I Prayed for God to Guide Me to His Truth
Sandy E’Addy: They [were] calling a priest in the church ‘Father’, and I did know, in the Bible, that you’re not supposed to call any man father…
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Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.
[Matthew 23:9 New King James Version]
Sandy (cont.) : …but your Father in heaven. That, alone, [prompted] me, you know, to really investigate the church. I went to the Baptist church and the Holiness church…
I wasn’t going to stop searching. I wasn’t going to stop having the faith that God will show me [His truth], and He did. And nobody can take it away from me.
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STORIES of FAITH
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Sandy: I’m Sandy E’Addy. I was born in Allen, New York, and I was raised in Manhattan. All together, my mother had 13 children. And I was the middle one. My grandmother, she taught us her best way of being a true Catholic. We (weren’t) allowed to come into (the) church unless we bowed down and made the sign of the cross. We always had to pray a different prayer like the Hail Mary. I believed there was a God, and there is a God. Being a Catholic, as I became knowledgeable and (began) praying more, I didn’t believe in the church. No, not the Catholic church.
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“I Started Reading The Bible”
Sandy: When I was older, a teenager, I started reading the Bible and praying a lot. They [were] calling a priest in the church father, and I did know, in the bible, that you’re not supposed to call any man father but your Father in heaven.
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Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.
[Matthew 23:9 NKJV]
Sandy: That, alone, [prompted] me, you know, to really investigate the church. [There were] a lot of things going on in there, and all the Catholic churches I went to, they just [were] not what is supposed to be in the Holy Bible. If they are teaching us, they should teach everything exactly from the Holy Bible and nothing else.
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“I Was Searching”
Sandy: My whole life just wrapped up into finding that true church. That was my all, and all that I was searching for. Because I went through so many churches, and found them to be untrue as far as the Holy Bible is concerned.
I went to the Holiness church. I went to the Baptist church. That was definitely not it. In the Baptist church, they read something from the Bible, but it’s so short lived, and then they start (saying), “Oh my wife did this. This one did that.” What does that have anything to (do with) spreading the word of God? You’re talking about your personal life. If you were a real minister, you would be preaching directly from the word of God, not adding your words to it. God said don’t add to nor subtract.
Oh, the offerings, they came around 3, 4 times. They don’t do it one time. The pastor had the most expensive car. He was taking care of himself. He wasn’t doing what he was supposed to do, but then again, how could he do what he was supposed to do? You can’t preach unless you’re sent.
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“And how shall they preach unless they are sent?…”
[Romans 10:15 New King James Version]
But the Catholic church was the main problem (for) me when I became aware. I did go back to speak to the priest, and I asked him, “Why do you allow the brethren in the church to call you father, when God said, call no man ‘Father’ but your Father in heaven.” I said, “I have my Bible with me, you could read it yourself.”
And he said, “Get out. Just leave.”
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Finding The True Church
Sandy: One day, my husband and I [were] riding our bicycles, and a U.S. government car was coming the wrong way. It hit my bike. I went up in the air, and I came down on the hood of the car and rolled in the street. I was taken to Long Beach hospital, and they did x-rays and everything, and they said there was nothing broken.
They told me that I [could] pick two doctors. I looked up and down and there (were) about 6 to 8 doctors or so, and I picked Dr. Alfredo Daos and Dr. Lito Ramos. When I went to see them, I think I saw some God’s Message [magazines] in the office. I [told] them about [how] I went to every church there was, and I could not find the truth. They [told] me about the Church Of Christ, so I was very curious and wanted to know about the Church Of Christ.
Then they asked me [if] I would like to come to any of the Bible studies or anything like that. I said, “Yes! I definitely would. I would love to come.” So he brought me to the Church, and I was looking for those crosses, because I just wanted to see. There was not any cross, and every word that they preached, was directly from the word of God.
I would pray, I would cry out to our Almighty God and Lord Jesus, “I know there is the true church out there. Please let me be able to find that true church.” And that is exactly what He did.
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“No Doubt, Nowhere”
Sandy: When I first found out about the true Church Of Christ, and [brought] my family, you know, they [didn’t] give me a hard time about it. One time, they did say something like, “You’re going to another church.” I said, “Yes. But this is the true church. Just come. Just come and listen and just be patient, and you’ll all see.” And that’s exactly how it went down. Everything was on the up and up, and truth was being presented to my family and myself.
When they opened up the Bible, and [were] teaching and preaching everything from the Bible and not making up their own words, that was my light. I know that Jesus said, “…upon this rock, I will build my Church.” He didn’t say churches, so I know it was one church, and then when they read the prophecy from the Holy Bible, straight [from] there, then I knew that the Church Of Christ is the true Church without any kind of doubt. And the truth is the only thing that is going to set us free.
The thoughts that I had, [are] the same thoughts I will always have—that the Church Of Christ is the true Church. I’ve been a member of the Church Of Christ since April 28, 1979.
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Sandy E’Addy
Joined the Church Of Christ in 1979
Sandy: So, it’s been a bit over 40 years. I wasn’t going to stop searching. I wasn’t going to stop praying. I wasn’t going to stop believing. I wasn’t going to stop having the faith that God will show me, and He did. And nobody can take it away from me. They can take a lot of things from me in my life, but they cannot take the truth from me.
Regardless of what came in my life, the different trials, the different tribulations, the illnesses, everything, He has truly blessed me and my family.
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No Place On Earth
I wouldn’t want to live without being in the true Church Of Christ, and I mean that from my heart. God knows I speak the truth. Where can I go? Where can I take my family? There is no place on this earth. The world, it’s in bad shape. [There’s] so much sinning and different things that [are] going on in this world. That’s the reason why we need to be in the true Church Of Christ. We need to renew our lives. We need to pray harder. We need to be true followers of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Because we are living in the last days. These are perilous times, and they’re not going to get any better.
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“My Joy”
Sandy: Being in the Church Of Christ, that’s my joy. That’s my main love. It’s a blessed privilege to be able to sing from our hearts, minds and souls to our Father in heaven and His son Jesus Christ.
Interviewer: How long have you been in the choir now?
Sandy: It’s a bit over a decade, say 11 years.
Interviewer: And what do you love about being in the choir?
Sandy: Singing praises to our Almighty God, and His beloved son Jesus Christ. I want to do it until the end, the very end, because serving God and His beloved Son Jesus Christ, is my life. Without being able to do that, I don’t have any life.
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“God Is My All In All”
Sandy: I want to sing praises. I want to let my heart and soul be in sync to our Heavenly Father and His beloved son Jesus Christ. I want to continue to be [in] the choir. Even though I can barely, hardly walk sometimes, God gives me the strength to be able to get [to] the choir loft to praise and sing to Him and His son. And I feel so rejuvenated and refreshed.
Being in the Church Of Christ, being in the true Church Of Christ is just…that’s what I’m most thankful for, and may I take that with me to my grave. I could never thank Him enough for [me] being in the true Church Of Christ. God is awesome. God is my all in all.
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STORIES of FAITH
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