Thank you, brother. Open your Bibles to the book of Isaiah, chapter number five. Isaiah, chapter number five in your Bible tonight. And I'm so glad you're here. This is a good Monday night crowd. And I just trust we'll keep working and praying, inviting, blackmailing, kidnapping, whatever you got to do, do it. But bring someone with you to the revival this week. A number of people asked me where I'm from. I'm from a little town of 400 people just outside of Bloomington, Illinois. It is called Tawanda, Illinois. Now, you may not be aware of this, but Tawanda is an old, old Indian name. And it means the home of handsome men. But I'm sure you're aware of that. But wherever you are, wherever you're from, I want to say thank you tonight for coming to the house of God. Don't forget Friday night. Be here. Bring someone. Friday night's message, when demons dance with delight. The late 1800s, the greatest living evangelist was Dwight L. Moody. Dwight L. Moody one day stood at a certain spot. He said, as I stood there, I could sense, I could feel the power of hell as I never felt it in my entire life. Was that Moody's imagination? It was not. There's a Bible reason. where in that one place the power of hell is so strong you can sense it, you can feel it. You say, Preacher, where is that place? I'm so happy you ask. And you come on Friday night, I'll explain it to you right from the word of God. Look in your Bible, Isaiah chapter number 5, I'll begin with verse number 13. God said, therefore, my people are got into captivity because they have no knowledge. And their honorable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst. Therefore, hell has enlarged herself and opened her mouth without measure, and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth shall descend into it, and the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled, but the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness. So I travel across America week after week. I see some tremendous changes. Area at one time that was prime farm ground, today is the sprawling suburbs of some great metropolitan area. Two years ago, I was in Rancho Demecula, California. The population was 25,000 people. Four years later, the population had multiplied to 250,000 people. Places today in America are growing and reaching out and spreading and multiplying. But I believe with all my heart tonight, The greatest growth is not in the suburbs of some great city. The greatest growth is in the subterranean regions of a place called hell. Isaiah said hell has enlarged herself and opened her mouth without measure. Tonight I want to preach on the subject, the devil's dynamic development of damnation. First of all, the provision of God. Now, immediately, let me emphasize, hell is not growing and expanding because that is what God desires. Your Bible says, as I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his evil way and live. Paul wrote to Timothy, God who would have all men, that means you, to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 2 Peter, the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but as longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Understand that. It is not God's will, one single person goes to hell. Now, what has God done to try and keep people out of hell? In Isaiah chapter 5, the first 6 or 7 verses, he uses the figure of a vineyard, a man growing grapes, to illustrate what he's done to try and keep people out of a place called hell. Look in your Bible, Isaiah chapter 5, verse 1. God said, I will sing to my well beloved the song of my beloved, touching his vineyard. A real beloved hath the vineyard in a very fruitful hill." Stop there. Three times God refers to lost sinners as beloved. That great verse in the Bible, God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. Friend, I'm going to tell you tonight that God loves sinners. In the Bible, a young man came to Christ. Christ confronted him with the gospel. The young man turned and walked away. And your Bible says, Jesus beholding him Loved him. I'm glad I can say tonight. Whatever you've done. How low you may have gone how long you've been there? I want to tell you God in heaven loves you tonight. He loves you so much His son died on the cross for you looking at Bible now at verse number two and that has a vineyard He's growing grapes. Look at verse number two. Here's the key. He fenced it carried off the stones thereof Planned it with the choices fine bit of tower in the midst of it and also made a wine presser him He looked at you bring forth grapes And it brought forth wild grapes. And now, Lord, have mercy, Jerusalem, men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard." Look at verse 4. God said, what could have been done more to my vineyard than I have not done? In verse 4, God said, my friend, I've done everything even I can do. to keep people from crashing in the gates of hell. Look in your Bible at verse number two. First of all, the man put a fence around the vineyard. The fence speaks of protection. The fence was there to keep the thieves out, to keep the foxes out. I have a question tonight. You're unsaved and tonight you're sitting here, another opportunity to come to Christ. Why didn't you die in the war? How come that car wreck was just averted? Why haven't you died of cancer or a heart attack? Dear friend, there's a reason. God has protected you and brought you right here tonight to give you one more opportunity to bow the knee and come and accept Jesus Christ. Number two, look at that verse here. The Bible says, he gathered out the stones thereof. Now, in the Bible, stones speak of obstacles. Who's here tonight? I don't know everyone, but if you're here tonight, one time you said, you know what? I'll never go to a Baptist church. I'm so happy you got lost tonight and come to a Baptist church, all right? Maybe one time you said, I'll never ever go hear an evangelist. I'm sorry, but an evangelist is preaching tonight. Now, what am I saying? Follow me here. Tonight, you're still not saved, but God has removed obstacles to get you here under the gospel. You might understand how to come and receive Jesus Christ. Thirdly, again, verse two, the Bible says, He planted it with the choiceless vine. Now, what does God plant in a man's soul that brings him to salvation? The Bible says, being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God. God, this book right here, sir, points you to heaven. This book right here can change your life. How are people saved? They hear the Word of God. The Spirit of God brings conviction, and men bow their knee and come to Christ, not because of a preacher, because of the power of the Word of God. We're not here tonight to discuss politics or inflation or this financial situation. We're here for one thing tonight, to tell you how you can know for certain when the hour comes, the hour of death, the hour of judgment, how you can be certain tonight that you're on the way to heaven. What else has God done? Verse number two, a number of things God has done here. The Bible says he built a tower in the midst of it. Now, a tower is a place of observation. The man goes up in the tower, looks out over the vineyard. He can see what needs watering. He can see what needs fertilizing. He can see where the fence is broken down. He can see where there's an insect problem. He can see where the foxes come in and thieves come in. Watch it carefully. The tower is a place of Observation not a not Indianapolis, Indiana There are hundreds of things going on, but I want to tell you something The eyes of God are focused right here tonight Why do you say that preacher because the Bible says there is joy in the presence of the angels over one sinner and one I want to tell you something, friend. If you're unsaved and tonight you step out to come to Christ, the Bible says Jesus Christ will rejoice, God will rejoice, heaven rejoices, we'll rejoice, all heaven rejoices when someone comes to find Jesus Christ. And finally again, verse number two, he made a winepress therein. What does the winepress speak of? The heart of Christianity. The wine press speaks of Calvary, where Jesus died for your sin. Understand that. The Bible, what was the purpose of a wine press? They go out and pluck the grapes. They run them through the wine press. As they do, the grapes are crushed and the juice flows down. On the cross of Calvary, that's exactly what happened. Christ's blood flows down. The Bible says He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed. Again, Isaiah made this tremendous statement. He has poured out His soul unto death. Every blood in Christ's veins dripped in the dirt and the filth and the spittle on a hill called Calvary to give you, sir, the opportunity to come to Christ. He was our substitute. He took our place. But my friend, if you reject that, even God cannot get you into heaven if you reject the death and the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ. In World War II, in one battalion, there were three men who were outstanding Christians. Every battle, they led the charge. Their language was pure. Their life was holy. And they were fighting in France, fighting the German army in France, ordered to come to take a certain ridge. As they headed up the ridge, the Germans opened fire, and one of those three Christians was shot in the head and died immediately. They fought on, drove the German army back, and they gathered around their fallen comrade. And one man said, you know what? Marching up here, probably about a mile down the road, we came by a church. Next to the church was a cemetery. Let's see if we can get permission to bury our friend in the church cemetery. Went to the demanding officer. He said, I think we're safe for a while. He said, you have my permission? Your friend had a wonderful testimony. Take him back there. They carried their friend's body back, and it's incidental. It just so happened it was a Roman Catholic church. They got back, and they went up and knocked on the door. The priest opened the door, and they said, sir, we're Americans. We're fighting up here. Our friend just died in battle. Our friend had received Christ as his Savior. They said, sir, that we have permission to bury our friend in the church cemetery. The priest said, gentlemen, was your friend a Catholic? One man said, no, sir, but our friend had received Christ. We heard his testimony. 16 years old, he accepted Christ. The priest said, I'm sorry, gentlemen. Church law says, if your friend was not a Catholic, he could not be buried in a sacred soil. The man said, sure, I don't want to argue. I want to make sure you understand. There was a day in our friend's life when he received Christ. Because of that, right now, he said, our friend's soul is already in heaven. All we want is a place to put his body until Judgment Day. The priest said, gentlemen, I'm sorry. That's church law. Very politely, he closed the door. One man said, you know what? If we can't bury our friend in a cemetery, let's bury him just outside the fence. What they did, got their folding shovels, dug a grave, had a service, put a cross up, went back up to fight. About a month and a half later, they were replaced by new troops. Watching back, hey, I got an idea, one guy said. Let's cut across country, maybe for the last time, see our friend's grave. They cut across country, came to the church in a cemetery. They walked around the outside of the fence. They couldn't find the cross. They couldn't find a place where the grass had been dug up and disturbed. Two or three times, they walked around there, and they couldn't find it. One man said, let's go see the priest. They went back and knocked on the door. The priest opened the door. They said, sir, we hate to bother you. We did not bury our friend in the cemetery. We buried him just outside the fence. We've looked. We cannot find the cross. We cannot find the grave. Sir, could you please help us? The priest said, gentlemen, I can help you. After he left that day, he said, a verse you quoted two or three times ring in my mind about receiving Christ. He said, that verse bothered me. It disturbed me. So I got my Bible down, got my concordance down, and I found this wonderful verse. But as many as received him, that's Christ, to them gave he power to become the sons of God. He said, gentlemen, when I read that verse, I realized something. You were right. Your friend had received Christ. He was already in heaven. He said, gentlemen, I thought on that. I'd received baptism. I'd received ordination. I'd received church membership. He said, sitting in my office right here, I realized I had never personally received Christ. He said, gentlemen, that day I got on my knees, and I also received Christ as my Savior. So when I got up, I realized you guys were right. Your friend was already in heaven. He said, gentlemen, the next morning, I got up early. What I did, I went out to the cemetery. I tore down one side of the fence. I extended it further. Then I enclosed it again. He said, gentlemen, your friend is buried exactly where you buried him. But now he is inside the fence and inside the gate. Friend, hear me. If you ever get inside heaven's gates, it's because you've received Christ. Baptism won't get you there. Church membership won't get you there. No denomination can get you there. But thank God, Christ can get you there because He's a living Christ. Number one, the provision of God. Number two, the powerlessness of the church. Look in your Bible. Isaiah chapter 5. Look at verse 13. God said, therefore, what's the wording? My people. That's personal. In the first verse, we read about beloved, but they weren't his people. God loves sinners, but they're not his people until they come and accept Christ as their Savior. Looking at the Bible, verse number five, God said, therefore, right in this church now, my people are going into captivity because they have no knowledge, and their honorable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst. Think carefully there. Think carefully. God, look at verse 14. God said, therefore, because of my people, hell has enlarged herself. Put it together. God said one reason hell grows is not because of a liquor dealer, or the dealer in pornography, or a drug dealer. God said one reason hell grows, how sad, is because of my people. Do you understand that believer? How you live can cause someone to miss heaven eternally and wind up in a place called hell. There's more to Christianity than singing songs and coming to church. We have a responsibility to live as Christians ought to live. Now, what do Christians do that makes them an asset to hell and a liability to the cause of Christ? Well, in your Bible, verse 13, number one, therefore, my people, are gone into captivity. When God's people are incarcerated, what does that mean? They're a prisoner of sin. Dear friend, when on the job, things go wrong, the unsaved guys use bad language, you use bad language. The unsaved guys get a bad attitude, you get a bad attitude. My friend, the lost world says, those guys, that guy doesn't have anything I don't have. He acts just like me. He talks just like me. And my friend, because of your inconsistency and lack of being Christ-like, that individual could go to hell. God said my people should be different. They should be a holy people, a godly people. Paul said that Christ may be manifest in my life. What a tremendous statement. You ever think of this? Today we have the idea, well, to influence sinners to come to Christ, Maybe we need to cut some corners, you know. Maybe now and then tell an off-color joke. Maybe now and then lose our temper. Will you hear me please? Jesus was a friend of sinners. He never told a dirty joke. He never laughed at smut. He never cut a corner, and yet every time in the Bible you find God's Son, he's surrounded by sinners. Why? The way to reach sinners is not to live like them, act like them, and talk like them. It's to live and act and talk like Jesus Christ. That makes an impact on an unsaved person. First of all, he said there in verse number 13, my people are going into captivity. They're incarcerated. Number two, he says, They have no knowledge. Number two, folks go to hell because God said my people are ignorant. Ignorant of what? Ignorant of telling others how to get saved. You see my friend, why don't we witness as Christians? Hear this, Paul said, awake to righteousness and sin not. Paul said, stop sinning. Why? Because some have not the knowledge of God, I speak it to your shame. Paul said, shame on you, believer. You work beside a man for 20 years. He still doesn't know how to go to heaven. You've never told him. You live next door to a wonderful family for 15 years. They have no idea how to go to heaven. Why? You've never told them. Now, why haven't you told them? Hear it, hear it. Here's why. Because when sin comes in your life, the first thing, believer, you stop doing is witnessing. The Bible says, the righteous, a Christian whose heart is right, is what? As bold as a lion. Now, I'm sure most of you have been to zoos. Some of you probably should be in zoos, but that's beside the point. I won't go there, OK? But anyway, when I go to the zoo, I go down where they have the lions, the tigers, and the big cats. Sometimes I've been there at feeding time. Here comes a trainer, got a 48 ounce T-bone, Takes that big steak, he slings it between the bars, and the lion, he goes, RAAAWR! One bite, and it's gone. Like watching the pastor eat breakfast today, about the same thing, alright? Now, now wait. By nature, a lion is bold. A lion's aggressive. A lion is the king of the beast, hear me? You know where you find a sissy lion? One place. In a fairy tale. You know where you find a sissy Christian afraid to witness? One place. In a backslidden condition. That verse says, the righteous are as bold as a lion, but the wicked, a Christian with sin in his life, he flees when no man pursueth, or there's no reason to flee. Let me give you a Bible example. David, a Christian. fell into sin, got away from God. Thank God he didn't stay there. He come back to God. And in Psalm 51, David said, then, when David, then, when I'm right with God, here's what he said. He said, then will I teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners shall be converted unto thee. Now follow me here. When David backslid, he was still physically as big, as tough, as macho as he ever was. He was still General David. He was still giant killer David. But when David sinned, spiritually, he was still big and macho. But spiritually, he became a coward. Why? When sin comes in a Christian's life, it robs them of that power to witness. A year ago last month, I was in Montana. Horrible, horrible story came out of that. There were two young boys. Doug and the other boy's name, I believe, I remember what it was, Gene. They were buddies. They were in their late teens. And what happened is they got in trouble, and their parents forbid them from seeing each other. So each of the boys lied to their parents and said, we're going to go spend the night on the third party, and they didn't. They got together, had their camping gear, put it in the back of a truck, like January. You'll go January. Headed up in the mountains. Somehow, the truck got off the road, stuck, and they couldn't get it out. What they decide to do is separate. And so Doug said, I'll go this way. And he said, told the other guy, Gene said, you go that way. And Doug had a cell phone. When you get to Montana, there are vast places a cell phone doesn't work. He kept trying to call, and trying to call, and trying to call. And late the afternoon, he called his dad. He said, Dad, I'm up here in the mountains, and I'm stuck. Will you come up and get me? The dad said, sure. The dad come up. Got the truck on the road, followed this son back in town. Are you ready? Four days later, the son went to his dad and said, Dad, Gene was with me up there in the mountains. He said, what? He said, yeah. He said they formed a party. They went up. They searched. They searched. And pretty soon, they found Gene. He had walked in a seven-mile circle time and time and time and time again. And eventually, he died due to the coldness and hypothermia. He died alone. Why? He was forsaken by a friend. Oh, I hate to say this. I know Christians just like Doug. You've got a fishing buddy, a hunting pal, a lady you go shopping with, a neighbor right next door, and you've never told them the gospel. You've abandoned them to the world, the place, the devil, and hell, because you've never shared Jesus Christ. Oh, my friend, if you're saved, you say, preacher, I'm in neutral. Here's your Bible. There is no neutrality. Jesus said, he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. Understand that, believer. Don't play games with God. If you're not bringing folks to Christ, Jesus said, you're repelling people from me. You know the story. Jesus said, I'm going to Jerusalem, hang on a cross and die. And Simon Peter gets right in Christ's face. And Peter says, not so, Lord. Now hear it. Christ turns to Peter. Here's what he said. Get behind me. Satan, what do you say? He said, Peter, you're an asset to hell and a liability to my reaching a lost world. Everybody here tonight, according to the Bible, is a real estate agent. A real estate agent for heaven, I hope. Jesus said, I go and prepare a place for you. But if you're not putting people to heaven, you're a real estate agent for hell. The Bible says in Revelation 21, they shall have their part in the lake of fire. I don't care who you are. I don't care what you do. The Bible says nobody, sir, not just creatures. Nobody lives to himself. Nobody dies to himself. That fellow student, that relative, that neighbor, how you live affects him for all eternity. Number three, I'm through. In closing, we find the progression of damnation. Look at your Bible. Look at verse number 14. Therefore, Hels enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure, and their glory, and their multitude, and their pop, and he that rejoiceth shall descend into it, and the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled. The eyes of the lofty shall be humbled, but the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness. If you're unsafe tonight, sir, ma'am, you have two choices. Choice number one, the choice I hope and pray you make. Tonight, we'll have an invitation hymn. At that hymn, I'll invite you to come and receive Christ. I'll invite you to do what probably 90% of us have already done. And oh, I trust tonight that knee will carry you down the aisle. You'll meet a wonderful man of God here at the altar and say, I want to make sure I'm going to heaven. You'll use your tongue. Somebody will come, take a Bible, go in a room, open the Bible, show you how to accept Christ. In that room, you'll pray from the heart, confess to God you're a sinner, realizing Christ died for you, and asking Christ to be your Savior. However, I must be honest. There's option two. Tonight, you can walk that knee in between the pew. Tonight, you can even make fun and ridicule. Tonight, you can say, I'm not walking down an aisle. But hear me, on Judgment Day, the Bible says every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. You better understand that, sir. Sooner or later. You're going to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord. You do it tonight. You can be saved. You wait till Judgment Day. The door of God's mercy is closed. It's a confession of damnation. But sooner or later, that knee will bow to Jesus Christ. Imagine I become sick and I go see the doctor. The doctor runs some tests and says, I'll come back in a week. A week later, I go back, and I'm sitting in the doctor's office, and he walks in, got this kind of worried look, and he says, I got some bad news. I said, what? He said, somehow, in your journeys, you contacted an extremely rare disease. He said, in the history of mankind, you're only the third person to ever contact this disease. He said, the problem is, there's There's no cure. I said, Doc, you mean there's no cure? Well, now, what do you say? There's one cure. But the ingredients in that cure are so rare and so valuable, it takes millions of dollars just to get the cure. He said, do you have that kind of money? I said, of course not. He said, I'll put you in the hospital. I'll make you comfortable. I go in the hospital. I'm sitting in bed reading. Four days later. The door opens and walks the doctor. His hair is tussled. I can see he hasn't shaved him. His clothes are wrinkled. The doctor comes in. I said, Doc, where have you been? He said, Joe, that day after you left my office, I mortgaged my house. For the last four days, I've been driving and flying 24 hours a day all over America. I've been to philanthropic organizations, medical assistance groups, wealthy individuals. He said, Joe, the last four days, I've been traveling nonstop all over America, begging and pleading. He said, guess what? I got enough money and I got the cure. I said, Doc, what? What's that all over your coat? He said, Joe, I know I'd have to go 24 hours a day. And I took my only son with me to keep me awake. He said, I was in a hurry to get here. He said, about three blocks down the street, I tried to make a few on a yellow light. A semi truck was coming. It didn't stop. It slammed in the car. And he killed my only son. He said, Joe, that's the blood of my boy. But here. Here's your medicine. Go ahead. Take it. It will heal you. And imagine with all the hellish hatred I could muster, I take that vial of medicine. I smash it on the floor. And I turn to the doctor. I say, doctor, if I die, it's your fault. You say, preacher, you'd be a fool. You got it. Jesus Christ has done everything he can to keep you out of hell. But if you're determined to go there, that's your decision. It's a decision you'll regret not for a week or a month or a year, but for billions of years in the lake of fire. But thank God tonight, you don't have to go to hell. That's what Calvary's for. That's what the blood was shed for. If you're not certain tonight, I'm begging you, come, come, not to a preacher, come to Christ tonight. And let Him save you and forgive you and change your life. Will you bow your head for prayer? Our heads are bowed tonight. Two questions. Number one, I ask it every time I preach, if you, not the person beside you or in front of you, if you were to die tonight, do you know you'd go to heaven? you say I'm not going to stop right there. I'm going to give you a Bible verse. Boast not thyself of tomorrow. God said that. Son, God said don't, don't boast. You're going to live till 1201 tonight. You say preacher, I'm not sure, but you thought about it, haven't you? The funeral home, You saw a body in a coffin, a little thought clicked in your mind, someday my body will be there. Where's my soul going to be? I can tell you on the authority of God's Word, you can know you can go to heaven by receiving Christ. With our heads bowed and our eyes closed tonight,