<TITLE>14. Par 57-58</TITLE>L-57 I remember the first sermon I tried to preach. I appreciated that old Missionary Baptist preacher. I got up there, and I seen the way he preached. And I just--a lad--been in the way about six months or a year. And he called me over, said, "Now, I want you to preach tomorrow, or Wednesday night."
And I got up in the pulpit, and I thought I'd done just like a preacher. I thought I'd done fine. The old mothers afterward, they patted me on the back and said, "Brother Billy, that was just wonderful." The old mothers, you know, around crying, said, "God's going to make a preacher out of you."
I thought, "Oh, I hope He does." I thought I done great.
I went over to old Dr. Davis sitting there, his lip hanging down. I said, "How did I do, Doctor?"
Said, "The worst I ever heard."
Oh, my. I thought I went through all the emotions and everything I was supposed to do, swinging your hands and everything else, you know, like the preachers does. I thought I'd done just every one of them. I'd watched him and done just what he did.
He said, "Worst I ever heard."
I said, "Brother Davis..."
He said, "I never heard such in my life." He said, "Young man, I want you to meet me in my study tomorrow afternoon at two o'clock."

L-58 I thought, "Oh, my." So at two o'clock I went down, my feathers all pulled over, you know. I said, "Good evening, Dr. Davis."
He said, "How do, Billy. Set down."
I said, "Yes, sir."
He said, "I guess your feelings is hurt."
I said, "They're just stepped on; that was all." I said, "Why, what--what'd I do wrong?"
He said, "I want to tell you a little story." He said, "You know, I studied--was a lawyer before I was a minister."
I said, "Yes, sir. I know that."
He said, "Billy, one time I studied the law, and I did it just the way you did the Bible, or the way you studied about the ministry."
He said, "I thought that I was a lawyer when I was sworn in to the bench." He said, "I got up there and pleaded a divorce case one time, my first case." And said, "I'd see those lawyers beat on the table like that, and holler 'Your honor, sir. Judge' and cry, and wipe their face off with tears. 'This poor little woman, she's so-and-so,' and like that," said, "And after while, the old attorney who was my opponent on the other side," said, "he just set and watched me for a long time." Said, "I cried, I beat the desk, and done everything just like the lawyers did." And said, "My... The old opponent set over there, the other lawyer on the other side, the man's lawyer set there. And directly he said, 'Judge, your Honor, how much more of this nonsense can this court of yours stand?'"
Said, "I lost the case," and said, "I--I was really whipped out." He said, "I learned something then. You see? He... And I asked the judge..." He said, "Not..." Said, "The attorney too, was a friend of mine." But said, "He come down there, and said, 'Roy, I did that purposely.' Said, 'You see, you were going through emotions. You were crying, shaking your head, and beating it.'" "Said, 'I was doing just like the other lawyers do it.'
"He said, 'But you wasn't putting one iota of law into it. It's not how--your emotions that wins the case; it's the verdict of the law. You've got to know what the law says about it.'"
"And that's the same way," he said, "about you." He said, "Billy, you shook your head, and you cried, and jumped up-and- down; but you never preached one word out of the Bible. You went through all kinds of emotion. It's God's Word that counts. It's God's Word that tells it." That's exactly right. It's got to be the Word, exactly the Word.


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