[0:00] Chapter 16, Luke chapter 16. We've been talking about more than a name.
[0:22] What we are, who we are, what we do, our character and everything. Sometimes it's more than a name. We talked the last few weeks, before we had this little break, about the boy with the five loaves and the two fishes.
[0:38] Don't know his name, but what a tremendous part he played in the ministry that Jesus had. And how he helped, even in ways that we wouldn't normally think of. He was a help to the ministry of Jesus.
[0:50] Today, we're talking about the fact that there's no name in hell. No name in hell. Look with me, chapter 16, beginning at verse 19. It says, There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day.
[1:10] This is Luke 16, verse 19. Verse 20 now. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, who was laid at his gate full of sores, and designed to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table.
[1:24] Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass that when the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom, the rich man also died and was buried.
[1:39] And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seized Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom. 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.
[1:58] But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivest the good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things, but now he is comforter, and thou art tormented.
[2:13] And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gold fix, so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot. Neither can they pass to us that would come from thence.
[2:25] Then he said, I pray thee therefore, Father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house, for I have five brethren, that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
[2:41] Abraham said unto him, They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them. And he said, Nay, Father Abraham, but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
[2:52] And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, that one rose from the dead. Let's have a word for it.
[3:02] Father, thank you for this time to look at this passage of scripture, Lord. May we learn from it today. May we learn what we are going to miss because of Jesus Christ.
[3:17] May we learn what others are going to face if they do not accept Jesus Christ. May we be testimonies to them. Lord, pray that you would just guide in everything that we do today.
[3:28] Lord, I pray that you would open our hearts and our minds to the things that you have for us. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. So, some assume that this is just another one of the parables that Jesus told.
[3:42] You know, those parables that were stories that told a spiritual lesson and things like that. But, one of the rules with parables is they never mention any names.
[3:55] You look at the parables that Jesus told, never does he mention any. He says a certain man or a boy or somebody did this or that and the other thing. But, it never mentions names. This one mentions Lazarus by name a number of times.
[4:09] So, those who look at things like this are assuming that this is not a parable. This is a real life story that's taking place here.
[4:21] And, this account shows us that there are no names in hell. You notice it doesn't mention the rich man's name.
[4:32] He was a rich man. He was prominent. He, you know, had lots of wealth and stuff. Lazarus used to beg outside his house. But, it never mentions his name. That's an interesting thing.
[4:43] But, we can learn a lot of lessons. See, one of the things the Bible tells us that we die without exception of Jesus Christ. It says our name is blotted out of the Lamb's book of life.
[4:55] Here's a man. His name apparently blotted out. And, he's not mentioned anymore. Either in this lifetime or in the life which he's going to get when he goes to hell.
[5:13] So, let's start off first of all where, where is this rich man? It says, in hell there, verse 23. He lifted up his eyes. You know, he tells us that the rich man was in hell.
[5:26] He tells us he was being tormented. What do we learn about hell from this passage of scripture? First of all, we learn that hell is an actual place. Hell is an actual place. You know, people often use the word hell to describe something really bad.
[5:42] Or, because we're who we are, we use it to describe something that's really good. You know, it's kind of interesting. We can use the same word. People talk about their experiences in war and things like that.
[5:55] Or, a sickness. They say they're going through hell. Okay. But, sometimes people say, that was a hell of a deal.
[6:10] Or, that was a hell of a game. They're confused on what hell actually is. They don't understand what hell is actually going to be like.
[6:21] They don't understand that hell is actually a real place that people are going to face one day. They assume that, you know, hell is like a place here on earth, a situation you go through or something like that.
[6:35] It's a state of mind. No. Hell is an actual place. In verse 23 there again, it says, And in hell he lifted up his eyes.
[6:46] He was in a place. Excuse me. The Bible speaks a lot about hell. Matter of fact, if you go through and look at the scriptures, they say hell is mentioned probably twice as many times as heaven.
[7:03] We love to talk about heaven, but we don't like to talk about hell much. But the Bible talks about it a whole lot. You know, we have pictures of what we think heaven is going to be like.
[7:18] And we have this idea in mind, a lot of people do, that everybody gets to go to heaven. You know, somebody dies and it's a matter of, you know, they've got to rest in peace.
[7:32] You know, somebody dies and you think, oh, they went to heaven. They're in a far better place now than they were here. Things are so much better for them now and stuff. That's not what's my...
[7:43] Yep, you read the obituaries, everybody goes there. You're right. So, Psalm 9, 17. The wicked shall be turned into hell in all the nations that forget God.
[7:58] He says the wicked are going to be turned into hell. He says you need to be aware that there is an actual place called hell.
[8:09] Then, also, there is an awful place. It's an awful place. You know, we'll talk some more about who goes there and things as we go along.
[8:23] But notice verse 23 again. And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom.
[8:35] You know, life can be cruel sometimes. Sometimes there's periods of times where we go through torments, things that are just really hard for us.
[8:49] And we look at those situations and people say, I'm going through hell. However, the Bible is very clear about what hell is and what's going on there. And he says here it's a place of torment this rich man was going through.
[9:03] Look at verse 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.
[9:17] He's talking about what hell is actually like, what's going on there. You know what I find interesting about that verse? He sees Abraham. He sees Lazarus.
[9:28] He's in hell. He's in torment. And in that verse he says, send Lazarus to dip his finger. Give me a couple drops of water. He doesn't say, I don't belong here.
[9:40] I shouldn't be here. You need to get me out of here. You need to, why am I, why did I wind up here? He didn't say any of that. Apparently he understood why he was there.
[9:52] He understood what he had not done in this life. And that's just another torment. We're being able to see the good.
[10:03] Mm-hmm. And what they missed. Yep. That's just the kind of thing. Yep. And we'll have to kind of talk about that in a minute. So, yep, good. So, that's okay.
[10:15] That's fine. That makes you thinking. That's good. So, he asked for, just to dip the tip of his finger. You're going to get what? Maybe two drops of water?
[10:27] And he says, I need that. He says, the pain here in this life is not pleasant. And there's times we think it's unbearable. But it is a big difference between what we go through here and what people will face in hell.
[10:44] It's going to be one of those days. Matthew 18, 8 says, Therefore, if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, Matthew 18, 8, cut them off, cast them from thee.
[10:58] It is better for thee to enter into the life halt or maimed rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. He says, if one of them is offending you, he said, get rid of it.
[11:12] Now, is he telling people to actually go out and cut off their hands and their feet? No, but he's trying to get them to understand that how bad hell is going to be. You could go into it without hands, without feet.
[11:26] He says, but it's nothing compared to what hell is going to be like. And then he tells us that hell is an avoidable place.
[11:37] Hell is an avoidable place. See, people say, well, I can't believe in a God who would send people to hell.
[11:47] God didn't create hell for people. God created hell for the devil and his angels, for Lucifer. Matthew 25, 41.
[11:59] Matthew 25, 41 says, Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.
[12:12] Did you catch that? Prepared for the devil and his angels. Hell was created for the devil and his angels. Heaven was supposed to be our home.
[12:25] But people will not necessarily accept what Jesus did for them. You know that? You've encountered that talking with people? They won't accept what Jesus did for them.
[12:37] And they kind of, well, yeah, that's good for you guys, but, you know, I really don't believe in all that stuff. We need to be so very careful. In John chapter 14, verses you know well, 1 through 3, it says, Let not your heart be troubled.
[12:54] You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. 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 ye may be also.
[13:11] If you miss heaven, there's going to be an empty place. He says, I've gone to prepare places for you guys.
[13:28] If you reject Christ, though, hell that was prepared for the devil and his angels, it's going to have to be expanded. As a matter of fact, the Bible talks about that. Isaiah 5.14.
[13:41] Isaiah 5.14. Therefore, hell hath enlarged herself and opened her mouth without measure, and their glory and their multitude and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth shall descend into it.
[13:56] Those that have the pride, those that have figured they can do things on their own, they don't need Jesus. They don't need God. He says, those people are going to go to hell, and hell has enlarged itself.
[14:10] You ever stop and think, if I were to ask you, what's the difference between heaven and hell? Kelly? Very good.
[14:24] She's been reading my notes. Jesus is in heaven, not in hell. Because most people would say, well, heaven's got gold streets, hell is dark. You know, heaven is nice.
[14:35] They got flames. But the difference is, where's Jesus? He's been to both, but where does he reside? He resides in heaven.
[14:49] The light is there. The darkness is there. The love is there. The hatred is there. You know, and just every contrast you make, and it's all here because that's where Jesus is.
[15:01] John 3, 36. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. He that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.
[15:17] It all has to do with Jesus. Those of you who are here Friday night, seeing that film on Jesus, it's just so tremendous, what Jesus has done for us, what he's doing for us every day, what he's doing for us in the future, just to trust him in every way.
[15:42] No one has to go to hell. We're all sinners. We all deserve hell. But God made a way. I just read John 3, 36.
[15:53] What about John 3, 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.
[16:05] He says he's made a way for us so that we do not have to go to hell. We trust in Jesus. Second thing, the what. The what of the rich man.
[16:18] So, you think about it. What is hell like? He said he went to hell. What is hell like? You know, it's interesting. How many different accounts have you heard of people dying and saying, I went to heaven and I saw this and this and this and I came back.
[16:39] And let me tell you about what heaven was like and stuff. Has anybody ever heard anybody saying, I went to hell and came back? No. I heard somebody say they saw that.
[16:51] Yeah. Yeah. When they supposedly got, I heard two people, and one of them, they said they loved the burning of flesh, and they could hear the screaming, torment of the people, and things like that.
[17:09] Whether they asked them, God can solve it or not, I don't know. Yeah. But that was their description. And another person said, they looked between heaven and hell, and they could see the flames of hell, and hear the screaming.
[17:24] Hmm. Okay. I hadn't heard that before. How many of you have seen the film Sheffy? A few of you.
[17:37] Remember, there's a scene in that film where Sheffy is trying to help this lady, her husband's a drunk, and he fills an old, one of those cast iron bathtub type things.
[17:54] He fills it full of the guy's liquor, puts him in it, builds a fire around the thing, and stuff, and lights it on fire, and the guy wakes up, and he's looking around, and all he sees is all this fire around him, and he can smell the liquor and everything else and stuff, and he jumps out of the tub and takes off and runs into the tree and knocks himself out, and they put him back in bed, and she's like, what's going to happen when he wakes up?
[18:21] He said, a man who's been to hell is never going to talk about it. So, it's interesting. Anyway, we try to make hell out to be something that's not so bad.
[18:37] You know, people's like, oh, I can't wait to get there, and all my friends, we're going to have a big old party. We're just going to have the greatest time. Are they going to get a surprise?
[18:49] Because, first of all, hell is... Huh? Everybody likes a barbecue. Everybody likes a barbecue. I don't think they're going to like that one. So, hell is a place of tormenting forces, of torture, torment.
[19:04] Notice some of the things the Bible talks about concerning hell. First of all, it is a place of fire. It is a place of fire. Notice verse 24. Again, what they say there.
[19:18] He said, he's talking about Lazarus dipping the tip of his finger in water. For I am tormented in this flame. I am tormented in this flame.
[19:31] God repeats that aspect a number of times throughout the Bible. Matthew 3.12. Verse 24. Whose fan is in his hand, he will thoroughly purge his floor and gather his wheat into the gardener, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
[19:50] Matthew 13.40-42. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the end of this world.
[20:01] The man of God shall send forth his angels. They shall gather out of the kingdom all the things that offend and them which do iniquity and shall cast them into a furnace of fire.
[20:15] There shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Mark 9.44. Where their worm dieth not and the flame is not quenched.
[20:26] So he says, look, hell is a place of fire. Hell is also a place of darkness. A place of darkness.
[20:38] Which is interesting. You figure, hell is a place of fire, a place of flame. Well, don't you get light from flames and fires? But he says it's a place of darkness as well.
[20:53] Hmm. You know, have any of you ever been in, you know, caves or caverns and stuff down inside? We went in Virginia to the Loray Caverns in there.
[21:09] And they take you down inside, you know, and they get you away from the opening and stuff. And they get down in there, no sunlight. And then they turn all the lights off. And you can't even see that.
[21:23] Nothing. He says, look, you really want to know what dark, how dark, dark can be? They do that.
[21:35] They say, look at this. There are quite a few things, hydrogen, certain type of alcohol, but a bunch of things that can burn with an invisible flame.
[21:49] True? Yep. But Jesus, there's a light in his dead, he's not the hell. Right. Definitely. Right. There's no light because he is the light of the world.
[22:02] Um, you ever thought, think about, you're down there with this cave, uh, not caravan, that's the word I'm looking for, cavern, and you're down inside there and you're with that group of people and they turn all the lights off and stuff and they're like, whoa, darkness just envelops you.
[22:26] Now picture yourself being down there by yourself. No one else is down there with you, you're down there and there's no light whatsoever.
[22:38] That's what hell is going to feel like and look like. There's no light taking place there. Matter of fact, 2 Peter 2.4 it says, for if God spared not the angels that sinned but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness to be reserved under judgment.
[22:58] He says, remember hell was created for the devil and his angels? And he says here that they're going to go down and they're going to be delivered into chains of darkness. Revelation 9.2 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 the pit.
[23:20] He says, it is going to be dark. There's going to be flame and as Dana said, there's things you can do to have lightless flames and feel the heat but you don't see or feel anything.
[23:32] I mean, see anything. They're going to be dark. So, this idea of having a party, flames and darkness and let's add to that.
[23:45] There's flames and the darkness, it's a place of loneliness. Loneliness. You know, one of the most discouraging feelings a person can have is being lonely, isn't it?
[23:56] When you feel like you're all alone, when you feel like there's no one else who cares, no one else who is available, no one else to talk to, no one else to, he says, look, did you not put it up there?
[24:11] Oh. Oh, I didn't have those? Okay, I didn't have those. So you listen. A place of darkness, a place of flame, a place of darkness, a place of loneliness.
[24:25] So, you know, as Christians, no matter how alone we may feel, we have Jesus. Isaiah 41.10, fear thou not, for I am with thee.
[24:42] Be not dismayed, for I am by God. I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. God says, I'm always going to be there for you.
[24:54] And of course, you've heard me say more than once, Hebrews 13.5, I will never leave thee.
[25:05] God says, I'll never leave you. I am right there all the time. It's not the same for the unsaved person. They can't rely on God to be there all the time for them.
[25:17] They feel the loneliness. They feel what it's like not to have anyone there for them.
[25:29] This rich man here, he's crying out to Abraham. He wants Lazarus to come and help him. He has no one else. And yet, in life, he didn't have any time to Lazarus who was sitting outside his gate, who was looking for crumbs, who was looking for anything that would help him.
[25:54] And this gets denied. Why does it get denied? Here's another thing for you. Listen to Luke 16 there. You're there. Look at verse 25.
[26:06] But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivest the good things and likewise Lazarus evil things, but now he is comforted and thou art tormented.
[26:18] It's also a place of remembrance. A place of fire, a place of darkness, a place of loneliness, a place of remembrance. Which is what Kathy was talking about earlier.
[26:30] A place of remembrance. You know, there's a... And we like to tend to think, and we probably do most of the time tend to think of the good things in life.
[26:42] The bad things we kind of get rid of and we remember the good things. But he says, remember when you had this opportunity and you did not take it.
[26:53] He says, look, in hell, they're going to remember. Can you think of any greater torment being in hell, remembering the times that you heard the word of God, the times that you had the opportunity to accept Jesus as your Savior, the times when people came and they knocked on your door or you came to church and heard an invitation or you had a family member who was talking to you and you just kind of pushed them off.
[27:28] He says, you're going to remember. Bonnie? So when the mental embraces and the Lord can be there and you have to it is possible.
[27:40] Mm-hmm. Yep. When we have those type of memories that I had the opportunity and I did not take it. You know, keep putting out the word, keep letting people have the opportunity.
[28:01] If they don't accept it, it's on them. Our job is to give out the message and if they don't accept it, I feel bad for them in the fact that someday they're going to have a place of remembrance.
[28:16] I had the opportunity. My sister told me. My brother told me. My friend at work told me. I did. I had the opportunity and I did not take it.
[28:30] So he says, look, here's the, here's the what of being in hell. Place of flame, place of darkness, place of loneliness, place of remembrance.
[28:44] doesn't sound like much of a party to me. And those people who tell you that don't really understand what hell is all about. They're like the ones we mentioned earlier.
[28:55] They use it as a, as a descriptive word of some situation or another, but they don't really understand what hell is all about. We need to tell them the children. So, all right, let's have a word of prayer and get ready for the morning service.
[29:08] Father, Father,