Let's bow together in prayer. Father, we thank you tonight for the ministry in song. And we thank you, Lord, that through that ministry, you've reminded us already of eternity. And our Father, we pray that as we come to thy word tonight to speak on this subject, that we might know the help of God. We realize, Lord, that within 100 years, every soul in this building tonight will be in eternity. They'll be in heaven or hell. They'll be with Christ or without Christ. They'll be in glory or gloom. They'll be with the devil or with the Savior. Father, I just long tonight that as we come to thy word that we might make the message plain and clear that Christ receiveth sinful men. Lord, we pray for thy help as we come to thine inspired word in the Savior's name. Amen. I want you to take your Bible and turn with me to 1 Samuel, chapter 20. 1 Samuel, chapter 20, there's a couple of readings. They're both fairly well known. 1 Samuel, chapter 20, and then Luke 16. 1 Samuel, chapter 20, and then Luke 16. I want to talk to you for a few moments tonight on the subject, five minutes after I die. five minutes after I die. And we're reading in 1 Samuel chapter 20, and we're reading, please, at the verse 1. And David fled from Naoth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, What have I done? What is mine iniquity? And what is my sin before thy father, that he seeketh my life? And he said unto him, God forbid, thou shalt not die. Behold, my father will do nothing, either great or small, but that he will shew it me. And why should my father hide this thing from me? It is not so. And David swore moreover and said, Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thine eyes. And he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved, but truly as the Lord liveth. and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death." Isn't that a telling statement? There is but a step between me and death. And then over to the New Testament, to Luke 16, to this familiar passage, and the Lord Jesus is the speaker. Luke 16 and verse 19. Luke's Gospel, chapter 16, in verse 19. Some years ago, John Blanchard wrote a book entitled, Whatever Happened to Hell? And he pointed out that hell, as regards a place where people will go if they reject Christ, has been neglected by society. And he pointed out that hell, as a subject, has been neglected by preachers. Preachers don't want to talk about hell. They want to be pleasant. They want to be popular. Did you know something? That our Lord Jesus Christ was a hellfire preacher. In fact, he spoke more in his ministry about hell than any other subject. Look at Luke 16 and verse 19. There was a certain rich man which was clothed in purple and fine linen and furred sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus which was led 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 lifted up his eyes, being in torments and seeing Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom. Now please remember that the Lord Jesus would never have attempted to portray the sufferings of the lost unless He wished to impress upon us the awfulness of living and dying without Christ. And here's a man who's passing from time and into eternity, living and dying without Christ, and he lifts up his eyes in hell. Verse 24, And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. And Abraham said, Son, remember, that thou in thy lifetime receivest thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things. But now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot, neither can they pass to us that would come from hence. Then he said, I pray thee, Father, that thou wouldst send him to my father's house, for I have five brethren, five brothers, that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them. And he said, Nay, Father Abraham, but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said, if they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. Five minutes after I die. On Wednesday night, the 17th of July, 1996, At approximately 8.19pm, TWA Flight 800 took off from JF Kennedy International Airport in the city of New York on a flight that was bound to the city of Paris. On board were 230 passengers and they were on their way to a dream holiday. However, at 8.48pm, The plane fell off the radar screen and plunged a ball of fire into the Atlantic Ocean. All 230 passengers on board that aircraft fell to their tragic death. On board that plane, there was a mother and a nine-year-old son getting ready and excited for their holiday. Another was a couple that had been married for 50 years. There were 16 students from a high school in Pennsylvania, members of a French club, going on their first international field trip. No doubt, all of them boarded that plane with excitement and anticipation of fulfilling a lifelong dream. However, in a matter of minutes, rather, in a matter of seconds, all of them pass from time into eternity. The question is this, where were they five minutes after they died? King Philip of Macedon charged one of his servants with a unique responsibility. The king instructed his servant to awaken him every morning with these words, Sire, Remember that you must die. Sire, remember that you must die. Indeed, we could personalize it tonight and say with David, there is but a step between us and death. Do you realize tonight that that is so true? Death is just a heartbeat away. Death is just a breath away. Death is just a step away. Put your hand on your heart. and feel that heartbeat. And my dear friends, that's all that there's between you and death. There is but a step between me and death. Someone has said that every preacher ought to preach as a dying man to dying men and women. And this may be the last message that I may ever preach, but my friend, it may be the last message that you will ever hear. What about your dying moment? What will happen to you five minutes after you die? Well, if you die without Christ, you'll be in hell. You say, preacher, I don't believe in hell. You will, five minutes after you die. American cable television billionaire Ted Turner, many years ago, lashed out at Christianity. Turner told the Dallas Morning News, he said, this Christianity is a religion of losers. I don't want anyone to die on a cross for me. I've had a few drinks. I've had a few girlfriends. If that's going to put me into hell, then so be it. I want to tell you, Ted Turner will think differently five minutes after he dies. Loved ones will weep o'er my silent fields. Dear ones will clasp me in sad embrace. Shadows and darkness will fill the place five minutes after I die. Faces and sorrow I will not see. Voices that murmur will not reach me. But where, oh, where will my spirit be five minutes after I die, not to repair the good I lack? Fixed to the goal of my chosen track No time to repent, no turning back Five minutes after I die Made it forever with my chosen throng Long is eternity, oh so long Then woe is me if my soul be wrong Five minutes after I die You know something tonight? The most amazing time for you and me will be five minutes after you die. Can I suggest to you tonight that five minutes after you die, history will be over. History will be over. Your history, my history, it'll all be over. The English Oxford Dictionary defines history as all that is preserved of the past or the past events, the previous experiences of a person. And that brings into play this rich man. Although he's unnamed, he's often referred to as dives, which is the Latin equivalent of the term for a rich man in Greek. You know, there are many scholars, and there are many preachers, and they refer to Luke 16 as a parable. I just want to say to you tonight that our Lord Jesus Christ does not introduce this as a parable. He does something that he doesn't do in any other parable. He mentions specific bleak names. You see, I don't believe this was a parable. I believe that this was an actual, historical, literal account. I believe that our Lord Jesus Christ was referring to an actual, historical person. Look at the history of this man. He tells us something about us. He tells us about his wealth, God's goodness to him. The Bible says, he was clothed in purple and fine linen and furred sumptuously every day. The word clothed means he was habitually clothed. This man attempted no end, anticipated no end to his good fortune. He was not affected by the credit crunch. He was dressed like a king. Purple, as you know, was the color of royalty. Fine linen indicates the most expensive fabric that you can buy. Here's a man who's dining like a king. He's living like a king. He fared slumpiously. He's living it up. He had a banquet at every meal. He lived in luxury. He wallowed in wealth. He had everything that money could buy. If he were alive today, he would be among the lives of the rich and the famous. And when this rich man saw how much God had blessed him with, It should have made him feel humble. It should have made him feel repentant, realizing that he did not deserve such blessings. Do you know what the Bible says? Or despises thou the riches of his goodness, and forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance. You repose tonight, sinner friend, to consider God's goodness to you. There's a wee question that Paul asks in 1 Corinthians 4. It's a question that's often on my mind as I kneel every day in prayer. The question is this, what hast thou that thou didst not receive? There's not one thing that I have tonight, whether it's my home, or my car, or my possessions, or my food, it's all down to the Lord. Listen, the very clothes that you wear, the air that you breathe, the food that you eat, the children that you enjoy, the grandchildren that you're thrilled with, every good and perfect gift cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. God's goodness to you, God's patience with you, God's blessing to you should lead you to repentance. Has it? Could it be tonight that the very goodness of God has caused you to harden your heart and to think even more of yourself? There was his wealth, God's goodness to him. Something else. As we look at his history tonight, we see not only his wealth, God's goodness to him, there was his witness, God's messenger to him. You see, the Lord used Lazarus as a witness to this rich man. This beggar sat at this rich man's gate, hoping to receive just a little food from the wealthy residents. It's obvious. that Lazarus had been a witness to this rich man. For do you remember what this rich man pleaded with? He said, I pray thee, Father, that thou would send him Lazarus to my father's house. Now, why did he ask for Lazarus to be sent to his father's house? Why did he make such a request? Because Lazarus, sitting at his gate, had testified and witnessed to this man by his lifestyle and by his life. Can you imagine this rich guy, this rich dude, as our American cousins would call him, passing by Lazarus and Lazarus begging for bread and then speaking to the rich man about the bread of life? Can't you see Lazarus as he speaks to this man about his need of a savior? I wonder tonight, can you think of someone who's been a witness to you? God's messenger to you. There's someone in your workplace, there's someone in your family, there's someone among your friends tonight under the real McCoy. They're really concerned about you. They're concerned about getting you off the road to hell, and getting you on the road to heaven, and out of love for your soul, they have witnessed to you, and they've pointed you to the cross, and they've pointed you to Christ who can meet your need. Do you realize that's God's messenger to you tonight? That person in the workplace, that family friend, that colleague in business, he's God's messenger to you tonight. there was his wealth, God's goodness to him. There was his witness, God's messenger to him, but there was something else. There was his warning, God's voice to him. For I read in verse 22, the beggar died. And the context seems to indicate that Lazarus, whose name means, in God I trust, died first. You know, When death is at a person's doorstep, as it was at the door of the rich man, it often causes people to think about their need of the Lord. And yet, just as the life of Lazarus had not moved him, so the death of Lazarus did not disturb him. It seems he was unmoved as he thought about this old beggar at his gate dying and going into eternity. I wonder, has death been God's voice to you in recent days? Death, the final enemy, has claimed that loved one. Death has taken that work colleague. Death has come into that home of your neighbor unexpectedly, suddenly. But I wonder, has it caused you to think about your at-latter-end? You ever asked yourself the question, and you men and women have attended numerous funerals, have you ever asked yourself the question, what if it had been me? What if it was me lying in that coffin? What if it was my name inscribed on that brass coffin lid? Where would I be in the great eternity? Wonder, has God been warning you? Has God been speaking to you? And yet you've disregarded it. You've put it off. Death is a great leveler, is it not? For the Bible says the rich man died and was buried, and there's no doubt that he had a magnificent funeral. I just want to say this. It really doesn't matter what kind of funeral you have. I'll tell you this, there are a lot of boys doing funerals today, and every person they bury at the front is a saint. They could have lived like the devil and buried them like a saint. It'll not matter what kind of funeral you have. as long as you're home with the Lord, as long as you're in heaven, as long as you're face to face with Christ. But no doubt this rich guy had a magnificent funeral. You know what happened in those days when the rich people died? They actually hired speakers, and these speakers would come and give flowery eulogies at their gravesite, telling how great they were and bragging about their achievements. And their bodies would be taken and embalmed with the most expensive spices that money could buy. But the bottom line is this, the rich man also died and was buried, for the finger of death plays no favorites. That finger of death. eventually touches everyone on the shoulder and says, it is time. You know, death is very like the bite and the grip of a pit bulldog, and that bite is so fierce and so strong that many times you literally have to break the animal's jaw in order to get it to release its grip. Death's just like that. No matter how hard the doctor may try, no matter how much money you may spend in private health insurance, there will be a time that no one or nothing will be able to lessen the grip of death. Indeed, do you know something? One out of one die. What about your dying moments? What will happen? Five minutes after you die. You're here tonight, my friend, and you may think that being saved is not that big of a deal, but I promise you, at death, it will be the deal of all eternity. Five minutes after you die. History. Your history. will be over. Something else. Five minutes after you die, history will be over. Five minutes after you die, hell will be real. You say, Dennis, I don't believe in hell. You will five minutes after you die. Some years ago, a man brought forth his strong argument against the Bible's teaching on hell. And he said this, I'm 70 years of age, and I've never seen such a place called hell, after all that has been said about it. And his little grandson of seven years of age is standing by his side, and he asked him, Grandpa, have you ever been dead yet? Regardless of man's opinions and objections, the Bible emphatically declares that hell is a real place with real people enduring real pain. Of course, we live in a day and age when hell has become a byword. People belittle hell. Who do you think is behind the idea of belittling hell? Why, the devil himself. For the devil knows tonight. that if you don't believe in hell, you ain't going to be saved. Do you know something? That's why he's whispering in your ear just now. That's why he's whispering in your ear, causing you to doubt the Word of God, causing for doubts to come into your mind. He's out, my friend, to blind your mind. He's the God of this world who blinds the minds of them that believe not. He's out to blind your mind. He's out to damn your soul. He's out to take your soul to the lowest caverns of the dam. You say, why should we believe in the reality of hell? Because Jesus Christ did. What we believe most about hell comes from the lips of the Savior. As I have intimated, Christ spoke more about hell than he did about any other topic. And here he pulls the curtains aside, and he pulls new ponchos, and he tells us what kind of place hell is. It's a place of misery, physical misery. For immediately this rich man passes into hell, into eternity, and hell he lift up his eyes, being in torment." I want you to see him tonight. He saw, he cried, he felt, he remembered, he was awake, awake in the flames of hell. You know, every denomination through time has given some truth. Maybe we, in our Baptist denomination, we have lessened the impact of some truths down through time. I think of John Wesley. John Wesley was the guy that founded the Methodist church. Do you know what Wesley said? He said, stick your finger in the flame. How does it feel? You can't keep your finger in the flame of the candle even one second. What do you think it will be like to have the whole body and soul in the flames of hell forever? You know there are physical miseries in hell. Did you notice the three times the word torment is used? It says he lift up his eyes being in torment. He says I'm tormented in this place. He talks about a place of torment. The Bible says in the smoke of their torment ascendeth forever and ever. my friend, if you die without Christ, you'll see hell, you'll smell hell, you'll breathe hell, you'll hear hell, you'll feel hell. The Bible uses different words to describe hell. One word that it uses often is the word fire. The Lord Jesus spoke about the place where the fire is not quenched. John spoke about the lake of fire. David spoke about fire and brimstone. And one of the words translated hell in the New Testament is the word Gehenna. And this word Gehenna means the son of Hinnom. And Gehennom was a valley. south of the city of Jerusalem and originally it was a beautiful valley, it was a valley that you would go to and then through time it became the valley of burning and you remember some of the wicked kings of Israel like Ahaz would take their sons and they would burn them in the fire and it became the valley of burning and then it passed over into the day of our Lord Jesus Christ and it was Jerusalem's rubbish dump and they would come and take the dead animals and the fowl and the filth of the city, and they would go to Gehenna, they would go to the valley of the son of Giham, and they would pour all the dead bodies of the animals, and a caretaker would look after that place, and as you approach that valley, you would always see those ever-burning flames. What a place hell is. A place of never-ending torment. a place of ever-burning fire. I wonder five minutes after you die, will you lift up your eyes in hell being in torment? There's physical misery. Something else, there's mental misery. One of the horrors of hell will be remembering what ought to have been if we trusted the Lord. See what Abraham says to this rich man? Son, remember the hell of memory. You know, one of the plagues, one of the diseases that's affecting us so much in our day is Alzheimer's and dementia. My dear friends, listen, there's going to be no Alzheimer's in hell. Everyone's going to have a crystal clear memory. In hell, you won't be able to forget. You know, Felix is in hell tonight. What do you think he's remembering? Felix! Felix, what are you remembering down there? He says, I remember the day when Paul stood before me, and I trembled under the preaching of the gospel. Agrippa's in hell tonight, what do you think he's remembering? He's remembering the day that he said to the apostle Paul, almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. Judas is in the caverns of the dam tonight. What do you think he's recalling? He's recalling the day that he betrayed the sinless, spotless Son of God for 30 pieces of silver. What will you remember in that place of eternal darkness? Every message you heard. every service you recalled, every friend that spoke to you about your soul. I wonder what you will remember personally. I wonder, will you remember a godly father sitting by your side and teaching you the word of God? I wonder, will you remember a godly mother pleading and crying to God for your salvation? I wonder, will you remember this preacher tearing out his soul, seeking to get you off the road to hell and onto the road to heaven? Listen, in hell, there's physical misery. In hell, there is mental misery. But something else, in hell, there is eternal misery. For once in hell, men are in hell for how long? Forever. See what Abraham said, or what the Lord said to Abraham. And beside all this between us and you there's 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 hence. There is literally a great chasm that separates the lost and deceived, and that chasm can never be crossed. There is a road to hell, but there are no roads that lead out of hell. Hell, my dear friends, is a road that is a dead-end street. There will be no missionary journeys to hell, and there will be no vacation trips to heaven, and there's no such thing as purgatory, and there's no such thing as a second chance. You won't walk up in hell one day and say, Lord, I blew it. Want to change that thing? Lord, I want to get saved right now. Every flame of hell that will lick around you will say in its flames forever. Every chain that will bind you in the pit of hell will have engraved upon it forever. Every imp of hell that will be hissing in your ear will be hissing forever, forever, forever, for hell is a place of eternal misery. Stories told of a young man going out to a party one night. As he was going out, he picked up some things, and his old godly mother had set a track on the table, and it greatly infuriated him. The table was by the door, and he picked up the track, and he crushed it in his hand, and he threw it to the ground. It infuriated him. And he looked at his mother and he said, mother, why do you keep on giving me this stuff? Where can I go that no one will give me this kind of stuff? And his mother's almost in tears. And she said, my son, in hell, no one will give you a track in hell. No one will witness to you anymore. You know what the Bible teaches? The eternal security of the sinner. For once in hell, men are in hell after. Men are in hell forever. Now listen, five minutes, if you're not saved tonight, five minutes after you die, I don't want you to miss this, history will be over. Five minutes after you die, hell will be real. I don't care what the preacher says at your funeral. I don't care if he's a Baptist pastor, a Presbyterian minister, or a free Presbyterian minister, or a brethren evangelist. If you die without Christ, you lift up your eye in hell. Five minutes after you die, history will be over. hell will be real and something else. Hope will be gone. You know, someone has said that the saddest word in the English language is hopeless. My friend, if you leave this world without Christ, this will be your testimony throughout the ages. Hopeless, hopeless, hopeless. I tell you tonight, five minutes after you die, unseethed, hope will be gone. You know, when you look at this rich guy in hell, I want you to see tonight there was no hope of alleviation. He's unsatisfied. All he wants Lazarus to do is to come and put a drop of water on his tongue in order to cool it. In other words, he's unsatisfied. He's got a thirst that could not be satisfied. There's no way you could satisfy this man in this burning flame with one drop of water from the tip of your finger. You see what the Lord is saying is this, there are no satisfied customers in hell. Remember hearing some time ago during an American television recording some years ago, a reporter asked a girl involved in punk rock, and this reporter said, well, what are you looking forward to? She said, I'm looking forward to death. And the reporter said, well, why? She said, I want to die and go to hell so that I can have fun, so that I can have fun. What deception. Hell is no fun. Indeed, your deepest needs will never be satisfied in a lost eternity. No hope of alleviation, he's unsatisfied. No hope of communication, he's unanswered. Isn't it interesting that this lost man in hell suddenly became a believer in prayer? Just a drop of water, just a tip of water from the finger of Lazarus, just Lazarus going to his five brothers, but he got nothing. For hell is a place where the answer to every prayer is no. You see, the Lord couldn't answer the prayers of this rich guy because he had sealed his destiny. Death ends all opportunities for you to accept Christ. Here was a man who prayed on the wrong priest, to the wrong person, for the wrong thing. An unconverted friend tonight. Your prayers will go unheeded if you wait until you die to pray. Do you know something? The place to pray is earth. The time to pray is now. The thing to pray for is God's salvation. For whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Five minutes after you die, history will be over. Hell will be real. Hope will be gone. No hope of alleviation. He's unsatisfied. No hope of communication. He's unanswered. No hope of salvation. He's unrepentant. You say, Dennis, why was the rich man in hell? Because he was rich? No. He was in hell because he refused to repent. You say, what's repentance? It's to change your mind. To repent is to turn from your sin. Wonder, dear friend, tonight, have you repented? Have you turned from your sin? Have you placed your faith in Jesus Christ? If you have, you'll never perish. you'll never be in hell. Two guys were sitting in a restaurant one day. One of them got absolutely livid with the other one, and he said to him, And a Christian who was reading his Bible happened to be sitting in the next booth and he turned around and he tapped this man on the shoulder and he said to him, I've been reading the directions. You don't have to go to hell if you don't want to. My friend, that's the message of the Gospel tonight. You don't have to go to hell if you don't want to. You see, this rich man had Moses and the prophets. In other words, he had the Word of God. And the Scriptures contain, this book contains all that you and I need to know in order to be saved. And the Scriptures reveal a Savior, a wonderful Savior. And the Lord Jesus stepped out of glory, and He climbed down that ladder of humiliation. And when He came to earth, He took that ladder, and he laid it upon his shoulder, and he came to the verge of hell, and he lowered that ladder into the depths of hell, and he put his foot on the hottest coal in the furnace of hell. He endured the pain that you might enjoy the pleasures of heaven, he cried. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? He felt the forsakenness of hell on Calvary's cross, but thank God, he cried, it is finished. And he came forth from that pit bleeding and broken, scarred and marred. But he came forth shouting, Save them from going down to the pit. I have found the ransom. And in his hand tonight he carries the ransom, and the ransom was his precious blood. And through his blood tonight You can escape hell. Through that cross tonight, there is pardon. Through that Savior, there is life. Through that finished work tonight, there is cleansing. You say, Dennis, what's the way of escape? It's the way of suffering. It's the way of sacrifice. It's the way of substitution. I must needs go home by the way of the cross. There's no other way for me. I shall ne'er get sight of the gates of light if the way of the cross I miss. Will you come to the cross tonight? Will you receive the Savior? Five minutes after you die, history will be over. Hell will be real. Hope will be gone. No man was challenged one day by a young skeptic. The young boy was gonna have some fun with the old boy. He said, old man, where's hell? The old man looked him in the eye and he said, young man, hell is at the end of a Christless life. And without Christ, it's just a breath away. It's just a heartbeat away. It's just a second away. And if you go to hell, it's against all that God has done to save you. You don't have to be lost tonight. Christ died and rose again to be your savior. A number of years ago in London there was an old nightclub that was called the Gates of Hell. The tourist on one occasion was looking for this nightclub called the Gates of Hell. He searched and he searched. He couldn't find it. Finally, he came across a man walking down the street one day, and he asked him for directions. And the man knew exactly where this nightclub was, the Gates of Hell. And he proceeded to direct the traveler. He said, sir, go down this street one block and take a right. And at the intersection, sir, you'll come to a church called Calvary. And when you pass Calvary, you'll be at the Gates of Hell. 2,000 years ago, the Lord Jesus went to a place called Calvary to die for your sins and mine. He experienced hell that you may never have to. And all he wants you to do tonight is come to Calvary. And if you come to Calvary, you'll never come to the gates of hell. Mark forever with my chosen throng. Long is eternity, oh, so long. Then woe is me if my soul is wrong five minutes after I die. Oh, what a fool, hard word but true, passing the Savior with death in view, doing a deed I can never undo five minutes after I die. If I'm flinging a fortune away, If I'm wasting salvation's day, just as my sentence my soul shall say, five minutes after I die, thanks be to Jesus for pardon free. He paid my debt on Calvary's tree. Heaven's gates will open for me five minutes after I die. Oh, marvelous grace that has rescued me. Oh, joyous moment when Jesus I see. Oh, happy day when like him I'll be five minutes after I die. God help you to choose. your eternal state. Depends on your choice. You dare not wait. You must choose now. It will be too late. Five minutes after you die. Let's pray.