A place we do not want to be (Mt. 22:13)

1. Have we ever carefully considered the few words that were just read?

2. This Scripture is surely familiar to us.

3. We have heard this verse used when preachers have spoken about being separated from God.

4. We all know about the end verse 13—the weeping and gnashing of teeth.

WHAT ABOUT THE FIRST PART OF VERSE 13?

a) Jesus said that those who will be lost will be “bound hand and foot.”

b) In our world, we are accustomed to seeing people bound.

c) Movies abound with examples of people being handcuffed.

d) There are also instances of people having their hands and feet tied together.

e) Jesus used this same imagery in some of His teachings.

2) We do not know of Jesus’ words should be understood literally or figuratively.

3) It is safe to say that the points means people will be somehow limited; escape will be impossible.

4) Today I want to look at eternity from the standpoint of the word “bound.”

5) Our first point based upon this word may be described as “an undesirable state.”

a) Unless people are playing a game, being bound is usually objectionable.

b) Under most circumstances, being bound is an act that is inconsistent with or will.

c) Look at the captives in places like Iraq where people are bound.

d) Or, we may look a little closer to home.

e) There are people who are bound and placed in police cars; these individuals sometimes start to kick.

f) Even when an animal is bound, it often seeks some means of escape.

6) When Jesus described an afterlife without God, saying people will be bound should grab our attention.

7) Just this statement by itself says a person’s eternal state will be very uncomfortable.

a) In the book of Daniel (the third chapter) we read of King Nebuchadnezzar.

b) This king made a giant gold statute (90 feet high and 9 feet wide).

c) We may call this statue and idol because it was to be worshipped.

d) There were some Jews who refused to worship this image.

e) The king got angry and commanded that a furnace be heated 7 times hotter than the normal temperature.

f) Dan. 3:21 says three men were bound tightly with ropes in preparation for the furnace.

g) This piece of inforamation communicates an image to use. The movement of these men was restricted.

h) Not only were they going to be tortured, they were also to be completely immobile.

i) The fire was so hot the soldiers who threw the men into the fire died because of the heat.

j) Here is what Dan. 3:23 says – READ.

8) Imagine being tied up and cast into a fire that was as hot as the text describes.

9) These three men did not perish or suffer harm in the furnace because of divine deliverance.

10) Jesus said a similar time is coming. People will be bound but this time God will not intervene.

11) There will be no divine deliverance for what lies ahead.

12) There will be eternal confinement and unending pain.

13) Jesus predicted in the clearest possible way this fate for the unsaved.

14) Listen to another prediction of this in Mt. 13:30 – READ.

15) Jesus spoke of being bound and said it is not a desirable end.

TODAY WHEN WE SEE PEOPLE BOUND AND SUFFERING AN UNDESIRABLE FATE WE OFTEN HEAR A CRY FOR HELP (RESCUE). THE LADY WHO IS CURRENTLY BEING HELD IN IRAQ HAS BEEN GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO ON TELEVISION AND SAY, “PLEASE DO WHATEVER MY KINDNAPPERS ASK.” SHE WANTS TO BE FREED.

a) Being bound in this life typically implies some degree of desperation.

b) Such is also the case in eternity.

c) We know of the rich man who went to the Hadean realm in Lk. 16.

d) He spoke of great anguish and requested just a drop of water.

e) If this man was seeking help, it is hard to believe he was the only one.

f) Were not all the others in this place also suffering?

g) All of the lost will surely look for some type of help or some type of rescue.

h) People who are confined want to believe there is hope and some way of escape.

i) Jesus warned that once a person leaves this life in a wrong relationship with God, there is no hope.

j) Escape is impossible.

k) When the Lord spoke of being unsaved in the after-life, He used the word “eternal.”

l) Mt. 25:41 refers to an “eternal fire” as does Jude in Jude 7.

m) 2 Thess. 1:9 describes “eternal destruction.”

2) God pictures eternity without heaven as the saddest event men and women will ever know.

3) In this life we can only get a small taste of what that kind of state is like.

4) Many of us have been at some type of event.

5) We had to walk a long ways or the day was very long.

6) Towards the end of the day a bus or some other kind of vehicle came along and offered us a ride.

7) We found relief; there was a sense of rescue. We found a small amount of deliverance and may have been grateful.

8) When one is bound for eternity and separated from God, there is no hope at all of a rescue.

IF THERE IS NO HOPE OF A RESCUE, AND THE ENVIRONEMNT IS HOSTILE IN EVERY WAY, MOST WOULD RESORT TO SEEKING A WAY OUT. PERHAPS AN ESCAPE CAN BE PLANNED.

a) Prisoners of war have often used this tactic.

b) If POW’s were far behind enemy lines and they had no chance of rescue, they might form their own escape plan

c) Perhaps they could tunnel out, sneak away during a commotion, or use some other method.

d) At least past survival training in the military did cover escaping.

e) We have seen examples of this kind of thing with news stories about prison breaks.

f) Information already introduced shows that escape in eternity is not going to be possible.

g) If we accept the Lord’s testimony about people being bound (restricted), how can they escape?

h) Some might believe escape is possible because of how our society works.

2) In the world, escape is sometimes possible..

3) We make ropes that can be broken, cut, burned our something else.

4) We have handcuffs that can be slipped off wrists in some cases.

5) We have jail and prison breaks. Our confinement methods are not 100%

6) There have been cases where love, lust, or bribes have been used to help people escape.

7) Sometimes those who are bound can “cut a deal” with their captors.

8) There are exceptions in life when it comes to confinement, but what about God?

a) What would we say about a God who is perfect in every way? Can His confinement methods ever fail?

b) If God is perfect, His methodology for confinement cannot and will not fail.

c) It will not fail for people, and it will not fail for the devil and his angels.

d) Moreover, Rev. 20:1-3 talks about Satan and his helpers being confined to a pit.

e) God has not revealed to us all the details of the confinement, but we do know this much:

f) It will be effective and none will escape.

WHEN A PERSON IS CONFINED, THEY ARE USUALLY IN THE PRESENCE OF THEIR ENEMIES.

a) Such will also be true in eternity.

b) Lk. 13:27 says those who will be separated from God will be “workers of iniquity” (sinners).

c) Jesus will one day say, “all ye workers of iniquity depart from me.”

d) All are sinners, but not all sinners are the same.

e) Some are forgiven because they have chosen to obey the gospel and the rest are not forgiven.

f) Jesus had unforgiven sinners in view when He spoke in Lk. 13.

g) Mt. 7:23 adds to the thought; Jesus has “never known” some religious people.

h) Those in this category will also be without God forever and ever.

i) Being confined is no fun. Being confined and tormented is a lot worse.

j) Imagine being confined, tormented, and in the presence of the most godless of all people.

k) Imagine God saying to someone (or us), I never knew you, you will be bound for eternity.

IF CALLS FOR HELP ARE NOT ANSWERED WHILE IN AN UNDESIRABLE STATE WITH THE WORLD’S WORST PEOPLE AND THERE IS NO WAY TO ESCAPE, THE ONLY THING LEFT THAT COMES TO MY MIND IS ONE OPTION:

a) Negotiation.

b) It would appear that this is the logical consequence from all that has been said.

c) Rather than be bound and punished, people will try to strike some type of deal or bargain.

d) Perhaps people will try to plead for one more chance.

e) Maybe they will say they are now ready to leave sin and embrace a life for Christ.

f) After seeing their plight, many may feel true repentance and plead for the Lord to accept them.

g) After life is over, these choices are not available.

h) The rich man in Lk. 16 found this to be his plight.

i) Let’s turn our attention once again to the rich man in Lk. 16.

j) This man had to acknowledge that his calls for help were not going to be answered.

k) He could only look “afar off” (Lk. 16:23).

l) This statement reminds me a bit of an airman in a downed plane.

2) Imagine a flyer who has gone down in the water and searchers do not know where he is.

3) The airman sees a search plane 30 miles away.

4) No one is going to hear his cry for help. The rich man was in a place where he would not receive any help.

5) Abraham and Lazarus were not going to respond to his pleading.

6) His message was apparently communicated to others (at least this once), but he got a negative reply.

7) We are not told, but we may infer this man realized escape was impossible.

8) Verse 28 almost sounds like resignation on his part – READ.

9) Because all hope was gone, he chose the only option he had left: negotiation.

a) A lot of us like to negotiate.

b) Cutting a deal can be fun.

c) In eternity there are no deals.

d) God is not a bargaining God.

10) I read an interesting article yesterday; lots of Americas are fat and happy (figuratively speaking).

11) People are so pleased with life some now are literally eating gold and silver.

12) Candy with 23 karat gold on it is available for consumers; we may literally eat gold.

13) If gold is not quite right for our tastes, we may downgrade to eating silver.

14) Our society thinks it can do about anything it wants.

15) If we get into a jam, there is always some way out. There is always an escape option.

16) If we get sick, doctors probably have a pill or procedure to make us better.

17) We don’t want to be confined or bound. We think we can pay our way out of all kinds of suffering.

18) God says the unsaved—those who are unprepared to meet Him—will be bound and separated from Him.

19) This is a fact, but it does not have to be out lot in life. God has given us a plan of hope.

20) Each day of our life He gives us the chance to know and obey His will.

21) If we reject that invitation, one day He will bind us as millions of others have been bound.

22) The choice is ours: freedom through Christ or being bound without God for time without end.

23) Which path do we want?