I have a testimony for you today. A testimony from a man who is in Hell. I want you to hear his story. Look at Luke 16:19-31. This is not a parable.. Jesus names names. In these verses, Jesus tears back the spiritual fabric.. He let us see beyond death.. Into the other world.. I want you to see this man.. I want you to hear his story..
I Want To Tell You Something.. Hell Is Real!
A Man Who Had It All.. This Man Was Rich.. He Was Successful..
This man had everything a man could want, a beautiful home, position and
plenty of money. He had the best the world had to offer. He ate the finest
food. He dressed in the best clothes. He was so rich the beggars would
gather at his gate for the leftovers, for the scraps, from his sumptuous table.
One of those beggars was a good man, a righteous man, whose name was
Lazarus. When the rich man would walk out of his house, he wouldn't even
notice Lazarus. The rich man was too busy to notice a hurting beggar. He
had more important things to do. He was a man of significance. He was
somebody.
When the rich man walked down the street, people would step out of the way,
they would bow, he commanded respect. At gatherings, in the synagogue, he
was given the prominent place. He was important in the eyes of this world.
There the rich man is at the temple, He is listening to the Priest. The Priest is
speaking of life after death. The rich man smiles. "If there is life after
death," he thinks, "I will be fine. I give. Oh, I know that the law says I
should give a tithe. I am no fool. That would be too much, but I give more
than most. I am sure that God will accept me. I am a good person."
There is a time when being a good man is not enough. There is a time when
being successful is not enough. There is a time for all men when death comes
knocking at our door. It doesn't matter who you are or what you have or
even what you think. All that matters is where you stand with the Living
God.
The Rich Man Came To That Day..
Hebrews 9:27 is clear, "It is appointed unto man once to die.." We will all die It doesn't stop there. Then comes the chilling words.. ".. And then the Judgement!"
There is a day when we will stand before God. He will stand
as the Judge. He will weigh our lives in the scales of justice. We will be
judged, and our eternal future will be decided..
The rich man stood before the Living God. His life was played out before
him. He knew he was guilty. He had squandered the precious life God had
given him. He was found wanting and was cast into Hell!
Listen, Hell is real. The rich man will tell you. Hell is real. Hell is real, and it
is a place of utter terror.
Hell Is Real, But That Is Not All, The Bible Says It Is
A Place Of Torment.. (V. 24
Listen to this man. He knows of what he speaks. Hell Is Real, and It
Is A Place Of Torment..
Hear him, hear the rich man. "I am tormented in the flames.." Hear his cry.
Hear the torment in his voice. Hear the pain and the anguish. He hasn't
ceased to exist. He is not asleep. He hasn't come back to another life. He is
in pain. He is in horror.
Hear what he is saying. "I feel.. I hurt.. I thirst.." How thirsty is he?
Remember the beggar that use to sit outside his gate and beg; the man who
sat there in the filth; the man Lazarus who dressed in rags and ate the scraps
thrown from the rich man's table? Remember Lazarus who would scramble
to go through the rich man's garbage?
The rich man sees Lazarus. He sees into Paradise and sees Lazarus sitting
with Abraham. Oh the horrors of hell. What could be worse than to be in hell,
in the torments of Hell, and to see and know what you squandered. To see
what you could have had and threw away for a moment of pleasure or less.
Listen to the rich man in Hell. Hear his words, "Oh Father Abraham, Let
Lazarus dip his finger in a cup of water and then let just one drop fall on my
parched, dry tongue. I am so thirsty. One drop.. Just one drop from his
finger."
Listen.. There Are Many Horrors In Hell, But This Is One Of The
Worst.. Hell Is A Place Of Remembering.
Listen to Abraham's answer. "Son, remember.." Take note of that , underline
that, circle that in your Bible. Hell is a place of remembering. We will
remember in Hell.
One of the great horrors of hell is that we will remember life. We'll
remember our friends, our family, our loved ones. We will remember those
we lead astray. We will remember those we helped and those we didn't. We
will remember those we hurt, but far worse.. We will remember those lives
we could have changed if we had allowed God to have His way in our lives.
We will remember the times we rejected God; those times that God reached
out to us; those times when we walked away as God lovingly tried to reach
our heart. We will remember the times we said No to God. The times we
laughed or scorned, or just said, "Not now, but one day. One day.. I'll get saved."
You may ask, "Will A Loving God Send Men To Hell?" My Answer
May Surprise You.. NO!
Listen, Hell is not God's choice for man. Jesus makes it clear in Matthew
25:41. Hell was not made for man. It was made for Satan and his angels and
those who choose to follow after him.
In this life, we make a choice. We either follow Jesus or we follow Satan. The
choice you make will determine where you will spend eternity. It is your
choice! Listen, this is important. Remember this, it is your choice. You
decide where you will spend eternity.
God does all He can, short of forcing us, to turn us away from hell and toward
Him!
God sent His Son to this World to make a way of escape for us. God
raised up His church to witness and bring forth the message of love. God
sent His Holy Spirit to warn us, to convict us, to show us there is a better
way.
Let's make it clear. If you go to hell, it is because you rejected Jesus Christ.
You pushed aside the cross. You trampled His blood. You brushed aside the
witness of the Church. Many crawl over praying parents, family, and friends.
You have to literally fight your way into Hell.
The Real Message Of Hell Is A Plea.
When The Rich Man Begs.. "I Beg You.. Go And Warn My
Family.." (Verse 27)
In Hell, the rich man becomes concerned about his family. Listen to him, "Go
warn my brothers, go tell my family, lest they end up in this horrible place."
The rich man doesn't want anyone to face what he is facing. Go and tell he
cries.
Listen to me. The horror of Hell is to think that our decisions only effect us. It
is never just me, No, a thousand times No! Dads, your decision affects your
wife, your children, your children's children. Your decision impacts
everyone you love.
Mom, your decision affects your husband, your children, all your family.
They all look at your life. They want to be like you. They value your values
and your decisions.
Listen, our decisions not only effect us, they effect everyone we know. You
are impacting people's lives. You will decide what direction to point their
lives. Some will follow you to and through Death's door. You must make the
right decision!
The Last Words From Hell Are.. "Go And Tell Them.." Warn
Them.
Listen to the rich man's final words, "Please, send Lazarus, send one raised
from the dead, do whatever it takes, but get them to avoid this place. Hear
what this rich man is saying, He is saying, "Take no chances that you might
end up here."
He is warning people. Listen to him, "Hell is real. It is a place of absolute
horror. It is a place of flames and torment. Please, please stay away from
here. Do whatever you can to stay out of Hell. It is real. Please stay away
from this place of pain and unending horror.
Listen, see this, the man in Hell is an Evangelist.. He was concerned about the
lost. Let me ask you, can we be any less concerned? We must do all we can
to go and warn others. There is a Hell. It is real.
Can I ask you to imagine a scene with me?
Tonight, you lay your head down on the pillow. It is just another night. After
a long and busy day, you snuggle down in your bed, and thinking of tomorrow,
you fall asleep. But this isn't just another day. It is your last day, and you
awake to find yourself standing before the God of Heaven.
You are standing there, and your life is played out before you. You see the
people you have hurt, the times you cheated, the times you lied, the many
times you broke God's law, and you know you are guilty. You stand before
the judgement seat, and you see Jesus standing there. His eyes are full of tears,
and He turns away. You hear a ringing voice that seems to carry forever,
"Guilty!"
You think, this must be a dream. Surely I will awake. You see an Angel
swoop down and take you in his arms. He carries you away into the darkness.
You struggle to get free. You can't. You cry out, "Please, please, just one
more chance." Your voice rings through the darkness.
There in the distant you begin to see a light. The horizon is turning a pink.
You can see that you are approaching the edge of something. The light is
beyond. You begin to hear a noise. It is unlike anything you heard before.
Suddenly, you know. It is the cries of thousands upon thousands of voices in
agony. You close your eyes. You can feel the heat. You don't want to look, but you
do. You are looking into the gaping maw of Hell and the Angel lifts you up
and casts you..
It doesn't have to be that way.. Christ has made a way..
Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for your sins. He paid the penalty for
the whole world. Jesus made the way, but it is up to us to decide if we will
accept the gift of salvation or reject it. If we elect to follow Christ, we will live
forever with Him in Heaven. If not, there is only one other choice.
Listen, Heaven is not clouds and harps. The pictures we have of what God
wants for us are the Garden of Eden and the Heavenly city in the Revelation.
It is a future full of wonder, excitement and discovery. That is what God
wants for you. How do you make this choice?
In Romans 10:9, it states, "That if you confess with your mouth the Lord
Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be
saved." Salvation is not hard. It is easy! God simply wants us to make Him
Lord of our lives. He will then help us to have the best possible life we can
lead in this world and give us the promise of eternal life in the next world.
Will you pray with me right now? Simply say, "Lord Jesus.. I am a sinner. I say things and I do things that I shouldn't say or do. I ask you to forgive me of all my sin. I
want you to be my Lord and my Savior. I acknowledge that you, Jesus, died for me on the Cross and rose again in victory. You are the Resurrected Son of God. I pledge to do my best to serve you from this day forward. I receive the gift of forgiveness, and I am now a child of God.. A Christian.
If you prayed that prayer in faith, you are now saved.. You are a Christian and on your way to heaven. I didn't say that, the Bible did. You can read it yourself in Romans 10:9-10 and 10:13.
What You Need To Do Now..
You need to call someone and tell them that you prayed and asked God into your heart and that you are now a Christian. A positive step of faith is always a good beginning.
You need to find a church. Look in your telephone book and call a local evangelical church. If you are not sure about what Church to attend, call us and we will be glad to direct you.
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