Who Goes to Hell and Can you Get Out? /Luke 16: 22-24

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Now, as [music] you join us, may our amazing God bless you. I'm going to ask you to stand as we read the word of God together. I'll be reading from Luke chapter 16. A little context in case you've never come across this passage. Jesus is speaking and he's preaching and he's speaking to religious leaders. During this time in the Jewish culture, there was a mentality that if you were rich, it meant that you had God's favor on your life. So they would look at somebody's life and if they were wealthy, they would say that person for sure is going to heaven. They have God's favor. So wealth represented favor by God. On the other side of the spectrum, if you were struggling or if you had any kind of physical um just uh lame um physical anything wrong with your body or or if you were poor or if life was hard, what they would say is life is hard because they don't have God's favor. Life is hard because God is punishing them. And so, in other words, it was a picture early on of the prosperity gospel that if you're successful and wealthy, God loves you. If you're not, God hates you.

So, Jesus comes on the scene and he's about to clear up this theology, this thought process that they had about who God was and how he responded to people. Jesus was going to shatter what they believed. And you have to keep in mind that they believed this all their lives. So, they were going to struggle with what Jesus was saying. It was going to make them a bit uncomfortable. So Jesus comes on and he tells a parable. He tells a story. A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. And when Jesus teaches parables, he's teaching doctrine in theology. He's helping people to understand God correctly. And so here Luke chapter 16, we now enter the text that I will read to you. He tells a story of a rich man and a poor man. And he clears up some of the way they were thinking. He says, "The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. And in Hades, being tormented, he lift up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, "Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame."

Let's pray together. Father, this morning we ask you just to clear our minds and our hearts to hear your voice. Father, we'll be diving into a a challenging and difficult topic for some and the reality of hell and whether or not hell is forever. Is it fixed? Or do we have a second chance and who goes to hell? Father God, I know that sometimes these topics can be uncomfortable for us. It could be uncomfortable for belief systems that we have had. But I just pray that at the end of the day, you give us the spirit and posture of humility to submit to your word even when it's uncomfortable. God, we thank you for what we keep seeing through the baptism of people giving their lives and following through in obedience and you're just transforming life after life. I thank you for these college students and church members that are sharing their faith with a sense of urgency and helping people to see that Jesus is the only way to the father. We thank you for last week and the many that gave their lives to Christ and pray that you continue to walk with them God closely that they may walk with you. It's in Jesus name we pray. Amen. You may be seated.

I know that there are two very important football games going on today and so I will keep that in mind during my preaching. If for some reason I go long into the game, we'll just put the score in the bottom of the screen while I'm preaching. [laughter] I'm joking. I won't mess it up for you at all. So there is this morning there is a topic I'm going to speak to that actually has brought a lot of tension throughout different religions and throughout the Christian body. There's a topic that's brought a lot of tension and if you were to do a study you you would see that people think all kinds of things about hell. People would say if you're a bad person or if you're a murderer or if you've done anything just that's really outside of the human norm that you're for sure going to hell and there's no hope for you. And then you also have the challenge with people even amongst the Christian body um who would say once you're in hell you get a second chance that God is so loving that he would give you another chance to recognize you need to repent, turn from your sins and that he's real. I did this last hour and it was quite interesting. there was a great mix in our own congregation and I knew there would be and I'm going to ask you the same question just because I think it's interesting to see one thing about our church that's so incredible is that we come from all different kinds of walks of life in this room um some come from different religions different belief systems and what I love is that we all come together and we just we sit to hear the word of God being taught and I know there's disagreements I know you probably disagree with me sometimes from the pull pit but I I'm curious how many of you have think would say that once you go to hell, God gives you an opportunity to get out. You get a second chance. Just by raise of hands, you say you get a second chance to get out. [clears throat] Okay, thank you for raising your hand. How many of you would say once you go to hell, it's fixed? You get no chance. [snorts] You can put your hand down. I love the next question I'm about to ask because last hour some of the same people answered twice. All right. And it's okay. How many of you will be bold enough and courageous enough to say, "Honestly, I don't know." You just raise your hand. All right. Last hour, most of the room raised their hand. I don't know. All right. That means I won't tell you what that means, but you're my favorite classroom. That's what I'll say.

So, here's the question. If you raise your hand for either one of those schools of thoughts, I would ask you, where are you getting your information from? Where is your foundation? Where has your belief system been shaped and formed? And what has it been formed by? And you also are not alone. Jesus comes on the scene speaking to religious leaders. Again, the religious religious leaders believed if you are incredibly wealthy, you go to heaven. If you are poor, um, you go to hell. They also wrestled with the idea that once you're there, God is so loving and kind that you go to a holding cell and that you have an opportunity to get out. Next week, we'll learn a little more about purgatory and the belief about purgatory. But nonetheless, that belief system in this particular culture has continued to develop and progress and travel into our today's culture. Jesus wants to give a parable. A a parable is always used in Jesus's teachings in order to help people understand God clearly and to reshape people's theology, what they believe about God and who they believe he is. Now, I want to warn you because the teaching of God's word will always um or most of the time make us feel uncomfortable because it is teaching us some things and often when it teaches us it's pushing back against our belief system. So, I want to tell you this. When I read first read this text many many many many many years ago. I want to be transparent with you. I didn't know what I believe believed about hell when I was a new Christian. And if I'm being honest with you, I wanted to believe that God gives everybody a second chance. I didn't believe that because I saw it in scripture. I believed that because it made me feel better about where my loved ones were going. And in order to give myself comfort, I'm being honest with you, I just kind of made up my own theology. That gave me comfort because if I believed that hell was forever and you don't get a second chance, that would mean I would have to deal with the reality of some of my friends and family members being there. And I didn't want to do that. But when you come across the scripture, you recognize sometimes it's incredibly clear. Neither this is right and I'm wrong, or this is wrong and I'm right. And I'll tell you, the scripture wins every time. Jesus is about to speak some hard truths that in this culture, they have to wrestle with the same stuff. If Jesus's teachings are true and real, this means I have to come to the reality of where my loved ones have gone or where they're going.

So Jesus begins to teach about a rich man and a poor man. And we see in verse 22, he is going to speak about hell. And he's going to answer the question whether or not once you're there, can you get out? Verse 22 says this, "The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side." So at this point, verse 22, very off the the the front here, Jesus is letting them know that the poor man is actually going to heaven. This verse 22 would have really bothered the people because it made no sense. They thought for sure poor people go to hell. It's why they're poor because they don't have God's favor. Here Jesus is saying this poor man, I know you thought he was supposed to go to hell, but he actually went to heaven. He was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. And then he gives a great contrast. He says the rich man now while you believe that if you were wealthy you would go to heaven. The reality is the rich man also died and he was buried and he went to Hades. So now we see a great contract contrast. The poor man goes to heaven. The rich man goes to Hades. Hell. There's this contrast here that pushed against their belief system. made them pretty uncomfortable. And the scripture says that he was being tormented, which again, keep in mind, Jesus is speaking about hell. So, it reaffirms our theology that hell is a physical place and hell is a place of torment. So, now this man is in hell. He's being tormented in hell. The torment never lets up, by the way. It's consistent. It's ongoing and you never get used to it. We also see this. He lifted his his eyes up and saw Abraham. So, now we see that this man is in a conscious state. He's aware what's going on. Some debates today would tell you that when you go to hell that you're not in a conscious state. You don't really know what's going on. It's dark and you don't experience and you don't feel. According to Jesus's parable here, we can see very clearly a conscious state, a state of physical torment. And the the the the rich man clearly knows what's going on around him. He understands he is in hell. And the scripture says, "He lift up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side." If you were to read this, you would assume naturally that people in hell can see out up to heaven. That that's what this text is seems to be teaching. However, I want to caution you on that school of thought. If you're ever trying to figure out what the scripture says about a certain topic, you have to be sure that the scripture divi defines itself with other scriptures. So in other words, if you were trying to figure out can people see out of hell or can they see out of heaven, you would have to find multiple resources to support this throughout the scriptures of whether or not someone can see out of hell. What I discovered in my study and what I believe personally because of my study is that this is a parable where Jesus is trying to help us understand that hell is a reality and what it's like. But it doesn't mean that once you're in hell, you can see out. I want to make that very clear. If you decide to go study on this, you will see if you study great scholars, well-known, educated scholars, that this is simply a parable. It doesn't mean when you go to heaven, you can see uh hell, you can see out. That's not what this is saying. I want to clear that up. But Jesus is helping us to understand the perspective from hell. So he tells the story in this manner. So we clearly have a clear perspective of someone that is going to be in hell or has gone to hell. So he says that he lifted his his eyes up and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. What he is seeing and he uses Abraham. The reason why in Jewish culture Abraham was seen as the father of faith. If you were looking for somebody that was a a patriarch of the faith, it was Abraham. So if someone's like, "Hey, whose faith are you a part of?" Everyone say, "Abraham." They'd say, "Oh, well then you're you're close with God." Because Abraham's close with God. And so Jesus uses Abraham to to be able to establish and relate that this person is in heaven with Abraham. It's kind of like this to make it very very simple. If you like basketball, you study basketball, you played basketball, you watched basketball, you are completely consumed in basketball, then you would understand. And this is how people know. When they ask you who is the greatest player of all time, you would say Michael Jordan. And then everybody would know, uh, he knows his stuff. If you said LeBron James, they may think, uh, I'm not sure how it how well he knows basketball. Now, you're clapping because you're godly people and you are wellstied. Joking aside, in this particular culture, if you would say, um, I am part of the father Abraham, everybody would know, oh, that's the real faith. So Jesus is using father Abraham as part of the story. So because the Jewish audience would have been like ah he's talking about the father of faith the guy that is close to God. So when he says that the rich man looks up he sees Abraham that would have told them heaven. That would have said heaven automatically to them. And then they he they he's now saying the poor man is in heaven with Abraham. Then the scripture says um that that verse 24 he called out father Abraham. So Jesus is telling the story that now the rich man is speaking to father Abraham and he says this because he believes father Abraham is so close with God that he can do things for him and he says have mercy on me and he's asking have mercy on me and he's going to ask him a question ask him to do something he says send Lazarus which is interesting because this this poor man at one point of the story early on that we didn't read you would have seen that this rich man was feasting and he was living this incredible lifestyle. And then Lazarus, this poor man, was looking to just to feed off the rich man's table. And he stayed at the gates. And this this poor man had soarses all over his body, which indicated that he's far from God. And so he was outcast of society. The rich man was honored in society. And all of a sudden, it has flipped in the kingdom of heaven. Now it's the rich man in hell asking for mercy for the poor man in heaven. And now he's needing something. And so there there's this great flip here that happens and he's saying, "Have mercy. Send Lazarus, the poor man, to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue." And I don't want us to skip over this because this is another indication that hell is uh not only a physical location, but that it is incredibly hot. And we know this because he says, "For I am in anguish in this flame." So now he is being continually tortured over and over and over. And he's saying, "I'm being tortured. I need some release from this torture. Which by the way, there once you're in hell, there is no release. There's zero comfort. And that's what Jesus is trying to establish here. There is no second chance. There's no release. There's no comfort. He all he wanted was just water for his tongue. And he says, "I'm in anguish in this flame." Listen to the response. Not a response that seems to be cold or mean, but a a a response that is reality. When Jesus is speaking this to them, he's speaking this to give them a sense of urgency to change your life because hell is real. Repent and follow Jesus because hell is real.

So then verse 25, he says this, "But Abraham said,"Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things." So when you were here on earth, you lived it up. You lived it up. You didn't honor God. You rejected God. You lived the way you wanted to. You fulfilled the the desires of your life. You did whatever you wanted to do. And he says, "And Lazarus in like manner he experienced bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in anguish." Look at this great contrast. This scripture keeps talking about great contrast. Rich, poor, heaven, hell, comfort, anguish. So he's saying, "You are in hell, you experience great anguish." The poor man is experiencing great comfort. He's not going to be lonely. He's not going to be depressed. He has no anxiety. He has complete hope, complete peace. He is filled with joy. Although he was poor on earth, he is experiencing what it's like to be a rich man in heaven. On the other end, the rich man, you don't experience any comfort. You have zero peace. You're in constant torture and being tormented. You are incredibly miserable. And that misery never ever ever stops. And so now he's about about to answer the question. So for those of you that are Christians and you raised your hand to say, "Yeah, you cannot get out." I would ask you, "What scripture do you base your belief off of?" And I would hope that you'd have something to say, "This is how I know you can't get out." If you do not, you are in luck today because I'm about to teach it to you. So for a believer in Jesus Christ, we would naturally say you can't get out. But to actually have some substance behind your belief is is is good. So verse 26 gives us the substance behind the belief of why we as believers say you cannot get out of hell once you're there. There are no second chances. He says, "And besides all of this, between us, all right, what does he mean between us?" Well, remember poor man is in heaven. Rich man is in hell. So when he says between us and you are a great chasm that has been fixed this word chasm in the original language here means a divide. So if you were to look at the original language in the Greek, it's really important to understand what was this word originally saying because this would determine whether or not we can get out. And he's saying there is a chasm which means something a divide that is fixed. And in fact he kind of defines it for us has been fixed which means he's going to explain. This is why I love scripture. When you just go verse by verse, word by word, it just kind of unfolds and defines it for you. So he says there's a great chasm that has been fixed. That means it is fixed. It is not going to be changed. It is not going to be um wiggled. It's not going to be flexible. There is a chasm, a great divide that is fixed. Why? He tells us why there is a great chasm in order. Which means this is why there's a great divide. That those who would pass from here to you may not be able and none may cross from there to us. So what he's saying is those in heaven can't go to hell once you're in heaven. Once you're in hell, you can't go to heaven. He's saying it is fixed. There are no second chances. In case this wasn't clear enough, what he's telling them is there are no second chances. Once you're there, you're there. And so he is telling them, you lived it up here on earth and you fulfilled the desires of your flesh and now you're realizing hell is a real place and we warned you and we told you over and over and over and over and you rejected God. Um so if if you're asking once we are there, can we get out? uh in case the the scriptur is not clear. Let me just say it's an overwhelming no. Once you are in are in hell, there's not a second chance. There's not a second chance. You're there. You're conscious. You recognize it's a horrible place. You're being tormented. You never get used to it. You never get out. You never get any relief or release. Nothing. You were there in complete hell. He recognizes that. Once Abraham responds to that in verse 26, he's like, "Oh man, I'm here forever, aren't I? Well, then can you do me this favor at least because I'm here forever.

So now we answer the question, who goes to hell? You know, when I first became a Christian, I would hear all kinds of stuff about who went to hell. I would hear people say, "If you live this kind of lifestyle, you're going to hell." I would hear people say, "If you're a murderer, you're for sure going to hell because God would never forgive that." If you're a person who's who's committed all kinds of abuse against somebody, whether it's physical, emotional, whatever it is, you're going to hell because God can never forgive this kind of person. And so, I thought naturally, because I was a new Christian, I didn't know the Bible, that there was a hierarchy of sins that if you committed this sin, you're for sure going to hell. If you committed this sin, you had a chance. And all throughout my Christian life, I still hear people talking like that. And I think it's because it makes us feel better about grace and who gets in, who doesn't get in, and who we get to keep out. I've told you this before, but I did San Quinton prison ministry for four years when I lived in San Francisco. San Quinton is maximum security prison. Like we would have to when we went in I would every time went for four years on a Saturday morning we play them in basketball and I would have to sign my life away that basically said hey you have to sign this paper cuz if you get murdered while you're in there we're not liable and and I would sign it. [clears throat] I didn't read all the fine print. They told me four years later like that's what I was signing. I had no clue. I just signed my name. We would go in and we would play basketball with him and at half halftime he would share the gospel and we just kept sharing and sharing and sharing and sharing and you get to know these guys. You get to hear stories and some of them I wouldn't share the stories with you because it'd make you cringe and it's not appropriate for church. But some of them you would think how can this person be allowed to receive Jesus and just be forgiven and go to heaven. But I will tell you, it's one of the first times that I was able to see the grace of God extended past my comfortability because typically I I was raised in the south. I'm from Texas and and it's it's it's really Bible belt and there's a certain culture sometimes that comes with that and sometimes it's like I feel comfortable with this. I don't feel comfortable with this. That means God feels comfortable with this and that means he doesn't feel comfortable with this. And I I would kind of categorize people like that, like you, God loves you, he doesn't love you. And so I went to San Francisco and I did prison ministry and I I'll never forget praying, God, would you help me to see people the way you see them, not the way I've been taught to judge. I want to see people the way you see them. So I'm going to this prison ministry. I'm dealing with lifers, people that have committed multiple murders that are in there for the rest of their life. But I'm also able to see that they are my brothers in Christ that because they gave their life to Jesus Christ. Spent four years with them. I saw the real deal. I saw people that were in there for the rest of their life, but they knew Jesus. And the truth was some of them in prison were more free than the people I knew outside of prison. >> Amen. >> And it was it was because it was because they they experienced the grace of Christ and they tasted of his grace and it completely shattered what I thought. I was like, "Well, I didn't know that people that have committed these horrendous crimes can go to heaven." I actually didn't know that was a thing, God. And he stretched my theology and he stretched my grace about who he is.

So, when we asked the question, who gets to go to heaven or who goes to hell? Somebody came up to me afterwards, and I'll save you time in case you're going to do this. They said, "What about the scripture that says these sins will send people to hell?" I said, "Let me clarify what the scripture is saying. It's saying that the people chose to live these sins and reject Jesus in order to maintain this life of sin. >> So, I have to be really clear with you. If you're thinking this lifestyle sends you to hell and this one doesn't and this one does, I'll just tell you it is sin that sends everybody to hell without Jesus Christ. It is it is sin that's what put Jesus on the cross. Here, we're about to see that very clearly. Who goes to hell? Verse 27, he says, "And he said," then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house." So the rich man's saying, "I can't get out of hell. Go save my family." He says, "For I have five brothers." And he recognizes these five brothers are on the same track that he was on, probably wealthy and saw no need for God or they thought they were good with God because they were rich, so they lived the way they wanted to live. So he says, "Send the poor man to my family so that he may warn them lest they also come into this place of torment." So what he is saying is, "I don't want my family to come to hell. Please, I don't want anybody in my family to experience this place. Would you please send the rich, the poor man who's in heaven to tell them this is a real place? If you won't allow me to go, will you send him?" But Abraham responds. He says, ' But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them.' So, in case you don't know, Moses and the prophets were speaking on behalf of God. And basically, the message was repent. Repent and follow God. Repent of your sins. You're you're you're chasing idols. You're chasing false gods, and it's going to send you straight to hell because it's separating you from a holy God. Repent to a holy holy God. And so Abraham is saying, "Look, they have preachers that they can listen to. Let them hear those preachers and let them respond to those preachers." In verse 30, he says, "No, father." He's like, "No, no, we've heard those. I didn't respond to them." And here's what he says. But if someone goes to them from the dead, in other words, if they witness a miracle right in front of them, then they would believe. [snorts] Which you and I know that's not true. Because in today's time in our culture, people will label miracles from God as coincidences. People who want to reject God will change theology about God. People who want to reject God, no matter what, when we know this is true, because people saw Jesus rise from the dead three days later and they still rejected him. So he's saying miracles don't produce faith. We can send them miracles all day long and they will call it a coincidence. You can send them miracles all day long and they will still find a way to redefine what just took place. So he said he's telling them miracles [snorts] miracles are not going to change your brothers because your brothers have rejected the word over and over and over and over. He said to him, "If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, in other words, if they reject reject the word of God, neither will they be convinced of someone should rise from the dead." So, he's saying, "Look, if if if they saw the poor man right in front of them, they still won't believe. [snorts] They need a miracle, but a miracle is not going to help them." It's kind of like I've I've seen a lot of you um with jerseys on today. It's like jersey Sunday. The Seattle Seahawks fans in here and then you have the [snorts] um the Broncos. Any Broncos fan in here? There are a lot of you. >> I would say the Broncos need a miracle today without their quarterback. Joking aside, there there is a miracle, there's a miracle that's needing to take place amongst the brothers. There's a real miracle because in order for someone to go from death to life is a miracle needs to take place. Meaning that when a miracle happens, God gets all the glory and all the credit. When a miracle happens, it points people to God to recognize he is God. That the veil has fallen off my eyes and the revelation is right in front of me that he is God and he sent his son Jesus to die on the cross. The real miracle is this. When someone has dropped the veil off their eyes and their eyes have been opened up to recognize Jesus is the son of God. I am a sinner in need of a savior. For a person to recognize they're a sinner in need of a savior, that is the greatest miracle that will ever take place in front of us today. When we saw people walk forward last week and they placed their faith in Jesus Christ, we all experienced the greatest. What's the greatest miracle? Someone going from spiritually dead to spiritually alive. And we all got to experience together. What they needed was not a physical miracle. What they needed was a spiritual miracle. So Abraham's like, "Look, physically is not going to help them. They need spiritual eyes to see with.

And so I'm going to close out this message and I'm going to close it this way. I'm going to close it by being overwhelmingly clear with you that number one, hell is a real place. It's a physical place, a place of torment, a place of eternity, a place that never stops. Eternal separation from God. And in case the scripture wasn't clear, you don't get a second chance. You don't get a second chance. The second thing, those if you're wondering who goes to hell, it's not because you have a sin addiction or a drug addiction or you're an alcoholic. It's not it's not any of that, right? It's it's because we are sinners in need of a savior and we rejected the savior. That's why people end up in hell is because they reject the atoning work of Jesus Christ. To recognize that God has been so kind that he wants nobody to go to hell. In fact, Jesus is telling this parable not to say in your face, religious leaders, but he's saying, "Please turn, religious leaders. Please, it's real and it's forever. Please turn, religious leaders." And I will summarize it like this before I close if you're wanting just to write down this statement. It says according to the Bible, all people are sinners and deserve judgment. Hell is the eternal separation from God for those who die without repenting of their sin and placing their faith in Jesus Christ. Salvation is offered by God's grace through Christ alone, not by good works. Because scripture tells us that our good works are as filthy rags. Those who reject Jesus Christ remain under judgment. Those who trust him receive eternal life. Who's who goes to hell? Those that reject Jesus remain under his judgment.

You know what's beautiful about these baptisms that we get to see? I saw Derek walk in. Where is Derek? Derek, stand up for me. I I just want them to see and I want them to understand. In fact, Derek, come here if you're okay. Come here. Come over here, [applause] >> Jeremiah. Come here. Come here, Jeremiah. So, here's here's We're proud of you, by the way. >> Thank you. >> We're excited for you. It's incredible to see. >> Thank you so much. >> Here's When did you give your life to Jesus? >> Uh, it was about a couple months ago. >> Couple of months ago. And you led him to Christ. You got so you got you shared you shared your faith. You shared So here here here's how this works. Church >> you okay? >> You want to take a look at the crowd before I It's a lot of people, huh? I get ner That's why I don't look at any of you in the eyes. I get really nervous. I don't know if you noticed that or not. Just don't stare at them. All right. They're all And I want you to know right now they're judging what you're wearing. They're looking at your shoes. They're looking at everything. And they'll email you about it, too. I pray they will email you about it. They give them your email address. But here's Derek. Here's the incredible thing and just the reality. Um, we just saw in the scripture that those who reject Christ are headed for eternal judgment, going to hell is basically what that's saying. >> Yeah. >> It's kind of scary, but you were headed straight there. >> Terrifying. >> It's terrifying. You had a full ride. Room and board included, books covered, everything. Straight to hell. And I don't know what you thought about Christianity or how you felt, what you thought about Jesus, but I love that God When did you give your life to Christ? >> Um, in high school. >> In high school. So, I love that in high school. This is how amazing God is. In high school, someone was sent by God to go to Jeremiah so that Jeremiah's eyes were opened up and recognized Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and he needs him. But here's what's even crazier. How old are you? >> 16. 16, booger- nose kid, 16 years old, didn't know anything. He gives his life to Christ in that moment. Okay, think about this. How old are you now? >> 21. >> 21. 5 years ago. In that moment, Jeremiah's eyes were open. I need Jesus. I need to be forgiven of my sins. Long before that moment took place, God knew he would use him and send him to you. And so, here's the incredible thing. two men who were set free by the blood of Jesus Christ. >> And I don't know if you know this or not, but there's probably a person waiting to hear from you. There's a person that's waiting to hear from you. And and two young men. How old are you? >> 19. >> 19. >> 19. You look all grown up here, man. You 19? Don't limit yourself to your age, but press into his power. Because I know you've been a Christian 2 months, and there's a good chance you haven't read the entire Bible, and that's okay. Many [music] people in here have been Christians all their lives. They never read the whole Bible. It's okay. It's okay. You understand that? But you have a story. You went from death to life and that you're able to share with people. That you're able to share. And so, church, we have here's a challenge for you, church. We have two young men here. One being faithful to share his faith, one submitted to the truth, and we go share his faith. And it goes on and on and on and on and on and on and on. And that's what God does. [snorts] That God would be so kind to send us people on a rescue mission because he cares for you. I'm going to ask you to go back to your chairs. Hey, thank them for coming up. Thank you.

So this morning it it's clear once you're there, you can't get out. Who goes? All those that reject Jesus Christ [music] as their Lord and Savior. It's a hard truth, isn't it? Because it means some of your loved ones, some of your friends. It means my father that's an atheist has rejected Jesus. It's a hard truth. But that hard truths give us a sense of urgency that God may give us courage with grace and truth to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. You don't have to know the Bible. You just have to know what he has done for you. So, here's what I'm going to do. We're going to open up the altars for two reasons. And last hour, we saw both happen. You'll see our ministers up front, and if you need them, pray with them. But if I want you to think about the person in your life that you know is far from God and has rejected Jesus. And I want you right where you are, you can flood the altars, just get on your knees and and just pray that the Holy Spirit even in this moment will work in that person's life because what they need is not for you to know all the scripture. What they need is a spiritual miracle. That's what they need. And then for those of you in this room today where you recognizing you are separate from God and hell is real and hell is forever and hell is too long to be wrong. What I would tell you, if you've recognized you're separated from God, here's how you get back to God. Acknowledge that you confess that you are a sinner, which just means that you have made decisions that haven't pleased God. It separated you from God. God sent his only son to die on the cross that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life, which means you're a sinner. You're going this direction straight to hell. To repent means, I'm a sinner in need of a savior. And to repent means I'm now going to go this direction, the opposite direction. Repent just means you're changing directions. And so I don't know who's here today that needs to change directions, but the invitation's for you, too. So, I'm going to ask you to close your eyes and bow your head, and we're going to sing and close together. And whoever God has put on your heart and mind to pray for and maybe even share the gospel with co-workers, loved ones, parents, and I know it can be nerve-wracking, and I've done it with my own family, and it's scary. you don't know how they're going to respond, but it it's it's super easy. You you just go to them and say, "Hey, can I share something with you?" And the reason why you ask for permission is because it drops the barriers in their heart. [snorts] So, you ask them, "Can I can I share [music] something with you?" And if they respond, "Yes." Then you with care and gentleness, you don't start poking at their sins and calling them out and say, "You're going to go to hell because you do this." No, you just give them the truth of the gospel. Let me share this with you. We are all sinners and fallen short of the glory of God. And God loves us so much that he sent his only son and he wants a relationship with you. He loves you and he cares for you. You just share and you just let the Holy [music] Spirit do the rest of the work with him. So, Father, we pray this morning that you put people on our hearts and minds that gosh, may we see the story of Jeremiah and Derek just over and over and over. May we keep hearing the baptisms of a friend invited me. My teammate shared the gospel. It just keeps going and going so that we do the work [music] of the church that we become missionaries to on a rescue mission to rescue people that are dying and going to hell. If hell is a real place and help us to live like it father, we love you. We thank we're so thankful for your son Jesus. [snorts] We're grateful for how he loves us, God. Oh, how he loves us. He loves us so much. We can't comprehend his love. We can't fathom his love, [snorts] but he loves us. It's in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Let's stand as [music] we sing together.