THE GREAT LAS VEGAS HOTEL FIRE

Today, I thought it would be a good idea to talk about fire safety. We don’t talk enough about that, and I wanted to make sure everybody was aware of the basics of fire safety.

To show the importance of fire safety, I’ll use the example of a terrible hotel fire.

Almost 40 years ago there was a huge fire at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas? It was a brand new hotel -- just been built. Early in the morning, a fire started in the restaurant on the ground floor. The fire went through the casino in two or three minutes and the building was completely in flame within another three minutes.

Most fires wouldn’t spread that fast, but there was a problem. The problem was that the fancy molding on the ceilings and around the walls looked like they were made of plaster or stone, but they were actually made of a kind of plastic that burned in a flash, letting off a poisonous gas. Because of that, and because the fire raced through the ground floor, people who were in the restaurant and the casino died before they could reach an exit door.

It was even worse for the people who were still in their rooms. The elevators turned off automatically, and people couldn’t take the stairs -- because poison gas was coming up the stair well.

I had a business meeting in Las Vegas early that morning so I decided to go up to Las Vegas the night before. I had tried to book a room at the MGM Grand, but it was full, so I stayed at a hotel across the street. The window of my room faced the MGM Grand, and I could see the people in the top twenty floors trying to save themselves. I watched as some people tied bedsheets together and tried to climb down ten floors to safety. I watched as others just jumped from high floors.

It was in fact the worst hotel disaster in modern US history.

I’m sure the people who stayed at the MGM Grand that night didn’t believe there would be a fire in the hotel. Even if there was a fire, they could surely run to the exits. There were exits and signs all over telling them where to run to safety. And, when people realized they were trapped by the fire, they hoped they could save themselves by climbing out windows.

Are you old enough to remember the fire escape on buildings? You can still see some on old buildings, but not many. They are those iron stairs on the outside of a building that zig-zag down from the top floor to the street. The idea was that if there was a fire, you could climb out a window and get on those metal stairs and go down to safety.

An old fashioned fire escape could have saved a lot of lives in Las Vegas that day. But, those fire escapes are too old fashioned. The hotel architects and builders and owners and guests are too modern and sophisticated to want old fashioned fire escapes on the side of a beautiful new hotel. We want to be saved from disaster by technology. Old fashioned isn’t what people want today.

eHH

One evening when I was remembering the Las Vegas fire, I decided to see if the Bible had anything to say about fire safety. So, to start, I looked up the word “fire” in the bible. When you look up the word “fire” you’ll see that word used 77 times, just in the New Testament.

A few of those times, the word is just referring to a fire used for cooking, or for warming yourself on a cold night or something like that. For example, after his resurrection, Jesus went to Galilee and waited for his disciples. In the morning when they saw him, they saw that he was preparing breakfast over a charcoal “fire.”

Or, it was a cold night when Jesus was arrested. Peter went into the courtyard of the house where Jesus was being questioned by the High Priest. John tells us that Peter was warming himself over a charcoal “fire.”

But, in the great majority of the times when the New Testament uses the word “fire,” it is talking about fire that awaits those who reject Christ - those who don’t follow Him. In other words, it refers to the fire of Hell. And, many of those times, the warning comes directly from Jesus, himself. Jesus warned of the fires of Hell over and over again.

When teaching about the 6th Commandment – against murder – Jesus said:

Matthew 5:22

“But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.”

Another example is Matthew 7:19

“Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

If someone has actually been born again, you’ll be able to see it by the fruit of the spirit in their life. Jesus warned us to look at our lives and be sure we actually show the fruit of the spirit.

He’s not talking about trees or apples or oranges. He’s talking about those whose lives do not show the fruit of the spirit. If that’s us -- you and me -- he’s telling us we had better not deceive ourselves about our spiritual condition because the fire waits for those who are deceived.

There’s another one. It’s the parable of the wheat and the tares. In the parable, God sowed wheat seeds in a field. Then Satan came at night and sowed tares. Tares are a kind of weed that looks very much like wheat until both are ready to harvest. The wheat represents the people of God and the tares represent people who reject God. Jesus said:

“Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.” (Matthew 13:40)

He’s not talking about weeds. He’s talking about you and me being burned in the fire if we have rejected His offer of salvation.

I’ll give you one more example. On judgment day, Jesus said the goats and sheep will be separated. The goats, who represent those who have rejected His offer of salvation, were put on the left hand side of the judgment throne. The sheep were put on the right.

Matthew 25:41

“Then He [God] will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:”

He’s not talking about goats. He’s talking about you and me being thrown into the fire if we reject Him.

At the last supper, Jesus told a parable of the grape vine. He said he was the vine, and people were the branches. However, only his followers would prosper as branches. Those who reject him would wither and be cut off. He said:

John 15:6

“If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”

He’s not talking about grape vines. He’s talking about you and me being thrown into the fire if we have rejected him. Whether or not you have been “nice” for your whole live doesn’t matter.

Some people are just “nice.” They aren’t followers of Christ - they aren’t “born again” -- they’re just “nice.” They are in danger of the fire when judgment comes. The issue is not whether you are “nice” or you give to the Red Cross or you spend your time helping the disabled. The issue is whether you abide in Christ.

Also, the Book of Revelation ends with a very frightening description of the fate of those who failed to accept God’s offer of salvation.

Revelation 20:7–15

“Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. . . . Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

It’s pretty clear. Jesus warns us that there is a fire.

Just like the people at the Las Vegas hotel never believed there would be a fire, the people who don’t believe Jesus’ warning are going to die a second death in the fire. You know people like that. They’re “good people” They’re “nice” people. They’re “sincere people.” Their belief, even if it’s a sincere belief that there is no fire won’t save them from God’s fire.

Just like the people at the Las Vegas hotel that tried to run for the exits at the last minute, Jesus warns us that people who think they can simply run to the safety of his arms at the last minute after they’ve seen that the fire is real, won’t survive God’s fire.

There are a couple of reasons for that. First, people always point to the salvation of the thief on the cross. They say he was saved at the last minute, so anyone can be saved at the last minute. But, they forget to mention that the thief on the cross was saved the first minute he had ever heard of Jesus. He didn’t wait.

Second, You don’t know when the last minute will come.

James 4:13–17

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”

Just like the people at the Las Vegas hotel who tried to save themselves by their own desperate efforts, Jesus warns us that people who are relying on their own efforts to save themselves won’t survive God’s fire.

Ephesians 2:9

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

If you are going to rely on your own good works to save you, you have a problem. How many good works have you done? How many sins have you committed? How many more good works than sins does it take to save you? If you are on the Titanic, and you are doing good works by letting people get in the life boat ahead of you, is it enough to just let one go ahead of you. Or, two? Or, 100? And if you claim it’s 10 people and God says that wasn’t enough, are you going to get a lawyer and sue him? It doesn’t work. It is by faith you have been saved, not by works.

Now, of course, worrying about the fire of hell is just old fashion religion. A lot of people don’t believe in God, or the Bible, or fire, or salvation.

Some people today are too modern -- too sophisticated -- too intellectual to believe in stuff like God and fire and salvation.

Then there are the people don’t believe anything the Bible says because their favorite actress or rock star or football player doesn’t believe anything the Bible says.

And, of course, there are some people who consider themselves “spiritual.” Not Christian. Just spiritual. They believe all roads lead to the top of the mountain. That way, everybody will end up with God -- or Gods -- in Heaven. Of course there is no fire on the top of the mountain.

Finally, there are people claim to be Christians -- “modern” “inclusive” “caring” -- Christians. They say “God is love.” That’s the God they want. No justice, no righteousness, no wrath. They don’t want the lion, they want the lamb. So, they believe God would never send anyone into a fire. So, they don’t believe there is a fire.

When I tell them what the bible says about “fire” they say: “That’s just old fashioned religion.” “It’s just hell, fire, and brimstone.” “I thought we were past all of that kind of scare tactics from the pulpit.”

The bible says there is a fire.

So, who do you believe?

If we understand the danger, we are naturally going to ask “what should we do?” It’s the same question the Jews asked when Peter told them the reality of their situation.

Acts 2:36–37 - Peter was preaching to the Jews on Pentecost and said:

“Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

Jesus is the answer to the question, “What shall we do?” Jesus tells us that there is a way out of the danger of fire. Jesus says: “Follow me.” He says “I am the way.” Jesus is the fire escape. Just like an old fashioned fire escape would have saved a lot of lives in Las Vegas, Jesus --and an old fashioned belief in what he has said -- will save a lot of lives here in this room.

You would think that people would say: “No problem. You are the way and I’m going to follow you.”

But, there’s a problem. The old fire escapes on buildings were narrow. Only one person could enter at a time. And, because of the need for bracing on the outside of a building, they had a steel brace at each entrance to the fire escape. It wasn’t high enough so you could stand up straight. You had to bow your head to get on the fire escape.

Same thing if Jesus is going to be your fire escape. You have to come to him one at a time, and you have to bow your head to him. You have to submit to him. You have to be willing to make him the priority in your life above everything else. You can’t just put a little chrome fish symbol on your car and put Jesus up on the shelf with all of your other idols.

Jesus was very straight forward about the cost of following him. In order to follow him, he has to be your top priority.

Money can’t be your priority.

Mark 10:17–30

You can have money, but if you value money over following Jesus, you aren’t following him at all. Take a look at 1 Corinthians 13 when you get home.

Comfort can’t be your priority.

Luke 9:57

You can have a house. You can have air conditioning. You can have a heater. But, if you value the house or the air conditioning or the heater over following Jesus, you aren’t following him at all.

Same thing with Family and family obligations. They can’t be your priority.

Luke 9:59

To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

Hanging onto the old life can’t be your priority.

Luke 9:62

Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.””

So, how do you follow Jesus? First, you have to believe him -- you have to believe what he’s telling you about the fire.

John 3:16

“Whoever believes in him shall not perish, but shall have everlasting life.”

If you don’t believe what he says, you certainly aren’t going to follow him.

Second, you must pay careful attention to what he says. You can’t just take a peek at your bible once a month. Otherwise, you’ll forget who you’re following and why.

Hebrews 2:1

“Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For . . . how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?”

Third, you have to do what he’s telling you to do to escape the fire.

If the fireman tells you to get on the fire escape and walk quickly down the steps, you’ll do it to be saved from the fire. If you just stand there and decide to post a picture of the fire on Facebook, you’ll be burned up.

In the same way, if Jesus is telling you that you need to love God with all your heart, all your strength, and all your mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself to escape the fire -- you need to do it. But, you can’t love God and love your neighbor unless you believe Jesus and have submitted to him and he give you the heart and the strength to love like that. Step 3 can only come after steps 1 and 2 !

Life is short and the time is uncertain. Smell the smoke. Today is the day of salvation.

“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”” (Deuteronomy 30:19–20, ESV)

Choose life! Follow Jesus – your fire escape!

Amen

Prayer