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You You You Well good morning everyone welcome to Mountain Baptist Church take your songbooks and turn to song 206 song 206 in your songbooks will sing Oh say, but I'm glad and If you would stand we'll sing song 206 There is a song in my heart today Something I've never had Jesus has taken my sins away. Oh say, but I'm glad oh Say, but I'm glad I'm glad oh Say, but I'm glad Jesus is coming my come so run. Oh say, but I'm glad Wonderful marvelous love he brings into our heart. That's sad Though darkest tunnels the soul just sings. Oh Say, but I'm glad. Oh Say, but I'm glad I'm glad. Oh say, but I'm glad Jesus is coming my cubs overrun. Oh Say, but I'm glad We have a fellowship rich and sweet tongues can never relate Abiding in him the souls retreat. Oh, say, but I'm glad. Oh Say, but I'm glad I'm glad. Oh, say, but I'm glad Oh say, but I'm glad Jesus is coming my cubs overrun. Oh say, but I'm glad Won't you come to him with all your care weary and worn and sad You two will sing as his love you share. Oh say, but I'm glad Oh Say, but I'm glad I'm glad. Oh say, but I'm glad Jesus is coming my cubs overrun. Oh say, but I'm glad All right, let's pray heavenly follow Lord We just want to thank you God for this beautiful day You've given us to meet in your house and hear your word preach I pray Lord now that you would just be with our pastor film with your power and spirit for it's in Jesus name Let's call it. Amen. All right, maybe seated and turn just one page over to song 207 Song 207 will sing only a sinner song 207 Not have I gotten but what I received Grace have bestowed it since I have believed Boasting excluded Pride I have based I'm only a sinner saved by grace Only a sinner saved by grace only a sinner Saved by grace. This is my story to God be the glory I'm only a sinner Saved by grace Once I was foolish and sin ruled my heart Causing my footsteps from God to depart Jesus have found me Happy my case. I now am a sinner saved by grace Only a sinner saved by grace Only a sinner saved by grace This is my story to God be the glory I'm only a sinner Saved by grace Tears unavailing. No merit had I Mercy has saved me or else I must die Sin had alarmed me Fearing God's face, but now I'm a sinner saved by grace Only a sinner Saved by grace Only a sinner saved by grace This is my story to God be the glory I'm only a sinner Saved by grace Suffer a sinner whose heart overflows Loving a savior to tell what he knows Once more to tell it Would I embrace I'm only a sinner saved by grace Only a sinner saved by grace Only a sinner saved by grace This is my story to God be the glory I'm only a sinner saved by grace Amen well welcome to Mount Baptist Church on this Sunday morning and just some general church announcements here The well first of all the soul winning marathon out in Parkersburg was a success so Fifteen souls got saved out in Parkersburg and so good job to all the soul winners that went out there yesterday and As far as the service times this week everything should be normal We have our our normal afternoon service after our soul winning time this afternoon So we see that 1 1 p.m. Soul winning time that is scheduled And so if you could meet up here if you want to go out for that Before 1 o'clock get teamed up and we'll figure out where we're gonna go and all that And then we had the regional sowing times brother Charles is probably not gonna make it to the Monday one but Wednesday Brother Richie will be leading that up. So but either way when it comes these regional ones just be on the whatsapp there and You'll get updated as far as when where? You'll be meeting and all that and then chapter 4 Colossians is our memory chapter for the month and So we're finishing up the book of Colossians And some have already finished it at least one I know of and then and then other of us are getting down to the end there and then Some are just getting into it. Some are halfway through some are further than that, but just keep up with that Prover 15 one. I know the first part of this by memory, but I don't want to mess up the second part of it If I can get there But It's a soft answer turneth away wrath So Proverbs 15 1 a soft answer turneth away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger And so that's a good verse to have memorized just for a principle in life whenever you're getting into a heated argument, it's always good to hit them with a soft answer and And kind of de-escalate the situation And then on the upcoming events there we have the men's prayer meeting at the end of the month here and we have the women's prayer meeting at the beginning of June and then we have on the list there the soul winning marathon in Charleston So that's going to be June 18th. And so we'll be figuring out where we're gonna meet up and all that But we do looks like we got a lot of good places to hit a lot of trailer parks and everything we're finding down there, so So excited about that. I know we did it last year. I think it was around the same time But So excited to go back down Charleston and then and knock some doors down there But just being a prayer for that if you can't make it just be in prayer for it and pray for us as we go down there and then birthdays Today is what the 15th. So Zoe's got to be this week, right? Zoe and Hannah Jones, but We'll have to get her later, we'll have to remember And so but speaking of Hannah Jones is the Jones family Is pray for ginger So she's past her due date now Which happens obviously? But be in prayer for miss ginger and the baby and just everything there that everything goes well I'm sure she's probably ready To not be pregnant At this point and wanting the baby to be here. So but be in prayer for her and the Jones family and then be in prayer for all the all the Pregnant ladies on the list here. So miss Catherine miss Alyssa miss Rachel as well Coming up in we're coming into June so Just be in prayer for that and then we have the McShea anniversary this week. So So how many years have you guys been married? I like how Shane like checks for confirmation. He's like five right five. Yeah, okay Hey, hey, I'm with you there like I literally was thinking this year I'm like, we're at we're gonna be at seven right now. It's it's eight, you know It's just one of those things that I have to think about it too. So So well happy anniversary will sing happy anniversary to you and we'll sing happy birthday to Zoe. Oh Yeah, I forgot about my own daughter Where is Anna poor little Anna I knew your birthday was coming up It's really I'm just suffering from heat stroke yesterday and So, but yeah Anna's birthday is coming up this week, so yeah I'll sing happy birthday to Anna and Zoe And and then happy anniversary to the McShea's I'm trying to think if there's anything else as far as Upcoming events or anything like that just be in lookout for anything coming up after this That all I got so brother Dave's gonna come sing one more song obviously we'll do the happy birthdays the Anniversary and all that and then who's reading this morning Brother Jason said brother Jason gonna be reading Luke 16 for us this morning All Right, so take your songbooks and turn to song 209 song 209 Song 200 we'll sing sunshine in the soul But before we do that we need to sing happy birthdays you sing happy birthday to Anna Anna Your birthday is Tuesday, right? Anna how old are you gonna be? Five Wow unreal a whole hand. That's awesome. All right, and then we got Zoe Zoe's gonna be 11 So and your birthday's on Thursday. Yep, and like a good dad. I remember and so if we could get Zoey and Anna to stand So All right, so we're saying happy birthday to the two birthday girls. Here we go. Ready? Happy birthday to you Happy birthday To you Happy birthday God bless you Happy birthday to you Happy birthday to both of you. And oh, yeah. Happy anniversary. Here we go. All right McShay's Stand up Well Well, you guys you guys gotta give each other like a big kiss every after we're done then Brother Shane's like yeah, we can do that All right, sounds good so sing happy anniversary to the McShay's five years. Amen. That's awesome. All right, here we go ready Happy anniversary to you Happy anniversary to you Happy anniversary God bless you Happy anniversary to you All Right, so we'll sing song two hundred and nine There is sunshine in my soul today more glorious and bright Then glows in any earthly skies for Jesus is my life Oh, there's sunshine blessed sunshine When the peaceful happy moments roll When Jesus shows his smiling face, there is sunshine in the soul there's music in my soul today a Carol to the King and Jesus Listening can hear the songs. I cannot see Oh, there's sunshine blessed Sunshine when the peaceful happy moments roll When Jesus shows his smiling face, there is sunshine in the soul There's springtime in my soul today for when the Lord is near the dove of peace sings in my heart the flowers of grace Appear. Oh, there's sunshine blessed sunshine when the peaceful happy moments roll when Jesus shows his smiling face, there is sunshine in the soul There is gladness in my soul today and hope and praise and love for blessings which he gives me now for joys laid up above hold their sunshine Blessed sunshine when the peaceful happy moments roll when Jesus shows His smiling face there is sunshine in the soul All right, take your Bibles and turn to Luke chapter number 16 Luke 16 in your Bibles. We'll have brother Jason read that for us All right, Luke chapter 16 Luke chapter 16 And he said also unto his disciples There was a certain rich man which had a steward and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods And he called him and said unto him How is how is it that I hear this of thee give an account of thy stewardship? For thou mayest be no longer steward then the steward said within himself What shall I do for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship? I cannot dig to beg I am ashamed. I am resolved what to do that when I put out of the stewardship They may receive me into their houses So he called every one of his Lord's debtors unto him and said unto the first how much oest thou unto my lord And he said 100 measures of oil and he said unto him take thy bill and sit down quickly and write 50 Then said he to another and how much oest thou and he said 100 measures of wheat and he said unto him take thy bill And write for score and the Lord commended the unjust steward because he had done wisely For the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light and I say unto you make to yourselves friends of the mammon of Unrighteousness that when he failed they may receive you into everlasting habitations He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in Much if therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous Mammon who will commit to your trust the true riches and if you have not been faithful in that which is another man's Who shall give you that which is your own? No Servant can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or else he will hold to the one and despise The other you cannot serve God and mammon and the Pharisees also who were covetous Heard all these things and they derided him and he said unto them Ye are they which justify yourselves before men but God know with your hearts for that which is highly esteemed among men is Abomination in the sight of God the law and the prophets were until John Since that time 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 Whosoever putteth away his wife and marrieth another Committeth adultery and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery There was a certain rich man Which was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day and there was a certain beggar named Lazarus Which was laid at his gate full of sores and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores and it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's Bosom the rich man also died and was buried and in hell He lift up his eyes being in torments and seeth Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom And he cried and said father Abraham have mercy on me and sin Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water And cool my tongue for I am tormented in this flame But Abraham said son remember that thou in thy lifetime receiveth thy good things and likewise last Lazarus evil things But now he is comforted in thou art tormented and beside all this between us and you there is a great golf fixed So that they which would pass from hence to you cannot neither can they neither can they pass to us that would come from thence Then he said I pray thee therefore father that thou wouldst send him to my father's house For I have five brethren that he may testify unto them lest they also come into this place of torment Abraham saith unto him they have Moses in the prophets let them hear them and he said nay father Abraham But if one went unto them from the dead they will repent And he said unto him if they hear not Moses in the prophets neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead Let's pray Heavenly Father. Thank you for your word Thank you for this time that we have to be in church and hear your word preach Lord I pray that you would be with Pastor Robinson as he delivers the message and just help us all that be edified this morning In Jesus name I pray Amen You ever just like listening to well I do when I do a sermon sometimes there's like points I wanted to make and then as it's reading I'm like just want to make a point I didn't put it in there and then I'm like trying to figure out where it was at and everything anyway, so That being said I'll I may get to that point or not. We'll see we'll see on that So Luke chapter 16 I'm gonna actually be hitting on this passage of the rich man and Lazarus the rich man and Lazarus so down in verse 19 there is this story now a lot of people that want to try to deny that there's an actual hell will try to say well, this is just a parable and They'll just try to explain it away as being a parable. But the question you have to ask yourself. Okay, let's say it's a parable What's the spiritual meaning of it? Right? I mean when you think about a parable a lot of times It's a physical thing like a net with fish in it or there's you know You know just different things like wheat and tares and and there's like a physical thing that's being stated To it's but it's never like that physical thing doesn't exist Right. Does that make sense? Like when you're looking at a parable all the times like sheeps the sheep and the goats while sheep and goats exist, right? You know wheat and hair exist like all those things exist they're trying to say well this one's a parable but in this the parable doesn't really exist and Then there's some spiritual meaning behind that but the question I would have is like well, what's the spiritual meaning? Behind what's being said second of all, I don't believe this is a parable at all because there's a man's name mentioned Okay, so show me a parable where it stated it's a parable and there's like actually a person's name attached to the parable, right? Whereas here we have Lazarus name Being mentioned here. So I believe this is an actual story. These are actual people that actually existed or still exist ones in heaven ones in hell and This passage here. The reason I want to get into this is because it shows us a lot about What happens to someone when they die, you know both when they believe but also when they when they're unbelievers And they're just different things. I want you to see in this passage now in verse 19 here It says there was a certain rich man which was clothed in purple and in fine linen and Faired sumptuously every day and there was a certain beggar named Lazarus Which was laid at his gate full of sores and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores now went in this story What you're gonna what it's what the story is really showing you is this this extreme Dichotomy and a dichotomy is basically like two different things that are on two sides of the spectrum, right? So you have a rich man that basically fares sumptuously he gets everything he wants you have a beggar over here that's not only poor but he's like got sores and he's like ill and Do you see the stark difference between these two people? Okay Now in in the world you have everything in between that right So this story is just kind of showing that stark difference of someone that has everything in this life They have all the things they need they're just eating Drinking being married and then you have this guy over here who's poor but not only poor but you know Has sores all over his body homeless like just that the you know, rich guys up here The poor man's down here. Okay. Now it doesn't state, you know, like the poor man was a believer Although we know he is because he went to heaven and it doesn't state Well, it does state later on that obviously it's very clear that he did not heed the law in the prophets He didn't believe he didn't he wasn't persuaded by the Bible and So with that being said This is not stating that poor people automatically go to heaven and rich people automatically go to hell Yeah, I want to make that very clear This is a story to really just show you The end game for a rich man that doesn't believe in the end game for a poor man that does believe okay, and there are poor people that will die and go to hell and There are rich people that will believe on Christ and go to heaven Okay, so this isn't a story to basically state like well, you know All poor people are going to heaven all rich people are going to hell but But you know in general More poor people are going to heaven Than rich people and more rich people are going to hell than poor people Okay, and here's why go to James chapter 2 James chapter 2 and forgive me My allergies have been really hitting me hard. And so If I'm sneezing up here, you know struggling that's why So In James chapter 2 and verse 5 here It's gonna tell us it's gonna give us a reason why a lot of times poor people that are poor and that's kind of relative Right. I was actually reading this story to my to Anna and Clara and we were kind of talking about Being poor being rich and what that means I say well, it's kind of relative right because You know people can look at us and say we're rich and I Wouldn't I wouldn't kind of deny that because of just how much God is blessed and how much things I have more than other people In the world, right, but if you compared me to like Elon Musk or Bill Gates or like people like that Then it's not even you know, obviously I'm poor compared to them, right? So it's kind of in perspective as far as what you're looking at. I'll say this There's always someone that's gonna probably be poorer than you and there's always gonna be someone that's richer than you Okay, but in this story we're kind of looking at the Extremes right the richest guy. So like this rich man be like Bill Gates. It'll be like, you know, Elon Musk, you know I don't whatever rich people Bezos, you know, who's all the other rich people who cares but That's what you're kind of dealing with is these these rich people that are way up there that are just wealthy And all that then you have people that are like homeless poor like have illnesses Sicknesses all the stuff that's down over on the other side Now in James chapter 2 verse 5 knows what says harken my beloved brethren hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom Which he hath promised to them that love him But ye have despised the poor do not rich men oppress you and draw you before the judgment seats Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? generally speaking Poor people are gonna hear the gospel Poor people are gonna believe the gospel. That's why the Bible says, you know in Galatians the the apostles are telling Paul, you know Or or Peter and James and John are saying to Paul remember the poor and he says the same thing Which I also was forward to do, you know, basically he's like yes, of course Is that we go to the poor when we go out soul winning? We're hitting the poor areas first Why because they're gonna be more receptive to the gospel They're more open to the gospel than rich the rich neighborhoods. The rich neighborhoods are actually the last place that we hit And we'll probably hit that a lot less frequently, too So there'll be like a rich area be like well, we need to knock every door So we'll go there, but we're probably not gonna go back there for a while Whereas a poor area will hit that every year right because it's gonna be more receptive because And there's reasons why You know the Bible talks about being poor in spirit and broken and contrite in spirit and those that don't have a lot They have to trust in the Lord to some extent to get them through life. And so they're already kind of inherently putting their trust and dependence on God to get them through life and Therefore when it comes to the gospel like well, of course Rich people on the other hand go to Mark chapter 10 Mark chapter 10 Notice what Jesus says about rich people getting saved rich people entering to the kingdom of heaven And it's not saying being riches is sinful But it could be a huge stumbling block to being a believer to put in your faith in Christ So children if you're like man, I wish we had more money I wish we had more riches You probably shouldn't wish that actually you should be glad that you aren't you weren't born into some rich family Actually when I see like super rich people or people that have a lot of money have kids. I actually feel bad for the kids You're like, well you feel bad for them because they have everything. Yes Because those that have everything don't need anything I'm not saying you know, then the Bible says in Proverbs chapter 30. Give me neither Poverty nor wealth Basically, I'm not saying pray that you're like this beggar that's at sores and he's begging for crumbs from the rich man's table Okay, you don't want to be in that state and God doesn't want you to be in that state actually the Bible says that you know talking about the righteous begging bread if you're living for God and doing what you should be doing and You know what? I think that beggar probably was just saved and wasn't actually probably doing what he should be doing Okay, and because I believe that God will take care of you if you're you know Saved and you're trying to keep his commandments trying to do what's right You're not gonna be begging bread Okay But that doesn't mean that a safe person can't be begging bread because you can have a safe person that's not right with God Living in sin not doing what they should be doing. Okay, but But that being said is that you know, I'm not saying to wish that you're in poverty But you just don't want you don't want to be wealthy Okay, and and people that are wealthy. It's not that it's sinful It's just that that's a huge stumbling block and that will cause you to go into snares of the devil and into you know destruction and all that But in Mark chapter 10 here Here's a story of this this young man that comes up to Jesus and he has a lot of possessions. He's a rich And notice what says in verse 24 because he basically comes up to Jesus and says good master What shall I do to inherit eternal life and Jesus says why call us out me good. There's none good but one that is God and Then he says keep you know, Jesus tells him. Well, you know the law and he kind of gives some of the law as far as some of the moral commandments and everything and He's like I've kept these from my youth up. So the rich man doesn't even admit that he's ever sinned Do you see the problem already in the mind of the rich man in the mind of that that that idea like all you know? I'm good. I haven't done anything wrong Right ask Donald Trump if he's ever sinned. I wonder if he'd say yes or not Okay You know, you probably talk around I'd be like well, you know, I'm the best I'm the best at everything, you know, and when it comes to not sinning, I'm the best at that, you know I don't know I don't want to speak for him But I'm just saying like there's obviously a lot of rich people out there and they had that mentality that they they haven't done wrong they've done everything right and And in this case, obviously we know that for all of sin to come short of the glory of God It's foolishness to think that you have kept all the commandments and never broken anything So in Mark chapter 10 verse 24 says and the disciples were astonished at his words But Jesus answered again and said unto them children How hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God? So notice in this passage reason I picked this passage because it doesn't just say how hard is it for a rich man to enter? The kingdom of God it says how hard is it for them that trust in riches? So when it comes to a rich man getting saved You know, what they have to do is stop trusting in their riches and trust in what? Jesus okay trusting God for salvation So that's the problem is he's trusting in his riches to get him through everything and to you know Basically, that's their high tower. That's that's what they're putting their confidence in Okay And keep reading there says it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle Than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God and they which they were astonished out of measure saying among themselves Who then can be saved? so imagine that Jesus you're a safe person and Jesus is telling this person keep the commandments and you'll have life and Then the guy says well, yeah, I've kept it all and then he says well, okay well then sell all that you have and then you'll have a reward in heaven, you know, come and follow me and And then he goes off sorrowful because he has many possessions Imagine a safe person if you're if you're thinking well, you got to keep all the commandments to go to heaven So they're astonished because they're basically You know not connecting that he's kind of showing them like hey You can't do that Because notice what he says here Because there's like who then can be saved and it says in verse 27 and Jesus looking upon them Seth with men. It is impossible You know what he's saying is that it's impossible to keep the law It's impossible to actually get the heaven by being a good person and you know keeping all the law because whosoever shall keep the whole law and offended one point he's guilty of all and There's not a just man upon earth that doeth good and sineth not so That's what he's saying. He's like it's impossible So he's they're kind of like astonishing like you're saying you keep law technically. Yes Technically if you never sinned and you kept all the law why would you go to hell right for the wages of sin is death But here's the problem For all of sin and control of the glory of God the scripture has concluded all understand whether Jew or Gentile the idea there is that It's impossible because we've all sinned We've already come short and then he says go to go back to chapter 9 Because usually you read chapter 9 before you get to chapter 10 go to chapter 9 and verse 23 He says it's it's a with the men. It is impossible, but not with God for with God. All things are possible So when it comes to being saved, you know what he's saying? It's not possible for men to save themselves It's not possible for you to get saved by your own merit by your good works But with God all things are possible why because knows what says in March chapter 9 verse 23 Jesus said unto him if thou canst believe all things are possible to him that believe it So it's impossible for this rich man to keep the law and To never sin right that's impossible. But what is possible is to believe and if you believe Then you're saved For by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves is the gift of God not of works Let's say any man should boast So you see the picture here is that the rich man is trusting in his riches He doesn't even want to admit that he's a sinner and there are rich people that will admit they're a sinner, but they're too proud To humble themselves and say I need a Savior How about this to humble themselves to hear some poor man tell them how they need to be saved Right, I mean think about that Think about somebody let's let's say you you went up to the door and to this rich person's house and They have to humble themselves to say this poor person that came up to my door Actually showed me the greatest thing that I should ever have which is salvation of my soul and to admit that Right, it's humility that the rich man is missing Because riches will puff you up with pride They will help they will make you trust in yourself and not in God. That's why we don't you know, I Hold to that, you know Proverbs chapter 30. Give me neither poverty nor wealth Right, I don't want poverty to the point where I have to steal and blaspheme God's name, right? But I don't want wealth to the point where I'll basically forget God and just trust in myself and not trust in the Lord Okay, so you want to be in the middle there where God's You're trusting in the Lord and any he's getting you through life and but you're also not begging bread You know, you have food and Raymond you're content with that and you're being taken care of Okay, now go back to Luke chapter 16. So with that in mind Understand this is that the rich man's unsaved. He's not a believer Okay, it's not it's not because he's rich that he goes to hell But his riches kind of sent him to hell because his riches caused him not to get saved right Meaning that that he was trusting in his riches and those riches caused him not to humble himself in order to believe on Christ and get safe, whereas the beggar He's poor. He has nothing but he had faith in Christ why because you know the poor are more likely to put their faith in Christ than Anybody else okay now in Luke chapter 16. The thing that I want you to see here is the immediacy of heaven and hell As far as like when you die, we do not believe in this this false doctrine called soul sleep Who here has heard of soul sleep? Okay, soul sleep is like where they state. Okay, when we die right now, you're kind of asleep You don't really know what you're not conscious of what's going on until the resurrection Now your body is asleep when you die But your soul is not okay in this this this passage right here really puts that the bed on No pun intended But that's asleep, you know That both heaven and hell is not something that like you're waiting to get to okay But when Luke chapter 16 verse 22 says in a came to pass that the beggar died and was and was carried by angels into Abraham's bosom So immediately when when when when the beggar dies, he's carried by angels To Abraham's bosom now Abraham is a person and his bosom is the body part Okay, now I know we're dealing in heaven where you have a spirit Yeah, you don't have a spiritual body yet But this also shows you that And I kind of try to explain this to my children as much as I can that a soul is going to look like the body Okay, like it's not like we're just like we look like Casper, you know Like where you just kind of have this orb looking thing with a big round head and you're just floating around like a specter You know, like you're gonna look like You okay, you're gonna have arms and legs and you're gonna look like you and a bosom is just your chest. Okay, so the thing that I get from this is That when a when a when a say person dies They're reunited with family Okay, because Abraham is kind of a distant relative obviously at this beggar right as far as You know, it's not as immediate grandfather, but it's it's back down through the line So this kind of shows you that hey when you get to heaven, you're gonna be reunited with saved family members Okay, and not only that but you're gonna embrace them and So this is a very good comfort, you know, people like all Luke 16, you know, you're gonna go to Luke 16 You know, you're Debbie downer. Listen, Luke 16 is a great passage for believers Because for believers, we're the we're the beggar We're gonna be carried by angels into the bosom of family members Now I also believe that this will be you know We'll be embracing this the Savior and just so you know what bosom means go to John chapter 13 John chapter 13 and verse 23 John chapter 13 verse 23 Because you probably all know the famous Passage of the last the Last Supper if you will where you have the disciple whom Jesus loves leaning on Jesus Breast but in this passage it says bosom. Okay now it says In verse 23 now there was leaning on Jesus bosom one of his disciples whom Jesus loved, okay Now the reason I say this is because there is another false doctrine in which I don't really want to get into in this sermon Which is that Abraham's bosom is in like the heart like in hell and that in the Old Testament all those that died Went down into Abraham's bosom and that's a place. Okay. No, this is a person Okay, and let me ask you a question before Abraham was alive. What was it called? right What was it called? Was it called Noah's bosom? Was it called? Adam's bosom before that right? Was it called Abraham's bosom when Noah died be like who's Abraham And why am I in his bosom, you know? No, it's just very clear that we're they carry the angels It's just known that you're in heaven because Abraham's there Abraham and you say why why Abraham? well, maybe because Abraham is literally the figure of faith Right. I mean think of Romans chapter 4 when it talks about Abraham and how he is the father of all them that believe And the reason that it means that it states that is because he's the example Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness and It says that he was fully persuaded that what he had promised He was able also to perform and therefore is imputed unto him for righteousness that Abraham is that example of faith And so you know what that shows me is that the beggar was a believer and he went to the bosom of his the father Of them that believe right? So it obviously is showing you that picture as far as like why is it Abraham why isn't it like This this beggars other family member or whatever. Okay? but So when it comes to this I Don't really want to get into that document is such it's just dumb. Okay people went to heaven You know Abel went to heaven when he was murdered by his brother Cain Elijah went to heaven Noah went to heaven. They all went to heaven. Okay And in Jobah talks about the sons of God presenting themselves before the Lord those sons of God are children of God and as Many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God even to them that what believe on his name Okay, so, you know in the Old Testament before the Old Testament people were going to heaven that believe on Christ and in The immediacy of going to heaven it talks about these angels carrying you but go to second Quran I'm sorry second Corinthians chapter 5 second Corinthians chapter 5 second Corinthians chapter 5 In verse 6 Because when you believe on Christ your soul is completely cleansed from sin and your soul and spirit have eternal life So you never really died like the beggar died physically and was buried It talks about like the body being buried and stuff like that the body dies, but the soul never really dies Okay, it's immediate like you close your eyes and death your body dies and you're immediately carried up into heaven and you're with the Lord Okay, and you're with your family members that are You're immediately there. Okay, and you say well, you know ain't carry them there. So there's a little bit of time yet Have you read about what how fast those angels move? It talks about like lightning. Okay that they move from one area to the next So I don't think it's like, you know, like a stork just flapping its wings up to heaven It's just like we're gonna get there eventually guys, you know, like I think it's gonna be pretty quick that this happens so But you know, maybe there's a little bit of time there Obviously, there's a long distance to get there, but I think it's probably pretty instantaneous but it does show you that he's kind of using his angels to get you there and and And all that now in 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 verse 6 it says where for we are always confident knowing that whilst we are at home in the body We are absent from the Lord So notice how it's using the body kind of like it's a dwelling place, right? Because we're talking about our soul and our spirit here that We're kind of just dwelling in these bodies right now This is our home right now, but then it goes on to say it says for we walk by faith not by sight We are confident I say and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with Lord So the moment you close your eyes and death the spirit solely the body and what Luke 16 stating is that he literally has angels carry you up and That you're carried into heaven you're with the Lord so not only are you gonna see loved ones But you're gonna be in the presence of the Lord So I believe you're gonna be embracing the bosom of loved ones Embracing the bosom of your Savior the Lord Jesus Christ, and you know what? That's why that's why Paul says but for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain Right. I'm in straight betwixt two having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better Nevertheless the body in the flesh is more than equal for you, right? I mean you can understand that kind of like well I kind of need to stay here because I need to I need to help people out You can kind of think especially a lot of us has kids we have family, right? So we're kind of like I need to be here to take care of my kids I need to be here to you know protect them teach them raise them be around them one Obviously you love them you want to spend time with them But you also have this desire like man definitely would be better in heaven though I definitely is better there than here, but there's things we need to do while we're down here Okay, so that immediacy of a saved person that believes on Christ that they're immediately in heaven Okay, so it's a great comfort when it comes to that Now go to Psalm 73 Psalm 73 This is going to be dealing with Basically a saved person looking at a rich person or someone that's unsaved and they're prospering in this world, okay? Because you can imagine that the beggar would be looking at this rich man be like man This guy has everything you can almost just be like man. I wish I was like this person and Young people I want you to listen to this. Okay, is that we shouldn't be envying the unsaved and all their prosperity and This passage shows you a saved person kind of Admitting that they did this right obviously this is scripture, but I believe this is ASAP I believe that's writing this Psalm and he's basically saying, you know, I admittedly envied the wicked right Not because of the wickedness but because of all the prosperity that they had all the wealth all the riches, right? Notice what says in Psalm 73 and verse 1 truly God is good to Israel even to such as are of a clean heart But as for me my feet were almost gone my steps had well not nigh slipped so he kind of starts off the Psalm stating like You know, those are a clean heart think about when you get saved the hidden man in the heart, which is not corruptible right that inward man That that saved person that's inside of you is clean So he's saying, you know, God is truly good to those that are a clean heart But then he goes on to say but as for me my feet were almost gone and my steps had well nigh slipped Why because he's gonna he's gonna kind of divulge His foolish thinking here. It says for I was envious at the foolish when I saw the prosperity of the wicked Okay so this whole psalm is gonna be basically stating like he's good to us that are saved but You know what? I almost slipped into this foolish thinking of Envying those that are Wicked because of their prosperity. Okay knows what it says here for their for there are no bands in their death And their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men neither Are they plagued like other men? Can you imagine the beggar thinking this right? I mean, he's got sores The dogs are licking his sores, right? Therefore pride compass that compass that them about as a chain Violence covered them as a garment their eyes stand out with fatness They have more than than heart could wish they are corrupt and speak wickedly concerning oppression They speak loftily they set their mouth against the heavens there and their tongue Walketh through the earth You know reading this I feel like I'm reading about our leaders in America right now I mean, this is what the kind of people that you have in leadership and they have a lot of money This is exactly what they're doing and you can think about how you can envy man I wish I had what they had. I wish I had all their riches. I wish I had their power Therefore his people return hither and waters of a full cup are wrung out to them and they say How doth God know and is there knowledge in the Most High behold? These are the ungodly who prosper in the world they increase in riches Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain and wash my hands in innocency. So Notice that he's kind of speaking foolishly here. This is what he was thinking This is how he was slipping down into this thought process, right? It says for all the day long have I been plagued and chastened every morning If I say I will I speak up I will speak thus behold I should offend against the generation of thy children when I thought to know this it was too painful for me So he's like this is just so painful to think about These wicked people that are speaking against God have so much wealth and prosperity and they're doing so great That it's just too painful to think about how well off they have right now Notice in verse 17 until I went to the sanctuary of God then I understood their end Then then understood either end. So notice how now there's a shift. He's like until I Went to the sanctuary of God and think about this This is why Church is important because in the world we have a lot of like wickedness That's running rampant and those wicked people are prospering those wicked people have everything, you know They're up there laughing about the gas prices because they don't have to worry about it. They're laughing about everything Just go on the hell in a handbasket because they don't have to worry about it. They have all the riches They have all the money They're not gonna be worried about whether they're gonna be able to put gas in their tank or whether they'll be able to put food on the table They don't worry about that type of stuff and it's easy to kind of look at them be like man You know wish we had more money like them wish we had that So you come into that the house of the Lord until you read the Bible so you could come into the sanctuary of the Word Of God and you realize their end Okay. Now let's read what it says here says in verse 18 Surely thou didst set them in slippery places thou castest them down into destruction How are they brought into desolation as in a moment think about this when the rich man died He lift up his head his eyes in hell That's what the Bible says being in torment is immediate You know these people that die and you'll see this all the time like these rich people they'll die and everybody's just like oh man It's crazy that person died in a moment. They were brought down to hell It says they are utterly consumed with terrors I mean, it's like reading Luke chapter 16, isn't it in a moment? They're utterly consumed with terrors as a dream when one awake it So I O Lord when thou awakest thou shalt despise their image Thus my heart was grieved and I was pricked in my reigns. So foolish was I and ignorant. I was as a beast before thee Right, so I love this psalm because it really just shows you the thinking process back then of ASAP Who's obviously a great psalmist? Okay, and David obviously the sweet psalmist of Israel, but this idea he's just like, you know, I've got to admit to you. I envied him I Envied, you know the prosperity of the wicked Until I came to the sanctuary of God and then I I heard their end and then it was just like man How foolish was I? Think about the end of the rich man and the end of the beggar and then think about which one you'd rather be Which one would you rather be any day of the week? I'd rather be that beggar that has dogs licking his sores and then for all eternity. I'm comforted Because I put my faith in Christ That makes sense like that the immediacy the immediacy of heaven the immediacy of hell in a moment they're Consumed with terrors and torment, you know, they had all this great stuff when they were alive, but you know what? They're gonna have the opposite when they're in hell go to the back to Luke chapter 16 verse 23 Luke chapter 16 verse 23 I Think I you know, I I know we read it But it says the rich man also died and was buried and in hell he lift up his eyes being in torments and see if Abraham afar off and in Lazarus in his bosom Now with this story You know, this is the one thing I was gonna get to is that It's obviously interesting that someone can see from hell into heaven and vice versa Okay And that's why people say well this is down in the center of the earth and and there's like this golf fix between them And you know, basically they're they're like looking over this golf. Okay. Well hell is described as being dark First of all, so how are you gonna see people in hell? Like this is obviously a miraculous event now you say well Show me another place where this is going to be seen where this this could happen I think this is actually gonna happen where everybody in hell is gonna actually see the Lord Jesus coming in the clouds okay, look at Revelation chapter 1 Revelation chapter 1 and To me this is how this would make sense because Who pierced Jesus well, obviously the Romans to technically took the the spear and pierced them But there's that verse where it says they shall look on him whom they pierced and I think that definitely applies when it happened but notice what it says in and in Revelation chapter 1 verse 7 says behold he cometh with clouds and Every eye shall see him and you say well, okay, that's just everybody. It's alive, you know at the time we'll see him, right? It says and they also which pierced him Now that's interesting, right Because now we're talking about people that have died a long time ago That pierced him and then it says and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him even so amen Now if I can find this verse I'm pretty sure it's in Mark where he's being interrogated and Basically, I'm pretty sure it's Mark so Where he says, you know, it says art thou the Christ Yeah, the son of blessed so in mark 14 in verse 61 says but he held his peace and answered nothing again The high priest asked him and said unto him Art thou the Christ the son of the blessed and Jesus said I am now This is a great passage because he straight-up says I am and like Matthew says you say that I am So he said both, okay, but in this passage it records that he says I am I'm hey, I'm the son of the blessed right, but then it says and notice this Ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven Now do you believe that now you could be a preterist and say well Jesus already came in the clouds like back in 78 here or something like that, but that's ludicrous Okay, just be honest, that's just insanity to think that Jesus already came in the clouds and we're in the millennial rain Even though it's 2,000 years later So Taking that aside that we're still looking for Jesus to come in the clouds. Okay? That it's stating that they're gonna see him coming in the clouds How are they gonna see him come in the clouds? How did the rich man see Abraham in heaven? All right, obviously it's a spiritual event right we're not talking about there none of them are in physical bodies right in this story They're all in you know souls, right? So we're dealing with a spiritual realm and I believe everybody that's in hell and specifically those that killed the Lord Jesus That they had him put being put to death because he's saying you're gonna see me coming in the clouds and those that saw that He was pierced those that pierced him and all that They are going those that mocked him those that you know, you know, and obviously maybe some of those got saved Okay, because obviously Jesus said to a lot of you know to them that were nailing him to the cross forgive them for they know Not what they do You know, hopefully some of them got saved. Okay, but That being said is that that's the point. I wanted to get across there is that this story kind of shows you You know a similar thing that's gonna happen when Jesus comes in the clouds This miraculous event of seeing if people in hell seeing heaven or seeing something that's here on the earth, okay So go to Luke chapter 16 verse 23 so Luke chapter 16 verse 23 it says and in hell He lift up his eyes being in torments and see if Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom and he cried and said father Abraham have mercy on me and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger and water and cool my tongue for I am tormented in this flame It's hell a good place Now People want to say well hell is just separation from God That's interesting because the Bible says if I make my bed in hell behold thou art there So it's not separation from God actually, you know the Bible says is that his his indignation is what fuels hell and His presence is actually what fuels hell Okay, God is everywhere. You can't take God out of anything, but God's the one that that created that the hell for the devil and his angels and God's there. Okay. They want to flee from the presence of the Lord, but you know what? They're not gonna be able to get away from them and in this case they're gonna be dealing with his wrath and so the the torment of hell and and Think about what this rich man saying he's saying he doesn't say give me a glass of water He says I just want you to to basically Lazarus to take his finger dip it in water And take his and go over and put that on his tongue So you just have a little drop of water that's To the relief that because he's tormented just to have a little bit of relief That's how bad hell is Okay, he's tormented in this flame it's fire It's torment, you know talks about you know, and in Psalm 73 about being with terrors it talks about that they're consumed under consumed with terrors and Hell is a horrific place. This is why we go soul-winning Okay, just to be honest with you Because I do believe in this place. I do believe that people will go here if they don't believe on Christ and If I didn't why am I going out soul-winning and I think that there's a lot of Christians that Just don't believe this to that extent or at least they don't believe that most people will go there But the question was asked are there a few that be saved and Jesus answered You know straight as the gate and narrows the way And few there be that find it So the answer is there are few people that are saved Most people are going to hell But that's why we should have motivation to say, you know what? We don't want people to go to hell Because this place is horrific. This place is obviously not a place that you want to see anybody go And you know just just a reminder and I think that we always need a reminder of hell every once in a while okay, a reminder of of this place that actually exists that people are going to and Just to remind us to keep and listen this is a soul-winning Church Why are we a soul-winning Church though? Are we going out soul-winning because we want accolades from the world? Definitely not and we want out solely because we want the world to like us Definitely not because it never makes the world like us. Okay, they're always like why do you do that? Get out of my town, you know, whatever, you know, they don't like it We do it because there are people that will hear it and there are people that will get saved and You know what? The fields are ripe on the harvest Jesus said and it's very true You know, there's places where they're just not a soul-winning Church and it is just right for the picking and You know what? It's still we're still winning souls here. We've been here for five years close to five years You know going out soul-winning and obviously we're in Morgantown Anyway going soul-winning before that and people are getting saved year after year year after year and you know what? The reason we go and the main reason I go You know, you can say well duty demands that God says to go the the real reason I think most of us go is because we do believe that there's a place called hell and we don't want to see people go There we want to give people at least the opportunity We can't force anybody to get saved But if I at least give someone the opportunity to say hey, you know This is how you get this you get saved and now it's in their court to believe I can live with that Like I can I can sleep better knowing that at least they know You know, they're not just ignorant about it They actually know what it takes and they have the choice to put their faith in it or not Now go back to Luke chapter 16 verse 25 Luke chapter 16 verse 25 and Like I said notice this this dichotomy if you will of the end result of a believing poor person and an unbelieving rich person right So it's it's kind of like that idea of you know, it's better You know a living dog is better than a dead lion, you know Like obviously a lion is strongest among beasts And so it's like if they're both alive you pick the line as far as like which one would be better But When it comes to it's better to be Poor and believing than rich and unbelieving. Okay is the end of the poor person that believes everlasting life, you know heaven But the end of the rich person that doesn't believe is everlasting torment now in Luke chapter 16 verse 25 It says but Abraham said son remember that that thou in thy lifetime Receivest that thou I'm sorry receivest thy good things and likewise Lazarus evil things But now he is comforted and now are tormented So see how the tables have turned Okay When you started this passage who was comforted the rich man? He had everything But the poor man was completely opposite of that he was tormented I mean he had sores he had dogs licking his sores I don't think that was a good thing. I don't think it's mentioning that as like a comfort I don't know about you. But if I had sores, I wouldn't want dogs licking it. Okay, and So he was in this this state of torment here in this world and as believers we need to think about that Why not be tormented in this world? Why not, you know, let us labor therefore to enter into that rest lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief Meaning let's just suffer now get people saved do what we should be doing Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecutions. So be it because this life is short It says what is your life? It is even a vapor that appear for a little time and then vanish at the way We have such a little short time in this life Why not just suffer right now get a lot of people say do what we need to be doing for the Lord Ultimately, if you didn't do that, you still be saved because you're a believer you still go to heaven But why not suffer now because you know, you're gonna be comforted later Like we know what the end is our end game is heaven the moment you believe on Christ That's your end game. And that's that's the the end result is you're going to heaven You're gonna be no more pain. No more sorrow. No more sickness for all eternity. And so you know this this this kind of showing the two sides to this as far as the rich man and Lazarus on the fact that the tables have turned You know what all those rich wicked people the tables will turn on them when they die the tables will completely turn on them And all the poor people that believe that they've been oppressing tables will turn when they when they die That's all gonna turn and obviously we're seeing the extreme right because you're gonna have people that aren't Completely poor and poverty that believe on Christ that are going to die and be comforted as well Okay, because they put their faith in Christ. So Just kind of showing you that that's going on there And We see that there's this great Gall fix between here and this is where a lot of people say well, you know This is talking about some holding chamber down in hell, you know Well, look at verse 26 there And I was gonna get into more verses on like being poor in spirit and all that I think you get the point Ecclesiastes talks about it Is better to be in the house of mourning than then to go to the house of feasting for that That is the end of all men and the living will lay it to his heart meaning that when you go to a funeral It's actually better to be at a funeral because those people are thinking about death. They're thinking about where am I gonna go when I die? That's where you're gonna end up probably having a lot more reception with when you're talking to people then in the house of feasting like you Go to a wedding Preach, you know giving someone the gospel at a funeral is gonna be a lot easier than giving it at a wedding Okay, and so just those aspects of it. You'd rather be in mourning. You'd rather be poor You'd rather be in that state here in this life because you're gonna be more receptive to the gospel Those people are gonna be more receptive to the gospel and it's not saying it's wrong to have a wedding or have fun or you know Rejoice, okay But when it comes to salvation you you'd rather be in a poor state a mind. You'd rather be in a humble state of mind Luke 16 verse 26 here says and beside all this Between us and you there's a great goal fixed now golf. This is just like a chasm Okay, this is just a big space gap between them. Okay And when it comes to this, is there any greater gap between heaven and hell? Right, I mean if you just think about it in a big picture, is there any bigger gap between heaven and hell? I mean that is the the farthest you can get from each other, right is Heaven where the God's thrones at and hell all beneath. Okay, that's as far away from each other as you can get in that that Golf that's between them. Okay, and Just to give you some verses on this and in job 11 verse 8 it says it is It is as high as heaven. What can't thou do deeper than hell? What can't thou know when it's kind of showing you kind of the the extremes and even in Israel like You know as far as like the the the the northernmost part and the southernmost part It'll be like from Dan the Beersheba, you know, and it's basically giving you like here's the extents of it And throughout the Bible would be like as high as heaven as low as hell Okay, and in Psalm 139 In verse 7 says whether shall I go from thy spirit or whether? Shall I flee from thy presence if I send up into heaven thou art there if I make my bed in hell Behold thou art there So just showing you that that that that gap between there as far as the distance that you could go So if you're gonna say like going from one end to the other heaven and hell is the farthest you can go right and Then another verse on this is Amos 9 2 it says though they dig into hell Then shall mine hand take them though they climb up to heaven. That's why I bring them down This is an all-inclusive but this is just something that the Bible does a lot where it kind of shows you like the extent of something and You know the idea here is that You know what this golf that's fixed between them. It's a big golf. Okay. It's a big gap between heaven and hell but the other thing to think about here is That it says if you keep reading there in Psalm 16 verse 26 so that they which would pass from hence to you Cannot neither can they pass to us? That would come from thence now hence and thence just means like from here or from there or to there, right? So Meaning this is that those that are here in heaven Can't pass even if we wanted to Can't pass go down into hell, but those that are in hell can't come up to heaven. You know what this shows you the the the unchangeable state of being Once you die Okay, you're in heaven. There is no way to go into hell. You can't do it. And if you're in hell There's no way to go into heaven your past hope of salvation once you die without Christ and It just shows you that Even those that would want to go down there and try to help people in hell and try to like ease their pain Can't do it and obviously those that are in hell can't make it and can't go Past that goal that's fixed between them to get into heaven. So go back to Luke chapter 16 verse 27 here And you probably heard this before when it comes to hell is That people will say in the world like, you know, well, yeah, I'm going to hell But all my friends are there and we're gonna all just party it up in hell I've heard this I don't know how many times out soul winning or just people that you talk to people you run into you like yeah Well, I'm just we're just gonna go have fun in hell You know where that phrase, you know, I'd rather you know Rain in hell than serve in heaven or something like that some stupidity like that. I'm gonna be raining in hell You're gonna be tormented in hell. And by the way, the devil's not raining there either There's an angel set up that's the king of the bottomless pit and it's not the devil That king of the bottomless pits gonna take the devil and Bind him in chains and cast them into the bottomless pit to be tormented for a thousand years Then he's gonna be cast into the lake of fire where hell's being cast and that's the final place of hell Okay, he's gonna be there forever. He's not raining. He's not like porky pig with a pitchfork poking people and tormenting people Like he is literally gonna be in the lowest hell. He's gonna be tormented more than anybody else So no one's raining in hell and no one's partying in hell is this right does this rich man sound like he's partying down there It's not like he's having a good time And let me ask you a question does he want anyone does he want his family to go there Because that's the idea like I'm gonna go down there where all my family and all my friends are at Well, let's see a response from someone that's in hell and see what they would want When it comes to this verse 27 It says then he said I pray thee therefore father that thou wouldest send him to my father's house For I have five brethren that he may testify unto them lest they should also they also come into this place of torment So he's got five brothers that are still alive and he's saying sin Lazarus up there that he can testify this place So they don't come here You know what he's saying I don't want my brother's coming here I don't want my family coming here So if you ever wanted to hear a response from someone in hell, they don't want other people to go there that they care about It also shows you that they're conscious They remember Their family they remember Things from the from the world they came from, right? They're not unconscious They're not sleeping They're awake They are not they're not alive. They're dead. Okay, but they're conscious about what's going on around them. I remember running into This young lady that was out soloing. I was out soloing in this young lady she said that she basically talks to Devils and She uses a Ouija board and all this stuff She was like a teenager, right? And she's like the Devils told me that I that that hell is awesome and that they want me to go there I'm like, I don't doubt that at all. I didn't say listen. Listen, you're crazy You're just you know, you don't know what you're talking about I'm like I I was guaranteed that you have been talking to Devils and that they do want you to go there because they do the Devils hate you You know why because they hate God and you and you know what? man is made in the image of God and the woman is made in the glory of man and when they see you it reminds them of God and They hate you and they would they do want you to go to hell But I said you're not gonna enjoy it though And I showed her this passage She ended up getting saved because She saw okay. No hell is a place of torment and Anybody that's there doesn't want you to come there Okay, now the Devils want you to go there Okay The devil wants you once all on believers said to go there Because he wants to take as many people with him as he can he knows his end, but he wants everybody to go with them okay, but Those that are down there the people that they love that are up here on the earth still that are still alive they don't want them to come there and Go I'm trying to see how far I want to go with this as far as talking about Kind of severity of hell here. I Think you get the point. Okay, go to mark chapter 9. We'll kind of read this and the idea here is that Jesus Talks about the severity of hell and Remember we were talking about that if you keep the whole law and yet offended one point He is guilty of all and he's kind of hitting on this point that let's say you were to keep the whole law And Here's thing. Let's say you're perfect right now. You never sinned you're good You've kept the whole law Okay, these verses is what Jesus would have to say to you if you're gonna try to stay perfect and keep the law and not offend Okay, but remember if you fend in one point guilty of all meaning that you're broken the law You're gonna you've sinned for the wages sin is death But in March chapter 9 verse 43 says and if thy hand offend thee cut it off It is better for thee to enter into life Maimed than having two hands to go into hell into the fire that never shall be quenched Where their worm dieth not and their fire is not quenched and if thy foot offend thee cut it off It is better for thee to To enter halt 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 thine eye offend thee pluck it out It is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with with one eye Than having two eyes to be cast into hell Where their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched for every one shall be salted with fire and every sacrifice shall be salted With salt that's the Lord Jesus and he's warning Those obviously the severity of health now, obviously this person doesn't really exist okay, because there's no one that is in that state where they kept the whole law and they're just Trying not to offend in one point Okay, but does it show you that Jesus is saying if you were that person you're you you'd be better off to cut off Your hand your foot and pluck out your eye now This is not Jesus is obviously not telling anybody to actually do this because no one's actually in this case where? It would even be a cause to do this. Okay Does that make sense? Like obviously he's not telling anybody to actually do this because no one's actually sinless right now That is trying to stay sinlessly perfected, okay So, but it does show you the severity That you're better off to cut off all your members and just go through life like maimed haul blind Then to go into hell because that end is worse Than any type of thing you could suffer in this life when people like oh I live in hell on earth Listen any type of thing that's going on in this earth will never compare to what's in hell and that torment that's in hell And You know that severity is something that we need to realize and and those that you know children if if or young ones You know, obviously I think a lot of our young ones are saved they believed on Christ But if you haven't or if you have any doubts on that Listen, it's something you want to make sure And listen, I even tell I tell you know Clara this We talked about this and the fact is that she got saved she got baptized Listen, you have any doubts about that you make it sure Like you've already been I don't care I'll baptize you five times in your lifetime If you if you're having doubts and want to make sure okay, obviously, you know, I wanted to be genuine I want you to just make sure and not be doing that obviously But listen, there's nothing wrong with making sure don't be embarrassed about it. Just be like, hey, you know what? Maybe I didn't understand that maybe I need to get saved and I'm not trying to scare people out of being safe Okay, don't get me wrong Salvation is easy. Just believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, but in the end listen, it's always better to be sure than to Take that chance if you had any doubts, okay, and when it comes to hell it is a real place People are going there and we need to give them the gospel look down at Luke chapter 16 I want to end with this here in verse 29 So The rich man saying send Lazarus and What is what is Abraham's response here I Love this response. Okay, because it says in verse 29. It says Abraham said unto him they have Moses and the prophets Let them hear them. He's saying no they had the Bible Right. I mean think about it when this was when Jesus talking about this the New Testament hadn't been written Okay, so Moses and the prophets that's the Old Testament. That's what you have, you know from Genesis to Malachi, right? He's saying you have Moses and the prophets let them hear them meaning. This is that they have the Word of God That's what they need But notice that the rich man says here in verse 30 It says and he said nay father Abraham, but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent And obviously repent is talking about repenting and believing the gospel, you know, they were trusting in their riches They were trusting in their good works they need to repent and believe the gospel. Okay, I need to change what they're believing Okay, but then it says in verse 31 and he said unto them if they hear not Moses and the prophets notice this this is great to know right here Neither will they be persuaded Though one rose from the dead now what you think about when Jesus is stating this before he rose from the dead Okay, so this has a meaning even in the Old Testament even if someone a loved one of yours rose from the dead Came to you and said hey hell's real, you know, and you don't want to go there That he's saying that still wouldn't persuade them if they don't hear the Word of God Because people would be like well, you know, why does he just give us the Word of God Why can't he just like show us like these miracles? Why can't he show us all these signs to the you know It sounds like the guys that when they when Jesus on the cross says come down on the cross and we'll believe you No, they wouldn't But even if you had family members raising from the dead and coming to you, you know what you know What that's saying is if you don't if you won't believe the word you won't believe that Because the word is more powerful than that But here's the thing this also shows you that in the Old Testament or before the Old Testament People had the same opportunity and they had the same you know Power of getting saved if you will then after Jesus rose from the dead Because he's basically stating that you know, it'd be like in a New Testament or they're saying, you know Well, if we saw the Savior raised from the dead or we knew that Jesus rose from the dead or the Christ rose from the dead We believe then but we just don't believe yet because they haven't seen that he's saying you wouldn't believe even if you saw that So from Genesis the Revelation people were had the same opportunity the same power the same Ability to get saved because why faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God We're born again not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible by the Word of God which liveth and abideth forever And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you You know, it's the Word of God that has power and that's the reason people are getting saved Not some miraculous event not even people Raising from the dead. Listen, there were people that Jesus rose Lazarus from the dead, but not everybody believed even when he did it Right. There was people that didn't believe we went back to the Pharisees and told them, you know everything that was going on so It's not gonna be some miraculous event that people are gonna get saved. It's gonna be the Word of God It's gonna be the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ with the Word of God and I want you to go to Psalm 126 and we'll be done Psalm 126 And think about this enough some have compassion making a difference and others save with fear Pulling them out of the fire hating even the garment spotted by the flesh Listen, some people you don't really have to like put the fear of God in them on hell You can explain that really quick and they got it And it's just about being compassionate, you know, I think about my kids I'm not like I'm not like just going into great detail trying to scare them to death with hell. Okay? Obviously there's kids in here, but you know what? They need to hear it at the same time But but when it comes to some people you really have to scare them with hell You have to really show them like hey, no if you die and your sins, that's what's waiting for you Torment and fire and brimstone for all eternity and the worst part about hell to me is that it never ends Forever But if you believe on Christ guess what everlasting life never ends either And you'll be forever with the Savior will be forever with loved ones that put their faith in Christ and you will be comforted For all eternity and you know what? When I look at Luke 16, it's a huge comfort when I think about that beggar But it also makes me think and breaks my heart for those that don't believe because I know what their end is And that's why we need to go out soul-winning and in Psalm 126 in verse 5 It says they that sow in tears shall reap in joy He that goeth forth and weepeth Bearing precious seed shall doubtless come again with rejoicing bringing his sheaves with him the precious seed is the Word of God and Going forth weepeth meaning with compassion you actually care about the people you talk to Don't go through the door and not care. Okay, people can see that first of all Go there actually care about the person Care that they want that they're gonna hear it care that they're actually gonna get safe care about that soul you you you can physically weep or inwardly weep for that person that They're a soul on the way to hell and you give them that precious seed The Bible says you do that you'll doubtless come again with rejoicing Listen you go out soul-winning. You will get someone saved eventually guaranteed If you're going there bearing precious seed weeping and going, you know, the if these elements are there You'll get something if you go out someone you're not using the Word of God to know That's promise isn't to you if you go out and you don't have compassion when you're doing it. That's not a promise to you You're doing it just because you're just like I want to get the accolades from the church that I go out soul-winning You may not But I still think you know what the Bible says Whether in pretense or in truth Christ is preached either and do rejoice So even people that do it in pretense and do it for the wrong reasons They still get people saved because the Word of God is power powerful and God wants to get them saved And so, you know what people are gonna get saved And but you want to get a lot of people saved you want to bear much fruit? Well, you need you need to abide in Christ. You need to have the precious seed You need to have compassion You need to be weeping as you go and go out, you know on a regular basis and you will see people safe And you will bring them bringing the sheaves in them and it'll be like a brand plucked out of the fire and Luke 16 is a real story Lazarus is a real person by the way Lazarus is still in heaven right now And as much as that's comforting no the rich man's still in hell And Jesus preached this, you know over 2,000 years ago And that rich man is still there just like the beast and the false prophet when they're cast into the lake of fire a thousand years later When the devil's cast in it says where the beast and the false prophet are Those are chilling words Chilling to think about how long hell is but On the other side those of us that believe how wonderful and marvelous to think Lazarus is still alive He's still alive he's still being comforted He's still in heaven. And guess what? He can't go to hell the Bible says he can't go And he'll forever be comforted He'll forever be living with God with loved ones that put their faith in Christ. That's a huge comfort so you want to be a believer whether poor rich in between and You know what? This is a big reason why we go to the poor because they are usually open to the gospel and And you know what? This is why we go soul one and two. So let's end with a word prayer They're how they follow we think today. Thank you for this story and Lord say thank you for Saving us and thank you for sending a soul wonder to us each one of us that have put their faith in Christ Thank you for loving us and giving us that opportunity to to believe on you and and Lord just pray to you to help us to be good ministers of the manifold grace of God and just to to go out and Preach the gospel to others as well. And well, we just love you and pray all this in Jesus Christ name Amen, but they will come sing one more song and then we'll be dismissed You All right, take your song books and turn to song 218 Song 218 We'll sing hallelujah hallelujah tis done if you would stand we'll sing song 218 Is The promise of God full salvation to give unto him who was Jesus his son will believe Hallelujah tis done I believe on the son. I'm saved by the blood of the crucified one Hallelujah tis done I believe on the son. I'm saved by the blood of the crucified one though the pathway be lonely and dangerous to Surely Jesus is able to carry me through hallelujah tis done I believe