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Tell the Story

In one of his sermons, E. V. Hill tells of a time when he preached in Michigan with Dr. Jack Hyles, the former pastor of First Baptist Church in Hammond, Indiana. Hyles' church averaged 20,000 in Sunday school back then. "[E. V.] asked, "Jack, let me in on why you're so caught up in soul winning. You're on the verge of fanatic. What's behind all that?"
He said, "One night, I was awakened by this piercing scream from my sister. I ran upstairs to her bedroom, and there she was sweating and in hysterics. I shook her, and I couldn't get her attention, so I had to slap her. I said, 'What's wrong? You had a dream?' She said, 'No, no dream.' I said, 'You had a nightmare?' She said, 'No it was real.' I said, 'What happened?' She said, 'Jack, I just got back from hell. After a few miles of the glitter and lights and all of that which deceives mankind, there was nothing but desolation. It was a bummed-out situation. It's nothing but desolation and hopelessness. You walk towards the gates of hell knowing that you will never again be free. I got to the gates of hell and the keeper said, "Hold it." I stood outside hell, and I saw people whose faces were twisted and tongues were thick, eyes bulging and hands split, dropping blood. I said, "Sir, please let some air in." And he said, "No air in hell." Then I said, "Kind sir, let them have a drink of water." And he said, "No water in hell." Then I said, "If that's true, let 'em die." And he said, "No death in hell." She said, "My God, how long will they suffer?" And he said, "Forever and ever! Hell has no exit and there is no death."
"She said, 'Just as I turned to leave, he said, "Go back and tell the story." And just as I turned I saw Daddy.'" And I said, "Yep, our Daddy is in hell, because he never got around to doing the most important thing. He schooled us, he fed us, but he never got around to saying yes to Jesus Christ." Jack concluded by saying, "I win souls every day so that nobody else's daddy has to go to hell." Citation: E. V. Hill, A Savior Worth Having (Chicago: Moody Press, 2002), 91-2.

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