HIGHWAY TO HELL
Luke 16:22-24 KJV
22) 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;
23) And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24) And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
WHEN YOU THINK OF HELL, WHAT IMAGE COMES TO MIND? DO YOU THINK OF THE BIBLE’S VERSION OF HELL OR THE WORLD’S? SATAN KNOWS HE CAN’T KEEP YOU IGNORANT OF HELL, SO HE’LL DO THE NEXT BEST THING. HE’S GONNA LET YOU KNOW ABOUT HELL, BUT NOT THE REAL HELL, HE’LL FILL YOUR HEAD WITH LIES ABOUT HIS LITTLE FANTASY WORLD. YOU SEE, SATAN’S ALREADY DAMNED TO SPEND ETERNITY IN HELL, AND IF HE CAN FOOL YOU INTO BELIEVING THAT IT’S GOING TO BE ONE BIG PARTY, THEN HE WON’T HAVE ANY PROBLEM TAKING YOU WITH HIM. MOST OF YOU HAVE HEARD THE SONG BY AC/DC - HIGHWAY TO HELL. BUT, FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN’T, LET ME FILL YOU IN ON WHAT THEY SAY HELL’S GONNA BE LIKE, IT GOES LIKE THIS:
VERSE 1:
Living easy, lovin’ free
Season ticket on a one-way ride
Asking nothing, leave me be
Taking everything in my stride
Don’t need reason, don’t need rhyme
Ain’t nothing I would rather do
Going down, party time
My friends are gonna be there too
I’m on the highway to hell
VERSE 2:
No stop signs, speed limit
Nobody’s gonna slow me down
Like a wheel, gonna spin it
Nobody’s gonna mess me round
Hey Satan, payed my dues
Playing in a rocking band
Hey Momma, look at me
I’m on my way to the promised land
I’m on the highway to hell
NOW THAT SOUNDS LIKE A GREAT PLACE TO BE RIGHT? SOUNDS LIKE ONE GREAT BIG PARTY. I MEAN, WHO WOULDN’T WANT TO GO, RIGHT? IF ALL MY FRIENDS ARE GONNA BE THERE TOO. IT’LL BE ONE HUGE, NON-STOP PARTY FOR ALL ETERNITY, RIGHT? THAT’S WHAT THE SONG SAYS. WELL FOLKS, THAT’S A LIE STRAIGHT OUT OF HELL, AND TONIGHT WE’RE GOING TO FIND OUT THE TRUTH OF WHAT HELL’S REALLY GONNA BE LIKE.
HELL IS A PLACE OF TORMENTS:
LUKE 16:23
“AND IN HELL HE LIFT UP HIS EYES, BEING IN TORMENTS” NOTICE THAT THE BIBLE SAYS HE LIFTED UP HIS EYES IN TORMENTS, NOT TORMENT. BUT TORMENTS, PLURAL. TONITE WE’RE GONNA LOOK AT JUST FOUR OF THOSE TORMENTS.
THE TORMENTS OF HELL
1. PAIN
HELL WILL BE AN ETERNITY OF PAIN. MARK 9:43 SAYS THAT THE FIRES OF HELL WILL NEVER BE QUENCHED. MOST OF YOU HAVE GOTTEN BURNED AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER, AND IT HURT, RIGHT? NOW JUST IMAGINE FOR A MOMENT THE PAIN OF THAT BURN MULTIPLIED ABOUT A MILLION TIMES. IMAGINE THE PAIN OF THAT ONE SMALL BURN MULTIPLIED A MILLION TIMES AND COVERING YOUR ENTIRE BODY. THE BIBLE SAYS THAT THERE WILL BE WEEPING AND GNASHING OF TEETH. DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT IS MEANT BY GNASHING OF TEETH? IT MEANS THAT YOU’LL BY IN SO MUCH PAIN THAT YOU’LL LITERALLY CLENCH YOUR TEETH SO HARD THAT THEY’LL SHATTER AND BREAK AND THE PAIN WILL NEVER EASE. YOU’LL FEEL THE PAIN FOREVER. IN REVELATIONS 20:10 THE BIBLE SAYS THAT THOSE IN HELL WILL BE TORMENTED DAY AND NIGHT FOREVER. MATTHEW 25:41 CALLS HELL THE EVERLASTING FIRE. AND, AS AN ADDED BONUS, YOU’LL HAVE YOUR FLESH EATEN BY WORMS, MARK 9:44 SAYS THE WORMS WILL NEVER DIE.
STILL THINK IT’S GONNA A PARTY?
2. SEPARATION AND DARKNESS
THE SONG SAYS THAT ALL MY FRIENDS ARE GONNA BE THERE TOO, THAT MAY BE TRUE, BUT YOU’LL NEVER KNOW IT. THE BIBLE REFERS TO HELL AS A PLACE OF UTTER DARKNESS. IF NOT FOR THE EAR PIERCING SCREAMS, YOU WOULD THINK YOU WERE THE ONLY SOUL IN HELL. JUST IMAGINE THE HORROR OF A PLACE THAT IS PITCH BLACK, YOU CAN’T SEE ANYTHING, BUT YOU’LL HEAR THE SCREAMS OF PURE TERROR, OF UNIMAGINABLE PAIN, ALL YOU CAN THINK OF IS HOW MUCH YOU WANT THE SCREAMS TO STOP AND THEN YOU REALIZE THE SCREAMS ARE COMING FROM YOU. THEIR COMING FROM ALL AROUND YOU, THEIR RIGHT IN YOUR EAR, BUT YOU CAN’T SEE WHO IT IS THAT’S SCREAMING, YOU REACH OUT IN THE DARKNESS, BUT NOBODY’S THERE. YOU ARE OVERWHELMED BY THE LONELINESS. YOU’D GIVE ANYTHING TO BE ABLE TO FEEL THE TOUCH OF YOUR MOTHER’S HAND, OR THE EMBRACE OF YOUR FATHER’S ARMS, YOU’D GIVE ANYTHING TO HOLD YOUR CHILD JUST ONE MORE TIME. BUT YOU WON’T, FOR ALL ETERNITY YOU’LL BE ALONE IN HELL WITH MILLIONS OF OTHER LOST SOULS.
3. MEMORY
LUKE 16:25
LET’S YOU KNOW THAT IN HELL YOU’LL BE HAUNTED BY YOUR MEMORIES. THE RICH MAN IS TOLD TO REMEMBER THE GOOD THINGS HE HAD IN HIS LIFETIME. IF YOU DIE AND GO TO HELL, WHAT MEMORIES WILL YOU BE HAUNTED BY? YOU MAY THINK, “ I CAN’T REMEMBER THE LAST TIME MY MOTHER OR FATHER HELD ME,” IN HELL YOU WILL. IN HELL YOU’LL REMEMBER EVERY LAST DETAIL OF THEIR TOUCH. YOU’LL NEVER FORGET HOW IT FELT TO BE LOVED BY YOUR FAMILY. YOU’LL LONG FOR THAT LOVING TOUCH, BUT IT’LL NEVER COME. AND THAT STIRRING YOU FEEL IN YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW, THAT’S JESUS CHRIST, HE’S TELLING YOU HE WANTS TO SAVE YOU FROM ALL OF THIS, AND IF YOU REJECT HIM, YOU’LL BE REMINDED THROUGHOUT ETERNITY OF THE LOVE THAT YOU WOULDN’T ACCEPT. YOU’LL ALSO REMEMBER THIS SERVICE, AND OTHERS IN WHICH YOU HARDENED YOUR HEART AND TURNED DOWN GOD’S OFFER TO SAVE YOU FROM THIS TORTURE CALLED HELL.
4. THIRST
IN HELL THERE’LL BE NO WATER. YOU’LL BEG GOD FOR WATER, BUT IT’LL NEVER COME. IN VS 24 THE RICH MAN BEGGED FOR JUST A DROP OF WATER TO COOL HIS TONGUE. BUT THERE’S NO WATER IN HELL. NO WATER TO DRINK, NO WATER TO COOL YOUR TONGUE, NO WATER TO EASE THE PAIN OF YOUR BURNING FLESH. NO WATER, ONLY PAIN AND FIRE AND TORMENT, FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER.
IN CLOSING I WANT TO SAY THAT FOREVER IS A LONG TIME, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT’S SPENT IN THE TORMENTS OF HELL!
“HIGHWAY TO HELL” NO STOP SIGNS, NO SPEED LIMITS.
BUT YOU DON’T HAVE TO STAY ON THAT HIGHWAY, GOD ALLOWS U-TURNS. HE HAS OFFERED US ALL A WAY OUT. AND IT’S THROUGH HIS SON, JESUS CHRIST.
ROMANS 10:9 SAYS
9) That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
AND ROMANS 10:13 SAYS
13) For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
2 PETER 3:9 SAYS
THE LORD IS... NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH, BUT THAT ALL SHOULD COME TO REPENTANCE. IT’S NOT GOD’S DESIRE TO SEND YOU TO HELL. BUT IF YOU REJECT CHRIST AND THE FREE GIFT OF SALVATION HE’S OFFERING TO YOU, THEN YOU’LL BE SENDING YOURSELF TO HELL. IT’S BAD ENOUGH TO THINK ABOUT BEING IN HELL, BUT TO BE IN HELL AND SUDDENLY REALIZE THAT YOU CHOOSE TO GO TO HELL, TO REALIZE THAT ALL CHRIST WANTED WAS TO DELIVER YOU FROM ALL THAT PAIN AND YOU TURNED HIM DOWN. JOHN 3:16 & 17 SAYS IT ALL...
16) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17) For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
TO HELP YOU UNDERSTAND IT A LITTLE BETTER, TAKE THOSE TWO VERSES AND PUT YOUR NAME IN THEM;
16) FOR GOD SO LOVED ME, THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, IF I BELIEVETH ON HIM, I SHALL NOT PERISH, BUT I WILL HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE.
17) FOR GOD SENT NOT HIS SON INTO THE WORLD TO CONDEMN ME, BUT THAT I THROUGH HIM WILL BE SAVED.
CHRIST CAME AND DIED FOR YOU, HE DIED SO THAT YOU CAN LIVE. AND DON’T THINK YOU ARE TO BAD TO BE SAVED. NO MATTER WHAT YOU’VE DONE, HE IS STILL WILLING TO SAVE YOU. IF YOU THINK YOU ARE NOT WORTH SAVING, LET ME ASSURE YOU, NONE OF US WERE.
ROMANS 3:23 SAYS THAT ALL HAVE SINNED AND COME SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD.
I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU BUT THE FACT THAT CHRIST WAS WILLING TO DIE ON THAT OLD RUGGED CROSS FOR ME, FOR ME, AN UNDESERVING, SINNER.
I DIDN’T DESERVE HIS GRACE OR HIS MERCY, BUT HE STILL HUNG ON THAT CROSS AND ENDURED THE PAIN AND HUMILIATION OF THE CRUCIFIXION TO SAVE ME FROM HELL, THAT’S ENOUGH TO MAKE ME WANT TO GET TO HEAVEN JUST TO THANK HIM. IF YOU HAVE NEVER ACCEPTED CHRIST, PLEASE DON’T WALK OUT OF HERE TONITE WITHOUT HIM.
DON’T THINK YOU CAN WAIT UNTIL SOME OTHER TIME, DON’T WAIT FOR ANOTHER DAY,
1 CORINTHIANS 6:2 SAYS THAT NOW IS THE ACCEPTED TIME, NOW IS THE ACCEPTED DAY. DON’T THINK THAT JUST BECAUSE YOU’RE YOUNG YOU HAVE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD TO GET SAVED, DON’T THINK YOU CAN WAIT UNTIL YOU’RE OLDER, JAMES 4:14 SAYS THAT LIFE IS JUST A VAPOR THAT ONLY APPEARS FOR A LITTLE WHILE AND THEN VANISHES AWAY. YOU’RE NOT PROMISED TOMORROW, YOU’RE NOT EVEN PROMISED YOU’RE NEXT BREATH. IF GOD IS DEALING WITH YOU NOW, THEN NOW IS THE TIME TO ACCEPT HIM.
