<TITLE>11. Par 44-48</TITLE>L-44 And now, this may be a little on the sideline, but many of you people have seen people that you just love to be in their presence. And then you've seen people that--that you--they were nice people but you could hardly stand to be in their presence. See, you are a creator of an atmosphere around you. And you make that yourself by your own disposition and the spirit that's on the inside of you.
And it's just like my old southern mammy used to tell me, that's just gone on to heaven a few months ago. She used to say, "Billy, birds of a feather flock together." That's right. So therefore, crows, scavengers, and doves could have no fellowship one with another. Their diet's different. See? They can't eat the same thing.

L-45 And--and that's the way it is among Christian ranks. We gather like this, assemble together, because we have things in common. We just love to come to the meetings. You love to see your pastor walk up on the step, and you love him 'cause you know he's going to pray and honor your home. His presence means so much to you. You want to get the children in, gather around, so the pastor's blessings can be upon the children. And when you visit one with another you want to read the Bible, and offer prayer together, because you have things in common.
Oh, the church should be the most glorious thing, that fellowship. How that... We used to sing in the Tabernacle years ago, when I was pastoring the Missionary Baptist Tabernacle, at Jeffersonville, we used to sing the old song:
Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that above.
And when we asunder part,
It gives us inward pain;
But we shall still be joined in heart,
And hope to meet again.
Oh, that meant--come from our hearts. We loved one another.

L-46 And they had been associating with Christians, men of like minds that day, and they--they had fellowship. And when they were parting, going across the sea, they were waving, "Come back, see us again. Come, tell us of this lovely Gospel of Eternal Life. Bring your Master along with you," waving. Then somebody would holler to someone, saying, "Come back," maybe a relative.
And they'd pull a few more strokes, and wave, and the little party on the bank got smaller, smaller. And after while it dimmed all the way out. The sun must've been down then. And they was going to catch a breath you know, because perspiring from that heavy pulling. They had to cross the seas that night, the little Sea of Galilee, and they was wore out from the toil of the day. They must've stopped.

L-47 Must've been young John. He was the youngest; he probably wore out quicker than the old sturdy boatmen. So he must have said, "Brethren, let--let's stop just for a minute and catch a breath." And I can see him as he wipes the perspiration from his shaggy head. "Whew." He said, "You know, while we're resting a few moments..." As the little ship drifted along, John must've raised up his head and said, "Brethren, I would like to have a little testimony here."
You know, there's always something in a person's heart that they like to say, if they're confident in what they're saying. There's something about it. You have to testify and say something.

L-48 John might've said something like this: "We can rest assure that the Man in which we are following is not what the--the world calls Him, a false prophet. He is not a Beelzebub, as our priests say He is, a fortuneteller. He's nothing short of Jehovah."
"When I was a little boy we lived down..." Now, we're breaking in on a testimony meeting. "We lived down near Jordan. And I can remember in the month of April, when the little flowers come up in the spring, I used to pick these little flowers and run in with a handful, and give them to my pretty little Jewish mother. And she would rock me to sleep in the afternoon for my nap out on the porch, and tell me Bible stories. And I remember so many."


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