In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of thinking of others rather than oneself. He shares personal anecdotes about growing up in adverse circumstances and how he learned the value of helping others. The preacher encourages the congregation to feed, clothe, and visit those in need, as it is equivalent to doing it for Jesus himself. He also emphasizes personal responsibility for one's actions, stating that individuals will have to answer to God and pay for their own sins.

Look at verse 1. I'm going to read it to you and teach a little bit to you as we go along and then speak to you on verse 9. And Adam knew his wife, and she conceived in Barak Cain. Now the word know there means that Adam and his wife knew each other in the relationship that brings forth children. And she conceived in Barak Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. Now, better translated, the man, I have gotten the man from the Lord. What does it mean? Well, the Lord had promised in Genesis 3.15 that when man sinned, that the seed of woman would someday bruise the head of the serpent, and that the head of the serpent would someday bruise the heel of the seed of woman. Now Adam knew that there was going to come God's man, even God's son, as God's sacrifice. And Eve knew that. But now Eve thought the first boy she had would be the Messiah, would be the Savior. And so Eve said, hey, I've gotten the man from the Lord. What she meant was that Jesus is going to come. She didn't know his name. But the Messiah, God's son, is going to come. And I've got him. He's here. But here's another better translation. I have gotten the God-man. That's better translated. I have gotten the God-man. So Eve thought the Messiah was here. Little did she know she had a murderer on her hands, but she thought the Messiah was here. She thought that the seed of woman that was going to bruise the head of the serpent had come. And so she said, I've gotten the God-man. And again, or she again, bared his brother Abel. And Abel was the keeper of the sheep, but Cain was the tiller of the ground. And in the process of time, better translated, that should be in the end of days. In the end of days. What day is the end of days? Saturday is the end of days. What it should say is, on the Sabbath day, or the end of days, it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel, and to his offering. Now, how did Abel know to bring a lamb? How did Abel know to bring of the firstlings of the flock? Because God had told him. God had told Abel to bring a blood sacrifice. He had also told Cain. How do you know? Because in Hebrews chapter 11 it says, by faith, Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. By faith. What caused Abel to bring that offering? Faith. Well, how do you get faith? Romans 10, 17 tells you how to get faith. Faith come up by what? Hearing, and hearing by what? Word of God. All right, so Abel could not have had faith if he had not heard the word of God. So God had told Abel, and God had told Cain about the blood sacrifice, and by faith, faith in what? Faith in the word of God. So, here it comes, it's Saturday, it's the Sabbath day. God had said, bring an offering of the flock on the Sabbath day. And so it's the Sabbath day, and here comes Cain, and here comes Abel, bound to bring an offering to offer to God. Well, the Lord had said, offer a blood sacrifice. But Cain said, no, I won't do that. I've got some mighty pretty corn here, and some mighty pretty wheat, and some good oats, and some good looking turnip greens, and squash, and okra, and the very delicacies of life. And I've got some nice things, and I'm going to offer those. And the Lord didn't have respect to Cain's. Why? Because Cain didn't do it by faith. Why? Because Cain didn't do what God said. God had said he wants blood. Now listen to me, listen to me, God still wants blood. God's word still says you've got to have blood. And joining the church won't do, and getting baptized won't do, and turning over a new leaf won't do, and living a good life won't do, and quitting your carousing around won't do, and getting confirmed won't do, and getting baptized a baby won't do, and becoming a Baptist won't do, and getting baptized won't do, and taking the Lord's supper or communion won't do, and living a good life won't do, and being a good citizen won't do, and being a good husband won't do, and being a good wife won't do, and being a good child won't do, and being obedient won't do, and paying your debts won't do, and living a clean life won't do. It's got to take blood. You've got to have blood. If you don't come to God through the blood of a sacrifice, you'll never go to heaven. You've got to bring the blood. And so God said to Cain and Abel. Now fellas, listen to me. He said you've got to bring blood. On the ending of the days, on Saturday, I want you to bring a blood sacrifice. Well, Abel believed God. He brought the blood. Cain did not believe God. He didn't bring the blood. And so God did not have respect under Cain's offering. Now how do we know? Well, probably God came in fire and consumed the offering that was acceptable to him. And so God came, consumed with fire the offering that was acceptable, and did not consume Cain's offering. And the Bible says in verse 5, But unto Cain and to his offering he hath not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth, and why is thy countenance fallen? Let me ask you a question. Who's the fundamentalist, Cain or Abel? Say it. Abel. Who's the liberal, Cain or Abel? Cain. All right. And Cain talked with Abel, his brother, and it came to pass when they were in the field that Cain, the liberal, rose up against Abel, his brother, and slew him. Who has hate in his heart? The liberal, not the fundamentalist. Who's the bigot? The liberal, not the fundamentalist. Who did the murdering? The liberal, not the fundamentalist. Show me, show me, tell me of one liberal who's ever been murdered or martyred on a mission field by a fundamentalist preacher. I could count hundreds and thousands of fundamentalists who've been martyred by the liberal. The man that tells you the fundamentalists are bigots and the liberals have love, he's a liar, a fool, and a fake. He knows nothing about Bible love. It is the liberal who killed the fundamentalist, not the fundamentalist who killed the liberal. And then verse 7, verse 6, And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth, and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? If thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. Now, the word sin there is a word that means a sin offering. So if you don't do well, a sin offering, and the word lieth is better translated, croucheth. Here's an animal. The Lord said, I've got an animal right there at the door. You've still got a chance, Cain. You brought your, didn't bring a blood sacrifice, you brought the sacrifice of the field. But he said, you've still got a chance. I don't want you to go to hell. I don't want you to be lost. I don't want thou to accept your sacrifice. So he said, I've got an animal right there, and he's crouched. He'll jump up in your arms. He'll just say, come here. Or he'll jump at you, and you can catch him. You still offer a blood sacrifice. Don't you see, God does everything he can to get people saved. He makes it as convenient as possible to get people to take the blood sacrifice. Now in verse 9, verse 8, And Cain talked with Abel his brother, and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? Do you think the Lord didn't know where Abel was? Yes, the Lord knew where Abel was. Abel was with the Lord. The Lord knew where Abel was. And he said, Where is thy brother? He wanted to know if Cain would answer him. And Cain, and he said, I know not. Hold it. Did you know that liberals are also liars? A liberal is a liar. A liberal is bigoted. A liberal has hate. A liberal is the one who murders the fundamentalists. But know that he is also a liar. Where is your brother, Cain? I know not, he said. I don't know. And then he asked the question, Am I my brother's keeper? That question has been asked by preachers and Christian people as long as there has been a church, or as long as there has been a service like this. Am I my brother's keeper? The outline tonight is very simply this. No and yes. No and yes. Am I my brother's keeper? In some ways, no, I am not my brother's keeper. There are some ways in which I am not to care for my brother. There are some ways in which I have nothing to do with what my brother does. There are some ways in which my brother should do exactly what he himself must do. He has to do it alone. Am I my brother's keeper, Lord? And the answer comes, in some ways, the answer is no. For example, you are not your brother's keeper when it comes to salvation. Every man has to stand on his own two feet and get saved for himself. No other way. Nobody can get saved for you. Everybody, am I my brother's keeper? No, when it comes to salvation, I am not my brother's keeper. Nobody can get saved for you. Now listen, the priest down the street, across the street, can take you, and he can sprinkle holy water on you next Easter Sunday morning, and he can do his voodoo and so forth, and say, OK, that's it, and your sins are absolved. By the way, he can't do it. I can take you after the service and baptize you here in this baptistry, and the Pope in Rome can absolve your sins, but you've still got to answer to God for yourself. Every tub's got to sit on its own bottom. Every person has to get saved by himself. Every person has to face God by himself. Every person has to stand before God by himself. Everybody's got to be judged by himself. You've got to get saved yourself. Your mother may have been a good lady, but you've got to get born again to go to heaven. Your dad may have been a preacher, but you've got to get born again to go to heaven. Your grandfather may have been... I started to say the Pope, but that wouldn't work out too well. But your grandfather may have been an evangelist, but you've still got to get born again to go to heaven. You can't blame another if you're not saved. You can't blame the church. Don't misunderstand me. A lot of folks would have been saved if the church had cared. But in the final analysis, you yourself have got to get saved for yourself. Well, yes, I would be saved, but there are hypocrites in the church. Now, that may be an excuse you hide behind, but the reason you're not saved is because you're a lying hypocrite and you won't come to God and you won't turn from your sins. You love your sin and you won't get born again yourself. Well, yes, I would get saved. I've got a fellow who works with me and he just doesn't live the Christian life and he's been a bad influence on me. And that may be true, and I'm sorry about it, but if you go to hell, it's your own fault. The Bible says every man must give account of himself to God, and you're going to face God for yourself. Am I my brother's keeper? Yes. No, I'm not when it comes to salvation. Don't misunderstand me. I say again, many people will die and go to hell and their blood will be on our hands, but in the final analysis, God wouldn't send you to hell if you weren't responsible for it. You've got to get saved by yourself. Nobody can get saved for you. Nobody can die for you. Nobody can pray for you, I mean, in your place. Nobody can confess your sins for you. Nobody can come to God for you. Nobody can do anything in this world to get you saved. You've got to get saved for yourself. Am I my brother's keeper? Now, here's the message. No, listen. No, I'm not responsible basically for my brother when it comes to human behavior. There is a wicked philosophy going around the country nowadays that if a person has something in his childhood that makes him a little unfortunate, he can burn a building down, he can cause a riot, he can do what he wants to, become a communist and block traffic, and he's not accountable. I picked up a newspaper in a distant state. A young man had burned a building in that city. And they interviewed him. I also saw the young man interviewed on television later. And they interviewed him. And they said, Did you burn a building? Yes, he said, I burned the building. But he said, I'm not responsible. And they asked him, Well, why don't you think you're responsible? And the young man said, Now, follow me. The young man said, My dad didn't take time for me when I was a boy. My dad never took me to a ballgame, he said. My dad never took me fishing. And so because my dad didn't take time for me when I was a boy, I'm not to blame. He ought to be in jail or the insane asylum or the insane asylum at the jail. He is to blame. I was watching on television one night in this distant state, the news, and a hijacker had said, he had hijacked an airplane. And he had said, they quoted him as having said, Well, I'm not responsible. And they asked him why. Well, he said, Because I grew up in a ghetto. And if we would have had a chance to have decent housing and had decent, my dad had a decent job, I wouldn't have hijacked a plane. That may be true, but you're still responsible because you hijacked a plane. It's not the ghetto's fault because you hijacked a plane. It's not your dad's fault because, now don't misunderstand me, God's going to punish the man who's not a good dad. God's going to punish people who don't treat each other right. But in the final analysis, you've got to give an account of yourself to God. I heard about a fellow robbed a bank. And they said, Why did you do it? He said, Because I had to have food. Didn't have anything to eat. I was underfed. I had to have, and it's not my fault. It's society's fault. There's a dirty, wicked philosophy going around this country that says that if you're, for example, if you're black, that since the black folks have not been treated properly, and they've not, they've not, down south, I heard another day a fellow said, we worked for 20 years so we could set the front of the bus, and now they've stopped the bus. They don't run the bus anymore. But we didn't treat the black folks right in the south. We didn't. Honestly, we didn't. We got on the bus first. They had to wait till last to get on the bus. We got on, then they had to scrape by us to get back, and then we cursed them because they didn't smell good as they passed by us. And we didn't treat them right. And so, fellas, and I think that, boys, hey, fellas, hey, and I think that the fellow, I think that we are going to be responsible for a lot of it, but that doesn't take the responsibility away from them. A man does not have a right to hijack an airplane because he lived in a ghetto. He doesn't have a right to rob a bank because he's underfed and he's a boy. Every man must give an account of himself to God. Listen to me. Ghettos don't cause crime. Crime causes ghettos. I can recall when all of us lived in ghettos. Brother, I've been to some of these ghettos in Chicago the other day. I was watching television and they were talking about the ghettos. Now, I'm not for the ghettos. I'm not sure what they are, but I'm not for them. But this fellow said, You ought to see the plaster in my bathroom. He should have seen where I live. That's a symbol to have a bathroom. Boy, listen, if he has a right to rob a bank, I've got a right to dig a gold out of Fort Knox. No. Ghettos don't cause sin. Sin causes ghettos. Bad conditions don't cause wrong. Wrong causes bad conditions. Man, listen. I was just thinking. My dad never took me to a ball game. Of course, I went over tonight and I just took Dr. Billings up to the nap of the neck and right in the nose. He said, What are you doing? I'm hitting you. Why? Because I didn't have enough cotton to roll when I was a baby. Well, he said, That's okay then. That's all right. I mean, it's not your fault. If I knew you'd say that, I'd try it. Walk over to Brother Fisk and I'd kick him in the stomach. He said, Preacher, why'd you kick him in the stomach for? And I said, Because they didn't have Tribasol when I was a baby. Mama gave me four drops and they found out ladies were supposed to have ten drops. And so, it's not my fault. It is my fault, too. Listen to me. You can't hide behind where you grew up for as far as your sin is concerned. Young girls! You can't hide behind. You cannot hide behind your condition. Am I my brother's keeper? I ought to help my brother. I ought to speak to him if I can. He has a right to work hard. But by the way, if he won't work, I don't care if he's black, short, bruised, white, or maroon. He ought to be fired and he ought to starve to death. The very idea of being afraid of folks because they're a certain color who won't work. I don't care who you are if you won't work. The Bible says you're not supposed to eat. I guess I have a right then. My dad never took me fishing. I was thinking last night. I do not recall a meal my dad ever ate at home. Now, I'm sure he did. But he was never home. My dad bought me one piece of clothing all the time I was growing up. I don't know why he did it. He came home one day with a little, it cost 98 cents now, a little t-shirt. It was blue. You can still see it. It was blue. A little t-shirt. Ribbed kind of material up and down. Short sleeves and a tight neck up here. That's the only garment my dad ever bought me as long as he was alive as far as I know. I was thinking. I was comparing. I saw the ghettos on television. I was comparing the houses we lived in. We lived in 34 houses in 32 years. First 32 years of my life we lived in 34 houses. We lived in three or four houses a year. We just moved to a place and stayed where the rent came to and then moved somewhere else. Ask Mother. We drank water out of a dipper. I mean we had some water, a bucket at the back door and a dipper was in it. How many of you never drank water in an old fashioned dipper? Never did. How many ever did? Ever did. And we had no well. We had to get water where we could. And then finally we had a well in one place. We drank water out of a dipper. We didn't have a sink. And I can recall going out and getting a drink of water and then Mama drank out of the same dipper. I mean just dip it down and drink and put it back in the water. And then the dad would come in. He'd get it out and drink. And then a colored fellow in the back yard would come in. He'd dip down. He'd get it. And I'd go in. I'd dip down. I'd get it. We lived in the ghetto. Ghetto. We didn't use the bathroom much in the winter time. We lived in the ghetto. Did you have six rooms and a bath? No, we had one room and a bath. That's all we had. Pardon me, but we always tried to get all Sears Roebuck catalogues we could. Man alive, with my background, I ought to kill a dozen people and say, I was raised in the ghetto. If we hadn't been taught it, I wouldn't have been so bad. That's wicked. That's sending our country to hell. Our courts believe that kind of garbage. And our politicians run for office on that kind of garbage. Our young folks are going to hell because they think they can get by with anything on the fact that they didn't get enough vitamin C when they were kids. By the way, I could rob a bank because we didn't have a radio. We had one radio. Well, we had a radio. Dad got one one time, so I gave it to him. It had earphones. And so my sister listened to it for a while, but only one person listened to it, and I'd cry. She's eight years older than I was and a little bit smarter. She's not now, but she was then. And she's a little smarter, and so she'd listen to it. Okay, she'd say, take it! And it'd be the commercial, and I'd hear the commercial, and it's her time to take it back. You know, you say, I don't like that kind of preaching. I know, you and your kind don't. I'm trying to teach you a truth tonight. I'm trying to teach you a truth that you have no right to do wrong because you grew up under adverse circumstances. Your brother is not your keeper, and he's not responsible for your sin. You're basically responsible. You're going to have to answer to God. You're going to have to face God. You're going to have to pay for your own sins. I recall we had a... One night I came in from school, afternoon. We had enough floor we could walk on if we walked carefully. And we had holes in the floor that big, and I walked in. One day I got home from school, looked out, and there was a big old snake about that big around crawling across the floor in our house. Well, I guess I'll be able to rob a few banks, burn a few buildings, start a few rides. After all, we didn't have floor in our house. So I said, did you have wall-to-wall carpet? We didn't have wall-to-wall floor. In fact, we didn't have any wall. We were very good at wall. When I was seven years old, I slept on a baby bed, seven years old. I mean, I was still sleeping in a little baby bed at the age of seven. Many of you folks heard me tell this. My mother time and time again has said, son, would you go down to the Gordon's grocery store and get a bone for the dog? We'd like to have a little meat on it. I'd say, yes, ma'am. I'd be, hey, where's the store for it? Dawn told me we didn't have a dog. And I'd go down to the grocery store, and I'd say, Mr. Gordon, could we have a bone for the dog? I said, I regret it, which we ain't got. And somehow or other he knew we were poor. And he'd get a bone. He'd get one that had a little meat on it, and he'd wrap it up, and I'd take it home. And my mother would make soup, a soup bone. In the old days, it was soup bone. It was basically just colored water is all it was. And by the way, I didn't have enough vitamins. I ought to be able to do a lot of mean things. I mean, after all, we lived a whole week sometimes on one soup bone. All right, we didn't have enough vitamin D, vitamin A. We didn't know what it was. We just needed some vitamin to fill us, just something to fill us up, that's all. And we had down close to our house, we had a railroad track. Of course, you don't know what that is up here, but we had a railroad track. And so about a half block down Exeter Street, and Mother would say, Son, we don't have anything to eat. And would you go down and try to see if there's any mustard greens growing beside the track? And I'd go down and look along the railroad track, and they had some wild mustard greens growing along the railroad track. And I'd look and look and look. And if we got there early enough, we'd be the first ones to get it. I'd pick those mustard greens, and we'd eat those mustard greens. And we didn't have any heat, and my dad would go down to the railroad track and try to find a cross-tie that was loose. Where'd you buy your Christmas tree? We always chopped it down in a place that said posted, no entrance. Dad would say, keep the motor running. You say, are you for that? No, I'm not for it. Not for it at all. That's my dad's fault. See? And the first bicycle I ever had was picked out of a garbage can, pieces, and put together. And if we want to buy, time and time again, Mother said, Son, we need some money to buy groceries. Go down beside the railroad tracks and see if you can find a Coke bottle so we can sell them. I spent all day walking down the tracks and the street and in the ditches beside the road. Didn't have paved roads where I live. And didn't have any sidewalks and had ditches beside each road. And I'd go up and try to find all the Coca-Cola bottles I could and would sell them and buy something, a little something to eat. Usually we'd buy, we had three types of food we ate. We ate, one meal would be a can of Campbell's soup. I always liked chicken rice soup the best. It says on the can, it said, please add one can of water for each can of soup. We added a gallon of water for each can of soup. And then if we had a little extra money, we'd buy a can of spinach. And Mother and I would sit down in a chair. By the way, Popeye's spinach, Popeye. Popeye's spinach, and we'd buy that and eat it. And then if we really, on big days, if I found some big Coca-Cola bottles and a lot of Coca-Cola bottles, we'd sell them. We'd buy some Franco-American macaroni and cheese and open it and eat a whole can, just the two of us, a Franco-American macaroni and cheese. Well, I didn't have it very good, did I? I didn't know I didn't have it very good. But now that I look back, I think I ought to be able to be a hippie. Of course, I'm afraid I won't qualify. But some of you fellows are buying you some hippie stuff. And Bill Harvey said the other day, I said, Bill, this is not much hair, but it's all mine. He said, it might be mine, three more payments too. And, but I can be a hippie. I can start a riot. Hey, I'm going to get out here tomorrow morning and block traffic out here. And I'm going to stone cars and turn cars over and set them on fire. Why? Because I ate mustard greens inside a railroad track. We had an outdoor toilet. Same kind of logic. Listen, America had better get back to where she punishes people who do wrong. And if we have too many psychologists checking our people to see if they're mentally right. Let me tell you something. Most of those psychologists are nuts. If we don't get back to where wrong is wrong and who does wrong gets punished for it. Criminals running loose. Fellow serves a few years for murder. Let him out. Give him a test and see if he's psychologically okay. And if he's not, let him out. Listen, there is a wicked teaching on almost every radio broadcast, almost every television station in this country these days, about let's rehabilitate criminals rather than punish them by sending them to the penitentiary. Now, brother, you take away the penitentiary and you take away the electric chair. You take away capital punishment. You take away a harsh punishment for all. And you're going to take away every vestige of law and order we have in this nation. We had a wood stove. You know, I was down the other day and just spinning around a clothing store, and a fellow said, Try this fork coat on. I put it on. I said, Man, it's got a patch on the sleeve. He said, Well, that's the fad nowadays. The fad in my day, too. But I said, We didn't put them on there on purpose. And we had to wear patches. And we put, as I said this morning, we put cardboard in our shoes. Now, look. If the philosophy that a person is not accountable for his own actions be true, then in my generation we wouldn't have had but one or two non-criminal people in our whole town. Because everybody lived in a ghetto. Our town was a ghetto. Am I my brother's keeper? You! Listen, you go out and get drunk tonight, you're going to face God for it. I don't care if your dad was a drunkard and your mama was a wino. You're still going to face God because you're a drunkard. Because you get drunk. You are! Young people. Living in a generation. Growing up a generation. Well, my dad just didn't take me enough ball games, so I just don't feel like anybody loves me. Love you or not. Ball game or not. Fish or not. Good house or not. Indoor toilet, outdoor toilet. Hot and cold running water. Bathtub or a number two tub or a crystal goblet or a peanut butter jar or hot and cold running water or a well and a dipper and a bucket of water. Whatever it is, you're going to face God. What you do that's wrong. You can't dodge your sin. You can't dodge your wrong. You can't dodge the fact that you have got to face God for your own sins. Am I my brother's keeper? No. Not when it comes to his salvation. He's got to get saved for himself. No. Not when it comes to his sin. He's got to face God for his own sin. Am I my brother's keeper? Point two. Yes. Yes, I am. I am my brother's keeper when it comes to helping my brother and encouraging him along the way. Why? Because in the first place, helping my brother is God's appointed way to my happiness. Helping my brother is God's appointed way to my happiness. How can I be happy in 1973? Living for other people. Giving to others. Serving others. Caring for others. That's the way I get happy in 1973. And that's where you'll be happy too. You people live for yourselves. All you do is think about yourself and how much I've got and how much I have and how much I can get and how much it means to me. You're a miserable, wretched bunch of people. But people who've learned the secret of living for some... Am I my brother's keeper? Yes, I am. And I'm going to help my brother. I can't even tell you. I can't even tell you. A wonderful, wonderful thing that happened. I think I will. I think I will. I've got to be careful so nobody will be embarrassed. One of our men, who's a builder, builds a few houses. Not a big builder. Came to me a month ago or so. Came to my office and said, Pastor, he said, I've got... I can't fulfill my pledge to Baptist City. And I said, Why? He said, because I built a house. I thought I could sell it. But I couldn't sell it. And he said, Would you pray that I'll be able to sell the house? I've got all the money tied up in this house. I need the money. I'm in trouble financially. If I can't sell this house, I really am in trouble. And I prayed that God would help him to sell the house. Last Monday, on New Year's Day, for some reason or other, his face flashed before my mind. I got on my knees in my study and said, Dear God, help that man to sell that house. On Tuesday, I think it was Tuesday, I got a telephone call. Another pastor here in the area, he's employing a music director, full-time music director. And a music director doesn't have enough money to make a down payment on a house. And so, the pastor called me and said, You have some real estate men in your church. Any of your men, could they have a house that my music director could buy without a down payment? Well, we know better than that. You college students know better than that. You can't buy a house without a down payment. Well, he said, I thought maybe you could help me find a house from a music director without a down payment. He doesn't have any money, and our church is small. We don't have enough money to pay a down payment. And I said, I'm sorry, I just don't know of anybody. He said, Well, thank you. I just thought you'd know. I said, Wait a minute. I said to myself, Here's a brother in need. He needs help. I don't have a lot of money. It'll take $6,000. And so, I decided to rake and scrape and try to find all the money I could and try to help the brother. And I said, I'll let you borrow the down payment. I don't have that kind of money, but I'll let you borrow the down payment. I'll find the down payment for you. I don't mean the church will do it. I don't mean that everybody in my church... I'll just guarantee you that I'll find the down payment for you. I get the story. He said, Dr. Himes, you don't even know the fellow. I said, Okay, I'll take care of it for you. I'll see. You can pay it back within a year, but I'll take care of it. He said, It'll be $6,000. I said, Somehow or other, I'll rake up the $6,000. Your fellow's here. He's moved to a distant state. He has no place to live. He's got a wife and kids. He needs help. I had never seen the pastor. I had never seen the man. Except, I knew them both. By reputation, they're faithful servants of God. And so, I arranged it. What happened? Here's a strange thing. I was in a baptismal dressing room this morning, and the builder that couldn't sell that house said, I sold my house last night. I said, Wonderful! I prayed for you Monday. He said, Guess who bought it? I said, Who? He said, The music director of one of our sister churches. Huh? Music director of one of our sister churches. I said, Is that a fact? What church? He called the name of the church. I said, Is that true? The man that I had helped to get the $6,000 bought the house that one of our men couldn't sell and answered what I promised to do on Tuesday, answered my own prayer on Monday. Boy, I'm going to quit praying like that. Answered my own prayer on Monday. Now, follow me. Follow me. What's the fellow going to do with the money? He's going to put it in our loan fund. You see? What have I done? In trying to help somebody that's in trouble, the Lord led me to answer my own prayer of Monday. And the man's out of trouble. He can pay his loan fund. And the fellow's got a house to live in. Why? I'll tell you why. And more wonderful things happen like that if you live for somebody else. Just live for somebody else. Now, follow me. God could use ravens to help others. God could sit... Don't you recall when Elijah came to Horeb discouraged? He sat under the juniper tree in Horeb and he said, I'm the only one left. And God backs it. And Jezebel said, I'll kill him. Elijah ran from Jezebel and then he got under the juniper tree. And I've always thought he was a fake there. He said, Lord, I want to die. I don't think he wanted to die. If he'd wanted to die, he wouldn't have had to run from Jezebel. Jezebel said, you're going to kill him. And the very fact he was running was so he wouldn't die. He said, Lord, I want to die. I don't think he wanted to die. I think he wanted to live. I think he's a hypocrite. And what happened? An angel came and brought him a cruise of water and a cake and fed him. Now, God doesn't need you and me to help each other. God lets us do it. Why? Because God knows that our happiness is based on our helping other people. Listen. If God fed every Christian with ravens and angels, we'd all be miserable. And God said, I'm not going to... Hey, ravens, don't you go down and feed those folks in Hammond. Let half of this crowd do that. Why? Because I want those folks to be happy. God could send an angel down to Hammond Baptist High School and pay the tuition for every poor kid attending our high school if he wanted to. But God doesn't want to. That man that came to my office last Monday morning, New Year's Day, came to my office. And just a common, hard, laboring man. And he said, you said something last night about these kids that needed tuition. He said, I want to pay the tuition for one of those kids. I don't know how I'm going to do it. He pulled out of his pocket $50, I think it was, for the first month's tuition for one of those kids. And walked away in big old tears in his eyes and his lips were quivering. And he said, I'm just going to do it the best way I can. You think if the Lord had sent an angel to pay the tuition for that kid, that man would have been as happy as he is tonight? Of course not. Living for others is God's appointed way for Christians to be happy. That's what it's all about. God could still send manna from heaven, but God would rather send manna from First Baptist Church so we can enjoy and be happy. God could still call shoes not to wear out, but God wants us to help people to have shoes so we can be happy. God still could send quail from heaven, but God doesn't want to send quail from heaven. God wants us to take quail to our neighbors. And so 1973 can be happy for you if you'll get out of your cell and get out of your selfishness and live for somebody else. There's a second reason. Am I my brother's keeper? Yes, I am. Why? Because it's our only way of doing for Jesus. Our only way of doing. Hey, how would you like to have Jesus over for lunch? Huh? Wouldn't it be something to have Jesus over for lunch? Wouldn't it be a wonderful thing to take Jesus out to eat? You can. How can you do it? Jesus said to His disciples, He said, I was sick and you visited me. I was hungry and you fed me. I was naked and you clothed me. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. And they said, Lord, when did we ever feed you when you were hungry? When did we ever give you water when you were thirsty? When did we ever clothe you when you were naked? When did we ever visit you when you were sick? And the Lord said, inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, you have done it unto me. There's no way, no way, that we can give food to Jesus, water to Jesus, health to Jesus, except we do it for somebody else. There's a third way, a reason why we are brothers' keepers, and that is it's God's only way of doing it. God has no hands but our hands to do His work today. He has no feet but our feet to lead men to His way. He has no tongue but our tongue to tell men that Christ died. He has no help but our help to lead men to His side. We are the only Bible this careless world will read. We are the sinner's gospel. We are the scoffer's creed. We are the Lord's last message written in deed and word. What if the line is crooked and what if the print is blurred? What if our hands are busy with other works than His, and what if our feet are leading where sin's deliverment is? What if our tongues are speaking of things that Christ would spurn? How can we hope to aid Him and hasten His return? God is so ordained it that people cannot be helped unless we help them. I'm glad about that. I can recall time and time again, I'd say to Becky when she was a little baby girl, I'd say, Becky, Daddy's busy now. And Becky'd say, Can I help you? Can I help you? And I'd say, Now, sweetheart, Daddy's busy. He's washing the car. He's busy. I want to help. I want to help. Can I help you wash the car? And I'd say, Okay. And I'd give her a handkerchief. I don't have one. And I'd give her a handkerchief. And so she'd, These, by the way, are more for show than they are for blow. They don't really do much good. But I'd give her a handkerchief. And so I'd say, Okay, Becky, you wash the car. And Becky'd get one little spot there, and she'd wash and wash and wash and wash. And then somebody would come by and she'd play awhile. She'd come back to that one little spot, and she'd wash that one little spot in the car. After it was all over, she'd say, We washed the car. And she was happy. She felt like she'd helped me. Now, I know that I cannot help all the people that need help helping. But I know this. I know everybody I help. In so doing, I help Jesus. I help Jesus. My mother, when I was in the service, every time a serviceman was hungry, my mother'd feed him. And I've heard her say many times, the reason I did it, because my boy's away and he's in the army. And I want somebody to take care of my boy in case they need him today. And my mother'd feed some serviceman, or care for some serviceman. I want to help Jesus. Oh, if I could have been there. If I could have been there when He was on the Mount of Olives, when everybody went to their own houses, and the birds had their nests at night, and the foxes had their holes. And the Bible says that Jesus had no place to lay His head. And on that night, He slept on the rocky Mount of Olives. You folks that have been there know what I'm talking about. He slept on those rocks out on the Mount of Olives all night long. If I could have been there, I'd have said, Jesus, you can come over to my house and stay. I'd love to have you at my house. That day at noon, in the fourth chapter of John, it says He was tired and hungry. I'd have said, Jesus, I'll feed you. I'd love to buy you something to eat. If you'll come with me, I'll go down and get you the biggest steak in town. I'll feed you, Jesus. I'd love to do that. Or He was thirsty. I'd love to have said, Jesus, let me draw the water from that well. I'd love to feed Him. I can. I can feed Him. The other day I was in a distant city. I was taking a walk down the street. And I saw a little boy. It was a restaurant. And the poor little boy was looking in the restaurant like this. And oh, he was almost eating. And I said, Hey, fella. I said, What's the deal? He said, Oh, I'm just looking. And I said, You know, I'm hungry. I'm hungry. I think I want to go get me something to eat. I said, Would you like to go in and get something to eat? He said, Mister, I haven't got no money. I said, It doesn't make a difference. I said, They're giving away free food in there today. He said, Free? I said, Yeah. I said, This is free day. This is Tuesday. And I said, Tuesday afternoon is free day, little boy. He said, Yeah, I'd like to go in there and eat. The little boy and I went in the restaurant. And I got him a big hamburger and some French fries and a big old Coca-Cola. Forgive me, Lord. And Coca-Cola. And he sat there. And he ate it. And after he left, after he left, I said, Jesus, I fed you today. I wish you were here. But you're not. But I fed you today. I fed you today. I don't do this as often as I should. And I don't like to. I'm not trying to impress you with what I do. But I was in a certain city not long ago. And I saw a little lady buying her boy some school trousers in a department store. And I saw her open her purse. And when she opened her purse, she had dropped it. And all the money she had fell out. And there was less than $2 in her purse. And she had a simple, simple look on her face like she wasn't a mean lady. And she counted the money. And she didn't have enough money to buy the boy some trousers. And I didn't tell her. I went to the waiter. And I said, Give that little boy the best pair of trousers you've got in the house. I went back to my hotel. And I said, Jesus, I clothed you today. I clothed you today. I'd love to buy you some clothing. I'd love to buy you a suit of clothes. I'd take you down to Jack Fox. And I'd buy you the best suit of clothes they've got in the house, Jesus, if I could. But I can't. I can't. But I clothed you today. I clothed you today. Am I not a brother's keeper? Yes, I am. Why? Because it's the only way I can be happy. Why? Because it's the only way I can do things for Jesus. Why? Because it's the only way God can do things for others, is if He has our hands and our tongues and our feet and our help. Two invitations tonight. One is, Have you been excusing yourself because of your sin? Huh? Have you been saying, Well, I haven't had the advantages. And you've been excusing yourself. You can't do that. You'd better come clean with God and get that sin out of your life. Number two, Have you been your brother's keeper? Listen. Listen. Within 25 miles of where I stand right now, and I'll close with this. Within 25 miles of where I stand right now, there are tens of thousands, now follow me, of little Jesuses. If Jesus Christ walked in the night and I said, Jesus is here. Who would like to take him out? He's hungry. Who would take him out after service for a bite to eat? Boy, oh boy. God could say, Hey, preacher, let me do it. Hey, I want to take him out. And Brother Helton, Helton, what's your name? Vineyard. Say, I want to take him out. And Brother Long John, I want to take him out. And Brother Broadway, I want to take him out. Hey, I'd like to take him out. Every one of us can. Every one of us can. There are tens of thousands of people within 25 miles of where I stand right now, whom if you would take out to eat, God would mark it down as taking Jesus out to eat. And as much as you've done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, you've done it unto me. I'm sure I've told this. If I haven't, I'll tell it again. If I haven't, I'll tell it again. If I haven't, I'll tell it the first time, and I'm sure I've told it. I think it was Louis Shull and I went out sowinning one afternoon out in Columbia Center. After Louis got through, I had to go. I went back out to Columbia Center again. I'd seen so much suffering and so much poverty. Went back out again. I drove in front of a house, sort of walked up to a certain house, knocked on the door, and the bread man was out in front. He'd put two loaves of bread down in front of the door of an apartment on Chestnut Street facing east in Columbia Center. And he knocked on the door. Then he cursed. I mean, he cursed a long streak of vulgar language and picked up the bread, went back and got in the truck. And I said, Hey, Mr. Bread Man! Hey! Well, why'd you curse and why didn't you leave that bread? He cursed again. They owe me some money. I can't leave any more bread. They never pay. I said, How much do they owe you? He said, $1.67. I got the bill pulled out. Got a $1.67 out. I said, I'll pay it. Oh, he said, You live here? I said, No. Oh, he said, You're a relative? I said, No. Oh, he said, A friend of the family? I said, No. He said, Mister, do you know these people? I said, No, I don't. He said, What are you, some kind of a nut? I said, Yes, I think that's what you'd think I am. If he knew who I was, he really would think I am. And about that time, an old beat-up Buick, chugged up behind, a little lady got out. She had one of these old long purses that folded up and snapped at the top. Hey, Mr. Bread Man! She said, I'll owe you some money. She had on tennis shoes and a long dress and socks, not stockings, but socks folded up about that far off. Very poor. And he said, This fellow's already paid. And she said, Who are you? And I said, I'm Brother Hiles, pastor of First Baptist Church. Oh, she said, I've heard you on the radio. I've seen your picture in the paper. She said, Why are you paying for my bread? I said, Well, I wanted to leave some bread for you and I thought I'd just pay for your bread. She said, Won't you come in? In thirty minutes, I'd want her to Christ. I want her husband to Christ. And I want seven children to Jesus Christ. And all nine of them were baptized right there the next Sunday morning. I got to feed Jesus. I got to feed Jesus. That same day, Ice Cream Man came down through the Columbia Center and about forty little kids were looking up watching Ice Cream Man go by. I said, Hey, Ice Cream Man! Hey! These kids want ice cream. He said, Well, who's going to pay? I said, I'll take care of it. And those kids, all of them got forty kids got ice creams. Guess how many we had on our bus in that neighborhood the next Sunday? We had forty. We had forty. I got to feed Jesus ice cream. I got to feed Jesus some bread. Why? Because I did it on one of the least of these. Let me say this. As 1973 begins, you won't have a happy year if you live it for yourself. You won't have a happy year if you think of yourself. But if you think of other people, you can feed Jesus every day. You can clothe Jesus every day. You can visit Jesus every day. For as much as you've done it under one of the least of these, my brethren, you've done it under me. I want to feed Him and I want to clothe Him and I want to be happy. And that's the way you get happy. Let us pray. Our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed. I've gone two different directions in the message tonight. The first half of the sermon had to do strictly with your own responsibility for yourself. The second half had to do with your responsibility for others. Am I my brother's keeper? No, I'm not when it comes to salvation. No, I'm not when it comes to human behavior. Am I my brother's keeper? Yes, I am when it comes to helping Him when He's in need, feeding Him when He's hungry, clothing Him when He's naked, giving Him water when He's thirsty, visiting Him when He's sick. I'm my brother's keeper. Now, I can't go both directions. The Holy Spirit will have to do that. I'll just ask you this question. How many folks here tonight who say, Brother Hiles, somewhere along the trail in your sermon, God spoke to my heart about something I need to rearrange in my life? Brother Hiles, somewhere along the trail in your message tonight, God spoke to my heart about, like the Lord said to Adam, said, Ye, eat the fruit. Adam said, The woman thou gavest me that caused me to do it. He said, Ye, eat the fruit. He said, There's a snake here, there's a serpent. She said, He caused me to do it. Maybe you've been pushing off your responsibility. Maybe you've been pushing off your sin, hiding behind convenience and circumstances and tough times. Or maybe you've not been caring for those who are in need. Let me ask you a question. Have you fed Jesus lately? Let me ask you a question. Have you clothed Jesus lately? Let me ask you a question. Have you visited Jesus lately? Let me ask you a question. Have you given Jesus water to drink lately? I wonder how many of you would say, Brother Hiles, somewhere along the trail tonight, God spoke to my heart about something in my life that needs to be rearranged. I want you to pray for me. Would you raise your hand, please, all over the building, all over the building. Would you raise your hand all over the house? God bless you, there are many other others. Father, bless these dear ones. Help us to rearrange our lives tonight. May we expect no one to be our keeper. May we expect to be every man's keeper. May we expect no man to do for us. May we expect to do for every man. Speak to the hearts of all of our people. May some philosophy get ahold of us tonight that will change our lives. In 1973, our heads were turned. Our heads were turned. Our heads heads Our But I can tell you how to be saved and help you. If you're saved but not baptized, you come tonight for Believer's Baptism. If you want to join this church by transfer, you come. For any of those, I want you to meet me at the altar. If you need to come and just kneel here and say, Dear God, I've not been my brother's keeper. I'm sorry. Or, I've expected my brother.