Good morning, everyone. This is Brother Brandon coming to you live from Fort Smith, Arkansas, with another Fisher's Amendment Bible study. It's good to be with you here today, this morning. And we are going to be doing Luke chapter 16 today. And boy, do we got stuff to cover today. Hopefully it will be a blessing. Hopefully you guys will get something out of it and It's gonna be one of those it's gonna be a kind of a tough one because we're gonna be getting into the topic of hell today and So we're gonna I'm gonna try to you know be as loving as I can and not Beat anyone over the head by any means, but we are going to talk about hell today, and it's actually the last part, so just brace yourself for that. Let's see here. Do we have any announcements? I don't think so. Um, prayer requests. Uh, you know, y'all pray for me, pray for brother Joey, pray for my ministry, pray for my videos. Um, and, uh, let's pray for one another. Amen. Let's pray for one another. Um, let me, uh, see here. Yeah. So let's pray for one another. Um, and, uh, also do pray. Um, as some of you, as a lot of, you know, I'm actually, uh, working on getting ordained and the only thing that's left is, uh, you know, once I get a church of my own, the pastor, um, I'll get ordained by the denomination. So, be in prayer for me on that. Be in prayer that God will eventually give me a church to pastor. That would be a blessing. Other than that, I don't have any other things so no new announcements no that's oh yeah pray for um i know kevin poplin pray for him if you will he uh he can really use your prayers so pray for him kevin if you're watching this which i know eventually you will um people are praying for you buddy just just so you know People are praying for you. And so, yes. Other than that, I think that's all I've got. So, yeah, I think we'll go ahead and get started here. I don't think there's anything else that's coming to mind. Although Saturday, Saturday I'm going to be, I'm going to be continuing on what is now, what now, what is now I'm seeing as a mini-series on contention. And so there will be a third part of that mini-series, it will be entitled, contentions part three why Christ is not a contentious brawler and So that's what we're gonna be talking about on Saturday Lord willing I don't know when we're gonna get back to this other series with you know Baptist history and stuff like that so I I'm just gonna go by what the Lord wants. Okay, so you bear with me and and Hopefully soon we'll get back to that. But this seems to be Important so that's what we're gonna be doing Saturday Excuse me now Turning your Bibles if you will to Luke chapter 16 Luke chapter 16 there's gonna be some stuff I'm gonna say that's gonna be um there's stuff I'm gonna be talking about today there's stuff I'm gonna say that's probably going to make some people mad and you know what I really don't care because I have to preach the whole counsel of God, and if people don't like how I preach, well, I think they just need to tough it up and swallow their pride and be men about it, and then take it up with God. But will they do that? Probably not. They'll just throw their, they'll throw, people will throw little hissy fits, and then their pride and ego will get bruised and hurt, and then they'll start lashing out at me and calling me like I'm, call me an idiot and I don't know what I'm talking about and what not. But you know what, that's all fun and good. And they can say whatever they want. But I'm going to say some things today that's not going to be exactly easy to say. But like I said, I have to preach the whole counsel of God and so otherwise if I don't then I'm doing you all a disservice. So, with that said, let's go ahead and get started. So if you have your Bibles, Luke chapter 16. We're picking up in Luke 16. Hopefully it'll be a blessing to you all. Now, Luke 16 verse 1. It says, and he said unto his disciples, there was a certain rich man which had a steward, and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. And he called him and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? Give an account of thy stewardship, for thou mayest be no longer steward. Now, let's think about something here. Let's think about something here. What are pastors? That's a question I want you all to ponder in your minds. What is a pastor exactly? Well, you might say, well, a pastor's a shepherd, which you wouldn't be wrong. They are a shepherd of God's flock. Right? You know, some will say under-shepherd, which is true. They're an under-shepherd. But what I think a lot of people don't realize is pastors are stewards. Did you get that? I don't care. Okay. I shouldn't say that. I shouldn't say that because that, that, that don't sound well, maybe, maybe where I'm going, maybe, maybe not. Okay. I don't care if they're just an idle shepherd or not. Pastors, pastors are stewards. And we know that. there are good and bad stewards. The good stewards, the good pastors, are those that believe the Bible and do what God says. And you've got the bad pastors that are bad stewards that are megachurch pastors that fleece their flock and they'll do anything to get money. But even with a certain amount of small churches There can be bad stewards, bad pastors. Why? Well, we see here that this steward was accused that he had wasted his goods. So you can have a small church that uses the King James, but completely is unbiblical. And I've been to churches like that. I've been to a church where they had the King James, they sung the hymns, but that church was not biblical because they went towards Calvinism. You might get other churches that might use the King James. You might, um, you might use the hymns, and you could still be a bad steward. And why is that? You could be a bad steward because the cares of this world and sin can be used as leverage to waste away goods. In other words, thorns or thistles, the cares of this world, perhaps maybe worried about what man thinks, or pleasing man, can help with wasting away goods. Maybe I'm wrong with that. But pastors who are, because here's the thing, pastors are stewards. Why? Because the churches that they pastor, the flocks they oversee, those things are not theirs. Those things were given to them by God to steward over. Pastors are stewards. They are the ultimate example of what a steward should be. However, you've got more bad ones than you've got good ones. And God needs good stewards to look after and feed the flock and protect the flock and to be able to be the one to oversee his house. Just think about that. Maybe I'm wrong in that. And if I am, God will correct me on it. But if I'm right, God will show you. Okay? It says, and he called, okay, so verse two, it says, and he called him and said unto him, how is it that I hear this of thee? Give an account of thy stewardship, for thou mayest be no longer steward. Then the steward said within himself, what shall I do? For my Lord taketh away from me the stewardship. I cannot beg to beg, I am ashamed. I am resolved what to do, that what I am put out of thy stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? And he said, A hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. Then said he to another, How much owest thou? And he said, A hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. And the Lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely, for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. Did you get that? The children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. What does that tell you about God's people? God's people need to get wisdom. How do you get wisdom? The Word of God. And I say unto you, make yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness, that when ye fail, that ye may receive you into everlasting habitations. He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much. And he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And what is mammon? Well, money. If you're not faithful with money, who's going to commit to you true riches? It says here in verse 12, and if you've not been faithful and that which is another man's who shall give you that which is your own So it kind of goes back to Being a steward If a pastor is not faithful with the flock of that God gives him to watch and feed over and the church to pastor. If he's not faithful on that, who should give them that which is their own? You've got unfaithful pastors. Sometimes you get pastors that think they're faithful and they're not. We ought to be mindful, pastors need to be mindful about that. Let's not get, let's not think any more highly than we ought to think. Again, a pastor is a steward and they ought to be faithful. They ought to be faithful and they should be found faithful by our Lord Jesus Christ. Because they will give an account. They will give an account to him on how well he did when it came to being faithful of that which was not theirs. A steward is one that looks after things that don't belong to them. And when you waste that stuff, when you waste certain things that don't belong to you, and when you take and do things of your own accord, then you're stealing. Thou should not steal. There are pastors that waste time. And that is a loaded statement because pastors can waste time by not doing the right thing, but you can also waste time. You can, let me say this. You can preach the gospel. And you can do all the things that are good and yet still waste time. Why? You can still waste time because sin can creep in and you can be unawares of it. And if sin ain't dealt with and you're trying to do everything right, The time waster to that is not getting right with God. So you could still do all these things and still waste time by unrepented and unresolved sin. And unresolved sin is a bad thing. I'm telling you, it's bad. Unresolved, unrepented sin, when lingering long enough, can lead to one's love waxing cold. And when your love waxes cold, that's a bad place to be in. At that point, it's gonna take God to break you down to a point where you realize you've really done wrong. Just saying. Verse 13, no servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. He cannot serve God and Mammon. That's a pretty clear cut. I'm not going to explain that because that doesn't need an explanation. Either you're going to love money, which by the way, the love of money is the root of all evil, or you're going to love Christ. Now, don't confuse the love of money as to having money so you could pay bills. Just saying. But there are people in this world, there are politicians that love money, but they are extreme God-haters. And there are pastors like that too. Just saying. Now, verse 14. And the Pharisee also who were covetous heard all these things, and they derided him. And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men, but God knoweth your hearts. For that which is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God. Now that right there Now hang on, I'm gonna finish this section and I'll go back and there's some things we gotta talk about. The law of the prophets were until John, since that time, the kingdom of God is preached and every man presses into it. And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass than one tittle of the law to fail. Whosoever putteth away his wife and marrieth another, committeth adultery. And whoso marrieth her that is put away from her husband, committeth adultery. Now, here's the whopper I want to get to. Here's the whopper. Jesus is saying about these Pharisees that they justify themselves before men. Brothers and sisters, be very, very careful to not go above God's order and break God's order of correction. If you're going to correct somebody because of sin, correct, do the correction in order. I see this a lot on Facebook. Do not publicly rebuke somebody. If you think someone's wrong, do not publicly rebuke them. don't do it. People who rebuke others publicly and not privately, number one, that should tell you that those who's doing the rebuking, they know they're wrong and they don't want to do it privately so they got to do it openly Because why? They want to be seen before men, and they want to be justified before men. And I will tell you, anybody, I don't care who you are, anybody who thinks they can go and publicly humiliate somebody by trying to rebuke and correct them, they are only doing it to be justified of men. And the reason why they don't want to do it privately is because they know if they do it privately, they won't be justified by men. What does that mean? It means that those who rebuke openly and not privately know that they're wrong. And they know they're wrong because God will never justify that behavior. God will never justify the points that they're trying to make. So they put, man above God and they care more about being seen of men and being justified of men. And when you care more about what man thinks and when you care more about being justified by man and not God, you are a man pleaser. And you cannot be the servant of God and be a man-pleaser. It doesn't work that way. You cannot be a man-pleaser. And those who justify themselves before men are men-pleasers. And by the way, they won't get a reward from God. because they already have their reward. You know what their reward is? Their reward is man justifying them. And I will tell you, that reward is short-lived. And it has damaging consequences. I want you to think about Saul, the first king of Israel. God told Saul, he said, I want you to wipe all these people out. I want you to wipe them all out. Don't spare anything. Wipe out all the animals too. You know what Saul's excuse was for disobeying the word of God? His excuse for disobeying the word of God was the fear of man. His excuse was because of he feared man rather than God. So be very careful at doing things at the expense of fearing man over God. Because fearing man over God will put you in a position to disobey what God said in His Word. Be very careful. Be very careful. Don't do things to justify yourself before man. See, man will tell you, oh, it's okay, you can do it, when God says, no, you can't. If God says, no, you can't, that settles it. There is no ifs, ands, or buts about it. If God says it, it's settled. Why? Because his word is settled heaven it's that means his word is not for debate it's not up for discussion pastors need to be careful to be they have to be careful to not be going around justifying themselves before men because that's what the Pharisees did The Pharisees were being justified before men and not before God. I would rather be justified by God and not by man. Just saying. But the Pharisees had a pride problem. they had an ego problem. And so all they cared about was the praise of man and what man thought of them. They didn't care what Jesus thought of them. You know, it's not a bad thing to not care what people think of you. Okay? But when you get to a point when you don't care what God thinks of you and you only care what man thinks of you, that's a bad place. That's a very bad place. Just saying. The law and the prophets were until John since the time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it. And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass than one tittle of the law to fail. Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, commiteth adultery. And whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband, commiteth adultery. We're almost done, believe it or not. We're almost done. Um, verse 19, there was a certain rich man which was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. 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 torment, and seeth Abraham far off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me. And said 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 wouldst send him to my father's house, for I have five brethren that he may testify unto them, lest they also come unto 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 unto him, if they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. Now that actually is it for Luke 16, but I'm not done. We got a lot to talk about here. Now, first of all, I want to mention that this is not a parable. There was a certain rich man which was clothed in fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. That means there was a rich man that had the things of this world. There really was a rich man. This is not a parable. It is not something that, it's not an allegory. It's not a parable. It is an actual account. Okay. It's an actual account. This is not just something that, that Jesus made up. This was not something that he was using to demonstrate It's an actual account, okay? Now, it said, 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. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. Now, I want you to think about something here. A beggar, right? A beggar begs for things. He asks for certain things, doesn't he? You know, that's kind of what, as Christians, that's kind of what we are. We're like beggars. And I don't mean that to slide, that's not meant to be a slide at anything or anyone. But if you think about it, there's things that we go through in life that we just, we need help. We need help. We are like beggars. We don't have anything except for Christ. Christ gives us all things according to His riches and glory, doesn't He? Christ knows our needs. He knows what we need. We have things that we need. He knows those things. But what does Jesus say? He says, seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you. We're not exactly rich. We might be rich in faith, but we're physically poor. Physically, we're poor. But most of all, I want you to know something about this particular beggar. This beggar was humbled. This beggar was humble. This rich man was full of pride, full of himself. You know, beggars, we ought to be humble as a beggar. Beggars are humble. Rich men are not. They're full of pride. And you notice that this beggar was desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table, but didn't get any. Only thing he got was dogs coming by to lick his sores. Think about that. I'm sure those sores were probably very uncomfortable for this beggar. And just the fact that dogs were coming to lick his sores. was probably about as close as he can get to feeling good. Nobody cared for this beggar. You know, this world doesn't care for Christians. There's even a lot of quote-on-quote, quote-on-quote Christians that don't care about Christians. Well, Brother Brandon, how can you say that? That's not true. Of course it is. You've got pharisaical Christians that are so puffed up with pride. The only thing that they care about is their power, their pride, their ego, but they don't care about those that actually do follow the Bible. Verse 22, it says, And it came to pass that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. I want you to think about that. The beggar died, and immediately we see this beggar being carried by angels into Abraham's bosom. You never see that the beggar got a funeral. The beggar never got a funeral. Nobody cared about the beggar. The beggar just died and then was carried in Abraham's bosom by the angels. That's what this world does. They don't care about Christians. They don't care about Christians. They don't care if they've had a funeral or not. If Christians die, then the world doesn't bat an eye. They just continue to go about their business. We also see the rich man died. And guess what? This rich man had a funeral. He was died, he buried, probably had a funeral. all the people were probably gathered and oh how great this man was and how this this man went to heaven and all that but you realize that even though this rich man died and was buried you find that instantly he says and in hell he lifted up his torn He lifted up his eyes being in torment. So one moment the rich man died and the next moment he wakes up and he's in hell and he's in torment. Instantly. This rich man is in hell. You know, the sad reality, when you've got this world that hates beggars, they hate Christ, they hate the Word, they hate God, they'll find out when they die, they'll wake up, and they'll wake up being in torments in the flames of hell. Sad reality. Now what you notice is you didn't see any angels being, you didn't see any angels or devils. You don't see any angels tossing them into the flames of hell. You don't see any devils dragging them down. All you see is this man woke up in hell. and torments rise with his eyes lifted up. 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'm tormented in this flame. You see, this rich man, he lived a good life, and guess what? Now he's in hell. And while in hell, he's tormented so much, the only thing he desired was a drop of water. to cool his tongue. Do you remember what the beggar, what happened to the beggar? The beggar had sores, and the dogs came and licked his sores. Remember what I said about that? Probably the only relief he probably could get from his source. And now the rich man is in hell and tormented. And all he desires is a drop of water to be put on his tongue, to cool his tongue. Just a drop. 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. You see, Lazarus, this beggar has a name. The beggar's name's Lazarus. You see, Lazarus was tormented by his sores, and the only relief he could get is dogs coming to lick his sores. And the rich man didn't care about it. But now, Lazarus is comforted, but now the rich man is tormented in the flames of hell. Wishing he could have just a tip Just a little drop of water on his tongue to cool his tongue And Abraham said to him that You've received good things, but Lazarus evil things And now Lazarus is comforted and now you're a torment Now, if that wasn't bad enough, think about that. Think about hell for a moment. That's how bad hell is. Hell is so bad. The fire and flames are so bad that you'd wish you would have some water to cool your tongue, but you won't get it. And by the way, In hell, you won't have any rest. There is no rest in hell. There is no break. It's all torment. If that's not, if that's not bad enough, check this out. 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. So not either, not either that hell is a place of torment to where you wish you would have water and you can't get any, you can't get any rest, you can't do this or that, you're just in the flames Torment and an agony and in pain But you can't get out So, what does that say what that says is When a person ends up in hell They're staying there till they get resurrected now eventually those in hell will be released and But those people that have gone to hell will be released to stand before the Great White Throne Judgment. They'll have a verdict. Those that stand before the Great White Throne Judgment, whose names are not written in the Land's Book of Life, there will be one decree for them, one verdict, guilty, And that being the time where they will be sentenced to the lake of fire. So if hell is, and I'll tell you what, the lake of fire is probably going to be a lot worse People who end up in hell won't get out. They will only be let out to stand before the Holy Judge, the Holy and Righteous Judge for sentencing in the Lake of Fire. And everyone who gets sentenced to the Lake of Fire will be tossed alive into the Lake of Fire. The smoke of their torment is going to rise up forever in the presence of the Lamb and the Holy Angels. I don't know about you, but that's intense. That's intense. Hell is real. The lake of fire is real. people ought to have a desire to not go there. The problem is many people nowadays want to go to heaven but they don't want to do what it takes. They want to find some other way in. Hell is a reality in which Knowing there's a hell is too late. Once you know that there's a hell, it's already too late. Verse 27, Then he said, I pray thee therefore, Father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house, by a five brethren that that he may testify unto them, lest they also come unto this place of torment. Abraham said unto him, They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them. So this rich man is tormented in the flames of hell. He wishes he can get water. He wishes he can get rest and he finds none. He finds out that he can't leave hell because there's a great gulf fixed and therefore he's stuck there. And now this rich man is crying out that his family will know that there is a hell so that they won't come to this place. And Abraham tells this rich man, they have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them. Do you know what Moses and the prophets are? Your Bible. Your Bible. There are people in hell right now screaming in torment, wanting people to be warned about hell. But you know what Abraham said? They have the Bible. Let them hear of the Bible. Let them hear the Word of God. The problem is, there are people right now in hell screaming and tormenting and screeching and hurting and pain and turmoil. They have no rest day or night. They are tormented each day and night. There is no rest. The flames are a torment. People screaming, yelling, probably shouting, probably wanting people, wanting to warn people to not come to hell. And yet you've got family members that are still alive that are God-haters. They hate the Word of God. They don't want anything to do with the deal, to do with the Word of God. And while they are rejecting God and His Word, they probably got family members who are lying in torment and hell, begging them to not come to this place. All the while that they've got family members alive and well on earth. I can't say alive and well, but alive on earth, rejecting God, rejecting the word of God, rejecting the truth, all because they think it's some mythical fairy tale, while they've got dead relatives who've gone to hell, begging them to not come to this place. Wrap your minds around that reality. And Abraham said, they've got the Bible. Let's continue on. And he said, Nay, father Abraham, but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto them, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. Let's get real today. There's only one who rose from the dead. And that's Jesus Christ. Do you think people listen to Him even though He rose from the dead? Nope. Because this world ain't persuaded You know what bothers me is you've got people that will tell you of accounts of them dying and going to hell and coming back and saying hell is real. Really? You really think that somebody died, went to hell and came back? I don't think so. If you won't be convicted by the law as a sinner, the message that Jesus rose from the dead will be meaningless to you. I agree. I agree. Yeah, because the law is a schoolmaster pointing us to Christ. You get these people that claim that they died and went to hell. came back? I don't think so. Why would somebody be persuaded if one rose from the dead? If they weren't going to be persuaded by Christ coming back from the dead, what makes you think they're going to be persuaded by a man dying, going to hell for 23 minutes and coming back? Why do you think they will be persuaded? Secondly, you know that those who claim to have died and went to hell and came back, that's a lie. Because we see that there's a great gulf fixed. Means you cannot escape hell. You know, Moses represents the law. You know why? Because he is the law giver. And I'm being real. You've got this world who have family members who've died and went to hell, and those family members are in torment and in flames, screaming and shouting that they wouldn't come here, and yet their relatives that are alive are God-haters, God-despisers, they're abusers of their own selves, They reject the law. They reject God. They reject man's law. They reject all law. And while they're alive doing that, they've got their dead relatives in hell screaming. trying to get, trying to let them know to not come this place. And guess what? They're not, they're not going to be heard. Do you know why? Because the very thing that will keep people from going to hell, they've rejected. God didn't send them there. They sent themselves there. Why? Because they didn't want anything to do with God. God will give you what you want. That's why I say be careful what you ask for because you may just get it. It's a sad thing to have a family member lost and died in their sin and went to hell. When someone dies in their sin, when someone is lost and they die in their sin, they're going to realize real quick that hell was real. And when they realize hell is a truth, hell is a truth and reality in which when one knows it's too late. And I will tell you that when someone dies in their sin and they go to hell because they died in their sin and they rejected Christ, They're going to be screaming and shouting and begging their loved ones to not come here. All the while that they're still alive, still rejecting the Word of God, still rejecting what God's people tell them and are warning them. I want to give a warning to pastors because I think it's a needful warning. Pastors, I don't care what denomination, I don't care what church you pastor. This is a message I want to give to you, to all pastors. Be very careful how you conduct yourself. Be very careful at how you carry yourself. Be careful how you evangelize. Be careful. Be very, very careful how you witness to somebody. Be careful how you live your life. You don't want to be the reason why somebody chose to reject Christ and go to hell. You don't want to be put in a position where you cost somebody eternity all because of how you acted in front of them. Pastors, you need to be careful how you live your life. You need to be careful how you evangelize. Don't be one that's going to be a brawler and a contentious person. Because I promise you that contentious brawlers are only going to turn people off. And if you cost somebody eternity because you, pastor, were a contentious brawler, you will answer to God for that. I'm not playing around. I'm not playing games with no soul. And you shouldn't either. You don't see me getting joy out of having to teach on hell. I have to teach on it. I don't want to, but I have to. And I'm telling you right here and right now, don't be the reason that somebody chose hell over heaven. Don't cost someone their eternity because of how you are and how you live your life. Because right now there are people in hell right now in torments wishing and begging their family members not to come here. And guess what? They won't be heard. You know why? Because Abraham said they've got the Bible, they've got Moses, they've got the law, they've got the prophets. And if they won't hear them, who else do you think they're gonna hear? Pastors, you need to start taking your roles seriously. And you need to start... Pastors need to start getting right with God. You need to get right with God. You need to come back and repent. and you need to take your calling seriously. Failure to take your calling seriously can and will result in costing somebody eternity. You know why pastoring is a stressful calling? You know why not everyone is fit for that? Number one is as James says, is that being in leadership They receive the greater condemnation. Satan goes after those in leadership. Why? Because Satan knows it's those people in leadership that will lead people to Christ. I think we need to have more pastors and more preachers that take hell a little bit more seriously. Hell is not a funny subject. You got people right now, living, saying, going to hell, I'm proud of it. You know how foolish, you know how foolish that is? People holding up signs, I'm going to hell, I'm proud of it. They don't realize they've got family in hell right now, screaming and begging them to not come here, and yet you've got those relatives that are living, holding up signs, going to hell and proud of it. There's nothing proud about going to hell. Hell is not something that you can wear as a badge of honor. Hell is a holding place, is what it is. It's a holding place of torment. There's no water, there's flames, there's no rest. You're in agony. The question is, are you gonna be a beggar here, or are you going to live a good life and go to hell and be a beggar for all eternity? Because by the time you reach to being a beggar in hell for all eternity, that's it. The only time you'll be let out is to be resurrected and then to be judged. And then tossed alive into the lake of fire. If us Christians actually took the time and actually did a study in hell, we might change our attitude towards the lost. You know, it's sad that you got pastors that will preach all fuzzy wuzzy, scratchy eerie, you know, give me stuff I want to hear. And you got people that are lost and dying that are having parties and parting it up on their way to hell. I don't like, and by the way, this is not a turn or burn message. No. This is a, you need to get, you need to repent and get right. Because if you don't repent and get right, you will perish. You see, Jesus, Jesus never taught a turn and burn message. Oh, well, Brandon, how can you say that? Shame on you. First of all, Jesus never said turn or burn. He said if you don't repent you shall all likewise perish. Repentance is a change of mind. You know, some people will take the whole repent or perish as a means and justification to turn and burn, to preach a turn or burn message. Yeah, you're right. You can turn and still burn if you put your faith in your turning and not in Jesus Christ finished work on the cross. I don't like that turning, burning message. It's not biblical. Because turning implies that you have to turn to Jesus and that's what you're putting your faith and trust in as your work of turning away to go to Jesus. Exactly sister your works are your whole lifetime of deeds not just from this day forward You guys I'm I Really didn't want I really really didn't want to talk about hell today. I actually didn't realize I was gonna talk about hell today till literally before I came on here but listen I'm not gonna I'm not gonna apologize for preaching truth This is not a turn and burn message. This is a message of repent or ye shall all likewise perish message. There's a difference. Don't let anyone try to con you and lie to you that turn and burn is the same thing as repent or perish. Listen, hell is not a topic to be taken lightly. Jesus spoke more in hell than he did heaven. You know, I told my pastor that Sunday. God gives me a church to pastor. There's going to be two things I'm going to emphasize on, Lord willing. First thing is going to be missions. Missions is important. We need to get the Word of God out. But the second thing is going to be evangelism. And evangelism Evangelism is important. The Word of God needs to get out. Now, I don't know about you, but can somebody... I want you guys to do me a favor. I want you to actually go and search and see if there is any biblical reasoning behind confrontational evangelism. Because when I hear the words confrontational evangelism, they don't sit right with me. And I'm going to be honest with you, I don't think confrontational evangelism is actually biblical. By the way, do you want to know what confrontational means? Confrontational means being very aggressive, confrontational way of talking to people. A face to face meeting. The clashing of forces or ideas. Conflict. Where in the Bible does it, where in the Word of God does it actually advocate confrontational evangelism? Because to me, based on what I'm reading, it's almost like having an attitude of aggressive and meanness. Where in the Bible does it advocate for confrontational evangelism? Last time I checked, Jesus never did that. Confrontational is behaving in an angry or unfriendly way that is likely to cause argument People, are you waking up now? Let me read that again. Behaving in an angry or unfriendly way that is likely to cause an argument. What does that mean? Being a brawler. Being contentious. And I want you all to hear me out. And hear me out good. Anybody who promotes confrontational evangelism is a prideful, contentious brawler that doesn't know the Word of God. The Bible does not promote confrontational evangelism. Anybody who promotes that doesn't know the Word of God. And anybody who promotes that is going to be susceptible at costing people eternity. This confrontational evangelism nonsense is nonsense. And we just got done talking about hell. I'm telling you. Don't be one. Do not be one to be promoting confrontational evangelism. Sister, you're right. Jesus said, learn of me for I am meek and lowly at heart. Do you think Jesus was a brawler? No. First of all, if Jesus was a brawler and someone that was contentious, why would he tell his followers to be the opposite of that? So the fact that God says, don't be a brawler, don't be contentious, is showing you that God is not contentious and God is not a brawler. People need to get their head on straight. And I'm sorry I'm getting a little passionate, but it really bothers me when people think they can be confrontational while evangelism. I'm serious. Anyone who promotes confrontational evangelism. Let me read. I'm going to close. I'm going to close. And I'm going to close by saying this. I'm going to close and re-reading a couple times what the word confrontational means. Confrontational. Behaving in an angry or unfriendly way that is likely to cause an argument. behaving in an angry or unfriendly way that is likely to cause an argument. What does the Bible say about a bishop? What does the Bible say about that? 1 Timothy 3, this is a true saying, if a man desires the office of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop that must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given a hospitality apt to teach, not given to wine, nor no striker, not greedy, a filthy looker, but patient, not a brawler, not covetous. What does it say in Titus? Titus chapter 1. For a bishop must be blameless as the steward of God. What did we just talk about today? We talked about stewardship. We talked about hell. for a bishop must be blameless as the steward of God. What does that show you? That a pastor is a steward. Not self-willed. Hang on, ready? Hang on. Hold on. As Pastor Reg would say, hold on to your hats. Ready? Get ready for it. Not self-willed. not soon angry, not given to wine nor striker, not given a filthy looker. Titus himself said, not soon angry. That is a qualification of a bishop. What did we read about the word confrontational? Behaving in an angry or unfriendly way that is likely to cause an argument. Do y'all get that now? So I'm telling you right here and right now, whoever is promoting confrontational evangelism is not just violating the qualifications of a bishop, but they are in direct rebellion towards the Word of God. And they'll have to answer for it. Anyways, you guys, I love you very much. You guys are the reason why I do what I do. I don't take what I said today lightly. I hope and pray you guys don't either. I hope and pray that you learned something today. And I'm sorry I went off kind of on a tangent, but I think what I said here at the end ties into what we talked about about hell. You don't want to be one to cost somebody eternity. You don't want to be the reason why somebody chooses hell over heaven. A lot of pastors need to, I think a lot of pastors need to take a beat. take a chill pill. They need to quit being brawlers. They need to quit being prideful. They need to quit going on an ego trip. I think there are pastors out there that need to quit promoting confrontational evangelism. You know what, I might actually do a video Lord willing, I might actually do a video on confrontational evangelism. Because I really think it'd be worth showing how unbiblical that is. But I'm going to tell you, it's going to make people mad, I promise you. Do I care? No. I don't care. I'm not in ministry to please man. I'm here to do what God tells me to. But anyways, I love you guys. Love you all who will be tuning in later. I don't take joy in having to preach on hell. I don't. Matter of fact, I really wish pastors would straighten themselves out. Okay, I hate to say that that way because I don't want to, let me stop myself right there. I really wish that pastors would straighten out. I really wish pastors would strike now, swallow their pride, quit being on an ego trip, and actually take soul seriously. I'm serious, especially when it comes to evangelism. We don't need none of this nonsense of yelling and screaming and shouting and calling names, no. Listen, hell is too serious to be promoting things such as confrontational evangelism. Shouldn't be. Hell is way too serious for that. I don't, I just don't get this world. I'm telling you, the Bible's right. The Bible is right. The love of many will wax cold. Do you know why? Because of iniquity. Do you know why people think that confrontational evangelism is actually biblical? It's because of sin. They think it's biblical when it's not. Why? Because of pride, because of sin. They think that they know more than God. They think that they know more than you and they don't. Matter of fact, they don't know nothing. And anybody who thinks that confrontational evangelism is the right way of doing things, they're wrong. Because I bet you I can get a group of men together, I can go out and street preach and have people pass out tracts with the same message and yet still win people without being confrontational about it. Breaks my heart. I really cannot imagine how God feels about his ministers being brawlers. Just being honest with you. Now listen, I didn't call anybody out. I didn't call anybody out. I never mention names. So if anybody that wants to watch this and you feel like I'm talking about somebody, well, don't you think that maybe God's trying to show you who it is? Or if anyone seems to be bothered by what I teach and preach, don't you think that maybe God may be convicting you in some areas? I'm not going to apologize for telling the truth. I will apologize if I said something wrong or misled somebody. I'll apologize for that, but I will never apologize for telling the truth. Anyways, listen, I love you guys. I'm going to sign off for the day. Saturday, Lord willing, I'm gonna be talking about, it'll be contentions part three, why Christ is not a contentious brawler, and then next week we'll get into Luke chapter 17, okay? So, but again, pray for me, pray for the ministry, pray for the videos, pray for Brother Joey, pray for Brother Poplin, pray for our brothers and sisters, pray for one another, pray for our enemies, pray for our nation, amen. we need to pray for them. But anyways, with that said, I love you guys, God bless you, you guys have a great rest of your day, have a great week, and have a good time in church tomorrow, alright? Love you guys, God bless you, see ya, love ya, bye.