WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.480 --> 00:00:05.919 Are Heaven and Hell real places? And what are they like? 2 00:00:06.240 --> 00:00:06.679 Today? 3 00:00:06.719 --> 00:00:10.199 On Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, the Bible Teaching Ministry of 4 00:00:10.320 --> 00:00:15.039 Rick Warren, we continue his series called Eternal Realities, Heaven 5 00:00:15.199 --> 00:00:18.359 and Hell. In these lessons, Rick shares what the Bible 6 00:00:18.440 --> 00:00:20.920 says about heaven and Hell and how you can be 7 00:00:21.120 --> 00:00:25.079 absolutely certain you'll go to Heaven. And Now here's part 8 00:00:25.120 --> 00:00:27.800 two of a message called the reality of Hell. 9 00:00:28.679 --> 00:00:32.119 Now, there's one other eternal reality we need to cover 10 00:00:32.159 --> 00:00:35.039 before we can actually look at the text today, and 11 00:00:35.079 --> 00:00:38.679 that is this, there's no chance, there's no second chance. 12 00:00:39.320 --> 00:00:42.039 After you die. You get to choose where you're going 13 00:00:42.079 --> 00:00:44.799 to spend eternity, but you have to choose now, while 14 00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:48.880 you're alive, not after you're dead. In other words, I 15 00:00:48.920 --> 00:00:52.880 can't walk out this door my way and then say, oh, 16 00:00:52.880 --> 00:00:54.640 by the way, I don't like this. I want to 17 00:00:54.719 --> 00:00:58.079 go back over here. Now, God says I gave you, 18 00:00:58.119 --> 00:01:01.159 and I gave you an entire life time to make 19 00:01:01.200 --> 00:01:04.560 the right decision, and you didn't take it. You kept 20 00:01:04.560 --> 00:01:06.680 putting it off, putting it off, putting it off. I 21 00:01:06.719 --> 00:01:10.480 gave you entire lifetime. So there is no halfway house 22 00:01:10.519 --> 00:01:14.200 between heaven and Hell. There's no little intermediate state, there's 23 00:01:14.239 --> 00:01:18.840 no limbo, there's no purgatory. And I know many of 24 00:01:18.840 --> 00:01:22.640 you were raised Catholics, friends, Purgatory is not in the Bible. 25 00:01:23.040 --> 00:01:26.159 The word is not even there. It's not a Bible idea. 26 00:01:26.640 --> 00:01:29.480 It's not something Jesus or God taught. It's something that 27 00:01:29.519 --> 00:01:32.599 was created eight hundred years ago in the Middle Ages. 28 00:01:33.760 --> 00:01:36.560 Purgatory is not even in the Bible. In fact, Catholics 29 00:01:36.560 --> 00:01:39.840 don't even believe it anymore. Pope John Paul the Second 30 00:01:40.280 --> 00:01:43.599 stated in a very public way that purgatory was not 31 00:01:43.840 --> 00:01:49.519 a real place. And Bishop I mean, I mean Pope 32 00:01:49.920 --> 00:01:53.799 Benedict let the newest Catechism of the Catholic Church. The 33 00:01:53.799 --> 00:01:56.879 word purgatory isn't even in there anymore. They've taken it out. 34 00:01:57.159 --> 00:02:00.799 Why because it's not in the Bible. It's a theory 35 00:02:01.239 --> 00:02:05.159 that was created during the Middle Ages. Now, Jesus when 36 00:02:05.200 --> 00:02:08.879 he was dying on the cross and there was a 37 00:02:08.879 --> 00:02:10.879 guy next to him who had been a criminal his 38 00:02:11.080 --> 00:02:14.439 entire life. God had done only bad his entire life, 39 00:02:14.599 --> 00:02:17.960 and on his last seconds he has a deathbed conversion, 40 00:02:18.240 --> 00:02:20.199 and he's dying on the cross next to Jesus, and 41 00:02:20.199 --> 00:02:23.639 he says to Jesus, Lord, remember me when you come 42 00:02:23.639 --> 00:02:29.240 into paradise. That's all he knew about salvation is Jesus 43 00:02:29.240 --> 00:02:31.800 can save me. He didn't know all the doctrines, he 44 00:02:31.840 --> 00:02:34.879 didn't know all the fancy words, he didn't know all 45 00:02:34.960 --> 00:02:38.400 of the back behind it. He just said yes to Jesus. 46 00:02:38.919 --> 00:02:41.400 And Jesus looks at him and says, well, you're gonna 47 00:02:41.400 --> 00:02:46.240 have to spend about a year in purgatory. No, that's 48 00:02:46.280 --> 00:02:49.439 not at all what he said. Jesus looks at the 49 00:02:49.479 --> 00:02:52.439 guy next to him and he goes, today, you'll be 50 00:02:52.599 --> 00:02:56.360 with me in paradise. Boom, that's it. What does it 51 00:02:56.439 --> 00:02:59.599 take to get into it? You say yes to Jesus Christ, 52 00:02:59.800 --> 00:03:03.319 he says today, not next week, not next month, not 53 00:03:03.479 --> 00:03:05.719 in three or four years. Will people pray for you 54 00:03:05.759 --> 00:03:08.479 and hope you get out of limbo? No, he says today. 55 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:12.520 The moments you die, you either go straight to Heaven 56 00:03:12.599 --> 00:03:14.479 or you go straight to hell. And it's a choice 57 00:03:14.520 --> 00:03:17.479 here on earth. And God has done everything to make 58 00:03:17.520 --> 00:03:20.400 sure you get into heaven. And we're going to talk 59 00:03:20.400 --> 00:03:24.400 about that that Jesus said. The Bible says to be 60 00:03:24.520 --> 00:03:27.360 absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. 61 00:03:27.639 --> 00:03:29.479 The Bible says it like this here on the screen. 62 00:03:30.800 --> 00:03:35.039 They will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous 63 00:03:35.120 --> 00:03:38.199 will go into eternal life. The reality is there are 64 00:03:38.240 --> 00:03:45.520 two places of friends. This is so important because what 65 00:03:45.520 --> 00:03:48.759 we're talking about today has your eternal destiny. Now, maybe 66 00:03:48.800 --> 00:03:51.520 some other time when I've been preaching, you've used it 67 00:03:51.560 --> 00:03:54.199 for a good nap time, This would not be a 68 00:03:54.199 --> 00:03:58.560 good week to take a nap, because your eternal destiny 69 00:03:58.800 --> 00:04:02.000 depends on this one. And I want everybody to be 70 00:04:02.080 --> 00:04:05.120 absolutely certain when we finish here today that when you 71 00:04:05.240 --> 00:04:07.680 go out, you know, without a shadow of a doubt, 72 00:04:07.840 --> 00:04:10.560 you're going to heaven. And there's every reason you can 73 00:04:10.599 --> 00:04:15.159 settle that issue today. So I want you to listen 74 00:04:15.479 --> 00:04:19.000 as if your life depend upon it. Now. Next week 75 00:04:19.000 --> 00:04:20.879 we're going to talk about heaven. But today I want 76 00:04:20.879 --> 00:04:24.639 to ask four questions. Why does hell exist? What is 77 00:04:24.720 --> 00:04:27.959 it like, how do I avoid it? That's the important one, 78 00:04:28.439 --> 00:04:32.079 And what do I do once I know all of this? First? 79 00:04:33.000 --> 00:04:36.639 Why does hell exist? Well, there are two fundamental reasons 80 00:04:36.639 --> 00:04:39.680 you might write this down. The first is because sin 81 00:04:39.879 --> 00:04:44.079 and evil exist. Sin and evil exist. Now, there's some 82 00:04:44.160 --> 00:04:47.000 people who want to deny the existence of evil, and 83 00:04:47.040 --> 00:04:49.360 they think that actually the world is full of people 84 00:04:49.360 --> 00:04:53.439 and we're basically good. That human beings are fundamentally by 85 00:04:53.519 --> 00:04:59.680 nature unselfish, always kind, always good, and always thinking about others. 86 00:05:00.959 --> 00:05:02.720 And I want to say to you, have you turned 87 00:05:02.759 --> 00:05:06.720 on your television, have you picked up a newspaper? Do 88 00:05:06.800 --> 00:05:09.439 you listen to the radio? You might want to just 89 00:05:09.519 --> 00:05:12.759 travel with me on one of my world trips, because 90 00:05:12.800 --> 00:05:21.040 the world is filled with broken relationships, broken promises, rape, abuse, murder, 91 00:05:21.600 --> 00:05:27.240 child molestation, all kinds of evil, terrorism, people who strap 92 00:05:27.319 --> 00:05:31.199 bombs onto themselves. The world is filled with evil. It's 93 00:05:31.240 --> 00:05:33.959 all around you. We pick up the newspaper and we 94 00:05:34.040 --> 00:05:38.319 read about young beautiful co eds, student body presidents of 95 00:05:38.399 --> 00:05:42.879 their college who this week were shot randomly friends. That's evil. 96 00:05:43.560 --> 00:05:46.079 We read about people, little children picked up on the 97 00:05:46.079 --> 00:05:51.199 street and sold into sex trade, trafficking. That's evil. Fundamentally, 98 00:05:51.279 --> 00:05:54.279 the Bible teaches that is my nature to not think 99 00:05:54.279 --> 00:05:57.120 about you. It's my nature to be selfish, and it 100 00:05:57.160 --> 00:06:00.000 is your nature to be selfish. You think about you 101 00:06:00.120 --> 00:06:03.279 more than anybody else. You're not naturally thinking what's best 102 00:06:03.279 --> 00:06:06.839 for other people, what's best for the world. What does 103 00:06:06.879 --> 00:06:08.600 God want me to do. You're thinking about what do 104 00:06:08.639 --> 00:06:11.160 I want to do, what's easy, what's convenient, what would 105 00:06:11.199 --> 00:06:14.560 I like to do now? Maybe if you lived seventy 106 00:06:14.560 --> 00:06:17.000 five years ago in little house on the prairie, on 107 00:06:17.040 --> 00:06:19.959 a farm, you might think that people are basically good. 108 00:06:20.839 --> 00:06:23.040 But with all the media around us today, we know 109 00:06:23.120 --> 00:06:27.240 that the world is filled with evil, and evil things happen, 110 00:06:27.600 --> 00:06:30.600 and it happens all of the time. And what was 111 00:06:30.600 --> 00:06:34.240 true in Noah's day is still true today. Notice this 112 00:06:34.360 --> 00:06:36.680 verse up here on the screen in Genesis chapter eight, 113 00:06:36.759 --> 00:06:40.319 five and six. It says this, the Lord observed that 114 00:06:40.439 --> 00:06:46.160 the extent of people's wickedness, and he saw all their 115 00:06:46.240 --> 00:06:52.879 thoughts were consistently and totally evil, and he, that's God, 116 00:06:53.120 --> 00:06:55.279 was sorry that he had ever made them. He was 117 00:06:55.319 --> 00:06:58.079 sorry that he made the human race, and it broke 118 00:06:58.439 --> 00:07:02.240 his heart. God looked down on the world in Noah's 119 00:07:02.319 --> 00:07:05.000 day and he goes, Man, what a mess they've made 120 00:07:05.040 --> 00:07:08.439 of this? What they do to themselves, what they do 121 00:07:08.560 --> 00:07:11.279 to each other, what they do to the planet that 122 00:07:11.360 --> 00:07:13.600 I gave them. They've really made a mess of this. 123 00:07:13.680 --> 00:07:16.759 They've really screwed it up. And that is the way 124 00:07:16.839 --> 00:07:20.519 God feels today. And it says it broke his heart. 125 00:07:20.879 --> 00:07:24.079 Did you know that God has emotions? Of course he does. 126 00:07:24.720 --> 00:07:27.519 In fact, the reason you have emotions is because God 127 00:07:27.600 --> 00:07:30.439 made you in his image. The reason you have the 128 00:07:30.480 --> 00:07:32.879 ability to feel, the reason you have the ability for 129 00:07:32.920 --> 00:07:35.439 your heart to be broken, is because God is an 130 00:07:35.480 --> 00:07:40.360 emotional God, and you were made in his image. And 131 00:07:40.439 --> 00:07:42.319 when God looks at all the things that are done 132 00:07:42.360 --> 00:07:44.240 in the world that are wrong and bad and evil, 133 00:07:44.399 --> 00:07:48.160 it breaks God's heart. And when people say to me, 134 00:07:48.399 --> 00:07:54.800 where is God when people get molested and people are abused, 135 00:07:55.160 --> 00:07:58.279 and people are betrayed, And where is God with the 136 00:07:58.360 --> 00:08:00.600 rape and the murder, and the world of the world's 137 00:08:00.680 --> 00:08:04.199 terrorism and crime and all. Where is God? I'll tell 138 00:08:04.240 --> 00:08:10.839 you what he's doing. He's weeping, he's grieving, he's broken hearted. 139 00:08:12.199 --> 00:08:14.360 He said, well, why doesn't he just stop it? Oh? 140 00:08:14.480 --> 00:08:17.319 He could. God could eliminate all the evil in the 141 00:08:17.319 --> 00:08:19.360 world just like that, just get rid of all of us. 142 00:08:21.319 --> 00:08:24.160 Where do you think it comes from? It comes from 143 00:08:24.279 --> 00:08:27.519 our poor choices. You're not telling me you've always made 144 00:08:27.560 --> 00:08:31.920 every decision right, that's never hurt anybody else. No, we 145 00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:36.720 hurt each other. Now. God gave us a free will, 146 00:08:37.279 --> 00:08:41.039 and that is our greatest gift, it's also our worst 147 00:08:41.360 --> 00:08:46.200 curse because we don't always make wise choices. And while 148 00:08:46.240 --> 00:08:49.879 God gave us this free ability to choose right or wrong, 149 00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:53.519 good or bad, evil or righteousness, and he gives us 150 00:08:53.559 --> 00:08:56.960 this choice because we're created in his image. He gave 151 00:08:57.039 --> 00:09:00.200 us the free will, we often choose the wrong thing, 152 00:09:00.879 --> 00:09:04.440 and as a result, people get hurt, intentionally and unintentionally. 153 00:09:05.200 --> 00:09:08.080 Now God could take away all the sin, all the suffering, 154 00:09:08.120 --> 00:09:10.399 all the sickness, and all the evil in the world 155 00:09:10.720 --> 00:09:13.159 just like that. All he has to do is take 156 00:09:13.200 --> 00:09:18.200 away your free will and mine too. Now why does 157 00:09:18.240 --> 00:09:20.279 God give us a free will? I'll tell you why. 158 00:09:20.480 --> 00:09:23.360 Because He wanted you to choose to love him, not 159 00:09:23.519 --> 00:09:26.919 be forced to love him. You see, it's not real 160 00:09:27.039 --> 00:09:30.720 love if you're forced to do it. If you are 161 00:09:30.799 --> 00:09:33.840 forced to love me, it's not real love. If I'm 162 00:09:33.879 --> 00:09:36.960 forced to love you, it's not real love. Love is 163 00:09:37.000 --> 00:09:39.639 only love if you can choose not to love, and 164 00:09:39.720 --> 00:09:42.840 God gives you the free choice. You don't have to 165 00:09:42.919 --> 00:09:46.399 love God. You don't have to trust God. You don't 166 00:09:46.440 --> 00:09:49.039 have to obey God. You don't have to follow in 167 00:09:49.080 --> 00:09:51.000 the ways. You don't have to fulfill the purpose he 168 00:09:51.080 --> 00:09:53.759 created for you, You can make your life a total mess. 169 00:09:55.200 --> 00:09:59.279 Why did God do that? Because he wants us to 170 00:09:59.440 --> 00:10:02.679 choose to love him. He wants us to choose to 171 00:10:02.720 --> 00:10:06.320 do right. And God wanted a family that would live 172 00:10:06.360 --> 00:10:09.080 with him forever. And he wanted to produce a race 173 00:10:09.120 --> 00:10:13.840 of tested individuals who voluntarily choose to love and do 174 00:10:13.919 --> 00:10:18.600 the right thing. And that can't be possible unless we're 175 00:10:18.639 --> 00:10:21.559 allowed to do the wrong thing. So it is our 176 00:10:21.559 --> 00:10:25.279 greatest blessing and our greatest curse. And it still breaks 177 00:10:25.320 --> 00:10:29.360 God's heart today when we hurt ourselves, when we hurt 178 00:10:29.399 --> 00:10:32.039 other people, when we hurt the planet that He's put 179 00:10:32.080 --> 00:10:36.559 us on. Now, you need to understand that God allows 180 00:10:36.759 --> 00:10:39.720 sin on Earth simply for this choice, so you have 181 00:10:39.759 --> 00:10:43.240 a choice, but He does not allow any sin in heaven. 182 00:10:43.919 --> 00:10:48.480 Heaven is a perfect place. There are no imperfections in Heaven. 183 00:10:48.759 --> 00:10:53.080 It is completely perfect, so there's no sin there. Now 184 00:10:53.120 --> 00:10:58.840 that raises an important problem. Heaven is a perfect place, 185 00:10:58.960 --> 00:11:04.080 and that means own only perfect people get to go there. Otherwise, 186 00:11:04.399 --> 00:11:07.639 if God let imperfect people come in with their selfishness 187 00:11:07.639 --> 00:11:11.120 and their sin and their sorrows and all of their sicknesses, 188 00:11:11.159 --> 00:11:14.120 and then it'd be just like Earth. It wouldn't be 189 00:11:14.159 --> 00:11:16.879 heaven anymore. I don't want to go to a heaven 190 00:11:16.879 --> 00:11:19.919 where Hitler can do his thing, or pole Pot can 191 00:11:19.960 --> 00:11:23.720 do his thing, or a rapist or a genocider can 192 00:11:23.759 --> 00:11:26.279 do their thing. Now, I want to go to heaven 193 00:11:26.320 --> 00:11:28.720 where it's perfect and we're away from all of that. 194 00:11:29.559 --> 00:11:33.159 So only perfect people get to go there. Now that's 195 00:11:33.159 --> 00:11:36.720 a problem because I'm not perfect, and neither are you. 196 00:11:37.879 --> 00:11:40.799 Now David asks this question in the Book of Psalm 197 00:11:40.879 --> 00:11:43.279 and Psal I'm fifteen one and two. David says, Lord, 198 00:11:44.080 --> 00:11:47.639 who may enter your holy tent? Now, holy tent is 199 00:11:47.679 --> 00:11:51.440 just a euphemism and analogy for coming into your presence. 200 00:11:51.480 --> 00:11:55.519 It's heaven who may enter your holy tent? Lord who 201 00:11:55.559 --> 00:11:58.840 may live on your holy mountain? And here's the condition. 202 00:12:00.279 --> 00:12:06.799 Those who are completely blameless and innocent and those who 203 00:12:06.919 --> 00:12:14.039 always do what is right? Uh Oh, I don't know 204 00:12:14.039 --> 00:12:17.799 about you, but I don't fit that category. I am 205 00:12:17.799 --> 00:12:21.200 not blameless, I am not innocent. I do not do 206 00:12:21.320 --> 00:12:25.120 what is always right. So I got a problem. There's 207 00:12:25.159 --> 00:12:27.639 not a snowballs chance of hell of me getting into 208 00:12:27.679 --> 00:12:32.120 heaven unless God comes up with Clan B. Because Heaven 209 00:12:32.240 --> 00:12:35.120 is perfect. And I stopped batt in a thousand about 210 00:12:35.159 --> 00:12:39.639 age one, and by the way, you did too. The 211 00:12:39.639 --> 00:12:42.120 Bible says, we've all blown it, We've all sinned everybody. 212 00:12:42.320 --> 00:12:44.440 We don't live measure up to our own standards, much 213 00:12:44.519 --> 00:12:48.840 less God's. And so there has to be a place 214 00:12:49.799 --> 00:12:51.919 for evil to go in eternity. If I'm made to 215 00:12:52.000 --> 00:12:55.200 last forever and I'm not perfect, then where where I 216 00:12:55.240 --> 00:12:58.440 gotta have another place to go to? There is sin 217 00:12:58.600 --> 00:13:00.919 and there's evil in the world. Now there's a second 218 00:13:01.000 --> 00:13:04.559 reason for hell, and that's because God is holy and just. 219 00:13:05.960 --> 00:13:08.720 He is holy. That means he is perfect. He cannot 220 00:13:08.799 --> 00:13:12.080 sin himself, and he's just. That means he he believes 221 00:13:12.080 --> 00:13:14.559 in justice, He settles the score, he always does the 222 00:13:14.639 --> 00:13:17.320 right thing. And the Bible says that one day God 223 00:13:17.399 --> 00:13:19.919 is going to balance the books, and God is going 224 00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:22.960 to bring justice to the world, and God is going 225 00:13:23.039 --> 00:13:25.480 to right the wrongs, and he's going to settle the score, 226 00:13:25.799 --> 00:13:27.799 and he's going to even the odds, and he's going 227 00:13:27.879 --> 00:13:30.519 to balance the books. Now, I don't know if you've 228 00:13:30.559 --> 00:13:33.639 noticed this or not, but have you noticed that life 229 00:13:33.840 --> 00:13:40.919 is unfair? What if you'd been born in darfour. Was 230 00:13:40.960 --> 00:13:43.279 it fair that you were born in America and somebody 231 00:13:43.320 --> 00:13:47.080 else was born in darfour? That's not really that fair, 232 00:13:47.159 --> 00:13:49.639 is it. And I don't know if you've noticed this 233 00:13:49.799 --> 00:13:52.440 or not, but people get away with all kinds of 234 00:13:52.440 --> 00:13:56.120 stuff on earth, bad stuff. In fact, people get away 235 00:13:56.120 --> 00:13:59.679 with murder on earth. Life is not fair. I don't 236 00:13:59.679 --> 00:14:02.159 know if you notices or not, but bad things often 237 00:14:02.159 --> 00:14:05.759 happen to good people, and good things often happen to 238 00:14:05.840 --> 00:14:09.320 bad people. And people who cheat and steal and lie 239 00:14:09.360 --> 00:14:13.039 and rob their entire lives often become enormously successful, and 240 00:14:13.080 --> 00:14:17.440 they get away literally with murder, while other people who 241 00:14:17.440 --> 00:14:19.080 try to do the right thing and live the right 242 00:14:19.120 --> 00:14:21.600 way things don't work out in their lives all the time. 243 00:14:22.080 --> 00:14:27.279 Life is not fair, And David said in the Psalms, 244 00:14:27.279 --> 00:14:30.240 he said, I would have despaired if I hadn't believed 245 00:14:30.279 --> 00:14:32.759 in the goodness of God, in other words, looking at 246 00:14:32.799 --> 00:14:37.039 the world. If if I just looked at it and go, WHOA, 247 00:14:37.799 --> 00:14:44.320 this is not fair. People do bad things and get 248 00:14:44.360 --> 00:14:46.480 away with it, and people do good things and don't 249 00:14:46.480 --> 00:14:50.240 get rewarded for it. If I didn't believe that one 250 00:14:50.360 --> 00:14:52.639 day God's gonna settle the score that God is just. 251 00:14:52.759 --> 00:14:55.120 He's gonna tip the scales and he's gonna even it 252 00:14:55.159 --> 00:14:58.919 all out, and there will be repayment in justice. It 253 00:14:59.120 --> 00:15:03.759 just wouldn't be right. Solomon talks about this. He complains, 254 00:15:04.639 --> 00:15:07.879 and he says God is holy in justine. But yeah, 255 00:15:07.919 --> 00:15:12.200 he says, an ecclesiastes ate these words. He says, I 256 00:15:12.320 --> 00:15:16.200 thought about the things that are done in the world, 257 00:15:16.840 --> 00:15:20.080 a world where some people have power and others have 258 00:15:20.159 --> 00:15:22.399 to suffer under them. Oh, man, have I seen that? 259 00:15:22.919 --> 00:15:24.879 As I've traveled around the world, I've seen a lot 260 00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:28.399 of places where evil people have the power and other 261 00:15:28.440 --> 00:15:31.600 people suffer as a result. He says, yes, I've seen 262 00:15:31.639 --> 00:15:33.559 the wicked buried and in their graves. But on the 263 00:15:33.559 --> 00:15:36.879 way back from the cemetery, people praise them in the 264 00:15:37.000 --> 00:15:39.720 very city where they did their evil. He says, what's 265 00:15:39.720 --> 00:15:43.440 wrong with that picture? He says, it's useless. And then 266 00:15:43.480 --> 00:15:49.200 he says this, Why do people commit crimes so readily? 267 00:15:50.639 --> 00:15:53.919 Because crime is not punished quickly enough. In other words, 268 00:15:54.080 --> 00:15:57.399 here on earth, you do something bad, you can often 269 00:15:57.440 --> 00:16:00.279 get away with it. Crime is not punished quickly enough. 270 00:16:00.440 --> 00:16:03.039 He said. A sinner may commit a hundred crimes and 271 00:16:03.120 --> 00:16:08.240 still live. He says, that's just not right. And what 272 00:16:08.279 --> 00:16:12.000 would it be like? Is Stalin and Mao and Hitler, 273 00:16:12.200 --> 00:16:16.639 who gased six million Jews showed up in heaven. Maybe 274 00:16:16.720 --> 00:16:20.159 something wrong with heaven? What have been laden? Showed up 275 00:16:20.159 --> 00:16:22.840 in heaven after telling everybody go blow themselves up to 276 00:16:22.879 --> 00:16:26.080 help kill other people? One day, God is going to 277 00:16:26.120 --> 00:16:28.039 settle the score. Let me show you some verses here 278 00:16:28.080 --> 00:16:32.440 on the screen. The Bible says this, for the Lord 279 00:16:32.519 --> 00:16:36.240 is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the 280 00:16:36.360 --> 00:16:39.799 nations fairly and with truth. And by the way, he's 281 00:16:39.840 --> 00:16:42.080 the only one who can judge fairly because he's impartial. 282 00:16:43.120 --> 00:16:47.480 And the Bible says this, God will do what is right. 283 00:16:47.559 --> 00:16:50.679 This is the second Thessalonians, chapter one. He says, God 284 00:16:50.720 --> 00:16:52.960 will do what's right. God is a righteous God. That 285 00:16:53.039 --> 00:16:56.759 means he always does what is right. And he will 286 00:16:56.799 --> 00:17:01.559 bring suffering on those who make you suffer. You're going yet, God, 287 00:17:02.519 --> 00:17:04.880 he will bring suffering on those who hurt me, who 288 00:17:05.119 --> 00:17:09.440 made me suffer, and he'll give relief to you who 289 00:17:09.480 --> 00:17:12.359 suffer as well. And he will do this when the 290 00:17:12.359 --> 00:17:17.440 Lord Jesus appears from heaven to punish those who reject God, 291 00:17:17.480 --> 00:17:19.319 who say, I'm going to be my own God. I'm 292 00:17:19.319 --> 00:17:21.279 going to run my own mind. I don't need God. 293 00:17:21.319 --> 00:17:24.400 I'm going to go my way, not Jesus' way. To 294 00:17:24.519 --> 00:17:28.000 punish those who reject God and who do not obey 295 00:17:28.039 --> 00:17:31.559 the good news about our Lord Jesus, they will suffer 296 00:17:31.680 --> 00:17:37.279 the punishment of eternal destruction separated from the presence of 297 00:17:37.319 --> 00:17:40.359 the Lord. Now notice that last phrase, separated from the 298 00:17:40.400 --> 00:17:44.200 presence of the Lord. That's the number one characteristic of Hell, 299 00:17:44.680 --> 00:17:48.000 separated from the presence of the Lord. People don't realize 300 00:17:48.000 --> 00:17:50.559 how bad that is because we have the Lord's presence here. 301 00:17:51.039 --> 00:17:55.400 You see, here on earth. Even when I reject God, 302 00:17:55.680 --> 00:17:58.640 he still shows me grace. I mean, I could be 303 00:17:58.680 --> 00:18:01.920 going out here totally ignoring God, and I get all 304 00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:04.400 kinds of gifts from God. Because everything you have in 305 00:18:04.440 --> 00:18:06.279 your life is a gift from God. The air you breathe, 306 00:18:06.319 --> 00:18:08.960 that's a gift from God. The water you drink, that's 307 00:18:09.000 --> 00:18:11.640 a gift from God. Your heart beating, that's a gift 308 00:18:11.640 --> 00:18:15.880 from God. Everything you have in your life is a 309 00:18:15.880 --> 00:18:19.720 gift of God's grace. So even people who don't know 310 00:18:19.839 --> 00:18:23.480 the Lord experience God's grace every single day of their life. 311 00:18:24.319 --> 00:18:26.519 Your health is a gift from God. Your brain is 312 00:18:26.519 --> 00:18:29.000 a gift from God. The weather is a gift from God. 313 00:18:29.279 --> 00:18:32.319 Life is a gift from God. Everything you have on 314 00:18:32.359 --> 00:18:36.240 this planet is because of God's grace. So we don't 315 00:18:36.319 --> 00:18:39.440 know what it means to live without God's grace. We 316 00:18:39.519 --> 00:18:42.319 don't really know that because everything God does in your 317 00:18:42.359 --> 00:18:44.759 life he does because He loves you, and he's showing 318 00:18:44.759 --> 00:18:49.079 you grace at that moment. Now he says, one day 319 00:18:49.079 --> 00:18:51.319 I'm going to settle the score. And you may be thinking, hey, 320 00:18:51.480 --> 00:18:53.720 that's great. You know, all the people who hurt me, 321 00:18:53.799 --> 00:18:59.279 go get them. Lord. There's only one problem I'm involved too, know. 322 00:18:59.359 --> 00:19:01.799 That's the next verse Here on the screen. Tewod Corindians 323 00:19:01.839 --> 00:19:05.640 five ten says we will all stand before Christ to 324 00:19:05.680 --> 00:19:09.000 be judged. In other words, not just my enemies, uh oh, 325 00:19:09.559 --> 00:19:14.279 we will each receive whatever we deserve for the good 326 00:19:15.240 --> 00:19:18.960 or the evil that we have done in our bodies. 327 00:19:20.640 --> 00:19:23.599 Why does hell exist? Because sin and evil exist, and 328 00:19:23.640 --> 00:19:29.240 because God is holy? In just now, what is hell like? Well, 329 00:19:29.240 --> 00:19:31.599 it's really hard to explain, because it's hard to explain 330 00:19:31.680 --> 00:19:34.599 because we don't have the human experience to explain it. 331 00:19:34.599 --> 00:19:37.039 It's kind of like trying to explain the Internet to 332 00:19:37.119 --> 00:19:40.400 an ant if you had never eaten or seen a 333 00:19:40.440 --> 00:19:44.079 piece of pizza, how would you explain it? And so 334 00:19:44.200 --> 00:19:47.319 it's really kind of hard. Now. Jesus actually talked more 335 00:19:47.359 --> 00:19:50.880 about Hell than he did about heaven. But what is 336 00:19:50.920 --> 00:19:55.759 hell like? You know, sometimes you hear these guys preaching 337 00:19:55.839 --> 00:19:59.240 on Hell on television. I call him the hell Fire 338 00:19:59.279 --> 00:20:02.559 and Brimstone, and they're yelling and they're sweating, and you know, 339 00:20:02.599 --> 00:20:04.079 when you listen to them, you kind of think, like 340 00:20:04.200 --> 00:20:08.599 they want people to go there. Go what's with that? 341 00:20:09.880 --> 00:20:12.960 I don't want anybody to go to hell, and God 342 00:20:13.039 --> 00:20:16.319 certainly doesn't want anybody to go to hell. Jesus doesn't 343 00:20:16.359 --> 00:20:17.960 want anybody to go to Hell. That's why he died 344 00:20:17.960 --> 00:20:21.480 on the cross. That's how much he considered it important. 345 00:20:22.279 --> 00:20:24.880 So this is not something that you're happy about. You 346 00:20:24.920 --> 00:20:28.039 certainly don't have to yell about it. But what is 347 00:20:28.200 --> 00:20:33.920 hell like? Well, the Bible describes it as a place 348 00:20:34.279 --> 00:20:37.279 of torment. In fact, here on the screen, Matthew eight, 349 00:20:37.599 --> 00:20:40.519 you've heard about this. In darkness, they will cry out 350 00:20:40.319 --> 00:20:43.759 and grip their teeth and pain, and of course your 351 00:20:43.799 --> 00:20:45.839 image of hell and the Bible talks about this. It 352 00:20:45.839 --> 00:20:48.720 says fire and things like this. But you know what 353 00:20:48.920 --> 00:20:52.880 the worst part is you write this down. Hell is 354 00:20:53.119 --> 00:20:58.720 total separation from God. That's the worst thing about it. 355 00:20:58.720 --> 00:21:02.839 It means I'm totally apart from God's love, totally apart 356 00:21:02.880 --> 00:21:09.079 from God's grace, total separation from God. One Corinth in 357 00:21:09.240 --> 00:21:13.599 sixteen twenty two says this, if anyone does not love 358 00:21:13.680 --> 00:21:18.319 the Lord, let him be separated from God, lost forever. 359 00:21:18.440 --> 00:21:20.480 In other words, here it is. If I go through 360 00:21:20.519 --> 00:21:23.160 my entire life saying I don't want God in my 361 00:21:23.279 --> 00:21:25.720 life on earth. If I don't want God in my 362 00:21:25.759 --> 00:21:27.480 life on earth, why in the world would I want 363 00:21:27.519 --> 00:21:31.039 to spend eternity with him? I mean, why would I 364 00:21:31.160 --> 00:21:33.279 change my mind? Why would I say I want to 365 00:21:33.319 --> 00:21:35.720 live without God on earth but I want to live 366 00:21:35.759 --> 00:21:39.599 with God in heaven. That doesn't make sense. God says, 367 00:21:39.640 --> 00:21:42.039 you get the Jews. You want to live with me 368 00:21:42.400 --> 00:21:43.160 or live without me. 369 00:21:49.119 --> 00:21:52.359 That was such an encouraging message from pastor Rick. And 370 00:21:52.440 --> 00:21:55.319 now to encourage us more, here's Rick with a letter 371 00:21:55.400 --> 00:21:56.720 from one of our listeners. 372 00:21:57.039 --> 00:21:59.079 I want to say thanks to all of you who 373 00:21:59.119 --> 00:22:04.160 are supporting Daily Hope Ministry with your financial gifts. And 374 00:22:04.480 --> 00:22:08.039 with your prayers. I know you appreciate these notes that 375 00:22:08.119 --> 00:22:10.039 I get from people around the world as much as 376 00:22:10.079 --> 00:22:12.200 I do. Let me just share one with you from 377 00:22:13.039 --> 00:22:16.240 a woman named Anna who is an elementary school principal, 378 00:22:16.400 --> 00:22:19.920 and she just wrote this your pastor, Rick. I became 379 00:22:19.960 --> 00:22:22.160 a principal in an elementary school at the age of 380 00:22:22.200 --> 00:22:26.960 twenty five. I'm now forty two. Now. We've had Rick 381 00:22:26.960 --> 00:22:30.640 Warren Bible series and studies at our church during the summers, 382 00:22:30.640 --> 00:22:33.200 and I always enjoyed them so much, and I've invited 383 00:22:33.400 --> 00:22:37.039 many friends and relatives to visit our church. A couple 384 00:22:37.119 --> 00:22:40.759 years ago, I began to share your devotion Daily Hope 385 00:22:40.920 --> 00:22:44.160 with all of my staff members each morning. See she's 386 00:22:44.200 --> 00:22:46.880 a principal, she's sharing this with her staff. She said, 387 00:22:46.920 --> 00:22:50.160 I've seen their growth in God. I've seen the transformation 388 00:22:50.279 --> 00:22:52.960 in their lives and characters over these past years, and 389 00:22:53.000 --> 00:22:56.559 I'm amazed at the Lord's love and mercy. That doesn't 390 00:22:56.599 --> 00:22:59.039 mean that we haven't struggled with issues such as death 391 00:22:59.480 --> 00:23:03.480 and and disappointments and illness things like that. However, we 392 00:23:03.559 --> 00:23:06.480 have had our eyes on God during all of the 393 00:23:06.519 --> 00:23:09.559 things that have come against us, and this has made 394 00:23:09.599 --> 00:23:12.480 a difference. I pray with them during our staff meetings 395 00:23:12.640 --> 00:23:15.160 to give thanks. So Pastor Rick, I just want to 396 00:23:15.200 --> 00:23:19.079 thank you for following God's calling. Even though you go 397 00:23:19.119 --> 00:23:21.640 through struggles and life problem just like we all do. 398 00:23:22.279 --> 00:23:25.160 God is with you. May the Lord continue to bless 399 00:23:25.200 --> 00:23:28.000 you and your beautiful family. May continue to bless you 400 00:23:28.039 --> 00:23:31.039 with wisdom and discernment so that you're able to share 401 00:23:31.079 --> 00:23:35.440