that time..."
There you are. From that time. What caused it? His wife had left him a letter that she was leaving him. He loved her in such a way, that he could not stand to be without her. So he just thought he would ruin his life or just drink it off. Not enough nerve to commit suicide, so he was just taking it the gradual way.

L-25 Now, that's the way those things happen, from that time. Starts from certain time...
Most time, people that does wrong, on New Year they'll say, "Well, we're going to turn a new page now. We're going to be right after tonight." And what do they do? They just turn a new page so they can turn it back the next day. All their New Year vows goes away. That won't work.
Sometime ago, I was going into the--the psychopathic room from the auditorium, to pray for the people in--in--some of them in straight jackets.
Well, how many... You've heard Charles Fuller, the Old-Fashioned Revival Hour on the... Well, that's where it was at. Long Beach. We just left there a few days ago. Where the big auditorium was... Oh, my, what a meeting we had.


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