======================================================================== WHAT DOTH THE LORD REQUIRE OF THEE? by Jack Hyles ======================================================================== Summary: God requires us to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with Him, and giving Him one-tenth of our income is a requirement of Him. Duration: 57:18 Topics: "Requirement" Scripture References: Micah 6:6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DESCRIPTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In this sermon, the preacher tells a story about a little boy who made a boat and lost it in the ocean. The boy was heartbroken but eventually found his boat in a toy shop. The preacher uses this story to illustrate the importance of doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God. He emphasizes that God's requirements for us are not based on appearance or wealth, but on treating others fairly and showing kindness. The preacher encourages the audience to avoid bitterness and retaliation, and instead to show compassion and forgiveness. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Micah was a country boy who lived at an age much like ours. Those of you who have been with us in our Wednesday evening studies will remember the studies about Ahab and Jezebel, their wicked daughter Ahaziah, the union that Ahab made with Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. You recall the... I'm sorry, Athaliah was the daughter, Ahaziah was the son. A wicked union that Jehoshaphat made with Ahab. You will also recall that Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat, succeeded him and led Israel into horrible... and Judah into horrible sin. It was during this time that God raised up a country boy named Micah as one of the minor prophets to bring a peculiar message to his people. Bear in mind that he was living in an age of anarchy. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes. Micah gives us more insight, I think, to the Messiah than perhaps any of the minor prophets. He advocates the coming Messiah as the hope of Israel, the hope of Judah, and the hope of the world, and the hope of individuals. He even gives us the little light we have not received hitherto in that he tells us that the Savior, the Messiah, will be born in Bethlehem of Judah. He summarizes his admonitions to God's people living in a horrible age. Someone asked me tonight, Do you think that there is more fanaticism, and I forget the other word they use, but something like that, in our age than there ever has been before? No, no. The devil never gets anything new. He just gets the old over and over and over again. That's all. The world has been wicked, as wicked before, as it is tonight. In the time of Micah, under the reign of the wicked king Jehoram, the son of the pussyfoot and Jehoshaphat, Judah went into horrible sin. And Micah stands before the people of God and says now to God's people, What does the Lord require of thee? In an age of anarchy, in an age of idolatry, in an age of sensuality, in an age of profanity, in an age of rebellion, what does God require of His people? He writes these words, and I'll read them to you. Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Is that what God wants from you? Asked Micah. You, His people, who live in this awful age, Is that what you think God wants from you? Offer calves on a burnt altar? Now, let me make it very plain. God is interested, or was interested, in their offering sacrifices. He is not saying we ought to serve God with our hearts in the place of sacrifices. He's saying we ought to serve God with our hearts while we sacrifice. Sometimes folks get a little wild and say, Well, the church is dead and the services are dead. I don't believe in going to church. Now, you're just as wrong as a dead church is. What God is saying is this. When Amos said, for example, I hate, I despise your smelly offerings. They come up into my nostrils. They make me sick. God isn't saying don't worship. He's saying add sincerity to your worship. He's saying go ahead and worship. Go ahead and go to church. Go ahead and give sacrifices. But do it out of a heart of sincerity. Verse 7 says, Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? As you know, the Jews in their religion used the anointing oil as part of their religion. There was the oil of the tabernacle, the golden candlestick in the tabernacle in the house of God. There was the anointing oil that was placed on the head of the priest and poured on the head of the high priest. And there were the sacrifices. And the Lord says, He says, Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams? No. No, that won't do it. Or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? No, that won't do it. Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression? The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? Notice the progression here. He says without sincerity and without righteousness. Does it do any good to offer lambs? No. Do any good to offer bullocks? No. What if you have ten thousand rams? No good at all. What if you have ten thousand rivers of oil with which to anoint the priest? Won't do a bit of good of all. What if the oil fills the candlestick and we have bushels and barrels? You don't have bushels of oil, do you? Barrels of it. Does that do any good? No, it won't do any good. Listen to me. God wants sincerity in worship and service. And God will overlook most anything other than insincerity. And so he says in verse 7. Verse 8. He has showed the old man what is good. And what doth the Lord require of thee? In 1973, with Communism coming like a black cloud over our nation, what does God require of us? With the playboy philosophy. And every magazine stand almost and almost every drugstore having nude ladies on the front of magazines. What does God require of us in 1973? He requires the same thing of us he's always required of his people. By the way, these aren't requests of God. These are requirements of God. These aren't suggestions from God. These are requirements by God. What are they? One, do justly. What else? Love mercy. What else? Walk humbly with the Lord or with our God. Now I want to just list these for a few minutes. By the way, you ought to know what these are. These are requirements. These are not suggestions from a friend. These are orders from a commander. This is God saying, I require you. And every person in this house tonight is required by God in this age to do these three things. What's first? Do justly. What does it mean to do justly? It means give everyone what's his. That's what it means. Give everyone what's his. It means punish wrong, honor right, vindicate justice. Do justly. That's the first thing. Give everyone what's his. Now I want to just list a few of these tonight, and I want you to listen carefully because I'm going to get out of where you live before it's over. What does it mean to do justly? The first step in doing justly is being saved. That's the first thing. Nobody can be just unless he's saved. He can be the head of the Supreme Court, but he won't be a Supreme Court justice unless he's saved. Nobody, nobody can live without God and live a life not saved and do justice. Nobody. Do justly. Nobody. Actually, do you know a person who's not saved is a thief? A dirty, crooked thief. If you're here tonight and you're not saved, you're a filthy robber. I mean you're crooked. I mean you're not honest. I mean you couldn't be trusted. I mean I wouldn't let you borrow any money. You say, well, I'm honest. No, you're not honest either. You're a crook. You're a double crook. You're a double thief. Well, you say, what do you mean? I mean this. I mean that God in heaven made you. He it is who gave you the breath of life to live. God spoke and made man. God made you. And when you do not give yourself back to the God who made you, you're crooked. You're a thief. You're a robber. I wouldn't trust you. You're dishonest. I mean that's one reason why liberals are dishonest. Don't be surprised a man that doesn't believe the Bible is crooked too. Don't be surprised a man is dishonest who's not saved. Why? Because a man who's not saved is taking something that God made and is rightly God. God didn't make you so you go out and get rich and have fun and eat three square meals a day and drive a Cadillac car. God didn't make you so you could live it up and have pleasure and have a girlfriend or a wife and kids and a nice house. God made you to fellowship with himself. And if you're not in communion with your God, you're crooked. I mean you're dishonest. I mean you are a thief. I mean you are a common robber. I mean you ought to be in the penitentiary. Because you're stealing something that's not yours. Why you say preacher? I'll have you know it's my life. I can live it like I want to live it. No, you've got a hole in your head. It's not your life. It's God's life. God made you. But that isn't all. You're a double crook and a double thief because God not only made you but he bought you. Jesus Christ went to the cross and paid for your soul and paid for your redemption and paid the price for your sins. And if you sat here tonight and you've never yet made it right with God, you've never looked to your Maker and said, Dear Heavenly Father, I come to you through your Son Jesus Christ and give my life to you. I receive Jesus Christ as my Savior from sin. If you've never done that, you are not walking justly. You are not doing justly. You're dishonest. You're a thief. You're a robber. And you're a crook. The old story that I've told again and again but is so beautifully illustrative at this point. If there's one that ever preached or I guess who's ever preached this, told again and again and again about the little boy who one day took his knife and a little piece of wood and made a boat. He did a splendid job of making that boat. He was so proud of it. He took that boat down to the seashore and the ocean and began to play in the water with that little boat. He'd let the boat ride the waves and he'd go out and get it and the boat would ride a ways. He'd go out and bring it back and let it ride a while longer. He was so proud of that little boat. But one day the tide went out and that little boy's boat was too far from him. He ran to get the boat and couldn't find it. The boat was taken out into the ocean. The little boy stood on the ocean weeping and saying, I made the boat and it's mine and I want it and I don't. My boat's gone. It's gone. He went home and said, Mother, my boat's gone. I made my boat and it's gone. His heart was broken. Soon the wound was healed and the scar was revealed. But the little boy still remembered the little boat. One day he was walking down the street and he passed a toy shop and he saw that little boat. He thought his own little boat in the toy shop. The little boy ran inside and said, Mr., could I see that boat? The man said, yes, you could. The boy looked at it and turned it over and sure enough there were the initials on the bottom side of that boat. The little boy said, Mr., this is my boat. I want to take it home. The fellow said, no, it's not your boat either. I bought that boat for $2. The little boy said, but sir, I made this boat. Look here, right on the bottom, those are my initials. I was out playing at the ocean and the tide went out. The little boy said, Mr., it's my boat. It's mine and I made it. It's mine. The man said, I'm sorry, but you can't have it, son, unless you pay the price. The little boy said, what would it cost? He said, son, since you put up a good case, I'll let you have it for what I paid for it. You give me $2 and I'll let you have it. The little boy went back and he did odd jobs. Maybe he did some yard work and picked up pennies and nickels and dimes everywhere he could. Finally, after several weeks, he came back to the toy shop. He took his $2 out and he paid the toy man, the manager of the shop, for the boat. He bought the boat that he made. As he walked out the door, he hugged the boat to his breast and said, ah, little boat, you're mine twice now. I made you and I bought you. That's what Jesus did for you. He made you and he bought you. What's required of you in 1973? Do justly. What's the first step toward doing justly? It's giving your heart to Christ and becoming a Christian. I'm saying if you're not saved tonight, you cannot do justly. You're crooked. By the way, if you're not saved, don't get too excited because Richard Speck is still alive, because you're more guilty than Richard Speck is. You've got blood on your hands. You've got the blood of Jesus on your hands. You're guilty of his crucifixion. You're a robber, a thief, a murderer, everything you can imagine. Why? Because you've taken your own hands and you've crucified the Son of God and not even looked up and said, I receive you back, I take you. If you're going to do justly, you're going to have to be saved. Come to Christ. Tonight, if you want to do justly in this old sin-cursed world, you bow your head right where you are and say, dear God, this is it for me. I'm not going to rob you of myself anymore. You made me and you bought me. You have a right to me. I give myself to you. But there's a second step about doing justly, and I'll be very frank and very plain about this, and that is tithing. What is required of us in 1973 in the age of anarchy, like of the days of Micah? What's required in these days of sin and perverse sex and sex of sins and of promiscuity? What's required of us in this day of communism? What's required of us in this day of hippies and miniskirts and nudity and topless outfits and topless waitresses and cursing? I was driving home today from church and was listening to the news, interviewing some big baboon on the news who said, well, G-O-D-D-A-M-N, right on the news. Cindy was in the car, and I said, Cindy, isn't that a disgrace and a shame? I mean in this day where people think it's fun and normal on television to use wicked words that used to be words that were shady and words that no decent people ever used and only a bunch of little hoodlums and vulgar-minded boys said when they got in the restroom or wrote on sidewalks or restroom walls. Now people just take it for granted. First thing is to be saved, and second thing, ten percent of every penny that you've ever dined or you make, a penny of every dime and a dollar of every ten and ten of every twenty of every hundred and a hundred of every thousand, one-tenth of your income belongs to God. And if you're not giving it to God, you're a dirty crook. I say you're a dirty crook. I say you're a robber. I say you're a thief. Doc, I was thinking last night, we ought to check and see about these Hiles Anderson College preacher boys. You preacher boys come here and don't give God ten percent of your income, don't you think I'm going to recommend you to a church one of these days? I'm going to tell them you're crooked, and I'm going to see to it you don't get a church, and I'm going to start checking and see if you tie. Nobody's going to come here and go four years to Hiles Anderson College and rob God what he does and not give God ten percent of his income and not set an example and a pattern for the people he's going to lead some of these days and leave and go out and pastor a church. If I have anything to say about it, I'd suggest you become an Episcopalian because I'll blackball you with Baptist. No dirty crook's going to get a recommendation from our college. No dirty thief's going to take God's money for four years, God's money, and be recommended to preach from our college. I'm simply saying the time has come when every one of God's people ought to say, the time is the Lord. God robbing is as bad as it ever was. You men that don't give God a dime of every dollar you make, you're crooked. You're not walking justly. You're not doing justly. And God says in this wicked, kind, and perverse generation, what is required of us, what is required of us, do justly. Do justly. That means one dime of every dollar is God's dollar. Let me ask you this for a minute. Suppose that I said tonight, ladies and gentlemen, I have here a guest with us. Mr. H. L. Hunt is here from Texas. Our Mr. J. Paul, I forgot his name, Getty. J. Paul Getty is here. These men have formed a coalition. And I say, Mr. Shelby, I've got good news for you. These two men have agreed to take care of every need you have the rest of your life. They'll give you all the money you need the rest of your life. It's yours. They'll take care of you. Only one thing they require. And that is, of all the money they give you, they want you to give them ten percent of it back. That's all you have to give. That's required now. That's all you have to give. What kind of person would Shelby be if he refused? I mean for somebody to say, I'll give you, I'll give you a promise of every need of your life. I'll pay your rent, I'll pay your bills, I'll buy your groceries, I'll buy your clothes. And you turn and say, I won't give you ten percent. Brother, I cannot think of anything more ungrateful or more wicked or more crooked or more unjust than that kind of behavior unless it would be a person who would live in God's world and look and enjoy God's sunshine and drink God's water and breathe God's air and use God's strength and enjoy God's blood flowing through your veins and enjoy God's world and live in God's land and look at God and say, I won't give you ten percent of my income. You, my friend, are a dirty, filthy, robber, thief and crook. That's what you are. You're an ungrateful pig, you say, Brother Howell. Don't you call me a pig. I already have. You're like the pig that an apple hits him on the head and he reaches out and eats the apple. Never looks up to see from whence it came. The tithe is the Lord's. The tithe is the Lord's. People who sit in this room tonight, if you're concerned about serving God, if you're concerned about doing what God wants you to do and what God requires you to do, and you're going to have to do justly, that's the first thing, and nobody can do justly unless he gives God that which is rightly his. Suppose it. Let me ask you a question. How many of you folks ever farmed and rented somebody's farm? All right. Let me ask you a question. You rented somebody's farm. What did you have to give the fellow whose farm you used, you rented? I can recall we used to farm in Texas on the haves. Now, what did you give when you used somebody's land and farmed it? How much of it did he get? Somebody raise your hand and tell me. How much? If you furnished your own machinery, you gave one-fourth, but what if he furnished the machinery? You gave one-half. Anybody else, what did you give? Uh-huh. You furnished the machinery and gave a third of everything. Paid for the pasture land yourself. All right, gave a third. Anybody else ever do that? What did you pay? Uh-huh. Two-fifths? No, I didn't say what did you drink. I said what did you pay. Uh, I'm sorry. I just came up too easy. Forty percent. All right, let me ask you a question then. If you use somebody's land and pay forty percent, and you use somebody's land and pay fifty percent, and you use somebody's land and pay thirty-three and a third percent, I think maybe it's not pretty good, God letting you use his world and paying ten percent. That doesn't sound like a bad deal to me. Let me ask you a question. Suppose that you wouldn't have paid that thirty-three and a third percent. Would the fellow just have said, well, that's okay. I mean, you just. You say, I just can't afford it. I mean, I'm so far in debt I can't afford it. You think you'd look for favor on that? How about your two-fifths over here? You think you'd look for favor? You'd say, I just can't afford it right now. How about your half here? Huh? No, and God doesn't look with favor on you. And by the way, don't you expect God to keep your children well either. Hey boys, you listen to me over here. Don't you expect God to take care of your needs. And don't you expect God to keep you in good health. You have no right for God's protection and oversight. You have no right for God's care. You have no right to claim God's promise. You live in God's world. You drink God's water. You enjoy God's sunshine. You enjoy God's gifts. And you rob God. You're not a good Christian. You're not right with God. You're a crooked robber. You're a heathen. You say, I'll join another church. Well, better tell them before you come, because they're not going to afford many members like you. It's time some of you God robbers paid up. It's time some of you thieves decided to be honest. It's time some of you people that wouldn't respect the person that went over to Hoosier Bank and got Mr. Walker and put a gun in his ribs and said, give me the cash. And Mr. Walker said, okay, you can have it, whatever you want. And he gives it to them. Why, you say, how awful. We had a man here not many years ago. Word leaked back to me he was stealing money from the church offering plates on Usher. In this church. Oh, it's been now eight or ten years ago. We began to watch him carefully. He was caught stealing money from the church offering plates. Can you think of anything more contemptible than that? Yes, I can. You folks don't even put it in. And you're as crooked as he was. I mean it. He skipped the country. We haven't heard from him since. He stole, I guess, he admitted to over $800 he'd stolen your tithe money. How contemptible! How wicked! But let me tell you something, brother, and you get this well. You get mad or not, but you get this right. And that is, as God looks down from heaven, you folks that will walk out these doors tonight and go to your house and go to bed tonight and have not given God 10% of what you've made since you last walked in this house, you are as contemptible in the sight of Almighty God as that man that skipped the country who took the money out of the collection plate. The money is not God's after it gets in the plate. It's God's before it gets in the plate. You ought to hit this aisle tonight and fall on your face and say, God forgive me. But you sit with the highest. A lot of you, like the colored preacher down in Texas, he said, we're going to take up an offering and all the money we get is going to go to the upbuilding of this cause. Somebody said, your money ought to go to the heathen and the poor. He said, my kids are the poorest in town, and I don't know a heathen in town like my kids. I'm simply saying, what does the Lord require? What is God's requirement? In this wicked age, blackened to Micah's age, what does God require? To do justly. You know what we need in America? We need a revival, not necessarily of shouting, though I'm not against that. Not necessarily of rolling in the aisle, and I'm not against that if you don't do it here. But we need a revival of old-fashioned honesty and integrity and paying up debts and not getting so far in debts you can't meet your payment. We need an old-fashioned revival of just plain, old, honest living, keeping your word when you say you'll do something. And you start it by paying up with God. What does the Lord require of you? Number three, let me say a word first about this tithe again. Where should you give the tithe? Now, I will make it very plain. If you take ten percent of your income and send it to the Hammond Baptist High School, you have not tithed, as I see it. If you take ten percent of your income and give it to the bus ministry or the youth ministry or the college or the WMS or any other phase of the church program, in the first place, not only haven't you not tithed, but you've not been honest. Now, let me tell you why. Because you're not even paying the light bills in there tonight. You sit and hear me preach and don't pay one penny of my salary. You enjoy the comforts of this building and don't pay one penny of its upkeep. Not one dime. I am as firmly convinced as I am that I'm standing behind this pulpit that the place God wants you to place ten percent of every bit of your increase is in a Bible-preaching, soul-winning, New Testament Baptist church. With all my heart, I believe that. Why? Because when you drop a dollar bill in that collection plate or drop your tithe in that collection plate, you support the entire ministry and the entire program of this church. The tithe is the Lord's. And let me say this, too. It is not fair nor honest to sit at the table and not help pay for the food. I have watched in a while some fellow gets out of school, out of college, and gets him a job and still lives with his parents. And I ask him how much he's paying for room and board, and they say, well, nothing, he's our boy. Now, that's dishonest. That's dishonest. I'm not opposed to you helping your boy or girl go through high school and college, but when they get out and get a full-time job, they're forced to help you pay the bills. You say, well, I love them too much. If you loved them, you'd try to teach them justice and pay their honest debts. Let me say a word about this doing justly. And I mean this. I don't mean to be unkind. But don't you think for a single minute that some of you college kids or high school kids can live like the devil for six months and then come down the aisle in this church and dedicate your life to Christ and not pay for your wickedness. I mean, a rededication to Christ doesn't mean all of a sudden you don't have to pay for the crimes you committed in school and the dirty words you wrote on the walls and the disobedience to the teachers and the rudeness that you've exemplified to authority for six or eight months. I was in Maryland the other day. A few months ago, a fellow said to me, he said, I went to Tennessee Temple College. He said, I studied with Dr. Hilton about this this morning. Maybe it was yesterday you and I were talking to him. But anyway, we were talking about it. Oh, he's in the car coming back from the airport. But I said, you know, the fellow said, Dr. Robertson is so soft-hearted that if a fellow is about to get kicked out of school, all he's got to do is come down and get saved. And they'll let him stay in school. And this fellow told me, he said, I got saved four times. And Mr. Hilton said the other day, he said, when I was down there, I walked you out every Sunday. He was a real swinger, I'll tell you for sure. He couldn't have stayed in the college two days. But I'm simply saying now, let me say this. Do you know that if you cursed, or if you were insubordinate last year in school, and you were expelled from school, the fact that you come down and get right with God doesn't mean that you have a right to go back to school and your penalty shouldn't be paid. Suppose I walk out and I shoot a fellow. Kill him. And I walk down the aisle the next Sunday and get saved. Do you think I'm free of justice? Not at all. And the honest truth is, we do you a favor when we make you pay. And not only that, we do every student in every school, we have a favor. And don't you think for a second any longer, here in these schools, that you can live in sin and rebel against the teachers and cut up and misbehave in class and get demerits like they're going out of style. Don't you think you can do it any longer and go to Hammond Baptist High School, Hammond Baptist Grade School, Baptist City Grade School, or Howells Anderson College? You're justly! You say, well, Howells, you're mean! No, sir, the mean ones are the ones that let you get by without paying for your crimes. Did you know that if Richard Speck had been apprehended quickly and been put to death quickly, did you know that we wouldn't have had this great wave of murders across this country? And with the taking of that one life, according to God's Word, with capital punishment, do you know that tens of thousands of lives would have been saved across this nation? And do you know the great wave of murder and lawlessness? And like these murders down in Houston, Texas, all the others were set off, ignited by Mr. Speck, when we did not bring him to justice readily and quickly, as God's Word plainly states. You say, I think that's cruel, what you're preaching. You just take it up with God, and it's God that wrote it, and I'm preaching it, and by the way, you don't have a right to tell God whether it's cruel or not. What does the Lord require of thee? Do justly! Do justly. He said, it's also, that includes paying your debts. Now listen to me, you know what we ought to do? We ought to have an old-fashioned altar service some night where we bring our credit cards, leave them on the altar, and burn them. I mean it. There are a lot of you people who intend to pay your debt, but you make bills, listen to me, you make bills you don't know you can pay, and you're dishonest. Almost everybody in our church gets in such financial trouble they have to come to the pastor for advice and counsel. Brother, I can just read it to you. Forgive me, I'll just tell you what I see. Boys, listen to me. I'll tell you what I see. JCPenney, $15 a month. Montgomery Ward, $12 a month. Sears and Roebuck, $13 a month. Jack Fox, $11 a month. Zayers, $14 a month. Carsons, $16 a month. And they say, my wife's going to have to go to work. If you had to work doing a little sewing for your kids' clothes instead of going so far in debt to make debt that you couldn't pay, then you'd have been honest instead of being a crook. Boy, that sort of silenced the whole crowd, didn't it? Now, I'm saying this. I'm saying that more people have been crooked by going down and buying stuff. I'm not against buying on credit. I'm simply saying, if you do not see how you can pay for it, then you're dishonest when you sign that credit statement. What does it all require you to do justly? But you say, well, I'm afraid my children couldn't go to school. We're going to have to spend $400 or $500 for school clothes. Now, I'm not against that if you know you have the $400 or $500. But I'll tell you what is better. You're better off if your kid wore some overalls to school. And if you'd just get some cardboard and stick it inside those shoes like my mama used to do. Well, you say, now, poor, my poor little boy. He wouldn't be like all the other kids. I know, but he wouldn't have a dad and a mom that were crooks. I'm saying it's dishonest for you to buy anything if you don't know how you can pay for it. And I mean this. I mean, go down and buy it and not even know you can. Not be able to sit down and say, I'll pay this much. I know I can. I will. This is what I'll do. If I starve, I'll do it. Listen, when you've got a television set and you're living... Now, listen to me. I'm trying to help you. You've got a television set and you're living in a room or den. And you've got potato chips in your cabinet. And you've got eggs in your refrigerator and bologna in your refrigerator. And you've got Cheez-Its in your cabinet. And you've got soup, canned soup. And you've got vegetables in your bin at home. And you've got carpet on your floor. Or you've got furniture in your house. And you drive a nice car. And you take vacations. And you take days off. And you go to a ball game. Or you go out for a picnic. Or you pay any extra. If you do that, and you cannot know how you're going to pay your debts, then you're dishonest. I'm simply saying we need an old-fashioned revival nowadays of just plain old honesty and integrity and honor and doing justly. That's what God says is required of us. Well, you say, well, how else? I just can't afford to make my payment. Say your television set. Well, I say, well, how else? I just can't afford to make my car payment. Say it and get your bicycle. Now, I'm not preaching against television or owning cars. I'm preaching against this kind of wicked, irresponsible living. It owes everybody in town and doesn't see exactly how those debts can be paid. And by the way, it's caused more heartache and more fussing and more complaining in homes across this nation than any other ten things I know of. Some of you girls just got married. But when your wife says, well, everybody else has a washer and dryer. Why can't I have one? Buy her a rub board. Well, if you love me, you let me have one. Then don't love her. The next part in this sermon says love mercy. You better be praying for mercy tonight. I mean what I'm saying, and God means what he's saying. If you've got debts that you don't pay, and you've got debts that go unpaid. I mean, as long as you're driving a car, as long as you have a television set in your house, as long as you have carpet on your floor, as long as you have furniture in your house, as long as you have clothes on your back. Sell them and pay your debts. Do justly. What is required of thee? Do justly. That also means a day's work for a day's pay. That means if you work, get eight hours' pay, you work eight hours. Somebody said, well, out to steel mills nowadays. The fellow just sat around, don't do much anymore. One fellow the other night said, the night shift where I work, nobody does anything much. All I have to do is study all night. Now, you listen to me. I hope you're flunked. I don't care if nobody out at steel mill works. If you've got a job to do, and you're supposed to work eight hours out there, you give eight hours' work or you're dishonest. What is required of thee? Do justly. Do justly. That means make as good a grade as you can in school. It does not mean quit soul winning to do it. It means go soul winning and make the best grade you can in school. It means if God's given you a talent, you're supposed to do it, use it. Did you know choir members? And you don't show up for choir practice on Thursday nights? And this choir is the most important choir in America today? And Thursday night comes and a handful of people come here, and God's given you a talent to sing? You're not doing justly. You're not doing justly. You've got a talent, you're not using it. It's dishonest. I mean, whatever happened to the old, old idea that if I belong to it, I'll be there? Whatever happened to the old idea that said, if I'm a teacher, you can count on me? If I belong to it, I'll be present. I'll be honest. I'll keep my word. I'll be dependable. Nowadays, we just come and go flippantly. Come to choir practice, feel like it. Don't come if we don't feel like it. And we're out here, preachers all over this country have come to this church all summer long to find out how First Baptist Church of Hammond does it. And time and time again, some part of a special number has not been rendered as beautifully as it could have been because of irresponsibility on the part of choir members. Some of you deacons, same thing with you deacons. You come to deacons' meetings, there's no football game on television. That's not just living. You've got a responsibility. Somebody writes you a letter and asks you, it's your time to patrol the halls, and you don't show up. That's crooked. There ought to be a revival in this church, and I mean we ought to have an old-fashioned revival of, if we say it, we'll do it. You Sunday school teachers just don't show up. Three superintendents came to me last week and said they had Sunday school teachers that didn't show up last Sunday morning and didn't even tell anybody about it, and I say you're crooked. Dishonest. The sacred trust God has given you, and you don't, your word, you promised you would come when you took that class in the department. Never visit in an absentee. You're dishonest. You promised you would. God didn't say it required us to look a certain way, or to have so much money, or to have so much talent. God simply said do justly, and that means that we're supposed to give everyone what's His. There's a second thing we're supposed to do, and that's love mercy. Micah stood in this day of wickedness and perversion and sin and anarchy, and the people said, Micah, what does God require of us? He said, don't you worry about bringing all those rams, if you don't have any, don't you, ten thousand gallons of oil, barrels of oil won't help any. He said God requires three things of you. Do justly. Number two, love mercy. Now what does it mean to love mercy? It means sit in the other fellow's seat, and then pity him, and have compassion on him. It means when he wrongs you, figure out why he did, and be understanding. If he mistreats you, you're not to be vindictive or retaliatory. You realize that you're not the issue at all. Christ is the issue. You're supposed to love mercy, exert mercy, give mercy, be forgiving, compassionate. It means if somebody hates me, I'm not to hate him back. Somebody gossip, criticizes me, I'm not to criticize back. Somebody slanders me, I'm not to slander back. Somebody fights me, I'm not to fight back. Somebody tries to ruin me, I'm not supposed to ruin him. It means I'm to love mercy. By the way, this is a requirement. The Lord doesn't say, I hope you can do this someday. It's required. What doth the Lord require of thee? Do justly! And then love mercy. There's a third thing. Walk humbly with thy God. I like the words, thy God. That implies you're already saved. Nobody can walk humbly with God, unless he belongs to God. The liberals love to preach on this passage. They love to tear us fundamentally stuff on this passage. They love to say, you don't have to get born again. What's that mean? The Bible says three things are required. Do justly, love mercy, walk humbly with thy God. They're going to say, I haven't got enough sense to know you can't do justly and rob God of your own life and soul. But it says, thy God. Thy God, not a God, thy God. Get born again, walk humbly with him. Notice it says walk. That means you're going somewhere. Humbly means lower than. It means we're supposed to walk lower than others, and God gets the glory. There are three things about this matter, just briefly, this matter of walking humbly, and that is we're to prefer others. We're to prefer others. That means we're to think of the comforts of others more than we think of the comforts of ourselves. Time and time again, I've been with Dr. John Rice in meetings across this country. Nobody's been with him like I've been with him. Time and time again. He's 78 years of age now, and I've seen this over and over again. Last, let's see, a week before last, we were in Decatur, Illinois together. Everybody listened to me. All the young folks listened to me. The girl back in the back row hasn't listened to a word I've said. You listen to me. The blonde next to the back row. I, Dr. Rice and I were together, and somebody said, we're going to give you a German Cadillac to drive in. Do you know what a German Cadillac is? It's a Volkswagen. And so, Bill Harvey drove it, and Dr. Rice happened to get there first. And 78 years old, he crawled, he opened the one door and crawled over the seat and sat back in the back. About that much room for his knees. And I sat in the front. What's he doing? He's preferring somebody else. He said, what did you do the next time? I tried to be late again. It's crowded back in the back. And the boy said, can I have your ice cream cone? He said, no, you can't have my ice cream cone. Well, he said, if I have an ice cream cone, I'll let you have it. He said, good, I've already got it. We're both happy. Most of us are that way. You know, I've told you this little story, and I don't mean to tell it again. I want to give you a new thought I had this week about it. The little girl that gave me a candy bar, the little bus kid gave me a candy bar. And she opened it up and took a bite out of the corner and then wrapped it up and gave it back to me. I told you about it. I thought about this this week. I bet you she enjoyed what she gave me more than she enjoyed what she ate. Did you know there's a certain sweetness about preferring other people? Walking humbly with thy God means I'd rather he have it than I. I'd rather he be comfortable than I. I'd rather he have his way than I. What is walking humbly with God? It's Abraham saying, Lot, you choose what you want, and I'll take what's left over. What's walking humbly with God? It's David saying, I'll not slay Saul. I'll not lift up my hand against God's anointing. What's walking humbly with thy God? It's David saying, I'll not hurt Shimei. I know I could kill him, but I won't. God may be sending him as a messenger. What's walking humbly with our God? It's loving those that hate us and praying for those that despitefully use us and blessing those that curse us. What's walking humbly with God? The word humble means to abase or to lower yourself. Get lower and lower and lower and lower. It means to prefer others. Look for their needs. You know, here's something that happened to me a long time ago that I've enjoyed through these years. I've enjoyed looking for somebody else's needs. If anybody needs something, I try to supply it. Like this. I was down at Greensboro, North Carolina and Dr. Curtis Hudson and I were preaching and he held the prettiest tie. And I said, Dr. Hudson, that's a beautiful tie. He just took it off and gave it to me. Now, he wanted that tie, but he doesn't have it in him. I was down in Greenville, South Carolina. I said to a fellow, that's the prettiest sport coat. My, that's beautiful. He took it off and gave it to me. I said, by the way, your pants are pretty too. Selfish fellow. Didn't prefer others. Didn't walk humbly with his God. That doesn't mean take your pants off and give them to somebody else. But you know, when you get to the place where you look for somebody else's needs and not your own, then you're coming close to what it means to walk humbly with your God. Not what I need, but what you need. And always on the lookout for what a so-and-so needs. A fellow says, so often somebody says to me, I like your Bible. That's a nice Bible. And I try to get him one. Now, I'll probably have a thousand Bibles to get after the service tonight. First person brags on my Bible is going to get it. But if somebody needs a Bible, did you know that my neighbor's need is my opportunity and it's yours? We're supposed to walk humbly with our God. But that isn't all. It means, as I've said before, don't retaliate. Don't fight back. When you see a confrontation coming, you withdraw. I mean, if there's coming a confrontation between you and somebody else, you step back. Don't keep going. Walk humbly. Put yourself down. If somebody does something against you, why don't you stop and realize maybe you had a heartache today. You don't understand. I've told you. I'm sure I have. And I have it in one of my books about that little lady down in Tampa. I was in Tampa, Florida at the airport. Prettiest airport in America. Though it wasn't built. I just knew it at the time. I was in the airport, the old Tampa airport. Do you remember that? They ate up over the ticket counter there. I was in the Tampa airport. And I ate. My bill was $1.60 something. I'm not sure. I'm not sure what it was. But anyway, the waitress came up. When I came in the door, she said, Matt, you want to be seated? How many? I said, one. You ready to be seated? I said, yes, ma'am. She took me and she said, would this be okay? I said, yes, ma'am. She said, you want to order now? I said, yes, ma'am. She said, would you like a menu? I said, yes, ma'am. She took that menu, threw it on the table. She said, I'm sick of hearing it. She said, don't you know anything other than yes, ma'am? I said, yes, ma'am. She wouldn't take my order for a long time. She finally came back and took it. I gave it to her. She said, is that all you want? I said, yes, ma'am. She brought my food out about an hour and a half later. I'm not kidding you. She slid it along the table. The soup spilled. And some of the vegetables fell off the side. She just threw it at me. Finally, she gave me my ticket. And she walked away. I left a $5 tip. I never do that. I left a $5 tip. I was paying my check, $1.69 or so. This waitress walked up and said, hey, mister, you left some money on the table. Hand me the $5. I said, don't they tip in this restaurant? She began to cry. She said, you mean you left that $5 for me? I said, yes, ma'am. She said, I said, lady, you're not a bad lady. Nobody really is as mean as you've treated me today. I think you've got a broken heart. She broke down and began to cry. She told me a story of her husband was an alcoholic and had left her to rear a family. And how she couldn't make ends meet. And how that day was the hardest day she'd had. And she thought she wanted to die rather than live. And I told her about Jesus. And she was saved there at the cash register. I went down. I had about two hours to wait on the plane. It was bad weather. About an hour and a half later, I was walking down to the airport. And I met her in the airport. I said, you're still saved? She said, yes, ma'am. Don't you see what I'm saying? I'm saying, when somebody mistreats you, why don't you just stop and realize maybe they've had a tough day today. Maybe it's not been easy. Time and time again, I've tried to be kind to people that were in a sour mood. And I found that there was a reason for it. Don't be bitter. Don't be akin or associated with retaliation or vindication. When somebody begins to spit back at you, then give quickly. And just stop and realize that if you were in their shoes, maybe you'd do the same thing. Walk humbly with thy God. Boost others. Now, that's what God wants us to do, these three things. What is required of us in 1973? Do justly. Love mercy. Walk humbly with our God. That's God's requirement. Those are His requirements. Are you doing it? Huh? Do you spit back? Huh? Fight back? Do you? Retaliate? Oh, get her! No, she's already got you now. Already got you. Do you tithe? Do you pay your debts? Is your word as good as your signature? Mr. Walker, you're a banker. I can recall, in the early days of my ministry, I can recall when a fellow walked down, I could, to a local bank in East Texas, and say, I need a thousand dollars. And he'd give it to me, and I'd say, Hey, where do you want me to sign? He said, look, I'm busy right now. Sign it sometime when you're back through here again. How many can recall some bank like that in years gone by? Right. Many of you have your hands up. I can recall that. I can recall in Garland, Texas, less than 20 years ago, going over to Cleveland Hughes, was the head of the bank, and I'd walk in, he'd say, Hi, Reverend, how much you need? And I'd tell him, I'd say, look, I'm in a little hurry, Cleveland, would you put that in my account? He'd say, sure, I'll put it in your account. He'd put it in my account. One day he'd write me a little note and say, Anytime you're over here, drop by and sign that thing. And you know what? I had notes paid out almost before I ever signed them. Now, by the way, don't expect Mr. Walker to do that to you tomorrow morning. It's easier in the afternoon. He's in a better mood in the afternoon. But don't expect that. But you know why they can't do it anymore? Because the average person, I mean, sitting in this room tonight, is as crooked as a dog's hind leg. Buy stuff on credit and don't know how you can pay for it. There are folks right here tonight, you know that you can't pay when the payments due for the stuff you buy. You know it. And that's dishonest. Not dishonest, that's sort of stupid. Stupid's a Greek word. It means dumb as all get out. Why don't you say tonight, from this moment forward, I'm going to do justly. If I'm not saved, I'm going to give my heart to God. It's His. If I'm not tithing, I'm going to start. It's His. If I'm not paying my debts, or if I'm making debts irresponsibly, I'll do it no more. I'm going to be honest and do justly. I'm going to love mercy. I'm going to be merciful, forgiving, compassionate, and I'm going to walk humbly with my God. That's the kind of people God blesses. Let me ask you a question tonight. Somebody's lawnmower in your garage? Been there for a year? You got one of the church psalm books at home? Don't laugh about it. It's crooked. You got any church silverware at home? Got any hotel towels? I don't mean to be unkind, but I wish you wouldn't laugh when I'm talking about dirty sin. We'll forget. We took a trip to Canada one time. After we ate, we were going to have dessert later, and I said, Folks, be sure to keep your forks now. A month or two later, Bob Van Gork came up and pulled a fork out of his pocket and said, What am I supposed to do with this fork? He said, Keep it. He was just kidding. Got something in your neighbor's garage? Are you going to be able to pay all of the debts that are due on the first of the month? Sit still. Don't wiggle. Do you go down and buy stuff? Do you know just because you got more checks in the book don't mean you got more money in the bank? A lot of you folks are like the little lady who went down to the banker and she said, I want to cash a check. He said, Ma'am, we have identification. Can you identify yourself? She took her purse, got her mirror out, looked at herself, said, Yep, that's me alright. That's about as financially responsible as a lot of you folks are in this room tonight. Huh? What's required of you? The fat of rams? Offering books? Ten thousand barrels of oil? No, those are only good if supported by life and heart that does justly, loves mercy, and walks humbly. Everybody in this room tonight knows this is true. Everybody that's in business especially. Mr. Mitzke, Ms. Mitzke, you know this is true. The younglings up here know this is true. You know that there are Christian people that are professing Christians with the hundreds in this area that let a bill go month after month after month with no intent or plans ever to pay. I have in my office hundreds of pledges. Folks pledge to give something to our building program. The last time I checked, $102,000 still wasn't in. It's been over a year since you made that pledge. And you promised to pay it for the first year. There are some crooks in this room tonight. And one of the sad commentaries on our generation, when I preach about something like this, you laugh and smile like it were nothing serious. It's a sin against Almighty God. You're going against God's requirements and you are a dishonest person. Do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God. ======================================================================== Audio: https://sermonindex1.b-cdn.net/18/SID18895.mp3 Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/jack-hyles/what-doth-the-lord-require-of-thee/ ========================================================================