Legacy Series with Dr. J. Harold Smith - "What Do You Think?"

Ministering to the heart of Western Arkansas's River Valley for over 165 years, welcome to Chapter and First, the Bible teaching ministry of Fort Smith's First Baptist Church.

You'll find sermons and teachings from Pastor Greg, our ministry staff, and guest speakers.

Thank you for listening.

Welcome to this edition of the Legacy Series of our Chapter and First Podcast.

This podcast gives us a platform to showcase the ongoing Bible teaching and preaching ministry of First Baptist Church.

Now, as the pastor currently, it's an honor to preach here because our people love the Word, but also they love the Word because of the heritage and the legacy of Bible preachers that God has provided to this church throughout its history.

In our legacy series, we get a chance to showcase some of those preachers from the past.

Today's episode is a sermon from J.

Harold Smith, who was pastor of First Baptist Church from 1950 to 1959.

He was a renowned evangelist.

He was famous for the Radio Bible Hour broadcast, which was a nationwide broadcast.

He started the television ministry here at First Baptist Church.

After being pastor here in a couple of the churches, he served as an evangelist around the country.

He was deeply beloved by Southern Baptists, and God used him to see countless souls saved.

We are honored to have him as a part of our heritage here at First Baptist Church, and we're honored to present this message to you today as part of our legacy series.

Members of the church staff and all the members of this great church and all you that are visiting with us today, I want you to know that I'm delighted to be here.

I'm glad to see David Williams down here on the front.

David was my timekeeper while I was here.

He always sat in the old auditorium right on the front and he had a big old big bin watch.

In five minutes of twelve, David would go a countdown.

We get down to that last minute and he'd go to cutting it off.

Well, I tell you after uh several Sundays we went over and didn't get all of our program on TV.

I looked down one morning and Dave had a big old alarm clock.

He said, Brother Helm, can you see this?

I said, I sure can, Dave.

He said, get off on time today.

And so he started a countdown.

I wasn't near through, but I want to tell you, I quit one minute before 12 because I was afraid David had set that alarm clock off.

I'm glad to be back in Fort Smith.

I don't care where they bury my body, just so they cut out my heart and bring it back to Fort Smith.

I love Arkansas and I love this city second to none other.

I love the people of this city with all of my heart, the people of Sebastian County, the people of the Concord Baptist Association, and all of the state of Arkansas.

You know, really, all of the people, all of the old settlers started out looking for Arkansas, and all those that could read stopped, and all the rest of them went over to Oklahoma.

But I only say I love Oklahoma with all of my heart.

I believe that I can accredit three men, humanly speaking, for bringing me to this city.

One of them is in heaven.

His name was Roy Jean Sr.

One of the greatest men of God that I ever knew, and perhaps one of the greatest, if not the greatest, chairman of the board of deacons that I ever had.

A man that lifted the load from his pastor's shoulders and bore it himself without complaint.

I long for the day when I can see Brother and Sister Jean in heaven.

The second man I want to mention is in this auditorium today.

Brother Law.

Brother Law, I want you to stand up back there.

I want everybody to see this wonderful man of God.

Brother Law has prayed for me every day for 40 years or longer.

There has not been one day that that man of God hasn't bowed on his knees and prayed for J.

Harold Smith.

He was the man that heard us over X E R F, came to Brother Roy Gene and said, I wish we could consider him as our pastor.

An angel, Brother Roy wrote me.

And then a family came to my church at Woodland Park Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where I'd only been three years when our Sunday school had gone from 600 to 1,350 on average every Sunday.

And our offerings had gone from$600 a week to over$4,000 a week.

You say, well, Brother Harold, that sure is a small offering.

But I only tell you, in 1947, 48, 49, and 50, that was a big offering.

And a family came to hear me preach.

A family that has come to mean as much to me as any man and woman in all the world.

And that was Mr.

Carl Corley Sr., Mrs.

Corley, and their son Carl Jr.

And when I recognized the visitors that day, I had a uh my greeters always met the people at our door, and uh they would uh get the names of all the strangers that came in, given to me, and then I'd read them out, and the folks wondered where in the world I got their that information.

But I said, we have a family here with us from Fort Smith, Arkansas today, by the name of Carl Corley Sr.

This is Corley and their son, where they stand up.

And when Brother Carl Corley started standing up, I thought he'd never stop.

I'd hardly ever seen a man that tall in my life.

And if you know him, he said, I want all of you to know that I'm over here to get your pastor and take him back to Fort Smith.

And for the first time in my life, I heard booing in a Baptist church.

And some of my men threatened it.

And ten years of my life and that of my dear wife were spent in this city as a pastor of this great church.

Then the Lord allowed me to come back and spend 11 years more at Woodland Park.

I mean, I mean at Windsor Park here in the city.

God has allowed me to live 22 years in this city, and I'll never, never get the love that we have in our hearts for you out.

Maurice and I were riding around this week, and she said, since we've been here, and she said, Harold, I just love Fort Smith.

And I said, I do too.

I'll never forget the last Sunday we were here.

And Brother Roy Jean, who was the chairman of the Board of Deacons, was presenting us with a love offering.

And he called my wife up to the platform and he said, Miss Smith, he said, everybody in this church and everybody in this city loves you.

And I want to give you this check.

Hand her a check.

I sitting over there wondering, wonder what he's gonna say about me now.

And he said, Brother Harold, would you come up here?

And I stepped up to get my love offering check.

And he said, And Brother Harold, everybody in this town respects you.

He didn't say they love me.

And they don't till this very day.

I'd walk down Yarrison Avenue, and certain folk that operated certain hell holes on that city, on that street, would say, That's him.

That's him.

And then they'd spit.

They hated me so bad.

But I want to clear up one rumor.

I did not run out of this city.

I have never run from any person.

I left here when God said your work was finished.

I've never doubted that.

And on this day, I thank God for letting me come for 10 years.

Honey, stand up a moment.

That's Murtis.

Nobody will ever know this side of eternity what she means to me and has meant.

I want to say to all of you young folk, I met her when I was 11 years old.

And the way to do it, fellas, is just find you a little girl and raise her like you want her.

And then marry her.

And then if you make a mistake, you got no one to blame but yourself.

Every once in a while I have teenagers to come to me and have young people that come to me and say, Brother Harold, uh, how old do you think we ought to be before we start going steady?

And I dodge that question.

Man, I got scars all over my body where I fought.

Those that tried to take Mertis away from me.

I wasn't always as big as I am now.

And she'll tell you that there wasn't hardly a day that I didn't have a fist fight.

From the time I was 11 years old till I was 22, got saved over her.

If some guy wanted date with her, he had me to lick.

Let me tell you, fellas, if a girl you're gonna marry isn't worth fighting for, she isn't worth having.

I believe that.

Go after them.

I want to commend this church and the search committee on the man of God that you have called to this church as your pastor.

I do not believe that if you'd have searched all over the Southern Baptist Convention, you're gonna have found a dearer, more precious man of God for this pulpit.

I have known Dr.

Herod, his mother and father and family for a number of years.

I've had the privilege of preaching in his former church.

And don't you ever think that he stepped up to come to this church?

I know both churches.

And so far as finance and attendance, we're gonna have to grow a long ways here before we reach what they were doing.

He is a great man of God, he is a great leader.

And if you'll follow him, I'll guarantee you that one of these days you'll burn every mortgage on this church and every pay every debt, and thank God for this wonderful, glorious opportunity of reaching around the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ for these next six months for$37,000.

I know that there are men and women in this church that could pay you that and never miss it.

Do it, and send the gospel to the ends of the earth from the First Baptist Church of Fort Smith, Arkansas.

I've traveled, as most of you know, around the world and I've preached in all 50 of our states and in thir 59 foreign countries.

But I want to tell you something, folk.

I have never stayed in quarters like I'm staying in now.

I'm staying now at the Holiday Inn.

I'm staying in room 903, and that's the first time I've ever stayed any place where all the fixtures are gold plated.

And when I saw that figure$225 a day on that door, I didn't sleep a wink that night.

I knew this church wasn't able to pay it, and I knew the Radio Bible Hour wasn't able to pay it.

And I thought I was gonna have to go to work for the holiday in.

And I told Brother Donahoe, one of my dearest and most beloved friends, R.N.

Donneho, 91 years of age, still got a mind as clear as a bell.

One of my dearest friends, I said, Brother Donneho, can I borrow some money from you?

He said, Well, Brother Harold, anything I've got you can have.

What do you want it for?

I said, I want to pay this motel bill.

$675 when I get ready to leave here.

He said, It's already paid.

Boy, did I sleep that night.

And I want to tell you, yesterday, we were riding around, we visited all day yesterday in the hospital and other places.

And I said to my wife, I said, Aren't we crazy?

Running all over these hot streets with that wonderful room down there.

Yes, sir, but I want to thank the manager of that beautiful, that's the most beautiful motel I've ever stayed in.

I've been in Honolulu.

I've been in some of the finest motels in Europe and Asia.

And I've never stayed in one more beautiful.

And I want to thank the manager of that motel for giving me that room absolutely free.

Isn't that wonderful?

This church ought to appreciate that.

Before I bring the message this morning, I want us to bow our head in a moment of prayer.

I'm gonna ask a man to come to this platform and lead us in prayer.

That I'll never forget his conversion.

One of my deacons came to me one morning one Monday morning and said, There's a man in town.

And I want us to go out there and talk to him about his soul.

He's lost.

And he may throw us off of his ranch.

Are you willing to go?

And I said, Yes, sir.

I'm really ready, I'm willing to go, Brother Perry.

We went to the home in the ranch of Ken Boyd.

Ken, come on up, why don't you lead us in prayer?

We got out there, old Ken had on his blue jeans and training one of his one of his trained horses.

It rained the night before.

On Sunday, on Saturday, I'd bought a new suit, beautiful new suit.

And I said, Well, I'll preach it Sunday and then I'll send it to the cleaners and have it cleaned.

And old Ken, when I said, Ken, would you let me pray for you?

He said, Sure, let's get on our knees.

And he bowed in that filth and mire of that horse lot.

And I was just gonna sort of get down on one knee.

And brother, I tell you, when I saw him on both knees, I went down.

No, Ken, he was just doing it.

Not that he wanted me to pray for him, just to aggravate me.

But I tell you, God got a hold of him.

And I could feel that old manure and filthy water coming up on my britches.

But I tell you, Ken, I'd ruin every suit that I've ever had just to win a man to God like you.

Champion Rodeodor, Rodeodor.

Been how many times in Madison Square Garden, Ken?

Ten times.

I want this man to lead us in this moment of prayer.

Father, we're thankful for that day, May the 5th, 1951, at 9:30.

God bless you, Lord.

That's on Duncan Road.

That you brought this man, J.

Harold Smith.

And then, Father, I'm thankful that this church had men of yesterday that they brought this man to this town.

So, Father, as your child now, since May the 5th, 1951, thank you.

You let me serve you and work with you.

Yes.

So in front of all these people, I rededicate my life.

Yes.

But you're over everything.

You're over the flowers, the trees, the cows, the horses, me, the armies.

You're over everything, Father.

So right now we ask you as one as your child, please speak to this man that our hearts will be warm today.

And we pray for our preacher.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you, Ken.

If you have your Bibles this morning, would like to read with this scripture.

I invite you to turn to Philippians chapter 4.

Philippians 4 · chapter mention

And I want to begin our reading of verse 4 of this wonderful portion of the Word of God.

Philippians chapter 4 and verse 4.

Philippians 4 · chapter mention

Rejoice in the Lord always.

And again I say, rejoice.

Let your moderation be known unto all men.

The Lord is at hand.

Be careful for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known unto God.

And the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

And I'm going to use for my theme this morning, what do you think?

If you will tell me what you think, I will tell you what you are.

The Bible declares, as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.

Somebody has said that about 10% of the people think, about 10% of the people think they think, and the other 80% had rather die than to think.

And I've just about come to that conclusion.

I wonder how many real thinkers we have that are in this auditorium.

I wonder how many real figures we have out there in that vast unseen television audience.

What do you think?

As I look in the Bible, I find that in the 50th chapter of the book of Genesis, the word of God says, But as for you, ye thought evil against me.

These were the words of Joseph about his brethren.

I look in the 119th Psalm and verse 59, and the word of God declares, I thought on my ways and turned my feet into thy testimonies.

These were the words of David.

In the 15th chapter of the Gospel of Luke, we find between verses 11 and 24 the story of the prodigal.

It was when the prodigal's son began to think of his father, when he began to think about his father's house, when he began to think about his father's table, when he began to think about his father's bread, when he began to think about the welfare of his father's servants, when he began to think about this father's mercy and his father's compassion and his father's love and his father's liberality, it was then that the hog pin began to smell and the hog herders became oppressive.

I wonder what you think.

I am amazed when I see so few today that are really thinking.

When I realize that we live in an hour when we are letting other people dictate what we think, when we sit in front of the television and let them dictate to us what we buy, we go down to the church and many times we let the preacher tell us exactly what to do.

I say, Oh God, help us to get back to the place where we really think.

When the Lord endued the human man of humanity with the ability to think, He gave us our greatest asset.

The greatest asset that you will ever have is your mind.

I could have both of my arms amputated, I could have both of my legs amputated.

I could have my appendix removed.

I could have part of my colon removed.

I could have one of my lungs taken out.

I could have one of my kidneys removed, and I'd still be an asset to my family and to my church and to my community.

But if I were to lose my mind immediately, brother, I would become a liability to my family, a liability to my church, and a liability to my community.

Now, what do you think?

I believe that there are about five things that I'm going to call to your attention about what we should think.

Number one, I believe that we are more wicked than we think.

Have you ever stopped to think about how much hypocrisy is in all of us?

Will you agree with me, Brother Angel?

Will you agree with me that there's not a one of us as good as we pretend to be?

Just stop to think about how much hypocrisy is in your own life.

How many of you are a little better when the preacher's around?

How many of you have children you say, now we're going to have the preacher here for lunch today?

And if you kids don't behave, I'm going to kill you when he leaves.

Angel, I know that you've had many, many revivals out in West Texas.

Lubbock.

And out in that area.

And it's nothing uncommon for members to drive 80 and 90 and 100 miles to their church.

And I remember I was out there in one of those West Texas towns, and the pastor said, I'll pick you up in the morning about 9:30 to go to lunch.

And I said, Go to what?

He said, Go to lunch.

I said, Were we going to Dallas?

He said, No, we're going to one of our rancher friends that lives about 95 miles from the church.

And we drove 95 miles for that lunch.

And I want to tell you, I never have eaten a meal, Cesar, not even yours, that I drive 95 miles to get.

But we got out there, it's a lovely ranch home.

And a rancher, his lovely wife, and two sons.

One of them was 16 and the other was 14.

Jim and Paul.

When we went into the dining room, the lady of the uh the lady said, My husband will sit here at the head, Brother Harold, you'll sit right here to his right.

Pastor, you'll sit right here.

Paul, you'll sit down here, Jim, you'll sit here, and I'll sit here.

And we, the the the host of the led in prayer for the blessing of the table.

As soon as he said the blessing, Paul, right down at the end of the table, the oldest one, said, Pastor me some of those cotton-picking potatoes.

Without saying a word, that old rancher, I can see him right now, pushed back that chair, got up, and Ken, he is rougher looking than you are.

He got up and walked around.

I can see him right now.

Hear the clicking of those old boots, reached over, got that kid by the collar, lifted him up out of that seat, went out through the kitchen and out in the corral, and I never heard a guy get a licking like he laid on that bird.

I don't know whether he killed him or not.

The kid never came back.

But as soon as he walked back in the dining room, he looked over there at Jim, sitting by his mother, and he said, Jim, what have you got to say about this matter?

He said, Just one thing, Pa.

I don't want none of them pocket, well, none of them cotton picking potatoes.

And I learned later that he had said to those boys, we're going to have this evangelist, we're going to have our pastor, and you better behave yourself.

I was in another revival meeting, I was invited out to a lovely home, and when we got there, we got there about 10 or 15 minutes early.

And the host met us at the door and he said, Now, Brother Smith, our little daughter, Anne, four years old, will entertain you while my wife and I finish the meal.

And I only tell you, I have never met a little four-year-old girl as intelligent as that little girl.

I learned later that she had the IQ of an eighth grader.

Not an eight-year-old, but an eighth grader, and I believe it.

And as soon as we were seated, she brought out a deck of playing cards.

And I said, Anne, where did you get those?

She said, right over behind the piano.

I said, if you'll help me move that piano, said there's lots of them over there.

One of my tell you, I got up, went over, pulled that piano out.

Sure enough, there's four or five card tables, and there must have been, I'm not exaggerating, must have been 25 decks of cards.

I got me a deck.

Little Ann I got a deck for the pastor.

I came over, brother, handed me.

He said, I'm not going to touch those things.

They are the devil.

Little Ann and I went over and sat down on the set tee.

She frutted hers out.

Brother, I came back, I fluttered mine out like that just about the time.

The lady came in and she said, Oh, oh, where in the world did you get those cards?

I said, Right over behind the piano.

I said, if you want a deck, there's lots of them over there.

That lady was so embarrassed she never came back to the revival.

Now, how many of you, how many of you, if you'd be honest with yourself, how many of you young people will admit that you are more wicked than you're willing to admit?

You're not nearly as good as you pretend you are to your dead mother.

Some of you deacons.

Put on a little holy look, walk down the aisles of this church, speak to people with a little ecclesiastical wheeze, and then the next day do your dead level best to skin everybody that you meet.

Take God's name in vain, gamble on the ball games, and what have you.

You know there are a lot of women.

They get to church and they can put on the sweetest little smile and talk so gentle that every man in the congregation wishes he'd not have married that old Jezebel that he got, but I got you instead.

And yet when you get home, you're a different character.

Some of you men, you're so courteous and nice to every other lady but your wife.

You're a low-down rascal.

Will you admit that you're worse than you, um that you're not as good as you are, but worse than you thought?

Cain, before this day is out, you will murder your own brother.

Why, what am I, a dog that I should do such a thing, but he did.

David, if you go up on that roof tonight, you will look at a woman, and lust will fill your heart, and you will commit adultery with that woman, and before the affair is over, you will kill her husband, and before this affair is over, the sword of the Lord shall never depart from your house.

Why, what is thy servant?

A dog they should do such a thing, but he did it.

Judas, you will betray our Lord and sell him for thirty pieces of silver.

What is thy servant?

A dog?

They should do such a thing, but he did it.

I want to ask all of you that are looking by television, are you as good as you pretend to be?

If I could let your wife testify, what would she say about you?

If I could let your children testify, what would they say about you?

If I let your grandchildren testify, what would they say about you?

If your pastor could testify and tell the truth, what would he say about you?

But above everything else, what does God know about you?

The second thing that I'd like to call our attention to is that we are more responsible to God than we think.

We're responsible to God for our time.

How much of God's time have you wasted?

And are you wasting?

I believe that every last one of you that sit Monday through Friday from about 12.30 to about 4.30 in the afternoon watching those soap operas, I believe you are wasting your time.

I believe that the most wicked thing on television today are those soap operas.

They advocate every known sin: adultery, fornication, incest, incest, lying, cheating, double-crossing, everything, every sin.

You say, how do you know so much about it if you don't look at them?

Before we left Orlando, our paper there every Sunday had a review of all that was going to be take place on all of the soap operas the next week.

And I mean every sin in the catalog of sin, every sin that's mentioned in this Bible was advertised as being on the next week.

How would you like to drop dead tomorrow looking at as the world turns?

Our general hospital and have Brother Ron to preach a funeral next Thursday and say, while Aunt Becky was looking at as the world turns, she had a heart attack.

No, you'd want that left out of your funeral message.

And if you put it in there, Brother Ron, all of her kin folks would go to Grand Avenue the next Sunday or to Windsor Park.

Not only are you going to be responsible for your time, but for your talent.

This choir thrilled my heart this morning as you sang.

Man, I tell you, that was a blessing to my heart.

There should never be an empty seat, Sunday morning or Sunday night in this choir.

And if you'll give your talent to God, if you'll give it to Him, dedicate it to Him, you will be rewarded one of these days when you stand before the Lord.

You will receive a great reward.

This wonderful organist, this wonderful pianist this morning.

Didn't they fill your heart?

These men on the cameras here that are doing such an excellent job, I want to tell you, they are going to receive reward.

These ushers that walk up and down these aisles, these greeters at the door, I mean give God the very best you have.

Deacons, do the best you can.

Teachers, be faithful.

Stand for God, give God your talent.

I believe that God gives some men, angel, the ability, the talent to make money.

I believe that.

Buddy Smith can make more money and then lose it quicker than anybody else I've ever known in my life.

A lot of people get Buddy mixed up with me.

If I'd have made the money that Buddy has made, I'd have some dollars.

Yes, sir.

I've got better sense than he's got on holding on to it.

But let me tell you something.

There's some of you that can make money.

And if God has blessed you with making money, you give to God.

That's your talent.

Don't just give him a tithe.

Be liberal and generous in your giving, and you will never be able to outgive God, never.

And then I tell you, not only are we going to be held responsible for our time and our talent, but we're going to be held responsible for our testimony.

How many of you are cowboy fans?

Raise your hand.

Not many.

Now I'm saving the best for the last.

How many of you are razorback fans?

Well, I tell you, there was a bunch of pigs, brother, in the Bible, that were razorback fans.

When the Lord drove the devils out of that man that had the Legion, 2,000 hogs committed suicide.

Didn't they?

That's right.

But now I tell you, we can talk about the Razorbacks.

We can talk about the Sooners.

We can talk about the Dallas Cowboys.

We can talk, brother, I tell you, about the Cardinals, St.

Louis Cardinals, and man, we can get excited.

I tell you about a ball game and about a baseball game and about a football game.

But how many of us, brother, I tell you, can get excited about witnessing for the Lord?

I understand there are over 200 men in this Congress in this church that have studied and mastered the ability from knowledge standpoint of winning people to Jesus.

Why, there ought to be 40 or 50 people walk this aisle every Sunday, joining this church if these men have won to Christ.

How many of you remember Jess Robinson?

The Indian who was a painter out here in a rest home right now.

Jess was a great soul winner.

He'd knock on my door over there in the old building, brother.

He'd knock on my door every Sunday morning.

He'd say, Preacher?

And I'd say, Yes, Jess.

How many souls did you win this week?

Well, Jess, I've been out of town all this week.

I left last Monday real early.

And Jess, I just got back in late last night, and Jess, I haven't won a soul.

He said, I got four that's coming this morning.

Can some of you remember when old Jess Robinson, brother, come out of that aisle, and just like a bunch of ducks, here'd come four or five, brother, right back of him, that he'd led to Jesus that week.

You don't have to be an ordained preacher or an ordained deacon or a Sunday school teacher.

If you are saved, you ought to be a witness for the Lord.

Testify.

Witness.

And then I said to God, it's going to hold you responsible for your treasure.

I believe what the pastor said.

Brother Don, I've had a lot of preachers to say, when you were pastor, how often did you preach on tithing?

I said, every Sunday morning.

Some of you can remember, I'd let Bill Lowry make the announcements, and I'd let Bill Post make the announcements sometimes, and I'd let Brother Eazel make the announcement sometime, but when it came to that offering, I didn't trust anybody.

And I gave a little lecture, brother, I tell you, every Sunday morning, just before the offering.

And I did my dead level best, brother, to impress upon everybody that didn't give God a tithe that you're a thief and you're a robber.

And whether he gave or not, brother, he went out of there with a guilty conscience.

And I had one man in our church that always sat right over on that side, right next to the door.

And every Monday morning you go down to Garrison Avenue, talking about what I said about the tithe.

And I asked my financial secretary, I'd been here 18 months, and I said, How much is that bird given?

And she said,$3.87.

I went down, I said to Mr.

Carl Robbins, I said, on Friday before Sunday, I said, Mr.

Carl, I said, I want to get three brand new$1 bills, I want a brand new 50 cent piece, a brand new quarter, and I want a brand new dime, and I want two brand new pennies.

He said, Brother Harold, I've been in this bank for 40 years, and I've never had such a request.

What are you going to do with it?

I said, I'll be in Monday morning and tell you.

I took those three brand new$1 bills, that brand new 50 cent piece, that brand new quarter, brother, that brand new dime, and those brand new two pennies, and I wrapped them all up in a neat little package and put them in my pocket.

I preached.

I mean, I preached that Sunday, and when I feel myself weakening, I'd reach in and touch that, and then I'd get new energy.

And we had a man in our church.

I'm not going to call his name, but I had a man in my church that always stayed five minutes behind with his praying.

And if I needed somebody to take up five minutes in the service, I could call him Brother So-and-So, and he'd pray five or six minutes.

And so I called him a five-minute man to pray.

And while he was a praying, I walked off the platform and over to that door.

And when this he said amen, and this brother started out, he didn't want to shake hands, but I grabbed him and put that little package in there.

He said, What's that?

I said, That's every penny that you've given to the first Baptist Church since I've been here as a pastor 18 months,$3.87.

You are paid off in full.

Don't ever let me hear you say another word about what we do with the money around here.

You are paid off in full.

He said, I've been dropping it in the loose offering.

I said, That don't count.

Brother Malone, that didn't count either.

And I said, if you reported over$3.87 of the internal revenue that you've given to this church in the last 18 months, I'm on I'm going to tell him that you lied.

That's right in the church.

The next Sunday he joined the First Methodist.

I stayed here eight years and a half or longer, and after I'd resigned, I met Dr.

Roebuck up here in the hospital.

And I said, Dr.

Roebuck, do you remember a certain man joined your church?

He said, Yes, sir.

And before I could say anything else, he said, And Brother Harold, if he's ever given a penny, I don't have any record of it.

So just changing from a Baptist to a Methodist, if you're a tight wad and a skin flint and a nickel nibbler and a penny pitcher and a God robber won't help you at all.

Just won't help you at all.

God's gonna hold you responsible, brother, the way you treat.

First of all, his Christ.

Second, his church.

Third, his clergyman.

God is gonna hold this church responsible for the way you treat.

Brother Ron Herod.

If you mistreat him, God will deal with you.

And then I tell you, God's gonna hold us responsible for the way he treats his child, our fellow Christians.

And then God's gonna hold us responsible for the way we treat the citizens of this world.

That's a lost people of this world.

I fought sin while I was here.

I never compromised with the devil.

The 21 years that I pastored in this city, I never compromised once with the devil.

But every sinner in this town, that would be honest with you, would say J.

Harold Smith loves me.

And when they get up here in the hospital, brother dying, guess who they'd sin for?

J.

Harold Smith.

And I led many a sinner to Christ in Sparks and St.

Edward's that he cursed me up and down the streets.

But when they came down to die, they wanted to stand and hold their hand and pray for them.

They knew I loved them.

And then I tell you, if you're in this house, you are closer to death than you think you are.

Every last one of us in this house is closer to death than we think we are.

How many of you expected to die this afternoon?

How many already got your funeral arrangements made?

Man, I tell you, I'm ready to die, but I don't want to die.

Have you ever stopped to think about Dr.

Herod, how much money we are willing to spend to stay out of heaven?

One of my dear preacher friends, Brother Charlie Thompson, pastor over in Trinity Baptist Church in Chattanooga.

I was over there three or four Sundays ago in their 25th anniversary, and Brother Charlie's wife had a heart attack about three months ago, and the first night that she was in the hospital in Chattanooga, his bill that first night was$8,000.

And I said, just think about Sister Thompson, how much money you spent to stay out of heaven.

Now I don't want to die tonight, but I thank God that I'm ready.

And then if you're in this house and you're lost, you're closer to hell than you think.

Just one breath.

The Bible says the rich man died, comma, and was buried, comma, and in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torment.

And if you're in this house this morning and you are not saved, or if you listen by television and you are not saved, you're just one breath away from hell.

And our Lord doesn't want anyone to perish, but he wants all men everywhere to repent.

Come to Jesus.

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

And then the Bible says that we're going to be longer in eternity than we think.

Somebody has said, trying to illustrate how long eternity is, that if a little bird could pick up a grain of sand in North America and fly over to Europe and deposit that grain of sand and a thousand years later, return, pick up another grain of sand, deposit it, that when all of North and South America had been deposited in Europe one grain at a time every thousand years, that eternity would be in its first tick.

Somebody has said that if a little bird could fly around the Washington monument, a little dove could fly around the Washington Monument, and every 500 years touch its little wing to that staff of concrete and steel, then when that monument had been worn down level with the ground, eternity would just have started.

It's impossible for the mind to conceive the length of eternity.

And every last person in this house is going to spend eternity, all of those billions upon top of trillions of light years, never ending, either in the City Four Square or the lake of fire.

No preacher, no priest, no pope, no evangelist, no parent will ever decide that for you.

You must decide.

Is it Christ or Satan?

Is it salvation or damnation?

What do you think?

We pray this message has been a blessing to you and helped to strengthen your walk with Jesus.

Please know we want to minister to you and pray for you.

Send an email to contact us at fsfbc.org and let us pray for you and help you in any way we can.

Thank you for listening to Chapter and First, the Bible Teaching Ministry of Fort Smith's First Baptist Church.