Woe, Judgment & Hell

Sermon Notes: 05/18/09 Campaign Church of God of Prophecy

Sermon Series: The Ministry of Jesus:

Sermon #05: Prepare for Eternity -- Woe, Judgment, & Hell:

Scripture Ref: Luke 10: 13-16

13: ‘Woe unto thee, Chorazin! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works had been done in Tyre & Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth & ashes.’ 14: ‘But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre & Sidon at the judgment, than for you.’ 15: ‘& thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell.’ 16: ‘He that heareth you heareth ME; & he that despiseth you despiseth ME, & he that despiseth ME despiseth HIM that sent ME.’

Introduction:

Let’s say that you are watching somebody from a great distance. You are on the rim of a canyon, you have some very powerful binoculars, & you are looking down into the canyon. You spot a man in a little rubber raft. He’s kicked back, he’s got his sunglasses, a little floppy brimmed hat, & he is casually letting his legs hang over the edge of the raft. He is floating peacefully down the river, unaware that he is approaching a swift flow of water that will carry him to a 350 foot waterfall that drops into large & jagged boulders below. You have the advantage of seeing what’s ahead. Wouldn’t it be a terrible thing to just stand there, too far away to do anything, unable to warn the man & watch through your binoculars as he tumbles off the edge into his doom & dies? How would you cope with that? You might say, ‘Well, surely there were signs down there that the man should have paid attention to. Surely he should have heard the roaring & the thundering of the waters as he neared the waterfall?’

What if you were on the bank? What if you saw the man get into his raft & prepare to paddle out? You look at the man & say ‘Sir, Look at the sign. It says: Warning: Severe Water Hazard. 350 foot waterfall drop ahead.’

The man responds by saying: ‘Don’t bother me, I’m on vacataion. I’m here to relax, Chill out!’ & he paddles out into the raging current.

You’re still moved by the man’s uncaring attitude & you repeat your warnings by shouting, “Sir, come back! There’s a waterfall ahead of you!” You plead & you beg for him to come back to the shore. Soon several people have gathered around you & they join you in warning the man. The whole group is shouting to the top of their lungs “Sir, come in! Come in!”

Yet he is still unmoved by all of your efforts & he is waving you off with calm neglect saying, “Don’t bother me, I’m relaxing!”

You come to the realization; something is wrong with this man. You run out to your car & get a rope & run to the river bank & just as he is approaching the waterfall you throw out the line. It lands exactly in his lap but instead of grabbing hold of it he lets it slither across his body. You yell out to him, “Sir, Grab the rope, Grab the rope!” & he just lets it go. So you reel in the rope & create a noose & you lasso his feet. You begin to pull him into the side & he gets irratated & pulls off the noose, & says, “Leave me alone! I’m relaxing!”

Finally, you realize that this is a desperate situation. You’re frantic. You run to the shore & you find a tree branch & you hold it out to him & say, “Grab the branch! Grab it!” Then the raft goes over the edge & you hear the screams as it fades into the noise of the waterfall.

How would you deal with that? How would you cope with that? You might be a little bit angry, wouldn’t you? Angry that this man would not listen to you. You pointed out the sign to him. You read him the sign. Other people warned him. You threw him a lifeline. You lassoed his feet. You extended him a branch. But he would not receive it. & he perished. You might even say, “Well, he deserved exactly what he got. That’s what he asked for & that’s what he got.”

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In the verses just above the ones I’ve read this morning JESUS is preparing the 70 HE is sending out 2 by 2.

Lets read 10: 1- 12 1: ‘After those things the LORD appointed other 70 also, & sent them 2 & 2 before HIS face into every city & place, whether HE HIMSELF would come. 2: Therefore said HE unto them, The harvest truly is great but the laborers are few, pray ye therefore the LORD of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest. 3: Go your ways, behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves. 4: Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes, & salute no man by the way. 5: & into whatsoever house ye enter, 1st say, Peace be to this house. 6: & if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it, if not, it shall turn to you again.’ 7: & in the same house remain, eatting & drinking, such things as they give; for the laborer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house.’ 8: & into whatsoever city ye enter, & they receive you, eat such things as are set before you: 9: & heal the sick that are therein, & say unto them, The kingdom of GOD is come nigh you. 10: But into whatsoever city ye enter, & they receive you not , go your ways out into the streets of the same, & say, 11: Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you; notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of GOD is come nigh unto you. 12: But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.’