\<applause\>

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** Honor Pastor Armstrong and sister administer and
my good friend who just made the presentation and to all my good friends
and well wishers. I always thank God that people think of me as a person
that's on the go and I think all of us ought to be on the go until we
can't go. Too many people can go and won't go and especially won't go
for God, who made us and who keeps us. So I am gratified this morning to
be here in this \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Baptist Church, it was many years
ago that I was here over 50 I believe. And that\'s a good while and I\'m
delighted to just come back home. My life was sort of like Abraham, get
\<inaudible\> go to Mobile and come to Selma and go to Montgomery and
back to Selma and then to Birmingham to meet the Goliath of our
generation, Ku Klux Klan and klanism in so many people's mind that they
didn\'t know that they were slaves themselves of their own system. I\'m
glad that Paul said in first Timothy, I mean Timothy \<inaudible\> I\'m
glad that God selected and used me. In his service and that's really
what I just want to talk about, it needs to be just what you call
rambling remarks. But I think the time has come for people to get out
and learn God's real purpose for us being here. He just didn\'t make us
and give us all these good looks and whatever else he gave us. And good
gifts for nothing. God gives his job and job opportunities to men and
women \<inaudible\>. And it takes faith to please him since it takes
faith to please him all of us ought to just ask for more faith and get
on into the job he sent us here to do. It is true that people said to
me, well you've paid your dues, you've done this and that, well that
ain't the Lord talking to me, the Lord told me to do it and I do it. But
in Birmingham with neighbors and I said well, you\'re going to give
\<inaudible\> well maybe some of them ought to die and get out of the
way \<inaudible\>.

\<laughter and applause\>

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** But I say well brother my job is to\-- if God
says to jump, jump and let him fix a place for me to land. Thus far
I\'ve landed on solid ground.

\<applause\>

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** \<inaudible\> and I\'ve been- I\'ve been
thinking how good the Lord is, you just ought to know- you ought to know
and you can\'t know it accept from his word. You know normally I
would\-- one verse is good enough for a take but mine probably come from
the whole Bible. That\'s the only book I know that doesn't have to be
revised.

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** Or the mind who said it and taught it to us and
gave it to us to study and learn. Take my \<inaudible\> and learn of me.
None of us know enough about God, he's- he's so \<inaudible\>. I use to
like when I was a boy, the young folk said he's so high you can't get
over him and so wide, \<inaudible\> too didn\'t they. He get around so
deep you can't get under him. Well he said something else that we ought
to know so we can quit thinking of our self much more then we ought to
think about ourselves. He said if I was hungry I wouldn\'t tell you. And
so we can't find him out but we can know enough about him to go on and
learn more, because I believe it was \<inaudible\> that said, then shall
you know if you follow on to know. If you follow \<inaudible\> can't be
just a little dabbler \<inaudible\>. Like that Brylcream use to be a
little dab will do you, well a little dab of God won\'t do you because
there's too much of the devil thrown at you all the time and God does
not take his privileges. The devil's privileges from him but he does
come us as \<inaudible\>.

\<applause\>

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** And of course I don\'t want to \<inaudible\> but
I do think that words that I appreciate the words you said, I don\'t
know if I\'m any better than anybody else, I really think that's an
owning experience to live to see things change in your day and you had
something to do with it. I know that I don\'t\-- I don\'t particularly
relish seeing my name in headlines and that I know that the more
headlines the more enemies you\'ve got. And I know more than that- that
it isn't any man's job to give me my rights or my- or my dues that's
God's business. Because he knows the heart, and I never did uh.. not
only didn\'t fear \<inaudible\> but I didn\'t try to be like anybody
else, I never tried to be like Martin Luther King, he's a great uh..
speaker but you had to push him to do what he needed to do and I was a
pusher, I\'m always going to push it. In church and out of church, but I
think the church folks out to be doing more for freedom and justice than
they are. And the scriptures that I bring before you and I hope that you
might want to note them down. From the start to the finish and I- I
doubt sometimes if some of us who have been thinking of calling the
minister know really what it is that God really wants us to do. Let me
just talk about briefly so that I can get on with it. God is a deliverer
and he is\-- it's his deliverance for all the wealth, we don\'t have
any, we've got to work for it because deliverance comes from God. Not
even from me, not even from Martin Luther King, we are just people who
he used to hopefully inspire others. He told Moses to go and tell the
children about freedom and Moses said what's your name? And God said
tell them I am \<inaudible\> their pharaoh that too but the pharaoh's of
this world that always said put \<inaudible\> because that's his sister.
Who is the Lord that I Mr. Pharaoh should \<inaudible\> for. And it is
still said in the high \<inaudible\> of our days. Whenever men who have
power, whenever men who have money and influence we\-- they need to take
advantage. And keep advantage and take advantage and take more
advantage, that's why the poor get poorer, poorer and moorer if I can
say. And the rich get richer. And there's something wrong with that
system and God doesn't like it. And I don\'t either.

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** So that I\'m just thankful for the wonderful
service this morning, I just sit there and I\'m glad that I don\'t have
to preach\-- I\'m just going to \<inaudible\>. I think I\'m on for a
Sunday, but sometimes the best sermon is said less and I believe it's
time for all of us, preachers and people to whom they preach to open the
book and try to see what God is saying. What is God all about anyways?
Now God is a God of justice and he allows injustice, but \<inaudible\>
he doesn't- he doesn't. I mean he allows the devil to take your mind, if
you let him take your mind, but see I took on God to keep my mind.

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** And the devil can't take what God keeps.

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** If you know who has the keeping power. Now you
just turn your Bible's to Exodus, the third chapter, let's get started
on \<inaudible\>. I\'m glad the press is here so that we can learn and
get to people- get to all people. See the word of God isn't just to me,
it's- it's for you, it's to all of us and when all of us know
\<inaudible\> was joined together, the problem is you can't get enough
people who ought to be in the fight against sin and evil to be in it.
Let's talk\-- let's think about God's place and your place in God's
deliverance, everybody say that God's place and your place,
\<inaudible\> my place because I hope it's \<inaudible\>. God's place
and my place and God's deliverance. It is said that many times in past
that people thought that God was way off and way up yonder and some
power that stood \<inaudible\> people running into each other and so
forth. That's not God. That's somebody else's God, my God doesn't cause
confusion.

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** And I believe you listen a little more and wait
a little more and thought about it a little more and not try to put
\<inaudible\> this is a \<inaudible\>.

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** I will spin on what God says, for to me God said
what he meant and meant what he said. He even if I don\'t understand it.
We've got so many people writing so many things about what the Lord said
and to tell you the truth about it I\'m glad God made every else first
and made man last. Because we \<inaudible\> creation. Third chapter of
Exodus talks about something that we ought to think about and I- I wish
you would just take just a minute and I won\'t try to presume, I use to
presume a lot and sometimes \<inaudible\> when I feel like it. The older
I get the more I learn that you don\'t have to show off, just show up
and speak up.

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** Now here is \<inaudible\> of all and let me tell
you \<inaudible\>. God in his own who created earth and all of this and
I don\'t need to get scientific and technological \<inaudible\> you know
that better than I do, I\'m not a scientist, I\'m just an ordinary
common boy. It's amazing what God can do to ordinary people.

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** Who will do extraordinary things for him.

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** \<inaudible\> we can go into that if you want
to, but let's get\-- because you see creatures are \<inaudible\> this
small. God called the first Civil Rights \<inaudible\> and human
\<inaudible\>.

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** It wasn't in Chicago like some people think, it
was herein the Midnight Desert, third chapter of Exodus \<inaudible\>.
Start reading wherever you want, but God just set a bush afire and
wouldn\'t let it burn up. And you got\-- had those strange things get
some folks attention, because most folks are not paying any attention
about God. Not for God, nor about God. Amen. \<inaudible\> on who made,
who teach me. I'll focus is on focus\-- is focused on what I\'m doing,
what I can get by with, what I can get \<inaudible\>, get it while you
can if you can and keep it if you can get away with it.

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** And so God talked to Moses and had \<inaudible\>
as he discovered the pharaoh knew who he was and \<inaudible\> sometimes
your own people don\'t appreciate you.

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** He had talked to these Egyptian \<inaudible\>
been slaves you know, and \<inaudible\> still and he went out there and
tried to talk to them about \<inaudible\> kill an Egyptian and hid his
body in the sand. Back then we found brothers fighting brothers, that's
the \<inaudible\>.

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** He said \<inaudible\> now who are you to tell me
anything. Isn't that \<inaudible\> attitude? He said yeah, you\'re going
to \<inaudible\> first. \<inaudible\> Martin Luther King said, he said
the Lord must run away, he said God said to his secretary, he said get
that fellows address I could use him on my program. You see God knows
who\-- what\-- God knows you do you\-- he knew- he knew \<inaudible\>
when I first \<inaudible\> and I went to Birmingham and I went in there
\<inaudible\>.

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** And they knew how to make it sound, I use to say
that the white man's churches, religion was \<inaudible\> as the
churches he worshipped in he'd be all right. My Lord. And so
\<inaudible\> done what \<inaudible\> and anytime you see something
green \<inaudible\>. And then Moses, God called Moses, not \<inaudible\>
said he called him and \<inaudible\> and Moses thought it was his
father, that's what he said, I didn\'t say it. God told Moses, so why do
you think it bothers you \<inaudible\>.

\<applause\>

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** \<inaudible\> you know who you are, you know
your name, you know how you done it.

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** \<inaudible\> call a name and Moses said come up
closer but first of all, you don\'t know me but get qualified to come to
me. Pull off your shoes because I\'m- I\'m holy, God always is holy,
qualify yourself. And you start right here and he said Moses,
\<inaudible\> he said Moses I am the God, not the one\-- ain't never
been but one God, we got too many. We need to go back and read the 27
chapter \<inaudible\>. He was, so why did they have a God for
everything.

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** And God think to himself he said well wait a
minute, let's go get these \<inaudible\> and one of them might get mad
if you leave them out, we'll put them out\-- we'll strap it to the
unknown God. The preacher got a special \<inaudible\> he said well now
you\'re all to the wise here but you ain't wise enough, ain't but one.
Amen. Moses\-- \<inaudible\> to Moses now watch what he says please, and
he just- he just talked \<inaudible\> I am the God, how many is the?
One?

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** It isn't but one no matter by what name you call
it. \<inaudible\> under the sun there's the idea of God, thank God. But
there ain't but one God, I am the God of \<inaudible\>, the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of \<inaudible\>. And Moses hid his
face, because he was afraid to look upon God. You know if we\-- I\'m
allowed to say it, we'd be afraid to look at the glorious and beauty of
God the way we carry on, you know, that. You all going to be glad when
this is over.

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** \<inaudible\> the Lord said I have sure seen the
affliction of my people, I seen it. We've got that song, the Lord see
doesn't he? I see, I have seen the affliction of my people, which are in
Egypt wherever you are, God knows it. And \<inaudible\> Egypt, then
Egypt \<inaudible\> and I know how they get along and then number two I
have \<inaudible\> heard \<inaudible\>. God hears, isn't it a wonderful
thing? Don\'t you ever think you can call him God, you may not know him
pleasantly but thank God your spirit is made to mesh with his spirit. He
knows, he sees and he knows. You all with me?

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** And not only has he seen and have heard, but he
hears, I\'ve heard that cry by reasons of their task masters God knows
why you\'re praying. Black folk don\'t really \<inaudible\> they do. He
knows why you\'re crying, but you've got to cry unto God. \<inaudible\>
anything to your tears, it doesn't matter how you look, it doesn't
matter whether you wear a \<inaudible\> or whatever you wear or a
\<inaudible\>, be what you are.

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** And \<inaudible\> I see, I hear and I know. And
I\'m glad today my friends God knows me. Yes sir, but you see we've got
to- we've got to do a little better than this, look what \<inaudible\>
said, I\'m glad this is \<inaudible\> and I have come down to deliver
them out of the hands of Egypt, and then to bring them up \<inaudible\>.
I\'ve come down. So you see the God whom you\'re suppose to be serving
he sees, he hears and he knows and more than that with all with what he
knows and sees and hears, he's come down here to be with us.

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** That\'s why we are today, that\'s why we can
celebrate today God has come down.

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** \<inaudible\> God \<inaudible\> people. God
\<inaudible\>, we are not dead, we'll more than \<inaudible\>, someone
said man is like bread with \<inaudible\> grass with the spirit of God.
\<inaudible\> I know \<inaudible\> when he come to deliver him, well now
if God has come down, he's not where \<inaudible\> so whenever the Klan
want to take over God's place, I just let God be God. And then I say
when the bomb went off, they planted it \<inaudible\> dynamite between
the church and the house \<inaudible\> preach now. \<inaudible\> house
with me and the house and one of the writers who wrote \<inaudible\>
that right. He found a bump somewhere that I got \<inaudible\> but I
didn\'t get a scratch. House is blown down, corner of the house is blown
off, there I am lying in the bed and \<inaudible\> the mattress and
underneath the mattress was the arm of Jesus. I must tell you that if
you ever learn how to trust God, you can understand something even in a
difficult situation that nobody can tell you and so I thank God for that
experience. They intended to blow me into Heaven, they forgot it's God's
bid as to who gets dead when and how.

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** I just want to tell you that when I come to a
close as I can, but I am \<inaudible\> you know that. We \<inaudible\>
the Klan in Montgomery, because Montgomery \<inaudible\> Association
but- but up north. So I have decided that\-- I decided that God was with
me and sent me, I could stand up to what man. Somebody said
\<inaudible\> I don\'t care what man does \<inaudible\>. The Lord is the
strength of my life, you can \<inaudible\> going to ride the buses
anyway. \<inaudible\> anything for me. And \<inaudible\> decided my time
on earth was up, it- it \<inaudible\> always trying to decide your
business. Always trying to decide yours, always trying to decide
\<inaudible\> in the hand of the Lord, and \<inaudible\> come to the
Lord. \<inaudible\> help me Lord. And so \<inaudible\> get through this,
the church is hardly in the same \<inaudible\> about that far apart,
Richie knows the corner of the church now but the house is gone, and I
was in the house, I was lying there and you know about 150 slithers of
wood from that dynamite blew into the center wall and knocked the corner
off the house and the center wall was like this now. Somebody said house
could almost fell because it was a 40 degree, past 35, and there I was
lying on the mattress in Jesus arms. And I knew what it was, I knew
exactly what it was, I knew what it was and I knew it was meant for me.
I knew the Klan had put my name on the bomb. But I knew also God had
erased my name and when the bomb went off my name wasn't on it, you see.
That\'s why I\'m here now, the bomb went off, blew the corner of the
house off, and I was right there. Blew the spring out from under my bed,
we didn\'t find any pieces of spring did we? There I was lying on the
mattress in Jesus arms, you know what I was thinking what \<inaudible\>
the Lord is my life, I am \<inaudible\> strength of mine. When
\<inaudible\> and \<inaudible\> my flesh, they stumbled and fell, why
did they fall because God was there. Aren't you glad he knows where you
are? Aren't you glad he knows who you are? Aren't you glad he comes down
to see about you? That's the message we need our people God wants to see
about. \<inaudible\> and talks with me and he tells me and so we have
\<inaudible\> celebration because I didn\'t do what the man wanted me to
do, big old policeman, burly, nobody in here as big as he was. And I
walked out the back of the house and you know I told you I was a cool as
cucumber until \<inaudible\>. I had all my senses because God was with
me, when I walked out, \<inaudible\> walked back and got out and stuff
and heard this big burly policeman, I \<inaudible\> his shoulder, he was
a head taller than me and I saw him turn \<inaudible\> to that first
seat so when I saw him standing, I didn\'t stop and look, he was having
all sorts of shenanigans because he was a Klans man himself and intended
to blow me away and here I am.

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** Thought I was dead, so when he looked and I
didn\'t stop when I saw him and he had his hat off and he wiped his face
and took his handkerchief out and he was crying. I\'ve never seen a
policeman cry before, I was use to them cursing and doing other things.
And so when I saw him I just stopped and it was funny to look to see,
couldn\'t imagine how I was alive and then he turned around maybe about
five or six steps going towards the crowd which was gathering
\<inaudible\> the house and so when he walked and turned his back I
turned and walked behind him. I\'m \<inaudible\> in particular whenever
he would stop I would stop, never said a word and then he did the same
shenanigans and \<inaudible\> did that three times and finally we're
getting near the crowd and he says Reverend, he says I\'m so sorry,
Reverend I\'m sorry, he said you know I didn\'t think it would go this
far. \<inaudible\> I know these people he said, \<inaudible\> that Klan.
Isn't God, isn't God all right?

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** He said I didn\'t think they would go this far,
I never said a word I didn\'t feel a need to say anything. I didn\'t
respond so he finally turned around and worked a little more, walked off
a little bit more and then he thought he would give me some advice. He
said Reverend if I were you, I\'d get out of town as quick as I could.
And I said with the power of all the Lord I could muster, officer
you\'re not me, go back and tell your Klan \<inaudible\> that if God
could keep me through all of this, I\'m here for the duration and the
war that's just starting.

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** I'm here that God is a deliverer. Is he a
deliverer?

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** Isn't God all right?

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** Well you know I could go but you see the problem
is what do you do when you find out that God can and God will, you see I
ought to commit you to \<inaudible\> because you see that's another
\<inaudible\> scripture. God is \<inaudible\>, God is the God of justice
so I\'m \<inaudible\>. Tom 97-2 it talks about darkness and clouds being
on one hand which means you will never understand God if you tried and
sat down and try and so don\'t try just take it by faith. Amen. Clouds
and darkness that's a part of God that you can never understand, but
that's one side, you can't, but his throne sits on only two pillars and
not 25 or 30.

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** God always\-- and that \<inaudible\> so simple
anybody can\-- his throne sits on two pillars. One justice and the other
righteous.

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** Now you don\'t find too much preaching about in
black churches or white about God's justice.

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** \<inaudible\> is the God of justice, if you want
a God of justice he wouldn\'t be righteous. You shall reap what you sow.
If you don\'t know \<inaudible\> quickly. He even told God \<inaudible\>
I wish I had time but \<inaudible\>. And so it's the white churches,
it's the black churches, even today preach the justice of God. We
wouldn\'t have all the trouble in our schools. Our children have gotten
into this and the Bible puts it like this the father's have eaten sour
grapes and the children's are on edge. They can't be right, since the
Civil War this country has \<inaudible\> the wrong rode, compromise,
compromise, compromise, when you compromise the truth you don\'t have
the real truth. I am the truth, I am the \<inaudible\>, I am the
\<inaudible\>. Not mixed up, you all with me? Got a little more of you
\<inaudible\> so now you see okay so God \<inaudible\> Jesus oh yeah.
God \<inaudible\> the world and he forgave us his only begotten son and
Jesus defines with the churches. Martin Luther King called a church a
tail light more than a head light. And you don\'t back up very fast. But
the light\-- the head light shines for the past and the just the church
is as a shining light \<inaudible\> 4-18 shining more and more
\<inaudible\>. See the \<inaudible\> day's eternal deliverance,
salvation. I wish you all understood me.

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** \<inaudible\> all we going to have a time
\<inaudible\>, come in and toss the bread and talk- talk about what God
has and but God is done \<inaudible\> to that perfect day. But there
won't be no Klan, and no Klan mentality, and as the Klan mentality your
mind, a man\-- as a man thinks in his mind so is he. And if you keep
thinking bad you\'ll be bad, if you keep\-- and if you keep on thinking
bad you might think worse and get worse and worse. And so that's why
people right now, some people who got \<inaudible\> understand God and
appreciate him. And when you see a real bad person who's been using his
bad mind along time you say but for the grace of God there goes I.

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** Am I right?

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** That's why I could- could be\-- my nephew on
\<inaudible\> did you ever hate \<inaudible\>, no I didn\'t hate
\<inaudible\>. If it hadn't been for \<inaudible\> I wouldn\'t know as
much as I do about Jesus Christ.

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** You see he\-- \<inaudible\> he's a keeper so
Jesus comes and says \<inaudible\> look you must be born again.

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** \<inaudible\> even whatever you are, what
you\'re doing you\'re still \<inaudible\> because God has to have you
like him. God ain't going to let Satan mess up\-- mess us all up in the
Garden of Eden. \<inaudible\> another God, \<inaudible\> God of
\<inaudible\>. It takes along time to get to that. And that's why he was
depraved \<inaudible\> the church \<inaudible\> wasn't his \<inaudible\>
the church and the gates of hell cannot stand against \<inaudible\>. And
so that other God was a God that had Jesus dedicate himself,
\<inaudible\>.

(more than one speaking)

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** Can I- can I say something to you old friend. I
think that we just ought to really believe in the \<inaudible\> of God.
God\-- he ain't going out of business, there are a whole lot of
philosophers that wish he could out of business. But he's in business,
God is here, Jesus and God is down here where we are \<inaudible\> and
Jesus is and the Holy Spirit is and I said there is \<inaudible\> takes
care of my ain'tness, what I ain't they are. And so he stand
\<inaudible\> mockery, he comes to see. We have a man from the church
today who his great grandson, I mean his great grandfather, Frederick
Douglas IV, great man.

\<applause\>

**Fred Shuttlesworth:** You and your wife stand, Frederick Douglas IV,
great, great, great grandfather who said to us \<inaudible\> without
struggle there is no\--

\#### End of Tape B14 \####