A Postcard from Hell Pastor S.

James
www.gracetabernaclehyd.org
Father this morning, once again as we wait at Your feet, I pray Lord that You will speak to us. Speak to us that we would
truly hear and receive Your Word, obey Your Word, so that when You come back, the question You ask before You left,
When the Son of man comes back, will He find faith on earth? there would be a re-sounding, Yes from Hyderabad, that
there is faith here, we believed, we prepared, we waited and we were not caught by surprise. I pray, Father, that the hearing
of Your Word will always bring that preparation in our inner man. That we do not come to Church because its a ritual, we
come to Church because we are in the relationship with God, an abiding relationship with God. So speak to us, Spirit of God,
this morning. For in Jesus precious name we pray. Amen and Amen.

A little girl was punished for misbehavior, so she was asked to eat her dinner all alone in the corner and the rest of the
family was enjoying their dinner at the table until they heard her say grace and she said, My Lord, I thank You for
spreading a table in the presence of my enemies.

So this morning we will turn to a very familiar portion, we have read it many times, heard me ssages on it many times, but
lets go back to

Luke 16:19-31
19
There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. 20 But there
was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, 21 desiring to be fed with the crumbs which
fell from the rich mans table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 So it was that the beggar died, and was
carried by the angels to Abrahams bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And being in torments in Hades, he
lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 Then he cried and said, Father Abraham, have
mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in
this flame. 25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus
evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. 26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great
gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us. 27 Then he
said, I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my fathers house, 28 for I have five brothers, that he may
testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment. 29 Abraham said to him, They have Moses and the prophets;
let them hear them. 30 And he said, No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent. 31 But
he said to him, If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the
dead.

I dont know why we have to go back to this portion again, but the Lord knows. Lets go back to verse 19, now as we have
heard often, this is not a parable. This is a real story. In parables, names are not mentioned. The story of two real people.
Jesus, for us and all those who went before us and after us, just opened a glimpse of hell and shut it and says, You can tak e
a look. If you dont believe what I say, you can take a look, its a real place. The story of two real men, two real places.
Simply looking at it, there was a rich man and there was a poor man. In verse 19, is the rich man; in verse 20 is the poor
man. And the division of life on earth, there are the rich and the poor. There are many other divisions, we have: the
educated, the uneducated, the wealthy, the healthy, the weak, so many division we have on earth. But post death, there is
only on division; one went to heaven, the other went to hel l. There are no other divisions. Please remember, its very
simple: post death the division is clear; either you make it to heaven or you make it to hell. And it is so simple that we co uld
miss it, because we live in this very temporal world and therefore we complicate things.

But the Word of God is very clear about the unseen and the eternal, the seen and the eternal. And the unseen is seen only
through the Word of God, unless God choses to open a door and show it to us. So just because we dont see it, doesnt
mean that it is not real. And just because we see something, it doesnt mean it is real either. For something to be true,
please remember, it has to last. Nothing in this world is true, because Scripture says, the world is passing away, and
therefore it is not true. It may be real for us but it is not true, because whatever is true never passes away. Thats why God
says, The only thing thats true on earth right now is My Word. Heaven and earth will pass away but not even a dot from
My Word. Therefore we see the unseen, the eternal, explained to us by the Word of God.
A Postcard from Hell

In the temporal, the seen realm, the rich man seems to have everything, he seems to have everything but when he got to
hell he suddenly realized that his soul was starving and parche d. He never realized that when he was on earth. When he
was on earth, he thought that he had everything, but when he reached hell, he realized that he had nothing for his soul, it
was starving and it was parched. Yet on earth everybody who passed by his gate must have thought that Lazarus seems to
be a total loser, in the temporal. But when he died, he seems to have a lot; he was even escorted by the angels to heaven,
when about the rich man it is simply written that he was buried.

What you and I see today is irrelevant, for in the great division of eternity only one thing matters; are you washed by the
Blood of the Lamb? If not, if you are still in sin and if you were to die at the end of this message, you would be surprised
where you reach. There is only one divide. Are you saved? Or are you not? There is only one question, probably, God will
ask, I dont know in which way He will ask, but the meaning of the question is: what did you do with My Son? And if we
have no answer, then He has to deal with our sin. If we didnt allow the Son to deal with our sin, then the Father has to deal
with our sin. So there is only one divide: are you saved? Or are you not? Are you living for this temporal time? Or are you
living for eternity? How do you know that you are saved? You know that you are saved because you are living for eternity
and not long for temporal time. For things seen or things unseen, what are you living for?

But the problem is whether one will be in heaven or in hell in torment, will be decided by ea ch one here. It is not decided at
the point of death or post death. It is decided now. You have only one chance, thats what Scripture says; it is appointed
unto every man to die once and then it is judgment. So when we are living here, the question is: wh at did we do with Jesus?
What are the choices we made? The tragedy of this story is; it was too late for this man. The blessing we have, unlike this
man, is the mistake of another man is shown to us so that we wont make the same mistake. Thats the bless ing. Before
Jesus told this story, the ones who lived before this rich man did not actually have a story, a real story like this to look and
say, Wow, this is real. I better make my peace while Im living. But we have this chance, and Jesus Himself spoke about it.
It is one of the places where God, like I said, opens up the eternal and shows us a glimpse of hell.

Now lets look at some of the things the Father is trying to tell His children. Like I told you, we looked at it before but i t is
not the same way. First thing that the Father is trying to tell us is this: all who go in there, please remember, never get out.
This is not the same story with heaven. About heaven Scripture says; He (Jesus) with His tens and thousands of saints will
come. Meaning: you can move around anywhere from heaven. There are no restrictions, but if you get into hell, you never
get out. You can never get out. This man knew that he could never get out. How do we know that? If you read the account,
he never asked for it. Are you getting it? And if you didnt know, he knew it. Listen to what Abraham says to him in verse 26,
Abraham says

Luke 16:26
26
And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you
cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.

I believe, when eternity actually begins for us, everybody in heaven will be allowed to go everywhere except hell. No visiting
relatives there. Anyway you wouldnt want to go there for your vacation. There is an inseparable gap, once you get in, you
dont get out. It is a place where there is no hope; its a place where prayer avails nothing. Its a place everyone believes but
no one is saved. It is a place, finally, where everybody believes in God and in the Son of God and in His sacrifice but nobody
is saved. It is a place where finally everyone believes in God and in the Son of God and His sacrifice but nobody is saved. And
I believe, it is also a place where everyone prays but no one is heard. He prayed in hell. Some of the most fervent ineffective
prayer meetings go on in hell day and night, crying to the Lord for mercy. It is never heard. And God warns us of a time like
that in Proverbs 1:24-30 (It is actually talking about a time like that)

Proverbs 1:24-30
24
Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded, 25 Because you disdained all
my counsel, And would have none of my rebuke, 26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes,
27
When your terror comes like a storm, And your destruction comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come
upon you. 28 Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they will not find
me.29 Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD , 30 They would have none of my counsel And
despised my every rebuke.

www.gracetabernaclehyd.org |2
A Postcard from Hell

Are you getting it? There is a time that you can fast; anyway they are all fasting in hell. You can pray, you can cry, non -stop
prayer meetings would go on because you dont even sleep in hell. But God says, You are not heard". Like I said, probably
more people today even at this point are praying in hell than in the Churches right now. The largest meetings where so
many cry out with a fervency which is never seen or heard. But God says, I laugh". Look at the second thing in Verse 20

Luke 16:24
24
Then he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in
water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

The problem is mercy is found only on this side of the grave. It is not found on that side. Mercy is found only this side. Is nt
it interesting that while living, this man had no regard for God and now on the other side, he has all the tim e to pray. He has
all the time to pray. So many people on this side have no time for prayer meetings. They are too busy with temporal things.
Dont worry, if you dont make it you will have all the time to catch up. But it will be of no avail. Now he is feeling his sin and
he is feeling his need for a Savior, he is begging for mercy. But God says, I am sorry, it is too late". There is torment in hell,
there are flames in hell. Scripture says, Where the fire never dies and the worms never die". The fire ne ver goes out and
the worms never die, I dont know what kind of a worm is that, that can thrive in the fire. And in the heat you do not even
have access to a drop of water. Yet, while living on earth, Jesus told us in Matthew 5:6

Matthew 5:6
6
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.

Did you see that mans hunger and thirst now? One drop, mercy, father. Yet God had said, "This is the time he is asking
for one drop of water, just tip of your finger, one drop. In John 4:13, for those who are hungry and thirsty, this is what Jesus
told a poor woman-

John 4:13
13
Jesus answered and said to her, Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I
shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up
into everlasting life.

He said, When you were on earth, you could have drank that water and you would have been never thirsty, never thirsty.
But you didnt. You chose not to." In John 7:37 again Jesus says

John 7:37
37
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me
and drink.

The rich man did not. Now he is thirsty. The invitation has been going on for centuries, Come and drink. This is the time
you can come and drink and your real thirst of your soul can be quenched". In Revelation 21:6

Revelation 21:6
6
And He said to me, It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of
the water of life freely to him who thirsts.

But did we? Freely He says. It is available for anybody. Just a prayer away, just a call of mercy away. He says, You can
drink". In

Revelation 22:17
17
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come! And let him who hears say, Come! And let him who thirsts come. Whoever
desires, let him take the water of life freely.

What is this? Who is this? The Spirit and the bride. Now in heaven, post everything is over, the bride of Jesus Christ and the
Holy Spirit is telling all the saved nations, Come and drink freely, but not in hell, not even a drop". There is no life there. To

www.gracetabernaclehyd.org |3
A Postcard from Hell

those who received Him when they were alive, even post resurrection they are allowed to come and have even m ore of
Him, Partake more of Me. Come and whoever desires let him take the water of life freely but now in torment, he is asking
for one drop. The call from heaven is always, Come and drink freely". The cry of Hell is always this - at least one drop. Can
you imagine if anyone of you were allowed access in hell with one drop of God's Salvation - there would be a stampede;
there would be a riot there to get to it. Can you imagine what would happen in hell? If God says, Okay! Sammy, take on e
drop of Salvation and offer it at hell; you will have a stampede, everybody trying to grab it. But while they were living, it was
so freely offered day after day, week after week. No, we are busy. While living, millions upon millions of God's servants
have left everything and have gone out day after day to the ends of the earth offering a Salvation that is free. That flowed
from the very side of the Savior, that was rend by the spear of a Roman soldier. Yet, people have turned away in disdain.
They have mocked, they have scorned and they have killed those who offer them the free water of Salvation. But a day will
come and has come for many, when they will lift up their eyes in hell and they will give up absolutely anything and
everything to have it. But the problem is, God says, It will be too late".

The question is; what are we doing with that Water? You may not feel the need now, you are not alone. The rich man also
felt the same. If there is anybody in this house, after all these weeks and months, who dont feel that need, dont worry,
you are in that company. But let me tell you, in the past 2000 years many thousands, may be millions have gone from
Churches right to hell and have recognized this man. And he is still crying in torment because Jesus said, The fire neve r dies
out". Many must have told him, OH! You are the man Jesus spoke about". They heard these stories in their Churches, they
heard this being preached, they listened to it here (head) but they never believed with their heart and turned to God and
turned away from the temporal things of the world and fix their eyes on Christ and the things of heaven - they never did.
They thought Salvation was filing only a slip and giving your subscription at your Church, its as easy as that. God says, No.
There is a complete shift and a turn in your life. You have turned from one to the other direction". We says, Thats too
much, I am busy". Because we do not see a Savior or a redeemer nor deliverer on the other side of the grave.

Can you read this, this is in Telugu, but as far as I know, this means, "We preach Christ is crucified". Why do we preach
Christ is crucified? It is foolishness those who are perishing. All those who are perishing, whether they are outside the world
or inside the world or in the Church when they hear the cross, they get upset. Why do you preach the cross? Pick up your
cross and follow, look at the cross. You know why, because 2000 years ago, He hung there between heaven and earth and
all the wrath of God was compressed in time for three hours. And poured upon Him, the entire wrath of God. Of six
thousand years of human history the wrath of God over sin was poured upon Him on the cross. And as He hung there
Church, He did not go to hell. Hell came to Him. Hell came to Him. And darkness covered the surface of the earth. And He
cried from there, My Father, My Father, why have You forsaken Me. Because the Father doesn't visit hell. He did not go to
hell. Hell came to Him.

Don't let anybody tell you there is no hell. For if there is no hell, there is no need for Calvary either. He hung and He died in
vain. He received hell, for our sakes, so that we wouldn't have to go there. We wouldn't have to go there.

But if we reject Him and your Christianity is just another religion, like we saw the whole of yesterday, just another religion.
It is not a real relationship. There you will not get on your knees until you have heard His voice and say, You have to speak
to me. If You are real I want to know You.

You know why we don't get upset, when we hear about our dear Pastors getting killed. You know why? Because they
believed Romans 12:1. I have offered my body as a living sacrifice on the altar. My God, You are free to do whatever You
want to do with it. If it takes a bullet to go through me for the killer to get saved, it is Your body, it is on the altar, You can
use it, because they know Him. They know Him. They know their bodies are no longer theirs, it belongs to Him. And they
gave it to Him voluntarily to be used for His glory. Because many of the ex-killers are His servants today. Because they had
to see how a man could face death, without hating, without fearing, but loving, because he knew Christ hung on the cross
the same way. Not in hatred, not in bitterness, but in love. It's at the cross y ou experience God. That's where when you
really, really meet God and you know He is God.

In hell there is no meaning for the cry of mercy. As He hung there, remember, He too cried, I thirst. But no finger tip of a
drop of water extended either from heaven down or from earth above for Him. He says that His tongue was cleaving to the
roof of His mouth. You know why? So that if we believed, you and I will never have to lift our eyes from hell and cry , I

www.gracetabernaclehyd.org |4
A Postcard from Hell

thirst. So you don't have to, you don't have to cry out from hell, I thirst because I (Christ) did it for you. You don't have to
say, I thirst. I paid it all for you. I paid the price, the whole thing. But like I said, the choice is made while living.

That is why he said, Oh, would you send somebody to go and tell them. You know what that man said? Please,

Luke 16:27
27 28
Then he said, I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my fathers house, for I have five brothers,
that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.

All the days of his life, when he was on planet earth when an offering was taken for Pastors conference or evangelism.
Hmh! Another one! Now you are crying for an evangelist to be sent to your father's house. You didn't see the need then.
You didn't realize that was the greatest thing ever you could do, is to enable a man or a woman to go and preach. But you
thought, what a waste of money! I can put my money to better use. You griped about your tithes and your offerings and
said this Church asks for too much. But He says, Do you see his zeal for evangelism now. How zealous he is? Please,
please, please send him to my father's house.

My question is: do you have that zeal now? Everybody sitting here has unbelieving brothers, sis ters, parents, friends. Do
you see the zeal, do you have that zeal to testify, witness or you wait for that day? Do you want the ones you know who do
not know Christ to lift up their eyes from hell and say, Why didn't you speak to me? You discussed everything in the
classroom, in the company, in the homes about every topic, temporal topic; you never spoke to me about this. Why didn't
you speak? No, you feel ashamed. You feel ashamed, that is the sin Jesus is talking about. Let your light shine. Let your
good works be seen. Don't be ashamed. Don't be ashamed, you have no clue what is the price, attached to being ashamed
of the Savior.

Think you're more worried about losing your friendship on earth, than losing a soul to hell. Isn't that true? I still thank the
ones who brought me to the Lord in the first year of my college. The minute I accepted the Lord they told me, If you are
serious you will go this week to every room in the hostel of every friend of yours and testify. And I had to go to every room
and testify I accepted Christ yesterday. And I didn't even know what witnessing was. They told me go. I didn't know it
was a good set up too because after that they never called me for the usual sins. And if I said , Hey, you are gambling, can I
join? And they said, No, you accepted Christ yesterday, right?

Even the ones who did not believe, whether they were nominal Christians, or Hindus, or Muslims, all knew, if you have
known Christ there are a certain things you don't do, they knew. And God says, Is that the reason you don't testify, you
don't witness? Are you ashamed? Are you so ashamed? But He says, Many, many will lift up their eyes from hell and say,
Why didn't you? I thirst, I thirst, I thirst. He'll call you by name and said, You shared your Pepsi, you shared your Coke,
you shared your juice, you shared your tiffin, you didn't share your salvation. Now I thirst, now I thirst. Why didn't you
speak to me about your Savior, why did you keep Him hidden? Why did you keep Him hidden? Read through the Bible the
cry from heaven is, Go, go, go to the ends of the world and make disciples of all nations. And the cry from hell, Send,
send, send to the ends of the earth, so that nobody comes here.

And on earth, I'm busy. It's interesting when the cry from heaven says, go, go, go, it's echoed in hell as send, send, and
send. When it comes to salvation it seems God has more agreement in hell than on earth, send, send, send. How serious
are we? There are so many ways we go and so many ways we send, so many ways. Many, many, many of you, I know it for
a fact; many of you are wasting your time on absolutely useless activities. You could use that time to pray, pray, pray, pray
for somebody whos going out. But you will not, you will sit with your gadgets and waste time. You will not use that time.

Don't ever, ever think, you're too young. To whom much is given much is required. It will be a terrible day to stand before
God and say, Lord but I was only fourteen, I was fifteen. He said, At fourteen you knew what your father knew at
seventy. To you much was given, you're much more privileged I expected more from you. Don't look at your age, look at
how much you have heard, how much you have known. Age is no factor with God. It is not a facto r with God. It's how much
you know. How much you have heard?

www.gracetabernaclehyd.org |5
A Postcard from Hell

Each one will be asked to account depending upon how much they have received. And God is asking us, when will we wake
up? When will we get into our closets? When will we cry out to the Lord? If you are shy, if you don't have the boldness. Go
to your closet and cry to the Lord, Lord this is my friend Ramesh, (Gopi, Gopinath, whatever.) But Lord I am ashamed, I
don't have the boldness. Lord You speak to him and You give me the boldness to share. First go to your prayer closet and
say, Lord, help me, help me, help me, help me, help me. Then go out, you will see, He will help you. But if we have no
desire God cannot do anything. He cannot do anything.

That's what God is asking, do you know the reality? This man is saying I have five brothers. We were six, I died first, five are
still left. Who, who will speak to them. I know them well, I know them well, theyre exactly like me. Theyre exactly like me;
they have no time for God. I know them, please, please, please, let him go and testify.

To a generation whom God says, I will pour out My Spirit and you shall be My witnesses, you shall go to the ends of the
earth and testify. What do you think God will say? Do we testify? Do we cry out to the Lord saying, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord,
Lord. Do we think anyone of our dear brother anywhere in the world would have died if they hadn't testified? They died
because they testified. If they hadn't testified they would have all been okay and well. Thousands up on thousands, we lost
in this one year, thousands of them. You know why? Because they chose to testify.

God is asking us, Do you testify? Do we have the zeal for evangelism which a soul in hell has, half that zeal? This is an
actual conversation, verse 29

Luke 16:29
29
And Abraham said to him, they have Moses and the prophets let them hear them.

This is no ordinary portion of the Bible. This is no ordinary portion of the Bible. This is the only portion in the Bible you have
Abraham or somebody who lived on earth actually conversing with a soul in hell. The only recorded conversation; this is an
actual conversation between Abraham and a person. People who are in the Church, who read the Bible are privileged to
hear a conversation between somebody who made it into heaven and somebody who made it into hell a conversation. He
is saying, Would you please send, would you please send. And Jesus is saying, Send? Why? Because you were rich?
Because you were rich on earth, you could think you could go and hire somebody from Hell and testify in your fathers
house. Interesting right? You still carried that richness mentality to hell and youre saying, Send somebody to my house to
testify. Nothing changes in hell. Nobodys converted in hell. They see, they believe, but they are not converted. Thats why
Scripture says in the Book of James, Even the demons believe and they tremble. They are not converted.

Do you know what Abraham is saying? Abraham is saying, They have the Word of God. Dont they have the Word of God?
Didnt you sit in the synagogue every Sabbath and listen to the law being read? Di dnt you read, rich man? Why should they
get a privilege that they didnt get? God is the same right? Respecter of no man. Everybody should hear the same Word.
Everybody is getting the privilege to hear the Gospel. But to us, he said But no father Abraham, if one goes to them from
the dead they will repent. Its not the same. I know, reading a book and someone coming from hell or heaven and testifying
are two different things Lord. If somebody goes from dead and testifies they will repent. And what does Abraham say ? But
he said to him, If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded through one rise from the
dead.

Do you know we are more privileged than the crowd Abraham is addressing? Because to us one who has risen from the
dead has spoken. His name is Jesus Christ, He rose from the dead. More than Moses and the prophets, we have somebody
who rose from the dead. And if we still dont believe, who is better, he or us? He heard only Moses and the prophets. We
heard Moses and the prophets and the One who rose from the dead. Whose punishment will be more? We heard the One
who rose from the dead, but do we believe? Do you know the tragedy? Look at verse 25 and verse 30.

Luke 16:25-30
25
But Abraham said, Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things;
but now he is comforted and you are tormented. 26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so
that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us. 27 Then he said, I beg you
therefore, father, that you would send him to my fathers house, 28 for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them,

www.gracetabernaclehyd.org |6
A Postcard from Hell

lest they also come to this place of torment. 29 Abraham said to him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear
them.30 And he said, No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.

What did he call him? Verse 30. And he called him, No, father Abraham. Abraham called him son and He called him father.
He was a son of Abraham, but he never became a Son of God. That is what he told the Pharisees, we have Abraham as our
father. He said, I know who your father really is. Physical lineage, yes Abraham, is you father, but spiritually I know who
your father is. Your father is the devil. Therefore when you die, you w ill go where he lives. If your Father is God, when you
die you will go where He lives. There are only two places post death. The tragedy is, he calls Abraham, father, and he calls
him, son. What a tragedy to be a Church goer. Right, went to Church all my life, to be Gospel hardened, or to be the child
of a godly parent. Or to be a spouse of a man or women who knew God and walked with God. Or to have somebody who
actually knew the Bible and end up in hell. This is the son of Abraham that ended in Hell. We are not talking about any
unknowing unbelieving Gentile.

Walter Hoober that is C.S.Lewiss Secretary. C.S Lewis is the one who wrote the Narnia series. If you havent read the book,
you must have seen the movie. C.S.Lewis secretary laughed seeing a grave stone in a cemetery. The grave stone said, Here
lies an atheist, here lies an atheist all dressed up with no place to go. He looked at it and laughed. C.S Lewis did not laugh.
He said, Im sure he wishes that was true. He was all dressed up with no place to go. He says, Thats not true. When you
die, you go. If you dont know God, you go and you go and you go to a place where you never want to go. Thats the truth.
Where do we go? Where will we go? Not another message on Hell , Pastor. Please. Twice a year you give us this dose. But
let me tell you Psalm 115:3-4 says

Psalm 116:3-4
3
The pains of death surrounded me, And the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me; I found trouble and sorrow. 4 Then I called
upon the name of the Lord: O Lord, I implore You, deliver my soul!

Many people have implored and cried out when they saw hell coming closer. God says, You need to keep preaching hell.
Un-row this man to the arms of God with the fear of hell itself and the guilt of sin. But let me also warn you from Scripture,
that your heart can become so, so hardened, so, so hardened while living. So hardened while living that a vision of hell itself
cannot move it anymore. It is true, thats why the cry goes on, Repent, Repent, and Repent before it is too late. Moses and
the prophets he did not listen while living. What about us? He had only Moses and the prophets.

Hebrews 1:1-2
1
God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days
spoken to us by His Son, He had only Moses and the Prophets. We have Moses, the prophets and the Son. whom He has
appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;

He spoke to us more than Moses and the Prophets. Look at Hebrews 2:1-3. Hebrews is a letter written to the believers who
are taking their Salvation for granted and were getting too busy with temporal things. So Hebrews is a specific letter.

Hebrews 2:1-3
1
Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. 2 For if the word spoken
through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, 3 how shall we escape
if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those
who heard Him, 4 God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy
Spirit, according to His own will?

How much more ahead we have gone from this man. We have gone beyond Moses and the prophet. The Son came, spoke
died rose again, sent His Holy Spirit, the Apostles, the entire Bible preacher going out left and right. God says, How much
more, how much more? Thats the question. Did this rich man go to the synagogue every Sabbath? I believe he did. Did he
keep all the customs of Judaism? I believe he did. Did he believe in all? Did he keep all the festivals of Judaism? I believe he
did. Did he go through all the rituals? I believe he did. Yet he did not find his way to heaven. Religion has never taken
anybody to heaven. You know what, Jeremiah 8:20.

www.gracetabernaclehyd.org |7
A Postcard from Hell

Jeremiah 8:20
20
The harvest is past, The summer is ended, And we are not saved!

Can you imagine, even before the end of the meeting in the twinkling of an eye, the believing Church disappears and if
some of us are left behind, we suddenly realize the harvest is past, the summer is ended, and I am not saved? Can you
imagine the horror of it! Thats why He said, I will come like the thief in the night. You wouldnt even know. You wouldnt
know. If youre on the roof top, dont go down. I you are in the field, dont go back home. Two will be in the bed, one will be
taken. Two will be grinding, one will be taken. Two will be on their office, one will be taken. Two will be on the laptop. One
will be taken, unless you are doing your work and not something else. That is ho w we actually live the light. Not in fear, but
in readiness. Actually live knowing that He can come anytime. When you go-to bed you should confident. When you wake
up in the morning you should be equally confident. Im ready, I have prepared. It is well with my soul. It is well with my
soul. I have closed my account with everyone. Before the sun went down, I cleared my accounts. Ive cleared my accounts
with You, I cleared my accounts with people and Im ready to go, my suitcase is all packed up Im ready to leave.

How sure are we? Do you know how many millions have walked through the doors of a Church without making a
commitment? Do you know how many people in this five years who have come to Church, heard the Word, they were
convicted, came to me at the end of the service and said, Pastor, the Lord spoke to me, Ive never heard anything like this
before I will come back. And never came back. They didnt have to say that but I believe they were convicted but they
didnt follow their conviction. How many, Im telling you if all the people who came, visited and said this were to come
today we would not have space in this Church. Im talking you in this five years here in Hyderabad alone Im not talking
about other places where Ive been. Thats the truth do you know how many more sit in Churches year after year they sat in
Churches and havent yet truly surrendered their lifes to God and just go through emotions .

Ask yourself this question: if your religious activities were counted as your service to your company, how many days will
they employee you? Honestly, honestly check, if your religious let us put it as religious your religious activities towards G od
was counted as your service towards your company, your dedication, your zeal your everything was connected with your
company how many would be still working in the company and yet we expect that God is thrilled and waiting to see you.
Im not saying that works take you to heaven but if a man or a woman is truly saved it always reflects in their life, look at it,
we looked at it yesterday for those who werent there yesterday we looked at it, look at the Book of Acts. Acts 9:11 Read
that verse carefully, mark that verse in your Bible.

Acts 9:11
11
So the Lord said to him, to whom? Ananias, some unknown believer in the little Church in Syria about whom we will
never hear again, told him. Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called
Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying.

Do you know how many days old he is in the Lord? Three days just three days old in the Lord. On the road to Damascus he
was met by Christ, he was met by Christ, his response to Christ meeting him is, Lord, what will You have me to do? God
says, Go, I will tell you. Three days later, he is still blind, his eyes have shut by the brightness of Jesus, he cannot see he is
led by hand into Damascus into this house, he probably groped his way into a room but on the third day he is on his knees
praying, interceding and from heaven God is saying, Behold him, he is praying. Thats why Scripture says: When you pray
in secret, your Father in heaven sees you and will reward you openly. And told Ananias, Lay your hands upon him, his eyes
will open, he will be filled with My Spirit, he will be baptized and then he will go and preach about Me. How many days it
took? Three days. How many days have we sat under the Word? Three years, five years, six years?

Are you getting? This is salvation, this is salvation. He couldnt even see; he had to be led. But to pray you dont have to see
you dont have to see to pray. Thats what God is asking us when will the fire come back do you know do you know, did he
hear from God, did he know about Gods purpose for his life? He said, I know, God had already shown me my future, every
town where I go this (hands bound) waits for me, the rods, stones, persecution, death waits for me, where ever I go. But
you know what he said, Woe unto me if I dont preach the Gospel, woe unto me, woe unto me if I dont preach the
Gospel. He is saying, I know what hell is like, if I dont preach the Gospel, woe unto me, and here are we, weve seen the
slice of hell, what it is like, if you get in you dont get out.

www.gracetabernaclehyd.org |8
A Postcard from Hell

Those guys who wrote those songs were demonic, they were not joking when they wrote those songs which we all sang in
those days, you can check in but you can never check out they were talking about hell, it was not about a hotel. They were
all the people who sold their souls to the devil and they knew they had ch ecked in now they couldnt check out. God is
talking about a real, real place and He is saying, Put your act together, put it all together, put it together. Religion doesnt
save you, rituals dont save you, there is a Savior and if you do not know the Savior, look, look at the portion we saw from
2 Samuel yesterday, I want to look at that, those verses stunned me, 2 Samuel, one line just one line.

2 Samuel 17:23
That one verse always troubles me. This is Ahithophel 23 Now when Ahithophel saw that his advice was not followed, he
saddled a donkey, and arose and went home to his house, to his city. Then he put his household in order, and hanged
himself, and died.

What I dont understand is he put his household in order and he is going to kill himself. You know your religion can become
so much part of you that you can do all the things ritually without fail according to time table and still go to hell ? And one
time Scripture is recorded about this man: he spoke as if God was speaking, do you think he is there? He is not there, he is
in hell. The danger of religion. I told you an example yesterday, a real recorded example of a man chasing his neighbor with
his huge cleaver to kill him, chasing him down the streets with the cleaver and then the prayer call goes from the house of
prayer, which ever house of prayer it is the call for prayer. Immediately he stops, he is chasing that fellow to kill, he stops,
puts his clever down, gets on his knees, says his prayer, gets off and continues the chase. Can you know what religion can
do? And do you think it is a joke, its not a joke because this is what happening in Churches week after week they come with
murder and hatred and anger sit there, Hallelujah, praise the Lord, go back, pick the anger, pick the bitterness, pick their
hatred, pick their murder and go out. They are still chasing their neighbor in their hearts and God s ays, I see you, I stretch
forth My hands to you every day but you wouldnt listen, you wouldnt listen, because we have put our trust in rituals, I
got baptized, see my baptism certificate, God says, I know those who know Me. Thats what He says to a lot of people,
those who come to Him and say, Lord, Lord. He says, I do not know you. If God doesnt know you and me, your baptism
certificate, your marriage certificate, every certificate is worthless, it wont get you entry into anywhere, doesnt take you
anywhere because salvation is a real thing, its a real experience, its an encounter with the real God and not that you
become perfect in one day. You start changing and the direction of your life changes. Ten years after your baptism if you
are still the angry, nasty man or woman you are, still are, I would say, go back and check your Salvation, if you are still the
gossip mongering loose tongued person you are go and see whether you are really saved because one of the first place God
takes over when His Spirit comes is your tongue and says, Control how you speak. We say, No. But I believe, what do
you believe? I went through these things, I believe, thats what the rich man also believed have gone to the synagogue all
the days of my life probably given fat offerings also to the synagogue for the up keep of the synagogue , building of the
synagogue, thats how lot of people do, they give chairs, they give benches, they give money, paint mega Church buildings
all these things, they think that will take to them to heaven. God says, It doesnt take you any. I do not know you.

Please remember, he called him, father. Abraham called him, son, but God didnt call him son. Go back to verse 19 and
see how God addressed him, he called Abraham what? Father. What did Abraham call him? Son and what did Jesus say,

Luke 16:19
19
There was a certain rich man

I dont even want to mention his name, he is not worth it, he is in hell now. He dint say there was a certain rich man called
Phineas or Philip, no, certain rich man, one category just went there, All the days of his life, I stretched out My hand to
him, he didnt receive Me. Getting the picture? This is what God is saying, All the opportunities. Think about the number
of messages you, as a person, have heard, over the years whether they were beamed on TV or on radio or read on
magazine or on the internet, all the tracks that were sent, the Bibles that were given freely, have you ever asked, why this
urgency? The millions upon millions of true believers who fast and pray daily for the ir unsaved ones. Even hell is crying out,
Send and there is an urgency in the body of Christ. Why, have you asked, there is no urgency in my life? And then when it
is over, do you want to see what the end is like? It is interesting end Revelation 20:11-15. I want to read the end of all
things. I'll read it once and then we'll go back.

www.gracetabernaclehyd.org |9
A Postcard from Hell

Revelation 20:11-14
11
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And
there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened.
And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the
things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up
the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast
into the lake of fire.

Now wait a second. Where was the certain rich man? Where was he? He was here in what we call hell and hell is just a
temporary place. It's a holding area. It is not even the final terrible place. The final terrible place is this lake of fire. It's
worse than hell. Hell is just a holding area. It's not the permanent place.

Revelation 20:15
15
And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

Now I want you to go back and read verse 12 again. When you read Scripture, read Scripture carefully. Verse 12...

Revelation 20:12
12
And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book w as opened,
which is the Book of Life.

When we read, we always think a book will be opened which will be the Book of Life and some Angel will look and say,
'Okay, Anisha. You are there.' We read it that way, right? But that's not what it says. What it says is, 'Books were opened.'
The righteousness of God. Nobody will stand before God and say, 'Lord, I did not know.' He will open Anisha's one book and
the Angel will show every opportunity she had in life to hear the Gospel. 2001, this one shared the Gospel in her office.
2002, somebody preached to her. She heard this message, she heard this message. She got this tract. She read her Bible.
Every opportunity she got will be recorded. Everything, everything is recorded. Every conversation anybody has men tioned
to her about the way of Salvation is recorded with time. It will be known that day. And still we rejected. All the pleadings
man, woman and child, asking her to receive Christ, are recorded with time, with the seconds. I promise you. All the prayers
of the saints who fasted and prayed, crying out, 'Lord, touch Anisha, touch Anisha,' is recorded with time , saying, These
many people plead for you. I sent people to you. You still said no. Then only at the end of it, the Book of Life is opened.
First the other books are opened. God is saying, I am righteous. I am merciful. I am compassionate. I am loving and I have
been standing, with My hands stretched forth through your life time and I gave you all these opportunities. And He will
show the hypocrisy too. When you said, Yes, yes. I believe, I believe, and then you went back home and what you did is
also recorded, right? Response, outward response to the Gospel, inward action will be also recorded. This day, this day, this
day. God say, Do you see? Am I justified in sending you to that place because I can show you your entire life and I can say
that you can never wanted Me. But now you look at that and say, 'Please, please, please take me.' God says, I'm sorry.
You rejected Me in life, all through your life. Now you want Me Look at verse 11

Revelation 20:11
earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them.

Why? Because you will cry then, Lord, don't send me to hell. Please send me to earth. Earth was nowhere to be found
anymore. It's gone. The heavens, as we know, is gone. The earth, as we know, is gone. What is going to be is something that
is going to be created new for those who have believed and the lake of fire. So you can't even say, 'Please send me back, at
least to the old place.' Scripture says: there was no place found for them in the universe. They have just disappeared. God is
very serious when He talks. He's warned you for two thousand years. He's being warning His Church, Take Me seriously. I
love you too much. I paid the ultimate price. There is nothing more I can do. Come to Me. That's why He says, If you
hunger and thirst for righteousness, you will be satisfied. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all
these things, temporal things that you're running after, I will give it you. Don't worry. Don't let them take hold of your
heart. Let it be My Kingdom and My righteousness that you seek first, and God says, Did you believe?

As I close, the final line, let me tell you, for the past two thousand years after Jesus related this story, that man is still

www.gracetabernaclehyd.org | 10
A Postcard from Hell

thirsty. He still hasn't got his drop of water. If you happen to reach there, he will still tell you, 'I thirst.' And if you reach
there as an addict, whatever addiction it is, porn, sexual, alcohol, whatever, you will also realize that addiction goes along
with you. And it is magnified a billion times and you will say, 'I thirst.' Because there is no longer anything temporal to h old
you back. You move into infinity. So those who make it to heaven, Scripture says, 'Eyes haven't seen nor ears heard what
God is preparing for those who love Him.' In His presence there is what? Fullness of joy. We don't even know what it is.
Fullness of joy. And away from His presence, there is fullness of misery. God says, Don't choose it. Please don't choose it.
Every day you hear, every week you hear, every month you hear, every year you hear, He says, Don't. Don't change the
direction of your life. As he would say in the Book of Ephesians, put off the old ways. Put on Christ. Put off, put on, till,
honestly, in your inner man, you should be able to say, when you finish your race, 'I no longer live. I put off, put it all o ff. It's
Christ who lives in me.' Shall we pray?

Closing Prayer:
Father, this morning, I pray for those who still are lingering, though You pull them out of Sodom and Gomorrah, those who
are still lingering, itching to look back, I pray, Lord, You will come through. Today, You will come through. You will touch
them. You will break the yoke of rebellion in their hearts. They may be faithful to the Church but I truly do not know whether
they are faithful to You. And it is faithfulness to You that matters. One can be faithful to the Church all his life and still go to
hell. I pray, Father, from this Church will arise no-one, when they call out to You on that day, You will say, 'I do not know
you.' They shouldn't say, 'But, Lord, Lord. I came every Saturday and cleaned the Church. Lord, Lord, I was there with my
offerings and my tithes. I was there.' Lord, let them not hear from Your lips, 'I do not know you because I never found you in
the secret place. You were never there in the secret place. Your religion was false, just a facade, it was just out in the pu blic
space. In the secret place, whenever I came, that room was empty. You never, never came.' I pray, Father, Your children
beyond ritual, beyond perfunctory prayer, beyond ritualistic study of the Word, w ill have a true encounter with You in that
inner chamber, that You would be able to say from heaven, 'Behold, see him. He's praying.' If my words have been harsh,
then Father, I believe, Your Holy Spirit can comfort. If my words have been too soft, then I believe Your Holy Spirit can
quicken. But I pray, Lord, as Your Word promises, let not Your Word go void. Let it bring forth life. Let it bring forth
dedication. Let it bring forth surrender. As the psalmist said, 'When Sheol closed all around me, then I cried out to yo u. Then
You heard me.' For some, I believe, only Sheol, the closeness of Sheol will bring them to the gates of Heaven. If so, let it be.
But let none perish, O God. Let none perish. Touch Your people today. Touch. I commit each one into Your hands, all our
Churches around the world, all our dear Pastors, standing there, brave, strong, bold, courageous, beaten, broken, wounded,
still standing. I pray your hand will be there on each one of them. They cannot afford to tire. They cannot afford to stay
away. Because then the sheep will be scattered. I pray You will give all Your shepherds strength in this hour to stand and
when everything is over, they will be still found standing. Thank You, Father. We commit the evening service also into Your
hands, those who come, prepare their hearts and bring them so that we might sup with You again. Thank You, Lord. I praise
You, God. I worship You, God. I give You glory and honor, power and praise. For in Jesus' precious name we pray.

Benediction:
May the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the love of the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, rest and abide with each
one of us. Amen.

www.gracetabernaclehyd.org | 11