You know this world is full of preachers, but just a few were chosen. Stay tuned for Treasured Heritage, a preaching program spotlighting those servants who have gone on to glory. Isaiah 5417 says, this is the heritage of the servants of the Lord. And now, Treasured Heritage. Scripture tonight is found in the book of Second Kings, the fifth chapter. Second Kings chapter 5 in your Schofield Reference Bible, page 427. Starting with verse 20, reading through the end of the chapter, verses 20 through 27. In these eight verses, we'll read responsibly, please, and let's stand for the reading of God's word. But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, the man of God, said, Behold, my master hath spared Naaman, this Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought. But as the Lord liveth, I will run after him, and take somewhat of him. So Gehazi followed after Naaman, and when Naaman saw him running after him, He lighted down from the chariot to meet him, and said, Is all well? And he said, All is well. My master hath sent me, saying, Behold, even now there be come to me from Mount Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets. Give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver and two changes of garments. And Naaman said, Be content, take two talents, and he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags with two changes of garments, and laid them upon two of his servants, and they bare them before him. And when he came to the tower, he took them from their hand and bestowed them in the house, and he let the men go, and they departed. But he went in and stood before his master, and Elisha said unto him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went no whither. And he said unto him, Went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants? The leprosy, therefore, of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow. Let's pray. Father, bless the service tonight. We need thy help. We pray for thy spirit's presence and power, that thou wouldst anoint our preacher, that thou wouldst anoint our ears for the hearing of thy word. In Jesus' name, amen. was a Syrian general. Naaman, the Bible says, was a great man. He was an honorable man. He was a mighty man. He was a courageous man. The Bible says he was a man of valor, a man mighty in war, and he was the general of the Syrian army under the Syrian king. There's only one thing about Naaman that is negative, and that is Naaman was a leper. Now the awful disease of leprosy had gripped his body and that disease had caused him much discomfort. There was a little maid of Israel who was living in Syria. We do not know her name. We do not know anything about her except that she was a little captive maid who had been captured, no doubt, in one of the battles when the Syrians were fighting with the people of God. And this little Israelitess maid had been taken back to the land of Syria. And she was loyal to her leader, and she noticed, she was aware of the fact that Naaman, her master, had leprosy. She said, by the way, may I stop and say this, leprosy in the Bible is a symbol of sin. And the fact that Naaman was such an admirable person, he yet was a leper. He was a great man, but he was a leper. He was an honorable man, but he was a leper. He was a mighty man, but he was a leper. He was a man of valor, but he was a leper. He was a courageous man, but he was a leper. I think God is trying to teach us here that everybody is a sinner. You may be a good man, but yet you are a sinner. The Bible says, All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The Bible says, There is none that doeth good, no, not one. The Bible says, There is none righteous, no, not one. The Bible says, All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. The Bible says, I was shaped by iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. The Bible says, The wicked go astray as soon as they are born. speaking lies. Oh, but you say, in the house, I'm a PhD. But you are a sinner. But you say, in the house, I am an attorney. But you are a sinner. But you say, I'm a doctor. But you are a sinner. But you say, I'm a banker. But you are a sinner. But you say, I'm a schoolteacher. But you are a sinner. But you say, I have been I am a debutante. They had a coming out party for me. I noticed most of these debutantes are coming out of the dresses it looks like. But you are a sinner. The only difference between a rich man and a poor man is that a rich man is a rich sinner and a poor man is a poor sinner. That's all. But all of us are sinners, and all of us must take care of the sin debt or we go to hell. The rich go to the same hell the poor go to, and the elite go to the same hell the ghetto folks go to, and the educated go to the same hell that the illiterate go to. You've got to come the same way. You come the born-again route or you don't come at all. You come through Jesus, you don't come at all. Oh, you said that little fundamental Christianity, it's real nice and sweet. Oh, that's good for the old men and the ladies and the poor white trash. But I have gone to University of Chicago or Yale or Harvard. Don't say that yet. You can confess your sins after a while, invitation time. But I don't care. Professor at Harvard, go to hell if he doesn't get born again like anybody else will. Man that has a million dollars in the bank, go to hell like anybody else will, doesn't get born again. The Bible says the rich and poor meet together. Where do they meet together? They meet together at sin. Where do the rich and poor meet together? Where do they meet together? They meet together at judgment. The rich and the poor meet together. Naaman! A great man, but he was a leper. Naaman, a mighty man, but he was a leper. Naaman, a valiant man, but he was a leper. Naaman, a general of the army, but he was a leper. General of the army, Douglas MacArthur in Japan. Not long before he died or came back to America, while he was in charge of the occupation forces in Japan, General MacArthur got a hold of my little book, Let's Go Soulwinning, and he read it, The Roman Road Plan of Salvation. He called his entire staff together, General Douglas MacArthur called his entire staff together and read them the Roman Road Plan of Salvation from my little book, Let's Go Soulwinning, and told them that he hoped that they would believe what he believed about this matter of salvation. MacArthur goes to heaven because he gets born again. If Mr. Reagan goes to heaven, it's because he gets born again. And so, this General Naaman was a good man, mighty man, honorable man, honest man, courageous man, but he was a leper. Now, this little maid from Israel, she went to her master and she said, would God that my master could go back and see my preacher. I like that. She said, my preacher back home, he could help you. I know he could. I think there's something awful sweet about that. She said, Brother Elisha, he's pastor of the First Independent Baptist Church, back home, and he'll help you, and I'd like you to go back to see him." And so Naaman goes to the king of Syria, and the king of Syria writes a letter to the king of Israel and says, I've got a general here who'd like to see Brother Elisha. And so Naaman gets permission to go to Elisha, and so he gets his great caravan and is on the rise. They get together. And they go down to Israel, and because he's a big shot, and can you see that gorgeous caravan? Can you see the riches that it takes? Can you see the servants that go? For this is a general! And so he goes down, and he gets to Elisha's little cottage, and Elisha, he says, hey! He knocks on the door, or says, we say in Texas, hello! And so Elisha says to Gehazi's servant, go out and see who's there. Elisha knew who was there. So Gehazi comes back and says, it's Naaman, General Naaman, the captain, the host, the king of Syria. Elijah didn't even go out and talk to him. There's something about that I like. I don't know why I just like it. But I like that scripture where Paul says, they that seem to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me. And so, but Naaman said to the servant, go out and see him. And the servant comes back in and says, what shall I tell him? And Elisha says, tell Naaman to go down and wash seven times in River Jordan. Now you have to understand this, River Jordan is just a muddy creek, that's all it is. The nearest thing out of River Jordan is the Calumet River out here. It's not much different than River Jordan and the Little Calumet River out here. It's just a muddy, swift kind of place. And Lysha said to his servant, now Lysha didn't even go see him. He stayed in the house and sent his servant out to this general of the army and said, go wash in Jordan seven times. And Naaman was furious. Oh, he was mad. In the first place, he didn't even have the respect to come out here and talk to me himself. Why? He doesn't know who I am. That may be why he didn't go, Naaman. Maybe He did know who you were and wanted to bring you down to size and let you know that you're no better than anybody else. And when we stand before God, nobody's no better than anybody else. The rich and poor will all meet together. And so He goes out. And Naaman said, I won't do it. I won't do it. Why? He said, the Jordan River. He said, good night. The river of Abana back home is a gorgeous river, and the river of Phar-Phar, while those rivers are ten times as nice as the Jordan River, why can't I go back home and wash and dip in the Abana River or the Phar-Phar River? And Elisha says, you tell him that he dips in the Jordan River or he goes home a leper. And so Naaman is angry. Oh, there's nothing. There's nothing. that makes folks any angrier than for a little hellfire and damnation preaching, not paying attention to them. Oh, sometimes these big folks come out, you know, these big reporters from these big papers that want to slander. They come out here, and they won't talk to me, and I'm too busy. I'm too busy. First place, they don't know the truth anyway if they saw it, and they won't print it, and so I'm just too busy. Oh, but, by the way, years ago, Dr. Beech and Bick called me and he said, I want to talk to you. That night, I had a date with little Becky, who was Becky, our oldest daughter, little girl then. And that night, I had a little date with Becky and I called off an appointment with Dr. G. Beech and Bick, the pastor of the largest church in the world, to be with Becky. And so, Naaman was furious. Why, he said, man alive, I'll not do it. And Elijah, okay, he said, enjoy your leprosy, happy leprosy to you. And so Naaman says, I don't care what you say, I won't do it. But the leprosy kept getting worse and worse. And finally, finally, his servants entreated him and said, Master, our general, you ought to go down and wash seven times. And he did go down and wash seven times in the Jordan River. And the Bible said he came up with skin just as clean as a little baby's skin. And, you see, he had obeyed the man of God, and he had followed God's plan. Oh, you say, Brother Hiles, I just can't see this salvation by grace through faith. I just believe it's baptism. Keep your lepers if you want to. Happy hell to you. Have a happy hell if you don't believe salvation by grace through faith. Oh, yes, I just can't see it. I believe, Brother Howard, you've got to join my church and get your confession in my telephone booth and you've got to be confirmed by my preacher and you've got to confess to my Pope and so forth. Believe what you want to believe. But let God be true, and every man a liar. The Bible still says, for by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It's the gift of God, not of works, as any man should boast. The Bible still says, not by works of righteousness, which we have done. But by His mercy hath He saved us by the washing of regeneration. The Bible still says, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. But you say, My denomination doesn't believe that. Let your denomination be true. Let God be true and let your denomination be a liar. But you say, My preacher doesn't preach that. Then let God be true and let your preacher be a liar. There is only one way to heaven. You like it or not, you'll go the Jesus way, or you won't go at all. All but you say, Brother Hyatt, I know, it's like Hammond. You can get to Hammond through I-80 can take you to Hammond, or the toll road can take you to Hammond, or I-94. can take you to heaven. Or Highway 20 can take you to heaven. Or Highway 41 can take you to heaven. Or Highway 12 can take you to heaven. Yes, you are exactly right. But Highway Jesus is the only road to heaven. Only road to heaven. There is none other name under heaven given among men whereby ye must be saved. If you are trusting your church to save you, you are not saved. If you are trusting your baptism to save you, you are not saved. Mr. Naaman, You do it God's way or you won't get yourself healed. But I don't believe it that way. Okay, then stay a leper. But I'll tell you, I don't believe I'll have to come the same way those old poor folks come. Then stay a leper. And you'll stay an unconverted, hell-bound sinner until you come to Calvary and fall on your knees before God Almighty and say, I'm a sinner. And sinners are lost. And Jesus died for sinners. And I trust Jesus. And what He did for me on the cross to take me to Heaven, That and that alone will get you to heaven. You say, you're pretty narrow. Nope, I'm not narrow. I've just got a Bible that's narrow, that's all. And a God that says it's a narrow way that leadeth to life and few there be that find it. So you come the Jesus way or you don't come at all. Hey, you're a sable of the house. I just don't believe the Baptist way. Neither do I. I believe the Jesus way. Well, you say, but how is our Methodist? A Methodist can come the Jesus way too. And Presbyterians can come the Jesus way too. And Catholics can come the Jesus way too. And you'll get saved by faith in Christ or you won't get saved. And you'll never walk the golden streets of glory unless you come to Christ and trust Him to save you. It's not your baptism. It's not your good works. It's not your communion. It's not your church membership. It's not your turning over a new leaf. It's obeying God's explicit command in the Bible to put your faith in what Jesus did. As Dwight Moore used to say, there are two religions. One is due and the other is done. Do is the false religion. Done is the true religion. You try to do and you go to hell. If you trust what He has done, you go to heaven. And so here's Naaman. And Naaman finally says, Okay, okay, I'll do it. And he goes down and dips seven times in Jordan. He comes to Elisha's, back to Elisha's cottage. Elisha comes to see him now. Elisha walks out and says, How did you do? Oh, Mr. Naaman is cleansed. And his skin is like a baby's skin. The first thing he does, he announces his conversion. He says, he said, now I know that there is only one God, and that God is the God of Israel, Jehovah God. And he puts his trust and faith in Jesus, in the coming Messiah, and he's converted. And the first thing he does, he announces it. I don't have much confidence that any kind of Christian doesn't announce it. I'm a secret disciple. I imagine the Lord may keep it a secret at the judgment too. Yeah. My Bible says, let the redeemed of the Lord say so. My Bible says, Romans 10, 9, "...whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed." And so, and Amon comes back and he says, okay. He said, I believe in your God, and now your God is my God. Now the next thing he wants to do, he says, look, I've got something I want to give you. I want to give God something. I want to give you something. He said, I got some gold and silver. And he said, a lot of money. He said, I have ten suits of clothing that I want to give you. That was the usual gift that folks would bring to honor somebody who had done a favor to them of great magnitude. And so he said, have a lot of money here. several talents of silver and gold, and I want to give it to you, Elisha, and I want to give you ten suits of clothing." Elisha says, No, sir, I'm not going to take anything for that. He said, No, sir. He said, I'm a preacher, and God takes care of me, and you can't buy your salvation, so I won't take anything for that. I wouldn't give you one I haven't got one, but I wouldn't give you one dime for all of the so-called servants of God in America, whether they preach or sing, who charge and sell tickets for their service for God. Wouldn't give you a dime for it. I don't believe it. You don't have to, but you've got to listen to me if you sit here. And I wouldn't give you a dime for it. Can you imagine the Apostle Peter saying, I'll come down to Cornelia House of Cornelius, and my stipend is just a big word for my haul, money haul. And he said, my gratuity. You didn't know I knew all those big words. He said, my gratuity will be a thousand dollars for coming. Nope, he didn't say that. And neither does any other real servant of God. No, sir. So, but I want to say this. As soon as a fellow gets converted, he wants to give. He wants to give. And as soon as a fellow gets converted, then he's supposed to give. Ten percent of your income belongs to God. Every dollar that you make, one dime of it, is supposed to be placed in the offering plate of the First Baptist Church of Hammond. You visitors go to other churches. Same for you. But, I mean, you folks who are members of this church, every dollar you make, one dime, is supposed to go on the collection plate, and if it doesn't, you're a robber, you're a thief, you're a crook, you're dishonest, you ought not to be trusted. I've got more respect for a fellow that will rob the bank over here than I have for you, and I mean that, not kidding. Is it worse to rob Hoosier Bank or rob God? The tithe is the Lord. And you're not supposed to use the tithe for your tuition in college. You're not supposed to use the tithe to pay your grandmother's payment at the rest home. You're not supposed to use your tithe to see to it your mother's cared for in her old age. You're not supposed to use your tithe for a Sunday school contest. You're not supposed to use your tithe for the bus ministry. You're supposed to put your tithe in an old-fashioned hell-raising, barnstorming, hell-firing, brimstone preaching, winter rattling, shingle-pulling, soul-winning, sin-fighting, hell-hating, Christ honoring, New Testament church, that's where you're supposed to put your time. And if you're right with God, you will do that. Oh, but you say I can't afford it. You're not supposed to put it at the end. It's supposed to be the first 10% of your income belongs to God. And I'll say it again, every dime you young folks make over here, if you get an allowance of a dollar a week, a dime of that is God's. and you're a crooked unless you give it to God. And you ladies, your husband gives you an allowance, and if that allowance is $50 a week, then you're a very fortunate lady. But $5 of that belongs to God. If you men make $20,000 a year, $2,000 of that belongs to God. I don't mean you give it to God. It is already God. And you don't give God a penny until He already has the ten percent, and what you give over that then is a gift to God. So, I'm saying that you're robbing God, you're a robber. Over the house, don't call me a robber. I didn't call you a robber. God said you're a robber, and I just bring the message along to you, that's all. But I'm not going to change it between God and me. God says, have you robbed me? You have robbed me in tithes and offerings. So, I'm not to the sermon yet. I'm having a good time. This is all of the introduction. So you think the introduction is long. You will not get the conclusion. But so, Naaman, a little maid tells him, he comes down to Elisha. Elisha says to the servant, go tell the dip in Jordan seven times. He is infuriated. He doesn't do it at first. And finally he does. He is cleansed. He comes back and announces he is saved. He says, I want to give you something. I want to give that which is rightly belongs to God. And then? Elisha refuses it, but here's the sermon. Gehazi overhears Mr. Naaman saying to Elisha, I'd like to give you some talents of gold and some talents of silver and some suits of clothing. And Gehazi, the servant, looks down his suit and says, I'm Claire. I've got frayed cuffs here. Now, I'm telling you what's in the Hebrew. You won't find this in the original language. You've got to know the original. In the English, you won't find it. I'm a college chancellor, and I love to give you deep things that you can't find in the English. So, the Hebrew says, he looks at his heart-shapen and marked suit. Or is that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego suit? I've forgotten. And he looks at it and he says, Good night! Elisha sure didn't miss a good deal. Ten suits of clothes and all that silver and gold. My soul, he blew it. And so Gehazi follows Naaman. Doesn't tell Elisha. He follows Naaman. And he overtakes him. And he says, sir, there's a change been made. He said, my master wants something after all. Oh, the dirty liar. Elisha had entrusted him with his own work. Elisha had taken him into his own confidence, and now he betrays his own master. I'll tell you what, there's nothing as despicable as a disloyal helper, nothing, nothing. Anytime I find some assistant pastor or some worker for some preacher that undercuts the preacher, I'm always for the preacher, always am. And I'm saying that there's nothing worse than disloyalty when it comes to those who are servants of God's men. So he comes and he says, look, he said to Mr. Naaman, he said, two preacher boys have come to enroll in Elisha Anderson School. And these two preacher boys, they don't have any nice clothes. And I tell you what, I think, would you give us two suits and one talent of silver?" And so Elisha, Naaman says, Well, of course I will. He says, how about two talents of silver? And he says, yeah, sure. And he gives him two talents of silver and two suits of clothes. Now wait a minute. He lied because he said, Elisha sent me. He lied because he said two of these preacher boys have come and they've enrolled in the school of the prophets and they need some help. He lied about it. Let me say this, folks. There's nothing to ruin you quite as much as a love for money. Nothing. Nothing. Of all of the people in this church who've been slain by immorality, and of all the people who've been slain by indifference, I'll guarantee you more people in this church have been slain and have backslidden because of a love for money than all the rest of the reasons put together. So, he brings the money back. And he returns. He hides the two suits of clothes. He hides the two talents of silver. Are you listening? He hides the two talents of silver and the two suits of clothes. Then he comes to Elisha. Elisha says, Gehazi, where have you been? And Gehazi said, I have not been with her. He said, I haven't been anywhere. Notice how one sin leads to another. Notice? First he got covetous, and that led to lying, and that led to making up a story, and that led to greed and wanting money, and that led to hiding it, and now it leads to lying again. He said, I should have said, Gehazi, where have you been? And Gehazi said, I haven't been anywhere. And immediately, now hear me carefully, immediately, Elisha said, May Naaman's leprosy be on you. He said, Okay, you want what Naaman had? You can have it. You want Naaman's money? You want Naaman's clothing? Okay. He said, you can have Naaman's leprosy. And you cannot get the wicked, cannot get that which is not rightly yours without getting the accompanying judgment of God on your sin. So, all of a sudden, his eye looks down and his hands are white with leprosy. Now what does that mean? That means he can no longer be a servant of Elisha. That means this coveted position with God's man is no longer his. What does that mean? That means that Gehazi can no longer even be touched by Elisha. Gehazi was a leper. A leper could not dwell in the camp with God's people. A leper could not be touched. When a leper walked down the street, he had to cry, Unclean! Unclean! Unclean! There are public rags tied across tied on posts in the streets, something like that, public rags. And a leper would come by these public rags, like we have public restrooms and public water fountains, and take that public rag and wipe the corruption off of his hands, the pus off his hands and off of his neck and his face, and he had to cry. Unclean! Unclean! Nobody could sit on a chair with a leper. Nobody could sit on a chair a leper had sat on before. Nobody could sleep in a bed with a leper. Nobody could sleep on a bed the leper had slept on unless the bed had been through a cleansing process. And Naaman was separated and the rest of his life... Now why was Naaman's sin so great? Two reasons. One is Naaman's sin was so great because of the tremendous advantages Naaman had. Look at his advantages. Naaman had seen Elijah take Elijah's mantle. Gehazi had. Gehazi had seen Elijah, no doubt, during his ministry. And Gehazi had seen his master Elijah take the mantle of Elijah. And he took that mantle and he smote the Jordan River and the Jordan River parted and he went over on dry ground. Gehazi had seen that. Gehazi had seen Elisha turn a poisoned pot into good provender by pouring some meal. He had seen that. Gehazi had seen Elisha feed 100 men miraculously. He had seen that. Gehazi had seen this little widow whose house Elijah went. She had nothing to eat. And Elisha said, do you have any oil? And she said, just a little. And Elisha said, okay, pour it out. That's always the way you multiply, you pour out what you have. And she began to pour it out. She got all the containers in the house and they were filled. And she went to the neighbor's house. Hey, you got any fruit jars? Hey, you got any buckets? and all the containers they had came over, and they were all filled. And she took the oil that God had miraculously given to her, and she sold that oil enough to feed her and her family. Gehazi had seen that. He had seen these miracles. Gehazi had seen the miracle of the Shunammite woman that couldn't have a baby. And the man of God prayed for her, and she got pregnant, and she and her husband had a fine boy, and Gehazi had seen that miracle. Gehazi was the one. Then this little lady came one day and said, the boy is dead. And Gehazi went and told Elisha, said, but boy, that miraculous boy answered prayer is dead. And Elisha goes and he puts his mouth upon the boy's mouth, and puts his eyes upon the boy's eyes, and puts his nose upon the boy's nose, and puts his hands upon the boy's hands, and breathes into that boy. And that boy who had been dead for some time comes back alive! His eye had seen that. And I want to tell you something, ladies and gentlemen. I want to tell you something. When you, the more you have seen God do, the more accountable you are to be faithful to God's calling. If there is a church in this world that is accountable to God Almighty, and if there are people in this world who are going to answer to God, if you don't turn out right, it's the people sitting in this room right tonight. For these 22 years, God has blessed us immeasurably, like no other church probably in the history of the New Testament church. And I want to say to young folks sitting out in the front row and others of you, Heavy, heavy hangs over your heads if you don't turn out right. You have seen more people saved than any young people have ever seen saved since Jesus said upon this rock, I'll build my church. You've seen more saved. You've seen more folks baptized than any churches baptized since our Lord walked the shores of Galilee and stood on the mountain and fed the 5,000. And I want to say tonight, if you don't turn out right, heavy, heavy hangs over your head. It is 10,000 times worse for you to turn out wrong than for some person who's reared in some liberal church somewhere. I'm saying that Gehazi, in God's name, what's wrong with you, man? You got to walk with Elisha. You shook his hand. You heard him pray. You saw him smite the Jordan. You walked over and saw him walk over on dry ground. You saw a dead boy raised. You saw a barren womb have life. You saw a hundred men fed miraculously. You saw a little widow have a little oil and God increased it. And you saw God feed her. How in the name of common sense, Can you do what you've done? And how in the name of common sense, and some of you folks do what you're doing. I have not seen in a long time any more stupid Irresponsible, unspiritual, carnal, wicked things done by some of our young people that I've seen done this last week. I'm not talking about high school kids. I'm talking about college kids and young married kids who have flaunted God's will, have disregarded God's purpose. Let me tell you something, when you walk inside those doors Sunday morning and Sunday night and Wednesday night, you carry a responsibility with you that nobody else carries exactly like you carry it. The world is wrong with us. There are people in this room tonight just about to do some stupid thing, go out in the world and do some stupid thing, who have not even walked in the office of one of these men on the platform and said, is it God's will? What do you think about it? I'm not trying to play God. I just want you to know. You think the first Baptist folks turned out better than anybody else. I dead sure do think that. Don't you tell me! Don't you tell me! When you're four years of age and put you in a kindergarten and choose some godly teacher to stand up there who believes this book, and we sacrifice and give our last blood, and our life savings in many cases, to put you in a school where you can attend, and you go to that school when you are four and five and six and seven and eight and nine and ten and eleven. Then when you are eleven or twelve or thirteen, we put you in a junior high school and you sit at the feet of some of the finest people in this world. And then you go to high school and do the same thing. And then you sit in this church Sunday after Sunday and sit in the Sunday school classes of the world's largest Sunday school. Don't you tell me that you're not more accountable to God Almighty to turn out right than those that have not had your privileges. Oh, but you say, I can't wait till I get out so I can do my thing. You have no right to do your thing. You only have a right to do God's thing. That's all the right you have to do. Well, I've got to get to know myself all fully on that kind of reasoning. I've got to stretch my wings and see if it's all true. No, sir, you just take my word it's all true. I'm simply saying there's a certain kind of a world in us, and I'm not trying to get my way. I'm trying to keep you from doing something that's going to wreck your life. Won't you tell me that those young people who come from across America to Hal Sanderson College set in that chapel out there, Dr. Evans, five days a week, and hear the most sincere, godly men speak on that chapel, you will find on the face of God's earth, and walk down halls that have been made sacred by the sacrificial giving of God's people. And you walk in this church Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, don't you tell me that you don't owe us something. You'd be better off if you'd gone to a state university. Some of you young people, college age and young married folks, are about to do something on your own. Look! I can't quite understand it. I've been your pastor for years, years, many of you, and you don't even have the respect enough for your pastor. to ask Him, oh, I know what He'd say. Yes, sir, He's going to say, do right. That's what He's going to say. Yet you go plan your own life. You say, you're preaching to me. I'm glad you're getting the message. I'm not mad at you. I'm not trying to hurt you. I'm trying to tell you that when you assume the membership of this church, Or you assume the citizenship of Hammond Baptist Schools or Howells Anderson College. You assume also greater judgment if you don't obey the truth. And don't you be surprised. Are you listening to me? I said, don't you be surprised. And that little baby doesn't move in the crib some more. A man walked out of my office not many months ago, had gone his own way, and I looked up to that man, and I said, Sir, God will kill you as sure as my name is Jack Hiles. In less than two weeks, the message came. That young man was dead. Folks, there's a God in heaven. And that God has a plan for your life. And that God has placed in this pulpit and in this church leaders to help you and pray with you and teach you and train you how to find that plan. And for you to utterly disregard God's plan. Oh, you say, but I prayed and I feel God leading me. Don't blame God on your wickedness. Don't blame God because you're marrying an unsaved boy. We deserve more, and your God deserves more than if you'd run off and get married. And your God deserves more than we deserve more. I got a letter the other day from a young man in whom I invested hours, a graduate of my college. I recommended him to a little church. Well, apparently he stayed a few months. Wrote me a letter this week and said, we're resigning the church. We're suggesting the church disband. We are having a hard time making ends meet. So I'm leaving the ministry and moving down south to get me a job so I can pay off all of our debts. Why don't you read the life of Adoniram Judson? Why don't you read the life of David Livingston? And I'm saying, That young man owes God more than other folks owe God because of the privileges he's had in this place. Gehazi saw the Jordan party. Gehazi saw the prophets fed miraculously. Gehazi saw the widow's oil increased beyond measure. Gehazi saw a barren womb come to life to give birth to a boy. Gehazi saw that boy dead on his bed. Gehazi saw the man of God breathe on him. Gehazi saw the boy live again. Gehazi had shaken hands with Elisha because Gehazi had walked beside the man of God. He had walked beside the greatest preacher of his day, and Gehazi sinned. Nobody in all the land should have to be punished as much as Gehazi for the same sin. I probably shouldn't say this, but I'm going to. There are people, there are parents in this church who are not living for God. to expect their children to live for God. It's no surprise when a dad that has flaunted the will of God for his own life, his heart broken because his children do the same thing. It's no surprise. It's no surprise. Brother Ray, it would be worse tonight for you to go down to the the tavern and get drunk than it would for a young man who's never been inside a fundamental church to go down and get drunk. By the border way, I mean. Well, Annie, can't it be worse for you tonight to go into sin than it would be for some young man who wasn't reared in First Baptist Church of Hammond? Mrs. Mott, it'd be worse for you tonight You know better. And I want to say this. If you young folks sitting here on the front commit the same sin that the public school kids do, it will be ten times as bad for you. Because you've heard me holler and scream and warn you. You've had others to come and warn you. Well, what the hell? Don't you think we have as much right to have fun as anybody else? They're not having fun. They're not having fun, not a bit of fun. Our Lord Jesus said, "'Woe unto you, tyrants, Sidon! Woe unto you, Bethsaida and Chorazin! If the works that had been done in Sodom and Gomorrah, or I knew had been done in Sodom and Gomorrah, they were repented in sackcloth and ashes. It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah.'" in the day of judgment than for you. You know, there's one word that we don't hear much about anymore. There's one word that it's time we talked about it a while. And that word is responsibility. I am so tired in my soul of hearing people say, well, I don't want to. Well, there are some things you're supposed to do because it's your responsibility to do them. But I just don't feel fulfilled. Well, hang being fulfilled and be responsible. You owe some things too. Every single teenager in this room and every single child in this room owes Dr. Jack Hiles a few things. You say, what are they? OK, I'll tell you. You owe it to me. If nobody else in there, you owe it to me. Of course, you owe it to your mom and your dad and the teachers and the Sunday school teachers and others. But you owe it to me. For as long as you live, to be a Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night Christian, And you owe it to me for as long as you live never to put a cigarette between your lips or a bottle of beer in your lips or a bottle of whiskey in your mouth. You owe it to me to be clean and pure and you owe it to me to be decent, separated believers in Jesus Christ. And you owe it to me to give one dime out of every dollar you ever make. But you say, I am free. That is the biggest lie the devil ever told you. Nobody is free. You have no right to take what folks give you and not let them reap their dividends, their rewards. You have no more right to go your own way than the fellow in the bank over here has the right to take your money and do what he wants to with it. You owe me something. And you owe it to your Savior. And you owe it to your mom and dad. and you owe it to those who have invested in you. I saw, I believe it was over a hundred ladies take off their wedding bands one day and put them in an offering plate in order that we might pay off Hiles Anderson College. Two or three of our students this year have taken that college and sat in those classes and sat in those chapels Two or three of our students, I can tell you half a dozen this year, who've taken some of our students and run off with them and married them. You know what I'm talking about, Doc. You dirty, sorry crook. You kidnapper. You owe a debt to the barren finger of every lady who slipped her finger of her prized possession and gave you a scoop. Hammond Baptist High School young folks wasn't paid for by tax dollars. Uncle Sam didn't write a big wad of money and send it down to Hammond Baptist High School and Hammond Baptist Junior and Hammond Baptist Grade School. I'll tell you who it's paid for. It's paid for out of this billfold right here and thousands of other billfolds in this room. Every time you walk down the school there and write a dirty name in the locker room, you are a traitor, and God Almighty expects more of that. God expects you to be responsible. Listen, we've catered too much to the appetites of people not old enough to know what they ought to have. There are other men in the Bible that lied. There are other men in the Bible that stole. There are other men in the Bible that deceived, who did not get leprosy. But it's different with Gehazi. Gehazi, his own hand, had touched the hand of the man of God. Did you know when youth conference comes, did you know there are teenagers who feel like their life's dream has been fulfilled when they just walk inside this building? If you let me be a little bit vain for a minute, There are teenagers who would give anything in this world to sit here and hear me preach one sermon. This is their Mecca. I've had pastors walk in these hallways during pastor school through these doors. I've seen them fall on their faces and weep uncontrollably and say, I've got to come, I've got to see it. I've seen them sit out there visiting us and seen the altars filled with people on Sunday morning and Sunday night and sit out there and weep. And I've had them come to me after service and say, I never thought in my life I'd ever get to see anything like that one time. You got to see it for 18, 19 years. And you're accountable. Shake it off, but you can't shake it off any more than Pilate could shake off the guilt of the Lord Jesus' death. Wash your hands all you want to, but you are in debt. I don't believe it. You are in debt. I can't see it. You are in debt. Like it or not, you're obligated. You're obligated to be faithful. You're obligated to time. You're obligated to be clean. Now, you're not obligated to choose the wife that I choose for you, but you are obligated to choose the kind of wife that I would choose. Yeah. You aren't obligated to choose the husband or wife that your parents would choose, but you're obligated to choose the kind of one they'd choose. You owe something to His eye. Can you see Him? You'd see Elisha walking down the street. Master! Hey, man! Come here! Unclean! Unclean! Unclean! No chance to preach again. No chance to be with Elisha again. No chance to be used of God again. Why? Because he had taken a sacred trust that had been given to him and misused it. Tonight I finish my 22nd year as pastor of this church. There are a few things I've done. There are some mistakes I've made. But there are some things I've done. I have been as fair with what I believe the truth is as a man can be. If I have preached error, it's not because I thought it was error. And I have taken you through this book again and again and again and again. And I have given you, as best I can, my heart, my life, and my soul. And we have been blessed of God as no other church, I guess, anywhere has ever been blessed. Now I owe you and you owe me some things. There is a responsibility that comes with blessing and you can't shirk it. No way. I close my door again and again and again and put my head in my hands and weep As I see people making decisions on their own, disinterested in what God says or what God's man says, be not deceived. God is not mocked. And whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. When you graduate from one of our schools, come back to visit us, some of you young men. Have a Shirley Temple haircut. You owe us more than that! You say, it's my business how I wear my hair. That's the biggest lie you'll ever tell. It's God's business how you wear your hair. But I know why you do it. You want to flaunt it. You want to say, yeah, look at me, Brother Howard, you can't tell me what to do anymore. Yeah, but God can give you leprosy. And by the way, you don't make me unhappy either. I'm ashamed of you. But I'm still as saved as before I saw you, long ringlets. You like to come back to the basketball games of the high school, don't you? Huh? You're long, beautiful, curly locks. Why don't you get you some earrings and a purse and put some rouge and lipstick on you, sissy? You like to walk to the basketball games. Truth is, if a star ball kicked you out. I'm being a little facetious there. But you ought to want to. But you like to come back, don't you? So you can walk down right in front of Mr. Staub and shake his hand. Hello there, there you old boy. Look what I can do. And you can't keep me from it. Souls like yours are bred to take a thousand and make a meal. Sir, a master said, a master said, he happened to think, a couple of preacher boys came and they need a couple of suits, a talent of silver. Yeah. There's no law in the book that said, Gehazi, I couldn't do that. None. But he owed his master more than that. And you owe your Savior and your heritage more than that. We appreciate you listening to Treasured Heritage. Tune in at the same time every weekday to hear God's Word.