In this sermon, William Blackburn discusses the concept of death and what happens after we die. He explains that death is when the soul separates from the body and has the choice to go to either heaven or hell. Blackburn emphasizes that God gives us the freedom to choose where we will spend eternity. He also shares a story from the New Testament about a rich farmer who focused on worldly possessions but neglected his soul, ultimately losing everything when he died. Blackburn urges the audience to make the choice to be born again and accept God's salvation to avoid the fate of going to hell.

Welcome to From the Pulpit in Classic Sermons. Each week we bring you a different message from some of history's greatest speakers in the Christian faith and powerful sermons from modern preachers too. This week we have William Blackburn with his message Judas Lost Disciple and what happens after death. John chapter 18 verse 1, it says, When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a garden into which he entered and his disciples. And Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place. For Jesus oftentimes resorted thither with his disciples. Judas then receiving a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. There are many sad stories in the Bible. There's the story of a man named Jephthah, a man who made a foolish vow to God. He said, God, if you'll give me victory in battle, when I go home, I will sacrifice the very first thing that I see. God gave him the victory, but when he went home, the very first thing he saw was his little daughter running to welcome him. You need to be careful about vows you make to God. It's also a sad story about Cain. You remember how Cain tried to make an offering to God, but it was rejected. He became so angry and bitter against God that he killed his own brother. The first murder in the Bible, that's a very sad story. It's a sad story about King David. David was a man, remember, who had slain Goliath. He'd been used by God. He was God's man. The Bible says he was a man after God's own heart, but you remember how this great man of God fell into sin. He committed adultery with Bathsheba and then committed murder, having her husband killed in battle to cover up that sin. What a sad story. It's a sad story about the man named Samson. God had given Samson abundance of physical strength. He was God's man. He could fight hundreds and thousands of men and defeat them single-handedly, but Samson fell into sin. He rebelled against God and the power of God left Samson. What a sad story. It's a sad story about Ananias and Sapphira. There in the New Testament church, God was pouring out his Holy Spirit, but this young couple, they lied to the Holy Spirit of God, and the Bible says God killed them in the church house. Those are sad stories, but I'm here to tell you, friends, the saddest story in all the Bible is the story that I'm going to share with you today. It is the story of a man named Judas Iscariot. Now, the name Judas Iscariot means this. Karyat was a part of southern Palestine, so the name Judas Iscariot simply means Judas, the man from Karyat. Now, when I say the name Judas, you start cringing right there, because when we think of Judas, we think of the disciple that betrayed the Lord Jesus Christ. We think about the disciple that took the 30 pieces of silver and betrayed God in the form of a man, Judas, who then committed suicide and went to hell. We think of this awful, dirty, mean, wicked man, but sir, that's not Judas Iscariot at all. Judas Iscariot is not what you think, friend. Judas Iscariot was a good man, a moral man, an honest man, a religious man, a man who believed in God, a man who had all the outward appearance of being a Christian, being a born-again believer. He had everything the world says it takes to be saved, but inside his heart, he did not have the spirit of the living God. Friend, I'm going to tell you a story about Judas today that will surprise you, because Judas was not only a good man, he was the best man. He was an admired man. He was a respected man. He was the most honest and trusted of all the disciples, and yet he rebelled against God and went straight to hell. And as I tell the story of Judas Iscariot, I'm going to tell the story of many of you here this morning. As I tell this story, God is going to speak to your heart, and he's going to reveal to you men that in your heart, you too have never been born again. You may have done a lot of good things, you may have a good facade, you may have a good reputation, but in the eyes of a holy God, you are lost, you are condemned, you are doomed to a devil's hell, and unless you repent and be born again, there is absolutely no hope for your life. Judas Iscariot was a man who made a public perfection of faith. They had a big revival in Kariot, and John the Baptist came and preached a revival. Oh, John, he was a flaming evangelist. Man, he was a wild man. He wore a coat made out of camel's hair. He ate locusts and wild honey. He was a wild man, but he had the power of God on his life, and he began to proclaim, repent, the kingdom of God is at hand, and many folks believed. They ran down the aisle to get saved. There was a lot of excitement that day in the revival, and Judas Iscariot, he came forward and made a decision. He came forward and made a decision, but he did not get born again. He prayed at the altar, but he did not get born again. He signed up to be a follower of John the Baptist, but he did not get born again. Here was a man who walked an aisle, prayed a prayer, made a public perfection of faith, but the Bible says he was lost and went to hell. Now, how in the world does that happen? How does a man walk an aisle, pray a prayer, and live a good moral life, and have all the outward appearance of being a Christian, but inside his heart, be lost? Well, it happens several ways. Perhaps Judas got wrapped up in the excitement. Maybe he got carried away with all the wonderful singing and the dynamic preaching. Maybe he came down the aisle to impress somebody or to build his reputation. I had a lady tell me one time that when she was a little girl, she came down during the invitation because her mother was coming to be saved, and she wanted to impress her mother. I had a man tell me that he came down the aisle one time because he'd just gotten married, and his wife was a Christian. He wanted to impress his wife. But I'm here to tell you, friends, that's not enough. Unless your heart is repenting of sin, unless your heart is turned to God, unless your heart is born again by the Holy Spirit, a profession of faith will take you straight to hell. It doesn't matter what you say with your lips. What matters is what goes on inside your heart. Judas Iscariot was a man who walked an aisle and made a profession of faith, but he did not have the spirit of the living God in his heart. Now, what about you? Why did you come down the aisle? When you came down the aisle that day, did you get born again? I mean, when you knelt at the altar and prayed, did you get born again? Friend, you need to be serious about this because God knows the truth. You can fool everybody in town, but you cannot fool God. And I'm telling you, friends, eternity is too long to be wrong. And I'm telling you, when you stand before a holy God and say, but I made a profession of faith, Jesus Christ will say, there are many who profess me with their mouth, but with their heart and their life, they deny me. So Judas, he was a good man. He was a moral man. He was a honest man. Now he's a religious man, but he's not been born again. And then he's baptized there at the River Jordan. John the Baptist is baptizing all the converts. So Judas is there. Maybe his mom and dad are there. Maybe his friends are there to see Judas be baptized. He walks out into the water and John the Baptist puts his hand on the back of his head and said, I baptize you, my brother. And surely Judas must have been convicted in his heart. Surely he must have said, wait a minute, John, I'm not your brother. I'm not saved. I've not really been born again. I prayed a prayer, but God didn't change my life. But you know what happened? Fear came into his heart. Pride came into his heart. He began to think to himself, what's everybody going to say? What's everybody going to say? I've come forward. I mean, I know that I need to be baptized, but I need to be saved first. But you know what happened? The old devil began to whisper in his ear and said, oh, Judas, just hang on. You're all right. You're a good man. You're a moral man. You'll be all right. Maybe you haven't done everything you need to do, but it'll get straightened out in the future. And so John baptized Judas, but he was still lost. Now think about it. Here's a man who was a follower of John the Baptist, baptized by John the Baptist, and yet he's a lost man. Friend, do you understand that baptism will not save you? Friend, I will tell you, you may have been baptized or sprinkled or confirmed, but that means absolutely nothing unless you have the power of God in your life. Unless you've been born again by the Holy Spirit of God, all you did was get wet, son. I'm telling you, I have seen people come into the baptistry. I remember a lady one time she got into the baptistry. She said, I'm so excited about being baptized because when I get baptized, I'll be saved. The pastor said, you mean you're not saved now? But she said, no, when I get baptized, I'll be saved. He said, ma'am, let me tell you how to be saved. He led her to Jesus and then he baptized her. I'm telling you, friends, listen to me. Some of you here today, you walked an aisle, you prayed a prayer, you've been baptized, but your heart has never been converted by the Holy Spirit. You've not been truly born again. You're just like Judas Iscariot. You've prayed a prayer, you've made a profession, you've been baptized, but you don't have the spirit of the living God in your heart. Then Judas, after he was baptized, he was called as a disciple. Now, think about this, men. The Lord Jesus Christ has been praying in the mountains. He comes down to name the 12 most important men on planet Earth. The 12 men that will be responsible for spreading the gospel around the world. Everybody is there. They're waiting, hoping, praying that they will be one of these 12 men. Jesus comes down and he looks over the crowd and he says, John, follow me. Peter, follow me. Andrew, follow me. James, follow me. Judas, follow me. Surely Judas must have said, wait a minute, why is he calling me? I mean, Jesus knows everything. I mean, sure, he knows I'm not saved. Why in the world would he call me? I mean, I'm not born again. And he would want to step forward and get saved. But again, that old pride would well itself up. That fear of embarrassment would come up and the devil would get and say, listen, listen, you'll embarrass yourself, Judas. You'll embarrass Jesus. Why, if you get up after going so long and being baptized and claiming to be a Christian, if you stand up and say you're not saved now, you'll embarrass yourself. So just hold your peace. So Judas bites his tongue and he starts play acting. He becomes a hypocrite. He starts pretending to be saved. He starts going through the religious game and he's lost. Now, think about it, men. Here's a guy baptized by John the Baptist. Here's a man called as a disciple. Here's a man who is ordained and here's a man lost. Oh, I'm telling you, our churches are filled up with people like this. Folks who have walked in our parade of prayer. Listen to me, friend. I want to tell you not only was Judas ordained, but he was called as a treasurer. Listen to me, when Jesus Christ told the disciples, he said, listen, we need somebody to take care of the money. We need somebody who can be trusted. We need somebody to keep our books straight. We need somebody to take care of the finances. We need to elect a treasurer. And I imagine Peter must have said, well, I nominate Judas. And James might have said, well, I second that nomination. Everybody in favor, say amen. And so they nominated Judas. But here was a man who had been baptized by John the Baptist, who had been called by the Lord Jesus Christ to be a disciple, who had been voted the treasurer of the group, the most honest, the most respected, the most admired disciple of all, and he was lost. Don't tell me people can't be in church and be lost, buddy. Don't tell me a man can't be a deacon and be lost. Don't tell me you can't be in church for 30 or 40 years and be lost. I'm telling you, our churches are filled up with people who are lost. They come and they do the work. They do the activities. They go through the motions. They have so been deceived by Satan. They don't understand. They've not been born again by the Holy Spirit. And sir, I will tell you, this kind of preaching is your only hope to shape you and to move you, to take a hard look into your heart because Judas Iscariot, he had everything, buddy. But when he wanted to step forward, they said, we want you to be the treasurer. We trust you, man. We love you. You're the most honest disciple of all. We want you to take care of the money. And surely, surely to God, the conviction must have been strong. Surely he won't just fall at the feet of Jesus and, oh, God, be merciful. I'm not really saved. But again, that old pride welled itself up and, oh, Judas kind of choked it back. He got his composure back. He got under control. He began acting again. He made another excuse. He drove another nail in that coffin, and he continued that tragic journey to hell. There are some of you here today just like that. Sir, I love you, but I was saved when I was 36 years old. I walked an aisle when I was 12, got baptized, got my name on a church robe, but I didn't have Jesus. Finally, at the age of 36, I got under some convicting preaching. But I'm telling you, for six or eight weeks, my pride held me back from being saved. I almost forfeited heaven because of my pride. And I travel across this country, and I meet thousands and thousands of men who are doing the same thing. They've walked an aisle. They've prayed their prayer, but they don't live for God. They don't have the spirit of God. They have no passion for God. They know something's wrong in their heart, but they've been elected a deacon. They've been elected treasurer. They sing in the choir. They teach Sunday school, and they're saying, oh, what's everybody going to think? I'm telling you, it doesn't make a hill of beans what everybody thinks. I'm telling you, when you stand before God, it won't matter what the world says. I'm telling you, buddy, when you stand before a holy God, and he says, for whosoever is not written in the Lamb's book of life is cast in the lake of fire, it won't do you any good to say, well, at least I kept my pride. Buddy, you will have lost it all. And that's where some of you are today. You are lost from God. You have fooled your wife. You fooled your husband. You fooled your friends. You fooled the pastor. But you have not fooled God. He looks in your heart today. He sees what you are, a sinner against God, religious and lost. You have walked an aisle, prayed a prayer, been baptized, but you've never surrendered your will to God, sir. You've not been born again. You're just like Judas Iscariot. You've got a name that you live, but you're dead. Because Judas Iscariot was a man who made a public profession of faith, but he didn't get born again. He got baptized in some water, but he didn't get born again. He was called to be a disciple, but he was not born again. He was ordained as a preacher, but he was not born again. He was elected as treasurer of the group, but he was not born again. Because finally, at the end, Judas showed what he really was. The Bible says that Judas betrayed the Lord Jesus Christ for 30 pieces of silver. That's $19.50. You can tell a lot about a man according to his attitude about money. You show me, old boy, at a business meeting, he's always griping and whining about money. I'll show you a lost man, buddy. A man's attitude about the things of God and money of God, it tells a lot about his spiritual condition. With Judas, he betrayed the Lord Jesus. He went to the Pharisees, the priests, and he got a band of men, about 200 men, and they came to the Lord Jesus. And the Lord Jesus was praying in the garden. And the Bible says Judas betrayed him with a kiss. Now, why? Why did Judas betray Jesus with a kiss? If he was going to betray him to be killed, why did he walk up and slap him? Why did he walk up and kick him? Why did he walk up and slug him in the face? If he was turning his back on God, why did he betray Jesus with a kiss? I'll tell you why. Because Judas had spent his whole life living a lie. He had learned the art of pretending to do something good while in reality, he was doing something evil. There are some of you here today, you've done the same thing. You kiss Jesus. You kiss Jesus with your lips, but you deny him with your life. You kiss him with the songs. You kiss him with your Sunday school class. You kiss him by doing good works and living a good life. But in your heart, you've not been born again. So all these good things that you think you are doing, the Bible says, they are empty, dead works. They are filthy rags in the eyes of God. You see, Judas could have been saved anytime he wanted to. I mean, all he had to do was put his old sorry pride down. All he had to do was put his old sorry religion down. All he had to do was come and humble himself before a holy God and say, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. And Jesus would have saved Judas just like he'll save you today, sir, if you'll let him. You say, William, why did Jesus even choose Judas? If he knew Judas was lost and was going to betray him, why did he even choose Judas? Jesus chose Judas because he loved him. And he wanted to keep Judas as close to him as possible so that he'd have every opportunity to be saved. Every sermon that Jesus preached, every miracle that he performed, every wonderful miraculous act he did, I believe in Jesus' heart, he was praying and hoping that Judas would come and believe and be saved. And I believe the reason Jesus chose Judas is he wanted to give him every opportunity possible. So he kept him close to himself for three years, letting him see the miracles, letting him see the works, hoping that Judas would get saved. You say, well, William, if that's true, it didn't work. No, it didn't work for Judas and it hasn't worked for you either. Why has God kept you so close, sir, for so many years? Why has God allowed you to walk an aisle and pray a prayer and not be real? Why has God allowed you to be a deacon or a Sunday school teacher and not be born again? Why has God kept you so close to himself and yet you not be real? It's because God loves you. And he knew that this morning you were going to be at Highland Baptist Church. And he knew that this morning you were going to hear this sermon. And he knew that this morning the Holy Spirit was going to draw you to salvation. And right now in heaven, he's praying for you. And deep inside of his heart, Jesus is hoping that you'll leave your seat and leave your sin and come and make it real before it's everlastingly too late. Oh, Judas, he walked with Jesus. He saw Jesus heal blind eyes. He saw Jesus heal deaf ears. He saw Jesus walk on the water. He saw Jesus raise old Lazarus from the dead. He walked with God, but he was lost. There are some of you here tonight, right now God's speaking to you. In your heart, you say, well, I've walked an aisle, so did Judas. I've made a profession of faith, so did Judas. I've been baptized, so did Judas. You say, well, I'm a deacon. I'm a Sunday school teacher. Judas was a preacher who walked with the Lord, but yet he died and went to hell. Because when Judas came to his senses, the Bible says he took that 30 pieces of silver, and he said, my God, I have betrayed innocent blood. And he ran off, the Bible says, and he hanged himself, and the devil had the victory in his life. The devil not only had his physical body, but the devil drug his soul straight to hell. And that's the devil's plan for you, sir. He wants to deceive you into hell. The Bible says, be not deceived. Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. On that great judgment day, there are going to be deacons, and Sunday school teachers, and choir members, and pastors, and evangelists. They will stand before God and say, well, God, we've prophesied in your name. We've cast out demons in your name. We've done all these wonderful works in your name. And God is going to say, depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Because the Bible says, for whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. You know, the Bible has a lot to say about living, and dying, and living again. The Bible tells us a lot about what happens after death. The first thing the Bible says, the Bible says, death is certain. The Bible says, it is appointed unto men once to die. All my dear friends, the one thing true in life is that all men must die. All ages die, no matter how young or how old, people die at all ages. All races die, red, yellow, black, and white. All nationalities die. All levels of society die. In fact, the Bible says, you are going to die. It is appointed unto men once to die. In fact, the Bible says your life is nothing but a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. In fact, the Bible says the exact moment of your death has already been determined by God. It is appointed, the Bible says. Oh friend, listen, God is not surprised when people die. God is not caught off guard. God is in control of this whole thing of living, and dying, and living again. You say, William, are you trying to say that somewhere out there in heaven, God has taken his pen and he circled on the eternal calendar the exact day I'm going to die? Oh my friend, I'm saying precisely that. God has appointed a day. God knows the day you're going to die. Now here's the problem. You don't know that day. Several years ago, a professor in a seminary was talking to a group of young preacher boys. And he said, young man, he said, don't worry about how you live your life. Just eat, drink, and be married, do whatever you want to do. But the day before you die, you can get right with God so you'll go to heaven. And one of the young preacher boys said, but sir, we don't know the day we're going to die. And the wise professor said, well, in that case, you need to get right with God today. That's what the Bible says. God has appointed a day. You have a day when you're going to die. God knows that day, but you don't know it. That's why the Bible says, prepare to meet God. Several years ago, I came across an article about a flight that took place several years ago over in the Hawaiian Islands. It was Aloha Airlines. It was a Boeing 737. It was going from the island of Hilo to Honolulu. Everybody on board was a vacationer. They were laughing, joking, drinking, having a great time. Not concerned about anything except enjoying their vacation. When the plane reached about 10,000 feet altitude, what they didn't know was this. There was a crack in the fuselage of the plane. When the pressure became so great, it actually ripped away part of that airplane, causing a vacuuming, a sucking effect. And everything that was not held down or strapped down was pulled out of that plane, including Claribel Lansing, airline attendant. Sucked out into eternity to face God. Oh, my friend, you need to understand about living, dying, and living again. It is certain. It is coming. You have an appointment with God and you need to be prepared for that day. How common is sudden death? Well, it is the most common form of death there is. In fact, 50% of all deaths are sudden and unexpected. There are 300,000 sudden and unexpected deaths each year in America. I remember when I first saw the World Trade Center disaster, when those two planes flew into those buildings. What a horrifying event, creating so much terror and fear. I remember watching people run out of the building and down the street. I watched as the towers fell and that big cloud of smoke and debris followed them down the street. I began to think about all the people inside the building that were going to die that day. Most of them, if not all of them, came to work that day thinking it was just another day at the office. Probably thinking about the work they had to do. Perhaps even thinking about where they would go for lunch. Maybe thinking about when they would get home that night, playing with their children, being with their family. They had no idea before those planes crashed they were actually living their last day on planet Earth. That's the way death is. Many times it can come suddenly and unexpectedly. I remember seeing some of those people jump out of the window. What an amazing thing to see people jump out of a 60, 70 story building to certain death on the concrete below. And I asked myself, why? What would make a person jump out of a building to a concrete death? And the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart and said, William, they're jumping from the building to get away from the fire. Jesus said, And fear not them that can kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to kill both body and soul in hell. What is death anyway? You know, many years ago doctors said that death was when your heart stopped beating. But then they invented a machine that could keep your heart going even after you were gone. Then they said, well, death is when your brain waves cease. But they have a machine now that can keep you alive even when your brain stops working. The Bible teaches us that death is separation. It's when your soul separates from your body. You see, my dear friends, this flesh and bone body that you have is not the real you. The real you is inside that body. It's called your soul. It is comprised of your will, your intellect, your emotions. The soul is that part of you that's going to live forever. One day this whole body is going to stop working. But when your body stops working, your soul will separate from that body and go on living somewhere else. That's what death is. Death is separation. When your soul separates from your body. Well, you say, where does the soul go? When it separates from your body and leaves your body, it goes on living somewhere else. Where does it go? Well, the Bible says that your soul will live forever either in a place called heaven or a place called hell. Oh, my friend, that's the whole story of the Bible. That you were created by God to live forever. You are an eternal being. Now, once this whole body is going to die. But when your body dies, the soul, man, the real you will leave that body. God created it that way. And God wants you to come and live with Him. He's made a perfect place called heaven for those who will believe in Him. But the Bible says that we have sinned against God. In fact, the Bible says we have broken God's law into a thousand pieces. We have rebelled against God. We've lived selfish and self-centered lives. And the Bible says God loves us, but God hates sin. And God has declared the wages of sin is death. Because we have sinned against God, we're all doomed to hell. And there's nothing we can do to save ourselves. But the Bible says God loved us so much, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ. And Jesus left the glory of heaven, and He came to planet earth. He took all of our sins, and He died in our place that we might live. And the Bible says if we will turn from our sin, and we will give our lives to Christ, God will forgive us. God will save us. Being saved is the most important thing in your life. And I'm not talking about being saved the Baptist way, or the Methodist way, or the Catholic way, or any other denomination way. I'm talking about being saved God's way. Because my dear friends, if you're not saved God's way, then you're not saved at all. And if we are born again by the Spirit of God, the benefit of being a child of God is that one day, when this body stops working, our soul will go to be with God in heaven. Jesus said, let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. He said, in my Father's house are many mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you. He said, I go and prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. Hold my dear friends, heaven is a prepared place, but it's only for prepared people. Heaven is a perfect place. No sadness, no sickness, no death. When a man goes to heaven, he lives in the glory of God forever and ever, and it all depends on what he's done with Jesus. But the same Bible says, as wonderful as heaven is, hell is awful. The Bible calls it a lake of fire, a burning pit, a place where men have no rest, a place where men are separated from God for all eternity, a place where men are tormented. The man who went to hell in the Bible, the rich man, he cried out and said, Father, I'm so tormented in this flame, would you please let that old dirty beggar Lazarus put one of his dirty, filthy fingers in some water and just touch the tip of my tongue? Oh friends, listen, the Bible says that death is when your soul separates from your body, and it goes either to a place called heaven to be with God, or a place called hell to be separated from God forever. And the good news is God lets you choose where you'll spend eternity. That's the whole story of the Bible, that God has given you the choice of heaven or hell. In the New Testament, Jesus tells a story about a rich farmer who one year has a tremendous crop. In fact, the harvest is so great, his old barns will not hoe the increase. So he decides to tear down the old barns and build new, bigger, and better barns. He does this, he fills them up with his harvest. Then he sets back and says, now I've got it made. I'm going to eat, drink, and be merry. But God speaks to him and says, you're a fool, because tonight your soul is required of thee. Then who's going to receive all the things you have worked for? The Bible says that we have sinned against God, but God has made a way to stay out of hell. And a man can be born again, he can be saved, he can stand in the very presence of God for all eternity. But listen, friends, 30 million people die every year. That's an average of 90 people every 60 seconds. Every minute you've been watching me on television, 90 people have died and 90% of them have gone straight into hell. You see, my friends, you've got to make a choice. God doesn't send anybody to hell. God has done everything necessary. See, a man makes his own choice, his own decision. And some of you are going to do that today. Some of you are going to say, you know, I don't care about that Jesus stuff. I'm not concerned about that. But when you make that decision, you have sealed your destiny. And unless God gives you another chance and you repent and give your life to Christ, you're going to spend eternity in hell. And many people do that. Many people love their sins so much that they would rather risk hell rather than humble themselves before God and be born again by the Spirit of God. Sarah Winchester was a woman who wanted to live forever. Sarah was married to Henry Winchester, the man who invented the famous Winchester repeating rifle. Henry became a very wealthy man and when Henry died, Sarah became a very wealthy widow. And Sarah wanted more than anything to live forever. So Sarah consulted a fortune teller, a witch. And this fortune teller told her, Sarah, if you'll do one thing, you'll never die. If you'll start building a house and never stop building. So Sarah began to build on this great house. She built on it day after day, month after month, year after year. She spent millions of dollars. She hired thousands of workers. She built on this wonderful, marvelous home for 38 years because if you never stop building, you never die. You can see the home that Sarah built if you go to San Jose, California, there in the Santa Clara Valley. At one time, it was more than seven stories high. The home itself covered several acres of land. There are hundreds of rooms. There are thousands of windows because if you never stop building, you never die. But after 38 years of building, one night, the icy finger of death came walking down one of those hallways into one of those rooms and death found Sarah and took her to eternity. Oh, my friend, you cannot hide from death. Death is coming for you and death is coming for me. And death may be coming a lot sooner than any of us ever expected. What about you? If you were to die right now, where would you spend eternity? Would your soul leave your body and go to heaven to be with God? Or would your soul fall into the lake of fire? It would all depend on what you've done with Jesus. Do you know for sure if you die today that you'd go to heaven? You say, William, I've got to be honest. I don't know 100% for sure if I died today I'd go to heaven. In fact, William, I don't know what would happen if I died today. But to think about dying and going to hell, it frightens me. I don't want that to happen. I know. And I don't want to stand before God one day and find out, though I've been a church member and lived a pretty good life, that I was really lost because I hadn't been born again. You say, William, I want to be saved. William, I know that life is nothing but a vapor. I know that I could die at any moment. And William, I want to be prepared for that. I want to be able to stand in the presence of God as a true child of God. But you say, William, I don't know what to do. What must I do to be prepared to die? Well, the Bible says, except you repent, you'll perish. That word repent means you've got to change your mind. You've got to change your mind about sin, change your mind about God. You see, you've got to see that sin is not against people. Sin is against God. Sin is against your creator. And sin is not a small thing. Sin is rebellion against God. You've got to see it God's way. You've got to agree with God. You've got to say, God, you're right. I'm a sinner. God, I have lived a sinful, rebellious life. But God, I'm sorry. And I want to change my mind. I want to see things your way. I want to agree with you. And God, I want to turn away from my rebellion. And I want to place my faith and trust in Jesus Christ, Him and Him alone. I want Him to be my God, my boss, my master. I surrender my will to Him. And my friend, if you'll do that, God will save your soul. God will change you. And He will glorify Himself through you. And you can do that right now. Right where you're sitting, I'm going to ask you, will you be saved? Will you repent? Will you admit that you're wrong and turn your life over to Christ? Just kneel right where you are. Just you and God. And you can ask God to save you right now. If you'll open your heart to God, if you'll repent and give your life to Him, He'll save your soul. I'm going to pray a prayer called the prayer of salvation. There's nothing special about this prayer. It's not the prayer that saves. What saves is when you open your heart to God and you turn from your sin and give your life to Christ. The prayer merely puts together the form that we can understand. I want you to pray this prayer after me, but more important than praying, I want you to open your heart to God and repent and let God save your soul. Pray with me right now. If God is speaking to your heart right now, if you are willing to repent, if you are willing to take Christ as your Lord and Savior, then pray with me right now. Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, I know that I'm a sinner and I know I cannot save myself, but God, I believe you love me and I believe Jesus died for me to pay for all my sin. The best I know how, I repent of my sin. I turn from my sin and I receive Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. I commit my life to Him. I believe in my heart that God has raised Him from the dead. Forgive me of my sin, Lord. Come into my heart and save me. Oh, my friend, if you opened your heart to God, if you repented, I rejoice with you. And I want to be a help to you. I have some information that I'd like to make available to you. It's free. It's information about how you can know for sure that you're saved, know for sure you're going to heaven. It's also some information about how to live that abundant life that Jesus Christ promises to each believer. If you'll simply write me, William Blackburn, Post Office Box 2284, Fort Smith, Arkansas, 72901, I'll send this information out immediately. Judas Lost Disciple and What Happens After Death Tune in next week to hear Warren Wearspeed talk about A Father's Counsel on From the Pulpit and Classic Sermons