The Lost Fear of Hell (Part B)

You're going to act upon his word, but you're going to stand up for righteousness with more strength than you've been standing up for unrighteousness. Do you notice that the people who stand up for evil put a lot of energy into that stance? God says, why can't you just redirect that into righteousness?

Why can't you be useful? Why can't you be saved and come join me in heaven with his joy forevermore? Is it that you don't believe in hell? Have you lost the fear of hell? If you don't get it back, I can't get you back. Now here's Pastor Rick with his continuing study called The Lost Fear of Hell in Isaiah chapter 1.

I'm not listening because you've demonstrated that you will not submit. A half-baked faith is a ruined faith. Ephraim has mixed himself among the peoples.

Ephraim is a cake unturned. Ephraim was up in the north. They had joined the world. They weren't doing what Yahweh said. They were doing what all the pagans were doing. They were worshiping their idols. They were practicing idolatry and all the filth that went with it with abandonment, with no shame. And God sent them prophets and Hosea was one. And the voice of Hosea was this, you're breaking my heart.

God's speaking through the man, through his own life. And then he says Ephraim is a cake unturned. You just cooked on one side. You're not done.

You're not right. You're not edible. You're beneath what you are supposed to be or you're not what you're supposed to be. My intentions are not malicious towards those deceived. If there's someone here this morning and you're falling for Satan's stupidity, I'm not trying to be malicious towards you, but I am trying to be malicious towards the influences of Satan himself. And we make enemies that way.

The Bible tells us that we will make enemies that way. When swinging for you, I'm going for your heart. I want you to know you're missing out on the love of Christ and the life in Christ. But also I'm swinging for, I'm taking headshots at Satan. Proverbs 15, 12, the scoffer does not love the one who corrects him, nor will he go to the wise.

Why not? Because they know the wise are going to set them straight and they don't want to be set straight. They want their evil. And this is why God says, I'm not listening to you. I don't want no more your sacrifices, your new moons, your festive day. Those are holidays that God instituted with his people. He's saying, I'm not taking it from you. You can go and you can say Merry Christmas all you want.

I'm not listening because you're not listening to me. God's word is a hammer on the guilty conscience, which is one reason why many don't want to come to a church that preaches God's word. Jeremiah 23, verse 29, is not my word like fire, says Yahweh, like a hammer that breaks rock in pieces. That's a heavy hammer. That's a sledgehammer, 20 pounder.

It's called a Monday. Well, never mind. You'll only have yourself to blame if you don't listen to me preach the word. I mean, you don't have to listen to my opinion about everything else, but when it comes to the word of God, if the word be true and you don't listen to whatever messenger is presenting it to you, you're in trouble. I preach this because Satan is preaching to you. He's preaching to our youth, and we're living in an age where our females are more susceptible to this, this seemingly than ever, just like Eve.

They're quick to take the fruit. They're quick to disagree with God and agree with Satan, though they don't think it's Satan. It's just a shiny little serpent, not even a serpent at that time, just a shiny thing.

All that glitter ain't gold. Look at verse 18 of Isaiah chapter 1 if you still have your Bibles marked for Isaiah 1. Here's God's response. Come now, let us reason together, says Yahweh, though your sins are like scarlet. That means really bad. They shall be as white as snow. That's really good.

Though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. In the midst of God's judgment, he's saying, look, I'm trying to reach you. What do I have to do? Die for you on a cross?

Okay, I'll do that. And then you thumb your nose at him. It's because you think God is too stupid to see you doing these things, because you don't believe in hell. The fear of hell is gone from you, and you resent that the righteous still fear it. This keeps up the editing of Scripture. If it's tolerated, if it's not addressed and confronted when realized it's taking place, it will spread like leaven. It will wipe out a whole church. It will wipe out a whole denomination.

If a little leaven leavens the lump, what does a lot of leaven do? 1 Corinthians chapter 5, there were those in that church that were in blatant sin, without shame, and they were patting themselves on the back. Yeah, we've got them over here. This one's doing that.

This one's there. But we love them. Paul writes to them. He says, your glorying is not good, 1 Corinthians 5, 6. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? You're killing yourselves.

You put a little poison in, and it's going to poison the whole thing. Because leaven in Scripture, of course, is corruption, the corruption that kills, that dam souls. God intended Israel to be a channel, a blessing to the nations. Isaiah 1 tells us that that wasn't happening. At this time, they were not blessing the nations. The nations were corrupting them. So they couldn't be useful to God because they wouldn't repent.

And this is the same way with many today. They won't be useful to God because they won't repent because of their sin. And because of their sin here in Isaiah chapter 1, we're told in verse 5, he says, why should you be stricken again? The judgment was starting on them. He addressed them as Sodom and Gomorrah. The leaders were Sodom and the people were Gomorrah. That was a charge, and it was a sentence at the same time.

God was trying to reach them. Is this what you want? Let's just understand. Is this what you want? Do you want to be on their side or my side?

Pick. Sin as an accepted lifestyle was what they chose. Again, the loss, that lost fear of hell, it flips your priorities. Now, I've said this a lot from the pulpit. I'm not the only one that's ever said it, but the Christian life moves by fact, faith, and feeling in that order. If you flip that over and you put feelings first, then you're going to be doing it the devil's way. If your feelings are running the ship, you're going to shipwreck.

That is not a possibility. That is a fact. Our faith is built on fact, on truth, not just because we never leap, just take a leap in the dark. We leap into the light. The lost, again, when you lose the fear of hell, your priorities are gone. You don't understand what's important to God, the meaning of the cross. Outreach is ruined. Truth is not there any longer. You're entangled.

You're in error. You're distracted, and you're in sin. Paul warned Timothy, he says, listen, he's very tempted to get entangled in all these causes that are out there.

Don't do it. 2 Timothy 2 verse 4, no one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. Would I want someone hearing a sermon like this to say, fine, I'm not going to play games anymore. I'm going to renounce Christ. I don't want anyone to renounce Christ.

And if you do something as silly as that, your judgment is sure and on you. Again, I want them to repent, and I want them to repent right away. As they try to play God for a fool at the temple here in Isaiah 1 and in other parts of Israel's history, we see them doing it in churches.

They did it in the New Testament church when the apostles were still alive. Revelation chapter 2 verse 20, nevertheless, I have a few things against you, Christ speaking to a church, because you allow that woman Jezebel who calls herself a prophetess to teach and seduce my servants to commit sexual immorality and to eat things strangled to idols. You've been there holding seminars on how to go against what God says in the church and they're tolerating it.

Nobody wanted to speak up. Nobody wanted to hurt anyone's feelings with the truth. When moral commandments become secondary to other concerns, you've lost your sense of what hell is all about and people going there.

Because now you're fighting some other cause. When Jesus says, what does it profit a man if he gains the world and loses his soul? It's about the soul. You want to send them to hell first class? That's not God's way. That's Satan's way. And many Christians are doing just that. When they meet somebody, they're not interested in saving a soul. They're not interested in exalting Christ. They're interested in other things first.

What they feel, what they enjoy, what they have decided is most important. I think sometimes they don't know that this is taking place and I think other times they don't care. It is disturbing. It is alarming to see Christians confused in the voting booth when the agendas are stark. They're night and day.

There's no gray at this point. It is that clear and to empower those who hate Jesus Christ and the church that he bought with his blood, it ain't going to go well for you. You're fighting God.

You're siding with his enemies. I've preached on, or I mentioned it Sunday, I guess Wednesday, 2 Chronicles 19, when Jehu, the good king, came back from surviving the battlefield with an evil king because he wanted to make an alliance. He thought he knew better than God. And the prophet confronted him. Jehu went out to meet him and said to King Jehoshaphat, should you help the wicked and love those who hate Yahweh? Therefore, the wrath of Yahweh is on you.

It's pretty severe. You can't look at that and say, see, God didn't really care what they were doing. It didn't matter. The king loved God. Jehoshaphat did love Yahweh, but he was sinning. And the prophet was sent to correct him, and he corrected it. And I won't go the same way with Asa, another king. The first time, he received the blessings. The second time, and I'll hopefully come to that in a little bit.

I'll wait. We'll bookmark that thought. Point I'm making is moral commandments are not to be secondary to other things, and this is why we have people empowering wicked people, evil people, in the voting booth because some other thing is more important to them than the morality of heaven. They missed the good fight, the fight that Christ died for. Proverbs chapter 14, there is a way that seems right to a man, but its way leads to death. I think a lot of Christians, I'm not going to say Christians, I think a lot of professing Christians who are trampling the commandments of God while insisting they love the Lord, I think that they know it's wrong, but nobody is standing up to them.

No one is saying you can't do that. I don't care what books you read, I don't care what degree you have, I don't care what school you went to, I don't care what church you go to, I don't care how much you pray, how much you fast, how much you tithe. If you are going against God's word, you are against God.

It's not complicated. 1 Corinthians 6 chapter 12, fight the good fight of faith, lay hold of eternal life to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. What is the good confession?

That means you're honoring what God says. You're pursuing truth. Is this sinking in or is Satan plucking up the seeds and snatching them away?

Is it sinking in? Are you so far gone you can't be reached? And then I'm the bad guy.

I can weep over this, I can be firm, and it doesn't matter what I do or anybody else. Your heart is set on hell because you don't believe the righteousness of God. Matthew 13, 7, and some fell among the thorns and the thorns sprang up and choked them out. The seed, which is the word of God, the lost fear of hell. So let's look at the scripture on this subject because hell is ready and it is excited to receive you, the church goers who claim Christ. Isaiah 14 verse 9, hell from beneath is excited about you to meet you at your coming. It stirs up the dead for you, all the chief ones of the earth. It has raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. Now this is concerning the king of Babylon and it expands into Satan, but the point is made. It is illustrated for us. God says hell has made room for you.

It has renovated itself so there'll be enough space for you. Isaiah 5 verse 14, therefore she old, which is death, has enlarged itself and opened its mouth beyond measure. Their glory and their multitude and their pomp and he who is jubilant shall descend into it.

You catch that? They're going to hell and they're happy because they don't believe in hell. They don't have a fear of hell. Paul asks, he says, how shall they believe in him or how shall they call upon him whom they've not believed? And how shall they believe in him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?

He's reasoning with them. He says this is a real war and speaking God's word is one of the ways we win this war. The lost fear of hell is a very real and serious thing. Jesus Christ is sovereign and to be obeyed. Revelation chapter 1 verse 18, I am he who lives and was dead and behold I am alive forevermore.

Amen. I have the keys of Hades and of death. I hold the keys of those things that pertain to the end of this life and death in spiritual life.

I own it. The Psalmist said I don't want to go to the same place as sinners go. Hell has a place for people like Stalin. Stalin killed over 40 million of his own people and that's probably a conservative estimate. He planned famines to kill his own people.

The man was diabolical. God has a place for people like that. It's called hell. Psalm 26 verse 9, the Psalmist says do not gather my soul with sinners nor my life with bloodthirsty men.

The saint is one that's separated, that's not like everybody else. Or maybe I'm speaking to the dead fish. Will the dead fish please raise their hand? They're just going to go downstream with the world.

They're going to do whatever the world says and they're going to block out anybody who dares come against them. This is what we're up against and this fight is worth it. You have a parent or a coworker, you have a child, you have anybody in your life that has no fear of hell, that is a fight for you as the Lord directs of course because you can't fight them all.

There are just too many. You wouldn't be able to eat. You'd be so busy praying for everybody.

You'd pass out from being famished. If you don't fear hell it is because you don't fear God. Luke chapter 12 verse 5, but I will show you whom you should fear. Fear him whom after he has killed has power to cast into hell. Yes, I say to you, fear him. I'd love to come up here and just preach nice things about the holiness of God, the beauty of the Lord and there are times for that.

This just ain't it. Those who refuse to listen to God's word, the Bible says they're stupid. Proverbs 12, whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid. Now if you were to say, Lord, do you mean that to those people that hear the gospel and reject it?

Do you think he's going to say no? It's not rational. That's why he says here, come, let's reason then.

I'll give you a chance to not be stupid unless you insist. Warning these types of church goers irks them a lot. Proverbs 9-7, he who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself and he who rebukes a wicked man only harms himself. So the proverb is saying, you know, you try to point it out and they're going to turn on you.

Then there is selective ignorance, which brings great consequence. Hosea chapter four, my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge because you have rejected knowledge. I also will reject you from being priest for me because you have forgotten the law of your God.

I will forget your children. The context is even deeper than what I'm reading. He's saying to them as a people, you're so useless to me because you just have this ignorance when it comes to holiness and righteousness and you refuse correction. Well, when I was preparing this to the Lord, there are just so many verses I could go on.

I edited out so much from Jeremiah, so many things. I buttoned the recital of scriptures and start closing it up with this. Daniel chapter 12, and many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. That's contempt without an end from God himself. God says, I'll tell you what I'm looking for. Isaiah 66 two. But on this one, will I look on him who is poor and of a contrite heart or spirit who trembles at my word, who trembles at my word. But if you have no fear of hell, you're not going to tremble at God's word. God likes the way some believers think and all believers should want him to like should put us in that category.

Romans 12 verse two. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable, perfect will of God. No, don't listen to that. Please go to the Internet. Get your theology there. Do what the world tells you on the Internet. Follow people on the Internet who aren't following God and don't want you to follow God.

Satan is using them as his vehicle of hatred against God. And if you are going to lie down and let him walk over it, guess what? You're going to be walked over. And in the end, what do you get? Hell. Those in hell remember they're wrong. When Jesus gave the story about the rich man and Lazarus, the only story that he gave a name and two names, as a matter of fact, when the rich man was appealing to Abraham to have mercy on him, Abraham said, Sorry, there's a big gap between us. Can't do anything about this.

It's fixed. And then Abraham said, Luke Chapter 16, verse 25, But Abraham said, Son, remember that in your lifetime. That's all I need to read. He said, Remember, you know what you did wrong and it's with you forever. Second Thessalonians Chapter one, verse nine.

These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power. But the unbeliever says, I don't think God has that right. He doesn't have the right to hold me accountable. He doesn't have the right to make things illegal or sinful.

He God needs to just shut up and give me what I need. That's not how it goes. They don't change their attitude. So Jesus said there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth because they're judged. What does that mean? He says, Matthew 25, verse 30, Cast the unprofitable servant into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The gnashing of teeth is anger.

It's anger towards God. How dare you? How dare you judge me? I said, going to hell.

There will be no more no rocks or mountains to hide them, fall upon them. Just the judgment. One of the greatest woes of hell for the impenitent man is that he will be rendered absolutely irrelevant. You think you have a problem now with esteem and how other people think of you?

What's going on? You wait to see what happens when you get to hell. You won't count. You won't matter. No one there will.

C.S. Lewis makes this comment. The ultimate aim of hell is to get a man's soul and give him nothing in return. You see why it's hard to read what God is saying from the scripture about those who are rejecting him? You don't want this to happen to anyone. Proverbs says he who is often rebukes hardens his neck will suddenly be destroyed and without remedy. I'm tired of you correcting me. I'm tired of hearing the preaching.

See, that's hardening the heart, stiffening the neck. Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. Whatever a man sows that he will reap.

I'm going to close with this. God reaching out to Asa the king. Asa was doing things that reduced God. So the Lord sent his messenger to speak to him. It's the father of Jehu who went to speak to Jehoshaphat and he goes out to confront him. And he says, The eyes of Yahweh run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to him.

In this you have done foolishly. Therefore, from now on, you shall have wars. Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in prison. For he was enraged at him because of this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at that time.

Asa died a miserable death, incidentally. He was started out with such potential to be righteous. But he drifted from God more and more until finally he's making deals with godless people and trusting them and his deals and not God. And when God comes out and says, Listen, God is looking for people to serve him. He's looking for them. Be one of them, Asa.

Be one of the ones that God is looking for. But Asa refused. He got angry at him for daring to stand up to him and tell him what God wanted. So he persecuted him because other things were more important. The morality of heaven didn't matter to him. The thus saith the Lord does not account as much as I want to do this.

Well, that's all I've got to say about that. Except one last note before it's too late, before it gets to the place where your pastor can't help you, or your friends, your children, your parents, before it comes to no one can help you, repent. Tell God that you are sorry for that behavior, that you're going to fix it, you're going to act upon his word, that you're going to stand up for righteousness with more strength than you've been standing up for unrighteousness. Do you notice that the people who stand up for evil put a lot of energy into that stance? God says, why can't you just redirect that into righteousness?

Why can't you be useful? Why can't you be saved and come join me in heaven with his joy forevermore? Is it that you don't believe in hell? Have you lost the fear of hell?

If you don't get it back, I can't get you back. Thanks for tuning in to Cross Reference Radio today. Cross Reference is the daily radio ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville in Virginia. You can learn about this ministry by visiting our website, crossreferenceradio.com. You'll also be able to listen to more teachings from Pastor Rick, as well as subscribe to our podcast. When you subscribe, you'll be notified every time we post a new edition of Cross Reference Radio. Just search for Cross Reference Radio in iTunes, Google Play Music, or your favorite podcast store. Or just follow the links you'll find at crossreferenceradio.com. We're glad we were able to spend time with you today. Tune in next time to continue learning from God's word with Pastor Rick, right here on Cross Reference Radio.