the whole council of God. So I pray that you give me strength. Lord, I pray that you help me to not say anything that I shouldn't say. But Lord, I pray you help me to say everything that I've lost. And Lord, I ask that you would bless our time together. I pray you give to me and myself, give me that spirit. And Lord, I pray you help me to be a blessing to the world. Give us years to hear what that's saying to the world. May that be done in the right spirit and in the right place. We'd love to be faithful in Jesus' name. Of course, you can be seated, I'm sorry. If you're familiar with your Bibles, whenever you hear somebody say Luke chapter number 16, you kind of bristle a little bit. All right, here we go. And hell is one of those topics, one of those things that, you know, people really don't like to talk about hell, especially in society, in the world, and in the churches that we attend today. There's not much preaching done about hell. And if I'm gonna be honest with you, I know a little bit why. It's not easy to deal with, right? A reality of a hell with fire and brimstone and with torment and suffering. It's not something that we like to keep in our memory banks, right? Some have gone so far as to deny the existence of hell, even creatures that stand behind bullpens. And this is one of those things we just don't like to talk about. I remember years ago, not years ago, about a few years ago, maybe two or three years ago, we were right here in Harvey. And we were out in Solon. I was with Brother Brett. I was with Brother James. And we were out in Solon and Harvey. And we saw a forest full of people. And we went up. And we started talking to them. And we were witnessing to them. And we got to the place where we started to talk about the second death, and the place in the lake of fire. And one of the young ladies, she was fine until we got to that point. When we got to that point, you could see her, she started to get uncomfortable, and she started to get a little bit restless. And Brother James was talking, and she says, that's a lie. She yelled it out. That's a lie. 10 folks out there on the porch. And she said, that's a lie. Hell doesn't exist. And Brother James says, oh, yeah, hell does exist. It says it right here. And the Jesus that you know, preached about it more than anybody else. And she said, that's a lie. She said, I don't got to stay here and listen to this. So she went in the house with all the dogs. We just kept on talking and kept on going through the gospel of planning. About two minutes later, she came back, and she just came back to the door. She said, I don't know why y'all sitting out here listening to them. They talking about a hell with fire in it, and that you going there, and that's insane. And God wouldn't send anybody to hell. And she slammed the door again, and she came back out to me. And then finally she came out and she went down the porch and she says, see y'all crazy, listen to that. And she went on and walked, I think she got in the car and went on down the way. But she was mad until we started talking about a hill. She didn't want to hear about a hill. And many times people try to explain in a way. Try to explain, if you don't want to talk about it, people just try to explain it away. Or they say, hey, you know, that passage over there in Luke chapter 16, that's a parable. That's not talking about hell, right? Well, I challenge you to go and look any time Jesus is dealing with a parable. He never names people specifically. That's right. You gotta read. than any other parable we've seen. But some people try to explain it away, and I've had conversations with, and again, not trying to exalt myself or whatnot, but I've had conversations with Jehovah's Witnesses, like to find me all the time, I don't know what it is about the Jehovah's Witnesses. I've had many conversations, and we'll get inevitably through different conversations, we'll get to this point right here about hell. And they say, well no, I asked him, and my wife, my witness, sitting at my kitchen table, Ron, he came to my house all the time. He would come all the time. We would have to eat. And we really got places with Ron. But he was trying to tell me about how people should serve the Lord, and how they should serve Jehovah, and whatnot like that. And I said, no offense, Ron, but I said, if I don't serve Jehovah, if I live for myself and do what I want, at the end of the day, I'm going to be annihilated. I'm not even going to remember anything. I'm not even going to exist. So why should I serve Jehovah? All right? And he says, but you don't understand. You want to serve Jehovah. I said, yeah, but if I don't, if I just do it for myself and do what I want to do and enjoy this life and never yield to what Jehovah wants me to do, I says, at the end of the day, the worst thing that can happen to me is like I just go to sleep. Come on. He couldn't handle that. He says, yeah, but you don't get it. So, it's either we don't want to talk about it, either we explain it away, or we joke about it. You ever dealt with those people? Yeah, when I get down there in hell, we're going to have a party and it's going to be barbeque. It's going to be barbeque, alright brother. And I'm not saying, I don't, you know, sometimes I get frustrated with preachers because if you listen to them, it's like they enjoy sending people to hell. Hell is not a place that anybody wants to go. I don't want anybody to go to hell. And sometimes you listen to people and they have fun throwing the homosexuals in there and throwing the adults in there and throwing everybody in there, right? I don't think Jesus rejoices about anybody going to hell. Amen. But sometimes we joke away, and we try to explain away, and we use the term flippantly, and we joke about it as if it's not real. It doesn't exist. So much so that we don't deal with hell at all. We don't talk about hell. And if you hear somebody preaching about hell, it's very, very seldom, very, very rare. Right. And the Lord laid on my heart to talk about hell, and here we have an account of somebody that knows a lot about hell. We have the Lord Jesus Christ giving us a story, right here, and giving us an account of a situation. So let's look at it, and I gotta talk fast. But Luke chapter 16, we'll start in verse number 19, it says this, it says, there was a certain purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus which was laid at his gate full of sorghums. And desired to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table, moreover the dogs And by the way, I'll say this, put this up front, just because you're rich don't mean you're going to hell. Just because you got money, just because you're doing good in this life, doesn't mean you're going to hell. But he says, in hell, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and seen Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried, and he said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me. And sent Lazarus that he might dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. And Abraham said, son, remember thou that thou in thy lifetime receiveth good things, and likewise thou receiveth evil things. But now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you, there is a great gold fix, so that they which would pass from this to you cannot, neither can they pass to us that would come from this. Then he said, I pray thee, therefore, Father, that thou wouldst send him to my father's house, while thy brothers, that they may testify unto them, lest they also come to this torment. And Abraham said unto him, they have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them. And he said, hey, Father Abraham, but as one went unto them, from the dead they will repent and he said unto them if they hear not Moses and the prophets neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead so things to grasp here, a lot of stuff that I'm not going to be able to really cover in its entirety, but let's just take this topic about hell, the reality of hell. And I got a couple points here, but the first thing I want to say about hell is that hell is a physical place. That's right. Hell, you talk to some people and they say, oh, I'm living in hell right now. I don't think so. Right? Hell is not a state of mind. Hell is not some imaginary thing that's put in our scriptures to get us to behave or to make us do what God wants us to do. Right? Hell is an actual, physical place. A real place. The Bible, in verse number 23, it says, So, right there it tells you that hell can't be on earth right now because this man died and he was buried and then he opened his eyes and he was in hell, right? Hell is a physical place where you go, not you, hopefully not you, but hell is a physical place where there are real people there, right? Not just imaginary people, people you've never met. There's real people that inhabit hell. Go to Matthew. Go to Matthew. Matthew chapter number 13. And man, it was just, it's surprising. If you talk to some people, you would think that hell only shows up once or twice in your Bible, and that's how they explain it away. I'm going to grab a couple of them and kind of explain my point. So I'm going to take all day. Matthew chapter number 13, verse number 47. It says, again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net that was cast into the sea and gathered every kind. Which when it was full, they drew it to the shore, and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels. but cast the bad away. So shall it be, at the end of the world, the angels shall come forth and serve the wicked from among the just. And they shall cast them into the furnace of fire, and there shall be will be nationality. He says, hey, at the end of the world, everybody's going to be reaped. It's going to be all sorted out, right? And the good, the ones that are of God and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ, the ones that are the children of God are going to be separated from That's why don't get mad when evil men gloat and they have their time in the spotlight. Sometimes we get jealous and we almost want to be like them because they don't listen to God. They don't submit to God. They having fun and they got all this and they got all that. The day is coming. The day is coming when it's all going to be sorted out and you reap what you sow, Bible says. Some may say it is not a real place, a physical place, but the Bible says it is. The Bible says, may God be true with every man alive. Hell is a physical place. It's just as real as this exist. That's right. But hell is alive and well right now. Oh yeah. The next thing I'll put here is hell is a prepared place. Yep. Hell is a prepared place. And that speaks of its intent. It's intentional. Hell exists for a reason. Mm-hmm. Matthew chapter number 25. Matthew chapter number 25, you know him, Ms. Long, my favorite spot over there, she like Matthew 24. She like that over there, that's her spot. Matthew 25, verse number 41, this is what it says, it says, then shall he say unto them, on the left hand, depart from me, ye cursed into everlasting fire, prepare for the devil and his angels. Hell is a prepared place. That's right. Right? It was created intentionally, on purpose. And some people struggle with that because they say, well, how can a loving, forgiving God, the way that you preach Him, the way you tell us about Him, you say, well, how can a God like that Hell was prepared for the devil and his angels. Come on preacher. It's not God's will or his, the Bible says God's not willing that any should perish, right? That's the Bible, it's not God's will. Uh-huh, come on. But then it also comes with repentance, right? The thing I think about, people get so worked up over hell, in reality you see God's intent, right? God's intent, he intimidated for Satan and his angels. Not you and me. It's evident because as soon as Adam and Eve sinned, as soon as sin entered into the world, God had a plan. As a matter of fact, before sin entered into the world, the Bible says that Jesus was a lamb slain before the foundation of the world. So we see that it's not God's intent for you and I to go there, so-and-so. And he had a plan in place, all right. He went to them and established a plan. And from Adam and Eve, there was a way of escape. Why? There was a way of escape from the very beginning. And then we see so easily that the choice falls on you and I. In the next story that we read, now, Bibles and Genesis, we see Canaanite. You know the story, Cain kills Abel, Abel's sacrifice is accepted, Cain's is rejected, and God goes to Cain and he says, hey, what's wrong? He says, if you do right, won't you be accepted? Cain didn't want to hear that, Cain wanted to do it his way. So right there in the beginning we see choice. God gave a choice. to man from the very beginning. No one, no one has ever laid a foot on this earth that has been forced to go to hell without a choice. From the very beginning was sent into the world. Hell is a prepared place and is prepared for saving his angels. God doesn't want you to go there. But it is a prepared place with an intent. Hell is a prepared place Not meant for you and I, but many will go. It's not meant for you and I and anybody like you and I, but many people are there now and will be there. Yeah. Hell is a physical place. It's very real. Hell is a prepared place. The next thing I put here, hell is a prolonged place. Mmm. Yeah, come on. It's a prolonged place. Mark, chapter number, go to Mark. It's a physical place. It's a prepared place. It's a prolonged place. Mark, chapter number nine. Verse number, uh, 40. Where'd I put it? It says, damn, you can't use your own right hand. Don't say nothing, okay? Mark chapter 9, verse number 42, I think is where I want to go with this. I'm going to drop down a little bit for the second time. No, I'm sorry, verse number 42. It says, and whosoever shall offend, whosoever shall offend one of these ones that believe in me It is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea." So Jesus is talking about people that offend the little ones. He says, better off if you just go ahead and jump off a cliff of rock with a stone attached to your neck, right? That's what Jesus said, right? He must know something, right? Psalm 23, it says, and if any hand offending cut it off, But to enter into life, man did not have two hands, and go into hell, into a fire that never shall be quenched. Verse number 44 says, where the worm doth not die, and the fire is not quenched. And if that would have been cut off, it is better that they enter into life, and be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched, where the worm doth die, and the fire is not quenched." I'm going to stop there for the sake of time. He says, I said hell is a prolonged place. Hell, the duration of hell is forever. That's right. The duration of hell is forever. He says, hey, Jesus to deal with whatever might take you to hell than to keep it going and end up in hell fire forever. Come on, Preacher. Right? It's better for you to sacrifice what it is that will be keeping you out of life than to hold on to that and to die and to be in hell fire where the fire is never quenched, where the worm died not, where the duration It's very hard because we've only ever existed in time. But when God says, hey, put your trust in me, I'll give you eternal life and you'll live forever, we jump and shout and it's all good, but it's kind of hard for us to understand what forever is. In the same way, it's kind of hard for us to understand how somebody could live a time He turned the fire forever. It's a difficult thing to grasp. But I didn't come up with it. God did, right? Yeah. And the Bible tells us that hell is a physical place. It is a prepared place, but it's a prolonged place. Mm-hmm. It's not going to stop, folks. That's right. Right? It's not going to stop. very real yes very real and the duration is forever yep it's not annihilation it's not you get dropped into the lake of fire and you just burn up and it's over with i'm sorry folks it don't work that way i wish i could tell you that come on i wish i could i could butcher scripture and and and tell you like the jehovah witnesses tell you that it's going to be annihilation it's going to end one day and you're just not going to exist But that's not what the Bible says. The Bible says the smoke of their torment shall rise forever and ever. Yep. I didn't make that up. And quite frankly, I'm glad I didn't make it up, because I probably wouldn't have put it in there. Yeah. If it was me, I probably wouldn't have put it in there. Come on, preacher. But the Bible says the duration is forever. It's in physical places. It's kind of repetitive, but it doesn't stop. And Luke, back over there in Luke, he says, he lifted up his eyes and he was in a torment, right? You know, sometimes you can deal with, you can deal with probably anything if it's got an end, right? I tell you, you can do just about anything for a certain amount of time. Now I remember a few years ago I broke my leg, right? Man, I broke my leg and I was down there, I was laying on that road ramp floor and I was in some pain, man. And I looked down, and I said, well, maybe it's just dislocated. Maybe it's not broken. And I went to look, and I picked my leg up, and my leg was like this, and my foot was like this, right? And I was like, that's just about famous. I was just like, oh, I got a little boozy. But you have to notice how sometimes when you're in distress, or when you're in just a certain situation where it seems like time just slows down. And I was sitting there and they helped me up and they put me in the wheelchair and they took me over, got me off the floor, you know, and they was like, what can we do? You want us to call somebody? And I said, yeah, call somebody, you know. And I was sitting there and I started to sweat and I started to feel, I'm just writhing in pain. And I don't know how long it took the ambulance to get there, but I can guarantee you, man, it felt like it was forever. And you ever been in a situation where it said, well, sometimes I get at work, right, and go to work, and man, you just like, I don't know, I feel like I've been here for months, man. I remember I was working at UPS. is my first real, real job working at UPF. And they tell you the orientation. They say, in those trucks, they say it's about 15 to 20 degrees. If it's cold outside, it's about 15 to 20 degrees colder, or it's about 15 to 20 degrees hotter. And man, one day I was in that truck, man, and it was the middle of the wintertime, peak season, packages coming everywhere, man. Bells going off, lights going off, supervisors yelling to get, you know, break the jams and everything. And I was in that truck and I was just, I was moving. And I said, you know what? I said, man, I said, I learned not to wear a watch when I was working because you just get discouraged, man. You know, but yesterday I was pumping, man, no packages coming, I was freezing. That was the longest five hours I ever, anyway, right? But I was in the truck one day. I said, I'm not going to look at my watch. I said, I'm just going to hump. I'm going. I'm freezing. I'm going as fast as I can. And I said, I know it's been two and a half hours. I know it's dismal, getting ready for the break. It's going to be break time. I know it. I'm just, I'm humping too far out of the load. And I looked down at my watch, 15 minutes. 15 minutes. I would have bet my check that I had been in there two and a half hours. This is for real, right? But it's amazing how when you're in a certain situation, it's happening. I can just tell you, when I was hurt, man, I was waiting on the ambulance, and it felt like it was two hours, man. I was in pain, I was in, what was happening? I was in torment. I was in agony, and I was in pain, and I just... Come on, preacher. 15 minutes felt like it was like two hours. I'm like, come on, come on, what's up out there? Give me some pain medicine. Do something to stop the pain. The Bible says, The rich man died, he opened his eyes in hell and he was in torment. And the torment that is in hellfire is persistent, it doesn't stop. I got good news for you, because eventually, I got to the hospital. Eventually, they gave me some pain medicine. Eventually, I was OK. And the nurse said, man, they didn't give you anything on the ride? I said, no, they didn't give me anything. They said, they let you drive all the way up here like this, and no pain medicine? I said, no, they didn't give me nothing. They said, man, we're surprised you still walk. You had to go to the shop. All right? I was something to lose. I started laughing. I was just so much better. They said, man, you're in a good mood with somebody that's in the shape you in. I said, man, I got a lab, bro. I don't be crying like I'm in a room full of nurses, right? But, hey, the pain from my ankle, it stops, right? And they're doing that there at UPS. Eventually, the bell rung. No bells ringing in hell. It's no pain medicine. There's no relief coming. You know what type of torment he was in? He was in so much torment, anything would satisfy him. He says, tell him to go dip his pick in the water, just some water right here. He said, there's a drop. He says, and that's all I want. Just a little relief, man. If he was thirsty for that, would that quench your thirst? I don't think so. But this man was in so much torment. He was in so much agony. He was in so much pain. He was going through so much distress. He says, he says, just dip a kick in the water. I don't want a whole cup. I don't want a gallon. I don't want a keg of Pepsi. I just want a drop. This man was in distress. And guess what, folks? He's still there. That's right. He's still there. It's good preaching. He's still there. Hell is a physical place. It's a prepared place. It's a prolonged place. It's a persistent place. The smoke of the torment shall rise forever and ever. And I'm not telling you because I'm glad about it. I'm not telling you this because it's exciting and I like what I'm saying to you. That's not why I'm telling you it. I'm telling you because it's real. Jesus wouldn't have told us if it wasn't real. I ain't never seen it. But if Jesus said it, I believe it. He told me I have everlasting life, and I believe it. And he also says that there's a place where the worm died not, where the smoke of their torment will arise forever and ever. He said it, not me. Hell is a physical place. It's a prepared place. It's a prolonged place. It's a persistent place. Y'all was a painful place, folks. Painful. I got to tell you about some physical pain I went through. When I look back at x-rays, I think back at what happened. I said, man, I don't know how I did it, but I did it. Yeah? I watched videos of people falling and breaking stuff, you know, just as a dumb guy that likes to laugh at other people's pain, you know? I said, I don't know how I did it, but it happened, and I went through it, and I got through it. It was painful. I'm not all that old, but I've lived long enough to know that physical pain ain't the only pain. Yeah, that's right. Physical pain's not the only pain. There will be physical pain. Oh, yeah. Being tormented in the fight. But I think there's gonna be some emotional pain, too. Yes. And I'll tell you the truth, and I ain't been through a whole lot. I'm still a young man, but I've experienced some emotional pain that was worse than physical pain. Some emotional pain where, hey, I'd rather break my ankle five times than to deal with this emotional pain that I'm dealing with. He tells Abraham, he calls out to Abraham and he says, hey, He says, give me some water, send Lazarus to, I'm tormented. And the first thing Abraham says to me, he says, son, don't you remember? Right? And I think there's going to be a lot of folks in hell that for eternity they got to remember. Yep. Right? So there's going to be some physical pain, but there's going to be a lot of folks in hell that's going to have to go through some emotional pain remembering what they did with the life that was given to them. Yeah. Remembering many opportunities that they had to choose Christ. Many opportunities they had to acknowledge God. And to listen to the preacher, right? What does he say to them? He says, well, I'm getting ahead of myself, but I won't get ahead of myself. But there's not just going to be physical pain, there's going to be some emotional pain. So remembering, there's going to be some spiritual pain. I'll be mostly, I'm separated, I can't go back, right? I can't, I can't, yeah, I did have some good times, but maybe I rejected that preacher, or maybe I didn't listen to what my mom always told me, or maybe I didn't hear when that co-worker at work tried to give me a track, and tried to invite me to church, and tried to tell me the gospel. It's gonna be some remembering that's gonna be painful. It's gonna be some spiritual decisions that, They neglect you, maybe. That's right. Man, I had an opportunity. I tell y'all all the time, and God helped me with this, God is outside of time. That's right. Right? That's why we gotta learn to be patient because God doesn't operate on a time table like we do. God is outside of time, right? And because God is outside of time, anytime God speaks to you, it's not because he's in a rush. Perfect time. Yeah. Right? And so if you sit on the pew, and you sit, and you listen to a preacher preach, or you listen to your preacher Bible, and the Holy Ghost of God is not talking to you, it's time to respond. Yes? Because God is not moved by time. And so whenever he interjects, or whenever he speaks to you, whenever he decides to get involved, it's important. Yeah. God operates when it's necessary. Right? So, so, so, so, respond. But it's going to be some spiritual hurt and pain and opportunities that were there when God was speaking and the Holy Ghost was trying to provoke it and things were being said and it was, now was the time of salvation and there was some rejection going on. Hell is a physical place. It's a prepared place. It's a prolonged place. It's a persistent place. Hey, I like this one. I like this one. Hell is a preacherless place. And I don't mean that preachers don't go to hell. That's not what I'm saying. But if you go back to Luke, let's look at it. If you go back to Luke, he asks something of Abraham. First he asks, he says, hey, send Lazarus so I can get some water. It's a great golfer, and he can't get to you, and you can't get to him. That ain't going to happen. Where you are, you got to stay. And where he is, he got to stay. There's no intermingling. Right? So then he changes his desire. Once he realizes there's not going to be any relief, there's not going to be any help, he changes his desire. Reality sets in. Right? I'm here, and I can't get out. Come on. and I'm in torment, and this thing's gonna last forever, and my pain's not going away, and then his mind shifts, and he says, hey, if he can't come to me, can you send him to my brothers? He says, I got him. Let's look at it. He said it better than I can. Verse number 28 says, no, verse number 27 says, then he said, I pray thee, therefore, Father, that he may testify unto them, lest they also come to this torment." Right? So his next request, he says, hey, send a group. Hey, I can't go, and I'm stuck here. He says, send somebody to go tell my brothers. His focus switches from him to the people that still have an opportunity. No. Can't send him. If he can go, it's telling him to go. But he says, no, I can't send him. He says, I'm not sending a preacher. You're not going. He says, they already got him now. And if they won't listen, long story short, he says, if they won't listen to Moses and the prophets, Even if somebody comes back from the dead, they won't listen to you. It shows you how important the scriptures is that we got. It shows you how important the testimony of the truth that we already got. He says, hey, it's already, it's there. They got enough to do with what they already heard, what they already saw, what they already experienced to keep them out of this place. He says, you're not even going back to tell anybody. They got enough. It's enough. Enough truth. Enough life. Enough opportunity already. But what's there? He says, when I send them a picture to them, they got pictures there. Notice how even people in hell don't want people to come in. that throws out the window to people that say, I'm going to be partying down there, and we're going to be running the show. No, no. Everybody turns into evangelists in hell. Right? Everybody wants to get the gospel out in hell. Yeah. Right? It's our job to get the gospel out. Yeah. The people in hell care about it more than you do. Come on, preacher. Right? Do we? Do we got to feel the flames of hell to care to keep people out? Because the people that's there, they care. They don't want nobody coming to their torment like they did. Last thing. It's a physical place. It's a prepared place. It's a prolonged place. Persistent place. It's a painful place. Preacherless place. Last thing. It's the good news. Hell is a preventable place. It's a preventable place. Come on. You know how to go there. Try it. Right? There's some bad things about hell, but there's some great things about hell. And the great thing about hell that was prepared for Satan and his angels, the good thing is that it is preventable and you do not The boy Jesus Christ did all that needed to be done. John 3, 16, what does it say? John 3, 16, and 3, 17, 3, 18, right? You don't have to go. God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him may be saved. Christ came, finished it on the cross and now he offers salvation. Come on That's right Come on preacher Come on Amen Anybody in your name. Nobody's going too far. God's not willing to release your parents, but they're also coming to repentance. Hell is a preventable place. You're going to have to go. Your family's going to have to go. Nobody has to go. It's not in his desire. It wasn't created for you. The intent was that it was created to save men as angels. You saw it right there tonight. I've got a bunch of other scriptures here, but you all, you know them, right? Who's there to call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Saved from what? Hell. Yeah. Eternal hellfire, where the smoke rises forever and ever, where the worm dies not, where there's, I didn't even read the verses. All the verses that say that weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, hell is real, folks. Yes. It's real people there. And one day, it's going to be it. One day, it's going to be it. One day, the trumpet's going to sound. God's going to begin to squeeze this world into subjection. It's going to be it. One day, the last person in the world Unleash His wrath on this earth. Yeah. God's full of love, folks. But God's got some wrath, too. He doesn't intend it for you, but if you don't get on the right side, we talked about in Sunday school, hey, this is God's earth. It's God's world. God can do with it what He wants to do with it. And you don't have to come to me and ask me, is it OK? God's already told us what the script is. We got the whole play laid out, folks. One day it's going to be over with, and he's going to start to pour out his wrath on this earth. And then the Bible says, the people that are left behind says that God's going to send them a strong delusion that they may believe a lot. Try. Because they have opportunity. Now the opportunity, opportunity. But man, even if you get one opportunity, you've got to consider yourself, I don't want to say lucky, but you've got to consider yourself duly warned. For God to give you one opportunity, you've got to rejoice in the fact that one day salvation has found you. One day God did what it takes to bring you into survival, to break your heart of stone, and to get you to yield yourself and give yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ. You ought to be leaping and running and jumping. Say, guys, you found me. You came to get me. You left at 99 and you came to get me. But he came to get you because he wants to spend eternity with you. He came to get you to save you from a place called hell that's a very real place. I'm finished. I don't like preaching about hell, all right? And when I felt like I was For both of you to do it, I was like, right now, right? But the reality is, it's got to be dealt with. And sometimes it's got to be put before our fates, for us to understand that, hey, maybe I can get busy. Because the reality is that God wants to use you as a tool to help keep other people out. God wants you to be used to help him to accomplish his will, that none should perish. should you feel the pressure. I wonder who God used to get you. I wonder who God used to promote you. I wonder who God used, who was used in the tool of the hand of God to keep you happy. And if somebody forgive themselves, somebody forgive themselves, I think that you ought to want to give yourself and give yourself to purposes bigger than you, to keep people out of a real place. I give it to you one more time just for your reference. Hell is a physical place. It's a preparing place. It's a prolonged place. It's insistent. It doesn't stop. It's a painful place, more than physical. It's a virtuous place. But most of all, the greatest news about hell is that it is a preventable place. Thanks be to God. You look up and say, I don't got nothing to thank God for. Really. I don't got nothing to be thankful for. I don't got nothing to smile about. I know. Life is life. But at the end of the day, you've got to turn to life. You won't know what the experience is going to be like. And that's something for a child to know. It's something that's always been there for you when you really think about it. So now go and help somebody else. Go and warn somebody else. Don't let people in your sphere of influence go to hell without you putting up a safety gate. And say, hey, you know how to go there? Hey, that way. It's a good place, folks. what you're going to do about it. You're saying you're not going, but what you're going to do about it is somehow going to happen. That's right. Heavenly Father, I thank you so much for the scriptures. I thank you for the attentiveness of everyone that listened. Lord, help us to understand. All of us will be mourning, just like this man that's been in the eternity hell-fighting for thousands of years. All of us will be evangelists. All of us will be working to serve real purposes. And I would like to keep every single person we can from a place, a very real place, y'all. And Lord, I pray that you would give us I pray that you know us to always be grateful, eternally grateful for our salvation and for the fact that you chose us, you called us, you saved us, you preserved us for eternity with you and not the contrary. But we love you, we thank you, I pray as we dismiss and we get ready to eat, but I pray you bless the food. and everything that was said and done here today with Jesus' name we pray. Amen.