                            THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT

     All right, let's take our Bible this morning and turn back to the same
ol' place. Exodus chapter 20. Exodus chapter 20. "To repeat the same things
for me to you, brethren, is not grievous," Paul used to say. There are certain
things that need to be said over and over again. Exodus chapter 20. "By the
law is the knowledge of sin."

     If you're a Christian, to you the law is spiritual and good, Romans
chapter 7. And if you're saved, although your flesh may go astray, with your
mind you serve the law of God, the law of Christ, and you believe what you
read here.

     Exodus 20, verse 3: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." That's
commandment one. "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image,..." number
two "...or any likeness [of any thing] that [is] in heaven above, or that [is]
in the earth beneath, or that [is] in the water under the earth:  Thou shalt
not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God [am] a
jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the
third and fourth [generation] of them that hate me;  And shewing mercy unto
thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments." Third commandment:
"Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will
not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain." Fourth commandment:
"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days shalt thou labour, and
do all thy work:  But the seventh day [is] the sabbath of the LORD thy God:
[in it] thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy
manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that [is]
within thy gates:  For [in] six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea,
and all that in them [is], and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD
blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." Fifth commandment: "Honour thy
father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD
thy God giveth thee." We're here in verse 13 this morning. Verse 13: "Thou
shalt not kill." Thou shalt not kill.

     Now, Father, we pray the Holy Spirit will illuminate the text today and
help these people understand what killing is, and what it is not, and have a
clear picture of your attitude about these things, the ramification of these
things, and all the variation that have to do with assault and battery and
manslaughter and first, second degree, and all this mess our civilization has
erected. May they understand your clear commandment through your word, what's
involved in this command. And we pray it in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen. Amen."

     Now, the commandment here says, "Thou shalt not kill." Like the other
commandments, it's individual. These commandments have to do with individual
conduct. "Thou shalt not commit adultery" is an individual commandment for you
as an individual to observe. "Thou shalt not kill" is an individual
commandment for you. It means you're not to kill somebody because you don't
like them. When Christ repeats these commandments in Matthew 22, He doesn't
say, "Thou shalt not kill." He says, "Thou shalt do no murder"--indicating a
certain kind of killing.

     Uh, I have good news for you if you're a killer. In America you can kill
anybody you want to--if you're black or can prove you're sick. One or the
other. If you can prove that you're black or mentally unbalanced you can kill
about anybody and get away with it. You may have to spend some time in jail,
but they'll let you out pretty soon; you can do it again. There's one murder
every ten minutes in the world. By the time this message is over here, in
thirty minutes, there will be three people murdered. There's one every thirty
minutes in the United States. By twelve o'clock today, there'll be somebody
murdered. By 12:30 there'll be somebody else murdered. There's one every ten
minutes, and one every thirty in America. So America's got the upper hand in
it.

     In wars killing has gone on to the tune of 500 million people. And
killing today is glamorized in television from coast to coast. Killing and
violence is glamorized. I'm perfectly conscious of the fact that when I stand
before you here this morning, I'm talking to people who've seen, since last
Sunday, 10 people stabbed, 50 people shot with pistols, 200 people shot with
rifles, at least two people scalped or hit with a tomahawk, at least 15 people
shot with a bow and arrow, at least two people poisoned, at least two people
beheaded, or run over by a train or a car--just as sure as you're sittin'
here. And that might not even touch the hem of the garment.

     I mean, that stuff that goes on in television has gone on morning, noon,
and night. Television is a 24-hour-a-day course in situation ethics, and it's
designed to give you the world's slant toward those things, instead of the
Bible slant.

     Now, I'm gonna talk about three things this morning. First of all, I'm
gonna talk about killers who go free. Then, I'm gonna talk about killers whom
God protects. Then, I'm gonna talk about killers whom God condemns.

     All right, first of all, killers who go free-although they shouldn't.
First of all, Christ-rejecters. If you're here this morning and you've never
accepted Christ as your Saviour and that Bible as true, you're guilty of His
death. Your sins nailed Him. He came to die for your sins. By proxy, you hold
the position of a murderer.

     You say, "I didn't do it." Pilate didn't do it, but he was guilty. Herod
didn't do it, but he was guilty. Simon Peter preaches and says, "Against whom
the children of Israel gathered together with the Gentiles." And the Gentiles--
they weren't all there, but they were guilty.

     Have you ever noticed when you talk to a lot of self-righteous people,
they say, "Well, I ain't killed anybody." That's the big thing up North. "I
never killed anybody." I'll tell you somebody you killed; you killed God's
Son. If you can get away with it; because nobody can catch you...yet. The
killer goes free.

     If abortion is killing, then a lot of them go free. If that's murder,
then a lot of them go free.

     Brother Sumner and Brother Falwell and a bunch of them say it's murder. I
don't look at things like all the brethren look at 'em, but if that's murder,
then a lot of those murders go free too.

     The IRA in Northern Ireland has gone by scot-free for years. They're not
arrested. They're a guerilla army, an outlaw army. They're not a government
organization. When the leaders are shown on television, they put sacks on
their heads, just like the Ku Klux Klan--and nobody says a word about it. When
IRA leaders come on camera, they've got a sack over their head like a KKK. You
don't hear a peep from the Associated Press. They must be in cahoots with 'em.

     The PLO goes free. They've been getting away with murder for years. First
time the Jews came up there in Lebanon and ran 'em out of there, and stopped
their killing, the Associated Press screamed and hollers, and all you dumb
bunnies who believe your television set and sat around in front of your
television set, like the Jews had committed the worst atrocity that had ever
been committed upon this earth. I've got testimony from three generals who
went over there and surveyed that thing; they said that was the most merciful
operation they'd ever seen in their life, and the Jews endangered their own
army 24 hours a day in trying to take care of the people as well as they did.
I've got stuff from three generals who went over there, and said over half the
casualties reported were pneumonia, diphtheria, and measles, and stuff like
that, from civilians that weren't even in the business. Half the pictures they
showed you of torn-down buildings on television were torn down in the
revolution before the Jews ever got there.

     You know what the PLO is? It's a terrorist organization for killing women
and little children, that's what it is. And they've been killing women and
little children for 20 years--and getting away with it. Killers go free.

     I'll tell you somebody else who gets off free. The Bible said whoever
hates his brother in his heart is a murderer, and you know no murderer hath
eternal life abiding in him. I get a lot of literature--as you know I would.
It's OK with me. I tell you because you might like to know about it; with me
it means nothing. I mean, I figure I'm gonna reap what I sow. I got the other
day a bundle of cartoons some guy drew of me, you know. They've got Ruckman in
a German helmet, everybody saluting him, you know, and all that kind of thing.
Oh yeah, man. You say, "What do you think of that?" Nothin'. I don't think of
it. You say, "Why?" I've drawn some cartoons about them!

     And I get this stuff all the time: "There's just too much hate; you don't
show any love; you ought to show a bit more love." I would listen to that,
except I know those kind of people. I know 'em real well. Those kind of people
will only take something that's buttered up, that they can swallow down like a
greased ball bearing. And if it isn't greased and buttered just right, they
won't take it from anybody. I know 'em. Proud, carnal, self-righteous, wicked
Christians. You know what's wrong with those people? They don't love God, they
don't love the Book, and they don't love the people that do. They hate. They
hate. And they get away with it.

     What I think about it is, whatever comes on my mind, I just go ahead and
say it. And somebody said, "Well, it's hate." Well, not necessarily. It may be
I might be just gettin' rid of some steam. Those people who aren't getting rid
of any steam; they're the ones that hate, boy. Listen, I can kick the veneer
and varnish off that bunch of white-washed hypocrites before you can turn
around. You better believe it! You know why they stay out of my way? And, boy,
they stay out of my way! Let me tell you, when Ruckman comes into town, the
rest of them get out! You know why that is? They're afraid of a confrontation.
You know why they're afraid? I'll tell you why! It isn't because I want to
prove they're wrong. That won't be it. The thing is, I'll kick the shellac--
and it'll kick! They don't want the body of Christ to see what they're really
like! And if we got in close, I'd put in a few choice words that would wring
the nose, boy, and bring the butter! Amen amen amen!

     When some fellow yields to temptation
     And breaks a conventional law,
     We look for no good in his make-up,
     But, Lord, how we search for the flaw!
     No one asked who tempted,
     Nor allowed for the battles he fought,
     His name becomes food for the jackals,
     For the saints who have never been caught.

     Those smooth, "God bless you," "Aren't you wonderful, darling," "Yes,
honey," "Aren't you wonderful, yes"--that bunch! I know 'em! You think I don't
know 'em after 34 years in this business?

     I'm a sinner, O Lord,
     And I know it.
     I'm weak, and I falter and fail.
     I'm tossed on life's stormy ocean
     Like a boat that's caught in a gale.
     I'm willing to trust in thy mercy
     And obey the command thou hast taught,
     But deliver me, O God, from the judgment
     Of the saints who've never been caught!

     Now, I'm gonna talk about some killers whom God protects. God has
protection for certain killers. For example, animals. God protects animals.
God doesn't kill every animal that kills another animal. If He did, there
wouldn't be any animals left. Animals killing each other--the Lord takes care
of that.

     I'll tell you something else--gassing old horses, and gassing sick cats
and sick dogs, that doesn't come under this heading. When the Bible says,
"Thou shalt not kill," you've got a feeble old cat or feeble old dog and take
it down and gas it, that doesn't come under the heading of killing. I mean,
sometimes that has to be done. That's a merciful way to do it. I don't like to
do it. I've had dogs gassed. 

     But the thing about me and dogs--me and German shepherds, we have kind of
a rapport that you can't understand. And, you take, I've had a German shepherd
look at me with just terror in his eyes, when I left him in a place to be
gassed--because he knew what was going to happen.

     By the way, if you have an animal, don't take him to that quack down on
Creghton Road. I forget that quack's name, but he's quack quack quack down on
Creghton Road, he's a block off north Davis, behind that Church's Fried
Chicken. If you have a cat or dog you want to keep, don't take him to that
quack. And if he doesn't like what I said, tell him to lump it.

     All right, that isn't all. Those aren't killers. I'll tell you somebody
else God doesn't hold accountable for killing. Food handlers. I mean, if God
held every woman accountable out on the farm that razed off the head of a
chicken, wouldn't she be in a miss? I mean, folks talk about violence--what's
more violent than that! You ever see a woman--RERRREEWWSSSSSWWWWE--flop that
thing, floppin' around the ground and splatterin' blood all over the place.
Hogs squealing, chickens cluckin'. A guy told me one time, he said, "If you
ever worked at a packing plant, you'd never eat meat again." And he told me
the tale about it, you know. I'd better tell you now than at the dinner table.
But he talked about that standing up there, you know, ankle deep in blood, you
know. This trough coming through, and these sheep and stuff coming by, hanging
upside down with their feet cut and their throats, you know--and some of the
guys drinking the blood there. Drinkin' the blood. And this black Judas goat
leading the sheep up into the shute before you kill 'em, and that kind of
thing. And he said, "If you know what went into balogna, especially the sliced
balogna," he said, "you would just never eat balogna again."

     I said, "What goes into it?"

     He said, "Everything!" He said, "They don't lose nothin' from that cow,
man!" Before that cow gets through with hide and hair, they take everything--
and just grind it up--and that's what you're eatin'!

     Now, God doesn't hold the man down at the packing plant responsible! You
see, when the Bible says something, you have to pay attention to it. The Bible
says, "Thou shalt not kill." Now, a fellow could take that, and prove that
it's wrong to step on an ant. A fellow could take that, and prove that it's
wrong to kill a cobra. Over in India, I guess they do let the cobras run loose
over there. That's a dumb thing to do. You better kill 'em! They say they're a
sacred animal. They're worried about it being somebody's relative, you know,
coming back in transmigration.

     When I was a boy, we had a little ditty that went like this. It went,
let's see if I can remember it:

     Oh, be kind to your web-footed friends,   

     For a duck may be somebody's uncle.

     Be kind to your friends in the swamp,

     Ta-da-ta-da.

     You know, that kind of business.

     And they're worried about killing a cobra or a cow because they're
somebody's uncle or great-grandmother or something. If I was over in India and
could do it, I'd get about 15 Georgia plowboys and put those stove-pipe
leggins around the leg, and give 'em a hoe, and those cobra wouldn't poke
their head out of the bushes, in a matter of about two years.

     And when you say, "Thou shalt not kill," you just can't apply it as a
blanket. God doesn't kill people for killin' chickens and cows and that kind
of thing. And God doesn't kill people for steppin' on ants and killing cobras.

     I'll tell you another killer God protects. God protects a killer that
kills somebody accidentally. In Numbers 34 and 35, there are rules of conduct--
Numbers 34 and 35 about that. And if you come out here and driving down the
street, and a little old boy or girl runs out in front of your car, you don't
have time to stop, and you run over that child, that's not killing in the
Bible sense. That's not a violation of "Thou shalt not kill."

     I've seen people just beat themselves around the stump half their life
over some terrible tragedy that happened like that, and that may be a tragedy.
But that's not what the commandment means. And he explains that in Numbers 34
and 35, so that there can't be any misunderstanding about it.

     What people want to do is throw that Book out. They say, "What about a
case where--" it's covered in there, that's where it's covered. Don't you
worry about that, it's covered. God's got it covered. And that thing about
manslaughter is covered. Suppose a fellow breaks into my house at night. I'm
lying there in bed at 11:00 at night; the shadow appears in the window; and I
take a shotgun, double-aught buck twelve-guage; that's the best thing for a
woman; she don't have to aim it. When I'm not there, she can just aim in the
general direction. And just say at the window, "Identify yourself!" And I got
a gun blast from back there; I get a body coming in that window with no
answer, I pull the trigger. And if it's one of my sons coming in late at night
and forgot to identify himself, that would be a terrible thing. But I'm not
about to let somebody creep around into my house at night to threaten my wife
and threaten my kids who has no business being there.

     You know what happened in Louisiana about three months ago? They passed a
law in Louisiana about three months ago that anybody could keep a gun in their
house, and they could shoot anybody who came into their house unannounced. Do
you know who objected to that law? The NAACP. Why, you might have thought it
interfered with their income!

     Now, if you're a visitor, about now you're saying, "Well, I've never been
in a place like this before!" Well, you just never been in a place where folks
say what they mean and mean what they say! I'm telling you the God's honest
truth! I don't want to shoot anybody coming into my house at night; I don't
want all that blood and guts all over the floor. That's right, man! I don't
like blood and guts!

     My boy Mike is an X-ray technician. He deals with bodies coming in there
in pieces. And people dropping something off the floor, and picking it up and
putting it back on the--I couldn't stand that! I mean, I just haven't got the
stomach for that. I don't want to blow somebody's guts out in my bedroom!

     But, I'll tell you, nobody has any business around that house in the dark
messing around that I didn't tell to come on the property!

     All right, I'll tell you something else that's not killing. Obeying
military orders. Obeying military orders is not killing in the Bible sense.
I've known vets to come back from Korea and Vietnam and kick themselves around
the post and World War II for years and years and years about killing
somebody. Well, I wouldn't like to have had to kill anybody. I wish I never
had to. But I got over to Germany and looked around there a couple of years
back, I just thanked God I didn't have to shoot any of those people. I would
have had a bad conscience about it. They're too much like the folks that look
around here; they look the same way. They act the same way. I wouldn't want to
shoot any of them.

     When I got to Japan after World War II, and saw how honest those people
were, and how polite they were, and how hard-working they were, I just thanked
God I didn't have to shoot any of them. But if I got an order to shoot one,
and had to shoot him, I'd a shot him!

     You say, "Why?" Romans 13:1-4. You say, "Why?" God told that bunch to go
down to the Amalekites and kill them and slay them, so forth and so on. That
was an order of God to Moses, and an order of God to Joshua, and an order of
God to Saul, an order of God to David. And, nein be feil is nein be fail. An
order is an order!

     All this stuff. Why, you take one of the most tragic things this country
ever did was in Nuremburg after World War II, to get those German generals and
sit 'em down there, and send them to the gallows for obeying an order. That's
crime to do that! It's crime to give a man an order and have them take an oath
to obey an order, and then obey the order, and then kill him for obeying the
order. That's a crime.

     And let me tell you something. America's been paying for it ever since.
Gave our boys orders in Vietnam, and they said, "Nuts to you, boy, You do it!"
Gave our boys orders in Korea, and they said, "I'm not gonna carry 'em out!"
You teach rebellion, you'll reap rebellion! You won't teach other people not
to obey their orders, your people won't obey your orders, either. I've never
known it to fail.

     Crime business. You take that fellow Calley and tried him. I've read
accounts of that from his side, from the other side, Calley over there in
Vietnam, all those kind of sides. I don't know anything about who told the
truth and who didn't tell the truth. But I know this. I know if I was in
combat, and my life depended upon it, and the life of my friend depended upon
it, and the platoon or the company where I was, and I see ol' Mamason out
there, with sun hat on lookin' through two holes on the top of that thing to
get the planes, and report it, and saw some Vietnamese girl 15 years old run
up into a group of people, and a grenade go off on her chest and kill three of
them, I know what I'd do. I would shoot anything that moved toward me, is what
I'd do.

     Now, just do whatever you do. You say, "It's a tragic thing." Yes, war is
tragic. You say it's a terrible thing. Yes, war is terrible! But war is a
killing business.

     And when the Bible says, "Thou shalt not kill," it's not talking about
that kind of killing. That kind of killing and other kind of killing. Put you
out on a sentry post at night, and tell you if it moves, shoot it. That's what
they did in World War II, man. Coming along horizon at night, put out guys
with loaded clips and extra ammunition: "If somethin' moves, fire!" And, boy,
after the sun went down, you're not supposed to move. And if you move, you get
shot!

     They had many a good steak from killin' cows that had been walking around
at night out there!

     I'll tell you another kind of killer God protects. Capital punishment.
When a man and institution stands by the wall and takes that lever and pulls
that lever down and puts the voltage to that man, that man that pulls that
lever is not guilty of killing in the Bible sense. A fellow take a fellow and
put him up on the gallows and hang him, he's not guilty of killing in the
Bible sense. The men who were guilty of killings at Nuremberg were the
officers of the United States, American and British people and Russian people
set that thing up. The hangman who had the order to kill them and flip the
trap door, that hangman wasn't guilty. He was obeying the order of the state
that he was told to obey.

     A firing squad is not disobeying the command. Somebody said, "Well, they
killed all these civilians, all these partisans. What are you going to do do?"
I know what to do. If I was in army occupation, and civilians were bombing my
buddies and blowing off the legs and blowing the heads in and cutting off the
supply dumps, and that kind of thing, and my commanding officer hauled me and
out and put a bunch of 'em up there, and the firing squad said, "Ready, aim,
fire!" My job would be to get ready, and to aim, and to fire. I don't think
beyond that.

     You say, "It's a very primitive thinking." That's a Biblical thinking.
You're to obey the powers that be. Now, of course, if you want to be real
Christian about it, and aim over his head, I guess the rest of 'em will do the
killing, you know. I guess you could aim a little bit to his left, and let
somebody else's bullets do the job. I guess the way to handle the things. But
if you obey an order by a government to carry out a killing, you're under
command to obey that order, and you are not guilty of murder--whatever else
the problem is.

     We had a bishop here. He's gone to San Antonio now to raise some more
hell out there. We had a Catholic bishop around here called Grassita. And
Grassita got into the Kiwanis and the Elks and the Mooses and the Lions and
the Bats and the Buzzards downtown. And he would meet with these businessmen
and give out his little particular ideas on love, love, love, love. And he
just believe in loving everybody so much that nobody was to be killed for
nothin'. That fellow had so much love that everybody in jail out to get out
and just serve life, but nobody ought to be killed. And he had the Pensacola
News Journal publish a big article where it was a sin if you believed in
capital punishment. He said it was wrong, against the teaching of Christ. He
said you're guilty of committing a sin if you believe in it.

     I don't like that kind of pagan bushwa. And we bought us an article, and
we printed our article in the paper. And, boy, you talk about a thing flying
to pieces. Out comes "Our Sunday Visitor." That's a national Catholic
magazine, you know, 14 million subscriptions. "The vicious, contorted face of
bigotry raise in Pensacola. Baptist preacher fans the flames of bigotry."
BUUUUUUHHAAAAHHAAA! I mean, here was this irreligious oaf standing up and
telling me I was a sinner because I didn't agree with him, but Paul was a
sinner because Paul wrote it, and that God was a liar because God said it. And
I was suppose to stand around and keep my mouth shut and say, "Love, love,
love, love, love." Won't say it. Won't say it.

     Why, that cheap little rotten liar. You know what the archbishop of San
Antonio said not even two years before that fellow said that? He said the
Catholic Church has always believed in capital punishment. But who didn't know
that? They've carried it out. Who didn't know that but Bishop Grassita?

     Bishop---ah, you pumpkin! You wimp! Don't you "bishop" me with that
stuff!

     You know what that fellow's doin'? He's taking my tax money. Now, some of
you narrow-minded folks, listen, you get the wax out of your ears a minute and
listen now. He's taking my tax money. I pay taxes. And making me support his
little pet criminals in the penitentiary and buy their television and their
three meals a day, and their meals for them, and their bed for them, and he
don't put in one dime! There isn't a bishop in this country, a Catholic
bishop, that pays any taxes! What's he doin' to me? Making pay for his
religious convictions.

     Boy, you talk about church and state. I'm not in favor of buying three
meals a day for Charlie Manson out there in California. As far as I'm
concerned, Charlie Manson's a killer; he ought to die. You say, "What about
Berkowitz? He got saved." Sure, he got saved. Now that he's saved, he ought to
get the electric chair. How about that? Why? You pay for your sins, boy!

     Let me tell you something. You talk to this Chaplain Ray that's been a
chain-gang prison worker for years. He'll tell you of case after case after
case where those boys got saved, and still got executed after they got saved.
I mean, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man sows, that
shall he also reap." You say, "One of your sons?" If it's one of my sons, I'd
be real upset about it. And I'd worry about it, I'd be burdened about it, and
I'd cry about it, and I'd pray about it, and I'd try to get some help. But I
wouldn't justify my son against God! It has to be God first, and my boys next.
It has to be God first and me next. It has to be God first and you next.

     All right, now, finally, I'm going to talk about some killers whom God
condemns. Some killers whom God condemns. Take your Bible and turn to 1
Timothy; I'll show you a strange class of killers that you wouldn't have
thought existed until about the last 20 years. But now you're getting plenty
of static on it. First Timothy chapter 1, verse 9. First Timothy 1:9. These
are murderers of fathers and mothers. First Timothy chapter 1, verse 9. First
Timothy 1:9: "Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but
for the lawless and disobedient." Rules are for people who won't keep rules.
"For the ungodly and for sinners." If people would keep the rules, you
wouldn't have to have any rules. "For unholy and profane, for murderers of
fathers and murderers of mothers." There are people killing their own people.
Killing brothers, killing sisters, killing mothers, killing fathers.

     In this country every year somewhere, some boy, some girl kills mother or
father over some argument over television. It happens at least once a year--
maybe many times more than that. San Pedro--a nine or twelve-year-old watching
a TV show. A seven-year-old wanted a different channel; the nine and twelve-
year-old argued about the channel. The seven-year-old went back and got a 22
and came in and killed one brother and wounded the sister. And Mama comes home
and finds one kid dead and the other one wounded, and the other little girl
crying, "I didn't mean it. I didn't mean to do it. Didn't mean to do it."

     Kirkwood, Missouri--23-year-old woman stabbed five times by a 14-year-old
brother over a TV channel. Stabbed till she died. There's a 14-year-old boy
there, his oldest sister is 23. And he comes in and stabs her until she's
dead.

     Those kind of murders, God is against. God condemns those murders; God
won't protect those murders.

     In Numbers chapter 34 and 35, it says, if he come upon him willingly,
with intent, and fall upon him and kill him, he's a murderer, Thou shalt take
no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, here he is guilty of death, and no
blood shall be shed for him. They'll take the fellow and kill him.

     What's murder? Murder is intending to hurt a fellow, and then hurting
him. What is murder? Intending to kill a fellow, and then killing him.

     In the riots in Augusta, Georgia, in 1969, over the civil rights, there
were 300 jailed, seven killed, 22 wounded. And when that thing happened, they
tried to prosecute the killers and the thieves. They sent down three lawyers
from Washington, and they came and prosecuted the police. And the police were
arrested who tried to stop the mob from ransacking the stores. When that mob
action took place, if a policeman tried to stop the bunch from entering in, he
was arrested and prosecuted by Washington, D.C. Do you know why? Because no
store owner in Augusta, Georgia, had any rights.

     Now, who killed those seven people in that thing there? Well, if they
were policemen killing them because they tried to get in the stores, the
police are innocent. And if those are seven people were killed because
somebody said, "I'm gonna get that dirty so-and-so" and GOT him, then God
doesn't protect that killer; that killer is a murderer.

     George Wallace said ten years ago, "The killer is out of the jail before
his victim is out of the hospital." And that's often true. On Monday, they try
the police. And it's true.

     I was over here, one section of town here, about 15 years ago, talking
with a boy, I think Brother McGaughey was with me, or somebody was with me.
This fellow had been going to Pensacola High School. Just after they all got
mixed up. And he came out there, one football night, out through that parking
lot, and four or five of them met him and beat him up with a chain. Put him in
a hospital, a brain concussion. They had to operate on his head, put a silver
plate in his head. A kid about 15 years old, 15 or 16. He was over there on P
Street, O Street, one of those, you know, all the poor white folks live over
there. That old boy didn't have any insurance, he didn't have any father, he
was raised with his mother and a couple other kids. And that boy was 15 and
his mind about half gone, about half the efficiency, with that silver plate,
and $14,000 worth of hospital bills--and nobody held accountable anywhere.

     You know who they ought to hang? They ought to hang a district court
judge. They ought to hang the dirty rascal that put kids in a position where
that kind of thing happens. Now, don't you accuse me, you know, of getting out
and go and assassinate the district court judges. Because I don't intend to
kill anybody. I have no murder intent.

     But, I'll tell you, once in a while, when the thing comes through in the
money, you won't see me shedding any tears over it, either.

     God Almighty condemns those who encourage murder. District court judges
and federal court judges that put kids into a situation where hatred is
manifest, where tension is manifest, where they're up against obstacles they
can't overcome and are frustrated, and feel frustrated, is guilty! God
Almighty holds him guilty.

     The Supreme Court is guilty. Backing people up, and backing 'em up and
backing 'em up, and making murder easy. Making it easy for a criminal to
operate.

     Did you ever hear the story of Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf? It
goes like this: One day there was a bad wolf that went through the forest and
met Red Riding Hood. And he made a few obscene remarks to her, but she was
afraid of him and left. So he went to her grandmother's house, and he made a
few obscene remarks to her, and she didn't want to make love, or want to make
war, so he killed her and ate her. And when Little Red Riding Hood got to the
house, she came into the house. And about the time she came over to the
bedroom, Grandma suddenly jumped up and made some more obscene remarks. And
about that time a hunter who was in the area nearby came in and heard the
wolf, and stepped through the door and shot the wolf dead. And Little Red
Riding Hood thanked him for delivering her.

     But the Civil Liberties Union brought up the point that the axman, the
hunter, had not given a few warning swings with his ax before he shot the
wolf. And the wolf had not been told of his civil rights at the time. And so
they finally arrested the hunter on aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
And they arrested him, then there was a big protest, and one of the other
people began to burn down hunters' cottages up and down the country. And when
they did, they found the hunter out there dead with his head cut off with an
ax. And somebody figured the wolves probably did it, but somebody said, "Oh,
no, the trouble was that hunter got a guilt complex about killing that wolf,
so he cut off his own head." So finally, they decided the wolf was a hero, so
they made a national holiday for him to remember his birthday. And then
everybody came down there, and all the officials spoke of the dedication. But
it was Red Riding Hood herself who gave the final tribute. And she said, "I
have been selfishly grateful for the woodcutter, before I realized in
retrospect that I had overreacted." And as Little Red Riding Hood knelt by the
grave of the brave wolf and placed a wreath in honor of him for dying for
persecuted minorities, there wasn't a dry eye in the forest.

     Now, did you know there is more truth than fiction in that parable? And
that parable is just saying this: It's the Supreme Court and its view of the
law that makes it easy for folks to "get away with murder." And God Almighty
ain't gonna let 'em get away with it.

     South African Minister for the Post and Telegraph in South Africa
declared: "No television for South Africa for its potential destructive effect
on children and less developed races." What? Less developed races? What? I
mean, "In cinema the parents confuse, and this is impossible, TV with the less
developed races." Who said that? A states'-righter? No! The Ku Klux Klan? No!
A right wing extremist? No! Who said that? The white citizens' council? No!
That's a black African, head of the department. And the black African said
it's not safe, the stuff they show over here, because of its effect. I wish
they would get that guy to come over here as a missionary to West Florida and
Pensacola Junior College. He'd do a lot of good.

     All right, finally. God condemned this kind of killer. This is self-
slaughter. This is what we call suicide. Self-murder. Self-murder. I know self-
murder is not an unpardonable sin, it's not a mortal sin like the Catholics
say. Samson committed suicide, and he's one of the heroes of the faith. That
doesn't justify the sin. Sin is still sin. Self-murder, taking your own life,
is a sin. And it's wrong.

     We had here, a couple of years back, the suicide of one of Hollywood's
actors. Of course, more and more are now just drifting off in cocaine and
heroine. But back in the old days they'd wind it up quit. This fellow's name
was Hugh Pryor. I never seen any movie he made. They said he made "Silent
Service," whatever that is. And "Rock Pretty Baby," fine crew, you know. And
"Official Detective," and "Torpedo," well, I never saw any of that. I missed
all of them. I mean, I am out-of-step with the age. I did not see "Jaws." If
any of you did, I did not see that mechanical shark they made with the pretty
music. I didn't see that. I did not see "The Towering Inferno." I missed that.
And I hate to say it, I also missed "Star Wars." I missed that too. I have
seen nothing. "The Poseidon Adventure"? I missed that one too. I also missed
"The Omen" and "Rosemary's Baby." Are we out of step with the times? Just
think what I've missed!

     And this fellow here made these dirty movies, and then finally he
deserted his wife, and he came back into town. Left her a note from the
Hollywood home. And he said, "I'm back in Pasadena. I've burned my bridges.
And I'm gonna burn my house. Don't worry about the cat. You're gonna be a dead
woman." And he met her and burned down the house and shot her twice in the
head, and that was the end of that.

     And then, eight days later, the police found his body in a desert, about
55 miles from Las Vegas. The air around Las Vegas seems to be kind of a
disposal dump, or something around there. And they found him 55 miles away out
there, with a .22 pistol on his side there, and four bullet holes in his
chest. Shot himself four times. Left his buddy a note. I'll read you the note,
to a buddy named Mike Quinn, whoever that is. I don't know who that is:

     "Forgive me. I guess Connie meant more to me than I knew. I killed the
only thing I ever loved. Give all our well-meaning friends my best. And tell
them I'll meet them in hell." And that's probably just where he went.

     You know something? Listen. Every man who's trusting his own religion to
save his soul is guilty of spiritual suicide. Every man who is trusting his
own righteousness to get him to Heaven is taking the jugular vein of his soul
and slitting that thing from ear to ear. You are guilty of manslaughter, if
you die without Jesus Christ. You know who you've murdered? You've murdered
your own soul. You've murdered your own soul. God help you. "Thou shalt not
kill."

     All right. Father, bless the message this morning. I pray the Holy Spirit
will speak now, in case there's some unsaved person here today that doesn't
see the gravity of this offense. May they see it and understand it. And
understand they're not to kill. Not to kill themselves, not to kill other
people. And especially not to murder their soul, their God-given soul that you
gave them, that they had nothing to do with. You gave it to them as a free
gift, a life from thee. May it return to thee at death, and not know what it's
like to be lost in the limbo of lost souls, without hope, and without God.

     Now let's remain in prayer for just a few minutes before we close the
service today. I don't know yet if we're gonna stand and sing, but let's pray
a little while. And, if somebody's here this morning, and you've got blood on
your hands, and that may be. That may be. You remember the blood of Jesus
Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin. You remember though your sins be
as scarlet, they shall be white as snow. And if there's somebody here that's
got some blood on your hands that's accidental, or tragic, or necessary, you
ask God to give you peace of mind and peace of heart, and take the old
thoughts and the old memories away from you. Help you to forget those things
that are behind, and go on for God. Don't feel guilty when you're not guilty.
And don't feel innocent when you're not innocent.

     Now, before we close the service this morning. Is there anybody here this
morning who has never received the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour? God has
said you're a sinner; you're guilty. God sent His Son and let wicked men kill
His Son in your place. He's your Substitute before the firing squad. And if
God let Him die, God dies you're worthy of death. You hear me? You're worthy
of death. If God let Him die for you, you are worthy to die. Now, don't go up
to Heaven with the blood of Christ on your hands, you hear? The blood of a
little baby on your hands that you ran over on a motorcycle, or the blood of
an elderly woman on your hands you hit with a car, or the blood of some fellow
you killed in combat, is nothing besides the blood of God's Son when you hit
the judgment.

     Is there anybody here this morning, you'll raise the hand and say,
"Brother Ruckman, I'm unsaved, I'm not a Christian. Pray for me." Anybody like
that here today? All right, thank you. Thank you. Somebody else? "I'm not a
Christian; pray for me. I've never received Christ as my Saviour. Pray for
me." Anybody else here? If there is, would you raise the hand? Someone else?
Anybody else? Someone else? A crowd this size, surely there's more than one.
Somebody? Would you let us pray for you? Let me pray for you right now. Say,
"Brother Pete, I want you to pray for me. I want to be saved. Pray for me."
Anybody like that here?

     All right, Father, we ask you now for the soul of this gentleman that
raised his hand, that you might speak to his heart right where he sits, and
when his heart skips a beat, may the grace of God slip in, may he trust and
confide in thee, and trust thee as his personal Saviour. We know he can do it
right there where he's seated, right now. We pray for his soul, and beseech
thee on behalf of his soul, that you might overcome the force of darkness that
binds him, and cut through the veil of Satan that spreads over his eyes
through these years. And may this morning be the birthday of his soul and the
greatest day of his life, as he puts his faith in the one that died for him.
And we these blessings in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.

     Let's do this this morning. Let's stand and sing about three stanzas of
222. 222 in the hymnal, "There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood." Now, we're
going to sing just three stanzas. You raise your hand, that requested prayer,
we've prayed for you. We're not gonna quit praying for you when you leave
here. But that's a personal thing, see? I want you to realize your need, and I
want to see your need. The thing that God requires of you is that you see a
need. And if you see a need, God can take care of it. He can supply the need.
All right, let's sing.

     You'll sing a song here about thieves, about Christ crucified with
thieves. You know, Martin Luther has a strange thing in his Bible, when he
gets to that place there in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, where those two thieves
are up there, he calls them "murderers." Murderers. You know what Luther takes
for granted? He takes for granted the thieves like those fellows were up there
suffering capital punishment, it couldn't have been just for, you know,
picking up a watch. And he's right. They killed somebody to get the money. He
calls them murderers. The Bible says, "Christ was numbered with the
transgressors."

     Now, let's just pretend something here for a minute. Down here, let's
pretend this is Calvary. And here's a cross. And there's somebody hanging on
the cross in the middle. And the one hanging on the cross in the middle is
perfect, and He's sinless. And that's the one you want to get to. That's your
Saviour. You get to Him, you'll be safe. And over here, there's a cross over
here. And nobody hanging on it. And the Lord says, "Look! If you want to get
to that one that's sinless, go down there and get in the same outfit He's
numbered with."

     You say, "Who's He numbered with, Lord?"

     He's numbered with the transgressors! Get on this cross. Take your place.
You say, "Take your place with thieves and murderers?" Yes, ma'am. Yes, sir.
Yes, sir. Let's sing the next stanza.

     Let's bow our heads and have a little season of prayer. The service is
almost over. We're gonna close here now in just a very few minutes. Now, if
you want to receive Jesus Christ as your Saviour and trust Him, will you step
out now, while we're in prayer, and come to the front? Let me meet you down
here in front. Brother Reed, Brother McGaughey, come the best way you know
how. If you will come, come on. Let us meet you down here in front.

     Let's remain in prayer. One young man came and received Christ this
morning. And there are probably one or two more here, probably one or two more
of you didn't raise their hand. You should have come. Brother McGaughey's
dealing with this young man here at the altar. How about it? Will you slip out
and come and take your place with the transgressors? See why folks don't come?
It's pride. "Oh, Brother Ruckman, I'm not like that." God says you are. You
say, "Brother Ruckman, you don't think I'm like that, do you?" No, I don't.
But the Lord does. And you're gonna half to deal with Him, not with me. You
say, "Brother Ruckman, I just wouldn't think of killing anybody." All right
then, show it. Show it. Take your place. Take your place with sinners that
Christ died for. Show your intentions. We'll tarry a few minutes.

     Anybody else? With heads and eyes closed, let's softly sing just the
first stanza. You don't need your books. Just sing it by heart. "There Is a
Fountain." Sing it softly. Anybody else? Anybody else? Come on. Come on. The
Lord's dealing with you. Come on. "Lose all their guilty stains." "Come now,
saith the Lord, let us reason together; though your sins be as scarlet, they
shall be white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as
wool.

     Let's remain in prayer just a few minutes. We're not gonna sing any more.
Let's remain in prayer just a couple of minutes, and we're gonna close. Now,
be patient. Let's pray. Pray for this young fellow who came this morning to
receive Christ. I can't help but feel that there's somebody else here today, I
don't know where you're at. You didn't raise the hand. You're here, probably.
You're here. A crowd this big, it's bound to be more than one. Probably more
than two. In these last closing minutes, why don't you just slip out? We'll
wait one minute by the clock. All right? Sixty seconds. Sixty seconds by the
clock. Give you a chance to come. No tricks, no gimmicks. No church
membership, no baptism, no sacraments. No doctrinal thing you've got to
believe. Just come as a sinner and receive God's Son. Thirty-five seconds.
Anybody? I don't know where you are; the Lord knows where you are. Twenty-five
seconds. If you start, we'll wait for you. Makes sense. Say, "Lord help me."
And take it. Fifteen seconds. Wouldn't it be a terrible thing, if God counted
down on your life like I'm counting down this invitation? You're gonna live,
after this invitation's over. But one of these days, the Lord's gonna count
you down.

     Father, bless the message and deal with others this morning who didn't
have the courage or the conviction to come. We pray your blessing upon this
young man that trusted Christ, that you might give him assurance of salvation.
May he know whom he has believed and be persuaded that He is able to keep that
which you have committed unto Him against that day, and have assurance by
simply believing what you said. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the
word of God." The great transaction is done. We ask these things, Father, in
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

     We're dismissed.




