That's why we're here, dear God, because we love you, and in Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
Now this is probably the most chilling graphic story in the entire Bible, I would say bar none.
This story found in Luke chapter 16.
Now you were probably wondering why I read those three verses leading up to this story
about the rich man and Lazarus, which is a very common story.
But if you'll notice, it says here in verse number 17 of chapter 16, if you're there,
well, look at verse 16, it says,
The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God is preached,
and every man presseth into it.
And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass than one tittle of the law to fail.
He says, you know what, there's no way that anything that's written in this book is not going to happen,
that God said is going to happen. That's what he's saying.
He says it'd be easier for heaven and earth to pass than for one word of this book not to come true.
And so the subject that we're going to talk about tonight is not the most popular subject in the world,
and it's not a subject that I like to think about, and it's a subject that none of us like to think about,
but it's a subject that we must think about.
And if you think about it, it'll change your life if you get this truth down.
You know, this subject here, this story in the book of Luke here in Luke chapter 16 is a real life story.
You say, well I think maybe it's just a parable that Jesus told.
Well, that's why Jesus gives us the names of the people involved.
He didn't want us to think that this was a parable.
He didn't want some liberal preacher to explain this away and say,
well, you know, this is just figurative kind of speech. No.
He says, let me tell you the man's name in the story.
Let me tell you about the man who went to hell. I'll give you his name.
And the reason he does that is because this is not a parable.
This is a real life account of a man who went to a place called hell.
Now, notice in the story, this man Lazarus is really a story of two beggars, if you look at it.
One man who begged in this life, and one man who begged in the next life.
One man who sat at the gate of this man, he was a poor man, the dogs came and licked his sores.
He was so poor and diseased, he sat outside this man's gate and he was begging for alms.
A wretched man. But somewhere along the line, this man had gotten saved, apparently.
Praise God. Somebody might have came to him and won him to Christ.
And so here he is begging outside the gate of a man who's a rich man.
He fared sumptuously every day. He lived it up.
But the man died without Christ. The man died unsaved.
And the Bible says he died, and it says he lived up his eyes in hell.
I mean, it was that fast. He didn't stand before God, no judge, no jury, just that fast the man was in hell.
And it says he lived up his eyes being in torments, which means torture.
It says, And seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus says, And he cried and said,
Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue,
for I am tormented in this flame. Here's a man who's suffering in the flames of hell.
And all he can ask for is just one little drop of water on his tongue to cool down his tongue because of the torment of his life.
Now think about this. Lazarus is a guy who's outside and he's got sores.
And he's saying, I want Lazarus to put his finger in water.
Now, do you want to drink water off somebody's finger, kids? No way, that's gross.
Let alone, how about a homeless guy who's got sores all over him?
And he says, I just want him to stick his finger in water and put it on my tongue and just cool my tongue a little bit.
Because I'm tormented in this flame. Now when it's really hot outside, do you want a drop of water?
Or do you want like a super big gulp? I mean, I don't want a drop of water.
But it's unthinkable the amount of torment that this man is in.
He's just lusting after a drop of cold water in hell.
Listen to me, hell is a real place. I want to preach to you tonight on the reality of hell.
The reality of hell.
Look what this man says here. He says, would you please, if you won't give me any water,
would you please send somebody to tell my brothers how to be saved?
I've got five brothers. Would you please send somebody to tell them how to be saved so that they don't come to this place of torment?
I don't care if I never see them again. I don't care if I never can lay eyes on my five brothers again.
I don't want them to come here. Please, just tell them how they cannot come to this place of torment.
Just send somebody to tell them. The person that is being sent to tell them is you.
Tonight, you are the one that's going to answer this verse. Tonight.
He says, just send somebody, please. Look, God is sending you.
That's why the Bible says, go ye therefore into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
But is hell a real place? Yes, it is a real place.
And the first point that I want to make is that hell is a place of flaming fire.
Take your Bible, if you would, and turn to Revelation chapter 20.
Look at Revelation chapter 20. Very common verses from the Bible. Revelation chapter 20.
And look with me at verse number 10. This is just the third to last chapter in the entire Bible. Revelation chapter 20, verse number 10.
The Bible says, And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone,
where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Look at verse number 14. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Notice that in verse number 10, it says, They shall be tormented, tortured in hell forever and ever.
Look with me. Flip back a few chapters here to 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. This is still toward the end of your New Testament.
I'm just laying a little bit of a foundation here, but 2 Thessalonians chapter 1 in verse number 8.
2 Thessalonians 1, 8. I want you to see some of these first verses. See them with your own eyes and see what God is saying here.
It says in 2 Thessalonians 1, 8, In flaming fire, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power.
Let me tell you something. The reason that we have this church is because there's a hell. That's why we have this church.
The reason that I preach the gospel tonight is because there's a hell. That's why.
The reason that I go soul winning is because there's a hell. Hey, that's why I love God tonight.
That's why I live for God. That's why I'm in church tonight on a Sunday night.
That's why I read my Bible. That's why I go soul winning because there's a hell with fire. That's why.
If you don't believe that, I don't know why you're here. If you don't believe that there's a hell where people burn out.
And if you do believe that, I don't know where you are at soul winning time because those two things make no sense.
If you don't believe that there's a hell, what are you doing in church on Sunday night?
And if you do believe that there's a hell, where are you on soul winning time? That's what I'd like to know.
And see, we've got to realize that, yes, there really is a hell. It's what part of what should motivate us.
You say, why would that motivate us? Well, I have a desire to please God. I have a desire to have a relationship with God.
I have a desire to have a close walk with God. I have a desire to be blessed by God in my life.
I have a desire to have God bless me and take care of me and help me to be successful in life.
But there's something else that I ought to have, and that's a love for other people.
Not just about me, not just about God. I mean, I love God, number one.
But not only am I supposed to love the Lord my God with all my heart and soul and might and strength,
I'm supposed to love my neighbor as myself. And see, that's equally important there.
It's the next, it's the second commandment, and he says it's like unto it, you love God and love your neighbor as yourself.
Why don't you love your neighbor enough to tell him not to be saved so he doesn't go to hell?
See, our love for people motivates us to go soul winning. Our love for people motivates us to open our mouth and preach the gospel to the lost.
Our love for people is what makes us realize, yes, there is a hell, and therefore my love for people commands me and forces me to preach the gospel to every creature.
Because it's motivated by love. If you have these two facts, love for people and the reality of hell, you will be a soul winner.
Those two things, it's a math problem. You say, I believe in hell, and I love my fellow man, I love this stranger, therefore I am a soul winner.
It's that simple. It's just math. Now look, I was thinking about how we live in such a day where Christianity is so laid back.
It's just come as you are, leave as you came, laid back, relaxing, soft cell kind of preaching and relaxed living and just everything about Christianity has become so relaxed.
You just kind of walk in and it's just a really mellow kind of music and just entertainment show and the pastor gets up and shares with you a little bit and you feel good and you walk out the door feeling better than when you came in.
But about an hour later, you probably don't even remember what was preached. You sit down in front of the television and just go back to life and then the next day you're at work and so forth.
Why do we live in a day with such a laid back mentality about Christianity? Never really get anybody saved. Get somebody saved once in a blue moon. You're a phenomenal Christian these days.
Well, maybe it's because people don't believe in hell. Maybe it's because preachers don't preach on hell. Even if they do believe on it they don't have the guts to preach a sermon on hell.
I was thinking about a very famous preacher, Billy Graham. Who has heard of Billy Graham? Nobody has not heard of Billy Graham.
Everybody's heard of Billy Graham. America's preacher. The man who the President of the United States gets sworn in by putting his hand on a King James Bible with Billy Graham, right? Billy Graham, America's preacher.
You say, oh man, Pastor Anderson, please don't preach against Billy Graham. I will preach against Billy Graham. And if you don't like it, the door's right there and there's another door right there.
Because I will. You're going to have a hard time climbing over that wall. But listen, I will preach against Billy Graham. Let me tell you why.
I'll preach against Billy Graham. I don't care if I'm the only one here. And I'll say, yeah, Billy Graham, just to the wall. Because I'm going to preach against Billy Graham until I'm dead.
It says right here, let me read this to you. This is him being interviewed in Time Magazine in 1993, November 15th.
This is what Billy Graham says about hell. And you'll wonder why the world loves him. You'll wonder why he's on the television.
I mean, you won't wonder why when you hear this quote. You'll wonder why he doesn't offend anybody. This is what he says.
The only thing I can say for sure is that hell means separation from God. We are separated from his light, from his fellowship. That is going to be hell.
When it comes to a literal fire, I don't preach it. Because I'm not sure about it. When the scripture uses fire concerning hell, that's possibly an illustration of how terrible it's going to be.
Not fire, but something worse. A thirst for God that cannot be quenched. A thirst for God that cannot be quenched is worse than fire in hell.
Listen to this. Could it be, and this is back in 1969, so don't tell me that Billy Graham used to preach the gospel or he used to be fundamental.
This is in 1969. Could it be that the fire Jesus talked about is an eternal search for God that is never quenched?
Is that what it means? That indeed would be hell. To be away from God forever, separated from his presence.
Look, man, do you think the other safe people care about if they're separate from God? They don't want God. They want to go to the bar. They want to go get drunk. They want to party. They want to hang out with the devil.
They don't want anything to do with God. They don't care if they're separated from God. But Billy Graham, when he gets to hell, is going to find out that there's fire in hell.
And he's a liar who doesn't believe the Bible, which mentions hell in literally over 90% of the chapters in the New Testament mention hell.
I remember a friend of mine when I was a teenager. His name was John Burlingame. And I was over at his house and he was kind of a crazy guy. You know, he liked to do silly things. This is when I was a teenager.
And so the Billy Graham crusade was on TV. So he picks up the phone and calls in. You know, call now to be saved.
So he dials that 1-800 number and gets on the phone and he says, I need to get saved. Tell me how to get saved.
And they're telling, you know, you've got to make a commitment to Christ. You've got to give your life to Jesus, you know, whatever that means.
And so he said, well, he's like, what about hell? I mean, so many people talk about hell and fire. What's that about?
And the guy says, well, you know, a little sissy on the phone. He said, well, I don't really know if there's fire in hell because the Bible doesn't say anything about fire in hell.
So I don't want to speak for God and like, you know, of my own accord say that there's fire in hell because the Bible doesn't say that.
I'm only going to tell you what the Bible says. And the Bible says that it just says that people just grind their teeth together.
He said that's all it says is that people are in pain because they're grinding their teeth together. So that's all it says. That's all I'm going to say.
We're living in a day where this whole thing of hell has just been toned down. And if you don't believe in hell, you don't believe the Bible because the Bible talks about hell.
And you wonder why. You wonder why people aren't soul winners. You wonder why people don't win people to Christ.
You wonder why. It's because they don't believe in hell. That's why. Or they've just never heard preaching like this that tells them, look, people are going to hell. You've got to get them saved.
And they need to hear that kind of preaching. I need to hear that kind of preaching to get me fired up and realize the urgency of what we're doing.
You know, I don't think Billy Graham is not maybe the big guy right now, but what's the other guy? Mr. Smiley, Joel Osteen. Okay. I got some quotes from him too.
But you know, this false teaching that hell is a separation from God, you'd be surprised by this, but literally this teaching is being taught in independent Baptist churches all over America.
It's the new thing and you'll hear it. It's like a buzzword. All over independent fundamental Baptist churches that believe in hell, they're starting to teach that hell is a separation from God.
This doctrine comes from the Jehovah's Witnesses about a hundred years ago. There was a man by the name of Rutherford T. Hayes and he wrote different books and literature on this saying that hell is actually a separation from God.
You'll find it in Jehovah's Witnesses literature that they'll leave at your door. Well, why is this creeping him to Baptist churches? Why do I go to Baptist churches all the time?
I listen to Baptist preachers and they say that hell is a separation from God. They say you're separated from God in hell and they may even believe that there's fire there, but they're still just using this buzzword about hell is just being separated from God.
Well, let's see what the Bible says. I'll just read this for you. Revelation 14, 10. This is talking about hell.
The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation. Watch this. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the lamb.
Does it sound like hell is being separated from God, away from the presence of God, just thirsting to be with God? It sounds like God's there. It sounds like God's there in hell.
It says they're going to be tormented in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the lamb. It sounds like Jesus is there.
Now, here's another verse. Psalm 139, 8. Very common verse. You've probably heard this one before. If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there. This is talking to God.
If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. Now, the Bible's pretty clear, isn't it? He says God is everywhere because God's omnipresent. I mean, God is in hell.
If you make your bed in hell, he's there, it says. They're going to be tormented in the presence of the lamb. I don't understand why people want to make tradition their authority when the Bible clearly says that hell has nothing to do with separation from God.
Hell is where God is punishing you eternally. You say, well, that doesn't sound like the God I believe in. Well, then maybe you need to start believing the God of the Bible. Or maybe you should go get a Koran and start worshipping that thing.
But this is what the Bible says. This is what God says. God says that I'm there because it's the wrath of God. He says they're going to be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power.
See, his presence is what's creating the torment. Because God is a flaming fire, the Bible says. And so, don't tell me that hell's separation from God. Don't tell me that.
I was in Bible college. And Bible college is just a gathering ground for sheep who don't think for themselves and people who don't have any fire and they don't have any grit in their craw.
So they go somewhere and be a pansy there. So I'm filled in this classroom with a bunch of liberals and pansies and I'm sitting there.
And the teacher asks the question, he says, what's the worst part about hell? And the hand shoots up of the mindless robot parrot. The whole being separated from God.
And the teacher looked at him and the teacher was right on this. The teacher looked at him and said, can you think about what you're saying before you answer the question?
Separation from God is the worst part about hell? What about the fact that you're there forever and ever and ever and ever? What about the fact that you're burning on fire?
And he proved from the Bible the same thing I just showed you. He said, look, God's there. It has nothing to do with being separated from God. It's a place where you're being punished by God in a lake of fire forever and ever.
He said the worst thing about hell is the length of the duration. He said the worst thing about hell is that you never get out, that there's no hope. And the second worst thing is the fact that you're burning on fire.
But we're living in a day where people are not taught these basic truths of doctrine from the Bible and so they just, ah, separation from God, ah, ah, separation from God.
Oh, what's so bad about hell, Billy Graham? Oh, you're separated from God. You don't feel the closeness with God. What about the fact that you're on fire, Billy Graham?
Well, you're going to find out, sir, one of these days, you false prophet that's damning this nation to hell with your stinking lies on the television telling people they have to commit their life to be saved.
Well, why don't you go be a Roman Catholic then because that's what they say you got to do. You got to work your way to heaven. You got to commit your life and make your commitment to Christ.
No, it's called believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved, sir. Why don't you get a Bible and you might get the right nomenclature?
Joel Osteen, here's another guy. In case that doesn't ring the bell, let me get Joel Osteen out here. This is the new guy because Billy Graham's passing off the scene. Let's face it, he's very old. I don't know how old he is, but he's got to be pretty old by now.
Well, there's always somebody to pick up the torch for Satan as being the liberal heretic that's on television. And so now we've got Joel Osteen, the pastor of the biggest church in America. Did you know that?
Joel Osteen pastors the largest church in America. I think it's somewhere 20-some thousand people. I mean, it's just huge. I saw a picture of it on the internet. It was like a sports stadium.
It was massive. There's all kinds of spotlights and there's a rock band on stage and all these spotlights. And I'm not impressed because I've been to rock concerts. When I was a teenager, I went to rock concerts that had 20,000 people there. Big deal.
But anyway, you should call a church and then some kind of a world record. But anyway, this is the pastor of the largest church in America, Joel Osteen. Who's heard of Joel Osteen?
Never heard of him? Okay, this is the smiley guy. He smiles real big all the time. Well, Joel Osteen, I run into this soul winning all the time. I'll be knocking on the door of soul winning and they'll say, hey, did you go to church anywhere?
And they say, no, I don't go to church, but I watch Joel Osteen on TV and I love him. And I say, okay. I try to get him saved and whatever, buy him a church, but obviously I don't criticize him to them because they need to get saved.
They need to learn what's wrong with Joel Osteen, but you need to learn what's wrong with Joel Osteen. But listen to this. It says here, this is a transcript of him on Larry King Live. This is just a few months ago.
He was on Larry King Live. Everybody knows the show Larry King Live, right? I didn't even know it was still around. It was from when I was a kid. Anyway, Larry King Live. Larry King's asking him these questions and listen to what he says.
And maybe then you'll understand why the job's not getting done. It says here, this is Larry King speaking, but you're not fire and brimstone, right? You're not one of these hell fire and damnation kind of preachers.
You're not pounding the decks in hell and damnation. No, this is Osteen. No, that's not me. It's never been me. I've always been an encourager at heart.
And when I took over my father, he came from the Southern Baptist background. Back 40, 50 years ago, there was a lot more of that. But you know, I just don't believe in that. I just don't believe in that.
I mean, maybe it was for that time, you know, but I don't have it in my heart to condemn people. I'm there to encourage them. I see myself more as a coach, as a motivator to help them experience the life God has for us.
So listen to what Larry King asks me. He says, well, do you believe in the Bible literally? He says, I do, I do. So at this point, I mean, Larry King's getting frustrated with this guy because he's just finished asking him like a bunch of questions.
And he's just, the guy's saying that he doesn't believe in hell and he won't answer. But then he says he believes the Bible literally. He says, okay, well, how about issues that the church has feelings about, abortion, same sex marriages?
Yeah. You know what, Larry? I don't go there. And King says, you have thoughts though? I have thoughts. I just, you know, I just don't think that same sex marriage is the way that God intended it to be. I don't think abortion is the best.
I think there are other, you know, better ways to live life, but I'm not going to condemn those people. So then King says, well, do you call them sinners? I don't.
King says, is that a word you don't use? O.C. says, I don't use it. I never thought about it, but I probably don't. Listen to this, the word sin, did you know the word sin occurs in the King James Bible 830 times? And he says that he does not use the word sin than sinners in his preaching.
This is the biggest church in America. Listen to this. You think that that'll blow you away? Listen to this. King's talking about, this is a little later in the interview. He's talking to him about what does a person have to do to go to heaven?
Okay. Larry King says, what if you're Jewish or Muslim and you don't accept Christ at all? This is what Osteen says. You know, I'm very careful about saying who would and wouldn't go to heaven. I don't know.
That's what he said literally. He's saying, what about a Jew or a Muslim that does not accept Christ at all? Let me read it again. You know, I'm very careful about saying who would and wouldn't go to heaven. I don't know.
And then he says, well, if you believe you have to believe in Christ, they're wrong, aren't they? That's what King is saying. Well, I don't know if I believe they're wrong. He's like, maybe they're right.
And he says, I don't know if I believe they're wrong. I believe here's what the Bible teaches and that's what I believe, but I just think only God can judge the person's heart. And he goes on and on.
Listen to this. This is a caller. Okay. Hey, Larry, you know, a long time listener, first time caller, whatever, you know, he calls up. Hello, Larry. You're the best and thank you, Joe, Joel, for your positive messages in your book.
I'm wondering, though, why you sidestepped Larry's earlier question about how we get to heaven. The Bible clearly tells us that Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life, and the only way to the Father is by him, but that's not really a message of condemnation.
I mean, that's just the truth. That's what the caller is saying. That's not condemnation. It's just the truth. Osteen says, yes, I would agree with her. That's the caller. I believe that.
So then Larry King, so he said, yep, I agree with her. Yep, she's right. And then Larry King says, so then a Jew is not going to heaven? Osteen says, no. Here's my thing, Larry. I can't judge somebody's heart.
So it's like he won't even, he won't tell the caller that they're wrong when they're saying, Jesus, you must have Jesus. But then they ask, but then King asks, okay, so you're saying that you do have to have Jesus? No, no, no, I'm not saying that.
Okay, he says, but you believe your way. Osteen says, I believe my way. I believe my way with all my heart. But for someone who doesn't share it, it's wrong. Isn't he? That's what King's saying. Osteen says, well, yes.
Well, he accidentally said yes. He accidentally actually said yes, that somebody else is wrong. So then he corrects it real quick. Well, I don't know if I look at it like that.
I would present my way, but I'm just going to let God be the judge. I don't know. I don't know. He says, I don't know twice. And King says, so you don't make any judgment on anyone? Osteen says, no.
So then Larry King says, what about atheists? Osteen, you know what? I'm going to let someone, I'm going to let God be the judge of who goes to heaven and hell. He won't even say that an atheist is not saved, that they're not going to heaven.
So look at this. This is great. This cracks me up. This is a letter, and he posts, I found this on his website, Joel Osteen's website, where he is promoting his ministry. This was put on his website from him, a letter from Joel Osteen.
Dear friend, that's me. Many of you have called, written, or emailed regarding my recent appearance on Larry King Live. I appreciate your comments and value your words of correction and encouragement.
It was never my desire or intention to leave any doubt as to what I believe and whom I serve. I believe with all my heart that it is only through Christ that we have hope and eternal life. I regret and sincerely apologize that I was very unclear on the very thing in which I've dedicated my life.
Are you listening to this? And then he says, Jesus declared in John 14, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. Now he's just preaching, okay, on his letter, on his website, apologizing for his appearance on television when he's trying to, you know, suck everybody in.
However, it wasn't until I had the opportunity to review the transcript of the interview, like we're doing tonight, that I realized I had not clearly stated that having a personal relationship with Jesus is the only way to heaven.
It's about the individual's choice to follow him. God has given me a platform to present the gospel to a very diverse audience. In my desire not to alienate the people that Jesus came to save, I did not clearly communicate the convictions that I hold so precious.
I will use this as a learning experience and believe that God will ultimately use it for my good and his glory. The fact that he said that atheists are going to heaven, God's going to use that for his good and God's glory.
I am comforted by the fact that he sees my heart and knows my intentions. I'm so thankful that I have friends like you who are willing to share their concerns with me. Remember, that's me. I'm sharing my concerns tonight.
Thank you again to those who have written. I hope that you accept my deepest apology and see it in your heart to extend me grace and forgiveness. As always, I covet your prayers and I am believing for God's best in your life.
So here's the bottom line. It gets on TV. Let me ask you something. If you were going on Larry King Live, are you going to think about what you're going to say before you say it?
When you're on television in front of millions of people, the whole nation, you are going to think through exactly what you're going to say. They give the questions in advance many times and people psych up for this. He knows what he's going to say.
Larry King is trying to give him a chance to save face over and over. He's saying, what about atheists? You believe the Bible, right? And then the caller is trying to say, and he says, I agree with the caller, but no, no, no. I will not say the atheists are going to hell.
I will not say that Jews are going to hell if they don't believe in Jesus. I'm not saying, look, neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name given under heaven, given to much men whereby we must be saved.
That's what the Bible says. But this is the day we're living in. This is what draws the 25,000 crowd in Texas and Houston today, is a guy who smiles a lot and won't take a stand on anything.
And he tries to have it both ways. He writes the letter for the people on the website, the diehards, and he gets on TV and spreads his lies and heresy.
This is a false prophet. He's going to hell. He's a heretic. He's like Billy Graham. They're all the same. And don't you dare watch these guys on TV.
If you watch these guys on TV, your mind will be perverted by them. I'm telling you the truth. Because this is the kind of confusing, I mean, it's confusing to even read this.
I was reading this, and I skipped a lot of it just because it's so hard to read it publicly because it's not even like complete sentences. It'll just like go whooooo.
It's not even a sentence. Because he says, well, you know, I just believe that God's going to make the decision about how to...
And he doesn't even like complete the thought. Because he's just trying to confuse people, just like the devil's always been the author of confusion.
He's trying to confuse people. He's trying to confuse the issue so people won't know what to believe.
But back to the clarity of God's word. There is a hell, my friend. There is a real burning hell. I don't like it any more than you do.
And God did not create hell for mankind. The Bible says that God's going to say to them on the left hand, depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.
God doesn't want anybody to go to hell. God's not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. God even wants Joel Osteen saved.
I mean, God even wants these people saved because he's not willing that anybody goes to hell. He's not glad and says, I want these people to go to hell.
No, he says, I want everybody saved. But his word cannot be broken.
And he said, he that believeth not is condemned already because he has not believed on the name of the son of God.
And so God must send the unsaved to hell. And he doesn't want to. He gives them every opportunity. He begs them to be saved.
He sends people to their house to preach to them. He sends the word of God to them. He sends a Moses and the prophet and he brought somebody back from the dead to be a sign to these people,
to show them that there's salvation in Jesus Christ. And they say, no, we will not be saved. And then they go to hell.
And God says, fine, go to hell then, because I gave you every opportunity. If you won't believe on Jesus Christ, if you're going to call me a liar, then I'm going to send you to hell.
I butchered my son on the cross for you. Don't tell me I didn't do that. Don't tell me I'm a liar. You're going to hell.
Imagine if you sacrificed your son and somebody said, you didn't do that. Imagine your son went to Iraq and died for this country.
And he said, no, he didn't. You're a liar. How would that make you feel, man? That would make your blood boil.
And you wonder why a righteous God who sent his son to hell for three days and three nights doesn't take kindly to somebody saying, you know what, I just don't think I need Jesus Christ to give me to heaven.
I think I can just live a good life. And you wonder why that infuriates God. And you wonder why he sends him to hell.
Look, my friend, we're getting into the mind of God, but it doesn't really even matter because it's just what God said.
And we just have to accept it by faith that there's a hell.
Listen to the kind of preaching that Jesus was. You want to hear what kind of a preacher? Well, wouldn't you love to hear Jesus preach?
Let's think about this. Man, I hope to God, and I know this is true, but when I get to heaven, man, I just want to walk into an auditorium and sit down right in the front row and sing these songs and have Jesus get up behind the pulpit and start preaching. Man, that'd be great.
And you know it's going to happen. The Bible talks about this, that there's going to be church up in heaven, by the way. And Jesus is the pastor and it's going to be great.
But you want to hear Jesus preach for a little while? This is Jesus Osteen, okay? I mean, no, this is Jesus Christ. This is nothing like Joel Osteen.
And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off. It's better for thee to enter into life maimed than having two hands to go into hell into the fire that never shall be quenched.
That's Mark 9, 42, or 43. Where their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched.
And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off. It's better for thee to enter into life than having two feet to be cast into hell into the fire that never shall be quenched.
Where their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched. And if thy eye offend thee, pluck it out. It's better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.
Where their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched. He says, don't go to hell. He says, if your hand is stopping you from going to heaven, then cut it off and throw it in the trash can and get saved and go to heaven.
And don't go to hell. That's preaching, my friend. And you say, I don't like that kind of preaching. Well, don't ever go to Jesus Baptist Church when you get to heaven.
You better just go to the furthest corner of heaven you can and you can play sick every day and don't show up to Jesus Christ Baptist Church because he's going to get up and preach that to you.
Listen to Jesus. His goal in this kind of preaching was not to make people mad. His goal was not to, you know, anger people. His goal, listen to the goal.
But I will forewarn you. That's the goal. He's trying to warn people. He loves them.
Look, if somebody's marching toward a cliff, let's say a blind man's marching toward a cliff. If I love him, I'm just going to say, you know what, brother? I love you so much. God bless you.
Man, you're a blessing. You know what? I don't want to judge you. I don't want to condemn you. I don't want to correct you. Just keep up the good work, man.
And the guy goes marching off the cliff. Do I love that guy? No. If I love him, I'm going to say, hey, stop. You're going the wrong way. You need to change what you're doing here, okay?
You're not going the right direction. Now, if the neighbor's house is burning down and I go to their house and I see that it's burning down and they're all asleep inside, I just say, you know what, man, I love those people. Man, I love them.
What do you say we sit down and make a list of all the things that we love about the neighbors? You want to do that? We can sit down and just, I mean, just write it out and let's pray for them.
Let's have an all-night prayer meeting for them while their house burns down and while they're inside asleep. No, that's not what I do. Are you going to go to the door and go, like you go soul winning, you know?
Oh, I guess they're not home. Nobody's home. Next house. No, you're going to be like, you're going to knock the door like I knock the door when I go soul winning.
Hey! Hey, come on out! Your house is on fire! Look, we don't feel the impending doom of people on the way to hell.
You've got to get saved. Say, why do you yell when you preach? I yell when I preach because people are going to hell, that's why.
I yell when I preach because there's fire in hell, that's why. I yell when I preach because it's urgent, it's important, that's why I yell when I preach.
And because God told me to yell when I preach, by the way. Isaiah 58.1, kids, remember the C verse? What's Isaiah 58.1?
Cry aloud! Spare not! Lift up thy voice like a trumpet! That's what he said to preach.
But why did he tell me to preach like that? Because it's urgent? You say, well, I don't like that. I just like to relax and be laid back.
No, I'm not laid back. I'm fighting because I'm trying to get people out of hell. I'm trying to get people saved, that's why.
But number one, it's a place of flaming fire and I'm going to go through these really quickly just for the sake of time.
Number two, it's a place of smothering smoke. The Bible says the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever.
That's where smoke is just consuming the air. I heard a joke one time, somebody said, if you smoke cigarettes, will you go to hell?
And the answer is no, but you'll just smell like you came from there. That's kind of funny, but it's the truth.
No, you're not going to go to hell for smoking cigarettes, but you're just going to smell like hell, that's all.
But I'll tell you what, I don't think that the people in hell are wanting a Marlboro right now because they're probably just looking for a breath of fresh air right now.
Number three, it's a place of devastating destruction. It's a place where people are just constantly being destroyed.
Their body and their soul is in a continual state of just destruction, but it's never finished.
It's just death, it's like you're dying just forever.
Number four, I'm just blowing through these, number four, it's a place of dismal darkness.
The Bible says raging waves of the sea, he's talking about wicked sinful people right now that are on stage.
Raging waves of the sea foaming out their own shame, wandering stars to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.
Hell's a place of screaming and wailing. The Bible says, then said the king to the servants, bind him hand and foot.
I mean tie him up, listen to this image, bind him hand and foot and take him away and cast him into outer darkness.
There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Remember that's what the telemarketer guy on the Billy Graham was talking about?
Weeping and gnashing of teeth, that means crying, sobbing, and just grinding your teeth together in pain.
It's a place, and bind him hand and foot, that leads me to my next point, hell's a place of eternal change.
The Bible says, and the angels which kept not their first estates, talking about the demons that go to hell at the final judgment,
but left their own habitation, he had reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
How would you like to be chained up? Have you ever been somewhere where you couldn't really move around very much?
Boy, I grew up crawling in attics with my dad, and it was hot in the summertime, crawling in attics, crawling in their houses,
and the worst thing about it is that you can't really move around much.
And of course I was doing it because I was a little kid, so I could fit into places that my dad could not fit into.
And I would be jammed up in places, and sometimes you'd be in a place and you'd be working,
and you'd get out and you can't really straighten up right away.
You know, you've got to kind of like, ugh.
How would you like to be chained up forever? Talk about claustrophobia.
My wife has extreme claustrophobia. She can't even have the blankets over her feet at night.
She'll start kicking them off, ah, ah, and kick the blankets off.
She'll have the blankets just laying out and then her feet out because it's claustrophobic.
How would you like to be chained up? Couldn't really move around much forever.
And on and on. I have a long list here. I'm not going to go through the whole list.
I think you realize that hell is a pretty awful place.
And I remember I thought about this. You know, just as a kid, I remember I used to just spend a lot of time thinking.
And I remember just as a young teenager, I remember just sitting and thinking about hell
and just contemplating this as I read my Bible. Just a young boy just thinking on my own,
just reading the Bible, just looking at it and just thinking about it.
And I thought to myself, what would it be like to be confined inside the closet of my room?
And I was looking at my closet. This is me as a young kid and I'm thinking,
what would it be like to be confined in that closet for a year?
I mean a year long. Think about this kid. Just a year long confined in the closet.
I mean there's no fire there. There's no change. There's no smoke. There's no screaming and crying.
But how would I like to be confined to this closet for a year?
Boy, wouldn't that be terrible? Wouldn't that be torture? Think about detention.
Detention is murder when you're a kid and it's like an hour long.
Think about just being confined. There's no entertainment, no fun, no food, no water.
Just sitting there in the dark for a year. That would be torture. That would drive a person insane.
Now let's just extend that to forever. Let's just extend that to all eternity.
It's horrible. It's too horrible to even imagine. The human mind can't even comprehend that.
And then that's not even the fire. That's not even factoring in the fact of the fire of hell.
Hell is a terrible place. What's the point of this sermon?
So we can all just be depressed and think about how terrible hell is? No.
This sermon is the same reason why Jesus preached his sermon.
It's the same reason why the Bible talks about hell over and over again.
It's to motivate us to say, I am going to devote my life to getting people out of hell.
I am going to devote my life to preaching the gospel.
You say, well if they're going to get saved, they're going to get saved anyway. No.
If you go talk to them, many times they'll get saved.
And they won't get saved if you don't go talk to them. Many times.
It's up to you to go out and be a soul winner and to win people to Christ.
You say, I don't know how. That's why you need to learn how.
That's why you need to come to church. That's why you need to read your Bible.
That's why you need to come soul winning with us and just be a silent partner and just listen in.
Because you've got to learn to be a soul winner.
Your loved ones are going to hell, many of them.
Your friends are going to hell, many of them.
People around here in this city are going to hell.
You say, well we can't save all of them. We can't save the world.
Hey, we could put a pretty big dent in this city if we get on fire for God.
And get people saved and train other people to be soul winners.
We could put a real big dent in this city.
And you know what? Let somebody else in this city go to hell.
I'm not going to let my city go to hell.
I don't want Tempe, Arizona to go to hell.
Not without a fight, man. Because I'm going to fight it until the end.
You say, well you can't get everybody to say, well I'm going to keep fighting
until I get as many people saved as I can.
You say, well here we are in May and it's hot outside.
Yeah, I know it's hot outside.
You say, well that's easy for you to say because you've never lived here in the summer.
Hey, I'm from Sacramento, California because it's pretty hot.
I know what it's like to be out soul winning when it's 120 degrees outside.
I've been there.
I know what it's like to be out soul winning when it's below zero in Chicago.
I was there.
I was out soul winning when it was below zero.
Why? Because hell was still hot.
There's still people going to hell even in the wintertime.
And let me tell you something.
There's people going to hell in the summertime in Phoenix, Arizona.
And I hope you don't think that because it's summertime it's time to lay out a church
and say, well I can't go to church.
I don't want to go to the evening service because it's too hot.
You know where it's hot? It's hot in hell.
This is nothing, man. It's hot in hell.
And I'm going to tell you something.
You say, well I need something I can go soul winning in this weather.
Hey, I got to make a phone call.
Where's the phone?
Let me make a phone call real quick.
Hold on.
Hello, operator?
Hey, yeah, I need to make a call.
Put me through to hell.
Yeah, the city is hell.
And put me through to the devil, would you?
Okay.
Hang on a minute.
Let's take a second.
Hey, devil, how you doing?
This is Pastor Steven Anderson from Faith Forward Baptist Church.
I want to ask you something, devil.
My people, they seem to not think that summertime is the time to go soul winning
and to show up for church and to do this kind of stuff.
They seem to think summertime is when you can lay out a soul winning.
And so I just want to ask you a few questions real quick.
Is hell still operating in the summertime?
It is.
Okay.
Is it still hot?
Is it hot there right now?
It's hot, huh?
Okay.
And are people still dying and going there right now in the summertime?
Okay, all right, thanks.
You know what?
I think that confirms it that people are still going to hell in the summertime.
And hell is still hot in the summertime.
And in the summertime, it's a time to be in church Sunday morning, Sunday night,
and Wednesday night and to come and get fired up and to fight for God.
You say, well, I want to go to a church where it's laid back.
Then go to any church in this city.
But if you want to come to a church where the Bibles preach
and where you learn the word of God and where you get fired up
and challenged and say, I'm going to win people to Christ,
then you're in the right church.
You say, well, that's not popular.
That's not going to fill this church up.
Oh, yes, it will fill this church up.
When we go out and win a bunch of people to Christ,
it's going to fill this church up.
And we'll get people that want to win people to Christ that love God,
that want to be a soul winner.
I'm going to tell you something.
My wife and Amanda have been going out soul winning,
and they went out soul winning for a couple weeks.
It was kind of a dry spell that they went out soul winning.
I was having kind of a dry spell for a couple weeks.
I was going out soul winning,
and people just weren't getting saved.
The door was getting slammed a lot.
You just go through phases like that sometimes.
And it just seemed like nothing was happening.
But they kept at it, and they kept going soul winning.
And the last couple weeks, man, they've been having people saved.
Yesterday I think you had one person saved, right?
A couple days before that on Thursday, they had two people saved.
Last Saturday before that, they had two people saved.
I had a couple of men saved on Friday night.
And let me tell you something, you stick with it.
You be faithful.
It's not you that's going to save people.
You're just out there to preach the gospel.
Let God take care of the results.
But God, maybe he wants to just see if you're faithful.
Maybe he just wants to see whether you love souls.
Maybe he wants to see whether he can pry the McDonald's out of your hand
for one 24 hour period on Wednesday before our six month anniversary
and say, are you willing to feel a little bit of the pain,
a little bit of pain, where you say, you know what, I'm going to skip a little food
because I want people saved, because I love people, because I love my loved ones,
because I love my family, because I love this city
and I love the people that I see walking down the street.
And I go to the grocery store and I just see people
and I just love these people and I want them to be saved.
I don't want them to ruin their lives and most importantly,
I don't want them to go to hell.
And so I'm going to feel the pain a little bit and I'm going to stick with it.
I don't care if nobody gets saved for a couple times.
We'll just keep going and keep going and keep going.
For the first time, Brother McCoy and I went out for like over two hours.
Nobody got saved.
But what did we do, Brother McCoy?
We went out a week later and we saw two people saved.
Glory to God.
Because you've got to stick with it, man.
This isn't some fast food joint where you show up and say,
I'll have a number three with two people saved.
No.
You've got to put in the work, man.
This church isn't just going to grow up overnight and become Joel Osteen part two.
No.
Because when you're building the kind of church that's built on the Word of God,
that's built on soul winning, that's built on John the Baptist kind of preaching,
like we learned about on Wednesday night,
when you build this kind of church, it's got to be built by God.
And God builds this church the same way he builds things out in the world.
He builds the real tree.
It starts out small and it grows and it grows and grows and grows.
And pretty soon it goes boom.
But the weeds, man, they grow up overnight.
But they're trash and they end up being thrown in the trash.
I'm not trying to have a faithful word trash church.
I'm trying to have faithful word Baptist church, a church that wins people to Christ.
And let me tell you something.
This church wins people to Christ every week, period.
That's what this church is.
And I'm going to tell you something.
You may say, I like this church.
I don't like this church.
That's not the point.
The point is, this is the church that follows this book
and this is a church that wins people to Christ.
And this is a church that has the results.
Because this church will teach you to be a soul winner.
You say, I don't want to be a soul winner.
Then maybe you're in the wrong place.
But if you want to be a soul winner, you're in the right place.
Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.