Thank you for listening to Servants for Christ. In all that we do, in all that we say, we want to give glory and honor to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Thank you for tuning us in as we get into the wonderful Word of God. For the next few minutes, let's take the beautiful Word of God and share it with each and every one of you as we have a sense of anticipation to take the word of God and to listen to its truth for each and every one. Take your Bibles this morning over to Luke chapter 16. Luke chapter 16. As each and every one of us go through life we begin to realize how truly blessed that we are and knowing that God is providing the very best for each and every one of us. And so in Luke chapter 16, starting with verse 19, we see a message that no one likes to preach anymore. No one likes to talk about the depths of hell or the future places of people that are coming in future days, but it's the truth. And today we need to be able to tell people about the truth That they're going through in the times that we're in today. And so take your Bibles over to Luke chapter 16 verses 19 down the verse 31 The Bible says there was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared suptuously every day In verse 20, And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate full of sores, and desired to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. In verse 22, And it came to pass that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels. Boy! Here he was carried by the angels. And so here, as it tells us, into Abraham's bosom, the rich man also died and was buried. In verse 23, and in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said in verse 24, 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. In verse 25, but Abraham said, son, remember that thou in thy lifetime received thy good things and likewise Lazarus evil things, but now he is comforted and thou art tormented. In verse 26, He goes on and he tells us, he says, and beside all this, between us and you, there's a great gulf fixed, so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot. Neither can they pass to us that would come from thence. In verse 27, then he said, I pray thee therefore, Father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house. In verse 28, for I have five brethren that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. In verse 29, Abraham said unto him, They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them. In verse 30, and he said, Nay, father Abraham, but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. In verse 31, listen to the final reading of the word of God. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, Neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead." Father, we thank you for the reading of the Word of God. Give us the ability, Lord, to love those who have hurt us. Lord, to bless those that have been cruel to us, and to be good to those who have behaved badly toward us. Father, we realize, Lord, that there's many out there that the only closeness to heaven they're ever going to get is in this life. And Lord, there's many of them that are living it up every day, but that's all the heaven they'll ever see. But they don't have to. I pray God that this will be a message that will remind them to look to Jesus to get free and get forgiveness and mercy and grace. And no matter what's happened in the past, to prepare for the future. Lord, I pray for all of these people. As we're your child, may we inherit your ability to show love and mercy at all times. Lord, you said love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. And all of this we ask in Jesus' marvelous mighty name. Amen. Now I've got a brain teaser for you, and see if you can figure it out, okay? It belongs to you, but your friends and family use it more. What is it? It belongs to you, but your friends and family use it more. What is it? It's your name. It's your name. We can establish a good name here on earth through kind deeds and good work ethics and even religious activity. We may be respected in our community. We may move up to the great positions in our workforce. We may raise a decent family and still be lost for eternity in a place called hell. Many would have said that this man in Luke chapter 16 had a pretty good life. He wore nice clothes. He had plenty to eat. He was identified as a rich man. And yet, when he closed his eyes in death, he woke up in an eternal lake of fire. And so each and every one of us, when we look and realize, I won't just for a little while talk to you about no name in the flame. No name in the flame. We look and we begin to realize that God is merciful to every one of us, amen. And so, we realize that the mention of hell elicits many different reactions. Some people, they react with concern. They're moved to share Jesus with the lost. Others react with fear, and they come to Jesus seeking salvation for their own souls. But listen, still, There's others that react with hate and revulsion and they say that it is not a proper topic for conversation. Some would even seek to deny the existence of hell. And yet God and Jesus declare hell to be a very real place. Psalms chapter 9 verse 17. Death is the destiny of all the wicked and of all those who reject God. And so, of 162 references to hell in the New Testament, 70 come from Jesus himself. When people attempt to deny the doctrine of hell, there are three basic approaches that they, first of all, they rationalize. Hey, there's no God, therefore there can be no hell. Charles Darwin said, this is a damnable doctrine, but I say, let God be true in every man a liar, according to Romans 3.4. then not only is there rationalism, there's ridicule. because there may be a God, but it is silly to speculate about millions of disembodied spirits frying in a lake of fire somewhere. Or, this is the 21st century, wake up, because Robert Ingersoll said, the idea of hell was born of revenge and brutality on one side and cowardice on the other. But I have no respect for any man who preaches it, and I dislike the doctrine. I hate it, I despise it, I defy this doctrine. Let God be true. Then there's the third approach of the doctrine of hell, and that is religion. They say there's a God, but he is a God of love, and therefore he would not and could not send anyone to hell. This is the position of the cults and of the liberalism, Christian science. Hell is an era of the mortal mind. Jehovah witnesses, the wicked will be annihilated. The Mormonism, all will eventually be saved, and not religion as a soapbox. excuse me, saved and not suffer eternal punishment. The seven-day Adventist? God will someday blot out all sin and sinners and establish a clean universe once again. Man may try to use religion as a soapbox to preach that hell is a myth, but I say, let God be true and every man a liar. And so, we may not like to think about hell, but it is a reality. And if the teachings in the Bible concerning hell are a myth, then we have no real need for the church. We don't have any need for the Bible and we don't have no need for preachers or any of the things that we do. But if there's no hell, then there's no heaven. And if there's no savior, because if there is no hell, he lied to us and he has disqualified himself. But I want to add, that this story of Luke chapter 16 is not a parable. The rich man who is spoken about in this passage is still in hell right now. And untold millions more have joined him there. Listen, this morning, I want to call the rich man up from hell to visit with us, and I want to tell him about what hell is really like, if it were possible for him to stand and tell you what kind of place that hell would be. And a man that goes there, or a woman that goes there, it's terrible. But I want to challenge you to have a clear understanding of the awful place called hell. Because, believe it or not, the only escape from this eternal place of fire is through the Lord Jesus Christ. And understand that each and every individual in the world is responsible for their soul's condition and eternity. You need to learn how to develop. For those around us who are not saved and are therefore headed to this terrible place, you need to develop a burden for them. And so, I'm gonna talk about no name in the flames. First of all, I'm gonna talk about the where of this rich man, the what of the rich man, and the why of the rich man. But when we look around, Jesus identified Lazarus, and Lazarus was named in this so-called parable, but when given a parable, Jesus never named a character, not even once. And Jesus did not say that this was a parable. And though these two facts, plus the language used to begin the account, to point to it as an actual experience, it must always be remembered that spiritual and eternal truths have to be described with human and earthly language. And this does not in any way lessen the blessing nor the terror of the truth. Contrary-wise, the eternal truth is much more blessed and much more terrifying than any human description. And so, There is a difference in life and the differences are there was one main difference between Lazarus and the rich man. The rich man was nameless but Lazarus was named and the difference is ever so big. It is the difference between being known and honored by God and not being known or honored by God. But the rich man did not know God and therefore he was unknown to God and God was not able to honor him. He was nameless to God. Lazarus knew God. He was known by God. His very name, Lazarus, means God is my help or helper. And he trusted God to look after him. And his eyes were upon heaven and the blessings of heaven, not upon the earth. But the Latin word for rich is dives. And this is the reason the rich man is often called dives, however. He must always remember it was not his name. He was a nameless man to God. And so, we look and we realize that that was the main difference between Lazarus and the rich man. The rich man was nameless, but Lazarus was named. Number two, the rich man was wealthy. Lazarus was poor. The rich man was healthy, Lazarus was disabled. Lazarus was full of ulcerated sores, unable to work and earn a living. He was either carried to the rich man's gate or else barely able to walk to the gate. And he was what is called a street person, not by choice, but by being handicapped and without family and friends who loved enough to care for him. How tragic, what an indictment against men and women today. The charge is against the rich man and not society. Society is only an idea and men are a reality. And the term of the idea of society allows some men, including some social workers, to escape responsibility, to build up good salaries, healthy standards of living, and personal wealth while the needful continue to suffer And each man is personally responsible for the poor and the needy of the earth. That is Christ's point. In this, the rich man was responsible for Lazarus. The rich man fared suptuously. Lazarus had to beg because he was helpless. And the picture is that of Lazarus lying at the rich man's gate, and most people would not even allow this. The rich man was too occupied with his own estate interests and pleasures that he even ignored Lazarus lying at his gate. And the rich man neither helped nor he seemed to care while Lazarus waited for the crumbs from the rich man's table. Too weak to shoo away the dogs from licking his sores, he found hope and peace in God, hallelujah, and the wealthy use hunks of bread to wipe their hands and then to shoo the hunks away. They throw every bit of the bread. It was the bread that Lazarus waited for. And so, We look and we begin to realize that there's no name in the flames. Here in Luke chapter 16 verse 24, and in hell he lift up his eyes being in torment, seeing Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom and he cried and he 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. Matthew chapter 18 verse 8, the Bible says, wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off and cast them from thee. It is better for thee to enter into life, halt and maim, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting life. And so, as we look and we begin to realize that hell is an actual place, hell is an awful place. And so, as we look and realize it, some assume that this is another of Jesus' parables, that it's not really a true account, but the story merely to teach a spiritual truth. But I don't believe that's true. Why? As I told you just a while ago, one of the rules of parables is that the people in the story are never named. And this account breaks that rule in that the beggar Lazarus is clearly named and the rich man, however, is not identified by name. And we learn that there are no names in hell. In life, our name serves as our identity. It's very important. But in hell, a person's name is forever blotted from the eternal record of God. How tragic to live an entire life building a respected name only to arrive in hell forever without one. And I'm going to tell you, there are no names. There are no names in the flames. There's no names in the flames, amen. First of all, we look and we see the where of this rich man. The Bible specifically tells us that this rich man was in hell and that he was tormented. Hell is an actual place. People often use the word hell to describe something really bad or something really good. They talk about their experience in war or sickness as going through hell. But at the same time, they'll describe a fantastic idea or an awesome football game as a hell of a deal. are a hell of a game, as I quote them. And by using this word in that fashion, man proves that he or she doesn't really believe this place is real. He or she assumes that hell is here on earth, or a state of mind rather than a reality. That's not what the Bible says. Luke 16, 23, and in hell, And in hell, and in hell, the Bible speaks much about this place called hell than it does heaven. And most people believe in some kind of an eternal place of peace and rest. And when someone dies, we often hear people say, may they rest in peace. They speak of their loved ones, looking down on them and being happy, et cetera. But according to the Bible, not everyone goes to heaven. And that's sad. Sometimes as preachers, we say a lot of things to comfort a family. And Psalms 917, as I said earlier, that the wicked shall be turned into hell and all the nations that forget God. So hell is an actual place, but hell is an awful place as well, because we talk more about who goes to hell and why they go there, but it's imperative that we realize that hell truly is more awful place than we can ever imagine. We read in Luke 16, 23, and in hell, he lift up his eyes being in torments. And the fact that life can be cruel and periods of time may be tormenting, usually motivating factors for people to speak of tough situations as going through hell. But the Bible is clear about one kind of torment that the rich man in hell was actually experiencing. And so here he tells us in Luke 16, 24, And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeing Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried, and he 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. Pain in life is not pleasant. And in many cases, it's unbearable, and it's immensely far from the reality of hell. Jesus made a comparison between pain in this life and the awful sufferings in hell. And he said in Matthew chapter 18, verse eight, wherefore, if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, cast them from thee. It is better for thee to enter into life, halt or maim, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. Hell, as I said earlier, is an actual place. Hell is an awful place, but we see that hell is also an avoidable place. Thank God, glory, hallelujah, because God did not create hell for people, but for Lucifer, Satan, and his angels that rebelled against him in heaven. In Matthew 25, verse 41, Now, while hell was created for the devil and his angels, heaven was intended to be our home for eternity. Hallelujah! Praise his mighty name! Thank you, Jesus! Glory! And when Jesus left this earth to go back to his father, he reminded us that his purpose was to prepare a place for us in heaven. John chapter 14, as many funerals as we've done over the years, but John 14 would be a favorite that I would use a lot of time. He said, let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are many mansions. And if it were not so, I would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will Come again and receive you unto myself that where I am there you may be also if you miss heaven They're gonna be an empty place There that was prepared for you. Oh Man, how sad if you reject Christ hell will have to enlarge itself to add another number to it according to Isaiah chapter 5 verse 14 to make room just for you a no-name in the flame and No name in the flames. In Isaiah 5, 14, Therefore hell hath enlarged herself. The difference between heaven and hell is Jesus Christ. In John chapter 3, verse 36, He believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. No one has to go to hell. We are all sinners and deserve this eternal punishment. But God had a plan of redemption for us. what was the most love scripture of all time of john three sixteen for god's all of the world they gave his only begotten son that is a believe in him should not perish but at what everlasting life so we see the where of this rich man a man the actual place awful place but thank god there's an affordable place for you and i everyone out there today but secondly not only the where of the rich man but the water that rich man what is hell like no one has ever been there and back to tell us about it man may try to soften the reality of this place. Oh, Lord, help us all. But we must look to God's word for the facts about this horrible, terrible place. That hell is a place of tormenting forces. And the torments of the Bible described about hell is a place of fire. Because we've discovered in verse 24, the fire of hell. God repeats the aspect of hell in a number of scriptures. Matthew chapter 3, verse 12. whose fan is in his hand and he will thoroughly purge his floor and gather his wheat into the gardener gardener, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." Matthew 13, verses 40, 41, and 42, as therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the end of this world, the Son of Man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that are offended, and them which do iniquity. And verse 42, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire, and there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Mark chapter nine, verse 44, where their worm doth not and the fire is not quenched. So hell is a place of tormenting forces, a place of fire. But secondly, a place of darkness, because many of us have no doubt that the experience of taking a tour inside a large cavern, the entire group. Boy, I remember when I went up to one of the places up in Tennessee, up in that cave up there. How dark it was when they turned out the lights. Oh my goodness, man. I tell you and there was no sunlight nothing in that cave. Let me tell you how dark really it was when there's no outside light boy, everyone listen, you want a flashlight and when the light is extinguished the darkness is so bad. You can feel it. You can't see your hand in front of your face. And when you hear the tour guide's voice through the darkness, you can hardly tell where it is coming from. Maybe you thought beyond the moment of the cave tour that you were on. What if you were in the cave alone with no guide and no light? like those young kids that was way off a while back of the true story that got caught in the cave and they were in there for about two weeks before they could go in there and get them out during the tsunami season. The darkness would absolutely envelope you and you would be overcome with all kinds of fear and I'm going to tell you there's no light in hell. 2 Peter 2 4, For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into the chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment. Well, what John the Revelator said in 9 too, And he opened the bottomless pit, and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun, and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of that pit. And so, Hell is a place of tormenting forces, a place of fire, a place of darkness, but also a place of loneliness. Loneliness is one of the most discouraging feelings that anyone could ever experience. And as Christians, oh, I tell you how alone that we feel sometimes that we never truly are alone because Jesus is always with us. He's always close by. He never leaves us nor forsakes us. But Isaiah 4110, fear thou not for I am with thee, be not dismayed for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee. Yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. And so we see the book of Hebrews says, for he has said, I'll never leave thee nor forsake thee. It's not the same for an unsaved person. He can be alone here on earth and he will be alone in hell. Loneliness prevails in this place called hell the rich man in Luke 16 I'll tell you no name in the flames. Oh, I tell you here. We realize that The loneliness but the rich man in Luke 16 cries out the Abraham to send Lazarus to his assistance no doubt in life the rich man had little time for the beggar outside his gate but now he's asking for him to comfort him and the request is denied and the rich man remained in hell alone but we read on father when we read Luke 16 in verse 25 but Abraham said son remember that thou in thy lifetime receiveth thy good things and likewise Lazarus evil things but now he is comforted and thou art tormented and so we see hell is a place of tormenting forces, a place of fire, a place of darkness, a place of loneliness, a place of remembrance. Oh man, while we have many memories that bring back thoughts of happy times with all of our families and our friends, these are not the kind of remembrances those in hell will experience. Son, remember, those in hell will remember their life. There could be no greater torment than to know that they had opportunities to get safe. They heard that preacher over there. They heard that Sunday school teacher. They were in vacation Bible school and they rejected it and they denied it. Oh, those in hell will remember their life and there could be no greater torment than to know that they had opportunities to get saved, but they were too busy. Too busy. Thought it was, oh my goodness, that they had, that was not important. It was not what they needed to do. That they had plenty of time to settle the matter. And many will remember the invitation at the close of a church service and a soul winner at the door that come by to witness and not or a caring family member who pleaded with them to trust Jesus. How many of them, they were on their deathbed before I got to go talk to them. They wouldn't give me the time of day as a pastor. I went to the deathbed. Thank God they lasted long enough to get saved. Oh, I can name off many a names. How horrible to remember for eternity those that rejected the opportunities. And so, when we look and we begin to realize that as we talked about the where of the rich man the water of of the rich man a man that uh... hell is a place of forces a man But we see a tormenting forces. We see hell was a place of tantalizing demons. People sometimes boast they laughed about the party that they're going to have in hell. Party goers have in common always wanted to know who else is going to be at the party. Who's going to be at the so-called party in hell. Revelation 19, 20, and the beast was taken and with him the false prophet and these both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. Revelation 20 10 and the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone Where the beast and the false prophet are and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever Revelation 21 8 but the fearful and the unbelieving and the abominable and the murderers and the whoremongers and the sorcerers and the outages and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone which is the second death and Listen, you think I'm enjoying preaching a message on this? This Bible study that's about no name in the flames? God help us. I'm going to tell you, I want to reach everybody I can reach. I want to reach all my friends. I want to reach all my family. I'm not having a joyous time. Oh, what a burden it is. You ought to have a burden for the lost today, and that's what we need in this world, amen. And I'm thankful for the writers of this Bible study that presented it that would get attention because as a preacher my job is to get the word out of the book out of the study lesson out of the Bible and get it out into the public to be audio to listen to and to get it across this country because some people are gifted to write things and some people are gifted to preach things and some people are gifted to witness things praise God and we read the guest list of the evidence that hell will in no way be a party and the party would be pretty lame because without food and drink this rich man could not get a drop of water, much less a six-pack of his favorite brew. and the devil and his demons will scream in a idolizing torture of those that are joined them in this eternal state. Hell's a place of tormenting forces. Hell's a place of tantalizing demons. But hell was a place of terrifying rejection. Without doubt, the most horrible aspect of hell is that there is no end. there's no exit signs in hell oh let me see if i can get out of here man you go in one of them circuses with the mirrors and you try to get out oh you ain't getting out of hell now forever and ever and ever and ever and ever all eternity no doors no windows to escape there's no break time there's no vacation there's no recess there's no punch the clock in hell there's never-ending eternal place of rejection is all that you're going to see that he goes on when we read in Luke chapter 16 verse 26 and beside all this between us and you there's a great gulf fix so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot neither can they pass to us that would come from thence no one can leave no one can come visit scripture emphasizes the eternity the eternality of hell more than once. Second Thessalonians 1.9, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power. Revelation 14.11, and the smoke of their torment ascended up forever and ever, and they have no rest day nor night. Man, you know, We look and we begin to realize that it's too late for some folks, but some it's not. And so we see the wear of that rich man, praise God, as we look and we begin to realize that of that wear that he's going through. uh... that uh... we see uh... that hell is an actual place, an awful place, an avoidable place. We see the what of this rich man as a place of tormenting forces, tantalizing demons and terrifying rejection. But then lastly and closing we see the why of this rich man. Why does this rich man in hell at least have a name? No name in the flames. Why did Jesus omit his name? We see a name seen while there are some eight billion people alive on the planet right now. Many who have lived before us and no doubt many after us. The Bible teaches us that God knows each and every individual. In fact, it is God who created us, who formed us in our mother's womb. In Psalms 139, verses 13 through 17, for thou hast possessed my reins, thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee for I am fearfully and wonderfully made, marvelous are thy works. and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect, and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. Lastly, verse 17 of Psalms 139, how precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God, how great is the sum of them. God told the prophet Jeremiah that God not only knew him before his birth, but even back then, he had a wonderful plan for his life. In Jeremiah 1, verse 5, before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee, and before thou camest forth out of the wound, I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. We see that here, the why of this rich man, a name that is seen, but we also see a name that is sealed. The Bible tells us that when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, our name is sealed by the Holy Spirit. Praise the mighty name of Jesus. Glory to his name. Ephesians 1.13, in whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also ye, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. This seal of the Holy Spirit ensures us a heavenly position with Christ until he returns for us. And you know what? Paul said in Ephesians 1 14, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchase possession under the praise of his glory. How grateful we ought to be that our salvation is assured and nothing can separate us from our relationship with God. John chapter 10 verses 28-29, And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them is greater than all, and listen again, no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. Paul said in 2 Timothy 1.12, For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that I am able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. And so, we see the why of this rich man, a name that's seen, a name that's sealed, but also a name that is stricken. Because, listen, there's no name in the flames. In Revelation 3.5, God assures those in the church at Sardis that he will not blot out their name from the Book of Life. He tells us in Revelation 3, 5, He that overcometh the same shall be clothed in white raiment, and I will not blot out his name out of the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. Here's the understanding of a passage that God writes our names in the Book of Life upon birth, and then when we trust Christ as our Savior, the Holy Spirit seals our name there so that it will never, ever, ever be removed. But what of those who do not trust Christ? Their names are blotted out of God's book upon their death. Think about it. The potential exists of a name being blotted from God's book. Then it had to be there in the first place. Remember, it's God's desire that all would be saved and come to the knowledge of truth. There's no name in the flames. When we trust Christ as our Savior, as we have seen, our name is sealed by the Holy Spirit. It can never be forgotten. It can never be deleted. It can never be erased. It can never be blotted out. It's sealed until the day of redemption. But for those who reject Christ, what happens to their name? just blotted out at the time of their death, never to be remembered ever again. Their name is stricken from the book of life so that when God looks there at the great white throne judgment as the lost are brought before him, it's not there because it's been blotted out. They never accepted Jesus. Revelation 20, 15, and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. There are no names in hell. The rich man had a name on earth, but he now goes nameless for eternity in the lake of fire. There's no name in the flames. But that doesn't have to be the case with you. Consider the words that each and every one of us, as we go through life, no one is prepared to live until they're prepared to die. And no one is prepared to die until they trusted Jesus Christ as their Savior. Our name may be on a church membership row. It may be on a baptismal certificate. as I give them out all the time, those that got baptized. But the main thing that counted is they got saved and sealed by the Holy Spirit before they ever got baptized. The baptism was a sign of showing the world a witness of how that they were making their proclamation of what had happened internally with the choice of Jesus Christ. And so here we see that every one of us, the matter that when we die, if our name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life, It will be mentioned, but if it's not, as Revelation 20, 15, and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. If you're not saved, you can be saved. Jesus paid for your sin on the cross. He rose from the dead. He offers you his forgiveness and eternal life with him in heaven. Listen, you can say it in your own words in any fashion that you want to, but understanding that I'm a sinner, but believing that Jesus Christ died on the cross to free me from the punishment of my sins, I now receive him as my Lord and Savior. And from this day forward, I desire to live to please Christ and in placing my trust in him for the gift of eternal life. You begin to put your name in the Lamb's book of life to stay forever and ever from the moment that you were born. it will remain there. When you make a commitment to Christ, every one of us, if you've already been saved, who are you telling about eternal life? Who are you warning about hell? Who are you urging to trust Christ? Who are you praying to be saved? Because every one of us, when we go through life today, when we begin to realize of all the things about how hell is, if you have never been saved, Listen, just for a moment, don't join the rich man in hell. There are no names in the flames. God loves you and he sent his son Jesus to die for you on the cross. He died for you and he loves you right now today just like you are. I have no doubt that he's calling you to come to him. And if you will come to him, He'll save you and you'll miss hell. Don't let Satan play you for the fool. Come to Christ while there's time. The invitation, if you're lost, you can be saved. Understanding that I'm a sinner and the sight of the Lord in Romans 3.10 and Romans 3.23. Understanding that God loves you, that Jesus died for you and rose again from the dead according to Romans 5.8, Isaiah 53.6, 2 Corinthians 5.21. Place your faith in Him alone for your salvation in Romans 10 verses 9 and 13. Understand that you can do that very thing right now. Get up, come to God. If you're listening to this audio, wherever you are, drop to your knees and ask the Lord to be your Savior and the keeper of your soul. Because if you're saved and you want to thank the Lord for saving you from hell, if you want to commit to telling the lost about Him, you can come before Him, you can worship, you can present your body as a living sacrifice right now if you're saved but your life is not what it ought to be. You can come before the Lord right now this morning and you can find forgiveness and restoration in Jesus because he says, but if we confess our sins to God, he will keep his promise to do exactly that. He's faithful just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Your life can be a light for Jesus and not a testimony against him. Father, thank you. for giving us a name like Lazarus that will be a name for all eternity that will stay in the Lamb's book of life. Now, Father, our heart pleads to the many that needs to be rescued from the times of trouble. Deliver them, Lord. Lord, deliver them from the trouble. Deliver them. and the future from the plans of the enemy's destruction. Give them a long, successful opportunity, Father, to be able to get away from the influences of all the evil of this world, to save them, to love them, and to hear them say the sinner's prayer, and to humble themselves, and to be sealed with the Holy Spirit of God, and come into the family of God. Lord, as I close with your scripture, pray in your scripture, He shall call upon me and I will answer him, and I will be with him in trouble, and I will deliver him and honor him with long life, and I will satisfy him and show him my salvation. Of the prayer of Psalms, I pray, amen. you