Wednesday Night Bible Class - May 5, 2021

i [Music] remember [Music] knee lord she told me told me about king jesus that i might gain the victory oh mother told me so someday my savior's face [Music] and she prayed for me [Music] she prayed for me [Music] then i may be free [Music] in the oh [Music] mother prayed for me all the tears [Music] talking to her [Music] [Music] yes [Music] oh [Music] [Music] mother prayed for me [Music] mother praise you pray for me that i may be free i may be free [Music] oh she prayed for me i want to say good evening to everyone it's a joy and a pleasure to be with you on this wednesday night we trust and pray that something will be said on tonight that will cause you to think about your relationship with the lord we also want to just thank those who are visiting with us we always are appreciative of the fact that you have chosen to join us and be a part of this wednesday night bible class we want to remind the congregation that we are working tirelessly every day trying to make sure that we can get back into our worship facilities as soon as possible tonight we want to continue to study revelation chapter 21. i would encourage you to open your bibles to revelation chapter 21. also i want to encourage you to prepare your hearts in just a few moments to bow in worship in prayer with me the lord our god in heaven let us at this time bow forward of praying our god and our father who art in heaven we worship we praise and we adore your marvelous and matchless name we thank you so very much for all that you have done and all that you continue to do we love you father we appreciate those things that you do for us that we don't even pay attention to the little things that aren't so little we thank you for all of them and lord we ask you to bless the congregation at his side bless every member those who are struggling with life's issues those who are struggling with sickness those who are dealing with death in their families lord there have been so many we ask that you would just protect each and every one we ask also lord that you would be with those who are struggling in their faith we pray lord that you would help them to be anchored rooted and grounded in the faith and that their faith in you would grow exponentially and father we thank you for every viewer we thank you for all of those who have tuned in on tonight we pray that you would use me as a vessel as a tool through whom you speak to speak to your people on tonight and to those who may not know you we pray for them to come to know you and lord we pray tonight that as we study your word that your word will find a larger place in the hearts of those who we hear and we pray god that it will make them think about but not only think about their relationship but change their relationship with you for those who are having trouble in their marriages trouble in their home with their children those who are dealing with issues on their jobs those who are in need of employment lord we ask that you would address the needs of every person who's listening those who are lonely touch their hearts send them someone to love and someone to love them back for them to love back and father we pray for those who are just struggling with their self-identity we ask lord to you to help them to to come to grips with who they are and trust you to help them to understand how important they are and that you made them and as such you made them special but they are not junk none of us are because we have been created by you the creator and you did not create any junk so father we pray for those who are struggling financially trying to just pay the bills so i'm on the verge on the precipice perhaps of losing their homes their place of abode their transportation whatever may be the case lord we ask that you administer to the hearts of those individuals and help those of us who are in a position to help to help to not just pray for them but to be there for them not just in word but indeed lord be with us now as we study tonight bless your word to go forth and we know that you've already promised us that he will not return unto you for it we ask this in the name of jesus amen all right we want to encourage you to open your bibles to revelation chapter 21 i'm going to be sharing my screen with you here in just a moment so that you can we can read it together and the bible tells us in revelation chapter 21 and i'm just going to read verses one through eight the bible says now i saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth were pastor had passed away also there was no more sea then i john saw the holy city new jerusalem coming down out of heaven from god prepared as a bride adorned for her husband and i heard a loud voice from heaven saying behold the tabernacle of god is with men and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people god himself will be with them and be their god and god will wipe away every tear from their eyes there shall be no more death nor sorrow nor crying there shall be no more pain for the former things have passed away then he who sat on the throne said behold i make all things new and he said to me right for these words are true and faithful and he said to me it is done i am the alpha and the omega the beginning and the end i will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts he who overcomes shall inherit all things and i will be his god and he shall be my son but the cowardly unbelieving abominable murderous sexually immoral sorceress idolaters and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone which is the second death we're going to continue our study tonight on this particular period this particular text and i trust and pray that it will speak to your hearts because there's so much in this text that you really need to hear i'm going to be sharing my screen with you so we can look at it together as we walk through this uh particular passage here in revelation chapter 21 revelation chapter 21 and this is where i'm going to start tonight at verse number seven uh the bible says in revelation chapter 21 in verse number seven he who overcomes shall inherit all things and this is a brief recapitulation of what i've already talked with you about because it tells us first of all that heaven is ours to have as an inheritance an inheritance means to receive something of value that you did nothing to earn i want to take a moment i forgot to mention brother martin mcgee last wednesday night one of my oldest he did an outstanding job on talking about using our talents for the lord so we appreciate brother mcgee and the good job that he did and all of our brothers who generally present they do an excellent job so john tells us that heaven is an inheritance it is not something that we deserve it is not something that we earn it is not something that we could ever deserve or ever earn it is simply god's gift to us i like to say it like this someone died and left you a treasure salvation is a gift from god romans 6 and verse 23 the bible says the wages of sin is death but the gift of god is eternal life so friends jesus died and he left you a treasure and that treasure is heaven itself heaven is that gift revelation chapter 21 and verse number seven so we are saved not by works of righteousness which we have done but we're saved by the grace of god in every person listening to this broadcast on tonight ought to pause right there and say thank you lord because we're it not for the grace of god none of us would be saved tonight and none of us could be saved in heaven in eternity all of us were destined for a devil's hell but the grace of god said oh no oh no no no i'm going to pay the price in fact in eternity in the heart of god ephesians chapter 1 verses 1 through 7 you will see that jesus christ had planned to die for us before god ever created the world he stood as a lamb slain before the foundation of the world so our salvation is a matter of grace and not of human works of righteousness he says he who overcomes shall inherit all things and i will be his god and he shall be my son now we find a balance here we find a balance here because he talks about we've got to overcome god's grace is already there for us and we're saved by his grace but it does not absorb us from all of our responsibilities god still intends for us to be faithful and here is our reality we must overcome all of the obstacles that the devil will put before us we must be faithful unto death and i've already talked about that so i'm not going to go back and recapitulate all of that but john says that we who overcome shall inherit all things that simply means that we've got to fight the good fight of faith we've got to struggle against sin we got to struggle against unbelief we got to fight against those things that seek to pull us away from god and so the bible says and i will be his god and he shall be my son you need to understand that we are already children of god uh galatians chapter 3 verses 26 through 29 for we all sons of god through faith in christ jesus for as many of you as were baptized into christ have put on christ therefore or there is neither jew nor greek there is neither slave nor free there is neither male nor a female for you are all one in christ jesus and the bible says in verse 29 and if you are christ then you are abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise so the bible tells us also in first john chapter 3 verses 1 through 3 behold what manner of love the father has bestowed on us that we should be called children of god therefore the world does not know us because it did not know him beloved now right now present tense in the first century when john wrote this epistle he says we right now are children of god and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be but we know that when he is revealed we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is and everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself or herself just as he is pure in other words because we have that hope of eternal life and eternal existence with jesus christ in the hereafter we ought to live a life that is consistent with the hope that we possess so that simply says yes we're saved by grace but also god makes demands of us his grace is not a cheap grace his grace is a teaching grace titus 2 11 and 12 for the grace of god that brings salvation has appeared unto all men teaching us it is a teaching grace that denying ungodliness and worldliness we should live soberly and godly in this present world ladies and gentlemen just because we're saved by grace does not give us license to sin and will yes as christians we will sin but it does not mean that we do not have to fight against sin but i thank god that even though the bible says the wages of sin is death the gift of god is eternal life and all have sinned and come short of the glory of god even though the bible tells us that we come short perpetually present tense always it still does not take away the reality that we must seek to walk according to god's will and god's grace is ultimately what will save us not because we deserve it nor earned it but because of the goodness the grace and the mercy of god he overcomes inherit all things and i will be his god he shall be my son since we are already children of god john is merely saying what we are now spiritually we will experience in full reality in heaven we will see god we will be in god's presence and nothing anymore would be a matter of faith a matter of hope but it will be a matter of fact and reality do you not know that when we get to heaven we won't need faith anymore don't you know that we won't need hope anymore why would you hope for as the bible says for what you already possess so in heaven our faith will become a reality our hope will become concrete and so friends right now we see it all through the eyes of faith but the day will come that i hope will materialize and our faith will no longer be a matter of just what we have in our heart but we will see it with our own eyes verse number eight and this is what we're spending the rest of our time on tonight and uh when i finish with this verse i'll close it out uh whatever time that is i'll close it out john says but the cowardly unbelieving abominable murderous sexually immoral sorceress idolaters and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone which is the second death now when john talks about the cowardly who are these individuals these are those individuals who had a fear of rome's acts of rome's fires at the stake of rome's lions in the stadium and of other means of torture that made them give up their confession of christ and so when he talks about the cowardly he's talking about those who lost their courage and in the heat of the battle and in the midst of persecution they saw the acts of rome and they saw the fires at the stake they saw the lions ripping apart their fellow brothers and sisters in christ and some abandoned the faith and decided that serving caesar is better than dying on the cross dying at the stakes by being burned alive torn asunder by the lions having lead poured down your throats tart and feathered all of those horrendous things that they did to christians in an effort to get them to deny their faith in christ this is the group that jesus was talking about in matthew chapter 10 verses 27 and 28 and jesus said wherefore i tell you whatever i tell you in the dark speak in the light and what you hear in the ear preach on the housetops let me tell you something jesus was now at this moment sending them out on what we call the limited commission but watch this now jesus said there is no place in my kingdom for christians or believers or disciples incognito god has no place for christians who want to be stealth christians who want to remain in the dark in the shadows and who want to just blend in with the world and refuse to let their light shine and their salt touch the world and season it and make it better friends listen to me jesus said what i tell you in the dark you speak it in the light what i preach to you in your ear you preach it on the housetops where everyone can hear it jesus said i have no place in my ranks in my army for cowards for those who are afraid to stand up for me listen to what he says in verse number 28 he says and do not fear those who heal the body but cannot heal the soul but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell who is that that's god and so the bible says the one that we need to fear is the one who has the ultimate sovereign supreme authority over our eternal soul the body is a house for the soul and when this body dies the soul the real us will continue to live on eternally and so what jesus said is simply this you can die a horrible death hold it on to your faith and suffer that moment suffer in that minute suffer in that hour and then have an eternity of joy peace and happiness with me or you can give up your confession in your profession of faith right now because you don't want to be the one who stands out you don't want to be picked out to be picked on and so you remain incognito brothers and sisters if you are ashamed of christ christ will be ashamed of you that's what he says in his word very plainly whosoever therefore shall confess me before men him will i confess before my father which is in heaven but whosoever shall deny me before me and him will i deny before my father who is in heaven this is serious business and if you are ashamed of christ if you are ashamed to speak up for jesus then you need to pray tonight that god will forgive you of that cowardice spirit and that you will have the courage to be the christian the child of god the witness that he has called called you to be and then he talks about the unbelieving revelation 21 and verse 8 well who are those who are part of this group of the unbelievers or the unbelieving the unbelieving is one who has never believed and one who has renounced his faith in jesus and apost apostatize watch this now you have an element of apostasy in the cowardly but also in the unbelieving you also have an element of apostasizing because what you have is those who were once faithful to the lord who decided that i no longer want to embrace christianity the whole book of hebrews was written to try to prevent the church that the letter was written to from apostasizing and going back to judaism because the christians were being persecuted at that time and christianity was not a sanctioned religion in the roman empire whereas judaism was a sanctioned religion in the roman empire many of those who were jews that had been converted to christianity when the pressure was on when the heat was on they decided that they were going to abandon christ and go back to that old judaic system and so that was apostasy you see they didn't quit believing in god they still believed that there was a god but they decided that having faith in this jesus simply was not worth it so friends listen it's not enough for you to just believe in god you must believe in the truth about god and the truth about his way of salvation even james says in james chapter 1 or chapter 2 rather in verse number 19 you believe that there is one god you do well the devils also believe and tremble so you've got to do more than just mentally assent and even to accept the fact that there is a god the devil does that but god is calling for us to be obedient to his word and so these unbelieving individuals were those who never believed in christ they never embraced him and also that group that renounced their faith in christ and apostatized either by going back into the world altogether or even or either by embracing some other religion that was their old religion or some new religion but for sure not christianity and so jesus said the bible tells us here in romans uh in revelation chapter 21 and verse number eight that the unbelievers will not have a part in that glorious city called heaven these are the ones that are going to be outside he talks about the abominable usually when you see this term abomination abominable it's usually associated with idol worship and the apparent practices associated with idol worship and many times there were some depraved actions that were associated with idolatry and a lot of it had to do with even sexual overtones where you worshiped some of these deities by performing sexual acts with the temple prostitutes and and and the male prostitutes of the female prostitutes and so when you talk about abominable things he's talking about those practices that were were abhorrent that were depraved and even the worship of the emperor this is also included in this concept of abominable behavior and he talks about murderers those who deliberately take the lives of the innocent now let me say this let me say a word here because you need to understand that murder is not a matter of just saying you you kill someone because a person can go to war and they kill someone but it's not within the context of scripture considered murder but when those who are fighting these wars if they decide that i'm just going to go ahead and slaughter a community for no reason we're not even engaged in the war that would be murder and when we talk about murder it's not saying that you can't defend your home against someone who's breaking in but this is talking about a deliberate knowledge willful intent to snuff out the life of an innocent person and you might say what do you mean by innocent i mean even if they commit a crime the crime is not worthy of the death penalty so even the law recognizes that there are degrees of murder or degrees of death and that there are different degrees of crime and so what you have to understand is that every crime does not merit murder or healing and so when you take a person's life and it's not justified i don't care if you say i'm under authority to do so if you take a human life and it's not justified then god calls it murder and you will have to answer you may even get off with it here in this world the judicial system may let you off but you will not get off in god's system you still must stand before the court of heaven and be judged by the supreme sovereign judge of the universe so friends look at me and listen to me carefully it doesn't matter what people get away with in this world the day will come that they will have to meet god in judgment and see here is the one thing that we cannot do that god can do god knows what's in the heart he knows what's in the heart that's what that's what the bible tells us in hebrews chapter four verse number 12 that god's word pierces even to the divide and the son of soul and spirit and of the joints in the mirror that is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart psalm 139 david said you know before i ever speak a word you already know it god and god even told samuel don't look at the outward man for man looks on the outward appearance but god looks on the heart so god knows why you do what you do and why you did what you did so there is no deceiving god there is no tricking god everyone who unjustly takes a human life that is not worthy of the death penalty will answer to god in the judgment the sexually immoral and those who live a life of fornication and fornication is sex outside of marriage but it is more inclusive than that because in matthew 99 we learned that marriage people can also commit fornication so the broad sweeping term for fornication the definition would be inclusive of any unlawful illicit sexual behavior that is not authorized by god and sanctioned by god that covers every kind of sex listen to me carefully because i'm trying to make sure that you understand what i'm talking about that covers every kind and any kind of sexual behavior that involves contact with another person or even an animal you need to understand that you need to understand that god is saying that fornication is any illicit sexual behavior sex before marriage and if you're married sex outside of your marriage with someone that you have no lawful right to be with and of course within the confines of marriage god does not want us involved in the marital union with this whole thing wait well you got an open relationship i have an open relationship and i i don't have a problem with that because my wife and i have disgusted my husband and i have discussed it and we want to listen god said in hebrews 13 and verse number four he says marriage is honorable in all and the marriage dead is undefiled or is to keep be kept undefiled none of this stuff about bringing in another partner that's deviant that's not what god would have us to do it destroys the sanctity of that union between a husband and wife so i don't care what the world does as children of god we don't participate in that kind of life we don't swing we don't participate in wife and husband swapping because all of that stuff even if you say i'm giving them permission to do it that is sinful homosexuality lesbianism all of that stuff is covered in that word fornication bestiality all of it is covered in that word fornication so all of those who violate god's principles relative to the sanctity and the holiness of the marriage union god will hold you accountable and you may get away with it you may get away with it you say well what what what if it's not a a matter of of cohesion you know as long as we don't have intercourse what if it's just uh other stuff that's that's manual digital friends if there's physical contact if there's physical contact i know some people get into this thing about uh you know if you have it in your mind then that no you're looking at matthew 5 i understand where you're going but that's not that's not what this is talking about and understand that's an issue between god and the man or god and the woman but but god is not saying that you can put a person away for that because when i read the scripture and understand what the scriptures are saying relative that to that it involves physical form for contact and that is first corinthians chapter six and verse number eighteen he he specifically states that it is the joining together of the bodies physically where the two become one physically and so when you have that now that does not say that you ought to let your mind just roam here and there and do everything and think everything because god also wants us to guard our hearts and to regulate our thinking and so that doesn't mean that every thought you have is going to be right but it does mean that you're going to seek to regulate and control it as versus it controlling you amen but this is talking about those who engage in behavior that is physical that is outside of what god agrees to be legitimate and that he sanctions as holy sex is not bad within the context of marriage but outside of that bond god says it is condemned marriage should be honored by all hebrews 13 and verse number 4 and the marriage bed kept pure but god will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral that's a real issue in the 21st century it was also an issue in the first century almost every epistle that paul wrote almost ever not every single one but almost everyone had something in it about fornication and the reason why was because it was so pervasive it was so ubiquitous in that first century and i might as well say every century nothing is taboo now everything goes now you don't have to have a commitment they have these these relationships they call them friends with benefits you know i'm not looking for any kind of attachment i'm not looking for any kind of strings attached all i want is someone to be physically engaged with in the act and that's it but friends god tells us that those things are wrong the world may say that it's okay but god says no sir no ma'am it is not okay it is not acceptable outside of the church people may do it and it's certainly not acceptable within the lord's body sorcerers those who deal in black magic and rich crap those dealing in spells and the conjuring of evil and the use of drugs and to hurt one another or to hurt others drugging their food and drugging their drinks and and doing all of those things i'm trying to tell you that god considers that an abomination and i want to say to the church that we do not turn to tarrant cards we did not turn to palm readers we do not turn to the stars to astrology we do not turn to those things to find answers we turn to the word of almighty god to find our answers and if you've been going to some of these spiritual spiritists who say they can read your fortune and give me your hand let me read your future i'm telling you that god says that stuff is not condoned by me you need to stay away from all of that because god says those who practice such would have no part in that heavenly city idolaters those who worship anything or anyone other than the true god of heaven and earth yahweh and that that means that anything that you exalt above god your money your hobbies your material possessions your career [Music] your family friends a political party a political figure anybody that you exalt above god anything that you exalt above god is considered an idol some of us say well i don't have any idols i'm not i didn't carve out any stones any wood and bow down to them no it is putting other things and other people in the place of god in your life when you give them first place in your life and god has to take a back seat that is now your idol because it is the object of your worship or to put it like this it is the object of your devotion it is what you are devoted to you're devoted to that more than you are to god i'm devoted to getting ahead on my job and my career and making as much money as i can even at the expense of my relationship with god i have to put my christianity on a whole for a moment because i need to take this job that's going to pay me double the money if i work on sunday that has become your idol i'm simply saying it's not just a matter of bowing down to a piece of wood a rock a stone a snake a cow a rat any of those things it is anything that you place before god and this is why i'm going to end tonight as i finish up chapter eight i mean chapter verse number eight to verse 21 we're going to almost at the end here all eyes all liars all liars refers to those that lying is a part of who he or she is lying is a part of their character and makeup lion is second nature to them i i'm better i guess i should rephrase that lying is first nature to them that's what they do john chapter 12 verse number 44 why is this such a big issue jesus said you belong to your father the devil and you want to carry out your father's desire he was a murderer from the beginning not holding to the truth but there is no truth in him when he lies he speaks his name he speaks his native language for he is a liar and the father of lies so what are we talking about this is a person who makes lying part of who they are it is their character it matters not why they lie they can lie for political gang they can lie a financial gain they can lie for power they can lie to hurt others or they can lie to simply be deceptive what i want you to understand is all liars shall have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone what happens to us most of the time most of the times we concern ourselves with the so-called big sins well you know brother whips i'm not committing adultery i'm not fornicating i'm not murdering i'm not stealing i'm not committing about having abortions done i'm not involved in homosexuality i'm not getting drunk i'm not getting high on drugs but i just have to lie see we concern ourselves with these quote unquote big sins but i want you to understand that lying is incredible in the group we give a pass to those who make lying a part of who they are and sometimes we make a joke out of oh he's just a lion oh you know yeah you can't trust anything he says well you know that's just who he is yeah you can't take him serious uh youtube have you been too literal all of that kind of food a lie is a lie period it matters not who tells that lie all liars red yellow brown black white rich poor middle class educated and uneducated will have their part in the lake of fire all liars that's important why is that so important brothers and sisters ladies and gentlemen we are now living in a day that lying is the new norm i want you to hear me well this is a scary time we're living in scary times you can see an execution live and they will tell you you didn't see what you thought you saw i'm looking at it i see it and you're going to tell me i didn't see what i saw this is the world we live in now no matter what you see you can witness it with your own eyes and no you didn't see that you can hear it with your own ears no i didn't say that you can record it and replay it over and over and over and over well i didn't really see it i don't know where that came from i recorded you you said it look at it again but it does not matter we're living in a time a line is more popular than truth and people would rather be lied to than to be told the truth the world says don't trust your lying eyes trust my lying mouth i don't care what you saw i'm saying this otherwise i don't care if the sun is up in the sky say it's not there so my truth is just as good as your truth what i believe is just as good as what you believe friends there is such a thing as truth jesus said you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free truth is not relative it is absolute no shades of truth you know where it's just a small lie it's just a little white lie listen a lie is a lie you call it whatever you want to call it and god says all liars shall have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone truth is no longer truth in this their time it is but not according to society truth is no longer truth and lies have replaced truth in the marketplace on the radio television internet now you don't know fake news from real news newspapers magazines you name it you can hear anything and everything that you want to hear and the devil has so convoluted it that it's hard for people to know what truth is but i thank god that you can go to his word and you can know truth when it talks about your soul salvation and your destiny lying is the norm for our society and truth has died a cruel death at the hands of political gang said anything to get ahead anything to be in power anything to be in control anything to gain the majority anything to get money anything anything and everything goes all liars shall have their part in the lake christians are not to lie to each other colossians 3 9 and 10 do not lie to each other that's plain as can make it do not lie to each other since you have taken off your own self with its practices christians are to speak the truth and love now everybody needs to hear this because some of you like to say well i'm just a straight shooter i just tell it like it is that if you hurt if i hurt you in the process that's your problem get over it that's not christianity that's not christ like and you can show me those verses in the bible what jesus said you hypocrites in all of it yes he finally said that after dealing with them for three and a half years and they did not want to hear it he finally came to that point where he had to tell them point blank this is what you are because they had no intent of ever changing and god knew that and jesus is god and he let them know exactly who they were and what they were in their hearts but as christians we've been told according to colossians chapter four and verse number six let your speech always be with grace season with salt salt that you may know how you ought to answer each other in other words i like this expression if your words don't taste good to you don't serve them to anyone else i think i i think i heard brother grant say that first if they if your words don't taste good to you don't serve them to anyone else that's a good principle to live by taste your words before you serve them and don't just talk about i i shoot from the hip the bible talks about a person who does that and don't think before they speak the bible calls that person a foolish person and so don't brag about that that's nothing to brag about you need to think before you speak but when you speak you need to speak truth in love speak it in love not to hurt not to cut down not to set them in order i'm gonna put you in your place i'm gonna give you a piece of my mind you know what they said about giving people a piece of mind you give away too much of it you won't have any of your any of it left for yourself amen that's just kind of one of those funny statements but listen god tells us we need as christians to speak truth and not only must we speak truth we must not support lies christians don't support lies christians don't get behind folks who lie perpetually just to get in christians don't do that christians stand for a true period he goes on to say shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone which is the second dead the liquify is merely a reference to gehenna hell the place of eternal fire you can look at that in mark chapter 9 verses 42-48 and when he talks about the second death the second death is eternal spiritual death you are forever cut off and separated from god without hope without peace without joy without happiness and without pleasure hell is the absence of god the absence of hope i know it's more than that but i'm just telling you that's part of that place that is hell there is no hope there is no god hell is not a place for parties origins origins and good times hell is a place of eternal condemnation some people believe that you know they're going to go to hell and have a good time well you know brother i don't mind going to hell i remember when i was in school i was talking to a young man who said but i don't want to go to heaven anyway he said i don't want to go to heaven because i don't like milk and honey and i don't want to go to heaven if i can't have a woman in heaven then i don't want to go to heaven i'd rather go to hell and say well you know i had to tell him i said young man listen let me let me explain something milk and honey is just an expression to talk about how rich the land is and and how how plush the land and everything that they need is in that land but i want you to understand there will be you will not have a woman in hell no sir no ma'am and so i had to let him know that your hopes and aspirations of going to hell and having a good time is just a dream that's based on a hollywood lie i'mma close with this story and some of you heard me say this before it's just a story to illustrate a point so don't get caught up in the saying well that's not true it's an illustration that's all it is uh had this man that went before god and he died and he stood before the lord and the lord says you know look i'm gonna give you a chance to spend a day in hell and it's day in heaven and you get to make a choice after you spend a day in hell and a day in heaven and the man said oh man he said i don't need i don't need to even think about that i want to be in heaven and because he never thought that he would have a chance even to be in heaven because he knew how he had lived this life and so he said no no lord i already made up my mind i just want to go to heaven the lord said that's not the deal the deal is you must spend a day in heaven and a day in hell and so the lord let him spend a day in heaven and oh boy you know he had a good time but he didn't have any of his friends there all of his friends were in that other place you know he kind of felt a lot out of place because none of the activities that he was accustomed to were there so at the end of the day the lord said all right now you get a chance to go down the hill and spend some time in hell spent a day in hell and when he got there you know here the elevator opened up just the illustration followed the illustration and the door was opened up and he saw all of this green grass rolling hills golf clubs country clubs and he even saw all of his friends they were having a good time and then he saw the devil and the devil devil was not that hideous beast that he thought he was and the devil said look look every day is a party here every day you can have whatever you want we have steaks if you want steaks whatever you want we can provide it for you here in hell and then his day ended and he went on back to heaven and jesus said now what is your decision and the man said i never thought i would ever say this in my life but i want to go to hell and the lord said all right now once you make your decision you cannot reverse it he said well that's what i want to do and so it was that he was sent back to hell and when the doors opened this time he didn't see any green grass all he saw was smoke and fire all of his friends were hollering and screaming and crying and there were no snakes there were no parties and he saw the devil as the hideous creature that he actually was and then the man said what happened to hell what happened to this place yesterday it was this way but today is another way and the devil said yesterday when you came you were a visitor and we were recruiting but now you are a permanent guest permanent resident rather and this is the real deal ladies and gentlemen hell is not a place where you will have a good time that's hollywood but god's word says it is a place where the worm does not die there is no peace there is no hope there is no god i pray that tonight you would understand that you don't want to go to that place that you want to go and be with the lord in heaven and you can do that by believing that jesus christ died for your sins was buried and rose again and be willing to confess the name of jesus christ repent of your sins confess christ and be baptized in water for the remission of your sins and the lord in heaven will add you to the church get in touch with us here at the church of christ at eastside if you have any questions or need any counsel or guidance and we'll do whatever we can to reach out to you and to meet your needs on a spiritual level i want to remind the congregation mother's day on this this sunday our morning worship we will have a special program on youtube for all of the mothers and also on this saturday from 12 to 1 in our parking lot we will have a parade for the mothers and to give you gifts and to just celebrate you so we encourage you to please come out and join us god bless you i love you church and have a wonderful and blessed night you

Channel: Church of Christ at East Side

Views: 1,075

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Id: IbfSM0N6yps

Length: 83min 11sec (4991 seconds)

Published: Wed May 05 2021