Giants or Grasshoppers

Giants or Grasshoppers

by Pastor Jack Hyles

(Loyal Pastor of First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana for over 42 years)

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Sunday Morning Sermon, January 11, 1970

"But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." -Philippians 4:19

All of you who have attended here for any number of months are aware of the fact that I served in World War II as a paratrooper. One thing they told us when we would jump was never to look down, but always to look up. We would stand in the door of the airplane and they would say, "Ready, jump."

We would stand in the door of the airplane. The first man would put his hands just outside the door. He would put his feet and knees together, bend his knees slightly, and look toward the horizon, always looking up, never looking down. If you look down, you become fearful and discouraged, and oftentimes you would not jump.

There is something else they told us. We had what we called "risers" on our chutes. Risers were four sets of lines—one going this way toward this side of the chute, one going this way toward this side of the chute, one out this way, and one out this way—with which you guided the chute.

If you wanted to go forward you pulled down the two front risers, which caused the wind to blow you forward. If you wanted to go backward, you pulled down the back set of risers, causing the parachute to tilt, and the wind would blow the chute backward. If you wanted to go right, you pulled down these two and the wind would blow into the chute and tilt it that way. If you wanted to go left, you pulled these two risers. The chute would tilt this way and the wind would blow you to the left. That is how a good parachutist can pick out his landing spot.

So many times people say, "Well, how do you know you will not land in a tree?" if you are watching carefully, you can miss the tree. Once you start to land, have your spot picked out within 50 to 100 feet of the ground. The instructions were to bend your knees slightly. Never stiffen them out because of the possibility of breaking a leg. Bend your legs slightly, put your fee and knees together slightly—and all of you old, ex-paratroopers know what I mean—then hold the risers like this and don't look down! Don't look down! If you look down, you will know when you are about to hit the ground. They did not want you t know; because if you did, you would automatically stiffen and brace yourself, and there would go a couple of legs just like that.

So they asked you to always look up; never look down. Always look up. When you are jumping out of the plane, look up or you won't jump. When you are landing, look up or you'll know when you're going to hit the ground.

Forty percent of your fall is supposed to be on your feet. And you're supposed to-at least you were supposed to when I was there—roll to either the right side or the left side and land backwards. (That's why I would always pull down a bit on my risers. I would pull up a bit on my risers so I could land going backwards. You see, that way you would break your neck rather than your leg!)

But anyway, you are supposed to land, and as you land, your knees are bent a little bit. Actually, what you do is land 40 percent on your feet, 30 percent on your hip, and 20 percent on what we used to call the push up muscle. It is a little muscle right here about the size of your fist. It's in your back, and as you flex your muscles a bit, you can see why it is called the push up muscle. Twenty percent was to be on your feet, 30 percent on your hips; and you are not supposed to go straight back—you are supposed to go at a 45-degree angle. At least that's the way they taught us.

One secret to the entire operation is "always look up." Never look down. If you look down, you will stiffen. Never know when the blow is going to come. Always look up. When you jump out of the plane, look toward the sky; never toward the ground. When you come to land, look toward the sky; never toward the ground. Now, I will come back to that story in a few minutes.

The Israelites had been delivered from bondage and were on their way toward the Promised Land. You recall that wonderful story. The plagues of Egypt had been delivered upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians, and finally, the night of the Passover, the angel came through and took the first-born from all the homes of those who had not applied the blood on the doorpost and on the lintels. Then the Israelites were allowed to leave the land of bondage and cross the Red Sea on dry ground.

You recall how the pursing armies of Egypt came and were drowned in the Red Sea. They, too, thought they could cross on dry ground. When the armies went in the Red Sea, the waters came over them and drowned them. God preserved His people marvelously.

Now here are three and one-half million Jews. They needed food to eat. They began to complain about no food. How are you going to feed three and one-half million people? God sent manna from Heaven. He called it "angels' food," and I personally think that is what the angels eat in Heaven—angels' food—like little wafers. Every morning these wafers were sent for these people; God provided for the needs of His people.

Let me stop and say this: God has promised to provide for the needs of His people. You have the promise of God that if you will put Him first, He'll take care of your needs. You say, "Preacher, I would have signed one of those little tithing cards this morning. I would have promised God I would tithe, but I can't afford it. I could not live." No, not unless you knew God. God has promised to provide for the needs of His people. That is a promise of God. Now, if you are God's own and you will put God first, God will take care of your needs. "But my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Chris Jesus," wrote the Apostle Paul from the dungeon of the Mamertine Prison. (Philippians 4:19)

But how are they going to drink? Where are they going to get water? God said, "Moses, take that rod. There is a big rock in Horeb. I want you to take that rod and smite that rock." From that rock there came forth water to quench the thirst of three and one-half million Jews.

Here's something very interesting. To this day, that same rock still sends forth water. Did you know that? It is one of the few miracles in the Bible that is still operative to this day. That rock in Horeb, smitten by Moses, from which came water is still gives forth fresh water today after all these hundreds and thousands of years.

Well, the Jews now have manna from Heaven. They have water from the rock, but how about their shoes? They have a long time to spend. They are going to spend 40 years in the wilderness. God said, "Okay, shoes, don't wear out" and for 40 years their shoes didn't wear out. One time they got hungry for flesh, and God gave enough quail—just dropping out of Heaven—to feed three-and-one-half million Jews for 30 days. Quail every day!

Now, they come to the door of the Promised Land. They had been marching from the land of Egypt toward the land of Canaan. They have come to Kadesh Barnea, the door of the Promised Land; and here before them, their dream. Here is a land that flows with milk and honey. Here is the place they have wanted all these years. They are at the door. All they have to do is walk in.

Cannot the God, Who could divide the Red Sea for them, provide for them in the conquest of Canaan? Cannot the God who sent manna from Heaven and water from the rock, cannot that same God care for them now and give them victory in the land of Canaan?

But Moses made a mistake. Moses should have said, "Let's go. Follow me." But, no, Moses appointed a committee of twelve people. These twelve men were to go to the Promised Land, find out about the possibility of its conquest, and come back and report to Moses and the people.

Well, they chose these twelve people. They went out to the Promised Land, looked at it, came back and said, "Boy, it is a wonderful place. It's a land that flows with milk and honey. It's a wonderful land. But," ten of them said, "those people we saw, the sons of Anak there, were giants! We were like grasshoppers in their sight. Put us beside them and we are like a grasshopper beside giants. Now, we can't go in. we're like grasshoppers in their sight."

Now follow me. It became a slogan. It became a byword. It became a colloquialism. The Jews would talk about the grasshopper and the giant. Oh, like we would say, "That dirty buzzard." Or, "He's a flirt," "He's a wolf." Or here's a fellow who's pretty mean—"He's a tiger." Or here's a fellow who's pretty big—and I dare not look around now—they'd say, "Boy, he's as big as an elephant."

Now, in those days, if a fellow had a battle with someone who was overrated, (when there was a mismatch) instead of saying "heavy favorite," they would say: "He's a grasshopper in his sight. He's a giant in his sight." It became a constant byword. When there would be a fellow as a grasshopper up beside a giant, instead of calling one, "You little pip squeak." You runt. You weasel." That's the way you would put it. They would say, "You grasshopper." Or instead of saying, "You big bully," they would say, "You big giant!" Giants and grasshoppers became symbolic of weaklings and strong men. Samson would have been a giant, you see.

Here is something interesting. Now follow this. Year pass, and a little ruddy-faced boy is watching his flock in the field. His brothers are on the battlefield. His father, whose name is Jesse, sends the little ruddy-faced runt—David is his name—to the battlefield to take some okra and squash and turnip greens to his brothers on the battlefront. (That's in the Greek. If you want Hebrew, you won't get that in the "original language" now—the okra, squash, and turnip greens, etc.) He says, "I want you to take some victuals to the front lines for your brothers."

Here goes little old David up to the front lines and he hears a noise. The earth is shaking and he says, "What do I hear?" Over on the other side there is a great Philistine. His name is Goliath. The Philistine stands up and breaths out threats against all the Jewish army, and he challenges the Jews: "Send a man to fight against me, the one who wins, his army shall be victorious!" Oh, the Jews are trembling.

Saul is the king, and Saul refuses to fight. He is the one who should have fought, but he refuses. Then little David says, "Let me go up and lick the big fellow." Saul says, "Why, David, you couldn't do that." His brothers laughed at him and say, "You go on home." Though in the English you don't usually find this, it is generally agreed by scholars that David looked across and said, "Are you going to be afraid of that grasshopper?"

What? Goliath was six cubits and a span tall—nine feet, nine inches. Now a cubit is the distance between the bend of the arm and the tip of the finger. For a small lady, that would be about 15 inches. For a big man, it would be about 23 or 24 inches. For an average man, it would be about 21 inches. Mine is 21 inches. But generally it was understood that a cubit was 18 inches. Now if a fellow is six cubits high—that is a foot-and-one-half per cubit—that's nine feet. A span is about nine inches. That means he was at least nine feet, nine inches tall.

He had a helmet of brass on his head. He had a shield across his shoulders. He had a coat of mail. He had greaves or coverings on his legs. He had a spear, the Bible says, like a weaver's beam. He had everything covered; probably the only things visible were his eyes.

Now, if you can, picture the obstacle David faced: a giant, nine feet, nine inches tall, completely covered by protection, with armor, and with a spear in his hands like a weaver's beam. Little David walks up with a slingshot and five stones and says, "Let me take care of that grasshopper!" (That is like walking up to Cassius Clay and saying, "You little weasel!" And I'd like to take a chance at that, by the way.) He said he was a grasshopper.

Now follow me. Here was the giant of the giants. These ten men at Kadesh Barnea said, "We are like grasshoppers in their sight!" But David said, "He is a grasshopper in my sight." Well, I guess it depends on how you look at it, doesn't it?

Look at the same fellow. One person says he's a giant. The other person says he's a grasshopper. It all depends on how you look at it.

Here are two young people. They are seniors in high school. They want to go to a Christian college. One of them says, "I can't afford it. Maybe I can go for awhile, but I can't go for long." The other looks at that same college with the same obstacles, the same problems, the same financial needs, and says, "I am going to go! No trouble at all!" One looks at the obstacle and says, "It's a giant." The other says, "It's a grasshopper." It depends on how you look at it. What is the difference? God is the difference.

Here are two people who face heartache or a burden. In 1970 there is some heartache to be faced. One looks at it and says, "It's a giant." The other looks at it and says, "It's a grasshopper." Same problem, same heartache, same type person, but one looks at it and says, "A giant." The other looks at it with God and says, "A grasshopper."

Here are two people who face a task-the building of a Sunday school class, the building of a bus route, the building of a department in the Sunday school. Two people look at the same task and one says, "It can't be done. Compared to me, a grasshopper, it is a giant." The other says, "It can be done. To me the problem looks like a grasshopper." It depends on how you look at it. One looks with God, the other does not.

Here are two preachers—both face the same field, the same city, have the same streets on which to serve, the same houses on whose doors they knock, the same type people and the same area. One fellow says, "I cannot build a church in that city. It's like a giant task." The other looks at it and says, "I can build a church there. It's like a grasshopper." Why? Because one has God.

Here are two people who look at tithing. They make the same salary and have the same size family. One says, "I cannot afford to tithe. It's too big a task, too big a hurdle. It's a giant to me. How could I afford it? How could I pay my bills?" The other says, "I cannot afford not to tithe. I must tithe. It is no hurdle for me. God can take care of me. It's only a grasshopper as far as I'm concerned." What is the difference? The difference is God.

Here are two people who look at a death, their own death. In 1970 some of you will die. Some of us will die in 1970. someone here this morning will not be here a year from today. Someone this morning, who has no thought in this world that you'll be in eternity in a year, will be gone in 1970.

Next year on this Sunday when we meet here, you will not be here. Your body will lie beneath the sod, and your soul will be thrown out into eternity to meet your God and to meet your Maker. You will have to face God. One of us, some of us, will face God in 1970.

Last year, and every year, I make a statement about like this: There are people who are in Heaven, who are in eternity today, whose bodies lie in a cemetery in this city, who sat here one year ago today just like you sit here now with no thought of death, no thought of its being them; but they are gone!

Here are two people who face death. One says, "Oh, no! Death is like a great giant before me." Here's another who says, "I don't want to die. I don't necessarily want to die now; but if I do, I'll be with the Lord Jesus Christ." One says, "It's a giant." The other says, "It's a grasshopper."

They will be buried in the same cemetery. They'll use the same funeral home. The same preacher will preach their funeral messages, the same singer, perhaps, will sing in the same auditorium or chapel. Yet, one person sees death as a giant, and one sees death as a grasshopper. What is the difference? God!

May I say to you: Whatever your obstacle is this year, whatever burden you face this year, whatever problem you will solve this year, whatever question you must answer this year, whatever burden you must bear this year, it can be to you a giant or a grasshopper. The great difference depends on whether you include God. Now follow me.

Here ten men with three-and-one-half million folks behind them say, "We cannot go up. We are like grasshoppers in their sight, and the are like giants."

There is one little, ruddy-faced boy who has the blessing and power of God on him and he says, "I'll lick that big giant. Let him be nine feet, nine inches tall. Let him have a spear like a weaver's beam. Let him have his legs covered with greaves. Let him have a coat of mail covering his body. Let him have his shield covering his chest. I don't care."

Little David walks up and Goliath says, "You are going to fight me? You? Why, I'll serve you to the fowls of the air. They'll be eating your flesh in just a little while." Little David looks across at Goliath and looks up at that nine-foot nine-inch frame of his and says, "I've got news for you. All you have is a spear like a weaver's beam. All you have is a coat of armor covering every part of your body. I've come to you in the Name of the Lord."

Goliath said, "I'll feed you to the fowls before the sun goes down." David said, "Big boy, the fowls are going to have a bigger lunch than they planned. They're not going to eat a little Jew; they are going to eat a big Philistine." Goliath, I am sure, would have said something like this: "Where are you going to hit me? All I've got is a little spot here so I can see." David said, "Look quick, boy. Look quick. You're a grasshopper! I come to you in the Name of the Lord!"

He takes that one little stone in a slingshot controlled by God, and it has more power than a spear like a weaver's beam controlled by Goliath. Let me tell you, my precious friend, the burden you face in 1970—that problem, that financial problem, that heartache you face, that physical problem—will be to you a giant or a grasshopper depending on one thing and one thing only: Do you face it in the name of God?

Little David came and said, "I face it in the Name of God. My God is able! I face it in the name of the Lord!" God said to David, "Take that slingshot, and put a stone in that sling." Little David took that slingshot, and hurled it toward Goliath, and God guided that stone. It did not hit the greaves on Goliath's legs, the coat of mail on his body, the shield on his chest, or the helmet of brass on his head. God took that little stone and guided it through the air to the one spot on Goliath that was vulnerable. The one spot where Goliath could have been hit.

That stone, in the hands of a young man given to Almighty God, found its way toward the proper place, and Goliath was felled. If you will take your Bible and read it carefully, you will find that David cut off the head of that big fellow. As near as I can tell from what the "original language" says, he took it to his family room, mounted it on the wall. Every time David had hot chocolate and popcorn, he looked up and said, "Yeah, you grasshopper. Yeah, you grasshopper." For giants become grasshoppers when God gets in it!

Now, I don't know what your problem is. I don’t' know what your burden is. I don't know what your need is, but there is one thing I do know: I know that with God a giant becomes a grasshopper. I also know this: Without God, grasshoppers can become giants.

A strange thing happened to me the other day. I have folks to do work for me. I do the big tasks. It's nothing for me to pick up the telephone to call somewhere and order books with a retail price of $15,000. It is nothing for me in a day's time to transact business that takes care of thousands of dollars, but do you know what is hard for me to do? The little things.

I had not been to a grocery store, since I don’t' know when, until recently. The other day I needed some white shoe polish, and o you know it seemed impossible to get it. Now, don't misunderstand me, I can pick up the telephone and order something that costs $15,000. it is a grasshopper to me. But I thought, "Now, where do you buy shoe polish?" Normally, I just say, "Mrs. Plopper or somebody, go down and get me some shoe polish," but on that day, everybody was busy. I thought, "Now, where do you get shoe polish? Now who would have it? Not a barber shop. A drugstore? No, I believe a grocery store would have it." So I go down here to the A & P grocery store next to Steinberg-Baum (that store looks like a huge shopping center to me). I walked in and felt as unqualified to face the task as anybody ever felt. It's just some shoe polish!

I walked in and I thought, "Now what counter would it be on?" It took me 30 minutes to buy that shoe polish. I got there and didn't know what the names were. I didn't know whether it was Green Giant or what the brand was, and I didn't know which was the best. I had the hardest time.

Now, I got back and was talking to some folks on the staff, and I said, "You know that was a big thing for me." I can do a big job just like that. Listen, I can go down and buy a car. I can go down and buy a suit of clothes. I can order $15,000 in books. I can take care of a loan. (God knows I've had enough experience borrowing money.) I borrowed a few thousand dollars, just picked up the telephone and did it, but shoe polish? When I got back and I got to thinking, "Now, why was that so big for me?"

Here's why. Because I have to go to buy shoe polish where people know me and it's a big deal. I relived it. I got out of the car and a fellow said, "Hey, don't I know you?" And I said, "Well, I don't know." He said, "I know who you are. You're Reverend Hyles, aren't you?" And I said, "I'm Brother Hyles." And he said, "Sure, I've seen your picture in the paper." I walked in and a fellow walked over and said, "Hey, Brother Hyles! Merry Christmas!" There was a church member there, and I said, "Merry Christmas." And I walked in and the first person I saw inside said, "Hello, Reverend."

I walked up to a fellow and said, "Say, where's the shoe polish?" He said, "Don't I know you?" And I said, "You probably don't." I asked again, "Where's the shoe polish?" Now it took me 20 minutes to get to the shoe polish. I am saying a grasshopper was a giant.

Now I know people today in this building who have little problems that are driving them nuts. (Pardon me, they have driven you nuts.) They have little, bitty problems; I mean little grasshoppers! Little things! On the other hand, I know people this morning in this building who have big problems that God could make look like grasshoppers. Why is it that little problems bother you? Listen and I'll tell you why. It is because you don't think you need help on the little problems and they throw you.

Now if I had said, "Dear Lord, help me get some white shoe polish," He would have said, "Okay, send one of the secretaries down to get it." But I thought, "Now I won't need that." The honest truth is, I borrowed $4,000 the other day from the bank faster than I could get the white shoe polish. No joke!

Now, what am I saying? I am saying that 1970 holds some problems for you. I don't care how little they are, God wants to help you with them. God is concerned about them.

Many of you have heard me tell this. I have told it time and time again. Mrs. Hyles and the children and I were taking a train trip to Texas one time. We were almost to Garland, Texas, and my mother and sister were to meet us at the train station. We slept in a chair car all night and I wanted to brush my teeth before I met them. So I got up, and you know how you are on a train; you are sleeping all night—I won't go into all that—but you are tired. I opened my briefcase, and you know what? I had left my toothpaste somewhere. I had left it!

I didn't want to meet Mother and Earlyne with bad breath. I said, "Dear Lord, give me some toothpaste somewhere." Well I went back to the concessions, to the little sandwich man who sells toothpaste and so forth. And I said I wanted some toothpaste. He said, "Mister, I'm out of it. I just sold my last tube."

I said, "Look, just let me borrow some." He said, "Mister, I don't have any." And I said, "Now look, in less than 15 minutes I will come to the Garland, Texas, train station, and I've got that brown taste in my mouth; I want to kiss my mother and sister, and I want to smell good." He said, "I'm sorry."

So I went back to the rest room. I got on my knees and said, "Dear Lord, I've got to have some toothpaste." A little kid walked in. I say little, he was 11 or 12, but he was fat—one of those little fellows who should get out and run around the block some. He walked in and said, "Hi, Mister!" (Little cocky fellow!) I said, "How do you do?" He said, "What's your name?" He put his hand out. Well, what 11 year old kid does that? I put my hand out. I said, "My name is Jack Hyles." He called his name and he said, "Hi, Jack!" (The little runt! "Hi, Jack?") Timidly, I said, "Hi." I was intimidated.

He said, "Jack, let me show you what I bought in Chicago." He pulled out a little thing that looked like an overgrown Vienna sausage or a potted meat can key that opens the can. (You pull the little deal up and you wrap the key around it and then twist it down.) He said, "Look what I got." I said, "What is it?" He said, "It is a toothpaste squeezer. What you do is you put that thing on the end of a toothpaste tube and it rolls the toothpaste up and the toothpaste doesn't slide back down to the bottom" I said, "Is that right? How does it work?" He said, "Just a minute and I'll show you." I said, "Hold it, before you show me."

I reached in my briefcase, got my toothbrush out, and said, "Do it on the toothbrush so you won't waste the paste." He said, "This is he way it works, Jack!" Boy, at that time I was glad he showed up. I stuck my toothbrush under that paste and said, "Thank You, Lord," and brushed my teeth.

Now, do you know that God is concerned about your teeth and is concerned about your having toothpaste? I don't care what your need is—there is a God in Heaven who's concerned about it. He knows whether you have toothpaste or not. He knows the smallest, most minute problem you face, and in 1970, He would like to help you with that problem! And yet, what you will do—you will fret and stew, and that grasshopper will become a giant, and before you know it, you have got to spend hundreds of dollars in psychiatry bills because a grasshopper has become a giant. God wants to help you.

Just a few days ago, our church needed $5,000. we found ourselves $5,000 short. I mean, we didn't have any money. We had to have $5,000. I was flying to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and I had to have $5,000. I prayed for two solid hours. For two solid hours, I prayed for God to give me the $5,000. we had to have it!

When I got to Winston-Salem, I had not told them when I was arriving. I had too much to do. I got my briefcase and made a little desk out of it and worked for two hours there in the airport. Then I called back to the office and spent an hour dictating letters and taking care of business. Just before I said good-bye to Mrs. Sandi Plopper, she said, "Brother Hyles, Meredith wants to talk to you." I said, "All right." Meredith said, "Brother Hyles, I want to tell you something you will be glad to hear. A Mr. Smith that used to live down here on Michigan Street, remember him?" (How many of you remember Mr. Smith? A few of you do. He was a member of this church for many years.) "He passed away. In his will, he included First Baptist Church." I said, "Meredith, how much was it?" She said, "$5,000." I cried all over the airport. Folks, it matters not whether you need a squeeze of toothpaste or $5,000. God can make a giant look like a grasshopper.

Ten men said, "We be like grasshoppers, and they be like giants!" David said, "You big, blow-hard grasshopper! I will feed you to the sparrows and the fowls of the air before sundown. You're a runt!" What's the difference? Does that mean Goliath was smaller than the other giants? No, sir. He was bigger! It depends on whether you look at it through the eyes of God or not.

Now look. What's the secret? You don't look down. Whether you are jumping or landing, you don't look down; you look up. If you are at the door of the plane and the problem looks insurmountable, don't look down. Look up! If you're landing, reach up and grab the risers. Don't look down. Look up!

If you look down, you will see a world that is racked with disease and pain. If you look down, you will see a country that's headed for destruction and defeat. If you look down, you will see pessimism and gloom. If you look down, you will look from victory to defeat. If you look down, you will see socialism. If you look down, you will see corruption. If you look down, you will see heart attacks. If you look down, you will see cancer. If you look down, you will see Satan.

But if you look up, every promise of God is yours! Don't look down! You face some burdens this year. Look up! You face an illness this year. Look up! You face serious problems this year. Look up! If you look up, giants will look like grasshoppers, but if you look down, grasshoppers will look like giants.

So, this year, may God give you strength to fight the grasshoppers. May God give you the strength to see them in their perspective. May God give you the kind of vision that looks through the eyes of God Himself and makes a giant look like a grasshopper.

If you look up, you will see the God of David, who felled Goliath. If you look up, you will see the God of Elijah, who sent fire from Heaven. If you look up, you will see the God of Daniel, who closed the mouths of the hungry lions. If you look up, you will see the God of Shadrach, Meshech and Abednego, who made the fiery furnace air conditioned. If you look up, you will see God who parted the Red Sea. If you look up, you will see the God of Joshua, who made the sun stand still. If you look up, you will see the God of Jacob, who gave the vision of the ladder from Heaven. If you look up, you will see God who parted the Jordan River. If you look up, you will see the God who made the axe head swim. If you look up, you will see the unlimited, limitless power of God available to every single person in this house today. If you look down, grasshoppers will look like giants.

Listen carefully as I close. You face a new year. You will cry some and laugh some. You will be happy some and sad some. You will fight some and love some, but there's one thing that every person in this house must face in 1970. You may face a single problem or several problems.

If that problem is illness, look at it through the eyes of God and see a grasshopper. If that problem is a financial need, look at it through the eyes of God. It will look like a grasshopper. It depends on how you look at it.

Face the burdens of the new year through God's eyes, in God's strength, and say not with the ten men of doubt, "We be like grasshoppers in the sight of those giants," but say, "That big nine-foot-nine-inch bully is a grasshopper because I come in the Name of the Lord our God!"

Let us pray.

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Jesus First

Jesus First

by Pastor Jack Hyles

(Loyal Pastor of First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana for over 42 years)

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Sunday Evening Sermon January 11, 1970

"…And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him" -Luke 4:20

"But Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" -Matthew 6:33

In the fourth chapter of Luke when our Lord went to the synagogue in His own hometown, the Bible has a very striking statement when it says in Verse 20, "And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on Him."

In Matthew 17:8, we find the story of the transfiguration. "And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only." What a tremendous text that is: They looked up and saw no man, save Jesus only.

In Acts 8:35, there is the wonderful story about the Ethiopian eunuch and Philip who led him to Christ. And the Bible says: "Then Philip…

Began at the same scripture and preached unto him Jesus."

These are wonderful texts. "The eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on Him." That is the way it always ought to be. "They looked up and saw no man, save Jesus only." That is the way it always ought to be. And, "he began at the same scripture and preached unto him Jesus." That's the way it always ought to be. The Grecian people came one time looking for Jesus. They simply said these words, "Sirs, we would see Jesus," John 12:21.

Now, I found something very interesting, and I want to share it with you. I don't know if I ever found this before; but recently when going through the Bible, I found something of tremendous interest. I was thinking about the new year, the fact that we are in a new year, and that we ought to put Jesus first, when I came across this. Did you know that of the 27 books in the New Testament, 23 of them jump right into Jesus in the first verse? Jesus first.

There are only four books in the New Testament, of the total twenty-seven, that do not talk, in the first verse, about Jesus. Those books are: Luke, Hebrews, II John and III John.

We have a lot of talk here in First Baptist, especially among our Sunday school teachers, about a "point of contact." In all of our Sunday school lessons we try to have some "point of contact" with our pupils—some little visual aid, some little startling statement, some question, some activity—something in which all the class can participate. It seems that in the Bible, the "point of contact" was always Jesus.

That is why I had the first verse of Luke read, for it is very rare to find what you find in the first verse of Luke. That is why I had the first verse of II John and the first verse of III John read. Jesus is mentioned in the first verse of Matthew, John, Acts, Romans, I and II Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, I AND II Thessalonians, I and II Timothy, Titus, Philemon, James, I and II Peter, I John, Jude, and Revelation. Now, in all but four or five, His name is mentioned.

Now, in Hebrews, the first verse does not mention His name. In the second verse, it mentions the word "Son." But in Hebrews 1:3, it jumps right into a dissertation about the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, could that not be saying to us that in everything we do, Christ ought to be first? He ought to be the very first in our music. He ought to be the very first in our preaching. He ought to be the very first in our Sunday school work. He ought to be first in our work. He ought to be first at the school. He says, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

In Matthew 1:1, we find these words in the first verse of the first chapter: "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ." In Mark 1:1 we find, "The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ." In John 1:1, we find, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God." In Acts 1:1, we find, "All that Jesus began both to do and to teach." In Romans 1:1, "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ."

In I Corinthians 1:1 we find, "Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ." In II Corinthians 1:1, we find, "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God." In Galatians 1:1, we find "Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither of man, but by Jesus Christ.)" In Ephesians 1:1 the first verse, we find, "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God." In Philippians 1:1, we find "Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ." In Colossians 1:1, we find "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ." In I Thessalonians 1:1 we read, "Paul, and Silvanus, said Timotheus…Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

In II Thessalonians 1:1 "Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus…in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." In I Timothy 1:1, we find in the first verse, "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God." In II Timothy 1:1 we find "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God." In Titus 1:1 we find, "Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ." In Philemon 1 we find, "Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ." In Hebrews 1:1,2 we find, "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the prophets by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son." In James we find, "James, a servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ."

In I Peter 1:1 we find, "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ." In II Peter 1:1 we find, "Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ." In I John 1:1 we find, "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and our own hands have handled, of the Word of life." This does not say "Jesus", but speaks of Him, the Son of God. In Jude 1:1 we find, "Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ." And in Revelation 1:1 we find, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ."

Now I have gone through every book in the New Testament, (except the three that were read a moment ago), and have read for you the first statement in that book. That means 24 times out of 27 times in the Word of God in the New Testament, we jump right into Jesus Christ.

That means at school in 1970, Jesus Christ ought to be the very biggest thing in your life. That means where you work in 1970, Jesus Christ ought to be the biggest thing in your life. That means at home, on the job, at church, everywhere you go, Jesus ought to be first, for every book in the New Testament, save three, starts off with a direct mention of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, there is a lesson for us. How do we start things off? We start off, usually, in some other way. But the apostles and those who wrote the New Testament started off about Jesus Christ. There is something else. Jesus is the need for all people. The New Testament was written for many, many people.

Now stop and think for a minute. Matthew was written by a fellow from near the Sea of Galilee, in the City of Capernaum. Mark was written by a person from the same basic area. John, the same thing. Acts was written by Luke. Romans, I and II Corinthians and, in fact, all the books down through Philemon, were written by the apostle Paul.

Now follow me. He wrote to the Church of Galatia and started off talking about Jesus Christ. Galatia was north of Palestine. He wrote to the Christians in Rome. Rome is in Italy, in Europe. But what they needed was Jesus Christ. Whether it is in Galatia, north of Jerusalem, or in Rome in Europe, the need is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Think about the Church at Cenchrea over in Greece, just about 30 or 60 miles from Athens. Their need was the Lord Jesus Christ. Then there is the church at Ephesus in Asia. Their need was the Lord Jesus Christ. Then there was the church at Philippi; their need was the Lord Jesus Christ.

There is a church of Colosee, (back to Asia Minor), and their need was Jesus Christ. There is a church at Thessalonica in Greece, and their need was Jesus Christ. There is Titus on the Island of Crete, their need was Jesus Christ. There is John on the Isle of Patmos, but their need was Jesus Christ. There is the Book of Hebrews, to all of the Hebrews scattered all over the known world; their need was Jesus Christ.

You can check the entire New Testament and you will find it doesn't matter who the people were. It doesn't matter where the nation was. It doesn't matter what the circumstances were. The need was the Lord Jesus Christ.

Do you know what we need tonight in America to solve our problems, to change our hippie fad, to change our dirty lives, to change our rotten politics, and to change our slide toward hell? Do you know what America needs? She needs Jesus. That is what she needs. That is the need. Whether you are in London, England, (a country that's leading us to the Devil, a country following Sweden's example), do you know what they need in England? They need Jesus Christ.

Oh, but you say, "I'm from Canada." A lady is back there from Canada. You say, "We're more staid." Yes, you are. You're more staid. They call that "backslidden" where I come from, but they call it "staid" in Canada. Canada needs Jesus Christ. What do they need in Germany? Jesus Christ. What do they need in Soviet Russia? Jesus Christ. It doesn't matter who you are, you need Jesus.

But you say, "Brother Hyles, I come from a very staid background. I'm from London." Okay, you need to get born again from London. You say, "Brother Hyles, I come from the old country." Okay. You need to get converted. Old country, new country, big country, little country, smart country, dumb country, wherever you come from, if you don't get born again, you are going to go to hell like anybody else. The need of everybody, whether Thessalonica or Rome or Galatia or Jerusalem or Ephesus or Philippi, wherever it is, the need is the Lord Jesus Christ.

They asked this morning on the broadcast interviewing Brother Hand about our bus ministry, "What do you think the secret is to your church?" Well, Brother hand gave a very good answer, except I wanted to jump up so badly and say, "Jesus is exalted! That's what the secret to First Baptist Church's success is. We exalt Jesus!"

Listen, this church has been built around the person of Jesus Christ. You say what you want to say, but there is an attractiveness in the preaching of Jesus that people still want to hear. They ask me all across the country, "In these days of dying churches and congregations going out of business, why is it you have big crowds at First Baptist?" I'll tell you why. It is the exaltation of Christ; that's the reason. You show me anywhere in America where a man of God anointed by the Spirit of God will exalt Christ, and I'll show you a place where folks will come to hear him do it.

The Bible says in John 12:21, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." As I have said to you visiting Moody Bible Institute students so often—and God bless your hearts; I love you—but you preachers from Moody Bible Institute, don't you believe it when anybody tells you that you've got to talk about Strong here and a little deep theology here. The honest truth is America is choking on deep theology.

Billy Sunday used to say, "I hate botany, but I love flowers. I hate zoology but I love animals. And I hate theology but I love God." And what the world needs is a simple exaltation of Christ. That's what Matthew did. That's what Mark did. That's what John did. That's what Luke did in Acts. That's what Paul did in Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians, Timothy, Titus and Philemon. That's what Paul did. That's what Peter did in I and II Peter. That's what John did in I John. That's what Jude did in Jude. That's what John did in Revelation.

There is nothing wrong with this nation that a generation of preachers filled with the Holy Ghost and people who again would exalt Christ in the simplicity of the Gospel could not cure. You know, there's a Scripture over in II Corinthians 11:3 that says, "The simplicity that is in Christ." The simplicity that is in Christ.

I was teaching a class in a certain school not long ago and I said, "You would not want Jesus to teach here. He wasn't deep enough for you. He talked about a certain man who went forth to sow. He talked about a fellow that went down and fell among thieves. He told stories. He was a story teller. You wouldn't like that."

Look, there is a real trend in America toward revival in every place. It is not where some fellow gets up and says, "Lets gather around the Word" and all then of you gather around the Word. I will tell you what. Let's gather around Christ!

Somebody said, "The Bible is Jesus on paper." It is not enough to gather around the Word. We have got to gather around Jesus! Check your Bible. If you gather around the Word properly, you gather around Jesus.

You say, "Let's go over here into Revelation and this toe over here. This third toe of the beast has some dirt underneath the toenail and we will check over here. Now that is the third toe. Okay, let's go over here to Judges. There are three toes on this fellow. He lost two in the battle of the Midianites. Let us see. The Midianites, the word "median" must have a symbolic meaning because that means average. Average. Let's see the average place in the Bible.

Let's go over here about half way through. That leads me to believe the word "halfway" should be in the Bible. Let's see. Jonah went to Joppa, and "Joppa" in the Hebrew means "jumping overboard." "Board symbolized Christ in the Bible. There are boards in the tabernacle. Let us go over here and look at the boards in the tabernacle. They are set on gold.

Talking about gold, we need more folks to give more money to God. Because in the Hebrew it says give "hilariously." Talking about hilariously, we ought to suffer hilariously. Now, let's go back to the third toe on this beast over here in Revelation…The church is dying tonight with that kind of Tom Foolery. What they need is a simple presentation and exaltation of the person of Jesus Christ!

Paul wrote the Church of Colosse and said, "That in all things He might have pre-eminence" Colossians 1:18. As we start 1970, you mark it down in your little book, ladies and gentlemen, this church will grow in direct proportion to the way she magnifies the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Don't read the Bible like a calculus book. Read it like a love story! Did you ever stop to think of that? Of course, you didn't, because most of you didn't realize until tonight that He was mentioned in the first verse of all these books. There is something else also, for all types of people—not only for all areas and all countries, but also for all types of people. Follow me. The church as Berea, for example, is steeped in the power of the Roman empire. Paul started by saying, "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ." And to the people at Syria, who remind me more of this generation than any other people in the Bible, their need was Jesus Christ. Do you know what hippies need? Jesus Christ. Do you know what alcoholics need? Jesus Christ. Do you know what the fallen man needs? Jesus Christ. What the dope addict needs? Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ! That's the need!

When I went to college they gave me a set of verses, about 20 of them, to deal with the hard cases when going soul winning. They did not give me a set for the soft cases, but I guess they should have. If I did what they said in the soul-winning course, I'd have to carry a four-drawer filing cabinet soul winning with me. No, they don't need your cute arguments. They need Jesus. That's what they need.

Tonight I see Doug Hiles sitting back there. I won Doug Hiles to Christ several years ago. Doug had some problems, doctrinal problems, but I just told him about Jesus. That's the great need.

The church of Corinth, was sensual, worldly; they needed Christ. The church as Thessalonica, was impetuous, looking for Christ to come now, they needed Christ! The church at Ephesus, big, active, virile, needed Christ! The church at Colosse, worshiping angels, needed Christ. The Church at Philippi, happy, joyous people, needed Christ! All throughout the Bible, all types of people need the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now you say what you want to say, but ladies and gentlemen, if you're not saved tonight what you need is not a trip to the psychiatrist. Your need is not a trip to the psychologist. Your need is not a college education or some school with a major in philosophy. Your need is a trip to an old-fashioned mourners bench and a face-to-face confrontation with Jesus Christ. What's your need? That's the need of all lost people! It's Jesus Christ.

By the way, for all purposes Jesus is the need. You heard me do this again and again. I won't go into the Old Testament except what I have so often done. In Matthew, Matthew shows Jesus as the King of Kings, but he starts off the first verse with "the generation of Jesus Christ." In Mark, he shows Jesus as the suffering servant but he starts off saying, "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ." In John, he points to Jesus as the Son of God, but he starts off saying, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

In Acts, Jesus Christ is shown as the power of the church, but Luke starts off talking about Jesus Christ. In Romans, Paul shows Jesus as the Gospel of Christ, but he starts off talking about Jesus Christ. In Corinthians, he shows Jesus as the Restorer of the carnal nature, but he starts off talking about Jesus Christ. In Galatians, he shows Christ as the ripped veil, but he starts off talking about just simply Jesus Christ. In Ephesians, he talks about Jesus being our Heavenly One, but he starts off talking about Jesus Christ. In Philippians, he talks about Christ being our sufficiency, but he jumps right into the subject of Jesus Christ.

In Colossians, he talks about Christ being the shadow, but he stars off with a simple acknowledgement of Jesus Christ. In Thessalonians he shows Jesus as being our coming Savior, but he starts off with an exaltation of Jesus Christ. In Timothy, he talks about Christ as being our glorious appearing Christ, but he starts off with a simple exaltation of Christ, our hope and Saviour. In Titus, Jesus is our blessed hope, but he starts off with a simple statement about Jesus Christ. In Philemon, he is the one who forgives the straying servant, but he starts off by simply saying, "a prisoner of Jesus Christ."

In Hebrews, he lists forth Christ as better than all the angels, prophets, priests, and kings, but he starts off saying that God has spoken to us these latter days by His Son Jesus Christ. In James, he tells that Christ is the Restorer of the carnal nature, the Fulfiller of the law, but he starts out saying, "James, a servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ." In Peter, he lays the foundation that Christ is the Revelation, the Rock of our Salvation, but he starts off saying, "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ." In I John, he shows Christ as being the assurance of our salvation, but he starts off saying, "That which was from the beginning—the Word of life." In Jude, he presents Him as our security, but he starts off saying, "Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ." In Revelation John shows Him as our coming King, but he starts off saying, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ."

I am a bit wear of Christian people being ashamed of Him who died for us. I am a bit weary of people coming to churches like this, and listen, I am sick of this: Brother, you sin against God Almighty. Just because you've got a degree or just because you've been to college: I've been to more colleges than most of you who criticize, I've taken the same courses you've taken, I've sat under the same professors under whom you have sat, I've read the same books that you have read, and I know all the books. But I will tell you that I have come to this conclusion: If you reach people, you're going to have to reach them, not with pious platitudes, not with book reviews, not with illuminated sermons, not with exegesis of Scripture, not with deep, deep, deep thoughts and reasonings, but with a simple presentation that man is a sinner. Christ died for sinners and Christ is the answer. That's the need of the world!

Oh, God give us again, in America, a generation of preachers who just get up and preach Him. Christ is the answer! You second-rate theologians. Some of you students who visit First Baptist Church. You little penny-ante students. God pity your pinheads. You say, "Well, they're not deep enough." Why, brother listen. We fished at your depth years ago. I don't care how deep you are. The question is, to where are the fish coming? Did you ever go fishing?

I'll tell you what brother, if the fish are an inch from the water, I'm going to put my hook that far under. Preachers all over the country—a lot of them are in Hammond right now—are talking tonight about the belly of the beast in Daniel 2. They're talking about 32 inches around that waist: 52-31-41—that's a man's figure. They're talking about it. And the honest, simple truth is, they are fishing deep, but all the fish are in shallow water. If I were you, I would find out where the fish are. I don't think we ought to do wrong to reach people, but I do think if we're going to reach the common man, or any man for that matter, we are going to have to reach him with the simple Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Some of the NBC fellows asked me today in private conversation, "Why is it your church is booming and people are coming by the thousands while other churches are dying? Why is it?" I said, "We preach to men's hearts." None of this was televised. We were just talking a bit. The fellow said, "Now look, don't you try to reach the elite?" As far as I'm concerned, I've got a church full of the elite. You see, the word "elite" is a very relative term anyway.

So I said, "What you mean is this (a fellow said it one time, 'Brother Hyles, the way you preach, you'll never reach the city councilmen.' And I said, 'There are not but nine of them, and if we got all of them, we wouldn't break any attendance record.' I said, 'There are thousands of steel workers who need the Gospel and they will listen to it. Our message is a message of Christ to those people.'"

By the way, we probably have as many city councilmen on our side as any church in town.) I talked to a city councilman last week and he looked at me, shook my hand and said, "You're doing the greatest work of anybody in the City of Hammond." Now he was talking about our church, not me. In fact, outside my office one day during the Christmas holidays a man knocked on my door, and Mrs. Plopper said, "Somebody's waiting to see you." He walked in and said, "Here is a gift from the Mayor." The Mayor gave me a Christmas present. Isn't that something? (It said something about "tax overdue." I forget exactly what it was.) No, I am not kidding you: The Mayor sent me a Christmas present.

Now, what am I saying? I'm saying that whether the Mayor or the City Council does or does not, we ought to exalt Christ. So Matthew, Mark, John, Luke, Paul, Peter, Jude, all of them, jumped right in exalting Jesus Christ. And that is why we ought to put Him first. That is why Matthew 6:33 says, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…"

Jesus first. Jesus first in Matthew. Jesus first is Mark. Jesus first in John. Jesus first in Acts. Jesus first in Romans. Jesus first in Corinthians. Jesus first in Galatians. Jesus first in Ephesians. Jesus first in Hammond. Jesus first in Chicago. Jesus first in school. Jesus first at your work. Jesus first at your home. Jesus first in your personal life. Just Jesus first.

Now, there are several areas where He wants to be first. In the first place, He wants the first years. He wants the first years. I was so interested last week that Dr. Wilks noticed our young people. But who wouldn't? Young folks, hardly a week passes that someone doesn't come to me when I'm traveling somewhere and say, "Dr. Hyles, I visited your church and the thing that impressed the most was that great crowd of fine, young people neatly dressed and well behaved." Those young people. (What I didn't have time to tell them is what made you so well behaved. I've poured you over hot coals and made you walk over spiked boards and threatened to kill you at sunrise and put electric current under the pews where I can push a button and so forth.) But that's what they say.

Many of you folks criticize the way I handle young folks. I say, "Sit still, you hear me! Don't you move!" A lot of you say, "He shouldn't do that." Well, wait until they turn out before you start criticizing me. You wait until you see how they end up.

Our young folks aren't laid up like some of you folks here tonight, surly and critical. While the trio was singing, you laughed and made fun. There are seven things the Bible says God hates, and two of them are proud looks. God pity that kind of Phariseeism. These kids over here have been taught to say, "Yes, sir; and no, sir." You say,

"That's southern." Yeah, southern Jerusalem. I don't care if it came from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, it's right to do!

God knows what this world needs is a baptism of decency and simplicity of the simple Christian life, of the exaltation of Christ and the kind of life that magnifies Him and emulates Him. Some of you folks trying to copy a dead professor ought to copy a live Christ!

And so, young people, the first years of your life—the first years—be courteous, dedicated. Put Jesus first in the first years.

There is something else: God wants the first day. The first day. And I want to say something about this. We've gotten away from this a great deal in this great cosmopolitan area where folks work on Sunday. If any of you work in the steel mills and have to work on Sunday, I'm not being critical. But I'll say this much: If you don't have to work on Sunday, you shouldn't work on Sunday.

Now, I know Sunday is not the Sabbath and I don't believe Sunday is the Christian Sabbath. In the New Hampshire Confession of Faith adopted by most Baptist churches it says, "Sunday is the Christian Sabbath." That is not true. Sunday is not the Christian Sabbath. Colossians 2 says that when Jesus died he nailed the Sabbath to the cross. There has not been a Sabbath since Jesus died, for He is our rest and He is our Sabbath. The Sabbath was a shadow pointing to Jesus. Now, He's here, there's no need for the Sabbath anymore. Sunday is not the Sabbath.

But I'll tell you what. I still believe it is the Lord's day. And I've just got enough old-fashioned blood in me to where I just still think Sunday ought to be a different day than the rest of the week. I'll say this, and I'll say it very kindly: I still don't like to see young folks get out and play ball on Sunday afternoon. Now, I'm not going to say you commit a sin if you do. I just think that there ought to be a day of the week that's different.

I still like to see people not shop too much on Sunday. I like to see the stores closed on Sunday. (The main reason is, we need the parking here at First Baptist.) I can't say this is in the Bible, but I'm glad my mother taught me as a kid that Sunday was God's day and that it ought to be handled that way. I can still see her, as you've heard me say, pointing her finger in the face of that Catholic priest who came by to get me to play ball on Sunday afternoon, because I was a pretty decent ball player and he wanted me to play on his Catholic team.

The Catholic priest stopped out in front of the house and said, "Hey, Jack, it's time for ball!" My mother went out and put her nose on his nose and her finger on his finger, and she said to him, "You leave my boy alone!" She gave him—we used to call it "a blessing out" where I cam from. She gave him an old-fashioned Texas blessing, and all he said was, "M'hmm, uh-huh, and bye-bye."

I still believe that Sunday ought to be different. I think God wants the first day of the week. I think God wants the first fruits of your income. The tithe is the Lord's. One dime of every dollar. In fact, the first dime of every dollar belongs to God. You have robbed God. How have you robbed Him? "You've robbed me in tithes and offerings," said Malachi. Malachi 3:8. Over and over again, Moses said the tithe is God's. Bring the first fruit to God. Every time a Jew gathered a crop, one bushel out of ten bushels went to God. Every time that the animals had little ones, one tenth of the little ones belonged to God.

I was out in the little town of Lamar, Colorado, preaching in an area-wide meeting. I said something about, "If your old sow has a litter of ten pigs, one belongs to God." By the way, if she has a litter of nine pigs, one belongs to God, too. (And, by the way, if your old sow has a litter, don't bring me a little pig! Rear the thing first and then bring it to me, would you, please?)

So I was in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, preaching a year or two later. A fellow walked up and handed me a twenty-dollar bill. I said, "What's it for?" He said, "There was a man in my church that got convicted that night about the tithe and it so happened that his old sow had just had a litter of pigs and he gave me one. It was worth $200 to me" He said, "I'm giving you the tithe on that."

I've said, if your old sow has ten pigs, I want one. I want one. Now, I don't eat pork, myself, but I can sell it and buy some good beef with it! I want one. If your old heifer has some little young ones, I want one of them. Now, if your cat has ten kittens, Brother Streeter wants the tithe off them. That's the 1,000 block of 170th Street. I am saying the tithe belongs to God. I thank God that, as a kid, I was taught that one dime of every dollar belongs to God.

Now look, you are not right with God if you don't tithe. You are wrong in your heart. You are a robber of God's money. One-tenth of your income is not yours to give to God. It's already God's! You don't give a dime to God unless you give more than a tenth. If all you give is a tenth of your income to God, you haven't given God a thing, because, let me tell you, a tithe shouldn't be given to God. A tithe is the Lord's.

You say, "I can't afford to tithe." God didn't say do it if you could afford to. God said, "Do it!" You are wrong if you don't. The tithe is the Lord's. God wants the first years. God wants the first day. God wants the first fruits. By the way, my Bible says, you'll never see one of God's righteous people begging bread. I've had a lot of folks come to my office wanting help. Most of them don't even go to church. John Colsten will tell you this is true—he works with that department. How long has it been since you've had a tithing deacon come to you asking you for food for his family, John? Never have. How interesting. The people that are hungry are the people who say, "I can't afford to give to God."

God says, "His seed will not beg bread." You show me a man that will work and that will give God what is His and I'll show you a man that God will provide for. A tenth of your income belongs to God. That means you folks who get an allowance. That means you ladies that get a grocery allowance. That means you men that work. One dime of every dollar. The first dime, before income tax, before Uncle Sam, before withholding, before social security, before insurance, belongs to God. Then God wants first place in your life.

I started to speak on, "God Is a Jealous God." God is a jealous God. He wants first place in your life. Matthew 6:33, "But seek you first the kingdom of God and His righteousness." First place is what He wants. 1970 is here. A new decade, a new year—1970. it is hard to get used to writing it on the checks; 1970 is here. May we start it off like they started it off in 24 of the 27 books of the New Testament. Jesus first. Jesus first. First years of your life. First day of the week. First fruits of your income or your increase, and first place in your life.

A wise man said, "Shall I offer to the Lord that which costs me nothing?" Every preacher that has ever lived has told this story, I've told it here several times and I close with it. It is a true story. A missionary came back from Africa. The missionary saw ladies worshiping the Nile River. They believed that they could appease their gods by bringing their babies and offering their babies to the crocodiles in the river. The missionary who saw this told me years ago.

He said, "Jack, I stood on the banks of the river, and I saw these ladies. One lady had two little babies. One was scrawny, skinny and sickly. The other was a picture of health, a beautiful, rosy-cheeked baby. There were the crocodiles of the river. There was the river worshiped as God by this lady. One of these babies she was going to throw as a sacrifice to her god. She put the babies on the ground. On this side was the little, scrawny, sickly one. On this side was the beautiful, healthy baby. Then she took up the little beautiful baby, rosy cheeked, and threw it in the river in the mouths of the hungry crocodiles."

The missionary ran down quickly and said, "Wait a minute! Wait a minute!" But it was too late. This heathen lady had given her baby. Then the missionary said, "Why? The little baby couldn't have lived long. Why didn't you save the healthy baby and sacrifice the skinny, sickly one?" And the heathen lady said, in her own way, "Sir, I do not know what god you serve or what god you worship. I do not know about your god, sir, but my god deserves my best." And with that she took her little sickly baby and went back to the woods.

Your God deserves your best, too. He deserves your best. First years of your life. First day of the week. First fruits of your income. First place in your life. Put Jesus first in 1970.

Let us pray.

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Four Calls to Soulwinning

Four Calls to Soulwinning

by Pastor Jack Hyles

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       “But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19-20) “And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.” (Acts 16:9) “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,” (Hebrews 12:1) “Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.” (Luke 16:27-28)

      Thirty-eight years ago last August 30^th, a nervous, frightened 33-year-old Texas boy became pastor of a downtown First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana. There is no way for me to describe how formal it was. No piano was allowed to be played on Sunday morning. No congregational songleader was allowed to stand up and wave his hands and no gospel songs were allowed on Sunday morning. You could sing “Jesus Saves” or “Rescue The Perishing” on Sunday night, but not on Sunday morning. The former pastor preached in striped pants and a scissor-tail coat. I do not know of an Episcopalian church any more formal than First Baptist Church was.

When the pulpit a committee interviewed me, they asked what I thought about the Sunday morning service. I said, “I think it stinks.” They said, “What kind of a Sunday morning service would you have if you became our pastor?” I said, “It would be more like a Billy Sunday Revival Campaign.” The wealthiest man in Hammond was on the board of trustees. Several months after I became pastor, he came to me. “Reverend, I want to talk to you. We like you fine. We think you’re a good guy. But the truth is, we have a problem with your preaching. Ever since you’ve been here, the pressure’s been on. Every Sunday morning and Sunday night, and Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday it’s soulwinning. The pressure’s on all the time. Before you came, we use to have a revival meeting every 6 months or so and bring a fellow in to have an evangelistic crusade. But since you’ve been here it’s been that way all the time. Every Sunday is just like one of those revival meetings.” He said, “Look at me, I’m a nervous wreck. I shake when I come to church anymore. You’ve ruined our worship service.” (If I could, I’d ruin every formal worship service in America next Sunday morning.) “I’m not the only person who’s nervous—this church is full of nervous people. It’s soulwinning on Sunday.  It’s soulwinning on Monday. It’s soulwinning on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Then we start all over again on Sunday. Last Sunday morning we sang 52 stanzas of ‘Just As I Am’. No wonder we’re nervous! Something’s got to change!” I said, “Come back on Sunday night and I’ll give you my answer.” That Sunday night I preached the message I am preaching to you tonight. I’m telling you exactly what I told my people 38 years ago. I said, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, a man came to me last week and told me that you’re nervous. He said that you were concerned because we’re having soulwinning on Sunday, and soulwinning on Monday, and soulwinning on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I’d like to tell you tonight why it’s that way, and why it’s going to be that way as long as I am the pastor of this church, whether that is one more week or 50 more years.”
 

A CALL FROM WITHIN

In the first place, there’s a call from within. There is something inside of me that says I have to go soulwinning. “I cannot but speak the things I have seen and heard.” I have no choice. It’s burning inside of me - a call from within that compels me to stress soulwinning in everything that we do.  This call from within came to me many years ago. When I was a boy, I was the most timid boy in the church. When I was 17 years old, I weighed 92 pounds. I now weigh...I finally got your attention, didn’t I? I now weigh MORE than 92 pounds! (Once my doctor put me on a diet, and I gained 15 pounds on 1,000 calories a day. I wonder if it could be that 7,000 calories at night that caused the problem?)

On my 17^th birthday I weighed 92 pounds and I was the most timid fellow in the church. They called me little Jackie-boy Hyles. I failed public speaking in high school. I could not make the ball team. I was too little to get a date. I didn’t get to be in the senior play. I was an introvert. Most of the people in my church had never heard me say a single word.

One Sunday after the morning service, one of the deacons, Jesse Cobb, said, “Hey, Jackie-boy. Would you like to go soulwinning with me this afternoon?” I said, “Uh, J-J-Jesse, y-y-you know I c-c-couldn’t go soulwinning.” He said, “Jack, you won’t have to say anything, I just need a partner to give me some moral support. My partner is on vacation, and I just need someone to go with me. You won’t have to say a word.”

The first door we knocked on was the home of a high school football player named Kenneth Florence. Jesse Cobb was 5’4” tall, and I was shorter yet. He must have weighed 120, and I weighed 92 pounds. The two of us put together might have weighed as much as Kenneth did.

When Kenneth came to the door, Jesse looked up and said, “Kenneth Florence, my name is Jesse Cobb and this is Jack Hyles.” Jesse said, “Kenneth, Jack here wants to say a few words to you.” No, Jack didn’t either! Kenneth looked at me and said, “Yes, what is it, Jack?” I said, “Uh ... Uh... ahem... K-K-Kenneth, would you l-l-like to come to ch-ch-church tonight?” I do not remember what happened. Jesse told me later that Kenneth said, “Yes, I would,” and I said, “You would?” Jesse told me that I said, “I’ll come by and get you tonight at 7 o’clock.” And Kenneth said, “That will be fine.” That night at 7 o’clock I borrowed Jesse Cobb’s car and went over to get Kenneth Florence. For the first time in my life, knew I had to win a soul. I had never won a soul in my life. The sweat was rolling down my face, and I was trembling.  When the invitation began, I put my arm across Kenneth’s big broad shoulders and said, “K-K-Kenneth, w-w-would you like to get s-s-saved?” And he said, “Yes, I would.” I said, “ I don’t know how to tell you, but follow me.” We walked down the aisle, and my pastor met us at the end of the aisle. I said, “B-B-Brother Sizemore, this is K-K-Kenneth Florence. He wants to get saved.” I had done my part, so I started back to my seat. Brother Sizemore said, “Hold it, Jack!” I turned around. He said, “Kenneth, Jack wants to kneel here and show you how to get saved.” No I didn’t! He was a bigger liar than Jesse Cobb! I knelt at the front row. I said, “Kenneth, I don’t know what to tell you. I’ve never done this before. But I want to see you saved.” I began to weep. Kenneth said, “Jack, I know how to be saved. I’ve heard it many times. Every Sunday afternoon for months, somebody from the church has come by. But you’re the first one that I ever thought really cared. I know how to do it.” I said, “Well... do it!”

Kenneth bowed his head and said something like the old prayer you’ve heard thousands of times, “Oh God, be merciful to me, a sinner. I now receive Jesus as my Saviour and trust Him to take me to Heaven when I die.” And while Kenneth Florence was getting saved, the fireworks of Heaven turned loose in my soul! I mean the sparklers sparkled, and the firecrackers banged, and the Roman candles soared through the sky. I jumped up and said, “Brother Sizemore, would it be okay with you if I just did this all the time from now on?” We started a revival that night. In the next 7 days, little introverted Jackie-boy Hyles that nobody took seriously brought 37 people down the aisle professing faith in Jesus Christ. God set something ablaze in my soul, and that something is still burning tonight. When you tell me not to build a soulwinning church, you may as well tell a bird not to fly or a fish not to swim. It’s a call from within.

“Why can’t you be like other preachers?’ he wanted to know. “Why can’t you be normal like everyone else? Why the constant pressure about soulwinning?” Not one time in the Bible does it say, “The Son of man is come to exegete the scriptures.” Not one time does it say, “The Son of man is come to lead the deeper life program.” My Bible says the reason that Jesus left Heaven, and the fellowship with the Father, and the glory and majesty that were rightfully His for 33 homesick years - the reason why He lived with no place to lay His head while foxes had holes and birds had nests - the reason He was rejected by His own city, hated by His own race, expelled from His own synagogue - the reason that He went to Calvary was TO SEEK AND TO SAVE THAT WHICH WAS LOST.  Why do we work day and night to build soulwinning churches getting the message of the Gospel to America? I’ll tell you why. Because of the burning call from within.
 

A CALL FROM WITHOUT

“Preacher, we’re nervous. Why does it have to be soulwinning all the time?” I told my people that night, “Not only is there a call from within, but there is a call from without.” Come over and help us.” There’s more to it than personal preference. There’s a world going to hell! There’s a call from without. I believe that men without God are lost. I believe that when those lost men die in their sins, they go to hell. I believe that men who go to hell burn forever and ever. If that be true, would you tell me what else counts in this world?  That call from without began many years ago. I was called to pastor a little country church. I could win souls to Christ, but I could not preach them down the aisle. For more than a year, nobody walked the aisle professing faith is Christ. I begged and pleaded for God’s power. I didn’t know what the answer was.  But on May 13, 1950 I knelt on the grave of my alcoholic father who died, and as far as I know, went to hell, and I said, “Dear God, I’m not getting off my face until something happens to me.”

The next Sunday night I went back to my little church to preach. A lad came to receive Christ as Saviour. And then there came another ...and another. I’d never seen anybody walk the aisle under my preaching before. When they came in we voted them in on the spot. Up north today, you have to have credit references and blood tests and everything else to get in a lot of Baptist churches.  I’d say, “So and so is coming, professing his faith in Christ. What is your pleasure?” I had a deacon that sat over here every Sunday right next to a window, and he would spit out that window and say, “I make a motion that he be received for baptism, and after baptism into the full fellowship of the church.” I had a man over here next to that wall who would say, “I second the move.” The same two men said it all the time. I said, “All in favor, say aye.” They all did. Then we ‘extended the right hand of fellowship’. We sang, “Shall We Gather At The River’ and everyone went around row by row to shake hands with the new converts. Then I dismissed the service.

That night 3 people got saved, and boy I was happy. Back in east Texas where I pastored, there weren’t many cars. Most everybody came by tractor or horseback or wagon, and one Model A Ford. Everyone was getting on their wagons and tractors to go home, and I was praising the Lord. I was having a spell. I wish some of you folks would get religion again. You’ve gotten too used to it.  I was having an old-fashioned spell - clapping my hands and praising God when all of a sudden --- WHAM! A big old 235 pound fellow hit me from the rear. I turned around and there was O. C. Pruett, a trainman, with tears in his eyes. He said, “Reverend, my daughter Barbara is leaning up against the wall back there crying her eyes out. I think she wants to get saved.” I went back and said, “Barbara, do you want to get saved?” She said, “Of course, I do! Nobody wants to go to hell.” I won Barbara to Jesus.

I went out on the front porch of the church and said, “Hey, come on back in.” Folks left their wagons and tractors and came back in. I said, “Folks, Barbara Pruett just got saved. What’s your pleasure?’ The same man said, “I make a motion that she be received for baptism, and after baptism into the full fellowship to the church.” Over here he said, ‘I second the move.’ Everybody in favor, say aye.” “Aye.” We sang “Shall We Gather At The River” and came around row by row to shake her hand. Glory to God, hallelujah! I dismissed the service again at about 10 o’clock.

I was having another spell when the same guy hit me from behind. WHAM! He said, “Reverend, my married daughter Dorothy is there on the back row. Look at her crying her eyes out. Would you go talk to her?” I went back and said, “Dorothy, do you want to be saved?” She said, “My sister’s going to heaven and I’m going to hell. Don’t you think I want to go to Heaven with her?” I told her how to be saved and she got saved. I went out on the front porch and said, “Hey, come on back in.”

When they came in, I said, “Folks, Dorothy Hall just got saved. What’s your pleasure. This man over here spit out the window and said, “I make a motion that she be received for baptism and after baptism be received into the full fellowship of the church.” This one said, “I second the move.” I said, “All in favor, say aye.” “Aye.” We opened our song books to “Shall We Gather At The River” and came row by row again to shake Dorothy’s hand.  I dismissed the service for the third time about 10:30 and went out on the front porch and continued my spell. I know you won’t believe this, but it really happened. WHAM! It was the same man. “Reverend, her husband Sam is over there and he just threw down his cigarette. Do you reckon that means anything?” I went down and said, “Sam, I understand you just threw down your cigarette?” He said, “Reverend, you preached about hell tonight. I looked at the fire on that cigarette, and it dawned on me --- that’s where I’m going when I die.” I said, “Do you want to get saved?” He said, ‘Sure I want to get saved. My wife’s going to Heaven and I want to go to Heaven with her.” On the front porch of that little country church I won Sam to Jesus Christ and said, “Hey, come on back in.  Sam Hall just trusted Christ as his Saviour.” We went through the same thing again.

Six people got saved that night. I’d been preaching for over a year and hadn’t seen anybody get saved. We had over 1,000 walk the aisle for salvation last Sunday at First Baptist Church, but that didn’t make me any happier than those six people that Sunday night after God filled me with his Spirit for the first time.

Now I know you won’t believe me—I wouldn’t believe you if you told this story either. But as I stood in the same spot having a spell, WHAM! ...you guessed it.  The same fellow. He said, “Reverend...I think I’ll get saved myself before I go home.” I won O. C. Pruett to Jesus and all the people came back in and voted him into the church and sang and gave him the right hand of fellowship/ That night Mrs. Hyles and I went to our little parsonage next door. I wish you could have seen it. The foundation under the back bedroom was so shaky that two people couldn’t walk around in there at the same time. There was a rat at the back porch when we came, that was still there when we left. he thought he was one of the family. We gave him rat poison and he gained weight on it. We put a rat trap out there and he thought it was a toy. We went to our little country parsonage that night at 11:15 and took out a great big Bible. We were just a couple of kids—I was only 22 or 23 at the time. We put our hands on that Bible and looked up and said, “Oh, God! This is what we’ve been wanting. We’re not going to settle for anything less.”

May I take a moment and praise His name? Since that Sunday night almost 48 years ago, there has not been a single somebody saved. I’m talking about little country churches and small town churches and big city churches. We baptized that night, and there’s not been one single Sunday since then that somebody hasn’t been baptized. All of our children have grown up and not a single child has ever gone to church without seeing somebody baptized before Sunday night was over.  You say, “Preacher, why don’t you calm down?” I don’t intend to calm down. I believe there’s a hell! Now if there’s no hell, let’s all go ‘deeper life’. If there’s no hell, we can all join John MacArthur. If there’s no hell, let’s all go exegete. But if there is a hell, let’s go soulwinning. Let’s build soulwinning churches. The call from without.
 

A CALL FROM ABOVE

“Pastor, may I talk to you please. We like you fine,” said the wealthy man, “but we’re nervous. I represent the nervous people of this church. We like your preaching, if it is a bit loud and long. We use to have revival meetings now and then. But since you’ve been here, it’s like that every Sunday morning.  Soulwinning, soulwinning, soulwinning. Why can’t you be like other preachers are?”

That night I told them that there is a call from above. “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses... My mama is watching. Dr. John Rice looks down from Heaven, and I can tell you that he’s mighty pleased. He gave his life for soulwinning, to fight formalism and the deeper life movement and the hyper-Calvinism movement and the Charismatic hodgepodge. He gave his life for what’s going on right here. Tonight they’re watching. Dr. John, Brother Lester Roloff, Dr. Bill Rice, Dr. Ford Porter, Dr.  Bob Jones, SR...There’s a call from above.

Years ago I was pastoring in Garland, Texas. I was 26 or 27 years of age. The church had grown rapidly and was running about 1,500 in Sunday School. One Sunday morning I was out front shaking hands with everybody that came in. An old man came through the door. He was close to 90, I think. His hair was as white as freshly fallen snow. His shoulders drooped. If he stood up straight, he couldn’t have been more than 5’4” tall.

I said, “How do you do, sir. My name is Jack Hyles.” In a squeaky voice he said, “My name is James W. Moore.” I said, “Brother Moore, we’re glad to have you.  Where are you from?” He said, “I just moved to the area. I’ve been a preacher up in Iowa for over 50 years. I had a heart attack and the doctor says I won’t live long. I came to Texas because it’s warmer and I have some family here. I’d like to join your church. I won’t cause you no trouble. I’ll be for you. I hear you preach it like it is.”

I bought a platform rocker and put it by the altar next to the wall for Brother Moore. He’d rock while I preached and clap his hands. “Amen! Glory to God!  Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!” When I’d preach on dancing or movies or something, he’d shout, “Pull over and park there for a while.” Apart from my pastor J. C.  Sizemore and my best friend, Dr. John R. Rice, I’ve never loved a preacher like I loved James W. Moore.

Every Monday morning he’d come by my office at 9 o’clock. He’d walk in my office and pace the floor. He’d say, “Brother Jack, I just came to tell you about a stupid mistake I made when I was a kid preacher...” It was always the same mistake I had made the day before. I’d hug him and thank him for telling me what he had learned. He’d teach me the Bible and talk to me every Monday morning from 9 to 10 o’clock. What a dear, sweet man of God.  One Sunday his chair was empty. For several weeks he was gone. I went to his house and no one answered. I thought maybe he had moved back to Iowa. Late one Sunday night the phone rang. The lady said, “This is the nurse at Spiegel Memorial Hospital. I hate to bother you this late at night, but there’s an old man that was brought in with a heart attack. He has no identification, and nobody knows who he is. He’s about to die. But he keeps saying, ‘Call Brother Jack.’ We knew that you like to be called Brother Jack, so we thought you may know the old man.” I said, “Is he about 5’4”? Is his hair real white?” She said, “Yes.” I said, “Yes, I know him.” I went to the hospital. I hadn’t seen many folks die, so I was all prepared for a solemn ceremony. But Brother Moore wasn’t dying right. He said, “Come on in, Brother Jack. I’m just about to take a trip I’ve been looking forward to for a long time. In just a few minutes I’m going to see Elijah and Moses and Abraham and Paul and John the Baptist and all those fellows. Anything you want me to tell them for you?” Then he said, “Brother Jack, I want you to have a Bible conference. I’m going to Heaven now, but I want to plan it for you.” He chose the speakers. I had the conference after he had gone to Heaven just like he asked.

Then this is what he did. He took the oxygen mask off his face and laid it beside him. He reached his hands out and put them around mine, and said, “Brother Jack, KEEP...PREACHING...IT...!” I heard the rustling of wings as the angles came and took his dear old spirit to the presence of the Saviour. I said, “Oh God, help me to keep preaching it.”

Many times in the past several years I’ve heard that old man say, “Keep preaching it! Keep preaching it!” Don’t you hear tonight the call from above? Even the blessed Saviour says, “Go! Go! Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel...”
 

A CALL FROM BENEATH

“Reverend, we’re glad you’re our pastor and we like you fine, but you’re different. Why can’t you be like everybody else?” I told my people that Sunday night, pretty much what I’ve told you tonight. There’s a call from within - something on the inside that says, “I’ve got to do it.” There’s a call from without - a lost world crying, “Come over and help us.” There’s a call from above - heavenly witnesses cheering us on. And there’s a call from beneath.  “Send Lazarus, have him tell my 5 brothers not to come here.” They’re more concerned about soulwinning in hell tonight than you are in your church. “Send Lazarus. I’ve got 5 brothers and I don’t want them to burn in hell.” There’s a call from beneath.

On Saturday, December 31, 1949, I got burdened for my father. My father was an alcoholic - a part-time bartender. I was pastoring a little country church in east Texas. Up to that time I had won souls to Christ, but I had never had anyone walk the aisle under my preaching. On New Year’s Eve I got in the car and drove 150 miles to Dallas to a tavern right across the street from the seminary.  My daddy worked there part-time and drank there rest of the time for 8 years and not once did one single professor, staff member, administrator or student ever walk across the street to witness to the drunkard that tended the bar. That’s not New Testament Christianity. I didn’t care how much Greek and Hebrew you memorize.

I walked in the Hunt Saloon on Saturday morning, New Year’s Eve. My daddy was sitting at the bar, drunk. I walked up and put my arm around him and said, “Daddy, I’m going to take you with me to east Texas. I’m going to have a Watch Night service tonight, and tomorrow is Sunday, New Year’s Day. I want you to go with me.” He cursed at me and said, “I’m not going to no church tomorrow.” I said, “Yes, you are.” He said, “No, I’m not.” I laid my Bible down and said, “Daddy, you are either going to have to come with me or whip me. I’m going to fight you if I have to in order to get you in that car.” He came with me and I sobered him up.

That night my daddy went to church and we had a light kind of a service, a lot of fun. The next morning was the first time he had ever heard me preach. Tears streamed down his cheeks. The invitation came and my big one-legged deacon put his arm around my daddy, and said, “Mr. Hyles, won’t you come to Christ.” He did not walk the aisle. That afternoon I took a walk with my daddy out across the pasture and said, “Daddy, I want to see you saved more that I want anything in the whole world. Daddy, I want you to go to Heaven with Mama and me.” He had left us many years before when I was a little boy.  My daddy said something I never thought I’d ever hear him say. “Son, I’m going to get saved. I can’t today, but I’m going back to straighten up some things at home, and I’ll come back in the spring, and maybe get a little fruit stand or something, and I’m going to get saved. You’re going to baptize me this spring, and I’ll be a deacon in your church one of these days, you wait and see if I’m not.”

I took him back the next morning. The last words he said to me were, “Son, I’m going to let you baptize me in the spring.” That was good enough for me. But the spring never came. On May 12^th I got a call that my daddy had dropped dead with a heat attack, and I was a powerless preacher.

Several years passed. One Sunday night, I was still in my office at about 11 o’clock. I heard a knock at my door and there stood my sister weeping. She said, “Jack, would you tell me how to be save.” I brought here into my office and led her to Christ. She’s now a lovely Christian and a wonderful soulwinner. After she got saved, I said, “Earlyne, why did you come tonight.” a She said, “Jack, tonight you preached on Luke 16. You told about the rich man in hell who lift up his eyes and said, “Send Lazarus to tell my five e brothers not to come here.” She said, “Jack, when you told that story, I thought of a dream I had shortly after daddy died. I dreamed that a man in a white robe, maybe an angel, took me in a big building. He showed me walls lined with caskets. In every casket was a copse. He took me to the first casket and I looked into the face of that corpse and he had a smile on his face. He took me all around that room and every casket had a corpse, and every corpse had a smile on his face, until I got to the last one. The angel said, ‘You can’t see that one.” She said, “I must see it,” and in her dream she broke away from that angel.

My sister told me, “Jack, daddy was in that casket. I went up and looked at him and his face was writhing in pain. He cried out in agony, “Sister...  sister...sister...” All those years I wondered what daddy was trying to tell me, and tonight when you preached that sermon, I know what it was daddy was trying to tell me. He was saying, “Sister... don’t come here.” Don’t you tell me not to build a soulwinning church. Don’t you tell me not to live for soulwinning. I’ve got a daddy who, as far as I know, is in hell. There’s a call from beneath.  Why don’t you let God change you tonight? Where is that Curtis Hutson who was in Atlanta in 1961 whose life was changed? Where is that Wally Beebe who was in a meeting like this up in Danville, Illinois and his life was transformed as a kid preacher?

“Pastor, I come representing some nervous people. We like you fine. But pastor, why are you like you are? Why is the pressure on all the time? We use to have revival meetings twice a year, and see people get saved, sometimes 50 or 60 a year. But ever since you’ve been here it’s soulwinning Monday, soulwinning Tuesday, soulwinning Wednesday, soulwinning Thursday, soulwinning Friday, soulwinning Saturday... Why can’t you be like everybody else?  I’ll tell you why.  There’s a call from within. “K-K-Kenneth, w-w-wouldn’t you like to b-b-be s-s-saved?” There’s a call from without. “Reverend, I think I’ll just get saved myself before I go home.” There’s a call from above. “Brother Jack, KEEP...PREACHING...IT!” There’s a call from beneath.  “Sister...sister...sister!” FOUR CALLS TO SOULWINNING!

END

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More Life Changing Sermons by Dr. Jack Hyles:

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