Jentezen Franklin - Choose Life for You and Your Children (11/11/2025)
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Drawing from Matthew 18 and the parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16, the preacher warns of the reality of hell and the severe judgment for harming or misleading children, but stresses that the greatest tragedy is leading your family to hell through your example—while the ultimate joy is guiding them to heaven by choosing Christ and leaving godly footprints for generations.
Worship the Miracle Worker!
«You are great. You do miracles so great.» If you need a miracle, just lift your hands and worship the Miracle Worker. He’s a mighty God this morning. Give Him honor and praise. One more time. «You are great, You do miracles. Yes You do. Oh there’s no one like You, Lord. There is no one else like You. You are great. You do miracles so great. There is no one else like You.»
Everybody give Him a mighty praise if you believe that this morning. The presence of the Lord is in this place. Hallelujah. You may be seated. Hallelujah.
What Makes Someone Greatest in Heaven?
Well, I want you to open your Bibles with me in the book of Matthew 18. I’ll begin reading with verse 1. «At that time the disciples came to Jesus saying, ‘Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven? ’ Then Jesus called…» I want you to notice how many times He says «little child» in these verses.
«Jesus called a little child to Him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as a little child, you will by no means enter into the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.’»
A Stern Warning About Harming Children
And then a stern warning in verse 6: «But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!»
Still referring to children—to offending children, hurting, abusing, harming, and even leading children in the wrong direction. Verse 8: «If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed…»
Why Jesus Talks So Harshly Here
It’s so interesting to me that this text is attached to how we treat children in a time when children are being abused, in a time when children are being molested, in a time when pornography is flooding, and we’re seeing a pandemic of child abuse and molestation.
He says, «It would be better for you to cut off your hand and cast it from you, better for you to enter into life lame and maimed rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into everlasting fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire.
Never Despise or Mislead the Little Ones
Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones…» You harm, you mislead… «Take heed, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven. For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.»
Whatever you do, I want you to hear this emphasis. You really don’t want to go to hell.
Jesus' Chilling Description of Hell
In Luke 16, Jesus Christ—again, the text, the story, the reference—He already referred to hell in the verse I just read. But in Luke 16, and I wanna read it so bad, but I’ll sum it up. I want to read it. I want to read it and I’m gonna read it.
Luke 16:19. Jesus is speaking. Why is that important? Because no one knows more about hell and heaven than Jesus Christ, and when He preached, this is what He preached.
The Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man
And He said, «There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores.
So it was that the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
A Man in Hell Begging for Mercy
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.’»
This is Jesus’ teaching. «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.
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.’
Even Warning His Family—from Hell
Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’
And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’»
You really don’t want to go to hell.
It’s Not About Rich or Poor
The beggar died and was carried; the rich man died and was buried. The first point I want to make is the poor man did not go to heaven because he was poor. The rich man did not go to hell because he was rich—that is not what the Scripture teaches.
If anybody goes to heaven, they do not go because of anything they bring to the picture. The reason the poor man went to heaven is because he loved God, served God the best he could with what he had. He was a man who lived for God.
The Bible’s Prophecies Prove It’s True
See, a lot of people want to dismiss this kind of preaching. A lot of people want to say there’s no hell, there’s no heaven. But I want to just remind you, the same Bible that has prophecies that a virgin would bring forth a child in a city called Bethlehem—that’s the same Jesus that said these words about eternity.
The same Bible that tells us that one day Israel would be reborn—in Matthew 24, the nation of Israel would come back like a blossoming tree—and in May 1948, Israel was reborn.
End Times Signs Happening Now
The same Bible that prophesies in the book of Ezekiel 37 and 38 that three nations will be in the front headlines of the whole world—Russia, China, and Iran. They will form a confederation, and God will put a hook in their jaw. I don’t know what that hook is, but they will attack Israel.
The same Bible that predicts in the book of Revelation that there will come an antichrist, and there will come a computer system, there will come an image of the beast—I believe that’s artificial intelligence—that will come forth, and it will control the whole world, and men will not be able to buy or sell without taking the mark of the beast, 666.
Jesus Warns: Choose Heaven or Hell
And all of these things are prophesied. And the same Savior who has shared those revelations in the book, because He is the author and finisher of our faith—it all came from Him. He said, «There is, after this life, life in heaven and life in hell, and you choose.»
And whatever you do, you really don’t want to go to hell.
Something Worse Than Hell Itself
But I’m preaching this morning that there is something worse than going to hell. There’s something worse than the fire, and the pain, and the weeping, and the flame, and the torment, and the thirst, and the weeping and gnashing of teeth.
There’s something worse than forever being separated from God and good, and spending eternity in torment. There’s something even worse than hell, and that is seeing your family in hell because you led them there. They followed in your footsteps.
The Great White Throne Judgment
I wanna read one more verse while I’m reading. It says, «Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it…» This is Revelation 20:11. «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. 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.
Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.»
Settling Out of Court with Jesus
The setting is described, the summons is delivered, the whole population of mankind stands before the great white throne. But I won’t be there, and by God’s grace my family won’t ever stand before the great white throne because we settled out of court.
I decided I’m not gonna stand before the judgment seat of God; I’m settling out of court. I say Jesus is my Savior. Every knee will bow, every tongue will confess. And as for me and my house, hallelujah, we will serve the Lord.
I’m not gonna lead my family to hell. I’m gonna lead them to heaven. You really wanna go to heaven.
Heaven: No More Pain, No More Tears
Revelation 21:4-5 says that when we get to heaven, «God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.»
And He who sat on the throne said, «Behold, I make all things new.» And He said to me, «Write, for these words are true and faithful.» Don’t let people forget that this life is not just about here and now, but we’re headed into eternity, and you need to know heaven is real, heaven is true.
God will wipe every tear from your eye, and He will make all things new. Everybody shout, «I wanna go to heaven!»
Imagine Heaven—No Evil, No Suffering
I want you to think with me for just a moment. Give me your mind, give me your imagination. There will be no more war in heaven. There will be no more death. There will be no more sorrow. There will be no more funeral homes.
There will be no more police departments. There will be no more depression. There will be no more suicide. There will be no more politics because the King of kings is gonna rule and reign.
There will be no more lying. There will be no more deception. There will be no emptiness. There will be no loneliness. There will be no heartbreak. There will be no tears. There will be no anguish. There will be no grief. There will be no divorce. There will be no broken homes, hallelujah.
A World Without Sin or Disaster
There will be no thievery. There will be no fraud. There will be no abductions. There will be no kidnappings. There will be no murder. There will be no rapes. There will be no paralysis. There will be no prostitution. There will be no sex trafficking.
There will be no more floods. There will be no more fires. There will be no more earthquakes. There will be no more tsunamis. There will be no more failure. There will be no more sin, hallelujah. It’s defeated. Oh, I want to see Him. Hallelujah. Whew.
Something Even Better Than Heaven
Did you know the Bible says that nothing shall by any means enter in that defiles that city—only those whose names are written in the Book of Life. And I wanna propose to you in closing that there’s something better than heaven.
There’s something better than its beauty, and that’s when you see your family there. And they’re there partly because, as you followed Jesus, you left them footprints, and they followed Christ as you left the footprints.
Lead Your Children to Jesus
No wonder the text warns us, «Don’t you abuse the children. Don’t you keep them away from Me. Suffer the little children to come unto Me.» You lead them, and grow up, and let them follow your footsteps to the Bible, and follow your footsteps to the altar, and follow your footsteps to the word of God, and follow your footsteps to the house of God.
And you didn’t have to come to church, but I promise you you’re leaving an indention in the spiritual sand for generations to come. And momma was in the choir singing, and Bill was playing. And it may look like it’s not having an effect, but the Bible lets us know that surely God will deal with our children and our children’s children if we choose Jesus, if we choose heaven.
Choose Life—for You and Your Children
Watch this. Deuteronomy 30—this is what it says: «This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and cursings. Now choose life…»
But here’s what got me, here’s where I missed it—I don’t know how I missed this—“so that you and your children may live.»
I’m telling you, you’re leaving footprints to heaven or to hell. There’s something worse than hell: that’s taking your family there. There’s something better than heaven: that’s taking your family there.
Teach Through Repentance and Faithfulness
And sometimes, as a mom and as a dad, the greatest way you teach your children is through your failures. When they see you fall, when they see you as just a mere person who makes mistakes too, but you repent, you keep coming to church, you keep coming to the altar.
You might have had a hellish week, but you just keep coming to Jesus. I’m telling you, you need to see the long view about this thing. You don’t need to just live for here and now; you need to see the long view.