A Sermon from Hell
Luke 16:19-31
Introduction:
On an airplane a pastor opened his Bible to the story of Jonah and began to study. The man sitting next to him glanced at this pastors reading selection and commented, “Surely you do not believe that a man was actually swallowed by a whale and lived? What could he have done in the belly of a whale for three days?” to which the pastor replied, “When I get to heaven I will ask him”. With a grimace the man countered “What if he is not in heaven”, “Well then”, the pastor quirked, “you can ask him”.
We can laugh at jokes about hell, we can chuckle at cartoons that depict a devil with horns and a pitchfork chasing little demons in hell, we can read of liberal theologians discounting the very concept of hell and we can even deny the existence of hell. However, Hell is real.
“The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and risks of love is Hell”-C.S. Lewis (Four Loves)
“Hell is no less than the eternal and second death, in its utmost extent and terror, as, just in all respects the opposite to eternal life…filled with incessant stings and horrors of conscience, and tormented in soul and body with such painful and raging flames, as will forever distress, but never consume their bodies, or destroy a lively consciousness of guilt in their souls to all eternity.”-Wellins Calcott, Thoughts Moral and Divine
“Hell is not evil; it’s a place where evil gets punished. Hell is not pleasant, appealing, or encouraging. But Hell is morally good, because a good God must punish evil.”-Randy Alcorn, If God Is Good
“The devil, as a master of deceit, does everything he can to keep people from believing in the existence of a hell; but hell is a literal state of existence that will be the plight of all those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ” -Tim LaHaye, Revelation Unveiled
Hell is a literal place that most preachers shy away from in this current “seeker-sensitive” church culture of ours for fear of offence and to ensure religious correctness and church growth. In our text we find a man preaching a sermon with three points, a sermon, if you will, from Hell. Let us consider this Sermon from Hell and discover the rich man’s Vanity, and Vision and our Victory.
Point One: His Vanity:
First of all let me fill you in on a little secret, you are going to die. The Bible says “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment”-Heb. 9:27. (Room for sidewalk crack story-understanding I will only die when HE is ready for me!).
There will come a day, and it may be sooner than you think (ask Whitney Houston), that you will close your eyes on this side of eternity and open them up either, like the Apostle Paul “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”-II Cor. 5:8, or like this rich man who opened his eyes “in hell”. What on earth could this rich man have done to merit and deserve spending an eternity in hell separated from the love of God? The answer is vanity. He was caught up in self.
The girl knelt in the confessional and said, "Bless me, Father, for I have sinned."
"What is it, child?"
"Father, I have committed the sin of vanity. Twice a day I gaze at myself in the mirror and tell myself how beautiful I am."
The priest turned, took a good look at the girl, and said, "My dear, I have good news. That isn’t a sin... it’s simply a mistake."
God does not predestinate anyone to spend an eternity in hell. And for our five-point, Hyper-Calvinist friends, I say again, GOD DOES NOT PREDESTINATE ANYONE TO HELL! And contrary to what many religions and cults will tell you today, the only unpardonable sin one can commit that will ensure an eternal separation from God and His love in this place is the rejection of the gift of His Son Jesus Christ for the full and free pardon of one’s sins.
To be so caught up in self that you actually believe that you can be good enough to enter heaven on your own, that you have no need for anyone or anything, is the only way you will be separated eternally from a loving God.
The truth? “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” –Jer. 17:9. So, if we are counting on a scale or balance in the next life that will weigh our good works against our bad to determine our eternal destiny, we must understand that even our best days are “as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” –Isa. 64:6. And don’t be fooled into comparing yourself with the person sitting next to you, in that compared to them you are morally and spiritually superior. Paul points out that, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” –Rom. 3:23. And the consequences of our sin? Again Paul tells us that the “wages of sin is death” –Rom. 6:23.
This rich man never acknowledged his need for God or humanities need for him. The greatest commandment “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with ALL thy heart, and with ALL thy soul, and with ALL thy strength, and with ALL thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.” –Luke 10:27
So, qualify yourself today. Are you independently working your way through this life into the next, or will you decide today that you are a sinner in need of a Savior?
Point Two: His Vision
Now this man had a terrible eternal view, he was forced to take in the sights of earth which exposed him to the truth about the destiny of his family, unless something changed, causing him to have a mission motivated vision. A vision we all should have!
Norman Geisler wrote an article in which he stated, “I have a confession to make. I was a director for a Christian youth organization for three years, a pastor for nine years, a Bible college teacher for six years, and in all that time I did not witness for Jesus Christ. I scarcely ever shared my faith one-to-one with other people.” He offered several reasons for this: not thinking he had the “gift” of evangelism, felling his gift was teaching the Word to those already claiming Christ as their Lord.
One day after praying through a little song that said: “lead me to some soul today/O teach me, Lord, just what to say.” he was approached by a girl from the college where he taught. She had spiritual needs in her life, and he was able to lead her to Christ. (She later went to South America as a missionary).
Shortly afterward, Geisler volunteered to participate in his church visitation program and got bitten by the evangelism bug. He now says: “The most rewarding experiences I’ve had in my Christian life have not come from teaching, pastoring, or ministering around the world. They have come from meeting with non-Christians and seeing one after another come to know Christ.”
I have known many Sunday School teachers and pastors in my life that believed the greatest experience they had was teaching a class or preaching from the pulpit. Oh to discover what Norman Geisler found in doing the Great Commission and leading people to Christ!
Take it from this rich man; he is screaming to us from a place of eternal torment, begging you to stop counting on the pastors or deacons to preach the good news. To break out of your life of comfort and security and hit the high-ways and byways proclaiming hope to the hopeless, light to those in darkness, freedom to those in bondage and life to those who are dead. Church…GET BUSY, GET OUT AND have the resolve, understanding and passion of the Apostle Paul when he said: “For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.”-I Cor. 2:2
When someone comes to Christ, they are saved from an eternal separation from God in that terrible place called hell and given a new life down here and a new home up there! Why even this man in hell knew that! In fact, when you lead someone to the Lord through the prayer of salvation there is a party in heaven! Luke said: "In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."-Luke 15:10. No wonder folks who experience leading someone to the Lord get the “bug”!
There are people at CommUNITY that have caught this vision and have the evangelism bug, and because of that, folks are getting saved and we have a baptism service planned for next week! (Folks like: Carol Gibson story of neighbors! David Gardner umbrella-cards)
Point Three: Our Victory
As I stated, this man had a terrible eternal view, that was three fold, he viewed Hell (a place, as indicated by this poor man, of suffering with senses: that is to say he felt pain, heard the sounds of torment, saw terrible sights, tasted sulfur and experienced dryness of his mouth. He viewed Home (he had to watch his friends and family, knowing their eternal destiny if no change was wrought in their hearts) and he was able to see Heaven, and what a view that was.
It is a place of:
• Resting:
I was holding the hand praying with a dear lady of our church this past week. A lady that has been through so very much: physically, emotionally and spiritually. As I held her hand I prayed that God would give her strength to endure. As I was praying I started to take her burden to cast it to our Lord and overwhelmed with sorrow for her, I was reminded that rest is coming! There is a day that is coming when we: “which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; -Rev. 14:13. (Gone on a great vacation, but when you walk through the door of your home upon returning, there comes that great sigh of relief. Why? There is no place like home. Heaven is our home, heaven is our rest.)
• Rejoicing:
As the song goes: “What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see, when I look upon His face, the One that saved me by His grace. When He takes me by the hand and leads me through the Promised Land, what a day, glorious day, that will be”! Brothers and Sisters in Christ, we will not be turned into angels, and issued a harp to sit on cloud number 8,532 to be bored for an eternity! We will be rejoicing with the heavenly throng and our Lord FOREVER!
Let me point out an interesting contrast in Scripture. In Hebrews we find that Jesus Christ, “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high”-Heb. 1:3. So, Jesus, once His sacrifice on the cross and resurrection was accepted by the Father, took His place, sitting, at the right hand of God. Then we find something interesting. As Stephen was being stoned and about to die, he “he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God” –Acts 7:55. What would cause the Son of God to leave His throne and get up? Because He was so excited and ready to celebrate the homecoming of His own!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Rewarding:
I know there will be crowns given in heaven to those believers that serve their Lord down here, “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.”-Matt. 16:27 but what I am more excited about is what we will be able to do with those rewards! To be able to “bow down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne”-Rev. 4:10.
When I was a young boy I was invited to a birthday party. I remember that I forgot to get a gift and, at the last minute, I called to let the birthday boy know I would not be coming to the party. He assured me that gifts were not required and that others would not be bringing them. I went to that party and boy did I feel terrible when, after the cake was eaten, the birthday boy opened presents one by one thanking each giver. I was the only one that did not present a gift. I could have crawled under the table. Tragic that some Christians simply want to ride out into glory, not doing anything to earn a crown. What will they do when everyone else is giving Jesus a gift? What are you doing to earn the gift that you will give back?
• Reuniting:
I could go on and on for hours about the streets of gold, the walls of jasper the gates of pearl the foundation of precious stones. The angels, the mansions, the greats of the Old Testament, the saints of the New. I could imagine the reception and hugs from friends and family that have gone on before. Yet what I dwell on most. What I look so forward to, is seeing “in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain”-Rev. 5:6 and hearing His words to me “Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. –Matt. 25:23
In closing, I want to share some words, used at a funeral service, from John Jasper, a former slave. “I loves to go down to the old muddy James, mighty red and muddy, but it goes along so grand and quiet like it was tending to business. But that ain’t nothing to the river which flows by the throne. I longs for its crystal waves, and the trees on the banks, and all manners of fruits. This old head of mine often gets hot with fever and rolls on the pillow, and I has many times desired to cool it in that blessed stream as it kisses the banks of that upper Canaan. The thought of seeing that river, drinking its water and resting under those trees…Oh, to be there! After that, I’d stroll up them avenues where the children of God dwell, and view their mansions. Father Abraham, I’m sure he got a great palace. And David. And Paul, the mighty scholar who got struck down in the Damascus Road, I want to see his mansion. Then I cut round to the back streets and looks for the little home where my Savior set my mother up to housekeeping. I expect to know the house by the roses in the yard and the vine on the porch.” At that point, Jasper dramatically sprang back, clapped his hands, and shouted, “Look there! See that one! Hallelujah, it’s John Jasper’s. Said He was going to prepare a place for me. There it is! Too good for a poor sinner like me, but He built it for me, a turn-key job, and mine forever!”
Amen. Hell was developed and designed for the devil and his demons. You were made and meant to inherit the Kingdom of God. The question is, will you?
