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. . . . . . . . . . . . . Wonderful story of love. Tell it to me again. Wonderful story of love. In the immortal strain. Angels with pressure announcing. Shepherds with bother receiving. Say there what you believe in. Wonderful story of love. Wonderful. Wonderful story of love. Wonderful story of love. Wonderful story of love. Wonderful story of love. Wonderful story of love. Wonderful. Wonderful. Wonderful. Wonderful. Wonderful story of love. Wonderful story of love. The little far away. Wonderful story of love. Steady to call today. Falling from Calvary's mountain. Down from the crystal brick mountain. the day, falling from calories melting, down from the crystal bright mountain, in the dawn of creation. Wonderful story of love, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful story of love. Wonderful story of love, Jesus provides a rest. Wonderful story of love, for all children last. Basting those nations above us, with those who've gone before us, singing the raptures for us. Wonderful story of love, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful story of love. Amen, all right, great singing this evening. It's good to have you all back here with us, Strong Old Baptist Church for the evening service. This time we'll go through our announcements. And if you don't have a bulletin, slip your hand up real high, we'll make sure that we get one out to you. And if you open up to the front page there, we'll see the service times. As always, Sunday morning at 1030, Sunday evening at 5 p.m. Wednesday night at 7 is our Bible study. We have the soul winning opportunities, excuse me, listed there as well as the salvations and the baptisms for the month of January as well as for the year. Let's count up any salvations for today. If you had salvations, report for today. Slip your hand up real quick. Let's count it up. Starting in the front, one, two, four, amen. And then three and one, amen and amen. Anyone else I'm missing? I know that we were partners, I know. That's already written down. So I saw you and Brother Mike. We were right next door to you guys when we were leaving. I saw you at the last door there. Did that guy get saved that Brother Mike was talking to? No, like it was at a door, I think. Okay, I don't know. We saw you guys out there. Well, that's awesome. That's a great day. Obviously it's a really receptive area. I think most of the people were somewhere in that area. So that's cool, it's great. And then is there any other salvations to report outside of today? Did anyone have anything to report that hasn't been reported yet? All right, well, good. Keep up the good work going out there and preaching the Gospel. There was something I wanted to talk about now. It's not in the bulletin and it's totally escaping my mind at the moment. Oh, okay. So, yes, now I remember. I'm going to be scheduling some luncheons coming up on Sundays for people who are involved in the various ministries that we do. So that's going to be people who are involved in ushering. It's going to be people on the music team. It's going to be soul winning leaders. And I feel like I'm missing another group. But I'll be putting a schedule in the bulletin on when I want to go over things. Basically what I want to do is go over just the plan for the whole year for people who have some type of responsibility here that you've taken on yourself to help out in different areas. And just go over expectations and get some feedback on any ideas you think that might be helpful to do things moving forward. Maybe change up something, anything like that's a great time to go over that. But absolutely a time for me to be able to make sure that everyone's on the same page. We're all focused and we're going to do things as expected. So also with this when I publish it, if you are interested in joining or helping in any of these areas, you are welcome to come with on the lunch as well. OK. You'll get a good idea of everything that's going to be discussed of what's expected and then decide if you want to join or be a part of that as well. So one area that we definitely could use some more people in is with the ushering. So the brother Lindsey and brother Carter have been doing a very good job with that. But we we'd have to have some more people at the very least for backups to be able to handle when either one of them are out. We've got kind of two entrances right now. There's there's more people showing up. There's a lot more needs. And when you show up to that to what the expectations are, they actually do a lot. And most people probably don't even know what their responsibilities are. And it's kind of designed to be that way in order to help make things run really fluidly here and efficiently. There's people behind the scenes that are doing things that that most people just won't even notice is happening. But it is happening. So that's how we keep things running as perfectly as we can. So that's just one example, though, there's there's many areas of help. I will put in a schedule for probably for the month of February. So if you're interested and you know you're not going to be in service on that day, just let me know. OK, I will do my best either just to switch the day or just make sure that you're able to get the same information. It's easiest for me to do everything one time with everybody in one place. But if if someone can't make it, I understand that. So I will be doing that. Just keep it in your mind that we need that. And then in addition to the those ministries, those those different areas of service here in church, we still do need people signing up. I haven't even looked at the calendar, but because our space has grown so much, we're going to need people probably more than like two groups of people basically signed up for each week just to help reduce the amount of workload on any one person. So you're not here for hours after service. You know, we can kind of get out of here. So any everybody is welcome to please help out with that. And I think we're also going to try to get some cleanup on Wednesdays as well. We haven't really done that so much as Wednesday has really been a light impact. But that is also seems to be growing a little bit more to kind of need a little bit more done. So just some different things to consider. And let's continue on with the regularly scheduled program. We've got the offering totals down there at the bottom of the page for the month of January prayer requests. We went over the update this morning on Maverick River. That was a baby was born prematurely and flew it on his brain. He's actually home, which is excellent news. But we'll wait and hear more about his status and just continue to pray for him. Everything goes well. Andy Schaefer is going to be having surgery soon. He was scheduled for today, but it's been postponed. So please pray everything goes well with him and that God work on his heart and give a great opportunity for him to hear the gospel and hopefully get saved. So please be in prayer for him. Pray for the Hill family as they're still on their vacation. They've been trying to get out opportunities to preach the gospel. And of course, everyone else here that's still on the list continue to pray for everyone here. Sure. Foundation Baptist Church. I decided to put their church on the prayer request this week. Pray for them because I'm coming there next week to preach for them. Hope will be a blessing to their church. But but pray that God will bless the work that they're doing over there. And then Pastor Thompson as well on the next page. January is the Bible challenge. Complete the entire New Testament reading in those twenty nine days. And you'll be able to earn a prize for that. And then the December challenge. I have not forgotten it. I think I have a pretty good count of who completed that challenge. Is there I should have asked this morning. Is there anyone here that has not I've done a couple of different counts and I've asked people to raise their hands. But I'm continuing this. Ask if you've never said I completed that, but you actually did. Now's the time to raise your hand if you already raised your hand before another day. Don't raise your hand. I'm just looking to see any extra people I might have missed. If you completed the December challenge and have not been here to let me know that, hey, I did the December challenge. OK. It's kind of what I thought. But we'll get those prizes divvied out soon. We've got January. We've got the Preaching at Sure Foundation, Hebrews Chapter six. Memorize that passage. We'll earn a prize for that as well. Upcoming birthdays, anniversaries listed down there at the bottom of the page. Lots of people birthdays in the latter half of January. And then on the back, upcoming events. So homeschool field trip. I spent a lot of time this morning talking about this, but I'm pretty sure everyone who is interested in coming was already here this morning. I'm not going to reiterate everything except that brother Brian was able to help me out with a way to be able to purchase parking tickets in advance. So it looks like we will be able to provide that for you. Be on the lookout for a message from my wife. I think what we're going to have to do, because I wasn't able to actually do this between services, I was out soloing, was to be able to send you a PDF, we'll email it to you, the parking pass for you to print out for yourself to have when you show up. And that should work. I think the only people that we're not certain of how it's going to go down are the people with the large vehicles. So there is a little bit of uncertainty with that. And unfortunately, their help when you call is not the most helpful. So I don't know exactly what will happen for that, but at least I think we get the vast majority of people who are attending taken care of with your parking. So that's good news. All right. Everything else is listed there. You can see the upcoming activities. We've got a couple of soloing marathons. The one in January, the 21st, is not sponsored by our church. We've been invited. I counted about 14 people who plan on attending that event. And that's going to be in Savannah, Georgia. And then on February 11th, our church will be hosting a soloing marathon here. It will be relatively local somewhere in the greater Atlanta area, probably closer to the north side of town. We just haven't done one up that way. That will be nicer for some of the people who live up that way to make it down a little bit easier. But that will be on February 11th. Saturday will be the same program, same setup, everything the way that we normally do it. Depending on how far we go, we might just come back here for lunch and food or just find something out there. I don't know yet. I'll let you know as the time gets closer. And then the Next Generation Youth Rally. It's a teen event. 13- and 19-year-olds are invited to this. And the information is on the poster in that back room. And then the church camping trip dates are listed there as well. I don't think we have a sign-up sheet for this yet, but we will get that out soon as we will need to get this nailed down quickly so that everything will be a success. Now, when it comes to painting, some people were, I think, planning on helping doing some painting this evening. There isn't nearly as much work to be done as I thought we were going to need to do. However, there is still some work that can be done. So if you were going to volunteer your time today to do some painting, we still would appreciate that. Basically, the work that's done, I'll go over it after church. But we're going to need a little bit of sanding and mudding on that wall that had a lot of holes and stuff on it that you can still see all the patchwork on it right now. That needs to be fixed so we won't be able to paint that right away, but at least get that prepped and ready to go. And then the mother-baby rooms are going to need to be painted with the bluish color, the actual this color. The trim looked pretty good. I don't think we need the trim paint anymore, but we need to be careful, tape up, whatever, so that you don't get that color on the trim. So those three rooms, I don't know if all three of them need to be done, but that is what needs to be done as far as the painting goes. Because we can't do anything more before tomorrow when we get the new carpet. So that's about it. Turn the service back over, Brother Peter, and we'll sing our next song. You open up your emails to song number 210. Open up your emails to song number 210. Wonderful Grace of Jesus. Song 210. And the verse. Wonderful grace of Jesus. Greater than all my sin. How shall my tongue describe it? Where shall his praise be held? Taking away my purpose and setting my spirit free. For the wonderful grace of Jesus, Jesus be. Wonderful and righteous grace of Jesus. Different in the light of all I see. Lighter than the mountains, brighter than the mountain. Lost in peace, his grace will be with me. Louder than the snow, all my transgressions. Greater, farther than all my sin and shame. Oh magnifier of precious pain, Lord Jesus. Praise his name. Wonderful grace of Jesus. Reaching to all the lost. I am imparted, saved to the uttermost. Chains have been torn asunder, giving me liberty. For the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me. Wonderful and righteous grace of Jesus. Deeper than the mighty rolling sea. Lighter than the mountains, darker than the mountain. Lost in peace, his grace will be with me. Louder than the snow, all my transgressions. Greater, farther than all my sin and shame. Oh magnifier of precious pain, Lord Jesus. Praise his name. Wonderful grace of Jesus. Reaching the most in one. Highest in glory power, making God's dear child. We're just in peace and heaven for all eternity. And the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me. Wonderful and righteous grace of Jesus. Deeper than the mighty rolling sea. Lighter than the mountains, darker than the mountain. Lost in peace, his grace will be with me. Louder than the snow, all my transgressions. Greater, farther than all my sin and shame. Oh magnifier of precious pain, Lord Jesus. Praise his name. That was the book of Luke chapter 16. And as we do customary here at St. Louis Baptist Church, we're going to read the entire chapter, and I'm going to ask Brother Devin to please do that for us. Book chapter 16. And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man which had a steward, and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. And he called him and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? Give an account of thy stewardship, for thou mayest be no longer a steward. Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? For my Lord taketh away from me the stewardship. I cannot dig to beg. I am ashamed. I am resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. So he called every one of his lords debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much oest thou unto my Lord? And he said, And hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. Then said he to another, And how much oest thou? And he said, And hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. And the Lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely, for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness, that when you fail they may receive you into everlasting habitations. He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much, and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust to true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things, and they derided him. And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men, but God knoweth your hearts. For that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it. And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass than one tittle of the law to fail. Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, commiteth adultery. And whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband, commiteth adultery. There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in 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 sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died, and was buried. And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham a fall 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. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receiveth to thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things. But now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this betwixt 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. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, Father, that thou wouldst 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. Abraham saith unto him, If 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. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. Let's pray. Dear Lord, thank you for this chapter and for this opportunity to hear your word preached this evening. Thank you for all the souls that were saved. I pray that you would just help us all to be filled with your spirit, help Pastor be filled with your spirit, and help us to focus on the message preached, and to apply it to our lives, the best of our ability, and to learn something tonight. And in Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Alright, this evening, the sermon is kind of a sobering sermon. It's not a fun sermon, but it's one that's necessary and something that we need to deal with, and I think just need to make sure that we're well aware of from time to time, and that's the subject of hell. The time I serve in is the terror of hell. And this is a very, very, very important doctrine. And sometimes some of the most simple doctrines and the easiest things, and you can say, like, everyone in here is in agreement. Yeah, we all believe hell's a real place. We can't just get relaxed and slack on even some of the most basic ones, and especially some of the most fundamental doctrines. They need to come up from time to time. We can't just keep going, going, going, going, and just kind of drifting away from even that being in our knowledge. And I want to bring this up, and this wasn't even my intention, but I was thinking about it before the sermon tonight. You know, we have these cards that we hand out at the door, and on the back it has the Bible way to heaven. And there are five points on here, and these five points are all very critical. There's a reason why they're on here. And as we continue to grow and mature as a church, and as people continue to go out and give the gospel, and hopefully improve and get better at being able to explain things, and maybe your presentation changes a little bit, and you start being able to explain things maybe a little bit different, you start using some different verses. Hey, that's all great. That's all fine. But you know what? Don't steer away from this formula, because every single one of these points is extremely important for people to get saved. And this point, you know, number one is admit you're a sinner. Hey, that is extremely important. If someone's not willing to admit they're a sinner, then what's the point of the rest? You don't need a savior if you're perfect. But point number two is realize the penalty for your sins is an eternity in hell. This is an extremely important thing. Now, look, I understand, because I'm going out sowing just like you are. In the United States of America, we've got to preach the gospel. Tons of people already believe in hell, right? They're already on board with that. They already kind of get it that heaven and hell are real places. And the vast majority of people will agree that, yes, I do believe that those are real places. Of course you're going to run into people who don't believe that, whatever. First of all, if you run into people like that, you've got to be able to show them, look, you are wrong, and warn them hell is a real place. But we need to look at hell and look at the Scripture that talks about hell, one, to make sure that we're warning people properly about hell, because it is real and because it is a terrible place. It should instill terror in people. And the fear of God ought to be a result of people just kind of pondering about, thinking about, looking at what hell really is. It's a real place. And that is what people need to understand to get through their heads, I need a Savior. You admit you're a sinner. You realize, hey, the punishment for my sins is hell. And no matter what you've gone through in this life, you have not paid a hell punishment for your sins. That is to come. You better believe you need someone to make that payment for you, because what you do is never enough. We know this, but we need to be able to communicate this well when we talk to people who are unsaved. We need to make sure that this isn't a point that you just kind of skip over. We need to make sure that we're doing a good job of letting people know, even if they say hell is a real place, but look, do you really understand what hell is? Especially the people who are real flippant about things. And it's okay to challenge people, look, do you really believe that hell is a real place? Stop and think about that for a minute, because if you really believe that hell is real, and most people, even if you believe in a works-based salvation, if you really believe that hell is real, I mean, you really ought to start thinking about what you're doing. I mean, it really should be a sobering thought, especially if you're a works-based salvation person. I mean, if I thought that I had to do good things and not sin in order to get into heaven, man, oh, man, you better not be forgetting about hell at all. Now, obviously, we know that you don't get saved by your works, but to even get people into a condition, into a state to be able to say like, look, man, yeah, this is real, this is serious. That's why the Bible even says in Jude, and if some have compassion making a difference, and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garments spotted by the flesh. It is a soul-winning technique that you should be turning to and save some with fear. Yeah, the fear of hell is a good motivator for people to get saved. It absolutely is. Because it provides relief. It provides hope. It provides a future, and one where you don't have to worry about hell. But, see, we need to make sure that people aren't just kind of blowing it off, or it's turned into this cartoon, or it turns into this place. Oh, yeah, but no. But do you really ever think about that? Now, for us, it's also important to be thinking about and to going into what hell is all about, and the reality of hell, and it is a real place. It exists in the center of the earth right now. In the heart of the earth, there exists a place that we call hell, but even modern science will tell you and describe it to you like the Bible describes it. It is a place of extreme heat. It actually is a place, too, where you have a core and there's an inner core. And it talks about the iron and the metal that are around this inner core, and even in the Bible, it talks about the earth with her bars were about me forever in Jonah. Jonah chapter 2, where you see Jonah as a prophet. He's in the whale's belly, but then it kind of goes back and forth with verse where he's in the belly with the seaweed wrapped around his head, but then he prophesies of the Son of God being in the heart of the earth and what he's experienced out of the belly of hell, cried I. And he gives this picture, and he says, hey, the earth with her bars were about me forever and ever. And there's another place, too, where the Bible talks about the pit and the bars because, you know, it's just like the foundations of the earth. It's not the foundations of pillars on a flat earth, okay? It's the structure in the center of the earth that is a structural element, but also is very close to or, you know, part of hell because hell is also a prison. It makes sense. And the Bible has that there what science now is able to confirm and say, oh, yeah, that's it. Well, yeah, we know that's there. We know it's a real place. We know it's super hot. We know it's a place that no one would ever want to go to and we can't even go to physically. And when people went there, you know, I don't have all these references in my notes, but we just went over when Korah, Dathan, and Bairam, when they challenged Moses, right, and Moses was proving that he was of God, he says, look, if these guys die the normal death, then obviously I'm not of God. But if the earth opens up her mouth and swallows them up and they go down into the pit alive, then you better realize that you're dealing with someone that's a man of God. Now, that's my, you know, Berson's version of the Bible. That's my paraphrase, okay. But you read it, that's essentially what he's saying, expressing. And what happens, the earth opens up and swallows them and they go down alive, like just and go down into the pit, into hell, into hell fire. And obviously they die along the way, but you know what? Their souls continue on going down that way because they were, you know, bad people, wicked people. Let's go, you're in Luke 16 here. We're going to actually spend quite a bit of time here. We have a lot of information on hell in this one chapter, lots of attributes, lots of things that we could learn just about hell that ought to be terrifying when you actually stop and think about it. And this is important for one last reason because as human beings we have a tendency to just kind of believe that things will just sort of work themselves out. Human beings in general, I mean this is just really common, you go through some bad times and people just kind of think, well, things will just work themselves out. Why? Because in many cases they do, right? Now, we know even as believers that the Bible says we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them where they're called according to his purpose, right? Great, that's a great promise. So we know that thing, even if you're going through rough times, you can just keep going, keep serving God, it'll all work out in the end. It's a great mindset to have. But see, for a lost person, especially when it comes to, hey, where am I going to end up when I die? No, it's not just going to work itself out. And that is a thought that we cannot allow people to have or think as much as possible, right? I mean, people are going to believe what they believe, but part of our job when we go out and talk to people and talk to the lost world, make sure they're not just putting things all, oh, yeah, they'll just work itself out. I don't know, I mean, God's a loving God, God's kind of forgiving, God, he knows my heart, all this other stuff that people might say and just kind of put it off and they don't want to deal with it and they don't really want to think about it too much. Look, we need to be going out there and explaining, look, hell's a real place. And if you already admit that you're a sinner, where is the judgment, where is the punishment, what is the punishment for your sins? It is in hell. And try to help people stop and think and say, no, look, don't put this off. Think about this. This is important. That literally there is nothing more important at stake than the very existence of your soul where it will be for eternity, in perpetuity. We know you're here right now. This is short. You don't have that much time. You need to think about this and don't just say, oh, it'll just work itself out. This needs to be settled. And we need to be reminded of this as well because you may have loved ones. You may have family. You may have friends. Oh, it'll work itself out one day, sometime, another day. Maybe I'll be able to make it work out. Maybe some events will happen and it'll just all work out and I'll be able to give the Gospel to my loved one. Look, you can't rely on that and just assume that one day this great, perfect opportunity will just fall on your lap. You can't. You can't wait on that and just assume everything will just be okay. That leads to tragedy. Putting off the opportunity to preach the Gospel to people who are lost, you may never have that opportunity again. And what I never want to see happen, especially to those of you and me and my family, would be to have to hear about a loved one that died and you know was not saved and you missed your chances to give them the Gospel and it's too late and it's over because there's a sorrow there that you don't have the comfort. Now, if you were to at least say, hey, I presented the Gospel, you could have the conscience of the apostle Paul. Well, hey, my hands are clean. I'm free from the blood of all men. I've done my job. I've at least told them. I've at least warned them. I've tried. There is some comfort in that, of at least knowing I tried. But what you don't want to have happen is go, I didn't try. And I could have told them. And I could have warned them and now they're there and there's nothing you can do about it. Don't let that happen to you because especially you, we all here, we know this is real. This isn't just some myth. This isn't just some fiction. We know this is real regardless of what other people believe. We know it's real. We know it's true. We know hell exists and is a place of torture and torment. And of all people, we should not be allowing this to go unsaid. The problem with hell is it's not a comfortable topic to breach because it's not a pleasant place, because it's the worst place in existence, literally the worst place in existence. There is nothing worse than hell. It's the exact opposite of heaven. There's nothing better than heaven. There's nothing better than being in the presence of the Lord. That is the best and this is the absolute worst. Let's look at Luke 16. Look at verse number 19. We're going to read through this story of the rich man and Lazarus. And as we look at this, so many characteristics ring true and bring us information about hell that we shouldn't just read over but actually take the time to ponder about. Verse number 19. There was a certain rich man which was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. Faired means he ate. He ate well every day. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus which was laid at his gate full of sores and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. So this beggar, Lazarus, he's not in a good situation on this earth. He's hungry. He's trying to eat crumbs. And on top of all of that, he has sores and there's dogs coming and licking his sores. I mean that's a pretty miserable condition to be in in this life. It's pretty low. It's a pretty bad place to be in here. And the rich man, he's got every comfort he could want. He has abundance. He's got everything he could possibly need. But things change very, very quickly. Verse 22. And it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. So for the beggar, he has relief. The angels show up and carry him to Father Abraham. Wow, what a great consolation. What a great comfort. He breathes his last breath in despair, in physical pain, in hunger. And now he's brought to a place where he's going to hunger no more. He's going to thirst no more. He's going to have every need met. He's there being loved and embraced by Abraham. Comfort. But the rich man, the exact opposite. Look at verse number 23. And in hell, he lifts up his eyes. And what's the very first thing that's mentioned as he lifts up his eyes, he realizes in hell, being in torment. Torment. Hell is not just a prison. Like here there's prisons, jails, people get locked up and put in a cell. And look, there is a level of punishment to that. There's a level of losing your freedom in many ways is not pleasant. It's not a place where you really want to be. But torment would not be something to describe our modern day prison. Another word for torment would be torture. Torture. The first thing he realizes is wow, this hurts. I am being tortured right now. And it is not just because, oh, I wish I was closer to God. This is actual physical torture that he's experiencing in his soul because of the flame of fire that he's engulfed in. And in hell, he lifts up his eyes, being in torment, and seeth 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. And this is how I know that that torment isn't just because, oh, because I'm separate from God. He says, for I am tormented in this flame. He's in a flame. Now, if you just think about this, we know that hell lasts forever. People who go to hell do not get delivered from hell except it comes that one point we're going to be standing before God at the judgment seat, at the great white throne judgment. When they're delivered up and God finally informs them of their sentence, all the things they've done, every idle word that men shall speak, they'll give account of in that day, right? That they're going to know exactly why they are where they are. But they're sent there before that great white throne judgment. And you're there already. And what happens is you're being in a flame. Now, we could get used to a lot of different environments as human beings on this earth, right? You can get used to things are like really cold or things are really hot. You could kind of get used to it. I lived in Arizona for a while. I lived in Phoenix and it's really hot there. You get used to it. You're never going to get used to being in a flame. I mean, that's just something you can't get used to. So again, this mindset of, oh, well, things will work itself out. Look for a person in hell. Oh, if I go to hell, I go to hell. I mean, some people literally say that. If I go to hell, I go to hell. No, really. Stop and think about what you're saying. If you go to hell, you go to hell. You will be in a fire. That doesn't stop. That is not quenched. It does not go out. It continues in eternity. I mean, if you think about the level of pain, you know, I've burned myself a few times. I've had some blisters, some second degree. I've never had a third degree burn. This goes beyond all of that. I mean, just being, just putting your finger over a candle, see how long you could do that for. Right? You'll start to get a little tiny speck of a feeling of the pain. Souls in hell are engulfed, engulfed in flames. I said it's not pleasant. But you really have to wrap your mind around it and be reminded of how bad of a place hell is. Which is why we make the sacrifice of our time to go out and talk to people that we don't even know. Literally. Because this place is real. Because if you don't go out and talk to people, they may end up there. Now, we also see how quickly, you know, once the tables have turned, when he is this rich man and he has this beggar, Lazarus, and his dogs are licking his sores, it doesn't sound like he stopped his dogs from licking his sores. It doesn't sound like he really cared a whole lot about Lazarus. Right? And he's this beggar just trying to get the crumbs off his table. But now he's asking that the finger of a beggar who is laying on his table being licked by dogs to have his finger put in his mouth. And it's not even a thought to him. It's a request and a desire in please will you let this happen. Will you please let me take one drop of water from that beggar's finger. There are no atheists in hell. There are no proud people in hell. No matter how proud and how rich and how great you had everything on earth and how much power you had and how much influence you had, when you're in hell, you have nothing. And everyone would be would be willing to give whatever they possibly could, which they don't have anything. So it's nothing to even have that one drop. What I mean, if you're super thirsty, what is one drop going to do anyways? But that's I mean, that would be this great source of comfort to even have one drop. If I could just have one. That is being brought extremely low. But it's also demonstrating, you know, this this isn't just this isn't figurative. This isn't, well, it's just colorful language to explain that, like, they're just really missing Abraham's bosom. You know, and they're just distraught and there's this inner turmoil that they would like to just be close to Abraham, too. They'd like to be close to Abraham because Abraham's not in flames. And we'll see this multiple times as we read through this chapter. Torment, torment, torment, torment. Verse 25, But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou and thy lifetime receiveth thy good things and likewise Lazarus evil things. But now he is comforted and thou art what? Tormented. You're tormented. And beside all this, beside 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. What he's saying is, look, we've got this great gulf in between heaven and hell that even if someone wanted to, if someone would, if someone wanted to go that was in heaven to try to help you in hell, it's impossible. You can't do it. And likewise, obviously, if anyone wanted to get out of hell and like go to heaven, he said, you can't do it. It's impossible. Can't happen. It's hopeless. It is a hopeless situation. You can't have someone come to you to provide you comfort and you can't leave. And yet we see here, at least in this example, there's a knowledge of a better place. I mean, how tormenting would that be being tortured and seeing people who aren't and having the desire and want to just be there so badly while you are being tortured. I mean, there's so many elements of being in torture that compound and make it even worse. How about this? The thought that because I guarantee you have an eternity of thinking about everything. That's all you have to do. There is nothing to distract you other than pain. But when you're in that pain, you're probably be going, you know, just rethinking and reliving everything in your life. Everything that you've known up to that point and analyzing everything that you've ever done. And I don't know about you. Now, we've had some good times and bad times. But if you're being tortured, you're not probably be thinking about all the good times. You're going to be thinking about what got you here and you'll be reminded of all the things that you've done that were bad. And to have to be thinking about that stuff all the time. Man, I'm glad that when you're forgiven, you're forgiven and forgotten. Like that that is seriously comforting to know that, hey, you've done some things that might have been shameful, wicked, wrong. But you've received that forgiveness and that won't be brought up to you and mentioned to you again. That as far as the east is from the west, so far have you been separated from your sin and that Christ blood that washed that away has truly cleansed you. Like that is so great to not have to go through eternity going just reliving or thinking about all the garbage things that you've done and terrible things you've done in your life. But that's all people are going to be thinking about in hell. Those are going to be the things that are going to keep on coming up over and over and over again. As they're being tortured and tormented. All those various things. Now, there's a hopelessness in hell. There is, let's see, verse 27. Then he said, I pray thee therefore father that thou would ascend 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. Now you have another level of torment in this place of torment of just being the flames of a man who's going, oh man, I do not want my family here. No one in hell wants their loved ones to be with them. As much as you normally want to be around your loved ones, not if it's in hell. And you experience it and be like, I would never want any of my family to have to experience this. So he's saying, please, can you just send someone, if you can't do anything for me, I get it. No one can come to me from you and I can't leave this place, but can you please send someone to my family? Can you please help them? Make sure they don't come here. And you're stuck. And you can do nothing about it. And the people that go to hell, you can't help your relatives once they're gone. And what's his answer? Abraham saith unto him, they have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them. He's got the Bible. You've got Moses, you've got the prophets. You've got the word of God. Well, he doesn't like that, it didn't work for him. He said, nay, Father Abraham, but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. I say, no, no, no, no, you don't understand. I mean, if someone just actually came back from the dead, they'll get it, they'll do it, they'll understand. And you know what, that's not bad logic. You would think that they should understand that. And you know what, one did come back from the dead. And people still don't believe. And he said unto them, if they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded that one rose from the dead. If you're not going to hear the word of God, it doesn't matter what miracle is done. If you're not going to accept the Bible, if you're not going to accept God's word, it could be anything. You're not going to accept it. And that's a sad truth. We need to be informed, and you know, obviously that's not what he wanted to hear. Because now he's going to have even more hopelessness, and then as his family members die, if they end up going to hell, then you have that extra, hey Jonathan and Sarah, turn around and face me right now and be good. Or else you'll be tormented. Jonathan, come up here and sit in this chair right here. Right here. Come up here. Sit down in this rocking chair. Elizabeth, go with him. Turn, if you would, to Matthew chapter 13. We see a lot of things in Luke chapter 16. The rich man who didn't have a care, all of a sudden does have a care. Now, we're not always going to be able to express this to people. It's unfortunate. But we still have to give people a chance. Let them make that decision, because the finality of hell, when they're there, they're there. We're not Catholics. We don't believe in purgatory. You're not going to be, these people aren't going to be purged through hellfire, and then all of a sudden become white as snow and go to heaven. Not going to happen. It doesn't matter who's praying for you. You could have the entire world, you could have every saint in the world praying for someone who's in hell. Too late. God's not going to release them. They don't get purged. The punishment is eternal. Do you know what that means? That doesn't end. You don't reach a point in time where it's okay, punishment paid. Not an eternal, because it's eternity. Matthew 13, just, we're going to look now at a few references to hell and just the terror of it, how serious it is. We've got a lot from Luke 16. We're going to go through some verses here, I don't know, relatively quickly. Matthew 13, verse 40, the Bible says, So when you reap and you have tares, you've got these weeds, you've got these things that you're not harvesting, it's like, you know what, those just end up getting tossed in the fire. They're useless, right? They're good for nothing. He says that's the way it's going to be at the end of the world. and shall cast them into a furnace of fire, there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Now we see another aspect of hell. One, and as we get into all this, you know what you're going to keep seeing over and over again? Fire, fire, furnace of fire, torture, torment, fire, fire, fire, you know, like, this is not an allegory. This is not symbolism. This is a warning that hell is a place of fire. And this is not as that Pharisee, Jew, whatever, the guy marching to Zion was saying, oh, it's just a kid's story that we tell kids. No, it's not. This isn't just talking about Gehenna. This isn't just talking about a waste dump that they would burn waste and refuse. That's not what this is talking about. This is talking about a literal place that exists in the heart of the earth. This is talking about, just like Luke 16 was saying, a place where souls go after men's bodies have died. It's not talking about a trash heap. It's not just meant to scare kids. What kind of weird religion does it anyway? Do you just tell some lie to kids to scare them? It's like lying to them about Santa Claus would be good. Like, you don't need to lie to your kids. How about you just tell them the truth from the word of God and just say, thus saith the Lord, this is true, you can rely on this. If the Bible says that hell is real, it's real. It's not a fiction designed to scare people. It's a reality that ought to scare people. But one of the things that's mentioned here, people getting cast into the furnace of fire says there should be wailing and gnashing of teeth. I mean, just wailing. Man, people with kids, there's a sound of a wail you just do not ever want to hear. On the one hand, you don't want to hear it because you love them and if they're hurt or something, they're wailing. But sometimes they're just complaining and wailing. And man, you really don't want to hear that. It's like, oh, good night, can you just not do that? But this wailing is not like a child's wail. Because this is going to be a frightening, terrifying wail. Have you ever heard anyone get extremely injured or been in the presence of someone who got really injured and just shrieked or yelled out because of the amount of pain they're in? That is what is going on in hell. This is the wailing and gnashing of teeth and people just so being hurt and tormented. It's a frightful wailing. And talk about not getting any peace. You're going to be surrounded by souls in this torture chamber in hell of so many souls all going through what you're going through. And you're just hearing the wails, the screams, the gnashing of teeth. That is another layer of the torture of people going to hell. It's not just, oh, yeah, yeah, hell's hot and heaven's great. Look, get a good understanding of what hell really is. And when we have a good understanding of that, we can maybe help express that to people who are kind of failing to realize the importance of why we talk about this. You know, the family members that call themselves Christians, why do you spend so much? Why are you going on a Saturday and spending all day going to some town and preaching the gospel? Of course we're not going to say it like that, but it's going to be, well, why do you do this so much? Why do you spend so much time out there doing that? Ask them, hey, what do you believe about hell? How real is it to you? When's the last time you've even thought about it? Yeah, you could be really good and safe and secure, and if you're saved, not have to worry about ever going to hell. But what about everybody else? If our gospel be hidden, it's hidden to them that are lost. Where is your love for mankind? Hey, aren't you supposed to be Christ-like? Well, Christ had no greater love than any man in this than a man laid down his life for his friends. Okay, Jesus Christ laid down his life so that people could go to heaven and not go to hell. You know, and what Christians do, what believers do that are not going forward and spreading the gospel, you are making the death of Christ of none effect by not sharing that with anyone else. He died for the people you don't want to go and talk to. Christ did his part. What about you? Real smug, real comfortable. You're saved. Nuts to everyone else. Yeah, that's a real Christ-like attitude. What kind of Christian are you? How about you make the sacrifice? How about you go out and you preach the truth to people, tell them about hell and tell them about that free gift from God that God loves you and He doesn't want you to go there? In Matthew 13, there's basically the same exact reference if you just jump down a few verses. Verse 49, the Bible says, So shall it be at the end of the world, the angels shall come forth and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire, there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Same exact description. Turn, if you would, to Mark chapter 9. I'm just going to read from 2 Samuel chapter 22. 2 Samuel 22 verse 5, the Bible reads, When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. This, by the way, is also a psalm. This is a song I'm reading from 2 Samuel 22. You can find this elsewhere in the scripture as well. It's actually a few times in the Bible. When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows of hell compassed me about the snares of death prevented me. Sorrow in hell. Torment, yes. Wailing, yes. Gnashing of teeth, yes. How about sorrow? Sorrow, sadness, grief. You will never experience joy. People in hell do not experience joy. They do not experience pleasure, comfort, anything. You know, there's one place where the Bible talks about the people in hell being comforted. Do you know what event that is? It's in Ezekiel. Do you know when it happens? It's when Satan is cast into hell. That's it. That's your comfort. Someone else joining you. The only reason you get comfort is because that's the deceiver. Anyone else getting added to hell, that's not a comfort. So ask yourself this, how much comfort do you think that really is for someone who's being burned forever? It's not going to make the pain go away. It's just more spite and bitterness against them, which I would say justifiably so, but still, you get no joy from that. It's just a bitter cursing. Yeah, you got it too. No relief. Sad, sorrowful. Mark chapter 9, verse number 43. We see another element here. And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off. It is better for thee to enter into life maimed than having two hands that go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched. And as we read this, you know, there's a few different things that is listed here. He's literally saying, look, if your hand offend thee, cut it off. I don't know about you, but I'm not just going to be quick on the trigger to be like, why? Because it's a big deal. Like, I mean, losing your hand is a serious impairment in this life to just, well, I'm just going to lose my hand. What he's saying is, hey, that is way better for you if you were to lose your hand, and you still enter into life, you still go to heaven. You are way, that's so much better to lose a limb than it is to go to hell. And then he talks about, you know, plucking out your eye. This is your hand, your foot, and your eyeball. I mean, I can't, I don't even want to think about plucking out my own eyeball. I mean, that's like worse than all of it. I could fathom doing my hand or my foot. Like, I could probably come up with a way where that would be in the realm of possibility that I might be able to do something like that. But I don't know if I'd ever be able to even do my eyeball. And I put contacts in my eyes, too, but I still wouldn't be able to handle that. Like, I don't know, it's a pretty bad thing. And as bad as that is, but, you know, I would say, look, this is way better for you. It's way better. It's way better to enter into life blind, to enter into life without a foot, without a hand, maimed. Whatever the condition is, hey, you enter into life, you're there. You made it. You're good. But let's read more about hell here. He said that having two hands and going to hell, into the fire, one that never shall be quenched. It's unquenchable. It never goes away. There is no stopping this fire. It continues forever. But look at verse 44, where their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched. Here's another element of hell. Do you know there's worms in hell? Their worm dieth not. So the people, I mean, we think about physically, we know our bodies are eaten of worms, right? The physical death. But that's up here, six feet below the surface. And we know that that happens. But there is a worm consumption or infestation or whatever that's going on in hell for people. So not only being tormented and tortured with fire and flame, which I would think would be bad enough, but just add on top of that now. Oh, yeah, by the way, their worm dieth not. That's all the detail we need. I don't even know what all they're doing or how, you know. Boy, that's great company. Here's a company in hell. You have worms all around you, whatever, they're not dying. And then you're hearing people screaming and wailing and gnashing of teeth and just in pain and agony. That's what it's like. That's what you hear. And we can read the rest of the verses. It just reinforces this. You know, this is mentioned three times and we are going to read through these verses because that's the point of the sermon. We're reinforcing this doctrine of hell and understanding the terror of it and how bad of a place it really is. So we don't let it slip. We don't ever forget about it. So the day is when you don't feel like doing anything. You don't feel like preaching the gospel. You don't feel like serving God. Why don't you remember hell? One of the many reasons to preach the gospel. One of many. A very important one. The most important thing for those who are lost. You have other motivations. You also have rewards. You also have, you know, other things. You have joy and peace. You're going to be walking the Spirit. You have so many other benefits that go along with preaching the gospel. But this is the most important number one thing is the soul being prevented from going to hell. For that person. I am going to thank the person. Whoever was involved in my salvation. Every single person that was involved. Whether they prayed for me. Whether they gave me, you know, sowed a seed in my heart. Whoever it was, if I get to find out who those people are, man, I'm indebted to them. Forever. Because I'm not going to hell because they preach the word of God. Well, thank you. Verse 45, And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off. It is better for thee to enter a halt into life than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched, where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out. It is better for thee to enter in the kingdom of God with one eye than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire, where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched. Turn, if you would, to Revelation chapter number 9. It's funny because people have these, you know, the average person where you think about, like, hell fire, brimstone, damnation and stuff, they're going to say, oh, that's Revelation, right? But actually, you know, hell, the pit, the bottomless pit, outer darkness, all these various things are talked about way more everywhere else in the Bible overall than just the book of Revelation. Now Revelation has its fair share, but there's a lot of other plagues, there's a lot of things going on, but people just kind of conflate that and make it all into one thing. But, like, there's plagues happening on the earth, but when it talks about hell, and we're going to read about in Revelation chapter 9, we're going to look at hell too, but another aspect of hell. But think about this, because there's another reference I didn't even have in here, I don't know if it's going to be mentioned here in this passage or not, but right now hell is in the heart of the earth. It's going to be relocated to the lake of fire, okay? When the heaven and earth are passed away, and there's going to be a new heaven and new earth, well, the hell's got to go somewhere, because right now it's in this old earth. But in this old earth, there's no windows, there's no parts of hell going straight up to the surface and getting any amount of light. So you're in the middle of this sphere, it's the spheroid of the planet that we live on, the planet earth, that has a core, that has hot magma and lava, and just a hot, hot, hot place to be. If a person were to be in there, or a soul, for example, were to be bound in that place, there's going to be no light. So, yes, there's flame and heat and torture, and you can't see anything. And it is the darkest dark that you could ever imagine. Like the Bible describes, I think, with the plague of Egypt, it's darkness that can be felt. It's a darkness that is so dark that, like, it's hard for us to even comprehend unless you've been in some space that absolutely has zero light that's allowed to get in, and you get a concept for that, but then you're just hearing noises in the dark while you're being tortured, while you're being burned. And in many cases, in the Old Testament, a lot of times it talks about the pit more than the word hell, the word hell's not used, but it talks about the pit. Why is it the pit? Because it's the pit of the earth. It's the heart of the earth. Sometimes it's called the bottomless pit, as it does in Revelation chapter 9. Why is it bottomless? Well, it's another attribute of being in a spheroid. Yeah, that's right. Because when you're in the center, there's no bottom. Yeah. And people could be in there. I mean, if you think about it, gravity points in the force from all over, you know, it goes down, it goes towards, when I say down, it goes towards the center. The gravitational force, no matter where you are in the spheroid, points to the center. So when all of the forces, when you get to that point in the middle, it would be kind of like a weightless space, like you would just be suspended there because there's no gravity to pull you in any other direction. You're just in that bottomless area. There is no bottom. There is no up. Everything is just disorienting. But you're dark anyways. You can't see anything. And you're just, I mean, all of this is so terrible. It ought to instill terror. The Bible talks about God being terrible, a terrible God. It's not terrible. We use the word terrible like, oh, man, that's terrible because we kind of use it real loosely. And we just talk about things that are bad, right? Like, oh, that's terrible. God's not bad, but God is terrible because He instills terror. And He ought to instill terror. Because God, whether you like it or not, created a place called hell. And it's real, and it exists, and you have to deal with it. You don't get to choose who God is. God is who He is. And the same God that made heaven made hell. And you can try to fight against it and stop your ears and shout at the top of your lungs and not want to hear about it, but it's real. And it's a terrible place. And if more people could just, I mean, something so simple as hell, think about hell. Man, there ought to be some repentance for that because people would have a fear of God. And I'm not even talking about repentance. I'm just talking about repentance in the life of just trying not to do wickedly. Because so many people believe in a workspace salvation anyways, but if they actually thought about hell and pondered hell, they would be trying to shape up a lot more things about their life instead of being so tolerant and permissive of everything. And you know, the people who really do take their faith seriously that a workspace salvation, they do try their best to live a righteous life. I mean, I remember talking with your dad, Brother Danzella, Brother Miller, talking about just how they're taught a certain way in a workspace salvation. Things that you do that are wrong, I mean, they're terrifying. Because they actually believed hell was real. They did have more faith that was going, hey, this is, you know, I don't even know what I could do. And it's hopeless when it's workspaced. But at least a people who, you know, at the very least, a people who have that thought and care about that will end up not nearly as wicked as the people who just don't have a thought and don't care at all, right? And the people who at least have that concept and that reality and understanding of hell and the punishment of sins, you know what? They're farther along the path of the understanding they need to have to receive a Savior. So there's that value as well. Look at verse number 1, Revelation 9. This is the last place we're going to look at tonight. Verse number 1, the Bible says, And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth, and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit, and there arose a smoke out of the pit as the smoke of a great furnace. Well, that makes sense because the bottomless pit is a furnace, right? It's a furnace of fire. That's where hell is. It's a bottomless pit. So you open up the doors that open up and let the smoke out, and it says, And the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And this is something that will happen in time to come. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth, and unto them was given power as the scorpions of the earth have power. Now, if there is one creature you don't want to meet, it's not a creature that comes from hell. All right? I'm not kidding about this because as we read, these creatures from hell are going to torment you like you're in hell. Let's look at this. You say, well, what's a locust? Who cares about a locust, right? I mean, I've seen locusts. What's a big deal? Not a locust from hell. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth. I'm in verse 3. They were given power as the scorpions of the earth. What power do scorpions have? The sting. That's the only power they have, right? I mean, if you've ever seen them, they're kind of little creatures. They can move around, but they can't do really anything else, maybe a little pincher. But that's not a big deal. I've seen scorpions plenty of times in Arizona. They have a stinger, though. And I'll tell you what. That sting doesn't feel good. I mean, stung by a scorpion is not fun. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing. Now, that's normally what locusts do. They're going to attack the grass, they're going to attack the herbs, they're going to attack the plants, the vegetation, because that's what they live off of. But these ones are commanded not to. Yeah, don't go after that. Neither any tree. But only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. You're just going to go after everyone, everyone who's not saved down there, everyone who doesn't have the seal of God in their foreheads. That's who you're going to go after. Not trees, not grass, men. And to them it was given that they should not kill them. So they're not going to be ending the life of these people. And guess what happens? In hell, people still exist. You feel the torture and torment the entire time you're there, which is eternity. It's not like the Jehovah's Witnesses think or Seventh-day Adventists or whoever else have these crazy beliefs that, oh, it's just annihilation. Once you get sent to hell, then you just cease to exist. No, you don't. You actually, you're not alive. You're always considered dead. But you still exist. So these locusts from hell, they don't kill men. It says, but that they should be tormented five months, and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion when he strikeeth a man. Look at verse 6. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it, and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. The torture and the torment that these locusts from hell are going to bring is going to make them go, I wish I were just dead because I want this torment to stop. I just want it to stop. I'd rather die and just have this stop than continue on. That is what it's like for people in hell. They just want it to stop. But there is no end. All you would want to do, they're going to be going, I would cease to exist. I wish that you could just extinguish my being right now to make this stop, but it won't. And you talk about the sorrow of hell, the hopelessness of hell. Imagine being in a place and it will never end. There is no getting out. You're going to want to just cease to exist more than anything else and know that that won't happen. We all believe hell is a real place here. Like I said, most people in America would probably agree and say, yeah, I believe hell is real. Most people out at the door would go sorting, agree and say, yeah, I believe hell is a real place. You know, with some people, as I've opened up with in Jude, the Bible says save with fear, pulling them out of the fire. Maybe we ought to rethink a little bit. Maybe a little tweak needs to be made. One, if you're not really covering hell much at all, make sure you're covering hell, okay? Now, you don't have to pull a rate comfort and try to, you know, just belabor the points, add nauseum. However, if you feel like you might be talking to someone who just doesn't seem to really care about anything, you might want to park it on hell a little bit and just get them to consider it at least. And especially if they say, yeah, I believe it's a real place. If someone, because you come across people who just, they kind of are acting kind of cool. They might not really seem too interested and don't really care that much about what you're saying. Hey, right at the very beginning, we're talking about hell. Maybe it would be a good idea to just say, hey, look, man, have you really thought about hell? I mean, you say you believe it's real, but I mean, have you thought about how bad that is? And just give them a little, a brief summary. I mean, this is, it's really bad. And for us, hey, let's let this motivate us. The same way that godly sorrow worketh repentance, let's look at hell as a motivating factor to go out and preach Jesus to the lost. Let's have a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, we thank You so much for warning us, for giving us the truth from Your Word, for loving us enough to save us from the destruction that we all deserve. I pray that You would please help us to reach more people. We know that You want people to be saved and that You are a very long-suffering. We thank You for that long-suffering, dear Lord. I pray that You please help us never to take for granted the gift that You've given us. Help us never to take for granted the job that You've given us as ambassadors for Christ, as ministers of the Gospel, Lord. I pray that You please help this church to just increase our manpower here, add more laborers, dear Lord. There's a lot of work to do. Please help us to get the job done. Please help us to stay motivated. Please help us to stay encouraged. And Lord, we just love You and want to thank You so much for the precious gift of salvation. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. All right, we're going to sing one last song before we're dismissed. Peter, would you please lead us? All right, church. Open up your windows to the song number 396. Song 396, So Little Time. Song 396. So little time, the harvest will be over. Our breathing done, we pray, words taken home. Pray for our words to Jesus, Lord of Harvests. And hope He'll smile, and death He'll stay well done. Today we pray, for this our golden harvest. Today is given us the souls to care. Oh, then to save some dear ones from the burning. Today we'll go to bring some spirit. How many times I should have strongly pleaded. How often did I feel too strictly warned. The spirit knew. Oh, had I fled for Jesus. The greatest holy, lost ones I've reborn. Today we pray, for this our golden harvest. Today is given us the souls to care. Oh, then to save some dear ones from the burning. Today we'll go to bring some spirit. Despite the heat, the sea's list full of hardship. The broken heart, for those we cannot win. Misunderstood, because we're off in failure. Still no regrets, will happen for our sin. Today we pray, for this our golden harvest. Today is given us the souls to care. Oh, then to save some dear ones from the burning. Today we'll go to bring some spirit. A day of pleasure, or a feast of friendship. A house so far, or garments fair or plain. There will be trash, where souls are brought to heaven. And then, how sad, to face the slifer's blame. Today we pray, for this our golden harvest. Today is given us the souls to care. Oh, then to save some dear ones from the burning. Today we'll go to bring some spirit. On the last, look at this verse, look at this verse, on the last. The harvest wine, when we first do is wasting. And many souls, will die and never know. The love of Christ, the joy of sins forgiven. Oh, let us be, in love and freedom. Today we pray, for this our golden harvest. Today is given us the souls to care. Oh, then to save some dear ones from the burning. Today we'll go to bring some spirit. Amen. Great singing. Thank you so much for coming you guys. Thank you.