WEBVTT 00:00:00.239 --> 00:00:03.520 As many of you know, our pastor Russ is on sabbatical. 00:00:03.919 --> 00:00:09.519 And uh while he has been out, uh some of the elders have been asked to step in and teach. 00:00:09.679 --> 00:00:14.000 Uh and as you can probably imagine, that's made someone like me a little nervous. 00:00:14.160 --> 00:00:17.280 Um I don't normally get in front of people and talk. 00:00:17.359 --> 00:00:24.000 Uh and when I do, it's normally with a big projector with a PowerPoint presentation, uh, really boring. 00:00:24.160 --> 00:00:29.679 Uh I can promise you I have never said the word sumptuously in front of a group of people either. 00:00:30.719 --> 00:00:35.359 So being nervous, I have been practicing and practicing and practicing. 00:00:35.600 --> 00:00:40.960 No guarantees you'll be able to tell I practice, but I promise I have uh put in the time and work. 00:00:41.359 --> 00:00:47.520 So yesterday I I was uh finally ready for an audience rehearsal. 00:00:47.679 --> 00:00:51.280 Um so I guess that's one of the benefits of having a big family. 00:00:51.359 --> 00:00:54.159 I can practice in front of a lot of people at any given time. 00:00:54.320 --> 00:00:56.880 Uh my uh my family's been down to the beach. 00:00:56.960 --> 00:00:58.799 I came down, I came back home a couple days early. 00:00:58.880 --> 00:01:03.920 So I've had a couple days to myself to uh to practice and be bored out of my mind. 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:10.239 Uh so yesterday morning I waited all day for my wife and my four children to come back home from the beach. 00:01:10.319 --> 00:01:16.400 It was a long six-plus hour drive, uh, but I was uh ready for them to be home. 00:01:16.480 --> 00:01:19.120 So finally I saw them pull into the driveway. 00:01:19.280 --> 00:01:22.079 I came and uh met them outside, gave them all hugs. 00:01:22.239 --> 00:01:25.760 I could see they were totally worn out, but I didn't let that distract me. 00:01:25.840 --> 00:01:30.959 I marched them straight into our den, had them sit down on the sofa. 00:01:31.040 --> 00:01:42.319 Uh, I grabbed uh a high chair, put it in the middle to use as my podium, just like this, and uh told them to please be quiet and be attentive while I went over to sermon. 00:01:42.560 --> 00:01:45.120 What in the world could possibly go wrong with that? 00:01:45.519 --> 00:01:52.959 So immediately after I started, uh, one of my daughters decided to take her beach hat and make it into a frisbee. 00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:57.760 If uh if you know my family, you can probably imagine which one of the my daughters that was. 00:01:58.079 --> 00:02:04.640 Then the next thing that happened was uh my little one, my one-year-old, decided she wanted her high chair back. 00:02:04.799 --> 00:02:14.080 So she got down on the ground, crawled straight to me, pulled herself up on the on my my podium, and uh tried to take my notes and throw them down. 00:02:14.240 --> 00:02:19.039 So when she finally realized that that wasn't gonna happen, she just decided she wanted to cry. 00:02:19.280 --> 00:02:21.919 So, needless to say, I got through the rehearsal. 00:02:22.080 --> 00:02:23.840 It went uh, I think it went okay. 00:02:24.080 --> 00:02:27.439 Went well enough that my family decided to even come to church today. 00:02:27.520 --> 00:02:28.639 So that's a good sign. 00:02:28.800 --> 00:02:32.639 Um but before we begin, just wanted to just go on the record. 00:02:32.800 --> 00:02:39.199 If anyone does feel the need to uh throw frisbee here this morning, I'm prepared, I'm ready for that. 00:02:39.360 --> 00:02:42.719 If anyone wants to take my notes, I think I can fight you off. 00:02:42.800 --> 00:02:47.759 Or if anyone uh decides they want to just cry, I can I can get through that as well. 00:02:47.919 --> 00:02:52.960 So, anyways, before I start, uh let's bow our heads in prayer and I'll pray for us. 00:02:53.280 --> 00:02:56.080 Father, we thank you for giving us life this morning. 00:02:56.240 --> 00:03:02.080 We thank you for the opportunity to meet here together and hear your word and learn more about you. 00:03:02.319 --> 00:03:04.800 Please be with us as we study this passage. 00:03:04.960 --> 00:03:06.800 Speak to our hearts through your word. 00:03:07.280 --> 00:03:07.919 Amen. 00:03:08.639 --> 00:03:13.680 Today's teaching comes from the book of Luke, chapter 16, 19 through 31. 00:03:13.919 --> 00:03:18.879 It's a nice, soft parable where Jesus tells a sweet little story about birds. 00:03:19.199 --> 00:03:21.599 Just kidding, it is anything but that. 00:03:21.759 --> 00:03:27.120 Uh in fact, a lot of Bible scholars say this is the most stern of Jesus' parables. 00:03:27.199 --> 00:03:34.080 Uh, in the parable, we're gonna talk about things like wealth, poverty, status, death, and hell. 00:03:34.800 --> 00:03:40.400 This passage is full of uh important themes and packed with insight for our lives. 00:03:40.560 --> 00:03:43.919 So we're gonna begin by reading back through uh the passage. 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:49.680 We'll take a couple verses at a time, and then at the end I've got a couple things to uh to discuss. 00:03:49.919 --> 00:03:51.520 So let's set the stage. 00:03:51.840 --> 00:03:55.759 Jesus is traveling with an ever-growing crowd of people. 00:03:56.000 --> 00:04:00.800 Many of these people are honestly seeking to learn more about him, figure out who this Jesus is. 00:04:00.960 --> 00:04:17.680 Still, there's a lot of these people that are Pharisees, and the only thing they're there trying to do is catch Jesus saying something wrong, catch him doing something wrong, uh, but they're ultimately just trying to justify their own self-righteousness and the status that they've accumulated in their communities. 00:04:17.920 --> 00:04:24.639 So, with that, let's uh let's begin with uh verses 19 through 21. 00:04:25.199 --> 00:04:30.720 There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 00:04:30.959 --> 00:04:38.079 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores, and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. 00:04:38.240 --> 00:04:40.720 Even the dogs came and licked his sores. 00:04:40.959 --> 00:04:43.839 So here Jesus is setting the imagery for the story. 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:46.000 On one side we have the rich man. 00:04:46.160 --> 00:04:52.639 He lived in total luxury, feasted every day, and uh had the finest of clothes. 00:04:52.959 --> 00:04:55.680 So he this guy even had a home with a gate. 00:04:55.759 --> 00:04:58.879 He had an estate at a time when people didn't have estates. 00:04:59.120 --> 00:05:03.920 Um at that time, a rich man would have been part of the Jewish community. 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:06.399 He would have followed the Jewish law, and uh. 00:05:32.480 --> 00:05:37.360 I just can't even imagine what Lazarus must have been like. 00:05:37.600 --> 00:05:42.240 I don't even think we can probably even put it in the context in our own terms. 00:05:42.399 --> 00:05:43.920 We're not talking about the U.S. 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:44.720 poverty line. 00:05:44.800 --> 00:05:48.639 We're talking about total, total poverty. 00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:51.839 Um so we literally have one extreme to the other. 00:05:52.000 --> 00:05:54.639 We have the rich man who wanted for nothing. 00:05:54.879 --> 00:06:00.639 He could provide himself with everything that he might need, more than he would ever need. 00:06:00.800 --> 00:06:07.519 And we have Lazarus, who was completely dependent on other people for everything. 00:06:07.759 --> 00:06:16.560 So, one of the most important things to note from this section is in verse 21, where we read that Lazarus longed to eat the scraps off the rich man's table. 00:06:16.720 --> 00:06:20.480 This is critical because it points right to the heart of the rich man. 00:06:20.720 --> 00:06:27.040 Though this rich man feasted every day and lived in luxury, he never offered food or comfort to Lazarus. 00:06:27.199 --> 00:06:28.480 He had no concern for the man. 00:06:28.639 --> 00:06:33.360 He must have seen him there, probably saw him there every day, but uh he never never helped him out. 00:06:33.519 --> 00:06:35.839 His heart was as cold as it could be. 00:06:36.639 --> 00:06:39.600 So let's read on to verses 22 through 24. 00:06:40.079 --> 00:06:44.720 The time came when the beggar died, and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. 00:06:44.959 --> 00:06:47.120 The rich man also died and was buried. 00:06:47.279 --> 00:06:53.680 In Hades, where he lived in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 00:06:53.839 --> 00:07:03.680 So he called to him, Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire. 00:07:04.160 --> 00:07:10.319 So can you imagine the Pharisees sitting there while Jesus is telling the story as he describes the rich man? 00:07:10.480 --> 00:07:15.360 I mean, we can all read this and we know that Jesus is really describing these Pharisees that are sitting there. 00:07:15.600 --> 00:07:36.160 But as Jesus is talking and describing them all, and Jesus says that they both die, I could just imagine the Pharisees thinking, finally, Jesus is going to acknowledge all that we have here, all the following of the law and everything we've done here, and he's going to finally acknowledge all of that and show us our rewards in heaven. 00:07:36.319 --> 00:07:42.240 After all, they thought, we've earned everything we have here, so why wouldn't our reward be even greater in heaven? 00:07:42.639 --> 00:07:50.000 And then to imagine as Jesus continues and explains that the rich man dies and goes to hell. 00:07:50.319 --> 00:07:56.879 Furthermore, as a rich man is in hell, he looks up and sees Lazarus standing next to Abraham in heaven. 00:07:57.600 --> 00:08:02.560 So one of the most amazing things to me about this part of the passage is found in verse 24. 00:08:02.800 --> 00:08:07.360 Even though the rich man was in hell, he still had not lost his sense of entitlement. 00:08:07.600 --> 00:08:12.720 If you notice, he still thought he had status and authority over Lazarus. 00:08:13.279 --> 00:08:18.399 In that passage you see, he asked for Lazarus to go dip his finger in water to go quench his thirst. 00:08:18.639 --> 00:08:19.279 It's amazing. 00:08:19.360 --> 00:08:25.680 You think of this rich man down in hell looking up and thinking he has authority over something in heaven. 00:08:26.079 --> 00:08:31.360 How many times do you think Lazarus needed his thirst to be quenched during his life? 00:08:31.680 --> 00:08:33.759 The rich man never offered any help. 00:08:34.000 --> 00:08:36.159 Now the roles were reversed. 00:08:36.399 --> 00:08:42.720 It's also important to note that in verse 24 we see a vivid illustration of the agony of hell. 00:08:42.960 --> 00:08:50.000 You see where the rich man is just begging for even a drip, a drop of water to quench his thirst. 00:08:51.360 --> 00:08:54.399 So let's read on to verses 25 and 26. 00:08:54.960 --> 00:09:05.759 But Abraham replied, Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. 00:09:05.919 --> 00:09:16.879 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us. 00:09:17.679 --> 00:09:20.879 So in these verses we see the finality of death. 00:09:21.200 --> 00:09:24.240 Death is real, and only two outcomes await us. 00:09:24.720 --> 00:09:29.440 Once our our fate is set, there's no changing, there's no crossing from one to the other. 00:09:29.600 --> 00:09:33.600 After death, there are no additional chances, no matter what the argument might be. 00:09:36.159 --> 00:09:50.000 Reading on to verses 27 through 31, he answered, Then I beg you, Father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers, let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment. 00:09:50.320 --> 00:09:55.360 Abraham replied, They have Moses and the prophets, let him listen to them. 00:09:55.600 --> 00:10:00.799 No, Father Abraham, he said, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent. 00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:09.600 He said to him, If they have not listened to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced, even if someone rises from the dead. 00:10:10.399 --> 00:10:17.759 So we see throughout this conversation that the rich man still has kept his sense of status and entitlement. 00:10:21.360 --> 00:10:26.240 But finally, towards the end, he's getting to the point where the reality is setting in for him. 00:10:26.399 --> 00:10:32.720 He calls out one final request for Abraham to help save his family members from sharing his fate. 00:10:33.120 --> 00:10:39.039 But in my opinion, the best part of this parable is found in verses 30 and 31. 00:10:39.279 --> 00:10:50.159 So the rich man's story is full of irony, but him asking for someone to come back from the dead to save his family, I think, takes the cake. 00:10:50.320 --> 00:10:56.960 So as Jesus is telling the story, he knows he's soon to be nailed to the cross, die, and rise from the dead. 00:10:57.200 --> 00:11:02.720 He is literally going to be the exact thing the rich man is asking for. 00:11:02.960 --> 00:11:12.000 Still, while he's telling the story, he knows verse 31 to be true that, quote, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead. 00:11:12.320 --> 00:11:18.240 So Jesus knew the whole time that even when they saw the empty tomb, they weren't going to believe. 00:11:18.399 --> 00:11:24.720 Not even the reports and personal encounters of the risen Jesus would be enough to convince them. 00:11:27.120 --> 00:11:32.399 So now we've read back through the passage and looked at some things more closely. 00:11:32.639 --> 00:11:39.600 We can see that's got a lot of, the passage in the parable has a lot of insight, not just for the audience Jesus was talking to, but for our own lives. 00:11:39.759 --> 00:11:44.000 So there's three main things I want to just point out and go back over. 00:11:44.559 --> 00:11:46.559 I think they deserve a little more attention. 00:11:46.799 --> 00:11:51.200 First, worldly wealth does not mean eternal suffering. 00:11:51.519 --> 00:11:56.000 And conversely, poverty or the rejection of material things does not ensure heaven. 00:11:56.159 --> 00:11:57.440 We all know this, right? 00:11:57.679 --> 00:11:59.840 Money in itself is not good nor bad. 00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:06.000 It's what we allow it to do to our hearts when it's placed in our hands or not placed in our hands that really matters. 00:12:06.240 --> 00:12:11.360 Let's remember, being a Pharisee, the rich man had a lot of money and believed he had earned all of it. 00:12:11.600 --> 00:12:16.960 He thought it was his reward through uh for proper living and good uh good choices. 00:12:17.120 --> 00:12:18.720 He thought he had earned God's favor. 00:12:19.120 --> 00:12:24.000 But truthfully, that rich man's success was his ultimate stumbling block. 00:12:24.240 --> 00:12:28.080 It blinded him from ever seeing that he was in need of a savior. 00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:30.000 So to me, the warning is clear. 00:12:30.159 --> 00:12:49.679 Whether it's our works, our wealth, status, uh, power, uh, number of Instagram followers we may have, whatever it is that we put our identity in, or we have uh we put up on a pedestal to fulfill us, they're all going to be insufficient to satisfy God's standard. 00:12:49.919 --> 00:12:52.480 You simply cannot earn your way to heaven. 00:12:53.120 --> 00:12:56.799 Two, death is final and hell is real. 00:12:57.039 --> 00:13:01.440 This parable gives a clear illustration of hell and we see its torment. 00:13:01.679 --> 00:13:04.559 It also clearly defines the finality of death. 00:13:04.720 --> 00:13:09.600 Once our lives come to an end, there are only two options for our eternity, and they are final. 00:13:09.840 --> 00:13:12.639 Now, these aren't, this isn't a pleasant topic. 00:13:12.799 --> 00:13:27.600 I didn't particularly enjoy this part of uh taking notes and studying, but I don't want the seriousness of death and hell to keep us from really learning something from what Jesus is uh is trying to say. 00:13:29.759 --> 00:13:37.759 It's seeing the fate that uh we've been rescued from that really gives us a true appreciation for our rescuer. 00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:46.960 See, we we wouldn't uh we wouldn't have the same appreciation, the same love for Jesus uh unless we knew what we were being saved from. 00:13:47.200 --> 00:13:56.159 Um and it's only when we see this and we know this that our hearts can turn from greed and pride to thankfulness and humility. 00:13:56.559 --> 00:13:59.759 Things that are were obviously missing from the rich man. 00:14:00.320 --> 00:14:06.720 And third, in all, this parable is ultimately meant to point us to the cross and our need for Jesus. 00:14:06.960 --> 00:14:09.759 So you notice we're not told too much about Lazarus. 00:14:09.919 --> 00:14:14.720 We know he was poor, we know he was sick, we know he died, and we know he went to heaven. 00:14:14.879 --> 00:14:16.960 But he's not the main character in this story. 00:14:17.120 --> 00:14:21.360 This story is about the heart of the rich man and ultimately the heart of man. 00:14:21.519 --> 00:14:31.200 Uh through this story, Jesus is driving home the same truths that we find in Isaiah 64, 6 and 1 John 5, 11 and 12. 00:14:31.279 --> 00:14:38.480 I'm going to read both of those passages, and I think to really truly understand this parable, we have to read both of them and understand them together. 00:14:38.720 --> 00:14:40.720 So Isaiah 64, 6. 00:14:41.039 --> 00:14:47.120 All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags. 00:14:47.279 --> 00:14:52.559 We all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind, our sins sweep us away. 00:14:52.799 --> 00:14:55.840 And 1 John 5, 11 and 12. 00:14:56.000 --> 00:14:57.600 And this is the testimony. 00:14:57.840 --> 00:15:01.919 God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 00:15:02.159 --> 00:15:04.320 Whoever has the Son has life. 00:15:04.480 --> 00:15:08.000 Whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 00:15:08.320 --> 00:15:18.240 See, Jesus is teaching us that one day all of our works, if we have wealth, if we have status, whatever it is, they'll eventually fade away. 00:15:18.960 --> 00:15:26.879 If that's all we have to put our hope in, if that's all we have faith in, it's going to get us about as far as it did for the rich man. 00:15:27.120 --> 00:15:34.799 It's only through our faith in Jesus that our hearts can be transformed and we can have eternity in heaven like Lazarus. 00:15:35.840 --> 00:15:42.799 So, in closing, let us not allow God's blessings here on earth to become our stumbling blocks or our idols. 00:15:43.039 --> 00:15:50.399 Whether it be stability, good health, intellect, whatever, all of these things are temporary and they will wash away. 00:15:50.720 --> 00:15:55.759 The only thing that will remain, the only thing that truly matters is the faith we have in Jesus. 00:15:56.000 --> 00:15:57.120 Let's pray. 00:15:58.240 --> 00:16:01.200 Dear Father, we thank you for giving us your word. 00:16:01.759 --> 00:16:07.279 That you speak to us to our own lives through a story you told thousands of years ago. 00:16:07.919 --> 00:16:13.919 Lord, you knew as you spoke those words that one day it would impact our lives here this morning. 00:16:14.159 --> 00:16:17.440 We pray that you forgive us for the pride we take in what we have. 00:16:17.679 --> 00:16:25.360 Give us hearts of admiration for you and the sacrifice you made for us, and also give us hearts filled with compassion for the people around us. 00:16:25.519 --> 00:16:26.399 In Jesus' name. 00:16:26.559 --> 00:16:27.039 Amen.