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[0:00] Now this morning I had the comfort of comforting you with the blessed prospect of that perfect city heaven.

[0:11] ! Now we're going to look at the alternative here tonight which is really that gripping reality of that alternate destination. How? In Luke 16 our Lord gives a glimpse for us at life after death.

[0:32] And we'll go there to Luke 16. Now some consider this a parable but no it's not.

[0:43] It's actually an account. There's parables that don't name anyone whereas this account of our Lord it names Lazarus for one.

[0:59] And so it's speaking of real people, of a real place, of real events. And we pick it up from Luke 16 from verse 19. It reads, There was a certain rich man which was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.

[1:20] Here was a man used to dressing like a king. Dressed in purple and fine linen. He lived like a king. Purple was a colour most costly.

[1:33] Used for royal robes. Here was a man who knew pride and selfishness. Worldly ease and a neglect of God.

[1:46] He feasted. He was well fed. He lived luxuriously. Making merry. He knew pleasure and popularity.

[1:58] He had plenty of friends. You could imagine it. Yet this man knew no preparation for eternity. No thought of God or of his soul.

[2:11] And then we read on of another character here. Verse 20. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus which was laid at his gate full of sores.

[2:27] So in contrast now, this man, Lazarus, he's a named man. This is a real man. Lazarus was a beggar. He was utterly destitute.

[2:38] Powerless and poverty stricken. He had nothing. He was carried and thrown down at the gate. Utterly rejected. A helpless man. He was sick.

[2:50] A massive ulcers. He was covered with sores. He was covered with sores. And he was greatly afflicted. Yet Lazarus, in contrast to the first man, Lazarus was prepared for eternity.

[3:04] Verse 21. Lazarus, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table.

[3:16] Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. What a gruesome thought. Here he was, this man, longing, eager to satisfy his hunger, even from the scraps.

[3:28] The crumbs. The scraps. The scraps. Whether it were morsels of meat or bread that were thrown away. Even then, the dogs came and they licked his sores.

[3:41] Lazarus was too weak to drive off these unclean beasts. Then we read that they both died. And it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom.

[4:00] The rich man also died and was buried. With Lazarus, once the dogs were his attendants, now it was the angels.

[4:13] The word of God tells us that death is a certain thing. It's certain. We read in Hebrews 9.27, And as it is appointed unto men once to die.

[4:26] But after this, the judgment. We see Lazarus at Abraham's bosom. So he's in this place of refreshing, of blessing, of rest, of relationship.

[4:39] And his posture here, Lazarus, is as at the ancient banquets. They reclined. Once he had reclined at the gate with the dogs.

[4:52] Now he was resting and feasting at the banquet. But the other man was now in discomfort. There was no rest, no banquet, no comfort for the rich man.

[5:07] Verse 23, of him it says, And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom.

[5:20] This man lifted up his eyes in torments. He knew testing. He knew horrible, terrible torture and pain. He had all of his faculties.

[5:32] Notice. He had sight. He lift up his eyes. He had feeling. He had conscience. And we'll see later, he had memory.

[5:43] And so he sees Abraham afar off, at a distance. He's some distance. But he can see Abraham. He can see Lazarus. And the rich man, it says, that he knew a separation.

[5:56] There's a separation that we'll see. As his misery increased, also by what he saw. He was far from God. Abraham, a far off paradise as it was.

[6:13] A far away sight. Verse 24, and the rich man, it says, 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.

[6:33] For I am tormented in this flame. This man cries out, have mercy. He knew a longing that could not be satisfied.

[6:44] For him, there was no mercy. There was no comfort. No water even. No satisfaction. He who had once drunk wine knew thirst now. He himself was a beggar now.

[6:56] He was refused. Not even a drop. Not even a drop. Not even a drop of water. He knew torment and anguish. Great distress and grief.

[7:07] He's saying here, I'm suffering. I'm ceaselessly in this pain, this agony. I'm suffering here in these flames. This blazing fire. That's the sense of it here.

[7:20] Verse 25. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivest thy good things and likewise Lazarus evil things.

[7:37] But now he is comforted and thou art tormented. What the man had received in his lifetime was all lost in his eternity.

[7:48] Lazarus was now comforted. He was now suffering continually. For the believer, we can know that comfort. As Paul has said, for the believer, with Christ it is far better.

[8:02] Philippians 1, 23. It reads in 2 Corinthians 5, verses 6 through 8. It tells of how absent from the body is present with the Lord.

[8:13] The rich man was told, remember, remember. Remember. Remember what was. The lost have a vivid memory of thoughts, of words, of deeds, of neglect.

[8:27] They'll remember what might have been. But it's too late. They'll have no second chance. He had received good things in his lifetime.

[8:39] He'd received the comforts of his material life. In hell, he had a conscience. He recalled memories. They came to mind, the memories.

[8:51] He knew the regret, the remorse, neglected opportunity, lost opportunities. Friends, it's a telling thought. Verse 26.

[9:02] And beside all this, between us and you, there is 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.

[9:16] The Lord describes here a great gulf, a great chasm. Literally a chasm. In the Greek, you could transliterate it. Chasm. It was a chasm, very large and wide.

[9:27] It was a great, mega chasm. This was massive. It was huge. It was fixed. It was set fast and established.

[9:38] It was there permanently. It was not movable. This chasm was impossible. There was no escape from hell to heaven.

[9:49] There was no exit. There's no fire exit. If you go to hell, you will never escape. It is a lasting, permanent location. A sentence that is eternal.

[10:02] The occupants of hell are forever cursed and lost. There is no way to pass. No way to pass. There's no bridge. There's no path. There is no way to pass to come over.

[10:15] You cannot. You cannot. You cannot cross over. You are not able. And so then the rich man says, then he said, I pray thee therefore, Father, talking to Father Abraham, that they would send him to my Father's house.

[10:37] For I have five brethren that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.

[10:48] He's saying, I plead with you, I beg you, send him, send Lazarus, send him, send him to my Father's house. Hell is a place of despair, of concern.

[10:59] They care about souls in hell. They care about missionary effort. They care about evangelism. Hell should prompt us to care, to prayer, to share the gospel.

[11:13] Our five brethren. Send Lazarus that he may testify unto them. In hell they care for lost souls. They care for the gospel witness.

[11:24] In hell they want people to go and testify. It has the sense of warn, of charge, of witness to do so solemnly and urgently, thoroughly, earnestly.

[11:38] Testify unto them. It's got this earnestness, this strength, this warning, this thorough warning. Testify unto them to know the way that they can avoid this awful place, this place of misery.

[11:59] Tell them. Tell them the whole truth, lest they come into this place of suffering and pain. Friends, hell is a reality.

[12:10] The Bible says the wicked shall be turned into hell. And all the nations that forget God. Hell is everything the Bible says it is.

[12:21] It's a very real place. Someone tried to discount hell. To trivialize it. To spiritualize it. To symbolize it. To do anything to negate the fact that there is such a real place.

[12:36] The Bible tells us what hell is. We must take it as read. We must face the reality of life after death in hell. The reality of the place.

[12:47] Hell. The reality of the torment of hell. The reality of the tormenting conscience that is in hell. These are real important truths.

[12:59] The Bible is very clear. It's repeated. Repeated themes. Verse 29. Abraham saith unto him, they have Moses and the prophets.

[13:10] Let them hear them. So Abraham refers the man to the word of God here. They've got Moses. They've got the law.

[13:21] They've got the prophets. Let them hear the message of the word of God. There's only one way to escape hell. It's the word of God. Heard. Believed. And acted upon.

[13:32] Find the savior of the gospel of the word of God. Find the one who appeals to you. His word is given to you. And the rich man then.

[13:43] It says. And he said. Nay. Father Abraham. But if one went unto them from the dead. They will repent. Because speaking of our Lord.

[13:54] He has come back from the dead. And. Abraham. Verse 31. He said unto him. If they hear not Moses and the prophets. Neither will they persuade it. Though one rose from the dead.

[14:06] They do not listen. They have not listened. They will not listen. They won't repent. They will not believe. They will not be persuaded. They will not be convinced.

[14:18] They will pay no heed. And we see that all the time. When we go witnessing. And we see these souls. In neglect. They refuse. They refuse to even give it a thought.

[14:30] But friends. One day they will. They must say. I haven't got time. They might say. I'm not interested. But they will have time then. They will have eternity.

[14:41] Eternity. To think of the decision they have made. In rejecting the saviour. They will have all eternity. To regret. Our life in this world.

[14:53] Will have consequences in the next. This man. He misused his wealth. His opportunity. There is great danger. There is great need of warning here. Friends. This is for all of us. When we think of our loved ones.

[15:05] Here is what one preacher said. Let others hold their peace about hell. If they will. I dare not do so. I see it plainly in scripture. And I must speak of it. I fear that thousands are on that broad road.

[15:18] That leads to hell. And I long to arouse them. To a sense of the peril. Before them. What would you say of the man. Who saw his neighbour's house. In danger of being burnt down.

[15:29] And never raised the cry of fire. Call it bad taste. If you like. To speak of hell. Call it charity. To make things pleasant. And speak smoothly. And soothe men.

[15:40] With a constant lullaby. Of peace. From such notions of taste. And charity. May I ever be delivered. The preacher goes on. My notion of charity. Is to warn men.

[15:51] Plainly of their danger. My notion of taste. Is to declare all the counsel of God. If I never spoke of hell. I would feel myself. An accomplice. Of the devil.

[16:03] We must speak of hell. It's a real place. It's a real prospect. There's people going there. People that we know. The Lord Jesus speaks of two.

[16:14] Two destinations. Two. Only two. Both. Eternal. Eternal. And the same word. As much as in the King James.

[16:25] We've got everlasting. And eternal. They both translate. The same word. So these. Places are. Eternal. Everlasting. There's no difference.

[16:36] We see Matthew 25 46. And these shall go away into. Everlasting punishment. But. The righteous into. Life eternal. Same word. Punishment.

[16:47] Everlasting. Yet everlasting. Life. Everlasting. Everlasting. Eternal. The Lord Jesus. Spake more about the woes.

[16:58] And terrors of hell. Than about the joy and bliss of heaven. As I say. It was much easier to do this morning's sermon. Talking about heaven. That perfect city. And. Take a look at that.

[17:10] If you're. Able to look it up. You can see the. The contrast of that perfect city. But friends. Tonight. Is that. Dread. Alternative.

[17:21] Hell. And the Lord Jesus preached on hell. More than any other character in the Bible. It's. Clear that. The Lord Jesus. Underlined. And emphasized.

[17:32] And emphasized. The warnings. The warnings. Are concerning hell. And we should be warned about it. Three times he said. Where there worm.

[17:44] Dieth not. And the fire. Is not quenched. It's got a picture of. I suppose. A maggot. Eating away.

[17:56] And this maggot. Is. Everlasting. It's that sense of a rotting. Body. Eating.

[18:07] Away. And of a fire. And of a fire. That is not quenched. For every sermon the Lord preached on heaven. He preached too on hell.

[18:19] Interesting isn't it. And our duty. Brothers and sisters. As believers in Christ. Our duty. Is to warn. People. About. Hell. We must.

[18:30] We must tell them. Our Lord Jesus says. He that believeth on the son. Hath everlasting life. But he that believeth not the son. Shall not see life.

[18:41] But the wrath of God abideth on him. These are difficult words to. Get our head around. But there's a wrath to come. And we should flee the wrath to come. We should flee from the wrath.

[18:52] Of God. And flee. Rather into his. Safekeeping. This message is vitally important. Hell is a hot topic. Really it is.

[19:03] An important topic. And from the 260 chapters of the New Testament. 260 chapters in the New Testament. There are 234.

[19:14] That contain warnings. About a place of eternal punishment. And someone has reckoned. If you were traveling along a road. 260 miles long.

[19:25] And there's 234 signboards. Warning. Of the bottomless pit. At the end of that road. It seems that all but fools. Would be looking. For the next off ramp. If we wanted to get off that road.

[19:37] If you kept. You know. 260 miles. And you got 234 warning signs. Saying stop. You're going the wrong way. You're going to destruction. You'd want to get off that road.

[19:48] Wouldn't you? There's a tombstone on an atheist grave. That reads. Here lies an atheist. All dressed up. With nowhere to go. All dressed up.

[20:00] With no place to go. But that atheist probably wishes. Now that were true. Because there is a place to go. There is a place to go. The Bible talks about hell.

[20:11] The Bible paints pictures about hell. It describes hell. It refers to the word. Gehenna. It refers to the. Hinnom Valley. A deep gorge on one side of Jerusalem.

[20:22] And this valley of Hinnom. Gehenna. This valley of Hinnom. Is where they pass children. Through the fire. To Moloch. While the thunder of drums.

[20:33] Drowned their dying screams. They would bang this din of drums. As they put the babies. Into the. Fired up. Hands of this. Metal idol.

[20:44] And. It was the sewer of the city. Of Jerusalem. All the filth and impurity. Went there. And that was consumed by fires.

[20:55] That they kept constantly burning. And here you would hear the cries of bloated vultures. And smell the stenchful smoke. This is the picture of hell. This was the real place. The Gehenna.

[21:06] The valley of Hinnom. Was a picture of. That hell. That is. Also. An awful place. It's an awful place.

[21:17] Now. I know I've referred to this story before. There was a missionary pioneer. Who went to India. India. Amy Carmichael. And. Amy Carmichael.

[21:28] A great pioneer missionary. She. Wrote about a vision that she had. Of a. A telling thought that she had. That picture to her. About hell. And.

[21:39] I'll read it. Here to you. She says. The tomtoms. Thumped all night. And the darkness shuddered. Around me. Like a living. Feeling thing. I couldn't go to sleep.

[21:50] And presently. In my imagination. I stood on a great. Grassly sword. And at my feet. A precipice. Broke. Down. Sheer down. Into infinite space.

[22:01] And I looked. And I saw no bottom. Only cloud shapes. And black. Curiously coiled. And great. Unfathomable depths. So here she is. She sees this. Site of.

[22:12] A. A precipice. You know. A. A cliff. And. It. Hasn't any bottom. It was.

[22:24] A deep. Pit. And then it says. She goes on. She says. I saw forms of people. Moving. Single file. Along the grass. And.

[22:35] They were making for the edge. There was a woman. With a baby. On the. Very verge. And she was blind. She lifted her foot. For the next step. It trod air. And she was over. Then I saw more streams of people.

[22:48] Following from all quarters. All were blind. All made straight. For the precipice. Edge. There were shrinks. As they suddenly knew. Themselves falling. And tossing up. Of helpless arms.

[22:59] Clutching. At empty air. Then I wondered. With a wonder. What. Was simple agony. Why. No one stopped them. At the edge. Then I saw that.

[23:10] Along the edge. There were centuries. At intervals. But the intervals. Were far too great. And there were wide. Unguarded gaps. Between. And over these gaps. The people fell.

[23:21] In their blindness. Quite unwarned. And the gulf yawned. Like the mouth of hell. Then I saw. Like a picture of peace. A group of people. Under some trees.

[23:32] With their backs. Turned towards the gulf. And they were making. Daisy chains. It's a picture of some. Daisy chains here. Putting. These daisies together. To make necklaces.

[23:43] Or. Such decorations. Just vain. Decorations. And they were preoccupied. With this. She sees. These people.

[23:54] Making daisy chains. And sometimes. There was this piercing. Shreak. That cut the quiet air. And reached them. It disturbed them. And they thought it. Rather a vulgar noise. And if one of their number.

[24:05] Wanted to get up. And do something. To help. Then all the others. Would pull them down. Why should you get. So excited about it. You must wait. For a definite call. To go. And finish.

[24:16] Your daisy chains. And they sang. A hymn. And then through the hymn. Came another sound. Like the pain. Of a million broken hearts. Rung out. In one full drop. One sob.

[24:27] And a horror. Of great darkness. Was upon me. For I knew. It was the cry. Of the blood. Then I heard the Lord say. Whom shall I send? Who will be our messenger?

[24:38] I answered. I will go. Send me. And so he told me. To go. The Lord Jesus said. Go ye. Into all the world. And preach the gospel. To every creature.

[24:49] And lo. I am with you. Always. Of course. It's just a story. Told. That Amy. Related. That really captures that thought.

[25:01] Of the missionary vision. Of the multitudes. Falling off a precipice. Into a chasm. The bottomless pit. As it were. Of hell. And no one warning them.

[25:12] No one. Caring. And a picture. I guess. Of the church. Preoccupied. With vanities. With frivolity. With antsy.

[25:23] And vain things. Making daisy chains. Wasteful things. Useless things. And we can all be like that.

[25:34] We neglect the. The sight. The sounds. Of people going to hell. As if we don't care. And we do nothing. And we do nothing.

[25:47] Where is hell. Located. It's at the end. Of a Christless life. A disobedient life. There was a time. Where there was a country revival. And. People came.

[25:59] There was a young man. Trembling under conviction. During the invitation. But a couple of friends. Helped him laugh it off. And the spirit was notably. Grieved away.

[26:10] Leaving the invitation fruitless. He was convicted. He saw his need. But. Yet. His mates. Settle down. Don't. Don't. Take it seriously.

[26:22] And these boys. They were on horseback. And they. Rode up to the minister. And they said. Hey preacher. How far is it to hell? They were kind of laughing. At the thought. Of such a place.

[26:33] And. They're laughing. At the thought. Of such a place. And. Their laughter. Just. Carried on. Mocking the preacher. And they dashed down the road. Where the horse carrying the convicted lad.

[26:46] Stumbled and fell. And the young rider was crushed. To death. Instantly. The man of God measured his steps to the body. With his trembling voice. He said. To the wayward boys.

[26:57] You asked how far to hell. For your friend. It was exactly 40 steps. Friends. Hell is it there. It's at the end of a Christless life. It may be only 40 steps.

[27:08] Or it may be 40 years. But it is there. Hell is there. Hell is there at the end. Of your life. If you have no savior. And hell has no exit.

[27:19] There's no escape. Ever. Hell is final. And it is forever. Someone has. Pictured how. A sign stands above the gate of hell.

[27:31] All hope abandoned. Ye who answer here. There's no hope there. Once you're in hell. There's no getting out. Your destiny is fixed.

[27:42] Your doom is sealed. Your time has passed. And an eternity. Which shall never end. Has begun. And it is all too late now. Friends.

[27:54] It's meaningful that we consider our soul. These are eternal truths. That we ought to attend to. Now. Attend to. Your soul.

[28:05] Now. Today. The missionary call. Is the call to you and me. To tell. And for the time. Every man's soul.

[28:16] Is precious. Now when we go witnessing. As a small number of us. Do. It's a telling thought. When a soul. When a soul.

[28:27] Rejects the gospel. And they effectively reject it. That something else is more important. I don't know what could be more important. Than a man's soul.

[28:38] What could be more important. Than. Getting. Getting. Right with God. To know the savior. What could be more important. When. Our Lord says. What shall it profit a man. If he shall gain the whole world.

[28:50] And lose. His own soul. What shall a man give. In exchange for. His. Soul. Soul. That God's love is so great. As the shepherd would.

[29:01] Yearn. To reach. To. To reach out. To the lost sheep. He reaches out. To save. He still reaches out. His arms are open still. He says.

[29:12] Come unto me. Will we come unto him. Friends. It's almost so simple. Yet. So. Profound. Really. When we.

[29:23] Talk to souls. We. Implore them. To be prepared for eternity. It's so essential. And yet.

[29:34] They would neglect that. They would put it off. They would scorn. The truth of it. Tried to deny the truth of it. But there's no escaping it.

[29:47] Friends. Hell is a place of eternal. Separation. From God. It's. Talks about how. There's a lake of fire. We should be. Mindful of the bible.

[29:59] Description of hell. What is this described as. It's described as. A lake of fire. And if you're not. In. Written in the book of life. Then you'll go there.

[30:11] To that place. The lake of fire. It talks about it being an everlasting fire. Prepared for the devil. A furnace of fire. It's a place of. Everlasting. Fire. It shall not be quenched. It cannot be.

[30:22] Extinguished. Fire. Unquenchable. Fire. Unquenchable. The fire shall never be. Quenched. There's no. Putting out of this fire. It will not stop burning.

[30:34] extinguished, fire unquenchable. The fire shall never be quenched. There's no putting out of this fire.

[30:49] It will not stop burning. It tells of the fire that shall never be quenched. It tells of everlasting punishment.

[31:06] These are shocking thoughts really, aren't they? The punishment is everlasting. It does not stop. It tells of a blackness of darkness forever.

[31:20] Of a gnawing of your tongue for pain. Of the wrath of God that we're made to drink of.

[31:33] That we'll be tormented with fire and brimstone. It tells of the smoke of their torment ascending forever and ever. No rest day or night.

[31:46] And as we read earlier, it's a place where the occupants of hell do not want their loved ones to come to this place of torment. Amen. People in hell will care about the ones still.

[32:01] The other side of the grave. They'll care about them. They'll probably care about them more than we do. Let's be honest. Testify unto them. It's the voice of hell, isn't it?

[32:14] They don't want their loved ones to go there. It tells of this place, this lake of fire. It tells of this second death. It says that this is a place where murderers and liars and the wicked, the fearful, the abominable.

[32:33] Liars. Really, that's all of us, isn't it? We are deserving of that place. Yet, all of those named can be saved.

[32:44] You might say, well, I'm one of those. Well, even that you would say, if you're truthful, I'm a liar. Then, that's our destination. But, thank God, he can take us.

[32:57] He can save us. The salvation offered, it's freely offered, that we can know it. And we don't have to go to hell. The Lord talks about the damnation of hell.

[33:10] It's a place of damnation. And as we saw before, a place of torment. The man, the rich man, was here in this place of weeping, of sorrow.

[33:22] And he was in full consciousness. The rich man saw, and he spoke, and he felt, both physically, being in torment, and emotionally, wanting to warn his brethren.

[33:35] There's all of that physical and emotional consciousness to the man. And so, hell is going to be a place of unending memories and regret.

[33:48] If it be that you go to hell, there will be a recalling of opportunities missed. And as we read earlier, one of the horrors of hell is the unending memory of a misspent life.

[34:02] Son, remember. Remember. The rich man called to memory that which he had neglected, his soul. And the Bible talks about a devouring fire of everlasting burnings.

[34:17] Friends, these are shocking Bible verses. The Bible speaks about everlasting shame and contempt. Of a place of groans, of wailing, of gnashing of teeth.

[34:31] Of conscious pain, of unsatisfied desires. A place of everlasting chains. A place of the second death. I like how one preacher put it.

[34:44] You know, you die once, but you're born twice. You go to heaven. But if you're not born twice, then you're going to have the second death.

[34:58] You can be born again and avoid the second death. If you're not born again, you're going to go to the second death. Speaking of hell. It's a place of fire and brimstone, of extreme suffering.

[35:10] Of judgment, of misery, of vile companionship. All the worst of the people you can imagine are going to be there. And it's going to be no party. There's going to be no such thing as some would try to imagine it.

[35:23] It's utter hopelessness and misery. There's no hope. There's no chance of trusting Christ. You don't get a chance to get things right once you're gone.

[35:34] You've got to get right with God this side of your grave. And perhaps we've not really let the reality of hell grip us. I don't mean to be morbid here or load you with dreadful thoughts.

[35:49] But really the prospect of hell, it should motivate us to do something for the Lord. The eternity of hell's sufferings should motivate us to be more zealous. To have a stronger faith.

[36:01] To be more eager to tell people. To tell the world the gospel message. To tell other souls that the Lord can rescue them while there's still time.

[36:13] And that hell is real. That reality of hell should impact us. That we can pray, Lord, help us to realise there is a place called hell. Lord, shake the church that we would be shaken.

[36:26] That we'd be moved to plead, to weep, to reach, to beg lost sinners to get saved. Not caring that they might mock and scorn us and laugh us to pieces.

[36:38] But we must tell, even though it will be hard. And we might suffer reputation damage. Or, you know, people might think we're crazy Bible nuts.

[36:52] But, friends, if we really believe in hell, then we ought to honestly take it so seriously that we care enough to warn people. Do you really believe in hell?

[37:03] Do you really believe your unsaved friend or relative will go there, to that place, where the worm dieth not? Where the fire is not quenched?

[37:16] Friends, these are gripping thoughts. I urge you today that in some measure you might be motivated by hell, in a good way. Do you really believe in hell?

[37:28] Do you believe in hell that your unsaved daughter, if she dies without Christ, will be bound in those chains, and that worms are going to eat her for all of eternity? Friends, I'm putting it graphically here.

[37:40] Do you really believe that your unsaved parents are going to weep, howl, and gnash their teeth for all of eternity? Friends, if we really believe in hell, we want to tell people. We want to tell people.

[37:51] We want to warn people. It's time to get busy. It's time to get busy as a Christian, as a believer in Christ. Put your faith into action. The greatest evidence of hell is Calvary, that Christ died.

[38:04] Why would God, this Father, send his only begotten Son, that he would love us so, that hell was so real that he had to take such drastic measures?

[38:16] There was no other way to keep us from going to hell. Someone had to pay our wages, our debt, our guilt, our death penalty. The good news is that Christ did something to open the gates of paradise.

[38:31] And the gates are wide open for you that will trust him. Over the gates of hell, it's been said there's a man on the cross. Christ came to prevent people from going to hell. Of course, we know he's risen now.

[38:42] He's a living saviour. But the cross should be that warning sign to us, that one has paid the penalty, that there is no need for anyone to go to hell.

[38:53] If we'd simply trust that terrible price that Christ paid at Calvary's cross for man's redemption. Man does not have to go to hell. He chooses to go there by unbelief.

[39:06] Some would blame God and accuse God. Hell is not fair. It's not God's love. But God has done everything, everything humanly, divinely possible.

[39:19] That you can know him, whom to know his life eternal. If you simply trust, simply turn, trust. God is not willing that any should perish. Where will you spend eternity?

[39:31] It will either be heaven or hell. Two, only two choices. Friends, flee from the wrath to come. Flee to the arms of Christ.

[39:42] Find your refuge there. Find your safety there. Be safe forever there in his arms. To flee to Christ is your only hope. Otherwise, you shall curse God eternally.

[39:55] And be tormented by him in his presence. In the awful fullness of his wrath. And you shall never die. You shall never die. Eternity is forever.

[40:08] Know his saving today. I urge you. I pray. I trust that you know this ever-living, ever-loving, ever-gracious saviour. That you come and flee to him to know his keeping.

[40:22] Flee from the wrath to come. Flee to Christ. And flee to that refuge of his sure keeping. Of his salvation. Flee to that refuge. And know that you're saved forever.

[40:33] Because of the virtue of what he has done. What he has provided freely. He extends it. And be a messenger of that news. That glad gospel good news.

[40:45] Be a messenger of it. Tell the souls that you know are in danger, in peril. Tell them. Warn them. Let us pray. Lord God, we thank you that your word tells us of that perfect city.

[41:01] Which is much more gladsome to talk about. Lord, that that perfect city is offered to all who will believe. In that one who is the way, the truth and the life.

[41:13] That we can come unto you, our Father God. Through the precious blood of your Son. Lord, we thank you for that mercy. That you should go to such drastic measures.

[41:26] To offer salvation to those who will believe. Lord, we thank you for it. That great gift. Lord, help us to be mindful of hell. The reality of it.

[41:37] Lord, not to skirt around it. Or try to pretend it doesn't exist. But Lord, in the light of these truths. Of this place. This sure and real place.

[41:49] Lord, that we can know. That message we must tell. Of salvation. To those who have yet to trust you. Lord, help us to tell all that we can.

[42:00] While we can. And know that hopefully some will listen. Lord, by your grace and be saved. We thank you in Jesus' precious name. Amen.