Yesterday's saints are gone. They are in Heaven. But we are still here. They
have passed the mantle to us, as Elijah did to Elisha. Now the ball is in
our court. The great company of heavenly witnesses are now beholding us.
Hebrews 12:1-2a, “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, Looking unto Jesus the author and
finisher of our faith...” We are on the ballfield. The ball is in our
hands. A witness by definition is someone who sees something. So if
I was listening to a helpful sermon the other day by Evangelist Phil Kidd, called, “Are You Suffocating?” In this sermon Dr. Kidd says that when a Christian dies, their dead body is not them. They are gone! Their soul and spirit are in Heaven with the Lord. 2nd Corinthians 5:8, “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” When a believer's body (tabernacle) is no longer a suitable place to house the soul and spirit, that person is said to have “died.” But they are really alive in eternity. Dr. Kidd likens a believer to a walnut. That is, when you remove the shell (body), all you have left is the “nut.” Amen!
Our text verse says in John
9:4,
“I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the
night cometh, when no man can work.” The Lord Himself knew that His time
on earth was limited, so He wisely used that time to “work” while He could.
Likewise, our days are numbered, literally. Only God knows how much time we
have left. Most people do not redeem the time that they have remaining,
because they don't walk by faith. Most of them don't have any faith, that
is, they are not saved. They have never been born-again. And of the few
people who have been born-again, they do not walk by faith, they are still
walking by sight. Wise is the believer who is awake to righteousness, and
has their sights set on eternity. We're talking about living by faith!
I Am a Living Dog Carrying the Mantle of Dead Lions
If you take on the “mantle” of something such as a profession or an important job, you take on the responsibilities and duties which must be fulfilled by anyone who has this profession or job. So the popular phrase “picking up the mantle” means “to assume another's role.” When Elijah was taken up into Heaven in a fiery whirlwind (really cool), Elisha picked up the mantle. Amen! When Dr. Jack Hyles went to be with the Lord in 2001, faithful students of Hyles-Anderson College (like Pastor David Baker, myself, Dr. Bob Gray Sr., Pastor Steven Anderson, and I think two others) picked up the mantle!!! Of course, our faithfulness is only supposed toward the inspired Word of God. When I say “faithful,” I mean faithful to the truth which we were once taught, that no longer is being taught at Hyles-Anderson College. To be ethical, First Baptist Church of Hammond (who own the college) today should remove Brother Hyles' name from the college, and also Dr. Russell Anderson's name (which he has requested in writing by the way), since THEY NO LONGER TEACH THAT THE KING JAMES BIBLE IS INSPIRED!!!
Dr. Hyles taught us preacher boys to be loyal to truth and principle, and not to institutions...
“Students of Hyles-Anderson College, do not give your loyalty to Hyles-Anderson College. You give your loyalty to what we stand for today, and if tomorrow we don't stand for it, you withdraw your loyalty—loyalty to principle, loyalty to right, loyalty to character, loyalty to integrity, loyalty to conviction, loyalty to truth; not loyalty to institutions.” —Dr. Jack Hyles, from the sermon titled, “Filled With All The Fulness Of God.”
I have been loyal to the truth! I have used, believed, preached and promoted ONLY the inspired KING JAMES BIBLE since I was saved at age 13, born-again by the INCORRUPTIBLE WORD OF GOD (1st Peter 1:23). Anyone who denies the inspiration of the King James Bible is messed up doctrinally!!! I have known that the King James Bible is inspired from the day I was saved. I knew it before I knew it!!! If you are a child of God, having the blessed Holy Spirit indwelling you (Romans 8:9), then YOU KNOW that God's Spirit is in His Words. John 16:63, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
Pastor Jack Hyles said that he was dedicating the last years of his life to promote: THE BOOK, THE BLOOD and THE BODY. That is, the inspiration of the King James Bible, the literal blood of Jesus' sprinkled upon the heavenly Mercy Seat, and the importance of local New Testament churches. Dr. Hyles stood for THE TRUTH! Great preachers of centuries past are gone to glory, now with the Lord. Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) is not here today, so I must continue the work of Christ. Harry Ironside (1876-1951) cannot win any more souls to Christ, so I must do the work of winning souls to Christ. By promoting the sermons and books of Dr. Ironside, he is still winning people to the Lord through my humble efforts. Amen! Dr. Hyles is still getting folks saved through my ministry for the Lord.
Granted, it is not my
job to continue Dr. Hyles' work, nor anybody else's work, but in so doing,
their labors become mine as well. Thus, “we are labourers together with
God” (1st Corinthians 3:9b). God rewards every man according to “his
own labour” (1st Corinthians 3:8).
Matthew 10:42, “And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little
ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple,
verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.” If God
rewards Christians for giving a mere cup of water IN THE NAME OF A DISCIPLE,
oh how much more shall God reward those believers who GIVE GOSPEL PREACHING
AND LIFE-CHANGING BOOKS TO OTHERS in the name of a disciple of the precious
Lord Jesus Christ? What a great Savior!!!!!!!
Departed Believer's Works Lag Behind, Because of Ongoing Earthly Influence of Labours
Revelation
14:13, “And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are
the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that
they may rest from their labours; and their works do
follow them.” Why doesn't the Scriptures say that a
believer's works go with them? Why do they “FOLLOW THEM”? The answer is
obvious, because the influence of our earthly labours lag behind. Look at
all the awesome things still being accomplished today by the
55-year-ministry of Dr. Jack Hyles! Folks, I continually receive the most
precious e-mails from web visitors, thanking me for the sermons of Dr. Jack
Hyles. They praise the Lord for the changes which God has wrought in their
lives from Dr. Hyles' Spirit-filled Bible-preaching! One man just thanked me
for Dr. Hyles' wonderful book, “MEET
THE HOLY SPIRIT.”
Many people are still coming to Christ by faith, because of the lingering influence of Dr. Hyles' beautiful works. Man that's exciting! Hallelujah! Ecclesiastes 11:1, “Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.” My dear Christian friend, our labours are never in vain in the Lord. Somebody is always listening. You are the only Jesus that someone knows. We are never wasting our time when we pray. Prayer works, one way or another, prayer works! The Bible says to cast thy bread upon the waters. Get that fishing line out there, there's always a hungry fish! There's always someone who needs our help. Once our life is over, we won't have the grand opportunity to serve God as we do RIGHT NOW! Right now my friend is the time of salvation, if you've never been saved. Right now is the time to get busy serving God, sharing the Gospel to get sinners saved. What are you doing to get people saved? How are you helping the Gospel? TIME IS RUNNING OUT ON EARTH, ETERNITY IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER!!!!!!!
Even though Brother
Hyles is up in Heaven, his influence is still going strong. Why do you think
Satan (“the accuser of the brethren,” Revelation 12:10) has
relentlessly accused Pastor Hyles unjustly? It is to destroy Dr. Hyles'
credibility, so that lost people won't listen to his sermons, and they won't
get saved and they'll go to the Lake of Fire forever. People are never more
like the Devil than when they “accuse” others. Just remember that when you
point that judgmental finger at someone else, there are three more fingers
pointing right back at you (Matthew 7:1-5). And also, your thumb is pointing
up at God, Who created man in his own image. James 3:9, “Therewith bless
we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after
the similitude of God.”
Preachers Who Deny the Inspiration of The King James Bible Are Inspired By Demons
The
matter of the “inspiration” of the Holy Bible is critically important,
because it is the backbone of the Bible corrupting movement!!! If only the
originals were inspired, then only the originals were exact, perfect,
without error, infallible and very pure, which opens a Pandora's box today,
permitting Satan to flood the churches with hundreds of English Bible
versions to confuse, dilute and corrupt the words of God. Anytime you have
two authorities set up against each other, there is a battle. This is
exactly what God said would happen in Genesis 3:15, “And I will put
enmity [make enemies] between thee [Satan] and the woman, and between thy
seed [corruptible seed, i.e., the Alexandrian Bible perversions] and her
seed [the incorruptible Word of God]; it shall bruise thy head, and thou
shalt bruise his heel.”
Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001) preached a fantastic truthful sermon in 1994 called, “THE BATTLE OF THE AGES.” It is hard to accept in my soul, the horrifying reality, that after preaching such a monumental landmark sermon—proclaiming the importance of the inspiration of the King James Bible—that the First Baptist Church of Hammond (from the very pulpit which Brother Hyles stood behind and delivered his sermon in 1994), would DENY THE INSPIRATION OF THE KING JAMES BIBLE SINCE 2008!!!!!! My God, what went wrong? I'll tell you what happened, one demon-inspired false prophet turned the hearts of the church against the King James Bible. Isaiah 53:6, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” FBCH today are as wandering lost sheep since Brother Hyles went to Heaven. I wouldn't give you a dime for any pastor, Bible teacher, evangelist or preacher who refuses to proclaim the inspiration of the King James Bible.
Brother Hyles didn't think the fight over the inspiration and accuracy of the King James Bible was a trifle matter. Dr. Hyles pastored FBCH from 1959 to 2001. There was no truth any more important to Brother Hyles than the inspiration of every single word in the King James Bible. Listen for yourself to what Brother Hyles' said, how that a man is inspired by demons who denies the inspiration of the King James Bible... DEMONS!!! ...
“And brother, any time anybody ever casts any reflection upon the accuracy and the inspiration—verbal inspiration—of this Bible, I'll guarantee you he was inspired by the demons. I'll guarantee you! I don't care if he's got a 'reverend' in front of his name. I don't care if he has a clerical collar on. I don't care what school he's been to. He's of the Devil if he says that the Bible is not verbally inspired by God!” —Dr. Jack Hyles, a great quote from the awesome MP3 sermon titled, “Satan's masterpiece.”
I have an opportunity to serve God
today, whereas those dear saints of times past do not, they are in eternity
already. Dr. John R. Rice (1895-1980) is in Heaven. Brother Lester Roloff
(1914-1982) is in Heaven. Pastor Curtis Hutson (1934-1995) is in Heaven.
They cannot do anything to get souls saved anymore. Ecclesiastes 9:4, “For to him that is joined to all the living there is
hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.”
I am a living dog, which the Bible says is better than a dead lion. I am not
a gifted orator like Evangelist Billy Sunday (1862-1935). Billy Sunday was a
lion in his day. I am not a powerhouse preacher like Dr. Harry Ironside
(1876-1951) or Dr. Jack Hyles (1926-2001). These mighty men of God were
lions in their heyday. But those dear men of God are all absent from the
body, now present with the Lord. I am just a living dog—a seemingly
insignificant nobody, just a frail dog with a website, a faint voice in
cyberspace, 152 pounds of dirt. Albeit, I may only be a dog, but I am alive.
A dead lion cannot win souls. A dead lion's voice is silent. But you know
what, a living dog who promotes the voices of those dead lions, can still
win souls and earn rewards for those men. That thought warms my heart!
I Am Not Great, But I Can Promote Greatness, Which Makes Me a Part of Greatness
Matthew 10:42, “And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.”
I
am not great, but I can promote greatness! The inspired Holy Bible (King
James Bible) is greatness!!! Jesus Christ (the only begotten Son of God) is
greatness!!! God the Father is greatness!!! The Holy Spirit is greatness!!!
History's men of God who proclaimed the Word of God became greatness!!!
History's women who helped the cause of Christ, became greatness! Any man,
woman or child can instantly partake of greatness by promoting, befriending
or helping greatness! Boy this is good stuff! The apostle Paul, if he were
here today, would work hard to preach the Gospel to get people saved. LET'S
LOAD THE BOAT FOR HEAVEN!!!
The Gospel,
if it is presented correctly in its simple form, will get people saved.
What are you doing for Jesus Christ, to get people saved?
Ladies and gentlemen, it excites my soul when I stop and think about the fact that I still have the privilege, duty and opportunity to serve the Lord Jesus Christ!!! This opportunity won't last. John 9:4, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.” I turned 50 years old in March of this year. If the Lord tarries His return, and I'm still alive in just 20 years, I'll be 70 years old. Whoa! It seems like just yesterday that I was 17 years old in high school. I still feel like a teenager. Where did the time go? Folks, life is short, and it'll all be over before we know it. God has a place for you in the Body of Christ that no one else can fulfill. Do you know what your spiritual gifts are? Are you using them for the Lord to get lost sinners saved. ALL of the gifts of the Spirit are given for the sole purpose of SOUL-WINNING!!!
Listen to me, I don't care what a so-called “ministry” does, if the Gospel is not being preached, the members are pulling on the same rope as the Devil, letting the world go to Hell. I'm sick and tired of hearing about dental ministries, medical ministries, musical ministries, boat building ministries (oh yes, I'm not kidding, BOAT BUILDING MINISTRIES), et cetera. I might consider starting a ministry someday with the mission to close down as many ministries as possible, just to rid the world of such parasitic organizations, that blind men's minds from the Gospel and send people to Hell forever. I'm kidding of course, I wouldn't even waste my time trying to stop idiots from being idiots. Revelation 22:11, “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.”
I actually heard a local man say to a Bob Jones University pastor down the street, that he praised God for his family's “restaurant ministry.” Folks, there is no such animal. There is no such thing as a “restaurant ministry” or a “boat building ministry.” These are businesses! Granted, you can use a business to promote a ministry. I once opened a carton of eggs, when I lived in Illinois, and a local farm put Bible verses inside each egg carton. That is a ministry! They are sharing the Word of God. Being religious is not a ministry, the Word of God must be promoted.
Okay, that's the end of my article. I just listened to a wonderful sermon by one of my favorite preachers, Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold. Here are some helpful truths which I want to share with you (and a link if you'd like to hear the MP3 sermon for yourself). The name of the sermon is “THE WAR ON WORRY” ...
“Worry is the interest paid on trouble before it becomes due. ... Worry is a sin that can literally make you sick. ... You don't have to worry about anything you put into God's hands!”
SOURCE: Pastor Ralph Yankee Arnold, a helpful quote from the excellent MP3 sermon, “The War On Worry.”
