if you would please, to Luke chapter number 16. We've been looking at the greatest stories that Jesus ever told. Luke chapter number 16, the Gospel of Luke, Matthew, Mark, Luke. If you don't have a Bible this morning, the text verses will be on the screen. Very sobering passage of Scripture, very sobering story that Jesus tells. He's in Perea. and He has just given a parable to His disciples about the matter of stewardship and stewarding our resources and the blessings of God. And then He comes to Luke chapter 16 and verse 19 and He starts talking to us and tells a story about... and by the way, let me just say, it's a parable that's not a parable. Alright, so you'll understand what I mean by that here in just a moment. That it's probably a true-to-life story that Jesus is telling about individuals, and here He's going to deal with about stewarding our eternity. You see, it's real important what we do with what God gives us here, but it's even more important that we know what's going to happen after this life is over. And that's what Jesus is going to talk to us about this morning. Look at verse number 19. There was a certain rich man which was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. This man lived in the lap of luxury. We would say in our day, and even in the Lord's day, this man would have been so wealthy, he would have been in the fortune 500, of the wealthiest people in the world, he would be a billionaire. Look at verse 20. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table, the leftovers, the scraps that would have been thrown to the dogs. And then it says, Moreover the dogs, these are wild dogs, came and licked his sores. And it came to pass that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died, and was buried. And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments. and saith Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. But 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 thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, Father, that thou wouldest send him, talking about Lazarus, to my father's house, to my brethren. Look at verse 28, For I have five brethren, five brothers that are still alive, that he may testify, witness unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets, they have the word of God, let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham, but if one went unto them from the dead, if someone would rise from the dead, they will repent, they'll change their mind about their lives, and they'll come to God, they'll come to Christ. Look at verse 31. And He said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, if they are not willing to hear the word that God has given, neither will they be persuaded, convinced, though one rose from the dead. It's interesting that Jesus will tell this story just months before He would raise Lazarus from the dead. and it didn't change the minds of the unbelievers. It was just months before He Himself would rise from the dead. But yet, few people are persuaded about the seriousness of eternity. Let's not let that be us this morning. I want to talk to you this morning about lessons from a billionaire and a beggar. Let's pray together. Lord, we love You. Lord, we realize that there's times in Scripture that we deal with uncomfortable truths. But yet, Lord, to not deal with them is a detriment. Lord, it hinders what you want to do in our lives. It leaves us in the dark to true realities about life and death and eternity. And Lord, every person in this room and all over the world has a never-dying soul. Lord, we're going to live somewhere forever. And Lord, we'll need to make a choice of whether we're going to live forever with You or to be separated from You from all eternity. Lord, it may be that a choice needs to be made today. I pray, Lord, that that choice to receive You, Lord, would be real in people's lives. Lord, burden us for the great need of the souls of others. Lord, if we're saved today, we're debtors with a wonderful news, a wonderful message. that Lord, people can be saved. Lord, not only do the unsaved need to hear about a place called hell, but so do the saved. And Father, I pray you'll change us and challenge us this morning. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. When you come to Luke chapter number 16, Jesus will lift the curtain, not only for the listeners of that day, but for the generations that have followed, even in our day, to give us a glimpse into eternity. He tells the story of a rich man, a billionaire. and a beggar by the name of Lazarus. Two men who will live different lives. They're going to die two different deaths that they're going to experience, and they're going to experience two different destinies. One's going to spend an eternity with God. The other is going to spend an eternity apart from God in a place called hell. The doctrine of eternal punishment is markedly absent from many pulpits today. It's an uncomfortable subject that most preachers would care to avoid. It's not one of my favorite subjects. But yet, if we do not deal with the doctrine of eternal punishment, we're not being true to the Word of God, we're not preaching all the counsel of God, and we're leaving people in the dark about a reality that is before them. It's a detriment both to the unsaved and to the saved. If we never talk about the doctrine of eternal punishment to the unsaved, then there's no reason... Listen, if hell is not real, then Jesus had no reason to come to the earth and die for sinners. If there's no hell, then we have absolutely no reason today to be saved. But if there is a hell, and there is, then there is a reason for Jesus to come. He came out of a heart of love to rescue us from a place of eternal punishment. And there is a need to be saved today. But then for the saved, if there's no hell, then why give the world evangelism? Why serve in a local church? Why witness and share the gospel and hand out tracts? It removes the burden that we should have on our hearts for our loved ones who know not the Lord as we're moving into the holiday season and we think about this gift and that gift. Don't forget that it may be that those in your family need the greatest of all gifts. They need Jesus and you need to share Him with them. Why give and go and share the good news to a world that Jesus saves if there's no place of eternal punishment? You see, the reality of it is that Jesus cares about our eternity, and so should we. Jesus spoke more about the eternal destinies of men, women, boys, and girls than anyone else in the Bible. He assures us of the reality of heaven and hell. He spoke more about hell than He did heaven. When it comes to the matter of eternity, we will either base our eternal destiny on the speculations of men or on thus saith the Lord. I want to talk to you about these lessons from a billionaire and a beggar. Are you ready for them? Number one, here's what God spoke to me this week. First of all, that our acceptance with God, are you ready? Our acceptance with God is not determined by what we have or don't have. You see, a lot of people have the mistaken idea that the rich man went to hell because he was rich and Lazarus the beggar went to heaven because he was poor. The Jews of Jesus' day had this mistaken mentality, this idea that a person's wealth, their status, what they had in life, their station in life, determined their destiny in the next life. They saw riches in a wrong way, and they viewed it as a blessing of God on one's life. And the greater the riches, the greater the blessing. We know that riches are not necessarily a blessing. Sometimes they're a curse. He assures us and speaks to us about these matters. They had this idea that the rich were so blessed that they were automatic candidates for heaven. You remember Mark chapter 10? You don't have to go there. I was preaching through Mark, the rich young ruler. He comes to Jesus and he asked Him, he said, Master, what good thing, what is it that I need to do to inherit eternal life? And he began to tell all Jesus about all the commandments that he kept. Jesus said, one thing you lack, go and sell everything you have, give it to the poor, and then come follow me. Now that wasn't a ticket to heaven. What it was is Jesus was helping this young man see the problem that he had. He was covetous. He loved wealth and riches and status and all of these things more than he loved God. And see, this man thought he was good and he was an automatic candidate for heaven. Jesus wanted him to see he was a sinner and he needed a Savior. He walks away from the Lord. Do you remember that? He goes away very, very sad. And Jesus says this to the disciples. He said, it's easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. They were shocked. They ask this question, I mean if a rich man can't be saved, who can be? That's what the question they're going to ask the Lord. Because even the disciples had this mistaken idea that your station in life determined where you spent eternity and the next life. And they saw the poor as being under the judgment of God and suffering for their sins. And that when it comes to this matter of heaven, that the poor were on the outside looking in. By the way, we've reversed that in America today. We think that if you're poor and homeless and destitute, that you're an automatic candidate to get into heaven. But if you're wealthy, you're an automatic candidate for hell. And both are wrong. Acceptance with God has nothing to do with what we have or don't have. Jesus is going to set the record straight. He begins to tell us about a certain rich man that lived a prosperous life. Notice, if you would please, in verse number 19, there was a certain rich man, the way Jesus describes him, he would be a billionaire in our day. He clothed in purple. Purple dye came from a very rare shellfish in that day. It was manufactured from it. Only the very, very wealthy would wear the outer garment of a purple robe. It was worn by kings and royalty and noblemen and noblewomen, those who were extremely wealthy. His inner garment was fine linen. This was a tunic that he would wear underneath this purple robe made from the finest Egyptian cotton. The Bible said he fared sumptuously every day. He lived an extravagant lifestyle. He wore the best clothes. He ate the best foods. He enjoyed the best the world had to offer. He lived in the lap of luxury. His was a luxurious, self-indulgent lifestyle. He lived for the present with absolutely no thought of eternity. But may I say, as we move further into this story, you're going to find that the rich man knows that he's not in a place of torment because of what he had or didn't have. He is there because he failed to repent. We'll see that. Then we're going to meet Lazarus. Here's the beggar. We meet him in verse number 20. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus which was laid at his gate full of sores. He lacked the necessities of life. That word beggar had the idea that Lazarus was as poor as the rich man was rich. He desires to be fed from the crumbs that fall from the rich man's table. He said, I'll eat the dog scraps. Instead of throwing it to the dogs, give it to me. He's laid. The Bible said he's laid. Don't get the idea that some loving people took him and laid him there at the gate of the rich man's how so that the rich man could help take care of him. No, he was cast aside. The word laid there is a very strong word. Listen, not only was he destitute, he was disowned. He was taken and thrown down at the gate, hoping that some way, somehow, this rich man might have some mercy on him because nobody else wanted him. He was an outcast from society. He was full of sores, ulcerating sores, the Bible said. And he's so weak in body, he can't drive the dogs away. Somebody said, well, you know, dogs' tongues are medicated and they help heal things. When was the last time you stuck your sore thumb out for a dog to lick it? I don't know about you, but my dog... Well, I'm not going to go there. I don't kiss dogs. You can if you want to. I don't like it when my dog kisses me, but anyway. But Lazarus didn't go to heaven because he was poor. He went to heaven because he was saved. You know Lazarus' name is a shortened of the Hebrew name Eleazar. It means God is my helper. When you say preacher, he didn't get much help from God, look at him, he's a beggar. Hold on. You're going to learn two valuable lessons right here. The rich man reminds you that without Jesus you can have everything and really have absolutely nothing. Lazarus reminds us that with Jesus you can have nothing and really have everything. Because see, if we're not careful, we make this life the important life. But it's the shortest life. Eternity is the important life. It lasts forever. Not only does it teach us that our acceptance with God is not determined by what we have or don't have. Number two, it teaches us when we read this story that death comes to every one of us. The billionaire and the beggar die on the same day. Did you know that? Notice what the Bible says, verse number 22, And it came to pass that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. We find that the death of this man probably came as no surprise. He was sick, he was destitute, he was laid out in the elements, the cold of night, maybe the heat of the day, I don't know, but he dies there at the rich man's gate. There's no mention of his burial. Lazarus is probably, his body is picking up by street cleaners. and thrown into Gehenna, the city dump. As a matter of fact, his body was discarded like a dead animal or a piece of garbage. No one attended his funeral or probably even cared that he died. They were probably glad he was gone. But the billionaire, on the other hand, died at the same time. Look at verse 22 again. And the Bible said, and the rich man also died, but watch this next phrase, and was buried. His death was sudden and unexpected. Nobody expected. Lazarus was sick. He was weak. He was hungry. He was starving. He was destitute. He was on the verge of death. But the rich man, he was in the lap of luxury. He had the energy and the vigor of life, but he died. and he's given a stately burial. He was embalmed with the most expensive spices. The Lord doesn't tell us that, but the very fact that he was buried and the wealth leaves his readers, his listeners with absolutely no doubt of what his burial was like. That he would be wrapped in the finest grave clothes. He would be laid in the costliest of tombs. Tombs or coffins. Paid speakers would say good things about him and eulogize his accomplishments and his wealth. Hired mourners would weep at his procession as they make their way to the graveyard. I thought about his funeral procession. Here's five brothers. City officials, dignitaries, people of wealth and status. But here's one thing I don't want you to miss. The rich man wasn't there to enjoy the pageantry. We come into this world clenched fist. We go out open-handed. Death is a great leveler. Nobody escapes it. Death is a horrible thing. God calls it an enemy. Thank God we know the one who's the victor over it. Amen? Job 34 verse 15, All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again into dust. Romans 5 verse 12, Wherefore is by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin. The cemetery is a reminder that we're sinners and we need a Savior. And so death passed upon all men, for that all have sin. Notice the Bible didn't say just the poor have sinned, or just the wealthy have sinned, or just the middle class have sinned, or just this group or that group. No. God says all have sinned. Did you see that? That's all of us. Hebrews 9.27, it is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment. You see, here's the truth and I want you to get it and don't miss it. You're not ready to really live until you're ready and prepared to die. no matter the age. You see, here's what I learned from the story that Jesus tells about the billionaire and the beggar, that acceptance with God is not determined by what we have or don't have. It's not our station in life. Death comes to every one of us. Number three, don't miss this one, life doesn't end at the grave. There is an after this. You say, well preacher, I just believe that we just die and our bodies just rot and that's the end of it. You better hope you're right. Because if you're right and I'm wrong, we're all okay. But if what I'm preaching is right and you're wrong, then you're in trouble. That's reality. And I'd rather go by the Word of Jesus than the speculation of men. You see, death is not the end. Nowhere in the Bible does it describe death as an end. It is only the end of this life as we know it. It is actually a separation. The Bible never describes death as annihilation. It is always described as a separation. Let me give you an illustration. When Rachel, Jacob's wife, was dying in childbirth, when Benjamin was being born, the Bible said, as her soul was departing from her. Separation. That's what death is. It's just the separation of the soul and the spirit from the house that we live in, our body. Death is not the end, says Warren Wiersbe. It is the beginning of a whole new existence in another world. But that whole new world of existence is not the same for everybody. The beggar was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. What is that, preacher? That is the Jewish euphemism or another name for the paradise of heaven. Let me give you some examples. Luke 23, 43, the repentant thief at the cross said, when he believed on the Lord, Jesus said to him, Verily, truly, I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise. 2 Corinthians 12 verse 4, the apostle Paul spoke about being caught up into paradise and heard unspeakable words which it is not lawful for a man to utter. The beggar was escorted into the very presence of God, into heaven, into glory itself. 2 Corinthians 5 verse 8, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord for those who are saved. Verse 25, notice the Bible specifically says, middle part of it, and likewise, Lazarus evil things. That means he lived a difficult life, but now he is comforted. Did you see that in the latter part of that verse? He's comforted. Do you notice the same word used of the Holy Spirit in John 14 and 16 of our divine comforter? It means that Lazarus was divinely comforted of God. The beggar was not sick anymore. He wasn't hungry anymore. He wasn't homeless anymore. He wasn't helpless anymore. He wasn't alone anymore. It's another way of saying what John said in Revelation 21 verse 4 when he said this, And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death. Aren't you excited about that? And no more sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are past, Away. Thank God for a place called heaven. I just say hallelujah. But the billionaire is a different story. Look at verse 22. He dies. He's buried. Verse 22. Did you see that? And look at verse 23. And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments. Do you know why American form of Buddhism is so popular today among the millennial and Gen Z crowd? Because they really don't want what Jesus has to offer. But they do want some kind of existence. And so they embrace nirvana. It's some kind of metaphysical... Doesn't that sound wonderful? Somebody must sit around all day just thinking up terms. What do you all think? Some kind of metaphysical becoming one with the universe. Doesn't that sound comfy? It's an unconscious existence. It's really no existence at all because men have forever been trying to do away with the truth of eternal punishment. And they look for something convenient. No, we just die like the animals and we no longer exist and that's the end of us. Or like the Jehovah's false witnesses and others that believe this, you just go to hell and you burn up like a cinder and that's the end of it. Or that you become one with the universe. Or you just take on different lifestyles, and if you're good, you make your way on up. But if you're bad, you just come back like a roach. You say, Preacher, you're being facetious. No, I'm talking about what people really believe. Let me just say something. I'm going to get meddly, OK? Karma has absolutely no place in the language of a Christian. Do not adopt the lies of the world. You say, well, what comes around goes around. No, there is a law of sowing and reaping that God has built into the universe. The Bible said in hell there is a conscious existence after life. Lazarus is consciously alive in the presence of God. The rich man, the billionaire, the beggars in heaven, the billionaire is consciously alive in a place called hell. What is hell, preacher? It's the temporary dwelling place of the unsaved dead awaiting final judgment and eternity in the lake of fire. It's sort of a prison house. And Jesus gives the most detailed description of it found anywhere in the Bible. I'm just going to quickly look at it very quickly. Notice it's a place of misery. Four times it speaks of torment. Look at verse 23. And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments. Look down at verse 24, the last phrase. He said, And cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. Look at the last part of verse 25. But now he, Lazarus the beggar, is comforted, but thou, the billionaire, art tormented. Look down at the end of verse number 28. He's burdened for his brothers, lest they also come into this place of torment. It is a real place, it is a conscious place, and it is a miserable place. He cried. That means to scream with pain and anguish. In this flame, literal fire, Jesus says it's unquenchable. It's a furnace. In Matthew 25, verse 41, it lasts forever. You say, Preacher, I just don't believe God should send, if God's a God of love, that He should send anybody to hell. Can I help us understand something this morning? God is love. That is who He is. but He's also just. You cannot have any form of justice whatsoever on our planet if there is not a just Creator. We wouldn't even know what justice was if God hadn't put a sense of justice in our hearts. God is just, and for there to be a just world, there must be a just Creator. And for God to be just, sin must be paid for. But listen, God loved us so much He didn't want you and me to pay for it. And so He sent His Son Jesus to come and take our place and pay for our sin so that we wouldn't have to go to hell, but so we could be saved and go to heaven. That's love. But when we reject His love, all that's left is justice. When I say no to mercy, all I have left is misery. You say, well God shouldn't do that. God didn't do that. We made a choice. Mercilessness. Look at verse 24. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me. Now, he didn't ask to get out. He knew He was justly there. He just wanted a moment of relief in St. Lazarus that He may dip the tip of His finger in water and cool. I just want a drop. I don't want a cup. I don't want a glass. I don't want a bucket. I just want a drop of water to cool my tongue for I'm tormented in this flame. Friend, can I tell you something? Your friends and your family that don't know Jesus Christ, are going to face a Christless, merciless eternity. We must get a burden for those who need the Savior this morning. This stuff that goes on in this church is not a social club. We're not some kind of a country club. We are a church, and what goes on in this place is of serious, eternal business. This is serious stuff. Oh, I thank God for doctors, don't you? But they only deal in life and death. Preachers, let me just tell you something. We deal in eternal things, heaven and hell. What we do is much more serious. God's mercy endures forever, but in hell there's no mercy because He spurned it. He said no. The billionaire cried out for mercy, but it was too late. And friend, listen, if you don't receive His mercy, there may come a time in your life that you'll cry out for it, but it'll be too late. There's people that believe hell is a big party. That's what the world wants it to seem like. That's what I used to say. I was such a fool. I was such a wicked teenager. I'd go to church on Sunday, live like the devil Monday through Friday, Saturday, Sunday in between services. Oh, if you asked me if I was going to heaven, I'd tell you I was going to heaven. I wasn't a bit more going to heaven than a man in the moon. But I knew all the answers. And that was what was damning me. Because I knew the answers, but I didn't know the Savior. And that's what I'd say. Kevin, where are you going to go when you die? I guess I'll go to hell if I don't change my ways. They'll kick me out for bootlegging ice water. Ha ha ha ha ha. And I'd laugh. Such a fool. All my friends are going to be there. Here's what Mark Twain said. He said he would choose heaven for climate, but hell for company. You know what I was blind to? There's no company in hell. There's no party. There's no friends. There's no companions. There's no God. And there's no hope. Because the Bible says, verse 26, that there's a great gulf fixed, that there is an uncrossable divide or chasm between in eternity, that once there, you're forever there. There's no getting out. There's no crossing over. And then I want you to get this. It's a place of memory. Look at verse 25. And Abraham said, Son, remember. He didn't lose his memory. Do you know that right now people that are in hell remember? They remember every opportunity they had to be right with God. I know this is uncomfortable, but it's true. They remember a conscious existence. And then there's a mission-mindedness. Look down at verse 27. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, Father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house. I've got some brothers. Look at verse 28. He got a burden for them. I have five brethren that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. No doubt. I don't know. Somebody's witness to this rich man. Maybe Lazarus witnessed to him. I don't know. Because he wants Lazarus to go and witness to his five brothers. I don't know. He said, I want you to tell them where I'm at. Let him go. He knows where I'm at. He knows. Let him go. Let me just say something. God doesn't want anybody to spend eternity apart from Him. He's not willing that any should perish. Don't let the devil lie to you about God, that somehow God's mean and cruel and doesn't want anybody to have any fun in life and that somehow this thing of being a Christian is an old fogey type thing and Christians never have any fun. That's an absolute lie. That is not true. I'm having the time since I've been saved have been the best years of my life. I regret my 17 years of life apart from Jesus Christ. I regret my sin. I don't like to talk about it. I don't like to remember it. I don't like to think about what He brought me out of. I am so glad I'm on the other side right now. Thank God for the mercy of God. I don't deserve it. Matter of fact, I deserve... You don't know me. I deserve to be in a place called hell. And I'm so glad that God's merciful. God doesn't want anybody to go there, friend. If you're not sure you're saved today, He doesn't want you to go there. This church, I believe this, doesn't want anyone to go to a place called hell. I believe that. We work. Listen, we're not just about feeding the hungry. We're not just about making this world a little better place to live. We realize as a church there's a place called hell. We realize there's an eternity church. I hope that's why we do what we do. Because we love Jesus and we love who He loves. And if we don't, we need to. But here's the saddest thing of all. The people that are in hell right now don't want you to come there. Go tell my five brothers lest they come here. There's no party there. They don't want you there if you're not saved. Let me give you the last thing. Not only does acceptance with God is not determined by what we have or don't have, that death comes to every one of us, that life doesn't end at the grave, but here it is, our eternal destiny is decided now, not hereafter. That's the most important part of the whole message. You remember the billionaire's five brothers still had an opportunity to repent. What does that mean, preacher? That means to change our minds. You see, for 17 years of my life, I was going in one direction. But there would come a day in my life that God graciously dealt with my heart and I changed my mind. about my sin, the direction of my life, the Savior, how I was living, and I believed on the Lord. There was a change of mind that brought about a decision in my life to receive the Savior. It's not turning from sin because you know what? I couldn't turn from my sin. I already had tried and it didn't work. It's not doing better. I already tried that and it didn't work because I'd go back to what it was. I need to change my mind and realize I needed a Savior. That's what I needed. And believe on Him. Don't get this idea that somehow turning from sin makes us saved because it doesn't. When I trusted the Lord, He turned me away from my sin. Some people have the mistaken idea that a person can't really know where they're going to go to heaven until they die. I witnessed people all the time. I'm talking about religious people and their belief system, what they believe. Well, I hope so. Well, I hope so. Well, I hope so. We'll find out. No, no, no. No, it doesn't work that way. No, you can know. The Bible says you can know. These things are written in you that believe on the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. God wants you to know it. They get the idea they're going to go to heaven and God's going to have some kind of celestial scales and they're going to put their good on one side and their bad on the other side. And if their good outweighs the bad, they get in. If their bad outweighs the good, that they won't get in. Or somehow they'll go to some kind of middle purgatory type thing till they pay for enough to get out. Friend, can I tell you all of that are lies. None of that's true. That's why Jesus said, Come unto Me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I'll give you rest. And Isaiah 45 verse 22 says, Look unto Me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none else. We need to look to Christ by faith and receive Him as Savior. And at that instant, we have eternal life. Our destiny is secure. God doesn't determine our destiny in the hereafter. We determine our destiny in the here and now, and the choice is every one of us's. And you have to make the choice. You say, well, preacher, I'm just going to wait. I'm just going to think about this thing that you're talking about, and I'm going to make a decision. Wait a minute. Let me help you understand something. Indecision is no decision. It's the same thing as saying no because you didn't say yes. high up in the Rocky Mountains. When you get to their highest peak, there's what we call the Continental Divide, the Great Continental Divide. When it rains, if a drop of water falls a little bit to the west side of that Continental Divide, that drop of water flows into the Pacific Ocean. On the other hand, in that same rainstorm, if that rain falls on the eastern side of the continental divide, it flows into the Gulf of Mexico and eventually into the Atlantic Ocean. Here's what's interesting. Those drops of water fall just inches apart. But they wind up oceans apart. The billionaire and the beggar died within feet of each other. But their eternal destiny was worlds apart. And the rich man knew exactly why he was there. Verse number 29, listen to it, "'Nay, Father Abraham, but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.'" They will get right with God. He knew that he was in hell because he wasn't right with God. He knew that. Had nothing to do with his wealth. Had nothing to do with his riches. Had nothing to do with his luxury. had everything to do with what He did with God's salvation. And friend, your eternal destiny and my eternal destiny has everything to do with what we do with Jesus Christ. Can we bow our heads in prayer quietly? And please, as much, as little distraction as possible. I know this morning's message was hard to listen to. I understand that. It was hard to preach. But I must be true to God and true to you as your pastor because I love you. I have to be true to the Word of God. And I have to tell you the truth. If I don't tell you the truth, then I'm not your friend. I don't want to tell you the truth. and you will choose your eternity. If you die right now, do you have the assurance that heaven's your home? Do you know 100% for sure if you die, you're going to heaven? Do you know that? Or would you say, preacher, I'm really not sure. I would like to know for sure, but I don't know. Would you pray for me? I would love to do that. I won't embarrass you. I won't come to you. You will not have a bad experience. I will not parade you in front of anybody. I promise you that. But I will pray for you. But right now in your heart, you say, preacher, I just don't know where I'm going to spend eternity, but I would love for you to pray for me. Would you slip up your hand right now so I could