Fear Not, I Am the First and the Last — Jack Hyles

The one that I enjoy the most is the one that says, we sort of feel like everything's okay if Brother Hiles is around. One little family of three or four, a widow rearing the children alone, told me that the family sits together, and every Sunday morning and Sunday night when I walk in the door here, that they sing just above a whisper, everything's all right in my father's house.

Everything's all right in my father's house. Everything's all right in my father's house, because Brother Hiles is here. I can recall when I was a kid, going to church every Sunday, and I'd look for my pastor to walk in.

And Sunday after Sunday, I'd look at the door, and he wouldn't walk in. But some dumb-looking guys would walk in I never saw in my life before. Now, here we have dumb-looking guys walk in you see every Sunday.

But I was always disappointed. Now, if we had a guest preacher, I was disappointed. But if my pastor wasn't there, if I didn't get to see him, I felt like the week wasn't complete. And I made a few decisions years ago, that I'd be in my church preaching Sunday after Sunday, if I became a preacher.

I've showed the little lady the nursery please fellas, and have her use it if you would please. That's right, just take her to the nursery, that's right. And of course I've told this a dozen times or more, but to me it's sweet and precious and holy.

The little girl who's watching television, and she went to her mother and said, Mama, is Brother Howe's in town? And she said, I don't know. And the girl said, Mama, would you call his house and find out if he's in town?

And the mother said, why? She said, because the television man just said there's a tornado in the area. And if Brother Howe's were in town, a tornado wouldn't dare come through Hammond. Now to me there's nothing quite so sweet as that.

Now if one does come through, I'll get blamed for it. If I hear one's coming through, what I usually do when I hear one's were alerted to tornadoes, I leave town. But there's nothing quite so sweet to me as that.

God's Presence in a Troubled World

One time Mr. Moody was on a ship going to Europe, and suddenly the ship was thrown into a terrible storm. It was one of the worst that anyone had ever seen. Mr. Moody went toward the front of the ship.

He came back. Everybody was crying and praying and screaming and in terrible fear. Mr. Moody began to smile. And someone came and said, Mr. Moody, don't you realize all of our lives are in jeopardy? Don't you realize the danger of this storm?

Why are you smiling? And Mr. Moody said, I just went to the front of the ship. I saw the captain's face. And it was smiling. Well folks, this is a heartsick old world. Watergate, heart attacks, communism, disease, pending famine.

It's a heartsick old world. I'd like to tell you something. This morning, I saw the pilot's face again. And he's still smiling. And that's the reason everybody needs a pastor, I guess. Somebody ought to see the pilot's face and come to the people and say, he's still smiling.

Biblical Calls to Fear Not

He who said to Isaac, in one of the dark days of his life, fear not. He who spoke to Abraham after he had come back from fighting with the war with the kings, fear not. He who said to Ezekiel when he was called to be a watchman on the wall, fear not.

He who inspired the angels to sing the lonely shepherd watching their flocks by night, fear not. He who spoke the words of Mary as she heard the annunciation of the coming of the Christ child, fear not.

He who spoke to Israelites pursued by angry Egyptians with the Egyptians on one side and the Red Sea on the other side, fear not. He who had placed his hand upon us two thousand years ago and said, fear not, I am the Alpha, the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last, he's still alive today.

Looking Up to God Instead of Worrying

This morning I thought I would just try to calm your nerves a little bit, if I could. I know we have a lot of problems in this old world. I know steak's getting mighty high, but that doesn't affect many of us.

Steak got too high for us years ago. Now, when hamburger... Of course, Dr. Billings has round steak, you call it bologna, but he has round steak, but he also has a lot of bologna too, by the way, but Dr. Evans said amen.

But, I mean, everybody's all uptight. Everybody's all nervous. What's going to happen to the country? What's going to happen? You know why you're uptight? You're looking down instead of up. If you look up, everything's okay.

I mean, the captain's face is still smiling. And he's the first and the last. No need for God's people to get all upset, nervous and worried. Listen to these promises. Be strong. Fear not. Listen to this one.

Fear not. For I am with thee. Hear this one. Fear not. I will help thee. Hear this one. Fear not. I have redeemed thee. Hear this one. Fear not. For thou shalt not be ashamed. Don't you think the one who overcame the grave and death and the hell can take care of you in this age?

Don't you think the one who could feed the sparrows who fly through the heavens and feed even the unclean bird, the raven, and the one who clothes the field lilies, don't you think that that one can still take care of his own?

Oh, but you say, what are we going to eat? We're going to eat what God gives us, like God's folks have always eaten. But you say, what are we going to wear? You're probably going to wear the same thing you've been wearing for the 14 years I've been pastor of this church.

I imagine. But you say, oh, what's going to happen before it comes? Jesus is still going to say, fear not. I am the first and the last. Nothing to be afraid of. I love those words. Fear not, little flock.

He didn't say, hey, don't be afraid. He said, hold it now. Don't be scared. He didn't say scared, but he said, don't be afraid. Everything's going to be okay. Don't you recall how it used to feel when down in Texas we used to have storms?

Now, I mean, you could see a storm in Texas 100 miles away. Oh, a few miles away. You could see it when it hit anyway, but we called it in Texas a cloud coming up. Mama said, son, there's a cloud coming up.

And we had a storm cellar out in the backyard. How many ever had a storm cellar, huh? How many don't even know what a storm cellar is, huh? It's a cellar where you keep storms is what it is. And Mother would say on Exeter Street, had a storm cellar out in the backyard.

And Mama would say, hey, let's go to the storm cellar. A cloud's coming up. Or, you folks up here don't know what this means, a norther is coming. It was worse than that when a northerner was coming, but a norther is coming.

And so we'd run to the storm cellar. Now, a storm cellar is a hole in the ground and usually had a hump on the top because you didn't want to, so you'd get air in it and had a little place to get air.

And the door would open. It was a door sort of slatting, almost flat on the ground, more flat than it was upright. And you'd pull the door up and you'd walk down some stairs in a storm cellar. And to get away from the storm, you'd get bitten by a snake or a spider.

And that's where you kept the potatoes. You kept the potatoes down because the potatoes were kept cool down in the storm cellar. And you'd stay there until the storm was over. But it's a strange thing.

Storm cellar or no storm cellar, if Mama was home, it just seemed like everything was okay. But I can recall time and time again when I'd be home alone. Mother worked and I'd be home alone as a little boy.

And I'd look out and see a storm coming up. And, oh, no trees in Texas over three inches high. And you can see that thing and you can see the horizon. And you see that thing looming like a great monster.

And it was for along the winds. And then you'd see some funnels. They're like these little bugles that you eat, little funnels. And a tornado was coming through. And I can recall being at home. And, oh, I thought if Mama would just come home, if Mama was just at home, and then soon Mother would come in and everything was all right.

Now, my mother couldn't stop a tornado. She could create a few, but she couldn't stop any. But everything was all right. Now, this morning, what I'd like to do to my people, I'd like to say I know Watergate.

I know about Mr. Nixon. I don't know all about him, but I know a lot about him. I know about Mr. Irwin. And I know about Mr. Agnew's troubles. And I know all about communism about to take over America, and it is.

I know all about the Depression. And, by the way, it's on its way. No use in worrying about it. It's on its way, whether you like it or not. It's on its way. And I know all about the prime rate, not the prime rib.

The prime rate's gone up more than the prime rib. But the prime rate's up to nine and three quarters, I think, now. I know. And you borrow any money, and you pay a lot of interest. And money's tight, and the dollar's not worth much.

And somebody said one day, he said, save your money. It might be worth something again someday. And I know, I know. But I'd like to reach out this morning and say to all my people, now, don't be afraid.

Everything's going to be all right. Nothing's going to happen to God's people that's not best for us. The one who said, fear not, I'm the first and the last. He's still alive. But you say, I've got children.

And my kids over here, I love them. And I don't want my kids to face this wicked old world. I wish mine didn't have to either. But I'll tell you what. Every one of these kids over here who's God's children, if they are on us, if they're caught on top of a spider web overlooking Niagara Falls, God's going to take care of them.

So don't worry. Don't fret. There He is. He still said, I am with you always. He still said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. So don't be worried. Now, our Lord only spoke six times these words, fear not.

That's strange, isn't it? Over and over again in the Bible, you fear not. In fact, somebody has said that 366 times in the Bible you have the words, don't fear or fear not or don't be afraid. 366 times in the Bible.

Isn't that sweet? One for every day, even for leap year. And never a time to be afraid. I mean that. Never a time to be afraid. But you say, Brother Howells, I'm afraid of the future. You don't have to be.

Well, I'm afraid of cancer. You don't have to be. Well, I'm afraid of death. A preacher sat in this room last Sunday morning, a preacher, a middle-aged preacher. That means 46 or 47, a preacher. And last Sunday morning came to my office and said, Brother Howells, Dr. Howells, he said, I've been preaching all these years, but he said, if there's anybody in the world who fears death, it's me.

I just, I'm always afraid of the thought of dying. You don't have to be. He said, fear not. But you say, I can't help it. I'm afraid. Yes, you can't help it too. You can trust the one who lives in you.

Christ in you, the hope of glory. You don't have to be afraid. And so I want to calm your nerves this morning and tell you, like one time the emperor of Russia was building the great railroad between Moscow and St. Petersburg.

That's not St. Petersburg. Florida, by the way. And St. Petersburg. And they're trying to engineer it, working on the board, and trying to figure out how to get that railroad between St. Petersburg and Moscow.

And finally the emperor came and said, Give me a ruler. And he got a ruler. He laid that ruler out, put one in St. Petersburg and down here Moscow. He drew a straight line. He said, That's the way you engineer it.

A straight line between Moscow and St. Petersburg. And that's the way you engineer alleviation of fear too. A straight line between you and Jesus. I may just come to him and say, God, you're still on your throne, and you're still my Savior, and you promised me to take care of me.

Fear Not the End of the Age

Now our Lord only six times said these words, Fear not. But all six times had to do with one of three subjects. Either being not afraid of want, or not afraid of the end time, or the end of the age, or not being afraid of death.

For our Lord knew that people who would live in succeeding years would fear these things more than anything else. Well, I can recall as a kid, I'd be afraid of the end of the world. The other day I had the cutest little cartoon given to me.

I don't read the funnies. I don't know why, but I just don't. But they ceased being funnies a long time ago, you know. They got to be mysteries, and I quit reading them. But I'm not against them, by the way.

But somebody handed me Peanuts. Did you ever read Peanuts? Do you really? Do you read Peanuts? Read your Bible? But Peanuts. And somebody handed me the cutest little cartoon strip. The first cartoon saw this little girl.

What's her name? Lucy. Lucy was watching television, and there was a golf tournament on. This is the first picture. And the announcer said, he's about ready to putt. This is the last hole. This is it.

If he misses, he loses. If he wins, if he makes it, he wins. This is it. We're down to the last putt of the tournament. There's no tomorrow. And the next picture showed Lucy saying, there's no tomorrow.

Who's the boy? Charlie Brown. She said to Charlie Brown, there's no tomorrow. There's no tomorrow! He said, there's no tomorrow! There's no tomorrow! Of course, the golf announcer meant that this is the last day of the tournament.

And boy, they're down. There's no tomorrow! There's no tomorrow! There's no tomorrow! There's no tomorrow! And the next picture showed them going down the street hollering, flee to the housetops! Hide in the caves!

There's no tomorrow! There's no tomorrow! The next picture showed all three of them on top of this doghouse. Snoopy, I think, is the dog's name. And the girl and Charlie Brown and Snoopy up on top of this doghouse.

And the girl said, there's no tomorrow. This is it. It's all over. And the boy said, Charlie Brown said, I never thought it would end this way. And the dog said, and I thought Elijah was supposed to come first.

I laughed, and I laughed, and I laughed. How that dog knew about Elijah coming before Jesus coming beats me. I'd have thought the dog had come here in order to be the author of that thing. But, okay, so there's no tomorrow.

It doesn't matter. I know the one who is tomorrow. Oh, so we've got to flee to the housetops. Okay, I know who's in charge of the housetops. We're going to hide in the caves. I know who made the caves.

I'm simply saying that a child of God doesn't have to fear. It's a wicked, wicked, ungodly, paganistic, atheistic sin for a child of God to fret and worry. John Wesley said, I would no more worry than I would curse or swear.

Read your Bible and see how many times the Bible says fret not. But you say, Brother Howes, you don't understand. I've got cancer lurking in my bones and in my body, and I don't know how long I'm going to live.

Well, good night in the morning. You'll be with Jesus quicker than we will, won't you? I was thinking last night about my mother. Mother, I was thinking of her. She's 80, 85. I know she's 85 because she's been saying that for seven years.

And so, but she's 85, the 86th, December the 13th. And I was thinking that if she does precede me in death, then I don't think she'll die. The Bible, we could never die young. I don't think she'll die.

But if she precedes me in death, what difference does it make? She's got two kids in heaven and two kids on earth. She'll be with two either way. And she's been with Erlene and me for a long time. She'll be with Hazel and Lorraine if she dies.

So what can you lose? Well, of course, Erlene and I are nicer kids than Hazel and Lorraine. But what can you lose? Now, look, listen to me for a minute. And I'm just sort of pastoring you this morning.

Now, just quit your fretting and quit your stewing. Our Lord gave us three fear nots. One, fear not because of want. Now, I just want to talk to you for a while this morning about this matter of want.

God's Provision for His People's Needs

I understand that potatoes are going to be scarce. And I understand that hamburger meat has gone to $8 a pound. I understand that. And I know something about all the possibility of a depression. Let me ask you a question.

Look in your Bible and see Philippians 4 .19 is still there. My God shall supply all your needs according to riches and glory. Now, that doesn't mean pizza necessarily. You may, I mean, you may answer, Oh, where am I going to get my pizza?

Well, you'll be a lot better off if you don't get it anyway. I mean, it may be that all, maybe pork will go sky high. I hope it all goes in the river like the pork did in the Bible days. But it doesn't matter.

Listen, Philippians 4 .19 says, My God will supply all your needs. Now, either that's true or the Bible's a lie. Pick your Bible, tear it up, throw it away, or believe it. Good night, don't be fretting, worrying, stewing.

That is what's going to happen. A dozen folks have said to me this last week, I've gone down and bought a bunch of stuff. Oh, thou of great faith. Check your Bible and see Matthew 6 .33, it's still in there.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things. What things? Food and clothing and necessities. All these things shall be added unto you. That's God's promise. I'd rather have that than a paid-up insurance policy with Liberty Mutual.

I'd rather have that than a retirement plan. A long-ago preacher said to me, You have a retirement plan? I said, You better know I have a retirement plan. He said, You do? I never thought you would. I said, I got the best in the world.

What's it called? Philippians 4 .19. That's what I've got. No need to worry. Actually, do you know what? If we had to not know where our next meal was coming from, you know, we might get to know God a bit better.

I'm glad that I was reared poor. I can recall, I was thinking like yesterday and the day before. One day, my mother sent me down, first time she ever did this, later on many times. She said, Son, go down to the store and ask the butcher if he's got a bone for the dog.

And so I went down to the store and I said, Do you have a bone for the dog? He said, Yes, Son, I have a bone for the dog. He was wrapping the bone, a little meat on it, for the dog. He said, What's the dog's name?

And I thought, Good night. We don't even have a dog. And I said, I don't know. He smiled and went ahead and gave me the bone. I went home and I said, Mama, where did you get a dog? And Mama got some water and put that bone in the water and made us some dog soup out of it.

And we had some soup to eat. And I thank God for it. You know, sometimes if you don't have anything to eat and you have to go to God and say, Oh, God, you said so. Look, here's what you said. You said you'd give me my needs.

You said you'd supply my needs according to your riches and glory by Christ Jesus. Now, God, you're going to have to do it. We don't have any food to eat. I wish some of you folks knew the joys of that occasionally.

Wherever the food comes, you can clap your hands and say, Praise the Lord. Hallelujah. God provided for us again. I wish you knew some of those joys. I wish you knew the joy of, and you will, but it won't hurt you.

I wish you knew the joy of having to use your students that you have your way paid through college. I wish you knew the joy of preying down money. I went to college on Jeremiah 33 .3. Many times didn't know where the next dollar was going to come.

When I enrolled in college, East Texas Baptist College in Marshall, Texas, I didn't have one dime. Not one thin dime. When I enrolled in college, a fellow came to me last night. He's probably here today and nobody knows who it is.

And he said, I think I'm going to work a year before I go to college. I said, Go to college. Well, he said, I have financial troubles. I said, Can't you find a job? Yeah, I found a job at one of the steel mills.

But he said, I'm afraid I wouldn't have enough time. I'm afraid I'd flunk. I said, Don't come to school to flunk. I said, I've never made provision for failure. Go to school. Get your degree. But he said, I wouldn't have time to get any sleep.

I said, We have students going to school, sleeping three and four hours a night. He said, I couldn't get by on four hours sleep a night. I said, You could too. A lot of us get by on four and five hours sleep a night.

You can. If you will say, God will supply my need and I'll see to it. I'll believe in God. I'll do my best and I'll trust God. God in heaven will see to it you don't start. Don't you fret about it. You just work your head off and after you've worked your head off and said, Dear Lord, I've done all I can.

Now take care of me. God will take care of me. Now I know what I'm talking about. I know what I'm talking about. Our Lord said, Don't be afraid. I'll feed the sparrows. Don't be afraid. I'll throw the lilies.

Don't be afraid. I'll feed the raven. It will give God a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful chance. And so I'll be honest with you. Depression doesn't worry me a great deal. You say, Brother Halp, what do we wear?

What do we do for shoes? Just get you a cardboard box and cut it out to match the sole of your shoes and stick it in there. Huh? Well, time and time again. Well, we'd wear a pair of shoes for ten years.

Mom would. My feet kept growing, but I would just stretch them. I can recall my mom would take a shoe off. Oh, you know it's quiet. Mom would take my shoe off. She'd get a razor blade. It was a size double A.

She could make it a size E just by slitting over each toe a little bit. And I had sandals then. Oh, Fred. I mean, look. God's still on His throne. And He's able to provide every need you've got. I mean, God's able.

Jesus Remains Through the End Times

And so the Lord Jesus said to His people, Fear not. Fear not. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, the wealth in every mine. He owns the rivers and rocks and rails and the wealth in all the world. He owns it all.

It's His. Don't be afraid. Calm your nerves. Good night. He acted like heathen. I don't know what I'm going to do. I don't know what you're going to do. You're going to be fed by God. Went to the house.

We may not have steak every Sunday. Wouldn't that be awful? You know what? Well, I won't go into it. But I'm about to get off on food again. But I do know that God's going to care for you. And the second thing He said, Fear not.

Our Lord said, Fear not concerning the end time. In Revelation 117, He's talking. He's about to show us the tribulation period. He's about to unveil this great unveiling of Christ in His coming, in His kingdom glory.

He's about to show us the rapture of the church. He's about to show us the horrible time when half the world is killed. The blood is up the horse's bridles. And hailstones fall from heaven, 116 or 118 pounds in weight.

And there's awful tragedy. And the sea is turned to blood. And folks die of famine and hunger. And Antichrist comes. And war like the world has ever seen will be had. And all kinds of horror. And He said before you, I discuss the end time with you.

I want to tell you something. Fear not. I'm the first and the last. After Russia is gone. After kingdoms have crumbled. The kings have all been taken off their thrones. There'll still be Jesus. After all the last war is fought.

And the last bit of debris is gathered up. There'll still be Jesus. After the last tear has been shed. And the last heart has been broken. And the last dream has been ruined. And the last castle has been crumbled.

There'll still be Jesus. Oh, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what comes. As long as we've got it right on who comes. He said, I know hard times are going to come. It may be we'll face another war.

It may be our boys will march off to battle again. It may be that gold stars will frequent the homes of our mothers. But let me tell you, Jesus said it doesn't matter if war or watergate or heartache or death or famine or peril or nakedness or sword, there'll still be Jesus.

Say, fear not. God's people don't need to be afraid. He's going to be afraid. Our Lord says, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. I saw the captain's face. The third thing that our Lord spoke concerning these two words, fear not, was death.

Christians Need Not Fear Death

I spoke about it last Sunday. Last Sunday morning. There's a man that sits in this room this morning. Last Sunday morning, he came to the services of Jehovah's Witnesses. What title did he have? Elder?

An elder in the Jehovah Witness Church. And you know what they believe about death. I preached last Sunday morning on, yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I'll fear no evil. And after the service was over, he came down to Dr. Helton and said, I want somebody to show me how to be saved.

And he was saved. He was here Wednesday night. He's here this morning. I think he speaks Spanish, doesn't he? He was in charge of what program? Oh, broadcast the Cubs games in Spanish? I thought it was a fellow just cussing because the Cubs were having a bad season.

I didn't know. But he broadcast Chicago Cubs games in Spanish. And he came and got saved last Sunday morning. He's back this morning with his Bible and happy in the Lord because he got saved. He doesn't fear death anymore.

Now we all have to die. The grim reaper comes and takes its toll. And one day we'll be buried beside the rich. And we'll be in the same cemetery and the same funeral home. And the same artificial grass will lead to our casket.

And the same preacher maybe will lead the way down the path toward the little spot of ground that will house our body under the first resurrection. So we all have to die. We don't have to be afraid to die.

There's no need to be afraid to die. Oh, because if I live, it's Christ with me. And if I die, it's me with Christ. As I said last Sunday, I've watched the saints go home. I've watched the children of God face the last hour.

And there's a wonderful piece. They call it Dying Grace. Dr. Bob Gray told how he was in an airplane one time flying and got in a storm. And the plane shook and it fell a thousand feet. And somebody said, aren't you afraid we're going to be killed?

And Dr. Gray said, no, this plane's not going to crash. And somebody said, how do you know? And he said, I'm a preacher. And I've seen folks die. And he said, every time I've seen anybody die, they had Dying Grace.

And I don't have it, so I know this plane is not going to crash. But there's a certain Dying Grace that God gives people when they come to die. And death is not so bad. There's nothing as overrated, I think, as death.

Luke 8 .50, Jesus came to Jairus' daughter in Matthew 10 .26. He told us to fear not those that could destroy the body, but those that can destroy body and soul in hell. There's no reason to fear. I know this is a sick old world.

I know it looks like all we hold dear and precious is about to fold up. I understand that. And we as a church may have to go through some tough times. We've been through some tough times in these 14 years.

God's Faithfulness in Church Crisis

But he's always been present. I was thinking this morning about this just a few years ago. We stood out in the street and watched two of our buildings burn. We walked into the next morning, 1 ,900 people and Sunday school.

Walked in the next morning. This building was destroyed, big holes back in the wall back there. This building only three months old at the time. And there were runners down the aisle here, plastic runners down all the aisles.

This building the night before had water that deep and smoke all over these walls. The building we had over here was smoke, ruined by smoke. And one building completely destroyed. The building over here completely destroyed.

And we had a little tough time for a while. But he who said fear not was with us. And there was the day when we had a little trouble in the church because we stood what we thought we believed. And we lost a lot of the people 13 years ago.

And all over town they said they'd have to close the doors. They can't pay their debt. They were right on one point. We couldn't pay our debt, but we didn't close the doors. And the deacons got together and regrouped our budget again and cut it down about half and tried to figure out how we'd get along.

But he was with us. I'd like to say to you this morning, I've been preaching 28 years almost. I've seen the times when I didn't think I could preach again. I've seen times when I knew that if I walked in the pulpit, I knew somebody was going to shoot me.

I've seen times when I thought my churches couldn't pay their debts. I've been up against the wall and thought my ministry was over. As a boy, I've come to the table with nothing to eat. My mother and I have time and time again.

My mother's gotten up in the morning and tried to do the best she could to make my shoes strong enough with cardboard so that my feet wouldn't get wet and I could stay well. I've seen my mother take her own coat and try to make it look like a boy's coat, and I'd wear mother's coat to school in the morning, hoping nobody would think I was a sissy.

I saw my mother one time take a pair of her own shoes when I was a little boy and saw off the high heel and make them fit me and try to make them look like boy's shoes. I've seen the time my mother wrapped my feet in socks to send me to school so I wouldn't get pneumonia or take cold.

I mean, I know what it is to face the wall and to be hungry, but blessed be God, hallelujah, thanks to God, He who is alive forevermore provides for every need of His own. Don't be afraid. There's no need to be afraid.

Because I saw the captain's face this morning, and there's a smile on it. Everything's all right. In my Father's house it is. Not because Brother Hiles is here, but because he stands over this church this morning and he says, Fear not, little flock, I am the first and the last and am alive forevermore.

Let us pray.