How's it going? Good, how are you? Can I give you something? God bless you. Oh yeah, thank you. You're welcome. I'm going in to go see my woman. She's in the hospital right now. Oh, really? Yeah, yeah. Down here at West, Jefferson West? Yeah, she's growing up. She lost some of her family. Oh, really? How long has she been in the hospital? Oh, really? Have they determined what's wrong with her? Oh, stroke. Okay. but I don't know what the family's gonna do. They'll probably come and get her, take her away, and probably say, I ain't treating nobody. She wanted a beer, and I kept on buying her a beer, you know what I'm saying? I didn't want to see nobody else buying her a beer, so I think I was doing the right thing by buying her a beer to keep me off the street. But she was gonna get drunk, she was single, so I just said, I might as well go ahead and get her a beer. I don't have to worry about her leaving, so I went on and got her. I didn't know it was gonna mess her up, Buying her a bed? Huh? Did you say a bed? A beer. Oh, a beer. Yeah, a beer. I buy her like 15 packs a day. A 15-pack a day is what she's drinking? Yeah. That can't be good for her, right? Yeah, no. Huh. She was horny, actually. I was buying her. So you think that has something to do with why she's in the hospital? Yeah, they said it did, yeah. Oh, because she'd been drinking too much? Yeah. Overtime. Overtime got her. So, how does that make you feel? Because you were buying her the beer and that. I mean, how does that make you feel? It makes me feel kind of tough, you know what I'm saying? Yeah, because she wanted it and I was buying it, you know. Trying to keep her happy, but I messed up in the long run. Happiness isn't the most important thing, though. And, as you know, Getting drunk doesn't make anyone happy. It may make them forget. It may make the pain go away for a little bit, whatever's bothering them, but in the end, it doesn't produce happiness. It just produces misery. She said she was, she missed her kids and she can't get to her kids. She was tired of living and all the rest of it. That's what she kept on saying. So, I mean, is she in danger of dying? I mean, is she that bad right now, or do they think she's going to make it? They ain't saying nothing. They ain't saying anything. They're just saying her brain is fine, somewhat fine. She's alive and well. Did you say there was swelling in her brain too? No, just swelling in her legs. My name's Tony. Oh, my name's Gerald. What is it? Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald? Gerald? Yeah. You've been in this area long? You've been in Davenport long, Gerald? I've been here seven years. Seven years. Where are you from originally? Chicago. Oh, okay. I'm from Southern California. Moved out here a few years ago. So, you prefer Fitz, Fitzgerald, Gerald, what do you prefer to be called? Fitz. Fitz, so that's what you prefer, okay. So Fitz, what do you think is going to happen to you when you die? Oh, I don't know. Yeah, that's an honest answer. Yeah. Do you think a person can know? Huh? Do you think a person can know what's going to happen? Can? Yeah. Do you think a person can know what's going to happen after they die? No, I don't know. I don't know. It's a lot of things. There's a lot of things that couldn't happen to you. Go to hell or heaven. Okay, and what might that be what what would what would it be that God says that we should do and Okay, all right, so one of those commandments is not to lie have you ever told a lie Yeah, me too, yeah guilty as charged yeah one of one of those commandments Um, is, uh, not to steal? Yeah. Have you ever stolen anything? Probably when I was little, yeah. Yeah, me too. Yeah, for me it was, uh, I remember stealing a pack of gum from Marquee's Market. I broke in a garage. You did, okay. Alright. Um... Hanging with the young boy, and I was... Okay. Man, I'm like, oh, f***. So, so if I stole... I think that's the wrong thing to do. Yeah? So if I stole your bike, and I'm not gonna... Yeah. But if I stole your bike, what would you call me? Have you ever used God's name in the wrong way? G.D. God calls that blasphemy. Very serious. He says he will not leave him unpunished who takes my name in vain. Ever look at a woman and have an inappropriate thought? Sexual thought? Ever look at a woman and want her sexually? A woman not your wife? One of the commandments is not to commit adultery, right? And we often think of that as cheating, right? Cheating on your spouse. But Jesus said, you have heard it said of old that you shall not commit adultery, but I say to you, Jesus speaking, I say to you, whoever looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Now, while it's not one of the 10 commandments, The Bible does say that you should not get drunk. Have you ever been drunk? No? How about, do you think it's right or wrong to help your lady friend get drunk? No, it ain't right, but, you know, I didn't want to see her on the street, like I said. I didn't want to see anyone else giving her non-alcohol. She was in the house minding her business. I didn't think it would bother me. I didn't think it would bother me that much. The Bible tells us in Romans chapter 1 that not only is it wrong to break God's law, the commandments, But it's wrong to support those who do. It's Romans 1.32, it says that. So, Fitz, here's what you've admitted about yourself, okay? You've admitted to being a liar, a thief, a blasphemer, an adulterate heart, and you've helped at least one other person to break God's law by getting drunk. And you told me that what a person has to do to go to hell is not do what God has told us. So if you were to die today and stand before our Creator, God Almighty... But they say God will forgive you for your sins. That's what they say, you know. That's what they say. So let's... Have you ever been in a courtroom before? Yeah. Okay. Alright. So let's say you broke into a garage when you were a kid. So let's say you got caught. And you're in court and the judge says, Fitz, what do you have to say for yourself? And you say, well, your honor, I know I'm guilty. I broke into that garage. But I've heard told that you're a forgiven judge. So I think you ought to just forgive me and let me go. No, he ain't going to do that. He ain't going to do that, is he? No. Right? No. He's not going to do that. No. What if someone did something awful to someone you love? They get caught. You're in the courtroom supporting your friend, supporting your loved one. And you're expecting justice. You're expecting that judge to do the right thing. The person's found guilty, they admit to the crime, the evidence is there. It's time for sentencing. The judge asks the person, hey, what do you have to say for yourself for hurting Fritz's loved one? I said, well, I'm really sorry, I know I shouldn't do it, but I've heard you're a forgiven judge. I think you ought to let me go. And the judge turns to him and says, OK, you're free to go. Would you think that's a good judge? No, I ain't going to do that. No. God is the perfect judge. Sometimes they go lightening on your senses or something like that. But they still find you guilty and punish you, though, don't they, right? Yeah. OK. So God, who is the perfect judge, the judge of the entire universe, Doesn't just forgive people because they want to be forgiven He's required Because he's God as God he has set the standard and he says and he says whoever whoever breaks my law Whoever sins against me. I'm going to punish So let's go back to the courtroom Fitz, let's say, and obviously I don't want this to happen, and it's a really graphic picture, but I want to paint this picture to really drive a point home to you, okay? Let's say that your lady friend, who's in the hospital, dies. they find out that it was alcohol you gave her that killed her. And so they arrest you for her death. Now, I don't think in a million years they're gonna do that, okay? I'm just painting a picture, okay? So you're standing before the judge in the courtroom, and the judge says, Fitz, because this lady died because you gave her alcohol, I'm gonna give you the death penalty. And the judge is going to send you into the next room, And they're gonna strap you to a table and they're gonna put you to sleep like a stray dog. But before they do that, Fitz, the judge stands up from behind his bench. He takes off his robes of authority. He steps down and says, Fitz, you're guilty. The just punishment for your crime is death. But you're not gonna die today, Fitz. I'm gonna take your place. And the judge sentenced you to die, he allows himself to be taken into the next room strapped to a table and put to sleep like a stray dog to fulfill the requirements for your punishment and lets you go. What would you think of that, Judge? Oh, that's nice too, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Well, Fitz, the reason I painted that picture is because it's a picture of what God actually did. 2,000 years ago, Fitz, God the Father sent His Son to earth in the person of Jesus Christ, truly God, truly man, and without sin. Unlike you and me who have sinned every day of our lives. If you don't think I did the right thing, I'm not buying it. I better keep it on the street. Right. I'm just saying. Right. God sent His Son to earth in the person of Jesus Christ, truly God, truly man, and without sin. He lived a perfect life from cradle to grave in every possible way. A life that you and I have already failed to live today in one way or another. We've broken God's law in one way or another today, either in our thoughts, or our actions, or our words, in some way, right? Because the Bible says all of us have sinned and fallen short of God's glory, right? We're all guilty, right? But at a time appointed by the Father before the foundation of the world, Jesus Christ, God the Son, voluntarily went to a Roman cross, like that judge voluntarily took upon himself your punishment. He voluntarily went to a Roman cross. He suffered and died a death he did not deserve, because he was perfect. He took upon Himself the punishment He did not deserve. Taking upon Himself the punishment we rightly deserve. Because all we've done in our lives is broken God's law. And then He forever defeated sin and death when He rose from the grave. If it's what God requires of you, which is the same thing He requires of me and every other human being, is that by faith we turn from our sin, we turn from breaking His law, and by faith alone receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and our Savior. And if God does that work in your heart, Fitz, as He's done in mine, He'll forgive your sin, whatever it is. You'll be reconciled. You'll be brought into a right relationship with the God you have spent your life offending by your sin. And you'll have the assurance of heaven. You'll have the assurance of eternal life. Not because you've done anything to deserve it. Not because you're good enough for it. I'm not. No person is. not because you've earned it or deserve it, but because of God's grace and mercy, He allowed His Son to die for sinners and He's applying that death that His Son died to your account. So instead of you going to hell for all eternity for your sins against God, He puts that punishment on His Son at the cross and accepts the sacrifice of His Son on your behalf. So you can go to heaven, not because you're a good guy, not because you've never sinned, not because you go to church, but because of what His Son did on the cross. So when you die and stand before your Creator, instead of seeing you in your sin, He sees you clothed in the righteousness of His Son, who shed His blood for sinners like us. Does that make sense? But you've got to come to God on His terms. If you think you're gonna die and stand before God and he's just going to overlook your sin because he's a forgiving God He's gonna punish your sin God's made one way for you to be made right with Him, only one way for you to be forgiven for your sin, and that is through faith in Jesus Christ. That's how much God loved the world. That's how much God loved the people He would choose to save by allowing His one and only Son to die a death He didn't deserve on behalf of people like you and me who deserve nothing else but God's wrath and punishment. put that on His Son for people like you and me so that we could be set free, so that we could be forgiven. But the only way that is possible is if we put our faith and our trust and our hope in Jesus Christ alone for our salvation, for our forgiveness. So hearing that and understanding that, is there any reason, Fitz, why you wouldn't put your faith and trust in Christ alone for your salvation? No, I don't believe that. Then I want to encourage you to do that, my friend. Your lady friend who's been in the hospital now for a week, I'm betting after that last beer or whatever it was, I'm betting she wasn't thinking, well, I'm gonna go into the hospital, my legs are gonna swell up, I'm gonna lose my memory, and I'm gonna be, you know, maybe on the verge of death because I've drunk myself into this state. She probably wasn't thinking that. Most people, when you and I woke up this morning, we probably weren't thinking, well, today's gonna be the last day on Earth. Right? I mean, life's a vapor. Life is like a mist. We're here today, we're gone tomorrow. What God doesn't promise us is tomorrow. He doesn't promise us our next breath. He doesn't promise you're going to make it to the hospital on your bike without getting hit by a car. He doesn't promise me that I'm going to get in my car and drive home to see my wife and not get T-boned by someone texting going through the intersection. We're not promised that. That's why the Bible says now is the acceptable time. Today is the day of salvation. And if you believe what I'm telling you is true, and I'm telling you it is, if you believe that and God's working on your heart, man, put your faith and your trust in Christ alone for your salvation. Receive Him today and He will forgive your sin and you will be made right with Him forever. And what He'll do, fifth, is He'll take your heart. and he will change you from the inside out. Won't make you a perfect human being, I'm not. It doesn't mean your life's just gonna get perfect overnight. He doesn't promise that. Jesus said, look, I'm the son of man and I don't even have somewhere to lay my head. Here is God in the flesh and they nailed him to a tree. Right, so you know God doesn't promise that our life You know that all of our diseases are going to go away that we're going to have money in the bank account You know I mean people promise none of that But what he does promise is so much better What he promises is forgiveness and eternal life with him in heaven That way no matter what this life throws at you Fitz You could have hope because your hope isn't in this world Your hope is in the God who created this world and who has made a place for His people in heaven for all eternity through faith in His Son. That's where the hope lies. That's where the hope lies. So to your question... They say she can't have no... She can't have no salt. Every time I go up, no salt. Every time I go up... Salt makes the body retain fluid, and that will make the body swell. Certainly for someone who's in her condition. Every time I go up, she'll be begging me to bring some salt. I can't tell her I can't do that. I ain't trying to get no trouble for her. I love her. I want her. So you asked me if it was wrong to... Give her the alcohol. And they're saying that it's alcohol that led to this, right? Yeah, over that. So Fitz, you told me that you don't get drunk, you don't see any point in it. But yet you helped a woman you said you loved. to get so drunk she's in the hospital. And then you ask me if it's wrong. You know what Fitz, you know the answer to that. You don't even need me to tell you. She would have been on the street trying to get the alcohol. Right, but you and I both know Fitz that you didn't help her by giving her alcohol. You know that, right? God knows that too. And you need forgiveness for that. And it is there. You can be forgiven for that. But only through faith in Jesus Christ. Only through faith in Christ. Put your faith and your trust in Christ and He will forgive you, Fitz. He will. That's the good news. That's the promise. Man, that's what makes life at times tolerable. Knowing that no matter what happens in this life, There's a future, there's a hope. There is life eternal with Jesus Christ. Put your faith and your trust in Him, my friend. Turn to Christ and receive eternal life. Where do you stand? I stand on 12th and Bridge. So you're on the streets yourself? No, I sell 12th and 3rd. Oh, okay. Oh, you have an apartment or something there? Okay, got it. Okay. I'm on disability right now. Okay. They didn't want to give it to them because, you know what I'm saying, they don't really give it to people. You got to put points in to get... get the government to help you out, and I had no voice. But they went on to get me. Yeah. So why are you on disability? Because I got a learning disability. Oh, okay. Yeah. Yeah. I don't want to be, you know, it pays the bills, over. Yeah. They keep telling me, I got to get a job, though. I don't want to keep paying my bills, I got to get a job. Yeah. But that card I gave you, Fitz, it has the gospel on it, the message I just shared with you. But it also has all the information about our church. You're welcome to come and fellowship with us. Wednesday nights we have dinner together. Sunday morning we meet for worship. Sunday night we have dinner together and spend time with her. You're welcome to come. You know where the Walmart is off of West Kimberly? Walmart? Yeah. Yeah, we're just past that on Kimberly, about a half mile. My friend Rachel, she helped me out. She's my ex. She still helps us out, gives us money. She just spent $200 on my dog. My dog, he had to get her shots and stuff. That's Amanda's dog. She had to get her shots. Spent $200 on her dog. Your friend's name's Amanda? Yeah. That's my daughter's name. My youngest daughter's name is Amanda. Yeah, she had to get her dogs. She got the dog shots and stuff. But what's more important than how your dog's doing? Huh? What's more important than how your dog's doing? Oh, Amanda. Yes. And what's even more important than how Amanda's doing? God. Your relationship with God. Yeah. Right? Where... What's gonna happen to Fitz when Fitz stands before God? Will God see only Fitz's sin and punish him accordingly? Or will God see instead the righteousness of His Son? Because Fitz put his faith and his trust in Jesus Christ. That's what matters, man. This world is passing away and everything in it. But you're going to live somewhere for all eternity, either heaven or hell. And my hope is that it's heaven. But again, there's only one way for that to happen, and that's through faith in Jesus Christ. Well, right now they're just giving her a lot of therapy and they're just giving her exercise and showing her how to walk and stuff like that. Yeah, so that's what they're doing to her right now. So she's awake. Okay, well that's good. Great. Wonderful. I hope she gets well. Don't do it man. Don't do it. See if it see if it sometimes loving someone is not giving them what they want Sometimes the worst sometimes the most unloving thing we could do is give a person what they want like 15 beers a day That wasn't loving That was loving yourself more than her. Because you didn't want her to go somewhere else to get her beer, and you didn't want her to be mad at you if you didn't give it to her. You were thinking more of you than of her. See, selfishness is a sin, too. Oh, I didn't know that. I didn't know what I was doing. I thought I was doing something right, but I wasn't thinking like that. But again, there's forgiveness for that, but it's only found in Jesus Christ. Turn to Christ and live, my friend, while God's giving you time. Well, I'm gonna let you get to her. Okay. God bless you, man. Thank you for talking to me. I appreciate it. Okay, I just hope she's doing good. Yeah, well, I'm gonna pray for her. Let me give you one of these to give to her, too. Because she needs the gospel, too. And I'll be praying for both of you. She can read, but I can't read. Okay. Okay. Well, then she can read it for both of you. She can read it for both of you. That's why I told you I had to learn. Yeah, okay. Well, you know what? You understood me fine. Yeah. Yeah. So, okay. So, then she can read it for both of you and you can both hear it. Yeah. And I'll be praying for both of you. Alright. God bless you, man. Thanks for stopping and talking to me. You have a good day. Okay.