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23 Minutes in Hell
By Bill Wiese
Part 3

Part 1

You might be saying to yourself.  "I'm pretty good.  I'm a pretty good person. I don't deserve that place."  And you probably are pretty good, compared to most people.  But that's not what you need to compare yourself to.  We need to compare ourselves to God's standard.  His standard is so much higher than ours.  He says in the Word that if you lie once, just once in your whole life, that makes you a liar.  If you've stole one thing in your life, a paper clip, a couple minutes of your boss's time, anything, just once.  That makes you a thief.  If you were angry without cause, if you didn't forgive someone that did something wrong against you, if you lusted after a women, any of these things, if you just did it one time, that makes you a sinner, and you can't make it to heaven.  So you see all of us come short.  We all fall short and can't get there on our own works.  Titus 3:5 says,

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us...
Amen, so it depends on how you compare.  It's like a woman that saw a flock of sheep on a hill, and they were all so white and beautiful against this hill.  She said, "Look at those white sheep, look how beautiful they look, so white."  She went to bed and overnight it snowed.  She looked up the next morning and saw the sheep and they all looked dull, dingy and gray compared to the white snow.  So we need to compare ourselves to God.  His standard is way higher than ours.  So we have need of a Savior.  We can't get there on our own.  God made it a free gift.  He said in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No man come unto the Father but by Me."  He's the only way out of this place. 

So if there's anyone here who doesn't know the Lord, anyone here who really has never asked Jesus to be Lord and Savior of your life.  You never really came to that point where you really had to voice it out your own mouth and ask Him to come into your life, would you stand up?  If there's anybody here would you stand up now, for Jesus?  Don't let the devil, that creature laugh at you.  Stand up now, when you have the chance, because you don't know how much time we have.  You don't know that you might die tomorrow, and end up in that place. 

Let me tell you, that place, just the heat alone would be horrible to endure.  Those people that we saw jump out of the New York towers.  They held hands and jumped.  How horrible that must have been.  You know if you've ever been up high and looked down, to jump would be unthinkable.  But they had to face that heat.  And that was only for about five seconds, it would have incinerated them and that was about two thousand degrees.  Scientists say that in the center of the earth is about twelve thousand degrees.  So you have to endure that for eternity.  If you're willing to go through that, that would be awfully foolish.  Now is the time....

(announcer speaking)
The Bible is real plain, we are all sinners, and whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.  Jesus said if you will confess me before men, publicly, then I will in turn; confess your name before my heavenly Father and the Holy angels.  But if you deny me before men, I will deny you before my Father.  I want to ask you to do something.  If you've never publicly, in front of other people, if you've never publicly declared Jesus Christ as your Savior, and made Him the Lord of your life, or if you're unsure whether heaven is your eternal home, remember Jesus hung naked on a cross, in a market place, he hung there for you, He endured your shame.

If you'll pray this prayer from the depths of your heart, God will save your soul, and He'll give you an opportunity in the not to distant future for you to make it public.  Pray with us, especially those who are in the congregation and know you should.  "God I believe in You.  You are my Creator.  I am a sinner.  I sinned in many points, willfully, and unconsciously.  I've fallen short.  I've missed the mark.  I'm stained with sin.  Jesus I believe in You.  You are the eternal Son of God.  You're the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, who takes away my sin.  I believe You died on a cross.  Shedding Your innocent blood for my guilty soul.  I believe You were buried and on the third day You arose.  You are alive forever more.  I call You my Lord.  I call You my Savior.  I give You my life.  I will love You, serve you for the rest of my days.  I belong to You, the good parts, the bad parts, the sinful parts, all my plans, all my dreams, I give everything to you.  Thy will be done in me.  I believe I'm saved.  Not by good works, but by faith, by trusting in You.  In Jesus I pray.  Amen."
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