Latest / Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago / A Plea From Hell | Luke 16:19-31 (The Rich Man and Lazarus) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (1/26/25)

Transcript

A Plea From Hell | Luke 16:19-31 (The Rich Man and Lazarus) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (1/26/25) · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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  I remember preaching a message on a Saturday night at a
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  conference many years ago, and that message was on the reality
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  of heaven and hell. And at the end of that sermon,
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  the gospel was preached and I invited listeners to make the
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  Lord Jesus Christ their Savior, which some did.
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  And though it was quite some time ago, I can recall different
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  interactions I had that evening, including a conversation that I
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  had with an individual who is not at that specific session but
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  was at the conference. And at some later point of the
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  night, he approached me, we greeted each other, and he
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  asked, what did you speak on tonight?
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  When I told him, he was not slow to hesitate to grant his opinion
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  about the subject of hell, and his argument was hell, or any
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  fear for that matter, should ever be a motivation to bring
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  people to Christ. That warning about judgement
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  isn't the best approach to win souls.
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  He continued to say that if we are going to reach anybody with
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  the gospel, then we should emphasize on a loving
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  relationship with Christ and that we should spend more time
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  describing His beauty and allowing His beauty to compel us
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  to Him, which are proposal that I am not opposed to now.
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  I'm not going to continue to explain how that conversation
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  continued, but I bring this to your attention because I believe
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  that many Christians, like this brother, aren't sure how to
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  handle the concept of hell. And though that word is casually
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  thrown around in our culture, a genuine reflection upon its
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  truth is able to provoke a variety of emotion, distress,
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  fear, anxiety, confusion, and even anger.
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  Well, let me just tell you this. This morning I learned that even
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  iPhones don't know what to do with the word hell because as I
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  was sending the message, the title for this sermon, it kept
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  replacing the word hell, auto correcting it to hill HE
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  apostrophe LL. And I thought, did I write that?
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  And then I try to write the word hell again.
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  And it did it once more. Besides, iPhones and
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  churchgoers, even ministers, struggle with this topic and
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  don't know what to do with the implications of this element of
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  eternity. And so there are many, many
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  pastors who have vowed to never even mention the word hell from
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  the pulpit, never mind evangelism.
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  And there are some who have, because they're so disturbed by
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  this, deleted this truth from their doctrine and encourage
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  others to do the same. While some feel greater liberty
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  to speak about hell, and they do so in a very unwise unchrist
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  like manner where they they believe that this will keep my
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  listeners in line and so they threaten with hell, leaving
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  people distraught and feeling hopeless.
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  But no matter how this topic makes us feel, whether we really
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  hear it in the circles we're in or it was the main message we
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  grew up enduring. Whether we think it's wise to
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  mention it in the presence of unbelievers or believe that it
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  should be reserved in conversation between mature
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  Christians, you can't ignore hell in the Bible.
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  It's there. More specifically, the Lord
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  Jesus Christ is easily identified as the one messenger
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  who preached on hell, more than any other prophet or apostle, in
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  fact. Jesus warned unbelievers about
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  hell. Contrary to modern evangelical
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  methodology, Jesus Christ of Nazareth mentioned hell on more
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  than one occasion, and today I want to draw your attention to
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  one of those warnings found in the Gospel of Luke chapter 16,
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  beginning in verse 19. As I mentioned earlier, there is
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  a title to this message, and it is this, A plea from hell.
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  A plea from hell. Let's read it together beginning
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  in verse 19. There was a rich man who was
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  clothed in purple and fine linen, and who feasted
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  sumptuously every day. And at his gate was a laid a
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  poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be
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  fed with what fell from the rich man's table.
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  Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores.
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  The poor man died and was carried by the angels to
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  Abraham's side. Some translation say Abraham's
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  bosom. Let's continue.
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  The rich man also died and was buried and in Hades being in
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  torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and
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  Lazarus at his side. And he called out, Father
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  Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the end of
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  his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am an anguish in
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  this flame. But Abraham said, Child,
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  remember that you in your lifetime received your good
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  things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things, but now he is
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  comforted here and you are in anguish.
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  And besides all this, between US and you a great chasm has been
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  fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may
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  not be able, and none may cross from there to us.
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  And he said, Then I beg you Father's to send them to my
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  father's house, for I have 5 brothers, so that he may warn
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  them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
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  But Abraham said they have Moses and the prophets, let them hear
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  them. And he said, No father Abraham,
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  but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.
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  He said to them, if they do not hear Moses and the prophets,
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  neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the
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  dead. We ask Lord that you make these
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  truths real to us and even if one person here is on their way
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  to hell, that would change after they hear this message in Jesus
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  name, Amen. The way that we are going to
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  understand this teaching is by asking and answering three
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  questions. Question #1 How should we
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  interpret this passage? Question #2 Why is the Lord
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  sharing it here? Question #3 What is the message
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  that Christ is conveying? Let's deal with this one by one.
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  How should we interpret this section of Scripture?
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  That is an important question to ask because there is debate
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  about and here is the debate. Is Jesus sharing a parable?
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  Or is this a real historical account?
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  And you might be wondering if determining an answer is even
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  necessary, and I'm here to tell you I believe it is.
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  It is important to determine the nature of this teaching.
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  Why? Because if it is a parable, then
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  it is open to metaphorical interpretations, meaning readers
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  might feel free to allegorize or even overlook some of the
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  details of this account. But if this is a factual
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  portrayal, then we are forced to accept all that Jesus describes
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  in this teaching. So why do many believe that this
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  is a parable? There are many reasons, but I'm
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  just going to present the main one.
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  The main 1 is that the story begins with a formulaic
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  structure that is found and typical in other parables.
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  So look back again how it opens. In verse 19, there was a rich
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  man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted
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  sumptuously. Everyday Nabes text will
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  showcase that there is a similar ring in other parables.
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  So we're just going to look at this briefly.
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  Look at Luke 1416. We're just going to be in Luke
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  and this is Jesus sharing the parable of the great banquet.
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  But look at how it starts in Luke 1416.
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  But he said to him, a man once gave a great banquet and invited
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  many. Go to Luke 15, verse 11.
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  This is the parable of the prodigal son.
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  And notice how this part of the parable is introduced in Luke
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  1511. And he said there was a man who
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  had two sons. Go to Luke 16, verse 1, the same
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  chapter where we are learning from this teaching.
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  In verse one of Luke 16, he also said to the disciples there was
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  a rich man who had a manager and charges were brought to him that
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  this man was wasting his possessions.
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  Let's go even beyond Luke 16. Look at Luke 18 and look at
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  verse one. And he told them a parable to
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  the effect that they are always to pray and not lose heart.
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  He said in a certain city there was a judge who neither feared
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  God nor respected man. So again, the point that I'm
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  trying to make is that when you look at surrounding text,
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  specifically parables, and see how the Lord opens them up, we
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  are almost now being conditioned to view the story of the rich
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  man and Lazarus in the same way. Does that make sense?
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  So then why do some see this as a real historical report?
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  And I want to be fair here. There are many answers, but I'm
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  also just going to present the main one as well.
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  Although there are similar components in this text to other
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  parables, there is one distinct ingredient that is not found in
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  any other parable. What is it?
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  Jesus gives names to the individuals in this teaching.
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  What are the names? Well, we read about Lazarus.
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  We read about Abraham, and this is the same Abraham who is the
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  father of the Jewish people. That's clear in the context.
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  And we have one more. His name is Moses.
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  The Lord never gives names in parables.
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  Some say he's making an exception here.
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  Well, can you consider this possibility?
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  If you're willing to acknowledge that the Abraham mentioned here
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  is the historical Abraham, that the Moses referenced here is the
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  historical Moses, then why would you discount that the Lazarus
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  that is mentioned here is a real person, and that the rich man,
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  though unnamed, is equally a real person?
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  And any other difficulty in accepting this being historical
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  is greatly resolved by remembering that the Lord Jesus
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  Christ is the Omniscient 1. He knows the thoughts, the
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  hearts, and the whereabouts of every single individual, both
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  here in this realm and in the eternal realm.
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  So it's not so shocking for Christ to give us insight into
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  individuals in the hereafter. That shouldn't be so surprising.
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  This is God in the flesh teaching us here.
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  And if we're going to determine that this is likely historical
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  than parabolic, this is a different weight that we're
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  dealing with in in this teaching.
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  This is not merely symbolic, this is real.
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  And I am persuaded that this is historical.
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  So now let's move on to the second question.
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  Why is the Lord sharing this at this juncture?
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  And as always, it helps to look at what was said before to
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  understand this specific segment.
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  The context is clear and Luke 16, the Lord Jesus Christ is
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  taking His time teaching His disciples and at this particular
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  moment He is instructing them about ready money, money.
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  Go back to verse one of Luke 16. Again, He also said to the
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  disciples, there was a rich man who had a manager and charges
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  were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions.
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  And oh, I would love to break down this parable.
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  Many people find it difficult and interpreting it's not that
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  difficult. But because we're focusing on a
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  different teaching, let's just go to the conclusion of Christ
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  instructions here with the opening verses of Luke 16.
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  It's found in verse 13. Here's the core message behind
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  what Christ is conveying. No servant can serve 2 masters.
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  For that he will hate the one and love the other, or he will
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  be devoted to the one and despise the other.
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  You cannot serve God and money. He's speaking to His own
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  followers. And this saying is very common.
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  We can all repeat it by heart, but it's connected to a
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  particular practical teaching. What is the Lord doing with His
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  disciples? He's letting them know how to
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  properly and appropriately use their wealth.
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  And in that parable of Luke 16 one down, he is telling them
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  that money is a tool. Never allow it to become a
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  master. Money is a means to bring people
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  into the Kingdom. As you contribute and as you
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  give and as you set apart these resources for the sake of the
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  gospel going out, don't lose sight of that.
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  Then he reminds him, Listen you, you can't serve God and money.
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  And as he's teaching them about how they ought to handle their
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  possessions, the Pharisees are not too far away, and they
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  listen to Jesus and they hear what he has to say about
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  possessions. And Christ struck a nerve with
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  them, and they were not ashamed. To do what?
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  To ridicule Jesus. Look at Luke 1614.
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  The Pharisees who were lovers of money heard all these things,
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  and they ridiculed Him. So the Lord is focusing on His
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  own, but in the presence of His teaching you have these fair
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  Pharisees who were possessed with greed and covetousness, a
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  common trait of false teachers both then and now.
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  And Christ exposes their hearts and they collectively begin to
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  scoff at Jesus and mock Him. And the Holy Spirit tells us
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  why, because they were lovers of money.
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  And Christ hears their scoffing. So he pauses his class with his
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  disciples, and now he turns his attention to these Pharisees.
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  Look at the language carefully in verse 15.
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  And he said to them, were they them, the Pharisees?
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  And he said to them, You are those who justify yourselves
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  before men, but God knows your hearts.
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  For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of
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  God. What a powerful statement this
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  is. Yes, generally the Pharisees
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  were those who proudly justified themselves before men.
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  But it's connected to a context. They are justifying their love
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  of money before people. Why?
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  Because they use their teaching and their affluence and their
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  authority to manipulate and trick and and even ravage
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  widows. And so they would cleverly,
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  cunningly convince people. We don't know exactly how, but
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  one thing is probable, that even their accumulation of wealth was
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  a sign of God blessing them and showing favor to them.
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  And Jesus says you justify yourselves.
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  You justify your passion and your dedication to wealth before
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  men. But God knows the greed in your
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  hearts. God knows that you ultimately
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  love money. Yeah, you have the gowns and you
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  do the services, but you really love that dollar sign.
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  Then he says this. For what is exalted among men is
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  an abomination in the sight of God.
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  What is exalted among men? The pursuit of riches.
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  Very little people in our culture today would condemn a
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  person who is devoted to money, who is devoted to greater
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  experiences, greater luxury, greater whatever.
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  That's what people live for. And here's what the Lord says.
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  You know what's so highly honored and praised and
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  appreciated among men is actually an abomination in the
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  sight of God. God's value system is very
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  different than ours in our carnality, and it makes you
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  wonder what else he considers an abomination that many people
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  tolerate and justify. But he goes on in verse 1617 to
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  highlight that though these religious leaders boast and
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  their adherents of the Law, they're actually rejecting it.
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  Notice, let's just read it. The law and the prophets were
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  until John. Since then the good news of the
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  Kingdom of God is preaching. Everyone forces his way into it.
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  But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one
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  dot of the law to become void. Why is he speaking like this?
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  I thought he was rebuking them for their love of money.
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  Because again they justify themselves in the sight of man.
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  And Jesus says you think you're all about the law.
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  If you were really about the Law, then you would perceive
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  that John was the last Old Testament prophet and that the
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  era of the gospel has arrived. But you don't see it.
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  Obviously you don't. Why?
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  Because you're ridiculing the one that the law and the
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  prophets predicted, that the law and the prophets foretold.
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  And one major reason why these Pharisees who claim to love the
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  law actually rejected it was because they were blinded.
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  Guess what? By their love of money.
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  Now the Lord could have stopped here.
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  And return to His disciples and continue to instruct them.
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  But He wants to drive home the point in these hearts that are
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  stubborn and Stony, that the consequences of their
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  callousness caused by their tolerated covetousness, does not
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  only have ramifications in this life, it also has eternal
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  consequences. And so he is going to, in his
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  love, warn these Pharisees by telling them a real story about
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  a rich man who justified his love for money and how that love
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  and that idolatry and that worship led him to something
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  that no person, at least in this context, would anticipate.
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  And so we come to the last question, which will be the main
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  focus of our time. We answered, how are we to
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  interpret this passage? We answered why the Lord is
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  sharing it here. What is, here's the final
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  question. What is the message that Christ
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  is conveying? And I'll tell you this, it's
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  deeper than simply describing the fate of a wealthy man who
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  was an unbeliever. And that's why I want to look at
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  all that this thing has to offer us, though I know that I'm
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  leaving things out. So I want us to understand this
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  teaching by dissecting it, framing it in three scenes, 3
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  stages, scenes, whatever you prefer.
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  Scene #1 very simple. Life.
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  Scene #2 death. Scene #3 eternity.
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  Scene #1 the reality of life. Scene #2 the reality of death.
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  Scene #3 the reality of eternity, the reality of life.
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  In verse 19 to verse 21. Did you notice that there was a
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  clear contrast between these two men of the introduction of this
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  account? One was extremely rich, the
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  other extremely poor. One was totally satiated, the
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  other was suffering terribly. The one had need of nothing, the
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  other had absolutely nothing. But the more we look carefully,
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  the more we'll uncover important details.
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  Notice how the poor man here desired to be fed with what fell
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  from the rich man's table. Implying that Lazarus, though at
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  the gate, this man was very rich.
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  He had his own gate. We're not talking about the city
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  gate. We're talking about his private
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  estate. He was parked there.
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  This is part of the cultural norm.
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  They didn't have resources and government aid then like we do
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  now. They were depended upon others
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  who could help them if they were merciful.
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  So he's left there unable to fend for himself.
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  And while he is there, all he requested was the crumbs, not
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  not a plate of extra food. And we read here that this man
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  was clothed in purple. That speaks of royalty.
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  Fine linen. Even his undergarments were
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  expensive. And who feasted sumptuously
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  Every day wasn't no ordinary meal.
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  Every day was amazing, was a celebration.
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  And at no point was this Lazarus offered an extra plate.
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  No, no leftovers, nothing of the sort.
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  All he wanted was crumbs. And what we learned here is that
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  the rich man that we are given an external depiction of him,
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  we're also granted a glimpse of his internal condition.
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  He's not just well off, he is self absorbed, devilishly self
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  absorbed. And we might expect this kind of
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  selfishness from a Gentile ruler, but you ready for this?
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  This is not a Gentile. This is an Israelite.
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  How do we know that this rich man is an Israelite?
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  Because we read it earlier that when he does end up going to
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  Hades, he sees Abraham and he says not just Abraham, but what
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  father Abraham. Nobody would call Abraham father
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  unless they are a descendant of Abraham.
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  This is a Jew. Why is it important to
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  acknowledge that the rich man is of this heritage?
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  Because God's law had provided this people group instructions
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  of how they should relate to the poor.
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  Listen to these words from the book of Deuteronomy, the book of
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  the Law, chapter 15, verse 7. You can write that down if you
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  want to look at it later, unless you want to turn there with me.
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  But Deuteronomy 15-7 says, if among you one of your brothers
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  should become poor in any of your towns within your land,
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  that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your
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  heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall
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  open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need,
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  whatever it may be. This is codified, this is divine
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  revelation, this is a mandate from heaven.
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  And yet we read that this rich man who was a Jew would not even
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  give crumbs to poor Lazarus. So what does that say about this
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  rich man's relationship to God? Obviously, his heart in no way
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  reflects God's as revealed in the Word, which means that he
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  had little to no regard for the Scriptures, which means that he
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  had little to no regard for God. This is not a unique pattern in
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  life. This is not so outlandish.
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  It's the story of millions of people today who are exposed to
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  God's Word. Listen, the rich man was not
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  some heathen who worship pagans. He was aware of the truth.
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  And there are some, let me rephrase that.
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  There are many who are aware of the truth, but they ignore the
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  message because they are driven by prosperity.
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  They are driven by maintaining and increasing in selfish
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  comfort. They are driven by knowing
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  greater heights of personal satisfaction at the expense of
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  doing what God asked them to do. And this man's attitude will
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  reveal that this level of unbelief has eternal
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  consequences. It's also sad to know that in
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  contrast to the rich man's spiritual destitution, we
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  actually are confronted with the compassion of animals.
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  Go back again here and look at verse 21.
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  Who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table?
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  Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores.
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  Now, some would interpret this as further aggravation and
• 27:26
  another layer to Lazarus's suffering, but you can also see
• 27:30
  this as a poignant reminder that the man who is suffering here is
• 27:36
  being comforted by wild dogs. The word dogs there is not
• 27:40
  speaking about your little cute puppy at home waiting for you to
• 27:42
  come back from service. We're talking about ravenous,
• 27:47
  ugly St. animals that will eat anything to survive.
• 27:54
  And yet we see here that man in his selfishness, man in his sin,
• 28:00
  is capable of being worse than animals and how he treats his
• 28:03
  fellow man. Have you ever seen it in reading
• 28:08
  history? Have you ever seen it watching
• 28:10
  the news? What man is able to do to
• 28:12
  another creed in the image of God?
• 28:14
  You've probably even said it. Even animals don't act like
• 28:17
  that. Well, here's another example and
• 28:20
  listen to this now. This is how brilliant the word
• 28:22
  of God is. You have here the mention of
• 28:25
  crumbs and dogs. Does that ring a bell of another
• 28:29
  encounter that Jesus had? It should the Cyrophoenician
• 28:32
  woman who had a daughter who is possessed by an evil spirit.
• 28:36
  So she comes to Jesus, though a Gentile and ask for deliverance.
• 28:39
  And the Lord said it is not right to take the children's
• 28:42
  bread and give it to dogs. Now dogs, and that is a
• 28:45
  different word. He's not speaking about the ugly
• 28:48
  animals on the street. It's a completely different
• 28:51
  Greek word, but the woman responds to Jesus.
• 28:55
  In what way? Yes, but even the dogs eat the
• 28:59
  crumbs that fall off their master's table.
• 29:03
  Why do I bring that up? Because if you take that and
• 29:05
  then bring it to this story, then you realize that Lazarus is
• 29:10
  really asking for dog food and the rich man wouldn't even give
• 29:15
  him that. In contrast to the rich man, we
• 29:24
  see something interesting. Lazarus is named and this
• 29:32
  wealthy fellow isn't. Did you notice that on more than
• 29:35
  one occasion? We know the identity right of
• 29:37
  the introduction? Actually, we know the name of
• 29:41
  this poor homeless fellow. His name is Lazarus, and we
• 29:45
  never learned the name of the prestigious owner of this
• 29:47
  estate. And that is by design.
• 29:50
  Why is that by design? Because the name Lazarus means
• 29:52
  something, the one whom God helps.
• 29:58
  And it's not always the case that a name that denotes
• 30:02
  relationship with God is reflected in the life of the one
• 30:05
  who bears it, right? There are many examples in the
• 30:06
  Old Testament. Somebody has this awesome name
• 30:09
  of relation to God, but their life contradicts it.
• 30:12
  In this case, though, I believe that Lazarus was a believer.
• 30:17
  You're saying, how can you speculate?
• 30:18
  I'm not. He goes to heaven, so he lived
• 30:23
  up to this name. The fact that Jesus communicates
• 30:27
  and reveals his identity shows that he had faith.
• 30:32
  He relied on God, he trusted in God, he knew God.
• 30:36
  God was wrapped in his identity and purpose regardless of how
• 30:40
  his life played out. In the same way we learned
• 30:44
  something from the rich man concerning life today, we can
• 30:47
  also say something about Lazarus, that even those who
• 30:50
  love and serve God will not always experience the relief
• 30:56
  that they hope for in this life. Relief is coming and it's going
• 31:01
  to be eternal, but it's not always promised.
• 31:04
  On this side of eternity. The rich man is nameless, and
• 31:12
  this suddenly speaks to his lack of any meaningful connection to
• 31:17
  the Lord. It also says something about the
• 31:21
  Lord not knowing the rich man. Well, isn't he omniscient?
• 31:26
  He is, but do you remember in Matthew 7 the many who will come
• 31:29
  before the Lord and say, Hey, Lord, didn't we do this?
• 31:32
  And didn't we do that? And Jesus will say, what?
• 31:35
  Depart from me? I never knew you.
• 31:37
  What do you mean? He didn't know them?
• 31:38
  He didn't know what the works they didn't know.
• 31:39
  He did, but he didn't have this intimate relationship, this
• 31:42
  connection with them. And here you have subtly the
• 31:45
  Lord saying God knew Lazarus, but he had no relationship with
• 31:51
  the rich man who's really rich in this story.
• 31:59
  I also believe here that Jesus mentioning Lazarus name is meant
• 32:02
  to elevate him and show that he is recognized and valued while
• 32:06
  the rich man wasn't. On what basis?
• 32:10
  True faith. One is known and loved and
• 32:13
  cherished by God. The other, as we're about to
• 32:17
  find out, is going to be abandoned by God.
• 32:22
  Scene #1 comes to a close. Now the curtains open to scene
• 32:27
  #2 the reality of death, verse 22.
• 32:32
  Let's read it to refresh our memories.
• 32:34
  The poor man died and was carried by the angels to
• 32:38
  Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was
• 32:42
  buried. No matter how differently these
• 32:45
  two men lived, they share the same end, Death.
• 32:51
  Someone once said death is the great equalizer of all men.
• 32:55
  And it doesn't matter what kind of money you have, what kind of
• 33:02
  organic food it can get you, what kind of doctors you have
• 33:06
  access to, no matter what kind of environment and clean air you
• 33:12
  can live in, because of your money, you're going to die and
• 33:17
  I'm going to die. We're all going to die.
• 33:21
  We can't escape it. You can't do anything about it,
• 33:26
  and the Lord reminds us of that. Here.
• 33:28
  However, we're beginning to see a shift in this story, a role
• 33:34
  reversal, if you will. It's as though we get a final
• 33:38
  glimpse of the stark contrast between the privileges that
• 33:40
  these two men shared while on Earth before we cross a
• 33:44
  threshold where both the world's are about to be turned upside
• 33:46
  down. So what do we see?
• 33:52
  Read carefully that when the rich man died at the end of
• 33:55
  verse 22, he didn't just die, he was buried.
• 34:00
  And you can believe that this man's funeral was just as
• 34:03
  elaborate and extravagant as one of his fancy lunches while he
• 34:07
  was alive. Sure, there might have been a
• 34:10
  procession. There might even have been a
• 34:12
  wonderful ceremony. We're going to see what happens
• 34:17
  on the other side of this. But when you look at the
• 34:21
  beginning of verse 22, what do you read about Lazarus?
• 34:23
  Look again, the poor man died and that's it.
• 34:28
  No mention of a funeral, no mention of honor, respect, no
• 34:32
  mention of loved ones gathering around him to celebrate his
• 34:35
  life. How heartbreaking.
• 34:38
  This man's dishonor and disgrace followed him up to his death and
• 34:43
  we don't know what happened to his body.
• 34:45
  He could have been just picked up and thrown in some average
• 34:48
  place. You could have even been
• 34:49
  discarded in the outskirts of the city where criminals who
• 34:52
  were executed were dropped off. We have no clue.
• 34:56
  So even in this final moment of life, where their bodies now are
• 35:01
  being handled in clearly contrasting ways, there is
• 35:05
  something now that's about to take place.
• 35:11
  His humiliation, Lazarus, that is, ended the moment he offered
• 35:15
  his last breath. Why?
• 35:17
  Because we read the moment he opened his eyes, he was greeted
• 35:22
  by the sight and sound of angels.
• 35:28
  Angels have been dispatched to come and meet with Lazarus and
• 35:32
  to, as we read, carry his soul to Abraham's bosom.
• 35:38
  There's a lot of debate about what Abraham's bosom is.
• 35:43
  I think it's very simple. It's an imagery to describe a
• 35:45
  heavenly banquet. We remember when John, in the
• 35:50
  Gospel of John, tells us that he laid his head on the bosom of
• 35:54
  Jesus. This is body language that is
• 35:57
  reflected in settings of intimate gatherings.
• 36:00
  So we have Lazarus here, who is granted a place of honor next to
• 36:05
  the one of the greatest Saints of all time, in a place of
• 36:11
  perfect bliss, in a place where the righteous are kept.
• 36:17
  This is glorious vindication. The same Lazarus who was denied
• 36:21
  crumbs while on earth is now promoted and clothed an
• 36:26
  incredible dignity, feasting intimately with a patriarch in
• 36:33
  an environment where other Saints surely were there and
• 36:36
  rejoiced that their eternal fate has been sealed in the goodness
• 36:40
  of God. Angels came.
• 36:44
  Nobody showed up for this man's funeral, but God sent these
• 36:47
  beautiful heavenly creatures to make sure that He had a
• 36:51
  wonderful entrance into His presence.
• 36:55
  What about the rich man? Look at verse 22 again and let's
• 37:00
  continue to verse 23. You would think that the sight
• 37:05
  and sound of angels greeting Lazarus would mean that this
• 37:08
  rich, privileged man would have something even greater at his
• 37:12
  death. Brace yourselves.
• 37:16
  The poor man died and was carried by the angels to
• 37:18
  Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was
• 37:21
  buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes
• 37:28
  and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.
• 37:33
  Lazarus died without honor. He was greeted with a celestial
• 37:36
  host, and this rich man died with an elaborate celebration.
• 37:40
  But there is no sight of angels coming for him, coming on his
• 37:45
  behalf. He is abandoned, and all we're
• 37:48
  told is that the next time he opened his eyes, he realized
• 37:53
  that he was in hell. His last sight was being
• 38:00
  surrounded by friends and family who were mourning him, and the
• 38:03
  next thing that he sees is that he is in a place of torment.
• 38:10
  Hades. We can't confuse this with our
• 38:14
  common understanding of hell. It's a different Greek word, and
• 38:18
  Hades consistently speaks of a temporary intermediate state of
• 38:21
  the dead where souls go after death.
• 38:24
  Listen until the final judgement, and though this place
• 38:29
  of the dead is temporary, it is promised that those who go there
• 38:34
  will endure ongoing suffering and they will endure this kind
• 38:39
  of misery until each unredeemed person is summoned by God before
• 38:45
  the Great White Throne Judgment and are officially condemned to
• 38:50
  hell. You're saying?
• 38:54
  Is there any more evidence that can help me make that
• 38:56
  distinction? Yes.
• 38:57
  Go to Revelation chapter 20 and look at verse 13 with me.
• 39:05
  Revelation 20, verse 13. This is after the 1000
• 39:11
  millennial reign of Christ. Revelation can be easily
• 39:18
  understood if you honor the fact that it is chronological mostly.
• 39:22
  Here's Revelation 20, verse 13. And the sea gave up the dead who
• 39:25
  were in it, Death and what Hades?
• 39:30
  Hell, in some translations, but the Greek word is different.
• 39:33
  Death And Hades gave up the death who are who, the dead who
• 39:36
  are in them. And they were judged, each one
• 39:38
  of them, according to what they had done.
• 39:40
  Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.
• 39:44
  This is the second death, the lake of fire.
• 39:47
  Do you see it? So you have Hades, that is
• 39:49
  holding those who have died and who await God's final judgement.
• 39:54
  When God is ready to judge all the unbelievers whose names were
• 39:58
  not found in the Lamb's Book of Life, Hades coughs up all the
• 40:02
  dead. God cast them into the lake of
• 40:05
  fire, and he throws death and Hades in the lake of fire as
• 40:07
  well. This is where the rich man finds
• 40:10
  himself. He's not in the permanent state
• 40:13
  of God's wrath. He is in a temporary holding
• 40:17
  place. However, it's safe to say that
• 40:22
  the experience of Hades is indeed a preview of what hell
• 40:26
  will be like. Which brings us now the curtains
• 40:31
  close on scene #2 scene #3 the reality of eternity.
• 40:40
  Jesus, in the last verses of this teaching, spends much more
• 40:43
  time describing the experience of the unredeemed than he does
• 40:46
  for those who are saved by grace.
• 40:50
  Why? Because he's warning.
• 40:52
  He's warning people who are headed there.
• 40:55
  And the first thing that I want you to see about hell is that it
• 41:00
  is a place of everlasting, unrelenting conscience torment.
• 41:07
  Look again at the language in verse 24.
• 41:10
  And he called out, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and
• 41:13
  send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my
• 41:16
  tongue. For I am in anguish in this
• 41:20
  flame. There is pain in hell, there is
• 41:27
  misery in hell, there is suffering in hell, there is
• 41:33
  sorrow in hell. And it's not just temporary, it
• 41:37
  is everlasting. And I want to tell you because I
• 41:40
  must be true to the Word of God, the source of this torment.
• 41:45
  Many Christians who are good hearted and trying to explain
• 41:49
  God's judgement specifically with hell, communicate that the
• 41:53
  reason hell is hell is because we are separated from the
• 41:56
  presence of God. Yes or no?
• 42:00
  Because I want to show you what the Bible says about hell and
• 42:05
  the reason why there will be so much affliction there.
• 42:08
  You were there. Revelation 20 But go to
• 42:10
  Revelation 14 verse 10, where John tells us the fate of those
• 42:13
  who take the mark of the beast. And in Revelation 1410 and 11 we
• 42:19
  have a description not just of those who do take the mark, but
• 42:22
  those who also deny Jesus Christ as Lord.
• 42:27
  Revelation 14 verse 10. He also will drink the wine of
• 42:31
  God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of His
• 42:35
  anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the
• 42:39
  presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.
• 42:46
  So wait, wait, wait, hold on. I grew up hearing that hell is
• 42:49
  hell because God is not there. God's loving presence is not
• 42:53
  there, but His wrath is there in full strength.
• 42:59
  Who's in charge of hell? Don't get your theology from
• 43:02
  cartoons. Satan is not managing hell.
• 43:05
  Satan will suffer in hell. God is in charge of hell and we
• 43:11
  see clearly here. And this is the aspect of hell
• 43:15
  that is probably the most disturbing for people to digest.
• 43:17
  How is it just that a few decades of sinning on earth
• 43:22
  warrants eternal misery? How?
• 43:29
  This is the God that you sing to.
• 43:32
  This is the God that you believe and claim is one of love.
• 43:37
  And this has led many who can't find a way to reconcile this to
• 43:42
  embrace things like annihilationism.
• 43:44
  Annihilationism is the belief that immortality is only granted
• 43:49
  to the just, but the punishment of the wicked is that they cease
• 43:53
  to exist forever. It's becoming increasingly
• 43:57
  popular in our day, but you cannot find a solution with an
• 44:03
  anti biblical answer to grasp something that might be
• 44:07
  difficult in the Bible. Whenever there's something
• 44:10
  challenging in the word of God, it's not because there's a
• 44:13
  problem with God, there's a problem with us.
• 44:16
  You're saying what do you mean? Here's what I'm saying.
• 44:18
  Their main problem is that we fail to understand that the
• 44:21
  severity of sin is not in the act itself, but the one that we
• 44:25
  sin against. That is why it is so severe.
• 44:31
  You know what most people think about God?
• 44:32
  He's just a little better than us, and we even dare to feel
• 44:36
  like we can sit on the judgment seat and criticize God's ways.
• 44:39
  God is infinitely holy. God is far beyond what you can
• 44:43
  even think. He is lofty, He is superior,
• 44:50
  He's incredible. He's beyond description.
• 44:54
  And if this is still challenging for you, do you not realize that
• 44:58
  this concept of proportional justice is even known in our
• 45:02
  human law? That the severity of one's
• 45:05
  punishment is measured by the severity of the crime?
• 45:09
  And in the case of sin, what is accounted for is not so much the
• 45:13
  amount of sin, how dark the sin is, but the one that we violate.
• 45:22
  My offense before a court and before a jury.
• 45:29
  And the determination of my punishment will be far different
• 45:32
  if I assault the President of the United States in comparison
• 45:36
  to a house pet. And we all are ready to accept
• 45:40
  that. But what we fail to wrap our
• 45:42
  minds around is just how lofty God is, how otherworldly His
• 45:48
  Holiness is just It will consume you if it's unleashed in your
• 45:54
  presence. His sensitivity to sin because
• 45:58
  of His purity is so intense. We live in a day today where
• 46:02
  there's barely any outrage against sin.
• 46:05
  And as we advance as a culture and as a civilization, more and
• 46:09
  more sins are being accepted. So you see that you're
• 46:11
  surrounded by that. And now you come to Sunday
• 46:13
  church and you hear the young guy up there on the pulpit
• 46:16
  preaching about hell and how God will condemn sinners.
• 46:19
  Who does he think he is? You don't know who he is.
• 46:25
  And even for us who do know Him, we don't fully know who He is,
• 46:32
  because he is infinitely worthy, because he is infinitely
• 46:36
  glorious. Any violation of Him is of
• 46:40
  infinite magnitude. Don't you find it strange that
• 46:46
  when the rich man arrives in hell and we even hear what he
• 46:52
  has to say, there is no sign of contrition, there is no
• 46:59
  indication of repentance. What is he actually doing when
• 47:03
  he gets to hell? He's just as self absorbed in
• 47:06
  hell as he was on Earth. And he even look at this, he's
• 47:11
  bossing Lazarus around. He still sees Lazarus, though in
• 47:16
  a redeemed place, as inferior to him.
• 47:19
  Abraham, tell him to dip the end of his finger and touch my
• 47:22
  mouth. Abraham says that can't happen.
• 47:24
  There's a great chasm between us.
• 47:26
  OK, OK. Can you at least tell him to go
• 47:27
  to my brothers and warn them? What would be the appropriate
• 47:32
  response for somebody who woke up and realized that they're
• 47:34
  damned? There's no he sees us.
• 47:39
  He doesn't ask for forgiveness. He doesn't even cry out to God.
• 47:46
  He's concerned about himself. You know, people believe that
• 47:52
  once people go to hell, then they will suddenly realize the
• 47:56
  Bible is true. I was wrong, and now I want to
• 48:01
  love and obey God. That's not true, and this is a
• 48:06
  story to prove it, that there will be many in hell who, when
• 48:11
  they endure God's wrath, will continue with their evil hearts,
• 48:18
  who for an eternity will blasphemy him, curse him and
• 48:24
  despise Him. You're saying.
• 48:29
  But yeah, but there's any cry out for mercy.
• 48:30
  He does cry out for mercy, but if you really look carefully,
• 48:35
  it's not from a place of brokenness for sin.
• 48:40
  I could say more about this, but let me move on to the second
• 48:43
  reality of hell. Thing that we must acknowledge
• 48:47
  about hell is that once someone wakes up their their position is
• 48:50
  permanent. Very similar to the first point,
• 48:54
  but I want you to notice how this rich man doesn't ask to be
• 48:56
  set free from where he is. And I think partly it's because
• 49:03
  there was this devastating realization.
• 49:05
  I can't leave here. There is no exit sign in hell.
• 49:12
  There is no hole that you can dig.
• 49:14
  There is no wall that you can breakthrough.
• 49:16
  There is no crack in any part where you can spend 1000 or a
• 49:22
  million years trying to breakthrough.
• 49:26
  Once somebody arrives at Hell, they're there for eternity.
• 49:32
  And that horrible awareness is confirmed by the words of Father
• 49:37
  Abraham in verse 26. Notice what he says.
• 49:40
  And besides all this between US and you are a great chasm has
• 49:45
  been fixed in order that those who would pass from here to you
• 49:48
  may not be able, and none may cross from here to us.
• 49:55
  So if I can't escape here, then can you at least send a drop of
• 49:59
  water? But here's the thing, that chasm
• 50:06
  that reflects even the chasm that was created by Adam and Eve
• 50:10
  between US and God. A bridge can be built while
• 50:14
  we're here, but once you're there, there is no bridge that
• 50:17
  can be built. Mercy is cut off forever.
• 50:26
  And what you'll find interesting is that when you continue to
• 50:27
  read through Luke, the theme of people crying out for mercy
• 50:32
  appears over and over, but with a different outcome.
• 50:34
  I want to show it to you. Look at Luke 17 verse 11.
• 50:41
  This is when Jesus heals these 10 lepers.
• 50:46
  But look at verse 11. On the way to Jerusalem he was
• 50:48
  passing along between Samaria and Galilee.
• 50:51
  And as he entered a village he was met by 10 lepers who stood
• 50:54
  at a distance and lifted up their voices saying Jesus Master
• 50:58
  have mercy on us. And when he saw them he said to
• 51:03
  them, go and show yourself to the priest.
• 51:05
  And as they went, they were cleansed.
• 51:08
  Look at Luke 1813 where Jesus shares a story about a tax
• 51:12
  collector in the Pharisee who prayed in the temple.
• 51:14
  Luke 1813. Jesus says, but the tax
• 51:17
  collector standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes
• 51:20
  to heaven, but beat his breath, saying, God be merciful to me, a
• 51:23
  Sinner. I tell you, this man went down
• 51:27
  to his house justified rather than the other.
• 51:29
  For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who
• 51:31
  humbles himself will be exalted like a Luke 1835 when Jesus
• 51:36
  travels through Jericho. Luke 1835 as he drew near to
• 51:41
  Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging and
• 51:44
  hearing a crowd going by. He inquired what this meant.
• 51:47
  They told him Jesus of Nazareth is passing by and he cried out.
• 51:50
  Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me.
• 51:53
  And you know the rest of the story.
• 51:54
  He's healed. What do you have here?
• 52:00
  It's amazing. Clearly a different outcome for
• 52:05
  these individuals who cried out for mercy.
• 52:09
  The Sinner, the broken, who cried out to the Lord Jesus
• 52:12
  received it because Jesus is rich in mercy and he will not
• 52:18
  turn one person away. But it can only be accessed on
• 52:23
  this side of eternity. No matter how intense, no matter
• 52:28
  how long any cry for mercy in hell, it's too late.
• 52:34
  Let me pause and say this just in case we don't make it to the
• 52:38
  end of the sermon. I remember I preached a sermon
• 52:43
  when when I was younger in the ministry and I was making an
• 52:48
  appeal for people to be saved. And before I finished, a young
• 52:55
  girl dropped down and had a seizure and the meeting ended.
• 53:00
  Doctors came in and people went back to their rooms.
• 53:06
  So it's even possible that before the end of the message,
• 53:08
  something can happen, God forbid.
• 53:10
  So let me pause and say this. Your only hope for what I'm
• 53:14
  saying is that you cry out to Jesus for mercy.
• 53:17
  Now, now, there's so many other things that we can draw from
• 53:24
  this text about characteristics about hell.
• 53:26
  Let me give you just one brief example.
• 53:28
  Look at verse 25. But Abraham said, child,
• 53:32
  remember that in remember that you in your lifetime received
• 53:36
  your good things and Lazarus and like man are bad things, but now
• 53:39
  he is comforted here and you are in anguish.
• 53:43
  If we were to continue about different traits, about how I
• 53:45
  would say this, that hell is a place of remembrance.
• 53:50
  What does Abraham say, child, remember?
• 53:54
  So those in hell will be able to recall their life.
• 53:58
  They'll be able to revisit the memories where it all went
• 54:02
  wrong, the missed opportunities, the arrogance of ignoring the
• 54:07
  evangelist parents who try to teach them about saving
• 54:11
  knowledge in Jesus Christ. Hell is a place of remembrance,
• 54:15
  and that remembrance will not bring relief.
• 54:17
  It will only add to the anguish. Child, remember, we can talk
• 54:23
  about hell being a place of loneliness, hell being a place
• 54:25
  of darkness, but we won't go there.
• 54:28
  Instead, I want us to land the sermon.
• 54:32
  The curtains are not closing on certain scene 3.
• 54:35
  Someone are accurately said, rather that the words of the
• 54:40
  rich man are the only testimony of any person from hell in all
• 54:44
  of the scripture. And it is in his final words
• 54:49
  that we get the explanation of how he got there and how others
• 54:54
  will join him. The rich man didn't go to hell
• 54:59
  because he was rich, and the poor man didn't go to heaven
• 55:02
  because he was poor. Can I tell you why that's the
• 55:06
  case? Because the rich man from hell
• 55:08
  was talking to Abraham and Genesis 13 two tells us that
• 55:11
  Abraham was very rich. Not just rich, but he was a man
• 55:17
  of faith and he loved God more than money.
• 55:22
  Neither is the story about ethics, that if the rich man had
• 55:26
  just given something to Lazarus, if he had just used some of his
• 55:30
  wealth to help people and perform justice or social acts,
• 55:34
  then he would have a better chance to make it to heaven.
• 55:38
  We don't believe in a gospel of good works.
• 55:42
  Then how did he get here if it's not about his affluence and the
• 55:47
  arrogance of his affluence, If it's not about how he failed to
• 55:50
  serve Lazarus and impress God with his own righteousness?
• 55:57
  Give me some kind of an answer. I'm here to give it because I
• 56:02
  want you to see something quite amazing.
• 56:05
  The reason why this man was condemned was not because of his
• 56:09
  riches, but because of how his riches blinded him and rejected
• 56:14
  through his blindness what he truly needed, the truth of God's
• 56:19
  saving work. And that is reflected in how in
• 56:24
  these last verses, the rich man exposes his attitude toward the
• 56:29
  Scriptures when he begs Abraham, please let someone from the dead
• 56:37
  rise and visit my brothers so that they would see that
• 56:41
  somebody came back from the afterlife and said, turn from
• 56:44
  your ways. It's all real.
• 56:46
  And look at how Abraham responds to again, the rich man in verse
• 56:50
  29 of chapter 16. But Abraham said they have Moses
• 56:56
  and the prophets, let them hear them pause.
• 56:59
  Look at what the rich man is about to say.
• 57:01
  Now, verse 30. And he said, no, no, father
• 57:08
  Abraham. But if someone goes to them from
• 57:11
  the dead, they will repent. Do you see it?
• 57:14
  This rich man demonstrated throughout his life that he was
• 57:18
  unbelieving and he failed to act upon written revelation, the
• 57:23
  Scriptures, God's book, and that kind of hardness of heart and
• 57:30
  that contempt continues to show itself here as she willingly
• 57:36
  confesses. This book is not sufficient for
• 57:39
  somebody to be saved. No.
• 57:44
  What is he saying? No to the Word of God.
• 57:48
  That's what he's saying no to. And why will people go to hell?
• 57:53
  For the same reason? Because they deny the central
• 57:57
  message of God's Word. And that's where this man went
• 58:01
  wrong. Because even in the Moses, Moses
• 58:04
  and the prophets, which is just a saying that encapsulates all
• 58:07
  the Scriptures at this time, this man failed to humble
• 58:10
  himself and to realize that the wrath of God abides on him.
• 58:14
  He failed to believe that he required a substitute for his
• 58:17
  sin. He failed to see that the
• 58:19
  payment for that sin would be realized in the promised
• 58:22
  Messiah. And he also failed to believe
• 58:26
  that that message was enough to draw his brothers to embrace
• 58:32
  grace. Besides, we read in John 11 that
• 58:36
  Jesus does raise a man from the dead.
• 58:37
  You remember that, right? And what was his name?
• 58:39
  Isn't that interesting? It's not the same Lazarus, but I
• 58:42
  just find it humorous and Lazarus raises from the dead and
• 58:46
  impresses some people, but other people what it just gave him
• 58:50
  more reason to kill Jesus and not just these Jesus, but to
• 58:55
  make sure that Lazarus gets back into that grave as soon as
• 58:58
  possible because through his testimony, people were coming to
• 59:00
  Christ. The very leaders that Jesus is
• 59:03
  preaching to hear about this story experience somebody who
• 59:08
  raised from the dead named Lazarus, and they still harden
• 59:11
  their hearts. God has provided humanity a
• 59:18
  witness in his word. Is this primary means and it is
• 59:22
  this word and how we relate to it that will determine our
• 59:25
  eternal faith. In fact, if we had more time, I
• 59:28
  would I would explain to you how in the same way in heaven there
• 59:31
  will be different degrees of reward.
• 59:33
  Hell will also have different degrees of punishment.
• 59:35
  That's in Luke chapter 12. And you know what determines the
• 59:38
  variety of degrees of punishment, the amount of light
• 59:41
  you received and what you did with that light.
• 59:45
  So people ask me all the time, you know, when you debate people
• 59:48
  with oral tradition and human tradition and church tradition
• 59:51
  and I and I at some point I get to this point.
• 59:53
  Look, based on the testimony of the Bible, I am told that what I
• 59:57
  will be held accountable for is this book primarily and solely.
• 1:00:01
  So I'm preoccupied with God has revealed here and that alone.
• 1:00:10
  Don't forget that the story was targeting the Pharisees.
• 1:00:14
  Do you know what would have been more shocking to the Pharisees
• 1:00:18
  than realizing that a rich man went to hell is that he was a
• 1:00:25
  Jewish man who shared the same blood as Abraham.
• 1:00:29
  Do you remember the words of John the Baptist and Luke
• 1:00:33
  chapter 3, verse 8? Turn there with me please.
• 1:00:40
  Look what the Baptist said in Luke 3 verse 8.
• 1:00:47
  Bear fruits in keeping with repentance and do not begin to
• 1:00:51
  say to yourselves, we have Abraham as our father.
• 1:00:58
  For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up
• 1:01:01
  children to Abraham. So was he common shared
• 1:01:06
  confidence among the Jews that because they were related to
• 1:01:10
  Abraham that they were automatically guaranteed
• 1:01:13
  resurrection unto life? And you have the final Old
• 1:01:16
  Testament prophet. Who prophet who clarifies?
• 1:01:18
  Don't you dare put your confidence in your heritage.
• 1:01:22
  You can't say Abraham is my father as a way to comfort your
• 1:01:27
  conscience that you have the right to receive eternal life.
• 1:01:31
  And isn't that true for so many today, that the confidence of
• 1:01:35
  their standing before God might be their family, their lineage,
• 1:01:42
  their culture that is ancient and has Christian roots?
• 1:01:47
  I am from this Christian nation. I am from this Christian
• 1:01:50
  background. It's no different.
• 1:01:52
  It's not just for the Jews. Any other foundation that you
• 1:01:57
  base your confidence on except Jesus Christ will provide a
• 1:02:02
  shocking realization for you in the life to come.
• 1:02:06
  She's saying, what are you? What are you getting at?
• 1:02:13
  Well, as the curtain for scene 3 closes, let me do this before
• 1:02:16
  it's officially closed. If you want to know that you
• 1:02:22
  have eternal life, let me ask you this question.
• 1:02:25
  What have you done with the message of this book?
• 1:02:29
  What have you done with what God has said to you through this
• 1:02:32
  book? Because this book sets the
• 1:02:35
  conditions for how a man has eternal life.
• 1:02:38
  And this book alone, not what any person said, but what God
• 1:02:43
  had said and only way that you can have eternal life.
• 1:02:47
  It's not if Abraham is your father, but if God becomes your
• 1:02:49
  father. See again.
• 1:02:51
  So just the Christianese stuff bothers me sometimes and the
• 1:02:57
  things that we throw around without thinking about it, and
• 1:03:00
  it bleeds into how even the world begins to think about our
• 1:03:03
  beliefs. How can God send any of his
• 1:03:07
  children to hell? Who says you're a child of God
• 1:03:09
  apart from Christ? You're not a child of God just
• 1:03:13
  because you were created by God. In fact, the Bible labels us.
• 1:03:17
  If we are outside of Christ, we are enemies, we're rebels.
• 1:03:22
  And the gospel, Jesus Christ coming into this world to die in
• 1:03:25
  a cross and pay that payment so that you wouldn't have to go to
• 1:03:27
  this horrible place is exactly that.
• 1:03:31
  We don't present Jesus and say God has come to send his Son
• 1:03:34
  into the world to die in a cross to save you from loneliness,
• 1:03:38
  though he does help you with your loneliness.
• 1:03:41
  God didn't send his world to come into his Son, into this
• 1:03:44
  world so that you and I could feel like we have now purpose or
• 1:03:48
  some kind of heavenly coach or some kind of guy that can help
• 1:03:51
  us make our dreams be realized. God sent his Son into this world
• 1:03:55
  to save people from hell. You don't have to be judged for
• 1:04:02
  eternity Today you can cross a line where God will receive you.
• 1:04:11
  God will crown you with redemption, and no one or
• 1:04:15
  anything in this life or beyond this life can take you from Him.
• 1:04:21
  You must realize how, yes, though we've been hearing about
• 1:04:25
  the holiness of God, just as ferocious as His purity, His
• 1:04:29
  love, His love is equally intense.
• 1:04:35
  And that in His love, those that He created, though He had every
• 1:04:38
  right to just bundle us all up and throw us into that place and
• 1:04:42
  start all over, He instead wants to redeem every single person in
• 1:04:47
  this room, every single soul. He takes no delight in the death
• 1:04:52
  of the wicked. He takes no pleasure in it.
• 1:04:56
  His justice demands it, yes, but his pleasure is in seeing every
• 1:05:00
  person come to the knowledge of his Son, Jesus Christ.
• 1:05:03
  That is the gospel of Jesus Christ.
• 1:05:09
  And we're doing nobody any favor by omitting this from our
• 1:05:12
  preaching. No, nothing.
• 1:05:18
  And so I will stand before God and give an account.
• 1:05:21
  That's why I'm here to preach this truth.
• 1:05:23
  I fear God and I love people too much.
• 1:05:27
  And so my invitation to you is if you are not certain, if you
• 1:05:31
  actually, if you feel like you're just kind of floating
• 1:05:35
  around and you come here because you like hearing a message, it's
• 1:05:38
  kind of inspiring, maybe intellectually stimulating.
• 1:05:40
  You like the community here, but you don't know if you're saved.
• 1:05:45
  Cry out for mercy. Church is not a game.
• 1:05:49
  We're not playing here. We're not, we're not.
• 1:05:51
  This is not like a Country Club because we, you know, want to be
• 1:05:53
  part of something on a weekly basis.
• 1:05:55
  This is about heaven and hell. This is what this is about.
• 1:06:00
  And I don't want you to gamble with your soul.
• 1:06:04
  I want you today to embrace Jesus.
• 1:06:07
  He's willing to forgive you, accept you, receive you, and
• 1:06:10
  relate to you where He'll know you by name.
• 1:06:13
  He'll walk with you in this life, and He will usher you into
• 1:06:16
  His presence forever and ever. Would you accept it?
• 1:06:20
  Would you receive it? Let's pray.
• 1:06:40
  Lord, we heard your voice today. Your word is so clear.
• 1:06:54
  But perhaps there are some here who are hearing you calling them
• 1:06:57
  home. And Your word says today, if you
• 1:07:00
  hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.
• 1:07:04
  And so, Lord, even if there is one person here who up to this
• 1:07:08
  point to comfort in the fact that they went to church and
• 1:07:15
  they admired Jesus, but they've never given their lives to you,
• 1:07:20
  that today they would flee to the cross.
• 1:07:23
  They realize that in your great love you have paid for their
• 1:07:25
  sin, that they never have to fear this place called hell.
• 1:07:29
  They never have to wonder if you will unleash your wrath against
• 1:07:33
  them. I ask Lord, and I pray that at
• 1:07:38
  this moment your love would be seen and the kindness of God
• 1:07:44
  would lead us to repentance. For the believer, Lord,
• 1:07:49
  including myself, may we feel the urgency of the gospel.
• 1:07:57
  Thank you that this word perhaps served a different purpose and
• 1:08:00
  awakening us to the seriousness of our faith.
• 1:08:04
  So we give you glory for that as well.
• 1:08:08
  And so, Lord, today we want to be able to rejoice with the
• 1:08:10
  angels in heaven that even one has come to repentance.
• 1:08:15
  And if none here are going to repent, then may we glorify you
• 1:08:19
  in the reality that we have repented, you have drawn us, and
• 1:08:22
  that we are sealed for glory forever.
• 1:08:26
  And so yes, Lord, we have seen your amazing holiness, but we
• 1:08:30
  also want to sing about your Amazing Grace that you have
• 1:08:34
  rescued us. You have not left us to be
• 1:08:36
  damned. You've delivered us forever.
• 1:08:40
  We say thank you. Thank you for reminding us the
• 1:08:45
  great deliverance in the gospel. How costly and how awesome it is
• 1:08:49
  that you rescued us in this way, in Jesus name, Amen.