In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of trusting in God and serving Him. He shares his own experience of initially struggling with preaching and studying the Bible, but eventually finding inspiration and guidance from God. The preacher uses the example of David, who trusted in God's strength and protection even when he was running from his own son and facing difficult circumstances. The sermon emphasizes the reality of God's presence and salvation, stating that it is not just a crutch or a hoax, but something genuine and life-changing.

When Saul had threatened to kill him, and David was running for his own, for his life, from the king of Israel. Or it was written, when David's son Absalom had rebelled against his father, and David had fled his throne, his palace, and his city, leaving his throne to his rebellious son. I'm not sure which one. But in either case, these, or either case, it was one of the two darkest hours of David's life. Can you picture? Maybe David was running from the king. Suppose President Nixon said, I'm gonna kill Billings! I'd say, I'll help you find him. But I'm gonna get my hands on Billings! I'll get him! Called out the army, and he decided to get Dr. Billings. And Dr. Billings began to run, and run, and run. That's the way David was. And David said, in that condition, the Lord is my strength, and my shield. My heart trusts in Him, and He's my help. My heart shall greatly rejoiceth, and with my song will I praise Him. Or maybe, if that isn't the case, David was running from his own son, and the forces of his own son, and away from the throne, and away from his own boy, and away from all that was holy and right and good. David said, the Lord is my strength, and my shield. My heart trusteth in Him, and I'm helped. Therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth. Let me say this, ladies and gentlemen. And listen to this, if you don't hear a thing else I say. God, God is real, and what He offers you is something that's real. And salvation is real, and there is help in the presence of God. Oh, I've been preaching long enough to know. I've caught enough tears on these shoulders. I've counseled enough broken-hearted people. I've been in this business long enough to know there's a difference. And this thing we call salvation, and this thing we call being saved, and this thing we call being born again, is more than the hoax, than a hoax by some feeble-minded people trying to get strength, or a crutch on which to lean, or a teddy bear to sleep with. It's real. It's real. I know it's real. David said, there's something on the inside in salvation. There's something on the outside. There's something on the inside as I serve God. There's something on the outside. There's something on the inside in joy, and there's something on the outside. Now I want you to notice the first thing he talks about, I think, is salvation. He says, the Lord is my strength and my shield. He's talking about protection from the enemy. He said, the Lord will give me strength from within, and He'll give me protection from without. He's saying salvation is from within first. Notice it said, in each case, inside first. Inside salvation first, and then outside demonstration. Inside help, strength in the heart, and then help from without. Inside rejoicing, and then singing from without. It starts on the inside and works out. For example, you don't get baptized and then get saved. You get saved and then get baptized. You don't take communion and then get saved. You get saved and then you take the Lord's Supper. You don't reform and then get saved. You get saved and then change. You don't join the church and then get saved. You get saved and then you join the church. You know that all false religion is based on one thing, and that is getting something God gives you when you get saved, mixed up with the saving. You get saved by being born again. You get saved by receiving Christ and what He did on the cross and all these other things. The Lord's Supper comes because you're saved. Baptism comes because you're saved. The church membership comes because you're saved. Turning over a new leaf comes because you're saved. You quit your drinking because you're saved. You quit your cursing because you're saved. You live for God because you're saved. You read your Bible because you're saved. You pray because you're saved. You give the tithe because you're saved. You pay your debts because you're saved. You live for God because you're saved. You don't curse His name because you're saved. You live clean because you're saved. You tell folks about Jesus because you're saved. But any time you get one of those things mixed up in salvation, you won't get the real thing. You've got to come to a place where you realize that salvation starts on the inside. It's inside and then it comes out and you tell folks about it. Back a hundred years ago in the city of Paris, France, there was a famous comedian. They called him Fools back in those days. Whose name was Carnini, C-A-R-L-I-N-I, Carnini. Carnini was the, he was the, tell me some comedian. I don't know him anymore. Last movie I went to was Tom Mix was playing. But who's some comedian very famous today? Who? Bob Hope. Some of you worldly people help me out now. Bob Hope. Okay, he was the Bob Hope of his day. He was the Red Skelton of his day. He was the, he was the outstanding fool in all. People came from all over Paris who had burdens and melancholy to be lifted because he would, he was such a, such a, such a fool and a tremendous comedian. But there's something that happened to him. Melancholy set in his own soul. Melancholy absolutely gripped Carnini. And in, when he was alone, he was, he was, he was sad and melancholy. And he was, he was, he was fearful and discouraged. But he'd perform in front of a great crowd. And he was, he was a, a real fool. He was a great humorist. He was a great comedian. And people came from all over Paris and all over France to have their spirits lifted because of Carnini. But Carnini was, was on the point of despair. He himself was so discouraged it was pitiful. And he was melancholy all the time. So finally he disguised himself and went to a doctor. And he, and the doctor said, what can I do for you? And he said, my name is something else besides Carnini. And he said, I, what the doctor, what's your trouble? And he said, I'm sad all the time. I'm melancholy all the time. And he said, I, I need to be cheered. He said, what can I do to get cheered? And the doctor looked at him and said, the best thing in the world you can do to get cheered is this. There's a fella in Paris whose name is Carnini. And he is the funniest fella you ever saw in your life. And he has cheered more people than any other person I know. Now he said, if I can get you tickets to go and see and hear Carnini in person, he will cheer you up. And Carnini took off his disguise and screamed. He said, oh my God, I am Carnini. Now what can I do? He said, I've got to find happiness somewhere other than the outside. I am Carnini, oh my God, what can I do? The funniest man in the world could not give him enjoyment, could not break his melancholy. And what I'm trying to say is this, ladies and gentlemen, I don't care who you are, whether the Pope in Rome, down to the deacon of this church, or pardon me, up to the deacon of this church, or whatever you are, there's not a thing you can do to lift yourself out of your sin. You've got to come to someone outside yourself. And you come to Christ and say, oh my God, I've tried to be happy, and I've tried to find peace, and I've tried to have joy, and I've tried to get satisfaction. Oh God, I haven't done it, I haven't done it. And you go to the Pope in Rome and say to the Pope, can you make me happy? The Pope himself gets discouraged sometimes. And then he could cry, I am the Pope, oh my God, what can I do? There's only one thing you can do, and that's come to him who's a prince of peace, who gives joy. He's the source of all joy and the source of all happiness. And on the inside you get born again. And then all of a sudden you realize your sins are forgiven. Gone, gone, gone, gone. Yes, my sins are gone. Now my soul is free, and in my heart's a song. Buried in the deepest sea, oh, that's good enough for me. I shall live eternally, praise God, my sins are gone. And there comes a time when you quit trying to save yourself and get it on the inside. And then, after that, what happens? You tell it on the outside. I'll sing it, I'll tell it wherever I go. I want all to hear it, I want all to know the joy of salvation that makes my heart glow. For I have been born again. You say, you say, these folks at First Baptist sure are nuts. They just go, oh, oh boy, you wouldn't believe the calls I get. You wouldn't believe it. And I thank God for every one of them. And don't anybody ever come to me complaining because our folks witness too much. There are plenty of liberal churches in town letting the whole world go to hell and playing church. Brother, I'm going to stir our folks up for soul winning as much as I can. If we can get the gospel to every little old poor kid in Chicago, we're going to do it. And don't get your hopes up to think this is just a fall program, brother. If I can keep us stirred up during the winter and the summer like this, and keep us out getting folks saved like this, I'm going to do it. Why? Because if you've got it on the inside, count it on the outside. Brother Bob was up in Canada preaching. I don't know why they want me up there, but I go up there quite often. And I keep going. And I was in Canada, and a fellow, I preached a couple of times, had a question and answer session. And a pastor stood up in his Canadian accent. I can't, the only word I can pronounce in Canadian is oot. That's out. Said, after the service, we went oot and got something to eat. And so a fellow stood up and he said, Dr. Hiles, he said, you are a very emotional person. And he said, you Texans seem to be rather hot blooded. Now I'm not sure I know what that means, but that's what he said. He said, now we Canadians, he said, we are more staid. He could have said daid too, but he didn't. He said, we are more staid. He said, we feel it and don't show it. Now he said, we feel it on the inside, but we don't show it. I said, you Texans, you show it and don't feel it. But he said, we feel it in the heart and don't show it. Well, I said, we have those in Texas too. In front of a great crowd of people at a convention. I said, we have those in Texas. He said, what? I said, we have folks like that in Texas. Folks that feel it and don't show it. He said, I did not know Texans were of that disposition. And I said, we have some like that. I said, the only thing, we don't call them Canadians. We call them backsliders. You don't have to choose between feeling it or showing it. You can feel it and show it. You don't have to choose between saying, I feel it in here, but I'm not going to let it out. Or hollering, don't hit. Have it and tell it. Get it and tell it. Spread it. Inside and out. But there's a second thing that David said. David said, I'm going to trust him now to help me. I'm going to keep on serving him. Now that I'm delivered and he's going to save me. And his shield is going to protect me from the outside. And his strength is going to be on the inside. David said then, he said, I'm going to keep on trusting him. And he's going to help me as I serve the Lord God. There was a time to me when preaching was drudgery. I can recall when I first became a preacher. I was fasting at church and I didn't know what to do much. I didn't know how to study much. And I can recall on Saturday night, I'd open my Bible. It'd be about 11 o'clock on Saturday night. And I'd say, 12 hours and I've got to preach. There's got to be something in here somewhere. Oh my, 66 books and hundreds of chapters and thousands of verses. Lord, won't any of them preach? Lord, there's got to be something in here somewhere. At 12 o'clock, I'd say, oh, nothing yet. Haven't found anything yet. And at 1 o'clock, I'd say, nothing yet. And then 10 minutes to 11 the next morning, I'd say, nothing yet. And my folks at noon would say, nothing yet. But it was such a drudgery. And I can recall getting up on Sunday morning and eating breakfast and going out in the backyard and regurgitating. Regurgitate is a Greek word. It means lose all your breakfast. And I'd regurgitate and I'd say, oh, Lord, help me. Oh, Lord, help me. Help me, Lord, help me. And then I'd try to eat something else and it wouldn't stay down either. And I'd go to the pulpit. And I'd say, all during the song service, I'd say, oh, Lord, help me. Oh, Lord, help me. And one blessed day, I fell in love with preaching. And I can't wait to preach. And I love to preach. And I'll tell you what, brother, somebody said, do you use notes when you preach? I said, no, I preach for cash or nothing. Doesn't make any difference. And I just preach. I don't care. I go around the country preaching. A fellow said, hey, would you come preach for us? Yeah, I'll come for you. I sure will. Well, you're going to preach here four times a day. Would you preach for us? I said, yeah, I'll do it. I'll do it. I love it. It's my life. I love it. I love to serve God. Brother Bob, you know how I love sports. But I'm getting where I can't even watch a ball game all the way through, honestly. I love sports. I've always loved sports. But, oh, 10,000 times more than watching a ball game, I'd rather serve God. Why? Because I love it on the inside. I used to serve Him because I was called on the outside. But now it's on the inside. There's something beats on in here, inside and then out. But I serve Him now because I want to serve Him. And sometimes I get a little tired. And I think I'll maybe take about two or three hours off and watch the Bears play a ball game. Oh, good night. I'm a nervous wreck when I get through that. And so I think, okay, I'll take a few hours off and I'll watch the Hawks play hockey. That's worse than the Bears playing football. You know, I hope someday in some way Chicago can get something that wins something. We haven't won a championship since 1824. But we could just get a ping pong champion or something in Chicago. But honestly, Dr. Billings, I mean this. Something happened. Something happened. One day it hit me. One day it dawned on me that I was doing the work of God. And it dawned on me. I was sitting here one morning. I looked out and I thought, I'm doing what Jesus would do if He were here. I've heard Dr. Rice say it so often, if our Lord came in that door back there this morning and walked in, oh, for two and a half years I've wanted to see Him. And I've been consumed for two and a half years with the blessed joy that will be ours when the veil is drawn back and we shall see Him. If He walked in, I'm not sure what we'd do. I'm not sure. But I know one thing. I'd say, Jesus, come on. Come on up here. Don't sit down back there, Jesus. Come on up here. And Brother John, probably you'd sit down here at the altar. And I'd sit down here and look up at Him. And Brother Fierce could be over here and Dr. Billings here. And a holy hush would settle over this building. Jesus of Nazareth is here. He's about to preach. And oh, what would He do? He'd stand up. Maybe He'd read the 28th Psalm. But He wouldn't have any better Bible to preach than I have. He'd preach the same Bible I preach. And if He told you how to get saved, He wouldn't have any better plan than I'm telling you this morning. The same one. And it dawned on me, this is His business I'm doing. I'm an ambassador for Christ. You know what I'm doing this morning? I'm here. He couldn't be here. He told me to come and take His place. And I want to do it. And I want to serve Him. It's on the inside. I served Him years because I had to. I served Him years because I was supposed to. And then one day it got on the inside. And now I serve Him on the inside. I want to serve Him. I want to please Him. I want to tell about Him. It's on the inside and the outside. Let's illustrate it this way. Here's a fellow. He goes to work for a guy. And, well, let's suppose a teacher goes to work for Dr. Billings. And I wish some of you teachers would go to work. But he goes to work for Dr. Billings. And the teacher says, Don't like that little fellow. Gets up and says, We're going to sing the next stanza, Acapulco. I never heard that in my life before. Wish I never had heard it yet. But Acapulco. And so tell us I don't like the little fellow. He runs a fast. You don't know where he's going. And I don't like him much. But I need a job. But I do like the school. So I'm going to work for Dr. Billings. Now the fellow has character. And so he works hard. And he prepares his lessons. And he has the heart. His heart carries the load of the students. But one day, he looks at Dr. Billings on the platform. And he says, You know, he's a great guy. I had him wrong. He loves those students. And he does. And he carries the burden. And he does. And all of a sudden, that teacher, shall I say, he falls in love with Dr. Billings. And the teacher says, He's the greatest principal in all the world. Now does he do any more? Probably not. But he enjoys it. It's a different reason now. And the next day, he says, He gets up the same time he got up before. But now he gets up because of love, not because he has to. And he works about the like he did before, hard as he can. But it was his character that made him do it before. Now he does it because he loves Dr. Billings. It wouldn't be a wonderful thing if we get to the place where we love Christ so much we'd have to serve him. Oh, you say, Okay, I'll go to prayer meeting to preach. He says, I'll go to hell if I don't. So I'll go. But it would be a wonderful thing if it was like the psalmist said, As the heart panteth after the water brook, so thirsteth my soul after thee, O God. Wouldn't it be a wonderful thing if you'd wake up every morning and say, I hope this is Sunday. Oh, and then on Sunday morning you wake up and you say, It's Sunday. I get to go to church today. Some of you this morning, you said, It's Sunday. And I've got to go to church today. Now I'm glad you came. We need your money. And we need you here. But I'm glad you came. But wouldn't it be a wonderful thing if it was on the inside and then on the outside? If you serve because inside, outside, save on the inside, express it on the outside. And you serve the Lord on the outside because it's on the inside. And there's a third thing that David said. David said, Now wait a minute. David's running from his son. Either that or he's hiding from the king. David's about to be killed. David's wife is in danger. And look what he said. He said, Therefore my heart greatly rejoices. And with my song, I'll praise him. I've always said amen when I heard about heaven. Anytime anybody would say the Lord's going to come in the air, I've always been happy about that. I've always, when somebody said Jesus is going to come and rule on Mount Zion and peace shall cover the earth, I've always said amen. And I've always felt it. But I'll be honest with you. In recent years, there's come a constant, a constant rejoicing in God. I recall, and our people have heard me tell of this. I recall when the Casey building was up over here, I never had shouted, really shouted in my life before. I mean had a fit. You know what I mean? I never had. And I'm not recommending we have it here this morning. But we had pastor school that year. And some of you folks will recall, I was sick on the Sunday before. Didn't even get to come to church. Had a 103 fever. And I was so sick. I think with a hand breach that morning. And the next day they came from all over the country. From the north, the east, the south, the west. Pastors came. And they came for me to teach them and our staff to teach them. And if I couldn't be at the pastor school, it would be a tragedy. And there I lay in bed sick all day. And Monday I was sick. And finally I said, God, I'm going to go up there and I'm going to, if I can stand up, I'm going to teach and speak. We had the Casey building across the street we bought. I had my first class on Monday night over there. And I said, Dear God, had a 103 fever. I said, Dear Lord, I'm going to stay up there until I fall down. And I leaned up against the pulpit because I couldn't stand up. And I taught the class. And I said, Now, Lord, tomorrow morning, the first class, I pray for strength just for that one. And the next morning I leaned up against the pulpit with a 103 fever and taught it. And I taught the next and the next. And then I forgot I was sick. And God marvelously made me well. And on Friday after the pastor school was over, oh, we had tried so hard to save the nation and get the preachers right with God. And I was over in the old annex where we used to have the kitchen over there because the fire, you know. And over in the annex. And so an old preacher came to me. His hair was white and long. And his face was wrinkled and his brow was furrowed. And he came to me. I'll never forget it. He reached out and he took my hands in his. And he looked at me and he said, Young man. And I like that. He said, Young man. And he gave me his name. He said, It's 20 years too late. And I said, What do you mean, sir? He said, It's too late. It's too late. He said, Why didn't somebody teach me 20 years ago what you taught me this week? I'm an old man. It's too late. He said, Preacher, it's 20 years too late. And I got happy because somebody had taught it to me years ago. And I walked down the alley here. And suddenly it dawned on me I'd been sick. I'd been sick. I'd forgotten it since Tuesday morning. And right out here in this alley, just about outside this door right here, I was by myself. And before I knew it, I had my shoes off. I took my shoes. And that's not like me. When I take my shoes off, I'm always by myself. If I'm not then, I am soon. And I took my shoes off. And literally, I threw my shoes up in the air. And I began to dance around the alley and clap my hands and praise the Lord. And I said, What's gotten into me? I'm not a Baptist. What's gotten into me? And all of a sudden, I knew what it was to have the heart rejoice as well as the mouth, inside and the outside. And from that day to this, Dr. Billings, every once in a while, I have a spell. I never do it in public. It's always alone. But I have a spell. Oh, the sweetness of His presence. Oh, the glory of His presence. And He walks with me. And He talks with me. And He tells me, I am His own. I'm His. He's mine. I'm going to heaven when I die. The God who made the world lives in my breast this morning. I'm His child. Oh, yes, I'm one of His own. A child He'll never disown. I'm His. I have in my heart the living Christ. In my hand I hold the blessed Word of God. My hope is that He'll come and receive me to Himself. But whatever happens, whatever happens, He's mine. And I'm His. The other night we had a wedding. A couple got married. Had that bilious look on their face. Went toward the back. Back there in the back. And if they didn't know I was there, nobody's back there. But I was on the other side of the door. And I heard a little girl, a little new bride. She said, He's mine. He's mine. He's mine. I looked at Him and said to myself, I'm glad He's yours. But He's mine. He's mine. He's mine. Huh? David said, He is my strength. He didn't say a strength. He said, my strength. He didn't say a shield. He said, He is my shield. He didn't say He was my strength. He is my strength. He didn't say He will be my shield. He said, He is my shield. He said, I've got salvation on the inside and out. I've got to serve God in strength on the inside and out, and I've got the joy of the Lord on the inside and out. And He can be yours. He wants to be yours if you will take Him by faith. This morning where you are, if you would say, Jesus, I don't know much about it, but I know I'm a sinner, and I know you died for sinners, and I'll take you this morning as my Savior. He'll be yours. And you can say, He's mine. He's mine. He's mine. Inside and out. Let us pray. Our Heavenly Father, this morning, may those that have joy find it inside and out. May we serve Thee inside and out. May those that do not know they're saved come to know salvation inside and out. Our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed. This morning, why don't you just stop and think what you have in Christ? Why don't you stop and think? Eternal life, the presence of Christ, the Holy Spirit indwelling, heaven as a home forever, the coming of Christ as your blessed hope. Oh, blessed be God. Rejoice! Rejoice! Oh, Christian, lift up your heart and sing eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ, our King. The hope of all who seek Him, the help of all who find. None other is so loving, so good and kind. But I wonder this morning how many would say, Brother Hiles, I don't even know that I'm saved. I don't even know that if I died today I'd go to heaven, but I wish I did. I believe the Bible is the Word of God. I believe in heaven, but I don't know that I'm ready to go there. I wish I did. I want to be a Christian. Oh, Brother Hiles, I want to be able to say, He's mine. He's mine. He's mine inside and out. He's mine. How many would say first on the lower floor, Brother Hiles, I don't know that He's mine, but I want to know it. Pray for me that I may know that I'm saved. On the lower floor, would you raise your hand, please, and I'll pray for you. God bless you. Is there another? Yes. God bless you, lady. He loves you this morning. Who else? Yes. God bless you, little young lady. I see your hand. He loves you. Who else on the lower floor? You'd say, Brother Hiles, I don't know that He's mine. God bless you. Back in the back. I see that hand, little lady. Who else? Yes. God bless you. Who else? Yes. God bless you. Who else? Yes. God bless you. Who else? Yes. God bless you. Who else? God bless you. Who else? Yes. God bless you. God bless you. Who else? Yes. God bless you. Who else? God bless you. Who else? Yes. God bless you. Who else? Yes. God bless you this morning. He can be yours this morning if you'll trust Him. Who else on the lower floor? You'd say, Pray for me. I'd like to be saved and know it. May I see your hand, please, quickly and quietly on the lower floor. In the balcony on my left, the east balcony, would you say, Include me in the prayer? I'd like to know that I'm saved. Raise your hand, would you please? God bless you, lady. I see you, little lady. God bless you. Who else in the east balcony? Would you lift your hand, please? God bless you. In the center balcony? God bless you, son. Who else in the center balcony? God bless that one. I see you. God bless you, fellow. I see you. The balcony on my right, would you raise your hand if you want to know He's yours? May I see your hand, please? Back in the corner? God bless you. God bless you. God bless you, little lady. God love you. Other others? Our Heavenly Father, this morning, oh, God, this morning, don't let anybody leave without Christ. Don't let anyone leave unless that one knows he's going to heaven. May every person who leaves be able to sing, My Jesus, I love Thee. I know Thou art mine. Make it so.